Happy Birthday Mr. President

Describing the farewell address in his book on the life of Washington, Henry Cabot Lodge wrote "...no man ever left a nobler political testament."

In his Address Washington announces his planned withdrawal from politics "after forty-five years of my life dedicated to its (America's) service." He then sets forth his reasons against running for a third term. As if to bolster his argument, he states: "While choice and prudence invite me to quit the political scene, patriotism does not forbid it."

In his address Washington:

    Extolls the benefits of the federal government. "The unity of government...is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence...of your tranquility at home, your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very liberty which you so highly prize."
    
    Warns against the party system. "It serves to distract the Public Councils, and enfeeble the Public Administration....agitates the Community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms; kindles the animosity of one....against another....it opens the door to foreign influence and corruption...thus the policy and the will of one country are subjected to the policy and will of another."
    
    Stresses the importance of religion and morality. "Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths, which are the instruments of investigation in Courts of Justice?"
    
   On stable public credit. "...cherish public credit. One method of preserving it is to use it as sparingly as possible...avoiding likewise the accumulation of debt....it is essential that you...bear in mind, that towards the payments of debts there must be Revenue, that to have Revenue there must be taxes; that no taxes can be devised, which are not...inconvenient and unpleasant..."
 
    Warns against permanent foreign alliances. "It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world..."
 
    On an over-powerful military establishment. "...avoid the necessity of those overgrown military establishments, which, under any form of government, are inauspicious to liberty, and which are to be regarded as particularly hostile to Republican Liberty."

In saying farewell to the new nation he helped create Washington pointed out that ".......the name of American, which belongs to you, in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of Patriotism..."

I remember being forced to read this in Junior High School US History class. Maybe this is why I hold the recent Administrations in such low esteem. It is only a few pages long and it can be read in its entirety at the Avalon Project of Yale University. 

 

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If you're a vet, check this out today. Or if you know a vet, please share this information with them.

Money money money

I have quite a few liberal friends were concerned about the economic welfare of people less fortunate than themselves. I hear questions like; "How can there be poor people in America today?" or "The government takes  in trillions of dollars of tax revenue every year, why can't they help the poor people here?" The answer to the first question is simple; there are poor people everywhere. That second question is equally simple; the government does not take in trillions of tax dollars every year, they borrow money to spend it now in anticipation of tax revenue in the future. I have also heard my friends say things like "the ultrarich should pay their fair share and help out those less fortunate than themselves."

As an answer to that last question I would like to submit these facts:

1. today in America there are currently 403 billionaires with the total net worth of $1.3 trillion. The National debt currently stands at $15.3 trillion. If you took away every dollar from the billionaires and put it toward the national debt you're still $14 trillion in arrears. So let's reach a little deeper, and go after the millionaires.

2.According to the Wall Street Journal there are 3,100,000 millionaires in the United States with the total net worth of $11.6 trillion. And if we take all of their money and redistribute it via taxes, we are still $2.4 trillion short of paying off the national debt . So in essence what we have done is placed 3.1 million people on the property list (and this doesn't include the countless millions of people are now out of work because we removed all of the income used by the Billionaires/millionaires to pay wages and update factories and have actually forced millions more Americans into insolvency and still have to come up with another $2.4 trillion to close budget.

3. And this issue starts all over again on the new fiscal year when Congress again has to borrow money to pay for programs and entitlements and military and Presidential staff salaries and congressional retirement pensions and medical & dental programs. But this time there are no rich to pay the bills with the promise of future tax dollars. 

At this time the ability for America to make a profit and pay taxes has been eliminated when we eliminated the upper-class. So this year we have to go and take away all the money from the new upper-class, everyone who makes over $200,000 a year! That is everyone who has income of >$200,000.00 < $999,999.99. 

4. According to the IRS this number is 3,687,607 households. Doing a little math to come up with a total dollar amount yields ~$2 trillion.

There! We have eliminated the problem. In two short years we have erased the national debt and there are no more rich people in America. The redistribution of wealth has only paid the bills for America for one year and completely eliminated any possibility of any type of financial recovery to pay the bills in the future. And we  didn't create one single job, educate one child or raise even 1 single person above the poverty level.

America has a spending problem. Not an income problem. In robbing the rich we only achieve creating more poor...

OO RAH

AND GOD BLESS 'EM FOR IT...

I whole heartedly stand behind our troops in this recent matter.

Is it distasteful?

HELL YEA.

Is it morbid?

HELL YEA

BUT SO IS WAR!

SOME THINGS I WANT TO SHARE

It seems like it's been forever since I last wrote here although I know in my mind it's only been a couple weeks. Some very big changes have been going my life and they have kept me from writing this. The biggest one is the vocational rehabilitation program offered by the Department of Veterans Affairs. I have been trying to get into this office for months now just to schedule appointment. For any of you who are trying to get into the VOC-REHAB program, let me tell you up front, they don't answer the phone. You must go to their office in person and fill out a form, an application actually, to even be considered for this program. I learned this the hard way, after spending months trying to contact them on the phone. Out of sheer frustration and anger I went down to their office to confront them, and was given the form. We filled it out and I was assigned an orientation class and ultimately I was accepted into the program. For me this is a really big deal. What I'm trying to accomplish is to renew my certifications so that I can return to the workforce as an information security specialist.

A few posts ago I told you that I had received a Van,  and that I was out and about in this big bright world again. Some places I have been include two of the local Harley-Davidson stores. a visit to my brother-in-law in Escondido who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Regular Sunday church service attendance at SONRISE community church. Two more trips to Escondido, one for the memorial service for my brother in law and the second to his graveside service. My brother-in-law Al Fikse was remarkable man who spent the better part of the last 30 years as a teacher and principal at a Christian school in Escondido, California. The number of young people who attended his services served as a testament to the kindhearted, soft-spoken, positive, loving and helpful man he was. There were over a thousand people in attendance and there was nothing but positive comments and heartfelt love for this man who had seen the good and so many wayward children and help them get straight in their lives. He is sorely missed. Survived by his wife, Cindy, three daughters; Rebecca, Rachel and Ruth. And his son Robert.

I have also been to visit my mother-in-law in Hemet, California who is the kindest woman I have ever met in my life.

My numerous sessions at occupational therapy and physical therapy have been getting measurable improvements in mobility, strength and range of motion. Yesterday however the return trip to dermatology discovered another basal cell carcinoma that required removal. This one was on my chest, and the scar will be big enough to tell people it's from a bullet wound, lol. 

I can't tell you that I will make an effort to write here more often. Because quite frankly I'm having too good a time exploring the world again.

Last but certainly not least, it is with a heavy heart that I report to you, the loss of a fellow blogger. The wonderfully talented Lady Emily, who wrote the blog "Alice in Wonderland" at http://thewondersofalice.blogspot.com/ passed away in a car accident on 15 December 2011. For those of you fortunate enough to have read her blogs you understand what an intelligent, compassionate caring person she was. If you are one of the few who actually ever got an e-mail from her you were fortunate enough to have glimpsed her wonderful sense of humor. And if you are one of the truly few people she called friend, you are blessed indeed. Her sister-in-law Megan is continuing the blog in honor of her sister-in-law. Emily's blog was sprinkled with remarkable poetry, most of it from childhood favorites of hers, relevant to things taking place in her life. But on the occasions when she wrote and posted her own poetry, that is when her incredible talent really shone through. The wonderful thing about the Internet is that Emily''s words will outlast us all. Despite the fact that she has gone on to her reward, it's not too late to go and be touched by her words.

Go visit her and see for yourself

So until next time, be well. Be blessed and be a blessing to others