Is This Bailout Rotten To The Core?

Well it looks like we are on the verge of the biggest bailout in US history and taking a serious step toward socializing our banking system!

I could go on and on with the details of how we got here, who's to blame, blah, blah, blah, but what we really need to do is take it down to the basic fact that THE US CONSUMES MORE THAN IT SAVES!

We buy more stuff from other nations than we export and pay for it all with money we also have to borrow from other nations. And our government pays for the "empire" and buys votes (via entitlements) by printing money from thin air and running up the national debt. The sum total is that we are quickly become an empty hull with a devaluing dollar that is continuing to be "worth-less" everyday.

I can't help but to think of an old Walnut tree we had to cut down when we put up our new home. It was a big old tree. Its burly large trunk proudly held up its wide spreading branches over the decades of growth. It produced a large number of Walnuts each year, so many in fact that it seemed I could never possibly pick them all up. We enjoyed the protection it gave us from the sun on Summer days and I was truly sad that we had to take it down. In fact, we decided to that after we cut it down we would have the wood crafted into furniture. We thought it would be a fitting legacy and a way to enjoy its strength and beauty for years to come. However we where in for an unpleasant surprise.

When we went to cut down the tree we discovered it was rotten through out, in fact it was HOLLOW inside! It was such a shock! How could it even stand up, let alone produce leaves or even nuts! It seemed so strong, however we could have almost pushed it over! And as to the nuts, we had never tried to eat them, so we didn't know that it was also producing rotten nuts! If I had bothered to scoop them all up and harvest them, I would have gotten a whole lot of nothing.

What does this have to do with the current economic crisis? I think of it as a metaphor for what is happening to our country. We look so strong, successfully, affluent on the outside. If you judged us by our commercials, movies, magazines etc. you would be convinced we are a great and strong society. But I am afraid that this may all be hiding a terrible truth. I shudder at the thought that we might be a hollow core, that the values at the heart of this great nation have rotted away and been replaced with decadence, corruption and decay.

I LOVE THIS COUNTRY and I pray for it each day. I still believe that the majority of Americans are good people that want to do the right thing, but we have lost our way. We live in an instant gratification society. We need everything all the time and the idea of having to wait or work hard and save for something is almost laughable to all too many.

Of course I am speaking generally and I am not proposing that we cast aside physical comfort or material goods to live like the Amish, I simply mean that we must learn to live below our means or at least with in them. It is the money that Americans put away in their savings that provide the basis of the money that is later lent to businesses or to the government, in the form of bonds, to fund the building of our infrastructure. When Americans don't save to make purchases, or for a rainy day, then there isn't enough money available to meet the large demand for credit, so we must borrow from foreign nations or turn on the old printing press at the Fed and make more. If we have no savings, it is also more difficult for us to survive lean times. Of course the whole of our economy is more complicated than this, but the idea of "savings" and "loans" is a basic one.

Walnut trees offer the first signs that Winter is just around the corner. It is one of the first trees to loose its leaves in the Fall and their naked branches always make me a bit sad. I still believe that America is the greatest nation on Earth and that we are NOT yet rotten to the core. We CAN shed off the dead or dying and put on fresh leaves and grow even stronger, we just have to remember OUR roots. We are the most productive people on Earth, and currently still mostly free to live our lives in peace. I encourage everyone to be more prudent and less impulsive. You might just ENJOY a more simple life and you will surely relish those new purchases more when you have worked hard for them!

May our nation's core be strong and its "fruit" sustain us!

Who won the debate? It certainly wasn't the American People!

I watched the debate tonight and listened to the commentary. I think they BOTH lost. (My confidence if nothing else!) They dodged questions, answered them with meaningless crap from their past or what they think America most wants to hear. And there were a whole lot of things to spend money on, but very little spending cuts proposed. They both engaged in debating the subtle minutia and mentioned so many multi-syllabled world leaders that I lost count. But neither even once mentioned the word "Constitution" even though the words of it appeared in the backdrop and on the lettering behind them. And it is the constitution they will be sworn to protect.

We are in real trouble! Our dollar is in jeopardy and we have few friends left in the world. I sometimes feel like America is a big plate of raw meat and the world is looking at us licking their chops in anticipation of devouring us from the inside out.

We are a country consumed by debt, as is evident by our horrible savings rate and unbelievable debt load. We consume more than we produce and mortgage our country to Foreign nations to finance the party. Yet we wonder why we are in trouble?

I have never been so frightened and I am afraid that 700 Billion just can't solve our malignant illness. We have forsaken our values and sold them for the Hollywood gossip report or latest sports scores. We have been happily asleep, and I am afraid too many just refuse to wake up. Soon we won't have a choice. Soon the pain will be all too real and what will be left is the truth. Ugly as it is, we must face it before we can move on.

Pray for us! Pray for our country!!! Pray we have the strength to get through all that is coming our way, and that we do so with compassion and ingenuity. God help us. Show us the way and give us your strength!

I am not a religious person per say, but I do believe in God and I have found that in the times of deepest darkest despair and foreboding that appealing to a higher source for guidance has helped me carry the load. May it help you and our nation do the same.

Thanks for reading.

I recommend going to a website I found that gives me some hope. Many may think that everyone their is crazy, but they thought a lot of things were crazy until they have started to come to pass.

http://www.campaignforliberty.com/

A Word About Thrid Parties Supporters

The issue of Third Parties is again in the news with the endorsement of Constitutional Party presidential nominee, Chuck Bladwin, by Ron Paul. There are a lot of misconceptions and diminishing of Third Party supporters floating around. The idea that they’re all “loonies” is false. Every party has its extremes, and unfortunately those with the most radical rhetoric get air time because they’re more “interesting”. Plus we live in a society notorious for perpetuating stereotypes when they prove useful to those in power.

I have been both a Democrat and Republican at various times and currently feel that neither offer real solutions. I am well read in Economics and have been a student of both the Constitution and Foreign Policy issues. I assure you I am no radical and have a more than adequate IQ. I take the time to research the issues, as is the responsibility of all citizens in a free society.

I believe freedom of choice is what makes the USA great! The notion that voting for a Third Party candidate is a "waste of your vote" doesn't really fly with me. I believe voting with a mob mentality or choosing the lesser of two evils is a far bigger waste. I also believe that people like to back a "winner", so they feel compelled to chose a candidate from one of the major parties.

I researched ALL the candidates and compare their policies with my beliefs and vote for the candidate that most closely matches my criteria. I don't worry about the letter after their name, but rather their record. To me this process is far from a waste. I implore voters to do their own research and start this process by searching their own beliefs to discover where they TRULY lie in the political spectrum. You may be surprised with what you discover!

Try the following websites to start your journey of political self-discovery!

http://www.politicalcompass.org/test
http://www.theadvocates.org/quizp/index.html

Ron Paul announces who he will support this November

Well I was surprised today to see that Ron Paul has announced who he is going to support this November on his official website www.CampaignForLiberty.com He is supporting Chuck Baldwin, the Constitution Party candidate.

Please click on the link below to read his full comments.
http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog/?p=582

I am not sure what the deal is between him and Bob Barr, the Libertarian nominee, but it isn't good! Sounds like there is bitterness that Paul wasn't going to outright endorse Barr, since Paul had been a Libertarian. Or maybe Barr is concerned about the amount of attention Paul is continuing to get, even though he is out of the race and how a lot of Libertarians would have preferred Paul been their nominee.

It will be interesting to see what the fall out from this announcement is and what kind of a bump Baldwin may get. Also, I wonder what the reaction will be by the other third party candidates who are part of the "coalition" press conference last week.

Even if you don't follow third party politics, this should be interesting!

Saturday Night Live's Latest Skit Is Right, But It Cuts Both Ways!

Well I just got done watching Saturday Night Live's latest satire. It was funny, but could easily have been applied to either McCain or Obama. Political ads ARE so ridiculous any more. Both candidates could be talking about real issues, but instead they dig up half truths or 1/4 truths or worse. And the ominous voices and visuals, I mean come on, do they really expect us to believe their end of the world, this guy is the anti-Christ load of crap.

We really aren't that stupid. People can see through it and personally it just makes me feel that we are sliding further and further away from any integrity in public service. We have gotten to the point were both parties steal from each other's play books and sound virtually identical.

If you were a person that wasn't willing to do whatever it takes to win, would you ever consider running for office? Would you ever subject yourself or your family to the cut-throat tactics, dirty lies and horrible personal attacks? No way!!! Every human being on earth has something in their past that can be twisted into a "shocking" scandal, or knows someone who would willingly lie about them for political gain. Jesus said to let he who is without sin cast the first stone, but in politics I think the new mantra is to be sure to cast stones at their sins first!

How many good men and women who want to serve for the right reasons and with a humble, common sense approach have been chased away from ever attempting to run for public office. You have to have lived your life preparing for a career in politics, watching every word and measuring every decision and of course working on your spin skills.

By the way, still watching SNL and they just got done with a great skit about New York Times reporters prepairing to go to Alaska and dig up dirt on Sarah Palin. Funny stuff! Demonstrates just how out of touch and overzealous the press is! Really drives home the point of my entire blog!

Why is the thought of someone killing their own food so objectionable to so many?

I can't even count the number of times I have seen or heard derogatory comments about Sarah Palin because she is, as Obama says, "a Moose shooter". Take for example the recent comments by Joy Behar, currently a co-host of ABC's The View, who said that Palin is cruel to animals because Palin shot them.

Also I just saw a nasty banner ad on one of the political websites that had a cartoon rendering of Sarah Palin wearing a tiara, and holding a gun at a crying moose. I mean give me a break! I suspect that Moose in Alaska are as plentiful as White Tail Deer are here in Illinois.

My husband and I hunt deer in season and usually harvest two. We have the deer processed at a local meat locker and eat them over the course of the year, usually running out of meat just in time for the next dear season the following year. I do not consider myself or my husband cruel to animals. I do not enjoy killing things, however there are SO MANY of them here in Illinois that they are responsible for thousands of car accidents a year and hundreds of fatalities. The state's Department of Natural Resources acknowledges their large numbers and implements a hunting season and "tag" system that helps to control and manage their numbers, as much for their sake as ours, since over population can lead to starvation and disease.

People from urban areas do not understand this. We kill the animals for food, not because we like to kill things! Oh I guess there may be some people like that, but I don't know any one personally that does so with cruel intentions. This may sound cruel if you live in a city because you don't have as much interaction with the bounty of nature. You are lucky if you ever see a wild deer in the city, because the animals have little natural habitat in which to survive and thrive. In contrast, I can see dozens of deer around my farm in a weeks time, so I know how plentiful they are. Hunting season accounts for the death of a small percentage of the overall population, which easily rebounds by the next season. I assume that in Alaska a similar situation exist with Moose.

Another aspect that can gross out city folk is the thought of eating these animals. YES WE ACTUALLY EAT THEM! That is after all the point! If you eat beef or pork or chicken you are eating animals too, they were just industrially raised and mass processed. In contrast, the animals we harvest are taken by us to a small family run meat locker for processing. We get chops, roast, steaks, and ground meat. We cook it like you would any comparable cut of beef or pork. It taste great and is all natural. I know that deer may not LOOK like a cow but they eat just the same!

So I really wish people would get off the "cruelty" kick when it comes to Palin hunting, because unless you are a strict vegetarian who refuses to eat meat on the grounds of animal cruelty then you have no grounds to make such an accusation!

Once again it is the media's portrayal of anything non-suburban as being backward and repulsive. I have lived in cities and was always amazed at how little most city dwellers knew of rural culture. This is mostly due to stereotypes of goat loving, bib wearing, inbreds that TV likes to portray, so it is little wonder people have such belittling comments about Sarah Palin, most of them just don't understand!

Is the Obama Campaign planning to replace Biden?

Is the Obama Campaign planning to get rid of Biden?

Google the subject and you will get all kinds of speculation on the subject.

Here is a blog that claims inside info on the subject and suggest a possible "surprise" switch right before the VP debates.

http://johnibiii.wordpress.com/2008/09/17/could-hillary-replace-biden-as-obama-veep-candidate/

If Obama was to replace Biden he would have to make it appear that he had no choice but to do so and not just that he changed his mind or made a mistake. So it would have to be a "health" emergency or aneurysm scare with Biden.

Remember that last week Obama met with Bill Clinton in a one on one meeting and why was Hillary so quick to get out of an event that put her anywhere near Palin? Also remember the strange comments from Biden last week about how "Hillary might have been a better choice". It all makes for great conspiracy theory talk.

If it was to really happen though, it would be a huge gamble on Obama's part, as it would be so transparent, but to be honest I don't think voters would care. They would look the other way and the democratic base would be so energised that it just might work. However, it could go horribly wrong with voters seeing through it and perceiving deviousness, weakness and or indecisiveness. The race is so close, that I wouldn't think he'd take such a big risk unless he really thought he was going to lose otherwise.

Anyway, this whole election has been so ugly and strange and I question whether either side would do almost anything to win. The nature of politics these days I guess. I see it getting worse every four years and I am afraid that the next presidential election might get so bad that we have fighting in the streets. I feel that violence is possible after this election under the right or should I say wrong circumstances. Ironic since both sides seem to morph more and more into each other. But I will leave that for a future blog. Let's hope that things don't get that bad!!!

What do you think??