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.

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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.

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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).

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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.”

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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,).

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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.

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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?

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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.

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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.

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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?

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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.

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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.

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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."

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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.

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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.