State of the Union Preview

(Associated Posers) - Washington DC -What will President Barack Obama speak to the nation about during the State of the Union Speech on Tuesday night?

Economy: He will take credit for anything and everything and forget to mention that the last 5 years have been the worst 5-year period since the Great Depression. He will announce more of the same kind of policies that brought us to this situation. More funding for unproductive “green” projects, more handouts to favored corporations, higher taxes (punishment) on those who work and more giveaways (rewards) to those that don't.

The policies of President Obama are driving companies to make large layoffs, reducing working hours, slashing benefits and raise their prices. The result is a more sluggish economy that actually shrank in the last quarter of 2012 (even by the massaged official numbers).

Guns: The bogeyman of the moment because of the media attention after the Newtown massacre, where they refused to focus on the killers' mental state and his liberal ideals. The President will also not mention the recent police shootings on innocent people. Instead he will talk about accidental shootings while ignoring the much more common occurrences of armed self-defense that stopped a crime before it happened.

On this issue the President could hail the support of ex-cop Chris Dorner who is the object of an intensive manhunt in California after killing 3 people, including a cop and the daughter/fiance of another cop and Jerome McCorry, a convicted rapist who now heads protests against civilian ownership of guns. They are bad for his beloved hobby, I suppose. I have a feeling he won't highlight their support of his policies.

Foreign Affairs: This, if it is mentioned at all, might be a very short segment. The successes of this administration in the international arena are close to nil. Meanwhile terrorists are winning all over the planet, from Libya-where 4 Americans, including the US Ambassador, were murdered. Also China is feeling its oats as it rattles its sabers and stocks up on food supplies as if they might actually wage a real conflict with Japan over the Senkaku Islands.

Meanwhile the US military is cutting back on power projection in the middle east and bending over backward not to offend China. North Korea lobbed something into orbit, meaning it could possibly send nuclear weapons into space soon. No one really expects this administration to take these events seriously. They do however, want to send dozens of fighter jets and 200 advanced tanks to the radical Hamas-controlled government of Egypt.

Whatever he talks about the fact is clear, this country and our situation with respect to the rest of the world is worse off. His policies are making them worse. He is not going to change his policies, instead he will offer up more of the same.

Venezuela looters jockey for power

(Associated Posers) - CARACAS, Venezuela- As dictator of more than 14 years remains silent on his deathbed, no word from him in 58 days, two of his top henchmen were competing for power. (Fake) Vice President Nicolas Marduro issuing decrees “signed by Hugo Chavez” that are obviously not signed by the dying strongman. Meanwhile the President of the National Assembly is holding public show trials and issuing verdicts of his enemies to secure his power.

Venezuela remains a looter state, a land where the incompetent rule because nobody is better than anyone else. This the reason that the state oil company fired 22,000 technicians in 2003 while their employment numbers swelled by a factor of 3 with inexperienced, politically motivated “jobs”. While oil output is two-thirds of what it could be if they had followed their original plan, global oil prices swelled the national treasury but the debt has skyrocketed as politically-oriented budgeting and massive inefficiency has weighed down the economy.

This is also the reason that someone as inexperienced and incompetent as Iris Varela can become Ministers for Prisons, and keep her job even after a débâcle like the Uribana Prison tragedy where a simple sweep for weapons resulted in 58-61 dead. Varela blamed the violence on Globovision announcing the search when in fact it was the head of the prison that told Globovision.

Varela quickly ruled that the National Guard had not abused the prisoners but also decided to close the prison and relocate prisoners to other overcrowded facilities. She and every other Chavista running the government refuse any responsibility over their actions, and she continues to hold her job.

After 14 years of mismanagement, nationalizations, handouts to supporters and where every decision was political and enemies of all kinds blamed for the fall-out, the country remains in the hands of the Chavista's. No one is better off. The electric system is falling apart as funds for upkeep and expansion were squandered on projects that had propaganda value.

Everything from a car factory, satellite launch to opening of government grocery stores were used by Hugo Chavez to present a giant image, then those things were always ignored when they failed to produce the promised results. Every industry that was nationalized saw production drop, from steel to coffee etc. The banking system is a joke, with tight controls on exchange rates that make no economic sense. They shut down opposition media outlets and bullied the few that remained into subservience, giving the Chavistas undisputed control of the airwaves.

Today, Hugo Chavez is dead in all but name and his top two cohorts are fighting over the carcass of Caracas. The looting continues and will continue until the final chapter of this sad story ends.