Category Archives: Government Over-reach

Why I’m (…Pfffff…) voting for Trump

Posted on September 26, 2016 by Danny Quinney | 5 comments

So…on Facebook the past several months I have seen a slew of my friends proclaim to all how they cannot in good conscience vote for either Hillary or Trump. I have seen the same video (about 5,985 times) of a guy using pennies to explain how a third party candidate could take the election this year, and I’ve read compelling arguments how THIS is the year to show the establishment how the American people are sick of the two party system. I’ve listened to the Libertarian candidate, Gary Johnson, to see what he has to say. So here is my little dose of reality. He doesn’t have a prayer of winning. Not a snowballs chance in hell. And he knows it.

“But Danny,” you whine, “that’s the point. We need to show the establishment how principled we are.”

If you watch the news for even a second you’ll see Trump supporters are portrayed as angry, resentful idiots, who are angry at illegals (err… I mean “undocumented workers,”) scared to death of terrorism, worried about losing their jobs, and they feel like they don’t have any say. I’m not really any of those. But I’m still voting for Trump.

Would I consider Trump the perfect candidate? Not even close. Is he conservative? Noooooo. Is he a meanie, who says mean things? Sometimes. Do I have a problem with that? Not really. To me it is actually a little refreshing to hear exactly what a candidate is thinking. Even if it is obnoxious as hell. At least he is genuine and open in his thinking. It makes me laugh to watch my liberal friends act like fainting virgins every time he says something without it being sugar coated.

I guess you could say I’m not so much voting FOR Trump as I am voting AGAINST Hillary. She is a nightmare. She is not only insidiously dishonest, she is corrupt as hell. I could write a novel on the evidence to back that up, but most recently, The Clinton Foundation received HUGE “donations” from foreign governments or rich elites and then she, as Secretary of State, made or participated in making favorable decisions for them. On top of that, she not only wants to solve every problem with other people’s money, she wants to do it with a bigger and more suffocating government, with it’s corresponding loss of individual freedom, job creation and economic liberty. Hillary craves power. She is obsessed with it. She will say anything to get it. Trump on other hand is running to stroke his enormous ego and to have fun. Granted, not the best reason to be elected to be the leader of the free world, but it is a more pure motive than the thirst for riches and power. As such he will be a more successful President. He wants to be “great.”

Trump is a businessman. He creates jobs. As such he understands how big government stifles job creation. Hillary can talk about creating jobs, but she has never done it. She actually bragged about putting coal miners out of work.

When I was in my early twenties I read Trump’s book “The Art of the Deal.” He isn’t a stupid man. When negotiating, Trump always starts high, but he is creative and willing to adapt to achieve his goals. He expects to find solutions that work for both sides. That’s why, although I’m sure I’ll disagree with much of the outcome, he will get things done. He was a Democrat for years. No one can accuse him of being an ideologue. He is a doer. Hillary ALWAYS follows her ideological base. That’s why, between the two of them, Trump will naturally reduce political gridlock.

I’m so sick of hearing what a racist bigot Trump is. Every accusation I’ve seen or read has been manipulative and far fetched. Trump is not the most articulate or sensitive person to run for President. According to his daughter, Ivanka, he is “an equal opportunity offender,” but while he has been in the public eye for over thirty years, he has never once been accused as racism until he ran against a Democrat. Not once. Wanting to secure the border isn’t a race issue. It’s a policy issue. I have yet to be shown hard evidence of racism or the phobias Trump has been charged with.

All that being said. The MAIN reason I’m voting for Trump this year: The next President could name as many as four Supreme Court Justices. To me that is: The. Single. Most. Important. Issue.

Everything else pales in comparison.

I can respect not liking Trump and I TOTALLY understand hating Hillary. I wish so, so bad we had other options. But…here we are. We all have a choice to make. The time for a third party isn’t now, and withholding your vote will only directly help Hillary. So that’s stupid. I can’t help but wonder how the “#NeverTrump” or the “principle over party” people are going to explain to their children how they stood by their principles while Hillary nominates judges who will eradicate our 1, 2, 4, 5, and 10th amendments. Imagine in five years, when Clinton is entering her second term with guns outlawed in every state (except Texas) there is a tax on everything you can dream of, when the border is virtually abolished, and “Hate speech” is being punishable by 10-12 years in prison (even if what is said is true). You probably think I’m being super dramatic here, and… to your credit, you are probably right, but look at the world we live in now, look at the rhetoric that has become policy and tell me how far fetched it really is. Are you going to brag to your children how you stood by your principles saying, “the lesser of two evils is still evil?” Because, I’ve gotta tell you, that’s stupid too. That’s like comparing a torn rotator cuff to having your arm amputated. I would highly recommend avoiding both, but if I have to chose one or the other, the choice is obvious.

There is a lot at stake right now. Between the two, the choice is (…Pfffffff…) Donald J. Trump.

LIFEZILLA: Filling the internet with little cleansing bubbles

5 Comments

Posted in America, Elections, Government Over-reach

Tagged Donald Trump, Facebook, Hillary Clinton, Supreme Court, The Clinton Foundation, Voting

My Problem with The Tea Party

Posted on September 9, 2014 by Danny Quinney | 6 comments

First of all, I haven’t written forever. It isn’t that I don’t WANT to write, it’s just I’m being pulled in fifty different directions. Sadly (for me), I have 12 unfinished articles that I’ve started since my last brilliantly written article, which will never see the light of day. This one was the closest I had to being finished. I wanted to post something. So here goes.

For fun I’m going to include three misnomers: 1- “Affordable Care Act”…It isn’t. 2- “Obamacare”…He doesn’t. And 3- “My Problem with The Tea Party”…I don’t.

“But Danny,” you whine “why the title?” Apparently I have some ‘splainin to do. The state in which I reside has a dominate religion. IT DRIVES ME CRAZY, absolutely bat nuts, when I hear someone complain about “the church” when in reality they are complaining about an individual/individuals within the church. To me it is just fundamentally wrong to lump a whole group of people into a category that should be reserved for a few. Does that make sense? So, with our mutual understanding and 100% realization of my rank hypocrisy, I’ll plow forward.

As you may or may not be aware there is a midterm election coming up in about 8 weeks. There is a lot up for grabs this election. Congress’ approval is at an all time low, but shockingly, incumbents traditionally win. We “The People” hate the group, but like the individuals within the group.

Currently, Mitch McConnell is fighting to keep his seat as a Republican Senator for Kentucky. Now, I’m not advocating for or against him. I just know many Tea Party-esque people have accused him of being a “RINO” (Republican In Name Only.) Again, I don’t follow his voting record that closely. I know he isn’t a screaming liberal but apparently he isn’t a staunch conservative either. What I do know about McConnell is that as the Senate Minority Leader, under what had to be intense political pressure, he was able to keep his party in line and not have one affirmative vote from the Republican Party for Obamacare. Under his leadership the Democratic Party owns the Affordable Care Act – again, it isn’t “Affordable,” it isn’t “Care,” it’s just an act.

If the voters in Kentucky, decide it is time for McConnell to retire, I don’t have a problem with that. My problem is with the “I would rather stay home and let the democrats win than vote for someone who only agrees with me 80% of the time” people. Those people kill me, and are idiots.

Even I, your humble narrator, have been accused of not being a “true conservative” because I failed the litmus test of not seeing the wisdom in the legalization of marijuana (spoiler alert: there is no wisdom in the legalization of drugs).

Demonizing your ideological opponents is a lot of fun, if you’re brave enough to do it, and has been the modus operandi since the beginning of time. Pointing out the dumbassery of the Democratic Party is something I’ve been accused of doing (I’m talking about the Party here – not individuals – so my “butt hurt” liberal friends, please take it down an octave.) Every Presidential election the Democrats start with around 246 out of the 270 electoral votes needed to win. The Democrats barely have to show up and BOOM 246 electoral votes. The Republicans have to work for everything else. To me it is almost funny the Democrats demonize Republicans at all. I understand why they do…but still. The sad truth is that the Republican Party needs new members, it needs converts. The Democratic Party doesn’t.

That’s why when, a month or so ago, Sarah Palin, whom I normally kinda dig, was banging the “Impeachment drum” I rolled my eyes. America is NEVER going to impeach Obama. Yes, he is grossly incompetent, arguably the Worst President EVER. That isn’t an impeachable offense. He may be guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors. Even if, America still isn’t going to do it. All banging that drum, or drums like it, does is give Democrats ammunition to fire toward the Low Information/Yahoo News reading voters.

I think the sainted Ronald Regan nailed it when, in March of 1975, he said:

“A political party cannot be all things to all people. It must represent certain fundamental beliefs which must not be compromised to political expediency, or simply to swell its numbers…

“I am impatient with those Republicans who after the last election rushed into print saying, “We must broaden the base of our party” – when what they meant was to fuzz up and blur even more the differences between ourselves and our opponents.

“Our people look for a cause to believe in. Is it a third party we need, or is it a new and revitalized second party, raising a banner of no pale pastels, but bold colors which make it unmistakably clear where we stand on all of the issues troubling the people?

“Let our banner proclaim our belief in a free market as the greatest provider for the people.

“Let us explore ways to ward off socialism, not by increasing government’s coercive power, but by increasing participation by the people in the ownership of our industrial machine.

“It is time to reassert our principles and raise them to full view.”

The problem is the Republicans don’t have the balls to do it. Well…that’s not entirely fair. They talk about limited central government, but they lack either the confidence or the ability to explain its benefits. They have bought into the Democrats’ core, condescending belief, that the world is just too darn complicated for you and me, the ordinary folks, to make our way through without bureaucratic instruction and hand holding.

Because the concepts and benefits of a limited government don’t fit on a bumper sticker we are left with a system that is going to implode. It’s not a question of “if,” it will implode, it’s a question of “when.” Everyone with half a brain stem knows it. But still, Republicans are too scared, or maybe too content, to advocate the dramatic change that could save us. Instead we are too busy cannibalizing ourselves. I’m not advocating the status quo. I want change. I think we, as a party, should have a robust debate, but then the primaries are over, be involved. VOTE. Even if you have to plug your nose to do it. Then we need to hold our elected leaders feet to the fire to ensure they do the right thing.

“Divide and conquer” maybe an effective strategy in war, but doesn’t work in a representative democracy.

LIFEZILLA: It’s the website our forefathers would have subscribed too. That is if our foremothers would have let them.

6 Comments

Posted in America, Elections, Government Over-reach, ObamaCare

Tagged Affordable Care Act, Congress, Democrats, Mitch McConnell, Obama, Obamacare, Republican Party, Ronald Regan, Sarah Palin, Tea party, Yahoo News

Global Boooooooring

Posted on March 17, 2014 by Danny Quinney | 5 comments

I haven’t even started writing this and I’m already bored to tears. This is going to cause me physical pain. It is so incredibly stupid. But…here goes.

For my real life job I work for a company that manufactures high quality accessories for cars and trucks. I’ve worked there for 23 years. Several years ago we were introducing a new widget at the big yearly trade show. Someone came up with the idea of making a big sign to go over the item that simply proclaimed “Product of the Year.” I witnessed a lot of traffic come into our booth to ask about the highlighted item. We were three days into a four day show before the first person asked, “Product of the year. According to who?” (He didn’t say “whom”.) I told him we took a poll in the office and we all agreed.

Back in February Secretary of State John Kerry said that climate change was the “world’s most fearsome” weapon of mass destruction, he went on to say, “the science of climate change is leaping out at us like a scene from a 3D movie. It’s warning us; it’s compelling us to act.”

Wow. “Leaping science” sounds kind of scary.

I don’t recommend it, but if you want to slip into a self induced coma you can read the speech here.

Then, more recently 30 Democratic senators spent the entire night having a “’talkathon‘” about climate change. Can you imagine anything more boring?

In John Kerry’s speech he said, “When 97 percent of scientists agree on anything, we need to listen, and we need to respond. Well, 97 percent of climate scientists have confirmed that climate change is happening and that human activity is responsible.” And then Democrat Senator, after Democrat Senator, after Democrat Senator repeated the same thing. “97%! 97%! 97%!” Some even upped it to 98% – which is even more.

First of all. Who cares what 97% of scientists think? I’m willing to bet 100% of the greatest thinkers at the time agreed the world was flat. Doesn’t make it so. And when, exactly, did science become “settled” through consensus? “We all agree so it must be true.” Really? Is that how it works now? In the olden days science was settled by a consistent series of observed results. If I drop this ball gravity is going to pull it down. My son once told me that “for fun” he figured out exactly how long it would take for a quarter to hit the ground from his desk. He calculated the trajectory and a few other fancy words and was able to predict with a high degree of accuracy how long it would take.

Cool, huh?

The reason there are no “gravity deniers” is because the science is settled. There is such a thing as gravity.

Now, because I remembered the “Product of the Year” experience and I know that anybody and do almost anything with numbers, I decided to do a little digging to find the source of the 97% mantra.

That 97% figure comes from a website, where a guy ran an analysis of 12,000 peer-reviewed papers, 97% of which claimed that humanity is having an impact on the climate.

Well. There you go. There’s your consensus. The science is settled. Humans are the dominant factor in climate change. Oh wait. Not true. The website acknowledges that 97% of the papers attribute some human impact; in truth less than 50% of those papers maintain that humans are the primary contributor of global warming.

Well okay, that’s not really a consensus, but it’s still damning.

Oh…but wait.

If asked, most people would say that a phrase like, “Less than 50%” would imply something in the 41-49% range. But no. It’s less than that.

How much less? I’ll give you a hint. If you guessed 65 papers out of the 12,000 reviewed, you would be right.

65. Out of 12,000.

Now, I’m no mathematician, but I can tell you with certainty that that is indeed less than fifty percent. Going out on a limb, I would say it is less than one percent. But still, every Al Gore tirade, every screaming news story, and every global warming alarmist demands that if you dare question the “settled science” you are to be boiled in oil – or disposed of in a more environmentally friendly way. Just as long as you lessen your carbon footprint.

While I’m on the subject, since when are there science “deniers?” I would have thought only religion has deniers, disbelievers, or heretics. The truth is this really doesn’t have anything to with science. Science is about evidence, plain and simple. It has nothing to do with belief or disbelief. In the olden days science was dependent upon skepticism. Without skepticism, you do not have science. Or am I wrong?

Unless you are completely ignorant of the facts (which is exactly how most liberals stay liberal) than I would say a consensus doesn’t exist. In fact I would say any time a politician says “the science is settled” the science is indeed not settled.

TO BE CONTINUED…? (If I can wake up after that)

LIFEZILLA: Me so ornery. Me loathe you long time.

5 Comments

Posted in America, Big Brother, Climate Change, Government Over-reach

Tagged Al Gore, Climate Change, John Kerry, science, Settled Science

You Got Married? That’s So Gay!

Posted on January 15, 2014 by Danny Quinney | 9 comments

So, as much as it kills me (and it does cause me physical pain) I’m going to throw in my two cents on this whole gay marriage thing that is happening in Utah.

If you don’t know, or if you have been living under a rock, on December 20, 2013 U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby ruled that the Utah state ban on gay marriage violated the U.S. Constitution.

If you’re new here (you may be the seventh person to find this) I have already brilliantly written my take on gay marriage before, you can find it here.

I’ll try to keep this fresh.

Our founding fathers were obsessed with the separation of powers. They didn’t want the federal government to grow out of control, and so they set up checks and balances. They did recognize there were certain things the federal government needed to be in charge of: making money, immigration, declaring war, you know…stuff like that. To help ensure the restriction on the growth of the federal government they gave us the 10th amendment. It reads:

“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

In other words, any issue not specifically mentioned in the Constitution for the federal government to have dominion over (for lack of a better word) is up to the states to decide.

Let me illustrate an example of the federal government overreaching its authority. Let’s say there is a small, random state of roughly 3 million people. The people of the state don’t want to have fluoride added to the water. They don’t care if other states put fluoride in theirs, it just isn’t for them. They vote and add it to their states constitution that they are a “No fluoride in the water” state. Sixty-six percent of the voters come out in favor of this resolution. BUT…there are a few dentists in the state who disagree with the will of the people. “How can the state not want fluoride?” they argue. “There is no evidence that it hurts anyone.” So they sue, and find a federal judge who interprets the “everlasting gobstopper clause” of the US constitution as saying the will of the people is wrong. And so the state district attorney immediately starts pouring fluoride in drinking water.

That is exactly what happened with gay marriage in Utah.

“But Danny,” you whine, “not everyone is Utah voted on that amendment, what about the will of the people who didn’t vote?” This is going to sound super harsh to my butt-hurt liberal friends, but if they didn’t vote, their opinion doesn’t mean squat.

Quick side note: Is it just me, or does “LGBT” sounds too much like a sandwich?

“But Danny,” you whine even louder, “didn’t the Supreme Court knock down DOMA, thus opening the door to this kind of thing?” (DOMA is the “Defense of Marriage Act – signed by Bill Clinton which defined marriage as between a man and a woman). Hmmm….not really. Basically the repeal of DOMA showed that the Supreme Court recognized that defining marriage wasn’t the federal government’s place, that put definition of marriage back to the state.

And later, the same year part of DOMA was repealed, Shelby, the judge from a lower court, said the state couldn’t define it either.

I’ve read quite of bit about gay marriage. I’ve read the arguments for, and I’ve read the arguments against. I’ve even read articles where the writer uses copious amounts of inordinately profuse, abstruse, and perplexing vocabulary. When reading these articles I always think, “Whatever, dude, what-ev-er (or dudette if you are one.)” In my mind very few people get it, on either side of the issue.

It’s sad. There are faces involved. The roughly 1,400 same-sex couples who were married in Utah are in limbo. Are they married or not? These people are being used as pawns. I know my butt-hurt liberal friends are going to howl at that phrase, but it’s true. They are being used as pawns. The district attorney who authorized the county clerks to issue gay marriage license knew this was going to happen.

In my little brain the real issue here isn’t gay marriage. That is just the face of it. The real issue is States’ Rights. Sadly, most people (in this case those in favor of the judges ruling on gay marriage) aren’t looking at the big picture. They either don’t get–or they don’t care–that you can’t pick up one side of a stick. They have an issue and if one activist federal judge can overrule the will of the people, to them, the end justifies the means.

To me that is wrong. Good ends should come about from good means.

Think about it. We live in a representative democracy. Generally speaking if a law is made from the elected legislators we, the people, are accepting of it. Almost all of the most decisive issues in the country are brought about judicially.

Whatever your opinion on gay marriage, for it or against it, it should be the voice of the people who decides. We don’t live in an aristocracy, where the smart people tell the stupid how to live. In the United States, judges don’t have the right, and should stop trying, to invent laws.

LIFEZILLA: Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice…you probably have boobs.

9 Comments

Posted in America, Big Brother, Government Over-reach, Social Issues

Tagged Constitution, DOMA, Federal Judges, Founding Fathers, Gay Marriage, LGBT, Separation of Power, States Rights, Supreme Court

Ohhhh….He Misspoke!!!

Posted on November 14, 2013 by Danny Quinney | 1 comment

So last week I was in Las Vegas for a trade show. It is always fun to see my customers and co-workers who live in other states. But if I’m being completely honest, there is an aspect of trade shows that give me the heebeegeebees. As much as I hate to admit it, I’m not a huge fan of shaking hands. I don’t mind it so much, as long as I have my 55 gallon vat of hand sanitizer within arms length. But when you see someone walking toward you, inappropriately scratch themselves, cough into their hand, pick something out of their teeth, make sure their cold sore is still attached, and then extend their paw for you to shake…ewwwwww …gross. As a professional I, of course, take the germ infested appendage. You wouldn’t be able to tell from my calm, cool demeanor on the outside, but know on the inside I’m screaming like a ten year old girl, and diving head first into my large “Tub O’ sanitizer.” Whenever I’m at a restaurant and see the signs in the restroom that proudly display “Employee’s must wash hands before returning to work,” I’m always tempted to write underneath it, “If an employee is unavailable please feel free to wash your own.”

Anyways. A lot happened when I was out of town. In years past I would have had a laptop with me and could have ranted, this year I had my phone with me and didn’t want to give my thumbs this much of a work out.

Last week the New York Times printed an editorial that defended Obama’s “you can keep your insurance” line by saying “Mr. Obama clearly misspoke when he said that.” Isn’t that cute of the New York Times? He merely “misspoke.” Misspoke like 40 times. This week the New York Times is calling it an “Incorrect promise.” (Eye roll) Honestly, things like that make me wish I was born with more middle fingers. I guess President Obama also misspoke when he said you would be able to keep your doctors, that premiums would be less, that families would save $2500/year, that only 5% are affected by the new health care law, and of course, you can easily enroll by phone in 25 minutes. He probably also “misspoke” when he talked about transparency, no middle-class tax hikes, shovel ready jobs, 5 million green tech jobs, “you didn’t build that,” the private sector doing fine, and about Benghazi being caused by a video. Then of course there is the Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius? Did she “misspeak” when she assured us the website would be ready, that it shut down due to heavy traffic, that it is secure, that she didn’t know the enrollment numbers, and my personal favorite, that enrolling herself in Obamacare is illegal? Naaaaa…I doubt it. It’s probably just “Bad Apple insurance companies” who are screwing up the country.

“Misspoke”. It would be kinda cute if it wasn’t destroying our nation. I remember when it was called LYING.

In the recent Parade Magazine former president Jimmy Carter said, “His major accomplishment was Obamacare, and the implementation of it now is questionable at best.” Just last month he said: “Compared to when I left the White House, the difference is twice as great as it was between the richest people and the poorest people. And the middle class has now become more like poor people than they were 30 years ago.” Jimmy said that. Carter, who up to this point was the most disastrous president in the last half century. Under Carter’s economy the labor participation rate hit a rock bottom 63.4%. But even this is better than the current rate of 63.2%. The lowest it’s been in 35 years. Under President Obama, a record 90 million Americans now eligible to work are jobless.

Now even Bill Clinton is saying the Health Care Law Should Be Changed To Allow People To Keep Their Plans. With Clinton now speaking out against it, watch how fast other Democrats distance themselves from it. Hey, where was Clinton in 2010 when Senate Democrats unanimously rejected a Republican resolution that would have grandfathered people from losing the insurance they like? Currently the talking point is “only 5%” will be losing their insurance (5% of the population is over 16 million people), and that doesn’t include the mind-blowing 93 million the HHS estimates will lose their insurance after the employer mandate kicks in.

Hmmmmm…It seem like it was just last month that people who wanted to delay or change Obamacare were called “legislative arsonists” and “terrorists” who were “holding the country hostage.” This month… they’re called Democrats.

LIFEZILLA: A funny thing happened on the way to my potential…..

1 Comment

Posted in America, Government Over-reach, ObamaCare

Tagged ACA, Health and Human Services, HHS, Las Vegas, New York Times, Obamacare, President Obama

Obama – Worst President EVER

Posted on October 18, 2013 by Danny Quinney | 10 comments

I really like having a website. It is a lot of fun. I especially like watching it grow. On “the back side” I can see how many people have read an article and often where the lead came from. Every time I get a new subscriber I take a slow sip of my cocoa, tent my fingers together and whisper “excellent.”

I love the comment sections. In the (almost) two years Lifezilla has been in existence I have allowed commenters to comment. “Commenters gotta comment, haters gotta hate, murders gotta murd” – I always say. I have to approve a persons first comment, after that I have it set up to approve automatically. I have a rule that I don’t reply to comments. Well…it’s really more of a guideline than a rule; I have replied a couple of times. I figure I said my peace in the article and if I have more to say I’ll write a new one.

Yesterday I received a comment that suggested any opposition to Obama could only be explained by “deep-seated racism.”

It was all I could do to not spew my cookies. I didn’t approve the comment.

The fact that Obama’s presidency isn’t only a failure but a colossal failure isn’t even really in dispute anymore. But, as a country we looked at his first term with record unemployment, no economic growth, metastasizing government, and of course, exploding debt and said, “Oh yeah! Sign me up for more of that.”

Now granted, the economy was in the crapper when Obama became President. Wouldn’t it be so funny if some people blamed George W. Bush for the recent government shut down?

Oh wait. They do!!!!

The saddest thing about that video is that their vote counts the same as mine.

Now because I have liberal friends who get all butt-hurt if I generalize anything, I’m going to concede that sooooomewhere in the 300 million plus people in America there is proooooobably one person or two who miiiiiight believe Obama sucks as a president because of the color of his skin.

The saddest thing about that is their vote counts the same as mine.

No. He is a failure as a president for real reasons (normally I would have links to all the following stories, but I’m too lazy today. You can Google them if you’re interested):

1- Obama is on pace to double the Federal debt in the 8 years of his presidency.

2- The U.S. has fallen in global competitiveness rankings every year.

3- Food stamp recipients up 50%.

4- A record number of Americans on disability (up 20%).

5- Median household income has gone down every year.

6- A record poverty rate of 16.1%

7- Gas prices have doubled.

8- Labor participation rate is at a 35-year low.

9- 7/8 of all “New jobs” are part-time (thanks Obamacare).

10- In 2009 the average duration of people collecting unemployment was 19.8 weeks, today it is 36.6 weeks.

11- Health insurance premiums and deductibles are skyrocketing.

12- In 2008 the Federal Reserve held $476 billion in U.S. bonds, today it holds more than $2 trillion.

13- 76% of Americans are now living paycheck to paycheck.

14- Student loan debt has more than doubled, now it is over $1 trillion.

15- In 2009 the U.S. debt to GDP ratio was under 70%, now it is over a 100%.

16- Not completely finished destroying the U.S. economy, President Obama announced the other day, October 16th, his plans to quickly move on to amnesty.

17- I could go on, but I’m getting bored.

“But Danny,” you whine, “you can’t blame all that on one man!!” Umm…Ya I can. It’s called LEADERSHIP, something that has been missing in Washington for five years. If the last white president, George W. Bush had a track record like that on even one of these things – not to mention the IRS targeting of the president’s enemies, or the disgrace of Benghazi, or the massive expansion of government spying – he would be metaphorically eviscerated by the people now defending Obama (for my butt-hurt liberal friends, the word “metaphorically” is a fancy way of saying they wouldn’t literally disembowel the former president.) No. All these things are just symptoms of Republicans who “want to impeach Obama for the crime of being president while black.”

Stupid.

Speaking of stupid. How about that debt ceiling debate, huh? The Democrats are calling it a major victory. It’s a pyrrhic victory at best (for my butt-hurt liberal friends “pyrrhic” is a fancy word for a victory at a huge cost.) What it really cost the American people is a precedent that the executive branch can amend law without Congressional approval. What could possibly go wrong with that?!?!?!?!?

This quote is a little bit out of context, but just a little bit. It’s about the 2^nd amendment, but the spirit is on topic.

“When dictators come to power, the first thing they do is take away the people’s weapons…I do not believe that [our nation’s leaders] have any desire to impose a dictatorship upon us. But this does not mean that such will always be the case. A nation rent internally, as ours has been in recent years, is always ripe for a ‘man on a white horse.’ A deterrent to that man, or to any man seeking unlawful power, is the knowledge that those who oppose him are not helpless.” – Ronald Reagan

That’s what drives me crazy about the left. To them history starts the moment they wake up. They don’t have the memory past yesterday or the foresight past tomorrow. Just because today’s leaders may not be tyrants doesn’t mean tomorrows won’t be (for my butt-hurt liberal friends – that was a generalization. I may not be talking about you.)

LIFEZILLA: Be careful what you bitch for

10 Comments

Posted in 2nd Amendment, America, Government Over-reach, Gun Control, Immigration, ObamaCare, Welfare

Tagged Amnesty, Debt Ceiling, Disability, GDP, Obama, Obamacare, Racism

Wake Up (It’s 1984)

Posted on June 13, 2013 by Danny Quinney | 3 comments

When I, your humble writer was a mere, wee little (early teenage) lad, a friend introduced me to what would become one of my all time favorite bands.

Oingo Boingo.

I just gotta say, Oingo Boingo’s lead singer/song writer Danny Elfman is BRILLIANT. Since the 1980’s he has composed the scores of countless movies and television shows. Truly a talented, talented man.

It’s the song “Wake Up (It’s 1984)” that I want to talk about today.

If you are not familiar with the song, here is a link to a Youtube video. (This isn’t the official music video.)

Imagine a young Danny dancing in his room wearing nothing but his red BVD’s to this song (to this day doing “Jazz hands” just makes me look gay).

Just for fun here is a list of some fairly recent headlines:

USA Today – “Tea Party Groups Detail ‘harassment’ by IRS”
The Hill – “Complaints of IRS Targeting by Religious Groups on the rise”
Huffington Post – “DOJ Seized Fox News Phone Records”
Mediaite – “AP CEO: Justice Department Seized ‘Thousands & Thousands’ Of Phone Call Records”
Washington Times – “IRS Sued for Seizing 60 Million Medical Records”
CBS DC – “Dept. of Homeland Security: Laptops, Phones Can Be Searched Based on Hunches”
And then, of course, the latest:
The Guardian – “NSA Collecting Phone Records of Millions of Verizon Customers Daily”

It has gotten to the point where even Al Gore is calling it obscene. Wake Up (It’s 1984).

I want to say this again. AL (Jazeera) GORE has a problem with this. Al Gore, a man who would, conceivably, drive over a corpse to get a better parking space has a problem with this.

Wake up (It’s 1984)!

Well…not yet.

What cracks me up is the left’s response to these latest “scandals” (or, if the allegations that some emails may be monitored by intelligence agencies is true, we can change the word “scandals” to “Felons”). With a few notable exceptions, like Al (Jazeera) Gore, most of the left is giving the president a pass, or they blame George Bush (honestly, how can anyone still blame George Bush for anything and keep a straight face?). Ron Fournier of the National Journal said, “Welcome to the era of Bush-Obama, a 16-year span of U.S. history that will be remembered for an unprecedented erosion of civil liberties and a disregard for transparency.”

Yeah, Ron, that is cute and everything. But I just ain’t totally buying it.

In the first place if Bush had collected every phone call from one of the largest cell providers in the nation, we would STILL be hearing the screams from the left and he would have been thrown out of office. Bush’s surveillance program was actually limited and only monitored foreign phone calls. But somehow Obama gets a pass because his surveillance is a “logical extension” of the Bush policy, when in reality it is a HUGE escalation. Does anyone remember the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth we endured when it was reported the Patriot Act gave the Department of Homeland Security the right to see what library books you checked out?

Library books. It’s kinda cute.

Now, I don’t think it’s the governments business what my kids or I check out from the library, but when you compare that to the Obama administration gathering information and monitoring traffic on major websites like Facebook and Google, it ain’t really the same thing. And yet he gets a pass.

The double standard here is staggering.

Take a minute to check out this video: (I can’t embed it for some reason)

Did you watch it? The hypocrisy is overwhelming.

And still I’m not living in fear … yet. Why? Well, my personal ratio of library to Google searches is about 1 to 10,000. Roughly 98% of all my Google searches are to help me “speeel wrods I don’t no.” You take me and times 300 million other Americans – and you’re talking about a lot of data. For the majority of Americans, I doubt anyone would ever really lay eyes on it. But there is that creepy guy I knew in high school who works for the NSA … hmmm?

I have two issues. The first is the definition of words. Words mean things. Depending on what side of the desk you’re on, you are either a freedom fighter, or a terrorist. I know what a terrorist is today, but what will it be tomorrow? The other issue is the “slippery slope” that this is. Where will this lead? We went from monitoring library books to monitoring Google and Facebook. That’s a big ass slippery slope. What’s next?

Gratefully, the American people are aware and the majority of them still get that freedom is a fragile thing. The ACLU is even suing the Obama administration over the NSA surveillance. That’s right. The ACLU is actually concerned over the erosion of our American Civil Liberties. That’s like the first three letters in their name. Hopefully with the outrage the American people have with the program it will be scaled back. If not, I guess if we don’t want the government listening to our calls we can exchange our phones for two big red Solo cups and a REALLLLLLLY LOOOOONG string.

I have to admit, with all the HUGE problems looming on the horizon – high unemployment, entitlement bankruptcy, the implosion of Obamacare, economic stagnation, and granting amnesty before closing the border – having a government computer looking for patterns in over a gazillion phone calls (if that is all it is) bugs me. But it’s not 1984.

Yet.

LIFEZILLA: I never follow my own advise. What do I look like, an idiot?

3 Comments

Posted in America, Big Brother, Government Over-reach, Immigration, Social Issues

Tagged 1984, ACLU, Al Gore, Big Brother, George Bush, Google+, NSA, Obamacare, Oingo Boingo, Verizon

You Didn’t Earn That: Minimum Wage

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Danny Quinney | 8 comments

You Didn’t Earn That: Minimum Wage

The Misses and I have used “Dish Network” for several years. We have always been happy with their service. A week or so ago we were watching a recorded show when the screen froze. LOOOONG story short we needed a new receiver. Because I called after hours on a Friday night, the replacement wouldn’t ship until Monday and we wouldn’t receive it until Wednesday. That’s right, almost a whole week without TV. BLUH!! It was HORRIBLE. We actually had to resort to talking to each other like cavemen…er…cavepeople (sorry). I don’t recommend it to AN-KNEE-ONE.

Because we didn’t have the means, I was unable to watch the President’s State of the Union Address. This simultaneously both irritated and thrilled me. I had all kinds of intentions of watching the speech the next day, but didn’t, and I haven’t yet. All I know is he talked about minimum wage, education and immigration (shocker). These three things are the trifecta of Democrat dumbassery. Hold on. That’s not entirely fair. They are the trifecta of Republican dumbassery as well, but for completely different reasons.

Democrats only have a few really good cards in their deck. “Caring” and “For the Children” are their favorites. The other most used is “Warmongering, racist jerk.”

Republicans, on the other hand, have the challenge to explain complex issues into a sound bite, which they know will never be played on Network Television. And you can’t explain a complex issue on a bumper-sticker. So Republicans are pretty much outta luck.

So even though it will bore me to tears, I’m going to TRY to get my thoughts down about these three issues. I’ll start with Minimum wage.

If you don’t know, the President wants to raise the national minimum wage to $9.00 an hour.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

I can see the President wanting to do it is for only two reasons. The first is that it appeals to his base. He gets to look like a knight in shining armor, swooping in to help the poor (for those who think it all the way through he looks more like an idiot in tinfoil). The second reason is, it demonizes the Republicans. They would look like a bunch of heartless meanies for not wanting to help. If they don’t cave, like they normally do on this issue, the President can sob, saying the Republicans just oppose raising the wage because HE suggested it (see racism).

It’s a win/win for him.

The fact of the matter is most Americans make well above $9.00 an hour. So the issue is about other people. It is super easy to get behind it. “It doesn’t affect ME at all.” So, as a country, we tune it out, go back to watching “Dancing with the Stars” and don’t think about the logic behind the regulation. It is easier to bow to the social pressure. After all, we don’t want to come across as uncaring. Right?

So if it is a small, small percentage of Americans who make minimum wage, and everyone knows if you work hard you can demand more than minimum wage, is the extra $1.75/hr going to help the country as a whole?

I guess that’s my question. Why just nine bucks? It seems almost silly. Sure it’s a 24% increase, but in the real world it’s a buck 75.

Quick hypnotical: what would happen if Republicans demanded a substantial minimum wage? Why $9.00/hr – which will help a very few – when you could raise it to $50.00/hr which will help a whole ton of people? Sure, in a few weeks a loaf of bread would go from $3.50 (for a decent loaf) to $25.00, but at least we’ll be spreading the wealth around. Right?

My guess is the Democrats would backpedal. They know it would kill the economy quickly. They prefer to kill it slowly, so they won’t get the blame.

Most employers (all of them) go into business to make money. The more profit they make, the more goods or services they provide, the more people they hire, etc, etc. When faced with a payroll hike they have one of four options: 1) Raise the rates to the new minimum, 2) Let employees go, 3) Downsize their jobs (employing them for fewer hours), or 4) Raise the prices on their goods or services and hope people will still use them. If you think about it, the forth option is really a hidden tax.

Most employers will do one of the four and then invest in goods to make labor more productive, so they can hire fewer people down the road, or shift their production overseas. The effect on employment is still there, it just isn’t “in your face.”

It will never happen, but imagine if Republicans grew a pair and ‘upped the ante’- if they demanded a substantial raise. At least it would force the country to have a grown-up conversation about it.

At the risk of sounding heartless, the sad truth is if an employee is worth more than $7.25 an hour and they are not being paid more, it is up to them to find work somewhere else. If they can’t find it, they are probably only worth $7.25. Having the government dictate that the employer pay $9.00 for $7.25 worth of work not only creates high unemployment for teens and unskilled workers, it is also intellectually dishonest. If someone is having a hard time understanding this, have them explain why we shouldn’t raise the minimum wage to $50 an hour.

LIFEZILLA: Not entirely sure what a “Propriate” is, but apparently I’m sometimes in it.

8 Comments

Posted in America, Government Over-reach

Tagged Democrats, Dish Network, Education, immigration reform, Minimum wage, Republican, State of the Union

Get Your Nose Outta My Packed Lunch!!!

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Danny Quinney | Comments Off

Get Your Nose Outta My Packed Lunch!!!

Earlier this week I heard about an incident in Raeford, North Carolina. Apparently a state worker was checking lunches of elementary school students to make sure they met the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidelines for nutrition. This unidentified state worker conveyed to a student her lunch, packed by her mother was, according to the story, “not nutritious and did not meet U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines…Instead, the child’s lunch of a turkey and cheese sandwich, banana, potato chips, and apple juice was allegedly replaced with school cafeteria chicken nuggets. The student also brought home a bill for the cost of the school lunch she had to eat instead.”

Let me tell you. I wasn’t born with enough middle fingers to express how I feel about this story. This is wrong on SOOOOOO many levels.

Now, to be fair, this is the other side of the story: “Assistant Superintendent Bob Barnes said the official didn’t tell the child she had to replace her lunch with chicken nuggets. Instead, they told her she had to go through the line and get some milk – per federal guidelines – and she misunderstood and replaced her entire lunch.

“I think that the child became confused about what she had to do. I think the child, instead of going over and picking up the milk, I think the child, for whatever reason, thought she had to go through the line and get a school meal which, that’s not our policy,” said Barnes.

I wasn’t there, but I have are REAAAAAALY hard time believing a kid would get, “go get some milk”, confused with, “Don’t eat that, take it home, and go eat some of those crappy chicken nuggets.” But that’s just me.

I’ll concede the child may have been confused. That still doesn’t excuse any representative from the government looking into a child’s lunch box. What I, as a parent, choose to feed my family is MY business. No one else’s. The only concern a school should have regarding food guidelines should be on the meals provided to the students from them. Period. What if the child has a food allergy? What if they required a Kosher meal? Apparently it doesn’t matter. There are federal guidelines.

Congress members Larry Kissell and Renee Elmers penned a letter to Tom Vilsack, the U.S. Agriculture Department Secretary. (Read the letter here.) In the letter they state, “This unfortunate and absolutely unnecessary event exemplifies the very definition of ‘government over reach’ and further perpetuates a growing reason of why the American people continue to hold less and less faith in our government.” They went on to say it was a waste of money and an embarrassment to North Carolina schools.

No kidding.

A few years ago I was reading “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand (a ridiculously long book, but one of the most thought provoking books I have ever read.) She said, “There’s no way to rule innocent men. The only power government has is the power to crack down on criminals. When there aren’t enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.”

I can’t think of anyone more innocent than children.

Comments Off on Get Your Nose Outta My Packed Lunch!!!

Posted in Government Over-reach

Tagged Government over-reach, School lunch