Shoppers "Black Friday"

Not "Stock Market Crash"

I very much dislike belaboring a point even though some of our elected officials, if not already there, are fast approaching the point of no return when the subject turns to the financial state of Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid, therefore my intention is to turn this posting to a less controversial topic if that be possible.

Thanksgiving has passed and Christmas will be here before we, at least most adults, are really ready for it. The day after Thanksgiving is known as "Black Friday because it is thought to be the biggest shopping day of the year and probably dictates whether or not a business will make a profit or suffer a loss for the year. Thus black ink as opposed to red. But in this age of computers and shopping on line, some believe that tomorrow, "Cyber Monday" will be even larger.

Our philosophy, for about the past fifty years, has been to stay as far away from places such as Wal-Mart as possible. If we are forced, by circumstances beyond our control, to go to those establishments we always go as early as possible and stay no longer than necessary. According to what few reports that I have heard or read this year's "Black Friday" was somewhat of a success. Spending was up some but not as much as some businesses had anticipated or hoped for. If you look on the bright side, if that is the right choice of words, anything is better than nothing. I don't know what that says about the state of our economy especially after reading that almost twenty percent of people polled still had credit card debt from last Christmas' shopping. Maybe it means that "if China makes it America will buy it."

The following story probably isn't altogether true but does, in my opinion, reflect on the state of affairs in this hi-tech world today. It is titled "Joker's Wild",

"Off down the road a mile or two / in a run down shack that the wind blows through / once lived a man that we all knew as Joker / he lived alone with his dog and cat / wore patched overalls and an old straw hat / with a rag tied around his neck like a choker / well living alone must have affected his brain / or maybe it was the feel of the snow and rain / that came in through the holes he never mended / for he took to the woods with his old hound dog / built them a nest in a hollow log / and left his run down shack there untended / now Joker's gone, Joker's gone / he left his shack and he ain't coming back / and now Joker's gone - old Joker's gone.

He was taking his living from the land / roots and berries all gathered by hand / and it seemed that Mother Nature was singing his tune / for he's lived out there more than a year / and if you listened at night you could hear / him calling to his dog that was howling at the moon / but then last week in the dead of night / with the North Star shining cold and bright / old Joker started acting kind of strange / I ask him twice what had gone wrong / why Mother Nature had changed her song / but both times he was already out of range / now Joker's wild, Joker's wild / he lived alone, made the woods his home / and now Joker's wild - old Joker's wild."

For me, it is getting harder and harder to make sense out of today's state of affairs. I guess that is the way it is meant to be. Thanks for you time and imput, stay tuned. - William

Wake Up America

And smell the manure

On my hill here in Tennessee, the stench has become almost unbearable. Through a truly bi-partisan effort the Washington crowd, elected and non-elected - going back twenty years or more - has hi-jacked our Social Security Trust Fund and spent the money which was paid in by hard working Americans through the FICA (payroll tax) in an effort to insure themselves help in their retirement years. That money has been, and probably still is, used in what amounts to a high stakes slush fund. A law passed in 1990 plainly states that any surplus payroll tax money was to be invested in Special Government Bonds and kept seperate from income tax (Etc). money and was not to be counted as part of our National Debt.

According to the "Social Security Trust Fund's Annual Report for 2010" which was signed by the trustees of the Trust Fund - Secretary of the Treasury, Timothy Geitner; Secretary of Labor, Hilda L. Solis; Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius and Commissioner Michael J. Astrue - The payroll tax showed a surplus of seventy-seven billion dollars in 2010 which would be added on to the almost three trillion dollars surplus at the end of 2009 and the trust fund surplus would grow to about four trillion, two hundred billion dollars by the end of 2024. The break even point (when the income from the payroll tax and the out-go in the form of Social Security checks and payments for Medicare and Medicaid) will be about that time. After that happens the Federal Government will have to borrow more and more money, to replace the hi-jacked and spent Social Security funds, leading to higher and higher deficits. I don't know if the powers that be are brain washed, don't have a brain to be washed or are trying to brain wash us but as long as they are allowed to blame Social Security for all the budget problems the smell will only get worse.

In an attempt to cover up what has been going on in Washington for too many years, most of the politicians and many in the news media are desperately trying to divert attention, confuse the issues and place all the blame on the most vulnerable American Citizens, the seniors who are still living and get Social Security and Medicare. Their only power is at the ballot box.

Make no mistakes, there are problems to be solved, the long-term financial challenges facing Social Security and those that remain for Medicare and Medicaid should be addressed soon. If action is taken sooner rather than later, more options will be available and more time will be available to phase in changes so that those affected have adequate time to prepare.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day and my prayers are that most people are truly thankful for what we have here in America and will find the courage to defend it. Remember, if you're not old enough to get Social Security now you may be someday if we don't let it be destroyed. I will close this posting with a poem about "Thanksgiving Days;"

"Time, as they say, may be my greatest ally / Hundreds of years have passed since my birth / Answering a call that was born in freedom / Now nothing can ever take away from my worth / Keeping the faith of our founding fathers /Some may say that it's not worth it all / Groping for a better way to be thankful / If into every life a little rain must fall / Vows are sometimes made before the feasting / In as much as that's what it's all about / None of which can be recalled on the morrow / Gorged upon the turkey there's no doubt.

Do we know what it is to be thankful / Are we just happy it's another holiday / Yielding to the pleasures of the moment / Surely we can find a better way."

If you made it this far you have surely guessed that I am not happy with any politicians of either party. We'll find out what the newcomers from the Tea Party can or will do but I won't hold my breath. Thanks for listening, stay tuned. - William

Better Times Ahead

Or maybe not

A treaty signed, last April, by President Obama and the President of Russia, calling for the reduction in the number of nuclear weapons which each country could hold in their arsenal, suddenly became top priority seven months later. The Democrats, with huge majorities in both Houses of Congress, apparently made no effort to bring that treaty up for ratification until the eleventh hour and now are pushing the Republicans to get it done. Who knows what is in that treaty? Is it like the Health Care Bill, about which Nancy Pelosi said, "We'll have to pass the bill before you will know what is in it?" After all the fallout from that bill can we really take a chance on rushing that nuclear treaty through without debating the issues? That could be extremely dangerous especially when we are dealing with Russia. I say, "take your time, try to get it right."

On January 4, 2011 the Republicans will not only take back control of the House of Representatives but will have made significant gains in the Senate. What will that mean for the next two years? It will probably mean that nothing of any importance will be passed. After all, the budget for this year hasn't been passed yet, only a continuing resolution which will need to be done again by December so as to provide authority to pay the bills. I guess passing a budget bill wasn't as important as the Health Care Bill, the bail outs, and the so-called "Cap and Trade Bill" which, it is claimed, would reduce our carbon emissions (footprint) along with raising our fuel cost to a level never before seen.

Do you remember when a Republican Congress passed a budget which appropriated less money than President Clinton ask for, he vetoed it, they passed a continuing resolution, he vetoed that too, shut the Government down, blamed it all on the Republicans, they caved in and gave him what he wanted even though they had already been branded as the villans? Watch out, it may happen again.

What about all this ado about full body scanners said to be equal to a strip search and the enhanced pat downs which some are referring to as professional "Groping" and/or examining your private parts before you can board an airplane here in the United States. I haven't even been on a plane in more than twenty-five years and I don't intend to ever be on one again so why should I care what they do in airports now? I probably wouldn't except that it makes me wonder what will be next. We should all worry even if it doesn't affect us directly.

In 1949 George Orwell wrote a novel titled "Nineteen Eighty-four" (sometimes written as "1984") which was about "Life in the Oceanian Province of Airstrip One in a world of perpetual war, pervasive government survellance and incessant mind control. The individual is always subordinated to the state, and it is in part this philosophy which allows the party to manipulate and control humanity. (Wikipedia) Could it be that we are on that path to the establishment of a "Big Brother" society?

Some who claim to be Constitutional experts say that the use of the full body scanners and enhanced pat downs are dis-allowed by the constitution but in my opinion it isn't. Think about it, you don't have to fly and that is the same arguement used to force us to buy licenses for automobiles (and so forth) and to stop smoking in public places. You aren't forced to use those places and things. Thanks for listening, stay tuned - William

Ear Marks

Pork or Beef

The big stir in the Washington, if not national, news has to do with the "Tea Party" and their push to ban ear marks, the attaching of money for pet projects to "must pass" legislation without any kind of hearings or debate. Undoubtedly, some of those projects are worthy of funding but many are frivolous and can not withstand the light of day

At first some of the Republican establishment opposed the ban (later called a moratorium) on the grounds that it wouldn't save any money and since the money was already in the budget to be allocated by themselves or some un-elected Washington bureaucrat not under their control, they should be the ones to do it. The question is, why is that money in the budget at all? Leave it out and save several billion dollars. We've got to start somewhere.

In the earlier centuries of this country, even before and certainly after the Revolutionary War, landowners, operating under the Free Range Laws , cut a series of notches in the ears of their hogs, for identifing purposes, and let them forage for themselves from spring until fall. Then they were brought in and pent or penned up for the winter.

Now compare that with the way our present day Congress operates. The Reigning Monarch of each House of Congress allows their subordinates to affix a request for money to fund some project in their home district or state to one of those must pass bills in exchange for an ear mark. Then when the really controversial bills come up for a vote those Reigning Monarchs will call in those ear marks and force their subordinates to vote for something they might not want. Like selling your soul for a bowl of pottage,but us minions are the ones who, in one way or another, will pay the bill.

But then, on the other hand, things could be worse or that's what I've heard. A man I once knew very well for more than twenty years was fond of saying that "a poor man has no more business with his head above ground than a mole" and maybe he was right. For "A man I knew up where I worked wore a fancy cowboy shirt and borrowed money so that he could go. Once when he was down on his luck, I let him have a buck. Why a hundred years from now I'll never know." That's just life.

When it has all been said and done, we at that point may realize that no matter what we try to do, the past we can't revise. Sometime in the distant past Mary A. Ford wrote a poem titled "A Hundred Years From Now." The first verse of that poem should be a lesson taken seriously. It is;

The surging sea of human life forever onward rolls, / and bears to the eternal shore its daily freight of souls; / though bravely sails our bark today, pale death sits at the prow, / and few shall know we ever lived a hundred years from now."

Remember the commercial where the elderly lady said (loudly) "where's the beef"? Sorry folks, there ain't none, except as in complaining. Thanks for listening, stay tuned. William

The Budget

One way to balance it

The commission, appointed by President Obama, to come up with ways to balance the budget and lower the National Debt announced, this past week, parts of their recommenditions as to how it could be done. In my opinion, to much stress was placed upon what to do about the, so-called, entitlements which include Social Security and Medicare, never mind the fact that they are paid out of the Social Security Trust Fund which in turn is financed by the "FICA or payroll tax." At this time the Social Security Trust Fund has a surplus of several trillion dollars and is still paying its own way so that no money comes out of the National Treasury to pay Social Security checks or Medicare but Medicaid is partly financed by income tax money. By law, that Trust Fund money is not to be used for funding other programs or paying down the national debt.

Even though the money payed in through the payroll tax is invested in "Special Government Securities", which go into the lockbox, that money has already been spent in order to reduce our deficits but not counted as part of that debt. That, in turn, raises our real national debt several trillion dollars. The pols are not telling us the whole truth. Do you know, even one, who will admit that this is true or have facts to dispute it?

Yesterday I sent an e-mail to a number of differen people who hang around the news rooms in New York and Washington, outlining a proposal which, I believe, could both shore up the Social Security Trust Fund and drastically reduce our national debt but it would take a courageous bi-partisan effort to persuade the majority of voters that it would be in their best interest.

Most of the politicians and some news people on televison are trying to figure out how to balance the budget and reduce our debt and they seem to blame us seniors on Social Security and Medicare for the bulk of the problem. Our e-mail, in part, is below.

"My wife and I have a combined income from Social Security of almost $1500.00 each month after the $96.50 (each) deduction for Medicare. Out of that we pay about $500.00 for Medicare Supplemental Insurance and one drug card. The rest we can use to party all month. We also get about $300.00 a month in retirement benefits from our factory work which we use to pay other bills.

Our plan to cut the national debt and save Social Security and Medicare is to cut Social Security checks by 1 to 5 percent with the money saved to stay in the Social Security Trust Fund for the benefit of future generations "IF" all federal employees (should include state workers too) will (or can be forced to) take a pay cut of the same percentage which would go into the treasury to pay down the national debt, and not to be used for any other spending. No doubt, many of our politicans would try to hi-jack those funds to be used for their own agenda therefore laws would have to be passed designating their use.

Of course, we don't think anyone in New York or Washington will have the courage to push such a proposal but we can say that, at least, we tried. No, we are not members of the Tea Party. In fact we were tea party before tea party was cool."

As I sit here in my home I've been thinking / about a way of life I can't understand / it's so hard to stand up for what I believe in / but if I don't then I'm much less a man. Thanks for listening, stay tuned. - William

Of Elections Past

And the Aftermath

A week ago today the results of the election began to soak in at the Whitehouse. Up until the polls closed in most of the states it appeared that many of the Democrats were still in denial. Some were still predicting that they would win both Houses of Congress and that their agenda would proceed as planned. They were almost half right, They held the senate by a narrow margin.

But here it is, one short week later, and the Republicans are already fighting over the spoils. It sure makes me glad that I am an Independent and not bound to vote for any of them in the next election - if I should live that long.

Surprise, surprise, a few days ago I heard on the news that AARP, which lobbied hard for that health care bill while it was being rammed through the Senate, had announced that it is raising practically everything (cost, deductables, etc.) concerning their insurance and blaming it on Obamacare. Apparently what's good for the geese isn't good for the gander.

Even after a record amount of money being spent and what turned out to be somewhat like a game of musical chairs being played, I predict that there will be very little change in Washington. It always comes down to politics and politicians. Why should it be any different this time?


An oak tree stands near the crest of the hill, gnarled and battered and old / a few shriveled leaves are all it has left to shiver when the winds blow cold / on a limb near the top some birds built a nest and raised a family last spring / but now they have moved to a much younger tree with more protection about which to sing.

Inside a hole in the trunk two squirreld made a home and stored up enought food to get through / for winter is coming and that brings the snow but then about April they'll be moving on too / A woodpecker worries a knot on one side, searching diligently for a new food supply / for whatever it's worth it is still being used and looks back over its life with some pride.

Old friends have all gone, deserted the ship that once gave them shelter from the cold / an oak tree is standing over the crest of the hill, gnarled and battered and old.

For some time now I have been feeling somewhat like that tree and the feeling intensives as time passes on especially the part about "old friend have all gone."

Tomorrow is the 11th of November, Armistice Day, now known as Veterans Day. If anyone who reads this is a veteran, I want to say "THANK YOU AND I TRULY APPRECIATE YOUR PATRIOTISM AND YOUR WILLINGNESS TO RISK YOUR LIFE TO PROTECT US ALL. YOUR DEDICATION IS WHAT KEEPS AMERICA GREAT, NOT THE POLITICIANS IN WASHINGTON."

Thank for you time and effort, stay tuned. - William

Point'n & Pitch'n

Pitch,n in the river

Born in 1903, my Dad was of the old school, if something needed doing, then do it, no matter what it was. That "doing" ranged from the everyday chores of farm life to carpentry, hewing crossties for the railroad, sharpening saws and, from necessity, a good bit of mechanics. Back in the mid to late nineteen-forties I spent many an hour on one end of a two man crosscut saw. One of his "sayings" which I heard quite often was "I don't mind your riding the saw if you just don't drag your feet," When filing a crosscut saw he paid particular attention to the pointing (sharpening the cutting teeth) and pitching ( getting the right angle on those same cutting teeth) and making sure the drags were not too long. From that came the term "pointing and pitching" which referred to sharpening a saw. Dad used that in his own saying when referring to something that was about worn out or otherwise almost useless, that "all it needed was pointing and pitching, pointing at a gully and pitching in." From that saying, altered somewhat, came the following poem.

"Point'n and Pitch'n

I've traveled this old world over, a million miles or more / tramped down all the back roads till my feet are becoming sore / looking for a way of life that can't be found today / lost what was left of my self respect somewhere along the way / listened to other people's troubles till my nerves are wearing thin / now all I need is point'n and pitch'n, point'n at the river and pitch'n in.

Now my footprints are in the sands of time, my name is on the pages / of the book that records our life, our birth, our death, our ages / but like some fools who've gone before I fear I've lived in vain / for today I walk a lonely road, trying to forget the pain / and I haven't had much peace of mind since I can't remember when / and all I need is point'n and pitch'n, point'n at the river and pitch'n in.

All it needs is point'n and pitch'n, point'n at the river and pitch'n in."

Another one of his sayings was in response to our not finding whatever he sent us after. When he easily found that object he would say, "Gradpa could have found that with his walking stick and he's blind." When we were working in the field in near 100 degree heat and take a short break in the shade, when it was time to go back to work Dad would say "it's hard but it's fair." I knew it was hard but I never could see anything fair about it. Thanks for your support, stay tuned. - William

Yet Another Election

Has Gone Into the Books

"The election is over, the results are known / the will of the people has clearly been shown / so let's get together and show by our deeds / that we're all behind ----and will do what he needs / let's forget our differences, let bitterness pass / I voted early but my man still came in last."

I first heard the above poem, worded some what differently, just after the 1952 presidential election and was called, at that time, "Harry's Parting Poem." Anyone who remembers President Harry Truman can probably figure out that original last line.

When they get past the election, which is not often, there is talk in the news today about another stimulus (an incentive) package. If this election, with its record amount of money spent by all the candidates combined, didn't give a few incentives I don't know what it will take. One woman spent 140 million dollars of her own money in her campaign and still lost. On the surface it appears that the most of the first stimulus package was either wasted or stolen. It's hard to tell which. Do we need another one to fill the same pockets?

The next few days will probably be filled with, so-called, breaking news about the election but then everything will likely settle down and we'll get back to the economy and more jobs especially higher paying jobs. I know everyone needs a job that pays a living wage but even those will be hard to come by as long as we buy imports instead of American made. Again, I know that we can't completely quit buying imports but we do need to balance it out some and buy "America" now and then even if it cost a little more. You might be surprised how much difference it would make in our economy if everyone worked together on it.

I'll end this today with the question; "How Much Are You Willing To Give,"

"Up in the morning before the sun rises / off on the job all day / he'll still be working two weeks after he dies / that's what I heard someone say / but I believe that a man who is able to work / should depend not on his neighbors to live / for it's not what you get out of life that will count / but how much you are you willing to give?

Jesus gave it all that day on the cross / how much are you willing to give / before everything gained is counted for loss / how much are you willing to give / yes, Jesus gave it all that glorious day / when He died that we all might live / now He is waiting with His arms open wide / so how much are you willing to give?"

It's a rainy, dreary day here and there is nothing on TV but the results of yesterday's election which is the makings of a long day. Thanks for staying with me on this, stay tuned. - William