It is Time to Take Back Our Country from the Politicians

We need to transform this country. To do this we must move beyond the political status quo, and we need a 21st century transformational energy policy NOW!

I got a letter from Al Gore yesterday. OK, so it wasn’t really a letter prepared for me; it was a form letter sent to me because I am on the MoveOn.org mailing list. In many respects, it was similar to many emails and letters I have received during the past 10 years. This particular letter was written on behalf of a group called the DSCC.

The DSCC's purpose is a variation on the familiar theme of “take back America”. This time, they want me to send a donation to assist them in building a filibuster proof Senate with at least 60 Senators from the Democratic party.

I find it amazing that these people want me to join millions of Americans to take America and hand it to them on a gold platter! What they are essentially telling me is "Take back America from the Republicans and give it to us. We'll take care of it and of you."

I have been voting for about 40 years and I am absolutely convinced that none of these people is going to take care of me. Their promises keep getting greater and the debt keeps getting larger. Now it is over $10 Trillion and growing. After multiple Democratic and Republican governments we have no energy plan and we have no funds in the SS trust fund (only IOUs which our descendants will have to pay back). So much for the good life!

I have had enough!

The only way we will take back America is if WE THE PEOPLE take it for ourselves.If you have any doubts about who REALLY owns this country, then the events of the past few weeks should have been a “wake up call”. I am referring to the bill before the congress, HR3997 Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 and the senate version which some cynically call the “No Banker Left Behind” bailout.

If you have been watching the deliberations in the House and the Senate, you should have noticed a strange thing. While the politicians continually rail either for or against it, it is generally described as something that is vital and that “we must have”. But no one can actually say exactly why we must have this specific piece of legislation. I do understand the issues of credit markets seizing, etc. However, why do we need a bill with the specific tenants of this one, such as authorizing our government to use nearly $1 Trillion of taxpayer dollars to purchase distressed assets, including those of “foreign authorities and central banks” at prices which the government has already stated will be “above market value” and therefore just about guaranteed to lose money for the taxpayer? I know this is included in the legislation because I read HR3997, and Secretary Paulson has made testimony to the fact regarding the prices that will be paid. I suggest you go to this link and you will be given a summary of the first 32 pages of the bill and a link to download it:
http://foreverthecynic.blogspot.com/2008/09/full-text-of-hr-3997-emergency-economic.html

The bill gives the Secretary of the Treasury broad powers and has a mechanism to reward the same firms that got us into this mess. Such firms will be hired to manage the money, for a fee:
http://foreverthecynic.blogspot.com/2008/10/secretary-of-treasury-to-be-given-broad.html

Why on earth would we do these things? I don’t know, but everyone from Senator Obama to Senator McCain say it is absolutely vital that we do this, and do it NOW.

I’ll tell you what we really need; we need an energy policy that diverts the flow of the 100s of billions of dollars we send each year to oil rich countries and instead, returns it to our shores, where it can be used to rebuild the manufacturing and infrastructure of this country. But we won’t have the funds to do this unless we first develop our own sources of energy. Then each and every year, those $100s of billions that we don't send to despots and tyrants all over the world will be put to use here, in America. Once we have the power and electrical transmission systems on line, we can transition from oil based automobiles to electrics, which we have simultaneously developed with R&D funds provided to companies right here in the USA. We will have to expand and upgrade our electrical transmission system. We can then use any funds surpluses to alleviate the deficit and we can sell the technology we have developed to others all over the world.

We can become leaders in this 21st century endeavor. Washington is beginning to get the word; today for the first time I heard Senator Obama talk about improved electrical transmission system as part of infrastructure improvements, while defending the “bailout” bill before the Senate. However, Washington has a penchant for moving slowly on most issues.

This is not "new" news. But our politicians have ignored most of this for over 30 years. One must ask, why would they do that? Maybe this problem is simply too complex for them to understand, just like the financial system and markets of this country.

It is vitally important that each and every American get on board and press congress, the Senate and our President, whoever he may be, to make this a national priority of the greatest urgency. This is not something to do tomorrow. It is something that must occur today. This transcends party politics and many of the issues that our politicians use to maintain their status quo.

We can build a better future. Politicians have been talking about a “National Energy Policy” for over 30 years and have done absolutely nothing. NOTHING! There is only one way and that is for us, the citizenry to take back our government from the politicians. We are the owners. We are the taxpayers. It is our country, not theirs. They are but civil servants elected to do our bidding. It is time we began treating them as such and acting like the owners we are. TAKE BACK AMERICA FROM WASHINGTON – NOW!

It is our choice and it is our opportunity. We can continue to support politicians and their failed or non-existent policies or begin looking beyond the hollow issues our politicians use to maintain their status quo. We can live in the past, or we can choose our future. These are exciting times we live in, and to use that often quoted phrase “a crisis is a dangerous opportunity”. Let us not waste it. This election, there is only one platform to vote for and that is for the candidates who have made energy transformation of this country THE priority.

What do YOU think and what are YOU going to do about this?