In God We Trust

It’s written on our currency, “In God We Trust.” It says nothing about trusting our government. That’s because our hopes would only let us down and our faith would only continue to be exploited. This year our government has showed us that it is continuing its culture of spending by augmenting our country’s debt into oblivion and moving towards socialism by granting bailouts with our taxpayer dollars to failing industries.
The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 granted over 700 BILLION dollars to failing or near-failing financial institutions who couldn’t control their budgets and is about to approve another 30 billion dollars to a failing auto industry (on top of an already paid 25 billion dollars to the auto companies for fuel economy purposes).
First of all, that’s a lot of money. That’s over 730 billion dollars this year in bailing out failing companies. What has it done for the financial industry thus far? Nothing! For auto companies whose executives still can find the resources to fly on private jets to Washington while lobbying for it. These flights were estimated to cost about $20,000 each. I don’t have a private jet; neither do most of the taxpayers being asked to shell out their dollars for their company’s survival. That’s almost $2,400 per person in America. I think we could use it more than they could. I’m not financially on the verge, in fact, I’m doing quite well. Where’s the reward for me for being solvent?
The government who can’t even manage its own budget is now in the industry of saving others from certain collapse? Ridiculous! What has big government ever brought for our country besides big debt? Big nothing!
“There is an urgent need for federal assistance -- not just for our members, but for millions of workers and retirees and for thousands of companies who depend on the auto industry for jobs, retirement benefits and revenue.” Maybe they shouldn’t be retiring at 55. Maybe they shouldn’t be getting benefit packages that costly. And perhaps, they should be asking their union for some assistance in this time of need – or whether or not they need this union at all anymore. I’m not interested in bailing out the retirement or benefits of an institution whose members and their union are partially responsible for the failing as well as their Leer-jet riding CEO’s.
Everyone’s to blame.
What ever happened to failure as an option? Whatever happened to cutting spending and executive salaries before asking for welfare? Washington could try cutting some spending in order to balance its budget as well. But don’t even mention that option.
The Democrats who profiteer off of this union’s existence (about 320,000 members) would not dare suggest the eradication of the union which provides them endorsements. Imagine that.
Ron Paul and others have suggested simply letting them fail. The consumers truly dictate the success of a company not the bureaucrats in Washington. Not George Bush either. Our Congress and Senate (and soon the Presidency) are controlled by the Democrats also have abysmally low approval ratings and is anyone really surprised by that? We have the largest government, budget (3.10 trillion dollars), and deficit of all time. Who is Washington to lecture anyone on fiscal responsibility?
We the people have been singing the same song as the CEO’s of the big 3. Only instead of money, we beg for leadership. Is Barack Obama the leader who will deliver less taxation, smaller government, fiscal responsibility, and strict constructionist values to our country or will he feed the conflagration by redistributing the wealth and supporting the bailing out of more failing industries? If I were the CEO of a company facing bankruptcy, I’d be lobbying for a handout too. While we’re at it, let’s put the government in charge of national health care also...since they’re so good at everything else.
Only then one questions, “Who will inevitably bail out Washington?” In stead of looking always to Washington, It may be time to start looking up… who else can we trust? The Washington bureaucrats have been playing God with our money for far too long. The trust of the people needs to be restored. But first it must be earned.

Reclaiming the Republican Party

Sometimes a change of scenery is a change for the better. The GOP nomination of John McCain for 44th President of the United States and Sarah Palin as his choice for Vice President is not only historical for the party but also for the nation. This monumental occasion not only changes the face of American politics but also changes the face and message of the Republican party - for the better. John McCain may not the most innately conservative Republican but he's chosen a refreshing and inspiring new conservative to help lead the party into the future.

Sarah Palin is not quite the major "Bush Administration" player the Democrats would like her to be. She's also not the MAN they'd hoped she'd be!

The Democrats, aside from overt socialism, have become a party whose interests and slogans have been defined as "not George Bush" since he won in 2000. Their major players include has been, never will be's, and Obama, who's got a "speech he have in 2004" and a failed campaign ending this November 4th.

Sarah Palin will clearly challenge the Democrats by using their usual tactics against them. Obama commented on her, "it's still more of the same"...he's got nothing else he could say - they're so used to bashing Bush they seem to have forgotten that he's not seeking a third term and only have anti-Bush rhetoric in their playbook. Not to mention, she's now the real female face in politics - overnight! What happened to that...what's her name who Obama snubbed?

The election of 2008 was almost foolproof before, but now I'm calling it a landslide. In name alone, Barack Hussein Obama sounds like the FBI 3 most wanted list, but he's an inexperienced liberal trying to make America a socialist country. His choice of Biden for VP is clearly an attempt to add credibility and experience to his ticket but by snubbing Hillary, he not only lost the election, but he opened the door for McCain to garner even more votes from women and those lost specifically to Hillary. She would have brought what Barack needs most - votes, but instead he couldn't have someone who'd cast a shadow on him. People would credit her - not him for a victory. But that's a lost possibility.

Palin now has the opportunity to change the Republican party for the better. Not only by changing the face of the party in a literal sense, but also by making the GOP the party who put a women in the White House. Palin brings back a traditional conservative American point of view and refreshes the party.

I've made arguments over time that Democrats refuse to admit defeat ever comes from anything other than tom foolery. It comes from American people rejecting their message. When will they get it?

The 2008 election will be about change. Change for the better in the Republican party - change that we can believe in. Hope is an important mantra in Obama's campaign...it's all he has left.

The Energenie (Satire)

Barack Obama's new energy plan revealed last week that proper tire inflation should reduce our need for foreign oil. This week petroleum costs are down, leading me to believe that his brilliant plan must posses some merit. Certainly following his guidance, millions of Americans took their vehicles to the local auto shops to ensure their tire pressures were normal.

All of this attention on the tire (a petroleum based product) has led some Obama supporters to speculate about contributions he may have received from BIG OIL. Others say BIG TIRE has been spreading its influence.

Nonetheless, Obama has finally revealed part 2 of his energy policy which has been both air tight (no pun intended) and ingenious. His newest measure: No more oil changes. That's right - change your oil no more. Obama has taken the position that if no one in America changed their oil in America for one full year, coupled with appropriate tire pressures...and we could save billions on oil costs.

Man, if only I could have come up with that.

Newsflash: Edwards no longer on Obama Short List

Since admitting the affair with the former videographer, John Edwards has moved from Obamas short list to Obamas "who am i going to pick now, everyone i know is associated with an affair" list.

America Runs on Dunkin

How much does it cost for coffee at the local Wawa, Dunkin Donuts, or Starbucks? If your one of the over 100 million estimated Americans who consumes this caffeinated beverage daily you should consider what exactly it is your paying for. Why? Because there is one other "commodity" that you spend money on that is a much better bargain: gas. That's right, it's a bargain!

Consider the current cost of a cup of Joe from everyone's favorite coffee palace Starbucks. You can pay up to and beyond $5 for a calorie-laden cup of something you can't even pronounce yet people line up for it in droves. Why? Because we're consumers - and consumerism drives our system of capitalism. The problem is we are carelessly foolish consumers. One particular grocery store has a sale this week: Maxwell House 11oz cans 3/$8. You can make enough coffee for yourself for months. But you can't be burdened by the 2 minutes necessary to brew your own coffee at home - you need the "good stuff."

I see the Dunkin Donuts slogan, "America runs on Dunkin" and it's catchy. But I thought, "What if we really did run on coffee?" Could you imagine how much it would cost to fill up at Starbucks? That would cost more than diesel fuel. If a typical 12 oz. cup of Starbucks were only $1.50 that would be around $16 per gallon. You'd be switching to Chock Full O' Nuts or 8 O'clock faster than you could say Cafe au' lait (if you know how to say it).

The other thing to consider is this is a bean that grows naturally. And the major other ingredient in coffee is water - the most expensive natural resource on the planet based on its abundance. We have more water than anything yet we still buy it at ridiculous prices for a 16 oz. bottle. Why? Because we can. Why do we spend over $150 million to see Indiana Jones? Because we can. The answer to all these question is because we can.

What we cannot seem to get over, however, is that the gas companies that take us to Starbucks and the movies and to the grocery store are making money on the product they've sold us. As though Starbucks isn't making billions of dollars selling you a consumable bean. A bean that is hundreds of times cleaner and easier to harvest than the oil that becomes fuel for us. Yet we still think the oil companies are our enemies.

Consider what your spending habits are every day, week, month, and year. I bet you spend a lot needlessly. Does your teenager need that cell phone (I bet they think so!)? They aren't cheap. And neither are the plans to use them. But they have them! Just another example of our willingness to financially spend ourselves into oblivion for products that are more personal pleasures than they are commodity's. You call it what you want, I'll call it needlessly irresponsible.

I know we already use natural resources like water for hydroelectric power or windmills to produce electricity and gasoline for our automobiles but thank God America doesn't literally run on Dunkin.

Not on Vacation

I get lots of criticism for "not blogging" but I do other things as well. Aside from my job doing anesthesia at a trauma center, I'm also in the midst of getting married and lots of other stuff. Recently, I've concentrated more of my time writing opinion columns for some local papers. Here are some links Pottstown Mercury and The Times Leader. I love to blog but I also love to write in general. So many people these days have lost the ability to put their thoughts into written form but also, too many blogger-types have lost the ability to do the same. I think it's great to voice your opinion, but put your stamp (your name) on it and take ownership. And if your half talented - send it to the newspapers.