Telling It Like It Is

THE ENTERPRISE--NOTHING GOOD COMES EASY

THE ENTERPRISE--NOTHING GOOD COMES EASY

AS WE APPROACH THE FIRST OF THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT ELECTIONS SINCE 1980, THE REALITY WILL SOON SET IN
The problems in our state and federal government are gargantuan.  Many of the politicians are locked into an old mindset and partially obsolete ideologies.  The old far left is wrong.  So is the far right.  Politicians are often ill-equipped to devise the solutions.  This is why we (I use the term "we" to describe a large subset of individuals who spent years struggling with budgets that didn't fit, and problems that seems insoluble.)  We need to help. But the politicians we elect need to want the help and then "listen" and internalize how to position and "sell" it.  After all, getting legislation through any body is a big marketing and sales job at its most basic.

A DANGEROUS "RATIONING BOARD"--HEAR A DOCTOR'S ASSESSMENT
If you don't think the current administration is dangerous, watch and listen to this Doctor's statement
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HnkxIh62dQ
This is why the next Congress must block/repeal these misguided Obama government takeovers of your lives!  Fines for Doctors of $100,000 (first offense) and JAIL (second offense).
FORWARD THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW--ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO ARE GETTING UP THERE IN AGE! (Like me!)

WE'VE BEEN IN THIS MESS AT LEAST ONCE BEFORE
Here is a video clip of a TV Ad that will bring you back to how, and with whose leaderships we climbed back out of the mess.
Morning in America (1984 Ad) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EU-IBF8nwSY

HOW'D WE GET HERE, AND WHY IS IT SUCH A MESS?
George W. Bush started the "spending spree" when he didn't rein in (veto) spending during his second term.  While fighting a war (or two), he should have slowed the spending especially after Reid-Pelosi took over Congress in 2007.  Bad mistake!   Then Obama, the Democratic Congress and his Keynesian advisors opened the spending spigot wide open, surpassing even Bush's wildest sprees.  In fact, it turns out that one of Bush's widely criticized moves--TARP--continued by Obama is not going to be a bad investment at all--and it saves a financial panic from breaking out worse than it did.

TAKE OFF THE SPEED LIMITS
Meanwhile, a coalition of Democrats and Republicans repealed the Glass-Steagall act in 1999.  The repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act (alternatively known as Gramm Leach Bliley),
allowed banks to merge with insurance companies and investment houses.  This dramatically increased the risk and leverage that could be used--a dangerous act sort of like taking speed limits off highways entirely.  To compound this error in financial legislation, come Barney Frank, Chris Dodd and Charles Schumer, all of whom not only permit, but encourage Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to make home mortgage loans to just about anyone.  WhY?  Because every American deserves to own a house!  WRONG!  Only if they can afford to own one. 

OPEN THE FLOODGATES FOR LOUSY LOANS, TO LOUSY BORROWERS
The newly released financial institutions saw this as opening the floodgates of new prospective loan customers--regardless of their creditworthiness.  And lend, they did, like CRAZY.  Then the investment side of these new freer banks bundled these awful loans into groups, obscuring just how bad they were by throwing in a few good ones.  The ratings agencies "closed their eyes" and rated these bundles of mortgages flagrantly and irresponsibly too high--as a good investment--which they were NOT! What follows was known as the "sub-prime" crisis, or the "mortgage lending crisis," because calling it the STUPID LENDERS AND BORROWERS CRISIS was not spiffy enough, even though it is accurate and descriptive.  As loan bundles are sold all over the world, they begin to "stink" because so many of them were with people who cannot pay.

BUILD AND FLIP MORE AND MORE HOUSES UNTIL THE MARKET IS GLUTTED
Worse yet, the construction and speculative flipping of new houses in "hot markets" caused an overbuilding of housing units too.  When things are going up like crazy, no one stops to ask if that makes sense.  It didn't.  They peaked and the bubble burst, dumping over priced houses, lousy loans and bankrupt people and companies in its wake.  Of course, being America, we have a solution:  The government rides in to the rescue throwing taxpayer "good" dollars at the problem being caused by "bad" loans and worse practices.  Not only did Bush and then Obama, and Congress spend like "drunken Congress members" they started "bailouts."  Good money thrown after bad, does not solve a problem.  It just leaves us all deeper in debt.

A GOOD EXPLANATION OF WHY GOVERNMENT STIMULUS DOESN'T CREATE ECONOMIC GROWTH--PAUL KRUGMAN & BARACK OBAMA & CONGRESS ARE ALL WRONG!
Download Government Stimulus--Fact or Fantasy

SPENDING IS THE ONLY SOLUTION UNDERSTOOD IN THE OBAMA/DEMOCRATIC CONTROLLED ERA--AND IT DOESN'T GET THE JOB DONE
But now, with the spending spigots wide open, bailouts in vogue and the deficit soaring, the choices are all Draconian. Raise taxes (don't let the Bush tax cuts expire) and risk crushing what is already a slow, fragile recovery, or clamp down on spending (especially government spending) which will dump hundreds of thousands of people into the unemployed labor force which has not yet shown the capacity to even absorb new entrants, let alone another bunch of people.  The private sector is watching and listening to the anti-business President and are paralyzed with fear and uncertainty and doubt (FUD), so they are loathe to invest in growth.  Thus, no jobs.  And since consumers have no jobs, they won't spend anyway.  The circular dilemma continues.

IT'S EASIER TO FIX SOCIAL SECURITY THAN TO BALANCE THE BUDGET
None of the solutions to fix such huge problems are "good" ones--neither easy nor painless and devilishly hard to agree on in a polarized government.  It is actually easier to imagine the 4 simple steps to "fix Social Security": 1) Raise retirement age to 70, and peg it to X years below life expectancy, 2) extend the ceiling on contributions (or eliminate it entirely), 3) change COLA to cost--based vs. wage based, and 4) apply means testing and limit payments for the very rich.  That's much easier to figure out than how to bring the budget back into some semblance of balance.

THERE ARE ONLY TWO STEPS TO BALANCE ANY BUDGET--MORE INCOME AND LESS SPENDING--NEITHER OF WHICH HAS PLEASANT CONSEQUENCES
Across the board spending cuts seem to be essential, but then many programs and people will get cut--and not be happy.  Defense spending--big weapons programs, redundancies, etc.,--is a great candidate to cut, along with a decision/rationale for an orderly exit from Afghanistan (and let the corrupt government work it out for themselves)  Leave with a warning, that if we come back it will be because they fall back into their old ways of harboring terrorists, and we will do it with "hell fire and destruction."  Medicare is one budget item that everybody says needs fixing and NOBODY really knows how to fix it. First step is to open up the files that have been sealed for so long, to show where the graft and corruption is worse.  The clean it out.  Wringing out waste and corruption will help, but demographics are destiny and the avalanche of boomers is coming. Funding Medicare will be an ongoing challenge unless we can get our economy back on its feet, and government off the backs of our small businesses!

QUOTES OF THE WEEK: Just yesterday, Speaker Pelosi complained: "We haven't really gotten the CREDIT for what we have done, but we will take it to the voters..."

I'll trust most of the voters to realize who's to blame for the mess we are in.  (Hint: Obama, Reid, Pelosi, Frank, Dodd, Schumer, et. al. and Strickland's gang in OH, )

Joy Behar the tasteless and awful TV "personality, after her irate walk-off due to Bill O'Reilly saying Muslims flew planes into the twin towers (he didn't say "Muslim extremists!), has now made herself worthy of being removed by ABC after calling Senate candidate Sharron Angle (R, NV) a "...Bitch... who is going to Hell." 

If NPR fired Juan Williams for saying Muslims in full garb made him nervous when boarding an airplane, shouldn't ABC get rid of this terrible woman?  I never see her antics, because her face on my TV screen means "change the channel--immediately" (Bill Maher is now in that league too!)

HERE IS YOUR CALL TO ACTION:   "American Hero"  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLlF5YMf7Yc  Watch it...take the few minutes to reflect. Then take action--and if you have already voted, stay in contact with those you voted for that win their elections.  It is OUR Country!

THAT'S IT FOR THIS WEEK.  PLEASE VOTE NEXT TUESDAY.  IT'S "STEP ONE" OF "TAKING BACK AMERICA."

BEST, JOHN
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TO ILLUSTRATE HOW HARD IT IS TO BRING ABOUT CHANGE IN OUR GOVERNMENT, READ THIS BLOG:

12 Polls That Prove That The American People Are Really, Really Pissed Off As Election Day 2010 Approaches
 
The American people are mad.  No, check that, they are steaming mad.  In the weeks leading up to the election, poll after poll after poll has shown that the American people are angrier at government than at any other point in modern U.S. history.  American voters have been angry before, but this time it is different.  Instead of being mad at just one political party, the American people are now clearly disgusted with both political parties.  Neither major party has a positive approval rating. 

People are sick and tired of the economy being in the tank, they are sick and tired of not being able to get good jobs and they are sick and tired of the nonsense that has been going on in Washington.  Both political parties are busy pointing fingers at each other, but what all the major polls in the weeks leading up to the election clearly show is that the American people are placing the blame on both the Republicans and the Democrats. 

In fact, as you will see below, a clear majority of the American people now wish that they could throw every member of Congress out of office and a clear majority of the American people now wish that they had a third political party to vote for.  We have arrived at a point where both political parties have lost the faith of the American people, and where we go from here is anyone's guess.

Not that the American people have a clear idea of what they actually want.  The truth is that the citizens of the United States are deeply, deeply divided on a whole host of issues.  But the one thing that American voters can agree on is that they are hopping mad.

The following are 12 recent polls that prove that the American people are really, really pissed off as election day approaches....   

#1 According to a recent USA Today/Gallup poll, only about one in four Americans is satisfied with the way that the country is being governed.

#2 The latest ABC News/Yahoo poll found that faith in the U.S. system of government is at a 36 year low.

#3 The newest New York Times/CBS News survey discovered that about 60 percent of American voters believe that their own members of Congress do not deserve to be re-elected.

#4 According to Gallup, Barack Obama had an average approval rating of just 44.7% during the seventh quarter of his presidency, which was a new low.  Obama's average approval rating has fallen substantially every single quarter since he took office.

#5 A Bloomberg National Poll conducted a couple of weeks ago found that more than 40 percent of likely voters who once considered themselves to be Obama supporters are now either less supportive of Obama or do not support him at all at this point.

#6 An absolutely stunning Gallup poll released last month revealed that a whopping 58 percent of the American people believe that a third political party is needed because the Republicans and the Democrats are doing such a bad job of representing the American people.

#7 A new study by The Washington Post, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard University discovered that more than 40 percent of the American people would give the government either a D or an F.

#8 CNBC recently conducted a survey which found that 92 percent of Americans rate the U.S. economy as either "fair" or "poor".

#9 A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey revealed that 69 percent of Americans believe that free trade agreements have cost the United States jobs.  Only 18 percent of the survey respondents said that they believed that free trade agreements have created more American jobs than they have lost.

#10 A Politico/George Washington University Battleground Poll released late last month found that 63 percent of the American people believe that the nation is on the wrong track.

#11 A recent Gallup poll discovered that 46% of Americans believe that the U.S. federal government "poses an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens."

#12 A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey that was just completed found that 65% of likely U.S. voters say that if they had the option, they would vote out every member of Congress and start all over.

So will all of this anger result in major change happening in Washington D.C. after the election?

No.

There are 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.  At the very most, about 100 of those seats are actually "in play" - meaning that they have a chance to change hands.  So that means that we are going to see at least 335 of the exact same faces when the U.S. House of Representatives begins a new session.

The cold, hard reality is that our current system greatly, greatly, greatly favors incumbents.  Over the past five elections, incumbents have been re-elected to the U.S. House of Representatives at an average rate of 96 percent.  Wouldn't you like to have a 96 percent chance of winning?

Sure, in 2010 things will be a little different, but we will still likely see incumbents winning at least 80 percent of their matchups.

So much for "change", eh?

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The Cynically Ruthless Barney Frank, Enabler Of The Mortgage Meltdown
By THOMAS SOWELL
Posted 10/19/2010 06:11 PM ET
Among longtime politicians who are being seriously challenged for the first time this election year, Congressman Barney Frank of Massachusetts best epitomizes the cynical ruthlessness that hides behind their lofty rhetoric. Having been a key figure in promoting the risky mortgage lending practices imposed by the federal government on lenders, and on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy these risky mortgages from the lenders, Frank blamed the resulting collapse of financial markets and the economy on everybody except Barney Frank.

In February 2009, as chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Congressman Frank summoned the heads of some of the biggest banks in the country before his committee. In the words of the Los Angeles Times, these bankers "endured hours of hectoring" by "indignant lawmakers" on that committee. These bankers were in no position to talk back to members of this committee, much less point out how committee members — including Chairman Frank — had themselves promoted laws and policies responsible for the current economic disaster.

This is a committee with the power to promote legislation detrimental to this heavily regulated industry. That in turn gives the committee the power to force others to sit there and take it, when they are demonized on nationwide TV. Congressman Frank has never hesitated to use his power ruthlessly. On one occasion, he threatened bankers with summoning them before his committee and forcing them to reveal their home addresses — which would of course put their spouses and children at the mercy of any kooks that might come along.

Meanwhile, Congressman Frank could piously invoke "social justice" in defense of similarly ruthless community activist groups like Acorn or National People's Action, which had in fact besieged the homes not only of bankers but also of public officials who dared to oppose their agendas. In Frank's words, these groups were simply people who "cared about equity" and who were just "trying very hard to preserve some equity and some social justice." But the harassment and shakedown activities of such groups were perhaps best captured by the words of a leader of one of these groups, who addressed her followers by saying: "We want it. They've got it. Let's go get it."

These were not just idle words. The dirty little secret that few in the media seem to want to discuss is that community activists, including Jesse Jackson, have over the years extracted literally billions of dollars from financial institutions, as the price of peace and of not challenging these institutions in hearings before federal regulators, as these groups are empowered to do under the Community Reinvestment Act. Much of this money has been extracted in the form of risky mortgage loans of the sort that have been at the
center of the housing boom and bust, and its repercussions in financial markets and in the economy as a whole. Among others who have been at the heart of the risky lending behind the financial meltdown are Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, whom Congressman Frank has also championed and protected. ...

.... When Congressman Jim Leach tried to get stronger regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac back in 1992, and when President George W. Bush did so in 2004, Frank opposed them.
A reining in of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be a reining in of Barney Frank's power. But he can't stop the voters from reining in his power, unless he can once more get by this election year with pious rhetoric to conceal his cynical actions.

Sowell provided this column as a bonus to the article he wrote on Rep. Frank that ran in the "On The Right" column Tuesday.
© 2010 Investor's Business Daily, Inc. All rights reserved. Investor's Business Daily, IBD and CAN SLIM and their corresponding logos are registered trademarks of Data Analysis Inc.


John L. Mariotti, President & CEO, The Enterprise Group, Phone 614-840-0959  http://www.mariotti.net   http://mariotti.blogs.com/my_weblog/
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WHWNW: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN NOTHING WORKS?

WHWNW: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN NOTHING WORKS?

What if everything electronic, controlled by computers stopped working at once.  How would anyone even begin to figure out what happened or who is causing it?

Phones don't work.

Email doesn't work.

Radio & TV don't work.

The Internet doesn't work.

Air Travel systems don't work.

Electronic Banking systems don't work.

Global Positioning Systems (GPS) don't work.

Nothing controlled by computers works at all, and IT ALL STOPS WORKING AT ONE TIME.

WHO IS DOING THIS?

THE ENTERPRISE--TWO WEEKS TO ELECTION DAY

THE ENTERPRISE--TWO WEEKS TO ELECTION DAY

DOES THIS STRIKE ANYONE AS ODD?
Our nation is reeling with self-induced financial ruin, record debt, and huge deficits.  Economic growth is barely measurable.  Jobs are scarce, with 17% of Americans unemployed or underemployed.  Our government throws our money at problems and gets negligible results.  Rogue nations and terrorists threaten us.  Illegal immigrants remain a huge problem.  Our education system is locked in mediocrity due to a number of inept teachers protected by militant unions.  Our health care system is still struggling and the solution appears to be an inappropriate law.  And what does our President do?  He   goes on talk shows--the latest on The Comedy Channel. DOES THIS SEEM STRANGE AND INAPPROPRIATE TO YOU?  REMEMBER THIS WHEN 2012 ROLLS AROUND!!

He finds plenty of time to play basketball and golf with his buddies, and fly around the country campaigning for the same inept losers that haven't improved a thing in 2-3 years.   I have a simple rule about candidates:  IF OBAMA SUPPORTS THEM, I OPPOSE THEM.  Obama's philosophy for America is WRONG  (no matter how glowing his rhetoric and speeches full of distortions and untruths) --unless you don't believe in the America of our Founding Fathers and that we have built over the past 200 years.

 Regarding 2012, read Cal Thomas' column, and the large excerpt from an even longer FORBES article posted below.  To read the entire article, go to Forbes site: http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2010/0927/politics-socialism-capitalism-private-enterprises-obama-business-problem.html


NEW YORK WINS FOR STUPIDITY IN GOVERNMENT SPENDING
New York City is changing 250,000 street signs at a cost to taxpayers of $110 each or $27.5 Million.  Why, you might ask?  Are they rusty?  No.  Are they worn out? No.  Are they "unreadable?" No.  To change from ALL UPPERCASE LETTERS, to Lower Case Letters where only the first letter is capitalized.  What?  Why spend $27.5 Million for such a mundane change?  Because the Federal Highway Administration officials (who remain nameless in  their bureaucratic anonymity) "says" it will save lives because the new signs will be easier to read, and "save lives" because drivers will take their eyes off the road for less time.  Are you kidding me?  The Upper Case Letters are LARGER--AND I WOULD CONTEND, EASIER TO READ QUICKLY! What a bunch of crap!  Some bureaucrat decided to make work for the public workers and sign makers--that's why!  So they could claim "jobs were created or saved!"    To add to the idiocy, the City Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Kahn says it's more "polite," because in the Internet age, "Writing in all caps means you are shouting."  RIGHT? UNBELIEVABLE!  YOU GUYS ARE STUPID AND ARE WASTING $27.5 MILLION OF NEW YORK TAXPAYERS MONEY.  WILL SOMEBODY PLEASE ASK MAYOR BLOOMBERG IF HE SIGNED OFF ON THIS LUNACY?  (SHOUTING INTENDED!)

THE EMPEROR HAS NO CLOTHES--OR SO THE "FAIRY TALE" GOES
The US government in the age of Obama and the Democratically controlled Congress has now increased spending from 36% of GDP three years ago to 62% of GDP this year, according to the CBO.  Now there is a "change you can believe in."   In months past, Nancy Pelosi has criticized Robert Gibbs and Dem pollsters Patrick Caddell and Doug Schoen called Obama "cynical" and "racially divisive."  How about exposing the "chosen One!"  Then Gibbs freaks out at Rush Limbaugh's criticism of bailouts.  Thomas Sowell, in the WSJ asks, "Where does Gibbs think that money comes from?  The Tooth Fairy?  When you take money from the taxpayers and spending to rescue the jobs of one set of workers—your union political supporters, in this case—what does that do to the demand for the jobs of other workers, whose products taxpayers would have bought with the money you took away from them?" 

HOWEVER, DON'T TAKE MY WORD FOR IT. HERE IS A NATIONALLY SYNDICATED COLUMNIST'S VIEWPOINT!
=====================
President is too focused on himself

Saturday, October 23, 2010, by Cal Thomas
President Barack Obama reminds me of the type of man so many single women complain about on a date. He only wants to talk about himself. Is there anyone in public life who better exemplifies the definition of narcissism: "inordinate fascination with oneself; excessive self-love; vanity"?

After reading "The Education of a President," one of The New York Times Sunday Magazine's longest articles in recent years, one again is exposed to Obama's superior view of himself. That same weekend in Boston, the president revealed what he thinks of people he is supposed to be serving. He thinks we should serve him.

In Boston at a Democratic fundraiser, the president said Americans are "scared" about the Nov. 2 election in which Democrats are predicted to become endangered species in the House and possibly neutered in the Senate.

Republican congressional candidates, he said, are "playing on fear." Well, yes, in a way. We have much about which to be fearful, including nationalized health insurance, a debt that is greater than the gross domestic product of most nations and a messianic attitude by the president who treats anyone who disagrees with him as demonic.

The president also said, "Part of the reason that our politics seems so tough right now, and facts and science and argument do not seem to be winning the day all the time, is because we're hardwired not to always think clearly when we're scared." Notice how he won't debate the substance of his agenda, but rather dismisses people who disagree with it as illogical and fear-filled. This recalls his comment during the 2008 campaign that people are "bitter" and "they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

Obama sees no merit in any position but his own and mischaracterizes concern about anything for which he stands as ignorant, excessively religious and what might be called "gun-based faith."

This is the hubris of statists, who believe only the state can deliver people from the misery that has, in fact, been largely caused by the state. The state under Obama is robbing us of our liberty. The state has taxed too much and spent too much, placing America in jeopardy and sapping our strength. The state tells increasing numbers they are victims and can't amount to anything without the state, which ensures they will never amount to anything by keeping them submerged in victimization, failing government schools and on welfare.

For the president, to oppose this is to oppose the established statist gods and himself as supreme deity. To oppose his agenda is blasphemy, and so the Republican "demons" must be destroyed.

It isn't working largely because people can see what nearly two years of Obama's socialist, collectivist and statist policies are doing to the country. They can see - yes, through those ignorant eyes and God-dulled brains - what Obamacare will do to them and not for them. They are not as ignorant as Obama thinks. Because he thinks this way about so many of us, a case could be made that he is the ignorant one. He may be the elected leader, but he knows little about the people he is supposed to be leading.

Obama cannot identify with the American experience. He never served in the military. He never held a real job. He had an easy time in college (where are those transcripts?) and was fast-tracked in his rise to the top. He is attempting to impose an ideology foreign to all but the hard left. It is not based in the American ethic of self-control, hard work and personal responsibility. Rather, it is based on grievance, entitlement and revenge.

This is why the coming election is likely to produce a tsunami-like reaction among the electorate. But the president will probably misinterpret the results to his and his party's detriment in 2012. It can't come soon enough.

Cal Thomas writes for Tribune Media Services.

[email protected]


I WAS STILL WRITING ON THIS EDITION WHEN I READ DINESH D'SOUZA'S ANALYSIS OF BARACK OBAMA
THIS IS SO PROFOUND, SO TROUBLING AND SO REVEALING THAT I HOPE YOU WILL READ IT ALL THE WAY THROUGH
—AND THEN SEND COPIES TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW.
=======================



On The Cover/Top Stories
How Obama Thinks
Dinesh D'Souza,
09.27.10, 12:00 AM ET
Correction Appended
Barack Obama is the most antibusiness president in a generation, perhaps in American history. Thanks to him the era of big government is back. Obama runs up taxpayer debt not in the billions but in the trillions. He has expanded the federal government's control over home mortgages, investment banking, health care, autos and energy. The Weekly Standard summarizes Obama's approach as omnipotence at home, impotence abroad.

The President's actions are so bizarre that they mystify his critics and supporters alike. Consider this headline from the Aug. 18, 2009 issue of the Wall Street Journal: "Obama Underwrites Offshore Drilling." Did you read that correctly? You did. The Administration supports offshore drilling--but drilling off the shores of Brazil. With Obama's backing, the U.S. Export-Import Bank offered $2 billion in loans and guarantees to Brazil's state-owned oil company Petrobras to finance exploration in the Santos Basin near Rio de Janeiro--not so the oil ends up in the U.S. He is funding Brazilian exploration so that the oil can stay in Brazil.

More strange behavior: Obama's June 15, 2010 speech in response to the Gulf oil spill focused not on cleanup strategies but rather on the fact that Americans "consume more than 20% of the world's oil but have less than 2% of the world's resources." Obama railed on about "America's century-long addiction to fossil fuels." What does any of this have to do with the oil spill? Would the calamity have been less of a problem if America consumed a mere 10% of the world's resources?

The oddities go on and on. Obama's Administration has declared that even banks that want to repay their bailout money may be refused permission to do so. Only after the Obama team cleared a bank through the Fed's "stress test" was it eligible to give taxpayers their money back. Even then, declared Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, the Administration might force banks to keep the money.

The President continues to push for stimulus even though hundreds of billions of dollars in such funds seem to have done little. The unemployment rate when Obama took office in January 2009 was 7.7%; now it is 9.5%. Yet he wants to spend even more and is determined to foist the entire bill on Americans making $250,000 a year or more. The rich, Obama insists, aren't paying their "fair share." This by itself seems odd given that the top 1% of Americans pay 40% of all federal income taxes; the next 9% of income earners pay another 30%. So the top 10% pays 70% of the taxes; the bottom 40% pays close to nothing. This does indeed seem unfair--to the rich.

Obama's foreign policy is no less strange. He supports a $100 million mosque scheduled to be built near the site where terrorists in the name of Islam brought down the World Trade Center. Obama's rationale, that "our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable," seems utterly irrelevant to the issue of why the proposed Cordoba House should be constructed at Ground Zero.....

....Theories abound to explain the President's goals and actions. Critics in the business community--including some Obama voters who now have buyer's remorse--tend to focus on two main themes. The first is that Obama is clueless about business. The second is that Obama is a socialist--not an out-and-out Marxist, but something of a European-style  socialist, with a penchant for leveling and government redistribution.

These theories aren't wrong so much as they are inadequate. Even if they could account for Obama's domestic policy, they cannot explain his foreign policy. The real problem with Obama is worse--much worse. But we have been blinded to his real agenda because, across the political spectrum, we all seek to fit him into some version of American history. In the process, we ignore Obama's own history. Here is a man who spent his formative years--the first 17 years of his life--off the American mainland, in Hawaii, Indonesia and Pakistan, with multiple subsequent journeys to Africa.

A good way to discern what motivates Obama is to ask a simple question: What is his dream? Is it the American dream? Is it Martin Luther King's dream? Or something else?

It is certainly not the American dream as conceived by the founders. They believed the nation was a "new order for the ages." A half-century later Alexis de Tocqueville wrote of America as creating "a distinct species of mankind." This is known as American exceptionalism. But when asked at a 2009 press conference whether he believed in this ideal, Obama said no. America, he suggested, is no more unique or exceptional than Britain or Greece or any other country.

Perhaps, then, Obama shares Martin Luther King's dream of a color-blind society. The President has benefited from that dream; he campaigned as a nonracial candidate, and many Americans voted for him because he represents the color-blind ideal. Even so, King's dream is not Obama's: The President never champions the idea of color-blindness or race-neutrality. This inaction is not merely tactical; the race issue simply isn't what drives Obama.

What then is Obama's dream? We don't have to speculate because the President tells us himself in his autobiography, Dreams from My Father. According to Obama, his dream is his father's dream. Notice that his title is not Dreams of My Father but rather Dreams from My Father. Obama isn't writing about his father's dreams; he is writing about the dreams he received from his father.

So who was Barack Obama Sr.? He was a Luo tribesman who grew up in Kenya and studied at Harvard. He was a polygamist who had, over the course of his lifetime, four wives and eight children. One of his sons, Mark Obama, has accused him of abuse and wife-beating. He was also a regular drunk driver who got into numerous accidents, killing a man in one and causing his own legs to be amputated due to injury in another. In 1982 he got drunk at a bar in Nairobi and drove into a tree, killing himself....

.... I know a great deal about anticolonialism, because I am a native of Mumbai, India. I am part of the first Indian generation to be born after my country's independence from the British. Anticolonialism was the rallying cry of Third World politics for much of the second half of the 20th century. To most Americans, however, anticolonialism is an unfamiliar idea, so let me explain it. Anticolonialism is the doctrine that rich countries of the West got rich by invading, occupying and looting poor countries of Asia, Africa and South America. As one of Obama's acknowledged intellectual influences, Frantz Fanon, wrote in The Wretched of the Earth, "The well-being and progress of Europe have been built up with the sweat and the dead bodies of Negroes, Arabs, Indians and the yellow races."

.... This was the anticolonial ideology of Barack Obama Sr. and many in his generation, including many of my own relatives in India. Obama Sr. was an economist, and in 1965 he published an important article in the East Africa Journal called "Problems Facing Our Socialism." Obama Sr. wasn't a doctrinaire socialist; rather, he saw state appropriation of wealth as a necessary means to achieve the anticolonial objective of taking resources away from the foreign looters and restoring them to the people of Africa. For Obama Sr. this was an issue of national autonomy. "Is it the African who owns this country? If he does, then why should he not control the economic means of growth in this country?"

As he put it, "We need to eliminate power structures that have been built through excessive accumulation so that not only a few individuals shall control a vast magnitude of resources as is the case now." The senior Obama proposed that the state confiscate private land and raise taxes with no upper limit. In fact, he insisted that "theoretically there is nothing that can stop the government from taxing 100% of income so long as the people get benefits from the government commensurate with their income which is taxed."

Remarkably, President Obama, who knows his father's history very well, has never mentioned his father's article. Even more remarkably, there has been virtually no reporting on a document that seems directly relevant to what the junior Obama is doing in the White House....

.... It may seem incredible to suggest that the anticolonial ideology of Barack Obama Sr. is espoused by his son, the President of the United States. That is what I am saying. From a very young age and through his formative years, Obama learned to see America as a force for global domination and destruction. He came to view America's military as an instrument of neocolonial occupation. He adopted his father's position that capitalism and free markets are code words for economic plunder. Obama grew to perceive the rich as an oppressive class, a kind of neocolonial power within America. In his worldview, profits are a measure of how effectively you have ripped off the rest of society, and America's power in the world is a measure of how selfishly it consumes the globe's resources and how ruthlessly it bullies and dominates the rest of the planet.

For Obama, the solutions are simple. He must work to wring the neocolonialism out of America and the West. And here is where our anticolonial understanding of Obama really takes off, because it provides a vital key to explaining not only his major policy actions but also the little details that no other theory can adequately account for....

... Rejecting the socialist formula, Obama has shown no intention to nationalize the investment banks or the health sector. Rather, he seeks to decolonize these institutions, and this means bringing them under the government's leash. That's why Obama retains the right to refuse bailout paybacks--so that he can maintain his control. For Obama, health insurance companies on their own are oppressive racketeers, but once they submitted to federal oversight he was happy to do business with them. He even promised them expanded business as a result of his law forcing every American to buy health insurance.

If Obama shares his father's anticolonial crusade, that would explain why he wants people who are already paying close to 50% of their income in overall taxes to pay even more. The anticolonialist believes that since the rich have prospered at the expense of others, their wealth doesn't really belong to them; therefore whatever can be extracted from them is automatically just. Recall what Obama Sr. said in his 1965 paper: There is no tax rate too high, and even a 100% rate is justified under certain circumstances.

Obama supports the Ground Zero mosque because to him 9/11 is the event that unleashed the American bogey and pushed us into Iraq and Afghanistan. He views some of the Muslims who are fighting against America abroad as resisters of U.S. imperialism. Certainly that is the way the Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi portrayed himself at his trial. Obama's perception of him as an anticolonial resister would explain why he gave tacit approval for this murderer of hundreds of Americans to be released from captivity....

... Clearly the anticolonial ideology of Barack Obama Sr. goes a long way to explain the actions and policies of his son in the Oval Office. And we can be doubly sure about his father's influence because those who know Obama well testify to it. His "granny" Sarah Obama (not his real grandmother but one of his grandfather's other wives) told Newsweek, "I look at him and I see all the same things--he has taken everything from his father. The son is realizing everything the father wanted. The dreams of the father are still alive in the son."

In his own writings Obama stresses the centrality of his father not only to his beliefs and values but to his very identity. He calls his memoir "the record of a personal, interior journey--a boy's search for his father and through that search a workable meaning for his life as a black American." And again, "It was into my father's image, the black man, son of Africa, that I'd packed all the attributes I sought in myself." Even though his father was absent for virtually all his life, Obama writes, "My father's voice had nevertheless remained untainted, inspiring, rebuking, granting or withholding approval. You do not work hard enough, Barry. You must help in your people's struggle. Wake up, black man!"...

.... Colonialism today is a dead issue. No one cares about it except the man in the White House. He is the last anticolonial. Emerging market economies such as China, India, Chile and Indonesia have solved the problem of backwardness; they are exploiting their labor advantage and growing much faster than the U.S. If America is going to remain on top, we have to compete in an increasingly tough environment.

But instead of readying us for the challenge, our President is trapped in his father's time machine. Incredibly, the U.S. is being ruled according to the dreams of a Luo tribesman of the 1950s. This philandering, inebriated African socialist, who raged against the world for denying him the realization of his anticolonial ambitions, is now setting the nation's agenda through the reincarnation of his dreams in his son. The son makes it happen, but he candidly admits he is only living out his father's dream. The invisible father provides the inspiration, and the son dutifully gets the job done. America today is governed by a ghost.

------Dinesh D'Souza, the president of the King's College in New York City, is the author of the forthcoming book The Roots of Obama's Rage (Regnery Publishing).Correction: Dinesh D'Souza writes that on June 15, 2010, Obama gave a speech in response to the BP oil spill that was "focused not on cleanup strategies but rather on the fact that Americans 'consume more than 20% of the world’s oil but have less than 2% of the world’s resources.'" D'Souza slightly misquoted the President who said, "2% of the world's oil reserves." In addition, Obama's speech did discuss concrete measures to investigate the oil spill and bring it under control.

=======================
We cannot stop Barack Obama from occupying the Presidency for two more years, BUT WE MUST STOP HIM FROM BEING REELECTED IN 2012.  THE ARTICLES ABOVE ARE MORE THAN REVELATIONS.  THEY ARE A PUBLIC SERVICE.  READ THEM; SHARE THEM; SAVE THEM AND REMEMBER THEM, COME THE NEXT ELECTION CYCLE.  [NOTE: Opponents of author D'SOUZA "tear him apart" for his biased views and debunk much of what he has written and said.  If you want a contrarian viewpoint, read that. http://campusprogress.org/articles/dinesh_dsouza/  It is as extreme in its intense bias as it claims D'Souza is in his.  FORM YOUR OWN OPINIONS!

ABOVE ALL GET OUT THE VOTEI   HOPE YOU ALL HAVE VOTED BY NOW OR ARE PLANNING TO VOTE.  TALK TO YOUR CHILDREN AND THE YOUTH OF THE COMING GENERATION.  THIS IS ONLY THE FIRST STEP OF A MULTI-YEAR PLAN TO TAKE BACK AMERICA.  IT IS TIME FOR "WE THE PEOPLE"  TO RISE UP AND BE COUNTED.

BEST, JOHN

------------------------------------------------------------
-John L. Mariotti, President & CEO, The Enterprise Group, Phone 614-840-0959  http://www.mariotti.net   http://mariotti.blogs.com/my_weblog/
------------------------------------------------------------

THE ENTERPRISE--A BLIP AND A DIP ... AND THEN WHAT?

THE ENTERPRISE--A BLIP AND A DIP ... AND THEN WHAT?

TO READ MY LATEST AMERICAN EXPRESS OPEN FORUM "COLUMN" ON INNOVATION--CLICK HERE.
http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/innovation/article/looking-for-innovation-in-the-wrong-places-john-mariotti?cid=email_weeklydigest_insights

WHAT SHALL WE COVER THIS WEEK?
The election is now only 3 weeks away. Do not relax.  Keep after everyone you know to get out and vote--and encourage them to vote for the "right" candidates.  We must re-take as much of our government as possible. 

A RECOVERY WILL COME--SOMEDAY--WATCH FOR LITTLE BITS OF GOOD NEWS
Some good news--optimism on Wall Street as it breaks 11,000 on the Dow.  Wall Street is considered by many to be a leading indicator of investors confidence that the economy is coming back--sooner rather than later.  My view is in the title of this week's edition.  4Q sales and consumer spending will show a "blip" up, for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa (did I get enough to them to be politically correct?)  Then 1Q 2011 will see a "dip" as consumers stop spending (except gift cards which were bought in the 4Q 2010), and to pay off Christmas bills, winter fuel bills, increased gas bills, etc. After that, a slow climb,  as the recovery begins, but it will be hampered by the clean up needed to repair the mismanagement at State and Federal governments. 

IS THIS A RECOVERY NOW?  I DON'T THINK SO! NOT YET WHEN 17% OF AMERICANS ARE UNEMPLOYED OR UNDEREMPLOYED
17% of Americans are still either unemployed or underemployed and new job growth is not strong enough to even offset the new labor force entrants.  Youths 16-19 are 26% unemployed and black youths in that age group, 49% are unemployed.  The new, higher minimum wage has priced these low-skill, inexperienced workers out of jobs.  So much for "unintended consequences" of a government that simply doesn't understand how business works. In the first half of this year, the US workforce (238MM) grew by 541,000 people but only 344,000 jobs were added.  See the problem?  This continues into the 3Q.  New entrants outpace job creation.  The solution is to get government off the backs of business people and let them invest and grow--and when they make money, tax revenues will go up!  State and local jobs will also need to be cut--a lot--as states and towns are also bloated with too many highly paid people.

ONLY TWO WAYS TO BALANCE A BUDGET:  SPEND LESS AND/OR GROW INCOME--DOING BOTH WORKS FASTER
Nothing less will balance the myriad budgets that are totally out of whack.  The Federal budget leads the pack.  We need about one-fourth less government!  When will the people in DC realize that.  That means a lot of highly paid government employees would be out of work.  But it is no different than what has happened to millions of Americans in private sector jobs.  Time to get the machete out.  Slash spending, which means cutting non-essential programs and services--no matter how loudly the spoiled bleeding hearts cry out.  e.g., in Columbus "free recreation centers" in the city are simply unaffordable, but what an outcry when several of them closed.  It was almost as loud as the whining about no air conditioning in some public buildings.  Consolidate school districts and reduce administrators.  Ditto many other government jobs.  Private sector large companies use "shared services" to pay bills, collect money, administer wages and benefits, handle payroll, etc. for many locations.  Governmental units can easily do the same.  They can also use professional, consolidated, negotiated procurement to stop wasting taxpayers' money. There are many more concepts like this.  How about measuring productivity? How about putting government run work out for bids and let them bid against competitors--and see who will do the work for the best cost?  Radical?  NOPE!   Been that way in private business for a long, long time.  it's called "being competitive!"

THE BEHAVIOR REWARDED IS THE BEHAVIOR REPEATED
99 weeks of unemployment rewards staying out of work.  Why does anyone with a low skill/low experience go to work when the government will pay them to stay home (and tax the productive wage earners to pay for them to stay home).  Get a job.  There are jobs.  Some have lousy hours.  Others are hard or unenjoyable work, all of them expect people to show up regularly, on time. Sweep the streets; pick up trash; clean public buildings; take care of the grounds.  What, someone is already doing that?  Sure they are, and being paid handsomely for it. Workfare instead of welfare was a good idea. Oh, but what a sacrifice, getting up and actually working instead of going down to the unemployment office once a week, to stand in line and drink coffee with the crony buddies waiting for the handout.  More people are on food stamps than ever before too.  And they scream when someone propose not allowing food stamps to be used to buy soft drinks, tobacco, and other unhealthy, unnecessary stuff.  What a crock!  We are breeding a nation of dependent bums.

(I know, there are some genuinely good people who are out of work.  But they if keep looking, keep trying, finally they will find "some kind of job" to do while they look for something more in line with their capabilities--or learn new capabilities!)

"I'M A SCORPION--IT'S MY NATURE"
Have you noticed that Barack Obama is turning nasty.  He's in his negative campaign mode, slamming everyone, including his own disloyal party members.  The old story about the turtle and the scorpion seems appropriate. "The scorpion wanted a ride across the pond.  The turtle says, but you'll sting me and we'll both die.  The scorpion swears otherwise, and off they go.  Halfway across, the scorpion stings the turtle, and as they are sinking in the water to drown, the turtle asks him why he did it, knowing they'll both die.  The scorpion says, 'it's my nature, I'm a scorpion'." Watch this positive "Hope & Change" president turn increasing nasty and rancorous.  Why?  It's in his nature.  Read the Interview at the end of this edition--it will shock and scare you.

HOUSING IS THE ECONOMY'S "BOAT ANCHOR"
Why is this recession so much worse than prior ones?   Because thanks to the delusional government officials (Frank, Dodd, Schumer, Obama, et. al) who convinced Fannie May and Freddie Mac to loan to just anybody, the greedy mortgage companies who also got the fever that "everyone deserves to own a home," they lent to everyone.  WRONG!  Not everyone deserves a home.  I grew up with my parents living with my grandparents.  Between the four of them they could afford just one home--not two.  People rent apartments because they can't afford houses.  They should not buy homes they can't afford, no matter how lax the stupid mortgage lenders and government backers are.  When housing is overbuilt and tanks, it not only takes down all the housing jobs for 3-5 years.  It also takes down all the US companies that make all the stuff that goes into a house---and all of it is made in the USA--or not, when it's not needed.  The ripple effect is devastating.  Of all the industries still "Made in the USA" items for housing and "machines of war," and transportation (cars, trucks, planes, trains, ships) products are among the largest employers.  When housing tanks, the economy tanks twice as hard, and jobs go away in so many places.

IT'S ALWAYS DARKEST JUST BEFORE THE DAWN
IF we can reclaim some semblance of sanity in DC (I know, it's a lot to ask) and rein in spending, kill the worse of the new legislation and regulations, business will slowly come back. The best clue to how bad things are is that Foreign Direct Investment in the USA, long a strong indicator of how the US if "valued," dropped by 61% in 2009--to a negative number.  Foreign investors see just how big a mess the US is in, and how business--unfriendly the current political powers are.  In coming weeks I will write about how a "new middle class" can form in America--starting now!  But it will take most of this next decade to return to unemployment levels in the 6% range!

WHEN FIXING A MESS, IT OFTEN GETS WORSE BEFORE IT GETS BETTER
To fix a mess, it is often necessary to make it worse--before it gets better.  Sometimes broken bones that are healing wrong have to be re-broken and reset.  Excessive, unaffordable jobs have to be eliminated until or unless they become sound, practical and necessary--if ever.  Small businesses create half of all new jobs, they are reeling under the pressure from the recession, the lack of lending and the oppressive blitz of regulatory pressures.   One good sign: magazine ad pages are increasing slowly.  That's a sign of optimism on some level. The most recent results from BIGresearch's Consumer Intentions and Actions survey were all starting to show small upward movements.  Still heavy on buying necessities, but a small move upward in those planning to buy.  Advertisers want to be in consumers' minds when they are ready to shop.

THE SOLUTION, LIKE IN SAILING THROUGH A STORMY SEA, IS TO FACE RIGHT INTO IT AND BE STEADY ON THE TILLER
When times are tough, there is often now faster or shorter path through it than to "sail right into the teeth of the storm."  That takes a steady, experienced hand on the tiller--something there are precious few of around the White House.  Obama's theoretical, professorial speechifying belies an abject lack of real world experience and in depth understanding of how business grows and prospers.  And with adviser and acolytes--Keynesians like Paul Krugman--they will certainly make it worse in their misguided efforts to make it better.  They are not "bad people."  They are just well-intentioned people who don't know, what they don't know, and where much of what they do know, is wrong.

WHEN THE CAPTAIN IS A ROOKIE, HIS INSTINCTS ARE NOT DEVELOPED
Need more revenue?  How about a Value Added Tax--the darling of near socialistic governments everywhere.  Make "creating value" which leads to "creating wealth" a "taxable event."  That's a sure way to demotivate value creators.  I already pay over 50 cents of every dollar in taxes of some kind.  Why should I work harder to pay more?  Left to its own devices, the economy in a free enterprise will recover.  But when government meddling is involved--it might not--ever recover.  Unemployment is now destined to be above 9% for a long, long time, thanks to the Obama/Democratic Congressional spending spree and regulatory avalanche. It will take 3+/- years to just get back down to 8%, the figure unemployment was never supposed to exceed according to Obama and his Keynesian advisors.

WHEN TOO MANY RESOURCES ARE SPENT ON THE WRONG THINGS, TOO FEW ARE LEFT FOR TRUE OPPORTUNITIES WHICH BRING GROWTH
I've seen this problem time and again in businesses.  The management fails to realize the importance of conserving valued resources (usually money, but also it can happen with time and talent).  They spend, spend, spend, and then, when the big opportunity arises, none are left to invest and exploit it.  The biggest trap is overspending on the wrong things,on unimportant things or on things that do not have a chance to yield substantial results, and thus leaving nothing left to spend/invest in the right things!  The USA as a country is dangerously close to that problem right now. The spending spree on a misguided stimulus, on bailouts, on giveaways disguised as growth drivers, etc. have put us in this position as a country--saddled with enormous debt and still spending at a rate much higher than our income.  Experienced executives learn to understand the importance of prioritization and conservation of resources.  Myopic tax & spend liberals don't, and rookie presidents sure don't.  The way to solve big problems is with big actions--but not throwing money at them.  You can't fix big problems with little incremental changes, but the changes must work--be effective--and affordable.    The key point is to make sure you actually fix the problem--and not a symptom of the problem (e.g., Health care is the best example, but many of our government problems are much like this).

ALL THE WRONG REACTIONS--A TYPICAL SET OF MISTAKES
Typical liberal reactions to "outsourcing" is that one is shipping US jobs offshore.  And that is true, but it is only 1/3 of the story.  The real fact is that IF a US company is not competitive, those jobs will go away anyway as competitors from companies located in other places that are more competitive take away the US company's market share.  In this context, shipping some jobs offshore to save others is not such a bad thing to do.  But the other third of the story is that taken over the decade from 1991 to 2001, while 2.8 million jobs were outsourced or moved offshore, those same firms created 5.5 million jobs in the USA.  A 2 for 1 trade is not a bad deal for US workers, compared to letting a foreign competitor come in and completely wipe out an industry (what happened to consumer electronics in the 1980's and 1990's).  Why don't more people understand these simple facts?  Political demagoguery is the reason.  It's lots easier for a candidate to point fingers and hurl abuse for "shipping US jobs to Asia or Mexico" than to take the time to understand what's really going on in a global economy.

I CAN'T AUTHENTICATE THIS "INTERVIEW" (I TRIED) -BUT IT "RINGS TRUE", & IS VERY ALARMING---A PRESIDENT WHO LIKELY REALIZES HE IS "UNFIT" FOR THE JOB
==================
Truth or fiction or some of both? An Interview with a former White House Insider on Obama:   Published by Ulsterman on September 7, 2010 in
 Opinions (See link at the end)
A longtime Washington D. C. insider, and former advisor to the Obama election campaign and transition team, speaks out on an administration in crisis, and a president increasingly withdrawn from the job of President...   According to him, those were incredibly exciting times, even for one who had been a participant with three previous presidential hopefuls. Barack Obama appeared to move from one city to the next effortlessly, gaining confidence and motivation with each campaign stop.
 
"He was remarkable to watch. He took the script, elevated it with his oration, left the crowds screaming for more, and then would do it all over again, time after time after time. On the campaign trail, Obama is a machine."

When I asked this insider if the media gave candidate Obama an assist throughout his campaign, it elicits a sly smile.
A:
" Sure – we definitely had people in the media on our side. Absolutely. We went so far as to give them specific ideas for coverage. The ones who took that advice from the campaign were granted better access, and Obama was the biggest story in 2008, so yeah, that gave us a lot of leverage."

Could Obama have succeeded without the media’s help?
A:
 "Yeah, I think so. As I said, on the campaign trail he is very-very good. The opposition didn’t have near the energy, or the celebrity attraction that Obama brings. Plus, the country was burned out after eight years of Bush. We knew that going in. We knew that if we won the Democrat nomination, we were likely going to cruise our way to the White House – and that is exactly what we did.”

But after Obama was sworn in, things began to change?
A:
 "Almost immediately. Obama loved to campaign. He clearly didn’t like the work of being President though, and that attitude was felt by the entire White House staff within weeks after the inauguration. Obama the tireless, hard working candidate became a very tepid personality to us. And the few news stories that did come out against him were the only things he seemed to care about. He absolutely obsesses over Fox News. For being so successful, Barack Obama is incredibly thin-skinned. He takes everything very personally."

And you state he despises Joe Biden?
A:
 "Oh yeah. That is very well known in the White House. Obama chose Biden for one reason – to have an older white guy with some international policy credentials. Period. If Biden has all of this international experience that Obama found so valuable, why has he buried him under the pile of crap that became the stimulus bill? What does Joe Biden know about budgets and economics? Not much – but Obama didn’t care. Give Joe a job and get him the hell out of my hair – that pretty much sums up the president’s feelings toward Joe Biden."

What about Hillary Clinton?
A:
 "Obama is scared to death of Hillary. He doesn’t trust her – obsesses over her almost as much as he does Fox News. He respects her though, which might be why he fears her so much as well. He talks the game, but when it comes down to it, she has played the game on a far tougher level than he has, and Obama knows that."

How about Bill Clinton?
A:
 "I never heard Obama say anything about Bill Clinton personally, though I was told he has cracked a few jokes about the former president since getting into the White House. I have heard that Bill Clinton does not like Barack Obama. That really started when Obama played the race card against him during the primary campaign. Apparently  Clinton was apoplectic over that and still hasn’t gotten over it. If there is one thing I have learned in this town – don’t make an enemy of Bill Clinton."

So if Obama doesn’t appear interested in the job of president, what does he do day after day?
A:
 "Well, he takes his meetings just like any other president would, though even then, he seems to lack a certain focus and on a few occasions, actually leaves with the directive that be given a summary of the meeting at a later date. I hear he plays a lot of golf, and watches a lot of television – ESPN mainly. I’ll tell you this – if you want to see President Obama get excited about a conversation, turn it to sports. That gets him interested. You start talking about Congress, or some policy, and he just kind of turns off. It’s really very strange. I mean, we were all led to believe that this guy was some kind of intellectual giant, right? Ivy League and all that. Well, that is not what I saw. Barack Obama doesn’t have a whole lot of intellectual curiosity. When he is off script, he is what I call a real “slow talker”. Lots of ummms, and lots of time in between answers where you can almost see the little wheel in his head turning very slowly. I am not going to say the president is a dumb man, because he is not, but yeah, there was a definite letdown when you actually hear him talking without the script."

That sounds like you are calling Obama stupid to me.
A:
 "No – I am not going to call him stupid. He just doesn’t strike me as particularly smart. Bill Clinton is a smart guy – he would run intellectual circles around Barack Obama. And Bill Clinton loved the politics of being president. Obama seems to think he shouldn’t have to be bothered, which has created a considerable amount of conflict among his staff."

So how bad are things at the White House these days?
A:
" I don’t know about right now, because I have not been there in over a month. But I still hear things, and I know what it was like when I left. It’s not good. As bad as it might look to voters based on what they do know, it’s much worse. The infighting is off the charts. You got a Chief of Staff who despises cabinet members, advisors who despise the Chief of Staff, a President and First Lady having their own issues…"

Come again – what about the First Lady?
A:
 (The insider takes a deep breath) "Ok, look, just like any other marriage, folks have issues. The Obamas are no different, except of course they are very high profile. I was told they were having issues before the campaign, and they have even more issues now. Maybe that is why Obama seems so detached – not so much the stress of the White House, but the stress of personal issues. I can certainly relate to that kind of situation."

Care to clarify some more on the Obama marriage?
A:
 "No. That is all I will say about that. Don’t ask again."

Ok, back to President Obama then. In just a few words, how would you describe him these days?
A:
" Like I said, it’s been a while since I was last at the White House, but I don’t have a problem saying that the president is losing it. I don’t mean he is like losing his mind. I mean to say that he is losing whatever spark he had during the campaign. When you take away the crowds, Obama gets noticeably smaller. He shrinks up inside of himself. He just doesn’t seem to have the confidence to do the job of President, and it’s getting worse and worse. Case in point – just a few days before I left, I saw first hand the President of the United States yelling at a member of his staff. He was yelling like a spoiled child. And then he pouted for several moments after. I wish I was kidding, or exaggerating, but I am not. The President of the  United States threw a temper tantrum. The jobs reports are always setting him off, and he is getting increasingly conspiratorial over the unemployment numbers. I never heard it myself, but was told that Obama thinks the banking system is out to get him now. That they and the big industries are making him pay for trying to regulate them more. That is the frame of mind the President is in these days. And you know what? Maybe he is right, who knows?"

Will Obama run again in 2012?
A:
" I don’t know. That subject was never brought up again after 2008, at least not around me. If he does, I think it would have more to do with allowing him another year and a half of campaigning again. He just loves it so much. He really needs the crowds, the cheering, the support of the people."

Can he win in 2012?
A:
 "Oh – absolutely. Who else campaigns as well as Barack Obama? Nobody. What politician is more loved and supported by the media? Nobody. I don’t see the Republicans offering up a candidate as powerful as Obama. I mean Sarah Palin? Really? Obama would defeat her by a 20 point landslide! Romney? The Republicans will enjoy these midterm elections, but 2012 is Obama’s year if he chooses to run again. As a president, Obama has many flaws, but as a candidate, he is near flawless."

But would another four years of an Obama presidency be the best thing for  America ?
A:
 (Long pause) "Now that is a much more interesting question right there, and a question I think more and more Democrat Party insiders are asking themselves these days, myself included. I am going to come right out and say it – No. Obama is not up to the job of being president. He simply doesn’t seem to care about the work involved. You want to know what? Obama is lazy. He really is. And it is getting worse and worse. Would another four years of Obama be the best thing for  America ? No it would not. What this country needs is a president who is focused on the job more than on themselves. Obama is not that individual. I actually hope he doesn’t run again. Looking back, as much fun as the campaign in 2008 was, Hillary Clinton should have been the nominee. Hillary was ready to be president. Obama was not ready. He had never lost a campaign. Everything was handed to him. He doesn’t really understand the idea of work – real, hard, get your heart and soul into it work. And frankly, that is very disappointing to a whole lot of us."

http://newsflavor.com/opinions/white-house-insider-on-obama-the-president-is-losing-it/
==================

THANKS TO THIS PRESIDENT AND THE DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS, THIS COUNTRY IS IN CRISIS.  WE MUST START THE PROCESS OF RESTORING IT.
WITH THIS ELECTION, WE MUST RETAKE CONGRESS.  NEXT TIME, IN 2012, THE WHITE HOUSE. 
PLEASE HELP GET OUT THE VOTE!  INFLUENCE EVERYONE YOU CAN.

BEST, JOHN

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John L. Mariotti, President & CEO, The Enterprise Group, Phone 614-840-0959  http://www.mariotti.net   http://mariotti.blogs.com/my_weblog/
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The Chinese Conspiracy--COMING SOON

The Chinese Conspiracy--COMING SOON

The most exciting, scarily realistic novel of 2010 will be out before the year is over.  It raises the question: 'WHAT HAPPENS WHEN NOTHING WORKS? and then answers why "nothing works."

Each week from now until this new John Mariotti novel is available to buy, this blog will post another brief look at the issue of Cyber-terrorism or Cyber-war, and havoc that hackers are causing and can cause when they have evil intentions.

Quick, call, email or text your loved ones, while you can!

THE ENTERPRISE--WHAT HAS AMERICA BECOME? & WHAT WILL YOU DO ABOUT IT?

THE ENTERPRISE--WHAT HAS AMERICA BECOME?  & WHAT WILL YOU DO ABOUT IT?

I'M POSTING THIS ONE EARLY--ON FRIDAY--SO YOU CAN FORWARD THIS EDITION OF THE ENTERPRISE TO EVERY AMERICAN VOTER YOU HAVE ON YOUR MAILING LIST!
It's time for "WE THE PEOPLE" to stand up and be counted--and take back control of our country.

THE ENTERPRISE'S TITLE WAS DERIVED FROM A LETTER TO AN EDITOR THAT IS STAGGERING
See if you don't agree.  This one should go to every member of our State and Federal governments, including the Judiciary branch.

AMERICA IS BECOMING OLD AND OBSOLETE/WORN OUT WHILE CONGRESS DOES WHAT?
Our Interstate Highway systems and its bridges are wearing out, and need repair badly. Where are all the "shovel ready" stimulus jobs? So are many other parts of "public utilities and infrastructure."  But little is being done in any organized way .  Instead more new government branches are being formed--most filled with government bureaucrats to "regulate us."  Our "institutions" like the U. S. Postal Service are growing obsolete.  You know about the debacles of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two primary perpetrators in the sub-prime mortgage fiasco.

A few micro-examples, both of the money losing USPS, which continues to see "snail mail" traffic drop due to email, and competition.
1) Where I live, in suburban Columbus, OH, the roads and retail development continue to move around with progress and growth.  In front of the "Post Office" in Powell, my little town, there are UPS and FedEx drop boxes.  These were no doubt installed to siphon business away from the USPS's heavily promoted (profitable?) Priority Mail and Express Mail services.  Clever, huh?

2) As I look for a "mailbox" a few miles from the Post Office, I find the only one located "near a major new commercial area" is not two blocks away from all the stores, traffic patterns, and major roads, sitting idly in front of a John Deere dealership located on what was once (20+ years ago) the major road, and is now a minor access road.  Few know it's there (who knows, there could be others hidden in out of the way, inconvenient locations--nobody knows).  Does the USPS realize that progress moved all its customers a few blocks to the West?  Doubtful.  Of course you can walk into a UPS store or a PakMail store in the heart of the shopping areas and they will take your mail and deposit it for you.  How's that for USPS "Smart Marketing"--send your prospective customers to competitors.

3) Example two was noticed while vacationing last year in Marco Island, FL.  The city center post office is a bustling enterprise.  Then I visited Goodland, a "quaint" old village of fishing, trailer parks and boaters, located just 6 miles away (which was the original settlement in the area), and it still has its own Post Office.  On a good day, the traffic in an out is minimal, but the USPS still staffs it and keeps it open.  Once again, progress moved the "city" 6 miles away

4) Competitors like UPS either don't offer Saturday delivery, or charge a premium for it (I think FedEx still does deliver on Sat.).  But the Post Office, funded indirectly by your tax dollars keeps on delivering my junk mail and catalogs every Saturday, losing more than $5B per year.  And yet, I shipped a "Flat Rate Box" weighing 18 lbs. and containing 17 of my books to Australia and it got there in less than 10 days--for just $55.  Really!  But what is Congress doing?  Well, right now they are back home campaigning without passing a budget bill, and leaving lots of other unfinished business.  They hope to sneak some new things past us in the "Lame Duck" session, is my bet!  Meanwhile, read on to see what "important stuff" they are working on....

WHAT IS CONGRESS THINKING OF?  COMEDIANS & BASEBALL PLAYERS?  REALLY?
Our country is in trouble.  Read the next report from a highly qualified Navy Admiral and former executive if you need more corroboration of that.  And out Congress is inviting a parody-telling Comedian to testify as an authority, and conducting hearing on whether a retired baseball star told the truth about using steroids.  Two questions come to mind:  1) Which parts of Stephen Colbert's testimony were real and which were parodies of the circus called Congress he was performing before?  2) What on earth was Congress doing questioning a retired baseball player about steroid use anyway? 

MAYBE THEY SHOULD RECONSIDER WHAT THEY THINK IS IMPORTANT!
Nearly 20 million Americans are unemployed, and the economy is NOT recovering in spite of the government flying over and dumping your tax dollars all over the place--generally to be wasted and/or create create more government bureaucracy (wait, those two phrases are redundant).  These Congressional "representatives" who crammed TWO 2000 page laws--Obama's Favorite Health Care Bill and the Financial Reform Bill down Americans throats with the admonition: "You'll see what's in them after we pass them. "LET'S THROW THEM OUT, THEN THEY CAN READ AT THEIR LEISURE.

A CALL TO ACTION THAT SHOULD WAKE UP EVERYONE--A REAL LIFE REPORT FROM THE FIELD:
--------------------
Just thought I would share with you a little bit of what we heard at last night's Republican dinner here in Crawford County, Ohio. John Kasich (running for Gov. of Ohio) was the keynote speaker.  Also present were many politicians, most notably Bob Latta, our U.S. Congressman. Mike and I walked up to Bob and thanked him for his conservative voting record and voiced our concern about what is going on in Washington. He made some funny botox remarks about Pelosi and then agreed with us that we have every reason to be concerned.

As there were others waiting to talk to him, our time was brief. Although what took place later that evening should make chills run up and down everyone's spine to hear. He asked to speak a few words at the end of the night and went up on stage. He proceeded to tell the crowd how bad things really are in Washington. He said if he could tell us even half of what the agenda is and what this administration plans to do to our country we couldn't sleep at night. He said he only gets 4 to 4-1/2 hours of sleep a night and worries constantly about what they want to do to this country.
 
He said that Pelosi, Reid and Obama have to be stopped. He said, "You know, you always hear this is the most important election "blah blah blah...", but I am telling you people, whatever you have to do to wake people up you need to do!  We have got to vote them out in 2010 or with the things they have planned for this country we won't even be a country by 2020! Ten years.
 
You could see the look of almost desperation on his face. He talked about the huge debt.  He talked about how the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) gets their "figures". He sits on the finance committee and listens to the ramblings of Geithner and Bernanke. He said, "If you think that the Chinese won't hold this over us with all our debt you have another thought coming. Our children will have nothing."
 
"I don't care if you have to go out door to door, tell at least 10 people who will then tell 10 people. We have to do this.  This is the single most important election ever in the history of this country. The change that Obama promised us is NOT the change people thought he meant."

—FROM A RETIRED USN ADMIRAL & FORMER EXECUTIVE

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SPEND THE 15 MINUTES, THIS IS WORTH YOUR TIME TO WATCH
http://www.sodahead.com/united-states/heres-a-real-man-speaking-without-a-teleprompter-video/blog-393325/

TAXES COME IN MANY FORMS--ONE OF THE MOST INSIDIOUS IS DISGUISED AS REGULATIONS
Companies in the US suffer a competitive disadvantage because the large and growing number of government regulations with which they must comply.  It is a widely ignored way that government usurps the rights of companies under the guise of "protecting" the citizens from harm.  In fact, they inflict harm--job losses by the millions over nitpicking done by a bunch of DC (and state) bureaucrats who never made a payroll, have secure jobs, and are intoxicated by the power they discover that they have.  This MUST be stopped.

SO WHY IS DEFLATION SO BAD--AND CONCERNING?  A REAL LIFE EXPLANATION FROM SOMEONE WHO DEALS WITH IT EVERY DAY
This explains very clearly why so many small businesses, and some large ones either have failed or are failing (or struggling) in many places.  Housing, as a primary example is in a deflationary spiral all over the USA.  Lower prices lead to a little interest, but then lead to still lower prices, squeezing everyone involved until they fail.  Here's how one knowledgeable person explains it:
"So in what ways is deflation a bad thing?  Well, if you are a small business owner who purchased a business or leveraged their house in the bubble years and has a massive debt load with shrinking revenues, deflation is a killer.  The debt service payments remain the same, but you have less and less cash coming into the bank account.  The value of your home and business collateral is diminishing, you are experiencing credit deflation, and this in itself is a bad thing.  You need a bailout, a fresh start, a way to remove or reduce the debt service payments so that you can have a chance to survive.  Typically these business owners have done nothing wrong other than take on credit at the wrong time.  This type of deflation is very prevalent these days and will kill your business if you do not take action."  —Peter Tur, Second Wind Partners

HOW TO GROW OUT OF THE DEFICIT?
Edward Lazear, of Stanford, and formerly chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisors offers a simple and wise solution. First, immediately cut the level of spending that has increased so dramatically in the past couple of years.  (And this increase is mostly not due to the two largest hard to cut programs, Social Security & Medicare.) It is growth of government and new spending.  Cut it!  Then, (and this is the best part), pass a law that restricts spending to "inflation minus one"-- last three years' inflation rate minus 1% as a limit on government spending.  Do this until the budget deficit until the deficit is reduced to 18% of the GDP, and the rule would be triggered again whenever a budget year threatened to surpass 18%.  Exceptions would only be for emergencies and require a 60% vote of both Houses of Congress.

SOME TRUTHS TO THINK ABOUT
You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away people's initiative and independence.
You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves.

WHETHER YOU LIKE NEWT GINGRICH OR NOT--HE CITES SOME VALUABLE PERSPECTIVES--WITH FACTS TO BACK UP "WHAT CAN BE DONE"
"This year, the House Republicans’ Pledge to America has set the stage for a powerful, symbolic closing argument for candidates seeking to unseat the left-wing, big-spending, job-killing Democrats: paychecks versus food stamps.  It is an unassailable fact that in June, more food stamps were distributed by the government than ever before in American history. (It turns out that Barack Obama’s idea of spreading the wealth around was spreading more food stamps around.)
It is also an unassailable fact that in January 2007, when Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid took over Congress, unemployment was 4.6% and food stamp usage was around 26.5 million Americans. Today, the unemployment rate is 9.6% and over 40 million Americans are on food stamps.  [Ed. Note: They can try to blame this on George W. Bush, but we know who caused it--and it wasn't Bush.]

Compare this to our record after we took control of Congress in 1994. In four years, unemployment fell from 5.6% to 4.2% and food stamp usage dropped by 8 million Americans thanks to record job creation. Furthermore, we turned a $107 billion deficit into a $125 billion surplus in four years, paying off more than $400 billion in federal debt. And we did it with a liberal Democrat in the White House."


MEDIA GLADLY PICK UP THE LEFT'S HYSTERIA AND PUBLICIZE IT AS IF IT IS THE TRUTH
George Will's column of this past week cited numerous examples of this.  Save it and read it when you have time.  As usual Will gets right to the heart of the topic.
Download George F. Will_ Media gladly pick up left's hysteria | The Columbus Dispatch

NOW WE FIND OUT--ANOTHER GOVERNMENT DECEPTION--WHAT CAN WE BELIEVE?
It now comes to light in an Associated Press article, that the Obama White House hid the "scientific truth" from Americans about the actual and potential magnitude of the Gulf Oil Spill.  The NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) chief reported that the White House was directly involved in suppressing the truth about how bad the oil spill was and could become.  The WH denied a request to publish a "worst case scenario" report too.
OK, MY FELLOW AMERICANS:  THERE ARE ONLY 3+ WEEKS TO THE MIDTERM ELECTIONS.  NOW IT THE TIME TO START THE PROCESS OF RE-TAKING AMERICA!

I am mailing my early ballot in today.  Since I've done a lot of homework and met with* several of these people, so here are my picks:

Rob Portman for Senate,

John Kasich/Mary Taylor for Gov. & Lt. Gov.,

*Pat Tiberi for House of Rep. (and right next door, *Steve Stivers for the House of Rep.,),

Mike DeWine for Ohio Att'y Gen'l,

Jon Husted for Ohio Sec'y of State,

Dave Yost for Ohio Auditor,

and locally, *Kris Jordan for Ohio State Senate and *Andy Brenner for Ohio House

(and in NE OH, *Frank LaRose for State Senate).

 If anyone knows someone who lives in WV, *Dolph Santorine for WV House of Delegates. 

These are quality people, experienced, and best of all, they understand what needs to be done to return our state and our country to the right track. 

IT WON'T BE EASY WITH OBAMA IN THE WHITE HOUSE! 

Just repairing the damage done by the Obama-Pelosi-Reid leadership will be a HUGE task. 

BUT, who better to do it that people who know how, some of whom have "fixed it" before.



BEST, JOHN



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I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.    -- Winston Churchill

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John L. Mariotti, President & CEO, The Enterprise Group, Phone 614-840-0959  http://www.mariotti.net   http://mariotti.blogs.com/my_weblog/

THE ENTERPRISE--SIMPLE TRUTHS

THE ENTERPRISE--SIMPLE TRUTHS

TAKE 2 MINUTES AND WATCH "THE FORGOTTEN MAN" ABOUT A PAINTING BY JOHN MCNAUGHTON
It is unforgettable.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KGlBHyVeYU


ANSWER TO A QUESTION:  HOW MANY PEOPLE RECEIVE AND READ "THE ENTERPRISE"?
I really don't know.  Here are the things I do know.  I have been writing and emailing it weekly for 9 years, since this same time in 2001--right after 9/11.  The direct mailing list is now at about 650 names.  I add names whenever folks ask me to be added or ask for someone else to be added.  (Ditto for those who want to drop it!)  Some read it every week.  Others never read it at all.  I have attempted to survey what the "reading" and  "pass on" factors might be, with only modest success.  Based on replies, perhaps 10-20% of recipients pass it on to others (sometimes with a note, sometimes to their entire organization), and the average pass-on number was to 10 addresses, and a high of 50 recipients.  That doubles the number who receive it to over 1000.  I post it on my blog, where it receives (in a typical month) about 300 more views.  Who else passes it on or passes on the blog address (It's in the signature of all of my emails), I don't know.

I write it because I want to.  It makes me think about "what I think, about things."  I hope you find it interesting, sometimes enjoyable and useful. 
I am open to suggestions (& criticism) on how to make it better, what to do more of, or less of...etc.

[NOTE] A SPECIAL MESSAGE ABOUT INTERNET-OBAMA (& PELOSI/REID) RELATED STORIES--PLEASE CONSIDER SERIOUSLY
I just get at least 10-20 emails every week forwarded to me (with the best of intentions) containing stories about Obama's past, his murky background, his Muslim origins, comparisons to Hitler, and many more.  I have checked many of these with the best Internet sources I can find:   http://www.factcheck.org, http://www.truthorfiction.com, and http://www.snopes.com, (known to be run by a couple of left-leaning people).  Nearly all of the forwarded emails are either bogus--written by bloggers and attributed to famous people, or "old news" generated during the 2008 campaign,  Barack Obama was inaugurated President and that is an unavoidable truth--we are stuck with him.  These stories distract us from the real jobs of: Communicating how his current policies ares damaging the USA,  and Electing new members  to take control of Congress in hopes of "slowing him down"-- until we can find someone to defeat him in 2012 -- not an easy task! 
My appeal to you is that rather than just forwarding around these "shocking" stories, take 3 steps: 
1) Check them out at the sites listed above.
2) When you find them to be false, in part or in total, email whoever sent them to you and let them know,
3) When you find one that is true and is consistent with trying to replace him or gain control of Congress--send it on!  Thanks.

A FEW BITS OF WISDOM FROM THE RECENTLY CONCLUDED 14TH REUNION CONFERENCE
Just a few of the dozen wonderful topics and presentations...more in future editions.  General conclusion: People make all the difference.  Find, retain and provide an environment where they can become motivated, happy, excited and succeed, and wonderful things happen. George Plotner, [email protected] used mini-cases to illustrate several common blunders in hiring--or attempting to hire--people, and how to avoid them.  Krissi Barr  [email protected], presented the message of her book Plugged, and emphasized the importance of PAR (the book uses a golf metaphor): Prioritize, Adapt, and be Responsible. Jack Windsor [email protected], illustrated and explained the power of networking, and concluded that "your network is your net worth!"  Dolph Santorine  http://www.dolphsantorine.com, explained his uniquely down-to-earth, experience-based approach to fiscal responsibility in government and his current run for a seat in the WV House of Delegates. 

CHINA--GOING THROUGH THE UNAVOIDABLE PHASES OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
China's population is graying, and the trend has been hastened by the "one-child" policy since the late 1970's.  This means fewer wage earners supporting more elderly--just like in Japan, most of Europe and the USA.  India's growth rate threatens to surpass China's by 2015.  That alone doesn't determine the outcome that will result, but China has relied on its high growth rate and seemingly endless amount of cheap labor for growth and jobs.  Labor--especially the more skilled laborers--is not becoming a shortage in China. People and jobs and geography are becoming misaligned.  China's environment is fouled beyond imagination--except for its people who see it and are poisoned by it daily.  Corruption remains just below the surface, in a country that still exercises governmental control over most of its economy.  China's people are restless and unhappy, even as a fraction of them become wealthy, upper-middle class consumers in exploding large cities.  Has China "peaked," in its growth and prosperity?  I don't know the answer; I only know that the question becomes increasingly relevant.  America and China are co-dependent on each other and thus, whatever happens here--or there--affects the other country.  Pay close attention to the signs--huge wage increases, labor unrest and strikes, pollution related disasters, and a government intent on--and spending toward--becoming a military power.  Does any of this sound familiar?

WHY WE NEED TO REGAIN CONTROL OF CONGRESS--AND THEN BEHAVE DIFFERENTLY
------------THE DATE THE RECENT CRISIS BEGAN: JAN. 3, 2007!
January 3,  2007 was the day the Democrats took over control of the Senate and the Congress.  This means the committee chairmanships went over to Democrats.  The committee chairs effectively control the flow of legislation--shutting off the bills they do not want to pass--and passing the ones they like (or their supporters like). This is why majority control of the Houses of Congress is so powerful, and two leaders--Speaker of the House and Senate Majority Leader--are also so powerful.

The day the Democrats took over the US government was NOT January 22, 2009 (Obama took office); it was actually January 3, 2007.  This was the day the Democrats took over the House of Representatives and the Senate, the start of the 110th Congress. The Democratic Party controlled a majority in both chambers for the first time since the end of the 103rd Congress in 1995.  For those who are listening to the liberals propagating the fallacy that everything is "ALL Bush's Fault," think about this.  As of Jan. 2007:

1.   The DOW Jones closed at 12,621.77
2.   The GDP for the previous quarter was 3.5%
3.   The unemployment rate was 4.6%
4.   George Bush's economic policies SET A RECORD of 52 STRAIGHT MONTHS of JOB CREATION!

Remember the day...
 
1.   January 3, 2007, was the day that Barney Frank took over the House Financial Services Committee and Chris Dodd took over the Senate Banking Committee.
2.   The economic meltdown that happened 15 months later was in what part of the economy?  BANKING AND FINANCIAL SERVICES--including Housing & Mortgage Lending!
3.   Thank Congress for taking us from a nearly 13,000 DOW, 3.5% GDP growth and 4.6% Unemployment to this CRISIS by dumping TRILLIONS of Dollars of toxic loans on the economy from THEIR Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rotten mortgage fiascoes!   

(FYI--President Bush asked Congress 17 TIMES to stop Fannie & Freddie -- starting in 2001, because it was financially risky for the U.S. economy, but no one was willing to listen or take action.)

And who took the three highest pay-offs in campaign contributions from Fannie Mae AND Freddie Mac?
--Dodd, Christopher, CT $165,400;   --Obama, Barack, IL $126,349;  --Kerry, John, MA $111,000;  (time frame 1989-2008) 

And who fought against reform of Fannie and Freddie? These same Democratic Congressional leaders, primarily Barney Frank, Chuck Shumer, Chris Dodd, John Kerry (and of course, Barack Obama).  Their credo:  "Every American deserves to own a house,"  (Even if they cannot now and never will be able to afford a house!)  And therein was the most basic cause of the sub-prime mortgage and housing crisis.  The irresponsible mortgage lenders and rating agencies did the rest.  Apparently our government still has not understood the most basic flaw in their thinking:  IF YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO PAY FOR SOMETHING, DON'T BUY IT.  That is the SIMPLE TRUTH in this whole sad story.

"I think this is a case where Fannie and Freddie are fundamentally sound, that they are not in danger of going under. They’re not the best investments these days from the long-term standpoint going back. I think they are in good shape going forward."  —Barney Frank on CNBC on July 14, 2008.

REMEMBER JANUARY 3, 2007.... THE DAY THE DEMOCRATS TOOK OVER!"  So when someone tries to blame President Bush you can remind them.  Admittedly, his error was in failing to veto more spending bills..., and mounting an expensive war in Iraq that was mismanaged in critical stages.  His GOP Congressional colleagues in that era also did too little too--as many of them were busy "looking out for themselves."    BUT...the lion's share of the blame--"the MAJORITY of the blame" belongs to the Democratic Congress of 2007--2010, led by Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, aided and abetted by the agenda of Barack Obama.  Bush may have been an accomplice (for not using his Presidential veto), but the Democrats were in charge of Congress, where the spending started and grew, and grew, and grew.... Set the record straight!
 
So, as you listen to all the commercials and media from the Democrats who are now distancing themselves from their voting record and their party, remember how they didn't listen to you when you said you didn't want all the bailouts, you didn't want the health care bill, you didn't want cap and trade, you didn't want them to continue spending money we don't have--recently spending at a rate of $3 spent for every $2 we take in!

Do not forget their complicity in getting us into this mess, and vote accordingly!

I'LL CLOSE WITH TWO LITTLE CLASSROOM EXAMPLES
They are so startlingly clear it makes you wonder how so many people--including so called intellectuals in high positions, don't get it.
PLEASE READ THEM CAREFULLY, and share them with any "Liberal leaning" friends and family you might have--especially your voting age "children."

 Best, John

============================
 
 THE SIMPLEST EXAMPLE OF HOW SOCIALISM "WORKS"--AND WHY IT DOESN'T WORK!
An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before, but had recently failed an entire class. 

That class had insisted that Obama's socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer, the ultimate in "fairness."
 
The professor then said, "OK, we will have an experiment in this class on Obama's plan"..

All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an A....

After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B.  The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy. 

As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too so they studied little.  The second test average was a D!  No one was happy.

When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F.
 
As more tests proceeded, the scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else.

All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great, but when "government" takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed.

Could not be any simpler than that. Remember, there is another test coming up—the mid-term elections in Nov. of 2010! 


NOTE: It's a wonder Barack Obama doesn't understand this better, given his extensive college education at Columbia and Harvard.
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TAX CUTS FOR THE "RICH" DO SOUND WRONG, DON'T THEY?  BUT CONSIDER THIS WELL TRAVELED BUT VERY APPROPRIATE STORY
(No one from the Obama administration would even read to the end of this--but they should.  JOBS ARE CREATED BY THE VERY PEOPLE WHO THEY WANT TO TAX INTO SUBMISSION.  Maybe ATLAS SHRUGGED by Ayn Rand should be required reading for them all.  At 1000 pp. it is only half as long as their two recent major legislative "victories"--the Health Care Bill and the Financial Regulation Bill.

Tax Cuts -- A Simple Lesson In Economics

This is how the cookie crumbles. Please read it carefully.

Let's put tax cuts in terms everyone can understand. Suppose that every day, ten men go out for dinner. The bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.

The fifth would pay $1.

The sixth would pay $3.

The seventh $7.

The eighth $12.

The ninth $18.

The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do.

The ten men ate dinner in the restaurant every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve.

"Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily meal by $20."

So, now dinner for the ten only cost $80. The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes.

So, the first four men were unaffected. They would still eat for free. But what about the other six, the paying customers? How could they divvy up the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share'?

The six men realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being 'PAID' to eat their meal.

So, the restaurant owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).

The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% savings).

The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28% savings).

The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).

The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).

The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to eat for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

"I only got a dollar out of the $20," declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man "but he got $10!"

"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than me!"

"That's true!!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!"

"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!"

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for dinner, so the nine sat down and ate without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up at the table anymore. There are lots of good restaurants in Europe and the Caribbean.

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I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.    -- Winston Churchill
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John L. Mariotti, President & CEO, The Enterprise Group, Phone 614-840-0959  http://www.mariotti.net   http://mariotti.blogs.com/my_weblog/
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