Jasper Journal

I live in  Colorado and enjoy the outdoors, especially skiing in the winter. I have been here now for almost ten years,  and lived here twice before.  Although I would love to, I have never skied at Aspen.  It, and Beaver Creek, are the two most expensive ski resorts in the state.  ( I have never skied at Beaver Creek either). I get my discount lift tickets at the  Denver ski show in December and  go to the smaller ski areas primarily,  and perhaps once a year to a bigger  one such as  Breckenridge or Keystone. That is what I can afford. This is  pretty typical of many of the residents here.

So I was  surprised by the news that Mrs Obama and kids were in Aspen this weekend for skiing. I guess perception by the public that this might be excessive doesn’t matter. Are they tone deaf about this?  But wait, where was this reported? I saw it on Drudge from a British newspaper. Did you read it anywhere or hear about it on any media outlet?  They sure do a good job covering for this administration.

While a one time trip like this  for the president’s family could be acceptable, it came after a 17 day Hawaiian vacation in December; a safari trip to southern Africa in the fall ;  a vacation to Marthas Vineyard in the summer;  skiing last year at Vail and Beaver Creek; and a vacation to Spain the year before.

The president for all of his talk of being for the working man lives in his elitist bubble with his Chicago cronies. He  and his wife operate in a world that is easily the one percent he continuously criticizes. He is a hypocrite and we pay the price on a daily basis.  Maybe someday I could go to Aspen too? Nah, I would only see elitist democrats and fat cat Hollywood types.  They probably even pay the window rate for  daily lift tickets.  There is at least that justice.

The Secretary of the Navy announced the  other day that a new amphibious ship that  is being built for the navy will be named the USS Gabrielle Giffords. Are they serious? I have nothing against Ms Giffords but is it appropriate to have a ship named after someone who was in congress for only  five years, did nothing extraordinary, but had the misfortune of being shot by a lunatic? Now the fact that she was a democrat congresswoman might have something to do with this if you consider the other ridiculous ship names announced by this administration.

Have you heard of the USS John Murtha? Yes , sadly we have a Navy ship named after a disgraced, corrupt, politician. But hey , he was a long time democrat, so what the heck.  Its only a military thing and who cares what the military  think.  Would you want to serve on board the John Murtha? Would you want to go into harms way on the Gabrielle Giffords?  To some, a name may not mean much; however if one is looking for inspiration and tradition,  I really don’t think these two compare to  service members who gave their lives, or presidents who have led  our nation.  But as Paul often says, “wait, there’s more.”

Yes, the administration really chose well when they named another ship the  USS Cesar Chavez. Hard to believe but here we have a labor activist who described his two years in the navy as the worst two years of his life. Talk about inspiring! I would definitely want to be on board the Chavez; How about you ?

If you haven’t noticed, the administration and the Secretary of the Navy are using this as a way of honoring democrat notables.  At this rate,  I don’t think the Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reed can be far behind. But wait a minute, lets not stop there. Lets really honor the people behind this administration: USS Saul Alinsky;  USS Jeremiah Wright; USS Jesse Jackson; and lest we be accused of being  prejudiced against lunatics, the USS Al Sharpton.

There are so many better  examples of selfless sacrifice and heroism in the Navy and Marine Corps that it is truly an affront to ignore these individuals in favor of political tributes.  But that’s what this administration is all about: politics.  Please God do not grant these people another four years. They are mocking our institutions, attacking the capitalist system,  weakening the military, and showing a disregard for the constitution. As we begin President’s Day Weekend, let’s think of how we can work together to find a suitable , electable, candidate to stop the madness.

Finally, before we go tonight, I would like to give a Jasper Journal “shout- out”  to  one of our regular contributors, Beth, who recently celebrated a very special day in North Carolina. Thanks for being part of the blog family. Have a great weekend! See you Monday.

Unilateral disarmament:  The President recently announced that he would begin accepting campaign contributions from super political action committees (PACs) because the Republicans are doing it.  His explanation (through his campaign manager) was that he would not engage in unilateral disarmament.  How very interesting.  This morning, there was a news story stating that President Obama is contemplating a reduction in the US strategic nuclear arsenal from 1,500 weapons (the new START limit) to perhaps as few as 300-400 weapons.  While the AP reported that the cuts would most likely be made after negotiations with the Russians, it did not rule out the possibility of unilateral reductions.   (Does the term “trial balloon” come to mind?)   If the administration goes down to 300-400 weapons, it would be the lowest number of weapons since 1950.  Meanwhile, North Korea continues to build nuclear weapons, Iran is pursuing them, Russia still has 3,200 strategic weapons, and China is developing additional weapons and delivery systems.   Despite the moves of our adversaries, it appears that unilateral disarmament may be anathema only in campaign contributions, not in national defense.

The Shadow War:  The press is reporting a “shadow war” being conducted by Iran and Israel as they strike each other’s personnel.  The fact that the war is being conducted on the streets of world capitals might give the press pause in using the term “shadow.”   Nevertheless, it does appear that wet work (to use a Cold War term) is underway between the two powers.  While Mossad is not infallible (witness the assassination in Dubai two years ago), the Iranians seem to be behind the power curve.  First, despite a closed society and a ubiquitous security apparatus, Tehran has not been able to protect its scientists at home.  Second, Iranian training appears to be somewhat deficient.  In Bangkok, an Iranian bomb maker detonated explosives in his house (oops!).  While fleeing, he was confronted by the police.  He tried to throw a grenade at them, but it detonated prematurely, blowing the bomb maker’s legs off (tsk tsk!).  I guess he was not paying attention in Explosives 101, when the students were told, “When the pin is pulled, Mister Grenade is no longer your friend.”  If indeed there is a fight akin to the Mossad-KGB wet war of the 1960s, my money is on Mossad.

The Latest Budget:  Whenever I think the Obama Administration has hit rock bottom in terms of crass political machinations, it always comes up with a new nadir.  The latest is the President’s budget.  It calls for hundreds of billions in new spending and continued high deficits.  Even the President’s cheerleaders cannot put lipstick on this pig.  One Washington Post columnist (who normally writes paeans to the President) called it “…Evading anything resembling a serious budget.”  The New York Times called the White House response to criticism of the budget “divorced from reality.”  The budget is such a sham that Senator Reid has stated he will not bring it up for a vote in the Democratically controlled Senate (he knows most Democrats would vote against it).  So once again, the President has done it: put his reelection bid above the good of the nation.  It amazes me that given such Machiavellian politics, about 50% of the American electorate approves of the President’s performance.  I guess when you pander to enough people (take your pick: Greens, Hispanics, college students, union members, Occupy Wall Street protestors) you can get enough people on your bandwagon.