“The State of America”

 

Traveling mostly outside the US for the past 4 months, I have seen America through the eyes of the rest of the world as seen on various overseas news programs and information broadcasts.

 

I hear a president telling a country that we are a bit slow but it will turn around by fall.

I hear that we are winning the war and also learn from at least one presidential candidate that we will stay in Iraq for “100 years” if that is what it takes to win.

 

Win what? From whom? What are we fighting for and who is the enemy?

 

I personally support our troops and want them safe from an invisible enemy and back defending our land.

Our President has a 30% approval rate from his people. Had he been the President of a retail company he would have been fired at only a 90% approval ratio. Yet we listen to the State of the Union address and take what is fed to us as fact……how can we as intelligent people take anything as fact what with the learning that government and big business lies to us on a daily basis.

From Enron to the shady dealings of both our president and vice president with Halliburton, the fun continues.

 

Somebody PLEASE say recession!

 

Home equity is diving like a hawk on a field mouse, the builders are left looking at plans with no way of borrowing to build and no market to sell to.

 

Your home is worth maybe less than you paid for it 4 years ago and if you must refinance, you may not be able to do so because you might owe more than it is worth or you can’t borrow due to tightened lending requirement and new regulations.

 

Gas is through the roof as is wheat. American, like it or not is addicted to 2 main substances, wheat and oil.

 

Look into the food that we eat here in our country; there is wheat in everything including a Slim Jim.

 

Yes, even a beef jerky treat has a large amount of wheat….go figure.

Everything in the states is on a bun or presented as a sandwich….wheat, wheat and wheat.

If they could, they would create a burger made of a crude oil by-product and serve it on a wheat bun!!

 

We are still selling Ram Chargers, big pickup trucks, SUV’s, fast cars that have big engines and go from 0-60 in 3 seconds.

 

Question: what do you do after 4 seconds when either a state trooper lights a-blazing’ motions you to pull over or worse still, the big truck doing 80 mph plowing through an intersection and a family of 6, because your high performance gas-guzzling Bush/Chaney mobile has you traveling 3 times the speed of light?

 

I recently looked to buy a new car and shopped the various shark tanks better known as car dealerships.

 

As I drove my leased BMW onto the lot they began circling, figuring out what they would take if I wanted to trade in my car, if I had money, if I was an idiot, a wise guy, a shopper or a spy.

 

I learned the Prius was the best deal for gas mileage by far but had a relatively high sticker price for what you get, but I thought that I’d ok because I have always leased in the past as per my accountant’s advice.

 

What I then learned shocked me. There was no “dealing” with the dealer, no budging on the price and there was no incentive to lease or finance. The rate was unattractive and higher than most mortgages these days.

 

My monthly payment for a finance deal was a full $150.00 per month more than my BMWx3 which is 3 times the automobile that the Prius is. $150.00 more for 1/3 the car?

I drove next door to the American car dealership (Chevy/Buick etc) where I found that the salesman were circling even faster around my car reminiscent of the film night of the living dead, where zombies try to attack you all at once. These salesman even had fins!

 

They were clearly slow, unlike the gas-guzzlers that they were trying to sell but were giving deals out like candy.  Yes,1.9% - 2.9% financing, no money down, great lease options….all to get you to buy that gas, that oil, this American epidemic.

 

We don’t seem to be getting the point that burning things is a barbaric way to create energy.

This technology is tired and had it not been for the all mighty buck, we would have abandoned this caveman practice decades ago. Listen to American car commercial that boast speed, power and great deals.

 

Where are we going so fast? I own homes on Fire Island and on Key Largo. Both are ocean and bay front.

 

 I keep having this dream that I am watching TV on a quiet afternoon in full scuba gear as both homes will be under water soon and my oceanfront home will be in Las Vegas!!!

 

Can you say global warming?

 

What in the world are we thinking?

 

In 2007 I traveled both to Antarctica and to Alaska and saw photos of the Glaciers that were once in the spot where I was standing with no ice in sight.

We then we drove to where the glaciers are now fully miles away and a fraction of there size.

Can we really dispute the global warming claim and the damage to our environment?

We used to call it pollution when I was a boy in the late 60’s early 70’s.

Why can’t we take the 50 Billion per year that we are spending to have our soldiers “over there” and aim for ALTERNATE SOURCES OF ENERGY!!

 

Dear government, keep the $600.00 check and stick it into research on this most important matter.

 

Home heating and cooling, electricity, auto operating will all become affordable if we look into the many alternate sources of energy that are possible.

 

When the Bush’s and the Cheney’s of the world find a way to create a bigger profit from alternate sources of energy it is then that you will at long last see a “gold rush” sensibility towards doing the right thing...for the wrong reason which is… THE BUCK.

 

What is the truth?

Dollar down, global warming, the housing market crunch, finance troubles, the war and the economy.

 

Who do we listen to? Who will tell us the truth?  How will we know it when we hear it?

 

As for a fix… Where on earth do we start?