Wow! I got a call from Senator Kyle's Office!

As most of you who know me are aware, I'm something of a political junkie. I listen to vast right-wing conspiracy radio during the day while I'm working. I watch CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and Headline News more than I watch "entertainment" TV.

A couple of days ago, my passion boiled over concerning the news that the Fed printed ONE TRILLION dollars, and that they were going to print ANOTHER TRILLION DOLLARS this week. This is in addition to TARP, TARF I, TARF II and ARAR (all of these acronyms are for the various stimulus packages implemented by the U.S. Congress in the last seven months). AND that is in addition to the 3.6 TRILLION DOLLAR BUDGET presented to Congress by President Barack Obama.

So I sent a letter to my two U.S. Senators (the honorable John McCain and the honorable John Kyle) and my U.S. Representative (the honorable John Shadegg). It is not particularly eloquent but it did express my concerns adequately.

To the Honorable [fill in the blank], I am against the United States printing more money without a corresponding increase in real wealth either in terms of our gross domestic product or in terms of our holdings in our national treasury. You must understand that with every extra dollar put into circulation, my current savings and holdings become worth less.

I'm mad as hell and I'm not taking it any more.

I am against the 3.6 trillion dollar budget for 2009 presented to Congress by President Obama without major modifications. The "wish list" spending must be removed. Our congress and our president must be made to understand that there is simply no money in our treasury for these programs and that we, from the meanest common citizen to the largest government programs must all go on a fiscal diet. We must all learn to survive with less.

I am also against any further "stimulus spending". I believe in regulated capitalism. That means that if irresponsible companies find themselves in trouble we let them fail. This means that if a company is "too big to fail" then we should immediately break it up before it fails. I respect your positions generally.

Please hear my plea. We are spending ourselves into a depression that will take a decade to recover from and will burden our progeny for generations.

Respectfully, Glen H. Van Steeter

I didn't expect a response. Well, I was wrong. I didn't get an email, or a letter. I got a bona-fide phone call from Jim Swift, an economic advisor and researcher from Senator John Kyle's office. I was on the phone with him for almost 40 minutes!

I won't go into whether they agreed with me or not. My point is this: For your voice to be heard, you must first speak up! I have been sending letters, emails and making calls to my elected representatives for years. I generally get a nice response in the form of a letter or email saying "Thanks, we got your letter. Have a nice day." Nonetheless, I believe that if you keep trying, it will be heard.

Mr. Swift did point out a couple of things that caused them to respond to my letter. First, it was not a chain letter or a petition. I wrote the letter. I also signed the letter. I was NOT disrespectful but I concisely voiced my concern and what I expected Mr. Kyle to do about it.

George Washington had 110 "Rules of Civility". These rules were his guidelines for behavior that allowed him to govern an army and deal with a Continental Congress that were both frequently at great odds with him on many points. These rules made it possible for Mr. Washington to disagree vigorously with his subordinates and superiors while still allowing them and himself to maintain their dignity and face.

35. Let your discourse with men of business be short and comprehensive.
39. In writing or speaking, give to every person his due title according to his degree and the custom of the place.
49. Use no reproachful language against any one; neither curse nor revile.

So don't give up! Remember that there are 435 representative and 100 senators but there are over three-hundred million of us. They can't possibly respond to every email or letter or phone call. But be polite, state your business and be respectful and you just might get your 40 minute phone call too.

Cut the Anchor Line!

Most will remember that Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, NFL free agent Corey Smith and former University of South Florida players William Bleakley and Nick Schuyler went overboard February 28 during a fishing trip while aboard a 21 foot fishing boat in the Gulf of Mexico. Sadly, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Game Conservation Commission report indicates that the cause of this tragic accident was a combination of improper anchoring and risky attempts to free the anchor.

By "improper anchoring" I assume they were citing both the failure to properly anchor the boat-end of the line to the bow of the vessel as well as failing pay out enough anchor line (known as "rode") to allow the vessel to "swing" on the anchor. A short anchor line set during calm conditions can result in the boat actually being pulled underwater on wave crests if the weather turns foul.

After several attempt to free the anchor by pulling on the anchor line they then decided to try and rev the boat's powerful engine. However, since the anchor was cleated to the portside bracket the portside of the vessel was simply pulled under, which caused the vessel to capsize.

Sadly, this could have all been prevented had the young men been schooled in proper boat handling. While hindsight is always 20/20 and without knowing the composition of the anchor line, if I assume that the anchor line was rope or cord instead of cable or chain, I am surprised that they didn't simply cut the line to escape. In my years of boating with my father we had to cut loose two anchors that would not release. I remember my father cussing a blue streak as he cut the anchor rope. Anchors are expensive. But they aren't that expensive.

A 21 foot craft on a large body of water is always a little risky. Storms can quickly boil up that produce swells that are taller than the length of the boat. Had the victims performed the task of setting their anchor perfectly there is still a chance that tragedy would claim their lives. However, good boating education and practices could very well have been the difference between life and death in this unfortunate scenario. It is truly a tragedy that a device designed to make a vessel safer (when used properly) is likely the reason for the loss of Marquis, Corey and William on that fateful day.

When a Wheel-barrow was Needed to Buy a Loaf of Bread.

What does the Chinese Central Bank, the Russian Federation and the United Nations have in common? Answer: They are actively considering dumping the U.S. Dollar as the foreign reserve currency.

Why do they want to do this? What does it mean for us?

Their financial brainiacs are probably looking at grainy pictures of despondent and depressed Germans taking sacks of money to the grocery store to bring home a sack or two of groceries. Pictures that were taken in the 1920's and 1930's.

Since 1945, the United States has taken progressively more drastic steps to decouple our currency to anything of "real" value. Not because of any financial crisis, but because in order to create consumer spending, we first had to create consumer wealth.

Step 1: Right after World War II, the world's leading financial countries decided that they would fix the price of gold at US$35 an ounce. That meant that every dollar printed in the U.S. could buy one dollar's worth of gold (or 35 dollars to the ounce), even if we didn't have enough gold in the treasury at any given time to redeem all of the money we printed. This was because the likelihood was very low that everybody that had a "gold certificate" dollar (remember those?) would want to redeem their cash for gold at the same time.

Step 2: However, during the late 1960's we ran into a real problem. In order to fund the Vietnam War and the many government-run social engineering projects that were collectively known as the "Great Society", we had to accumulate more gold at Fort Knox. A LOT more gold. So in 1971 the U.S. decided to let the price of an ounce of gold to be set by it's market value. Gold suddenly and rapidly became a LOT more valuable, which meant that we could now print more dollars. Get it?

Keep in mind that from the 1940's through about 2005, the U.S. Dollar has been used as a "reserve" currency. In other words, other nations use the dollar the way we used to use gold. If a country accumulates a large quantity of very stable U.S. Dollars that have a good value against other financial instruments, then that country can leverage those dollars to buy things that they can't buy with their own currency. They use those U.S. Dollars just like gold. But part of the reason that these nations were willing to do this is because we essentially made a promise that we would never intentionally debase our currency.

Step 3: Now here we are in 2007-2008-2009 in the midst of a pretty serious financial crisis. Banks and investment firms bought into highly lucrative but also very fragile "mortgage-backed securities", and worse yet, DERIVATIVES of those securities. This was all fine and dandy as long as real estate values kept going up and up and up. In order to keep those home-builders busy, we had to start selling more and more houses to people who were on the edge of qualifying, or worse yet, people who really didn't qualify. But that was OK. We changed the rules to allow them to buy houses anyway. Well, at some point, some of those folks were going to start defaulting. That began the cascade slide: More homes vs. less demand equals falling real estate values, which caused more people to become "upside down" on the mortgages, causing more defaults. At that point, the wheels came off and we started tumbling down the cliff.

In order to kick-start the economy the way it used to be, people have got to start spending money again. So, here's what our govenment has decided to do. Let's just "borrow" against ourselves and print more money. Two Trillion Dollars Worth. The problem is that this solution has been tried before. Just for fun, look up how in the 1920's Germany's Mark (their "dollar") pretty much crumbled and rampant runaway inflation took the country into a dismal financial period. Since neither we (or they) didn't correspondingly create all that wealth what really happened is that all dollars, everywhere, are suddenly worth less. A LOT less.

So now countries that have a LOT of our dollars now have a LOT LESS wealth in their vaults than a few days ago because we just devalued our dollar in the vain hope that by putting more dollars on the market we can get people to start spending. Oh, incidentally, while this makes the dollar less valuable against other currencies, it also makes things manufactured in the U.S. (do we manufacture in the U.S. anymore?) less costly to foreign purchasers. This makes American goods more attractive to foreign buyers because they can buy more of an American product with less of their native currency.

But if WE can see that side-effect benefit, you can darn well bet that the Russian, Chinese and UN financial brainiacs can as well. Which means this: They are positioning themselves to begin to divest themselves of their stockpiles of U.S. dollars. Now, with the dollar not being backed up by something tangible, like a precious metal in a secure vault somewhere, this also means that the dollar is subject to the same market forces that effect all other consumer goods. In this case, as demand for the U.S. Dollar drops, so does it's value unless we reduce the supply. Which means that if the biggest holders of the U.S. Dollar were to 'dump' their holdings this could cause a severe spiral where the dollar becomes like the peso or the yen; nearly worthless on the world market.

And then instead of looking at grainy black and white pictures of despondent and depressed Germans taking sacks of money to buy a couple of meals at the grocery store, we will instead be looking at gorgeous 16 million color digital pix of despondent and depressed Americans taking sacks of money to buy a couple of meals at the grocery store.

Write your congressman. Write your senator. Write your President. Tell them to cutback on government spending. Tell them to stop with the stimulus bills. Tell them to let the free market system work. Failing companies should fail. Companies that are tough, lean and mean will survive. Let's hit bottom and then rebuild. But it will be easier, a LOT easier to do if our U.S. Dollar still has some value to it. It's not only better for us but for the U.S. and the world.

Taxation as a Weapon. Now I'm Scared.

Chuck Shumer (D-NY) and Charles Rangel (D-NY) have both gone on record as saying that if AIG executives that were paid the "deferred retention bonuses" this month (March 2009) do not voluntarily return those bonuses then the federal government will write a specific tax to recollect those monies.

I am entirely sympathetic with the majority of Americans who think that it's hard for a company to justify paying any kind of discretionary compensation to it's executives if the company itself is not profitable. That shows an arrogance and disconnect with reality that is just impossible for the common citizen to wrap their head around. AIG should never have written those contractual obligations to be enforceable in such a horrid economic climate.

On the other hand, for the United States federal government to use taxation as a weapon is a far more unjustifiable and frightening concept. I feel that this could be the precedent in a whole series of punitive taxes that can be used against anybody who does not 'toe the line' with the current administration. Remember that while tax law is enacted by Congress, it is enforced by the executive branch (ie: the President through the Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department).

While I have been uncomfortable in the current economic crisis, it was only until this moment that I became truly frightened for what our country is becoming: A Police State.

What Would Thomas Paine Say Today?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeYscnFpEyA

Please view the above youtube link first. Then ask yourself -- do you agree with everything this actor says? Most of it? None of it?

As for myself, there is not one thing that this guy states that I do not agree with. From this day forward I will consecrate myself to bringing my country back to the founding principle that "We, the People" rule in the United States, not our elected elites.

Will you do anything? Something? Divided, we shall fail utterly.

Teenager Beats Kalamazoo Bus Driver

http://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/news-32/1236271807207000.xml&coll=7

A Kalamazoo substitute bus driver is viciously pummeled by a violent 16-year old teenager because the teenager apparently did not like the way she was doing her job.

There is a video of this barbaric attack on the internet, but I'll leave you to find it. Suffice it to say that this was vicious and completely unwarranted.

I've read about fifteen articles reporting this issue. Here's my beef. Because this lowlife piece of garbage is a MINOR they won't report his name. I'm here to tell you that this animal's name needs to be disclosed because if my child was riding that bus or my child is attending that school I want to tell my child to stay as far away from this beast as possible.

This "child" broke this woman's finger and gave her serious bruises to her face and neck. He delivered punches that I would have found hard to fend off.

This news item and accompanying video point out to me, in big, bright, bold, capital letters that our "juvenile justice" system doesn't work. America's youth have completely lost control and have no respect for authority or age. We have to stop protecting juveniles that commit crimes like this. They need to be punished. Swiftly. Harshly. They need to understand that in our society there are bounds you do not cross. Ever. One of them is for a muscular 16-year old to beat a 40+ old woman who could not possibly defend herself.

And you think our country had economic problems. Sheesh!

Rush Limbaugh Represents Those who Embrace Classic Americanism.

You don't have to spend a whole lot of time reading the headlines on TV, or on the Internet to know that the Democrats AND the Republicans have a new political bogeyman to pin their problems on. His name? Rush Hudson Limbaugh III.

The Democrats are now proclaiming Mr. Limbaugh as the "de facto" head of the GOP. The Republicans are trying to distance themselves from Mr. Limbaugh. Michael Steele (RNC Chairman), Congressman Phil Gingey (R-GA) and Governor Mark Sanford (R-SC) have all tried to paint Rush as "incendiary", a "brick thrower" and imprudent to have stated publicly that Rush wants Pres. Obama to fail.

For those of you who have not heard the ENTIRE quote from Rush Limbaugh concerning his hope that Pres. Obama fail, please read this:
"Why would I want that to succeed? I don't believe in that. I know that's not how this country is going to be great in the future; it's not what made this country great. So I shamelessly say, "No! I want him to fail." If his agenda is a far-left collectivism -- some people say socialism -- as a conservative heartfelt, deeply, why would I want socialism to succeed? " -- Rush Limbaugh during interview on Hannity's America on January 19th, 2008.

Sean Hannity had asked the question "Do you want him (Pres. Obama) to succeed?" to Limbaugh. To summarize his lengthy reply, he essentially said that if Pres. Obama embraces socialistic policies, continue the leftist agenda of class warfare pitting the poor against the rich, nationalization of private industry and financial institutions, then "Why would I want that to succeed?".

So who does Rush Limbaugh represent? Well, I can't speak for anybody but myself, but I can say that while I do not appreciate the way he sometimes articulates his point of view he certainly represents me.

So who am I? Here's some points:

1. I'm a 47 year old white male, married, with two children who are now adults and are now establishing their own families.
2. I live in a modest 1500 square foot home in Maricopa County, Arizona. When I bought the house, I was encouraged to make a much larger, much more expensive purchase by both my real-estate agent and my mortgage officer. We (my wife and I) stood our ground and stayed with the modest home.
3. With my wife, we continue to finance our own retirement for two reasons. First, because we believe that ultimately it is OUR own responsibility to secure our own retirement. Second, because we believe that expecting our government to perform this function is both irresponsible and considering the current state of Social Security, unlikely.
   
4. I financed my house using a very conventional loan. I put 20 percent down on my home when I purchased it. I have never bought a house (this is my third) that I couldn't afford or which represented more than 25% of my NET income.
5. I nearly had to declare bankruptcy in 2002 but I managed to survive. We struggled down to the wire and ran up incredible credit card debt but we are now paying that debt down.
6. I believe in personal liberty. This means that want to determine who my charity goes to, not the Federal government. I heartily resent the fact that the government, who has proven itself supremely unworthy to manage my money well, believes it has some so-called "right" to take money from me in the form of taxes and then give it with nearly no accountability to others. Don't get me wrong. I donate thousands every year to charity. But I hold those charities accountable to make sure that the money that I donate ultimately ends up helping those that the charity proclaims to assist.
7. I believe in personal authority. This means that I don't want the government to give me a job, or a house, or a car, or help me out with my health care. I want the government to create an environment where I can pursue these goals without let or hindrance with the provision that my pursuit will not restrict the personal authority of others.
8. I believe in personal responsibility. Where I want the authority to make my own life, I expect myself to be accountable for my actions and to accept responsibility for both my successes and my failures. Where I need help to recover from bad decisions, I expect such help to be temporary and that I will make every effort to become independent of that help or assistance at the earliest possible opportunity.
9. I will defend the U.S. Constitution the Bill of Rights with my life. To that end, I served six years as a member of the United States Marine Corps Reserve and I continue to support these enlightened documents through my support of worthy institutions.
10. I will give to charity as freely as my circumstances permit without jeopardizing my ability to support my own family.
11. I will pay to my Federal, State and Local governments all rightfully levied taxes. In return I expect those government bodies to exercise all necessary means available to them to insure that my taxes along with those of all other U.S. Taxpayers are spent in a prudent and accountable manner.
12. As my government expects me to live within my means, I expect my government and my fellow citizens to live within their means.
    
13. I believe that the current level of Federal government has grossly exceeded it's Constitutional mandates. I believe that the Federal government has assumed powers unlawfully that belong either to the several States or to the individual citizen.
14. I believe that the U.S. Constitution was influenced by a divine intelligence greater than that of man and that we modify that document at our peril. I believe that the most abused amendment of the U.S. Constitution is the first amendment. I do not believe that the clause "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; " does not mean that we should remove the practice of religion from our government and/our schools. In our zeal for protecting the rights of a very small minority (only about 7% of our people do not acknowledge the existence of a divine creator) we have effectively made it impossible for the 93% who do to exercise their right to pray at appropriate times while in school, in the military or in government.

This is what I believe. And I believe that the vast majority of those who have the same beliefs also believe that the Republican Party has abandoned them and that Rush Limbaugh gives us a national voice that would otherwise be unheard.