Ron’s Reflections

I’m a pretty even-keeled person but I have to say that the liberal feminists are really starting to get on my nerves. All the major leftist women’s groups were represented in a press conference this past week where they took aim at Senator McCain and Governor Palin for being against the best interests of women.What infuriates me is that these women claim to speak for all the women in this country when clearly they do not. They rant about “reproductive rights” when what they really advocate is the right to end reproduction at will by killing the unborn child, and they use this as the litmus test to declare who is for or against women. They also make the condescending claim that only uneducated women would vote for the McCain-Palin ticket.

My question is this: why aren’t more women publicly rebuking these arrogant, elitist females? Read the rest of this entry

Have you seen the Jack Link’s Beef Jerky commercial series, “Messin’ with Sasquatch“? Each commercial features a group of foolhardy people who stumble upon Sasquatch (Bigfoot) and decide to, well, mess with him. The normal human instinct as far as I’m concerned would be to hide or run but these folks are eating Jack Link’s Beef Jerky so they’re “feeding their wild side,” to paraphrase the commercial’s tagline, and can’t resist poking fun at the large but seemingly dim-witted creature. The antagonists, however, usually pay an embarrassing or painful price before the end of the commercial so in my view, the creature gets his way. I’m left to wonder if the beef jerky made these people stupid or were they already there to begin with?

That brings me to my point about liberals and Jesus Christ. Well before he announced for the Presidency, Senator Barack Obama declared the Democratic Party’s hostility toward people of faith had to end if they ever expected to regain political power. He seemed to understand the power of faith in people’s lives and spoke the language of faith with ease and comfort. Hopes were high that he would be the bridge between the Democrats and the evangelical community, especially the younger evangelicals who espouse a social agenda that includes the environment, poverty, disease, genocide and social justice along with the traditional hot-button issues of sanctity of life and the protection of traditional marriage. I believe he is sincere about people of faith being fully engaged in the political dialogue, but he didn’t count on the folks in the Democratic Party who are “feeding their wild side” and can’t resist antagonizing the faithful. Like the people in the commercials, they are varied but equally annoying: Read the rest of this entry

I remember back in the “peaceful” days of the Presidential primaries when John McCain and Barack Obama both expressed the hope that should they become the nominees of their respective parties, theirs would be one of the most respectful campaigns in U.S. history. There was reason to hope that would be the case given the histories and words of the two men. John McCain built his reputation on honor and “straight talk” and has never hesitated to take a stand opposite that of his party if he believed the cause was right. Barack Obama roared to national prominence on a powerful speech at the Democratic convention in 2004 in which he spoke of “the United States of America” rather than the hues of red and blue that divide us or the “two Americas” of John Edwards’ two failed campaigns for the Presidency. Moreover, his entire campaign for President has been built around his commitment to unity and a post-partisan approach to politics and governing. The promise for a different kind of election process was high.

Well, here we are today and that promise lies broken and bleeding at the bottom of the pit that is the American electoral process. I’m not here to argue who started it - that would be juvenile and unproductive and we’d just start mimicking what the candidates and their campaigns are doing to each other. What’s clear is when one charge or insult is levied, a counter-charge is sure to follow and there’s no end to the vicious cycle once it’s set in motion. Let me give you just one example. Read the rest of this entry

There’s been so much sniffing of noses by left-wing female politicians, reporters and lobbyists since Senator McCain nominated Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska to be his running mate that I’ve been tempted to offer them Kleenex in bulk, purchased from Sam’s Club of course! Read the rest of this entry

I was asked twice in the days leading up to Senator John McCain’s selection of his running mate who I thought he would pick. I had two answers - who I thought he would pick and who I wanted him to pick. With today’s announcement, I’m happy to say he went with who I wanted him to pick.  I’m a big fan of Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska and what she brings to a Republican Party desperately in need of fresh faces and an injection of youth and vitality.

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The Democratic National Convention started tonight with a bang. Senator Ted Kennedy arose from his sick bed, where he’s battling brain cancer, and flew to Denver to pass the mantle of Democratic Party moral leadership from the Kennedys to Barack Obama. As if his presence wasn’t enough, his niece, Caroline Kennedy, introduced him and described him as one of two men who inspire her, the other of course being Barack Obama. I wonder if the Clintons, who did have a modestly successful eight-year stint not too long ago, felt slighted that the Kennedy blessing went right past them to the upstart Senator from Illinois? Jacob and Esau have nothing on this “family” drama! Later on, Michelle Obama got up to introduce herself to the American people as a devoted wife, a doting mother and a woman who loves America, in part to counter her misstatement during the campaign about being proud of her country “for the first time in my adult life…” I don’t doubt her patriotism but there are a lot of folks out there who probably already have their minds made up and she could wrap herself in the American flag and sing the Star-Spangled Banner and it wouldn’t make a difference to them.

From the account I just gave, you’d think I was watching the convention breathlessly on television this evening. In fact, anyone who’s a card carrying political junkie ought to be watching, right? Well, I’m sorry to disappoint, but I was watching the Seahawks and Chargers in a preseason football game. Everything I recounted for you about the convention is based on what I read online with a few of my personal thoughts thrown in for good measure.

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We’re now fully into what pundits like to call the “silly season” of the 2008 Presidential campaign where the candidates sound more like bickering children than potential leaders of the most powerful nation on earth:

Obama: “McCain’s making fun of my name and says I don’t look like the other kids!”
McCain: “I did no such thing - liar, liar, pants on fire! Hey, why does he get more face time than me? Who does he think he is - Paris Hilton? Teacher’s pet!”

As a result, I felt that Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church, he of the famed book “The Purpose-Driven Life,” did the nation a great service with the Saddleback Civil Forum on August 16th featuring the two candidates. In my opinion, the format of the forum and the nature of the questions asked did more to help voters take the true measure of these men than any other event to date. These are my personal observations based on their presentations that night. I sincerely hope the forum and the numerous post-mortems of its outcome, including this one, might help people make what ought to be a serious decision come November.

First of all, let me say that despite the despair some people feel over the choices put before them, I believe we have two extraordinary gentlemen on the ballot. There are aspects of both men that I found compelling and attractive. In fact, if I could pick and choose character traits and experience from both men, I could create the perfect presidential candidate! My uncensored personal impressions follow. Read the rest of this entry

An interesting report came out this week from Development Counsellors International (DCI), a company specializing in economic development and tourism marketing. They surveyed 3,591 U.S. companies with annual revenues of $25 million or more, targeting “C-level” executives with responsibility for selecting business sites, and 944 location advisors/consultants. This survey has been done every three years since 1996 and gives corporate executives the pulse of the business community when it comes to their perception of which locations have the most favorable business climates.  The state with the most favorable business climate was Texas, followed by North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Florida in a tie, and Nevada. Texas, North Carolina and Georgia have consistently been in the top five. Who’s at the bottom? For the third consecutive time in the survey, California was at the bottom, with New York second worst, Michigan third worst, New Jersey fourth worst and Massachusetts fifth worst. The states rated at the top were cited for strong labor markets, low operating costs and a pro-business climate. The states at the bottom were viewed negatively because of taxes, high operating costs, overregulation and an anti-business climate.

There’s an even more interesting story behind the story, however. Steven Malanga of the Manhattan Institute took a closer look at the best and worst states for doing business and found that $33 billion of the approximately $48 billion in accumulated budget shortfalls of the 29 states with projected deficits was concentrated in the five states considered by corporate executives to be the least friendly to business. In short, two-thirds of the red ink at the state level resides in the five “anti-business” states.

What about the “pro-business” states? Texas and North Carolina have no budget deficits, and Georgia, Florida and Tennessee have shortfalls totalling about $4.1 billion, less than one-tenth of the accumulated total. Mr. Malanga notes that while these facts should give state legislators pause and spur a reevaluation of their economic policies, the exact opposite seems to be happening. New York is pushing for a new tax on millionaires - hmmm, where have I heard that before? - and California is looking to boost its top income tax rate from 9.3 percent to 11 percent.

Is there a lesson in these numbers for Maryland? Well, that depends on whether or not the one-party monopoly in Annapolis is in a learning mode.

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This year’s race for the Presidency may be close and contentious, but it’s over for me personally. You see, I made up my mind a long time ago and I only needed a limited amount of verifiable information to make my decision. Oh, sure, I’ll pay attention to the rest of the campaign. Objectively speaking, this is an historic race that will be fascinating to watch. America is on the verge of electing a black President for the first time in its 232-year history. This is also the first election in 80 years in which a sitting President or Vice-President isn’t running, so the next administration will truly represent change, no matter which candidate gets elected.  I’ll even work for the candidate of my choice because I believe in political activism and the electoral process. As far as my vote is concerned, however, it’s signed, sealed and delivered. You see, there is an issue which for me is non-negotiable and you cannot spin it, soft-pedal it or make it more palatable with lofty words or calls for unity of purpose. That issue is abortion.

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The mainstream press has been gleefully trumpeting the indictment of Republican U.S. Senator Ted Stevens for allegedly lying about gifts he received from an Alaskan company, declaring it yet another nail in the GOP’s coffin in an already difficult election year. In the meantime, another political scandal is flying under the radar because the MSM (the hip acronym for “mainstream media”) has chosen not to cover it. Part of the problem is the source of the story but the fact remains that the information that’s verifiable suggests the story might be credible and deserves greater scrutiny than it’s currently receiving.

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