Friday The End Of The World!

Well it would appear that the end of the world is quickly approaching. There are no signs that anyone in congress is going to try and stop the sequestration from happening and ,as most of you know, at least according to some, as of this Friday all hell is going to break loose. What are we going to do? Personally I am doing nothing. I don't think much is going to change or happen unless its a lot of politicians getting egg in their faces. This has been nothing but a smoke and mirror show put on by both donkeys and elephants to try and scare the crap out of everyone. Do you even know how much money is actually being cut? Try zero. Nothing. Nothing is being cut they are simply lowering their projected budget for this fiscal year by 85 billion. They are still going to spend more this year than they did last year its just that they are going to spend less than they projected that they would. Simply put instead of a projected budget of one hundred dollars (I am using a small amount that my simple mind can wrap around, and I say projected because there hasn't been a budget submitted for the last four years or more) it will now be $97.40 The total percentage being taken out is little more than 2.6% This is a mere drop in the bucket compared to what really needs to be done if we want to get our economic mess under control. This is nothing more than PROJECTED spending. So how does this spell the end of the world when its money that is little more than hypothetical?

If it had been that one trillion had to be cut this year instead of over the next 10 I would be more concerned but its not, instead it is political posturing and slight of hand wrapped up in photo ops and music to get us to dance to their tune. For most people, courtesy of the hyped up media, it has worked. We are panicking and the politicians are snickering, far away from the cameras mind you, but still they are laughing us to scorn.

Donkeys are screaming because they say that any cuts to any programs are bad and that the only solution is higher taxes and more spending while the elephants are saying no to any more taxes and want to drastically cut all social programs. The problem here isn't the sequestration, the problem is that we have children running the government who have no clue how to play nicely. There are going to have to be tax increases and cuts combined if this mess is ever going to be fixed. Historically speaking the best years of prosperity in this country was during the 40's and 50's when there were much higher taxes and a lot less spending. Go look it up, its a fact. I am not saying that we need to be unreasonable with the taxes and I am certainly not saying that you are going to fix this on the backs of the poor, but something has to be done and it has to be more drastic than this current dog and pony show. So if we are in a panic now whats going to happen when they have to get real about it?

My humble opinion is simply this, if you are being told that you are going to loose your job or receive less benefits as a result of this sequestration its for political purposes and posturing and that’s it. Both sides want to make the other look bad and if they have to make a few people miserable along the way they are OK with it as long as they score points with their core. My second thought though is that if we are having such a fit over automatic cuts, what are we going to do if and when the whole economy crashes in debt because they have done nothing? This is but a small splinter compared to what really needs to be done. Just my simple minded thoughts.

Real Social Justice

There has been a lot of talk, for quite a while now, on sequestration. Who is going to loose what, what programs are going to get cut and just how badly our countries economy is going to take a hit from it. Depending on who you ask, everyone from junior enlisted military personnel, who won't see any raises, to veterans and other disabled persons, having services cut back, are going to feel the pinch. The elderly and poor are going to loose a percentage of their income and hundreds of thousands of employees of government contractors could suddenly find themselves with out work or with seriously reduced pay. Add to that the number of major companies that are seriously considering closing hundreds of stores, because of increased regulations and being forced into major health care increases and you have the potential of thousands more being unemployed. Combined with an economy that is already in serious trouble and is on the brink of collapse you have the potential of a tsunami style disaster. This post is not to blame any one particular party or person. In fact it has little to do with politics at all.

The other day, after my mothers funeral, I stopped in to visit some old friends that still lived in the neighborhood that I grew up in. In the course of catching up one of them commented that they don't know anyone in the neighborhood any more. I was really surprised. When I was a kid growing up we knew everyone on the street. Even today I can name just about everyone who once lived there and, in some cases anyhow, either those who took their place or their grandchildren. We knew everyone. You could guarantee that if you got in some sort of trouble by the time you got home it was already known there, at the same time if someone was hurt or seriously ill everyone knew that as well and once that was known people would go out of their way to help each other out. I remember many times when my grandmother or other folks at church would get food and clothes together to help out others who were suffering in some way. If they had a fire or some other disaster furniture would appear and people would open up their homes until things were fixed and settled. I remember my grandparents basement walls collapsed while we were living with them, the house had old stone foundation and I remember men from the church coming with their equipment jacking the house up and fixing the foundation. There was no talk of who deserved what, or cost, it simply needed to be done and it was. If a farmer was sick and couldn't harvest his crops others pitched in to help. There was no talk of government help, at least none that I ever heard, people and churches simply took care of each other.

It was, however, at about this time that welfare programs started to kick in. We were poor, my mother, a single mom of two boys, qualified for welfare and so we lived on the welfare system, at least until my brother and I were able to get out on our own. I didn't understand much about that at the time this was simply the way things were.

I tell you this so you will understand that I am quite sympathetic to the working poor and the middle class. I understand being disabled and barely being able to keep your head above water but I think we have brought this disaster upon ourselves.

As our society has become more advanced, technologically speaking, we have become more distant from each other. We have our made up social networks and worlds but we rarely actually interact with each other. When I was a kid all of us played out doors. Our families all knew each other because we were either friendly or fighting but we knew who our neighbors were. Today most young people know how to use an smart phone or an iPad but they don't know how to communicate with each other on a personal level.

At one time, if people needed help, there were church groups who could be asked, but many churches have shut their doors and in other cases regulations, that didn't use to exist, keep them from helping those that are in need and so, because there are government programs out there, people turned to the government for help rather then their neighbors.

We ,as a people, could have stopped all the government red tape. We could have said no to them taking over our God given responsibility to each other but we didn't and as we have become more advanced in some ways, we have failed each other and now may be forced to go back to those principals that we should never have abandoned.

God Himself laid out various laws that, if we followed them, would give us the kind of “social justice” that many would like to see, and it would be virtually painless to our society as a whole and would improve things for the poor with out government intervention.

“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field when you reap, nor shall you gather any gleaning from your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger: I am the Lord your God.” Lev. 23:22

“But the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave, the beasts of the field may eat. In like manner you shall do with your vineyard and your olive grove.” Ex. 23:11

Just imagine those two laws by themselves being used, you would end hunger in no time. One of the promises God gave was that if they let the land rest and took care of the poor they would still be eating the fat of the land even as they were planting for the next harvest. In other words, they would never lack for food.

“If you lend money to any of My people who are poor among you, you shall not be like a moneylender to him; you shall not charge him interest.” Ex. 22:25

If that was followed you could likely end homelessness because people could actually afford to get a mortgage. As most of you know it is usually the taxes and the APR that really hurt peoples chances of finding decent housing. Imagine a banking system that didn't charge interest. You could change everything over night.

“You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor.”

Lev. 19: 14-16

Our justice system has become such a farce that only the well connected seem to have any chance of winning. A fine example is Monsanto, one of the biggest corporations in the farming world, going after small farmers, who may have inadvertently picked up some of their patented seeds through wind or cross pollination. Every time it goes to court the individual farmer looses because they simply don't have the money to fight the suits. This is not justice. This is Goliath beating up on David. Just imagine though if we used the biblical principals then we could all have our day in court.

The list of laws could go on, these are but just a few of them. The point is that if we had been following these principals instead of letting the government do what we were commanded to do we wouldn't be in the mess we are in. In Israel and Judaism, as a whole, these aren't just suggestions, these are commandments. Some have said that because of these laws Israel is technically a socialist country. If it is its only because the people as a whole follow these principals and laws and from what I understand, they have a high quality of life because of it.

I am not suggesting that we should have government run socialism. I am suggesting though that we as a people can make all the difference if we were to follow those laws laid out in the Bible when it comes to helping the poor and having a fair system of justice. We could virtually end all government programs because we, as a people, wouldn't allow for others to suffer while we could help them.

I believe however that most people will think that this is impossible either because they believe the Bible is a foolish thing , not to be taken seriously, or they actually believe that the government is the only answer. Others do believe in the Bible but they ignore the laws of the OT and have come to believe that only rugged individualism is the way, so the idea of caring for each other disappears.

My simple minded solution is this: We need to take care of each other. Government safety nets are good, but they shouldn't be our only source of help and we as a society need to embrace the biblical principals that I have mentioned then we would have real social justice.

The Justice Department And Drones

So lets see if I have this straight; the Justice Department has released, after much stalling, a 16 page memo justifying the killing of American citizens overseas with drones under some ridiculous premise that it would be to hard to extract them from the place that they are at so therefore killing them is a better idea? This with almost no real evidence that they are going to do us any harm? Really? The wording in this so called “justification” is so loosely written that just about any American, who might have any kind of over seas connections could be targeted with only the slightest amount of evidence.

Has everyone lost there minds? Its bad enough that we are killing innocent civilians in Pakistan and elsewhere with drones but now we are going to justify killing Americans as well?

In case any one has forgotten we have this thing called the 5^th Amendment ( both the 4^th and 6^th apply but in this case the 5^th is better) that is supposed to protect us from this kind of thing, it reads thus:

“No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."

The key to this, and what really applies in this case, is “ nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” This is not a debate on whether or not Anwar al- Awlaki was guilty of anything, it is a debate of just how far we can allow the government to go in killing Americans with out any kind of due process.

Consider for a moment; whats to stop them from doing it right here in the United States or maybe even Canada? The government is in the process of putting a fleet of 30,000 drones into the sky right here in the good old USA so whats to stop them from doing the same here? With the NDAA declaring that the US is a battle ground and that you can be detained indefinitely, with no real evidence, what is to stop them from using the excuse that its easier to kill you rather than arrest you and bring you to trial? Think about it; you have someone living up on a mountain that needs to be arrested or brought in for some reason,legitimate or otherwise, so rather then sending police to arrest them, because it might be dangerous, they decide that it would be easier to take them out completely with a drone. If they are willing to do it in Yemen, amongst other places, they will , at some point, do it here with the same kind of “justification.”

My other thought on this though is where are all the protestors? When Bush was in office there was a steady stream of protests going on for his war policies and the Patriot act amongst other things and yet now, with Obama being Bush on steroids, there isn't a peep. Where is Code Pink? Where is the ACLU? Where are all the posters and pictures of Mr. Obama with a Hitler mustache and catchy phrases? Where are all the Liberal / Democrats? That one I can answer, your hiding because you only have guts to speak up when its not your guy in charge, when it is your guy he gets a pass on everything. Do I sound angry?I am. I protested against Bush and I sure as hell am not going to be quiet while our Constitution is destroyed piece by piece by someone just because he is a liberal democrat.

From time to time I have had to deal with people who are critical of my political views. I have supported the Tea party on occasion, until they sold out to the republicans, and I have stated that I am a Libertarian and a Constitutionalist. I have heard it said that we, those of us who think this way, are not realists and our thoughts and ideas are not practical or possible or even good for the country. Well let me ask you this then? How are these kinds of policies, apparently embraced by both major parties,beneficial to us? Indefinite detention, killing of Americans with no due process, free speech, gun rights, and freedom of religion all under attack and there is almost no one holding the governments feet to the fire. This is wrong.

I don't know what you want the history books to remember about us, but I hate to think that it is going to see us as people who were willing to let the government destroy the things that once made us great under the guise of national security,that was willing to let its own citizens be killed for the sake of convenience, never mind killing people in other countries that aren't any threat to us, rather than go though the proper process as described in the 4^th, 5^th and 6^th amendments. I don't want to be remembered as the generation that let it all go simply for comfort or convenience but that’s exactly where we are headed.

Just my Simple Minded Opinion.

America, The Not So Great.

A few days ago I watched a video clip ,that was sent to me by a friend, from you tube featuring Jeff Daniels on the HBO show "The News Room" I thought, at first any how, that it would be something that I would get really angry over until I actually stopped and really listened to what he said. For those who have not seen this clip,I have posted the link below and I should warn you that the language is a bit rough, Jeff Daniels character is basically asked ,by a college student, what makes America the greatest country in the world and while the other two people on the stage gave what I would like to call pat answers he was very blunt and definitely gave what I would say is one of the most truthful answers I have ever heard, which was simply that America is longer the greatest country in the world and he gives a very serious list of reasons why. After I got done listening to the clip I was a bit stunned because in about 3 minutes time he clearly articulated what has fallen apart in this nation and I had to agree with him that we are not the greatest country in the world any more. Please understand I love my country. I have served and defended it but while at one time we were the greatest country we have fallen along way from the top.
My only point of contention was not what he said, it is instead what he left out. We are a nation that has become divided against its self. We have career politicians that have made it their business to divide us into categories and have polarized this nation to the point of stagnation. We can't do great things because we are to busy fighting with each other. President Lincoln wisely said that a divided house cannot stand and this is exactly what we have going on here in America. We are divided by race and creed and color. We are divided by social class, religious status, sexual orientation or handicap. If their is anyway that they can split us into smaller and smaller camps then they do so and we go from being Americans to being a bunch of subcultures.This alone can explain our downfall from greatness but add this, all the division, to the rest of the mix and you have a lethal combination. No nation can stand if its people are busy fighting each other over stupid things with the politicians pushing all the buttons. Look at at what has happened over the last few elections, after dividing people, the politicians then have focused on what ever the core issue is of  each group promising them every thing. Once elected they do as they please, but in the fervor of focusing on one issue during the campaigns they successfully divide us more and nothing is accomplished. This strategy of divide and conquering and suggesting that the other guy has ill will for you and your group is classic military strategy and we, as a nation, have fallen victim to it.
Note though that the character, played by Daniels, doesn't suggest that we can't be great again, he only points out, rather bluntly , where our flaws lie, there is still hope for us.
What we need to is change our strategy. First get rid of all the divisions between us that the politicians put up. I am not suggesting that one ignores there ancestral lines or give up who they are but as long as we stay divided along those lines we will continue this down hill slide
Second we need to revamp our education system. There is no reason that we should be putting out sub par education. We should get rid of all the touchy feel good programs in our schools and get back to real education. I am not worried about little Johnnys self esteem, I am worried that when he gets out of school that he will be dumber than a rock with no hope of any kind of decent future. I was no brainiac when I graduated but I at least knew enough to read and write legibly. I member receiving letters ,while I was in Iraq, from high-school students who didn't know how to spell even the simplest words. This has got to change if we are ever going to get back on top. We need to get refocused on sciences and math, the things we used to excel in. We need to teach our children real history so that they don't repeat it. We need to bring back the arts, music, painting and dance. We need to invest in more trades schools and apprenticeship programs giving opportunity to those who aren't interested in college. The short end of this is that we have the capability to change things for the better, to bring us back up to a level that we once were at but we the people need to commit to it and see it done before another generation goes by. Yes, lets embrace our cultural differences, and celebrate the diversity in this nation, but let us do so united rather than divided.
That is just my  Simple Minded opinion. The link is below.



 www.youtube.com/watch?v=JM3nvATF-U8