The election is upon us and it is time we get serious with our considerations. Just as with anything else political races are fluid and change on a minute by minute basis. With this in mind we should take a close look at a few significant developments over the last couple of days with the candidates.

The developments I am speaking of are with the Obama campaign. For the moment we are going to disregard, as the main stream media has, his associations with Bill Ayres, Rev. Wright, Tony Rezko, ACORN and the likes. We will also disregard his lack of experience and almost non-existent record in the Senate on major issues. What we need to look at is Obama’s character. This could be the most important issue of the entire election.

As the vote draws down to the wire it seems as though Obama is growing more concerned he may actually have a chance to win this election. Worried may be a better word than concerned. What he is worried about is all the promises he has so euphorically made over the course of his campaign that he knew and has now admitted he won’t be able to keep. He is morphing his entire platform. He has reduced the definition of “rich” from those making $250,000 a year down to $150,000. What will it be next week; $35,000? In his own words and those of his campaign he is warning his supporters to be prepared for most of his policies and promises to not be fulfilled. He has told them to be prepared to prevent a huge swing from euphoria to distraught and let-down should he actually win.

The fact he made promises throughout his campaign that he knew he couldn’t keep and is now admitting such speaks of his lack of character. It proves he has well earned the title “empty suit”. I am sure he is worried that all the enthusiastic Obamanites that have rallied to his “Change We Can Believe In” campaign cry may be just as enthusiastic to boot his butt out of office when reality sets in. It is clear that what he has been spewing for the last two years has all been a lie, simply put. This just proves if you take away his scripted rhetoric and teleprompter he is just what he is, an empty suit. He proved that with the “share the wealth” statement he made to Joe the Plumber.

Obama is not a man that can stand toe-to-toe, face-to-face, eye-to-eye even with his own supporters. What do you think he will do if elected when he must face some of the challenges he will be dealt? He will do just as he has proven and “crawfish” his position for his own protection disregarding the people or well being of the United Stated of America. When you go vote this upcoming Tuesday remember the character of the individual you put that check mark by. If you check Obama that flushing sound you hear in the back of your mind might just be your future and that of your children and grandchildren.

The election is drawing near and if you haven’t made up your mind which candidate you are going to vote for it’s almost time you do. Just in case you are leaning toward Obama here is a suggested exercise so you can get a feel for his proposed tax plan.

When you get paid next take 25% of your paycheck in cash in $20 bills. Drive down to the nearest low income housing project and park your car on the street. Now be sure and leave the keys in the car with the windows rolled down. We want to be sure and be politically correct in this exercise and wouldn’t want to offend any of the good citizens of this area by implying they aren’t honest by locking our car and taking the keys. Besides, if someone steals your car they probably needed it worse than you did anyway. Take that handful of $20 bills and walk down the street. Each person you come by hand them a $20. Man doesn’t that feel good! You are building the economy from the bottom up! You are taking your hard earned money and giving it to these poor people that are surely going to go straight to your business or the company you work for and spend it so you can make more to give to them, right? Never would these good people spend it on drugs, liquor or gambling, they are going to do their part to build the economy just as you are. Don’t you just feel like going to the ATM and taking out some more cash so you can build the economy even more! Oh, and that nice car you drove up in; well some poor individual needed it worse than you so he took it. When you make next month’s payment on that car you can relax with the knowledge that whoever took your car now has a way to get back and forth to work.

If this sounds absurd it is. Nobody in their right mind would do something as asinine as give their money away now would they? Well my friends, this is exactly what Mr. Obama intends to do. To put this example in retrospect to his tax plan his intent is to “share the wealth”. What this means is if you work a larger portion of your money will go to someone that doesn’t. His philosophy of “build the economy from the bottom up” is the same exact thing as above. The only difference is the government will be the middle man and get their cut of each of the twenty bucks given away. This bottom up practice has been tried over and over and it has never worked before. Take our educational system for example. During the 60’s the prevailing though was to intermingle all the schools. This intent was the slower learners would progress to the level of the faster students. Instead what has happened over time is the standards have been lowered to allow the slower students to keep up with the faster ones. Now we have kids that graduate high school that can’t read or do basic math. We have middle class kids that think it’s cool to be “gangsta” or ghetto. This same thing has happened over and over since ancient times. It is human nature to take the path of least resistance. Our society has proven this even of late. It is hard to save money and actually pay for something you want so what do we do; we borrow and run up credit until it is through the roof and we can’t pay for anything.

Just as giving your money away to the poor in the manner described here is silly, we have the same thing happening on the other end of the perspective. Our government is, as you read this, giving billions to poor deserving banks and corporations that couldn’t manage their business and lost their asses. They are lining up like hogs to the trough to get their piece of the pie. As of yesterday there were over 600 lobbyists clamoring for the companies they represent share of the $700 billion congress allotted. The whole pretense of the bill that allowed this was for the government to buy up distressed mortgages. That was the pretense of all the failures and collapse of our economy right? So why are insurance companies, auto companies and ever other corporation lining up to get some of this sweet stuff? Because it’s free and they can! There are no stipulations in the bill on how the money is to be distributed or what it is to be used for. Banks are taking it and buying other banks. Hell, they can even use it to give their executives bonuses and golden parachutes for doing such a poor job. I am sure that Paulson feels like King George as he hands out billions to pay back political debits that have accumliated.

The bottom line of this is where does that leave the middle class man working trying to make a living? The answer to that question is right where he has always been; in the middle being squeezed from both sides. How about this concept; why don’t we build the economy from the middle out both ways? Since small business pays 90% of taxes and employees 90% of workers in this country how about something to give us an advantage? I don’t need an investment bank to do business nor do I need more of my money given to the poor. If I want the poor to have my money I will donate or give it away myself. I don’t need Obama to do it for me. Small businesses are the engine that drives the U.S. economy. Maybe if incentives were given to them things would get developed like more efficient energy and environmentally safe products. Instead, because the top and bottom levels are the squeakiest wheels the politicians want to take and take from the middle class. Pretty soon there won’t be anything left to take and then where will we be? Maybe it is time we as middle class and small businesses started to squeak a little?

Oh, and back to Obama’s tax plan and you doing your part to build the economy from the bottom up. If you go down each week on payday and give out enough $20 bills, after you recover from the mugging, you will probably have a good following that will vote for you should you decide to run for office.

The $700 billion bailout bill is a fleeting memory in the rear-view mirror of Americans. We are moving on to the controversial presidential election and have left the foxes guarding the hen-house. Let’s not forget this is our money that is in the hands of the irresponsible. There are several thing wrong with the numbers in this “rescue” bill to begin with. According to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) http://www.occ.treas.gov , a government agency that charters, regulates, and supervises all national banks; there is $6.1 trillion dollars of home mortgage paper in the U.S. Using the same agency figures for mortgage delinquencies at the end of June 2008 2.85% of these mortgages were 30-59 days late. 2.95% were seriously (more than 60 days) late and 1.60% were in foreclosure. If you add these percentages up they equal only 7.4%. There is something wrong with the government’s math here. If I take 7.4% of the $6.1 trillion in outstanding mortgages I can only come up with $451,400,000,000.00. Where is the other $248,600,000,000.00?

I know these numbers are boring except to the bean counter types, but I took the time to look them up and do the math. The bottom line is what does Bush, Paulson and Bernanke plan on doing with the extra $248 billion they fleeced from us? According to the U.S. Census Bureau http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/housing/hvs/qtr208/q208tab4.html owner occupied housing actually went up by 1% according to the second quarter estimate for 2008. This means that somewhere people are still buying houses. If the credit markets are as constipated as they claim where are these people getting the money to buy houses? Additionally the number of houses for sale only had just a .93% increase in the June 2008 estimate. If so many people were having such a hard time paying their house note don’t you think this figure would have been up substantially?

The government is calling this plan a “rescue” plan. Some have called it a bailout, but it smells more of a scam if you put the facts and figures together. Another thing to keep in mind is that 7.4% of delinquent mortgages are spread across many institutions. The banks and thrifts that were reasonable in their lending practices are not seeing near that percentage of delinquencies. What that leaves is a few of the greedy Wall Street institutions that are in trouble. This whole mess seems to be more of a good-buddy political payback scam being perpetuated on the American taxpayer by the Bush administration and Congress is going along with it. As a matter of fact the situation is so serious that Congress had to take a 3 month recess right in the middle of it. Now Bush and crew are telling us that it is going to take time before we start seeing results of the rescue. Here is a news flash; the markets will correct themselves in time. They always have and always will.

If you think back right after the 2004 elections when Bush was reelected for his second term is when we saw gas prices in the U.S. start to skyrocket. Although I don’t have solid proof, it appears that these prices were kept down until after the election then Bush told his oil buddies to “let ‘er rip ‘tater chip”. We saw gas prices go to $4.00 + a gallon and oil company profits soar. With the financial sector it wasn’t as easy as just turning lose the pricing dogs. Although these preferred Wall Street companies have made billions off ARM and sub-prime mortgages they wanted more and now they have it. There was no way they could increase prices or interest rates so another method had be devised; thus the “rescue” plan. Political pay-back is a bitch ain’t it? It’s just a shame that the American taxpayer has ended up being Wall Street’s bitch in this situation.

How can Obama cut taxes for 95 percent of tax filers when 33% of filers pay no taxes? That’s easy: he does it through equivocation or you could call it redefining the meaning of “tax cut” or you might just call it lying through his teeth. This con, ignored by the MSM, is on a par with the infamous “That depends on what the meaning of is is.”

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I am not one to usually concoct conspiracy theories but there are several things going on in America right now that make me wonder. After you read this I would like to hear from you and get your thoughts on it as well.

As we all know it is election year for both the president and congress. These are the most powerful positions within our government. In the presidential race we have Barack Obama and John McCain. Obama has come on the scene from relative obscurity. He is the least experienced presidential candidate to ever be in contention for the office. He has the ability to persuade large numbers of people with his polished speaking. Little is known about his background other than he has questionable ties to questionable individuals and organizations such as Bill Ayers, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Antoin “Tony” Rezko, and ACORN. If we are going to list all his associations we must not forget the south side Chicago political machine that he comes from.

As intelligent as Obama is he is little more than an empty suite. He tells us we need change and he’s the man to bring it about yet his plans and proposals have little merit when you look at what little he has made known about them. For example he says he will give 95% of taxpayers a tax cut yet won’t increase the federal deficit. He says he will reduce spending yet most of what he proposes calls for additional money. He says he will give us all health care yet doesn’t say how we will end up paying for it. Anytime somebody says they are going to change things I want to know what they are going to change, how they are going to change it and how they intend to pay for those changes. With Obama we know answers to none of these questions.

What we do know about Obama is his campaign has raised more money than any other presidential candidate in the history of the U.S. The problem is he won’t disclose where all this money is coming from. It appears from what little can be found out that much of it is coming from foreign sources. We also know that without his scripted speeches he is at a loss for words. If he can’t read it he can’t say it. This has become apparent a few times when his teleprompter malfunctioned or he makes statements such as he has campaigned in all 57 states. His excuse is he was tired from campaigning or had little sleep. If this man can’t think when he is tired or sleep deprived is he someone we want to be in charge of our war room? The big question here is who is in charge of Obama?

The next thing we have is John McCain. Here is a man that has a long record of service to American. Not just him, but his entire family has served. He has been in congress since 1982. The merits of his political history and military service alone would be enough to win the election for him when compared to Obama’s experience and service. Without running a negative campaign he could repute Obama just by his associations and keep him on the defensive right up until Election Day. All this could be done but it’s not. For some reason McCain seems to be holding back. He is an experience campaigner and speaker having ran for the office of president before and having won many elections to congress. Why is he not using his attributes to the fullest?

The other question about McCain is his pick for vice president. If he needed a woman to run on the ticket there are many experience women that might have been a better choice than Sara Palin. Her folksy down-to-earth attitude is probably something we need in Washington but from a political standpoint her obscurity, unlike Obama’s is being used against her. She has been governor of Alaska and the mayor of a small town. Even though she might have dealt with big oil and done a good job for the people of Alaska in tax cuts and efficiency that doesn’t mean she is ready to stand on the world stage and take on such adversaries as Iran, Korea, Russia and even some of the other leaders and countries around the world, many of which proclaim to be our friends yet inflict much harm to our country. By these I mean China as the main one, then we have Saudi Arabia and the other oil producing countries in the Middle East. I am sure if she tells them she shot a moose that will carry a huge impact on how they deal with the U.S. and their attitudes toward us. My question here is why?

The next thing to look at is the financial crisis the world economic system has fallen into. Three months before the election we have over 100 investment banks that have failed outright or been on the brink of failure and taken over by larger banks. A few of these are Lehman Brothers, Washington Mutual, Goldman Sachs and the quasi organizations of Freddie Mac and Fannie May. Suddenly President Bush, Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson and head of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke are on television telling us we are in a financial crisis and the government must step in to bail out these banks with taxpayer money. The public announcement by these three alone is enough to have a deep negative impact on the markets. Couple this with the consecutive announcements of these banks failing and you have a market burn down. The funny thing about this whole situation is the average business man hasn’t seen or felt any of it until all the press started about the meltdown. I have talked to other businesses, banks both large and small some even that were in the sub-prime business and they were all just as surprised as I about this sudden collapse of the economy. Of course now it is being felt all over because, if for no other reason, the government has told us its happening to the tune of $700 billion of our money. Hell, even congress wasn’t that concerned about it since they had time to consider things like children’s wooden arrows in the bail-out bill. Another thing about this is the world leaders are clamoring for a summit meeting to try and head off the world-wide financial crisis created by the U.S. economy. Bush announced last Friday through his press secretary, “the time and place for such a meeting is not a high priority right now”. Gee, Rome is burning and all the Neros in the U.S. Government are still fiddling?

Think about something for a moment. What better way to instill fear in people than mess with their money, especially money they thought was safe. We all know that the Bush administration is a big believer in controlling hearts and minds; remember that is what we had to win in Iraq. What better way to control people than with fear? Right now the fear is not of sticks and stones but financial fear. This causes irrational behavior in people and makes it easier for them to be susceptible to suggestion. Fear is the oldest controlling factor for oppressed people in the world. If you go back to biblical times you will find that when a people were afraid they were easily controlled. The German people were controlled by fear of Hitler’s SS. Sadam Hussein used fear of torture and death to control his people. So now is the U.S. Government starting to use financial fear to control its people?

Today another disturbing development that only adds to my suspicion of a conspiracy came about. General Colin Powell announced his support for Barack Obama. To me this carries some serious implications. Powell is former Secretary of State under George W. Bush. He has served as National Security Advisor under Ronald Regan and as Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff under George H.W. Bush. Obviously he has republican ties for most of his career. Powell seemed to be the man in line to become the first black contender for the office of President of the United States. His public announcement of his support for Obama is very suspect to say the least.

These are the questions I would like to see answered and investigated;

How did Obama rise to where he is so rapidly?

Who or what country or organization is behind Obama?

Where is Obama’s money coming from for his campaign?

Why is McCain not putting more enthusiasm in his campaign?

What is the end goal of who is in control of this situation? We know it is not about money, they have enough of that to manipulate the world economy. It is not power, they have enough of that to manipulate the U.S. electoral and governmental process. So what is the goal; oppression, domination or something else?

One other thought.  There have been discussion in some circles that Obama may be the anti-Christ.  I don’t think this is true; however I do think the anti-Christ may be waiting in the wings.  He just hasn’t made himself known to us yet.

Please either post comments or send me email or messages with your thoughts on this. Again, I will reiterate this is my theory only. I have no proof other than what has been stated above to substantiate. I do think it is plausible and even probable.

The news media is doing a great injustice to this country of ours and the people they are suppose to serve. I am talking about the reporting and analysis of the McCain-Obama debate last night. I think anything short of either candidate bitch-slapping the other was going to be deemed a failure by the media. Think about it for a minute. Each man only had 3-4 minutes to provide answers to questions that will determine the future and history of our country. How absurd can you get to expect some great revelation?

I don’t know how most people perceive these debates but I see them more as a short discussion between the candidates. These types of debates are not a competition to see which one can one-up the other. This is the only time when we see the candidates in a position to speak and respond directly to the other. There is no winner or loser. The media just can’t see it that way and take it for what it is worth. They are looking for something to sell advertising with. They are looking for a sound bite they can play over and over to grab your attention. Just because one of these men didn’t punch the other in the nose the media deemed it a mundane failure. If you really think about it this just proves the attitude the media has toward the American public. They think we are so stupid that we have to have “action” to be interested. They think we can’t listen to what is said and make our own determinations; they must tell us what was said. I don’t know about you, but I am insulted that some commentator, analyst or so-called expert must tell me what I heard.

One time I was reviewing a contract a company sent mine to do some work for them. There was a clause in the contract I didn’t agree with. I was in discussion with the other side’s contract administrator and told him I wouldn’t sign the contract unless that clause was revised. At that point he spent a good ten minutes telling me what that clause actually meant. Now understand the paragraph was written in plain English and was really simple. There was no technical jargon or complicated legal terms in the clause. After a few minutes of him telling me what the clause really said I stopped him. I told him that I understand the English language very well and learned how to read in the second grade. I also told him that he could “explain” what the words meant all day long but no matter they were going to mean exactly what they said and that would be the terms we were bound to. I told him that if that clause really meant something different than what the words said to revise it and send me another copy. This is the same thing that happens with our political system. The news media assume the American public is not smart enough to digest what they hear the candidates say so they must tell us instead what they said. Of course if the event turns out to be like that debate last night where two men on opposite sides of the issues have a discussion highlighting very briefly their ideas and opinions of the issues in a respectful and professional manner then the whole event is deemed a dud.

I didn’t major in journalism in school but I did in business and physiology. In the course I had to take a couple of journalism classes and one of the first things we learned was the difference between reporting and opinion. It seems that most of our news media, especially the main stream, missed that class. I don’t know if they expected McCain to hit Obama with a two by four or what. All I have heard is McCain didn’t attack Obama or he didn’t hit him hard enough, or he didn’t do this or that. Again, they are looking for that something that will sell more advertising for their network. The sad thing is if McCain had walloped his opponent with harsh words or actually took a swat at him then this same media would have deemed him mean and out of control.

The polarity of the news media bias for Obama is clear. Even Fox News, the network that is supposed to be “Fair and Balanced” seems to get caught up in this quest of sensationalism. This type of journalism is a great disservice to the American public. It used to be that if a news organization expressed their opinion it was clear the story was an editorial and not a report. None of the news organizations now even attempt to distinguish a difference. They spout their blurbs then cut to 10 commercials in a row. Biased news is a very dangerous thing. This election coming up is very important to the entire county’s economy, security and success. If intelligent and well-though decisions are not made we are going to be in more trouble than we are now. Biased reporting by the news media has contributed greatly to this situation. Millions of Americans only source of information is via the news media. Because of work school or other life necessities little time is left to look deeper into candidates or issues. It is a shame the news media has turned something as important as our electoral process into a popularity contest. Instead of reporting on the issues, records and merits of each candidate they convolute the process into a contest to see who can one-up the other. Where are the news stories about each of their economic plans with numbers and facts to support the story? Where are the news stories about each of the candidate’s record in the Senate? Where are the stories about each of their foreign policy? Where are the stories about their energy plan with facts and figures? I will tell you where; they don’t exist. The so-called journalist doesn’t see sensationalism in these types of stories that are the real meat of the process so they discard them as boring and look for the sensationalism.

This is why it is so important for each and every American to look into the facts and proposals of each of these candidates for themselves. It is time well-spent because then you will know for a fact what the records are and what the proposals amount to. Once you have done this research then you can make an intelligent decision on how to cast your ballot. In addition to knowing what each man stands for you will also be a part of the process done the right way and not the way main-stream media would like.

I am not sure where the minds of many of the American voter are but it certainly is not where it should be. We have a presidential candidate in Barack Hussein Obama II that is telling us he is going to change things. I agree change is needed in many areas of our government and society, however before we start changing we better know what we are going to change and how we are going to go about accomplishing those changes. Obama has revealed none of these yet millions are following him and believing every word he says without question or thought into what his changes might be. Remember 913 people believed what Jim Jones told them at Jonestown in 1978. Let’s take an objective look at Obama and see what we can come up with.

I am a big believer that we can’t know where we are going unless we know where we have been. This same theory holds true for individuals that want to be our leaders. If we look at where Obama has been the picture is pretty vague. He tells of his disadvantaged upbringing by a single mother and being raised by his grandmother who at one time was on food stamps and welfare. This could be about as humble as it gets but there is more to the picture. Although he admits to living in and being schooled in his early years in Jakarta Indonesia, little else is said about this. He also doesn’t elaborate on how he traveled to Pakistan using his Indonesian passport during a time when travel to that country was restricted for U.S. citizens. He also doesn’t reveal how he was able to attend some of the most expensive and prestigious institution of higher learning given his economic situation was so meager. I know it is not cheap to attend Columbia University and Harvard Law School. Where did the money come from for this prestigious education? One may assume it came from scholarships but that is all we can do is assume since so little of his past history has been revealed. Even if this is true the big question is who sponsored these scholarships?

Let’s move forward now to his term as U.S. Senator. If you take a look at legislation he sponsored during his short time in the Senate, most of it amounts to little or no substance. A detailed listing can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bills_sponsored_by_Barack_Obama_in_the_United_States_Senate
Until Obama decided to run for president 90% of the legislation he introduced had little or no significance. If you read the bills he sponsored it is obvious where his mindset is. Most of these have to do with promoting African-Americans in one fashion or another. Remember racism works both ways. There is not a lot that can be said about is accomplishments in the Senate because, well there are none. Most of his time in the Senate has been spent running for president.

Obama likes to lead us to believe his story is like Horatio Alger rising from rags to riches. In my opinion I think his story more closely parallels “The Manchurian Candidate” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Manchurian_Candidate ). If you look at his political history he comes from the Daley regime from the south side of Chicago. Although it is unclear who originally coined the phrase “Vote early and vote often”. It could have been Al Capone, William Hale Thompson or Richard J. Daley. No matter who actually coined the phrase, it is a fact that Daley and his crew of Democrats adopted this philosophy and built a powerful political machine using it. Now comes Obama who obviously is following his mentor as proven by voter fraud running rampant all over the country with organizations Obama is closely associated with such as ACORN. Also they have targeted states that allow convicted felons to vote and have put forth a massive effort to get these criminals registered and supporting Obama.

There is another issue that is at hand with the Obama campaign. He has raised more money than any other presidential candidate in history. The big question is where this money is coming from. His campaign won’t release true and accurate financial records. The information that is released indicated much of his contributions are coming from overseas, something that is illegal. Just one example is a contributor that makes credit card contributions in $25 increments and calls himself Mr. Good Will. The mysterious Mr. Will has made thousands of these $25 credit card campaign donations totaling amounts vastly in violation of the Campaign Contribution Act. From the information available about the donations not only do they exceed the individual amount allowed, it appears they originate from a foreign country. This is only one example, there are many more.

If you listen to what Obama says when he speaks it is total rhetoric. His pledges and promises are almost robotic and rehearsed. If he is asked a question out of the ordinary he seems to have problems formulating an answer. There is no doubt his speaking ability is posh and polished and his words are charming, but he is mesmerizing the American public. He has said thing like he campaigned in 57 states. He has gotten a free pass on all his ms-steps and ms-speaks. The media attributes it to campaign exhaustion and stress. If he can’t handle a campaign how will he handle that phone call that comes at 3:00AM if he is elected? This friend is a scary thought. What is even scarier is who or what organization is behind his campaign and his policy. You can rest assured Obama didn’t get where he is today on his own merits. There is a force behind him that has groomed and prepared him for this moment, and I don’t mean the Democratic Party. You can bet your bottom dollar that if he is elected whomever or whatever organization is behind him will expect and demand their rewards and he will have no problem handing over to them.

There is one other thing about Obama that deserves attention. His tax plan and how the numbers just don’t add up. For example he claims he will decrease taxes for 95% of all Americans while increasing them on the top 1% yet still have money to enact all his programs such as mandatory healthcare. These numbers just don’t add up people. If anyone actually reads his proposals what he says is totally different from what he proposes. For example he says he will only increase taxes for ones $250,000 a year or more. This is a play on words. He didn’t say he would increase taxes on INDIVIDUALS in that range. This means that nearly every small business in the U.S. can expect a tax increase because they are part of the “ones” included in his proposal. In the last debate he revised his figure from people making more than $250,000 to people making more than $200,000. He hasn’t even been elected and is already waffling. His healthcare plan is to make coverage mandatory for every American. This sounds good but there are problems with it from the foundation. First he would have the Federal Government administer healthcare. If you have ever tried to get something done through the government, just imagine having to go to them for a doctor appointment. The other problem with his healthcare plan is the burden of most of it will fall on small businesses. His requirement will be any small business will have to provide coverage for employees by contributing a tax-like contribution to the government. If a small business doesn’t contribute there will be a fine or levy. This sounds good except the main reason most small businesses don’t already provide coverage for their employees is because they can’t afford it. If elected and he implements this plan as proposed you will see many small businesses laying off employees or closing their doors because they just simply don’t have the money to pay what will be demanded.

It will benefit every American to look into Obama, his past and his proposals in depth before you decide he is the messiah. You have to decide if you want a president that is vague at best about his past and where his money comes from to obtain that office. You have to decide if you want a president that supports raciest organizations such as his church he attended for 20 years, and many of the community organizers he worked for in Chicago. It seems that based on his record he supports blacks just because they are black, nothing more required. You have to decide if you want a president that purports change but divulges little about his agenda. You have to decide if you want a president whose ties to terrorist are suspect and even proven but is given a free pass. You have to decide if you want a president whose wife that will be first lady, recently said that for the first time in her life she is proud of her country. You have to decide if you want a president that has no business experience and little political experience. As far as I can find out the biggest budget he ever presided over was $700,000 annually. The important thread here is you have to decide. When you decided don’t just take words at face value, look up the information for yourself. Do some research on the issues and records. Don’t depend on the media to tell you the truth, objective journalism went out the window with honest politicians. Once you have spent a little time looking in depth at the issues if you decided Obama is still your man then that is your right and nobody can fault you for that.

When we think of patriots here in the United States of America usually our military personnel come to mind first. These are the people that put their families on hold and their lives on the line to protect the freedoms we enjoy. If not our military that comes to mind it is usually a profound figure from history such as Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry or one of our other founding fathers. What we don’t think of is that each of us as citizens of the U.S. have a responsibility, no a duty to be patriots as well.

First we must know what it is to be a patriot. Webster defines a patriot as “one who loves his or her country and supports its authority and interest”. In years gone by love of our great nation was something that was taught at home by our parents and grandparents. These wise individuals have seen and experienced things we can only imagine. These teachings were reinforced by our civics and history classes in school. Times have changed and today’s society seem to have lost many if not most of the values that used to be standards to live by. With all the flimflams that have come out of Washington by our elected officials over the years it is understandable why citizens have lost sight of being a patriot and lost the love for our nation. Because of politics and partisan rifts it is almost like a competition between citizens and government. We resent paying taxes and seeing our money squandered on useless programs. We vote but it seems that nothing ever comes out of our congress that benefits us. We hear of benefit programs but yet when we need them they are not there for us. There are so many things that have caused the average American to become lack-luster and complacent with our government.

In addition to the antics of our government families are scattered and lack the unity that once was the basis for our society. It used to be young people had the wisdom and advice of our older generations to guide them. Today it seems everyone is too busy chasing the American Dream to spend time teaching our children things they need to be strong productive citizens. Our parents used to teach us about morals, responsibilities, honesty and what it took to be a good citizen. Now the family is not even a unit but a loose nit group of people just trying to get through life. Mom and dad, if still together, both have to work full time just to make ends meet. Children are left to their own devices to learn about life from their peers, television and the Internet. Schools, especially our institutions of higher learning, no longer teach curriculum. Instead they instill ideology and indoctrinate political and social behaviors that are not always for the benefit of society. We buy into the corporate spew through advertising, which is nearly all false or at the least misleading. We feel like we can’t make a difference and even our votes don’t count when it comes to or government. All these things are what have gotten us to the point we are today. Our financial system is in disarray and in imminent danger of collapse yet our congress adds a provision for toy arrow manufacturers to the savior bill. Does Nero, Rome and a fiddle come to mind? Our trade deficit for July was $62.2 billion meaning we imported that much more goods and services than we exported. We want $12 DVD players from Wal Mart without regard that our manufacturing capabilities are now all migrating to foreign countries costing tens of thousands of jobs here in the U.S.

With all this doom and gloom it is difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel and it makes one wonder what difference we can make as citizens. In less than thirty days we will vote in what could be one of the most important elections in the history of our country. I am sure you are thinking the presidential election, and yes that is important but there are other races that are even more important. There are many senatorial and congressional seats up from grabs in this same election. The president has term limits set by the constitution. He can only serve a maximum of two terms for a total of eight years. Senate and House of Representative seats can be for a lifetime if the candidate so chooses to run for reelection and is voted in each time by the public. Although in my opinion there should be term limits on senate and house members at present there are not. It is time we all make up our minds to be patriots. This means not only voting but voting with intelligence. Don’t just listen to what the candidates have to say but research their records and backgrounds. Know the person you are voting for before you vote for him. An election as important as this should not be a popularity contest. We need strong leaders that will make a stand for us and country. Being a patriot not only entails voting but follow up with your elected official and see that he is doing his job the way you want. Although many of the things that come out of government seem boring and confusing it is your duty to know the issues and let your voice be heard. Your representatives can’t fault you for letting them know how you stand on issues. Don’t be drawn in by the hype from the news media or circulated emails over the Internet. Vet the facts for yourself and know the issues. Political discussion has become almost taboo in nearly all aspects of our daily lives. This is not good. Talk with your family and friends about the issues. Even though you might not agree discussion and even debate in a civilized and respectful manner is the way the people have control. Be a patriot and teach your children to love their country. No matter how bad the U.S. and its government may seem this country is still above any other in freedom and rights for its citizens.

This is one time in your life when indifference and complacency won’t do. If you think you don’t make a difference think again. Every vote counts and every opinion carries weight. Don’t just go to the polls, watch the returns then forget about it. Even if your candidate doesn’t win write letters, make phone calls, send faxes and emails to the people that are there to represent you. Let them know you are watching their every move and their political career depends on your satisfaction. It is time for political posturing and deal-making to stop and our representatives take the will and best interest of the people they represent seriously. Now is the time to be a patriot. Our future and the future of our children depend on it.

I am sure, as most other Americans you have not read the entire text of the so called Emergency Economic Stabilization Bill passed by the Senate on Wednesday. This bill comes before the U.S. House of representatives today for a vote. Keep in mind the House can’t change any provisions of the bill because it was passed to them by the Senate. They must either accept it “as is” or reject it in entirety.

Another point to make is this bill is supposed to be the saving grace of our economic system. Washington, including President Bush, many members of congress, people like Jack Welch former C.E.O. of General Electric has been saying if a bill is not passed the U.S. economy will immediately spiral into a deep depression. These politicians and fat cats have been in panic mode for several days now. They say nobody can borrow a dime to buy a car, make payroll with their business or buy a house. It seems from their pressers and comments they are making a concerted effort to instill this same panic to the public. I think they would like nothing more than to see a “run” on a bank, any bank, so the new media could perpetuate this panic.

I have talked to senior loan officers at several banks. Some of these banks are larger regional banks that participated to some extent in sub-prime lending. Without exception none of them are anywhere near financial failure. Without exception they all confirmed that credit lines are open to borrowers that qualify under the same credit standards they have always used. If you can afford to pay it back you can still get a loan. The politicians and media have cited a few isolated incidences of credit lines being pulled or loans being called. One case was a restaurant that had their credit line pulled, however they were already $300 thousand in debit. The other was an $11 million dollar loan to a business that was called in 90 days. In neither case did they say these businesses were otherwise stable and sound. They just illustrated how they couldn’t get credit. Again these illustrations seem to be an effort to spread the panic that is emitting from Washington and Wall Street.

If you read the context of the bill H.R. 1424 you have to wonder, with the levity of the situation as it is purported to be how our esteemed senators had time to consider some of the provisions included in this bill. It would be my thought all attention would be on crafting a law (what a bill actually is) to alleviate the situation at hand. When I heard the text of the bill grew from 110 pages for the house version to 451 pages for the senate version I smelled a big ole stinkin’ rat. True to form our elected representatives could not pass legislation even as serious as this without loading it down with perks and special interest. In the shadow of economic melt-down for the entire U.S. economic system it makes one wonder how they had time to consider and include such nonsense as the following taken directly from the text of the bill:

Sec. 304. Extension of look-thru rule for related controlled foreign corporations.
Sec. 305. Extension of 15-year straight-line cost recovery for qualified leaseholdimprovements and qualified restaurant    improvements; 15-year straight-line cost recovery for certain improvements to retail space
Sec. 308. Increase in limit on cover over of rum excise tax to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
Sec. 309. Extension of economic development credit for American Samoa.
Sec. 314. Indian employment credit.
Sec. 315. Accelerated depreciation for business property on Indian reservations.
Sec. 316. Railroad track maintenance.
Sec. 317. Seven-year cost recovery period for motorsports racing track facility.
Sec. 322. Tax incentives for investment in the District of Columbia.
Sec. 325. Extension and modification of duty suspension on wool products; woolresearch fund; wool duty refunds.
Sec. 503. Exemption from excise tax for certain wooden arrows designed foruse by children.
Sec. 504. Income averaging for amounts received in connection with the ExxonValdez litigation.

These are only a few of the most ridiculous inclusions in this bill. In the face of economic collapse our senators had time to consider tax breaks from rum exports, motorsports racing, wool producers and of all things WOODEN ARROWS??? There are other inclusions that are even more serious. For example this bill provides the Secretary of Treasury to appoint “financial agents” in the name of the U.S. Government. These appointments are at his discretion and require no other authority other than this bill. Bottom line is we could have Goldman-Sacs or Lehman Brothers as financial agents for our U.S. Treasury. That is really reassuring for our financial future huh?

This bill is just another demonstration from Washington of how out of touch they are with the taxpayer. If it passes the House of Representatives it will also demonstrate just how out of touch the taxpayer is with Washington. This is also another exercise in congress attempting to “pull the wool” (in this case figuratively and literally) over the eyes of the American public. If you read the context in depth you will find it is filled with “good ole boy” clauses and provisions. It is truly Washington and Wall Street scratching each other’s backs at its finest.

Here is my opinion based on conversations with senator’s and congressmen’s offices, news reports and actually reading the bill. I think the Wall Street investors have procured foreign securities on margin with the sub-prime mortgages as the base. With the collapse of the housing market the foreign entities have called the margins and Wall Street doesn’t have the money to pony up. Now they and the politicians are crying over their spilt milk and forcing the burden on American taxpayers. If congress wanted to provide for offsets in this bill how come there were no provisions for curtailing economic aid to foreign countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other oil rich countries? How come there are no provisions for stopping the bleed in manufacturing in the U.S. and placing tariffs on imports to encourage American companies to restart producing American products again? This list can go on and on but to our demise our congress was more concerned with WOODEN ARROWS and relieving rum taxes than the actual task at hand.

I urge you to contact your congressman in the House of Representatives now and tell him to vote against this bill. They are all in a rush to adjourn and return home to politic for reelection next month. This is a precarious situation because they will be in a rush to pass something just so they can get out the door.

You can find your congressman’s contact information by Googling [your state name] congressmen. Get their phone numbers and call them immediately and let them know how you want their vote to be cast on this issue. If the lines are busy keep calling.

Last night the United States Senate passed what they are calling the Emergency Economic Stabilization bill. What appears to have happened is they have put lipstick on the pig once again. Although I have not read the entire text of the bill, it appears they are once again trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the taxpayers.

As I watched the pressers and news conferences last night it appeared the Senate was more interested in having a circle jerk and congratulating themselves on what a good job they did rather than inform the American people of what they had just done. The main point each and every one of them brought out about the bill was an increase in FDIC account insurance from $100,000 to $250,000 dollars. I don’t know if they think people are just dumb to think this provision is a great accomplishment or if it was just the best they could do. Anybody with liquid assets in those amounts will already have their deposits spread around in separate accounts and institutions.

The second point they hawked were the tax break extensions. These were nothing new and were going to be passed either way, whether in this bill or another issue. My question is this; if the meat and intent of the bill was so critical to the survival of the U.S. economy why did they have to include tax breaks and other “sweeteners” in order to facilitate it passing the House of Representatives? I am sorry but what I have seen and read so far doesn’t convince me that we are moving in the right direction. They keep telling us this is for Main Street and not Wall Street yet all the $700 billion is going to Wall Street. Again I ask the question, do they think Americans are just that dumb or is this just the best they can do in their high-minded political orientated manner?

I don’t think any of these politicians realize that if you buy a bushel of bad tomatoes they don’t go good just because you bought them. I had a conversation with Will, an aide to Senator Cochran yesterday. I asked if anyone knew what was included in the package of securities that was being bought from these ailing Wall Street firms. His answer was some of them were bad mortgages but there were other securities as well. I pressed for a more direct answer as to exactly what kind of securities were involved other than sour mortgage paper. I never got a direct answer from Will, although when I mentioned foreign securities and investments he went silent. I am afraid a big part of this package is overseas loans, warrants or bonds that these Wall Street banks have floated to perpetuate their greed and line their own pockets. If my suspicions are true then a large part of our $700 billion will immediately leave the country. There were 2 senators that stood out on the debate yesterday before the vote. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) stood up and said she would vote for the bill; however she also indicated she was putting pressure on the FBI to investigate the principals of these failed Wall Street firms that have made millions off the scams and bad business. If these investigations result in wrong-doing she will press for incitements and recouping of assets. I respect the Senator very much for her stance on going after these dogs. The other Senator was Senator Richard Shelby (R-Ala.). Senator Shelby just stated plainly in reference to the bill it wasn’t what it appeared to be and stated “I am just not going to vote for the thing”. I applaud the Senator from Alabama for standing up.

My contention with the whole mess has been that in not one instance has any mention been made, with the exception of Ms. Mikulski, about recovering any of the ill-gotten assets from the former executives and brokers of the failed Wall Street firms. These people have made millions of dollars off this scam and now the government is bailing them out. I bring up one name, Bernie Ebbers. Ebbers involvement in the World Comm scandal was questionable at best yet the man received 25 years in prison and the courts took away every dime of assets he owned. The only people that lost in World Comm were the stockholders. This banking scam is far bigger and more widespread with multiple companies being involved yet there has been no provisions for encumbering personal assets of these banking executives. The whole thing might be more easily swallowed if there were some strong provisions included to go after these devils in $1,000 suits. I don’t expect this to happen because these guys are the ones that put the senators and congressmen where they are today. Now the politicians have to wipe their butts and clean up the mess they made.

There is one other thing that has happened in the last 2 days that further demonstrates just how out of touch Washington is with the people they are elected to represent. I talked to congressman Chip Pickering’s office on Tuesday. Congressman voted yes on the house bill on Tuesday. I asked one of his aides why he voted as he did when all I was hearing down here in Mississippi was constituents saying they were against the bill. Her response was they had several call in favor of the bill. I asked if the number of calls in favor of the bill were higher than those against it, and if so this was contrary to what I was hearing locally here in Mississippi. She couldn’t or wouldn’t affirm this was true, however when I asked why the congressman didn’t vote as the people directed her response was; “You people in Mississippi elected him to do what he thinks is best for you”. When I corrected her and pointed out he was elected to represent the people of Mississippi and his job was to inform us of what was transpiring in the House of Representatives so we could make informed decisions and then he was to vote the will of the people, not according to his own opinions, she hung up the phone on me. This just demonstrated the high-handed, better-than-you, you are just a lowly constituent attitude of our elected officials.

I urge you to call your Congressmen today and give them your opinion on this matter. It will be coming up for a vote in the House of Representatives tomorrow. Even though the bill will probably pass, let them know you are mad as hell and aren’t going to take it anymore. Demand immediate and severe repercussions on the executives and brokers that participated and profited from this scam. Don’t let the politicians or these con artist get away with this!