My Tea Party Chronicle

WHEN IS A CONSPIRACY NOT A THEORY

2012-01-28T09:28:00.000-08:00

It has been a very busy time here due to council meetings, commissioner meetings, Tea Party meetings, writing, countless emails and messages to answer. Not having a secretary, cook, or a maid service, leaves me very strapped. I'm going to say, too, that my art career has been taking a back seat for far too long now because of the political climate. Something has to give....

Below is an op-ed I have just submitted to our local paper on the heels of our Gaston Co. Commissioners passing a resolution condemning Agenda 21 / Sustainable Development / Smart Growth. And on the heels of a recent article in that newspaper trying to drum up controversy by referring to Agenda 21 as a conspiracy theory. I have tried to write my best shot to educate the public with this brief article. The Gazette only allows 700 words for an op-ed.

Article begins here:

Our Gaston County Commissioners have done something very good for which we should all be thanking them. They recently voted unanimously to adopt a resolution rejecting Agenda 21 and all of the tenets therein, a United Nations doctrine that has been wrecking the sovereignty of the United States for years. The Republican National Committee this month finally decided Agenda 21 has become so damaging to our nation that they adopted a resolution to condemn the doctrine as part of their platform for the 2012 election. This is late in the day, but maybe now America will realize the seriousness of the internal threat Agenda 21 has become.

Agenda 21 has been referred to as a “Conspiracy Theory” in this newspaper. And there are many Americans who don’t have an understanding of what Agenda 21 is, or why it even matters. The Agenda 21 plan is readily accessible at the UN website for all to read; 40 Chapters of micromanagement for every square inch of the planet. There is a good reason Agenda 21 is not widely understood by Americans. Our government has deliberately been implementing it under other names for twenty years and obfuscating the true intent of the doctrine.

Agenda 21 was first presented as a treaty in Rio in 1991. Pres. George H. Bush signed it. Part of the treaty, a “Biodiversity Treaty,” was presented to our Congress, but thankfully rejected. Not discouraged by a little thing like our representative government, Pres. Bill Clinton cleverly signed an executive order implementing all of Agenda 21, but used one of the major chapter titles, creating the “President’s Council on Sustainable Development.” This action bypassed every check against executive authority when implementing treaties. A President does not have the authority to implement a treaty without ratification by our Senate. Further, actions of the treaty cannot be funded without approval from the House of Representatives. Instead, Clinton’s executive order has been funded by every executive agency in our federal government without the approval of the American people. Pres. Obama has accelerated the spending for Agenda 21 and created by executive order the “White House Rural Council” on the same principles to control all rural areas of the country.

While you have been wondering what on earth is wrong with our government at all levels, as planners and leaders have been forcing stringent regulations upon us, the federal government has been borrowing tax money from you to completely control every aspect of your life based on this invalid treaty. “Comprehensive” doesn’t begin to describe the sum total of this insidious plan. Agenda 21 controls what you eat, how you move about, where and how you live, the amount of water and energy you use, and more. (The light bulb ban is one tiny example this.) And just to make this more illegal, the funding is coming through unelected entities such as regional governance groups, NGO’s, and non-profits. Media and government agencies have created mass hysteria over bogus claims of “human caused climate change” in order to make you think this control of your life is necessary to save the planet. You have been witnessing this every day for years now. Have you wondered why?

So is this a “Conspiracy Theory?” Or is this fact? You can find the facts easily by searching the UN website on Agenda 21, or search these words and phrases: Sustainable Development, Smart Growth USA, ICLEI, regional governance, Growing Smart Legislative Handbook, EPA PAYT, NRPE, et al. After 20 years of usurpation of our taxes and laws, Agenda 21 is now entrenched in every institution in the country, frankly, like a cancer. It is going to take a major effort to recognize it and un-fund it at every level of government. This is why we must have leadership who reject this and return the U.S. to our Constitutional representative government.

Our elected officials are our last line of defense against this. If they don’t understand what it is, they don’t know how to fight it. This is why our Gaston County Commissioners should be thanked and congratulated. They did what this entire country is needing to do; reject and condemn Agenda 21, AKA Sustainable Development, AKA Smart Growth, ICLEI, and every manifestation of it that exists in our nation. Thank you Gaston County Commissioners!

HOW THEY BREAK THE BANK

2012-01-14T07:02:00.000-08:00

Do you wonder how they do it? How do they take your goodwill, your trust, and your money? This is more of a local story, but applies to every city and every State in the era of funny money and your family's ability to survive. You may think the amounts I am about to relate are peanuts, comparatively. (Peanuts managed to put Jimmy Carter in the White House, don't forget) It all adds up, until eventually you get mountains of overwhelming debts.

In May of 2010, the voters in Gastonia turned down a referendum for parks and recreation. Additionally on that ballot was a referendum for street and sidewalk improvements which passed. Shortly thereafter, our mayor at the time and the council who sat with her, decided to ignore the voters and borrowed from something called a two-thirds bond. This allowed them to by-pass the voters and go merrily about borrowing money for parks and recreation anyway. I guess the operative phrase that comes to mind is, "Up yours, voters!"

So here we are after a 2011 election and we have 4 new council members and a new mayor. Hope springs eternal. What does the planning department do? This coming Tuesday, the planning department is presenting yet another borrowing opportunity for parks and recreation.

Fortunately one can read the upcoming council agenda online. The proposal for parks and recreation is there for anyone to see. This time it is paving bike trails on or along an already superfluous greenway project. The reason for the proposal? A North Carolina State grant from NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources combined with another grant from a non-profit business coalition. Hmmmm. (Money for nothing and your chicks for free?....not quite.) The entire project for 3 miles of bike trail is $156,000.00. This comes to $52,000.00 per mile. The grant from the non-profit business coalition is $10,000.00. So tax payers would be on the hook for $146,000.00. The State of North Carolina is, according to Civitas, $9.4 Billion in debt. The grant from NCDENR is $86,000.00. The rest of the cost would be borrowed from something called a General Obligation Bond for Gastonia residents to cough up $71,000.00. (The GO Bond may be already borrowed and sitting there for the city to tap into. I'm not sure, but looking into that.)

A pittance, you say. What is $146,000.00 in the big scheme of things? Can't we all just get along? Let's give the biking enthusiasts their 3 miles and just move on. Eh? Who wants to fight over peanuts, anyway?

The proposal sites two things as reasons to do it. One is that "bike trails fit" into the 2025 Comprehensive scheme cooked up by the Sustainable Development and Smart Growth folks. That was a plan voted on by the former mayor and previous council, but was never on a referendum, so the voters were just told to stuff it down and like it. The other is that this is just the beginning of making bike trails fit into the coming flow of bike lanes and trails throughout the streets and beside the streets in Gastonia. That statement leads to the conclusion that bicycles are now part of the transportation system, more than recreation. So which is it? Transportation or recreation?

According to the grant from NCDENR, it is "recreation." (Remember, the voters here all turned down borrowing for recreation.) Which makes me wonder why NCDENR doesn't give a grant to Kate's Skating Rink. After all, Kate's is promoting healthy exercise and good cardio activities. But Kate's doesn't have a non-profit "coalition." The biking coalition is called Bikes Belong." On their site it says this: " Since 1999, Bikes Belong has awarded 236 grants to municipalities and grassroots groups in 46 states and the District of Columbia, investing nearly $1.9 million in community bicycling projects and leveraging more than $657 million in federal, state, and private funding." That is a 2-657 ratio of return on investment over 12 years. Nice work if you can get it. I think that is approximately a 28% per year gain on money invested, using our tax dollars of course.

Notice how they (planners and politicians, scammers and bureacrats) manage to circumvent the voters and just plow over them, borrowing more and more money and giving tax breaks to favored businesses while the rest of the schmucks get saddled with paying for it all. That is how they are breaking the public trust bank in America. The method is the same from here to San Francisco. This is just one tiny little microcosmic episode to illustrate the reason citizens are just a little bit upset and more than disenfranchised at this point. I guess some small percentage of biking enthusiasts are tickled pink. And some environmentalists who can't wait to take all of our money and get us out of our cars are dancing at the Governor's mansion in Raleigh (and the White House in DC). The rest of us can go fly. Right?

We don't know yet if our new council and mayor will take the bait. I am hoping they see through this entire scheme and refuse to do it. Our voters have said, "No," twice. First when they turned down the recreation bond, and then last fall when they removed the offending mayor and 4 previous council members from their posts. Now we will see if the rubber meets the road, one 3 mile stretch at a time.

Sources:
Civitas
Gaston Gazette
North Carolina State Debt Clock

BOLSHEVIKS AND THE INTERNATIONALIST CORPORATE CABAL

2012-01-09T14:01:00.000-08:00

Occasionally I check in on a site called Mat-Rodina who is a Russian blogger. Honestly, I will tell you Stanislav, the author of the blog, hates the United States. I checked in today and found this video that I thought you might find interesting. I know nothing about who the people are in this video. The gentleman in the video says it is 1987. The caption on the youtube site says this: "A classic interview by Professor Antony Sutton, who taught economics at California State University, and was a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution." Having said all of that, this is a 13 minute 29 second long video describing the U.S. / Internationalist corporate involvement in creating the utopian Soviet Union with Trotsky and Lenin and then forward to the continual global corporate cabal up to the date of the video...1987.

I am bringing this video to you to ask a question. What is different from this man's description to what we are seeing today? I would say there is nothing different. When you think of the Tsar of Russia, the Shah of Iran, and the plethora of national heads being taken down recently, I wonder if you see what I see, i.e. the connection between our State Department (Hilary Clinton) and the Internationalist money cartel ...and the destruction of sovereignty of nations all over the world. Is it any wonder Stanislav hates the U.S.? I only hope Stanislav can see the divide between the people of the U.S. and the leadership that has been up to its eyeballs in corrupt money for the last 100 years. Take a look.

WILL SOMEONE MAKE THOSE HORRIBLE WIND FARMS GO AWAY?

2012-01-05T19:40:00.000-08:00

“They are ridiculously expensive and don't work half the time,'' he said. “And no matter how many are built, they won’t replace coal, gas or hydro or nuclear plants, because they are continuous and wind is not always reliable.''
Dr. Patrick Moore, co-founder of Greenpeace
Article here

Moore told his audience the wind energy industry in Spain has resulted in a 30% unemployment rate among people under the age of 30.

I am not generally on the same side of things political with environmentalists, but this time I whole-heartedly agree with this Dr. Moore who decided to join with those who use their brains for reason, instead of running headlong into destructive insanity. Evidently Dr. Moore had an epiphany some 25 years ago and decided to look for more practical methods, environmental and realistic. Good for him and for us. He has the life experience that led him know the difference between bone-headed nonsense and logical solutions. He knows what the radical environmentalists are, how they plan, and how damaging they can be.

You may wonder why I find this subject so important to discuss since there are no wind farms going up in my near surrounding area. First, our federal and state tax dollars are being used to support this insanity. And secondly, I cannot suffer what these things are doing to birds. Thirdly, they are a blight on the landscape. If you don't like power lines...good heavens, you should see the ugliness of these wind farms.

The thing about these windmills is they are huge, hugely expensive, totally impractical, bird killers, and absolutely the most unnecessary waste of money that I think I've ever seen in this nation. Those windmills are the poster child for everything that is wrong with the green monsters who have taken over our government. You could pick Solyndra for solar panels, or the Chevy Volt, as kindred spirits, but the gigantic windmills, looming like aliens across the farm lands where I have seen them, are a visual blight and reminder of how big and powerful stupidity can become if allowed to steal from the public trough. One thing about the era we live in now is that the boondoggles and monsters are larger and faster appearing than the slow march of historical mistakes and gruesome tyrants of past eras.

If the economics and practicality are not enough for you to see what a disaster these wind farms are, this article tells the story of the birds. "In 2009, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated that about 440,000 birds are likely killed each year by the fast-spinning wind turbines -- and that was at a time when the industry was just beginning an expansion that may bring about a 12-fold growth by 2030. It is impossible to determine how many dead birds that will translate into (it depends how and where wind projects are built), but without a sea change in the industry, it will certainly be in the millions."

Back to the money stolen from you to fund this insanity...(yes, I keep calling it insanity because I can't think of a better word for it..), here is a run down on what the Obama administration has spent on wind turbines and where that money is going:

Despite all the talk of green jobs, the overwhelming majority of stimulus money spent on wind power has gone to foreign companies, according to a new report by the Investigative Reporting Workshop at the American University’s School of Communication in Washington, D.C.

Nearly $2 billion in money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has been spent on wind power, funding the creation of enough new wind farms to power 2.4 million homes over the past year. But the study found that nearly 80 percent of that money has gone to foreign manufacturers of wind turbines.

“Most of the jobs are going overseas,” said Russ Choma at the Investigative Reporting Workshop. He analyzed which foreign firms had accepted the most stimulus money. “According to our estimates, about 6,000 jobs have been created overseas, and maybe a couple hundred have been created in the U.S.”

Even with the infusion of so much stimulus money, a recent report by American Wind Energy Association showed a drop in U.S. wind manufacturing jobs last year.

That money is gone...down the tubes. If you want another good reason to get rid of the criminals in DC, starting with the one in the White House, windmills and wind farms would be a darn good reason. And that isn't just bird feathers....

WE ALL HAVE OUR ISSUES IN THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE

2012-01-04T08:01:00.000-08:00

Each of us is carrying around with us some hot button issue that hits at the heart of our core beliefs. Some of these issues are narrow. Some are more broad. A narrow issue might be something like the seat belt laws. But even that represents a broader issue at the heart of liberty. A broad issue might be something like Obamacare. This is a liberty issue on steroids. As the government (at all levels) has become greedier and greedier for power, the issues and laws have become incrementally, but lately expeditiously, more all encompassing and more broad.

One of my hot button issues is the " Anthropogenic Climate Change" hoax. It hits me at so many levels it is hard to describe the magnitude of my frustrations over it. The lie is so stunning as to make one's head spin. That deliberate lie on the basis of false doctrine is enough to send me into hives. The lie, taken to its full extent, presumes to cover every activity known to mankind. For instance, if you try to face down the proponents of light rail on the basis of economics or logic, and you dig deep enough into the proponents' reasons, you find they use "Climate Change" as the reason for light rail. If you try to talk sense into someone who proposes tracking recycling activities, you find that underneath the insanity of that is someone who believes in Anthropogenic Climate Change. (AGW) If you want to buy an appliance for your home, you are faced with salesmen pushing "energy star" products. Why? AGW. If you want to take a drive in your gasoline propelled automobile, you are made to feel guilty for doing so. Why? AGW. Buying groceries? Buy local. Why? AGW. Taking a walk? Better take that walk on a previously privately owned piece of property that has been taken for public use. Why? AGW. Want to live 'til you are ninety? Better not. Why? AGW. Heating your house? Don't do it. Why? AGW. Taking a shower? Better make it short. Why? AGW. Whatever you do is now under the cloud of a lie that has become so prevalent that you can't escape living without it? It is everywhere.

Right now we conservatives are vetting candidates for the Presidential race. Some of us are concerned about foreign engagements. Some of us are concerned about domestic policies, energy policies, immigration policies, and more. Some of us focus on employment. Some of us are concerned about privacy issues. Some of us see the big picture and are trying to find a candidate that solves all of the above.

While the AGW issue does not necessarily cover all of the foreign policy issues, it is used as an excuse for some of our foreign policy initiatives. ( We are using foreign aid to support green energy in other countries.) AGW does come into play in almost all of the other issues. It is that broad. So when Rick Santorum explained that he believes AGW is a hoax, my ears pricked up. Why? Because if he is smart enough to tag that as the lie that it is, and say so definitively, he gets my vote for honesty, If he is brave enough to stare the liars right in the face and say so, he gets my vote for courage. The AGW machine is huge and funded with billions of dollars. Santorum sounds willing to tell them to take a hike, get off the stage, take their lies and shove them where the "sun don't shine." That makes me very happy and relieved. We need leadership who is not afraid to tell the truth to the American people. This made me look at Santorum in a different, more favorable, light.

Romney has hedged on this issue. He knows there are buckets of corporate money to be had in this area. He is not about to face down the liars. In fact, Romney likes to embrace all sides of an issue and then pretend he is an honest broker. He likes having everything both ways. He calls Romneycare a good solution for Massachusetts, for crying out loud. If he doesn't resemble a chameleon, I don't know who does. This conservative writer is not a happy Romney-ite. If we are stuck with Romney, yes I will do what is necessary to get rid of the Communist in the White House and will probably vote for Romney. But not happily. While Romney says he will give waivers to all of the states on Obamacare, he does not address the issue that the funding is still in place and some states will continue on implementing pieces of it that no one wants. And Romney definitely does not stand for the truth on AGW.

(Just to make my readers crazy, I have not given up on Newt Gingrich quite yet either. If he lives up to his record from his Contract with America, I see a lot of hope for his candicacy. But he is going to have to get on board with me on with the AGW issue and show the country that he is willing to stand on his convictions for American freedom. He is the smartest guy in the room, as they say. His grasp of history could make him a great leader. Not just that, he has been around the block. He knows what it is like to play hardball with both internal and external enemies of our way of life. I'm hoping he can show why Romney is not the conservative we need.)

There may be hot button issues in your mind that drive you to one candidate or another. This election season is no easy task for choosing the best Presidential candidate. You just need to know that one of the worst is already sitting in the White House. Getting rid of the O is paramount. Replacing him with a Constitutionalist, someone who tells the truth, and someone with the courage to fight for the truth, would be my hope.

One thing is for certain. This election season is not dull.

DEFYING DEFINITIONS

2012-01-02T08:57:00.000-08:00

I've been having a hard time putting labels on those in the political class over the last few years. I don't know what to call those who rule as oligarchs, are doing government deals with corporations, propose populism but implement socialism, and get campaign funds from globalists who get their money from capitalism at the same time trying to destroy capitalism. What do you call these people? There seems to be a mix of too many governing methods to land on one name or another. This coming election year brings a challenge to voters to dare to define a candidate, not just by party affiliation, but by any historically acceptable definition of political science.

First, what is the benefit of a label? A label tells you what you are getting. Or it is supposed to represent something. It says "Green Giant," or it says "Pepsi," or it says "Quaker" oats. A brand name, a label, can make or break a product or an idea, or, in this case of discussion, a political method of governing.

Somewhere in the earliest days of the 1900's the labels of political parties started going off into some neverland of un-definitions. (I would thank Teddy Roosevelt for this due to the Bull Moose Party and his attempt at defining the Republicans as "Progressives.") Defying definitions, the two party system in America has turned into some mish-mash of confusion, so that now we have to look harder, listen harder, and realize a Democrat is no longer what we thought that meant, nor is a Republican what we used to know as "republicanism." When a political party created a platform for governing, the public used to have a reason to look at that platform and decide if it means something they want in their government. That political party then, for purposes of definition, listed the ingredients of the party in their platform so the public would know what they are getting. A brand, a label, would be enough to know if you would want to align yourself with that political party label. The candidate attached to that label would be recognizable.

If you buy Cole Hahn shoes you know what you are getting. If you vote for a Democrat today, what are you getting? A Communist? And if you vote for a Republican today, what are you getting? Progressivism á la Teddy Roosevelt? Or Conservatism á la Jim Demint?

At the top right of my blog you will see a quote from Norman Thomas, a former Socialist Party candidate for President. He says something quite profound regarding the Democrat Party. In his day, the Democrat Party had adopted Socialism so fully, that he basically saw no reason for a Socialist Party any longer. In other words, Democrat = Socialism.

As time has moved on, the Democrats have indeed adopted a full fledged form of Socialism. However, Democrats need money. And while they have succeeded at bleeding the populist dry (note BO's expansion of the national debt), they have to turn somewhere else for money. The Democrat constituency is made up of a lot of the poor dependent class. Not much money there. Yes, they still suck money from unions, but union memberships over the years have dwindled and there isn't as much money in unions as there used to be to fund the Democrats....or maybe another way of looking at this is the high price of politics has out-paced the union money, so the Democrats have had to go fishing in other places. So where have the Democrats gone? They have tapped into the business sector. And that leads to Fascism. Fascism is government rule over business. What did B. O. do? He had the government buy GM. He has hitched his wagon to a global corporation, i.e. GE. He is using government force to take power over businesses, who better pay up and back him...or else. He is attached at the hip to the Goldman Sachs and Soros wall street crowd. Even Warren Buffet has leaned in his direction. The Fascist model is a pay to play model where the corporation or investment class pays the politician or faces the consequences of government force.

Then, with the brief stage appearance of Van Jones, we had a glimpse of someone in BO's camp who unabashedly says he is a Communist. We also have in his camp global Socialists and rabid Environmentalist Socialists. We know his parents and surrounding friends were / are Communists. Put together the GM / GE Fascism, and the hedge fund gleaners, with the others and what we have in BO is a Socialist Fascist Communist.

Then there is the Republican Party who can't seem to shoot straight. Republicanism is supposed to support states rights and individual liberty, small government, etc. Republicans used to support localism by lower taxation, even if that was by default. The less money squeezed out of the states and persons for central government, the more prosperity would fall back onto the states and persons. That was the idea. Instead, what we have had from Republicans is expansion of Democrat social programs simultaneously with the lowering of taxes causing the country to run smack into more debts. You could call this unfunded liabilities, like No Child Left Behind, the Prescription Drug Bill, or Medicare and Medicaid. The Republicans seem to want their cake and eat it, too. Buying the votes of dependents with social programs, but not being able to pay for them is a major flaw in the Republican mindset. The theory is that if you lower taxes on everyone and every business, capitalism thrives and more money flows into the central government coffers. Is that the goal? What is the purpose of government? As long as you are supporting central government social programs you are not a small government, liberty promoting, Republican. Rinos Rejoice!

So, no matter how you look at the two parties, the expansion of the federal, central power of government just goes on unabated. Until finally, no one in the nation has anyone to turn to for small, limited, federal central power. Neither party can say with any authenticity that they are the label for the people, by the people, or of the people. The American public is getting shafted from either direction and definitions no longer hold true. Labels are shams. The mix of definitions has become a toxic soup of Socialism, Fascism, Communism, Environmentalism (now a code word for global socialism), and whatever other ism you want to throw in there.

(Just a quick note on "libertarianism" recommending to legalize drugs and prostitution which taxes those two categories of activities. Basically, more taxes for some immoral behaviors, which isn't any different than Democrats who deem profit as greed and an immoral behavior, wishing to tax it. The Republicans have latched onto various environmental causes and will find taxable activities such as support for land use restrictions, light rail, smart growth, etc. Just saying "libertarianism" is not better than the other two, just another taxation policy.)

So what do you call a politician who is all of the above? Democrat and Republican labels just don't seem to fit anymore. A Socialist Fascist Communist? A Progressive Regressive Politburo? An Environmentalist Fascist Socialist? A Capitalist Fascist Autocrat? Turkeys and Skunks. Might as well be.

Definitions matter.

A LITTLE CHEER FOR A NEW YEAR - TOTALLY NOT QUITE POLITICAL -WILF SHARING

2011-12-31T11:35:00.000-08:00

The one who is asleep here is our Bosley. The one above is Wilf the Polish Lowland Sheepdog. You can see why I think Wilf is adorable....because there is some resemblance to Bosley.

I have another political essay forming in my mind, but instead of writing on the dismal state of oppression coming at us, because it is New Year's Eve, I just have it in me today to share with you a precious blog about a dog. My New Year wish is for all good dogs to be loved. You see, I own a rescued mutt. His name is Bosley. I love Bosley and we love life with Bosley. He makes us laugh, he makes us happy, he interrupts me all day long when I am trying to write, and he keeps us on our toes when warning us about the squirrel family is raiding our bird feeders. In short, Bosley is just the sweetest and most adorable fellow who takes his job very seriously. Because I love Bosley and have had three great dogs in my life, I take notice when I see other adorable dogs and how they are loved by their families.

So for a little New Year cheer, today I am going to share another blog with you about a dog named Wilf. Wilf is owned by Angus (Which may be a pen name... I'm not sure.) and his wife who is called "the font." The family has a housekeeper named "Madame Bay." There are lots of other characters who light up the stories with Angus' writing skills. The family lives in a small town in France. Angus is a superior writer and has chronicled Wilf's and their lives with amusing and charming stories about the town and events in their lives. Some time ago, Wilf lost his brother, Digby, to cancer. And then, Wilf, himself, contracted cancer. But with incredible care and tons of love, Wilf has been saved a miserable death and goes on making life wonderful even though he is now blind. Whenever I'm down and feeling lousy about the world, I go to Angus' blog about Wilf and get lost in his stories of life in the little French town with their dog, Wilf. As you will see when you go to this blog, Angus does a great job of photography to illustrate his stories, too. I have fallen completely in love with Wilf and his owner's delightful journal of their lives together.

Here is just a little piece of Angus' writings from Dec. 9, this year:

"Seven thirty am . Amid a crashing of gears and a beep-beep of its asthmatic horn Madame Bay and her gold metallic ' Wild Child ' voiturette arrive at the front door . This morning our saintly cleaning lady is dressed in pulse quickening orange and purple . The tout ensemble crowned by a paisley patterned turban and a cascade of lemon chiffon .

This jarring vision of loveliness is the cue for Wilf and Angus to head off to the little cafe under the arcades . While the family fellow savours his half croissant , Angus reads the paper . Overnight there's been yet another European Union summit so the headlines are full of unseasonal doom and gloom. This is intermixed with a healthy dose of Anglo-Saxon bashing . The failure to reach agreement blamed on '' our friends the British " . A phrase liberally spread across the pages with relished bile. For a moment Angus thinks of joining the beer and absinthe set in a pre-breakfast tincture .

Dogs of course are untroubled by such things . They have an attitude to life that asks : " Will this matter tomorrow ? "

So here it is: Wilf And Digby Go read and have a HAPPY DOG NEW YEAR on me. It's back to politics the next time!

NO COINCIDENCES THIS YEAR AND NEXT

2011-12-26T10:52:00.000-08:00

I confess I have been naive in my political views in earlier years in my lifetime. I look back now and have a completely different perspective on world events, a perspective that is closer to reality, but still probably lacking in enough sophistication to grasp the entirety of it all. I have never been what you would call a "jingoist," promoting "my country right or wrong" kind of person. But I did have, in my earlier days, a serious connection to faith in some of our leadership to do some things right, mostly for the defense of our nation. That sounds ridiculous if you consider I came out of the Vietnam era still holding that belief. I do still see reasoning behind our actions there because I understood the domino theory and I saw the sense in that. Communism, sadly, is still alive and well and I believe it needs to be thwarted, destroyed, and wiped from the face of the earth. Looks like that is not going to happen in my lifetime, especially since communism is infiltrating the United States at breakneck speed these days, with a toxic mix of fascism thrown in for good measure. But at the time, in my earlier naivité, it seemed a reasonable premise that we would fight for freedoms and individual rights against totalitarianism. The turn now to "collective" rights is such an aberration that I wonder how any Americans could be literally sucked into such a distorted view of how government should be operating. This is no coincidence.

It's just that I am learning more and more, as I research world events, about movers and shakers behind the scenes who are directing actions that have no connection to our Constitution or to our electorate. Too many things are being fomented in foreign countries to even pretend there is some kind of worldwide coincidence. The middle east is not erupting out of happenstance. The protests in Moscow are not spontaneous demonstrations any more than Occupy is a spontaneous movement in the U.S. It's all too convenient and too coordinated to blow off as a contagious explosion of false freedom fighters all showing up at once to display dissatisfaction with their governments. Simultaneously, the UN is just too happy to be throwing around treaties and global rules in the midst of all of this, the WTO is in the process of admitting Russia into its fold, and the IMF is taking in American tax payer money to prop up the Euro.

What do the protests have in common? What they are all asking for is more government oppression, albeit cloaked in humanist / communitarian drapery. How did that happen? None of it is about freedom. It is all about wanting a nanny state to crack down on freedoms. What nanny states? Well, in the middle east it would be the Muslim Brotherhood implementing Sharia Law. In Russia, I hear, it is about people wanting to go diving deeply back into communism, because the powers there have been abusive and fascist leaning. Here, it seems the Occupiers want government to crack down on corrupt corporations, which is really kind of hilarious because it is government who encouraged all of the corruption and collusion with corporations. If the Occupiers think government is going to save them from corruption and collusion, boy, are they looking at the fox to guard the hen house. Total nonsense.

Simplistically stated, it seems we have two factions vying for global powers, although one of them is completely bogus. The bogus one is "humanists." These are the folks who say they want global communal rules, communitarianism, if you will. These are also the same folks who think the environment is the common denominator that will link us all together in some sort of delirious global hug. This is a crock, frankly. They are fools and/or calculating devils. They are fooling a lot of people, unfortunately. But they are going to lose this global battle in the end because it isn't about Kum-ba-yah. There isn't going to be any nice global warming collective hug. That was never going to happen anyway. What is going on is much more serious than that.

The second faction is the financiers who, by the way, are in bed with global corporations. The only thing this faction has in common with the humanist faction is they are both about wanting to control resources. The humanists say they want equal justice and "fairness," thereby redistribution of resources and wealth. The financiers and corporations are hardly in the business of "fairness." They want resources, "fairness" be damned. The UN, the WTO, the IMF, the menage á trois of financiers, corporations and false humanists, all pretending to be in the business of humanistic endeavors, but at the same time funding the overthrow of governments world wide. This one, the financiers, is not bogus and is seriously dangerous. (As Soros goes laughing all the way to the bank(sters).)

Is George Soros really John Law incarnate? History repeats itself. The consternation comes when people don't learn from it or even study it. A man named John Law created a financial bubble in 1720 that took down the French economy....and he did it with the help of the French government. Maybe I should have referenced Ben Bernanke instead of John Law, for monetizing the debt. But the financiers seem to have taken the opposite lesson from the failures of John Law and just multiplied the cursed errors to fit the global finance system so the whole planet can come crashing down. Why? What would be the motives? Assuming the global financiers are not stupid, this is NO COINCIDENCE. The EU will not survive as it is designed. I cannot believe that anyone in global power ever thought it would. Which leaves the only other plausible explanation, that it was designed to fail. Now putting Americans on the hook for bailing out the IMF, is.....NO COINCIDENCE.

On the global corporation front, if you brand your corporation with the "philanthropic" label, good for the planet and good for the poor, you can hitch your wagon to government organizations across the world and call yourself saintly. This supposedly makes your products more desirable and appealing to the better nature of humanity, those who want to go to bed at night thinking they did something good today. As the leader of that corporation, you know damn well you are just doing it to manipulate people to promote sales and to get preferential treatment from governments. How that leader sleeps at night is another story. (no idea) But nonetheless, you pull in gobs of money and play the global socialism / fascism game. (Think Coke in bed with the World Wildlife Fund, and you've got the picture.) Draining the American economy through Chinese imports and ridiculous philanthropic ruses is .....NO COINCIDENCE. Global corporations are in bed with both, the humanists and the financiers, not to mention the collaboration with government to satisfy all contingencies. Fascism á la Mussolini seems like the analogy here, only on a global scale. (The likes of Jeffrey Immelt of GE should show us how government collusion works, enriching some who know how to kiss up really well. )

So my naiveté is seriously dented. Let's see. Humanists. Global corporations. Money changers. World powers dominating sovereign nations. As I look forward to next year, I am seriously fearing the global manipulation of our election process. We are already covered up with so much propaganda and lies, infiltrated with so many communists (even in our congress), and at the mercy of bad actors screwing around with the voting apparatus in our states, that I am really concerned. Just realize there are no coincidences as we trudge forward toward the goal of restoring our great nation. Powerful forces are gathered to thwart us. We will have to be nimble, quick, and strong. My friends in the Tea Party movement are going to have to gather together to mount a huge showing during the coming elections. Tepid and timid are not going to get it.

Let there be no coincidences for our side next year...let us take the country back with no ifs, ands, or buts. Reagan was right. This is the last place on Earth. God save America.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO THE WELL-HEELED!

2011-12-08T20:28:00.000-08:00

Christmas is around the corner and the U.S. government is handing out borrowed money like candy, with you as collateral. Some people do think government is Santa Claus, and bureaucrats are all to happy to perpetuate that myth. The United States government today is forcing you, the tax payer, to pick up the tab for the wealthy in ways the Founders never imagined.

Redistribution of wealth supposedly takes from the wealthy and hands it over to the poor. But our government is redistributing in strange and mysterious ways, hardly living up to the Robin Hood mythology Obama likes to conjure up. In fact, the concept is turned completely on its head in today's upsidedown world.

Recently, a very well-off local Dr. purchased 71 acres of land in our county. This Dr. sits on the board of a lands conservancy group. Well, what do you know? He then donates the land to the conservancy group and lands a nice, big fat, tax deduction for his generous donation. What is never brought to light is that you picked up the bill. He just moved the property tax burden to the remainder of the county citizens for all of the rest of land still being assessed taxes. Non-profit lands conservancy groups do not pay property taxes. Not only that, the land in question is taken out of any possible use for "perpetuity." Yes. That means "forever." So what happened to the availability of land for private use? It just became 71 acres more scarce. The theory of supply and demand tells you that the price of land just went up due to this scarcity. And you financed the whole transaction. How? By allowing this Dr. to transfer some of his tax burdens over to the rest of the population....and raise the property tax values at the same time, so you can pay more.

The tax deductions offered for this sort of transaction are many. Some are for property taxes, some for income taxes at different levels, locally, state, and federal. And here we are, in Gastonia and Gaston County paying some pretty stiff property taxes. And wondering why. Those of us still paying property taxes are making up the difference for guys like the doctor cited.

But it gets even better. We've gone from tax exempt status for non-profits to granting them lots of money. And when you hear about public / private partnerships, you might want to look into how many corporations have set up non-profit foundations in order to jump in on the tax benefits for the latest cause celeb. They are greasing all sides of the skids by taking donations and giving donations, AND soaking the taxpayer by getting government grant money. Nice work if you can get it, eh? And even better, our government is colluding with them.

Another curious example happened this past year involving the Carolina Thread Trail and the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden. DSBG is owned by a private foundation and is supported by donations, as well as various activities DSBG sells, such as wedding receptions, groups tours, a gift shop, etc. The land owned by DSBG, and incorporated into the Garden, was not targeted for any kind of other development that I could find in research. The DSBG Foundation is a non-profit and already is afforded tax exempt status. Donations to DSBG are tax deductible. The land is contained by the Foundation that owns it. Yet, DSBG was all too happy to sell off part of its land to the Carolina Thread Trail to supposedly turn 2.3 miles of it into a "nature trail." This was a transfer of land from one non-profit to another. And what does that have to do with you? You paid $1.5 million dollars to purchase this "nature trail" from DSBG to hand over to the Carolina Thread Trail. And that amounts to $652,000.00 per mile you paid for a little walk through the woods. I'm not sure you can even access this trail without paying admission to the Garden. The $1.5 million grant came from the NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund, supposedly to "protect" the water from development. But again, this land was not targeted for development anyway. ( Caveat here: I am a founding member of DSBG and I thought is was going to be continually a privately owned Foundation, separate from government funding. As a private foundation, and as a destination to enhance our county, I thought this would be a good thing, never dreaming our taxes would be confiscated to support it. And, I did not join DSBG for the purpose of tax deductions.) If that amount of money were not enough, there were posts with names of donors at the beginning of the trail when I walked it this past summer....donors who all took tax deductions for their contributions. I have no idea how much money they donated, but I recognized the names of several of them as locals known to have lots of money. And when you figure into the rest, that abstract unknown amount of money they took off their income taxes, you can add that to the pool of revenue going into this little venture.

Ducky! Well, speaking of ducky, I have another one for you in Mt. Holly. This one is called the Catawba River Greenway, previously known as the Mt. Holly Riverwalk. The city of Mt. Holly has secured $800,000.00 from the State Transportation Improvement Program for this little gem. Catawba River Views I don't know about you, but when I think of Transportation Improvements, I think of filling pot holes or widening roads. After all, the transportation budget gets money from our gas taxes. So one would think that, if the users pay for roads, then the gas taxes would go to roads. Instead, our gas taxes are being siphoned off for walking trails. Hmmmm...I guess walking is transportation, especially in high density inner cities where you really can't afford to park a car. In fact the Smart Growth and Sustainable Development crowd have made it mandatory that certain percentages of transportation money go to walking trails, bike trails and lanes, and light rail, which is so expensive that no one can afford it.

The greenway people are very clever. They have managed to put greenways in several different categories so they can draw grants from many different departments of government. First they say it is for protection of the environment, so that brings in EPA money. Then they say it protects the water, so that comes under the State Clean Water Management Fund. Then they say the trails are for recreation, so next they can get money from Parks and Recreation funds. And then, if that weren't enough, they figured out if they call these trails "transportation corridors," they can tap into the transportation money at the state and federal levels. I haven't found this yet, but why not put these trails under health and welfare, too? Might as well...and they probably will.

The non-profits supporting these tax breaks are closely related to the wealth management industry. Wonder why that is?? In fact, the last two directors of the Carolina Thread Trail came straight out of the banking industry to take the job with Carolina Thread Trail. The guy that is the CEO for The Nature Conservancy came straight from Goldman Sachs.
Nature.org

"Mark Tercek, President and CEO: Before joining The Nature Conservancy, Mark was a managing director at Goldman Sachs, where he played a key role in developing the firm’s environmental strategy. He headed the firm’s Environmental Strategy Group and Center for Environmental Markets, which worked to develop and promote market-based solutions to environmental challenges."

It is not a far stretch these days from non-profit wealth management to protecting that Christmas stocking fund for the rich. So Merry Christmas to the well-heeled! We paid a lot of green for their new walking shoes and tax shelters and .....fa la la...la la!

WHO IS THE CATAWBA RIVER DISTRICT? AND WHY?

2011-11-29T18:38:00.000-08:00

Over the past few years I have watched as environmental non-profits have multiplied like a veritable plague of locusts across the land. And I've researched the origins of this all the way back to the Federal government agencies feeding these locusts with money our Federal government does not have and must borrow or print. Billions of dollars ( estimated, but no way to tell over the last 10 years or so, how many billions have been unloaded into the non-profits..I'd be willing to bet more in the trillions) in grants have been handed out to anyone and everyone who will carry out the anti-private property rights schemes of these locusts.

I learned this past week that yet another "protection" scheme has popped up in our area, something called the Catawba River District. This "district" crosses county borders and city designations on a map drawn up by some environmentalist do-gooders who have no elected authority from anyone. Some few folks, who don't necessarily own any land there by the way, just arbitrarily drew a line around a territory that they want to control, set themselves up as a non-profit, started taking donations, began applying for grants, set up an advisory board and proceeded to call themselves a "district." They do say on their site in a few places that cooperation with them is "voluntary." But wait a minute, since this is all "voluntary," what is the goal here? What is NOT "voluntary" is the tax money they receive in the way of grant money. Other taxpayers are funding this operation by forced collection of taxes and by governments allowing this as tax shelter, thereby putting the tax burden on the rest of us. Because of the non-profit status of this group, they are now in process of lobbying local governments and requesting grant monies from state and federal governments. Excuse me? Some collective crew of control fanatics have crowned themselves kings of a piece of land they do not own. I would call this a protection racket, back to some very unhealthy practices of fiefdom from the middle ages. These fiefs are taking money from you and me to perpetrate their fiefdom. And most of the folks who are perpetrating this particular scheme are wealthy (I know some of them) and carry some lofty titles such as "planners" or directors of some other non-profits. Some of them have no credentials in the area of science or environmental issues at all. They just want in on the take.

From New Voices, an arm of the Catawba River District funded by the Knight Foundation which is an arm of a newspaper publishing business which includes the Charlotte Observer "The Catawba River District has identified several major funding opportunities, including a Sustainable Communities planning grant from the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development; federal weatherization grants and creation of a job-training center at the ReVenture renewable energy facility."
Stem is the GREEN indoctrination education system set up by the Catawba River District Now I have no gripes against teaching science, biology, math or any of the skills these people are advertising. But the entire premise here is indoctrinating children in the Al Gore fiction of how humans are ruining the environment and must use "sustainable" methods in all they do.

Their cute circle logo above looks like Bill Nye the Science Guy stuff, but teaching children science and biology is not the goal.

The goal is the top image, the three interlocking ovals. In case you don't recognize that symbol, it is very similar to the symbol of the United Nations Agenda 21 - Sustainable Development doctrine. The UN one says Environment, Equity, Economy.

This is just one grant application, asking for our tax dollars from the EPA:
Catawba River District, Inc.

Charlotte, NORTH CAROLINA

Indicated Organization Type

Nonprofit w/ LEA

Indicated Grant Type

Development

Private Match Waiver Requested

Award Length Requested

3 Years

Federal Funding Requested

$1,523,629.00

Next up, you can apply for a gold star from the Catawba River District if you play by their rules:

Catawba River District Certification and Weatherization

A unique feature of the Catawba River District is its voluntary programs to certify and promote environmentally sustainable buildings and properties.

Catawba River District Certification is awarded to buildings and properties whose owners meet stringent standards to protect the environment and our wildlife, safeguard the Catawba River and significantly reduce energy consumption. Residential and commercial subdivisions and both new and existing homes and commercial buildings can earn River District Certification.

River District Weatherized designation can be earned by owners of existing homes and buildings who want to make their buildings more energy efficient but aren’t ready for the more intense certification process. Improvements made for this program can count later toward the full certification.

Both programs help safeguard our fragile yet precious river ecology while creating a sustainable community for generations to come.

There is more than this on their website, but again, I ask the question, "Who are these people and why do they think they are so important that they can hand out certifications for people's buildings?

From where comes their authority? They were not appointed by local city governments or county governments. Even if they were, they are certainly not elected by citizens. They sat themselves on top of a supposedly popular environmental cause and gave themselves some authority over a swath of land they don't own to pressure private owners from doing whatever they need to do with their property, to use the unholy word "develop" it, or to live on it as they please. They found some currently popular cause to latch onto and then proceeded to fund it using our tax money and to set up tax shelters for donors.

Of course the altruistic cause of "protecting the river" is their supposed motive. But, we have already clean air and water laws. We already have regulations that prevent pollution. So what is the necessity of the Catawba River District? No doubt they are patting themselves on the back every night and day, telling themselves they are saving the planet, the drinking water, the land, the riparian wildlife, and all else from those evil possible developers who might want to use the land.

They've covered all of the bases. Education, Protection, Media Publications, Certifications.... Then, when all else fails, they claim it is a historic district where American Indians traded their goods.

More from their site:
• The historic Tuckaseegee Ford and Trail - used for many centuries by both native Americans and European settlers. Modern parks preserve the historic area on both sides of the Catawba.

So it is also a Historic Place? If I were betting, I'd bet the Indians came through the neighborhood I live in, too, at some point in time. And, believe me, if you are going to start down that road, the one where American Indians were here first, we might as well all leave the country on the first available transport. Heck, why don't we all just commit suicide and make these folks really happy.

The non-profits keep propagating spawn. For instance one non-profit agency then creates another non-profit under it to carry out some new corollary function. The Catawba Lands Conservancy, therefore, created the Carolina Thread Trail. The Catawba River District created the River Keepers and STEM. And so it goes, until some of the larger non-profits have many baby non-profits, all happily enjoying the Federal money feeding frenzy. Not to mention the wealthy persons and corporations who are using these non-profits for tax shelters.

My point, in case you missed it, is that I am seeing land carved up and claimed, regardless of legal jurisdictions, by environmentalist groups who have set themselves up as judge and jurors of how people are going to live on their own private property. This is going on all across the nation thanks to Federal policies of funding groups who are operating outside of the law. Believe me, this is outside of the law. This is extra-constitutional. You can't vote them out. They are using our tax money to do it, yet they have no real, legal, authority. How did this happen? How do we stop them?

And where does this end?

SAID THE SPIDER TO THE FLY - THE COUNCILMAN TO THE CROWD

2011-11-20T08:42:00.000-08:00

You may all think I've lost my mind, but the wonderful poem, "The Spider and the Fly," came across my mind today as I was thinking about a certain councilman who has so arrogantly flown in the face of the citizens of our fine city, demanding we have our recycling bins tracked with RFID chips. To him I dedicate this adaptation of The Spider and the Fly, by Mary Howitt

Said The Councilman To The Crowd

"Come into my parlour," said the Councilman to the Crowd.
"It's nice and sweet to welcome you, and of it I'm so proud."
"It's all of you, dear citizens, I only want to please."
"The ID chips in those new bins will just promote the breeze."
"You know I care so much for you and think you all so grand,
That I can't have your freedoms running our fine city land."

"Oh, no, no, no," said the listening Crowd, "to push this is so wrong."
"And after all is said and done, we are the voting throng."
"You must not do this, Councilman, we think you are so smug."
"You cause us all to be dismayed and heave a great big shrug."
"We've heard the spiel and can't forget the undeniable truth,"
That ID chips are sinister, and you, sir, are uncouth."

The Councilman replied to them with haughty nose held high,
"Dumb and stupid foolish bunch, I say you must comply."
"You, silly folks who crow and crow cannot be thought to know
My reasons for controlling you are pure as driven snow."
"I mean so well, my intentions good, you cannot fault me such."
"The cost you pay is a pittance bit, compared to future stuff."

"Oh, no, no, no," said the wary Crowd, " Our business is our own."
"You need to mind yourself and leave all of us alone."
To which the haughty Councilman gave a huge harrumph and smirk.
"I am entitled to do my wish, and you can all eat dirt."
"The tracking of your trash will make me happy, full of glee."
"Your recycling is my business now and what you throw I'll see."

The Crowd bowed down and lowly curtsied left the room,
They felt the over-casting spell of certain coming doom,
As the Councilman yelled after them with a loud and nasty cue,
"Rejoice at all your money spent, I spent it all for you!"
"It matters not to me or mine as you defend and gripe."
"I'll be on top controlling you, as the floor with you I wipe."

SHEEP, DONKEYS, AND DUPES, - MOVING TOWARD EXTORTION

2011-11-19T17:18:00.000-08:00

It has been said that people possess a herd mentality. If some admired (for whatever reason) person makes a testimonial supporting some product or another, that is supposed to inspire other people to go out and buy that product. Advertising has used this endorsement tool forever. It evidently has a proven track record. Joe Namath endorsed shaving cream, and then every red-blooded male in the country went running to the store to buy Namath's brand of shaving cream. ("Take it off!" "Take it all off!") In this way, someone leads another person into an action voluntarily, albeit through influence of celebrity

Somehow, along the way, over the last several decades, the American people have been inundated with the psychological pull of this celebrity endorsement method. But the United States government has gone way beyond this idea of leading through endorsements. Having decided that Americans are all sheep responding to the herd direction, the U.S. government decided to turn Americans into another animal; hybrid sheep-donkeys...part sheep, part donkey. Let me explain.

We've seen another ploy in the advertising world also, where someone is dangling a carrot in front of the target customer, i.e. donkey, to make them buy something. Coupon shopping is one simple example. Donkeys cut out coupons every week from their newspapers and head straight to the grocers to get their carrots; a dollar off this or .50 cents off that. Customers (donkeys) are spending their extra time and energy to grab the carrots dangled in front of them. The United States government is observant of this activity and now decides, "Hey, those donkeys like carrots, so we'll give them some." The government wants an action? The government creates a carrot. The government wants a lot of people to desire the carrot? The government creates a celebrity to endorse the carrot. The government creates a sheep-donkey. This new hybrid is someone who wants to do what everyone else is doing, but also wants a carrot for the effort.

Now common sense would expect that people would not follow the herd for carrots unless the action benefits them. So, let's continue on with the next step of psychological behavioral science and say we want the sheep-donkeys to want a carrot that is really a rotten turnip. First you have to convince a lot of sheep-donkeys that the rotten turnip is good for them. It doesn't taste good. It gives them indigestion. It may make them deathly sick. It may be a slow death, not immediately apparent. But the rotten turnip photographs nicely and has a slick ad campaign to make it sound like the greatest thing since sliced bread. The sheep-donkeys all look toward the celebrity endorsement and want to be just like that fellow. The rotten turnip still looks pretty good, is said to fix everything wrong in the world, and after all, scientists are saying this is the elixir from the Gods and will be good for all. Buying into the ad campaign for health, well-being, redemption and salvation, now the sheep-donkeys become dupes. Sheep-donkey-dupes. Or SDD's for short. Carrots are no longer carrots. Celebrities are now civil servants. And the dangling desired object will make you sick.

So what is a government to do? Once the celebrity has worn off and the carrot is exposed as a rotten turnip, the government has one more tool in its toolbox. Extortion. Here is where celebrity has failed and the carrot is exposed as a rotten turnip, but the government still wants what it wants and will not be denied.

The government sends the salesmen out to sell the rotten turnips to the sheep-donkey-dupes. Some of the SDD's are still buying into the rotten turnips, but some have seen the tragic consequences of eating the rotten turnips and refuse to buy them anymore. Some sheep-donkey-dupes have even decided to become critical thinking humans again. These former SDD's have to be ridiculed and disenfranchised as renegade radicals.

In steps the extortion team with bags of money and threats. "Here is the program, SDD's." "You will buy these rotten turnips or else!" "Or else you will be shunned, re-educated, or in debtors prison."

And so it goes today with our government selling rotten turnips to the remaining sheep-donkey-dupes.

Government salesmen have sold Agenda 21 to local communities just this way. The Smart Growth policies are sold by extortion. Sustainable Development now equals stars...like those little gold sticky stars your elementary school teacher put on your homework. If you don't adopt the policies sold by the Federal government, you will be cut off at the knees, never receive loan financing again, and be shut out from all government programs. The block grants for the needy in your community just dried up. The transportation spending you were counting on just disappeared into thin air, actually only offered now for bike lanes and walking trails. The damage assessment team will be descending upon your schools like locusts to make sure your children turn into good little sheep-donkey-dupes,too. The "star" designation for your city went somewhere else unless you straighten up and fly right.

So, we have come a long way with our Federal government "progress." It used to be a little voluntary cooperation here and there. Then it became encouraged cooperation through endorsements by either the likes of Al Gore or civil servants, now even Coca-Cola. Next came the fake government agenda, the regions, the stakeholders, the corporate shills. Want to bet Coca-cola gets gold stars and tax breaks for donations to the World Wildlife Fund? Nevermind the bet. We know they are. Bet you didn't get a tax break today.

In your city, town, or county, the extortion game is being played out. Your community is being told, by regional governance boards, bureaucrats, and planners from the American Planning Association, that if you want Federal money, fame, recognition, and status, your community better cough up property rights, matching grant monies, less energy usage, give up cars, and put everyone into a concrete jungle with boundaries far away from anything that may be considered "sprawl." (That means 1 acre lots or suburban living, by the way.)

Sheep-donkey-dupes are all to happy to sell out your rights using your money to get their carrots...I mean rotten turnips. Wise up out there....a carrot is not what you think it is. And those sheep-donkey-dupes don't care about your freedoms or rights.

TIRED OF TWISTED LANGUAGE MANIPULATIONS

2011-11-15T08:56:00.000-08:00

I've pointed out before that one of the sharpest swords in the Socialist toolbox is twisting the meanings of words. I cannot begin to tell you how sick of that game I am. I heard the other day that the original purpose of Webster creating the dictionary was to assure we all knew the meanings of words in order to keep us all on the same page. I decided to look this up and found this little blurb below:

Lexrex.com
Noah Webster claimed to have coined only one word - demoralize, which he defined: "To corrupt or undermine the morals of; to destroy or lessen the effect of moral principles on; to render corrupt in morals."

That's interesting. The common usage of "demoralize" today seems to mean "discourage," or to make someone feel down and frustrated. Obviously, that is not the original intent of the word. Makes me think I need that dictionary. The word also describes what has happened to our entire society; demoralized. It's a good word with Webster's meaning intact.

Another source here

This takes me to what has happened to our laws. When legal isn't moral, we are definitely working with chains of corruption wrapped around us. It occurred to me today that the Constitution has been under assault from the moment it was signed, sealed, and delivered. It is a very moral document. Immoral people would not like to be held to the standards set in it, or the rules a moral people rely on for civil society. The relentless assault on the Constitution has escalated under Obama. I can't help but wonder if we have reached the point of no return, though in my heart of hearts I hope not. Part of the assault is on our language. Hence, a Communist was elected to the Presidency using two words: Hope and Change. Vague and ambiguous, meaning different things to different people, but a clever sales pitch, nonetheless.

Words mean things. The left doesn't like the meanings, so they abominate the words to their own benefits. Things have become so bad lately that I believe we have become confused beyond ability to communicate. It would be good to get back to the basics with language.

Just a couple of examples:
"Livability" What the heck does that mean to you? You see, the word is ambiguous. It implies something without actually defining it. There are people who swallow comprehensive municipal plans using that word, and in truth, they have no idea what that means. So when you go diving into the description from the Smart Growth crowd, you find out that "livability" means high density, discouraged use of cars, buildings with green certification, restrictive rules and regulations for everything. Does that sound enticing to you? No. So they use an ambiguous word, i.e. "Livability" to make you think it must be just great to live in a city that uses "Livability" as a goal.

"Connectivity" How does that sound?? Another ambiguous word. Left to interpretation, it implies we should all be so happily connected to everything. What it actually means is no privacy, connecting streets so there are no cul de sac neighborhoods, greenways in your backyard, and light rail at your doorstep. So the facilitators sell the plan as this wonderful idea, but it turns into laws and regulations that undermine private ownership control over your own property. Zoning doesn't even come close to what "Connectivity" can do. Zoning actually allows for appeals and compromises. "Connectivity" is dogma. You can't get away from it.

So, here's to Noah Webster and his valiant effort to make sure we all understood the meanings of words. I vote we don't fall for ambiguous and vague soundbites, empty promises, and shyster political speak. I vote we all buy Webster's original dictionary and start using it. Otherwise, we are communicating in foreign languages that no one in America even grasps. You can see how well that is working out lately.

WILL BLACKS EVER EMBRACE LIBERTY?

2011-11-10T08:38:00.000-08:00

Reflecting on the election on Tuesday, I am beginning to believe that a majority of Blacks will never give up the Socialist mantra and embrace freedom from economic suppression. Since Obama's election in 2008, we have seen more race based animosity toward liberty, so much so that I am amazed at the entitlement attitudes. The difference between living off the largesse of statists and living in liberty doesn't even get discussed in Black conversations, except in articles by Thomas Sowell and Walter E. Williams. In my view, this shows a lack of confidence in individual ability, a lack of creative intelligence, a lack of historical perspective, and a clinging to enslavement that Blacks can't ever seem to get past. The amazing thing to me is I would have thought that Blacks would be the first ones to run away from the even the slightest smell of statist control. They, of all people in the U.S., should be carrying the banners of freedom in front of every gathering they attend. Instead, they are grabbing onto every government program and every suppression of liberty attached they can get their hands on. (I am generalizing. I do know there are many Blacks who do not buy into the statist set up, but definitely not a majority of them, unfortunately.)

Charlotte, NC, the big city to my east, voted all democrat, all socialist in this election. The John Locke Foundation reports below, an article by Tara Servatius:

"Republicans will never hold a majority on the Charlotte City Council again, the Observer accurately reported. And if a 9-2 Democrat victory is what happens in an off year, non presidential election, it is doubtful that the GOP will ever hold a majority on the Charlotte City Council again the Observer opined.

I’d go a step further. It is doubtful if the GOP will ever hold an at-large seat on the Charlotte City Council again.

But that’s not even the biggest story here. That story the Observer missed entirely, as usual. Here’s what they wrote:

There are twice as many registered Democrats as Republicans in the city of Charlotte, and even unaffiliated voters outnumber Republicans. On a map, the moderate-to-conservative southern wedge of the city can’t match the rest of the pie. Democrats’ 2-to-1 edge in registration was reflected almost exactly in the vote: Mayor Anthony Foxx beat Republican Scott Stone about 2-to-1.

Um, yes. But this wasn’t just a Democrat victory. This was an African-American Democrat victory. Democrats may outnumber the GOP by 2-1, but more than half of Democrat voters are black, making them the largest distinct voting group in the city — and the group that determines who wins Democrat primaries, the only ones that matter anymore."

That's Tara. She has reported on this changing demographic in Charlotte for years. She doesn't mince words. And, she has been spot on, predicting the turnover of the Charlotte power base to a socialist, social engineering experiment, much to the dismay of this writer. Why do Blacks keep going all in for Democrats?

For myself, I am sad to see the situation in Charlotte turning into something other than what it used to be, a charming city with a sort of 2nd gear Southern flavor, melding different cultures in an even handed way. One used to be able to go to different areas of the city and enjoy a leisurely lunch or dinner, shop very good stores, traverse without high traffic congestion, go to the theatre or a concert, and have a great day. Now it has become a Smart Growth nightmare of daring to drive anywhere, covered up with politically correct everything, ridiculous venues (paid for by taxes) that are going bankrupt, crowded, and definitely not fun. I, frankly, don't care about the color factor so much as I care about the mishandling of growth, the influx of government money that created the mess, and I am missing the gentle pace Charlotte used to exemplify.

That being said, all of this "change" has been wrought by bringing in government money. And with that government money has come force of change. Change into what? Detroit? Atlanta? A city that thrives on Federal government controls? This is why the Democrat Convention is landing in Charlotte next year. Charlotte is the latest poster child for losing local autonomy. Blacks followed the government money. Entitlements. Social programs. Affirmative action. Gone is the feeling of success. The city feels as if it is moving at breakneck speed, headlong into some kind of bureaucratic gridlock. There is little there now that makes the trip worth the effort.

I just want to ask, why do Blacks think government money is benevolent? Why do they not see the connection between socialism and enslavement? Why do they think voting for Democrats makes them any better off? Under Obama the Black unemployment rate is worse than other races and not improving. African American Unemployment Rises Under Obama Life is worse under Obama for everyone, but he certainly has not created an environment of prosperity for the Black population. Yet we have Hip Hip Hoorays for the continuing downward slide of America and Blacks are determined to stick by their man.

Maybe most Blacks just can't wrap their minds around the idea that they don't need someone else to tell them how to live. Maybe they can't grasp the facts that the Constitution applies to them? Maybe they just can't motivate themselves to get out from under the thumb of government? Maybe liberty is just too frightening for them? This is not going to end well. As time goes on and the numbers of Blacks and Hispanics grow in this country, what are they creating for themselves? (and for those of us in the White category) Liberty or more statist control of their lives? Just wondering why Blacks want continued oppression. Confounding.

On the side bar to the right, notice Thomas Sowell. And Walter E. Williams.
(Caveat here: I am not saying the Republican Party doesn't have its own share of statists, just that Democrats are completely in that camp.)

IF PIIGS COULD FLY !

2011-11-07T14:09:00.000-08:00

The amazing thing to me is that Americans are not connecting the dots. The Eurozone has so obviously taken social dependency to a level of self-destruction, that every headline in America should read: "Watch Europe Self-Destruct and Learn What Not To Do."

The odd thing to me is that Europe didn't learn from the Weimar Republic. It has been just one generation ago that Socialist Nazi Germany found themselves destroyed by the tyranny of Socialism under the guise of Nazism. One generation of lost memory. This makes me wonder about the intelligence of Europeans. But then Marx and the Fabian Socialists came out of Europe. Which still doesn't explain to me how populations of countries are so historically illiterate that they would fall for such obviously similar control of their lives by opting into the European Union. Throw in the horrors, failures, and ultimate collapse of the Soviet Union, and you have to ask yourself, "What do these people have for brains?" (I am including the deluded, leftist, Communists who somehow found themselves in power in the U.S., too.)

What does a loan shark do when debts cannot be paid? One of two things; Either kill the debtor and his family, take the assets and run. Or get the debtor even more in debt on the unsubstantiated promise that sooner or later the debtor will come up with some money, either theirs or someone else's. Exactly the case in Europe. And, in case no one is looking at the National Debt Clock, exactly the case in America. Politicians have become mafia lobbyists for the world banksters. The banksters have become the shills for the politicians. The banksters represent the mob bosses. Global corporations and non-profit foundations have all jumped in on the take. The politicians are the middlemen. They are getting greased from all sides. The taxpayers, having very little say in the matter, are the mark. And all of this wrong-headed economic mess is supposedly justified on a faulty economic theory made up by some very flawed character named Keynes. It was Keynes' idea that government should step in, print and/or throw around money at problems to make everyone feel better temporarily. Unfortunately, temporary has become permanent morass of ever bulging debts, with no hope in the universe of ever getting out from under it. You'd be laughing, if it weren't so pathetic.

A friend of mine Conservatives On Fire recently wrote on his blog that repudiation of debts was the only way out of this nightmare. That seems like a very sensible solution, since otherwise we are headlong into economic warfare. Is the IMF going to repudiate Greece's debts? Somehow I doubt this. Can the rest of Europe make good on the underwater debtor nations of Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, and Spain? Somehow I doubt this, too. Does the whole world just chalk it up to a bad century and give everyone an "ollie ollie in free?" Not betting on it. Do the headmasters at the IMF just give it up and go home to their mansions without their pound of flesh? Nah.

And why were the debts acquired in the first place? Socialist programs. Buying votes. Creating dependency. Regulations of control and power over the formerly self-sufficient. Hooking up without a dowry or a marriage license...or a shotgun. Tying incompatible, multi-cultural, madmen together by a noose around their necks. (I say "madmen" because that is what you would have to be to create multi-culturalism.)

Borrowing from loan sharks and taking bribes have become the modus operandi of entire regions of the world, to the point that what used to be nation state economies are either collapsing or working toward collapsing at breakneck speed. Is anyone worried about this? Or is this so perfectly orchestrated to the benefit of the mob who will walk away with the spoils?

The Wall St. Occupiers are just demanding to get in on the take. That is all they are doing. And when PIIGS fly, they will get their demands. You see, the mob isn't looking to cut in some few thousand unemployed, student, homeless, communist, street musicians. OWS is just a side show entertainment production. The mob wants it all. And when it all comes crashing down, they will have it all. Just ask George Soros who never loses a bet and ends up winning by selling short.

Caveat here: I am not an economist nor am I close to a mob, so my extrapolations here are somewhat naíve, I suppose. It's just that the whole picture is made up of parts that are such obvious, stinking corruption of logic, that it sends me into head-banging frustration.

THE MIDDLE OF REIGNING CHAOS

2011-11-04T20:15:00.000-07:00

Mostly it seems incoherent. The press twists and obfuscates the truth all day long. The middle east is spiraling into radical muslim brotherhood of darkness, declaring Sharia law is the law of all of the lands. While here, we have some muslim whiner, aided by some Jewish PC idiot, complaining about a Christian Charity and causing the United States Air Force Academy to drop the popular Operation Christmas Child from its activities. USAFA Caves on Christmas Toy Drive My son is an USAFA graduate. I am a proud parent of that achievement, but it happened long before the Academy was taken over by lunatics. So while I am a proud Air Force parent, I am ashamed of the Air Force Academy today. What has taken place out there is a travesty. Most of the cadets are very fine people who have worked their behinds off to get there and to do all the right things. They strive each day with challenges you and I could hardly dream of accomplishing. Now they are told that delivering Christmas toys to the needy is not acceptable behavior because it is done in the name of the Christian holiday? For God's sake, folks. The events we witness are increasingly insane.

It is election week, next week, for a lot of cities and counties across the country. Heartland America is trying its level best to conduct a quiet and smart transfer of power on the local level, preparing for another quiet and smart transfer of power in 2012. We, the good and solid middle are trudging onward and doing our duties, living up to the Constitutional responsibilities we have been given. We carry on with determination, in spite of the nonsense and white noise going on around us.

And while we are doing this, we have property busting in Oakland, California. We have tent cities in New York, Boston, and who knows where else. The colder weather in the north and the east is liable to help put the kabosh on the "Occupiers," one can hope. But they will keep festering, all ginned up by the communists in the universities and the Democrat Party, so by primary season in the spring, they will be trashing the place and bellowing stupidity loud and clear. It isn't a pretty sight...but then it isn't supposed to be. This is supposed to be the trashing of America. Order does not live with chaos. And that is the point of it all.

The current occupant of the White House, whose name I can hardly bear to speak any longer, has effectively created a scene of unrelenting internal attacks on the structure of the United States of America. He promised to do it: "We are five days away from transforming the United States of America." And so he has. Much to everyone's dismay. Well, everyone except George Soros and Hilary Clinton, along with his cadré of destroyers.

Nothing makes sense. Supposed conservatives are rallying behind a candidate who sits in conference with the likes of Henry Kissinger. Surely, that must be a bad joke. But no, it is exactly the case. The candidate Cain, who was on the board of the Federal Reserve, sits with one of the global cabal, a member of the CFR, and appears to be enjoying the moment immensely. Cain with Kissinger And conservatives are howling about how he (Cain) is being lynched by the press for stupid sexual harassment allegations, when what should concern everyone is the subterfuge of who just exactly Herman Cain is and who he is bringing along with him.

Chaos. It is going to get worse. The O in the White House intends it to be so. He is delivering on his promise. Everything we loved and held dear is being ripped up and tossed into the incinerator....because the O loved and cherished none of it. The left loves none of it. The Democrats have loved none of it for decades. The media is so full of getting paid big bucks for selling hate, they lost their souls along the way. O figured out how to buy corporations who were all too willing to sell their souls to a corrupt government. America Inc. learned this by sitting at the tables of too many politicians.

So each day brings us a little more and a lot more, until you wake up one day and find the country completely dis-functional. Heartland America is becoming heart-sick, frankly. I wonder how long we can keep trying to hold it together. I'm still trying. I know lots of really great people who are working over-time, as I am, to keep it together. In the end, we will have given it everything we have. Today, I'm not sure it is enough. But, maybe it's true what they say, "It is darkest before the dawn." Some days it looks pretty darn dark. Today was one of them.

LEFTIST LANDSCAPES AND ROAD SIGNS

2011-11-03T10:09:00.000-07:00

Just back from a trip north, driving from North Carolina to Chicago, Illinois. This trip crossed from North Carolina, through Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana, into Illinois with one tiny corner of Ohio thrown in for good measure. Driving across the countryside is one of the great pleasures of living in America. It used to be more fun, before interstates and when one actually drove through unique and interesting towns. Now the trip is faster due to those interstates, so I guess that's somewhat of a benefit. But, now the towns and cities have all the same stores, and restaurants, lining the edges of the interstates so, other than the terrain, there is not a lot of uniqueness to be seen...sadly. It is the countryside that makes one's heart sing. The mountains, the trees, the rivers, the farmland, etc. The interesting towns with different offerings are a thing of the past. It's as if they lost their sense of who they were and just decided to become a "one size fits all" template. It's all the same Walmarts, Home Depot Stores, Goodies, Comfort Inns, Taco Bells, McDonalds, and Cracker Barrels.

So what did I see on this cross country odyssey? The award for the funniest signs goes to Kentucky. As you cross into the State of Kentucky there is a large blue sign that says: "Welcome to Kentucky - Unbridled Spirit." Which sounded so inviting! I was picturing horses running in pastures and life being so free and wonderful....when, then my eyes landed on another State sign immediately to the left of the Welcome sign. Right beside the Welcome sign of "Unbridled Spirit" is a white rectangle sign with a body strapped into seatbelts....bridled across its chest and its waist. So much for "Unbridled Spirit." They didn't even give you a half a mile to relish the thought. Sigh..... I wondered what marketing expert in the bureaucracy in Kentucky was in charge of placing the signs right next to each other. The irony was both hilarious and sad.

Next up was a huge, aluminum, white, Christian cross. By huge, my best guess is 50 or 60 feet tall. Very substantial and you can't miss it. But just to the side of that sits a pornography store. You know, one of those places that sells raw videos and advertises "Boy Toys." I was wondering which of these received the most acknowledgement from passing travelers. Makes me wonder about the schizophrenic society we are living in.

On through to Indiana, across miles and miles of flat surface with fabulous black dirt and rows of corn fields already harvested. Beautiful rich farmland that, if you stop and think about it, is a blessing beyond our hopes and prayers for food. I saw two large dairy operations, too. Holsteins grazing and a creamery / cheese shop that sounded very tempting!! And then.....and then....

Miles of gigantic windmills covering up this gorgeous land of flat farm fields. Ugly, eerie, and awful. Actually, ugly doesn't begin to describe this. On the way up, none of the blades were turning. Just sitting there, looming like other world aliens hanging over farm houses and barns. These wind turbines are huge. They dwarf everything around them. All I could think of was, when the idiots who did this finally figure out what a failure it is, what will be the public expense to dismantle these monsters and how do you "recycle" those things? On the way back, the wind was blowing more so half of them were spinning slowly around. No birds in sight. No wildlife around. Just thousands and thousands of giant, white, ugly, dominating monsters taking over the beautiful farms and wide skys.

My hate for these windmills is twofold. The first reason is the death of hundreds of thousands of birds annually from these horrible devices. The windfarms are placed into wind corridors where migrating birds have always flown. The birds are no match for these monsters. The tragedy is enormous.

"(September 7, 2011) The United States Attorney in North Dakota has charged seven oil companies in seven separate cases with violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act for the illegal killing of 28 migratory birds. Yet, American Bird Conservancy – the nation’s leading bird conservation organization – reports that the wind industry, despite killing more than 400,000 birds annually, has yet to face a single charge. abcbirds.org.

"For years, a huge wind farm in California's San Joaquin Valley was slaughtering thousands of birds, including golden eagles, red-tailed hawks and burrowing owls.

The raptors would get sliced up by the blades on the 5,400 turbines in Altamont Pass, or electrocuted by the wind farm's power lines. Scientists, wildlife agencies and turbine experts came together in an attempt to solve the problem. The result?

Protective measures put in place in an effort to reduce deaths by 50% failed. Deaths in fact soared for three of four bird species studied, said the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area Bird Fatality Study." USA Today

My second reason is the sheer waste and stupidity of ruining landscapes for a non-productive, unweildy, implausible excuse of replacing fossil fuels with wind energy. Wind energy is undependable, cannot be stored, is twice as expensive to retrieve than what it produces, and is money flushed straight into the toilet. I'd like to take the promoters of this idea and tie them to the blades, leaving them to spin around forever. T Boone Pickens included. A bad idea that should have been stopped before it began.

Billions of dollars on Windfarms for Rolling Blackouts"

On the way back into North Carolina I saw two large cotton fields ready to be picked. I thanked the Lord and human genius for automated equipment that would do that job, so people would not suffer from bleeding hands and broken backs. I ran my hand over my cotton shirt and thought about how wonderful are the gifts we are given.

So that's what I saw on my way to and from Chicago...a country gone mad and a country that can produce the most cherished needs for our people. Some inventions are better than others....some people are smarter than others....some things should not be taken for granted....and I'm glad to be home.

OTHERWISE OCCUPIED

2011-10-27T05:02:00.001-07:00

My schedule will not allow me to post for the next week. Meanwhile, please feel free to use the search bar at the top right to find articles of interest to you, or spend some time perusing the source links on the right side bar for more information. And gather allies for the fight for responsible, individual liberty so graciously granted by our Creator!

Stay tuned...will be back shortly!

ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS, DAM BUSTING, CREATING A WATER SHORTAGE

2011-10-24T08:50:00.000-07:00

I'm seeing articles Here and There where the left wing is trying to plant the idea that concerns over Agenda 21 are "conspiracy theories" from "tin foil hats" and are ridiculous attempts to discredit the environmental movement. So for those of you who may be sitting on the fence or on the left and buying this idea, I think it is high time to get the record straight.

There is no conspiracy theory. There are no tin foil hats. And, if you would be so gracious to educate yourselves, you can go straight to the horses mouth Here and see for yourself. City council members and county commissioners who have never heard of Agenda 21, but keep implementing the principles of Agenda 21 are the worst offenders of ignorance on the planet. But I digress.

For today's reading pleasure, I bring to you more evidence of Agenda 21 being played out in what I believe to be government lead crime against the people. The incidents I cite are from last spring and early summer when the waters normally fill up the rivers and, heretofore, were controlled by carefully constructed dams. While this did not happen this week, the story deserves revisiting for the sake of enlightening the clueless who refuse to see the truth right in front of them.

A report here describes quite well what the Army Corps of Engineers has been doing to destroy farmland and the family owned farms along the Missouri River.

Excerpt here:
"Today, a Missouri farmer completed a conference call about the federal government sending letters to flooded farmers in the Missouri River flood plain and bottoms, notifying them that the Army Corps of Engineers will offer to buy their land. One critic, Ann Barnhardt of Capital Management, Inc. summarized these events Monday:

* "Intentionally flood massive acreage of highly productive farmground.

* Destroy people’s communities and homes.

* Catch them while they are desperate and afraid and then swoop in and buy the ground cheap."

Barnhardt traced some of the major investing to George Soros who is “investing” in farmground through the same company he used to get into the grain elevator and fertilizer business, Ospraie Management Fund, that is buying up farmground in a joint venture with Teays River Investments as a partner.

ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS, DAM BUSTING, CREATING A WATER SHORTAGE

2011-10-23T20:13:00.000-07:00

* "Intentionally flood massive acreage of highly productive farmground.

* Destroy people’s communities and homes.

* Catch them while they are desperate and afraid and then swoop in and buy the ground cheap."

Read more here

Mismanagement of water, I would say, is another sign of the degradation of our ability to survive. Why would that be promoted by our government? Now we hear about the latest scare tactic, a coming water shortage. (We are told we are facing energy shortages, yet our government chooses energy starvation policies....sound familiar?)

I typed in a google search with these words: Coming Water Shortage Try that and you will see thousands of dire and desperate claims of how we will be suffering for lack of water within the next 15 to 30 years. Excuse me for being skeptical, but does this look like another manufactured crisis? By blowing up the dams, our government is creating scarcity in four (4) areas of necessity. Land, food, water, and electricity. Flooding farmland, reducing our capacity to raise food, reducing available water quantities, and reducing hydro-electric capacity. Of course, all of the articles cite rising population as the culprit. It's a Fabian Socialist's dream. No water. No food. No energy. No land. No babies.

Meanwhile, our city a few years ago implemented a "storm water runoff fee." This is basically an impact fee for handling storm water runoff. The more impermeable surface on your land, the higher the fee. The supposed justification for this is you are causing headaches and costs to the city to catch and direct the water. Seems to me that if there is a shortage of water, the city should be paying land owners for more runoff that can be caught, purified, and used. Our property taxes are already supposed to be paying for water management. But now...we should be punished for the size of house, driveway, patio, etc. Never mind that the runoff from your roof, driveway, and patio, is still going into the water system, whether into the land and downstream to the rivers, or into the drainage system and into the city reservoirs. Some cities are going so far as making rain barrels illegal or demanding water licensing rights to have one.

I think from this, you would have to be deaf, dumb, and blind, to not understand that our country is under an internal threat. The threat is less about ecology than it is about control of resources. The threat continues to come from government. The question remains, how do we stop it?
Mismanagement of water, I would say, is another sign of the degradation of our ability to survive. Why would that be promoted by our government? Now we hear about the latest scare tactic, a coming water shortage. (We are told we are facing energy shortages, yet our government chooses energy starvation policies....sound familiar?)

I typed in a google search with these words: Coming Water Shortage Try that and you will see thousands of dire and desperate claims of how we will be suffering for lack of water within the next 15 to 30 years. Excuse me for being skeptical, but does this look like another manufactured crisis? By blowing up the dams, our government is creating scarcity in four (4) areas of necessity. Land, food, water, and electricity. Flooding farmland, reducing our capacity to raise food, reducing available water quantities, and reducing hydro-electric capacity. Of course, all of the articles cite rising population as the culprit. It's a Fabian Socialist's dream. No water. No food. No energy. No land. No babies.

Meanwhile, our city a few years ago implemented a "storm water runoff fee." This is basically an impact fee for handling storm water runoff. The more impermeable surface on your land, the higher the fee. The supposed justification for this is you are causing headaches and costs to the city to catch and direct the water. Seems to me that if there is a shortage of water, the city should be paying land owners for more runoff that can be caught, purified, and used. Our property taxes are already supposed to be paying for water management. But now...we should be punished for the size of house, driveway, patio, etc. Never mind that the runoff from your roof, driveway, and patio, is still going into the water system, whether into the land and downstream to the rivers, or into the drainage system and into the city reservoirs. Some cities are going so far as making rain barrels illegal or demanding water licensing rights to have one.

I think from this, you would have to be deaf, dumb, and blind, to not understand that our country is under an internal threat. The threat is less about ecology than it is about control of resources. The threat continues to come from government. The question remains, how do we stop it?
Mismanagement of water, I would say, is another sign of the degradation of our ability to survive. Why would that be promoted by our government? Now we hear about the latest scare tactic, a coming water shortage. (We are told we are facing energy shortages, yet our government chooses energy starvation policies....sound familiar?)

I typed in a google search with these words: Coming Water Shortage Try that and you will see thousands of dire and desperate claims of how we will be suffering for lack of water within the next 15 to 30 years. Excuse me for being skeptical, but does this look like another manufactured crisis? By blowing up the dams, our government is creating scarcity in four (4) areas of necessity. Land, food, water, and electricity. Flooding farmland, reducing our capacity to raise food, reducing available water quantities, and reducing hydro-electric capacity. Of course, all of the articles cite rising population as the culprit. It's a Fabian Socialist's dream. No water. No food. No energy. No land. No babies.

Meanwhile, our city a few years ago implemented a "storm water runoff fee." This is basically an impact fee for handling storm water runoff. The more impermeable surface on your land, the higher the fee. The supposed justification for this is you are causing headaches and costs to the city to catch and direct the water. Seems to me that if there is a shortage of water, the city should be paying land owners for more runoff that can be caught, purified, and used. Our property taxes are already supposed to be paying for water management. But now...we should be punished for the size of house, driveway, patio, etc. Never mind that the runoff from your roof, driveway, and patio, is still going into the water system, whether into the land and downstream to the rivers, or into the drainage system and into the city reservoirs. Some cities are going so far as making rain barrels illegal or demanding water licensing rights to have one.

I think from this, you would have to be deaf, dumb, and blind, to not understand that our country is under an internal threat. The threat is less about ecology than it is about control of resources. The threat continues to come from government. The question remains, how do we stop it?

Rain Barrels Declared Illegal
Collecting Rain Water Now Illegal
Description of Charlottesville, VA Water Shortage Hoax Here

LET ME TRANSLATE THIS FOR YOU....TRANSPORTATION IS COMPLICATED

2011-10-20T17:39:00.000-07:00

If I can. First, here, copied for you below, is an email announcement of future "webinars" for something called the American Public Works Association. APWA Well, I never heard of them. You probably haven't either. But they are putting on "webinars" for local Economic Development Committees / Commissions ( EDC) and local transportation planners (MPO, RPO, CTA, etc) . I love the "SME" one. Subject Matter Experts! Don't you wish you owned that title??
So read on and I will clue you in at the bottom of this.

FREE – “Every Day Counts - Exchange” for Local Government Transportation Managers
EDC-Exchange will be a regularly scheduled series of “dynamic webinars”. The in-person learning sessions will describe effective project development and delivery practices, tools and “market ready” technologies that local and tribal transportation agencies can readily implement into their programs. FHWA national subject matter experts (SME), in conjunction with FHWA and State DOT field office experts, will provide information and materials, and facilitate discussions designed specifically for the local/tribal transportation managers and their consultants. Five (5) video sessions are planned at this time:

Schedule
The “Season Premiere” of EDC-EXCHANGE is scheduled for Thursday, December 15 2011, with subsequent events scheduled bimonthly on the 3rd Thursday of the month thru August 2012 as shown below. Each session will typically be presented from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm Eastern Standard Time. The schedule is as follows:
December 15, 2011: Welcome to the National Transportation Innovation Network and Discussion with Secretary LaHood (tentative) followed by a presentation on Construction Manager/General Contractor (CMGC)
Exchange #2 Topic: Geosynthetic Reinforced Soils (GRS) February 16, 2012
Exchange #3 Topic: Flexibility in ROW April 19, 2012
Exchange #4 Topic: In Lieu Fees / Mitigation Banking June 21, 2012
Exchange #5 Topic: Adaptive Signal Control Technologies (ASCT) August 16, 2012

What happens after each EDC-EXCHANGE presentation?
FHWA will host and manage an online “community of practice" forum, located on the EDC website at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/everydaycounts/, to field follow up questions and share additional information after the initial broadcast. After 30 days, all questions and corresponding answers will be moved to the EDC website on the specific topic/initiative’s page.

Locations and Registration
State Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) Centers will be arranging the locations and conducting registration for attendees. Persons interested in attending should contact their state LTAP Centers for location and registration information. Contact information for State LTAP Centers can be found at:
http://www.ltap.org/centers/

O.K. Got that? This is what is going on behind the scenes, under the radar, and making us all crazy. You have the Federal Transportation Agency director, or Fed DOT head, Ray Lahood, possibly participating in the indoctrination of local unelected boards on the subject of how to implement things you've never heard of, didn't vote for, and don't want.

Now some of this is pretty straight forward. For instance, geosynthetic soil reinforcements is not so crazy. Usually that means using recovered rubber and chopped up old pavement to reinforce the base soils of new roads....I think. Adaptive Signal Control Technologies is probably the latest thing in using optics to control traffic signals. So far I'm not upset. No idea what ROW is, so skipping that. But two things here need translation.

One of them is the topic titled "In lieu fees / Mitigation Banking. This is where the federal government is demanding bribes for building roads. If your community wants to widen a road or add a road, look out there Scout, you had better grab your wallet. Now I have no idea who figures out how much money or land banking you have to fork over to widen or add a road, but in some long ago, far away place known as America, this was not the practice. Not to be outdone, our State requires mitigation banking these days for road additions. Not sure if that is a Federal mandate, but from this "webinar" line-up, it looks like it may be. In case you don't know what that is, basically it involves setting aside land for conservation that will never be touched and remain pristine. You want to build a 5 mile road? Find the equivalent of 5 miles of land or precious resources such as water, creeks and the like. Then put it in on ice for perpetuity, never to be used by humans again for anything. Voilá! You just accomplished mitigation banking. Since the title of this "webinar" includes "In lieu fees," I assume that means if you can't come up with the land, you can buy your way out of this mandate, with taxpayer dollars of course. Cute, no?

Next up is the title, " National Transportation Innovation Network." Innovation sounds so cool, doesn't it? And who is NTIN? Another layer of bureaucracy we are paying for, no doubt. But the Federal DOT, from what I have been told, is using one third (1/3) of all transportation money on greenways and bike trails and paths / lanes. So how innovative is it to put mobility in terms of walking and biking? Hardly the fast track. I doubt this innovation involves cars that fly, though there is such a fabulous machine. (It's on my Christmas list, if anyone wants to buy me one!! Terrafugia) I think this innovation DOT speaks of is also involving electric car chargers. You know, now that we are subsidizing GM to make these little golf-carts for the highway, we have to make everyone pay for car charging stations everywhere.

Bottom line, here we have the FHWA bringing SME's to talk to EDC's and APWA's via state DOT's about NTIN. And if you can't figure that out, call your local LTAP! Got that? Good. Now we all know what we are doing. Right? Oops, I think I left out the CMGC. He's supposed to be on hand to keep you all straight. Whew.....how did we ever live without SME's and CMGC's......

You can carry on now! Just don't go too far on that Segway!

WHO IS IN CHARGE OF THE ASYLUM?

2011-10-16T07:23:00.000-07:00

For two years I watched and listened to Glenn Beck's show on Fox. On that show he sent out warnings and exposed the "shadow government." I was not surprised, but rather grateful that he finally was telling the world what I had been learning through research for the previous two years prior to his show. Especially that he finally told the public what I had been reading on the evil George Soros. Finally.

Several times he mentioned a book called "The Coming Insurrection." I haven't read the book, but you can access it online. In fact, you can read and /or download the whole thing, if you are so inclined to read Communist Propaganda. Here it is It is basically a rant by anarchists who hate the world, reject history, and are simply in the mood to tear everything apart from stem to stern. This mood has come from somewhere, encouraged by global Marxists as we have seen in our universities. The book, though, is originating in France. As I read through some of it, I hear adolescent angst. The kind of angst that screams for a hearing, but has not enough understanding to know what it wants. It's even more immature in some ways, like a two year old's temper tantrum. The OWS folks are the manifestation of this fit of immature tantrum.

You can see what is being wreaked by insurrectionists, but can you see who they are and what their motivations are? The chaos has begun. But who is behind it? And to what end??

While the inmates are screaming at the top of their lungs, one of their leaders has taken our military to do his bidding. That leader being George Soros. (Watch what the other hand is doing.) It's no secret the Obama administration is supportive of and supporting the OWS protests. But are these protests just a distraction from what is going on behind the scenes? Are they an orchestrated attempt to pretend Obama is the "anti-capitalist" choice of the tantrum crowd?

How ironic then, while all of this is going on, Obama is using American military forces to go into Uganda and save victims of violence there. All of a sudden? That LRA group has been violently mutilating people in Uganda for twenty years. All of sudden it becomes a priority for the United States military? How did that happen?

"After President Barack Obama announced earlier this week that he would be sending American troops into Uganda, WND uncovered billionaire activist George Soros' ties both to the political pressure behind the decision and to the African nation's fledgling oil industry."

Soros Behind Uganda Military Operation

World Net Daily has an extensive and excellent report on this turn of events at that link. What I find so completely upside down and head banging insane, it that the protests are supposedly against the very things that the Obama administration is doing, has been doing, and has no intentions of doing otherwise. Pay to Play is the game of the day, while distracting the public with nonsense and idiots defecating on police cars. Obama is the king of crony capitalism, corporate welfare, and paying back his cronies now with the blood of our sons?? (Hopefully that won't happen, but I remember Somalia and Bosnia under Clinton...another crony capitalist.)

I just read an article, sent to me by a friend in New Mexico, about the CEO of the Nature Conservancy. The man's name is Mark Tercel. As it turns out, Mr. Tercel spent several years working for Goldman Sachs. Yes, that Goldman Sachs. The one we bailed out and brought forth the likes of Geithner. I am further seeing evidence that other heads of non-profit environmental organizations, who are taking millions of acres of private property with the cooperation of governments at all levels, are former bank executives. (This deserves further investigation, which I intend to discuss again soon.)

Banking and the environmental organizations?? Oil company investors and our military? Soros at the top of the heap, orchestrating the chaos?? Well, he has done it before and he continues on with his huge machine of willing idiots, hired guns, and Marxist ideologues. Whipping up useful idiots from campuses is just one of the ugly tools he wields.

You may think this post is all over the map, from OWS to Uganda to the environmental movement. But trust me, it's all part and parcel of the same thing, the same destructive force.

So, who is in charge of the asylum? The farther along we go, all fingers point to the same people. This doesn't look like it is going to end well. I think those in charge of the asylum are looking to burn down what they don't want to save, and keep the rest for themselves. Hang on for the ride.

QUICK QUESTION ON CAIN AND THE CONSUMPTION TAX

2011-10-14T14:14:00.000-07:00

Just out of curiosity, I have a conundrum for you to consider. There are conservative Constitutional Tea Party types who have been, for the last two + years, up in arms over the idea that the Federal government is going to take all of our medical information and place it in a Federal data base for scrutiny by anonymous bureaucrats in order to control our health care.

So why is it, now that Herman Cain comes along and suggests that every financial and trade action that a private citizen takes should be placed into a Federal tax collection system, no one is up in arms about that? Where are the Tea Party people who find this to be an intrusion on our private lives and another assault on the 4th Amendment of the Constitution? Why is our medical information any more important on the privacy issue than every purchase we make? Who the heck are Herman Cain, Art Laffer, and Neal Boortz to say that reporting to the Federal government every time you buy a pack of gum, a beer, a haircut, or a box of nails is any business of the Federal government?

Buehler? Buehler?? Anyone??

And don't come after me with the idea that we have to report our income to the Federal government being any better or worse. I am saying that Cain's idea of the consumption tax is definitely worse and, in my estimation, an even greater intrusion than the reporting of income. The consumption tax is about behavior. And if you think the Federal bureaucrats are not into the power trip of controlling behaviors, then you haven't been listening to the woman who is married to the President of the United States, however illegitimate they both are. And you might be looking for the book by one of Mr. O's Czars, Cass Sunstein, called "Nudge." (I refuse to link that book here, but you can google it and find it for yourself.)

So, are there any sane Tea Partiers out there who see the problem here? Or am I the only one?

CAIN IS NOT MY MAN, AND NEITHER IS ROMNEY

2011-10-13T11:02:00.000-07:00

I have to say that Herman Cain's rise to the top has been interesting to watch. He is a likeable personality, a highly successful businessman, and has captured some vocal quarters in the Republican Party and the Tea Party.

But at this point, I see Herman Cain as serving two purposes. He is the anti-Obama candidate of the day. Which proves the Tea Partiers and the Republicans are no where close to being racist. This was not needing to be proved, but I think there are those on the Republican side still trying to prove it. And being the anti-Obama candidate of the day means he is also the anti-Romney candidate of the day. (I say that because Romney and Obama are pretty much evil twins in my book.) Being the anti-Romney candidate is why Cain won the Florida Straw Poll. Conservatives are trying to show the RNC that they don't want Romney. Count me in on that. I don't want Romney and I'm sick of seeing him confidently defending the indefensible, which is Romneycare. The other night he proudly boasted that Massachusetts didn't have to raise taxes to implement Romneycare. What he didn't say was that insurance rates have increased 14% to cover the cost of Romneycare, so more of the poor and middle class cannot afford insurance. This is the basic set up of Obama's slide into government run health care, i.e. make private insurance unaffordable so the government is the only safety net and we end up with socialized medical care. Thank you so much Mitt Romney. I have to try hard not to throw my shoe at the television set every time he launches into the subject.

But back to Cain. 9-9-9 is the slippery slope into the Fair Tax. Just like Romneycare is the slippery slope into socialized health care, the Fair Tax is the slippery slope into government tracking of every consumer action in the U.S. with the attending new Federal taxes attached. Just what we need. Now you might argue that tracking is going on now anyway by virtue of credit card purchases. And you would be right. But, that tracking is not now used to sic the Federal government on you to collect yet another Federal tax.

Over to the right on my side bar is a link to a lengthy article on the Fair Tax Fraud. It's worth reading through if you are interested in the weeds of the matter. So, no matter how nice of a guy Herman Cain is, and no matter how much you are wishing for a tax reform plan, I believe this is a disaster in the making for the "American economic engine," as Cain puts it. The Socialists in Europe already have both, the VAT (government sales tax) and Socialized health care, and I don't notice that Europe is doing all that well these days.

I guess the bottom line here is this. I'm sick of the neo-cons in the RNC and the main stream media driving the nomination of the Republican candidate. I'm not in this so these powerful aliens to my everyday life can pick my candidate. Plus, the primary season is being moved up and the time we have to choose is growing closer. This means, those of us who have a different choice than these two current front runners better step up and get in there working to elect the one you want.

Who does this leave?? I have liked Bachmann, but she is not without flaws. Having said that, she is light years ahead of Cain and Romney in my book. I would choose her as second place. Having gone through all of my criteria and process of elimination, I am landing on Newt Gingrich as the best option. I can give you all of my reasons why in a later post. But my point is that if you are not in the tank for Romney or Cain (or Perry, who was another neo-con choice, as was Christie), then it is time to step up to the plate and start going to bat for the one you do want. We are running out of time to have our voices heard.

OCCUPIED? YES, WE ARE OCCUPIED.

2011-10-05T17:33:00.000-07:00

Quick note: Blogger made a change of some sort. If you are having trouble posting comments, please check your third party cookies. If you are blocking third party cookies, Blogger won't let you comment. Hope to hear from you!!

Now onto to the main message:

We are occupied everywhere, not just on Wall Street or Los Angeles or Boston, or Chicago. We've been occupied in our schools and universities, our public squares, our local governments, our professional organizations, and our daily lives by what seem like aliens who have taken over the country. I don't recognize these people. They don't seem like my countrymen. Boy, that sounds like paranoia, eh?? But wait a minute. What do I mean?

Does anyone know what is the point of the "occupiers" on Wall Street? They don't like fat cats? They don't like billionaires? They don't like millionaires? The don't like businesses? They don't like .....tea partiers? They don't like capitalism? What exactly about capitalism have these young, vocal, occupiers ever experienced, I wonder. What possesses a young person to sit around outside in front of buildings with signs and MAC laptops complaining about capitalism? Very curious indeed. But we are "occupied" with lots of these people. And what do they want? Sounds like they want more federal government occupation of the United States and they sure as heck don't want individual rights or individual economic success.

I helped organize a town hall for candidates for our tea party recently. The town hall took place last evening. All 6 of our council seats are up for grabs. And the mayor's position is available, too. 16 candidates, 3 of whom are for mayor, the rest for council were in attendance. We asked the candidates questions regarding what their views are on our city debt, taking grants and subsidies with strings, having a financial gun held to our heads by planners to adopt Smart Growth, consolidation with other unelected governance orgs., etc. I discovered that the majority of them are not at all concerned about the federal government controlling our city budget with mandates. A few were aware of that, but several of them just said this is the way it is and we might as well get used to it. Occupied. By the federal government in small town U.S.A. We do have a few candidates who see the hand-writing on the wall and are willing to step up and fight back. Just a few. And will they get elected? In an off year election?? Who knows.

I think for me the point of our town hall was to find out who the "occupiers" are and vote against them. Not just the incumbents, but those "occupiers" running for the seats. You see, this fight against "occupiers" is not just against the Federal government and the White House occupier, though that is a big part of it. This fight against "occupiers" is now in our home towns. And home towns are financially struggling, so "occupiers" promising buckets of money are not so rejected as you might like to think. American home towns are for sale? To "occupiers?"

Some of you might remember Mayberry RFD. That T.V. series was fiction, but somewhat based on and in a little town in North Carolina called Mt. Airy. Mt. Airy sits at the top of our state in a rural area. And, guess what? Unelected planning boards and an unelected city manager are threatening the city with doing it (the greenway) or ...losing grants and subsidies from the state and the feds. In the town in which I live, all of this advice comes through the city planning department and the city manager, too. All singing from the same songbook, about benefits of quality of life, about job creation, et al. I am giving this example of Mt. Airy because I want you to multiply Mt. Airy in your mind to every single small town, medium sized city, and large megalopolis in the country. The song is always the same.

"Commissioner Teresa Lewis also backed the plan, while responding to a comment by Anderson that if Mount Airy officials don’t accept the state funding, “someone else will.” As someone whose politics fall right of center, Lewis said she has problems with how big government operates and forces localities to play along in order to gain funding for worthy projects." ("worthy?" Says who?)

“We’re hearing here today that to play the game — and it’s really unfortunate and I don’t like it — is something we have to do.” Read more: Mount Airy News - City officials debate greenway connector costs

Who is she "hearing" that from?
"City Manager Barbara Jones informed board members and audience members early on that the $2.2 million from the state won’t fund the entire cost of the connection. “We’re anticipating this project to be four-million plus,” Jones said of the total price tag for the work to link the Emily B. Taylor and Ararat River greenways."

Can Mt. Airy afford this greenway?? No. But they are "occupied," like the rest of us. Little Mt. Airy has to cough up $430,000.00 for this. But their state taxes and my state taxes will be paying for it, too.
"Specifically, board members had to decide not only whether to accept $2.2 million approved by the N.C. Department of Transportation for the connector project, but allocating $430,000 in city funding that also will be required.

So is America "occupied?" By whom? It isn't just a few thousand misled and indoctrinated college students camping out on Wall Street. It is the Federal government camping out in your city planning department with a bucketful of money borrowed from other countries. And it is the tragic capitulation of council members and commissioners who can't seem to see the forest for the trees and realize what a fraud they are committing against the citizens in their towns and America by going along with this madness.

OBAMA'S CLASS WARFARE - WHICH CLASS IS HE AFTER?

2011-09-29T09:44:00.001-07:00

Let's face facts. Obama is not going after "the wealthy" to pay their fair share. The elitists, statists, and the greens are not attacking the poor or themselves. The object of their hatred is all aimed at the middle class. They can, will, and have controlled the poor. In fact they've been doing that for 100 years, since Wilson and FDR. Statists believe they have conquered those in the lower economic tier through welfare programs, unemployment insurance benefits, social services, public education, housing subsidies, and whatever other give-away programs they have used as bribes. And I could not argue their success. The poor, with their hands out, are not in a position to fight back.

Having accomplished their goals with the poor, they now are laser focused on the middle class. And it is this middle class who is giving them a fight. Blow back is coming at them through the tea party movement, through independents, through home-schoolers, through formerly employed manufacturing laborers, through small businesses, and through the middle class people who love the freedom to choose their own lifestyles. The middle class is still the group closest to the Constitution. The middle class is the group who has sacrificed the most lives in wars and defense of the nation. The middle class is the group who produced the goods that made the country self-sufficient. The middle class is the group of citizens who are outraged and appalled at the assault on the nation from within by the elites. So who does Obama perceive as his enemy? Who is the next victim class of the elite and statists? The middle class.

How do you kill the middle class? You eliminate their income potential. You kill their jobs. You destroy manufacturing. You make their lives miserable with regulations. You make their energy so expensive they cannot function. You ridicule their cultural and moral codes. You promote things to undermine their family structure. You tax them to death. You take over their communications. You attempt to track all of their activities. You humiliate them in airports, schools, media, and through their health care. You call them names. You inhibit their mobility and use their tax dollars to limit auto traffic, telling them they must walk or bike. You limit their food. You limit all of their independent survival abilities and micro-manage every aspect of their lives.

The middle class has become the enemy of the state (statists). It is only the middle class stopping the complete Communist takeover of the country.

Yes, we hear Obama going on about making the wealthy pay. But what is he actually doing? What he says and what he does are never the same thing. He's giving GE carte blanche to operate without taxes, and he is regulating the middle class out of options. He's handing out waivers to his favored few, while forcing the middle class into submission. He's funding more regulations than any one President has ever done. He's funding the takeover of rural America through his newly minted White House Rural Council. He's putting in place tracking devices through Federal funding. (the misnamed Smart Grid and more) He talks about responsible fiscal policy and has spent us, the middle class, into oblivion. All he says about making the wealthy pay their fair share is a joke. A very bad joke.

The wealthy are connected to the political class and so entrenched at the moment that, literally, they are untouched by the destruction. Obama is not changing that. Obama is living off of that. While his treasury secretary, Geithner, blamed his tax negligence on Turbo Tax, the rest of us would have lost our shirts for missing a tax payment. Nothing Obama plans to do will change that. In fact, his Obamacare debacle hires some 150,000 new IRS agents. You don't think those IRS agents are going after the likes of Geithner, do you? No. They will be going after the middle class.

The American middle class has been the envy of the world for most of my lifetime, that is until Obama came along. I would go further to say the American middle class has been the lifeblood of the country. Middle Americans, up until Obama's election, have had a better life than the majority of the planet, and for good reason. Americans earned it. This standard of living, up until recently, has been protected by the U.S. Constitution. The thorn in Obama's side is the U.S. Constitution which protected the individual rights of the middle class to live their lives, go about their lives in whatever lawful way they needed, and to practice their life skills to the best of their abilities. Obama has done more to undermine the U.S. Constitution and destroy the middle class than all of of the previous presidents combined. If he could, he would "transform" both out of existence, the Constitution and the middle class.

For all of these reasons and more, it is now up to the American middle class to save the country. The poor won't do it. For all intents and purposes, the poor are part of the statists creation and will not budge. The wealthy will not do it. The wealthy, also part of the statists creation, like their favored status so much that they will not let go of their power and influence. So who is left?

This is why the Marxists, the Michael Moore's, the Al Gore's, and the sycophant media are hell bent on destroying the middle class. We stand in the way. We are the enemies of the elitists, the statists, and the green Marxists. We are right now stuck, being squeezed, between the poor and the statists. We are the obstacle to Obama's "transformation." The question is, will the middle class stand up, fight back, say not just "No," but "Hell NO?"

(By the way, will someone please tell the progessive statists there WILL be an election in 2012, after which they are toast?! I'm sure Beverly Perdue, governor of my state, North Carolina, will be very disappointed about that.)

Also Published At Pundit House.com

REVENGE OF THE NERDS = SMART METERS = TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT

2011-09-27T14:21:00.000-07:00

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution requires judicial warrants before searches and seizures. It is written plain as day, for all to understand.

Here is the Wikepedia explaination The 4th Amendment: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

Oh, that's right. I forgot. No one cares about the U.S. Constitution any more. Especially when everyone thinks they have to save the planet from ...us all.

So what is it that is "Too close for comfort?" Smart Meters. No one likes them. No one wants them. But here they come anyway?? I don't know if you have been reading the horror stories over these gadgets, but I have. Some of them have to do with severe health problems for people and for pets. Some of them have to do with immediately escalating energy bills upon installation of these "tell all" contraptions.

The latest I've learned is extortion by PG&E. Yes, I said EXTORTION. And I wasn't kidding. This is where PG&E installs the Smart Meter on your house without you being home or consenting to it. Then, a huge brouhaha erupts and PG&E decides legally (with a judicial order) they are obliged to uninstall the Smart Meter from those homes where homeowners request the removal. BUT, here's the catch. If you want the Smart Meter removed you have to pay PG&E $600.00 to come out and switch to an analog (regular) meter again. And if that is not bad enough, you must pay PG&E $20.00 per month extra just for the privilege of living without a Smart Meter.

So why the insidious tactics by an energy company to force something on its customers that they don't want? No, it isn't for the planet. It is for control over everyone's energy usage. It is for the purpose of rationing energy. You see, when they get the entire world hooked up the Smart Grid, redistribution of energy is easy as pie. You just shut down from one area, and divert the energy to another. The perfect recipe for green social justice. The new EPA energy police will be all too happy to make you carbon neutral and "share" your energy with some third world country.

The Environmental Protection Agency has said new greenhouse gas regulations, as proposed, may be “absurd” in application and “impossible to administer” by its self-imposed 2016 deadline. But the agency is still asking for taxpayers to shoulder the burden of up to 230,000 new bureaucrats — at a cost of $21 billion — to attempt to implement the rules.

Just to rub salt in the wounds, I remind you of Nancy Pelosi saying "we have to pass the bill so we can find out what is in it." Endgame Global Smart Grid "The development and implementation of Smart Grid technology in the U.S. - reinventing the electrical grid with Wifi-enabled digital power meters - is proceeding at breakneck speed. Although Smart Grid is the result of years of government planning, the recent kickoff was made possible through massive "green" grants that were quietly included in President Obama's economic stimulus package starting in 2009."

Smart Meters talk in both directions. Whose talking? Your appliances. RFID chips are quickly being installed in all new appliances. Refrigerators, washers, driers, lamps, dishwashers, HVAC systems, your hair dryer, the whole shebang. (I pray everyday that my appliances, bought before these chips were installed, will hold up forever, amen.)

Think of the advantages. You no longer have to convince masses of people to do what you want. You just cut their energy off and on at will to control them. "Do what I say, or else you don't have heat tonight." Forget cap and trade. We're talking universal energy credits for every household. You don't need money. What you need is energy. Energy is the new currency.

I learned a new word today for this. It is "Technocracy." It was introduced to me by a man named Patrick M. Wood. Maybe I'm late to the party here. I determined right away that Smart Meters had nothing to do with saving energy or the planet, but were perfect control devices. Imagining a bureaucrat or a governmental tyrant, elected or not, controlling the heat in my house is not a far stretch for me. Obviously controlling our light bulbs was not too much for such tyrants. I'm sharing links below on Mr. Wood's work. Embedding the videos seemed a bit much for putting here, but I hope you will go to the links. One is 37 minutes long. The other is a youtube audio broadcast and it is 34 minutes long.

Evidently, what we have here is a sort of "Revenge of the Nerds." It seems the technocrats have been planning to control the world's population with energy for a very long time. Since the 1930's actually. (Why does it seem as if the 1930's spawned a lot of really bad things for us?! Oh, because it did.)

Two media exposés on this subject by Patrick M. Wood are Here and Here

MY TAKE ON REPUBLICAN DEBATES

2011-09-23T09:43:00.000-07:00

I, for one, am grateful for the Republican debates. I realize they are part theater and part charades, but nevertheless, I think some reality shows through. I sit there watching the candidates and wonder, as I look at each of them, is this the person most aligned with what our country needs to survive the disaster that is Obama and the rest of the Progressive government we've inherited?

I ask questions like:
1. Will this person dismantle the constructions Obama and other presidents have put in place that destroy free markets and kill businesses?
2. Will this person micromanage our lives, just like the left does?
3. Will this person do what needs to be done to put the monetary policy on sound footing?
4. Will this person just do more social engineering?
5. Will this person take down the federal agencies that are draining the coffers and strangling our livelihoods and lives?
6. Will this person face down enemies and strengthen our military?
7. Does this person have a moral compass?
8. Will this person actually defend the U.S. Constitution from enemies foreign and domestic?
9. Will this person lie to the public?
10. Will this person downsize the federal government back to within its Constitutional limits?

So all of that is going on in my mind while I'm listening to the candidates answer questions. As they answer, I hear a lot of spin. Realizing they are trying to sell their ideas, I guess "spin" is what they think they must do. Some of them do not come across as "spinners." Ron Paul does not "spin," in my estimation. He just calls it like he sees it. Bachmann does not come across as a "spinner." She, too, seems to just speak her mind. And I like what she says. Her exposure of Perry's (Guardasil) cronyism is spot on. Johnson and Huntsman might as well go home. They have about two points each that are conservative, but otherwise they just don't go where I want to go. They seem smarmy and more interested in global initiatives than restoring America. Santorum seems sincere, but also seems hot tempered, which may be a good thing in some circumstances, but not good in others. His hard hitting style comes across sometimes as arrogance and that worries me, but I think he is just passionate on his points. Cain. Well, now there is a "spinner." He sells his 9-9-9 plan like a used car salesman. I'm sure he was great for Godfather's Pizza and a terrific businessman. I think he is probably a really nice man. I could like him personally. But I hate the Fair Tax and he will never get my vote because of it. Gingrich has the right personality for the job, is statesmanlike, and his experience shows. I worry he still likes government solutions and may not be "small government" enough. However, he is strong on American defense, foreign policies, and free market solutions to economics. He has a good grasp of the Muslim threat to us.

Assuming the lower tier of candidates can't win, I'd put Gingrich at head of state, Bachmann in charge of justice, Cain in charge of commerce, Paul in charge of treasury, Santorum in charge of defense policies, Johnson and Huntsman can do event planning maybe.

O.K. So that brings us to the two supposed front runners.

Perry lost me totally last night. He tried to spin the Guardasil episode as a matter of the heart. Same with his illegal "in state" tuition issue. It's all about "heart," is it? Well, we had one of those "compassionate conservatives" from Texas already...and we ended up with another unaffordable entitlement (the drug bill) and the "No Child Left Behind Act." Not to mention undefended borders. No thank you. Not going there again. So he has a heart? Don't we all? But does that mean we create more mandates that enrich corporations and unions? And does that mean we are in for another amnesty program? More entitlements that redistribute the wealth? And, his cronyism points to more corporatism and corruption. What is the difference between this Guardasil episode and Solyndra? Not much, if you ask me.

And then Romney. Well, I have said in the past that his Romneycare program would prevent me from ever voting for him. He definitely slid around that issue last night. He explained it in a way that sounded very plausible. He pointed out a huge difference between Romneycare and Obamacare, saying that Romneycare does not get between the patient and the doctor. That is a huge difference and makes me rethink things somewhat. My other problem with Romneycare is that it is mandated socialism. That is a core problem for me. It tells me he will use socialism when he wants to, to promote some so-called "common good." He defends Social Security the same way, though does indicate the program needs "fixing." In the end, Romney is another "compassionate conservative" who promotes socialism-lite.

I keep landing on Bachmann, with Gingrich as my second choice. You could flip those two around and I would be o.k. with that. Either one as President or Vice President. But at this point, if Romney or Perry get the nomination, I am flumblustered as to how to proceed. It is not that I am looking for purity, exactly. But it is going to take really tough and strong medicine to take this country forward on better footing. Whoever gets the Presidency is going to have one hell of a mess to clean up, not just Obama's mess, but those who went before him enacting disastrous agencies and policies. As far as I can tell, Romney and Perry are just more of the same and we will stumble along without fixing the real problems...those problems existed before Obamacare.

By the way, from my grasp of the issue, Obamacare is not just that one bill. Obamacare policies were funded through the first stimulous bill, are being put in place as I write, and have to be weeded out, one by one. That is more than just giving the states a "waiver" from Obamacare. That means the rest of it will have to be found and scrapped ASAP. Obama and Pelosi and Reid sent a slew of roaches into our healthcare system via the stimulus bill. Funding for micro-chips in persons is in there. Funding for the federal file system of all patient records is in there. Funding for implementing the bureaucratic death panels is in there. That must be addressed.

I was glad to hear most of the candidates say they would repeal Dodd-Frank, another redistribution bill that puts financial institutions in worse shape, a la the Community Reinvestment Act, but worse.

That's my take on the debates so far. There are questions not being asked regarding slush funds for Sustainable Development, Smart Growth, and Agenda 21. I would ask the candidates if they would dismantle Carter's Community Reinvestment Act, Clinton's Council on Sustainable Development, Obama's White House Rural Council, the Food Modernization Safety Act, Bush's Part D bill, besides the EPA, the NEA, (both of them, arts + education), and cut HUD and the DOE. Would they reinstate funding for roads from the 30% diverted to greenways and bike lanes? What would they do about the continuing flow of block grants? Can we rethink the gerrymandering Voting Rights Act? (talk about a sticky wicket no one will touch. ) Can we change the "anchor baby" provision? So many questions.

It seems odd to me those subjects don't show up in the debates, but being media driven, who knows why. What do you think? Do you have a favorite yet?

PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS EXPLAINED

2011-09-19T19:24:00.000-07:00

I was visiting a facebook discussion today that was going round and round on whether government was the problem or corporations were the problem. This was like playing with "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" At first and at last, after reading all of the arguments, I decided it was government that was the root of the problem. I'm holding to that for the following reasoning; It is our government that has led us down the path to "Public Private Partnerships." It is our government officials who broke the bank, created deficit spending, ignored the Constitution, and pretty much blew it up in our faces. It is our government officials who made the rules against the Constitution and they have betrayed America and the trust of all Americans. It is our government officials who, over time, took our money and ran with it to some ungodly place that we now find ourselves placed. We've been deceived and we have elected so many of the wrong people to lead the country. I pray that our next elections bring us real Americans to lead us out of the wilderness.

With all of that being said, I coincidentally came across a video this evening that pretty much explains what happened, how, and why. It is actually two videos, but not terribly long. I hope you'll take a few minutes to watch them. One thing I have noted as I have gone along in this process is that people who have witnessed this transition and really care about America are the ones who are speaking out to warn the rest of us. If we don't listen and figure out how to fight back, we will lose forever the Republic that our founders gave us.

The wonderful woman who did these videos evidently died last year. I only discovered that reading the comments on the video page at youtube. She left a legacy for us to carry forward. Her name is Joan Veon. Her website still lives HERE There is an obituary on that site, but also much more information that she left for us.

UNSUSTAINABLE OXYMORONS

2011-09-18T12:26:00.000-07:00

Marxist Capitalists?? Fascist Capitalists? It struck me today how oxymoronic things are becoming. A capitalist company that spends lots of time, energy, and money supporting Marxist or Fascist causes doesn't make any sense to me. But I'm seeing it everywhere I look. This is an oxymoron. How did that happen? How does a perfectly sound, profit seeking, company get sucked into green policies that are, by definition, anti-capitalistic? The other thing I am seeing continually lately is that professional trade organizations are pushing their members into Marxist-Fascist philosophy with regard to doing business.

Something weird is going on within the business world. Something really weird. Public Private Partnership (PPP's) are permeating business operations in the U.S. these days. Hybrids. Not quite private business, yet not quite government. Businesses performing the bidding of government. Government partnering with businesses. Public funds going straight to businesses with lots of fanfare and hoopla! As if this is just the greatest thing on earth. When all along, I thought the leftist-progressives hated the military industrial complex, but now they are all about a government industrial complex?? (GM. GE. Gee whiz)

I was thinking today of the rise of Six Sigma, how it exploded into the business world and became all the rage. Product quality, just-in-time inventory management, cost-benefit analysis and savings, rewards systems, all were taking the manufacturing sector by storm. Pretty soon, everyone who was going anywhere on the upward mobility ladder had to have a green belt, or a black belt, or some sort of belt in Six Sigma. History of Six Sigma By the mid 1990's Six Sigma was the IT method of doing business and the IT credential to have.

I bring this up because as I was thinking about the "Sustainable Development" doctrine and it struck me that the same exact trajectory has taken place and just as fast, if not faster. Sustainable Development is the new Six Sigma, i.e. the newest, latest trend of choice for our way of life, including doing business. The difference is that Six Sigma was just about business practices...where Sustainable Development is about business and government collaborating to tell us how to live. What this tells me is two things: One of them is; people are like sheep, being led into herds going in the same direction as fast as the trends will take them. (Just when you hoped you might be surrounded by other adults, you find out they are all junior high kids who look older, but have an adolescent compulsion to jump on the band wagon with everyone else.) The other thing it tells me, in the case of Sustainable Development, is that education does not seem to have anything to do with critical thinking, common sense, or any other real life skills.

So now it is Sustainable Development. This is the latest IT thing. Except in this case it is a political ideology more than an actual business method...at least as we traditionally think of business. Some few recommended methods come with it, but it is actually a philosophy of social construct, leading businessmen and women to deny capitalism for the sake of altruism. Now that is an amazing turn of the trends..from Six Sigma to Sustainable Development. These two business philosophies are not cut of the same cloth. One is about the goal of producing goods with efficiency and successful economics, resulting in profits. The other is about the goal of business providing benefit to the common good, to society on the terms of social justice by participating in government projects in manners proscribed by the government, economic soundness be damned.

At the same time, thousands of non-profits have popped up promoting themselves as the latest purveyor of Sustainable Development. History of Sustainable Development IT has become so huge that one could not begin to tell the billions of dollars being thrown at IT. IT calls itself "green," but goes much further. IT is all encompassing redefinition of the culture of doing business.

IT has penetrated the American Institute for Architects, The U.S. Building Council (Now called the U.S. Green Building Council), The American Planning Association, the Chamber of Commerce, and all sorts of professional organizations. HGTV promotes Green houses. We have Green cars, Green appliances, Green clothing, Green decorating, Green foods, Green construction, Green Grocers, Green jobs, Green energy, on and on. None of these green things have a whit to do with sound business policies. Though, the purveyors pretend the opposite. In fact, green is costing everyone more, creating products no one wants, forcing lifestyles no one wants, and generally is just tilting at windmills. (pun intended)

So why is this an oxymoron? There is nothing in any of this that permits business to operate just for the sake of doing practical market based business. In order to do business according to the green IT people, you must be using "Best Practices." What are "Best Practices?" "Best Practices" means using your business to promote the redistribution of wealth, social justice, less use of any resource to produce and sell products, and you must pass these standards through the same professional organizations who are spreading this nonsense throughout the land. "Best Practices" in the case of building, means pushing the cost of building out of reach of most people. "Best Practices" means forcing people to purchase things they don't want, such as Smart recycling bins with RFID chips. "Best Practices" means hiring people with inadequate skills to make the government happy and get tax deductions. "Best Practices" in most cases means either doing business on government terms or go out of business. Sometimes, in this topsy turvy world, it means doing business on government terms which cause you to go out of business. Woo Hoo....figure that one out.

This is a contagion of some very un-American, anti-constitutional, dogma that is has infiltrated the business world in America. Opportunists have taken the Climate Change, Global Warming, Sustainable Development lies and woven a net around the American people, some of whom must be just deaf, dumb, and blind to these lies. You can't do business any more without proving to some radical environmentalist group that you are "Green" enough to suit them. The radical environmentalist group now has become your professional trade organization. You want credentials or license? Pass the Sustainability test.

You might be thinking "Green" is good business. (as opposed to bad business?) I'm here to tell you that "Green + Sustainability" may get you some government grants and subsidies. IT might get you some public relations points to make your customers believe the same propaganda. IT may get you some tax deductions. IT pretends to be a lot of things. But IT isn't good business. Why? Because these "Green + Sustainability" policies have turned into crony capitalism, which then turns into Fascism and eventually becomes pure Marxism.

Plus, you don't get the tax deductions, grants and subsidies, or contracts from government unless you are IT enough to get gold stars from the professional organizations you are paying dues to in order to have licenses and accreditation. Frankly, this is outright extortion...that is if you want those particular jobs or if you want to be a "socially acceptable" business.

As we've seen today with Barack Obama's Solyndra Solar Panels scandal, our government is throwing money into the trash bin for "Green" jobs. This is a waste of our money, to say the least. But it speaks to the larger issue of corruption in our government using our taxes to force people into the global Marxist scheme of "Sustainable Development." The DOE was the agency that funneled the $500 million into Solyndra. But folks, that is hardly even the tip of the iceberg. Every agency and Obama Czar is throwing buckets of our money into companies and local governments to comply with Marxist policies. Maybe the Chamber of Commerce should take note of what happens when the government gets involved with stupid schemes like solar panels that cannot produce the energy as advertised and are not profitable products. (Instead, our local regional Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a "Green Conference" next weekend.)

Some examples at these links below. The first one is a Green Chamber competing with the normal Chamber of Commerce. A link from this page is for a new corporation designation just for businesses who promote Sustainable Development, called a B corporation. The B stands for "Benefit." Isn't that nice? I guess S corps. and C corps. aren't enough for these guys. It's a parallel universe....all for the new IT. The B Corp. folks are petitioning our North Carolina legislature to create this new corporate status. They have actually found support in our legislature. Watch out for this.

North Carolina Green Chamber of Commerce
B Corporation Site
Business Wisconsin.edu
Lancaster Chamber .com
Maryland Chamber.com

SEPTEMBER WITH POMPLAMOOSE!

2011-09-17T14:05:00.000-07:00

I just don't have the heart today to post something grouchy...so I'm sharing this for fun. I hope you enjoy it!!
All the best,
Cheryl

SMART GRID FOR WHOSE BENEFIT?

2011-09-11T10:42:00.000-07:00

Maybe I have control issues. I like to control my own life decisions based on as much factual information I can gather. I don't like having other people control me or attempt to control me. I don't give other people permission to control me. I am my own person. I would like to think that you are your own person and that you have no interest in controlling me. You can persuade me with facts, not spin or innuendo or flat out lies. Well, that's my psychology tip for today, but that is also the crux of the Smart Grid issue.

The premise for Smart Grid technology and Smart Meters is not, as you have been taught to believe, protecting the environment. It is also not about the scarcity of energy supplies. The premise of Smart Grid technology is: How can we create a device that intervenes in the lives of the most people and capitalize on that with control over them and use their money to do it? By appealing to the energy industry with promises of selling less energy while at the same time making more money, the Progressives and Environmentalists have joined forces to create a non-existent crisis in order to suit all of their mega schemes of; controlling people, reducing energy usage, and the myth of "healing the planet," all at the same time. Believe me, the only thing that will NOT come out of this is the "healing of the planet" part. You do not need to starve people of the energy they need to survive in order to "heal the planet." And the planet is not sick by the way, no thanks to Al Gore who makes me sick every time he speaks.

The United States has seen rationing before. During WWII many commodities were rationed to support the war effort. This is different. This is not war. And this is not desperation due to some dire circumstance. Smart Grids are not about rationing for a real cause, but for a fictional construction made expressly for the purpose of controlling people and their lives. Why do I say this?

Read AL FIN today
"There are more than 350 billion tons of recoverable U.S. coal reserves - equivalent to an estimated 800 billion barrels of oil, compared to Saudi Arabia's proven reserves of 260 barrels."

Read that again. And if that is not enough for you or you hate coal, read this:

"Environmental Benefits: Combining the Coal-to-Liquids (CTL) and Biomass-to-Liquids (BTL) processes, Accelergy removes 20% of the CO₂ emissions associated with standard refining methods, resulting in cleaner fuels that reduce nitrogen oxide and particulate emissions and enabling use of higher efficiency engines."

While serious engineers and scientists are very busy saving us from energy starvation and from pollution, our government is busy subsidizing energy starvation through Smart Grid equipment designed to monitor and control our energy use. This is not some conspiracy nonsense. It's right there out in the open for all to see.

Over in Italy, 85% of homes are equipped with Smart Meters.
"Meanwhile, the introduction of smart meters has given Enel customers greater control over their energy bills. Typically, the meter is installed in a convenient place in the home -- say, in a kitchen cupboard or the laundry room. When electricity prices are high, for instance during the peak evening period or on cold winter nights, the smart meter informs household members of higher rates, allowing them to alter their habits (such as postponing a load of laundry until the next morning) to avoid big charges. Analysts figure that attentive Enel customers have been able to cut their bills by as much as one-half by keeping close tabs on energy prices and usage."

God forbid anyone crank up the heat on a cold winter night or toss in a load of laundry when they are home off work. Heaven forbid people use their kitchen during normal eating hours. No, the spinmeisters are telling you this gives you, the customer, "greater control over your energy bill." Isn't that nice? You can eat dinner at three a.m. Or you can go to bed with 5 quilts over you in the winter and do nothing until spring. And when do you do laundry? I guess that must be two p.m. in the afternoon while you are at work. Or maybe two a.m. in the middle of the night, just before you turn on your stove to eat your three a.m. dinner? Just make sure your schedule coincides with the non peak hours or your wallet will be skinned and you will be sent to the poor house. And who do you think this hurts the most? The poor and the elderly. BUT, I'm sure the government will step in and subsidize those folks with your money, so you can pay twice for you energy...both for yours and theirs.

So let's see. The government creates energy starvation by refusing to allow drilling, fracking, refining, or nuclear power plants. Then the government says there is a crisis of not enough energy. Voilá! The government then subsidizes energy companies to create Smart Grid technology. By golly, then the government forces everyone to use Smart Grid technology. Then, when the poor and elderly can't afford the increased rates to pay for the now higher cost energy, the government steps in and makes everyone pay again for those who can't. You pay for the subsidies of both the poor and the energy companies, AND the higher energy rates. The energy companies just got wealthier. The government became more powerful. And you, well...you just got poorer and less in control of your own life. When, if the government had stayed out of it in the first place, there would be no need for anyone to go through any of this.

Recommendations such as this one below should give you some idea of how fast they want to hook you up: Spiegel International Business

"With so many smart meters to be installed in the near future, Enel's Gallo figures other utilities can learn a lot from the Italian experiment. First of all, he recommends that companies roll out the technology as quickly as possible. Instead of gradual installation, a whirlwind program, often in just three or four years, helps achieve a fast return on investment. That may involve higher up-front costs, but it gives utilities quick access to consumer data and greater control over their energy network, which can lead to ancillary cost savings. "In the long run, it's more efficient than installing smart meters over a decade," says Gallo. "

Folks....they already have consumer data by the month. Now they need it immediately? And by the hour? In real time??

This data gathering is a problem for me. I understand the capture of data on my energy use one time at the end of the month for billing purposes. I do not understand any necessity for capturing my data in real time all day long. And how many folks will be privvy to that data? How many house break-ins will be possible because of that data. How easy is that data hacked? Plus, it costs X amount of money to create the energy per Kilowatt hour. X cost does not change from one hour to the next. Why does the energy company want to charge more for certain hours and less for others? Demand? Well, demand does not change the X cost of creating the energy. So, someone tell me why that is not gouging to charge more during hours when usage increases? This is the same theory being bounced around to charge drivers more for driving during rush hour. Excuse me, but the road and the gasoline costs are the same no matter when you are driving, so ...anyway, you get what I mean. Why don't we charge people more for consuming milk in the morning because that is when most people put milk on their cereal? Good grief!

No one is mentioning that this "Grid" becomes a mark for terrorists or for sabotage. No one is mentioning the dangers of government accessibility to your personal energy usage data or government controlling the Grid. Once you are hooked up, you are vulnerable to anyone who wants to flip a switch, bribe you, or do whatever they want.

So I guess I have control issues. Do you? Or are we just frogs sitting in the tepid water while the heat keeps being turned up little by little?

And for my local readers....here come's Duke Energy with Smart Meters right at us. Smart Meters Contract with Duke Energy 17,000 Smart Meters installed in Charlotte
We have already subsidized them through the Stimulus Bill of 2009. Isn't that nice?
Duke has also applied for $200 million in Department of Energy smart grid stimulus grants, which it said could help it install them about two years faster than otherwise planned (see Smart Grid Stimulus Applications at $2.85B and Counting).

I posted in Dec. 2010 on this subject

"ALL POLITICS IS LOCAL" TAKES ON NEW MEANING

2011-09-08T06:16:00.000-07:00

Tip O'Neil, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives from many years ago, coined the phrase, "All politics is local." When he said this he was referring to the idea that voters would vote for their local issues over the grand ideologies of one politician or another. He also meant that voters are closer to their local politicians and not so wrapped up in the Federal schemes being played out in Washington DC. That was then.....way back when the Federal government was less involved in the daily personal lives of citizens. Voters then had just a few Federal issues to concern them; defense of the nation, social security, medicare, immigration policies, interstate highways, and that was about it. My how things have changed. Those issues are still on the list, but now we have to include; personal energy use, personal water use, personal trash management, personal building decisions, personal education choices, personal property issues, personal healthcare decisions, just to name a few.

Somehow, over time, the Federal greed for power over individuals has become so prevalent that citizens can't sneeze without asking permission from the Federal government. The Federal government has been taken over by the most intolerable greed for power that Americans are looking at coming elections and wondering, "Does my vote even matter anymore?" What does this have to do with "politics being local?"

The Federal government is being enabled by local politicians, from cities, counties, and each state. Our local politicians are letting this pervasive intrusion into our daily lives occur. No, worse than that. Our local politicians are forcing us into Federal policies that local citizens don't want, don't need, and are extremely averse to adopt. Federal politicians have, over time, figured out how to bribe local politicians into acquiescence. (The bad joke there is that these bribes have been done with borrowed and printed money causing huge debts and inflation, but who is laughing?) You, citizen, might be saying to yourself that you feel disenfranchised, but you can't put your finger on it. You are wondering, since you voted locally for this guy or that lady, why your elected representative is NOT doing what you thought that representative would do, i.e. represent you. You might be asking yourself, why are these policies being put into place when you and your friends and neighbors don't want any of these policies.

When the bonds for parks and recreation was on our local ballot, the voters turned it down. What happened? The council ignored the voters and just went ahead, using our taxes, grants, and subsidies for those projects anyway.

When the Carolina Thread Trail came before the council with its greenway proposition, our council was sold a project that by definition takes private property out of the hands of owners using tax incentives and public money. Even without eminent domain, the Carolina Thread Trail premise is the act of turning private property over to the government. This property must be maintained by the remaining taxpayers. Then, after unanimously agreeing to adopt the Carolina Thread Trail, some on the council acted SHOCKED that the project could not be completed without using eminent domain to take property from private ownership. That might be good theater and fool some people, but it is duplicitous, false, misleading, disingenuous, and flat out wrong. You can't tell me that these same council members had no idea that there would be some unwilling property owners along some parts of the Carolina Thread Trail. After all, who sits down with a map of the county, proposes to take land away from other private property owners just for the sake of a recreational walking or biking trail and then thinks everyone will just jump up and hand over their land?

When the issue of trash management and recycling came before the council, our council adopted a "Pay As You Throw" plan that was designed by the EPA. While Gastonia citizens were already paying for trash management and recycling through property taxes, this council decided that they could use property tax revenues for other special favored projects and make the citizens pay extra fees for trash management, creating yet another revenue stream for the government coffers. Throwing a crumb to the citizens, the council lowered the tax rate by .01 cent per hundred dollars, saying this .01 cent would offset the $6.00 to $9.00 per month for the trash and recycling scheme, again designed by the EPA. The city council has left no opt out option for citizens, thereby forcing citizens to pay for a service they may or may not want. What was not reported to the public about this waste management system is that the recycling bins come with Radio Frequency ID chips so Republic Waste Management will track your recycling activity and report your activity to the local government for the purpose of education and fines.

If you think that won't happen here, it is already the case in Cleveland, Ohio where the city hired trash police to hand out $100.00 fines for non-compliance. This is taking place in cities all over the country. Each ID chip is assigned with your address. The bins are weighed by the high tech trucks picking them up. Your recycling amount is then recorded to Republic's data base and reported to your city. Charlotte's recycling program is already using the tracking chips with the same company, Republic. Our council voted to make us pay fees to have our activities tracked.

While I'm on the trash issue, I want to point out two things. Mandating citizens to purchase a trash service is the same as Obamacare. The commerce clause does not give the government the right to force people to buy something. Secondly, the RFID chips violate the search and seizure clause. You are being searched without a warrant if the government decides to raid your recycling and trash bins to monitor your compliance.

Another assault on voter consent is coming through the local government appointment of unelected boards of hand-picked boot-lickers and then handing off the policy decisions to these boards. These boards are not accountable to the voters, but are creating policies that the voters never have a chance to consider. Planning commissions and boards are bringing forth projects that reflect grants and subsidies coming from outside of our local jurisdiction, boards such as the regional government, the Unified Development Ordinance board, the Municipal Planning Commission, etc. From my research I am finding these boards are making policies based on whether or not local government and projects can apply for and receive State or Federal grants and subsidies. This is happening outside of voter consent. And again, happening for the purpose of obtaining money and bowing to Federal power.

The only option we have to rid ourselves of this is to elect people who care about what their constituents want in the manner of government and to NOT elect people who care more about getting money from the Federal government ....which is completely broke, in case no one noticed.

My point here is that we voted these people into office to represent us and protect our rights. Instead what our elected representatives are doing is anti-individual rights and using our tax money to implement projects that we, the people, don't want, don't need, and find to be oppressive. Our local elected officials are proving themselves to be just as greedy and power hungry as the Federal and State elected officials.

Tip O'Neil may not have realized how his phrase would eventually play out across the land. Today, local politics is being driven by Federal policies. This means that indeed, "all politics is local." We, locally, have an opportunity to turn off the Federal intrusion into our lives by electing representatives who reject the debt-laden oppressive control over our lives. When 2012 comes around, we have an opportunity, I hope, to elect Congressional representatives and a president who will stop this insane flow of borrowed money into the rest of the nation.

Tip was right. "All politics is local!"

ONE EARNED WEEK OFF

2011-08-31T08:42:00.000-07:00

Hi all...
Just a quick note to say I am grabbing one week sabbatical from blogging. Today is my birthday and I am told by my loved ones that I deserve some time off. (Gotta love them!!) I'll be back next week after the Labor Day break, renewed and reinvigorated for the continuing fight against the communist take over of America.

Have a great Labor Day and remember this: It is our personal labors that make our country free from totalitarianism. Don't give up and don't give in!!

All my best to you,
Cheryl

“The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God; and there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.” —John Adams, in a letter to Thomas Jefferson. July 16, 1814

NO WAY OUT OF THE FEDERAL TRAP

2011-08-30T08:19:00.000-07:00

Two paths of research this past few days, and lo and behold, both paths took me to the same exact place; Washington DC.

First, before I launch into the paths I took, I will quickly relate the story of a traffic light. A couple of years ago an intersection near my residential neighborhood was in need of a traffic light. A request for it went to the city...because the roads in question are within the city limits. The city should be responsible, by all measures, for the traffic light. "Oh, NOOOO, not us," said the city. "We don't have the money for that." So the traffic planners went to the county. "Oh, NOOOO, not us," said the county. "That is not within our jurisdiction." So the traffic planners went to the State of North Carolina. "Oh, NOOOO, not us," said the State. "We don't have any money for traffic lights." So, the traffic planners, not to be denied, went the Federal government. "Oh, NOOOO, we don't have money for traffic lights," said the Feds. "BUT, we do have money for a round-about (traffic circle), and you can have THAT money if you do what we pay you to do."

What's wrong with this picture? The traffic light would have cost $175,000.00. The round about costs $250,000.00. The Feds don't really have money, BUT the Chinese have money and the Feds borrowed that money from the Chinese to spend on a round-about. So we spent twice as much money as necessary and borrowed it from the Chinese..with interest. The EPA is happy because they say the round-about lowers traffic pollution. The city, county and state are happy because they didn't have to spend any of their money. BUT, you and I and every American citizen and their children are now paying the Chinese for this cute little round-about in my neighborhood. Don't you love that?? I think we should plant the Chinese flag right in the center of that round-about to remind everyone who drives around the circle that we paid the Chinese for that round-about instead of buying a traffic light.

Back to the two paths I took today.

One was a boondoggle toll road cooked up by some developers and the Chamber of Commerce to get rich. The boondoggle toll road idea is hated by over 70% of the population here, it carves up a beautiful rural area, will cause traffic to flow in areas otherwise quiet, and generally is a monster idea that should be trashed. The developers went to the city and schmoozed the council members to support the toll road. Voilá. The council says, "Sure, we want more money from development, so go right ahead." The developers went to the county and the commissioners were divided. Some said yes. Some said no. Then the developers got their little butts onto the Municipal Planning Organization board so they could influence that board. Looking for funding for their cute toll road, the MPO went to the State. The State first said yes....UNTIL, the local citizens managed to turn the tide by electing more sensible representatives last fall. The new representatives defunded the toll road, BUT could not kill the proposal altogether, for some unknown reason to me. Lo and behold, without the state funding, the developers and the MPO go where???? You guessed it. Straight to the Federal government for borrowed money to fund their toll road. This saga is still in progress, so I don't know the end of this story yet. If I were betting, I'd bet on the developers and the Feds over-ruling the 70% of locals who do not want this toll road.

This sent me to the MPO website where I found a pdf file on all of the federal money that has flowed into my county over the last two years. Source page for pdf file on Federal Spending in Gaston County (I don't know how to upload the file to this page, so just sending you there.) Trust me, it amounts to millions. Mind you, this is one county in one state out of fifty states. And there are MPO's in every county in every state. Multiply that in your mind and you might have to grab the next bottle of Scotch on your shelf, grab a cigar, put up your feet, and mull over the $14.5 Trillion that our Federal government has indebted all of us. Millions of dollars in every county in every state in the Union.

Second path. This one involves Smart Meters. I'm so naive sometimes. I think people should actually have a choice on whether or not they want their personal thermostats hooked up to central planning. Foolish me. So I was looking into a source that a friend sent me to this morning...regarding Smart Meters and the Smart Grid. I was originally thinking about cities and counties and whether or not elected councils and commissioners would reject or support the idea. Lo and behold, I found that the ARRA (Recovery and Reinvestment Act) passed by the Democrats in 2009, funded grants and subsidies to all kinds of industries creating Smart Grid technology.

Duke Energy in North Carolina

"The company also has sought $14 million in federal funds for smart grid transmission lines in North Carolina and South Carolina.

The smart grid allows utilities, such as Duke, to send signals to specially equipped appliances over transmission lines. The signals allow the utilities to tell the appliances to operate using less power during peak consumption times."

The U.S. Department of Energy will award $4.5 billion in smart grid grants nationwide, funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

"Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke (NYSE: DUK) intends to transform its entire electricity-delivery infrastructure into a smart grid system, the company said in a news release."

And by all means, do not just funnel money through the DOE, but use all Federal agencies to do the dirty work. Such as the USDA below: Smart Grid News

"If you thought federal funds for smart grid projects came and went with the Recovery Act, check in with the rural electric cooperatives that are on the receiving end of millions in loans from the USDA for smart grid technologies and improvements to generation and transmission facilities. "

Stimulus for Smart Grid

Let's face it, most people if asked would flat out reject technology attached to their house that relays all energy activity in their personal residence to a central data bank that can be controlled by the 'statists.' Not to mention two other dangers that no one talks about. 1. the electromagnetic pulse from Smart Meters has proven to be unhealthy for people and pets. And 2. the opportunity for taking the country down through a central grid (or regional grids) is creating another vulnerability for the nation's security. I make the leap here that 99% of the population is not happy about this, doesn't want it, and is sick from the intervention of central planners into their lives. That's my assessment. You can come up with your own percentage.

Bottom line...What do a traffic light, a toll road, and your energy have in common? Washington DC. No matter what path you take, all roads lead to DC. Federalism, states rights, individual rights, all have been bought out by Washington DC using borrowed money that you and I, our children and our children's children, will be paying for infinity. And all we wanted was a traffic light, some say over where our roads go, and to purchase energy for our homes and businesses.

The fix is in. The trap is laid. The only ....I repeat ONLY way out of this is to STOP TAKING FEDERAL MONEY. Otherwise, there is no way out.

(Want to know about Duke Energy and Smart Grid technology go HERE. )

CLOUDS OVER MAN-MADE GLOBAL WARMING

2011-08-26T09:43:00.000-07:00

Lately it seems, candidates Perry, Romney, and others are slugging it out over who is a "Man-made Global Warming" believer or not. Politico Reports And I'm glad to see it. I hope they have a huge verbal contest for months over who believes the lies the least. America will be so much the better off for that. If they kill the myth of AGW once and for all, we should all shout hallelujah and grab the nearest bottle of champagne.

AGW is already dead...it is the myth that lives. A really great report to read on this is here: 1000 International Scientists Dissent AGW

One of them is quoted below:
“Any reasonable scientific analysis must conclude the basic theory wrong!!” -- NASA Scientist Dr. Leonard Weinstein who worked 35 years at the NASA Langley Research Center and finished his career there as a Senior Research Scientist. Weinstein is presently a Senior Research Fellow at the National Institute of Aerospace.

The truth on this issue is finally out and AGW (Anthropogenic Global Warming) is now known absolutely to be a scam and a fraud. Yes, some socialist environmentalists are all in a state of denial, clinging to the lie like it is their life-blood. Well..it is their life-blood, so no wonder. And that brings me to the larger problem.

While Al Gore and his UN cronies were busy indoctrinating the world, the U.S. government was busy implementing an entire system of "governance" based on the UN, IPCC, and Gore's lies. O.K. fine, but what does that have to do with you and your life today??

The U.S. government is a powerful money machine. And when laws don't do the dirty work that administrations want, then orders are given and the horizontal system known as federal agencies kick into gear with regulatory powers. Those agencies get busy handing out money for any states, counties, and cities who will do certain things. This is known as the reward system, or also Behavior Modification, in psychiatric circles. "Do what we want you to do and we will hand you money..or gold stars..or let you go to the dance. If you don't do what we want you to do, then Susie (or Jack) will get the money, the stars, and go to the dance."

Now we know that the actions demanded by horizontal agencies are control issues and have nothing to do with AGW. Their premise is blown. They truly can no longer use AGW as an excuse for their insane demands. It's a cloudy day for those environmentalists, non-profits, states, counties, cities, NGO's, and corporate opportunists who have been raking in buckets of money and merrily zipping along modifying everyone's behavior, making everyone poorer and life very uncomfortable for a lot of people. Billions of tax payer dollars have been spent on this lie already, with billions more proposed. Yet, the scam is up and most people know it... finally.

Trouble is, the agencies haven't gotten the memo. We know it, but they don't seem to know it or accept the truth. Not yet. Why would they? The truth doesn't support their actions. Non-profits are still profiting. NGO's are still using the AGW theory to make recommendations and authorizations. Corporations are still advertising their endorsements of "Sustainable Development" and donating money to non-profits in order to get tax deductions is return. The states, counties, and cities are still looking for the handouts, grants, and subsidies. The comprehensive "Vision" plans for these states, counties, and cities have all been written to get the money, gold stars, and the ticket to the dance. These "Vision" plans are ensconced into our entire government structure at this point. And all of them are based on pure evil fiction.

There is no reason to spend gas taxes on "Walkable Cities," greenways, bike lanes and trails, equestrian paths. There is no reason to demand draconian regulations on buildings. There is no reason for a state or federal agency to charge "mitigation" points for development. There is no reason to force people to cluster into "mixed use" neighborhoods or congested cities. There is no reason to take the land next to a creek away from a farmer. There is no reason to ban incandescent light bulbs and force CFL's on the public. There is no reason for RFID chips on recycling bins. There is no reason for "Smart Meters." There is no reason for regulating every industry into a "Climate Change" model of "Sustainable Development." No reason for insanely high café standards for vehicles. No reason for demanding CDL licensing for farm vehicles. No reason to hand out tax money to money grubbing entities who are in the game just for that purpose. No reason for any of it. The entire industry of money grubbing over Climate Change needs to go the same route as "Cap and Trade," and that is gone....outta here!

Today we are watching hurricane Irene come barreling towards the east coastline. Mother Nature is telling us who is in charge of the situation....and it is not us. Clouds have gathered over the lies of "AGW." With any kind of luck, Irene will blow the lies clear off the planet. It's time to dismantle the system of UN, AGW, IPCC schemes that have taken over our entire government structure. A storm can be a cleansing event.

We can do this from the bottom up. All local governments have to do is stop taking the money. All voters have to do is elect those who refuse to buy the lies. And as elections come and go, voters can keep up this process until all of this nonsensical theft of our money and liberties is reduced to the sorry annals of history, just like Stalinist Russia is now a lesson of what not to do to people.

It's a good day. The lies are finally discussed by major presidential candidates. One of them, we don't know yet which, will start the process of ridding the country of the bad weather created by the UN...once and for all. I'm almost ready for the hallelujahs and the champagne.

ONE HALF OF THE LAST CENTURY OF "PROGRESSIVE" RULE

2011-08-24T18:44:00.001-07:00

They say it is the entitlements that are killing us. And that may be half of the story. But you cannot tell me that discretionary spending on subsidies isn't the other half of the story. Neither entitlements or subsidies are constitutional, so we are on wrong footing with both of these issues. But if you will humor me for a small walk back through history, I'll see if we can figure out how we got where we are. Sometimes a historical perspective can help us get a grip.

Both entitlements and discretionary spending have become monstrous burdens on the people of this nation. Both entitlements and subsidies are the brain children of "Progressive" meddlers. Interestingly enough both government entitlements and subsidies a century ago were designed by Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, all self proclaimed "Progressives." Since then, add Johnson, Carter, Clinton, and now Obama so far. That is seven presidents, with somewhere around 47.1 years of governing between them. By the time Obama is finished it will be almost 50 of the last 100 years of "Progressive" rule that has bent and manipulated our way of life to benefit Socialists. You can add whichever "Progressive" policies into the mix by RINO Republicans, and you see how far "Progressive" Socialism has come. And by that, measure how far removed we have become from the U.S. Constitution. Is it any wonder that our country is split in half by two sets of ideology. We have half of the last century taking us in a completely different direction from the Founders' vision of America. Maybe it is more of a miracle that half of us still stand with them.

Here we are 100 years + from the origins of the "Progressive" movement in America and the government has its hands on manipulating everything. Our fight for freedom is not new. It has been going on a long long time and we are just visiting the latest incarnation of it. Perhaps, in our day and time, it is that we have only just barely tasted freedom really, when you look at the state of our government from 1900 forward. There are so few freedoms left.

From Academic American

"The Progressive Movement, which gained substantial strength after 1900, can be defined in part as a protective reaction against the growing threat of communism or socialism in American economic and political life. The Progressives were behind many reforms aimed at cleaning up capitalism and protecting workers’ rights. But because the Progressive Movement did not move fast enough for some, the Socialist Party in United States gained a bit of traction. In 1912 the Socialist party under Eugene Debs won almost a million votes. The Populist Party in 1892 had had similar success, and though the Populists were not explicitly communists or socialists, their interests certainly lay in the same direction."

"Although the Progressive Movement is considered to have ended with the outbreak of the First World War, the Progressive Party continued to thrive, and many liberal politicians were—and still are—comfortable being identified as Progressives. Wisconsin’s Robert La Follette garnered almost 5 million votes as the Progressive Party candidate for president in the election of 1924. When the Great Depression hit and American capitalism seemed to be crumbling, those who had embraced communism and socialism seemed vindicated. Intellectuals flocked to the Socialist camp, led by men such as Lincoln Steffens who, having visited Soviet Russia, said, “I have seen the future and it works.”

"With the Cold War tensions on the rise, and with the rise of McCarthyism in the early 1950s, the Socialist movement began to die out. Being labeled a communist or socialist ceased to be respectable except to the fringe on the very far left of America’s political spectrum. That fringe emerged once again in the 1960s as part of the protest movement against the Vietnam War and the excesses of American capitalism; a few old Socialists became darlings of the “New Left.” But with the fall of the Soviet Union in 1990 and the end of the Cold War, the Socialist alternative in America was for a time considered dead and buried. More recently, however, government responses to the economic crisis and the debate over health care reform have awakened the notion that the nation may be drifting toward socialist solutions."

(Note: the article cited above has some built in biases. For instance in the paragraph just above it does not mention the Socialist fringe that, since the 1960's, has infiltrated the education system and the media to sell their ideology to the culture over these past 50 years. And that right after the Soviet Union fell, Americans elected Bill Clinton who is one of the global Socialist left.)

The entire focus of "Progressives" is to control everything. Their model is communism. And through entitlements and subsidies, they control those on the receiving end of these, PLUS they control those on the paying end of these. That pretty much covers all of us at this moment.

The Constitution has already been shredded by these "Progressives" in our country. They came here, they stayed here, they have ruined everything they've touched. If you are taking an entitlement or a subsidy, you are already in the clutches of communist control. If you are still one of the paying segment of the population, you are already forced into supporting communism.

You can't say it is just the entitlements. You can't say it is just the discretionary spending of subsidies. You can't say it is just regulations. It isn't just one thing here and there. It is all of it. You can't say it is only in certain sectors of our lives. Since Barack Obama was elected, it is now everywhere, in every pore and crease of life itself. He has just built a higher castle on the foundations laid by the previous "Progressive" presidents. Time has a way of giving one a perspective if you just step back and look at the events of history.

The fight for freedom goes on.

THE TRAVESTY OF WINDFARMS - KEEP SPINNING THE SCAM

2011-08-22T14:08:00.000-07:00

Some days it is hard to optimistic. Today is one of those days. I've written before on the horrendous downsides of windmills, killing birds by the thousands, wrecking landscape views, generally creating not much energy for the billions of money being BLOWN AWAY on these damn monstrosities.

So if you want to join in my total disgust and depression over the continuing insanity of windmills, here is some new information confirming the disaster that they are: From the Telegraph in the UK Article by Christopher Booker

"In a sane world, no one would dream of building power sources whose cost is 22 times greater than that of vastly more efficient competitors. But the Government feels compelled to do just this because it sees it as the only way to meet our commitment to the EU that within nine years Britain must generate nearly a third of its electricity from “renewable” sources, six times more than we do at present."

"The insanity does not end here. The Government talks of building 10,000 windmills capable of generating up to 25,000MW of the electricity we need. But when it does so, it – like the BBC – invariably uses that same trick of referring to “capacity”, without explaining that their actual output would be well below 30 per cent. (Last year, onshore turbines generated just 21 per cent of their capacity.) In other words, for all that colossal expenditure – and even if there was the remotest chance that two new giant turbines could be built every day between now and 2020 – we could only hope to generate some 6,000MW. This is not only way below our EU target, it is only a tenth of our peak demand during those cold, windless weeks last winter, when wind power was often providing barely 1 per cent of the power we needed."

" Madness is far too polite a word."

And that last sentence is exactly my opinion of what global socialist environmentalists have done to sanity. I suggest we wrap them all up in ropes attach them to the swirling blades of these steel constructs of Hell, and leave them there for however long they may live, which hopefully would not be long. Then we can let the rotting carcasses resume their proper carbon use by decomposing to replenish the earth.

I told you I was not in a good mood. Fair warning.

Comment from a post at Wattsupwiththat - Science Blog

"Gore’s work is being handled quite nicely, thank you, by the extra-constitutional organization known as the EPA. Essential power plants are going to fall off line not because terrorists have blown the transmission lines or overrun the control rooms, or some rogue nation has lit off an EMP device over US soil – the EPA, with a weapon no mightier than the common pen, has put into motion the final fall of American manufacturing.

I imagine the final insult will be the body bags needed when rolling brownouts punctuate the hot days of summer and the frigid nights of winter will be imported from some smoke stack nation that has a growing industrial base.

Gore has won his battle, and the EPA has won the war. We’re screwed."

THE GIANT SUCKING SOUND OF OBAMA'S GREEN STIMULUS JOBS

2011-08-22T08:56:00.000-07:00

Way back, when the marketplace ran things, products were tested and tested before given prime time exposure in the world of commercial sales. Otherwise, you ended up like the Delorian, bankrupted and the poster child for excessive investment in a product no one could buy. Or maybe the Edsel is a better analogy. Either way, they were expensive commercial flops, each for their own reasons. But way back when, the investors took the hit. It was their risk and their opportunity to succeed or fail.

Today, it is the taxpayer taking the hit. Somehow, the green lobbyists have convinced politicians that citizens must collectively pay the cost of products to satisfy the false insanity of Anthropogenic Global Warming. Bad enough that the science was completely off the charts wrong. But then to soak the public by pushing technology and products based on that false assumption is criminal. We get to pay for light bulbs no one wants, smart grids no one wants, ID chips in recycle bins no one wants, windmills no one wants, solar panels too expensive for most people to buy, lousy paints without lead which encourage mold, toilets that don't flush well, storm water fees for what, I don't know, greenways a very few people use, light rail costing taxpayers 500 times what each ride should cost, bike lanes for under 1.5% of commuters, gasoline blends with ethanol that wrecks engines, etc.

Obama has to be a hopeless stooge for the green globalist lobbyists, or he saw the opportunity to soak the American people for any reason and jumped onto the Global Warming Green Jobs idea like a tick on a dog. I'm betting it is the latter. Any excuse will do when your objective is to economically rape the most successful country in the history of the world. Putting communist Van Jones in charge of the Green Jobs program when it was first announced is just a little hint, don't you think? What does a communist have to do with green anything? Think about it.

It isn't about green anything. It's all about redistribution, social justice, diversity, collectivism, "shared sacrifice" as Obama puts it. He'll make us all pay, alright.

From AL FIN "Many of Obama's expensive green stimulus programs cost $1 million to $2 million per job -- mainly "hands-off" make-work administrative jobs, rather than the entry-level practical jobs as promised."

That is the same thing that put the unemployment rate in Spain over 17%, i.e. the extravagant costs of green jobs put other private sector jobs out of business.... because to force the green jobs onto everyone, you have to regulate the previously normal jobs out of existence. Just like the Obama administration is doing to the coal industry. He may add 58 jobs here and 700 jobs there, but at the same time he is putting tens of thousands out of work. Maybe he thinks green jobs are a loss leader, only in his case he adds a few green jobs and then adds thousands to the unemployment lines. He leads us down the garden path, and we all lose our shirts. But it's all for our own good, he would tell you.

"Something unexpected happened on the way to the Garden of Eden. Despite massive spending and stimulus, the green jobs revolution fizzled. Wind energy failed to meet expectations, as did solar. Electric vehicles were not ready for prime time, because electrical storage batteries are still 3 breakthroughs away from being up to the task. And the "smart power grid" is proving to be one more way that government and malicious hackers can monitor private activity, and shut it down."

Obama has sucked the life out of the economy from the energy sector, to the housing sector, to the manufacturing sector, to the auto industry, to the food supplies, to everything he has touched. He has tried to label all of these fiscally draining procedures, "Green." Green homes, green cars, green energy, green manufacturing, green foods. (This is giving the color green a bad name, if you ask me. None of us will ever want to even hear the word green as this keeps going.)

Years ago it was funny to hear Ross Perot use that phrase about "the giant sucking sound." Today it isn't so funny when you see what Obama's giant green sucking machine has done to the American economy. You can only do so much sucking before you suck the life out of everything. 15 mos. to go, folks.

AL FIN on the Return to Eden

HORIZONTAL GOVERNANCE - THE KEY TO VOTER APATHY

2011-08-21T09:07:00.000-07:00

A hundred years ago the structure of government in America was a vertical structure. Actually, from the founding and the Constitution, the structure of American government was vertical, i.e "of the people, for the people, by the people." Picture in your mind a pyramid, wide at the bottom representing the people and narrowing to the top where leadership exists. Each section from the bottom to the top of the pyramid is a representation of the voter's decisions to elect representatives. Each section rests on the massive will of the people at the bottom. The voter's were key to this pyramid, the base structure holding all of the rest of the sections securely. Without the base structure at the bottom, the top has nothing to keep it in place. Eliminate the base and there is no higher structure.

As we know from Egypt, pyramids are strong structures. They last a long time and the bases of them are meant to hold the higher levels. That is the essence of the vertical American representative government structure. The people hold the power to support representative leadership.

But let's say you like the power of leadership, but you don't like the people holding that vertical structure up. Let's say you and your friends want power, but you don't want to go through the efforts to convince the people to hold you up. You want the people's money, but you don't want their input into the decision making process. What do you do?

You figure out some way to do what you want without the base support of the people. If the people don't want what you are selling, they will tell you to go fly a kite. So the base of the pyramid is not your friend at this point. Then, you create a sideways avenue to get your way. You set up a horizontal path outside of the vertical arrangement. You use executive powers to mandate the creation of the horizontal path. You set up regulatory agencies filled with appointees who have no connection to the pyramid, but are in your ideological back pocket.

The poster child for this is sitting in the White House right now. Executive orders which turn power over to regulating agencies who are not elected by the people and are not accountable to the people, that is the hallmark of the current President. Not alone in this, many have done this before him.

Here is how it works: First you create, by executive order, unelected agencies to regulate activities of the people. You order these unelected agencies to implement your desires, whatever they may be. Then you turn to the one institution left in the hands of the people, congress (actually the House of Representatives), and you demand money for your desired agencies operating expenses. If they refuse, you call them names, smear them in the media, say the are stubborn obstacles to 'progress,' and generally throw a hissy fit. You create a propaganda machine to villify your opposition, be it the people or their representatives. You command the unelected agencies to continue on their march to obey your orders, in spite of the people's objections. You try to establish that your executive orders trump all else in the land.

Welcome to horizontal government. Sideways instead of vertical. So simple a caveman could understand it. So unconstitutional any American can understand the insults of it. Yet agencies of horizontal government have been set up at least since FDR. (Maybe before that, but I haven't researched it.) Each time a horizontal agency has been set up, the people have suffered the consequences. I could start naming them, but here are a few: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Fannie and Freddie, FDA, USDA, HUD, DOT, EPA, PCSD, NEA (both of them, education and arts) Obamacare, and now the WHRC (White House Rural Council by BHObama), and so many more. The creation of these agencies was not approved by the voting public. In fact, the creation was never on a referendum ballot for the public to approve or not. Granted, the people's representatives acquiesced to the executive branch in these matters. That in itself is a travesty of abuse of powers. But once created, no one seems to listen to the people's requests to eliminate the horizontal existence of these agencies. Beyond that, these agencies have so grossly usurped States rights, that the power of the people over their tax monies is now just a relic of the nostalgic past.

The executive branch was never to hold this kind of power. And the representative legislative branch was supposed to be the check and balance against that kind of power. Failing that, the judicial branch was supposed to hold back any assaults on the Constitution. But the executive branch figured out how to bribe the legislative branch. And the executive branch has the keys to Supreme Court appointees...with the approval of the legislative branch who is now being bribed by the executive branch. When it comes down to it, vertical government has been subverted by corruption at all levels at this juncture in time.

So, no wonder voters are skeptical, discouraged, and percentages of them tune out and don't show up. NO WONDER. What is the point if the game is rigged? We were not supposed to be in this position. We, the voters, were supposed to be the deciding base of that vertical pyramid. Now we, the voters, are stuck trying to figure out how to get rid of the horizontal governance that is replacing our vertical government, dropped like a spider's web all over us. The candidates we are seeking are the ones who will take that web of horizontal government off of us. Me, included.

Notes added:
1. On top of this, add voters who do not even understand the difference between democracy and a republic, the difference between vertical and horizontal governance, and the difference between the Constitution vs. Socialism. This allows the horizontal web to continue as voters who don't know these concepts are just voting for favortism from the agencies in the horizontal revenue stream. And then if they don't get that favortism, as the Black Caucus is yelling about this past week, they start screaming, "Foul." Those who follow this line of thinking are clueless and have no business voting in the first place.

2. If someone asks you to join an unelected bureaucratic board of governance, please tell them to stuff it somewhere unmentionable and that you do not believe in horizontal boards going around the will of the people. Please.

Into the weeds:
Example of a Regional Governing Board - RPO - High Country Council of Governments
Here is another one in the Southeastern portion of North Carolina
UK site on Federalism and variations
Wikipedia on Euro Mulit-level Governance
Here is a report on integrating horizontal policies to implement Sustainable Development