The people of the United States are being bombarded with one crisis after another crisis (and we wouldn't want a good crisis to go to waste). I have tried to break down into 10 categories where major concerns exists today and have not reached their peak impact on our lives; otherwise these concerns will become increasingly distressing in the coming months.
They are:
1. National economic condition.
2. National politics
3. Cultural impact on religion.
4. Health care/socialized medicine.
5. Environmental issues.
6. Taxes.
7. Terrorism and the war effort.
8. Illegal immigration.
9. Globalization
10. World politics.
Not all of these issues will be addressed at one time; rather only when something major is increasing their impact on our lives. The issue today is our economy and what we can look forward to in the coming months. The stock market has been on a unprecedented rebound in a very short period of time and as a result you can expect a sharp correction before the end of the year. The market has rebounded 30% from its lows earlier this years. This sound good except that it has happened in a historically short period of time.
The pressure on the market will come from continued government spending and our inability to sell our debt. If the Fed decides to buy up our own debt; i.e. print money to pay what we are borrowing you can expect the market to correct drastically, possibly to historic lows. This could possibly, and most probably will, trigger hyper-inflation which will continue to devalue the dollar causing even higher prices.
Also look for the price of food to increase sharply as the cost of sugar skyrockets out of sight. Major sugar producing countries are experiencing unprecedented droughts.
Look for a correction of the July unemployment figures. Skandalon does not believe these will hold up and that unemployment will increase sharply and exceed 10% long before the end of the year. The only good news here is that higher unemployment may, I repeat, may hold down oil prices as demands continues to decrease. The deciding issue here will be the value of the dollar on the world market.
Economically the situation doesn't look good; but this just may be the trigger that will wake America up and throw the bums that are causing this out on the street.
Have A Great Day
Skandalon
Monday, August 10, 2009
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Barack Hussein Oscama
All great nations have had two things in common; accessible natural resources and an abundant supply of cheap energy. In an ideal situation energy would be plentiful and free; that’s right, I said free. Realistically, unless you have an oil well and a refinery in your backyard you are going to have to pay for the delivery of your energy source. The best scenario then becomes a situation where the government ensures safe use and delivery and at the same time not hamstringing the process to point that it becomes untenable. We need safe delivery controls but at the same time promotion of competition that allows the market forces of supply and demand control the price to user. This is not rocket science and the typical end user understands enough of this process to know when it is working and when it is not and whether or not it is being allowed to work like it should. This brings us up to our current situation; to say the least, which is deteriorating into a mess that will make the early 70’s seem like a time of plenty.
Here are the facts that smart people know to be true; i.e. people who are not being lead astray by media hype, political correctness, pseudo-science, and politicians that have only their own interest at heart:
1. Man-made global warming is a ruse perpetrated by the eco-freaks. Environmentalism is a religion for these goof-balls.
2. The global warming scam is being use by politicians to create a crisis that is being used to promote an agenda that is anti-capitalistic.
3. Cap and trade is nothing more than a tax scam. Corporations do not pay taxes; those cost are always passed on to the end user, you and me.
4. Consumption is not a problem; it is rigorously controlled by supply and demand. Today’s problems are solved by tomorrow’s technology.
5. People like T. Boone Pickens and corporations like GE are using financial influence to drive our elected officials to pass legislation that will make them rich. Don’t be fooled by GE’s current fiscal problems; once “CAP and Con” is passed they will make billions. If you think Cap and Con will pass you should be buying GE stock.
6. Alternative “green” energy will not sustain our economy. It is not working in countries like France and Germany and it will not work here. Don’t take my word for this; there is plenty of accurate information to inform you of the truth of just how problematic wind and other “high-tech” “low results” energies are.
7. Our government, and the current administration in particular, is intentionally destroying the private sector. Their goal is socialism with a fanatical appetite for limiting your freedom and controlling your life. The way they are doing this is by creating a energy crisis that will have you begging for enough gas to get to work and enough electricity to keep your milk fresh. The trade off that you will be forced to make will be the sacrifice of personal freedom.
Our energy fiasco has gone from unthinkable to probably and now is an almost certainty. The Obama administration is doing everything possible to control every segment of our society by limiting your access to affordable energy. Worse-case scenarios are no longer crackpot thinking; Animal farm and 1984 are becoming a reality. Again, don’t believe me, do your own homework and read while you still have a chance to read the truth. Review the following below taken from “A "None of the Above" Approach to Energy Policy” by Lee Lukof. Check him out and see if he is telling the truth; I have and the picture he paints is not pretty. After you have read it if you think Obama has your best interest at heart, re-read the line above that starts “Here are the facts….”
Nuclear: The first budget of the new Administration cut funding for the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Depository, making it nearly impossible for the United States to expand nuclear energy production, a necessary precondition if we want to promote a low-carbon energy regime.
Offshore Drilling: The Department of the Interior decided to make an inefficient and bureaucratic offshore drilling permitting process even more inefficient and bureaucratic. The Obama administration ordered the Department of the Interior to delay permitting for offshore oil operations, effectively halting American energy production through government red tape.
Oil Shale: Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has halted research, development, and demonstration leases for energy entrepreneurs who were hoping to develop oil shale reserves in Utah and Colorado.
Hydrogen Fuel Cells: Energy Secretary Steven Chu has proposed cutting off all funding for hydrogen fuel cell research and development despite the fact that General Motors., Daimler AG, Toyota and Honda are on the verge of developing hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles that have been touted as an innovative energy solution that will help reduce auto emissions.
Cap & Trade: The House of Representatives has decided to make energy more expensive by passing a cap & trade program that could cause the United States to lose 9.4 trillion dollars worth of GDP from 2012 to 2035 and could cost the United States nearly 400,000 jobs every year on average.
Citizens across the country must be wondering, why are Washington politicians so out of touch? Who would willingly support policies that will lead to higher energy taxes, increased energy prices, and a continued dependence on foreign oil?
You can read his entire article at http://www.americansolutions.com/energy/2009/07/a-none-of-the-above-approach-to-energy-policy.php
Truth Rules
Skandalon
Follow My Blog at http://skandalonlibertas.blogspot.com/
Friday, June 19, 2009
Quarter Sawn
Recently I found a little time to go down to the shop and start a new project. It seems that the boss wants a cabinet to collect and arranged her sheet music. I was amiable to this when I realized that it might get the mess off of the bedroom floor. My plan for the cabinet is to make it out of red oak. Red oak is relative hard, it is stable, and has a nice rich color when a light stain is applied. Over the years it will patina and the color will darken and make the broad gain stand out like the gold braid on a generals hat.
As I was going through my pile of lumber trying to select pieces so the grain would match and the color would be close to similar I began to wonder about where the tree had grown that gave me these beautiful pieces of wood. Had it been a tree of the forest, or was it in someone’s field and had to go to make room for more crops to grow. Or had it been a large oak in someone’s yard that had provided shade from the hot summer sun for so many years, and now it was gone leaving a barren landscape baking in the 90 degree heat. I wondered if the tree had been nurtured and cared for, or did it grow left alone to fend for itself in the harsh elements of nature. Did someone prune the unhealthy branches, fertilize the ground, and water it regularly; or did it grow by itself making its way the best it could against the ravages of natures storms and pestilence.
Then I noticed a little worm hole where something alien and destructive tried demolish the oak. Had the worm been the reason that the oak was cut down; or did it grow to maturity in spite of the little worm’s attempt to eat it alive? As I continued to look at the grain I wondered about the age of the tree, was it cut down in the prime of its life or was it fully mature ready to give up its strength and beauty to be made into my wife’s music cabinet?
As I contemplated the tree I started thinking about my own life; where I came from, how I matured, how I had faced the storms and pestilence of life. How had my younger years compared to my peers; was I nurtured and cared for? Did my family do a good work of pruning the ugly branches that were growing and misshaping my character? Did they water and fertilize my life with virtues and morals that would make me a person of distinction; someone known to be kind, humble, honest, not self-serving but seeking to serve others who needed the hand of friendship? Was there a patina about my life that gives me a sense of maturity that others can be fond of and respect? Had someone taken the time and effort to “quarter saw” my growth so that I would be the strongest possible man with a grain set close making me inflexible to changes and whims of the times, holding fast to my principles that are found between the close lines of the grain of my life? How much has my life warped and curled from what it should have been, or did I hold true the teachings of those who loved me and valued me as I grew? My oak boards are flat and straight for the most part, they have done well except for a knot or two; but knots are beauty marks that show the stress of time and growth. I now wondered, had my life the beauty marks of overcoming the havoc of time, or was I covered with the ugliness of scars where I had failed to be true to my heritage?
Although we are not given to authority to judge the entirety of someone’s life we can look at the growth rings and knots that appear from time to time. Those in the public eye, especially those in the political arena, are particularly vulnerable to scrutiny. As I looked at my lumber and pondered the politicians I realize that too often we fail to give our leaders the same examination that I was giving my oak. Although I can’t know, with ease, the history of my lumber; I can know with relative ease the history of anyone seeking political office. I can see their knots and what caused them; I can see their worm holes and how they coped with the little fellows and whether or not their response was in keeping with what is good and true. I can look at their history through the grain patterns of their life and know whether they are virtuous or self-serving. The issue is not that politicians lack enough exposure to be properly scrutinized; the problem is that we all too often over look our own principles so that we will over look their lack of principle without feeling any guilt or remorse for our lack of discernment. We want what they call the “good life” without the cost required to achieve it; thus we overlook their obvious weaknesses seeking their hollow promises.
Now to the point of this; Barak Obama is a knotty piece of scrub oak that is not much good except for fire wood. But don’t blame Obama for this because he is exactly what he said he would be. He is filled with worm holes, never had the nurture and care that he needed to develop a character that would serve anyone with the exception of himself. The ravages of life failed to strengthen him; instead they warped his ideals and made him a hater of personal accountability and the freedom that fosters self-actualization. But again I say don’t blame Obama, we knew what we were getting when we searched through the wood pile. His life and associations were all the evidence that we needed to realize that this man values nothing that comes from the great heritage of the American dream. He is like a hallow tree, looks great on the outside but is hollow on the inside and rotten to the core. The only thing left to do now is to hold his feet to the fire of the Constitution and demand that our representatives take charge of their responsibilities that they garner from the same great unchanging document.
Have a Great Day,
Gregg
A CHRIST-LESS world is a callous world, and mercy was never a characteristic of pagan life. William Barclay
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
King of The Dump
Rationally success is leading a free people, not leading in the “Dump” of the apathetic, poor and enslaved. Unfortunately the later seems to be the position of choice.
Dump Living
Over time societies and cultures undergo changes by electing new leaders with new ideas; sometimes for the good, sometimes for the worst and sometimes just for the sake of change. As a governed people we reap the rewards for the good decisions and we suffer the consequences of the bad decisions. The notables for leaders who have made poor decisions have been T. Roosevelt, Wilson, F.D. Roosevelt, Nixon, Carter, Clinton, Bush, and Obama. What the poor decisions were is not applicable to our discussion, it is only necessary to understand that some of the ideas that they carried forward have eroded our constitution and freedoms.
The abuse and misuse of power follows a pattern. They misuse, we lose; misuse breads abuse, we lose more and in final desperation we demand that government takes ultimate control to lessen the chaos. In our apathy we fail to see the contempt that our Kings have for the constitution, for our Judeo-Christian values, and for a free people living in a republic. When we fail to realize the nature of man and the degree of derision that our politicians have for us, we suffer the consequences of that contempt. Our unwillingness to take responsibility for our lives makes us the source of our own despair. We have been convinced by our officials, and a bias media, that the only way to move forward is to continue to elect people who say they present a consistent and organized response to the chaos that they created.
In the morass of cultural decline we see these people as “spiritual leaders” and not as servants of the common good; thus their service is to themselves and not to the people who elected them. Our enthusiasm in seeking “spiritual leadership” is wrong minded. We look to and demand from government things that it was never intended to deliver. Spirituality should come from faith.
When our government is short on answers, we looked to other nations for solutions. We first looked to Germany and people like Immanuel Kant which lead to German Idealism with it the philosophies of Hegel and Marx. Post World War II our institutions garnered leadership from the “Frankfurt School” of philosophy. If you throw into this mix notables like Darwin and biological evolution, John Maynard Keynes and government back economic optimism, John Dewey and outcome based education, and Sigmund Freud who promoted the ideas that self-esteem and sexual determinism has greater value than self-achievement, you then have a formula for a social disaster funded through a corrupt government.
Our need to be like other nations is reckless and without merit because of their failures. As a result we have allowed men without conscience to dictate change that we didn’t take the time to understand. What we have forgotten is that the strength of our nation has been that we are unlike the other nations.
Dump Kings
Working from the presupposition that our country has rejected our Judeo-Christian values has lead to an unnecessary intrusion into our relationships between God and country, and a free people and the constitution. It is those values and principles that have made us stronger as a country; with the world’s leading economy, strongest military, and still the freest of peoples.
New Kings have rejected our values and traditions understanding that “if you believe in nothing you will fall for anything.” The values that we did hold have now become politically incorrect; euphuism for Marxist speech and thought control. Our Kings have done this through the abuse of the educational process.
Next, our King will want to take our finest to serve his cause. The Kings tried to do this through the military, but our military is too entrenched in “esprit de corps” and has not given in to a Commander and Chief that wants to oppress the people. One King tried to take our finest via the Peace Corps. It was a failure but did serve as a precedent for future Kings. Today’s King would like to use a youth corps trained and indoctrinated in camps. R.F. Youngblood writes, “By nature royalty is parasitic rather than giving, and Kings are never satisfied with the worst.”
Kings place people in authority who take our resources by limiting our right to own and keep property. They launch punitive taxes leaving us little and using our resources to provide mechanisms for the Kings to reinforce their armies, secret police, luxurious lifestyles, and to support the dupes that swear allegiance to their authoritarian rule, all with our dollars.
You will be left with nothing, not even the right to cry foul. There have been many who have warned us not to make the same mistakes; yet we do not listen. This is not a new ideology; yet throughout history many have fallen into the clutches of those whose only purpose in life is to be the King of The Dump. Our country stands on the precipice of our last denial, that the King is ready to take the throne. Do we have the fortitude to say he can’t take our best, he can’t take our resources, and he can’t take our freedoms?
King Of The Dump
Rationally success is leading a free people, not leading in the “Dump” of the apathetic, poor and enslaved. Unfortunately the later seems to be the position of choice.
Dump Living
Over time societies and cultures undergo changes by electing new leaders with new ideas; sometimes for the good, sometimes for the worst and sometimes just for the sake of change. As a governed people we reap the rewards for the good decisions and we suffer the consequences of the bad decisions. The notables for leaders who have made poor decisions have been T. Roosevelt, Wilson, F.D. Roosevelt, Nixon, Carter, Clinton, Bush, and Obama. What the poor decisions were is not applicable to our discussion, it is only necessary to understand that some of the ideas that they carried forward have eroded our constitution and freedoms.
The abuse and misuse of power follows a pattern. They misuse, we lose; misuse breads abuse, we lose more and in final desperation we demand that government takes ultimate control to lessen the chaos. In our apathy we fail to see the contempt that our Kings have for the constitution, for our Judeo-Christian values, and for a free people living in a republic. When we fail to realize the nature of man and the degree of derision that our politicians have for us, we suffer the consequences of that contempt. Our unwillingness to take responsibility for our lives makes us the source of our own despair. We have been convinced by our officials, and a bias media, that the only way to move forward is to continue to elect people who say they present a consistent and organized response to the chaos that they created.
In the morass of cultural decline we see these people as “spiritual leaders” and not as servants of the common good; thus their service is to themselves and not to the people who elected them. Our enthusiasm in seeking “spiritual leadership” is wrong minded. We look to and demand from government things that it was never intended to deliver. Spirituality should come from faith.
When our government is short on answers, we looked to other nations for solutions. We first looked to Germany and people like Immanuel Kant which lead to German Idealism with it the philosophies of Hegel and Marx. Post World War II our institutions garnered leadership from the “Frankfurt School” of philosophy. If you throw into this mix notables like Darwin and biological evolution, John Maynard Keynes and government back economic optimism, John Dewey and outcome based education, and Sigmund Freud who promoted the ideas that self-esteem and sexual determinism has greater value than self-achievement, you then have a formula for a social disaster funded through a corrupt government.
Our need to be like other nations is reckless and without merit because of their failures. As a result we have allowed men without conscience to dictate change that we didn’t take the time to understand. What we have forgotten is that the strength of our nation has been that we are unlike the other nations.
Dump Kings
Working from the presupposition that our country has rejected our Judeo-Christian values has lead to an unnecessary intrusion into our relationships between God and country, and a free people and the constitution. It is those values and principles that have made us stronger as a country; with the world’s leading economy, strongest military, and still the freest of peoples.
New Kings have rejected our values and traditions understanding that “if you believe in nothing you will fall for anything.” The values that we did hold have now become politically incorrect; euphuism for Marxist speech and thought control. Our Kings have done this through the abuse of the educational process.
Next, our King will want to take our finest to serve his cause. The Kings tried to do this through the military, but our military is too entrenched in “esprit de corps” and has not given in to a Commander and Chief that wants to oppress the people. One King tried to take our finest via the Peace Corps. It was a failure but did serve as a precedent for future Kings. Today’s King would like to use a youth corps trained and indoctrinated in camps. R.F. Youngblood writes, “By nature royalty is parasitic rather than giving, and Kings are never satisfied with the worst.”
Kings place people in authority who take our resources by limiting our right to own and keep property. They launch punitive taxes leaving us little and using our resources to provide mechanisms for the Kings to reinforce their armies, secret police, luxurious lifestyles, and to support the dupes that swear allegiance to their authoritarian rule, all with our dollars.
You will be left with nothing, not even the right to cry foul. There have been many who have warned us not to make the same mistakes; yet we do not listen. This is not a new ideology; yet throughout history many have fallen into the clutches of those whose only purpose in life is to be the King of The Dump. Our country stands on the precipice of our last denial, that the King is ready to take the throne. Do we have the fortitude to say he can’t take our best, he can’t take our resources, and he can’t take our freedoms?
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Work in progress
This site is new and will start postings in the near future. Look for metaphors of the American culture to wood and sailing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)