Please. Listen this time...

Democrats are practically unanimous against Trump. Never Trumpers largely continue to bash the president. The Deep State and associated intelligence agencies are soon to be revealed for the depth of their hatred of Trump and their illegal activities against him. It seems the entire government save some republican members of the House and Senate are fighting against him and his policies. Despite this, the President continues to fight for the will of the people who elected him.

You might think they are fighting against Trump. Impeaching him for his decisions. But you'd be wrong. They are fighting against me and impeaching my decisions. Me and at least 62,984,827 other Americans who took the time to say enough is enough.

It's not the man we support - it is the actions of the man; what he promised compared to what he has delivered. It's not because of his academic achievements, his distinguished oratory skills, or his social justice positions. It's because he hears and understands us, where other politicians are specious demagogues. It's because even when we are not present he represents us, while typical politicians represent their donors as soon as you turn your back. The one thing we all so desperately need and, sadly, most of us have accepted we cannot expect from our politicians, is the thing he inherently delivers. Trust.

"I see Americans of every party, every background, every faith who believe that we are stronger together: black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American; young, old; gay, straight; men, women; folks with disabilities, all pledging allegiance under the same proud flag to this big, bold country that we love. That's what I see. That's the America I know!"

Barack Obama

Learning the Pledge of Allegiance as a child I remember experiencing a sense of pride and belonging unlike any I had ever before felt. And to this day, I believe America has provided me with the greatest environment to take full advantage of all of life's wondrous and limitless opportunities. When referencing America and someone says lynching, I think emancipation. When another says military aggression, I think liberation. I look to the positive that follows the negative. That's the America I know.

"One of the basic rules of the universe is that nothing is perfect. Perfection simply doesn't exist... Without imperfection, neither you nor I would exist."
Stephen Hawking

Most countries cannot claim that, in fact China, the worlds next largest economy, is literally centuries behind us when it comes to human rights.

And yet like China, and despite Trump's efforts, our government is working against the interests and desires of its citizenry. Consider this: last week the GAO reported it's update on median household income through July of this year. These numbers are a result of Trumps economic policies and have developed despite the Democrat's, Never Trumpers, and Deep States efforts to thwart them. You probably haven't heard about this report so I will share it with you. What you have heard is Russia, impeachment, and Ukraine. And wouldn't you say that your family's financial stability is probably more important than Russia, impeachment, and Ukraine?
So here's the main point of the report:
Median Family Income during Trumps Presidency, the 31 months through July 2019 has increased $4,144.00. Under 96 months of Obama, Median Family Income increased a paltry $1,043.00 and under the 96 months of Bush it remained essentially stagnant with an increase of just $401.00. But you don't even know about this recent economic success do you? Because of Trump's accomplishments, not because of collusion (disproved), obstruction (disproved), and now quid pro quo (disproved although the Dem's are not giving up on this one until they find the next one), your government is in full swing to impeach him. They have admitted that if they do not impeach him he may win again. Do you really think that they are doing it for their stated reasons? I'd say highly suspect since the "reasons" keep changing. Or is it possible that due to his (soon to be successful) efforts to expose the SWAMP that they are doing everything in their power to stop him? Take off your party glasses for a moment and think about it. Your government is fighting against a president despite the economic win, among other things, he is delivering to the country all because he is exposing it's seedy, self serving intentions. And why wouldn't our government do it? Others are.

It's happening in the UK where the citizens voted for Brexit but Parliament is fighting tooth and nail to prevent it. Does Parliament and its majority get to over-rule the wishes of UK citizens?

It's happening in Hong Kong where China is attempting to reign in the personal freedom's previously guaranteed under British rule. Why exactly is Xi's communist agenda of 'party first' better for Hong Kong citizens?

Be honest. What DO you think? Are you going to continue to trust the government swamp that Trump is exposing and YOU ALREADY KNEW existed (and you ain't seen nothin' yet - stay tuned)? Or are you willing to trust the first president to fight to achieve his campaign promises regardless of which special interest group he is pissing off?

"I don't actually subscribe to the view that all power corrupts. But absolute power - when secured on the back of massive parliamentary majorities, which don't reflect the balance of political opinion in the country - can corrupt absolutely."
Charles Kennedy

I believe in the America I dreamt of, when as a child, I learned the Pledge of Allegiance. The one where mistakes are corrected, honesty is a virtue, and we are in fact, all stronger together. Donald Trump is taking us closer to that America than any other president in my lifetime.

Wake up America!

How long has it been?

Too long!

Sitting alone in this room, as I knew I would be tonight, it still gets to me, I am restless. My entertainment, or distraction if you will, studying Mandarin in an online forum, glitched, and my next go to activity, taking in the days news, has only aggravated my condition. Initially lost to my conscious thoughts is the relevance of the date in America. 9-11. Initially. (It's my brothers birthday after all, I have reason to celebrate this date. Happy Birthday Rich!) The news brought it all back. Where I was, what I was doing, even clearly remembering what I was thinking at the moment I became aware of what was happening - I was irritated that my staff had stopped working and rolled out our portable TV to watch the news. Underlying my restlessness and always within reach of my thoughts, is the deterioration of our country. The fact that America is still the best place to live is of little comfort when we are no longer subject to the parsing of facts but to the constant creation of alternative facts. It weighs on me.

"All beliefs, habits, tastes, emotions, mental attitudes that characterize our time are really designed to sustain the mystique of the Party and prevent the true nature of present-day society from being perceived."
George Orwell, 1984

In a recent poll, only thirty one percent of Americans could name all three branches of our government. Roughly twenty percent could name just one branch of government. And a small percentage of people believe Judge Judy is on the Supreme Court. As unbelievable as this sounds, it is the best indication that all the political doublespeak is working. 

How else do you explain, on the 18th anniversary of the terror attacks on America that the man accused of masterminding the event is still awaiting trial? 

That post birth abortion is actually being debated?

Free health care to anyone who can successfully sneak into our country is supported by every democratic presidential candidate?

Support for peace officers has deteriorated to the point that the very people who need their protection the most, the ones living in the neighborhoods with the highest crime and murder rates, throw water and other liquids on police in defiance of their presence?

States and cities designating themselves as sanctuary, refuse to turn over violent criminals by virtue of the fact that they snuck into the country, and instead release them back into society where they continue to harm and kill others?

For the first time ever, 'No Religion', has topped a survey of Americans religious identity? And is it unrelated that morals and values associated with organized religion have eroded? (See post birth abortion above.)

Boys should be allowed to become girls and then share restrooms and even compete against them in sporting events?

Get off your soapbox, set your 'cause' aside and apply common sense. None of these pass the smell test. Go ahead - give these questions the 'from the mouths of babes" test - Ask any 5 year old if the questions above are good or bad. You already know what they will say. And its not because they haven't learned. Some information is innate. No, it's not that they haven't learned. It's that they haven't completed their indoctrination.  

But they will. Soon.

"The most confused you will ever get is when you try to convince your heart and spirit of something your mind knows is a lie."

Shannon L Alder

"Common sense is not so common."

Voltaire

WAKE UP AMERICA

Not so secret

se·cret po·lice

ˈsēkrit pəˈlēs

noun

a police force working in secret against a government's political opponents

With an intense desire to understand my surroundings, and an ever growing realization of just how big our planet is, discovering new perspectives of our world has always fascinated me. As a child, the woods and creek near our various homes became foreign lands with undiscovered creatures and I was an explorer chronicling my adventures. The excitement of discovery, curiosity of my surroundings, and comprehension of our world continues today, through a social science lens, more so, my fellow Americans perspectives. This is no easy task!

 Like you, I suspect, when I hear the phrase 'secret police', images of Geheime Staatspolizei enter my imagination, because in my early formative years, it was the history of the Germans or the Soviets who defined the covert, shadowy suppression of dissent. Evil. Germany now defines something else while Putin's Russia seems incapable of shaking the rap. I digress... As the eternal optimist, certainly, and despite the fantasy of Sir Thomas More's Utopia or George Orwell's 1984, the prospect of our leaders being immune to the grip which power holds over mortals, and which has led to the downfall of many, is unrealistic, and still I did not want to believe that America's leadership was corrupt. Did not.

“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” 
― George Orwell, 1984

Today we learn more about the Russians interference in our politics and depending upon your source for news you likely heard substantially different views. Some news sources downplayed and trivialized their part in our national conversation while others, with heads on fire and in melodramatic fashion, sensationalized Russia's involvement. All agreed on one topic. A memo purporting that Americans, specifically of a political group, had been spied on and targeted for the purpose of suppression by their own government. Yes, this is the definition of secret police. Again, depending upon your choice, er, source, of news, the degree to which this new discovery was defined, varied greatly. Let me help.

A four page memo described by lawmakers as "shocking", "troubling" and "alarming" is believed to contain information about government surveillance of an opposition party conducted during the Obama administration. It also claims that FBI investigators lied to a federal judge in order to obtain the FISA warrant approving the surveillance. Currently the central figure, in this secret police attempt to undermine the election of President Trump, is FBI Agent Peter Strzok. In July 2016, Agent Strzok was assigned to supervise the FBI investigation into whether the Trump campaign was aiding Russian interference. Interestingly, Strzok was the lead investigator into the Hillary Clinton email investigation and was responsible for changing then FBI Director James Comey's language, in his assessment on Hillary's handling of classified materials, from "grossly negligent" to "extremely careless".

Strzok was eventually 'reassigned' from his supervisory position in Mueller's Trump investigation to a HR job upon the revelation that he was exchanging anti-Trump text messages with an FBI lawyer - the two were allegedly having an affair; geez, Oliver Stone could turn this into a full length spy thriller! - during his time in charge of the investigation into Trump. Additionally, as if this isn't crazy enough, while the DOJ was looking into Strzok's text messages, they discovered 50,000 "missing" text messages. "The Inspector General has been reviewing these texts based on 'allegations that Department or FBI policies or procedures were not followed... and that certain underlying investigative decisions were based on improper considerations'", Attorney General Sessions said.

The missing text messages covered the dates between 12-14-16 and 5-17-17. 

Robert Mueller was appointed special counsel on 5-17-17.

C'mon America! Wake up!

 “Now I will tell you the answer to my question. It is this. The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power, pure power. What pure power means you will understand presently. We are different from the oligarchies of the past in that we know what we are doing. All the others, even those who resembled ourselves, were cowards and hypocrites. The German Nazis and the Russian Communists came very close to us in their methods, but they never had the courage to recognize their own motives. They pretended, perhaps they even believed, that they had seized power unwillingly and for a limited time, and that just around the corner there lay a paradise where human beings would be free and equal. We are not like that. We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now you begin to understand me.” 

― George Orwell, 1984

Drain the Swamp!

De Ja Vu all over again. All over again

If you know your history, Neville Chamberlain will ring a bell. If you don't, let me share with you a story.

 

 

 

How the Allies responded to the persecution of the Jews and what might they have done differently...

The response of the Allies to the persecution and destruction of European Jewry was inadequate. Only in January 1944 was an agency, the War Refugee Board, established for the express purpose of saving the victims of Nazi persecution. Prior to that date, little action was taken. On December 17, 1942, the Allies issued a condemnation of Nazi atrocities against the Jews, but this was the only such declaration made prior to 1944.

Moreover, no attempt was made to call upon the local population in Europe to refrain from assisting the Nazis in their systematic murder of the Jews. Even following the establishment of the War Refugee Board and the initiation of various rescue efforts, the Allies refused to bomb the death camp of Auschwitz and/or the railway lines leading to that camp, despite the fact that Allied bombers were at that time engaged in bombing factories very close to the camp and were well aware of its existence and function.

Other practical measures which were not taken concerned the refugee problem. Tens of thousands of Jews sought to enter the United States, but they were barred from doing so by the stringent American immigration policy. Even the relatively small quotas of visas which existed were often not filled, although the number of applicants was usually many times the number of available places. Conferences held in Evian, France (1938) and Bermuda (1943) to solve the refugee problem did not contribute to a solution. At the former, the countries invited by the United States and Great Britain were told that no country would be asked to change its immigration laws. Moreover, the British agreed to participate only if Palestine were not considered. At Bermuda, the delegates did not deal with the fate of those still in Nazi hands, but rather with those who had already escaped to neutral lands. Practical measures which could have aided in the rescue of Jews included the following:

• Permission for temporary admission of refugees
• Relaxation of stringent entry requirements
• Frequent and unequivocal warnings to Germany and local populations all over Europe that those participating in the annihilation of Jews would be held strictly accountable
• Bombing the death camp at Auschwitz 

-Courtesy The Museum of Tolerance

You see, Neville is best known for his 'appeasement foreign policy', specifically for his signing of the Munich Agreement in 1938 conceding the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia to Adolf Hitler's Germany. And so, even if you don't know Neville, you are surely aware how this story ended.

Yesterday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke before a joint session of congress pleading for America to understand the dangers of its current appeasement foreign policy, specifically with Iran. And what was our governments response? Nancy Pelosi summed up the Obama administrations feelings when she stated it was "insulting to the intelligence of the United States". Well, she might be right, at least with regards to the part of the US around San Francisco, CA. where banning impulse buys to protect goldfish is a sign of advanced intelligence. For the rest of us, not so much.

You remember Iran. Whose Supreme Leader  (really?) Ayatollah Ali Khamenei recently tweeted "Increasing global hatred of #Israel is a sign of divine help", and just this past November sent the following message:
Khamenei.ir@Khamenei    

"This barbaric, wolflike & infanticidal regime of #Israel which spares no crime has no cure but to be annihilated." 7/23/14 #HandsOffAlAqsa

6:15 AM - 8 Nov 2014 

 

There is so much more but I will not waste my time on his not so supreme or advanced intelligence. I will however, ask you dear reader, why our president - Barack Obama - would even consider negotiating with a man of such ideals.

 

“It’s a truism that love is blind; what’s less obvious is just how much evidence it can ignore.”

-Margaret Heffernan

 

Then there is Putin.

 

To date there are over 100 instances of enemies of Vlad winding up dead. That's right. Not one. Not two. And not ten. Over 100! This link identifies some of the more notable murders.

 

"There is already a list of unsolved political murders and attacks in Russia," Amnesty International said in a statement this week. "We cannot allow Boris Nemtsov to become just another name on this list."

 

With Putin already having annexed Crimea and fighting his way into Ukraine, the United States ignores yet another ally while the demographics of the world are changing. This is due in no small part to the Obama administration's appeasement foreign policy.

 

That there are madmen running countries which are devouring the world and building ever more dangerous weapons with the intent of not just harming all Westerners but ruling the world, seems to be of less concern to Obama than hurting said madmen's feelings by calling out their perversion of their religion and the use of that religion to inflict harm on non-believers. In Putin's case 'he' is the religion. And yet the president belittles, denigrates and admonishes republicans daily for their opposing perspective. Not to mention chiding Christians for their behavior in 1189AD. Oops, politically correct faux pas... Make that 1189CE.

 

We have a very serious problem.

 

And of greater concern is that a large percentage of Americans have no clue about the truth - since this information will receive little coverage from CNN, no coverage from NBC and TMZ doesn't even know what the hell is going on. Each of those networks gave plenty of coverage to Cindy Crawford's recent photo however, so at least we all know about and can debate whether her photo was real or fake. 

Let them eat cake... 

 

It has been 77 years since Neville Chamberlain made the mistake of attempting to appease Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler.

 

All the signs are clear. Iran's leaders and Iranian history cannot be misunderstood and public statements by their leaders must not be ignored. We have to take them at their word:

"The only solution for Crisis is Israel's destruction."
-Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 
 

If President Obama continues on his quest to sign a nuclear deal - at any cost - with Iran, what will history have to say 77 years from now?

 

“As long as it (an issue) remains invisible, it is guaranteed to remain insoluble.”

-Margaret Heffernan

 

Wake up America!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The march to socialism

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction."
- Ronald Reagan

History is heaped with failed attempts to create a Utopian society. Included in those attempts are societies that began with no such intention, but, in pursuit of the concept of a socially enlightened, advanced and forward thinking people, shunned their initial values and fell victim to their ideology.

The collapse of a civilization is not a simple thing and in its analysis, history typically points out several contributing factors. Is it a stretch to suggest that changing values and government mismanagement occurring within the Senate played a part in Rome's fall?

That our societies demise might rise up from within is not a new idea in America either. In 1838, speaking to the Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield, IL Abraham Lincoln declared, "At what point... is the approach of danger to be expected. I answer, if it ever reach us it must spring up amongst us; it cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time, or die by suicide."

Utopianism has long promoted the idea of a paradisaical existence and advanced concepts of an ideal society in which a heroic despot, a benevolent sovereign, or an enlightened oligarchy claims the ability and authority to provide for all the needs and fulfill all the wants of the individual - in exchange for his abject servitude.

In Plato's Republic where the chronically ill are not beneficial to the city and will not be treated, and Thomas More's Utopia where bedtime for everyone is 8pm, we learn that the inhabitants of these ideal societies are necessarily constrained in their daily activities and behaviors in everything from their line of work to sexual reproduction. Indeed their is no  freedom of choice in exchange for all of their 'needs' being prearranged. In Marx's Communist Manifesto, the first sentence reads, "The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles." If memory serves me well, neither Stalin or Castro did anything to improve class struggles. For that matter, what has Obama done for class struggles but make them worse?

The proponents of socialism claim that all past failures (and remember - every attempt has failed) are a result of the wrong people in charge. With that in mind, in 2008, candidate Obama stated "We are the one's we've been waiting for."

So - at this weeks Countering Violent Extremism summit we learned that (cannot say Muslim) violent extremists are killing Christians and Jews and Muslim's of dissenting beliefs because of "class struggles". They can't find a job. And we are to believe that one - despite Obama's inability to create jobs in America, he is going to help create them abroad - and two - the manager at the new Starbucks in Yemen will hire a barista whose previous employment includes rape, murder by beheading, and trafficking human slaves. Watch out if you don't leave a tip for that guy...

I find it interesting that after 6 years of implementing his socialism ideology, Obama's America is more divided racially, economically and politically than at any point in my lifetime and the very people who voted for his hope and change are madder now then they were before he took office. What happened?

Obama's attempt to march us to socialism is exposing the failures of previous experiments and while it is happening in ultra-slow motion, Americans are waking up to the consequences.

We want our government to be accountable to us - not for us.

We want the opportunity to advance our social and or economic position to be based upon our individual effort, not our groups list of grievances.

We do not want the government controlling our health care choices.

We expect our government to uphold and protect human rights around the world.

This last point, one which directly challenges the isolation tenets of the Utopian societies identified above, is extremely important. All Americans, regardless of political affiliation, are becoming weary of the cognitive dissonance displayed by the Obama administration towards the years long killings of hundreds of thousands in Syria and the recent brutal and savage killings by ISIS throughout the world. Obama seems willing to wait this one out and let the next president deal with it while he focuses on more important issues like how Fox News is responsible for making Islamic extremism a bigger deal than it really is.

Jeez - I thought the radical Muslim's were doing that. What do I know...

Civilization, the US government - Not ready for prime time!

According to Secretary of State John Kerry, today's massacre resulted not from a conflict between civilizations but rather, one between civilization itself and those who are opposed to a civilized world. Ok, I can buy that. But why didn't he name the "those" supposedly opposed to our civilized world? My guess is because he and his boss are still searching for more civilized terms for radical Islamists or Muslim extremists. They might check out CNN;  anchor Christiane Amanpour called the terrorists activists.

Unless history is corrected, according to the Obama administration we are to know these facts:

1. The 2009 massacre in Fort Hood, killing 13 and wounding 32, was workplace violence.

2. The 2015 massacre in Paris, killing 12 and wounding an as yet unspecified number, is being described as an act of terror but according to Homeland Security Secretary "we don't yet know the nature of the attack".

This despite the assassins pictured above stating, according to multiple witnesses, "Allahu Akbar", "We've avenged the honor of the prophet", and "we are Al Qaeda from Yemen". And just a reminder, Hasan Nidal also shouted Allahu Akbar during his killing spree. Oh, and his business card identified his occupation as a Soldier of Allah. Yeah, I guess in both instances it is hard to say with certainty that these killers were Muslim extremists.

In 1988 a 'fatwa' was issued by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Supreme Leader of Iran, calling for the assassination of Salmon Rushdie for his book The Satanic Verses. That event seems to have ushered in the current crusade of Muslim extremism and they have been out for blood ever since. Literally. Well, we can go back further. Thousands of years, actually. But the Christians appear to have become more civilized in their approach to their faith. In fact, if there is one significant difference between the way Christians and Muslims approach their faith, it is in the way they interpret their religious doctrines. How else can you explain it when the stories of the Bible and the Koran are so similar and many are actually intertwined? Think about the difference between the year 1600 and 2000 and consider what Muslims and Christians were doing then and now on these two issues: the treatment of women; the adaptation of faith to current accepted societal practices. One faith has advanced and one has not even budged.

Civilized (siv-uh-lahyzd)
 adjective

1. having an advanced or humane culture, society, etc.

2. polite; well-bred; refined.

3. of or relating to civilized people:

  -The civilized world must fight ignorance.

4. easy to manage or control; well organized or ordered:

  -The car is quiet and civilized, even in sharp turns.  

Our governments inability to identify or even recognize our enemy is dangerously undermining American freedom at home and around the world.

 



In a broader perspective, this same blame game is playing out on the very institutions put in place to protect us. They are under fire, rather than the real culprits, blamed by the current administration for the ills of society in general. All because the administration is unwilling to call a spade a spade. For you politically correct Oceanian's, before you contact Winston Smith to have me tried for "thoughtcrime's", there is absolutely no racial inference in my previous statement. Jeez. I can't believe I have to qualify that...

Consider the following:

Resisting arrest in two recent cases has, sadly, resulted in the death of those doing the resisting. Completely ignoring the fact that crimes occurred and police orders were not followed, government officials including President Barack Obama, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Missouri State Senator (white privilege) Maria Chappelle-Nadal, have blamed the police, prematurely I might add, (as Obama did in what resulted in the now infamous Beer Summit with James Crowley). Apparently it was everyone else's fault they chose to attack the cops and resist arrest.

Dianne Feinstein recently outed the CIA's enhanced interrogation techniques in what appears to be a parting shot as she exits stage left. Can anyone really blame our leadership (Bush) for giving orders to protect America from further attack, when after September 1st, 2001 the CIA was authorized by congress to use extreme measures? After the Justice Department finished it's "get out of jail free card" now known as the Torture Memos,  Condoleezza Rice told the CIA the harsher interrogation tactics were approved, in July 2002. Dick Cheney stated "I signed off on it; so did others." In 2010, Cheney said, "I was and remain a strong proponent of our enhanced interrogation program." In 2009 Rice stated "We never tortured anyone;" she maintained the abuse was "not torture," "legal", and "right". In addition, in 2002 and 2003, several Democratic congressional leaders were briefed on the proposed "enhanced interrogation techniques." By labeling the attack an act of war, we keep all options on the table; there is no final option or limit to our actions. Ultimately we must do whatever it takes to protect ourselves and insure the survival of America. Don't like it? Move to Cuba.

As been his wont, Obama continues to ignore American allies while encouraging and even propping up American and our allies' enemies. There exists considerable history...

A sampling of nations - all American allies - who have received a backhanded slap from the Obama Administration. We assisted in toppling the thoroughly intimidated neo-American ally Muhammar Gaddafi in Libya, and replaced him with a bloody Islamic extremist state. Obama insulted Britain by returning a Churchill portrait given to his predecessor by Tony Blair. He has double-crossed Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary on missile defense, and wonders why Vladimir Putin feels emboldened to threaten and pressure Ukraine. Obama has ignored Chinese aggression in the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean, to the consternation of our Japanese, South Korean, and Thai allies (and our former Vietnamese enemies, as well as the non-aligned Indians, and Burmese). In a fit of petulance, Obama balked at Iraqi requests on a Status of Forces Agreement, and thereby threw away a hard earned victory, and we are now witnessing the same type of fumble in Afghanistan. Most worrisome, two weeks ago the Chinese and the Russians agreed to bury the hatchet, and have in fact inaugurated a new Sino-Russian Alliance, aimed squarely at the United States of America. This is a geopolitical fact of stunning, and quite worrisome proportions...

This time the president was in Australia for the G-20 Summit in Brisbane. Unlike Britain’s David Cameron, China’s Xi Jinping and India’s Narendra Modi, he apparently had no interest in speaking to the Australian Parliament or making a formal, bilateral visit to Australia while in town.
Instead, Obama made a speech to the Australian version of his political core audience back home - undergraduates at a metropolitan university. Much of the speech at the University of Queensland in Brisbane was standard boilerplate. As usual it lacked a plot but hit the reliable notes, such as the U.S. commitment to Asia, defense of gay rights and the like. Actions often speak louder than words and in their absence, words, or the lack thereof, tell the story.

"In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
-Martin Luther King, Jr.

Thus it appears that while much of the world trails America's civil growth, I caution you, dear reader, that neither are we where Big Brother will tell you we are. History has always been written by the winners and therefor cannot be factual. It is inherently subjective. Oh yes, I have seen the enemy and he is us!

1/12/15 UPDATE:

The silence is deafening...

Don't gruber me bro!

The new face of the United States Government

 

 

 

Stuart Smalley would be appalled. According to the advisers hired by our government, and our government representatives by virtue of their choice of these advisers, we are not good enough, we are not smart enough and doggone it they really don't seem to like us. 

 

The contempt which Barack Obama holds for our constitution and US laws, along with his misguided arrogance as an 'I know better than you' academic, has been on display through a series of videos of Johnathan Gruber explaining how and why he helped the president craft the ACA.

 

It appears that Professor Gruber is well versed in the formulas used by the CBO to score legislation and determine its viability. Except it turns out that he knows the CBO's methods so well, he had to create a fictional event to assure the auditors could not dismantle the ruse. Enter the Cadillac Tax. 

 

The bottom line of the Cadillac tax is to tax your employer insurance benefits which are currently not taxed and to make it seem as if this tax will not affect you but rather be a tax on big business. 

 

The now-famous former outside adviser on ObamaCare, Jonathan Gruber of MIT, spoke about the Cadillac tax before an audience at the Pioneer Institute in 2011, saying, "It turns out politically, it's really hard to get rid of. And the only way we could get rid of it was first by mislabeling it, calling it a tax on insurance plans rather than a tax on people, when we all know it's a tax on people who hold those insurance plans." He called that a "clever" exploitation of Americans'  "lack of economic understanding."

 

In addition to this fictional event, Gruber structured a $500 billion 'savings' in the ACA to assure the math worked for the CBO.  Nearly $220 billion of this savings comes from reducing annual increases in payments that health care providers would otherwise receive from Medicare.

 

Have you noticed doctors cutting your bills lately?

 

Other savings include $36 billion from increases in premiums for higher-income beneficiaries and $12 billion from administrative changes. A new national board -- the Independent Payment Advisory Board -- (AKA "Death Panels") will be tasked to identify $15.5 billion in savings, but the board is supposedly prohibited from proposing anything that would ration care or reduce or modify benefits.

 

Is that like saying the IRS is prohibited from targeting you based on your political affiliation?

 

Then there's another $136 billion in projected savings that would come from changes to the Medicare Advantage program, an alternative to traditional Medicare that has turned out to be much more costly than expected. About 25 percent of Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan.

 

What changes? Seniors will have to somehow receive $136 billion less in care for this to pan out.

 

Anyway, no drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we're looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn't test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power.

-P. J. O'Rourke

 

The governments seemingly insatiable appetite for your hard earned money, taken from you in the form of taxes - seen and unseen - can at times be justified but make no mistake about it, this must be controlled lest we become Japan: here is a loose summary of Japan's tax rates. Individual - 50%, Payroll - 25.6%, and VAT (coming soon to a country near you) 8%.

 

Tithing 10% will leave you with 6.4 cents of every dollar you earn! Not sure you could even pay the deductibles on those new ACA health plans with that.

 

This well thought out and not so well executed con (passed under reconciliation - on straight party lines - and without a single member of congress reading the bill) lies squarely at the feet of President Obama.

 

To be fair - this is not an Obama phenomenon. It is the path the American government has been tracking regardless of which party is in charge. And parties aside, the current trajectory takes all of us to a very bad place indeed. I'm afraid not even Stuart's optimism will save us then.

 

Wake up America!