.
According to Fox News, Brian Welsh, a Democratic adviser and Political Advisor, said his parked 1996 Audi "may have" been blown up by someone on July 23
The story states, "Welsh said his Audi convertible exploded into flames around 11:15 p.m. July 23, a Thursday, while he and his wife were walking their dog nearby."
"He said he "became suspicious" after reviewing surveillance tapes of the street where his car was parked."
A local news channel appeared to have picked up the story, but it didn't get national attention until a candidate he was advising got arrested for domestic abuse on Saturday.
Welsh, not getting any national attention on the event, purportedly then posted fuzzy security tapes on YouTube of a person in a white shirt loitering around his car and apparently getting into it shortly before the car explodes in a ball of flames. If the video is posted, I wasn't able to find it. But even that effort didn't seem to bring him any attention.
Interestingly, Welsh's car was reported to be parked Wednesday in the same spot where it caught on fire, on a little-used street near the New Orleans convention center. Why would anyone leave a burned out car on the street for a week? To get attention?
What I find most interesting is the way Welsh talks about it. He is quoted as saying, he "feared someone caused the explosion." Okay. Right. Well, cars don't spontaneously erupt very often. I admit that I had a car that started on fire once, but the fire came from the engine, not the inside passenger area, and it had to do with a gas leak that we were aware of prior to the fire. And there was no explosion. So, MOST LIKELY, yes, someone caused his car to explode.
"Maybe there is a reason, more of an intentional reason for the car blowing up," Welsh said. "I want to get more facts," he is quoted as saying. "Clearly, if someone tried to blow up my car, it's cause for concern; it's not cause for me to stop doing my job, stop me from talking about the things that are important," Welsh said.
"Maybe," "if, "May have," "became suspicious"...what's all the couching about?
It's this last sentence that really struck me, because I was already thinking by this point that he'd set up the fire himself, to try to get attention to his ho-hum campaign. So I was thinking - Well, would someone be willing to blow up their own convertible for attention? They'd be out a nice car..." Then I read that he said, "I really wish this had not happened," Welsh, 38, said. "I need a car."
And I thought - How emotionless. How lame. This sounds so much like a person that set it up himself. And if he didn't, then he's kind of out of touch and not a very good communicator. Certainly NOT a person I'd want running a campaign. Another interesting note; I couldn't find him anywhere when googling his name. If he is a campaign advisor, he hasn't been in the business for too long.
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Thursday, July 30, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
What Gates' Teaching Moment Taught Some of Us...
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Professor Henry Louis Gates said he hoped his arrest by Crowley leads to greater sensitivity on racial profiling. He described it as a teaching moment, saying that he planned to use his arrest and jail experience as the basis of a documentary on racial profiling.
So what did we learn from the Gates arrest in Boston? For me, it confirmed my belief that many (not all) accusations of racism and racial profiling are excuses for beligerance when someone is in a situation they don't like. For many others, the Boston incident taught them that some accusations of racism might be simple grandstanding and can be ignored.
My education along this line began twenty some years ago, when I first met the man that was to become my husband. I remember one incident in particular. I was paying for a meal at a chain restaurant. The cashier, before taking my check, asked me for some ID. I pulled out my driver's license and showed it to her, and we went on our way.
Walking out the door, my to-be husband whispered to me that she wouldn't have done that if he hadn't been standing behind me. He truly believed that the only reason she asked for the ID was because I was with a minority. Nothing could have been further from the truth. I knew that getting carded at a restaurant was nothing new for me. Sometimes they did it, sometimes they didn't, but it had nothing to do with whether he was there or not. I scoffed at his assumption that it was all about him.
And we had other such "teaching moments" when he needed to learn that it wasn't all about his skin. He needed to learn that some clerks are just tired or have bad days, just like he does, and if they scowl, it doesn't mean that they are even thinking about him let alone hating him. I'm a person who falls into deep thought about various issues and I don't always notice who is around me. If I am lost in my own thoughts, thinking about something difficult or emotional, it frequently shows on my face. It has nothing to do with who is in the room. There are many people in this world just like me. Not every scowl is racially motivated.
When I first met him and he attended a party at my Dad's house, he gravitated after a short time to the garage and ate his meal out there. This wasn't because anyone in the house had any animosity against him. It was a reaction born of his own insecurity.
Fortunately, my husband did learn from these teaching moments, and the older he got the more he began to relax around people of "non-color" and even enjoy himself. In his later years, he not only enjoyed people of all heritages, but he felt comfortable standing up and speaking to various politicians about the fallacy of race-based laws (such as ICWA). He even went to DC several times to speak to various Congressmen on issues.
This isn't to say that we never experienced real racism. On a few isolated occasions, we ran up against the real thing. But now he could tell the difference.
Interestingly, it was because he relaxed and became comfortable with his own thoughts and voice that he himself began to be accused of being a racist by a state Human Rights Network. You see, he was a minority speaking against political correctness. That makes the Left very uncomfortable. They would rather that all minorities stay in neat little, controllable packages.
When he passed away five years ago, his birth family was surprised by the number of people of "non-color" that not only showed up at his funeral, but stood up and spoke of their admiration for him.
Perhaps Professor Gates has spent too much time in his ivory tower and needs to get out more.
.
Professor Henry Louis Gates said he hoped his arrest by Crowley leads to greater sensitivity on racial profiling. He described it as a teaching moment, saying that he planned to use his arrest and jail experience as the basis of a documentary on racial profiling.
So what did we learn from the Gates arrest in Boston? For me, it confirmed my belief that many (not all) accusations of racism and racial profiling are excuses for beligerance when someone is in a situation they don't like. For many others, the Boston incident taught them that some accusations of racism might be simple grandstanding and can be ignored.
My education along this line began twenty some years ago, when I first met the man that was to become my husband. I remember one incident in particular. I was paying for a meal at a chain restaurant. The cashier, before taking my check, asked me for some ID. I pulled out my driver's license and showed it to her, and we went on our way.
Walking out the door, my to-be husband whispered to me that she wouldn't have done that if he hadn't been standing behind me. He truly believed that the only reason she asked for the ID was because I was with a minority. Nothing could have been further from the truth. I knew that getting carded at a restaurant was nothing new for me. Sometimes they did it, sometimes they didn't, but it had nothing to do with whether he was there or not. I scoffed at his assumption that it was all about him.
And we had other such "teaching moments" when he needed to learn that it wasn't all about his skin. He needed to learn that some clerks are just tired or have bad days, just like he does, and if they scowl, it doesn't mean that they are even thinking about him let alone hating him. I'm a person who falls into deep thought about various issues and I don't always notice who is around me. If I am lost in my own thoughts, thinking about something difficult or emotional, it frequently shows on my face. It has nothing to do with who is in the room. There are many people in this world just like me. Not every scowl is racially motivated.
When I first met him and he attended a party at my Dad's house, he gravitated after a short time to the garage and ate his meal out there. This wasn't because anyone in the house had any animosity against him. It was a reaction born of his own insecurity.
Fortunately, my husband did learn from these teaching moments, and the older he got the more he began to relax around people of "non-color" and even enjoy himself. In his later years, he not only enjoyed people of all heritages, but he felt comfortable standing up and speaking to various politicians about the fallacy of race-based laws (such as ICWA). He even went to DC several times to speak to various Congressmen on issues.
This isn't to say that we never experienced real racism. On a few isolated occasions, we ran up against the real thing. But now he could tell the difference.
Interestingly, it was because he relaxed and became comfortable with his own thoughts and voice that he himself began to be accused of being a racist by a state Human Rights Network. You see, he was a minority speaking against political correctness. That makes the Left very uncomfortable. They would rather that all minorities stay in neat little, controllable packages.
When he passed away five years ago, his birth family was surprised by the number of people of "non-color" that not only showed up at his funeral, but stood up and spoke of their admiration for him.
Perhaps Professor Gates has spent too much time in his ivory tower and needs to get out more.
.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Crowley Better Bring a Friend to that Beer Party
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So they're supposed to sit down over a beer and come out all smiles? Come on, you know how it goes. Not one of the three has actually backed down from their positions, and there's two of them and only one of Crowley. Anyone of us faced with that kind of situation wants to bring emotional support along.
Sergeant Crowley continues to assert that he didn't do anything wrong and the entire Boston police force stands behind him, stating that everything he did was standard procedure. Further, Crowley, as it turns out, has for years been teaching cadets to avoid racial profiling. He knows that what he did that day was what he would have done in any home under the same circumstances.
Professor Gates, on the other hand, stated Friday evening in an email that he hoped the incident would bring "greater sensitivity on racial profiling," even though no racial profiling apparently occurred. No apology was given by Gates for misunderstanding Crowley and jumping to conclusions.
Obama has also failed to apologize for his rush to judgment, saying that he only wishes he "calibrated those words differently." In fact, he went on to say, "I continue to believe, based on what I have heard, that there was an overreaction in pulling Professor Gates out of his home to the station."
I'm sorry, but I do want the police to ask for identification if there is suspicion that someone doesn't belong in my home. Even if it's me that they are requesting ID from.
Now, I understand that Professor Gates had just returned from a long trip. I know that when I come home from a long trip, I am tired and crabby. It had to further aggravate him that when trying to get into his home to finally kick his shoes off and rest, the door was jammed. Topping off a long and tiring day, the police showed up and began questioning him. All he wanted to do was take a hot shower and go to bed, right? That's all understandable. But none of it was Crowley's fault and there is no indication that racial profiling occurred.
So now is the time to apologize to the men in blue who were just doing their jobs, and quit the grandstanding.
That all said, will there be humbling apologies over that beer? With both Gates and Obama, proud men that they are, still convinced that profiling occurred and Crowley knowing it hasn't? his bounds? Not likely. No real apologies, but unfortunately, Crowley will probably feel pressure to suck up whatever spiel the White House wants to put on the beer fest, even if his stomach is turning. After all, the beer is supposed to end the fight, and they are all supposed to come out smiling. We've all been faced with similar situations. How can he say no without looking like a jerk?
,
So they're supposed to sit down over a beer and come out all smiles? Come on, you know how it goes. Not one of the three has actually backed down from their positions, and there's two of them and only one of Crowley. Anyone of us faced with that kind of situation wants to bring emotional support along.
Sergeant Crowley continues to assert that he didn't do anything wrong and the entire Boston police force stands behind him, stating that everything he did was standard procedure. Further, Crowley, as it turns out, has for years been teaching cadets to avoid racial profiling. He knows that what he did that day was what he would have done in any home under the same circumstances.
Professor Gates, on the other hand, stated Friday evening in an email that he hoped the incident would bring "greater sensitivity on racial profiling," even though no racial profiling apparently occurred. No apology was given by Gates for misunderstanding Crowley and jumping to conclusions.
Obama has also failed to apologize for his rush to judgment, saying that he only wishes he "calibrated those words differently." In fact, he went on to say, "I continue to believe, based on what I have heard, that there was an overreaction in pulling Professor Gates out of his home to the station."
I'm sorry, but I do want the police to ask for identification if there is suspicion that someone doesn't belong in my home. Even if it's me that they are requesting ID from.
Now, I understand that Professor Gates had just returned from a long trip. I know that when I come home from a long trip, I am tired and crabby. It had to further aggravate him that when trying to get into his home to finally kick his shoes off and rest, the door was jammed. Topping off a long and tiring day, the police showed up and began questioning him. All he wanted to do was take a hot shower and go to bed, right? That's all understandable. But none of it was Crowley's fault and there is no indication that racial profiling occurred.
So now is the time to apologize to the men in blue who were just doing their jobs, and quit the grandstanding.
That all said, will there be humbling apologies over that beer? With both Gates and Obama, proud men that they are, still convinced that profiling occurred and Crowley knowing it hasn't? his bounds? Not likely. No real apologies, but unfortunately, Crowley will probably feel pressure to suck up whatever spiel the White House wants to put on the beer fest, even if his stomach is turning. After all, the beer is supposed to end the fight, and they are all supposed to come out smiling. We've all been faced with similar situations. How can he say no without looking like a jerk?
,
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
I Give Up. Welfare Wins; Small business Sucks
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I am eating a peanut butter sandwich, ingredients of which were bought with a food stamp EBT card, while sitting in the office of my restaurant, facing a stack of bills I can't pay.
And I am thinking that if I had never started this business six months ago, I would have been better off.
I never did take a draw. All the money that has been made has gone back into expenses. But there were so many expenses. I suppose I should have done better research.
I did go to a small business resource center before I started, and they did draw up a business plan with projections. The bank and attorney both accepted it. But no one, not I, the banker nor the attorney, expected the state to announce that before I could have a sales tax number, I needed to give them a $4000 bond. This was AFTER all the documents were signed and I already owned the place, with very little money left over for cash flow. I called my representative, and he went to the tax commissioners office to ask why. Even he hadn't heard of such a thing before. He got them to reduce it to $1500, but that was still $1500 I had expected to use for operating expenses.
Then there was the insurance. They wanted $1800 up front, and about $330 a month! That wasn't how much the previous owner paid, and I'd never burned down a building. There was no explanation for the $1800. At least none that I understood. I wrote the check with a lump in my throat. There again went my precious funds in an unexpected direction.
Later, I found a less expensive insurance. Slightly less monthly payments, I mean. Being only two weeks behind on my previous insurance payments when I switched (I'd waited because I was looking for an alternate plan), I and the new insurance agents all assumed I'd get most of my $1800 back. Wrong. The State, in it's infinite wisdom, allows unregulated insurance companies to operate within the state if they are covering difficult clients, such as a new business owner. My initial insurance carrier, it turns out, was unregulated. So, I'm told, they can keep my money if they wish to. Apparently, because I was a new business, my agent wasn't able to find a normal company to take me.
Okay...so do I understand this right? The state requires you to have insurance - but regulated insurances aren't required to take you, and if there isn't an insurance that will take you, you are required to get it through the equivalent of a loan shark. So the state, in other words, required me to go to a loan shark. Is that right? All I know is that I am totally out hundreds of dollars, with nothing to show for it.
Further, I expected the sales tax, but hadn't been clear about all of the payroll taxes. I'm new to all this. Let's see...federal tax, state tax, unemployment tax, and workman's comp...is that all? Oh my gosh. I can't afford all this!
Now, I read in the paper that small businesses will be taxed even more to pay for Obama's new health care plan. Taxed more? Where am I supposed to get the money? Again, I haven't even been able to pay myself from this business yet!
I'll tell you something. I am a widow with several underage children still in the home. Last week, our family applied for food stamps and we got them. We applied for Medicaid as well, but I didn't qualify because the state figures that I'm taking 25% of my sales home. This, despite that I showed them that my expenses are much more than the sales.
But our family would be completely covered by Medicaid if I just quit this stupid business. Hey, we'd be covered, I'd have a lot less stress, no more payroll taxes or insurance, and some other stupid business person can be stuck paying for our medical. Isn't Obama's America great?
.
I am eating a peanut butter sandwich, ingredients of which were bought with a food stamp EBT card, while sitting in the office of my restaurant, facing a stack of bills I can't pay.
And I am thinking that if I had never started this business six months ago, I would have been better off.
I never did take a draw. All the money that has been made has gone back into expenses. But there were so many expenses. I suppose I should have done better research.
I did go to a small business resource center before I started, and they did draw up a business plan with projections. The bank and attorney both accepted it. But no one, not I, the banker nor the attorney, expected the state to announce that before I could have a sales tax number, I needed to give them a $4000 bond. This was AFTER all the documents were signed and I already owned the place, with very little money left over for cash flow. I called my representative, and he went to the tax commissioners office to ask why. Even he hadn't heard of such a thing before. He got them to reduce it to $1500, but that was still $1500 I had expected to use for operating expenses.
Then there was the insurance. They wanted $1800 up front, and about $330 a month! That wasn't how much the previous owner paid, and I'd never burned down a building. There was no explanation for the $1800. At least none that I understood. I wrote the check with a lump in my throat. There again went my precious funds in an unexpected direction.
Later, I found a less expensive insurance. Slightly less monthly payments, I mean. Being only two weeks behind on my previous insurance payments when I switched (I'd waited because I was looking for an alternate plan), I and the new insurance agents all assumed I'd get most of my $1800 back. Wrong. The State, in it's infinite wisdom, allows unregulated insurance companies to operate within the state if they are covering difficult clients, such as a new business owner. My initial insurance carrier, it turns out, was unregulated. So, I'm told, they can keep my money if they wish to. Apparently, because I was a new business, my agent wasn't able to find a normal company to take me.
Okay...so do I understand this right? The state requires you to have insurance - but regulated insurances aren't required to take you, and if there isn't an insurance that will take you, you are required to get it through the equivalent of a loan shark. So the state, in other words, required me to go to a loan shark. Is that right? All I know is that I am totally out hundreds of dollars, with nothing to show for it.
Further, I expected the sales tax, but hadn't been clear about all of the payroll taxes. I'm new to all this. Let's see...federal tax, state tax, unemployment tax, and workman's comp...is that all? Oh my gosh. I can't afford all this!
Now, I read in the paper that small businesses will be taxed even more to pay for Obama's new health care plan. Taxed more? Where am I supposed to get the money? Again, I haven't even been able to pay myself from this business yet!
I'll tell you something. I am a widow with several underage children still in the home. Last week, our family applied for food stamps and we got them. We applied for Medicaid as well, but I didn't qualify because the state figures that I'm taking 25% of my sales home. This, despite that I showed them that my expenses are much more than the sales.
But our family would be completely covered by Medicaid if I just quit this stupid business. Hey, we'd be covered, I'd have a lot less stress, no more payroll taxes or insurance, and some other stupid business person can be stuck paying for our medical. Isn't Obama's America great?
.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Bravo, Sarah Palin!
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In Governor Sarah Palin's resignation statement, she said that frivolous lawsuits and stupid attacks are costing Alaska huge amounts of money as well as administration time and energy.
Knowing that she and her staff had already accomplished most of the goals they had set out to accomplish, and not wanting to further burden Alaska with the cost of idiotic attacks directed at her and her family, she bravely made the right decision and stepped down.
Now, she is free to speak as she needs to without concern that senseless new attacks will cost Alaskan taxpayers more. No more will the idiots be able to use the Governor's office as leverage to try to stop her.
As she said, no more politics as usual. This move was brilliant in that it snatched from the jerks their ability to mess with her via empty ethics complaints. I bet that left them pretty surprised. Now all they're left to attack with is 'name calling.''
Neither Sarah Palin nor the people that love and support her will disappear into the night. What many on the left, and even in McCain's slimy camp, forget is that half of America really does support her.
It doesn't matter to me whether or not she runs for President. That's not the point, and I don't believe that was the point of her resignation. Sarah has always been straight forward. She's never hidden her thoughts and plans. That's the reason so many on the left have chosen to dislike her. (Including the slobs who ran McCain's campaign). I believe what she said in her statement was very well said, and exactly what she meant. Which is why so many of the rest of have chosen to love her.
Having made the courageous decision she has made, she has only made us love her more. Sarah Palin - we're behind you, and we desperately need many more like you. May God Bless you and your family in whatever path you take over the next few years.
.
In Governor Sarah Palin's resignation statement, she said that frivolous lawsuits and stupid attacks are costing Alaska huge amounts of money as well as administration time and energy.
Knowing that she and her staff had already accomplished most of the goals they had set out to accomplish, and not wanting to further burden Alaska with the cost of idiotic attacks directed at her and her family, she bravely made the right decision and stepped down.
Now, she is free to speak as she needs to without concern that senseless new attacks will cost Alaskan taxpayers more. No more will the idiots be able to use the Governor's office as leverage to try to stop her.
As she said, no more politics as usual. This move was brilliant in that it snatched from the jerks their ability to mess with her via empty ethics complaints. I bet that left them pretty surprised. Now all they're left to attack with is 'name calling.''
Neither Sarah Palin nor the people that love and support her will disappear into the night. What many on the left, and even in McCain's slimy camp, forget is that half of America really does support her.
It doesn't matter to me whether or not she runs for President. That's not the point, and I don't believe that was the point of her resignation. Sarah has always been straight forward. She's never hidden her thoughts and plans. That's the reason so many on the left have chosen to dislike her. (Including the slobs who ran McCain's campaign). I believe what she said in her statement was very well said, and exactly what she meant. Which is why so many of the rest of have chosen to love her.
Having made the courageous decision she has made, she has only made us love her more. Sarah Palin - we're behind you, and we desperately need many more like you. May God Bless you and your family in whatever path you take over the next few years.
.
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