Welcome to our Blog

In March of 2011 my wife and I quit or jobs, cashed in our chips and left the big city behind to move to our farm hidden away in northeast Georgia. These are our observations on the news of the day and our adventures in homesteading, becoming self reliant, prepping and living a simpler, more fulfilling life.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Report on the Nation



Stop thinking in terms of Left or Right, Liberal vs Conservative, or good vs evil. It's time to bring things closer to home, to look at things thru the lens of common sense.


I posted this earlier but thought it worth re-posting.
We're Saved!
Took ‘em long enough to come up with a budget???

2011 Federal Budget DealFederal Budget:   $3,820,000,000,000  (3.82 Trillion)
Income:               $2,170,000,000,000  (2.17 Trillion)
New Debt:           $1,650,000,000,000  (1.65 Trillion)
Amount Cut:            $38,500,000,000   (38.5 Billion) – about 1% of
the total budget.Harry Reid is calling this a “historic amount“. The President said it
is a “historic deal”. John Boehner simply said, “We’ve come to an
agreement”.
Let’s Put This In Perspective.  It helps me to think about these
numbers in terms that I can relate to.
Let’s remove nine zeroes from those numbers and pretend this is a
monthly household budget for the fictitious Jones family.
Amount of money the “Jones`s” family spent this month:          $3,820
Total income for the “Jones`s” family this month:                      $2,170
Amount of new debt added to the credit card this month:          $1,650
Outstanding balance on the credit card:
$14,271     (This represents our national debt).
So last week, the “Jones’s” sat down at the kitchen table and agreed
to cut $38 from their monthly budget. A historic amount!
Are You Impressed?
Me neither!

Based on the FACT that Fedgov borrows .42 cents of every dollar it spends. Based on the FACT that the GAO has documented $100's of billions in wasteful and fraudulent spending that Fedgov does little to correct. Based on the FACT that billions upon billions are spent on ineffective and inefficient programs. Based on the FACT that by Fedgovs own projections, in 10 years there won't be enough money in the world to bail us out, does not common sense tell you..... we should do better?
  
year                                                                                                                                                                      PRES         S           H

2002157.8 Billion Dollar Deficit186.204 Billion DeficitRDR

2003374 Billion Dollar Deficit430.1 Billion DeficitRRR
2004413 Billion Dollar Deficit462.56 Billion DeficitRRR
2005319 Billion Dollar Deficit347.71 Billion DeficitRRR
2006248 Billion Dollar Deficit260.4 Billion DeficitRRR
2007162 Billion Dollar Deficit165.24 Billion DeficitRDD
2008455 Billion Dollar Deficit455 Billion DeficitRDD
20091416 Billion Dollar Deficit1416 Billion DeficitDDD
20101294 Billion Dollar Deficit1294 Billion DeficitDDD
20111650 Billion Dollar Deficit1650 Billion DeficitDDR


It does us little good to point fingers and place blame. Repubs and Dems are both culpable. I will only point out for historic reference that in 2008 the projected budget deficit for 2009 was under 600 Billion, an insultingly high number. When the Dems took over in 2009 the deficits exploded. It does none of us any good for our leaders to pound sand and blame Bush over and over, there's enough blame to go around....... it's time to fix this. 


Largest Foreign Holders of US Debt



The most recent numbers available from the Treasury Department are from: May/2011



CountryHoldingsMonth Over MonthChange YoY

China, Mainland$1159.8 Billion+0.63%+33.66%
Japan$912.4 Billion+0.61%+16.26%
United Kingdom$346.5 Billion+4.05%-1.2%
Oil Exporters$229.8 Billion+3.75%+0.52%
Brazil$211.4 Billion+2.17%+30.9%
All Other$202.5 Billion-1.12%+15.98%
Taiwan$153.4 Billion-0.71%+21.55%
Carib Bnkng Ctrs$148.3 Billion+7.39%-10.82%
Hong Kong$121.9 Billion-0.41%-16.33%
Russia$115.2 Billion-8.13%-9.15%
Switzerland$108.2 Billion+1.79%+28.2%
Canada$90.7 Billion+3.42%+6.96%
Luxembourg$68.0 Billion-13.27%-10.05%
Germany$61.2 Billion-0.16%+9.68%
Thailand$59.8 Billion-1.48%+29.16%
Singapore$57.4 Billion-4.81%+41.38%
India$41.0 Billion-2.61%+39.93%
Turkey$39.3 Billion+3.69%+42.39%
Ireland$33.5 Billion-16.67%-30.21%
Korea, South$32.5 Billion+5.52%-14.02%
Belgium$31.4 Billion-0.63%+78.41%
Poland$27.9 Billion+1.82%+19.23%
Mexico$27.7 Billion+3.75%-19.01%
Italy$25.4 Billion+2.42%+22.12%
Netherlands$23.7 Billion+0.42%+34.66%
France$23.6 Billion+16.26%-37.73%
Philippines$23.6 Billion-1.26%+63.89%
Norway$21.1 Billion0%+38.82%
Sweden$20.9 Billion-2.34%+55.97%
Colombia$19.9 Billion+0.51%+26.75%
Israel$19.1 Billion-1.04%-4.98%
Chile$18.9 Billion+1.61%+57.5%
Egypt$12.9 Billion-5.15%-53.93%
Malaysia$12.7 Billion+4.1%+20.95%
Australia$12.3 Billion-6.11%-12.77%


Look at the above list of the countries that are financing Fedgovs spending. Yearly A full 5th of the worlds GDP is used to buy our treasuries. This is just one of many reasons the stock market drops when the other world economies struggle.


Can We Tell the Truth?

In this instance, they are deathly afraid of that number. The “fair share” can never be quantified — not in theory, not in practice. Conceptually, it is a non sequitur, because it gets the Left’s premise exactly backwards. To peg the rich man’s “fair share” at anything greater than zero would be to admit that the wealth is his in the first place. Having intensely focus-grouped the matter, the strategists are quite sure you’re not ready to be told that all wealth belongs to the state, and that since it is theirs, not yours, “fair share” is whatever they decide under the exigencies of the moment. Read more... I have met the weasel, and he is us.


U.S. Government Used Taxpayer Funds to Buy, Sell Weapons During 'Fast and Furious,' Documents ShowImage DetailOperation Fast and Furious began in October 2009. In it, federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives encouraged gun stores to sell weapons to an arms smuggling gang, then watched as the guns crossed the border and were used in crimes. Each month, the agency allowed hundreds of guns to go South, despite opposition from some agents.
Read more... us-government-bought-and-sold-weapons-during-fast-and-furious-documents-show/




Documents Detail ATF Involvement in 'Fast and Furious'

The following documents detail the role the ATF played in buying and selling weapons as part of its controversial "Fast and Furious" operation. More...2011/09/26/documents


Lawmakers Claim Justice Inspector Obstructed Probe Into ‘Fast and Furious’
The inspector general of the Department of Justice undermined and obstructed a congressional investigation by releasing secret tape recordings that corroborate allegations of misconduct in "Operation Fast and Furious," according to a letter written by Rep. Darrell Issa and Sen. Charles Grassley. Read more... fast-and-furious gunrunner scandal


Many think The Fast and Furious scandal was a one time mistake. A truck load of guns delivered and then lost track of. No, it was an operation involving thousands of weapons sold to gunrunners and drug dealers over many months. With 3/4 of all the weapons unaccounted for and 150+ deaths linked to these weapons you have to ask where the logic is in all this. From the start there was substantial opposition from many in the Justice Department and ATF but the brain trust pushed on. Based on the number of weapons ATF lost track of, it was an abject failure from the start but they kept the operation going anyway. Ask yourself... does any of this make sense to you?



Obama’s Charade

There was a very revealing segment on The Chris Matthews Show on Sunday. The discussion was about President Obama’s recent focus on jobs, jobs, jobs. Obama gave his much ballyhooed speech in Congress, right after everyone returned from their August recess. You will recall that Obama first tried to schedule it up against a long-planned Republican presidential debate, the first day Congress was back, but that was rejected in what was treated by the media as a show of disrespect. The President agreed to speak the next night, and had to carefully schedule it so as not to conflict with the opening game of the National Football League season. Read more... gulagbound






Subdividing America—to Win
Subdividing America—to Win“Operation Vote will function as a large, centralized department in the Chicago campaign office for reaching ethnic, religious and other voter groups. It will coordinate recruitment of an ethnic volunteer base and push out targeted messages online and through the media to different groups, such as blacks, Hispanics, Jews, women, seniors, young people, gays and Asian Americans.
Read more..... subdividing america









To any who have attempted to weigh thru the thousands of pages of the new healthcare law one thing stands out, Fedgovs plan is to reduce the amount spent on healthcare..... by everyone. The less we spend, the less they will have to spend. They continue to work at it incrementum.



Medicare and the President’s Deficit Reduction Plan: Shifting Costs to Seniors


New Medicare beneficiaries would be hit with a penalty if they purchase MediGap insurance that covers all or most of Medicare's copayments and deductibles. Administration officials claim that such insurance encourages excessive use of medical services. Read more... shifting-costs-to-seniors






poster-fishy-rumors2-REV.jpg
From the creative minds at  The Woodpile Report





Eric Holder: another fine appointment by our president.


Taxpayers foot the bill for Justice Department’s $16 muffins
** FILE ** Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. (AP Photo)


The Justice Department and several of its agencies engaged in “extravagant and wasteful” spending on food, beverages and event planning for law enforcement conferences, including paying $16 each for muffins, $76 per person for lunch and more than $8 for a cup of coffee, according to an audit released Tuesday by the department’s Office of Inspector General. Read more... washingtontimes


The question then is... what are we to do? Our options seem limited. Continue on with the same incompetent leaders we have now. A president who now seems capable of little else other then blaming others and making excuses.“We had reversed the recession, avoided a depression, got the economy moving again. . . .But over the last six months, we’ve had a run of bad luck.” B. Obama. From George Bush, the GOP, the Tea Party to the Arab Spring and the earthquake in Japan. Obama seems to have no end of excuses to blame for failure, other then his policies that is. We deserve better, better from both parties. We need a Government that will work on our behalf and be accountable. We must insist that our government uphold certain principles, principles of self-discipline, high ethical standards and to honor the responsibility we entrust to them. Yes, it's time for change, not small change, but big and sweeping. We have been playing this tired old game for most of the last 40 years... It's not working! The median income of American families has been stagnant for 15 years and is now starting to shrink. If we don't fix this now the American Dream of a better life for our children will be replaced by something 3rd worldly.


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