This Just in

Quick update on the previous post.

Turns out when we cited the current level of the National Debt at $17 trillion, we were a step behind.
Last week the ante got upped to $18 Trillion. We need some slack to be cut. After all, everything, except maybe the price of real estate, seems to lag the rest of the country down here in the tropics.

$18 Trillion is mucho dinero no matter how you slice it. To paraphrase the late Everett Dirksen, "A trillion here, a trillion there, pretty soon, you're talking real money". Poor old Everett was talking in millions. He must be spinning in his grave.

For an agonizing analysis of how this breaks down to the individual level, check out This Site. And the Deficit Monster doesn't just sit there waiting quietly for a far-off, day of reckoning, it demands to be fed on a regular and current basis.  Last year we spent a cool $430 Billion on interest payments, and that reflected the artificially low, by historic standards, interest rates. Just wait until the Fed unleashes the rates.

The Left has long been accused of promoting a tax and spend approach to government. Obama has stood this on its head by cranking up the USA "credit card" first and then telling us we need to pay a little more in taxes to pay for "infrastructure". We used to think that Obama must have dozed his way through the economic classes during his Ivy League education. We now realize that he had a much more sinister plan in mind. We, and subsequent generations will be paying for Obama's presidency long after he has left the White House and is banking those $200,000 + speaking fees on the lecture circuit.

Peggy and Mitt

Peggy, Peggy, Peggy!!

We love Peggy Noonan, we really do, even when she goes off the reservation from time to time.

Writing in Saturday’s WSJ, she starts with a riff on whether governors or senators have what it takes to make the better president given the questionable premise that governors are better versed in domestic issues, but are at sea when it comes to foreign affairs.  Conversely, senators are seen to acquire more exposure, and presumably, expertise in the diplomatic realm, but are weak on domestic issues.

The waters get muddier when it is asserted that governors, for some reason, can more easily shore up their weak side than senators. In an effort at counterpoint to these assumptions I give you Messrs. Obama and Kerry and Ms. Clinton. All three have been senators but apparently didn’t get the memo on their accumulated foreign affairs expertise. We would argue that an evaluation of their collective diplomatic abilities is not improved even if we assume, as does Dinesh D’Souza, that the foreign relations goal of the current administration is to drag America down from world power status to world-class has been. Surely having the British prime Minister lobby the U.S. Senate on behalf of the president’s Iran strategy, is a new low.

We now get to the meat of Peggy’s piece, and his name is Mitt Romney.

Peggy’s credentials as a Reaganophile, of course, date back to her service in the Reagan administration and frankly, she has a lot of company, including ourselves. Her argument that Mitt Romney is no Ronald Reagan, while true, should also point out that Reagan clones are also non-existent among the rest of the list of possible 2016 presidential candidates. We are not sure that even a reincarnated Ronald Reagan could measure up to his own prior record.

One of the greatest failures of the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave is the way he has divided the country. Liberals vs. conservatives, haves vs. have nots and who would argue that there has been an improvement in race relations during his term and a half? We could go on.

When Peggy tells us that there is not, and never will be, anything like Romneyism, we see this as a backhanded smack against Mitt’s conservative bona-fides. We would argue that what is needed in a president is not another end-of-spectrum ideologue, but rather a well-organized and experienced manager who might be able to reign in of an almost out-of-control administration as reflected by a national debt in excess of $17 Trillion!

First of all, the government must be fiscally brought to heel by bringing back an effective budget control system. Living within our means may sound trite, but ignoring it has been putting us on the road to fiscal perdition.

As a supplementary effort, the federal agencies must be nudged back to their stated functions. The I.R.S., the Justice Department and the veterans Administration are a few for starters. Rahm Emanuel has said that the federal government is grown to the point that it is uncontrollable. We think he is right if the Chief Executive with the constitutional mandate to do the controlling has little administrative skill beyond neighborhood organizing. America is full of large entities that are generally well-managed. If anyone can prove Rahm Emanuel wrong, Mitt is the guy.

As far as any perceived lack of foreign affairs expertise is concerned, revisiting Mitt’s comments from the last campaign shows that this ex-governor knows a thing or two about the rest of the world. Moreover, it could be argued that the real problem with our diplomatic relations stems not from a lack of execution, but rather a mush-headed set of assumptions about America’s international strategy. A re-instatement of the country’s core values could go a long way towards putting our diplomatic relations back on an even keel. And as Peggy has told us. Mitt, as a former governor, has a natural leg up in getting up to speed in this area

Three Times Lucky?

One of the unfortunate downsides of infrequent postings is that in the absence of new stuff, the last piece hangs out there fronting the site for as long as it takes. In terms of current status, the pic of Monica reclining on a couch has been in place since May 7th, and this photo, like every other aspect of the seemingly  unsinkable "Sphere of the Clintons", is, as supported by the New York Times, incredibly exhausting. Our apologies.

While the thought of Hillary becoming the next U.S. President is problematical from a political perspective, she couldn't possibly do worse than occupant of the White House. But the prospect of four years, if not more, of the daily media drivel of the continuing Clinton  saga, starring Bill, Chelsea, the new grandbaby and co-stars yet to be named, all overseen by Hillary channeling her parallel truth universe, is painful to contemplate.

So the question becomes, who would we rather see as president? While many people might be tempted to answer, "anybody", the question requires deeper consideration, especially if we envision that this country will be in when Barry finally leaves town. And, arguably, this exercise in collective soul searching applies to voters of all stripes.

Recently Mitt Romney has been touted as a possible candidate. As much as we would like to see Mitt run, I'm not sure that he and his family could withstand the process for a third time. And Mitt was our man last two times around. This would be a lot to ask of anyone.

But given the current condition of the U.S. Government, we clearly need someone capable of putting the house in order. Before introducing any more grand schemes, the new president must take the necessary steps to regain fiscal control. And we should not  dismiss the concept that the first step to solving a problem is admitting that the problem exists. The budgeting process, not continuing resolutions, must be re-introduced and government spending brought into line with the runaway deficit. Federal Agencies, starting with the Justice Department must be brought to heel. Organizations like the IRS, the VA Homeland Security, Border Control, and even the recently-politicized U.S. Patent Office, all must be brought back to their basic mission. The President cannot do this all alone. The Cabinet, and senior administrative positions, must be filled with capable managers that are able to execute in accordance with specific directives. Can we say "delegate"?

Lacking a president who would at least make a forceful attempt at restoring a significant measure of fiscal and administrative sanity, especially if we hire another Progressive, not hindered by reality, the outlook is bleak indeed.

If Mitt could see his way clear to  run, there might be a possibility of fulfilling the "three times lucky" proverb. But the luck would be ours as much ours as Mitt's. If not Mitt, then who?.........Exactly.

How Can we miss you when you won't go away?

We Think Lynn Cheney has it right:

"I -- I really wonder if this isn't an effort on the Clintons' part to get that story out of the way. Would "Vanity Fair" publish anything about Monica Lewinsky that Hillary Clinton didn't want in "Vanity Fair"?

Be prepared. As we approach 2016, Tammy Wynette's "Stand by Your Man" is sure to be the retro hit of the year, but with a twist: "Stand by Your Man, Even During Impeachment". It may not be perfect, but if it takes some attention away from Benghazi, Hillary will run with it.

 

Spring is Sprung

Forget about the Groundhog (sorry, Bill Murray) and don't bother searching the flower beds for early crocus shoots. The only reliable indication of the arrival of Spring is the appearance of the golf carts at your local links. All the pertinent information, known and inferred, is reflected in the appearance of those cute little two-seaters with a couple of bags of sticks hanging off the back end. Yesterday, we had our first sighting as the carts began their determined crawl over the front nine. So don't delay, get out those spring togs and dig those niblicks and mashees  out of the corner of the garage. Give your copy of Caddy Shack (Bill Murray, again) a last pre-season viewing and head for the first tee.

Contrary to popular belief, Yamaha has not introduced a cart with a front plow hitch, ........yet.
Long and straight, gang, long and straight.

Check Out Day

Closing time. Last call, on steroids. The end of a brief stay in ArnoldPalmerville, aka Paradise. The trim Gulf waves are still rolling up on "our" beach, but by noon it will fall to others to bask in this measured spectacle.

It's I-95, northbound, for us. We have stops planned along the way to ease our way back into reality. Planning to arrive in the Bay State by St. Patrick's Day.

There are a lot of factors involved in comparing locations, especially when one is home, the other an interlude. When it comes to February and March weather, however, there's no comparison. Even if every day is more boring than the last, which is clearly not the case, the warmth and sun of south Florida reigns supreme.

So,  with a big collective sigh, we switch out the Jimmy Buffet beach tunes for Willy Nelson, as we get back on the road again.

Haute Culture in ArnoldPalmerville

Tools of the trade

Just so no one gets the idea that Neapolitans are just a bunch of deep-pocketed slugs who spend all their time driving their pricey cars from restaurant meal to restaurant meal, we took advantage of an invitation last night to attend a concert, held at one of the town's leading Christian churches, which looks like it was somehow transported from the village green of a classic New England Town.

The Group had a curious name, but one of their members was reputed to be lead violin at the Naples philharmonic Orchestra, no slouch, he. So given the venue and the bona fides of at least one of the performers, we thought that this might be an opportunity to experience a little Naples culture firsthand and trooped on down to see the Bean Pickers perform at the Tuesdays at Twilight concert.

Admittedly, The name, Bean Pickers, did not evoke a wave of recognition, nor did many of us consider ourselves Blue Grass aficionados, but a night out is a night out.

Guitar Player, Scott Ritter, who owns a local painting company, also chipped in on vocals, as did Linda Kallinger who played mandolin and one mean fiddle. Karen Batten, a registered nurse in her other life played banjo, like ringing a bell - Johnny B Goode, style (assuming Johnny B could play a banjo in addition to guitar). Leslie Weidenhammer, a Deputy Sheriff in real life, played a mean standup bass, sang vocals with the voice of an angel and generally stole most of the show.

It's hard having lived through the folk music era of the 1960's without having a passing familiarity with Blue Grass, but this gang, through their eclectic music selections and mind-blurring execution, brought this genre to a new high. Not to mix metaphors, but they played above the rim the whole night. What a show!

And if you are wondering how a classical violinist blended in with this material, you would not have believed the rendition of the Orange Blossom Special which must have darn near melted those fiddle strings. Glenn Basham demonstrated clearly that his talent is as broad as it is deep.

As in all endeavors, we try and glean some wisdom as take-home value. For whatever reason, the following lyric stuck in our minds and may just be trotted out at many an upcoming cocktail party.

There's too many cooks in the kitchen,
There's too many irons in the fire, (arns in the fahr)
There's not enough loving in the front porch swing,
And there is always a drunk at the Bar.

Catch the Bean Pickers at Fred's on the fourth Friday of each month. Call for details