Charges Against Cain Cannot Be Ignored

by Dean Stephens - October 30th, 2011

Herman Cain supporters keep repeating his claim he is an American success story. Yet they seemingly ignore his actual history with that claim. Cain is a success. The question is, just how much of that “success” did he earn on his own and is it really the “Horatio Alger story most would like to, or are being led to believe?

During the late 70s and the 80s, Herman Cain was an employee of big consumer corporations, starting with Coca Cola. He was not an entrepreneur. He didn’t take any risks with his own capital. Affirmative action had recently become the law of the land. Big corporations were under pressure to prove they were complying. True conservatives have never accepted the premise of affirmative action, that you can reach equality by suppressing the rights of others by government edict. Yet Herman Cain defends affirmative action to this day. He received a lifetime achievement award for promoting ‘diversity’ in the food services industry. You have to wonder why. You also have to wonder why mention of this award has been removed from his web sites.

His actual track record in business indicates some possible explanations. Cain went from an entry level analyst position to top management in one decade. He was made what would normally be called a regional manager by Burger King. He was then made manager of a small subsidiary by Pillsbury. Would Cain’s rocket to the top have happened without the special treatment and considerations given him as a result of affirmative action?

Herman Cain did not build Godfather's Pizza. He was made manager of an existing organization within a large corporation and given a staff and title. The parent company soon spun it off as they often do with subsidiaries that offer little upside potential. Cain did not grow the business while he ran it as a subsidiary or after it was spun off. He made it more profitable by closing restaurants and firing several thousand employees. Cain then used that profit success as a stepping stone to run for public office and quit. That act itself was typical of an employee not an entrepreneur. In fact, many insiders do not consider Cain key to the turnaround. They tout Ronald Gartlin, who helped build the chain before Pillsbury bought it, was key to Cain’s efforts to return to profitability, replaced him on Cain's departure and continues to run the business today.

For the last 20 years Herman Cain has been active in politics. Although he has never won public office he and his supporters cannot realistically claim he is not a professional politician. He is!

Cain was appointed to the Federal Reserve board because he was a black businessman. He has absolutely no credentials in monetary, fiscal or economic policy that would justify the appointment. I cannot find any transcripts or video interviews of Cain discussing economic issues with any depth or breadth of insight. He talks in generalities. Details that require true knowledge are avoided. Cain is a sound bite candidate in a sound bite era. Even so, why is this experience considered a good thing? Many of our problems in economic mismanagement are directly attributable to board members like Cain rubber stamping disastrous Federal Reserve policies.

His supporters also give him a pass on his actions at Aquila, a corporation that invested employee retirement funds in its own stock. It then suffered huge losses. Cain was a director. What is a director supposed to do except make sure such things do not happen?

The latest questions to arise are accusations Cain sexually harassed two women while he was Chairman of the National Restaurant Association. I doubt these accusations are accurate. However the reactions by his supporters are curious. Cain's supporters do not want to know if they are true. They simply dismiss them as unfair attacks with total disinterest in whether there are any facts to substantiate or not. Aren't the charges serious enough to warrant some investigation? If you ask most of Cain’s supporters, their answer will be, “No!”

Here is something else to consider. Cain attended an all black college that is known for its cultural hatred for whites. Cain says he was too focused on his studies to notice the racism but you have to wonder about his choice of college. Cain still attends a black church that is only marginally less racist than Jeremiah Wright's church. Cain openly acknowledges his "church is still in the 'hood" but doesn't go further to denounce the racism that implies. Voters should demand more than another sound bite reply from Mr. Cain.

Here is something I and others have sadly found out recently:

If you criticize Herman Cain for anything you will be the one denigrated as racist. The enchantment with Herman Cain is curiously similar to the earlier adoration for General Colin Powell. Powell was never the conservative military genius he was proclaimed to be. Republicans were desperate to believe he was for reasons a psychologist would struggle to explain. Clear warning signs were ignored. Is that perception repeating itself with Cain?

Herman Cain has shown by his gaffes on foreign affairs that he is not prepared to lead our nation in the one area that can get us all killed. He never served in the military. He has shown no interest in our history or involvement in the world. He was so ignorant that he claimed to not know what 'neo conservative meant'. His trite dismissal of the need to understand foreign issues is an insult to voters. If you care about America how can Cain’s foreign policy naiveté not be a red flag?

At some point you have to stop and ask some serious questions about this man. Unfortunately the answers are being delayed because Herman Cain is treated differently. Cain will not allow the questions he is uncomfortable with to be addressed. Instead he dismisses concerns and changes the subject. Push him and you risk being verbally attacked.

In summary, voters actually know very little about Herman Cain except his personal interpretation of his own resume. This must end. The office of the Presidency is not an entry level position. People who forget that are making a huge mistake.

The Risk Of Revolution Grows

by Dean Stephens - October 25th, 2011

Our world is coming apart. The reactions to this are daily becoming more ridiculous. The reactions to this are daily becoming more serious. Are we in a repeat of the dichotomy once summarized "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times"?

Like this opening to the famous tale about the French Revolution with its anarchist extremes and brutal bloodletting, the world is reaching a crisis and the world's people are confused and angry. The dichotomies identified in that opening paragraph are being repeated today, "... it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity... " The rich are adamant that the world is perfect as it is. The poor are adamant that the world must be torn apart. Neither is right. Neither is wrong.

It is happening globally.

China has created a self inflicted cultural crisis with its 'one child policy'. It faces a growing chasm between the excessive number of male children in their nation and the limited number of women who they can marry. War has long been the final solution for nation's facing such cultural pressure. Which is why China is making noises about invading Vietnam and Taiwan. War by China is coming. Yet experts on China remain oblivious. Amazingly, our mainstream media ignore the signs as if such a war will not affect America.

Huge wage pressure has nearly eradicated China's cost of labor advantage of 20 years ago. The currency manipulation which cleverly hid the eradication is about to collapse. At the same time Greece considers unilaterally wiping out debt, something unheard of since the end of World War II. China faces the reality that their huge surpluses in owning debt around the world could become a massive problem if write-downs become epidemic. They would really like to reduce exposure to American debt, yet where else can they safely go? How does China grow their economy at the rate needed to keep their population happy while facing cultural and economic catastrophe? Are they prepared to face serious blow back from the United States, China's number one trading partner? It happened before and would likely happen again. China’s heretofore strengths are rapidly becoming its weaknesses. It may thus perceive only one rational choice. War!!

At the same time, Americans are slowly waking up to the open warfare from La Raza extremists who are intent on tearing America apart. They are invading us in numbers they hope will force a vote for secession by many Western states. "It can't happen here" is starting to become an obvious farce as the reality sinks in. Yes, "it can happen here". It is happening. Others in South America are recognizing our weakness. Argentina is saber-rattling. Threatening to invade the Falklands over a two hundred year old fester wound to its national pride. America would not be immune from the consequences of such action, regardless of whether it was Britain or Argentina that prevailed. Instability in the Americas is indeed surging as Cuba and Venezuela work to undermine their age old enemy, the U.S.

The massive growth of Islamic extremists around the world is being fueled by a deluded foreign policy initiative from the Obama regime. Muslim extremists are reacting aggressively, seizing control of every major nation in the Pan Arabian region; Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Syria, Turkey. Nation by nation we are facing an increasingly hostile Islamist world. Sharia law is being pressed everywhere, even in America. It will rapidly get worse. Israel is about to become a victim of the first nuclear world war. It will not be the last. America may soon be a target as well.

Simultaneously, the global socialist movement is organizing "Occupy Wall Street" actions to destabilize America's financial system. The failure of most Americans to accept the visceral hatred by certain elements in the world against any semblance of free enterprise still shocks me. The socialists have openly planned to destroy free enterprise, what they call capitalism, for over a hundred years. Yet most Americans are still oblivious. These enemies may be aligned with foreign movements but they are internal enemies and they currently control our government. The Obama regime is a part of the global socialist movement.

With all these crises around the globe and here at home, the campaign for the Republican primary is superficial and irrational. What political party of sanity can leap from Donald Trump, to Mitt Romney, to Michele Bachmann, to Rick Perry, to Herman Cain, to whoever is the next hero of the moment and pretend it is going to unite to win an election? Each candidate in turn has temporarily led by large margins. Huge numbers of the Republican base still support Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich, two narcissists who have long since proved their shortcomings are incompatible with governing our nation. Clarity remains elusive, while rage continues to grow.

At the same time Republicans are wasting their energy on smears of each other, Obama continues to accumulate a huge war chest that he will use in a 'battle to the death' general election campaign that will be the dirtiest in history.

As in the age of the French Revolution "... it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness... ", history appears to be repeating itself. The only question that remains is which idea will prevail? The French chose ‘foolishness’ and chopped off each others heads. Will we choose wisdom?

Still My Favorite Car Shelby Cobra 427

I owned one of these in British racing green back during the sixties. I had to sell it since I could not afford the speeding tickets. Sure wish I still had it. What an amazing machine! Zero to sixty in four seconds. Zero to a hundred and back to a complete stop in twelve seconds.

It was awesome.

Unpopular Truth For The Day

Why do some Republicans find this so hard to understand?

From Jim McGowan On Facebook

Greatest American Eagle Picture Ever? It is powerful but if you think about it, saddest might be a more appropriate caption. Thank you for the photo Jim. Hope you don't mind if I share it with my readers.

Herman Cain's 9-9-9 Came From Video Game

SimCity source of new tax proposal by candidate Herman Cain!

Kip Katsarelis, a senior producer for SimCity’s production company, Maxis... said game developers chose the simple tax code so gamers could focus more on “ building their cities and have fun thwarting giant lizard attacks, rather than be buried by overly complex financial systems.”

No wonder Herman Cain was evasive when he was asked who provided him with an assessment of the 9-9-9 plan. The inventors of the 9-9-9 tax proposal wanted to thwart giant lizard attacks! Herman must be so proud.

Health Care’s Legal Drug Deals

by Dr. Ada Fisher - October 11th, 2011

I repeatedly cringe when I hear` politicians talk about the corruption in the way medicines are patented, made, dispensed and regulated as if they aren’t part of the problem. The regulations in place regarding medicines are keeping or delaying the entry of some onto the market because they have not met the required safety trials and had enough case studies to identify potentially hazardous side effects. The manner in which medicines are manufactured is not controlling shortages of essentials including epinephrine used to treat shock, potential vaccines, cancer chemotherapeutic agents and hospital drugs mainly including sterile injectibles. The movie “Contagion” spells out clearly what problems we face if we don’t plan better.

Was the Human Papilloma Vaccine (HPV)’s production hastened since another manufacturer was threatening to encroach on the money to be made from this vaccine as Congresswoman Bachman hints? Should only girls have been targeted since boys carry the virus? Were enough study cases done before the vaccine was brought to market to insure its safety?

In my opinion, one of the worst federal legislative moves was to give vaccine producers an exemption from liability if they made them believing that this would prompt more to compete for this business and decrease the costs. So who will bear the financial burden created by those who now develop side effects from these vaccines such as that had with Guillian Barre Syndrome (a form of paralysis) caused by a previous Swine Flu? Is the government now liable for these costs, particularly when companies may not have shown due diligence in completing adequate safety research?

As our baby boomers continue to age into the over 55 generation, our problems with medication availability for those diseases associated with aging such as cancer will increase. Doxcil (AIDS, ovarian cancer, breast cancer), Taxol (breast cancer, ovarian cancer), Cisplastin (ovarian, bladder, lung cancers) and 5 FU (invented by one of my professors Charles Heidelberger who played a critical role in my medical school training) are a few of the 213 drugs all in short supply on any given day depending on your location and facility’s connection to the manufacturing pipeline.

Even Propofol, an anesthetic which Michael Jackson had no problem acquiring, is in short supply in many hospitals. This means that doctors are being asked to play G-d and decisions on care are increasingly rationed by criteria that are neither universally acknowledged nor sanctioned by some medical body.

The drug pipeline slows when drugs are made into generics some companies may lose money that could have been shuffled to research and pocketed profits or drug company consolidations have forced out some research drugs which have high need value but low profitability reality. Designer drugs specifically targeted to diseases are are costly and more difficult to make which insurance doesn’t always want to cover; meaning if the government won’t pay the bill or a patient is not in a research protocol he is not likely to get it. Third party payers are increasingly dictating who can get what without regard to life saving potential, curative benefit or necessary research study value. In other words if you don’t have the money up front, you aren’t always likely to get what you need.

Is anyone asking for a full disclosure of the ties of our politicians to drug and pharmaceutical concerns and lobbyists?

Who is going to pay the bill to extend our lives even when we abuse our bodies?

Who should be the judge of what care is available?

Who should have priority for treatment?

Are we really ready for the big time of Nationalized Health Care—more rationing of care?

A think the question really comes down to a simple one. Will we get better care, even if we are poor, if we depend on the government bureaucrats of socialized medicine or if we depend on the historical success of each person seeking out a private doctor for medical care and recommendations of drugs that will help?

I know what I think.

Democrats Launch Senate War

Reid uses ‘nuclear option’ to block GOP [Votes]

by Stephen Dinan - October 6th, 2011 - The Washington Times

In a move that threatened to calcify an already dysfunctional Senate, Democrats on Thursday voted to change chamber precedent, in effect rewriting the rules to ban a work-around Republicans had used to force votes even when the Democrats in the majority didn’t want to hold them.

Things got so heated that all sides agreed they needed a cooling-off period, and they suspended business for the rest of this week, promising to return Tuesday and try to repair what appeared to be lasting damage to the comity and relationships critical to the functioning of the upper chamber.

The move was similar to the “nuclear option” Republicans had threatened to use to end filibusters of then-President George W. Bush’s judicial nominations six years ago, which was averted in a bipartisan deal.

“We have changed the rules of the Senate,” said an angry Sen. Roger Wicker, Mississippi Republican, as he and fellow Republicans excoriated Democrats for using the backdoor method.

I do not understand why Republicans are surprised at this move. It is only Republicans who care about "comity". Democrats never care. They simply demand that Republicans adhere to such decorum. Then again comity has never really helped anyone except the fence sitting moderates. So those of us who believe it is time to stop losing our nation may finally get a chance to fight back.

I think that the extremists who are currently trying to overthrow our government with their riots are going to change this election in a dramatic way. I am simply not willing to predict that the MSM cannot make that impact a negative one for our nation. This fight is providing the rioters with encouragement.

Obama Fried Chicken Spreads To China

Though a similar company started up in Germany a couple of years ago, it appears that the latest use of Obama's name and likeness to promote fried chicken has appeared in China. As the linked article shows in the pictures, use of Obama to sell fried chicken has already occurred at a couple of locations here in the U.S. as well. As one commenter sarcastically suggests, next we will see Obama Watermelon stands.

The Obamas Go Shopping

Does anyone think this staged picture could be any less fake if it showed Michele's oldest child in the basket?