Tea Time!

I hope that those of you who live in places where tea parties occurred yesterday had the chance to get out to your local event. I know that I am sort of a hypocrite though, since I didn't go to the one held here in Erie. :-\

What happened at these tea parties is so encouraging to me. It makes me excited about the movement that is arising within our country right now. This movement is being led by people who get up in the morning, go to work and work hard so they can provide for their family, and give half of their hard earned money to our irresponsible and careless government. It is being led by people like you and I who chose to WORK HARD FOR WHAT WE HAVE and WHAT WE WANT. My prayer is that this movement becomes so large and so loud that President Obama will be crushed in 2012, or better yet, will have to resign before his first term is up. THe tide is turning. His honeymoon is definitely over. Reality is kicking in hard and fast for our esteemed leader.

Of course, the liberal media in this country was up to their usual tricks last night. In fact, last place CNN decided to brush yesterday's nationwide protest off as a joke, and thus eroded the last remaining vestiges of their journalistic ability. Take a look at this, on AC360 last night, Anderson Cooper kept making inappropriate jokes about "teabagging" like a 6th grade uber-hormonal school kid:



Here's CNN Reporter Susan Roesgen being a complete donkey to one of the protestors yesterday. She kept cutting him off and finally just completely lost it and signed off the air in disgust:


Here is more analysis of the CNN debacle from yesterday.

Obama the Fearmongerer

Original Post
Well, barring a major and unexpected turn of events, the Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (here's a great site with the breakdown of where the money is going) will be signed into law sometime early this week by President Obama. Unfortunately, the reality of the stimulus package is that while it it might bring some short-term relief to the state of our economy, the long-term ramifications of something this enormous and so hastily thrown together (read: a liberal wish list of things they want while they know they can get the money) are indeed frightening.

What has upset me the most, along with many other Americans I would imagine, is that the president paraded around the country scaring us all into thinking that we had no other choice. He got onto primetime TV and said that another depression was imminent if we chose to do nothing. But here's the deal. I wasn't alive in the 1930's, but we do have data and facts from that time period that allow us a glimpse into the reality of what a depression really was like. And folks, let's just say that we're nowhere near a depression. Not by a long shot.

The Wall Street Journal had a great piece today comparing three different economic downturns. The Great Depression, the recession of 1981-1982, and the recession we're in today. Here's how they broke it down:

JOB LOSSES
Last Year (2008): 3.4 million (2.2% of the work force)
October 1981-November 1982: 2.4 million jobs (2.2% of the work force)
The job losses were fewer in the 1981-1982 recession, but the work force was smaller than it is today. Thus the reason for the same percentage.
Job losses during the Great Depression (by percentage of total labor force who lost jobs) 1930: 4.8% / 1931: 6.5% / 1932: 7.1%

U.S. UNEMPLOYMENT
As of January 2009: 7.6%
At it's peak in 1982: 10.8%
At it's peak in 1932: 25.2%
Call me crazy, but last month's 7.6% doesn't even compare to 1982's numbers, let alone the numbers in 1932 during the height of the Great Depression.

GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP)
2008: The GDP actually rose last year (despite a really bad 4th quarter); however, the Congressional Budget Office predicts a decline of 2% in 2009.
1982: Declined by 1.9%
1932: Declined by 13%
1931: Declined by 8%
1930: Declined by 9%
Once again, it is obvious that the numbers from today are comparable to the 1981-1982 recession, but they are nowhere close to what they were during the Great Depression.

OTHER NUMBERS

Auto Production
2008: Declined by 25%
1932: Declined by 90%

Bank Failures
2008: 24
1987-1988: 3,000
1933: 10,000
24 compared to 3,000 or 10,000. Seriously??

It is clear from these numbers that, while the current recession is bad - and there's no denying that there are people who are hurting from the downturn - there just is no comparsion to the Great Depression. If anything, the recession of 1981-1982 is more of a bellwether to the current recession than anything else, ESPECIALLY the Great Depression.

What Obama is doing is fearmongering. He and the media that worship and adore him have been able to scare hard-working Americans into a panicked frenzy. By using comparisons of our current struggle to the Great Depression, Obama has not only thrown historical accuracy out the window, he has created a political bombshell that is disguised as a necessary component to our economic recovery. Without it, he says, America may never recover.

It may sound good and noble to those that think that Obama can do no wrong, but the truth is that this "recovery" will be paid for dearly by our kids and grandkids.

I sure hope Nancy Pelosi is enjoying her time in Rome.

Obama & Pelosi MUST be defeated

I get a little more sick every time I think about the "spendulus" package that could be signed into law in mere days. However, I have not lost hope that there are some out there -- even Democrats -- who will stand up against this dangerously foolish package.

Case in point: Rep. Walt Minnick, a freshman Democrat Congressman from Idaho, has proposed an alternate and very reasonable plan to what is currently being sold to us as "necessary for the survival of our country". He is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, which is a group of moderate and occasionally conservative Democrats. Basically, he is proposing a plan called START (The Strategic Targeted American Recovery and Transition Act). The plan calls for a "bare bones" pure stimulus deal of $170 billion that will put $100 billion immediately into the pockets of low to middle income Americans and then use the remaining $70 billion for basic infrastructure projects that create jobs. The best part? START would require any funds that go unused by 2010 be returned to the treasury. Quite a difference from the current plan, which says that once enacted, it cannot be undone. That's downright scary considering that there is no guarantee that it will even work.

Why have I not lost hope? Because this plan was proposed by a Democrat. Minnick was one of eleven House Democrats who voted against Obama & Pelosi's stimulus. We really only need either a couple Dems to vote no, or get the 3 rogue Republicans (including PA's own Senator Specter) who sided with the Dems to switch back. I think it's possible, considering that there are Democrats who don't support the plan....not to mention that public support for the stimulus package is collapsing.

We have got to find an alternative way to get the economy moving again...and I know that we can AND MUST do it without burdening future generations with the $1 trillion in debt that this stimulus package will place on their shoulders.

WHAT CAN YOU AND I DO?

• Read the stimulus bill here. Find out what you, your kids, your grandkids, and your great-grandkids will be paying for.


• Contact Idaho Rep. Walt Minnick and voice your support for his alternative plan at (202) 225-6611 or email.


• Contact one of the three Republican Senators who voted for the stimulus and let them know that you do not support their decision: Susan Collins of Maine (202) 224-2523 or email / Olympia Snowe of Maine (202) 224-5344 or email / Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania (202) 224-4254 or email


• DO NOT GIVE UP. This fight is not over. Keep fighting for America! We can do this!

Don't let anyone convince you that this fight is over. If this fight was over, President Obama would not be traversing the country trying to tell us ordinary Americans that this is the right thing to do. They are scared. They know that they can still be defeated. And by God, I hope they are.

Obama's Legacy?

This is Pastor John Piper speaking last weekend in response to President Obama's heartbreakingly disappointing actions last week on the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
[via Desiring God].

Be Courageous, Mr. President:

A post-racial America?

I promised myself that I wouldn't get overly political on my new blog...but man...today was a doozy of a day and I just HAVE to talk about some of it.

With the election of Barack Obama, many people have declared that the end of racial division in America is here. Well, this video proves that not everybody thinks that this is the case. This video was taken at an event that took place at a club in Washington, DC on inauguration night. The voices you hear are from rappers "Jay-Z" and "Young Jeezy" who were "performing" at a celebration for the new president:

Please be warned that this video is extremely offensive:


Seriously? This is how they chose to celebrate the inauguration of a new president? This is downright pathetic.

And in other political news...Obama has signed an executive order to close down Gitmo. That, in and of itself, is a very controversial move. That aside, though, the obvious question then becomes: what does Obama suggest we do with all the detainees? Well, our favorite Congressman from Southwest PA, Jack Murtha, has signaled that the Gitmo detainees will be welcomed with open arms to western Pennsylvania. He says that we "could use the jobs a new prison would create". In addition, a new prison would provide a "round-the-clock operation". I'm sorry, but can somebody tell me how this bafoon keeps getting reelected? Seriously. Anyone?

I also found this video (sorry) that I wanted to share. I found it very timely, considering that our new president didn't waste any time in helping the abortion industry out:


It's only Day 2 of the new administration and I already find myself counting down the days until 2012*.

*1,384 days until Tuesday, November 6, 2012 -- Election Day

Hey Obama & Co: Are you hearing this??

CNN recently ran a piece by Lou Dobbs suggesting that there is a growing body of evidence that the earth is actually cooling, not warming. CNN is the last place I ever thought I'd see a story questioning the supposed settled science of "climate change".

Good for Lou, and good for CNN for allowing this piece to air. It would do well for President Obama and his team to research both sides of the issue before they go and legislate us all into green oblivion.






Also, I've posted this before, but I think it's hilarious. The Warm List: things caused by global warming.

Obama: Elected by the "media"?

Look, I don't mean to start controversy...but anyone who didn't have their head in the sand during the last election cycle knows that the media was dangerously biased and slanted towards Obama. Trust me: biased and slanted are the two kindest words I could come up with to describe what I think was the absolute most outrageous and vicious reporting to ever occur during an election year.

Imagine my delight this morning when I discovered that a documentary was in the works highlighting how the media, in so many ways, allowed Obama to win the election (nor would they stop at anything to make sure it happened like that). Media Malpractice will hopefully shed some light on the 2008 election cycle and why 2008 truly was the year that the media died in the United States of America.

Here's a quick excerpt featuring the filmmaker's interview with Sarah Palin (and here's what he had to say about it...a very interesting read). I love what she says about Katie Couric!









(HT: drudge)

My Thoughts

Undoubtedly, half of the country is waking up this Wednesday feeling let down, while the other half is jumping with joy with what an Obama presidency could mean to our country. As I watched the returns come in last night and I began to realize that there was no way that McCain could catch up to Obama's impressive road to victory, I found myself strangely calm in the midst of all that was happening.

Deep down, I am sure that most McCain supporters realized some time ago that it was a long shot at best that our guy would ultimately win the prize. And so we began the internal process of dealing with it and accepting it and wondering what it would be like in this new era of American history that began last night. It was a process that I think helped me deal with accepting the reality of what I believe is a less than ideal situation for our nation.

Like many of you, I watched McCain's concession speech. Full of class and integrity, my heart overflowed with gratitude for his service to our country and the campaign he ran. Let's face it: for all he had going against him over the last few months, he sure ran a close race right down to the finish line. Several minutes later, when Obama and his family walked on the stage, a whole new set of emotions set in.

I realized at that moment, that this truly was a defining moment in our history. We witnessed a moment that our grandchildren and our grandchildrens' children will learn about in school many years from now. We witnessed the American dream in it's most beautiful form: that, in the United States of America, anybody really could be anything they wanted to be.

I thought about what this election will teach our children and what it will show the world. I thought about how incredible this country is that something like this can happen. I felt overwhelming sadness for those living under regimes that will never allow them to know what it is like to participate in a free and democratic election. I felt so incredibly blessed to be an American.

All this to say that I believe this man has done a great job at brainwashing all of his supporters into believing he is some sort of messianic figure that will usher in peace, prosperity, and unity beyond our wildest dreams.

Although I may not have voted for Barack Obama, and I certainly disagree with him on just about every issue there is, he is going to be my President and I will pray for him. I will pray that his heart will be softened towards issues that I care so deeply about -- and ones that I believe God does as well. There's no escaping the fact that Obama will be the most pro-abortion president in history and I don't hesitate for one moment before I say that I believe he is leading us down the road to socialism. I maintain my belief that he is a dangerous man of whom we know frighteningly little about. No moment, no matter how historic, can trump the genuine concerns that so many of us have about this undeniably mysterious man that will -- in 11 short weeks -- be the most powerful man in the world. But he is who we have chosen and it is something we are going to have to accept. We exercised the greatest gift of democracy yesterday...and the beautiful thing about democracy is that we get to do it again in four years.

Four years may be a long time to wait. Much damage may be done by then. But for the sake of this great country, I hope and pray that he proves me wrong.

In the end, Jesus is still King and every person is personally accountable to a holy and righteous God. God's will WILL prevail. He is all we need.

We're gonna be okay. I promise.

My Wife Was Right

Danielle has told me over and over again that I am addicted to the news. While I never really disagreed, I shrugged her off and said, "meh". But this morning, as I clicked through my daily list of sites that I visit for up-to-the-second coverage of Campaign '08, I couldn't help feeling that perhaps she was right. After all, I found it a little odd that, as I was reading, I felt myself getting a little noxious. Three different times, I felt my eyes well up with tears. And then I realized something. I realized that I am dreading Wednesday morning. What will I be feeling? What will I do in the event that things don't go well? The way things are right now in this country, half the country will be rejoicing and half the country will be dejected. I am rather afraid that I may be in the latter group, yet I cling to the hope that the polls are wrong.

It is difficult for me not to feel such emotion when it comes to politics. Of course, I trust God and I know that His dominion over all of us transcends any nations' petty politics. But I also know that while we are here on earth, the quality of life we enjoy is a direct result of the leaders that we elect. So it is hard for me not to be genuinely concerned that we may be on the verge of electing a man as dangerous as Barack Obama. Do we even know who he is? Not in the least. Do those who are voting for him even care who he is? Many, if not most, don't. Has the media done its job letting the American people know who and what this man stands for? HA! Don't even get me started. Does Barack Obama want to lead this nation or does he simply want to be President? There is a difference, and I think we all know the answer.

After what has seemed like an eternity, tomorrow is the day we've all been waiting for. Tomorrow, go out and vote. Before you do, however, I urge you to KNOW WHO AND WHAT YOU ARE VOTING FOR.

Millions of precious lives who have no say in matters having to do with whether they ever see the light of day or not. THREE supreme court appointments. Two wars waiting to be won. A dangerously and dramatically reduced defense budget. The possibility that my hard earned money may be redistributed against my will. Free trade. Nuclear proliferation. Tax increases that will stun everybody. A lopsided government that will be run by a single party (read: A LIBERAL SUPERMAJORITY). A much much much bigger government. Unfair and irresponsible legislation based on the myth of climate change. And the list goes on...

Do you see what is at stake tomorrow?



Now, I leave you with this (via Mrs.P):

A LETTER WORTH READING...

An impassioned letter from a "nobody". But he gives his telephone number at the end.

Sent: Monday, August 18, 2008 3:19 PM

A letter from Illinois

Dear Fellow American:

My name is Joe Porter. I live in Champaign , Illinois. I'm 46 years old, a husband, a father, a small business owner, a veteran, and a homeowner. I don't consider myself to be either conservative or liberal, and I vote for the person, not Republican or Democrat.

I don't believe there are "two Americas" but that every person in this country can be whomever and whatever they want to be if they'll just work to get there and nowhere else on earth can they find such opportunities. I believe our government should help those who are legitimately downtrodden, and should always put the interests of America first.

The purpose of this message is that I'm concerned about the future of this great nation. I'm worried that the silent majority of honest, hard-working, tax-paying people in this country have been passive for too long.

Most folks I know choose not to involve themselves in politics. They go about their daily lives, paying their bills, raising their kids, and doing what they can to maintain the good life. They vote and consider doing so to be a sacred trust. They shake their heads at the political pundits and so-called "news", thinking that what they hear is always spun by whomever is reporting it. They can't understand how elected officials canregularly violate the public trust with pork barrel spending. They don't want government handouts. They want the government to protect them, not raise their taxes for more government programs.

We are in the unique position in this country of electing our leaders. It's a privilege to do so. I've never found a candidate in any election with whom I agreed on everything. I'll wager that most of us don't evenagree with our families or spouses 100% of the time. So when I step into that voting booth, I always try to look at the big picture and cast my vote for the man or woman who is best qualified for the job.

I've hired a lot of people in my lifetime, and essentially that's what an election is - a hiring process. Who has the credentials? Whom do I want working for me? Whom can I trust to do the job right?

I'm concerned that a growing number of voters in this country simply don't get it. They are caught up in a fervor they can't explain, and calling it "change".

"Change what?", I ask.

"Well, we're going to change America", they say.

"In what way?", I query.

"We want someone new and fresh in the White House", they exclaim.

"So, someone who's not a politician?", I say.

"Uh, well, no, we just want a lot of stuff changed, so we're voting for Obama", they state.

"So the current system, the system of freedom and democracy that has enabled a man to grow up in this great country, get a fine education, raise incredible amounts of money and dominate the news, and win his party's nomination for the White House that system's all wrong?"

"No, no, that part of the system's okay we just need a lot of change."

And so it goes. "Change we can believe in."

Quite frankly, I don't believe that vague proclamations of change hold any promise for me.

In recent months, I've been asking virtually everyone I encounter how they're voting. I live in Illinois , so most folks tell me they're voting for Barack Obama. But no one can really tell me why, only that he's going to change a lot of stuff. "Change, change, change." I have yet to find one single person who can tell me distinctly and convincingly why this man is qualified to be President and Commander-in- Chief of themost powerful nation on earth other than the fact that he claims he's going to implement a lot of change.

We've all seen the emails about Obama's genealogy, his upbringing, his Muslim background, and his church affiliations.

Let's ignore this for a moment. Put it all aside. Then ask yourself, "What qualifies this man to be mypresident? That he's a brilliant orator and talks about change?"

CHANGE WHAT?

I'll be forthright with you I believe the American voters who are supporting Barack Obama don't have a clue what they're doing, as evidenced by the fact that not one of them - NOT ONE of them I've spoken to can spell out his qualifications. Not even the most liberal media can explain why he should be elected.

Political experience? Negligible. Foreign relations? Non-existent. Achievements? Name one. Someone who wants to unite the country? If you haven't read his wife's thesis from Princeton , look it up on the web. This is who's lining up to be our next First Lady? The only thing I can glean from Obama's constant harping about change is that we're in for a lot of new taxes.

For me, the choice is clear. I've looked carefully at the two leading applicants for the job, and I've made my choice.

Here's a question - "Where were you five and a half years ago? Around Christmas, 2002. You've had five or six birthdays in that time. My son has grown from a sixth grade child to a high school graduate. Five and a half years is a good chunk of time. About 2,000 days. 2,000 nights of sleep. 6, 000 meals, give or take."

John McCain spent that amount of time, from 1967 to 1973, in a North Vietnamese prisoner-of- war camp.

When offered early release, he refused it. He considered this offer to be a public relations stunt by his captors, and insisted that those held longer than he should be released first. Did you get that part? He wasoffered his freedom, and he turned it down. A regimen of beatings and torture began.

Do you possess such strength of character? Locked in a filthy cell in a foreign country, would you turn down your own freedom in favor of your fellow man? I submit that's a quality of character that is rarely found, and for me, this singular act defines John McCain.

Unlike several presidential candidates in recent years whose military service is questionable or non-existent, you will not find anyone to denigrate the integrity and moral courage of this man.

A graduate of Annapolis, during his Naval service he received the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross. His own son is now serving in the Marine Corps in Iraq.

Barack Obama is fond of saying "We honor John McCain's service...BUT. ..", which to me iscondescending and offensive - because what I hear is, "Let's forget this man's sacrifice for his country, and his proven leadership abilities, and talk some more about change."

I don't agree with John McCain on everything - but I am utterly convinced that he is qualified to be our next President, and I trust him to do what's right. I know in my heart that he has the best interests of ourcountry in mind. He doesn't simply want to be President - he wants to lead America, and there's a huge difference.

Factually, there is simply no comparison between the two candidates. A man of questionable background and motives who prattles on about change, can't hold a candle to a man who has devoted his life in public service to this nation, retiring from the Navy in1981 and elected to the Senate in1982.

Perhaps Obama's supporters are taking a stance between old and new. Maybe they don't care about McCain's service or his strength of character, or his unblemished qualifications to be President. Maybe"likeability" is a higher priority for them than "trust". Being a prisoner of war is not what qualifies John McCain to be President of the United States of America - but his demonstrated leadership certainly DOES.

It is time for us to stand. It is time for thinking Americans to say, "Enough." It is time for people of all parties to stop following the party line.

It is time for anyone who wants to keep America first, who wants the right man leading their nation, to start a dialogue with all their friends and neighbors and ask who they're voting for, and why.

There's a lot of evil in this world. That should be readily apparent to all of us by now. And when faced with that evil as we are now, I want a man who knows the cost of war on his troops and on his citizens. I want a man who puts my family's interests before any foreign country.

I want a President who's qualified to lead.

I want my country back, and I'm voting for John McCain.

Phone: 760.434.1395
E-mail: ronald.hess@alumni.purdue.edu

2008: The Year the Media Died

There is a myriad of things I can/should blog about, but I'm not going to today. Instead, I want to leave you with a cartoon I saw yesterday in the paper. It summarizes uber-accurately the uber-obvious media bias that exists in this country:





















Who cares about Obama's past. Who cares about Joe Biden's past. Who cares who they associate with. Who cares that Obama is a socialist. The REAL danger to America is somebody like Joe the Plumber who...gasp, can you imagine...questions the Messiah on an issue that A LOT of people are wondering about but the media is totally and knowingly and happily ignoring?

When will people wake up and realize what danger looks like when it is staring us in the face?

What the heck is going on?

I admit that I don't truly understand the financial crisis that is unfolding before our eyes. I don't own any stock, we have no investments, and everything we do is done with cash. But I am not stupid enough to believe for one second that America's greed and lust for money has a lot - if not everything - to do with it. When the pundits talk about whether this could be another great depression, I have to admit that it frightens me a little (although - technically, we're not even in a recession yet. For that, don't we need two quarters of negative growth..and we haven't even had one yet?).

The following is an analysis of the situation written by Ron Paul. It is from his blog, Campaign for Liberty (hat tip to this friend for the initial find). My interest in what he had to say began about a year ago when he was campaigning for president. Although he did not get very far in his bid for the Republican nomination, he made made a lot of people think about the way things are. For me, it was the first time I ever thought about what being a true conservative meant. Although I would love to ask you to write him in, I cannot do that, for giving a vote to Ron Paul is basically the same as giving a vote to Obama. And I cannot, in good conscience, be responsible for a single extra vote that Obama will receive in three weeks.

That said, grab a cup of tea, some biscuits, and put on some Nickel Creek (it's a long read):

Something Big is Going On
Taken from : http://www.campaignforliberty.com/

The following statement is written by Congressman Paul about the pending financial disaster. He will introduce this statement as a special order and insert it into the Congressional Record next week. Fortunately, we have the opportunity to debut it first on the Campaign for Liberty blog. It reads as follows:

I have, for the past 35 years, expressed my grave concern for the future of America. The course we have taken over the past century has threatened our liberties, security and prosperity. In spite of these long-held concerns, I have days—growing more frequent all the time—when I'm convinced the time is now upon us that some Big Events are about to occur. These fast-approaching events will not go unnoticed. They will affect all of us. They will not be limited to just some areas of our country. The world economy and political system will share in the chaos about to be unleashed.

Though the world has long suffered from the senselessness of wars that should have been avoided, my greatest fear is that the course on which we find ourselves will bring even greater conflict and economic suffering to the innocent people of the world—unless we quickly change our ways.

America, with her traditions of free markets and property rights, led the way toward great wealth and progress throughout the world as well as at home. Since we have lost our confidence in the principles of liberty, self reliance, hard work and frugality, and instead took on empire building, financed through inflation and debt, all this has changed. This is indeed frightening and an historic event.

The problem we face is not new in history. Authoritarianism has been around a long time. For centuries, inflation and debt have been used by tyrants to hold power, promote aggression, and provide "bread and circuses" for the people. The notion that a country can afford "guns and butter" with no significant penalty existed even before the 1960s when it became a popular slogan. It was then, though, we were told the Vietnam War and a massive expansion of the welfare state were not problems. The seventies proved that assumption wrong.

Today things are different from even ancient times or the 1970s. There is something to the argument that we are now a global economy. The world has more people and is more integrated due to modern technology, communications, and travel. If modern technology had been used to promote the ideas of liberty, free markets, sound money and trade, it would have ushered in a new golden age—a globalism we could accept.

Instead, the wealth and freedom we now enjoy are shrinking and rest upon a fragile philosophic infrastructure. It is not unlike the levies and bridges in our own country that our system of war and welfare has caused us to ignore.

I'm fearful that my concerns have been legitimate and may even be worse than I first thought. They are now at our doorstep. Time is short for making a course correction before this grand experiment in liberty goes into deep hibernation.

There are reasons to believe this coming crisis is different and bigger than the world has ever experienced. Instead of using globalism in a positive fashion, it's been used to globalize all of the mistakes of the politicians, bureaucrats and central bankers.

Being an unchallenged sole superpower was never accepted by us with a sense of humility and respect. Our arrogance and aggressiveness have been used to promote a world empire backed by the most powerful army of history. This type of globalist intervention creates problems for all citizens of the world and fails to contribute to the well-being of the world's populations. Just think how our personal liberties have been trashed here at home in the last decade.

The financial crisis, still in its early stages, is apparent to everyone: gasoline prices over $4 a gallon; skyrocketing education and medical-care costs; the collapse of the housing bubble; the bursting of the NASDAQ bubble; stockmarkets plunging; unemployment rising;, massive underemployment; excessive government debt; and unmanageable personal debt. Little doubt exists as to whether we'll get stagflation. The question that will soon be asked is: When will the stagflation become an inflationary depression?

There are various reasons that the world economy has been globalized and the problems we face are worldwide. We cannot understand what we're facing without understanding fiat money and the long-developing dollar bubble.

There were several stages. From the inception of the Federal Reserve System in 1913 to 1933, the Central Bank established itself as the official dollar manager. By 1933, Americans could no longer own gold, thus removing restraint on the Federal Reserve to inflate for war and welfare.

By 1945, further restraints were removed by creating the Bretton-Woods Monetary System making the dollar the reserve currency of the world. This system lasted up until 1971. During the period between 1945 and 1971, some restraints on the Fed remained in place. Foreigners, but not Americans, could convert dollars to gold at $35 an ounce. Due to the excessive dollars being created, that system came to an end in 1971.

It's the post Bretton-Woods system that was responsible for globalizing inflation and markets and for generating a gigantic worldwide dollar bubble. That bubble is now bursting, and we're seeing what it's like to suffer the consequences of the many previous economic errors.

Ironically in these past 35 years, we have benefited from this very flawed system. Because the world accepted dollars as if they were gold, we only had to counterfeit more dollars, spend them overseas (indirectly encouraging our jobs to go overseas as well) and enjoy unearned prosperity. Those who took our dollars and gave us goods and services were only too anxious to loan those dollars back to us. This allowed us to export our inflation and delay the consequences we now are starting to see.

But it was never destined to last, and now we have to pay the piper. Our huge foreign debt must be paid or liquidated. Our entitlements are coming due just as the world has become more reluctant to hold dollars. The consequence of that decision is price inflation in this country—and that's what we are witnessing today. Already price inflation overseas is even higher than here at home as a consequence of foreign central bank's willingness to monetize our debt.

Printing dollars over long periods of time may not immediately push prices up–yet in time it always does. Now we're seeing catch-up for past inflating of the monetary supply. As bad as it is today with $4 a gallon gasoline, this is just the beginning. It's a gross distraction to hound away at "drill, drill, drill" as a solution to the dollar crisis and high gasoline prices. Its okay to let the market increase supplies and drill, but that issue is a gross distraction from the sins of deficits and Federal Reserve monetary shenanigans.

This bubble is different and bigger for another reason. The central banks of the world secretly collude to centrally plan the world economy. I'm convinced that agreements among central banks to "monetize" U.S. debt these past 15 years have existed, although secretly and out of the reach of any oversight of anyone—especially the U.S. Congress that doesn't care, or just flat doesn't understand. As this "gift" to us comes to an end, our problems worsen. The central banks and the various governments are very powerful, but eventually the markets overwhelm when the people who get stuck holding the bag (of bad dollars) catch on and spend the dollars into the economy with emotional zeal, thus igniting inflationary fever.

This time—since there are so many dollars and so many countries involved—the Fed has been able to "paper" over every approaching crisis for the past 15 years, especially with Alan Greenspan as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, which has allowed the bubble to become history's greatest.

The mistakes made with excessive credit at artificially low rates are huge, and the market is demanding a correction. This involves excessive debt, misdirected investments, over-investments, and all the other problems caused by the government when spending the money they should never have had. Foreign militarism, welfare handouts and $80 trillion entitlement promises are all coming to an end. We don't have the money or the wealth-creating capacity to catch up and care for all the needs that now exist because we rejected the market economy, sound money, self reliance and the principles of liberty.

Since the correction of all this misallocation of resources is necessary and must come, one can look for some good that may come as this "Big Even" unfolds.

There are two choices that people can make. The one choice that is unavailable to us is to limp along with the status quo and prop up the system with more debt, inflation and lies. That won't happen.

One of the two choices, and the one chosen so often by government in the past is that of rejecting the principles of liberty and resorting to even bigger and more authoritarian government. Some argue that giving dictatorial powers to the President, just as we have allowed him to run the American empire, is what we should do. That's the great danger, and in this post-911 atmosphere, too many Americans are seeking safety over freedom. We have already lost too many of our personal liberties already. Real fear of economic collapse could prompt central planners to act to such a degree that the New Deal of the 30's might look like Jefferson's Declaration of Independence.

The more the government is allowed to do in taking over and running the economy, the deeper the depression gets and the longer it lasts. That was the story of the 30ss and the early 40s, and the same mistakes are likely to be made again if we do not wake up.

But the good news is that it need not be so bad if we do the right thing. I saw "Something Big" happening in the past 18 months on the campaign trail. I was encouraged that we are capable of waking up and doing the right thing. I have literally met thousands of high school and college kids who are quite willing to accept the challenge and responsibility of a free society and reject the cradle-to-grave welfare that is promised them by so many do-good politicians.

If more hear the message of liberty, more will join in this effort. The failure of our foreign policy, welfare system, and monetary policies and virtually all government solutions are so readily apparent, it doesn't take that much convincing. But the positive message of how freedom works and why it's possible is what is urgently needed.

One of the best parts of accepting self reliance in a free society is that true personal satisfaction with one's own life can be achieved. This doesn't happen when the government assumes the role of guardian, parent or provider, because it eliminates a sense of pride. But the real problem is the government can't provide the safety and economic security that it claims. The so-called good that government claims it can deliver is always achieved at the expense of someone else's freedom. It's a failed system and the young people know it.

Restoring a free society doesn't eliminate the need to get our house in order and to pay for the extravagant spending. But the pain would not be long-lasting if we did the right things, and best of all the empire would have to end for financial reasons. Our wars would stop, the attack on civil liberties would cease, and prosperity would return. The choices are clear: it shouldn't be difficult, but the big event now unfolding gives us a great opportunity to reverse the tide and resume the truly great American Revolution started in 1776. Opportunity knocks in spite of the urgency and the dangers we face.

Let's make "Something Big is Happening" be the discovery that freedom works and is popular and the big economic and political event we're witnessing is a blessing in disguise.

I'm pretty sure this:

is absolutely brilliant.

Well done, McCain. Well done.