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.