The Ponzi Scheme

   Bernie Madoff sits in a prison cell for running a ponzi scheme which bilked people out of millions of dollars. He offered people easy money on investment, not by investing, but by rewarding early investors with the investments of newer investors. There was never any money actually made; just rearrangement of the deck chairs. It finally caught up with Madoff.


   The crazy thing is; our government is also running a ponzi scheme. Our "leaders", with our encouragement, keep running the scheme, and we keep reelecting them to do so. We know it as Social Security. Ideally, in a program like Social Security, investment into the program should be held to draw interest for a length of time before withdrawal, like a savings account. The problem is that our elected officials have raided those accounts to spend that money on pork barrel projects and social programs that we didn't have money for, and replaced it with IOU's.



   Logically, Social Security should be like the triangle above. There should be a very large base of contributors at the bottom and a small contingent of beneficiaries at the top. The base should be significantly sustained by the entry young workers into the workforce. The beneficiaries at the top should be significantly smaller due simply to natural causes of death.

   The problem we face is that the structure of Social Security now looks like the trapezoid above. Due to significant advances in modern medicine, Americans are living longer lives. The contingent of beneficiaries at the top has now grown significantly. Ideally, this shouldn't be a problem if our base of new workers entering the workforce is also growing by the same percentage, but it hasn't. One of the main reasons, in my opinion, is that 53 million potential American workers will never enter the workforce because they were murdered in the womb. Another reason is that our tax policies encourage American business to relocate its manufacturing overseas. You simply cannot increase the level of beneficiaries in the program while at the same time eliminating new workers coming into the system both physically and economically.

   If something isn't done about Social Security, it will eventually look like the square above. This collapses. No one will be willing to work to simply support a Social Security beneficiary. Who is willing to expend their time, labor, and life to have it all taken for the benefit of another? When Social Security collapses and everyone invested loses everything, who joins Bernie Madoff in his prison cell?


Godspeed.

The Crucifixion of Sarah

I know that a lot of people will take offense at that title. It doesn't matter. Sarah Palin has been maligned and slandered more than anyone I've ever seen in my lifetime. She is hated by the left in this country. She is ostracized by the liberal right in this country. She is even blamed for inciting murder. I've asked myself why. It doesn't make sense. She's simply a woman who ran for office, won, and then was selected to run for Vice President. Why the blind, irrational hatred? The only thing I can think of is that she dared to disagree with Barack Obama.

She dared to call him out concerning his past associations. She dared to`question his socialist leanings. She dared to challenge his economic ideas. She dared to speak her mind. She became the enemy. She and McCain lost. She went back to Alaska.

She was content to go back to Juneau and be governor. She wasn't allowed to. They came after her. Clearly the object was to destroy her. They hamstrung her administration. She was having to waste her time and Alaska's money to defend herself. In office, she couldn't speak out. She was constrained by her position. Those who had chosen her as an enemy knew that. The goal was total destruction. I guess that she was to be the example. You don't question the machine. You sit back and allow yourself to be pillaged, and you keep your mouth shut about it.

They counted on Sarah Palin to be passive, they counted on her to shrivel and die, they counted wrong. She did the only thing she could have done. She resigned. They thought she was done. She wasn't.

She retreated, she fortified her position, she loaded her weapons, she performed a flanking maneuver, then she opened fire. She was immediately attacked. She counter-attacked. The left and the media closed ranks, but they soon discovered that this woman doesn't fight conventionally. She's a guerrilla. She fires on the run. She dodges from tree to rock to knoll. She moves right when they anticipate left. She darts left when they fire right. She's a ghost with a modem. A specter of the world wide web.

They throw everything at her, even charges of involuntary manslaughter. They cannot, will not, allow this woman to be President. I think they've missed the mark. She may run, but that's not the end goal. That's not the end all to be all. Sarah Palin is after more than the White House. She has set her eyes on the annihilation of the Marxist ideology seeking to infiltrate every aspect of American life. Her goal is freedom. Freedom to be free. Freedom to be. She's exposing the lily-livered media for what they are. She's exposing the President and Congress for what they are. She's Lysol to them. She has an uncanny ability to cut to the heart of matters, and it scares the Marxists in power to death. It rattles them to the core.

Sarah Palin may never be President. It will be to our shame. Nevertheless, she has done more for our future than most anyone I can think of. Thank you, Sarah. May God bless you, and may he bless The United States of America.

The Time Is Now

"There is no dignity
quite so impressive,
and no independence
quite so important,
as living within your means."
— Calvin Coolidge

$16,000,000,000,000 (Sixteen trillion dollars). 


   This is our national debt. It is equivalent to nearly $46,000 for every man, woman, and child in America. 


   Just how astronomical is $16,000,000,000,000? Well, let's think about it in terms of time. How long a period of time is 16,000,000,000,000 seconds?

   16,000,000,000,000 seconds = 266,666,666,666.667 minutes
   266,666,666,666.667 minutes = 4,444,444,444.445 hours
   4,444,444,444.445 hours = 185,185,185.18 days
   185,185,185.18 days = 26,455,026.46 weeks
   26,455,026.46 weeks = 508,750.5 years


16,000,000,000,000 seconds = 508,750.5 YEARS.


   Here's a list of the top ten countries by GDP as of 2010:

No.	Country	GDP (PPP)	Economy Value
1.	USA	$ 14,260,000 trillion
2.	China	$ 8,789,000 trillion	$1.33 trillion
3.	Japan	$ 4,137,000 trillion	$1.28 trillion
4.	India	$ 3,560,000 trillion
5.	Germany	$ 2,811,000 trillion
6.	United Kingdom	$ 2,149,000 trillion
7.	Russia	$ 2,116,000 trillion
8.	France	$ 2,110,000 trillion
9.	Brazil	$ 2,025,000 trillion
10.	Italy	$ 1,760,000 trillion

    Notice that America's debt is now exceeding her GDP. This is not good.
Notice also that America's debt is nearly twice the GDP of China.
It's nearly four times the GDP of Japan, five times that of India and Germany.


   President Obama's administration, along with the Democrat controlled Congress added the equivalent to the combined GDP's of Germany and the UK to America's national debt in less than three years, and the Congress has just approved raising the debt ceiling again in an amount comparable to the GDP of Russia.


   Now, ask yourself if your elected officials in Washington have had your best interests at heart. They've spent and borrowed this ungodly amount in your name. You are on the hook to repay this debt; but not only you, your children and grandchildren and their children after them. 


   It is time for a house cleaning in Washington, and not just a sweeping of the floor. Every nook and cranny needs to be exposed. Every chair overturned. Every vermin eradicated from the house. 


   Ecclesiastes chapter 3 tells us there is a time for everything. Now is the time for action. We cannot, and America cannot, afford to allow the status quo to continue. We must find the courage to stand up and demand accountability from our leaders. We have, up to this point, failed in our responsibilities. The time is at hand. If not now, when? If not us, who? It's time to get down to business.


Godspeed.


   

   

The Big Ten

We do not need more intellectual power, we need more spiritual power. We do not need more of the things that are seen, we need more of the things that are unseen.

Calvin Coolidge 

   Our leadership in America today is missing something. We wonder why our "leaders" can't seem to figure out the simple or accomplish the obvious. They are missing something. They are missing moral authority. They are missing spiritual power. They are missing the favor of the Almighty in their legislative duties. You see, my friend; they have forgotten the Big Ten.

You shall have no other gods before me.
   Yet our elected officials have made themselves gods to be obeyed, and we who keep electing them are complicit.
You shall not make for yourselves any idols.
   Yet our elected officials have made POWER their idol, and we who keep electing them are complicit.
You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
   Yet our elected officials use His name when convenient for personal gain, and we who keep electing them are complicit.
Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy.
   Yet our elected officials mock and ridicule the worship of the Lord, and we who keep electing them are complicit.
Honor your father and your mother.
   Yet our elected officials interfere with the authority of parents making decisions concerning their children, and we who keep electing them are complicit.
You shall not murder.
   Yet our elected officials continue to uphold the murder of innocent unborn children as a 'right', and we who keep electing them are complicit.
You shall not commit adultery.
   Yet our elected officials continue to undermine the sanctity of marriage in both actions and legislation, and we who keep electing them are complicit.
You shall not steal.
   Yet our elected officials extort billions of dollars more than necessary for the Constitutional obligations of the government and squander them on corrupt programs and pet projects, and we who keep electing them are complicit.
You shall not bear false witness.
  Yet our elected officials refuse to accept responsibility for their actions and instead look for scapegoats to cast blame upon, and we who keep electing them are complicit.
You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.
   Yet our elected officials promote class envy and class warfare to shift focus from their failures and to gain reelection, and we who keep electing them are complicit.

   Our nation is in shambles because we refuse to demand accountability, honesty, and integrity from our elected officials, and quite frankly, from ourselves as well. We need, as Calvin Coolidge said, more spiritual power, more of the unseen. We need to return to what makes us great. We need to return to the Big Ten.


Godspeed.

Subterfuge

The right thing to do never requires any subterfuge, it is always simple and direct.
Calvin Coolidge 


   The above quote by Calvin Coolidge sums things up rather nicely. If something is right and good, there's no need to use subterfuge to get it accomplished.


   Consider the "Barrycare" bill. Were the negotiations of this bill simple and direct? Absolutely not. Smoke filled back room shenanigans abounded. The American people were kept out of the loop. Tea Party Americans were villified as racists and terrorists for their opposition to this ungodly piece of legislation.


   Woe to those who call evil good and good evil,
   Who put darkness for light and light for darkness,
   Who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.--Isaiah 5:20


   Woe indeed.


   Consider the latest episode of subterfuge: Speaker of the House John Boehner and President Barack Obama weren't simple and direct. They were having their back room meetings, ignoring the will of the American people, and signing over even more of our children and grandchildren's futures to excessive government spending. Once again, Tea Party Americans were called racists and terrorists. We were accused of seeking to destroy the nation. Talk about projection! The very thing our so-called "leaders" were doing, they accused us of.


   Woe indeed.


   These people use flowery rhetoric and high dollar words to speak over our heads and say absolutely nothing. They have an agenda, and they are hell bent on implementing it.


   All you need to say is simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
   --Matthew 5:37


   So, as you listen to these people speak and you watch their actions, see if they shoot straight or if they use subterfuge. If they don't shoot straight, don't trust them, and by all means; don't allow them to have more power. Stand up and demand 'Yes' or 'No' from your elected officials; anything else is from the evil one!


Godspeed.

Pulling Down The Strong

   President Obama claims he wants to help the poorest among us. How does he want to do this? Does he want to enact government policies that promote economic growth and opportunity for poor Americans to enter the work force so they can acquire skills and experience to climb the ladder of promotion? No. Does he want to enact government policies that encourage small business creation? No. Does he promote government policies that strengthen the nuclear American family? No.

   The President's idea of helping the poor is taking from and tearing down the wealthy. He has no interest in the elevation of the poorest of Americans. He just promises to make them feel better by getting the wealthy out of their yachts and into the same sinking rowboat the poor seem to stay stuck in. The goal should be to get the poor out of the rowboat and into the jon boat with the 15 hp Johnson. From there we should be working toward the Bass Tracker, then the Ranger, then on up the line.

   My father in law knows a good bit about automotive engine repair. I have sought his assistance several times with engine troubles over the years. In that time, I've learned a good bit about engines and about diagnosing problems with them. How? I asked questions.

   Now, I have a suggestion. Instead of seeking to tear down the wealthy in America, why don't we seek to recruit them? We need their knowledge, their wisdom, and their expertise in wealth creation. They have the knowledge, we need the knowledge. Let's start asking questions!

  Don't expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong.

   --Calvin Coolidge

   

            

Minding Your Own Business

   Calvin Coolidge once said that one of the most important accomplishments of his administration was minding his own business. Just think how much better this nation could be if our politicians were to mind their own business.

   What would our national debt look like if Congress minded its own business? Well, let's see what the business of Congress is, shall we?

   Section. 8.

   The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;

To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;

To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;

To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;

To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;

To establish Post Offices and post Roads;

To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;

To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;

To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;

To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

To provide and maintain a Navy;

To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;

To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings;--And

To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

   Congress' business is summed up in these 18 specific powers. Nowhere in these 18 powers is Congress' granted the authority to provide health care, retirement benefits, welfare, or free government cell phones. Congress needs to mind it's own business. If it isn't listed above, it isn't Congress' business.

   Now, how about the President? Shouldn't he also mind his own business? What is his business? Let's see.

Section. 2.

   The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment

     

He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.

The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.

Section. 3.

He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.

   It appears that the President doesn't have the power to legislate, at all. He may make suggestions to the Congress, but he can't legislate. That throws a monkey wrench into the executive order, doesn't it?

Ask yourself, what would our national debt and economy look like if the Congress and the President would simply mind their own business? No politician dictating your healthcare choices, no politician mandating your caloric intake, no politician telling you what you can drive, no politician indoctrinating your children, no politician mandating the water your toilet uses. Congress and the President simply doing what the Constitution tells them they are responsible for doing, and nothing more, would go farther than anything else in allowing this country to prosper and thrive.