It's About Thoughts and Things

Dear America,

Thought Crimes, the saga continues

From The Hill, both of them:

“Let me repeat: Nothing in the Bolton revelations, 

even if true, 

would rise to the level 

of an abuse of power or an impeachable offense. 

That is clear from the history. 

That is clear from the language of the Constitution...

You cannot turn conduct 

that is not impeachable 

into impeachable conduct 

simply by using words like 

'quid pro quo' and 'personal benefit,'"

Harvard Law School Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz

indeed

The thing is -- this is about giving Congress the license to bury an administration simply on grounds that they do not like the policy, foreign/or domestic, or based upon personal likes or dislikes...and that simply should never happen.  In this country, all grievances of an administration are settled by the people, at the voting box, not by the feelings or agenda of the House of Representatives.  

The phone call, itself, is crystal clear.  There was no deal made, no quid pro quo for dirt on Joe.  Did the president wonder what in fact happened between Joe, the private investigator, Burisma, and the Ukraine officials?  Yes. Indeed he did, as any president should, given the optics of nefarious deal making with a foreign entity, seemingly only benefiting the Vice President's family.

Bottom line: Ukraine got the aid. Who really cares if it was even put on hold?  It's American aid to a foreign country.  And besides, it's not even the governments money -- it's the people's money.  Perhaps we should consider putting holds on all kinds of foreign aid across the globe, like, stat?  

Hate to break it to y'all, but we really can't afford it.

Speaking of which, how does Bernie -- now the democratic front runner -- plan to pay for all the benefits he is promising?  Free college, college debt paid off, free Medicare for all, yadi yadi yada...with what seems to be a price tag of 60 TRILLION dollars over ten years?  Something like that.  And this isn't even taking into account all the boomers hitting the Social Security rolls over the next generation, or the number of people who will surely be added to food stamps when they lose their job under a Sanders Administration.

This is insane.

And Bernie doesn't even want to discuss it.  He's like, I don't need to tell you how it all pencils right now.  Because he knows, it doesn't.  It will never pencil.  There is not enough money in all the world to pay for it.

Reality check:  America is already over 23 Trillion dollars in debt, and climbing.  See the clock.

Just love looking at this clock...

Please note some of the other numbers -- like, the total UNFUNDED LIABILITIES.  This is referring to things the American government has promised to pay in the future....things like Social Security, government employee and veteran pensions, benefits negotiated for Medicare, Medicaid.

To cover just the unfunded liabilities from here on out -- with nothing new added -- we are currently at over $127 TRILLION dollars.  This equates to roughly $387 THOUSAND dollars per person. PER PERSON!  DO you have that kind of money?  

Let me answer that for you, according to the US Debt Clock, personal debt in this country totals over 20 Trillion dollars, equating to just shy of $62,000/citizen.  

If we put this indebtedness together -- the unfunded liabilities, per person, along with the personal debt, per person, we arrive at a total of nearly $450,000 for every American citizen!  

And Bernie wants to add to our indebtedness with a whole lot more of "free" stuff????

This stuff doesn't come free; it is anything but!

This indebtedness, these promises, only burden every man, woman, and child into perpetuity, and whatever comes after that!

It's called ball and chain vs free rein.

It's called lack vs abundance.

It's called unimaginable weight upon every shoulder vs peace of mind, body, and soul.

And more than that, history proves, socialism does not work ....literally.  Physically, it does not work.  Figuratively, it only works in our imaginations.  Economically, it does not work, let alone add up.  And more than that, it does the opposite of what anyone, including Bernie, says it will do, individually and collectively.

Socialism has never worked.

Other than that, it's a great system for 330 million people of all walks of life, to dream and imagine that it will solve all our problems.

And can you just imagine if all of this nonsense actually goes down?  Take, for example, this dad hitting up Elizabeth Warren with some unintended consequences of her plan to pay off college debt...after he has worked two jobs to put his daughter through school the right way.

enough said.

We can return to the story of the first grader coming home with a pillow case full of candy after his first Halloween, and he's asked to distribute equal portions of all of it to each of his siblings who didn't trick or treat the night away.  say what, he says, grumbling with every loss, from the pack of Skittles to each and every break of that KitKat bar.

In other ramblings on this day, this girl used to like John Bolton.  I used to think he was solid, mindful of war and policy and negotiation with both friendly neighbors and ruthless enemies. 

Boy, does that boy have an ax to grind; how juvenile not to wait until after the election to market his new book.  As if.   As if he could change the facts of the matter.

Let's refresh.

Here's the phone call that supposedly started it all (again).

It's a lot of thanks, equal admiration between countries, equal perceptions of other countries (like Germany, and France), a lot of can you find out more, let's talk again, let's find out about what really happened for the benefit of both our countries, we will talk, it's all good, thank you so much...

There was absolutely no muscle, no threat to withhold aid, no cost of doing business between the two countries, in any way, shape, or form.

And second, Adam Schiff is a compulsive liar.  He lied to the media/public right from the start.  First about Russia and the dossier, and now about this.  He not only created the narrative, he managed to invent all kinds of things in this phone call that did not even happen, and the media just accepted it as truth.

This House Impeachment is on TWO counts:  Abuse of Power and Obstructing Congress, culminating months of hearsay from the whistle-blower after the so-called whistle-blower blew the whistle to Adam Schiff's office.  (Same Schiff who has repeatedly lied that they have no idea who the whistle-blower is.) 

If any president, or person, for that matter, can be found guilty of high (thought) crimes and misdemeanors -- and in this case, making him guilty of impeachable offenses, simply for thinking about committing a crime, or contemplating actions that some may deem an abuse of power, or entertain a fleeting thought to secretly undermine our nation's security through ways of bribery or extortion, corrupting the integrity and honor of this fine nation --  then where are we really as a society? 

The Left continues to wage war upon President Trump's intentions, what he was really thinking, what he really wanted to do, how he really wanted to get the dirt on the Biden's at any cost, or else.  The truth is, reality didn't really play out like that, did it?

Is it really time to bring out the thought police? Is this where we are at, really?  really?

The thing is, Congress is obstructing its own body by acting in ways unbecoming of a congress, and i turn,  not getting a single, meaningful thing accomplished for the American people.

In the second thing, the true Abuse of Power is this gigantic waste of time called an impeachment trial, given that it is based upon nothing more than hate, and lies.  Lots and lots of lies.  The House simply hates who is living next door in the White House, and they won't stop the abuse until he is totally, and ceremoniously, vacated.

That, my friends, is called interference with an election.

Bolton, guilty.  Schiff, guilty, Pelosi, guilty. Schumer, guilty.  And the beat goes on.

All of them should be impeached so we can move on and get back to the business of making America great, again and again.

But then again, 

You cannot turn conduct 

that is not impeachable 

into impeachable conduct 

simply by using words like 

'quid pro quo' and 'personal benefit,'"

so that's this day in the life, over and out.

Make it a Good Day, G

It's Context Meet Perspective, Care to Dance? Thing

Dear America,

"Absolute power corrupts absolutely." 

Sir John Dalberg-Acton, 8th Baronet

 indeed

it was just a couple of minutes of your time; while a really bigly ovation must go out to YOU TUBE HERE.  Ah, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers...

Let's just run with Ginger's lines for a wee bit....she sings:
Nothing's impossible I have found,
For when my chin is on the ground,
I pick myself up,
Dust myself off,
Start All over again.

Don't lose your confidence if you slip,
Be grateful for a pleasant trip,
And pick yourself up,
Dust yourself off,
Start all over again.

Work like a soul inspired,
Till the battle of the day is won.
You may be sick and tired,
But you'll be a man, my son!

Will you remember the famous men,
Who had to fall to rise again?
So take a deep breath,
Pick yourself up,
Dust yourself off,
Start all over again.
[and thank you Lyrics playground for the hand]

As this Girl begins to wonder....for in 1936, this was the Cost of Living:

Average Cost of new house $3,925.00 

Average wages per year $1,713.00 

Cost of a gallon of Gas 10 cents 

Average Cost for house rent $24.00 per month 

A loaf of Bread 8 cents 

A LB of Hamburger Meat 12 cents 

Studebaker Car $665.00 

Ladies Swimming Costume $6.95 

Hot Cross Buns 16 Cents per dozen 

Campbells Tomato Soup 4 cans for 25 cents 

Jumping over to bio. for a little context on the president of the day, Franklin D. Roosevelt, we are told this story:

By 1936, [FDR just getting started, beginning his second out of FOUR terms! Talk about absolute power...] the economy showed signs of improvement. Gross national product was up 34 percent, and unemployment had dropped from 25 percent to 14 percent. But Franklin Roosevelt faced criticism for increased government spending, unbalanced budgets, and what some perceived as moving the country toward socialism. During the mid-1930s, several New Deal acts were declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. Roosevelt retaliated by proposing to "pack" the court with justices more favorable to his reforms. Many in Congress, including some Democrats, rejected the idea. By 1938, negative publicity, a continuing sluggish economy, and Republican victories in mid-term elections virtually ended Roosevelt's ability to pass more reform legislation. [With emphasis added....for EMPHASIS!]

 And given how little miss G thang began the day,  FDR is said to have said something like this, too: 

 "It is common sense to take a method 

and try it. 

If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. 

But above all, try something."

'Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and try all over again...'

But to think -- the country voted for Trump to combat the very same things.... "increased government spending, unbalanced budgets, [Obamacare] and what is being perceived as moving the country toward socialism."  And who says we haven't evolved? ah hem. ah hem...The faces may change but the steps remain the same, only elevated, and now fully incorporated to be the only way we know how.   

Flash forward from black and white movies to eighty years later -- we might as well call it 22 TRILLION in debt once we add in another year's deficit and after an omnibus piece of legislation has just passed to continue to fund the government; if we were to add the Unfunded Liabilities (you know, to pay for all the social services FDR thought was so great, and more!) then we are over one hundred trillion dollars in debt (and we really can't afford jack).

Here's the thing:   Context, meet perspective; care to dance?  Absolutely. 

In 1932 -- the NATIONAL DEBT was 22 billion dollars; it grew to 258 BILLION by the end of WWII.  [This is taken from a rather easy to understand website, called TreasuryDirect KIDS, just in case it is hard to keep up with your two left feet...tee hee...yes, indeed, thank you, Fred and Frank colliding in mid-air.]

Can you just imagine it?  Being only 22 billion dollars in debt?  Or even 258 Billion!  It's like, geeze, can we just get right back to where we started from?  (ooh that's a good song.. Maxine Nightingale, 1976!  Oh what a year that was, too, celebrating our bicentennial and all...good times, good times.)

Here's a good read, from The Patriot Post,  outlining the latest Trump budget.  Paul Albaugh finishes his post with this:

So what next? Trump and Republicans in Congress need to establish a pattern of small victories — small victories toward repealing ObamaCare, small victories on budget and tax reform, small victories on immigration policy. Major battles and major policy changes aren’t as likely unless some small battles and small policy changes happen first. Trump always liked promising that things would happen “so fast.” But in politics, changes in policy and major reform rarely happen fast.

There is, of course, still time for the negotiator in chief and Congress to accomplish things like ObamaCare repeal and tax reform. Then they can come back to the budget in September fresh off real legislative victories. But let’s be honest: Their track record is not encouraging.

'Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and try all over again...'

Question is:  will Trump pick himself up, and dust himself off, and try all over again -- and do it right the next time, come September?  Has he learned anything at all on what the people want, and need, on policy?

Planned Parenthood still gets taxpayer money, to the tune of 500 million dollars a year,  and republicans have the majority?

Sanctuary Cities reportedly still receive federal support,  to the tune of 27 BILLION dollars a year, and republicans have the majority?

Sanctuary cities are getting more than the total debt the United States carried in the year 1932, how's that for apples to apples, dust to dust?

While this girl is pretty sure that between Bezos, Gates, Winfrey and Zuckerberg (casting in alphabetic order)...the Left could fund all of this nonsense without taking a penny from the taxpayers... just singin' in the rain, singin' in the rain.  This is precisely what corporate charity should be doing:  putting money where their two left feet stand and leaving those of us who disagree protected of our own civil rights. badump ba

Hey and speaking of the wall that wasn't funded in this new 1.07 Trillion Dollar omnibus bill, did you happen to see this press, coming out of my home town of San Diego?   Underreported: How Building a Border Wall Changed San Diego.  It's short and sweet and tracks lots of feet...left and right.


indeed
that's what I'm talkin' about.

[and unfortunately, we have no time to stop and ponder the man in uniform longer than a two-step. aw snap. But please, extend your applause to The Daily Signal, courtesy of The Heritage Foundation, for that little number.]

so, at the end of the day -- as it turns out, it's just a day like any other; conservatives must take courage, again, and....

'Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and try all over again...'

ugh. what else is new; here we go again, let's take it from the top...
absolute power corrupts absolutely,
whether with two left feet,
two right feet,
or one of each.

Make it a Good Day, G

It's an EIGHT Trillion Dollar Man Thing

Dear America,

so here we are...

currently at about 14.3 Trillion.
Obama wants an additional 2.4 Trillion
(just to get him through the next election...
just one year away)

then, attaching the current deficit at 1.65 Trillion...

we come to, for all intents and purposes,
roughly an 18.35 Trillion dollar National Debt by fall of 2012.

And if John Boehner gets his way...on target to reducing deficits by only 22 billion in the next year, and pledging a promise of debt reduction by 1.2 Trillion over the next TEN years... he will play a part in setting us up in 2021 for what?  hmmm...conservatively speaking, adding maybe a trillion for each year, 28.35 Trillion in debt.

But from another angle -- because the many facets of this are just so illuminating -- taking all this into consideration, Obama is on track for bringing America to about 18 Trillion dollars in debt -- BY NEXT YEAR!

Thus -- under the Obama Administration he will have accumulated  EIGHT trillion dollars in debt, being solely responsible for the DOUBLING (and then some) of our national debt in a matter of four years [comparing him to Bush -- which Obama loves to do -- who added 4Trillion over eight].

But think about it:  it took 43 presidents to bring us to 10 Trillion -- but it just took one term under President Obama to bring America to her knees.

So, what we have then, from another angle, it took 232 years to make ten trillion -- while before this administration is through, he will have added 8.35 (trillion) in just four short stupid reckless... "brainless dickless hopeless heartless" (in an ode to Christmas Vacation on the fly) ...years. that's what I'm talkin' about.

A local talk radio young gun in the San Diego area is Mike Slater; yesterday, his topic was wrapped around the whole "compromise" thing.  And it was funny...he's like, you know, [which, if you are a Slater Crusader, you would recognize the "like" thrown in.  His reputation of over-using the word "like" is something of fascination out here...he gets dinged on the show every time he throws it around and they count them...but I digress]  anyway, he's like telling us what's with this idea of compromise?  essentially wondering how exactly does it work, when it is such that those of us who do not want the debt ceiling raised at all, are forced to give in, to the tune of trillions of dollars?  how is that right?

Posing it from another angle, he's like:  [paraphrasing] 'how about we go to the president and say we want to lower the debt by ten trillion, but we'll settle for five?  how 'bout that compromise?' or something like that, anyway....but interesting point, doncha think?   just why does the party who wants a real Cut,Cap and Balance have to compromise UP and conform to the liberal scale, clearly hellbent on government running amuck?

how is that a compromise that works, unless you are insistent on a compromise of values, let alone dollars and common sense?

"I want everybody in America to do well. I want everybody to have a chance to become a millionaire. I think the free market system is the greatest wealth generator we have ever known. This is not about punishing wealth. This is about asking people who have benefited the most over the last decade to share in the sacrifice, and I think these patriotic Americans are willing to pitch in -- if they're asked -- because they know that middle class families shouldn't have to pick up the whole tab for closing the deficit."  President Obama

does this actually reflect the real feelings and actions of this president?

...bu  bu but but but Mr. President ...thought it was the "millionaires and billionaires" who are the villains in all this -- now you are suggesting you want everybody to be one?  Oh, that's right...not one who earns it the old-fashioned way, but becomes one ....through special favor, through policy of redistribution, and foregoing a fundamental American principle built upon self-reliance, promising equal opportunity, not equal outcome -- and thus taking from one, right now, in order to give that wealth to another.

..and Mr. President...you want everybody in America to do well, except the oil companies along with any energy un-green, doctors, hospitals, insurance companies.... small business owners.... nearly everyone in the private sector, and otherwise, anyone who is not a member of a union

...everybody DOES have a chance to become one [a millionaire], Mr. President.

...the free market system, when government gets out of the way, IS the greatest wealth generator..perhaps if you say it often enough, Mr. President, you may actually begin to believe it!

(that is like a flip on “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”  -- Joseph Goebbels.)

...this ADMINISTRATION IS about punishing wealth -- not to mention controlling it, manipulating it, stealing it, violating it, diminishing it, chastising it, eliminating /redistributing it in every way...isn't it, Mr. President.  isn't it?

When Obama was just a candidate, he made many promises -- insinuating in every possible way a firm alliance and allegiance to America, both in principles and core values, from all angles.

If we can force ourselves to look back to 2008, he promised to go LINE by LINE on the Federal Budget to eliminate waste, fraud, abuse of the the federal bureaucracy...instead, he has added 22% to the growth of government; he promised to cut the deficit BY HALF before the end of his first term...instead, he has quadrupled it; he promised to show "sausage making" on C-SPAN...ha ha hahaha; he promised he would be different, bi-partisan, reaching across the aisle, changing Washington and the status quo....ha ha hahaha; he even promised to stand by his belief that marriage is between a man and a woman...instead, he has simply decided not to defend DOMA.

The character of a man during the campaign is simply indistinguishable as president (who we have come to know as just a boy).

Another fallacy came to light in the last twenty-four hours.  Going to words of the administration press secretary, Jay Carney, when he explained the road ahead like so:

“It’s a Sophie’s Choice. Who do you save? Who do you pay?”

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2011/07/27/wh-spokesman-calls-debt-decisions-sophies-choice-rejects-questions-on-wh-plan/#ixzz1TPqjpeci

So, with the audacity to contradict his president really -- a president who very recently stood firm on fear mongering and claiming that he is "unable to guarantee social security checks will go out" -- Carney admits THERE IS A CHOICE.

Well, there you go; returning to multiple angles, of course there is a choice!  As well as, a LAW, that requires Social Security to be paid; which just so happens to be the same LAW, spelling out explicit policy guaranteeing payment on our debt/interest on debt first, to prevent a default from happening at all! [Not to mention the bi-weekly payroll deductions feeding directly into the funds to pay social security checks, without disruption]

But thank you, Jay, for making it so clear.  The president has a choice -- it is also known as a duty...to God and to country....something he swore to, on the Holy (Lincoln) Bible, just two and a half years ago.

Of course, given his track record, it is awfully hard to tell if he will hold himself to it.

So here we are...just letting a little light shine upon all the angles...free will...duty...responsibility...self-reliance...law...indebtedness...prosperity...

in the end...all of us --  in equal portion -- are at CHOICE.

Make it a Good Day, G

ps. I take exception being equated to either a Hobbit or a Terrorist...and so choose not to link you to either original source of those stories.  why bother. but let's just say we "hobbits" can't wait for 2012.

Dear America,

"Weldon told CNN that in addition to Gadhafi stepping down, he is proposing a cease-fire on both sides; a withdrawal of government forces from key cities; no further advances by rebel forces; a joint interim government run by Libya's current prime minister and the an opposition leader; unfettered humanitarian access; and the establishment of a parliamentary commission that would include American, Middle Eastern, European and African politicians helping to establish a new parliament in Libya."  per CNN -- referencing overtures made by Rep. Curt Weldon (ret) -- sent by the Obama Administration/NATO/UN/One Nation, y'll/what's it really matter...

but we're not meddling. we are leaving it up to the Libyan people to decide their fate.

And in other news, we not only expect to hit the debt ceiling some time in May -- envisioning a favorite scene out of Willy Wonka, picturing Charlie and Grandpa Joe's demise after drinking the "fizzy lifting drinks" (and only wishing burping will save us) --  but we also have a looming deadline fast approaching.  As expected with my juvenile imagination this morning, if only our debt and deficits could be resolved with a spin through the  "Hsawaknow" -- otherwise known as the "wonkawash" spelled backwards.

For those lost in my fantasy world today, the wonka-mobile runs on anything with carbonation and gas...

WONKA: Oh, ginger ale, ginger pop, ginger beer, beer 
bubbles, bubble-ade, bubble cola, double cola, double bubble 
burp-a-cola, and all the crazy carbonated stuff that tickles 
your nose.  Few people realize what tremendous power there 
is in one of those things.

 
After the wonka-mobile reached full intoxication...it began to spit bubbles, foam, gaseous clouds of puffiness all over...everyone (except Wonka) begins to panic...and ignoring their screams he calmly wanders off into his own little world quibbling...

WONKA: (continuous)
 AH, MEIN GLUCK NAHMST DU MIT DIR
 [MY HAPPINESS YOU TAKE WITH YOU]

It is mayhem.
Then the Hsawaknow squeezes everyone, and the entire scene, through something much like a time warp/washing machine, arriving at a place as if nothing ever happened.

[and G finding her lines courtesy of wonkadotcom...danke shein]

In our dreams.  In our dreams.

If it could only be that easy, right?  But it's not; and we gotta snap out of it right quick...

So the rebel forces are out en masse, and I'm not talking about Libya again, I'm referring to the bevy of critics lining up to punch holes in America's last great hope:  Paul Ryan's "Path to Prosperity."

With Ryan having the audacity to propose a whopping 6.2 Trillion Dollars in cuts/changes over the course of the next ten years -- he keeps right on going; chartering new territory, never seen the likes before, Ryan sets in motion demonstrable, fearless, mind blowing feats of civil service.  Shoring up America's foundation.  Recalibrating America's engine.  Reforming the more controversial entitlement and popular benefit programs.

And then, finding a cliff to dangle his feet over and sit a spell, he pops open his carton of milk and settles into his peanut butter and jelly sandwich...looking up and taking in a view that could make you speechless...deep breath... ahhhh....for a responsible fiscal future is right there!   He can almost reach out and touch it.  There is no panic in his voice; he is as calm as the morning light; go ahead critics, have at it.

I heard something really cool yesterday from Alan Simpson (not someone I normally associate myself with, but I gotta say, he is growing on me)...he said: "a critic is a product of success that's not his own."  Don't you just love that?

And don't you wonder why the president didn't just jump on board the scaffolding raised by his own Debt Commission?  He had a chance to lead this country, in very much a bi-partisan way, towards a new world and he didn't take it.  It would have been so easy for him just to accept it and move on (dot org), for not everybody was happy with it, but it worked.   It had muscle.   It had all the right stuff to forge a brand new day. But our middle of the road, spineless, gut less, reckless leader didn't take it.  why?

"In the fields of observation chance favors only the prepared minds."

Louis Pasteur

Simpson also sheds light on a major crack, "...we're always talking about the couple at the kitchen table--well, here it is: For every buck we spend, we borrow forty cents. If that isn't stupid--we've got a country that is stupid, a government that is stupid, to borrow forty cents, not from your good old uncle Henry, but from the world." (another CNN story)

We are so tuned in to the world of make believe, hampered by happy trails and puppy dog tails -- with tales complete with story book endings --  we fail to recognize the ugly truth when we see it.  We don't want to. We just keep skipping along, singing a silly song in our head,

     OOMPA LOOMPA DOOMPADEE DOO
     I'VE GOT A PERFECT PUZZLE FOR YOU
     OOMPA LOOMPA, DOOMPADAH DEE
     IF YOU ARE WISE YOU'LL LISTEN ME

     WHAT DO YOU GET WHEN YOU GUZZLE DOWN SWEETS
     EATING AS MUCH AS AN ELEPHANT EATS
     WHAT ARE YOU AT GETTING TERRIBLY FAT
     WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL COME OF THAT
     I DON'T LIKE THE LOOK OF IT

     OOMPA LOOMPA DOOMPADEE DAH
     IF YOU'RE NOT GREEDY YOU WILL GO FAR
     YOU WILL LIVE IN HAPPINESS TOO
     LIKE THE OOMPA LOOMPA DOOMPADEE DO
     DOOMPADEE DOO

and step right into it.

Obama told us (congress) to act more like grown ups yesterday..."I think what they’re looking from me is the same thing that they’re looking from Speaker Boehner and Harry Reid and everybody else, and that is, is that we act like grownups, and when we are in negotiations like this, that everybody gives a little bit, compromises a little bit in order to do the people’s business."

Wonka:  I can't go on forever, and I don't really want to 
try.  So, who can I trust to run the factory when I leave 
and take care of the Oompa Loompas for me?  Not a grownup.  
A grownup would want to do everything his own way, not mine.  
That's why I decided a long time ago I had to find a child.  
A very honest, loving child to whom I can tell all my most 
precious candy making secrets.

wonka vision, isn't it fabulous?

At the rate we are going, America will be thirty trillion in debt (a.k.a. bankrupt) in ten years IF we stay on this path, chartered by the Obama Administration [and by the way, that ten years is assuming the dollar doesn't fall out of the sky within six months].  And THAT is a fact,  not memorex -- it is real.  Do the math.  Real people do it all the time...real, live people sitting around a kitchen table realizing we will go belly up into the pool of a chocolate river if we don't do something about THIS now.

We run over 200 billion in deficits each and every month -- facing an astronomical, incomprehensible, 1.65 Trillion dollars added to our national debt for this year alone. (how can making measly cuts of 61 billion be so threatening? and they're not, it's the riders added on in principle that have the left all cross-eyed and scared to death)

But back to one of my favorite critics, Pelosi responds [all deer in the headlights like, getting rather excited about things, you know]

"Is middle ground three million seniors not getting meals??!!"

And now back to Ryan, "Washington has not been telling you the truth." Whoa dude, settle down now, will ya?  That is just crazy talk.  You're on the verge of fanaticism...jumping off a cliff even...or is it taking a real, honest to goodness leap of faith into the wild blue yonder?

Flash drawkcab (that's 'backward' in Wonkish) --  picture Wonka talking to Paul Ryan, someday in the future (and don't be silly, a conversation only in our heads, mind you):

WONKA: I had to test you, Charlie [I mean, Paul].  And you passed the test.  
You won!

Make it a Good Day, G

Dear America,

I pulled a Palin this morning as I was driving my girl to school; writing the thoughts screeching through my head on the palm of my hand as fast as I could, only at red lights, of course.  When totally by accident, I realized I was using red ink, as it was the one and only pen pulled out from the bottom of purse -- after having picked through gum wrappers, loose change, and lipstick first (successfully navigated also at a red light). But being April 15th and with the matter of taxation without representation spinning wildly out of control, I just can't help but take a moment to wrap my head around the irony.

Eventually I make my way home to carry out the beginnings of my day -- pour a second cup of coffee and pop a squat next to my new best friend, Vaio -- and commune with the happenings of the world; splashed on the front page of Yahoo we discover various titillating stories, as usual. 

What stands out? The synchronicity of most people paying far less in taxes, along with the market over 11,000 and still looking up -- all good news.

So, to recap, most people are paying less taxes (as promised...isn't that special) and the market is up -- we can all stop our worrying today, for this administration has saved the day! Recovery is finally here! Isn't that just swell, everyone? 

Everyone? 

...hmmm....that doesn't sound like happy to hear me.

I guess that nagging underlying worry that somethings not quite right is persisting -- is there a doctor left anywhere in the house?

...hmmm...it must have something to do with that prophetic one liner:

"we are five days away from fundamentally transforming America!"


Don't misconstrue, we want the market to go up,
we love it when it goes up.
Everyone's like, hey, how 'bout those stocks today.
Yeah, my 401's a jumpin', the big fish are a dumpin',
the dividends are a lumpin' -- this administration really is
a workin'.

They're like, pointing fingers to the Dow, saying, see,
see,
right there,
our stimulus really did do something, see.

Well which is it big guy?  You seem confused.

If we were to take your commentary on the "too big too fail" financial crisis, taking into account the fundamental changing of American philosophy, and station these thoughts like billboards on the side of the road ...taking in the hedge funds, sub-prime mortgages, bailouts and taxpayers, GM and AIG, bonuses and backstabbing, stimulus and unemployment (all converging into one bloody mess, if you ask me) -- but if we listened to your administration all along the way, you would have us believe Wall Street, and everything that goes with it, is evil. 

Yet, in the last few days, it is this very market that you immediately cling to for redemption!   I'm sure, it makes for tingles up the leg well deserved, as justification for taking such extreme measures to save this fine commonwealth.  I'm sure all intentions were pure and all other options were looked at first...and now, after all that's been said and done, you've got to look somewhere to have us all believe that what you're doing is really working.

You're doing it to us again, aren't you?

You are making us think we can all go back to sleep as everything is turning around; beating us to the punch of the accident waiting to happen...again...you know something don't you...walk away now people, there is nothing here to see. 

The thing is, you can't have it both ways -- you either appreciate Wall Street for all of it's highs and lows, understand Wall Street flipping it's bulls and bears, respect Wall Street -- and the cyclical nature that it truly is, including big bonuses -- as that's how the game is played -- or you don't.

It's not personal, it's business, right?  It's Wall Street; certainly no place for sissy's, queasy stomachs, or the weak of heart; and besides, the very people who paid for you to get where you are today, many of whom accompany you in your administration, have all traveled down the very same road.  So let me say it again, it's called Wall Street.  Of all people, with an honest look, you should be bending over backwards to kiss the streets of New York, rather than the sheiks and monarchs from around the globe.

But I'm getting side tracked; back to the headlines:

Most People Pay Less Taxes --
As promised, and right on time, courtesy of this administration, bing!
Just keep walking this way, they say, we have your best interests at heart.

Turn back people!

Something is not quite right...how can it be after legislating a trillion dollar health care package, after dishing out nearly two trillion in bank bail outs, stimulus funds, unemployment reimbursements, and frivolous earmarks, and when we all know of our unfunded liabilities buried deep within our top three entitlement programs -- Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid -- and as if all that were not enough, facing a staggering 12 Trillion Dollars in National Debt on top of it.

Wake up people!  We are in the midst of the changing of the guard -- regime change -- a coup d'etat on America as we eat, sleep, "pay less in taxes and get more benefits", as they hope and pray we fall back into our most natural state of being, lulled into thinking everything is okay now, happy days will come again...

Out with the old, in with the new; this is America, welcoming the new age of the redistribution of wealth.

This is the age for all those people who scream "I want my Obama money" and "I want my Obama-care."

When did we go off course?  (about a hundred years ago)
Where did we take the wrong turn?  (DC)
Why are we letting this administration drive us over the cliff?  (we're not)

The analogy of a car driving over the cliff, like Thelma and Louise, seems to capture this moment in time well; I only bring it up as this has been the go-to visual in political commentary all this week, so let's just run with that some more.

For starters, how about we take a moment to step out of the car and take an honest look at ourselves. Much of this is our fault, too; we let it happen, slowly and over time, we sat there eating drive through burgers and Krispy Kreme's day after day, singing to the radio without a care in the world, and certainly not looking in the rear view mirror.  It was bound to catch up to us -- and it did.

I am reminded of this week's Biggest Loser, Suze Orman being the biggest guest.  She was doing her thing, making her usual observations equating actual weight gain with debt; and with brutal honesty, she told the participants they would never drop their insufferable extra pounds until they paid full attention to their personal debt piled up (having already spied on their finances, ah snap).

She continued to implore upon them to tend to budgetary issues sooner, rather than later -- adding the dimension of right action creates right results.

But foremost, she made it very clear, debt is a burden -- a weight in and of itself that keeps us from achieving our goals and living life to the fullest.  (hmmmm...Suze was an Obama supporter...I wonder about that...)

Hey, I wonder if America's obesity problem is somehow tied to our national debt?  now that just gave me chills.

The real good news is that it has nothing to do with the car; it's about what we put in it. 

Perhaps what we really have to do is get out of that shiny new GM car which we purchased last fall, because it was just too good to pass up, sell it, and learn to walk on our own two feet again. 

Perhaps, we could begin to actually pick up the pace, and start jogging, get far enough along to do a 5K or do the sixty miles in three days, like the Susan G. Komen walk for Breast Cancer Research. 

Perhaps, we would eventually feel so good about ourselves, from the inside out, enriching the relationships we are blessed to have in life, be it in our work or family or special interests and affiliations, that we would... 

naturally,
without government help, 
make smarter money decisions, make healthier food choices, make honorable our word,  take better care of one another, and give more, much more, thanks to a Higher Power -- all jump-started by simply choosing to go with Suze logic and discovering how to live within our means in peace.  All this with the added benevolence of watching our children watch us, learning most importantly how not to make the same mistakes -- reaping the benefits of self-reliance for generations to come. 

Easy street, Wall Street, my street, your street all begin with the steps we take individually and collectively for the common good -- we just seem to be having a few fundamental differences on just how to put our best foot forward.

In the meantime, the most un-American day of the year is here and more people will be paying less in taxes than last year.  Oh and just a few people will be paying a little bit more.  And the Market is up.  No need to concern yourself whatsoever...keep walking...this way now...and we're walking...

It will be years before the other shoe will drop.

Make it a Good Day, G

You want to tip toe through the numbers some more?  Go to one of my new favorites...thank you, Ringo, for the graphs, charts, and watchful eye -- always looking out for lady liberty, making clear the road ahead with the understanding of where we've been. 

Dear America,

"Think what you do when you run in debt;

you give to another the power over your liberty."

Benjamin Franklin

You know that feeling when you've got absolutely no leverage?  The feeling that embodies every kind of self-deprecating, self-loathing back talk that comes to mind and goes a little something like 'what the hell is wrong with you...how in the world did you get yourself in this position...what were you thinking?'

Now imagine all of us feeling the same way for months on end.

Personally, I think I've grown accustomed to getting myself into this state of dysfunction a few times over -- and quite honestly, am in it right now; but when also surrounded by it at the same time? Never in my life.

I'm just wondering at this point just how many pandas would it take to settle our debt to China?  I mean, America seems to do a pretty good job producing those sweet things -- and had to give a couple of them up just this week per our agreement with the communist state.  Just gotta wonder, what is the exchange rate these days?  Is there any way we could use any of this to our advantage?  Inquiring minds wanna know.

Oh if it were only as simple as living within our means, not trusting other people to do what we should be doing for ourselves, and saving for a rainy day.

Oh, that's right, it is.

Remember now, G really knows no better herself these days -- shamefully, I am guilty as charged; even if I can rationalize my ever so loving badness with equally dynamic justifications.  Things like:

'I had no other choice'

'blame it on the single mother syndrome'

'I couldn't prevent an ill set of circumstances

from happening'

'the devil made me do it' --

just a little bit of nostalgia

for one of my favorite entertainers of my era,

Flip Wilson

But lucky for all of us, the other nagging feeling I have laying around is also an overwhelming groundswell of understanding and enlightenment -- to put it another way,  I think we truly do get it now (or maybe that's just me).

The Patriot Post, a must read and go-to spot for picking me up when the chips are down, was memorializing a few words of wisdom from the quintessential American President, Ronald Reagan, this past week (in honor of his birthday -- which is tomorrow).

Just after he left the democratic party and switched right (who knew!), President Reagan said this:

"But I suggest there is no such thing as a left or right, there is only up or down.  Up to man's age-old dream -- the maximum of individual freedom consistent with order -- or down, to the ant heap of totalitarianism."

Individually and collectively, we are either making choices 'going up' or 'coming down' from the moment we rise to the hour we lay our head to rest; and truly our best and soundest choices come when we still hold a few cards, and certainly, when not also up against a wall.

A little leverage goes a long way. 

A little poker face knowing full and well we're sitting on a royal flush gives us the upper hand. 

A little security knowing we would never bet the ranch for a something too good to be true rests confidence in our actions.

Along with first and foremost, a little common sense -- not putting ourself in a game that risks everything unless of course we can afford it in the first place. (But then again, aren't we full circle -- who really goes all in anymore?)

When we jeopardize our ability to stay afloat on our own, we no longer have the ability to make good choices; and quite possibly, it may not even be our own decision to make an longer.  We can no longer think long and hard about which way to go; we simply react.  And when we do, it comes from a position of desperation, rather than preservation -- and so begins the downward cycle, digging ourselves deeper into a hole, using debt to get us out of debt, robbing Peter to pay Paul, piling ourselves up one on top of another like an ant heap.  The only one's who have it good are those on the top.

"Extreme taxation, excessive controls, oppressive government competition with business...frustrated minorities and forgotten Americans are not the products of free enterprise.  They are the residue of centralized bureaucracy, of government by a self-appointed elite." Ronald Reagan

Hyundai's latest commercial includes the spokesman saying, "the economy hasn't really turned around for any of us -- until it's turned around for all of us"  adding "think about it" in print, right underneath their logo center screen.

Think about it.  This, in true Texas Hold'em, all for one and one for all style, is America's true leverage; and only when we get back to the principles which created America over two hundred years ago, will we be able to achieve it.  Democrats made fun of the republican supply-side economics which came to shine under the Reagan years -- labeling it "trickle-down economics".  But the reality is, the more people succeed, the more economic prosperity for all of us and the better America will be for it.

Basically, when you couple lowering tax rates with reducing government spending, the private sector will grow (less burden and more room for expansion and hiring and production), which will in turn, grow the national  GDP -- in the end, if in fact the end justifies the means (ha ha ha, a little Chicago style political humor there) then, even in spite of the lower levels of taxation, a greater amount of revenue occurs -- as the pool of supply from business exponentially expands -- as everyone is in it!

Thereby, if the people are working, and if the federal governement remains limited in power and under control, prosperity can only go up.

I didn't really get the whole supply-side thing until now -- but better late than never.

We simply can't afford the position of having no leverage -- as things like our government ignoring Chinese spies in our own backyard starts to occur; we begin to be dependent of our energy supply to come from the other side of the world; we slowly watch American factories and call centers move to India or Timbuktu; as we come to realize that we must come out of pocket to cover the interest alone on our debt, before even thinking about how to whittle down the principle, at a rate we can no longer sustain, becomes more and more clear -- immediately causing us to shudder in fear.

It's a natural progression -- losing our freedoms, paying above market rate for things, becoming more reliant on a government and less reliant on our own capabilities, digging ourselves into a ditch already overrun with ants piling on top of each other.  With the have-nots in plenty supply, with economic growth penalized and simple liberties at risk, with the emphasis continuing to come out of Washington controlling the market, the people, the income, the taxation, the entitlements, the over the debt ceiling spending-- overall growth can only occur for one thing, and one thing only, government.  And with that kind of supply-side economics going on, we will surely go down. 

There is no up.

"If the day should ever arrive (which God forbid!) when the people of the different parts of our country shall allow their local affairs to be administered by prefects sent from Washington, and when the self-government of the states shall have been so far lost as that of the departments of France, or even so closely limited as that of the countries of England -- on that day the political career of the American people will have been robbed of its most interesting and valuable features, and the usefulness of this nation will be lamentably impaired." 

John Fiske, American Historian

There is no turn around -- until the people turn it around -- and thankfully, according to our Constitution, the only leverage we will ever need.

Make it a Good Day, G