The Lemmings

Many years ago there was a wild life program on television that featured an odd little rodent with peculiar migration habits. They are very prolific creatures and at times their population seemingly explodes for one reason or another. Some of the film footage that was shown was unusual in that it depicted the creatures rushing along at a frantic pace following some instinct that has not been clearly defined. Of course the creatures are Lemmings. They are common in the Arctic Circle and range as far away as Norway

At some point their frenzied march came across a seemingly insurmountable obstacle. A cliff. However this did not deter them in their quest. They followed each other to their untimely demise one after another right over the edge. This is truly odd behavior. Some biologists called it mass suicide, while others say that the urge to march forward was so overwhelming, that it was just impossible for them to stop. What ever the reason they have gained their place in the animal kingdom as odd creatures for sure.

There are other creatures that parallel the little rodents and currently there are many of them that reside in Washington. They call themselves Congressmen. Our Congressmen. Lined up, one after another set to follow their leaders over the edge of that same insurmountable obstacle. Some will call it mass suicide. Political suicide but, none the less it is suicide. Their un-resistable urge? Health care reform. They must have it at all costs. Why? Change. Remember that word? It was thrown at us a year ago along with another word; hope. Hope and change but, what do they hope to change?

One sixth of this nations economy is up for grabs and in their desperate reach for the Holy Grail of the progressives, they are doing exactly what the Arctic Lemmings do on occasion. Following their leader over the cliff. The mid term elections are near and the result of passage of this bill, will bring upon them a devastating eviction from the offices that they currently occupy at the hands of the American voters, who have watched hope and change turn into the hopelessness of debt and government expansion on a scale unparalleled in the history of our nation.

All of the polls indicate an overwhelming majority of Americans are strongly opposed to this bill as it exists now or any of it for that matter but, our Congressmen are marching to the beat of a different drummer and have turned a deaf ear to the people that put them into their current positions. There have been marches on Washington, angry town hall meetings and Tea Party gatherings. Still, they march to the edge of the cliff. Drawn by some unseen power. What could that be?

Special deals, behind closed door agreements, arm twisting. Does the end justify the means? How did we get to this place that we are currently at? The offices in Congress used to stand for honor. The people of this great Republic were at one time, the voice of Washington. No longer is that the case. They are now our voice. They speak for us. Parliamentary procedure has been replaced by bribes and skulduggery. They have not even tried to conceal it from the public but, rather boast about it in front of us with full media coverage. The once great Halls of Congress have been reduced to the status of a corrupt house of ill repute.

The Lemmings are at the precipice and it seems that they are willing to drag this great country over the cliff with them. Currently our national debt tips the scales at an incredible $12.5 trillion dollars. This health care reform bill weighs in at an estimated $1.5 trillion. Our government has never successfully estimated a total cost on any bill that they have ever passed and yet they are confident of their projections and are trying to sell it to the public by any means necessary. With more Americans out of work now than at any recent time in our history, it seems illogical to try and pass such a large increase in spending and a complete take over of our medical system but, they press forward.

What will it take to prevent this catastrophe in the making? Who in Congress is listening? The Republicans have unilaterally drawn a line against this and yet they can not prevent it. If this bill does pass, we can only hope that the elections in November will bring in a wave of new conservative members with a backbone, willing to repeal this nasty piece of legislation before it destroys this country and put it to rest once and for all.

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?

The State of the Nation.

Tonight is a very important night for the new administration. A telling moment in it’s first year at work.

Every past President of this great country has had his, duty to stand before congress and the entire country and tell them what the current state of our country is. Through prosperous times and bleak times. I am certain that this is a challenging call, for anyone.

President Ronald Reagan began one of his addresses by saying; “In order to understand where we are, we must first understand where we have been…” The same holds true now. However there are fundamental differences. In this first year, the deficit has been tripled, our congress has been spending hard earned tax payers money at an astounding rate, with no end in sight. We are coming perilously close to the edge of the financial precipice. Job loss is at an all time high. Thousands of home owners have lost their homes as a result of one of the worst economies since President Carter. This administration and it’s policies, has polarized the American people as never before.

At a historic time, when the current President, should have been hunkering down with the congress, to try and turn this crippled economy around and focus on jobs. He has been intent on furthering his agenda. To quote Admiral Farragut; “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!” Seems to be his train of thought by completely dismissing the dire straights of the working class people and trying to push the Health Care Over Haul through the Congress at lightening speed. Even though the majority of Americans are totally against a Government take over, of our medical system.

One and a half million people showed up on the Whitehouse lawn to demonstrate how they felt about this fiasco and nobody there was looking or listening. When Congress went home for its break, the people showed up by the thousands at their town hall meeting and sent a clear message to them. Still they did not listen. Last week in Massachusetts, the Democrats lost the Senate seat to a Republican for the first time in forty six years. Another clear message. This time I think that someone was paying attention. November is not far away and some of the incumbent Senators are seriously in peril of losing their jobs. Maybe now they are paying attention. They have lost their super majority vote and hopefully will come back to the negotiating table with their fellow Senators, instead of the back rooms where all of the dirty little deals were made. So much for transparency!

Americans do not want the government so deeply embedded in our lives as the progressives seem to believe. We are perfectly fine being left alone. The government has overstepped it’s bounds and is intent on making this country one big welfare state. At a cost that is unsustainable. Health care is in need of reform. Not a complete takeover. As were the banking institutions and the Car Manufacturers. Enough is enough. We have had enough!

Are you a Patriot? Our founding Fathers were steeped in their belief that we are perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves and broke away from the tyranny of the English Crown, to establish this country as we know it today. Freedom and Liberty were the call of the day! They risked their very lives to establish this United States. Now we are at a crossroads, where the very foundation of this great nation is in jeopardy of losing the very thing that our ancestors bravely fought and died for, to achieve! They were indeed PATRIOTS!

I fear that quality is lost this day and age.

“If, from the more wretched parts of the old world, we look at those which are in an advanced stage of improvement, we still find the greedy hand of government thrusting itself into every corner and crevice of industry, and grasping the spoil of the multitude. Invention is continually exercised, to furnish new pretenses for revenues and taxation. It watches prosperity as its prey and permits none to escape without tribute.”

Thomas Paine, Rights of Man, 1791

Are you a Patriot? If you are, act on that in November and remind those that serve their own agendas, who this great nation belongs to.