2009: WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD

As the year ends, I need to address an important issue. But, before I do, I need to address an important issue.

The first important issue is that I try to convey points of view that will cause the reader to take stock of his or her surroundings, what is going on in the world, and how things really are. Sometimes, in trying to provoke thought, I use humor. Sometimes I use sarcasm. Sometimes I will portray a stand that is completely opposite of what I truly believe, in the hopes that the reader will call me a dumb sob and will get off his ass and go do something that will benefit himself or society in general. You see, I truly believe that the power of the pen is usually more powerful than that of the sword.

The fact that I italicized the word usually leads me to the second important issue. Sometimes, you have to drop a bomb in order to get someone’s attention. You have to literally grab the baseball bat and hit them over the head with it. The problem lies in the fact that we humans tend to avoid conflict and confrontation whenever we can. Rather than to stand up for what is right and for what we believe in, we bury our noses in the book in front of us, flip to another channel, or simply get up and walk out of the room.

Many people would take such signs of indifference as a sign of weakness. Such as, “If they don’t care that the government is corrupt, then why shouldn't the government become more corrupt?”

Taking the news that is evolving this morning in the Middle East, where the Israelis have unleashed attacks on Hamas, you have to understand that Hamas has been sending indiscriminate lobs of missiles and shells into Israel for years. Israel, in bowing to the wishes of the United States, has taken the “politically correct or expedient” tact of not firing back and trying to allow the pen of diplomacy to work its magic. But now, the time has come to use the baseball bat.

Which finally leads me to 2009 and the future of this country:
For too many decades, we have trusted Washington to do its job. And, now the day has come when the country itself is on the verge of bankruptcy, our economy is in a shambles, we have lost our place and respect as leader of the free world, unemployment is on a rapid increase, we turn a blind eye to those who are corrupt or who have in other ways lost their moral values, we shrug our shoulders as illegal immigration continues… I even think that we have come to the point where we believe that domestic terrorism in our country is preferable and acceptable as opposed to taking whatever steps are necessary to prevent it. We have a government that continues to throw money at its economic problems without regard to the fact that taxes revenues are going to decline drastically because people are not working, the gross domestic product is declining, and those who do owe taxes are not going to be able to pay them, anyway.

Folks, we’re going to have to bite the bullet in 2009 and we’re going to have to slam Congress over the head many, many times with the baseball bat in order to convince them that we mean business. And, we’re probably going to have to make it clear to terrorists and antagonists everywhere that we’ve had enough. And, those of us who believe in God are going to have to convince those who do not that, while they may have the freedom in this country not to believe, we are no longer going to tolerate their open attempts to deny us our rights to believe and to practice our beliefs.

The year of 2009 is likely to truly test our mettle. My question to you, Mr. and Mrs. America, is this: Are we up to the challenge?

That's MY AMERICAN OPINION, respectfully submitted.

MADAME GREGOIRE SHOULD GET A LOAD OF THIS

This week's post has been delayed due to travel woes. And, I was going to put it off until tomorrow, while I tried to put together an upbeat bit to finish off the year with.

Many things bounced through my head as I was slushing through the wind and the snow... Any one of them would have made good material for this day. But, my mind keeps coming back to one conversation overheard in Evanston, Wyoming. It went something like this:

The cashier said, "And, have Happy Holidays, sir!"

"Happy Holidays?" the bitter voice shot back. "You know, I've had it with all of you nice 'Happy Holidays' people. Both my wife and I have been out of work for over two months. We have mountains of debt and everyone's getting rich off the government except us. They're back there passing around billions... Trillions of dollars like sacks of candy and all they're doing is making it worse for us poor bastards because we're the ones who are going to have to pay for it.

"In the middle of all this, you've got the idiots telling us we can't say Merry Christmas. Well, you know what? For a whole lot of us in this damned country, God and Christ are all we have left, and if you and your damned company that owns this place want to take that away from us, what are we going to have left? Just our guns, I guess.... And, that's when things are going to get downright ugly in this country.

"As for you, if you don't have enough guts and religion in ya to say 'Merry Chrisymas,' why don't you just do everyone a favor and keep your damned mouth shut?"

"I'll say 'Merry Christmas' to that!" a trucker piped in.

"Me, too!" a clerk in the back of the store shouted.

"Count me in! Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!" someone else standing in line repeated.

"You know what, guys?" the cashier smiled. "Every one of you is soooo right on. Merry Christmas to all of you and I don't care if they do fire me."

And, so it was on that snowy day in a town called Evanston, I do believe that Christ was reborn. Shout the news to the world, my friends. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas.

That's MY AMERICAN OPINION respectfully submitted.

NO RESPONSIBILITY TO ANYONE; It’s Great!

I have decided to abdicate any and all responsibility to anyone or to this country, and to assign my proxy without question to those who govern. In doing so, I declare freedom for myself, and I can join you and the rest of the country in a totally liberated new way of life.

Let’s just talk through a few of the many advantages. For one, I couldn’t really care less about what Blagojevich is doing or trying to do. That’s his business, not mine, and if the State of Illinois has a problem with his actions, they’ll deal with it. Why should I care? As a matter of fact, and as you can tell by my prior posting on the subject, I actually have now come to champion this guy’s cause. Why should he be singled out for punishment? Not my problem….really.

As for the Caylee and Casey Anthony thing, I’ve stated my case. Poor Casey was the real victim here. They want to prosecute her for murder? Come on, pal! What’s the real difference between an abortion in the second trimester before birth and the 12th or 13th after birth? Can you honestly explain that one to me? So, let them deal with their God, if they have one. Actually, the whole Anthony family is a bunch of crackpots, but I can now let it go.

As for all of these bail outs, why should I care? It really is NOT my money; once they take it out of my paycheck or I send it in with my tax return, it’s theirs, not mine. And, if they’re spending more than they’re taking in, they’ll eventually deal with that problem. Maybe they’ll deal with my sons or grandkids or whatever, but it won’t be me, so I’m not going to worry about it. Those guys at AIG who had high-class parties after they got their bailouts have every right to lay off employees now because the employees have no ownership in the company anyway. That’s simple.

And, as a final example, there’s all of this flack over the display of nativity scenes and the use of the word “God” in any conversations or writings on any public land or in any public building. Obviously, those who object have no God and those who allow them to prevail also have no God. In fact, they are probably best defined as the "Anti-Gods." Just because I believe in God, so what? God will take care of them in due time and I really shouldn’t worry about it.

Having shed myself of all cares and responsibilities, I feel like a new man. Maybe I’ll smoke some Mary J or snort some coke and celebrate the real and total peace of this new season in my life. Who cares if it’s illegal? Everyone does it. That makes it acceptable and therefore it is my right.

Happy Holidays to you, my friend, and be sure to follow the advice of Nancy Pelosi, George Bush, Harry Reid and Barney Frankfarter and spend lots and lots of money on gifts this year. They’ll take care of your bills, don’t worry about it. Guaranteed!

That’s MY AMERICAN OPINION, respectfully submitted.

JUST GIVE DETROIT THE BAIL OUT AND QUIT WHINING

SPECIAL REPORT

I normally publish MY AMERICAN OPINION on Saturdays, but this week has been full of news that has demanded my prompt and studious responses to pressing situations.

Yes, we know that the auto workers have gotten far more than any comparable segment of the work force for decades. In recent years their union, the UAW, has really overdone it, providing that laid off workers go into a pool and collect nearly full pay anyway. But, UAW has certainly been generous in give backs, and we should consider that fact. Who in their right minds would want to put those nice guys out of a job?

Now, Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frankfarter and the rest of the House reached an agreement and voted to give the Detroit automakers $15 billion now and they say they'll be ready to give more after the new Congress gets sworn in. Over in the Senate, however, the Republican Senators managed to scuttle the deal and that has really upset Nancy, Barney, and even George Bush. Although the Senators are saying that the deal was not going to solve anything and should not be passed, and although the American citizens and financial experts were saying that the deal was going to end up being bad for the country, this Republican Senate stuff just isn't fair play in Washington political circles.

Thankfully, Hank Paulson is going to come to the rescue and provide the bail out money, anyway. In other words, the bail out has been sealed, signed, and not quite yet delivered for several weeks now. But, if Hank comes up with the bucks, that means he has less to give away to other needy institutions, industries and state and local governments. That was the whole thing about having Congress kick in the money themselves, so that Hank would have more to play with.

Realistically, however, if Hank runs out of money Congress is going to give him more, anyway. So, this is just one, big, circle-jerk and a waste of my time and your money. Let's just quit the speeches and the grandstanding on Capital Hill and fork over the money or, like Ron Bigfinger of the UAW says, "We're not going to give in."

Besides, what's a paltry $50 or $60 billion more in handouts when compared to the $800 billion already given plus the $500 billion more scheduled for next month? $50 billion is only 3.7% of the total give-away. Quit squirming and fork over the money. Good God Almighty, it's Christmas, man!

That's MY AMERICAN OPINION, respectfully submitted.

SET CASEY ANTHONY FREE!

SPECIAL REPORT

Anyone who has been through it knows that being a single parent is no fun, especially when the child or children are very young and require extra attention. This is especially true when the single parent is comparatively young, as in this case, herself. Young adults crave for the freedom of getting out and having fun, and society has no right to deprive them of that need.

Casey was a single parent. She did not have a good job that would bring in enough money for her to afford a full-time babysitter or a nanny. Testimony will show that her mother is a manipulative liar herself, a demanding and controlling woman who wanted a grandchild and would not tolerate the thought of Casey having an abortion. Casey was in a trap and, therefore, was denied the freedom of having an abortion or of putting Caylee out for adoption. She was constructively denied her inherent freedom to be a young adult.

The death of Caylee was nothing more than a late-term abortion. It's really nothing to be concerned about, because abortions are legal in Florida anyway. Casey should not be called to task over a technicality as to the trimester when the actual abortion eventually occurred. Further, she has been tormented and punished to no end, being thrown in jail and released, thrown in jail and released; these actions have made it impossible for her to plan for her life.

She already stands charged with murder of her child, and that is so totally wrong. It was, as stated above, simply a late abortion. All charges should be dropped immediately and she should be set free. She should, at the expense of the State of Florida, be given counselling to assist her in her recovery from the shocking treatment she has received from the media and law enforcement.

That's MY AMERICAN OPINION, respectfully submitted.

P.S. Piss on that incessant meddler, Nancy Grace.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! CLOSE GITMO IMMEDIATELY!

SPECIAL POST

I think we should close GITMO, the prison for so-called terrorists at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The inmates there should be released immediately.

These are not terrorists. They have never been tried or convicted of anything! They are there solely because of their political views and that makes them political prisoners. Furthermore, even if they HAD been tried and convicted of anything, they would certainly by now have served any sentence that would have been passed down by any Judge in this country.

They have families and friends waiting for them and Ramadan has long since passed. Our detention amounts to cruel and unusual punishment, just as our invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq were based on fraud and deceit by our President. And, supposing they DO come back and take out another building or two? We deserve it for what we have done to them.

That's MY AMERICAN OPINION, respectfully submitted.

WHAT DETROIT NEEDS IS "THE SHAFT"

I was born in 1942 and never paid attention to many of the really important things in life until I was in my 30’s. Imagine my surprise to find out that Bill Gates invented the abacus before he invented the computer, for example. That’s why he has beady eyes, I suppose.

Hoover invented the vacuum cleaner before he started the F.B.I.? Dell published comic books before getting into the computer business? (Now, that one should have been obvious…..) God invented the laptop? Bob Dole invented the pineapple? McDonald’s did NOT invent the hamburger? (No, the guy that invented the pork barrels did….what was his name…..?) Oldsmobile used to be its own company before General Motors bought it and eventually shut it down? Jeep was once Jeep, then a Willis Jeep, then an American Motors Jeep? Plymouth was not a rock? And, there was actually a car named after Rock Hudson? (I doubt that there was ever a car named the Hewlett, although there IS a company called Hewlett-Packard and there WAS a car called the Packard.)

Given, Chevrolet is as American as apple pie and we Americans do love our apple pie, hot dogs and beer. And, so it is that we Americans don’t want to see the Detroit automobile industry go the way of U.S. Steel and dozens of other manufacturing industries that no longer operate in this country. The argument naturally arises that we just simply cannot allow the Big Three to dwindle and die, or to declare bankruptcy for that matter. After all, in the eyes of our parents bankruptcy is failure in more ways than one. Besides, if Chevrolet goes, what is going to replace apple pie? Sushi?

Nevertheless, we need to set sentiment and misty eyes aside for the moment and to examine the facts. The facts are that we have allowed greed to become the basis for our stupidity. Back in Las Vegas in the 1970’s, one of my neighbors bought a new pickup. His buddy down the street bought a bigger pickup and put a camper on it. The first guy simply could not be outdone by that, so he bought a motor home, (one of those little ones with a sleeper over the cab). Oblivious to what was going on, I came home one day with a big motor home and both of my neighbors moved out.

That’s what we’re talking about here.

The employees of the Big Three make far more money than any of their foreign-based competitors pay, (including Toyota which has a plant in the United States). The employees of the Big Three have terrific benefits. The executives who run the Big Three are making enormous salaries, benefits and perks. Most in that industry live in fancy, comparatively high-priced homes and drive nice cars. Some have summer cottages, and the story goes on. Simply put, those working for or managing the Big Three or one of their suppliers are enjoying a standard of living above the national average America, and above that of Toyota employees.

Yes, they’ve gotten used to it. Managing execs of the Big Three saw absolutely nothing wrong with jumping into their plush corporate jets and flying off to Washington to ask for a handout. They didn’t even share a plane! What’s more, their unions supported them in their efforts!

Come on, everyone! Open your eyes! Detroit can no longer compete with Toyota because Detroit has managed to price itself out of the race! Either the government has to mandate that Toyota and other foreign car makers jack up their costs, or they have to change the way Detroit thinks and operates. Otherwise, GM, Ford, and Chrysler will join the likes of U.S. Steel. Everyone who has looked at the situation knows this to be true.

Furthermore, WHAT RIGHT DOES BARNEY FRANK OR NANCY PELOSI OR HARRY REID HAVE TO THROW $34 BILLION OUT THERE TO SAVE DETROIT AUTOWORKERS WHILE, AT THE SAME TIME, TO SHRUG THEIR COLLECTIVE SHOULDERS AT THE 500,000 PEOPLE WHO BECAME UNEMPLOYED LAST MONTH? HOW MUCH MORE OF THIS CONGRESSIONAL “GIVE” TO THE BIG FINANCIAL GUYS, THE AIG’S AND DETROITS OF THE WORLD WHO DESERVE WHATEVER THE RAMIFICATIONS ARE FROM WHAT THEY CREATED, while we average Americans get nothing but the resulting pain and suffering….HOW MUCH MORE BEFORE WE WISE UP?

Here’s the nature of the quandary: The big boys in Detroit will lose one helluva lot of face if they file bankruptcy. Even if filing bankruptcy will allow the Big Three to cut away at excessive labor costs, high-priced contracts with suppliers, and management benefits and perks, (thereby streamlining their operations and becoming more efficient “Lean and mean” machines who are competitive in the market place,) no one at the helm wants to be the one to steer the ship away from the fat, big-time standards of living they have all been enjoying.

In Washington, our illustrious leaders who presided over the national housing debacle have jumped to the rescue with bags full of our money shouting “apple pie, apple pie, apple pie!” Their persuading argument is that with the highest layoffs in 34 years, we simply can’t afford to let the Big Three go down. We HAVE to throw more money at the problem. Save the jobs, right? NO politician wants to prevail over another national failure, so they figure the only realistic answer for them is to throw more money at the problem, regardless of which pot it comes from, (like, who needs to green up the auto industry anyway?).

Does that mean that we Americans allow Congress to throw $34 billion at Detroit and the execs and unions and suppliers to continue to make themselves money when they can’t compete with Toyota? That, my friends, is the crux of the argument; all we would be accomplishing is postponing the inevitable.

On the other hand, we could simply allow them to close their doors tomorrow and to go the way of U.S. Steel.

Or, we can force the issue by putting on a big dog and pony show. If we Americans would take just an hour to get off of our potato-couch asses and fire off a letter or email or fax or phone call to Washington demanding NO bailout, that would solve the problem, big-time. Congress can say that they were getting too much political heat from the “dumb” citizens and thereby refuse the bailouts. Detroit could cry that Congress wouldn’t give them the money and that they had no choice but to file for reorganization under the bankruptcy acts. The union leaders could cry that they had no say-so in all of this. The suppliers could cry that the cutbacks of the automakers were forcing them to “lean up” as well.

And, given proper oversight by the courts, leaving Congress out of the equation, Detroit should be through this crisis within the next five years, by which time we hope that the national economy will have recovered enough from what Congress has already done to us that Americans can afford to buy cars again and Detroit will now be competitive and giving Toyota and other foreign-based car makers a good “run for their money.”

To me, this course of action is a “no-brainer.” Congress, Detroit, the unions, the suppliers can all pass the blame to us, the “dumb American citizens,” and the American auto-making industry will be saved, jobs will be protected, and we can all get back to enjoying our apple pie which, in my opinion, tastes far better than sushi.

Otherwise, they should all fold up their Hummers and get out of Dodge while the gettin’s good.

That’s MY AMERICAN OPINION, respectfully submitted.

MY OPINION ON THE AUTO BAIL OUT

SPECIAL POST

NO!

Not Only NO

But,

HELL NO!

That's MY AMERICAN OPINION, respectfully submitted.

SHORT SHOTS FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Given the continuing saga of the Natalee Holloway disappearance case in Aruba, I think the State Department should ban U.S. travel there until the matter is solved or resolved. I say it’s a disappearance as opposed to a murder because, although VanderSleeze has reportedly admitted twice to different people that he dumped her off a boat in the ocean, Aruba is well-known for its tolerance of kidnapping of young girls into the prostitution slave trade and, indeed, Holloway might still be alive. Whatever the case may be, Aruba’s obvious disregard for the safety of American citizens needs to be considered before we allow travel there.

* * * * *

Now that CitiBank is rolling in our dough, I’ve decided to quit paying my credit card bills. Why? It’s the only way I, an average American, can recoup some of the thousands of dollars our illustrious Congress is obligating our great grand children…each… to pay over these bailouts.

* * * * *

Whatever happened to the U.S. “pressure” to get General Electric out of Iran? Maybe they’re pulling a power play, (no apologies for the intended pun).

* * * * *

How to make your Congressman squirm: Walk right up to him, shake his hand, look into his eyes and say, “I want to personally thank you for being so proactive in resolving the illegal immigration issue.”

* * * * *

The two major reasons that U.S. automakers are in trouble are: (1) Neither FannieMae or FreddieMac are in the car loan business, and (2) the cost of union labor and benefits far exceeds what the competition is paying. My position is, if the union employees are not willing to take a big cut to put their employers in a better position in the market place, (I’d rather be making $20 an hour than nothing….), then they deserve to be out of a job. The fact is, if you buy American cars, you’ve already contributed more than your fair share by way of paying more than you should; now, Pelosi and Reid want you to pay again to keep them in business. I say to them… “Up yours,” (exhaust pipe, I mean,).

* * * * *

We no longer need to be looking for alternative energy sources; the price of oil is in the toilet. You don’t suppose people have quit driving because they’re out of a job, do you? Good God, man, the price of gas is down to $1.60 a gallon in some places, and I’ve even heard rumors that they’ll soon be giving out S&H Green Stamps at the pumps.

* * * * *

Yes, I agree. As long as we’re bailing out this and that, why not bail out the occupants of Gitmo, too? Certainly, as terrorists they belong to a disadvantaged minority….. Maybe India would like to rent Gitmo from us, to store THEIR terrorists. Or, maybe, they'll hang them in a public square and throw their bodies into a pigsty. Maybe WE could learn something from that act?

* * * * *

The story is that the collapse of the home lending market has been riddled with felony-type fraud on a massive scale, which Congress is trying to keep a lid on because, if they allow an investigation and charges to be filed, some of their own members are going to go down. There is a major, major big-time cover-up in progress.

* * * * *

The Janet Jackson case has made its way to the Supreme Court. If she wins the appeal hearing, you can expect more displays of nudity on national prime-time television and thousands of bike riders in Portland and Seattle will be tooting their little “hornies” in a “display” of support.

* * * * *

More terrorist threats? Don’t they understand that all they have to do is wait a few more months and this country will collapse anyway? The dearth of responsible moral and fiscal leadership in Washington is leading us there; in fact, we may already be over the precipice and well on our way to oblivion. I like the way they huff and puff and say that Europe is suffering, too, as if that justifies their total mishandling of our nation. Notice how they glibly ignore the fact that WE started this world-wide economic disaster through THEIR incompetence and malfeasance? Or, does that matter anymore?

* * * * *

They have referred to us as the “Godless Society,” which is probably now totally true. Instead of sending corrupt government leaders off to jail, instead of holding our country to standards of ethics and moral decency, we are comfortable in shrugging our shoulders and pretending that there is nothing we can do about it.

* * * * *

If Al Queda and Companies keep on with their destructive bombings in India, we could soon run out of computer support technicians and other call-center operatives. Given the circumstances, that remark may seem insensitive but, just what do you think the terrorists are going to do after we release all of their friends from Gitmo? When will this country wake up and realize that “a tooth for a tooth” is a wise saying? If we had just butchered every one of those Gitmo prisoners instead of taking them alive to Gitmo, I don’t think we’d be watching what is going on in India today. Now, we seem to be bound and determined to set them free to do it to us again….. Bush didn’t do a whole lot to be thankful for, but he has kept terrorism out of this country since 9/11. Now, our Judges and politicians want to reopen the avenues that the terrorists traveled on their way to the World Trade Center.

* * * * *

This Christmas, it would be a good idea for all Americans to go and worship in a church of their choice, while we still have the privilege. After all, a government official might be influenced in his decisions by participating in religious practices and, therefore, all religious practices should be banned. Already, ABC has banned the wearing of US Flag lapel pins on its newscasts on the basis that they don't want people to think they are supporting any "causes."

* * * * *

These are indeed troubling times, aren’t they? But, as long as Americans don’t seem to care, it is surely going to get worse. Put THAT on your holiday dessert plate and see how it looks. I already know how it tastes.

* * * * *

Speaking of taste, how does THIS taste? Remember the good old days when mom would go to the market and buy a beautiful rolled roast tied with butcher's string and, if you were fortunate, you'd get first crack at sucking and licking on the string after the roast was done? These days, the price of beef is so high that you need a bank loan to buy a roast. Problem is, the banks aren't lending. Maybe our forefathers, in their infinite wisdom, knew that this day was coming and decided to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas with a turkey, instead. Which, of course, is why I invited my Congressman to Thanksgiving Dinner this year. If that play on words sailed over your head, you need to drink less wine.

That’s MY AMERICAN OPINION, respectfully submitted.

NOT A GOOD YEAR FOR GIVING THANKS

Our religion and our guns are just about all we have left.

But, take some solace in the fact that we at least get a day off to lick our wounds.

That's MY AMERICAN OPINION, dismally submitted.

WILL WE EVER BAIL OURSELVES OUT?

Congress decided to put off a bailout for the auto industry? One idea being bandied about is to allow automakers to convert the $25 billion recently given them for research, design and manufacturing of more energy–efficient cars into the “necessary” bailout. That would get the funds into the hands of the Big 3 without a public outcry, and Congress could wait a few months until oil prices inevitably start back up to re-fund the “green” money. Americans, being as dumb as they have been proven to be, will buy this ploy without so much as a whimper.

In the meanwhile, the brilliance of Nancy Pelosi and her House cohorts continues to astound me. One of the biggest reasons that Detroit can’t compete with the likes of Toyota is that Detroit’s union labor is getting enormously high compensation and benefits in comparison to foreign auto makers. The only way that this can be resolved is if the automakers restructure themselves by going into bankruptcy and shedding themselves of these and other huge costs. Pelosi says she will not allow that to happen, so any bailout money given to Detroit will be absolutely fruitless, because it cannot resolve the major fundamental problem.

There are only three remaining avenues. One would be to nationalize and give government a total control over the automobile industry. Another would be to slap a tariff on automobile imports, but Toyota manufactures most of its U.S. cars right here in America. Or, the government could require that all auto workers in the country be paid at the same rate; that would force Toyota to increase its prices and thereby make Detroit more competitive in the marketplace. As a possible fourth solution, there could be some combination of the above three.

The infusion of taxpayer money will have no impact whatsoever on the fact that most foreign cars are better made; Kelley Blue Book has announced its top 10 brands for resale value, and not one car manufactured by the Big Three was on the list. The only other way that Detroit can compete is through outsourcing of jobs to foreign countries, where associated costs are lower. Ironically, that decreases the number of available jobs in Detroit, and Pelosi doesn’t want Detroit to go into bankruptcy and restructure because she wants to protect labor?

Some might try to put the blame for this economic mess on Treasury, or on the Congress. I know that I certainly did. Paulson did a miserable job of steering this economy, as far as I am concerned. The housing loan debacle that precipitated this situation certainly was within the scope of management and oversight of the Congress, but they consciously either ignored the warning signs or they deliberately chose not to do anything about the looming crisis.

So, I blamed those people and it was easy to justify my blame. But, I was wrong. We just went through a painful election process and WE chose not to turn the bums out of office; the blame for this mess belongs on our shoulders, not theirs. And, until WE are prepared to take the responsibility for our own actions, or the lack thereof, we need to learn to just bend over on the Detroit freeway and take what’s coming to us.

Just to add a little salt to the wounds, if you think for one second that the Detroit mess is the last mess we are going to face in this “economic downturn,” you’ve got another thing, or two, or three or more coming. Let’s start with the CitiBank thing. Let’s follow that up with a dismal holiday season forecast coupled with impending mass layoffs and manufacturing and retail bankruptcies, and let’s add a big, fat income tax boost to the picture to try and cover all of this.

As a play on Al Jolson’s famous words, “Baby, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!”

That's MY AMERICAN OPINION, respectfully submitted.

THE UNIMAGINABLE, BUT REAL COSTS OF THE ELECTION

For seemingly endless months, the crescendo built, built, and built until it virtually drowned out all of the other events that were simultaneously occurring on the world’s immense stage. Suddenly, the roaring din of the election came to a screeching halt and, when the explosive dust settled, America found itself facing a multitude of problems on both the domestic and international fronts. Further, the methodologies for dealing with those problems differ vastly between the current and future Administration.

First and foremost on all of our minds is the plummeting stock market, rising unemployment, and the risk of collapse of the major national businesses and financial institutions, all with the backdrop of equally dangerous and intimidating international economic turmoil. The economic crisis has been fueled, (no pun intended), by the still looming energy shortages; despite sinking prices at the pump, there is still not enough energy to meet the world’s needs and those who provide it historically take total advantage of the laws of supply and demand.

In the meanwhile, the question of how to handle the sensitive issues surrounding illegal immigration simmers at the boiling point. The national election system and voting tabulation are in such a state of shambles that they threaten to undermine the very democratic foundations upon which the country was founded, through a growing sense of mistrust in the processes.

On the international front, a very nasty war is on the verge of erupting between Israel and Palestine, and a hawkish Iran seems determined to join the impending fracas with nuclear-armed missiles. Both Russia and China are flexing their muscles, and the anti-American rhetoric from South America is on the increase. While warlike activities in Iraq seem to be on the wane, Taliban activities in Afghanistan are on the upswing and the possibility of Pakistan siding with the Taliban increases every day. At the same time, chatter among Al Queda and other terrorist organizations is at an all-time international high.

It’s almost as if the lighting of a very small match could enflame the planet with World War III.

How the new President will want to deal with these things is actually immaterial. He has no war powers unless they are delegated to him by Congress. He cannot raise taxes, control the price of oil, or do much of anything else without the blessings of Congress. It can well be said that all of the hundreds of millions of dollars that were spent like water on the Presidential election campaigns did not empower the winner with one more iota of authority to do anything.

But, here’s the REAL cost of the election: Going into Tuesday, November 4th, our Congress was the lowest rated and most despised Congress in the history of the nation. Yet, with only a few insignificant changes, when November 4th ended we were left with the same Congressional players. That fact alone is sad commentary on the state of the electorate.

That, my fellow Americans, means that all of these major, big-time and very real problems are going to be decided by the same individuals in Congress who have presided over our nation for the past 20 years by doing nothing, cavorting a lot, and drinking the American public’s blood as if it were 120 proof alcohol. What this failure to turn out the bums, (and they are bums,) will eventually cost us remains to be seen.

The prospects are ominous.

That’s MY AMERICAN OPINION, respectfully submitted.

THIS NATION LACKS THE FORTITUDE TO CHANGE ANYTHING!

We all know that, for the last 20 years, Congress has screwed this country badly. Through two Republican Administrations and one Democratic Administration, through all of the relative sessions of Congress and no matter who in was in the majority, we’ve created bad policy or no policy at all, we’ve lost esteem in the international community, we’ve put the world’s economy in dangerous jeopardy, just to mention a few of the myriad of problems that have either been created or ignored. And we know that Congress summarily ignored warnings that the housing segment was in big trouble and that they in fact encouraged the practice to continue.

On November 3^rd, our Congress had the lowest ratings in the history of this nation. On November 4^th, we reelected almost every damned one of them. On November 5^th, after being provided the Constitutional avenue to change 75% of them out, we awakened with the same Congress that has the lowest approval ratings in the history of the country.

We should be ashamed of ourselves.

That's MY AMERICAN OPINION, respectfully submitted.

ON THE ELECTION

Special Report

Democracy has worked, albeit somewhat shabbily, I think. I hope that those in the position to do so will continue to investigate the questions behind this election, not so much to continue the rhetoric against Obama as to get the answers that we are entitled to know.

There are also things that need to be changed, such as the ability for foreigners to invest so heavily in our election process. They have no right to do so. And, the ability to "buy" an election needs to be stopped; it puts the country at the mercy of "big money." Another major concern is the influence that the media has been allowed to have in the selection process. I believe that they should be confined to unbiased and balanced reporting on the candidates with their right to voice opinions confined to opinion pages and clearly labeled opinion broadcast segments.

I have a sincere concern about the ability to perpetrate fraud in the counting of votes. In the 21st century, with all of the technologies we have available to us, we surely must have the ability to get fraud out of the system. What incentive do I have to vote if my vote will not be counted or illegal votes will be counted? I, for example, was never asked for identification; my signature was not compared to my signature on file. How many precincts could I have voted in?

The Republican party is beyond broken. It is in a shambles. If it is ever to be a major political party again, it must recruit and build strong leadership from within. McCain was a weak candidate and did not exude the basic, conservative principles of the party. Palin was a refreshing entry onto the national political scene but, let's face it; she needs more training and experience. Somehow, I think that the thought of having a soccer mom in the Presidency turned some people off.

We must be vigilant in the coming four years. There have already been some sinister implications, with Black Panther activity on election day and the soviet flag being displayed in front of the White House by groups celebrating the Obama victory. We who believe in our country must be constantly aware of what could be if Obama's associations have a purpose they feel that they can now fulfill.

This is America. We all love it for what it represents to us, including the fundamental values upon which it was built. We now have the fundamental responsibility to restore those values to the prominence in our daily lives and in our governing institutions which they, at one time, possessed. In doing so, we must strive to identify and nurture better candidates for the leadership of our great nation among all political parties.

That's MY AMERICAN OPINION, respectfully submitted.

THE ELECTION IS OVER

I don't know about you, but I am going to have more than one good stiff drink!


That's MY AMERICAN OPINION, patriotically submitted.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON THE ELECTION

SPECIAL POST

THE ELECTION IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT YET VOTED. If you have already voted, you may be able to vote again if you live in any one of the “swing” states. That would depend on how many times you have registered. If you have any questions, contact your local ACORN representative.

Normally, at this point, you could say that it’s all over except for the shouting. Unless this election is a landslide, I think there is going to be one helluva lot of shouting on November 5^th, regardless of who wins.

There are already lessons to be learned from this election.

1. VOTER FRAUD in a country where we can electronically process millions of transactions per second, where we have fingerprint and biotech safeguard technology, is pure bull. Could it be that our elected officials don’t WANT to solve the problem?

2. WE AMERICANS HAVE THE RIGHT TO KNOW EVERYTHING THERE IS TO KNOW ABOUT THE CANDIDATES FOR PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. If they are not prepared to discuss their college, their religion, or their associates, or to prove their citizenship, they should be prohibited from running.

3. THE MEDIA should be absolutely barred from the insertion of opinion or political agendas into news reporting unless it is clearly labeled as “opinion.”

4. IT SHOULD BE AGAINST TO LAW TO ACCEPT FOREIGN CONTRIBUTIONS from any one, regardless of amount. No foreign nation or entity should be allowed to be in any position to influence the outcome a national election.

5. ONLY THOSE WHO ARE WILLING TO SIGN AN AFFIDAVIT OR OATH OF HONESTY and to become an agent of the Voter Registrar’s Office should be allowed to sign up voters for registration.

6. NO POLITICAL CAMPAIGN SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO RAISE MORE MONEY OR SPEND MORE MONEY than 200% of what they could receive from public funding.

7. NO POLITICAL CAMPAIGN SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO DONATE MONEY TO, OR TO CONDUCT BUSINESS WITH, ANY INDIVIDUAL, FIRM OR ORGANIZATION THAT HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE OFFICIAL ELECTION PROCESS.

These are alarm bells ringing. We know 1,000 times more about John Kerry or Al Gore or John McCain than we do about Barack Obama. There is a solid question about his citizenship and he has flatly refused the order of a Federal judge to produce a certified birth certificate. There is a birth certificate out there, I have seen it, there is no certification on it. Hawaii says they certify their birth certificates on the back, as opposed to the front as all of the rest of the states do. Yet, all we have is the front; why not show us the back and resolve the issue? The Federal judge gave the deadline, Obama let the deadline pass and did not produce.

Obama's family had no money; they were poor. He ended up in Occidental College which is an outstanding college in L.A., then went to Columbia then went to Harvard. Where did the money come from to put him through school? Scholarships? He won't answer. Now he has advanced to the point where he can personally give $1 million to his brother who is trying to obtain control of Kenya. Where is this money coming from? He won't answer. If it is on the up and up, what is there to hide? Would you hide anything under such scrutiny if you were on the up and up?

If there was nothing wrong with his association with Bill Ayers, why did he deny the association ever existed? If there was nothing wrong with his association with Rasdhid Khalidi, Tony Rezko, Joseph Albanaro...why deny they existed? Only when the facts were brought out did he admit well....yeah, I know the guy, he lives in my neighborhood...... when Rezko hosted a political party for him, (and so did Ayers in another party.... and that I have confirmed in the Chicago Times, an Obama supporter!) People who deny their associations remind me 100% of La Cosa Nostra.

This country has its heads buried in the sands because we have been screwed over by Congress and the White House and the Supreme Court for the last 20 years and now comes a smooth talking, handsome guy who says he is going to lead us all out of this mess and no one cares about WHO he is or WHERE he comes from or WHAT he believes in? This is not about party politics for me. If John Edwards was running against John McCain today, I'd vote for Edwards in a heartbeat.

This about America, an America that everyone seems content to let be run by incompetents. You have a Congress with the lowest approval rating in history and the polls say they are all going to be re-elected? WHAT RIGHT DO WE HAVE TO COMPLAIN IF WE REFUSE TO USE OUR POWER OF THE VOTE TO CHANGE OUT CONGRESS?

Obama admits openly today... listen to him talk.... we need to redistribute the money in this country from the rich. Nobody in this country is listening to what he openly says, and what he refuses to disclose. If you have something you are ashamed of, you hide it. He hides his associations, he hides his nativity, he denies us the right to know who he is.

This obscene giveaway of $700 billion plus the $85 billion that went before and the $300 billion more they are going to pass right after the election? You and all of the rest of the people who let the polls say, "That's okay...they may be assholes and the worst Congress we've ever had but we're going to vote them back in and we're going to cap it off by electing a President that we know SPIT about because he talks nice" are NOT Americans or you would step up to the plate and DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

If speaking my American mind and standing by my love of this country costs me a friendship, so be it. Both sides of my family have been in this great land since the 1600's. I stand on the side of liberty, I stand on the side of justice, I stand with absolute patriotism in the bloods of my forefathers and when it comes to America, I will not ever let my guard down.

SHORT SHOTS – LOTS OF THEM

Now we know that Joe the Plumber owes $1,200 in taxes and that he doesn’t have a plumbing license. What do we know about Barack Obama?

How about putting all of the U.S. citizens’ names in a basket and we’ll draw one and that person will be the next President of the United States? Too risky? At least we’d know for sure that the winner was a United States Citizen….

Caylee Anthony is alive and living with Amelia Earhart.

They want to reinstate the “Fairness Doctrine” in broadcasting. The reasoning is that talk shows are one sided and monopolize too much air time. But, it will never work. If they reinstate it, NBC, CNN, CBS and those guys are going to having to broadcast Rush Limbaugh, Shawn Hannity and the gang to be “fair:” to their one-sided and opinionated broadcasting.

Why is everyone in the world except Joe Biden explaining what he said?

If Barack Obama’s grandmother is not even in the hospital, why does he intimate that she is on her death bed, and why does he take four days to get to her bedside?

Could it be that the reason the market is down is that they want the value of your 401k to decease before they quit giving you tax breaks on it?

Is there any truth to the rumor that Obama wants to take 10% out of every person’s savings account on the basis that the poor people don’t even have a savings account?

There is a better than a 60-40 chance that William “Bill” Ayers will end up on the front page of the next issue of TIME MAGAZINE.

WHYZIT that every time I put on my cowboy boots and by toes hurt, I think of ACORN and all of the hard work they did signing up all of those voters for registration?

Now that the Obama campaign has raised almost $700 million, maybe he’d consider making a 1% contribution toward the $700 billion that Congress just gave Paulson so that AIG Execs could party hearty. No? Shucks.

Did it ever occur to you that the reason Obama despises Sarah Palin is that she tends to cling to her guns and religion?

Is it possible that Barack Obama, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi are going to meet in a secluded D.C. restaurant ion Tuesday to decide the future of the country, and that their conclusions will be delivered to Congress as a “Position Paper” right after the election?

Since Tony Rezko is in the can, what is going to happen to the rest of that parcel of land next to Obama’s house? Maybe they’ll plant cucumbers there….

WHYZIT that Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid always look as if they’d just had a dose of alum for dessert?

Madeline Albright agrees with Joe Biden that Obama is going to have a serious national threat within six months? Don’t worry about that; Colin Powell will take care of it.

Is this race about race?

Barney Flintstone…..Franks, please excuse me…has already earmarked where Obama’s first tax increase is going to go….more social programs. I think he said something like $80 billion in the first year? Ah, yes. That lake under his Congressional seat is made of drool?

We don’t really need to worry about Obama and his so-called “terrorist connections.” It has recently been fully proven to us that the real terrorists are in Congress, but no one in this country has the guts to vote them out of office.

Remember to vote on November 4^th. ACORN is counting on you.

GET THE PICTURE?

That's MY AMERICAN OPINION, Comrade!

SPECIAL POST

Congress wants another $300 billion? Pelosi says so, right now! Another stimulus package! Now, it's our fault, because we're not spending our hard-earned money.

AGAIN, AND AGAIN, AND AGAIN!

I'VE MADE UP MY MIND: WHY I CHOOSE MCCAIN

Normally, picking a candidate to vote for is a "no-brainer;" you have a good candidate and one that's not so good. When you're lucky, which is rare these days, you have two great candidates and you have to really do some research to find out which one is going to represent your interests the best. In recent Presidential elections, it's been a matter of voting for the guy you disliked the least. And now, we come to a new twist, where you have two candidates that you just can't embrace no matter how hard you try.

I'm a registered Republican. That doesn't mean that I always vote the party line. I've voted for plenty of Democrats in my life. And, I'm admittedly a conservative, somewhat to the right of McCain and way to the right of Obama, who is as far left as you can go. There are some things that I have a more liberal view of than most Republicans and, no, I'm not a "moderate."

Before I go further into my reasoning for choosing McCain, I need to underscore the fact that I am not a die-hard Republican by telling you that I intend to vote against every incumbent at the California State level and in Congress, regardless of party. I don't think I need to explain why, except to say they've all strayed from their duties to me and to you and they have collectively brought this country to the very verge of disaster in so many ways that I don't have the space to0 elaborate. They're airheads, they're nincompoops, they're drunks, they're party-goers, they're do-nothings. They take kickbacks from failing financial houses. They have the lowest approval rating in the history of this country. They are all ugly, narcissistic bottom-feeders and they all need to go.

That having been said, why do I choose McCain?

Well, I was ready to quit the Republican party when he got the nomination. I was livid with rage, and to this day am still unhappy. Sarah Palin is a nice addition to the ticket and I think she will do well in her role and will live up to her promises to the best of her ability, but that has no impact on my decision. In fact, my decision is, I feel, very pragmatic.

We are facing, at the time of this writing, unprecedented financial peril. We have world-wide dangers lurking in the Middle East, with Korea, and now with Russia; we are already militarily committed to Iraq and Afghanistan. We have an immigration problem that has yet to be resolved. We have a national, and indeed a world-wide energy crisis and the growing probability that greenhouse emissions are having an adverse impact on global climate that could lead to disruptions in our food supplies and worse. We have an election system that's been besmirched by ACORN.

These are all issues of great magnitude that will have to be dealt with during the coming four years.

These are issues that require knowledge and judgment.

Barack Obama has never held a military position and has virtually no knowledge whatsoever of military strategy or capabilities. I'm not saying that McCain is an expert, but he certainly has had military experience; he comes from a military family and graduated from Annapolis. Barack Obama is a novice again when it comes to national finances and the economy, and McCain is certainly no genius in that respect, either. But, good managers can tap good and knowledgeable expertise to advise them. What we do know now is that Republican financial experts were sounding the alarm bells about our financial crisis a decade or more ago and the alarm bells were summarily dismissed by the Democratic financial leaders, so I would suspect that Obama's financial advisors as President would be less reliable than McCain's.

I don't agree with McCain's stance on immigration. It gives me heartburn every time I think about it. Obama's stance is much, much worse. The energy crisis needs both short-term and long term solutions, and McCain's strategy of drill now and reduce our reliance on foreign oil is sound strategy, as long as it is followed up with the investigation and research for viable alternatives.

So, on those points, I give the advantage to McCain. He does have a track record and we know, to a great degree, how he thinks. These are two critical things that Obama lacks.

As to the matter of judgment, we know only about Obama what we have been able to dig up through the limited research avenues and tools we have available. The Obama campaign has virtually shut down and closed out all of his past. That secrecy, in and of itself, tells me that Obama does not want to be open and honest with the American public. We all have skeletons in our closet, but the office of the Presidency of the leading nation of the world community demands that those skeletons be exposed and revealed. Obama refuses to do so.

So, we are left to wonder about his past, to wonder about how Jeremiah Wright can be the pastor at his wedding and his preacher for over 20 years and why it took national umbrage to get Barack Obama to eventually leave that church after 20 years. And, we have to wonder about William Ayers and Tony Rezko, and Farrakhan, Khalidi, Aramanda, the over 500 campaign contributions from Iran that Obama's camp is refusing to identify. Those things weigh heavily on me because Mr. Obama won't tell me about Occidental or Columbia or Harvard. Their weight is compounded by his adamant secrecy, and his judgment in refusing to open up tells me that his character and his loyalties are, at the very least, suspect.

I do not believe that this country can step into 2009 with a leader who refuses to tell us what we need and are entitled to know, who has no track record, and who is weak in two critical areas, (military and the economy).

I believe that, in the dangerous times we are facing in so many respects, we cannot take a chance on this man. Now is not the time to add another risk to the forces in the shark tank that might bring this country down.

I vote for John S. McCain.

That's MY AMERICAN OPINION, respectfully submitted.