I AM AN AMERICAN...... WHAT ARE YOU?

It has finally come to a point where we as a country need to help our President help rebuild our nation and fix this economy once and for all.
In one of my earlier blogs .. Eulogy for America , I wrote that Abraham Lincoln stated that a house divided could not stand by itself. One Hundred and Fifty Four Years Later this truth is self evident!

We as a nation have proudly boasted of our nation being one of free elections, freedom of speech and living in a republic with freely elected representation of the people, by the people and for the people.

How terrible it seems that the truth is that while we try and convince the world that our society is the best we as a nation are destroying ourselves because of BIPARTISANSHIP.
Yes I am going to lecture again on the evils of Bipartisanship again because it is has been taken to an all time extreme of system failure.

Gone are the days where Ronald Reagan a Republican could sit side by side with Tip O'Neil the great liberal Bostonian and work not as adversaries but as Americans to rebuild our nation! How was it that one of the greatest of Republican Presidents could succeed with a House and Senate both controlled by Democrats.... Because Reagan and O'Neil instilled in our elected officials THAT they all were Americans first elected of the people, by the people and working for the people...Wow a concept now almost gone forever it seems!!!!

Gone are the free thinking individuals we elected to represent us not as Democrats or Republicans but as elected Americans representing the foundations of government of the people, by the people and for the people.

I for one am tired of being asked what party I belong to because the truth is I am ashamed of both parties and how they have failed to do anything but turn our nation upside down and have failed to realize our need for decisive leadership and a course of action agreed upon by the many!

When I am asked I reply, I am a lost breed... I am neither a Democrat nor a Republican... I am an American....! Are there any others out there? 

Until we all demand that our elected officials come together as a Nation of Americans we will never fix our nation's problems and the concept of government of the people, by the people and for the people will be viewed by the world as a social experiment that failed replaced by Two Parties creating A House Divided!

I AM AN AMERICAN .........WHAT ARE YOU?...... ARE THERE ANY OTHERS OUT THERE OR AM I ALONE?

REBUILDING OUR MILITARY

Today's military is more reliant upon technology than numbers...

I worry that such reliance on technology in the event of such a potentially devastaing threat as an Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP) would put us back to the stone age destroying our economy and our safety with greater simplicity than any man made virus or weapon of mass destruction ever could.

It is essential that our military and the wonderful young men and women serving our country still be trained on the fundementals of land and sea navigation using  low tech approaches such as maps and compasses, that they be able to call in artillary and air strikes low tech methodologies using maps and grids and not being reliant upon technology that could be destroyed leaving our soldiers with no back plans or abilities to operate.

Reliance on technology is extremely dangerous especially when people forget how to do things the way we did ten, twenty, fifty or even one hundred years ago. While technology is wonderful not being taught how to do things should technology fail us is way too dangerous. 

It is critical that we continue to teach our troops both the old school methods as well  as with using high tech approaches by doing so then and only after  both methodologies have been mastered can we consider our forces truly well trained.

In addition we a nation can not continue to afford Two Billion dollar a piece bombers and Mutibillion dollar a piece ships when the majority of the world posess affordable missiles and torpedoes that when used on less expensive platforms in numbers are capable of destroying our ships and planes.

I can not help but think that history has a way of repeating itself and that our military finds itself taking the same dangerous mentality as our former enemy Germany did during WWII having few numbers of quantity by focusing solely on quality and not taking hedence on Stalin's philosophy that quantity has a quality all its own. 

I ask how badly would our abilities to carry out our policies be effected if we were to lose a single carrier, B2B or Ohio class submarine? I remind you that during the Reagan administration we had a six hundred ship navy comprised of ships of all different classifications to include patrol craft, corvettes, fast frigatets, fast attack and Ohio class submarines, destroyers, cruisers, four Iowa class battleships armed to the teeth and fully modernized, and both nuclear and conventionally powered  carriers.

Respectfully our navy has traded in 70 guided missile fast frigates, tens of patrol craft and frigates as well as our battleships for 10 carriers, 58 subs, less than a hundred cruisers and destroyers leaving us a fleet of less that 250 vessels with the average cost per ship exceeding $2.0 Billion.  Even our attempt to build "cost effective" littoral vessels fiascally ended with again a multi billion dollar a piece vessel instead of a cost effective vessel.

I ask what is the purpose of continuing to build next generation "Nimitiz" class carriers capable of carrying 90 aircraft when only 45 planes will be deployed?  Would we not be better off having smaller nuclear carriers like France's DeGaulle class  which is nuclear and capable of carrying sixy aircraft at a cost of literally one fifteenth cost of a new Ford class carrier?  Would we not be better off in the event of having to deploy to more than one hot spot while protecting or nation's shore at the same time having thirty carriers for the price of two? What would happen if we were to lose one of our carriers I ask let alone one of our thirty B2s? With the advent of stealth technology would we not be better off having thirty or forty small nuclear carriers carrying hundreds of some variant of the F22 or F35 with a battle group of dozens of small specialized ships able to perform specific duties rather than ten carriers protected by five to ten ships each so expensive that if lost would represent an inability to project fire power and policy? I remind you all that we won WWII not by having the best equipment money could buy but by having superior quantities of equipment.  In the end if we were to face a long protracted global war our reliance of technology and our loss of manufacturing would put us back to a situation we faced on 8 December 1941!

THE UGLY TRUTH ABOUT OUR ECONOMY AND POLITICS

Many people have been posting stories stating that unemployment is down and that there seems to be improvement in the economy.  Further some geniuses the U.S. has reported a rise in wages trying to convince you that things are getting better so is it? How can this be?
 

Here is the ugly truth....

 
Unemployment is a fictional number is is calculated by counting the number of people who are drawing unemployment benefits from the state they reside. Once your unemployment benefits run out guess what? YOU ARE NO LONGER COUNTED AS BEING UNEMPLOYED!!!!!! HOW STUPID IS THIS??? Facts will show that unemployment if calculated by adding those collecting benefits plus those out of work and no longer eligible for benefits would put the numbers up horrifically something that politicians don't want you to know! The real number is staggering and truly scary!

 
Facts on Salaries/Wages being up: Well the simple reason wages or salaries seems to have risen is simple there are less people working lower paying jobs that have been shipped off shore so when the number of people working has decreased divided by the salaries range the statistical fact is that the average salary number will increase rules of simple math.

 The Root of the Problem:

 The facts are that we will not be able to fix our economy until we bring back jobs in this country and this means real lower and middle class jobs which bring back MANUFACTURING.

 Until you bring back the Made in the USA label we will be stuck as an economy with fewer jobs and greater numbers of people competing for them. Take a long look around you what do you see is missing compared to ten, twenty, forty, or sixty years ago?  Have you noticed?

Gone are the Knitting and Steel Mills that clothed us and produced the steel to build our nation. Gone are the Ship Yards, Tire Factories, Shoe Mills, Metal Shop, and Furniture Mills. Gone are the factories that produced our light bulbs and electronics! Gone are the manufacturing plants that built components for the automobile industry, medical and electronic devices manufacturers, gone are the sewing mills and rail road depots. These were once the major employers of the lower and middle class that was and still should be what makes America!

Every cargo container unloaded in our ports hurts our economy especially when these ships sail off empty with nothing to export!  But how can we export when there are no factories to manufacture goods to trade?

Worse is that our politicians can create jobs tomorrow if they did nothing more than to see how badly our infrastructure is in need of desperate need of repair and fund these critically needed repairs.

 As a Nation we need to rebuild our dilapidated infrastructure rebuilding our outdated levees, damns and deteriorating highways and roads. We need to rebuild our telecommunications and power grid networks, as well as replace our aging bridges and tunnel. The jobs especially when done using U.S. made materials will provide jobs for the next twenty to fifty years and will in turn rebuild our economy.
 
Lastly, we need to start filling every cargo ship that leaves our ports with better made, affordable exports while at the same decreasing our consumption of imports. If we use this common sense approach to understanding economics and the economy the faster we can once again be the greatest nation in the world again!

What To Do:

 The time has come to stop complaining about nothing getting done and start calling your senators and congressman and demand that the put and end to bipartisanship and start acting as Americans united to address a national crisis! What are you waiting for...Go yell at someone to do their job and put Americans back to work!

 

THE TRUTH ABOUT NEWTOWN AND GUN CONTROL

Ladies and gentlemen lets face facts.

The recent horrific events of Newtown have legislators looking to take away guns from law abiding citizens to "prevent another Newtown".

I respectfully remind all Americans that gun control only keeps guns out of the hands of law abiding citizens and that the truth is that criminal in the past, present and future will always find a way to gain access to firearms!!!

Gun control is not the answer nor is it the ISSUE!! The real issue most people fail to even come to their senses to recognize nor address so what is the issue/problem?

The ISSUE is providing people who need access to mental health professionals the proper medical attention they desperately need!  The need to overcome the stigma of mental illness and mental defect!

The truest tragedy of what happened in Newtown is that the mother of the shooter failed to provide her son the medical attention he so desperately needed and deserved. The tragedy is that she chose to deny the problem and that had her son been treated or perhaps even committed to psychiatric facility this horrific situation would never have occurred.

This overwhelming fact of the matter as it is related to this horrific tragedy being wrongfully blamed on gun ownership and not focused as again I reiterate on the stigma of mental disease or mental defect and providing access to proper treatment to those who are in need of treatment!!!!!!

In this country we constantly praise our physicians for treating our diseases and ailments and openly discuss our medical problems with our loved ones, family, and friends. We often recommend doctors to one another openly but all this changes when it is related to mental illness..!  We as a society need to stop burying our heads in the sand and when we see our loved ones need help rise above social perceptions, and stigmas  and get our loved ones the help the need and deserve.

 

We need to lobby our legislators to ensure that medical insurance covers mental illness and that long term care is covered!

Again I wish to remind everyone that the tragedy of Newtown could have been prevented had the gunman's mother sought the mental help her son so desperately needed. No amount of gun law legislation can ever protect our children, teachers or society for that matter if people who are of danger to themselves and the public are not provided the proper medical attention they so desperately need especially when their care givers, family and friends are in denial that their loved ones need help! This is the true tragedy!

 

Again  I remind you all ...THE ISSUE IS NOT GUN CONTROL BUT TREATMENT OF MENTAL ILLNESS...  WE AS AN EDUCATED SOCIETY NEED TO UNDERSTNAD THIS ONCE AND FOR ALL AND FOCUS ON GETTING THOSE WHO NEED MENTAL TREATMENT THE ATTENTION THEY NEED BEFORE THEY HURT THEMSELVES OR WORSE CAUSE ANOTHER NEWTOWN!

UNTIL WE UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEM AND ADDRESS THE ISSUE MORONS, AND LEGISLATORS WILL ALWAYS POINT SOCIETY IN THE WRONG DIRECTION AND CALL FOR STRICTER GUN CONTROL! 


I ASKED YOU ALL PLEASE...GET YOUR FRIENDS AND LOVED ONES THE HELP THEY NEED BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE. 

EULOGY FOR A NATION AND THE AMERICAN DREAM!

Friends, family we are gathered here today to pay our last respects to our long lost dearly departed country once known as the United States of America OR America.

Born: 4 July 1776 died 6 November 2012 AFTER SUFFERING FROM FOUR YEARS OF CONTINUOUS, PETTY, RECKLESS, MINDLESS, QUARRELLING AND EVENTUALLY SUCCUMBED BY THE SYSTEMIC, DEADLY VIRAL DISEASE KNOWN SIMPLY AS BIPARTISANSHIP.

Once shining beacon OF HOPE TO THE FREE WORLD AND THE OPPRESSED, FRIEND AND ALLY TO MANY.

On 16 June 1858, Abraham Lincoln in his speech stated, “That a house divided against itself can not stand”. Despite those words being immortalized more than 154 years ago, despite a civil war, a great dust bowl, a Great Depression, two world wars, and numerous threats, conflicts and acts of violence against her, our nation has succumbed shamefully to Bipartisanship.

What every bullet, rocket, bomb or seditious act our departed faced she managed as a nation to rise to the challenge and overcome her enemies both foreign and domestic. How ironic that the dearly departed should pass by the hand of her own citizens and the very same politicians Lincoln had warned her country men about that day in 1858; politicians who pretended to represent them in what was once her Capital Washington D.C.

How A nation conceived in Liberty, a nation that was once of the people, by the people, for the people allowed this virus to kill her in the very hallowed halls known as the U.S. Senate and House of Representative?

Gone forever are the amber waves of grain and fruited plains replaced with empty fields made barren due to stupid wasteful, foolish tax payer payouts to farmers to deliberately not grow the very crops God blessed her soil to sustain us, replaced with orange juice grown in Brazil, broccoli grown in Mexico, and apples, grapes and other produce from Chile, Argentina and other nations who once envied us or worse relied on us to feed them with the exportation of our abundance.

Gone forever is the Pilgrim’s Pride and That Great Arsenal of Democracy and her mighty manufacturing capabilities that numerous times saved her from herself, and her enemies abroad; now lay wasted as urban sprawl, her once prideful workers unemployed.

Gone forever is that sleeping giant's mightiest of all nations combined manufacturing capabilities that Admiral Yamamoto realized had only awakened and filled with a great resolve hours after his successful attack on Pearl Harbor. Gone forever the, “Made in the USA”, label replaced with hap hazard legislation such as NAFTA, little or no importation tariffs and the common sense, that have allowed our once mighty arsenal of democracy to fall silent. 

Gone forever are the steel and rubber mills, shipyards and automobile factories and the sounds of whistles blowing the announcement of each change of shift now fallen silent; made ever so humbled daily with each off loading of cargo ship to our shores. How ironic that these very same factories we once bombed, destroyed, and rebuilt with her citizens taxes; has managed to destroy us far more easily with each cargo container of cheaply manufactured goods with greater efficacy than any nuclear weapon ever could!

As we pay our last respects to the departed, a land once of hope, a land where so many millions served to protect and paid for with their lives to defend, we leave a land destroyed internally by that very deadly virus Bipartisanship.

 While her citizens could have once again risen to renew America economically through the simple administering of such medications as rebuilding her infrastructure, restoring of manufacturing jobs and agricultural products grown in her soils, through the closing of our ports to imports and the rebuilding of merchant ships flooding the harbors of the world with our exports, and through the development of cheap affordable and renewable energy sources needed to power her factories and homes!

The evils of the labels Democrat and Republican have killed America forever. America, her death so easily avoided and curable had her citizens administered that life saving medication of renewed American Spirit. America we cry as she lays waste, a House divided against itself despite warnings from the past!

America, that once mightiest and envied nation; her once proud citizens will soon answer to a foreign task master who has only half the might America once had! 

 America enemies made stronger through the lessons of unity and their national spirit. America a senseless death caused by a virus that separated a nation.. BIPARTISANSHIP

A COMMON SENSE APPROACH TO FIXING AMERICA!!!!

Well folks three plus years ago our present administration ran on a promise of change and has deliver... Things have definitely gone from bad to worse!

The sure fix to America's problems will never be obtained because all elected officials insist on making things far more complicated than necessary. I will give you some examples..

1. Our nation's tax codes literally are written to encourage those with the most taxable income to avoid paying taxes due to the loopholes. If I were elected to office I could fix our tax laws literally throwing away the present code in it multi-thousand plus pages to something which could fit on one sheet of paper.. the following:

1. National sales tax of 1.75% to 2%

2. Luxury tax of 3.5% to 5% on purchases over $50K does not include first time purchase of homes!

3. National flat income tax of 10% for all persons working in the U.S. who hold a valid Social

Security Number.

4. Corporate flat income tax of 15%.

5. Failure for persons or corporations to pay taxes results in forfeiture of assets!

There I think that is less than one page of paper is it not?

Now if we have people and corporations paying taxes theoretically we should be able to reduce or deficit but let's continue...

Trade/Commerce/ Jobs

Look around us what do you see... massive unemployment figures.. Well.. why? Because like idiots we encouraged unfair trade agreements to be enacted which encouraged corporations to layoff millions of people and send those jobs overseas! Solution.. as follows:

1. Implement a tariff of 100% to 200% or greater on all items that used to be manufactured here in the U.S. but instead were shipped overseas. Fact while the labor maybe cheaper if the pricing is no longer competitive or cost effective guess what...? You'll start manufacturing those items here in the U.S. again!

2. Reduce corporate tax of 15% to 10% for all companies for the first 15 year to reopen manufacturing operations here in the U.S. as well as to any company which reverses their operations from overseas to back here to the U.S.

3. No longer offer any tax incentive to farming jobs overseas and when companies do so on top of imposing heavy tariffs impose flat corporate tax of 20% with no allowance for deductions on costs of good manufactured or services provided derived from overseas operations!

Wow Marc.. You have simplified the tax laws and have reversed U.S. policies on farming out American jobs to overseas. Tell me what else could you accomplish...!

Well.. How about reducing our dependence on the importation of foreign oil and becoming a nation completely independent of any other nation for its energy needs by :

1. Implementing national policy for expansion in the use of Wind, Solar, Nuclear, Kinetic Energy, Hydro-electric, Coal, Hydrogen and Synthetic fuels and other renewable forms of clean affordable energy.

By eliminating our dependence on foreign energy we can develop literally millions of new jobs necessary in these new areas of exploration and development as well as sales and marketing. Eventually if independent of any foreign dependency our foreign policy can change thus allowing us to modernize our military and become an exporter of these energy alternatives while creating 7 to 10 million new jobs!

2. Impose that all U.S. cars get an average EPA MPG rating or 110 mpg yes 110mpg or better while keeping cars competitively priced with foreign manufacturers...by doing so guess what folks you bring back the steel industry, the tire industry, and the components industry as well as revitalized our nation's auto industry. Oh... did I mention that when your manufacturing cars that are a well made as the competition, have better warranties and get more than 110mpg what happens.. If my economics professor was correct you create demand and exporting which is good for America!

Here's a thought, if America did nothing else but rebuilt our national infrastructure from coast to coast to include all roads, tunnels, bridges, power grids, water works, levees etc we could have full employment imagine 11 million new jobs!

What else could you do?  Hmmm.  Do I dare? Why not!  Let's simplify health care once and for all and throw away this two thousand page disaster we call Obama Care with a little common sense piece of legislation doing the following.. Get this less than three pages!

1. Provide all physicians the choice of either practicing in private or working in the public sector. What?

Yes allow those finishing medical school to choose between private practice and public practice. In exchange for ten to fifteen years of public service all physicians newly out of medical school could have their student loans forgiven as well as practice for ten to fifteen years without the expense of malpractice insurance. At the end of their period of service these physicians would be asked if they wish to remain in public practice or enter private practice.. Those who remained would earn SES equivalent salaries while having no overhead, medical malpractice insurance or student loan expenses...expenses that are all built into the cost of physicians providing services in private practice.

Finally you could eliminate huge medical malpractice bills by requiring that doctors voluntarily report their finding of Morbidity and Mortality reviews thus removing incompetent physicians from being able to commit further malpractice! By doing so you have just lowered the prices of doing business in the private sector because malpractice rates will go down by eliminating those who commit malpractice from ever being allowed to touch patients again!

Okay one more biggy and an important one if not the most important one of all!

Impose mandates for term limitations for all Congressmen and Senators!  House of Representatives no more than five consecutive terms serving in the House that's (10 years) straight!  No more than two terms back to back for U.S. Senate (12 years)! All politicians pay into Social Security, no lifetime pensions, all medical and other benefits must be the same for all other U.S. citizens! No more inequality! The day of the lifetime politician is over once and for all! New blood.. New Thinking!

Wow.. Marc...very cool! In less than a ten minute read you have fixed our tax structure, eliminated our exporting of jobs, have created potentially 20 million new jobs and have provided everyone with real health care reformand have made me feel like I should vote again! You should run for office! Well its not magic...Its just common sense made simple! Don't tell your Senator or Congressman...they'll tell you anything that simple could never work!

 

REBUILDING OUR NATION A LESSON IN OVERHAULING ALL THAT IS WRONG WITH AMERICA

Those of you know me, know that I love this country and would give my life to defend this nation. With that said we have certainly gone from a country respected and feared around the world to country on the verge of being a third world country.

The fact is that Obama did promise our country and has unequivocally delivered his promise with things going from bad to worse! Come election time he truly can tell all of America he has delivered on his promise.

This country and its elected officials need to take a step back and take a hard long look and see what is wrong and why we are failing miserably as a nation. Truth be told fixing America is easy and if I were president I could guarantee that I could fix our country and the economy in twelve weeks with the cooperation of congress.

Starting with Taxes:

1. Eliminate current tax laws in their entirety and implement a flat national sales tax of 1.75% on essentials, and 3 to 5% for luxury items.
2. All citizens pay a flat 10% annual income tax.
3. All corporations pay a flat 15% income tax.
4. Corporations of citizens failing to pay taxes have assets seized and sold to the highest bidder no excuses.

Creating Jobs:

1. That as a Nation we for once eliminate our dependence on the importation of foreign oil and implement an all green national policy which would over four years make the United States the first economic super power to total become reliant on alternative fuel sources such as synthetic fuels, agri-fuels, wind, solar, harvesting the kinetic energy of the ocean's currents etc. This initiative alone would generate 11.5 million new jobs in the first two year and more than 20 million over the next ten years.

2. As a Nation we will under go a transformation that this country has not seen the likes of since post WWII. Every road, bridge, tunnel, power grid, damn and other forms of infrastructure will be rebuilt or replaced completely. This would generate another 15 million jobs over the next two years.

3. From this day forth any and all companies who import products that were once produced by Americans will be taxes with a 100% import tariff

4. All monies provided in bail out will be returned with interest and be spent to rebuild our nation's infrastructure!

5. Corporations that increase their labor force by bringing back jobs outsourced overseas receive a 5% reduction in taxes for every year that these jobs remain in America!
6. We start becoming a nation of exporters by offering tax credits for rebuilding factories and manufacturing capabilities. If we do not make it then we do not need it! Restore the look for the made in America label!

7. Rebuild our nation's public schools so that we are no longer dumbing our kids to the lowest member of the class with Leave no child behind but rather increase grants for science, math, music. Ensure that every child upon leaving each grade must meet an academic level of achievement that once again brings our kids to number for knowledge academic achievement and intellect.

8. Provide education and training for those who are not academically inclined through more trade schools and paid on the job internships and training for such skills and electricians, plumbers, builders, landscapers, steel workers, wood worker etc.

9. Mandate that all U.S. Auto manufacturers build cars that are built better than their foreign competitors, get a minimum of 100 miles to the gallon, are competitively priced and have a 100,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty.

10 Lastly, no more foreign aid! For too long we have aided any one and every one regardless of being friend or foe! These funds were provided by working American paying their taxes. That money must and will remain in the country to help rebuild our nation and our economy!


Restoring faith in the American Stock Market

1. For too long the likes of the big four accounting firms have silently destroyed our nation by performing corporate "semi annual and annual reports". These virtually useless pieces of fiction are just that fiction. Any document that needs a clarifier by stating "based on the information furnished we report the following..." that's crap!

The independent audit is a myth since it is paid for by the client it is neither independent nor accurate as such the role of performing independent audits would be the that of the united States Department of Commerce with audits performed in the same uninfluenced, independent factual manner as done by the Defense Contract Audit Agency. Fees will be charged according to real verified earning and will be collected upon the start of the audit. There will be no influence or misstating of facts. All findings will be fully disclosed. This for once and for all allow all investors that the information being provided is accurate, factual and reliable.

2. Inside traders will serve mandatory sentences with all assets seized.

I am willing to bet my life anyone taking the above steps would certainly rebuild our nation to number ONE again!