I came across this article earlier today regarding Dr. Shakil Afridi (h/t Breitbart.)  For those of you not familiar with Dr. Afridi, he helped the CIA find Osama bin Laden.  According to different news sources, the doctor was recruited by the CIA to run a vaccination clinic to collect blood samples from the local population, including the inhabitants of the nearby Bin Laden compound, under the guise of hepatitis testing when the actual purpose of the sample collection was to test for DNA.

Dr. Shakil Afridi -- He helped Obama get Osama, and his reward is 33 yrs in a Pakistani prison

In the article we learn that our brilliant Defense Secretary, Leon Panetta, outed him in January 2012.  The doctor was arrested by Pakistani authorities, charged with treason, and has now been tried and convicted, by the tribal Pakistani court and sentenced to 33 years in prison.

What has been Secretary Leon Panetta’s reaction?

When Afridi was charged with treason in January, Panetta lamely said that Pakistanis should be against the charge, because they were threatened by terrorism, too: “For them to take this kind of action against somebody who was helping to go after terrorism, I just think is a real mistake on their part.”

What has been our illustrious Secy. Hillary Clinton’s reaction?

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for his release.

There is something morally reprehensible to me, as an American, when I read articles about my Government’s (as in politician) stupid behavior regarding foreign nationals who risk their lives, on our (all us Americans’) behalf.  You would think Panetta, who headed the CIA before coming to Defense, would have the smarts to keep his mouth shut.  But then, what can you expect from an Administration who has now given the go-ahead for a Hollywood-style Bin Laden movie.

Perhaps there’s more to this story, there always is, but when I consider those Presidential “spike the football” photo ops vs. the price this doctor and his family have paid, I’m expressly disappointed that our Government so far has done and said publicly, N O T H I N G.

This cannot stand.  The aid that we send to Pakistan, this year alone – $6 billion – demands some overt response from the Administration directly to Pakistan.  While we may be working behind the scenes, this is not a behind the scenes issue.  If we can bring a blind Chinese dissident to the US, whose only claim to fame was protesting human rights, we can pressure Islamabad to release the doctor, who helped us find a murderer of 3000+ Americans, and allow him and his family to emigrate to the US.  We’ve cut off aid to Pakistan before (Carter and Bush), and nukes or no nukes, it will be interesting to see if this Administration has the cajones to act forcefully and responsibly.

Cross-posted at www.political-woman.com

The age-old proverb, “be care what you wish for, for you may get it” is coming to fruition as the hoped for face-off with Mitt Romney is taking hold.  However, the results thus far are not exactly what may have been “wished for.”

The West Virginia, Arkansas and Kentucky democratic primaries, with Obama losing 40%+ of the voters in each primary, must have increased the sales of Pepto Bismol within Obama re-election campaign, although AxelPlouffe will probably spin the results as not surprising.  After all, what can you expect from Southern conservatives mixed in with those “who cling to their guns and religion.” 

For the vaunted Chicago machine, their 2012 re-election campaign blast-off looks more like Icarus meets earth, as a series of gaffes and backfired messaging have consumed the campaign.  From the “Taliban-like” “war on women”, Hilary Rosen’s mis-speak on stay-at-home moms, to the character, Julia, inferring that women can’t or don’t know how to take care of themselves, several pollsters are showing women, in general, turning to Romney.  That should not be surprising given that he’s staying on message about the economy and jobs, which are the primary important issues for all the electorate.

Mitt Romney in Iowa (AP Photo)

The President is having what could be called, his “Mitt-Fit.”  No matter what his re-election campaign has tried, is trying, in terms of messaging and painting Romney has the bad guy, nothing so far has stuck.  What should have been a winning meme, the “vampire” Bain Capital in the recent steel commercial, was skewered by comments from fellow Democrats, most recently from Mayor Cory Booker this past Sunday on Meet the Press.  

The President’s “evolved” pronouncement for gay marriage has cost him in the polls, as 67% believed his evolution was politics-based and not personal, with some voters already voting their displeasure at the ballot box. Meanwhile, Mitt re-affirms his marriage definition and continues cruising right along.

Obama’s stance on the contraception mandate vs. Romney’s religious liberty stance has cost him several polling points with the Catholic vote.  When Notre Dame university, which hosted the President as their commencement speaker a couple of years ago, joins with other Catholic organizations in a lawsuit against the mandate, you know Obama’s in trouble.

Mitt’s tween years with the hazing of a fellow student fell flat, when it became known that Obama himself, was something of a bully, and a not very industrious student.  His own words, from his own two books, are now being looked at more closely, by more members of the press, both main stream and alternative.  

So where does all this leave the President as he continues his re-election efforts? At this point in time, he’s on defense, because the economy is once again losing steam, housing prices continue to sink, college grads unable to find jobs are moving back home with their parents, and over five million people have given up looking for work.  More and more people are starting to realize that we, as a country, a nation, are $16 trillion in debt, and the economic recovery of this past recession, is no where near the recovery of previous ones.  Our private sector is growing at an anemic rate, and regulatory and tax uncertainty post-election, with the Bush tax cuts expiring and the oncoming Obamacare tax increases, have caused many companies to hold off on hiring and investment.

As more of the Republican establishment starts to believe that Mitt Romney can win, the pressure on the Obama re-election campaign will build.  The President is vulnerable this time around, and that vulnerability is of his own making.  

Obama may be having a Mitt-Fit now, but his own mis-steps and mis-cues are in danger of turning the Mitt-Fit into his own Misfit.  We’ll know in November.

Cross-posted at www.political-woman.com 

While Rahm, David and Barack congratulate themselves over a successful Summit, the rest of us 99%-ers are recovering.  I’m a born and bred Chicagoan still residing in the “land”, and the Rahm-bo version of the “we’re going to keep everyone safe” police state that came along with the Summit didn’t quite appeal to me, or to much of the populace.  

Police, Activists in Chicago (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

While the 2012 NATO Summit was intended to provide a backdrop showcasing the foreign policy smarts of our current President (although it’s said France’s Hollande stole the show), the Summit proved to be a nightmare for the 99%-ers who are fueling what economy Chicago has left.  The closing of the major museums affected tourism, and many businesses urged their employees to work from home Friday and Monday because of the ridiculous rules that Metra rail adhered to (no beverages, food, backpacks allowed on board-only one 15 x 15 carry-on) not to mention K-9 units at certain stations, when they weren’t closed, and the miles of roadways shut down over the Summit period.

Now what effect do you suppose this had on the businesses, and people who run them, whose livelihoods depend on the office workers for the $$ to be able to pay for rent and groceries.  I’m sure the Four Seasons and The Peninsula made out very well, and Tru and Spiaggia had their restaurants humming through the early hours of the morning.  But the lady who sells pizza from her small restaurant truck on Madison and LaSalle didn’t make out so well, since the Loop was a reported “ghost town” for four days.  And the couple who own the dry cleaners/shoe shine in the Mercantile, the Loop restaurants that rely on the breakfast/luncheon crowds, their waiters who rely on tips….you get the picture.  

According to the Mayor, Chicago has impressed its foreign guests, which in turn, will be a boon for tourism.  We can just imagine Belgium’s secretary for international affairs tell his wife, “mon amie, this year we are not going for our vacation to San Tropez, we are going to Chicago.”  

But for all the hype and hoopla, what bothered me most about this visit was, as I mentioned earlier, the “police state” syndrome that the City took on.  Yes, I understand we hosted foreign heads of state, and it’s a dangerous world we live in.  However, the police presence in Chicago and the measures taken, in relation to other cities who have hosted Summit-level events in the past, was in my not so humble opinion over the top, and showed how parochial this “major” city became to help Rahm ensure that absolutely nothing would mar or embarrass his former boss. 

Looking at any of the photos seen during this Summit, and it appears there are 10 police officers for every protestor.  The Chicago Police Dept. spent over $1 million dollars in riot equipment according to the City’s procurement website, including two expensive long-range acoustic device (LRAD) vehicles.  And let’s not forget the five Blackhawk helos that were training over the city a month beforehand.

Not all protestors are violent.  They have a right to peacefully assemble; our Constitution guarantees it.  However, even those rights were curtailed by special edict passed by the City over the number of permits issued, as well as the venues used.  While NATO was a success, the average citizen’s rights to work, to walk, to drive, to speak, were curtailed.  

We miss you, Richie.  

Cross posted at www.political-woman.com

I remember a time in grammar school where I wasn’t so proud of my ethnic heritage  because of, shall we say, a certain person’s poor choice of words and phrases used over-zealously to offend.  I bore the brunt of some boorish, nasty ethnic slurs, spoken repeatedly, snarkily.  Fast-forward to 2012, and I find it amusing that the misguided zealot is now married to a successful businessman with a decidedly ethnic surname.  Is she the same person today that she was back in grammar school? Maybe not.  Life has perhaps taught her a lesson or two.  We can only hope.

So now we have The Washington Post story, “Mitt Romney’s prep school classmates recall pranks, but also troubling incidents.”  I read the entire article, and okay, wealthy preppie acts out and plays some not so smart pranks and in some instances goes overboard.  Do we know people in our lives who would fit the Romney prankster mold?  We all do and did.

Now that we have this expose on Romney’s high school years, I’m still waiting for someone to help me understand how another politician can spend 20+ years in one church and make the following claim:

The statements that Rev. Wright made that are the cause of this controversy were not statements I personally heard him preach while I sat in the pews of Trinity or heard him utter in private conversation. — Senator Barack Obama

Rev. Jeremiah Wright (Chicago Tribune-2006)

YouTube video link found here.

“Reverend Wright retired last month, but members of the Church say, he left a lasting impression on them and Senator Obama.”

If we’re going to pass judgment based upon a snapshot in time, I know which Kodak moment I prefer in the White House.

I was perusing The Wall Street Journal online edition over the weekend, when a video they were showcasing on their site caught my eye. It was an interview with Jane Wurwand, the co-founder of Dermalogica skin care products. What caught my eye was not the “multimillionaire” in the title, but rather the words, “self-reliance,” a term I believe that could be found today on the endangered list when speaking of desirable qualities in individuals.

In the interview, we learn Jane was two years old and the youngest of four children at the time her mother was widowed. Her mother “cobbled together a patchwork quilt of care” for her young family and went back to work utilizing her nursing skills. Jane credits her mother with giving her an incredibly strong work ethic, as she taught them it was not so much about education, but that “you must learn to do something, you must have a ‘transportable skill’…it’s about digging in, doing your best and not complaining.” She further went on to say that the loss of her father at a young age, made her realize “you had to be self-reliant …at the end of the day, you have to rely on yourself, because that is who is with you all the time,” although she does follow that by saying she is a “big believer in the power and support of the family and close friends.”

At this time in our country’s history, we are in danger of losing that self-reliance that fueled our parents, grand-parents and the generations before them that built this country. When we should be imbuing our children with critical thinking skills, encouraging their imagination and ingenuity, and helping them learn by doing, we’ve become a society that has over-swung the pendulum of “collaboration”, the current buzzword synonymous with endless committees, commissions, councils, and teams.

Yes, one can point to the age-old proverb, “no man is an island,” or, the one year anniversary of the success of Seal Team 6. But I would respond to the latter, with a response given by a Special Forces member to Mike Huckabee during a weekend interview, “each man brings a particular skill set to the team.” While those combined skill sets enable the team to complete its missions, I would offer, that in the event of an unforced error, each individual member would be able to survive on his own until rescued.

I am not against “teams” or “team spirit”; there is a time and place for everything and everyone. In a country as diverse as ours, there is certainly the need to learn how to get along and work with people of different cultures and lifestyles. However, what I have noticed becoming more ascendant in the last several years, whether in the workplace, school, politics, sports, etc. is the acquiescence of the individual to the majority consensus, or as Mill once wrote, “the tyranny of the majority.” Are we Americans becoming a nation only capable of group think? Can you imagine Edison inventing the light bulb if he had to run his idea and invention before a committee? And what of these young budding entrepreneurs having their lemonade stands shut down by local authorities.

With the recent anemic jobs report last Friday, followed by Zero Hedge’s two charts on labor force participation, we can only hope Ms. Wurwand is representative of other Americans whose entrepreneurial spirit and ruggedness is operating underground or has gone into temporary hibernation.

I am the daughter of parents who were “The Greatest Generation.” They gave me their spirit, their knowledge, their wisdom to keep going, fighting, and to never give up. In short, I’m proud they taught me to be self-reliant.

On November 6, I will cast a vote for not-Julia. Will you join me?

Cross-posted at www.political-woman.com (The Power of One)

Grrrrr… This latest article, Parents: Rule’s half-baked — State’s junk food ban could take bite out of school fundraiser (h/t Drudge) has me steaming, and I mean steaming.

The Massachusetts Dept. of Public Health has decreed that as of August 1, 2012, bake sales are banned from public schools because of “nutrition standards.”  Since when does a taxpayer-funded Govt. entity have the right to tell the taxpayer what he/she can eat and not eat.

(photo courtesy tatoosales.com)

Bake sales, (how I remember St. Priscilla’s) are a staple of schools and organizations across America that raise money locally for everything from homeless or animal shelters, to fighting diseases, to sending the high school band to play in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.  Bake sales are similar to the right-of-passage that we go through, akin to the family vacations in the SUV/family car, where Dad drives non-stop to each pinpoint on the map on the way to the Dells, the Grand Canyon, Mt. Rushmore, or Lookout Mountain.  Whether we actually devour our purchase, give it to the dog, or toss it into the recyclable bin when we think no one’s looking, bake sales are quintessential Americana.

No one is arguing that some Americans have trended to be more on the, let’s say, “endowed” side.  However, government banning bake sales is just another form of nanny state intrusion into our lives.  Government knows what’s best for Julia,  because Julia can’t take care of herself.  At the same time, all of you business owners who own restaurants, catering and food service companies, how about practicing some portion control?  Do we really need overflowing plates of food? Are you not contributing to the problem, which in turn, has now resulted in more government intrusion into our lives and your businesses?

So for the moment, the “Rule” stands, but for how long?  Will people who send their children to public schools say, “enough” and protest this Rule into oblivion and repeal, or will they follow like lemmings until one day they wake up and find they’ve become …. Julia.

I certainly am no foreign policy expert, but having lived abroad among different cultures gives me a perspective that may be different than the average American.  How our foreign policy is being conducted, with its potential repercussions does not give me a warm and cozy feeling.  For me, it all began with the photo of an American president bowing to a Saudi King during the G-20 Summit.  Was that before, after, or during his “apology” tour.

That infamous bow

In 2009, when the President took office, Hosni Mubarak was president of a mostly secular Egypt.    Mubarak, for years, was encouraged to begin loosening his grip, but it took an “Arab Spring” to bring his demise.  Our President fueled the cause by adding his voice in calling for Mubarak to step down.  But what was our end game?  Now, we have to continue to pour in $1.5 billion in aid in an effort to support the Egyptian military as a counter-balance to the Islamic Muslim Brotherhood and ultra-conservative Salafists.  However, is it only a matter of time before the inevitable Islamic outcome, and we then say, “who lost Egypt?”

Syria is another case in point.  Assad has massacred thousands of his people, and the President offers to sanction companies and countries that use the internet to oppress their citizens.  And let’s not forget our State Dept authorizing the sending of communications equipment to the insurgents.  Great idea.  They now can detect the Syrian forces who are about to kill them.  Syria already is a satellite of Iran, which continues to funnel arms and money to Assad.  He’ll cling to power, with resultant Iranian regional hegemony and an open highway to Hezbollah in Lebanon.  The US ends up hated by all sides.

Iranian influence continues to grow in Iraq, where 4486 Americans were killed, over 33,000 wounded.  The country is dividing once again between Shia, Sunni, and other sectarian lines, with the common denominator among them being dislike, to put it mildly, for the US.

Afghanistan’s a basket case, and the moment the last boot is off the ground, Karzai’s on a plane to London and the resurgent Taliban have once again outlasted the infidel invader.  Maybe we can then claim another “war on women.”

Israel, our one friend in the Middle East, has finally come to terms with standing alone.  They watch, they know, that Iran continues to enrich uranium, and increasingly move their efforts underground to negate any possible aerial attack.  Israel knows the devastation they will suffer if they do nothing and if they do something.  Meanwhile, our President announced at the Holocaust museum in Washington recently, an Atrocities Prevention Board.  I think Elie Wiesel said it best:

Wiesel, who introduced Obama, wondered openly in his remarks whether world leaders had learned from the inaction that made the Holocaust possible:  ”If so, how is it that Assad is still in power? How is it that the Holocaust’s No. 1 denier, (Iranian President Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad, is still a president, he who threatens to use nuclear weapons—to use nuclear weapons—to destroy the Jewish state? Have we not learned? We must. We must know that when evil has power, it is almost too late.”

And since we’re going ’round the world, let’s not forget North Korea shooting off rockets, China’s military continuing to strengthen while they continue to steal our intellectual property, not to mention they’re recent hacking of the blueprints for our joint strike F-22 and F-35 fighter jets.

Russia’s Putin is Obama’s friend, as we heard via open mike, but is he our friend.  Having lived in Moscow for three years and watching the rise of the oligarchs, I have a pretty good grasp of the power that Putin wields, and where and how he wields it.  In his eyes, everything, everyone has a price.  He gives little to get what he wants.  He kept Ukraine and Georgia out of NATO, as he aims for WTO status.  The recent Russian veto at the UN Security Council defines their world outlook.

I’ve always bemoaned the fact that so many Americans are not more foreign policy savvy.  We seem to think no further than the boundaries of our communities, and that’s a luxury that freedom brings.  Yet, it only takes one 9/11, to bring home the reality of the world we live in.

So today’s the day one year ago, that Obama got Osama, oh joy.  If you’re the praying kind, let’s hope Osama doesn’t have the last laugh.

Today is my mother’s birthday; she would have been 98.  I’m glad she’s not alive to see what her beloved America has become.  She wouldn’t recognize it, but she would understand.

My mother and father were both first born of immigrant parents.  Neither of them finished high school.  They were married in 1936 at the height of the Depression, and their marriage lasted 62 years, with neither one of them ever straying.  Practically unheard of today.

My father lived his American Dream, but it came much later in his life.  He finally took the plunge and started his own business at age 55.  When he finally retired 18 years later, due to his health, his rented one desk with partition, had turned into a multi-thousand sq. ft. factory.  I ask myself, could he and others like him, achieve that success today?  Still, I believe the answer is yes, but with much greater difficulty.

Every generation goes through its watershed moment.  For my parents, it was the Great Depression followed by the Second World War.  For me, it was Vietnam and the resulting craziness with the hippie culture, followed by Watergate.  Others point to the Berlin Wall/end of the Cold War, or to 9/11.

These watershed moments have their greatest value in our lives by how we get through them, not only economically, but culturally.  The Great Depression photos of the long bread lines are but faded memories for many, yet during those times it seemed that people had to toughen up, pull together and help each other as best they could.  It was that same toughness that brought my parents and grandparents through WWII.

Today, we are experiencing another watershed moment.   We are watching the chipping away of individual freedoms and the corruption of the American Dream, not only for some, but for everyone.  The values that people, like myself, grew up with in the “leave it to Beaver” generation are now scoffed at and ridiculed.  Self-reliance, individualism is sacrificed to the “team” and the “committee.”  And if we do succeed, by our own labor and efforts, we’re now told we have to share our success with others, because it’s “fair.”

How ever each one of us defines our “America,” our instincts tell us that there’s something going terribly wrong, and that’s why we, as a people, are so unsettled this election year.  We hear the divisions that are being purposely created.  Have you noticed that when we listen to speeches, or politics are being dissected, that we hear “women”, “Latinos,” “Blacks,” ”gays,” “Catholics,” “the 1%,” “working-class whites,” but what we don’t often hear is “us” or “we?”

I lived and worked abroad in countries where people for generations lived under communism.  I saw first-hand what I term, “equality in poverty.”  This is why I recognize the signs and understand this is the most important election of our lifetime.

Our parents didn’t work, scrimp and save, as many of us have as well, so that we can hand our children and grandchildren $16 trillion in debt and counting. Our natural resources remain in the ground, while new drilling permits have slowed to a trickle, yet we’re told to expect $4-$5/gal to be the new norm.  Forty-nine percent of Americans pay no income tax, 42.5% of unemployed Americans have been out of work six months or longer, the number of unemployed, working part-time, or given up looking for work is at 14.5%.  And just this week, one of proudest achievements of American technology and ingenuity, the space shuttle and manned space flight, was relegated to the Smithsonian.

Space shuttle Enterprise atop a 747 in New York (Michael Heiman-Getty Images)

Yes, my mother, if alive today would understand.  She, my father, and millions of their generation knew that freedom, economic and personal, comes at a price.  We don’t always get what we want, life isn’t always “fair.”

My dad always told me, “no one owes you a living.”  When we go into the voting booth in November, we’ll make our choice.  We either continue down the path we’re on to a larger, more intrusive Government, leading to more “fair” entitlements and eventual bankruptcy, or, we strike a blow for the return of limited government, based upon individual liberty and self-reliance.

If we make the right choice, then we’ll have earned the mantle from the “Greatest Generation.”

On Friday, March 23, the President made this comment, “All of us have to do some soul searching to figure out how something like this has happened.”  And he’s right. Probably one of the few times that I’ll find myself agreeing with Barack Obama.

The Trayvon Martin shooting brings back a memory that is still with me to this day.  My father had his own manufacturing business with a number of employees of all races and ethnicities.  One of these employees was, let’s use the name, Bob Smith.  Bob was my father’s first employee, and when dad retired and sold his business 20+ years later, Bob was still with him.  Bob was an African-American, mid-30′s, married, two children.  Bob resided on the notorious West side of Chicago.  He worked days, his wife  nights, just to make sure that one of them was home to watch their children.

Dad was a very hands-on owner.  He was in the factory every day, knew all his employees on a first name basis.  One day he posted on the employee bulletin board a sale notice for our family room furniture.  Bob was interested, and he made arrangements with dad to come to our home and pick up the furniture.  I was home at the time when Bob, his brother and a family friend arrived with their truck.

While they were in the house, the doorbell rang.  Mom went to answer the door and then called to dad.  Two squad cars were parked out front, with the police at the door.  One of the officers was talking to Bob’s friend who had remained outside, while the others talked to Dad.  After a few minutes, they left.

Bob took the furniture, paid Dad, and departed.  After he’d gone, Dad told mom and I, that the officers had said one of our neighbors called the police after seeing three black men in front of our home. The officers came by to make sure everything was all right.  I remember looking at dad and saying, “but dad, that was Bob, he wasn’t doing anything,” to which dad replied, “I know” as he looked me in the eye. I learned a lesson that day about race, and how people make assumptions, how they jump to conclusions.

When my father passed away 15 years ago at 87, toward the end of the wake, in walked Bob and his family.  They shook my hand, mom’s, and told us they had to come because my father was a good man.

And that’s my anecdote and how I was raised, but this may not be indicative of others.  If we’re going to begin a national dialogue because of the Trayvon Martin shooting, then the dialogue has to be honest on both sides.

The shooting of Trayvon Martin was tragic, but despite the scale of attention that the national media awards to it, it cannot equal the national tragedy of the number of  African American youth being gunned down regularly in urban centers across the United States.

I’ve lived in the Chicago area most of my life.  You can’t turn on the nightly news without either hearing about a child being gunned down by a stray bullet from some gang-banger, or other young adults caught up in violent crimes.  The weekend before the Illinois primary, there were 49 shootings in Chicago.  Forty-nine.

The Chicago Police Department 2010 Annual Report (most recent) breaks down crime by type and by race.  According to the Report, the African-American community suffers the most violent crimes committed, (62.8%).  Of these violent crimes city-wide, take murders for example, 26.5% of victims are between the ages of 11-20; 40.2% between 21-30.  For the offenders, 31.6% are between the ages of 11-20; 46.1% between 21-30 (Exhibit 8b and 8C of the Report.)  Where is Al Sharpton and his ilk when it comes to demanding justice for these murdered children and young adults?

More disturbing is the racial breakdown of total crime city-wide as shown in Exhibit 12b “Arrests by Offense Classification, Race and Gender, 2010.”  Of the 165,541 recorded arrests, 120,189 (almost 71.7%) were African-American.

When one looks at these statistics, there should be a realization of why and how George Zimmermans get created.  George Zimmerman was an accident waiting to happen, a policeman wannabe who let his own delusionary fears overtake his reason.  If any good is to come out of this tragedy, then yes, let’s have a dialogue, with both sides taking some responsibility.

“All of us have to do some soul searching to figure out how something like this has happened.”  Yes, you are right, Mr. President.  And I am not, George Zimmerman.

Cross-posted at www.political-woman.com

Yesterday, January 26th, the Senate voted 44-52 to block a motion to disapprove the debt-limit increase, which the House passed overwhelmingly last week.  By the end of the year, our national debt will hit $16.39 trillion.  It was also the day on which the second and last Florida Republican Presidential primary debate was held.

In my opinion, Tuesday evening was not a serious debate about “issues of the day”, but rather more like a political reality TV show.  I watched the debate along with probably a few million other people, and we were treated to lunar moon colonies by 2020, do you know what stock is in YOUR mutual fund, why would your wife make the best first lady (or something to that effect), you’re not a conservative – oh yes I am, plus additional Punch & Judy style bouquets and brickbats leveled by the candidates at one another, about stuff and nonsense intended to influence us about the character of each.  They succeeded.

Not one question was asked about

• the President’s State of the Union address
• the national debt debacle
• what the candidates would replace Obamacare with if it was repealed
• how to boost the housing recovery
• what to do about Egypt not allowing Americans to leave the country, or
• what’s next for the Keystone XL or our energy policy.

Get the picture?  And it only took me about 20 seconds to come up with those questions.

We have had so many Republican presidential debates that the forum which was once used for a spirited discussion of opinions and policy has instead become an arena for the politics of personal destruction, and we’re the Romans watching the Christians and the lions.

The national MSM moderators are aiding and abetting the marginalizing of the opposition candidates to President Obama by,  let’s call them what they are, stupid questions.  The Republican National Committee is helping in the trivialization by the number of debates, and the Establishment through nihilism.

I’m one voter who’s had enough with these debate theatrics and nyah-nyah questions and answers.  The November election is the most important election in a generation about the course our country will take.  If future debate discourse continues down the same path, the President will have a cake walk to the election.  And the Republicans will provide the icing.  For shame.