Frank Louis
I'm overwhelmed: A brief look at the situation
By Frank Louis
I will admit it; I am overwhelmed! It is what (among other things) has kept me from penning my thoughts for the past several months. It is just hard to know where to start and, as it seems that so many people are already pitching their thoughts into the mix, I just decided to try and wait it out. Unfortunately, it is just not happening: the solutions are not coming.
No, sitting it out has not assisted in bringing it all to a resolution, much less than to a halt. Emotions have gone wild and, combined with the ever-shortening memory (and attention span) that has become the MO of the day, my decision is: I have to get back into the mix.
But to provide a quick look back to where I left off: The housing crisis. Well, it is still out there. Still millions of homes upside down in value, owned by people who got trapped by the subprime scheme. People who have credit ratings to risk (or already destroyed) and actually had (it is gone now) cash invested. Yep, the folks "just trying to achieve the American Dream" with NINJA Loans have "cashed out" and moved on. Nothing to lose. They got their credit cards paid off, cash back at closing, and are happy back renting I guess.
The remaining people are still trying to pay that unjust , inflated mortgage. They have found themselves with the unsolvable dilemma: stuck between owning huge housing debt, upside-down in value property – that is not refinancable to lower rates (much less be sellable) and needing to move on with their lives. Damned if they do, damned if they don't. I know several people, for whom this topic is still a focus of discussion, debating how to retire -negotiate life- move on, with these albatross hanging around their necks.
Now, as then, no Federal Program, no Executive Order... no "nothing" to get these millions of Americans out from under the trap that was sprung on them by Fannie and Freddie and Government meddling in the one economic engine we all thought should be pretty secure... Land. Yeah, yeah, I know prices and values fluctuate you will argue back to me... I get it. But fluctuation I can live with. Outright malicious manipulation is different. Finally, the Big Short is in theaters albeit somewhat watered down since the release of the book years ago.
But now, we are in a new political debate. I hear the talking heads debating the cultural and economic disaster a potential Trump Presidency might create. However, this is surely a nation with an addiction and infection as well as several broken bones and failing organs. Major surgery, organ transplants and cold turkey are required to save the patient. The alternative... continued and increasing dependence on the government – while being "nicer"- will result in the death of this nation as well as the death of thousands of years of the guiding principals that came with a strong Judeo-Christian moral foundation... Knowing the difference between right and wrong; having a solid baseline from which to operate. A moral compass.
So, we may encounter difficulties getting trade balances turned around, securing our nation (including our culture and language along with our borders), and becoming a nation that can get things (other than social engineering) done but the difficulties are better than allowing this greatest nation in the history of humankind to die a slow and painful death.
And, oh yeah... Can anyone remember President Obama's pronouncement to his minions last Christmas (oops, I am so sorry... I mean to say last "Holiday Season") instructing them to "get into people's faces" over Obamacare. Doesn't quite sound "friendly" to me. Sounds a bit more forceful that Donald Trump stating a mere fact that people may well riot if they find their votes stolen. But, heck, double standard? Folks we need to vote and get this ship turned around before it sinks, crashes and burns in the approaching heavy seas.
Just to start, and at the risk of sounding "mean-spirited," and full of "hate speech," just let me say that humans are not "assigned" a sex at birth. We are the sex we are born with. A culture/nation that is attempting to alter this basic fact of life through legalese, double-speak language and plastic surgery is destined to fail. Anyone who is either ignorant or selfish enough to want to believe in this shot across the bow of civilization needs to rethink the purpose of their life!
Sorry folks, the XY Chromosome thing is real. Cosmetic surgery, playing "dress up," and rioting will not change that fact. We are becoming a nation of neurotically driven motives. Heaven help anyone (like me) that dares to point these facts out. No, in this postmodern era, principles are being replaced with parameters established by abstract painters and beat poets. While these broken down fences make for exciting artistic expression, is it "any way to run a railroad?" I think not. There are so many issues, so little time!
I am sitting here while writing this, finding it almost impossible to limit my rambling to one or two thoughts. I am hearing several talking heads in the media arguing the recent rioting at political campaign talks. I guess logic is no longer taught is schools, colleges or universities?
Does the fact that those on the Right are not rioting at the Left's rallies mean that the Left is correct and therefore there is nothing to protest? Au contraire. No, it just means that those on the Right are civil and follow principles like in the constitution. Yes they believe in free speech and believe that the shape of a gun's stock should have no effect on someone's ability to own it.
Face it, anyone who believes a person does not need more that 7-10 rounds in a magazine has clearly never gone squirrel hunting. In fact they see hunting and, pretty much gun owning itself as being way beneath them. "Clinging to those guns and Bibles"... Didn't someone say that all not that long ago? No, the people who are the most adamant about overturning basic rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment have no real concept of firearms. They are not rooted in any knowledgable of or about owning and using guns. As one legislator said to me: "I just hate the smell of gunpowder." Pretty good basis for legislation if you ask me!
No, they just "know" they are right and that guns have no place in a cultured society. Sorry to tell them, but they could not be further away from the truth... however, they are really not all that interested in "truth." No, its that emotionally motivated culture I mentioned earlier in this article. A sort of blindness. Nancy Pelosi claims that veterans are the biggest threat to this nation's security... and people still vote for her? Really?
If not blindness, it is shortsightedness for sure. Let's limit government to the Constitutional constraints it was created to have. It is "a charter of negative liberties" as Obama sees it on purpose. But those "negative liberties" take the "liberty" of potential unfettered rule from those in power, not freedom from we the people. Let's stop delegating morality with Executive Orders. Use Executive Orders to expedite transactions that maintain infrastructure and keep us secure, not to dictate who has to bake a cake for who or be forced to violate deeply held principles.
Government has become too policy orientated, it does not function. A policy and bureau for everything. Government should enhance transactions, not inhibit them. I think that is what many find in Trump refreshing: he is about getting things done, not creating studies and regulations. Deals!
I pray I am right. I want to believe he is doing this because he sees a need to keep this country on track for his future generations. Keep it the same place with the same opportunities it was for him and his ancestors. His family surely has enough to lose. And we with less to lose, still have enough at risk to lose for our future generations that we know the time has come.
Our National Debt is approaching $20 Trillion. President Obama called the size of the debt under George W. Bush "unpatriotic," yet he has doubled and tripled it. How is it that the likes of Harry Reid (and all of the Democrats actually) reprimand Republicans for implementing the "Biden Rule" when it comes to nominating a new Supreme Court Justice? The "Biden Rule," isn't that the Democrat VP who implemented that?
Bernie, Hillary, where is all of the funding for the proposed future spending going to come from? If it is the goal to fund it all by eliminating the "rich" and they are eliminated then what?" If you think about it, "poor" is only definable by contrasting it against "wealth." Eliminate wealth and nobody will be "poor." Everyone will be "equal." I just don't get it. Water seeks its own level... actually the lowest level! What is going on?
Having experienced the "60s, the 1968 Democratic Convention, and the wake of the Vietnam War, I find it ironic – to say the least – that it is now "conservatives" who are seen as "anti-establishment." The 'liberals" want more establishment, more regulations, more ... well, just more of less freedom and some kind of forced conformity. Remember, it was Leftists rioting at the Democratic Convention in 1968.
And, as I flip through various "news" stations. I find it so interesting how specific details get left out of "news" stories. Must I remind Rachael Maddow that the "segregationist governor" of Alabama was a Democrat? Many of Americans are tired of being called racists because we want to maintain our language, borders and culture. The Latin Americans argue that the racist white people stole this country. I hate to break it to them but "Spanish" is not the indigenous language of South America. This is about assimilation and not harping on history. I think many out there are purposely confusing issues. Dr. Ben Carson is accused of being an Uncle Tom. Give me a break.
And, oh yeah, and that it was during a Democratic Governor's term that the Trump Park in New York went into shambles. Scott Walker said it quite well when asked about the thousands of protesters in the capital of Wisconsin. He replied that he was there for the will of the millions of people who were not there protesting. He won. The Left tries to disrupt and we have a history of sitting back and being "silent." We cannot continue in that mode this year. We must retake our nation... for our future generations if not for ourselves.
Utopia is not achievable folks (a pretty well spelled out fact in the Bible). Especially the "utopia" that is being pushed down out throats. The one Nancy Pelosi touts in which everyone can sit back and write poetry and paint... "reach their potential." I have taught at the post-secondary level for more decades than I care to admit. One thing I have learned is that absolutely not everyone is trying to achieve their potential. Quite the contrary.
Leading to the election, I hope to provide my insight into the mix; not as an expert but as someone with an investment in this nation. I do have a dog in this fight: my grandchildren,their kids and their kids-kids not to mention the work my ancestors undertook to get us to this point. I do not believe in the Left's positions on any of the issues at hand, and I plan to present a logical argument to support my ideas over the next several months.
© Frank Louis
March 22, 2016
I will admit it; I am overwhelmed! It is what (among other things) has kept me from penning my thoughts for the past several months. It is just hard to know where to start and, as it seems that so many people are already pitching their thoughts into the mix, I just decided to try and wait it out. Unfortunately, it is just not happening: the solutions are not coming.
No, sitting it out has not assisted in bringing it all to a resolution, much less than to a halt. Emotions have gone wild and, combined with the ever-shortening memory (and attention span) that has become the MO of the day, my decision is: I have to get back into the mix.
But to provide a quick look back to where I left off: The housing crisis. Well, it is still out there. Still millions of homes upside down in value, owned by people who got trapped by the subprime scheme. People who have credit ratings to risk (or already destroyed) and actually had (it is gone now) cash invested. Yep, the folks "just trying to achieve the American Dream" with NINJA Loans have "cashed out" and moved on. Nothing to lose. They got their credit cards paid off, cash back at closing, and are happy back renting I guess.
The remaining people are still trying to pay that unjust , inflated mortgage. They have found themselves with the unsolvable dilemma: stuck between owning huge housing debt, upside-down in value property – that is not refinancable to lower rates (much less be sellable) and needing to move on with their lives. Damned if they do, damned if they don't. I know several people, for whom this topic is still a focus of discussion, debating how to retire -negotiate life- move on, with these albatross hanging around their necks.
Now, as then, no Federal Program, no Executive Order... no "nothing" to get these millions of Americans out from under the trap that was sprung on them by Fannie and Freddie and Government meddling in the one economic engine we all thought should be pretty secure... Land. Yeah, yeah, I know prices and values fluctuate you will argue back to me... I get it. But fluctuation I can live with. Outright malicious manipulation is different. Finally, the Big Short is in theaters albeit somewhat watered down since the release of the book years ago.
But now, we are in a new political debate. I hear the talking heads debating the cultural and economic disaster a potential Trump Presidency might create. However, this is surely a nation with an addiction and infection as well as several broken bones and failing organs. Major surgery, organ transplants and cold turkey are required to save the patient. The alternative... continued and increasing dependence on the government – while being "nicer"- will result in the death of this nation as well as the death of thousands of years of the guiding principals that came with a strong Judeo-Christian moral foundation... Knowing the difference between right and wrong; having a solid baseline from which to operate. A moral compass.
So, we may encounter difficulties getting trade balances turned around, securing our nation (including our culture and language along with our borders), and becoming a nation that can get things (other than social engineering) done but the difficulties are better than allowing this greatest nation in the history of humankind to die a slow and painful death.
And, oh yeah... Can anyone remember President Obama's pronouncement to his minions last Christmas (oops, I am so sorry... I mean to say last "Holiday Season") instructing them to "get into people's faces" over Obamacare. Doesn't quite sound "friendly" to me. Sounds a bit more forceful that Donald Trump stating a mere fact that people may well riot if they find their votes stolen. But, heck, double standard? Folks we need to vote and get this ship turned around before it sinks, crashes and burns in the approaching heavy seas.
Just to start, and at the risk of sounding "mean-spirited," and full of "hate speech," just let me say that humans are not "assigned" a sex at birth. We are the sex we are born with. A culture/nation that is attempting to alter this basic fact of life through legalese, double-speak language and plastic surgery is destined to fail. Anyone who is either ignorant or selfish enough to want to believe in this shot across the bow of civilization needs to rethink the purpose of their life!
Sorry folks, the XY Chromosome thing is real. Cosmetic surgery, playing "dress up," and rioting will not change that fact. We are becoming a nation of neurotically driven motives. Heaven help anyone (like me) that dares to point these facts out. No, in this postmodern era, principles are being replaced with parameters established by abstract painters and beat poets. While these broken down fences make for exciting artistic expression, is it "any way to run a railroad?" I think not. There are so many issues, so little time!
I am sitting here while writing this, finding it almost impossible to limit my rambling to one or two thoughts. I am hearing several talking heads in the media arguing the recent rioting at political campaign talks. I guess logic is no longer taught is schools, colleges or universities?
Does the fact that those on the Right are not rioting at the Left's rallies mean that the Left is correct and therefore there is nothing to protest? Au contraire. No, it just means that those on the Right are civil and follow principles like in the constitution. Yes they believe in free speech and believe that the shape of a gun's stock should have no effect on someone's ability to own it.
Face it, anyone who believes a person does not need more that 7-10 rounds in a magazine has clearly never gone squirrel hunting. In fact they see hunting and, pretty much gun owning itself as being way beneath them. "Clinging to those guns and Bibles"... Didn't someone say that all not that long ago? No, the people who are the most adamant about overturning basic rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment have no real concept of firearms. They are not rooted in any knowledgable of or about owning and using guns. As one legislator said to me: "I just hate the smell of gunpowder." Pretty good basis for legislation if you ask me!
No, they just "know" they are right and that guns have no place in a cultured society. Sorry to tell them, but they could not be further away from the truth... however, they are really not all that interested in "truth." No, its that emotionally motivated culture I mentioned earlier in this article. A sort of blindness. Nancy Pelosi claims that veterans are the biggest threat to this nation's security... and people still vote for her? Really?
If not blindness, it is shortsightedness for sure. Let's limit government to the Constitutional constraints it was created to have. It is "a charter of negative liberties" as Obama sees it on purpose. But those "negative liberties" take the "liberty" of potential unfettered rule from those in power, not freedom from we the people. Let's stop delegating morality with Executive Orders. Use Executive Orders to expedite transactions that maintain infrastructure and keep us secure, not to dictate who has to bake a cake for who or be forced to violate deeply held principles.
Government has become too policy orientated, it does not function. A policy and bureau for everything. Government should enhance transactions, not inhibit them. I think that is what many find in Trump refreshing: he is about getting things done, not creating studies and regulations. Deals!
I pray I am right. I want to believe he is doing this because he sees a need to keep this country on track for his future generations. Keep it the same place with the same opportunities it was for him and his ancestors. His family surely has enough to lose. And we with less to lose, still have enough at risk to lose for our future generations that we know the time has come.
Our National Debt is approaching $20 Trillion. President Obama called the size of the debt under George W. Bush "unpatriotic," yet he has doubled and tripled it. How is it that the likes of Harry Reid (and all of the Democrats actually) reprimand Republicans for implementing the "Biden Rule" when it comes to nominating a new Supreme Court Justice? The "Biden Rule," isn't that the Democrat VP who implemented that?
Bernie, Hillary, where is all of the funding for the proposed future spending going to come from? If it is the goal to fund it all by eliminating the "rich" and they are eliminated then what?" If you think about it, "poor" is only definable by contrasting it against "wealth." Eliminate wealth and nobody will be "poor." Everyone will be "equal." I just don't get it. Water seeks its own level... actually the lowest level! What is going on?
Having experienced the "60s, the 1968 Democratic Convention, and the wake of the Vietnam War, I find it ironic – to say the least – that it is now "conservatives" who are seen as "anti-establishment." The 'liberals" want more establishment, more regulations, more ... well, just more of less freedom and some kind of forced conformity. Remember, it was Leftists rioting at the Democratic Convention in 1968.
And, as I flip through various "news" stations. I find it so interesting how specific details get left out of "news" stories. Must I remind Rachael Maddow that the "segregationist governor" of Alabama was a Democrat? Many of Americans are tired of being called racists because we want to maintain our language, borders and culture. The Latin Americans argue that the racist white people stole this country. I hate to break it to them but "Spanish" is not the indigenous language of South America. This is about assimilation and not harping on history. I think many out there are purposely confusing issues. Dr. Ben Carson is accused of being an Uncle Tom. Give me a break.
And, oh yeah, and that it was during a Democratic Governor's term that the Trump Park in New York went into shambles. Scott Walker said it quite well when asked about the thousands of protesters in the capital of Wisconsin. He replied that he was there for the will of the millions of people who were not there protesting. He won. The Left tries to disrupt and we have a history of sitting back and being "silent." We cannot continue in that mode this year. We must retake our nation... for our future generations if not for ourselves.
Utopia is not achievable folks (a pretty well spelled out fact in the Bible). Especially the "utopia" that is being pushed down out throats. The one Nancy Pelosi touts in which everyone can sit back and write poetry and paint... "reach their potential." I have taught at the post-secondary level for more decades than I care to admit. One thing I have learned is that absolutely not everyone is trying to achieve their potential. Quite the contrary.
Leading to the election, I hope to provide my insight into the mix; not as an expert but as someone with an investment in this nation. I do have a dog in this fight: my grandchildren,their kids and their kids-kids not to mention the work my ancestors undertook to get us to this point. I do not believe in the Left's positions on any of the issues at hand, and I plan to present a logical argument to support my ideas over the next several months.
© Frank Louis
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