Where to start............so much crap going on

So much crap is happening the world over, makes one wonder where to start this entry.
Well,being an American by birth, might as well start at home.
The economy might be a place to start. A question for all who might read this; do we still have an economy? When you look at the "news" you have to wonder, or at least I do. Looks like all those "wonderful" investments have proven to be not so "solid" as sold to the investors. The sub-prime mess is just beginning to be felt. It now is headed into the credit card business with more defaults being seen there as well as defaults in the mortgage industry. Look for record numbers of bankruptcy claims to be filed this year. One can see home foreclosures nearing or exceeding record levels also.
This mess could have been predicted. According to some sources, it was seen to be on the way. Funny how our recently departed "leader" of the Fed, Mr. Greenspan, refused to even admit that there was a housing bubble coming. Remarkable! This guy was "supposed" to be THE top financial guy in the country. The Chairman of the Fed, yet he could not, or would not, admit to there being a bubble in the housing market. Perhaps he wouldn't see it as it was HIS policies that created the mess. No wonder his personal investment business was going bust before he was tapped for the job as chair of the Fed. I wonder if the man can even balance his personal checking account. Was a damn fool he turned out to be. Or is it that he is/was just a "tool" of the money class? Some one may know the true answer to that, I don't.
On the one hand, it IS fun for those of us who are working class or members of the "working poor" to see these huge banks and investment houses going through bad times financially. Then, we stop and realize just who will end up bailing them out. Us, as usual. This is America, the rich never have to pay for their own foul-ups. That is what tax payers are for.
Of course it will be our duty(!) to help these folks out. It will be sold to us as some sort of patriotic duty for us to bail out the greedy banks and investment houses from their own self made mess. That is how the politicians will pull the shit past us, the tax payers. They have done this before and will do it again, and again, until we finally wake up to the scam. Americans have been so damn brain dead for so long, I don't hold my breath waiting for them to awake any time soon.
It is the same old shit as always. Same as it was with the Iraq war. Most people can agree that going into Afghanistan to capture bin Laden was correct up to a point. Going in with a full on invasion force was foolish, as nobody likes being invaded, and the Afghans are damn good at stopping any invasion in its tracks. Don't think so, just go ask Alexander the Great. Even the great Alexander could not conquer that country. Had we sent in special ops teams to hunt down al-Qaeda we might have been successful. Of course, we got side-tracked into Iraq, which put the whole bin Laden deal on the far back burner. Even our great "decider" was quoted as saying that he didn't give Osama much thought. This after having said he wanted him "dead or alive". Shows just how much old W really wanted bin Laden taken out. Not all that much from the way things have gone.
Now we get John "bomb,bomb,bomb Iran" McCain saying that it will be just fine with him if our troops are in Iraq for 100 years! Holy shit! A century of occupation? For what? Does Haliburton really need that much money? Well, we HAVE been in Germany and Japan for over 60 years now. We have been in South Korea for over 50 years, so maybe the idea of being in Iraq for 100 years isn't as far out as I think it is. Who the hell am I anyway? Nobody, is who. I certainly am NOT a U.S. Senator, nor do I live in Arizona. Nope, I am just old charlie living in the woods in central Louisiana. Permanently disabled, reading books and news from the Internet and now and then doing these blog entries for myself and hopefully your enjoyment/information.
Back to the economy for a quick comment. Just what do we make here in America any more? Cars? Well, we DO assemble them here, true, but so many of the parts are made in other countries. What we DO still make are weapons and weapons systems. Missiles, bombs, tanks, bullets, and other weapons. Yes sir, America still makes death devices. By the gods, we make more of them than any one else to boot! Of course we don't make much else, and that is the shame. We used to make all sorts of consumer goods. Televisions, stoves, refrigerators,small appliances,cars,trucks, etc. When was the last time you went to a store and found "made in USA" labels on things for sale? You don't find much with such a label any longer. What a shame. Very sad state of affairs in my opinion. One recent survey stated that 70% of all goods for sale at Wal-Mart was made in China. 70%! Wow. And how many of you remember the old Wal-Mart TV ads saying how they "always" sold "made in USA" products? I remember those ads. No longer. Of course I am also old enough to remember when the motto of just about any retail business was "the customer is always right". Ha Ha Ha. Just TRY to make that point today.
I don't know, maybe it is just me, but this country seems like it is no longer what is used to be. I guess it could be just my old age is showing, but does it seem to anybody else that America is not very civil today? Yes, I DO get very angry with the crap going on here, but I usually take it out here on the blog, or in the very occasional actual face-to-face conversations I have. I do not go around with a chip on my shoulder, looking for a fight at any time, any place. I like to think that the things that get me pissed off are things that are worth being pissed off about. It feels though, that so many Americans are just plain pissed off at every thing all day, every day. It is as if nobody ever stops to see the beauty or the fun things any more. Too busy, always in a hurry. Going somewhere, anywhere, and damn fast to boot.
Well, I suppose that keeps them from having to really interact with others. Always in a hurry, going "some place". Never slowing down, never really enjoying life. Too busy, no time for "fun" no time to stop and "enjoy" this life. How sad for them. Because, they will never be able to enjoy anything, ever. Always have to "be someplace" in a hurry to get "somewhere". When they DO finally slow down, they will get "bored" and not know what to do, how to act, it will be too late to re-learn how to enjoy this life.
Being permanently disabled, I have the "luxury" of time. Time to watch the birds and squirrels in my yard. Time to watch the cats play, to play with them also. Time to see the critters play and to laugh at how funny they can be, even if they do not intend to be funny. Time to sit back and actually read a book, or listen to some music. Time to see what is still left of the natural beauty of this wonderful planet.
Maybe that is what is really wrong with America, we have bought into some bullshit that we must keep moving. I have heard that sharks never stop moving. Well, most of them, as I do seem to recall a program where they did say one species of shark does stop and sleep. For most sharks, though, they never stop moving until they die. Maybe American think they are sharks. They have to keep moving or they will die.
People, stop and just look, look at this beautiful world. Take five minutes to just look at nature. Five short minutes a day. It won't kill you, honest. It just might even surprise you. Give it a shot, you might even enjoy it.
One final note. My Internet connection has been very "spotty" of late. I am scheduled to have it repaired on Friday, the 25th of January. So, until then, my email replies might be very slow or I may not be able to reply at all. This thing comes and goes when it feels like it. Please bear with me until it gets repaired.
semper fi