Seven Sins Common in America, and Why the Bible Teaches That God Hates Them

There is a confusion in the world that teaches that the Law (Torah) is void in this dispensation of time, and has no affect upon the Christian believer. This is a lie, it is confusion, and according to the degree that such a thought pattern is accepted by a believer is the degree of evil affect that it produces in that person's life.

First, lets establish that in the same manner that Yahweh is Love, He is also Law. We know that John, an apostle of the first century Church coined the phrase which is found in the Scripture: "God is Love." (1 John 4:16) From this love springs the mercy and grace that supplies salvation to all who believe, and in that belief call upon the name of Jesus whom God has appointed the Savior of the world. But just as a coin has two faces and neither of its faces are any more real or lasting then the other you many say that the character of God is not only love, but also law.

What is the character of law? It is that aspect of Yahweh that is just, and judges sin. It is that aspect of Him that is holy, that is completely separate from sin and sinner. It is that part of Him that says in a completely uncompromising way, "This is the way walk in it"....or "Thus saith the Lord", and then the commandment is given. It is the part of Him that says, "Thou shalt, and thou shalt not", and every disobedience to these commands demanding punishment. For He is holy, and an unclean thing can not abide in His presence.

He is truth as is indicated by the words of Jesus in John 8:14, "...I am the way the truth and the life....",and when connected with the wisdom of the psalmist one finds that God's law is referred to as truth. (Ps. 119:142 NKJV) Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Your law is truth. (Ps. 119:151NKJV) You are near oh Lord, and all Your commandments are truth. So the conclusion is simple. To put God's law on the self and consider it void, or to consider it with out purpose is to put God Himself on a shelf and consider Him void and without purpose.

Some take the Apostle's Paul's remark in the Colossians 2:13-14 as proof, or indication that Christ did away with the Law at the Cross. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us, and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. (NKJV) I say to you that it is impossible for Christ to have done away with the law, "nailing it to the tree". For to do that He would have had to have taken Yahweh Himself and nailed Him to the cross for the interpretation of this scripture to be that God's law was taken away and nailed to the cross. I suggest, what was nailed to the cross was our offenses, or violations of God's laws, (our sin) not the Law itself. Further, we see in Romans 3:31 that Paul communicates openly that the purpose of the Christian faith is not to make the law of God void, but to establish it. Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary we establish the law. (NKJV)

There you have it! In clear and certain terms the proof that God's law is not void, but is in place, and that God Himself is law. So what did the Apostle Paul mean when he said that we are not under the law but under grace? I believe he meant that the grace of God which is found in Christ, serves as a filter that stands between a holy God, (whose absolute righteousness demands complete and unmerciful judgment of sin), and all sinners. This grace is a loving God's way of dealing with a very imperfect creation. Allowing us time and empowerment to respond to Him and put on Christ, which means that those who are in Christ choose to learn His ways and flesh them out. Thus righteousness is produced in the actions of our lives. This process is summed up in this equation which is seen in John 1:17, For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (NKJV) Law + grace = truth in the believer's life. Truth being the right and lawful expression of life that is meant by God for the believer to live. The lifestyle that reflects the person of the Lord Jesus, who is the embodiment of law, and grace,(and its accompanying mercy) and truth.

Having said these things I wish now to list a set of commandments and speak of the meaning of these commandments. For they have meaning behind them. There is a "why" behind each. For a wise God never gives a commandment without a reason. Like unto a parent who will commanded his child to either do, or not do any given thing. The parent may or may not give an explanation as to the reasoning behind the commandment, but there is one there. In like manner the eternal and wise Creator has reason behind all of His law. But to start off, lets first consider an extremely common posting of law that is found in the world. That of a stop sign.

When one pulls up to a stop sign what is it that is being communicated to the person? Undoubtedly the obvious communication is that the person must stop. But why? Nothing is said on the sign as to why the person must stop. This is taken as a thing that is understood by the driver, or if the driver is unable to understand the reasoning behind the command to stop then that driver is not supposed to be driving. The reason for the command is for the driver to stop in order that he can look both ways and thus respond to the traffic that may or may not be present on the road that day. Thus the actual commandment only has value because it allows for the more important reasoning behind it, which is to slow down sufficiently to consider the traffic on the road way, and then act accordingly.

God's laws are like this. The value of them is in the reasoning behind them, and this reasoning goes beyond the immediate sphere of men. Each of these laws have not only an earthly need for fulfillment, meaning they are needed to properly direct the affairs of man on the earth for his immediate good and protection, but also they represent heavenly and eternal realities at the same time. The following are a listing of various commandments of God and brief explanation of the heavenly realities that they reflect. Therein, offering the most extreme reason for obedience to them. For to violate them is to directly slander, or stand in rebellion toward the One who designed the commandments, to not only conduct the actions of men's lives for their immediate good, but to bring forth the true testimony of Heavenly and eternal realities.

Divorce:

In that Yahweh created the man as a living mortal illustration of Himself, and the woman as a living mortal illustration of the Church, and caused that they would come together in marriage, the act of divorce has far greater ramifications then the effects of the dissolutionment of the marriage and family, as extremely horrible as that it. For divorce is a horrendous thing, which often brings extreme damage and pain to the family members involved. Yet the slanderous testimony of heavenly things that is brought forth is the chief reason divorce is hated of God.

Marriage was created by God to represent His relationship to the believer. (1 Cor. 6:17) When one comes to the salvation of Jesus, God becomes the husband of their spirit. In that the man and the woman were created to illustrate in their person, both God and the Church, the act of unlawful divorce gives the signal that God will, or may, divorce believers, or that the believer is permitted to divorce the Lord. Our God is completely faithful and He will never divorce any soul of man until that soul has been proven unfaithful to him and will not turn from that unfaithfulness, (in other words such a one has thrown away his faith) and any soul of man that divorces the Lord will find themselves without a savior, and henceforth be destined to the Lake of Fire.

Adultery:

Again, the Creator designed and created mankind, both male and female, both man and woman to illustrate heavenly realities. The relationship of marriage was designed and the laws pertaining to it are to insure that the obedient will be able to live the fullest, happiest, and safest life possible while in this present life. However, more importantly these same laws are designed so that through obedience to them the full and proper testimony of Heavenly realties are brought forth. When the man, who is a living mortal illustration of God commits adultery with a woman, who is the living illustration of the Church or individual believer, this act is giving the picture that God will be untrue to the relationship of trust and commitment to a soul of man who has become a marriage partner (for again, every soul of man that experiences the salvation of Jesus receives the Lord as the husband of their spirit) The woman who commits adultery by her actions gives the picture of a believer leaving the Lord to enact intimacy with another god. This is idolatry. These pictures are completely untrue. They are slanderous testimonies of the Lord and His dealings with a redeemed soul, and the proper dealing of a redeemed soul with the Savior.

Fornication:

This act is similar to that of adultery. When a man and a woman fornicate it means that they participate in the act of marriage without entering into the covenant of marriage. Thus they by their action are testifying (again, in that they were created as representations of both the Lord and the believer) that God and a soul of man will enjoy the intimacy of marriage without first entering a covenant relationship. In other words, that an unconverted soul who has not experienced the regeneration of the Holy spirit, who is not born again can share intimacy with the Lord. This is an impossibility! Such action is a lie against the truth! The Holy Spirit will not enter and abide with any soul of of man and share communion with that person until that soul has been brought under the blood of Christ and has experienced regeneration. God will not dwell in an unholy place. So the heavenly illustration that fornication brings forth is that of God being married to (sharing intimacy with) a soul of man who is not His, and the woman's part illustrates a soul of man sharing intimacy with God without entering a covenant relationship, without being born again. These pictures are impossible and are altogether slanderous to the truth.

Child Rebellion:

Going beyond marriage is the obvious eventuality of parenthood. For just as the intimacy of the Lord to the Church will bring forth new believers, so it is that the intimacy of marriage, (the act of marriage) will bring forth children. So the relationship, and the laws that govern the relationship between parents and children are illustrative of the relationship that the Heavenly Father has to His own. The Father of every soul made perfect is God Himself, the mother is the Church. The seed of God (His word) sown into the Church (by means of evangelism of the unconverted) brings forth new children to God. When a child acts in disobedience or rebellion to his or her parents it is giving the picture of a child of God acting in disobedience and rebellion to the Lord Himself, and to the Church. Therefore any act or spirit of disobedience of a child to his parent is slanderous to the greater truth that marriage and family are to illustrate in the world. This is why in the Law a rebellious child who will not turn from his rebellion is commanded to be brought forth and stoned to death. For such rebellion can contaminate a society with its poison, and beyond that it is absolute slanderous picture of what the true relationship of Believer to the Lord is to be.

Sabbath Breaking:

The keeping of the Sabbath through much confusion and undoubtedly certain rebellion is by many in this generation neglected. This law was designed by God to cause the seventh day to represent Heavenly and eternal things. The Sabbath day is a banner if you will, that is to be "waved" every seventh day that testifies that God is both the creator and the redeemer of men. And if He is the creator of men, then He is henceforth the master of men. And if He is the redeemer of men, then it is in His name alone that salvation can be preached. The name of Jesus. So to not practice the Sabbath is to give the testimony that you do not believe that Yahweh is the Creator and the redeemer of men. This testimony is a lie. It is a slanderous testimony concerning God our Creator.

Cross Dressing:

The law of God commands that the sexes be adorned distinctively different, the one from the other. This law is found in Deuteronomy 22:5. It is said in this same reading that any man who dresses like a woman, or any woman who dresses like a man is an abomination to the Lord. I myself in blindness and unbelief lived in violation of this commandment until I was 42 years of age. That means I was a Christian with an active testimony for 28 years before the Holy One brought me to the place where I could see His law and be convicted of my sin. The spirit of what is called feminism, which is the disruption or deterioration of Divine Order, (the order of authority:God-Christ-Man-woman) is extremely prevalent in the world and I might add in the church. Satan wishing to corrupt the truth of God has sown much confusion into the world, teaching men that in reference to headship the woman is equal to the man, thus denying and corrupting God's order.

Again remember that the Creator created the human person illustrative of both Himself and His the chief object of His love: the church or individual Believer. The man represents God Himself, the woman represents the Church or individual Believer. Therefore when a woman dresses like a man she is saying by her practice that she is the same as, or equal to a man, which is saying that a believer is the same as, or equal to the Lord. This testimony is slanderous and therefore detestable to God. Therefore cross dressing, or the mixing of adornment is slanderous to God, and therefore an abomination. For remember that clothes have three basic purposes: 1--To protect from the elements. 2--To protect modesty, for all human persons are sexually oriented, therefore the covering of the body is of absolute necessity. 3-Clothes are illustrative. They by their nature are designed to give illustration pertaining to the one that wears them. Even as a police office is known by his uniform, or a soldier by his, or a white color worker by his. In like manner a woman's adornment much signal that she is NOT a male, but female.

Feminism or The Disruption Of Divine Order:

The laws of God that demand the keeping of Divine Order have already been mentioned, but the extreme necessity of the understanding and the obedience to these bears out that they have their own listing and discussion. God's law demands that authority be exercised in this order: God-Christ-Man-Woman. Not only is this the only order that works among men and that can bring forth life and happiness, but it is the only order that reflects Heavenly realities properly. God is the creator and henceforth the master of all things. He has chosen the man Christ Jesus, who is His physical son to be heir over all things, hence Christ is second in the line of authority.

Yahweh made the male person who grows to manhood to be the first representation of Himself, man was made in God's image, henceforth, man is next in authority. The woman was created from the rib of the man and henceforth made after the image of the man, and in that process became the very glory of the man, and henceforth is after the man in reference to authority. These things are of God, and to reverse the order of authority between the man and the woman is not only to disrupt life among men on this earth but it is also to bring forth a slanderous testimony of Heavenly and eternal realities. The which action will come under very severe judgment from Yahweh who created our lives to testify of His truth.

The word America is repent! For you have become a nation steeped in the wisdom of men, but very confused and negligent in regards to God's laws. Flush the worthless and confused preachers and educators that teach for doctrine the wisdom (man's misguided intelligence that refuses to acknowledge Yahweh and His laws) of men. He made man as the highest of all his creation, to live in the honor of knowing Him and His ways, thus by their lifestyle reflecting His truth in the world. He did not create man to wallow in the mire of the immorality that springs forth from the supposed wisdom of men. For the wisdom of men without the fear of God is at best foolishness.

A Watchman

Consider: Genesis 2:1-25, Malachi 2:16, Matthew 5:31-32, Matthew 19: 3-12, Mark 10: 2-12, 1 Corinthians 6:17, Ephesians 5: 22-33, Exodus 20:14, Exodus 20:14, Galatians 5:19, Ephesians 5:3, Colossians 3:5, Jude, verse 7,

Gregory DeHart is a Bible teacher who sometimes writes under the pen name of Watchman. Gregory is the sponsor of http://AnAmericanWatchman.blogspot.com, a site dedicated to examining social issues and the preaching of righteousness, and http://MarriageRevelations.blogspot.com, a site dedicated to the practical unfolding of the mystery revealed from the Bible of how marriage is a picture of Christ and the Church. For a Bible based life perspective please feel welcome to visit our sites, saving them as favorites, and please feel free to contact us, or post a comment. To the end that men everywhere would acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus Christ. As a people of faith come forth in these last days and in spite of the progression of sin, (for it will progress) to bring forth a generation where "...many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee..." (Zechariah 2:11), and ...The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever." (Revelations 11:15), and for the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. (Habakkuk 2:14).

Why America Still Burns

Back in the day, Firefighting was all about racing to the scene, donning a tin helmet and aiming the nozzle at the flames and smoke. And that's pretty much how the general public still perceives the job. But times have changed, and today there's an art, not to mention a science, to fighting fires.

In terms of extinguishing blazes, today's firefighters are trained to go face-to-face with the beast, inside the burning building for an "offensive" attack. Some fire training experts say that the trick is to tame the fire, before extinguishing it, and there are dozens of tactics for doing so. But these strategies often come with extreme risk. Bottom line -- firefighters must make crucial life and death decisions quickly.

During the past 30 years, annual civilian fire deaths have been reduced by 50%. But firefighters deaths continue to rise, with 112 being lost in the line of duty last year alone. Even more disturbing are OSHA and the National Fire Protection Association's predictions that fully one-third of the current firefighting force of 1,100,000 will be injured on the job during they year 2005. Of those who will be injured, it is estimated that over half do not have adequate insurance coverage to attend their needs. Is this any way to treat the Bravest?

Change Comes Slowly to America's Firehouses

Our firefighting counterparts of just 50 years ago were leather-lunged old salts who were overworked, under trained and poorly equipped. Without adequate personal protection, or proper equipment, a "career" in the fire service back then was a sure fire invitation to an early grave.

Thankfully, our job as firefighters has evolved into a high-tech profession. During the last generation alone, the fire-rescue service has seen more change than it did, but it's still a slow process.

In the years immediately following World War II, some of the technology that had been made available to the armed services was brought home to fire stations by the soldiers and sailors who actually used it. Tools and equipment like Chem-Ox masks, fog nozzles, even 1.5 inch hose were all born from military uses during the War. Imagine the culture shock that existed among veteran firefighters, when these "wet behind the ears" probies introduced their new toys. Hell, the old-timers we're just growing accustomed to motorized apparatus.

But the post War techno-revolution was short-lived, and our counterparts of the late 50's and early 60's found themselves falling way behind the rest of society. The World was changing, and so were our first-alarm districts. In homes and businesses, wooden furniture and cotton products were replaced by plastics and hydrocarbons, which changed the way we did business at fires. The DuPont slogan, "Better Living Through Chemistry," brought new meaning to America's Bravest.

Without proper equipment and training, fighting these "new wave" fires was a tough game. By 1965, we'd lost possession of the ball and our forward momentum had stalled. Our coaching staff was perplexed and the spectators were beginning to lose their interest.

The Fire Act

In 1972 President Richard M. Nixon (a Republican) made a bold move by appointing a special commission to study the fire problem here in the United States. His directive was simple -- determine the fire problems, and make suggestions on how to fix them. Nixon was determined to make the Commission succeed, and he did so by enlisting and recruiting the nation's movers and shakers of the fire-rescue services. Once together, theirs was no small task.

The commission took on some very controversial issues including rising civilian deaths, firefighter safety, the high-rise dilemma, and fire prevention. Their report "America Burning" was a harsh, and very critical review of the fire situation here in America.

"It is appalling,' the report began, 'that the most technologically advanced nation in the World, reports the highest per-capita fire deaths and monetary fire loss." They pulled no punches in their treatment of the issues, and those of us who serve today, owe a great deal to the men and women who recommended the changes most of us take for granted.

30 Years After

However, now 30 years later, the fire problem here in the United States has once again raised its fiery head. And according to fire administrators, the situation seems to be getting worse, instead of better.

"To a great extent, the fire problem in America remains as severe as it was 30 years ago." That's the very first sentence in the 1999 report, "America Burning Recommissioned." Even with the introduction of the smoke detector, the incidence of fire in this nation has increased to an alarming rate. Why? Some say it's public apathy.

"Americans have always been neglectful of safety and loss prevention," says investigative journalist Herb Denenberg, He adds, "Perhaps we are more focused on producing wealth than preserving it." The 1999 commission agrees. "The indifference with which Americans confront the subject, which the 1973 Commission found so striking. continues today."

Fire is the most common of all home disasters and the third leading cause of accidental injury and death in the home. Fires spread very quickly, but it isn't the fire itself that kills! Deadly smoke and poisonous gases snuff the life out of victims long before the flames reach them. There's no time to stop and think and wonder what's the best thing to do. The situation can change in seconds. Half a minute after the smoke alarm goes off, an entire floor of your house could be filled with dense smoke.

More than 4,500 Americans die each year in fires and over 100,000 are injured. An overwhelming number of these life threatening fires occur in the home. However, there are time-tested ways to prevent and survive a fire. It's not a question of luck - it's a matter of planning ahead.

Too many fires are caused by carelessness and ignorance of fire safety principles that have been, until now, thought to be obvious. Education about the fire hazard should not only reach children, but to the adult community as well - the caretakers. But one of the problems for fire departments is finding necessary funding to conduct adult oriented public education programs. Fact is, there are few fire safety informational programs designed for adults.

Do you know what you should do if there's a fire? Are you sure? Does everyone who lives in your home know?

Lou Angeli has been involved in filmmaking, television production and firefighting most of his life. His vast personal experience as a firefighter and an emergency medical technician enables him to capture dramatic situations in powerfully realistic videos, which have earned him a number of industry awards.

Lou Angeli, the writer, provides the reader a riveting peek at life deep inside the trenches of emergency response. He has been referred to as the firefighters' storyteller, and his written work includes breaking news, features, fiction - but most importantly articles dealing with firefighter safety.

Harsh Decisions Must Be Made to Solve The Illegal Immigration Problem In America

The key to the illegal immigration problem in the United States requires a skilled locksmith to case harden the vault stopping all social welfare to Illegal Immigrants saving about 118 billion per year. No free medical, schools, food stamps, welfare, disability, and in particular, jobs if they have no work visa, green card, or other acceptable document as outlined in the Real ID Act of 2005. Sanctuary Cities refusing to report illegals are in violation of federal law. If they do not want to comply and enforce the law, allow states to deport illegals to those cities, let them shoulder the responsibility and pay the exorbitant cost associated with a greatly increased illegal population. Actually, when illegals discover Sanctuary Cities will continue to ignore the law, they would flock there in droves saving non-Sanctuary Cities thousands in transportation costs.

Those groups and advocates of illegal immigration, who want to apply pressure to the President and Congress to allow illegals to stay in the US and receive back-door amnesty, can pay them to stay. If they pay the 118 billion out of pocket instead of wasting US taxpayer monies to pay the illegal immigration bill there would be considerably less objection to amnesty.

The Obama Administration has yet to keep one promise made, has lied about every controversy, places blame on everyone except themselves, and is only concerned about the Latino vote. They know the Latino vote is critical to the President's re-election. This Administration will ignore constitutional law to allow as many illegals to vote as possible in this quest. The evidence is indisputable indicating, both legal and illegal, are registering and voting in federal, state, and local elections. Most estimates indicate there may be hundreds of thousands of illegals voting in elections. Although the primary requirement for voting in National and all individual States is US Citizenship, there is minimal to no enforcement. Since the Latino community rarely votes Republican, there is no doubt the benefit derived by the Democratic Party.

The National Conference of State Legislatures (1) provides data of voter registration and polling requirements nationally and by state. Interestingly, requirements are so lax in most states they might as well be non-existent in preventing voter fraud. In defense of the states, they are attempting to strengthen their laws; again most who tried failed, were shelved until 2012, or will not go into effect until after the 2012 election. Most would consider this as padding the vote. The more the Administration appeases Latino groups and supporters in favor of an amnesty program, the more these influences will solicit Latino's, both legal and illegal to register, vote, and sadly, they will be successful.

The House passed the Real ID Act in 2005. This act set specific guidelines for states to implement Homeland Security documentation requirements for driver's license issuance and renewal. The purpose is to prevent illegals from obtaining a license within a state or acceptable license for federal identification and establish a national data base to identify illegals that fraudulently acquire driver's licenses, SS Numbers, and keep them from obtaining work.

Again, US citizens have to produce a certified birth certificate with seal, original or duplicate social security card, and multiple documents that prove where they live to obtain or renew a driver's license.

The downfall, illegals will not apply for a driver's license or liability insurance. Instead, they will get friends who are licensed to buy them cars and obtain license plates. Unless they kill someone, if caught they will simply face deportation, sent back at our expense to their native country, and within a few days be back; this time they will be wiser and move to a Sanctuary City.

Illegal Immigration has a significant impact on state and local economies. Social Security fraud, Identity theft, voter fraud, tax evasion, and over 300,000 Anchor Babies per year, all increasing annually. We are no longer a country of milk and honey; we are a struggling economy that cannot afford handouts to an invasion force of illegal immigrants'.

Of course, most of what is written will never become fruition. It would be impossible to send back 13 million illegals. America will require some type of program that may take years to obtain citizenship, but it will happen. The crisis that exists today will not go away. Costs of illegal immigration will continue to escalate as more cross our borders.

We cannot begin to address the problem until the borders are secure or we make it impossible for illegals to want to remain. Cutting off benefits may seem harsh, but we are not the rich country of our past. We cannot pay our debt and too many resources are being consumed by those who have no right to the services, therefore denying those who do have that right. Illegal Immigration is the single largest threat to National Security. The question which most America is demanding an answer; the one blatantly ignored by our President and Representatives...Why?

(1) "The National Conference of State Legislatures"
http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=16602#State_Reqs

"No matter what you write, someone will love it."

Post-Capitalistic Free Market Economy - How America Can Be Rescued (Part III)

After presenting the character of an individual in American society, as its first basic component, we now proceed with consideration of the other two namely private organizations and public institutions. Economic organizations are the subject of our main consideration. This is where the heart of problem rests as far as it relates to democracy and equality of opportunity. Under the domain of monopoly and oligopoly capitalism, which is the main feature of American economy, as concluded by one reliable study, a few thousand super rich (a little over 7,000) control or at least highly influence not only the economy of the country but also its essential political and social institutions such as media, education, and health care.

Control of information system is vital to the economic elite in order to control or influence public attitude about justification of capitalism as well as major domestic and foreign policies. Freedom of thought and speech is essential to a democratic system. There must be a free expression and competition of ideas and symbols. This essential freedom is guaranteed to Americans by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

In modern society the interchange of information and expression of ideas is to be achieved through the mass media. The American mass media constitutes of about 19,000 radio and television stations, 1,700 daily newspapers, 7,000 other newspapers, 9,000 periodicals, over 4,300 film producers and distributors, and 1,300 publishing companies. But, the elite, through a few business and financial firms controls the three major television and radio networks - ABC, NBC, CBS - and 34 subsidiary stations, 201 cable television systems, 62 major radio stations, 59 magazines, including Newsweek and Times, 58 major newspapers, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and The Los Angeles Times, and 41 publishing companies. 75% of the stocks of the three major television networks, where the American public receives most of its information, are owned by five major banks.[1] According to another study, in the long run, the mass media cater to elite individuals and elite institutions upholding their actions and policies. [2] Besides the information system, the elite group, consisting only of 0.4% of one percent of households, controls the economy and government. This control is effectuated through the top one-fifth of the population who are the supporters of the elite family and its beneficiaries.

Consequently, the richest one-fifth of the population owns about 77% of all personally held wealth and have control over 97% of privately owned corporate stocks. Thus, the richest one-fifth has three times as much wealth as the remaining 80% of the population and full control of all major business and economic institutions. Through the control of the governmental process the elite rips off the American taxpayers by the means of government subsidies. Gaylord Shaw of the Associated Press has pointed out that private enterprise in America collects roughly $30 billions a year in government subsidies and subsidy-like aid, much of it hidden or disguised. A government-wide study, undertaken by the Associated Press, disclosed evidence that the total is at least $28 billion a year, and may run as high as $38 billion. [3]

The government's outstanding loans to private business- direct, guaranteed, and insured- came to about $250 billion in 1973, six times the outstanding credit advanced to business by all commercial banks. The figures may go much higher at the present. The big business gets the big bite mostly away from public attention. The exploitive benefits appropriated by the economic elite amounts to about $380 billion a year or an annual rip-off of $1,700 from every man, woman and child in the country.

The third component of a democratic society is its public institutions. The United States is praised and admired by the foreigners as well as most of its citizens for its political democracy. This perception is not the result of a true representative democracy but the effect of propaganda and conditioning of Americans through the mass media and educational systems influenced and controlled by the elite. A few who are expert in American political system and process and have impartially studied the system would find this claim of democracy far from the truth. They will attest that there is no democracy in the United States consciously supported by the majority of the voting population. The so called "democracy" is a facade, a pretentious process created by the elite to sustain its status as well as the stability for its capitalistic operation and maximization of profits.

To elaborate on this statement we may start, first, with the two major political parties which control all the national and state governments. Both parties are strong supporters of capitalism and are controlled by the capitalist elite. Apparent differences are only cosmetic. Through the control of state governments both parties together have been able to establish harsh conditions for development and success of any third party; and by establishment of single rather than proportional representation districts, they have been able to monopolize the electoral system excluding any hope of success for any minor third party. They can even act to outlaw a rising third party and officially destroy it. This is what exactly happened in the1920s when the Socialist Party developing strong, was able to capture the government of many cities and gain representation in state legislatures. The party was declared illegal, its leaders were arrested, its offices were destroyed and its funds in banks were frozen. It was not until the 1970s that under the Freedom of Information Act the party had access to government archives, sued the government and was granted damages.

Second, mainly because of the control of the two major parties by the elite and their commitment to the capitalistic economic system, people have moved away from these parties ever increasing the size of independent voters, doubling its size during the last 30 years. Presently, more than one-third of the eligible voters consider themselves as independent and the electoral success of any of the two major parties depends on each party's ability to attract more independent voter. Neither of the two parties has a long range objective and philosophically both are strongly capitalistic oriented. For this reason there is no ideological loyalty to the party, only 5% of the membership take active part in party operation, and members of one party voting for the candidate of another during different elections in not unusual.

Third, whether a party member or not, masses of voters do not bother to participate in the elections- about 52% in presidential, 30-40% in congressional, and 10-30% in local elections. The result has become the takeover of the electoral system and ensuing governmental functions by the elite and major interest groups supporting it. In actual sense, in the United States we do not have majority representation either at the national or state level.

Candidates are selected by a small minority of the eligible voters. For example, if a presidential candidate received 54% of popular vote, when only 52% of the eligible voters actually voted, he becomes elected by only 28.6% of the total eligible voters. He represents a small minority and not the majority of the voting population. In 1980 Reagan received 51.6 % of the popular vote where only 54% of the eligible population voted. It was proper to assume that he received only 27% votes of the total eligible voters. For his second term, he received 59% of the popular vote amounting only to 29% of the total voting population. For the same token, in the 1988 election Bush received 54% or 27% of the total voting population. In 2000 and 2004 elections Bush received 25% and 26% of the total eligible voters respectively. The situation is more tragic in the case of congressional members and local officials.

Fourth, constitutionally, states have control over the electoral process including those pertaining to the national offices. Therefore, states are where nearly all antidemocratic activities rest. Financing the elections, particularly the campaign expenditures by the candidates is mainly controlled by the elite through direct or institutional contributions. In general this is handled by each party in a way that ordinarily over 95% of the House representatives and 86% of senators are continually reelected. Nearly all of them serve the elite family. At the time of any social unrest this Congress passes appropriate welfare legislation by which a few billion dollars is distributed among the poor and lower working class or small farm operators in order to quiet down the situation and maintain stability for the proper operation of the elite institutions. Another serious problem relates to the process of voter registration which is more or less, and at times highly corrupt, in favor of one party or the other. The money for such programs, presently amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars, does not come out from the elite pocket but mainly from those of the middle and working class in the form of additional taxation. Many rich people, thanks to laws passed to protect their income, either don't pay any tax or pay a very nominal amount compared to the size of their annual income. To show just an example, according to an Internal Revenue Service report, of 529,460 couples and individuals who reported total annual income above $200,000 on their tax returns, 595 paid no taxes while their income averaged $600,000and two out of every three had capital gains averaging 490,000. Another 33,805 having incomes over $200,000 paid only 15% tax, typically less than a middle class family, and 3,000 paid less than 10%.[4]

Another serious electoral problem relates to the process of voter registration in each state which is regularly abused in some states and manipulated in favor of one party or another. During a presidential elections this abuse is estimated to be in excess of two million votes. For example, the studies show that in 2000 presidential elections in florida alone, tens of thousands of Afro-American voters, 90% of them expected to vote Democrat, were deprived from voting through registration abuses.[5]

With all these factual observations, one can easily conclude that there is no real democracy in the United States, at the national level in particular. The effect of such lack of democracy has placed the nation in over six trillion dollars in debt the major beneficiary of which has been as always the economic elite. Over $250 billion a year is paid in interest on this debt by taxpayers money. Realistically speaking, the U.S. President and Congress are both strong supporters and protectors of the economic elite and major interest groups which contribute to their electoral campaigns. The U.S. foreign policies are not based on international law or mutual respect to sovereignty of other nations, but to protect the U.S. capitalistic interests abroad. Any system not sympathetic to capitalistic values is not considered democratic. Such countries are considered not friendly to American policies, therefore, subject to pressure and regime change. For example, U.S. seceded Panama territory from Colombia in 1903 to build the Canal because of the Colombian government's rejection of the project. It has controlled the politics and economy of the country since. When General Noriega disobeyed, Panama was invaded in December 1989 and an "appropriate" obedient government was installed. Noriega, the head of a foreign country was captured, brought to the United States, tried, convicted and jailed. Granada was invaded in October 1983 to oust a Marxist oriented socialist government. An acceptable government was established under the U.S. occupation. Dominican Republic was invaded in April 1965. It was also occupied from 1916 to 1924. Troops were sent to Mexico in April 1914 to block arms shipments to Mexican revolutionaries. They stayed in Mexico for eight months. Haiti was invaded in 1915 and it remained under occupation til 1934. U.S. Marines were sent to Nicaragua in 1912 to protect the friendly government. Some Marines stayed there for 13 years. They were sent again in 1927 and stayed til 1933 when Samosa was established as the ruler. The Samosa family ruled until the Sandinista revolution in1979. U.S. troops landed in Honduras in three separate occasions, between 1912 and 1926, to protect American business interests. Starting in 1980 U.S. troops were regularly stationed in Honduras in order to protect Contra rebellion forces and impose pressure on Nicaraguan Sandinista government. Between 1898 and 1921 Marines were landed in Cuba on four occasion and remained there for a total of 12 years. U.S. established its present naval base at Guantanamo Bay in 1903. In early 1970s Chile democratically elected a Marxist government and chose Dr. Allende as President. This tended to destroy the U.S. government's theory of associating Marxism with dictatorship which was the basis of the Cold War policies. The Chilean government had to be overthrown. It was done by the CIA and millions of American taxpayers money in 1973.

These are just some regional examples. The U.S. has followed the same lawless and often utterly brutal and destructive foreign policy, causing thousands of death and distraction of properties, through overt and covert actions in other parts of the world particularly in the Far East and the Middle East, anytime the U.S. elite had substantial economic and ideological interest. For example, the U.S. government efforts, in 1960s, to change the Marxist oriented socialist government of Indonesia, ruled since 1945 by Sukarno, and establish a new friendly system under the rule of Suharto caused a genocide by the new government of over 800,000 mostly innocent lives of men women and children. In just a few months in 1965 more than 200,000 people allegedly associated with Communist Party were slaughtered.[6] Since 2001, tens of thousands have died in Afghanistan War and, according to new estimates, over one million have been killed in war in Iraq, over 95% innocent men, women and children, and 4.5 million have been displaced one half of them escaping to the neighboring countries and the rest becoming refugees in their own land.

Some decades ago the great American Philosopher John Dewey described the American system as follows: "the reactionaries are in possession of force, in not only the army and police, but in the press and the schools. The only reason they do not advocate the use of force is the fact that they are already in possession of it, so their policy is to cover up its insistence with idealistic phrases- of which their present use of individual initiative and liberty is a striking example.... It is absurd to conceive liberty as that of the business entrepreneur and ignore the imminent regimentation to which workers are subjugated, intellectual as well as manual workers.[7] The American political system is not democratic in a true sense. Democracy is used carefully and skillfully as a facade to cover the ills of capitalism and actual control of the system by a very small elite.

References:

1. James Burns et al, Government by the Poeple, 14th ed. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1990, p. 279.

2. Ibid., p. 302

3. United Press International, "Tax breaks Cost Treasury $44 Billion," Wisconsin state Journal, June 5, 1971, Sec. 1, p. 3.

4. Associated Press, Washington, D.C., "Tax Dodge. Some still Don't pay U.S.," Wisconsin State Journal, Sunday, October, 1989, p. 6A.

5. For a detailed documentation see Reza Rezazadeh Electronic Electoral System: Simple, Abuse Free, Voter Friendly, Xilibris, 2002, Chapter 2.

6. World Book, 2001, vol. 10, p. 238.

7. John Dewey, "The Future of Liberalism," The Journal of Philosophy, vol.32, no. 9, April 25, 1935.

Dr. Reza Rezazadeh

1080 Eastman Street, Platteville, WI 53818

Phone: (608)348-7064

Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin System,and a Fulbright scholar, a multi-disciplinary, multi-cultural, and multi-lingual scholar with background in Mechanical Engineering (B.S.M.E.), Continental and Islamic Law (Licenciate), J.D. in American Jurisprudenxce, LL.M. in International Law and International Economics, Ph.D. in Political Science, Economics and Administration, and Doctor of the Science of Law (S.J.D.) the highest law degree offered in U.S. Fluent in five languages: English, French, Spanish, Persian, Azeri-Turkish. Elementary knowledge of Arabic, Urdu, Russian and Italian. Patented inventions; an artist, a poet (oil and pastel), a musician (violin), with over 35 years of academic background in teaching, reseasrch and administration, research and cultural studies in many countries in Europe including USSR, Middle East, Central Asia, Northe africa, Central and South America. Author of 8 books and many scholarly articles listed in his website http://www.democracywhere.com

What Does America See in 2010 and Beyond?

Few Americans in today's political and moral climate have any doubt that our light has seriously dimmed. At no time in our history more than now does it appear that we have brought on an administration that seems to think that it has been given a mandate to make its mark on America. More than a "change" we can believe in, this has become a change we can hardly endure.

We have taken to reeling instead of standing as an example to the rest of the world. This administration is spending like a drunk out on the town all the while blaming the former administration for the deficits it is incurring. Liberal's dimmest minds have conspired to advance their long awaited agenda on a citizenry that was always suspicious of it and of late has begun to cringe at its application.

Missouri has emphatically declared that being forced to buy insurance coverage from the fed under Obamacare is an idea whose time must not be allowed to come. Arizona remains defiant under the brave leadership of Jan Brewer even as that state is nearly under siege from a foreign power. Seven million people in California have been upstaged by one homosexual judge who thinks their carefully placed votes have no voice at all in the will of the people.

Attorney General Holder has decided that America has never faced up to its racism but it is apparent that he has never faced up to the fact that he missed basic colors in grade school. America is more concerned with green and red than with black and white at this juncture in our history. We know the green of our dollars is not a bottomless pit of wealth that cannot be exhausted. We also know that the red blood of many Americans shed throughout the world was to preserve individualism and free enterprise, not big government, socialism or ideologies not set forth by our founding fathers.

What is being done to America is as hard to believe as what is being proposed, as in placing a Muslim Mosque across the street from one of the most sacred sites in the entire United States known as "Ground Zero."

Now there's the plan to spend 4.3 billion dollars to ensure kids have a more healthy lunches in our schools. Feeding them twisted history, Godless claptrap and socialistic philosophies can be overlooked for a few wholesome veggies on their plates.

We have a liberally biased media that has done everything but sign a contract in which they promise to tell us everything but the truth. Hollywood takes up the cause of socialisms twin, the moral decline, as it always has, to blast our children with fantasy, sleaze and violence all in the name of that high holy and sacred pastime we call, entertainment.

It is hard to impress the world with our moral stand if we are seen to be always staggering from the weight of the much touted "change we can believe in."

But wait, America it seems is about to make some changes that it can believe in, or at the least can live with. The one party system in the hand of this administration has been making its mark but it turns out to be more of a whipping. This unrestrained beating seems to be facing an angry citizenry that is now approaching close enough to the tormentor in the upcoming midterm elections to be able to snatch the whip right out of the hand of the administration. This would be a start but not a complete solution. There are many who are not sure we can survive the damages already done to our fiscal well being. The moral decline is another matter.

Preachers of the gospel who have not sold out to the apostasy of the hour are still proclaiming that one inalterable truth, that a nations well being is always inextricably linked to its morality. It may be hard to convince someone in Hollywood who spends 800 million dollars to produce a movie that by even the weakest moral codes may not be worth fifty cents. It is even harder to convince an administration that has laden trillions of dollars of future debt on our children that someday the bill will come due.

The day is finally here when those with a prophetic calling must admit that anyone, even politicians, newsmen or pundits that have opened their eyes and are proclaiming that the nation is turning the wrong way, are our compatriots in the noblest cause of all. One thing is sure in the business of prophetic warnings, seeing is step one in the process. Long before they were called prophets they were called "seers." (1 Sam 9:9) They were gifted with unrestrained, unbiased and accurate sight. Those who "see" are still the last best resort in times of deep trouble.

The only difference, according to the scriptures, between the average man and the prophet is that God allows some people to see, but he commands the prophet to see. The best example of this is seen in the eighth chapter of the book of the prophet Ezekiel.

Ezekiel was commanded to go and actually observe what the priests and civil authorities were engaged in and then prophesy to them in a stern call to repentance. Should they object to his prophecies he was armed with the eyewitness reports that God had arranged for him to have in hand.

Did they repent? Sadly, we must report that they did not and it resulted in the demise of their nation. That demise has lasted for centuries and not until the British mandate of 1948 has it seen a remedy. Only now that Israel is once again a free and independent nation has God begun again to deal with her in a favorable way.

Prophets of old were like the ancient mariner's chart, compass and sextant. Today they can be likened to radar, sonar and GPS tracking systems that tell us where we want to go but more importantly they tell us, where we don't want to go. It would seem that a nation willing to dismiss the scriptures, the constitution and its own history so readily would not pay much heed to a few vociferous prophets. This dismissal could result in our own demise and can only be done at our own peril.

What happens at the polls in 2010 may be the first sign of whether anyone is listening to her prophets or anyone else for that matter. It will only be a first step, but it will be a welcomed step for those who want to see America continue to make a mark in the world rather than being marked up with the bruises and gashes from an unwanted ideology that has left other countries in utter ruin.

Subjectivism and sensationalism is never allowed in the mindset of a real prophet otherwise they could not start any proclamation with the familiar "thus saith the Lord." The result of unheeded prophecy is known by all but it is never because the prophecies were not known. It was always because the prophecies went unheeded.

So what happened to Israel in Ezekiel's day? It is not a pretty sight, even though it was completely avoidable. The warnings in Ezekiel eight capitulated to the judgments seen in chapter nine. Ezekiel exclaimed, "Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The Lord hath forsaken the earth, and the Lord seeth not. And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head." (Eze 9: 9, 10)

Rather than "change we can believe in" we had better shift to "change we can't afford not to make" in 2010 and 2012 respectively in order to avoid the same fate as our ancient counterpart and modern ally known as the nation of Israel. May God help us!

http://www.americanprophet.org has since 2005 featured the articles of columnist Rev Michael Bresciani along with news and reviews that have earned this site the title of The Website for Insight Millions have read his timely reports and articles in online journals and print publications across the nation and the globe.

Backward America - The Plight of the American People

You may not know what kind of difficulty you are in due to the political and social circumstances that affect your life in this country.

Let me get real personal ... Our infant mortality rate ranks 37th in the world. It used to be 15th in the world. That's a disgrace for a nation that seems so pumped up by its egotistical nature.

Many of the so-called lesser nations of the world have as their populations, people who live longer than you and your American neighbors. That's a disgrace!

We have no universal healthcare and we pay exorbitant amounts of money for healthcare, while many of our citizens can't get treated properly.

Insurance companies are in business to deny you the funds when you need to get adequate medical treatment. That's a disgrace and a ripoff.

The fat cats get richer and you get exploited.

Your politicians scream about the evils of socialism. Your education system is socialism up and through high school.Yet your children will be up to their necks in debt from borrowing money to get a higher education.

That's a ripoff and it's a disgrace. Higher education should be free and could be free like it is in other countries.

Working mothers are being ripped off by exorbitant day care costs, while they bust their chops trying to support themselves and their children. We need a free day care system, where the working mother can feel safe and secure that her children are being taken care of properly and that she's not going to go into the crapper because of lack of money. Let's end this disgrace and start to love our neighbor as ourselves as it says in the good old book.

There is a huge discrimination in the workforce towards senior citizens. They can't get jobs because employers don't want to have to pay health insurance for their high risk older seniors. Let's put the cream of our crop back to work if that's what they want to do and give them the support and health care that they need.

When Jesus was asked by a rich man how he could find the kingdom of heaven, Jesus told him to "sell all of your goods and give the money to the poor and then follow me".

If we are to be a true nation of people caring for and loving one another, then those of us who are richer and more fortunate have a duty and obligation to help the less fortunate. Our system needs to learn how to share the burden for taking care of the least of us.

The nursing home situation in this country is an absolute disgrace. Caretaking aging children are over burdened with enormous costs for finding proper care for their aging parents who need a lot of help. We need an entire reformulation and reshaping of our healthcare system for people who are on the final edge of their journey. There is no need for them to suffer because of lack of money and services. This is an absolute disgrace and our country should be ashamed of itself for the way it treats its extreme elderly people.

Did you know that emergency rooms and hospitals can't afford to provide services due to a lack of money? Drug companies get richer and many treatments are denied to people who need those treatments. The patient needs the money, not the executive who gets bonuses for increasing profits.

Your political dictators try to convince you that they care. But, that's bullshit! You'll notice that their pensions and health care is fully provided to them through your tax dollars. But you don't get the same benefits and privileges.

Your police and fire departments are socialistic institutions and because of government institutionalization, these needed departments have not let us down the hoary path of socialism. So, why are 2 million Americans in jail with excessive sentences and for behavior that may be sinful but not deserving of long term incarceration? Do you know that local governments harass ordinary citizens with exorbitant fines, where warnings would have been just as effective? You wonder why Americans don't fully trust politcians and law enforcement.

If we are to be a true democracy, we need to take care of our people and not have all of the wealth go to the fat cats, while a majority of citizens are struggling just to stay one step ahead of total fiscal collapse. Everybody is concerned about the so-called myth of the welfare state. Is anybody complaining about the warfare state? Do we need another super carrier? We are being practically defeated by homemade bombs and poor people. Why spend billions on the latest military tank and the most sophisticated airplanes, while our senior citizens and their caretakers are sweating their tails off trying to provide proper care.

It's a disgrace! Charity is not going to cover all of our basic needs. What we need is a total revamping of our political and social ideology. The Europeans are way ahead of us when it comes to taking care of their citizens. No wonder they live longer and happier and are free of many of the anxieties that plague Americans. It's time to come out of the haze that our political pundits have saturated us with. We need to start revamping our system, modern-izing it and spreading our wealth equitably and beneficially to those who need it the most.

You may think this newsletter is a little unusual coming from a psychotherapist. But my mental health training also includes social psychology and group dynamics. We are on the verge of seeing the collapse of our system. Our way of life must include an equitable sharing of the wealth and resources of this country and distributing it for the benefit of all of our citizens. This can only be done by learning from other countries who are way ahead of us.

We don't have to worry about a foreign enemy. The enemy is here at home and it is us and our blindness to our fellow citizens. Please don't send me any of your rants telling me if I don't like this country, I should go to one of those other countries that cares more for its citizens. There is nothing new on the face of the earth and we owe it to ourselves to improve our system and become the Golden City on the hill. We can do it ...

There has been a flood of information coming in from the media about the green movement. Meanwhile, a very expensive trash truck is picking up my garbage in the back alley. It makes sense to me that if you want to conserve energy, we can invent a way to turn our waste materials into recyclable energy right in our own homes.

In the meantime, I'm going to watch some homeless person dive into the trash dumpster in the back of McDonald's. Somewhere along the line, that person lost his dignity and he had to resort to trash picking just to eat. Why not have a section at a restaurant for indigent and homeless people to come and sit down and eat properly from the excesses that America is so fond of producing and throwing away. That's a great start!

In my own personal psychotherapy practice, if I don't keep up with inflation, I can't afford to support my family. Many potential clients come to me and want my services but they can't afford it. In some European countries, the government pays you to provide more (not less) treatment for those who need it. So if I treat more people who can't afford American prices, the government would reimburse me and I can help alleviate much of the suffering of our population. Oh ... So why can't these people go to a public mental health facility for low-cost treatment. I won't get into that. It makes sense that every American should have access and free choice as to who they wish to be their physician.

There is a part of me that says let the fat cats and their institutions fall apart and let's send our tax dollar bailout money where it is really needed ... to our healthcare system, day care system, medical facilities, infrastructure, and senior citizens.

Let's put love back to work and shove self-interest and greed into the pit where it belongs. I see a new day and a new age dawning. We have to come out of our own dark ages and see a new enlightenment coming over the horizon.

As a people, we need to go beyond the beyond that is beyond all beyondness!

If you can read between the lines of this article, you can see that I am trying to deal with the struggles that most people on this planet confront on a daily basis. Collectively, if we use our common sense, creativity and intuition we can effectively solve these problems and diminish many of these struggles. Let's take the burden of struggle out of individual hands and spread the burden further out collectively. That way, we can diminish anxiety and reduce suffering and pain.

I know many of you may feel powerless ...

But a change in one person's consciousness can start a flow that may reach a critical mass, at that point we may come to the realization of the messianic age, where true brother/sisterhood/mother/fatherhood sings from the mountaintops of Sinai to the rivers of Jordan to the oceans of Hawaii, the plains of Texas and the skyscrapers of Philadelphia.

Paul J. Hannig, PH.D. MFT is a licensed California Marriage and Family Therapist offering innovative and in-depth individual and group therapy. His expertise includes Deep Feeling Therapy, core identity work, psycho-spiritual therapy, hypnotherapy, marriage/relationship counseling, and his "Abstain Now" program for addictions. He is the author of "Feeling People", "Sizzling Relationships: the 401(k) of Love", and "Coping with the Disorder" along with profiles on mood and personality disorders. His office is located in Chatsworth, CA. Telephone Therapy is available as well. Visit PsychotherapyHELP (http://www.nvo.com/psych_help) for personal growth, relationship and therapy information, along with free articles to download, resources, and books and media to purchase. Watch his extraordinary video, "Deep Feeing Therapy: Healing Emotional Pain", at http://www.nvo.com/psych_help/feelingtherapy/. With the creation of PsychotherapyHELP, Dr. Paul brings over thirty years of his knowledge and expertise to all who search for answers to deep emotional pain and interpersonal problems.

The Other America

Recently, one of the Network News agencies, has chosen to warm our hearts with a new Series "the Other America". The content is good. Overall the series is supposedly a Media example of their "sensitivity". In reality it's an example of their elitism, blinded by daily life, lack of understanding of what life is to millions and millions of Americans. The series is as enigmatic to the people it is profiling as is the plight of the majority of Americans to 99.9% of all politicians. "the Other American" being reported on is America! The media, the politicians, and most of upper-middle class America, are... really... the "Other America". The only class that is constantly growing in the U.S. any longer, is, the "poor".

There is a very great consensus in the "more fortunate" America, that Welfare recipients are the representation of poverty. Hogwash. People on Welfare programs get cash subsidy, food stamps, and some of the best health care available. Just because they may not have a car... does not make them the "Poor"! In most areas they also get bus passes. They qualify for subsidized housing because they have a reliable payday with a consistent amount, every month, and... they wear out a lot of TV's!

As of late, there has been some exposure, still not enough though, of the fact that there is an America, a very, very large America, that is Generationally locked in an income bracket that is too high for money from government assistance programs, but not enough to have what people at that Network, employed by Government agencies, and in that News Agency take for granted everyday. The parents and children in these families don't go to the Dentist... they eat handfuls of Aspirin and swipe a tube of Ora-Gel from the drug store. In a dire situation, they go to the hospital emergency and wait for 4... 6... 8... 20 hours, using the ER as their "clinic" to get their temperature taken and a prescription for an anti-biotic. They don't actually get the anti-biotic, though. They go home and have to make an appointment at the qualification program for being determined to be medically indigent. That appointment is usually 3 to 14 days away. By the time they could get this done, they feel well enough to forego the sitting and waiting at yet one more place. Or... they're now so sick that they have to return to the ER and now they are triaged and the ER administers the medicine that they needed 2 or 3 weeks ago. Sometimes... they just die! No medicine wasted, huh? This class works... puts in a week that should support them, but doesn't. They are not going to the Food Bank, no way are they going to take handouts. So... they eat a diet really full of beans, potatoes, eggs and bread products. But they don't have to ask for a handout. Why should they, most of them have a job? As life progresses they become overweight, often developing hypertension and diabetes, and never knowing that, that is why they feel crummy so often. For most of them recreation involves beer. Watching sports on TV and going to the park don't have admission fees. In the summer, if they are lucky enough for there to still be no fees charged, they go to the river or lake for "cool" recreation. If they live in a city, they usually just have a back yard BBQ and a wading pool, a slip-n-slide, or a water hose and sprinkler. What's "air conditioning"? Can't afford to pay the power company even if they have it... a fan keeps them from being overcome by heat prostration, sometimes. They're used to this stuff, though. They may wish it were different, but have to learn not to live above their means. They have a pretty decent used car, but don't drive it any more than necessary because they can't afford to pay for insurance, and if they get pulled over, most places these days, their car will get impounded or confiscated. There's not much time for helping the kids with homework, so they don't do especially well in school, and end up working somewhere similar to where mom and dad work. Their children are going to do the same thing, too. Unless...

"Man, if I could sell that "Crank" and not use it, I could bust out of this place." We know that seldom works!

"Heh, those "Arian Boys" that hang out down at the old plant take care of each other. They got some things 'goin' on', and always have money. They hardly ever do any of that race stuff everybody says they do." Oh... Yeah... they do; just not in the daylight!

"I took a hit off of a joint for the first time the other day" the 12-year-old says. "... and it made me laugh and forget about dad hittin' mom in the face." Twelve is the average age kids first use Marijuana now. Crank is just over the horizon!

"Heh Joe, I know that Pot isn't going to get me hooked. I've been smokin' it since I was twelve" the 14-year-old says. "Why don't ya let me have a taste of your Heroin? Just once won't hurt anything, I'm sure." The average user who likes the "down" from Heroin can get psychologically hooked in two or three weeks, using 3 to 5 times a week. I've seen people try Meth and start using every day... starting with the 1 st trial run!

Three 15-year-olds that have been hanging out together since 3 rd Grade are sitting on the block wall in front of the Clinic on a warm summer evening, wishing they had the money to go see a movie, or get Arnie to buy them some beer. Bill says, "See that hall, right behind us, in the Clinic?" Tasha and Geraldo reply, "Yeah!" "Well," Bill says, "there's a window that is always open, and the supply room is on the other side of it! You know what's in there, huh?" Oh yeah, they simultaneously reply. Bill says, "I've walked up there and pushed on it and no alarm went off. I don't think there's one on it, and I could fit through there, easy!" Geraldo asks, "You think we could get some money for something in there, easy?" Tasha says, "No problem! My brother knows some dudes who'll buy almost anything, and sell it for some profit. That's what they do!" There's an alarm. It's a sensor on the windowsill, not the window. If they were to get away with it, it would just make the next time easier to move on. If not, as young as they are, first offenses usually don't cost much. But, either way, there's a good chance that this kind of thinking is the beginning of an anti-social lifestyle, because of their environment and financial status. Anyway, it's probably just the beginning of thinking that results from desperation and predictably low expectations. Even if they don't turn toward crime as a future, but are dissuaded by consequences, a low paying job is often their future, as was the fate of their primary role models. If they do become Addicts and go to Prison behind a felony conviction, one new door will open... Drug Treatment. Sad but true, in most States that is the only access to funded treatment, that is far to expensive for most Addicts or their families. Bush's vouchers are a joke, intended to subsidize "Faith based programs". Separation of Church and State? No, and few Addicts are able to adjust to them as a 24-hour-a-day way of life. The streets don't inspire much faith in anything!

These American that are America, feel fortunate to move from an $8/hr job into one that will eventually peak at $15/hr with no benefits. For these really common, everyday Americans Social Security is the light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel. There isn't going to be a 401K, stocks or bonds. ... just Social Security, and finally health care will be in their reach, too. This is not "the Other America". It is America. Notice that no one mentioned here owns a home? The death of the American Dream is not a recent phenomenon.

Children of these families are many of those fighting Bush's War. It's a shot at getting out! We all know by looking at the VA hospitals that, that's no done deal! Find out how many Senators or Congressmen have children fighting the War in Iraq. Find out how many had children fighting in Vietnam. See how many families with two College educated parents, or even one, have children in Iraq. See how many UAW members, Electricians, College Professors, Doctors or Lawyers are Veterans.

These are the people who have nothing to really hold on to if Social Security is not stabilized and kept out of the privatization mode. These are the people whose faith in America could be reborn if they just found they could go to the doctor when they get sick. We know that there are about 40,000,000 of them if that News agency is accurate in their reporting. That's no sure deal either, though, is it?

If we are not at an epic moment where the myth of the Free Market economic stabilization (trickle-down economics - Neo-Conservative philosophy) concept is finally realized to be at an end, and socialization of basic necessities for daily living is not implemented as a result... we may be at the end of a dream set forth in 1776. Capitalistic Democracy just may not work as a permanent philosophy for an entire culture. The American Dream may die because Capitalist greed will have alienated its workforce. As it is, the average working person has become the modern version of the Plantation Owner's Slave. The lending agencies have replaced "the Company Store"! We're kept just healthy enough to assure that the corporation's product continues, but no longer well enough to be the best producers in the world. Quality was the backbone of American production, and the Unions kept up wages and helped workers realize the American Dream, as a result. Well may very well pertain to psychological fitness even more than physical fitness. Right now the problem is that the "Company Store" got so greedy that they loaned past the point where the "Slaves" could ever repay their debts. The debts are closing the Company Stores. The workers losing their jobs, no longer can even attempt to pay their irresolvable debt. The economy is stuck because greed has produced a broken link in the chain and it can't hold up the system. No workers work, no product is produced, so there is no need for the company. So, after enough companies fade away an entire industry fades with them. America is in trouble and it's big. As much as our leaders talk about mainstream America, they still don't get it. Almost anything that is strong is strong because it has a strong Foundation. The Banks are not the foundation of America. The Insurance companies and the pharmaceutical companies are not it. The foundation is at the bottom of anything and everything. The lowest paid worker is the bottom. They are the foundation of the United States. The Unions, at one time grew to protect almost all workers in every capacity, and this country thrived like it never had. But when Ronald Reagan broke the Air Traffic Controllers Union strike, big business began a campaign to break them all and maximize their profits and their shareholders dividends by gradually lowering wage, not providing the Health-care covered by the Unions, and doing away with Retirement Benefits by introducing the, eventually (NOW) to become an absolute failure, 401K, placing the future of all workers in the Stock Market. This move favoring the "Corporations" resulted in such outrageous profit that the CEO came to make 7 to 10 figure salaries and other executives secured commensurate salaries. This kind of wealth bread a class of power that produced Criminal business practices rooted in pure greed. These were companies like Enron and people like Dick Cheney. Though Enron more or less got exposed, what was not seen was how widespread and well hidden these practices were in the major corporations of America. Well, we can see them now. The sad thing is, that the average American worker whose future is very questionable, is paying for all of it. That problem grows unbelievably as our bankrupt Government slips ever farther into debt to the rest of the World. They're now spending our Grandchildren's taxes. Still, in the long term, all of the Capitalist greed has to be paid for by the workers not their bosses.

Start at the bottom, the foundation. Raise the minimum wage. Raise it a lot. Make sure that full-time employment is always "gainful" employment. Legally protect the Unionization of workers with regulation. Socialize Health-care and get the workers healthy. If the Unions are strong they'll then contribute to the Health-care socialization program. Fund Drug Rehabilitation and get those people out of Prison and back into the taxpaying public. Fix Social Security so that benefits increase and the age of retirement does not go up. If people are working and making reasonable pay, the Social Security tax could go up without affecting the overall income of its contributors, and they won't mind because their Golden Years will be funded. Give the people the ability to "spend" money. If we do that, everything else will follow. Yeah, the Stock Market will have to become realistic, and shareholders will only get reasonable dividends. Executives will still be rich but they don't need the income of an entire small community or some small countries, to live above the rest of us. They can keep their "Power-trip"! Throw out all the "pork barrel" shit and invest taxpayer money on three things that all charge the economy. First is infrastructure 101. Get our bridges and highways up out of the rubble and safe again. Second is powering our country. Wind and Solar generation need to be taken to the maximum conceivable state. They are inexhaustible. Also, there is no "clean" coal technology, abandon it. The automobile needs to become clean technology and that means fossil fuel is out of the picture. In all reality we should be able to produce electric vehicles that inevitably cost less than current internal combustion powered vehicles. We should already have a battery that meets the needs of the average American's transportation demands, but we don't. Why? Expand rail service nationwide and locally, with existing models as guides, including High Speed. In cities elevated and subways can be retrofitted in. Clean buses should run 24/7. Make solar power a building code inclusion for construction of new structures including private, business and public. Third and finally, we should build our foreign policy around peaceful coexistence, eliminating hunger and disease in third world countries, and including them in the world of technology with all counties included in all aspects of improving quality of life on the planet, with all things, always considering ecology and the future of the Planet. You see Mr. Television Network, Doctors, Lawyers and Chief Executive, and you safe and secure Government Employees... YOU are not only the "other America", you are the other "World"! Most of the people on this Planet do not know what it is like to be in the upper 25%, whether American, British, Japanese, Indian, Iraqi, Israelite, or French and Spanish.

Do you realize that most American teenagers can no longer afford to go to a concert to see their favorite musicians or other performers? Tickets that cost $60 to $250 dollars are a monthly payment on a decent used car, for really a lot of people. What percentage of the people do you think ever see a play, Broadway level, or a Ballet, or a Symphony Orchestra? The American Dream has been fading for some time now. For the true majority of us buying a home as a primary financial goal has been replaced with buying a New Car, and that's fading fast. These are the facts that brought the Stock Market into "realistic" phase. All the BS facts used for speculation have been forced to more or less call in the debts and see what's really left given true values. 50 to 100 million people is a big number, but it's actually not a big percentage of the population if you're making realistic evaluation of the quality of life in our country. Even if you look at the incomes of the top 250 million citizens, it leaves a lot of people to consider. I'll bet that 25% of the people in almost every town in the U.S. can't afford anything that costs an extra $50 per month added to their budget!

The job situation in this country is an ominous problem for the future of our economy, and it's beginning to look as though it is not readily solvable. Companies are down-sizing and folding, period. In folding, the jobs they provided no longer exist. They're not coming back is what that means. My God, just exactly how many jobs have been lost and companies folded during the Bush Presidency. I think we're talking about a historical unseen event in modern history. Neo Conservatives with their de-regulation and trickle-down economics may already have destroyed the United States, as we have known it during my lifetime. And if they have, it is in truth, a direct result of greed and selfishness at a National level. We have two choices, right now, as I see it. We can move toward socialization of essentials (spread the wealth), or... we can do as Third World countries do, and just let a lot of people starve to death and die from curable disease! I think that would actually make us a 3 rd World Country, huh? "the Other America", hah... it would be hilarious if it weren't so frightening to hear the Majority of Americans being referred to as "the Other America"!

David R Carroll, CADCA, AKA CounselorDave, is a Certified Drug Counselor, a Recovering Addict of 13 years, a Veteran, and WebMaster of his site, Addiction: Why Me?

What Happened to Obama's Promises for a Better America?

President Obama vowed that the economy and job creation was his top priority for 2010. He said he was still going forward with health care reform, education reform and immigration reform.

Obama campaigned on the promise of change. A change we can believe in. Now Obama is playing the role of a Washington outsider. He is blaming the Republicans for his short comings. He has been in office 20 months. It is time he took responsibility and quit blaming George W. Bush, the Republicans and the wealthy for all of the problems the country is in. He needs to start doing something to make things get better.

Obama has been a president that has created more unemployment and a further decline in the economy. He is known for all his stimulus packages which have done nothing for the people or the economy.

Obama is always taking shots at George W. Bush. He has urged the American people not to go along with regulation and more tax cuts for the wealthy. Obama says that is what Bush id for eight years. That is what put us in this crisis. It is what helped cause the deficits. Obama definitely has a problem with big business and wealthy people. The deficit has greatly expanded under Obama's watch.

Obama promised to create a foreclosure prevention fund for homeowners. He was to create a $10 billion fund so home owners could refinance or sell their homes. This did not help because foreclosures are still on the rise.

Obama promised to repeal the Bush tax cuts for higher incomes. This he will probably do. If he does the big businesses will just move to where they have less taxes and restrictions. The economy is hurting big business because no one has the money to buy their products. Many big businesses have already left the United States. If more follow suit the unemployment will just go up more and the economy will go further down.

Obama promised to create a National Health Reform bill. This he has done. It will increase cost big businesses more to provide health insurance for their employees. It will cost small businesses and the self-employed more to get insurance. All employer's will have to turn in 1099's on their employee's so the government will have a record and be able to tax the employee's on their employer furnished health insurance. Small businesses will not be ale to afford to provide health insurance to their employees. Individuals will not be able to buy it and they will get fined if they do not. Health Insurance Companies will raise their rates to cover their increased costs. The Health Care Reform bill is a no win situation. It will hurt everyone. This bill was passed against the wishes of the majority of the people.

Obama said he would remove troops from Iraq. He is doing this. He said he would send more troops to Afghanistan and he is doing this. It makes a lot of since to take troops out of Iraq and put them in Afghanistan. He says Al-Qaeda is in Afghanistan plotting terrorist attacks on the United States. That is how he justifies his decision. They are all over the Middle East and will just move to another country if they feel threatened. Afghanistan is the largest opium producing country in the world. This is where Al-Qaeda and other terrorists get their money to operate. They will not be leaving Afghanistan any time soon. Is Obama going to send troops to the next country they move into if they do decide to move?

Obama said he would end torture. Everyone will agree torture to get information or for any other reason is bad. They torture the American's they capture but that does not make it right. Sometimes you have to do things you do not like or may not be right. The thing that is wrong is that Obama wants the terrorists tried in criminal courts and treated like someone that just robbed the corner market. This is wrong and a slap in the face to the American military and people.

Obama promised he would support "additional personnel, infrastructure and technology on the border and our ports of entry." What has he done? He has filed a law suit against the State of Arizona for their immigration law. He has filed a 29 page report with the United Nations stating in detail all of the human rights violations the United States is guilty of. This is what our great President thinks of the country he is supposed to be protecting and serving the people best interests.

He wants to reform minimum sentences and eliminate locking up nonviolent drug offenders for a specified length of time.

He wants to increase capital gains and dividend taxes for higher income tax payers. Obama does not like people with money. He seems to think if he taxes the wealthy into poverty he will solve all of his leadership problems. The higher incomes should pay more taxes than they do but let's not go to the extreme.

These are just a few of Obama's promises. The ones that have passed will not help the country or anyone who lives here. There will just be more poverty, homeless, unemployed and more terrorist threats. More terrorist attacks are coming.

Where has our constitution gone? What happened to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?"

America - Would Our Ancestors Recognize It?

I am glad that my beloved late grandfather is no longer around to see America-the country he once loved. He was a naval officer that served his country during WWII as a pilot. As children, my grandparents didn't rely on government subsidies to survive. They worked in fields, grew their own food, made their own clothing, and solved their own problems. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Americans rose up against a common enemy: the axis powers of Nazi Germany, Italy and Japan.

If you look at old pictures from the WWII era, you will see dirty faced American men and women standing side-by-side with their sleeves rolled up in some filthy factory. At the time, those people were considered your average hard-working Americans. They beat the sun out of bed and went to work. If you take a close look at the photographs, you will see many of them were lean, strong and walked with their heads held high. It was definitely American ingenuity at its finest. Unfortunately, we no longer live in the same America my grandfather once knew.

America has become the unwanted houseguest that sleeps on the sofa and raids your refrigerator. We are the despised meddling neighbor that has 911 on speed dial. We are the preacher that neglects his own family for his congregation. Long gone is the reputation of Americans known as producers. The world now looks at Americans as a nation of whining consumers. We ship our jobs overseas and depend on foreign oil like a crack addict depends on his dealer.

There is barely any resemblance between our America and the one my grandfather knew. America has become a society of fat, rude, obnoxious, and lazy people who file lawsuits whenever someone hurts their feelings. We kill, maim, destroy, lie, cheat, and steal for personal gain. And when caught, we blame it on our parents because no one hugged us as children. We are a nation of blameless people who never accept responsibility for anything. We blame our problems on everyone else except for the person in the mirror.

The recent passing of "Obamacare" proves my point about America. Since when did we decide that we need the government to subsidize our health care? Although some people think this is a great moment in history, they are only looking through rose colored glasses. I don't think it has settled in that working taxpayers will be forced to pay for it. And when this happens, the doctors and health insurance will then be forced to raise their prices to keep up with the growing population.

Some people don't have insurance because they can't afford it. Health insurance is as much of a right as a driver's license. So what's next? Will the government start mandating that everyone drives an odorless green car? And if you don't own one, will you be forced to buy one?

Health insurance has just become another freedom we have relinquished back to the government. We are on the heels of becoming a Socialist nation like England and Canada-Nations that reward success and hard work with more taxes. What people forget is that once you start relinquishing your freedoms, you eventually become China or Cuba.

Don't be surprised when the government starts regulating what type of home you can buy or what you can name your children. Our politicians have put us in debt with the Red Chinese, a communist nation that laughs at our failing economy. It's because the Chinese know that our foolishness is their gain. Sadly, the America our ancestors and founding fathers once knew has gone M.I.A

Marc Hoover has a Bachelor of Science degree from Indiana Wesleyan University and has more than eleven years experience working in social services. Marc also wrote the humorous dating book titled You Need A Cellmate Not A Soulmate, published by Ladybug Books. Marc's book is currently available at http://www.Ladybugbooks.com and http://www.Amazon.com. Additionally, Marc manages two websites: A dating website titled Socialhearts ( http://www.Socialhearts.com ) and Letters Beyond Heaven ( http://www.Lettersbeyondheaven.com ), a site to remember and honor deceased family members and friends. Please feel free to stop by either site with any recommendations or comments.

America, A Promise of Change, While Losing the Real Battle at Home

Recently I heard my mother make two remarks which I will never forget. The first was with the inauguration of our new president when she said proudly, " I never thought I'd live to see a black man become president". And more recently, " I never thought I'd see the country in the condition it is today". I grew up proud and full of admiration for the country, my home America and how now the dream that all men are equal and should be judged accordingly seemed to becoming a reality, but after reflecting on several of our actions and in-actions in past decades, and seeing the country allow itself to become so disillusioned and compromised, I have a very different impression today.

The number one problem that our country now most focus on is our failing economy which is vital to us all and take concrete actions. Our current economic mess was not the making of the current US administration, but the culmination of past administrations, primarily through the Bush eras. President Obama made a promise of change "real" change in many daily operations and running of his office, including that of both dealing on the international stage as well as on the domestic, especially in dealing with our financial woes. His main theme and ideology of "change" continues to ring in my ears, as well as in the thoughts and aspirations of the American people, and in the people of the world - but so far little change has really become reality let alone being openly and forcefully discussed.

I am not an economist or politician by any means, but am an ordinary US citizen who teaches university and has been exposed and lived in many diverse countries of the world, including Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and Oceania. However, I do feel I have the right and obligation to share the common opinions and attitudes that many of my fellow "average citizens" have concerning this situation, since we all have a stake in our futures and should therefore have a say in how our democratic systems are run.

In my opinion one of the major factors for our failing economy as well as many other western economies is simple, it is China. According to statistics from Chinese sources, primarily Xinhua new agency along with other sources, China's trade surplus with the US alone in 2006 was in excess of USD 200 billion exporting to the US six times the amount they received, and with the European Union for the same year USD 175 billion. Many people around the world are amazing, astonished in fact, by China's economic success and are even envious without understanding the reasons and reality which surrounds this accomplishment.

Along with my keen interest in following the "rise" of China, I have also lived and worked in China on several occasions and have traveled extensively throughout the country during the past 25 years. I have a fair understanding of of the Chinese people and why China, even though there is great discrepency in wealth between many regions and people, is so powerful today while we are caught up in a downward spiral.

China is a country of 1.4 billion people, roughly four times that of a comparable sized US. Therefore it has an enormous work force at hand, which includes roughly 56.2 million living above the poverty line set by the World Bank of USD $1.25 per individual, but less than the low income level according to a report by the Rural Survey Organization of National Bureau of Statistics, China, 2004 This all accounts for a system which employs people on a daily manufacturing or industrial wage of USD 0.57 in rural areas to USD $1.84 in more developed regions with no working rights, guarantees, or protection. In addition to the current 109 million manufacturing workers in China, and a surplus of 200 million in the agriculture sectors, 500 million peasant workers are anticipated to migrate to the cities in search of employment in the next two decades. This insures a cheap and accessible pool of workers who will continue to work under such conditions for China.

Chinese companies such as State owned Anshan Iron and Steel Group benefit from huge government subsidizes and land deals, access to undercut energy and capital, and lucrative tax breaks. No wonder the US has lost over one-third of its manufacturing jobs in the area during the past decade. Furthermore, this company has since attempted to buy into US Steel Development Company to further undercut and control the American market, gain access to vital technology, and influence decision making in the US. Another incident of Chinese intervention was in 2005 when China National Offline Oil Corporation was attempting a merger with Unocol Corporation, an American Oil Giant, but was rebuked by members of the House Armed Service Committee and legislators as an attempt to compromise US National security.

In contrast to the US, China protects all its markets and heavily regulates what can be produced and sold on its domestic market from basic supermarket products to luxury high end products of all types. Foreign access is extremely limited and are virtually barred from all products entering the Chinese market. When Chinese products exceed limit or are over produced they are flooded on an awaiting foreign market at below market prices further undercutting our economy's ability to survive. China certainly plays by its own rules and the world continues to play along.

Another important aspect involved in all this, is the blatant control and manipulation of the Chinese Renminbi / Yuan which continues to stay in effect in contrast to empty promises made by the Chinese and continues to be in stark contrast to western currencies which adjust to the world market. This manipulation keeps the currency artificially high to insure that its products are accessible and affordable in foreign markets while foreign products are not only restricted as mentioned from entering the Chinese market, but when gain access, are also unfairly priced to keep consumption and attraction insignificant to the Chinese consumer.

These are several of the key issues which have forecasted China's rise by some to become the world's largest economy by 2026. These policies are also in direct contradiction to world opinion, and action which should be taken, is not. China deals with any government any regime rogue or not regardless of their policies at home including North Korea, Burma, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Iran to name a few. They will go in and offer friendship, meaning "gifts" to their elite and governments building new home tracks for government and military personnel complete with recreation centers and other "necessities", while the people of these countries often starve, are forced into child slavery, live below acceptable standard conditions with no running water or sanitation facilities, and have no basic human rights or hope for the future. This is done in the name of their so called "non-interference policy" and of course to buy influence and have access to needed energy and material rights to keep their economic engine running.

While China can not be blamed for all our current economic woes, it does continue to play by its own set of rules in contrast to accepted international law and standards, and definitely lacks morals and principles in its quest for dominance, and is a major threat to our economy and national security in the foreseeable future.

If change is the order of the day, let it now begin with China. President Obama needs to protect our economy and the EU should follow in suit. We really need to open our eyes to the situation which is very clear upon us. We need to also protect our economic interests and to rebuild our economy in conjunction with all countries including China, but on an equal and just playing field, not by the very one -sided system which has been in place now for many years and has helped to cripple our economy and national security. The US and the EU need to now stand up make hard decisions in which the people may have to make more sacrifices, but which in the long run will be worth the effort and sacrifices made by all.

Oh, but yes, what about retaliation by the Chinese, they have 1.2 trillion of our deficit, which is now their asset. It is also interesting to note that the Chinese do not use this money to help the impoverished millions in the western and other regions of their country to lift them out poverty, but do use a portion to continue to modernize and develop its military capabilities, and the rest is used to hold the US hostage to its demands and continued unjust trade policies. When will we learn and show some backbone?

I have heard commentaries stating that China needs the US more than we need China, and I believe most would agree. Even though China could in fact play hard ball with this new acquired asset of US cash, they most likely will not, since we too can also make things much harder in the long run for the Chinese.

As I stated before, I am not an economist nor politician, but here are a few steps if needed to be modified and amended, believe should be taken by the US and EU governments, and possible others, to resolve the threat we now face in regards to the unequal and unfair trade balances with China and to restore our once vibrant and lively economic sectors.

1) Establish a clear deadline in next couple of years for China to let its currency be truly convertible and float at current market rates with no government interference.

2) China to remove all existing trade barriers in conjunction with the free access it has in foreign markets overseas.

3) To the extent that China's companies and industries are allowed to set up operations in western countries, if national security is not at risk, it will employ a reciprocal approach with companies/industries wishing to enter its territory.

4) Immediately stop its dumping policy of undervalued goods into foreign markets. If not punitive tariffs will prevail.

5) If foreign countries wish to establish themselves overseas (China) they will be subject not to a free ride, but will be required to pay a special overseas based tax(es) to the home country to be put back into the economy at home. Basically making it less appealing to operate off-shore.

These are steps which may have been discussed, but seemed tabled, indefinitely. The US and EU among others, need to wake up to the situation and the threat it currently faces which will only increase in their economic sectors and take the firm action needed while being able to also make the sacrifices needed to get their economies back from the brink and again have strong and equal trading, production rights, and security for all their citizens.

If a small child makes threat against his parents saying if he doesn't get his way, watch out, what action does the parent take? The same applies to China. If it makes its' usual threats, let it be done, and the US, EU, and others, should not be driven into submission from taking actions which need to be taken to save our economies and countries from collapse. This would be real change in the right direction.

Kai Lamborn
Final copy written in the Sultanate of Oman on October 12, 2010

I am an US national citizen who has been developing and teaching EFL programs at overseas universities throughout the world for the past 23 years. Currently at Buraimi University in Oman.