Schumer’s Victory Dance

Sen. Chuck Schumer gleefully said on the Senate floor that “illegal immigration will be a thing of the past” once his immigration bill is passed. Where, exactly, is the pride in solving an illegal act by making it legal? Is that the best we can do? Apparently, it is, and it is one more sign of our escalating decline.

There is little doubt that if Schumer’s “solution” is put into place, border crossings will increase by those seeking the amnesty Schumer is eager to offer. Crossings are already rising in Texas. Schumer’s promise of securing the border later is as meaningful as “you can keep the health insurance you have”. Our government has a long history of reneging on promises and cutting funds.

When society stigmatized divorce, we made divorce easily obtainable. Today, 50% of marriages end in divorce and the family unit is crumbling. When illegal alcohol spurred out-of-control organized crime, we made alcohol legal again and organized crime flooded the country with drugs. We “solved” illegal gambling by making it legal through casinos and membership in Gambling Anonymous is steadily rising. When teen pregnancies increased, we handed out condoms in elementary schools and began actively encouraging their frequent use, resulting in a single motherhood epidemic. We “solved” the problem of dangerous back-alley abortions by making abortion legal, resulting in more and more abortions that have gone so far as murder outside the womb.

There is a pattern here. Society and our “leaders” are solving difficult problems with easy fixes and no forethought to consequences. The current easy fix being generated for our runaway drug problem is to make drugs legal. Does anyone really believe flooding the free market with legal, dangerous drugs (and that will surely be a result) will curtail their usage?

Chuck Schumer’s victory dance is not only premature, it is ridiculous. Amnesty, especially before securing the border, is a politically expedient fix for a difficult problem that will cause more problems. Obamacare is a perfect example of a hasty, politically expedient fix resulting in a nightmare.

When will we ever learn?

David J. Hentosh

Ignoring the Law

Obama’s directives for the non-enforcement of immigration laws legitimized disrespect for the law. His continuing skirting of rules, laws, and regulations with executive orders and political maneuvering has displayed an arrogant disregard for the rule of law and has been a top-down example many are following.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano emulated Obama and blatantly ignored the law by issuing a memo offering a deferred action and employment authorization to illegal aliens which was part of the Dream Act that Congress refused to pass.

Deportation of non-citizens who commit crimes has been ignored under the current push for amnesty for all. This type of non-legal amnesty is being expanded and enforced more than current immigration laws, putting society at risk. Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the dead terrorist who bombed the Boston marathon, is the latest example of someone who should have been deported (having been convicted of domestic violence) but was not.

The Northern District of Illinois has the lowest firearm prosecution rate of all federal court districts while Chicago, residing in that district, has one of the highest rates of gun-related murders. The cry for more gun laws continues, but current gun laws are not being enforced. They are being ignored.

In Denver, a publically announced and planned rally celebrating marijuana, which is still illegal to smoke in public, was held. Allowing (and ignoring) 80,000 people to openly break the law is a slap in the face to the rule of law. What signal does this send to our children? How can respect for the law survive?

Laws are to be followed, enforced, altered, or removed, but they should never be ignored. Judges may have discretionary powers when enforcing the law, but they have no right to ignore laws or make up new ones; nor does the president. Unfortunately, the example has been set and consequences are sure to come. Don’t be surprised when the hit.

David J. Hentosh

Putting the Cat Back in the Bag

Once the proverbial cat is out of the bag, it is next to impossible to get it back in. So it has been with laws. Once on the books, it has been very, very hard to get a law repealed unless, that is, repeal dovetails with the progressive agenda.

Colorado is set to erase the crime of adultery from its books in order to “keep the government out of people’s bedrooms” and because the law is “archaic”. It seems we are to ignore that the government has already been in our bedrooms forcing health insurers to pay for abortions and provide free contraception. As long as the government is watering-down morality, bedroom intrusion is acceptable.

The traditional family unit is no longer considered as important as self-gratification. Adultery, divorce, abortion, out-of-wedlock pregnancy, and open marriage have not only become acceptable, they are often being advocated. An entire generation has been raised with a low regard for the family unit and are left with no cornerstone for building the future.

Obamacare was passed hastily in order to satisfy Obama’s personal desire for universal health care. He did not read or understand the bill beforehand and didn’t care how damaging it could be as long as it was passed. Unfortunately, it will now be very difficult to get any of it changed or repealed. The common good was neglected in order to benefit 10% of the population – and there is no going back.

Gun control and immigration reform are the current cats being let out of the bag. Both require a serious and impartial analysis of consequences, but both will be handled by knee-jerk, emotional legislation instead. Years from now, there will be a lot of consternation as legislators try to repeal thE soon-to-be hastily passed laws. They will chase those cats for a long time but they will never get them back in the bag.

David J. Hentosh

Emotional Legislation

When rules, regulations, or laws are driven by emotions or idealism, very little thought is given to consequences. An emotional rush to enact legislation always results in something different than what was intended, causing more problems.

Denver is facing unintended consequences from Colorado’s recent Amendment 64 that legalized marijuana and is now considering opting out of that amendment. Some city council members say voters intended only to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana, not to have pot stores in their neighborhoods. The police chief says there are a lot of safety issues involved and that crimes, such as burglaries, have increased since Amendment 64 passed. Imagine that.

The marijuana issue has become an emotional and political football, confusing legalization with decriminalization. That confusion, a deliberate tactic on the part of marijuana advocates, helped get Amendment 64 passed. Buyer’s remorse is already setting in, but it could have been prevented had voters and legislators been more observant and less emotional.

They should have looked at Los Angeles where marijuana dispensaries now outnumber Starbucks. California has been trying, and failing, to regulate medicinal marijuana which has been legal in the state since 1996. This out-of-control situation provides a lesson for other states, but emotional, feel-good legislation is deaf, dumb, and blind.

Current emotions are running high on gun control, with wingnuts on both sides of the aisle taking untenable stances and refusing compromise. The same can be said concerning comprehensive immigration reform where “reform” has become synonymous with “amnesty”, making the issue impossible to discuss rationally.

We are currently experiencing many negative, unintended consequences from Obamacare, an emotionally charged bill forced through Congress by an idealistic president. This, too, was legislated while ignoring lessons from European countries struggling to sustain liberal health care policies. Good intentions need rational analysis, not knee-jerk reactions.

President Obama’s fomenting of class warfare along with his myopic focus on social issues uses emotions for political gain. As long as emotions rule politics, resulting legislation will just be another burden passed onto the next generation. It is our responsibility to think before acting and elect leaders who do the same.

David J. Hentosh

Obama’s State of Denial Address

President Obama once again delivered a campaign speech disguised as a State of the Union address. Obama is good with rhetoric that stirs emotions while denying reality, so those who succumb to such gibberish will be ecstatic. Those who are not in denial will be frightened by the direction this president is taking.

Obama’s denial of his administration’s failure to improve job growth was evident in his calling for a higher minimum wage. If there are no jobs available at a minimum rate of $7.25 an hour, how would raising it to $9.00 help create more? It wouldn’t, and many experts have warned against such an increase at this time, especially since it could result in jobs being exported to China.

Obama further denied the job crisis and threw out another emotional bone to hungry believers by stressing a college education. The unemployment lines are full of college graduates unable to find jobs, so the primary emphasis needs to be on the economy and job growth. Talking of college educations certainly plucks parents’ heart strings, Obama’s intent; but it hides his administration’s failure to improve the job market and reduce unemployment.

Obama declared Al Qaeda to be a “shadow of its former self”, denying Al Qaeda’s continued successful attacks around the globe. Declaring Al Qaeda defeated doesn’t make it so, but it rationalizes bringing troops home so he can cut the defense budget. Obama only cares about his social programs and cutting the defense budget will help him finance those programs. Pretending Iran and North Korea are of little threat also helps him in that endeavor.

In Obama’s eyes, everything is going well because he is, by hook or by crook, finding a way to get everything he wants. Consequences are meaningless to one convinced of superior intelligence, especially when duped voters and a highly invested media ignore accountability.  His “green” agenda has been a costly disaster, but that bandwagon is still full and rolling.

Inadvertently, the president did touch on reality in his speech at one point when he said his spending proposals would not increase the deficit by “a single dime”. They will increase the deficit by billions of dimes and saddle future generations with the bill, higher taxes, and programs they will no longer be able to afford. On the brighter side, fast food joints will end up with the most educated employees of any industry – as long as Michelle doesn’t find a way of eliminating fast food.

David J. Hentosh

Obama’s Fiscal Fallacy

President Obama continues to demand that the debt ceiling be raised, inferring that the nation’s bills will not be paid unless that ceiling is raised. His framing of economic issues skirts the truth and is done in such a way as to make him look like a rational and knowledgeable expert. The reality is that he is no expert; He is the problem.

Forty cents out of every dollar spent by the federal government is borrowed money and raising the debt ceiling only allows the government to borrow more money. It will not help reduce the debt or reduce the forty cents on the dollar borrowed. It will only help Obama increase entitlement spending to meet his personal, ideologically driven goals – by borrowing more money.

Obama has shown that the poor economy, high unemployment, and the enormous debt take a back seat to his personal ideology. This is why he fails to meet the legal requirement of submitting a budget by the first Monday in February. He has done that only once and will fail to do so again this year. In fact, he has failed to meet that requirement more than any previous president. It is not a priority on his agenda and legal requirements mean little to him.

Obama continually uses the blind faith many have in him, telling believers what they want to hear and spinning everything his way. It is the reason he was re-elected with an economy doing as poorly as it is and unemployment at such a high level. He uses rhetoric to solve economic problems in the minds of his followers while running up the tab fulfilling his personal agenda.

With no future re-election to hamper him, Obama’s arrogance is increasing as fast as the debt. His fiscal policies have been a farce and he is now aiming to ram through legislation on guns and immigration – through the back door. The bill for all of this will have to be paid eventually but by then he will be gone, leaving behind a costly and “fundamentally transformed” America for our children.

David J. Hentosh

Obama’s Tax Charade

In his New Year message, president Obama made the claim that a middle class tax hike was prevented with the recent “fiscal cliff” agreement. He further stated that his priority has been to prevent a tax hike on 98% of all Americans in 2013 and that this agreement does that.

While it is true that expiration of the Bush tax cuts for 98% of Americans was prevented, the Social Security payroll tax holiday which was enacted in 2010 is going to expire, effectively raising taxes for most wage earners. This is a tax hike on the middle class that Obama pretends isn’t happening, amounting to a mean tax increase of approximately $1635 for 77% of Americans.

Obama’s class warfare succeeded in getting him re-elected and raising taxes on the rich, but the middle class he pretends to champion is now experiencing collateral damage from his war. Taxes, spending, and the deficit are rising and the middle class will have to pay for it for a long, long time. Meanwhile, the rich will continue to live well protecting their assets and some may leave the country to avoid Obama’s foolish attack.

Obama blows smoke and far too many inhale it willingly. He has previously stated that the last thing the middle class needs in this struggling economy is a tax increase, yet, his policies continue to raise taxes. Obamacare already increased health insurance premiums and taxes will have to increase to pay for it. Taxing the rich cannot possibly pay for all the entitlement programs Obama refuses to reduce – and he knows that. He just keeps it hidden with smoky rhetoric.

One can say that the American people deserve to be tricked and taxed because they elected the “leaders” doing it, but what of our children? They are going to be saddled with the cost of this charade for the rest of their lives. They don’t deserve to pay the consequences of poor decisions that elected such leadership. Even the rich kids don’t deserve this.

David J. Hentosh

Kennedy’s Delusion

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. epitomizes how blind and delusional progressive liberals can be. During a discussion on HuffPost Live, he asserted that the two biggest problems in American politics are: the influence of big money and “the right-wing control of the American media.”

Focusing on FOX news, Kennedy complained saying: “It’s divided our country in a way that we haven’t been divided probably since the Civil War”. He also lamented that Republicans “are the only ones that have their own (TV) network”.

Considering that Obama and liberals have deliberately split the country with class warfare and have actively promoted an “us-against-them” atmosphere, Kennedy’s remarks are laughable. Continual attacks from the left on the integrity, patriotism, and decency of Republicans, along with allegations of racism, for disagreeing with the liberal agenda have increased partisanship and deepened animosity in the public.

Obama and the left manipulated public opinion and transferred blame for everything from Bush onto the rich, intentionally pitting the “have-nots” against the “haves”, poisoning the American Dream in the process. Obama’s “my way or the highway” governing has killed compromise in Washington and all blame for inaction of Congress is attributed to demonized Republicans.

The liberal mainstream media and network TV overwhelmingly backs the administration with a bias that has become blatant. FOX News, the only place one can hear both sides of an issue, is a threat to liberals such as Kennedy and hated for giving opposing views a voice. The increasing popularity of FOX undermines the liberal campaign to monopolize the news and public opinion.

Railing against the ‘influence of big money’ from a member of the wealthy and influential Kennedy clan is priceless. It mirrors Obama’s feigned distaste of the rich as he unabashedly elicits their approval, partnership, and money – while emulating their lifestyle.

Kennedy is so full of himself and his agenda that there is no room for reality. Unfortunately, Obama’s re-election has convinced many like Kennedy that the liberal agenda is the only American accepted agenda. This delusion drives a blinding distortion of reality and Kennedy highlighted that delusion well.

David J. Hentosh

Kathy Boockvar Running on…Inexperience

Democrat Kathy Boockvar, a Doylestown attorney, is challenging PA 8^th District’s Republican Mike Fitzpatrick for his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Boockvar ran for election and lost twice before, once for Commonwealth Court Judge and another for Bucks County Register of Wills. This is her third attempt at winning a public office.

Boockvar lacks political experience and although that is not normally a political show-stopper, it is particularly poignant this election cycle. Obama proved to all, or at least to those paying attention, that experience actually does count. Our economy, foreign relations, and social structure are suffering badly because of his inexperience and lack of responsible leadership. Voters should be hesitant to elect any political novice at any level at this time.

Adding to the bad timing of Kathy’s challenge is the absence of fresh ideas or a new direction that could at least spark interest from voters. Railing against the rich and corporations, blaming Bush tax cuts, and bringing our troops home are stale, Democrat talking points. So, too, is her bumper-sticker, fear-inducing accusation that Fitzpatrick wants to “kill” Social Security. Desiring a change to the tax code is pretty much an across-the-board issue with all candidates and accusing Fitzpatrick of partisanship sounds like the pot calling the kettle black

Boockvar will appeal to far-left voters because she certainly leans that way, but far-left tactics won’t convince others. On her website, she lamely tries to pair Fitzpatrick with Tod Akins, hoping printing their names together will stain Fitzpatrick with Akins’ infamous blunder. That and accusing Fitzpatrick of trying to “roll back women’s rights”, however, are typical far-left, over-the-top tactics showing her true colors – and they are bland.

One can find fault with Fitzpatrick as with any politician, but inexperience or extremism certainly do not apply. Boockvar offers nothing to make one believe a change is necessary. It seems that as far as elections go, it may be “three strikes and you’re out” for Boockvar.

David J. Hentosh

San Francisco PAC attacks Fitzpatrick

A super PAC of liberals from San Francisco created by the cell phone company Credo Mobile are opening an office in the area in an attempt to defeat Mike Fitzpatrick in the 2012 election. Credo has designated Fitzpatrick as one of their “Tea Party Ten” who need to be removed from office in order to further their “progressive” agenda.

Following standard progressive tactics, the first thing Credo did was hurl insults at their designated Tea Party Ten, calling them “racist, sexist, anti-science, hypocritical and downright crazy”. This clearly reveals the level of “debate” one can expect from this San Francisco PAC.

Fitzpatrick made Credo’s dubious list because he voted to defund Planned Parenthood, the progressive’s sacred organization. He also dared to vote for Paul Ryan’s “radical” budget plan, something the current administration still hasn’t managed to be able to devise after three years. For good measure, they threw in a couple of other exaggerated allegations such as redefining rape and wanting to destroy Medicare.

Coming from San Francisco, one expects Credo to be out of touch with reality and they have lived up to that expectation. Fitzpatrick was never a big favorite of the Tea Party, so labeling him as a Tea Party candidate is off target and foolish. He was highly criticized by the Tea Party for leaning left in his previous Congressional voting and many Tea Party votes he received were cast reluctantly, just to get rid of Patrick Murphy.

Nevertheless, Credo is setting up shop under false impressions and certain to make noise. They have already begun with the delivery of a giant, cutesy “pink slip” to Mike Fitzpatrick, firing him from his job. That may entertain San Francisco liberals and get media coverage, but it is doubtful it will impress Bucks County voters. Even Patrick Murphy wouldn’t resort to that kind of silliness – so far.

David J. Hentosh