Current politics in the US
We've had
some pretty good discussions on political/social matter here, but it seems the whole subject has fallen by the
wayside.
Its curious that no one is posting about the most comprehensive and radical attempt at restructuring our
country and society that's currently taking place.
I kind of spoke my mind in one thread and probably pissed off
a member or seven, but that's no reason to end any discussion. Politics is a dirty game, as the current
administration, like others before it, is proving in spades.
I think I'll use this thread to post opinion and
news reports from various sources, both domestic and international.
It would be nice to hear some commentary
from the entire spectrum of opinion. Passionate opinion is most welcome if its in the realm of ideas, and not
personal attacks.
The founders of this country fought each other before, during and after the Constitutional
Convention. The signing of the Constitution brought decades of intense debate on working out the crucial tenants of
a free society based on the highest ideals of government ever articulated in a single document. Their hatred of
tyranny bonded them in the midst of their disagreements on how to form a government which protected our new society
from such abuses of power as were imposed by absolute monarchs.
That this debate should continue is part of
being American, and is essential to keeping our society free from tyrants, both foreign and domestic.
A tyrant is
measured by the limits he imposes upon the freedom of any individual. These limits take many forms, and always
begin with subtle restrictions and penalties. A more advanced tyrant will impose himself on a society at large with
supplications to its weaker elements.
What we are facing today is a combination of willing conformity seduced by
some false ideal of political correctness, and an uneducated apathy which selfishly looks for the shallowest water
in which to wash their collective conscience.
These are only my opinions of course, and I'd love to hear
differences. More to follow.
Lee Iaccoca - Worth reading.
IACOCCA SPEAKS OUT ON OBAMA
Just as true today as it
was when his book first came out.
He was, and still is, a brilliant
businessman!
Often we need to be reminded of Iococca's
words.
Remember Lee Iacocca, the man who rescued Chrysler Corporation from its
death throes? He's now 82 years old and has a new book, 'Where Have All The Leaders
Gone?'.
Lee Iacocca Says:
'Am I the
only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage with this so called
president? We should be screaming bloody murder! We've got a gang of tax cheating clueless leftists trying to steer
our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even run a
ridiculous cash-for-clunkers program without losing $26 billion of the taxpayers' money, much less build a hybrid
car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, 'trust me the
economy is getting better..'
Better? You've got to be kidding. This is
America , not the damned, 'Titanic'. I'll give you a sound bite: 'Throw all the Democrats out along with
Obama!'
You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker,
and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country
anymore..
The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys
in handcuffs.. While we're fiddling in Afghanistan , Iran is completing their nuclear bombs and missiles and
nobody seems to know what to do. And the liberal press is waving 'pom-poms' instead of asking hard questions.
That's not the promise of the ' America ' my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough.
How about you?
I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if
you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have. The Biggest 'C' is Crisis! (Iacocca
elaborates on nine C's of leadership, with crisis being the first.)
Leaders
are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's easy to sit there with thumb up your butt and
talk theory. Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself. It's another
thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.
On September 11, 2001, we
needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the
ashes. A hell of a mess, so here's where we stand.
We're immersed in a bloody
war now with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving. But our soldiers are dying
daily.
We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the world, and
it's getting worse every day!
We've lost the manufacturing edge to Asia ,
while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs.
Gas prices are going to skyrock again, and nobody in power has a lucid plan to
open drilling to solve the problem. This country has the largest oil reserves in the WORLD, and we cannot drill for
it because the politicians have been bought by the flea-hugging environmentalists.
Our schools are in a complete disaster because of the teachers union.
Our borders are like sieves and they want to give all illegals amnesty and
free healthcare.
The middle class is being squeezed to death every day.
These are times that cry out for
leadership.
But when you look around, you've got to ask: 'Where have all the
leaders gone?' Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage,
conviction, omnipotence, and common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the
point.
Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making
us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo?
We've spent
billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already
happened.
Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping the government
will make it better for them. Now, that's just crazy.. Deal with life.
Name
me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who
would have believed that there could ever be a time when 'The Big Three' referred to Japanese car companies? How
did this happen, and more important, look what Obama did about it!
Name me a
government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debit, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the
health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and
milking the middle class dry.
I have news for the Chicago gangsters in
Congress. We didn't elect you to turn this country into a losing European Socialist state. What is everybody so
afraid of? That some bonehead on NBC or CNN news will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don't you guys show
some spine for a change?
Had Enough? Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of
gloom and doom here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope - I believe in America . In
my lifetime, I've had the privilege of living through some of America 's greatest moments.. I've also
experienced some of our worst crises: The 'Great Depression,' 'World War II,' the 'Korean War,' the 'Kennedy
Assassination,' the 'Vietnam War,' the 1970's oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years since
9/11.
Make your own contribution by sending this to everyone you know and care
about. It's our country, folks, and it's our future. Our future is at stake!!
Cap and Trade: A License Required for your
Home
NOTE: I've read the bill and some of what is said here is slight exaggeration, but not
much. Bel.
Cap and Trade: A License Required for your
Home
We encourage you to read the provisions of the Cap and
Trade Bill that has passed the House of Representatives and being considered by the Senate. We are ready to join the
next march on Washington!
This
Congress and whoever on their staffs that write this junk are truly out to destroy the middle class of the
USA....
[COLOR=black
]A License Required for your house
Thinking
about selling your house - A look at H.R. 2454 (Cap and trade bill) This is unbelievable!
Only the beginning from this administration! Home
owners take note & tell your friends and relatives who are home owners!
Beginning 1 year after enactment of the Cap and Trade
Act, you won't be able to sell your home unless you retrofit it to comply with the energy and water efficiency
standards of this Act. H.R. 2454, the "Cap & Trade" bill passed by the House of Representatives, if also passed by
the Senate, will be the largest tax increase any of us has ever experienced.
The Congressional Budget Office (supposedly
non-partisan) estimates that in just a few years the average cost to every family of four will be $6,800 per year.
However, once the lower classes feel the pinch in
their wallets, you can be sure these voters get a tax refund (even if they pay no taxes at all) to offset this new
cost. Thus, you Mr. and Mrs. Middle Class America will have to pay even more since additional tax dollars will be
needed to bail out everyone else.
But wait. This
awful bill (that no one in Congress has actually read) has many more surprises in it. Probably the worst one is
this:
- A year from now you won't be able to
sell your house. Yes, you read that right.
The
caveat is (there always is a caveat) that if you have enough money to make required major upgrades to your home,
then you can sell it. But, if not, then forget it. Even pre-fabricated homes ("mobile homes") are included.
- In effect, this bill prevents you from selling
your home without the permission of the EPA administrator.
- To get this permission, you will have to have the
energy efficiency of your home measured. - Then the
government will tell you what your new energy efficiency requirement is and you will be forced to make modifications
to your home under the retrofit provisions of this Act to comply with the new energy and water efficiency
requirements. - Then you will have to get your home
measured again and get a license (called a "label" in the Act) that must be posted on your property to show what
your efficiency rating is; sort of like the Energy Star efficiency rating label on your refrigerator or air
conditioner. - If you don't get a high enough rating,
you can't sell. And, the EPA administrator is authorized to raise the standards every year, even above the
automatic energy efficiency increases built into the Act.
The EPA administrator, appointed by the President,
will run the Cap & Trade program (AKA the "American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009") and is authorized to
make any future changes to the regulations and standards he alone determines to be in the government's best
interest. Requirements are set low initial y so the bill will pass Congress; then the Administrator can set much
tougher new standards every year.
- The Act
itself contains annual required increases in energy efficiency for private and commercial residences and buildings.
- However, the EPA administrator can set higher
standards at any time.
Sect. 202:
Building Retrofit Program mandates a national
retrofit program to increase the energy efficiency of all existing homes across
America .
Beginning 1
year after enactment of the Act, you won't be able to sell your home unless you retrofit it to
comply with the energy and water efficiency standards of this Act.
You had better sell
soon, because the standards will be raised each year and will be really hard (i.e., ex$pen$ive) to meet in a few
years. Oh, goody! The Act allows the government to give you a grant of several thousand dollars to comply with the
retrofit program requirements if you meet certain energy efficiency levels. But, wait, the State can set additional
requirements on who qualifies to receive the grants.
You should expect requirements such as
"can't have an income of more than $50K per year", "home selling price can't be more than $125K", or anything else
to target the upper middle class (and that's YOU) and prevent them from qualifying for the grants.
Most of us won't get a dime and
will have to pay the entire cost of the retrofit out of our own pockets. More transfer of wealth, more "change you
can believe in."
Sect. 304:
Greater Energy Efficiency in Building Codes
establishes new energy efficiency guidelines for the National
Building Code and mandates at 304(d), Application of National Code to State and Local Jurisdictions, that 1
year after enactment of this Act, all state and local jurisdictions must
adopt the National Building Code energy efficiency provisions or must obtain a certification from the federal
government that their state and/or local codes have been brought into full compliance with the National Building
Code energy efficiency
standards.
a license required for your home - Google
Search
H.R. 2454:
American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009
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