I was thinking about writing something on the Zimmerman trial, but there’s really not much to be said.  Low information people who actually fell for the narrative simply can’t be changed in their views – facts and logic are meaningless to them (which explains why they voted for Obama, twice).  Those of us who do pay attention to facts and logic are merely pleased that a gigantic miscarriage of justice was avoided – though we are disgusted with the government, from Obama on down, about how they tried to railroad an innocent man for partisan, political purposes.

Still, this is likely to be the topic of conversation for a few days, so this open thread will be the place to do it – after that, we can get back to the real issues of the NSA, IRS, Fast and Furious, Benghazi, the collapsing global economy, the messes in Egypt and Syria…you know, all the stuff the Zimmerman trial was supposed to distract us from.

The “war on women” hoax the Democrats successfully pulled on the GOP last year and to which the brain trust of the GOP has been unable to find an answer to, can be easily combated in two very simple ripostes.

1. The Life of Julia – which really was an embarrassing admission by the Obama regime and the DNC that they believe women are incapable of living a successful life on their own without the help of government. Because obviously they are too frail and the men in their life are either incapable or unwilling of providing any help or would prefer not to have anything to do with them at all, to whom the DNC gives a free pass to, and of which leads us to:

2. Abortion – Why do progressives, the DNC and the Obama regime give a free pass to men – everywhere. Why does the left support the ability of a man to knock up any chick he wants without any responsibility. Why does the left only see that as a woman’s problem? Why will they not hold men accountable? To me, that is the real war on women. Too bad so sad honey, looks like you’ll have to kill your child. Wish there was someone else to help you out with this, but your pregnancy is YOUR PROBLEM!

This is the real war on women and if the GOP had a spine, they would let the women know without any ambiguity that the Democrats think they are incapable of carving out a successful life of their own without government assistance, and that if some guy gets them pregnant, well then that’s their problem. Really warms your heart doesn’t it?

In an unrelated topic – we now know that “creepy ass cracker” is not a racial slur, and bears no mention in the media. However, what Paula Dean mentioned in private company over ten years ago, should cost her career. This according to the language police and high minded social watchdogs. Also, when Jamie Foxx was promoting his movie “Django Unchained” he enthusiastically stated that his character in the movie got to “kill all the white people” to which there was uproarious laughter.

This is a surreal progressive universe we are currently in folks and we had better find a way back soon.

Certainly not a shortage of issues to discuss or make fun of:

1. Is climate change the global threat of our time?

2. Is Hillary the most qualified Democrat for POTUS?

3. Do IRS employees deserve $50 million in bonuses?

4. Will Bernanke stop the presses and will the last mirage of a good economy stop with it?

5. Why does Jay Z win awards for saying the N word and Paula Dean gets fired?

6. Will there be any intelligent analysis of the Farm Bill?

7. Do Democrats still care about ethics and honesty?

Feel free to add your own and have a great Sunday

I have to say that this new age of civility at B4V has me all a flutter. There were some very good comments and discourse in the previous thread, so it is possible to post respectful comments and not be offended by those we disagree with. However there was one casualty – LOL.

Lot’s of issues to comment on, so pick your favorite and let us know how you feel about it. The one that caught my attention this morning was the riot in Sweden. Often touted as a liberal paradise, it seems that the NON natives are now restless. Do you suppose that we will ever be able to convince progressives that legislating “fairness” is impossible? Based on the recent post from the DailyKos – I would say not –

..[T]he ideals of the Republican party reflect tribalism, selfishness, and zero-sum games, while the Democratic party’s reflect unity, humility, and leaving a better world to our descendents… …[T]here really is no room for Republicans in the world we are living in. So long as the people in this country are facing unpredictable, deadly, natural as well as man-made disasters, medical care that needs to be provided, life-altering climate change that needs to be managed, and the turmoil that comes with living paycheck to paycheck, Republicans and their supporters are dead weight to the rest of us…But then, there’s no denying that Republicans are also a demographic of the people with whom we need to plan on sharing this better world, because they are likely not going to change their ways anytime soon. The best we can do is get them out of the way, as in out of our government…

Think about the statement for a moment. The “reflection” of unity, humility and leaving the world in a better place is how this poster sees the Democratic Party. Not for the results the policies actually produce, but simply for the “feel good” intent. That is a dangerously educated person that is currently walking our streets and voting.

Take a moment this weekend to say a prayer of thanks to our veterans that have given the ultimate sacrifice in protecting this greatest nation on God’s green earth, and I hope you all have a fun filled weekend.

There is so much going on that a dedicated thread just seems inadequate. A couple of things on my mind – the other night Bill Maher and Michael Moore claimed that the GOP is committing borderline treason for obstructing Obama’s agenda. Apparently escalating debt, a shrinking work force, and higher taxes are patriotic. Who knew? The major media is back in cover mode for the regime after a brief brush with faux outrage. Chris Matthews and David Corn claimed that the continued investigations just proves that the GOP is pandering to their racist base. But I think the best example of journalism mal practice came from Martin Bashir when he pointed out that the head of the IRS during the time of the unethical inquiries was appointed by Bush – meaning of course that this is again Bush’s fault. To which I will gleefully remind him that the head of the CIA at the time of 9/11 was appointed by Clinton – so 9/11 is Clinton’s fault right?

Discuss these and other topics amongst yourselves – be civil and pithy.

This has been quite a week for the Obama regime, who may want to brush up on the first rule of holes. From Benghazi, to the IRS, to the AP, it seems as though Obama continues to double down on excuses rather than come clean. Ironically, for a President who says he champions the “little guy”, he has no problem throwing that “little guy” under the bus if it serves him. How can a President who has been described as a master executive and in command of the issues, know nothing, when an uncomfortable issue presents itself? Equally ironic is David Axlerod’s admission today that the federal government is just too big, and too vast, to have control over everything. Isn’t that what conservatives been trying to tell liberals for years now? That a big government, presents big problems? Unfortunately, Obama chooses to blame others and plead ignorance, rather than take ownership as any honorable leader would do.

I have a feeling that Obama might actually be pleased that the IRS and AP scandals surfaced this week as it does distract from his deplorable absence on the Benghazi issue. What President is absent during a raid on an embassy in the ME? What Secretary of State doesn’t even call the second in charge back (Hicks), in Libya for two days following his plea to evacuate?  These actions by Obama and Clinton are indefensible. Obama claims he wants to bring those responsible to justice? Well he had the chance to get those responsible the night of the attack, but chose to disappear. And furthermore, he has yet to bring any of those people responsible to justice.

The IRS issue gets deeper by the day. The number of targeted groups swells to nearly 500, the discovery that liberal groups were receiving IRS approvals within days, including Obama’s brother, while conservative groups were being held up, and the possibility that some leaked IRS reports on Romney were used against him. Nixon was impeached for this kind of activity, so it doesn’t surprise me that Obama is being held to account, and surprisingly by the mainstream media as well. I was shocked when Joe Scarborough lit Axlerod up this morning on MSNBC. If Obama loses his sycophantic media support, he could be in a real bind. The next few weeks will be fun to watch.

Happy Cinco de Mayo. Here in AZ this is a big deal and I have lots of family friends coming over for stacked tacos, cerveza frio, and swimming so I hope all you enjoy your day.

A couple of things on my mind – if I came out as a heterosexual real estate broker, would I get a call from Obama? If I lied about the cause of death of an ambassador and admitted not doing my job and reading cables from an embassy in a perilous region, would I be considered a leading Presidential candidate for 2016? If I just made stuff up about Obamacare, abortion and the Presidents taxes, could I get a job at MSNBC?

Happy Sunday all!

I think Retired Spook has struck a nerve here, and I am pleased that the dialogue has remained civil – kudos to everyone for that and especially our liberals, so considering the volume of posts on the previous thread – let’s pick it up here. One observation I would like to make comes from a comment from James (not to single him out, but it was in his post). I read this the minute he posted it and have been thinking about it ever since:

…….its (gun control) not on top of my list to be honest. many more things wrong with this country.

I think that comment is indicative of how liberals largely see America, including the President. I think liberals see America has an unjust, racist, imperialistic country that needs to be “brought down to size” so to speak, and that vision could really be at the heart of what separates liberalism and conservatism. I, and I think most conservatives, see America as that “shining city on the hill” (to quote a great President), that has many more virtues than vices. Has this country made mistakes, of course, but has this country advanced prosperity, civil and human rights, and promoted diversity of culture and progress more so than any other country on this planet? That would be a resounding YES! I don’t see America as a country with “many more things wrong with it”. I see America as a country that needs to get back to it’s original charter, to continue the path towards even more “progress”.

Sunday is just a good day for an open thread, so let us know what is on your mind. In this new day of welcoming more liberal opinion on B4V, I particularly encourage the liberals to chime in and let us know what you think of the current state of affairs. I will tell you what’s on my mind as I sit hear and listen to the brain damage emanating from the Melissa Harris Perry show on MSNBC – 1. The liberals on the show are pining for “common sense” gun control legislation, somehow oblivious to the plethora of laws already on the books. Instead of the “smart” people on the panel analyzing the laws currently in place, and questioning why that legislation might be ineffective, they continue to blame the republicans for blocking more legislation, proving once again that liberals have never met a bigger government they didn’t like. 2. On the heels of a miserable jobs report, anemic 4th quarter GDP growth, and the possibility that Obama will once again call for more tax hikes, the “smart” liberals are saying that it is just a temporary economic pause, and that those reports don’t really reflect the growing consumer confidence and an economy that is in fact turning around. It has to be difficult to be a liberal these days having to deny reality and continue to distort and spin the news in a desperate attempt to convince people that they are not completely insane. Many of us know better.

If you’re the typical liberal, you’ve missed a lot. While everyone has been busy hyperventilating over gay marriage and restricting gun rights, a lot has gone on under the radar. First on the radar screen would be the President’s call to relax lending standards again, as Bill Clinton did back in the 1990’s, which led to the ultimate crash in 2007. Liberals like to refer to this as “predatory lending” because obviously it was all the fault of greedy banks who insisted on giving mortgages to people who couldn’t afford to pay them back. So off we go to another housing bubble, how exciting.

Next up, poverty, which is reported now to be at levels not seen since the 1960’s which as most of us remember was the impetus for the Great Society and the “war on poverty”. Now you would think that after the “summer of recovery” in 2010, the 2009 stimulus, Obama’s promise of a new “green” economy in need of well paid, skilled workers, and the Keynesian economic dream model he has been chasing, that Americans would be on easy street right now, right? Well you would be wrong. The latest jobs report is well below expectations and inventories are falling, which doesn’t bode well for future employment. On a positive note, Justin Timberlake is scheduled to perform at the White House soon, so it’s good to know that the Obama’s are not suffering from the sluggish economy.

Next up, Obamacare. It was announced this week that the administration will have to delay the implementation of SHOP, a key small business provision, that was instrumental in securing some needed votes for passage. The provision was scheduled to begin in January 2014, and was to allow choices of coverage for small business at affordable rates. Now the program has been pushed back a year, to January 2015, and will only allow for one single choice for those small business’s despite nearly 4 years to put the program in place. However, anyone who believed that we could reduce health care costs by adding more layers of bureaucracy and more free riders to the system, deserve what they get.

Finally, illegitimacy, which in my opinion, is the root of our societal ills. A recent report shows that now more than half of all births to all women under 30, occur outside of marriage. 73% of all black children are born outside of marriage, while that number is 53% for Latinos and 29% for whites. These numbers are alarming. Studies show that children raised in single-family households are more prone to drop out of school, use drugs, commit crimes, and wind up in prison and/or poverty.  And personally, I BLAME MEN!! Men need to man up, so to speak and take care of their responsibilities and their children. There is zero excuse for any man to abandon their child, and as a society, we should not condone that one bit. There are plenty of choices to be made to avoid pregnancy before the act of sex, which makes abortion not an option, and again, as a society we should expect better from everyone. How can we “progress” as a society if we continue to lower the bar? Progress should mean improvement, and from the current condition of our society, I am not seeing much improvement.