Hey, here's some interesting stuff. A governor who wishes to forgo the "stimulus" money may be forced to take it anyway by its own state representatives! What? The stimulus money has some major tentacles attached to it, in that the states are required to enlarge their entitlement programs (welfare, unemployment) upon the receipt of the federal money. When the federal money runs out, which it will after two years (if our federal government doesn't bankrupt the country first), the state is required to continue the program on its own dime. Well, some of these governors are actually considering the dilatory effects this continuation of entitlements would create and are wisely inclined to decline the federal funds. Well, if that state is full of die-hard democrats who would really love to see the government control of people's lives enlarged, these state reps. can vote to overrule the decision of the governor! What the hell? It's like the federal government is engaging in some sort of demented extortion; a schoolyard bully demanding his way, either now or in the parking lot after school. Nice job, Obama administration, once again cornering your opposition and leaving them no reasonable option for protecting their state from burdensome tax increases and oppressive government intervention. So what's the point of having a governor? Hmmm. Imagine that G.E., big corporation, was giving its shareholders a "stimulus" option which came with some onerous requirements. Some shareholders would prefer to pass on it in favor of keeping their options open and freedom of choice. Well, part of the framework of the "stimulus" for the corporation came with a loophole that anyone who voted against it could basically be silenced and their votes overruled by the other shareholders. This is big-time extortion! Like what the mob would come up with if they put their "rules of the road" in writing! It is disgusting. Wake up people and make some noise!

Oh wait, I forgot, those of us with a voice who might want to make some noises of protestation of this insanity in our federal government are too busy trying to make a living so that the government can spend our money and raise our taxes so that we can bail out all the people who should not be homeowners! What happened to sitting down before you bought something and figuring out if you could afford it? Homes need maintenance and require insurance, property taxes to be paid, lawns to be mowed. These things factor in!

If my memory serves, the "reinvestment" stimulus package was signed by Mr. Obama just about 10 days ago. Well, this was a spending spree of magnificent proportions. $787 billion dollars, borrowed, which means interest will be owed, and lots of this money going toward totally ridiculous programs which have nothing stimulating about them. It is so interesting to me that now, 10 days after this spending-like-a-drunken-sailor event is made into law, Mr. Obama comes on the national news, upbraiding the federal government for its spending practices and declaring that his goal is to cut the federal deficit in half in the next two years. Wow, that some sleight of hand this guy has. The left hand is spending money that is not there, while the right hand is preaching of restraint and fiscal responsibility. Bit of a problem with hypocrisy there, don't ya think? Haven't heard a lot of CNN folks calling him to the carpet on it, either. Unbelievable.

My final little blurb is about Mr. Obama's "historic" economic and fiscal responsibility summit held yesterday in D.C. It appeared that he basically assembled 100 or so of his faithful kool-aid drinkers and a smattering of opponents from the republican party (just to make it appear fair). They all got together and met about a variety of subjects, then came back to a briefing room to discuss their meetings. It spiraled quickly into a worship session with Obama as the messiah and his followers blurting out their praise for his leadership and how grateful they are to be in his presence. I felt like I was watching some demented version of the Stepford Wives in government format. Are they putting some date rape drug or some other substance in the water of these federal bureaucrats? It was no surprise to me that the people espousing their unabashed praise and adulation of Mr. Obama were democrats or "community activists" who were no doubt delighted that Mr. Obama had just filled their troughs with enough cash to get them through the next few years of their lame projects. A few conservative types were allowed a brief, feeble plea for fairness in the congressional debate (remember, Nancy Pelosi quickly changed congressional rules which basically cut the voice boxes from anyone in the minority party some time back, once she became speaker of the house). Mr. Obama replied that basically the majority would prevail, and added that the republicans needed to be "constructive" in the debate process. No doubt, he is referring to the fact that only three republicans in the federal government were in favor of his "reinvestment" shenanigans and the others, standing on principles of conservatism, voted their conscience and against him. He clearly does not think that a vote against him, or those who would dare to question the motives or means of a piece of legislation, is "constructive". Let's then rewrite the meaning of the word "constructive" to mean "rollover and shut up". Okay, I get it. Anyway, the tone of this summit and its press release on the news was totally disturbing in its bias.

Done for now! Let's speak up people. Tell others what is going on. Know the facts. Let's not get depressed over it, but rather energize the argument and don't let our country fail for lack of involvement from you.