I was recently reminded of the Charlie Reese article The 545 People Responsible For All Of U.S. Woes and I think we should evaluate this a bit more. Here are my thoughts on this:

1) We have ABDICATED to 545 people. We hold these folks responsible for little and accountable for nothing. When was the last time 300 million (or even 10 million) people called their Senators back home and read them the riot act? When was the last time a Senator was removed as a representative of that state without being under Federal indictment first? They’ll talk us into voting for them again by showing how they “cross the aisle” when they need to. What is the incentive for these people to care what we think?

2) We cannot hold government to a higher standard than we hold ourselves. Americans are living beyond their means - starting in 2005 -  for the first time in history (aside from the depression). Maybe not you personally, but enough of 300 million people that it matters - a lot. We borrow to cover debt and then castigate congress for doing the same thing. Congress is a mirror of our values as a society - we elected them. We are back in an “I’m OK - You’re OK” mode. Everything is a “right”. Everything is mainstream and thought-correct. Nothing is exempt from the societal norm, but we expect Congress to be different? Take responsibility for #1 above.

3) It is the New Administration’s (which usually only consists of the Executive Branch) job to get the best deal it can with a congress that is split along party lines and no  longer votes as individuals with their state’s best interest at heart. They are all voting to grow and retain the power of their party, while simultaneously growing the power of their body. The party that is the majority in the house and/or senate always has enough votes (and is able to promise earmark considerations for other votes) to get what they want done. During the Clinton administration, they wanted less regulation on lending; more availability of loans to people who can’t pay them; and undermined the regulator’s ability to do anything about it. During the Bush administration, the majority continued the effort by calling anyone who opposed desktop loans and 100% underwriting racist, facsists, biggots, or elitists who “are not in touch with/don’t care about the average American”. President Clinton himself stated two weeks ago that the majority owned this much of the problem. Will there be a single grand jury investigation around this melt-down? Doubtful - a trillion spent is a mission accomplished as long as Family Guy still airs regularly. See #1 above.

4) We could go on about the he said / she said for hours and accomplish nothing. You could also go to the C Span archives or YouTube and look at who has been saying what in congress. We don’t do that either. We have not only abdicated our part in governing, but we have abdicated keeping up with how the governing is going. We only know what media outlets decide to share. We know Barack Obama is awesome - despite nothing to point to to prove it. We know John McCain is a conservative - despite nothing to point to to prove it. When Obama is not awesome, he is inspiring. When McCain is not a conservative, he is a maverick. We don’t know that the Unites States shipped tons of yellow cake out of Iraq - the media said that ISG report said Saddam was no threat. So, that’s what we know. The media owns the information because we let them. What is their incentive to care what we think?

5) Who we get to choose from to represent us at the local, state, and national level is not a reflection of who has pulled the wool over our eyes the best. It is who we have allowed to do so. We don’t care about who is what and what church they go to, or what their record is on an issue, until well after the media has decided who they like first. We don’t make ourselves a part of the process of governing through our representatives - we outsource our problems to them. We consume whatever pablum is fed to us
from our elected representatives and the media at large - because we don’t have a clue what is going on in our government. See #1 above.

Blame Vs. Accountable:

Blame is a weird word - who is to blame? First we should ask, who is accountable? Well, we all are; our money is going down the toilet to pay for this. We are going to be dealing with this mess for a long time - and it is as much our fault as it is that of “the government”. We’re supposed to BE the government. Your vote is your voice. I presented a list on joelgainesshow.com of people who took money from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It doesn’t matter if it was legal or not - it presents a conflict of interests between the representatives and the people. Hold those representatives accountable or stop talking about blame. If we let our representatives get away with
taking us down this dangerous financial path, then WE are to blame.

I was waiting to see the text of the bailout, but the terms have been released to several news agencies already. There is a big problem with this legislation:

“The Treasury secretary’s power to purchase assets would end on Dec. 31, 2009, although the next administration could seek a one-year extension. The assets could be held indefinitely and sold when the housing market recovers, theoretically for a profit.” (emphasis mine)

I don’t want the Treasury Department owning mortgages indefinitely - which was a point brought up by Drinking Liberal during yesterday’s show. This is another government goat rope. There needs to be a definite sunset of this program spelled out in the terms of the legislation.

There are now less than 50 days left in this presidential election and the outcome will be historic. Whether Senator Barack Obama is chosen by the majority of Americans or Senator John McCain is, history will be made in America.

But I tell you now, if Barack Obama is not the next President of the United States, the leftists are going to scream “stolen election” like they did in 2000. And if Barack Obama is elected to the POTUS position, you are still going to have a lot of disenfranchised Democrats who think the election was stolen from Senator Hillary Clinton.

If Barack Obama wins out in November, I will not put a bumper sticker on my car that says “Don’t blame me, I voted McCain”. I won’t tell people that the President is a moron or the equivalent of Hitler. After all, in the military you learn that you respect the position regardless of the person in it. The vast majority of the right don’t have the howling instinct when we lose and election because we understand the blessing of changing our country’s leadership without bloodshed and rioting.

Barak Obama made it abundantly clear that not only is he a proud citizen of the United States, but he is also a citizen of the world.

Well, the good senator should be aware that the United States does not recognize dual citizenship and the American people deserve better than someone who will measure the interests of other countries equally with the interests of the United States.

Senator Obama was channeling JFK in his “I am a citizen of the world” and “this is the moment” speech before the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin - a place German Chancellor Angela Merkel has already said should not be used as a backdrop for partisan political events.

The question I have for Barak Obama is simple: When you were saying that the world can expect better of America, were you speaking as a proud citizen of the United States, who also happens to be a sitting Senator - or were you speaking as a citizen of the world?

It is ironic that Senator Obama would choose Berlin as the place to tell Germans that the world can expect better from America. Berlin - the place where Americans died bringing 5000 tons of food and fuel to starving Germans when the soviets blockaded that city in 1948-1949. Berlin, the place where strong American foreign policy and a strong American economy brought down the wall that divided Germany for decades.

To my mind, rather than showing the world (first, ironically) that America is a “trusted partner” to the world, Barak Obama has shown that his foreign policy will be based upon fad diplomacy - that he will turn upside-down the notion that American geopolitical consistency exists. Our consistency overseas with regards to negotiating with terrorists, dealing with rogue nations, handling foreign aid proposals, geopolitical values, etc is of more importance to the rest of the world’s leaders than being loved by everyone over everything. Barak Obama has only proven to the world that with him as president, America cannot be trusted to act in a certain way to events in the world. That consistency is the biggest deterrent to extreme activity by those nations who threaten society.

I have said before, America needs to be a leader in the world. Not because we are perfect, but because America has a government like no other in the world; based upon individual freedom. Many of our allies do not, and we owe them nothing simply because we are imperfect in their eyes - or our own. We are, in so many ways, better as a society here in America than in any other country on earth.

Barak Obama does not realize this and has shown the world and Americans that he is the epitome of American political amateur hour.

I travel. It’s a lot less than it used to be (70%), but I still get around a bit. We also take a vacation or two per year to unwind and do a lot of nothing much.

I remember when roll-aboard luggage became the norm. While I understand that almost everything comes with wheels on it now, my philosophy  has always been if you HAVE to wheel it on the plane, it should have been checked.  I also make sure to try to be the least needy passenger on the flight - especially when traveling with the children. Flight attendants have plenty to do to ensure that 50-70 passengers each one attends to is safe and comfortable without being treated like a personal servant.

Take a look at at some things you might not have thought about because you have been led to believe that a flight attendant’s job is filled with glamorous jet-setting around the world.

Galley Gossip: Flight Attendant Pet Peeve #3: You want me to do what?

by Heather Poole   Jul 15th 2008 @ 2:00PM

You’ve packed the bag. Actually what you did was stuff it full, and then most likely you had to sit on it while you zipped…the thing…up…there! You did it, you actually got that thing closed! You feel good, you really do, because you are not going to pay that ridiculous checked bag fee for the life of you. No freakin way!

 

Then you dragged that bag to the car and somehow managed to get..the bag…inside…the trunk…there! You did it, and now you’re off to the airport where you’ll have to get…the bag..out of…the trunk. Now you’re dragging that thing over to the airport shuttle bus.

 

Finally you’re in the terminal where you pass all those losers standing in line to check their bags. It’s your turn to go through security, so up…goes…the bag…there! It’s on the conveyor belt and slowly moving to the other side. As you wipe the sweat from your brow, you meet the bag on the other end and yank…it off…the belt. Now you’re off and running to the gate where boarding is already in process. Down the jet-bridge and onto the airplane you go, where miracle upon miracles, there’s an available overhead bin right above your seat. Now, where’s that lazy flight attendant?

 

“Excuse me, miss,” you say, trying to get the attention of the one and only flight attendant in the cabin who is already busy trying to re-seat a family of four together. “Can you help me get my bag into the overhead bin?”

 

You want me to do what?

Read the rest>>>

Viewers in Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Virginia are going to see the Obama Campaign’s latest attempt to show that the Illinois Senator is capable of keeping America secure and safe from attack.

For what his ad does say - that Americans should be worried about terrorists gaining access to weapons of mass destruction -  he’s right and he echoes what President Bush has been saying for a very long time. However, Senator Obama’s ad really doesn’t say much at all and I wonder how he expects to win in these states - especially as Georgia is a big focus for him - with a message that does little to describe policy.

Here is the ad script:

We are a beacon of light around the world. At least that’s what we can be - again. That’s what we should be - again.
The single most important national security threat that we face is nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorists.
What I did was reach out to Senator Dick Lugar, a Republican, to help lock down loose nuclear weapons.
We have to lead the entire world to reduce that threat.
We can restore America’s leadership in the world.
I’m Barack Obama, and I approve this message.

Yet, as with most of Senator Obama’s ads, there is a bit of maskirovka going on here. Barak Obama is not being completely honest. Senator Obama did not reach out to Senator Dick Lugar to help lock down loose nuclear weapons. That legislation had already been on the books since 1991 - the Nunn-Lugar Act. In 2003, Congress adopted the Nunn-Lugar Expansion Act.

The latest Nunn-Lugar Scorecard shows that the program has deactivated or destroyed: 6,760 nuclear warheads; 587 ICBMs; 483 ICBM silos; 32 ICBM mobile missile launchers; 150 bombers; 789 nuclear air-to-surface missiles; 436 submarine missile launchers; 549 submarine launched missiles; 28 nuclear submarines; and 194 nuclear test tunnels.

Beyond the scorecard’s nuclear elimination, the Nunn-Lugar program secures and destroys chemical weapons, and works to reemploy scientists and facilities related to biological weapons in peaceful research initiatives. The International Science and Technology Centers, of which the United States is the leading sponsor, have engaged 58,000 former weapons scientists in peaceful work. The International Proliferation Prevention Program has funded 750 projects involving 14,000 former weapons scientists and created some 580 new peaceful high-tech jobs. Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan are nuclear weapons free as a result of cooperative efforts under the Nunn-Lugar program. They otherwise would be the world’s the third, forth and eighth largest nuclear weapons powers, respectively.

The legislation that Barak Obama worked with Senator Lugar on expanded an already on the books nuclear proliferation act to include the elimination of conventional weapons - small arms and ammunition. Barak Obama had nothing, nothing at all, to do with helping to eliminate nuclear weapons. That had been done before he was even a state legislator.

According to the Senator for Illinois, now the Iraq war is a “dangerous distraction” from the “real” war, which is in Afghanistan. I am really curious why there is such a focus on the geography of where the combat operations are taking place, instead of focusing on what the combat operations are accomplishing. In Afghanistan, there is a resurgence of Taliban activity as they attempt to re-take the country and instill their oppressive way of life on the population. However, only an idiot would see Iraq as being any different.

Looking at some of Senator Obama’s recent remarks as he further refines his policy on Iraq - which is no being reported he will do before he goes to Iraq (myrrh?) - I can clearly see that leftist policy will cloud any sense of reason on Iraq.

“As should have been apparent to President Bush and Sen. [John] McCain — the central front in the war on terror is not Iraq, and it never was,”

As should have been apparent to Barak Obama, the war on terror is not about “did someone attack the United States”. That is an extremely isolationist view of foreign policy, to say the least. It is about stopping terrorism.

Saddam Hussein was harboring terrorists, paying terrorists’ family $25,000 for blowing up Jews, courting people would would benefit a great deal from gaining WMD technology or WMD agents. And these are just the things which are not in debate by anyone but the nutters. Iraq was involved in terrorism at home, in the region, and planning or cooperating with such activities in Europe and other places according to any seriously accepted analysis on the topic. My bet is that the Iraqi people see Iraq as being the central front in the war on terror, as the Islamo-fascists bomb their markets and kidnap their loved ones in order to instill their oppressive way of life on the population. Again, only an idiot would see it any differently.

Pointing to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s recent call for a timetable, Obama said “now is the time for a responsible redeployment of our combat troops that pushes Iraq’s leaders toward a political solution, rebuilds our military, and refocuses on Afghanistan and our broader security interests.”

Obama said he planned to remove combat brigades from Iraq by the summer of 2010. He also said he would send at least two additional combat brigades to Afghanistan.

Pointing to PM Maliki’s recent call for a timetable - which they have since backed off from a great deal - Obama should be saying, “I fully agree with President Bush’s plan to have troops beginning to demobilize and come home toward the end of 2009 or beginning of 2010, if the situation on the ground warrants it.” As Jimmie Bise mentioned last week on The Joel Gaines Show, Barak Obama is finally accepting the Bush plan for an ideal situation regarding how many troops are deployed in Iraq - as the president stated more than 6 months ago.

“By any measure, our single-minded and open-ended focus on Iraq is not a sound strategy for keeping America safe.”

Obama blasted the Bush administration for missed opportunities in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

“Imagine, for a moment, what we could have done in those days, and months, and years after 9/11,” he said.

Senator Obama seems to have forgotten that we have not been attacked since 9/11, even though dozens of attacks have been foiled while either still in their planning stages or just prior to the attempts to carry them out. We should not forget, however, we partially have Senator Obama to thank for that - as he changed his tune on FISA and immunity for the telecom companies who help us, so we can obtain the kind of intelligence we need to continue to thwart attacks on America.

(Hardly - but Steve Sellengut’s plan warrants some serious consideration - Editor)

Most economic research suggests that tax code replacement surgery is essential for long-term economic progress. The goal of my plan is to make sure that you are not grumbling ten years from now about the same things that trouble you today. This is a fifteen-point plan to end the cycles of economic frustration and global disrespect during this administration.

In all instances, regulatory services will be needed to assure implementation consistent with the intent of the new code. Any person or entity that takes advantage of loopholes in the new rules, or manipulates normal operations to match new definitions will be fined. Their legal and tax advisors, if involved, will be responsible for 60% of the fine.

• One. Establish a catastrophic relief fund for victims of all forms of natural disaster throughout the USA.
• Two. Eliminate all Estate and Gift Taxes.
• Three. Appoint federal supervisors to the Board of Directors of public corporations paying annual salaries in excess of $3 million. Board members, corporate attorneys, and financial officers would be required to allocate any performance incentive compensation on a dollar-for-dollar basis to all employees, including part timers but excluding minimum wage recipients.
• Four. Examine the economic impact of Government Regulation and oversight in many industries, particularly small business practitioners in personal services fields. Provide an arbitration and review system to identify and control abuses of regulatory power and a separate department within each agency to deal with small businesses.
• Five. Reduce all import tariffs to zero for countries that reciprocate and who insure the quality of their exports.
• Six. Eliminate the Corporate Income Tax and create auditing entities to assure that the savings translate into new jobs, higher salaries for non minimum wage employees, lower product prices, and higher shareholder dividends.
• Seven. Abolish all taxation on any form of investment income, including rents, royalties, interest, dividends, and capital gains. Increase the federal sales tax by 2% once numbers 8 and 9 have been implemented.
• Eight. Abolish all taxation on any form of retirement income.
• Nine. Simplify the Internal Revenue Code by adopting a Fair Tax of 10% for all persons with annual employment income above $40,000. Eliminate all forms of tax deferral and stock option programs that are not available proportionately to every company employee. State and local income taxes would be capped at a flat 4% for family incomes above $80,000. Individual tax avoidance schemes would also be banned— 10 years retroactively.
• Ten. Mandate a ten-year term limitation on all members of congress, retroactively, and impose a mandatory retirement age on Supreme Court Justices. Reduce taxpayer compensated congressional staff by 50%.
• Eleven. Reduce government staff in all departments and at all levels by at least 10% per year for the next three to five years. Reduce by 50% the number of Government jobs filled by presidential appointment.
• Twelve. Reform Tort Law at every level, and protect both businesses and individuals from frivolous lawsuits. Adopt a rule of personal responsibility for one’s own stupidity and clumsiness. Submit all product liability, medical malpractice claims, and personal liability lawsuits to qualified arbitration panels instead of juries. Ban class action suits of all kinds and cap jury awards and lawyer compensation at 50% lower average levels.
• Thirteen. Institute a 3% Federal sales tax on all goods and services purchased by end consumers, but not a VAT. Subsidize a universal basic health care insurance system and public education expenses from sales tax proceeds plus a 5% tax on personal annual income, of any kind, in excess of $5 million dollars. Cap State and Local Sales Taxes at 3%. Eliminate all nuisance taxes in utility bills, hotel room charges, gas prices, etc.
• Fourteen. Mandate that no less than 50% of all self-directed benefit plan Working Capital be invested in government securities, and not qualified for withdrawal until retirement. Bring all alternative investments (options commodities, futures, hedge funds, etc.) under the purview of the SEC, and subject to the same suitability standards as an RIA’s recommendations.
• Fifteen. Take Social Security out of the public sector and replace it with a mandatory, deferred, fixed benefit, single-life-annuity program managed by existing annuity providers. Employee contributions would be reduced nearly 50% and employer contributions eliminated over a five-year implementation period— immediately for the self-employed. Participants would have no investment discretion or access to funds until retirement.

The writing is on the wall (street, that is), and it is telling us that we need to reaffirm the United States as the dominant force in the global economy, and that we have to do more to protect our citizens’ retirement and investment programs.

The plan outlined here is investor and economy friendly. Where jobs are lost, new entities will be needed, based of the premise that regulated capitalism can work well. As shoppers and homeowners, as retirees and employees, as business owners and investors, this is the reform plan we need.

Is this for real? It could be. Investors represent the biggest voting block in the country. We could elect the next president, change the tax code, fix Social Security, and strengthen the economy. If only we weren’t the most apathetic group of people on the planet. As Investors, we want less government, lower taxes, and purposeful regulation. We want laws that aid economic freedoms, and lawmakers and judges who facilitate it.

Survey Question: Would you vote for the person with the guts to propose this plan?

Steve Selengut
http://www.sancoservices.com
http://www.kiawahgolfinvestmentseminars.com/
Author of: “The Brainwashing of the American Investor: The Book that Wall Street
Does Not Want YOU to Read”, and “A Millionaire’s Secret Investment Strategy”

I am wondering if the Jackson gaff about Obama was just a ploy to elevate Obama in the minds of voters. Think about it  the vast majority of Republicans hold Jackson in contempt and recognize him to be the Pariah he is. If he thinks poorly of Barak Obama, the good Senator can’t be all that bad, right?

Was the Jackson gaff simply part of the plan to pull Barak Obama to the center?

At first Senator Obama stated he would have the troops out in 16 months, if elected. Now, he is going to “refine” his position based upon the facts on the ground.

The fact that his 16 month plan was designed out of ignorance of the facts on the ground and designed to garner support for the nomination from the virulent anti-war leftists controlling the democratic party apparatus, has been lost on only those who will blind themselves to the truth of Senator Obama’s empty rhetoric and complete lack of experience in foreign policy.

In truth, Senator Obama has no idea what he might do and is now in the process of planning his second ever trip to Iraq so that his policy can again be refined. However, any plan Senator Obama might come up with between now and February-March of next year is not going to matter. There is another player in this situation that Senator Obama has not once mentioned when he talks about his policy - the Iraqi government.

Barak Obama’s timetable has no thought whatsoever to the benefit of anyone aside from the standpoint of shaping American public opinion. Even a “refined” policy on Iraq will be devoid of any logical requirement that the Iraqi’s can handle their own security, except from the disingenuous standpoint of knowing that the security situation is much improved. Senator Obama could hardly acknowledge that 18 provinces have been handed over to Iraqi administration and security; or that the MNF is now able to visit shopkeepers in areas today that no one visited a year ago, no matter how heavily armed.

Further, Senator Obama could not possibly allow his supporters to embrace another inconvenient fact. The Iraqi government has matured a great deal - although they have a long way to go. The Iraqi government has more recently set expectations for their own self-sufficiency and their relationship with the United States. Here is a great example:

The United States and Iraq are in talks about a military alliance. Now, that generally means a desire for “permanent” military bases of some sort in Iraq. This would be much like the military bases we have in several other countries - Turkey, Germany, Japan, Korea, etc. As a part of the bargain, the Iraqi government is calling for a timetable for withdrawal of US forces. This demand presupposes a great deal, which I am positive the Iraqi government is aware of. The Iraqi government must be capable of dealing with their internal security problems almost entirely. The other aspect of this negotiation with the Iraqi government is that it is also a “post-war” security deal.

Today - right now - the Iraqi and US governments are beginning talks about a post-war alliance. This points specifically to a “light at the end of the tunnel” aspect to the war in Iraq. Senator Obama’s “plan”, whatever it is, for troop US withdrawal is irrelevant. It is happening without him.