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TOPICAL GUIDE TO AMERICAN POLITICS

GEORGE W. BUSH RETURN TO 110-100 TOPICAL GUIDE AMERICAN POLITICS

10/04/07 The President properly vetoes the attempted 5 year $35 billion increase in spending for SCHIP (State Children's Health Insurance Program). This pre-election year trojan horse for universal socialized medicine had nothing to do with either "the children", or "the poor". This precursor to universal Stalinist medicine was actually Nurse Ratchet, aka Hillary Rodham, running around loose, and says everything you need to know about those who supported it, Democrat and "Republican". JES

09/29/07 Mr. President, the options regarding Iran:

1) You can wait for reformers to overthrow the current regime.

The information available to me indicates that this cannot happen before nuclear weapons capability has been achieved for a lengthy list of reasons.

The real problem with this idea is that even if the reformers were successful, their opposition (defenders of the current regime) would still be powerful, with attendant political instability going forward. What guarantee is there that such a political stew, however configured, would actually choose to accommodate us with a credible change of direction on Iran's nuclear program and ambitions? At the very least, we would be confronted with a new, and additional, Pakistani dilemma.

2). You can continue to wait for others, through various proposed schemes of economic coercion to "force" a change in Iranian attitude on the issue, which completely underestimates and misunderstands the Iranian attitude on the issue. Continuing to wait for a miracle to happen is wasting time while allowing the situation to continue to deteriorate. There is the further unsatisfactory consequence of allowing others to operate our own foreign policy and oversee our own national security interests. I would remind you that similar dithering in late 2002 and early 2003 bought the time Saddam Hussein and his Russian pals needed to apparently squirrel away probable WMD and to prepare for the insurgency that began to unfold in April of 2003. You should have learned by now that you just can't play around with these people, or Democrats, a distinction too frequently without a difference.

3). The hard fact of the matter is that the military option is the only responsible option available to the United States, in behalf of not only our own security interests, but that of the rest of the world as well. I know that the planning and preparedness are largely in place. And I speak not of something tentative, but the full bore plan to knock out their entire military capability. You know of which I speak. Do it. Soon. And worry not about your critics; they are beyond being mollified, and you have already spent too much time and effort in that regard. Do this thing now, let the world squeal, and leave office in January of 2009 knowing that you, in fact, did the right thing. In the years ahead, you will come to be honored. JES

08/28/07 Regarding Alberto Gonzales. So he resigns, and I'm not so sure the timing was an accident. What we have here is a political incompetent; a fact widely recognized. What we have here is a victim of the Peter Principle, which says that there is a tendency for people to rise in an organization to their own level of incompetency, set up by a President who has repeatedly demonstrated his inclination to promote loyal friends over qualified candidates, e.g. Harriet Miers, et. al. Unfortunately, in the matter of Alberto Gonzales, the matter had gotten out of hand, with Senator Upchuck Chucky Schumer and his fellow Democrats frothing at the mouth about the forced departure of 8 U.S. attorneys, who by law simply serve at the President's pleasure. The issue of the 8 attorneys has been politically fabricated out of whole cloth, and everyone in Washington DC, and a complicit Leftwing mainstream press, knows it. The real game is to find any way possible to dismantle the Bush Administration, and the focus on Gonzales has been to achieve his resignation so as to set up an approval of a replacement on condition of the appointment of a new Special Persecutor. The Democrat target is not Gonzales, or the reasons for the firing of the 8 attorneys; never has been. The real target is Bush, his Administration, the GOP, and any chance at all of a Republican presidential win in 2008. Anybody with a lick of political sense knows all this.

Now it so happens that the ultimate outcome of all this political pushing and shoving remains to be determined. I would point out that the administration has options to undercut the Democrat strategy.

1). Nominate a new Attorney General who is actually qualified for the job; perhaps tough at this stage of the presidential cycle and given the hostile political climate that clearly threatens a nominee's name and career.

2.) With or without a nominee, stall off until the end of the year, and then make a recess appointment of a "care-taker" to get to the end of the President's term.

3.) Some combination of the above, all designed to not be forced to swallow a Special Persecutor.

With some adroit political management of the situation, the entire Democrat plan could come to be viewed by the voters as reaching too far, and the real source of the divisiveness that has paralyzed Washington. And so it goes. JES

07/25/07 Is George W. Bush a Conservative? Hell no, and Conservatives have known it for some time. He is what this political analyst calls center-right. The Left pejoratively calls him a cowboy; I wish, non-pejoratively, that it were true. He makes great speeches and then walks away from his own words. This has happened repeatedly throughout his term in office. The Mountain Observer would have always preferred Dick Cheney in the driver's seat, with a couple of advisors from Halliburton on the White House staff, and a spinal expert over at the Surgeon Generals' Office to administer to the American people. General David Petraeus, carry on. JES

07/03/07 The President does something right, and puts the squash on jail time for "Scooter" Libby. As I reflect on it, the full pardon, at this time, would have deprived Libby of the opportunity to fully clear his name on appeal. The pardon option remains available in the future if the courts on their own prove incapable of correcting for themselves this outrageous miscarriage of justice and subversion of both the legal system and the political process by the Left. The fact of the matter is that I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby is a true patriot. Help him out. Go to http://www.scooterlibby.com JES

06/20/07 The President gets one right with his veto of legislation attempting to authorize tax payer support of embryonic stem cell research. The President, and all Conservatives, support adult stem cell research, where all the progress is being made. Embryonic stem cell research, which is legal if privately funded, technically is going nowhere, hence the starvation of private funding, hence the attempted raid on the public treasury. However, there is a larger issue at work here. Supporters of embryonic stem cell research know full well that it is a technical bust; their real agenda is promotion of the idea that human embryos are not human so as to bolster their real agenda of abortion rights. That this is what the discussion is really all about is not arguable. JES

06/11/07 Mr. President, enforce the current law, and no amnesty. JES

06/11/07 Regarding Attorney General Alberto Gonzales ,who I, I believe, I have not mentioned since the Harriet Miers fiasco. (The president has always been tempted to offer up Gonzales as a court candidate). I have always regarded the man as a fly weight, and in Washington only as a consequence of old Texas loyalties. I have complained repeatedly from the beginning of the Bush 43 presidency that the biggest problem with George W. Bush has been, and is, that he is a nice guy; not really a qualification for the job of President. A sub-text to this complaint is that Bush has repeatedly allowed personal loyalties to trump competence, and this has cost him, and the country, dearly, on several occasions. So it came to pass that these Presidential habits led to the elevation of Alberto Gonzales to the office of Attorney General of the United States. Predictably, for this observer, it has become apparent to those close to the scene that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is not up to the challenge of his office. Now the President has a problem. The Gonzales tiger has got the President by the tail, and the President can't let go. The liberal (Democrat) establishment, seething with rage against the President, sees the political opportunity to possibly bring the President down by finding any way possible to ditch Gonzales and then demanding a special persecutor as a condition of Congressional approval of Gonzales' successor. The legal outcome of any such persecution, guaranteed to be highly political, is not the priority; tying up the Administration in knots, with the possible added utility of forcing our surrender in Iraq, is the real political objective of this matter. Democrats really don't give a damn about the 8 fired attorneys. They see the perfect opportunity to go straight at the President; to hell with the American national interest in conducting the War against IslamicFascism for which they prescribe defeat anyway. So it is that the President, irrespective of the incompetency of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, is forced to stick by his man, and Conservatives just need to stand by and swallow hard. What's best for the country has come to this. JES

06/08/07 Finally, thankfully, the inside brokered deal in Congress over amnesty for illegal immigrants falls apart in the Senate. We have just witnessed Congress at its worst. In the opinion of this observer, passage of this legislative monstrosity would have been fatal to the continued existence of the nation. George W. Bush, you are now on your own. In the course of this process, you have stabbed us, your own base, in the back. This came as no surprise; we have watched this storm approaching for a long time. I do not doubt your honesty and sincerity, and never have. Your recognition of the threat of the international threat against the West after 09/11, and your decision to preemptively target Afghanistan and Iraq as you did were absolutely correct. However, in the execution department you are an absolute bumbler, both foreign and domestic. I am too disgusted at the moment to write the list here now, and in any event I would just be repeating myself anyway. This matter of your ideas about border security and amnesty for illegal aliens however, just pushes everything over the top. General David Petraeus, who is now running the show, carry on. I look forward to your forthcoming report in September. For Iraq, it will be determinative. It is ironic that your boss in the White House, by his own actions and operational decisions, has done as much to undermine the War on IslamicFascism in several ways as all the Democrats and RINOs in Congress, and those Americans who elected them. This observer fears that another 09/11 event, perhaps nuclear, will be necessary to get folk's heads on straight. JES

06/04/07 On what's wrong with the "compromise" immigration proposals currently being debated in Congress, go to http://www.heritage.org/Research/Immigration/misc/index.cfm#research for an examination of the details. JES

05/30/07 Throughout his presidency, George W. Bush has had an repeatedly bad habit of throwing his own political base under the bus. (The "where else can they go" theory coming from the political middle.) However, yesterday, on the subject of border and immigration policy, the president crossed a bridge too far. Go to GEO. W. BUSH - IMMIGRATION 05-29-07 He has now become the Texas Democrat I predicted he would shortly after last Falls election. I repeat some of what I said at the time:

11/09/06 If you think that President Bush will protect what is left of the tattered GOP with the veto, think again. In the last six years he has used the veto pen one time, correctly vetoing a measure that would have funded embryonic stem cell research. More to the point, he let pass train loads of bills generated by a so-called Republican Congress that were entirely out of line with Conservative principles. The Mountain Observer has been more than tolerant of both a wartime President and the GOP in the face of outrageous Left Wing political assault. However, that same Left Wing is now in charge of Congress, not necessarily because the American people are now all Deaniacs (Ask Joe Lieberman), but because the President and the GOP betrayed the base that elected them. In the same election that swept Democrats into control of both houses of Congress (frequently by razor thin margins), the same voters in 8 out of 9 states voted to declare that marriage means a man and a woman, and in Michigan that affirmative action has no place in higher education. Political bases really do not like being mis-lead by their political representatives. Now as for President Bush, forget the veto pen. Throwing Donald Rumsfeld under the bus, watch him morph into a Texas Democrat. And watch the GOP tear itself apart between big government Libertarians and small government values voters as the GOP swings Left. Time for an American Conservative Party. As for Democrats and Liberals, this was no victory. They are now faced with the problem of feeding their fish with zero substance. Sand castles on a wet beach. Great comedy if the international security consequences weren't so serious. Oh, yes, and 1.5 million abortions a year. JES

OK, I was wrong about the veto (he has recently forced the hand of Democrats in Congress on the subject of funds for the military in Iraq, thankfully, and hopefully to come on a couple of pending right to life issues). However, on the border, and spending, he has been, and will remain, useless. The GOP split is hard; the issue is much bigger than George W. Bush (Sen. John Kyle R-AZ, among others, are now in much trouble). It is a split between actual Conservatives and the Libertarians who have infested themselves into the party over the last 30 years. It is a split between the heartland and the coastals. It is a split between rural and urban, all of which has been discussed many times previously by the Mountain Observer. As for the President, it is one thing to be principled, and not poll driven. It is another matter to be politically stupid, especially when, as a matter of principle, you are simply wrong and have low approval ratings going in. Mr. President, you chose the wrong hill to die on; you are history. Senator Fred Thompson, where are you? Meanwhile, General David Petraeus, carry on. JES

04/24/07 So Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid D-CA, using his official position, instructs President Bush, General David Petraeus, and the Nation that the war in Iraq (in the shriveled brains of the Left something apparently separate from IslamicFascism) has been lost and that the "surge" is not working. Now the fact of the matter is that, at least since 1992, major elected Democrat officials have almost routinely engaged in what Originalist Americans describe as treason. In the present circumstances we are actually at war, and properly so, against evil forces whose clearly and credibly stated purpose is to destroy us. In the opinion of the Mountain Observer, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid D-CA is a traitor, and ought to be dealt with accordingly according to the law, as originally understood, forthwith. The Mountain Observer is absolutely beside himself with anger. General David Petraeus, carry on. JES

03/10/07 Should Scooter Libby be pardoned? Of course, and I would think that before the end of Bush's presidency that will have happened, if the court system itself has not already corrected the carnage of what can only be described as a political show trial. In recent years, out of control prosecutors, and prosecutions, have become all too fashionable. As for Dick Cheney, in a more sensible time he would be our next President, and ought to be. That, of course, is not in the cards. America, it seems, is too awash in self hatred, white guilt and narcistic self loathing to think sensibly about much of anything these days. The future price in blood and treasure will be enormous. I pray for my grandsons. JES

12/03/06 The idea of negotiations with Iran and Syria is absolutely the dumbest idea I can imagine. Anyone who even thinks such a move could be constructive is a mental case in need of immediate institutionalization. All the wrong moves have started; the destruction commenced on 11/07, and will prove to be virtually irreversible. Democrats did not win this election; Republicans, and Americans, lost it. The Mountain Observer will continue in its task of charting the way things ought to be, recognizing the fact that the United States has begun its long decent straight into hell. JES

11/19/06 The President installs Sen. Mel Martinez, R-FL, author of the infamous Senate Hagel-Martinez immigration amnesty bill which passed the Senate last May by a vote of 62-36, as the new general Chairman of the Republican National Committee. Great news for those who wish to woo Mexican First type Hispanics. Not so good for Conservatives, including American First type Hispanics, intent on the rule of law, the security of our borders and culture and the general integrity, and honor, of the traditional naturalization process. This is a step in the direction of the bust up of the GOP as we know it. JES

11/11/06 The results of the election on Tuesday leave Conservatives more free to discuss in public certain matters that have festered below the surface out of principled loyalty to a war time President. To be sure, George W. Bush is still the President, and a war time President at that, and we will be quik to defend him against opposition attempts to suggest otherwise. However, in the current political context, Conservatives no longer need to carry around the baggage of a pending election in defending the corruption of Conservative principles. Its is a fact that we are at war with IslamicFascism, and without knowing it, have been for years. 09/11 was not the beginning, but it woke us (some of us, at least) up. George W. Bush, to his great credit, recognized much of the overall scope of the problem, and responded, when previous Presidents had not. He has correct in identifying Iran, Iraq and North Korea as the Axis of Evil, and his decision to go in after Saddam Hussein was correct. It was in the implementation that mistakes were made.

There are two characteristics of the President's management style that became relevant. First, he is not a detail guy; he is inclined to depend on the organization under him. He turns them loose within the constraints of basic policy direction, and is fiercely loyal to them, and expects that loyalty to be respected in return. Secondly, those on his team, perhaps harboring concerns about certain consequences of policy instruction, including conflicts of substance among elements of the organization as a consequence of the policy instruction, may have sometimes gotten stuck by his inattention to detail. There is a fine line between bringing the boss a bad message and disloyalty, and the President is known to be very sensitive to disloyalty. Aside from personal instincts in this regard, he has been properly sensitive to the great abuse of executive privilege that has occurred in recent years going back to Watergate days, and has been determined to check further erosion. The cancer of leftist subversion within the bureaucracy and the press has not made that easy. So it is that it has not always been easy for true friends to pull the President aside and say "you know, Sir, I think you might be wrong about this or that, and may I suggest another way".

Now of course I am very much the outsider, and this is strictly educated guessing on my part. However right now the GOP needs a new party chairman, and whoever is chosen has be able to stand up and say to the President that, on certain issues, the party may need to disagree with the President if it is realize any chance whatsoever in 2008. The issue of immigration policy comes to mind. Do not expect this to happen. JES

11/11/06 Veterans day, a sobering thought 4 days after voters on Tuesday, confronted with the choice of totally loony Democrat control of Congress, and largely incompetent nominal Republican control of Congress, chose the former. The President is now in the position of making the political choice of swallowing his own cocktail of compassionate conservatism, or recognizing the need to actually become a Conservative. I would predict that he will not only choose the former, but perhaps himself become more openly a defacto democrat. What is at hand is a mis-reading of what actually happened on Tuesday. What happened was that Democrats won by running "conservative " sounding candidates, and Republicans lost swamped by a national and congressional GOP cut loose from its Conservative moorings. Tuesday, excepting those urban islands of knee-jerk Liberalism, too many actually conservative voters jumped from the frying pan into the fire. Now the question is whether the GOP nationally, will continue to move Left, or straighten up and fly Right? Preliminary indications are not encouraging, leaving voters with the accelerating dilemma of facing a choice at the poles of a party of the extreme Left and a "more moderate" party of the left. In an age when the dominate media and academic institutions of the nation are firmly in the control of the extreme Left, real Conservatives have a problem. It is additionally very relevant to recognize that Christianity is loosing its grip, on several levels. But again, what many do not seem to realize is that the Lord cannot be voted out of office, however much some try. JES

11/09/06 What went wrong and how? An early review of election results data suggests 2 things to me that stand out. 1

1. The most damage was done by the defection of Reagan Democrats, not a surprise to this observer.

2. The overall loss, and the difference, was "a mile wide and an inch deep".

That the GOP at headquarters, including the President, claim to have been caught by surprise, in the opinion of this observer, is explained by a major difference in the behavior of the electorate, Left vs. Right. The Left is always complaining loudly about everything to anyone who will listen to anything, and generally with a priority on themselves. In contrast, Conservatives are much more prone to avoid direct public criticism of a wartime President, for the sake of the war effort, the safety of the troops and our own national security interests. So it is that there has been a lot of water piling up behind the dam. For over a couple of years this observer has found himself among those disaffected with the President's handling of the war largely for the softness of the policies and the mission drift away from a proper focus on our own national security and toward an OJ Billyboy internationalist preoccupation UN type approval of everything. I know I am not alone on this point. And my point is not restricted to the war, but domestic issues as well. GOP "insiders" would do well to spend less time pandering to the likes of "Pinch" Sulzberger and more time carefully reading the hundreds of websites like this. You had no excuse to be surprised by these election results. JES

cc: Chairman@gop.com Conservatives: file this address, and use it.

11/09/06 If you think that President Bush will protect what is left of the tattered GOP with the veto, think again. In the last six years he has used the veto pen one time, correctly vetoing a measure that would have funded embryonic stem cell research. More to the point, he let pass train loads of bills generated by a so-called Republican Congress that were entirely out of line with Conservative principles. The Mountain Observer has been more than tolerant of both a wartime President and the GOP in the face of outrageous Left Wing political assault. However, that same Left Wing is now in charge of Congress, not necessarily because the American people are now all Deaniacs (Ask Joe Lieberman), but because the President and the GOP betrayed the base that elected them. In the same election that swept Democrats in to control of both houses of Congress (frequently by razor thin margins), the same voters in 8 out of 9 states voted to declare that marriage means a man and a woman, and in Michigan that affirmative action has no place in higher education. Political bases really do not like being mis-lead by their political representatives. Now as for President Bush, forget the veto pen. Throwing Donald Rumsfeld under the bus, watch him morph into a Texas Democrat. And watch the GOP tear itself apart between big government Libertarians and small government values voters as the GOP swings Left. Time for an American Conservative Party. As for Democrats and Liberals, this was no victory. They are now faced with the problem of feeding their fish with zero substance. Sand castles on a wet beach. Great comedy if the international security consequences weren't so serious. Oh, yes, and 1.5 million abortions a year. JES

11/08/06 History will come to record that yesterday the worldwide IslamicFascist agenda scored a huge victory in its war with the west. Osama bin Laden was right: America cut and ran, Such is the objective reality of the situation, forthcoming denials of reality notwithstanding. The consequences will take decades to repair the damage, if, indeed, that will ever be possible at all.

As for the Democrats, the mob will demand a revolution, and the professional politicians, having overfed the fish, will be unable to deliver. The problem with their rhetoric in opposition is that it has been totally lacking in substance, for years. Socialism does not work, and neither will a policy of "cut and run", however disguised. Terrorists will see it for exactly what it is: retreat and surrender, making inevitable another 09/11 event(s). Today our country is in a world of hurt, and apparently most do not even recognize this. As reality unfolds, expect the Dems to start fighting among themselves in a more public way. The handy target, and excuse, will continue to be George W. Bush, sufficiently so that an alert GOP might be able to capitalize on voter weariness of this overworked point before November 2008. However I would bet against such GOP capability. The party is feckless and as intellectually broken as the Democrats are mentally ill. Among other things, what we have just witnessed is the death of Compassionate Conservatism, a silly idea from the beginning. The party, and George W. Bush, ran away from their own base; betraying us with huge spending, walking away from small government, surrendering on certain social issues, e.g. affirmative action, and failing to take borders seriously be they with Mexico or Iran and Syria. The war in Iraq, never successfully portrayed as at the heart of the worldwide war against IslamicFascism that it certainly is, has been crippled from the beginning with too much pandering to an international audience most of whom are not our friends. The President has allowed his policies to be subverted by Vladimir Putin, Kofi Annan, Hu Jintao, Teddy The Swimmer, "Pinch" Sulzberger, Susan Estrogen, and Vicente Fox (This, of course, the short list).

What many do not seem to realize is that the Lord cannot be voted out of office, however much some try. JES

08/11/06 In accepting a UN ceasefire proposal, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert screws up. Where is Benjamin Netanyahu? Absolutely unbelievable. It's not clear here whether this was the direction Bush actually intended things to go. Need more details. JES

08/09/06 Back to Lebanon. Folks, I would propose that right now the most serious question before the world is whether or not President George W. Bush is caving in to the "international community" on the issue of a "cease fire", or whether he is engaged in a strategy of "rope-a-dope", with or without Israeli complicity. Given the public record, either case could be made. Arguing the "rope-a-dope" scenario, August 22 looms large (see 08/08/06 below). Israel is in the midst of adjustments in its strategy, folding toward an ever more aggressive pursuit in Lebanon of its Hezbollah (Iranian) tormentors. No predictions here, either way; the public record is yet too murky. Either way, we are coming upon some dangerous moments that could heavily define the Century before us. The decision points that matter are Washington, Jerusalem, Tehran, Moscow and Beijing. The rest is a side show. JES

07/19/06 The President does the right thing and vetoes the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, just passed by Congress, concerning federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. Anybody who has followed this discussion over a stretch of time knows that this has not so much to do with science but rather with the funding of scientists and the pursuit of the principle that life does not start at conception. There are far more scientifically promising avenues open for stem cell research which can only lead to the conclusion that those who insist on focusing on an embryo, however it is engineered, really have a more distant political agenda. If you want to pursue the medical promises of stem cells, the science shows you need not invade human embryos, artificial or otherwise. If you insist on doing this, then you are up to something else altogether. Those in Congress who supported this bill either are smart enough to understand this, and are either cowards or cheap panderers, or are so stupid that they are unworthy of their office. In contrast, the President, you know that stupid cowboy from Texas, stood up and said "NO". God bless cowboys. JES

07/10/06 George W. Bush and "cowboy diplomacy" according to Time magazine. I have my differences with George W. Bush, mainly over the issues of immigration management, spending and the size of government. However, once again I have to come to his defense on the issue of confronting IslamicFascism and pre-emption. He has been exactly correct. We do not wait for others, because it is not in our national interest to let others take charge of determining our foreign policy, especially when many wish us ill. We cannot afford to sit back and wait to be hit first in an age when such strikes could easily make 09/11 seem as child's play. We need to confront these realities over there, not here. Policies of reaction, and "cut and run" only feed the snake and make things worse. The facts of life in the real world compel our leadership in an increasingly dangerous world as a matter of our own defense. The fact of the matter is that our efforts in Iraq have been very successful in drawing out the infection, better there than here. The fact of the matter is that in Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad we have this generation's Hitler, ever so more dangerous with weapons of mass destruction and an American MS Press, such as Time Magazine, totally out of line, with subversive results. Our times are a replay of the 1930's, and some of us remember, and have learned a lesson or two. This time around we will not face Stuka bombers and fast Tiger tanks, but some very hot stuff delivered right to our shores, perhaps even to the offices of Time Magazine. Imagine that. It would appear that Europe, sadly, is being sucked into the IslamicFascist vortex, lead by the French and Germans. So it goes. Russia is sponsoring Iranian mischief, as China sponsors North Korean mischief, except that this is much more than mischief. The fact of the matter is that WWIV has started, and some folks just don't get it, so drunk with hatred for George W. Bush. Oh, and I have one more complaint about George W. Bush: he is a nice guy, too nice to American Liberals. Come on, George; what we need is a really mean son-of-a-bitch. God bless you. JES

05/25/06 So it is that the Republican Party has finally come the Great Divide, the Divide, that is, between its two fundamental constituencies: business oriented libertarians, and social / culturally oriented conservatives. The Mountain Observer has, for years, identified with both, but at points of conflict deferring to the social / culturally oriented conservative analysis as to what constitutes true Conservatism. I have loudly objected to libertarian attempts (too frequently successful) to highjack the conservative label for their own "free market" agenda. Mountain Observer letters are littered with this discussion, and a quik summary can be had by going to POLITICS 101 . What is the point? The point is the very real and practical disagreement among Republicans in the Senate over how to handle the various issues poised by current immigration / illegal immigration laws, policies and defacto activities. The most acute point of separation has to do with the issue of "amnesty", what is and isn't "amnesty" and, in any event, what to do about millions of illegals ("wetbacks") running around loose. The Mainstream Liberal Press, which has a politically vested interest in adding obfuscation on top of obfuscation, is not much help to the "ordinary" citizen trying to understand the subtleties of the discussion. However "ordinary" Americans have two things in their corner: The internet and common sense. As I have pointed out recently elsewhere on the same subject, "If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and looks like a duck, it is a duck". So it is with "amnesty", and an overwhelming percentage of the American people will never buy what Republican Senators, President Bush, Nebraska meat packing interests and California tulip pluckers are trying to push upon us. JES

05/25/06 The truth is that many Conservatives have been nervous about George W. Bush from the beginning, including the Mountain Observer, as a review of the very first M O letter will document. Throughout this presidency we have been on a rollercoaster ride; at our heights with the President's general response to terrorism after 09/11, and support of our national defense establishment, and at our lowest on issues relating to spending and the growth of government. Lurking in the background has always been the irritant of the President's dismissive attitude toward Mexican border issues, and his relationship with Vicente Fox. For reasons of national security, most Conservatives have often held their fire, not wishing to subvert the matter of national defense and the "War on Terror" by inadvertently giving aid and comfort to Liberal Democrats. However, the discussion has always been running in the background, subtly understood by those with a well developed Conservative nose. Most of us were inclined to hold our noses, at least through the 2006 elections, but now it is too late. The border issue has blown up in the context of various other serious mis-steps by the President, and the GOP in general. The implications for the 2006 elections are serious, although the impact is not obvious. However, events on the ground have forced a rapid rearrangement of priorities for Conservatives, and George W. Bush and the GOP are in a lot of trouble. The disconnect between Washington DC and the Heartland has never been wider in recent years, and the fundamental problem is that George W. Bush is no Ronald Reagan. The Conservative movement is clearly leaderless, the GOP is clueless, and Democrats are just plain nuts and a danger to the Republic. 2006 is going to be a very rough year; the cat's out of the bag. JES

12/31/05 My biggest complaint about our President has always been that he is a nice guy, sort of self sacrificial in a sea of political piranhas.

So in recent weeks it is good to see some evidence that it has finally occurred to him who his friends are, but more importantly who his enemies are. He has begun to defend himself, as he should have started to do months ago, from inane attacks about "lying" to the American people concerning a whole list of things, including WMD's and Iraq. So it is that I am more than pleased that he has finally gotten the Justice Department (He will typically deny personal intervention, and knowing him as I think I do, such a denial may be accurate) to open a probe on the question about who has been leaking classified information, on a series of issues, to the New York Times. For many years, reaching as far back as into the 60's, presidents, especially Republicans, have had serious problems with Left Wing moles in the State Department. (A certain old tail gunner would have argued that the problem was older.) During the 90's, this problem migrated further, particularly in to the FBI, the CIA and the Department of Defense. The most recent general Left Wing War On Bush, coupled with the fact of his generally successful re-direction of foreign policy, and the rise of "blue state" political power, is causing the termites to come out from under their rocks. Yes, time has come for a special prosecutor to get on to the matter of these leaks, after, of course, an institutionally mandated Justice Department probe into what we all know is really going on. There was a time in our history when traitors were shot, or otherwise terminated. JES

12/20/05 President George W. Bush is at his best when he gets mad. JES

11/30/05 The President continues to fight back against his critics, as he should, and should have done from the beginning. Today he spoke to midshipmen at the Naval Academy. Go to BUSH 43 2ND TERM NOTES-SPEECHES. JES

11/13/05 Conservatives, including the Mountain Observer, will continue a healthy dialog among ourselves, including the President, as to the best course of several actions we should pursue in behalf of the United States of America at home and abroad. In the heat of political battle it is important to remember that those who bash Bush are really bashing all of Conservatism. Bush may be the spoken target, but all Conservatives, and what we stand for, are the real targets. So, fellow Conservatives, be very careful with your words about the President, and keep it constructive for our cause. Our political enemies, and they are our enemies, will spare no effort to co-opt us and subvert our true purposes. Be careful out there. JES

11/11/05 President's Veterans Day Speech 11/11/05. He takes on those "who would redefine history" Go to Speeches. JES

11/03/05 My single most serious complaint about George W. Bush from the beginning is that he is a nice guy, too quickly inclined to defer, out of a sense of gentlemanliness, to those who are his real enemies. It has been apparent for some time now that a similar complaint could be lodged against Senator Bill Frist, the Senate Majority Leader. It is, of course, difficult to complain about people being nice guys, and one would do quite the opposite on a personal level. The problem here is that such personal habits do not always transfer appropriately to public responsibility and the demands of effective political leadership. There is a time and place, occasionally, for the hardnosed SOB. So it is that all too frequently, both of these fine gentlemen have allowed themselves to be snookered by more streetwise Democrats, failing to recognize that we are, in fact, in the midst of a genuine political civil war for the heart and soul of the country. Liberals (and Democrats) are losing, because they are wrong, long noticed in the heartland, which is now enabled by the regulatory reforms (elimination of the so-called "fairness doctrine") that previously constrained radio, and by new technologies that make this web site possible. Conservatives are winning because Americans are just being themselves, and are able to express themselves now, directly to each other, and to the distant pretending political and social elites. In this new regulatory and technical environment, a Rush Limbaugh had to happen, articulating the long held beliefs and perspectives of millions, as documented by their votes. However, Rush has been doing something in addition from 2000 forward which it should not be necessary for him to do. In the absence of tough-minded streetwise Conservative leadership in office, he has frequently found it necessary to stand in, unofficially, as the heavy for the Conservative cause. For this, Rush deserves our thanks and gratitude, and the Republican Party needs to look itself in the mirror. Time to put away the croquet sets and get serious. Rush has built his entire career on he simple fact that a lot of other folks in the press, and in politics, simply are not doing their own jobs. Meanwhile, this web site provides many easy to access avenues of learning and information if you can't handle all the self-puffery. JES

10/19/05 On the issue of the border, it appears that the policy turnaround may be nothing more that a repackaging of Bush’s original temporary-worker proposals. The Administration still seems to be working under the allusion that current illegals are going to voluntarily identify themselves so as to work “legally” before being forced to return home to return again legally. This is all upside down and absurd. So we are back to square one, almost. The victory for Conservatives is that, however pitifully, this Administration has suddenly discovered that on the American Right, their base is in the Heartland, not New York. Mr. President: first you get control of the borders, as with a fence, and troops. Then you flush out the illegals. Then we can have a rational discussion about immigration policy, and the shape and scope of guest-worker programs framed for individuals, not entire families, and not inclusive of American Constitutional “rights” absent citizenship. Finally you require that applicants for citizenship learn to speak English and swear off any prior citizenship allegiances, and then time-limit those who choose not to apply in the first place, tracking them every step of the way. Real Americans are not hyphenated. Mr. President, the current problem with your poll approval numbers is really on the Right. Go see my earlier comments on 10/04/05. JES

10/18/05 As further evidence that George W. is not a candidate in 2008, today it has been announced by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff that illegal aliens will be rounded up and sent home, no exceptions. This is very welcome news, and a huge adjustment of policy for this Administration, and for what was true of virtually all preceding Administrations. The political handwriting was on the wall; national security bigger than any partisan political issue. For years Democrats saw easy votes, and Republicans (and Libertarians) saw cheap labor, so the matter festered, unattended. Although the Mountain Observer will continue to maintain that a high steel electrified fence from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean is a necessary prerequisite to re-gain control of the border in the first place, if this new policy of zero toleration of illegals is, in fact, successfully and thoroughly implemented, a rational discussion on general immigration policy can proceed, long overdue. Meanwhile, the Border Patriots, and their successful initiatives, (see 10/09/05) can take a lot of credit for this reversal of direction. Laws, policies and procedures regarding Cuban refugees may need to be reviewed. JES

06/21/05 Mr. President, regarding the matter of John Bolton's appointment to the post of U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, it is time for you to simply seize the initiative, appoint him yourself on a "recess" status, and move on to the next order of business. Like judges, employing a similar process. Your "friends" in the Senate are disgusting, and incompetent, and it is time for you to eat some raw bear meat. JES

06/10/05 The President joins Prime Minister Tony Blair in the idea of giving billions more in aid to Africa, absent any enforceable requirement of reform. The affairs and depredations of Africans, in the absence of security threats to the United States, is the business of Africans, not the American taxpayer. Charitable aid and assistance directly to those in need, and there are millions, is a worthy endeavor on a voluntary basis, privately offered. Once again, our President's instinct of good intentions is running ahead of the charter of his office and Conservative principles, and indeed is re-enforcing the individuals and institutions in Africa that are the cause of the mayhem. Mr. President, you are acting as a Liberal "do-gooder", and the consequences will be the same. So it goes with all Republicans harboring the wish of reconciliation with lefties as retirement dawns. Notice that this instinct rarely works in reverse, evidence of the decades long institutionalization of leftist collectivism. Conservatives can claim victory at the point when these default instincts are reversed. JES

05/21/05 Many of us wonder about the recent flirtations of the Bush family with the Clintons, and are bothered. However, consider the political calculations. OJ Billyboy's top priority in life is to be loved by others, and the resurrection of his own "legacy". To be courted by this President must be an irresistible temptation, but requires moderation of left wing silliness. What does the GOP get in return? In terms of support for wild-eyed Democrats, OJ Billyboy stands castrated, and the divisions within the Left are further aggravated. What might this mean for Hillary Rodham? As things currently stand, no Democrat presidential candidate in 2008 can think of winning without rejoining the many splinters on the Left. Hillary is confronted with the need to juggle, and to fool all of the people some of the time, or is it some of the people all of the time? As the old "mainstream" media continues to collapse, her best bet may be the electoral empowerment of felons. We shall see. JES

04/20/05 At this point it appears that the President's efforts to sell his Social Security reform package has run into some strong headwinds. Predictably, it is the Republican RINO's, mainly in the Senate, who are proving unhelpful, not out of principle, but rather out of the usual absence of political courage and leadership. As has been the case all along in his foreign policy leadership in Europe and the Middle East, the President's basic proposals in behalf of saving Social Security from itself have been absolutely correct, particularly with respect to the privatization options for younger workers. Absent these reforms, the Social Security system, and perhaps the Republic itself, are headed directly at a brick wall at high speed. As for Medicare and Medicaid, largely "free" federal dollars in hands of state politicians, it may be already too late. Mr. President, carry on, we applaud your necessary courage. It has been referred to before as the loneliness of command. JES

04/16/05 Shortly after the president's re-election last fall, I commented that " Incidentally, you need a new Secretary of State. I think the best available man would be Ann Coulter"; not intended tongue in cheek. Not to criticize Collin Powell on a personal level, but rather on a professional level, as unable to grasp the significance of September 11, 2001 for American foreign policy, it was time for the President to make some long overdue adjustments in our State Department's perspectives on the world. He pointed to Dr. Condoleezza Rice. It now appears to the Mountain Observer, as the evidence accumulates, that he made an excellent choice. Dr. Rice personally appears to have made certain adjustments in her thinking, post 09/11, not without parallel to my own. Career professionals at the State Department need to get "on board", or get out. JES

04/06/05 Mr. President George W. Bush it is necessary to be very clear with you and the Republican Party about the specific issue of our border with Mexico. Mr. President, your recent words directed at the Jerry Seper's Minuteman Project volunteers describing them as "vigilante's" are understood by the Mountain Observer as a gratuitous slap in the face, not only directed at these properly patriotic Real Americans, but at all of us, including the Mountain Observer, who are responsible for putting you in office in the first place. It appears that in your view your personal friendship with Vicente Fox trumps your responsibilities as President to protect our national borders from hostel foreign insurrectionary forces, and to observe and enforce our own immigration and naturalization law. What the hell is wrong with you? I am a registered Independent, have been since 1995 when the GOP crapped out on its own "Contract with America", and this is but one example of why that is so.

I am not an enemy of Mexico, or the Mexican people. I want to see a prosperous, healthy and self sufficient Mexico, but that is a condition for the Mexican's themselves to accomplish. All the American kiss-ass, whether through NAFTA, or simple accommodation of cheap labor illegal immigration, is exactly the same, and with the same effects, as our own domestic welfare programs. All you are doing is enabling the growth of an international dependency that is corrosive to ourselves, and to the Mexicans. However, even more seriously, you are undermining our own national security by failing to control our own borders, and defaulting to an assumption of good will on the part of those, including your good "friend" Vicente Fox, who are clearly engaged in insurrectionary acts and policies against our border states, and who harbor designs against us. These are documentable facts. The next terrorist attack on this country traceable to our borders, north or south, will be the end of the GOP, to be shoveled onto the ash heap of history along with modern Democrats, and the sun will begin to emerge on a new political day in America.

Those in Congress who do not stop you in your tracks on your amnesty proposals, or who fail to insist on correction of your lackadaisical support of our beleaguered border forces, and even current American law, will all be in trouble with the Mountain Observer in 2006. In 2008, Jeb Bush is off the table, and, perhaps Tom Tancredo is on. JES

03/24/05 After the Iraqi elections in January, the Mountain Observer has noticed a disturbing trend in the literature by neo-conservatives in their analysis of the American political scene. While it is obvious to objective observers that Democrats have their problems, it is apparently less obvious to neo-cons that they do not own the discussion on the Right. I have written before on a number of occasions concerning the fractures to be found just below the surface of the American Right. At this point in time, a number of policy issues are on the table and unfolding that contain the ingredients of a "perfect storm" and collapse of GOP/Conservative "unity". Neo-cons need to cool their jets and back off an implied assumption that they are completely in charge of anything.

The Bush foreign policy program is generally moving ahead in the right direction, except for Mexico. The domestic situation is a very different story. The heart and soul of the country is torn, at the bottom, by the secularist vision of man's self-directed "reason" vs. those who recognize the existence of a Higher Authority, and neo-cons are not always on the right side of that discussion, or the discussion about our borders. JES

03/20/05 George W. Bush, in addition to whatever else he may accomplish, has already earned his place in history as a great statesman. That landmark was accomplished on January 30, 2005, in a place once known as Mesopotamia, the cradle of civilization. It has come to pass that the idea of the vote, with purple fingers held aloft, and freedom, has ignited a firestorm in the Middle East, and elsewhere, possibly including France. The President would be the first to deflect the praise rather to the American people, and our Founding Fathers. JES

03/10/05 The proposed Law of the Sea treaty. Mr. President, Sir, don't go there. It is worse than Kyoto. JES

03/10/05 There are few public policy decisions that do not include some level of compromise or political calculation. It has been almost perpetually confusing to Democrats, and the broader American Left, that the Bush Administration tends to be pretty honest and straight forward about its acts and intentions, tending to function on principle rather than the polls, a mindset not common in Washington or the Coastal States. Real Americans in the heartland can wheel and deal better than anybody else, but generally with a sense of fundamental integrity rooted in a moral base. So it is that, in addition to the substantive content of any issue at hand, that the Mountain Observer assesses Administration policy initiatives, choices and decisions for quality and lasting soundness. An almost perfect current example of my point lies with the intellectual and moral integrity of the Bolton appointment (see 03/09/05 previous). It occurs to me that it is time to establish a Mountain Observer (MO) certification of 100% compliance and agreement with MO policy and moral standards, which will be hereafter known as the Bristlecone Award (BA). Accordingly, the first such declaration goes to Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice for promoting John Bolton as our next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. JES

03/09/05 The President has made an excellent selection in his choice of John Bolton as our next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Bolton is a hard nosed no-nonsense guy concerning the U.N., as has been for years. Perfect timing. Watch Democrats continue to self destruct on this item too. JES

MO 05 01 Bush Score Card:

Excellent:

Your perseverance in Iraq. Hang tough.

Your State of the Union speech was beyond excellent.

The Iraqi elections were a success, big time.

Congratulations on the new tort reform measure that pulls the "class action" stuff up into the federal court system. This is an excellent start, however, there are additional items to be addressed, such as losers pay, for one. Requiring lawyers in public to display a warning label on themselves, on the model of cigarettes, is recommended.

Next up, making the '03 tax cuts permanent. These things must be made to happen.

Not So Good:

The thrust of your immigration and border proposals are all wrong, and beyond repair by compromise. The arrogance of certain initiatives and proposals of the Mexican government in this regard, clearly hostile to, and disrespectful of our sovereignty, are unacceptable. You can call amnesty by any other name; it is still amnesty. To condone lawbreaking as an initial step to citizenship is a peculiarity not understood by legal immigrants, or American citizens, competing in the marketplace for jobs and incomes. This business about about "certain jobs Americans won't do" is an unproven thesis framed on the wishes of those unwilling to pay for an honest day's work. The key to untangling this conundrum is to attack, reduce and eliminate regulations and tax barriers saddled on employers, including the minimum wage, that pervert employment decisions. Perhaps the price of lettuce will double; so be it. Perhaps in a properly ordered market climate, new technology will be inspired, creating new jobs that do not now exist.

The base of the Conservative movement will walk away from you, if you do not address these points.

Terrible- or even worse:

Your policies and proposals on immigration and the border, and you have allowed "homeland security" to be trumped by political correctness, multiculturalism and a fear of profiling.

The absence of any apparent plan or strategy to deal with our balance of payments problem. Herein lays the smoking time bomb of the future, and what is really at the bottom of the problem with jobs in this country.

You need to get control of the spending. We need some genuine program cuts, and the elimination of some real unnecessary nonsense. You have revealed yourself as a big government "Republicrat". STOP THE SPENDING AND SHRINK THE GOVERNMENT! In your State of the Union speech you promised budget numbers below the rate of inflation, which remains to be seen. I do not doubt the sincerity of your intentions, and I recognize the limits of political reality, but it is not enough. You could test your constitutional authority, ultimately, and refuse to release certain funding authorized by Congress. Someday, I think this will have to happen, in a big way, and I believe you would be on sound Constitutional ground to do so for federal activities that are clearly beyond the authority of the Constitution of original intent.

MO 04 08 Bush Score Card:

Excellent:

You won. Congratulations. Now in a second term the political utility of Compassionate Conservatism has lost meaning or purpose, and it is time to recognize, and act on the fact, that Liberals do not like you. Incidentally, you need a new Secretary of State. I think the best available man would be Ann Coulter.

Not So Good:

You are a nice guy.

How come we continue to financially support the Palestinian Authority? Time to let Israel use discretion.

How come we continue to support the Saudi Royal Family? Time to pull the plug and let them go to hell.

How come we haven't flattened Fallujah? Our election is over.

How come Fidel Castro is still alive?

Terrible- or even worse:

Your policies and proposals on immigration and the border, and you have allowed "homeland security" to be trumped by political correctness, multiculturalism and a fear of profiling.

MO 04 07 I approach my next point with great caution because an enormous amount of damage has already occurred in the dialog about the correctness of our policies in Iraq. My point has to do with so-called Paleo-Conservatives in general, and Patrick J. Buchanan in particular. I don't think that the discussion can be fully understood without recognizing the this particular slice of the political spectrum is directly rooted to the America Firsters of the 1930's. America First/Paleo-Conservatives distinguish themselves from the broader Conservative movement with an ongoing insistence on hard core and absolute isolationism, or perhaps more precisely, non-intervention, in foreign affairs. It has been the conventional wisdom for many that the utility of this perspective assumed instant room temperature on the morning of December 7th, 1941. It is quite evident that that is not the case. Now the fact of the matter is that as the American Nationalist Conservative that I consider myself to be, I have a great deal of intellectual sympathy for this perspective, and any careful reading of the Mountain Observer over the past several months documents that fact. My problem with the Paleo position is that it has hardened into total rigidity at the expense legitimate national security concerns that must be addressed by any responsible Commander-in-Chief in the modern world. Yes, over the years the nation has mistakenly allowed itself to become too dependant on foreign sources of energy, and this needs to be corrected. But the fact is that modern economies function on oil, and oil is a legitimate and fungible international commodity. It is also a fact that Israel legitimately and properly exists, and has every right to defend itself against those who would destroy it. It is furthermore a fact that the United States, and in my opinion the entire western world, has a stake and responsibility to ensure the ability of Israel to defend itself and survive in the face of those who would destroy her. However, more is at stake than oil and Israel. The whole of western culture is under assault by an Islamic Fascist cancer that has been mutating for years. The source of this cancer is not oil or Israel, but an Islamic ideological rejection of western freedom, American, in particular. They simply hate us for existing, which is a challenge to their world view. God is innocent; this is a matter among mankind. We did not provoke this, and this would continue to be true even if Israel was to disappear, but perceived weakness on our part certainly invites depredation and in the modern age, technology makes us vulnerable. We have a choice. We can stand by and wait to be hit first, or we can proceed preemptively to lance the infection. As a Conservative, with nationalist concerns, I prefer the latter course of action, without apologies to others who have their own interests and agendas. To stand by and await attacks is not only suicide, but it is also complicity with Evil. So it is that we come to the issue of the hated Neocons. I do not intend here to get into the origins or background of the species, other than to point out, Pat, that they represent a perspective that sheds a somewhat different light on the matter. We all know they are very Wilsonian, bright eyed and bushy tailed about democracy in every corner of the earth, not a particularly conservative line of reasoning, and not always consistent with American interests. In the Middle East, however, there is a catch. Just as in the 20th Century we found ourselves compelled to defend ourselves against statist Fascism (I know in the 1930's you didn't want to do it, and you've been mad at FDR on this point, and Churchill ever since), so it is today that we find ourselves challenged by Fascism in a new format. We are confronted by stateless Islamic terrorists, but there is a catch, and that is that they cannot function without state sponsorship (fish out of water). Hence, the Axis of Evil, a list too short. Israel has been forced to confront this same phenomena since its inception, and the cycle of violence has been un-ending. The problem is that one cannot reason or negotiate with terrorists; in self defense, they must be killed. At the same time, there would seem to be peacefully inclined portions of the Muslim/Persian world that might be neutralized by different tactics. This remains to be seen, although the election results in Afghanistan, however flawed, are encouraging. The outcome in Iraq remains to be seen. My point to my Paleo friends is, a). we cannot hide anymore, protected by two oceans, b). the types of people who will fly planes into buildings must be dealt with, c). sponsoring states of terrorism (yes, Iraq has been a sponsoring state) must be dealt with, and d). western notions of democracy might just put a dent in the mindset. You cannot arbitrarily foreclose any options. What is really disturbing to me, Pat, is that if George W. Bush should lose this election, then it would seem to me that you must share some direct responsibility. Certainly you must realize that a far Left American government, which is what we would get, will eventually invite real disaster. You have been flirting with Michael Moore, and encouraging absurd conspiracy theories, which is bazaar, and which has caused permanent damage irrespective of the outcome of this election. That fact is simply not constructive, or in my opinion Conservative. I am not interested in spreading democracy for the sake of democracy, an idea with problems of its own. I am receptive to using the proven tools of western (read American) thought as utilities in the protection of our national security interests, and at times that may include the notion that ballots are better than shredders, and female voters are better than Uday and Qusay Saddam in guiding a resolution of Iraqi torments. Not all of these initiatives may work, but, then again, one might be surprised. In any event, the entire region will never be the same again, which at the very least is the basic idea. Finally, I would stipulate that there is a moral component in all of this that, as a Catholic, I am compelled to observe. Inaction or temporizing and failure to take account can be a form of complicity with Evil; there is debate within the Church itself on this matter. God Bless George W. Bush.

FMOWEB 110-101 TOPICAL GUIDE AMERICAN POLITICS GEORGE W. BUSH