Teamsters Union President Jimmy Hoffa addressed a crowd this weekend in Detroit:

“We got to keep an eye on the battle that we face: The war on workers. And you see it everywhere, it is the Tea Party. And you know, there is only one way to beat and win that war. The one thing about working people is we like a good fight. And you know what? They’ve got a war, they got a war with us and there’s only going to be one winner. It’s going to be the workers of Michigan, and America. We’re going to win that war,” Jimmy Hoffa said to a heavily union crowd.

“President Obama, this is your army. We are ready to march. Let’s take these son of bitches out and give America back to an America where we belong,” Hoffa added.

Now, I’ll be fair; I honestly don’t think Mr. Hoffa means to say that he literally thinks there should be an actual, physical fight, or honestly believes it has become a war. Just the same as I never believed for one second that Sarah Palin intended to suggest to anyone by use of “crosshairs” or the “reload” comment that anyone should take it as anything other than symbolism, “targeting” the opponent at the ballot box come election day. Still, Union members are somewhat known for stubborn thuggishness, and the Teamsters in my memory were synonymous with that. So, you never know exactly what Mr. Hoffa might have meant.

Of course, Hoffa may have come back later, walked back the rhetoric, stated that he may have made a poor “choice of words,” he didn’t mean it literally, and so forth. However, this morning on the local radio station, he did get interviewed, and chose to not only not do that, but seemed to somewhat double down on the original language.

http://media.kmbz.com/a/44636943/e-j-ellen-with-jimmy-hoffa-jr.htm

Incidentally, those remarks were made as part of an introduction to President Obama speaking to the same crowd. Not only does the White House refuse to comment, let alone condemn the remarks, apparently, the President is “proud” of Hoffa and other labor leaders.

Sarah Palin, ever the class act in my humble opinion, has come back with this Facebook posting:

What I have to say is for the hard working, patriotic, selfless union brothers and sisters in Michigan and throughout our country: Please don’t be taken in by union bosses’ thuggery like Jim Hoffa represented yesterday. Union bosses like this do not have your best interests at heart. What they care about is their own power and re-electing their friend Barack Obama so he will take care of them to the detriment of everyone else.

Read the whole thing. Then tell me who the “extremists” and out of control elements are in this country right now.

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150285058673435

Without going into too many details, I was part of a franchise system. I used a national name, logo, procedures, and the like. I actually came into possession of the franchise as almost a fluke; right place, right time, did and said the right things, and there it was. Things were actually fairly good, relatively speaking, for a while, and at least the business paid for itself, with the exception of my labor. I started it with a partner, who after a while started to realize it wasn’t the gold mine we both thought it would be, and had the good sense to get away from it. Not me. Stubborn and resistant, I just knew the place had potential, all I needed was one more good week, one more good month, and all would be well.

So much for the hopes and dreams. True enough, it stayed afloat with no significant problems for several years, even after I was left with no employees and even less capital to work with. Granted, I have not taken home any profits in over three years, and truth be told, never got regularly paid by my own company for literally doing it all. But what came in was good to keep it rolling, keep the dream alive, and hope that my good service, honesty, and fair prices would be enough to eventually turn the tide.

But it was not to be.

The fall of 2008, when the entire economy nearly crumbled, was when the serious problems started. Bills fell later and later, business became scarcer and scarcer. Those that did frequent my establishment respected my work, and my opinion, but many simply could not afford what I offered. Still, even with that, I managed to struggle, holding one bill off for a month, paying another, catching up later, but eventually falling behind on all. The spiral started. Eventually, things got so overwhelming, it seemed that no daylight was even left to be seen, and I had no idea of what to do, besides hope, do my best, and I just knew that if I worked just a little harder (which, to be completely honest, became more and more difficult to even do), then things would turn around and I could just work my way out of the problems. Besides, there was still that pesky franchise contract that I had to fulfill, negating even the idea of walking away without facing penalties for doing so.

Finally, facing the real threat of eventual shutdown whether I wanted it or not, I had an opportunity to speak with the franchise company. Laid it out to their representative, plain and harsh. What I learned was that there was a possible way out.

Turned out, the Company has been acquiring and operating locations themselves, all across the country. Several, I have learned, were in similar situations as myself. Being a national company, they actually have the resources, money, and manpower to put into a struggling location, something that was never an option for myself, even when the partnership was still there.

As I have been told, my relationship with the customer base was one reason they liked me and my location. Maybe I cut a few corners, and maybe didn’t charge customers the actual true worth of my work, especially my time, but they were loyal to me. And, with the work performed, I experienced very few problems, proving I was good at what I did. All I needed was backing, and things would take off.

Which brings us to now. As I said, I’m not the owner any longer; I am actually an employee of the Company, running my place. I am grateful that the amount of money they paid to “buy out” my contract, while not much, was able to put a dent in one of the major late bills, and helped eliminate that one at least. And, I will actually be getting a regular paycheck, with opportunities for bonuses if certain goals are met.

It is sort of bittersweet, in a way; years ago, we literally started our operation on a wing and a prayer, with a little help and blessing from our families. The goal, of course, was to take that small investment, mix it with our knowledge and hard work, and turn it into a fortune. When my partner, God Bless, saw the writing on the wall, I should have also taken the smart route, and found my way out of it, while there was still a small amount to be taken out. And I really must thank the Amazingly Wonderful MrsJamesLee for standing behind me, even when it became apparent things were hopeless. No, honey, you were NOT a bitch about it, even though you probably should have been! And I love you for that even more!

The sweet part is that I have a job, the headaches of bills, compliance, taxes, equipment maintenance, and all that are now not my problem. And with the job, I have a wonderful opportunity to make, for my own pocket, at least as much as the entire company grossed in the last year. Plus, I get to be an instrumental player in actually proving what my entire goal was all along: Given the right circumstances, that place will work!

The bitter part, though, is that I am not on my own. On some level, I feel a little like a failure, with my business having to fold and give way to others, that I couldn’t make it on my own. Yes, I know that in end, logically, I could not have continued, and if I had tried, I know things would have gotten worse, and much uglier, than they even were. Still, a little bit of me, which honestly seems to be less of me every day, has just a little regret, and an ever-diminishing feeling of giving up (something I’ve always been too stubborn to admit). Just give me a little time, and this too shall pass.

Soo… things are good! I don’t get to keep up as much on my news and politics like I did, and don’t get to do everything my own way any more. But those things don’t mean much when you are down in a large hole. Now, it seems, the sun is finally coming out, and even my family and friends say I seem much happier than I’ve been in a long time.

Cheers! Embrace the changes, because sometimes the changes are most definitely for the best.

Two leading makers of lighting products are showcasing LED bulbs that are bright enough to replace energy-guzzling 100-watt light bulbs set to disappear from stores in January.

There is, at this time, a little bit of a drawback, which will make things a bit tricky:

The new bulbs will also be expensive — about $50 each — so the development may not prevent consumers from hoarding traditional bulbs.

That last line is certainly true; in my garage there is a whole load of 100w and 75w ‘regular’ bulbs, and I am planning on getting many more before I can’t.

Now, contrary to what it may seem, I am not against this sort of technology. I’ve actually been using LED lights, in the form of pen lights and flashlights and such, for approximately twelve years. They come in quite handy in my line of work, being an automotive mechanic where there are tight quarters and dark crevasses to look in. Incandescent “trouble lights” are bad news; the heat generated from a 100w bulb, if there is leaking gasoline, can light up your day very quickly. And burn you when you try to turn it to be able to see better.

As the article states, having multiple LEDs has been the problem, and that is also true in my experience with the flashlights. A single element will last much longer than those with multiple. Several of the (up to) 9 LED units I’ve had have very quickly started to malfunction; a couple of them don’t light up, then a few more, eventually, the light is useless. The weak point seems to be the circuit board they are mounted on. On the other hand, the single units hold up much longer; weak points end up being the connections from the battery, or the switch itself.

But, as with all new technology, the cost of those has come down dramatically. Originally, I recall paying upwards of $25 or $30 for the AAAA-cell pen lights. Very rugged, pretty reliable, but the cost of replacement and the batteries themselves often frustrated me. Other styles, using more standard batteries have hit the market in droves, to varying success, but I find the cheaper the cost, the quicker they quit working, requiring me to get another one. Yes, I’m hard on them, dropping them on concrete, slamming a car hood on them, etc.

I’ve stated, though, I will never purchase another compact florescent. They don’t work good, there are hazardous materials in them, and I just plain don’t like them. Early on, we purchased several of these, and they do not last as long as advertised, and of course do not make good light.

Recently, we did purchase a couple of LED bulbs, though not of the style listed in the article I link. These seemed more suited for accent lighting, things like that, but the cost was comparable to a CFL. One of them is installed in our attached garage ceiling fixture. We spend a lot of time outdoors, and will sometimes make multiple trips in and out through the garage. The bulb itself was rated at 80 Lumens (I think). In my estimation it seems to be about the equivalent of a standard 40-watt bulb. Not enough to perform detailed tasks, or reading (especially with the high ceiling the fixture is located in), but very much enough to walk your way around the car, shelves, and the like so as to not trip.

As more of these hit the market, the options will increase, production costs will drop, and competition will bring down the end-user prices. Just think, a plasma television set used to cost upwards of $10,000; now, LCD flat screens can be less than 1/20th of that. I don’t recall any government mandate (aside from forcing television signals to new frequencies and digital broadcasts, but that’s a whole ‘nother ball of wax) forcing consumers to give up their CRT sets the way they are with light bulbs.

I am totally in favor of new technology, and yes, if you want to call it that, “green” technology. And device or appliance that uses less energy and/or is more reliable is almost never a bad thing; cheaper electric bills each month, less often replacement of old or broken units, leads to greater wealth for everyone. My issue is the mandates.

Plain and simple, if people like a product, they will buy it. The more it is used, the cheaper it becomes for everyone as industry moves to satisfy a market desire and turn a profit. A good product does not need the government to step in and force everyone to choose between cheap poison and high-priced alternatives, leaving a perfectly reliable, safe, cheap, and plentiful product illegal for one to purchase or use. Especially in the name of phony baloney hoaky-malarky like “global warming.”

So Washington, please quit trying to force your choices (likely, connected with campaign donations or promises of future employment) on the rest of us. We are smart enough to choose options that work for us, and the market will choose the winners and losers, not you.

She continued, “If you run out of the government voucher and then you run out of your own money, you’re left to scrape together charity care, go without care, die sooner. There really aren’t a lot of options.”

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0511/54405.html#ixzz1LW4PuUTs

I guess it’s a step forward; after all, the HHS Kitty apparently didn’t bring up that they would be kicked into the street and forced to eat dog food.

This revolves around the Ryan Budget plan, which tries to get a handle on the rising costs of the Medicare program. As I understand it, instead of actually having the government pay for your medical costs, the ‘voucher’ in question would be given to the person to shop for their own private insurance. As I recall, this is similar to how the “Medicare Advantage” program worked, and from what I’d seen, most were happy with it.

Maybe that won’t work for everyone, but something must be done. The current system can not be sustained in any meaningful form. Even now, fewer and fewer medical practitioners are accepting any Medicare patients, as more and more people move into that system. And that doesn’t even mention the fact the system is bankrupt.

So go ahead, try to scare everyone, get them to vote for you, and then see what happens when the crumbs you end up handing out are not enough.

(Reuters) – Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden tried to hide behind women as U.S. special forces attacked his compound in Pakistan Monday and one died being used as a human shield, the White House said.

Wonder how those 72 virgins will like that little bit of news?

From what I’m gathering from various stories this morning, this was a many year process to finally get there. Apparently, one of Bin Laden’s trusted contacts was an anonymous courier, that we finally learned about after conducting interrogations at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. And apparently, no one knew this man’s real name until 2007, that’s how hidden and careful they were. But it was the one little, almost insignificant clue that eventually uncovered more, until it led to the safehouse where he was found and put out of our misery.

Let me be the first to admit, I was apparently wrong; I had honestly believed that Bin Laden was buried under a mountain in Tora Bora, long dead. The Al Qaida leadership, in my thinking, was just using old tapes, acting in his name, letting recruits and others believe the admired leader was still behind them. And for our part, we played along; letting everyone think he was still consuming oxygen worked for us better than letting them hold him up as a martyr to encourage others to join the fight against the Great Satan.

So now, he’s gone. But as the President said last night, this is not the end of it; there are many others ready and willing to move up into his place.

Sigh. And now, comes the inevitable speculation on political ramifications.

As anyone who reads this know, I’m no fan of Obama. On this instance, I will applaud the President for taking the intelligence briefings, listening to advice, and giving the proper orders that led us to this moment. Credit where credit is due. Salute!

I’m also thinking the timing actually leads to a little credibility, to anyone who wants to doubt, or thinks this may have been staged for re-election chops. The election is actually too far out, and we all have been far enough removed from September 11th in the first place (time-wise, I mean) for this to have a significant effect on the electorate.

This will help to bolster the President, for the short term absolutely. As it should; when a President stands up for America, and does the right thing, no matter who it is, we should stand behind him as one people. While many people and events took part to make this happen, and it was President Bush who actually started this ball rolling, I will credit Obama for picking up that ball and following through.

So let’s take a day or two, put aside our regular sniping back and forth, and raise a glass to everyone who made this come out the way it did. President Obama, Bush, Cabinet members, intelligence officers, and all the men and women in uniform who stand up to keep us all safe from monsters like Bin Laden. Here’s to all of you!

This won’t change my mind, however about voting for him next year.

Jazz Shaw has more at Hot Air.

Amid rising gasoline prices at the pump, President Barack Obama urged congressional leaders Tuesday to take steps to repeal oil industry tax breaks, reiterating a call he made in his 2012 budget proposal earlier this year.

Hmm, lets see… make a company’s expenses in the course of business rise, and that is going to make their product cheaper, right?

The White House conceded his plan would do nothing in the short term to lower gas prices.

Oh. Well, so much for that. At least they didn’t try to convince us that it would help, so maybe they are starting to learn.

Now, for the record, I’m actually not against this, at least in theory. I do not think one industry, business, or entity should get any special tax consideration over another. Cities and States use this tactic all the time, however, when it comes to attracting new companies, through tax-increment financing, special laws written just to bring in or retain a certain company with extensive tax breaks. This needs to stop.

When the government, be it Federal, State, or Local, starts to give special deals to one, they are essentially choosing winners and losers in the economy. It would actually be funny, if it wasn’t so serious; the Democrats scream and throw a tantrum any time any sort of tax reductions are even proposed, but when an industry like Ford hints they may move a factory from one state to another, even the Democrat lawmakers in that state fall all over themselves to promise the moon (with no taxes!) in order to keep them there. So while they want to stick it to Big-Whatever on the campaign trail, they know it wouldn’t work, at least not if said politician wants a chance at reelection.

The thing with gasoline is that 18 and some odd cents of every gallon you pump into your car goes to the Federal government, and anywhere from 15 cents or so, up to around 75 cents (if I recall correctly, depending on the state) goes to the state coffers. What is not known or quantified, is how much has to be added to each gallon in order for Exxon or Shell to pay the corporate taxes.

There are so many levels of taxation on businesses that it’s nearly impossible to keep it straight. Heck, I have an extremely small business (with me being the only employee), and I really need the accountant I have to keep it all straight. I couldn’t even imagine how it would work for a multi-billion dollar company, with hundreds or even thousands of employees. But at the end of the day, every single product every company sells must factor all those taxes into the price of said product, the labor costs to produce it (and don’t forget the forced FICA contributions every employer must pay for every employee), etc. All that must be covered.

So while I am in complete favor of having no special carve-outs for any single industry, this is not the right time to add even more complication and dollar amounts to the oil industry. Once we get past this price spike, which I think we will, then I would be more than willing and open to the idea of at least phasing them out.

Now there is a bit of twist here, though; one major customer of the oil companies is the United States Government. It takes a lot of jet fuel, diesel, gasoline, and other fuels to keep the military going with fighters, bombers, tanks, ships, as well as Air Force One, the Presidential Limo, not to mention all the fleet cars used by everyone from Senators all the way down to lowly bureaucrats doing field work. The petroleum industry does provide goods, products, and services that are without doubt vital to our national security. So that has to be taken into consideration when having these debates and discussions.

However, if I were Mister Exxon, and saw every day that the Leader of the Free World took every opportunity to bash my industry and company, I think I would be sorely tempted to throw the switch, bring the entire line to a screeching halt, refuse to drill, ship, refine, or deliver a single drop of gasoline for at least a week. Wonder what that might do to gas prices?

Who is John Galt?

President Barack Obama announced Thursday that the Justice Department is assembling a team to “root out any cases of fraud or manipulation” in oil markets that might be contributing to $4 a gallon-plus gasoline prices.

Well, that’s certainly a relief, isn’t it?

On the plus side, he won’t have to look very far. Won’t even have to leave home. While commodities markets are quite complicated, they do still function on the principles of supply and demand. The lower the supply, and/or the higher the demand, the higher the price climbs. And this administration still refuses to allow resumption of deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

To be fair, that isn’t the only thing that is affecting it. Summer driving season is upon us, which means more demand. There is unrest and full-out conflict in several oil-producing nations, which at least threatens to affect the supply. And, China and India continue to expand their automotive fleets, further pressuring the demand side.

And, there is the speculation market. Traders make bets by purchasing and selling units of future production. This can be, and sometimes is, subject to crooked manipulation, but only in the short term. If a speculative bubble gets blown up without the underlying economic conditions to support it, the prices would quickly come back down. I suspect that these Evil Speculators are who the President has in mind to make out to be the bad guy in this scenario. There’s always a Bad Guy for Obama to demonize and go after, isn’t there?

The “Green” movement has pretty much stopped any expansion of our domestic production, both drilling and refining. This has to change, unless we want to pay higher and higher prices for gasoline and diesel, which are already rippling through the entire economy driving the costs of everything.

Folks, windmills and golf cart-cars are not going to solve this problem. We need more production, more drilling, and yes, people need to conserve. As far as it goes, I don’t have a problem if someone wants an electric car. Perhaps they live close to their work to make it effective. For most of us, however, they are not practical. But we can make sure we are driving within the posted speed limits, keeping up proper maintenance, and driving easy to get as much miles per gallon as possible. That alone, however, is not enough.

Back in the Bush administration, they tried hard to open up the ANWR area in Alaska for drilling. Many fought tooth and nail to stop that, citing “trashing the environment,” there was a very small amount there and not worth it (claims I’ve seen widely disputed), and after all, it would take ten years before a drop of oil came out of the ground.

Guess what? That was about 10 years ago. If we’d gotten off our duffs back then and started the process, we would now be, or would soon be, using that crude to add to the world supply. Which would be putting at least some downward pressure on the prices.

So congratulations, Mr. President, looks like you are getting what you wanted: for energy prices to “necessarily skyrocket.” Hope you enjoy your one term.

The president also called for undoing the Bush tax cuts for upper-income taxpayers, and for canceling other tax cuts many of them receive such as the mortgage interest deduction — which he called “spending reductions in the tax code.”

Emphasis mine.

Get that? “Spending Reductions” in the tax code actually means increasing taxes. Just like any good Liberal would do.

If one has been paying any attention at all to the debate, and the semantics involved, for the last decade or so, this shouldn’t actually come as a surprise. After all, they still scream and yell about Tax Cuts For The Rich That Weren’t Paid For.

That sort of language tends to get into the part of the population that pays half-attention to the political world. On the surface, it sort of makes sense, I mean, you can’t reduce your income without cutting out something (paying for it), after all, right?

The problem, however, is that it also reinforces the notion that the Federal Government is Mother, Father, and All Things To All, and how dare you try to take away their money. Everything belongs to the government, and what you get is what they allow you to keep for yourself, for the good of everyone else.

Here’s the thing: We DO have a serious budget problem, and Paul Ryan’s proposals only begin to address those problems. Don’t get me started on the bogus $38 Billion they just agreed to “cut.”

The biggest issue I believe is the fact that no one can even understand the numbers we need to address. I mean, I know what $100K is, roughly a house, if you shop around. I can picture a million or so. But once we get over that seven figures, it’s almost abstract. We don’t even grasp the concept of how much it is, how large a number it is.

People go bonkers when they learn they paid $5 Service Fee to use the ATM at the mall. But the same people’s eyes glaze over when the talking heads start throwing out “They cut $38 Billion from the budget.” “$4.6 Trillion (over 10 years, whatever that means).” Most of us simply do not understand the concept.

And on top of the confusion, Obama and the Democrats are going to start yelling from the rooftops about “Spending Reductions” in the tax code, which you will now know is simply how they are going to say “Raise Taxes” in hopes that you don’t know what it means.

We need to get serious about this, and get serious right now. Every single dollar that is spent by the government needs to be examined and questioned. Nothing should be left out of those considerations, not even Defense. Of course, we can’t leave our nation and the military vulnerable, or hurt the pay of military members, but there must be redundant capabilities, obsolete and unused programs still being funded, and the like that must be examined and trimmed as needed.

Until we get serious about this, we will keep hurtling towards that cliff of bankruptcy. And Obama seems insistent on stomping the throttle to get there.

***Update***

Just as I put this up, I find Allahpundit finds the CBO has taken the bogus $38 Billion in “cuts” and rendered them completely laughable. Really, guys? You pushed it to the brink, fighting and clawing, for a less than a rounding error?

He might be serious; on the other hand, he might just be after attention. After all, his TV Show “Celebrity Apprentice” is in the middle of its run right now, and as they say, there’s no such thing as bad publicity. Either way, he is causing a buzz.

One of the many things he keeps bringing up the Obama “Birth Certificate” story; for those that have been living under a rock, it has to do with the idea that Barack Obama may have been born someplace other than Hawaii and thus not eligible to be President. He claimed he’s got private investigators searching for answers, and they (and he) can’t believe what they’ve found so far.

Now, as far as it goes, do not count me as a “birther.” For my own opinion, his mother was an American Citizen, and if there was anything strange, it would be a technicality. For example, one of the theories claims he may have actually been born in Kenya, and while she was a citizen, she would have had to file certain paperwork upon return to the Unites States, which she supposedly did not do. As a I said, a paperwork technicality.

(And just for the record, I do have suspicions about it, but only at what is there; something ‘embarrassing,’ but not disqualifying; for my money, I’m betting that Barack Obama, Sr, may not actually be listed as the father, or something along those lines.)

Now, to be fair to Trump, he is also talking about a lot more than Birther Conspiracies; he is hitting economics, energy production, foreign policy, and general ineptitude of this administration to whoever will give him air time. Too bad all that is lost in the static of the birth certificate nonsense.

Now, I’m not one to tend to jump on the ‘Flavor of the Week’ of potential Presidential nominees. I think we have several good, winning possibilities to run against Obama. Heck, I’m thinking that my nearly blind Beloved Lhasa would give him a good run! But, just for fun, let’s look at Trump.

There are several things that make Donald Trump an attractive possibility. People often think that our Government, especially with the debt and economic factors being what they are, might benefit from being run like a business. And that would be one Trump’s strong points. He’s built an empire, lost it, and rebuilt again.

And while some might wonder exactly where Obama’s loyalties lie in relation to America and the Capitalist system we favor, there can be no doubt that Trump loves America, and loves the capitalist system. Add to that that one does not get to the level of business that Trump has without having at least a clue of how to wheel and deal to get jobs done. And, think about him across the table from some American adversary? I don’t think he’d give away crucial defense secrets in order to get a photo-op handshake.

Bottom line, I actually suspect that Donald Trump is probably playing the news cycle for publicity; on the chance he is serious, I actually don’t think he’d survive too long in the primary process. But, assuming he is serious, and somehow makes it to the nomination, I have to say, I would probably support him.

Well, that’s easy to say; I think I would support anyone on the Republican side, especially against Obama, with (at least) one exception: Should the crazy Representative from Texas Ron Paul somehow end up with the Republican nomination, I would NOT support him, and would likely stay home on election day.

**Update** This morning, I wake up to this: If he doesn’t get the Republican nomination, he would ‘probably’ run as an independent. This is not good; I’m all for anyone who desires and has the means to seek whatever office they choose, but the effect on things this time would be the same as 1992, when Ross Perot split off enough conservative-leaning votes to hand the election to Bill Clinton.