| Friday, September 26, 2008 |
| Let the chips fall where they may |
I am not asking you to agree with me. I am not even asking you to give me your opinion. Frankly, I don’t care what your opinion is. Nobody knows what the future will hold. Nobody knows how our economy will be in a year or five years from now. But, what I do know is what has happened in our past.
Now, I don’t want to hear anybody telling me that I left something out of this. There are so may levels involved that no one person can fully understand it. And I can promise you that no matter how many times you tell me that I am wrong, I will still be right. Just wait and see. I am sick of hearing “experts” talk about something that they know nothing about --- The Economy and this crisis that we are in (which I am about to talk about - weird).
If you know me, then you will know that I am a FIRM believer in consequences. I believe if you do something (right or wrong) there is a consequence that will / must take place. I believe that there is a lesson that should be learned. If you do something wrong and there is no punishment (i.e. this bailout), then no lesson is learned and it WILL happen again. This economic crisis is no exception.
I will go out and say - I am 100% AGAINST the $700 Billion plus bailout. There are so many reasons why I am stating that this is the WRONG thing to do (prior to it passing). I know some of you are asking “What do I know? Who is this guy?” Well, I am willing to say that I may know more than your average bear. I am Tom Chenowith, a tax paying, law abiding, living within my means US citizen.
This bail out is HUGE. It will be the biggest check ever written (it is what I call a “blank check” - you know, here is the money to fix the problem, but we aren’t really doing to fix the problem). There are so many echelons that will be impacted. I am not for sure if anyone can fully understand just how deep this problem goes. I guess we can start with how this started. That would fall under our Congress, our brilliant Congress that has screwed up virtually every task that has ever been given to them. To include, but not limited to, Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, Education, TSA, Border control, Border responsibility, Immigration, etc. And now - to add to their long list: Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) of 1977 (a law that forced banks to make loans to people with bad credit). From 1993-1997 as directed by President Clinton, the CRA took on an enormous task of trying to enable low income families to have the ability to own their own home.
So, basically you now have people that can’t afford a home, buying a home. But, hey - it’s good for the economy, right?
Due to the mandatory relaxation of the rules and regulations for getting a loan to purchase a big piece of property - the American people continued to do what they do best - live beyond their means. The American people were (still) buying homes that are bigger than what they need, more expensive than they can afford, and have become a burden on our society. But, hey - it’s good for the economy, right?
Do you know that they average credit card debt is $9,000.00 (probably even more now, because this was an old reference). But, I would encourage you to read this.
A couple of highlights from this article are that 1 out of 73 filed for bankruptcy in 2003 and the average household debt in America (not counting mortgage debt) is $14,500. In comparison, in the 1930’s the middle and working class had NO major debt.
Enough of all of that, though, I will be honest with you. I believe that our government has PROVEN to me that they do not have foresight or the ability to do this bailout correctly. Let’s face the facts. Our government can’t even build a border that 85% of the US population wants and has paid for. They have actually spent more time, money and energy (not the physical energy either) than it would have taken to build the border in the first place. Doing this bailout will mean that our economy will still collapse, markets will remain low and now we are even in more debt. Do you realize that $700 billion dollars is 40% more than what this war has cost? Do you know what you can do with $700 billion dollars? If you stacked the bills on top of each other, you would be able to touch the moon. If you laid them out, you could cover New York, Washington, D.C., and Delaware. You could give every man, woman and child in the U.S. over $2,000.00 each. Bailing out the rich folks is probably not the best solution for this $700 billion. But, hey- it’s good for the economy, right?
What should happen? Well, I will tell you. The FBI (which is finally involved) should find all the padded pockets, all the overflowing bank accounts and arrest each and every person that has been involved with the people’s money. Which means Obama (who received over $126,000 from Fannie May and Freddie Mac) and even McCain (who received $21,000) should go to jail. I know many of you are saying that them receiving this money is legal. Of course it is legal. Congress which passes the laws makes it “legal” for them to do this. They have been padding their pockets for decades, however, it is unethical. There needs to be a new law - if it is unethical, then it are illegal. Taking money from private companies to turn your head is called bribery in the civilian sector. Seriously, it is time to play hard ball. It is time to clean the corruption in our government. If that means that every single congressman and senator goes to jail - then so be it!!!
Once the FBI has found and arrested all parties involved, then the government (whomever shall be left standing) should then look at the individuals that did nothing wrong. The people that put their money into these banks (saving and checking accounts) and say, “Basically, X amount of dollars where stolen from you, here is your check” and give them back what they lost (I am not talking about stocks either - the stock market rises and falls, it’s a risk - we all know it when we buy). And for people that bought or lived way beyond their means that is TOUGH. The tax paying citizen should not be responsible for you living a life that you can’t afford.
I have been told that by not bailing out the banks our country would go into a recession or even depression. My response is, “Good!” Maybe we Americans would then learn to live within our means. Maybe we should give up one of our four cell phones. Maybe we should turn the plasma screen TV off and play board games with our family. Maybe we should stop going to fast food restaurants and start having dinner around the family table. Maybe we should give up all of our cars and walk or ride a bike. Maybe we should stop using credit cards for buying stuff that we can't afford. Maybe would should clean out the 100 pair of shoes that we have in our closet. Maybe would should stop wearing designer clothes. Maybe we should turn the air conditioner off every once in awhile. Maybe, just maybe, living a simpler life would be better. Maybe instead of trying to “fix” the economy or bail rich people out - maybe, our do nothing right congress, should let the chips fall where they may. |
posted by Capt. C @ 2:53 PM  |
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| Tuesday, September 09, 2008 |
| When To Celebrate |
A dictionary defines celebration as “a joyful occasion for special festivities to mark some happy event... any joyous diversion.”
Who defines “joyful” or “joyous”? Is it up to each individual? I believe that I tend to celebrate more than others. I clap and say “Yeah!” after I finish a delicious meal that my wonderful wife has made for me. I celebrate with my precious children all the time. Children will celebrate anything. If you have small children, then you understand what I am saying. A child will clap for joy when they put a toy in a pail. A child will laugh with excitement when they see a puppy. A child knows how to celebrate.
As we get older, for some reason we don’t find the joy of putting toys in a pail. We don’t see the wonders of life when a puppy wags its tail. We become so desensitized of the miracles of life. We have lost the joyful purpose of celebration....
I know you are thinking, “Where are you going with this?” I do have a point. I want you to take a deep breath, open your mind and just allow me to explain something to you that you will NEVER see on the news.
When I was deployed to Iraq in 2006, things were a little different. Hardly a day would go by when somebody wasn’t trying to kill me. This is especially true for the first few months that I was there. I know that some will argue that having a random mortar fired towards you is not “really trying to kill you.” Okay, but if you haven’t had a random mortar fired toward you, then what do you really know? And if you have had a random mortar fired at you, then you know that they are trying to kill you. So, I will argue the point.
Anyway, during my six and a half month tour, I did anesthesia for over 280 cases. For those of you that don’t understand case numbers, that is a lot of cases. Of those cases, I am willing to say that nearly 240 of those cases where trauma (or trauma related) cases. I did very little elective cases. I can not even begin to tell you how many units of blood and blood products that I pumped into those patients. I can not remember how many deaths I saw. I can tell you this, I pumped in more blood and blood products in that six and a half months than most civilians will pump in a lifetime. I probably saw more death than any of you will ever see (unless you have been here or you are a mortician). Slightly off the subject - I went to an anesthesia conference a year or so ago. I was attending a course that was being taught by a man that was at “the number one trauma center in the USA”. It sounds impressive doesn’t it? Well, when he told us about the most units of blood that has ever been given to an individual at their facility, I just had to smile. I was thinking, “Really? That’s it?? I have beaten that number on more than one occasion.” For the record, I gave over 120 blood products to a single patient in under four hours. You do the math - that’s kicking.
Now lets fast forward 18 months. I have once again arrived in Iraq. Grant it, I am still in the early stages of my deployment. I have been here for almost two months. But, let me tell you that things have changed. Things have changed in ways that I would not have dreamed.
First lets start with the random mortars. I can’t remember the last one. They are so few and far in between. Second are the cases. I have done a total of 23 cases since I have been here. Of those 23 cases, only four have been trauma. All the others have been elective cases.
Now for the real news, something that you will be hard pressed to see or hear about in the media. There are new schools, new hospitals, new training centers, new communities that HAVE BEEN BUILT. Not by the Americans either, but by the Iraqi people. There are almost as many Iraqi Army Soldiers as there are US Soldiers here. The number of Iraqi Soldiers is growing by the day. There is another HUGE piece of the pie. The Iraqi people are seeing and “understanding” the difference that is being made. Something I thought could never happen. I was wrong. That’s right - I admit that I was wrong. The Iraqi population understands that if they inform the authorities, not only will the bad guys get caught, they will also be protected. So, now the communities are stepping up to the plate. The bad guys may be able to threaten one person, but they can’t threaten them all. So, they are learning to stand up against them.
So, what does this mean? Well, it means that there is decrease in life being lost - on both sides. There is an exponential number of bad guys being caught and killed. The bad guys are getting desperate. Now, here is where I will have to stop giving details. But, I can say that they are truly getting desperate and it shows.
So, why have you not heard about this? Well, it is because that would mean that the media would be responsible for informing the public of the truth, not just its’ agenda. It would mean that the media would HAVE TO ADMIT THAT THE SURGE WORKED!!! Not only did it work, it has changed the community. The media doesn’t want you to know this. They want you to be ignorant of the facts. They want to push a certain person into the Presidential seat so they can have even more power and more money (yea, don’t full yourself - it’s all about power and money).
So, I have to ask. If a country that was full of blood shed just 18 months ago, is now relatively a peaceful country - is that something to celebrate??? I know the children are celebrating......... |
| posted by G. @ 6:11 AM |
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