The Federal Reserve has operated in the shadows since its inception in 1913.  While its defenders claim it was designed to give stability to financial markets, what it has really done is preside over the near complete destruction of the dollar.  Since its inception, the dollar has lost more than 95% purchasing power.  ITS LOOSE MONEY POLICY IS ALSO THE CULPRIT BEHIND THE CURRENT ECONOMIC CRISES. By keeping interest rates low rather than allowing the free market to set rates, bubbles were created that eventually burst.    Now they have decided once again, THAT YOU, THE AMERICAN TAXPAYER, HAVE NO RIGHT TO KNOW WHO IS GETTING YOUR MONEY, HOW MUCH THEY RECEIVE,  OR WHAT IT IS BEING USED FOR.  What happened to transparency?

On March 13, 1907, the New York Stock Exchange crashed, triggered by failed speculation of  two brokerage firms.  But, the Shock that set the crash in motion was the San Francisco quake in 1906.  The devastation drew gold out of the world’s major money centers and created a liquidity crunch by  late spring 1907.   Easy credit and wild financial speculation ( sounds a little like 2009)  added to the problem.  Panic erupted!  People were scared and called on the government to intervene.   BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU ASK FOR!

 NEVER LET A CRISES GO TO WASTE

In response to the panic,  the government set up  the National Monetary Commission, create by the Aldrich Vreeland Act of 1908, to inquire into and report on needed or desirable changes to our monetary system and the laws relating to banking and currency.  Senator Nelson Aldrich, as Republican Majority Leader was head of the Commission. Knowing that any real reform would be detrimental to the powerful banking families, and to further his socialist agenda, he turned to J. P. Morgan.  Jekyll Island,  Georgia, purchased by Morgan and a group of wealthy friends for a retreat/hunt club,   WAS TO BECOME THE SITE OF A CONSPIRACY THAT WOULD  FOREVER CHANGE OUR COUNTRY.   Learn more about  J. P. Morgan here                                                

In 1910,  Senator Nelson Aldrich, maternal grandfather of Nelson Rockefeller;  A. Piatt Andrew, former Assistant Economics Professor at Harvard and future Director of the Mint,  Assistant Secretary of the Treasury and Congressman; Frank Vanderlip,  President of National City Bank of  New York and former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury;  Henry P. Norton,  President of (Morgan’s) First National Bank of New York;  Paul Moritz Warburg,  partner in Kuhn, Loeb & Co., and first appointed member of the Board of Directors of the soon to Federal Reserve Bank; and  Benjamin Strong,  an aide of  J.  P. Morgan and future  Board Member of the Federal Reserve, traveled  in secret to Jekyll Island, to write banking and currency legislation.  With Paul Warburg at the helm, the draft proposal was completed in only nine days.  It was Warburg that came up with the name Federal Reserve System and  warned his partners in crime not to use the term “central bank” to describe the proposal.  A very enlightening  book  is  “Secrets of The Federal Reserve”  by Eustace Mullins which can be read on line.

The conspirators returned to New York and   started  a nationwide campaign to sell the newly drafted  “Aldrich Plan”, enlisting  the help of Harvard, Princeton and the University of Chicago, to push their propaganda.  Woodrow Wilson,  Governor of New Jersey and former President of Princeton, was selected as spokesman.   Senator Aldrich presented “his” plan to Congress as a culmination of three years hard work, study, and travel by members of the National Monetary Commission, with expenses of more than $300,000.  You can only imagine the surprise of the other members of the Commission finding out they had written a “plan”.     After much posturing for the voters, debate ended and  the Aldrich Plan, labeled a “central bank scheme,”  and was shelved.   

The Presidential campaign of 1912  reads like it could have come out of yesterday’s headlines.  There was republican Taft running for re-election against  democrat Woodrow Wilson, both with a monetary bill in their platform – Taft had the Aldrich Plan and Wilson the Federal Reserve Act.  No one bothered to inform the voters that both drafts, with few exceptions, were the same or that Paul Warburg was author of both.  Wilson wasn’t drawing much enthusiam from the voters and everyone expected Taft to win re-election but, “fate” had other plans.   Former republican President Teddy Roosevelt threw his hat in the ring on the Bull Moose ticket.  The press, in bed with the wealthy bankers,  covered Roosevelt and pretty much ignored the other candidates.  Roosevelt cut into Taft’s support and,  as amazing as it seems, Woodrow Wilson won.     Of course the bankers were financially backing all three candidate so they had nothing to lose, or did they?  With the democrats firmly in command, the push was on to pass the Federal Reserve Act.

Again posturing for the voters, hearings were held on the “so called new legislation”  but those in opposition were never called to testify.  Paul Warburg and Colonel Edward House, (forerunners of the 2008 “CZARS” movement)   worked behind the scenes, exerting pressure when needed.  After much arguing and debate, the legislation passed on  December 21, 1913.  Of course most members of Congress had left Washington for the Christmas Holidays before the vote was taken.    Doesn’t that sound vaguely familiar? 

Colonel Garrison, an agent of  Brown Brothers Bank would later write that “Paul Warburg was the man who got the Federal Reserve Act together after the Aldrich Plan aroused such nationwide resentment and opposition.  The matermind behind both plans was the Baron Rothschild of London.” 

When the bill passed, Congressman Lindbergh said “this act establishes the most gigantic trust on earth.  When the President signs this bill, the invisible government by the monetary power will be legalized. . .the worst legislative crime of the ages is perpetrated by this banking and currency bill.” 

On the day the bill was signed into law, the Constitution ceased to be the governing covenant of the American people.  We had turned the fate of our country over to a small group of international bankers.   Socialist had not only  wormed their way into key government positions, they were  taking control  of our educational system and held monopolies  in major industries and banking  and,  NOW  they had gained control over our money. 

Woodrow Wilson in 1913 in “The New Freedom“  wrote  ”some of the biggest men in the U.S., in the field of commerce and manufacturing, are afraid of somebody, are afraid of something.  They know that there is a power somewhere so organized, so subtlle, so watchful, so interlocked, so complete, so pervasive, that they had better not speak above their breath when the speak in condemnation of it.”  The book can be downloaded or read on line. 

Wilson later said  “I am a most unhappy man.  I have unwittingly ruined my country.  A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit.  Our system of credit is concentrated,  the growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men.  We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most controlled and dominated governments in the civilized world – no longer a government by free opinion, no longer a government by conviction and the vote of the majorty, but a government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men.”                                                                                                                                                                          

In 1932 Congressman Louis T. McFadden  would say “we have, in this country, one of the most corrupt institutions the world has even known.  I refer to the Federal Reserve Board.  This evil institution has impoverished the people of the United States and has practically bankrupted our government.  It has done this through the corrupt practices of the moneyed vultures who control it.”

“If the American people ever allow the banks to control the issuance of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers occupied.  The issuing power of money should be taken from the banks and restored to Congress and the people to whom it belongs.”    Thomas Jefferson,  “The Story of Our Money,”  by Olive Cushing Dwinell.   

“Control the oil and you can control entire continents.  Control the food and you can control people.”  Henry Kissinger

In 1983 Delta & Pine Land (DPL) joined with the USDA to develope Terminator seed.  According to a patent granted in March, 1998, the patent is jointly owned by DPL and the U.S., as represented by the Secretary of the USDA.  Delta officially declared that one of the purposes of the Terminator seed was to control unauthorized planting of seed varieties by making such practice noneconomic since nonauthorized saved seed would not germinate and therefore useless for planting.   In 1998, Willard Phelps, defined the government’s policy on Terminator seeds saying they wanted it “widely licensed and made expeditiously available to many seed companies.”  It will “increase the value of proprietary seed owned by U.S. seed companies and open new markets in second and third world countries.”  In layman’s terms, it will line the pockets of the haves and empty the pockets of the farmers. 

Terminator is a crop seed that becomes sterile at harvest time assuring that farmers must repurchase seed every year.  The industry argues that the seed offers a built in safety feature that, in case of cross pollination, the new seeds produced would also be sterile and no threat to native plants.  But Terminator technology is a complex system and scientist warm that the seed will not be 100% effective.   The likelihood of system failure means it wouldn’t be a reliable tool for biocontainment and if it did fail, it would introduce new, dangerous, biosafety risks.  The seed has never been field tested but tests are currently being conducted in greenhouses in the U.S.

As a very interesting side note – the largest shareholder in Delta & Pine Land is the Stephen’s Group of Little Rock, Arkansas.  Chairman of the Board, Jon Jacoby came to DPL from the Stephen’s Group.  Stephens is also the largest shareholders in Tyson Foods and Walmart.  The  Group was also involved in the Clinton investigations in Arkansas and the USDA  scandal involving  the Secretary, Mike Espy  who was appointed by Bill Clinton.  Bill actually sent Mike Espy to meet with the President of Tyson Foods before submitting his name to the Senate for confirmation.  One of the first things Espy did was to enact measures weakening federal chicken waste and contamination standards opening the flood gate for expansion of Tyson Foods.  

In 1999, Monsanto announced it was buying DPL and the Terminator patent.  Following worldwide  protests against the seed, Dr. Gordon Conway, President of the Rockefeller Foundation meet with the Monsanto Board of Directors and convinced them to make an announcement that they wouldn’t commercialize the Terminator seed.  Development of the genetic revolution and genetic engineering as a resarch area had been a project of the Rockefeller Foundation and researchers at the Rockefeller University.  The announcement and the decision not to purchase DPL took the pressure off Monsanto allowing them to advance their patented GMO seeds globally.  While Monsanto saw the light, Dan Glickman, USDA Secretary,  refused repeated efforts to drop government support for Terminator, aka Genetic Use Restriction Technology (GURTS).  Harry Collins, DPL Vice President declared in a press interview,  ”we’ve continued right on with work. . .We never really slowed down.  We’re  on target, moving ahead to commercialize it.  We never really backed off.”

In 2001 the USDA and Delta executed a Commercialization Agreement for Terminator and in 2006, Monsanto  purchased Delta and its patent.  The key scientific member of DPL was Dr. Nam Hai Chua who was also head of the Rockefeller Univerisity Plant Molecular Biology Lab in New York.  Until 1995, he had also been a scientific consultant to Monsanto and DuPont’s Pioneer Hi-Bred International.  Since DPL already had subsidaries in Argentina, China, Singapore, Parqaguay, Mexico, Australia, Greece, Brazil and India, Monsanto “inherits”  a ready made market for the seed.   DPL, Monsanto,  The Rockefeller Foundation, Rockefeller University, and the USDA are a common thread thoughout the development of the Terminator.

The USDA stands to earn 5% of net sales if the product is commercialized.  If  Terminator is widely licensed it could mean that the commercial seed industry will enter new sectors of the seed market, especially self pollinating seeds such as wheat, rice, oats and sorghum.  The world’s two most critical food crops – rice and wheat – are staple crops for 3/4’s of the world’s poor.   Control the food – control the people.

Molecular biologists studying the patent have mixed views on the potential ecological hazards of the sterility trait.  The greatest fear is that the sterility trait from first generation seed might spread via pollenation to neighboring crops or wild relatives rending them also sterile, wrecking havoc on the surrounding eco system.

Camila Montecino of the Chilean based Center for Food and Technology says “we will see pressure on the national regulatory systems to marginalize saved seed varieties and clear the way for Terminator.  More than a billion farms are at risk.  This is an immoral technique that robs farming communities of their age old right to save seed.”

If Terminator gains commercial acceptance, (and Monsanto thinks it will since they now have the technology and enough clout with the USDA and the FDA to make it happen,) using the guise of biosafety, sterility will be included in all GMO seeds.  It offers a much stronger monopoly than a patent – NO EXPIRATION DATE; NO EXEMPTIONS FOR PLANT BREEDERS; NO COSTLY LEGAL BATTLES, AN ENDLESS MARKET, AND TOTAL CONTROL OVER OUR FOOD SUPPLY. 

Click here for an earlier, related article.

“I do believe this nation has been portrayed for too long a time to the people as being energy poor, when it is energy rich.” Ronald Reagan

Reagan’s mission as President was to rein in a government he considered an obstacle to economic opportunity and human liberty. He complained the federal government had over-spent, over-estimated and over-regulated.

Supporting Gore, Obama, Pelosi, and Reid; Perriello voted in 2009 in favor of “Cap & Trade” or better known as “Cap & Tax”, the largest middle class energy tax increase in American History!

It  appears now that the Senate is gearing up to pass a ‘Cap & Trade’ travesty, forcing American Businesses to purchase carbon credits at a price now under negotiations, but orginially estimated to be as much as $100 billion. This price will be passed on to YOU, the consumer, in higher utilitiy bills, gasoline prices, services and everything manufactured or transported to include FOOD. Please visit the American Thinker and read the effects of this outrageous bill will have on you and your family.

Since the BP oil disaster, Obama has refused help from other countries to help clean up and possibly stop the oil flow. The President says he’s trying to take political control of this crisis and that’s seems to be exactly what’s he has done…in his political bureacratic gobbledygook that is. He’s using the oil spill to futher his radical agenda to pass Cap & Trade, just as he’s using the drug trafficing, (by doing nothing) along the borders to pass his immigration bill.  BP has said time and time again they will pay for all clean-up and make full restitution for damages. But in the Obama fashion: ‘never let a crisis go to waste’, they  want to seize the opportunity to take CONTROL. Obama wants the money BP would pay in damages put in escrow. (Control is what Obama’s all about.) Can you imagine all the red tape this administration will put those who lost their jobs and businesses through?  And let’s not forget the blood sucking vampires (AKA – the IRS) that want to make everyone pay taxes on the money they would receive. When all is said and done, those harmed by the oil spill will be lucky to get a dime. This is a good example of that ‘Hope & Change’.  Obama’s hoping he gets the money and you get the change.

The technology already exist to clean the oil spill, so why isn’t it being used?

Under the Obama administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has adopted a policy to curtail surface mining in a six-state region, by reducing the practice of filling valleys with excess waste. In March , the EPA proposed to block a ‘mountaintop’ coal mine in West VA  regardless of the company’s federal permit. West VA is a democrat state so what will happen now with the passing of Robert Byrd? Will another democrat take his seat who is 100% for Obama’s solicalistic agenda or 100% for the people who rely on their mining jobs to support their state and families.

“When I was asked earlier about the issue of coal, uh, you know, under my plan of a Cap & Trade System, electricity rates would not necessarily skyrocket.” Barack Obama.

Coal, a fossil fuel, is the largest source of energy for the generation of electricity worldwide. We use coal-generated electricity for numerous things including: heating, cooling, cooking, transportation, farming, and industry. Coal is a versatile fuel, can be used as a solid fuel and can be converted to a gas to replace expensive imported fuels. In terms of supply, the U.S. has over 300 billion tons of recoverable coal. That’s enough to last for 300 years. At this time, coal provides 45.2% of Virginia’s power, 97.8% of West VA’s, 93.1% in Kentucky, 85.8% in Ohio, 94% in Indania and 94.5% in Wyoming.

In the U.S., 23 out of 25 electric power plants generated by coal have lower operating cost than those producing electricity from natural gas. This means lower costs to homeowners and businesses.

In 2008 Obama said, “What I’ve said is that we would put a Cap & Trade System in place that is more – that is aggressive if not more aggressive than anybody else’s out there…so if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can, it’s just that it will bankrupt them because they’re going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that’s been emitted.”

While speaking to a voter in Ohio, Joe (foot-in-mouth) Biden said firmly, “we’re not supporting clean coal.”

The West VA’s  Coal Association’s president and others in the coal industry say they’ve received mixed messages about Obama’s coal-fired power because both Obama and Biden have stated they would support finding cleaner ways to burn coal. Let me clear that up for you…… 

Obama has said he wants to bankrupt the coal industry and it has been reported that no new coal mining permits have been issued since he took office. His plans for coal mining would place tens of thousands out of work. In Pennsylvania there are 264 mines, 282 mines in West VA, Kentucky has 417 and Virginia with 118. That’s a lot of jobs! Obama must feel  it’s okay to add a few extra thousand to the unemployment lines as long as his socialistic agenda gets passed.

I’ll be the first to say Obama has a team of writers who know how to manipulate and sugar coat the facts, But the truth is, if you take a cow pattie and sugar coat it, in the end…. it’s still dung.

For even more information on the Cap & Trade Tax system please go here .

The U.S. government’s fiscal gap is widening by the hour.  The 2009 deficit was  $1.4 trillion and, by the end of this year, the Office of Management and Budget says the gross federal debt will stand at $13.8 trillion.  Bruce Bartlett, a former Reagan economic advisor and supporter of VAT, puts it in terms everyone can understand – “the U.S. needs a money machine.”  They certainly would get it in a VAT.  The Congressional Research Service has estimated that each one percent of VAT would raise a (cool) $50 billion.     The Tax Foundation recently calculated that to balance the federal budget, VAT would have to be at least 18%. 

Because a VAT potentially taxes everything,  it would,  like all other tax laws, be riddled with exemptions.  Using the nanny approach, government could exempt so called “green” goods, certain foods they  think you should consume,  and  automobiles they feel you should drive.   It  could conceivably take years to implement and you know what that means – special interest lobbyists and Congress will carve it up  like a  Thanksgiving Turkey – everyone fighting for the choice meat to put on their plates for the next election.

Since VAT is a tax on the estimated market value it must be added to a product or to material at every stage of its manufacture or distribution.  Both VAT and a National Sales Tax are similar in that the end price would be identical.  The difference lies in the way the tax is levied and collected.  As a example, lets say VAT is set at 10%.  A farmer sells enough oranges to make one quart of  juice for .60 cents – VAT is  .06 cents.  The manufacturer’s cost to produce one quart of juice is $1.00 – VAT has now jumped to .16 cents.  The manufacturer sells the juice to a wholesaler who must add in his costs at .30 cents a quart – VAT hits  .19 cents.  From farmer to retailer, the total cost to bring the juice to market is $1.90 but, as the consumer, you would have to pay the VAT, making the actual purchase price $2.09, or a 10% increase out of your pocket.   Now, multiply that by every item you have in your basket.   Since the VAT is not listed on your sales receipt but is embedded in the price, Uncle Sam is hoping you won’t notice the extra tax you just paid.   This tax will be added to  every item you buy.

What they will neglect to tell you in their sales pitch is that  the accounting and paperwork associated with a VAT will inflate  the initial cost of everything you buy.   The fundamentals of supply and demand suggest that any tax will raise the cost to someone and in the case of VAT, to lots of someones.   The farmer must verify that he is actually selling his product to a manufacturer and issue a certificate of the value of his goods.  The manufacturer must determine that he is not selling his goods to an end seller and provide  a certificate showing the value of the purchase of raw materials plus the value of his cost to manufacturer to the wholesaler.   Then the wholesaler must follow suit when he sells to a retailer.  The retailer has the added burden of not only keeping track of all the paperwork associated with what he sells but filling out the endless paper trail for Uncle Sam when the VAT is paid.  While this may help the job market, it isn’t going to do much for your pocketbook.   That $2.09 orange juice just got a LOT more expensive.    And, it will continue to get even more expense as Uncle Sam slowly but surely increases that cash cow in small increments hoping you won’t notice another penny here and there. 

VAT was sold in Europe as a means to tax consumption with less economic harm than raising their income tax rates.  Unfortunately, it did little to protect their pocketbooks as income tax rates remain very high and VAT continues to grow.   

With the Bush tax breaks set to expire this year, we are already facing massive tax increases.  According to a Heritage Foundation fundraising letter I recently received, the overall tax increase faced by American families, seniors and businesss is $2.4 trillion.  The initial cost of the 18 new Obamacare tax increases, set to take effect next year,  alone  is  $503 billion.

Have you ever stopped to think about the indirect federal  taxes that you  pay in addition to income tax?   There are indirect taxes on gas, coal, diesel, airline tickets, fishing equipment, telephone service, cable, firearms, ammunition, tires, tobacco, alcohol, utilities, wireless, cell phones, ad nauseam.    Then you are hit with the State Income Taxes, Sales Taxes,  and State indirect taxes on utilities, landlines, wireless phone service, State E-911 wireless, public rights-of-way use fees on landline phones, relay center assessment tax on landline phones, gas, tobacco, alcohol, cable, satellite cable and radio,  ad nauseam.  And lets not forget the real estate tax, personal property tax and in some cases added sales tax in addition to the  indirect taxes you pay at the local level for 911, landline and wireless service, utilities, video programming on cable, cable,  ad nauseam.  WHERE DOES IT END?

“Money is time made tangible – the time invested in the earning of it.  Taxation is the confiscation of the earner’s time.  Although some taxation is necessary, all taxation diminshes freedom.  Adding a VAT without subtracting the income tax would constrict  Americans’ freedom much more than the health care legislation does.  Because the 16th will not be repealed, adoption of a VAT would proclaim the impossibility of serious spending reductions and hence would be the obituary for the Founders’ vision of limited government.”     George Will,  Washington Post

Perriello spokeswoman Jessica Barba said Perriello met with and respected those who oppose the health care bill but ultimately made the decision he deemed best for his district. Perriello’s 5th District stretches from Charlottesville to Danville.
“A lot of the political pundits and all the conventional wisdom is saying that this is going to cost him the election next year,” she said. “He didn’t come to Congress to get re-elected.” 11/13/09 Huffington Post

In an article posted by the Daily Press, Charlottesville, VA, Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at UVA said  “Perriello will not only have all the money he needs for his re-election campaign, he will spend as much as just about anyone in the country in 2010 for a House seat, and the Democrats and their affiliated groups are doing everything possible to help him.”

Perriello’s campaign is well positioned with record contributions for the re-election fight. Raising more than $600,000 in the first quarter, his campaign account as of April 1, sits at $1.4 million.

Campaign Finance Director Anna Scholl stated, “Without a dollar of federal lobbyist money and over 7,600 donors, we are proving that a people-powered campaign can win over the big insurance and big energy companies that have dominated our political system for so long. Working and middle-class families of VA know that Congressman Perriello (forgive me for laughing) represents them, not the special interests”.

“Perriello’s fundraising is soaring for the very same reason his career is sinking;” Andy Sere, regional press secretary for the National Republican Congressional Committee commented, “ Left-wing elites from San Francisco to New York City appreciate his willingness to sell out Virginians to push their job-killing agenda”.

Confirmed winner of the 5^th district 2008 congressional race, Perriello won by a mere 727 votes over incumbent Virgil Goode. “I am humble that voters entrusted me with this sacred duty. I am eager to represent the entire district as we work together to put our communities back on the path to economic revival.” Perriello said.

Perriello’s first vote was to confirm Pelosi as speaker of the house. Does anyone know what was wrong with that vote?

A yea vote on the stimulus bill, which did not boost the economy or created any jobs; that is unless you work paving roads; but then who needs roads when there are no jobs to drive to…not to mention it was loaded with PORK, PORK, and more PORK placing another burden on the taxpayers. More TAX!

Along comes Government Controlled Healthcare, which the majority of the  people did not want. Letters were written, emails were sent, phone calls were made, petitions were signed, and protest rallies and town hall meetings were attended against the takeover of our Healthcare system; our voices went unheard.  We are saddled with another piece of legislation that is bad for the economy and……………. oh yea, more added tax.

Perriello at signing of Healthcare Bill

(Is that a smile or a smirk?)

So lo and behold, here comes the Nationalized Student Loans which Perriello once again votes with the far-left…stating “the bill made ‘significant investments’ in American Education.”  Excuse me! Let’s check that one out…The “Government Banker” (the education secretary in Washington) will be calling all the shots. The Education Department will borrow money at 2.8% from the Treasury, lend it to you at 6.8% and spend the difference on new programs. You will work longer to pay off your student loans to help pay for someone else’s education, and to help your US Representative’s re-election. Example: If your loan debt is $24,651 and are assuming a 10yr. repayment at 6.8%, you pay roughly $9,400 in interest. Now multiply the $9,400. by 15 –19 million loans. That’s a lot of moo-la for their new programs and their new programs create new government jobs, which are taxpayer funded, so we’re back to…more taxes.

You do know the government had to take over all of the student loans because of all those greedy bankers. Right?

Perriello says he was ‘standing up for Americans with his vote for the “American Workers State & Business Relief Act,” claiming the bill will boost jobs and close the loopholes for companies outsourcing jobs overseas. Although the bill does make it more expensive for companies to outsource jobs by removing the tax credit, sadly this bill was loaded with PORK as well. What Perriello failed to admit was the bill also increases the federal deficit by another $123 billion, adding yet another tax burden on the backs of the taxpayers. If he calls this standing up for the Americans, I sure wish he would sit down.

In case you missed it, this video more than proves my point.

Voting against an amendment by Representative Lewis of California that would have prohibited the closure of the Guantanamo (GITMO) Bay facility, Perriello cast the deciding vote, siding with Pelosi to bring the detainees to Virginia. Joining him were Reps. Boucher, Connolly, Moran and Scott. Tim Johnson of Illinois and Ron Paul of Texas, both Republicans, voted with the majority as well.

Supporting Gore, Obama, Pelosi, and Reid; Perriello voted in 2009 in favor of  “Cap & Trade”, better known as “Cap & Tax,” the largest middle class energy tax increase in American History.

Visit this website for an interesting read.

Perriello Protests: ‘Police warn of arrest for trespassing’ /Tea Partiers Protest Perriello Office Protest Rules.

I visited Perriello’s website today, (June 22,2010), clicked  ‘Rep. Perriello Announces Stimulus Loan to Create Jobs In Martinsville’…the page was blank. I was hoping for a better plan.

Since the 2008 election we have seen Perriello’s ‘economic revival’ plummet to the point that our economy is one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel. Unemployment is at an all time high, businesses are closing, jobs are headed overseas, we have been inundated with taxes and our Constitution has all but been flushed.

For those of us with common sense, who actually read and comprehend what we have read, we see the wreckage this administration has placed on our country. If something isn’t done to stop the madness, freedom will be just a word found in the dictionary.

Once a tax is imposed it never goes away and the excessive taxes this administration has imposed on us makes each of us a slave to the government system.

Due to the reckless spending of Washington, every man, woman and child in America is now responsible for $42,000 of the national debt.  Yet this does not seem to startle the ruling Democratic party. 

Even with high unemployment and Americans struggling to make ends meet, Congress has continued its spending spree, courtesy of the American taxpayer and foreign banks, say Jordan and Price: 

• This year, the federal government will take in about $2.1 trillion in revenue while spending $3.6 trillion.
• For the average American, it’s equivalent to spending $85,000 on a $50,000-per-year salary; that is unsustainable.
• Most families could not afford to put an extra $35,000 on their credit card, even for one year, but the federal government plans to do it for the next nine years. 

Both parties are to blame, say Jordan and Price: 

• Federal spending increased from $2.7 trillion under the last year of a Republican Congress in 2007 to a projected $3.6 trillion under Democratic control in 2010.
• During that time, our national debt has increased by 50 percent to $13 trillion.
• Astonishingly, we have added more to the national debt in the past five years ($5 trillion) than was added under the first 41 presidents, combined. 

How much more must we borrow and spend before Congress begins to rein it in, ask Jordan and Price? 

• The interest on our debt alone is unsustainable; this year, we are estimated to pay $209 billion, and within 10 years, annual interest payments on our debt are expected to reach almost a trillion dollars.
• That is equivalent to Congress passing new TARP legislation every year!

(Source: Rep. Jim Jordan and Rep. Tom Price, “Can We Balance the U.S. Budget? Yes, But Only If We Cut Spending,” Investor’s Business Daily, June 22, 2010.)

Feudalism

Monsanto has obtained over 650 patents on both genetically engineered techniques and genetically engineered (GE) seed varieties of corn, canola, soybean, potato,  alfalfa, and wheat.   By systematically purchasing or merging with existing seed companies, they have obtained dominance   over the sale and use of crop seed.  A December 2009 Associated Press investigation into Monsanto’s business practices revealed that they have control over as much as 95% of all soybeans and 80% of all corn grown in the United States.  “At issue is how much power one company can have over seeds, the foundation of the world’s food supply“. 

Monsanto’s monopoly has lead to major price increases for farm see.  Agriculture Department figures show that since 2001,  corn seed prices have risen 135% and soybean seed prices 108%.  American  Farmers are hard pressed to find quality, conventional varieties of  corn, soy and cotton seeds to plant.  “You can’t even purchase them in this market.  They are not available.”

In order to plant GE seed varieties, farmers must first sign a Technology Agreement  effectively giving Monsanto control, not only over the purchased seed, but over the plants and harvested crops.  Farmers are strictly forbidden from saving seeds for next year’s crop guaranteeing  Monsanto’s future profits.  Farmers also must agree to give up private property rights and any right to privacy of personal records held by third parties.  Monsanto’s army of investigators and attorneys can show up at any time to check farmers planting records and take samples of their crops.  They also have access to USDA Farm Service Agency crop reports which gives them information on any additional property the farmer may own, whether planted or not, and information on adjacent farm land.  Due to natural pollination and seed dispersal, Monsanto has the right to go on adjacent farms to test for crop contamination of patented traits and, if contamination has occurred, those crops essentially  come under Monsanto’s control.  Even a single purchase of GE seeds can lock farmers into a potentially lifetime contract.  Once seed traits have proliferated a crop, removing it in order to revert to conventional seed is extremely difficult and expensive, leaving many farmers helpless to escape.  With an annual budget of $10 million dollars and a staff of 75 devoted to investigating and prosecuting farmers, Monsanto actively pursues lawsuits for breach of contract or patent infringement.  Combined financial penalties have forced numerous farmers into bankruptcy. 

Through extensive lobbying of  state legislators, and pre-emptive laws,  Monsanto has been effective in squashing local laws written to control use of GE seeds.    Laws enacted at the state level usually set minimum requirements and allow for passage and enforcement of local ordinances.    Pre-emptive legislation reverses this norm.

The FDA is aiding and abetting Monsanto’s domination of our food supply by incorporating Monsanto “inspired” regulations which has all but prevented farmers from saving conventional seeds.  The FDA determination  that seed cleaning equipment is a source of seed contamination now forces farmers and small seed companies  to invest millions into new “certified” equipment, buildings, storage facilities, harvesting and transportation equipment.   See This article for supporting information.

A former lobbyist and Monsanto employee, Michael Taylor, our new Food Safety Czar, is now a key adviser to the FDA’s Commissioner of Food and Drugs.  Taylor’s career began as an FDA attorney in 1976.  He left the agency in 1981 to work as a private attorney and lobbyist for Monsanto.  When he rejoined the FDA in 1991, as deputy commissioner for policy he wrote a “white paper” (an authoritative official declaration) on the safety of bovine growth hormones (rbGH) assuring that farmers using rbGH would not be required to label their products.  This gave Monsanto another opportunity to increase their profits by suing  dairy farmers that labeled their products rbGH free.   Michael Taylor left the FDA in 1998 and once again joined Monsanto as Vice President for Public Policy, where he remained until 2000.  Until his appointment by the Obama administration, he worked in academic and research settings at George Washington University’s School of Public Health and Health Services, gaining him the title of a nationally recognized “food safety expert”. 

Taylor is not the only former Monsanto employee at the FDA.  Margaret Miller,  while working at Monsanto, as a chemical laboratory supervisor,  was asked to prepare necessary scientific reports for the FDA on the safety of rbGH.  Shortly before the reports were submitted, she left Monsanto and went to work for the FDA.  Her first FDA assignment?  To determine whether or not to approve the safety reports on rbGH that she had written while employed at Monsanto.   With the assistance of another former Monsanto employee, Susan Sechen, the reports were approved.

Take a Look at this USAToday article for details.

 The following is a summary of Ms. Ghilarducci’s proposals:

-GRAs are universal 401(k)s, except that the government will invest and manage the pooled savings. Participation is mandatory, except for workers participating in equivalent or better employer defined-benefit plans where contributions are at least 5% of earnings and benefits take the form of life annuities.

- Contributions equal to 5% of earnings will be deducted along with payroll taxes and credited to individual accounts administered by the Social Security Administration. The 5% contribution will be split equally between employee/employer. Mandatory contributions are deducted on earnings up to the Social Security cap. Contributions from husbands and wives are combined and equally divided between their respective accounts. Workers and employers have the option of making additional contributions with post-tax dollars.

- Eligibility is extended to part-time workers, caregivers of children under the age of six and anyone collecting unemployment benefits.

- Employee contributions are offset through a $600 refundable tax credit which will replace current tax breaks offered on 401(k)s and IRAs. If an individual’s annual contribution is less than $600, some or all of the tax credit will be deposited directly into their account to ensure an annual deposit of not less than $600.

- Current 401(k)s and IRAs will not be abolished but contributions will no longer be pre-tax, and when the GRA goes into effect, they will be treated under the old tax rules.

- Accounts will be administered by the Social Security Administration and funds managed by a Thrift Savings Plan or similar body. Thrift Savings Plans will have their own trustees appointed, half by the President, with approval of the Senate, and, half by Congress. TSP will then hire commercial money managers to invest pooled funds.

- The Government will guarantee a rate of return no lower than 3%, adjusted for inflation. If the Trustees determine that actual investment returns have been consistently higher over a number of years the surplus will be distributed, although a balancing fund will be maintained to ride out periods of low returns.

- Account balances are converted to inflation-indexed annuities at retirement to ensure that participants do not outlive their savings. Funds cannot be accessed before retirement for any reason other than death or disability. Participants who die before retiring can bequeath half of their account balance to heirs. Participants who die after retiring can bequeath half of their remaining balance, less benefits received, to their heirs.

- State and local governments will be required to report marriages, deaths, and unemployment insurance benefits to the Social Security Administration. Public sector employees not currently eligible for social security will be required to enroll and participate.

- Government will retain the right to lower the guaranteed return and allow employees to access their funds in the event of a protracted slump.

The briefing paper, Guaranteed Retirement Account: Toward Retirement Income Security, can be read in its entirety at the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis (SCEPA) or downloaded in PDF format from the Economic Policy Institute at www.Sharedprosperity.org.

The democratic agenda to overhaul the private retirement system was put on the backburner due to the year long fight over healthcare reform but, is once again rearing its “ugly” head.

HR 2748 and S 1279 were introduced in December 2009, to set up special tax breaks for annuities. As of May 14, 2010, these bills were still in committee. The bills can be tracked at

Mark Iwry, Obama’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy for Retirement and Health Policy, has offered his own proposals, seeking to employ the principles of “behavioral economics” to encourage greater use of annuities. The Treasury Department and The Labor Department have already opened up a regulatory process to alter investment incentives for fund managers to begin pumping money into government approved investments. In February, the White House released its Annual Report on the Middle Class which contain new regulations favored by big labor, including a bailout of the critically under-funded union pensions. Radical solutions proposed by big labor is the seizure of private 401(k)s for government distribution. In conjunction with the report’s release, the Administration issued, through the Department of Labor and Treasury, a request for information regarding the annuitization of 401(k) plans through Lifetime Income Options, in the form of a notice to the public of proposed changes in rules and regulations. The report can be read at www.whitehouse.gov.

House Republicans, expecting to see legislation this year, sent a letter to the US Department of Labor, and Timothy Geithner warning the Obama Administration to keep their hands off the retirement savings of Americans and reject any proposals that would dismantle or nationalize the 401(k) system in favor a government run retirement security regime. www. HumanEvents.com/article.php?id.36823.

World Net Daily posted an article on May 4, of this year, linking the SEIU, the AFL-CIO, The Economic Policy Institute, Pension Rights Center and the National Committee to Preserve Social Security, as mounting an effort to create a government mandated retirement account system. They are calling their effort “Retirement USA” with a mandate to ensure that all workers in the U.S. have a right to a government account that would fund a secure retirement. “Our goal is to involve all workers and all employees in a government mandated retirement program with the government putting up the difference for lower paid employees”. The full article, “Obama ally targets 401(k) dollars, by Jerome R. Corsi, can be read at www.wnd.com

Labor unions see advantages in creating a new class of workplace retirement programs as an entitlement.

With the Obama Administration needing to raise nearly $1.5 trillion just to cover this year’s federal budget deficit and the Federal Reserve discontinuing efforts to purchase Treasury debt, the Obama Administration is looking at 401(k) and IRA accounts as trillions of dollars that could be forced into Treasury bonds to finance the federal deficit.

A mere 3% return on savings would only double the GRA account value every 24 years. If you are 41 and have $20,000 in a 401(k), it would only be worth $40,000 at age 65 in a GRA.

GRAs would not give assurance of protection of retirement funds . The government could strip the new mandatory retirement plan at any time and use the assets within the general fund, as it has consistently done with social security. There is currently 4.5 trillion dollars invested in 401(k)s. The transfer of this wealth to the federal government could destroy the financial markets. It would be the biggest loss of wealth and seizure of public assets in world history.

Keep in mind that the new CBO (Congressional Budget Office) cost estimate for the health care costs has been increased by $115 Billon dollars! Here is a Washington Times Article detailing the CBO estimate.