My "Nuclear" Political Rant

At the request of my wife, I have not written a "political" blog for a few days.  But I can't stay quiet any longer.  Listening to the radio headlines today, my stomach was turning from anger.  So, I will combine a few of my political opinions in one blog so as not to sound too negative and write about more positive issues throughout the week.

Here are a few of my opinions and thoughts for the day:

The leftist progressive "talking heads" went ballastic last night.  On the radio, reporters were talking about the "Ash Wednesday Ambush" and saying that the Wisconsin Republican legislature went "nuclear" (what happened to not using "war" rhetoric, huh?).  But I can understand why the leftist progressives are so angry that collective bargaining process and pension plans are being revamped (wages aren't being touched folks).  It's because they have been rallied by thugs such as union leader, John Trumpka, who needs to continue to have his money to pay for his million dollar salary and private jet.  It is because the left needs that money to continue to fund the Democratic party.  The "gravy train" needs to continue. And things get "serious" when the money dries up.

But here is where I have a problem with public unions continuing to demand higher wages with ridiculously inexpensive benefits packages and extreme pensions; my problem is that the math doesn't work.  My worst subject in school was mathmetics, but this doesn't make sense even to me.  For example, a public sector union employee in Wisconsin makes twice the amount of a "regular Joe" private sector employee.  In addition, the public sector union employee pays less than half of what the common man pays for his benefits.  Then, to top things off, the teacher's union employee makes 75% of their highest wage earned as a pension for life.

In other words, people that are making half of the wages of the public sector union employees are paying for their wages and benefits.  We are also paying for their ridiculous pensions.  It is true that the public sector employee pays into his retirement fund, but I can assure you that they do not pay 75% of their paycheck every week.  So who makes up the difference?  Yep, you and me.  We make up the difference.  The math doesn't add up.  And if it continues, teachers and other union employees will have to be layed off or you and I will have to fund another stimulus bill, neither or which we can afford. This is not about a fair wage and the poor teachers being able to provide for their families.  It's about balancing a budget, something that you and I have to do every day.

I am also angry because my wife and I, my boys, my future grandchildren, and my great-grandchildren paid for the public sector union employees in Wisconsin last year to continue to have their fat checks and pensions.  How you ask?  Obama's stimulus package (paid for by us and future generations) provided $701 million to Wisconsin last year.  Instead of that money going to "shovel-ready" jobs as Obama lied about, $680 million went to pay for the deficit of public sector union wages and pension programs.  The public sector union employees, in turn, then pay their union dues and the union uses 82% of it's dues to support Obama and the Democratic party.  The stimulous bill was not used to help America get jump started, it was a "slush fund" for the Democrats and you and I paid for it.  Starting to get the picture?

Now here's the kicker.  The teacher's union, the NEA, is doing a horrific job in Wisconsin and throughout the United States.  Two out of three eigth-graders in Wisconsin can not read proficiently.  In other words, they can't sound out words and make sense of them.  Over half of the high school students in Wisconson do not graduate.  82% of ALL high schools in America are getting a failing grade, according to an Obama Administration report today.  Why would Obama release those horrific numbers today?  To make a push to get more money.  But, that's not the answer.  Wisconsin, with such terrible student academic results, spends more money than any other state in the Midwest.

One last small rant.  Michelle Obama took over the presidential press conference today to lecture the American public about how students need to stop eating Cap N Crunch at school and how we need to stop bullies in the classroom.  I agree these are important issues.

And I have a solution.  First, get the government out of the schools and privatize the lunch programs.  The government has been in charge of lunch programs for fifty years.  Michelle is complaining about the government and doesn't even realize it.  Second, get rid of "zero tolerance" in the schools and bullying will lessen dramatically.  Zero tolerance says that it doesn't matter who started a conflict, no matter what the outcome, all students involved in a conflict will be punished the same.  Last week in my youth group, seven of the fourteen boys in my class were suspended.  Why? Most of them had been smacked around by flunking thugs that don't want to be at school and don't care about their education.  So after being punched and slapped over and over, some of the boys in my class took matters into their own hands and beat the "snot" out of the bullies.  The message to bullies with zero tolerance is that they are "protected" and if they want to cause major disruption, pick on the good students and get them thrown out of school....just for fun.

So, the death threats and bomb threats have started against the Wisconsin republicans and their families, while the citizens get to pay for the repair of $7 million in damage done to the Wisconsin state capital building by the protesters. Also, I am hoping that the "Great Orator" will have another press conference and discuss issues such as our nation's highest debt ever and record deficits and record unemployment, and the Middle East burning, and why several Christians were murdered in Egyt yesterday by Muslims, and when we are going to open the Gulf back up to help alleviate $4.00 per gallon gas prices.

But don't hold your breath for that press conference.

Ahh, thanks for letting me rant and rave.  My stomach feels better now.