How refreshing the summit was. I haven't seen our law makers at work like that since I was in high school and visited Washington, D.C. on a class trip many, many years ago. An important discussion openly viewed by any and all constituents that wished to tune in. Now that was the transparency we've all waited to see since the Obama inauguration. But, alas, all was not as it seemed.

At the end of this 7 ? hour "policy making discussion", our President politely but sarcastically said thanks to the Republicans for their input, but no thanks to any of it because the Democrats will go it alone. And there is no doubt that, in my mind, President Obama will beg, borrow and steal to get his health care platform through irrespective, of what we the people want or really need.  

Throughout this year-long health care debate Obama has demeaned his office by begging for and buying votes and promising special favors for Louisiana, Florida, Nebraska, labor unions and others with complete disregard for the whole rest of the country's needs, wants, and desires. His health care bill will turn Lady Liberty into the bag lady of the world, and the United States of America will be forced to cow-tail to the whims of malevolent dictators in order to borrow the funds to finance this atrocity. And from us?we the people?he  will steal our inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness by burdening our pocketbooks and our progeny with an indefinable debt that will only grow over time and never diminish one iota.  

November cannot come fast enough for me. I am vehemently opposed to the direction, ideals, and image that this President has imposed on my country. This is not what he promised during his campaign. Where is the hope? Where is the change? Where are the jobs? Where is the Barrack Obama that mesmerized us all with visions of a prosperous, equitable, benevolent new world? Where is the man who continually painted that free, enterprising, industrious American portrait we yearned for and wanted to believe in?  

Well, America, we were sold a bill of goods, and we fell for it hook, line and sinker. And as each day passes, Obama's words ring more hollow. Is there anything that this President now says that we can believe? Has he delivered on even one promise yet? I think not. So here we are, and now we must take things into our own hands. And on Tuesday November 2, 2010, Barack Obama will, as George Bush once said, "hear from all of us. . .".

On November 2, 2010, we will have our chance to tell Barrack Obama and the Congress as a whole exactly what we think of their health care, cap and trade, global warming, card check and all other programs that they want to foist upon us. And we must exercise our right to cast our ballots America. It is an honor, a privilege and our civic duty to change those things that we have the power to change.  President Obama said it himself this week at the summit.  He almost belligerently told those present that the Democrats will move forward alone and, if the public doesn’t like it? Well, “that’s what elections are for.” And never has he been so right.    

NOTE:

       Quackin Duck  has a
couple of funny videos on the subject and, of course, a teriffic song too.  

Is America's national security policy weaker or stronger today than it was a year ago? Former Vice President Dick Cheney is very outspoken on this issue, and he pulls no punches when commenting on the present Administration's policies and procedures. Cheney's comments are usually caustic and to the point, something that seems to rattle the populous and disturb the Obama Administration. So what does the Obama Administration do to quell the uneasiness Dick Cheney is causing? It puts Vice President Joe Biden on the counter attack. And Joe Biden's main objective then is to paint Cheney as a hawkish, foolish, bitter old man who cannot distinguish truth and reality from fairytales and falsehoods. So when Dick Cheney was scheduled to take center stage last weekend on a Sunday talk show, the White House quickly booked Biden spots on two other talk shows. And the battle of the Vice Presidents was on.

On one TV show, Cheney accused the Obama Administration of being soft on terrorism while Biden countered on another station that Cheney doesn't know what he is talking about. Biden said that negotiating with our allies and Iran is doing the job and that the imposition of sanctions will stop Iran from making nuclear weapons. Cheney, on the other hand, retorted that military force should remain on the table and that we can't be certain this Administration will do what is necessary when it is necessary. And so it went. Question after question was asked of both of them until finally the major issue of today was broached?how terrorist threats are being handled. Biden argued that the underwear bomber, the 9/11 terrorists, and all other enemy combatants should be tried in federal court, rationalizing his position with the premise that Bush did that very thing himself. Cheney, on the other hand, simply and emphatically disagreed, once again supporting the use of military tribunals instead of our federal court system.  

But strangely, Biden's and Cheney's answers to questions on national security, terror and terrorism, and the coming 9-11 and underwear bomber trials obviously avoid the single-most important reason that George Bush didn't use military tribunals. The deliberately ignored fact is that military tribunals were not yet legal.

Biden and almost everyone else who defends prosecuting the underwear bomber in federal court use the shoe bomber as an example, forgetting that the shoe bomber was arrested back in 2002. Biden and almost everyone else who defends the decision to prosecute the 9-11 detainees in federal court heavily rest their case on the fact that President Bush held 300 terrorist trials in our courts instead of in military tribunals. But they neglect to mention that all these incidents took place before 2008, the year that military tribunals became legal.  

The only person who even questioned this was Ann Coulter who, after researching the subject, found that the answer is purely and simply that by law a military tribunal could not take place. About a month after September 11, President Bush had issued an executive order for the creation of military commissions. But immediately after he signed the order, Congressional and secular opposition rose up against their formation. This continued for the next seven years. So ferocious was this opposition that twice the constitutionality of military tribunals was argued before the Supreme Court. And it wasn't until the summer of 2008?six years after the shoe bomber was convicted?that the issue was resolved and the first military tribunal case was heard. Until then, President Bush had no recourse other than to use our Federal court system to bring these terrorists to justice. And that includes Richard Reid, the shoe bomber. So the truth is that the opposition's argument?that Bush did it by choice so it is okay for Obama to do it by choice?is absolutely false.

But what does this Administration care about whole truth? They continually seem to be making it up as they go and then have the utter audacity to claim that Cheney is rewriting history. No one in this Administration seems to remember vital information or to have the ability to research any subject in question to find out real, honest answers. No one having anything to do with this Administration seems to remember just how heavily litigated the whole issue of military tribunals was, even though they were part of the opposition. No one having anything to do with this Administration remembers anything that would or could give even an inch on issues that would vindicate George Bush. No one having anything to do with this Administration will ever thank George Bush for anything or stop blaming him for everything. Because no one in this Administration seems to be capable of shouldering any amount of responsibility decorously or otherwise or accepting even a modicum of criticism about anything ever.

Don’t forget that
Quackin Duck  
has a really good song that goes along with this article.

The massive snowfall of 2010 has to be the cause. It has shut down the government so no news of any interest is coming out of Washington. And reporters, commentators, bloggers and all other media are just plain bored. That’s it! Boredom must be the cause of this new plethora of Palin persecution. In this world filled with economic woes, Iranian threats, skyrocketing healthcare costs, and unfolding terrorist plots, there is nothing better for them to do than have another go around at Sarah Palin hating. Just what is it about Sarah Palin that her detractors find so threatening, distasteful, or objectionable?  

When John McCain first introduced her as his running mate, I honestly had never heard of her. I wondered why, if McCain was making a play for the female vote, he didn’t ask the likes of Meg Whitman (eBay) or Carly Fiorina (HP) to join his campaign.  The economic expertise that they would have brought to the table was exactly the experience he needed on his ticket.  Instead, he chose this dynamo from Alaska who took the country by storm.  And from day one this country started choosing up sides where Sarah Palin was concerned and that continues to this day.

But like her or not, agree with her or not, she is not stupid and she is not an idiot. She may not be the most inspirational leader of all time, but there are a multitude of people out there who really want to listen to what she has to say. Where ever she goes crowds flock to see her. There is something magnetic and very intoxicating about her. Her first book is on the bestseller list. She has been hired by Fox News. And now the Tea Party Movement has adopted her as their cover girl.  

What are her motives? Where is she going from here? What will her next move be? Whatever she decides to do it must be decisive and defining. Right now there are glaring inconsistencies in what she espouses and no definitive solutions in anything she advocates. Sarah Palin must figure out just what it is she wants to be when she grows up.

If indeed she aspires to higher public office, now is the time for her to cultivate a positive agenda, to formulate viable solutions and to present her conclusions succinctly to a public eagerly looking to her for answers. Sarah Palin must do this right now before her public becomes impatient and looses confidence in her and she must do it right now before her adversaries get the upper hand. Her adversaries are busily working on finalizing their caricature of her from which there will be no return. And if Sarah Palin doesn't take a stand, doesn't establish her creditability and doesn’t prove her detractors wrong she will be labeled and stereotyped as a brainless, inept hockey mom forever.  

This Ole Quacker would like nothing more than to see Sarah Palin make it. I firmly believe it is up to her public, folks like you and me, to show her the way. Now go to http://www.quackinduck.com and hear the song that goes with this article and also the previous one called They‘re Nailin’ Palin’ to the Wall (see song list) and sing her praises. Thanks so much for reading.

Quackin Duck  

Something has to go. The nation's budget deficit must be addressed and all "ineffective, outdated, or duplicative programs" must be cut. So we say goodbye to NASA's Constellation Systems Program and 4,600 jobs at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and hello to a 3.5 billion dollar savings to pay for some of the pork allocated this year.

The Constellation Program's mission was to return astronauts to the moon by 2020 and eventually send them to Mars and beyond. But President Obama has different ideas and directions for our space administration. NASA's new emphasis will be on blazing ". . . a new trail of discovery and development."   NASA Administrator and former astronaut Charles Bolden said, "We will facilitate the growth of new commercial industries and we will expand our understanding of the earth, our solar system and the universe beyond.” Maybe he should have added, "with our feet firmly planted on the ground."

It all began with a thing called Sputnik 1, launched on October 4, 1957. That launch really started something. I was a sophomore in high school when the realization hit the whole United States that we had been one-upped by the Soviet Union of all things. President Eisenhower was under the gun and forced to put away his five-iron. The attack on Eisenhower came from all sides. America wanted an answer to why Eisenhower was able to free the world from Nazi domination but couldn't protect the universe from a Communist takeover.   Eisenhower's answer came at 10:55 pm on January 31, 1958, when the Juno 1 booster carrying Explorer 1 lifted off the ground from Cape Canaveral, Florida.  

And, on July 29, 1958, President Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act into law and NASA was born. NASA officially opened its doors on October 1, 1958, less than a year after the launch of Sputnik 1, and the Space Race went into full swing.

So here we are now, fifty years later, and trillions in government debt are forcing the end to this magnificent adventure. I will miss watching as the rockets disappear into the blue from my vantage point in New Smyrna Beach directly across from the Cape. I will miss hearing the sonic boom that always signaled the shuttle's reentry into our atmosphere and always elicited an involuntary sigh of relief.  I will miss the after-shock that rattled my windows and marked the shuttle's safe return and landing from a mission well done. But hopefully in the near future the program will be refunded. Hopefully it will return in full force invigorated and redesigned. And hopefully it will employ all the newest technologies that will propel us well beyond the 21st century.  

To all involved with the Manned Space Flight Program: Thanks for the ride. It is what dreams are made of. And you made it possible. Thanks so much.

Now go to http://www.quackinduck.com/ and sing this week’s song and watch the videos staring the astronauts.

Quackin Duck  

Thanks for reading.

Did you think Obama's math was faulty? I don't know about you, but the numbers the President talked about in his State of the Union Address just didn't add up in my mind. Obama firmly believes that if he freezes?that's right, freezes not cuts?some programs,  $20 billion dollars will be realized  and he will be responsible for making everything all right or at least for putting the U.S .on a strong footing toward fiscal responsibility. BUNK!!  

In the same breath, he called for an immediate Jobs Bill which, to you and me, is just another stimulus. The last stimulus cost over three quarters of a trillion dollars. So:  $750 Billion minus $20 Billion leaves . . .? Just who does he think he is kidding? And he is still pushing ahead with the 1.5 trillion dollar Health Care fiasco, proposing forgiving billions in student loans, and  . . . I could go on but Obamanomics give me agida.

In just those few things I have named, we are looking at increasing the deficit by two?maybe three?trillion over the next few years while saving twenty billion a year if Obama really does what he says. Where is this money coming from? All the monies paid out for the Bush give-a-way fiasco called T.A.R.P. have been paid back with interest and the funds are sitting in the Fed burning a hole in Barrack Obama's, Nancy Pelosi's, and other Lefties' pockets. All they want to do is spend it and more.

How about paying down our debt? Did that ever occur to any one on the left in Congress?  How about cutting spending on ALL government programs? And how about suspending some programs, like Congressional pay increases, for a year or two so that the Government coffers wouldn't be quite so empty.  Look, if Congress can demand that the fat-cat bankers delay or reject bonuses, then it is only right that Congress should set the example of no raises, no pork, period.

It is time that Congress showed true fiscal responsibility and started paying for every program that they pass and that that they stopped feeding their bellies more pork. It is time for Congress to rein in the spending and stop creating more entitlement give-a-way programs. The U.S.A. is in real financial trouble. Now is the time to do something about it before Peking Duck becomes a staple at the White House.

p.s. The song that prompts commentary like this is posted weekly at http://www.quackinduck.com. Enjoy.

Quackin Duck  

Last Tuesday a bright red pebble exploded right between the eyes of the bluest Goliath of them all.  And when Goliath collapsed, the reverberation was felt across the whole country.  But who is this unknown David who took deliberate aim and squarely hit his mark? What magic does he have at his command that enabled him to accomplish such a stunning defeat of the mighty Massachusetts Democratic machine? "Could he be "The One"?"

Who knows? In time he may well prove himself to be "The One", but for now he is none other than a regular, ordinary guy by the name of Scott Brown. He is a guy graced with good looks, radiating charm, and a lot of common sense. He brilliantly sized up the voting populous of Massachusetts, critically assessed the situation, and wisely chose to campaign on the issues on which he knew he could make a difference.    

This bright red pebble not only struck down Massachusetts politics. It catapulted all the way to Washington and landed in Harry Reid's lap as the 41st vote.  And as the 41st vote, Scott Brown will be able to delay?if not stop?the passage of bills pertaining to the issues he campaigned on?Cap  and Trade, Stimulus and, of course, Health Care. When Scott Brown takes his seat in the U.S. Senate, the filibuster-proof majority ceases to be and sanity is restored in the Senate Chamber.

But Scott Brown's winning of the Senate seat from Massachusetts is more than just a victory for a guy who drives a truck and lives in Wrentham. He is now David the giant killer to a nation of hopeful folks who needed some light to shine in this dark tunnel of Obama politics. And, just like David, he must continue to be exactly the man he presented himself to be and not succumb to Washington pressures.  

He must always remember that the voter reigns supreme. And if the voter feels patronized or deceived the voter will use the power of ballot box to depose the occupant of the "People's Seat". The People innately know when their seat, just like that old truck, needs its oil changed.

If he can stand up to the huge political pressures he is about to experience, his image will soar.  And if he does, a trust will develop and grow that will prove to be unbeatable. He must take his time and glean all he can because he has a lot to learn.  

The whole nation is watching and is truly hoping he develops into "The One". This Ole Quacker among them.  

Congratulations to our new Senator from Massachusetts for a job well done.

There is a song that goes along with this article called Since Ted’s Been Gone and some fun cartoons and videos at:

Quackin Duck Humorous Political Commentary  

Hope to see you there. Thanks for reading,

Lexy Duck