Financial Tornado 2010 - The Day the Dollar Died

Ordinary citizens worked at their jobs, sent their children to school and worried about their grades, maneuvered for promotions and rejoiced when they got them, and generally expected things to get better than the year before, for it was the American Way. You work hard, pay your taxes, live a good life, stay out of trouble with the law and all is well.

2009 ushered in a new President who rode the wave of 'change'. The people wanted less government and transparency. They wanted the politicians to clean up their porkbellied wild spending from the Bush days and they thought the young Obama was their man. Instead, we got a inexperienced idealist who is failing everywhere: foreign policy, domestic initiatives, and most importantly, in forging connections with the American people. The promises of his campaign were lies, he's a phony, knows nothing about economics, and is historically illiterate and woefully small minded for the size of the task. He has enlisted advisors for every aspect of his administration and lets the unelected run the country. He has no clue to the long term effects of having a majority vote for any bill, ignoring the wisdom of those who oppose him and the wishes of the people, the citizens. He closes his first year with false stimulation, with a huge Healthcare bill under his belt and Global Cap and Trade well on it's way, blameing the previous presidents for the state of the economy.

2010 will be the year of change....these changes will take everyone by surprise.

There will be a Run on the U.S. Dollar ....Soon - Within the next 12 months, the U.S. Treasury will have to refinance $2 trillion in short-term debt. And that's not counting any additional deficit spending, which is estimated to be around $1.5 trillion. Foreign countries own over 44% of our debt. The USA is a net debtor to the world.

We have seen the storm brewing for some time now. There are big banks of clouds building on the horizon. Picture a big funnel dropping down out of the clouds. Swirling round and round is WallStreet,the Fed, Banks, Agriculture, Congress, Imports, Exports, Oil, and the US Dollar.
The funnel is swirling and growing everyday, swirling and making a fine whippet of a tail, just about to hit ground. When the Financial Tornado hits, it will zig-zag through every state, county and town. No person will go unharmed.

The tornado hits soil....The Dollar is Dead.
With the currency goes many of the lifetime plans of average citizens, also the American Way.

Most Citizens are taken by surprise by the financial tornado. Those who didn't plan ahead for any type of disaster, natural or otherwise, are suddenly desperate.

The Banks are closed, credit cards and atms are worthless, as are all paper investments:401K's, pensions, savings, stocks, bonds and insurance policies. Citizens will scramble to get rid of their currency on hand, exchanging it for any hard asset that has a seller willing to accept cash, even at a much inflated price. Food will be the most desirable commodity, water will soon follow.

Survivors of the Great Depression and those who 'think' it will be similar, will be shocked at how events turn out this time around.

"People just didn't understand what was happening. All the economic theory they had been taught didn't provide for the phenomenon. There was a feeling of utter dependence on anonymous powers -- almost as a primitive people believed in magic -- that somebody must be in the know, and that this small group of 'somebodies' must be a conspiracy."

"The cities were still there, the houses not yet bombed and in ruins, but the victims were millions of people. They had lost their fortunes, their savings; they were dazed and inflation-shocked and did not understand how it had happened to them and who the foe was who had defeated them. Yet they had lost their self-assurance, their feeling that they themselves could be the masters of their own lives if only they worked hard enough; and lost, too, were the old values of morals, of ethics, of decency."

No Fema or RedCross to the rescue.
Companies, businesses, factories and all manufacturing will close
until they can figure out a way to pay their employees.
No money=No heat, electricity, phone,cable and other infrastructure.
Moms and Dads will do the unthinkable to keep their children fed.
No SS checks for the elderly or Welfare for the poor.
People who had worked a lifetime found that their valuables would not buy one cup of coffee.
The law-abiding citizens will crumbled into petty thievery. Riots and looting, and drastic elimination of the population will occur for both good people and bad.
Gasoline is siphoned from cars until there is no more.
Hospitals and pharmacies will be emptied of all drugs and medicines, patients as well.
Trucking will end and grocery stores will not be restocked.
Farmers will not be able to plant or harvest.
There will be no laws or anyone to enforce the old ones.

Those families who survive the first month, will have received the education of a full combat veteran. America will be a 3rd world country and surviving will only be possible for those willing to adapt. Those who stay morally just and are willing to work harder than they ever have in their lives will survive.

There will be roaming criminals and gangs of lazy entitled people who think their survival is more important than yours. True survivors will walk softly and carry a big stick. Yes, guns will be the only way to protect the haves from the havenots. And the banding together of good people in small protective groups, who will work to protect and survive all dangers presented, will be the norm.

And what happens with the government and the USA? Those officials who are not assassinated or have commited suicide, will have gone into hiding. There will be no one left in Washington to take charge. The World economy will suffer and other countries will soon follow suit. The foreign investors who feel they need to be paid back for their ustreasury bills and other assets, will come calling to take possession. Other countries may see it as a great opportunity to do the same and they will go to war against each other on our soil.
Our troops are stranded in Iraq and Iran. Our military here at home, as well as citizen volunteers, will be commanded by true Patriots and will fight the good fight. The outcome is anyone's guess. If nuclear warheads are never used and foreign intruders are sent packing, recovery of the homeland will be slow.

Survivors will be as the pioneers were and the economy be built by trading and bartering for labor or the products made. Trade fairs and farmers markets will bring in more buyers and sellers. Gold and junk silver coins will be the mobile currency until small town banking can back notes and loans to bring local commerce back. A Free-Market entrepreneurial economy will pave the way for the New Libertarian - one who opposes government intervention, i.e., a defender of Liberty and Constitution.

It will take years, possibly decades before the people slowly allow any formal government to intrude in their lives. When government and taxes are needed for the expansion, the Constitution will be followed. All tax dollars will be held by the States as the new Treasury. The Government will never spend more than what is collected and any Bill that spends tax dollars that effects future generations, will be voted on by the citizens before going to the President for signing.
America will become American again and alot of tuff Patriots will sacrifice everything to make this happen.

Parting thought, as we head into 2010, go prepared people. Do the simple research of what you need to do to get prepared for the worst, it will be the best insurance you can buy. Invest your dollars while they still have value. Have plenty of food and water on hand and get the skills and knowledge to make the right decisions for optimal self sufficiency. Also, follow the wise advice on many great websites, forums and podcasts. Get Ready!

http://www.preparednesspro.com/blog/
http://americanpreppersnetwork.blogspot.com/
http://www.thesurvivalistblog.net/
www.TodaysSurvival.com/forum
http://vikingpreparedness.blogspot.com/
http://www.prepperpodcast.com/
http://www.grandpappy.info/honehour.htm

What's Gold worth?

Those commercials to invest in Gold flood the radio and TV. They say to secure your portfolios with gold. There's no doubt about it, we're in the middle of a very bad economy and 2010 is going to be a tough year.

If you look up the prices, you think there is 'no way' to get involved buying now.
As preppers, we have read that it is a good idea to have some on hand before SHTF.
So what's your reason or definition of gold & silver?? And what's it worth?

What if things get really bad? What if every "asset" you have disappears and you are on your own? What if the government is gone and there is no order? Gold coins will be your secret weapon to get through the mess. No matter what, they are always worth money. You will be able to use your old coins to barter and get yourself and your family to safety. Of course, it will be the wild west and you will need to fend for yourself and avoid getting taken advantage of (and your gold stolen) but if you're savvy, it's better to have gold on your side than nothing. Of course, in this case, it's unlikely you will be able to get to your safe deposit box and that's why I recommend being smart about hiding some gold and silver coins in your home and on your person.

Gold jewelry is going to be worthless in trade and gold bought from the trading houses and held in reserve 'on paper' is going to be worthless.
Only Coins...will be trusted.Gold coins or old silver, pre-1965 and in any condition, will be far more valuable that bullion chunks because it would be hard to make change from large amounts.
Coins in hand, are portable, readable, measured, authentic and good from any country. These coins will not be backed by any government, they are valued for just what they are...pre-measured valued asset in assayed metal.
Barter will be the fare of the day, but adding a few coins to the deal, will assure you make the trade. Adding a few coins in the post economy of your immediate trade area will also add 'currency' into the hands of those who didn't plan ahead.

If you ask the average person what they think about gold, they picture a pirates treasure chest of chains and goblets, bags of nuggets from a miner or they picture big heavy bricks at the Mint. When they see a coin, all they can come up with for value is just a little above face value for vintage sake. Check out this Youtube...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?

Average people on the street have no clue to the value of gold and silver. They don't realize they will need something of value when the paper dollar is worthless. Clueless is, what clueless does...so they must have looting as their game plan when the dollar hits the skids....

And if gold and silver coins are not in your budget, better be checking with aunt Betsy or Grandpa NOW to see if they have some pre-65's in a fruit jar somewhere that you can trade some work for. Next best thing is to collect high priority barter items and that list is long. Buy junk coins in this recession, and your life could improve! I truly wish you the absolute best of luck and hope these tips help you through some difficult times.

Anatomy of a Failed Presidency!

The following is an interesting article and I wonder how long Dr. Hunt
can remain at NIH once the powers that be get wind of this article.

Dr. Hunt is a social and cultural anthropologist. He has had nearly 30
years experience in planning, conducting, and managing research in the
field of youth studies, and drug and alcohol research. Currently Dr. Hunt
is a Senior Research Scientist at the Institute for Scientific Analysis and
the Principal Investigator on three National Institutes on Health projects.
He is also a writer for American Thinker.

..................

Another Failed Presidency

An article from American Thinker by Geoffrey P.Hunt

Barack Obama is on track to have the most spectacularly failed
presidency since Woodrow Wilson. In the modern era, we've seen several failed
presidencies--led by Jimmy Carter and LBJ. Failed presidents have one
strong common trait-- they are repudiated, in the vernacular, spat out. Of
course, LBJ wisely took the exit ramp early, avoiding a shove into oncoming
traffic by his own party. Richard Nixon indeed resigned in disgrace, yet his
reputation as a statesman has been partially restored by his triumphant
overture to China 20.

But, Barack Obama is failing. Failing big. Failing fast. And failing
everywhere: foreign policy, domestic initiatives, and most importantly,
in forging connections with the American people. The incomparable Dorothy
Rabinowitz in the Wall Street Journal put her finger on it: He is failing because he has no understanding of the American people, and may indeed loathe them. Fred Barnes of the Weekly Standard says he is failing because he has lost control of his message, and is overexposed. Clarice Feldman of American Thinker produced a dispositive commentary showing that Obama is failing because fundamentally he is neither smart nor articulate; his intellectual dishonesty is conspicuous by its audacity and lack of shame.

But, there is something more seriously wrong: How could a new president
riding in on a wave of unprecedented promise and goodwill have forfeited
his tenure and become a lame duck in six months? His poll ratings are
in free fall. In generic balloting, the Republicans have now seized a
five point advantage. This truly is unbelievable. What's going on?

No narrative. Obama doesn't have a narrative. No, not a narrative about
himself. He has a self-narrative, much of it fabricated, cleverly
disguised or written by someone else. But this self-narrative is isolated and doesn't connect with us. He doesn't have an American narrative that draws upon the rest of us. All successful presidents have a narrative about the American character that intersects with their own where they display a command of history and reveal an authenticity at the core of their personality that resonates in a positive endearing way with the majority of Americans. We admire those presidents whose narratives not only touch our own, but who seem stronger, wiser, and smarter than we are. Presidents we admire are aspirational peers, even those whose politics don't align exactly with our own: Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, Harry Truman, Ike, and
Reagan.

But not this president. It's not so much that he's a phony, knows
nothing about economics, and is historically illiterate and woefully small
minded for the size of the task--all contributory of course. It's that he's
not one of us. And whatever he is, his profile is fuzzy and devoid of content, like a cardboard cutout made from delaminated corrugated paper. Moreover, he doesn't command our respect and is unable to appeal to our own common sense. His notions of right and wrong are repugnant and how things work just don't add up. They are not existential. His descriptions of the world we live in don't make sense and don't correspond with our experience.

In the meantime, while we've been struggling to take a measurement of
this man, he's dissed just about every one of us--financiers, energy
producers, banks, insurance executives, police officers, doctors, nurses, hospital administrators, post office workers, and anybody else who has a non-green job. Expect Obama to lament at his last press conference in 2012: "For those of you I offended, I apologize. For those of you who were not offended, you just didn't give me enough time; if only I'd had a second term, I could have offended you too."

Mercifully, the Founders at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 devised
a useful remedy for such a desperate state--staggered terms for both
houses of the legislature and the executive. An equally abominable
Congress can get voted out next year. With a new Congress, there's always hope
of legislative gridlock until we vote for president again two short years
after that.

Yes, small presidents do fail, Barack Obama among them. The coyotes
howl, but the wagon train keeps rolling along.

Take a gander before it gets taken off the air. Interesting strongest video clips we have ever seen and they are from his own mouth!!! Muslims have Christmas?

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=tCAffMSWSzY#t=28

Sorry to bring this up right before Christmas, but it might just be the reason we will be enjoying our holiday as we do, for the last time. If the economy isn't the immediate reason that we will give up certain traditions, the other reason is the growing openness of Muslim influence and take over of our Christian country and one direct way to tear down the Constitution.

Enjoy your Christmas Decorations.
Enjoy the Christmas Music.
Enjoy the wonderful community Street Lights.
Enjoy the Choirs and kids a caroling.
Enjoy the open greetings of Merry Christmas when you meet a friend or stranger.
Enjoy the Shopping and the money to do it.
Enjoy lots of Gifts and tree to place them under.
Enjoy the season for the Reason!

Merry Christmas all!

(from: A leader I can believe in)

You can not bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You can not strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You can not help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
You can not further the brotherhood of man by encouraging class hatred.
You can not help the poor by destroying the rich.
You can not keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn.
You can not build character and courage by taking away man's initiative and independence.
You can not help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.

Abraham Lincoln

NEBRASKANS ON SENATOR BEN NELSON'S HEALTHCARE SELLOUT: "SUE US!

By Judi McLeod Tuesday, December 22, 2009

“Equality before the law” may be the state motto for Nebraska, but some Nebraskans are asking for sister states to sue the Cornhusker state.

“Is there anyone out there that will sue the State of Nebraska and/or Senators Ben Nelson and Harry Reid?” asks Patricia Rief-Heskett of Omaha.

The chairman of Nebraska’s Republican Party declared Nelson’s decision to be the end of his political career in Nebraska, and within hours of Nelson’s announcement, the state GOP launched a Web site, , to collect funds to oust the Democrat in the 2012 election. (givebentheboot.com)

Nelson obtained increased federal funds to cover his state’s cost of covering an expanded Medicaid population at what one Democratic official estimated at $45 million over a decade.

Nelson isn’t taking the backlash lying down.

“This is all orchestrated,” Nelson said Sunday. “It’s so thinly disguised ... it’s almost laughable.”

While Sen. Nelson has become “Ben the Cornhuckster” by making himself the 60th vote needed to advance ObamaCare, some Nebraskans want a lawsuit launched against their home state.

“The deal the senator made for the State of Nebraska is against the law and against the Constitution,” says Rief-Heskett. “Why should the state of Nebraska not have to pay for the unfunded mandate of Medicaid and all the other states have to pay for Nebraska’s portion?”

And the Omahans has crossed all of her ‘ts’ and dotted all of her ‘i’s.

“Our Constitution states in Article 1, Section 9: `No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue to the ports of one State over those of another’.

“Article 4, Section 4 states: `The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a Republican form of Government’. Also under our US code Title 18 210 Titled Bribery of Public Officials and Witnesses: Section B reads, `Whoever directly or indirectly, corruptly gives, offers or promises anything of value to any public official (officials is defined as a member of Congress, Delegate or Resident Commissioner) or any person who has been selected to be a public official, or offers or priorises any public official or any person who has been selected to be a public official to give anything of value to any person or entity with intent (a) to influence any official act; or (b) to influence such public official or person who has been selected to be a public official to commit or aid in committing, or colluding, or ally any fraud or make opportunity for the commission of any fraud on the United States.”

As the Constitution is clear on the commission of any fraud in the making laws, Rief-Heskett is asking “Where is the outrage against this practice of buying votes with such as the deal Sen. Nelson made with Sen. Reid for the 60th vote for this health care bill on the Senate floor?”

Washington, DC politicians may have been up to 1 a.m. Monday to nudge the health bill forward, but some Nebraskans are up all night trying to turn the tide against Christmas Eve legislated Obamacare.

“Is there not one person out there who will file a suit,” asks Rief-Heskett. “Or are we just to sit by and watch all of our freedoms taken away to live in a country with no laws that has only to abide by a Congress who would buy out votes whether or not it is lawful?”

Meanwhile, with Christmas Eve just two days away they’re over at the White House puffing up the red ribbons on a package that will socialize medicine in America.

Fraud is Fraud

Is Carbon really the problem????

Of the three places where carbon is stored—atmosphere, oceans, and land biosphere—approximately 93 percent of the CO 2 is found in the oceans. The atmosphere, at about 750 petagrams of carbon (a petagram [Pg] is 10 15 grams), has the smallest amount of carbon.

So the Oceans of the world are the largest contributor to the global CO2. How are they going to stop that from happening? Marine plants and animals play a role in the uptake and release of carbon dioxide in the ocean. Plants, primarily phytoplankton, but also macrophytes such as this seaweed, take up carbon dioxide and release oxygen, which oxygen-dependent animals need to survive.
At 280 parts per million (ppm) by volume for at least 1,000 years prior to the industrial era. Atmospheric concentrations of CO 2 were constant because the carbon being removed from the atmosphere in some places exactly matched the CO 2 being added to the atmosphere in other places.

The oceans cannot be changed. People are the problem to these people. So to go back to the preindustrial era is the only way to get back to these numbers. That means no electricity, no cars, no planes and no industry. So in order to make this global change that is the current goal of the climate changers is to ruin the industrial world take us back to the pure agrarian days eliminate the people and animals they depend on for food.
If we go down this road, we are doomed to follow wacky science into oblivion to upset the oceans and our way of life to archive these crazy goals?
Sorry, I do not buy it.

Perhaps the facts that have been force feed by the so called scientists, where they admitted to doctoring the facts to make their conclusions where one even stated the trick he used was to add figures to the facts to reach Gore's stated objective, should be repudiated and criminal charges brought in every country these scoundrals exist in. Fraud is Fraud.

STATES Nullify the new Healthcare Bill!!

Right on the heels of a successful state-by-state nullification of the 2005 Real ID act, the State of Arizona is out in the forefront of a growing resistance to proposed federal health care legislation.

This past Monday, the Arizona State Senate voted 18-11 to concur with the House and approve the Health Care Freedom Act (HCR2014). This will put a proposal on the 2010 ballot which would constitutionally override any law, rule or regulation that requires individuals or employers to participate in any particular health care system.
HCR2014, if approved by voters next year, also would prohibit any fine or penalty on anyone or any company for deciding to purchase health care directly. Doctors and health care providers would remain free to accept those funds and provide those services.

Finally, it would overrule anything that prohibits the sale of private health insurance in Arizona.

When a state ‘nullifies’ a federal law, it is proclaiming that the law in question is void and inoperative, or ‘non-effective’, within the boundaries of that state; or, in other words, not a law as far as the state is concerned

Five other states — Indiana, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota and Wyoming — are considering similar initiatives for their 2010 ballots.

http://www.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2009/06/26/arizona-hcr2014-national-health-care-nullification/

Contact your State reps including your Governors, below is an example letter you can use.

To (your state) State Representative, (or governor)

You are my representative in the (STATE) State Government and I am asking you to represent me against the attack of my personal liberties. I am asking you to stand up for freedom and express to the United States Government that when they overstep Constitutional authority, (STATE) will not fall victim to their tyranny.

The growth of the federal government and the slow method at which they have been taking away our freedom is accelerating and we are spinning out of control. For some time now it has been apparent that the majority congress and the president care nothing about what we, the people, have to say about their spending, health care, cap&trade, immigration or any other bill they seek to pass.

As a citizen of (STATE), I want you to know that I am afraid of the steps the federal government is taking to compromise my freedom. I am also worried about the steps the federal government is taking to bypass the Constitution that was designed to protect me. I am writing you to ask you to protect me from the federal government.

When the federal government passes a law that is unconstitutional, the state legislature can simply write a resolution, pass it in both houses, then send it to the be signed by the governor telling the federal government that the law does not exist in the state. No Supreme Court case, no lawyers, the state simply says no. This is well within the State's duties and rights. If that is not enough, you have the Virginia Resolution written by James Madison, known as the Father of the Constitution. In this document he tells Virginia that the only way the union is to survive is for the states to watch over the federal government to be sure they exercise only the powers assigned to them and agreed upon in the Constitution.

More recently, the issue of nullification re-emerged when nearly two dozen states mounted a resistance to the 2005 Real ID Act. Maine and Utah led the way by passing resolutions to refuse incorporation of federal security features into state driver's licenses and identification cards. After fierce state resistance to its plans, the federal government delayed implementation twice and later announced it would "repeal and replace" the controversial law. Now states have turned their attention toward nullification of federal health care "reform" should it pass Congress this year and I would be proud to see Wyoming in the forefront.

Please sign a resolution of nullification for all legislation passed by the United States Government starting as soon as the resolution is signed. Write a resolution that states that any bill passed will not become law in (STATE) without the (STATE) government passing the law. The resolution must also say that the (STATE) government is not to change any meetings and must adhere to the State Constitution’s meeting schedule. Under the powers of the Tenth Amendment, (STATE) reserves the right to accept or reject all federal legislation.

I am asking you as my representative to request a special session if one need be called. I am also asking you to have the resolution ready to be entered into both houses with the same language to smooth passage as quickly as possible. This is necessary to ensure my freedoms and yours, so please act with haste.

In the end, "for desperate people whose freedoms are being systematically usurped by all three federal branches and both political parties, nullification may be the only key to restoring our republic."

Sincerely,
(your name, address&email)


easy contact... http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

For Better or Worse...Man of the Year

Ben Bernanke is More Powerful Than Obama and is Man of the Year!

Ron Paul: "Ben Bernanke is the most powerful man in the world because he controls the supply of money, which is the dollar, which is the reserve currency of the world. He can create a trillion dollar in secret without any monitoring by the Congress. So there's no transparency and I think he is more powerful than the President.

The big question is, has he used that power for good, or for evil? And of course, my side of the argument is, the system is evil, and the chairman, whether it's Greenspan or Bernanke, they can do no good. They cause our troubles, they cause the inflation, they cause the bubbles. And therefore the bust, the correction, is always their fault.

Ron on YouTube:
http://www.ronpaul.com/2009-12-16/ron-paul-reacts-to-ben-bernanke-as-time-person-of-the-year/

Government will be taking over 70% of our Economy

Michelle BAchman reporting on a bill that Barney Frank introduced after everyone left DC last week. It will be voted on today, I think. It will rework the entire financial industry and how everyone gets credit. Please watch. PLEASE send to other groups you are part of. PLEASE send to everyone you know via e-mail. The House is likely to pass this. We will have to head it off in the Senate. PLEASE act on this.

This is a Bigger deal than cap&trade or the horrible healthcare fiasco!!

http://www.breitbart.tv/bachmann-on-the-b-cast-a-conservative-call-to-action/

OBAMACARE IS SERIOUSLY UNCONSTITUTIONAL

From the Heritage Foundation...Morning Bell:

On October 23rd, a reporter asked Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA): “Madam Speaker, where specifically does the Constitution grant Congress the authority to enact an individual health insurance mandate?” Speaker Pelosi shook her head and before moving on to another question replied: “Are you serious? Are you serious??” Pressed for a more substantive response later, Pelosi’s press spokesman admonished the reporter: “You can put this on the record. That is not a serious question. That is not a serious question.”

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) disagrees. In 1994, the CBO said of an individual mandate to buy health insurance:

A mandate requiring all individuals to purchase health insurance would be an unprecedented form of federal action. The government has never required people to buy any good or service as a condition of lawful residence in the United States. An individual mandate would have two features that, in combination, would make it unique. First, it would impose a duty on individuals as members of society. Second, it would require people to purchase a specific service that would be heavily regulated by the federal government.

As much as Speaker Pelosi may wish otherwise, the CBO is dead on: the Supreme Court has never validated a federal power as intrusive as forcing all Americans to purchase a service due to their very existence. Sure, the Supreme Court has said that Congress may regulate a farmer’s production of wheat even if he never plans to distribute it off of his farm, and the Supreme Court has said Congress may ban the possession of Marijuana even if it is for personal use, but never before has the Supreme Court said the power to regulate commerce enabled Congress to force an individual to do something just because he existed.

In fact, the Supreme Court has always been clear that the Commerce clause must have some limits. In United States v. Lopez (1995), the Court struck down the Gun-Free School Zones Act, which attempted to reach the activity of possessing a gun within a thousand feet of a school. In United States v. Morrison, it invalidated part of the Violence Against Women Act, which regulated gender-motivated violence. In both cases, the Court found the regulated activity in each case to be noneconomic; it was outside the reach of Congress’s Commerce power, regardless of its effect on interstate commerce. The case for the constitutionality of the individual mandate is far weaker than either of these two cases. Congress was at least trying to regulate an individual’s activity in the cases above. But the mandate does not purport to regulate or prohibit activity of any kind, whether economic or noneconomic. To the contrary, it purports to “regulate” inactivity.

If the individual mandate is Constitutional, then Congress could do anything. They could: require us to buy a new Chevy Impala each year to support the government-supported auto industry; require us to buy war bonds to pay for the Iraq and Afghan wars; require us to grow wheat (10 bushels each), or pay someone else to grow your share; require us to buy whatever they want.

Many on the left immediately point to state mandates that drivers purchase car insurance as proof of a mandate that all Americans buy health insurance is not new. But car insurance mandates are distinguishable in at least four ways: 1) they are state requirements and states have broader constitutional authority than the federal government; 2) they apply to drivers only, not all Americans (e.g. passengers are not required to carry insurance); 3) drivers use public roads; 4) states only require drivers to insure against injury to other drivers, not to insure themselves against personal injury.

Yesterday The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Legal and Judicial Studies released a Legal Memorandum written in conjunction with Georgetown University Law Center Professor Randy Barnett and Nathaniel Stewart explaining: Why the Personal Mandate to Buy Health Insurance Is Unprecedented and Unconstitutional. Introducing the paper, Sen. Orrin Hatch noted:

James Madison said that if men were angels, no government would be necessary and if angels governed men, no limits on government would be necessary. Because neither men nor the governments they create are angelic, government and limits on government are both necessary for ordered liberty. Politics may tell us what we want to do, but the Constitution tells us what we may do and we must keep those separate. The ends do not justify the means for one simple reason – liberty. Liberty requires limits on government power, it always has and it always will.

Someone needs to explain this concept to Speaker Pelosi. And it should be explained to the dummies fabricating these BILLS! Seriously!

Collapse

24 States Borrow Money To Pay Unemployment Benefits - 15 states have collectively borrowed more than $15 billion and another 9 states are in the red over unemployment benefits. This can't be good...can you say HUGE tax increase?

Belly up: 10 states face imminent bankruptcy - Ten states are facing imminent bankruptcy, confounding any possibility of economic recovery as tax revenues continue to decline and unemployment increases nationwide. Those states in fiscal peril include California, Arizona, Rhode Island, Michigan, Oregon, Nevada, Florida, New Jersey, Illinois and Wisconsin.

US Dollar Getting Trashed Worldwide - The trade deficit of the world's biggest economy also remains huge. How much longer can the dollar defy gravity?

Last week, America's currency fell to a 15-month low against the euro, cutting through $1.5050. Against a trade-weighted currency basket, the dollar was also at its weakest since July 2008. The greenback plunged to parity with the rock-solid Swiss franc, then hit a 14-year low against the yen.

The dollar's weakness is based on fundamentals – not least America's jaw-dropping debt. It's a long-term trend. From the start of 2002 until the middle of last year, the dollar lost 30pc on a trade-weighted basis


Run on the U.S. Dollar ....Soon - Within the next 12 months, the U.S. Treasury will have to refinance $2 trillion in short-term debt. And that's not counting any additional deficit spending, which is estimated to be around $1.5 trillion.

Put the two numbers together. Then ask yourself, how in the world can the Treasury borrow $3.5 trillion in only one year? That's an amount equal to nearly 30% of our entire GDP. And we're the world's biggest economy. Where will the money come from?

The U.S. holds gold, oil, and foreign currency in reserve. It has 8,133.5 metric tonnes of gold (it is the world's largest holder). At current dollar values, it's worth around $300 billion. The U.S. strategic petroleum reserve shows a current total position of 725 million barrels. At current dollar prices, that's roughly $58 billion worth of oil. And according to the IMF, the U.S. has $136 billion in foreign currency reserves. So altogether... that's around $500 billion of reserves. Our short-term foreign debts are far bigger.

According to the U.S. Treasury, $2 trillion worth of debt will mature in the next 12 months. So looking only at short-term debt, we know the Treasury will have to finance at least $2 trillion worth of maturing debt in the next 12 months. That might not cause a crisis if we were still funding our national debt internally. But since 1985, we've been a net debtor to the world. Today, foreigners own 44% of all our debts, which means we owe foreign creditors at least $880 billion in the next 12 months – an amount far larger than our reserves.

Keep in mind, this only covers our existing debts. The Office of Management and Budget is predicting a $1.5 trillion budget deficit over the next year. That puts our total funding requirements on the order of $3.5 trillion over the next 12 months.

So... where will the money come from? Total domestic savings in the U.S. are only around $600 billion annually. Even if we all put every penny of our savings into U.S. Treasury debt, we're still going to come up nearly $3 trillion short. That's an annual funding requirement equal to roughly 40% of GDP.

Where is the money going to come from? From our foreign creditors? Not according to Greenspan-Guidotti. And not according to the Indian or Russian central banks, which have stopped buying Treasury bills and begun to buy enormous amounts of gold. The Indians bought 200 metric tonnes this month. Sources in Russia say the central bank there will double its gold reserves.

So where will the money come from? The printing press. The Federal Reserve has already monetized nearly $2 trillion worth of Treasury debt and mortgage debt. This weakens the value of the dollar and devalues our existing Treasury bonds. Sooner or later, our creditors will face a stark choice: Hold our bonds and continue to see the value diminish slowly, or try to escape to gold and see the value of their U.S. bonds plummet.

One thing they're not going to do is buy more of our debt.

by DailyWealth http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article15449.html

Obama's " Exit" Strategy

We all knew Obama would be less than adequate when it came to the military and foreign affairs, but when you take your sweet time to try and get it right, you shouldn't have to rely on others to interpret the backlash and cleaning up the mess.

In his West Point speech, President Obama laid out an exit strategy for Afghanistan, setting July 2011 as the date on which troops will begin withdrawing. The president, through Robert Gibbs, later described this date as "locked in," "etched in stone," and having "no flexibility."

Sounds pretty definite. But just four days later, members of Obama's cabinet were directly contradicting their boss. "We're not talking about an exit strategy," said Hillary Clinton. "What we're talking about is an assessment". "We're talking about something that will take place over a period of time," said Robert Gates. "We will have 100,000 troops there. And they are not leaving in July of 2011."

This White House clearly has a credibility crisis. They need an exit strategy for their rollout of an exit strategy.

This is what I think....

The US military can leave Afghanistan any time, and I mean exactly that - everyone packs up their bags and goes home en masse - whenever that order is given.

Why fear the Taliban? How many of them are there, really, that they are worth fearing? Are they really even 'in' Afganistan? Compared to the resources of the American government­/military, the Taliban's little operation is pathetic.

We have already seen over the last eight years how standard military actions have failed to shut them down, no doubt because an army simply can't win against a guerilla force. What does an eighteen year old American kid know about fighting guerillas, never mind winning a war, beyond what's been seen via his or her XBox?

A desert war has to be fought by desert people. If there is no government infrastructure in Afghanistan, either create it or forget it. The culture is nomadic, why would they want an infrastructure counter to their lifestyle? If they won't maintain it, it's useless to build it.

The tribes are the most valuable resource that the US has to fight the Taliban. Why spend so much time and effort trying to convince America to do the job when the people of Afghanistan would very likely be happy to do it themselves, given the opportunity? Or, if they lack the numbers, where are their neighboring countries in all of this, are they not reliable allies?

Let other countries fight their own damned battles. Chances are good that everyone will be a lot happier.