Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Friends in high places!
As one of the original investors in Hawaii’s Central Pacific Financial, Daniel Inouye has had a vested interest in the success of this bank consistently through the years. When the latest economic downturn burned through he and his wife’s shares, there was something Central Pacific Bank had up its sleeve other less fortunate shareholders and financial institutions lacked, a Senator/investor.
According to the Washington Post Central Pacific Bank “was an unlikely candidate for a program designed by the Treasury Department to bolster healthy banks”. However, it is reported that shortly after Senator Inouye initialized contact with Central Pacific they received $135,000,000! [UPDATE: Previously reported here as $135,000.] The Washington Post reports around 30 senators own shares in banks that got federal aid – yet, none of them intervened on behalf of a bank in which they owned shares. As a reporter, this is a tough article to write. We have attended events and have gotten to know the Senator; we have friends who work at and bank with the local branch of CPB, and we know some of the Senator’s staff. Hawaii, after all, is a small state. Senator Inouye has a long and distinguished public service record/career and is a gentle man. While he has declined comment, to date, this act of self interest, which seems totally uncharacteristic of his service record, comes at a time when Americans are waking up to a most distasteful and unpleasant reality: Our elected officials consistently disappoint their fellow citizens through abuse of power, disingenuous public statements, taxation which invites the notion of malfeasance and a blind willingness to support party lines with a ‘damn the consequences’ attitude towards our Constitution and our Liberties. Senator Inouye’s personal financial losses through his investment with CPB, to the tune of about $400k [about 79 per cent of his overall investments which is about 2/3 of his total assets reported in 2008] tested his own personal integrity. Clearly, his part in the infusion of one hundred and thirty five million dollars is questionable, at the very least! His name is now added to a growing list of disappointing public servants [a term which has become an oxymoron].
There are many Americans who suffered significant losses, some of them taking a complete hit, yet they do not have such options available to them. Is this a perk of the job of Senator or a clear over-reach of his position? Is it proof ‘absolute power corrupts absolutely’? Whatever it is, it will likely not be a big news item, not raise many eyebrows, not disgust many who know of it, not amount to much when compared to the colossal abuses of power already being unleashed by this President and his administration of ‘Change’. Whatever you may wish to label it, will it move you to VOTE on November 2, 2010 for change? Will you exercise the one hint of democracy still available to you, the right to FIRE those elected officials who have proven track records of questionable ethics, a morality of convenience --those who engage in social fascism by PUSHING their agenda, those who turn a deaf ear to the citizens of this Country, by voting them out? Your VOTE against this corrupt administration may be your one last voice of dissent. It should be used wisely with an eye to real change from the decades of liberty eroding legislation and lawmaking. We can remove those government officials who flaunt disgust for their constituency by engaging in shady activity with impunity.
Here’s something Senator Inouye may not have been ‘banking’ on, pun intended, YOU voting against him should he decide to run again! He is only one of many who have disrespected us with a show of utter contempt for the trust and stewardship invested in the office they occupy and represent!
Please do not read this, shake your head thinking ‘shame on him’ and then promptly forget it. We have a long 16 months until our vote can truly change this historic movement away from life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; now a series of fleeting momentary memories.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
President's Engagement
Clearly, the elections issue is a domestic issue and should be handled within. Contrary to the slow to speak leadership from the Commander and Chief of the U.S. however, is the difference between taking sides in a domestic issue and speaking out in adamant vehemence over heinous human rights abuses!
If the U.S. stands for anything it stands for individualism expressed through the constitutional and natural law of liberty! And in Cairo, the President coined a phrase he employs often: 'a country must lead by consent not coercion.' While reiterating his pet phrase from the speech in Cairo, he misses the point, in fact, has let an entire week of missed opportunities pass him by to show some back bone and sincerely rebuke the Iranian government for the appalling way they have dealt with the youthful activists of their country. There have been statements made by nations from Europe and North America that have been exactly what America's own should have been saying, and since DAY ONE! One cannot use words like 'condemn' with a monotone voice and have it sound like credible conviction. President Obama has failed the people he represents for a week by not taking the lead in exhibiting absolute abhorrence for what we have seen and heard from the folks in Iran.
To add insult to injury to the youthful idealists who have taken to the streets with much peril, and to the folks of America who truly hold liberty as an ideal worth dying for, the President of America has continued the idea that he and his administration could sit down on OUR INDEPENDENCE day with representatives from Iran at the US embassies for a celebration of July 4th! Come on! Forget slap in the face to the kids in Iran, how about a full on PUNCH in the gut! Invite a CELEBRATION with the Iranian Government on Independence Day? Is this sardonic humor? A day we lift up LIBERTY and celebrate it's ideal giving thanks we are privileged to enjoy it here? You have got to be kidding!!!!
Instead of 'engaging' the Iranian government, in celebration, why not engage the youth on the street with outrage for the way they have been treated! Why not organize our July 4th parties here at home, and in US Embassies, in honor of oppressed and repressed in all countries with a renewed conviction to do all we can for those who want LIBERTY -- to achieve it. Let's be very vocal about how we feel regarding the abuse of power the Iranian government, an alleged theocracy, has demonstrated against their own citizens. That is what LIBERTY means, not just a right for American's but a right for all. Not just something for us to celebrate and 'oh well' for the rest of the world. We have a responsibility for Liberty's sake to take up the banner and make it so!
Just to be clear, interventionism is not a correct policy in the 'elections' issue of this country, on that the administration is correct. But STRONG, PASSIONATE protest against the Government's response to dissent is not only necessary but an obligation of every free soul in this world, but especially in the U.S. of A!
Mr. President, on this issue, where is the youth of Iran's 'AUDACITY OF HOPE?'
UPDATE: This was just posted at 2P ET on Twitter, hashtag iranelection: Germans, French, Brits, Aussies: pls ask your govs to put pressure on IR gov, not just talk, US gov won't do anything #iranelection
Saturday, June 20, 2009
"Do not wear contact lenses, they will burn with gases"
"Do not wear contact lenses, they will burn with gases" struck me when I read it. Those of us who were contacts do not think of such things happening. But with the overwhelming belief the government was dropping 'lye' from helicopters onto the crowd on Saturday it was a 'warning' that was well timed and very touching to have read.
The cost of freedom is not cheap! These folks are showing they are willing to give up their lives for a radical change to their country's policies and rulership. They're dying for a cause that has taken millions of lives for many centuries -- the cause of LIBERTY!
Green power has grown and taken route way outside of Tehran. The color of Mousavi's campaign has morphed into the 'yellow ribbon' or the colors of glory for the activists in Iran. Folks outside the country are putting green over their avatars on twitter in support of the evolution of Freedom in Iran.
In this time, when America's own liberties are waning due to socialistic policies, it seems invigorating in a 'uniting' way that America should focus on praying and supporting this fledgling struggle for Freedom in Iran. The opinion media can go a long way to assuring their success by encouraging the hopeful youth of Iran to press forward to FREEDOM. News media here in this country should continue to manifest empathy for the way the citizens have been treated. Being shot, beaten, gassed, and having an acid bath dropped from above has not stopped this forward march.
For a country that is allegedly a 'theocracy' it appears they are employing Saddam Hussein type dictatorship, punishing anyone who steps out of line. Difference? Saddam's regime was not a theocracy. How can someone who truly believes themself a man of God drop acid upon thousands of his own kids? It is unthinkable.
While President Obama may need to walk a fine line where taking sides on the election issue is concerned, when it comes to HUMAN RIGHTS, there should never be a reticence! If AMERICA is truly supportive of HUMAN RIGHTS then surely Mr. Obama will on Sunday make a definitive and strong condemnation of the Iranian Government for its HUMAN RIGHTS ATROCITIES! Surely he will do that. As the First Father, on Father's day, for the sake of the 'kids' marching for their lives, STAND UP FOR THEIR INALIENABLE RIGHTS, PLEASE Mr. President!
To anyone reading this, please hold these folks up in prayer that their sacrifice may not be in vain. The struggle for Liberty must never be invisible to those not in the struggle.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Open Letter of Mahalo [thanks] to FoxNews
The reasonable person may ask, with all the positive press he is getting, why must he belly ache about Fox? They report…WE decide!!
I make no excuses. I am a loyal FoxNews viewer. I began watching FoxNews on September 11th 2001. That day, I had my usual choice of stations, ABC and CNN. [I became a CNN fan during the 1991 Gulf War.] I went back and forth between the two. Before that day I did not even know there was a Fox News cable news station. After having watched ABC [and believe me I cannot even to this day say enough about the wonderfully warm and tireless reporting of Peter Jennings. He will always be one of my favorite reporters.] and flipping over to CNN, the stories and experts were starting to repeat themselves and the speculation was endless. ABC had a former CIA agent on who was outstanding. When he was on I stopped everything to listen. But by mid afternoon I began surfing through the various channels and landed on FoxNews. It was like night and day! The reporters were out there and they were fast and furious covering so many angles of the day’s tragedies. The reporters were not only informed and confident they were human. What I believe I really loved most about FoxNews that day was the sense of Patriotism that was the clear underpinning of their news. For the next few days I continued to switch back and forth but more and more I began just watching FoxNews. I learned their schedule of programming and recorded Fox so I could watch when I got home. By the time the bad guys [terrorists who flew the planes] were finally identified by the government I was committed solely to FoxNews.
Here on Oceanic Time Warner, we have cable channel 112 that has thumbnails of 6 news stations and you can cursor over anyone of them to see/hear what they are reporting. FoxNews is always the only one who is about news all the time. The others are about social issues, entertainment, headlines but not the news that affects American’s lives in all aspects.
It is no big surprise I agree with such commentators as Dick Morris, Robert Bolton, Glenn Beck, Mike Baker; or, reporters such as Geraldo, Hemmer, Live Desk, Shepherd Smith, Oliver North or programming like O’Reilly, Hannity, Greta and Red Eye. I appreciate the different degrees of reasoning they each bring to the viewer. I may disagree with some of them some of the time but I appreciate their level of integrity and their continuing support of America and her people! [I always enjoyed Tony Snow and John Gibson too!]
Further, when you have a powerful coupling of patriotic reporters and viewer you have the best mix of opportunity to inspire the latent patriot within. Freedom of speech is a constitutional right in this country all of us know about but few of us utilize when it comes to politics. Not anymore! We understand the angst Dante wrote of when he said this: “The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in times of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality." We are faced with the greatest of moral crises from the top down right now.
Being a loyal FoxNews viewer comes with a mixed bag of responses and yes a cost. When you say 'you heard on Fox' … the harangue you get is mind boggling. When watching Fox in a public area, doesn’t matter if you are the only one in a room watching it, someone comes in and changes the station without asking, views for a moment and walks out. But, I remember too, during the first weeks of the Iraq war everywhere I went FoxNews was on. Businesses, friend’s homes, malls, and airport lounges. One of my all time favorite television shows, “Boston Legal”, barely went a week without referencing FoxNews in a negative way. FoxNews is a phenomenon that exists today and it amuses me that it affects the alleged ‘most powerful man in the world’ to the point that he has to elicit sympathy from his adoring fans by complaining about FoxNews. It is really pitiful, I mean, REALLY pitiful.
To the folks at FoxNews/FoxNation I leave you with these salient words from Thomas Paine: “Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it.” Please know, that in the case of this household, we continue to support you in what you are doing regardless of the heat we take from work associates, friends, neighbors and yes, sometimes family. You have awakened the American within and reminded us what we learned as children: The U.S. Constitution is a document that needs to be respected; the Flag should be honored; the National Anthem should stir our soul with reverent appreciation for sacrifice and that America is the land of the Free and home of the Brave. Further, one should neither remain silent when the desire to share your belief in God needs expressing, nor fail to exercise the right to encourage someone with/in faith!
Lastly, your news message reminds us we must be model citizens through a civil demonstration of our values and beliefs. It serves as a FOXLIGHT on the corruption tolerated by this administration, their disregard for citizens of America from all political parties or no party at all, and the questionable ethics of the current political environment. Mostly, you report on the many ways the current administration is trying to fade the Constitution to barely negligible. It is no wonder the leader of this country may be feeling a little heat because his feet are being held to the fire by viewers who have awakened from deep mental hibernation.
Thank you FoxNews, one and all, for doing an outstanding job of reminding Americans they are the ‘people’ and the government is to be ‘by the people, for the people and OF the people’. To all the journalists out in the field and in dangerous places, thanks. To all the anchors, thanks. To the Business folks, thanks. To ALL the WEEK END shows, THANKS!
PINK SLIP DAY, Nov 2, 2010!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Dear President: How about Video Conferencing?
Thanks to the fly over photo op in NY we are all fairly informed on the cost for using the Nation’s airborne command post. The article mentions the tab for DC to Chicago R/T: about $236k and that isn't including ancillary costs such as protection, secret service, etc.
The Chicago Trib correctly pointed up former President’s Reagan and Bush burned through costs flying to their respective homes. In the same article Chicago Trib dropped the bombshell cost of about a million dollars should the Obama’s decide to spend their vacation in Hawaii again this year.
Most Americans will not begrudge the President and his family their fair share [or should I say 'fare' share?] of rest and relaxation. BUT, when it comes to his endless campaigning for all his pet projects, why not do video conferencing? It’s the next best thing to being there and he can still garner all the adulation that he seems to crave. [Though as it turned out, the AMA crowd was not so adoring.]
Technology today is so outstanding where communications is concerned and for a fraction of the cost of flying the man there he could still be on point with his message while being frugal with the taxpayer’s dollar. This one is a stubborn one! When his photo op debacle produced any number of photo shop renditions of AF 1 flying over a myriad of well known sightseeing destination, there should have been a clear message to the White House to 'get with technology'. Would it not be wise of his advisors to think in terms of lesser expensive means to get his message out? Or like my dear husband recently asked me, “Doesn’t this guy know the election is over? He won? Why is he still campaigning?” At the cost of using national resources like Air Force One, why indeed?
As a suggestion for vacation, it would probably be less expensive to fly his relatives from Honolulu to Chicago, or the White House for vacation than to fly AF 1 to Honolulu. Why not stay in town and visit museums? Just thinking out loud here.
The CHANGE that was promised? Fiscal responsibility? President Obama fires an Inspector General because the President has lost confidence in the man, for? Finding fraud amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars and then arranging for half of it to be repaid to the government? So what? 'Look we have an extra $487,000, thanks to former Inspector General Walpin. Why not burn through those savings by FLYING TO CHICAGO to promote my Health Plan Program that is already dying on the vine?' And why is it dying on the vine? Because the costs to support it has turned up the heat on senate seats up for reelection! Did President Obama not get the Memo? NO MORE SPENDING! That means no more flights to beat a dead horse. Enough already.
FYI, TOTUS and video conferencing are not mutually exclusive.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Panetta vs Cheney: A Preemptive Strike?
The head of the CIA is alleged to have said this: “"It's almost, a little bit, gallows politics. When you read behind it, it's almost as if he's wishing that this country would be attacked again, in order to make his point. I think that's dangerous politics." Ya think?
In the environment where media is having a feeding frenzy on each other, where one side’s editors and bloggers have found big PRESS in blaming certain media personalities or celebrities for heinous acts of violence committed recently by criminals, why should the comment by the Head of CIA be surprising? But, come on, this should ALARM every American -- the Blame Game at such levels of leadership is wrong on so many levels!!!
This statement lays the ground work to continue a trend to hang the ‘blame’ for an atrocious act on ‘someone’ else. If we are attacked here in the US, after this statement, it will be a nano second before the finger pointing by the ‘blame gang’ accuses V.P. Cheney. Why? Because he has been sharing his concerns that our national security is not what it should be. If an attack should happen orchestrating the event to have everyone talking about who's to blame would deflect the attention of the American audience from ‘who’ really may be responsible.
This current finger pointing is a tool being used by both sides. One side said lately Dr. Tiller is dead because of conservative personalities while conservatie personalities say the Holocaust Museum and the stepped assault against the Jews ‘may be’ as a result of President Obama’s foreign policy speeches where he diminishes the unspeakable murder of 6 million Jews by the Nazi regime by segueing into the plight of the Palestinian people today.
Now CIA head says VP Cheney wants an attack to prove his position regarding the Obama National Security policies. Mr. Panetta says he thinks it’s dangerous politics. Here's a CLUE: Your statement continues the 'dangerous politics!' It is divisive and creates a straw man argument for the sake of finger pointing. Enough already!That sword swings both ways and making this sort of statement merely pours fuel on the fire in the minds of those who would do us harm. The bad guys are watching and the infighting between notable leaders is sending a very definitive signal to the bad guys that we are so busy arguing with each other we’d never notice if they decided to make good on their latest threat. I hope someone is watching the tunnels while the bickering is going on.
American people are not feeling particularly safe these days. We haven’t forgotten what happened! This is not one of Mr. Panetta’s best moments, and he has had some great moments of late with regard to release of documents/photos relative to the intelligence gathering techniques used on 3 very bad guys!
Is it to late to ask for leadership to act responsibly? Do they understand the power of words? Americans are not the stupid folk the politicians believes them to be. Family safety is important and national security is a broader version of that concern. If we do not see responsible dialogue we will decide for ourselves in 2010 when we issue Pink Slips to all who are NOT doing their job.
National Security is way too important for it to be reduced to such diatribe. Talking about ‘stupid’ folks the old adage may apply here: While the politician’s finger is pointing to the ‘American voter’ as being stupid there are 3 fingers pointing back to themselves! Our security is not ‘an opportunity for entertainment’!
Friday, June 12, 2009
Checques & Balances
So, what is the real story here with this Gerald Walpin and the return of about half of the nearly million dollar grant to the St. Hope Academy in Sacramento, coincidentally with oversight by the mayor of Sacramento, also coincidentally a supporter of Obama. Big Surprise. The termination of Mr. Walpin’s job as INSPECTOR GENERAL, after he discovers the "misspent' monies and arranges for half the grant to be returned, bears further investigation by every American! Why would a man lose his job for doing his job? Moreover, why is the focus of his termination on how the mayor of Sacramento ‘feels’ about the investigation and consequential return of half a million dollars? [Which by the way he is allowed to take up to 10 years to repay the lion's share? While he uses it, makes interest on it?] Why would Obama ‘lose confidence’ in a man who has just uncovered such gross 'misspending' and penalized the 'misspending' recipient with reimbursement of monies? Then again, this is the same government who continues to fund ACORN, itself billowing with criminal charges and under investigation by some of its own directors for the lack of complete financial disclosure.
Obama is planning to tax just about everything from the air we exhale to the soft drink we consume to the gas we use to run the ‘Green Machine’ [no doubt GM’s new government car] and even the health care for employees who have it! Let’s not forget the special head’s up we got last month about the nifty VALUE ADDED TAX, a national sales tax of about 25% on everything with no cessation of all other taxes already being levied against the American consumer, citizen and taxpayer.
As the news of ways to finance his grandiose plans for his titanic government continues to flow in a torrential wave towards us drowning us in despair wondering when it all will end, maybe the simple suggestion to the President: Do NOT fire the Inspector General for having done his job! You should staff that department with a dozen more like him. Imagine if they all found such waste and were able to recuperate some of the misappropriated funds the folks here in this country would feel more inclined to see Obama as a capable steward of the national treasury. In the 4 short months of this guy’s administration we have come to understand this statement a tad differently: “two things are certain in life: Death and Taxes!” Today, and many of these taxes are yet to be fully implemented, the clear truth of this administration is ‘DEATH through TAXATION! ‘
Will it be death of many who can no longer live under the tremendous burden of all this tax?
Will it be death of America and its centuries old form of government through taxation without representation?
Will it be the very thing that switches this administration from two term tracks to one term and an ignoble place in history!
You need to decide. It is up to YOU! If it is the latter it can only be done if you VOTE and vote for HONEST REPRESENTATION.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Honoring our Emblem of Liberty-June 14th Flag Day
There was a time when Flag Day was about parades, was about proudly displaying the emblem of Freedom and Democracy, with families and communities understanding the importance of the day. There was a time when every school kid in America knew who Betsy Ross was. Then there came a day when the American Flag was burned and respect for its ideals fell to the ‘silent majority’ to keep alive. After the attack on America in 2001 the Flag was immediately elevated with pride to its former place of respect. Flags were flown on home poles, worn on lapels, sent in email as wallpaper, proudly owned! That event ignited the patriotism of most Americans. Now we are at a crossroads. Those who hold this national treasure in reverence for the ideals it represents and those who are concerned they would be considered some ‘wing nut’ if they proudly displayed their respect for the Flag. The Flag, like the Bible, represents Freedom and allegiance. Both have attracted and repelled radicals. Both represent the quintessential good of humanity --FREEDOM -- freedoms which are inherent in Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.
National Flag Day and National Flag Day week have been noted by presidential proclamation annually. Where is this year’s proclamation? We are but 5 days away from the 14th.
The cost to defend our beloved ideals, and yes, the very banner of those ideals, our National Flag, is incalculable. The loss of Life continues to mount as democracy stands against a world of religious, political, national and economic assault .The unifying symbol that embraces not only the highest ideals for humanity but the tremendous loss of humankind in preservation of Life, of Liberty and of Pursuit of Happiness, is the American Flag.
For each century since the Flag was formerly adopted in 1777, there have been great men/women who have stepped up to elevate the Flag high upon it’s staff. This century needs a remarkable and historic people to etch on the pages of the new millennium’s record of history a renewed respect for our Flag. Perhaps the beginning of this will be done by the masses here in this country that will rise up in defense of the very constitution that defines our democracy, our Republic, and ‘the Flag for which it stands!’
Will you be a protector of our freedoms? Will you fight for our constitution -- the constitutional government -- and the symbol of its power -- the American Flag? Will you fly your Flag in honor of it?
We leave you with this simple but powerful truth uttered by one of the Founding Fathers and signers of our Constitution defining the Republic:
“Here sir, the people govern.”
Liberty Pole Post awaits this year’s Presidential Proclamation. We will post it here once it is available.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Remembering & Honoring Our Fallen & Vets D-DAY
Liberty Pole Post found these words by President Reagan best shared the true depth of respect: “Gentlemen, I look at you and I think of the words of Stephen Spender's poem. You are men who in your "lives fought for life and left the vivid air signed with your honor." Further Pres. Reagan, himself a veteran of World War 2, said this: “What inspired all the men of the armies that met here? We look at you, and somehow we know the answer. It was faith and belief. It was loyalty and love.
The men of Normandy had faith that what they were doing was right, faith that they fought for all humanity, faith that a just God would grant them mercy on this beachhead, or on the next. It was the deep knowledge -- and pray God we have not lost it -- that there is a profound moral difference between the use of force for liberation and the use of force for conquest. You were here to liberate, not to conquer, and so you and those others did not doubt your cause. And you were right not to doubt.”
What was the feeling back in America this fated day? “The Americans who fought here that morning knew word of the invasion was spreading through the darkness back home. …in Georgia they were filling the churches at 4:00 am. In Kansas they were kneeling on their porches and praying. And in Philadelphia they were ringing the Liberty Bell.” said Pres. Reagan.
Today, a soldier who was in the 3rd wave of our dear military spoke of his memories on FoxNews.
He still bears the pain of loss yet reminds us it is important to hang our Flag, the emblem of Life and Liberty, in memory of those slain.
Today, the Commander and Chief of America’s military, President Obama, honored the Vets present at the 65th Commemoration of D-Day at Normandy with a ‘thumbs up’ instead of a salute! How indecorous of the Commander and Chief to signal to the elderly Vets ‘good job’ instead of ‘I honor and respect you’! While his words to the world conveyed respect for this historic record of Liberty's fight, this gesture failed to support a depth of appreciation for these Veterans. Where are the advisors to the President? Why not teach him what he never learned because he did no military service? Does he truly comprehend the magnitude of his own statements: “That is the story of Normandy - but also the story of America; of the Minutemen who gathered on a green in Lexington; of the Union boys from Maine who repelled a charge at Gettysburg; of the men who gave their last full measure of devotion at Inchon and Khe San; of all the young men and women whose valor and goodness still carry forward this legacy of service and sacrifice.” with a ‘thumbs up?’
May our nation reflect upon these solemn words: “Here, in this place where the West held together, let us make a vow to our dead. Let us show them by our actions that we understand what they died for. Let our actions say to them the words for which Matthew Ridgway listened: "I will not fail thee nor forsake thee."
Thank you for leading by example dear Soldier;
Liberty Pole Post
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Launching PINK SLIP DAY Campaign
We’re on a national train that is speeding so fast that we cannot see the significant things we need to and it is dizzying to try and focus on a single issue. Our lives, both in terms of quality and substance, are being effected on a scale unparelleled. It isn’t about managing a crisis a day, though that would have been a huge change before January 22, 2009. It is in fact, about managing many crisises in a day! EVERY CRISIS has an impact on our lives whether it’s economic, social, political, or a matter of national security. We are so overwhelmed by the shear volume of change we flinch daily -- many may soon begin to suffer from depression and perhaps stress disorders! Even news media is having a tough time keeping up with all the news and the changes. They tell us they’re as shocked as the rest of us.
Economically, people are losing their jobs, life savings, homes, a quality of life and self respect, all in numbers not seen in most peoples life time. The government is now a major partner in two of the 3 auto makers of American cars, and they have taken ‘investment banking’ to a whole different level of understanding. The housing industry, long blamed for the reason for the current crisis, is still experiencing a downward turn. With all the money that has been thrown at this problem, ostensibly to save jobs and help people who have been ill affected by the crisis, the job loss numbers are still rising. Yet, the bail out and other monies have been in the hands of those industries identified as crucial for months. Economically, people are still losing jobs, life savings, and homes!
Socially, change in how this administration deals with criminal activity, and criminals, is at least suspect if not worrisome. Charities – a means to sustain the various social needs of our citizenry -- are being severely impacted through taxation proposal and further exacerbated by the crippled economy! Societal mores require personal and moral reserves act as a constraint against extreme response to the powers at be – yet, going forward, there is a need to STAND UP and SPEAK our mind! And do it now.
Politically, we see a revolution building. The power of one party now holds sway over the future of America; said party’s aggressive agenda frightens some, while emboldening others. The world has watched, has assessed and is now speaking. They are referring to us as Marxist and Communists. US! And we are only 4 months into a 4 year regime. What will we look like at the end of this term?
And where national security is concerned, the policy makers running this country have turned their attention away from long time allies in favor of courting ‘acceptance’ from nations whose well documented cases of thuggery, deplorable lack of human rights and criminal activity dominates headlines, globally! Is America ready for the consequences to it’s own inalienable human rights because everything it is now doing is geared to win acceptance in nation after nation where little to no thought is given ‘human’ rights? Nuclear detonation/holocaust looms daily from one despot hotspot or another. Our southern borders, as porous as they are, have led to lawlessness on either side. Already our own citizens have suffered loss of life and property. The government is cutting funding to missile programs at a time when sworn enemies of America are proliferating. The government is cutting costs on surveillance at port authorities when our ports have long been viewed as most vulnerable to enemy insurgents and attack just behind the borders.
Enemies from within and from without are focused on a single goal: annihilate the ‘American’ way. Symbols of America abroad or here on sovereign ground have become increasingly imperiled because this administration is building a reputation of weakness partly by castigating and criminalizing those who protected us so well after 9/11/2001!
Consider young soldiers, standing in front of a recruiting office in a major metropolitan area of the US, can be slain or maimed by a Jihadist terrorist convert and their Commander and Chief shows NO PUBLIC OUTRAGE! 24 hours earlier, a civilian doctor, whose practice included abortion, is shot by a social terrorist. The latter incident not only evoked immediate PUBLIC RESPONSE by the Commander and Chief – he directed protection for abortion clinics by US Marshalls ala the taxpayer’s dime! NATIONAL SECURITY has become an oxymoron!
It is truly frightening to see the speed with which so much change has and continues to happen. It has only been 4 months. We have over a year until we can slow the pace through elections. There is a need for a NATIONAL CAMPAIGN to begin NOW to roust citizens out of their dazed state and into action. We need to make sure we scrutinize the elected officials whose jobs are up for renewal and if they fail to meet the muster they must get their PINK SLIPS! Pink Slip day is November 2, 2010.
Liberty Pole Post will spend the next 18 months campaigning to have our constitutional government be highlighted and honored. We will try to profile different candidates in races all over the US with an eye to determine their record and how it best supports the ideals of our governing documents. Liberty Pole Post will also continue to lend its voice through freedom of speech and press by focusing on stories and their impact on our INDIVIDUAL LIBERTIES and CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS.
Please visit our site often. Add it to your blog rolls or bookmark it. Share the link with friends and family. Help TAKE BACK AMERICA through free exercise of your first amendment rights. In the past it was called the Revolution! Gather here at this Liberty Pole to help strategize how best to deal with this administration’s impingement on our lives in this REPUBLIC OF AMERICA!
Pink Slip Day, Nov 2, 2010
Monday, June 1, 2009
Is Capitalism departing with a whimper?
From without the looking glass: Remember when you first grasped the notion if you wanted to know how you appeared to others ask someone to tell you what they think of you?
With the back drop of swift change in our economy; with distinct change in our international persona; with the not so subtle alteration to the Judiciary [from rulings based on ‘law’ vs ‘gender or ethnic based bias’] and with an attempt to create an homogenous ‘faith’ face how are we being seen by those abroad, not of the Islamic faith?
Over the weekend the Pravda News carried an article that likely articulated what many of us have been saying for decades but others have not listened to. The writer talked about the dumbing down of the populace via the education system. He talked about how our collective faith in God has been destroyed with pop culture televangelists and mega preachers more happy to sell their faith to cozy up to some politician. The article is entitled: “American capitalism gone with a whimper”. He spares no effort in salivating at what he believes to be our eventual collapse from the great capitalist country we were --to a run-of-the-mill Marxist society.
Is Marxism really the path we are on though? His ‘insights’ or perspective truly touches on volatile truths many Americans will be uncomfortable to reckon; in fact, it is likely they will dismiss his thoughts with some epithet denoting his place of birth. We need to wake up!! When a writer from Russia makes more sense of where we have been and where we are going than our own ‘informational’ systems then we’d better get busy clanging our LIBERTY BELL!
Frankly, it is not Marxism this country is heading towards. It may be one of the preliminary philosophies that has played an underlying theme in all things, but surely we are speeding on towards Totalitarianism with a brief stop at Socialism and a quick visit with fascism. It is easy to see there is no longer a clarion call for any concerned American to hearken to. The leadership of both parties has become the same side of a coin with nary a bit of distinction. They have hastened the move away from our INDIVIDUAL LIBERTIES to one of utter dependence by not standing up regardless of how ‘politically incorrect’ it may be. Senator McCain declared he is a ‘Maverick’ for the Republican party right up to the day he voted FOR the ‘bank bail out’ bill. Maverick? More like running with the herd. Again, not distinguishable from the Democratic candidate who ran on the platform of ‘Change’ and ‘Yes We Can’. He voted the same as McCain. Honestly, Obama has actually lived up to his campaign platform and in ways surely many who voted for him never imagined he would! Do you feel the ‘change’ needs to slow its roll from ‘Yes We Can’ to ‘Can we think about it and get back to ya?’ Clearly there was no choice. So we have change.
As we gaze into the mirror of our Country’s future, will we see the complete dissipation of all individual freedoms? Will we shrug our shoulders in apathy as if there is nothing we can do but to accept the inevitable? What CAN you do? WAKE UP! When the Russian media is spelling it out better than most of the American media it should shock you into reality. If what the writer said in his article regarding most Americans knowing more about their rights ‘to choke down a burger’ from McDonald’s or Burger King than their Constitutional rights, and it seems that statement has credible standing, we ought not tarry in standing UP for our Constitutional Rights! Otherwise we will be learned in a foreign rule unfriendly to ‘human rights’ strongly opposed to ‘women in leadership’ regardless of ethnicity, and definitely rooted in capital punishment meted out as swift justice with no ‘appeals court’ to hear you! If you value your INDIVIDUAL LIBERTIES, if you value your inalienable RIGHTS to LIFE, LIBERTY and the PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS, please do not look into the mirror and walk away distracted by the concerns of the day. Our social conscience needs a swift kick to jump start it. The last time we saw it in action was September 12, 2001. Hopefully, it will not take such a galvanizing event to get us all BACK on the LIBERTY wagon again. Why not a Constitutional Party? An Independence Party? Whatever you do, do some research on the vote your Senators and Congressional reps have made and make. Their voting record is out there. If you do not agree with their actions give them their PINK SLIP in 2010! Honor our fallen; Honor our forefathers; Honor our active military and our coalition friends; Honor our Vets from all wars! Get busy moving the folks out of Washington who refuse to REPRESENT YOU.
You may be too young, may be too new here in this FINE country, but back in the days of ‘duck and cover’ there was a slogan being taught to kids “I’d rather be dead than red!” While that may appear ‘radical’ in today’s world look at the ‘choice’ the ‘liberty’ being exercised. People exercised their freedom of speech in making such a statement. They exercised their freedom in choice by deciding what destiny they’d choose when faced with a political rule which was the antithesis of our Republic. Do we really want CHANGE when it is erasing our rich historic past. Can we “CHANGE” the course we are on now? ‘YES WE CAN!’ Find your candidates for 2010 and get out and promote them. Make November 2, 2010 official PINK NOTICE DAY! You CHOOSE! You exercise your INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY and you send a message to Washington and Moscow: “I believe in LIFE, LIBERTY and the PURSUIT of HAPPINESS. I believe in the US Constitution. I believe in the Republic of the United States of America!” May that be the clarion call.