I started thinking about the Shop Local movement a few days ago after reading some forwarded email story about buying products Made in the USA.  What came to mind after reading first was the slogan “Act Globally – Shop Locally”… remembering the bumper stickers on the back of the VW Buses.

Shopping local came to mind because I’ve always kind of felt the efforts of the “Shop Local” movement have fallen a bit short by failing to incorporate “Made in the USA” as shopping local.

So really the point I want to hammer home is that buying American is Shopping local. Think about it.. you go to the local hardware store to get a pack of light bulb and the ones you happen to buy are a product of Mexico.  It totally defeats the purpose of trying to shop local. Sure you spent your money locally at Ace Hardware or True Value but in the end a good portion of the money has left the country because you just paid someones hourly wage in some third world county.

Buying products made right here in the good ol’ USA supports the local American economy.  Seriously we have to think on a grander scale (our Country and fellow citizens).

We shop local for the most part and being that we also try and buy the natural alternative / chemical free products they are generally all made in the USA. So the next time you go shopping at the local market start looking on your labels and consider supporting more than your local economy.. support your local American economy.

Happy Memorial Day

Click here to view the embedded video.

So now I have to click through because this man should not be allowed to talk on his own.

Article quotes him from an NBC interview….

Clinton was asked his perspective on how the country fell into such economic hard times, Clinton responded in an NBC “Today” show interview by asking rhetorically: “Did any of them seriously believe that if I had been president and my economic team had been in place the last eight years, that this would be taking place.”

Are you F#@!king kidding me. His administration is the root of this problem. He’s the idiot who came up with the campaign about making it possible for every American to buy a home. This is where the term creative lending came from. Sure.. you make minimum wage, have a credit score of 400 but you qualify to buy a house 10x’s your means of being able to pay it with this 5 year introductory offer of 0% blah, blah, blah. It’s frustratingly ridiculous that Clinton has the gaul to say his administration wouldn’t be in a crisis like this.

What put me over the top in this article was that he claims to be in communication with President Obama over “nuts and bolts” issues of the presidency and how to keep things from “falling through the cracks.”

Frightening thought.. Clinton consulting Obama.

We live in very scary times and its not because of the state of the people or the economy, its because of the people we allow to run  things.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I gotta give it to the marketing firm who came up with this ad campaign.  Makes laugh out loud every time I see one of these etrade commercials.  If the economy didn’t suck so bad I might actually consider looking into etrade.. but not right now.

The 545 People Responsible For All Of America’s Woes
By Charley Reese
This article was taken from the Orlando Sentinel Star newspaper

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, we have deficits? Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don’t propose a federal budget. The president does. You and I don’t have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does. You and I don’t write the tax code. Congress does. You and I don’t set fiscal policy. Congress does. You and I don’t control monetary policy. The Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president and nine Supreme Court justices – 545 human beings out of the 235 million – are directly, legally, morally and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered but private central bank.

I excluded all but the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don’t care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it.

No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislation’s responsibility to determine how he votes.

A CONFIDENCE CONSPIRACY

Don’t you see how the con game that is played on the people by the politicians? Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of Tip O’Neill, who stood up and criticized Ronald Reagan for creating deficits.

The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it. The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating appropriations and taxes.

O’neill is the speaker of the House. He is the leader of the majority party. He and his fellow Democrats, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetos it, they can pass it over his veto.

REPLACE SCOUNDRELS

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 235 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted — by present facts – of incompetence and irresponsibility.

I can’t think of a single domestic problem, from an unfair tax code to defense overruns, that is not traceable directly to those 545 people.

When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it’s because they want it unfair. If the budget is in the red, it’s because they want it in the red. If the Marines are in Lebanon, it’s because they want them in Lebanon.

There are no insoluble government problems. Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take it.

Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exist disembodied mystical forces like “the economy,” “inflation” or “politics” that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people and they alone are responsible. They and they alone have the power. They and they alone should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses – provided they have the gumption to manage their own employees.

The package as a whole stinks… majority of the politicians or lawmakers have NO faith in it, many consider it a bad deal but a better deal than what we are currently facing. Again, choosing the lesser of 2 evils.

I can’t believe the Government wants to bail out the MFs that caused this “Financial Crisis”.

With four months left in office, this package by the Bush Administration is a Hail Mary for George W. to try and save face for his term in office. He constantly cries wolf and this is just another instance of the same old song and dance.

The big question I have is… which companies being bailed out does George W have vested interest.

This guy could care less about the American people… it’s been quite obvious throughout his entire administration that he is only looking out for himself. Take 911 for instance… after watching Loose Change the Final Cut… its quite apparent that George W had a hand in that. I find it quite ironic that build 7 (?) went down several blocks away which contained all the ENRON Files. Like that wasn’t a cover up.

I can’t wait for him to be out of office… let the law suits fly and may God have mercy on your soul!

The Bush administration sketched out a multi-faceted effort on Friday to confront the worst U.S.  Financial crisis in decades, outlining a program that could cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars to buy up bad mortgages and other toxic debt. Relief washed over Wall Street with a surge of buying.

… Paulson gave few details but said he would work through the weekend with leaders of Congress from both parties to flesh out the program, the biggest proposed government intervention in financial markets since the Great Depression. Members of the Senate Banking Committee said they had yet to receive details of the proposal, but were ready to move quickly when they do. JEANNINE AVERSA and JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS

So what I gather here is the Government is going to authorize the Fanny May and Freddie Mac to buy up properties that have foreclosed or in forecloser stabilize the banking / lending market. So essential they’re playing the game of buy low / sell high with tax payer dollars… that’s how it sounds to me but who
really is for certain because the Fed’s haven’t disclosed any details.

I have to agree with Senator McCain on this one:

The Republican presidential hopeful said the Fed should get back to “its core business of responsibly managing our money supply and inflation”…

McCain said simply that leaders should put aside partisan differences and “any action should be designed to keep people in their homes and safeguard the life savings of all Americans.” “McCain says Fed should stop government bailouts” By BETH FOUHY, Associated Press Writer.

I would think helping Americans stay in their homes with new financial terms so they pay their mortgages would be more lucrative? It stabilizes the financial market because people are paying their bills. And it doesn’t really cost tax payers anything unless the Fed’s want to make up the difference of what lenders
might lose in renegotiating financial terms.

Some conspiracy theorist friends of mine claim (my brother-in-law Tim) say this whole financial struggle and bailout is simply a ploy to make the notion of the “One World Currency” seem more attractive… or something like that..

So what do you think.. does it make sense to bailout the financial instutions or hardworking / tax-paying American’s?

Dear Sammy,

I want to share some really exciting news with you. As you know, poll after poll shows that we are winning the argument about how to lower gas and diesel prices and develop more American energy now.

But the even bigger news is that the anti-energy elites are desperately worried. They are not only criticizing us, but they are admitting that they are losing the argument.

And friends, that’s big. In fact, considering the source, that’s huge.

Recently, liberal group MoveOn.org in an email to their supporters sounded dejected. They wrote “Here’s the truth: Right now, progressives are losing this argument.”

That can mean only one thing – WE ARE WINNING THIS ARGUMENT!

In the energy debate, common sense is winning and it’s got the anti-energy elites rattled because they offer no solutions to lowering gas and diesel prices.

American Solutions, on the other hand, has taken a bold stand and has been leading the “Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less” movement that has energized millions of Americans around a positive solution. Because of your help and the help of more than a million others, today an overwhelming majority of Americans support opening up new areas for exploration and drilling of American oil and gas, including offshore.

Even though MoveOn.org admits we are winning, they won’t quit, and there is still more work to be done.

Congress has left for a 5-week vacation without doing anything to address the soaring cost of gas and diesel. This inaction is unacceptable to the American people, many of whom can’t afford a vacation this year.

Earlier today, American Solutions held a press conference with Speaker Gingrich and Members of Congress still in Washington working to pass an energy bill. Our message to them was simple: On behalf of the 1.4 million Americans who have signed the “Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less” petition, it’s time for Congress to take immediate action to lower gas and diesel prices. Here’s a video from the event:

Now more than ever, we need your help to keep the pressure on Congress. You can help by forwarding this email to 5 of your friends, telling them we are winning the argument, and urging them to sign the “Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less” petition.

If we get 2 million petition signatures we will make a big impact at both the Democratic and Republican conventions.

Thank you for all you are doing – we’re really making a difference.

Sincerely,

Dave Ryan

President

American Solutions

As the prices crept higher, more and more political videos started popping up on the web promoting domestic oil drilling. The most recent one I’ve seen is by Rep. Don Young of Alaska urging the opening up of ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge). Since I saw this video a few weeks back, I’ve noticed gas prices have decreased slightly within the last 10 days… the station around the corner is down to $4.25 a gallon.

According to an Article I found on ANWR “New Poll: Voters Favor Domestic Drilling

A recent telephone survey of 1,000 likely voters nationwide by the polling companyTM, inc. on behalf of FamilySecurityMatters.org shows that by nearly a 4-to-1 margin, Americans favor increasing domestic oil drilling (77% support; 18% oppose).

Moreover, 61% of respondents strongly backed tapping into U.S. oil reserves, and majorities from every demographic group surveyed backed domestic drilling, including 91% of Republicans, 73% of Independents and 67% of Democrats.

Finally, domestic oil drilling may soon be a reality so American’s can enjoy energy independence.

About $2 billion in economic stimulus rebate checks are being confiscated to pay overdue bills for child support, student loans and back taxes, the government says.

So far, 1.8 million rebate checks have been intercepted by Treasury Department computers showing that individuals owe money to federal or state governments. The biggest beneficiaries: parents who are owed child support.

My first thoughts.. awesome.. families are getting paid whats owed to them.. especially now with the cost of gas so high inturn driving up the prices on everything else.

My second thought is.. what scam! The government makes up money on paper to give to American citizens only to take it back nown in liquid form to pay back taxes and student loans owed to itself… talk about a fund raiser. And someone is really going to tell me this wasn’t planned out by our senior dipsticks in Washington? It’s almost blatent.