The King is Dead, Long Live the King

Hugo Chavez was a hero to the poor in Venezuela, and many here in the U.S.  What most fail to realize however is that the progress that he made in helping the poor will be short lived.  Why?  Plain and simple, he got lucky.  He took over just at the time that Oil started to skyrocket.  He used those petro dollars to improve the lives of those in Venezuela, but did nothing for the rest of the economy.  Compared to the rest of the region, the Venezuelan economy is in shambles.  To top it off, Venezuela today is even more dependent on Oil dollars than it was before, just as the world is starting to move away from oil.  Ford, GM and Chrysler are all making trucks that run on Natural Gas, cheap and plentiful here in the States and long before it runs out, the move will be to solar and Fuel Cell technology.

Instead of investing in the future, Chavez used oil as his cash cow to finance his socialist dreams.  Even worse, Chavez lavished over 100 Billion dollars on his buddies, while putting at least 1 to 2 Billion in his own pocket of the estimated Trillion Dollars in oil wealth generated since he took over.  What will happen to Venezuela in 10 years when more and more cars, buses, trucks and Power Plants are converted to run on Natural Gas and as Solar continues doubling in efficiency every few years.  Even worse, what would happen to Venezuela if a Conservative takes over the White House in 4 years, and removes most restrictions on drilling, and increases permits on Federal lands, thereby flooding the market with cheap oil?  The U.S. has  the largest untapped reserves in the world.  Just look at what happened during the Reagan era when he conspired with the Saudi's to make oil super cheap, bankrupting the Soviet Union.

Unfortunately, history will look upon Chavez as a short sighted opportunist who beat the populist drum of vilifying the U.S. and Capitalism.  He spread the disease of Socialism in Venezuela and set them up for a major fall.  The King is Dead, Long Live the King.

Top 10 Most Polluted ... Socialist Bodies of Water

Environmentalist love to talk about how the Western World, and particularly the United States is causing such mass destruction of the planet, yet when one looks around the world what we find is that everywhere you see Socialism, you see an environment under assault.  If anything the Free Market ideals that have made the U.S.A. the most advanced and prosperous country in the world, also makes it one of the cleanest.  Why?  Our political system wouldn't allow for someone who allows the destruction of their ecosystem to stay in power, as they so easily do in Socialist countries.

Let's just take a look at the top 10 most polluted bodies of water in the world, and every time, it's Socialism that has allowed the destruction of that body of water.

#1.  Lake Karachay.
The most polluted place on earth - Russia

Lake Karachay in Russia looks FANTASTIC from this photo, yet it's the most polluted place on earth.  While Russia is no longer part of the U.S.S.R, truth is that the United Soviet Socialist Republic not only gave us Chernobyl, they also gave us many, many, many of the most polluted places in the world, this Lake at the top of them.  The Soviet Union used this lake as a dumping spot for all of the nuclear waste from their largest nuclear production facilities called Mayak.

In 1968, following a drought in the region, the wind carried radioactive dust away from the dried area of the lake, irradiating half a million people.  Love that socialist Utopia!

#2.  Matanza-Riachuelo River
Translates into "Slaughter Creek"
Buenos Aires Argentina

Socialism for foes and Capitalism for Friends is practically the National Anthem in Argentina.  The victim here is Matanza-Riachuelo River in Buenos Aires.  Pictured here on the left, the "flows" of garbage is just one example of the type of "water" that feeds into this disgusting river.  3.5 million people live in its contaminated basin. Something like this would NEVER be allowed to stand in the U.S.  What's worse is that according to Argentine newspaper, Página/12, $250,000,000 was set aside for a cleanup project in 1993, but only $1,000,000 was actually used to improve the conditions of the water. The rest was "misappropriated."  In other words, STOLEN by the Socialist Scumbags that run the country.  While every country has it's share of cronyism, backstabbing, skimming and outright bribery, only the corruption of a socialist lets you have 99.6% of the money for a project easily stolen by the Political Elites and have them simply get away with it.  Were are the rapid Corporate Raiders demanding "Social Justice" from those who stole this money and left this slimy mess they call a River?

#3.  Citarum River
West Java, Indonesia

While Indonesia is no longer considered a Socialist Republic since the old rulers literally drove the country off a cliff and destroying their currency, direct elections were only recently held for the first time in 2004, so they haven't yet had time to deal with all the corruption the Socialist legacy has left them with.  Let's face it, rapid population growth over the last 20 years is no excuse for letting the  Citarum River get into the shape that it's in, which threatens the health of everyone who comes in contact with the waters of the River.

#4.  Buriganga River
 Dhaka, Bangladesh

If you were to look at an article by "Socialism Today", you would think  that the reason there is such poverty in The People's Republic of Bangladesh is because of a failed "Capitalist Experiment".  Yet in their own article they speak of how when they won independence, the first thing they did was to nationalize most major industries.  Does that sound Capitalist to you?

The picture on the left shows you the yet another way that Nationalization and Socialism have taken yet another country down the road of destruction.  Not only financially, but environmentally.
All they can do is talk about excuses, there are never any results where they can point to a socialist system and say, "See those people over there, they are living better because of Socialism".

#5.  Ganges River
 Allahabad, India

India, a constitutional Socialist Republic, where the practice of taking from the poor and giving to the rich is practically legendary.  Slums that have been in place for decades are torn down and the lands given to the rich to redevelop.  While some of the former slum tenants are given free apartments in the new developments, many others are turned away to look for residence in other slums.  The vast majority of the lands are owned by the Government and generally the only real beneficiaries, just as in any other Socialist State are those who are well connected.

For the next 5 most polluted bodies of water, we have to go to China, the worlds biggest Socialist country, then back to India, then back to China, then to Israel.  What?  Oh, I'm sorry, did you think Israel was a western style Capitalistic country?  Practically the entire country is on the Dole! No, the Labor Party over there is firmly in control, even if they're not in control of the Government.  Kind of like here in the U.S.  Even if we have some leaders on the right, the Establishment that makes all the REAL policies is ALWAYS on the left.
Finally there's the Mississippi River in the U.S.A.  WHAT?!?  We're talking Socialism here?  YES, it's true.  The Socialist Policies of the U.S. when it comes to subsidizing Corn and Ethanol is what gave rise to the MASSIVE level of pollution in the Mississippi, and especially the dreaded "Dead Zones" in the Gulf.  Ending these Socialist policies would go a LONG way towards cleaning up this mess.  Remember it's not Capitalism that brought you these messes, it's Socialism.  So the next time some Enviro-Wacko tells you that we need to end Capitalism to save the planet, you remind of of Chernobyl.

#6.  Yellow River – Lanzhou, China

#7.  Yamuna River – New Delhi, India

#8.  Chaohu Lake – Anhui Province, China

Jordan River – Israel

#10.  Mississippi River, United States of America

How the Socialists Ruined Tron

I was watching Tron Legacy the other day and it just struck me the absurdity of the things they're proposing in the Movie.  They talk about how the Operating System discussed in the movie was "designed to be free", and how all information should be free.

Obviously, the ridiculousness of this preposition doesn't ring true with the actors, the extras, the writers, the producers or the distributors of this film, otherwise the Movie itself would be free and they would have all worked for free to get it produced and distributed.  I wonder how many Caterers, Truck Drivers, Security Guards and others they would have been able to convince to work "for free"?

This is the inherit problem with the "Liberal Progressive" way of thinking is that these lofty rules they want to create would apply to everyone but themselves.

Can you imagine if say, Microsoft decided that it would no longer seek to make a profit on their Operating system?  They currently employ 40,000 people JUST in the Seattle Washington area alone.  Jobs at Microsoft are some of the highest paying jobs out there with some of the best benefits you can get from practically any company.  The economy for Programmers and Software support personnel would be absolutely devastated.  Not to mention the hundreds of thousands of small to large businesses that depend on Microsoft for new ways of improving their productivity.  This of course, doesn't even begin to take into effect what would happen to the Real Estate Agents, the Car sales and maintainance people, Pizza Delivery guys and every other business in the area that are supported by the fantastic income generated by all those "greedy" folks at Microsoft.

The Socialists used to point to things like the Huffington Post as a Model for a "free exchange" of information, yet as Arianna Huffington has shown, she was more interested in making money off the backs of her free labor supporters.

What these people don't realize is that the ones who will be hurt the most with giveaways of anything free, are the people at the lowest end of the totem pole, who can afford it the least.  I find it interesting that for all her talks of "Social Justice" Arianna made no effort to pay out any of the money that she got for the Huffington Post to ANY of the contributors to her Online Magazine, and in fact has built the entire business model on free labor, which she has exploited to her benefit, previously in Ad revenue and now with the AOL deal. The saddest part about this is the fact that Journalists are one of the lowest paid professions in the U.S. and their profession suffers as a whole when exploiters like her promise exposure, while she's making the cold hard cash.  But I digress, getting back to Tron...

The Lunacy about the Socialist Engineering that they grafted into the story, is the fact that it actually has absolutely nothing to do with the story.  The Power Struggle in the rest of the film has to do with the fight between good and evil and is a story of redemption.  How a father did what he could to save his son and atone for his sins.  The entire drama shown with the software being given away for free has zero impact on the rest of the story and in my opinion is an unnecessary distraction from the story.  Think about it.  Beta's and even full versions of Microsoft's Operating system are available for free on the Internet all the time.  People don't want it though, because first of all most people use the O/S that came with their computer, and second of all you still need a valid activation code for it to work properly.  To top it off, there is no support for a pirated operating system, yet in the story they acted as if, "Oh Well that's it! It's available for free on the Internet, so we can't make a dime on it".  I guess in order to watch this film you would have to suspend any reasoning and logic.

The Socialism Utopia is Upon Us

The REAL Irony of America's "March to Socialism" is that in effect we are already a "Socialist Paradise". What is the goal of socialism, but to make everyone equal.
In the past, if you were part of the Rich, the elite, you had special privileges not available to your average working class person. This like Cruise Ship travel (they used to have "Steerage Class" for the "Peasants"). Things like Air Travel was restricted to the "Super Rich". 100 Years ago, the average mode of transportation was by Horse for the average Joe and by foot for the poor. While the Rich rode in class in their "Horseless Carriages". This is still the case in many of the undeveloped areas in the world.
Contrast that world with today's modern Utopia we call the USA. Where the "Super Rich Guy's" AC system in his $250,000.00 Rolls Royce works JUST AS WELL as the AC system in a $15,000 Ford Focus, same for the Air Bags and other safety features. We now share the same Roads, Cruise ships, the same Airplanes, the same Hospitals and the same neighborhoods. I used to live in a 1200 Sq. Ft. home, which is about the average size for a family in poverty. Now I live in a 3000 Sq. Ft. home and my "living area" is about the same as it was in my smaller home. Same goes for my Sister in her 7000 Sq. Ft. Home. the "other areas" of our houses are just BARELY used, since we all end up living in about the same sized space. There's only so much "space" that a human being can live in.
The "Socialist Utopia" has already arrived in the U.S. However, the Political class will only gain power by dividing us and pitting us against each other, so instead of pointing out our similarities, they point out our differences to build a wedge between us.

Something to think About

A friend of mine just emailed me this and I thought it would make a nice addition to my blog:

Every once in a while, someone puts together some interesting, yet true thoughts.


To Whom It May Concern

Who ever this boss is he has it nailed down perfectly........read his entire message and the last 3 paragraphs will make total sense to you....and if you are a left leaning socialistic democrat this type of thinking just may get you to re-evaluate your sense of direction for this country. Cuba is a prime example of where we could be if we keep heading towards thinking that the government can provide for our every need.........but first get clear in your head "WHAT AND WHO IS THE GOVERNMENT'....just what does the government produce, plant and harvest, and sell to earn the money that they so freely give to those that could but do not produce and contribute to the productivity of this country. Don't remember where it came from...BUT...once! everyone is in the wagon there will be no one left to pull it.

A letter from the Boss:

To All My Valued Employees,

There have been some rumblings around the office about the future of this company, and more specifically, your job. As you know, the economy has changed for the worse and presents many challenges. However, the good news is this: The economy doesn't pose a threat to your job. What does threaten your job however, is the changing political landscape in this country.
However, let me tell you some little tidbits of fact which might help you decide what is in your best interests.

First, while it is easy to spew rhetoric that casts employers against employees, you have to understand that for every business owner there is a Back Story. This back story is often neglected and overshadowed by what you see and hear. Sure, you see me park my Mercedes outside. You've seen my big home at last years Christmas party. I'm sure; all these flashy icons of luxury conjure up some idealized thoughts about my life.

However, what you don't see is the BACK STORY :

I started this company 28 years ago. At that time, I lived in a 300 square foot studio apartment for 3 years. My entire living apartment was converted into an office so I could put forth 100% effort into building a company, which by the way, would eventually employ you.

My diet consisted of Ramen Pride noodles because every dollar I spent went back into this company. I drove a rusty Toyota Corolla with a defective transmission. I didn't have time to date. Often times, I stayed home on weekends, while my friends went out drinking and partying. In fact, I was married to my business -- hard work, discipline, and sacrifice.

Meanwhile, my friends got jobs. They worked 40 hours a week and made a modest $50K a year and spent every dime they earned. They drove flashy cars and lived in expensive homes and wore fancy designer clothes. Instead of hitting the Nordstrom's for the latest hot fashion item, I was trolling through the discount store extracting any clothing item that didn't look like it was birthed in the 70's. My friends refinanced their mortgages and lived a life of luxury. I, however, did not. I put my time, my money, and my life into a business with a vision that eventually, some day, I too, will be able to afford these luxuries my friends supposedly had.

So, while you physically arrive at the office at 9 am, mentally check in at about noon, and then leave at 5 pm, I don't. There is no "off" button for me. When you leave the office, you are done and you have a weekend all to yourself. I unfortunately do not have the freedom. I eat, and breathe this company every minute of the day. There is no rest. There is no weekend. There is no happy hour. Every day this business is attached to my hip like a 1 year old special-needs child. You, of course, only see the fruits of that garden -- the nice house, the Mercedes, the vacations... you never realize the Back Story and the sacrifices I've made.

Now, the economy is falling apart and I, the guy that made all the right decisions and saved his money, have to bail-out all the people who didn't. The people that overspent their paychecks suddenly feel entitled to the same luxuries that I earned and sacrificed a decade of my life for.

Yes, business ownership has is benefits but the price I've paid is steep and not without wounds.

Unfortunately, the cost of running this business, and employing you, is starting to eclipse the threshold of marginal benefit and let me tell you why:

I am being taxed to death and the government thinks I don't pay enough. I have state taxes. Federal taxes. Property taxes. Sales and use taxes. Payroll taxes. Workers compensation taxes. Unemployment taxes. Taxes on taxes. I have to hire a tax man to manage all these taxes and then guess what? I have to pay taxes for employing him. Government mandates and regulations and all the accounting that goes with it, now occupy most of my time. On Oct 15th, I wrote a check to the US Treasury for $288,000 for quarterly taxes. You know what my "stimulus" check was? Zero. Nada. Zilch.

The question I have is this: Who is stimulating the economy? Me, the guy who has provided 14 people good paying jobs and serves over 2,200,000 people per year with a flourishing business? Or, the single mother sitting at home pregnant with her fourth child waiting for her next welfare check? Obviously, government feels the latter is the economic stimulus of this country.

The fact is, if I deducted (Read: Stole) 50% of your paycheck you'd quit and you wouldn't work here. I mean, why should you? That's nuts. Who wants to get rewarded only 50% of their hard work? Well, I agree which is why your job is in jeopardy.

Here is what many of you don't understand ... to stimulate the economy you need to stimulate what runs the economy. Had suddenly government mandated to me that I didn't need to pay taxes, guess what? Instead of depositing that $288,000 into the Washington black-hole, I would have spent it, hired more employees, and generated substantial economic growth. My employees would have enjoyed the wealth of that tax cut in the form of promotions and better salaries. But you can forget it now.

When you have a comatose man on the verge of death, you don't defibrillate and shock his thumb thinking that will bring him back to life, do you? Or, do you defibrillate his heart? Business is at the heart of America and always has been. To restart it, you must stimulate it, not kill it. Suddenly, the power brokers in Washington believe the poor of America are the essential drivers of the American economic engine. Nothing could be further from the truth and this is the type of change you can keep.

So where am I going with all this?

It's quite simple.

If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, my reaction will be swift and simple. I fire you. I fire your co-workers. You can then plead with the government to pay for your mortgage, your SUV, and your child's future. Frankly, it isn't my problem any more.

Then, I will close this company down, move to another country, and retire. You see, I'm done. I'm done with a country that penalizes the productive and gives to the unproductive. My motivation to work and to provide jobs will be destroyed, and with it, will be my citizenship.

So, if you lose your job, it won't be at the hands of the economy; it will be at the hands of a political hurricane that swept through this country, steamrolled the constitution, and will have changed its landscape forever. If that happens, you can find me sitting on a beach, retired, and with no employees to worry about....

Signed, THE BOSS

God Bless America & God Bless Our Troops

------ End of Forwarded Message

Obama is the change that America has tried to hide

"If Obama were in any sense mediocre, he would be forgotten by now. He is, in fact, a remarkable human being, not perfect but humanly stunning, like King was and like Mandela is. He is the change America has been trying desperately and for centuries to hide, ignore, kill." ....

So now English newspapers are trying to tell us how to vote. Of course, I'm sure many of them would like to see the U.S. descend into the Socialist Economies that they have over there in Europe. What American DOESN'T need is more Socialism, more big government, more Government controls and regulations and more of the same of what they have in Europe. What I find amazing about Europe is that these guys have been around for thousands of years, and yet here comes America and in just a few hundred years becomes the pre-eminate Super Power of the world. We have an economy that is unmatched by any other country in the world, our populace enjoys a level of weath and comfort unmatched anywhere in the world, we drive the biggest cars, live in the biggest homes, have the most disposable income and live the most lavish lifestyles, yet the Europeans want us to be more like them, instead of them being more like us. Strange yet true, this is the world we live in.

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