It's About Statesmen vs. StatesXmen Thing

Dear America,

"If Congress can do whatever 

in their discretion 

can be done by money, 

and will promote the general welfare, 

the Government is no longer 

a limited one possessing enumerated powers, 

but an indefinite one 

subject to particular exceptions."

 James Madison, circa 1792

 With much appreciation to The Patriot Post 

so this morning i left messages for susan collins, rand paul, john mc cain, and once again, tried to leave a voicemail for mitch mc connell; and to my complete disappointment, getting the ear piercing message that his mailbox was still full and not taking messages, all i wanted to do was scream. 

[Mitch's mailbox has been "full" going on three weeks now, but this is an unscientific assumption based upon my mere efforts to get through; for all I know it's been full since mid January, guessing around the twentieth, the day of reckoning that it was... teehee. Mitch is so pathetic, but I digress.]

Now if you read G regularly, you would already know this:

  

One of my favorite places on the world wide web is The Patriot Post.  It gets the credit for not only the opening thought just this morning, but, also, consistently and diligently leading with inspiring quotes from our founders, compiling commentary from conservative authors far and wide who are fully committed to revealing the revelations and history of our remarkable Republic and its foundations as it pertains to policy and our principles today, and all the while, having the editorial prowess to offer sound opinion upon the day's current events in the name of liberty and justice for all. 

   

The Patriot Post, birthed the same year as my girl, holds a special place in my heart; there is probably not a day that goes by when this girl doesn't mosey on over to see what bells are ringing.

  

Getting the Mid-Day Digest and Alexander's Column automatically via email (highly recommended btw) never fail to impress me, and above all, center me -- especially upon days like this...watching the nonsense bellowing from the halls of Congress.

Congress is so afraid to act as true statesmen, we may as well call them statesXmen; it's as if they have all lost sight --  gone completely deaf and dumb, too -- of keeping to the terms and conditions laid down by our founders.  And considering we have just finished celebrating our Independence for the 241st year in a row, how is it possible we have all completely lost our true independence?

In closing what has to be the most historic, international, smack down documented ever, Thomas Jefferson, John Hancock, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Samuel Adams....etc...said the following:

"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the Protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."

They had no idea what lay ahead in the days to come, in the days that continued with the Revolutionary War raging across the colonies.  And yet, being men of great courage, they FIRMLY believed in the process and the cause with unwavering faith, knowing their actions were guided by something greater -- that being, DIVINE PROVIDENCE.   

With unshakable faith, they pledged their allegiance to each other no matter what may come -- because they could see it clearly in their mind's eye and they knew it was going to be good!   It was not only going to be good, it was the right thing to do!  It was not only the right thing to do, it was the honorable thing to do!    So much so, they were willing to risk personal loss, personal indebtedness, personal happiness, against all enemies on behalf of the livelihood and general welfare of the common man.

In one short sentence, a sentiment of the highest standard was displayed without fear; with a confidence setting forth a destiny that would change the world, the stage was set with a willingness to do whatever it takes.

Now -- to the day's statesXmen we have come --  shaking in their loafers/stilettos, being completely dizzy proposing one political antic after another, rather than resting upon the principles that have made America great; for the laws and principles, in policy and constitution, were Divined and reasoned and debated and questioned over the many months and years following the signing of our Declaration of Independence of 1776.  

Taking what amounts to be a compilation of the best of the best of the body politic over the centuries --  if not 5000 years  --  America's Rule of Law came about following the study of civilizations through the ages, mainly of Rome, Greece, and Jerusalem.

To say we are a government "of the people, by the people, for the people" is not some slick gimmick.

The thing is -- with respect to what our founders actually set forth -- this idea of centering on WE the PEOPLE required each new generation to make the same pledge to each other, just as our first statesmen, moving forward.  It called for a certain duty -- to God and to Country and to Countrymen and women and children -- that we continue to be an educated and self-reliant PEOPLE, essentially believing in good self-government above all else; for solid self-government has a way of controlling many flaws, right...

What it did NOT call for -- is allowing for some people to get free stuff, free healthcare, free food, free anything, solely on the backs of the hard working, tax paying Americans without end.  If you are receiving any government benefit, it's not the government supplying these needs; these needs are being supplied to you by the generosity of the community in which you live, through government taxation.

It's a rather direct transaction, too, along with the umpteen unseen fees; corporations and small business and individuals are taxed, and from those proceeds government provides for the common defense, supplies three branches of government with all the bureaucrats amassed to support it, and then decides how to distribute the rest.  And the government can't even do that legitimately living within it's means, now twenty trillion dollars in debt!  Does anyone care how much money that is?

This Obamacare fiasco is a case in point.  This never should have happened in the first place; and how absurd is it that today's GOP cannot figure out how to communicate to the American people just how corrupt and ridiculous this legislation truly is, let alone be brave enough to repeal it!

Mitch McConnell doesn't even come close to being in the same room as statesmanship, this is just a given.  But besides that, healthcare is simply not a commodity that the government can recklessly give away by way of the redistribution of wealth, by way of government subsidy, by way of any other way other than through the avenues of the free market, the natural flow of supply and demand, and of course, lest we forget, good SELF-GOVERNMENT.  [translation:  smoke at your own risk, as just one example.]

The founders recognized what kind of government provided the healthiest relationship between those in power and the governed; clearly, it's now all reduced to a prescription that we have fully abused, erasing two hundred years of common sense.  (See also opioid abuse and 1.3 billion dollar fraud)

At the end of the day, it is the entire GOVERNMENT that needs limitations enforced, department sanctioning,  and perhaps, with due cause, of course,  a few statesXmen jailed for charges of crony capitalism, invasive corruption, and fraudulently spending trillions of dollars of the people's money without proper, lawful cause, and without any way possible to reach solvency before an overdose occurs.

and to think, all this because Mitch didn't answer his f%&ING free phone.

Make it a Good Day, G

It's Back to the Wheel with Practicing our Principles Thing

Dear America,


alrighty then, now that we've had a day to enjoy a little bi-partisan love fest -- can we all get back to business?

Oh but if only the business of the presidency was resigned to areas just for show, huh?  it's winner winner chicken dinner, for this president.

Looking back, I have to admit, HE sure does the photo-op well, doesn't he?

It's always about the backdrop -- doctors for Obamacare; businessmen... to create jobs, through the creation of a panel, to talk about how to create jobs, through the jobs council;   our brave boys and girls in the military... and sometimes, he's just brazen enough to call it what it is right up front -- see here;  but yesterday?  What was that?

The media got so much mileage off it -- reporting it as if the skies have truly fallen, the earth shock, and the elephant and donkey joined in sweet harmony, as if awe and agreement met in the middle and it was good.  It was one day, people; and what a day to wake up to...the Day After total devastation was brought to millions, upon millions, of Americans.

It's like, everybody was saying 'look, it happens!'   'wonders never cease'  'just look at how nicely they are playing together'    'aw aren't they so cute...getting along like that... and being so civil, really... acting like adults.... it almost looks like they are doing what they are being paid to do... like the big boys they are supposed to be.'

Is it that absurd -- to have two men, of two totally opposite sides, appear in public with their expected mutual respect for one another showing?    What a sad state of affairs we are in, that showing a wee bit of civility be such a rare thing, that it completely throws us for a loop when we see it.

This demonstration between Gov. Christie and President Obama doesn't tell us anything we didn't already know about these two political giants; for they are simply playing the game; and they do it well.

What should be of greater concern to everyone, is how the media responded to it in the making of piles and piles of liberal political hay.

What should be of greater concern to everyone, is how the public was so easily swayed by all of it's photo-opportunity glory.

What should be of greater concern to everyone, is NOT found in the shortsightedness of making it all about the boys playing so nicely together -- but more about what the perception of this one act of bipartisanship tells us about ourselves.

True bi-partisanship requires all of us to work together with people considered to be our polar opposites.  It's not enough to simply ask congress to work together - - to show civility - - to find a compromise - - to be respectful of each other -- in the process to save America; it's not enough.  WE MUST ALL act that way everyday, even within our own little worlds.

Perhaps the general sense that we are getting a whole lot ruder in this country has something to do with it?  See Rasmussen, here.   76% think we are less civil, and more rude -- huh, no wonder we looked so surprised to see Obama/Christie arm and arm...

Here's something else to consider:  that is if public opinion polls mean anything anymore -- 47% believe Romney is the guy to fix the gridlock in DC, just go here -- only 37% give the nod to Obama on this one.  [Which is funny, given that we have just witnessed four years of the Obama-effect in Washington -- how can he even get a rise to that number?]

Now, there is plenty of proof that what Obama wants to achieve in Washington has nothing to do with working together with the opposite side of the aisle; he has a plan, he has the use of executive order, he has control over every bureaucracy -- he doesn't need congress to implement his ideas of fundamental transformation.  And a second term will only seal the deal and make whatever is left on his bucket list as good as done.

If the president didn't need congress to cooperate the first time around -- it leaves all hope behind to see it happen in the second.

But let's bring it back to us, shall we?

What is Washington, if not a microcosm of us?

What feeds a Washington in the first place?

What provides the pool of the uncooperative, stubborn ideologue not willing to bend on behalf of the greater purpose under heaven, which quickly unravels right before our eyes, and looks a whole lot like 'not working well with others' by the first ring of the bell?

If this is Washington, then they are us.

The ruse is Washington; it is like one gigantic photo-op, you never know what is real and what's photo-shopped.  To change it -- to fix it -- we send higher principled people; we repeal and replace anything and everything that runs counter-productive to the principles and values set forth in our Declaration of Independence and put forward into action by our Constitution.

"A people who value it's privileges 

above it's principles soon loses both."

Dwight D. Eisenhower

And it's entirely why our founders set America up the way they did.  And not surprisingly, the further we get from practicing our principles, the further we falter,  individually and collectively.

Plucked from The 5000 Year Leap,  let's apply a little prophecy from John Fiske, an American historian:

"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 counties 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." Quote from The Critical Period of History, 1783-1789, The Historical Writings of John Fiske, vol. 12

Responsible self-government of the state and responsible self-government of the individual IS the only bi-partisanship we should ever be concerned with -- for everything else follows. 

If this notion seems foreign to you -- take a running start and read The 5000 Year Leap...   


 In my world, this should be required reading for anyone who wants to vote.

But for today, yesterday, and probably tomorrow -- the media is simply overjoyed with the president looking "more presidential" in the wake  of a horrific, hell hath no fury like Sandy, as if the end of the world was so near we could touch it...They are suddenly so impressed with a president behaving like a president;  they are just so enamored with what looks like two polar opposites coming together and totally acting like a whole.  

Hey, for kicks and giggles, why don't we see if it rolls, too.

Make it a Good Day, G

and then there is this:    Bloomberg today --  just after the storm but just before sounding like a complete idiot:   endorsing Obama.  why?  he didn't say the economy, or jobs, or bipartisan cooperation in Washington, he gives it to him for his leadership on climate change.  

It's a Disconnect Thing

Dear America,

reading the news this morning, glancing over some of my favorite freedom and liberty vibes, it came to me -- a certain disconnect is making it's way through the air.

Now, my senses have long felt this sway when captured by the headlines on the daily market watch;  it never fails, the quick remark of why the market is up, or why the market is down, seems to fly by someone's seat of the pants.  Just last week the market may be down for austerity woes of Greece -- while this week, it's up for the fourth straight day for the very same reason -- only different; yesterday was Monday and just before the Sun entered Cancer, while today is Tuesday, marked by a Vesta of 20 degrees of Aquarius.  go ahead, look it up.

And all this when our headlines vacillate from Doctors in Chicago, at the AMA convention, saying they have no problem with the latest health insurance requirement, as if the trillion dollar entitlement is as good as paid for and no worries exist on the co-payment horizon; while congress sits on their hands and closes their eyes in discussions on the Debt Ceiling -- never mind the venomous barbs back and forth, practically speaking in tongues, over Medicare; and all while, the hottest news stories revolve around a guy who wouldn't pull his pants up when choosing to fly the friendly skies recently, a mother that "allegedly" killed her own daughter and partied for a month before telling anyone, and riots in Vancouver -- with a college fling spotlighted for two days over just a kiss in the middle of the road -- and all over a pathetic loss in a hockey game (yeah, not my country, but still...)  These are the things that consume our free time.

News keeps going on around us even when the world is on fire -- even when the sky is falling -- even when we are about to lose it all.  Which is strange, given we are steeped in the age of reality TV, our first inclination is not to say a word.  Perhaps if we deny the prevailing winds long enough they will go away.

But seriously, if we took our emotional cues from the headlines, I have no doubt, every one of us would be flying high in the funny farm.

There is nothing grounding us.

We have lost our ability to think clearly and use good reason in order to navigate the road ahead, so that we might be able to fairly evaluate our current situation and move forward with confidence; our own denial and disconnect from reality is sending us into just another dimension of coping, while, at the same time, putting us on the trajectory of deep regret, total loss, and a downright miserable future.

And this, all because we -- as a whole -- are way too busy flitting and fluttering on meaningless things.

Our disconnect is beginning to show.

Yesterday was all about our pledge -- to God, to country, and each other -- as written according to our Declaration of Independence..."And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the Protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."  And I thought to myself 'this defines assimilation...this is one nation under God...this is the missing link between division and citizens united.'

We hasten to rush to criticize the lack of assimilation from those who come here searching for a new life, the shelter of a land which honors freedom and liberty for all, a land which welcomes equal opportunity in the pursuit of happiness -- and yet, it has been that very thing that has created a great divide within our own, those born and raised with every opportunity in the world.  How can we expect other people to come, assimilate, become one nation under God, when we, ourselves, no longer live by example?

So what, do as I say but not as I do is the new American way?

So in between the headlines -- with the Wal-Mart class action lawsuit, with Wisconsin Court of Appeals, with the NLRB suing Boeing, with the DOJ suing Arizona, with everyday citizens suing Obamacare's Individual Mandate....oh right, with Casey Anthony sitting there looking dumbfounded for the tenth day in a row -- my latest realization points in one direction:   attorneys.  all of them.  left, right and center. for good. for evil. we are a no longer the honor society but a vile, loathsome, litigious society placing all responsibility and attorney's fees on somebody else.  Just look at me carrying on like so...

Don't look at me...it is not my fault, it's his fault.

I have rights (and my rights are more important than yours).

If it doesn't work the old fashioned way, sue.  File a motion.  Cease and Desist.  Place a Moratorium.  Take it to court.  Blame somebody else.  Claim no fault of my own.

Anyone see where I am going with this?  Or are the lights on and nobody is home?  Did we get disconnected somehow... ah oh, think I am losing you...can you hear me now?

As a country, we proceeded to work quite well as long as we remembered two things: yes, we are fully loaded with plenty of GOD given, endowed, rights [that is the good news]  but the bad news is, they come action packed with DUTIES (both public and private).    ....awkward.

SO, somehow, over the years of having too much fun, we have forgotten  that step one comes only when we have faithfully followed through with step two (which that would mean, step two really comes before step one, if we were to take just a moment to work things out in our head....right, but who has got time for that when the Casey Anthony trial is on).

ASSIMILATION.   All of us are required to not only recognize, but demonstrate, that our rights and duties are equally aligned.

We have totally lost touch with the stark reality of life as a responsible, upright, citizen in the United States of America -- as, and here's the real kicker, as our most important "rights" and "duties" are not even enumerated within our founding documents!  wow.  way to go, guys... way to assume a righteous belief in the human spirit, oh great founding fathers of mine.  talk about blame...look at what they done der did  (and the awkward courtesy laugh fits in nicely here).

Which means what?   We have to learn them; these ideas need to be taught; the desired outcome does not happen purely by accident.

Natural rights -- you know, the kind that we were endowed with, not by man, but by that awesome Creator of ours -- the one's declared as "with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness"  go something like this:

• The right to self-government
• The right to bear arms for self-defense
• The right to own, develop, and dispose of property
• The right to make personal choices
• The right of free conscience
• The right to choose a profession
• The right to petition
• The right to assemble
• The right to free speech
• The right to enjoy the fruits of one's labors
• The right to explore the natural resources of the earth...

and there are, of course, plenty more...this portion came right out of The 5000 Year Leap.  Get it, if you have not done so already.  Our shift in society to: 'what about me' and 'what about my rights' while clearly dissing our natural duties that come with --  has destroyed us.

And on that note then, let's flash gordon over to the DUTIES supply side:

• The duty to honor the supremacy of the Creator and his laws...Nature's Law, Divine Law, Universal Law...
• The duty not to take the life of another except in self-defense
• The duty not to steal or destroy the property of another
• The duty to be honest in all transactions with others
• The duty of children to honor and obey their parents and elders
• The duty of parents and elders to protect, teach, feed, clothe, and provide shelter for children
• The duty to support law and order and keep the peace
• The duty not to contrive through a covetous heart to despoil another
• The duty to be temperate
• The duty to become economically self-sufficient
• The duty to maintain the integrity of the family structure
• The duty to support personal and public standards of common decency
• The duty to follow rules of moral rectitude...

 again, there is plenty more where I got that...just read The Leap.

We are witnessing a huge disconnect in and around our world;  this world, the one we are living in right now --totally sucks; and it is MY fault, your fault, and every body's fault.  But I know, if I stop and change my evil ways, while you stop long enough to change yours, sometime down the road we may be finding good old America sitting right side up again.

We've got this American way thing all backwards and upside down; and the real thing is (besides Coca-Cola), is that our so called rights should be the least of our concern.

The way I figure it is, all we really have to do is go back to doing our duty again --  to God and to country  -- and for EACH OTHER, especially our children.  I believe, before you know it, nearly every single one of our societal woes would be gone.  poof.  taken care of.  swiped clean. while perhaps the very last thing we would be needing is an attorney.

IF only...if only we kept right on assimilating with the process of self-reliance -- keeping up with our end of the bargain and honoring the way of sound self-government living in community with one another. If only.

And can you just imagine it...just what would the headlines be saying about us then?

Makes me giddy just thinking about it.

Make it a Good Day, G

Dear America, an open letter to The Donald:

"For where two or more are gathered in my name, 

there am I with them." 

Matthew 18:20

There is something very deja vu going on; it's like, whoa dude, have we been down this road before?  The flashback of a presidential campaign a couple years removed; bearing witness to a stage of Romanesque proportions, columns of Grecian dominance, setting in motion the pulpit from which just a man would woo us into believing something so incredibly out of this world, that as it turned out, it actually was. 

A recent horoscope I read noted a twist of one of my favorite verses in the Bible, and basically, brazenly usurped the power of the Almighty and claimed, 'anywhere two or more are gathered, there is politics.'  and that's where my open letter to The Donald begins...

I would very much like to believe -- now that we have seen the light -- America is no longer a congregation of blind worshipers and gullible followers of anything remotely inauthentic; we seek the real thing in all matters, whether it be our religion, a soul mate, a doctor, a voice, or a president.

Please, let not our current condition fool you, Mr. Trump -- America is not a pawn, and her exploitation is hardly up for discussion; contrary to popular opinion and the growing cultural tide, the bid, for the office of the presidency of the United States of America, is made in America to attract one thing, and one thing only: civil servants of virtue.

In the beginning, the government, by design, constructed the rule of law and the rules of engagement for the highest job in the land, not according to a ruler or a king, nor propping up one church over another, but through a process of meticulous selection from the bottom up; the primary consideration over all, to find the true statesmen -- giving back to country, selflessly, authentically, looking after her as if his life, and each life thereafter, depended upon it.  And this is where we have the first issue...

As you well know, given you created it and all, your ego enters the room long before we take a look into your eyes; and sir, if I may be so bold, we're not all that impressed with that side of you who likes to impress, if not expressly for the press.  We have seen a Presidency-by-I-am and are not smitten.  Initially, as you have presented yourself -- simply toying around with the idea of taking on the leader of the free world -- so far, your reputation keeps preceding you (and that, isn't a good thing).

We are just not that sure about you.  The trust factor is one of your greatest liabilities.  Are you just in it to win it?  Or, is this just the making of another reality show in our midst, and in six months time, we'll be catching all the behind the scenes footage (with ad-lib's and off mic remarks included)?  Or, are we simply locked into some kind of twisted derivation of the Trump Bucket List, soon to be presented on YouTube, with the culmination of your swearing in to be filmed while you are jumping out of a plane?

Well, in a word that you might understand -- fuggetaboutit.   We got no stinkin' interest in that, yo?  You dig me?  (I'm trying to channel my newyarkar) What we want, we the people, is a little respect; and that goes from you, too, now that you think you have all the right stuff. 

Newsflash:  It is now open season; welcome to the show; buckle up and enjoy the ride.

What we want, is a return to the way we were; a country with checks and balances and politics revolving around the rule of law and our constitution.  What we hunger for, are the conditions to restore our faith in all the right things again; a vision once held in high esteem, carrying with it our duty and responsibility bestowed upon us by our founders, dating back 5000 years of time, virtue, history and truth.  Not such an easy task, no doubt.

What we want, is a true free market Thinker (and by all evidence, your resume should tell us that you know a thing or two about this) -- but even then, your history shows a few missteps... perhaps it's just a misguided appreciation to a policy running counter-intuitive to the forces of the real free market... maybe simply a case of not knowing then, what you know now...an ideological evolution, if you will...but all benefit of the doubt easily gets tossed under the microscope when we see where your donations have gone over the years, when we see you haven't taken the time to vote in a primary for 21 years; and this evidence is just beginning to shine through.

We don't need another prophet promising to fix everything, piping through loud speakers and twittering he would be different, while boldly claiming world peace and cake for everyone would finally rule the day; we don't need that.  To be perfectly clear, what we need is a whole lot of humility.

What we need, is someone with the courage to stand up and admit we are doing this all wrong and backwards -- which to date, I'm gathering after some sincere consideration, you have come to the not-so-humble-conclusion, a realization that who better to recognize and understand than YOU;  there is no doubt in my mind, you have no doubt.  But do you recognize the underlying foundation from which all desire for reformation comes?  Do you really, really know what the fire in the belly of America really represents?  hint, hint: this is another essential element to the making of our next president.

Sure, in all honesty, we are amateurs, all of us, there is that (some of us just seem to be better at it than others).  Whether born in the USA or Kenya, we wear our self-reliance on our back.  To meet success in our daily lives, we must do the work, yielding to the law of compensation, recognizing the values of supply and demand, striving to educate, prepare, and make something of ourselves.  If you will allow a return on a theme, America IS the quintessential Amazing Race -- be it in our skills, conditions, paths, diversity of color, creed, and character; we are one big pot melting into one big race over and over and over again.

What we need is really a president who not only understands who we are, where we have been, and the foundation from which all bounty comes, but one who respects it through and through.  In order to move forward with any sense of brilliance, we must go backwards, retracing our steps, in order to arrive at a place where we went wrong and start over.

Are you prepared to cut the budget drastically, and return to living within our means?

Are you prepared to defund the latest entitlement program, Obamacare, and allow the business of health care to return to the free market -- and put in new regulations to operated even better than it did before?

Are you prepared to close our border until order is restored and sustained?

Are you prepared to cut entire departments of government who have long overstayed their welcome?

Are you prepared to secure the debt limit at the current ceiling, with a real plan to reduce the national debt?

Are you prepared to cease the Global Warming fanaticism reinventing CO2 as a harmful pollutant?

Are you prepared to command respect of America again, without acting like an arrogant S.O.B.?

Are you prepared to return our children to an education teaching lessons of good character, the joys of living in a free market, the lessons of reaping what we sow, the bounty that all good things come to those who wait, if not, work really, really hard...Are you prepared to gather enough nerve to battle the neanderthals who have taken away designated time for prayer and personal reflection, fair debate and conclusion, of all facets of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, left - right - and center? Promoting all things  INDEPENDENT, not dependent.

Are you prepared to return the power back to regional locals, in order to serve communities large and small equally and in proportion to their individual needs?

Are you prepared to grow a nation's independence -- drilling for oil here at home; tapping into our own natural gas, safely and securely; allowing the open market, supply and demand, private risk and investment and benefits, to grow the green market, expand the hybrid industry, increase the solar power, and capture the magnificence in the wind?  Are you prepared to continue the investment of our nuclear energy infrastructure even in the face of the Japanese natural disaster?

Are you prepared to wake up the apathetic?  Are you prepared to enliven the authenticity of America's heritage and divine providence, for you do recognize that She has been corrupted, abused, and left for dead?

Are you prepared to be a statesman looking out for our best interests?  Modeling our best behavior?  Acting selflessly, reverently, respectfully in the highest office of the land?

You're a businessman -- could your business survive running deficits in the trillions of dollars for any length of time? (right.  we do know the answer to that, huh...my bad)  But honestly, is there any chance you could live to see just one day beyond ninety days passed due?  seriously?

That is just how absurd this whole debt debate has been; in the real world, this corporate model does not work.  ever.   Are you prepared to return legitimacy (that is, if they ever had it) to the Federal Reserve? Are you prepared with any kind of a plan to run against a world wide mission to destroy the dollar? bring down America? and basically end the greatest republic that ever lived?  Because, as someone who runs in a pretty elite crowd, you should realize that we are on the chopping block; the entire world wants to tell America, 'you're fired'  -- and just how do you plan to combat that? seriously.  how?

The bottom line, Mr. Trump, America doesn't seem to trust you any farther than we can throw you -- into the Hudson, without a paddle, swimming upstream, on a Tuesday (that would be tomorrow). And I'm someone who kinda likes you.... But this little presidential run you seem to be banking on isn't a game of Monopoly or Apprentice or Let's Make a Deal.  you get me, playa?  And, speaking on behalf of only myself and my dog, think you have potential, at best; but you, sir, have a lot to prove. The Trump Tower has no power over us.

And, just so you know, there isn't a whole lot you can say to change our minds; consider yourself under the latest Palin Doctrine, following the Laws of Attraction --  people either love you or they don't.  And yet, if you are in this for real, if you wish to gain our trust, the race ...starts ....now.

the gun has been fired....

why aren't you moving....

You may think your intermittent fifteen minutes of fame, coming at us on a seasonal basis, is enough to carry the burden; and then you better think again.

we, the little people, have done our homework over the last several years...  we are not the same people who swooned to a young, hip, up and comer, politico dynamo -- who masterminded the most skillful campaign, quarantined every skeleton in the closet, and otherwise, manipulated, cajoled and disguised the real truth from the whole truth from not a shred of honesty  -- who swallowed it up anyway. been there, done that.

oooh which reminds me, that corny interview you did with Meghan McCain for The Daily Beast, of the read this, skip that generation, forces me to enlighten you of another political faux pas becoming all too often conveniently commingled with reality -- progressives are not good for America (whether left or right).  And if you don't get that, you might as well hang your boots up right now.  Stealing a portion of a sales pitch from Stanley Steamer, know the stain, my friend.  Know the stain.


All in all, your heart may be in the right place, time will tell.

I want to like you -- I mean, my gosh, I have had you standing loud and clear in my margin, along side Chris Christie as the other half of your dynamic duo, for months now; at first glance, what America needs is the business of taking care of business all the way around.  We need to get back to work.  We need to get back to basics, the original intent.  We need to stop worrying about the rest of the world's issues and focus on our own -- our own fiscal mess, our own dysfunctional families, our own kids, our own schools, our own in-law's, our own neighborhoods, and on and on and on. Our preoccupation with the goings on everywhere else but here has been a welcome distraction, a cause to take away from our responsibility at home.

At the same time, we certainly don't want the business aspect to dominate over us, to take away our soul.

Perception is everything -- especially at the start of a campaign; I am just hoping that you have not only done your homework, but that you are prepared for the test about to be sprung on you from every corner of the world, every back road and alley way, every mom and pop and corner store from sea to shining sea.  This is real for all of us little people; some might say, this election is a turning point; if we are to put all of our eggs into one basket, we better make darn sure we know who is suspending us into thin air for another four years and counting. capeesh?

A local neuro-scientist, V.S. Ramachandran, of UCSD, was recently designated to be one of TIME's top 100 most influential people -- yes, right there with Obama, Mark Zuckerberg, Nicolas Sarkozy -- even Natalie Portman (?) as noted in an article from our San Diego Union Tribune on Saturday.  He was added to the list because of his natural, God-given ability to Think!  Isn't that wonderful.  He has made a career, by the sound of it anyway, of thinking outside the neuro-scientist box and has been quite successful at it.

As the UT explains, he is "best known for developing a therapy for phantom-limb pain in which a mirror is used to reflect the intact limb, creating the illusion that the missing one is still there. That persuades the brain that all is well, and the pain subsides."  Our imagination can do funny things with reality, no? (and boy, does this sound like America's issues, or what?)

The thing is, we could probably do a bang up job imagining someone like you, Mr. Trump,  to be just what the doctor ordered for curing the symptoms of an ailing economy, the bleak road ahead, along with a host of unintended consequences along the way...and then go back asleep.

But the truth is, only when we realize that the disease has been long in the making, will we have a snowball's chance in H-E-double toothpicks to know the real cure...

...that once we come to realize the proven path, the one centuries old in the making, the path we thought we could travel with our eyes closed, and yet, over time, not accounting for a lick of duty, not contributing to a hill of beans worth of hard work, common sense and responsibility -- that the same path would take a turn -- that one day, in one fell swoop, we could be totally overrun and overtaken of our own demise, false gods, greed, corruption, and the making of total, fiscal insanity -- because we each imagined multiple realities going on around us for so long, nobody was really paying attention to where we were headed --

...that even, if a certain someone does run, for all the right reasons of course -- the real question remains, are WE PREPARED to fully, actively, selflessly, honestly, virtuously, courageously back you up?  Or do we look in the mirror and think everything is fine, without realizing we have lost life and limb to atrocities that might very well could have been avoided, settling back into complacency and total disconnect?  We may no longer feel the pain, but somehow we must still figure out how to walk.

we could get along just fine if a little self-reliance kicks in right about here.


getting a second wind comes in handy, too.


sometimes, just getting back up on the horse does the trick; funny thing, works the same way when we get bucked off.


sunrise, sunset, sunrise, sunset.

even with all the right stuff, the real truth is, a trump can only do so much -- the rest is still up to us; and on that note, hard to tell where our personal commitment starts and stops sometimes.

in the meantime, you sir, the trumpster, the trumpinator, the trump van-dango-a-go-go, the master of your own enterprise, the creator of the next really big thing (maybe) -- you, sir, have your work cut out for you.  I'll close the door and give you some time to think.

Make it a Good Day, G

Dear America,

so day two of spring break found me and my girl tooling around the design district, Cedros, in Solana Beach -- and spending nearly two hours in just one place called The Leaping Lotus (and yes, I totally dig the continuation on a theme from yesterday's two cents).

And chatting it up the entire time, she told me a story from a documentary she watched on the Discovery Channel over the weekend, detailing life of a family from a remote Himalayan village, where basically the children had to venture a long, dangerous trek to school with their father each year (and yes, the commute happened not on a daily basis, but as an annual ritual worthy of the risks).

For six months out of the year, the children attended a school miles away from home, and in order to get there, they packed up for a nearly a week's journey, along with their father, to travel the icy crevasses and steep countryside of the region to finally arrive at a small school house in the middle of nowhere; this would be home for the children until another six months passed, and their father came back over the river and through the woods for their return (yes... just a simple afternoon pickup, indeed).

Whenever I catch glimpses of other children around the world, getting an education, having pencils and paper and school books, is accepted like a gift from God.  Have you noticed that?


Without saying a word, captured in the eyes of every child, comes this light beaming from ear to ear, in utter gratitude for the opportunity to learn something.  While many of ours, in stark contrast, bemoan an afternoon of homework, fight every second of the way off of Facebook, and cling to any and all I Pods to get them through it.

As I mentioned a few weeks back, I discovered a local, homegrown patriot, writer, and businessman from a Community  Essay in the paper: "Reading and the Public Good" by Craig S. Maxwell.  And even though his trade is officially a bookseller, there was nothing self serving in his remarks whatsoever.

It was as if he was making his own last ditch effort to awaken the citizenry of the changes this country has afoot: forewarning us on the over-saturation of our childen's minds and time with "electronic gizmos;" burying their anti-social, yet with a social network twist, heads into a gadget of one kind or another, and hardly surfacing for a genuine hello, good morning, how are you today? And the reading of a good book, the good book, (or just one like "The 5000 Year Leap" perhaps) -- anything worthy of a lesson in morality, substance, vision, or of value -- fuggetaboutit.

Throughout the entire read he makes a splendid case wrapped around ideas steeped in our history, and for me, one sentence stands out above the rest: "America's essence is identical with self-rule."

It's as if we fail to recognize our duty and delight, being born of such privilege and all.

we all fail; for if one of us goes down, we all go down, right?  Isn't that how our president thinks of it...isn't that how collective salvation works?
For if we exponentially take that number of one and track it over time, decades of ignorance and bliss overwhelmingly suffocating knowledge and constraint, with apathy reigning over ambition, especially with our young seedlings for tomorrow stuck in a box, we slowly begin to lose the memory of the original thought.

Future generations become lost as we methodically, and yet strangely haphazardly, brush away the markers beholden to the greater good and our purpose under heaven; we extinguish all semblance of a path straight and narrow; as gratitude morphs into a viscous combination of entitlement, self interest, and taking it all for granted...who needs to pay attention to the things that made America great anymore, when we can be one great big dysfunctional global nation...

I can assure you, if every parent in America, literally and figuratively,  truly led their children "to school and back", much like that Himalayan papa, half of our issues would simply resolve themselves. Of course, if our schools became think tanks for truly higher learning -- welcoming all thought, reason, debate and discussion -- delving into the greater understanding as to why America is what it is, how we got here, who we are and jut who were, in fact, the thinkers and the visionaries back behind our foundation, what made America so different in the first place, and just maybe, in the last -- perhaps then we might very well create, and make, more children exceeding expectations in every way possible (math and science included).

Responsible SELF RULE does not come about by accident or by luck or by Facebook.

Mr. Maxwell adds a lengthy quote from John Adams, and here I will lend you part:

"...Be it remembered...that liberty must at all hazards be supported.  We have a right to it, derived from our Maker. But if we had not, our fathers have earned and bought for us, at the expense of their ease, their estates, their pleasure and their blood.  And liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people, who have a right, from the frame of their nature, to knowledge, as their great creator, who does nothing in vain, has given the understanding and desire to know."

Right now, ignorance is bliss in America; we got too much, for too little, on borrowed time with somebody else' dime...and on top of that, we don't even make things anymore, much less strive to manufacture smart kids ready to work in the real world, fully prepared, after years of study, propped up with even a general sense and sensibility of the America who came before.  even presidents can miss the exquisite details.

Tonight, we will have a president promote -- for the second time in two months -- his budget for 2012 Take Two...   hmmm what will he say?

We spend too much, there is that.

No department will be immune to making some cuts, 

all ideas are on the table... 

but, you know, with Bush's two wars and a recession later, 

we need to have the wealthiest Americans pay even more, 

for it simply isn't fair 

for anyone to think and grow rich any longer in America...

even the debt ceiling will have to be raised for the 75th time, 

even though, 

I for one, 

was against raising the limit when a young, unseasoned Senator...

yes, after I grew government by more than ten percent, 

it is time for reform -- 

never you mind that my unfunded, unconstitutional, 

trillion dollar health care package has yet to hit the market, 

never mind that, what I propose here tonight, 

flip flops on the Bush era tax cuts 

only reinstated just a few months back;

never mind that I said all-of-the-above energy resources are warranted 

-- I change my mind about drilling for oil in America -- 

I am thinking twice about nuclear in the wake of Japan's disaster 

-- and come one way or another, 

I will nudge, oh so gently, all Americans to change 

their driving habits and more,

and perhaps buy a hybrid built for two...
and never you mind what the Other Debt Commission suggested,
it is time for a new Debt Commission to be put in place,
a commission who truly understands how to reorganize for America...

fundamental transformation of America will not be easy

we must all do our part

...but considering my salvation rests on your salvation,

and vice versa, 

we have work to do, 

and again, it will not be easy.  

But let me be clear...

redistribution of the wealth is the only way out, 

going against everything America is, was, or ever will be, 

is the order of the day;

and what we must do my fellow Americans,

is lead, after China, of course, into the new age, 

for the magnificent global economy is just waiting for us to show up!

Marking new paths of innovation,

and returning to a time when our schools, our children,

truly lead the world again in math and science again...

this is who we are.  

This is what we need to do to compete with the rest of the world.

What I will not do, is change my mind,

the trajectory is in stone, 

this is what we must do.

For in the end, 

the end will justify the means.

One love, y'll

One Nation, One World,

it is one way, or bust, over everything we know and love.

It is for the betterment of the whole.

This is what makes us who we are.

This will be what saves us in the end.

This is what our destiny 

and winning the future is all about.

God Bless you

and God Bless the United States of America (s)

Played world wide, tweeted, on Facebook, 

with YouTube hitting 3 million country strong within 20 minutes

Because that is just who we are today.

make it a good day, G

Dear America,

So the Free Market used to be something we valued, cherished, and more or less, became the very thing synonymous with the word AMERICA.

The whole idea of collective bargaining itself, really began with the mandate enacted by our founders:

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."  Preamble of the Constitution...

With John Adams chiming in to make it very personal:

 "to see rising in America an empire of Liberty, 

and the prospect of two or three hundred 

millions of freemen, 

without one noble 

or one king 

among them."

So being quick to point out the obvious, we got to the 300 mil part --  oops-y-daisy, how about that, and we're back to being run by the power elite... the powers that be within the institutions of banking, governing, regulation and trade...a.k.a. those far nobler and wiser than I.


Can we be honest, the day things truly went belly up was the day the Central Banking System began babysitting our money  (let alone creating the methlab back behind the garage, fabricating the real stuff into a street drug of choice, attracting buyers from all over the world...it looks like money, acts like money, it must be money).

But of all things to do...leaving it, our money, and thereby us, in the hands of basically strangers like that...

...ever since then, the seeds for planting even the slightest indiscretion, to leaving room for salacious falls of human nature, give rise to what we see happening today...the pointing of fingers, the hiding of the paraphernalia, the ability to look back and rationalize what we have done, just plum opening the door to bad influences... on what otherwise is something chock full of good character,  and then, just when we realize we know we're in trouble, only begin to entertain thoughts that  make our hole even bigger -- tell another lie -- let's just make more of it -- making things only worse.

America was never intended to operate under any other regulation other than good, sound, principles and values -- beginning with the integrity of each and every person; the "collective" was each one of us individually standing for freedom and liberty for all of us.

As always, one of my favorite places to hide out, to figure out what's up, down, backwards and sideways, is via The Daily Bell and this morning is no exception; a fascinating conversation is going on right now, combining elements of terrorism, the power elites, espionage, hush money, play money, inside job, outside influences, sub-prime characters and big time pushers -- you name it, it's the reason for it -- all to describe the "2008 Crash..."

Central Banking was, and is, the worst idea ever to step foot in this house -- and it shouldn't be invited back -- along with the host of ill advised characters hangs around with it; while this gets back to our thoughts of yesterday, and the day before, who do we let our children hang with; what do we let them to listen to, where do they go all day long, and just who is keeping them in their safe care?

okay...so it's a roundabout way of bringing the conversation closer to home...whateverrrrr...

How about this news you can use, and coming to you by way of ASaMOM.org:  "instead of teaching the Preamble and Constitution as it is written, schools from coast to coast are indoctrinating children to Socialism thanks to a company called Teacher Created Materials."

The featured article "as a mom" instinctively redirects us to, is currently being unleashed on  THE BLAZE.com; and...all of a sudden, still feeling a little woozy...

...with wounds fresh from the culprits and shenanigans of central banking running amuck, within and around our house of reasonable calm and order,  principle and honor...as if that weren't enough...

...I think I need to sit down...

[after taking a moment for a few long, sweeping  breaths]

things seem to be getting clearer; I get it now;  we're no longer in Kansas anymore, booboo; for not only do we have to worry about the roof over our head, but the very foundation laid to rest -- no longer safely nestled in our bosom, for it's in the arms of total strangers near and far.

Our children are being used to create a new america, by indoctrination;  going so far as changing the meaning back behind the words of our very own Constitution, adulterating the preamble with the tinge of social justice reforms; is nothing sacred anymore?

Long gone down the road, the utterances of transcendentalists, like Emerson, elevating individualism to a life force far beyond it's measure in gold -- who in good turn,  leave their mark, a lasting impression, upon the hearts and minds and futures of a budding generation; no, our children never get a chance to understand the deeper thought, the truer, richer, collective meaning behind a preamble such as ours, with enough strength and conviction to build a nation, if we truly let it rip for even so much as a minute.

That 'general welfare' now includes "all basic needs" (housing, transportation, health care... and labor laws...)  That THIS is being TAUGHT to our babies... is just enough for G to totally OD for one day.
 
If it's not the outside, it's the inside, wreaking havoc upon the lifespan of America; will we ever be able to get ourselves clean in time?

"For every thing that is given something is taken...

Society acquires new arts and loses old instincts"

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Make it a Good Day, G

Dear America,

There is a strange phenomenon happening over this last week, just about to the day since I blogged about the iconic newspaper arriving on the doorsteps of America, I started getting one -- for free. I haven't ordered it. My neighbor downstairs is still getting theirs so it's not a case of false identity. I'm just getting one.



Given the expense, the inability to normally have the time to sit down and read it, and the wasting of trees for the sin of newsprint (yes, ecology is a good thing), I haven't felt the need to have a subscription. But now that I'm out of work and leisurely going about my mornings, it is rather decadent to sit and peruse it's pages. I mean, I still get a lot of news off the Internet and TV, but these last few days have reminded me of a love lost.



Reading a letter to the Editor, or the editorial page itself; catching local brouhaha over city budgets, water shortages and lawsuits is rather fun. I've spent so much attention on the national scope, I'm beginning to recognize that my loyalties have been a little more macro-minded than usual.



Before embarking on my daily journey of commentary in reverence to my Dear America, I know there was a great part of me so stuck in my little world, my only concern was how things would affect me and my girl. I only looked at my issues, my challenges, my joys, my family.



Oh I always knew the actions of our government were important; and have always enjoyed the political banter between parties and held almost a masochistic love for election controversy and the American democratic process. I especially enjoyed the era of hanging chads and the state of Florida getting far more attention than it deserved. But its all in good. clean fun right.



But this return of the local paper to my door is an eye opener.

I know I'm a lucky girl. I live in Southern California; can you say sunny days and surf 3 miles away, oh my goodness. Certainly, we have our share of traffic and issues, as in any metropolitan area, but we recognize and revel in the trade off. Those of us sharing SoCal live and work and play in a part of the world people come to vacation every day.

Occasionally, when walking on the beach with my girl I try to have her understand how lucky she is to be growing up here. There are people who never get a chance to have their toes hit the sand ever in their life! Its the simple blessings that I want to build up in the mind of my little monkey; I want her to find appreciation for not just the privilege to have a cell phone, but also the beauty that surrounds her and a birthright by location that many would envy.

As her mother I also have a responsibility to raise her to be independent, kind to others, respect her elders and teachers (even the liberal yahoos), love her neighbor as herself, pick up trash found on the beach and everywhere, pray with God, be responsible for homework and ultimately grow a career, be involved with her community and especially have her understand she is part of a much larger world...while it is her duty to find her place in it and share it peacefully with others. That is my job as her mother. (Of course food, clothing and roof over her head comes with the territory.)

Yes our own little world may be all that's important to us in any moment of the day, but our local communities need our undivided attention sometimes, as well as our federal government. It takes effort to be a good citizen, to find a way to carve out a life amidst the competition and choices we have available to us. It is hard work and requires each one of us due diligence and a firm foundation planted in sound beliefs and moral standards in order to succeed.

Our life, large or small, doesn't work without it.

You may think I'm wrong. But if you disagree, tell me then, how would it look in a society where there lived no moral codes to be found, no promotion of Self-Reliance under the framework of the Constitution or Bill of Rights to uphold, in a life that reveres only selfishness of oneself over and above any God? How would it look?

It comes down to this, our ability to individually and successfully self govern is the true issue at hand, not health care or bail outs or stimulus. It is returning to self-reliance and being responsible citizens who understand the high stakes of the loss in our country of our duty to self govern. Most Americans see that now.

Obamacare awakened a sleeping giant. The giant was lost in the woods for awhile, captured by the rays of light shining through the trees, perhaps lost dipping its toes in the tide getting mesmerized by the dancing diamonds on the water, or maybe just lost and part of the millions who walk the hustle and bustle of daily strife just consumed by the thought of whats for dinner tonight.

Yes, sometimes it takes a catastrophe or overriding fear to awaken people. For just as Rahm Emmanuel has duly noted that a foreboding situation creates the perfect opportunity for government to act (or take advantage of) its power, so too come the actions of real citizens realizing the American Dream is worth every effort to keep, uphold and prosper -- even if its against the tide.

Make it a Good Day, G


PS With my newspaper I also get the comics! Today's Hagar the Horrible is yelling, "what's for dinner, Helga?" When she responds with "you're not getting any dinner after what you did".. While Hagar sits in his chair thinking in the big balloon above his head "I thought it was a husband's inalienable right to get dinner!"

PS2 Think about what is a right vs what is a privilege vs what is simply the right thing to do.

PS3 I know I said I was going to start women's health issues today, but I just wasn't feeling it...maybe tomorrow.