It's Reflections on the Ridiculous Thing

Dear America,

"I think it's really tragic 

when people get serious about stuff.  

It's such an absurdity 

to take anything really seriously...

I make an honest attempt  

not to take anything seriously; 

I worked that attitude out

 about the time I was eighteen, 

I mean, what does it all mean 

when you get right down to it, 

what's the story here?  

Being alive is so weird."  

Frank Zappa

seriously.

and for starters, this girl is having such a hard time getting her head around the headlines these days.  It's as if it's all ridiculous; what do we care about Kellyanne Conway's husband opinion about anything?   Like, seriously?  

And for Trump to even respond....it's like, with all due respect, Mr. President -- you are the president of the United States of America!  --  just leave it alone!

And the president gets my same response about all his chatter about John McCain.  Just leave it be; don't feed the fire; don't fight for the last word; don't give the media something to talk about when the subject matter goes petty, or simply trades insults with the dead or his entourage.  That trade war will never be won, as it lives so deep down in the mire, all that survives is a mouth full of muck and a reputation lost in the tangling web of nonsense, barbs and slurs, and suffocating any chance of any good to come of it, and shamefully reducing the statehood of the office to nothing more than tabloid warfare.  

Seriously, this life and these times are just so weird.

We get it, Mr. President; this is how you role; this is how you play the game.

And just maybe, your survival in office to date, has mandated this rapid fire response day in and day out....you know, given your history, your long list of haters, your modus operandi, along with your stubbornness and natural penchant to win at all costs....there is that.

But, seriously, Mr. President -- you no longer have to go there.  In simple terms, the more you choose to take the high road --  above the sea of petty, peaty, marshy, quagmire of all things down and dirty -- the greater the prospect of truly Making America Great Again.  (In everything, it's about America and what is best for her.... and pretty sure, she can take you, so don't even try.)   There is a trade deficit in this country, if not the world, in the nature of kindness, mutual respect, and holding ourselves accountable to everything we say, everything we do, and everything filling up our hearts and minds.

The thing is -- there is opportunity here to lead this campaign from the top down.

“The greatest leader 

is not necessarily the one 

who does the greatest things. 

He is the one 

that gets the people to do 

the greatest things.” 

― Ronald Reagan

The thing is -- you, dear sir, have ample proof now of your administration's successes... Unemployment is at the lowest level in decades, people are seeing wages rise, optimism is making gains; and all the opposition has to combat your accomplishments is denial,  politically motivated smears, and the good favor of an obstructive, biased, mainstream media that feeds irresponsible and reckless ideas into the heads of the American people, headlining candidates selling nothing but snake oil.  

Like, seriously?

These "phenoms and political hacks" monopolize the media with false claims and projections based upon ridiculous socialist policies, when history proves, these illogical attempts to dictate winners and losers through the controls of an elitist government are untenable, defective, and have NEVER worked anywhere around the world, like, ever!  Ultimately, if allowed to take hold, this massive, invasive, root system -- deceptively based upon leveling the hills and valleys of a life sustained in liberty and freedom and opportunity -- will destroy our foundation, squelch ambition, and reduce America to ruins.

Must appreciate the use of the word invasive, right?

By definition -- "An invasive species is an organism that causes ecological or economic harm in a new environment where it is not native. ... Invasive species are capable of causing extinctions of native plants and animals, reducing biodiversity, competing with native organisms for limited resources, and altering habitats."

Need I say more?

Socialist ideas are NOT NATIVE to America!  The harsh truth is, giving breath, life, oxygen to policy rooted in the delusion of equal distribution of wealth, even in part -- even Social Security -- have only adversely effected our way of life, accumulation of wealth, continuing to risk our future health and welfare, as a whole.   

And The Left wants more of this?

Everything can't be free.

Like, seriously, Ms. AOC?

But I digress.

I'm getting lost in the weeds; allow me to detangle and get back on point, if you will.

Mr. President -- Rise and Shine

“There is no limit 

to the amount of good 

you can do if you don't care 

who gets the credit.” 

― Ronald Reagan

Elevate your every move, every word, every deed and don't look back. don't do it.

Lead, by example,Mr. President. 
yes.  it is cliche.  it's just what I do here...shoot me. and on that note, here's more -- 

Mr. President -- You have nothing to lose, nothing; while you have everything to gain -- maybe even another four years.   And, you know, the right wins on ideas and its results every time, because they are anything but ridiculous; let's emphasize our winning ideas and why they work; and while we're at it, let's emphasize rising above the fray (love it). 

Let's give the media nothing to talk about, but the GOOD!

[But what do I know; I'm just a girl, and this is just my day in the life #989]

And isn't "being alive is so weird... 
isn't it?   
Like, seriously, it is.

the end. 

Make it a Good Day, G

It's in the Defense of Pure Liberty Thing

Dear America,

yesteryear...

"I disapprove of what you say, 

but I will defend to the death

 your right to say it." 

today...

"I disapprove of what you say, 

thereby you have no right to say it,

 and I will shut you down."

The Left's dictate speaks for itself.

For starters, you should read February's Imprimis, 'Shall We Defend Our Common History?' -- an adaptation of a presentation for Hillsdale College, by Roger Kimball; it's my muse on the day.

The thing is, we are presently erasing history -- in art, statues, books -- through censorship.

Why?  Because some of it, if not most of it, is offensive to some of us, if not all of us.  Some of it hurts to see it; some of it makes us emotional; some of it makes us question our humanity -- or at the very least, the humans who came before us.

To his credit, Trump has thrown out the question, where does it stop?  

Indeed, where does it stop?

But it doesn't stop there, does it?  What about the blatant censorship of the present?

Case in point, Apple deciding to block an app -- that was just approved only a couple of weeks ago --  simply because it doesn't align with its science?

Taking a signal from The Daily Signal's post, 

Geologist Accuses Apple of Political Bias in Removing App Countering Climate Alarmism

There seems to be so many inconvenient facts about the truth surrounding global warming, and someone, a Gregory Whitestone, thought it to be prudent, and perhaps his civic duty, to alarm the public....as in, not so fast Al Gore, et. al... 

and this is interesting, going to the link of Whitestone's book: Inconvenient Facts: The science that Al Gore doesn't want you to know, you come to find out, it's currently out of stock.  right.  Did Amazon just block the book, too?

as the Signal duly notes, wonder if the app was blocked had anything to do with Al Gore being a member of the board, Apple's board?

Guts vs. Gore -- understandably, this girl's on the side of guts.

[And don't be shy, you, too, can join in on the discussion, here.]

Returning to the good read from Roger Kimball in Imprimis, he says, "the more expensive education becomes the more it seems to lead, not to broader understanding, but to narrower horizons."

And isn't that the truth?   

[And on a side-note, 

this is shocking; 

granted, we have only seen 

the tip of the iceberg 

as far as the ramifications 

are concerned on this fraud. 

It's gonna get ugly,  

just sayin']

We are being so politically correct these days, that in an arena once all about questioning bloody everything, partaking in fierce debate,  and open, mindful, critical study, has grown to be nothing more than liberal petri dishes, producing droves of rather hostile, ignorant, political activists hellbent on destroying any and all opposition, like a bad plague.  Shameful.  And pretty sure this nonsense is the cause of a whole lot of global warming. tee hee

but seriously, since when did censorship become cool?

“How do you tell a Communist? 

Well, it’s someone who reads Marx and Lenin. 

And how do you tell an anti-Communist? 

It’s someone who understands

 Marx and Lenin.”  

Ronald Reagan

As Kimball says, "welcome to the new Orwellian world where censorship is free speech and we respect the past by attempting to elide it."

exactly.

The thing is, we should all know by now, that as controls creep in, as opposing opinion is vilified and even restricted, as government expands,  -- liberty contracts; eventually, liberty ceases to exist and the lights never come on again.  (See Venezuela) 

It's just more evidence of how the Law of Cause and Effect, in governance, works (or doesn't work); it happens whether or not you agree with it or not.  It's kinda, like, totally natural, if you think about it, similar to climate change.

Even some on the left can grasp the gravity of our decisions --

from The Washington Examiner: 

The "Green New Deal" is “not achievable or realistic," read a letter from AFL-CIO energy committee heads Cecil Roberts, president of the United Mine Workers of America, and Lonnie Stephenson, president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. 

"We will not accept proposals that could cause immediate harm to millions of our members and their families," the union bosses wrote.

indeed; thank God someone on their side is keeping their wits about them.

Unlike these stupid girls.

Civilization ends due to global warming vs. civilization ends due to the extinction of procreation.

hilarious.  And if you read that post, linked to stupid, you will find findings from a study that says,

"even imposing one-child policies worldwide and 'catastrophic mortality events' would not significantly reduce the global population by 2100. It proposes instead that 'more immediate results for sustainability would emerge from policies and technologies that reverse rising consumption of natural resources'. 

'Even with drastic, draconian, eugenic policies of population reduction – which are completely immoral,' says Pepino, 'we wouldn’t save ourselves. We have to change the way we live'."

and we're baaaaack.

Cue Whitestone: 

—Inconvenient Fact No. 12: “Modern warming began long before SUVs or coal-fired plants.”

— Inconvenient Fact No. 21: “The current warming trend is neither unusual nor unprecedented.”

It's not about the facts.

It never is.

Just look at the Mueller investigation.

“Government does not solve problems. It subsidizes them.” 

― Ronald Reagan

There is a political agenda, with fresh rhetoric applied liberally, literally, day in and day out, and it spans decades.

Here's a clip of one more good read for today:  It comes from The Patriot Post, Jordan Candler:  Debunking Decades of Climate Alarmism:

In June 1989, the Associated Press stated, “A senior U.N. environmental official says entire nations could be wiped off the face of the Earth by rising sea levels if the global warming trend is not reversed by the year 2000. … He said governments have a 10-year window of opportunity to solve the greenhouse effect before it goes beyond human control.” Today, it’s Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s turn to wave the dozen-years-left-to-live placard.

In similar fashion, Al Gore in 2009 prophesied, “Some of the models suggest … that there is a 75% chance that the entire polar ice cap during some of summer months could be completely ice free within five to seven years.” As Stepman notes, “In 2014, the ice caps were still there. In fact, it’s 2019 and the ice caps are still there.”

Encore:  Gore vs Guts:

—Inconvenient Fact No. 53: “There are more polar bears now than we’ve had for 50 years.”

and moreover, ice caps are not static!  They move, grow, alter shape and size; it's almost like they evolve.  And that's not rocket science, it's just called common sense.  According to google and people who appreciate history, did you know that the earth was once covered in water!?  Say it isn't so.

We used to teach common sense; we used to teach history, science, literature,  from all points of view.

It's called discussion; nobody gets shushed and everybody gets a chance to speak.  What a concept.  More important, what is Apple so afraid of, for example, when shutting down a silly little app?

I am in favor of everyone having a voice and I will defend, to the death, your right to say it

These days, this great and wondrous liberty is becoming more and more a freedom and luxury of the select Left, while at the same time, imprisoning any, and all, opposition; and everybody should be raising an eyeball questioning the logic back behind the flawed, pseudo-intellectual, elitist, cultural scientific experiment afoot. 

onemorereaganquote!

“They tell us we must learn to live with less, and teach our children that their lives will be less full and prosperous than ours have been; that the America of the coming years will be a place where — because of our past excesses — it will be impossible to dream and make those dreams come true. I don't believe that. And, I don't believe you do either. That is why I am seeking the presidency. I cannot and will not stand by and see this great country destroy itself. Our leaders attempt to blame their failures on circumstances beyond their control, on false estimates by unknown, unidentifiable experts who rewrite modern history in an attempt to convince us our high standard of living, the result of thrift and hard work, is somehow selfish extravagance which we must renounce as we join in sharing scarcity. I don't agree that our nation must resign itself to inevitable decline, yielding its proud position to other hands. I am totally unwilling to see this country fail in its obligation to itself and to the other free peoples of the world.” 

― Ronald Reagan

amen to that, amen to that.

Make it a Good Day, G

It's Because Facts are Stubborn Things

Dear America,

"Facts are stubborn things."

Ronald Reagan

so this is kinda amusing

...one of the things I gave my papa, for Christmas, was a little dish donning this Reagan moment.

But lo and behold, darned if this girl didn't do a double take when fanning through a brand spanking new book of quotes of our Founding Fathers, that she reads this:

"Facts are stubborn things; 

and whatever may be our wishes, 

our inclination, 

or the dictates of our passions, 

they cannot alter 

the state of facts and evidence." 

 -- John Adams

indeed.

but let's hold up for a moment, could it be that Plato prompted the phrase on the proverbial plate first?...oh the world may never know.

The thing is -- the fact of the matter is --  facts are stubborn things.

All the memos in the world will not detract from actual evidence, the trail of corruption, the crumbs left behind by Christopher Steele, Fusion GPS, Andrew McCabe, Rod Rosenstein...shall I go on?

Or how about this one -- how in the world can there be thirty pages on record of the now infamous meeting between Bill Clinton and Loretta Lynch...you know, the one supposedly discussing the grandchildren?  really?

thirty pages...buried deep in the catacombs of the FBI...until watchdog, Judicial Watch, sues for their release.  

...thank you, Ron-John, facts are stubborn things, and seems occasionally, they even like to play hide and seek.

And don't get me started on the stock market.

Fact is, the market would have to tank another 6,000 points to equal the last unofficial day on record of Obama's presidency, k.... see election day November 2016.

facts are stubborn things.

I love this quote from the Ronald, not the Donald -- 

"All great change in America 

begins at the dinner table."

indeed

of course, it's so tasty, the Donald should recite and repeat, in both speak and tweet; this very thing -- this simple thing of gathering around the table for dinner, as a family -- may well be the one cure all for so many of societal woes. But I digress...no wait, it's not a digression at all; it's more like a great hope of things to come, as in the making of a great American come-back...But now I digress ;)

and along those same lines, there is this from Thomas Jefferson:

"Adore God.  

Reverence and cherish your parents.  

Love your neighbor as yourself, 

and your country more than yourself.  

Be just.  Be true.  

Murmur not at the ways of Providence.  

So shall the life into which 

you have entered 

be the portal to one of eternal

 and ineffable bliss."

yes, please.

When papa was not at sea for months on end while in the Navy, our family of five sat around the dinner table every single night.  And while the stubborn facts may be escaping me in this moment -- given the decades later --  I don't remember either parent preaching the golden rules even when they had a chance; although, what does comes to mind, is how they lived.  They taught the Golden Rule by following the Golden Rule, and to this day, continue to guide me by not only their love, but their selfless devotion to being a good example.  It was never a case of "do as I say, not as I do," right....

facts are stubborn things

and about that....here in America:

every generation bears the responsibility of living by example, in order to protect, and secure, the next generation;

every generation bears the responsibility of assimilating to America's founding principles -- that which describes our rights and our duties --  to protect, and secure, the next generation;

 

every generation bears the responsibility of separating fact from fiction, to protect, and secure, the next generation...

it's just what we do in America;

and that is just a fact.

Our nation's foundation IS firm in fact, no matter what you've been told.

"We must reject the idea 

that every time a law's broken, 

society is guilty

 rather than the lawbreaker. 

It is time to restore the American precept 

that each individual

 is accountable for his actions."

Ronald Reagan

indeed

once you leave the dinner table, it is solely up to each individual to live a life fully accountable for our own actions...  TO love your neighbor as yourself; to be just; to be true; to be fair; to be good...to speak of facts -- in the pure protection and honor of the facts -- because in fact, facts are the stubborn things that make America great over and over and over again.

Make it a Good Day, G

It's a Modern Spin on Commerce, Merchandising, and Write Off's Thing

Dear America,

isn't this rich.

[ooooh wait, but first, let me interrupt myself; you see, G's a bit hung over from the late night last night... so it may begin sounding a wee bit punchy; hopefully, things will mellow like a good whiskey over time; just don't write me off too soon that's all.   So continue, please]

isn't this rich.

Obama getting jiggie with David Letterman on the Late Show, talking smack about Romney:

"if you want to be president, 

you gotta work for everybody--not just for some."

no shit sherlock.

and guess what -- Romney wasn't speaking in the context of leading the nation, separating Americans from one another and delineating who he will represent once in office -- ONLY YOU do that.  He was breaking down the numbers on getting elected, and logically admitting that 47% are locked into the other side.

Besides the fact that he was speaking in front of  his donors, when candidates are simply more candid anyway, ergo a little more loose lipped --  aw, you know what I'm talking about, as you very well do the same thing -- it wasn't about how he would govern.

The truth of the matter is, Romney understands what he is up against.  Any rational mind would agree, 47% of the population IS spoken for and will not budge.  In simple terms, that 47% are those who believe in what Obama is selling: redistribution.  The other half -- believe not in a man -- but in America, and all that she stands for, without shame, regret, apologies, or anything having to do with fundamental transformation.

And what about you -- 

[the one who spoke with such disdain about the Tea Party? ?   

um calling all of us "teabaggers" -- 

a rather derogatory term, 

I might point out, but then, you knew that.
no matter, you wrote us all off anyway.]

But I guess you really don't listen to Romney very closely -- considering his entire message throughout his campaign has been one of lifting ALL of us up [not just Hispanics, not just Blacks, not just women wanting free contraception, not just single mothers, not just illegals, not just green energy environmentalists, not just the uninsured....].

Romney's goal is to get all of us working.   His vision is embarking America upon a new era -- one that encourages business to grow and expand and hire new people, one that sees America back from incredible unemployment, and one that returns America to a path of prosperity and exceptionalism and respect around the world in every way.   Unlike your ideas:

"I think the trick is figuring out how do we structure government systems that pool resources and hence facilitate some redistribution,” he said, “because I actually believe in redistribution, at least at a certain level, to make sure everybody’s got a shot.”   Barack Obama, 1998, just starting out in Chicago

and all just part of your master plan for fundamental transformation in America...

The taped comments made by Romney were from May, for  Pete's sake.  Mother Jones and your campaign must have had a field day figuring out when to drop this little tidbit into the laps of the American people.  Wow.  Would I have loved to have been a fly on that sleeve.  But here's you with the Davester--

[after I got elected, I said to all those who didn't vote for me] 

 "I hear your voices.  

I'm gonna work as hard as I can to be your president."

oh is that what this last four years was all about? that's funny.  cuz I'm not feelin' it.

So is this YOU honestly working for everybody?  Is that what you're calling this?

Cuz, here's YOU during the last campaign:

"And it's not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations," Obama said -- writing off over half the nation!

Sure, so I guess your "fundamental transformation" is coming a little bit slower than you imagined -- we're still clinging to our guns and religion, now aren't we.  But let's let that sleeping dog lie.

Mr. President, in one way or another, you have spent the last four years attacking the business creators -- those who put up the risk and leverage their entire lives until such time they might see a profit.  How many people is that?  Is it greater than or less than 47% of the country?  Whatever the number -- you unapologetically have written them off.

"if you got a business, you didn't get there on your own."

"you didn't build that."

During the health care law arguments in congress, the Chamber of Commerce was one of your largest opponents -- due to the adverse effects of your law becoming yet another bureaucratic entitlement small business owners had yet to deal with.  But let's keep going down that country road:

How did your administration decide to respond to religious liberty being taking away -- in order to fully implement provisions of the Affordable Care Act, specifically with regards to contraception and women's health mandates?  

Oh that's right.  You wrote them off. Religious institutions, colleges, hospitals --- all of a sudden nobody could keep their conscience.

Heck, these comments -- while having a good old time with Dave -- are such a joke.  I'm sure they will get into Dave's top ten shows just because you were there...

But there you are -- yucking it up with Dave -- ridiculing Romney's arrogance -- when in fact, the entire country knows that you turned down a meeting with Bibi Netanyahu, chosing Beyonce, Jay-Z, and Dave over tending to your foreign policy issues.  Israel is like two shades close to toast and you turn down our greatest ally?   Excuse me?

It's like you have already written off the entire nation of Israel, beginning with Bibi,  with, like, no regret.  

Romney's got nothing on you.

You have got some kind of b-balls.

And you're such a kidder...all laughin' and shhh

But let's keep going on this master list of "the top ten things you have written off" of your very own, shall we?

• Congressional Due Process -- as you use Executive Order to fundamentally transform America
• "the Good War" in Afghanistan -- don't hate, it's your words
• Cutting the Deficit by half before the end of your first term -- the deficit when Bush left office was just shy of 500 Billion, you have tripled it instead.
• Conservative Women -- you believe Sandra Fluke speaks for all of us....BIG mistake.
• Following a BUDGET of any kind -- even going against the recommendations of your own Simpson/Bowles Debt Commission.
• and just recently -- Free Speech -- well, some free speech, anyway...only when it hurts the feelings of Muslims; only when it's the Right rubbing you the wrong way.
•  Off-shore Drilling off the United States -- these days, you only approve of drilling off Brazil -- walking back all that rhetoric about "all of the above."
• Coal Mining -- simply too many regulations to make it work.
• the 1% -- to you, those greedy bastards of the one percent should be hung in the town square. 
• I can't even continue; it's making me ill as we speak.  Oh and speaking of as we speak, I am pounding out a few of these ideas while our president is at yet another fundraiser -- it followed Letterman for a little late late show appearance, flashing his smile and collecting donations. 

Don't let Romney's clarity regarding who's in and who's out in his quest to BEAT YOU get in the way of common sense.

When Romney gets elected come November -- he will be a  president that truly believes in America -- uniting all Americans to one cause:  bringing America back to the shining city upon a hill with a job at the foot of it.

After all,

"We are indeed, 

and we are today, 

the last best hope of man on earth." 

Ronald Reagan, 

January 25, 1974, 

The Shining City Upon A Hill

You know, kinda sorta totally unrelated, I have a fascination with the early roman culture.  Thomas Moore, who wrote The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life, takes an entire chapter establishing the relationship we have with our work through the times.  And I'm feeling a sense of deja vu here, so if you have heard it before from me, mea culpa --

Beginning with a quick study on the Medici family of the fifteenth century Florence, Moore reminds us

"This was a brief period when money, work, civic life, the arts, and religion came together to vivify a community, and in spite of political upheaval, widespread disease, and other problems, the culture came close to establishing an enchanted, soul-centered way of life.."

Going on to explain words we use today, like "commerce" and "merchandise," he traces their meaning all the way back to the Latin merx -- which is linked to "the Roman god Mercury, who was widely known as the divine patron of commerce..."

get to the point G -- 

 "It may be difficult for a modern person to imagine a society in which business is considered a sacred endeavor, or that one could pray to a patron saint of commerce.  If it is difficult to do so, then maybe the problem is not with the audacity of some other culture to find business holy but with us, who have secularized most of life, including and especially anything having to do with money and goods."

So without any further adieu, sound the trumpets...

Romney believes in business; Romney believes in America; and if anyone can, he may very well embody this soul-centered connection between these two worlds.  And  -- now going out on a short limb up a tall tree --  perhaps he has prayed about it, too (probably not to Mercury though...that would just make one, or the both of us, sound nuts).

And yet Obama -- Obama seems to write-off big business, profit, Wall Street, Investment, at least every other day -- if not by the boot to the neck, but by nudge by nudge, to force us to replace capitalism and the free market with redistribution and the nanny state.  And while he may speak highly of the small business owner, he still doesn't understand what happens in the day and the life of the typical mom and pop organization (having really never worked a real job in his life) -- especially being on the receiving end of more regulations, tax changes, new health care mandates, overwhelming bureaucracy.   So much for the magic and enchantment of owning one's own business, right?

Money and profit, commerce and merchandise, is not evil; I mean, heaven's to Betsy, its what makes the world go round.  just look around you...

Put to good use, it can change the world, rebuild communities, and create real wealth.  This is nothing new.  But with regards to our country -- America is the first time it has worked for so long, and remains the "oldest continuing republic."

And continuing now with a thought from Reagan's 'Shining City Upon a Hill' speech:

"You can call it mysticism if you want to, but I have always believed that there was some divine plan that placed this great continent between two oceans to be sought out by those who were possessed of an abiding love of freedom and a special kind of courage."

What seems to be missing in America today seems to be the soul itself; living our lives from a place of reverence for whatever it may be -- our work, our family, our talent, our aspirations, our community, our faith.  We have perhaps secularized too much.

Pulling from Reagan's speech once more, it will take a man with true courage to stand up against "the atmosphere, the strain, the debate, and that as men for the first time face the consequences of such an irretrievable act, the walls resounded with the dread word of treason and its price -- the gallows and the headman's axe....sign the parchment..."  and poof...fifty-six men signed it: that would be our Declaration of Independence.  [read Reagan's entire speech today, if you will...it is just so good.  so good]

Reagan was spot on when he said this:  "We have distributed our wealth more widely among our people than any society known to man.  Americans work for less hours for a higher standard of living than any other people."   well, again, that was 1974.  And how about that, some parts of the world have caught up to us.

The thing is -- America has provided an atmosphere of wealth building and 'redistribution' through capitalism since our birth.  Only one man running for the office of the presidency sees this opportunity for what it truly is.  Only one man recognizes the kind of freedom and soul-centered connection and courage the American marketplace needs right now in order to prevail as a nation -- as a republic, no less.

That man is Romney.

Freedom for everybody only comes about under the true economic freedom from capitalism; for when combined with the Rule of Law, and equality under the law, we get to a place everybody can win.

One of the main points in Reagan's "shining city" speech, was to the glory of our Constitution, and what makes America all the wiser.  He notes, most countries have "constitutions" [they sprout up kinda like roads and bridges and Internet...badump ba]  But what sets us apart -- is that written within our Constitution -- our rights do not come down from the government on high, but from our Creator.  Thus considered unalienable; we become proud owners of such an honorable birth right right from the start.

It is up to all of us then to find our one true north, kindle the spirit of commerce and productivity that is within each and every one of us, equally and widely distributed.  Rich or poor, we all got it.  We need to connect to each other and into this pool of creativity and find our place in the world -- to work, to play, to earn a living and enjoy the fruits of OUR labor, much like the era of the Medici, and certainly not from the labor of somebody else.  This is what gives us a pure sense of who we are and what our purpose under heaven may be.

The business of being and living and prospering in America is alive and well as long as we tend to the daily maintenance protecting such freedoms, such opportunity, such abundance and not take it all for granted.

Final thought -- and it's from Reagan once again -- but it might as well be Romney:

"For the second time in this century, capitalism and the free enterprise are under assault.  Privately owned business is blamed for spoiling the environment, exploiting the worker and seducing, if not outright raping, the customer.  Those who make the charge have the solution, of course -- government regulation and control.  We may never get around to explaining how citizens who are so gullible that they can be suckered into buying cereal or soap that they don't need and would not be good for them, can at the same time be astute enough to choose representatives in government to which they would entrust the running of their lives."

At least Romney hasn't written off our founding principles and good judgment; at least Romney respects the mind-body-wealth connection between commerce and community; at least Romney hasn't written off the fact that this nation was founded upon rights endowed by our Creator -- not government.

Romney hasn't 'written off' anyone when it comes to leading this nation back into prosperity, Mr. President.

And for you, of all people, to vilify a simple comment taken out of context -- one that was clearly  and rationally separating the electorate as to 'what's mine, his and ours' -- with your track record?  Your audacity is certainly the eighth wonder of the world.  There is not a late show long enough to get through the list of slam-dunk write-off's coming out of your presidency.

You got on with Dave acting more partisan than ever.  Yeah right, Mr. I'm "going to work as hard as I can to be your president."    well you can stop that now.  take a load off.  after writing me, and many more things, completely 'off' for the last four years  -- let me speak for all of us when I say we have had enough; but tune in next time, when we review your top ten list of things you should NOT have said; you know, the things you have said, or contributed to, in the reckless divide of the people, spinning this country into further chaos and depression.
 
But you wanna know the really good news -- in about  fifty days we get to write you off.  Hope Beyonce and Jay-Z and Letterman were worth it.

Make it a Good Day, G

It's a Bottom's Up Thing

Dear America,

"As government expands, liberty contracts."

the country is top heavy...and not because of what you think.

It's not because of the top 2%, or even the top 10% of all wage earners -- who just so happen to pay 71% of all federal tax revenue.

Nope.  Keep the change.

It's because we, the people, have allowed our government to grow exponentially -- stealing our liberty every step of the way -- and eroding the very foundation in which we stand.

Clearly, we are top heavy.   And we all know what happens when that happens, right?

 The THIRD city to go down in the state of California -- San Bernardino -- knows exactly what I am talking about.  Can you say pension overload?  Can you say exorbitant salaries?  Can you say unconscionable entitlements?   Can you say twenty years of nobody watching just what 'they' do?

Just who holds sweet liberty now?

America was designed to build our liberty from the bottom up -- one citizen at a time, from generation to generation, and never breaking the code of honor and integrity which binds.

But as we are witnessing today, this very notion of the bottom being part and parcel of our nation's unfaltering, unwavering foundation and being of principal and values and the rule of law has simply grown non-existent.

Instead of building upon the elements proven to withstand the test of time -- living honestly and morally sound, investing in years of hard work and a good education, being of exceptional character as best we can -- the bottom has simply decided to check out, leaving all duty and responsibility for someone else's shoes to fill and essentially leaving a huge, massive, uncharacteristic, un-American, void.

Just who jumps in to fill the void?

oooh which reminds me of another good video to cue on GTV (it's a replay, but who's counting anything right?) --



We are entering a new phase in America -- it seems to be some rendition of a mob rule, masked by a highly corrupt rule of law maligning with unscrupulous representatives who have usurped all power of our Constitution.

The mob at the bottom is totally okay with this; for this topsy-turvy view of being a productive, integral, responsible, accountable citizen has been replaced with a brand new mindset -- some kind of compilation of a junkie on entitlement steroids and an Occupier who simply wants to stick it to the man.

Now this girl is certainly no engineer, but me thinks a country -- a Republic -- can only keep it's balance for just so long.

It all comes down to a few things:   the weaknesses of human nature --  the inherent faults of inferior construction and lousy materials -- along with an ignorant (yet sometimes blatant) trampling of the blueprints.

Thanks to a gift from my papa, I receive a newsletter, Access to Energy, each month.  It's published by a science/tech guy running for Congress up in Oregon, Dr. Arthur B. Robinson.  It's really good stuff.  Anywho,
he includes an essay simply entitled "Democracy" and shares this thought --

"The real issue is whether or not we can convince the majority to elect a Congress that will return to government under the Constitution -- wherein the powers of the majority are placed below individual human rights.  Will the majority realize that their rights are no safer than those of the minority?  Will the custom and culture of our Republic and common sense prevail?"

And adding one more thing under a heading of "Stark Raving Mad" -- Robinson laments upon the thought of what Thomas Paine would think if he were here today and makes this observation (and totally like a mad scientist, too):

"That it is not common sense that the 99% and the 1% would permit the 0.001% to set them against each other and thereby enslave the entire 99.9%.  To do this would be "stark raving mad."

Exactly.

If the mob at the bottom was really using it's head, they would see this.

They would see that they are in the midst of eroding not only their own liberty, but the liberties of other people that they will never even exchange 'hellos'... 

[cue the light bulb above my head]  Because that's just it; we are not a nation of skyscrapers and corporations.  We are a nation of people.  People needing people, as G quickly digresses into cheesy...

Producers needing consumers; consumers needing producers, to buy all the many things they want or need or must have -- and requiring a real job to pay for all of it.  Given previous conversations, it's the fairest exchange of all when allowed to operate freely, openly, honestly between all the parties involved.

And yet the hard reality remains to be seen --  the only thing the government produces is a world of debt built in the middle of nowhere wasting trillions of dollars propped up by fiat money and paper pushers of bureaucracy.  Every job the government produces, every new government entitlement, every empty government building, every wasted government stimulus, every dollar printed like monopoly money costs us money! 

While the mob at the bottom just wants more of it.  The Republic is seemingly being outnumbered and outwitted right before our eyes.  weird.

Dr. Arthur Robinson notes in the very same issue a steel deficiency -- sharing new stats that the Chinese produce 46% of world's steel, while the U.S., merely 6%.  6%!  that is a whopping 6%.  [Andy Carnegie must be shaking his head right along side Tommy boy]

But we'll have to save that conversation for another day.

Bottoms up.

Make it a Good Day, G

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