I rant, therefore I am

We live in chaos and we try to control our fear, and the sad thing is that many would prefer to bury your heads in the sand than to address the issue directly. A Harvard law professor, Charles Ogletree, made remarks about the fatal officer-involved shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO. He condemned the “murder” but I believe that Officer Darren Wilson acted in self-defense because autopsy reports illustrating the trajectory of the bullet confirms Brown charged the officer. Enough with everyone, including President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder, insinuating this was racially charged. It’s old.

Obama made more speeches last week in front of the American Legion and the delivery is markedly different when he reads off a teleprompter and when he doesn’t. During the former he sounds confident, tough and smooth; when there’s no teleprompter he sounds weak-kneed, meandering and confused.

Last Thursday Obama told the American public (and ISIS leaders) during a press conference that “we don’t have a strategy yet” in regards to fighting the extremist terrorist group. Why doesn’t he divulge to all our enemies our strategy – or lack thereof. Suddenly Obama wants to wait for Congress to weigh in on the next move rather than abuse his executive order authority. With his popularity at record lows, Obama simply has no idea what the next step should be.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, on the other hand, delivered an impressive speech last Friday in regards to the escalating unrest in the Middle East, without the use of a teleprompter. He sounded confident, uncompromising and a capable leader with clear direction, unlike our president.

The U.S. military is the strongest in the world, and I think we need to eradicate the extreme Islamists before they attack us again. 9/11 was a symptom of a problem of people who want to kill us. People, including those who run this government, are downplaying the threat that ISIS groups will infiltrate our borders and attack us on our own soil, but I assure you that it’s only a matter of time before they do. Our gaping southern border is an open invitation.

Burger King has received a lot of flack the past week for a proposed deal to purchase Canada-based coffee and donut chain Tim Hortons and relocating its headquarters to Canada. The move, referred to as tax inversion, would save Burger King millions of dollars in U.S. corporate taxes, which averages 39.1 percent, compared to Canada’s average of 14 percent. I support Burger King’s move, and disagree with the White House condemning the deal as if it was illegal. Obama’s financial ally is Warren Buffet, who happens to be the key person in finalizing the Burger King merger. This makes for a thorny situation for the president. Businesses should have the opportunity to thrive and government needs to stay out of private business. Government can’t take care of its own business, let alone meddle in the private sector.

Last week California Governor Jerry Brown sat down for a wine-and-appetizer affair with Mexican President Enrique Peña Pieto, and what infuriates me is that rather than discuss the release of Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi who has been incarcerated in a Mexican federal penitentiary since Mar. 31, Brown declared he welcomes all legal and illegal Mexicans alike to California. We don’t need Brown to win another term as he’s running this state into the ground. We need Neel Kashkari to lead the state in the right direction.

Assemblyman Tim Donnelly rejected the invitation to the luncheon with Pieto, and instead stood outside protesting the incarceration of Tahmooressi. He’s a politician who needs to do his job. Attend the luncheon and ask Pieto directly about Tahmooressi instead of standing on the sidelines. It’s absolutely ridiculous for Donnelly to stand in protest when he had the opportunity to get some answers directly from Pieto.

Recently Obama announced a partnership with major banks to help military families with mortgage interest rate reductions. Veterans in this country have been so mistreated under the Obama administration, and now Obama is seeking to change his reputation to one who is sensitive to the needs of veterans. Let me make something perfectly clear – there is a VA program already established that reduces mortgage interest rates and it’s absolutely free! It’s the Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan. There’s no reason to go to Wells Fargo, Bank of America or Quicken Loans who ultimately want their fees. If you’re a veteran and you’re interested in a rate reduction, call me at 855-640-2020. For those of you who are unaware, in addition to being a talk show host of intelligent radio, I am also the president of Wholesale Capital Corporation, your direct mortgage lender, and I have always, and will always, have people’s best interest at heart.

Ed Hoffman is the host of the Main Event on AM590 which airs Saturday 9:30AM- 10:30AM and Sunday 4:00PM- 5:00PM.