Dear America,

this is a time when things get a little fuzzy around the edges.

We forget, or we fail to recognize, that out of our inherent civility and political correctness, our president has deep seated allegiances, in blood, with Muslims around the world.

Anyone care to discuss this itty bitty factor, or is our new start, domestic meets foreign policy strategy simply to ignore it?

Just to be clear -- this isn't a put down; this isn't a "mark" against the man, as if I pronounce all Muslims, and their intent, bad.  I do not feel that way at all; and you would have me and what I am saying entirely wrong.

It is simply a fact, based upon our president's life experiences and family heritage -- he is, whether we want to discuss all of the idiosyncrasies and propensities about it aloud, or not, half Muslim.

Now you know I love The Daily Bell -- a place where profound libertarian, free-thinking opinion is shared with the world, and sometimes with a deafening pitch; at times though, their perspective seems so outlandish, often I find myself faced confronting the difficult task of believing every word -- truth has a funny way of creeping up on us like that. But quite honestly, there are numerous times I simply surrender with the greatest of ease thinking, oh my gosh, no way, that's radical, dude, everything makes so much sense now.

And the last few days have been no exception. can we get a whoa, far out, on this little number.

So, think about it...there are so many levels of not knowing the reality behind closed doors... happening all around us... everyday.

Much like the Bell's articles of late hemorrhaging on the antics of the Federal Reserve, the Davos meetings, and anything else going on around the world that screams raw western elitism at play -- or how America's juvenile European jealousies, with tendencies immediately to follow, wreak havoc on the global front.  Everyday, according to the staff and the guest editorials, The Daily Bell paints a vivid, sometimes gruesome picture, traveling the unpredictable mine-fields, and MIND-fields, of the times.

Egypt, and the entire Middle East, is a powder keg of conflicting energies of resistance and rebellion, relationships and revolution, seeking change.  What happens in the coming days may change everything
...did the U.S. really promote the uprising? is this for the betterment of future diplomacy, or a  break up? are we letting go of the past alliances and making new friends, or just making more enemies?

Who are our friends, really? For another interesting take on Egypt...and the Muslim Brotherhood...read this.

Is this a time when a half Muslim president rides in on a white horse and saves the world, demonstrating the very attributes bestowed upon him, as the Nobel Peace Prize recipient, before ever really doing a thing -- based solely upon the 'perception' of a man, rather than gut reality of a true leader?  Time will tell, right?


I was amused watching a really old movie over the weekend -- Nighthawks, from 1981 -- by the looks of the bad cinema lighting, the disco dancing, and the clothes, it still reeked of more the mid seventies than parading in what would become a decade of over indulgence and the uprising of the young, upwardly mobile, professionals... use of the word 'professionals' highly suspect; now that it's over, and coming from the heart of the movement myself...looking back, I fear we have grounds to make such claims of professionalism seem downright absurd.  Everything came way to easy, and way to fast, if you ask me...

for now look at us.

Anywho, getting back to the flick, what a little wonder this turned out to be.  First, the players, Sylvester Stallone, Rutger Hauer, Billy Dee Williams, Lindsey Wagner, it dripped handsome super power heroes and villains.  But hey, that was just the packaging --  the substance,  the lines, the story brought to us thirty years ago! priceless.

After quickly setting us up with the plot, to catch a terrorist,  a British Interpol officer comes to New York City to instruct a couple of undercover guys and apparently, NYC's finest -- partners, Sylvester and Billy Dee -- on how to catch the bad guy, Rutger Hauer; and when I say  bad guy I really do mean, one, bad, guy.  Just one guy.  It's just the way it was played out, back then, in the aftermath of the Weather Underground, and all.

At one point, Wolfgard, Rutger Hauer,a.k.a the terrorist, says "I speak for the oppressed... I am a liberator!"  Nearly capturing the essence of the Weathermen of yesteryear in one fell swoop --  that the wealth of an empire belongs to the people, to the oppressed who made the wealth... redistribute the wealth!  redistribute the wealth! (and if you say it like Van Jones, it makes it really fun to say) or we will rise up against you and bomb bridges, buildings, babies -- whatever it takes.

The Interpol Brit outlines the mission saying things like, "[you] might have only one time...to catch him vulnerable...gotta take the shot..."  or something like that.  The point he was making to Sylvester and Billy Dee, was that we have to be just as ruthless as the terrorist -- for they are banking on our civility, our rules of engagement, our pledge to treat others the way we want to be treated; and basically -- flipping things around a bit -- terrorism is always waiting for our vulnerability to show first.

He added a sounding alarm, saying "[they will] come after what we love...", before sending the good guys off on their way, against all odds, not even knowing what this guy would even look like anymore (following the way of Hollywood and the oldest terrorist story in the book: just before leaving London, or was it Paris? Wolfgard had plastic surgery to protect his identity, leaving a murdered doctor in his wake... like we didn't see that coming...).

The thing is, that was made for Hollywood, thirty years ago -- what have we learned?  what has changed?  Something tells me the seriousness of the matter has elevated to way beyond a couple of beat cops from New York City, and you?

But more enlightening is coming face to face with the reality of the what we knew THEN, as general knowledge and movie research begs to tell us everything we ever imagined, and more, three decades ago.

I'm just saying, as elementary as it may seem, if we were supposedly "thinking like a terrorist" then -- what, pray tell, is our excuse now?

I don't want terrorists having a foothold anywhere in the world; I don't want radical extremism leading the way, and coming after the things we love, for any country around the globe -- whether it be Egypt, Tunisia, Lebanon, or New York City.

The movie declared something stark and unimaginable -- "gotta come at the violence with greater violence..." or something like that.

For just a girl, who really only wants to live in a world that values world peace, the very thought of that seems utterly frightening -- and even though I know it was just a movie -- I am left with wondering, what if it's true?

Hearing the Interpol Brit preaching in my ear again, he said "that's the technique of terror, how do you like it?"

ugh.
wish we could all have milk and cookies and talk about it like reasonable people.

Make it a Good Day, G

and really, if a half Muslim, half Christian, president can't get this right...what are our true hopes, and future, built on?  sand?

Adele, rolling in the deep, is playing on GTV, with a click on Dear America.  REALLY hot song...love love love this girl  -- just trying to leave you on a high note... with a song that won't get out of my head...and it ain't disco.  enjoy.

Dear America,

sweet hallelujah, it's Friday.

before the end of the day, may I recommend a long, hot bubble bath for all of us -- if possible, throw in a few rose petals  -- sip on a glass of chianti -- eat a bar of chocolate -- listen to a little BBKing -- or Sinatra or Sting -- no, make it Toni Braxton or  Tony Bennett...whatever...ya see, I'm so frazzled, I can't even figure out what music I need most.  Point is, just find the melody to move you into another world for just a moment or two, preferably twenty.

the message on this glorious, sunny San Diego day in America is simply, chill; whatever that looks like for you, however the way you must go, just get there, go there, do everything you can in this day to bring yourself to the chill point...today... before the day is through.

We are so incredibly touchy; we are so hopped up on hopping on someone else -- whether it be by character assassination, corporate culture annihilation, social justice justification, or just because they looked at us funny -- we have seemed to have lost our ability to communicate effectively and reasonably and intelligently -- unless you think that looks like beginning with a law suit, slander, incivility or the unthinkable, damaging, visceral and flagrant attack without merit.


POLITICS

Not so amusing to watch, really, is watching someone like Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D - Ohio) sue the company he works for -- seeking damages from a government cafeteria for an olive pit that wreaked havoc in his mouth, to the tune of $150 grand. Hello, this is really suing the American people, all the rest of us.  really?  funny stuff, if it weren't for the prevalence of the common knee-jerk refrain happening all over America today...just sue them falalala lala la....

And gotta love the full page ad -- marking a very public rebuttal -- for all the world to read -- from Taco Bell:

"THANK YOU FOR SUING US." 

it begins.

classic.

Followed up with:

"Here's the truth about our seasoned beef..."

leading us down the path of 

"the claims made against Taco Bell 

and our seasoned beef are absolutely false...

Plain ground beef is boring...

So here are the REAL percentages...

[and] In case your curious, 

here's our not-so-secret recipe."

"we stand behind the quality 

of our seasoned beef 100%

and we are proud to serve it in all our restaurants.  

We take any claims to the contrary 

very seriously 

and plan to take legal action 

against those who have made false claims 

against our seasoned beef."  

Greg Creed

President, Taco Bell

Do you know what was on the other side 
of this full page ad in our local U-T?

A full page ad from Walmart.

Working Together

For San Diego

"At Walmart, we take every opportunity to be a good neighbor

and to invest in long-term solutions to help the communities that we serve.

That is why we are announcing a new effort in the City of San Diego..."

Why do they have to do this, you ask?

Because there has been an uprising against a proposed Walmart Super Store, even in spite of the dismal economic environment here, with unemployment continuing to hang at over 10%; while the unions are a bit tweaked, too, getting their made in china, 'workers of the world unite,' panties all up in a wad...quickly rectifying rules for radicals tactics-- believing if they do this long enough, surely they will just go away.

But Walmart is hardly standing down.  No, it has only fueled their cause -- they are more committed than ever -- and will not falter -- for their intention is on one thing, and one thing only -- to grow their business, building a dozen stores in the San Diego market alone, create approximately "1,400 jobs", paying "competitive wages", encouraging "the use of minority contractors and local suppliers", developing charitable partnerships valued at "$8 million that will work to eradicate hunger, increase workforce development and sustainability."

Two full page ads fighting back with a vengeance for their cause, all the while the American way is being threatened.

ENTERTAINMENT

And by the way, whatever the perceived rift between tea party candidates/constituency and "the right" -- you all better walk back, jack.  Once again, the mainstream media is manufacturing propaganda without a cause; sure, there are plenty of opinions flying left and right about characterizing the Tea Party as simply activists,out to stir up trouble, shake things up, invoking their opinion -- and interfering so,  the audacity really, syndicating a certain Michele Bachmann rebuttal to the president's SOTU address "without permission" no less -- oh my, so  bad. naughty naughty.  

can you feel me now, can you get the sarcasm...if not, then you are missing my drift entirely.

Now Megan McCain is entitled to say whatever she wants; these days, she seems to be a publicity monger in her own little way too -- go for it, it's a free country; however, what was it you said about Bachmann, she's "a poor man's Sarah Palin..." 

wow

without commenting on how many things I find wrong with that kind of statement, let me just say, given it is coming from a girl living off of her daddy's name right now, it is pretty funny.

Well, Megan, hate to break it to you, but conventional thinking is so yesterday's politics; that has only led us down a path of progressive policy, middle of the road compromise, taking a real stand for nothing, while spending the people's money on everything, and only arriving at final destination  with nothing to show for it but unsustainable deficits and a mountain of debt in our way. (Newsflash, God love his patriotism,  but your father ranks high in this regard -- or would that be low -- perception is everything you know)

Not to mention the itty bitty detail that... Bachmann was asked by the Tea Party for a response! 

Her webcast was totally unrelated and separate from the official GOP rebuttal, which we have already discussed here on G before, was a pretty brilliant and well articulated response, by the fine gentleman from Wisconsin, Paul Ryan.  

But before the night was through, it was the manipulation of the story, to create a story, via the mainstream media  headlining the lie; the sole perpetrators for creating this make-believe firestorm lies within the left wing media, along with the help of people like you, Megan; everyone is just trying to sell news -- or make news -- or manufacture news (feel free to substitute lies for news at any time)

OBITUARIES

At first glance, this may seem like a contradiction before the end of the sentence is through, but whatever happened to the more, the merrier, here in the good ole US of A?

When did our differences begin to define us louder than our commonalities?

We don't all listen to the same music;

We don't all believe in the same religion;

We don't all wear the same uniform, the same perfume, the same experiences, or the same political ideology on our sleeve.

Piggy-backing on the ad from Taco Bell, how boring would that be?!

We used to celebrate our differences and practice finding our common ground with respect -- even in the middle of staunch political debate.  

Where oh where did that spirit go?  

My best answer is that it has morphed into a society that tells all, bares all, and loses it all on television, in the paper, on the net with no holds barred. We value letting the fur fly right now, even if that makes us look crazy, or go mad, in the process. Nothing is off limits -- while nothing is sacred, either. hell, if my fifteen minutes of fame doesn't make me a millionaire, maybe I'll find someone or something to sue  OR write a book [addressing the walking into fountain girl featured on YouTube, dennis kucinich the menace, and the Taco Bell/Walmart/CorpUSA antagonize-rs, and the It girl in Megan McCain, all in one fell swoop with the ink).

PERSONALS

As evident by the November elections, to make fun of the Bachmann's or the Palin's of this world would be a mistake; for these are two selfless, patriotic, conservative women who are hardly afraid of stepping into the fray.  Moreover, as the polls seem to show over and over and over again, like old news already, they just so happen to speak directly to the best interests of the majority, in this here United States of America; they speak to the plain old simple folk -- the sixty-six percent of us who do not mindlessly follow the left leaning media. Call us a big ground round of ground beef if you must,  it don't matter, having been fully seasoned with the secret recipe -- we are ready to meet our maker or the frying pan, whichever comes first.  

Bring it; cuz this country's got issues, lots of them -- and clearly, we are no longer afraid of talking about them, spilling them all over our bad self, or showing them off in front of millions and millions of people. it might get ugly; the worst of it may not be over.

the good news is, at least we are still speaking to one another, right? 

sorry we didn't make time for world news -- in a nutshell, it's all going to hell in a handbasket...

what's that song, is anybody really listening? does anybody really know what time it is? does anybody really care?   hmmmmm let's hum a little on that thought.

Time to throw on some tunes, I need to be chillin' like villin' like right now.  

what's this... 

oooh yeah, talk to me...

I believe a bath is calling me by name -- which, after long deliberation, will be with extra bubbles, without rose petals, and a three finger shot of whiskey straight up...and listening to whatever Music Choice is playing on the 70's station.  let the good times roll. Bottoms up, ya'll, and I'm not even southern.

Make it a Good Day, G

Dear America,

One of the main points of  Paul Ryan's GOP rebuttal [of the president's SOTU address] -- and what continues to be the mantra of the entire conservative nation  -- is, what do we do NOW in order to RETURN to an environment that "CREATES the conditions to upward mobility."

What do we have to do now -- not in the future --

not drafted over the course of ten years...amounting to merely 400 B's and only attending to discretionary funds (less than 15% of total budget),

not by manipulating ghost budgets and foreshadowing future economic conditions (which, let's face it, if those kinds of super natural predictions existed, we could all buy an island and retire, right?),

and certainly not by "freezing" where we are at now -- how stupid is that idea? especially considering we are currently facing another year of trillion dollar deficits (1.5 T to be exact, see CBO 1-26-11)


but above all, not by ignoring the true culprits of the unfathomable crime in the first place -- the slush fund entitlements.

We are at 14 TRILLION right now, by the end of the year, at 15.5 TRILLION...we can't continue on this trajectory, we simply can't do it, which is why they say it is UNSUSTAINABLE!

Paul Ryan gave us sweet and to the point ten minutes outlining some of the incredible ideas our founders held dear and why; and more important, he didn't sugar coat and pansy his way around the unsustainable debt, the yearly deficits, that every futuristic timetable known to man has come to recognize, shuddering in undeniable regret and disbelief; America's fall from grace and sound principles has created the very conditions to a fierce, traumatic,  downward spiral -- a kind of spiral that, in the right now, is showing enough velocity to take but only a matter of years into the not-so-distant future to come to a horrible, and oh so final, demise.

This isn't fear mongering; this is the truth.

This nation was built upon the rock of ages; learned men, who became known as our founders, came to the table crafting and creating and defining what it is, we as a people, should elevate to our highest value, and likewise, painstakingly made known, in no uncertain terms, what would happen if we don't.

As long as we stayed true to our core beliefs, and held tight to our common values, and came together in a principled, respectable, honorable manner in all of our daily affairs -- as long as we could remain true to our good, and not to the downright ugly -- we could create the conditions of upward mobility, in direct and equal proportion for our efforts -- and all would be well.

America would grow, expand, blossom and bear fruit --and now returning to the very idea of a blog just a few days ago -- UNapologetically -- our blessings would multiply.

"[budget debates] are also about

the purpose of government...

the principles that guide us...

and to show you...

in the spirit of our Declaration of Independence, 

and in the words of our Constitution, 

they have to do with the importance of limited government

and the blessing of self-government." 

Paul Ryan

..."the blessing of self-government." wow.

of course, G's easy -- he had me at hello -- but I'm not sure if I have heard anything more beautiful while making so much sense.

Can we just sit for a moment and get a grip around this?

THIS phrase defines who we are supposed to be as individuals, blessed to be living in this nation, at this time, in this moment AND our inherent responsibility and duty to her, this nation, America.

And now, it becomes painfully clear, we have neither aligned ourselves personally, or collectively, to either of these principles for quite some time.

ouch.

If we stayed true, we wouldn't be in this position today.

Imagine what our world would be like if we simply followed our personal dreams living within our means under a selfless, limited government who only saw fit to manage us with the bare minimum in mind, remaining true to the limited government mandate handed down by our forefathers.  Can you imagine that?

And now, get a grip around the fact that we did this to ourselves, whether it was unabashedly -- or unwittingly!

This is just one example of our government in action today :
(besides the one the president recited in his SOTU address...the one about the salmon departments...his timing was spot on and very funny) -- 

but just yesterday the government made this big announcement of how it was discontinuing a knee-jerk reaction of the Bush Administration which produced the colorized terror alert chart.  The Bush Administration thought, in the short term, a simple system illustrating the height of perceived terror attacks would bring a level of control to the people -- quantifying it, packaging it, making it look like something manageable, or something.  When in fact, all in all, it didn't seem to do much of anything really.

But what does this government report, something to this affect: 'we've been looking at it for more than a year...we will begin phasing it out over the next 90 days...and we will replace it with something better."

If only they were talking about the health care law.

...repeal and replace...repeal and replace...oops but I digress.
 
digress alert, digress alert...
stop...it isn't safe...go back..

So it would be funny stuff if it weren't so true -- but in reality, it has taken somebody, within this administration, probably someone making oooh, I don't know, let's go with the latest upper echelon averages, say, $173,596/year, an entire year to figure out that the purpose of the current Terror Alert System can no longer be found -- but we're gonna replace it  anyway, with one of our systems instead.

Now, given we already have the tools in place under "the emergency broadcast system" of the FCC -- why are we even spending our energy -- over the course of a year! -- to even discuss it????

and this phasing out thing... over 90 days -- what does that mean? -- first the red goes, then the orange...then...?

I like where Stossel is coming from these days -- and Rand Paul -- just start; start cutting, and by all means cease and desist clinging to any relevance in 'freezing' -- as that dog just ain't gonna hunt no more, no more.

I remember when I was a wee little girl skipping to the tulips in the seventies, we had lessons on recycling, being good to mother earth, conserving our resources, being kind to our neighbor, only paying for what we could afford, listening to our parents (with genuine love and respect, too), not letting the water run when we brushed our teeth, wearing the same tennis shoes everyday until we grew out of them, having to at least try my spinach until the day I began to really like it, spending pocket change for a 45  (Elton John's Good Bye Yellow Brick Road) and thinking it was gold...point is, we knew then many of the things we know now... we were all talking about saving energy, making more fuel efficient cars, getting off our addiction to oil (especially exported) even then!  forty years ago. we've been on this road a long, long time.

The thing is, today, my epiphany came with the idea, that all this talk about green this, green that, is so yesterday's energy.   THIS talk is nothing new at all -- and there are ample parts of this world, full on countries, make that continents, who don't give a hoot if they pollute -- still!  And have no plans to change.

Now conservation is commendable and essential all the live long day.  No doubt about it.  It is cool.  It is smart.  It is responsible.  It is what all of us should do right now.

Conservation, based on sound principles and universal truths, is never on the wrong side of the argument...
but especially right now.  TODAY.

And just what has grown twenty five percent in the last four years?  Where is the gluttony?  Oh the irony given the recent focus on obesity, no?

What we have left
of this beautiful America
we must conserve, and rapidly.

The future is now, not divined over the course of ten year averages while hoping the creeks don't rise.
It is now.

Right now, today, we must return to a limited federal government and immediately alleviate wasteful spending from every ridiculous department saved or created in the last ten years. And not stop there.

Chop entire bodies of bureaucrats, right now, today -- slash the department of education, slash the department of energy, and remove most czars along with all of their people, overhead, and paper clips right out from underneath the high speed-rail dreams that carried them in.

Stop all government special favors and subsidies and earmarks.

Privatize, re-organize and/or limit Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid -- for like the president said, "the rules have changed."

Close down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for fraud, and pose incredible fines upon the bums that abused their power, recklessly mis-managing a condominium of bureaucracy for years, while punishing the American taxpayer all along the way.

Close down military bases around the globe (without a second thought, at least half, to start), and bring our troops home to work along our borders -- to protect America, for America's best interests, as clearly defined by our Constitution.

All travel should be curtailed until further notice -- any of you guys ever heard of a thing called Skype or GOtoMeeting.com?

All catered lunches should be paid for out of pocket.

All un-used office buildings should be sold.

And to the issue to raise, or not to raise, the Debt Ceiling: This is no longer a question --  NO.

No new taxes.  No new spending (i.e. investing).
You -- the federal government -- are cut off (and make no mistake, you are cut off at the knees, the Chicago way, if you get my drift). For we, the people, are creating the very conditions for upward mobility of the common man, right here, right now.


Cease all discussions about "yesterday's health care law"  -- and begin to lay the groundwork to commence true TORT reform; regain the competitive spirit of the health care industry by extending the insurance company territory to the entire United States,  and thus correcting the mass market failure of limiting the industry to the border line, slashing the monopoly affect right off it's feet, so that we may more fully create the conditions for fair market value and practice of a commodity long overdue...while the health care bill is just the beginning...

A country who's sole purpose is to create the conditions of upward mobility -- who wouldn't want to live in a country like that?

A limited government is perfect in every way -- add to that the 'blessing of self-government' -- oh my, true blue liberty runs amuck. crazy I tell you, just crazy.  make no mistake, it's crazy good.

"A people who values it's privileges

above it's principles 

soon loses both." 

Dwight D. Eisenhower

This is no time for sissy speak; we must act, confidently, and go in the direction of full stop and reverse...

...not over ten years, not tomorrow, not in five minutes, not even in a minute...but right now.

Make it a Good Day, G

love love love Doris Day...and she's playing on G-TV, just a click away on Dear America today, not tomorrow, right now, today, and only for today, don't miss her ...Day,   Doris Day.

Dear America,

Finally.
Transparency we can all believe in.

Only taken two years...
But oh the sweet smell of success...
Glory days are here again.

"WE DO BIG THINGS...that's how we win the future."

So the focus group with Frank Luntz, interviewed after the address and the GOP redress, came with a rounding tone of blah, blah, blahblahblah.  Real People can see right through the guy now -- and you know what they say, seeing is believing; the people, the average Joe, have a hard time believing him for a minute (let alone 62).

Don't get me wrong -- we want to; we really want to trust him and love him and elevate the b'jesus out of him; he is a VERY likable guy, a man's man, a perfect president in every way...

except...
if only...
if only we haven't been witness all this time...
to his antics and tactics of the last two years... and counting.

There was something about the way he moved us -- that got to a point last night -- maybe after the first twenty minutes -- when I was like, why is this sounding so general, so mediocre, so middle of the road -- it was milque-toasty...swarmy... hum drum...just what we expected really...as he went on and on and on, starting to leave a film over the eyes...

oh sure, he plucked people out of the audience, highlighting their company, someone's personal drive, fine tuning the  natural ambition and penchant to DO good things, to do the things America does so well, shooby dooby dooo.. to get involved, to share our ideas, our green energy innovations, to make a difference in this world... and better still, to make a difference in the life of a child... be a teacher..true inspiration was dripping all over the place, indeed.
 
"the future is ours to win"; "to win the future we will have to take on challenges that have been decades in the making"; "to meet the demands of a new age" (seriously? you spin a commercial on us?); "we wanna win the future"; "let's fix what needs fixing...move forward"; "we can't win the future with a government of the past"; "we do big things...that's how we win our future."

Wrapping things up with a big finish (and it was, and the best part of the night actually came immediately after his shout out to our men and women in uniform, which got the longest standing O of the evening and began what became the beginning of the end and the last, few, unbearable minutes of winning the future and the finality of his address, finally):

"The State of the Union is Strong," he said.

country strong...
sing me a song...
don't sing me a sad song,
but a new song...
what's taking so long...
what could go wrong?

I would be remiss if I did not point out awkward moments --

Telling us things -- as if we didn't already know for ourselves --  that basically, yes, the world has changed; "...they're right, the rules have changed..." going on and on about the 101 ways America has fallen behind in Science, Education and Math.  But just before we let any room for doubt creep in, he pops us with this: "America still has the largest, most prosperous, economy in the world!"

the future is ours to win.

His pillars of strength very neatly get broken down into roughly three areas -- Innovation,  Education and Nation Building (infrastructure)

And right off the bat he compares himself -- and maybe all the rest of us -- to being in the middle of an historical snippet in time, saying "this IS our generation's Sputnik moment."  that is funny.  does this work the same way as Ford -- audaciously projecting five years out -- that they have a car that holds it's value better than Toyota?  ...if we say it enough times...it really will come true..it really will come true.  and don't even get me started on what happens when we click our heels too.

But really, our "sputnik moment" -- poor choice of example if you ask me, but who is. oh well. who cares.  But really, you are going to bring up NASA upon your own choosing after scorching their jets and budgets to minimalism in space?  that's on you, Mr. O.

the future is ours to win.

Ah the eye of the beholder is a beautiful thing, movingon.org ---  you didn't delay getting right into your proposals featured on your brand spankin' new budget, the one that is about to be handed over to our new 112th Congress;  of course, not to take away from the government not even working off a budget right now, only a temporary continuance resolution to patch things up, keep things going, and if nothing else, put a band-aid over a deep, open, self-inflicted wound that is turning every shade of green at this very moment.  details. schmeetails.

So, you didn't mince words one bit -- to win the future, we (i.e. government) need to invest in the new way of clean energy, and apparently clean energy only, as you begin to make frenemies left and right saying:

"I don't know if you noticed, he he he, [big bad] oil companies are doing pretty darn well on their own...he he he...that's yesterday's energy."  so bold of you.

I don't know if you noticed, Mr. O, but the world revolves around oil, and it's by-products, day in and day out; if the bottom of the earth could talk, it would tell you, America cannot "innovate" and "grow" equally with the rest of the world without the stuff, the good stuff, the stuff formerly known as "black gold";  ah but alas, you, after giving it a thorough presidential shellacking now, the good stuff, the stuff that has made America pretty darn great has been quickly leveled to fool's gold via the mindset of an absent-minded professor.

Never also you mind, that even oil companies are evolving, changing the way they do business, leading the way into brand new technologies, and making their way into the small villages of the world, building infrastructure and giving a whole lot back, all along their merry little greedy way...  way to go, big guy, way to go.

the future is ours to win.

The funny thing about business, is that people can see a phony coming from a mile away.  The one who talks the walk has got nothing on the one who walks the talk;  the peddlers of mystical potions and fly-by-night miracle makers are a dime a dozen -- and more important, people can see right through them.

It simply doesn't work to say you are all for innovation, less regulation, more private investment, more boom, competition and drive, if all along the way you stomp on it. Truth is, allowing the free market to dictate the way, instead of a dictate telling the market how and for how much, is a chasm so far and wide, it would take a new Sputnik moment to get there (and that is simply not in the works at this time, we simply do not have the funds allocated. check back with us next year)

oh, so you need to be reminded of few startling examples of late?

in the last year, you stopped all oil drilling in any body of water and proceeded with an attack on coal (which is why your pal from West Virginia moved from the Governor's mansion to the Capital Building)...

you were poised to simply let the Bush Tax Cuts subside -- on the heels of a recession no less...

you have made it so difficult for R&D, have added so much in regulation, made it so hard to get investment capital to take the risk, drug companies have just said 'we're out' -- oh, and looky here, leaving a big fat opening for the Fed to jump in and ultimately be in charge, since just yesterday, of our narcotics and each and every side affect that comes with.  joy to the world and hand me the pink pill.

And all of a sudden you are speaking so highly of competitiveness?  really?  After beating up the rules of the road for a truly free market to play, you really think you can pull that off? -- trying to sound like a capitalist?

Take GE (no really, take it), what used to be the quintessential American maker of bringing all good things to life, has been rumored (another choice phrase of yours from the night) to have made a deal with China, offering up company secrets and special formulas and warming up to a long and fruitful arrangement to help them hit us harder where it hurts by 2020.

the future is ours to win.  (or lose)

You said 'we' (i.e. the government) will be "picking projects that are best for the economy, not politicians...over the years, we've rigged a system to benefit certain industry...makes no sense, that has to change."  and if that isn't a contradiction if there ever was one.  Yes to green jobs, No to oil, gas and coal.  Special favor to GE, all the rest of you are in it to win it on your own. 

the future is ours to win. (only if the government gets out of the way and stops trying to control, manipulate, beg, steal or borrow our future.  yes, then, and only then, we very well stand a chance.)

like a news flash: "we must confront the fact that government spends more than it takes in."

tell us something we don't know.

like a light bulb went off:   "[you all] live within your means...government must do the same."

talk to me.

You made candid shout-outs to specific, yet oh so general, groups,  namely:

to the children of illegals in school who only wish to grow up to be mathletes and scientists, calculating the next speed rail dimensions and discovering the cure for everything as we speak  (doesn't count the overwhelming numbers in my neck of the woods, who skip class, don't do their homework, and just hang around the barrio doing nothing with their free, award winning education);

to the teachers -- in a 'nation builders of the world unite' kind of manner, as it's not just a job, but a duty -- and to all you kids watching out there, and I know you are, it was assigned homework doncha know -- "become a teacher" (and please don't misconstrue, I love any good teacher as the next mom);

to the top 2% -- to all the millionaires and billionaires out there -- to the loophole finders and tax rate abusers -- we'll be coming for you down the road, just give us a little time, let's just leave it at that;

to the Muslim Americans...to tell you the truth, I am not quite sure how, or why, he made the dramatic gesture to 'insert here'...but score one for Mr.O, it sounded good, right.

to the Gay and Lesbian coalition of the U.S. Military...reminding us of the new age in boot camp coming on the repeal of DADT; but  honestly, he went on and did something unexpected, and surely I must give kudos when kudos are due -- he made it perfectly clear to college campuses far and wide to bring back the ROTC!  yes! you can hang a medal of honor on that special request.

Another loose end before we come to the end, not sure why you mentioned the trip scheduled for March -- evidently, you have made future plans to meet the demands of dictators and corrupt politicians in Brazil, Venezuela and El Salvador; not sure you noticed, Mr.O, standing O, you have much to do about nothing and everything before that day arrives --  you may not have a budget approved, the Debt Ceiling may not have been raised, recklessly and with free market abandon, while the approval to build the high speed rail, with all it's parts made in China, may not have been sufficiently inked yet  -- but who am I to question your timing, belittle your ability to get things done, or smack down your American innovative spirit.

and hey, the future is ours to win. right? (or frantically strew about)

Happy Wednesday.
If you haven't noticed, G awoke with a day-after headache.

Our future --  rebuilding America -- according to Mr. O, seems to be based on the same old thing(s): new investment (spending), borrowing (inflation), and banking on China to be there when we fall, I mean, fail.  Oh same thing.

I never heard him give a real sense of urgency to change our wicked ways.

I never heard anything more then making a few tweaks here, a few digs there.

I never heard him really grab a hold of our self-reliant roots and tug at them with all our soul, with all our might; I didn't hear him tell us to pull ourselves up by the bootstraps and get on with it already; I didn't hear him say, you can't expect government to bail anybody out anymore --  in a 'ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country', as we are country strong, kind of moment.  I didn't hear this kind of revelation and affirmation of how the real America gets out of a tough spot.

It was 62 minutes of a glazed over the eye denial of the gargantuan hot mess we're in, ah yes, with a few standing O's in between.  and it was very well done.  as expected.

thank you, thank you very much.
God Bless you and
God bless the United States of America.

the state of the union is strong.

the future is ours to win.

we do big things.

Big.

Make it a Good Day, G

p.s. don't know if you noticed, the airplane metaphor moment fell flat, bombed actually; of course, your very own Austan Goolsbee gave us a heads up, but really, not something I would readily return to in the future is ours to win near future.

Dear America,

Last Sunday, Joel Osteen talked about how he wasn't ever going to apologize for God's blessings; he said it in front of his audience of thousands, an added television audience of tens of thousands -- basically, for all ears to hear, he made it perfectly clear, that he is not ashamed of how the Lord has blessed him, his family, and went on to tell us why, sometimes bringing himself to tears.

the long and the short of it seemed to fall back on a realization that for most of us running around in this world, unless we are privy to all the years leading up to the 'time of blessings' shall we say, we really don't see the whole story; we're getting in at the end, at a time when we witness the good stuff, like when the fair maiden finally kisses her handsome prince; we're finding ourselves in the audience of some kind of super power preacher, who by the looks of things is making millions in book sales and weekly tithes through his evangelical ministry, some people might even be wondering what the @%*#, he's so lucky...look at him all happy...I wanna big house, shiny new shoes and the ability to feed my family without a care in the world....all he does is say a bunch of mumbo jumbo about how good it is to be a follower of Christ, a child of God...really, Joel...really...easy for you to say...
 

What we don't see, is the time of struggle; what we are not witness to, are the innumerable times of drought and despair.

We, the people -- sitting from our sweet spot of judgment --  have no idea what in the world it took to get to this time of blessing.

absolutely no idea.

Similar to the attack on Sarah Palin, immediately following her arrival along side John McCain on the big presidential wanna-be stage, the media issued in a new era of character assassination; the left, then and now, pounced on her as if  asking 'what in the world did she ever do to deserve it...' -- all they saw was this beautiful, articulate, polished woman, with her gorgeous, American family standing up behind her, who would before the night is through, change the course of history, while welcoming in a new day -- overnight -- for the republican party and conservatives everywhere.

Upon first impression, whatever the left could see from the outside, could no way justify the ability for Sarah to simply waltz into blessings; she didn't have the right credentials, the proper Ivy League resume, or the recognition of years of public service -- at least for those of us in the lower 48 -- we never saw this locomotive comin'.

What the left refuses to see, to this day, is her years of putting herself through school, the years of service and hockey-mom activism in her own back yard, the years of living close to the land, as all Alaskans naturally do, respectful of the Alaskan environment and natural resources, including oil, fishing, game and the protection of all endangered wildlife.  If the left actually took a genuine interest to get to know who Sarah really is, I have no doubt they would love her -- instead, we get fear and loathing, but maybe that's just me being G.

IN any event, the world was introduced to Sarah long after her time of paying her dues, starting out small, beginning with city council, moving into the mayor's office, and reaching the Governor's seat of the entire state of Alaska -- and especially after taking on the good old boy network, her own party, and the oil industry all at the same time -- which, by the way, she accomplished nearly on her own, making more enemies than friends, and in the end being responsible for totally dismantling the crony capitalism of Alaskan politics; struggle?  the credentials?  the school of hard knocks? the payment of her dues in blood, sweat and tears? not to be seen by the naked -- and thoroughly, ignorant, left brain -- eye.

Likewise, is the business of getting America back on track -- a perfect segway into a quick comparison to the times; we have no appreciation, it would seem, of what got us here in the first place; we are surrounded in blessings, as if showing absolutely no respect for the days, weeks, months, or two centuries of struggle and strife to get us here, to this very moment in time.

We are so full of blessings, we have grown so spoiled, more enamored by looks over substance, we have forgotten each and every principle and value we have painstakingly realized to date, long after the due diligence, the struggle, the heartache...long after the worst part, for all intents and purposes, is over.

It would seem we have no respect for her -- America -- at all.

Nope; all we have left are the petty rushes to judgment; the critical thinking of someone who clings to 'outdated ideas', you know, the ideas that made America pretty wonderful to begin with; nope, now is the time of dividing, rather than uniting -- ever hopeful that our own issues will be heard over the deafening voices of another.

Gone are the good old days, when we actually understood why we are a nation of faith; gone are the days when we recognized free market principles out-shined all the rest; gone are the days when self-reliance was taught, nurtured, cultivated into every process of society while fully and bountifully rewarded; gone are the days when we celebrated another man's riches, for we could very well make it happen too...next; gone are the days when we protected the sanctity of life, the preservation of our own bodies, and honored real love; gone are the days...

gone are the days when we totally got it --  that we are only as good as the character of the people we make -- teaching our children with the highest level of standards and expectations and morals, and, in the end, actually gaining something in return; gone are the days when we lived within our means; gone are the days when we opened the door for the person behind us; gone are the days when we sat down for dinner, with the family, eating a home-cooked meal, when it wasn't a holiday or special night of the week; gone are the days...


gone are the days when we understood why the founders had to have a 3/5th clause; gone are the days when we fought, with real guns and ammo, a civil war to protect the lives and future for all Americans; gone are the days when we made it through the Great Depression saying we would never do that again; gone are the days when we said no more taxation without representation and threw tea into the sea;  gone are the days when we cried, as one nation, after the twin towers collapsed from the direct attack by Islamic Suicide Bomber Terrorists; gone are the days when we truly melted into ONE America -- not about being Irish or Italian, not about Protestant or Catholic, not about Black or White or Yellow or Brown, not about my special interest over yours; gone are the days...

My father sent me what would seem to be a rather innocuous email this morning, telling an age old story of how we got the width of train tracks -- which, by the way, is a strange figure, an exact 4 feet 8.5 inches, between the rails.  SO!  Sitting here, hearing a raging chorus of 'so what' I will leave it at that...

or will I?

...what's this...
underneath it all...
I am hearing...
a still small voice begging for more --

alright, alright, shooosh now and sit down, I will tell you:

It is a story as old as time -- and I kid you not one bit....the railroad gauge got it's specifications from the English, who got it's country roads dating back to the beginning of civilization, a time when chariots of fire flew through town raping and pillaging and stealing all they could find, or simply just setting up camp -- the specifications of the chariots were all the same...going back to specifications that were arrived by a calculated mass of 'two horse's asses'; the roman empire was simply conforming to a width to meet the demands and abilities of the times, and more important, stuck to it; the dimensions never changed.

Over time, the ruts in the road became permanent roadways, and from then on, basically, all things invented to move continued to operate using the same standards all through the years.

Sadly, I have not replayed the story to you giving full justice of each and every moment in time, to reflect the rich history, but you get my drift; the specifications of today's railroad goes all the way back to the Roman Empire!

The added budump ba at the end included a tie to NASA -- for the two rockets cradling the space shuttle -- the ones that most people pay absolute no attention to whatsoever -- have to be moved by rail; what specifications to the width of the rockets do you think they had to use?  Good class...now run outside and play.

Some things in our history -- set up by our founders to create the so-called limited government, with limited powers, to allow for the unlimited blessings of the people to truly rise to their highest heights -- were specifically and conscientiously designed using steadfast specifications, of lessons learned long ago, molding fundamental principles with sound, exemplary values that were already tried and true; they knew, and warned us, veering away from one, or in part, could lead to untimely, unimaginable, unintended consequences of the highest order.

The thing is, we have reached a point now that either we have chosen not to see, or simply prefer not to pay homage to, the blue print handed down to us  -- dismissing the past as if it were irrelevant, unimportant and old school; we have no respect for the lessons of a past, a past wrought with struggle, strife, and reminiscent of the true depth and breadth of the real makings of America; we no longer cling to a natural yearning to capture the back story, the who, what, when, where of our history -- absolutely uninterested in everything up until now.

Everything that has led to this moment of blessings is being left by the wayside; all we are into these days is the outcome, the end game, the end no matter the means...and make it snappy, if you will, we are kinda in a hurry.

Our rich history, everything we have worked for, is brushed off, ignored, misunderstood, or entirely miss-characterized; the long and shaky beginning, that just so happened to really date back a couple of millenniums no less, has been reduced to rounding chorus of 'who cares' --


America -- she is beautiful -- and look at her, with the substance to back it up... oh, the things she could do, the places we could go  -- if only we could truly set her free (again).

Make it a Good Day, G

so the president has the State of the Union speech tonight -- word is leaking out that he will call for a 5 year spending freeze.  That is great news -- and if only I could leave it at that; 

what about his last two years of unprecedented spending?  adding a huge health care entitlement to the nation's woes and basically adding 3.5 Trillion dollars before the day is done (the total of five trillion under  Nancy Pelosi's congressional lead)?  

"a five year spending freeze" -- can't wait to watch him say this with a straight face.

Dear America,

Atheists need to get a hobby.

Tragic news is coming out of Hawaii, the state senate there is no longer starting their day with poi and a prayer; trying to beat the ACLU to the punch, their own throw down is self-inflicted -- simply giving up the fight before it even makes it to court.

According to the writing on the palm frond wall, the citizen complaint picked up by the ACLU was just going to win anyway, and they simply decided to cease morning prayers before being told they had to.

What?


Here in beautiful southern California, a long time atheist and activist, has taken the extremism of anti-godism to a whole 'nother level; we have had a decades old fight against the cross on Mt.Soledad, a war memorial high atop a local neighborhood in La Jolla, where just recently, the liberal court let the atheist win...

even though 80% of the general public do not see an issue -- wish the cross to remain -- appreciate the cross for which she stands honoring our local fallen soldiers -- upon the gorgeous panoramic view of the beaches and bays and back country ...with 80%...

somehow, with the help of people like the ACLU, the atheist won.

granted, the decision handed down was not necessarily requiring the cross to be dismantled; only the call to change it was demanded by the courts, via the opinion of the ninth circuit court.

Perhaps the courts were merely talking about altering it's size; perhaps if the cross were to be cut to half it's size, allowing say, more 'nothingness' to prevail over the top of it, as if the blank blue sky had the upper hand, the atheists would be happy (interesting...would it really be a blank blue sky of nothingness, or would it simply show more heaven???....hmmm you decide)

But the courts didn't really say what kind of changes had to be made;

oh I got it now, maybe constructing the cross within a big, wide circle -- one where a rather ugly and conspicuous diagonal slash comes flailing across the front of it -- maybe that's what they had in mind.  I  don't know, they just didn't spell it out.

With further thought, perhaps more important than the need to get a hobby (other than the one picking on Christians), is more the need to get their own symbol, just sayin';

I just don't get it, are the atheists that petty, that jealous, witnessing the believers enjoying a symbol we can all believe in, a kind that we shamelessly adorn ourselves with, one that honors a higher consciousness to Something Greater than ourselves, and not only that, celebrates our founding principles and beliefs, that they get so dizzy and confused they simply can't see straight?

Perhaps if they had something they could display, of their own, so that we would all know who they are, they would feel better valued in society; or better still, maybe they should consider a little self-esteem counseling --  water or art therapy is coming to mind -- just something that would assist them in working through this apparent internal, made sharply external, struggle.

Or is it simply their tolerance threshold hitting an all-time low?

A symbol is simply that, a symbol; it only matters to the one who gives it value and purpose and power to it; atheists do not have to believe in the cross, accept the cross, or even like it.  It is purely up to them and their own person -- who evidently is their own god.

But make no mistake, our founders made it perfectly clear -- "free exercise thereof", is "free exercise there of".


how dare the Atheist's belief system destroy and dismantle ours -- especially since it is the very foundation this country was founded.

how dare their  NO-God win over a God, any God, one God.

how dare we give them one more inch

They seem to be so misguided; while this narcissistic agenda, rushing the passage of legislation across the country, is simply out to admonish and dismiss any appearance of faith in this land; this is wrong; while this selfish view is completely backwards -- are we really here?  at the cross-section of being a nation of faith and a nation of nothingness? 

Through the aspirations and actions of atheists from sea to shining sea -- with a big help from left-leaning courts who only wish they had the power to do more --the separation of church and state has been totally redefined, and repackaged to serve the liberal elite agenda.

Oh you know, the common man, being people of faith, is so yesteryear. (kinda like the new ad from Audi...have you seen it?  a sick twist on goodnight moon if you ask me -- "goodnight " can be seen here -- it is a thirty second attack on America if you ask me again; "goodnight gluttony, a farewell long expected...goodnight outdated... and all of your wears, goodnight bygones, everywheres...good morning illumination!...unequaled inspiration ---   luxury has progressed -- truth in engineering."

(You, too, can boycott your Audi dealer today...power to the people...)

Running hand in hand with the radical, progressive agenda's need for speed, the powers that be realize all too well that a nation of faith threatens the ability to control the masses, the 'stupid ignorant people (especially church goers) who know no better;

but a nation built upon self-reliance and the freedom to think and grow rich simply doesn't bend over -- especially if that kind of fundamental transformation includes a new world order, an unattainable made for TV global illusion, that runs counter to America's birthright.

The only thing our founders wanted to keep "separated" was the idea of a national religion -- as men living in the age of enlightenment equally came to understand, making us all Catholic, all Muslim, all Jewish, or all Protestant, without our ability to freely choose, was not the way to go for a budding republic.
 
And now, I just don't get it; how did we get here?  How is it possible that the people who worship no God can shape the lives of the people who do -- and in such an all or nothing way, no less?

If you don't wish to pray, don't!  For God's sakes, whatever you do, don't bow your head with the rest of us, don't do it...don't do it, don't make me tell you again, mister, or you'll be in big trouble -- just close your eyes and think about what you will have for lunch, right?.

But no matter what you do, one thing stands clear -- you cannot take away are the rights of others to have faith, show their faith, and honor their faith; as long as there is no harm no foul, people OF FAITH have a right to express it, exercise it, and even shout it from a mountaintop if we so please.

Here's another way to look at it:

it is much like our right to eat meat or not to eat meat; it's not like the vegetarians have a right to take away our burgers and rib-eyes, right?  If you don't want to partake in some of the food this great earth has blessed us with (thanks to a loving and benevolent Creator...) then don't -- that right is yours to make and take all the way to the salad bar. It's a free country, live on juice bars, for all I care.

But just because you don't eat meat, or believe it is wrong, doesn't mean you can tell me what I cannot eat -- let alone have it taken plum out of the local grocery store everywhere and often for goodness sakes if for no other reason that YOU don't like it; just because you don't believe in God, doesn't mean you can tell me not to, or make me follow a belief system that takes away every sign, symbol or sanctity of a belief system that does.

Some people (funny, the majority of our global community) still believe in God.

While no matter how far we "progress" in this world, the majority of us still value that old luxury of believing in Something -- correction, not just a something, but a belief in that One True Thing, and as individual we come; but what we have in common, is realizing that the One True Thing is non-negotiable and  truly worthy of our time, money and attention above all else.

While some people (and when I say 'some', I really mean most)  -- some people still value the aged and well worn message! no matter who is telling the story -- a Saint Paul, a Jesus, a Mohammed, a John Smith, a Buddha, a God of all colors and creed -- we still open our hearts and minds to hear the message.

Talk about truth in engineering, our one true faith is a luxury we not only crave, we absolutely know, in our hearts, we cannot live without -- while most of us would probably agree, we don't even want to try.

We would walk! five miles in the snow and back again, before climbing into the mindset that fails to fill us with hope, love and charity through faith -- while the atheists agenda, one that destroys the very Judeo-Christian foundation we have built, shamelessly does just that.

Of all things, really, to attack the one thing that made America -- have we already forgotten?  We fought a revolution for this! Our religious and economic freedom from England was all we ever wanted, all we ever needed -- besides that One True Thing we celebrated through and through and double on Sunday.

Where is the defense for we the people who actually have the law on our side?  How awkward for the ACLU, right?  Having teams argue against one another in court, making a mockery of the whole charade.

God knows how we got here.no really, God probably knows.

So back to the top, isn't there something better they could be doing with their time -- the atheists, I mean...how on earth can a cause that seeks only to snuff out the look of faith in ourselves, and in our landmarks, be that fulfilling?  Is bitter judgment along with a thorough civic damnation of our nation's Divine Providence, and our community of faith, really that worthy?

Couldn't the atheists pour their attention to things of that greatly affect our civic livelihood and stability -- say like, inner-city children losing their way - falling victim to gangs and dropping out of school; or perhaps, the fall from grace in Hollywood, from a time (of luxury), when films were made really good -  along with a shared safe keeping of some kind of moral compass bearing witness by our children on the both the small and big screen; or perhaps the thoughtless use of vitriolic language by journalists, bloggers, and political pundits, all of which, when done, are worthy of someone telling them no, don't do that anymore.  Couldn't all these examples be a better use of their time and worthy of taking up the legal challenges?

Attacking Christians, in particular, is just no way to go around life.

So get a new hobby -- make up a symbol to call your own and flash it wherever you see fit, respectfully of course. Build your own memorial to something -- to death or to life -- and shine on.

But take your hands off of our cross! (and really, for true believers, God is in everything -- alive in not only the symbols and rituals -- but in everything seen and unseen...so good luck with that...what are you gonna do next, banish the trees, the birds, and the big blue sky?)

Your reprehensible, narcissistic, anti-altruistic demands to make us conform to your world, to pretend as if our God simply doesn't exist, denying our spiritual connection to all that surrounds us and each other, while callously forbidding us the FREE EXERCISE thereof, will never happen. never.

Oh my, to have a slew of liberal judges in your favor is a blessed thing to bestow...

but even still, can't help but think of them as simpletons in robes...

a little nudge here, a little nudge there...


Fear not, America, for precedence is in our favor (and we all know how much the law loves precedence) -- Divine Providence is in our favor, we have moved mountains before --
rest assured,
God is in our favor.


Motion denied.

Make it a Good Day, G

Dear America,

Hu was hard pressed...
to answer to a few questions on human rights violations...

hmmm. I don't know who?

Hu!

That's what I'm asking, who?

bada dump ba

I hear you; it was really stupid; whatever...

k then, what about this one --


the Chinese President was visiting and all we got was a t-shirt, with a picture of Mei Xiang and Tian Tian across the front of it and in big block Chinese characters the phrase "five more years" .

Then of course there is this one --

a straight faced President Hu outright denied any rumor of his country being a military threat, as reported by FoxNews.

(while his left arm was speaking to Robert Gates on Monday with a whole 'nother line of thought... regarding U.S.ARMS SALES to Taiwan, that "seriously damaged China's core interests, and we do not want to see that happen again," Liang Guanglie, China's Defense Minister sweetly forewarned.  'We hope that U.S. arms sales will not again and further disrupt' military ties or the overall relationship..." the article for NPR further detailed.)

Just "treat us with respect and as equals" (with a sinister laugh well placed here) and everything will be just fine, as so we are told by who?  Hu.

that's it.  no more who jokes, but what's up second, G?

yeah, and it just keeps on ticking.

I feel good.
Do you feel good?
I feel good.

Good.

Well, we are recording history here...a rather boring subject, generally speaking; we might as well have some fun.  whatever...

Did you hear that the Huffington Post and BET are having a baby? Kid you not.

Co-founder of BET, Sheila Jackson, and Arianna, have come together to bring us another choice for news, a spin off the old block, with a twist -- seeking to target, if you pardon the expression, the best interests and concerns of the African-American liberal.  Oh, and they have picked out a lovely name, too, "HuffPost GlobalBlack."   again, could I be making this stuff up?

I dare say, if a right wing outfit did this, people would be on them like white on rice. right?  I mean, really, can't we all get along and listen to the same Huffington Post, listen to the same news,  and be genuinely interested in the same 'best interests' of all Americans, as one body?  I thought this was the kind of change we could all believe in, and thereby magically come about, when a certain special someone was elected into the big white house.  C'mon, people, where is the love for all brothers and sisters, equally, and evenly distributed, respectfully listening and communicating with that still small voice to the very same thing? Can America not do that anymore?

and say it isn't so, plans to do the very same thing for the growing Latino market, es mas de tres y muy grande, is close behind.

So good global news is in the works all the way around.

We have the Chinese telling us 'no worries, be happy'; we are entering a new era of racial divide by getting all our news from different sources, clinging to well worn prejudices, judging the politics of the day with an eye of separation, instead of unification (hardly fair and balanced, if you know what I mean, but whatever...); and in joyful celebration of a global black and white gift that keeps on giving -- if only for five more years  -- only if we mind our p's and q's, -- kinda like a time bomb -- Mei Xiang and Tian Tian remain as the one true tangible symbols of better international relations between US and them.

(Unless of course, you throw in an innocent childlike exchange...as in the president's daughter, Sasha, being handed on a silver platter an opening... to test her Chinese dialect with the country's premier, no less...just wondering, was that over pot stickers or green tea ice cream?)

As cute as it all sounds, inquiring minds want to know, what on earth did she say...'I love Chairman Mao! tell me more, tell me more.'

and on that note, we will end the misery there, that's all folks...

Make it a Good Day, G

and thank you to Dana Milbank, for admitting, in print, how many times the left wing media has verbally attacked Sarah Palin...and advocating a "moratorium."  well done.  splendid.

"Let's take it one step further. I call on Douthat (who has mentioned Palin in 21 of his Times columns since 2008, according to a Lexis-Nexis search, and in scores of blog posts) to join my moratorium -- thereby forming a bipartisan coalition of The Post and the Times. I challenge columnists Eugene Robinson (33 Palin mentions), Paul Krugman (14), Kathleen Parker (30) and Maureen Dowd (45) to do the same.

"I also call on Keith Olbermann (345 shows mentioning Palin) and Rachel Maddow (183 shows) of MSNBC, as well as Sean Hannity (411 Palin segments) and Bill O'Reilly (664 segments) of Fox News, to take the pledge. Will Politico -- with 96 Palin items in the past month alone -- join this cause? Will the Huffington Post, which had 19 Palin mentions on a single day last week -- stand with me?"

however, you are missing the point that our dear President was making, entirely -- the president was directly speaking to the speakers of the vitriolic attacks, whether left or right, to stop; he was referring to the very kind of commentary, that you have now so nicely counted out for us -- as if we didn't already know from our own eyes and ears;  but case in point, the vitriol stops right after Maddow according to your own list  --  when you get to the players of Fox News, you come to fair and balanced reporting of Gov. Palin (not to mention, she is a Fox News Contributor herself, and a peer). 

Fair and balanced commentary is simply that, otherwise, who else would you suggest we "just not talk about" in your view?  Just who else, pray tell, do you wish to censor and why?  And really, how hard is it to be respectful, even when voicing one's criticism against a certain policy or action?  Is it that hard to do?  Personal attacks immediately take away from the merit of the message being told. 

And can't help but take notice to the "19 mentions" of Gov. Palin in a single day last week, according to the numbers on the Huffington Post.  kudos for that.  Wonder how many times she will be mentioned in the upcoming "HuffPost GlobalBlack" edition?

Dear America,

Harry Reid is a chicken.

He knows exactly what would happen if the repeal of the Health Care Law came to the floor of the Senate for a vote; exactly, without a doubt, as the case with everything else NOT brought to the floor -- it is a case where you want the votes and don't have it, or you don't want the votes and you do.  Congressional Math 101.

And now, with twenty six states joining forces in the Floridian Lawsuit, the Senate -- who's founding principles were to act on behalf of the best interests of the state, having originally be destined to each seat in the senate by a vote by the STATE legislature, and not directly by the people -- it would seem they almost have to now.  Needless to say, our system of checks and balances, as the founders intended, is not being properly orchestrated without this key relationship in place.

But what does Harry do?  Just don't talk about it, don't discuss it, and surely, don't take up a vote -- you pick up your toys and go home.

Hey, Reid -- READ THIS... from some of my favorite people... The Heritage Foundation; churning out Constitutional repartee, and explaining the process of process, every day... with what I do believe is a big smile on their face; for deep down, they know, they are on the right side of the argument, on behalf of the American people, every time.

Hey, Reid -- I got another idea -- how about this, given you are an avid follower of the anti-business, anti-corporate, anti-free enterprise president, how about we run with that and also take the lead from information flashing the airwaves in thirty second spots daily -- let us go, all together now, to the root cause of what is "killing more people than aids, drugs, alcohol, cancer, and car accidents COMBINED."

Honestly, when I first heard this, my mouth dropped to the floor; just think about it for a second.

Just what is this mass murderer, on the loose, and chipping away at our national security and well being?  

TOBACCO.

Now, if you think way back, there were days when I actually took up smoking -- research, you know -- only a matter of a few days -- for my blog; disgusting habit, couldn't stand my breath, let alone smoke actually inside my house, ugh! yuck.  Don't hate, but I do not know how people do it!  but people do.

SO this commercial claims that much of the rising costs of health care are due to the unintended consequences of getting people hooked on the bad stuff; and clearly, statistically speaking, it sounds quite right.

Being a non-smoker, let's just cut to the chase right now; just as my taxes should not support abortion, I shouldn't have to pay -- and by the looks of things, pay dearly --  for everybody and their uncle's smoking habit -- especially in light of such a cost.  That is just not right.

So can we talk division now?  Let's separate the smokers from the non-smokers; let's get a health care package that rewards those of us who do not use a nicotine crutch everyday, and give all the punitive damages to the one's who do.  

How about we redistribute the disproportionate costs, and stick it to the maker of the cancer sticks, and we all know who they are...although the only one that comes to my mind right now is Phillip Morris... along with the millions of Americans who consciously choose to smoke, day in and day out, at what, five bucks a pack, every single day. unbelievable as that sounds.

Separate us right now; divide and let us conquer the liability gap, right here, right now.

I shouldn't have to pay for something "killing more people than aids, drugs, alcohol, cancer, and car accidents COMBINED" and exponentially adding to the cost of health care, burdening the American people who do not smoke with an unfair, unbalanced, unfunded liability that sends our insurance premiums through the roof.  That is just not right.

This is the irony though -- here we sit with the best health care system on the planet, arguing over who is going to pay for it and how -- and all these years, we didn't even realize how we have grown so far away from our first principles; by the beauty of becoming this burgeoning economic superpower that we are (and yes, we still are), we have fallen away, mindlessly and carelessly, from the days when we were actually responsible for ourselves in every which way til Sunday (even for dealing with, and paying for, our own addictions).

I'm thinking of the days before we had insurance at all!  I'm thinking of the days when we got seriously ill, sometimes we just died; I'm thinking of the days, we had old wives remedies and a medicine chest full of homemade elixirs and whiskey; I'm thinking of the family doctor venturing out to the family farm for a house call; I'm then thinking, how in the world did we pay that? a family doctor making house calls!? did we pay him in chickens? give him a buck/fifty and call it a day? oh how I get lost in the details, right?

I'm thinking of the days when a child was born with down syndrome, the doctors told the parents to put the child in a "home away from home" and move on (that wasn't that long ago, as it happened in our family in the 1960's); I'm thinking of the time before massive amounts of antibiotics were distributed like candy; I'm thinking of a time before there was a pill for everything under the sun; I'm thinking of a time before heart stints and replacements were no big deal.

I'm thinking of a time before Europeans and Canadians and Sheiks could easily cross over to America to take advantage of our system, our doctors, our hospitals, our nurses, our rehabilitation care, our expertise, our medicines...our liabilities, our doctors who pay through the nose for added insurance and malpractice lawsuits; I'm thinking of a time before we let other people cross our border to have babies while we simply paid for it -- handsomely-- in more ways than one-- trusting them with our unbelievable generosity

I'm thinking of a time before we made America this big and if I do say so myself, pretty darn great, compassionate, and open-hearted.

We grew a good reputation rapidly; word got around; the dream, for hundreds of thousands of people, more like millions, around the globe, was simply to get here; to live and raise a family in America, and gladly blend into the American family, for the American way came with a flashing sign in neon lights that you had finally arrived.

IF we really think long and hard about how things have turned out over the years, I do believe, we could very well find ourselves all in the family on the funny farm, by golly; what have we done to ourselves?  where have our first principles gone?  we had everything going for us...what happened?

The thing is, the prevailing winds afoot have blown in a mighty vicious strain, a progressive contagion, with enough strength to take hold, if we let it; the ability for this nasty stuff to go viral is upon us.  It is an addiction of the worst kind, for we, as a people,  have just allowed it to rule our every  move, giving it free rein to sneak up on us and become this huge burden right before our eyes -- for they were closed -- or we were simply lost in the moment of enjoying a really good high; while just maybe, some of us even saw it coming -- there were signs, you know, the dust up was a plenty -- but no matter now; 

now, the addiction just has us in a choke-hold, either begging for more or for mercy.

hey Harry, don't be a chicken; take this repeal to the floor of the Senate today; if you don't have the guts, America will never find her glory again.  buuuc buucbuucbuuc buc bucbaaww (say it like a squawking chicken)...

long gone are the days we can afford to pay Peter with the help of Paul, especially when our name is Harry.

long gone -- 

our founders knew this day would come -- they warned us -- they gave it their best shot by giving us all the tools necessary to stay on the path of the straight and narrow.... the thing is, we kept on smoking behind the barn anyway as it was just    too    much     fun and so hard to stop.

Make it a Good Day, G

Dear America,

Fascinating the things we pick apart these days.

First off, given the "breaking news" this morning of the Governor of Alabama, Robert Bentley, talking directly to his people, a church crowd, he said  this...

"If the Holy Spirit lives in you that makes you my brothers and sisters. Anyone who has not accepted Jesus, I want to be your brothers and sisters, too,"

and this, "Anybody here today who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, I'm telling you, you're not my brother and you're not my sister, and I want to be your brother," while speaking at Dexter King Memorial Church, following the official inauguration to the office of Governor.

"If he does so [exclude people by religion, or use the office to convert his constituency], he is dancing dangerously close to a violation of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which forbids government from promoting the establishment of any religion," Bill Nigut, The Anti-Defamation League Regional Director, said.

I admit, even though it came out awkward, the message from Gov. Bentley is really one of acceptance, not separation; he makes references to the relation that HE wants to be to his audience -- a brother -- even if you are a non-believer in Jesus Christ.  Of course, HE wants you to be a brother, or a sister, and have the Holy Spirit in your heart -- but he can't make you to do anything, or believe something, you don't want to...but in any case, HE WANTS TO BE your brother all the same.

Looking at this from a glass half full point of view,  the newly elected Governor tells us, HIS hopes are that you are a believer, while he lets us know he still "wants to be your brother" anyway, even if you are not.

Now, as far as the statement coming from Bill Nigut, of the ADL, saying Bentley is "dancing dangerously close to a violation of the First Amendment..."

I say, no, not really;

for all persons, -- no matter their lot in life -- whether a student, teacher, or public servant -- have a right for the free expression of their religion at any time.

Let me be clear, the PERSON, and all of our individual rights that come with, automatically and naturally go with us -- we have every right to eat sleep breathe our religion, no matter where we go, or who we are with, for whatever purpose...unless of course, we intend to do harm...then certainly, we will have issues.

Just as the case last summer, when Ramadan was being celebrated, the local community has every right to allow for Muslims to totally upend normal football practice during the daylight hours in order to accommodate the time of fasting for Muslims, even if, crazy enough, it would directly affect the practice for others who are not Muslim -- it was a community decision -- and falls into the framework of exactly that which our founders intended and wanted to protect; in order to reflect and honor INDIVIDUAL preference and beliefs of the community, the founders protected the right for states and local communities to practice their religion(s) as the community sees fit.

For above all else, the founders believed in the basic tenet, that without religion, the government of a free people cannot be well maintained and supported.

... and likewise, because it is a free country, we do not have a national government standing over us and commanding us to believe in the same God (or acting and leading in such a way that is against God); in action, this looks like the right for atheists to NOT to have to bow their head in prayer with the rest of us who call ourselves believers -- like for instance, when congregating in the town square to inaugurate a president or a governor or a mayor -- or simply gathering to honor the victims of a tragic community shooting, leaving prayers, flowers, balloons, and holding a candlelight vigil, say, all in a makeshift memorial, in front of a local hospital, say in Tucson (or wherever else the Spirit moves us -- even if the side of the road -- a common sight here, especially on the windy back country roads) -- but they, being the atheists, do not have to pray with the rest of us.  It is their right not to do just as it is our right to do.

The First Amendment spells out "CONGRESS shall make NO law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."  THE control, the word NO, was hung on the door of CONGRESS -- for they could not be given the power to tell the people what to believe and how; not to mention, our rights were endowed to us by our Creator, not man, or any kind of Congress.  The protection was for our own good -- because it was already well established we were a nation of people who accepted and acknowledged the importance of God in our daily life, acted by the grace and peace that comes along naturally, and already enjoying the free practice and expression thereof.

This specifically tells our federal government to butt out -- you have no business telling us what religion we will establish within our own hearts, as individuals; as long as we do no harm, we are allowed by law, to speak, sing, or bow our head; we can fast and we can celebrate; we can wear a cross, a burqa, or ashes on our forehead -- for we have the right for the FREE EXERCISE thereof.  thank you, God.

Matter of fact, there was a time when it was required for our schools to TEACH religion, morality and the importance of obtaining a semblance of knowledge in various subjects (geography, science for example).

Believing not necessarily in the same God, or the same dogma, all the founders came to the same conclusions -- that being, the essential makings of a free, civil, responsible society, allowing individuals to pursue their own happiness under a limited, selfless government, required the individual to at least be in relationship with God, creating a flow of  understanding that recognized a "fundamental system of beliefs concerning man's origin and relationship to the cosmic universe, as well as his relationship with his fellowmen" [taken from The 5000 Year Leap, by W. Cleon Skousen]

While a "standard of behavior distinguishing from right and wrong,"  in other words, our moral teachings, remained as the third essential ingredient to a long and healthy community.

So PUBLIC SCHOOLS taught these things back in the day because these things are good: religion (in a favorable light, of all beliefs) morality, and knowledge.

IN the best of times, religion holds us to a level of respect for each other; it keeps us beholden to any number of customs, more than likely born from our Christian roots, yet all the while, respective of the universal beliefs and morals shared by every religion under the sun.

A simple observation from Ezra Taft Benson, "America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great."

Now one could argue, when our PRESIDENT talks directly to his people, his base, saying "It will be up to each of you to make sure that the young people, African Americans, Latinos and women, who powered our victory in 2008 stand together once again," -- (white, not mentioned at all)

"If you help us do that -- if you help us make sure that first-time voters in 2008 make their voices heard again in November -- then together we will deliver on the promise of change and hope and prosperity for generations to come..."   

Our actual President, of the UNITED STATES of AMERICA, was not speaking to you -- if you are so unlucky not to fall within his 'target market' -- if YOU happen to be white -- and I'm especially referring to you,  honky tonk white boy, you are not my brother -- or so we would assume by what he actually said, and never making any apologies for it, if for some reason we were to categorically misconstrue his remarks -- unlike Gov. Bentley's office, who immediately followed up with a deeper understanding in hopes of uniting, not dividing.

Or how about the time Obama said something like this, "we're gonna punish our enemies..." speaking directly to Latinos, sounding like he was right off the street, in the barrio, seeking their attention to come out and vote in the mid-term elections (last fall).  Never mind religion, let's just cut right to the race.

In his own words, the POTUS was advocating to Latinos to come out to vote, to "punish our enemies."

Now of course, literally, we know words are expressed in the public arena that we really do not mean; there are times we say things, we really should have thought better; there are times we actually sound like we are advocating violence, when it is simply strategy lingo, an expression of the cause, an amplification of the campaign and keeping our sights set on the end result; and having said all that, there are times when even the Road Runner and the Coyote could make throwing down a boulder, or an anvil, look downright funny.

IN an educated, learned, civil, moral, sane society -- one that centers around our individual civic duty to do no harm to each other more often than not -- we recognize, out of the goodness of our hearts, and out of pure common sense, we say things that are not meant to be taken literally, as if condoning any violent action or outburst.  IF we harm someone, it is wrong, no matter what; while, even our words can cut like a knife.

For kicks and giggles, this idea of not taking things literally swings both ways -- as in, you know that when someone says "I love Glenn Beck"  they aren't really IN LOVE with Glenn Beck... it's just what we say... like we love ice cream or coconut cream pie, right...      Right Glenn?  You know, that if I were to say to you, 'I love you', you would know I'm not really In Love with you, right? (or maybe...) No, really, honestly, we don't truly mean what we say through and through (unless of course, we really truly mean it...what?).

luv ya.  mean it. moving on.

There has been much discussion over the political rhetoric used by both sides of the aisle, regularly, and figuratively, and most definitely, without really thinking clearly way too many times. way.

How about the time Alan Grayson said on the House floor, with poster boards for props, "I apologize to America...for not ending the holocaust sooner...republicans want you to die quickly" when arguing his position over health care.  really, Alan? can we get an amen that this man was not re-elected...

But seriously, I know we can be kinder and gentler -- but do I wish for us to change the entire political rules of debate and conversation?  Absolutely not.

Do I think, if we are reared correctly and of sound mind, that we can make responsible conclusions when hearing that certain districts, and maybe even specific people, are in the cross-hairs and the target of the opposition party?  Absolutely yes.

But Oh the fascination of what  incites violence, the vitriolic remarks notwithstanding  --

We can't use the word "nigger" -- and WELL understood that we don't, without question [unless you are black, or perhaps a rapper, but that's beside the point] -- but what we can do is label someone a racist, to their face, on camera or off, and nobody thinks anything of it?  We can discredit an entire body of tea party enthusiasts, individually or combined, as "Nazi's" and  "Racists" and nobody thinks twice.  How do you think that makes a white person feel, let alone the African-American, Latino or Asian associated in the bunch?

And haven't we gone down this road before?

If we are going to have a conversation on what in fact incites violence. let's have that talk; can we direct our attention to Hollywood for a moment -- I mean, where do we begin with that machine pumping out violent acts against women and children every day, blowing people up, using handguns, using abrasive language and condoning senseless acts of violence in every which way they possibly can.  Did you know they have a new show simple titled, "HUMAN TARGET" ?  I wonder how that got approved; where for goodness sakes is the good conscience of Hollywood, right?

Then as we mentioned a bit earlier, how about Hip Hop Music, Rap, songs that glorify and make sweet melody about someone who is about to make a hit on someone, or just finished making a hit on someone, or daydreams about the possibility in the future, to have revenge, you know what I'm saying, yo?

Going down that road then, it would be just wrong not to bring up video games -- I would think if anything might incite an act of violence, a video game nearly walks you through all the possibilities of seeing it through, with sound affects and trash talk to go along with your every move.

AS IF --
when it comes to political rhetoric --
we just don't have the strength and the common sense
to think for ourselves, and more important, do the right thing! 
yup, that's where our level of intelligence drops off --
bada bing bada boom.

We can be surrounded, with all the senses fully engaged, in an environment that eat sleeps breathes some form of a violent act through live stage, in the movies, on TV, on the freeway, even in the school yard and on the football field, and nobody stops to discuss it, make political points for it, does anything about it or thinks it is, in the least bit, to be just a wee bit offensive, if not something we should stop, or even see fit to change --

-- but oh no, get someone like Sarah Palin talking about tea party districts she wants to pick off and have for lunch and we've got a mutiny on the bounty. (Even with all proof pointing otherwise -- EVEN WHEN it comes LONG after the leftwing media and specific democratic campaigns did the EXACT same thing in 2004, and 2008 -- and even with some marking their attacks on one of their own, Gabrielle Giffords, just the same -- see G's blog last week, coupled with this from Newsmax, about the Daily Kos)

But just look at the things we choose, as a society, to pick apart... a well meaning comment that says "I WANT to be your brother."  ATTACK!  ATTACK!

To wrap things up, if we take out "nigger" as we should (respectfully agreed), then let's mutually come to an understanding to cease and desist words like "nazi" and "racist" -- if being used in the context of specifically targeting an individual, or a group thereof, carelessly, and loosely thrown around with a vengeance to attack, disparage, and ridicule without merit.  just sayin' ...for 'dems fightin' words, you know what I'm saying?  That is, without a doubt, a harmful attack, equal to that of the "N" word, if you wanna get real and get down and dirty with everybody's bad self; whether being called a nazi or a nigger, they are two "N" words that do the same thing to the heart and soul of a good, decent  man.  and really, who wants to be called a racist when your heart is in the right place?  that is just plain mean.

Maybe we are due to have our "religion, morals and knowledge" re-evaluated and brought back to life in the public schools -- let's make it open season for deep, rich discussions everywhere -- about our Creator, the meaning of life, the responsibility and duty to each other, in word and in deed, and attempt to live up to "Christina's expectations." 

That is the visual I want to hold dear -- a President reminding us to be the America a young Christina Green imagined -- without question, an idea lofty and worthy enough to call for real conversation and lively debate; wasn't everybody listening?         Punish my enemies, not -- but love thy neighbor as thyself, treat others as you would wish to be treated, honor thy mother and thy father, do no harm, oh yeah, and don't call each other names -- be nice and good and happy people, people!

bring it! bring that stuff all day long with a vengeance! 

I am not ashamed to say, I WANT each and every American to stand shoulder to shoulder as brothers and sisters - in Christ -  in Allah - in Buddha - in spirit, just because it is the right thing to do -- take your pick and have at it; either way, we will not survive as a nation of good people, doing good things, and prospering one by one until we do; surely we will falter if we become that nation -- fallen to the deep dark side of despair, distrust, distaste, and desolation -- abandoning our own principles and living without thought; we will fall from grace, like we have never seen the likes before, imprisoned within the afterthought of what once was.

and you thought it was just a meaningless, stupid, little cliche to close with...every    single    day...
Make it a Good Day, G