Charlie Reese, formerly of the Orlando Sentinel

The following document was e-mailed to me by a friend:

This is an article written by Charlie Reese, a former columnist for the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper. Very interesting perspective on the state of our Nation!

"545 PEOPLE
By Charlie Reese

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 SupremeCourt justices 545 human beings out of the 300 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 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 legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.

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 a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President 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 and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the 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 IRAQ , it's because they want them in IRAQ.

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.

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 this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists 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 the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!"

Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.What you do with this article now that you have read it is up to you, though you appear to have several choices.

1. You can send this to everyone in your address book, and hope they do something about it.
2. You can agree to vote against everyone that is currently in office, knowing that the process will take several years.
3. You can decide to run for office yourself and agree to do the job properly.
4. Lastly, you can sit back and do nothing, or re-elect the current bunch.

I must say there is much I agree with in the material provided and the author, Charlie Reese a former columnist with the Orlando Sentinel newspaper, hit a chord with me. I believe it is time to throw them all out--every incumbent of the House and the Senate must be replaced. The president is on his way out and we must also find a way to oust the lifetime appointees of the Supreme Court. All of them gone, now! They have totally failed the people. Un-tested and with no experience, maybe a new crowd would do what is right for America.
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Of course we need to have the public set some rules for these leaders and I would be first to volunteer to help write a rule book with job descriptions for the legislators and the president. The incumbents of the last 50 years have not been able to figure out what is good for the country and how to get the nation moving--so we must tell them with a rule book. I suggest we vote in a whole new crowd. Let's give it a try and if the new incumbents fail we bring in another new group to run this country. There has got to be honest folks in the general population who can bring us back to prosperity, fairness, decency, and honor.

AIG

THE LOST E-MAIL

About two months ago I received an e-mail, probably from a friend, that included an attachment which discussed the real meaning of a billion dollars. I have lost track of who sent the e-mail but because I found the attachment so intriguing I did keep it and the following paragraphs amplify some of the data found on the attachment.

By the way I see the name Becky Hickman on the attachment and if she wrote it---well thanks Becky and I hope you have no difficulty with me using the essence of your document.

Also, I must warn the reader that I did not verify any of the arithmetic used in the attachment but simply took the calculations at face value.

A BILLION DOLLARS DEFINED

Our politicians and our government casually and consistently talk about spending a billion dollars for this or a billion dollars for that as if they are discussing popped popcorn. Please Mr. Politician, you are talking about dollar bills, money, legal tender, the green stuff. And if you talk about the expenditure of government funds, you are actually talking about the use of the people’s money.

AIG has been saved with an 80 billion dollar bail out. That was my money---where the hell did it go, and how long did it take to spend it, and who is going to monitor its use, and will any of the senior executives at AIG receive pay raises, and will AIG be back for more in ten years?

What is a billion dollars? It is not easily comprehended.

Consider this:

A billion seconds ago it was 1959.
A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive and the Roman Empire was flourishing. But what about those Roman politicians? Along with the Roman Emperor, they were probably contemplating spending a billion gold coins on something or other---rumor has it that they were considering bailing out the developer who went broke building the Coliseum.
Remember the Roman Empire came un-glued and ultimately fell apart---did it have anything to do with fiscal responsibility?

MORE ON THE BILLION NUMBER

A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.
A billion days ago no one with two feet walked the earth.
Clearly the number “One Billion” is a big, big number. It is so big that no one can really comprehend its magnitude especially when we hook the word dollars to it. And because it is incomprehensible it is an easy number, rolls off the tongue and so spending a billion dollars has become a “no thing.”

BIG NUMBERS VERSUS SMALL NUMBERS

I recall while working in the Pentagon several years ago I was trying to get approval to spend approximately $50,000 to buy a few automobiles for an Army unit in Japan. These vehicles were needed---but I was turned down on the request. Yet that very same day the Army spent millions and millions of dollars on a computer program with no fiscal remorse---Why? Because everyone understood the magnitude of $50,000, it was quite a bit of money and the expenditure was quickly rejected---no matter the apparent need. But no one could comprehend the magnitude of an expenditure of several million dollars and so it was quickly acted on---because a program that expensive most certainly had to be important and was therefore compelling.

I agree that the city of New Orleans needs further assistance to complete its recovery. And I believe the Louisiana Senator, Mary Landrieu (D) has asked congress for 250 billion dollars to rebuild New Orleans. What does that number really mean and is it realistic?

If you were one of the 484,674 residents of New Orleans you would receive $516, 528.

Or if you owned one of the 188,251 homes in the city, your home would receive a $1, 329,787 face lift.

Do you get the idea that the Senator is a little out of line? She surely doesn’t understand a billion dollars.

GOVERNMENT SPENDING

The government spends too much money--in fact money it does not have. A housewife goes to the super market with $60.00 in cash. She watches what she purchases and when she reaches the cash register her bill totals $52.48 and she can look for some change when she checks out at the cash register. She is fiscally responsible.

The government is not responsible--a government buyer at the super market, using $60.00 of government money, would attempt to buy $83.50 worth of goods. But the supermarket manager would say,

“No!---Put back $23.50 worth of merchandise and we can make a deal.”

The seller would demand fiscal responsibility of the buyer--notice the manager is from the private sector and understands money. However, the government dude has no idea about the value of money because it is not his and this is part of the problem.

STOCK MARKET AND THE PUBLIC

The stock market has been in the “tank” for a couple of days as a result of the mortgage industry’s greed and other significant factors. Tens of billions of dollars have been lost and the ripple effect is enormous.

Retirees on fixed incomes with 401Ks that have lost value over night are in a panic about buying gasoline and eggs. In the meantime, the pundits are saying it will all come back to even keel. Tell the guy who just lost his job as a middle manager that everything is OK and the economic fundamentals are strong--he will not believe any of it. People are hurting and in a quandary and this moment is a very troubling time for all of America.

TAXES

In the meantime the government continues to grind on and it will need more money. So how does the government acquire the billions and billions of dollars it spends? Of course we all know the answer---TAXES. We are taxed for everything. Look at the incomplete list below.

We pay:

Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax
Fishing License Tax
Food License Permit
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges
IRS Penalties
Liquor Tax
Luxury Tax
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service Charge Tax
Social Security Tax
Road Usage tax
Sales Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax
Telephone Federal Excise tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal State and local Surcharge Tax
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Non Recurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Tax
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, and our nation was the most prosperous in the world. We had no debt, the largest middle class on the planet, Mom stayed home to raise the children (if she chose too) and no one had to dial 1 for English.

The world is changing. IS OUR GOLDEN AGE OVER? Did we squander it away?

A perspective on peace

PEACE IS UPON US!

While serving on the U.S. Army Staff at the Pentagon during the Cold War several years ago, it was calculated that there were approximately 75 insurgencies, revolutions, tribal battles and other violent disruptions occurring on a daily basis across the globe. It was clearly a very violent world; a world at that time where all manner of mayhem was practiced and thousands were killed every week.

FAREED ZAKARIA

Fareed Zakaria, a writer for Newsweek, has published a fascinating book titled “The Post American World”.

In his book he suggests that the world today may look very dangerous but, in fact, it is peaceful and calm. He goes on to say that Fred Burr and a team of scholars at the University of Maryland have tracked the data of violence very carefully and have come to this conclusion:

“The general magnitude of global warfare has decreased by 60% since the mid-1980’s and at the end of 2004 fell to its lowest level since the 1950’s.”

Zakaria also points out that Harvard professor Steven Pinker argues that:

“Today we are probably living in the most peaceful time in the history of our species.”

The chances of dying of a consequence of organized violence of any kind are getting lower and lower. The data reveal a broad trend away from wars among major countries; the kind of conflict that produces heavy casualties.

Zakaria goes on to say---Islamic terror, which makes the headlines daily, is a large and persistent problem but one involving a small number of fanatics. It feeds on the dysfunction of the Muslim world, the sense of real and imagined humiliation at the hands of the West, and easy access to technologies of violence. And yet, it does not rank as a threat on the order of Germany’s drive for world domination or Soviet expansionism or Mao’s effort to foment war and revolution across the third world.

In view of man’s long standing proclivity for war, no one can say that the peace trend will continue. However, I am hopeful that mankind is beginning to see the absolute futility of war.

THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE

But since the statistics described above show a slow-down in constant and widespread murder and warfare, I ask does this breakout of peace have any effect on the run for the office of president? If we are moving toward a more peaceful world, is Senator McCain relevant today? Or is this just a temporary slow down in violence and will we ultimately need the Senator?

But hold it—wait a moment---because now we have the President of Iran mumbling about blockading the straits of Hormuz. This would send oil to $400.00 a barrel and gas to $12.00 a gallon. Would it also lead us to violence and war? I would imagine so. Does this kind of threatening talk make Obama irrelevant? Is he tough enough to face this tense and potentially violent situation? I hope so and I note that during his visit to Afghanistan, he said that 7,000 more soldiers are needed there to bring calm to the area. Was this a political statement to out flank Mc Cain or is he serious in making this tough and serious statement?

SAFETY AND SECURITY

Are we really moving toward a more peaceful world? Where does the truth lie? The concept of world wide warfare is now outdated and these conflicts, as well as countless insurgencies and revolutions, are relics of the past. They may have fallen victim to globalism.

As for peace, and for what it is worth, I see it this way: Statistically the world is getting safer, but in the details of every day life there is still much violence or potential violence to be concerned about. Oil is a precious commodity and we have fought and will fight to control it. We must have our gasoline and it must be cheap and our insatiability will continue to translate into violence, if need be. This sensitive area could be an impediment to peace.

If the recent trend of laying people off by the thousands every month continues, due to outsourcing and economic conditions, we could see a massive reaction in the form of riots here in the USA. The elitists, the senior politicians, the so-called “leaders” of America, are out of touch. They do not understand the impact of the rise in the cost of a quart of milk, a loaf of bread, a pound of beef and a gallon of gas. They must wake up to reality and begin to understand that the masses must be appeased or there will be trouble. The French Revolution is a good example of the people taking charge because of tough times. America’s leaders must examine and react to the possibility of this potential phenomenon and give Americans hope; especially economic hope.

There are still many forms of violence in our country and around the world. There are, for example, gangs and drugs and drug wars and mafia turf battles, which affect a small number of people but which are very violent and are not good for the general welfare of the public. There are other forms of terrorism and violence in our world also---forced prostitution, child prostitution and more. All of these factors are forms of violence and are hidden in the ugly under belly of daily events.

There are roadblocks to peace and those barriers are the violence we see today in relationships and families. If family members cannot live in peace—the world cannot live in peace. Also people will fight over that which they want---we need the oil, I need my job, this is my turf, I sell drugs here so get moving or I will shoot you. The potential for extreme violence (war) is just below the surface of man’s consciousness while other forms of violence and inhumanity are fully operational.

PEACE

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I applaud the trend toward less violence and I am here to tell you that being in two wars is enough to make old warriors like me into peace believers. I want peace across the planet as well as right human relations.

Senator McCain Comments

“The 2013 date is not a timetable it is victory”

According to Glen Johnson, an AP writer, Senator McCain offered some unusual comments on May 15th about the world as he sees it. After reading what he said I would like to review some of his points.

In a Columbus, Ohio speech, the Senator indicated that by 2013 Osama Bin Laden will be dead or captured, Americans will have a choice of paying a Flat Tax, most servicemen and women will be back home, the Iraq war will have been won and the Iraqi government will be running Iraq. He qualified his comments by also saying “The 2013 date is not a timetable it is victory” and McCain went on to say, “I didn’t know when we were going to win WWII, I just knew we were going to win.”

This is a very interesting mix of comments by the Senator. Maybe we will have a flat tax by 2013---I hope it is not 60% of our earnings. If the war has been won and our troops are home that would be very good---but it is a long time from now. And Iraq will be run by the Iraqi government---I say it is about time.

OK, let’s say Osama is out of the way---natural causes or killed in a firefight---will it matter? He will go through some martyr recognition process by his followers---but how many are there? And if CNN and Fox give the demonstrations and funeral very little attention his passing will probably not be too significant---at least not as significant as the money we spent and the soldiers killed while looking for this mythic character.

By the way, how are you going to get the Congress to go along with this idea?

Flat tax you say---and just how does that fit into the rest of the conversation---I don’t know. Oh well, who cares----give me a flat tax Senator but let me review it before you impose it because it must be fair and the guys pulling in millions each month need to be flat taxed like all the rest of us lemmings---and no loop holes allowed. By the way, how are you going to get the Congress to go along with this idea? They are beholden to corporate America and their Washington jobs and support money often comes as a result of the tax breaks they legislate for the big boys?

Soldiers back home and the war won by 2013. That is a strange leap of faith---what happened during those intervening years---did you nuke the terrorists? Did you put the draft back into effect? How many of our folks were killed and how much more cash and political clout did we give up? During the time between now and 2013, did the Chinese economy pass ours up, did the dollar continue to decline, did gasoline go to $15.00 per gallon, did the world come to attention and give us one ounce of recognition and congratulations for our victory? Oh well, who cares; after all, we won. And the Iraqi mafia takes charge in Iraq---we deserve congratulations for that one also.

Can you say Pyrrhic?

How did you divine the year 2013?

How did you divine the year 2013? And you always knew we would win WWII but not exactly when--that is interesting.

Sir, it might have been possible to calculate the demise of the Nazi, Imperial Japanese and the Fascist Italian regime of WWII based on the decline of their industrial base. It was probably directly proportional to their war fighting capability. But to measure the potential for continued terrorist activities is a much more difficult metric to compute. So how exactly did you calculate the year of the end in Iraq as being 2013?

Have you heard about the drug cartels of Mexico?

Can you agree with me that terrorism is much bigger then Osama, Afghanistan, Iraq and the Middle East? If you do agree, Senator, please take a broader look at terrorism because it is at our front door in another form and 2013 is irrelevant. Have you heard about the drug cartels of Mexico?

Somewhere between 2,500 and 5,000 people have been killed in Mexico in the recent past. Cartel members, police, military and innocent civilians have been wiped out in the ongoing battle over drugs. And the cartel terrorists recently murdered the equivalent of the Mexican Director of the FBI. That is terrorism in action and my crystal ball says without our assistance in Mexico and with the continued demand for drugs in the USA, it is possible that these terrorists will topple the State of Mexico and penetrate up into Houston, San Diego, San Antonio, Tucson and Los Angeles.
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I would be happy to send you my crystal ball so you can take a look at what I am seeing. In the meantime the terrorists are knocking on our southern door while millions of Americans continue to smoke crack.