Thanksgiving 2009 - When Did This American Tradition Start?

-



Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, a national holiday, yet many people have no idea of the history of the holiday. Those of you living around Coltons Point should know this history as it began around the colonial days, exactly 155 years after the colonists landed here, the oldest continuous settlement in the original thirteen colonies.



Now not to overlook the Spaniards, they did hold some form of Thanksgiving celebrations in Saint Augustine in 1565, then San Elceario (near today's El Paso) but neither was part of the original colonies. In 1619 Virginia colonists held such a feast and in 1621 the Plymouth, Massachusetts colonists held such a feast but this was before the founding of the nation and they were not annual traditions.



After the founding of the United States the first holiday was declared by President George Washington, a religious feast to thank the "providence of Almighty God" for his help. Still, it was not designated a national holiday but states were encouraged to participate.



Of course George was born directly across the river from Coltons Point and when younger he walked this area as a surveyor.



George Washington

As President, on October 3, 1789, George Washington made the following proclamation and created the first Thanksgiving Day designated by the national government of the United States of America:

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor, and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me "to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be. That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks, for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation, for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war, for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed, for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted, for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions, to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually, to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed, to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord. To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and Us, and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.



The national holiday came during the darkest hours of the Civil War when Lincoln was president. The year was 1863, and it was the bloodiest days of the Civil War. It followed the battles of Vicksburg and Gettysburg and Lincoln's trip to Gettysburg to honor the most soldiers killed in one battle in our history, Lincoln, heartbroken by what he had seen at Gettysburg, may have used Thanksgiving as a time to give the people to reflect and hope. He was not a publicly religious man, but he used his Thanksgiving proclamation to find humility and gratitude, and to remember how richly blessed we as a nation really were despite everything. His proclamation was one of the first times he used strong religious overtones in his public speech.



Abraham Lincoln

In the middle of the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln, prompted by a series of editorials written by Sarah Josepha Hale, proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day, to be celebrated on the final Thursday in November 1863:

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle, or the ship; the axe had enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years, with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty three, and of the independence of the United States the eighty-eighth."

Proclamation of President Abraham Lincoln, October 3, 1863.

Since 1863, Thanksgiving has been observed annually in the United States.



I hope you all join me in Thanksgiving, honoring the Almighty God as Washington and Lincoln told us, and honoring our sons and daughters around the world defending our right to be free.



-

Taylor Swift Sweeps Awards, No Longer Just Country Queen but Queen of the Pop World

-



Now that the American Music Awards, to the shock of the non-country music industry, has anointed Taylor Swift as the voice of American music, what does that mean to the good old folks back home? In winning five AMA awards including artist of the year over Michael Jackson and others, what does that hold for the future.



It was a very good night for country music in spite of the Swift landslide but one wonders how much was because of the Swift coattails which were very much in evidence with the award to Gloriana as breakthrough artist of the year without being well known compared to Lady Gaga who lost to both Swift and Gloriana. Taylor did take Gloriana on tour with her to help introduce the singers.



Still, Swift is the story as she is now known as America's pop queen having demolished the competition in the Country Music and American Music Awards, competition that included all the best performers, male and female in country and pop music including Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, George Straight, Brad Paisley, Reba McEntire, Carrie Underwood, Martina McBride, Miranda Lambert, Sugarland, Rascal Flatts, and pop starts Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, Eminem, Kings of Leon, Beyonce and Daughtry.

So how does a 19 year old kid dominate the greatest artists of all music genres for the last couple of decades? How has Taylor gained world recognition as the queen of pop music and the best selling artist in the world for all types of music? And what will be the Swift impact on country music?



Just like her friend Miley Cyrus who also came from country roots, Taylor Swift is already facing the many seductions of entertainment fame and fortune as they tend to first become a self contained money machine hungry to dominate every aspect of the entertainment business. Both quickly took control of every aspect of their lives from writing music to television appearances.



The rocket to fame opened doors to performing and recording with other established artists. An avalanche of money allowed them to break new ground with music videos. Their packaging for concerts and special performances was flawless. But each degree of control has a price.



Taylor Swift has shattered record sales in a time when the tough economy has driven down the sale of records. That means a whole bunch of other performers have been squeezed out of the fragile sales market. Her concerts are becoming more rock like all the time leaving less money and fan support for other artists.



By writing her own music she has blocked untold writers from ever being a success. When she co-writes and performs with anyone else it is usually because that person is also successful, note, Miley Cyrus, Kellie Pickler, etc. But those hand picked friends are always successful in their own right thus further closing the doors of opportunity to other struggling artists and writers.



In the record business more than any other money talks. But just like Wall Street, money only feeds on more money as costs escalate, video production becomes more extravagant, concert shows become more complex and expensive, and the price of everything from tickets to records has to go up to make sure the public is bled dry.



You reach a certain point and suddenly risky investments stop while formula ideas, known techniques, or songs or styles whose cost benefit analysis offers the least risk begin to dominate. The industry vultures hover around you at all times. Some kids can handle it. Most don't.

The more commercial the kid, for example, young Miley, the more demands on them to continue making tons of money to feed their own machine. They become an industry in and of themselves and they become a slave to their own success. All the time their creativity, which thrives in the early stages gets worn out in the later stages.



That is when they are forced to compromise everything they stood for when they were young and unknown in the first place. Fame has a horrible price to pay. Just look at the lives of music legends like Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson. You reach a certain point when you can never again be one of the genre but become the genre. Yesterday Taylor Swift was the hope for country music, today she is the poster girl for pop music.

It will be a miracle if she ever has control of her young life again. As she is seduced by the masters of entrapment in Hollywood, New York and Wall Street through television and movies, then fashion and cosmetics, her world will open up just as her life is becoming more and more isolated. All the time the greed of those using her will keep pushing her while denying other aspiring artists the chance for any hope of success.



The people of the entertainment world now pouring ideas and dreams into this new star are masters at their game and their game is pure and simple, greed. Squeeze every last ounce of profit out of the celebrity because they might break under the pressure at any step along the way and suddenly the gravy train is gone. To them she is the golden goose and when the goose stops producing it is cast aside for the next Taylor Swift waiting in the wings.

Right now young Taylor has the enthusiasm and energy of youth. But her breakneck schedule and the amazing diversity of activity they have her doing cannot be sustained for long. Most likely she has already been lost to the country music industry. The lure of Hollywood and the mega bucks in the genre will take care of that. Others are pushed in that direction, like Carrie Underwood, but they do not stay there and survive. If they are lucky, they get back to their roots before they are broken.



Swift was a talented kid who just happened to break through in country music. There is no evidence that she was grounded in country as her roots were never deep enough to establish that fact. It was only a matter of time and luck before she found her home and most likely that is in the pop culture. Her music is every bit as much pop as country so the genre of the arrangement determines which doors are open to the artist.



Now that she is the best selling female of all music, and the heir apparent as pop queen, her true roots will never be known. Her opportunities may be endless, but the risk reward ratio just took a gigantic leap forward, meaning what you may ask? It means this. When you have reached the pinnacle of your life's endeavor there is no way to go but sideways or down. You go sideways by jumping from country to pop but from either perspective the only way to go is back down.



Let us hope and pray that Taylor Swift is not already a victim trapped in her own success. She needs to find her own way but also needs to understand she never walks alone. As she is faced with untold wealth and opportunity may she never forget that the gifts she has came from a higher source and the success as measured from that perspective is how you use your gifts to help others in need of help, not those already drowning in success.



Compassion and empathy comes from the heart, not from the largess of foundations and tax deductions. Young Taylor is at a crossroads where she can find a solid foundation in life or forever walk on quicksand. The latter comes from a world of glamour and glitz while the first comes from listening to the heart and soul.



Perhaps she should journey to the Hopi Indian reservation in Arizona with no media, no photo ops and no status symbols and see how the most sacred and oldest of cultures has survived with nothing but a bond to Father Creator and Mother Earth and a desire to bring all people together. Honoring God and all God's creations is the highest service possible to the Hopi, the Children of God and People of the Sun. Then Taylor will see what being grounded is all about.

-

Is Hillary about to Pillory Obama?

-



As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton goes more and more rogue from the policies of the Obama Administration is there a danger that she might just resign and decide to make one more run for the presidency?

Certainly the signs of dissatisfaction are becoming obvious as Obama and his White House palace guard seem to drift from issue to issue while never resolving anything when it comes to foreign policy. At the same time Hillary has been running stronger and stronger in the polls while our rudderless president continues to crash reaching new lows day by day.



The Obama gang, and Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel in particular, demand blind loyalty to the president and to the agenda they give the president regardless of the reality of their policies or concerns of the public. Such a detachment from the American political process and people is suicidal as one can see from the collapsing poll numbers.



While the palace guard have worked out some sort of relationship with Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer at the House and Harry Reid at the Senate, strong arming Congress is not a way to win support or loyalty in the log run and Democrats have started abandoning the policies of the president at an alarming rate. Even the liberal elitists have stopped singing the blind praises of Obama and started questioning the strange way policy is determined and implemented.

Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, was never one of the adoring followers of Obama. Thanks to the antics of her husband, she has just about seen it all at the White House and knows the mess the staff can create for the president. Because of that she didn't complain when Emanuel, err Obama, appointed foreign policy watchdogs to the White House staff to keep an eye on her.



The spies didn't seem to realize that Hillary didn't need Obama to introduce her to foreign leaders, she already had a pretty deep portfolio without the new kid on the block. For six months she maintained a low profile as the White House staff quickly over-extended its reach, played too many games in the interest of the country, and got bogged down in it's own quagmire of inertia and inconsistency.



Even a prolific ballet dancer like Emanuel is having a hard time pirouetting out of the mess they have created with the sluggish decision-making process, conflicting direction and lack of leadership. Still the palace guard refuses to abandon it's social agenda and deal with jobs and deficits like the public demands.

The result, quite predictable, was the loss of the governorship in two key battleground states, New Jersey and Virginia this year. Of far more ominous concern is the fact many Democrats in the House and Senate can see their own political self-survival threatened in next years' elections if they continue to back the rather bizarre agenda of the Obama gang.



The failure to address the jobs and deficit while padding the pockets of Obama contributors to the tune of billions of dollars could already be fatal to the president as his chances for reelection in 2012 become dimmer by the day. Already his own favorable rating is below half and his unfavorable is above half while his policies across the board are backed by just 15-30% of the public. Independents are having no trouble making up their mind as they flee the Obama train wreck.



Does anyone believe Hillary is willing to allow her popularity and future go up in flames because of blind loyalty to the Obama bunglers? No Hillary always spoke her beliefs and her decisive leadership is a stark contrast to the waffling president. So she has started distancing herself from him.



Several times she has ignored the Obama gang policy book and said what she believed to the press and public, a far cry from the absolutely controlled press in the White House. Most certainly it infuriated Little Napoleon and the rest of the White House gang.



She actually had the audacity to wonder to the media about the succession of the presidency of North Korea, one of the main Obama thorns in the side. You see Kim Jong-il, the mysterious leader who loves American movies and nuclear missiles, may also be quite ill. Such a breach of protocol by the Secretary of State was frowned upon by the Obama boys.



Hillary also double-crossed the liberal elitists being kept on a short chain by the White House when she said forget about human rights in China and focus on the economy as China pretty much already owns the USA. She also said Israel had to make unprecedented concessions regarding the settlements or there could be no Mid East peace,

She backed the generals in Afghanistan while Biden has led the inside charge against her within the Administration. Finally, she has been rather silent about the bank bailout, economic stimulus and other odd efforts by the Administration to half-heartedly address the public concerns as if she knew they were a sham from the first place.

One might expect the Obama gang to start a media leak campaign to get her out since they know they cannot control her. Circulating rumors about her spats with the White House is normally a good first indicator that someone is being made a scapegoat for the president's failed foreign agenda.



However, this might truly backfire. If they force out Clinton she becomes the only Democrat who could take him on in the 2012 primary and beat him. One would think the conniving White House staff would already be making their moves. So is she.

Now, if she resigns without White House interference then it is a much darker signal to the White House that Hillary intends to lay claim to the title that should have been hers were it not for the nearly one billion dollars spent against her before in the race for the presidency of the White House.

Stay tuned as this is about to get real interesting.

-

SNL 2012 Predicts Sarah Palin to Save America from Barack's Armageddon

-



Saturday Night Live became the first of the nation's elite liberal media to predict that the only hope for America in 2012, the end of time according to the Mayan prophecies, is Sarah Palin. Attempting to disguise the prediction as a typical spoof by the show that is dying for ratings and knows a ratings winner from experience, SNL showed a preview of the Sarah Palin in 2012 movie yet to be made.



Already acknowledging a failure by the Obama administration in their first term and that there is no chance for the reelection of this, the best team liberal money could buy, the entertainment celebrities have already turned on their political celebrities in predicting a Palin win in 2012.



Of course there is nothing like a liberal stampede to attract the attention of the masses so SNL relied on their comrade in arms MSNBC to splash the preview all over the airways on Monday thus insuring the spoof would become part of American media lore.



Liberal's don't like to lose and the liberal elitists are already abandoning the Obama ship of state as they watch the domestic and foreign policy initiatives of the Obama gang go up in flames. A good liberal always knows when to run and run they are from their Chosen One as he demonstrates the very inexperience the liberals promised he did not have.



Apparently this past week which Obama spent in Asia watching every policy initiative from Chinese human rights to getting tough on North Korea and Iran, from a stop to Israeli settlements to a halt to the Iranian nuclear program, all be ignored by foreign governments was enough to convince the liberals to jettison Obama and his gang and bet on Palin in 2012.



While Obama was disappointing everyone in Asia Sarah Palin was setting book sales records here in America as the liberal press did everything to undermine her efforts. As usual, the media sucked and Sarah blew them away. They just don't get it. We don't need any more intellectual constipation from the Ivy Leagues. We don't need empty promises. We don't need hidden taxes for all Americans.

Telling lies should not be part of the government agenda. Seizing up when tough decisions are faced is not what we expect of our leaders. Playing politics with the sons and daughters of Americans fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq is not what is expected of a Commander in Chief. Ignoring the advice of generals sent by the White House to recommend military strategy is not leadership.



Letting banks not provide banking services and Wall Street and banks pay out record bonuses is not the legacy the Democrats wanted. Watching Barney Franks continue cover up for the home mortgage mess or Rahm Emanuel continue to gut efforts to reform the financial system is a continuation of the corrupt practices that got us here in the first place.

With all the baggage mounting up against the ability of the Obama/Pelosi machine to run things, is it any wonder that SNL was the first to abandon them for 2012 and admit Sarah Palin may be our only hope to get us through the mess the politicians are creating? It is not often liberals can be accused of foresight but this may be the case.

You see, while the Obama gang was busy wondering what happened to the Obama ratings Palin was busy cruising Main Street and military bases meeting the people. While Obama plays basketball on Sundays with the guys, Palin is meeting with the Reverend Graham and other ministers to talk about the needs of families and for more faith in God. It does not take long for the public to know where hypocrisy thrives and where good old American values are protected. Yes SNL, Sarah Palin may be America's only hope for 2012.



-

The Day of Reckoning Has Come - for the White House, Congress and Wall Street

-



It is now time for an end to the senseless babble in our nation's capitol, an end to the claims by the politicians to know what is RIGHT for America. Now is the time to end the meaningless charges and counter-charges, the pointing of the finger in blame, and the bias and bigotry, hatred and paralysis that dominates Washington.

The Democrats continue to point the finger at Bush for the troubles that now belong to the Democrats. They point the finger at the Republicans for opposing whatever the Democrats want to do. But the Democrats control everything, the House, the Senate and the presidency, if they want something the Republicans can't stop it.



As for the Republicans, the minority party gives them a new perspective, at least in the Senate and presidency. Don't forget, the House has been controlled by Speaker Pelosi since 2006, not 2008. But the Republicans often act more like spoiled kids than a constructive force to bring reason and sanity to the insanity of the Democrats.



So far, there really is no difference between the two parties. Oh the circumstances might have changed a little but in truth there is no difference. We still have the same two wars. We still have a crippled economy. We still debate how to increase the size of government rather than reduce it. Health care reform has little to do with real reform and a lot to do with control.

The Democrats want to control health care costs by spending about a trillion more dollars. What kind of math is that? The White House refuses to offer anything for fear it will be yet another failure on its dismal post-election legacy. Is that leadership? And the Republicans, well they have the right ideas to reduce costs but no ability to rise above the fight and present their case.



Dig a little deeper and whatever philosophical differences might have existed between the two parties is lost in a fog. That fog is the millions of dollars pouring in from Wall Street and special interests to make sure that our current system of legalized corruption remains alive and well. Both parties run around with their hands out and the money keeps flowing in.

Yesterday Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lectured the Afghanistan president Karzai on the need for meaningful actions to fight corruption or the United States would withhold support for that struggling nation. It was impressive. But it was the wrong audience. Before we worry about how Afghanistan runs it's country we should look in the mirror at our own country. Hillary needs to make that speech to the White House and Congress where it is really needed.

Congress and the Obama administration, just like Bush and his Administration, have made corruption such an established way of life in Washington that the keys to the Treasury have been lost and the door remains open wide. For all the mistakes made by Bush, it seems Obama, Biden, Pelosi, Reid and Franks have not fixed one, not one, of the obvious flaws in our system in a year.



Lobbyists rule the halls of congress. Special interests are pouring billions of dollars into the campaign coffers of all the Democrats and Republicans. Wall Street would be laughing all the way to the bank if they didn't already own the bank. Our politicians have given Goldman Sachs, Morgan, Citigroup, Bank of America and who knows who else an unlimited ATM card to draw upon the national treasury. And we are not requiring repayment, not charging interest, could care less about bonuses, and don't care how they spend the money.



Democrats and Republicans alike are equally to blame and equally benefit from this, the greatest raid on the Treasury in our nation's history. Has Pelosi, Reid or Franks passed any campaign finance reform? No! Restrictions on lobbyists? No! How about closing the loopholes on unregulated banks? No! Well have they at least stopped illegal securities scams from being sold? No!



Has Obama or the folks at Treasury stopped almost interest free loans to banks that refuse to give loans to our citizens or businesses? No! Have they blocked the billions of dollars in bank bonuses being paid from money stolen from the government? No! Has Barney Franks stopped the mortgage mess? No! How about at least prosecuting the perpetrators of high crimes against the government who stole our money? No! Well has he at least disclosed which Senators and Congressmen were given sweetheart loans by the corrupt mortgage companies? No!



Of course none of these things have happened because the politicians, Democrats and Republicans alike, don't want all their friends and partners in crime to be sitting in jail. As long as they are fighting with each other and pointing fingers they figure the public is distracted from the truth and too stupid to figure out it allows them to continue ripping off the government, us, and they will do this for as long as we let them.



There simply is no difference between a Democrat and Republican. Both parties cry foul as they continue to feed off their enemies. No one can fix Wall Street because everyone from the president to congress is beholden to Wall Street for being elected. Now, when there is a force so powerful that it has obliterated the difference between what used to be competitive political parties, what chance is there a beneficiary of the bribes and gifts will turn on them?



In America there are no politicians left with NO STRINGS ATTACHED in our nation's capitol. Still we might forgive them their digressions if they would actually acknowledge the mistakes, apologize for them, and fix the mess but that is just not going to happen. When the bushel of apples is rotten it doesn't matter if you throw one out of the bushel, the bushel still remains rotten.



This is a very sad time in America. The people have been abandoned by their elected officials and their government. Our banks and medical services have been contaminated by the same evil forces just as our mortgage and credit card companies have abandoned us. They are all in control. They don't care about anything but feeding an insatiable appetite of greed and they won't stop until they have bled our nation dry.



Once upon a time in America the news media used to be the fifth estate who looked out for the interests of the people. It was the media that exposed the dark side of our capitalist and political systems. Now the media, thanks to their rejection of the concept of neutrality and impartial reporting, are just as much a part of the problem as the politicians.



The Day of Reckoning is upon us. The first vestiges of it were felt in the New Jersey and Virginia races for governor when the president and Democrats lost. But the Republicans were not the ones who won. No, this was the first groundswell of what started 17 years ago when Ross Perot took on the Washington establishment because of their bungling of the economy, giving away our manufacturing capacity and jobs through NAFTA, campaign finance corruption, poor schools and heath care costs that were out of control.



Clinton and Bush, Sr. along with the Democratic and Republican parties, smeared him. Al Gore, VP at the time, even debated him on the benefits of NAFTA. The North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement, which did more than any one thing to destroy the manufacturing base in America, was opposed by Perot. Isn't it rather interesting that this agreement was proposed by Bush, Sr. when he was president and approved by Bill Clinton when he was president. Now tell me, what is the difference between the two parties?

The combined forces of the two political parties, Clinton and Bush, Sr. along with a media that did it's best to make Perot look like a fool did not stop him from influencing the outcome of the 1992 election as he received the most votes (20%) by an Independent in the 20th Century. Nor did they stop him from laying the groundwork for a true opposition grassroots movement of the people against the political parties and politicians.



This year the old boys and gals in our nation's capitol suddenly realized the Perot legacy is alive and well because his populist movement was always about what was best for the people. Had Perot become president back then or in 1996 half of congress, the bureaucracy and Wall Street would be in jail right now, not running or pillaging our government.



Two products of the system (New Jersey and Virginia governor's candidates) have already lost this fall to the new grassroots movement. Congress got a little roughed up in health care town halls by the same populist movement. Still the fools in our capitol and Wall Street do not get it. They have one year left before the movement becomes an avalanche and the politicians start getting thrown out by the droves in the elections next fall. Yes, the Day of Reckoning is Upon Us. The Time is at Hand.

-