Crisis Mode

The past year in congress has been a very busy one. The rush to pass legislation based on the call; a crisis is looming. Everything was a crisis. The economy was in a crisis. The banking industry was in a crisis. Even the environment was in a crisis. Then there was the H1N1 crisis. The call sign for the new administration: CRISIS. There seemed to be no end to all the crisis’ that we were in all of a sudden and there seemed to be a lot of statistics to back it all up. Not to mention multiple speeches on the subject. This administration is all about…the crisis. It is amazing at the amount of attention that one can garner at the mere mention of the word; crisis.

The wrapper wasn’t even off of the new package, that was just voted in, and off we went! Hurry up and pass the stimulus! We are in a crisis! Sadly, I don’t recall the crisis being that significant, until the “C” word was uttered out loud. Our congressmen jumped on board the crisis train and never once bothered to glance back. They looked in utter amazement towards the public, because; we didn’t get it! And after many unapologetic speeches, that accused us of being everything from simple-minded to brown shirts, in the wake of the stimulus and now healthcare, the salesmanship kicked in. I recall several republicans commenting with remorse, on what they had just voted for, without fully understanding the consequence or for that matter even the simple act of actually reading the bill and its fine print! Nearly one trillion dollars, all with the stroke of a pen. Then on with the next crisis! It seemed to be the end of all things as we knew it!

I may act a bit crazy now and again but, I am not stupid! What do they take us for? Do you remember, all the Doctors that showed up on the Whitehouse lawn for that big rally in support of the healthcare fiasco? Mysteriously, they all seemed to be fashionably coördinated! What were the odds of all of them showing up with their white lab coats on? Astoundingly high, I would venture to say. Before the political commentary was even on the air, I remarked, ”who do they think they are kidding? What a hoax!” Then only to find out a day later that the Whitehouse staff, passed out the lab coats at the meeting. DUHH?! Did they actually believe that the majority of us couldn’t see right through that? That event epitomized; transparency. The Whitehouse actually believed that all of us are so incredibly dumb, that we would buy into that little dog and pony show! It took my breath away to feel so completely belittled, in that way!

Now that the elections in New Jersey, Virginia and Massachusetts are over and a clear message has been sent to those in DC wearing the clown suits. They still look at us with utter contempt! Over 1.3 million angry voters turned out on their front door step, back on 9-12, and they still could not figure out why we were so angry. Now who is being stupid? They are lost in some sort of alternate reality somewhere. They believe that ruining the economy of this great nation is what it is going to take to get us out of this crisis. They believe that they are our saviors and that only they can right all the wrongs that society has dealt us! How dare we stand up to them!

All of the back room deals and outright bribery, that was used to get the worst piece of legislation in the history of our pathetic leaders up on the hill, shed a brilliant light on what our system of government has mutated into. The members of congress should be ashamed of themselves for being so blind and so arrogant, to the will of the majority of Americans, that pay their salaries! Have they forgotten who put them there in the first place? Have they forgotten who they work for? What will it take for them to snap back to reality and realize what they are doing?

The liberals sit back and point their fingers across the aisle at the republicans who would not bow down to their demands for quick action, and have the audacity to say that they would sit by and do nothing while the crisis looms on!

They are correct in one respect; there is a crisis at hand. The fact that we are fast losing our rights and freedoms at the hands of a few arrogant politicians, that think that we need to be told what to do and how to do it, without voicing our opinions. This is what you would expect in a Marxist Society, not in the greatest democratic nation on the face of the earth. The one thing that this country is famous for, rising to the cause in the face of a crisis is coming. The elections are in November, that will spell the end of their pitiful attempt to change this country. Let all who are PATRIOTS, rise to the occasion and send a clear message to Washington. This behavior will no longer be tolerated and you sirs, are dismissed!!!!

The Day That Freedom Died.

Today, the citizens of the world, stood by in utter disbelief as a solemn group of men and women in uniform and the last members of it’s congress, ceremoniously lowered the flag, of the once greatest nation on earth, for the very last time. The sound of a lone bugler playing “Taps”, filled the air with a bitter sweet sound. It seemed almost surreal, the mood in the capitol of the former United States of America, was somber. Tears and the sounds of people sobbing, were heard in the distance, emanating from the crowd that was being held back by national police in riot gear. The once proud nation that was the beacon of freedom for the entire world, seemed isolated in it’s death throws, now a faded dream of many.

This brave new world that started with a revolution and a separation of ways between it and it’s European motherland, has been the worlds inspiration for over two hundred of years. Freedom and prosperity drove immigrants from the four corners of the earth to escape their squalid lives and leave their entire world behind them to settle there in search of a better quality of life. This country that started with a desire for freedom and independence from an oppressive government, was formed by the dream of a few men with a common vision. Fought for, at the cost of countless brave souls whose vision of a land where; life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, became the envy of the rest of civilization.

A nation that rose above all and became one of the most powerful countries on the face of the earth. A people that were as diverse as could possibly be, united by a democratic system of law and protected by a constitution, written by patriots several hundred years ago. A nation that seemed unparalleled in it’s ability to rise to a challenge and overcome. Empowered by a people that could build or make anything that they chose.

This once great nation led the way to freedom in Europe, not once but twice and shed the blood of it’s young men and women to protect the sovereignty of it’s neighbors, threatened by the forces of Nazism and Fascism. The European nations faced certain death at the hands of evil but, were saved by the industrial might of it’s great factories and the brave soldiers who fought tirelessly for their brothers in arms.

This once great nation that put men on the moon and defeated the greatest threat to freedom on earth; the former Soviet Union and it’s spread of Communism, now stands by and awaits it’s fate. Racked by years of never ending debt and inner turmoil, created by the very people charged with keeping her free. History will look back at the Presidency of Barrack Obama and it’s socialist agenda as the eventual cause of the collapse of this once powerful country. Years of excessive spending and millions of lost jobs, literally bankrupted this nation.

While this nation was drowning in debt, other nations such as China, Japan and Germany were buying up it’s livelihood, all because of it’s government leaders arrogant desire to control the wealth of it’s citizens and create a government controlled bureaucracy. The expansion of government and increases in entitlement programs for the people proved fatal to the economy of this great nation and ultimately led to the collapse, that we are witnessing today. It is truly overwhelming, to witness the looks on the faces of the bystanders who have lived to see this day and have seen with their very eyes the end of an era. An era that once prompted the following poem, that was forever enshrined at the base of a famous statue, that still sits on Ellis Island in the very harbor, where over seven hundred thousand immigrants came to this land in search of freedom, in the shadow of one of the most recognized cities on the earth:

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breath free;
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless,
Tempest-tossed to me
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame is the imprisoned lightning,
And her name, Mother of Exiles.
From her beacon-hand glows world-wide welcome;
Her mild eyes command the air-bridged harbor
That twin cities frame.
“Keep, Ancient Lands, your storied pomp!”
Cries she with silent lips.

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breath free;
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless,
Tempest-tossed to me
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

What will become of the history of this once great nation? No one knows. As we look upon the faces of the citizens, that stand transfixed at the sight of their flag being gently folded for the last time, we wonder. Could this have been stopped? Was this necessary? What could have been done to stop this tragedy? Where were the patriots? Where were the defenders of liberty? Why did no one stand up to this?

Two hundred and forty two years ago, just a handful of men, “PATRIOTS” started a revolution and fought one of the most powerful countries on the face of the planet to establish; “AMERICA.” Today, the remaining free countries of the world mourn the loss of the last beacon of freedom and it’s enemies cheer it’s demise. The threat of war did not bring this proud nation down. Bad economic policies and endless assaults on it’s constitution, by people trying to change a system of government that was the role model for entire civilizations did.

What lessons can be learned from this? Where does the rest of the world turn to now for guidance? Who will come to the aid of those brought to their knees by disaster? Who will feed the hungry? Who will help those being persecuted? Who will lead the world into the future? Who?

The world now holds it’s breath as we all wait to see the outcome of this darkest day. The day that freedom died.

What is our national deficit?

The fiscal budget for 2011, is out from the Whitehouse. The numbers are staggering. If you know what the deficit is, then you are ahead of the game. Our budget is a very complicated thing. However if you think of it in context with the budget that you try to stay on at your house, then you have in essence broken it down into something that is understandable. This is a short breakdown of the fiscal budget for the year ahead.

“Overall 2011 Spending: $3.834 trillion.

· 2011 Discretionary Spending: $1.415 trillion.

· 2011 Projected Deficit: $1.267 trillion or 8.3 percent of GDP (down from $1.556 trillion or 10% of GDP) GDP, is our gross domestic product or the amount of money that business in this country generates each year.”

The key word here is deficit, “which is the sum of all previously incurred annual federal deficits. Since the deficits are financed by government borrowing, national debt is equal to all government debt outstanding.” Our current national debt is $12.290 trillion. To put it simply, the deficit is the amount owed after all monies taken in are accounted for and our bills are paid. The amount left over; is our deficit.

Our government runs a magical checkbook. If you or I used our checkbook like they do. We would be locked up for a long time for fraud or at the very least; writing really bad checks. Imagine taking an empty checking account and writing a check for $1.267 trillion dollars. How long would it be before the authorities took you off to the slammer?

Our government throws numbers like this around like they are confetti. Never batting an eye at the significance of the size of the number. So let us ask the question; what is a trillion dollars?

“A trillion dollars = $1,000,000,000,000.

That’s 12 zeros to the left of the decimal point. A trillion is a million million dollars.

The U.S. government spends more than the entire Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Australia, China and Spain combined. If you laid one dollar bills end to end, you could make a chain that stretches from earth to the moon and back again 200 times before you ran out of dollar bills! One trillion dollars would stretch nearly from the earth to the sun. It would take a military jet flying at the speed of sound, reeling out a roll of dollar bills behind it, 14 years before it reeled out one trillion dollar bills.”

What does one TRILLION dollars look like? (click this link to see for yourself)

This talk of fiscal responsibility is the most disingenuous load of lies that we have ever encountered as a nation. Our country’s very existence is being challenged by these monumental debts that defy belief. Our leaders keep spending at unparalleled levels and are in no hurry to stop. Like drunks with a key to the liquor store, they spend like there is no tomorrow. What will it take to stop this incredible stupidity?

The healthcare bill laying on the table in front of our congress is inches away from passing. Do not doubt that they will attempt to pass this thing.

When you spend like this, one thing is inevitable. Someone is going to have to pay the bill. Who will it be? You or me?

*A footnote to this story, the finance dept. today announced that the government will borrow $395 billion to put towards the deficit of this year. Crazy…hunh?