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The Audacity Of Memory

Big Frick — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 02:58:29 +0000

It really is getting harder and harder to maintain at least a modicum of decorum in these essays.

Just how long this White House thinks they can continue to blame the Bush administration and get away with it remains to be seen. It has become apparent that passing the buck is in fact the only thing the Obama administration has been successful at through its first year in power.

In a letter to Congress that was designed far more for the national media than for his minions on Capitol Hill, the president said of his economic agenda “I can report that over the past year, this work has begun. In the coming year this work continues.” The president then went on to say “But to understand where we must go in the next year and beyond, it is important to remember where we began one year ago.”

The latter quote was a none-too subtle attempt to snipe at the previous administration, but if you take the words at their face value, I actually agree. It is indeed important to remember where we were one year ago.

One year ago our national debt was 300% less than it is today. Our unemployment was 35% less and well under today’s 10% mark, a mark that candidate Obama ominously warned would be the ruin of the country and only occur if John McCain was elected. A year ago it was all about his plan and how wrong the Bush administration was, a year and nothing but negative results later, it’s still about his plan and how wrong the Bush administration was.

Speaking personally, I have far less money than I did a year ago. The manufacturing sector, which has supported me and my family for over 30 years, is far more depleted than it was a year ago. And I feel far less secure than I did a year ago both financially and physically.

A year ago the Obama administration dropped the use of the term “War on Terror”, but the terrorists never really cared what we called it anyway and have continued their mission of death and destruction. We changed the way we referred to them, but “Death to America” is still the phrase they use to refer to us.

A year ago consumers weren’t spending out of fear. Today consumers aren’t spending out of increased fear. American consumers are saving their money at a consistently higher rate than they were a year ago. Estimates are that American’s are now saving at between 5 and 7 percent. That’s not a prudent savings for a rainy day, that’s a panicked savings for a coming tsunami.

A year ago bank credit was tight. Today bank credit is even tighter and getting to the point of strangling the economy. And what is the plan to help ease this massive retraction in lending? Charging unconstitutional federal fees to a handpicked group of 15 banks. This will only cause these 15 banks to pull back their lending even further to insure proper capital reserves and cause the others to do the same out of fear of who’s next on the presidential hit list.

A year ago the Big Three Automakers were in shambles. A year later only one of the fabled three has been able to pull itself out of the death spiral and actually make money. Which one was able to do this seemingly impossible feat? Ford Motor Company. The one that thanks to the leadership of CEO Alan Mulally decided not to sell its soul to the devil and took no federal bailout money. Mulally saw firsthand from his time as executive vice-president of Boeing just what a bad business partner the federal government can be. Ford won by passing on the Obama plan, the other two were not as insightful and are still paying the price.

A year ago Obama was just making up imaginary numbers to support his plan.

A year later…well…I guess some things will never change.

Bye Bayh

Big Frick — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 20:27:59 +0000

What a difference a year makes.

Think back just 12 short months ago when the new popinjay Messiah was just installed into the oval office and Democrats were preparing for their one thousand year Reich. Nancy Pelosi was all-powerful in the House and Harry Reid was running the show on the Senate side. It was a dream team made in liberal heaven and after years of subjugation the Dem’s were going to show those mean old Republicans how a country is supposed to be run.

Now, skip forward one year and several trillion dollars later and look at the results of this liberal brain trust. The only graphs showing an increase are the ones detailing the national debt and unemployment. The filibuster-proof Congress has been incapable of passing any meaningful legislation other than massive spending bills like the near trillion dollar non-stimulating stimulus package and the front man in the White House of Hope and Change has been unable to fill the leadership positions of some of the most important governmental departments like the Transportation Safety Administration and the National Border Protection Agency.

And just when things were looking their bleakest for the Democrats, having just lost the most important battle to date in the defeat of the bloated and unworkable ObamaCare healthcare package, long time Democrat Senator from Indiana Evan Bayh announces his refusal to run for reelection.

And Bayh not only quit. He quit with a vengeance.

Bayh notified Barack Obama of his intent to quit and remained unwavering in his decision even after some good old fashioned arm twisting and cajoling by the president and his Chicago hit man qua Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. In a blatantly obvious snub, Bayh did not notify his Senate Leader Harry Reid prior to his public announcement. Further, in what can only be seen as intentional sabotage toward the Democrat Party, Bayh held off his announcement until just 24 hours before the deadline to submit petitions for a ballot spot. At the time of his announcement there was only one other Democrat candidate collecting signatures, a woman named Tamyra D’Ippolito, who owns a small roadside diner. D’Ippolito was just 1000 signatures short of gaining a spot on the ballot. She has since failed leaving the spot open for a Democrat Committee appointee to fill in.

Bayh made clear his reasoning behind the blockbuster announcement ending his 10 plus year run as Senator; the partisanship under the Democrat leadership of Congress makes it impossible to get anything done. “There is too much partisanship and not enough progress – too much ideology and not enough practical problem solving” he said. He went on to say that his decision should not be taken as a slam against Obama saying he believed the president’s agenda is “the right agenda for America”. Democrats were quick to portray this as tacit support for Obama. The fact is it was just another swipe at the feckless left-wing Democrat leadership currently running Congress. Bayh isn’t intent on hurting Obama, who isn’t up for reelection this November, but he certainly doesn’t intend to lend support to any of the congressional Democrats who are.

What Bayh is saying by his resignation and in his explanation is that even with the overwhelming popularity that swept Barack Obama from an obscure community activist into the seat of ultimate power, Democrats are too dysfunctional to enact policies that benefit anybody other than themselves. Trillions have been spent on pure pork projects and an entire year has been spent bribing congressional leaders to vote for an unworkable healthcare package, all to no avail. He is embarrassed to be part of it and he wants out.

While the president was quick to praise Bayh for his past service the White House’s official statement was terse and demeaning, claiming Bayh was “by nature a governor not a senator.” It is exactly that insulting elitist attitude that has Evan Bayh heading for the hills along with a passel of other long time Democrat Senators and House members.

Did Evan Bayh walk away from an assured reelection as senator for the possibility of a future run as president? Maybe so. Or maybe he believes the old adage that says “if you sleep with dogs you wake up with fleas”.

Perhaps Evan Bayh just got tired of scratching.

The Opportunity Of Tragedy

Big Frick — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 21:40:27 +0000

I am truly not the heartless a-hole that many will presume from this next statement, but:

Enough already with Nodar Kumaritashvili.

Nodar Kumaritashvili is the Georgian luger that tragically lost his life on a practice run in this year’s Winter Olympics. He was only 21 years old when his single man sled lost control on the very fast luge course causing him to leave the track, his body slamming into an unprotected metal pole. It is estimated that he was going about 90 mph at the time of the accident.

It is the greatest tragedy in sports when a competitor makes just a slight mistake and pays the ultimate price. It is horribly sad that it happened and it will indeed be a dark cloud over these Olympic Games. Kumaritashvili was remembered during the opening ceremony, as it should be, and will be remembered and memorialized by the athletes in his and other fields of sport for many years to come.

Out of supposed respect, NBC has committed to not showing the videos of Kumaritashvili’s fatal run for as long as the games are in progress. But that doesn’t mean they won’t bring it up every chance they get. Every interview and every report of every event has an NBC reporter desperately searching for some segway to bring up the tragic death of this young Georgian athlete “Here we are at the speed skating rink where the ice is perfect and the times should be fast, but not as fast as that luge course where young Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili was killed……” It has gone from the point of being disrespectfully repetitive to being downright insultingly abusive.

Every possible talking head has been brought in to put their two cents into the debate. Is the course to steep? Is the track too fast? Is the turn banked too much? Is the turn banked too little? Do the participants know what they are getting themselves into? Was Kumaritashvili experienced enough to be at this level of competition? And on and on and on.

One coach was quoted as saying that sport should not mean getting killed by making a small mistake. The truth is that in many of the extreme sports, particularly those that involve high speed and superhuman reflexes, that outcome is always a possibility.

Nodar Kumaritashvili was killed at a part of the track that is not particularly challenging. There was no retaining wall there because, at this level, lugers would not be expected to make the kind of mistake that Kumaritashvili made. But rather than holding the poor victim to his rightful responsibility for not being able to navigate a course designed for the world’s most elite, the blame immediately turns to the design of the course and to those who designed and maintained it.

Most mortals understand that they have limits. Common sense or abject fear drives us to limit our thrill seeking to things we are fairly sure won’t kill us. Most athletes are somehow able to overcome that fear and press on to do remarkable feats. That’s what makes them special and that’s why we pay money to watch them. But just as some are now saying that measures need to be taken to limit the risk of athletic endeavors, many others who engage in those endeavors are saying “Let me be the judge” and more importantly “Let me do what nobody has done before and put my name in the record book”. Athletes are not so much interested in doing the best that year. They work and train relentlessly so they can do it the best ever. Safety is always a concern. Nobody wants to see young athletes get killed. But if the mentality changes to one of reduced expectations it completely eliminates the reason for competing.

If we were to have seen several lugers’ crash or leave the track in a particular area we could then be assured that the track had a problem. But to have one incident, as tragic as it was, tells me that the track is not the problem, but the guy flying down it is. The accident occurred on his fifth run down this particular track. The track stayed the same. His reactions were flawed.

I am deeply saddened for the loss of this young man’s life. I am heartbroken for his family and friends. But enough already with comparing every single incident that happens over the rest of these Olympic Games to what happened to Nodar Kumaritashvili.

By doing so NBC only diminishes the honor of his memory.

Pointing Fingers

Big Frick — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:27:20 +0000

Yea, but he started it.

The childish antics of our elected officials continue. Republicans are being accused of maliciously blocking proposals by Democrats, Democrats are locking out Republicans from key negotiations and the president, who only spent enough time in the Hallowed Halls of Congress to have a cup of coffee, is clueless as to how to get anything done using the standard mechanisms in place in both Houses.

It has become obvious that this president’s first year, rapt in historic encomium and bolstered by a wave of nebulous hyperbole, was as good as it is going to get for this administration of Hope and Change and Inexperience.

Entering the oval office with a filibuster-proof majority in both Houses, Barack Obama looked to inflict his vision for America onto the voters that swept him into power. But Hope and Change means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. It was the audacity of ambiguity that got him elected and it is that same audaciousness that is now causing many of his once-adoring supporters to turn against him. Even those Democrats who appeared to be unshakable in their support for this new Messiah are looking for ways to distance themselves and save their political skin to fight another day. The collapse of the once all but certain ObamaCare bill proves that the stalemate stymie currently paralyzing Congress can be traced directly back to the inept leadership coming from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

And just like a schoolyard fracas when the teacher shows up the bully who started the whole thing is all too eager to point his finger and claim victimization.

Barack Obama began his term as president with less legislative experience than most congressional interns. He had a totally new agenda in mind for the country which included some lofty goals and a supercilious socialist ilk. Quite frankly, had the country not been in such desperate need of an experienced leader who could focus his attention on the economic woes we faced, much of his exalted schema would have passed through congress with very little successful opposition. With his iron fisted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and condescending Senate Leader Harry Reid, Obama’s first major legislative act was a near trillion dollar stimulus package that was 99% earmarked payback pork. Next up was to be the complete destruction of the healthcare system as we know it to be replaced by the ObamaCare system of reduced choice and mandatory participation. Much like the non-stimulating stimulus package the Democrats needed no Republican votes to get this monstrosity passed, so Republicans were locked out of the process both literally and figuratively.

Because this community activist qua president lost sight of America’s priorities for the sake of his own, the support he once enjoyed both inside the beltway and beyond began to dwindle. And as the polls go so goes the support of the elected elite whose continuing employment depends upon public sentiment. With the impending mid-term election coming Obama tried his best to ram through an unworkably expensive and graft laden healthcare bill that made nobody happy. Following the directions of his Chicago machine politics advisors he used muscle instead of mediation. And as a result he not only lost the battle but a number of defectors amongst the ranks of his once faithful as well.

Now, instead of learning from his mistakes in both principle and process, Obama is satisfied to make yet another political grandstand play and call the Republicans to a special televised meeting where he hopes to portray his new commitment to bipartisan participation. The reason for this newfound love of live television is so he can ratchet up the blame game and call the now filibuster-able Republicans to task for what he and his remaining Democrat minions will depict as obstructionism.

The Republicans, who are still smarting from a year of complete legislative domination, are in no mood to lose their newly attained political momentum and will likely not give an inch to this neophyte negotiator.

It will all make for good television and even better political pundit fodder. But it will not make for a productive legislative session unless the focus turns to real solutions for the ailing economy, the painful unemployment rates and the unsustainable national debt.

As Democrats, Republicans and this quickly fading presidential phenom point fingers at each other the public will continue to become more disenchanted with the entire lot.

And in November many of those looking to extend their congressional stay will not like the finger we use to point back.

Phenomenal Failure

Big Frick — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:48:00 +0000

Once again the White House has shown that failure, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.

Michelle Obama gave an interview to the All Barack Channel’s Good Morning America in which she said her husband, the community activist who would be king, "has done a phenomenal job". She then added that people have a right to criticize him.

That just doesn’t make sense to me. If I felt somebody was doing a “phenomenal job”, regardless of whether it was my spouse, my president, or a complete stranger, I would find it impossible to give acquiescence to unwarranted criticism as justified. Perhaps the first lady was simply being dismissive of the criticism and stating that it is constitutionally protected free speech. But regardless of its legal protections I would still find it necessary to debate what I saw as superfluous negativity on its merits alone. Of course, then I would need to be prepared to defend my “phenomenal job” appraisal with some facts and figures of phenomenal accomplishments. And therein lays the rub.

The first lady admitted that people are still suffering and that unemployment is still tragically high, but she insists that the president “wakes up serious and focused and committed to pushing this stuff through.” And that may be the most telling comment of all. It shows just how out of touch this White House administration is with reality. The major problem the country faces is that “this stuff”, of which she speaks, is the leading hindrance to the nation’s economic recovery.

It is “this stuff” that has taken a national deficit that candidate Obama vigorously campaigned against as being untenable and tripled it to the level of catastrophic. It is “this stuff” that had the newly elected president signing an executive order to close Guantanamo Bay while a year later still having no idea where to even hold the trial of the accused much less detain and house them. It is “this stuff” that nationalized once private industries like the automakers only to find them a year later still completely incapable of overcoming their labor cost inequities with the rest of the world market and equally incapable of financial independence through profitability. It is “this stuff” that literally locked out opposing views to the nationalization of health care and brought all other important legislation to a grinding halt until its ultimate defeat at the hands of a Massachusetts Senate seat special election. It is “this stuff” that gave the constitutional rights that tens of thousands of Americans have given their life to protect, to wanton terrorists whose only goal in life is to dismantle or destroy them. It is “this stuff” which threatens the nation’s financial institutions with a discriminatory method of penalization that will do nothing but increase the reluctance of banks to free up credit and grow the economy. It is “this stuff” that threatens the nation’s industrial base with plans for untenable and useless cap and trade penalties that will do nothing to protect the environment and simply increase the cost base inequities between American products and those of developing nations. It is “this stuff” that has Democrats looking for an exit strategy before they institute a battle plan in Afghanistan and it is “this stuff” that has the same Democrats looking for a political exit strategy before the voters go the polls in November.

I understand Michelle Obama’s desire to defend her husband and would expect nothing less than her lending him her full public support. But to claim that the job he has done through the first quarter of his term as being phenomenal is, quite frankly, more than I can swallow. Perhaps if Mrs. Obama’s betrothed was still a community activist one could argue that his ideas are what makes him phenomenal. But as President of the United States there is only one word to describe his results.

And phenomenal ain’t it.

Dick Does What Dicks Do

Big Frick — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:48:23 +0000

Let’s pretend for a moment that you are one of the lucky ones to still be employed.

Now let’s pretend that your employer has a huge job to tackle that will likely mean the difference between the company’s survival if it succeeds or its agonizing and certain demise if it fails. This job will take all your skill and likely will mean many long nights working on projects to meet vital deadlines. The boss has made it clear that it won’t be easy but has made it equally clear that your ability and dedication to your chosen profession will be critical in the overall success of the company. In fact your personal participation will be particularly critical as you will be the second in command.

Now, having established the premise of this make-believe scenario, would you think it was proper to accept an additional full time position to perform in conjunction with all of your other duties?

While the scenario may be a fantasy the reality is that Illinois Senator Dick “Gulag” Durbin, the second in command of the Senate behind leader Harry Reid, has done just that.

In what can only be viewed as yet another thumb in the eye of the Illinois voters that sent him to Washington, Durbin announced today that he has accepted the position of campaign chairman for Democrat Senate hopeful Alexi Giannoulias.

Giannoulias won the recent Democrat primary and will face off against Republican candidate and current US House member Mark Kirk. Both are vying to fill the US Senate seat rarely used and quickly vacated by Barack Obama, currently being kept dust free by Roland Burris. Burris has decided not to run for reelection after having been gifted the seat by the infamous former Illinois Governor and current celebrity Trump apprentice hopeful Rod Blagojevich. Though Burris has done less in the Senate than any other Senator except for Obama himself, he will receive a lifetime Senator’s pension at the taxpayer’s expense. Never mind that fact that the guy who gave him the job will likely also be living off the taxpayers very soon in a federal penitentiary.

But regardless of the history, the Democrats view this Illinois seat as yet another critical political possession. Even though there are countless political hacks in the Illinois Democrat machine that could serve with equal alacrity and ability, in order to keep this historically Democrat seat in the blue column Durbin has been tapped to run the little known and lesser financed Giannoulias campaign. The question that needs to be asked by all taxpayers that pay Durbin salary is; is this the best use of his time? I guess it depends on whose interest is being served.

Since losing the Massachusetts seat to Scott Brown the president has spent the last few weeks publically declaring his recently acquired desire for bipartisan cooperation. Headlines from this past weekend alone touted that “The President Braves Winter Storm” to rally his depressed party faithful in a special Capitol Hill visit. While meeting with Democrats Obama discussed how to revitalize his now failing agenda stating “We can’t solve all our problems alone”.

But now, with possibly the last best hope for meaningful bipartisan progress in the Senate, the Democrats give an excused absence to their Number Two man for strictly partisan political purposes. The Giannoulias campaign is woefully short of funds so from a strictly partisan political position, Durbin is the logical choice. He won’t need to be paid for his chairmanship as he is already being paid by the taxpayers to do his job in the Senate.

It is obvious that the Democrats have learned absolutely nothing about the outrage of the voting public. They just don’t understand that people are watching what they do and not listening to what they say. It’s just yet another example of a Democrat controlled House and Senate far more interested in staying in power than serving the people that sent them. And for that I agree with another of Obama’s recent quotes.

“Change can’t come quickly enough”.

Illinois – The Real Reality Show

Big Frick — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 23:43:32 +0000

Welcome to the reality show drama that is Illinois politics.

Primary election day has come and gone in Illinois. Voter turnout, which is historically light for primary elections, was about average for this state with a dysfunctional Republican Party and a powerful Chicago controlled Democrat machine.

But maybe, just maybe, Illinois Republicans are getting the message.

The Illinois Republican Party suffered greatly after the corrupt ex-Governor George Ryan was made a resident of the federal penal system. Ryan was a criminally corrupt Secretary of State selling drivers licenses to unqualified trucking firms and demanding political tribute (of the cash variety) from all of his many patronage employees. He successfully parlayed his illegal activities while serving as governor, crimes for which he was finally prosecuted and convicted after leaving office. The entire scandal left him in federal custody and the Republican Party scrambling to control the sizable damage done to the public confidence.

Illinois Democrats, with the aid of the well oiled Chicago Democrat machine, took full advantage and were able to sweep Republican lawmakers out of their elected positions pretty much across the board down to the level of assistant dogcatcher.

But then, like manna from political heaven, came Democrat Governor Rod Blagojevich, who was removed from office during his second term for blatant corruption and manifest stupidity. It is not unusual in Illinois to have a Democrat convicted and sent to prison as they control most of the political capital and even more of the political graft. But Blagojevich continues to walk the streets a free man while awaiting trial. And even in the face of overwhelming evidence, including undercover federal wiretap recordings, continues to seek any opportunity to get in front of television cameras to make a buck off his now infamous reputation. Big Rod did not elevate the Republicans but he did dig a deep enough hole for Democrats to make the Illinois GOP look taller, a job the GOP was too inept to do for themselves.

The primary ballot was stacked with hopefuls from both parties looking to become the next Illinois governor and lieutenant governor. The Democrat now acting as a temp behind the governor’s desk won his party’s slot with ease. So did a pawnbroker named Scott Lee Cohen who spent the unprecedented sum of nearly $3 million to campaign as Democrat Lieutenant Governor. Cohen won at the polls which is now causing the Democrat machine to spasm like a colon filled with day-old Taco Bell. You see Mr. Cohen has a documented history of sexual and physical abuse including holding a knife to the throat of his live-in girlfriend who was a convicted prostitute he met at a massage parlor. Honestly, can it get any better than that for Republicans?

Meanwhile, the Republican nominee for governor is still undecided with a mere 400 votes separating the two top candidates. These two hopefuls are current Illinois legislators who are acting remarkably civil to each other and allowing the Democrats dig themselves an even deeper hole.

Could it be that the Illinois Republican Party is actually wising up? With the voter’s negative sentiment at an all time high this could be the Republican Party’s race to lose. While the general election is still pretty far away and Illinois Republicans have historically shown a penchant for doing the remarkably stupid at just the right time, if they play their cards right and let the Dem’s continue to self-destruct we could actually get a fiscally responsible administration in the governor’s mansion.

But while the Chicago machine that honed the skills of Barack Obama and brought him his closest advisors is sputtering, it is by no means dead. This could turn out to be a political race worthy of national attention, if for no other reason than entertainment value.

And if Scott Lee Cohen does eventually drop out of the race maybe he could get a spot on MTV’s “Jersey Shore”. But he better move quickly. I’m guessing Rod Blagojevich already has his agent trying to cut a deal.

I Got The “Whatever Happend To’s”

Big Frick — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 02:45:33 +0000

I was just sitting back reminiscing some of the top stories of the past year or so and I got a case of the “What ever happened to’s”.

Like what ever happened to all the congressional hearings we were supposed to have investigating the price gouging being carried out by the major oil refiners and gasoline companies.

The Democrats marched the CEO’s of these companies before their committee and accused them of everything from price fixing to treason. Our favorite California Congresswoman Maxine Waters even threatened to have these private companies socialized (she meant nationalized, but the slip of the tongue was classic Freudian). Could it be that Congress decided not to allow the American public to study the fact that the federal tax on gasoline is twice the percentage of the refiner’s profits? Oh they talked about how they were going to rein in these mammoth profit machines and they certainly kept the headlines filled with sound bites for a while. They even put some toothless restrictions on oil futures trading. But I just don’t recall them actually doing much else to the focus of their wrath, the big oil companies, and now it’s old news.

Or, what ever happened to Nancy Pelosi and her claim that she was going to hold public hearings about being completely uninformed by the CIA about the enhanced interrogation techniques being used on the most hardened terrorists at Guantanamo Bay. She repeatedly stood before the press with cameras rolling and microphones pointed and called the CIA agents liars. Even the newly appointed CIA Director Leon Panetta was dragged into this cat fight in an attempt to protect the agents. Pelosi would have none of it. She swore she had never been told and was prepared to prove it. Right up until it was announced that lying to a congressional committee is a felony as was presenting false evidence. But Pelosi, at least publically, promised to get the whole story out to the masses and clear her name. It seems like this investigation is being handled by the same folks that work for OJ Simpson in his attempts to find the real killer. After over a month of outrageous claims it all just went away. How I do wish Pelosi would follow it.

And whatever happened to Special Middle East Envoy George Mitchell and his presidential mandate to “Push For Peace’? It was only a couple days into the Obama administrations term that the new Messiah introduced George Mitchell as his go to guy who was going to make it all better between Palestine and Israel. Obama had been campaigning for 2 years on the premise that if we just had open dialog on a fair and even basis with the terrorist groups Hamas and the PLO we will be able to break the cycle of violence and bring a lasting peace to this war torn region. Much was made of this by the press as this was actually the job of the new Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. But Mitchell was picked and with great fanfare sent on his way to the Holy Land. He has been back and forth several times to reinforce the Obama position of “Can’t we all just get along” but to no avail. There is no peace, there is no negotiation and as far as I can tell there is no Special Envoy George Mitchell anymore either.

Which leads us to our next “Whatever happened to” as in Hillary Clinton? During the Bush administration then Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was on every news show every day shown working on some major project with the executive branch or the military leaders. She was doing what she was supposed to be doing, acting as the country’s chief envoy in all foreign matters. After big promises and a few lesser appearances Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has all but been relegated to cutting the ribbon at Wal-Mart openings. She has made a few swings around the globe but other than presenting her Russian counterpart with a button that instead of saying RESTART was emblazoned with the Russian word for OVERCHARGE, can you think of any mission she has been on that could be considered even mildly successful? OK, how about this, in the past twelve months can you name any mission she has been on (other than the one where Bill picks up his drunken party girls)?

Oh, there are a few more that I will save for later in the week. Like Tom Daschle, Roland Burris, Increased Muslim Cooperation, The National Organization of Women (NOW) ,and how about that new age of diplomacy that was going to have the European Union eating out of our hand.

Much like beauty, success is in the eye of the beholder. You’d have to have some pretty poor peepers to find some in this administration’s first year.

Maybe that’s why the biggest “Whatever happened to” belongs to a free and truthful press corps.

BigFrick is off Thursday, but I will be back on Friday.

Who Dat Stupid?

Big Frick — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 01:32:55 +0000

Talk about a buzz kill.

You remember the NFL. The National Football League that deemed a conservative talk show host as unfit for minority ownership of a team because he dared give his personal opinion about a certain black quarterback being overrated. The same NFL that only days later decided it was indeed appropriate for that supposedly besmirched black quarterback to be backed up by a different black quarterback who had just been released from prison, having served time as a result of his conviction for his admitted involvement in the heinous, despicable activity of dog fighting.

The same NFL whose ranks of players include some of the most downright unsavory characters outside of prison or the NBA, but who are still capable of earning millions anyway because they are protected like show ponies by this mega-billion dollar business.

The same NFL that treated the nation to a Super Bowl halftime show that included Justin Timberlake having simulated sex with Janet Jackson for what seemed like an eternity until climaxing with the boob shot heard round the world (which actually, in my estimation, was preferable to the previous year’s halftime when they had Brittany Spears singing with Aerosmith).

Yea, those guys. Those bastions of good taste and dedicated fan friendly environmentalists.

Up to this point perhaps there were only a handful of us who saw the blatant hypocrisy in the organization known as the NFL, but no more. I feel certain that in their latest court fight most of the country will agree that the NFL, under the leadership of their commissioner Roger Goodell, has taken it one step too far one time too often.

Far be it from me to disparage any organization for making money or protecting their products. I am a capitalist through and through and believe that businesses are in business to make money. Only successful businesses can be successful community servants. But Mr. Goodell and his band of merry legal eagles have crossed the line of protecting their product and moved into sheer power-hungry lunacy.

The NFL last week, through their attorneys, filed an injunction preventing any private label souvenir sales for the New Orleans Saints that bare the tagline “WHO DAT”. According to the filing the NFL says they own the expression “WHO DAT” and are concerned that any tee shirts or other memorabilia emblazoned with that expression, even without any mention of the Saints team itself, may cause a consumer to be misled into believing it is an NFL sanctioned piece of New Orleans history.

Whooeee cuzin, dat some big ting dat da bull he walk aaawaaay from I gaar-own-tee.

After suffering through countless losing seasons the diehard fans of the New Orleans Saints finally have something to really cheer about and the NFL comes in and throws their legal wet blanket on the proceedings.

The press is all agog with the story of a team coming from a city that was devastated by hurricane Katrina, and playing in a dome that was the scene of hopeless despair, has risen to the height of Super Bowl contender. Katrina certainly plays a part in this story but even without the hurricane this is an unconscionably excessive use of legal force on the everyday fan of this Super Bowl virgin team.

For the first time in the history of the New Orleans Saints the fans of the WHO DAT nation have something to celebrate and the NFL now informs them that the tag line they have been using does not belong to them. What next? A user fee every time someone says it in the stands?

Mr. Goodell needs to look in the mirror and say “Who dat be the biggest a hole outside Washington DC?”

I bet they can answer that question on Bourbon Street in a New Orleans second.

I gaar-own-tee.

The Charlie Brown Syndrome

Big Frick — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 03:24:31 +0000

“Why’s everybody always pickin’ on me?” – Charlie Brown – 1959

With deference to the separation of BigFrick.Com and The Coasters, it certainly seems as though Barack Hussein Obama is channeling the poor, misunderstood Charlie Brown made famous in the 1959 hit song by blaming everybody but himself for his failures. But much the same as the lyrics explain in this rock and roll classic, Charlie Brown was not an innocent victim of undue negative attention and neither is Barack Obama.

In Baltimore, Maryland the president stood before US House Republicans and scolded them for “voting along party lines” and not supporting his misguided attempts to pass the ObamaCare version of nationalized healthcare as well as other parts of his agenda. Addressing the House Republicans at their annual policy retreat Obama said “What happens is that you guys don’t have a lot of room to negotiate with me,” he then went on to say "The fact of the matter is, many of you, if you voted with the administration on something, are politically vulnerable with your own base, with your own party because what you’ve been telling your constituents is, ‘This guy’s doing all kinds of crazy stuff that’s going to destroy America.’ ”

House Republicans had invited the president to address them at this conference. Obama agreed to attend but only if he could bring the bright lights, cameras and reporters of the national press corps. Just take a moment to let that sink in. The President of the United States would only address the policy conference of the Republican House members if he could be televised. Where was this willingness for openness and television cameras when he was negotiating the details of ObamaCare with House Democrats behind locked doors? Where was the televised C-Span coverage he promised of the floor debates on Capitol Hill? Where was the live coverage when the Democrats were giving a $300 million bribe to Louisiana Representative Mary Landrieu for her vote or deciding to exempt the entire state of Nebraska from Medicare increases for the vote of Representative Ben Nelson?

Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Barack Obama spent months behind closed doors, locking out both the promised television coverage and the Republicans while they strong-armed each of their minions into submission either through intimidation or out and out bribery. And still after it was all said and done Barack Obama couldn’t get his pet project passed before the senatorial tide turned with the special election in Massachusetts. But now, with the camera’s once again rolling, Barack Obama stands before House Republicans and blames them for his failure.

The president then went on to admit that there were some “stray dogs and cats” that had been implanted into the ObamaCare legislation. He mentioned the same thing in his State of the Union address when he talked about some of the “horse trading” that went on. While the analogies of stray dogs and cats and horse trading sound fairly innocuous the reality is that ObamaCare is rife with sweetheart deals for unions, government intrusion into personal freedom and flat out bribery for those Democrats savvy enough to sell their vote.

He stood in the national spotlight and staring right into the eyes of the Supreme Court Justices blatantly and deliberately lied to the American public by intentionally misrepresenting the court’s recent ruling on corporate campaign contributions. And now he stands again before his once adoring media and, in an effort to regain some of that old magic, blames Republicans, from whom he needed no votes in the first place, for his dismal job performance.

Standing behind the podium, staring at the cameras and just flat out lying. It’s like “I did not have sex with that woman, Miss Lewinsky” all over again. But this time instead of a stained blue dress the proof will come in the form of a continuing unemployment numbers and oppressive increasing national debt. Keep an eye out for the next phase.

The economy “is” getting better will all depend on what the definition of “is” is.