Tony Island Blog - Sane Thoughts for an Insane World

Welcome to Tony Island blog! Just another post in a series of occasional analyses of the 2012 Presidential election. Here, I want to highlight some things that were made evident by the final results. In no particular order - 1) There is no mandate - Every victor claims a mandate, even when there isn't one. And this is a case of "there isn't one". Obama's popular vote numbers and electoral votes were down from 2008. How could there be a mandate? The Democrats successfully demonized "the rich" and tarred and feathered Romney with that evil moniker. Since the economic meltdown was caused by Wall Street, anything touching Wall Street (however remotely) was deemed bad. In reality, it's tough to change horses mid-stream. The electorate didn't quite like the alternative enough and thus stuck with the devil they know. 2) The Republican Party isn't dead - despite grave dancing by Progressives, the Republican party is far from dead. Republi...

Welcome to Tony Island blog! I wanted to get out the word about a free movie ( The Hope and The Change ) that is available on Hulu,com . The official description from Hulu.com sums it up nicely: " The Hope & The Change interviews 40 Democrats and Independents who were onetime supporters and voted for Barack Obama in 2008, but due to runaway spending, unemployment, debt, and deficits, can no longer continue their support of President Obama in 2012." Check it out. Tell us what you think in the comment section below. More importantly...VOTE NOVEMBER 6, 2012! You changed your clocks on Sunday - now Change your President on Tuesday! Thanks for reading Tony Island blog!

Welcome to my blog! Here's a really great video by the U.S. Chanber of Commerce...this is what we're fighting for in November! Please share this video far and wide! It's that important! Post your thoughts and comments below. Thanks for reading my blog!

Welcome to Tony Island blog! Thought I'd share this trailer for the new Dinesh D'Souza movie 2016: Obama's America . For full details on the movie, plus where you can see it, check the link. Here's an excerpt from the link above: 2016 Obama's America takes audiences on a gripping visual journey into the heart of the world’s most powerful office to reveal the struggle of whether one man's past will redefine America over the next four years. The film examines the question, "If Obama wins a second term, where will we be in 2016?" Will you see this important film if it comes to a location near you? Have you seen this film? Share your thoughts below. Thank you for reading Tony Island blog! Please come back soon for more!

Welcome to Tony Island blog! Are you tired of that condescending man we call President? Well, you aren't alone. Rightchange.com took some Facebook comments from the original "You didn't build that" clip and made a new video: This video is so well done and powerful that I urge you to post it everywhere you can! Together we can get Mr Condescending back to Chicago on Nov 6. Thanks for reading Tony Island blog! Please come back soon!

Welcome to Tony Island blog! In his latest ads and campaign stops, Mr Obama rails against the Republican plan to lower taxes and regulations (essentially "get government out of the way") as "trickle down economics". "We've tried that before and it didn't work", he rails (and don't you just hate the way he treats us as he would a group of students in one of his lecture halls - the finger pointing, the hand raising gestures, etc? That irks me to no end!) But then Obama goes on to propose more government spending - money to buy crops and livestock from farmers. Money for "green jobs". Money for college students' debt, et al. I have to ask though - isn't all this government spending "trickle down economics" by any other name? Why is it when the President proposes spending public money it's "jump starting" the economy yet when the Republicans propose spending private money, it's "trickle dow...

Welcome back to Tony Island Blog! I wanted to share a wonderful Web ad for Scott Brown for US Senate. Please view it and then share it all over the Web! Thanks for reading Tony Island Blog! Please come back soon for more!

Welcome back to Tony Island Blog! If you have 9 minutes or so, see more of Obama's Lies exposed! I found this on YouTube... check out Part 1, too . Leave your thoughts below. Thanks for reading Tony Island Blog!

Welcome back to Tony Island Blog! If you have 8 minutes or so, see each of Obama's Lies exposed! I found this on YouTube...will post Part 2 in the next post. Leave your thoughts below. Thanks for reading Tony Island Blog!

BREAKING NEWS - Tony Island Blog endorses Ron Paul for President in 2012! Please view the video below (1:05 minutes), then head over to Ron Paul's official Web site  today to learn about and support Ron Paul! He may not end up the winner in South Carolina, but your help can propel him forward for the next set of primaries in the South and West. Thanks for reading Tony Island Blog!

Welcome to Tony Island Blog! Well, we had a nail-biter in Iowa last night. I won't get into much analysis here - just want to say that I don't think Santorum has "legs" going into New Hampshire. It will be interesting to see though if his semi-win in Iowa will spill over into next week's New Hampshire primary. What do you think of the Iowa Caucus results? Have you decided on a Presidential candidate when it comes time to vote in your state's primary? What if your candidate drops out before your primary - who is your backup? Let's get some discussion going about the Presidential candidates. Tony Island blog is your forum to discuss the issues! Thanks for reading Tony Island Blog!

Welcome to Tony Island Blog! Libtards, such as those "occupying" Wall Street, rail against Corporations as though Corporations are the cause of all that's wrong in America. On the other hand, the right wing, mostly Libertarian, crowd attacks Government as the root of all evil in this world. Which side is correct? I really think it's an easy call, but for the Libtards among us, let's spell it out. G-O-V-E-R-N-M-E-N-T is evil. It's that simple. Why you might ask? Well, let's see...only Government can: 1) Force you to buy health insurance 2) Tax you on your hard earned wages (multiple times!) 3) Force you to contribute to a Ponzi Scheme retirement system (Social Security) 4) Take away your private property (eminent domain), even if it's to turn it over to an evil Corporation (ie, not for creating a public use such as a highway). 5) Make the laws, then interpet them (ie, though separate branches, the legislative and judicial branches ar...

Welcome to Tony Island Blog! Today, November 6, 2011 is exactly one year to the day that we elect (re-elect?) a new President to guide us for the following 4 years. There have been several Republican debates (another one will be this Wed, Nov 9 on CNBC). The candidates are getting bruised by the liberal media. There are the OWS protests. The Tea Party has been rather silent (protest wise at least). Where do you stand in all this? Are you ready to cast your ballot? Do you want change or should we stick with what we got and hope for better candidates in 2016? From here on in, it will be a bruising battle from all sides - liberals, media and conservatives. Take a stand and share your thoughts by leaving a comment. I'd like to hear my readers' thoughts as we head into a very contentious election season. Thanks for reading Tony Island Blog!

Welcome to Tony Island Blog! Here's a quick 30 second message put together by the GOP on Obama's flip-flop on whether Americans are better off today than they were when he took office: What do you think? Time for him to go? Leave a comment or two below, Thanks for reading Tony Island Blog!

Welcome to Tony Island Blog! As much as I carped about the President's jobs speech last night, I really think the Republican-controlled House should pass the bill intact. As is, no changes. Rubber stamp it and send it to the Senate. The Senate should rubber stamp it and send it to the President. Sign it and be done with it. The same would hold true for his "deficit reduction" plan he's going to propose sometime in the next month. Rubber stamp that baby and pass it into law. Lickety-split, time's a-wasting. Why the sudden change of heart? It's mere politics - let's stop the silly posturing - the Republican controlled House can't make changes that the Democrat Senate won't allow. So, why waste politcal capital? The people don't understand the nuances of freedom. They're addicted to the Federal tit. Show the people that "we" can work together - any tax increases can be overturned in the next Congress - a mere 16 months away. ...

Welcome to Tony Island Blog! Did you watch the President's "jobs speech" tonight? If you didn't, it's no big deal as he said the same thing he's said before: spend more money now to put people to work tomorrow. If you listen carefully to his coded speech, you'll see that the President wants to funnel jobs to union members: construction crews to fix bridges, roads, etc. Money to "first responders" which translates to unionized police and fire fighters. Money to teachers to educate our children - ie, unionized government workers. This bill won't cost anything because it will be paid for by raising Warren Buffet's tax rate (he pays a lower rate than his secretary - the outrage!! But don't lower his secretary's rate, just raise his...well, Warren did ask for it, the President tells us)  We'll eliminate corporate loopholes so we can lower the corporate tax rate (but not to zero - God forbid)...isn't it outrageous how oil ...

Welcome to Tony Island Blog! Did you catch tonight's Republican Presidential debate on MSNBC? If not, here's the first of 4 parts: You see the rest by following the suggested links at the end of the video. I thought it was a solid debate by all the candidates. There were some great lines ("If 10% is good enough for God, then 9% should be good enough for the Federal govt.", Herman Cain on his 9/9/9 tax plan). I'm not sure I could pick a winner - I thought they were all about even, though I don't see Jon Huntsman gaining any traction. I think the race will tighten up in the next few weeks. There's another debate scheduled for Monday, Sept. 12, 2011. What are your thoughts on tonight's debate? Did it change your mind on your candidate? Are you closer to choosing a candidate if you are undecided? Please share your thoughts with us by leaving a comment below. Thanks for reading Tony Island Blog!

Welcome to Tony Island Blog! Today, we're going to examine the 500lb gorilla in the room - gay marriage; but, we're not going to discuss the moral issues surrounding this highly touchy subject, simply (ha!) the political dynamics surrounding this issue. For many Republican presidential hopefuls, "states' rights" is a key issue this campaign season: devolve Federal power back to the states and let the states decide their own fates. All is well and good until the issue of gay marriage comes up. Here, the hopefuls make a 180 and decide that the Federal government must be involved and it must be a Federal law or Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. A typical explanation from the hopefuls is Mitt Romney's. Romney is fearful that one state won't recognize another state's legal gay marriage (ie, if a gay married couple move from New York to Utah, they'd be in legal limbo) and thus a Federal gay marriage ban needs to be in place. So which...

Welcome to Tony Island Blog! I wanted to present you with two quick, but complementary, video reviews that will help you understand the fiscal conservative view. First up is I Want Your Money - this is a neat film that basically summarizes the conservative fiscal viewpoint. It cleverly uses animated Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama sketches to explain various concepts. It also interviews some mainstream conservatives, which was nice to put a face to the books I've been reading by these same conservatives. I recommend the video to get a grounding in current conservative economics and thought. It seems the Blu-Ray version is a Director's Cut with "never before seen footage" - I didn't see this version, but I'm sure the added footage makes it even better than the standard version I saw. Next up is I.O.U.S.A. The film is slightly outdated as it was filmed at the end of the Bush presidency (and thus tends to skewer Bush a bit, though deservedly so) but it st...

Welcome to Tony Island Blog! Just saw this posted on Facebook, so I thought I'd get it out there fast. It's the first Ron Paul advertisement of the 2012 election cycle. It's a great ad...check it out and leave a comment! Thanks for reading Tony Island Blog!