If I were an advisor to Barack Obama I would advise him to put a muzzle on his wife. She spoke at a Day Care center in Ohio.

As she has many times in the past, Mrs. Obama complains about the lasting burden of student loans dating from her days at Princeton and Harvard Law School. She talks about people who end up taking years and years, until middle age, to pay off their debts. “The salaries don’t keep up with the cost of paying off the debt, so you’re in your 40s, still paying off your debt at a time when you have to save for your kids,” she says.

“Barack and I were in that position,” she continues. “The only reason we’re not in that position is that Barack wrote two best-selling books… It was like Jack and his magic beans. But up until a few years ago, we were struggling to figure out how we would save for our kids.” A former attorney with the white-shoe Chicago firm of Sidley & Austin, Obama explains that she and her husband made the choice to give up lucrative jobs in favor of community service. “We left corporate America, which is a lot of what we’re asking young people to do,” she tells the women. “Don’t go into corporate America. You know, become teachers. Work for the community. Be social workers. Be a nurse. Those are the careers that we need, and we’re encouraging our young people to do that. But if you make that choice, as we did, to move out of the money-making industry into the helping industry, then your salaries respond.” Faced with that reality, she adds, “many of our bright stars are going into corporate law or hedge-fund management.”What she doesn’t mention is that the helping industry has treated her pretty well.

In 2006, the Chicago Tribune reported that Mrs. Obama’s compensation at the University of Chicago Hospital, where she is a vice president for community affairs, jumped from $121,910 in 2004, just before her husband was elected to the Senate, to $316,962 in 2005, just after he took office. And that does not count the money Mrs. Obama receives from serving on corporate boards. She would have been O.K. even without Jack’s magic beans.

So, it is okay for the Obamas to make barrels of money, but the rest of us better not have the audacity to hope for such abundance in our own lives. Or maybe this is her way of warning us that if her husband is elected president he’ll see to it that there are no corporate jobs left in America.

Who are today’s conservative trail blazers? Who do we have that can carry the torch of the likes of William F. Buckley, Jr. and Ronald Reagan? Maybe you have someone in mind: we have politicians, pundits, radio hosts and writers, some of whom are very admirable and convincing. But who can you think of that can reach beyond their targeted audience and inspire the next generation of Americans?

The Democrats have Barack Obama. His oratory is unmatched by anybody on our side. It matters not that if brought to fruition his policies could be disastrous for our economy and our security. I disagree with Senator Obama on almost everything, but I must admit that he is out there every day giving people hope. It’s false hope, but his supporters either don’t know or don’t care.

The irony here is that a recent survey found that more than 90% of Americans consider themselves to be happy. If we are all so happy why are we longing for hope and change? Is it the obvious - that gas and food prices are increasing? Are Americans just fickle - out with the old and in with the new? Is it the Media telling us that everybody else is miserable and constantly reminding us of the rising costs of gas and food?

So you ask, what do I want to see in a conservative leader? Certainly not someone who promises what cannot be delivered. We need someone who is eloquent, yet humble; tough, yet likeable and above all, honest. One who has the ability to convince the American people to believe in themselves and to have faith in each individual’s unique abilities. That the hope that exists in all of us is not due to anything the government can do for us, but of that which we can do for ourselves - especially when the government gets out of our way. That American greatness is due to the citizenry rather than the government. I’d like someone that can deliver a knock-out punch in a debate while retaining the appearance of gentility and grace. And someone that believes that upholding the Constitution of the United States is more important than consensus and bipartisanship.

In the age of 24 hour news, the blogosphere, internet and satellite radio we may never again see a conservative voice able to rise above the constant squawk to deliver a message of hope which is grounded in reality and common sense. Maybe people simply do not want to hear reality, common sense and logic. Four to eight years of an Obama Presidency might change that, but I really don’t want to go there.

So, our local, state and federal taxes aren’t enough for Barack Obama and his band of merry men. Nope, he has a plan to wipe out world poverty by imposing yet another new tax on us.

Obama’s Poverty Plan

The bill will force us to pay .07% of our GDP to the world. So now, on top of all of our federal entitlement programs, we can add a new global entitlement program. Good grief!

All we keep hearing about is the need for national health care. Unfortunately, the government has never been a very good steward of our hard earned money. And we all know that when the government gives birth to a new program, that program’s life expectancy will far exceed that of any American citizen.

I’m just another blogger, but I also have a lot of experience in the insurance industry and I am very aware of the high price of health care and health insurance. What I’d like to hear from our politicians are more ideas for making health insurance more affordabe for American citizens, rather than bankrupting our children and grandchildren with a new entitlement program.

I’ve come across several ideas, that if taken together, seem to be quite promising. The first is the Heath Care Choice Act, sponsored by Congressman John Shadegg (R-AZ). http://johnshadegg.house.gov/news/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=80722

This bill would allow consumers to compare insurance policies from across the country, rather than restricting them to the state where they live. I live in NY and if I were to purchase a policy for myself and my family it would cost more than $12000 per year. Wouldn’t it be nice if I could go out of state and find a similar policy for 30% to 40% less? I sure think so.

Another way to help bring down the costs of health care is to put a cap on punitive awards in medical malpractice claims. All of the trial lawyers naturally hate this idea. But when medical care providers’ malpractice premiums are astronomical they have to pass that cost along to the consumers.

And what about health savings accounts? In my last job they offered HSA’s but you had to re-enroll every year, and any money left in the HSA at the end of the year was forfeited. That makes no sense to me. Why can’t we set up HSA’s like we do IRA’s and 401k’s and make them portable? Imagine the amount of money a young person could build up in an HSA over the course of his career? An HSA in conjunction with a high deductible health policy would be a very affordable option for a young healthy person.

These are just a few ideas I have found that seem to make sense. Why aren’t all of the politicians embracing these ideas and finding ways to make them work? I can only believe that it is because these plans would take the power away from the politicians and put it back in the hands of the people.

Forbes has published a list of America’s most miserable cities for the year 2008. The top five are:

1-Detroit, MI
2-Stockton, CA
3-Flint, MI
4-New York, NY
5-Philadelphia, PA

Some of the criteria used to rank the cities included things that we can’t control, like the weather. They also used income tax, violent crime and unemployment.

Not surprisingly, each of those cities’ mayor is a Democrat (except NY, which has a liberal Independent). Each state has a Democrat for a governor (except CA which has a liberal RINO). So I guess it could be argued that if you vote for liberal politicians you are voting for your own misery.

I wonder what the misery factor will be if we have a President Obama or Cinton?

If you listen to some of Barack Obama’s lofty speeches you will find that on occasion he will throw in a few of his grand plans for our country. He rails against the Corporations and CEO’s for their grotesque profits at the expense of the poor workers. Google “Communist Manifesto” and replace the word “Bourgeois” with Corporation or CEO or simply “The Rich” and some of what he says is eerily similar to the words of Karl Marx. It’s quite frightening to me.

Liberals are much more in tune with the Communist Manifesto than even I had dreamed, until I read in it’s entirety the Communist Manifesto. Much of it sounds like the Democrat Party platform.

Here are just a few examples: Marx wanted to abolish private ownership of property. The Supreme Court in the Kelo case (5-4 decision, the conservatives lost that one) made it okay for someone’s property to be taken away for the good of the majority. Marx wanted to abolish countries and nationality. Just look at the current immigration debate, Obama thinks we should all learn Spanish. Marx wanted to abolish the family. We all know the liberal view of the traditional family. Marx was for the common interests rather than the individual. That sounds familiar-can you say “National Health Care”. He wanted a heavy progressive or graduated income tax. Does that ring any bells? Marx was all for “free love”. Need I say more?

These people scare me. They should scare all of us.

Well, thank goodness that Mrs. Barack Obama is finally proud of her country. This is the quote:

“What we have learned over this year is that hope is making a comeback. It is making a comeback. And let me tell you something — for the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country. And not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change. And I have been desperate to see our country moving in that direction and just not feeling so alone in my frustration and disappointment. I’ve seen people who are hungry to be unified around some basic common issues, and it’s made me proud.”

So, she’s proud of her country. Well, isn’t that special! What exactly is she so proud of? The accomplishments of hard working American people? Nope. The way we all came together after 9-11? Nope. The outpouring of financial contributions of Americans to the 9-11 victims, the survivors of Hurricane Katrina, or the tsunami survivors? Nope. Could she be proud that President Bush has done more than any American President in history to help fight aids in Africa? Nope. Maybe it’s the sacrifice made by Americans during WWI, WWII, the Korean War, and Vietnam War? Nope. Is it the sacrifice made by the brave men and women in our military fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan? Nope! None of those.

Where is her frustration and disappointment coming from? She seems to have the life many of us only dream of. What is the cause of her desperation? And what has changed lately to suddenly turn her anger, frustration and desperation into pride in her country? Apparently, nothing other than a bunch of people buying into her husband’s rhetoric (as well as rhetoric he’s lifted from others). The more I think about that stupid quote, the more stupid it sounds. She’s basically proud of America for nothing. She’s proud of people because they are hoping for change.

My dad was right, soon our national anthem is just going to be “Duh.”

Unfortunately, that light is a train heading straight for the US economy. If this guy is elected president it will be a complete train wreck.

Obama gave us a glimpse into his bold plans of change today. He plans to spend $210 billion to revitalize the economy and create lots of “green” jobs. Excuse me, but where in the Constitution does it say that the government is supposed to create jobs? Businesses create jobs, entrepreneurs create jobs. Governments don’t creat jobs, they create bureacracy and debt.

He also plans to start some sort of infrastructure improvement fund with a special government bank. And let’s not forget about his national healthcare plan. He didn’t say he’ll eliminate any existing government programs. So, we’ll still have the Social Security mess and the Medicare mess that we can’t pay for, in addition to all of his new goodies.

But don’t worry, he says that it’s all paid for. He’ll end the Iraq war and pay for it with that. He’ll end President Bush’s tax cuts and pay for it with that. Then he’ll tax evil rich people and pay for it with that. Unfortunately, his definition of rich is basically a family with two working parents. He just won’t tell you that.

The sad thing is, the media won’t give him any scrutiny. Did you hear that last night Chris Matthews said he got a tingly feeling in his leg after hearing Obama’s speech. Kind of creepy if you ask me. But sure, he’ll play hard ball with Obama. Yeah, right.

I have to admit, over the past week I’ve lost a bit of my excitement about the upcoming election. So I thought I would see if I could find an interesting article or two from other sources to post.

I found one whose title said something about how great America is. I thought, that must be good. Boy, was I wrong. It was written by a woman who is an English citizen living here in the US. She started out by saying that Europeans love and admire Americans. That was my first clue that she was full of BS. Then began her two paged rant about how President Bush has taken away all of our rights. She cries for all of us because of the Patriot Act and wire tapping. She wishes she could vote to make sure the Democrats put an end once and for all to this abuse of our rights!

Isn’t that so typical of liberals? They just put all of the BS out there, the media goes along with it and people fall for it. Come on, do you know anyone whose phone calls George Bush has listened to? Do people really think the government cares what regular people like us are reading in the library? Of course they don’t, they just hate George Bush and they like giving terrorists Constitutional protections.

To the woman who wrote that article I say - “Hey Lady! If it’s so bad here then get the hell out! Go home and don’t come back!”

The nannies are at it again. I heard today on Paul Harvey that several law makers in Mississippi have proposed a law that would make it illegal for restaurants to serve fat people. Yes, you heard me right. They actually want to legislate that you must discrimate against a certain group of people. Didn’t a lot of people fight and die so this kind of thing can’t happen?

The law is not likely to pass. But once these wacky laws get proposed they tend to gain momentum and then you’ll hear about it in places like New York and California where everyone thinks it’s a great idea.

So, who would decide who is fat and who is not? If you can pinch an inch can you dine? Will the hostess be armed with a tape measure and figure out your BMI before granting you a table and a menu? Maybe they will install little doors, and if you can’t squeeze through no food for you. What about pregnant women, or recently pregnant women? Will they need a doctors note to snag a seat? What if you just want a salad with dressing on the side? What about those of us who are not fat yet? If we eat at the restaurants enough times will we become fat? Will someone keep a record, and send us away when we’ve reached our limit? Who will enforce the law? The obese police?

Be afraid-the nannies are coming soon to a town near you.