Was Thomas Jefferson Related to Nostrodamus?

"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them." - Thomas Jefferson

A Little Quick Math ...

A little quick math tells us that of the $410 billion Omnibus Spending Bill of which Nazi Pelosi is so proud (the governments operating capital for the remainder of 2009), and thanks to the "elimination of earmarks" promised by Barack Obama (there were only 8,570 earmarks in the bill - I suppose that's called "elimination" in the mystical language of politics), there was only $7,700,000,000 ($7.7 billion) set aside for those eliminated earmarks.

There are two ways to look at this, I suppose:

1. Pork accounts for just under 2% of the Omnibus Spending Bill, or

2. The mathematical mean average cost per slice of eliminated pork is only $898,483.08.

On the positive side, that is slightly less than $1 million per slice ... not much less ... but less. I'm glad our newly elected President has the intelligence to be a good steward of our tax dollars - I just wish he'd USE that intelligence!

The Blind Leading The Visually Incapacitated

The Dumocrats "Messiah" seems to be having difficulties filling his cabinet posts with anything other than tax dodgers and incompetents! I have not lived forever, but in the 65 years that I can account for, there has never been a weaker, less qualified Presidential Cabinet than the one Barack Obama is attempting to create. So far four of his appointees have inadvertantly forgotten to pay their taxes, and the majority of the remainder have no experience in the areas with which they have been politcally rewarded. Can you say "cronyism"?

There's no way I'm wrong about this!

LEFT-WING LIBERAL SOCIALIST ASSAULT ON THE 2ND AMENDMENT BEGINS!

Not being satisfied with the ruling of the Supreme Court of the United States, upholding a citizen's "right to keep and bear arms", left-wing liberals in the U.S. Congress have launched an oblique campaign to severely restrict, if not eliminate, that guaranteed right.

Knowing there would be strenuous and forceful resistance by "We The People" against their designs to create the Socialist States of America, the Dumocrats have initiated several bills designed to abridge and/or curtail that right. The Dumocrats current gun ban wish list proposal includes virtually all semi-automatic rifles, by virtue of the following wording: "The Attorney General gets carte blanche to ban guns at will: Under the proposal, the U.S. Attorney General can add any "semiautomatic rifle or shotgun originally designed for military or law enforcement use, or a firearm based on the design of such a firearm, that is not particularly suitable for sporting purposes, as determined by the Attorney General."

Obama's Attorney General appointee, Eric Holder, once wrote a brief supporting the position that you have no right to have a working firearm in your own home. In making this determination, the bill says, "there shall be a rebuttable presumption that a firearm procured for use by the United States military or any federal law enforcement agency is not particularly suitable for sporting purposes, and a firearm shall not be determined to be particularly suitable for sporting purposes solely because the firearm is suitable for use in a sporting event." In plain English this means that ANY firearm ever obtained by federal officers or the military is not suitable for the public. Federal officers and the military have used ,and still use bolt action rifles for certain specific tasks, so that eliminates bolt-action and semi-automatic rifles, leaving us with what ... muzzle-loading rifles, paintball guns, and Nerf balls?

Their proposed handgun blacklist in not nearly so inclusive - only 11 makes/models - but it is nonetheless invasively unconstitutional! The handgun list seems to be based on appearance and reputation of use (i.e. - a favorite weapon of gangs), rather than actual function.

The semi-automatic shotgun list is even shorter ... which leads me to wonder if the real motive of such proposed legislation is to eliminate "We The People's" access to firearms with an effective range of more than 50 yards. Is there another yet undisclosed agenda?

How much confidence do investors have in Obama's administration? A look at the Dow-Jones, NASDAQ, and S&P should tell you that. They're all in the dumper!

If you own firearms, and value your freedom to do so, contact your Congressmen and demand they vote against any such proposed legislation. If you do not own firearms, and value your other freedoms, do likewise. Our right to keep and bear arms is the one that insures we keep the others.

I suppose that in some parallel universe I could be wrong about this. (That would be the same parallel universe where politicians always tell their constituents the truth!)

Political Conservatism vs Republicanism

In case you haven't figured it out by now, I am what I refer to as a Conservative Traditionalist. I am not a card-carrying member of either major political party, because I do not believe in blindly supporting party agendas. I am in charge of my life, and when I enter the voting booth I will make the decision as to what I believe is best for my country.

One of the biggest problems of the "two party system" is that the majority of those registered as R or D, view the Presidential electoral process as a "them or us" situation. Presidential elections are always an us condition, because the outcome impacts the entire country for the next four years. On the other hand, we do not need the overwhelming quagmire of political parties that some of the European countries have - the UK for example:

• 158 parties have their name registered for use only in England
• 9 parties have their name registered for use in England and Wales.
• 129 parties have their name registered for use in England, Scotland and Wales.
• 19 parties have their name registered for use only in Scotland.
• 9 parties have their name registered for use only in Wales.
• In Northern Ireland, 48 parties are on the register, including the Conservative Party which fights elections in the province.
• 4 parties are registered as "Minor Parties"

With as many as 158 registered parties, there should be a party for each and every issue under consideration! We certainly don't need that ... but, we do need a viable third party, a party whose primary interest is the good of the nation, rather than just the good of the party. A pork-free party!

Along with that, we would need representation for the nation as a whole, not just their home state. Why? Because that which is good for the nation is also good for the individual states! It cannot help but be beneficial in some respect. No more "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" backroom deals for earmarked state spending. But, I digress ... getting back to my topic:

A Conservative Traditionalist believes that our country, in spite of what few shortcomings it may have, is still the best country in the world. They also believe that the culture, traditions, and laws that made it the best country in the world are worth protecting from those who would scrap it all and reinvent the USA in the image of recently liberal Europe. And, I say recently, because Europe's conversion to liberalism has taken shape over the last 60 years.

We are not Europe ... nor are we Asia, Africa, or any of the remaining continents. We are the United States of America - the centerpiece of North America, a relatively new continent in the cultural sense. Yet in a scant 233 years - and because of the formula of that culture - we have overtaken and surpassed cultures a thousand years or more our senior. Economically, physically, spiritually, militarily and technologically we have advanced from relative obscurity, to a position of global leadership. The principles of our founding fathers have worked well for us for over two centuries, so where is the obvious indicator of a need for change? "Change", as someone once said, "is inevitable", but the result of change simply for the sake of change is frequently counterproductive, and sometimes destructive.

Who desires change in the American culture? Those who refuse to assimilate into that culture, and those who believe that the responsibility for providing the unearned rewards of individual success rests with the government. They believe that the government's role is to reward indolence and slothfulness with benefits equal or superior to those enjoyed by the productive, tax-paying members of our society. I strongly disagree with those people, whatever their party affiliation. We have too many grasshoppers and too few ants ... and if the ants should someday realize that the free ride is much easier than laboring for ones support, then we shall surely all perish of starvation.

I could be wrong about this ... and the Pope could be Jewish!

Is Barack Obama the USA's Robert Mugabe?

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the name Robert Mugabe, he has been the leader of Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) for almost three decades. Although his early history shows him as a "freedom fighter" for the rights of native black Africans, and a relatively 'good shepherd' of his flock, his most recent actions show him to be an incapable administrator, dictatorial in his governance and oblivious to international concerns over the direction in which he has taken Zimbabwe.

After the recent fraudulent Zimbabwean Presidential election - in which Mugabe was defeated - he simply refused to vacate the office of President or surrender control of the government. He demanded a unity government, and got it. He creates Zimbabwean "law" on the fly, and ignores international law and the needs of his people.

By now you may be wondering, "What does this have to do with any behavioral relationship to Barack Obama?"

1. At the time of Zimbabwe's independence in 1980, slightly over 45% of Zimbabwe's arable land was owned by approximately 6,000 (primarily white) farmers. Zimbabwe was productive and considered to be the "breadbasket of southern Africa". Zimbabwe was a major exporter of agricultural products. Life was good, and it remained so for the better part of 20 years.

2. In April of 2000 the Zimbabwean constitution was amended in such a fashion as to allow the government to confiscate white-owned land for redistribution to black "farmers" without compensation. Almost immediately, self-styled "war veterans" began invading white-owned farms. Those owners who did not leave voluntarily were often tortured and sometimes killed. One was forced to drink diesel fuel as a form of torture.

3. This redistribution of wealth resulted in the collapse of Zimbabwe's agricultural industry, and the destruction of their economy. Zimbabwe now depends on food programs and support from outside to feed its population. A third of the population depends on food supplies from the World Food Program to avoid starvation.

4. The daily inflation rate in Zimbabwe is slightly more than 98%, which equates to an annual inflation rate of 516 quintillion per cent. Based on my comments in my most recent previous posting I understand how difficult that number is to really understand. It is the number 516 followed by 18 zeros. This figure is totally unfathomable as a concept of quantity or anything else! It is, most probably, the highest inflation rate any sovereign country in the world has ever experienced.

5. Mugabe said the unity government will continue to push for a majority stake of "at least 51%" in companies operating in Zimbabwe, to be controlled by dubiously qualified indigenous black Africans ... including banks. (Nationalization of private businesses by government. How is this different than our Democratically-controlled government becoming invested in the banking, housing, and the automotive industries?) Mugabe was recently quoted as having said:

"In the areas of mining, agriculture and manufacturing, a methodological and systematic identification of areas in which the state and indigenous entrepreneurs can participate, is being carried out, in line with the Indigenous and Empowerment Act."

The nationalization law, which Mugabe signed a few days before last March's general election, seeks to transfer majority control of foreign firms, including mines and banks, to indigenous blacks.

In the long term, no good has come to Zimbabwe as a nation - or the average Zimbabwean - as a result of Robert Mugabe's reign. If you observe Zimbabwe, you will get a preview of what's in store for the USA if our current government does not change its course. (My guess is that Mugabe, as with most dictators, suffers from a serious mental illness ... similar to a Messianic Complex.)

There is the remote possibility that I could be wrong about this ... but I'm NOT!

Yo Ho Ho And A Bottle of Rum!

Arrrr, Maties! 'Tis the crewe of Cap'n Obama, sailing up the Potomac into D.C., and plundering the coffers of the United States of America ... and they're taking no prisoners. Instead they are putting the financial future of this country into jeopardy for the next one hundred years!

Most people, myself included, have no concept of the word "trillion" or what it represents numerically. Certainly most of us understand hundreds, thousands and tens of thousands, but the numeric concept becomes a bit blurry around the million mark, and from there on it's all downhill. Thanks to Alexander E. Braun, I have a few examples of what a trillion actually represents in terms that you may be able to get your head around:

A trillion seconds add up to 31,710 years. If you started your count while Egypt’s Great Pyramid was being built, you’d have over 26,000 years to go.

If you wanted your trillion dollars in $100 bills, you’d have to carry off 10,000,000,000 bills. This roughly adds up to 9,370 tons of paper—the U-Haul folks will love you!

Stacked one on top of the other a column of those $100 bills would reach 631 miles up, endangering low-orbit traffic, such as Shuttle flights, the International Space Station, and the Hubble Space Telescope.

A car going at 65 miles per hour would take 1,756,235 years to travel a trillion miles.

And those figures are just for ONE trillion. Do you have some idea now? The debt that the Obama administration is creating for our country via the $789,000,000,000 "stimulus package", including pork earmarks and interest, (which has also been referred to as the Generational Theft Act of 2009) will cost American taxpayers $3.27 trillion over the next 10 years. (That stack of $100 bills is now 1,893 miles high. Or, if you got your $3.27 trillion in $1.00 bills, you could construct a wall of bills [laid on their edges] 13.08 feet high extending from New York City to San Francisco.) Now, keep in mind that the only money the government has is that which they collect from the citizens in the form of taxes and fees for services. Even the left wingers that elected Obama are beginning to have second thoughts, although most won't admit it, because to do so means recognizing that they were stupid enough to be taken in by Obama's mezmerizing, but empty, oration. The Democratic Spend-A-Thon will surely cripple the country for several generations to come.

I wonder what the shortest time record is for the impeachment of a United States President ... and will we set a new record? Oh, no ... I forgot ... impeachment proceedings against a sitting President must be initiated by the Congress, the body of which is overflowing with socialist liberal lefties itself. No impeachment on the horizon! Somebody wake me when the revolution begins ...

A trillion here, a trillion there ... before long we're talking about serious money!

I suppose there's an outside chance that I could be wrong about all this ... but I'm NOT!

States Rights? What A Ridiculous Idea!

The headline at HumanEvents.com reads: "Eleven States Declare Sovereignty Over Obama's Actions" and the following is an excerpt from that site ...

"In the first five weeks of his presidency, Barack Obama has acted so rashly that at least 11 states have decided that his brand of “hope” equates to an intolerable expansion of the federal government’s authority over the states. These states -- "Washington, New Hampshire, Arizona, Montana, Michigan, Missouri, Oklahoma, California...Georgia," South Carolina, and Texas -- "have all introduced bills and resolutions" reminding Obama that the 10th Amendment protects the rights of the states, which are the rights of the people, by limting the power of the federal government. These resolutions call on Obama to “cease and desist” from his reckless government expansion and also indicate that federal laws and regulations implemented in violation of the 10th Amendment can be nullified by the states."

It was unsurprising that our left-wing Socialist Government would move quickly to minimize states rights. Equally unsurprising are the various left-wing efforts around the country to make gun ownership extremely difficult and/or extremely expensive, inasmuch as they understand the immediate citizens response to making ownership of firearms illegal. Labyrinthine laws, Draconian in their intent and confusing by design, have sprung up in many places. One state legislator has proposed a law requiring that all gun owners must provide proof of a $1,000,000 liability insurance policy specifically for their firearms. This is good news for the insurance companies, but not so good for the honest working-class citizen. Illinois Representative Bobby Rush has submitted HR45: Blair Holt's Firearms Licensing and Record of Sales Act of 2009, as a proposed law in an attempt to intimidate gun owners by tracking them like ex-convicts, and burying them in an avalanche of administrative requirements. THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A STATES RIGHTS ISSUE! And apparently, it's one of the many Constitutional protections the left-wing wishes to eliminate. Registration is the first step toward confiscation.

Here's an excerpt from a little known passage in our Declaration of Independence - "That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security." The reference, of course, is to the tyrannical rule of King George III over the "subjects" of the British Colonies now known as the United States of America.

Given our present course, I see the USA being replaced by the SSA (Socialist States of America), because of our complacency. According to the published election results, a slight majority of our countrymen - both living and dead - chose to elect a known left wing Socialist as our President. Barack Obama is a man, who through deed and word, has demonstrated his disdain for our country, its customs, and our cultural heritage. He failed to show respect to our flag - a flag for which tens of thousands of freedom-loving Americans have sacrificed their lives. And in his book, "The Audacity of Hope" there's this statement:

“I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.”

I'm sorry, but how ignorant does one have to be to NOT understand that Obama does not now, nor has he ever, had the best interests of our country at heart? IF he is an American by virtue of his birth to an American mother - and notice that's a big IF - it is the only connection he has to America. Factual proof of his place of birth has not yet been made public. In fact, those records have been sealed. Why? Another unanswered question surrounds the origins of the financial means by which he attended "Ivy League" universities ... but, again, those records have been sealed. Why?

I could be wrong about all this ... but I'm NOT!

U.S. lawmaker to push repeal of online gambling ban

Barney Frank strikes again! From Reuters Washington D.C. desk ...

"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior Democratic lawmaker will push legislation this year to repeal a U.S. ban on Internet gambling that has hurt trade ties with the European Union, a congressional aide said. "The bill introduction should happen in the next month," a spokesman for House of Representatives Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank said."

Barney Frank (with the able assistance of his faithful sidekick, Chuck Schumer) was the driving force behind the collapse of our banking and mortgage industry, by requiring Fannie May and Freddie Mac to back loans for people who obviously didn't meet the minimum standard to qualify for such loans under established banking principles! Now he wants to insure that a huge amount of American's disposable (and in many cases, not-so-disposable) income be used to support gambling interests overseas? And, to make this acquisition of U.S. dollars even easier for the Europeans, the gamblers won't even have to leave their homes to lose their money! What is wrong with this man's thought processes? Has he lost his mind?

I spent a couple of years working in the gaming industry in Las Vegas, and I have seen what happens to the weak-willed and the undisciplined. These are the folks people generally refer to a "inveterate gamblers", but who casino workers (who are less P.C. than the general public) refer to, and much more accurately, as "gambling degenerates". I saw them lose cars, homes, and families to their addiction ... an addiction they cavalierly refer to as "a fun night out", or "just something to do", or almost anything other than "getting my gambling fix." Until the mid-1900s, people who gambled away more than they could lose were frequenly:

a. coerced into doing business "favors" for the casino management ... IF their line of work proved to be profitable for the casino ownership, or

b. physically abused with fists, brass knuckles, saps, baseball bats, lead pipes, 2x4 lumber, or anything else that may have been handy, or

c. never seen or heard from again.

Items b & c, above, were means of providing examples to others who may be inclined toward slow, incomplete and/or non payment. And the "vigorish" or "vig" for short (interest on money owed) was absolutely outrageous, sometimes doubling the amount lost in a week. These things combined to motivate many people who were otherwise honest and upstanding citizens, but now caught in the machinery of gambling, to commit crimes ranging from prostitution, auto theft and drug dealing, to robbery, embezzlement, and yes, sometimes even maiming and murdering.

But, Las Vegas isn't that place any more ... they say. There is no Mafia there these days - just ask Salvatore, the pit boss from Detroit - or Dominic, the casino manager imported from Chicago - they'll set you straight.

Gambling, for many people, is an addiction. Perhaps it's the socializing at the craps table, the electric atmosphere generated by all those people "having a good time", the lure of the city lights, or just the obscure hope that they can turn their last $10 into $10,000. For those people, gambling is an illness, and they either lack the will-power - or the desire - to cure themselves. They will bet their ability to live indoors, their children's college fund, the money their son was saving for that all-important sex change operation, or any other negotiable item on the next roll of the dice or turn of the cards.

Barney Frank wants to make it almost impossible for them to "kick the habit" ... to escape, what for them is, the grim reaper of gambling, by allowing it into their domiciles. Why should we care if the Europeans are upset by the loss of gambling revenues from Americans? Our laws are supposedly designed to protect those who are incapable of protecting themselves ... even if it's FROM themselves!

Shame on Barney Frank! He's nothing but another punk politician willing to sell out his countrymen for a few words of praise from some foreigners.

I suppose there's a chance I could be wrong about all this ... on second thought ... nah, NO WAY!

*OINK* - I Smell PORK!!

House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi goes to to visit the Pope on the public dime ... this seems to be an issue of state endorsement of a specific religion. She is an official of our government, flying with her entourage of sycophants, in a government (read: taxpayer) supplied 200 seat aircraft, to have an audience with Pope Benedict XVI.

In an attempt to be perfectly fair about this though, she will meet with representatives of the Italian government during her week long visit to Italy. Pelosi, who arrived in Rome on Sunday after spending the day in the Tuscan capital Florence, was to meet with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano and lunch with her Italian counterpart Gianfranco Fini on Monday.

Monday afternoon she was to lead a conference on security before meeting the press. (Excuse me, but what the hell does Nancy Pelosi know about security, other than the fact that our government provides it for her?)

On Tuesday, Pelosi was to meet Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and the defence and foreign ministers, Ignazio La Russa and Franco Frattini.

Pelosi plans to spend Thursday in southern Naples (doing what ... shopping??).

Okay ... so here's her iternerary:

Sunday: Pelosi goes shopping and sightseeing in Florence

Monday: Pelosi meets with the head lefty of the left-wing Italian government for lunch, then "leads a conference on security" in the afternoon before she meets with the press. (She's used up maybe 4 hours of Monday for "business".)

Tuesday: Pelosi meets with 3 other lefties, probably simultaneously in the PM's office. But, let's be generous and say she meets with them individually in their own offices. (That takes care of 3 hours or a half workday.)

Wednesday: Audience with "Il Papa". (There goes 45 minutes.)

Which leaves Thursday, Friday and Saturday, which are unaccounted for. With no published official schedule, one can only assume that it will be spent touring and shopping, at our expense. And, although her airplane has a large bedroom, and a staff to see to her every need, I seriously doubt that she's sleeping in it in these hard economic times. My money says that she stays in a 5-star hotel everywhere she stops.

The Head Porker puts the perennial pork to the people again!

I suppose I could be wrong about this ... but I'm NOT!