Ominous Signs

            As this contentious year nears its end, people naturally look forward to the next with a little more optimism. Not me. I'm not a pessimist by nature, but I look forward to next year with trepidation. I hope I'm wrong, but I think 2012 will be a year of worldwide catastrophe. I have long felt that if World War III becomes a reality, it will break out in the Middle East. Now I feel that it is almost inevitable. Let's look at the signs.

            What was at first called the Arab Spring has turned into the Arab Winter. Muslim extremists are in the ascendancy all across North Africa and the Middle East. Dictators and tyrants who managed to maintain some form of stability in their countries are falling one by one: Ben Ali, Mubarack, Qadaffi, Saleh, and, very soon, Assad. Royal families in Morocco, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia may not be far behind.

            Armed and inspired by Iran, Islamists are flexing their muscles everywhere: suicide bombers in Iraq, renewed missile attacks from Gaza, revolt against the army in Egypt, an attempted assassination of the Saudi ambassador on our soil, and, most recently, a government-sponsored attack on the British embassy in Tehran. I see these as signs that  the Muslim world is uniting to challenge the West with a brazenness that could very quickly turn into a broad and righteous conflict.

            Also troubling was Pakistan's response to the death of 24 of its soldiers caused by Nato bombs. Although there is some evidence that Pakistan may have been partly at fault for this tragedy, it ordered a blockade of Nato supplies into Afghanistan and permitted a huge demonstration that burned the American flag and Obama's effigy, hardly actions of a trusted ally.

            Which brings up a very important point. The Muslim world is encouraged by the weakness of the West. Europe, which is very dependent on Middle East oil, cannot afford to antagonize any more of its suppliers, especially now that the European Union is on the verge of financial collapse.

            Here at home, President Obama's policy of engagement with Iran has proven to be no more effective than Chamberlain's appeasement of the Nazis in Munich. On the contrary, it has encouraged Iran to proceed apace with the development of nuclear weapons in the full confidence that it has nothing to fear from the United States as long as Obama is president.

            Lastly, Obama's inability to distinguish between friends and allies in the Middle East provides further confirmation to Tehran that the United States will not back Israel should that country take preemptive action to defend itself.

            At some point in 2012 I fear that Israel will indeed provide the spark that ignites a global conflict. From there you can create your own nightmarish scenario.

The Smell of Corruption

            As I grow older I find that some of my senses aren't as sharp as they used to be. My eyes need contacts to see clearly, my right ear is almost completely deaf, my taste buds don't appreciate fine food and wine like they used to, and so on. But one of my senses is as sharp as ever, and that is my sense of smell. Let me explain.

            A report in the Los Angeles Times on November 13 has set my nostrils flaring in anger at the smell of corruption emanating from Washington. It seems that investigative reporters have uncovered a $433 million government contract with Siga Technologies, a pharmaceutical company from New York, to produce 1.7 million doses of an experimental smallpox drug, even if it's not certain the drug is needed or will even work.

            Now, smallpox has been eradicated throughout the world; the last documented infection was in 1978. But just in case, this country stores enough smallpox vaccine to inoculate everyone in the country at the cost of $3 per. So why do we need a new vaccine? We're told it's just in case the disease somehow reappears and someone doesn't get vaccinated in time. Of course, we don't know if this new vaccine will work, since it's impossible to test it. The story gets worse.

            The report says that the new vaccine will cost $255 per dose. Outrageous, you say? That's nothing. Siga projects that it will make 180% profit on the drug. Now that's obscenely outrageous. How could our government possibly approve such a contract?

            Well, get this. The contract was awarded to Siga as a sole source, otherwise known as a no-bid contract. If this vaccine was necessary in the first place, competition to make it should have been open to all drug manufacturers. But it wasn't. The administration cleared the way for Siga to be the sole source and, thereby, to set any price it wanted.

            And consider this, also. Siga's controlling share is held by a man named Robert O. Perelman. He is one of the richest men in the world. If he believed this drug was really needed, he could have developed it on his own without a government subsidy. So how was he able to swing such a sweet deal?

            Well, it just so happens that Robert O. Perelman is a big Obama supporter and a major contributor to the Democrat Party. Gee. I wonder if there's a connection there. Does this remind anyone of the smell of scandal in the Solyndra affair?

            I don't know about anyone else. But for me the stench is overpowering.

Punter-in-Chief

            When he was an Illinois legislator Barack Obama voted "Present" 129 times instead of taking a stand on tough issues? Well, the Punter-in-Chief hasn't changed his MO.

            The President is in full campaign mode, flying all over the country at taxpayer expense to push his jobs bill, which can't even get passed by the Democrat-controlled Senate. He assures us that his first thoughts when he gets up in the morning and last thoughts before hitting the sack in the evening are about jobs.

            Well, there just happens to be a $7 billion "shovel ready" project that would create something in the neighborhood of 20,000 jobs. All it needs is a permit from the government, i.e., a Yes or a No from our leader.  Instead, President Obama has punted once again.

            The project is the Keystone XL Pipeline that would bring crude oil from the Alberta tar sands to refineries in Texas. It would make a huge dent in the amount of oil now imported from the Middle East. We can all agree that this is a good thing. Right?

            So what's the problem? This should be a no-brainer for the President, especially since most of those 20,000 jobs would be going to his union friends. But greenies, another Obama base, have objected on the grounds that the pipeline might contaminate the air, the ground, the water, and, I suppose, be a health hazard for wildlife. Why not throw in unborn babies while we're at it?

            Faced with making a decision that would displease either his union base or his green base, Obama punted. He ordered more environmental studies beyond the extensive studies that have already been done, and put off a decision until after the elections in 2012. In the words of John Boehner, "20,000 jobs have been sacrificed in the name of political expediency."

            Is there a downside to the President's non-decision? Probably not. The greenies will continue to vote for him, and so will the unions. After all, where are they going to go?

            But what about the oil? Where is it going to go? Well, if the Trans Canada Corporation can't pipe its oil across Nebraska to get to Texas, it says it can go directly to the west coast and from there directly to....guess where? China.

            And China doesn't fumble punts.

           

Welfare, California Style

            I recently saw a video in which a young single mother in California was discussing how much assistance she was getting each month from the state. It was astounding.

            First, she mentioned a payment of $221 for general relief (GR). To that she added $179 in free food per person She then mentioned that through the WIC (Women, Infants, & Children) program she was getting free housing, free utilities, and free medical and dental care. On top of all that, she said she received money for her children's day care, money that did not go to any day care center but to her friend who watched the kids and split the money with her.

            Assessing the value of all this assistance, the woman's final comment was, "Who would want to work in America?"

            Today the media floods us with news of the impending disaster in Greece due to unfunded liabilities in overly generous government programs. Can it be any worse there than in California?

            The latest statistics have California's overall unemployment rate at 11.4 percent, with the rate in one county at 18.1 percent. Those numbers don't include people who have stopped looking for work, are working part time, or who derive their income from the underground economy. And they don't include that young woman described above who can't imagine ever getting a job, because she couldn't possibly earn the kind of money and benefits she is getting from  welfare programs.

            California is the worst example of the nanny state. Is it any wonder it is sinking under the weight of financial debt?

            Is the rest of the country far behind?

Zuccotti Park

            The protesters in New York's Zuccotti Park have given us quite a show the last couple of months. We are getting reports that they have defecated on police cars, paraded in the nude, engaged in public sex, and defaced the park with mounds of garbage. That's called exercising your First Amendment rights. Thank you Mayor Bloomberg for your generous understanding.

            What does this unwashed rabble want? Well, we know from their signs that they favor, among other things, radical redistribution of wealth, civil disobedience, and violence, if necessary. Apparently, this is not a problem for President Obama and the Democrats. They have embraced this tattered mob. They are so envious of the Tea Party that they'll support any mass of protesters that mirror their left wing ideology. Appearance and odor notwithstanding.

            What do the Republicans say about all this? Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a recent interview that the protesters have a right to express their opinion. Wow! Now that's taking a tough stand!

            Actually, Republicans look upon the rabble as lepers; they won't go near them, much less embrace them like the Democrats. A mistake, perhaps? I think they are missing a great opportunity to score points, not by supporting the mob, but by agreeing with its greatest complaint: greed, especially the kind infecting Wall Street.

            What are the protesters so angry about? The lowest 150 million Americans have a lower net worth than the 400 wealthiest Americans, many of them looking down on the mob from their Wall Street office windows. Put another way, the top 1 percent of Americans have more wealth than the entire bottom 90 percent. You want more? The average salary on Wall Street is over $360,000 a year, and that includes pay for secretaries, messengers, and mail room clerks. That's five times the average salary in the rest of the private sector. Five times!

            Let's take just one example. In 2010 Goldman Sachs had a pre-tax profit of $13 billion, down from $20 billion in 2009. But that didn't stop the Board of Directors from raising the CEO's compensation to $13 million. This year Goldman's stock is down 43% and it showed a third quarter loss of $428 million. Still, that has not prevented the firm from putting $10 billion into the compensation pool. God forbid the CEO should take a cut in salary.

            What's wrong with this picture? Does the Occupy Wall Street crowd have a case?

            Republicans have been adamant about not raising taxes on high income earners. But there's a difference between supporting small business owners who create most of the jobs in this country and remaining silent about the unconscionable greed of a securities industry that produces nothing and is dedicated only to creating wealth--its own.

            President Obama's incessant demand that the fat cats pay their fair share will continue to resonate with the masses as long as the protesters rail at Wall Street's greed.

            Republicans will continue to be identified with that greed as long as they fail to see the difference between the real job producers and the suits in the windows above Zuccotti Park.

Courage with a Smile

            I love writing about heroes. My latest is Primo Viray, a member of North Carolina's Sound Golf Links.

            Primo is the most beloved member of the club, and with good reason. His life story is one of courage with a smile. Born in 1936 in the village of Lingayen on the island of Luzon in the Philippines, he survived four years of Japanese occupation in World War II. He lost two uncles in the war, but evaded the occupiers by constantly moving with his parents from one hiding place to another.

            In 1958 Primo earned a degree in nursing from the college of Santo Tomas in Manila where he met Rose, his future wife. From 1958 to 1960 he volunteered his services in Laos and then emigrated to the United States where he became a nurse in Chicago's Cook County Hospital and eventually rose to become the OR nurse supervisor at the Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Chicago.

            In 1962 he was reunited with Rose who had also emigrated to the United States and was working as a nurse for the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. They married and proceeded to raise a family of six girls, all of whom went to college on Primo's modest income. They number a teacher, an OSHA administrator, an engineer, a lawyer, a social worker, and a doctor.

            After Primo retired in 2004, the Virays built a home in Albemarle Plantation here in Hertford. Primo immediately endeared himself to the community with his sunny disposition, his marvelous sense of humor, and his passion for golf. At 5'4" and 140 pounds, he could be seen on the golf course every day swinging his 50-inch driver and outdriving most of his fellow golfers.

            While on vacation in the Philippines in 2008, Primo suffered a stroke that almost killed him and paralyzed his left side. After three months of intense therapy, he was finally able to stand without assistance. Months later he began walking, although very slowly, by using his body to swing his left leg forward.

            Upon his return home, friends and neighbors found that Primo had not lost his smile nor his sense of humor, despite his disability. More than that, they were amazed by his determination to return to the golf course. Swinging that 50-inch driver of his with only his right hand, Primo developed a fluid tempo that resulted in 150-yard drives with astounding regularity. With the club's permission for Rose to drive  his golf cart everywhere on the course, even to the edge of the greens, Primo could be seen playing every late afternoon when his slow pace would not hold anybody up.

            By 2011 Primo was ready to compete again. His entry in the Member-Guest tournament this October was applauded by his friends, although he was given little chance of making a good showing, even less of winning. Seeded dead last with his son-in-law as his partner, Primo surprised everybody by winning his flight, then shooting a net eagle in the shootout elimination round and a net birdie in the finals.

            When Primo won, his fans were delirious. Even his opponents in the shootout and the finals (me and my brother Phil) cheered wildly for the courageous little man with the perpetual smile.

            Primo Viray won the tournament. But he had already won the hearts of everyone who knows him.

Obama's Contempt

            With Obama's poll numbers on a downhill slide, it is not difficult to understand his growing desperation. He must find a way to get people to love him again. After all, it's not his fault that the economy is going down the tubes and people can't find jobs. Someone else is to blame: Bush, rich people who refuse to pay their fair share, Wall Street, the Republicans, the Tea Party. Everyone is to blame but the guy in the mirror.

            Obama cannot bring himself to accept that his poll numbers are going down because he is doing a lousy job. His popularity, which was sky high after his election, is plummeting like a burst balloon. Many of his formerly rabid fans who were once enthralled by his smile and his lofty rhetoric are now seeing him for what he really is: mendacious, radical, narcissistic, arrogant, and, in the end, transparently incompetent.

            In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, Bret Stephens hit the nail on the head. In his view, it all comes down to Obama's contempt. Examples: insulting the British by returning the bust of Winston Churchill; slamming the Boston police for arresting a black professor; rebuking members of the Supreme Court in his 2010 State of the Union address; snubbing of Gordon Brown, Nicolas Sarkozy, and Benjamin Netanyahu. The list goes on: the Religious Right, gun owners, billionaires and jet owners, the Marine Corps, the American flag, the American taxpayer.

            Obama doesn't seem to care about tripling our debt and passing the burden on to our children and grandchildren. He has no qualms about riding around the country in Air Force One to make fund-raising and political campaign speeches. It doesn't bother him one bit to spend a couple of million dollars to buy two fancy buses made in Canada so he could ride into Mid-West towns in a phony attempt to show he is a man of the people. He has no problem spending millions to send his wife and her entourage on vacation in Europe and South Africa. And he has no apologies for wasting half a billion dollars on a failing Solyndra just to advance his green jobs agenda. That, my friends, is contempt at every turn.

             Worst of all, in my view, is Obama's contempt for America, a contempt that requires apologies to the world for our history of racism, our class inequality, our arrogance, our power, our success, our exceptionalism.

            Why can't we have a president who loves his country and is proud of it instead of being ashamed of it? Why can't we have a president who feels something other than contempt for his country and its citizens?