The good news is, it will help, in the long run. The bad news is, it will not help anytime soon.
Of course, I’d be willing to bet that the Dems will obstruct this. What needs to happen is, the Enron Loophole needs to be closed, like yesterday. Between the two, prices would come down.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
[….}
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
It was on this day, 232 years ago. That men decided that freedom was the only way. This post is for them.
A few videos:
A video that tells the story of our National Anthem and how it came to be:
A singing of our National Anthem, that I think is the closest thing to Heavenly Angels singing that we’ll ever get here on Earth:
Another American Classic:
Another one, done, only the way, this man could do it:
Even John Wayne knows:
I posted this, not for some stupid political ploy, not to be clever, but to remind everyone, no matter what your political stripe or conviction or feeling, You are, We are, all Americans. This is our land, and we should, at least once a year, stop and reflect on our freedoms. The freedom to write, the freedom to Pray to whatever God we wish or the freedom to not pray, at all. The freedom to agree, the freedom of dissent or to disagree, the freedom to assemble or simply the freedom to do nothing at all.
As Always, We remember our soldiers, especially those who have fallen:
One of my favorite songs:
Update: I could not remember the name of this song last night, I remembered the name this morning:
I cannot listen to this without tearing up… it’s tough, even for a guy:
God Bless the United States of America and God Bless and Keep our Soldiers.
A further testament to the fact that our nation’s economy is heading over the cliff. News this morning that Ford Motor Company is cutting production of their pickups and sport utility vehicles, of whom sales has dropped drastically in the recent months.
Quote from the AP:
Ford Motor Co. says it is cutting North American production for the rest of the year as high gas prices and the weak economy depress its sales.
The Dearborn-based company said Thursday it also expects to break even in 2009, scaling back its goal of returning to profitability by that time.
Ford says it will cut production by 15 percent in the second quarter, 15 to 20 percent in the third quarter and 2 to 8 percent in the fourth quarter.
The cuts primarily will affect pickups and sport utility vehicles, which have seen sales plummet in recent months. Ford plans to increase its production of cars and crossovers.
Video from CNBC:
I could launch into some sort of tirade and blame Bush and the Republicans for this, however, that would be using the current Political situation as a scapegoat. This economic crisis has been brewing for years and years and finally it has come to a crest.
Our nation allowed itself to become dependent on foreign oil, we are now basically slaves to a foreign supplier for oil for our nation’s resources. The housing crisis was caused by a few things, sub-prime lenders who were not over-sighted to make sure that they did not trick people into buying houses that they could not afford. I do believe in free markets, but I also believe in moderate regulation. This was not in place and now we’re in the mess we are in. However, I will say this, there were people that KNOWNINGLY bought houses that they knew that they could not afford. These people now want the United States Government to bail them out. I believe that this is totally wrong. Why should my tax dollars pay for some idiot, who knowingly (key word there…) signed loans that they could not afford to pay for?
I have heard the arguments for and against drilling in Alaska. I am not convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Alaska would solve ALL of our problems. I just believe we need to find sensible alternative forms of energy, some of one’s that I have seen, on the surface seem good, but there are other problems, that keep them for being implemented in the "real world."
There is no quick fix to this problem, it is going to take years to fix the problems that our Nation, as a whole, has created for ourselves.
While I have been a very vocal critic of the Bush Administration’s Handling of the war in Iraq. I will always stand in honor for our United States Military.
Here is a video that I think everyone, Liberal, Conservative and everything in between, needs to watch: (H/T to Army Wife Toddler Mom and Tammi)
Bear Stearns, pushed to the brink of bankruptcy by what amounted to a run on the bank, agreed late Sunday to sell itself to JPMorgan Chase for a mere $2 a share, narrowly averting a collapse that threatened to cascade through the financial system.
The price represents a startling 93 percent discount to Bear Stearns’ closing stock price on Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.
Bankers and policy makers raced to complete the deal before financial markets in Asia opened on Monday, as fears grew that the financial panic could spread if Bear Stearns failed to find a buyer.
The deal, done at the behest of the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department, punctuates the stunning downfall of one of Wall Street’s biggest and most storied firms. Bear Stearns weathered the vagaries of the markets for 85 years, surviving the Depression and a dozen recessions only to meet its end in the rapidly unfolding credit crisis now afflicting the American economy.
My first reaction, when I saw this was, "Why should I even remotely give a rip?" However, it does show the full fall out of the sub-prime loan debacle that the Nation is dealing with, which isn’t helping the economy.
Yeah, from what I have read around the Blogs and from what I have seen on the T.V. we are headed into another Recession. Which is not a good thing. I guess it just means that the rest of the United States is catching up with Michigan.
Now, the nasty A-hole part of me, who kind of has a inbred hatred of people, who have more money that I do, thinks, "Ha Ha Guys! How’s it feel to lose everything and be broke, like I’ve been for the past couple of years??" But that’s a bit nasty and I try to avoid such thoughts.
I’m just hoping that this doesn’t trigger a mass sell off and a stock market crash, that would suck, because a full scale depression, is the LAST thing we need, right now.
Now, I’m not a capitalist freak, (You wouldn’t know it, by all the ads on my blog… *grin*) However, a certain amount of it, is acceptable, and a certain amount of it is needed to make the country work. So, I would hate to see the World’s Economy go to pot.
Anyway, that’s my take on it, from a Lower Middle class type of guy’s view.
