Idaho

by Lance Thompson

 Barack Obama rode to the presidency on a tidal wave of campaign enthusiasm, famously promising Hope and Change.  Instead, his administration has been governed by Fear and Loathing.  The arguments for Obama’s health care reform bill–ten pages shy of two thousand pages at last count–have all used fear.  Twenty million Americans are without health insurance, we are told, then 32 million, then 47 million.  If we don’t pass this massive, indecipherable bill, insurance will be unaffordable, you will go broke if you get sick, millions will die.  Prescription drug companies, insurance companies, doctors and hospitals who question the grand prophecies of the bill’s proponents are told that if they protest this massive takeover of one sixth of the economy, they will be punished with retributive amendments and strangled by federal regulation.    The cap and trade bill was sold in the same way.  If we don’t hobble our industries with restrictions and regulations, the Earth will grow warm, ice caps will melt, polar bears will starve, coastal cities will be inundated.  Carbon dioxide, a gas all animals exhale, is now a toxic substance that must be regulated as well.  We are all polluters, and we must literally be saved from ourselves.  The stimulus bill passed on fear and panic.  If we don’t pump $800 billion into the economy within a week, the market will crash, millions will lose their jobs, your savings will vanish, your home will be foreclosed, you will be living in an appliance box under the freeway.  The federal government took over banks, auto companies, Wall Street firms, this time applying the voice of terror to the corporate officers and boards of directors.  If you don’t agree to a government takeover, your pay will be cut, your pensions cancelled, your stock made worthless.  Go along with us, or the full weight of the federal government will be used to crush you.  What the Obama administration cannot convince us to fear, they loathe.  The administration loathes our international allies.  The White House significantly recharacterized the “special relationship” we’ve had with Great Britain since World War II to a “special partnership,” putting our English cousins at arm’s length. We observe diplomatic niceties with Iran, Libya and leaders of Hamas while warning the Israelis we may shoot down their jets if they do the world a favor and knock out Ahmadinejad’s nukes.  The French, whose relationship with the United States warmed when Sarkozy took over, are snubbed when Obama is too busy to meet with the French President on a European trip.  Taiwan and Japan look for backup from us against North Korean missile launches, but we scarcely can find the time to lodge a half-hearted protest.  The Obama administration holds our allies in contempt.  The administration loathes a free press.  They like the main stream media, as long as they are Obama-worshiping cheerleaders and not impartial referees.  But if Fox posts a critical story, the administration attacks them, and threatens to cut off access to top officials.  When the Associated Press found last week that the White House had overstated stimulus-created jobs by 5,000, the White House immediately attacked the wire service.   If a conservative commentator lambasts the administration, he is discredited, insulted, and prevented from engaging in his right to enter a bid on a football franchise.  Most of all, the Obama administration loathes America.  They despise its military power, so often used to defend against tyranny and aggression.  They are ashamed of its capitalistic system and economic strength, though both are inspirations for the world.  They dismiss the independent spirit, the individual liberty, and the unlimited opportunity that characterize the American dream.  Instead, they believe in an all-powerful state that redistributes wealth, picks winners and losers in the private sector, and takes over companies and entire industries by fiat.  The Obama team’s loathing for America becomes more evident every day, as more and more administration officials are shown to be involved in corrupt organizations like ACORN, sympathetic to or adherents of communism, or enablers of terrorists foreign and domestic.    The fear weapon also has a limited term.  Just as Al Gore’s shrieking alarms of global warming become less and less credible with passing time and lowering temperatures, so will all the dire predictions the Obama administration uses to run up massive debt, pass nationally destructive legislation, and appoint subversives to positions of power.  The case that only government can save us from catastrophe becomes harder to prove each day, as government itself is clearly shown to be the greatest danger we face.  When Americans become wary of their government, then the Obama administration will find that fear is a two-edged sword, and an irresistible motive for change.  Or so we hope.

by Lance Thompson 

The Dow passed to the good side of 10,000 last week, and celebration was widespread because it was heralded as a sign of better times ahead.  As early as May 27, Treasury Secretary and Turbo Tax tyro Timothy Geithner said the US economy was in the early stages of recovery, and in late August announced “We are back from the brink.”  Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, the financial equivalent of the Magic 8 Ball, has been saying since March that “signs point to recovery.” Administration spokesmen point to improving home sales, rising stock prices, and make-work jobs programs and credit the stimulus spending for curing the economy from its ills.  They conveniently overlook the virus of unemployment, the contagion of home foreclosures, or the consumptive decline of the dollar’s value.   Here in Idaho, one of our state’s favorite outdoor activities is white water rafting.  The confidence of the various predictors of economic recovery reminds me of a raft full of people that has just gone through a particularly turbulent stretch of river.  After overcoming the challenge of the rapids, they find that the white water subsides, the surface appears smooth, and all are thankful they prevailed over adversity. Yet if this raft was full of economists, and the river was the American economy, they serenely overlook what’s waiting downriver–a waterfall of staggering height which will make the rapids they’ve passed seem insignificant.  The waterfall cannot be passed safely–it is the dead end of a wild ride on the tracherouis waters of financial tumult. The waterfall is the staggering debt that has been amassed with the government bailouts and spending initiatives that began with the TARP bill under President Bush and grew geometrically with President Obama’s stimulus bill, and subsequent massive government programs.  The spending that under Obama has eclipsed that of all previous administrations combined has multiplied the American debt to a level beyond possible repayment.  To ignore this downstream hazard and speak of economic recovery is to blindfold oneself to reality. The government cannot create wealth, a fact which will probably come as a great surprise to Obama supporters who believe in his ability to provide largesse at a whim.  But all the money the government spends and distributes has to come from the American people and American business.  Government consumes wealth, but it is up to us to produce it. The more the government spends, the more we must produce, and the more of it we must surrender to the government through taxes.   So the debt must some day be repaid by us, just as the economic raft must eventually reach the waterfall.  But with each new trillion-dollar spending initiative–health care, cap and trade, or any other massive government program–the waterfall gets higher.  As our economy floats downriver on a temporarily smooth current, there is no cause for complacency.  In fact, our fate grows more dire with each addition to the debt. Unfortunately, we have not yet had to pay the price for this debt.  It will come with the sudden impact of higher taxes–the only way the government can take the wealth from those who produce it.  And those taxes will fall upon all of us–income taxes, consumption taxes, property taxes, fees and licenses will all be raised, and all of us will pay them.  At that point, the economic raft will be over the edge and plunging into the abyss of fiscal ruin.  The damage to our economy, our industry, and our system of government will be too massive to reverse.   So when you hear happy prospects of a recovery that is just around the corner, listen more carefully.  You’ll hear in the background the distant but growing rumble of the coming fall.  As spending multiplies, as the debt continues to grow, as government persists in hobbling our private sector with takeovers and punishing regulation, the roar of the cataract will also grow.  At some point it will be louder than those who are telling us not to worry.  The question is, which sound will we listen to, and which will we believe?

By  Lance Thompson

“You’re always the last to know your own reputation.”  I can’t be certain that I coined that phrase, but I am sure that it is an underlying principle of the universe, and even presidents are bound by its laws. I first noticed the principle in Hollywood, where no matter how washed up a has-been some one is, no one will ever say it to his or her face.  One whose future is past is still welcomed, just not that warmly.  His calls are still taken, at least for a while.  He still goes to parties, but he’s no longer on the A-list.  As the has-been begins to notice the lukewarmness of his receptions, the increasing distance of his close pals, he seeks reassurance from those around him.  They will tell him that he’s imagining things, that he’s as cool as he ever was, that he’s still on top of the world.  Until those reassuring friends also stop returning calls.  Barack Obama is still sailing along on the certainty that he’s the coolest world leader on Earth.  He won an historic election, the media was solidly behind him, adoring crowds greet him wherever he goes, and only a few cranky right-wing commentators and tea partiers dare to rain on his parade. But as Charles Krauthammer and others have revealed, Obama knew of Iran’s perfidy in concealing their nuclear program when he spoke at the United Nations on 24 September.   Despite the urging of European allies, he refused to bring up the uncomfortable subject, as it would detract from his speech.  The focus of the speech–Obama’s dream for a nuclear free world.  He still spun his no-nukes platitudes, knowing full well that one of the most dangerous regimes in the world was inches from deploying a nuclear weapon.  France’s President Sarkozy, England’s Prime Minister Brown, Germany’s President Merkel all wanted to use the international forum to expose Iran’s decades of deceit, but Obama postponed until the G-20 summit.  Obama’s refusal showed his weakness of character and selfishness of motive. Last week’s presidential sales call on the International Olympic Committee, complete with first lady, cabinet officials, and the other Big O, was also exposed as a failure when it was announced Chicago was the first of the finalist cities to be out of the running for 2016.  Obama received the news on his way home.  Political pundits assumed that Obama had an agreement in hand before he departed, since a president would certainly not risk the prestige of the office to play door-to-door salesman unless he already had a sure thing.  He did not, and the whole trip was basically a slow lap around the Atlantic in Air Force One.  Even minor symbolic rewards seem to be beyond the once irresistible president–and the world noticed. During his campaign, Obama identified the war in Afghanistan as the war we should have been fighting, the one that was vital to our nation’s interests.  He promised increased troop levels, greater efforts, more resources in this vital fight.  Then last month, General Stanley McChrystal, Obama’s choice to command our forces in Afghanistan, revealed that he had had exactly one conversation, lasting less than an hour, with the Commander-in-Chief since Obama took office.  Obama’s profound disinterest in the war, in our troops, in the stakes involved could not have been more clearly demonstrated.   These and countless other examples of fecklessness and incompetence on Obama’s part have caused his approval ratings to steadily decline, along with support for his health care reform and global warming initiatives.  Each day, it seems, brings another revelation about corruption in Obama’s community organizing alma mater, ACORN; another expose on a communist appointed to the fitting position of czar; or another announcement of a betrayal of an ally or the appeasement of a foe.   People across the country and around the world are taking Obama’s measure–those who cheered his election as well as those who did not.  But more and more are coming to the inescapable conclusion that he is a self-important neophyte playing at being a world leader, and falling far short of mere competence.   No one who serves at the pleasure of the president will tell him this, for his ego is fragile and fiercely protected.  But one day, perhaps soon, Obama will begin to notice the crowds thinning, the media coverage becoming less adulatory, the poll numbers sinking too low to dismiss.  And he will look around, seeking assurance that he’s still the coolest guy in the room.  But by then the room will be empty, and no one will be returning his calls.

by Lance Thompson 

A nation’s character, like that of an individual, is determined by many factors.  Among these are promises kept, principles upheld, ideals embodied and sacrifices made.  Under the Obama administration, our national character has suffered in all these categories, most recently in regard to the cancellation of the missile defense system our nation previously pledged to erect in Poland and Czechoslovakia.  The system was designed to guard against attack by potential enemies with nuclear-capable missiles. When the installation was planned, only Russia qualified as such a potential enemy, but now Iran is also a member of the nuclear bully club.  The anti-missile system offered proven and advanced defensive technology to friendly nations who did not have the means to defend themselves against more powerful enemies. The Obama administration last week announced that they would renege on this agreement.  Obama said that instead of the promised stationary defense system, the United States would offer a new, untried, high-tech, mobile sea-based system sometime in the indefinite future.  The announcement came on the same day that the IAEA issued a report that Iran was capable of producing a nuclear weapon. When the Obama administration pulled the rug out from under Poland and Czechoslovakia, they placed allies in danger–not just the two nations in question, but all of Europe, which would have enjoyed the protection of the system.  Withdrawing our protection from Poland and Czechoslovakia is a tacit admission that we will not come to their aid in any substantial way if they are threatened or attacked.  We have abandoned them to the mercy of merciless enemies. Both nations must be experiencing a bad case of deja vu.  In World War II, Poland was allied with England and France.  Both countries agreed to come to Poland’s aid in the event of attack by another nation.  On 1 September, 1939, Poland was attacked from the west by Hitler’s Germany and from the east by Stalin’s Russia.  British and French troops were alerted and mobilized, but none came to the aid of Poland, which was overrun and subdued in a matter of days.  After the war, the Soviets, who had taken all of Poland in their drive against Germany, broke their agreement to allow self-government in the occupied country, and Poland became part of the Soviet bloc. In Czechoslovakia in 1948, when it looked like the communists were going to lose the upcoming election, they staged a coup to take over the government.  Thereafter, the communists purged the Czech military of non-communist officers and reorganized the Czech government along Soviet lines.  (“Purge” does not mean that these patriotic Czechs resigned, went to school on the GI Bill, and found other work in the private sector.  They were imprisoned or murdered.)  Czechoslovakia became a stalwart member of the Warsaw Pact.  Still, there remained much anti-communist resistance among the Czech people, and in 1968 the Soviet Union invaded with half a million troops, neutralizing the Czech military and making Czechoslovakia a submissive Soviet satellite.  The West did not interfere, and the Czechs lived under communist government until 1990 when communist influence crumbled, and Czechs had their first free election since 1946. Now, Poland and Czechoslovakia have again been abandoned by a powerful ally.  Why?  The anti-missile system has long been a sore point with the Russians, the potential aggressors it was originally designed to deter.  President Obama has a meeting scheduled with Putin and Medvedev shortly.  It has been this administration’s policy to unilaterally make concessions in advance of any meeting with rivals, only to get nothing in return but more demands for concessions.   Under Obama, our nation broke its promise to defend Poland and Czechoslovakia from missile attack, violated the principles of diplomacy by making this decision unilaterally without consulting the nations whose security it threatens, turned its back on the ideal of defending democracy around the world, and did so on the basis of fiscal economy and diplomatic spinelessness  Meanwhile, every American ally must be wondering who will be next to be abandoned by the Obama administration.  Under Obama, American promises mean nothing, our principles are expedient, our ideals for sale, and our allies cannot depend on us. Obama campaigned on a promise to restore American prestige in the world.  Instead, he has irreparably damaged the character of the American nation by replacing it with his own.

The right has lost its way and a lot of people are starting to recognize this.  Books are being written (The Death of Conservatism, Republican Gomorrah: Inside the Movement that Shattered the Party, etc.)  Here are my thougths on what is wrong and what needs to be done about it.

Discredit those who are not helpful

Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, etc. have said a lot of downright crazy and dumb things (people with AIDS should be quarantined, etc.)  and are far too tied to Christianity.  They should be called out for that and pushed to the side so that true leaders on the right can rise to the top and give the right a real chance at regaining credibility and the minds of those who are undecided or in the center.  Those who espose hate, and anger should also be discredited and pushed to the side (Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, etc.).  It is long past time for Conservative talk radio to become more academic, constructive, and hopeful sounding, and cater to the best in us (love, hope, unity, civics, etc.), rather than the worst (fear, anger, race, etc.).

Stop catering to the Christian right

Christianity has nothing to do with conservative ideas and theory on money, foreign policy, etc.  There is also supposed to be a strong seperation of church and state.  Our country was formed partially for freedom of religion, and if our government is run by someone who wants to impose their religion through laws and perspective, then we lose that.  In addition, America is not a Christian nation; though nearly 80% are Christian, there is still another 20% that are not.

Stop simply opposing every idea President Obama has and propose alternative solutions

The right has really been a thorn in our Presidents side instead of working with him to solve the problems in America.  The way to gain credibility and get some conservative ideas into law is to honestly work with the left to create good policy, and also proactively propose laws to solve some of our problems before the left takes up the problem.

Stop supporting causes that have nothing to do with Conservative ideology

The right should disassociate itself with such issues as abortion, and other things that are outside of the ideas of conservatism.  Abortion is an issue thats argument against it is primarily based in religion.  The same applies to marriage equality for gays; the argument against it can only be made from a religious standpoint.  Because of this, and because no party should be tied to any religion, just as our government should not be tied to any religion, the right as a whole and Republicans as a party should disassociate theirselves with abortion and start supporting equal rights for gays.  These two issues alone keep some of those in the center and on the left from ever supporting a Republican candidate.  It might cause a lot of those on the Christian right to be upset, but then they can choose the party that best conforms to what their idea of government should do on all other issues, or form a new 3rd party that is tightly tied to Christianity.

Stop being inconsistent

Right now many on the right are opposing government run health care on the idea that even though it may save a lot of lives, it isn't proper for the government or taxpayers to help others.  Yet, many of those same people are in support of the war in Iraq to give people in another country freedom and save their lives.  Why should we spend taxpayer dollars to police the world yet not spend taxpayer dollars to save those within our own borders?  Either we shouldn't spend money to help others, or we should and if we should then we should definitely want to help those within our own borders before those who are not within our borders.

Stop being hawks

The right has become a group of hawks and this is contrary to conservative ideas on foreign policy.  Conservative ideas on foreign policy are as spelled out by the Cato Institute:

Cato's foreign policy vision is guided by the idea of our national defense and security strategy being appropriate for a constitutional republic, not an empire. Cato's foreign policy scholars question the presumption that an interventionist foreign policy enhances the security of Americans in the post-Cold War world, and maintain instead that interventionism has consequences, including the formation of countervailing alliances, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and even terrorism. The use of U.S. military force should be limited to those occasions when the territorial integrity, national sovereignty, or liberty of the United States is at risk.

Conservatives need to re-embrace those ideas.  They are the ideas that our nations founders had in mind, and they are the ideas that are the most ethical and that might also allow some on the left to consider the rest of our ideas.

Have a well thought out income tax policy

There either should not be an income tax as Libertarians would like, or there should be an income tax that works to support Conservative values.  A tax that is progressive helps strengthen families at the lower incomes and therefore helps literacy rates, etc. which helps to preserve conservative values of strong families, an educated populace, etc.  Right now the government has taken on far too much responsibility and therefore spends too much and our national debt is growing because of it.  It is time to start cutting back on spending, but at the same time increasing revenue and the only realistic way to increase revenue is through a progressive income tax because those in the middle and lower class cannot support any higher tax burden.

Start supporting alternative energy and embrace that global warming is real and might be caused by us

The science is in, global warming is real and it is probably caused by our actions (and can we afford to gamble that it is not?).  Most of the oil that is easily available is in countries with citizens that do not like us.  Because of these two things, it is long past time to start looking into energy sources that do not emit CO2, and that do not require us to work with countries that are not friendly to us.

Stop catering to Israel

We give far too much money and support to Israel and it hurts our credibilty around the world and doesn't help to reduce the hatred towards us in the Muslim world.  It is time to treat Israel as we would any other country that is a friend and ally of ours.  We should work with them, and be friends with them, but we should point out when they are doing something that works against peace in the middle east and use our monetary aid as a tool to help control their actions rather than blindly supporting them at all times.

Start rethinking drug policy

The war on drugs does not work, and will never work so long as it is punitive rather than based in medicine.  It only makes organized crime stronger, and leads to a larger role of government and often leads to violations of our constitutional rights.  The punitive war on drugs was originally based on racism, and is now based in morality that is derived from religion.  For these reasons, it is time for the federal government to take a non punitive role and start considering policy that would put organized crime out of business, make drug use safer and less damaging to society, and help those who are ready to reform their lives through cessation of drug abuse.

Let me begin by pronouncing the agreements that I share with Democrats. Or rather: let me be clear. The Earth is a gift from God, and is, aside from perhaps the feminine form, the most stunning thing in existence. No man alive is so base as to devalue what we have. This vehicle, like the Hand that created it, yields beyond sustenance and gives inspiration.

Now with that caveat out of the way, I submit that the Liberals, the Greens, and the Radical Left’s feel-good ideas of castrating the industrial machine are reckless and downright dangerous for America. The Left (and by extension the Democratic Party), in what has become an international battle royale for energy, prefers to surrender our arms and engines.  They are gruelingly unable to comprehend nuclear and fossil energy as a game-changing tactical weapon like steel and gunpowder. Nor are they able to accept that environmental stewardship treaties ratified by international bodies actually hold deliberate, ulterior motives to tightly bind America in other ways. And a shrugging regard at such powers is one of the most imminent dangers of the new century.

And to temper this sentiment, I believe that America can and should reduce its negative impact on the environment; namely by shifting from coal to nuclear power as a staple like France did and John McCain suggested. It seems that Liberals only like the bad ideas from Europe, but none of the good ones. As a case in point, we would have already reached the Kyoto emissions goals through the nuclear option that Republicans have proposed for years.

If President Bush had not pulled out of the Kyoto Protocol that President Clinton signed in 1997, we would have shouldered the burden of what other nations turn and ignore. Sadly, many of the global shirkers were Kyoto's chief architects within the European Union! Aside from ignoring the pollution of China and India which clearly no longer deserve special exemption, it held America to an unreasonable standard.

Europe's Performance:       

The European Union has had mixed results since signing the Kyoto Accord. Spain failed abysmally at achieving its goals and Italy approached underdeveloped Russia to buy carbon credits. To contextualize Russia’s position, the fall of the Soviet Union led to "Perestroika" and an industrial collapse, and Kyoto’s lax standards on Russia were assessed on this collapse. Similarly, Germany claims to have decreased their overall emissions. Yet, the integration of East Germany and the other ex-Soviet states (whose outmoded production stood to be revamped anyway) has tilted this statistic grossly. The reunification of West Germany to East Germany made it much easier to restructure the rusting coal-fired production of the Cold War. This overhaul was slated to happen anyway, making such a benchmark much easier to reach. Now having lived in Spain, I saw the staggering unemployment that fluctuated between 12-18%, and that is one thing that haunts me with upcoming legislations in the pipeline. Spanish Economist Gabriel Calzada detailed the consequences of these legislations in his “Study of the effects on employment of public aid to renewable energy sources,” which demonstrates the damaging falsehoods of the “green job,” whatever that is. According to this perplexed academe, the subsidy of every 1 green job costs 2.2 regular jobs through inefficiencies, displacement, and re-allocation, and he expects the same results in the United States with President Obama’s Cap-and-Trade deal.

The liberal admonitionary chatchprase that “the debate is over” has battered many eardrums, not just yours. In the video below is an interview with Ex Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar of Spain. It’s not in English, but I can tell you that he treats the question of climate change as we do in America. His affiliates call climate change a religion, fettered with dogma, and state we have a “blue planet, not a green one.” Like many in the US, he claims not to be a “denier,” as that label presupposes something to deny. He concludes by stating that the debate is not over, because it has yet to even commence, and that there has been a marked decay in parliamentary spirit and democratic debate in Spain in years past, and that people should return to it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MD_bDfFaeI

China’s Performance:    

    The People’s Republic of China had recently surpassed the United States in CO2 emission in mid-2008, debunking the notion that America is the #1 offender.  But according to the environmental lunatics on the Left, we, The United States of America, must lead by example through blind faith and hope without assurance, that a military despotism like China will get warm fuzzies and turn green long after we have sacrificed trillions in GDP, millions of jobs, and the strategic high grounds that come with robust productive capacity. Yep. After watching America sadomasochistically self-immolate for a decade, China will want to join the rip-roarin’ fun!

India’s Performance:

Recently, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited India, and India’s Environmental Minister laid out a stalwart launch pad from which to negotiate future accords with the West. In short, he was not willing to sell his nation down the postmodern drain. I wish I could say the same for our leaders. Take a look for yourself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyfJKgIQPXQ

Hillary’s refuted olive branch in New Delhi will be a microcosm of times to come, as we become the poor little match girl, passing from door to door and selling our eco-wares at no avail to a world hurtling in the opposite direction towards Ayn Rand.

The Ghosts of Energy Present and Future:

In America, we are a nation of people, not “masses” as the planeteers tend to esteem us. Hence, Carl Sagan’s hint at microbes having rights superseding those of humans will not fly far amidst a people unable to subtract anthropocentrism from stargazing, and who care little to imagine the giant unknowable workings of space and time after humans. Politically, it would be madness for a politico to expand his constituencies to mother earth, time, and space (gerrymandering would have to be done in either 3D or parsecs). The only manner in which to mobilize the public, or massage them into becoming pliant, would be to create a false sense of crisis, fear, and to literally demonize opposition as paid off or "flat-earthers." So it comes as no surprise that both Cap-and-Trade and ObamaCare are to be rushed. Despite that, the pending Waxman-Markey Bill puts forth many of the directives of “Old Europe” that will scare away manufacturing to the hills of Asia and Latin America. And Washington DC is counting on your docility to pass it.

Now according to the CIA World Factbook, America produces 14 trillion dollars in GDP as a total of our economy while China produces over 4 trillion. We dump 5.9 billion metric tons of CO2 into the atmosphere while China chugs out a full 6 billion. Now comparing the GDP in ratio to national emissions, a revelation emerges: We produce .00042 tons of CO2 per dollar of production. China produces .0015 tons of CO2 per dollar of production. So if cleanliness is the utmost goal, then the United States should already serve as an example to China, given that with a smaller population we produce more goods for the world at cleaner levels. 

Two points highlight China’s energy strategy for the 21st century: a petroleum highway and an emissions-free nuclear grid to make up for it. They already foresaw that T. Boone Pickens would abandon windfarms (which he did) and all the takeout joints in Hong Kong cannot accumulate the biodiesel grease to power fleets of buses. To put it another way: they’re not screwing around.  

According to Westinghouse Electric International, China has made it a national priority to build 100 nuclear power plants by 2020 (more resemblant of the Space Race than ObamaCare). And this national mobilization utilizes United States technology! Lord knows that the EU is already jacked into the atomic grid as well. We are not.

What’s the matter?  Did I frazzle your hippiemojo-windpower vibe and shatter your image of the avuncular T. Boone, who you learned was so hip during the hopeandchange era? Too bad, undergrad. It gets worse.

Aside from holding our debt, China is leveraging its surpluses to purchase assets around the globe, opening up trade channels to fan out their empire. Africa has become the next battlefield for resources, and China is pulling no punches in applying the same colonial takeover methodology as the powers of Europe did a century past. Nearly one third of all of China’s petroleum imports come from the African continent, and they have begun courting nations like Angola, The Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and yes…Sudan. With an economy growing at 9% for the past two decades, they are jealously vying for control of new sources of timber, coal, copper, and oil, and doing so in side by side competition with the United States. Traditionally, China has taken a hands-off approach towards meddling in the affairs of another nations (since they themselves have no desire for scrutiny), but has recently scrapped this diplomatic dogma by cozying up to local oil-friendly African nations and their government officials. A crux of their tactic has been to lay “investments” into roads, fiber optics, technology training, bridges, and other infrastructures that would otherwise bollix African nations to quickly build for themselves. This colonial paradox for a once insular power demonstrates that the searing growth of their nation has alarmingly trumped old wisdoms, and is goading them to do what it takes to win…Confucius be damned and anyone else who stands in their way.

In this quest to outbid America in global energy sources, arms have become a desired currency for petty dictators and warlords, and China is in no short supply. While Western powers have done the same for some time in supporting unsavory regimes for regional interest, the rabbit hole goes much deeper in China’s case. Dangerous regions like Sudan receive their arms shipments from China (and military trainers), while 60% of Sudanese oil output heads in the other direction. This transcontinental circulation of arms-for-oil has been used to curry favor with African members of the United Nations, allowing for more votes to disregard China’s human rights violations and it even compells African nations to rebuff the ineffectual African Union in overseeing Sino-African commerce in its own continent.

Brazil, the fastest-growing economy in Latin America and by far its largest nation, has announced that China has surpassed the United States as a trade partner in an historic demand sweep for iron ore. In February of this year, Brasil’s state-run oil company accepted a $10 billion-dollar loan deal from the People’s Republic of China, and agreed to supply China’s national oil company, SINOPEC, with petroleum output. Through decades of cultural drift from North America, and socialist Brazilian President Lula da Silva at the helm, who blames American capitalism for the global meltdown, totalitarian wheels have been set in motion in our own, western hemisphere.

An Old Bear, still tired of American power, has bellowed out a roar to be heard across Eurasia. It is common knowledge that Russia has been buying up utility companies in Eastern Europe, and providing shelter in the United Nations for Iran, a country with its own untapped resources. The recent invasion of Georgia and South Ossetia impinged into their Caucasus pipeline—one of the few pipelines that flows into Europe independently of Russia. It is no small wonder that Vladimir Putin threatened to sever the pipeline into Europe to keep the west at bay. 

The Final Word:

With exploding demand, China, Russia, and other hostile powers will continue to buy, to seek, and to prod for more economic hegemony, and weave it into their mutual fatigue with America’s superpower status. And what do they all have in common? They purchase assets with government-run oil companies, treating utilities like defense commodities and branching out with the backing of infinite subsidy under the guise of corporate buyout. And to add insult to injury, they are all exempt from Waxman-Markey and Kyoto mandates. Here in the States, we own literally oceans of natural gas beneath our bedrock, and deluvian reserves offshore. We even have three times the reserves of Saudi Arabia in the Rocky Mountains. All of this is capable of being transported with modern technology that has come a long way since the Exxon-Valdez spill ages ago; yet drilling remains illegal in spite of marvelous precautionary advances and a clean record since. This vainglorious distaste for black crude serves as an object of haughty disdain for the Liberal elite, and from others it is merely a reckless childishness regarding the stern realities of this world. Tanks are not powered on corn oil, F-22 fighter jets do not run on solar power, and aircraft carriers do not use windmills. We fuel these battle weapons with fossil fuels and nuclear reactors—the twin strategic pillars of the Republican energy platform and still the beverage of choice for the grown-up world.  

Nothin’ like the real thing. 

As I exit stage right with reminiscence, I recall President Bill Clinton rejecting a Republican push in 1995 to drill in ANWR, a frozen desert, claiming that the project would not yield oil until 2005. This stance would then contort into blatant denial when in 2008, the Democratic Party would then accuse Republicans of short-sightedness for wanting to drill in Palin Country. Fittingly enough, either party has yet to accuse China, a 4,000 year-old kingdom, of being short-sighted.

America is under siege. I suggest we start guarding our aqueducts. >>

Much has been written about the fights between Sarah Palin and John McCain's campaign staffers. Apparently not all of them had a difficult relationship with Palin.

Palin's mother-in-law and father-in-law both gave to Vaughn Ward, a candidate for the first district of Idaho.

Now, Vaughn would have had a lot of contact with Palin. He was the McCain state director in Nevada, a swing state where Palin spent a bunch of time. And Palin grew up in Idaho, so she might have seen a little bit of herself in him. Or maybe like her son. He is an Iraq vet and a Major in the Marine Corps Reserve.

This could also be a preview of what Sarah PAC looks like.

Just a thought.

Mealer Companies LLC also known as Mealer American Motors Corporation will succeed by manufacturing a variety of top-quality, extremely rugged products with a significant number of money-saving features and options to fulfill the needs of current and future clients. Whether it's the MEALER Automobile or the MEALER USA made laptop, Mealer Companies means more than just great products.

MealerAMC is the up and coming solution for theeconomic change the world needs.

By allowing the MEALER Bridge Vehicle to enter the market first, these automobiles will not only make a reputation of quality automobiles that are versatile, useful, performance oriented and innovative, but also economical and environmentally friendly. In addition to America's demand for a superior MPG internal combustion engine powered auto and the ability to begin building the “BV” immediately, they also appeal to a global market from the start.

Anticipation for our Flagship or Future Vehicle (FV) which provides the ecological solution decried by National governments, California (many times over) as well as the United Nations, will be immense. The solution for what many call disastrous, man-made-Global-Warming hasn't come about just yet, but the greenhouse emissions from fossil fueled cars, trucks and power plants will be resolved. What automaker can make that claim and prove it, besides MealerAMC?

The MEALER FV is designed to provide 3-phase power to a home or office or tent city for that matter when it is parked.

We are talking a fully programmable automobile with all the bells and whistles and safety requirements to race around a NASCAR track.

JL Mealer believes in the safety factor of his products to such an extent that he will demonstrate the safety features of the MEALER Automobile as a televised and living crash test dummy... He expects to play the dummy, so you don't have to.

The MEALER will fully demonstrate quality, reliability and retail potential of what American Ingenuity can produce and manufacture without the UAW, UAC and AFL-CIO restraints.

“Big deal!” Many readers say... “A new US automaker, it was bound to happen... I'm not excited in the least”.

Here's a big difference with Mealer Companies LLC. Employees with MealerAMC and any affiliate with Mealer Companies will be trained not only to build our great automobiles and power sources, but to eventually begin their own USA Manufacturing business where we will not let them fail.

They will become the new backbone for the US economy and will create countless jobs and opportunities for other Americans. Mealer Companies will have the connections for private funding to make these new businesses succeed with the proper training as upper management and CEO positions for their own LLC and Corporations.

Okay, MealerAMC will give us the beautiful and wide variety of MEALER automobiles we need and to top it off, we get a dependable power source for our homes. No Carbon Taxes! No Carbon Cap and trade! We are now free. If you happen to be lucky enough to work for Mealer Companies you will be trained in the clean Green manufacturing industry as well as the dirty much needed manufacturing industry, so that you can leave Mealer Companies and go out on your own with support and the backing of a wide variety of funding sources and experts in the field of making a fortune while re-building this great nation of ours.

Mealer Companies expects other institutions to do the same plan as and rally this nation back into the global leadership role the USA was meant to serve.

We as Americans are the builders and fabricators of the world.

As America, we lead the way when we fail and whenever we win.

So, stop crying and blaming Barney Frank, (even if it his fault)...

Let's grow a pair and fix this problem from the private sector because the spending and taxing gluttons in the US government are simply incapable of doing it.

Are you concerned about the current state of our education system? How about the next generation of graduating seniors? Or your own children or grandchildren? Me too!

 I'm a Conservative Christian 5th grade teacher, mother of 2, doctoral student (Effects of Parental Involvement on Academic Intrinsic Motivation of Students), and author who wants to see a major reform in our education system - a return to ethics, morality, integrity, and values based on the principles on which our country was founded. Please visit my website so your voice can help ours grow stronger. No matter whether you're a teacher, a student, a parent, or a concerned citizen, your experiences, knowledge, and advice can help us all in this concerted effort. Thank you for your time.

Conservatives for Educational Reform: Paving the Way to a Righter Day!

Too Blessed to be Stressed,

Bekah

 WE MUST GET THIS RIGHT THE FIRST TIME.. In the private sector! 

THE ECONOMY and MEALER COMPANIES SOLUTION... the ONLY viable plan.

The economy has not disappeared due to one problem, but several problems. The main problem is also the solution with which we will revive the economy.

Everyone must agree that with the best mortgage, the safest mortgage and the best loan possible... Not a single man or woman anywhere can purchase on credit without a job. good paying jobs at Walmart or Home Depot selling Made in China junk or scrap lumber will secure a loan... especially with the lay-offs we see today and will see tomorrow.

USA jobs, mainly in the manufacturing sector is the solution and I have the means to get there.... I won't waste breathe or your time with too many details of this solution that MUST be instituted in the private sector now. There are so many "experts" out there who come up with bad ideas... I am not an 'economic expert' who has polished seats with his/her hind-end more than having done anything else.

This plan I worked out was done so as to offer a replacement the fuel taxes that Mealer American Motors Corporation automobiles would eventually do away with. *MealerAMC autos also act as home power sources...

The government (of any country) would lose hundreds of billions in fuel tax revenue and have no decent way to re-gain it. The 3R changes that!

If you can now grasp why I have put extensive researched into this plan, you can read on....If not.. Start over and read slowly.

All communities nationwide would gain immediate revenue from these training programs and local community colleges would benefit as well.

The Mealer (aka McCain) 3R Economic Energy Plan entails utilizing the millions of vacant buildings (like old Walmart and stores that were put out of business by Walmart) as hands on training in USA MFG. America has thousands of '3R teachers' looking for jobs and many of them from old union killed businesses that are now in China and Mexico. No matter what the trainees build... It can be re-sold as Made in USA quality products. Does anyone remember the days when most products in America had that stamp?

Huge tax write offs for building owners do differ payments or donate buildings or years of lease amounts, plus fair write offs for equipment that is purchased and deferred. (I have spoken with several USA tooling companies and they are thrilled to work this way!)

Paid 3R Schooling is a great moral booster and means even more American jobs.      Paid?     Sure..      The students are paid to learn as per federal and state higher education/school programs, PLUS they earn a percentage of the products that are sold. Once again, I checked... Even 'evil' Walmart will stock these goods... If some slave labor Red China Communist or a poor child in a sweatshop can build the Chinese junk we buy today... A skilled (and learning) adult American can do better.

Another huge revenue source is packaging these small private businesses as commodities (...checked... it's legal) and selling them to the thousands of  "Speculators".. You know, like the crude oil speculators who helped destroy the economy we are now being forced to save?  "Packaged an group commodities" makes these businesses much less likely to fail, and I am certain teams or memberships will be formed to help one another when certain manufacturing is slow in demand.

These small businesses need not compete with the Walmart made In China craze that really killed the economy. They need not manufacture billions of 'widgets'... only thousands. There is no monopoly in the deal, just a great job to be had. This of course, is after the trainees are out of the schooling stages and several of them past the advanced business law schooling  -'quick classes' (they can learn as they grow the companies)... These people with the proformas would find the huge new class of investors looking for huge profits, take their packaged team of loosely collected USA MFG companies as one LLC or Corporation and put a lot of people to work.

For every USA MFG position, a new economy around that person would be created in food services, clothing, etc... including housing and local government. THIS IS HUGE.

Go ahead, find the problems with this plan (typos excluded)... I know your concerns.

I already have the answers and they are well researched and legal answers.

There is no other way to save the economy.

NONE!

 NOT A SINGLE VIABLE PLAN, except the 3R...

If you can find a better plan, I will buy it!

Just like Mealer Companies products and our non-fossil fuel, non-EV automobiles are the next phase for technical growth, this economy saving plan is IT for the future of America and the world economy.

No. Don't even suggest what you are thinking...Neither Mealer Companies, nor myself make a dime from instituting this plan and saving America... I refuse to.

 HOWEVER, I do plan to sell every American one of my cars and take us off the grid when possible...

 HOPEFULLY... See me on FoxNews soon!

 John Lewis Mealer

Mealer Companies