You had a front-row seat to a sensational block by Boston Bruins MVP goalie Tim Thomas. He chose not to meet the president, reasoning:
I believe the Federal government has grown out of control, threatening the Rights, Liberties, and Property of the People. This is being done at the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial level. This is in direct opposition to the Constitution and the Founding Fathers vision for the Federal government. Because I believe this, today I exercised my right as a Free Citizen, and did not visit the White House. This was not about politics or party, as in my opinion both parties are responsible for the situation we are in as a country. This was about a choice I had to make as an INDIVIDUAL. This is the only public statement I will be making on this topic. TT
Good for Tim Thomas for making the number one political statement of the year on the eve of President Obama’s State of the Union. Talk about putting a wet blanket on the SOTU. Sorry, Obama, but your performance has been so bad that a pro athlete felt it was his duty to boycott a meeting with you. The Stanley Cup MVP sucked the air out of the room. The liberal media are having a fit. The Boston Globe’s Kevin Paul Dupont was livid. He wrote:
Not a lot has changed in the US over the last two years, although it appears the economic picture is brightening at least a little bit, despite those in charge of our various governmental nuthouses. Unemployment has eased some and the Dow Jones industrial average has improved considerably. Politically, our nation is a mess, but the material Property of the People at least seems to be getting better. Not every house in the Lower 48 is up for short sale.
“Not a lot has changed in the US over the last two years.” What planet is Dupont living on? Yet you could hear crickets when Red Sox owner John Henry and General Manager Theo Epstein chose not to meet President Bush. Where was Dupont then?
Thomas said at the start of the NHL all-star weekend: “I followed my conscience. Everything I said in my statement I believed to be the absolute truth … I don’t think I need to revisit something that I stated so clearly.”
I hope he does someday. Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts attended the Bruins’ visit to the White House. He didn’t want to miss the photo op. Thomas has hit a nerve that he can use to connect with the middle class: the Federal government has grown out of control, threatening the rights, liberties, and property of the people. Why not run for Senate and unseat Kerry?
Indiana Right to Work
All eyes are on Indiana, but not just for the Super Bowl. Indiana is about to become the 23rd right-to-work state. It will become an island of freedom among the forced-union states of the Midwest. Expect manufacturers to turn their attention to the open-for-business Hoosier State.
A national right-to-work law should be next. Do you really think professional athletes, for example, with their entourage of handlers, need union leaders to negotiate for them? With a national right-to-work law, there probably wouldn’t be a shortened NBA season or an almost-missed NFL season, not to mention past strikes and missed seasons by major-league baseball and the NHL.
Union Pensions in Private Equity
The Wall Street Journal’s Michael Corkery wrote an excellent article titled “Public Pensions Increase Private-Equity Investments” pointing out that public pensions have increased their percentage ownership of the Bain Capitals of the world to fund their retirement. And yet they vilify Mitt Romney. Union leaders are only about reelecting Obama. For leadership, bashing private equity is for the greater good, as long as they are protecting their dues-collecting fiefdom.
Ron Paul and Sound Money
David Malpass points out in his Wall Street Journal op-ed “Ron Paul, the Fed and the Need for a Stable Dollar” that the Fed has destroyed the dollar with gold at $1,700 per ounce. He writes:
Dollar weakness doesn’t work at all for economic well-being. The corollary to the Fed’s policy of manipulating interest rates downward at the expense of savers is declining median incomes. It’s no coincidence that inflation-adjusted median incomes rose in the sound-money booms of the Reagan and Clinton administrations and fell in the weak-dollar busts during the Carter, Bush and Obama years. When the currency weakens, the prices of staples rise faster than wages, hurting all but the rich who buy protection.
The Fed’s weak dollar policy is destroying middle-class savers and those who have been responsible with their money. Malpass continues:
Americans know this is a big problem but can’t stop it. Texas Congressman Ron Paul has created an intensely popular presidential campaign around the need for stable money and limitations on the size (the Fed employs 22,000 people) and power of the Fed.
To arm yourself with more facts, pick up a copy of Paul’s End the Fed.