Presidential  Kindergarten Report Card

Final grade – C for the presidency but F for the best interests of the nation.

In the Greek myth, the Flight of Icarus, the son of the inventor, Daedalus, dons a pair of wings with feathers attached with wax. The pair escapes a monster and the father reminds the son not to fly too close to the sun. He knows the soft wax holding the wings together will melt. The son, feeling elation and joy, does fly too close to the sun and the wax melts. Icarus plummets to the earth and dies. The moral of the story is the higher you soar, the greater the risk. The Democratic party is becoming dangerous filled with just this kind of hubris.

Paul Begala, Democratic strategist and all-around smarmy guy, was on CNN this afternoon gloating and smirking about the defection of Arlen Specter from the GOP to the Democratic fold. His smug manner is becoming indicative of the attitude of the Democratic party. They believe the more power they amass and the more control they enjoy, the more sure their place in the body politic. However, in our country we don’t elect people to be in power, we elect people to do our business for us. There are three pitfalls to this much power in the hands of a very few people. They will become the Democratic party’s downfall.

The first is the problem of no checks and balances. Once the Democratic party begins to feel they have all the say, some in the party will rebel. This has happened several times in the past. Having a monopoly on power creates a vacuum. That vacuum is the greed for more. If the parties have to share power, they will work against one another in a natural enmity. But, if only one party has the power, there will arise a group within that party that feels powerless. They will become the opposition within the group. The other party will be ignored, but the powerless within the coalition will find fault with those who tell them what to do. The party will begin to unravel at the seams.

The second problem is that of accumulated influence. Once the Democratic party captures all the reins in one hand, they will become more sure of themselves. They will begin to feel the rules don’t really apply to them since they are the arbiter of the rules. Corruption ensues whenever this kind of hubris rears its ugly head. Becoming a power unto itself, some member of the Democratic party will believe the rules don’t apply to them. Slowly, but surely, these scandals will begin to rock the party and its public image. The body politic will not have faith in them and the crumbling continues.

Finally, the biggest problem is that of attitude. This attitude of smug, self-satisfaction is a real killer. The body politic believes they have sent their representatives to do their work. Once the people in power begin to believe THEY are the powers-that-be, the public will become disgusted. They will rebel by voting the other way. The party that considers itself a power-unto-itself becomes a power that is thrown out. Attitude certainly drives all three problems and these processes will act concurrently.

Just as Icarus began to fly too high that the very sun caused his downfall, so will the Democratic party plunge to earth. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. The bigger the bubble grows, the larger the explosion. The higher they soar, the longer the fall.

After the thousands of people showed up at anti-tax tea parties, the local Twin Cities media barely mentioned it. Even worse, they pretended to misunderstand the reason for the tea parties. They mangled the ideals that drove the spontaneous outbreak and gave the impression these people were somehow deficient. It was never specifically stated but was an undercurrent of incredulousness that hinted of the smarmy ‘teabagging’ comments of people like Anderson Cooper and Rachel Maddow. Their approach was one that was fundamentally disrespectful and dismissive. They also covered the story almost perfunctorily without any depth, hardly any footage, and failed to mention the number of places around the Twin Cities such gatherings sprung up.

The reason this is an issue today is there was a fundamentally different take on Thursday’s few hundred war protesters. Where the local media made the thousands of people protesting the freewheeling spending and future taxation a brief story, a few hundred strangling folks chaining themselves to doorknobs was treated with a full six minute segment. This blatant biased reporting further illustrates the nature of the left-wing agenda and the inability of the Third Estate to report truth to power.

There was no more important part of the Bill of Rights is the idea our press must not be stifled by those in power. Freedom of the press is an extension of the fundamental freedom of speech. Freedom to express your opinion and make a political argument is one of the most basic freedoms that cannot and should not be abridged. Freedom of the press is a kind of megaphone of the freedom of speech right. It is the necessary way the minority can speak truth to power. Without that ability, it is worthless. Those in power already have the megaphone. There is no need for a free press to only publish the opinions and arguments of those-in-power because they have the floor. It is the minority opinion out-of-power that needs a press to investigate and report on the majority. 

In fact, it is in the majority’s best interest that the free press hold their feet to the fire. Lord Acton’s bromide about power corrupting and absolute power corrupting absolutely will hold true when all the balls are in one side’s court. The majority needs a critical free press to keep them honest and sharp. Without an independent Third Estate holding the majority to task, it becomes too easy for the majority to become corrupt and sloppy. The left should demand critical thinking from the press for the simple reason their people will fall prey to over-confidence and over-reaching. Instead we are seeing a Third Estate that only acts as a giant megaphone for those in power.

We as citizens need to keep reminding those in power they need to report the minority views and the majority ideas, only with a critical element. They are doing the opposite. They report those in power completely without comment and critically report the minority side. It’s opposite of what is needed. Don’t be afraid to email the local press and remind them of this duty they have. We must keep them honest for they are abandoning their sacred duty. 

Once, our foreign policy was decried as 'gunboat' diplomacy when we used the threat of force and presence of military personnel as a lever to create change.  Liberals far and wide lambasted this technique as provocative and counterproductive.  It was also argued that such tactics were inherently immoral and should not be used as they would sully the good name of the United States.  Well, we needn't worry about such things any more.

Instead, the Obama administration is engaging in 'Kumbaya' diplomacy.  This is a diplomatic strategy to apologize for everything laying the country prostrate at the feet of her enemies.  Then we bow to and shake hands with brutal, power-hungry tyrants.  Finally, we offer to talk to them about their tactics and behaviors as equals.  This is the equivalent of everyone holding hands and singing 'Kumbaya' together hoping beyond hope this will make everyone behave rationally.  Of course, this tactic has never worked before.  But perhaps by taking a page from the Obama field manual it will work this time.  That page would direct us to use ideas that haven't worked before but do them three times as much.  Liken it to his spending ideas.  Wasting billions hasn't brought the economy around so instead waste trillions.  That will do it, the wingnuts say. 

So, perhaps if acknowledging the United States has been ham-handed in the world, making diplomatic overtures, and giving them a seat at the table hasn't worked in the past, Obama's 'Kumbaya' approach will.  That's why he's doing so much bowing and scraping before the world leaders.  That's why he's blaming the United States for all the world's problems.  That's why he's offering to sit at the table with the likes of Hugo Chavez and treating him as an equal.  Just do everything to the nth power and that will 'fix' the world, is the argument. 

This administration is so debasing itself we are in for quite the messy ride.  Kidnapping, extortion, and runaway terrorism are in our future my friends.

The big story for today appears to be the Somali pirates who have taken an American ship captain hostage. After attempting to take a ship carrying refugee supplies, the pirates were thwarted in seizing the ship by the crew and one of the pirates was allegedly captured. In the process, the captain was taken off the ship and into a lifeboat from the supply ship. The lifeboat is now floating by the ship with pirates and the captain on board and the crew is in control of the ship holding a pirate prisoner.

The United States navy sent a cruiser to intercept the ship and boat and is now in the process of mediating the crisis. The FBI has been called in to assist. Reporters are trying to explain this phenomenon by showing the frequency of the pirate attacks and the ways ships deal with these incidents. Pirate attacks have steadily climbed in the region and it is apparent no one has done anything of substance to deal with high seas piracy. In explaining these attacks, the press has adopted an unfortunate narrative to describe the pirating phenomenon. They are describing the pirates as not ‘mad’ but like ‘businessmen’. 

This unfortunate description does two very dangerous things at the same time. First, by describing the pirates as businessmen, they are taking away the criminal element to the action. These pirates are seizing property and persons they have no right to take. They are terrorizing crews and extorting money from the rightful owners. This is not ‘businessman-like’ in the least. Business owners are not extortionists and terrorists. Business people negotiate deals and find quid pro quo transactions that will ultimately benefit both parties. Calling these criminals businessmen elevates what they are doing to a marketplace occurrence. This is not a marketplace occurrence. This is a mafia style criminal organization that is well organized and done professionally. Professionalism and rationality does not equal ‘business’. It is organized crime and nothing more.

The second problem with this unfortunate description is to trivialize and cheapen businessman and women. It makes the moral and ethical deals made in the marketplace appear illegitimate. By describing the pirates as ‘businessmen’ they are deflating the high ethical standards of most businesspeople. Business is not and cannot be conducted through extortion and illegal acts of thievery. Deals must be equitable if they are to continue. Deals must be, at least to each party, legitimate and positive for their respective organizations. If it is not so, the aggrieved party will find a different party to do business with. Most business deals are ongoing concerns that benefit both organizations. The Somali pirates are not ‘giving’ the seized crews and property anything. Giving them their ‘freedom’ isn’t a benefit because without the initial illegal act, the pirates wouldn’t have anything to give in return. 

It is especially telling in this climate of blaming capitalism that the press would adopt this ridiculous narrative. By comparing pirates to business, they have engaged in elevating the pirates’ status and denigrating legitimate, legal trade. Such blatant smearing should be highlighted and stopped. We must tell these reporters to become truthful and not advocates for the pirates. That is in essence what they are doing. They need to be shouted down.

In a faked, staged ‘Breaking News’ segment, Chris Cuomo of ABCnews on Good Morning America pretended there was a huge news event with the ‘surprise’ visit of President Obama to Iraq. This segment broke into a discussion of the goofy re-release of Cokie Roberts book of ten years ago and an inane conversation between Cokie and Diane Sawyer. Cuomo, breathless in wonderment at the ‘totally awesome’ Obama, described how the president had selected a visit to Iraq over a visit to Afghanistan because of proximity and Iraqi issues. Obama, Cuomo opined while panting, wanted to ‘consult’ with the commanders and troops on the ground about his ‘new’ policies in Iraq that were so very different from President Bush’s. How these policies are so very different was, of course, never detailed. Details are not for the hoi polloi but for those in power, apparently.

Conveniently, Martha Radditz, the ABC Middle East guru, (or do I mean reporter), was there to discuss how awesome Obama is and how horrible George W. was. They discussed the minute drawdown of troops as though it was a novel idea and then the shocking nature of Obama’s trip. It was all very awesome and important and they managed to outline the Obama talking points from the White House Press Office, just as they were intending to do. 

Then a somber Jake Tapper was introduced to reinforce the idea this was an actual news story. He said the press corps knew the president wasn’t returning to the United States but hadn’t a clue as to where the president was going.  Bewildered, he pretended the president could have been heading anywhere in the world. Where, I wonder, did Tapper imagine the president was going if not to Iraq or Afganistan? Was Obama going to make a surprise visit to EuroDisney or Sri Lanka or Vanatu? Hmm. I wonder.

There was nothing particularly remarkable about this specific news ‘event’ except it was a glaring example of how the mainstream media has been drafted to act as Obama’s ‘unofficial’ news spokespeople. The ridiculous nature of the farce is evident from the moment Cuomo’s aging fratboy face appears with him hyperventilating at the idea of Obama’s grandeur to Radditz’s obviously prepared comments on this news story. Such hyperbole is only matched by that of a propaganda organization of a tin-pot dictator. 

It is becoming even more apparent to those with any critical sense whatsoever, these ‘news’ organizations are not organized to present news but instead are advocating this presidency. Every positive story about his presidency is gushed over in glorious detail while each embarrassment is met with stony faced disapproval. Such is the sad state of Obama’s Fourth Estate and their bootlicking submission to his authority. What will it take to get a media outlet to actually report some news? Probably a very courageous and foolhardy person needs to emerge who is not part of the media but is willing to speak truth to power. Let that person emerge.