The following is a blog post that I drafted and posted on my blog web site in March of 2009 due to the concerns that I had back then about President Obama and his administration just three months after his inauguration into office and I felt the need to share it with you today, just days after his one year anniversary as our President and hours before his first “State of The Union Address” simply as a “gut-check” because in this one year I have discovered that some or most of my concerns outlined back then have in fact been confirmed as being valid due to the frightening direction that I see this President and his Administration taking our country, with the help of the Main Stream Media, as evidenced and/or substantiated by the results of the recent Senate election in Massachusetts, two digit unemployment figures, ongoing home foreclosures, homeland and national security issues and numerous other concerns that I have shared with you on this blog web site -You Decide:
Question: Can America survive Obamanomics and remain a capitalist society (free market) or will it be covertly converted into a global socialist society in the name of fixing everything that ails us?
Let’s refresh our memory on what we mean by a “capitalist” versus a “socialist” society:
What is a capitalist society?
Capitalism: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAPITALISM
These are pertinent excerpts from the Wikipedia:
“Capitalism is an economic system in which wealth, and the means of producing wealth, are privately owned and controlled rather than commonly, publicly, or state-owned and controlled.
Through capitalism, the land, labor, and capital are owned, operated, and traded by private individuals either singly or jointly, and investments, distribution, income, production, pricing and supply of goods, commodities and services are determined by voluntary private decision in a market economy.
A distinguishing feature of capitalism is that each person owns his or her own labor and therefore is allowed to sell the use of it to employers.
In a “capitalist state”, private rights and property relations are protected by the rule of law of a limited regulatory framework.
In the modern capitalist state, legislative action is confined to defining and enforcing the basic rules of the market, though the state may provide some public goods and infrastructure.
Some consider laissez-faire to be “pure capitalism.”
Laissez-faire (French, “leave to do (by itself)”), signifies minimizing or eliminating state interference in economic affairs and the competitive process, allowing the free play of supply and demand. Laissez-faire capitalism has never existed in practice.
Because all large economies today have a mixture of private and public ownership and control, some feel that the term “mixed economies” more precisely describes most contemporary economies.
In the “capitalist mixed economy”, the state intervenes in market activity and provides many services.
During the last century capitalism has often been contrasted with centrally planned economies.
The central axiom of Capitalism is that the best allocation of resources is achieved through consumers having free choice, and producers responding accordingly to meet collective consumer demand. This contrasts with planned economies in which the state directs what shall be produced. A consequence is the belief that privatization of previously state-provided services will tend to achieve a more efficient delivery thereof. Further implications are usually in favor of free trade, and abolition of subsidies.
Although individuals and groups must act rationally in any society for their own good, the consequences of both rational and irrational actions are said to be more readily apparent in a capitalist society.
Capitalistic economic practices have incrementally become institutionalized in England between the 16th and 19th centuries, although some features of capitalist organization existed in the ancient world, and early aspects of merchant capitalism[18] flourished during the Late Middle Ages.
Capitalism has been dominant in the Western world since the end of feudalism. From Britain, it gradually spread throughout Europe, across political and cultural frontiers. In the 19th and 20th centuries, capitalism provided the main, but not exclusive, means of industrialization throughout much of the world.”
What is a socialist society?
Socialism: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism
These are pertinent excerpts relating to this topic from Wikipedia:
“Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating public or state ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods, and a society characterized by equality for all individuals, with a fair or egalitarian method of compensation. Modern socialism originated in the late 19th-century intellectual and working class political movement that criticized the effects of industrialization and private ownership on society. Karl Marx posited that socialism would be achieved via class struggle and a proletarian revolution, and would represent a transitional stage between the capitalist and communist modes of production.
The first socialists were termed utopian socialists by later socialist thinkers, and include Robert Owen, who tried to found socialist factories and other structures within a capitalist society and Henri de Saint Simon, the first individual to coin to term “socialism” and the originator of technocracy and industrial planning. The first socialists predicted a world improved by harnessing technology and combining it with better social organization, and many contemporary socialists share this belief.
Early socialist thinkers tended to favor more authentic meritocracy, while many modern socialists have a more egalitarian approach. There is disagreement over the extent that National Socialism is socialist; although Adolf Hitler’s party program included socialist elements, the Nazis did not nationalize industry, but instead created a highly regulated economy with state-led economic planning.
Socialists mainly share the belief that capitalism unfairly concentrates power and wealth among a small segment of society that controls capital, creates an unequal society, and does not provide equal opportunities for everyone in society. Therefore socialists advocate the creation of a society in which wealth and power are distributed more evenly based on the amount of work expended in production, although there is considerable disagreement among socialists over how, and to what extent this could be achieved.
Socialism is not a concrete philosophy of fixed doctrine and program; its branches advocate a degree of social interventionism and economic rationalization, sometimes opposing each other. Another dividing feature of the socialist movement is the split between reformists and the revolutionaries on how a socialist economy should be established.
Some socialists advocate complete nationalization of the means of production, distribution, and exchange; others advocate state control of capital within the framework of a market economy.
Socialists inspired by the Soviet model of economic development have advocated the creation of centrally planned economies directed by a state that owns all the means of production.
Others, including Yugoslavian, Hungarian, Polish and Chinese Communists in the 1970s and 1980s, instituted various forms of market socialism, combining co-operative and state ownership models with the free market exchange and free price system (but not prices for the means of production).
Social democrats propose selective nationalization of key national industries in mixed economies and tax-funded welfare programs and the regulation of markets.
Libertarian socialism (including social anarchism and libertarian Marxism) rejects state control and ownership of the economy altogether and advocates direct collective ownership of the means of production via co-operative workers’ councils and workplace democracy.”
Note: These eye-opening articles, blog posts, books, videos and/or audios give us an alarming picture of where we seem to be headed in America today under this President and his Administration -You Decide:
Can America Survive Obamanomics?-Posted On CincinnatusBlog.Com:
http://www.cincinnatusblog.com/obamanomics/
These are pertinent excerpts from this blog post:
“During the Bush years, the national outlays rose from $1.9 trillion in 2001 to $3.0 trillion in 2008, and the country went from enjoying a surplus of $128 million in 2001 to suffering a deficit of $459 million in 2008. We called Bush irresponsible. Perhaps the fiscal 2009 deficit of $1.75 billion should be viewed as an anomaly since it’s the direct result of the $700 billion Bush TARP plan and the $800 billion Obama Stimulus Plan, both implemented to ameliorate the effects of the financial crisis and recession. But how do we justify an average deficit of $700 billion annually from 2010 to 2019, which according to the Obama budget, will be boom times? GDP will be likely rise to an eye-popping $23 trillion in 2019… Continue reading
We Need Healthcare Reform Not Just A New Way To Pay For It:
The United States spends more, per capita on healthcare than any other country in the world. We spent $7,421 per capita as compared to about $3,500 in countries with universal national healthcare systems such as France and Germany. We don’t receive better care in the US than the French or Germans; we just pay a lot more for it. In fact, according to the latest data, we spent $2.2 trillion in 2007 on healthcare, or 16.2% of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Even more worrisome is that expenditures continue to rise at an alarming rate of 6% annually. Here’s a radical idea why don’t we fix the current system before the administration throws another $634 billion federal dollars into this sinkhole. We appear to be primarily focused on… Continue reading
Universal Health Care – Who Will Minister to the Patients?
The only thing missing from current Health Care Reform proposals is a plan to actually provide, health care. Insurance schemes both public and private, electronic medical records and legal reforms may make health care more affordable and administratively efficient but they don’t answer the real question; will Americans actually receive better health care, or in many cases any health care at all? What should be obvious, seems lost in the political rhetoric, we don’t have the physicians, nurses and other health care professionals to actually provide quality universal health care despite the fact that we spend more, per capita on health care than any other country in the world. In the U.S. we spend approximately $6,000 per capita as compared to about $3,500 countries with universal national health care…Continue reading
Will the Chinese Save Us From Ourselves?
In an ironic twist of fate, it may be the fiscally responsible communist Chinese who save capitalist America from its budgetary excesses. They may well have to teach the wayward youngster a lesson in fiscal responsibility by refusing to fund continuing trillion-dollar deficits. Tough love from the Chinese may be the only prescription that rescues America from impending financial doom. The new administration is behaving like a kid in a candy store and it will take a bitter pill from the Chinese to bring them to their senses. Federal outlays will soar in fiscal 2009 to $4 trillion, or 27.4% of our $14 trillion GDP, up from $3 trillion or 21% of GDP in 2008, and 20% in 2007. If we take the administration’s rosy recovery scenario at face… Continue reading
“Taxing The Wealthy” Leads to Greater Economic Distortions:
After reading that one percent of the households in New York City, roughly 40,000 people, pay 50% of the income taxes in this city of more than 8 million inhabitants, it made be begin to wonder where we were headed as a nation. This astonishing figure brings home the practical consequences of relying on taxes from a small group of high-earners to fund city, state and national budgets. In the case of New York City, the Mayor can only hope that this small group does not become weary of their burden and move to Connecticut or West Palm Beach. If even only a small percentage does, the financial impact on New York in a recession would be devastating. If that problem isn’t enough New York City and State will…Continue reading
9 Million Lottery Winners In The Mortgage Restructuring Plan:
The 50 million American families who work hard and pay their mortgage promptly each month may view this current $275 billion mortgage-refinancing scheme as inherently unfair. Your chances of winning this lottery are greatly enhanced, if you made no down payment, you bought more houses than you could afford and defaulted on your payments. If you foolishly worked hard and paid all your bills on time your chance of winning is practically zero. In 2008 there were approximately 2.5 million foreclosures out of the 55 million mortgages outstanding, a rate of about 4.5% or 25% of the 10 millions homes that are “underwater” – i.e. the house is worth less than the outstanding mortgage. It is reasonable to assume that the ability to make monthly payments is the… Continue reading
The Stimulus Plan – A Wing and A Prayer:
Ideology to the left of us, ideology to the right of us—boldly they rode into the jaws of the unknown, into the mouth of financial hell—rode the five hundred and thirty five. Theirs is not to reason why; theirs is but vote and whine… For the political class who see the current recession as harbinger of depression, embracing an incomprehensible stimulus plan provides the irrational exuberance of hope. Better to have relied on reason than a potpourri of repackaged old and tired ideas. To argue with either side is a waste of time, as each will abandon reason at the first challenge. As John Locke succinctly put it: “Every sect, as far as reason will help them, gladly use it; when it fails them, they cry out it… Continue reading
Jobs – Let’s Patent Them:
As the world’s most inventive country we have the unique opportunity to patent our way out of the current recession and thrive in the 21st century global economy. What should we export to create high paying permanent jobs and redress our balance of payments? Ideas. It’s what we do better than any other country. One country, the United States, accounts for more than one-third of international patent applications. It’s time to leverage what we do best, innovate, and create the jobs we need for today, tomorrow, and decades to come. In hard economic times we should be looking ever more closely at our export markets and ask ourselves the basic question: What innovative products can we sell to the nearly 500 million inhabitants of the European Union, the… Continue reading
Geothermal – Google It!
Heat from the Earth, or geothermal – Geo (Earth) + thermal (heat) – energy can be readily accessed by drilling water or steam wells in a process similar to drilling for oil. Domestic geothermal energy is an enormous, and underused heat and power resource that emits little or no greenhouse gases. Mile-or-more-deep wells can be drilled into underground reservoirs to tap steam and very hot water that can be brought to the surface for use in a variety of applications. In the US most geothermal reservoirs are located in the western states, Alaska, and Hawaii. About 8,000 megawatts of electricity are currently produced globally including about 3,000 megawatts of capacity in the United States. The US Department of Energy believes that an additional 15,000 megawatts of geothermal electricity… Continue reading
Coal – Can We Clear the Air?
Coal, which is by far the dirtiest fossil fuel, generates half of the electricity in the United States and 82% of the carbon dioxide emissions created by power production. Since it is abundant and cheap, it is likely to continue to play a major role in electricity generation for the foreseeable future. In the rhetoric of its champions, The United States is the Saudi Arabia of coal. Despite the introduction of wind, solar and other clean technologies, the Department of Energy in its Annual Energy Outlook 2008 projects a small, 0.03% annual increase, in coal utilization through 2015. Surprisingly, maybe shockingly, they expect that growth rate to accelerate to 1% from 2015 to 2030 unless there are restrictions on carbon dioxide emissions or new clean technology… Continue reading
Hydroelectric – The Forgotten Giant Of Clean Energy:
Hydroelectricity is the most widely used form of clean renewable energy in the world, generating over 19% of the world’s electricity. It requires no fuel and produces no direct emissions or by-products. The United Nations estimates that the technically exploitable potential for hydropower is 15 trillion kilowatt-hours per year, amounting to half of the total projected global electricity needed in 2030. In the United States, hydropower has fallen to 10% of the electricity supply mix down from14%, 20 years ago. In terms of electricity production, hydropower accounts for only 7% of America’s current power needs.
The Unlimited Power Of The Sun:
There are two basic types of solar electricity plants: Solar thermal, also called Concentrating Solar Power (CSP), and Photovoltaic. CSP generates high-temperature heat through the use of various mirror configurations, which is then used to make electricity utilizing traditional heat-conversion technology. Photovoltaic solar power in contrast, converts sunlight directly into electricity. Concentrating Solar Power Solar thermal electricity is an attractive renewable energy option in the southwestern United States and other Sunbelt regions. Concentrating Solar Power (CPS) systems can be sized at a capacity for village power (10 kilowatts), or a number of smaller systems can be connected to a larger grid. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, solar thermal electric systems operating in the U.S. today using parabolic trough design meet the needs of over 350,000… Continue reading
Wind Power – A Clean Supportive Source:
Wind is actually a form of solar energy. The uneven heating of the atmosphere by the sun combined with the irregularities of the earth’s surface and the rotation of the planet creates wind. The terrain, bodies of water and vegetation modify wind flow patterns, making a small percentage of the earth surface suitable for wind power development. In spite of the fact that only 6% of the contiguous United States land mass can be considered “good wind areas” the Department of Energy estimates that this area could conceivably produce 150% of our current electricity needs. Wind is also the only low-priced renewable energy technology; the projected cost is between $.04 and $.06 per kilowatt-hour making it competitive with natural gas and coal-fired power plants. Physicists tell us that energy can neither…. Continue reading
Clean Energy – The Key to a Vibrant Economy:
Today, we can only sustain a small proportion of earth’s population at a sophisticated economic level without dramatically increasing carbon dioxide production. Energy use is the direct correlate of a vibrant economy – in the United States for example, we consume 24% of the world’s oil and are responsible for approximately 28% of global GDP. This is no accident. The power that propelled hundreds of millions of people in Europe, Japan and North America to economic prosperity must be shared with the billions in the emerging world. Understandably, these large emerging nations are unwilling to wait for the ultimate clean energy innovation to power the world of the future. They want a seat at the prosperity table and they want it now. It would be the height of arrogance for….Continue reading
Nuclear Power – The Clean Engine in Plug-In Cars:
Coal-fired plants produce approximately 50% of the electricity in the United States and 82% of power-generated carbon dioxide emissions. If electric vehicles are charged exclusively by coal-fired electricity they produce more greenhouse gases than a traditional gasoline-powered combustion engine car. In the future, electricity must be generated cleanly if we expect automotive electric-drive technologies to reduce our carbon dioxide burden. Clean energy alternatives like Wind and solar power will probably make a significant contribution to clean energy generation, but realistically, we cannot count on these two sources for more than 20-30% of our electricity needs in the next 20 years. Even reaching these modest goals will require a major investment in energy infrastructure and fundamental advances in technology. In light of these realities, it… Continue reading
Natural Gas – The All-American Clean Fuel:
The key to producing less carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels is to use the fuel with the lowest carbon to hydrogen ratio. Coal is the least desirable because there are roughly 2 carbons for each hydrogen; oil is cleaner because it has the inverse ratio of approximately one carbon for 2 hydrogen molecules; and best of all is methane (CH4), with 4 hydrogen molecules for each carbon molecule. Although natural gas is primarily methane, it does contain, some longer chain hydrocarbons such as ethane, propane, butane, pentane etc. that make it slightly less desirable than pure methane. Thus, the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions when natural gas is substituted for gasoline in an automobile is about 25-30%. Fossil Fuel Emission Levels - Pounds per Billion… Continue reading
Ethanol – Never Have So Many…Paid So Much…To So Few…For So Little:
Malthus believed we would be unable to feed ourselves as our numbers expanded. He postulated that short-term gains in living standards would inevitably be undermined as population growth outstripped food production. Malthus of course, has been proven wrong as technology permitted us to grow more food from existing farmland. Yet, despite all we have accomplished in improving our agricultural efficiency and reducing population growth, billions are still malnourished. Given this reality, is the mass production of ethanol from corn a sound policy? Are we so blinded by evangelical climate soothsayers that we believe we can burn a significant portion of our basic food stock, corn, to power our cars and not increase global hunger? If ethanol is so important to our future why not import sugar cane from the poor…Continue reading
Peak Oil – Fact or Fiction?
In the popular press one often reads the mantra – We have reached “peak oil” – implying that we have reached the limits of our geological reserves. That is probably not the case, what we have reached however, is geopolitical “peak oil” because inefficient national companies have pushed out private companies with the know-how to exploit existing reserves. In the 70’s Western Oil companies controlled well over 50% of world oil production. Today, “BIG OIL”, the combination of Exxon, BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Total and Italy’s Eni produce just 13% and that will probably decline over the next two decades. Today’s ten largest holders of petroleum reserves are state-owned companies, like Russia’s Gaspron, Iran’s national oil company, Saudi Aramco and Petroleos de Venezuela. (With the possible….Continue reading
Global Gas Guzzlers And The Need For OIL:
Transportation, specifically the automobile, will be the pivotal sector driving increased demand for oil and its substitutes over the next two decades. The developing world notably China and India, aspire to the freedom the automobile brings. Things we take for granted, such as the ability to escape the crowded city whenever we wish, to live in a green suburb and commute to work or just live a greater distance from our employment will now be come increasingly available to people in the developing world. Per capita car ownership in China will increase to 40 cars per 1,000 citizens by 2010 from its current 24 and that is only the beginning of a steep secular trend. By contrast the United States has 765 vehicles per 1,000 and most Western European countries….Continue reading”
Note: This thought provoking article shares with us ten suggestive rules that our President could put into practice to make our country better instead of doing what he is doing, which will ultimately convert our country into a socialist society-You Decide:
Ten Rules for the Future: An Obama Suggestive-Posted on Global Politician-By Leslie J. Sacks-On January 8, 2009:
http://www.globalpolitician.com/25374-barack-obama-economics-politics
These are the ten rules from this article:
“1. Cap tax-deductible CEO remuneration at a maximum of 30 times the salary of that public company’s lowest paid worker. There above, salaries will not be tax deductible as an operating expense for an employer. In addition, no bonuses (in cash or shares) for top management of a public company will be tax deductible if the company suffered losses by the end of the relevant year.
2. Limit the amount of airtime (on both public television and radio) eligible for advertiser tax deductions, to about 90 percent of the current level. Any advertising time above this level will not be tax deductible, reducing the cost-effectiveness of additional advertisements and helping to stem our country’s advertising epidemic.
By way of both suggestions 1 and 2, companies can allocate resources exactly as they wish. However, the government will cease to incentives obviously counterproductive decisions.
3. Tax all raw materials, particularly oil and other energy products, according to a formula that factors in all of their indirect costs, including recycling, pollution and security impacts. The tax on oil, for example, will take into account global warming, other pollution, the use of the American military to provide a protective shield in the Middle East, and so on. Use the revenues from these taxes to tackle the country’s most urgent needs: reducing alternative energy costs, improving and extending incentive-based education, and reducing our national deficit.
4. Re-define the tax code: tax all workers at a flat 8 percent, bumping the rate to 18 percent and 28 percent for earnings over $80,000 and over $250,000, respectively (including capital gains). Create a standardized national sales tax of 8.8%. Abolish the inheritance tax, loopholes and all. This simplified tax code will save taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars by removing unnecessary accounting, audit, and tax collection fees, as well as reducing the costs of maintaining a large tax bureaucracy. In addition, it will ensure that all Americans, irrespective of income, contribute to the country and have a stake in its well-being.
5. Eliminate pork-and this is not a halal or kosher issue. Ban all unrelated and irrelevant earmarks in any budget vote. Establish Congressional sub-committees to vote on minor expenditures individually, ensuring that every line item is voted on and not advanced circumstantially by inclusion in larger, otherwise unrelated bills.
6. Implement a ‘Bare Bones’ universal healthcare program, fully covering only workers’ compensation and emergency healthcare, and including sensible co-pays for all other services. Allow private insurance plans to cover these additional and premium services as well. This “Bare Bones’ program (to be named in a more euphemistic manner) must be freely transferable from job to job and from state to state.
7. Require all penitentiaries to have two “tracks” for inmates: ‘bones only’ and ‘full service.’ All inmates are guaranteed only the minimum, ‘bones only’ services, rights, and opportunities-a basic, “one star” jail experience.
If inmates want better food, recreation, education and facilities they must work in some manner to earn those rights and help re-pay the penal system for these additional luxuries. No better way exists for rehabilitation than this kind of incentive-based, pay-as-you-go system. As an added bonus, local manufacturers will be allowed to set up cost-effective, low-wage satellite factories in (or attached to) low security prisons.
8. Implement tort reform-finally. Allow judges and juries to charge a plaintiff (i.e., the initiator of a legal action) with all costs when they deem the action to be frivolous or based on avarice. Include a ‘three strikes’ approach to lawyers’ pursuit of frivolous lawsuits, after which one’s license to practice law is put on ice for a significant period.
9. Require naturalized citizens to pledge an unequivocal, demonstrable and written commitment to integrate into our broad society, accept the primacy of our laws and our Bill of Rights and Constitution, and agree to learn a minimum functioning quotient of the English language. Similarly, define more pragmatically the invitation to citizenship for individuals born in the USA to two non-citizen parents, and as well as those with familial relationships, to reduce abuse.
10. Include in the definition of “tolerance” the preventing of a vociferous minority from imposing its will on the majority; do not define our universal religion as political correctness and appeasing multiculturalism. Respect those “antediluvian” citizens who prefer to remain patriotic, religious, strong, independent, conservative, heterosexual and/or free.
Note: This article shares with us four integrity tests for President Obama, which I believe hit the nail on the head, as evidenced by his background and actions to this date-You Decide:
Four Integrity Tests for President Obama-Posted on Global Politician-By Joel S. Hirschhorn-On March 10, 2009:
http://www.globalpolitician.com/25509-barack-obama
These are pertinent excerpts from this article:
“A great smile does not make a truth teller. A talker of change does not define a reformer. Make no mistake, for the good of the nation I want President Obama to succeed in getting us out of the scandalous economic meltdown we are immersed in. But I do not like many of his actions, policies and strategies for accomplishing this, nor does the stock market?
I always had my doubts that he was a true agent of change and reformer when it came to the structure of the political and government system. He took an awful lot of money from the very rich and powerful in his campaign. Sure, with his superb speaking skills he has the capacity to win public approval, but most Americans are not deep, critical thinkers, nor do most have the best detailed information. What if he is just another untrustworthy politician? What if he does not keep his promises? With these questions in mind, I have examined four areas where I find President Obama’s behavior disappointing.
Most distressing is that he put people in power that failed to prevent the economic disaster, notably the Treasury Secretary. As someone with significant experience in government, I was appalled that President Obama has selected so many experienced people for his cabinet and high-level White House positions who previously had powerful positions in government or the financial sector but failed to prevent the economic meltdown that is still worsening. Or even sound loud alarms about what was profoundly wrong with economic system.
Why not look hard for people that had been criticizing various aspects of the mortgage and financial areas? People from the academic world, watchdog groups and public interest organizations that might have worked previously in government could bring more creativity to the problems. For someone who made a big campaign deal of being against politics as usual, Obama has shown precious little evidence that he wants true outsiders to steer his administration.
His chief of staff Rahm Emanuel is the epitome of a protector of the status quo political system. Rather than selecting many big name Democrats and a few Republicans, why not seek out independents, whistle blowers and reformers to fix the economic meltdown?
Accepting a huge spending bill loaded with pork earmarks it starkly contradictory to what Obama promised during the campaign. During the campaign this is what candidate Obama said: “We need earmark reform. And when I’m president, I will go line by line to make sure we’re not spending money unwisely.” He has talked repeatedly about fiscal responsibility and real change in politics. Talk is cheap. This spending bill is not. Not with over 9,000 earmarks totaling some $12 billion.
It is sheer nonsense for him and his supporters to say shamelessly that the spending bill is something left over from the Bush administration. Well, so is the Iraq war, but Obama certainly was ready to make changes with it.
Why not have the integrity and courage to veto this spending bill and send it back to Congress with the mandate to cut out the pork? Why should we believe promises to wait until he cuts earmarks from future spending bills when clearly Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, are not willing to give up earmarks. And why won’t they? Simple, they create earmarks as part of the legal corruption that allows campaign contributors to get the earmarks they want.
Consider this example. Representative Anthony Weiner, Democrat, New York, received more than $160,000 in campaign contributions from for the Sephardic Addiction and Family Education (SAFE) Foundation in Brooklyn , New York , which has an earmark from him for $238,000.
He was also sole sponsor on a $300,000 earmark for Brooklyn ‘s Ohel Children’s Home and Family Services, whose board members and employees have also given him money; its director has personally given $6,240. And the bill includes 14 earmarks requested by lawmakers for projects sought by PMA Group, a lobbying company used by all sorts of entities to get earmarks, which is at the center of a federal corruption investigation….”
Note: This article shares with us an eye-opening view of President Obama’s psychological makeup and how it affects his overall mindset when making critical decisions in the process of governing our country -You Decide:
Do You Recognize Barack Obama in These Texts?-Posted on Global Politician-By Sam Vaknin, Ph.D.-On March 2, 2009:
http://www.globalpolitician.com/25489-obama-narcissist-psychopath-usa-president
These are pertinent excerpts from this article:
“This is the first in a series of articles examining Obama’s psychological makeup in minute detail.
By now, the world had two years of exposure to Barack Obama. We all have followed his exploits and antics; have watched him on television; have heard his speeches; have witnessed his scripted and spontaneous interactions with family, subordinates, co-workers, and friends.
You should read this text with a few grains of salt. Scroll to the bottom to review the disclaimers.
I also recommend that you get acquainted with my previous article:
Barack Obama: A Narcissist, or Merely Narcissistic?
http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com/obama.html
Following are descriptions of narcissistic and psychopathic traits. They are common among people diagnosed with the Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) (http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com/npdglance.html) and the Antisocial Personality Disorder (psychopaths).
Read these texts:
Do you recognize Barack Obama in them?
- Narcissists are self-sufficient and consider themselves peerless. The Narcissist’s “friends”, companions, and acolytes provide the narcissist with an obsequious, unthreatening, audience and with the kind of unconditional and unthinking obedience that confirms to him his omnipotence. They are sufficiently vacuous to make the narcissist look sharp and omniscient – but not so asinine as to be instantly discernible as such. They are the perfect backdrops, never likely to attain centre stage and overshadow their master.
Rings a bell? Continue to read about this specific trait or behavior here:
The Narcissist and His Friends:
http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com/journal85.html
- In the narcissist’s surrealistic world, even language is pathologized. It mutates into a weapon of self-defense, a verbal fortification, and a medium without a message, replacing words with duplicitous and ambiguous vocables. Narcissists (and, often, by contagion, their unfortunate victims) don’t talk, or communicate. They fend off. They hide and evade and avoid and disguise. In their planet of capricious and arbitrary unpredictability, of shifting semiotic and semantic dunes – they perfect the ability to say nothing in lengthy, Castro-like speeches.
Rings a bell? Continue to read about this specific trait or behavior here:
The Weapon of Language:
http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com/journal34.html
- The narcissist is the guru at the centre of a cult. Like other gurus, he demands complete obedience from his flock: his spouse, his offspring, other family members, friends, and colleagues. He feels entitled to adulation and special treatment by his followers. He punishes the wayward and the straying lambs. He enforces discipline, adherence to his teachings, and common goals. The less accomplished he is in reality – the more stringent his mastery and the more pervasive the brainwashing. ?
Rings a bell? Continue to read about this specific trait or behavior here:
The Cult of the Narcissist:
http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com/journal79.html
- The “modesty” displayed by narcissists is false. It is mostly and merely verbal. It is couched in flourishing phrases, emphasized to absurdity, repeated unnecessarily – usually to the point of causing gross inconvenience to the listener. The real aim of such behavior and its subtext are exactly the opposite of common modesty. It is intended to either aggrandize the narcissist or to protect his grandiosity from scrutiny and possible erosion. Such modest outbursts precede inflated, grandiosity-laden statements made by the narcissist and pertaining to fields of human knowledge and activity in which he is sorely lacking.
- Narcissistic leadership often poses as a rebellion against the “old ways”: against the hegemonic culture, the upper classes, the established religions, the superpowers, the corrupt order. Narcissistic movements are puerile, a reaction to narcissistic injuries inflicted upon a narcissistic (and rather psychopathic) toddler nation-state, or group, or upon the leader.
Rings a bell? Continue to read about this specific trait or behavior here:
The False Modesty and Fake Folksiness of the Narcissist:
http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com/faq36.html
Narcissistic and Psychopathic Leaders:
http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com/15.html
Note: This article gives us an insight into the Progressive voters movement of asking all American progressives to unite for Barack Obama, as they descended from the proud tradition of independent social movements that have made America a more just and democratic country. They also believed that the movement to support him continued the great tradition of grassroots participation, drawing millions of people out of apathy and that his very biography reflected the positive potential of the globalization process that also contains such grave threats to our democracy when shaped only by the narrow interests of private corporations in an unregulated global marketplace, when they should instead be globalizing the values of equality, a living wage and environmental sustainability in the new world order, not hoping their deepest concerns would be protected by trickle-down economics or charitable billionaires -You Decide:
A Call for Unity Behind Barack Obama “Progressives For Obama”-“Progressives Voters Networking for Change”-Posted On ProgressivesForObama.Net-By Tom Hayden, Bill Fletcher Jr., Danny Glover & Barbara Ehrenreich- On March 24, 2008:
http://progressivesforobama.net/our-call-initial-text/
Note: This article reveals the fact that when President Obama successfully ran for the Illinois State Senate in 1996 on the Democratic Party ticket he was endorsed by two interrelated organizations, Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and the Chicago branch of the New Party and the he was also a member of several other communist organizations -You Decide:
Obama file 22 Barack Obama, Danny K Davis and the Marxist New Party-Posted on NewZeal.Blog.Spot.Com-On August 20, 2008:
http://newzeal.blogspot.com/2008/08/obama-file-22-barack-obama-danny-k.html
Note: This is an audio of an interview by the staff of the Chicago Public Radio Station WBEZ with President Obama when he was running for the office of US Senator, which gives us an undisputable example of his radical views relating to our Constitution by stating that it is imperfect with deep flaws in colonial culture -You Decide:
Barack Obama Wearing His Professorial Hat-Posted on Odyssy-By Josh Andrews-On July 30, 2008:
http://apps.wbez.org/blog/?p=372
Note: This is a video that revealed, then Senator Obama, pledging that, if he were elected as our US President, ACORN and friends would help him shape his presidential agenda, during a Heartland Democratic Presidential Forum held in December 2007, which was held exclusively for thousands of community organizers-You Decide:
Obama Caught Saying Acorn and Friends Will Shape His Presidential Agenda-Posted On October 11, 2008:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vJcVgJhNaU&feature=PlayList&p=08775E81DA24CA66&index=36
Note: This article is another undisputable example of how our President is eroding our Constitution, which he views as being flawed -You Decide:
Obama Faction Again Shows Contempt for the Constitution “Loyal to Liberty”-Posted On AIPNews.Com-By Alan Keyes-On February 25, 2009:
http://www.aipnews.com/talk/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=2690&posts=1
Note: This is an audio of an interview with the Tenth Amendment Center’s Michael Boldin that recently appeared on the OneRadioNetwork to talk about the 10th Amendment – its real meaning and the founder’s intentions, the growing State Sovereignty movement, the Tenth Amendment Center, and the need for limited government, which is a growing concern under this administration -You Decide:
10th Amendment-Interview on One Radio Network:
http://www.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2009/03/08/10th-amendment-interview-on-one-radio-network/
- The narcissist’s lies are not goal-orientated. This is what makes his constant dishonesty both disconcerting and incomprehensible. The narcissist lies at the drop of a hat, needlessly, and almost ceaselessly. He lies in order to avoid the Grandiosity Gap – when the abyss between fact and (narcissistic) fiction becomes too gaping to ignore.
- The narcissist lies in order to preserve appearances, uphold fantasies, support the tall and impossible tales of his False Self and extract Narcissistic Supply from unsuspecting sources, who are not yet on to him. To the narcissist, confabulation is not merely a way of life – but life itself.
Rings a bell? Continue to read about this specific trait or behavior here:
The Confabulated Life and Biography of the Narcissist:
http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com/journal75.html
Note: These articles, videos and/or audios are undisputable examples relating to the President’s eye-opening views of our Constitution and his socialist background, which he has denied, and how he and his administration have dealt with this and other public questions and/or concerns over his eligibility to be our President-You Decide:
Obama Bombshell Redistribution of Wealth Audio Uncovered:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iivL4c_3pck
Newspaper shows Obama belonged to socialist party “Democrat’s campaign denied allegations, but new evidence indicates membership”-Posted On WND-By Aaron Klein-On October 24, 2008:
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=78945
Factcheck.org Caught Barack Obama Lying!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgEHcDj2oPo&feature=related
Culture of conspiracy: The Birther-Posted On Phiily.Com-On March 1, 2009:
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/politico/RSS_POLITICO20090301_Culture_of_conspiracy__The_Birthers.html?viewAll=y
- The narcissist is confident that people find him irresistible. His unfailing charm is part of his self-imputed omnipotence. This inane conviction is what makes the narcissist a “pathological charmer”. The somatic narcissist and the histrionic flaunt their sex appeal, virility or femininity, sexual prowess, musculature, physique, training, or athletic achievements.
- The cerebral narcissist seeks to enchant and entrance his audience with intellectual pyrotechnics. Many narcissists brag about their wealth, health, possessions, collections, spouses, children, personal history, family tree – in short: anything that garners them attention and renders them alluring.
Rings a bell? Continue to read about this specific trait or behavior here:
The Narcissist as a Pathological Charmer:
http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com/case05.html
- The narcissist has a complicated relationship with his parents (mainly with his mother, but, at times, also with his father). As Primary Objects, the narcissist’s parents are often a source of frustration, which leads to repress or to self-directed aggression. They traumatize the narcissist during his infancy and childhood and thwart his healthy development well into his late adolescence.
Rings a bell? Continue to read about this specific trait or behavior here:
The Narcissist’s Dead Parents:
http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com/faq54.html
Note: This video reveals the side of President Obama that we will more than likely see while he is in office as our President-You Decide:
Obama’s Book – The Real Obama:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-r1ApR_-bHI&playnext_from=PL&feature=PlayList&p=B2BA5D01BE4E59E4&index=12
- The narcissist perceives every disagreement – let alone criticism – coming from people whom he does not consider to be his “peers” (e.g., the media) as nothing short of a threat. He reacts defensively. He becomes indignant, aggressive and cold. He detaches emotionally for fear of yet another (narcissistic) injury.
- He devalues the person who made the disparaging remark. By holding the critic in contempt, by diminishing the stature of the discordant conversant – the narcissist minimizes the impact of the disagreement or criticism on him-self. This is a defense mechanism known as cognitive dissonance.
Rings a bell? Continue to read about this specific trait or behavior here:
Narcissists, Disagreement and Criticism:
http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com/faq73.html
- The narcissist constantly consumes (really, preys upon) adoration, admiration, approval, applause, attention and other forms of Narcissistic Supply. ??The normal person is likely to welcome a moderate amount of attention – verbal and non-verbal – in the form of affirmation, approval, or admiration. Too much attention, though, is perceived as onerous and is avoided.
- Destructive and negative criticism is avoided altogether. The narcissist, in contrast, is the mental equivalent of an alcoholic. He is insatiable. He directs his whole behavior, in fact his life, to obtain these pleasurable tidbits of attention. He embeds them in a coherent, completely biased, picture of himself. He uses them to regulate his labile sense of self-worth and self-esteem.
- To elicit constant interest, he projects to others a confabulated, fictitious version of himself, known as the False Self. The False Self is everything the narcissist is not: omniscient, omnipotent, charming, intelligent, rich, or well connected.
- The narcissist then proceeds to harvest reactions to this projected image from family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and business partners and from colleagues. If these – the adulation, admiration, attention, fear, respect, applause, affirmation – are not forthcoming, the narcissist demands them, or extorts them. Money, compliments, a favorable critique, an appearance in the media, a sexual conquest is all converted into the same currency in the narcissist’s mind.
Rings a bell? Continue to read about this specific trait or behavior here:
Narcissists, Narcissistic Supply and Sources of Supply:
http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com/faq76.html
- “Haughty” body language – The narcissist adopts a physical posture, which implies and exudes an air of superiority, seniority, hidden powers, mysteriousness, amused indifference, etc. Though the narcissist usually maintains sustained and piercing eye contact, he often refrains from physical proximity (he is “territorial”). The narcissist takes part in social interactions – even mere banter – condescendingly, from a position of supremacy and faux “magnanimity and largesse”. But he rarely mingles socially and prefers to remain the “observer”, or the “lone wolf”.
Rings a bell? Continue to read about this specific trait or behavior here:
How to Recognize a Narcissist?
http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com/faq58.html
- Two narcissists of the same type (somatic, cerebral, classic, compensatory, inverted, etc.) cannot maintain a stable, long-term full-fledged, and functional relationship.
- There are two types of narcissists: the somatic narcissist and the cerebral narcissist.
- The somatic type relies on his body and sexuality as Sources of Narcissistic Supply.
- The cerebral narcissist uses his intellect, his intelligence and his professional achievements to obtain the same. The cerebral narcissist is a know-it-all, haughty and intelligent “computer”. He uses his awesome intellect, or knowledge (real or pretended) to secure adoration, adulation and admiration. To him, his body and its maintenance are a burden and a distraction.
- Thus, if both members of the couple are cerebral narcissists, for instance, if both of them are scholars – the resulting competition prevents them from serving as ample Sources of Narcissistic Supply to each other.
- Finally the mutual admiration society crumbles.
- Consumed by the pursuit of their own narcissistic gratification, they have no time or energy or will left to cater to the narcissistic needs of their partner. Moreover, the partner is perceived as a dangerous and vicious contender for a scarce resource: Sources of Narcissistic Supply. This may be less true if the two narcissists work in totally unrelated academic or intellectual fields.
- But if the narcissists involved are of different types, if one of them is cerebral and the other one somatic, a long-term partnership based on the mutual provision of Narcissistic Supply can definitely survive.
Rings a bell? Continue to read about this specific trait or behavior here:
Narcissistic Couples and Narcissistic Types:
http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com/faq60.html
The Cerebral vs. the Somatic Narcissist:
http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com/faq60.html
- God is everything the narcissist ever wants to be: omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, admired, much discussed, and awe inspiring. God is the narcissist’s wet dream, his ultimate grandiose fantasy. But God comes handy in other ways as well.
- The narcissist alternately idealizes and devalues figures of authority.
- In the idealization phase, he strives to emulate them; he admires them, imitates them (often ludicrously), and defends them. They cannot go wrong, or be wrong. The narcissist regards them as bigger than life, infallible, perfect, whole, and brilliant. But as the narcissist’s unrealistic and inflated expectations are inevitably frustrated, he begins to devalue his former idols.
Rings a bell? Continue to read about this specific trait or behavior here:
For the Love of God: Narcissists and Religion:
http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com/journal45.html
- The narcissist is not really interested in publicity per se. Narcissists are misleading. The narcissist appears to love himself – and, really, he abhors himself. Similarly, he appears to be interested in becoming a celebrity – and, in reality, he is concerned with the REACTIONS to his fame: people watch him, notice him, talk about him, debate his actions – therefore he exists.
- The narcissist goes around “hunting and collecting” the way the expressions on people’s faces change when they notice him. He places himself at the centre of attention, or even as a figure of controversy. He constantly and recurrently pesters those nearest and dearest to him in a bid to reassure him-self that he is not losing his fame, his magic touch, and the attention of his social milieu.
- Truly, the narcissist is not choosy. If he can become famous as a writer – he writes, if as a businessman – he conducts business. He switches from one field to the other with ease and without remorse because in all of them he is present without conviction, bar the conviction that he must (and deserves to) get famous.
Rings a bell? Continue to read about this specific trait or behavior here:
The Narcissist’s Addiction to Fame and Celebrity:
http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com/faq19.html
- Psychopaths are said to be fearless, imperturbable, and sang-froid. Their pain tolerance is very high. Still, contrary to popular perceptions and psychiatric orthodoxy, some psychopaths are actually anxious and fearful. Their psychopath is a defense against an underlying and all-pervasive anxiety, either hereditary, or brought on by early childhood abuse.
Rings a bell? Continue to read about this specific trait or behavior here:
The Psychopath and Antisocial:
http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com/personalitydisorders16.html
DISCLAIMERS:
1. I am not a mental health professional. Still, I have dedicated the last 12 years to the study of personality disorders in general and the Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) in particular. I have authored nine (9) books about these topics, one of which is a Barnes and Noble bestseller (“Malignant Self-love: Narcissism Revisited”). My work is widely cited in scholarly tomes and publications and in the media. My books and the content of my Web site are based on correspondence since 1996 with hundreds of people suffering from the Narcissistic Personality Disorder (narcissists) and with thousands of their family members, friends, therapists, and colleagues.
2. Only a qualified mental health diagnostician can determine whether someone suffers from Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) and this, following lengthy tests and personal interviews. But, in the absence of access to Barack Obama, one has to rely on his overt performance and on testimonies by his closest, nearest and dearest.
Sam Vaknin ( http://samvak.tripod.com ) is the author of Malignant Self Love – Narcissism Revisited and After the Rain – How the West Lost the East. He served as a columnist for Global Politician, Central Europe Review, PopMatters, Bellaonline, and eBookWeb, a United Press International (UPI) Senior Business Correspondent, and the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory and Suite 101.
Visit Sam’s Web site at http://samvak.tripod.com you can download 22 of his free ebooks in our bookstore”
Note: These recent articles and/or blog posts and videos support my ongoing concerns with this President and his Administration-You Decide:
Watch Obama’s Actions, Not His Words-Posted on ExposeObama.Com-By Floyd and Mary Beth Brown-On February 5, 2010:
http://www.exposeobama.com/2010/02/05/watch-obamas-actions-not-his-words/
Obama vs. Bush: The Red Ink Showdown-Posted On ExposeObama.Com-By Floyd Brown, Expose Obama-On February 2, 2010:
http://www.exposeobama.com/2010/02/02/obama-vs-bush-the-red-ink-showdown/
Restricting Bank Activities-Posted On The Brookings Institution-By Douglas J. Elliott, Fellow, Economic Studies, Initiative on Business and Public Policy-On February 2, 2010:
http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2010/0121_restricting_banks_elliott.aspx
Morning Bell: A Budget for a European Welfare State-Posted On The Heritage Foundation-On February 2, 2010:
http://blog.heritage.org/2010/02/02/morning-bell-a-budget-for-a-european-welfare-state/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Morning%2BBell
Rhetoric vs. Reality: President Obama Repeats Discredited Talking Points During Dialogue with House GOP-Posted On RepublicanLeader.house.gov-On January 29, 2010:
http://republicanleader.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=168436
Reaction Roundup: Heritage Responds To The State Of The Union-Posted On The Heritage Foundation-On January 27, 2010:
http://blog.heritage.org/2010/01/27/reaction-roundup-heritage-responds-to-the-state-of-the-union/
Another Blow to Obama’s Agenda: New SEC Guidance on Climate Change Disclosure Will Force CEOs Who Lobby for Cap-and-Trade to Expose the Business Risk of Cap-and-Trade Legislation to Shareholders-Posted On National Center For Public Policy Research-On January 29, 2010:
http://www.nationalcenter.org/PR-SEC_Climate_Change_Disclosure_012910.html
Mark Kirk’s Money Trails (Illinois)-Posted On YouTube.Com-By Independence Caucus-On January 29, 2010:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fokt02nIJ1A
Get Real, Mr. Obama-Posted On ExposeObama.Com-By Floyd and Mary Beth Brown, Expose Obama-On January 28, 2010:
http://www.exposeobama.com/2010/01/28/get-real-mr-obama/
Obama’s answer for America: more of me-Posted The New York Post-By Jonah Goldberg, NY Post-On January 28, 2010:
http://www.exposeobama.com/2010/01/28/obamas-answer-for-america-more-of-me/
With All Due Disrespect Mr. President!-Posted On Canada Free Press-By JB Williams-On January 28, 2010:
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/19450
McCotter: Obama’s Stimulus has Failed-Posted On NewsMax.Com-By Jim Meyers-On January 28, 2010:
http://newsmax.com/InsideCover/mccotter-obama-stimulus-healthcare/2010/01/28/id/348357?s=al&promo_code=9658-1
A Declaration of War-Posted On ExposeObama.Com-By Erick Erickson, Red State-On January 29, 2010:
http://www.exposeobama.com/2010/01/28/a-declaration-of-war/
Jan. 20 Marks One Year of Broken Promises on Fiscal Prudence, Transparency By Obama, Say Govt. Watchdog Groups-Posted On CNSNews.Com-By Fred Lucas-On January 28, 2010:
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/60085
Black Conservative Response to State of the Union Address-Posted On The National Center for Public Policy-On January 28, 2010:
http://www.nationalcenter.org/PR-State_of_Union_Obama_012710b.html
Morning Bell: A Speech Only Washington Could Love-Posted On The Heritage Foundation-On January 28, 2010:
http://blog.heritage.org/2010/01/28/morning-bell-a-speech-only-washington-could-love/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Morning%2BBell
Obama 2.0: “The president uses the State of the Union speech to relaunch his brand”-Posted On Slate.Com-By John Dickerson-On January 28, 2010:
http://www.slate.com/id/2242787/
Obama message turns from hope to cope-Posted On USA Today-By Susan Page-On January 28, 2010:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-01-27-state-of-union-analysis_N.htm
Reality check: President Obama gropes for a strategy-Posted On Politico.Com-By John F. Harris-On January 28, 2010:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0110/32143.html
State of the Union: A Feisty Obama, a Frosty GOP-Posted On Time.Com-By MICHAEL SCHERER / WASHINGTON-On January 28, 2010:
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1957301,00.html
Reading Justice Alito’s Lips-Posted On ABCNews.Com Political Punch-By Jake Tapper-On January 27, 2010:
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2010/01/reading-justice-alitos-lips.html
Health Care Gives Way-Posted On The NYTimes.Com-By ROBERT PEAR and DAVID M. HERSZENHORN-On January 28, 2010:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/28/us/politics/28health.html
SPEECHLESS: Obama’s State of the Union Leaves the Trifecta Team in Disbelief-Posted On PJTV-On January 28, 2010:
http://www.pjtv.com/v/3005
State of The One’s Union: With Democrats Abandoning Ship, Can Obama Prevent a Republican Takeover?-Posted On PJTV-On January 28, 2010:
http://www.pjtv.com/?cmd=video&video-id=2996
Note: These recent blog posts lay out my ongoing concerns with this President and his Administration-You Decide:
Obama Bank Crackdown Hits Risk Appetite!
http://weroinnm.wordpress.com/2010/01/24/obama-bank-crackdown-hits-risk-appetite/
Ongoing Concerns With This President and His Administration!
http://weroinnm.wordpress.com/2009/09/26/ongoing-concerns-with-this-president-and-his-administration-92609/
Disclaimer: Although I share numerous resources with you, as a means of supporting my concerns, it does not necessarily mean that I support and/or agree with the contents of all of them, word-by-word, but find them thought provoking because, they provide me with other views, which may be different from mine, on these and other issues and, thereby, help me make my case.
As a retired Marine Corps Veteran Officer (Mustang), I pride myself with loving my God, family, friends and my country. Those Military and/or Veteran Comrades, that I am honored to call friends, know that I would never intentionally say or do anything that would hurt or demean anyone, to include my God and Country.
I have always preached to my own family and follow the rule of “filtering everything that comes from my brain through my heart before it comes out of my mouth” and this rule has done me well for almost 63 years of my life and would highly recommend it to anyone that dares to share their own views with others, knowing that they may not have the same views, but are able and willing to accept that and not take it personal.
I also consider the sharing of these concerns to be given me under our “Freedom of Speech Rights”, which I consider as one of the corner stones of our “Constitution” and, as an American Citizen, I believe that it is my “God Given Right & Duty” to stand up for and defend this or any other rights given me under our Constitution, as other God, family and country loving Americans in uniform have done in the past and continue to do to this date.
“Food For Thought”
“God Bless Our USA”
Semper Fi!
Jake
