Obama wants summit with Muslim countries...

PARIS (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama told a French magazine in an interview that if he wins office, he will hold a summit with Muslim countries to better the United States' image in the world.

"Once I'm elected, I want to organize a summit in the Muslim world, with all the heads of state, to have an honest discussion about ways to bridge the gap that grows every day between Muslims and the West," Thursday's edition of Paris Match quoted Obama as saying,

"I want to ask them to join our fight against terrorism. We must also listen to their concerns," Obama said in the French-language transcript.

The Illinois senator is running neck-and-neck against senator Hillary Clinton from New York to lead the Democratic ticket in November's presidential election.

Surveys around the world show high levels of anti-Americanism in the aftermath of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Negative opinions are strongest in the Muslim world, according to the Pew Research Center.

(Reporting by Brian Rohan)

So Obama is concerned with what the Muslim countries think of us. Is he basing his concern off of the people of the US? Am I concerned what Muslim countries think of us? Not the slightest bit. In fact, I'm more concerned about that cow I saw this morning who was trying to cross a creek bed to get to some hay, than I am with the Muslim countries liking us. And also notice who Obama told this to...yes, a FRENCH interviewer. So Obama is already getting in bed with the French AND the Muslims. Wow, I can't think of any other two groups of people that I just can't wait to get more involved with....ha ha ha ha ha ha....yeah I couldn't hold that one in.

Am I way off base here with my thinking, or does the majority of this country actually care what they think. My opinion, they're lucky we still talk to them. It's people stemming from their religion that is causing all of the crap right now. They should be the ones standing up and saying it's not right but we're having to do their job for them. Too bad all of Obama's young followers, who think they are sophisticated-next leaders of tomorrow-type people but are really just uninformed hippies, don't realize this stuff. They can't read past that first level of BS and they can't put 2 and 2 together to see what all of this really means for us. I know those types and they all live in a fantasy world.

The Democratic Reponse to the SotU Address...

LOL....the lady started off by saying "I'm a Democrat". WOW...really? The fact that this is called the DEMOCRATIC RESPONSE didn't give that away! LOL...LOL...HA HA HA HA HA. Good job Pelossi, way to pick 'em.

Oh yes...this little response speech is a wake-up call to the country! Everyone listen. ***snore, snore, snore***

People are loosing their jobs? Get a better education
People are loosing their homes? Ummm....QUIT BUYING SHAT YOU CAN'T AFFORD
People are not being able to pay their bills? Yup, ditto from above.

So you guys want the President to sign the bill to give "10 million kids healthcare"...ok...how about you sleeze balls quit hiding BS spending and ridiculous requests in the bill. Can anybody say line-item veto?

Why is she talking about Greensburg, Kansas? Congratulations, your town rebuilt after a tornado. Hey lady...have you ever heard of New Orleans? Biloxi? Gulf Shores? Oh...yeah you're right...you probably haven't heard of the those last two. All the low lives who can't live without government support live in New Orleans.

The last 5 years have cost us many lives? Yup, and us Americans who were born with red, white, and blue blood running through our veins go to sleep every night thanking GOD that he blessed us with such brave, courageous, and selfless people to provide us with the greatest protection and security that will EVER walk the face of this planet. How about you Democrats try this for once?

I swear...if this lady says "We ask you Mr. President to join us" one more time, I am going to find a way to jump through my television, come out her teleprompter that she is so blatantly reading from, and wring her neck.

She says "God bless"....yeah...would you like to finish that statement lady??? God bless WHAT? Hmmm??? WHAT? Didn't want to say "God Bless America" did you. Anti-Christ communist. Woops...did I say that out loud?

Oh yeah...and yes Bush...the "No Child Left Behind Act" IS working...you're right. I saw a 9th grader with a mustache buying cigs and a 12-pack in the convenience store. Good job. Somebody ought to tell them that in private business...there is no "No Worker Left Behind Act". If you can't cut it...you get cut. The day somebody comes up with the "No Quarterback Left Behind Act" we know we are in REAL serious trouble. I could just see 1/2 of the Atlanta Falcons roster being made up of the sucky QB's that find their way to the city because they can't be cut from the team because of lack of skills and lack of willingness to learn new skill.

Ok, I'm going to finish reading Stephen Colbert's "I Am America and So Can You". I highly recommend it...but it's a tough book to read while you are trying to wind down for bed...it's pretty funny.

The State of the Union Address...

...looks like a 1st grade classroom full of bratty kids split on both sides of the room because one side wants to play basketball at recess and the other wants to play dodgeball. I think it's hilarious that the Democrats, who are sitting on the Presidents' right side of the room, hardly ever stand or clap when the Republicans do. Bush just said something about properly funding the troops and non of them stood up. They just sit there like whiny little kids and have a stupid look on their face that makes me want to slap them.

Ok, I do have to say, I know Bush won't go down for the greatest speaking President...but I think he said my favorite line tonight about the 2001 tax cuts. He was saying that he urged Congress to pass the bill making the tax cuts permanent because the 116 million people that are currently saving on average $1,800 a year in taxes would appreciate it and for those who are against it, "...the IRS takes checks and money orders"...ha ha ha! Good one Bush...that was actually funny...I liked it. He kind of stuck one to the opposing Democrats with that one. Oh funny stuff.

Did anybody else's television screen suffer a weird blackout spot just to the right of where President Bush's head was on your screen. I think there was a really scary looking bony faced witch sitting there????? Not sure....just sayin. I like how Pelossi kept reading the program (or whatever it was) the whole time. Good ol' Ted Kennedy was doing so as well.

Oops...no President Bush...I don't think "Freeer" is a word. "More free" would probably have been more appropriate. I could be wrong, and for the sake of the failure of the "Bushisms" calendars, I hope I am wrong.

Hehe...Pelossi and the Democrats are the first to stand up when he mentions anything that results in giving our money to other countries because they can't develop their own economies like we did here in the Red, White, and Blue. They're quick to applaud acts of "world charity"...whatever. I'm working on my letter to my Congressman right now...here is what I have so far...

Dear Congressman,

Is it possible to ensure me that my tax money doesn't get sent to anymore foreign nations? Unless of course it is by way of a nuclear warhead and it is making it's appearance in the hell hole some people like to call the "Middle East".

Thanks.

Immigration...so they want to know the PROPER way to carry on immigration and what immigrants should be like. How about we examine the way that our great-great-grandparents came to this country. They did so with honor. They did so because they felt that they could do a better job running a country. They did so willing to risk anything and everything. They created a great country in result of it. The illegal MEXICANS (the shoe fits) just want to get a free ride and NOTHING more. The longer we let them do this...the bigger the slap in the face it is to our ancestors and founding fathers. I hope people realize this.

Yes..."God Bless the USA"...that's right Bush...good job.

Oh fun...now for the "Democratic Response"...something along the lines of "blah blah blah, we're stupid donkey sphincters, blah blah blah, we are socialists" can be expected. Ok, gotta let the typing fingers rest...3 minutes and counting down.

Another Global Warming Issue...

So China is experiencing record snowfall right now and has been for the past week or so. It is basically putting the country in a stranglehold by shutting down train stations, delaying airports, closing highways, delaying food and supply trucks, etc. According to several sources, this is China's WORST weather event in the last 20-50 years and among the most severe snowfall the country has EVER seen.

So, I just wanted to thank Global WARMING for this huge dramatic snowfall. It's so amazing that a global WARMING trend can cause this widespread 2 foot blanket of snow to have fallen over extremely large areas. I mean, who would NOT have thought that a massive WARMING trend would continue to produce record snowfalls on different parts of the globe year after year....silly me...I thought warming trends meant INCREASED temperatures meaning LESS snow but I was wrong.

Oh yeah, last week Atlanta, GA experienced 2 winter events within 3 days. That hasn't happened for at least 25 years. To top that off, this past Friday night we received yet another "winter" event with a sleet mixture falling over central and north GA.

In conclusion, Global Warming is causing record snowstorms all over the globe year after year.

"Tax Refunds"???...

...or is it a tax advance? Watch out and read the fine print closely. This $800 per taxpayer/$1,600 per family check that is being called a tax refund may have a dumbed-down title so most of society can understand it. This check may be an advance on the taxes you will be refunded/liable for the 2008 year. I'm only saying this because I am not yet clear on whether this will be a free and clear check (other than having to report it as income) or if it will be basically an interest free loan on your taxes. You're going to have to do your own research here. I'm still trying to find out myself.

So, the idea behind the refund checks (we'll just call 'em that for now) is to "boost" the economy. So they are going to give the boost a $150 BILLION dollar boost by doing this. Wanna know how the economy will get a bigger boost EVERY DAY? FAIR TAX! Let me just throw a few notes your way.

-Total cost of complying with current tax code is about $1.1 BILLION per DAY. Roughly $400 Billion per year. If this was not being spent on complying with our stupid tax code, where would it end up? The economy.

-So they want to help business owners put money back into the growth of their business. Well, what about the roughly $12 TRILLION dollars being sent off of our shores. "Offshore" investments. That could be money brought back here if the tax code is simplified to the Fair Tax. Basically, our tax code scares away $12 TRILLION from our economy.

The Fair Tax would be an easier, less convoluted solution to this stuff. They wouldn't have to "boost" the economy by sending every tax payer a check because the economy would already have that money in it.

Oh yeah...and the Democrats are trying to make this out to be against the poor...big surprise huh? The refunds are supposed to go to all "tax payers". Even if a poor person has a job making VERY little and pays no taxes, they still pays into Social Security. The D's are saying this isn't fair to them. Their logic (ha ha...I made a funny) is that the poor are still paying into "the tax system". Well, SS is NOT a tax so sorry, your bucket doesn't hold water. It's supposed to be money that comes back to us. So what are the D's saying? They are either saying that 1) we are NOT going to get our SS back because it's going freakin bankrupt or 2) they think the poor people deserve $800 each when they didn't even pay into the tax system. I think they are saying both.

Whatever...I'm going to move my money to Hong Kong and then buy a nice little house on an island in the Caribbean.

Let Me Clarify....

My previous post on Mitt Romney is NOT an indication that I support him. I just figured since I didn't know too much about him, and I saw some things that I liked about him, that I would do some high-level research and post the information. It has been brought to my attention that he is not a big supporter of the 2nd amendment and contrary to what he says, his actions show he is soft on illegal immigration. If this is true, I will not support him and that would suck to me because I think from a business standpoint, he could have what it takes to financially turn this country around. Looks like Huckabee is still my front-runner. I almost feel as this Presidential election is like we are trying to assemble a winning dodgeball team from all the fat kids left off the other teams. (Not to offend any "overly healthly" people...but it was the best analogy I could think of)

So Who Do I Support???

Well, I'm still deciding. Very early on, I was all for Rudy. Next I moved on to Huckabee. Now, although I haven't abandoned the Huckster...I think I am liking what Mitt Romney has to offer. Up until within the past few days, I knew relatively little about Romney. I'm not going to go through his whole belief system so if you want all the details then please click here and go to the "ISSUES" tab.

Anyways, I think Romney could bring some good change to Washington. Mitt and I, we share some common feelings on certain issues. Overall, Mitt is a smart and proven business man and I think that is what we need right now. He has his MBA from Harvard Business school, served as the CEO of the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, and was a VP of one of the nations leading management consulting firms, and founded one of the nations most successful venture capital and investment firm.

Energy: He supports drilling in ANWR and increasing our offshore drilling to become self supportive. Currently, we use 25% of the worlds oil supply but we only posses about 1.7% of the crude oil supply. This doesn't make any sense...we are using more than we have available. This is simple....business fail if they do this...as will we if the US doesn't correct this problem. He also supports investing in the future methods of energy consumption. We agree here.

Homeland Security: He wants to increase the size of the military by 100,000 and change our military perspective from responsive to preventative. We agree here too...kick theirs before they kick ours.

Combating Jihad Terrorism: He actually has a plan and recognizes this is a threat. Done deal. He wants a special Army task force to be created to help governments combat Jihad terrorists. He also recognizes that there is a nuclear threat now. Good, some other people won't do that until one is used on somebody...then it's too late.

Economy: Here is where I think he could do a lot of good. Although he is not a "Fair Tax" supporter, I like his ideas which sadly may be more practical for right now. He wants to reduce the tax rates across ALL tax brackets. He also wants to completely eliminate taxes on interest, dividends, and capital gains for anybody with an adjusted gross income of less than $200,000. This would mean no more "double-taxation" for those affected. Corporations are taxed on income and then again when they distribute income to their owners. This would be a great step towards giving us more savings freedom. He will make the Bush tax cuts permanent....these were good tax cuts. He wants to eliminate the "death" tax so families can pass their assets along to younger generations without the government sticking their dirty hands in the pass-along. There is NO reason for that. One of the really big things is he wants to lower the corporate income tax. Overall, he wants taxes to be more simple, flat, and lower. He also wants to implement a national tort reform to get rid of frivolous lawsuits against businesses. Case in point, stupid people who don't realize their coffee is HOT won't be able to sue McDonalds anymore.

Government Spending: Romney wants to tear Washington apart on their ridiculous spending. He says that if a CEO or CFO spent money like Washington does...they would be fired, so why is Washington still getting away with it. He will institute the line-item veto. No longer will politicians be able to attach their ridiculous spending habits to larger important spending bills like when the Democrats pulled the dirty trick earlier this year of attaching an important spending need to a troop withdrawl from Iraq. Hands are tied when they do this. He also wants to enact spending limits...wait...oh yeah...this is called a BUDGET! Wow...what a concept. I really think this would be one of his strongest points that is desperately needed right now in order for other areas of concern to be improved as well.

Illegal Immigration: He made a good point. Eliminate the magnets and the attraction goes away. Start penalizing employers for hiring illegals. Create a national non-citizen database to track the illegals. He does NOT favor amnesty and he is in favor of a border fence. I agree with his anti-amnesty idea but I'm not sure if it's feasible. I wish it was, but I don't know about that.

Health care: He is in favor of expanding and deregulating the private health care industry. This means increased competition...increased competition equals lower prices and more accessibility. This is opposed to the Democrats' plan of a federal health care system. He would also like to make all health care expenses tax deductible. Currently, I believe they are NOT deductible until your expenses hit over 7% of your AGI.

Society: He is really big on protecting this nations' children. No more second chances for sex offenders when children are involved. He wants to crack down on Internet schenanigans. He believes in old-fashioned American values that the USA was founded upon.

Education: I am a big supporter of his policies here. He wants the federal government to loose control over how states, parents, and teachers run the schools. He wants school choice programs to be enacted. This is yet another example of his strong backing of competition and the good that is brings. He wants to promote math and sciences to ensure that US students are able to compete in the job market. Romney supports performance-based pay for teachers. This is how everybody else is payed outside the government and it works. My wife is a teacher, during her orientation she was handed a pay schedule outlining what she will make and when. Wow, not much of an incentive to improve is it? He also believes in home school tax credits for families who home school their children. Makes sense to me.

So, hopefully this shed some light on Mitt Romney for you. Now, whether or not he can become the Republican nominee is a different story. I think he will run into problems because he isn't as well known as McCain. It's a shame too.

The GWINNETT BRAVES!!!!

Sorry, but I'm excited about this...no, I'm ecstatic about it! It was just announced that the Gwinnett Braves will be playing in a new $38 million dollar stadium that will be built by Gwinnett County. It will be located at 2500 Buford Drive in a new live, work, play complex that will occupy from the Publix to the Racetrac on Hwy 20. They wasted no time getting a website up...for those who care...click here!

I'm checking to see what kind of "front office" finance positions will be available! Oh yes!
Oh yeah, have I mentioned I'm excited???

To give you guys an idea of ticket prices....season tickets (72 home games) in the LOWER level in their current stadium are only $432 a seat....that is $6 a game for lower level!!! Now that is some inexpensive family fun right there! That's cheaper than a freaking rip-off movie ticket! (Don't even get me started on that...)

Shame on YOU, Perdue

"Gov. Sonny Perdue indicated Tuesday morning his opposition to the National Rifle Association's attempt to pass legislation allowing Georgians to have guns in their cars at work."

Full story here http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/stories/2008/01/15/perdue_0115.html?cxntlid=homepage_tab_newstab

Thanks Pudgy Perdue. Way to uphold and solidify the 2nd Amendment. His argument is that allowing citizens to keep guns in their car infringes upon employers property rights. Well, MY car is an extension of MY home. Therefor, while MY car is parked in the employers public access lot I have a little personal property bubble floating around my car. But that's just how I see it.

In case you don't know, your car is an extension of your home, or your personal property of which in Georgia, we have the right to defend with deadly force. The "Castle Doctrine" allows us to do this. So, if in other laws our cars are considered a stretch of our home, and we can defend our "castles" with deadly force, I ask you this Perdue...why can we NOT defend our cars (in which case we are usually defending our lives) with deadly force too?

Perdue obviously felt the pressures of liberal and anti-gun business leaders on this one. In the past, Georgia has always been considered, like Perdue said, a "friend" of the NRA. Looks like we just pissed of a friend.

Richmond Braves Coming to Gwinnett!!!

Well it looks like Gwinnett County's image for being a "Sports Town" has drawn another professional team to the area. The Atlanta Braves are moving their top minor league AAA team, the Richmond (Virginia) Braves to Gwinnett County. As a matter of fact, a press conference is scheduled in about 1.5 hours to lay out all the details. Early reports indicate the new stadium will be built on Hwy 20/Buford Dr. near the Mall of Georgia next to I-85. Yes, the traffic will suck even worse on game days and nights. Move if you don't like it. Due to the overwhelming success of the Gwinnett Gladiators (which I happened to name :) ) and the previous success of the Arena Football team the Georgia Force, several sports consulting firms named Gwinnett County as a Top 3 Prospect for a minor league baseball team.

This is very exciting to me, as I'm sure it is to all other Braves fans. From what I hear, and if minor league hockey and AFL football is any indication, minor league baseball is a lot of fun to watch. Some good things we can expect are ticket prices that top out at around $12 with $5 "general" seating available in the outfield lawn. Well, not IN the outfield, but on the other side of the fence...you know what I mean. Total seating should be around 7,500 with 5,500 being permanent reserved seating (like Turner Field) and 1,500 being outfield lawn seats. The remaining 500 will come from private suites and boxes. I'm sure we can expect nothing less than a world class, high-tech, fun stadium to enjoy these games in. To top it all off, we can expect a league leading team on the field as the Richmond Braves won their "World Series" last year and are usually a top performer. The Braves organization is often considered one of the top organizations for young prospects in their minor leagues and with the AAA team as the last stop before playing in Turner Field (that gives me goose pimples to think about), these guys are playing their hearts out to show that they belong.

So, to make this relevant to my blog...this will have quite an economic and social impact on the area and Gwinnett County as a whole. Tax revenue could be around half a million a year for the county. Hundreds of jobs will be created for the community. Up to $7 million in consumer spending could be seen each year. And we would have yet another team contributing to the community.

Now, when all said and done I get the Department of Transportation will be wishing they had made Hwy 20 into an 8-lane highway and I will be lobbying to get my mini-helicopter license.

I'm Back!!!

After almost an 8 month down-time for the blog...I'm back with more fun and fury than ever before! Just in time for election coverage too...