I'm writing this today after having watched part of Margaret Thatcher's funeral this morning. As I was watching CSPAN2's coverage of the event I kept trying to find the American contingent. Any sitting members of the administration? Zip, zero, null, nil. Did Jimmy Carter show, how about George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton or George W. Bush? Nope, none of them were present. Perhaps a former VP? Again, the answer is no. There was absolutely no US representation at the funeral of Ronald Reagan's number one supporter, the person who most helped bring down the Iron Curtain.
I find this utterly appalling. I can understand some of the former president's not making it to the funeral, Carter and G. H. W. Bush are both older than she was and probably do not travel well, but to have no representation at all? The current administration should have had at least one person present, but it isn't just this administration that missed the boat, both houses of Congress should have had representation.
We wonder why there seems to be so little civility today, why people are so willing to paint others with broad brushes. This shows, beyond any doubt, that the lack of civility comes from the top down. Whether you agreed with Lady Thatcher or not, she was a major influence on the entire world in the 1980s. That we did not have the courtesy to send a formal representative to her funeral paints all Americans with an ugly brush and unfortunately it seems to be deserved.
December 10, 2012
Watching the cars go by
From the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
Definition of COEXIST
Definition of COEXIST
1
: to exist together or at the same time
2
: to live in peace with each other especially as a matter of policy
Driving around for the past few years, I have been amazed at the number of vehicles I see with bumper stickers with a stylized version of the word coexist on it. The inference, of course, is that we should all join hands, sing Kumbaya, and get along, or at the very least just get along with one another. While an entirely laudable idea I would like to point out that both definitions require the other party(ies) to be in agreement with the concept, hence the "co" in coexist.
If someone, or a group of someone's, chooses to not willingly go along with the idea one must then decide how to handle the situation. If the other party or parties says; "I do not wish to coexist with you but I will leave you alone as long as you leave me alone," you can readily proceed with your life and things should be fine. However there are times, unfortunately with humans too many, in which the other person or persons say; "I do not wish to coexist with you AND you have something that I want," or "I do not wish to coexist with you AND I disagree with the way you act," "and I will therefore do whatever I have to do to either get what I want or force you to act as I see appropriate." In that type of situation the person wanting to coexist with the other has a decision to make; do I go along with my life hoping upon hope that they others will leave me alone or do I stand up, make a fist, and say come and take it? Some people, by their nature, will just turn the other cheek and hope that it all goes away. Some people will allow the other group to come and take what they will, or to force their will upon them, thinking that there is safety in giving up a little of what they already had.
There are others who are in agreement with Benjamin Franklin when he said;
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
He also told us; “It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority.”
Dr. Franklin gave us many fine quotes, he was one of the most prolific writers of the founding fathers. He, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and James Madison all gave us instructions about our nation and how to keep it strong and healthy, unfortunately it looks like the vast majority of our citizens have forgotten those lessons. I'm sure that all of these great men would be appalled at how this nation operates today. They would ask why we couldn't follow simple instructions and the answer, most often would be that we were too damn lazy. It absolutely shames me to say that but it is none the less true. Before we end up in a situation where we are not able to defend ourselves out of a coexistence situation I beg you to please go back and read the founders. They all wrote instructions for us not the least of which is the following by Thomas Jefferson;
“On every question of construction (of the
Constitution) let us carry ourselves back to the time when the
Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit of the debates, and
instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or
invented against it, conform to the probable one in which it was
passed.”
Never forget. God Bless America!
November 07, 2012
I'm concerned about the fiscal stability of this nation
Some people will call this sour milk, I call it informing others of some of the fiscal changes that have occurred over the past several years. Some people will ignore these numbers, "it's the Republican's fault for not working with the President" will be the charge. To those people I say have an open mind. All of the information that I will present is available from multiple sources on the web and as such is very verifiable for anyone who so desires.
The national debt in this country has almost tripled since September of 2000, the year before George W. Bush took office. At that time the national debt was at $5,674,178,209,886.86, that's correct over Five Trillion dollars. Eight years later in September of his last year in office the number had almost doubled to $10,024,724,896,912.49, a total increase of $4,350,546,687,025.63. Astounding in it's size. At that time we had just entered into a recession caused by the housing market bubble bursting, two wars, and an attack on our financial center seven years prior.
In round numbers the current national debt is $16,299,195,433,000.00 over Sixteen and a Quarter Trillion dollars. That is $6,274,470,536,087.51 dollars more than the end of the Bush presidency. In four years the current administration has generated $1,923,923,849,061.88 more dollars of debt than was generated in the eight years of the Bush administration.
There are those that will say that much, if not all, of that is based on the wars that President Bush got us involved in and to an extent that is true, however this administration, including the 2 years when they had complete control of both the House and the Senate has never passed a budget. For the past four years we have been moving forward, as a country, on continuing resolutions. Now is when we hear the argument that it's because the Republicans have been standing in the way. During the first two years of this administration they were able to push multiple bills, not the least of which is the Affordable Care Act, through both houses of Congress with nominal Republican support yet they could not pass a budget with their own people leading the charge.
It is this type of fiscal performance that makes me worry for our nation. If we, as a nation, do not get our spending under control, stop borrowing (especially from countries that have sworn to take us down) and start living according to our means this nation will be the former United States within a decade. If only one of our bond holders were to call in their bonds it would be the end of the United States that day. The Federal Reserve would have to print the money to pay the debt thereby reducing the value of any dollars already in circulation, this would cause massive inflation bringing the nation to it's knees in short order.
I wish the administration good luck going forward but I will be watching. I will raise my voice from the mountains should I find reason. Inflation is already with us to some extent. Just looking at the prices of fuel one can see it. In November of 2008 gasoline was $1.72 per gallon on average nationwide, over the road diesel at $3.10. The current averages for those fuels are $3.56, an increase of $1.84 and 4.01 an increase of $0.91 respectively. This is causing the prices for most commodities to rise as diesel is the number 1 fuel for the transport of the items we use daily. Keep your eyes open people, promises are nice but they won't pay the bills.
The national debt in this country has almost tripled since September of 2000, the year before George W. Bush took office. At that time the national debt was at $5,674,178,209,886.86, that's correct over Five Trillion dollars. Eight years later in September of his last year in office the number had almost doubled to $10,024,724,896,912.49, a total increase of $4,350,546,687,025.63. Astounding in it's size. At that time we had just entered into a recession caused by the housing market bubble bursting, two wars, and an attack on our financial center seven years prior.
In round numbers the current national debt is $16,299,195,433,000.00 over Sixteen and a Quarter Trillion dollars. That is $6,274,470,536,087.51 dollars more than the end of the Bush presidency. In four years the current administration has generated $1,923,923,849,061.88 more dollars of debt than was generated in the eight years of the Bush administration.
There are those that will say that much, if not all, of that is based on the wars that President Bush got us involved in and to an extent that is true, however this administration, including the 2 years when they had complete control of both the House and the Senate has never passed a budget. For the past four years we have been moving forward, as a country, on continuing resolutions. Now is when we hear the argument that it's because the Republicans have been standing in the way. During the first two years of this administration they were able to push multiple bills, not the least of which is the Affordable Care Act, through both houses of Congress with nominal Republican support yet they could not pass a budget with their own people leading the charge.
It is this type of fiscal performance that makes me worry for our nation. If we, as a nation, do not get our spending under control, stop borrowing (especially from countries that have sworn to take us down) and start living according to our means this nation will be the former United States within a decade. If only one of our bond holders were to call in their bonds it would be the end of the United States that day. The Federal Reserve would have to print the money to pay the debt thereby reducing the value of any dollars already in circulation, this would cause massive inflation bringing the nation to it's knees in short order.
I wish the administration good luck going forward but I will be watching. I will raise my voice from the mountains should I find reason. Inflation is already with us to some extent. Just looking at the prices of fuel one can see it. In November of 2008 gasoline was $1.72 per gallon on average nationwide, over the road diesel at $3.10. The current averages for those fuels are $3.56, an increase of $1.84 and 4.01 an increase of $0.91 respectively. This is causing the prices for most commodities to rise as diesel is the number 1 fuel for the transport of the items we use daily. Keep your eyes open people, promises are nice but they won't pay the bills.
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