Barack Obama: Half Man, Half Horse?

Saturday brought two pieces of mail.  One was a Thanksgiving card posted in a timely manner, but which arrived several days too late -- maybe 'cause the credit cards used to fuel up USPS trucks were rejected due to the deficit. . .or perhaps stalled electric postal vehicles that logically should have been based instead on hydrogen technology couldn't reach the plug for a charge.

However - gadzooks! -- the other piece originated from The White House, adorned with raised blue lettering on a quality envelope, sharing space with an actual 45-cent postage stamp depicting the image of a sculptured centaur.  Yes, a centaur, one of those half man-half horse guys, except the man part was holding a bow, apparently poised to shoot off an arrow somewhere.  Seems this might be the Obama Administration’s strange way of expressing support for the Second Amendment?

Yet – shouldn’t we expect more from Pennsylvania Avenue?  Don’t we have a right to expect stamps innocently depicting solar panels, windmills, Marxist heroes or polar bears drowning in carbon dioxide emissions?  I have my own fairly sane liberal side, but really. . .an art-appreciation stamp which screams, "We in the White House are absolutely consumed with the arts and entertainment. . ."

I guess the White House never heard of postage meters (and money is no object with these folks, so the extra expense would be irrelevant) , which would have been the better option, because now I have to spend hours in sober contemplation of why The White House wants snail mail recipients to associate its occupants with half man-half horse beasts. Aside from all the other questionable actions instituted by this bunch, is it within reason that there’s a plot afoot to fundamentally transform Americans into centaurs?

Could be this is simply the Administration’s idea of a Christmas season greeting stamp, though at this point I’d anticipate something with more of a Middle Eastern Christmas flavor, such as Coptic Christians in Egypt being killed or driven out of their homes while churches burn to the ground, as the Egyptian people currently experience ongoing hope and change under the Muslim Brotherhood’s beneficent leadership.

Wait a minute.  I think I know.  Possibly, the stamp represents diversity? Yes, they’re big on diversity at the White House, for sure, and there’s nothing more diverse than a man & horse combo.  But who gets to be the rear end of the horse, and what exactly does one call that part?  Then again, what are the chances anybody will meet even one centaur with whom or for which to be diverse?  Doesn't the Post Office just make flag stamps anymore?

Nevertheless, I was holding in my hands a letter from them, the they of Washington.  And I didn't want to open it.

Why not?  Because a letter from TWH means a letter from BHO, and I've written and said some pretty nasty things about the President and his Administration, and likely will continue upon this course energetically.  So why open an envelope stamped with half a man and half a horse, when I just know the contents will drive me bonkers?  Wait -- maybe it's a wedding invitation?  No, nobody's getting married that I care about.  Whoa -- a letter of resignation, perhaps?  That would be enticing.  Nah, nah, he wouldn't do that.  Better just to wait for the impeachment, it's gotta be right around the corner.  Oh, I know – some insider minion looking for a donation to a   socialist charity or to some George Soros foundation, or to Acorn, or whatever they're called now.

Good grief, I suppose I may as well just open the thing and be done with it.

Carefully, I opened the envelope from top corner to bottom corner, cautiously examining the interior for razor blades or mysterious white powder residue.  One can't be too attentive to detail, these days, no matter the source.  Everything appeared normal, except the letter inside clearly consumed two pages, not simply one.  Oh, what semantic torture awaits me, I listlessly pondered?

And so I pulled out the letter, a document beautifully executed via some government printer, and imprinted with the words, The White House, Washington. The second page ended with the word, Sincerely, followed by President Obama's signature -- I mean, President Obama's auto-pen signature.  Somehow, I don't think he was sitting around just before Thanksgiving, waiting to sign a letter to a Not-A-Fan such as I.

Intrigued, however, even before I read the letter, I scanned the pages for the Presidential Seal or a government watermark or something official.  Yes, there was a tiny embossed seal at the top of the first page, but to my amazement the only watermark I discovered was a recycling emblem.  Obviously, they wanted to make a big deal out of using recycled paper, but I really had my heart set on something patriotic like an eagle, and by this time even a half man-half horse embossment would have been a welcome sight.

The letter. . .the letter concerned the President's proposed immigration policy.  Why did they send me this letter?  Oh, then I knew.  For several years, I had been sending faxes to various government officials online via the national lobbying/educational organization, Numbers USA, a group vitally concerned with illegal immigration into the USA and its long debilitating influence on American jobs and the economy.  Following years of faxes to The White House, I somehow now deserved one official response?  Why?  Because the elections are over and now the President is ready to go all out for his "reform" ideas.  Politics.  Suicidal national agendas. 

How is it that these people worry incessantly about this country’s criminal invaders and benefits due them for reasons beyond comprehension – yet the Obama folk can’t even keep four bona fide Americans alive in Benghazi, Libya?  I guess one’s sense of urgency, like home, is where you make it.

I wonder, what will happen first, immigration “reform” or the trial of the “alleged” extremist Islamist Army major shooter involved in that. . .that. . .what did some Admin official call it?. . .oh, right, “workplace violence” at Ford Hood?  Which reminds me, jihad professional psycho doctor dude needs his beard shaved -- or not -- so’s the jury and capital punishment can just get on with it.  And why is the monster still evading the courtroom, while numerous American military personnel who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan rot in federal prison? But not to digress. . .

They must know in Washington, but don't want us to notice, that the election didn't exactly give President Obama a mandate, as only about half the country seemed to be with him and the other half against -- sort of like that half human-half beast stamp thing.  Maybe that stamp actually references half the electorate.  I wonder if the Administration considers the electorate half human and half horse? 

Profoundly disappointed in the paragraphs before me, I start thinking, what the. . .?  This guy, the Prez, is responsible for one of the worst foreign policy initiatives the American people have ever witnessed.  If he can’t get that right, what’s he doing messing around with immigration, as his failed presidency continues on its flight of doom?

I've nothing against the Mexican people, whom, of course, are responsible for considerable illegal immigration to the U.S., and when I served with the Air Force I had many friends of Mexican and mixed descent -- though I should point out, for no good reason other than to be difficult, that one of my best friends with a Mexican heritage entertained this fantasy about one day sitting on the Southern border with a firearm and . . .well, you get it.

So I'm reading the letter -- me, the typical angry old white guy everybody hates these days and can’t wait until we all drop dead, and I'm remembering how, after Obama gave his popular speech before the Democratic National Convention in 2004, I actually wrote his office, complimented his fine presentation and suggested he might run for prez someday.  Got. . .my. . .wish, and I live with it like leprosy every day of the week.

Frankly, among the issues of illegal walk-ins, outrageous demands from dinosaur union thugs and other interests causing chaos, I see trouble ahead -- but the immigration problem will ultimately be settled to the discontent of almost everybody, no matter what.

What can I do now, except file the letter away?  Obviously, I find the inclusion of this particular stamp infinitely more fascinating than a letter full of computer-generated bureaucratic jargon topped off with an auto-pen signature, mailed on behalf of an Administration in love with rule via power-grab, Executive Order and over-regulation perpetrated by university eggheads who live nearly their entire lives immersed in classroom theory, seemingly in the grip of a peculiar desire to institute a socialist-like existence on our soil which failed everywhere and every time it was ever tried. And I’ve certainly no intention of responding, lest I receive a reply like this:

Bits and Pieces for November 2012

DISCLOSURE?  ARE YOU NUTS?  The newly repainted and deodorized White House bunch is up and ready to go, still experiencing considerable trouble in community-organizing its various tales regarding four American deaths in Benghazi, and since they can't even get that straight one must continue holding the hope of UFO "disclosure" from these folks way up in the realm of impossibility.  Regrets to all. . .

WHERE IN GOVERNMENT CAN TRUTH BE FOUND ANYMORE?  I realize political versions of truth have run rampant for years, but really. . .what else might we expect, saddled as we are with Mr. Obama, the President of the United States of Entertainment?  If he hangs out with any more movie celebrities and rock stars, he may as well be given an Actors Equity card.  Or maybe he has one.  Philanderer generals?  Why not, under this Administration everything seems to have gone loosey-goosey, leaving old-fashioned in-government security and loyalty flapping in the winds of hope and change.

ROBBIE GRAHAM OF SILVER SCREEN SAUCERS, accessible in my list of links, is involved with a new motion picture tipping toward a conspiracy and asks that readers preview a trailer of "The Writer With No Hands." on the Internet.  Currently seeking a distributor, the film is nonetheless scheduled for a 2013 release and concerns the bizarre 1997 disappearance and death of powerhouse Hollywood screen writer Gary Devore -- whose body, once located, was missing both hands.  The kicker here is an alleged CIA relationship to Devore's murder.  I can't knowledgeably comment on any of this, but doctoral candidate Graham and associates deeply and reliably explore the world of film, UFOs in the cinema and related subjects of interest, so do check this out at:

http://silverscreensaucers.blogspot.com/2012/11/cia-linked-to-death-of-hollywood.html

THERE THEY GO AGAIN:  After actively cheering on and assisting in the downfall of Middle East dictators by praising the "Arab Spring" and encouraging various factions and misfits with promises of hope and change -- while simultaneously embracing the dirt-bag Muslim Brotherhood -- the Obama Administration clearly deserves a hearty congratulations for the latest Israel/Hamas conflict.  This one's your baby, folks, as much as it is anybody else's.  As Sharia Law grows and prospers throughout the Middle East, the Obama bunch (brought back by a little over half of voters for reasons I will never – fully -- understand) should go down in history as one of the most impressive foreign policy screw-ups and laughingstocks ever.  "Israel has a right to defend itself" is the best this Admin could muster as this tense situation began to bloom, when it should have added the words, "and we stand behind the only real friend we have in the Middle East."

POST ELECTION BLUES:  The Obama campaign's use of digital technology and, not to be forgotten, psychologists and their strange little tools to influence potential voters is already well known, and in conjunction with other maneuvers it apparently worked, especially among young college students and youthful unawares who populate the nation in quantity.  An article about this game plan appeared a few days ago in the New York Times.  Clueless in college and dumbed-down in the dorm.

These, of course, are the same young folk who have no idea how close they might be to becoming subject to an eventual military draft.  Now that the President, Ms. Clinton, et al have prominently encouraged stomping out old Middle East dictators during the "Arab Spring" -- unfortunately and (we assume) unwittingly in exchange for the Muslim Brotherhood and extremist Islam to fill the void -- war may hover closer than ever.  Just ask Israel.  Hello Egypt and Egypt’s new best friend Iran. Check out Syria and our likely covert doings. Mr. Obama's foreign policy has proven disastrous, but since apparently half the USA care neither about that nor domestic policy, we may as well close up shop and just play blissful video games.  Speaking of Egypt, the only reason the pyramids may not be blown up anytime soon by the radical element, which has suggested doing so, would be cash-cow tours paid for by Infidels.

By the way, Barack Obama is not the reincarnation of Abraham Lincoln.  Just to be clear. 

Was not the land of Lincoln exchanged for the land of lies decades ago?

My irrational fear of the moment, incurable even by Obama campaign psych-ops personnel:  That we eventually get a one-party political system via the Democrats, but with several factions from which to choose.  No matter whom one selects for leadership, it's still somebody from one party.  I don't care if the Republicans join the dinosaurs, but we surely need true conservatives, libertarians and other groups with some stability to take up the slack.  At this point, there's probably room for -- what was it? -- the Flying Saucer Party (originally a Gabriel Green idea?) to return, at least for laugh value, because there's nothing funny about the gang remaining in power.  If we could but vote every week. . .

NEW YORK, NEW YORK:  Here in NY State we have a Democratic governor named Andrew Cuomo.  I suspect he wants to be president next time around.  You've probably heard of him, maybe because his father was once our governor.  Oh yeah, those were the days.  Anyway, Andrew's brother, what's-'is'name, appears on ABC-TV, I think he's like a TV journo or something.  I'm not sure, but all I really know is that it's a likely bet that whatever investigative reporting he does for ABC, he'll never be doing an in-depth look at his brother, should he ever be naughty or have naughty things that need to be aired in public.  You know, there's a lot of that stuff where TV news people are related to or married to government folk.  Quite scary, actually, because they run the game and we merely act as chess pieces.  But not to digress too much. . .

So the East Coast and New York were slammed with Hurricane-cum-Super Storm Sandy, chaos ensued, and two things were immediately apparent to me.  First, nobody in Albany (the state capital) seems to have planned a damned thing in case of such a violent encounter with nature.  Weren't they supposed to be ready after all the Katrina hoopla, etc.?

Second, within a day or two after the East Coast was decimated, there comes a strongly worded letter from Governor Cuomo warning the already overwhelmed power companies that, essentially, they had Better Not slough off on their duty to restore power as quickly as possible.  Before they even got to work he was slamming them with a don't-you-dare directive, as if psychic about the upcoming course of events.

 I started conjecturing about Governor Andy's words, wondering what in the world he was up to -- and then I realized.  What a sly fox, I'll bet he was getting ahead of the game just so that, if electrical problems couldn't be solved in short order, he could point to his letter and say, "See?! See?!  I told you this would happen -- don't blame me!"  No, don't blame the governor with presidential aspirations.  It wouldn't look good.  When we run for prez, cover our ass we must.  Got it.

And then, three weeks post disaster, Obama returned to New York, accompanied by the guv and the ever-present meddling and photogenic NY Senator Charles Schumer, for whom life's very blood is the news photographer's camera.  Obama, as previously, gave miserable New Yorkers, many still sans electricity and homes, a pep talk and left.  FEMA is the answer.  FEMA is always the answer.

Meanwhile, sounding somewhat like a madman, the governor proclaims climate change real and THIS is the result and something must be done because, I don't know, is it because the sky is falling?  The gravity in his voice almost has me convinced -- until I read an article from England's Daily Mail (Mail Online) of November 15 emphasizing that "global warming" ended 16 years ago -- with an annual scientific chart and science banter to prove it.

It won't matter.  The politically enthusiastic among us will continue to quote their own science and the governor will continue his leap toward the presidential prize with charisma, charm, nurse-like sympathy and conceptions designed to push The Agenda.  What's real?  I don't know, and neither does he and neither do they.  Maybe the Obama campaign psychologists can explain it.

TOWARD A MORE PERFECT UNION AND A LESS PERFECT NATION:  Richard Trumka, isn't be president of the AFL-CIO or something?  I'm sure he's a pleasant conversationalist, but how come this guy visits the White House so much?  Couldn't involve power, influence and money, could it?  How are these visits helping me as a citizen?  Like much of America, I live near an overtaxed city threatened by imminent bankruptcy, and every bit of the dilemma was caused by promises union negotiations couldn't keep, and now the bargaining money is gone.  My union fantasy?  Well, I would like to see every union member in the country stand up, disband their unions and negotiate one-on-one with the government entities, businesses and corporations for which they work -- and if things don't pan out and union representation is needed, organize brand NEW unions with all NEW faces at the top.  No "old hands."  Every drain needs flushing until the outflow clears, now and then, whether it's a capitalist's drain pipe or the sewer pipe mildly facilitating socialism.  Once essential to the working class, union gains over the decades have brought us to a situation where the union logo frequently depicts something poisonous to the nation's survival, and the most wretched victims are union members who believed and poured both heart and soul into the fantasy, the promise, with their labors.  Isn't is a comfort to see with your very own eyes what a friend of the unions this president is?  The unions beg the president to continue spending like there's no tomorrow, obviously music to his ears.

THE BENGHAZI ATTACK:  Now we know.  Even the CIA quickly realized the precipitant wasn't some idiot video -- yet our White House friends continued to push that particular envelope for days (with new excuses why). Our people, four, died because something went terribly wrong.  Not wrong as in mistake, but in the sense that something deliberate occurred.  Then came the cover-up and Administration fact twisters apparently went to work on diversions and obfuscation.  And this doesn't begin to address what might be the most devious episode of illegal gun-running ever perpetrated by an Administration.  I suppose criminal charges could materialize and, not that it would be a surprise, The Royal Impeachment could become a reality.  This presidency, this White House, appears the dirtiest, most rotten example of politics I've ever witnessed -- and I'm only an outsider whose only advantage is that I don't deceive my thought processes by burying my attention span in NBC, MSNBC and, oh, all the other televised Administration butt coverers and apologists.  If we could get away with it, I suppose most of us would respond to questions about unseemly events which may involve us with excuses, such as "I have nothing to say until the investigation is completed," but sooner or later the trap is sprung and, if we're lucky, at least a sliver of political corruption goes away.  The Benghazi outrage is huge -- and beyond tragic for families of the dead who contemplate justice denied.  The mainstream media?  As usual, they just wish to indulge in sex scandals and mistress misadventures.  As we witnessed during the Obama campaign, the MSM is a modern Trojan horse.

THE NOVEMBER 14 PRESS CONFERENCE held by the President didn't quite turn out to be the epitome of comradery and let-bygones-be-bygones he hoped for.  Nor are Obama's "press conferences" reminiscent of anything I watched while growing up.  What's with the cards on his podium?  He calls out reporters' names by card selection, not by pointing them out and calling names from memory -- probably because he has few contacts with the real media and hosts few press conferences.  Kind of hard to take seriously a White House and president who appear loath to answer relevant questions and find annoying those who ask the important ones.

UNITED NATIONS:  Becoming more frightening by the day as it seeks to tax us and take away individual rights while dissecting our Constitution and sovereignty.   Kick this deluded gang of unindicted socialist criminals out of the U.S. and use the building to house rats, a function for which it’s already and better equipped.  Really, its major function is to cost this country economically and to bring in untalented detritus to muck up the nation. Maybe we could move the Dept. of Education into the U.N. building just to fill it up with something, and then go ahead and dismantle that travesty as well.

SUSAN RICE’S CONFIRMATION FOR THE STATE DEPARTMENT:  No, a thousand times no.  Like the old song goes, ya gotta have heart – and in this case you need to have explicit trust, and whatever the story behind her Benghazi video affirmations, this is a definite no-no.  But watch them confirm her, anyway. 

BERNIE FINE AND SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY:  Months after the child abuse dust storm, all charges against former S.U. assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine have been dropped for lack of hard evidence.  Accusations necessitated the Feds removing file cabinets and other material from his home, and even his wife was pilloried by the media because of assertions that she had sex with numerous members of the basketball team.  The first outrage was Syracuse University's refusal to stand behind its coach, instead firing him immediately in shotgun fashion, lest the odor of rumor taint its reputation.  We wrote in a blog entry back then and repeat it now --  that the Fines should sue S.U., and if I were them I'd go for half those precious university endowment funds which, in many universities, just hang around and accrue interest for decades anyway.  Child abuse is a terrible thing, but the blossoming child abuse cottage industry (not to mention the modern phenomenon of sex offender lists!) intended to administer justice has the potential to warp and become as frightening as storm troopers.  Witness the "war on drugs" industry.  There are words out there, intended as innocent, which destroy lives and often take away basic freedoms unintentionally, and they begin as follows:  If we can save just one. . .

TWINKIES ON THE RUN:  Another demonstration of union greed gone wild?  The (at least temporary) disappearance of Hostess Twinkies, the veteran cake-like substance with something akin to a cream filling, is apparently the second worse thing to happen nationally since Election Day.  18,500 people are instantly out of jobs all over the country, and at least one union blames, blames, blames everything except its own bullheaded approach and national economic circumstances.  Yes, demand for snacks rich in calories has declined and benefits decreased drastically, but even 18,500 people will soon agree that proudly standing behind your union membership card isn't half as good as still having a job. So NOW what's the union going to do for dues-paying folks suddenly tossed out in the street?  Why, pass the problem off to socialist wanna-be representatives of the government, of course.  Maybe community organizers can help.  Maybe Hostess will be bought by somebody who logically moves the company to a right-to-work state and unburdens itself of hundreds of "collective bargaining" tweaks which attached itself to a great company like barnacles over the years. (Update:  The courts have instructed all parties to try again for a Big Save, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see all of those folks returning to work as soon as somebody blinks.)

SAY THE WORDS:  Say it, say the words. . .radical. . .Islamic. . .terrorism.  You'll have to, because our government won't.  Use these words frequently in the course of daily conversation, so we don't ever forget.

AFGHANISTAN:  Just get the hell out.  What we profoundly hoped would make a real difference won't, once the Muslim Brotherhood's hand-picked serpents move in to obliterate the benefits of our presence.  In Central New York a VA medical center is adding on a new huge unit just to deal with traumatic brain injuries, surely a necessity all over the country, and one assumes that we have yet to fathom the enormity of the ongoing Middle East venture in relation to our strong, but currently bonkers, nation.

HAVE A NICE THANKSGIVING, AMERICA:  Right now, I'd be "thankful" just to know why four Americans died without a ghost of a chance for survival in Benghazi, but fear the truth will evade us in return for some half-truth as this event drags on and on.

Dreams of Air Force Saucers in the Wild Blue

I remember when a picture of the AVRO Disc made the rounds back in the late fifties or early sixties -- one of those numerous aviation projects involving disc-shaped aircraft.  Attempts to make the thing a master of the skies hardly went well and it died a quick death.

Thoughts of the AVRO prototype revisited me a few weeks ago when the U.S. Air Force declassified some -- some -- information and drawings from its 1950s top-secret "Project 1794," an enthusiastic undertaking accomplished in conjunction with a Canadian company to build a supersonic honest-to-goodness flying disc.  Make that a flying saucer.

We assume that ambitious plans remained on paper until the project's alleged end in 1960, but the artist's creations - oh, my oh my.  You can find them all over the Internet.  I'll borrow one image and post it here for two reasons.

First, the image depicted here comes from the Web pages of Strike Fighter Consulting, Inc.  I know nothing about them, but inasmuch as their representative Bradley Russell wrote to tell me something about the company -- and features articles about "Project 1794" and other relevant subjects of modern aircraft, weaponry and warfare on their Web site  --  I thought I would mention Strike Fighter here for the benefit of readers current on aviation and, obviously, a world in conflict.  What exactly is Strike Fighter Consulting all about?  According to Russell:

"In case you haven't heard of us, Strike Fighter Consulting consists of

over 50 current and ex-military warfighters that represent the United

States Navy, Air Force, Marines and Army. Its expertise ranges from

fighter pilots, bomber pilots, and test pilots to mission commanders,

intelligence specialists and special operation forces. Strike Fighter

Consulting (SFC) is a military consulting company that delivers the

warfighter to the customer by providing current and diverse expertise

to Department of Defense (DOD) Industry."

So, two links for you today re this site, readers: 

Their Web site is at:  http://strikefighterconsultinginc.com/blog/

and their article about Project 1794 may be found at: 

http://strikefighterconsultinginc.com/blog/usaf-declassifies-bizarre-flying-saucer-schematics/

Side Note::  Readers sometimes write and expect me to know about military aircraft and weaponry because of my four-year Air Force enlistment during the Vietnam years (see my separate AF blog, linked on the side).  Truth is, as a medical airman I spent most of my time inside USAF hospitals, where flight personnel were plentiful as patients, but aircraft and weapons technology were difficult to come by.  I did fly in a Cessna with an officer who enjoyed "buzzing' cows over Oklahoma and Texas (that was fun), and once took a "hop" during leave from Texas to the East Coast with a brigadier (one star) general and a very gruff major.  I still remember the major because he warned all of us hitching a ride with our box lunches to make sure we left no trash behind upon disembarking.  Well, of course I forgot my trash and, funny as it sounds, even to this day I'll think about that episode and wonder how upset the major must have been when he had to pick up after me.  Sorry, dude.

Now, the second reason why I'm posting the illustration:  Way back  in this blog I posted an article I wrote for the April, 1980 A.P.R.O. Bulletin.  The piece was entitled, "What's a drawing like that Doing in a Place Like This?"  You can find it here:

http://robert-barrow.blogspot.com/2007/09/these-flying-saucers-belonged-to-air.html

Yes, even during Air Force basic training in June, 1968, an Air Force-generated illustration of a flying saucer, armed and firing, showed up in training literature which surely would have been seen by each and every airman going through basic at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas.  The drawing was crude and simple, but, still, a saucer with a cupola somewhat like the one depicted in the drawing posted here.

Probably no biggies here.  I just feel that the drawing I saw at Lackland becomes even more curious now, and wonder if the Project 1794 artistry and planning had even some minuscule influence upon reasons why the publicly "saucer"-unfriendly Air Force would actually use a saucer depiction in basic training classes (and keep in mind --  that stuff remained with the USAF, airmen were not allowed to take these documents out of the classroom).

Winning By Media Proxy

(I do have some minor commentary regarding the UFO issue, but I'll save that for another day, probably next time.)

I don't know if the fix is in, but the frauds are.

The elections are over and Barack Obama isn't going anywhere.  A few entries ago I expressed my opinion that he would indeed win again.

How could he not?  He hasn't held a press conference in months, and when mainstream journalists have an opportunity to question him on important issues, they generally don't.  Or they accept his faltering responses without question.  Or they only ask questions agreed upon in advance.

The mainstream media re-elected Obama every bit as enthusiastically as his voters.  One might say they engineered the result through their own negligence in asking the hard-hitting questions and demanding sincere responses about issues that truly matter. 

The Benghazi tragedy, for instance.  And conflicting versions of truth discovered by his own biographer.  His statement four years ago that under his leadership electricity rates would "necessarily skyrocket," and indeed they have, and will as he continues to downplay conventional energy sources in expectation of a pie-in-the-sky quick energy fix.  Billions of tax dollars wasted on worthless energy alternatives.  A deficit almost guaranteed to blossom to even more unfathomable heights.  Health care whose costs may far exceed original estimates, as overworked and underpaid physicians threaten to retire, while a scarcity of health workers to manage a flood of new patients seems imminent.  Etc.  Etc. 

Once the FCC under Obama really goes to work messing around with freedom of information and various international interests finish doing everything they can to take the Web out of the hands of the people, free and open communication will pretty much be screwed.  Freedom, you see, is fine for some, as long as others don't experience it, too.

But even as recently as last week, a major clue emerged pointing to Obama's re-election.

Among a wealth of polls taken in recent weeks, primarily political in nature, there came to light quite another kind of poll. 

Young people in the United States  from ages 18 to 29 were asked which was better, capitalism or socialism.  The astounding response indicated that an overwhelming number chose socialism.
Young people unfamiliar with current events and experiencing the joy of Obama and the Democrats only as entertainment via rock stars and talk shows without substance were hypnotized into this situation.  Brilliant conjurers influenced the common senseless, their numbers growing among young folk who can't even answer basic questions about U.S. history or government.

What does this say about generations of military personnel who gave up their very lives during a succession of wars in which, if nothing else, they felt confident about protecting grateful folk back home?  Seems as though a growing number of young know-nothings couldn't care less, leaving us to wonder what Obama's "Forward" chant means for the future.  The thought of more government, more IRS thuggery, a plethora of more onerous regulations and more debt hardly brightens one's outlook, but I suppose that as long as the iPads and iWhatevers and smart phones keep everybody properly mesmerized, entertained and unaware of essentials, we should all just move along because there's nothing (of our once ambitious lives) to see here.  America, as so many of us knew it, may well be over, as excuses will increasingly be made for stepping outside Constitutional borders.  Obama and his circle are radicals, and both legal and illegal residents of the U.S. will feel the effects of those who have done little but threaten "the other side" and, as late as a few days ago, vowed revenge on nameless enemies.  Good, I say, they need enemies, enemies of their irrational actions.

The Republicans?  Maybe dead in the water, and if not already disintegrating before our eyes, soon may be, once enraged conservatives attempt to bury the corpse as they try to construct a reliable political party in their own image.

So I won't call the President "ism" or "ist" names today, but I do expect that his preference for more big government and enthusiastic spending will continue to propel us toward uncomfortable and perilous directions.

Of course, cooperation among members of Congress would be helpful.  Dream on.  Then again, opinions have been expressed that cooperation in the House will be more contentious than ever.

So, on election day evening I watched the same old painted pseudo-journalist clown faces commenting on the returns at ABC, CBS and NBC.  And I remember, having watched them closely over the months preceding, how upbeat and in-the-bag they were for Obama almost without fail, slobbering over his mere existence like dogs at a meal, giving him a pass at every turn, despite the economy, the debt,  partisan-created health care more costly than estimated, the mess he's made in the Middle East and in foreign relations, and invisible shovel-ready jobs.  I am disgusted.

Had TV network "news" shows done their work and reported on the increasing outrage involving American deaths in Benghazi, I suspect Mr. Obama would be packing his bags instead of readying for another term.  Then again, the faint aroma of criminal charges or impeachment lingers in the air.  Something for the future, perhaps.  Neither Hollywood nor corporate influence may be helpful in this instance.  We might progress -- progress -- from the silence of the lambs to the silence of the TV talk shows once the laughter dries up.  And we still have the two-ton "Fast and Furious" elephant -- or is that donkey -- sitting in the living room,
waiting to be noticed.  Eric Holder may flee Washington faster than a 747 heading for paradise.

Meanwhile, corruption abounds at every level.  Lobbyists, obscene monetary infiltration and nameless manipulators conspire to deprive us of our own.  Powerful unions, destined to flourish under Obama's ongoing approval and kinship, will finish us all off as quickly as anything, and indeed the pension crisis clawing its way across the country is already in. . .progress.  Progress.  Forward.  Hello banana republic.  Hugo Chavez will be proud today and Putin is probably popping the champagne corks because America's coronation king promised to be more "flexible" after the elections.

And, remember, along like a spider crept this little incident in New Jersey after the hurricane/super storm, where good Samaritan non-union electrical crews from Alabama  -- summoned by NJ to assist -- are allegedly refused entry by New Jersey unionized power company workers because of their non-union status.  So home they went.  We are told the New Jersey folk were members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW).  We might note how confusing life has become when speaking of these "brotherhoods," now that we also enjoy the benefits (thanks in no small part to Mr. Obama's help in launching the "Arab Spring") of the Muslim Brotherhood's lengthening international reach .  Aren't they, too, a union of sorts?  You say tomato and I say tomAHto, you say brotherhood and I say brother hood.

Estimates indicate that approximately two-thirds of those who voted for Obama WERE influenced by his response to the hurricane.  Yes, a quick photo opportunity and words that any and every president would say in such a disaster re-made him as a star.  But these are the people who, by their own admission, would never let a good crisis go to waste.

Much of his support came from women, unfortunately impressed by the fear and lies created -- no, make that procreated -- by the Obama press machine.  Some probably look upon him as the perfect man from a romance novel, who knows?

Considerably more of his voting fans are said to have emerged from the nation's youth and from races other than Caucasian.  The same youth and multi-racial folk who will now have the pleasure of paying off the spending Obama will continue to put on their backs.  Ironically, a new slave class, and Abe Lincoln isn't
around to free anybody from the chains of new regulations and Internal Revenue Service whippings.

Yet, Obama only received a little more than fifty percent of the popular vote, certainly nothing approaching a mandate.  Be assured, his Administration will ignore this factoid and drive us as if the other half is insignificant.  And he will continue blaming George Bush for everything gone wrong.

Obama.  Yes, Obama, the same man who retained his position by dragging Bill Clinton around like an old purse, making people anxious for the good old days of Clinton.  Except they aren't getting Slick Willy, nor a cigar, nor a blue stained dress -- they're just getting more Obama.  They aren't getting Bruce Springsteen or Lady Ga Ga, they're getting Obama.  I don't know about Romney, but I know about Obama.  The promise of tomorrow.  What might have been vs. what I fear we're going to get more of, multiplied.

Nevertheless, in an increasingly divided nation Obama rebounds, and I wholeheartedly agree that those who wished to extend his White House presence richly deserve all that he has yet to offer.   And may we shout out a big, big congratulatory howl to Mr. Putin, the United Nations and others waiting in eager anticipation for a "more flexible" President Obama?  Oh, and somebody tell the "blind sheik" to pack his bags, implausible as it seems, because he could be leaving his prison cell real soon for a bon voyage, should an oft-rumored deal instigated by a consensus of political rats pan out. 

Sky's the limit now for just about anything, and executive orders could become as commonplace as roadside weeds.  In the meantime, mainstream  electronic media representatives, co-conspirators to a corporate policy from hell, will continue doing what they do well these days -- sucking as journalists.  This time, they played one side of the street, profoundly misleading inquiring minds desperate for answers about both sides.  One would almost believe we have a one-party political system.  Well done, TV rodents.