Skunk Replaces Eagle as Symbol of President

The skunk has replaced the Eagle as the new symbol of the American Presidency. It is half Black, half white, and everything it does stinks.

It is said: If you give a man a fish you will feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish you feed him for a lifetime!

New Obama Proverb: If you give a man hope of getting a job, he will vote Democrat for a year! If you give a man a welfare check, a free cell phone, free Internet, food stamps, section 8 housing, ninety-nine weeks of unemployment then Social Security disability for life, free health care and free Medicine... He will vote Democrat the rest of his life and several more times... After he's dead

Government Shutdown "crisis"

The United States is bankrupt. Life goes on as “normal” because there is great flexibility in such a huge economy. There is currently a “budget crisis” and a looming “debt-limit crisis.” These are a problem because Congress and the President planned it. The President sent his budget proposal to Congress in the spring. It was late, but since an actual budget – with 13 separate appropriations bills – has not been signed into law for 4 years - the President's tardiness is moot.

Both parties blame each other for the shutdown. The fact is that they have had over 5 months to debate the budget. The House of Representatives has produced numerous budget bills only to see them tabled by the Democrat-controlled Senate. Since the last budget passed was the Pelosi-Reid-Obama budget, the Democrats are happy to “continue it” with a constant stream of CRs.

The real debate is over the type of government we actually have. The Democrats say that America is a democracy, and must operate by “majority rule.” The Constitution is a “dated” document and is irrelevant now. The Conservatives say that America is a constitutional republic with “limited government.” A century ago, Progressives were successful in reducing the power of the states with the 17th Amendment. Senators had been elected by state legislatures. Now both Representatives and Senators are “popularly elected.” Only their terms of office are different. The problem with democracies is they fail when the people realize that they can write checks to themselves.

Democrats make a heartwarming appeal for the “little guy.” In the 1930s it was electricity and secure retirements for all. From the 1960s to present it was an end to poverty, jobs and promotions through race preference for minorities and medical care for all. For several decades it has been telephones for all. The Progressive “solution” is always according to Karl Marx's philosophy of from those who have; to those who “need.” Marxism fails when you run out of other peoples' money (Thatcher). Progressives believe that individual responsibility and free-markets are wrong. A marriage with husband and wife is wrong because “it takes a village to raise a child.” There is power in the union of workers and in the “collective.”

We have clear examples of implementations of fascism, communism and socialism which failed. Our constitutional republic with a free-market economy has succeeded well. Our forefathers believed in the inherent sinfulness of man/woman, and the need for checks and balances. That rule of law is rarely practiced today.

Why is America Recovering Despite Obama?

Bill Clinton vetoed the fiscal policies of the conservative Congress twice in 1996 before finally accepting the policies. He then took credit for the surpluses that the policies produced.

Some ignorant people will give Obama credit for the current “recovery.” If presented with the facts, then it would be hard to do so. Consider unemployment in Yuma, AZ of 31.8% and unemployment in Bismarck, ND of 2.8% from the BLS report for June. If Obama is responsible for a 7.4% national rate, then he is also responsible for the 31.8% rate in Yuma The real reason is that new technologies in the “carbon-based” industries have given us an energy boom. Obama has been fighting any progress with a carbon tax proposal, huge subsidies to competing energy sources, and delays/prohibitions for obtaining resources from public lands and cheap and efficient distribution methods (pipelines). The oil imports have decreased more than 1 million barrels/day over the last several years (eia.gov). This amounts to money for over hundreds of millions of barrels of oil at $100/barrel which stays in the United States instead of subsidizing those who hate us. Those billions each year compose capital which can be used to create jobs.

Obama has surrounded himself with academics and out-right socialists who favor central planning over free-market economics. They claim that deficit spending (stimulus) by government and tight controls bring the nation out of recessions. The fact is that Hoover and FDR; Bush and Obama both tried stimulus spending and high wages. We know what happens because it has been tried before. Millions of Americans have suffered. The wealthiest period in America was the six years under President Coolidge. We had surpluses every year and individual wealth rapidly increased. Americans borrowed money to invest in America believing the boom would last forever (sounds like house prices never decrease?). Alan Greenspan would describe them as “irrationally exuburant.” The crash came under Hoover who Coolidge dubbed “wonduh boy.” Coolidge had been blamed as a “do-nothing” while Hoover, FDR, Bush and Obama were type-A interventionists.

The reference economist of 1776 was Adam Smith. Twentieth century economists Hayek and Mises saw the flaws in Keynes ideas and their use in Europe. If we continue to ignore the lessons of history, then we are doomed to repeat the mistakes – over and over again! See mises.org (Mises Institute at Auburn University – a kudzu-league school).

Melowese Richardson Convicted of Voter Fraud in Ohio

Last week an Ohio judge sentenced Ms. Richardson to five years in prison for voting 6 times in a single election. Ohio was a critical state in the 2012 Presidential election. If the votes in only 4 states - Ohio included - were reversed, then Mitt Romney would have won. More of these criminals need to go to prison for voter fraud to diminish!

Will the United States Follow Detroit?

Detroit, once the fifth-largest city in America, has filed for bankruptcy. Hopefully the federal government will not bail out decades of mismanaging politicians with federal taxpayer dollars. As with other cities whose elitist leaders seek to centrally control all aspects of citizens' lives while lacking the competence to do so, Detroit is bankrupt. The producers have left the once-great city of 1.8M leaving less than 700,000 – many who are parasites depending on the city teats. This did not take place quickly. It took over 60 years! It is similar to the current situation at the federal level. Hiring and promotions have been based on race instead of competence, while pay, tenure and benefits have been extraordinary. Parkinson's Law may also be used to explain the situation – especially the number of “special assistants to the POTUS” (czars).

The Obama administration ignored centuries of contract law in the GM bailout. Union members were moved to the head of the line, and creditors were pushed back. Most in Detroit are also friends and supporters of the Democrat Party. Will the federal courts follow the law? Will the lawyer-in-chief provide additional guidance?

Religious Liberty In the U.S. Armed Forces from FRC

"The Obama administration has joined forces with those who are attacking the religious freedoms of those who serve in our Armed Services. The administration's opposition to Rep. Fleming's religious freedom amendment reveals that this administration has gone beyond accommodating the anti-Christian activists who want to remove any vestige of Christianity from the military, to aiding them by blocking this bipartisan measure.

"The Fleming amendment protects the right of service members to not only hold religious beliefs but to act on them and freely practice those beliefs as long as they pose no threat to U.S. Constitutional liberties.

"This chilling suppression of religious freedom is driving faith underground in our military and will eventually drive it out. This not only deprives those who serve of the benefits that flow from religious participation, but it undermines the moral foundation of the world's most powerful military and the country they serve. This should concern everyone.

"We commend Rep. Fleming and the House Armed Services Committee for taking action to protect the rights of service members to freely practice and express their faith. More than 167,000 Americans have signed our petitions in the wake of religious liberty violations that are becoming more and more frequent."

America Is Bankrupt and Sinking Fast

Where is the outrage? The Owe-bama administrations have been in a full-court press for wealth redistribution since January 2009. Some readers from the South say 'We elected him President'. In the words of the indian scouts with Custer 'What's this we stuff?'

Dr. Bernacke's term ends early next year. He has done his best to take the wealth of the poor and elderly and subsidize those “greedy” bankers. Taxpayers now own $5,000B of mostly toxic debt. I have been an investor for almost 20 years, and I would never buy foreclosed or defunct debt for 100 cents on the dollar. The banks may increase lending now that they have fewer “non-performing assets”, but the 2009 bailout resulted in a massive consolidation but not much lending.

We are forced to give the government our hard-earned resources through government taxes/fees, borrowing and printing money. There are fortunately enough in government who believe that we have been Taxed Enough Already – although they are are in the crosshairs of the American Gestapo (IRS). The world has grown cold to buying U.S. debt. The Fed now buys the majority. Debasing the currency has been used since the U.S. became a debtor nation. What cost $1 in 1913 when the Federal Reserve Act was passed now costs $23.49. I have a $100Trillion note from Zimbabwe demonstrating the extreme result of debasing a currency. I also have a $5000 coin from Mexico. Clinton had to bail out our neighbor during his first term.

We have had 2 large bubbles burst already this century – the tech bubble and the housing bubble. There are 4 others set to burst, the dollar bubble, the government debt bubble, the student loan bubble and the personal credit bubble. Many nations want to replace the dollar as the reserve currency with a “basket of currencies” - the dollar, euro, pound, yen and yuan. This would be like SDRs from the IMF. The national debt is about $17T. Interest is about $400B each year with a 2-year Treasury note at 0.3% If the interest rate goes to 3%, then the interest will be $4,000B. The default rate on student loans is often more than 20%. Interest rates will be tied to the 10-year rate + 3.4%. This is currently 5.38% As home prices recover, Americans will again use the “equity value” in their homes as an ATM machine. It would be a great time to remember that the debtor is a slave to the lender!