I have been so deathly ill for the past 2 days worrying about the finances I need to restart the trailer renovations in the evenings I tried with diligence to get my mind off the problem and chat on the computer about politics and anything else that came up.
A friend in Kansas sent me a link for a book titled "Simple Truths" so I borrowed the title because no two words more clearly described my thoughts for today.
Because of my own situation the state of the economy today is more important than ever before in my life. I have reached a conclusion that America needs simple truths so that "we the people" can prepare. Never before has truth been more important, for we are in seriously perilous times.
I see a lot of changes in the American conservative movement within the 40 years I have resided in the United States. It has leaned "left" then "right" ... it's lost it's way and found it again. Ideals are fluid unless they are grounded in scripture. It's the way of the world we must watch for.
But not in 40 years have I ever seen the level of "heartlessness," lack of caring, compassion, scriptural grounds present within some conservatives today. I have seen conservatives act as though they need rabies shots.
For conservative Christians this is dangerous ground, and I don't know if it's restricted to Ruidoso (Lincoln County) or if it's nationwide.
But cold callous heartlessness and ARROGANT seems to be a prevailing emotion, at a time when the conservatives need to be showing the Grace of God. I am becoming very disillusioned and depressed with what I hear come out of the mouths of conservatives.
When people have anonymity you see the "true" person. You see the heart shed of propriety and social graces. Good or bad, you see the person as naked as the day they were born.
Because of my own situation I don't have much anonymity. Almost everything leads back to this blog. So when I started discussing politics on *Topix I responded to one poster who wrote:
Over thirty-five years ago I was involved in a political round-table discussion with some heavyweight talking heads. One Mormon in the crowd had the temerity to suggest, "Watch out for the Zionist bankers and their desire to infiltrate and control our government." I've never been a big fan of the Mormon faith, but former Governor of Utah, Jon Huntsman is a formidable force on the presidential election horizon who has even Sarah Palin AND Mitt Romney quaking in their shoes. He has unsurpassed experience in working in the Chinese financial markets, having lived there for many years. He may be our best bet for wresting control of our money away from the banksters and back into solid control by American patriots.By that post I think it's safe to say that this person wanted us to believe that he is politically connected. And perhaps he is. It DOES say that he/she ( and I suspect it was "he") was involved in a "political round table discussion with some heavyweight talking heads. Politically connected in Ruidoso?
But he seems to have forgotten all about the debt America owes China. So I responded:
I think you may be a wee bit late in trying to find anyone who can work with the Chinese. Last time I heard they metaphorically own America lock, stock & barrel, and are now working on becoming the financial backers for the EU.
And if you think that the Chinese government is not shaking the tree in both congress and the senate you are sadly mistaken.
What is really strange about this Chinese connection is that about a month or so ago a segment of the Australian internet was interfered with (shut down) and the Australian government immediately turned to look at America. The American government certainly was involved, in that there can be no doubt.
The Aussies decided to explore legal action against the USA but when the source was researched it went back to..
.... CHINA.
It's really hard to figure out who is the puppet and who is the puppeteer, but I wouldn't be in the least surprised if China is now the puppeteer. You don't owe trillions to China without something in return. Like your first born. ;)
Which is not a real comfortable feeling because China WILL manipulate the market until the Chinese economy is far larger than that of the USA - which HAS been happening for the past few years. And it won't be stopped by negotiations. It will be stopped by paying the debt. Fast.
The following responses are simply priceless:
I've just been informed that you are not American. Is this true? For the purpose of trying to follow your political theories and comments about America and American/New Mexico politics, I do think proof of your citizenship is relevant.Followed by:
It's a rhetorical question to Ms. Bundy, Cope. I'd like to know if she is a U.S. citizen who can even vote in our elections.
As for Rupert Murdoch, we know his citizenship status. He is an American. He registered to vote in 2008, I believe. Is Bundy registered to vote? I hope so, since she has roundly castigated the entire New Mexico judicial system; secondarily, her own websites attest to the fact that she has not managed her own affairs very well, something to take into consideration when she offers up opinions about our politics.
I don't tolerate folks living here who are not citizens throwing their weight around in discussions such as this. As long as Bundy calls herself British and not American (which she has in several writings), I will dismiss her and her comments.
I see a great future for America. I am not fatalistic about my beloved country, as is Ms. Bundy. Perhaps she should return to her beloved England since she has so much contempt for our political system, our judicial system, and the quality (?) of life she has brought upon herself.
Contrary to Bundy's flippant remarks, we Americans are not "a wee bit late" in selecting the best prospect for our president in 2012. Great care is being exercised all over this land to find the best leadership we can to see us up from, out of and beyond our current depression. Jon Huntsman appears to be a great prospect...and given his Mormon upbringing, I'm sure he'll see to it that no "firstborn children" of anybody will ever be given over to China, male or female.(What a ridiculous comment from Bundy, but consider the source.)
Followed by:
You lie, Denise Auchmoedy-Bundy. Did you forget you wrote this on your blogspot, "How can the State of New Mexico justify leaving victims homeless while Huckins has a home AND separate land? If the system is so good why doesn't the State of New Mexico pay the restitution (to me) and collect the monthly payments from him?" And this, "...our judicial system, those sworn to protect and serve the good citizens of Lincoln County did...NOTHING." And you "Goodbye, Judicial System" screed is also laced with vitriol for our elected court officials, appointed judges, attorneys and anybody else working within the U.S. system of jurisprudence.This level of spitting venom has become the absolute normal for a people who both deny reality and attack anyone in their path. No different than the Wikileaks documents that showed a level of arrogance rarely found in human beings, let alone human beings that believe in, "In God We Trust."
As I said before, your comments must be dismissed. You are not credible and apparently you are not a U.S. citizen. Was it okay for Texans to be involved in our most-recent campaign here in N.M.? No. I see a parallel here: it's not okay for people who are not U.S. citizens to be involved in shaping our political decisions on a national OR local level.
http://www.topix.net/forum/source/ruidoso-news/T0I4AQJ6UNTQ88ER9/p2
Cruel, malicious and in denial it's easier to beat someone into the ground than act like a civil and civilized human being.
Is this JUST Ruidoso or is the rest of the country suffering the same level of meanness because it will not serve America in the days to come. I wonder IF Jon Huntsman knew what KIND of supporters he HAS... so I contacted him to find out.
It doesn't take rocket science to know that America is in serious trouble. And clearly getting honest and honorable representation must be a prerequisite to any restoration. I believe that we have been lied to one too many times, and voters have made decisions based upon that deception. Never before has America faced the financial ruin it now faces, "truth" isn't an option anymore. Denial isn't an option.
But what do I know? Because I was born in Britain I am clearly a criminal because I "allowed" someone - who happened to be an AMERICAN - to steal my mothers money.
I have the sheer audacity to expect "justice?" How dare I?
And..I go further by expecting the First Amendment to APPLY TO ME?
What does that make all the other victims of Robert Huckins during his 10+ year criminal spree, victims like the Domestic Violence Shelter (H.E.A.L) and the City of Ruidoso Downs, amongst many?
The mere thought that the poster, whoever he is, may be politically connected here in Ruidoso makes my blood run cold.. the right has lost it's ever loving mind. Lord help us all.Economic dependence: The United States finished 2009 with a debt-to-GDP ratio of 85%, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The current trend projects the United States to finish 2010 at 94% and 2011 at 98%. The 90% level has become the IMF's make-or-break point for countries hoping to grow their way out of debt. If the government debt load climbs above 90% of GDP, economic growth slows so much that growth is no longer a viable solution for reducing that debt, and the IMF insists on austerity measures. Surpassing this debt threshold has also caused China's lead credit rating agency to cut America's credit rating.
In July 2010 Moody’s Investors Service, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings couldn't be happy.The world’s credit-rating giants got scooped on the biggest rating decision: whether to strip the U.S. of AAA status. Worse, the U.S. was downgraded by a company that few people have ever heard of, and a Chinese one at that.
While Moody’s and S&P ignore the wreckage that America’s finances have become, Beijing-based Dagong Global Credit Rating Co. is uncorrupted by the system that enables developed-world debt addicts to appear fiscally clean. It rates U.S. debt AA, two levels below the top grade.
Failing infrastructure: As 46 of 50 states are on the verge of bankruptcy.
Devalued currency: The value of the Federal Reserve Note (U.S. dollar) has declined 96% since the inception of the Federal Reserve in 1913. The value of the dollar is based on its supply in circulation and, to a lesser extent, the demand for those dollars. For the last three years, the monetary base has spiked literally off the charts. It can be argued that the dollar has become America's top export as the world's reserve currency, and if the volatile dollar is scrapped, which the U.N. and IMF now suggest, then demand will plummet, killing the currency.
Immigration: According to the Census Bureau & Zogby International the top 1% of US taxpayers are LEAVING the United States at the highest rate in history. Unemployment numbers, food stamps and home foreclosures continue to reach new record highs. The ugly reality of those numbers was recently on display when 30,000 people showed up to apply for public housing in East Point, GA for 455 available vouchers. Fights broke out, people were fainting from the heat while in line, and riot police showed up to handle the angry poor.
Census: Number of poor may be millions higher
1 in 6 Americans many of them 65 and older are struggling in poverty
By HOPE YEN
The Associated Press
updated 1/5/2011 4:46:10 PM ET 2011-01-05T21:46:10
WASHINGTON The number of poor people in the U.S. is millions higher than previously known, with 1 in 6 Americans many of them 65 and older struggling in poverty due to rising medical care and other costs, according to preliminary census figures released Wednesday.
At the same time, government aid programs such as tax credits and food stamps kept many people out of poverty, helping to ensure the poverty rate did not balloon even higher during the recession in 2009, President Barack Obama's first year in office.
Under a new revised census formula, overall poverty in 2009 stood at 15.7 percent, or 47.8 million people. That's compared to the official 2009 rate of 14.3 percent, or 43.6 million, that was reported by the Census Bureau last September.
Across all demographic groups, Americans 65 and older sustained the largest increases in poverty under the revised formula nearly doubling to 16.1 percent. As a whole, working-age adults 18-64 also saw increases in poverty, as well as whites and Hispanics. Children, blacks and unmarried couples were less likely to be considered poor under the new measure.
Due to new adjustments for geographical variations in costs of living, people residing in the suburbs, the Northeast and West were the regions mostly likely to have poor people nearly 1 in 5 in the West.
The new measure will not replace the official poverty rate but will be published alongside the traditional figure this fall as a "supplement" for federal agencies and state governments to determine anti-poverty policies. Economists have long criticized the official poverty measure as inadequate because it only includes pretax cash income and does not account for medical, transportation and work expenses.
"Under the new measure, we can clearly see the effects of our government policies," said Kathleen Short, a Census Bureau research economist who calculated the revised poverty numbers. "When you're accounting for in-kind benefits and tax credits, you're bringing many people in extreme poverty off the very bottom."
The official measure is based on a 1955 cost of an emergency food diet and does not factor in other living costs. Nor does it consider non-cash government aid when calculating income, which surged higher in 2009 during the recession.
Short's analysis, published Wednesday as part of a series of census working papers on poverty, shows that out-of-pocket medical expenses had a significant impact in affecting the number of poor without those costs, poverty would have dropped from 15.7 percent to 12.4 percent.
The effect was seen most notably among older Americans. Under the official poverty rate, about 8.9 percent lived in poverty, mostly because they benefit from Social Security cash payments. But when taking into account out-of-pocket medical expenses and other factors, that number rises to 16.1 percent.
The numbers cited for 2009 are preliminary, but census officials say they offer a good representative look at the state of U.S. poverty and where the numbers are headed when new 2010 figures are released this fall.
Among the findings:
Transportation, commuting and child care costs weigh on working-age Americans. The official poverty rate for those ages 18 to 64 is currently 12.9 percent, the highest since 1960s levels that launched the war on poverty. Under the revised formula, working-age poverty increases even higher, to 14.8 percent.
Without the earned income tax credit, the poverty rate under the revised formula would jump from 15.7 percent to 17.7 percent. The absence of food stamps separately would increase the poverty rate to 17.2 percent.
Taking into account millions of uninsured people in the U.S. had little effect in increasing poverty, mostly because those without insurance tend to forgo medical care rather than find ways to pay for it. Those with government-sponsored insurance generally saw decreases in poverty under the new formula, while those with employer-provided coverage saw increases. Still overall poverty for those with public insurance vs. employer insurance was higher, 31.1 percent compared to 7.2 percent.
Under the revised formula, the West had the most people in poverty at 19.2 percent. It was followed by the South (16.1 percent), the Northeast (14.3 percent) and the Midwest (12.5 percent).
The supplemental figures could take on added significance at a time when many in the government point to an overhaul of Medicare and Social Security as the best hope for reducing the ballooning federal debt. With the potential to add more older Americans to the ranks of the poor, the numbers may underscore a need for continued if not expanded old-age benefits as a government safety net.
Taxation without representation is tyranny.-James Otis
A man's house is his castle.-James Otis
