It's Good Intentions and Blind Ambition Thing

Dear America,

so...I guess the possibility of getting a blog burst poolside never really had a chance.  This girl has been gone, long gone, for two whole weeks; hence the beginning of my guilt trip as we speak. Which immediately sends me into the realm of facing a stark reality....good intentions are so overrated, are they not?

For what gets done if we merely intend to do something -- think about doing something -- ponder about the possibility of doing something?  NOTHING.  Absolutely nothing.

Even if I were to jump in right now and say I missed you -- that I missed showing up on the page, if even for a nano second before ordering another Mai Tai -- it would be meaningless, wouldn't it?

I mean, I guess I didn't miss you enough now did I?

I mean, I didn't stop what I was doing long enough to drop in with even so much as a breaking news update. Nor did I have sufficient command of my sense and sensibilities to add my two cents to the conversation even following acts of God and mother nature, as in the 5.8 magnitude earthquake felt up the entire east coast or during the days of heavy -- torrential -- flights of anticipation, only to be outdone in the aftermath of devastation, following Hurricane Irene. While it has already been weeks since the much ado about nothing three day presidential "bus" tour just before the start of his much needed simpleton vacation, albeit in Martha's Vineyard.

Hopefully by now, everyone is fully aware that the grassroots bus tour -- of the people, for the people -- was a total fraud.  This president of ours was only on the bus long enough to ride into town resting his reputation solely upon making the right impression -- once the speech was over, the last hand was shook, he was on the bus just long enough to take him back to the closest airport where he would be swooped up into thin air and carried to the next townhall meeting. Even his buses didn't go by ground!

This from a president who wants to teach us a thing or two through EPA regulation along with the advent of his brand new mileage requirements for the auto industry in order to stem the tide of fuel dependency.  This from a president decidedly micromanaging the very fuel, the natural resource required and paramount to the daily feedings of the hybrids plugged into the wall from sea to shining sea --  the coal industry -- and then basically creating the very conditions to witness it's slow death.

I guess we could say the president's intentions may have been good, to get out on the bus and meet and greet the people on his "listening tour" while "talking jobs."  But somewhere along the greyhound fine lines, after the truth is highlighted in fluorescent yellow, the message gets lost in translation meeting up with reality, doesn't it?   Just how can a guy tooting conservation of fossil fuels, even if that means penalizing industries, threatening jobs and livelihoods far and wide through overzealous governmental controls, actually get away with it when in fact his own actions do not walk the talk?

And yet where is the outrage from the media calling him out on it?  Where is Daryl Hannah on this?  Sure, she is upset with the pipeline guys, the oil execs etc., but where pray tell is her outrage for a president -- a president who doesn't think twice before making TWO fossil fuel burning buses (by Canadian workers, by the way) only to use in between stops -- merely for superficial appearances only -- before jetting off in something that leaves a carbon footprint exponentially far greater?  How can Daryl not use this opportunity to use this president's abuse of power and fossil fuels to make an even greater case for herself?

Daryl's intention is simply to bring the oil industry in America down, even if it jeopardizes America's energy independence, even if the rest of the world continues to capitalize on this fundamental resource for everything under the sun; the intention is to cast those on the side of good and evil based purely upon lines of ideology -- not in reality, not in common sense, not even in truth -- let alone without posing as a total hypocrite.

This bus tour fraud is still timely, Daryl; there is still plenty of time for you to speak up -- I dare you.

Our good intentions mean nothing without the proper follow through.  Our good intentions are elevated only with action, with discipline, of course in keeping with an inherent responsibility to the whole.

From a little book called The Book of Life, by Robert Collier (published himself in 1925):

"If you are doing nothing, 

if there is no driving, 

no hurrying, no working, 

you may count upon it that there will be no results.  

Nothing much worth while in the years to come."

now remember -- it may be true that I really missed you deep in my heart over the last two weeks. But the truth is, I am here showing up for more myself than anybody else.  I seem to be the one who needs to be reminded of what works and what doesn't work; I seem to be the one who needs to reflect upon values and principles that bring lasting success.  I seem to be the one holding onto my best intentions to keep a daily record of the world around me. With or without you, the absence of showing up here was sorely missed.

I missed this through and through.

We have so much going on in the world right now; while in this day after of my family's departure, my intentions were to swing into a lighthearted recounting of the visit.  You know, like beginning with the discovery of the little mouse who saved a shrimp at the bottom of the fridge.  Yes -- that would be one shrimp on a ten inch plate with enough sauce on the side for twenty -- which was saved or created for future use (just a little love wink to my mama).

Perhaps to the outsider this would be like no big deal -- but unlike popular belief based on the amount of crud at the bottom of my window sills and glazing every inch of the glass as my papa has come to expect each visit -- my fridge is one area of my life that my OCD lives and breathes ad infinitum.  I would rather die or eat the last shrimp then save it along side a baggy amounting to about a tablespoon of coleslaw or the jar safekeeping the last quarter cup of gravy.  It is just not my thing.   I mean, my soda cans and bottles all face forward at attention, if you know what I mean. The labels face in the same direction, at the same angle, in line -- as if I were opening up a deli case and quickly glancing by color coded and brand selection.

Needless to say, I gobbled up the last shrimp and moved on with a giggle and a smile.

And speaking of family, I very much intend to get into the new language coming out of Washington, with multiple parties and widespread usage over the last couple of days already at a staggering number, highlighting the "federal family." Yet I should disclose, if my last two weeks give any indication and much like the way of the world and how this girl rolls, good intentions don't mean a thing.  Who knows what tomorrow may bring, let alone the next day, let alone what I will want to talk about.

But just in case I never say another word about it, me thinks the nanny state is beginning to show it's true colors; little by little, the "federal family" wants to take over the real family, your life, in every way.  The new America according to this administration is replacing your family altogether as the more and more of your needs (and wants) come from government. just sayin'.

Boy, did I miss this through and through.  See you tomorrow.

Make it a Good Day, G

It's a Same Old Rhetoric Doesn't Fly, It Goes by Bus Thing

Dear America,

just consider me a figment of your imagination over the next two weeks; some days I may swoop in, while on others, I may be long gone; it's called vacation.  Family is flying in, my baby girl is down to her last fourteen days of freedom, and with any hope, the furthest thing from my mind will be the state of affairs according to a day in the life of an American girl.  But you know how it goes...just never know when the mood might strike back in a flash blog of another realm...even a round of cocktails by the pool may not be enough to shut me up.

Our dear president has promised us that he intends to begin his vacation momentarily; he just has to get a little politics out of the way first, enlisting his brand new state of the art pair of bullet proof buses to help him do it.
 
But I am not here to focus on how much we, the taxpayers, had to pay for this little shenanigan pulled off in the fast lane -- so many have done so ad nauseum already; I am also not going to focus on how he is attempting to mask a 'campaign or bust' scheme as a jobs creation magical mystery tour either -- as again, it's been done.  It's been done so much so that we are all in the back seat spilling our cookies into brown paper bags by now.


Nope.  I am merely going to take about two minutes out of your precious waning summer days to give you an update on Obamacare from our president's own words:

"By the way, 

I have no problem with folks 

saying Obama cares. 

I do care -- 

if the other side 

wants to be the folks that don't care, 

that's fine with me." 

that's how he looks at it anyway...during a stop somewhere in Minnesota, when the president made a few remarks on The Affordable Care Act, which is routinely tossed around the back of the bus like a beach ball as "Obamacare."  For more details on that, you can go here.

You see what he wants you to believe is that the 'other side' doesn't care.  Did you get that?  Yeah, of course you did. And did you get a good roll of hysterics down the hill on the grass, too, like me?

The new problem for Obamacare -- if not ObamaHope, and ObamaChange, and ObamaFundamentalTransformation, if not Obama himself --  is that he can't run the same campaign as in 2008, now can he?

He is faced with having to run like every other full fledged seasoned (if not used) politician; he has to run on his record, of all things --  on the merits of his decisions to date -- brushed up against every speech and promise and insinuation, matching rhetoric against rhetoric, circling the details from bumper to bumper.  ['just show me the CarFax' has got nothing on the Czar Fax, or Omnibus Facts, or Obamacare Fraud Facts, or the StimulusMinima-list to name just a few]

The people have been around the block with this guy --  and now,  more than once or twice.

We have kicked the retreads of a socialist kind, and have clearly come up short.

But here is Obama just yesterday...convinced that the same-old same-old recycled version can be received with the same sense of confidence and enthusiasm as before -- much like a round of Row Row Row Your Boat with the second verse same as the first, for about the hundredth time from the backseat of the family van, with not a potty break in sight.  Is he that seriously out of touch?  Is he that out of range of the American people, that he thinks we can listen to more of that and simply go, 'yeah, right, those other guys really don't care...doinky do dee do...never heard that before...'?  really?  seriously?

Then, what makes the moment all the more awkward is for the politician to not even hear himself -- for in nearly the next breath he is calling Obamacare originally a republican idea -- making a conciliatory nod to RomneyCare...and laughing it all off in his little head thinking we all swallowed it hook, line and sinker along side the rainbow trout.

That is a good one, Mr. President.  So, to sum it all up:  "you care, they [we] don't  -- and republicans should get the credit for obamacare, for they started it doncha know." You must be tripping on something really good; perhaps it's time to open a window to the real world.

Okay, so now where are we at?
You are Here; and Here is Obama, creator of the ObamaBusLines, maker of ObamaCare and proud of it; great --  for what a beautiful spot to stop for a picnic.

Make it a Good Day, G

It's a SOUL Searching, Seeking, Finding and Realizing It was Here the Whole Time Thing

Dear America,

I think it was just at the start of this week when I picked up on a story on the wire out of China lamenting that the time for SOUL SEARCHING in America may be now; it was just yesterday, when a story headlined out of Reuter's "SOUL SEARCHING lies ahead as riots cool in Britain;" and then just today, reaching into the stars for the second day in a row, allowing Mark Lerner on astrology.com to chime in, his overview on the day -- when addressing everyone -- tells us "SOUL SEARCHING right now is certainly back in style and communing with the earth, trees, and sky makes sense with the moon in the tenth sign of the zodiac."

So what do ya think? think we need to do a little soul searching or what?  [and you know that feeling when something keeps coming back at us, staring at us in the face, THAT is the universe speaking to us, is it not? While experience tells us that it won't let up until we get it...getting louder and more demonstrable until we do...just sayin']

So SOUL SEARCHING, hmmmm.

To actually do the action, you know, the act of SOUL SEARCHING -- which by definition and standing alone calls for a "penetrating examination of oneself, one's motives, convictions, and emotional attitudes."  from The American Heritage Dictionary.  But there within lies a detail which cannot be ignored, isn't there?  It would require one to recognize that you have a soul to examine in the first place, doesn't it?

A soul is quite powerful in and of itself, is it not?

I mean, when our bodies die, it is widely understood and recognized that our soul lives on...somewhere else.  IF one believes in God, it is through our soul we commune with not only nature, but actually with God.  IF one does not believe in God, the soul is still recognized as the deep thought, the innate connection before any action, the emotion back behind the action, the root cause of an action, and simply that part of ourselves that acts as judge and jury of our actions that runs totally separate from our body.

It is our soul, as a matter of record, whether a believer or not, that distinguishes us light years apart from the world of Animalia. We, ourselves, are responsible for our own actions; our salvation does not rest in the hands of another, our decisions to act, to love, to work, to think, to change, to prosper, to care, to sow, to reap, to riot -- is solely based upon what happens at the soul level inside ourselves.  We can "start" and "stop" at any time. We can be a part of the solution or the problem at any time.

Out of Tottenham yesterday:

"Nobody is doing nothing for us --

not the politicians, 

not the cops, no one."  

just known as "Freddy" age 19, 

and surrounded by 

other young men 

and boys as young as 11

Sowing class warfare all over the world, aren't we?  My heart goes out for lost souls no matter in London or the streets of Philly.

From the pulpit, for words of inspiration from the Mayor of Philidelphia, go here.  And make sure you see that I am not speaking of a figurative pulpit, but a real one, okay.  Anyone gonna attack Mayor Nutter going to the pulpit?  Speaking directly to you -- the ignoramus crowd attacking Texas Governor Rick Perry -- the same Perry who is just a man who happens to be a governor, who's soul was speaking to him, encouraging him to freely display his inalienable right to freely express his "free exercise therof" of his religion [ref. to the AUGUST 6 Prayer event]  And on that note, if Obama can embrace and celebrate Ramadan from the White House (as other presidents have done as well) then what gives?  But I digress...

Guess what "Freddy" -- nobody is gonna do it for you.

THIS mentality creeping into the minds large and small is precisely the problem.

But at least in America, our children have (had) a fifty-fifty chance of recognizing their natural rights and duties to sustain life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness with a modicum of self-reliance nurtured deep inside.  Aside from all appearances today in that perhaps the last forty or fifty or a hundred years have destroyed such precepts, and seemingly at an accelerating rate....But the truth is, overall, this shelter, these clothes, our accessories -- the outer package that encapsulates our American soul -- was divinely created by our founders to live on through the ages.

The entire ensemble required each and every ONE of US to grow a soul -- anchored in civility, self-reliance, humility, charity, hope, integrity, and goodness.  For all else shall be added.

IF you clicked into Mayor Nutter's lambasting of his own, you would find astounding suggestions not only to the wayward youth, but to their parents.Here's a good one:

"The Immaculate Conception of our Lord Jesus Christ took place a long time ago, and it didn’t happen here in Philadelphia. So every one of these kids has two parents who were around and participating at the time. They need to be around now.”

GROW A SOUL should be our new motto.

Our children need parents to care and nurture them every day, encouraging honest to goodness growth of the soul factor -- connecting with their own child at the soul level within the family, within the community, while altogether aligning with principles that lift that child up, not tear them down.

It is not just a black community thing -- it goes the same for all of us.  A broken soul comes in all shapes, sizes, colors, religions, ideologies...doesn't it? doesn't it?

To poke a little fun at how unemployment numbers are often described, the need for a little SOUL SEARCHING seems to have -- all of a sudden and out of nowhere even -- UNEXPECTEDLY come into vogue; some might even say it is in high demand.  I mean, the entire world seems to be thinking the same thing, right?

It's kind of funny how it works, or rather how things have changed.  The United States of America used to lead the world in Soul Searching and Trends back in the day [1776, 1787, 1865...years when we stepped out in style, in union, soul to soul]

But the times they are a'changin', and much like European fashion trends and music [giving a cynical nod to the progressives]  America is quite often the last one to know; the last one to "get it;" for you know, it has to travel across an entire ocean.

Well, I take that back, Mayor Nutter, for one, seems to have a clue about what's coming; he is trying to prepare.   At this rate, and given from where I sit, California may not see some real soul searching for at least a year from now.

The thing is, America doesn't have to follow the latest trend. We can go back to being a trend setter at the soul level, busting the spring and summer trend that seems hellbent to falling to the lowest common denominator instead of our higher selves. Yes We Can. And it starts with each and every one of us being responsible, and accountable, for our selves and for acting upon, through, and after our own thorough SOUL SEARCHING. Yes We Can.

And then there is this: 

A crazy production going viral as we speak.  Seriously.  It is getting all kinds of hits today just because Glenn Beck, for one,  is promoting it:  Felonious Munk @ www.stopitB.com.  Warning: lots of naughty naughty words.  A whole bunch of them.  But if you can get beyond that, you will LOVE this guy; he might even make your heart and soul sing...and we sure need a whole lot more of that these days, don't we?  don't we?

Make it a Good Day, G

It's Coming Into Office with Every Intention of Becoming the Lion King Thing

Dear America,

"When a king surveys his domain, he doesn't focus on every detail. So when you consider your own work, leave aside the small and unimportant stuff. Climb up high and survey the broad view just to see how your boundaries are growing."

Mark Lerner, for Astrology.com, August 10, 2011, LEO, Career/Finance overview on the day

I have said it before and I will say it again, I READ the Horoscopes for FUN; it is just something to play with in the back of my mind for kicks and giggles, or it is information gathering to glean a sense and sensibility of the undercurrent dynamics within relationship to me, or, like today, to use it as a spring board of my thoughts in motion here.

I read LEO because it just so happens to be the sign of the zodiac of the man I love.  It is only by accident that the sign also belongs to our president.  But I can't help myself now; now when I read all about the Career and Finance arena, I don't immediately think so much of my baby anymore -- it's rather odd, really -- it's as if the sign itself is being held hostage by the guy in the Oval Office. I think of him and what he is doing to the country; I  think of him and just what might be going on underneath it all, in places of his mind where none of us are party to ever knowing for our self, seeing it for our self, hearing his thoughts, for our self.

And like I said, it is just a stupid horoscope; it's not like it is the word of God shaking me down.  It's just a ridiculous, if not absurd, if not totally unrealistic, methodology based upon the stars and moons and planets of all things, an idolatry of sordid sorts............. oh .........but it is fun.

But you can see where I'm going with this, can't you?


What with the suggestion to "leave aside the small and unimportant stuff. Climb up high and survey the broad view just to see how your boundaries are growing."

To see how your boundaries are growing.  That is a good one.

From The Heritage Foundation, I think just yesterday -- read THIS.

And for more on the danger of the underestimating Obama -- read THIS.

And so, being reflective of the mood from the very beginning of this blog, and in an effort to capture the attention of all the land, if King Obama-Mufasa were to hang his baby cub out over the kingdom below -- this would be the kingdom that one day would become Simba's very own --

Just an excerpt Rep Dan Burton's op-ed piece:

"Mr. Obama knows precisely what he is doing: He is changing America into his vision of a European-style socialist utopia where the government controls every aspect of our lives. Consider the facts, since taking office, Mr. Obama has taken control of the student loan industry, the health care industry, the banking and financial sectors, and he orchestrated the bankruptcy and reorganization of two-thirds of the American automotive industry, leaving his political allies in the labor movement in effective control of the companies and allowing the administration to dictate the industry's direction."  oh and just for starters...

THIS would be his legacy to pass onto his children, and our children, too.

Kinda makes ya wish for an unexpected drought of ideas, doesn't it?

No such luck under this administration; this president came ready to wear -- and tear; this guy, this LEO of a different American stripe came in complete with social reforms ranging from environment regulations to radicalized municipal reforms under the Agenda 21 Project; he came in fully prepared to implement massive entitlement reforms and having in hand and ready to sign the "Affordable Care Act"...having a little help from a couple of left-wing outfits (funded by SOROS)  called The Tides Foundation and The Center for American Progress. And pretty much like Rep. Burton points out, coming to the Oval Office complete with every intention to fundamentally transform America including nearly every nook and cranny of her kingdom.  You can go HERE for well documented back up (ode to Patriot's Lament, a fine blog).

Obama knows exactly what he is doing in spite of what it appears; sure, the market is crashing, gold is rising, consumer confidence is shaky at best, unemployment seems quite settled in at over 9%, London is on fire, Syria is on fire, Libya is on fire, and the world as we know it is falling apart at an all time low (again).  But don't think for a moment it is not planned.


This is how "boundaries" are expanded; this is how a socialist rebuilds America, or is it tear it down?

Make it a Good Day, G

By the way, I laugh in the face of danger, do you?

By the way, take two -- beautiful music is playing with just a click on that title Thing...

It;s All About an End of an Error Thing

Dear America,

"Markets will rise and fall, 

but this is the United States of America...

No matter what some agency may say, 

we've always been 

and always will be 

a triple-A country." 

President Obama

interesting.

Civilizations will rise and fall, but this is the United States of America...No matter what I have said in the past, we've always been and always will be a AAA country and exceptional in every way...now give me back my credit rating.

According to Ben Feller, an AP White House Correspondent, "S&P officials said that five countries including Canada and Australia have lost their AAA ratings from S&P and then regained them. The shortest time that it took a country to regain an AAA rating was nine years and the longest time was 18 years."

Can you just imagine it? going another nine years operating under a veil of rocky credibility, questionable fiscal accountability, wanton corruption, and the continuation of political divide reaching polarities of extremities so far and wide we quite possibly simply fall down and go boom?

Can you just imagine it? going another eighteen years before, with certainty now, falling down and go boom?

This snippet in time exemplifies every sound principle, every minute detail of the separation of powers, every fine glimmer of reason which decidedly mounted our foundation upon austerity, humility, and conservative ideals in the first place; the founders purposely rested the general welfare upon the individual to hold to the universal values and principles broadly accepted as Natural Law in order to protect us.

And with good reason too, right?  The great responsibility and duty to stand guard and stand up to the fall of man fell to each and every one of us to uphold. 


Human error alert, human error alert...

It wasn't long ago that I was being, for lack of better word, schooled by someone in my family circle. In a nutshell, this was the approach:

“liberals tend to evolve their beliefs and their ideas based more on “lived experiences” than established family/religious/ideological traditions.” [that would be a direct attack against my position as a conservative, just to clue you in]

And by the way, this is one of the 'lighter' lessons, having arrived at this left brain common sense through their personal experiences of course.

The thing is, whether we are knee deep simply into our own little microcosm of humanity, or attempt to be in relationship in the macro, the same dynamic seems to be upon us -- overwhelming us with animosity and a life long separation driven by differences, rather than our commonalities of humanity,  namely, the good things which have the power to carry us in the bad times and keep us tied together united celebrating our good.

The common good was the driving force of our foundation in the past, while it is the fundamental solution to a happy future.

At the risk of repeating thoughts of blogs past -- just how can we expect our government to be able to solve monumental issues that have been building up for years, uncomfortably amplified during the holidays, while undermining the opportunity we have before us to really learn, grow, prosper, and move on into the future with sweetness and light, when just across our own kitchen table sits the same destructive forces?

I mean, my God, just keeping aligned with embracing a simple law of civility seems beyond reach; believing we live and breathe and dynamically function as part of one big American family, respective of our inherent motto 'e pluribus unum', if the times tell us anything at all, we can fuggetaboutit.

The lines have been drawn, or decided for us.  This is good.  This is evil.  Done. [if only in our own minds]

We can't operate and progress happily, merrily, jovially under the weight of this family code.

Just look at London. Here's just one voice explaining it:

"This is the uprising of the working class. We're redistributing the wealth," said Bryn Phillips, a 28-year-old self-described anarchist, as young people emerged from the store with chocolate bars and ice cream cones.

Phillips claimed rioters were motivated by distrust of the police, and drew a link between the rage on London's street and insurgent right-wing politics in the United States. "In America you have the tea party, in England you've got this," he said.

That, a direct quote out of an AP/London article describing 'on a 3rd day'.

This is London circa 2011 [yes, just like Greece, the fall back method of choice to solve societal corruptions large and small] and it is coming to America.

If you think we are immune just remember Wisconsin just a few months back; remember Arizona a year ago; and then recollect Cairo and just remember the power to the people celebrating the so-called, peaceful 'Arab Spring' -- the same one responsible for the violent attack, I mean rape, of an American reporter within their midst who simply was there to record a slice of history.

Chaos is the new civility.

And by the way Bryn, anarchist-in-chief of the hour, you, sir, are no Tea Party equivalent.  DO you see ANYONE from the Tea Party using violence as a means for change?  DO you see ANYONE from the Tea Party leaving so much as a paper cup behind, let alone a trail of riotous devastation against innocent people and commercial enterprises?

I wrote down a comment made on a story a couple of days ago -- my apologies for neither remembering the story or the tag name of it's origin.  I do, however, remember I was surfing stories on The Daily Caller, if that helps at all, probably not, whatever.  But this is what I scratched out and placed in a prominent place for future pickings:

"Socialists 

don't learn, they "feel."  

And since it always feels better 

to want an earthly paradise, 

they never let rationality or experience 

get in their way."

The means to an end seems of little concern, trivial, even if it may be highly uncivil, harmful, destructive, violent, and divisive in every way; and goes the same if whether or not it comes via covert ops [by example through the upper echelon operatives of this administration] or straight up [as in the riots of London].

Our founding fathers got it right for just so many reasons!

The building of our America upon universal truths centering upon the power of the INDIVIDUAL, of self-reliance, resting in a limited government in every way, and relying upon the RULE of LAW to decide in absolutes and above all protecting us from ourselves explains everything -- in this moment reflective of the life we have made for ourselves.

The founders saw this coming and gave it their best shot to align all future generations with proven statutes of civility, of lawfulness, of honor, of credibility, of accountability, of integrity, of faith, of hope, of charity.

IT IS NOT THE LAWS FAULT that we are in this mess; it is the people's fault.  [and by all appearances, it would seem to be true that only the Tea Party recognizes this profound grasp of the oncoming great fall of human nature, of man, of civilization as we know it in America going on right now... maybe even right down a street near you]

"I predict future happiness 

for Americans 

if they can prevent the government 

from wasting the labors of the people 

under the pretense 

of taking care of them."  

Thomas Jefferson

oops.

and also said, circa 1802:

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property - until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."  j...ah this girl just loves you Tommy boy...

but oops we did it again.

Austerity measures are coming to America -- whether we choose to see it or not, whether we agree with it or not.  For richer or for poorer.  In sickness and in health.

While here we are, deep into the aftermath of the S & P downgrade fiddling with our daily experience in both the micro and the macro -- with the anti-austerity revolutions raging far and wide -- THIS is our new reality.  We may not be seeing it yet just down the street, but it is coming.

The S & P cited the brutal, and sometimes juvenile, divide between the parties as part and parcel of their decision.  The way I look at it, it was kind of like a father sounding off from the head of the table saying, 'knock it off.'  The arguing about nothing and everything -- and anything but the truth -- was getting to him.

You know it's not like we didn't see this S & P thing coming...I mean, c'mon, they have been sounding off about this -- in the company of other credit rating agencies to boot -- for months now; it was as if months ago, the S & P told the president and this administration, 'don't call my bluff.'

well oopsy-daisy and london bridges falling down.


Make it a Good Day, G


On my Bumper Sticker bucket list:

01.20.13 

The End of an Error

It's an Everybody Understands But Washington Thing

Dear America,

"All Americans, 

both beltway politicians and those on Main Street, 

have to do some serious soul-searching 

to bring their country back 

from a potential financial abyss"  

-- Xinhuanet.com -- 

This from China's leading on line news website, a site ranking "around 160th on its [U.S. based, Alexa website ranking system] list of 108 million global websites. Its ranking places Xinhuanet third among the world's news websites, narrowly trailing BBC and CNN, but far ahead of Reuters, The Associated Press and AFP (Agence France-Presse)."  To read the complete article from China's view, go here.
  
Now, what America finds newsworthy and the reasons why may be for entirely different reasons -- or is it motives...


 On CBS Face the Nation, presidential advisor David Axelrod summed it up like so:

 “The tea party brought us to the brink of default... It was something that should never have happened that clearly is on the backs of those who were willing the see the country default, those very strident voices in the tea party...This is essentially a tea-party downgrade.”

Read more on Newsmax.com: Axelrod: Tea Party to Blame for S&P Move
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Oh Axelrod, do you really think we are that stupid?  Washington has been operating without a budget -- let alone a fiscally responsible one -- going on TWO years now.  hello...don't even get me started on the unbridled spending sprees of the last hundred years.

And the White House, which decidedly went into immediate modus discreditus of the credit rating downgrade, citing that the findings and following decision making by the S&P to essentially lower America's credit rating was entirely based on bad math. 

Here's more from Axelrod:

“We can debate the strength of the analysis they did...They made an egregious error here, but theirs was largely a political analysis, and that is what we should focus on.”

and a statement from Geithner:

so little Timmy said, oh right, in April...that there was absolutely "no risk" -- none, nada, zippo -- he assured us that the United States of America would NOT lose it's AAA credit rating.  He promised the world that reforms would magically appear and be put in place to remedy the situation without further ado.  Duly noting all the political wrangling, he understood how some people might look upon Washington as a "hard place to read;" but have no fear, he said -- ultimately -- there is no risk to the nation  (if not the entire world); resting America's future upon false promises and empty convictions by letting us believe that Washington would do the right thing.

The S & P has been clear -- even to the extent of being quite specific with the numbers; they wanted to see at least 4 Trillion dollars in debt reduction; they even wanted to have assurances that the road ahead would lead to living within our means (translation: a balanced budget).   And they are just as clear in spelling out the reasons for the downgrade in their statement released to the public, which you can read here.  It's not political; it is a pragmatic understanding that this President, and certainly everyone within his administration, should be entirely grateful.

But this was little Timmy's reply to the S & P (getting a little testy I might add):

"They've handled themselves very poorly. And they've shown a stunning lack of knowledge about the basic U.S. fiscal budget math." 

[right, as it was flawed by 2 Trillion dollars]

The S & P makes a number of salient points, one of which:

"Our opinion is that elected officials remain wary of tackling the structural issues required to effectively address the rising U.S. public debt burden in a manner consistent with a ‘AAA’ rating and with ‘AAA’ rated sovereign peers (see Sovereign Government Rating Methodology and Assumptions,” June 30, 2011, especially Paragraphs 36-41)"

Basically, without elected officials doing a little "soul searching,"  the chance for America to return to fiscal solvency is slim to none.

China, the country who buys most of our debt, understands this.

The S & P understands this.

With market reaction of the last week telling us everything we ever needed to know, Wall Street understands this.

Main street understands this.

The average Tea Party Patriot understands this.

And you know it girlfriend -- my homegirls at  SMART GIRL POLITICS understands this.

Even the average democrat, republican and independent with half a brain, understands this.

How can Washington NOT understand this and make the structural changes necessary, like, ah yesterday?

The spin on this is a crying shame.  If it weren't for the House, having the 2010 invasion of the Tea Party spirit as according to the people's mandate to change the Washington establishment, who knows where we would be.   The only voice of reason has come from the Tea Party representatives, and a fraction of others who held onto fiscally conservative convictions.

The White House should be praising the Tea Party for holding the line so firm -- even though, we -- those connected to the Tea Party cause and agenda -- all know it wasn't firm enough, now was it?  you know what I'm talkin' about.  The narrative is that the Tea people in general are happy, and that after all is said and done, the freshmen and active Tea Party congressmen were supposedly celebrating a major coup.  Really? Is that so?   In actuality, not so, ah so, the Tea people were are entirely displeased.  You will just have to take my word on that

Over the weekend The Daily Bell took a poll; as I recall, the question went something like this: "What will the S & P downgrade impact be?"  going thru the choices -- a) dollar goes down, gold up b) politicians will heed the warning... c) no one really cares what this mainstream mouthpiece says -- and last, d) pass the popcorn, the show is about to get really crazy.

[Now, just so you know, I quickly went to (d)..not only for the free popcorn, but c'mon, ya just gotta figure this is just the beginning of a beautiful friendship or something; I mean, geeze louise, something really great crazy is about to start, it's time to hang onto our hats]

Turns out, at the time of the polling, a) reached about 38% -- b) next to nothing -- c) not much better -- while d) got the most of the vote @ about 49% of the Daily Bell visitors for the day.  It may have changed since, I haven't checked.

But the thing is, we the people are onto something; Washington, not so much.  They wouldn't understand what it meant to keep a meaningful distance from the debt ceiling even if it hit them upside the head.

"Despite this year’s wide-ranging debate, in our view, the differences between political parties have proven to be extraordinarily difficult to bridge, and, as we see it, the resulting agreement fell well short of the comprehensive fiscal consolidation program that some proponents had envisaged until quite recently."

Washington just doesn't understand.

and given we are on such a downer these days, here's something funny going around --

[picture GWB] 

"know what else Obama 

inherited from Bush...

a 'AAA' credit rating."

Guess mainstream media won't be mentioning that; certainly Xinhuanet.com will be mum just the same.  But the Tea people -- we might just be running on that come 2012.

Time will tell -- and that only works if we have time left.

Word on the street, seconded by Timmy Geithner, is that there is no risk of running out of time.   none, nada, zippo, no way, no how, not under his watch.[and supposedly, the White House is sticking with Timmy for the time being]

Perhaps if we all cross our fingers and do a little soul searching things will all work out in time.

Make it a Good Day, G

It's late -- in preparation for tomorrow, when my girl comes home from vacationing with her dad -- I have made a jump on the day so that I can have more of the day to play.  As it would work out, I am up late enough to see how the market is opening on the other side of the world.  The Asian market opened on a downward slope, at times losing up to 4% -- you can go here for more -- who knows what the morning light will tell us.

It's Small Things, Medium-Sized Things, Big Things Thing

Dear America,

It was a classic press secretary response... to the question: "What is the President doing about the economy?" this morning:

"So there are small things, 

medium-sized things, 

and big things 

that this President has done 

and will continue to do, 

and will look forward to doing.  

And he will work with Congress 

to do all of them."

thank you, Jay Carney 

let's have a show of hands on that one...

c'mon everybody,
give it up for Jay!

so, just so we are clear, he cited the new Fuel Efficiency Standards as a conduit to save consumers some money, with the assurances that green jobs will come (Chevy Volt sales in July:  125); and cited the "additional forbearance" coming to the financially strapped homeowners; but all in all, he, Jay, quickly wrapped things up offering  no specifics or new things at all.

so, can we look at that number again, Jay....125.  In all of America, with 300 million people, and millions of cars, trucks and SUV's sold each year (averaging 17 million/year) -- the Chevy Volt sold 125 cars in the month of July.

so, all this should come as good news when we realize who will be leading OPEC for the next year.  A nice guy, I'm sure -- probably earned a great deal of respect over the years, in certain circles anyway; not all that attractive, however, but how narrow-minded and superficial of me is that? what a silly girl I am this morning.

He runs with the name:  Brig. Gen. Rostam Ghasemi (Qasemi) heads Khatam al-Anbia (KAA), an IRGC-owned industrial and engineering giant targeted for U.S., European and United Nations sanctions for activities relating to Iran’s nuclear program.  Go here to get a good look at him yourself.

oh yeah, and there's more, Jay, tell us what we've won:

Ghasemi himself was added in February 2010 to the U.S. Treasury’s Department list of Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs) whose assets are frozen and with whom Americans may not do business. Designation was made under an executive order that targets proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems

so, that  part about "with whom Americans may not do business" seems a bit awkward, doesn't it?  Oh I am sure it is no big deal; it's just OPEC; it's just Iran having a little fun with us westerners (again). oh and about that IRGC -- it stands for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps -- who considers this sweet deal "a blow to the West."  just gets better and better, doesn't it?

so, it is a good thing we've got a Volt or two hanging around to beat them at there own game.  yes, indeed. we should be able to nip this burden of oil dependency in no time. no time at all.

What is the president doing about it -- just demanding car makers confirm to the new standards, or else; he has continued to put the boot to the neck of the Gulf oil production stream; he has deemed areas "protected" to protect the lizards and birds; he has restricted America's production of oil in any way possible, answering the call of the wild environmentalists (just one of his many favorite lobbyists).

so, at least we were at about a 9% overall approval rating, now we are at just five...according to the Arab World which loves to rate how they think the United States of America is treating them.

A recent survey tells us that

"the Arab world's image of the US as a whole has also soured to become even less favorable than during the last year of the administration of president George W. Bush, under whom the United States led an international coalition that invaded Iraq.

and that...

"the poll found that Arabs see the Obama administration's handling of key Middle East policy issues as having made no contribution to improving relations between them and the United States.

In fact, the two issues on which the US administration has invested "considerable energy -- the Palestinian issue and engagement with the Muslim world -- receive the lowest approval rating."

so, this made me think...you know that feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when dealing with someone -- who, as a whole, you respect and adore and value -- as you enjoy their company and accept your differences -- and then, after maybe a breach of circumstances and natural evolution, you come to find out that after all this time, after all the breaking of bread, after all the niceties of relationship to and fro, that you come to find out underneath it all, they were really looking at you with contempt -- judging you from top to bottom.

this is how it feels after all this time, through dignitaries, ambassadors, kings and queens, sheiks and imams, prime ministers and presidents, from subjects to rebels to revolutionists to students, the richer the poorer, struggling to be in relationship with the Middle East.

We were doing a lot better when we kept to ourselves as much as possible; we did better when we kept at a reasonable distance; we were happier without the pushing and pulling and negotiating and compromising on the values we hold dear, vacillating with our own truth, making security breaches against our own personal security. The relationship is toxic, in seemingly every foreign relation's way possible.

and what is this president doing about it?   everything from bowing, struggling, angling, reinforcing, cajoling, manipulating, threatening in virtually every way he can think of just to make them "Like" us.  It is beginning to look like we are hanging our every move evaluating what they will think of us first.  How inauthentic is that?

so, you know that old Ricky Nelson line, 'you can't please everyone, you gotta please yourself...'

if you actually clicked into Ricky there, it tells you a story about how the song "Garden Party" came about; capturing the devastation to the psyche following a time when he was just being himself, putting himself out there from the heart, and getting booed off the stage (of course, the story says it may have just been a misunderstanding, that the crowd was really booing the cops, but Ricky didn't know better)  He took it personally and he held onto that feeling for a long, long time.  The song was the product of the cathartic, creative process to move himself up and out of his funk. (Kudos to 'Pequinito' on youtube for the project...nicely done)

This girl believes that we need to come to the Middle East from a different approach; we need to come from a place of personal power, our personal best, and stand up for ourselves.  All G see's is  the US standing up for them, in hopes it will work in our favor in the end.  This is clearly not working.

All the Arab world sees is a nation bowing with their insecurities and vulnerabilities leading the way; we are not meeting them with a sense of REAL authority, or authenticity , at all.  While with certain, there is no clear line of mutual respect between us.  And now with our unconscionable growth of our nation's debt, with little wiggle room anywhere to be found, we are forced into a relationship intent on being the submissive, affected, weaker party which clings to giving in more often than standing up.

and for that matter, now that I'm thinking about it, the entire world is watching the once Super Power fall into the position of Weakest Link.


Our actions must align with our talk, otherwise there is no power in it;  no one will take us seriously.

The Arab World doesn't have to like us; they don't want to like us; and they don't care if they like us or even if we all get along.  Actually, just guessing here, they would probably prefer to hold us in contempt rather than work things out.  It's just easier to make us the villain so that they can live on tip-toeing through the tulips (poppies) in their fairy land Arab Spring.  As a whole, the Arab World holds the power over us because all we want is for them to like us, and just maybe keep selling us that black gold that runs through their veins. 

The relationship will always be make believe; much like the stance of a typical presidential press secretary/spokesman/mouthpiece -- like Jay -- the fodder for what to believe about the things a president will do, wants to do, intends to do, dreams of doing, and what he actually does -- it all spins from a podium -- the explanations of the past, the amplifying of the present, and the safe-keeping of the future rests in the hands of how much "Jay" [and the president] can make the people, the press, the Arab world, believe.

In the end, though, like Ricky's song, it all falls back on each and every one of us -- to believe in ourselves, to believe in our own truths, to stand up for our own principles, to sing our own song, to follow through with our own word -- even if it might have the power to break a relationship and especially if it is toxic.

Because our life is not make believe, is it? 
It is real and it is right in front of us and it is what we make of it every day.

"So there are small things, 

medium-sized things, 

and big things 

that this President has done 

and will continue to do, 

and will look forward to doing.  

And he will work with Congress 

to do all of them."

Make it a Good Day, G

It's an Evil Web We Weave Thing

Dear America,

played hooky yesterday -- went into recess, as some say; or, more like what many of you commonly call taking "a personal day."

My baby girl is out of town with her daddy this week, so it was a day for taking a little liberty with my liberty, if you know what I mean -- lounging around the house, only turning on my computer to check email (albeit late in the day -- while giving way to making a full disclosure here -- I shouldn't even have gone that far, what a tactical error on the day that was...oh well)... but let's see, what else...

...caught up with my man for a wee slice of the afternoon, painted flowers and squiggles and hearts and moons all over a piece of furniture that was just begging for a makeover, and made myself a vodka cocktail on the rocks with three olives as the sun went down.  It was a good day.


I let my mind escape from it's troubles for what amounts to something less than a fragment of my life, allowing the floodgates to open up to let the spirit flow and fly free anyway she wanted.  And I did.

But back in the real world, fresh eyed and rested, with a certain buzz lifting me out of what feels like months on the battlefield galactica, watching the ridiculousness of the debt ceiling debate and what came out of it -- it is back to vigilance.

There must be something wrong when both China and Russia join forces to tell us, America, that we screwed up.  That we must be more responsible with our debt.  That we can't keep going on like this.  These parallel universes, appearing like they are for us before they are against us, undoubtedly spell trouble.  Putin says that we "...are living like parasites off the global economy and [our] monopoly of the dollar."  For a crib notes version of China's view, watch this. [fyi: this commercial was produced by Citizens Against Government Waste.  It is now banned, deemed too controversial to show on TV]

But how 'bout that market today?  down 300 points with three hours to go...that's gotta hurt.

Once Obama comes back from his birthday parties and vacationing, he plans on beginning a bus tour -- to go out to talk to the American people about the economy and jobs.  The tour is set to begin August 15th, with the plan to span mostly the Midwest...ergo hitting up the swing state vote.  Don't you just dig this president's transparency as much as G?

When asked a few stellar questions backing Carney into a corner of his milky way, a CNS.com reporter asked him "is that a campaign event or a presidential event?"  To which Carney responded, "Negative.  That is an official event." And then, it just unraveled from there, and quoting the rest of that conversation:

CNSNews.com followed, “So it is being funded by taxpayers in battleground states?”

Carney responded, “He’s the president of the United States.”

Another reporter followed up about whether there was a political nature to the trip.

“The air of cynicism is quite thick,” Carney shot back. “The idea that the president of the United States should not venture forth into the country is ridiculous.”

The reporter said, “I didn’t say that.”

Carney said, “No, but you implied it in your question. It is absolutely important for the president – whoever that person is, in the past or in the future – to get out and hear from people in different communities."

For more on this, you can go to CNSNews.com for the entire article.

Hey, you know who just recently came out and endorsed Obama? -- and thinking to myself that you will just love the full circle connection here -- is the communist party USA!   yea!  hip hip hooray!

"We are keenly aware of the fact that the agenda of the far right is to bring this administration and country to its knees, with a heavy dose of racism, lies and economic sabotage, setting the stage for a full blown return to power of the most reactionary, racist, anti-labor, anti-women, homophobic and militarist grouping in U.S. politics."

Sam Webb, Chairman of CommunistPartyUSA

Read more: Yikes! Look who just endorsed Obama for 4 more years http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=329449#ixzz1ToTVhjlR

Yikes!  He forgot to call us "right wing extremists" "terrorists"  -- like Joe Biden did.

Now if you ask me, it's that Webb guy who seems a wee bit 'reactionary' and high strung -- perhaps he needs to take a personal day?  And I am beginning to think there is distant family relation somewhere -- given the thin air of superiority and the propensity of aligning with just flat out lies, propaganda, and name calling to string his talking points along and bully opposition beliefs into submission -- the tactics and rhetoric are all too familiar within even my own family.  

But whatever, let us quickly moveon.org -- now if this American president is pleased by this endorsement for the second time around, that should tell us everything we need to know about the man. right?  How could he stand up and say thanks guys, knew I could count on you and be totally okay with it?  Is he getting his American rhetoric/talking points confused with his dreams from my father by chance?

SO his bus tour is just one big meet and greet, to calm the people down, to comfort them in the face of 9.2% unemployment, while glaring at a debt that is basically too high for all the tea in China, now sitting at 16.7 TRILLION dollars.  While Washington Establishment hasn't learned a thing.  Do you really believe we can solve a debt crisis with more debt?   It's an absurd notion.

Over the last ten years, federal spending has ballooned 46%; government is growing 3.5% faster than our ability to sustain it.  The federal reserve is simply planning on printing more money -- when they do -- we, the people, sustain immediate financial hardship, having the value of the dollar diminished right before our eyes.  and all of it is out of our hands.  Catch this short video on the Federal Reserve (just four minutes)

One more thing to cling to before the weightlessness of the political atmosphere pulls me out to Pluto, this was in the morning mail from The Daily Bell:

"We are going to pay for it with massive inflation. We're going to have to run the presses 24/7 to buy up all this additional debt, which is massive inflation, which is a tax on this generation..." Peter Schiff, being interviewed on Freedom Watch with Judge Andrew Napolitano

China and Russia are absolutely right about us -- Americans are being screwed over by the establishment in general, the Power Elite in particular, with both sides of the aisle guilty as charged.  They are laughing at us and can't wait for us to burst into 300 million pieces.

According to word on the street, the establishment may have to consider raising the ceiling right around the next elections; even Nancy Pelosi considers that raising the debt ceiling another 2.4 Trillion dollars is only good for a mere eighteen months -- and her numbers have never added up -- they are usually far worse -- it is just that we are left in the dark until we have had a chance to read the fine print in the light of day before we know any better.

Okay, so my links got out of hand today; consider it making up for my lost in space day of yesterday...or is that today?  do do dodo do do dodo

You know, the GOP promised the American people they would post new legislation for 72 hours before a vote so that the people could read it, and respond to their congressmen complete with all the intelligence and matter at hand.  We did not get that this time around, did we?  The "manufactured crisis" on the day was simply too great, the oncoming asteroid was about to hit us and set off "Armageddon,"  we were told. When push came to shove, there was simply no time to follow through with their word.  What a shame.

And now they are on recess.

typical.

Holy Crap.  The market is down 400. Leaving G leaving on a low point...atypical; consider it just something totally out of my control.

Make it a Good Day, G

It's What Happens When Washington is in the Business of Manufacturing a Crisis After Crisis Thing

Dear America,

now imagine this president operating without a care in the world if whether or not he gets re-elected...

which, hello...will happen if this guy gets...re-elected.


you know what's funny -- the proverbial THEY are enacting a new narrative to call this a Tea Party Victory.

Sorry.  That couldn't be further from the truth (that is, if anyone even cares about the disseminating truth any longer).  To call this a win for the average Tea Party Enthusiast would be a reach, at best -- an abomination of character, at worse.  THIS is NOT what the Tea's had in mind, you can be sure.


The good news on the day happens to be one of mixed blessings:  the first being, we've seen congressmen masquerading as statesmen (going on for years now). With their latest debut, displaying an unconscionable willingness to let politics direct their every move.  IF there was ever a question about that before, we have an answer in the here and day after.

So with this wanton ambivalence to simply doing the right thing leading the way -- resting decision making more on appearances than upon substance... even if that decision leaves America in harm's way, vulnerable to insolvency and a government in rampant overreach -- we, the people, can come away with the real win.

We know what to do (again).

We vote the bums out.

So with that, the Tea Party might just say thanks for the help...to which a Reid, a Pelosi, a McConnell, a Boehner might just respond with -- being totally oblivious to the underlining sarcasm -- sure, no problem, anytime, call me.

SO the president just spoke in the Rose Garden.  It appeared to be just a beautiful afternoon, the sun was shining, the birds were chirping, as he stood there at the podium all smug, pleased with his kingdom, no less.

He basically said, now that that's done, now that we have averted a crisis, it is time for the next phase --- beginning with his promise to his base by attacking the rich to make them pay.   He also said that when congress comes back, he shall expect congress to take steps to "do more."

In politico speak, that means...another stimulus, extending tax cuts to the middle class, extending unemployment, patent reform, finishing trade deals that were initiated years ago, and setting up an  Infrastructure Banking system to increase number of loans made available for private companies to rebuild bridges, repair roads, fix sinkholes, and the like.


Surprisingly, he made a stark admission in the middle of his remarks; so hold up, while I go fetch a transcript to pull from it...(cue the elevator music).

here it is:

"That’s part of the reason that people are so frustrated with what’s been going on in this town.  In the last few months, the economy has already had to absorb an earthquake in Japan, the economic headwinds coming from Europe, the Arab Spring and the [rise] in oil prices — all of which have been very challenging for the recovery.  But these are things we couldn’t control.  Our economy didn’t need Washington to come along with a manufactured crisis to make things worse.  That was in our hands."

seriously? it just doesn't get any better than that.  (for the entire transcript, go here)

Like any first step of recovery, Mr. President, admitting the truth becomes the legal tender worth it's weight in gold...however, no telling what inflation will do.

So, call me silly, but this girl would love to know just who, in Washington, do you believe is to blame for the latest spree of innovation,  manufacturing a crisis...

could it be YOU?  what with that carrying on about "not guaranteeing Social Security checks" -- or the administration holding the Armageddon rhetoric to a heightened level, hitting the twenty month peak (kinda like the consumer spending exhibiting it's first decline since September 2009, only, of course, in reverse)? While even though the so-called "debt ceiling" is as a matter of record, MANUFACTURED, out of thin by the masterminds of government in the first place -- hard to tell when this factory opened for business.


Oh, oh, I get it...because the Tea Party Freshmen considered themselves accountable, as the keepers of the coffers (OF THE PEOPLE'S MONEY) you're inclined to point there -- while to you...all this idiotic finagling over dollars and cents, balanced budgets and cuts... to spend, or not to spend, that is the question -- was simply pure sideshow.

They annoyed you, didn't they? 
c'mon, you can tell me...
oh to be a pesky fly on your arm over the next few days.

Well consider this day, a time when you can dot your I's and enjoy passage of another monumental travesty of our nation's limited government; but also know, that the T's -- the true T's -- are crossed.

This manufacturing of a crisis, the MO of choice for you, and right out of Alinsky's Rules for Radicals, is now documented for all of history.  Your mom must be so proud.


and may you also take comfort knowing that you're right...

"OUR ECONOMY

didn't need 

Washington 

to come along 

with a manufactured crisis 

to make things worse."

Obama

in the Rose Garden

wearing rose colored glasses

Make it a Good Day, G

and just imagine four more of this...and then some...unleashed and spending with free abandon...without a care in the world to do the right thing...just sprinkling his rosy rose petals all over the place.

Oh, and by the way -- whatever it is we accomplished today in Washington, the MARKET seems not too pleased.   It is dropping as we speak -- down a couple hundred points.  

It's a 'Satan Sandwich' sort of Thing

Dear America,

"Government by the elected representatives 

of the people is coming to be government 

by two (or three or four) men 

in a secret room 

pronouncing the new law 

that will be rubber-stamped -- or else! 

Accepting such a process as normal 

is a new phenomenon, 

but it is becoming in Washington 

an acceptable procedure..."  

Tony Blakely, 

a 'Washingtonian'

never short of great conservative opinion

happy monday, day before Armageddon -- oooh, but not really cuz we are working things out...


are we now?


But I heard this new debt ceiling deal was more like "a sugar-coated Satan sandwich."  That fine opinion came from a democrat (MO) and Chairman of the Black Caucus, Emmanuel Cleaver.

what else...


Oh yes, from John McCain we get this:  "I don't think without the Tea Party we would have had an agreement."


say what?  is this the same guy who read aloud, on the floor of the Senate, excerpts of a conservative opinion piece (written by Bill Krystal) who equated the Tea Party to a bunch of Hobbits...just last week?  nice flip.   just how is your neck there, John?


sideshow alert, sideshow alert.


I believe Blakely is spot on.  Washington is becoming less and less of the people, for the people, by the people and more about a few good men.


The more I delve into our dark side of human nature and governing, the more I understand -- and respect -- the Rule of Law this great nation has so defined.  Everything was built upon COMMON law that we all agreed to follow -- not tweaking towards any one person, group or special interest more than another.  It is the corruption of such Law that we are where we are.   


From John Adams:

"No man will contend that a nation 

can be free that is not governed by fixed laws.  

All other government 

than that of permanent known laws 

is the government of mere will and pleasure."

Nothing about our government seems "fixed" these days, does it?   

Even though what We the People have long assumed to be in place, a government intimately bound by the terms of our Constitution, with processes of authority and precepts of regulation to make sound Law...for the people... But this isn't what we see, is it?

Aristotle lamented that "even the best of men in authority are liable to be corrupted by passion.  We may conclude then that the law is reason without passion, and it is therefore preferable to any individual."

By growing our debt another 2.4 Trillion dollars, we constrict our freedom even more -- how can this body of "statesmen" not see this?   They must not have any idea what it feels like to be indebted -- the burden it places on both body and mind; these men, must be merely reflecting there own magnificence -- and without a doubt, without a care or a concern, let alone an inkling of a burden, in the world.  

Who are these people, and what have they done with our Law?  respective of boundaries, limited government, leaving any and all UN-limited-ness expressly for the people? 

"Our world was built on the solid pillars of three great civilizations:  Jerusalem, Athens, and Rome.  The first taught us to pray; the second, to think; and the third, to govern.  Yet, as strong as they are, these pillars require our respectful study, contemplations, and defense, if they are to continue bearing the tremendous weight of the West.  Absent this attention, we will continue to witness our ongoing decay, and eventual collapse."  

This is a quote from a local writer, Craig Maxwell -- initially dropped into my American girl realm  a long long time ago , if according to the relativity of time on the blogosphere.  But once again, it seems to jump out from the corners of my mind as something worthy of a short fixation in the moment.   The country's "pillars" were intended to be fixed in stone in most respects; what we continue to do -- to ourselves, no less -- is a treason of the worst kind.  

Who would ever have thought we would live to see a day when making "a sugar-coated Satan sandwich" becomes just part of the everyday, occurring somewhere around noon, followed up with a three hour siesta -- only to get up the very next day and do it again.  Who would have thought?

Manufacturing numbers are way down today -- oooh, color me surprised when the only thing we seem passionate about creating is more government bureaucracy.  

This new plan -- yet to be voted on, ergo yet to be real law [done deal?  hardly...oh a girl can only hope]  -- says that there are 3 Trillion dollars in debt reduction over ten years (slashing Defense in the process) to add 2.4 Trillion in credit card debt for this administration to squander...supposedly getting us to 2013.

are you kidding me?

there is no Balance Budget caveat; it leaves entirely open a raising of "revenues" down the road -- to be so ordained by committee; it squashes the responsibility and accountability factor down to nil.

Consider the AAA credit rating gone solely because We the People, through our representation, do not deserve it.

The road ahead is neither paved with gold or conviction -- it is more like on borrowed time, along with the overpriced, perfectly and passionately, pensioned and plumped, public works guys filling in the holes, and jumping from one hot spot to the next, clinging to shovel ready projects totally fixated upon burying the United States in debt....in order to fundamentally transform everything.

 

 what else is there for lunch?

Make it a Good Day, G

Aristotle and Adams came from The 5000 Year Leap...get a fix and get this book.