Over the years I've heard "intellectuals" talk about the "cowboy politician" with disdain and animosity, as though only they are intelligent enough to determine the future of this country. Most of those "intellectual" jokers have never lifted a finger in real labor, and think hard work and sweat is visiting a gym and "working out". And I've also heard all the crap about "reel" cowboys and the "cowboy myth" as well as the incessant BS about how cowboys originally were ill-dressed, overworked, underpaid illiterates unable to "conform" to the rules of "society", and that they were predominately white. Nothing could be further from the truth, and the "intellectuals" who wrote that malarkey never met or spent on ounce of time in the presence of a real cowboy. They "studied" history and made their claims without a shred of proof outside of what was written or spoken of by other "intellectuals". I'm here to set the record straight.

What gives me the authority to do this? I was raised cowboy, spending most of my early years in the association of "real" cowboys who handed down the principles learned from other, older, cowboys from one generation to the next for well over a hundred years. I cowboyed on big spreads and small, and even owned a ranch or two in my day where I employed cowboys. I've spent hours and hours, months and months, even years and years around cowboys, and I'm still a cowboy! So let me tell you what a cowboy is, and why I'd rather have a cowboy politician over some "intellectual" politician.

Many of the cowboys I met over were educated, a lot of them with two year degrees, and some with four year degrees, a few with Masters, and an occasional doctorate. And yes, there were also a lot of them with only a HS education, some even less. But every one of them was capable of making a decision based on the circumstances in which they were surrounded, and doing so without having to be told what to do. I would call them the finest "free-thinkers" any man could ever meet. They made those decisions in a split second when necessary, and after great thought when an instant decision wasn't needed or called for. And while they didn't always agree, their opinions were well thought out and supported by fact, and they could come to a consensus that would benefit all concerned.

Another attribute they all possess is loyalty, which I suppose comes from the old theory of "riding for the brand". They are dedicated to the ranch they work for, the people they work with, and, as an end result, the nation. They don't always agree with laws, but, really, who does? Especially when one looks at all the idiotic laws that have been passed by "intellectuals". These individuals are also freedom lovers, slow to anger as a general rule, but fierce when pushed or attacked. And their resolve is legendary, and most assuredly not mythical.

They come in all sizes, shapes, colors, creeds, ethnic groups and races as well as sexes. One of the best, and toughest, "cowboys" I ever knew was a forty-one year old Chinese widow woman with four kids who worked for a ranch in Wyoming back in the mid-fifties. Not much over one hundred forty pounds, she could ride and rope with the best, and toss and tie a calf as easily as a big man. On the next ranch over there was a young black woman from Detroit who learned her craft well, and was regarded as highly as any man on any ranch anywhere. Going back through history, you'll find that there were Native Americans, Mexicans, Chinese, Irishmen, Germans, Italians, Blacks, etc., and women as well as men who cowboyed in the Old West, and the descendants of those folks are still at it today, joined by many others just like them.

And just like it was back in the "old days" there are lawyers, doctors, people born with a "silver spoon" as well as many other educated people mixed in with folks from every economic and educational level known to mankind. They are, each and every one, proud of who they are, and what they do. They treat each other and everyone else with respect, but also understand that respect can be earned or lost in a heartbeat with one false move. And if you lose that respect, it's a long, hard climb to get it back, but they'll let you give it your best. That's just how they are. I learned many years ago that it's easier to get a cowboy to do something if you ask them if they would think about doing it as opposed to telling them to do it, except in a dire situation where getting something done is imperative.

They are an independent lot, and social staus is worthless to them. They'll do their best to be polite in polite company, and follow protocols if those protocols are explained to them, but will usually turn down an invitation to be placed where such social actions are the rule, preferring to be someplace quiet and solitary or loud and rowdy where they can act like themselves and say what they damned well please. They are rarely outspoken unless pressed, but every one of them will have an opinion on everything under the sun.

I once wrote a song about cowboys that carried the line, "... a cowboy can be either a drunk or a hero. But unless you set and talk a spell, you'll never really know..." While that certainly doesn't sum it all up, it does give some insight to who cowboys are, and what they're capable of. Throughout the course of their duties they encounter life and death, illness and calamity, bad weather and good, and do it all without serious complaint. They never question what they have to do, they just do it. Even in the most dire situations, a cowboy can find something of humor to say, something that invariable breaks the ice and reduces the stress they're all facing at the time.

In summation, I consider cowboys to be the most diverse group of people in this nation, not one of them worried about discrimmination or racism. They are loyal, independent, brave, hard-working, free thinking freedom lovers, self-sufficient, stewards of the land and the animals who live on that land, decision makers, frugal, intelligent in more ways than a book can teach, common sense Americans. Yes, there are cowboys the world over, and there isn't much difference in the people who are cowboys by many names from lands far from here, but being a "cowboy" is primarily an American institution - and one carried with great pride by those of us who are REAL cowboys. So now comes this question, would you support a "cowboy politician" over an "intellectual" one? You've already got my answer. Hell, I think this country would be far better off if there were MORE cowboys and fewer "intellectuals"!!

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Okay, I've had it with all the comparisons of Occupy Wall Street to the TEA party. There is no comparison, period. Granted, they share some ideas and ideals, but their actions are completely opposite in trying to create influence among their fellow citizens and politicians. It also annoys me that the BDM (Brain Dead Media) still tries to make the TEA party assemblies look like crazed anarchists while supporting the OWS folks, even as the OWS people are being told to move along because health and safety concerns, not to mention the damage they're doing to the small businesses and both public and private property in the areas they "occupy". Or the fact that they are now in violation of the Constitution.

Yes, that's right. They are violating not only local laws, but the Constitution. The First Amendment reads, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Peaceably, or peaceable; disposed to peace, not contentious or quarrelsome, quietly behaved, free from strife or disorder. Sound like OWS to you? Or does it sound more like a TEA Party event? Yeah, that's what I thought as well. Assemble; to bring together (as in a particular place or for a particular purpose), to fit together the parts of, to meet together, to convene. Occupy; to engage the attention or energies of (I'll agree they did that!) to take up (a place or extent in space), to take or fill (an extent in time), to take or hold possession or control of (And now they are attempting to complete this action by their refusal to move), to fill or perform the functions of (an office or position), to reside in as an owner or tenant (In violation of both local and state laws in every area the "occupy").

OWS was never "spontaneous", as Nimrod Pelosi declared. As one blogger puts it, "'Occupy Wall Street' was organized from day one by SEIU/Acorn, The Working Family Party, Democratic Party, DNC, Democratic Socialists of America, The Tides Foundation and George Soros." Researching their support and funding sources, he's right on the mark. As proof of his claim, please take a look at this video (if you haven't already). The following is a far more comprehensive list of OWS supporters, an official list of Occupy Wall Street’s supporters, sponsors and sympathizers, and as you browse through it ask yourself if these are the folks you'd like to see leading this nation, let alone determining whether or not our economic system should survive or not. Communist Party USA (Sources: Communist Party USA, OWS speech, The Daily Caller), American Nazi Party (Sources: Media Matters, American Nazi Party, White Honor, Sunshine State News), Ayatollah Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran (Sources: The Guardian, Tehran Times, CBS News), Barack Obama (Sources: ABC News, CBS News, ForexTV, NBC New York), The government of North Korea (Sources: Korean Central News Agency [North Korean state-controlled news outlet], The Marxist-Leninist, Wall Street Journal, Times of India), Louis Farrakhan, Nation of Islam (Sources: video statement (Black in America, Weasel Zippers, Philadelphia Weekly), Revolutionary Communist Party (Sources: Revolutionary Communist Party, Revolution newspaper, in-person appearance), David Duke (Sources: Talking Points Memo, video statement, davidduke.com), Joe Biden (Sources: Talking Points Memo, video statement, Mother Jones), Hugo Chavez (Sources: Mother Jones, Reuters, Examiner.com), Revolutionary Guards of Iran (Sources: Associated Press, FARS News Agency, UPI), Black Panthers (original) (Sources: Occupy Oakland, Oakland Tribune), Socialist Party USA (Sources: Socialist Party USA, IndyMedia, The Daily Caller), US Border Guard (Sources: White Reference, www.usborderguard.com, Gateway Pundit, Just Another Day blog), Industrial Workers of the World (Sources: IWW web site, iww.org, in-person appearances), CAIR (Sources: in-person appearance, Washington Post, CAIR, CAIR New York), Nancy Pelosi (Sources: Talking Points Memo, video statement, ABC News, The Weekly Standard), Communist Party of China (Sources: People’s Daily (Communist Party organ), Reuters, chinataiwan.org, The Telegraph), Hezbollah (Sources: almoqawama.org, almoqawama.org, almoqawama.org, wikipedia), 9/11Truth.org (Sources: 911truth.org), International Bolshevik Tendency (Sources: bolshevik.org, Wire Magazine), Anonymous (Sources: Adbusters, The Guardian, video statement), White Revolution (Source: whiterevolution.com), International Socialist Organization (Sources: Socialist Worker, socialistworker.org, in-person appearance), PressTV (Iranian government outlet) (Sources: PressTV, wikipedia), Marxist Student Union (Sources: Marxist Student Union, Big Government, marxiststudentunion.blogspot.com), Freedom Road Socialist Organization (Sources: FightBack News, fightbacknews.org), ANSWER (Sources: ANSWER press release, ANSWER web site, Xinhua), and Party for Socialism and Liberation (Sources: Liberation News, pslweb.org, The Daily Free Press, Liberation News).

Additionally, anyone who has studied the teachings and writings of Karl Marx will recognize this OWS movement as a Marxist ploy to attempt to bring about the destrucdtion of capitalism by utitlizing the "useful idiots" and union labor. I should also mention here that the bulk of SEUI members are government workers, teachers, etc. And I should also state that I believe that Marx's opinions were quietly distorted over the years to become what we now call socialism and Marxism, and once you add to it thge fact that the people of his time were far different than we are today, especially in this country. And for your amusement, here is another OWS protester talking about what needs to be done in/to our country.

Yeah, I know, this is getting long, but bear with me. There are lists of demands all over the internet put out there by OWS, but some of the really weird ones, at least to me, are; the opening of our borders, anti-sematic, anti-Israel, pro-Palestine, and on and on and on. Sorry, it's all become too boring to even think about, and too anti-American for my tastes. Bottom line, they want to destroy all capitalism, restructure our monetary system (though doing away with the Fed isn't that bad an idea), eliminate our complete way of life by turning it all over to government and doing away with all private enterprise, and force us into a socialist, one world nation. Well, thanks, but NO THANKS!!!

I'll leave you with a few simple thoughts, and one question. Oil companies operate on the same profit margin as Wal-Mart, around 9% or less. Insurance companies operate, on average, at 16%+. Health Insurance companies operate on an average of 26%. Union and government employees are among the highest paid laborers (if you can call what most of them do labor) in the country, and they want more. When was the last time a poor person hired you to do anything?

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Cookie’s Cowboy Goulash

I’m going to divert from the normal way of presenting a recipe here, favoring the way it was told to me as making far more sense when it comes to making this dish.

You take a big ol’ pot, pour in a family size can o’ mater soup and a can o’ water, then turn up the heat ta git it goin’. Then ya add in either a big ‘r a small can o’ diced or stewed maters dependin’ on how much ya like maters. Whilst that’s a heatin’ up, chop up an onion, any size ‘r color that fits your taste, an’ toss it in. Do the same with a pepper, green, jalapeno, habenero, poblano ‘r a mix o’ any of ‘em. Whatever suits ya. Then ya dump in a can o’ niblets sweet corn an’ stir it up reeeaaal good. Or ya can jus’ put in a bell pepper an’ 2 jars o’ sweet corn salsa, whichever ya got ‘r wants. Cover it, turn it down after a bit an’ let it simmer.

Now then, whilst that’s a simmerin’, brown 2 pounds o’ hamburger ‘r ground sausage, ‘r ya can chop up some tube sausage long as it’s 2 pounds. I like ta use smoked ‘r kielbasa, but I reckon a feller could use wieners if’n he was of a mind to. Drain of the grease an’ add it to the pot, then let it simmer for a bit longer, but don’ let the juice steam off.

Dependin’ on your taster, ya can add a teaspoon o’ Liquid Smoke an’ 2 teaspoons o’ Worcestershire sauce to the mix ‘fore ya toss in the meat. By now it ought ta be smellin’ right good, so this is the time ta add the noodles. 2 cups of elbow, ‘r them flat noodles, ‘r shells, it jus’ don’ matter as long as it’s 2 cups. Stir ‘em in reeeaaaal good so’s they don’ stick, and keep simmerin’ for a time ‘til them noodles is done whilst stirrin’ on occasion.

Ta top it off, shave ‘r shake on a bit o’ parmesan cheese an’ eat it with tortillas, biscuits, cornbread ‘r garlic bread, whatever tickles your fancy. It’ll feed 4 big eaters, ‘r 8 ta 10 paltry ones. You know, them that picks at their food like they was afraid ta eat it.

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Tags: books invitation book signing

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Since I can't seem to load a video, I can only provide you with the link. However, I WILL also post the video on my page for those of you who don't wish to visit youtube. After viewing the video, please leave your thoughts on it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRO_wa9lHHA

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Earlier today, I spent some time on the phone with an old friend. This has been a daily occurrence for the last week, but today was the last time we'll talk. At least on this plane. I just got the call - he passed away an hour ago from complications created by exposure to Agent Orange many years past. I cannot, and will not, divulge his name as per his request. I am only one of three or four people who have ever known his real name, and visa versa. One of the many things we discussed was the number of times and the different oaths we took over the years, starting with the Marine Corps. "I, ______, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God." The words change slightly from one office or position to the next, but, although they all varied slightly, they have a common theme. To protect this nation at all costs.

He and I took that oath seriously, and have honored it every day of our lives, even after our service to our government ended. In that end, we met similiar fates. Both of us were tossed aside, burned, and discharged rather than dismissed from our duties. It broke his heart, but it has angered me more than any other feeling I can explain. Especially when I see and hear members of Congress, the President and Vice President, and other elected officials disregard that same oath, repeatedly. From John Kerry and John Murtha, from one after another members of Congress to Jane Fonda and the rest of Hollywierd's liberals, I have heard and read their words of contempt and disgust for our Founding Documents, and their absolute denial of the Creator, not only in our Constitution and our oaths, but in the Constitution of EVERY state in the Union.

My dear friend and I risked our lives so many times in defense of this nation over the years, both at home and abroad, that we both often wondered why we were the "lucky ones". The last time we actually saw each other, we spent two hours comparing scars, alternately laughing and crying about those we served with and those we lost. Now, with him finally at peace and without pain, I stand alone as the last of my generation of that group of elite agents of the government known originally as the "shadow warriors". The rest are all gone now, leaving it to me to keep the secrets. I intend to stay around as long as I can, and someday to be as big a pain in the side of government as they have been to the American people. It is a promise I made to the others long ago - that the last one standing would hold onto the secrets until the end, then turn those secrets loose when the government can no longer hurt us, near the end of our lives.

If you're still around to hear those tales of corruption and idiocy, contempt and lawlessness committed by our leaders, you'll have the answers to a lot of your questions. You won't like some of the answers because the truth is no where near what the conspiracy theories are, and you won't like others because those theories are really close to the truth. And there will be some that give you great pride in our country, and those who have served her as well as my friend did. One thing is for certain, you'll be surprised at the number of lives taken, and when and where, and how many more innocent lives were saved as a result of those life taking measures.

For the time being, though, I ask you to take a moment tomorrow to honor the loss of a great American, and my good friend. Tomorrow would have been his birthday. His mind was still sharp, and he would have been 69 years young, though his body was deteriorated well beyond those years. I won't be on tomorrow, out of respect for his passing. In fact, I don't know when I'll be back, but I will be back before long.

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The History of Labor Day

According to the Department of Labor website, "Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country."

Wow, has that changed over the last several decades! Especially when one looks at the concessions made to unions today, and to the unbelievable unemployment numbers being posted. Why do I mention the unions? "The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883." Yes, it was the unions that brought this holiday to life. "By 1894, 23 other states had adopted the holiday in honor of workers, and on June 28 of that year, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories."

Too bad there isn't the same level of concern for the nation as a whole by unions today. It is my belief that combined with high taxation and multitudes of government regulation, the leadership of those unions has forced many a company to leave our shores to be able to compete on a global level. For example, Gub'mint Motors, Chrysler (Fiat) and Ford have to honor long term standards in contracting with the unions today, and with absolutely no way to reduce the wages or benefits awarded in those contracts, while Toyota, Honda, Nissan, etc. have come to our shores and negotiated far less lucrative contracts for union members. Why do I say that? In 2008, the average UAW autoworker was paid over $70/hr. in wages and current and future benefits by the Big Three while Toyota in the same period was only paying out an average of $43/hr. for the same level of worker. Does that sound fair to any of you? And that's only scratching the surface of the difference between union workers and the average guy on the street doing the same job but in a non-union setting. Is it any wonder there doesn't seem to be the same amount of "contributions... made to the strength, prosperity and well being of our country?"

From the Bureau of Labor Statistics website back in June of this year, "Total employer compensation costs for private industry workers averaged $28.10 per hour worked in March 2011. Total employer compensation costs for State and local government workers averaged $40.54 per hour worked in March 2011." Yet by scouring around the net, I found this hidden on another page, "In 2009, federal civilian workers had an average wage of $81,258, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis." Additionally, "In 2009, federal worker compensation averaged $123,049..." And they've gotten raises since then! Remember, most Federal and many state government employees along with a sprinkling of local government employees are members of SEUI, a union growing in size and power daily.

My questions to those of you who still have jobs are this. Do you feel you're getting your money's worth from your government workers? Or are the UAW workers at "Big Three" plants actually worth that much more than those at Toyota? Have we allowed unions to go too far in the past and must we now force them to back down from their demands to help our companies and corporations become profitable on OUR soils instead of forcing them to go abroad? Have we let our government "regulate" and "tax" our companies into virtual extinction? Don't think so? Google an old US company like Gibson Guitars and see what kind of problems our government is causing them, and then ask yourself how long you think they'll continue creating some of the finest guitars ever made in this country! Oh, and while you're looking into Gibson, let me add this. IF you own a Gibson guitar, you'd better have proof of when it was built with you if you travel with it because if it was built AFTER the Lacey Act was amended on May 22, 2008, IT CAN BE CONFISCATED BY YOUR GOVERNMENT!

Yeah, Labor Day is just such an enjoyable holiday, isn't it? Reckon I'll just stay home to do my pickin' an' grinnin' this year.

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It never ceases to amaze me how idiotic our gub'mint can be in their effort to control everything and everyone. And how much money it costs you and I to pay for that idiocy. Let's take the school lunch programs as an example. In an effort to make sure every child eats at least twice a day while fighting childhood obesity, they are creating kids who now hate to eat anything served at school. All of them. The side effect of their brilliance is also creating a new breed of obese kids. Yet you can't convince the bureaucrats and mental midgets of their foolishness.

For instance, my grandkids are kind of picky eaters, especially my autistic grandson. They eat a light breakfast at home before getting on their respective buses. Then they're served "breakfast" at school, which they rarely eat because it's made with processed, "gub'mint" approved, low-fat, tasteless foods. Well, it has a taste alright, but only a taste that an indiscriminate dog would like. Then comes more of the same at lunch. And all those DC idjits go around patting themselves on the back for serving "healthy foods" to these kids as part of their effort to reduce "childhood obesity".

But the kid's won't eat the crap, so the schools have as much waste as what is actually eaten. That's a complete waste of taxpayer dollars. And what's worse about it is these kids are starving when they get home because they can't stand to eat the school lunches. We expect it, and are always home (at least one of us) with a snack ready when the bus drops them off. And we eat supper around five or five thirty, making sure they get enough food to last them until their bedtime snack at seven thirty. In between, they do homework, play around, watch a little TV, and do some minor chores. Even at seven, my grandson has a hollow leg so he gets an extra snack if he needs it anytime he needs it. Again, we expect it, so we're ready. Like many autistic children, he won't eat certain things, like milk. Yet the school won't let him have juice at lunch, only low-fat milk or low-fat chocolate milk, unless I pay extra for the juice. The problem? The extra cost of that juice is almost as much as the meal itself because it's "a special drink only available for breakfast". Federal regulations on school lunches and all that.

But here's the real problem I see. The kids that don't need to eat to survive aren't actually getting any benefit from these "anti-obesity" meals. Sure, a lot of kids these days have parents that are in financial straights and they need the meals simply to stay alive. But we're talking about obesity, not starvation here. The "fat" kids simply skip the meal, picking at a few of the things they will eat and leaving the rest. Now they can't, again Federal regulations, share their food with a starving kid, so it all goes to waste. Then when they get home they pig out because they're half starved themselves by then. Many of them are home unsupervised because both parents are working so they pig out on chips and sodas and other fattening foods. Then they're too full to play or run off any of the garbage they just porked out on. And the bureaucrats and gub'mint mental midgets get even more stressed out because they are still seeing an increase in childhood obesity so they strip even more taste out of the food they think they're forcing these kids to eat "for their own good" and the kids eat less of it causing even more waste while the bureaucrats and gub'mint mental midgets stress out even more... Well, you get the idea. It's a carnival carousel stuck on go going round and round gaining speed with ever revolution. And the gub'mint and mental midgets in DC, including the "Foist (and I DO mean foist) Lady", just can't understand why their brilliant strategies aren't working and kids are getting fatter. Yep, it's just amazing to me.

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It's really not all that hard to predict the Ayatollah Hussein's concepts after two and a half years of listening to him read from his teleprompter. But I'm going out on a limb here anyway by making this prediction. Why is it going out on a limb? Because he could come up with something even more outlandish and expensive than I could possibly dream up. Considering his "accomplishments" so far, that just isn't that hard to believe anyway. What I believe he's going to come up with is an extended version of his former "rebuilding infrastructure" plan. And he'll project some small, short term tax breaks for major corporations and the unions they employ. And it will all be paid for with grants and loans from the Federal government with money allowed under the new debt ceiling, borrowed money of course. And if he manages to con enough people to get it passed, it will do exactly what the rest of the "bailouts" and "stimulus packages" have done - nothing but increase out national deficit and national debt.

And therein lies the problem between "progressives" and "conservatives". My, my, how those terms have changed over the years. Let me use the real terms that should be applied in this discussion, statism and capitalism. For definition, I'll use excerpts from Wikipedia. that way if you don't like what the definitions are, you can take it up with them, not me.

"Statism is a scholarly term in political philosophy either emphasising the role of the state in analysing political change; or, in describing political movements which support the use of the state to achieve goals."

"Economic statism promotes the view that the state has a major and legitimate role in directing the economy, either directly through state-owned enterprises and other types of machinery of government, or indirectly through economic planning. The term statism is sometimes used to refer to state capitalism or highly-regulated market economies with large amounts of government intervention, regulation or public ownership over industry. It is also used to refer to state socialism or co-operative economic systems that rely upon state ownership as a means of running industry."

"Capitalism is an economic system in which the means of production are privately owned and operated for profit, usually in competitive markets. Income in a capitalist system takes at least two forms, profit on the one hand and wages on the other. There is also a tradition that treats rent, income from the control of natural resources, as a third phenomenon distinct from either of those. In any case, profit is what is received, by virtue of control of the tools of production, by those who provide the capital. Often profits are used to expand an enterprise, thus creating more jobs and wealth. Wages are received by those who provide a service to the enterprise, also known as workers, but do not have an ownership stake in it, and are therefore compensated irrespective of whether the enterprise makes a profit or a loss. In the case of profitable enterprise, profits are therefore not translated to workers except at the discretion of the owners, who may or may not receive increased compensation, whereas losses are not translated to workers except at similar discretion manifested by decreased compensation."

Now let's examine these two in simpler terms. One prime example of statism is road and bridge building with government funds. A road or bridge is determined necessary by the government, whether or not it is in reality a necessity. Specs are created, bids are requested and awarded, and funding is set. All the suppliers of concrete, asphalt, steel, etc., hire the necesary employees, usually union under government contracts, and start providing these supplies to the builders. The road or bridge is built, funds are expended, and it's over - unless government decides it needs to build more roads or bridges to keep these people working. And all this is paid for by taxation or by borrowing from outside sources plus interest. Bottom line, it's more expensive than private construction because of the union wages involved, and it is also a short term fix. Once the job is done, the builders lay off their employees, as do all the suppliers. Looking back to the old days, the CCC and WPA are examples of sucessful statist construction projects. But today these projects will not take talented and hungry people off the unemployment lines to complete these projects, the employers will be forced, under the terms of their contracts, to hire union workers.

Capitalism, on the other hand, is based on someone with a company that either produces a product or provides a service other people want and are willing to pay for. If said product or service doesn't sell, the company goes broke and goes out of business. But if it is successful and people continue to purchase their product or service, they grow that business and its profits by means of expansion of their facilities and workforce. This is far more permanent and lasting, and adds more to the economy and the tax base the government needs to survive.

For some reason, the Ayatollah and his advisers tend to believe that the statist version of saving the economy is the only answer. But all that does is create more government jobs, and government never creates wealth so we'll only fall deeper and deeper in debt as a nation, and as a people. Some 32% of our population already works for the government in one way or another, and only 51% of Americans are paying income taxes. Can you imagine what it will be like if we reach 50% government employment in this country? And once Husseincare goes into full effect, that's the kind of number we'll be looking at. At the same time, government will be demanding more taxation from those few who already are paying taxes while the number or taxpayers shrinks to below 51%. In other words, fewer people will make enough to survive and will be forced to endure a government program just to survive while the number of people able to pay taxes will shrink while the government requires more and more money to support those on government programs.

Therefore, in my humble opinion, these "new" ideas of the Ayatollah's aren't going to solve anything except the further destruction of the "American Dream" and the growth of a statist government doomed to failure just as they have always failed throughout history. The other sad and dangerous event that can come in the future as a result of this tearing down of America is the invasion of a hostile force to overthrow our government, and a military so weak it won't be able to protect us. It will then fall to the very few patriots left alive with the wherewithal to defend our borders. Or we can stop this freefall now by standing up to Washington and telling our elected representatives to stand tall against any more "stimulus" or "bailouts" or government programs intended to add to the Federal employment rosters. It's all up to you and I to get it done, starting now!

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