HOW MUCH CHANGE IS ENOUGH?

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The cartoonist could have added many other things to his cartoon. And it still wouldn't be funny today. Wise and perspicacious? Yes. Sad? Yes. Funny? Not deep down.

It becomes clearer and clearer that President Obama (and the power brokers) have a much, much different view of the word "Change" than did we members of that political party.

We thought it meant things like ending a stupid war, controlling the influx of illegal aliens, not allowing shoddy goods from China to be in every retail store in America (waiting to maim and kill us). We thought it meant a real fix where the outrageous cost of health care (in the wealthiest nation on earth) would send even rich people to the dole. We thought that Americans would be employed in good paying, good benefit jobs, with good retirement waiting for them after years of loyal service and trust in their employers.

We thought that we loyal Americans would be honored for our service, which we willingly rendered to the U.S. We believed that we were a part of the Constitution and it was a part of us, as much as we were faithful Americans. As much as we had been ready to give our lives for our beloved country.

We didn't expect things like http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30747452/ this to be newsworthy. After all, Wisconsin is a hunter's paradise. And those down to earth folks don't care for gangs. Are you listening Washington? Or http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30765586/ contains some interesting facts about about two males who chose to soil a nationally known site in Yellowstone Park. Those of us who were considering buying a new car now find our choice severely limited. One of our major car companies has been closed down by the Federal Government, another has been severely curtailed in what they can do. All the while the banks and the finance companies (owned by the banks) have the been allowed to stick their hands in the public coffers and fill their pockets. Did you ask who is suffering? The American worker, of course. You know, the guys and gals who were once termed the "back bone of America". When our President (and his crew) have broken enough unions into penuriousness, the time will come when all of us will get "cut back notices" on the amounts of money we will paid. (I know a couple of companies that have already done this.) I read a comedian's one liner the other day. Here it is, with no commment: I’m planning to retire and live off my savings. What I’ll do the second day, I have no idea. ********************************************************************************** This from the web: An unidentified 11th-grade student in Pelham Manor, N.Y., was called into the office for a chat with the assistant principal -- and the police. The boy was reportedly researching how to conceal a gun. After interviewing the student, the police and the principal determined that there was absolutely no threat, and in fact the report was wrong: the teen was actually researching the state's laws on guns. A school spokeswoman said the boy was not disciplined, and remains in school. So who turned him in? The Pelham Public Library. "It is not our procedure to notify somebody" about patrons' book choices, said library Director Patricia Perito, but she "had to" look into the matter by informing the school. (White Plains Journal News) We have become a nation of people who are more afraid of giving offence than interested in standing up for what is right.

PEARL HARBOR FOR THE YOUNG

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A lot of the sailors were still in their bunks, sleeping off their Saturday night in downtown Honolulu.

Others were getting ready for church services. Still more were finishing the Sunday breakfast that was always good food on the battleships.

Navy life was worthwhile. You got to sail all over the world while landlubbers in foreign, exotic ports admired your great battleships, your sparkling clean uniform and your athletic fitness. And you were convinced you were part of the greatest naval fleet ever to sail the oceans of the world. No other navy could compete with yours. Life was good.

The first wave of Japanese bombers and fighters struck shortly after 8 a.m. They, and the following flights, would do massive damage to the U.S. Pacific Fleet. They would kill more than 2,400 servicemen and civilians.

The President of the United States would ask Congress for a declaration of war the next day. Patriotic civilians lined up at recruiting offices for all military branches, each man hoping he would pass the physical exam. As I understand it, there has never been, before nor after, a surge of volunteering as huge as this. Americans were showing their patriotism. And that, kiddies, is why Americans won the Second World War.

I held this post back until now, because I wanted to see how our once great nation would recognize today. A few sentences on a news net work (apologizing for Japan's sneak attack) then no more. Channels such as TCM, History, CSPAN2, A&E, AMC all seemed to ignore today. And it happened to fall on a Sunday. The only movies or factoid shows on any of these stations concerned Nazi Germany and did not even mention Japan's vicious part in that war.

It took a while for me to understand why. For some reason (and I despise why I am thinking this) Our President Elect chose today, Sunday, December 7, to reveal his appointment of a Japanese American (born in Hawaii) as Veterans Affairs Secretary.

So? Well, retired general Eric K. Shinseki is the Japanese American.

So? This is nothing but a calculated slap in the face to all the veterans, living and dead, who defended this country from the Japanese in WW II.

I am quite sure that Mr. Shinseki is a total American and proud of it. This is not about him. It is, rather, a tirade against Mr. Obama whose lack of thinking betrays his shallowness and ability to fly in the face of respect and tradition.

He does not even recognize the men and women we can for our being able to speak and read and write English as our native tongue. (No thanks to the Mexican government, though. They refused to join the Allied Forces and sat back and got rich from war goods trading.)

Mr. Barack Obama, what were you thinking? Shame on you.

Lordy, what a start to a new order.

AMERICA LOSES

Before the eulogy, you might want to click on the header. It's something for everybody. My parents told me about Mr. Common Sense early in my life and told me I would do well to call on him when making decisions. It seems he was always around in my early years but less and less as time passed by. Today I read his obituary. Please join me in a moment of silence in remembrance, for Common Sense had served us all so well for so many generations. Common Sense Obituary Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm, life isn't always fair, and maybe it was my fault. Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not children are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition. Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job they themselves failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer Aspirin, sun lotion or a Band-Aid to a student, but could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion. Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar can sue you for assault.Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement. Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by three stepbrothers; I Know my Rights, Someone Else is to Blame, and I'm a Victim. Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing. Author unknown The above are, indeed, my feelings about the coming elections. Here in Albuquerque and New Mexico, we have men and women who want to be elected or re-elected when they have shown themselves to be, at best, just mediocre. When they have leaned over backwards not to prosecute criminals (it's easier to plea bargain -- you don't have near as much work) but they go after patriots with a vengeance. We allow illegal aliens to come and go as they please and even to have major gun fights on American soil to the point that Americans are afraid to leave their homes. We allow legal aliens to bleed our coffers demanding and getting food stamps, housing and medical care from the taxpayers. We think it's ok to hear constant haranging via our radios and TV sets denigrating other Americans without backing up the statements. We accept the interminable advertising that becomes mind numbing, when all we wanted was to be entertained by the TV sets we have paid for. We accept the shoddy merchandise, the poisonous food and the poor workmanship from other countries in the name of "trade". We think the utter disregard for our health as practiced by the gasoline and diesel fuel companies allowing volatile emissions, a cost we must all pay for the pleasure of driving our cars, when we know it doesn't need to be. We accept the pleasure of putting our great, great, great grandchildren into debt because greedy companies are in financial trouble and we must bail out the multi billionaires. We patiently sit waiting for any kind of medical help while the doctors in "carpet alley" fatten themselves over our misery and the almost incompetent assistance they offer. We listen to the interminable listings of recordings when phoning a company in the hope that, sooner or later, we might get a real person to give us some help. Only to have someone whose reason for being in the system is that English is their second (or third) language and no, they don't understand what we are saying any more they we understand what they are saying. We tolerate "political correctness" to the point of absurdity, but we are cowed by the noise the minorities make if we ignore it. Whether their view is correct or not. We are required to pay for TV stations we don't want. Even in languages we cannot read, write nor speak. We are being spied upon by faceless beings, who may or may not have morals we would approve of. Every telephone call, every web site we visit, every email or IM we use is open to these unidentied and unwelcome listeners. Our streets have cameras on them, telling the spies if we even dare to pass gas.

LOOKING FOR THE ANSWER

There is an answer. I'm pretty sure there is. At least I think there is. Well, maybe there is. And maybe there isn't. . I'm searching the Internet for it. Spending time reading and checking up on people who have answers (or at least think they do). . I'm even downloading free books from the web. (Feels like the authors are being screwed out of their royalties. But I don't think Plato will mind.) Tom Jefferson, Ben Franklin and John Q. Adams might. Teddy Roosevelt was always ready to share. So was that other Roosevelt. Samuel Clemens shared when he wasn't writing porn. (Anything for a laugh, Mark?) Yeah, I know, it isn't easy being eccentric in this day and age. Lots and lots of American authors. Dreiser, Faulkner, Hemmingway, and on and on. . You see, Wild Thing and I were sitting at the table watching various "news" channels (various, 'cause I'm like most men. Can't stand ads, so I surf when they come on). The news was all bad or tasteless or both. (I was particularly irritated with the a**hole governator of New Mexico. The clown who has grown a beard now in hopes of hiding his avarice from the public. (He can't hide the blubber, though. It shows.) Oh, if y'all wanted Barracks Obama to win the Presidency, you can forget it. Bill Richardson picking him ought to be the kiss of death to his election this time around. At least it is in this house. (New post about about the carpetbagger coming soon. Stay tuned.) . What we heard and saw on the boob tube seemed to be part of a chaos that has descended on the United States with almost the speed of light. Prices spiralling up and up. Food prices up, too. In the greatest agricultural country that has ever existed. Gasoline prices soaring enough to make people stay at home when they would have liked to ride out in their shiny cars. Medical costs rising with such rapidity that Health Insurance companies were rewriting what and what not their companies would pay for medicines and treatments. In the country that invented modern medical care. Bread prices shot up at incredible leaps. In the country that can grow enough wheat to feed the entire world. . We heard and saw the grief caused by the loss of jobs throughout the country. 80,000 here. 22,000 there. 36,00 there. And on and on. . We saw the war on the middle class (once defined as the backbone of America) set in and decimate the people. We saw them start to die in their income less homes. And on the streets. We watched the fire in their eyes be extinguished by hopelessness. . We saw the silent invasion force demanding equal rights with American citizens, although they had no right to the things Americans had fought and died for. We saw them burn our flag, cheer for the alien drug smugglers and spit on our country. And we noted that the governments sworn to protect American citizens did nothing. . What happened to our America? The America that respected the laws, the patriotism, the honor that was part and parcel of our land. The America described in the old black and white film "Pride of the Marines". (Yes, you can still rent it.) . There are articles being written now about the money 150 million Americans will need when they retire. They worry about the cost of health care, the effect of inflation on their nest eggs and not being able to maintain a reasonable standard of living for the rest of their lives. Only 60% work for an employer who has any kind of retirement plan. And less than 53% are enrolled in these few plans. What happened to the unions? The teams that forced employers to offer retirement benefits to employees? And got them real raises? And health insurance? Our government happened to them. Our government and greedy business men and women happpened to them. The union busters seem to have won. Have a read:

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/RetirementandWills/InvestForRetirement/BleakRetirementsFor150Million.aspx .

There's more at: http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3574/blue_collar_bare_cupboards/

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So what? There is not one single politician running for the most powerful job in the world, who has addressed the various effects tearing apart the "Great Experiment". Not one.

It's as if they can't see the problems staring them in the face. Or perhaps haven't enough people on their staffs who can see what must happen in the near future.

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Chaos, and the very real threat of internicine warfare are knocking on your door, America.

A bit of reading herewith:

Unhealthiest States 2008 - AOL Money & Finance

Most Dangerous States 2008 - AOL Money & Finance

Worst Places to Retire - AOL Money & Finance

http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/3535/context/cover/

There will be more about the Chaos Theory in future posts. But I betcha the next post will give you some laughs. I sure need them.

OBAMA, CLINTON, CATMOVES FOR PRES

Working piecemeal and in such a dangerous position should get warnings from OSHA. But they may be too busy filling out the mountains of paperwork (whatever happened to The Computer, which was going to eliminate paperwork?

I think this picture represents the jerry rigged attempts at government that Americans have had to put up with for the past 20 some years.

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It seems a sad fact of higher education in our America, that far too many uni's and colleges are living in the dream world of Ivory Towers, where they and theirs are safe and protected from the harsh and ugly realities of the world and its ways. Promulgating these precepts, what can we expect other than confusion and candidates like Obama and Clinton?

There is NO Messiah going to run for President this time around. (I think the last one with common sense might have been Jack Kennedy, but that's open to argument.)

Dwight David Eisenhower warned us about watching out for the Military/Industrial complex and their machinations. Franklin D. Roosevelt told business to go to hell and do things his way. Harry Truman echoed his former boss. George Washington didn't want a Federal Banking system.

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What have we got running today? A lady who breaks into tears when the going gets tough.

A guy who wants to be all things to all people.

Another guy who seems to indicate he wants to go along with the things the way they are now.

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Balls.

How about somebody who says "to hell with the status quo. Let's try some things that are really, truly designered to help our own citizens. Let's not keep the entangling alliances that incompetents have developed over the past years. Let's not accept a role as the World's Police Force. Let's tell countries that we will spend Trillions for defense, but not one red cent for any tribute. Let's tell the world that America is going its own way and business will be subservient to the American populace or it will be closed. By force, if necessary. The age of screw the customer is over. Line up, get into the mood of becoming helpful to your own people or move to a foreign country where you can try to sell to us."

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There.

I've just negated the top two Dems and the single top Republican. There's no real promise in any of them.

Maybe what's needed is a real, functioning cap on how much each candidate may spend in each state in their effort to get elected. It could be based on the population of the state. Maybe a buck per person of voting age. It should include all forms of ads. Newspaper, TV, radio, Web sites, etc., etc.

I hope you don't think either of the two main political parties would allow this to happen. If they did pass a bill such as this, I'd be willing to be bet they'd "forget" to put a penalty on violations.

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I think I might nominate Lin (of The Creek site) for lady Pres. She's a lot wiser and one hell of a huge bunch more humorous than the ex pres's sobby female. I think I'd like Babzy to be her running mate, too. With those two in charge we'd be howling with laughter more than crying in our beers (as we do now).

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Catmoves wants to be dictat, er, President, too. "Hang 'em high" is my slogan. At least it ought to scare the bejesas out of them.

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Who's your nominee?

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Don't forget to click on the header. And I did NOT write this article.

IS IT IN YOUR FOOD? IS THE FED IN YOUR FOOD?

If you look carefully, you'll see a little illegal alien in this picture. The lettuce is called mache in Spanish, Valerianella locusta in Latin. It's a gourmet form of lettuce. And it is sold in many food stores in the Southwest. I don't know anything other than that about it. Well, maybe the fact the animal is apparently a frog, carrying who knows what diseases. In fact the idea of consuming any of this lettuce is not being given any room in my cluttered mind. How should I put it? "There's enough s**t in my head now"? "No more p**s and vinegar, thank you"? You get the idea. . When America imports food stuffs don't we have the right to ask that it be readied for us by our standards? Well, yes. And no. Yes, we have the right to demand this from our federal and state governments. No we don't, according to the sellers and buyers of the the raw product. (Raw seemed to fit well here.) . Complaining to either of these governments (ours and theirs) can be most frustrating and lead one in circles that are like crop circles (do you suppose?) that never seem to end. If you don't believe that, here's a little test you can perform. Write down a question to ask the IRS. Call the IRS, read the question and carefully record the response with pen and paper. Hang up, call the 1-800 number again and read the same question. Write down their answer. Hang up and call the number again. Read the question. Write down their answer. The odds are all three will be different responses. Keep calling and you might get an infinite variety of answers. And the IRS cannot be held responsible if they give you the wrong answer and you wind up with a fine and late fees. That's in their rules. Federal Income Tax was first started in 1862 to pay for the Civil War and was eliminated in 1872. Then it was revived in 1894 and declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court the next year. In 1913, the 16th Amendment to the Constitution made the income tax a permanent blight on our lives. The Social Security Act was signed into law in 1935 and the first payment was made into it in 1937. Under this law, only retirement benefits were paid to the primary worker. In 1939 a change in the law added survivors benefits and benefits for the retiree's spouse and children. In 1956 Disability benefits were added. The original 1935 law contained the first national unemployment compensation program, aid to the states for various health and welfare programs, and the Aid to Dependent Children program. Franklin Roosevelt, President and multimillionaire, saw that many businesses had no retirement nor pension plans and forced the bill through a Congress who did not want it enacted. They were afraid of losing the support of big business who supplied them with perks and money for re-election campaigns. The cost was low to the average wage earner. A few pennies out of their paychecks. People thought, correctly, that there would be some money coming in after the business world was through with them. Poor houses would become a thing of the past. And the people were right and the houses disappeared. And contentment reigned in the country. (The children of the retirees were happy that they wouldn't have to hold two jobs to support the parents in their old age. Parents were happy because they wouldn't have to take orders from their snot nosed kids. Everybody was happy. COLA (Cost Of Living Adjustment) were first paid in 1975. Before that, Congress played the catch me when you can game before giving them raises. However, Congress, which gives itself and the President raises when it feels like it, decided that retired people didn't need to have their COLA figured on the same basis that Federal Government employees did. Maybe they thought that retirees paid less for food, less for cars and gasoline and repairs, less for housing costs, less for clothing than gov employees. Maybe. . This coming year, retirees are being treated to a magnificent 2.3% COLA because of the way it is figured. (Bean counters another 1, citizens 0.) The message I see the government sending is: If you don't like it, stick it in your gas tank. I think that perhaps the last president we had who really cared about the average citizen was John F. Kennedy.

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Oh, clicking on the header will take you into an entirely different world.

. I confess, it was a sneaky way to get into this subject.

THE ATTACK

Our Governator is upset. Looks like the state Senate is in the attack mode. He's fuming and fussing something terrible. After all, he went to the trouble of calling them back to the Capitol so they could pass some bills he believes would help his Prez run. They've managed to stall him yet again. He must have cut some pork barrel goodies out of the state budget. Maybe they'll fix them for him manana. But it isn't likely. Pretty soon they may try a filibuster. Wouldn't that look good for a guy who wants to be Prez?New Mexico is not exactly a state with a ton of electoral votes, after all. If he can't get the legislature of our cowboys to accede to his wishes, why should he think he can get more sophisticated federal Congress people (I really hate "politically correct" words [why use them, then?-Ed.]) to agree with his policies? There's a warning here. He's no FDR. He's not even a communicator like Reagan. And he definitely is not a Kennedy (he doesn't drink, I've been told). He does, however, have a talent for raising money for politicians. Maybe he's trying for the wrong job.

SOCIAL SECURITY HAS PROBLEMS?

Many, many years ago a President named Franklin Delano Roosevelt felt that the average person in the United States was in dire need of some kind of funding that would give them enough money to live on when they were too old to work. There were no widespread pensions in businesses. In fact, business gave the cold shoulder to suggestions of retirement pensions. Their views were likened to "I got mine, you get yours." Big families were the rule, but many people were not able to have children or they had children who could not support Mom and Dad and their own families. The United States was in the midst of the worst Depression ever. Now Franklin Roosevelt was a multimillionaire (would have been a billionaire by today's standards) who cared about the average man. So he twisted arms in the House and the Senate and got a new law passed to help the poor out of their dilemma. He called the new law Social Security and it was to be used to help the elderly when retirement time arrived. (Businesses

used to just fire you when you got too old.) It worked. Finally the elderly would not have to be cared for in run down, ratty old folks homes. It restored some pride in being an American and being among the middle class. America was living up to its promise. You weren't going to get rich on Social Security, but you weren't going to have to rummage through garbage cans, either. Is this the greatest country on earth, or what? America taught the rest of the world to care about their own seniors. For some years now, I've been hearing about Social Security being "in trouble". How, I wondered, can that be? It was designed so that each succeeding generation would fund itself through its own contributions. Yes, Franklin was a genius. So what's the deal? Why "in trouble?" Well, it seems that Social Security has decided, under other administrations and governments, to fund things other than retirement for the elderly. Money from this great well is used to support children going to college. It's being used to support single parent families, it's being used to create an outsized agency that has too many workers, too big a pay roll. It pays money to illegal immigrants who never put a dime in it. It picks up the tab when someone becomes too handicapped to work (even if that handicapped was extant at birth). So many other things than Franklin had envisioned. We're making him roll over in his tomb. Somehow I cannot help but feel, if he were alive today, he'd stop those "fundings" by brow beating our present Congress. He'd point out that all these other things would no longer be funded by Social Security. And he might just set up other funding (avoiding entangling alliances and the military/industrial complex, the too liberal Congess and the "let 'em eat cake" and we'll make a profit by supplying it groups) to handle those problems. But Franklin was a genius. Find one in charge of our country today? I don't think so. The last genius we had was a peanut farmer and you know what happened there. I don't find any of this class running actively for President today. Oh, there are some available, but they are not widely known by the vox populi. And with the dumbing of our schools, I kind of doubt they could be elected. We tend to fear, rather than esteem, these people. Yes, many people were afraid of Roosevelt in his time. Usually those with their fingers in the pie. He also had a wage/price board established when this country could not afford galloping inflation. Gasoline pricing was also controlled. A real leader wouldn't make us "dress up" to shop a Walmart.