The New "New Deal"

With only days remaining until BHO, becomes the Supreme Leader of the "Free" world, he has unveiled his own version of a stimulus package designed to spend our way out of trouble. In a major economic speech at George Mason University on Thursday, he made it clear government is the only white knight out there to save the day.

But at this particular moment, only government can provide the short-term boost necessary to lift us from a recession this deep and severe. Only government can break the cycle that is crippling our economy...

The more than $775 Billion package will be loaded with options including tax cuts to appease the Republicans, green jobs that would have 75% of federal buildings and 2 million American homes (where will John Q public get the money to bring his home into compliance????) magically retrofitted or rebuilt to be environmentally friendly (remember ETHANOL?) , and "shovel ready" infrastructure projects that have mayors and governors getting in line with their hands out for money for museums, water parks and sporting venues (PORK).

This stimulus package will likely only be the FIRST of the Democratic Bailouts, and the cost that has been touted publicly is at the lower end of the estimate to allow it to G--R--O--W as it passes through the legislative process (or leave room for future salvos "if at first you don't suceed...."). This is drawing flack from Obama's own party. Tom Harken has voiced the need for more spending and less tax cuts. Harry Reid has said that he "doesn't work for Barack Obama" (RIIIIIGHT!) Outcries have also been heard from the likes of Barney Frank (king of the subprime mortgages), Carl Levin (socialist) and John Kerry (self-aggrandizing snob who has to weigh in on everything lest he lapse into deserved obscurity). Don't be fooled, however, this flack is needed to give the public perception of disharmony so that when a package is finally formulated, it will be looked at as a truly bipartisan package in a true Kumbaya moment with all credit to the Messiah.

The more important flack issue, to me, is the lack of flack from the Republican legislators. The likes of Leader Boehner ("I am excited to see the tax cuts" OMG you are falling for it from the outset!), Mitch McConnell and Tom Coburn (Obama has been "straight up" with them). I recall a Department Chairman that I once worked under who was notorious for having consensus building meetings with his faculty, allowing everyone to vent their feelings. He listened intently and then did whatever he wanted to do in the first place. When called to account for what he did, he always said, "You can't say that I didn't ask you." I fear that this is how Obama will govern....Beware the smooth wordsmithing and cool demeanor.

From February 2008 until February 2009 when Obama hopes to have crafted his own Bailout package we have been throwing money at the economy with reckless abandon and blame that falls on both sides of the aisle. Since February, 2008 we have spent $168B on the Bush stimulus package, $200B on the Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae bailout, $122.8 B for AIG (poor babies), $700B for the TARP mortgage and banking bailout (with $17.4B carved out for the auto industry and by extension the autoworkers union) and not to be undone, the biggest effort to date......>$775B in the yet to be drafted Obama plan for a GRAND TOTAL of >$1.9TRILLION (sorry there are too many zeroes to reckon with!) that will have been spent on bailing out varied and sundry things. With more pigs lining up at the trough in hope of catching some of the money to be thrown around.

Nancy Pelosi has proposed a deadline of President's day in February for getting this package crafted, drafted and sent to the new President for signature and enactment. She has also boldly stated that if there is no package by this time there will be NO RECESS!! I guess she has no Spring book tour this year....or did she learn her lesson from the #dontgo whipping she took in August 2008?????

Today on Meet the Depressed, David Gregory had a relatively one-sided round table discussion on the bailout. There were some very telling comments coming from former House Majority Whip Rep. David Bonoir who is a member of the Obama economic transition team. When asked about how to deal with the Bush tax cuts, he totally avoided that question. He did, however, say that we

"have to get hold of this inequality in wages and economy." He went on to say that in the past 20 years the top 10% of the wage earners took 90% of the income gains and this is "skewed the wrong way."

When asked where we need to end up, Bonoir indicated that we

"need to give people the opportunity to bargain collectively at the table. At 7% unionization in this country, you are not going to get the dispersion you need." He added, "We were successful in this country after the Second World War. The most profitable time for this country were the three decades after World War II because unionization was at 35%......The Employee Freedom of Choice Act ( think Card Check) is an important part of legislation supported by President-Elect Obama and Biden, Congress and 60% of the American people...This will help to share in the benefits and bounties of the country."

Later in the show, Bonoir predicted that the Stimulus package will pass and it would probably pass even without Republican support.

Come on Republicans, grow a pair and stand up for what WE believe in. Get vocal and EXPLAIN why the government can't fix this.

I close with a quote that many of you will agree with, but the source may be surprising.

We live in a time of transition, an uneasy era which is likely to endure.....During the period we may be tempted to abandon some of the time-honored principles and commitments which have been proven during the difficult times of past generations. We must never yield to this temptation. Our American values are not luxuries, but necessities - not the salt in our bread, but the bread itself.

Jimmy Carter, in his farewell address.

I Told You So.....

Just a few days ago I put a post in my blog about the low price of gasoline and my concern that this was just the calm before the storm. Little did I realize, however, that the storm would come so soon.

On Thanksgiving afternoon (yesterday) we stopped to fill the tank after our Thanksgiving visiting and paid $1.33 per gallon at a local Florissant, Missouri BP station. This afternoon (24 hours later) our BP station has gasoline for $1.59 per gallon. We need to keep the pressure on our legislators to be sure that we maintain the progress we have made for offshore drilling and exploration of our own oil reserves here in the USA as a critical part of energy independence.

OPEC meets in Cairo tomorrow and our "friends" will discuss whether or not to drop production...again. I hope that I am wrong, but.....I told you so.

UPDATE: 11/29/2008 8:51 AM CST Fox news is reporting that the Saudi's feel that the price of a gallon of crude should REALLY be trading at $75 per barrel......I TOLD YOU SO.....

Thank you Sarah Palin!

There is no doubt that Sarah Palin has left her mark on the 2008 Presidential election. Now that she is back in Alaska, she is still the target of the MSM in an attempt to neutralize her. The measure of her mark, however can be found at Team Sarah where members are still joining and the membership is just shy of 60,000 members today!

The grassroots effort to unify the conservative voice to be fully prepared for the 2010 election is gaining momentum through a variety of alternative media sites such as Smart Girl Politics, Team Sarah, #dontgo movement, Grizzly Groundswell and the conservative voices on Blogtalk Radio to name just a few.

As we have just finished celebrating a national day of Thanksgiving, it is worthy to reflect on the things that we have to be thankful and for the things that have made this nation great. Sarah Palin is representative of these ideas and ideals and for this we should ask why she represents such a threat to the left in this country? This should explain it:

#dontgo Movement-- But Don't Go Too Far!!!

Today my corner Mobil station has regular unleaded gasoline for $1.39 per gallon. Gleefully people have been laughing about the falling gas pump prices. Just a few days ago, a local commentator relished the fact that when he looks at the price at the pump he is tempted to squirt some gas on the ground just for grins or offer to fill up someone else's tank, too. While I love the fact that the pump prices are back to a livable level, I am also wary that this is just the lull before the storm.

In August, with a gallon of gas going for $4 plus depending on the locale in the USA, the Democrat Congress went home in a "let them eat cake" moment that left the ordinary citizenry twisting in the wind over fuel prices and the rogue Republican congress stayed behind in the darkened chambers and publicized their month long "sit in" demonstration via the social media. From this the #dontgo movement was born as a grassroots means of spreading the word about the need for drilling in the US and offshore as a bridge to make us less dependent on and ultimately independent of foreign oil. Between the #dontgo movement and Americansolutions.com the mantra of "Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less" became the rallying cry for the common guy who needs to have gasoline to get to work every day.

In Early September when Hurricane Ike hit the Texas Gulf Coast, I recall sitting at my home computer on the weekend monitoring the petroleum chat rooms. I sat like a fly on the wall as men in the petroleum industry wove tales of gas shortages and further skyrocketing pump prices if the worst damage projected would happen to the oil rigs in the Gulf and the pipelines that take oil and gasoline to the rest of the country had to be shut done for any period of time. While the worst case scenario did not materialize for the Midwest, there were some tight times in Atlanta and along the Eastern seaboard.

The ban on offshore drilling was allowed to expire in late September and the prices have been in free fall ever since. But this is not the time to take our eyes off of the ball because we are still totally dependent on foreign oil. Now is the time to DEMAND that the small gains that have been made continue to be enforced and put into play. NOW IS THE TIME FOR DRILLING AND EXPLORATION. We can't afford to sit on our laurels (affordable gasoline) and tell ourselves that the problem is solved.... because it isn't.

Earlier this month, in a reaction to the continued fall in crude oil prices, OPEC cut production by 1.5 million barrels per day in an attempt to stave off further fall in price. In spite of this, oil prices have further dropped so that today the price is hovering around $50 per barrel. Since the first reduction did not have its intended effect, Iran and Venezuela are both calling for a further reduction in output when OPEC meets on November 29 in Cairo.

There are other ways that OPEC can ratchet up the pressure against us if they so desire...and remember... we are NOT their favorite people. Oil is traded in US dollars. For the past 3-4 years there have been murmurings about changing the currency for petroleum trade to the Euro. While it has not yet happened, this could have devastating consequences for us. Today, November 24, 2008, one Euro is equal to $1.2885 US dollars. If the oil trade currency were to change overnight, today's $50 barrel of oil would cost us $64.43 tomorrow. We are at the mercy of the oil producing nations and they have a MONOPOLY on the situation. So there are a number of ways to combine forces to squeeze us back into a very uncomfortable place with oil and heap that onto our economic woes.

It is also clear to the world that our President-elect is not a fan of ANY drilling or petroleum based ventures. He is a fan of green jobs, an area that still has much to be developed so that it does not turn into the corn/ethanol disaster we have already endured. He also favors alternative energy (BUT NOT NUCLEAR), but if we had to depend on alternative energy overnight we could not because the development and implementation phase would take years! Add to this the fact that we are in a time of transition in our leadership that makes us highly vulnerable to external whims. There is no time like the present to continue the mantra of "Drill Here Drill NOW!" to provide a bridge to the future.

While the #dontgo movement has morphed into the #dontgo Revolution and broadened its horizons to unite the conservative voters on a variety of issues and American Solutions.com is a little quieter than it has been in the past 4 months, the theme of energy independence resonates with ordinary people. American Solutions.com continues to have active buttons on its website to tell President-elect Obama that drilling in the USA is still vitally important as a bridge to the future of energy independence. It is an issue that MUST be kept in the forefront and articulated clearly so that the most lowly of us KNOWS WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF WE DO NOT pursue our own supplies of oil and natural gas. We are a nation of easily shifting focus and short attention span. We tire of hearing about the same things over and over and if the pressure is off, we move on to something else rather than continuing to work on the problem. In this situation, we cannot take our eyes off of the prize and we need to keep moving the ball forward lest we suddenly find ourselves blindsided back into energy HELL!