It has come to our attention that in recent days, the division between the people of this country is growing wider at an alarming rate. It is no longer a disagreement about ideas and ideals. It is no longer political opinion and polite disagreement discussed among neighbors. It has spilled over from the figurative to the literal.
Across the nation, the divide between parties has become physically violent:
- Orlando: Republican HQ Manager’s Home Shot Up Over McCain Signs
- Ohio: Man charged with threatening Ohio elections chief
- St. Paul: Senator’s garage vandalized
- San Jose: SUV denouncing family’s support for Prop 8 is moved
- New York City: Obama Supporter Assaults Female McCain Volunteer
- Denver: Political signs targeted by vandals
- Cuyahoga Falls: Poll workers clash at Falls nursing home
- Nationwide: Police prepare for unrest
It should be noted that the two major political parties are using the magician’s trick of distraction to achieve and maintain power. While they’re distracting us with one hand, the other hand is performing the behind the scenes trickery, and none of it good. While they have set the pieces in place for us to be at war with each other, bickering over which side is right and which side is wrong, both parties are using our distraction as an opportunity to enhance the power of the federal government, through the ever-increasing largesse of the government.
While we bicker about who is to blame for the economic crisis, they load up the “bailout bill” with pork for pet projects.
While we argue about who was to blame for the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, they prepare for another post-election power-grab under the disguise of another “stimulus bill”, which they already admit will raise our taxes.
While we worry about vandals and intimidation for displaying a political sign or bumper sticker, they want to increase government spending again with a “New Deal II”. (As if the Government largesse created by The New Deal and The Great Society haven’t bankrupted this country enough, we should have more?)
As Abraham Lincoln said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” And we are on the precipice of falling.
And so long as the Government is handing out money, every industry has its hand out asking for some of the “free” money. And the more the Government buys in, the more the Government controls the industries. First, the bailout bill for Bear Stearns. Then Fannie & Freddie. Then AIG wanted an $85 billion piece of the handout pie. In the middle of the $700 billion bailout package bru-ha-ha, Congress quietly passed a $25 billion bailout bill to Detroit automakers. Shortly thereafter, the US Treasury committed $250 billion to invest in U.S. banks. So on Friday, PNC Financial wanted in on the action, selling the Government $7.7 billion of preferred stock so it could take over ailing National City Bank. And it’s not ending there.
MetLife and Prudential are now looking at selling equity stakes in their companies to the Government. The state of California has made cries for federal help, as have other state and local governments. Before long, other “beleaguered” industries that made bad decisions will want their piece of the pie. And as long as the Government continues to relieve people (and companies) from being responsible for their decisions, people (and companies) will continue to make poor decisions. After all, the Government can help me out, right?
As we have stated numerous times in the past: true freedom is the freedom to succeed and the freedom to fail. If you no longer have the freedom to fail, then you are enslaved by whoever is taking that responsibility for you, because it is in their best interest for you to not fail. As a result, they prevent you from taking the necessary risks that are a required component of great success. In the end, if you no longer have the ability to fail, then you no longer have the ability to truly succeed.
Long-time readers of this site will remember that we warned of this decent into socialism. Back in April, we posted a list of 7 steps we envisioned would occur as this nation marched toward socialism. We are currently between #4 and #5, and it is entirely possible that within a year’s time we will wake up in a socialist nation, and wonder how we got there so quickly.
Do not be fooled by the magician’s hand. As both parties march us ever-faster toward the tyranny that is socialism, as the vast majority of the people in this country foolishly believe that it can never happen here, prepare yourself. Prepare your families. Warn your friends and your neighbors. Read the words of the Founding Fathers, and others who believe in the greatness of this nation. Read Yale economist William Grahm Sumner’s essay “The Forgotten Man“, then the book about the Great Depression with the same name and understand how the Government is turning us all into Forgotten Men. Read about the marvelous history of this great nation, and wonder how we strayed so far from what was good and right.
All it will take from this point is one national catastrophe that would jeopardize our food supply for us to be plunged fully into tyranny overnight.
So prepare.
For we will need liberty-minded Patriots to rebuild this great republic after we fall. Lest the government Of the People, By the People, and For the People perish from the earth.
why were you against the bailout? I definitely think it’s going to create major problems in the long run, but has our government ever looked down the road? Not usually. They look for the quick fix, then leave the mess for the next generation to clean up.
Last night, the Senate voted overwhelmingly to pass the $700 billion bailout bill. After reading the 400+ pages that were crammed with enough pork to make Jimmy Dean look like a vegetarian, they decided to go ahead and sell American freedom to such important interests as Wool Research (Section 325), Auto Race Tracks (Section 317), TV and Film Production (Section 502), and Wooden Arrows Designed for Use by Children (Section 503). Tonight, the House of Representatives will vote on the pork-laiden bill.
The stock market is showing us how it feels about the bill: before Monday’s Senate vote, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 100 points in the first hour, and 300 points by 1:30, ending the day around 700 points down from the previous close. The House killed the bill, and the next day the markets started to recover. After the Senate approved the bill last night, Wall Street reacted by shedding another 300+ points as of this writing. Wall Street is voting with their wallets: they are afraid of the economic impact of the bill, and the stock prices show it. Hardest hit are luxury goods manufacturers like Apple (-8%), gas & oil exploration companies like EOG Resources (-12%), and raw goods companies like BHP Billiton (metal mining, -10%) and Nucor (steel recycling, -11%). The message from Wall Street is that as the economy slows, people won’t be buying iPods, the demand for gasoline will go down as people lose their jobs or just drive less to save money, and since people are consuming less, the need for metals to make new goods goes down as well.
Rather than allow the bad companies to fail and allow the market to correct itself, Washington has decided to get involved under the pretense of “saving the economy.” As has become typical in Washington, they are doing it by spending money. Taxpayer money. Our money. And, like every other form of government “assistance” — welfare, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security — it has only served to make those problems worse, rather than better.
The passage of this bailout bill will pave the way toward centralization of the banks and industry. This is one of the key tenants of Marxism: Karl Marx’s Proposal Number Five argued for the “centralization of credit in the banks of the state, by means of a national bank with state capital and an exclusive monopoly.” After this bailout, what’s next? Bailing out troubled farms? Automakers? Seizure of the energy industry?
All of these bailouts serve not to help the cause of the people, but instead to strip liberties away from us.
What you can do:
- Use The Mailbox to find out the name and contact information of your Representative in the House. Call and tell them to vote “NO”. If the line is busy, you can also fax them. (Be sure to include your name, address, and phone number on the fax.)
- Check the list of Senators who voted “NO” on the bailout bill. Then call your Senator. Thank them if they did vote no. Tell them how you feel about them selling our liberties in exchange for pork if they voted yes.
- All indicators point toward a massive recession or full-blown depression. Take necessary steps with your 401k, IRA, and savings accounts. If possible, move your savings to a credit union rather than a bank. Most people qualify to belong to at least one credit union. The easiest way to find one is to do a Google search for “credit union near 12345″ where you replace 12345 with your zip code. Credit unions are much safer than banks, and typically offer better interest rates.
- As we learned in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, don’t panic. If you need money, by all means take it out of the bank. But if you have money in savings or a Certificate of Deposit, leave the money where it’s at. Without bogging you down with the details, just trust us that this is essential for the future health of the economy. The Great Depression was started by a run on the banks: everyone went to the banks and took their money out, and stuffed it under their mattresses. As a result, banks closed and neither businesses nor people could borrow money, and the economy imploded.
- Put together a series of plans. Sit down with your family and go over the “what if” scenarios. Know in advance what you’re going to do if you lose your job, your spouse loses theirs, or if you both lose your jobs. Decide things such as what unnecessary things get cut (i.e. cable TV, cell phones) and what takes priority. Having plans means less panic if the unthinkable happens.
- Get your financial house in order. Pay down debt, put off unnecessary purchases, and close revolving credit card accounts.
- Stock up. Once your financial house is in order, buy things you know you’ll need — clothes and food — but don’t need right now. This is especially important if you have children who will outgrow their existing clothes.
- Prepare The Fifth Box. Uncertain times are ahead, and it’s better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.