2. October 2009 by Danny Dirt.

President Obama was given a verbal thrashing when French President Nicolas Sarkozy told him to wake up and try living in the real world.  Earlier in the week, Obama told the United Nations that he wanted to see a world without nuclear weapons.  Long before the words even exited his mouth, North Korea and now Iran have announced that they are nuclear capable nations.

North Korea already possesses nuclear warheads and the rockets to deliver them.  Iran has successfully tested their own rockets this past week during war exercises and it is also widely believed they will be nuclear armed within the next six to nine months.  In previous comments, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has announced his distaste for the country of Israel and his plans to “wipe them from the face of the earth”.

Here is where Sarkozy chimed in,
“We are right to talk about the future. But the present comes before the future and the present includes two major nuclear crises.  We live in the real world, not a virtual one.  We say that we must reduce (the number of nuclear weapons).  President Obama himself has said that he dreams of a world without nuclear weapons.  Before our very eyes, two countries are doing exactly the opposite at this very moment.  Since 2005, Iran has violated five Security Council resolutions…  I support America’s extended hand.  But what have these proposals for dialogue produced for the international community?  Nothing but more enriched uranium and centrifuges.  And last but not least, it has resulted in a statement by Iranian leaders calling for wiping off the map a Member of the United Nations.  What are we to do?  What conclusions are we to draw?  At a certain moment, hard facts will force us to make decisions.”

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2. October 2009 by Danny Dirt.

On the way into work this morning, I had the opportunity to listen to “The Week In Review” with Joy Cardin.  Her guests were Tony Palmeri associated professor of communications from UW-Oshkosh and Ann Althouse professor of law at UW-Madison.

The ongoing conversation was about a number of different topics - the first of which I heard was regarding the stimulus bill.  As you continue reading, keep in mind that the stimulus package was in the neighborhood of $787 Billion Dollars and approximately 4-5% of the money has actually been spent on projects so far.  Obama sold this as a tool to create jobs and get money moving again.  Also keep in mind that just this morning, it was announced that unemployment is at 9.8% which is the highest it has been in 25 or 30 years.

In the month of September alone, the American economy lost another 263,000 jobs.  In fact, if you have been paying attention to the job loss and economy reports, you will notice that all of the headlines are suffixed with “<rose or fell>” and “<more or less>” than expected.  This means that just like global warming, I mean global cooling, I mean global climate change - the economists do not the ability to predict the state of the economy or rate of job loss with any kind of accuracy.

A caller gets on the program and says that she is pleased with the way the stimulus money is being used.  Why, just the other day she was driving along and came across some road construction.  There was a large sign near by that indicated that this work was being performed as a result of the stimulus money.   WhoooHoo! She also said that she had a sister that was some how involved in public education and her department had run out of money to fund some kind of project but they had now received new funding again as a result of the stimulus money.  Her view point - The stimulus is working.  So there you have it - two rock solid and indisputable examples disproving the supposed facts of the doom and gloom news.

Does it strike anyone else as odd that there would be a sign along the road advertising where the funding was coming from for a public works road construction project?  How do you reconcile this with the fact - and I do mean FACT that the economy is flat out not doing well?  This is putting the direness of the situation in a more positive light than it actually deserves.  There are communities where unemployment has now exceeded 25%.  Some areas are shutting down government offices, police stations, and other public works facilities.  The state of Michigan and the upper parts of Indiana come first in my mind.

How can the WPR guests conclude that the “stimulus is working”, when in fact percentage wise - very little of the money has actually been spent and what has been spent, is by and large not going to sectors of the economy that produce jobs or long term stability?  If all it took was 4 or 5 percent of the $787 B to get it going, can’t the government give all or most of the rest of it back?   Yet, if you were to listen to Obama alone, this is exactly what he is telling the world as he travels around.  “We’re investing in American infrastructure…” and “… we’ve spent our way out of debt…”.  Of course he can say that because there is at least one road project being worked on and the bill for the debt has not come due (yet) - which makes his statement true in a binary sense.  Yet in truth, it is largely a deceptive statement.

The caller then goes on to comment on her feelings about bringing the Olympics to Chicago.  “I think it would be great thing to showcase all the mid-west has to offer”, she says.  “It is a great thing for Milwaukee (to be so close to Chicago)”.  Basically, she feels very positive about the potential for the 2016 Olympic Summer games to come.   Nothing is said about the recent polls that indicate half of Chicagoians do not want the Olympics because the preparations for it will turn into a huge financial burden after the games are done.   Certainly no one comments about the kid who was recently beat to death by a gang or the 4 other survivors that are currently in the hospital.

This is when Professor Oshkosh chimes in, “absolutely… blah blah blah… this would be a great opportunity”.  It was obvious that he has been drinking the Obama Kool-aid.  What struck me was Professor Althouse’s comments.  She said, “If Obama wanted to do something good for Chicago, he would concentrate on addressing the problems the people of Chicago actually have rather than trying to showcase the best of Chicago for the world to see.  They have a high crime rate, high unemployment, high welfare, and other long term problems that the people need real solutions to.”  It was a very insightful analysis on the order of importance and what is the best long term benefit not just for Chicago and Illinois, but the mid-west in general.

Another caller chimed in, “… I think this is nothing more than payback to the city of Chicago for all its support in helping Obama get elected…”  Still another caller says, “… I would be concerned with Obama’s connections to people like Tony Resko and any other real estate connections he might have.  There is going to be a lot of construction for this.  Who is going to benefit financially from the Olympics coming to Chicago.  Follow the money.”

Professor Oshkosh piped back in, “This is not payback for anything.  That is just foolishness”.  Would somebody please serve up another glass of Kool-aid for Professor Oshkosh.  Of course leave it to the show’s host to not address or recnognize any of what has just been said, address any of the questions raised by the callers, and to change the subject.  This is why I don’t like to listen to public radio.  While it might be “OK” to state your opinion on the “idea’s network”, it is definately not “OK” to put them on the chopping block and analyze what has been said.

What is a person to conclude from all of this?  First and foremost - PAY ATTENTION!  Pay attention to what is actually happening verses what people say is happening.  When they don’t jive, someone is lying.

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