The Myth Of The Social Security Trust Fund Continues To Live On

Before going into details regarding the myth of the Social Security trust fund, let's review an Associated press article that appeared on April 27, 2012, "Social Security Approaching Insolvency Even Faster." The extensive article reviews the timing and detail behind the stated approaching insolvency of the Social Security trust fund:

• Social Security's Trust Fund is now expected to run dry in 2033, three years earlier than previously estimated.
• This earlier date is being driven by retiring Baby Boomers, a weak economy, higher energy prices that are suppressing wages, and politicians' inability and cowardice to take painful actions to fix both the Social Security retirement program and the Social Security disability program.
• The 2033 date is a weighted date of both the retirement program and the disability program, which disguises the fact that the disability program will actually run out of its trust funds by 2016, less than four years from now.
• If the retirement program runs out of its trust fund resources, Social Security would only be able to pay 75% of the benefits it promised to retirees.

Sounds like bad news all around. Three years closer to insolvency. Baby boomer impacts that will only get larger and more onerous. A disability fund that is less than four years away from burning through its trust fund.

But the news is much worse. There really is no trust fund. Although the article estimates that the trust funds contain $2.7 TRILLION, that $2.7 TRILLION is strictly an illusion. There is no pile of gold bars worth $2.7 TRILLION in the trust fund that could pay off Social Security's liabilities. There is no stack of Apple stock certificates that could be used to pay off this liabilities. Nothing.

All of the wealth that the Federal government, and the political class, has collected via Social Security taxes over the decades, has ended up being used in two ways, and two ways only. Some of taxes were used to pay Social Security benefits over the decades. All of the excess wealth, above the benefits paid, was spent and wasted by generations of our politicians on non-Social Security efforts and programs. The extra wealth never actually made it into the trust fund, it no longer exists.

In order to make it look like the Social Security trust fund was not being raided by politicians, the U.S. Treasury Department gave the Social Security administration an accounting IOU. These IOUs have no value at all since the politicians have already burned through the wealth that was collected in the form of Social Security taxes. In order for the Treasury Department to actually pay on those trust fund IOUs, it will have to issue more debt or collect more taxes to cover the debt.

Obviously, either option is not a good one. Issuing more debt will add to our almost $16 TRILLION national debt. Raising taxes will suppress economic growth, resulting in less wages and less Social Security taxes collected, further depressing Social Security's financial situation.  

How do we know there is nothing of value in the trust fund except some worthless IOUs given to one government agency by another government agency? The President said so back in August, 2011 when it looked like the Federal government might shut down unless the debt ceiling was raised. When asked if Social Security checks would still be paid out the President replied: ""I cannot guarantee that those [Social Security] checks go out on August 3rd if we haven't resolved this issue, because there may simply not be the money in the coffers to do it."

Not enough money in the coffers to do it. What about the $2.7 TRILLION in the trust fund, couldn't that money be used to fund the Social Security checks? No, because since 2010, Social Security has been in a negative cash flow situation, i.e. it pays out more money than it takes in. This requires it to go to the Treasury Department which makes up the shortfall by collecting more in taxes or issuing more debt.

There is no wealth left in the trust funds, we are already in 2033 and paying for the Social Security shortfall out of ordinary taxes. Now, there are some superfluous government accounting schemes being used to make it look like we are paying the negative cash flow out of the trust fund but that is merely a smoke screen. The real payments for the negative cash flow are being paid by the American taxpayer today, not in 2033.

However, by claiming there is this mythical, robust, and wealth filled trust fund, politicians can postpone the hard and difficult decisions for reforming Social Security for twenty years, allowing the problems with the program to get worse and worse. This is what our politicians do best, protect their own selfish political career and personal interests, delay making the courageous decisions, and allowing the country and its citizens and their wealth to suffer in the process.

We need to get beyond the myth and take at least five concrete steps to fix the situtation that is happening today, not twenty years from now, as outlined in "Love My Country, Loathe My Government:"

• Step 10 - Reduce the size of the Social Security tax rate but upcap the amount that is subject to the tax and expand the tax from only wages to all forms of income in order to make the the tax's imposition fairer across all income ranges (see the details in Step 10 for the detailed rationale.)
• Step 11 - Raise the retirement age to 70 with a hardship exception. When the Social Security system was implemented, very few Americans lived long enough to collect their benefits. Americans are living longer now so to keep the program solvent, the retirement age must rise.
• Step 12 - Deny benefits to anyone whose net worth is over $3 million. Better to preserve limited resources for Americans who really need the Social Security program even if people like Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, and Donald Trump go without their monthly Social Security checks.
• Government experts estimate that the Social Security system loses over $100 billion a year to waste and criminal fraud. If this abuse could be stopped, it could fund an additional 6.7 million retirees every year. Thus, an extensive and effective anti-fraud effort needs to take place NOW since the fraud is so widespread NOW.
• Many times in this blog we have proven that the Social Security program is one of the absolute worst ways to save for retirement. In addition to the short term steps listed immediately above, a long term component of any plan has to be to get the government and political class out of the retirement program business and set up private savings retirement accounts that would provide much better retirement lives for future American retirees. Please go to the following post to see how Chile made life so much better for their citizens when they got out of their version of "Social Security:"

http://loathemygovernment.blogspot.com/2012/02/united-states-of-purple-presidency-some.html


So let's review:

• The Social Security Trust Fund is a myth. It became a myth in the 1960s when Demcoratic President Lyndon Johnson pushed to get Social Security funds intermingled with General Tax funds, giving the political class access to more of our money and wealth at the cost of a secure financial future for American retirees.
• The Social Security system is in a negative cash flow situation today, not in 2033. The 2033 date is an accounting trick that our polticians use to create the illusion that the crisis is twenty years away, that there is no immediate crisis today.
• But the crisis is TODAY and the short fall and negative cash flow is eating up more of our wealth TODAY via taxation and adding to more of our onerous national debt TODAY.
• There are five steps that need to be taken to save the process in the short term and improve the process in the long term. Steps that our political class are likely to avoid altogher since implementing those steps would require leadership, courage, and selflessness, three qualities sorely lacking in Washington today.

Myths are only illusions. They are not solid, they do not make bad situations good. It you hear a politician telling you that Social Security is good and solid for at least another twenty years, remember that two possibilities are in play:

1. They truly understand the myth and are lying to you to avoid making the difficult decisions required or
2. They truly are ignorant of reality, making a solution from them highly unlikely.

The myth exists, the wealth to fulfill the promise of the myth does not exist, Lyndon and the rest of the political class spent that wealth long ago, possibly on GSA type conferences in Las Vegas.




We invite all readers of this blog to visit our new website, "The United States Of Purple," at:


http://www.unitedstatesofpurple.com/


The United States of Purple is a new grass roots approach to filling the office of President of The United States by focusing on the restoration of freedom in the United States, focusing on problem solving skills and results vs. personal political enrichment, and imposing term limits on all future Federal politicians. No more red states, no more blue states, just one United States Of America under the banner of Purple.

The United States Of Purple's website also provides you the formal opportunity to sign a petition to begin the process of implementing a Constitutional amendment to impose fixed term limits on all Federally elected politicians. Only by turning out the existing political class can we have a chance of addressing and finally resolving the major issues of or times.

Our book, "Love My Country, Loathe My Government - Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom And Destroying The American Political Class" is now available at www.loathemygovernment.com. It is also available online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Please pass our message of freedom onward. Let your friends and family know about our websites and blogs, ask your library to carry the book, and respect freedom for both yourselves and others everyday.
Please visit the following sites for freedom:

http://www.cato.org/
http://www.robertringer.com/
http://realpolichick.blogspot.com/
http://www.flipcongress2010.com/
http://www.reason.com/
http://www.repealamendment/

A Lawyer's Opinion Of Why Obama Care Needs To Be Terminated

Many times in this blog we have discussed the myriad of reasons why Obama Care needs to be scrapped and the journey to make our country healthier and less expense to service from a health care perspective needs to start anew. These include, but are not limited to the following:

- Much of our health care issues and problems in this country are caused by public health issues:

1. Americans eat too much.
2. Americans eat too much of the wrong kind of food.
3. Americans do not exercise enough.
4. Americans smoke too much.
5. Americans on average are getting older, leading to more old age based diseases such as certain types of cancers and dementia.

However, Obama Care takes a massive Federal government/
bureaucracy/taxation/political approach to a public health based set of root causes. If you do not understand the root causes and do not attack those root causes via a public health set of solutions, which Obama Care fails to do, you have little chance of solving the problem.

- Many state governments have reduced the escalating health care costs in their states by instituting tort reform in the health care markets within their states. This idea gets little more than lip service within Obama Care, probably a tribute to the lobbying efforts and talents of the American Bar Association.

- Obama Care adds so many new taxes and regulations to the health care marketplace that it is already creating financial hardships for businesses, reducing economic growth and the associated job creation, is diverting business owners and operators' attention from running their business to complying with the law, and is turning existing full time people into part time people to bypass the law's requirements.

- Many experts believe that opening health insurance competition across state lines and making it easier for private companies to compete would significantly reduce health care insurance costs. Obama Care pays lip service to this concept of a free market keeping competitive costs and prices in line.

- Obama Care was written so poorly that major companies will find it cheaper to termate their current health care insurance programs and pay a relatively small Obama Care fine then to continue with their current health care insurance plans, forcing tens of millions of Americans to lose their current health care insurance coverage.

- Obama Care was written so poorly that Americans will have to consider the ramifications of Obama Care's consequences when they decide to marry, divorce, and retire, significantly reducing their freedom of choice as Americans.

- Obama Care will appoint non-elected and non-accountable people to a 15 person panel that will control what, where, and how the nation's health care dollars are spent, significantly expanding government control over our lives.

- Obama Care will increase the cost of health care in this country and significantly increase the national debt, as we have discussed in detail with factual data and expert opinion in previous posts.

- Obama Care provides no significant significant or effective law enforcement, tracking, or tools for criminal  fraud reduction capabilities over what is currently available, meaning that the untold billions of dollars currently lost every year to criminal fraud via Medicare and Medicaid will likely increase dramatically under Obama Care.

- Does anyone really think that a Federal government that is run by our current set of politicians can really operate this gigantic program, given its inability to stop a GSA region from throwing itself an $830,000 Las Vegas vacation for its staff, eliminate waste and fraud in the food stamp, Social Security, and unemployment programs, or to operate a Secret Service organization that likely used taxpayer resources to frolic with Columbian prostitutes?

I could go on and on about how fatally flawed and expensive Obama Care is and will become. Past posts to this blog contain the details and sources for the above conclusions. And none of these reasons include one of the biggest flaws of the entire legislation, the fact that it forces every American to purchase health care insurance for themselves or become a criminal in the eyes of the Federal government. Hopefully, the Supreme Court will disavow this part of the law, which should result in the entire house of cards falling down so that we can start all over.

But there's more! I am not lawyer so I cannot offer an opinion on whether the following thoughts from an American lawyer are correct. His words make sense to me based on what little knowledge I have of the legal aspects of the Constitution but make a whole lot of sense to me based on what I know about freedom and liberty. Snopes verifies that this gentleman does exist and did indeed write the following piece. I offer it as further repudiation of the horror know as Obama Care:

**************************************

The Truth About the Health Care Bill by Michael Connelly; Retired Constitutional Attorney

Well, I have done it! I have read the entire text of proposed House Bill 3200: The Affordable Health Care Choices Act of 2009. I studied it with particular emphasis from my area of expertise, constitutional law. I was frankly concerned that parts of the proposed law that were being discussed might be unconstitutional. What I found was far worse than what I had heard or expected.

To begin with, much of what has been said about the law and its implications is in fact true, despite what the Democrats and the media are saying. The law does provide for rationing of health care, particularly where senior citizens and other classes of citizens are involved, free health care for illegal immigrants, free abortion services, and probably forced participation in abortions by members of the medical profession.

The Bill will also eventually force private insurance companies out of business, and put everyone into a government run system. All decisions about personal health care will ultimately be made by federal bureaucrats, and most of them will not be health care professionals. Hospital admissions, payments to physicians, and allocations of necessary medical devices will be strictly controlled by the government.

However, as scary as all of that is, it just scratches the surface. In fact, I have concluded that this legislation really has no intention of providing affordable health care choices. Instead it is a convenient cover for the most massive transfer of power to the Executive Branch of government that has ever occurred, or even been contemplated If this law or a similar one is adopted, major portions of the Constitution of the United States will effectively have been destroyed.

The first thing to go will be the masterfully crafted balance of power between the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of the U.S. Government. The Congress will be transferring to the Obama Administration authority in a number of different areas over the lives of the American people, and the businesses they own.

The irony is that the Congress doesn't have any authority to legislate in most of those areas to begin with! I defy anyone to read the text of the U.S. Constitution and find any authority granted to the members of Congress to regulate health care.

This legislation also provides for access, by the appointees of the Obama administration, of all of your personal healthcare direct violation of the specific provisions of the 4th Amendment to the Constitution information, your personal financial information, and the information of your employer, physician, and hospital. All of this is a protecting against unreasonable searches and seizures. You can also forget about the right to privacy. That will have been legislated into oblivion regardless of what the 3rd and 4th Amendments may provide...

If you decide not to have healthcare insurance, or if you have private insurance that is not deemed acceptable to the Health Choices Administrator appointed by Obama, there will be a tax imposed on you. It is called a tax instead of a fine because of the intent to avoid application of the due process clause of the 5th Amendment. However, that doesn't work because since there is nothing in the law that allows you to contest or appeal the imposition of the tax, it is definitely depriving someone of property without the due process of law.

So, there are three of those pesky amendments that the far left hate so much, out the original ten in the Bill of Rights, that are effectively nullified by this law It doesn't stop there though.

The 9th Amendment that provides: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people;

The 10th Amendment states: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are preserved to the States respectively, or to the people. Under the provisions of this piece of Congressional handiwork neither the people nor the states are going to have any rights or powers at all in many areas that once were theirs to control.

I could write many more pages about this legislation, but I think you get the idea. This is not about health care; it is about seizing power and limiting rights... Article 6 of the Constitution requires the members of both houses of Congress to "be bound by oath or affirmation to support the Constitution." If I was a member of Congress I would not be able to vote for this legislation or anything like it, without feeling I was violating that sacred oath or affirmation. If I voted for it anyway, I would hope the American people would hold me accountable.

For those who might doubt the nature of this threat, I suggest they consult the source, the US Constitution, and Bill of Rights. There you can see exactly what we are about to have taken from us.

Michael Connelly

Retired attorney,
Constitutional Law Instructor
Carrollton , Texas

************************************

I would be more than happy to hear from and publish a different opinion from anyone out there, WHO HAS READ THE ENTIRE LAW, and has an informed/legal view on it. What Mr. Connelly says makes sense to me from an American freedom perspective. I can only hope that at least five Supreme Court justices feel the same way.

On Monday, I will review a new, simple, and effective approach to reducing health care costs that some doctors and patients are using throughout the country. This new approach does NOT require government intervention once an initial state law allowing this practice is passed, does NOT require a 2,500 page document to be deployed to operate this greatly reduced health care cost approach, does NOT require new taxes to implement and operate, does NOT require a massive and intrusive government bureaucracy to oversee the process, and does NOT criminalize freedom of choice, but DOES have a real chance of doing what all of Obama's men and horses could not do.

We invite all readers of this blog to visit our new website, "The United States Of Purple," at:

http://www.unitedstatesofpurple.com/

The United States of Purple is a new grass roots approach to filling the office of President of The United States by focusing on the restoration of freedom in the United States, focusing on problem solving skills and results vs. personal political enrichment, and imposing term limits on all future Federal politicians. No more red states, no more blue states, just one United States Of America under the banner of Purple.

The United States Of Purple's website also provides you the formal opportunity to sign a petition to begin the process of implementing a Constitutional amendment to impose fixed term limits on all Federally elected politicians. Only by turning out the existing political class can we have a chance of addressing and finally resolving the major issues of or times

Our book, "Love My Country, Loathe My Government - Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom And Destroying The American Political Class" is now available at www.loathemygovernment.com. It is also available online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Please pass our message of freedom onward. Let your friends and family know about our websites and blogs, ask your library to carry the book, and respect freedom for both yourselves and others everyday.

Please visit the following sites for freedom:

http://www.cato.org/
http://www.robertringer.com/
http://realpolichick.blogspot.com/
http://www.flipcongress2010.com/
http://www.reason.com/
http://www.repealamendment/

Alternative Views Of The Economy Or As Bette Davis Once Said: "It's Goin' To Be A Bumpy Night."

In this election year one would expect any incumbent President to paint as pretty a picture as possible when it comes to economic conditions. I fully expect President Obama to do the same.

I am sure he will point out that the unemployment rate has come down from the high levels incurred during the Great Recession. He will point out that Chrysler and General Motors are still in operation and creating jobs due to his auto bailout plans. He will point out that many leading economic indicators are turning positive, possibly citing the improving economic leading indicators in the March, 2012 time frame.

What he is unlikely to point out is the following, alternative views of the economy's health:

1. While the official unemployment rate is coming down, now around 8.3%, this administration had stated it could go as high as 8% if the $830 billion economic stimulus package was not passed. It was passed, $830 billion was wastefully spent, and we still have trouble getting down to 8%, never mind going as high as 8%.
2. The President is unlikely to point out that this 8.3% is probably bogus since employment may not be improving at all since many people have given up in frustration looking for a job, which removes them from the government's unemployment counting process, artificially lowering the official unemployment rate.
3. Additionally, the President is unlikely to point out that the unemployment rate calculation rate may be bogus AND manipulated by the Federal government. The primary evidence of manipulation occurred back in January when the Obama administration reported that about 1.4 million Americans applied for first time unemployment benefits in January, the Obama administration reported that about 240,000 jobs were created in January but the unemployment rate actually went down .3 percentage points despite having unemployment benefit applications outnumber the number of jobs created by a more than five to one ratio.
4. By the way, the President is unlikely to point out that last week another 386,000 Americans applied for first time unemployment benefits, about the same, unimproved weekly rate that applied back in January.
5. The President is unlikely to point out that tens of billions of dollars from the auto bailouts are still outstanding and unlikely to ever be recovered for the American taxpayer.
6. The President is unlikely to point out that his administration was unable to fix Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and that these two government organizations continue to require billions of dollars of taxpayer wealth every year to remain solvent.
7. The President is unlikely point out that the price of a gallon of gas has doubled on his watch, restricting the amount of money consumers and businesses can spend to expand the economy.
8. The President is unlikely to point out that the Federal deficit in February, 2012 was almost $200 billion, i.e. the Federal government spent $200 billion more in one MONTH than it received in tax and other revenue.
9. The President is unlikely to point out that the $200 billion February deficit was almost as much as the Bush administration ran up in a whole YEAR of its term.
10. The President is unlikely to point out that the almost $200 billion debt that his administration ran up in one month put an additional national debt burden of about $1,700 onto each American household.
11. The President is unlikely to point out that under his administration, the national debt has grown by over $5 TRILLION, saddling current and future generations of Americans with debt equivalent to over $130,000 per U.S. household.
12. The President is unlikely to review the opinions of Stanford economics professor of Edward Lazear, who was chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisors from 2006-2009: "Threats of higher taxes, the constantly increasing regulatory burden, the failure to pursue an aggressive trade policy that will open markets to U.S. exports, and the enormous increase in government spending all are growth impediments."
13. The President is unlikely to point out that annual economic growth since the Great Recession has ended is only 2.4%, compared to the average annual growth of 3.2% since World War II, making this recovery one of the weakest, if not the weakest, economic recoveries of all time.
14. The President is unlikely to cite the opinion of David Rosenberg, chief economist for investment firm Gluskin Sheff since in March, when the economy added a net 120,000 jobs, far less than hoped, Mr. Roesnberg stated: "It's been the weakest recovery in the post-World War II period."
15. The President is unlikely to point out that most, if not all of his economic programs have been abject failures, costing the American taxpayer billions of billions of dollars, and include such fiascos as Cash For Clunkers, Cash For Appliances, HAMP, Solyndra, and a myriad of other failed alternative energy "bets."
16. The President is unlikely to point out an article that appeared in the United Kingdom's Daily Mail newspaper last week that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that the eurozone may break up and prompt a global economic recession, as reported in its recent World Economic Report.
17. The President is unlikely to point out the failure of the Federal Reserve Board to spark economic growth via its two "quantitative easing" programs and that "quantitative easing" is a nice way of saying the Fed has printed over two TRILLION dollars worth of false wealth, actions which devalued the dollar and wealth every American and has set the stage for massive inflation at some point in the near future.
18. The President is unlikely to point out that his administration has taken little, if any, concrete steps to clean up the waste, fraud, and criminal activity involved in various programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, food stamps, etc., steps that are needed to recoup the more than $500 billion a year the Federal government loses to incompetence and fraud.
19. The President is unlikely to point out that the uncertainty his policies have introduced into the business market, from Obama Care taxes, fees, and regulations to the lack of a coherent and definitive taxation reformation strategy, has been a substantial drag on economic growth and hiring.
20. The President is unlikely to point out the opinion on Tom Hutchinson, who is a contributing writer for the Moneymax online brain trust, that Spain is currently under the gun as yields on its bonds are rising steeply and the problem is that Spain is much too large a country to bailout like Greece. Mr. Hutchinson's expert opinion is that "this situation is unlikely to end well."
21. Recent news articles report that about half of this year's graduating college seniors are likely to be either unemployed or under employed once they receive their diplomas.
22. The President is unlikely to point out that people like Mr. Hutchinson estimate that the growth in corporate earnings, one of the few economic bright spots over the past year or so, are likely to be flat in 2012, contributing to continued weak economic growth for the near future.
23. The President is unlikely to point out that all types of construction (commercial, residential, etc.) as measured by every index, such as the Dodge McGraw-Hill Construction Index illustrated below, is still well below historical norms with no indication that a strong recovery is imminent:

So yes, Bette Davis got it right many decades ago. While the President will paint a daylight glow to the economy, given the very few positive aspects listed above, it is going to be a very bumpy night as we try to ride out Europe, outlandish government spending, skyrocketing national debt, a sagging construction market, government spending waste at every turn, low economic growth, high gas prices, high unemployment, European economic problems, and the specter of high inflation.

Yes, it is going to be a bumpy night, a bumpy week, a bumpy month, a bumpy year, and a bumpy future until we finally get people into office and the government who actually know how to manage an economy, people with a totally different approach to the methods and approaches that have resulted in our current predicament and bumpy nights.

"We invite all readers of this blog to visit our new website, "The United States Of Purple," at:

http://www.unitedstatesofpurple.com/

The United States of Purple is a new grass roots approach to filling the office of President of The United States by focusing on the restoration of freedom in the United States, focusing on problem solving skills and results vs. personal political enrichment, and imposing term limits on all future Federal politicians. No more red states, no more blue states, just one United States Of America under the banner of Purple.

The United States Of Purple's website also provides you the formal opportunity to sign a petition to begin the process of implementing a Constitutional amendment to impose fixed term limits on all Federally elected politicians. Only by turning out the existing political class can we have a chance of addressing and finally resolving the major issues of or times.

Our book, "Love My Country, Loathe My Government - Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom And Destroying The American Political Class" is now available at www.loathemygovernment.com. It is also available online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Please pass our message of freedom onward. Let your friends and family know about our websites and blogs, ask your library to carry the book, and respect freedom for both yourselves and others everyday.

Please visit the following sites for freedom:

http://www.cato.org/
http://www.robertringer.com/
http://realpolichick.blogspot.com/
http://www.flipcongress2010.com/
http://www.reason.com/
http://www.repealamendment/

Wasserman-Schultz's and Obama's Silence Of The Lambs - The Democrats' Continued Assault On Civility and Women

Debbie Wasserman-Schultz is both a Congresswoman from Florida and the Chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee. It is her job to not only represent her constituents but also further the political goals of the Democratic Party. No problem so far.

But she bared her hypocritical self again this past week, adding to the continuing, deep, and bitter divisions within this country. She remains silent and tacitly supportive, much like her President continues to do, whenever a Democrat slanders another American for having an honest difference of opinion with the President and her party's positions, but goes absolutely ballistic whenever a member of her own party gets criticized.

This week's adventure in hypocrisy started when old time rock and roller Ted Nugent harshly and cheaply criticized the Obama administration at an NRA event. Nugent's criticisms and words were definitely over the top and not appropriate for political dialog in this country if we ever want to get this country united again.

There have even been news reports that the Secret Service has or will follow up with Mr. Nugent in order to be sure that his words do not turn into violent actions relative to the President. That is how offensive, dangerous, and stupid his remarks were. He should have the right to voice his displeasure with Obama and any other politician, he just needs to be more judicious in the words he chooses.

Of course, any American expressing a difference of opinion with the Democrats sends Ms. Wasserman-Schultz off a cliff of hysteria:

"Mitt Romney surrogate Ted Nugent made offensive comments about President Obama and November’s elections this weekend that are despicable, deplorable and completely beyond the pale. He called the Administration 'vile,' 'evil' and 'America-hating,' and said much worse. Romney’s surrogates should know better than to rally the troops with outrageous rhetoric that is unacceptable in our political debate. Mitt Romney must condemn Nugent’s violent and hateful rhetoric immediately, as it has no place in our political discourse or this campaign.”


First of all, Nugent is not a "Romney" surrogate. He has no formal connection to the Romney campaign. He is just an American venting his disgust, disappointment, and opinion relative to the Obama's failed policies and the perceived infringement on Nugent's rights and freedoms. It was the language that was offensive, not the intent. He has the right to call the administration evil and vile, regardless of what Ms. Wasserman-Schultz thinks, it is called freedom of speech.

Romney's campaign actually did react to Mr. Nugent's words with the following, positive, mature press release:


"Divisive language is offensive no matter what side of the political aisle it comes from. Mitt Romney believes everyone needs to be civil," said Andrea Saul, a Romney spokeswoman.


But let's review the history of political dialog from Democrats over the past three years. If Ms. Wasserman-Schultz is so upset over the content and tone of Nugent's opinions, why were she and President Obama silent when these following venomous words were issued by fellow Democrats, all of which in Ms. Wasserman-Schultz's words "are despicable, deplorable and completely beyond the pale:"

1. When Democrat Nancy Pelosi called opponents to Obama Care unpatriotic for simply having a difference of opinion with many politicians in Washington, Wasserman-Schultz and Obama were silent.
2. When Democrat Charles Rangel slandered millions of Americans who opposed Obama Care by calling them racists for simply having an honest difference of opinion with many politicians in Washington, Wasserman-Schultz and Obama were silent.
3. When Democrat Shelia Jordan Lee slandered  of Americans who opposed Obama Care by associating them with the Ku Klux Klan, Wasserman-Schultz and Obama were silent.
4. When White czar Van Jones called all Republicans assholes, Wasserman-Schultz and Obama were silent.
5. When Democrat Alan Grayson called all Republicans knuckle dragging Neanderthals, Wasserman-Schultz and Wasserman-Schultz and Obama were silent.
6. When TV personality Montel Williams said Republican Congressman Michelle Bachman should commit suicide by self decapitation, Wasserman-Schultz and Obama were silent.
7. When pseudo comedian Bill Maher said Sarah Palin would f*** Rick Perry if he was black, Wasserman-Schultz and Obama were silent.
8. When pseudo comedian Bill Maher called Sarah a t***, Wasserman-Schultz and Obama were silent.
9. When Playboy ran an extensive online article at their website which described why ten top Republican women needed to be hate raped and how each of the hate rapes should be done, Wasserman-Schultz and Obama were silent.
10. When a political fund raiser concert in Minnesota was held in 2010 and was billed as the "F** Michelle Bachman" (the F*** was actually spelled out explicitly) concert, Wasserman-Schultz and Obama were silent.
11. When union boss Jimmy Hoffa, Jr. stated that his union was at war with the Republicans and Tea Party and that those people "need to be taken out," Wasserman-Schultz and Obama were silent.
12. When Democrat Mike Pope slandered Americans opposed to unfettered and destructive government spending and debt by calling them terrorists (those people that bomb and kill and innocent civilians), Wasserman-Schultz was silent.
13. When Democrat Vice President Joe Biden allegedly agreed with Pope's view, Wasserman-Schultz and Obama were silent.
14. When a Demcoratic Congressman called Republicans barbarians, Wasserman-Schultz and Obama were silent.
15. When Democrat Jerry Brown's campaign chairman, when Brown ran for governor of California, called Brown's Republican opponent, Meg Whitman, a whore, Wasserman-Schultz and Obama were silent.
16. When a Democratic operative insulted Ann Romney, and millions of other American women, by slandering and demeaning her as a stay at home mother. Wasserman-Schultz was silent.
17. When a Democratic media operative, Ed Schultz, called Fox employee Laura Ingraham a slut, Wasserman-Schultz and Obama were silent.
18. When Democrat Harold Dean called many Americans racists, Wasserman-Schultz and Obama were silent.

When you allow American citizens of any point of view to be called racists, assholes, Klan members, knuckle dragging Neanderthals, un-American, barbarians, and terrorists without speaking up in their defense to have an honest difference of opinion with your political party's positions, and you only get riled when one of your political party's supporters get insulted, you are the ones who are hypocrites and un-American.

Ms. Wasserman-Schultz's and President Obama's selective silence shows that they place their true, selfish interests and politics over the rights, freedoms, and common decency that should be afforded all Americans. By allowing this incivility to exist in the presence of their silence means that we are that much further away from solving our national problems and appreciating the diversity that made America great.

When you allow American women to be called t***, sluts, whores, hate rape targets, lazy home makers, etc. without speaking up in their defense to have an honest difference of opinion with your political party's positions, and you only get riled when one of your political party's supporters get insulted, you are the ones who are hypocrites and un-American and an enemy of women every in this country.



Ms. Wasserman-Schultz's and President Obama's selective silence shows that they place their true, selfish interests and politics over the rights, freedoms, and common decency that should be afforded all American women, regardless of their party, political views, and life choices. By allowing this incivility against women to exist in the presence of their silence means that we are that much further away from solving our national problems and appreciating the diversity that made America great.
 
Uncivil, hypocritical, and silent,  certainly not leadership from either Wasserman-Schultz and Obama. But certainly despicable, deplorable and completely beyond the pale.


[Note: as of today, to my knowledge, Obama has not insisted, or even suggested, that the Super PAC supporting this re-election campaign return the million dollar donation it has received from Mr. Maher, he of the numerus insults to American women listed above. By accepting Maher's money, Mr. Obama tacitly supports Maher's anti-women rhetoric, in my opinion.]




"We invite all readers of this blog to visit our new website, "The United States Of Purple," at:

http://www.unitedstatesofpurple.com/

The United States of Purple is a new grass roots approach to filling the office of President of The United States by focusing on the restoration of freedom in the United States, focusing on problem solving skills and results vs. personal political enrichment, and imposing term limits on all future Federal politicians. No more red states, no more blue states, just one United States Of America under the banner of Purple.

The United States Of Purple's website also provides you the formal opportunity to sign a petition to begin the process of implementing a Constitutional amendment to impose fixed term limits on all Federally elected politicians. Only by turning out the existing political class can we have a chance of addressing and finally resolving the major issues of or times.

Our book, "Love My Country, Loathe My Government - Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom And Destroying The American Political Class" is now available at www.loathemygovernment.com. It is also available online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Please pass our message of freedom onward. Let your friends and family know about our websites and blogs, ask your library to carry the book, and respect freedom for both yourselves and others everyday.

Please visit the following sites for freedom:

http://www.cato.org/
http://www.robertringer.com/
http://realpolichick.blogspot.com/
http://www.flipcongress2010.com/
http://www.reason.com/ 
http://www.repealamendment/

Retro # 15 - The American Freedom Pyramid: Where It Should Be Vs. Where It Is Today

I will be at an event with family and friends this week so my time to write will be curtailed. Thus, I will be reposting some of our most popular discussions in this blog from the past couple of years for your new enjoyment and review.

This post happened over two years ago but has consistently been viewed by our readers many times over the ensuing years. It graphically portrays how we have let the political class in this country hijack our political processes and the associated freedom that we should all be enjoying in this country. The post lists some necessary steps that all Americans need to take to return to the original concepts of liberty in this country.

***********************************

Thursday, November 18, 2010



The American Freedom Pyramid: Where It Should Be Vs. Where It Is Today

An important part of the book, "Love My Country, Loathe My Government," is the understanding of what I call the Freedom Pyramid. The Freedom Pyramid tries to imagine what our founders had in mind when the put the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights and a government based on individual freedom together. The ideal American Freedom Pyramid fits together as follows:

1.The base and foundation of the pyramid is the Constitution and the Bill Of Rights.

2.Sitting on top of this base level is the government structure that the founders defined to implement the liberty principles and concepts of the Bill of Rights and the Constitution in a limited government manner.

3.This government structure serves all of the country's citizens equally in guaranteeing each person's rights and freedoms as defined by the base level documents.

4.And finally, the pinnacle of the Freedom Pyramid is our own individual rights, freedom, and liberties.

These concepts are graphically illustrated below (you can double click on the picutre to get a bigger, clearer view):

There are a few important characteristics of this pyramid. The power in the pyramid flows up from the Bill of Rights and U.S. Constitution to our individual freedoms which is the pinnacle of our country. Government exists to serve the citizens and the country and is just the mechanics for implementing the tenets in the Bill of Rights and Constitution. Finally, the political class appears nowhere in the Freedom Pyramid structure.

This structure has served the country and its citizens quite well over the past two centuries. Americans were usually the freest people in world, which allowed the country to grow into the most prosperous ever. The Freedom Pyramid concept placed individual freedom above all else, including the government and the political class, whose sole purpose should be implementing the concepts and principles of the Constitution and the Bill Of Rights.

However, over time, we have allowed the American political class to pervert this original Freedom Pyramid concept:

1.Today, individual citizens and their freedom and liberties are no longer at the pinnacle of the pyramid, having been replaced by a self serving political class.

2.This political class uses government functions and institutions to enlarge, entrench, and enrich itself. Examples at this level abound and include earmark abuse, favorable campaign finance laws, Congressional voting district gerrymandering, excessive Congressional benefits and perks, confiscating large amounts of citizens wealth and income via taxes, and a general low priority for the needs and desires of the country's citizens.

3.The political class uses their increased power to divide the country into various and competing tribes and voting blocks of citizens, "energizing their bases" as needed and demonizing those not in their bases or tribes.

4.This increased power of the political class and their abuses of power results in diminished individual rights and freedoms.

These concepts are illustrated in the current day, perverted Freedom Pyramid below, where the only Americans with the freedom and power tend to be our politicians:


















As you can see in this pyramid, the Bill of Rights and Constitution are no longer vital to this pyramid's structure since the often act as an obstruction to the needs and desires of the political class rather than their original intent, the foundation of the country. Also, the power is driven down from the political class and is imposed on American citizens and their freedom.

We need to recognize how far we have deviated from the concept of the first Freedom Pyramid. The reality of America today is that we no longer live in a free country. We do not get true freedom in our election processes since the political class has rigged the voting process to favor existing officeholders and existing political parties. We do not get true freedom while under our excessive tax burden. When an individual is forced to pay more than 30% of their annual income to all levels of government, that individual's freedom to send his or her kids to a better school or to start a business or to save for retirement or to go on a vacation is severely limited: you cannot have political freedom without financial freedom. We do not get true freedom when politicians call individual citizens racists, Neanderthals, un-American, smelly, and other derogatory names just because they dare to disagree with a politician's programs.

If we ever want to get back to the right Freedom Pyramid, where individual citizens are in charge and the political class and the government the run are subservient, we need to implement most, if not all, of the steps laid out in "Love My Country, Loathe My Government." Some of the most important steps include:

•Step 1 - reduce the size and budget of the Federal government by 10% a year for five years.

•Step 6 - allow only individual American citizens to contribute to election campaigns, forbidding unions, corporations, PACs and other organizations from flooding the election process with money. The Bill of Rights guarantees freedom of speech to individual Americans, not organizations.

•Step 7 - allow only citizens that are affected by an election to contribute to election campaigns within that election. For example, political parties would not be allowed to accept campaign contributions from someone in Kansas and send/funnel that money to be used in an election campaign in New Jersey.

•Step 14 - stop gerrymandering Congressional voting districts to almost guarantee the re-election of incumbents.

•Step 17 - eliminate the Democratic Party's "Super Delegate" process which has the potential of voiding the votes of all voters who voted in Democratic Party Presidential primaries.

•Step 34 - hold politicians sitting on Congressional committees accountable for their respective government areas of oversight and remove them from their committee positions if that committee falls short of serving the country, e.g. all members of Congressional Intelligence committees should have been removed from those committee posts on September 12, 2001 for their inability to foresee the 9-11 terror attacks.

•Step 39 - institute term limits for all Federal political seats.

Many of the other 50 steps are also important but implementing these listed above would go a long way to getting us back to the true and rightful Freedom Pyramid concept for this country.


*****************************************

"We invite all readers of this blog to visit our new website, "The United States Of Purple," at:

http://www.unitedstatesofpurple.com/

The United States of Purple is a new grass roots approach to filling the office of President of The United States by focusing on the restoration of freedom in the United States, focusing on problem solving skills and results vs. personal political enrichment, and imposing term limits on all future Federal politicians. No more red states, no more blue states, just one United States Of America under the banner of Purple.

The United States Of Purple's website also provides you the formal opportunity to sign a petition to begin the process of implementing a Constitutional amendment to impose fixed term limits on all Federally elected politicians. Only by turning out the existing political class can we have a chance of addressing and finally resolving the major issues of or times.

Our book, "Love My Country, Loathe My Government - Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom And Destroying The American Political Class" is now available at www.loathemygovernment.com. It is also available online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Please pass our message of freedom onward. Let your friends and family know about our websites and blogs, ask your library to carry the book, and respect freedom for both yourselves and others everyday.

Please visit the following sites for freedom:

http://www.cato.org/
http://www.robertringer.com/
http://realpolichick.blogspot.com/
http://www.flipcongress2010.com/
http://www.reason.com/
http://www.repealamendment/

Retro #14 - Navy Ships For Sale! Cheap, Never Used, Act Now!

I will be involved at an event with family and friends over the next couple of days so my writing time will be greatly curtailed. Thus, I will be reposting some of the most popular posts of all time from this blog for your review or revisit.

This post is from last summer and it summarized blatant waste by the U.S. Navy, who burned through $300,000,000 of taxpayer money to build two ships and then immediately spent another $10 million dollars to turn them to scrap metal without ever using them. It is pertinent today since Obama is still pressing ahead with his inane plan to tax millionaire earners more than they currently are. Rather than play election year politics with American's tax returns and lives, maybe he should be looking for other ridiculous wastes of taxpayer money since just this one instance would pay for over 6% of his new tax scheme in a year.

If he found just another 15 or so examples of waste like this throughout the Federal bureaucracy (I would suggest he start with the GSA, given their propensity for luxury conferences in luxury locations) he could stop his blathering about the so-called "Buffet Rule" and work on some real issues.

*****************************************************

Friday, July 22, 2011



U.S. Navy Ships For Sale! Cheap, Never Used, Act No

Just when you think that you have identified the latest government waste of taxpayer money, some big new wastes jump into your face. Consider some recent news reports that reported on how the U.S. government was scrapping two of its Navy ships even though they had never seen one day of service. Details of the waste include:

•Two large Navy ships, that have never been used, are headed for the scrap yard even though they are almost completely finished and ready for duty.

•Work began on the USNS Benjamin Isherwood and the USNS Henry Eckford in 1985 at the Pennsylvania Shipbuilding Company and were intended to carry fuel to the Navy's ships around the world.

•When the company defaulted on their Navy contract in 1989, the 600 foot ships were sent to Florida for completion. At the length of two football fields, these were not insignificant ships.

•The ships were eventually moved to the James River Navy yard and have sat there at 95% and 84% complete the past 18 years.

•A British company considered buying the ships and completing their build out for sale to a NATO country.

•However, since the ships are single hulled and double hulls are required for today's fuel carriers, the British company decided not to complete the construction and instead, settled on a $10 million contract and taxpayer expense to scrap the ships altogether.

•This week the ships are being towed to Texas to be cut up for scrap iron and scrap steel for recycling.

Thus, after spending $300 million to begin building the ships, almost finishing their construction, getting absolutely no use out of them, and paying to tow the ships from port to port, the taxpayers will get hit with one last insult and be charged $10 million to destroy the never used ships.

Where to start on this insanity:

1.Who is responsible for ordering the construction of these ships but never getting any use out of them? In the private market, if a business person was to incur that big of a screw up they would be out of a job.

2.Was there nowhere in the world that these ships could have been sold in order for taxpayers to get some money back rather than incurring another $10 million cost to have them destroyed? Even though the could not be used to haul fuel, was there no company in the world who would not want a sturdy Navy ship to ship other goods in its hold that was not fuel related?

There must be a Chinese shipping company who could use a new ship or two, especially since China's exports in the first half of 2011 was a record level of $874 billion, 20% higher than in 2010 (The Week, July 22, 2011). Thus, not only should the people responsible for building $300 million worth of ships be fired, the people who could not get anything in return by selling the ships should also be fired.

3.This is a classic example of Step 34 from "Love My Country, Loathe My Government." Step 34 would remove politicians from any Congressional committee that does not do its committee job to at least to minimum standards. Whatever Congressional committee or subcommittee members were responsible for flushing $310 million of taxpayer wealth down the drain need to be removed from their committee or subcommittee posts.

The article contains a quote from Joseph Keefe from www.maritimeprofessional.com who stated that the scrapping the ships will "close one of the saddest chapters in American shipbuilding history and for that matter, Federal fiduciary folly." In other words, what a waste of taxpayer money. Very well said, Mr. Keefe.

Another scary aspect of this story is the thought that this may not be an isolated incident. What other $300 million wastes are hanging around the Pentagon closets? With Pentagon resources deployed in three war zones, dozens of foreign countries, and probably most of the fifty states, I find it hard to believe that this is the only wasted money in the Pentagon budget. Eliminating this type of despicable behavior would reduce the Pentagon budget without further endangering the defense of the United States.

While we are on the topic of waste, let's move out of the Defense Department domain and move to another area of gross government waste. According to an USA Today article, that was highlighted in the July 7, 2011 issue of The Week, the Federal government wastes about $17 billion of taxpayer wealth every year in the operation of its unemployment benefits program. Almost 12% of the program's budget is paid out fraudulently to Americans who are either collecting benefits they are not entitled to or are those people that have gotten a job but are still accepting unemployment benefits.

Compare these figures to the politically motivated ramblings of President Obama over the past few weeks. He has made a big deal about closing tax loopholes for oil companies and corporate jet users. Now, while I agree these loopholes should be closed, they are a pittance compared to the unemployment fraud.

Over ten years, the oil company loopholes would amount to about $20 billion and the corporate jets loophole would amount to about $3 billion, a total of $23 billion or so over 10 years. Ten years worth of this type of unemployment benefits waste comes out to $170 billion, which is almost eight times more than the political gamesmanship loopholes of Obama.

It never ends. The government cannot plan its Navy needs, resulting in wasting over $300 million on just two of its ships. The government cannot efficiently run a simple unemployment benefits program, wasting 12% of its budget and $17 billion a year. The politicians worry about the smaller, trivial wastes of taxpayer money while the bigger wastes go on and on every year.

The worst part of all, there is no apparent accountability. No one ever seems to be held responsible for all of the waste. Politicians continually get re-elected in the face of the waste. Government bureaucrats never seem to lose their jobs despite inefficiency and waste.

You wonder what kind of world those in DC live in where how well or bad you perform your job has no ramifications on your monetary reward and career paths. Its the kind of world I would like to live in where performance is unrelated to reality. But first, I need to see if any of those ships are still available, they are too good a deal to pass up.

**********************

"We invite all readers of this blog to visit our new website, "The United States Of Purple," at:

http://www.unitedstatesofpurple.com/

The United States of Purple is a new grass roots approach to filling the office of President of The United States by focusing on the restoration of freedom in the United States, focusing on problem solving skills and results vs. personal political enrichment, and imposing term limits on all future Federal politicians. No more red states, no more blue states, just one United States Of America under the banner of Purple.

The United States Of Purple's website also provides you the formal opportunity to sign a petition to begin the process of implementing a Constitutional amendment to impose fixed term limits on all Federally elected politicians. Only by turning out the existing political class can we have a chance of addressing and finally resolving the major issues of or times.

Our book, "Love My Country, Loathe My Government - Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom And Destroying The American Political Class" is now available at www.loathemygovernment.com. It is also available online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Please pass our message of freedom onward. Let your friends and family know about our websites and blogs, ask your library to carry the book, and respect freedom for both yourselves and others everyday.

Please visit the following sites for freedom:

http://www.cato.org/
http://www.robertringer.com/
http://realpolichick.blogspot.com/
http://www.flipcongress2010.com/
http://www.reason.com/
http://www.repealamendment/

American Pie Song Parody or Was That An Honest Politician I Just Saw?

I believe that the American political class is populated with very few people that value integrity and the good of the country over their own self interest and self enrichment. Our politicians' actions and non-success rate on improving our lives and resolving the major issues of our times only reinforces this global view I have of them.

However, I was impressed a couple of years ago by one member of the Washington political class who seemed to actually be a good leader, a decent human being, and a good Senator. His name was Evan Bayh of Indiana and unfortunately, I only found about him AFTER he decided that he could no longer cope with the bitterness, gridlock, incompetence, and ineffectiveness of Washington D.C.

In an interview he gave to Business Week, he described why he was leaving a dysfunctional Washington and going home where he hoped to be able to provide more positive change than he could in the U.S. Senate. He took this step even though he may have been a prime Presidential or Vice Presidential candidate in the not too distant future. I respected his integrity in walking away from this personal opportunity to find a way to help others.

His words somehow reminded me of the Don McLean hit from long ago, "American Pie." It seems that we have allowed our political class to stray away from the very concepts of freedom, liberty and self sacrifice that are embodied in the "American Pie" lyrics, concepts that Bayh seemed to yearn for. As a result of this inspiration, a wrote a blog post back then which took Bayh's situation and embedded it into a song parody of "American Pie."

Today, like yesterday's "Eve Of (Financial) Destruction" challenge, I offer the parody words to anyone out there who as any kind of musical talent (talent that I sorely lack) who would like to put these words into a full blown song parody. I would be more than happy to feature the resultant parody in both this blog and in the Untied States of Purple Presidency drive (http://www.unitedstatesofpurple.com/). Have fun!

*******
American Pie - The New Lyrics From Washington D.C.

Yesterday we had some fun by rewriting the lyrics to the Barry McGuire 1960s protest song, "Eve Of Destruction," to reflect how the American political class is bringing the nation to the brink of financial destruction with its reckless deficit spending ways. Today, we have taken the classic "American Pie" from Don McLean and rewrote the lyrics to represent the feelings of retiring Indiana Senator Evan Bayh.

Senator Bayh announced few weeks ago that he was not going to run for re-election to the Senate. This decision was made despite the fact that he was apparently well thought of by his colleagues, politics ran in his family since his father was a long time U.S. Senator and Evan Bayh had been a two term governor of his home state, and his political future looked bright, having been mentioned as possible Vice Presidential and Presidential material. However, the Senator will be leaving Washington for a number of reasons, as outlined in a Charlie Rose interview he gave to Business Week in their March 1, 2010 edition:

•"The level of polarization and gridlock is just much higher than I've seen before, certainly higher than in my father's time."

•"The House (of Representatives) has been deeply damaged by gerrymandering. Out of 435 seats, about only 15 ones are competitive."

•"If you're in a majority Democratic district, you go farther to the left to avoid a challenge (in the primary), and the opposite occurs on the Republican side."

•"And you end up having more people on the far right and the far left and fewer in the middle where I think most Americans find themselves."

•"The pervasive need to fund raise is also a factor. Because of the vast sums of money that have to be raised, there's a perpetual campaign."

•"Other than on ceremonial occasions, I can recall only twice when all 100 Senators gathered to focus on a problem of national import. The first was when the President had been impeached. The second was three days after 9/11."

•"This (the current political climate) is - for lack of a better phrase - a Ross Perot moment...that could be the kind of thing that would really galvanizes public opinion against everyone in Washington regardless of party."

Very scary thoughts but probably accurate observations. A few comments on the Senator's views:

•If all one hundred Senators have only convened twice in the past nine years to work on an important national problem, impeachment and 9-11, then that means they have not gathered as one body to jointly work on failing public schools, the failing War on Drugs, skyrocketing debt and deficits, the approaching insolvency of Social Security and Medicare, the lack of a national energy policy and strategy, or any other pressing national need. Is it any wonder the country is in such sad shape?

•If the current members of the political class are so obsessed with raising money for their re-election campaign as the Senator claims ("pervasive"), is it any wonder that nothing gets done by those sitting in Congress, they are too busy raising money? Maybe Step 7 from "Love My Country, Loathe My Government" should be enacted. Step 7 would allow only individual citizens to contribute to campaigns; corporations, businesses, unions, PACs, etc. Step 39 would be even more effective since it calls for term limits for all members of Congress. If you cannot get elected to a second term, then the need to raise funds for re-election goes away, providing more time for you to legislate.

•If the Senator is right and only fifteen Congressional districts across the country are competitive, that implies that only 5% (15/435) of Americans are free when it comes to electing their Congressman or woman. A Republicans vote in a gerrymandered Democratic district is useless 95 % of the time as is a Democrat's vote in a gerrymandered Republican district, useless 95% of the time. This makes for a very undemocratic nation. Step 14 from "Love My Country, Loathe My Government" would minimize this problem by providing specific criteria so that gerrymandering would be minimized, e.g. the widest diameter of a Congressional district could not be more than three times the length of the most narrow diameter of a Congressional district.

•It is pretty obvious that the Senator is right when it comes to polarization, we see it everyday on the news. While the nation sinks further and further into debt and disrepair, the political class does nothing but posture or work on trivial issues. The iceberg is approaching but the deck chairs need to be arranged is where we are at right now from a political perspective.

So we say good bye to Senator Evan Bayh, he was at least smart enough and strong enough to identify and talk about the current political reality. I am not sure that the remaining Senate and House politicians even recognize how bad the problem is, as defined by Senator Bayh. To commemorate his parting words in Business Week, and hope and pray those words spur some changes in the country, we present the following tribute to the music of American Pie:

New Lyrics:

A long, long time ago, I can still remember
How the Senate used to make me smile
My Dad said I would get my chance
Lobbyists would make me dance
And then they’d make me rich with their guile.

But N. Pelosi made me shiver, Harry Reid did not deliver
Bad news on the doorstep, Kennedy’s seat just got swept
I can’t remember if I cried when the deficit got so wide
But something touched me deep inside the day compromise died.

So bye, bye Senator Evan Bayh
Going home to Indiana now please do not ask why
Let Obama and Biden stay to drink whiskey and lie
While partisanship takes a long good bye
Compromise takes a long good bye.

Did you write the book of No
And did you lose faith in going slow
If the bosses tell you so?
Now do you believe in give and take?
Or is Congress just one big fake?
And can you filibuster real, real slow?

Well I know that you love this bill
But the bosses say go for the kill
Makes the other side look too good
Even if it turns gold into wood.

You were a lively Hoosier with lots of pluck
But filibustering really does suck
Everyone ends up out of luck
The day that compromise died

So bye, bye Senator Evan Bayh
Going home to Indiana now please do not ask why
Let Obama and Biden stay to drink whiskey and lie
While partisanship takes a long good bye.
Compromise takes a long good bye.

For many years you’ve been on your own
But Harry says don’t pick up the phone
But that’s not how it used to be.
At one time it was nation that mattered
Give and take never got battered
A voice of reason for you and me.

While King Obama was looking down
The GOP stole his holy crown
The session was adjourned
No legislation was returned.

And while filibusters ran amuck
And Congress was really stuck
The nation remained out of luck
The day that compromise died.

We were singing bye, bye Senator Evan Bayh
Going home to Indiana now please do not ask why
Let Obama and Biden stay to drink whiskey and lie
While partisanship takes a long good bye.
Compromise takes a long good bye.

The Original Lyrics

A long, long time ago,I can still remember
How that music used to make me smile
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people dance
And maybe they'd be happy for a while.

But February made me shiver, with every paper I'd deliver
Bad news on the doorstep, I couldn't take one more step
I can't remember if I cried, when I read about his widowed bride
But something touched me deep inside the day the music died.

So bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And them good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Singing this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die.

Did you write the book of love
And do you have faith in God above
If the Bible tells you so?
Now do you believe in rock and roll?
Can music save your mortal soul?
And can you teach me how to dance real slow?

Well, I know that you're in love with him
'Cause I saw you dancing in the gym
You both kicked off your shoes
Man, I dig those rhythm and blues.

I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck
But I knew I was out of luck
The day the music died.

I started singing bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye
And singing this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die.

Now, for ten years we've been on our own
And moss grows fat on a rolling stone
But that's not how it used to be.

When the jester sang for the king and queen
In a coat he borrowed from James Dean
And a voice that came from you and me
Oh, and while the king was looking down
The jester stole his thorny crown
The courtroom was adjourned
No verdict was returned.

And while Lenin read a book on Marx
he quartet practiced in the park
And we sang 'Dirges In The Dark'
The day the music died.
We were singing bye, bye
Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye
And singing this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die.

********

Lord help us if American Pie and all it stood for no longer exist and that is the reason why Evan Bayh has headed for the Indiana plains. Makes you wonder what he knows and we only suspect.



"We invite all readers of this blog to visit our new website, "The United States Of Purple," at:

http://www.unitedstatesofpurple.com/

The United States of Purple is a new grass roots approach to filling the office of President of The United States by focusing on the restoration of freedom in the United States, focusing on problem solving skills and results vs. personal political enrichment, and imposing term limits on all future Federal politicians. No more red states, no more blue states, just one United States Of America under the banner of Purple.

The United States Of Purple's website also provides you the formal opportunity to sign a petition to begin the process of implementing a Constitutional amendment to impose fixed term limits on all Federally elected politicians. Only by turning out the existing political class can we have a chance of addressing and finally resolving the major issues of or times.

Our book, "Love My Country, Loathe My Government - Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom And Destroying The American Political Class" is now available at www.loathemygovernment.com. It is also available online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Please pass our message of freedom onward. Let your friends and family know about our websites and blogs, ask your library to carry the book, and respect freedom for both yourselves and others everyday.

Please visit the following sites for freedom:

http://www.cato.org/
http://www.robertringer.com/
http://realpolichick.blogspot.com/
http://www.flipcongress2010.com/
http://www.reason.com/
http://www.repealamendment/