A letter from a friend

Don:

I know you favor Rubio but I just can’t bring myself to see him in the Oval Office. As I said, maybe in a few years. But now he’s playing the tough-guy game. And where’d he learn the adjective “unhinged?”

I liked the cut of Cruz’ jib – thought he could make a great VP -- until he started giving the finger to the front-runner.  The Beltway Bunch have banded together like a group of pre-schoolers and are acting more liberal than the liberals. ANYTHING to get elected!

Kasich went bonkers a couple weeks ago and dropped almost all the qualities I admired in him. He’s still at it…

Bush owes so many lobbyists in Washington and environs he’ll need a menu to see which of them he favors this week. Plus he’s too much of a wimp. I won’t mention his Mexican wife and half-breed kids … that wouldn’t be politically correct.

Carly doesn’t stand a chance. Nor does Rand, though if he’d shed some off-the-wall Libertarian views he keeps praising, he’d be more electable.

“Mr Nice Guy” Carson has changed his spots. Said last night he would run as an Independent if he didn’t get more inter-candidate support and do better.

Christie would make a good NY cab driver or Oakland bartender. At inopportune times he gives off some ruthless vibes and ill-advised actions (hugging Obama? Aargh!).

Graham, Huckabee and Santorum are, as us race-track touts used to call ‘em, “also rans.” Hey, they’ve got some good qualities, but so do I . . . if you overlook my many imperfections.

It’s not only the candidates that are peeing their pants, it’s the entire elite cadre in and around Washington. For example, Murdoch has told his zillion employees (including Fox) that he doesn’t want to see Trump get the nod. The only one I’ve seen that’s resisting that edict is Dobbs. John Wayne once said, “Never smile at someone just before you hit him.”  Trump obviously never heard him or he wouldn’t appear on O’Reilly … or at least never turn his back. Their guests (more of the elite) slip in subliminal barbs whenever they think they won't get caught by the gullible public.  The RNC is conferring with both Houses about having some sort of public auction at the convention. That makes sense the way the elections are heading: Let the money stand up and bid. That’s what it’s all about anyway. The biggest billionaire gets to own the president for four years.

We lived in the BEST OF TIMES!  It really makes me want to cry to think about how our children are going to have to learn to fare. And I’m serious!

--Ron

 

Please read this to the end without prejudice

Do yourselves a favor and take

The time to read this to the end. 

The single most prominent characteristic of contemporary America is that common sense has been abandoned to political correctness and "feelings". As President George W. Bush's top speech writer, Marc Thiessen was provided unique access to the CIA program used in interrogating top Al Qaeda terrorists, including the mastermind of the 9/11 attack, Khalid Sheikh Mohammad (KSM). Now, his riveting new book, "Courting Disaster", How the CIA Kept America Safe (Regnery), has been published.  Here is an excerpt from "Courting Disaster": "Just before dawn on March 1, 2003, two dozen heavily armed Pakistani tactical assault forces move in and surround a safe house in Rawalpindi. A few hours earlier they had received a text message from an informant inside the house. It read: "I am with KSM." Bursting in, they find the disheveled mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, in his bedroom. He is taken into custody. In the safe house, they find a treasure trove of computers, documents, cell phones and other valuable "pocket litter." Once in custody, KSM is defiant. He refuses to answer questions,informing his captors that he will tell them everything when he gets to America and sees his lawyer. But KSM is not taken to America to see a lawyer Instead he is taken to a secret CIA "black site" in an undisclosed location. Upon arrival, KSM finds himself in the complete control of Americans. He does not know where he is, how long he will be there, or what his fate will be. Despite his circumstances, KSM still refuses to talk. He spews contempt at his interrogators, telling them Americans are weak, lack resilience, and are unable to do what is necessary to prevent the terrorists from succeeding in their goals. He has trained to resist interrogation. When he is asked for information about future attacks, he tells his questioners scornfully: "Soon, you will know." It becomes clear he will not reveal the information using traditional interrogation techniques. So he undergoes a series of "enhanced interrogation techniques" approved for use only on the most high-value detainees. The techniques include water-boarding. He begins telling his CIA debriefers about active al Qaeda plots to launch attacks against the United States and other Western targets. He holds classes for CIA officials, using a chalkboard to draw a picture of al Qaeda's operating structure, financing, communications, and logistics. He identifies al Qaeda travel routes and safe havens, and helps intelligence officers make sense of documents and computer records seized in terrorist raids. He identifies voices in intercepted telephone calls, and helps officials understand the meaning of coded terrorist communications. He provides information that helps our intelligence community capture other high-ranking terrorists. KSM's questioning, and that of other captured terrorists, produces more than 6,000 intelligence reports, which are shared across the intelligence community, as well as with our allies across the world. In one of these reports, KSM describes in detail the revisions he made to his failed 1994-1995 plan known as the "Bojinka plot" to blow up a dozen airplanes carrying some 4,000 passengers over the Pacific Ocean. Years later, an observant CIA officer notices the activities of a cell being followed by British authorities appear to match KSM's description of his plans for aBojinka-style attack. In an operation that involves unprecedented intelligence cooperation between our countries, British officials proceed to unravel the plot. On the night of Aug. 9, 2006 they launch a series of raids in a northeast London suburb that lead to the arrest of two dozen al Qaeda terrorist suspects. They find a USB thumb-drive in the pocket of one of the men with security details for Heathrow airport, and information on seven Trans -Atlantic flights that were scheduled to take off within hours of each other: United Airlines Flight 931 to San Francisco departing at 2:15 PM Air Canada Flight 849 to Toronto departing at 3:00 PM Air Canada Flight 865 to Montreal departing at 3:15 PM United Airlines Flight 959 to Chicago departing at 3:40 PM United Airlines Flight 925 to Washington departing at 4:20 PM American Airlines Flight 131 to New York departing at 4:35 PM American Airlines Flight 91 to Chicago departing at 4:50 PM They seize bomb-making equipment and hydrogen peroxide to make liquid explosives. And they find the chilling martyrdom videos the suicide bombers had prepared. Today, if you asked an average person on the street what they know about the 2006 airlines plot, most would not be able to tell you much. Few Americans are aware of the fact al Qaeda had planned to mark the fifth anniversary of 9/11 with an attack of similar scope and magnitude. And still fewer realize the terrorists' true intentions in this plot were uncovered thanks to critical information obtained through the interrogation of the man who conceived it: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. This is only one of the many attacks stopped with the help of the CIA interrogation program established by the Bush Administration in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. In addition to helping break up these specific terrorist cells and plots, CIA questioning provided our intelligence community with an unparalleled body of information about al Qaeda Until the program was temporarily suspended in 2006, intelligence officials say, well over half of the information our government had about al Qaeda; how it operates, how it moves money, how it communicates, how it recruits operatives, how it picks targets, how it plans and carries out attacks-came from the interrogation of terrorists in CIA custody. Former CIA Director George Tenet has declared: "I know this program has saved lives. I know we've disrupted plots. I know this program alone is worth more than what the FBI, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the National Security Agency put together have been able to tell us." Former CIA Director Mike Hayden has said: "The facts of the case are that the use of these techniques against these terrorists made us safer. It really did work." Even Barack Obama's Director of National Intelligence, Dennis Blair, has acknowledged: "High-value information came from interrogations in which those methods were used and provided a deeper understanding of the al Qaeda organization that was attacking this country." Leon Panetta, Obama's CIA Director, has said: "Important information was gathered from these detainees. It provided information that was acted upon." John Brennan, Obama's Homeland Security Advisor, when asked in an interview if enhanced-interrogation techniques were necessary to keep America safe, replied: "Would the U. S. be handicapped if the CIA was not, in fact, able to carry out these types of detention and debriefing activities, I would say yes." On Jan. 22, 2009, President Obama issued Executive Order 13491, closing the CIA program and directing that, henceforth, all interrogations by U. S. personnel must follow the techniques contained in the Army Field Manual. The morning of the announcement, Mike Hayden was still in his post as CIA Director, He called White House Counsel Greg Craig and told him bluntly: "You didn't ask, but this is the CIA officially non-concurring". The president went ahead anyway, over ruling the objections of the agency. A few months later, on April 16, 2009, President Obama ordered the release of four Justice Department memos that described in detail the techniques used to interrogate KSM and other high-value terrorists. This time, not just Hayden (who was now retired) but five CIA directors-including Obama's own director, Leon Panetta objected. George Tenet called to urge against the memos' release. So did Porter Goss. So did John Deutch. Hayden says: "You had CIA directors in a continuous unbroken stream to 1995 calling saying,'Don't do this.'" In addition to objections from the men who led the agency for a collective 14 years, the President also heard objections from the agency's covert field operatives. A few weeks earlier, Panetta had arranged for the eight top officials of the Clandestine Service to meet with the President. It was highly unusual for these clandestine officers to visit the Oval Office, and they used the opportunity to warn the President that releasing the memos would put agency operatives at risk. The President reportedly listened respectfully-and then ignored their advice. With these actions, Barack Obama arguably did more damage to America's national security in his first 100 days of office than any President in American history. But how many people know this? ... Only the few that read this email from beginning to end!

 

Time for a change of heart in America

We are once again facing a deadly enemy trying to bring chaos and death to our shores.  Unlike the battle for freedom fought 74 years ago by the heroes of the greatest generation beginning at Pearl Harbor, this one does not come with a flag or country but an ideology that so far we seem incapable of understanding.  As a country formed and developed with a  Judeo Christian philosophy our goals throughout generations have always been designed for accomplishment and for the benefit of all mankind.  The goals of our enemy this time are toward destruction of mankind and the ultimate death of the non believers of their cultish religious understanding.  As with the Japanese in WWII this enemy is formidable in their willingness to die for the cause.  As Americans it's our duty to live for the cause and build a more beautiful world in the process.  Until we recognize the generational hatred and their belief that they will become martyrs in the eyes of Allah by committing horrendous crimes against the Western Civilization we will be disadvantaged in this war.  It is their desire to conquer the world in the name of the Prophet Mohammed and it's our job to destroy and bury this abstract philosophy once and for all.  There is no room for enforced Rules of Engagement run by politically correct politicians if we are to win this war.  This conflict has spread throughout the earth and needs to be dealt with immediately.  Our military along with our allies have the power to eradicate and reduce to ruble this phony Caliphate that has been established in Syria and Iraq.  Doing this along with the total eradication of those spreading  this hatred here in the Western World will take an awakening in our nation to the fact that we are being invaded from within and that political correctness has allowed this to happen.   We are at war and this is the most dangerous war we have ever faced because our politicians have failed to recognize the enemy for what it is.  We hoped the Muslims from around the world who believe in freedom would rise up and fight for their religion that has been hijacked by these radicals, but alas nothing has come from their quarter.  The time is now or never.  Do we have the basic instincts that drove our forefathers in WWII to win at all cost or will we fade and become the lost generation of the former United STates of America?  

The most intellegent article on money and value I've ever read

A note from a friend who I consider the money guru of the United STates

Too long and probably boring, but why don’t they teach this stuff to our kids anymore??? 

     Call it money, wealth, medium of exchange. Whatever you want to call it, it plays a vital role in just about everyone’s life. Here in our capitalist-becoming-socialist society it ranks right up toward the top, in most cases just below family, health – other similar essentials to freedom and our pursuit of happiness.

      But for something of such immense importance, it is astounding how little we know about money.
And we should … more so today than ever before.

      So today I’m going to put on paper some things that should be taught in grade school – but isn’t, as is the case with so many crucial subjects in today’s culture. The old saying goes, “Ignorance is bliss.” If that’s the case, our recent grammar- and high-school grads must be the most blissful citizens in history.

      We can’t turn on the TV, pick up a newspaper or sit in a barber chair without hearing speculation over “the collapse of the dollar” or “government default” or something to do with our enormous and quite probably unpayable debt. How the heck are we ever going to put our nation back on sound financial footing? What is to become of our kids and their kids and their kids’ kids?

      Right here let me confess: Beats me! Our government leaders don’t know either. Nobody knows.  Our president has brought us bias and ignorance and we have entered The Era of Trial and Error. Policymakers and our leaders (and their acolytes, the “media”) keep up the pretense that all is well but anyone with an IQ north of seventy knows better. They tell us they know exactly what they’re doing when in reality they are standing in the dark, totally bewildered, fully focused on feathering their own nests while there are a few feathers left.  So far their remedies on our behalf have been totally error.

     It’s hollow solace, but the U.S. isn’t the only nation that is close to imploding. The whole free world is in trouble – bankrupt. We’ve indebted ourselves into oblivion.  Granted this world-disorder began forming a long time before we were even born, probably in June 1914 when Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated, leading to a chain of events that ultimately resulted in World War 1. By the fall of 1918 16-plus million people had been killed and the Russian, Ottoman, German and Austro-Hungarian empires had collapsed. (In case you ever feel the uncontrollable urge to relieve yourself on the radical assassin’s grave in Bosnia -- this guy whose actions precipitated WWI -- his name was Gavrilo Princip.) But when he pulled the trigger nations got their first real taste of deficit spending and have subsequently polished the practice to a fine art. As usual, America led the way. And they didn’t even have credit cards back then to speed them toward impoverishment !
    

     When WWI ended in the fall of 1918, the last country left standing on its financial feet was Great Britain. The rest – even though they were the victors – had hocked the kitchen sink to pay for the war. Naturally, London became the financial capital of the world.  Britain’s sterling was the World’s Reserve Currency.  Since history was first recorded, gold has played an active role in the currencies of the world and Britain’s sterling was wisely backed by gold held by the Bank of England.
 
     But slowly the U.S. dollar began regaining its footing. As a relatively young nation, we had resources to sell, mortgage, lease out and otherwise encumber and we lost no time in so doing. Throughout the 1920s the dollar and the sterling competed for world dominance. By 1931 the dollar had taken the lead thanks to Churchill’s blunder in pegging the sterling to gold at an unrealistic rate back in 1925. Without going into the details and as a result, the U.K. began their Great Depression three years before the rest of the world (no, it wasn’t old Herbie Hoover who started it).

     The rise of the dollar and the decline of the sterling continued until the start of WWII in 1939. Due to the costs of this new war, Britain was forced to suspend people’s ability to convert sterling into gold merely by walking into a bank. The relationship of gold to a country’s overall currency was removed and the beginning of “fiat” currency was undertaken. Okay, enough already with the foreplay, so let’s get to the more-modern status and deterioration of our money.

     At the end of WWII, the victor-nations had been more or less reduced to shambles (”broke” would probably be a more fitting description). Most of Europe was bankrupt. Though the U.S. held a bunch of their IOUs, when a borrower has no assets, IOUs aren’t worth much to the creditor.  In 1944 – a year before the end of WWII – the Allies had met in Bretton Woods NH to try to agree upon a series of new rules for the post war international money system. The official name was the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference. One lasting result of the meeting was the creation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). More on that in a moment.

      Bretton Woods achieved some success, creating rules that lasted until 1971 when President Nixon had to sever the link between the dollar and gold. Taking the U.S. off the gold standard was his only quasi-legal means of preventing a run on Fort Knox (which incidentally now held only one-third of the gold necessary to cover the amount of U.S. dollars floating around in foreign hands. (Hey, nothing changes. The citizens weren’t paying attention and the politicians ignored the gold requirement, using the opportunity to pilfer our nation's gold with impugnity).

     Let’s talk for a moment about this IMF. Formed in 1945, their purpose was to provide dollar reserves to any member-country that couldn’t otherwise pay its legal obligations. The agreement was that such a country could borrow enough to return itself to a surplus in return for which that country would agree to “structural reforms.” The backing for this entire program was the good old U.S. dollar, pegged forever (so it was believed) to their disappearing gold in Fort Knox. It should make you mad as hell to know that, from 1950 until 1970 – while the U.S. was on the gold standard – the gold in the U.S. dropped from 20,000 metric tons to under 9,000 metric tons. I assure you the number of U.S. dollars in the world did not drop accordingly as the gold standard required. Actually, the dollar amount increased.

     Thanks to the non-federal Federal Reserve, in the late 1940s the U.S. had the only theoretical “dollar printing press.” Back then, as I said above, we also had over 20,000 metric tons of gold in Fort Knox. The rest of the free world had about three dollars and twenty-five cents and maybe a couple of ounces of gold. It was kinda’ like trying to start a poker game where only one player had all the chips.

     But in the international world of finance, nothing remains static for long, especially when the U.S. government has a heavy hand in the mix -- there is too much room for corruption. Oversight is almost non-existent. In 1969 the IMF invented their Special Drawing Right (SDR).  SDRs are easy to understand in both concept and practice: Like the U.S. dollar, SDRs are backed by NOTHING. They can be issued in unlimited, unsupervised quantities by the IMF without any voting or debate Since the IMF is not a country, it never has a trade deficit, so in theory can never go broke. Their SDRs exist much like today’s dollar … solely in a computer.

     So, back in 1971 the U.S. virtually ran out of money. The gold-standard made it illegal (wink, wink) for the nation to print more dollars than their gold could back up so Nixon took the U.S. off the gold standard and gave the nod to the Fed to clean the cosmoline from those printing presses.

    Following America’s lead, in 1973 the IMF removed any tie they might have had between gold and their SDRs. By 1975, the original Bretton Woods system was ash canned. In the next financial panic coming to a neighborhood near you, you can bet your sweet elbows SDRs will be issued by the unbacked trillions to provide the 188 member-nations enough liquidity to keep their doors open a while longer. All together now, join in:  ♫ “Oh sweet gold, where have you gone?” ♫

     Of the 188 member nations, the IMF has only four that vote:  The U.S., U.K., Japan and Europe. But China, while not meeting all the IMF criteria, isn’t going broke as fast as those four and is expected to be added. Money talks … even when it’s just IOUs from the United States.  Last week the IMF head Christine Lagarde said, “The IMF staff assesses that [the Chinese currency] meets the requirements to be included in the SDR basket as a fifth currency along with the British pound, euro, Japanese yen and the U.S. dollar. At first glance, this seems like no big deal. Nobody actually uses the IMF’s currency.”  Just wait, Christine!
     So to wind up, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is expected to soon bless China’s currency, the yuan (AKA renminbi), with official reserve currency status. For months there have been wild stories floating around the financial world that the IMF’s move will result in massive — and potentially destabilizing — shifts in foreign-exchange markets. One of the more sensational versions of this story implies the dollar’s reserve currency status will be threatened triggering a collapse in the value of the $USD, and a global currency crisis. I really don’t think that’s gonna happen…

     But there’s something you should know. These SDRs are not magic money. Like the U.S. dollar, they’re only make believe. You’re going to hear things about this “New World Money.”   You’re going to be invited to buy Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) based on these SDRs. Hey, they might be a good investment -- it’ll depend on how good the salesmen are. And if they sell like hotcakes, there’ll be people who’ll make a bunch of money. But just remember, for every person who makes money, there’ll be those who’ll lose an equal amount. And always remember: these Wall Street snake-oil salesmen are pretty crafty – especially when their joined at the hip with the top guys in our administration. But hey, if you think you’re craftier than they are, take ‘em on. And lotsa’ luck!

     In closing remember, there are hundreds of elements of value in the world. Food and water top the list. Somewhere up near the top are real mediums of exchange like gold, jewels, stuff you can walk into a store somewhere in the world and exchange for life-sustaining necessities. Before you invest the family fortune in anything without any intrinsic value (like SDRs, bitcoins, etc), ask yourself what you can trade it for. The U.S. dollar is backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. SDRs are backed by the full faith and credit of the IMF. The Pyramid Scheme was backed by the full faith and credit of Bernie Madoff.

 ... ’Nuff said?

A Veteran

To have served in the military is an honor that anyone who has done so understands. It doesn’t matter if you were drafted or volunteered, you were there to be counted and you learned about sacrifice and humility. You found out that you were just one small insignificant part of a great team but that the team only worked if each part did their job. You may have been asked to risk your life or even take the life of another and then just as suddenly go back to being just an average person, a guy or girl taking their kids to a little league game. On Veterans Day you seldom think about yourself, you think about your buddies who became your family, you think about those who have passed on. You never out live your pledge to our Country and our Constitution, ask most Vet’s and they will tell you they’re ready if needed.

What is a Veteran?

Just who is a Veteran, why is he or she different from others?  A United States Military Veteran is a person who pledged his life to protect others.  They actually signed a document offering to give their lives in the defense of our Nation.  Many suffered radical injuries, lost limbs, eyesight & traumatic brain injuries in the process of serving their Country.  A great many have given their all & died as a result of their service.  I am a Veteran, fortunately my service didn’t cause me to suffer these traumatic wounds or to suffer any mental difficulties.  Does that mean my service was any less important to the cause of freedom?  When one signs the contract to enter the service you do so with the complete understanding that you are pledging your life to the cause of freedom.  One never knows where this will lead them.  I don’t pretend to be a hero just because I’m a Veteran, the heroes are the ones who have left blood on the battlefield.  The majority of Veterans are just like me, normal everyday working stiffs who just believe in freedom and were willing to fight for that privilege.  I think most of us feel awfully lucky when we see our brothers and sisters who have suffered such devastating trauma.  I still feel proud when someone says ( Thank you for your service.)  Sometimes I feel embarrassed in the company of a wounded Vet or the parents who lost a son or daughter wondering what they must feel about those of us who served and survived.  I guess that little bit of guilt prays on all of us at one time or another but the belief in God and the knowledge that his plan is what decides how our lives evolve gives us comfort.  I can tell you that judging by the people I know who have served in the Military no matter what branch deserve your praise, they are proud of their service no matter where it led them.  Most would serve again if the country needed them even those from their wheelchairs. 

Support your Veterans specially those who carry the wounds of war in their heads and on their bodies. 

Changing America

As I have stumbled through my 74 years here on earth I’ve learned a thing or two about life.  The most important thing was that you get what you put into it.  I’ve always considered myself a kind person, my mother and father wouldn’t put up with anything less.  I’ve always thought that if you treat people  kindly they will do the same for you.  Something has happened here in the United States that has changed all that.  Some people expect to go through life sitting on their duffs waiting to be handed whatever they need.  I look in the job ads and they are plentiful yet our unemployment rate is ghastly.  I think this once great country has finally reached its apex, it was said by a Scottish Professor in 1778 that a democracy can only last until the people realize they can vote themselves money from the State treasury and then it will fade.  A true democratic republic is only as strong as its ability to produce wealth and when the people stop producing and start taking it dissolves into a system where a few powerful people control everything.  We are in that decline with over 50% of our citizens living off the State.  The 50% that still produce are tired and fading fast into oblivion.  Just like illegally feeding the bears at Yellowstone our people are becoming Yogi’s and would rather take your picnic basket than make their own.   Those who have paid their way and are on Social Security or a company pension plan have earned every dime.  It’s many in the newer generation that has been brought up with everything handed to them and educated in a distorted American history showing us to be the evil empire by progressive professors who dominate our Universities that have lost the concept of the American Dream.   The United States of America has been the one place everyone in the world has wanted to come to.  We have fought and died so that others may be free from the yoke of tyranny.  We have been the one place that the down trotted could look to for salvation and freedom.  America is not the bad guy in the world yet we get told we must change and be more like the 3^rd world countries we have always defended.  Look what’s become of the world since we have withdrawn, our enemies laugh at our threats and our one time allies don’t believe we have the courage and in fact distrust our word.  China is in a position to dominate the world with its vast army and growing navy along with their expanding wealth.  Russia is rebuilding its military as we reduce ours to a level incapable of defending our freedom.  The Middle East is in the worse shape in history with Isis growing everyday by brutally slashing their way through Christians from country to country.  We spend our days looking over our shoulder in terror rather than addressing the problem and fighting for our dignity.  Yes America has changed, we don’t have the character to step in and save Europe like our Fathers and Grandfathers did in the 40’s.  We don’t even have the fortitude to stand up to a ragtag army that wants us to live in the Stone Age.

I’m sorry I probably won’t be here to see it but eventually the people are going to hold up our Constitution and demand its empowerment.  The politicians who have been for years lining their pockets rather than protecting the rights of their constituents will be held accountable and it won’t be pretty.  A new and just America will come out of the ashes and once again be the shining star it once was.   I along with all the other veterans who have served this country with honor will be watching from above and cheering the rebirth of America.