The $16 Muffin

Waste and Abuse - Business as usual on Capitol Hill

Where does a muffin cost more than $16 you ask?

Well I'll tell you where - at a government conference hosted by the Justice Department. Even Starbucks muffins are less than two bucks. So it makes me wonder why in this depressed economic environment government agencies continue to waste taxpayer dollars without any limit in site. The muffins were apparently the tip of the iceberg. A recent Justice Department audit found at another conference, lunch was $76 per person and a cup of coffee was $8.24 a cup. Again, you can get a Grande Mocha at Starbucks for less than four bucks. So why is the government spending twice that amount? Don't tell me the competitive bid process yielded a best price of $8.24 for a cup of coffee!

Who are these purchasing agents, managers and directors anyway? Do they realize there is a recession out there? Who do they report to and how long will this abuse of power and wasteful spending continue?

It is relatively easy for American voters to get rid of Congress and elected officials when they are ineffective or they are voting counter to public opinion ... we vote them out of office. But how do we end the abuse of taxpayer dollars by purchasing agents within the hallways of the various agencies of the US Government? Rooting them out by way of an audit is one thing ... but what happens to those staff members who buy a muffin for $16? Do we just simply tell him/her don't do that again or do we fire them? Who is accountable?

Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and his Democratic counterpart Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) voiced their concern this week. Grassley said, "Sixteen-dollar muffins and $600,000 for event planning services are what makes Americans cynical about government and why they are demanding change. The Justice Department appears to be blind to the economic realities our country is facing." Leahy added that "wasteful spending is never justified" and that "like all agencies, the Justice Department will be asked to trim its spending."

When the Special Congressional Committee meets soon to review areas where the government could save money I would recommend they reel-in these purchasing agents by requiring them to guarantee the lowest price for every line item on PO's and require the customary bid process (3 sealed bids) for all government spending until they can prove that their spending habits are in line with these requirements.

Makes you wonder why these purchasing agents would buy items that they know are exorbitant and well beyond market price. Do you think they buy muffins at Starbucks for $16 a piece?

Gary S. DeMoss
IN MY RIGHT MIND

Courtside Diplomacy

Hoyas in Diplomatic Exchange

SETUP FOR DISASTER

OK first of all ... if Joe Biden and Coach John Thompson, III thought for one moment that when they boarded the plane to play China this week in a fair and civil game of basketball; that it would lead to a love fest of diplomacy and end with a hand shake and a kiss on China's home court?  If they truly believed that ... They must have had Jim Jones kool-aid on the plane or they were smoking some great weed.

Now let's review the playing field. We owe China 900 Billion US Dollars, they sell us (American consumers) 600 times more products than we sell to them, their yearly growth is almost at 10 percent (ours is barely 2 percent), they train their basketball players from birth, punish and torture them into submission and finally - winning is more important than owning gold or stealing our secrets. Although they were happy when Pakistan (our buddies) showed China the tail of our Stealth Helicopter we left behind after killing Osama.

So armed with those details which are pretty much common knowledge and accessible in most newspapers and on every network weekly ... why would our VP and the President of Georgetown University consider such a no-win diplomatic farce? Not to mention the deplorable fisticuffs they engaged in at the game. We'll get to that in a moment.

It seems to me if the US and Georgetown University wanted to do something constructive with their summer vacation they should consider one of the following activities:

1. A game between Georgetown Hoyas and Congress to end the debt.

If the Hoyas win ... Congress must pass a balanced budget the following day!

I'd buy a ticket

2. How about a game between the United Nations and the Hoyas?

If the Hoyas win ... all the UN diplomats would have to go home.

The US would save Billions and stop waisting time bickering with Countries who hate us and don't deserve our Money anyway!

OK I know they'd never go for any of those choices but it was worth the "DREAM"

AND WHAT ABOUT SPORTSMANSHIP?

Regardless of who threw the first punch or who pushed who, can you imagine if the Georgetown players would have turned their backs and didn't engage - what would the headlines have been? This would have been the noble and honorable thing to do but instead they did what a large percentage of basketball teams in the US would do ... the bench emptied onto the court and they slugged it out!

China media didn't even cover the story. It didn't happen. And even if the State controlled media would have issued a story it would have stated, "Violent American basketball players dishonor America."

Is this behavior common on US pro and college basketball courts? You bet it is. Is it coached or is it managed to a tolerably level? Some would say no to both points.

Coach John Thompson III walked his players off the court after the brawl ... after the damage was done. No one can ever take that back. The scene on the front page of the Post (pictured above) was just as shocking as the lone Chinese man standing in front of the tank in Tienanmen Square decades ago. But what message did it send to the world? And is this the message we want to broadcast abroad?

Gary S. DeMoss

IN MY RIGHT MIND



Political Brinkmanship

political brinkmanship (bringk'men-ship') n  The practice, esp. in politics, of seeking advantage by creating the impression that one is willing and able to pass the brink of default.

Same Procedure, Predicable Results
Einstein once wrote that if you continue to perform the same exercise over and over again you will net the same results.
On Monday in similar fashion to past Congressional last minute theatrical staging, the House and the Senate passed a watered down version of a Bill that would predictably raise the US debt ceiling preventing the catastrophic event the Obama Administration reinforced ... A default of the United States.
For weeks both sides argued over cuts in the Federal Budget but neither side could consider the maverick and visionary cuts from Tea Party Republicans whose cuts would place the US on a path to financial freedom ... ending the cycle of Tax and Spend now in its 5th Decade on the Hill. Although cuts to the Pentagon, Medicare and Entitlement programs were considered ... in the end it was two Senior Senators in closed door sessions that agreed to a lack-luster Bill. Once again they kicked the hard decisions down the Beltway to the next generation to decide. Same good-ole-boy network and our gutless President is too worried about his re-election and his birthday party fundraising to do any thing that would come close to "a positive example" or consider what is best for the American People. Fooey!

Big Deal
Did it prevent Standard and Poor's downgrading the US credit rating from AAA to AA+?
Hell No!
If the Obama Administration and Congress had the balls to make the difficult and necessary decisions to end the spending spree and pass a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution S&P would have ignored the crisis and left the rating alone. Instead and based on Congress' inability to act in a fiscally and responsible manner; S&P downgraded the US credit rating for the first time in the history of our nation. Congratulations Mr. Obama, Harry Reid and John Bohener! You can now add to your resume one of the most deplorable statistics in our nations history ...

You Raised the Debt ...
Your Bill does nothing to decrease the Deficit.
Our Nation is downgraded for the first time in our Nations history!

Congress you've proved yet again that you can waste time creating political theater and the media will react to your every need. Sadly the majority of America could care less.
Hopefully the few of us that care about our country and know what you just did to the future of US, will react in a way that will punish you for your inability to do your job in a responsible way for the benefit of America. We will vote you out of office.

Please get these guys out of Washington!

Gary DeMoss
IN MY RIGHT MIND

Zero Crude

Call it what you will but one day we will face zero crude oil!

Zero Crude
What kind of world would we face with no crude oil?
And how will we get to that point?

I've been careful to pick my battles but this subject I have an interest in and well ... it effects every person on this planet. Because if we run out of oil one day ... we are in a heap of trouble.

No gas ... nobody gets to work, nobody flys ... chaos!
No oil ... no plastic, no asphalt, no jobs ... mass panic!

So how will we get there?

First route to Zero Crude - we let Obama and his Energy Secretary Chu do nothing.

Which is exactly what is happening. Their energy policy ... let gas get to $10.00 a gallon like Europe and force people to switch to alternatives. What alternatives? The Volt gets 40 miles a charge before it needs gas. That's OK if we have coal to generate the electricity to charge the car (which Obama wants to get rid of too) and the gas which we need for backup.
How about Hydogen Cell technology? The cars cost $50K and up and there is one location in Washington DC to charge your cell. Oh ... and it takes 100 times the electricity to produce a single cell. And if we get rid of coal ... (that provides 60% of the power in this country Mr. Obama) what do we use? Wind Power? Ha!
Have they thought through any of this? I don't think so because the world would be in a massive depression that would make the 1920's look like a blip on the radar.

Second route to Zero Crude - We stop drilling our own oil and rely on the world for our stability.

That is exacly what we are doing now. The current off-shore leases were approved during the Bush administration ... which Obama has tried to take credit for. A typical lease deal takes years to negotiate given the regulation that is in place from guess who? ... The US Government. So even if the current adminstration started allowing off-shore permitting to resume, approving and granting these licenses are years away.
In the meantime, if you haven't heard Mideast Countries are falling like dominos. They hate us and the instability is driving the price of crude through the roof. $150 a barrel for crude is likely by the end of the summer. And if Saudia Arabia falls (who supplies 25% of the world's crude) we are one crisis away from a global meltdown.
What is the current Administration doing about this? Sending the CIA covertly into Lybia and lying to the World that NATO is in charge ... and we are still invloved in endless wars in Afganistan and Iraq till doomsday.

Third route to Zero Crude  - Do nothing.

Didn't I already say that? We need a proactive energy strategy and policies in our government that put our energy independence as the first and only strategy.
If we don't act now  ...we are facing a global meltdown of epic proportions. What if the little oil that is left in the world is the basis for the next war? Will we fight for it or will we let China, Russia or North Korea have it? Don't answer that!

Gary DeMoss
IN MY RIGHT MIND

Another Bad Idea

No weapons for our Border Patrol Agents?

There seems to be no end to the bad ideas coming out of the White House these days. After a meeting at the White House on Thursday with the Emperor of Mexico ... Obama decides that despite the fact that northern Mexico is the most dangerous place in the world to live, that 35,000 people (including Americans) have been murdered in one year, every local law enforcement official in Mexico is either decapitated or on Cartel payroll ... that our Border Patrol Agents should enter Mexico ... unarmed.

Are you kidding me?

Mexico is a 100 times more dangerous than Iraq, Afghanistan or even a laborer in China ... and our Commander in Chief is sending unarmed American Agents into harms way without protection. All Americans should be outraged.

It's bad enough that the Obama Administration has no strategy to protect our borders and stop the constant flow of violent drug related thugs into our country ... but now he is willing to send officials of our government into a war zone ... unarmed.

If I were a citizen of our southern border states ... California, Texas and Arizona, I would start arming yourselves now ... because if this situation is left unchecked for the rest of Obama's first and only term of office (which is probable) ... the resulting pandemonium will take generations to undo.

What if?

So what would happen if we gave the Secret Service PEZ dispensers instead of weapons to protect the President? Do you think there would be any outrage? Write your Congressman and Senator and tell them to give the Border Patrol their weapons ... or better yet, keep them in America to protect our citizens from the flow of scoundrels from entering our country and stop waisting time in Mexico ... the armpit of the world.

Gary DeMoss
IN MY RIGHT MIND

A Distrubing Trend

Capital One Shootout in broad daylight

This week the Hispanic Bank Robber that held a hostage at gunpoint in Langley Park fled the Capital One branch with dozens of Police at the entrance and a live helicopter recording every move proved one thing to us ... there are desperate illegal aliens willing to risk it all in Wild West fashion on the streets and neighborhoods across America. Fortunately this one ended nicely. While back-peddling the rober slipped, lost grip of his hostage and was duly shot dead at the scene as he tried to recapture his hostage.

This scenario is happening from Juarez to Arizona and straight to our communities here in Maryland. Last year alone over 35,000 people were gunned down in Mexico by the Cartel. Now the statistics show a disturbing trend; as elected officials, police and innocent bystanders have been killed along with American citizens at the border and in our cities and towns here in the United States. Our country is flooded with illegals pouring across our border to murder our citizens, sell drugs to our youth and now rob banks at gunpoint in our neighborhoods. A dangerous trend is occurring right under our noses and yet nothing is being done to stop the madness. The Cartel is here in the US and spreading like Kudsu.

Still we have no clear immigration policy or strategy to seal off our borders and begin to control the flow of people who simply want to come here and perpetrate crimes against our citizens. Sure ... there are decent people who simply want a job and to provide for their families ... but so do honest, law-abiding legal American citizens here in our country. What about our rights?

So When will leaders on Capitol Hill defend our rights?

Leaders on Capitol Hill continue to debate the issue under the heading of Immigration Reform ... but nothing has been done.
I hear talk of Amnesty but what about clearing our streets of the dangerous criminal element from our streets ... first? You may ask ... How do we accomplish this task?
Leaders on Capitol Hill need to begin by securing the border once and for all and control the number of illegal immigrants from reaching our cities and towns and becoming yet another criminal element. Do we really know who enters our country each year? Of the illegals that enter our country; how many are violent criminals? As an example, of the 910 illegals detained in Arizona last year 90% had criminal records and were deported. What about the ones they miss? Where are they? Our citizens will continue to be victims if nothing is done to seal off the border. Congress needs to act now!

A Disturbing Trend

With national unemployment hovering at around 10% ... what is the unemployment rate for illegal citizens in our country? For shift workers or casual laborers that hang out at the Home Depot's and Seven Eleven's that rate could be as high as 25%. And with predictions that the trend will continue for another two years, it may get worse before it gets better. So it is no wonder that crime in the Hispanic sector will continue to rise since the services they provide are expendable in hard times. Desperate times are ahead for many of these illegal aliens who are here in our country illegally, don't speak our language, do not have a job ... and are filling our jails and prisons.

Start Now!

Close the border, seal off the routes into our country and begin to review everyone that enters into our country with fine-tuned legal scrutiny ... selecting only model citizens who seek to come to our country to make our country a better place ... not to sell drugs to our youth, rape our women and rob our banks. What's wrong with that?

Gary DeMoss
In My Right Mind

Unrest in Egypt

Oppression for 30 Years

My picture above was taken where I stood in the desert 20 years ago looking towards Cairo ... standing with my trusty camel and the black Palomino near the base of the Giza Pyramids.
I recall guards at the airport with automatic weapons , 20% unemployment and a country of desperate people ... 40 million under the age of 30 and unemployed.

Today the people have spoken. Oppressed for over 30 years during the rule of Mubarak they are fed up with 40% unemployment and extremely high commodity prices ... they are unable to provide the basics for their families, 70% of the country making on average 4 dollars a day. The media is down, social media and the Internet is off ... Oppression continues.

So What is our Energy Policy with Rogue Nations?

What is even more alarming ... is this situation was predicted long ago and is yet another ticking time bomb that shows how fragile our relationship is in the Mideast with rogue nations who do not have our best interest in mind.
Last week President Obama's Energy Advisor stepped down without establishing a clear energy policy. The Suez canal is now in jeopardy ... Deja Vu all over again. If you remember the Oil Embargo of 1972 and the Gas Lines ... get ready for a long hot summer.
The Obama Administration yet again has waited till a crisis precipitates action instead of developing a proactive strategy to shield the US from events such as what occurred in Egypt this week and the resulting instability in the Oil Markets to come.

We need a Proactive Energy Strategy!

As Crude Oil reaches $100 a barrel and unrest in Egypt escalates ... Iran and Iraq are sitting by cheering-on the events of today. Mubarak unwilling to step down, is now due to appoint a new government on Saturday. The Muslim Majority is sure to take over and form the first Muslim run country. This will create a safe-haven for the Al queda and any other Military Dictatorship run by Muslim Fundamentalists.

Stand-by ... This is a dangerous revolution at its beginnings!

Gary DeMoss
In My Right Mind