Pork Rind Politics

Have you been watching?


In my previous post I talked about the pork in the latest round of bailouts, not to be confused with the spending, er, I mean "stimulus" plan. I mentioned the TARP 1 in a previous post followed by TARP 2, and to be on the lookout for TARP 3. There's rumor on the hill of a second round of stimulus, arguably the TARP 3 I predicted. Ok, so lets get started.


First, President Obama announced during is his address to the nation that he "just signed a bill with 'no earmarks.'" There was very limited, scattered applause to the statement, but more than that there was clearly a good amount of caterwauling and protest by Republicans in the chamber. But that was a tad disingenuous. In fact it was a bit more than a tad disingenuous.


Why? Well because although there was pork and earmarks in that bill, according to the experts, only 60% of it was sponsored by democrats. They say that the other nearly 40% was sponsored by republicans. So as Shakespeare said, "Methinks thou protesteth too much."

As doctor Phil is fond of saying "It's time to get real here..."

Fox News Channel has offered all politicians with pet projects in the recent legislation to come on their station and defend their earmark. Thus far, only two politicians have taken them up on their offer. Congressman Bennett R-Utah defended the Mormon cricket earmark, and Congresswoman Moore, D-WI defended money to Marquette University to develop a program to convert human waste (excrement) to electrical energy or, "Poop To Power." Catchy, eh? The point is, although there's an open offer, only two have had the guts to defend themselves on air. To all the other politicians out there....... we're waiting. Special note to all the other news media, you might want to enter into the arena of journalism and lend a hand to the disclosure by the remaining politicians that need to make a visit to the confession booth.

Senator Chuck Schumer, D-NY went so far as to say the American people don't care. Click this link so you can here him say it for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEfICUoWKBw


Folks, both democrats and republicans have their hands in the cookie jar here. In fact, it's more than just their hand, they're in all the way up to their elbows. Yet all the while, they're pointing at each other. It's as though they think that if they can yell loud enough about the other guy we'll be oblivious to their own participation in the sham. Put simply, THEY THINK YOU'RE STUPID... Well, are you?

It's nice to see the bump in the stock market, but beware of ANY politician who tries to take credit for anything other than sending it down to the abysmal levels we've seen of late. The subprime mess is still working itself out and although nobody can say for sure, it may have a ways to go before we're out of the woods. For a view of the foxes guarding the hen house, click below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxMInSfanqg&feature=PlayList&p=8B1B870D4C95652C&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=37

Are you angry yet? If you're not, you're either blind, dumb, or dead. Or... like Senator Schumer said, you simply don't care.

If you don't care, don't complain. If you do care, commit yourself to actually doing something about it. Learn more. Click here: http://newamericanteaparty.com

And of course, keep visiting here.

Stay tuned.

The Obama Earmark Generation

For months and months passionate people waved signs and shouted, "Bush Lied! Kids Died!"

The mantra was loud and pervasive. Even those in congress on the Democrat side of the aisle backtracked, backpedalled and started speaking out against the war, even though they were on public record as having supported President Bush and the war in Iraq just weeks before.

Here at American Revolution, we can only sit back and chuckle at the dunderheads in our nation's capital. In Washington, everytime they're about to lie or say the exact opposite of what they said before, they preface their statement with "Let me be clear..." Let me be clear? Why? Weren't you clear before? I guess not... So Washington, what are you saying? Are you saying that we SHOULDN'T listen to you the first time, because we know that you will soon "be clear" and say the opposite of what you just said?

Bush lied, kids died. Ok, if you say so. As they say in court, "I'll stipulate..."

On the flipside, our new President has lied. It's time for a new mantra:

"Obama lied, pork not fried!"

During his campaign, President Obama made a campaign pledge to put a BAN on earmarks. Well, (get ready, wait for it...) "Let me be clear...!"

Obama just did a 180 degree reversal on his pledge. You can search for it on the internet as much as you like, but here's one quick link: http://bulletin.aarp.org/yourworld/politics/articles/obama_backs_off_earmark_pledge.html?CMP=KNC-360I-GOOGLE-BULL&HBX_OU=50&HBX_PK=earmarks

More recently, when questioned about other "changes" in execution of his administrations plans that appeared to be contrary to what he told his adoring masses during his campaign, Obama replied, "That was campaign rhetoric..."

So, I guess that means that politicians, all politicians -- Democrat and Republican, feel it is their perogative to lie during their campaign?

Washington! Listen up! This is exactly what the American people are sick of!

Obama said he would put a ban on earmarks but then signs a bill laden with pork! You sir, are a liar! And so is every other politician who says one thing and does another!

To your chagrin, Washington, there are video recorders, cell phone movies etc. You can no longer say one thing and do another without people being able to produce proof that you lied.

Your sin will be found out. The American people are tired and they are hurting. Like a wounded animal, they will strike back viciously.

Politicians, be on notice: We here in the blogosphere are watching.

Join the American Revolution... Stay tuned.

Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.

Sean Luc Picard, Captain of the Starship Enterprise, sat in his ready-room preparing for his next major crisis when he ordered the computer's food synthesizer to produce his favorite beverage.

"Computer. Tea. Earl Grey. Hot." he commanded. Magically, the computer produced a piping hot cup of tea.

Get ready for another "Tea Party." This one will be more like the famous one that took place in Boston Harbor over two centuries ago.

I told you in my last post this was coming.

I told you that people were getting fed up with the way this government has been behaving as of late. As a reminder, I'm talking about the behavior of BOTH Democrats and Republicans. I told you that a revolution was coming and that people were going to "Get up right now, go to their window, open it, and stick out their heads and yell, 'I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!'" just like they were instructed to do in the movie 'Network.'

Well, they're doing it.

Rick Santelli, longstanding reporter for CNBC performed what is now being crowned The Rant of The Year (and it's only February!). His impromptu performance, which received thunderous applause and approval by the professionals on the trading floor, has been viewed on YouTube over 700,000 times, and will probably surpass 1,000,000 in the next week or so. If you haven't seen it yet, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEZB4taSEoA . Democrats are learning that YouTube can work against you as well... As Rick Santelli said in his rant, "Are you listening President Obama???"

As I predicted, the grassroots movement has started. Recently announced, a new website has been put together to help concerned folks organize and put forth coherent, intelligent protests as to what's going on in this country. Go to http://www.newamericanteaparty.com/ to find out more. We're not talking about whacked out loony protestors that you sometimes see from the far left or the far right. The people are sensible folks from both sides of the aisle; concerned mothers, fathers, teachers and so on.

Folks, its a government of the PEOPLE, by the PEOPLE, and for the PEOPLE. Sadly, in this country over the last few decades it has been the government of the few, by the elite, for themselves. We have to stop behaving like mesmorized lemmings as we watch these career politicians drive this country off the proverbial cliff.

WE elect these people. You cannot elect someone to act on YOUR BEHALF and then blame them if things go to hell in a handbasket. There is the comfort and convenience of being able to blame someone else because it means not taking personal responsibility -- which is something Americans are loathe to do. We have been taught by the media and other sources that things are always someone else's fault. This is why we see lawsuits over spilled hot coffee and the like. The key point however, is that it is suicide. Sitting comfortably in the back seat while you watch your designated driver (politician) drive your car off the cliff provides you with an alibi. You weren't driving, it was someone else's fault. And their could be debate over the fact that you elected the driver, but it's a moot debate: You're dead.

We the PEOPLE need to step back in and take control of this country and stop allowing the very small handfull of politicians to run this country into the ground. As the saying goes, "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem."

Stand up, take a stand, stand by it.

The New American Revolution

There's an old saying that says, "Be careful what you ask for, you just might get it."

Welcome to the new America. Believe it or not, there are nearly 20 States who have initiated or are contemplating the initiation of "States Rights" legislation. There is even talk out there about states seceding from the Union if the government continues its current path of bailouts. If you want to know what all the hubbub is about, read (if you can stomach the experience) the new spending plan released by the current administration. There is also new anti-gun laws afoot (legislation HR 45)... The States are finally getting a look at the details and don't like the contents of this "rushed-through-the-system spending bill" (rushed, because Congress didn't want people to have the ability to see exactly what was thrown into it (be careful to not trip over the kitchen sink -- it's in there too)).

The new mantra is "Failure is not an option..." That becomes much easier now because the government will step in and bail you out. In golf this is called, 'taking a mulligan.' A 'do-over.' "Whoops! My bad! Boy that was terrible! Hey, I'm just gonna take another shot. No harm, no foul, no penalty for my poor performance." That may work on the golf course, and it may work with your kid's Playstation (the 'reset' button gets used frequenlty when they're losing the game), but it doesn't work in life.

Make no mistake, this is a form of socialism. The premise for socialism is that the government decides how your money is going to be spent. Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of the socialist country of England was quoted as saying, "The problem with Socialism is that sooner or later, you run out of everyone else's money." With the trillions of dollars the U.S. government is spending (read: taking from U.S. citizens) to bail out failed businesses, and now even failed individuals who made bad decisions, in essence, bad behavior is being rewarded. Failure is being rewarded. Talk about a cushy exit strategy! 'I can do or attempt anything I want without fear of repurcussion because Uncle Sam will catch me if I fall.' More accurately, the taxpayers do the 'catching' of the fallen, and they do it at the direction and discretion of our elected officials.

Since when did this become acceptable? When did it become OK to simply take money from one group and use it to pay for the mistakes of others? Newsflash: Robin Hood was a myth! Although there is something romantic about taking ill-gotten gains from the unscrupulously rich and returning it to the exploited, it must be understood that the vast majority of the "wealthy" in America did not obtain their riches from exploiting the downtrodden -- they created their wealth from hard work (and in fact, provided jobs for many of the less-fortunate so that they could support themselves and their families). Many of these wealthy took on the risk of failure -- personal risk, risk not borne by anyone else, and perservered through the obstacles and challenges to become succesful. Individuals who achieve this should be rewarded. They fought the good fight and won.

Yet now the government has stepped in and is taking money from the hardworking and is giving it to others. The first round of bailout money, the billions of dollars known as "TARP" ('Troubled Asset Relief Program') was given to financial institutions with little to no federal oversight. Sort of like, "Here ya go, here's some money, we hope you do good things with it." That was my money that was given. That was your money. That was the money of all your friends, neighbors, fellow workers, members of your church and so on. But it doesn't stop there... because of the size of the big giveaway, the cost will also pass on to our children, and probably our children's children as well. Money taken from us by the government and given to others with little to no controls put on it. Sorry but that's not OK with me, and it shouldn't be OK with you either.

The government gave away the TARP money with relatively few conditions. It was intended to rescue banks by helping them get 'toxic assets' off of their balance sheets. The idea was that the TARP money would cover those losses so banks would be willing to continue to lend to qualified borrowers, instead of hoarding new capital to cover future losses from the bad assets. For the record, the banks have taken the money and still aren't lending. Boy, talk about 'double-dipping!' TARP-1 (notice the numbering, there will be more "TARPs" -- be prepared for TARP-2, and possibly TARP-3) was done under a Republican administration. TARP-2 and this new stimulus plan will be done under a Democrat administration. None of this was done in a single piece of legislation. Sorry Republicans, you can't blame President Obama. It wasn't done solely by TARP-1, sorry Democrats, you can't blame President Bush. The point is, nobody can walk away from this with clean hands, except maybe the Libertarian and the Green Parties.

But I digress. When did the redistribution of wealth become acceptable practice? It didn't happen overnight, although it may feel that way simply because a vast majority of Americans are now waking from their slumber to find the country they once knew has changed. With the help of the modern media, this insidious concept has spread over many years! Many times it was veiled under the concept of "fair play" and caring for the needy. Noble concepts to be sure, but not a mandate in the Constitution. The noble and moral decision to contribute to charities has been taken from us and has been placed squarely into the hands of the government via the American taxpayer -- whether the taxpayer likes it or not. And the government-sponsored programs have grown to unbelievable proportions. Not only are we now paying for people who are in this country illegally, we are now paying for people who lied on their mortgage applications to obtain houses they couldn't afford.

Most americans haven't been paying attention. The foundations of what we knew have been chipped away over a long period of time, just as the landscape changes due to the forces of nature. An american indian from 200 years ago, if brought back to life today would look around and not recognize his world, but the changes he would see took place over many years. Just as if the Founding Fathers of this country were alive to see the current state of the U.S. government. They would not recognize what it has become.

The touchy-feely, everyone's a winner mantra that has swept over this country in the past few decades is a lie. Everyone is not a winner. Everyone is not the same. Some are better than others. Imagine what the World Series or the Superbowl would look like if, after the final buzzer sounded, all teams throughout the league walked onto the field to accept the championship trophy? Ridiculous, right? But you can't stop there... What about all the athletes that tried out for the teams but didn't make it? They would get to walk onto the field and revel in the glory that was not theirs -- they didn't even make it into the league. But they're a winner!

As in sports, so goes business. Everyone is not a winner. Businesses fail, even BIG businesses fail. It happens. And like the phoenix, in most cases a new, better solution rises from the ashes. This is how we improve. This is how the free market works. We emerge better and stronger after failure. It's only when the government steps in and manipulates the free market that this natural process of improvement breaks down.

Equality in this country begins and ends with opportunity. We do not have the right to succeed, we have the right to equal opportunity to succeed. It is the God-given right to strive to win, not a guarantee of success.

Everyone is not a winner. But when outside forces manipulate the system to make things equal for all, the entire society is sucked down into the cesspool of mediocrity. No one excels, ingenuity is lost, entrepeneurship is gone. And the whole country goes right down the toilet with it.

Indeed, if the Founding Fathers were alive today, I believe they would gather their muskets and rise up in defiance. Guess what? It's coming.

To this I say, "Welcome to the New American Revolution."

Stay tuned.