American Hostages on Yacht and Other Thoughts

1. Any American dumb enough to sail their yacht into the Indian Ocean is too dumb to risk American lives to rescue. It is one thing to be taken hostage aboard an oil tanker or a commercial vessel. Those crews have no choice but to sail through dangerous waters. But recreational boaters (or yachters, if that is the appropriate term) have no business being in those waters and if they are, they should bear the risk and not the U.S. military, who is already, no doubt, on their way to rescue them. Just my opinion.

2. We have an entitlement program spending problem that threatens to bankrupt our country and our elected officials have not yet figured out that we want them to fix it. They are still playing politics with our financial future. Until such time that they understand that they need to take action now, we should continue to vote them out until we reach the right mix of courageous individuals who are not necessarily interested in a career in the House or Senate, but are interested in serving their Nation bravely. And, taking the action necessary to change the curve of future spending. Be they GOP or Dems, they need to go . . . until we get action to address our structural spending.

3. Wisconsin is no Side Show. What is going on in Madison is the real deal and only the begining of what will be the Fight of the Century. That is, the fight brewing between the taxpayers and the public employee unions. This war will go on for years and will consist of many battles like the one unfolding in Madison. In the end, the taxpayers of this country are going to take back our country from the unholy alliance of public employee unions and entrenched political powers. It will take time and it will be a bloody affair, but there is no choice. We can not continue to fund promises made by gutless political ghosts over the past few decades.

Most private corporations changed from defined benefit plans to defined contribution plans a decade, or more, ago. Why? Because defined benefit plans are unaffordable and private companies did the math and realized they would be bankrupt if they continued to fund a defined benefit plan. Our gutless politicans have been unwilling to address this issue over the last several decades, because it will cost them votes and might cost them their office. Because politics has become a career for many of them, they have been unwilling to make the hard choices necessary to save us. So the battle is being taken "to the streets" of our state capitols and will also be fought in our city and county governments. Sooner or later, a brave political force will win one of these battles and then you better stand back or you will get rolled over by the force of change.