In a previous post I characterized the overall theme of literature of the Renaissance and Baroque periods as reality and illusion. I wonder whether our generation is returning to a similar situation. "I tell you, and it is therefore true," is very close to what a lot of our politicians are laying on us today. A woman I dated for a while criticized me for going by the dictionary definition of the word lie, which is a statement that fails to correspond to the facts. Stunned at this latest frontal attack by postmodernity on the roots of Western civilization, I asked her what her definition of the word was. She responded, "Any statement that is used against me is a lie. Any statement I make to my own advantage is not a lie."

To say the least, reality and illusion get seriously scrambled in that sort of ideology. Earlier, in fact, she had informed me that whenever she and I got into an argument, we were not going to deal with the facts, but with feelings. Images ran through my head of her going back and sleeping with the psychotic I learned she had been living with, and then declaring that the point was that she felt good about it. How did I feel about it? Were my feelings selfish?

Obviously, the exacerbated relativism of our age comes into play in a major way in all this. I may have mentioned reading of a university student who claimed that no act of any human being could be criticized as being wrong. When questioned about Hitler and the Holocaust, he said, "Hitler probably had his reasons." So the question that emerges is just how far this society plans to go in his direction (the student's, not Hitler's, although the latter's will eventually come into play), and with what sort of consequences.

For that matter, how many people even understand the concept of consequences anymore? A profound lack of such understanding has a lot to do with the present financial crisis in this country. "Hey, it feels good to buy this McMansion, so let's do it. We'll figure out some way to make the payments." Then there are the banks that sell huge numbers of mortgages without giving any thought to the fact that many of them will leave those banks with foreclosed houses on their hands. Reality and illusion.

And what's happening to our young people in all this? I'm convinced that their maddening use of "like" sixteen times per sentence relates to the fact that they don't even find themselves capable of stating for certain that anything is real. That's where the all too common phrase, "I was like" comes in. I can only simulate reality, including my own existence. Some years ago, there was a rash of teenage girls cutting themselves, and a number of them stated when questioned that if they bled they knew they were real.

Our troops out there "in harm's way," as they state it, have less trouble determining what is real. Many of them state that a whole new phase of life begins when they realize that those bullets whizzing by, or those roadside bombs, mean a lot of people out there want to kill them. What would it take to jerk the general public into a realization of the fact that life, death, taxes and the threat of socioeconomic breakdown are real?

Don Quixote eventually goes home and finds a real identity, which is what he has really been looking for all along. Whereas at the beginning of the text the author isn't even certain of his name, he settles down as Don Alonso Quijano the Good,. The former knight is a lot less interesting but also a lot less dangerous to himself and others.

Two lost sons serving in the Revolutionary Army;  two others had sons captured.

 Each who signed pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

I believe every man and woman upon reaching 18 years should do public service. Perhaps 2 years military or police; three years fire service or four years in some other way. For each year of deferment for college an added six months should be added to that service. For those who honorably complete their public service there should be subsidized educational and housing loans.

Americans are celebrating the nation's 233rd birthday, and the words of the Declaration of Independence will be mouthed at countless patriotic ceremonies across the land. The core ideals articulated by those words are still embraced by solid majorities of the American public.

 A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 89% of American adults agree that "we are all endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Only seven percent (7%) disagree on that founding premise.

Seventy-four percent (74%) agree with the assertion that "all men are created equal" while just 23% disagree.

Fifty-six percent (56%) agree with the view that governments derive their only just authority from the "consent of the governed." Interestingly, one-in-four Americans (25%) disagree.

Other survey data shows that voters nationwide overwhelming trust the American people to make key decisions more than they trust political leaders. Those who disagree and hold a Political Class perspective represent a small minority of the population.

When presented with a choice of five Founding Fathers, 40% of American adults were able to correctly identify John Hancock as the first man to sign the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Sixteen percent (16%) thought that honor belonged to Thomas Jefferson, the primary author of the document.

Ten percent (10%) thought George Washington signed first, but he was not even present for that event. Washington led the rag-tag colonial army against what was then the world's mightiest power. Finally, in 1781, the British surrendered, and the Declaration of Independence became true independence. It took another six years before the Constitution of the United States became the framework for our government. At that convention, Washington was the chairman, and the Constitution was drafted with him in mind as our first president.

• Electricity levels have jumped from 3,958 megawatts to 6,020 megawatts across the nation;
• Telephone lines have increased from 833,000 to 1,300,000.
• Cell phones have jumped from 80,000 to an estimated 17.7 million.
• People safe drinking water has almost doubled, jumping from 12.9 million to 21.2 million.
• Sewage access has nearly doubled as well, rising from 6.2 million people served to 11.3 million people served.
• Oil production is also nearing prewar levels with daily production at 2.44 million barrels per day compared with 2.58 million barrels per day before the war.

America has spend $683 billion; suffered 4,318 killed in action; 31,408 wounded in action; 37, 512 wounded by non-hostile means. 1,360 civilian contractors have been killed.

About 2.8 million Iraqis are displaced; 2 million live abroad mostly in Syria and Jordan up from 500,000 before the war.

Iraqi war deaths were somewhere between 110 and 180,000 a majority due to enemy activity. (An infamous,  now widely discredited "study" by Glibert Burnham and an ambarrassed Johns Hopkins University cites over a million "excess" deaths in Iraq. A figure widely if improperly cited.)

It is known that 423 academics and 139 journalist have been assasinated by terrorists..

Sources: The Associated Press, State Department, Defense Department, Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, The Brookings Institution, Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, International Organization for Migration, Committee to Protect Journalists, National Priorities Project, The Brussels Tribunal, and the U.S. Department of Labor.

Today, I propose a slight change to this slogan to reflect our current situation. My revised slogan is No taxation without cogitation. Aren't familiar with cogitation? It's a great old fashioned word that means concerted thought or reflection. So what I want my representatives to do is simply read all proposed bills, think about it and then vote. Sounds reasonable, right? And yet, from the first Congress there have been a few Senators and Representatives who would never bother to read a bill but would vote the party line. However starting this year, major bills are being passed in which none of our Congressmen or women are bothering to read what they are voting on much less cogitating on how much it would cost us, the citizens, when the bill is implemented.

This new trend started with the Stimulus Bill which grew into a 1000+ bill which no one could have read in its entirety in the brief time between publishing the bill and voting on it. This massive bill, which would spend over $787 billion of our money, was passed by 246 people (ok mainly democrats) in the House and by 60 Senators. To their credit, our government officials were told that they had to vote on this bill immediately in order to resuscitate a dying economy. And yes, in January 2009 the news was grim with increasing unemployment and major companies failing left and right. We also had a new and exciting administration and so it is understandable if a vote on this bill was seen as yet one more support of Obama.

For all of these reasons, this massive bill, which few people read, was pushed through Congress on record time in order to save our economy. Now it is six months later yet less than a tenth of the money has been spent. OK, I'm all for saving the money if the economy is rebounding. Oh wait. The economy is worse than the start of the year. In fact, Obama's economic team had said that if the bill was passed then the 7.2% unemployment rate at the time of the vote would probably peak at 8%. Oops. They just announced that our current unemployment rate is 9.1%. And that is with the $787 billion in stimulus aid! Seems to me that maybe somebody ought to finally read all 1000+ pages to see just what that money is earmarked for and how it is supposed to be stimulating our economy. All it has stimulated so far is the unemployment rate.

But did Congress learn? No. In fact last week the House of Representatives did it again. They passed another long bill regarding a new concept of Cap and Trade. From what I understand it is basically a taxing platform to raise money from corporations and citizens to spend on "green" environmental stuff. Even putting aside the ongoing arguments (and yes Senator Gore, people are still debating global warming as they should) there is still the unconscionable fact that our Congressmen and women once again voted on a bill which they didn't read.

This time it was a complete farce. When Representatives complained that they didn't even have a copy of the bill Speaker Nancy Pelosi told them that there was one copy at the podium. That's it; one copy for over 400 people to share and read. Only problem is that even that "final" copy was missing the 300 pages of addendums added at 3am of the day of the vote. Denying Representatives a chance to even read a bill is a complete abuse of her power. Plus it is one thing to be loyal to a new administration but to blindly pass massive bills unread which would change the foundation of this country and heavily tax citizens in an effort to redistribute wealth is unethical and disgusting.

Has it reached the point where we need to demand that if a bill requires new or increased taxes then our Senators and Representatives who vote on it must sign a statement indicating that they read it in full. They would then be held accountable for what was in that bill and what they approved with their vote. If they were forced to read it and to be accountable then they just might produce reasonable bills without pages and pages of rediculous earmarks.

Plus isn't accountability what Obama promised us? Wasn't his administration supposed to be one of both accountability and transparency? And yet Congressmen can't even get their own copy of a bill and when they do the bills are so voluminous that no one can read it in time for the vote. Plus there is the whole issue of the unheard of speed in which these bills are being forced through committees and onto the floor with little to no discussions and not even time to read it even if you had your own copy and wanted to read it.

It is time to say Stop! We must demand No taxation without cogitation! We and our children and grandchildren will be paying for the taxes hidden in these unread bills and we can't let this go on. Beginning with the upcoming Senate vote on the Cap and Trade we must demand that our Senators at least read the bill before they vote on it.

And how sad that we even have to tell our Senators and Representatives to read something before voting on it. But thanks to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid who are trying to jam bills with massive taxing and redistribution of our country's wealth down our throats then we must demand of our Congressmen and women to read the bill and think about its implications before voting on it.

So join me in shouting No taxation without cogitation and maybe someday there might actually be a vote by people who have read the bill, understand its tax implication and had a lively intelligent discussion about it. Now wouldn't that be nice….

A senior member of Obama's auto task force testified Wednesday that the U.S. government will not continue to fund General Motors Corp.'s operations if the automaker doesn't get approval to sell its assets to a new company within the next 10 days.

"We have no intention to further fund this company if the sale order is not entered by July 10," Harry Wilson, one of the Treasury Department officials overseeing GM's restructuring, said while being cross-examined by an attorney for a group of GM bondholders who stand to lose big if the Obama task force gets its way. That, of course is why they are opposing the sale.

The No. 1 U.S. automaker's government-backed plan for a quick exit from bankruptcy hinges on the sale plan, which would allow it to leave behind many of the costs and liabilities that have made the company unprofitable in the past.

The Detroit-based automaker, whose June 1 filing for bankruptcy protection was the fourth-largest in U.S. history, is hoping to avoid a lengthy court battle over the sale. Last month, objections from bondholders and other groups dragged out rival Chrysler LLC's hearing on its sale for three days. This is day three of the GM hearing.

After Auburn Hills, Michigan-based Chrysler's sale was approved by the bankruptcy court, the bondholder and consumer groups appealed the decision all the way up to the Supreme Court before it ultimately went through and Chrysler subsequently emerged from Chapter 11 as a new company owned by the Italian government subsidized FIAT Company.

Bondholders are among the hundreds of parties including unions, state officials, consumer groups and individuals have filed objections to GM's plan, threatening to hold up its sale as well.

As part of a deal brokered with the auto task force, the U.S. government will get a 60 percent stake in the new company in exchange for the billions in tax dollars it has pumped into GM over the past several months in order to keep it afloat.

The Canadian government, which has also contributed billions in aid, will get a 12.5 percent stake while the United Auto Workers union will take a 17.5 percent share to fund its health care obligations. Unsecured bondholders receive the remaining 10 percent.

Existing GM shareholders will be wiped out as their investments in GM stock are confiscated are redistributed as described.

The remaining pieces of the company, including some closed plants, will become the "Old GM" and be liquidated.

GM hopes to emerge as a leaner company, less burdened by debt and labor costs as it faces a severe recession that has sapped car and truck sales. Automakers, which are due to report June U.S. sales on Wednesday, have seen sales fall 37 percent over the first five months of the year.

The sale hearing, which drew hundreds of attorneys, picketing retirees and others to a Manhattan courthouse, kicked off on Tuesday with testimony from GM President and CEO Fritz Henderson, who also cautioned that the automaker's plan could fall apart if the sale did not go through by July 10.

Testimony from Henderson and other GM restructuring officials dragged on for several hours as the many attorneys representing various objectors took their turns at the podium.

The parties trying to block the sale include groups and several individuals with product-related liability claims against the company who oppose the sale because people with pending claims against GM will be forced to seek compensation from "Old GM," where there will likely be nothing left to pay their claims.

Meanwhile, a group of three of GM's unsecured bondholders are objecting to the sale, claiming that they're entitled to more in exchange for their investments in the company.

And a trio of labor unions say that their retirees stand to lose health care benefits if the sale goes through as approved. Unlike the UAW, which brokered a deal for a stake in the company, those unions say they won't have anything to pay for retiree health care.

In Honduras, demonstrators have appealed to the media to tell the truth. One sign said in Spanish: "CNN: That the entire world opens its eyes…Honduras wants peace not a dictatorship."

Yet America's media  report on the turnout of a couple hundred pro-Zelaya protesters in Honduras, ignoring the many thousands that have demonstrated in support of ousting the radical leftist tyrant. Demonstrators carried signs saying, "Peace and democracy. Out with Mel and Chavez." Others said, "Democracy yes; communism no."

Ironically the :"new media" which was extolled in Iran is being ignored in Honduras. Bloggers charge Zelaya with adopting the style, advice and funding from left-wing leaders such as Hugo Chávez, Fidel Castro, Evo Morales, Rafael Correa and Daniel Ortega."

An anti-communist alliance called UnoAmerica, the Union of Democratic Organizations of America, has recognized the new government of Honduras and urges support for it, issuing a statement saying that "in Honduras there has not been a blow to the state, but rather a constitutional succession, perfectly legitimate, after the intent of ex-president Manuel Zelaya to violate the constitution and maintain power, following the mandate of Hugo Chavez."

Regarding Obama's ally, Venezuelan ruler Chavez, UnoAmerica said that "He is tied to Colombian narcotics terrorism (FARC) and to the government of [Iranian President] Ahmadinejad. He finances the Cuban dictatorship. He permanently tramples the Constitution and kidnaps the liberties of the people. He commits electoral fraud. He forcibly represses peaceful and disarmed Venezuelans. He closes means of communication. He hates the Catholic Church."

Rebutting charges of a "military coup," UnoAmerica noted that "the Armed Forces of Honduras have been limited to obey the judicial mandate, that which obligates a reestablishment of constitutional order, thus showing its subordination to the civil authority."

Complicating plans by the Obama White House and its U.N. allies for a forced return of the former president, Honduras Foreign Minister Enrique Ortez told CNN en Espanol that Zelaya was implicated in drug trafficking from Venezuela into the U.S.

"Every night, three or four Venezuelan-registered planes land without the permission of appropriate authorities and bring thousands of pounds…and packages of money that are the fruit of drug trafficking," he said. "We have proof of all of this. Neighboring governments have it. The DEA [U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration] has it," he added.

At a U.N. meeting on October 13, 2008, Zelaya had openly called for the legalization of drugs - supposedly to reduce violence - just weeks after the Obama supporter George Soros-funded Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy had met to discuss how to pursue such a course of action. The group subsequently released a report calling for a "paradigm shift" on how to handle the illegal drug problem. Billionaire Soros, a long-time funder of campaigns to legalize dangerous drugs, has purchased the services of several former Latin American government officials to push this cause.

Zelaya's comments were immediately denounced by U.N. Office of Drug Control regional representative José Manuel Martinez Morales, who said such an approach was to "stick our heads under the sand like ostriches and accept the drug trade which is annihilating our youth."

Last November Zelaya appeared with Soros at a U.N. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean conference in the Dominican Republic.

At the Tuesday news conference at the United Nations, where a resolution was adopted in favor of returning Zelaya to power, the ousted Marxist ruler was asked if the United States had been behind the "coup" that forced him out. No, Zelaya said. "The United States has changed a great deal," he explained. He went on to say, "I have listened to President Obama. It is not only that he condemns the events, but he has demanded the restoration of the President," referring to himself.

On this point, Zelaya was correct. The United States has certainly changed under Obama. When Ronald Reagan was president, the United States assisted pro-freedom forces and endeavored to keep the communists out of Central America. Now, the United States intervenes on behalf of the communists and their allies, using the U.N. as cover.

Zelaya held his press conference at the U.N. with the President of the United Nations General Assembly, Miguel D'Escoto, a communist priest who received the Lenin Peace Prize from the old Soviet Union.

D'Escoto is another one of Obama's allies, having worked with his Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice to forge a new international socialist order at the recent United Nations Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis. The scheme involves world government financed by global taxes, another cause that is very popular with George Soros.

This article is based in part on on a published analysisby Cliff Kincaid, Accuracy in Media on July 1, 2009 confirmed by other sources and edited and amended.   

Within that context Ellis had described America's landmarks good and bad concluding by speaking about "perhaps the most creative act of the founding era as to make time as well as space an indispensible ally. In effect extending the founding moment everlasting into the future."

If you subscribe to Ellis' notions of creating time and space into an everlasting future contrast and compare that with the report of what Dr. Charles Krauthammer said to a private group at the Center for the American Experiment including:

• 1. Pay no attention to what Obama says, rather watch what he does.
• 2. Obama came to Washington to dismantle capitalism.
• 3. Obama sees himself more a world ruler than just US President - standing above it all - orchestrating and coordinating various countries and their agenda.
• 4. He sees moral equivalency in all cultures.
• 5. His apology tour was a prime example that he sees America as an imperialist nation.

Assuming Ellis' and Krauthammer's theories are each at least partially relevant I believe then I can argue that 2009 will at least begin a reformation if not a revolutionary change.  But, not what most who voted for him thought.Revolution not in the shooting sense but as a time of major spasm similar to that which consumed most of that period between 1775 and 1803. . 

As America turns from a predominantly white country of Judeo-Christian Euro centric ethos to a tan one where Hispanics are much more prominent;  blacks less so in terms of numbers but disproportionately shoved forward by Obama.The reformation or revolution will NOT come easily or willingly. Exactly how that will happen is unclear.but it clearly is occurring.

What is most clear is that Obama has throttled up America to breakneck speed and put it on an umapped and contorted road of blind curves. What is also clear is Obama is disinterested in being a unifierunder any pretext and now has his 60^th Senate vote in the person of admitted arch liberal Al Franken - so he need not be.  Rather he is about change as only he envisions fit.  

Obama's domestic and foreign policy are a mixture of craps, Texas holdem', chess and Russian roulette but with only one chamber empty and pointed at your head. Does America still heed John Adam's admonition for a nation of laws not of men, or a man.

Happy '"INDEPENDENCE" day.

The move aims to counter Western depictions of the country as a fast and loose post-communist frontier. Gambling operators say the state is pushing the industry underground - and losing $1 billion in tax revenues.

 There are big empty spaces on som e of Moscow's trendiest streets early Wednesday, where the glitziest symbols of post-Soviet freedom - gambling casinos - had done a roaring business until they were closed down by a strict new law, literally at the stroke of midnight.

The law, promoted by former president and current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and in the works since 2006, was aimed at shutting down a controversial business that a majority of Russians consider "immoral" and damaging to the country's image.

About 500 major gaming establishments have been forced to close their doors, including some truly palatial casinos in downtown Moscow that were frequented by many in the country's elite. Also shut down by police are countless hole-in-the-wall joints in grocery stores, train stations, and street kiosks that had featured a few slot machines or one-armed bandits and catered to just about anybody who passed by.

Gambling operators say up to 400,000 people have been tossed out of their jobs and the state has lost up to $1 billion in legal tax revenues, while the lucrative gambling industry will probably thrive anyway - but underground, in the hands of organized crime.

"A casino is a necessary service, like restaurants and theaters," says Vadim Bereslavksy, who managed the Hotel Cosmos casino in Moscow for the past 15 years, and was responsible for around 800 employees. "Many of the people who worked with me will have a hard time now; we'll try to find them jobs in the industry outside of the country."

Fast and loose post-communist frontier?
But many conservatives have chafed for years at Western depictions of Russia as a fast and loose post-communist frontier, run by mafia thugs and anything-goes capitalists.

For many of them, the huge neon-lit casinos that have dominated Moscow's post-Soviet downtown nightscape were a symbol of national decay.

"Practice has shown that this business is socially destructive," says Yevgeny Fyodorov, chair of the State Duma's committee on economic policy. He says it caused large numbers of people, including vulnerable groups like pensioners, to become "addicts" and led to serious damage to families and communities.

"Gambling is neither acceptable for the authorities, nor for society. Here we have absolute support," he says.

A survey released this week by the independent Profi Online Research agency found that 72 percent of Russians support the law, while 19 percent oppose it.

Moscow mayor tackles remaining exceptions 
From now on, gambling in big Russian cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg will be limited to lotteries, bookmakers, and licensed "poker clubs" where card games will be treated as a form of sports.

But Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov, a stern opponent of gambling, says he's already moving to crack down on those exceptions.

"We've approached the government for a decision of poker clubs and Internet gambling for cash, which is pretty much the same as the gambling business," Mr. Luzhkov told the official Itar-Tass agency. "Poker clubs? How can you call that sport?"

Officials seem unconcerned about the loss of tax revenues and the sudden spike in unemployment, despite the fact that Russia is gripped in economic crisis.

"We'll lose tax money, but the costs incurred by people who became addicted to gambling were so much higher that we'll actually save," says Alexander Krutov, a Moscow Duma deputy.

"And I'm not in the least concerned about the casino personnel," he adds. "They have good manners, they tend to speak English, and they're mostly young. They'll adapt and do fine."

Four new gambling zones 
Ironically not unlike the then remote emptiness of Las Vegas Vladimir Putin is playing a latter-day Bugsy Siegel by proposing four remote districts where gambling will be permitted, which could be transformed into Las Vegas-style tourist zones.

One "zone" is in Russia's far east, near the border with North Korea. The others would be in the Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad, a remote southern spot near the Sea of Azov, and in the mountainous Altai republic in Siberia.

But industry specialists say nothing has been done to develop the zones, and they are too far off the beaten track to attract serious investment.

"These four areas are not a real project, and they will never work because they can't generate any income in those places," says Boris Belotserkovsky, chairman of the Unikum Group, Russia's biggest producer of gambling equipment.

He says the ban on gambling is "like prohibition on alcohol. It will just drive the business underground."

Based on rumors that entertainer Michael Jackson's body will be on view at Neverland Ranch in mid-Santa Barbara County, California has every motel and hotel room in the area booked for this upcoming Independence Day weekend.  

On May 12, 2009 a foreclosure auction was cancelled on Neverland Ranch when Colony Capital LLC, purchased the loan. Jackson was in default on the $24.5 million owed on the 2,500-acre (10 km²) property. In a press release at that time Jackson was quoted as  stating, "I am pleased with recent developments involving Neverland Ranch and I am in discussions with Colony and Tom Barrack with regard to the Ranch and other matters that would allow me to focus on the future."

The Ranch is a shadow of its former self absent the Ferris wheel, Carousel and other rides and features but the land and what remains could be worth more than $30 million.

Some say Neverland Ranch could become a kind of Graceland that honors the memory and career of Elvis Presley. Opposition has been quick arguing that converting so much agricultural land for commercial use would forever change the nature of the sleepy valley that has tenaciously fought to retain its rural character.

The local Supervisor who represents that area pointed out that is Michael Jackson is to be buried there that would take a long process to have land designated a cemetery or part of the property could be donated to a religious organization that would OK the burial which is what happened at Graceland.

Local residents are bracing for a surge in traffic and merchants in the nearby Danish Village of Solvang are anticipating crowds.