Today the News Dominated the People, Not the People Dominated the News

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Today I watched in awe as the news dominated the world, not people dominated the news. In a way it was refreshing but it was also a stark reminder that mankind remains vulnerable to allowing their ego to become the center of the universe, especially in the world of politics, while missing much of what is important in the world.



For example, take today's stories that were not expected. After a month of the Obama administration claiming the economy and jobs situation had turned the corner toward recovery such soothsayers of good tidings were dealt a series of crushing reminders that we are not in control of our own destiny. It all started last week when Obama turned on the business sector and blasted companies for executive bonuses and taking advantage of the government.



Today came an unemployment report on job losses far worse than anticipated. Then came the next in a series of recalls from Toyota sending shocks waves through the domestic auto market and international money markets. Just last month Toyota became the number one auto seller in the world. No one is talking about it but most Toyotas sold in America are made in America so if the Japanese giant loses huge market share which is likely and probable, it will most certainly shut down the US operations first further accelerating the economic disaster for America.



The reaction to Obama's new budget this week finally surfaced, and it was a resounding dud with the record spending increases and ominous increase in our national debt. His budget says our budget deficit will reach a record $1.565 trillion this year, equal to 10.6% of the entire GDP, Gross Domestic Product, and the highest since World War II. Obama's long delayed concern for American jobs and our economy are doing little to reassure people the administration has a clue in managing the economy. The young president has stumbled through bank bailouts, insurance and auto bailouts, housing and mortgage bailouts, a non-stimulus and those incredible executive bonuses.



AIG, one of Obama's least discussed bailouts and actions, announced they were paying out another $100 million in bonuses to people who drove the company to the brink of bankruptcy, an action approved by the Obama management team. While Congress and the president twiddle their thumbs Wall Street, unions, auto companies and who knows who else pick apart the scraps left of America.



Finally came the action by Congress today to raise the national debt ceiling by $1.9 trillion to over $14 trillion, the highest in history, an emergency action to accommodate Obama's spending frenzy. It is the first time the national debt will equal the entire annual GDP of America and Obama says it will climb to $26 trillion over the next ten years.



As the world absorbed this rash of unexpected developments today the stock market wiped out all the gains over the past month dropping nearly 300 points and barely closing above 10,000 mark. Tomorrow the unemployment rate is likely to increase, not decrease as Obama projected, so the economic adjustments may be far from over.



Tomorrow begins the Tea Party national convention in Nashville, with Sarah Palin headlining the speakers this weekend, and I predict the horrible response of the media and both political parties to this independent movement will make it a far stronger force as it emerges from the convention. Right now it is a loose coalition but it could easily become a national force and stands as the greatest threat to back room politics and old time politicians, including our Ivy League president, in our nation's history.



For a year the media ignored the people's populist revolt and ever since the victories over the establishment in Virginia, New Jersey and Massachusetts the past few weeks the political parties, Democrats and Republicans, and President Obama have tried to claim ownership of this independent movement. How stupid? The Tea Party movement is the only thing keeping our nation from being controlled by crooks and con artists disguised as politicians and media.

Today an earthquake of 6.0 magnitude hit a few miles off the coast of Northern California following another a couple of weeks ago of 6.5 magnitude. So far they have not reached the California fault lines but they are powerful enough that it could be an indication of imminent danger. For comparison the Haiti quake was 7.0 magnitude.



If you are into natural disaster monitoring consider this. Between January 17, 2010 and today there have been 1,719 earthquakes in the Yellowstone National Park region of Wyoming ranging up to a 3.8 force. That is the second largest earthquake swarm ever recorded at Yellowstone and continues today. Underground at Yellowstone lies one of the largest magma pools of lava in the world measuring as much as a staggering 50-90 miles wide. Scientifically it is called a supervolcano and about 2.1 million years ago the area blew up and caused 2,500 times as much volcanic ash as the Mt. St. Helens eruption in 1980.



Other strange news today included the missionaries in Haiti who went to court expecting to be released and wound up being formally charged with kidnapping and conspiracy to steal children from Haiti. The guru who led a sweat lodge ceremony about a year ago in Sedona, Arizona that killed 3 and sent 18 more people to the hospital was charged with manslaughter. I have participated with Native Americans in many sweat lodge ceremonies, a spiritual ritual of the original Americans, and what he did was an insult to the culture and spirituality of Indian cultures.



The list goes on and on but that is enough for now. You get the impression that higher forces took control of events for the day to give us a break from the non-stop political nonsense we face and also to give us a warning that we are so preoccupied with what we want that we are losing sight of what really counts. Maybe we should be paying more attention to Mother Earth and Father Creator and less to our own needs and desires? If you need more read my last article on the Seven Cardinal Virtues and Seven Deadly Sins.

Seven Cardinal Virtues, Seven Deadly Sins -The Survival Guide for Politics in America

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Anyone exposed to the media and politicians in America has a real good idea that something is terribly wrong. Partisan bickering seems to dominate the media stories as if the reality we face isn't bad enough. Obama blames Bush for everything wrong. Then he blames Republicans for doing nothing when the Democrats control everything and don't even need the Republicans.

The Democrats blame the Republicans for being obstructionists while the Republicans blame the Democrats for not including them in back room deals. All the while the media grovel for stories that incite the hatred and drama so they can beat each other in the ratings. Of course Obama blames Congress for not doing enough while Congress blames the White House for never taking a stand.



What we have is a classic stalemate in chess terms. What happens in a stalemate? No one wins. That leaves it up to the people to sort through the barrage of claims and counter claims, through the greed and corruption, through the lies and half truths in order to make some sense of where we stand and where we are going. It also means the politicians in Washington, the executives on Wall Street, the bosses in the union headquarters and the media in their ivory towers are all lost in the storm.

What does a captain of a ship do when facing a storm? Preparation and patience, combined with faith, strength and hope will always help you make it through the storm and tomorrow will always be there to reward your courage, strength and faith. In times like these when the truth is elusive and our leaders are paralyzed, when ethics and morality seem gone from governing, and when self-preservation dominates the common good it helps to remember the old ways.



In the ancient teachings of the Catholic Church through the works of theologians St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas and dating all the way back to the ancient Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle, long before the time of Jesus, good and evil was defined by the Seven Cardinal Virtues and the Seven Deadly Sins.



It would do us well in this time of a crisis of confidence and moral corruption to remember the Seven Cardinal Virtues and Seven Deadly Sins whether you are Catholic or not as they were an inspiration to the Christian founders of our great nation. It also would not hurt to see if you are living the virtues and rejecting the sins and apply the same standards to our candidates for public office.

The Cardinal Virtues



Four virtues play a pivotal role and accordingly are called "cardinal"; all the others are grouped around them. They are: prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. "If anyone loves righteousness, [Wisdom's] labors are virtues; for she teaches temperance and prudence, justice, and courage." These virtues are praised under other names in many passages of Scripture.

Prudence is the virtue that disposes practical reason to discern our true good in every circumstance and to choose the right means of achieving it; "the prudent man looks where he is going. Keep sane and sober for your prayers." Prudence is "right reason in action," writes St. Thomas Aquinas, following Aristotle. It is not to be confused with timidity or fear, nor with duplicity or dissimulation. It is called auriga virtutum (the charioteer of the virtues); it guides the other virtues by setting rule and measure. It is prudence that immediately guides the judgment of conscience. The prudent man determines and directs his conduct in accordance with this judgment. With the help of this virtue we apply moral principles to particular cases without error and overcome doubts about the good to achieve and the evil to avoid.

Justice is the moral virtue that consists in the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbor. Justice toward God is called the "virtue of religion." Justice toward men disposes one to respect the rights of each and to establish in human relationships the harmony that promotes equity with regard to persons and to the common good. The just man, often mentioned in the Sacred Scriptures, is distinguished by habitual right thinking and the uprightness of his conduct toward his neighbor. "You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven."

Fortitude is the moral virtue that ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good. It strengthens the resolve to resist temptations and to overcome obstacles in the moral life. The virtue of fortitude enables one to conquer fear, even fear of death, and to face trials and persecutions. It disposes one even to renounce and sacrifice his life in defense of a just cause. "The Lord is my strength and my song. In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

Temperance is the moral virtue that moderates the attraction of pleasures and provides balance in the use of created goods. It ensures the will's mastery over instincts and keeps desires within the limits of what is honorable. The temperate person directs the sensitive appetites toward what is good and maintains a healthy discretion: "Do not follow your inclination and strength, walking according to the desires of your heart." Temperance is often praised in the Old Testament: "Do not follow your base desires, but restrain your appetites." In the New Testament it is called "moderation" or "sobriety." We ought "to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world."



The Theological Virtues

The human virtues are rooted in the theological virtues, which adapt man's faculties for participation in the divine nature: for the theological virtues relate directly to God. They dispose Christians to live in a relationship with the Holy Trinity. They have the One and Triune God for their origin, motive, and object.

The theological virtues are the foundation of Christian moral activity; they animate it and give it its special character. They inform and give life to all the moral virtues. They are infused by God into the souls of the faithful to make them capable of acting as his children and of meriting eternal life. They are the pledge of the presence and action of the Holy Spirit in the faculties of the human being. There are three theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity.

Faith

Faith is the theological virtue by which we believe in God and believe all that he has said and revealed to us, and that Holy Church proposes for our belief, because he is truth itself. By faith "man freely commits his entire self to God." For this reason the believer seeks to know and do God's will. "The righteous shall live by faith." Living faith "work[s] through charity."
The gift of faith remains in one who has not sinned against it. But "faith apart from works is dead": when it is deprived of hope and love, faith does not fully unite the believer to Christ and does not make him a living member of his Body.

The disciple of Christ must not only keep the faith and live on it, but also profess it, confidently bear witness to it, and spread it: "All however must be prepared to confess Christ before men and to follow him along the way of the Cross, amidst the persecutions which the Church never lacks." Service of and witness to the faith are necessary for salvation: "So every one who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven; but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven."

Hope

Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit. "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. The Holy Spirit, he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life."

The virtue of hope responds to the aspiration to happiness which God has placed in the heart of every man; it takes up the hopes that inspire men's activities and purifies them so as to order them to the Kingdom of heaven; it keeps man from discouragement; it sustains him during times of abandonment; it opens up his heart in expectation of eternal beatitude. Buoyed up by hope, he is preserved from selfishness and led to the happiness that flows from charity.

Christian hope takes up and fulfills the hope of the chosen people which has its origin and model in the hope of Abraham, who was blessed abundantly by the promises of God fulfilled in Isaac, and who was purified by the test of the sacrifice. "Hoping against hope, he believed, and thus became the father of many nations."

Christian hope unfolds from the beginning of Jesus' preaching in the proclamation of the beatitudes. The beatitudes raise our hope toward heaven as the new Promised Land; they trace the path that leads through the trials that await the disciples of Jesus. But through the merits of Jesus Christ and of his Passion, God keeps us in the "hope that does not disappoint." Hope is the "sure and steadfast anchor of the soul . . . that enters . . . where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf." Hope is also a weapon that protects us in the struggle of salvation: "Let us . . . put on the breastplate of faith and charity, and for a helmet the hope of salvation." It affords us joy even under trial: "Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation." Hope is expressed and nourished in prayer, especially in the Our Father, the summary of everything that hope leads us to desire.

We can therefore hope in the glory of heaven promised by God to those who love him and do his will. In every circumstance, each one of us should hope, with the grace of God, to persevere "to the end" and to obtain the joy of heaven, as God's eternal reward for the good works accomplished with the grace of Christ. In hope, the Church prays for "all men to be saved." She longs to be united with Christ, her Bridegroom, in the glory of heaven:

Hope, O my soul, hope. You know neither the day nor the hour. Watch carefully, for everything passes quickly, even though your impatience makes doubtful what is certain, and turns a very short time into a long one. Dream that the more you struggle, the more you prove the love that you bear your God, and the more you will rejoice one day with your Beloved, in a happiness and rapture that can never end.

Charity

Charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God.

Jesus makes charity the new commandment. By loving his own "to the end," he makes manifest the Father's love which he receives. By loving one another, the disciples imitate the love of Jesus which they themselves receive. Whence Jesus says: "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love." And again: "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."

Fruit of the Spirit and fullness of the Law, charity keeps the commandments of God and his Christ: "Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love."

Christ died out of love for us, while we were still "enemies." The Lord asks us to love as he does, even our enemies, to make ourselves the neighbor of those farthest away, and to love children and the poor as Christ himself.

The Apostle Paul has given an incomparable depiction of charity: "charity is patient and kind, charity is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Charity does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Charity bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."102

"If I . . . have not charity," says the Apostle, "I am nothing." Whatever my privilege, service, or even virtue, "if I . . . have not charity, I gain nothing." Charity is superior to all the virtues. It is the first of the theological virtues: "So faith, hope, charity abide, these three. But the greatest of these is charity."

The practice of all the virtues is animated and inspired by charity, which "binds everything together in perfect harmony"; it is the form of the virtues; it articulates and orders them among themselves; it is the source and the goal of their Christian practice. Charity upholds and purifies our human ability to love, and raises it to the supernatural perfection of divine love.

The practice of the moral life animated by charity gives to the Christian the spiritual freedom of the children of God. He no longer stands before God as a slave, in servile fear, or as a mercenary looking for wages, but as a son responding to the love of him who "first loved us":

If we turn away from evil out of fear of punishment, we are in the position of slaves. If we pursue the enticement of wages, . . . we resemble mercenaries. Finally if we obey for the sake of the good itself and out of love for him who commands . . . we are in the position of children.

The fruits of charity are joy, peace, and mercy; charity demands beneficence and fraternal correction; it is benevolence; it fosters reciprocity and remains disinterested and generous; it is friendship and communion: Love is itself the fulfillment of all our works. There is the goal; that is why we run: we run toward it, and once we reach it, in it we shall find rest.

The Gifts and Fruits of The Holy Spirit

The moral life of Christians is sustained by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These are permanent dispositions which make man docile in following the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. They belong in their fullness to Christ, Son of David. They complete and perfect the virtues of those who receive them. They make the faithful docile in readily obeying divine inspirations.

Let your good spirit lead me on a level path.

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God . . . If children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.

The fruits of the Spirit are perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory. The tradition of the Church lists twelve of them: "charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity."



The Sins

Beginning in the early 14th-century, the popularity of depicting the Seven Deadly Sins by artists of the time ingrained them in western popular consciousness. The Italian poet ante Alighieri (1265-1321 C.E.), wrote three epic poems (known collectively as the Divine Comedy) titled Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. In his book Inferno, Dante recounts the visions he has in a dream in which he enters and descends into Hell. According to Dante, he is told by his guide that a soul's location in Hell is based upon the sins that they commit when they are alive. In each 'ring' of hell, a specific punishment is doled out. As they descend lower and lower, the punishments (and consequently sins) become worse and worse until he reaches the bottom and discovers Satan. In Inferno, Dante encounters these sins in the following order (canto number): Lust (5), Gluttony (6), Avarice (7), Wrath (7-8), Heresy (10), Violence (12-17), Blasphemy (14), Fraud (18-30), and Treachery (32-34).

The Seven Deadly sins are listed today as follows:

Lust (Latin, luxuria)

Lust (fornication, perversion) —
Obsessive, unlawful depraved thought, or unnatural desire for sexual excitement, such as desiring sex with a person outside marriage or engaging in unnatural sexual appetites. Rape and sodomy are considered to be extreme lust and are said to be mortal sins. Dante's criterion was "excessive love of others," thereby detracting from the love due to God. Lust prevents clarity of thought and rational behavior.

Gluttony (Latin, gula)

Gluttony (waste, overindulgence) —
Thoughtless waste of everything, overindulgence, misplaced sensuality, uncleanliness, and maliciously depriving others. Marked by refusal to share and unreasonable consumption of more than is necessary, especially food or water. Destruction, especially for sport. Substance abuse or binge drinking. Dante explains it as "excessive love of pleasure".

Avarice (Latin, avaritia)

Greed (treachery, avarice) —
A strong desire to gain, especially in money or power. Disloyalty, deliberate betrayal, or treason, especially for personal gain or when compensated. Scavenging and hoarding of materials or objects. Theft and robbery by violence. Simony is the evolution of avarice because it fills you with the urge to make money by selling things within the confines of the church. This sin is abhorred by the Catholic Church and is seen as a sin of malice. Dante included this sin in his first novel. Simony can be viewed as betrayal. Thomas Aquinas on greed: "it is a sin against God, just as all mortal sins, in as much as man condemns things eternal for the sake of temporal things."

Sloth (Latin, acedia)

Sloth (apathy, indifference) —
Apathy, idleness, and wastefulness of time. Laziness is particularly condemned because others must work harder to make up for it. Cowardice or irresponsibility. Abandonment, especially of God. Dante wrote that sloth is the "failure to love God with all one's heart, all one's mind and all one's soul".

Wrath (Latin, ira)

Wrath (anger, hatred) —
Inappropriate (unrighteous) feelings of hatred and anger. Denial of the truth to others or self. Impatience or revenge outside of justice. Wishing to do evil or harm to others. Self-righteousness. Wrath is the root of murder and assault. Dante described wrath as "love of justice perverted to revenge and spite".

Envy (Latin, invidia)

Envy (jealousy, malice) —
Grieving spite and resentment of material objects, accomplishments, or character traits of others, or wishing others to fail or come to harm. Envy is the root of theft and self-loathing. Dante defined this as "love of one's own good perverted to a desire to deprive other men of theirs".

Pride (Latin, superbia)

Pride (vanity, narcissism) —
A desire to be more important or attractive to others, failing to give credit due to others, or excessive love of self (especially holding self out of proper position toward God). Dante's definition was "love of self perverted to hatred and contempt for one's neighbor". In Jacob Bidermann's medieval miracle play, Cenodoxus, superbia is the deadliest of all the sins and leads directly to the damnation of the famed Doctor of Paris, Cenodoxus. Pride was what sparked the fall of Lucifer from Heaven. Vanity and narcissism are good examples of these sins and they often lead to the destruction of the sinner, for instance by the wanton squandering of money and time on themselves without caring about others. Pride can be seen as the misplacement of morals.

Interpretation

In the original classification, Pride was considered to be the 'deadliest' of all sins, and was the father of all sins. This relates directly to Christian philosophy and the story of Lucifer as told in the Bible. Lucifer, the highest angel in heaven, surrendered to the sin of pride and demanded that the other angels worship him. This being a violation of God's will, Lucifer and his followers were cast from heaven.

Summary

Our forefathers talked of the need for all Christians to continually work to master the Cardinal Virtues and to eliminate the Deadly Sins. It was a lifelong dedication. The results of such perseverance were the Declaration of Independence and Constitution. Would we not do well to do the same? These are the standards that created America, they are the foundation to preserve America. Live them and demand the same from our elected officials.

Thanks to the Catechism of the Catholic Church and New World Encyclopedia for guidance in this article.

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Obama Prima Ballerina Blasted by Sarah Palin - Rahm Emanuel Regrets Remark

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In a rare episode in American politics the leader of the Chicago gang in the White House got caught using the F___ word and a derogatory characterization of America's special needs children, "retarded", and was immediately called on the carpet by Sarah Palin.



Damage control by the White House was swift as they already had practice at covering up such derogatory blasphemy since President Obama had earlier stepped on his tongue when making fun of the Special Olympics.

Why is it that the liberal community remained silent on the Emanuel lip slip when special needs is a cause of concern to liberals? There is a hypocritical silence by the liberals when anyone in the Obama administration mocks liberal causes but Sarah Palin came to their rescue blasting Emanuel and calling for his firing as a leader of the American government.



Emanuel was quoted in the Wall Street Journal last week making the comment in an August meeting with some liberal activists who were threatening to run TV ads against conservative Democrats hesitant to embrace President Obama's approach to health care reform.

After the Journal story was published, Emanuel called Special Olympics Chairman and CEO Timothy Shriver to apologize. The Special Olympics announced Tuesday evening that members of the disabilities rights community will meet Wednesday afternoon with White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, after the fiery Chicagoan admitted to having referred to some liberal activists as "f---ing retarded."



The Special Olympics said in a statement: "The meeting will be a face-to-face discussion with Rahm Emanuel about the suffering and pain of people with intellectual disabilities that is perpetuated by the use of the terms 'retard' and 'retarded' as well as the damage that can be done by the casual use of the R-word – even if it is not directed toward people with intellectual disabilities."

This was a well rehearsed performance of damage control at the White House since Shriver seems to be the designated Democratic cover for big mouths. His father started the Special Olympics program and Timothy continues the family commitment. A relative of the Kennedys, his father was once vice presidential candidate for the Democrats. Oh yes, and Special Olympics CEO Shriver is a contributor to the Obama campaign.



Last March Obama got in hot water when he appeared on the Jay Leno show and when asked about the bowling alley in the White House, Obama joked to Jay that his average score of 129 "was like the Special Olympics or something."

Special Olympics Chairman Timothy Shriver, who said Obama called him that time from Air Force One to apologize for the comment, talked about it on ABC's "Good Morning America" March 20.



"He expressed his disappointment and he apologized in a way that was very moving. He expressed that he did not intend to humiliate this population," Shriver said, adding that Obama said he would like to have some Special Olympic athletes visit the White House to bowl or play basketball.

Shriver added that despite the apology, "I think it's important to see that words hurt and words do matter. And these words that in some respect can be seem as humiliating or a put-down to people with special needs do cause pain and they do result in stereotypes."



Perhaps the incidents would be a little more sincere if a Democratic campaign contributor had not been the first and only call by the President and Chief of Staff. There are a lot of special needs children, 40 million families are affected, and there are a lot of good organizations besides the Special Olympics.

However, managing damage control for the tasteless jokes and stinging rebukes by White House staff, not to mention the periodic blunders by Vice President Biden, is about the only sign of leadership and taking responsibility by this White House. If only they applied the same leadership to running the government.

Oscar Gold - The Winners Are???

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Today the Oscar nominations were announced and there were a few surprises but not many. Since picking the winners, in other words reading the minds of the Academy voters, is an inexact science I have decided to make it even harder because I will be the first member of the entertainment media to pick the winners without seeing a single nominated movie.





The interesting nominations, the movies Avatar directed by James Cameron and The Hurt Locker directed by Kathryn Bieglow pits an ex-husband and wife, Cameron and Bieglow against each other. One was a $200 million blockbuster and the other an independent costing a few million.



Here are my picks:



Best Picture - The Hurt Locker

Best Picture nominees

Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
A Serious Man
Up
Up in the Air

Best Director - Kathryn Bieglow



Best Director nominees

James Cameron: Avatar
Kathryn Bigelow: The Hurt Locker
Quentin Tarantino: Inglourious Basterds
Lee Daniels - Precious
Jason Reitman: Up in the Air



Best Actor - Jeff Bridges - Crazy Heart



Best Actor nominees

Jeff Bridges: Crazy Heart
George Clooney: Up in the Air
Colin Firth: A Single Man
Morgan Freeman: Invictus
Jeremy Renner: The Hurt Locker



Best Actress - Sandra Bullock - The Blind Side



Best Actress nomiees

Sandra Bullock: The Blind Side
Helen Mirran: The Last Station
Carey Mulligan: An Education
Gabourey Sidibe: Precious
Meryl Streep: Julie & Julia



Best Supporting Actor - Christoph Waltz - Inglourious Basterds

Best Supporting Actor nominees

Matt Damon: Invictus
Woody Harrelson: The Messenger
Christopher Plummer: The Last Station
Stanley Tucci: The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz: Inglourious Basterds



Best Supporting Actress - Mo’Nique - Preciuos

Best Supporting Actress nominees

Penelope Cruz: Nine
Vera Farmiga: Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal: Crazy Heart
Anna Kendrick: Up in the Air
Mo’Nique: Precious



Best Original Screenplay - Inglourious Basterds

Best Adapted Screenplay - Precious

That's enough.

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White House Aides Hit Airways as Obama Budget Hits America

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You always know when the president or congress are trying to pull a fast one on the public. There are two tactics that indicate a major deception is underway. One is if they release information Friday night, after the work week, after the news deadlines, after the people are out for the evening, and when the top reporters have the night off. A second is if they send a herd of babbling politicians and spokespeople out to blanket the news media to super-pitch a new idea, policy, strategy or something to the public.



My common sense rule is if they need to send out the pitchmen then something in the deal smells. If an idea can't stand on it's own merit, if it needs a constant explanation from politicians, if the public just can't get it, then something must be wrong with it. You've heard Obama and his White House gang lament over and over how health care is too complicated for the public, they didn't understand it enough, or they were misled by misinformation from the opposing side.



In Iowa vernacular, that is defined as hogwash. For those of you not growing up in Iowa the definition of hogwash is a noun 1. refuse given to hogs; swill, 2. any worthless stuff, 3. meaningless or insincere talk, writing, etc.; nonsense; bunk.

The Obama budget is a masterpiece in worthless junk and probably doesn't even make a good doorstop. Let me cut through the crap and give you a capsule overview. The Obama budget is the death knell of our nation as we know it.



The assumptions are from the same prognosticators who told us a year ago the unemployment rate would remain below 8%. The same voodoo high priests who told us the Obama stimulus bill would actually stimulate something. The same fortune tellers who said the bank, insurance, auto and Wall Street bailouts were in the public interest.



Near as I can tell the Obama budget may or may not say the nation will be bankrupt in about 10 years. It might say record setting deficit spending, all Bush's fault mind you, will set a record about every six months and the national debt will most likely have to be updated every day. Here is what it looks like updated in real time. Copy and paste the following link for a real scare.

http://www.usdebtclock.org/#

While entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare make up much of the budget there will be no proposals to reduce the cost, eliminate fraud and reduce overhead unless we agree to spend another trillion dollars on health care. If they know we have $5 billion in legal fees for paying off attorneys and another $500 million a year in fraud why not get rid of the problems?



There will be no revenue streams for new money for the government yet we could become energy independent and make money for the government if we drilled for oil and natural gas reserves and encouraged new, more efficient ways to extract them from our land, not foreign countries.



While we have incentives for new energy systems in cars, which work but the car will cost about $60,000 -$100,000, there are no incentives for car companies to make the current internal combustion engine more efficient. We already know the current oil powered engine can be 80% more efficient, thus extending the life of available oil reserves by possibly over 100 years. That would make it long after the current deficit crisis is over and we would continue to have tax revenues from oil. If Obama gets us to convert to non-oil sources how will he make up the billions more in lost tax revenue? Under the Obama cap and trade program the private, Wall Street investors will make the money, not the government. Gored by Gore again.



Anyway, it is great to hear so many Administration non-economists and professional apologists hit the airways and be interviewed by a news media with less expertise, understanding or comprehension of the disastrous consequences of increasing deficits and national debt. White House aides Axelrod or Gibbs being interviewed by a news media White House correspondent is like asking Julia Child for help with football strategy. And anyone in their right mind even thinking of interviewing VP Joe Biden, the godfather of the credit card industry, on the fairness of Obamanomics is, well, insane. Just ask MSNBC.



Let's face it, Obama's Treasury Secretary did not even know Goldman Sachs and a bevy of tainted banks would get $60 billion from AIG when the White House bailed them out. If they can't even keep track of $60 billion how can they know about trillions? Or did they really know about the $60 billion? Come to think of it, when Congress held the hearings spanking the little butts of the big banks for stealing all that money from us, why didn't anyone ask if the president knew about the deal?

This budget cannot even be financed, the deficit side that is, when China and Russia are the largest purchasers of our debt and the Obama administration has infuriated both of them with our haphazard approach to foreign policy.

As I study this maze of governmental gobbledygook it reminds me of the annual National Enquirer report on fortune tellers and psychics telling us everything that will happen in the next year as far as the enlightened ones are concerned. Our White House and Congress seemed to be filled with soothsaying enlightened ones and I say it is time to turn out the lights!



Finally, if I were an advocate of conspiracy theories I would say Obama, the Rothschild's very own Chosen One, has finally figured out a way to make America subservient to the New World Order as bankrupting our nation would make us hostages to the international shadow world ending a 200 year quest by the Illuminati to get control of the US Treasury.

I guess this is really what we should expect when we get a new administration with all that experience. But then conspiracy theories are not real, are they?

The Miracle at Massachusetts - Scott Brown

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Politics is such an entertaining sport and all the more when the public and the real revolutionaries, those who think government should serve the people, not the politicians, join forces. This silly season we have already seen three cases where the president, congress, media, Democrats and Republicans have all blown it because they refuse to understand the people have a right to be heard.

New Jersey, Virginia and Massachusetts have all demonstrated that the experts, the pundits, the media and the politicians are clueless. I have written over and over that the Washington and Wall Street establishment have grossly under estimated the people, the anger of the people, and the will of the people to throw them out.

Cathe Chiomento, a faithful reader of the CPT and belle of Philly high society helps to keep me informed of the people's revolt against the crooks so I thank her for sending this video showing an advertisement run by Scott Brown during his greatly perplexing victory in Massachusetts, perplexing to those beltway bandits who have been robbing us blind.



The ad speaks for itself. The change America wanted is not Democrat or Republican, it is a change back to the core values that made America great. It is a call to arms of the people who are fed up with Washington, Wall Street, politicians and anyone else who no longer represent the people.



Let us hope the avalanche of dissent continues to sweep the choices of the back room politicians, fat cats, our capitol and our White House out of office so the voice of the people will be heard once again. We must save America before it is too late!!!

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