So everything changes, as of today, right? I am actually writing this on Tuesday night and I haven't a clue who has won the majority and honestly, it doesn't matter to me. Why? Because nothing is really changing. Yes, we have all voted (yes I did vote), we have all done our civic duty. We have listened to all the talking heads do all their pontificating and have watched all the powers that be spend all their time blaming the other guy for all the problems. So what has changed as of today? Nothing! That's right, nothing.
We have possibly exchanged a bunch of Donkeys for a bunch of Elephants but it changes nothing. Politics of blame and doing nothing will continue unabated and no one will really tackle the serious problems that are facing this country. They are all a bunch of cowards and want nothing more than to be left alone in their careers as politicians. If some of them would stand up for what they claim to believe and act accordingly, I would have hope, but alas, they are politicians and will sell their own mothers if it will benefit them or their party. They don't care about us, just their party's power and their own political influence. Unless of course you are in the banking industry, or the automotive, or Wall Street.....
There was a time when the people we elected actually represented their home districts and states. But now, it seems to have shifted from them representing us, to them representing Washington to us, we have given up our power to them and they have sucked us dry. So, tomorrow nothing changes.
Our involvement in foreign wars will not end tomorrow. Not because they couldn't and not because we have any real reasons to be there, but because war is big business and the powers that be tend to profit from that. We are still in Iraq, still in Afghanistan and now we are deeply involved in Pakistan! Got to love that change. But you know what? Come tomorrow, nothing will change, because the same people, Donkeys and Elephants, will still be there.
Our massive debt won't be gone tomorrow either. Again, the same people are still running the show and in fact, are looking for more ways to spend our money. Oh, I know the Elephants have said that they are going to repeal everything under the sun, but do you really think that they will? And if they do, they will just come up with their own versions of spending your great grand children's money. Nothing has changed.
We are taxed and regulated to death. I saw an article yesterday that stated that we have so many laws that the average American breaks at least a few of them every day . Our legislators pass laws and bills that are thousands of pages long and they haven't even read them. We have laws in place that essentially kill small business owners because of the expenses involved and yet huge places such as Wal-Mart are hardly phased at all because, for them, the cost is minimal . Giant agribusinesses are putting small farmers out of business and all with the governments help. They claim that all the regulations are for the good of the people and their safety. Yet, the very huge agribusinesses are the ones who are breaking these laws and getting away with it, meanwhile the small farms are being put out of business because of the expense of trying to implement all these regulations.This will not change tomorrow either.
Our freedoms and rights to privacy have been attacked by both beasts and they are not showing any sign of letting up soon. Go to an airport and refuse to go through the body scanner and see just how much freedom you have. Go through a police check point and refuse to give your ID (I am speaking just random check points which are Gestapo like ) or even have the nerve to ask what you are being stopped for. Try doing something as simple as getting a library card and you have to produce multiple forms of ID just to prove who you are. Then you have to sign papers explaining that the government can monitor what you read . Explain to me why the government needs to know what books you are reading. Let us not even get started on the internet and wire tapping. Did I mention all the security cameras? Can we say big brother? Worse yet, go to war, and be put on a Terrorist list because someone in a militia, which is constitutionally legal, might contact you. Own a perfectly legal gun or join the wrong political activist group and your kids could be taken from you, and yes, this has happened. These are but a few examples, and you know what? Tomorrow nothing changes.
Certainly those that are in power, mostly of the Donkeys, have let their opinion be known as to how they view the average American, by ridiculing their concerns, ignoring them or calling them racists. Some have openly stated that they don't care about the constitution or they have tried to interpret it in some way other then what was intended. I have little doubt that, should the Elephants prevail, nothing will change except it will be them holding everyone in contempt. I am really not trying to be cynical, but these critters make it easy to be so. I know that some of you have voted for your party for years and have very heartfelt positions. I applaud you. I really do. But you need to understand that all of your leaders are making fools out of you, yes that's both Donkeys and Elephants, they are telling you what you want to hear and then they are flipping you off after they are elected. This has gone on for a long time, through many elections and still, we keep acting like the idiots that they believe us to be, by voting them all back into office, somehow expecting different results. Nothing is going to change, nothing has changed.
You want real change? Lets talk about 2012 then......
Maybe not. Think I'll wait until the day after tomorrow to start that one......
Ignacio
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Friday, October 8, 2010
Politics and Fear
I am a news junky. There. I have admitted it.I have been told that admitting you have a problem is the first step in healing. So there you have it I am a news junkie. Somedays I can't get enough of it. I will turn on my computer and start scouring the various news sources that I have and check out various links to other sources so that by the time the morning is over I am either confused as to what is actually going on or I am about to wet myself with all the bad news.
In fact I would say that the whole purpose of the news is to scare you to a certain degree. It sells a lot better then trying to make you think that things are full of Roses and sunshine.
Think about it, when was the last time that you picked up a paper or turned on you internet and saw headlines that were good? All wars have ended! Everyone is gainfully employed! The market is surging and we are all becoming wealthy! Disease has been eradicated!Famine is gone from the third world....I think you get the point.
We don't see that kind of news because it's not really based on reality. Sometimes someone will put a feel good piece about someone or a group of people doing some incredible thing but mostly the news has one purpose; That is to make you fear. If they can make you afraid they can manipulate your actions.They thrive on it.
Consider last fall and winter, we had a big flu pandemic! Hundreds of thousands were threatened with death. It was raging around the world and if you didn't get the shot, you were putting yourself at great risk. Turned out to be a lot less dangerous then even the regular flu, yet everyone jumped all over it and rushed out to get shots. Fear and it made you move.
The housing market has fallen apart and people are panicking, every time you hear about housing it's all bad. I know that it's a tough market I have had my house up for sale for awhile now, but the point is , is that they put fear into you to make you act.
Worse yet is our Liberties under attack. The media as well as our government has taken advantage of the situation of "terror attacks" and has hit us with all sorts of things that would invade our privacy.They have used fear to justify everything from seeing your naked body at the airport to tapping your phone or internet. The list of the things they are doing would take too long to write about, but the point here again is that fear was used as the motivator to get people to do what they wanted.
Now we have come upon election time and all people involved, particularly the two main parties, are using the very fears that they have instilled in you to make you even more afraid. It's hypocrisy at it's finest because they are both guilty of causing the problems that we have today.
They have made us afraid. Even as I write this, if I criticize the government for it's role in the current batch of insane ideas that they have, if I name names, I could find myself being the guest of the government in some undisclosed location for as long as they feel I need to be. Worse yet I could be shot and killed, and no reason has to be given.Is this the American dream? Is this the freedom of speech, or is it intimidation and fear?
Some of you reading this will say to me, "where is your proof of these things?"My response to you is "hello, news junkie!"
None of this is new. It's just easier to do today because of all the mass media that is available out there.
So just consider,as the election draws near, that the media and all those currently in office are the ones responsible for the fear and the mess. It's your call what you do with that knowledge. You can put the same batch of people back in office or you can do the really brave thing and get some new faces in there, people who are young enough and smart enough to actually think and believe that this country could once again become a beacon of hope and light to the world rather then a place of fear.
The power is in your hands, vote wisely.
In fact I would say that the whole purpose of the news is to scare you to a certain degree. It sells a lot better then trying to make you think that things are full of Roses and sunshine.
Think about it, when was the last time that you picked up a paper or turned on you internet and saw headlines that were good? All wars have ended! Everyone is gainfully employed! The market is surging and we are all becoming wealthy! Disease has been eradicated!Famine is gone from the third world....I think you get the point.
We don't see that kind of news because it's not really based on reality. Sometimes someone will put a feel good piece about someone or a group of people doing some incredible thing but mostly the news has one purpose; That is to make you fear. If they can make you afraid they can manipulate your actions.They thrive on it.
Consider last fall and winter, we had a big flu pandemic! Hundreds of thousands were threatened with death. It was raging around the world and if you didn't get the shot, you were putting yourself at great risk. Turned out to be a lot less dangerous then even the regular flu, yet everyone jumped all over it and rushed out to get shots. Fear and it made you move.
The housing market has fallen apart and people are panicking, every time you hear about housing it's all bad. I know that it's a tough market I have had my house up for sale for awhile now, but the point is , is that they put fear into you to make you act.
Worse yet is our Liberties under attack. The media as well as our government has taken advantage of the situation of "terror attacks" and has hit us with all sorts of things that would invade our privacy.They have used fear to justify everything from seeing your naked body at the airport to tapping your phone or internet. The list of the things they are doing would take too long to write about, but the point here again is that fear was used as the motivator to get people to do what they wanted.
Now we have come upon election time and all people involved, particularly the two main parties, are using the very fears that they have instilled in you to make you even more afraid. It's hypocrisy at it's finest because they are both guilty of causing the problems that we have today.
They have made us afraid. Even as I write this, if I criticize the government for it's role in the current batch of insane ideas that they have, if I name names, I could find myself being the guest of the government in some undisclosed location for as long as they feel I need to be. Worse yet I could be shot and killed, and no reason has to be given.Is this the American dream? Is this the freedom of speech, or is it intimidation and fear?
Some of you reading this will say to me, "where is your proof of these things?"My response to you is "hello, news junkie!"
None of this is new. It's just easier to do today because of all the mass media that is available out there.
So just consider,as the election draws near, that the media and all those currently in office are the ones responsible for the fear and the mess. It's your call what you do with that knowledge. You can put the same batch of people back in office or you can do the really brave thing and get some new faces in there, people who are young enough and smart enough to actually think and believe that this country could once again become a beacon of hope and light to the world rather then a place of fear.
The power is in your hands, vote wisely.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
The Forgotten Casualties
Earlier this evening a good friend of mine posted a video of military personnel returning home to their families for surprise visits or coming home after their tour and I have to say that it moved me to tears and to remembering my own experience coming home from the Iraq war in 2003. We came in around 3am on a rainy morning and I will never forget the sight of my wife and my children running towards me or the sounds of my then 5 year old son yelling "daddy" at the top of his lungs and practically mowing me over as he ran up to hug me, I was hurt and I was tired but nothing could ever compare to the joy and the happiness that I felt at that time to come home to my family. My wife wasn't concerned with the injuries or with the illness that came with it, she was simply glad to have me home and I was glad to be home.
It was that night that I had my first nightmare. I won't go into gory detail about it except to say it was so real that when I awoke from the dream I had no idea where I was or how my wife had got there. I wasn't home, I was still in Iraq in my mind. I had gone from physical casualty to mental. The nightmares have eased up over time and the physical isn't so obvious anymore but still I and my family became casualties.
This video clip has reminded me of how much Afghanistan and Iraq have been in the news lately as our president decides that it's time to end things in Iraq and yet continue on in Afghanistan. It leads me to this question; have we forgotten the casualties of war?
American press ,as well as the BBC and others have made quite a big deal of the civilian casualties in both wars. They are quick to politicizes our conflicts and work very hard at painting a bad picture of our military. Every time there is a civilian injured or killed it is all over the news. Some in the press, as well as politicians, have tried to suggest that some of this has been done on purpose, painting those of us who have fought as if we relished the idea of killing simply for the sake of it, as if we purposely targeted civilians.
I am not here to defend our governments policies, I think that it is high time we called it quits and brought everyone home. Let the world sort through it's own messes, they don't want our help and I think we would be better off spending the war money on home projects and improving our economy, but I AM here to defend the troops that are quickly forgotten and their families.
As I said earlier, we focus a lot on the civilian casualties and we forget our own casualties here at home. In some ways it is understandable because unlike WW2 not everyone in this country is involved in this war,so for those who don't have a personal stake in any of it , it is easier to be critical and forget the real human cost for those that go to our wars and come home. I have heard many a speech from various politicians praising our troops over seas and the job that they are doing and yet I hear almost nothing about those of us who have come home, and those of us for whom this war has ended and yet we live with the consequences of it.
I grew up during the Vietnam war and I remember watching the news with my grandparents and I have never forgotten how those men and women were treated when they came home.Sadly we haven't learned a damn thing. If there is a photo op to be had, the so called "leaders" of our land will be there to show their support but after the cameras and the press are gone it is the veteran and his or her family that is left to pick up the pieces. I will be the first to say that these wars are wrong and should have never been fought, I will also admit that I think it's all about big business and to a certain degree empire building. Having said that though, I simply want people to remember that the average vet has done nothing more then serve their country, doing what they thought was right at the time to do. I can tell you for a fact that when the bullets are flying, you don't give a rats backside as to the politics involved. Your mind is on staying alive and keeping your buddies alive, politics and the politicians can go to hell because it has nothing to do with them when the proverbial doo-doo hits the fan.
Most of your young vets have various reasons for joining. Some have nothing else better to do, some are looking for money for college, some are simply hoping to learn a trade that can be used in the civilian world. Others like myself had a family to support. All of us were average people who simply were doing what we thought was the right thing to do,politics and big corporations never even crossed our collective minds.
I am all about freedom of speech and the press.If you are against the war or for it, have at it, speak your mind but remember the human cost. Remember that there are people out there who are now civilians that went to war for their country and did what they were asked to do. Remember that most of them have families and that those families suffer along with them as they try to go back to something of a normal life.
I am not asking you to ignore injustice. I am not asking you to ignore the truth and to do everything in your power to bring about an end to the wars. I am simply asking you to think about what you do or say and then remember that there are real people and families living in your communities that are casualties of this war and they need your support. Seek them out.Help them. Those that have sent them to war are ignoring them, and it would seem that most of America has forgotten.
End these wars, change the way the government conducts foreign affairs, but don't forget the Veterans who have fought these wars, many of them will be your best allies in preventing it from happening again.
It was that night that I had my first nightmare. I won't go into gory detail about it except to say it was so real that when I awoke from the dream I had no idea where I was or how my wife had got there. I wasn't home, I was still in Iraq in my mind. I had gone from physical casualty to mental. The nightmares have eased up over time and the physical isn't so obvious anymore but still I and my family became casualties.
This video clip has reminded me of how much Afghanistan and Iraq have been in the news lately as our president decides that it's time to end things in Iraq and yet continue on in Afghanistan. It leads me to this question; have we forgotten the casualties of war?
American press ,as well as the BBC and others have made quite a big deal of the civilian casualties in both wars. They are quick to politicizes our conflicts and work very hard at painting a bad picture of our military. Every time there is a civilian injured or killed it is all over the news. Some in the press, as well as politicians, have tried to suggest that some of this has been done on purpose, painting those of us who have fought as if we relished the idea of killing simply for the sake of it, as if we purposely targeted civilians.
I am not here to defend our governments policies, I think that it is high time we called it quits and brought everyone home. Let the world sort through it's own messes, they don't want our help and I think we would be better off spending the war money on home projects and improving our economy, but I AM here to defend the troops that are quickly forgotten and their families.
As I said earlier, we focus a lot on the civilian casualties and we forget our own casualties here at home. In some ways it is understandable because unlike WW2 not everyone in this country is involved in this war,so for those who don't have a personal stake in any of it , it is easier to be critical and forget the real human cost for those that go to our wars and come home. I have heard many a speech from various politicians praising our troops over seas and the job that they are doing and yet I hear almost nothing about those of us who have come home, and those of us for whom this war has ended and yet we live with the consequences of it.
I grew up during the Vietnam war and I remember watching the news with my grandparents and I have never forgotten how those men and women were treated when they came home.Sadly we haven't learned a damn thing. If there is a photo op to be had, the so called "leaders" of our land will be there to show their support but after the cameras and the press are gone it is the veteran and his or her family that is left to pick up the pieces. I will be the first to say that these wars are wrong and should have never been fought, I will also admit that I think it's all about big business and to a certain degree empire building. Having said that though, I simply want people to remember that the average vet has done nothing more then serve their country, doing what they thought was right at the time to do. I can tell you for a fact that when the bullets are flying, you don't give a rats backside as to the politics involved. Your mind is on staying alive and keeping your buddies alive, politics and the politicians can go to hell because it has nothing to do with them when the proverbial doo-doo hits the fan.
Most of your young vets have various reasons for joining. Some have nothing else better to do, some are looking for money for college, some are simply hoping to learn a trade that can be used in the civilian world. Others like myself had a family to support. All of us were average people who simply were doing what we thought was the right thing to do,politics and big corporations never even crossed our collective minds.
I am all about freedom of speech and the press.If you are against the war or for it, have at it, speak your mind but remember the human cost. Remember that there are people out there who are now civilians that went to war for their country and did what they were asked to do. Remember that most of them have families and that those families suffer along with them as they try to go back to something of a normal life.
I am not asking you to ignore injustice. I am not asking you to ignore the truth and to do everything in your power to bring about an end to the wars. I am simply asking you to think about what you do or say and then remember that there are real people and families living in your communities that are casualties of this war and they need your support. Seek them out.Help them. Those that have sent them to war are ignoring them, and it would seem that most of America has forgotten.
End these wars, change the way the government conducts foreign affairs, but don't forget the Veterans who have fought these wars, many of them will be your best allies in preventing it from happening again.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Americans Spying on Americans
Americans spying on Americans. Who would have thought that would really happen here in the good old US of A ? I know I would never have believed it could happen here but alas that is exactly what IS happening here.
Many articles have been written, and are all over the Internet, on how various civilian,working for the government, and government agencies, are spying on what you are doing, all for our supposed security. Everywhere you go their are security cameras watching your every move, not to mention satellite capabilities. Every thing you do now is being monitored somewhere and with all the new powers that the Federal government has it will only get worse.
How many of you have seen the commercials out there encouraging young people to spy on their neighbors? How about Firemen? People you wouldn't think about, such as a cable man or you local minister is being used by the government for their agenda.
If you don't believe the minister part, I won't be able to persuade you except to say that I was once a pastor and we were supposed to tell you, in the event of a national or local crisis, to obey the government because you are told to in the scriptures.
Google it it's there.
I remember when I was a kid we used to hear about Nazi Germany and how the SS and Gestapo had spies everywhere and if you lived in one of their occupied countries they were going to be watching you.They were looking for Jews or anyone who was sympathetic to them, they even had Hitler youth, young people, boys and girls alike, that would spy on everyone including their parents, all for the glory of the fatherland and Hitler. Millions died because the German people allowed it to happen.
The former Soviet Union, China, North Korea, the list of nations that have used the people against each other is incredible and all of it has ended with the deaths of millions. Are we next?
Today I read another article that talks about government agencies using hackers to gather information on people and pass it on the the various " three letter agencies". We are talking volunteers, not people who are paid to do it, but people who are willingly selling out the privacy of friends and neighbors to the government.
What have we become or worse yet what are we becoming?
Where are all the protests? Where is the MSM? Shouldn't they be justifiably outraged at all this. Where Are all those that protested so loudly when Bush wanted the Patriot act? Why the silence all of a sudden? Am I to assume that most Americans are OK with this?
I remember going to my local library sometime after the Patriot act had taken effect and they had a petition going to try and get rid of the government knowing what books you were taking out, it was privacy, it was the government prying in on our personal lives. There were people out in front of Federal buildings protesting all aspects of the Patriot act but now it is strangely quiet.
Is it because it's a different president and congress it's now OK ? I don't get it.
Perhaps Americans general attitude on the subject can best be summed up this way; " If your not doing anything wrong, you have nothing to hide?"
I wonder how many people had thought that over the years just before the SS came and arrested them or the communists sent them to labor camps in Siberia. I wonder how many of them were turned in by people they thought were their friends but in reality were spying for their government.
Even as you are reading this, there are people out there right now that are investigating you because your reading this. I have used key words that they look for and I am already on at least one list as a potential terrorist because I am a war vet. Nervous yet? You should be.
Someone posted a comment one time that said " when you are on the Internet you have no right to privacy". Really ? Why is that? Does your right to privacy only extend to your front door? Perhaps that came from someone who has never read the constitution.
The 4Th Amendment says this;
Amendment 4 - Search and Seizure. Ratified 12/15/1791.
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.
So does that mean that you have no rights beyond your home? What about papers and effects? Seems to me that the things you write and the things that are stored on your hard drive would be the modern equivalent. Certainly if you post something on the Internet such as I am doing you can't expect a whole lot of privacy, but the people that are being employed for this are hackers , which means they know how to get into your personal accounts and files on your hard drive as well.Where is the probable cause AND the warrant that would allow them to do this? I haven't seen one have you?
Did we the people give these "volunteers" the right to do this? Is our government above the law and the constitution now?
We need to wake up America. Some of this is our own fault because we stupidly put personal information out for everyone to see on our social networking sights. It is also partially our fault because we bury our heads in the sand and pretend that these things are not happening, but it is completely our fault for electing people over the last 30 years who have done nothing but slowly take away our rights and freedoms and then re electing them. We are worse then complacent and docile , we are a stupid people who just don't seem to get that fact that our Republic is being destroyed right in front of us.
Take to heart the words of Thomas Jefferson;
"Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny."
Thomas Jefferson
Sound familiar to anyone? Do you see the very pattern that he mentioned? It's the slow ,quiet things that they are doing under the radar that should concern you.
Americans Spying on Americans, who would have thought it.....
Ignacio
Many articles have been written, and are all over the Internet, on how various civilian,working for the government, and government agencies, are spying on what you are doing, all for our supposed security. Everywhere you go their are security cameras watching your every move, not to mention satellite capabilities. Every thing you do now is being monitored somewhere and with all the new powers that the Federal government has it will only get worse.
How many of you have seen the commercials out there encouraging young people to spy on their neighbors? How about Firemen? People you wouldn't think about, such as a cable man or you local minister is being used by the government for their agenda.
If you don't believe the minister part, I won't be able to persuade you except to say that I was once a pastor and we were supposed to tell you, in the event of a national or local crisis, to obey the government because you are told to in the scriptures.
Google it it's there.
I remember when I was a kid we used to hear about Nazi Germany and how the SS and Gestapo had spies everywhere and if you lived in one of their occupied countries they were going to be watching you.They were looking for Jews or anyone who was sympathetic to them, they even had Hitler youth, young people, boys and girls alike, that would spy on everyone including their parents, all for the glory of the fatherland and Hitler. Millions died because the German people allowed it to happen.
The former Soviet Union, China, North Korea, the list of nations that have used the people against each other is incredible and all of it has ended with the deaths of millions. Are we next?
Today I read another article that talks about government agencies using hackers to gather information on people and pass it on the the various " three letter agencies". We are talking volunteers, not people who are paid to do it, but people who are willingly selling out the privacy of friends and neighbors to the government.
What have we become or worse yet what are we becoming?
Where are all the protests? Where is the MSM? Shouldn't they be justifiably outraged at all this. Where Are all those that protested so loudly when Bush wanted the Patriot act? Why the silence all of a sudden? Am I to assume that most Americans are OK with this?
I remember going to my local library sometime after the Patriot act had taken effect and they had a petition going to try and get rid of the government knowing what books you were taking out, it was privacy, it was the government prying in on our personal lives. There were people out in front of Federal buildings protesting all aspects of the Patriot act but now it is strangely quiet.
Is it because it's a different president and congress it's now OK ? I don't get it.
Perhaps Americans general attitude on the subject can best be summed up this way; " If your not doing anything wrong, you have nothing to hide?"
I wonder how many people had thought that over the years just before the SS came and arrested them or the communists sent them to labor camps in Siberia. I wonder how many of them were turned in by people they thought were their friends but in reality were spying for their government.
Even as you are reading this, there are people out there right now that are investigating you because your reading this. I have used key words that they look for and I am already on at least one list as a potential terrorist because I am a war vet. Nervous yet? You should be.
Someone posted a comment one time that said " when you are on the Internet you have no right to privacy". Really ? Why is that? Does your right to privacy only extend to your front door? Perhaps that came from someone who has never read the constitution.
The 4Th Amendment says this;
Amendment 4 - Search and Seizure. Ratified 12/15/1791.
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.
So does that mean that you have no rights beyond your home? What about papers and effects? Seems to me that the things you write and the things that are stored on your hard drive would be the modern equivalent. Certainly if you post something on the Internet such as I am doing you can't expect a whole lot of privacy, but the people that are being employed for this are hackers , which means they know how to get into your personal accounts and files on your hard drive as well.Where is the probable cause AND the warrant that would allow them to do this? I haven't seen one have you?
Did we the people give these "volunteers" the right to do this? Is our government above the law and the constitution now?
We need to wake up America. Some of this is our own fault because we stupidly put personal information out for everyone to see on our social networking sights. It is also partially our fault because we bury our heads in the sand and pretend that these things are not happening, but it is completely our fault for electing people over the last 30 years who have done nothing but slowly take away our rights and freedoms and then re electing them. We are worse then complacent and docile , we are a stupid people who just don't seem to get that fact that our Republic is being destroyed right in front of us.
Take to heart the words of Thomas Jefferson;
"Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny."
Thomas Jefferson
Sound familiar to anyone? Do you see the very pattern that he mentioned? It's the slow ,quiet things that they are doing under the radar that should concern you.
Americans Spying on Americans, who would have thought it.....
Ignacio
Sunday, July 18, 2010
John Adams And Me.
In the past I have written some about the founders of this nation and all that they went through to bring about the birth of this nation. I have spoken of their courage and their sacrifice and their audacity at staring down the worlds most powerful empire, at the time, but something that seems to get forgotten about all these men is that many of them had doubts and great fear as well.
Friday I watched the first two parts of the mini series on the life of John Adams. I am most thankful to PBS for their honest approach to it, in that they didn't try to glorify it in any sort of Hollywood way, they just told the story as was written by the people involved.
What caught at least a part of my attention was the doubts and fear that some of these men had. We tend to forget that they were as human as the rest of us and that they feared not only for themselves but their families. Everything that they knew was at stake and many of the delegates to the Continental congress were very reluctant to declare independence.
John Adams as it turns out, is a man that I can relate to. He was what I would call a reluctant warrior.
He was a man who was deeply in love with his wife Abigail and was wise enough to listen to her council, he loved his children and was a man of God. He was a lawyer who believed deeply in the rule of law and thought that the only way to prove to England that they were worthy of respect was to uphold those laws. He was the only one in Boston who came to the defense of of the British soldiers who fired on a crowd in what became known as the "Boston massacre" and for that he earned the respect of the King of England but also the respect of Sam Adams, his cousin, who was the leader of the Sons of Liberty.
When He was approached by a delegation that included Sam Adams and Thomas Paine about being one of the delegates from Mass. to the Continental congress, he initially refused but as he watched the British impose more and more restrictions he started to give it serious thought but it wasn't until the crown abolished the court systems that he finally joined the delegation. Later he would go on to help Thomas Jefferson write the declaration of independence and was one of the first men to call this nation a republic.
He was home just outside of Boston when the battles of Lexington and Concord were fought and he was witness to the bravery of many a farmer and tradesmen who were not soldiers ,by any definition, as they took on the British and chased them all the way back to Boston. His wife and children witnessed the battle of Breeds Hill ,later called Bunker Hill, and witnessed the bravery of these same men against the British army and their Cannons. As one man was reported to have said, "they didn't beat us, we ran out of ammunition".
From that time on John Adams became a fiery supporter of the war and of independence.
Here is the point though, when the vote was over and independence was declared, it was quiet.These men understood what they had just done and they were sobered by what was to come. Their fear of the future had not gone away, but they resolved to see it through no matter the cost.
These men, along with George Washington, and the many men and, yes, women, who fought for our liberty knew what was at stake. The British had made that very clear to them during the siege of Boston, they were not blind to the truth of war they had seen it first hand, but they also understood that if they were going to have true liberty and independence they were going to have to sacrifice everything including their very lives if needed.
As I said earlier I can relate to John Adams,but I also can relate to those men who stood on that hill fighting off the British. None of them really wanted to be there, but it was their duty and they stood up to the task.
We are faced with a battle that has actually been raging for many years now, for the very liberties that our forefathers fought so hard for. Some have said; What freedoms have been taken away from you? This is my answer; Any law that restricts my freedom to choose the way that I live my life is an attack on my liberty. Any law that forces me to do something against my will is a law against my liberty. Any law that invades my privacy in any way is an attack on my liberty. Any law that attacks our freedom of speech, in any way is an attack on my liberty.Any law that is passed under the guise of " for the good of the people" that in any way affects my my constitutionally protected rights is a law against my liberty. Any law that goes against our God given rights to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness is an attack on my liberties and quite frankly, you should see it as an attack on yours.
Take a good hard look at what this country is becoming and then ask yourself is this what our forefathers envisioned? I doubt it.
We have been involved in constant war for the past 20 years or so. I have been a part of that war, I once supported the war. I am not for it any more. We have become a nation bent on turning it's self into a socialist country with a massive empire and we are destroying ourselves. Our forefathers envisioned a representative republic, where they served their constituents with a limited federal government and with much greater power to the states. We are now doing just the opposite. The federal government is interfering in states rights and is trying to centralize their power.
We seem to be busy empire building and yet our forefathers didn't want anything to do with foreign disputes and wars. They argued rather heatedly at times as to whether or not they should ask France for help against the British and only reluctantly asked for the help.
We can be detained and held prisoner for no other reason then we might be a threat or that we might do something in the future. Even as I have the nerve to write this there are those out there who might read this and think that I am a threat. I have all ready been labeled a potential terrorist because I am a war vet who deals with PTSD, so whats to stop them from coming after me? Am I being paranoid? Maybe but I read the news and go to a variety of sources and I can see what happening.
Am I suggesting a civil war? No. I am against war. But if "we the people" do not make a stand, if we refuse to stop the madness and continue to allow it through our silence, if we continue to put into office those who have forgotten that they work for you and me, then we deserve what ever fate comes our way.
One of the delegates from Pennsylvania was a Quaker by the name of Charles Humphreys. It is said that because of his Quaker beliefs that he wouldn't vote for the declaration of Independence, because of the possibility and likely hood that it would escalate the war and as such he couldn't advocate for trading one tyrant through bloodshed, whom he still believed could be reasoned with, with a group of what could be turned in to tyrants.
Perhaps he was more right then he knew. Perhaps what he was having was a vision of the future where he could see that the people would become complacent about who was in charge and what they were doing and in the end we would be right back to where we started.
I understand John Adams and his reluctance to get involved. But I am involved.You need to be involved, even if you disagree with me you have no excuse not to be involved.
I am speaking my mind against what I think is becoming a tyrannical government that only has it's own interest at heart or should I say special interest.
I don't give a rip as to who is president or what party they belong to. All they do is reword the same policies and pass the crown back and forth. They are consolidating their power in Washington as they have been for the last 20 years but they are now doing it openly and flipping us the bird in the process. For the record if you think that because I don't care for Obama and his policies, that this somehow makes me a racist, please feel free to call me that, though you will have to suppose that I hate everyone because I opposed Bush's policies as well, once my vision cleared anyhow.
Our elected representatives have shown a great contempt for our constitution and our bill of rights, they are going to force upon us things that our forefathers never intended and in the end , if we don't change it, our republic will be gone.
If this is your hope for the future so be it, but it sure isn't mine.
Friday I watched the first two parts of the mini series on the life of John Adams. I am most thankful to PBS for their honest approach to it, in that they didn't try to glorify it in any sort of Hollywood way, they just told the story as was written by the people involved.
What caught at least a part of my attention was the doubts and fear that some of these men had. We tend to forget that they were as human as the rest of us and that they feared not only for themselves but their families. Everything that they knew was at stake and many of the delegates to the Continental congress were very reluctant to declare independence.
John Adams as it turns out, is a man that I can relate to. He was what I would call a reluctant warrior.
He was a man who was deeply in love with his wife Abigail and was wise enough to listen to her council, he loved his children and was a man of God. He was a lawyer who believed deeply in the rule of law and thought that the only way to prove to England that they were worthy of respect was to uphold those laws. He was the only one in Boston who came to the defense of of the British soldiers who fired on a crowd in what became known as the "Boston massacre" and for that he earned the respect of the King of England but also the respect of Sam Adams, his cousin, who was the leader of the Sons of Liberty.
When He was approached by a delegation that included Sam Adams and Thomas Paine about being one of the delegates from Mass. to the Continental congress, he initially refused but as he watched the British impose more and more restrictions he started to give it serious thought but it wasn't until the crown abolished the court systems that he finally joined the delegation. Later he would go on to help Thomas Jefferson write the declaration of independence and was one of the first men to call this nation a republic.
He was home just outside of Boston when the battles of Lexington and Concord were fought and he was witness to the bravery of many a farmer and tradesmen who were not soldiers ,by any definition, as they took on the British and chased them all the way back to Boston. His wife and children witnessed the battle of Breeds Hill ,later called Bunker Hill, and witnessed the bravery of these same men against the British army and their Cannons. As one man was reported to have said, "they didn't beat us, we ran out of ammunition".
From that time on John Adams became a fiery supporter of the war and of independence.
Here is the point though, when the vote was over and independence was declared, it was quiet.These men understood what they had just done and they were sobered by what was to come. Their fear of the future had not gone away, but they resolved to see it through no matter the cost.
These men, along with George Washington, and the many men and, yes, women, who fought for our liberty knew what was at stake. The British had made that very clear to them during the siege of Boston, they were not blind to the truth of war they had seen it first hand, but they also understood that if they were going to have true liberty and independence they were going to have to sacrifice everything including their very lives if needed.
As I said earlier I can relate to John Adams,but I also can relate to those men who stood on that hill fighting off the British. None of them really wanted to be there, but it was their duty and they stood up to the task.
We are faced with a battle that has actually been raging for many years now, for the very liberties that our forefathers fought so hard for. Some have said; What freedoms have been taken away from you? This is my answer; Any law that restricts my freedom to choose the way that I live my life is an attack on my liberty. Any law that forces me to do something against my will is a law against my liberty. Any law that invades my privacy in any way is an attack on my liberty. Any law that attacks our freedom of speech, in any way is an attack on my liberty.Any law that is passed under the guise of " for the good of the people" that in any way affects my my constitutionally protected rights is a law against my liberty. Any law that goes against our God given rights to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness is an attack on my liberties and quite frankly, you should see it as an attack on yours.
Take a good hard look at what this country is becoming and then ask yourself is this what our forefathers envisioned? I doubt it.
We have been involved in constant war for the past 20 years or so. I have been a part of that war, I once supported the war. I am not for it any more. We have become a nation bent on turning it's self into a socialist country with a massive empire and we are destroying ourselves. Our forefathers envisioned a representative republic, where they served their constituents with a limited federal government and with much greater power to the states. We are now doing just the opposite. The federal government is interfering in states rights and is trying to centralize their power.
We seem to be busy empire building and yet our forefathers didn't want anything to do with foreign disputes and wars. They argued rather heatedly at times as to whether or not they should ask France for help against the British and only reluctantly asked for the help.
We can be detained and held prisoner for no other reason then we might be a threat or that we might do something in the future. Even as I have the nerve to write this there are those out there who might read this and think that I am a threat. I have all ready been labeled a potential terrorist because I am a war vet who deals with PTSD, so whats to stop them from coming after me? Am I being paranoid? Maybe but I read the news and go to a variety of sources and I can see what happening.
Am I suggesting a civil war? No. I am against war. But if "we the people" do not make a stand, if we refuse to stop the madness and continue to allow it through our silence, if we continue to put into office those who have forgotten that they work for you and me, then we deserve what ever fate comes our way.
One of the delegates from Pennsylvania was a Quaker by the name of Charles Humphreys. It is said that because of his Quaker beliefs that he wouldn't vote for the declaration of Independence, because of the possibility and likely hood that it would escalate the war and as such he couldn't advocate for trading one tyrant through bloodshed, whom he still believed could be reasoned with, with a group of what could be turned in to tyrants.
Perhaps he was more right then he knew. Perhaps what he was having was a vision of the future where he could see that the people would become complacent about who was in charge and what they were doing and in the end we would be right back to where we started.
I understand John Adams and his reluctance to get involved. But I am involved.You need to be involved, even if you disagree with me you have no excuse not to be involved.
I am speaking my mind against what I think is becoming a tyrannical government that only has it's own interest at heart or should I say special interest.
I don't give a rip as to who is president or what party they belong to. All they do is reword the same policies and pass the crown back and forth. They are consolidating their power in Washington as they have been for the last 20 years but they are now doing it openly and flipping us the bird in the process. For the record if you think that because I don't care for Obama and his policies, that this somehow makes me a racist, please feel free to call me that, though you will have to suppose that I hate everyone because I opposed Bush's policies as well, once my vision cleared anyhow.
Our elected representatives have shown a great contempt for our constitution and our bill of rights, they are going to force upon us things that our forefathers never intended and in the end , if we don't change it, our republic will be gone.
If this is your hope for the future so be it, but it sure isn't mine.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Greed , Power,and Stupidity
Anyone who knows me at all, knows that I am rather a bit of a news junkie. I focus a lot of my reading towards politics and all that it involves. I read multiple news sources from various places and sources. So I would say considering all things, that while I am not as smart as some folks are, I think I can sum up our current economic and political messes in three words; Greed , Power,and stupidity.
Greed seems to be everywhere.Everything from the car you drive to your home is costing you a small fortune,I am not against making a profit but by the time you are done paying for these items you have actually payed upwards of 2 1/2 times what you had originally borrowed and ,at least as far as the car goes, it's worth almost nothing.
Wall street investors got greedy with your money as well. I don't make claims that I understand how all this works, but the way it has been explained to me, is that they made very risky investments, knowing full well that the whole thing could collapse on top of them but apparently they didn't care because the potential to make big bucks was just to tempting.It didn't work and they crashed taking a lot of other peoples money with them.
You ever wonder why they are so slow in even attempting to fix the mess in the gulf?
Greed. There is a lot of money to be made by moving slow and letting this disaster linger on. No matter who wins this mess, whether it's the oil companies or the president pushing his green agenda, you and I will lose. We will either have higher fuel prices or we will be forced into costly green technology for our cars and homes. Neither option, at least in my household, is affordable.
But it's more then just greed it's about power as well.
Look at what has happened since the time,just before the TARP bill came into play.
Our Federal government has taken over everything from the auto industry to insurance and is poised to take over the financial markets as well. It's supposed to be for our protection and good.We have been told that these industries and institutions are to big to fail and so for the good of all, the government needs to control them. Where is that written in the constitution? You know, the freedom from failure? and the right to have the Fed. bail you out? If you find it let me know.
To me it is little more then an excuse for the government to gain control of the economy. Don't believe it? Let me use my own examples and see if that gets your attention.
My car payment used to go to Wachovia. They went belly up and was taken over by Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo is now owned by the Fed.
My car it's self is made by GM. The Fed owns them as well.
My mortgage came from the VA through 1st Arkansas then sold to Bank of America which is also owned by the fed.
My paycheck comes from the VA, Fed again, along with over 50% ( I think the actual number is something like 52%) of the American people, whether they work for the government or just get benefits such as VA or Social Security etc.
The government owns and controls a massive amount of our economy and they are trying to get more. Read the news, regulations equal more control which equals higher costs to you and me. This isn't brain surgery, it's right out in the open.
This of course leads us to stupidity. Who's? Ours.
We have spent many years now ignoring or disbelieving the simple fact that the government is stripping away our freedoms and constitutional rights all in the name of security. They claim that they are protecting us from terrorists by allowing them to tap our phones,looking at our naked bodies at airports, or giving them access to our library records. For the good of the people,we allow all aspects of our privacy to be invaded and our Constitutional rights either disregarded or completely dismissed.
We have allowed our government to take over private companies and financial institutions, all on our dime, when they should have been allowed to fail.
We have bought into their lies, over and over again, that somehow all this is good for us and the nation. Worse yet, we continue to elect people who do the same things over and over. These life long politicians laugh us to scorn when we threaten them because they know that there are not enough of us paying attention to vote them out.
So there is my rather simple analysis of the whole mess we are in. Simple but no less true. If you want real change then remember in November.
Ignacio
Greed seems to be everywhere.Everything from the car you drive to your home is costing you a small fortune,I am not against making a profit but by the time you are done paying for these items you have actually payed upwards of 2 1/2 times what you had originally borrowed and ,at least as far as the car goes, it's worth almost nothing.
Wall street investors got greedy with your money as well. I don't make claims that I understand how all this works, but the way it has been explained to me, is that they made very risky investments, knowing full well that the whole thing could collapse on top of them but apparently they didn't care because the potential to make big bucks was just to tempting.It didn't work and they crashed taking a lot of other peoples money with them.
You ever wonder why they are so slow in even attempting to fix the mess in the gulf?
Greed. There is a lot of money to be made by moving slow and letting this disaster linger on. No matter who wins this mess, whether it's the oil companies or the president pushing his green agenda, you and I will lose. We will either have higher fuel prices or we will be forced into costly green technology for our cars and homes. Neither option, at least in my household, is affordable.
But it's more then just greed it's about power as well.
Look at what has happened since the time,just before the TARP bill came into play.
Our Federal government has taken over everything from the auto industry to insurance and is poised to take over the financial markets as well. It's supposed to be for our protection and good.We have been told that these industries and institutions are to big to fail and so for the good of all, the government needs to control them. Where is that written in the constitution? You know, the freedom from failure? and the right to have the Fed. bail you out? If you find it let me know.
To me it is little more then an excuse for the government to gain control of the economy. Don't believe it? Let me use my own examples and see if that gets your attention.
My car payment used to go to Wachovia. They went belly up and was taken over by Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo is now owned by the Fed.
My car it's self is made by GM. The Fed owns them as well.
My mortgage came from the VA through 1st Arkansas then sold to Bank of America which is also owned by the fed.
My paycheck comes from the VA, Fed again, along with over 50% ( I think the actual number is something like 52%) of the American people, whether they work for the government or just get benefits such as VA or Social Security etc.
The government owns and controls a massive amount of our economy and they are trying to get more. Read the news, regulations equal more control which equals higher costs to you and me. This isn't brain surgery, it's right out in the open.
This of course leads us to stupidity. Who's? Ours.
We have spent many years now ignoring or disbelieving the simple fact that the government is stripping away our freedoms and constitutional rights all in the name of security. They claim that they are protecting us from terrorists by allowing them to tap our phones,looking at our naked bodies at airports, or giving them access to our library records. For the good of the people,we allow all aspects of our privacy to be invaded and our Constitutional rights either disregarded or completely dismissed.
We have allowed our government to take over private companies and financial institutions, all on our dime, when they should have been allowed to fail.
We have bought into their lies, over and over again, that somehow all this is good for us and the nation. Worse yet, we continue to elect people who do the same things over and over. These life long politicians laugh us to scorn when we threaten them because they know that there are not enough of us paying attention to vote them out.
So there is my rather simple analysis of the whole mess we are in. Simple but no less true. If you want real change then remember in November.
Ignacio
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Independence Day
So once again we have reached the 4Th of July Holiday and just like many of you I have some wonderful plans that involve BBQ, drink and great company. I suspect that we will have everything from heartburn to sunburn but still a good time to be had by all.
So here is my thought or should I say question to you; What does the Independence day really mean to you? I am not asking that to accuse anyone of being stupid, I actually knew someone who thought that the 4Th was nothing more then a day that people got together and just had a good time. She had no clue that there was some real significance in this day. So how about it, what does it mean to you? Does it mean anything at all to you?
I believe that to most Americans , Independence day doesn't mean what it once did. How can it? We are no longer a nation of people who think and act for themselves. We are or ,I should say have become, a nation of dependent people who ,instead of enjoying their G-D given rights of freedom and liberty,have become dependent on the government for everything. We expect the government to fix all our problems and when they don't we whine and whimper, rather then doing for ourselves as our ancestors would have done.
Have you ever considered just what the founding fathers risked by signing the Declaration of Independence? They risked everything, including their lives, just to bring about this very freedom that we have casually tossed aside. They stood up to the strongest empire on the earth ,at that time ,and defeated them. Very few of those men had ever been soldiers, most were farmers or trappers or various tradesmen. They were bankers and lawyers and politicians as well. They came from all walks of life and included blacks and women, and all came because of a simple dream, freedom from tyranny and oppression. All risked their lives and their fortunes on a simple dream; Liberty and Freedom.
This country that was born from that Declaration has had it's problems and we haven't done everything perfectly, but until recently we have tried,as a people, to make right those things that we have gotten wrong, without sacrificing our G-d given rights, to life , liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Now that has all changed. We have given up our freedom and liberty for "security".
We have gone from a "we the people" to "they the government".
We have traded in our representative Republic for a poor excuse of so called democracy.
We demand that the government take control of everything thus giving them the powers of a tyrant. Instead of firing them, which is the Constitutional thing to do, we embrace them.
We have removed G-D from everything and yet the founders depended on G-D and I might add only G-D. They knew that this nation would not last long if the very foundations of this Republic, the Judeo-Christian laws and principals, were destroyed, and they were right. We have taken G-D out of the class rooms and the downplayed His importance in the lives of our founders and we are now morally bankrupt and we have accepted the very tyranny that our founders fought and died to get away from.
There is a lot more then I could say, but my guess is that most people will be busy eating their burgers and waiting for the fireworks to start, to pay any attention to what I am saying. I am old fashioned and out of touch with so called reality, but here is my small word of reality for you; We gave up our "Independence" a long time ago.
So in reality we are not celebrating our independence, instead we are "celebrating" that warm fuzzy feeling we get knowing that the benevolent government will be there to fix all our problems for another year.
Cynical? Perhaps, but if I am show me where I am wrong....good luck.
Ignacio
So here is my thought or should I say question to you; What does the Independence day really mean to you? I am not asking that to accuse anyone of being stupid, I actually knew someone who thought that the 4Th was nothing more then a day that people got together and just had a good time. She had no clue that there was some real significance in this day. So how about it, what does it mean to you? Does it mean anything at all to you?
I believe that to most Americans , Independence day doesn't mean what it once did. How can it? We are no longer a nation of people who think and act for themselves. We are or ,I should say have become, a nation of dependent people who ,instead of enjoying their G-D given rights of freedom and liberty,have become dependent on the government for everything. We expect the government to fix all our problems and when they don't we whine and whimper, rather then doing for ourselves as our ancestors would have done.
Have you ever considered just what the founding fathers risked by signing the Declaration of Independence? They risked everything, including their lives, just to bring about this very freedom that we have casually tossed aside. They stood up to the strongest empire on the earth ,at that time ,and defeated them. Very few of those men had ever been soldiers, most were farmers or trappers or various tradesmen. They were bankers and lawyers and politicians as well. They came from all walks of life and included blacks and women, and all came because of a simple dream, freedom from tyranny and oppression. All risked their lives and their fortunes on a simple dream; Liberty and Freedom.
This country that was born from that Declaration has had it's problems and we haven't done everything perfectly, but until recently we have tried,as a people, to make right those things that we have gotten wrong, without sacrificing our G-d given rights, to life , liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Now that has all changed. We have given up our freedom and liberty for "security".
We have gone from a "we the people" to "they the government".
We have traded in our representative Republic for a poor excuse of so called democracy.
We demand that the government take control of everything thus giving them the powers of a tyrant. Instead of firing them, which is the Constitutional thing to do, we embrace them.
We have removed G-D from everything and yet the founders depended on G-D and I might add only G-D. They knew that this nation would not last long if the very foundations of this Republic, the Judeo-Christian laws and principals, were destroyed, and they were right. We have taken G-D out of the class rooms and the downplayed His importance in the lives of our founders and we are now morally bankrupt and we have accepted the very tyranny that our founders fought and died to get away from.
There is a lot more then I could say, but my guess is that most people will be busy eating their burgers and waiting for the fireworks to start, to pay any attention to what I am saying. I am old fashioned and out of touch with so called reality, but here is my small word of reality for you; We gave up our "Independence" a long time ago.
So in reality we are not celebrating our independence, instead we are "celebrating" that warm fuzzy feeling we get knowing that the benevolent government will be there to fix all our problems for another year.
Cynical? Perhaps, but if I am show me where I am wrong....good luck.
Ignacio
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