Race and thinking

Frankly, VUI is sick and tired or racial issues in today's politics.  The issue of race is everywhere, whether you want it to be or not.  

It is found in both parties.  Neither wants to admit it, but it is there.  The Democrats run ads on African American radio stations talking about the Republicans bringing back "chains" and the like.  The Republicans peddle even softer racism in their campaign rhetoric.  

Whatever the source, it is sickening to VUI.  VUI remains a conservative website, with conservative ideas to tout, but racism is not our deal.  Indeed, as true conservatives, we believe that racism is waste of energy and resources.  We believe the promise of freedom and limited government is for everyone.  We call black men friends and brothers.  We live what we write.

But, we are smart enough to know that not everyone wants the promise of freedom and limited government to be for all.  There are elements, especially in the upstate, that just downright hate hispanics and blacks.  While true conservatives look for ways to get government out of the way, the haters look to use government to get in the way of those who they hate. They even want to change our constitution because they are afraid of hispanic babies being born as citizens.

It is both ironic and frustrating to a true conservative.  Think on it.  The policies of President Obama are something any true conservative would oppose, but a true conservative would also oppose the flat ignorance of those who hate having a black President.  The bull manure about the President not really being the President is an example. 

It is a damn mess that has left the GOP divided.  Republicans, like VUI, with a brain, like Newt Gingrich.  Gingrich thinks out his statements and is respectful of the President of the United States.  If you got a conservative brain, Gingrich is the type of guy you would back.  Gingrich has the ideas but also the respect that true conservatives have for someone elected by the people to the office of President of the United States.  


But, we do not live in a Gingrich world.  We live in a Palin world. Sarah Palin does not have respect for her local postmaster, but she gets popular acclaim.  She is dumb as a rock in so many ways, but she is white and hot.  So, Republicans love her, even if it means suicide at the polls.


That goes back to race.  Bobby Jindal is running Louisiana in crisis.  But, his skin is a little bit dark and he has that problem of thinking like Newt.  So, the GOP just seems inept. 


But, the GOP has one ace in the hole, named Nikki Haley.  If that that dark skinned woman gets elected Governor of SC, watch out.  Black children in Allendale will be left out, but Haley will become a star.  Wait and see.  Afterall, she is not black, she is Indian.  Her religion over the years is the only thing that might get Bubba to ask, "what the $%&?"


But, Haley does not have to worry about all that, she is a Republican.  Republicans can be white, black or biracial.  That is just how things are.  VUI thinks it is a good thing.  We love to see people of various racial backgrounds seek their  party out of their own conscious.  That is how we roll. 


But, so many do not roll that way.  From little league sports to big time politics, far too many South Carolinians are geared in race. They see race and hate at every move.  Far too often they are right.  Let's just be frank here.  Far too many state and local politicians act to keep people of color out of things.  That is the hard cold truth.  Their discrimination is not conservative.  Indeed, hit hampers the ideals of freedom of true conservatism.  Racists cloak themselves in conservatism while holding the big government notion of keeping certain people "in their places." 


The problem is that way of thinking just does not work anymore in this world.  We need the best and brightest competing, regardless of their race or whatever.  That is life today.  Whether you run a youth sports team or a major business, discrimination is the one thing what will shut you down and leave you a loser.  That is how the real world of today rolls.  Thank God. 


VUI will later address why we think it is not a bad thing that someone can be born an American.  That dadgummed constitution just appeals to us.

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Tax increases will not lead to economic development, but Obama still wants you and your money

Somewhere along the way in the past few decades, politics and economic policy got confused.  Democrats somehow have been led to believe that to eschew smart economic and tax policy is somehow the key to social enlightenment.  Republicans think the same in reverse.  They want to see the Democrats wreck the economy so they can win office.


Think on it people.  The smart thing to do in regards to the tax cuts about to expire at the end of this year is not only extend them but to target more tax cuts to stimulate the economy.  Unless Congress and the President act, taxes will go up on January 1st for each and every American, including those who invest.  Playing politics with such is dangerous to the country and flat stupid. 


Liberals, in their desire for so called social justice have tied their beliefs in things like gay rights and abortion to tax policy.  Such is done is stark ignorance.  But, it causes Democrats to believe the fallacy that we can tax our way to economic prosperity and balanced budgets.  Frankly put, that can not and will not happen.  Hoover, a Republican, tried that course in the late 1920s, to disaster.  


The only way to balance the federal budget is through economic growth.  The only way at this time to grow the economy is to cut taxes.  Forget the social issues and the hot button issues that make people lockstep in their agendas.  People have to have money in their pockets to spend and invest in the free market.  


Let's start with capital gains tax, the taxes people pay for daring to invest or for inheriting something like their parents home and then selling it.  Nothing punishes entrepreneurial spirit like the capital gains tax. Letting such a tax dramatically increase is bad enough. But, what ought to be done is an elimination of it.  People should be rewarded  with no tax burden for investing in American business at this time.  Giving people that incentive will work to create businesses, jobs and a way out of this economic mess we are in.  


But, alas, it seems we are not to have that.  The Democrats have illogically tied their social agenda to tax policy and seem ignorant of the consequences.  The Republicans, with no real leadership, seem to just list and be happy to see the Democrats fail.  Fair enough.  


But, someone needs to tell the truth about things.  So, we will try to.  Throughout the world, the long history of capitalism has proven one thing:  a government can not cut its spending and increase its taxes and hope for economic prosperity.  The numbers are there.  They are telling.  Forget the social agendas.  Look at reality.  Taxes have to not only be kept at current levels, but the capital gains tax must be eliminated.  We compete in the world market now.  That is how people who are serious about competing reward investment.  That is how success is done in this world.  


Of course, there is another tract.  The President of the United States and Democrats in Congress can allow a huge tax increase on all Americans, including those who invest in business, and then sit and watch the American economy go the way of Brazil.  Again, deciding to not do such is not a repudiation of the social agenda of the Democratic party, it instead would be something to enable it to go forward.  All the ideas that Obama and his like have in mind can not come to pass without revenue, and the way to big revenue is economic development paid for by tax decreases, not increases.  


Reagan knew that. Both Roosevelts knew it.   John F. Kennedy knew that.  But, odds are Barack Obama and the people around him probably don't have an idea of what in the Hell we are talking about.  They are going to thump their chest at letting the "George W. Bush" tax cuts expire.  So be it.  But, their partisanship clouds their judgment about what ought to be done.  So much for smart people running things.  We seem to have political hacks who could not even pass Econ 101.

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RIP Ted Stevens

Former President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate and longtime Senator from Alaska, Ted Stevens was killed recently, along with four others, in a plane crash.  Among the survivors of the plane crash are former NASA head Sean O'Keefe and O'keefe's son.  

According to published reports, the party on the plane were flying to a fishing camp when something went tragically wrong.  Such trips are typical this time of year in Alaska.  Various published reports have included information about hard the rescue of the survivors was.  

Ted Stevens was Alaska's and the Republican Party's longest serving Senator.  South Carolina's Strom Thurmond served longer than Stevens, but not as a Republican.  

Stevens was touted as "Mr. Alaska," but was not without controversy.  Stevens was convicted of ethics charges and afterward lost a close election to self professed conservative Democrat Mark Begich, then the Mayor of Anchorage in November of 2008, bringing a close to forty years of service in the United States Senate by Mr. Stevens.  In 2009, Stevens's conviction was set aside.

Despite that loss, Stevens remained a popular figure in Alaska. Though in his mid eighties, Stevens remained active and engaged.  Indeed there is something to be said for dying in an Alaskan plane crash at age 86 on an outdoor adventure.  

That said, there are other ironies that abound in this story that are unique to Alaska.  Senator Begich, among the first to praise the service of Stevens upon the news of his death, lost his own father, a member of Congress, to a plane crash in Alaska some years ago.  Further, Stevens survived a plane crash decades ago in Alaska that killed his wife.  

That is the harsh nature of our 50th state.  It's unforgiving nature is as notable as its natural resources and beauty.  Thus, Alaska delivered an ironic, yet fitting end to the life of the man who perhaps served it longer and better than any other.  May God be with the Stevens family and the families of the other victims of the crash.

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Charlie Rangel melts down

We at VUI have always had some admiration for Charlie Rangel, a Democratic member of the US House from New York.  While we rarely agree with Congressman Rangel, he has always been an interesting character in a political world filled with consultant managed blowhards.  

That is one reason VUI was disappointed when Charlie Rangel got caught up in a real estate based ethics scandal.  We had hoped he was an honest liberal.  

But, Charlie Rangel did not disappoint us on entertainment recently.  While the consultant ran politicos would be quick to fall on their swords for the President and the Democratic Leadership, Rangel took the House floor to go on a defiant rant.  Watch the video below.  Wow.  The guy has audacity in his old age, if not ethics. 

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Top 9 reasons Voting under the Influence will continue to operate

9) The taxpayers are generous enough to give internet access to prison inmates. 

8) If Jakie Knotts and Bobby Harrell wish you were dead, you gotta be doing something right. 

7) It brings the Sanford family together.  Both Jenny and Mark hate our guts. 

6) Admit it men, your sex lives are better after your wives read this website. 

5) Death threats and likewise insults make our day. 


4) RINO to us means "really irritating numbnuts online."


3) Somebody has to have the guts to ask if Nikki Haley knows the Kuma Sutra. 


2) Heavy consumption of 100 proof bourbon has to go to some good use. 


1) We have shades and we are on a mission from God. Deal with it.

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Haley is not "one of us."

Nikki Haley raced to the Republican nomination for Governor as a candidate who was one of the people.  For whatever reason, Haley was seen as the candidate who was one of us, striving to do good. However, as the glare of the Fall campaign starts to shine upon Haley, it looks like she is not one of us.  

First, there are the late tax payments.  Frankly, that does not bother VUI.  Small business people pay their taxes late and make arrangements with the IRS and the South Carolina Department of Revenue.  Such is to many the course of business.  So, revelations about accountant Haley not paying taxes on time was ho hum at best.  

But, then there were other issues that just stand out and make clear Nikki Haley is not "one of us," she is "one of them."  Take for example the fact that her family income in one recent year was only $40,000.  There is nothing wrong with that.  South Carolina families make do on less.  But, what is striking about Haley is that with that limited income, she was able to finance a $300,000 mortgage and a $100,000 line of credit.  

Think about that, people.  In a time when people who have never missed a payment in their lives are denied refinance mortgages because their home value has went down or their income to debt ratio is too high, Haley and her family were able to go in debt ten times the amount of their income.  Try doing that without holding political office and power and see how well you do.  

Of course, political power does have its perks.  One of them is making money. Haley did dramatically increase her family income by working as a "consultant" for an engineering firm that does business with the state of South Carolina.  How many people who show up at tea party gatherings and the like are able to "consult" on such a level? 

 It is something to think about. Nikki Haley has campaigned on being of the people, but her personal finances show she is not of the people at all.  Forget the taxes.  Just look at the loans approved and the consulting fees, and ask yourself if you or your family could have it so well?  Indeed it appears that Nikki Haley turned her service in the SC House into a cash cow.  Haley is not "one of us."  


Haley has taken advantage of her position for personal gain, a trait that goes against conservative ideals.  Further, her big loans and consulting fees are far removed from the average guy who wants government limited, but struggles to pay the power bill.  That guy scrambles to keep the lights on and food on the table while Haley uses her position, paid for by that guy's tax dollars, to get sweetheart loans and big consulting fees.  


Nope, Haley is not one of us.  She's one of them.  She preaches against big government while using government to feather her own nest.  One can only imagine what will be for sale come next January. 

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What it was was football

Football season is upon us.  Practice has started for most teams.  Couple football with a little needed down time, and the next week or so is going to be slow at VUI.  But, we do want to offer you this classic about the great game.  Politics comes back full forced soon enough. 


 

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