Vote an Incumbant Out Campaign 2010

From MartialTalk-Posted by celtic_crippler 11-18-2009
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Vote an Incumbant Out Campaign 2010

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I just heard an announcement about Senator Robert Byrd setting a record just 2 days before his 92nd birthday for serving 57 years in Congress...

57 f'n years!?!?! REALLY?!?!?!

He's served since the Eisenhower administration.

What the hell does this guy have in common with any of you? How can somebody "represent" you, when they can't relate to "you" or your every day problems?

I remember Senator Strom Thurmond once refer to a microphone as a "machine"...

Anyway, our government is full of out-of-touch incumbants that have LONG out-served their usefullness. These bloated parasites have fed off our successes and contributed to our problems for too long.

Why vote them in again? They've had over 1/2 century to screw our country up, and as evidenced by today's environment have done a pretty good job of it too.

"We" share the blame for becoming apathetic and complacent, allowing them to return to office over, and over, and over... so we must STOP.

"We" all know that we can not trust nor count on our current representation to do anything other than pushing us further over the edge.

"We" have to start making changes, real ones, somewhere and there's no better place than at the polls.

"We" know there's no real change on the horizon if "we" trust our county's leadership to bring it about. "We" must do that ourselves... so...

Vote an Incumbant OUT in 2010.

Send a definate message to all that remain that we're mad as hell, and we're not gonna take it any more. You screw up, and do a horrible job and we'll fire your sorry butt!

Spread the word! Vote them OUT! We need fresh perspectives and ideas.

US Vs Toyota

US Vs Toyota

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For years, Japanese auto giant Toyota enjoyed a reputation as a builder of reliable vehicles. The public view of Toyota's cars were that they were more reliable, and more fuel efficient than American-Owned auto makers GM and Ford.

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Drivers Complain Toyota's Fixes Not Working

Now Toyota finds themselves under attack in the US over safety issues.

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Lawsuit Filed Against Toyota Over Car Defects

Things do not look good.

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Former Toyota Lawyer Turns Whistleblower Attorney claims automaker hid safety concerns from public

But, is it really public safety concerns driving this hunt, or is it something else?

Greed?

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Man at Wheel of 'Out-of-Control' Prius Has Troubled Financial Past

Conflicts of interest between the government owned and unionized GM and the senators and representatives they own remain hanging as Congress investigates foriegn owned and non-union Toyota.

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GM Using Taxpayer Money to Prey on Toyota ? Chairman of Toyota National Dealer Council thinks competitor is out of line

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Several Lawmakers at Toyota Hearing Represent Automakers' Competitors

What is known is this.
* There are legitimate questions concerning Toyota not handing over all information requested of it.
* They have issued a huge recall and are looking for fixes.
* The number of actual injury and deaths attributed to these issues (54) is low, and far less than the number of deaths per day in auto accidents. (100 people on average die each day in the US in car accidents)


Toyota's still seem to be safe vehicles, at least, if you believe the folks at Edmunds.

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Toyota complaints trail other companies « Liveshots

If you own a Toyota, what should you do? Check with your local dealership for information on recalls for your model, and get the work done as soon as possible. In fact, all car owners should do this as every brand has issues and recalls. People are going on about an 8.5 million vehicle recall here, but GM and Ford both have about the same amount of cars under recall for various issues. So be informed and get your transport fixed. 

 

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You're not allowed to pay us back in clunkers!

You're not allowed to pay us back in clunkers!

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http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-li...-open/1178451/

SNL hits a bullseye on things.

4 things our veterans need...

4 things our veterans need...

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1- Lifetime health care at no cost to them. You serve, you face action, we take action and take care of you. Period. There is no excuse that a single vet in this country lacks health care.

2- Public recognition for what they do and gratitude for doing it. They serve so that we can enjoy the liberty and freedom we have. It's not a perfect country, but it'd be a lot worse without them.

3- Lifetime education. You served your time, you want to go back to school, change trades, it should be there for you. You already paid your tuition.

4- Lifetime shelter. No vet should be homeless. It won't be the Ritz, and the chow might only be as good as boot, but there should be a place for you to live. No vet should be forced to live in a box under a bridge.

Regarding Health Care, Pending Bills and Reality.

Regarding Health Care, Pending Bills and Reality.

I think people miss an important distinction here.

The government isn't taking your money and giving you -anything-.
They are requiring you to buy something from a third party or face penalty.

Using water as an example as above, despite the fact that it is the one thing you absolutely need, there is no law that says "you will buy water".
Yes there are sewer taxes (which cover most of the costs of sewer related things), but you pay an authorized company for water delivery only if you own the home in most cases. Renters often don't pay a separate water charge.  You can also buy water from countless bottle water suppliers. But if I don't, I'm not fined nor am I facing threat of jail time.

Now, next to water, I require food. Yet, there are no laws that I am aware of that require me to pitch in $5 a week to fed the hungry. No requirement I am aware of that automates a deduction from my income specifically for the purpose of feeding the million+ hungry in the US. Yes, there are government services that do provide that service, however the money is budgeted from government income as they wish. I pay no "food for hungry tax".

After water and food comes shelter.
Again, no "shelter tax", no requirement I provide myself or anyone with shelter. I can choose to live in a tent in a field on public property if I so choose and in most cases will be allowed to do so. No requirement nor seperate tax/fee assessed at pay time that goes specifically towards any homeless shelters. Those are covered as is food and water through generic income/property taxes and other fees in a general pool.

Water, food, shelter.  What's next on the "Needs list"
Sleep.
Sex.

Again, neither are covered by any taxes, fees, etc, nor provided directly by the government. We're kinda left up to those on our own.

Ah, Travel!  All those roads.
No specific tax/deduction nor any requirement to pay for or face fine/jail.
Toll roads are covered by tolls. I can not drive them and avoid the fee.
Public roads are covered by various general funds at various levels.
Highways are a national security level importance due to their intended uses of troop transport and air strip use in emergency. Yet despite their importance, again, no "road tax".


The fact that Dr. X charges $120 for an office visit is irrelevant.  Go see Dr. Y who only charges $25 a visit. Shop around if you don't like the prices. Right now, you can do that. Under alot of these systems people are pointing at as superior, you get the doctor assigned to you, no choice to choose differently. 


Now, you also have to realize that there is no Health Care in this Health Care Bill.  What it is is an Insurance Mandate forcing you to buy a service.   Since you are required to buy it, there is no incentive to lower the costs, so they will go up, you will be gouged, and the only people who benefit are the insurance companies.

If they were serious about fixing the health care problem, they would be addressing the -2- issues people keep bringing up yet are ignored by the bill pending.

-1 costs
-2 access

We need our costs lowered, waste reduced, overcharges reduced and high drug costs addresses.

We need more doctors, nurses, specialists, hospitals and clinics. 

This bill provides for none of that.

It's not a case of "it's better than nothing".
It's a case of it's nothing and they can do better!

Why is the economy a mess and businesses going under? A reason. by Bob Hubbard

Why is the economy a mess and businesses going under? A reason.
by Bob Hubbard

I recently got married. As part of that life's journey, one contacts a number of businesses and key people to make the day run smoothly. We contacted several facilities, visited 3. We received no call backs or follow ups from any of the places, other than the 1 we ultimately chose. We contacted several photographers, and were waiting on a promised call back from one when another contacted us out of the blue. We went with her and its a good thing we did as we still haven't heard from the one who promised to call us. We left messages with several dj's, tux rental places, and 2 hotels. Not a single call back. Are you seeing a trend here? All over the place people are crying "business is down", "I'm not sure if I'll make it" and similar. Yet we had a hard time finding anyone to take our money.

We stopped at a local fast food chain the other day. Place was empty. We waited 5 minutes before walking out, as no one felt like taking our order. Cleaning the back counter was more important, as obviously was the smoke break. A few days earlier, another chain store, we got indifferent service, mediocre "food", and a shrug when I complained about it.

Last year I made several calls to the management of a local mall, looking for information about possibly renting space there. Despite calling every day for 2 weeks, I never managed to reach the one single person there who could talk to me about anything rental related. He was always "just stepped out" or "gone for the day". I finally asked if he ever comes in, and when the person expressed surprise, I said I'd been calling all week, leaving messages and hadnt heard back. They said that was common. The mall has quite a few vacancies. I wonder why. Another local mall has a waiting list as it's full. They answered their phone and were available to talk. Big difference.

A couple months ago a family member had a plumbing emergency. We called at least a dozen plumbers (with the 24 hr service ads) before reaching a live person. We left messages at the earlier ones, and not a single one ever called back.

The economy may be shaky, a few large companies may be facing ugly restructuring, but the core of the economy has always been the small businesses. Maybe the reason why the core is seems to be rotting lies with the core it self. Maybe, it's shooting itself in the foot by failing to follow up, provide quality service and a quality product, and failing to follow through. Maybe, the solution to the economic mess isn't trillions in bailouts to a few big names, but for consumers to find and reward those companies that do go the extra mile, that do care about their product, that deserve to survive.

Maybe then the slackers, drifters, and such will wake up and step up, or die out like they deserve to make way for the real economic stimulus.

545 PEOPLE By Charlie Reese

545 PEOPLE By Charlie Reese


Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.

You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.

You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices; 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country..

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash.


The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.


What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes.

Who is the speaker of the House? Nancy Pelosi. She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.

If the Army & Marines are in ....IRAQ.... it's because they want them in ....IRAQ....

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people and they alone, are responsible.

They and they alone, have the power.

They and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.

Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees. We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

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Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.

Want to Retake Your Government? Learn to Work Together.

Want to Retake Your Government? Learn to Work Together.


Every election, half the people complain that the wrong guy won. Democrat or Republican, odds are, the winner will be one of them. But why? Year after year, people complain yet you never see any other parties getting in, even in the small elections, odds are good that despite our rich number of parties, it's a Democrat or Republican in there.

Behind the "Big Two", the most popular parties are the Libertarian, Green and Constitution parties. Despite years of work though, none have gotten close to winning any major elections. Why is this? Some will point at ballot access issues, road blocks, legal challenges, and a deck stacked against any 3rd party. There is that, but none of that is in fact, insurmountable.

Maybe it's time for these 3rd parties to take some pages out of history and change tactics. They are out numbered, out gunned and out funded by their entrenched opponents, yet stupidly continue to attack head on, and lose.

In the 2008 US Presidential election, Barack Obama changed the rules. He set records doing so. The avalanche he set off is still moving, months after his election. The third parties need to study this, learn from it, and adopt it to their messages.

Something else they must do. Learn to work together.

Barack Obama raised $533 Million, and won 69.5 Million votes. John McCain raised $379 Million, and won 60 Million votes. Third party candidates Ralph Nader (I), Bob Barr (L), Chuck Baldwin (C) and Cynthia McKinney (G) combined raised less than $7 Million and only won 1.7 Million votes combined.

Now, because they are locked out of the debates, because the media only mentions them as an after thought, rarely do they get to present their positions next to the Big Two. But, what if they pooled their war chests. Now, they could take out bigger ads, buy longer spots, and make their voices carry that little bit farther.

Of course, they would also have to start compromising on various points. Everytime a third party starts to gain some headway, it seems it fractures and creates spin offs. I've lost track of how many Libertarian spin off parties there are.

If the thirds want to win, they need to stop taking their balls home and nitpicking. Win some elections, then you can change the world. Until you win, it doesn't matter how right your cause is, especially if only 20 people can hear you speak.

The Rush Towards Socialism – and How To Stop It by Thomas J. DiLorenzo

The Rush Towards Socialism – and How To Stop It
by Thomas J. DiLorenzo

It only took the Obama administration a couple of weeks to prove that the national leadership of the Democratic Party is guided by totalitarian-minded socialists who seek to create an omnipotent government. The U.S. government is now controlled by people who have been dreaming of living out their utopian socialist fantasies ever since the fantasies were brought to their attention in college decades ago by their Mao/Castro/Che Guevara poster-hanging, capitalism-hating, communistic professors.

The administration’s main agenda is an explosion of federal spending and debt so large and outrageous that America will soon exceed Sweden in the proportion of the economy that is controlled by government – if it hasn’t already. That’s just for starters. They also want to sharply increase taxes on the most productive and hardest-working people in society; increase the capital gains tax to deter private investment; expand the welfare state; spend trillions on pure, pork barrel spending in a massive vote-buying spree; set all corporate compensation levels by governmental fiat; tax away the wealth of unpopular business people (only starting with those AIG executives); regulate and control all risk taking by private entrepreneurs; enforce a civilian draft to create a modern-day, American version of the Hitler Youth (See Rahm Emanuel’s creepy, Stalinist-sounding book entitled The Plan); nationalize entire industries, starting with the capital markets (they understand that there can be no capitalism without private capital markets); and double, triple, and quadruple the number of "regulators" who already regulate all aspects of human life in America.

At the recent G-20 meeting Obama even signed off on the creation of an international regulatory "authority" that could set compensation policies in American corporations. On top of this, there is a never-ending drumbeat of anti-capitalist propaganda coming from the administration and its worshipful mouthpieces in the "mainstream media."

What can be done? How can this rush toward totalitarian socialism be stopped? Will the Republicans find another old, angry geezer to appeal to the angry white male vote? How about another mumbling and incompetent Bush family heir? Will there be another Reagan who will talk libertarian while governing more like a European Social Democrat? Will they trot out another old "war hero" who will plunge us into war with Iran, North Korea, China, or whomever, to divert our attention away from the economic mess government has placed us in? These are the likely alternatives if we cling to the fantasy that "throwing the bums out" at election time leads to something other than another group of slightly different bums.

The fact is that the American people have been servants or slaves to their government for generations. It wasn’t always that way. When the Adams administration enforced the Sedition Act that made criticism of the federal government illegal, Jefferson and Madison responded with the Virginia and Kentucky Resolves of 1798 that clearly stated that the people did not intend to allow the enforcement of this unconstitutional law within those two states. Section One of Jefferson’s Kentucky Resolve stated, for example, that "the several States composing the United States of America, are not united on the principles of unlimited submission to their General Government . . ." Other states supported Jefferson and Madison in their defense of free speech.

When President Thomas Jefferson imposed a national trade embargo and consummated the Louisiana Purchase, New Englanders, led by George Washington’s Secretary of State, Timothy Pickering, loudly threatened to secede. They decided against it (for practical economic and political reasons) at the Hartford Secession Convention of 1814, but their actions sent a clear message to national politicians.

Outraged by the embargo, the Massachusetts legislature used the language of Jefferson’s own Kentucky Resolve to proclaim that the embargo "was not legally binding on the citizens of the state" while denouncing the federal law as "unjust, oppressive, and unconstitutional" and reminding President Jefferson that "this state maintains its sovereignty and independence . . ." All the New England states, plus Delaware, did the exact same thing and nullified the embargo.

When Alexander Hamilton’s Bank of the United States, a precursor to the Fed, created 72 percent inflation in the first five years of its existence and corrupted politics with its politicized spending policies, citizens all over the country assisted President Andrew Jackson in eventually destroying the institution. The heroic Ohio legislature slapped a $50,000/year tax on each branch of the BUS, attempting to drive it out of business. "The states have an equal right to interpret the Constitution for themselves," announced the Ohio legislature, and it decided that the BUS was not constitutional. Kentucky, Tennessee, Connecticut, South Carolina, New York, and New Hampshire followed suit.

When the War of 1812 broke out the New England states effectively seceded from the union by refusing to participate. A proclamation by the Connecticut legislature was representative of the opinions of New Englanders: "[i]t must not be forgotten that the state of Connecticut is a FREE SOVEREIGN and INDEPENDENT State; that the United States are a confederated and not a consolidated Republic," and that it was refusing to support the war.

When the 1828 "Tariff of Abominations" created an average tariff rate of 45%, applying mostly to Northern manufactured goods, South Carolinians clearly understood that this was a pure act of political plunder at their expense. They convened a political convention to utilize the Jeffersonian idea of nullification and refused to collect the tariff. They even got the South Carolina legislature to allocate $160,000 for the purchase of firearms with which to fend off any would-be federal tax collectors. The result was that they forced the federal government to lower the tariff rate.

During the 1850s the "middle states" of New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey developed a very active secession movement that sought to either join a Southern confederacy, form a middle-states confederacy, or support Southern secession. (See The Secession Movement in the Middle States by William C. Wright). Their overriding desire was to separate themselves from the imperious New England Yankees.

When the Southern states seceded in 1860–61, Abraham Lincoln pledged his everlasting support for Southern slavery in his first inaugural address, an address in which he endorsed a constitutional amendment (the "Corwin Amendment") that would have forbidden the federal government from ever interfering with slavery. In the same speech he promised a military invasion and "bloodshed" in any Southern state that ceased paying his beloved tariff on imports which, at the time, accounted for more than 90% of federal tax revenue. The average tariff rate had just been doubled by the Republican-controlled Congress.

The Southern states, along with most people in the North, still held the Jeffersonian belief that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, and when that consent is withdrawn the citizens have a duty to abolish the existing government and form a new one. Jefferson never wrote in the Declaration of Independence that the citizens have a duty to abolish the government and form a new one "as long as the other states all agree that you may do so." If the right of secession depends on someone else’s permission, then one does not have a right of secession. That was a fantasy invented by Lincoln, which he used to "justify" waging total war on his own country, murdering some 350,000 American citizens, including some 50,000 civilians. From that time on, government in America was no longer "for the people, by the people, of the people," as Chief Justice John Marshal once said in a phrase that was later plagiarized by Lincoln. From that time on the purpose of government has been for those who run it to plunder those who do not. Nullification and secession were no longer tools with which the citizens could control their own government.

The final nails in the coffin of government by consent were pounded in during the year 1913 with the advent of the federal income tax, the creation of the Fed, and the Seventeenth Amendment calling for the direct election of U.S. senators. The income tax and the Fed gave the federal government the ability to do whatever it wanted to do regardless of the Constitution – even to wage "undeclared" wars. These vast "riches" were used to make millions of Americans totally subservient to the state lest they lose their tiny government subsidies, and to bribe or threaten state governments to do whatever our masters in Washington, D.C. decree, lest they lose their cherished federal highway grants. The ability of the citizens to oppose the federal Leviathan by organizing political communities at the state and local levels was finally destroyed and the centralized, monopolistic bureaucracy that rules America and much of the rest of the world today was created.

The direct election of U.S. senators, as opposed to the original system of having them appointed by state legislature, ended popular control of the federal government. Today, candidates for the senate go to New York, California, China, or wherever the big money is that can be raised as "campaign contributions" to finance their political careers. The interests of such "contributors" are not necessarily congruent with those of the folks back home.

If American citizens are to resist the rush to Obammunism they must first give up on the fantasy that the Republican Party is anything but another cabal of crooks, conmen and clowns, just like the Democratic Party. The only realistic route to freedom, including a restoration of genuine free enterprise, is through the devolution of power away from Washington, D.C. via peaceful secession and nullification, the original American ideals.

Thomas Jefferson understood that democracy could never work in a country as large as the U.S., let alone one with more than 300 million people. In a January 29, 1804 letter to Dr. Joseph Priestly he wrote: "Whether we remain one confederacy, or form into Atlantic and Mississippi confederacies, I believe not very important to the happiness of either part. Those of the western confederacy will be as much our children & descendants as those of the eastern." On the topic of secession, Jefferson continued: "[D]id I now foresee a separation at some future day, yet I should feel the duty & the desire to promote the western interests as zealously as the eastern, doing all the good for both portions of our future family which should fall within my power." When the New England Federalists were threatening secession, Jefferson wrote to his friend John C. Breckinridge on August 12, 1803 that if New England seceded and created a second confederacy, "God bless them both if it be for their good, but separate them, if it is better."

Unlike Lincoln, Jefferson did not believe in threatening "bloodshed" in the case of a "separation" or secession. He understood that such behavior would be a moral abomination and an unimaginable act of barbarianism. A civilized society does not wage total war on "our children," as Jefferson described the future citizens of a new state formed by an act of secession. Yet it is Lincoln, not Jefferson, who is portrayed by American court historians as a kindly, benevolent, and charitable angel.

The Constitution long ago ceased placing any meaningful limits on governmental power. This social contract between the American people and their government was destroyed long ago by Hamiltonian nationalists. Americans now live under a series of dictators (called "presidents") who all believe that they are essentially dictators of the world, capable of ordering the bombing of any place on earth without anyone’s approval. (Within weeks, Obama dipped his hands in blood by ordering a few bombs to be dropped in Pakistan).

As of this writing, several dozen states have reportedly issued resolutions in support of the Jeffersonian principle of nullification. These will all be completely meaningless unless the American public has the fortitude to actually enforce the resolutions and begin ignoring any and all federal government actions that they interpret as unconstitutional and illegitimate. In addition, citizens of every state should learn about the Second Vermont Republic which, for several years now, has been laying the groundwork for Vermont to secede and once again become an free and independent republic, just as all the states thought of themselves as being prior to 1865.

April 14, 2009

Thomas J. DiLorenzo [send him mail] is professor of economics at Loyola College in Maryland and the author of The Real Lincoln; Lincoln Unmasked: What You’re Not Supposed To Know about Dishonest Abe and How Capitalism Saved America. His latest book is Hamilton’s Curse: How Jefferson’s Archenemy Betrayed the American Revolution – And What It Means for America Today.

Copyright © 2009 by LewRockwell.com. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit is given.

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Re: "Redistribute the Wealth"

Re: "Redistribute the Wealth"

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How many Americans here have friends and associates who's deepest concern is who won what game or who's topic of conversation is always "man I got so wasted last night"?

But that's ok. Those of us who work hard, educate ourselves, start businesses, or work 2-3 jobs while putting ourselves through higher education....we can pay more taxes so that lazybones and slacker can have government subsidized health care (while we pay top dollar for ours), government subsidized heating and electric (while we pay for ours), and even free money to spend on lotto and lobster (while we watch our money and live frugally). It's ok. It's our "Civic Duty" to help those "unfortunates".

On education: I read several hundred books every year, own a thousand+, read 4 newspapers (onliine) daily (SF CA, Austin TX (2), Buffalo NY), plus dozens of discussions like this one every day. I've taken extra training classes, community ed courses, online training, and am at Borders/Barnes & Nobel or my local ibraries weekly. I also run history chanel, food network, HGTV, DIY and Discovery as background. If our "unfortunates" did 10% of that, they'd be miles ahead.

Schools today in the US are woefully behind the technical requirements. Teaching methods in many cases are outdated, classes are over crowded, and teachers are still using maps that show the Soviet Union, and still using text books that list Sadamn as the head of Iraq. Unfortunately, even if they were up to date, balanced, and truely designed to learn, even the best teacher can't teach when the student isn't open to learn, or isn't there in the first place. Kids don't want to learn because they know they can grow up, go on welfare and have the government pay for everything. They have no idea of the value of a dollar, not because it's arbitrary imaginary money, but because they aren't required to know how to manage it.

We argue people go bankrupt because of medical bills. Those lotto winners went bankrupt because they were incapable of handling money.

Before you redistribute the wealth, maybe you need to revamp your education system so that people will be able to handle that which you give them.

Then again, maybe it's time that kids learn that they aren't entitled to anything, anything! that they didn't earn themselves.

In reply to "April 15 is patriots' day"

Commentary: April 15 is patriots' day

• Story Highlights
• Paul Begala: April 15 is one day most Americans sacrifice for government
  
• Begala says paying taxes to support worthy government services is patriotic
  
• "Tea parties" are being pushed by GOP supporters who lost election, Begala says
  
• He says President Obama and Congress have cut taxes for most

In the article above, Mr Begala makes some interesting points. I disagree that these "Tea Party's" are simply disgruntled losers from the last election. I'm sure some of them are, but I think the vast majority of American's are reaching the boiling point in frustration with administration after administration simply selling us out to the special interest groups, and covering their buddies asses. We The People are tired of paying more and more for everything, while watching government subsidized incompetence continue. We're tired of our so called leaders pushing flawed laws through then later going "oops, we've no idea how that was missed / got in there" after someone finds a problem with the latest 10,000 page maze of confusion they dump on us, while ensuring their buddies get a little something on the side. Our so called leaders are more worried about getting on a more prestigious committee, or impressing a campaign donor, then caring what we want.

Mr Begala makes an excellent point here:
He wrote "You want something to protest? How 'bout protesting how little we give back to our veterans? Or how 'bout protesting that the entire budget of the National Cancer Institute (where government researchers battle a disease that will strike half of all men and a third of all women) is 0.03 percent of what we gave the bandits at American International Group alone? Oh, but veterans benefits and cancer research might cost money. It might require -- dare I say it? -- paying taxes."

Yes sir, you are right. It will take tax dollars. Maybe rather than bailing out collapsing businesses and rewarding the people who brought them to ruin with million dollar pay outs, it could have been funneled to help those who fight to keep this a free country. $11 Trillion dollars would have been a hell of a boost to our discarded veterans and their long term care.

In the mean time, it's time to start working to vote the elite's out. Rather than pick one of the tired old 2, look up the Libertarian, Green, Constitution or other third parties and see what the Democrats and Republican's don't want you to know. You have a choice. More importantly, you have the power to retake your government. Use it.
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It is Un-American not to want to pay taxes???

It is Un-American not to want to pay taxes???

In reply to this article at IReport.
http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-244320

Yes, roads are crumbling, bridges are decaying, our health care system isn't perfect, people are homeless and hungry, etc.

At the risk of sounding callus, so what?

In 1773 British colonists in 3 colonies blocked the unloading of taxed tea, while those in Boston destroyed the tea in defiance of the Royal Governor. This was the famous "Boston Tea Party". Colonists were angered because they were being subjected to taxes from a government that didn't allow them a voice. This was a major point in the road to revolution, and the creation of the United States.

The commenter's points are valid. We need infrastructure repair. There is however more than enough money in the system to provide for all of that. If only our government would spend it wisely. I believe we are in a dangerous fall, heading towards the same type of unrest that led to the Revolution. One only has to look at how few American's were behind the over 15 Trillion dollars in bailouts that have so far been pass out to poorly managed big businesses to shore them up lest they fail. One only has to question the government or not blindly agree with it, to be labeled a traitor nowadays. The current tax code is so complex, even the IRS isn't certain about it. One only has to look at how many recnt goveernment appointees failed to pay to see a dual standard. They get forgiven, yet we mere serfs get fined and possibly imprisoned.

Not pay your taxes? How Un-American? No, How American!

Not paying taxes was a foundation stone of this nation. There is questionable legality to many of the taxes and fees (taxes in all but name) we are hit with. Our so called leaders no longer care what we want. They spend OUR money on their pet projects, at insanely bloated prices, to curry favor with each other. There isn't a single government agency in the US that doesn't have at least 1 political appointee who gathers a pay check yet does no real work. I've read countless cases where people are being paid yet haven't clocked in or shown up to the office in months, or where they sit and web surf or write their novels, because they fill a mandatory position yet have nothing work related to do because they are left over from the last administration.

In NY alone, we could return billions of much needed dollars to our general fund if we would eliminate the patronage jobs, cut government pay to the realistic yet very livable level of $50k per year per person, and require all hires and expenditures to be justified. Bids must be on par with what a civilian would pay, or less, to reflect bulk purchase. No more $1,000 hammers when you can get one just as good for under $25.

Another point is simply this. The argument goes that if we don't pay taxes, then others won't have shelter, or food, or medical treatment. I'm sorry, but that's not y faultand it's not my problem. More to the point, that is not the government's job either. "But if the governmt doesn't help them, who will?" you say? Feel free to help them all you want, out of your own pocket. Stop reaching into mine to finance it though. Taking something without permission has always been called theft. What is it when the government takes it without consent? It's still theft.

American's are a very giving people. The People don't have a problem paying a reasonable amount, for needed things. We do however take issue more and more with being seen as little more than a never ending supply of free cash to fund pork and keep an elite fat and rosy cheeked.

It's time to speak up and shout until the fat cats and career politicians hear us.

Visit http://taxdayteaparty.com/ and find a protest near you.
Add your voice to those who are tired of a deaf government.
Only you can retake your country from those who consider you litle more than an ATM.
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Redistribute the wealth.

Redistribute the wealth. (originally posted on MartialTalk 09-30-2008)

---

People look at things like the following, decide that wealth in the US is unfairly distributed, and look for more ways to take money from the top 10% and pass it out to the bottom 10%, usually without the bottom having to actually earn it.

Quote:

Here are some published numbers, taken fom Forbes magazine. This would be the top 10 on their 400 list....1. Bill Gates Net Worth $57.0 billion 2. Warren Buffett Net Worth $50.0 billion 3. Lawrence Ellison Net Worth $27.0 billion 4. Jim Walton Net Worth $23.4 billion 5. S Robson Walton Net Worth $23.3 billion 6. Alice Walton Net Worth $23.2 billion 7. Christy Walton Net Worth $23.2 billion 8. Michael Bloomberg Net Worth $20.0 billion 9. Charles Koch Net Worth $19.0 billion 10. David Koch Net Worth $19.0 billion 'The rich haven't gotten richer--or poorer--this year. The price of admission to this, the 27th edition of The Forbes 400, is $1.3 billion for the second year in a row. The assembled net worth of America's wealthiest rose by $30 billion--only 2%--to $1.57 trillion.' (quoted from Forbes) Now, take that in perspective. The 400 richest americans have a net worth of 1.57 trillion dollars. The entire GDP of Canada from a 2007 estimate, as found in teh CIA world factbook (correct or not?) https://www.cia.gov/library/publicat.../print/ca.html is listed as being 1.432 trillion dollars. Really... stop and think about that. The accrued wealth of 400 people essentially exceeds the annual value of the national economy of 33 million people. You would really have us believe that there is NOT an uneven distribution of wealth? Whether it's right or wrong is an entire other debate, but I don't think the numbers or the fact of the matter is a subject of much informed debate. Rod

A reply to the above was this

Quote:

How about, it's their money, and you don't have any right to it. You want more money, go work for it.

A statement I agree with.

Having worked retail in supermarkets, convenience stores and the like, I can say that simply giving people money won't make them suddenly know how to manage it, or even appreciate it. Many arguments occur over people trying to use welfare and food stamps for beer, lotto and cigarettes.

A discussion I had on the idea of taking money from the top earners and passing it out included comments like "they owe it to us", and "they have plenty" and similar. Bill Gates, who isn't one of my favorite people, earned his money. He already gives plenty to charity. The Walton's inherited theirs from their father Sam, who earned it. Sam you may recall drove a pickup truck and not a Caddie because "you can't put hunting dogs in a Cadillac.".

People rarely appreciate something that is given to them unearned. The gift is usually squandered, and all that has happened is they have been trained to expect a handout.

One comment is that if you evened out the bank acounts so that everyone had the same amount, within a short period of time, the previously rich will be so again, and the previously poor will be so again. One only has to look at the bankrupsty rate of lottery winners (80%) to see that wealth without understanding causes wealth to vanish.

Rather than taking cash from the wealthy, a better system would be to encourage a voluntary system that would teach people how to manage their money, and become self sufficient. As someone once wrote, teaching someone to fish sustains them for life, giving the a fish only feeds them for today.

So an uphappy Congressman's office calls from 202-225-2176...

Reprinted http://www.lp.org/blogs/donny-ferguson/updated-lp-monday-message-so-an-uphappy-congressmans-office-calls-from-202-225-
=========

UPDATED LP Monday Message: So an uphappy Congressman's office calls from 202-225-2176...

posted by Donny Ferguson on Apr 06, 2009

UPDATE: The bill to expand the powers of the Treasury and confiscate earnings actually passed the House and is now in the Senate.

You can also call the Senate switchboard at 202-224-3121 to tell your Senators whether you oppose or support the bill.

Dear friend,

I was in the middle of writing a great Message to you this afternoon about how first-time membership in the Libertarian Party has increased every month for the last three months and we’ve seen a 151 percent increase in new volunteers. People are excited about the Libertarian Party!

Then I got a phone call from 202-225-2176.

It was Congressman Alan Grayson’s office.

They’re not sharing the love.

You may have gotten an e-mail from me last Friday about the Florida Democrat and his disturbing “Pay for Performance” bill.

If you didn’t, or you’ve forgotten, Grayson’s bill would give the Treasury Secretary complete, absolute and total power to define so-called “unreasonable compensation” to ANY employee at a company the federal government owns shares of, which the government may then confiscate.

Here’s where it gets really scary. The bill does not define what “unreasonable” is. That total and absolute power is given to the unelected Treasury Secretary, who is free to write his own rules.

And judging from his years of unfiled tax returns, he’s not the kind of guy who should be writing his own rules.

That power doesn’t just apply to incompetent managers. It even applies to janitors, employees who actually performed their jobs well, or theoretically employees who make good money and oppose President Obama.

It’s also retroactive, meaning they can go back in time and steal money already paid out. Even the Soviet Union didn’t allow that!

Just how enamored is Congressman Grayson with unquestioned government power?

He even went so far as to go on national television and claim the Constitution gives the President’s administration the right to forcibly confiscate money from people the administration feels didn’t “earn” it!

Socialists have been calling for “maximum wage” laws restricting private salaries for years – and using the exact same arguments touted by Grayson. If his bill passes, advocates of a virtual “salary cap” on private individuals will have a toe in the door.

Well, apparently Congressman Grayson isn’t happy with the phone calls he’s been getting from concerned Libertarians.

His office called me around lunch to complain from 202-225-2176.

Yep, they’re giving an unelected bureaucrat – one who’s already proven he can’t follow the law – absolute power to define "excessive" pay and have the government confiscate it, and they have no shame admitting that.

They just didn’t like the fact the swarms of Libertarians calling their office were more focused on his blatant power grab and not which specific bailout packages were included.

Not that it matters. Americans are angry over the fact the Treasury Secretary is being given absolute control to write his own rules allowing the government to steal private citizen’s paychecks, and all it takes is one quiet amendment to apply the undefined powers to many more companies.

They know it’s not only the first step towards “maximum wage” laws, but that giving the Executive Branch absolute power to confiscate the property of people the president’s administration feels didn’t “earn” -- with no rules or standards in the legislation -- is a frightening step away from the free country we love.

Giving the executive branch expanded powers was a bad idea under the Bush administration, and it’s still a bad idea under the Obama administration.

And stealing the earnings of private citizens because the president’s appointee feels like they didn’t “earn” it is the first step towards the kind of economy touted by people who look at the rubble of the Soviet Union and think, “Great idea! Let’s do that here!.”

You can call Congressman Grayson yourself at 202-225-2176 to let him know what you think about his plan to give the Obama administration absolute, self-defined power to define "excessive pay."

Yep. 202-225-2176.

Tell them the Libertarian Party sent you.

With optimism,

Donny Ferguson
Director of Communications
Libertarian National Committee
Donny.Ferguson@lp.org

PS – If you are receiving this email, and have not yet become a member of the Party and wish to do so, please click here to sign up to become a member of the only political party dedicated completely to cutting taxes and maximizing liberty. If you need to renew, please do so by clicking here.

PPS - If you have not yet contributed, please consider a donation right now of $25, $50, $100 or $1000 to the Libertarian Party. Your contribution will be used to grow the Party and expand the message of liberty. From ads to outreach, every dollar goes towards leading the liberty movement in its fight to restore the Constitution and maximize freedom.

Got Cash? These Nice Men Vould Like To Make You Talk.

Seems a Ron Paul campaign worker was detained by the TSA recently. He was a "suspicious person" because he was carrying $4,700 in cash. Yes, having large amounts of money on you is now grounds for detainment and interrogation.

Welcome to 1984 Komerades.

Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMB6L487LHM

http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2009/04/tsa_harasses_traveler_for_carr.php

http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog.php?view=14907

http://www.blackbookmag.com/article/tsa-caught-being-bullies/7034


Washington Times News Article
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...on-paul-group/

So you want "Change"?

So you want "Change"?


Barack Obama campaigned on the idea of "Change". He was going to change how the US was seen in the world, how we dealt with our own problems, and more. He was going to tear down to tired old "how it's always been done" walls and sweep in a new world.

So, less than 100 days in, people are screaming about "where's the change?".

First thing: Obama is the President, bound by law, constrained by decisions his predecessor made, and having to work with 2 unwilling to change branches of Congress. He is not a King, ruling by whim, whose every decree is law, descended from the gods on high. American's would do well to remember the difference. He can't just say it, will it into existence and it is so. He must work through the same tired systems, until they decide to change.

American's like the idea of change, yet continue to reelect the same people who cause all the problems, who are more concerned with keeping their jobs, than actually doing their job, which is to represent "We The People".

Maybe the problem is while we like to give lip service to the idea, we don't actually understand the idea, of "Change".

What is "Change"?

Change is the slaughtering of our "Sacred Cows", those outmoded beliefs, assumptions, practices, policies, systems, or strategies that inhibit change and prevent responsiveness to new ideas and opportunities.

What sacred cows? Some examples are the 40 hour work week, job security, holding 1 job until you die, retirement at 65, and single payer households. It is "How we always do things".

Change fails because while most of the ideas that come along sound nice, and make sense on paper, when it comes time to do it people dig in their heels and resist it. End result? Billions of dollars wasted and people get more jaded. The fail point in change is, people.

People have the power of change, or not-change. You've heard it. "Better the Devil you know....", "Who knows what will go wrong...", and so on. People say they want change, but when change comes along, they resist it, fight it, sabotage it and make excuses for it. Change opens up the unknown, it's uncomfortable, it's unpredictable and feels unsafe. "What if it fails?", "What if I get hurt", "What if?". People naturally resist change.

For Change to work, people must want Change, not just say they want it. They must be an active, willing & positive part of the whole process. One can't sit home at rest and wait for change to happen. One must move, become involved, participate, and help fuel change.

For change to happen, people need to be open to change. They must be receptive to it, to new ideas. They must be excited, not anxious about change. Be challenged, but not threatened, and commit to change as an ongoing process, not a final destination.

If you're good, you react quickly to change, but if you're great, you become the catalyst for change itself.

The old saying goes, if you want something to happen, make it happen, don't wait for it to find you.

If you like Obama's promises for change, then get involved and help him change the system and make the changes. If you don't like them, then get involved and make your own changes happen. Either way, don't sit home waiting for someone else to do it.

President Obama and Congress want to know who's to blame....

It's entertaining to watch them play their game.

Obama blames Bush, Bush blames Clinton, Congress blames AIG, etc....

They want to know who to blame? I suggest they look in a damn mirror.

Washington is "business as usual", which is why I keep saying if people want real change, they need to clean the place out. Until then, it's just more crap on top of crap.

People blame Obama, he's not "saving us" or "Changing us" fast enough.
People blame Bush for all the crap, all the problems, because he was such a buffoon.

Bull shit. Pure bull shit.

Lets put the blame, at least for the screwed up bailouts that are putting this country over 11 TRILLION Dollars in the whole where it belongs. The majority of the screw ups are caused by the 100 traitors in the Senate, and the 500+ traitors in the House, and the countless lobbyists, and other scum suckers that infest our government. You know, the ones who -had- to pass emergency bailouts for rum distillers and arrow fletchers last November, the bailout we -needed-, that went from 10 pages to over 400 pages, to "protect our investment", yet managed to forget little things like accountability for all that free money of ours they were giving out.

You would think the American People would be outraged.

Yet, most of those traitors kept their jobs.

-3- of those traitors got promotions.

Remember, Senator Obama, Senator Clinton and Senator Biden all said that these flawed bailouts were "urgent" and "vital" and "well prepared". Remember Senator McCain also was all gung ho for them.

But none of them had time to really read it before they voted it into law and sold us out.

The system is still broken, and whoever wears the title "President" gets all the blame for what the rest of those screaming sorry sons of bitches screw up.

and "We The People" continue to devolve into sleeping sheep.

But, lets keep blaming Bush, or blaming Obama. It's easier after all than actually fixing the problem.

Like firing ever last one of these sell outs.

Why what you the voter want doesn't really matter.

See here for background
Seven upstate Democrats reject all 9 state budget bills

Some key bits:

What’s going on? Why would so many Democrats buck their leadership on such a crucial matter?

One answer is because Democrats control the Assembly with a highly secure 109-41 margin, leaving plenty of wiggle room to let some members avoid making a politically uncomfortable vote without affecting the overall outcome of a bill the leadership wants passed.

Yes, they can say no, while being assured they, and not we the voters get what we want.

But why? Don't our elected officials work for us?

Hardly.

For those senators, it’s not an easy choice: risk alienating an unknown number of voters back home or a known number of Democratic leaders in Albany with the power to end political careers. But all the Senate Democrats are sticking together to approve the budget.

Yup. Better to piss off us voters, who will forget about this mess in a few months because we have a short attention span, and are too stupid to actually look things up, remember, and look at third party candidates, for most career politician's to worry about.

Wake up NY, and America. Before it's really too late to retake your government.

Who Stole The American Dream, Part II?

Who Stole The American Dream, Part II?

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Who Stole The American Dream, Part II.
by Bob Hubbard

In my previous article I touched on some points that have generated some thought on my part. I'd like to clarify and expand on my original article here. This is less organized than the previous article as I am quoting my replies and further thoughts with minimal editing.

I was asked about the political comment at the beginning. For the record, it's not about Barack Obama and his plan, though it did encourage my writing. Part of many platforms includes some idea of adding additional taxes on the so called "rich" and passing that on to the "poor". I have a problem with this as it punishes success and rewards failure. I really don't want to get into a political discussion here as that's not my goal. What is my goal?

I don't want to make $30k. I want to make $30M. I don't want to work hard, only so that ever increasing percentages of my labors go towards keeping 3rd generation food stampers in free eats. Sure company executives make huge paychecks nowadays. So do pro athletes. Why is the CEO worth so much more than that cashier?

Maybe because in alot of cases, the CEO worked his way up, put in time, got an MBA, etc. That same cashier goes home, parks their butt on the couch and watches "Friends" or is out having a good time on Friday night.

I want to make $1,000 an hour, every hour, every day, be it if I'm in front of this PC, or on a beach taking pictures of some hot model. Why should I subsidize some slacker who's biggest aspiration is to get laid by another slacker?

"The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement."

If my ability takes me to the stars, why should I be required to bring along those who aren't willing to put the time, effort and desire in like I did?

Gates got where he is by putting in 100 hour weeks. No, I don't care for the guy, sure he's loaded, but why should he subsidize those to whom a 20 hr work week is on par with Kryptonite to Superman?

I don't like Mr. Obama's plan, but this isn't about Obama nor is it about his tax plan (which I'll save $1,000 more under btw).

It's about generations of people being brainwashed into thinking that things like being one of those affluent people was beyond them, that they weren't "good enough", that working for 40 hrs a week and collecting a paycheck and retiring at 65 was "it".

I want to retire at 40, spend not the last few years of my life in a home peeing in a bag, but the last -half- of my life traveling, and enjoying myself and fulfilling my other dreams.

I put in 60+ hours a week right now. I'm running an easy dozen businesses. In a few years, I'll be able to drop my work week down to 10-15 hours, keep the same income levels, and start living that life. It's only taken me a decade of sacrifice and hard work to do it. Explain to me how it's a good thing to be punished for working hard and making it?

I'll redistribute my wealth by paying others to work for me, freeing me up to do other things. I'll pass on my knowledge to others to do what I did, hopefully faster and avoiding my mistakes. Then they can join me on that beach.

What do Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Sam Walton, Ray Kroc and that Trump guy have in common, other than huge bank accounts? They worked for themselves. Microsoft started as 8 or so guys crammed into a New Mexico apartment, Apple started in a garage, so did Hewlett Packard. Walmart was once just another little 5&10 store, McDonalds once a drive in diner, and Trump used to work for his dad. Some came from the affluent, some didn't. Jobs spent time wandering India in an LSD daze, Kroc sold milk shake machines. But all knew that punching a time clock wasn't a long term plan.

It just took a while, lots of hard work, a bunch of speedbumps, and a few knocks to the head to get there.

When I was working at Picture People, I had a discussion with one of the other photographers about working for me. He does good work, is great with kids (a weakness of mine that I'm working on), and is great with posing groups. We discussed things in depth and we're set to launch together until budgeting kept me from opening the studio as I'd planned.

Why do I mention this?

Because I'd had similar offers out to 4 others from the same store, however none of those 4 could find the time to meet with me. 3 couldn't even take the time to hand me a simple write up of their experience (a mini resume) to include in the loan request.

All of them lost their jobs when Picture People closed that studio, and currently none are working in the photography field. A shame because all had good eyes and were great at it.

Side Note: I was offering $12+/hr, PP, Sears and JC Penny all hire at min-wage.

Going back to the question about worth though, no. I don't think there should be such a large seperation between the ends. I think if people put the time in to become worth more, they would get more however. It might mean getting out of the comfort zones and looking for a better job. It might mean launching something part time on weekends and phasing out that job. It might just mean something as simple as asking for a real raise, not 5 cents an hour. I've talked to to many people who settle for what they got, shuffling through life eyes aimed at their feet, lamenting those "lucky" rich who have planes, boats and homes.

Some were given it sure. But the recently completed "World Wealth Report 2008" by Capgemini and Merrill Lynch puts the total GLOBAL number of millionaires at just 10 million, and the number of US millionaires at around 3 million--about one in 100 people.

The US is a wealthy nation, with opportunity everywhere. People need to step up and reach for it.

We need to stop rewarding failure. Stop making sure that everyone "feels good". Stop lowering acceptable education. F used to be 65, now it's 45, and some schools have even stopped failing kids so it doesn't hurt their feelings. That's BS. Raise the bar, set the standards high and push people to bust their asses to get there.

Black belt isn't 45 minutes a week, 5 years, and here ya go.
Why should the person who does the minimum be rewarded and the one who goes the extra mile punished?


Here's how to get ahead in a job.
-Show Up. On time, ready to work.
Don't come in 5 minutes late, take 10 minutes to get your coffee, stop n chat for 10 more, then take 10 more in the john taking a dump. Be at your desk/station/whatever on time, ready to go.

You've just beat half the people out there.

- Do your best. Don't short cut, don't streamline, don't do a half assed job.
You just beat another 25%

- Lead by example. Don't leave things be "someone else's problem". Take initiative. If extra training is offered, take it. If there is a college reimbursement program, use it. You might have to give up bowling or karate for a year or 2, but it'll help you move forward.
You just beat another 25%.

Wait. Isn't that the "Lie" I talked about earlier?
Not quite. It's the part that most people miss going in, the "secret to success" that they say the rich keep to themselves.

How do you get ahead on your own?
Do the same stuff above, but in your own dream, not someone elses.

"But Bob, I have a good job, I like what I do, and I like not having to worry about all that self-employement stuff."

That's fine too. Some people have good jobs, they meet their needs, and they are happy. What I'm suggesting should help you grow at them, earn more money, gain promotions and perks and help improve your own quality of life. The cashier rarely gets access to the company box at the stadium during the playoffs. The higher ups however, do.

Here's a few good books to check out.

• How Come That Idiot's Rich and I'm Not? by Robert Shemin
• The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss
• See You At The Top by Zig Ziglar
• All You Can Do Is All You Can Do, but All You Can Do Is Enough! by A.L. Williams
• Various Books by Dan S. Kennedy
• Straight A's Never Made Anybody Rich. Lessons in Personal Achievement by Wess Roberts

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Bob Hubbard owns several businesses, including SilverStar WebDesigns Inc., MartialTalk.com and is an independent photographer. He can be reached at BobHubbard.net.

Who Stole The American Dream?

Who Stole The American Dream?
by Bob Hubbard

This year, we have a presidential candidate who seemingly wants to punish people for achieving the American Dream. But that's only the latest in a series of actions that have neutered us.

For over 200 years, Americans started, ran, and lived on the idea of small business. Main Street USA wasn't McDonalds and Burger King and Walmart. It was Ted's Hot Dogs, Talking Leaves Books, and the 5&10.

Today, traditional main street is pretty much gone, swallowed by cheep imports, mega-chains, and greed.

Also often missing is the entrepreneurial spirit that launched them however.

Walmart was once a small store, struggling to compete with the local Woolworths. McDonalds used to be just a pair of brothers selling burgers, fries and shakes.

Today, colleges turn out thousands of well educated employees. People trained to be workers, but workers for someone else. They are trained to believe in the myth of "get a good job, get a paycheck, live Monday through Friday working 9-5" and no longer believe in their own ability to chart their own path and earn a living income on their own merits. They are trained to believe that all they ear is what their employer puts in their paycheck each week. Author Burke Hedges in his book "Who Stole The American Dream?" details a great deal of the lies we are told that have locked so many people into the "JOB", living paycheck to paycheck working for someone else. While he advocates the network marketing system as the means to escape it, there are other options equally viable.

It is ironic to see immigrants come here, having no preconceived notions other than "America is the Land of Opportunity", start businesses, put in incredible effort and create successful businesses. Pay attention the next time you eat at that Chinese take out place or Irish coffee house. New arrivals, often poor and struggling, making both ends meet while native born Americans complain about their job and lament how life with only 200 cable channels is so unfair.

But times are changing. As we enter increasingly uncertain times, as major institutions collapse, and unease covers the land, more and more Americans are rediscovering their strengths and birthright, and launch new businesses. As the chains cut back and shutter their doors, old employees are using what they know and launching new and exciting ventures. An old McDonalds becomes a new gourmet burger place, serving higher priced but better quality burgers. Where a Picture People mall store once was, now sits many an independent photo studio, often staffed by many of the same people, but now owners not just workers.

When I started out on my own, I struggled. I still do from time to time. Each time I hear "Why don't you get a job?". People are well meaning, but unfortunately there is no security nor freedom in a job. The American Dream was never about "I want to work 50 years for someone else, spending most of my time on the job, only seeing my family on the weekend, so that I can retire when I'm old and try to live on 1/2 of what I barely made it by on before."

No, the American Dream is one of Freedom, Independence, and Prosperity.

Historian and writer James Truslow Adams first coined the phrase "American Dream" in his 1931 book Epic of America:

"The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position."

What is your Dream? What's stopping you, really stopping you from taking the steps towards reclaiming your birthright?


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Bob Hubbard owns several businesses, including SilverStar WebDesigns Inc., MartialTalk.com and is an independent photographer. He can be reached at BobHubbard.net.