the new depression?

So everyone is talking about the end of America as we know it. With gas prices at an all-time high (with no apparent end in sight), America's flooded heartland in Iowa, and the poor performance of the stock market as of late, people are worried. And I don't really blame them. The real estate industry is seeing a total slump in most areas. I can attend firsthand that some areas of e-commerce are seeing less sales, even if the cost of gas is making online purchases more desirable. So what do we do now?

Our presidential hopefuls seem to think that they can stimulate our economy in some way and prevent another depression, but I suspect that (like so many former presidents) they are only blowing smoke.

Personally, I am trying to position myself and prepare for the worst. Even if a depression doesn't occur, there is nothing wrong with simplifying your lifestyle, spending less, and trying to live a more self-sustained existence. Of course, the media and the government would prefer that we spend more cash on *things* to try and bolster the economy, but if we spend all of our savings and the economy totally tanks anyway, we will be in much worse shape than if we had some cash saved up.

that middle of nowhere attraction

The older I get, the more disgusted I seem to feel about our society. Look at the morons that we elect for presidents. Look at the laws that we make. Look at the laws that we endure (tax. tax. TAX!), when a clear majority of the population doesn't agree with them. Look at how we allow our choices to be dictated by THE MAN. Yep, I said it - THE MAN. I know it is cliche, but let's face it. THE MAN (or woMAN if Hillary makes her way into office) is stepping all over our liberties on a daily basis. Is our nation so full of imbeciles that we need our government to do all of the thinking and decision-making for us? And do we really want somebody like McCain (who doesn't have the best history of educational achievement), in a position where he gets to decide what is best for us? Geez.

It's all very sickening. And I'm not even your typical bleeding-heart liberal. I had a very conservative upbringing, and still retain some of the more common sense values. But I can also rally behind much of what the liberals are saying. I even empathize with the libertarian point of view that Ron Paul is pushing, but I fear that if it wasn't given enough consideration and careful planning, the "good ole boy" system will return to much of the south. But I see no light at the end of this tunnel.

All in all, it makes me want to turn into one of those survivalist types, and stake out on a few hundred acres of land (off the grid) with my family and a small arsenal to ward off the looters when the apocalypse comes. Am I *that* paranoid? Well...sometimes I guess I am. What's sad is that even an extreme action like this wouldn't protect us the evils of fascism. The government can decide at any moment to seize your land in one fell swoop, reimbursing you with what they feel it is worth. And so it seems that the isolationist approach is just a pipe-dream any longer.

To really escape the horror, one would have to give up all of his possessions. If they can't take anything from you, they can't control you. In other words, become a gypsy. Live your life on the road, constantly moving under the radar. But the money's got to come from somewhere...so you play "illegal" and get an under the table job for a few days here and there. As long as you can get a cell phone signal, you can grab a prepaid cellphone and keep in touch with friends and family while on the road, if you don't mind those calls being tracked.

So, yes, the results of this latest election do nothing to quell my fears of a revolution eventually happening in this country. We're getting the same types of silver-spoonfed corporate profiteering puppets for president as we have been getting for years, so how can they possibly change anything for the better? I am so disenchanted at this point, and I know I am not alone.

choosing the lesser of two evils...again

Well, the polls are nearing a close, and it appears that our choices for this election are going to be Clinton and McCain. Somebody please shoot me now.

At this point, I'm hoping that Ron Paul decides to follow up with his threat to run as independent since he didn't get the Republican vote. I'd rather vote for him than see our country endure either of these two. On the bright side, if somebody like McCain makes it into office, we'll probably see a revolution take place at some point in the near future. Americans can only take so much fascism...

bush acknowledges a suffering economy?

My neighbor was just informing me that there was an article in the paper that Bush just admitted that the economy is worse off than he thought. And this is news? I mean, come on! We're talking about a guy who only a couple of years ago hadn't heard of "The Google". What a complete moron.

But I guess if you live in la-la-land, you may not notice certain things. Like the fact that American workers' 401k plans are falling into the toilet, or that the real estate market is falling apart across the country. Let's face it. Nobody in the white house is ever going to care about the problems of real Americans because they aren't affected by any of them. They're not going to care that social security is doomed, because they don't pay into it. They don't care about tax, pension or business reform because they're covered under some of the most lucrative golden parachute policies in existence. They only push for some sort of change when their corporate sponsors tell them to.

And when one of the "approved" candidates makes it into office and doesn't deliver on any of the changes that they are all promising, will anyone do anything about it? Will the American public hold them responsible for making false promises? Yeah, right. And next they'll revolt.

beware the cult of ron paul

So what's the deal with Ron Paul supporters? They act like born-again Christians or something - almost like a cult. Sure, I like much of what he says, too, but the guy wants to take government control from the feds and hand it down to the state level of government. As much as I'd love to put the power back into the hands of the people, and I understand that he believes that moving it into the state's control is a step in the right direction, it scares the hell out of me to think what the state governments would get away with, if left unchecked by big brother.

Remember how certain states (like Louisiana) had counties that could seize your vehicle if they caught you speeding and you didn't have the $200 in cash to payoff the cop? Remember how bad racism still is in many areas of the South? The only kind of thing that is keeping them in check is the citizen's option to appeal to a higher court. Take that away and we're back to pre-civil wars days all over again. Then again, seeing where some of Ron Paul's campaign contributions are coming from (KKK and white power groups), that only makes sense to me.

That's another thing I don't like about Paul. He accepts money from some of the most belligerent racist groups in the country. Anyone with an ounce of integrity would tear those checks in half.

So who am I voting for? Good question. At this moment, I'm still leaning towards Dennis Kucinich. I like that he doesn't allow anyone to buy him out, and I like much of what he says he stands for. I like the idea of a national healthcare system, too. Call me a socialist, but it seems to work better in other countries than what we've got going here now. The idea of having an already corrupt government take over things like a national health care system is scary, but only if we can't instigate some major changes, and I think Kucinich will. The only thing I've read about him that I don't like are his stances on stricter gun control, and there are also some rumors that have been floating around about his lack of management skills under his previous mayoral terms in Ohio.

The gun control stuff bothers me, but not as much as I would have thought. Americans will never allow their arms to be seized, regardless of whether or not a president is behind it. As for his management skills, I'd rather have someone with poor management skills and god principles than the other way around. He'll have lots of support when in the white house to help brush up on management skills. You can't teach someone integrity, though. They either have it or they don't.