We all know and are well aware by now about the commodity spikes, raw materials cost run-ups, and the added shipping costs associated with higher gas prices. These things are sparking yet another round of The Incredible Shrinking Product.
• Coffee—yet again, shrinkage from the old 16 oz. to the 14 oz., and now the 12 oz. bags, vacuum-packed bricks, and cute canisters.
• Bleach, water, soda, and just about any other liquid—bleach that used to be sold by the gallon has downshifted visually into ¾ gallon jugs, and is rumored to go into liters in the coming years. Water, soda, and anything else already sold in liters will get downshifted into fewer liters per container.
• Look for gas to be sold by the liter if the oil price continues creeping up—Europe has been selling gas and oil in liter measures for decades now, and this will come to American shores in the future. Know that there are roughly 3 liters to a gallon of gas—when we get to liters, you’ll know that gas has tripled.
• Chips—yep, they’re still shrinking, but I lost track since I no longer eat them.
• Bread and bread products—since wheat and other grains used in the making of these products rose so high, topped off by higher shipping costs, these products have gone from the standard one pound measure (16 oz. for a loaf of bread) to 14 and 12 oz. sizes for pre-packaged versions of pasta, rolls, etc.
• Laundry detergent—the boxes of powder are shrinking and becoming “concentrated” and “new and improved”, and both phrases are dead giveaways of product shrinkage. Bottles of liquid detergent are also shrinking, concentrating, and improving. My favorite marketing ploy in this aisle is the Tide Cold Water—didn’t they try this with All Tempa-Cheer, and when are people going to figure out that ALL LAUNDRY DETERGENTS WORK IN ALL TEMPERATURES, so there’s no need to buy a special soap for cold water?
• Tea bags—speaking of temperatures and product efficiency, we’ve been led to believe that tea won’t brew in anything but hot water…until Lipton cleverly decided to educate us on the existence of Cold Brew tea bags. Again, ALL TEA BAGS WILL BREW IN ANY TEMPERATURE WATER, it may just take a little longer in cold. Case in point: sun tea. You fill the pitcher with cold water, put tea bags in it, put it in the sun, and walk away. The sun eventually warms the water, and VOILA! You have tea made from cold water, without having to buy special bags for it.
• Sugar—remember when sugar was sold in 5 lb. bags? Then it went to 4 lbs., and now it’s gone to smaller bags, cute canisters, and boxes—all represent significant product shrinkage and a hidden cost increase.
• Canned salmon and tuna—I remember when salmon was sold in 15 oz. cans, and tuna was sold in 8 oz cans—now it comes in 8 oz. sizes for salmon, and 5 and 6 oz. for tuna. This represents close to a 50% price increase for the salmon, and nearly a 25% increase (or shrinkage) for tuna. Just wait—in the future, salmon will shrink to the tuna can size, and tuna will come in sardine-can sizes.
• Milk—I can’t comment much on milk except to say that a gallon of milk still costs more than a gallon of gas. I no longer drink milk due to allergies. Look for this fluid to also go metric and be sold in liters in the future.
• Meats—I went into two grocery stores looking for a full round steak, and couldn’t find one—all I could find was the pre-packaged, toaster oven-sized cuts of meat, and nothing bigger than that. After asking a butcher about it, he said that pretty much all meat these days comes in boxes pre-cut at the slaughterhouse, and what I see is what they get. A closer look at the unit price told me all I needed to know—at least a $2.00/lb. price increase along with the smaller sizes. This reflects the ethanol phenomenon and farmers and ranchers killing off herds and flocks during the winter to avoid huge feed bills, creating a shortage on top of the shrinkage.
• Alternative foods—soy in all forms (tofu, edamame, flour, sauce, you name it) has also skyrocketed and shrunk, and it’s got to be driving vegans out of their minds. So have nuts, beans, seeds, and any other form of protein, however lowly. This is what happens when all our corn is going to ethanol, leaving farmers and ranchers no choice but to shift their feed protein sources, and no source has been spared—whatever rice, beans, cottonseed, and sunflower seeds we can get our hands on (due to foreign countries hoarding their own stock) are now going to animal feed. I’ve noticed a shortage of organic ground turkey and chicken in my health food store—this means whole flocks have been killed off during the winter to avoid huge feed bills. The same may happen to organic beef too.
All this makes you wonder whatever happened to the “produce costs too much” excuse for not eating a decent, nutritious diet, doesn’t it? Just about the only thing that hasn’t seen huge or rapid price run-ups is produce—the only real increase has been in packaging and shipping costs. With everything else in the supermarket becoming hostage to the ethanol phenomenon, it’s looking more and more like produce is the one saving grace we can still afford, and good thing—when you start seeing whole uncut carrots, green beans, cucumbers, and summer squash available in cute plastic canisters, vacuum-packed bags, or sold by the kilo (equivalent to 2.2 lbs.), be warned and be wary. It’s only a matter of time.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Saturday, March 22, 2008
The Man Behind the Mask (Really L-O-N-G)
Now that we’ve all seen the “man” behind Obama’s mask, and the man who had a hand it shaping it, let’s take a closer look at the symbolism of it all—the meaning of the larger picture.
The larger picture, which the Reverend Jeremiah Wright has so kindly brought out into the light, is racism from within, and the clever mask of civility that covers it.
It’s really a shame that Obama didn’t have someone like Bill Cosby or Wayne Perryman for a spiritual advisor—he would’ve been way better off, but Jeremiah will do for this purpose. Unfortunately, too many Jeremiah Wrights (and worse) have played the fatherly role to many fragmented, vulnerable, and susceptible families over the years.
The phenomenon of “masking” is what black people do when they can’t get past the hate and misery that’s been handed down to them from generation to generation through people like the Reverend Jeremiah, relatives of the family, fabricated from whole cloth, or even personal experience. Hate and violent tendencies may have been festering up since the days of slavery, in spite of or because of being freed, and have been passed on as pretty much the only legacy for many families—people who’ve been unable to let go or cope with new and strange situations. A great fear of the unknown exists, but to dispel that fear is to learn and become informed—something that’s seen as “acting white.”
Obama, like many before him, became a “bargainer” to co-exist among his own family and other races—his chosen occupation notwithstanding. A lawyer is a negotiator, hence, a bargainer, and Obama has mastered the art of bargaining his way through a mixed-race family, life, and world, and now wishes to put his bargaining skills to work for the country. The problem with this is the continuation of masking the REAL problem: the two faces of black America. Instead of healing this internal divide, he only serves to heighten and perpetuate it. So far, he has managed (beautifully) to become its poster child.
Why does much of black America have two faces? There are many reasons, starting with a deep and wide inferiority complex, followed by lack of decent nutrition for adequate brain/emotional development, parental abandonment issues, lead paint/pesticide/toxin exposure, all the way up to a lack of basic understanding of how the world works (or is supposed to) and how to function in it. To make up for one or more deficits, a mask is employed to show the world a pretty, civilized face that appears to know, understand, and can function in society—WHITE society. The other face, the one that has been trained to view the world much like a Muslim extremist, is hidden from view until the proper setting is obtained: home, church, among friends and family, in night clubs, etc. Then the “homey” accents come out, the slang is used, and the whole environment changes—this is what we’re not supposed to see.
I’ve personally witnessed a black friend’s mother’s transformation from civility to “sistah-hood”—I went over to visit her, was having a conversation with her, and then the phone rang. It was a black friend of hers, and the mask came off, the slang drawl rhythm of “hood-speak” came out, and I could barely recognize the woman in front of me. All of a sudden, everything was “axe” instead of “ask,” the “f” sound was used in place of the “th” sound, and she was using words and phrases seemingly from another planet. Then she hung up the phone, returned to my conversation, and all I could do was sit there stunned. One minute, she was polite and very articulate, the next, someone totally different. I asked my friend about it, and she didn’t have an answer.
I can only imagine what goes on in the Obama household when polite company has gone home. Does Ebonics come out of closets and cupboards to flourish in their family room? What do they tell their kids about social justice or injustice, and are they keeping some sort of mental scorecard of perceived wrongs done to them or their race?
After years of masking, some blacks have gotten fed up and chosen to constantly air their grievances, however real or imagined, and have gone the way of Louis Farrakhan, preaching hate and violence to air out the once-masked face. Sometimes that face never gets covered up again, and becomes the one true face. Sometimes the mask slips, and we see both faces (even for a short time), like in Obama’s case. Louis Farrakhan and Jeremiah Wright are nothing—the very bottom of the misery well has got to lie with the New Black Panthers, and their message of a whole separate nation, justice system, administration, religious system and exemption from taxation and military service, not to mention their local objectives, effectively setting civil rights back to the “separate-but-equal” phase—and this would somehow equal “progress” in their eyes. There are already places on the planet like that, starting with Haiti, Rwanda, and Darfur. None have the freedoms and opportunities we have here, so it’s no wonder the New Black Panthers haven’t gone in search of a new world just for themselves—the infighting that’s happening HERE is a cakewalk compared to the tribal wars and ethnic cleansing over there.
Just to give you an idea of the depth of black misery for some, I’ll share a portion of a transcript of Glenn Beck interviewing Malik Shabazz, current leader and legal counsel for the New Black Panthers, and president of Black Lawyers for Justice on 3/20/08:
SHABAZZ: I would say that, if you study the Tuskegee experiment and the syphilis that was injected into black men, if you study the research that my legal organization, Black Lawyers for Justice, and others have shown that in Fort Dietrich, Maryland, and under Henry Kissinger, that biological weapons programs targeted at depopulation of key areas, including Africa and other darker areas, that this took place in America, it has not been disproven that AIDS does not come from a manmade source or the United States government. It`s still a debate around that. It`s not a product of paranoia…How would you feel -- the reason why -- how would you feel, Glenn, if you had to understand that your ancestors had been in slavery and bondage for 300 years, that your ancestors had been denied the right to become policemen, firemen, attend schools and get mortgages, how would you feel if...(statement cut off by topic change)
BECK: I`ll tell you -- I would feel -- I`ll tell you, I would feel -- I would feel so unbelievably proud that that country has made so much progress that the richest woman in America is Oprah Winfrey and possibly the next president is also an African-American. I`d feel pretty darn good that we`ve made an awful lot of progress…Obama`s message is to come together, yet your message, according to your Web site, is the trials of blacks only, by all black juries, end of all black cooperation with police departments, and a separate country for African-Americans. How is Obama your man?... Is he going give you a separate nation? Is he going give you a separate police force, do you think?
The anger and hatred has twisted and turned into paranoia and fantasy, easily spread through various forms of gospel—rap music, church sermons, simple conversation, TV, print, and radio—and with nobody to repudiate. How on earth is someone supposed to heal when his injuries are this deep, and he’s busy creating new ones? How do the rest of us get along with this man in this society when his belief system is so screwed up to begin with? He obviously has trouble with authority figures—he wants his own world, and he wants to lead it. HE wants the power, but I wonder what he’d do with it.
Bill Cosby said it best on an Oprah show: “Hurt people HURT PEOPLE.” That was so deep I almost fell in.
Now I’m no expert on race or race relations, but I tend to believe that the whole race thing is largely a matter of INTERNAL fighting, not an “us vs. them” issue. I see black-on-black violence, blacks using the “N” word freely amongst themselves for identification and not denigration, black dope users buying from black dealers, black pimps herding black prostitutes, black rappers openly denigrating women and the women complying, and black con artists preying on black citizens as examples of how the race case has moved beyond white America and has gone on to consume large chunks of black America like a hungry python. Black America is now exploiting its own.
Then the issue becomes bigger and more complex with the addition of politics and political gain—since the Depression, Democrats have been feasting like starving vultures on the scraps of black America and using their liberal media to enhance the hunt. Even though it is commonly believed that a Democrat will fulfill promises to give, give, give to the black man, the opposite is true—Abe Lincoln, a Republican, freed the slaves against a Democratic backlash of slave owners and segregationists. Civil rights were granted, one by one, through Republican efforts, and not Democrat ones. To this day, legislation that would serve to further enslave a person, whether metaphorically or literally, comes from the Democrats—handouts and regulations are actually deterrents, but we aren’t supposed to know that. Thanks to media spin, that little fact is often forgotten in the quest for power and money off the backs of taxpayers—even black ones.
Even before the Depression era, Marxist issues were preached and handed down by parents, grandparents, preachers, and others who feared doing for one’s self (and instead developed a reliance on God and government) because freedom was such a new concept. Freedom from slavery was like tossing over the keys to the car, but not bothering to teach anyone how to drive, what a car could do, or even bothering to including a manual.
Along with this new form of “togetherness” through collectivism for the common good came the hatred of policies and laws from times past—some people could not get over the so-called “wrongs” of social justice perceived by them, but had to find ways to cope and get through daily life, so a mask was created. It’s said that Sunday is the most segregated day of the week, but the segregation of emotion (especially in one’s self) is actually the clue that we really haven’t come very far in the quest for equality and common bond.
Democrats would have us think otherwise with such programs as EEOC, Affirmative Action, and diversity policies. What these programs really did for the black man was obliterate merit and lower the bar to the ground. Even with the bar lowered this far, there are STILL people who can’t get over it, so we have legislation like No Child Left Behind, which serves to slow down the entire group rather than focus on the slow individual. I’m just waiting for the official version of No Adult Left Behind, because we have a LOT of those running around!
All of a sudden, a whole new world was opened up—forced quotas and reduced standards, which gave way to a huge loss in character, honor, a sense of accomplishment, and the desire to achieve. Why work any harder than you have to, right? Whitey OWES you!
I’m still trying to figure out what we whites owe, and when this unpaid bill was generated. Somebody call Grant-Thornton, because I demand an audit!
Speaking of whitey owing someone, have you noticed that The Dynamic Duo of Race Card Dealers has been silent and scarce lately? I expect they will make even more efforts to be scarce now that Obama has effectively blown the lid off race and race relations. If they couldn’t see fit to surface during a solid week of TV bantering on Obama, Jeremiah Wright, and the implications of race, why bother coming out at all? There’s no (political, monetary, or reputation) gain to be made here, and nobody to exploit, so they stay dormant.
So we have Marxist beliefs, psychological issues, political and media misrepresentation, and the fight for internal power and recognition all rolled up into a double-standard behavior, and everyone is just supposed to accept it and learn to deal with it. This is one suitcase full of trouble that I wouldn’t want unzipped in the Oval Office, because this would influence every decision ever made as President. Believe me, there isn’t enough storage space on Capitol Hill for that amount of hard-wired baggage.
On the bright side, there are many fine examples of black America that have managed to live and thrive in predominantly white society, and are still doing so today. All during the 20’s, there were many entrepreneurs, socialites, inventors, and other successful and independent black people. There were even whole cities and towns that were mostly if not totally black, from the mayor down to the lowliest sweeper, and they were highly successful. Then came the Depression, followed by WWII and the New Deal, and things changed for most of black America forever.
Sadly, the New Black Panthers missed the boat on their segregated society. Even the old Black Panthers of the 60’s and 70’s missed it—too little and way, way too late.
The New Deal was crafted and passed by Democrats, and look what it did—it created a whole new world of government dependency, entrenched the economic downturn for an entire decade, and more recently, is serving to bankrupt future generations. I don’t know if it had anything to do with the donning of societal masks by black America, but it sure does sound like it could be the birthplace of such pretense and make-believe.
Now we’re left with a broken and bitter swath of black America, underground segregating behavior, and masks aplenty to cover it all up and make it look nice. Instead of helping each other and learning to get along, we shun each other and learn to get more (from Uncle Sam). I can’t for the life of me understand this, because the same source that conducted the Tuskegee experiments also ushered in generational government dependence, yet most blacks continue to trust in and flock to government and the Democrats election after election in spite of it—oh, the irony! The people who relied on government to save them from Hurricane Katrina, then complained about the outcome, are voting for more of the same, even though the Republican President’s response was the fastest disaster response on record, despite internal FEMA problems.
Emerging from the dregs of all this misery is a knight in ebony armor promising to do more for both Americas, white and black, but what does he promise? To further a conspiracy and deceit that dates back to the Depression and beyond in the quest for personal and racial power, and to tip the scales in favor of the have-nots with Marxist policy promises. Instead, he should be “teaching a man how to fish” as it were—with programs (or changes to existing programs) that will teach how to end the dependency, how to build character and integrity, and how to be personally responsible. If this happened, he would lose power and control over the would-be fisherman, and that’s not why he got into politics. When magnified, Democrats in general would be out of a job, and out of ways to seek and secure power for themselves (and money for their state) through a largely uninformed and vulnerable population. Jeremiah Wright, Malik Shabazz, and Louis Farrakhan would probably make better fishing teachers than societal flame-fanners, but alas…it’s easier and more lucrative to further exploit a demoralized and denigrated populace, and keep the anger going to ensure future profits.
Mask on or off, Obama is doing a great injustice to black America by withholding those societal fishing lessons, and instead perpetuating and “bargaining” his way out of the real issue of race and racial divide. He could be one man of many to set a huge example to the black community of how to survive, thrive, and succeed in this America we share, but no—it isn’t politically expedient. Now who’s holding the black man down? Oops, it isn’t whitey any more!
Obama went to law school, where his “bargaining” skills seem to fit in, got married, and is raising a family, but it seems that is all the societal merging he did for himself—he was led at home by a broken and inflamed family, tutored by an inflamed and tortured pastor, educated in a heavily-liberal fascist institution with no expectation of ever learning other values, and is now seeking the highest political position in the land with only 2 years of bureaucratic training. Some of us would dismiss him as the “diversity” candidate, or the Affirmative Action man, and in some respects, they would be right. Others would see him as scoring a victory for a race that has been beaten down and blindsided for generations—much of it their own doing. I’m glad the mask slipped just enough for us to get a look into what lies beneath, and to see again just who it is people are stunningly in love with and would vote for in a heartbeat.
The Reverend Jeremiah Wright and Malik Shabazz were kind enough to show us all where negative black America hides and breeds, and just how much work we have yet to do. Obama himself is unknowingly serving as a racial issue tour guide, and figurehead of cultures and societies not assimilating—something we’ll all be experiencing more of with Hispanics, Muslims, and other immigrant races and cultures in the future.
Do we really want to vote for, or continue to live and work with, all the men (or women) behind a mask? I don’t know about you, but I‘m tired of it—everyone drop the mask, air your grievances, and let’s deal with them the way the New Deal didn’t. I bet we’ll find many grievances are misunderstandings, complete fabrications, myths built upon myths, and many other grievances are things that happened to other people, yet totally uninvolved parties needlessly carry scars for some perceived common black collective.
Obama would make a wonderful president of black America, but as long as he clutches onto his mask, he’ll never measure up to President of the UNITED States. He could start by promoting honest, sincere unity among the races, perhaps by explaining his own chosen identity—this man is half white, yet he readily identifies himself as black. Is this in color, or issues? This needs to be sorted out somewhere far from the Oval Office, and until we know more, Obama will remain the man behind the mask.
Now white America has a little better understanding of what it means to be black.
The larger picture, which the Reverend Jeremiah Wright has so kindly brought out into the light, is racism from within, and the clever mask of civility that covers it.
It’s really a shame that Obama didn’t have someone like Bill Cosby or Wayne Perryman for a spiritual advisor—he would’ve been way better off, but Jeremiah will do for this purpose. Unfortunately, too many Jeremiah Wrights (and worse) have played the fatherly role to many fragmented, vulnerable, and susceptible families over the years.
The phenomenon of “masking” is what black people do when they can’t get past the hate and misery that’s been handed down to them from generation to generation through people like the Reverend Jeremiah, relatives of the family, fabricated from whole cloth, or even personal experience. Hate and violent tendencies may have been festering up since the days of slavery, in spite of or because of being freed, and have been passed on as pretty much the only legacy for many families—people who’ve been unable to let go or cope with new and strange situations. A great fear of the unknown exists, but to dispel that fear is to learn and become informed—something that’s seen as “acting white.”
Obama, like many before him, became a “bargainer” to co-exist among his own family and other races—his chosen occupation notwithstanding. A lawyer is a negotiator, hence, a bargainer, and Obama has mastered the art of bargaining his way through a mixed-race family, life, and world, and now wishes to put his bargaining skills to work for the country. The problem with this is the continuation of masking the REAL problem: the two faces of black America. Instead of healing this internal divide, he only serves to heighten and perpetuate it. So far, he has managed (beautifully) to become its poster child.
Why does much of black America have two faces? There are many reasons, starting with a deep and wide inferiority complex, followed by lack of decent nutrition for adequate brain/emotional development, parental abandonment issues, lead paint/pesticide/toxin exposure, all the way up to a lack of basic understanding of how the world works (or is supposed to) and how to function in it. To make up for one or more deficits, a mask is employed to show the world a pretty, civilized face that appears to know, understand, and can function in society—WHITE society. The other face, the one that has been trained to view the world much like a Muslim extremist, is hidden from view until the proper setting is obtained: home, church, among friends and family, in night clubs, etc. Then the “homey” accents come out, the slang is used, and the whole environment changes—this is what we’re not supposed to see.
I’ve personally witnessed a black friend’s mother’s transformation from civility to “sistah-hood”—I went over to visit her, was having a conversation with her, and then the phone rang. It was a black friend of hers, and the mask came off, the slang drawl rhythm of “hood-speak” came out, and I could barely recognize the woman in front of me. All of a sudden, everything was “axe” instead of “ask,” the “f” sound was used in place of the “th” sound, and she was using words and phrases seemingly from another planet. Then she hung up the phone, returned to my conversation, and all I could do was sit there stunned. One minute, she was polite and very articulate, the next, someone totally different. I asked my friend about it, and she didn’t have an answer.
I can only imagine what goes on in the Obama household when polite company has gone home. Does Ebonics come out of closets and cupboards to flourish in their family room? What do they tell their kids about social justice or injustice, and are they keeping some sort of mental scorecard of perceived wrongs done to them or their race?
After years of masking, some blacks have gotten fed up and chosen to constantly air their grievances, however real or imagined, and have gone the way of Louis Farrakhan, preaching hate and violence to air out the once-masked face. Sometimes that face never gets covered up again, and becomes the one true face. Sometimes the mask slips, and we see both faces (even for a short time), like in Obama’s case. Louis Farrakhan and Jeremiah Wright are nothing—the very bottom of the misery well has got to lie with the New Black Panthers, and their message of a whole separate nation, justice system, administration, religious system and exemption from taxation and military service, not to mention their local objectives, effectively setting civil rights back to the “separate-but-equal” phase—and this would somehow equal “progress” in their eyes. There are already places on the planet like that, starting with Haiti, Rwanda, and Darfur. None have the freedoms and opportunities we have here, so it’s no wonder the New Black Panthers haven’t gone in search of a new world just for themselves—the infighting that’s happening HERE is a cakewalk compared to the tribal wars and ethnic cleansing over there.
Just to give you an idea of the depth of black misery for some, I’ll share a portion of a transcript of Glenn Beck interviewing Malik Shabazz, current leader and legal counsel for the New Black Panthers, and president of Black Lawyers for Justice on 3/20/08:
SHABAZZ: I would say that, if you study the Tuskegee experiment and the syphilis that was injected into black men, if you study the research that my legal organization, Black Lawyers for Justice, and others have shown that in Fort Dietrich, Maryland, and under Henry Kissinger, that biological weapons programs targeted at depopulation of key areas, including Africa and other darker areas, that this took place in America, it has not been disproven that AIDS does not come from a manmade source or the United States government. It`s still a debate around that. It`s not a product of paranoia…How would you feel -- the reason why -- how would you feel, Glenn, if you had to understand that your ancestors had been in slavery and bondage for 300 years, that your ancestors had been denied the right to become policemen, firemen, attend schools and get mortgages, how would you feel if...(statement cut off by topic change)
BECK: I`ll tell you -- I would feel -- I`ll tell you, I would feel -- I would feel so unbelievably proud that that country has made so much progress that the richest woman in America is Oprah Winfrey and possibly the next president is also an African-American. I`d feel pretty darn good that we`ve made an awful lot of progress…Obama`s message is to come together, yet your message, according to your Web site, is the trials of blacks only, by all black juries, end of all black cooperation with police departments, and a separate country for African-Americans. How is Obama your man?... Is he going give you a separate nation? Is he going give you a separate police force, do you think?
The anger and hatred has twisted and turned into paranoia and fantasy, easily spread through various forms of gospel—rap music, church sermons, simple conversation, TV, print, and radio—and with nobody to repudiate. How on earth is someone supposed to heal when his injuries are this deep, and he’s busy creating new ones? How do the rest of us get along with this man in this society when his belief system is so screwed up to begin with? He obviously has trouble with authority figures—he wants his own world, and he wants to lead it. HE wants the power, but I wonder what he’d do with it.
Bill Cosby said it best on an Oprah show: “Hurt people HURT PEOPLE.” That was so deep I almost fell in.
Now I’m no expert on race or race relations, but I tend to believe that the whole race thing is largely a matter of INTERNAL fighting, not an “us vs. them” issue. I see black-on-black violence, blacks using the “N” word freely amongst themselves for identification and not denigration, black dope users buying from black dealers, black pimps herding black prostitutes, black rappers openly denigrating women and the women complying, and black con artists preying on black citizens as examples of how the race case has moved beyond white America and has gone on to consume large chunks of black America like a hungry python. Black America is now exploiting its own.
Then the issue becomes bigger and more complex with the addition of politics and political gain—since the Depression, Democrats have been feasting like starving vultures on the scraps of black America and using their liberal media to enhance the hunt. Even though it is commonly believed that a Democrat will fulfill promises to give, give, give to the black man, the opposite is true—Abe Lincoln, a Republican, freed the slaves against a Democratic backlash of slave owners and segregationists. Civil rights were granted, one by one, through Republican efforts, and not Democrat ones. To this day, legislation that would serve to further enslave a person, whether metaphorically or literally, comes from the Democrats—handouts and regulations are actually deterrents, but we aren’t supposed to know that. Thanks to media spin, that little fact is often forgotten in the quest for power and money off the backs of taxpayers—even black ones.
Even before the Depression era, Marxist issues were preached and handed down by parents, grandparents, preachers, and others who feared doing for one’s self (and instead developed a reliance on God and government) because freedom was such a new concept. Freedom from slavery was like tossing over the keys to the car, but not bothering to teach anyone how to drive, what a car could do, or even bothering to including a manual.
Along with this new form of “togetherness” through collectivism for the common good came the hatred of policies and laws from times past—some people could not get over the so-called “wrongs” of social justice perceived by them, but had to find ways to cope and get through daily life, so a mask was created. It’s said that Sunday is the most segregated day of the week, but the segregation of emotion (especially in one’s self) is actually the clue that we really haven’t come very far in the quest for equality and common bond.
Democrats would have us think otherwise with such programs as EEOC, Affirmative Action, and diversity policies. What these programs really did for the black man was obliterate merit and lower the bar to the ground. Even with the bar lowered this far, there are STILL people who can’t get over it, so we have legislation like No Child Left Behind, which serves to slow down the entire group rather than focus on the slow individual. I’m just waiting for the official version of No Adult Left Behind, because we have a LOT of those running around!
All of a sudden, a whole new world was opened up—forced quotas and reduced standards, which gave way to a huge loss in character, honor, a sense of accomplishment, and the desire to achieve. Why work any harder than you have to, right? Whitey OWES you!
I’m still trying to figure out what we whites owe, and when this unpaid bill was generated. Somebody call Grant-Thornton, because I demand an audit!
Speaking of whitey owing someone, have you noticed that The Dynamic Duo of Race Card Dealers has been silent and scarce lately? I expect they will make even more efforts to be scarce now that Obama has effectively blown the lid off race and race relations. If they couldn’t see fit to surface during a solid week of TV bantering on Obama, Jeremiah Wright, and the implications of race, why bother coming out at all? There’s no (political, monetary, or reputation) gain to be made here, and nobody to exploit, so they stay dormant.
So we have Marxist beliefs, psychological issues, political and media misrepresentation, and the fight for internal power and recognition all rolled up into a double-standard behavior, and everyone is just supposed to accept it and learn to deal with it. This is one suitcase full of trouble that I wouldn’t want unzipped in the Oval Office, because this would influence every decision ever made as President. Believe me, there isn’t enough storage space on Capitol Hill for that amount of hard-wired baggage.
On the bright side, there are many fine examples of black America that have managed to live and thrive in predominantly white society, and are still doing so today. All during the 20’s, there were many entrepreneurs, socialites, inventors, and other successful and independent black people. There were even whole cities and towns that were mostly if not totally black, from the mayor down to the lowliest sweeper, and they were highly successful. Then came the Depression, followed by WWII and the New Deal, and things changed for most of black America forever.
Sadly, the New Black Panthers missed the boat on their segregated society. Even the old Black Panthers of the 60’s and 70’s missed it—too little and way, way too late.
The New Deal was crafted and passed by Democrats, and look what it did—it created a whole new world of government dependency, entrenched the economic downturn for an entire decade, and more recently, is serving to bankrupt future generations. I don’t know if it had anything to do with the donning of societal masks by black America, but it sure does sound like it could be the birthplace of such pretense and make-believe.
Now we’re left with a broken and bitter swath of black America, underground segregating behavior, and masks aplenty to cover it all up and make it look nice. Instead of helping each other and learning to get along, we shun each other and learn to get more (from Uncle Sam). I can’t for the life of me understand this, because the same source that conducted the Tuskegee experiments also ushered in generational government dependence, yet most blacks continue to trust in and flock to government and the Democrats election after election in spite of it—oh, the irony! The people who relied on government to save them from Hurricane Katrina, then complained about the outcome, are voting for more of the same, even though the Republican President’s response was the fastest disaster response on record, despite internal FEMA problems.
Emerging from the dregs of all this misery is a knight in ebony armor promising to do more for both Americas, white and black, but what does he promise? To further a conspiracy and deceit that dates back to the Depression and beyond in the quest for personal and racial power, and to tip the scales in favor of the have-nots with Marxist policy promises. Instead, he should be “teaching a man how to fish” as it were—with programs (or changes to existing programs) that will teach how to end the dependency, how to build character and integrity, and how to be personally responsible. If this happened, he would lose power and control over the would-be fisherman, and that’s not why he got into politics. When magnified, Democrats in general would be out of a job, and out of ways to seek and secure power for themselves (and money for their state) through a largely uninformed and vulnerable population. Jeremiah Wright, Malik Shabazz, and Louis Farrakhan would probably make better fishing teachers than societal flame-fanners, but alas…it’s easier and more lucrative to further exploit a demoralized and denigrated populace, and keep the anger going to ensure future profits.
Mask on or off, Obama is doing a great injustice to black America by withholding those societal fishing lessons, and instead perpetuating and “bargaining” his way out of the real issue of race and racial divide. He could be one man of many to set a huge example to the black community of how to survive, thrive, and succeed in this America we share, but no—it isn’t politically expedient. Now who’s holding the black man down? Oops, it isn’t whitey any more!
Obama went to law school, where his “bargaining” skills seem to fit in, got married, and is raising a family, but it seems that is all the societal merging he did for himself—he was led at home by a broken and inflamed family, tutored by an inflamed and tortured pastor, educated in a heavily-liberal fascist institution with no expectation of ever learning other values, and is now seeking the highest political position in the land with only 2 years of bureaucratic training. Some of us would dismiss him as the “diversity” candidate, or the Affirmative Action man, and in some respects, they would be right. Others would see him as scoring a victory for a race that has been beaten down and blindsided for generations—much of it their own doing. I’m glad the mask slipped just enough for us to get a look into what lies beneath, and to see again just who it is people are stunningly in love with and would vote for in a heartbeat.
The Reverend Jeremiah Wright and Malik Shabazz were kind enough to show us all where negative black America hides and breeds, and just how much work we have yet to do. Obama himself is unknowingly serving as a racial issue tour guide, and figurehead of cultures and societies not assimilating—something we’ll all be experiencing more of with Hispanics, Muslims, and other immigrant races and cultures in the future.
Do we really want to vote for, or continue to live and work with, all the men (or women) behind a mask? I don’t know about you, but I‘m tired of it—everyone drop the mask, air your grievances, and let’s deal with them the way the New Deal didn’t. I bet we’ll find many grievances are misunderstandings, complete fabrications, myths built upon myths, and many other grievances are things that happened to other people, yet totally uninvolved parties needlessly carry scars for some perceived common black collective.
Obama would make a wonderful president of black America, but as long as he clutches onto his mask, he’ll never measure up to President of the UNITED States. He could start by promoting honest, sincere unity among the races, perhaps by explaining his own chosen identity—this man is half white, yet he readily identifies himself as black. Is this in color, or issues? This needs to be sorted out somewhere far from the Oval Office, and until we know more, Obama will remain the man behind the mask.
Now white America has a little better understanding of what it means to be black.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Book Recommendation
I saw the Glenn Beck show tonight, and he did a segment on the book "Scratch Beginnings: Me, $25, and the Search for the American Dream" with Adam Shepard, the author.
This book is so inspiring that I'm recommending it to you without reading it first. The best price I can find for it (including shipping & handling) is here.
The author said he got tired of hearing all the whining of the privileged kids in his generation, got offended by Barbara Ehrenreich's book "Nickled and Dimed" (so did I, kid), and set out to go from nothing to overcoming poverty--it took him all of six months. By one year, he had a furnished apartment, a steady job, and $2500 in the bank AT THE TENDER AGE OF 25! If he could leave home with a backpack and $25 cash and make something of himself, why can't whole generations of others (especially government-dependent ones) do the same? Is it lack of knowledge, lack of inspiration, or lack of character? Read this book and find out for yourself. I'm putting it on my "to order" list.
This book is so inspiring that I'm recommending it to you without reading it first. The best price I can find for it (including shipping & handling) is here.
The author said he got tired of hearing all the whining of the privileged kids in his generation, got offended by Barbara Ehrenreich's book "Nickled and Dimed" (so did I, kid), and set out to go from nothing to overcoming poverty--it took him all of six months. By one year, he had a furnished apartment, a steady job, and $2500 in the bank AT THE TENDER AGE OF 25! If he could leave home with a backpack and $25 cash and make something of himself, why can't whole generations of others (especially government-dependent ones) do the same? Is it lack of knowledge, lack of inspiration, or lack of character? Read this book and find out for yourself. I'm putting it on my "to order" list.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
The Self-Help Guide to Living in a Free Society (Super L-O-N-G)
I’ve awaited this article from The New Individualist magazine, written by Gen LaGreca, and it finally arrived. I heard about it on the Glenn Beck show, and wanted a copy of it for myself to write about. I should warn you that The New Individualist is funded by the Atlas Society (meaning Ayn Rand), but I’m not a Randian myself—I’m just an individual.
The article intro goes like this: “Too many Americans are losing the ability to take care of themselves and are looking to the government to run their lives for them, in their tax-gouging, liberty-killing system called the welfare state.”
Regardless of the fact that libraries, bookstores, and even TV and internet are crammed with self-help information, people are still willing to become dependent on the government, when they’re really helping themselves to their neighbor’s wallet.
In the article are 18 ways that people should be looking to themselves and not government to support them in their daily lives:
1. If you don’t go to school and don’t work hard to get ahead, don’t expect the same rewards as those who do. You haven’t earned them.
My take: if you can’t compete to provide for yourself, then marry someone who can and will compete and provide for the both of you.
2. Don’t expect others to pay for your foolishness. If you spill hot coffee on yourself, be more careful next time. Don’t sue the restaurant that served you or push for a law to regulate the temperature of coffee. And if you’re on a jury, don’t award people huge sums for being irresponsible.
My take: stupidity should be painful. Suck it up, move on, and learn from it.
3. If you choose to live in a hurricane zone, then buy insurance or take your chances. Don’t expect the taxpayers of Minnesota (or anywhere else) to cover your losses.
My take: you rolls the dice, you takes your chances. Don’t’ come crying to me or anyone else when your house gets destroyed—you got what you paid for. Don’t bother making an ass of yourself on TV pleading for help, either—it isn’t coming, judging by FEMA actions.
4. Drop the communal mentality that aims to force one course of action on everyone, paid for by one cosmic bank account—the taxpayers’. Don’t ask, “Should we go to Mars?” If YOU want to go to Mars, go as a private citizen in a private venture, and stake a claim when you get there.
My take: this also applies to pro-lifers, global warming, changing the Constitution to reflect the bible’s teachings, religion in general, controlling thermostats, controlling guns, etc.
5. Don’t meddle in others’ affairs. Don’t ask to ban drugs because of their side effects—consult your doctor, not the government, and let others decide for themselves how severe their arthritis is and the risks they’re willing to take. Other people’s joints are none of your business.
My take: if it works for me and is legal, leave me the hell alone.
6. Don’t expect the government to look after your health. If you think certain foods will clog your arteries, then don’t eat them. Don’t call for a battalion of bureaucrats to control other people’s blood vessels.
My take: there is enough information out there already about what we should and shouldn’t eat, drink, smoke, and do for exercise, so why bring down the hammer of legislation just because some of us choose not to do it? All it means for them is that they will die faster, and be out of your way and the way of others who choose to live a healthier lifestyle.
7. Don’t try to force your personal living standards on everyone by pushing for the government to ban harmless activities. If you don’t approve of gambling on the internet, then don’t do it. Leave others alone—if they choose to gamble, and are not causing you injury, then let them do it.
My take: just because YOU can’t handle something, don’t outlaw it for the rest of us.
8. Don’t try to get a home for free. It’s not free. Get a job and pay for it. Don’t force others to pay a premium on their homes so you can have yours at their expense. If you want affordable housing, then support the deregulation of the industry, which will lower prices for everyone.
My take: this applies to foreclosures, bankruptcy, and the whole mortgage mess we’re in today. Just because some people couldn’t stand to hear the word NO, they went and caused this calamity thinking they were going to become rich.
9. If you default on a loan, accept the consequences, lick your wounds, and avoid making the same mistake again. Don’t expect the government (through bankruptcy filing) to bail you out with money fleeced from taxpayers who made more prudent lending and borrowing decisions.
My take: see #8.
10. Don’t try to get ahead by forcing people to give you special privileges. Your race or sex doesn’t qualify you for a degree or a job—only MERIT does.
My take: this is what “diversity policies” and Affirmative Action have done to our country—the bar was lowered to the ground and we STILL have people unable to clear it!
11. Don’t look for a risk-free life, because there is no such thing. If you buy a malfunctioning toaster, return it for a refund. If it is TRULY harmful, then seek redress in court. But don’t unleash a squadron of inspectors to regulate every toaster on the planet just to protect you from one defective cord.
12. Don’t instigate laws to stifle your competition or give your business special government favors. If you can’t win customers by offering them the best products and services in a free market, then close up shop and get a job working for a competitor who can.
13. Don’t force people to support your pet causes. They are entitled to use their money to support their causes of choice. Look for private funding—NOT GOVERNMENT GRANTS—to find a cure for a disease, produce a play, or to preserve an old mansion. The government has no business giving you charity with money that is uncharitably seized from other taxpayers.
My take: see #4.
14. Don’t support laws that control your employers—they’re covered by the Constitution too. They have the right to decide whom to hire, what to pay, and how long a lunch break should be in the business they own. If you don’t like the terms, go elsewhere—and work to loosen the regulatory noose around business’s neck so you can find better job opportunities.
My take: regulation and red tape are the BIGGEST barriers to success and opportunity, and they only exist because someone got to the well before you, and wanted to prevent you from getting there.
15. Don’t expect any guarantees in life, because there are none. You can lose your job, your investments can fail, and your fiancé can leave you. You have the right to PURSUE happiness, but nobody ensures you’ll attain it. Stop using the government to shield you from life’s risks.
My take: Uncle Sam is neither your mother nor your father, and is not responsible for your mere existence, let alone your survival and success.
16. Stop shouting “TAX THE RICH!” The rich are also citizens whose rights are protected by the Constitution, and also have the right to PURSUE their own happiness, not yours. They are entitled to the fruits of THEIR OWN labor as you are to yours. Instead of chipping away at the rights of the rich, why not redirect your energy to creating wealth and joining their ranks?
My take: see #14.
17. Don’t campaign for the government to give you things for free—if it pays your medical bills, then it controls the treatment and care you receive. There is no such thing as a free lunch, but there is such a thing as being swallowed by a shark.
My take: the only free lunch I’ve ever seen is the one they give out through food samples at Sam’s Club—if you’re really clever, you can wander around that place all day eating samples and getting full. Granted, it’s all junk food, but hey—it’s free, and you get what you pay for.
18. Recognize that every person has a right to HIS OR HER OWN life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness. Being a good citizen is like being a good neighbor—you live your life privately, and you respect others’ rights to do the same. You keep what you make, you don’t force your opinions/causes/needs/problems on your neighbors, and they don’t force theirs on you.
My take: whatever burr is in your shorts, keep it to yourself—by sharing it, you might not get the response you were looking for.
Beautiful article, wasn’t it? Thank you, Gen and The New Individualist.
People go to work each day to buy freedom, and the more they pay in total taxes, the more power they’re giving away to Uncle Sam and his state-level cronies. The more social programs people use, the more power Uncle Sam takes away (through increased taxes) to pay for it. Stop voting for increased social program spending, and it will stop tax increases. We made that money, so why can’t we choose who to share it with? That’s what charitable donations are for.
If given a choice, many people turn down the chance to choose (as we see in Social Security reform and Medicare), and many more willingly shackle themselves to the notion of perceived security--giving the keys away in exchange. Sound familiar? It describes most liberal Democrat ideals, Social Security, Marxism, Socialism, and Hillary’s campaign slogan of “shared prosperity.” Personally, I’d love to trade in the welfare, Medicare, and Social Security programs for a decent border fence and I.D. authentication program.
Those who vote for and actively pursue social causes and other liberal ideals are actually seeking to LIMIT freedoms—encouraging Uncle Sam’s oversight into personal lives. In truth, Uncle Sam could care less about us as he throws up roadblock after roadblock. I guess some people would rather do without personal choice just to avoid doing (or thinking) for themselves. This is what is meant by “Uncle Sam’s plantation.”
We saw firsthand what abdicating power means after Hurricane Katrina, and what exists in other “New Orleans-style” political areas today—areas overrun with generations of helpless individuals who would die without Uncle Sam’s constant support, which decades of power-ceding created, ushered in by Democrat politicians. My, how we’ve come so far since the days of slavery! This is what started Uncle Sam’s plantation, and only the recognition, acceptance, and participation in true freedom will shut it down.
This is what colonists went to war with England to prevent, and what July 4th, 1776 is all about: personal independence, the freedom FROM the belief that a king or god can make better decisions about your life than you can, and freedom TO make your own way without the yoke of oppression. Now it’s just another day off work, thanks to the smothering of commercialism. And we wonder why immigrants come to this country and do so well…probably because of a healthy respect for freedom of choice and personal responsibility.
The article intro goes like this: “Too many Americans are losing the ability to take care of themselves and are looking to the government to run their lives for them, in their tax-gouging, liberty-killing system called the welfare state.”
Regardless of the fact that libraries, bookstores, and even TV and internet are crammed with self-help information, people are still willing to become dependent on the government, when they’re really helping themselves to their neighbor’s wallet.
In the article are 18 ways that people should be looking to themselves and not government to support them in their daily lives:
1. If you don’t go to school and don’t work hard to get ahead, don’t expect the same rewards as those who do. You haven’t earned them.
My take: if you can’t compete to provide for yourself, then marry someone who can and will compete and provide for the both of you.
2. Don’t expect others to pay for your foolishness. If you spill hot coffee on yourself, be more careful next time. Don’t sue the restaurant that served you or push for a law to regulate the temperature of coffee. And if you’re on a jury, don’t award people huge sums for being irresponsible.
My take: stupidity should be painful. Suck it up, move on, and learn from it.
3. If you choose to live in a hurricane zone, then buy insurance or take your chances. Don’t expect the taxpayers of Minnesota (or anywhere else) to cover your losses.
My take: you rolls the dice, you takes your chances. Don’t’ come crying to me or anyone else when your house gets destroyed—you got what you paid for. Don’t bother making an ass of yourself on TV pleading for help, either—it isn’t coming, judging by FEMA actions.
4. Drop the communal mentality that aims to force one course of action on everyone, paid for by one cosmic bank account—the taxpayers’. Don’t ask, “Should we go to Mars?” If YOU want to go to Mars, go as a private citizen in a private venture, and stake a claim when you get there.
My take: this also applies to pro-lifers, global warming, changing the Constitution to reflect the bible’s teachings, religion in general, controlling thermostats, controlling guns, etc.
5. Don’t meddle in others’ affairs. Don’t ask to ban drugs because of their side effects—consult your doctor, not the government, and let others decide for themselves how severe their arthritis is and the risks they’re willing to take. Other people’s joints are none of your business.
My take: if it works for me and is legal, leave me the hell alone.
6. Don’t expect the government to look after your health. If you think certain foods will clog your arteries, then don’t eat them. Don’t call for a battalion of bureaucrats to control other people’s blood vessels.
My take: there is enough information out there already about what we should and shouldn’t eat, drink, smoke, and do for exercise, so why bring down the hammer of legislation just because some of us choose not to do it? All it means for them is that they will die faster, and be out of your way and the way of others who choose to live a healthier lifestyle.
7. Don’t try to force your personal living standards on everyone by pushing for the government to ban harmless activities. If you don’t approve of gambling on the internet, then don’t do it. Leave others alone—if they choose to gamble, and are not causing you injury, then let them do it.
My take: just because YOU can’t handle something, don’t outlaw it for the rest of us.
8. Don’t try to get a home for free. It’s not free. Get a job and pay for it. Don’t force others to pay a premium on their homes so you can have yours at their expense. If you want affordable housing, then support the deregulation of the industry, which will lower prices for everyone.
My take: this applies to foreclosures, bankruptcy, and the whole mortgage mess we’re in today. Just because some people couldn’t stand to hear the word NO, they went and caused this calamity thinking they were going to become rich.
9. If you default on a loan, accept the consequences, lick your wounds, and avoid making the same mistake again. Don’t expect the government (through bankruptcy filing) to bail you out with money fleeced from taxpayers who made more prudent lending and borrowing decisions.
My take: see #8.
10. Don’t try to get ahead by forcing people to give you special privileges. Your race or sex doesn’t qualify you for a degree or a job—only MERIT does.
My take: this is what “diversity policies” and Affirmative Action have done to our country—the bar was lowered to the ground and we STILL have people unable to clear it!
11. Don’t look for a risk-free life, because there is no such thing. If you buy a malfunctioning toaster, return it for a refund. If it is TRULY harmful, then seek redress in court. But don’t unleash a squadron of inspectors to regulate every toaster on the planet just to protect you from one defective cord.
12. Don’t instigate laws to stifle your competition or give your business special government favors. If you can’t win customers by offering them the best products and services in a free market, then close up shop and get a job working for a competitor who can.
13. Don’t force people to support your pet causes. They are entitled to use their money to support their causes of choice. Look for private funding—NOT GOVERNMENT GRANTS—to find a cure for a disease, produce a play, or to preserve an old mansion. The government has no business giving you charity with money that is uncharitably seized from other taxpayers.
My take: see #4.
14. Don’t support laws that control your employers—they’re covered by the Constitution too. They have the right to decide whom to hire, what to pay, and how long a lunch break should be in the business they own. If you don’t like the terms, go elsewhere—and work to loosen the regulatory noose around business’s neck so you can find better job opportunities.
My take: regulation and red tape are the BIGGEST barriers to success and opportunity, and they only exist because someone got to the well before you, and wanted to prevent you from getting there.
15. Don’t expect any guarantees in life, because there are none. You can lose your job, your investments can fail, and your fiancé can leave you. You have the right to PURSUE happiness, but nobody ensures you’ll attain it. Stop using the government to shield you from life’s risks.
My take: Uncle Sam is neither your mother nor your father, and is not responsible for your mere existence, let alone your survival and success.
16. Stop shouting “TAX THE RICH!” The rich are also citizens whose rights are protected by the Constitution, and also have the right to PURSUE their own happiness, not yours. They are entitled to the fruits of THEIR OWN labor as you are to yours. Instead of chipping away at the rights of the rich, why not redirect your energy to creating wealth and joining their ranks?
My take: see #14.
17. Don’t campaign for the government to give you things for free—if it pays your medical bills, then it controls the treatment and care you receive. There is no such thing as a free lunch, but there is such a thing as being swallowed by a shark.
My take: the only free lunch I’ve ever seen is the one they give out through food samples at Sam’s Club—if you’re really clever, you can wander around that place all day eating samples and getting full. Granted, it’s all junk food, but hey—it’s free, and you get what you pay for.
18. Recognize that every person has a right to HIS OR HER OWN life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness. Being a good citizen is like being a good neighbor—you live your life privately, and you respect others’ rights to do the same. You keep what you make, you don’t force your opinions/causes/needs/problems on your neighbors, and they don’t force theirs on you.
My take: whatever burr is in your shorts, keep it to yourself—by sharing it, you might not get the response you were looking for.
Beautiful article, wasn’t it? Thank you, Gen and The New Individualist.
People go to work each day to buy freedom, and the more they pay in total taxes, the more power they’re giving away to Uncle Sam and his state-level cronies. The more social programs people use, the more power Uncle Sam takes away (through increased taxes) to pay for it. Stop voting for increased social program spending, and it will stop tax increases. We made that money, so why can’t we choose who to share it with? That’s what charitable donations are for.
If given a choice, many people turn down the chance to choose (as we see in Social Security reform and Medicare), and many more willingly shackle themselves to the notion of perceived security--giving the keys away in exchange. Sound familiar? It describes most liberal Democrat ideals, Social Security, Marxism, Socialism, and Hillary’s campaign slogan of “shared prosperity.” Personally, I’d love to trade in the welfare, Medicare, and Social Security programs for a decent border fence and I.D. authentication program.
Those who vote for and actively pursue social causes and other liberal ideals are actually seeking to LIMIT freedoms—encouraging Uncle Sam’s oversight into personal lives. In truth, Uncle Sam could care less about us as he throws up roadblock after roadblock. I guess some people would rather do without personal choice just to avoid doing (or thinking) for themselves. This is what is meant by “Uncle Sam’s plantation.”
We saw firsthand what abdicating power means after Hurricane Katrina, and what exists in other “New Orleans-style” political areas today—areas overrun with generations of helpless individuals who would die without Uncle Sam’s constant support, which decades of power-ceding created, ushered in by Democrat politicians. My, how we’ve come so far since the days of slavery! This is what started Uncle Sam’s plantation, and only the recognition, acceptance, and participation in true freedom will shut it down.
This is what colonists went to war with England to prevent, and what July 4th, 1776 is all about: personal independence, the freedom FROM the belief that a king or god can make better decisions about your life than you can, and freedom TO make your own way without the yoke of oppression. Now it’s just another day off work, thanks to the smothering of commercialism. And we wonder why immigrants come to this country and do so well…probably because of a healthy respect for freedom of choice and personal responsibility.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Update: The FairTax Crafters Finally Answer Me
Here's my last article on some sort of a response.
Now, here's what Congressman John Linder wrote me yesterday:
THIS ONLY REINFORCES MY EARLIER COMMENT ABOUT WHERE THE TRUE POWER LIES--VOTING FOR PRESIDENT MEANS NOTHING, BUT VOTING FOR A CONGRESS-CRITTER DOES!! Now, if we can get all the Hillary-and-Obama-zombies to actually use their brains and vote for CONGRESS MEMBERS instead of a mere figurehead, we'd be in a lot better shape today. I'd start by voting this FairTax plan turkey out of office, but alas...I don't live in Georgia.
If this plan ever comes to fruition, soon we won't even be able to afford to pay attention--not that we pay much attention as it is. Politicians count on this.
As you can read for yourself, this plan would impose an internet sales tax, keep or raise federal excise taxes, impose higher taxes on everything at the state level, and the only thing to limit or stop it would be the American voter (who is highly unreliable). Until we start paying closer and more consistent attention, we run the risk of signing ourselves into slavery and Europeanization.
Now, here's what Congressman John Linder wrote me yesterday:
Thank you for contacting me regarding H.R. 25, the FairTax. I appreciate hearing from you.
Under the FairTax, when you purchase a used item at a yard sale, thrift store, or auction there will be no tax imposed and therefore, the depreciation or market value of the item is not important. The FairTax only imposes the 23 percent tax on the sale of new goods and services purchased for personal use.
Thinking now about excise and property taxes, the FairTax eliminates all Federal income-related taxes. It does not eliminate Federal excise taxes on items such as cigarettes, alcohol, or gasoline. It also does not eliminate property taxes, which are imposed and collected by state and local governments, not the Federal government.
Concerning an increase in the tax rate, I believe that the American people ultimately control our tax policies. Congress could increase the FairTax rate, just as they can and have raised the income tax rates many times over the last 90 years. Americans must remain informed and involved and continue to elect individuals that will serve their interests in Congress, and hold those who do not adequately represent their beliefs accountable. However, if individuals continue to re-elect Members who raise tax rates they use their vote to support those rate increases.
Under the FairTax, sales tax will be charged on the sales of all new goods and services, including those sold over the Internet. A principle element of the FairTax is to treat personal consumption equally regardless of how the consumer purchases the item in question. Today, some Internet-based companies have a pricing advantage over traditional retail stores, and the FairTax eliminates this advantage by treating all such purchases uniformly. The FairTax, for example, puts the onus on Amazon.com to legally collect and remit the 23 percent tax. Under the FairTax, it is very much in the States' interests to work together under the FairTax to collect appropriate state sales and use taxes, with the FairTax, from Internet and Main Street retailers.
In your email you also asked about purchasing "used" securities for the purpose of avoiding your tax liability. Securities are an investment, and under the FairTax, investment purchases are not taxed. I hope you find this information helpful.
Again, thank you for contacting me. If I can be of further assistance in the future, please do not hesitate to call on me.
Sincerely,
John Linder
Member of Congress
THIS ONLY REINFORCES MY EARLIER COMMENT ABOUT WHERE THE TRUE POWER LIES--VOTING FOR PRESIDENT MEANS NOTHING, BUT VOTING FOR A CONGRESS-CRITTER DOES!! Now, if we can get all the Hillary-and-Obama-zombies to actually use their brains and vote for CONGRESS MEMBERS instead of a mere figurehead, we'd be in a lot better shape today. I'd start by voting this FairTax plan turkey out of office, but alas...I don't live in Georgia.
If this plan ever comes to fruition, soon we won't even be able to afford to pay attention--not that we pay much attention as it is. Politicians count on this.
As you can read for yourself, this plan would impose an internet sales tax, keep or raise federal excise taxes, impose higher taxes on everything at the state level, and the only thing to limit or stop it would be the American voter (who is highly unreliable). Until we start paying closer and more consistent attention, we run the risk of signing ourselves into slavery and Europeanization.
Monday, March 03, 2008
The "No-Label Diet" One Year Later
March 1 marks the one-year anniversary of my "no-label" diet--the original articles are here and here, depicting a one-month episode of embarking on this eating adventure.
After a full year of eating this way, the results are in:
Weight loss--only 30 lbs. so far, but I'm still losing weight. It seems I had a little insulin resistance to overcome.
Cholesterol--total cholesterol down to 160, and lost just over 100 points on both LDL and triglycerides.
Blood pressure--lost 25 points systolic. Diastolic was always fine.
My diet now consists of the Wenchypoo Magic 8 (red peppers, broccoli, carrots, plums, navel oranges, and berries (black-, blue-, and straw-), as well as mixed greens (green/red kale, collards, romaine, spinach, and watercress), wild rice and quinoa twice weekly, and the daily handful of almonds. I still adhere to the primary philosophy of no wheat, no dairy, no nuts (until now) and no exercise. You couldn't tell my age by looking at me, because my gray hair almost totally disappeared.
My doctor is very pleased, and wants to join me. I wrote her a detailed paper about it--my research, the philosophy behind it, and the various food allergies that helped make it up. She's also impressed that this didn't take a prescription drug one to achieve.
After a full year of eating this way, the results are in:
Weight loss--only 30 lbs. so far, but I'm still losing weight. It seems I had a little insulin resistance to overcome.
Cholesterol--total cholesterol down to 160, and lost just over 100 points on both LDL and triglycerides.
Blood pressure--lost 25 points systolic. Diastolic was always fine.
My diet now consists of the Wenchypoo Magic 8 (red peppers, broccoli, carrots, plums, navel oranges, and berries (black-, blue-, and straw-), as well as mixed greens (green/red kale, collards, romaine, spinach, and watercress), wild rice and quinoa twice weekly, and the daily handful of almonds. I still adhere to the primary philosophy of no wheat, no dairy, no nuts (until now) and no exercise. You couldn't tell my age by looking at me, because my gray hair almost totally disappeared.
My doctor is very pleased, and wants to join me. I wrote her a detailed paper about it--my research, the philosophy behind it, and the various food allergies that helped make it up. She's also impressed that this didn't take a prescription drug one to achieve.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
