I felt like ending this work week on a humorous note....

by Sean Overpeck

Humans originally existed as members of small bands of nomadic hunters/gatherers. They lived on deer in the mountains during the summer and would go to the coast and live on fish and lobster in the winter.

The two most important events in all of history were:

1. The invention of beer, and
2. The invention of the wheel.

The wheel was invented to get man to the beer.

These were the foundation of modern civilization and together were the catalyst for the splitting of humanity into two distinct subgroups:

1. Liberals
2. Conservatives.

Once beer was discovered, it required grain and that was the beginning of agriculture. Neither the glass bottle nor aluminum can were invented yet, so while our early humans were sitting around waiting for them to be invented, they just stayed close to the brewery. That's how villages were formed.

Some men spent their days tracking and killing animals to B-B-Q at night while they were drinking beer. This was the beginning of what is known as the Conservative movement.

Other men who were weaker and less skilled at hunting learned to live off the Conservatives by showing up for the nightly B-B-Q's and doing the sewing, fetching, and hair dressing. This was the beginning of the Liberal movement.

Some of these Liberal men eventually evolved into women. The rest became known as girlie-men.

Some noteworthy Liberal achievements include the domestication of cats, the invention of group therapy, group hugs, and the concept of Democratic voting to decide how to divide the meat and beer that Conservatives provided.

Over the years Conservatives came to be symbolized by the largest, most powerful land animal on earth, the elephant. Liberals are and were always symbolized by the jackass.

Modern liberals like imported beer (with lime added), but most prefer white wine or imported bottled water. They eat raw fish but like their beef well done. Sushi, tofu, and French food are standard liberal fare.Another interesting evolutionary side note: Most of their women have higher testosterone levels than their men. Most social workers, personal injury attorneys, journalists, dreamers in Hollywood, and group therapists are Liberals. Liberals invented the designated hitter rule because it wasn't fair to make the pitcher also bat.

Conservatives drink domestic beer. They eat red meat and still provide for their women. Conservatives are big-game hunters, rodeo cowboys, lumberjacks, construction workers, firemen, medical doctors, police officers, corporate executives, athletes, Coast Guard Officers and generally anyone who works productively. Conservatives who own companies hire other Conservatives who want to work for a living.

Liberals produce little or nothing. They like to govern the producers and decide what to do with the production. Liberals believe that Europeans are more enlightened than Americans. That is why most of the Liberals remained in Europe when Conservatives were coming to America.They crept in after the Wild West was tamed and created a business of trying to get more for nothing.
Here ends today's lesson in world history.......

It should be noted that a Liberal may have a momentary urge to angrily respond to the above before forwarding it.

A Conservative will simply laugh and be so convinced of the absolute truth of this history that it will be forwarded immediately to other true believers and to more liberals just to piss them off....

by Thomas Craig

Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House, once again proves how she exemplifies everything that is wrong with Washington and how she is the epitome of what Americans hate about politicians.  Whenever she speaks, I get an overwhelming feeling of nausea; similar to the feeling you would get from eating ten tacos and then getting punched in the stomach.  (An act I would actually prefer over reading her book and judging by the unbelievably small sales, I think most Americans would agree.)  The latest Pelosi drama revolves around the ridiculous denial of her involvement with the torture situation.  The Speaker admits she was briefed about the use of waterboarding on detainees, however, she feels morally justified regarding this issue because she was not told exactly when the torture was to begin.  What confuses me is that I am just not sure if this is a case of a Politician trying pathetically to save her own just-as-guilty behind or if this is an actual denial from a genuinely delusional woman in need of psychiatric help.  Pelosi has no problems with the fact that she, nor any other Democrats informed of this torture, raised any concern or voiced any opposition to this back in 2002 when it was presented to them.  Republicans and Democrats alike are both guilty of violating the Constitution.  When I see the Democrats point fingers and call for blood, it would be wise for them to look at their own complacency and involvement in these violations.  The Democrats are suffering from a common delusion that makes them believe that because they are in power right now, they will remain in power indefinitely.  Republicans suffered from this during the Bush years and now we are paying for it.  What concerns me the most about this politically misguided mind-set is that the party in power always seems to legislate based on this idea.  Republicans granted many unconstitutional powers to the Executive Branch while they were in power, and now they are upset when a Democrat is President and taking advantage of that power.  The Democrats are going to grant even more power to the President/King, and they will be outraged when the Republicans are in charge once again and their President abuses the powers.  It is a vicious cycle that has eaten away at the Constitution and it will not end until we find a true patriot and someone who understands history and the Constitution who will restore the carefully placed checks and balances to which our Founding Fathers were intelligent enough to put into place.  Until that person arrives, we are stuck with the garbage who pollutes our Capitol with their corruption and lies.

There’s this annoying (in my opinion) presence across the Internet that I’ve personally encountered on multiple sites. After an unpopular president has departed and a new Messiah has come in to replace him, the Internet has become filled with a variety of commentators that I’ve lovingly coined as “Obamobloggers”. After trial and error, I’ve come up with a few guidelines for dealing with these phenomena.

Scenario: There’s a comment conversation occurring on say, Facebook, where an Obamoblogger is dumping paragraphs of rhetoric surrounding the notion that the American people voted for “change” so everyone who doesn’t like it should just “get over it”. You only feel the need to respond because the comments are directed to something you posted, or something a “friend” posted.

STEP ONE: Identify

Key Words and Phrases for Identification:
 
“Get over it”
“Change”
“Old and tired”
“It didn’t work”
“And I used to be a Republican” (thrown in for credibility)
“The last 8 years [yadda yadda]…”
“Thanks to George Bush [yadda yadda]…”
“The policies that got us here…”
“Get in touch”
“My party is in power”

STEP TWO: Diagnosis

“Hostile” – In the instance where ALL CAPS is used, it may be safe to assume the Obamoblogger is hostile. However, be cautious with this approach as the sneaky “bait and switch” tactic may be employed. This involves either a sob story intended to promote guilt or pompous chatter meant to prove their theories further using their own life as justification.

“Hippie” – The retort is filled with unrealistic ideals pointing to the embrace of all forms of life. In this instance, Americans are referred to via colorful language such as “mass murderers”, “thieves”, or the infamous “village air raider”. This blogger is not to be confused with the Ron Paul groupie, although their radicalism may give the initial impression that such is the case.

"Air Puff" – This blogger knows no more about politics and government than your dog. All judgments and perceptions are based on "feel good" inspirations of the moment and a need for inclusion and identity. Phrases like "give him a chance" and "a better future" are used although when challenged to demonstrate the issues being given a "chance", none can be identified.

STEP THREE: Recommended Treatment

The following are options useful for dealing with these types of Obamobloggers:

Option A: Say nothing and shake your head.

Option B: Make a joke. It doesn't make a difference as to the subject matter – all will likely result in offense being taken.

Option C: Give an educated response citing the various misgivings of the piece, offering a plausible rebuttal with cited sources.

Option D: Make use of language equivalent to a verbal middle finger.

"Hostile" – I recommend either Option A or C. Being ignored denies them further fuel to fight with, and sometimes facts will completely change the conversation in your favor. Be cautioned however – choosing Option C may divert your entire day's activities into this conversation.

"Hippie" – I recommend Option B or C. Facts are this blogger's enemy, and not being taken seriously won't inspire any heated response since they're so used to it.

"Air Puff" – Option B is the only recommendation. Option A will make them feel like they've made a difference by having their voice heard, C will waste your time, and D is too harsh for their developing political minds. B might embarrass them and perhaps induce some reflection and research – but be careful you don't blend D with B.

In summary, when dealing with an Obamoblogger, defensive or not, just remember one important thing: They are only the product of a castle built on air.

These times are not those of Camelot – they are those of Carter (or worse).

Don't lose your cool. Don't waste too much time. Don't feel like you're outnumbered.

Oh, and if you're lucky, sometimes they will admit their own fate:

"[We] had to sit back and watch Bush and the Republican Congress screw us. Your turn."

– Quoted from a recent personal Obamoblogger conversation (mistakenly using Option B…).

by Dacia Nichols  (view Dacia's Blog at www.republibabble.com)

by Thomas Craig

Recently, a Bill by Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) has proposed a "rescue" of American Newspapers.  His Bill would allow certain newspapers to restructure as a non-profit, allowing several tax breaks to help strengthen the industry at the cost of the taxpayers.  Obviously this was only a matter of time.  Every industry out there is in line for their own bailout.  I'm not opposed to this for the reason that many others are.  Lots of Conservatives fear this would cement these newspapers as Liberal mouthpieces.  This Bill would in fact stipulate that any newspapers receiving federal money would be restricted from making any political endorsements.  Why newspapers, which are supposed to be objective, endorse any candidate in the first place is another topic.  Every morning I read the newspaper on my way into work.  Every night I ride the train home and look at nothing but my blackberry and read the news from there.  Nine out of every ten people on my train also are reading from their phones, and most of them are doing that in the morning and the night.  Perhaps we can consider the fall of our newspapers as a sign of innovationa nd technology.  News up-to-the-minute is superior to news a day old.  Instead of going in depth on this, here is one of the greatest scripted speeches in movie history.  This is from the film "Other People's Money", and is spoken by Danny Devito to a room full of shareholders of a company he is trying to dissolve.  It rings true to Sen. Cardin's Bill.

"This company is dead.     
I didn't kill it. Don't blame me.             
It was dead when I got here. It's too late for prayers. For even if the prayers were answered and a miracle occurred . . . and the yen did this and the dollar did that . . . and the infrastructure did the other thing, we would still be dead.   
You know why?        
Fiber optics. New technologies. Obsolescence.          
We're dead, all right. We're just not broke.         
And do you know the surest way to go broke?              
Keep getting an increasing share of a shrinking market. Down the tubes. Slow but sure.                
You know, at one time there must have been dozens of companies making buggy whips. And I'll bet the last company around was the one that made the best goddamn buggy whip you ever saw.  Now, how would you have liked to have been a stockholder in that company?                  
You invested in a business, and this business is dead. Let's have the intelligence--let's have the decency--to sign the death certificate, collect the insurance, and invest in something with a future.
                  
"But we can't," goes the prayer. "We can't, because we have a responsibility, a responsibility to our employees, to our community. What will happen to them?"               
I got two words for that: who cares?                   
Care about them? Why? They didn't care about you. They sucked you dry. You have no responsibility to them. For the last ten years, this company bled your money. Did this community ever say, "We know times are tough. We'll lower taxes, reduce water and sewer"? Check it out. You're paying twice what you did ten years ago.          
And our devoted employees who have taken no increases for the past three years . . . are still making twice what they made ten years ago.   
And our stock, one-sixth what it was ten years ago.        
Who cares?       
I'll tell you.        
Me.   
I'm not your best friend. I'm your only friend.   
I don't make anything? I'm making you money.

And lest we forget, that's the only reason any of you became stockholders in the first place. You want to make money. You don't care if they manufacture wire and cable, fried chicken, or grow tangerines! You wanna make money!         
I'm the only friend you've got. I'm making you money.
Take the money. Invest it somewhere else. Maybe . . . maybe you'll get lucky, and it'll be used productively. And if it is, you'll create new jobs and provide a service for the economy and, God forbid, even make a few bucks for yourselves."

Many visitors to AmericanTusk.com have emailed me specifically about the Employee Free Choice Act or as many of us call it, the “Employee NO Choice Act”, which amongst many other detrimental features, would eliminate the secret ballot voting implemented today.  I am particularly interested in this topic due to my own personal experiences with Unions.  First, allow me to state that I am in a Union.  Second, believe me when I say that I am very much against Unions.  I was forced to join the Union because years ago when I got hired on a new job, it was already a Union position so my choice was to either join the Union or not accept the position.  I have worked many non-union jobs and in those positions I have expanded my talent base, was offered new opportunities, and was treated fairly to the extent of the law.  My Union position, after my bi-weekly dues, did not offer me much more money than when I held non-union jobs and completely restricted many opportunities and training.  Unions have become blackmailers of corporate America.  A good friend of mine entered a position that was non-union about two years ago.  The Union, which oversaw the majority of the jobs in his profession, wanted my friend’s position to become Union as well.  He was not opposed, however, the Union insisted that my friend not accept any work until Management unionized him.  Unfortunately, my friend was not in a financial position to turn down any work so while he supported the Union efforts, he continued to work.  The remaining weeks included Union thugs calling him and persistently threatening him.  They would also resort to attempting to sabotage his work whenever possible.  These are the people who were supposedly “looking out for him.”  Modern day Unions are, I believe, unnecessary.  In the past they were essential to the creation of safe and secure jobs in the workplace and they were instrumental in the creation of many of our labor laws.  These labor laws have become more than sufficient in ensuring the safety and security of employees.  The Unions now focus on obtaining more and more benefits for less and less work.  The auto industry is a perfect example of how Unions have crippled an entire industry.  Their greed and arrogance has caused an industry that was created in America to fall behind foreign competitors.  Now we are witnessing the fall of the American auto companies.  Employees know this and they understand it.  Given the choice, 74% of Union workers favor keeping the current system of secret ballots.  If workers were forced to publicly decide, they would be subject to harassment and intimidation, much like my friend was subjected to.  The Government knows this, so why do they support the EFCA?  Perhaps the Democrats want this passed because this Bill would expand the Government’s control over privately owned companies.  If Employees and Management cannot come to an agreement over a contract, the EFCA would allow the Government to step in and create a contract for all to abide by for 2 years which would be when the negotiations can be reopened.  The Government would dictate all facets of the company from benefits for workers to mergers, subcontracting, and general management.  This is a further example and a testament to the socialist state that we are turning into.  We were promised “Change”.  Boy, are we getting it!

by Thomas Craig

by Thomas Craig

Once again I am simply amazed at how the Democrats, time after time, prove to be anything but productive for minorities, yet they still capture the minority vote.  Two recent issues have caught my attention.  First, in a disgusting display of hypocrisy, the Democrats will be ending the Washington D.C. school voucher program.  This means that many underprivileged children who are attending excellent and top-rated private schools (such as the ones many Democrats send their children to, including President Obama) will now have to return to the failed public schools which continue to hash out students who cannot even name the three branches of government.  The degradation of all aspects of our society can always be traced to a healthy mixture of poor leadership and ignorance of the masses.  Many of our schools have failed and the same Democrats who insist on bankrupting our Nation by financing zombie banks, also seek to force underprivileged students to obtain mediocre at best educations in these institutions.  I wouldn't be so against this if the public school system was revitalized in some way.  To begin with, education, much like most things, should be handled at a more local level.  The thought of our children's education being decided on by the geniuses in Congress is a chilling one.  The other issue in recent affairs is President Obama's commitment to merit pay.  This is a completely foolish way to go, much like No Child Left Behind was a foolish mistake.  Let me give you an example.  In many schools, the classes are broken up into skill levels.  Students are grouped by their above-average, average, or below-average skill levels.  All three groups are given the same test.  How is it fair for the Teacher who oversees the below-average group to be penalized when their students don't perform as well as the above-average students?  What is even more ridiculous is that there are many schools that require Special Education students to take these very same tests, and they are held to the same standards as the rest of the students!  Special Education Teachers are being punished in a way for not having a student with a disability perform as well as a student in an above-average class.  This is disgusting and a gross mismanagement of our children's education.  Furthermore, we've all heard examples of Teachers and Principals changing grades on students’ tests so that their schools don't get penalized under the No Child Left Behind Act.  Imagine the cheating that will occur when a "merit bonus" is offered to an underpaid and underappreciated Teacher.  Mark my word, it will become more and more of the norm.

In addition to this, can I just ask the silly question of how the President intends on paying for this?  Or will we just continue our addiction to obscene borrowing and spending?

by Thomas Craig

"I have the right to... have a home, have a car, have money given to me for retirement, have all my bills paid, have cable, have welfare, have everything and anything that somebody else has worked hard for."  Well I'm sorry but you really DON'T!  You certainly have rights.  You have the rights to Life, Liberty, and the PURSUIT of Happiness.  Hmm, that one word is pretty sneaky.  You have to admit, the words Life, Liberty, and Happiness are all inspirational and strong.  The Founding Fathers knew something about these ideals.  They had fought a bloody war of rebellion against their government, just to achieve them.  However, the Founding Fathers were not stupid.  They realized, as Thomas Jefferson so eloquently put it, "A Government big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have."  In their wisdom, they opted to modify what was never a realistic ability for them to grant which is assuring happiness.  Instead, they guaranteed every American the right to pursue their own happiness, whatever you deem that to be, as long as it does not interfere with anothers rights. 

Americans need to get over this "entitlement" issue.  You do not have a right to own a home.  In fact, most people probably should not take on that responsibility. (Most likely myself included)  We have backed ourselves into a dark corner where we cannot withdraw all the "blessings" which our Government has given us.  These blessings, all too often, are mismanaged and poorly ran by our Leaders.  You want to keep more in your paycheck?  Sorry, we need to pay an endless and ever-growing commitment of Social Security payments.  Did we mention that it's broke and you will spend your life trying to replenish it?  You want universal healthcare?  Well, after the great job the Government did with Medicare and Medicaid, you think they will do much better when it comes to your child's fever or your Mother's chemotherapy?  Is this really what you want?  You want the Government, who has their Treasury overseen by a man who could not do his own taxes, running every aspect of your life?  If you do, then you need to think deeply about the history and founding of this Nation.

I'm sorry but you are not entitled to my wallet.  That job has already been claimed by my Wife and even she prefers to use her own money before mine.  This problem is only going to get worse as the generation currently in College and younger believe that they deserve everything and anything, caused by a generation of Parents who catered to their every whim and did not think to encourage work ethic.  Generation X was filled with wannabe musicians, actors, and filmmakers who imagined working hard at their craft and hitting it big.  This is now replaced with a generation of Paris Hiltons who don't want to accomplish anything other than having a camera follow them around as they brush their teeth and make sex videos, mistaking both of them as acheivements.  To those who take the stability and strength of America for granted, it is time to wake up.

by Thomas Craig

Last night I attended a Young Republicans meeting and of course the discussion revolved around politics.  I soon found myself engaged in a conversation, not about specific policies or complaints about Pres. Obama,  but why so many people who claim to not know much about politics identify themselves as Democrats.  Obviously there were plenty of statements along the lines of just writing them off to being stupid.  I would not go so far as to call them stupid, but certainly ignorant of the issues.  To several people's amazement, however, I was in fact defending these ignorant liberals or "ignor-iberals" as I call them.  You see, Thomas Jefferson put it best when he said "He who would steal from Peter to pay Paul, will always have the support of Paul."  That in a nutshell is the problem with "ignor-iberals".  When you take someone who is politically ignorant, and you boil down the issues into a ridiculously childish premise, you walk away with a simple statement.  "Democrats want to take money from greedy corporations and heartless rich people, and they want to give that money to you."  Wow, what a tremendous theory!  I can completely understand why so many people are for that.  Who wouldn't want free money?  In our group was a young lady who admitted that she was in fact an "ignor-iberal" (she didn't put it like that though).  She confessed to us that she has in fact always referred to herself as a Democrat or at best an Independent (she was there with her Republican friend).  Several people began lecturing and belittling her on her statements.  Is that how we are going to educate people?  I'm sure all that was going through her mind was a confirmation of the ugly reputations of the greedy and heartless Republican.  I approached her and was as kind as could be.  Perhaps nobody ever took the time to break down some of the issues with her and listen to her questions (not even her Republican friend who she was there with).  I carefully explained the fundamentals of trickle down economics to her and she listened intently.  When I finished, her exact words were, "I actually never saw it that way."  She was not stupid and just like most people, when they are presented with an argument based on logic and reason, they are open to it.  Will I see her at the next Young Republican meeting?  Who knows?  At least I contributed a small part to opening her eyes about the Country she lives in.  Now, imagine if all of us did the same when we meet "ignor-iberals".  What a Party we would have!    

by Thomas Craig

It's the 200th Anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln.  In addition to honoring the great accomplishments of our 16th President such as ending slavery and preserving the Union, we should take this time to reflect on our Party.  We should consider the factors that contributed to the lack of minority support for the Party that not only freed the slaves, but were the majority votes in the Senate for the Civil Rights Act.  That's a little known fact right there.  Do you know that 21 of the 27 votes against the Civil Rights Act were Democrats?  Somewhere along the line, Democrats began to treat minorities as helpless children who need the government to take care of their every need.  Instead of believing in them and helping them aspire to greatness, the Democrats instituted a "Nanny" State where handouts are given for nothing and you are rewarded for having children with no thought of how to provide for them instead of working hard and contributing to society.  No need to work hard anymore, others will work hard and when they succeed, we'll just take their money and spread it around to all of you.  There is a big difference between charity and the socialistic tendencies of the left.  As a Party, we need to embrace and encourage ambition, entrepreneurship, and investment in all forms.  Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day, teach him to fish and he'll eat for the rest of his life.  Happy Birthday Lincoln, and sorry for letting you down.