My Two Cents Worth . . .

I realize I seem to be stuck on this banking, financial ruin this country is going through, but this morning the news is just "priceless." It hasn't been a month ago that our leader told us we are merely experiencing an economic slowdown, that didn't quite rally as they had hoped with the tax rebate plan. Now, I'm hearing the same old tired mantra from the White House, "if Congress doesn't hurry and act . . ." And oh, the whole world is watching. Well the whole world's been watching this complete farce for the last 7 1/2 years, and six of those years we had a republican Congress that was apparently just twiddling their thumbs or enjoying the wining and dining by corporate lobbyists. I really think our government saw this coming. I saw the real estate bubble ready to burst in 2005 and I'm just a small time minister/writer, hardly Wall Street or Washington material. In seven years, we've nearly doubled the national deficit and those of us that call attention to that fact are being labeled, unpatriotic. I think our government has done two things. I think they have weakened this entire nation and lost our credibility throughout the world. I can't blame all of this on the government. Even American religion has managed to self-sanctify greed.
This time, however; it would be nice if Congress stuck by their guns and didn't just bluster before handing the President another blank check! There is a fundamental flaw with this continual rhetoric of "not allowing these businesses to fail." The fact that the books don't balance and they've lost billions is failure. Even if they receive the billions upon billions over the 1/3 of the tax rebate they've already received, insolvency in banking is failure. Insurance companies that need a loan to keep operating, much less cover claims, is failure. And so our government has rewritten the rules for the last two investment banks. That's right, down to two. Now these two banks can receive deposits . . . Since banking is now a not for profit business, and receiving federal funding, will the deposits be tax deductible?
Our own government is taking us down and they want us to finance the conquest!
Even if the money gets printed and pumped into Wall Street, it's strength and power will not be restored and the government will have the assets held by the companies on Wall Street. If this present insane plan does pass Congress, it's lose/lose/lose for we the people. But hey, they're going to give us 4 shiny new pennies in '09!
Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: New Testament

Dear Mr. President,

Why aren't you listening to the people? I'm not talking about the upper echelon corporates and suits around you, I'm talking about those people that are working every day or trying to, that you are supposed to be governing and more importantly protecting.
I answer questions regarding savings and budgeting. I even answer questions pertaining to self reliance and various rights afforded us here in the US of A. Let me share a basic foundational thought in dealing with budgeting and it applies to monetary sums ranging from 1st grade allowance to the national budget of a world superpower.
YOU CANNOT BORROW YOUR WAY OUT OF DEBT!
It's a simple, yet time honored fact. We are tired of hearing what is made to sound like the facts changing, depending upon the presentation. Some of us know better than that.
I'm sorry some of your friends mismanaged their businesses, but I don't want to bail them out. I don't understand why Wall Street, who is supposed to be handling the money for Main Street, needs to be funded and subsidized by many that can't afford housing on Main Street, much less to play the numbers on Wall Street.
This just isn't right and it doesn't set will. And it really looks bad that even more mess is happening on your watch. I realize your faithful few are still grasping at straws to blame the previous administration. Come on, you know you walked into much less mess in the Oval Office, than your successor will in '09.
You're not a grandpa yet, so you probably can't relate to what I'm about to say, but I'm going to share it anyway. I feel very strongly about leaving a heritage, not a debt. Our generation will not live long enough to even make a dent in the interest that is gathering on the debt you have led our nation into. It's bad enough my grandchildren will be paying for a war that was unprovoked and unnecessary, I hope my grandson is not called upon to fight in it. He's 6 right now, but he wasn't even a year old when you started this war. It's been over 5 years since you said Mission Accomplished, so we just don't know how long this mess will continue, do we? And no offense to all the seniors, but most of them have plenty of money and plenty of health care provided by your revision of MediCare, to live long enough to spend my generation's inheritance. That's fine, but I really do hate the fact that my hard working children are paying into a social security plan that is charted to be bankrupt the year I turn 60, much less for them to ever see any hope of return. Not only do you have family money to enjoy and inherit, you have a Presidential pension for life. Again, Mr. President, I implore of you to think about what you are doing. The more unbacked money you throw at a situation, the less America's assets are worth. And if the money you're throwing around is backed, it's borrowed. Please refer to the capitalized statement above.
I've been to Washington DC and New York City. I have to tell you, much of the rest of the country doesn't choose to live that way, therefore we don't care to finance it and subsidize it. And for those that would like to live extravagantly, they deserve the right to spend their money; I repeat, their money, no one else's.
This country is made up of strong hard working individuals. We've had some of the greatest inventors and entrepreneurs the world has seen in the last couple of centuries, and many of them didn't succeed the first time. We've had Presidents with failed business ventures, I'm sure you are aware, but many of them had nothing to fall back on and no one to bail them. They simply picked themsevles up, dusted themselves off and started again. It's what America plans to do in January of '09.
A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children . . . a Proverb of Holy Scripture

Up in Smoke?

I awoke to more financial woes and unfortunately the promise that our President was looking into this matter. This isn't going to be a lengthy blog going over all the particulars and political elitist's concerns. This is simple and straight to the point. We, average citizens, can't afford our own lives, much less to bail out multi-million and billion dollar corporations in which the CEOs and Board of Directors will maintain their current standard of living. There is no reason to try to keep Wall Street"business as usual" while the rest of us finance their rescue. I keep hearing the term bail out because we can't afford for a particular company to fail. If it needs bailing out or bankruptcy protection, it already has failed. Our President is promising money he doesn't have and his generation, which is also mine, will not live long enough to earn or repay the loan.
If the Federal Reserve truly has the money and they are the financier for the government, why don't they pay down some of the deficit, instead of covering poor decisions made by the greedy and the wealthy?
The "much needed" bail out yesterday was at the top of the news this morning. The government had to bail AIG because the entire world was affected. The entire world was watching what our government would do with AIG and now all eyes are on WA-MU, which I think sounds like something the GOP VP should be hunting next month.
This American administration has already pumped $50 billion into corporate America, with the tax rebate incentive earlier this year and financed Chase to consume Bear-Stearns. Now owns Freddie, Fannie, and the Federal Housing Administration. They've taken just as much real estate from home owners as the original settlers took from the Indians. I never allowed my children to use the "F" word, but I'm thinking Federal is the new "F" word of the 21st Century.
So, as the world watches for the sake of the global economy, I just can't help but think of the apocalyptic passage regarding the demise of the Harlot of Babylon in the Revelation. I think the whole world is watching as we go up in smoke!
For in one hour so great riches is come to nought . . . And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning . . . the Revelation

For a Mere 85 Billion . . .

Our present administration is now bailing out yet another over-extended, short-sighted, greed driven company. I'm still sorting out the facts as to why Fannie and Freddie were bailed when Bear Stearns was allowed to sink, and why AIG is being bailed right after the Lehman Brothers filed bankruptcy. . . and I am trying very hard to not use the term, anti-Semitic. So, I'll move right along here. For a mere 85billion dollars, our government has managed to obtain 79.9% of the assets of a company worth more than a trillion dollars. Wow! You talk about an investment, I'd almost call it a gamble! That got me thinking, however; as to why our government is so far in debt when it's raking in markers like this. The part I just don't understand is this next move to hold an auction for bonds.
So, our government, being what it is, is spending 85 billion dollars of taxpayer's hard earned money to own almost 80% of a trillion dollar company, and I still haven't seen where the taxpayers benefit, but . . . then the federal reserve prints bonds to sell, to restore the reserve, because our government has been bailing ailing corporations out in an "attempt" to save our economy . . . and the taxpayers are supposed to be supportive of this measure, even feel good about the economy. I think not!
If our government can spend 85 billion to hold the assets of a company that is worth over a trillion, why are we in debt? Why is there a deficit, at all? This seems like some pretty savvy business investments. Or does our government only invest in sinking ships that belong to old cronies?
Since our government has shut down loansharking and racketeering, our administration seems to have the exclusive to high interest rates and placing a rock on the assets.
This particular business maneuver seems a lot like walking into Wal-Mart and buying stock with Monopoly money and then telling the greeters and the cashiers, as well as the bakery crew that 80 cents on every dollar will need to be given to ME! What a plan!
YHVH shall open unto thee HIS good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in His season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. Torah of Holy Scripture

It's Only Money . . .

I remember hearing that saying as a child, but never at home. I awoke this morning to the announcer proclaiming more economic woes for some truly big money American entities. Monday, Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy protection. This company is 158 years old and was one of Wall Street's giants. This company clearly survived the Civil War and the Great Depression, but was unable to hang on through what the present administration lightly refers to as an "economic slow down!" I don't care what euphemisms someone uses, the facts speak for themselves in this. Merrill Lynch, didn't quite make the century mark, but the 94 year old company sold itself to Bank of America. As a religious fanatic, I've been wondering what financial institution would represent America in the global economy that Bush 41 called the New World Order. I'm not going to prophesy here, as to the potential finality at this time, but Bank of America does seem fairly clear and concise. This morning it's AIG. AIG is hitting all sorts of issues with me for a variety of reasons. Insurance companies that collect premiums for years and then make bad investment decisions don't have enough accountability, but who will hold them accountable? Our government doesn't have enough accountability and our government can't handle money either. And it's one of those acronym names that just screams transparent elusiveness! A company that promises to take care of me from cradle to grave with insurance needs, investments and retirement, but needs a loan to the tune of billions, should be facing some sort of false advertising claims on top of facing some true accountability. I'm tired of these big companies either getting government assistance or hiding behind bankruptcy while the CEO retires with a portfolio worth millions. Why is that all right? Martha went to jail for a questionable stock sale when she owned the stock! What's wrong with this bigger picture?
The feds are going to provide stability by not changing the interest rate, but they may later. If it gets much lower, we're going to have to pay the banks to keep our money!
Of course, this is becoming great fodder for the presidential campaign. None of these candidates have any idea what the American public is going through. And I realize that is a quirk of American politics that's simply a fact of life. No average ordinary person is going to be on a national ticket, so the candidates simply convince those they can, that they are in touch with their concerns. Obama says the economy is a mess. Really? And we all know his solution will be more taxes, mandatory health care, and required volunteerism. Yeah! McCain on the other hand says the economy is fundamentally stable because it is based upon the American worker. The American worker is a dying breed, and dying faster than the social security collectors!
The economy is not stable because it's based on the perpetual motion of paper and that's all. The stocks on Wall Street aren't real businesses any more, they are simply paper changing hands. Mutual funds are an absolute joke by now, and were nothing more than living large before the Great Depression. It was the best way to "invest" without actually owning anything except a piece of paper from a company that kept the investments rotating to never lose money. Mutual funds hit an all time high just a few years before this mess began to spiral down.
Once again what we learn from history is that we don't learn from history.
My recommendation at this point for the economy is to become more ecological and agricultural. If we're going to have an economy based upon the perpetual motion of paper, then let's save some trees and keep the motion seasonal. That way, rather than years of disaster in the making and years more in the attempt to repair, we simply replant every spring!
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; Holy Scripture

I'm Thankful

I'm thankful that there were few fatalities when Ike roared in. I am sorry for the ones that did occur, but I'm truly thankful that there were few. That makes me thankful for answered prayer, as I know I prayed and I'm sure several others did, as well. I'm also thankful for people that are brave enough to tell their government they will "ride it out." After so many years of being told we are supposed to be afraid of everything seen and unseen, I was thankful to read about people that simply said, "If it's my time to go, I'm going and if it isn't, nothing will happen." I'm also very thankful that the weather that was falsely prophesied our direction didn't happen! I'm thankful that September is cool, and I'm thankful for the warnings that there may be an early winter. I'm thankful to still be able to write blogs with my opinion, openly. And I'm thankful for our new webpage for kids. I got in such a dither over Wild Blue, but they are only part of AT&T, so no point in dithering, just throw them some more money and realize two things. The Reagan years caused so much of this, but they are over, and I must be reaching more readers to require more bandwidth, so I'm thankful.
I'm thankful that Sarah Palin is running for VP, not that she has my vote, but I'm thankful for her little baby boy. When Sarah was first "tapped" to be VP, she said something about her husband and a leave of absence from his job to be Mr. Mom. Well, with all the photo ops for the campaign, little Trig is getting to have some quality bonding time with Mom.
And last but certainly not least, I'm thankful that our national elections are finally winding down and either Obama will actually be present for Senate votes or be replaced by someone that will attend. I'm also very thankful that our Presidential elections don't run like the gubernatorial races. In our state, we elect a Governor and a Lt. Governor, separately. I'd say the polls are pretty clear about what would be happening right now, if that were the case. We'd be looking at two clear landslides and bracing ourselves for President Obama and VP Palin. I'm thankful we won't have the two of them at the same time. I think those two on the same side could truly change America and bring reform, but I'm not sure we'd recognize anything when they were done. I'm not happy with a number of decisions being made in America, but I'm truly thankful to know, either way, by November, we'll only have one reformer that's going to run our lives.
That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving . . . a Psalm of Holy Scripture

Out of the Wild Blue . . .

If you are reading this blog, you are probably aware that I write nearly every day. I also host a webpage and I'm working on a couple of books. Imagine my dismay to discover that in trying to upload my webpage and download the latest virus protection, I exceeded my "bandwidth" and due to the Fair Share Policy or whatever it is, I found myself in cyber-exile. That's right, I'm 50, paying $50.00 a month in the middle of nowhere to be connected with the world wide web and Wild Blue grounded me from full privilege access. So, in the time I was grounded from full privilege, I of course ran my bandwidth up worse, ignorantly attempting to upload and download, until I had no choice except . . . Wild Blue has this interesting plan. The days overages roll over every day, so the overage today, automatically sets tomorrow up to be over, and if I stayed off the internet, within 30 days I'd be back down into my "acceptable usage" range, maybe sooner. Well, that didn't even set with me. I thought, well, I might as well just accept the fact I'm going to pay $50.00 for dial up speed and live with it. That's when I discovered, upon my umpteenth call to Wild Blue, that my overages were getting even higher, so here's what I could do. I could upgrade and in paying more, of course, I'd be allotted a greater amount of bandwidth, because we share and to be fair . . . So, then we began to discuss the various plans. My present one, of course, has gone up in price and my contract has ended, so that's good and bad. The good thing is, I'm not stuck paying if I change companies, the bad thing is, I can't go back to that price after I change plans. When I first called and heard that they were part of AT&T, I knew what I was probably in for, and I wasn't wrong. Now, with the first level of upgrade, I'd still be over my 70%, because even though I am supposed to pay 100% of my monthly bill and they advertise so much download and upload speed and space, I'm supposed to keep it under 80% . . . or else. So, in order to get out of cyber-exile, I would need to go to the most expensive plan. I'm sure we are all surprised about that offer, eh? I'm feeling like a big corporate executive or politician tonight though. Here I am back at it, living large and all I had to do was pay my way out of trouble!
The poor useth entreaties; but the rich answereth roughly. a Proverb of Holy Scripture

The Government Has Our Fannie . . .

I was shocked and dismayed and altogether; resigned to the fact that our government has orchestrated the most unusual of rescues. Why, when the American dollar is nothing more than monopoly money, do we need to formalize the nonsense? I can answer that. Because the formalization of such nonsense changes the status of the Deeds. That's right, while the American dollar declines and the American currency is worthless, American real estate, although inflated still has value, and that is the issue. Money is worthless, but; once again, the land is desired. Freddie and Fannie, Mac and Mae . . . are being baled out, not the homeowners, but the fact is, the corporate bail out will reap a benefit. The benefit is the fact that the money being used for the bail out is virtually worthless and losing ground around the world, while the tangible asset being bailed, corporate stock and real estate, has a value on the global economic market! Ultimately in constituent language, that means, the government, once again at the expense of the taxpayers has bailed out the corporation, and in the process become the feudal lord! Does anyone see a double dealing, double speak, problem here? The federal reserve bank is saving us from the mortgage bank! While we are all concerned about our tax dollars used to bail Fannie and Freddie, or being told of the great rescue, the Warranty Deeds of American homes have fallen into the hands of the government!
. . . so the land became Pharaoh's. Torah of Holy Scripture

On a Positive Note

I've been pretty negative as of late, because I'm just disappointed in what we've become. I'm cranky, because I, like so many Americans, have become aggressive about my views and blinded to any others. I think our political system is only as good as the people involved and if this is the best America can do, well then . . . I'm not happy about that. Now I have to sit back, after months of thinking the republicans were trying to throw this election and watching the democrats go from Hillary being a sure thing to Obama, and admit that I just don't have any idea what's coming next.
So I decided I would find something good in each of our national candidates and blog about that.
I think Joe Biden comes across very well. He's the same age as my brother-in-law and he just seems like everybody's favorite uncle. I know he's a career politician that really went through a horrible trauma losing a wife and a daughter in an accident and I'm glad he's not vying for the martyr vote. I think Obama needs his wisdom and experience. Joe Biden seems like the kind of man that would sit down to a horrible meal as a guest and then when asked behind the cook's back would graciously use euphemisms. He wouldn't lie, he'd just say crispy instead of burnt, or unusual instead of awful. He seems like a politician that uses words his listener would prefer, but he doesn't appear to flip-flop.
Barack Obama has been quite a deal! He has campaigned on the promise of running a positive campaign. That in itself is change; not the promise, but a positive campaign. I don't have TV, so I don't know how positive his ads have been, but I've read more about everyone else's negative stuff, than his, so if he's being negative it isn't even headlining at Fox. Absolute KUDOS when he said candidate's kids were off limits. I think, considering the fact the other party is parading all of her family's dirty laundry, shows remarkable self control on his part.
Sarah has totally reformed the connotation of barracuda. She makes that old slang term, indicating treacherous, sound like it should mean something good. She has thrilled the aggressive anti-choice base and is actually causing a few Obamaites to question his promised change. She's doing exactly what she's supposed to be doing as VP, but there was never any doubt that she wouldn't excel! She's smart, she's pretty, and she is the one republican woman that I've heard be so pro-war that is actually glad her son is going to Iraq. Most of the republican women are all about this Iraqi war, but when I ask them if they believe in it enough to want their sons or grandsons in it, they back up quickly. Not Sarah!
John McCain - Brilliant! Who is going to look at this ticket, now, and think of G.W.? Here I thought the republicans were trying to throw this election. And if they are, he's every bit the maverick they say he is, because this VP choice was the most brilliant strategy I've seen in American politics in my lifetime!
Seek good, and not evil . . . a Prophet of Holy Scripture

Pro-Life or Anti-Choice?

Why is it? The people that are pro-life seem to refuse anyone any choices. It's like you cannot disagree with them about anything! I've not had positive commentary on Barack Obama, but I must take this opportunity to mention the fact that he said "Families of candidates are off limits. Children especially, are off limits!" Now, he's not saying anything and Sarah Palin just keeps using her kids for props and calling attention to Bristol's situation. So, the opponent isn't addressing the topic of her kids, but she's going to use them. Oh, well, they're her kids! I'm sure the conservative base will rally around what a great supportive mother she is. Wow! I remember when I was a teenager and my republican parents found out they were going to be grandparents! The republican party has come a long way, one might use the term; progressive! I had watched some women use babies and pregnancy to trap and control a man and I had no intentions of using a baby to trap some guy, so I was by definition, not doing the right thing. I've still not figured out, all these years later, how a shotgun wedding makes atonement for fornication. But then, in reading all the bio and seeing all the pictures, I can now see that some people can use a baby to influence and control, more than just a trapped man, and more than just her own baby! This pro-life candidate now seems to have two babies to work with to garner control, and still come across as a stoic, martyr. She is quite a woman. I see her kids in the pictures and I think of that little handicapped baby. If we saw a little baby being dragged around Wal-Mart at 10:00 at night, we'd comment about what's wrong with the mother's judgment, but this little guy can get dragged through the noisy crowd til almost midnight and that just makes her more beloved.
More in the life of Sarah, and we know just how pro she is on that topic. I read something today that the media is smearing her. You know, TV isn't doing any more against her than talk radio has done against Hillary and Obama. TV wasn't even nice to Hillary. As far as magazines . . . Sarah do your homework before you smile for the camera and give an interview. If the editor is a staunch democrat, what do you expect? Tell your loyal fans to quit sniveling. Do you think Obama would expect a great write up in an NRA magazine? The conservative religious right needs to remember G~D didn't separate life and choice, he put them together! My personal opinion is that Sarah Palin is very pro-life for Sarah Palin, and all those around her, have no choice.
therefore choose life, that both you and your children may live: Torah of Holy Scripture

Balanced Insanity!

Well, the politics are getting interesting, or really I guess, entertaining; is a much better word. Unfortunately, it is real people involved and they are living real lives with no commercial breaks from their sponsors. I'm going to leave the children out of this because I just think the Palin kids have enough to deal with from their Pro-Life mom, who seems to sacrifice them when convenient and uses them as props for photo-ops. I'm going to address the things I've noticed on both tickets. First, let's consider the fact that when given a choice in the party, the country doesn't want either Biden or McCain. So we have two old political warhorses that nobody wants in the White House, if we have our "druthers." Next we have two relatively obscure newcomers, each bringing their own special tokenness to this political hoopti-la. If we look to the left, we will see that we have a freshman Senator that just happens to be a black man, that comes across as some sort of rockstar messiah, married to a very outspoken strong wife who happens to be quite connected in the corporate world, on leave of absence to campaign for her man. And now, if you'll move your view to the right, we find that we have a woman governor in the Yukon, that's been in local politics for nearly 20 years, with a son on his way to Iraq, a brand new baby, and a grandbaby on the way. And if that weren't enough, you talk about a strong woman, she hunts caribou. Her husband is supposed to be a union man, who is also on an extended leave of absence, to be Mr. Mom, so she can campaign for VP and maintain the highest executive office in the largest state in the union.
One of the great points in this balance of insanity seems to be the fact that most people who are discussing their choice of candidates have primarily based their decision, not on the best candidate, but against who they perceive to be the worst. So, the choice appears to be truly balanced. Rockstar-siah with Old guy or Old guy with Wonder woman . . .
Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: a Proverb of Holy Scripture

Matters Closer to "Home"

Two political biggies in the headlines today. Barack Obama is giving his “I promise change speech.” Of course, this happens to be the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech, “I have a dream.” As I’ve noticed for some time, and it really has been an exceedingly lengthy campaign, Obama is telling us we need change and all along he’s been telling us how much work we are going to have to do to bring about this change. I’m thinking when he becomes president, he’s going to expect the American people to be much more diligent at our work and taxes than he was in attendance in the Senate . . .
I also read that the Republican Convention may have to be postponed due to the possible return of hurricane Gustav. If the hurricane causes the convention timing to change, I’d have to mention something about “an act of G-D.” I mean, wasn’t Katrina warning or judgment on New Orleans?
Now that we’ve got the political spectrum covered from both sides of aisle, I want to talk about toilet paper. Feel free to draw your own conclusions.
My husband and I went to town yesterday and I once again suffered sticker shock. Three years ago, we could go to town, buy the feed for the animals, stop at the store and get the items we don’t raise ourselves, such as paper products, coffee, etc., all for about $100.00. Now those same items for the same time frame has nearly doubled.
I always check the “necessary items” aisles for sales. Things like flour, cleaning supplies, and toilet paper; and if there’s a sale, I stock up. As I was wandering down the paper products aisle, I couldn’t help but notice all the new packaging for toilet paper. There are the standard 24 roll packages and there are still the 4 packs. But there are 9 packs that are triple rolls, 12 packs that are double rolls, 8 packs that contain as much as 12 rolls, 6 rolls that contain as much as 18. As I stood there just looking and commenting, as to how anyone would truly arrive at the best deal, I told my husband I just didn’t take enough math in college to buy toilet paper.
Clearly, there is no standard in politics, a 3 pound coffee can now contains 34 oz., the gold standard is ancient history, we tossed the silver standard, and now there is no standard roll of toilet paper.
Divers weights, and divers measures, both of them are alike abomination to YHVH. A Proverb of Holy Scripture

They've Certainly Come Along Way!

I'm finding this year's DNC to be interesting. I'm sure the GOP convention will also reflect the state of America. I will give it adequate coverage when the time comes, but now is the time for the Democratic National Convention and it's easy to see "things are changing!" Hard to believe just four short years ago, State Senator Barack Obama stood behind the podium as the Key Note Speaker for the convention, and now voila! he's just a few votes away from the Oval Office. Only in America! Is Obama proof that we still need to be telling our children, "This is a great country. Why anyone can grow up to be the President!" Well, anyone that can raise millions and millions of dollars from people that are much poorer, less educated, and struggling to make ends meet in their two income household. Most of the people that have contributed to this man's campaign millions certainly don't live like he does.
"So children, if you can charm a dollar out of someone working for minimum wage and convince him that you relate to his challenges, then you too, can grow up to be President of this great land."
And as for Obama's statement awhile back "leave his wife out of this . . ." Then this woman who is going to be the main speaker this evening needs to keep her mouth shut, smile and wave. If she's going make political comments, then the media and the opposition are entitled to repeat it, chew on it, take it in or out of context, and basically run with it, just like they do any other person that is using a political platform to be heard.
Clearly the Obamas are comfortable with preferential treatment and don't mind demanding it when they think it's absent, for them. I noted Michelle Obama's comment early on about "first time she was proud of her country . . ." I'm not very proud of a number of the things my country is doing and standing for right now, but then I'm just preaching and blogging, I'm not asking anyone to make a way for me to live at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
I've heard Obama compared to Messiah, a rock star, and President Kennedy. Frankly, I can't see any of those comparisons, but I do see those responses in his followers. If only the Obamas really stood for change, or even Camelot, but Camelot was merely a mythical "might have been" and every American politician expects special treatment and truly believe they are deserving of it.
The only change I perceive is the slight of hand in the political puppet theater, behind the scenes.
Whether it's the mega-church promising faith based prosperity or the rock star politicians promising hope and change, the rich and comfortable seem to always be supported and attain their stature by the hard earned money of the poor.
For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment . . . New Testament

Maverick, Indeed

I'm getting more and more fascinated by this republican candidate, John McCain. I don't agree with all of his politics, but I really like his style. He's moved from a very defensive campaign to quite a strategy. While Obama is calling him, 'out of touch,' he's reminding us just how unfamiliar Obama is with the American way of life, for the average person. McCain says, "Yeah, I'm a career politician with a rich wife!" Obama, on the other hand is living in his mansion, with his multi-million dollar income and he wants to come across like he's just a regular guy! Please, McCain wins that one hands down! We know politicians are not in touch with the real people.
The next deal with McCain is his openness to admit he's not the favored of the republicans, but he got the most votes and that's just the fact of life.
McCain is also taking some heat for having Joe Lieberman at every event. Joe Lieberman is a tough one to guess. I, personally, have watched him change parties, sides, and affiliations. Wouldn't it be a hoot for him to be a republican VP, just 8 years after he was VP on the democratic ticket? And what are the conservatives going to do if he is? This is where John McCain takes the cake! If he chooses a pro-choice candidate for VP or if he cooses an anti-war candidate for VP, what will his party do? Change party affiliation? Hardly! Stay home and let Obama win by default? I think not! John McCain can pretty much make any decision he wants regarding this campaign, his party has their back against the wall and he knows it. And truthfully, I find it just a bit entertaining.
Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find? a Proverb of Holy Scripture

Enigma

I'm just a bit confused and it would seem my question simply will not be answered in this life. I really would like an answer and if not, I would at least like to know other people are questioning this, too.
Facts we have been led to believe: 15 of 19 Passports belonging to 9/11 terrorists were issued by the country of Saudi Arabia, "two from the United Arab Emirates, one from Egypt, and one from Lebanon. In sharp contrast to the standard profile of suicide bombers, the hijackers were well-educated, mature adults, whose belief systems were fully formed." - wikipedia
"Dubai Ports World (DP World), a United Arab Emirates (UAE)-owned company, recently bought the British-owned Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O). Effective March 2, the purchase gives Dubai Ports World control over facilities in six U.S. ports: New York, Miami, Newark-Port Elizabeth, Philadelphia, New Orleans, and Baltimore. Politicians in affected states and cities have raised alarms in the media over vital infrastructure "falling into Arab hands." Others in Washington are questioning the Bush administration's quick approval of the sale . . ."
I can't say much about our relationship with Egypt, but I do remember all the denial of assistance to Israel when Lebanon invaded in 2006. Oh, I know, we were told it was Hezbollah, but Lebanon's "democracy" has a number of Parliament chairs occupied by Hezbollah.
So far, America's war on terror has made political parties out of Hamas and Hezbollah and we've declared war on two countries that didn't give any 9/11 attackers, their walking papers or Passports.
So what gives? Supposedly Osama bin Laden was in the Afghanistan/Pakistan neighborhood, so we went and air bombed the behinds off every camel there and NO bin Laden. Then by late 2002, G.W. was arbitrating and negotiating the land give-away in Israel, and by March of '03, he had 70% of Americans convinced that Iraq was somehow tied to 9/11 and we no longer cared where bin Laden might be, we could find Saddam Hussein and since he wasn't a terribly popular guy, we could just murder him!
I don't get it! I can't find any answers and I can't see any logic in this, other of course than, Saudi is quite a rich and powerful nation that has a ton of oil. EAU, for some reason, has been allowed to invest in our ports and that doesn't make sense, considering they gave travel papers to 2 attackers. Why did we invade Afghanistan if G.W. really didn't care where bin Laden was and hasn't bothered with him since . . . and why did we go to Iraq on the pretense they might have had an alQuaida training camp or weapons of mass destruction? Only if they were American made from the early 80's, would they be of Mass Destruction . . .
This "war on terror" needed to be directed at the places that authorized the passports, if in fact, it was supposed to be a legitimate war on terror. And if we didn't have the courage to face off those directions, we certainly didn't need to become dependent upon them for oil, give them our ports and sell them $20 billion dollars worth of weapons. That's right, G.W. just did a deal with Saudi to sell them $20 billion dollars worth of American weapons and all the survivors of those that died on 9/11 were told they cannot hold the government of Saudi responsible for the terrorists acts. So then, once again, why were we worried that there might have been terrorists training camps in Afghanistan or Iraq? The governments aren't responsible for the individual terrorists according to US Federal Judges and the US President. So, while all the neo-con sheeple continue to remind us of the fact we had to invade Afghanistan and Iraq because of the 3,000 people that died on 9/11, I must say, we went to the wrong places if it's about 9/11 and the survivors of those that died on 9/11 have truly been shown just where our government stands when it comes to the truth about 9/11.
He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want. a Proverb of Holy Scripture

My Thoughts Regarding the GOP VP

These past few days have been interesting with news other than politics.
I'm just thrilled about Michael Phelps! I remember watching Mark Spitz in the '72 Olympics. This past week, I've checked every morning as to what is going on with Michael Phelps and I was quite impressed to know that he'd already won 6 Golds in Athens in '04, and now 8 in '08. This young man is an amazing athlete. My 6 year old grandson, who just happens to be a natural in the water, has been pretty amazed by this athlete, as well. So, who knows? But special KUDOS to Michael Phelps.
I also noticed as Michael Phelps took center stage around the world, the mega-church pastor Rick Warren took center stage at his own church, to host the presumed Presidential Candidates. From what I've read, I gather that his crowd is leaning toward McCain. And now, the grand unveiling of vice presidential choices is at hand. I think Obama will have to name some middle aged white guy or woman, but I'm thinking man, with "experience" to balance his multi-cultural freshness! McCain, on the other hand has a very unique voting bloc with which to deal and I think that will definitely allow him a great deal of freedom in his choice of VP. I've read, Senator McCain may consider a pro-choice candidate. And who could miss the fact that bipartisan, independent, who knows how he'll vote, Joe Lieberman; has been regularly seen on the McCain campaign trail. I think McCain can pretty much go conservative or liberal in his choice, as the primary issue in his main voting bloc is simply "against Obama."
Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.

How Do We Stop the Draft, if We Don't Close the Door?

We do not have the military muscle to back the presumptuous politicians. Contentious posturing on the part of our administration is liable to lead to an exhausted, stretched military or a mandatory military. Oh, that's right, we already have an exhausted, stretched military. So I guess that leaves only one other possibility. . . Or the current administration could just stay home and be quiet. I was truly shocked at the headlines I read this morning. Dr. Rice is in Georgia and proclaiming globally, that Russia needs to get their troops out! They are causing instability in the area . . . Well, I guess, I need to give her credit for knowing something about the topic. No one would know better about causing instability than someone in this present American administration. She also thinks the rest of the powers of the world need to come up with some sort of consequences for Russia's act. You know, if I were sitting in the middle of a country that had not attacked mine and had for some time, asked me nicely to leave, after I tore it with war, I don't think I'd want to call anyone's attention to a similar situation.
My geography is not the best, so I looked on the map. Georgia just isn't very far at all from Iran, and of course we know Iran isn't far from Iraq, and Afghanistan is just on the other side of Iran. Closer, I think than say China and Japan, when President Bush mentioned "being in the neighborhood" at the G8 Summit. I checked and sure enough, we are in Iran's neighborhood, on all sides. Surely there aren't many here that are still buying that tired story about "keeping it over there." We are doing everything in our "diplomatic power" to stir it up over there and in doing so, making ourselves anything but an innocent victim of a future attack. We're offending so many, that if something does happen, we'll have to wait to see who takes credit, to even know who did it!
He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears. a Proverb of Holy Scripture

Because 'We' Can . . .

What absolute absurdity, I've read about in the past few days. Here's just one example. It would seem, that although there are an abundance of unwanted pets and a country that simply kills unwanted babies, someone actually paid $50,000K to have a pitbull cloned. I would say, only in America; but the person is only an American and had this mess of a procedure accomplished in Korea, South Korea, I believe. What's next? Don't you just wonder what in the world people are going to think of next? And be willing to finance? When I saw the picture of the woman holding one of the five puppies, I was embarrassed for her. I, personally, wouldn't embrace the idea of being famous for something ridiculously selfish. While she's revelling in already knowing her dog . . . What happens to the other 4? All of this, simply because science can accomplish it? I did a bit more checking on the matter. Turns out she sold her home to pay for this and she hopes more people will be able to do this in the future, because losing a pet is tragic. Here's her quote I found at msnbc.
"I had to make sacrifices and I dream of the day, some day when everyone can afford to clone their pet because losing a pet is a terrible, terrible loss to anyone."
Here we are in the biggest economic crunch this country has seen in years and people are losing their homes to foreclosure and their pets to the natural life cycle and she is truly this oblivious to anyone around her? With the cost of gasoline and well dog food for that matter, I truly hope the country doesn't adopt her set of values. In reading the next paragraph, I discovered she had owned the dog for 12 years and adopted him at a shelter, so he had a chance many dogs never get, and 12 more years is a relatively full life, anyway. In dog years, isn't that 84 or something? I'm sorry she lost her beloved Booger, but most of us simply understood death to be a fact of life in pet ownership, well actually, in life.
The entire subject was just rather sad in a nauseating sort of way. I was particularly saddened by her use of the word, miracle.
And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast . . . the Revelation

What, What'd I Say Wrong?

Remember saying something as a kid and your mom or dad looking at you and saying something to the effect of "Better watch your mouth . . ." then standing there trying to sort out what you had just said, as to what was offensive or inappropriate?
Those flashbacks continue to run through my mind as I read the headlines about our "fearless" leader. For the longest time, I've thought he would be a great guest at a barbecue, but as of late, his manners as a guest just seem, well, rude. He made a major production to avoid airport security in China. Now, he knows how the rest of us feel. The day before arriving in China, he decided to cop a confrontational posture toward them. How ridiculous! China could shut America down in less than three days without firing a shot. All they have to do is tell Wal-Mart "NO!" No more trinkets, no more 30 day invoicing, no more nothin'! And you know, every time Americans just hold their breath, and wonder who he's going to try to offend next, he's standing there saying "What, What'd I Say Wrong?"
He's been trying to offend Putin for years and I think he's about done that by now over Georgia. We're providing transportation for the Georgians to leave Iraq to go fight the Russians. My thought there would be, if Iraq is wanting a time line and we have the available man and air power to help the Georgians get home, I guess our mission really is accomplished. Let's go . . . before Congress has to bluster about another bazillion dollars for the war, claiming they won't approve it, but they will!
So, in the last 7 years, we've started two wars, threatened another one, called the French all sorts of names, are desperately trying to offend Russia and Iran, we aren't even treated civilly at American airports and the license bureau is assigning a national ID number on driver's licenses. And all our leaders can say is "What, I didn't say anything wrong!" No wonder the world thinks Americans are rude, the high profile ones are!
Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth. a Proverb of Holy Scripture

Time is Money, or is it Timing . . .

Well the feds met again and determined, nothing needed to be done to help our limping economy. It's just a matter of "wait and see," I believe is what I read. The wait and see idea is obviously a good one, since there are only 3 months until the election and only 2 more months until somebody else is sitting in the oval office trying to unravel this entire economic enigma. Actually, there is no enigma. Our President had a history of not so successful business endeavors and for those that think he was a big sports team owner, he only purchased 1% of the team and that was financed. Somewhere along the lines, Daddy's cronies, who were the real owners, gifted him with an additional 10%. As for the oil business, you'd think Zapata Oil could have been a real inheritance to a family of boys, but that just hasn't been mentioned since Neil's dinner with the Hinkleys and the unfortunate S&L situation. So now, he's had the entire US budget at his discretion and he's handled finances like the big mouth at the bar, yelling "A round of drinks for the house," well until the house changed parties and now it's the fault of the house, he can't do for us, anymore . . . I'm relatively sure, just like Grandpa Prescott in the 30's, his money isn't going to tank with the American economy. I don't know which country has the strong economy that Germany had in the 30's, but if I were a betting woman, that's where the neo-con interests are going.
But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. New Testament