The Riley Factor #125

The Riley Factor
Fort Plain, NY
November 30, 2012, Issue No. 125(All the Rock Creek Farm news that's fit to print, along with unfit-to-print rumors, prognostications & bloviations.)

Riley and the Littles -- Former barn cat and current feline king AJ survived a bite on a rear leg from some outside predator, with a bit of a limp but not so much as a whimper.  The Riley and AJ have taken to curling-up and napping together - looks a bit on the ridiculous side. Otherwise, Riley has dropped a couple of pounds and is now comfortably back into double digits on the scale.  Lately, as hunting season wanes, we have seen many deer out on the trails, and The Riley and visiting canines give good chase before losing their prey.  Those hounds run only half-heartedly after their quarry, having not a clue what they would do if they actually caught-up with one of the running deer.  

Plowing and Planting -- Farming season has ended.  See you next year.

And They're Off -- Blondie and Rio are fine these days, roaming the pasture and lobbying for apples or carrots whenever they see us.

The Herd of Five -- Calves Abraham, Isaac and Abby have grown-up since their spring and summer births, each now weighing-in at 150 pounds or so.  Adult overseers Eli and Lily moo contentedly.  Life in the barn seems happy.

Mowings, Musings and the Woods -- Here in Middle-of-Nowhere, deer hunting season launched on November 17.  Up to that point, as we took our daily rides while running The Riley, we had been seeing more and more deer roaming around the place.  Once the season starts, the deer rapidly become scarce, although lately they have begun to return.

Fowl Weather -- Although pheasant season runs through February 28, we occasionally see a ring-necked bird running around the trails.  On November 11, three males wandered across our lower first field and into the back yard.  As Thanksgiving came and went, most of our turkeys went to the butcher and were sold.  We did keep one for our own Thanksgiving meal.  Our turkeys live a calm and well-cared-for life while they are with us.  This year, we raised three breeds: Broad-breasted American White, Standard Bronze and Narragansett.  We have kept eight of the Bronze and Narragansetts for breeding next spring.

Visitors -- Over the Thanksgiving holidays, Mother/Grandmother Barbara Slate joined us, along with Stevie, Scott and CJ.  And friend Bradley joined us for Thanksgiving dinner.  Dog guests included Bruin and Dexter, who came along with Stevie and Scott.

Blog -- The Riley Factor's official blog site is located at http://the-riley-factor.blogspot.com/.  It contains all issues to date.  (If you actually spend the time and search through our Internet site, you may need more help with your life than we are able offer....  But we digress.)

Quotes of the Month -- 
    
     Governments don't want a population capable of critical thinking.  They want obedient workers, people just smart enough to run the machines and just dumb enough to passively accept their situation. -- George Carlin

     When the public treasury becomes a public trough, the people will send to the government only those individuals who will give them money and favor. -- Thomas Jefferson
    
     The public welfare programs created by FDR and enhanced by LBJ created a population that increasingly relies on the government to provide them with everything. -- Judge Andrew Napolitano
     Don't expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong. -- Calvin Coolidge     

     These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered. -- Thomas Paine

     There's enough oil beneath American soil to put OPEC out of business for good. -- Briton Ryle, Wealth Daily

     The market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent. -- John Maynard Keynes
     The government is confiscating wealth to build a socialist state.  -- RIA Biz
     During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act. -- George Orwell    

     You cannot successfully run any country for very long by imposing on society social-welfare programs that undermine job-creators, while coddling certain classes of people. -- Jeff Opdyke, The Sovereign Investor
Bumper Stickers of the Month -- 

                                                       LIVE HONORABLY, LIVE FREE                              

Interesting thought --

     Status Quo Bias -- a cognitive bias in which we humans believe that what is normal today will be normal tomorrow.  Because we struggle to perceive the impacts of big changes, we irrationally choose to cling to the status quo, when acting in contradiction to the status quo is clearly in our best interests.


Facts of the Month -- 

     Most reasonably well-informed Americans know that our $16.1-trillion federal budget deficit is now larger than the nation's GDP. But what most don't realize is this figure doesn't include the unfunded liabilities for Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and the Prescription Drug Benefit. That's another $121.6 trillion. Combine the federal budget deficit with the unfunded liabilities for current entitlement programs (excluding ObamaCare) and it comes to a mind boggling $1.2 million per taxpayer. 

     2012 Presidential Election Results ... Barack Obama   63,916,000   51%    /    Mitt Romney   59.886,000   48%

     The world adds 200,000 people to its population total every single day.
     California has the highest marginal income tax rate in the Country, and collects over 50% of its income taxes from the top 1% of earners, while being in the biggest fiscal mess of all 50 states.

     Charity Begins at Home -- Many popular so-called charitable organizations are bloated bureaucracies, spending millions on executive salaries and overhead.  Following are some of these organizations with the amount of each dollar donated that ultimately finds its way to those in need.
     March of Dimes  10 cents
     UNICEF                5 cents
     Goodwill               0 cents (that's right, nothing is given by Goodwill to those in need)
     Salvation Army   96 cents (almost everything collected gets through to those in  need)

      But there is hope.  The following organizations are on the honor roll, using volunteers to manage and operate, and spending nothing on overhead, resulting in 100% of monies received going to help the needy.
     American Legion 
     VFW
     Disabled American Vets
     Military Order of Purple Hearts
     Vietnam Veterans Association 
     Make A Wish
     St Jude's Hospital
     Ronald McDonald House
     Lions Club


Vote For ... the Union Label?
     On November 15, Hostess unions decided today that they would not compromise, and management decided to close the company.  Interstate Bakers, known as Hostess, was founded in 1930, and closed its doors forever on November 16, 2012.  Hostess has been working in bankruptcy for many months trying to restructure company debt and union agreements in order to permit the company to survive.  Many unions, including the Teamsters, agreed to concessions.  But the last union, the 5,000-member Bakers Union, declined to help out.  Now, 18,500 employees have lost their jobs.  Alack and alas, many of those venerable snack brands may fall by the wayside forever.  Stock-up on those Twinkies, Ding Dongs, Devil Dogs and Ho-Hos now.  Also gone -- Dolly Madison, Nature's Pride, Drake's Cakes and Wonder Bread.  Management intends to sell-off the brand names, product names and recipes.  But an American icon in gone.  Some of the favorite union rules with which Hostess had to deal ... union rules prohibited (1) carrying Wonder Bread and Twinkies in the same truck, requiring duplicate trucks, delivery routes and deliveries; and (2) upon arrival at the retail store the unions did not allow the truck driver to unload the truck and stock the shelves - Hostess was required to bring a second employee along for the ride and for the labor.

That said, the private sector can and should do whatever it wants with unions - the marketplace will make the decision and only the strong and well run companies will survive or fail.  BUT, unions should be outlawed for all government employees.  Government unions serve no legitimate purpose.  From whom are the government employees seeking protection ... the government who hired them, or the people for whom they work?  Government unions exists for two purposes: (1) to protect high pay, short hours and bloated pension plans for government employees, and (2) to provide a block of voters to support the Democrat party.

Commentaries of the Month --

Tax Increases
     "If Obama is re-elected and raises the top marginal rate to 39.6%, as he has promised, many business owners and self-employed individuals will forfeit most of what they make to the government. The math is pretty depressing. A top marginal rate of 39.6% plus an average state income tax of 6% plus a Social Security tax of 10.4% (on income up to $110,000) plus an unlimited Medicare tax (1.45% for employees and 2.9% for the self-employed) can easily equal most of what an individual makes. And these numbers don’t include sales taxes, property taxes, sin taxes and many others.

The real problem with raising the top marginal rate is that this country badly needs entrepreneurs to create jobs in the private sector. The top 2% of the nation’s income earners – who currently pay half of all federal income taxes according to the Internal Revenue Service – are overwhelmingly small business owners. Over half of Americans work for small companies that pay taxes at the individual not the corporate rate. If the economy is going to pick up steam again, we want to encourage these businessmen (and businesswomen) to take risks.

Sadly, many in power – and others who hope to gain power – won’t risk political exile by clamping down on spending. It’s safer and easier to soak the rich. (Heck, even if they all turn against you, it’s only 1% to 2% of the vote.)" --   Alexander Green, Investment U

Obama Toast    

     What totally has killed Bathhouse Barry is the spontaneous, unscripted, off teleprompter comment about voting for revenge… the other one; “you did not build that business”…. The two together tell the truth of the real Obama. He has bought marginal votes through the dramatic increase in food stamp eligibility, free “Obama phones”, the dismantling of welfare-to-work programs, and other hard to roll-back government payoffs.  Without this the race would not even be close in the polls. It is as if Obama were standing on a corner giving out cash to buy votes. This cannot stand. He is toast and should be prosecuted for his lies, subterfuge and direct attacks on the American Constitution—enough is enough. -- Tim Straus, Eastons Point Capital, Nov. 1, 2012

Boiled Alive Without Ever Realizing It

      Think about what we, as Americans in the land of the free, have come to accept as normal over the last decade: electronic strip-searches at the airport … IRS reporting mandates requiring merchants to disclose transactions of $10,000 or more … rules that require citizens to report foreign financial accounts, clearly exceeding America’s purview … warrantless, electronic surveillance of U.S. citizens and electronic eavesdropping on Americans by the National Security Agency (with the president’s blessing).  And so much more.  It is sadly, however, a case of the boiling frog. I’m sure you’ve heard the story many times – drop a frog into a pot of room-temperature water and set the heat to rise slowly over time. The change is so gradual that, ultimately, the frog will simply boil to death without ever having tried to save its own life.  Americans … we are frogs. By the time life in the U.S. reaches unacceptable levels, it will be too late. The water will be boiling and the freedoms we once took for granted will be chapters in a history book. -- Jeff Opdyke, The Sovereign Investor

The Riley Factor #124

The Riley Factor
Fort Plain, NY
October 31, 2012, Issue No. 124(All the Rock Creek Farm news that's fit to print, along with unfit-to-print rumors, prognostications & bloviations.)

Riley and the Littles -- Golden boy Riley has been a bit sad since Gabby left us on September 12.  From time to time, he still appears to be searching for Gabby, although he was there when we buried her.  Riley's new pastime is pulling fish out of the lower pond.  When we are there, we jump-in for the rescue and return the fish to water, but occasionally, we find one on the shore, presumably left there by the Riley, although the great blue heron still flies to and stands in the pond a couple of times per day in search of a swimming meal.

Hurricane Sandy -- Although much rain fell at the farm from Oct. 29-31, the wind was manageable, probably gusting below 50 mph at its strongest.  Soggy everywhere, but no damage to speak of.

Plowing and Planting -- We pulled the carrots in early October.  Only planted two rows this year in the garden, but they grew well - the largest carrot was the size of an ear of corn.  Most were normal sized.  We gave the first few to the horses, who chomped them happily.  All in, we harvested 30-40 pounds or so.  Broccoli and brussel sprouts were harvested late in the month.  And on to next year - the garlic was planted right before Hurricane Sandy arrived, and will be ready for harvest next July or August.

And They're Off -- We have been turning over to the horses the few apples on the trees this year.  As usual, Rio and Blondie love them and stand and stomp at the fence when apple feeding time is done.

The Herd of Five -- Calves Abraham, Isaac and Abby have all grown from 50-pound newborns to 150-pound miniature cows, wandering around the pasture and barn.  Very friendly and always seeking their next meal.  Eli and Lily provide adult oversight, but not much is needed.  Even the horses cooperate in keeping the natural order of things.   

Mowings, Musings and the Woods -- We completed the fencing of the new nine-acre section of pasture and the horses and cattle seem to like wandering through the trails and light brush.  The cattle roam everywhere without any regard to trees, streams, brush, etc., while the horses prefer the existing paths and occasionally get themselves in a section where they cannot readily find their way back to the barn at night.

Fowl Weather -- Turkeys have grown from tiny chicks in mid-April to 20+ pound birds by early October.  They are a curious bunch (flock?), friendly and ever approaching people in a group.  The largest ones stand about three feet tall and love to peck at anything shiny or moving.  Chickens follow in adoration.  We have had several hunters and potential hunters stop by, I think in hopes that ours are a flock of wild turkeys that will come into season come November.  Alack and alas, not to be the case.  Later, one day when touring some guests around the south circuit of trails in the utility vehicle, the flock of turkeys decided to follow.  The toms quit early, but the hens made the entire circle, about three-quarters of a mile, and back.

Visitors -- Nancy returned after her three-week stay in Western Mass.  Linda Cogswell and her brother Fred Richter visited for a weekend mid-month.  Otherwise, all quiet on the western front.

Blog -- The Riley Factor's official blog site is located at http://the-riley-factor.blogspot.com/.  It contains all issues to date.  (If you actually spend the time and search through our Internet site, you may need more help with your life than we are able offer....  But we digress.)

Quotes of the Month -- 
    
     Leaders lead from the front. -- Chief Marshall Boden, Chicago Fire (credit to John Bolton, Greg Stier, and no doubt others)
     
     If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. -- Thomas Jefferson    

     For when the One Great Scorer comes, to mark against your name, he writes not that you won or lost, but how you played the game. -- Grantland Rice, in his poem, Alumnus Football

     Remember, a government that is big enough to give you everything you want is also big enough to take away everything you have. -- Davy Crockett   

     When you win, say nothing.  When you lose, say even less. -- Paul Brown

     Come and take them. -- King Leonidas of Sparta, in response to Persian King Xerxes' demand to lay down arms and surrender, prior to the battle of Thermopolae     
     The slack hand brings poverty, but the diligent hand brings wealth. -- Proverbs

     It's not the government's job to ensure fairness for everyone. -- Gary B. Smith
     Without vision, the people perish. -- Proverbs
     A liberal is a person with both feet planted firmly in the air. -- Winston Churchill
     If you don't like change, you're going to like irrelevant even less. -- Eric Shinseki, Chief of Staff, U.S. Army

     You can never plan the future by the past. -- Edmund Burke, 18th century statesman

     I had to give up what I was, in order to become what I wanted to be. -- Albert Einstein
     The farmer is the only man in our economy that buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways. -- John F. Kennedy

      The Obama administration is like a porta-potty - it's full of crap. -- Greg Guttfeld

      To know what is right and not do it is the worst cowardice. — Confucius
      The borrowing has to stop. The market slide was a shot right between the eyes that had better wake us all up to the simple fact that we can’t keep romping forever on borrowed money. -- Lee Iacocca, October1987

     Perhaps if liberals hadn’t coddled Obama his entire life, giving him college acceptance letters, standing ovations and Nobel Peace prizes just for showing up, he would have been more prepared to debate someone a little more challenging than John McCain. -- Ann Coulter
     Who is John Galt? -- Ayn Rand

Bumper Stickers of the Month -- 

                                                                                      NOBAMA - NO BIDEN  - 2012

Facts of the Month -- 

     Water --  according to the World Bank, currently:
                    > only 2% of the earth's water supply is fresh water
                    > the demand for fresh drinking water is doubling every 20 years                    > the world's population is growing at a rate of 200,000 per day
                    > 95% of the world's cities still dump raw sewage into their fresh water supplies

     The National Debt -- The Nation's debt per U.S. citizen has increased 45 percent since President Obama took office. Every man, woman and child’s share of the national debt was $36,000 when Obama came into office. Now, after four years of failed leadership and empty promises, it’s gone up 45 percent to $51,000 per person.

     All the gold that has ever been mined would fit into two Olympic-sized swimming pools.    

     Of individuals exiting receiving unemployment compensation, 25% leave to collect disability payments, claiming mental disability.

     Obama's economy: During the Obama administration, average annual American household income has decreased $4,500, average family net worth has declined 30%, and the price of gasoline has doubled.

     The U.S. tax code is now four times the length of the complete works of William Shakespeare.

     The average annual salary for shoppers ... at Target - $55,000, at Wal-Mart - $24,000
     There currently exists a $2.9 trillion unrecorded and unfunded liability for state public pensions.  These pension liabilities were not created by the wealthy, the so-called one-percenters, but exist because progressive liberals in state governments have allowed and promoted over recent decades egregiously large pension programs for state and local government employees.
     In 2011, of the 10.37 million applications for U.S. visas, 23.05% were rejected due to applicants providing false information aimed at concealing past criminal behavior or terrorist activity, while just 0.003% were rejected due to the likelihood of the applicant to become a economically dependent on the government.


Commentaries of the Month --

     Airlines is an awful business - not a lot of pricing elasticity, heavy fixed costs, heavy regulation, controlled by the unions.  You don't want to invest here. -- Dagen McDowell, Fox Business Channel

     QE1 and QE2 (Fed printing money) both did absolutely nothing to rescue the economy. Despite a massive injection of quantitative easing over the last four years, the unemployment rate in the United States is dismal and getting worse, not better. In addition, the “wealth gap” between rich and poor has vastly increased. -- Greg McCoach, Wealth Daily

And then there's this --  

     Stabbed by the Fork in the Road - The economy just passed a fork in the road — and it went both ways: We're printing money so the Fed can buy assets that no one else will buy to keep the stock market going up and interest rates low.  And it's working — for now.  The Dow's moving up.  The NASDAQ's moving up.  Home values are moving up.  Even gold and silver are going up.  With everything moving up, worries about what's driving it all (inflation) are being moved to the back burner.  It's not traditional.  I can't say if it's right (both in economic and moral terms).  But it's happening. -- Nick Hodge, Wealth Daily

The Riley Factor #123

The Riley Factor
Fort Plain, NY
September 30, 2012, Issue No. 123(All the Rock Creek Farm news that's fit to print, along with unfit-to-print rumors, prognostications & bloviations.)

Riley and the Littles -- Bad news ... At 5:30am on September 12, Nancy's dog, Gabby, was hit by a car and killed, in front of the Bartlett's house (across the street, next door to Lloyd's).  She died instantly.  The driver stopped and told Susan that the dog simply ran right out in front of the car, and that there was no way to avoid hitting her.  Lloyd's daughter, Laura, was up at the time, and said that she heard the driver hit the brakes before hitting Gabby. Gabby was a wonderful dog, a seven year old Belgian Tervuren, a shepherd dog, who behaved perfectly and was friendly to everyone.  She will be missed.  We buried Gabby at the top of the property at the edge of the fourth field, giving her burial site the best view on the Farm.

Plowing and Planting -- September began with harvesting the last of the potatoes, onions and tomatoes.  Eggplants and peppers continue to grow strong.  The final huge crop of green beans was harvested on September 10 & 11.  On September 7, we planted 4 acres of hard red winter wheat - four steps: plowing, rototilling, grain drilling and culti-packing.  The seeds germinate within a couple of weeks and grow to 4-8 inches within the next 6-8 weeks, after which we will add a bit of fertilizer.  Then the crop lies dormant until spring, when it bursts forth with a vengeance, to be harvested in mid to late July, 2013.

This year, New York State is forecasting the worst apple crop in over six decades, expecting 80% less than 2011 and 50% less than the average from the last five years.  After harvesting far more apples than we could use in 2011, our own 2012 entire apple crop was lost, owing to almost three weeks of temperatures in the 80s and 90s in March, which produced early blossoms on all the trees, followed by the typical later frosts in April and early May.

And They're Off -- Rio and Blondie get along well, spending 23+ hours a day within 10 yards of one another.  They often come to the rail seeking attention from anyone walking or riding by the fence line.

The Herd of Five -- Since we expended the pasture to include the two acres in the orchard, all five bovines have enjoyed wandering for their grass feed.  Eli is the pack leader, and moves the five-some from place to place, but it is young Abby that runs circles around the herd and gens-up the energy level.  Lily is producing a quart to a gallon of milk daily, in addition to providing Abby with mush of her needed nutrition.  Abe & Isaac continue to promote mayhem.

Mowings, Musings and the Woods -- During September, we spent several days cutting trees and brush to widen the riding trails, and in addition to providing more space to ride, actually cut about a cord of small firewood for use in the kitchen stove.  We added another fenced-in pasture area for the horses and cattle, about nine additional acres containing a couple of miles of trails and much light brush and secondary growth.  Thirty years ago, the entire area was pasture, but was left to grow unmanaged until we cut some trails a few years back.  So far, the animals love their new playground.

Fowl Weather -- On September 10, we took another dozen and a half chickens to the butcher to whittle down the flock to a manageable 23 chickens, to go with the 20 turkeys.  The young Red Star breed hens, which were hatched on or about this past April 20, have just started laying eggs, right on schedule.

Visitors -- Grandmother Barbara visited for a day on September 10 and whisked-away Nancy, who spent three-plus weeks at the end of September back in Western Mass, working at The Big E.  All the Rock Creek Farm animals missed her.  Other than that, all is quiet here on the Western Front.

Blog -- The Riley Factor's official blog site is located at http://the-riley-factor.blogspot.com/.  It contains all issues to date.  (If you actually spend the time and search through our Internet site, you may need more help with your life than we are able offer....  But we digress.)

Quotes of the Month -- 
          
     Capitalism is about voluntary exchange for mutual benefit. Businesses don’t “take” money. Only government (which has a monopoly on the legal use of force) and criminals do that. Businesses merely collect the money that consumers and other businesses voluntarily trade for products and services. -- Alexander Green

     Lamborghini has announced a major recall of their cars.  So, if you have a Lamborghini, please return it to your local rerun of Miami Vice. -- Conan O'Brien

     Never rely on government.  Rely on yourself. -- Nick Hodge, 9/21/12

     Protect yourself:  Hang-up the phone on anyone who tries to sell, give or help you with anything. -- Consumer Reports

     Civilization is the progress toward a society of privacy. The savage's whole existence is public, ruled by the laws of the tribe. Civilization is the process of setting man free from men. -- Ayn Rand, 1947

     As long as the music is playing, you've got to get up and dance. -- Irving Fisher, 1929

     I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today. -- Wimpy

     There are 47 percent who are with him (Obama), who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. -- Mitt Romney
     We just can't allow America to be a place where it is easier to get a government subsidy check than to get a job. -- Mitt Romney, 9/19/12
     Our $16 trillion national debt is not a concern right now, and besides, it was Bush's war that caused it in the first place. -- Barack Obama, 9/18/12     I actually believe in wealth redistribution, at least at a certain level, to make sure that everybody has a fair shot. -- Barack Obama, 2008

     The economy will get better the day Romney is elected.  If Obama is re-elected, it will never get better. -- Don Imus, 9/20/12

     But we have to pass the bill, so you can find out what is in it. -- Nancy Pelosi, speaking on the ObamaCare legislation
Bumper Stickers of the Month -- 
     STOP WHINING AND START WORKING

     IF OBAMA IS ELECTED FOR A SECOND TERM, JUST THINK OF THE MESS HE WILL INHERIT THIS TIME

     SHOULDN'T YOU HAVE TO PASS A URINE TEST TO GET A WELFARE CHECK, SINCE I HAVE TO PASS ONE TO EARN IT FOR YOU?
Facts of the Month -- 

     Workers who work 44 hours per week earn 50% more than workers who work 34 hours per week (50% more pay for 29% more work - it's not about the activity, it's about responsibility, productivity and judgement in the workplace).   

     In the United States, suicide has become the number one cause of death-by-injury, passing death-by-auto-crash.  In 2009, there were 37,000 deaths by suicide in the U.S.

     95% of workers in America earn more than the minimum wage.

     Our nation's $16 trillion national debt, represents $61,000 of debt for every living man, woman and child in America.  $5 trillion of it was accumulated over the past four years, under the leadership of President Obama.  $16 trillion is enough money to feed every American family for the next 100 years.

     The top 10% of taxpayers pay 70.47% of personal federal income tax collected. -- IRS, for the year 2009

     If the labor force participation rate was the same as when Obama took office in January 2009, the unemployment rate would be 11.2%.  The broader U-6 unemployment rate, which includes part-time workers who want full-time work, is at 14.7%. -- James Pethokoukis, CNBC & The Enterprise Institute

      There may not be a ‘death panel’ lurking in the Affordable Care Act but there is an Independent Payment Advisory Board that has some folks – including many physicians – scared it will ultimately find a way to ration care for the elderly.  --  Dan Weber, president of the Association of Mature American Citizens.
     Dreading ObamaCare: Company finance chiefs foresee increased taxes, discouragement for hiring older workers, and a pretty strong incentive to move away from employer-based health coverage entirely. -- CFO Magazine

Commentaries of the Month --

     President Barack Obama is laughing his ass off at all of you because you are so dumb. It’s astonishing, Obama acts as if his words are actual reality, and they mean nothing to him. And I’m going to tell you something — all you liberals out there, all you people in the media. I’m telling you, Obama in private is just laughing his ass off at all of you because you are so dumb, so gullible, so easily manipulated. And all he has to do is tell you that there is a doughnut in the sky and you’ll report there’s a doughnut in the sky. And behind the scenes, he knows he is advancing his radical agenda and that you’re helping him do it. And he knows what fools you all are. And he knows that you have basically drunk the Kool-Aid and that you’re out there and you will say and do whatever he tells you to say and do. -- Sean Hannity

     Obama's Dreams -- After reading Barack Obama's book "Dreams from My Father," it became painfully clear that he has not been searching for the truth, because he assumed from an early age that he had already found the truth — and now it was just a question of filling in the details and deciding how to change things.  Obama did not simply happen to encounter a lot of people on the far left fringe during his life. As he spells out in his book, he actively sought-out such people. There is no hint of the slightest curiosity on his part about other visions of the world that might be weighed against the vision he had seized upon. --Thomas Sowell

     If you can’t beat Barack Obama with this record, then shut down the Republican party, shut it down. Start new, with new people because this is a give-me election, or at least it should be. And the millions of dollars— I keep going back to the million and millions and millions of dollars that are paid to these political consultants election after election. We hire people who have lost previous campaigns, that run campaigns that have failed, who have message campaigns where the message fell flat — and they keep getting rehired. I don’t understand that. I don’t know why those are the people you hire.  The numbers that came out on Friday show not only is there no recovery, but the real unemployment rate is around 12 percent,” she said. “People have abandoned all hope of getting a job. We have 400,000 people almost who quit looking for work. That’s hope? -- Laura Ingraham, Radio Talk Show Host

     America has huge reserves of coal, natural gas and oil, which can give us the ability to be totally energy independent without  importing anything from foreign sources.… If the will was there to do so. There is not another country on this earth that has the  amount of natural energy resources that we do and is not doing its best to  exploit them for their own national security and economic health.  All countries look at the United States enviously for its great wealth in  energy…yet we do not fully exploit them.   In some  circles on the left, they seem even ashamed and actively try to destroy them,  such as the war on coal being waged.-- AMAC

And then there's this --  

     I predict that the annual price of private college will reach $100,000 in 2023 using the historic 7% inflation assumption. The price for UMass Amherst would reach $40,000 per year at the same time with the same inflation assumption. Worse yet, the four year price for a private college would surpass $800,000 for a child born today. -- Glenn Mangurian