There is probably no one in America who;  is of voting age, has any amount of money, has or is looking for a job, can read and has a lick of sense,  that does not have some level of concern about where our country is heading and what our future holds economically.  Consider me in this group, although some might question the “lick of sense” issue.

As if you haven’t made your own mental list of what we are now facing here is a good start.

FINANCIALLY we have staggering US debt that has tripled in just the last 2 years through stupid, non productive, pork barrel spending, designed, arguably, to further control a portion of our population hell-bent on getting something for nothing and increasing political power.  Globally, we see all of Europe, especially Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain drowning in a sea of debt from decades of egregious spending patterns that allows people to retire in their 50′s with salaries almost equal to their working wages.  Continental Europe’s dominate currency, the Euro, is in grave peril.  Even though our own financial house is built on sand, there is an occasional flight to US Bonds, illustrating that we are probably just the tallest midget in the room.

In SOCIETY, un-employment is expanding.  The tax burden is increasing in spite of  historical data that shows that by  reducing tax rates production is increased and tax revenues rise.  Counter intuitive but true.  The resulting unrest in our society is growing exponentially.   The entitlement driven group on one side faces off against  over burdened taxpayers and job producers on the other resulting in growing polarization within our society.  Often this battle breaks down along racial lines.

POLITICALLY there is also exploding polarization.  Obama has proven to be an empty suit, devoid of both truth and the experience to deal with issues apart from spending money we don’t have to to solve problems created by spending too much money.  The housing bubble was caused by “encouraging” people to borrow  excessively to buy houses they couldn’t pay for and then ask prudent people….tax payers….to pay for these excesses. Barney Frank and Chris Dodd should be pillared for their part in this fiasco.   When there was recent move to require 5% down on loans to potential house buyers, Dodd said,  “that is unfair because then only people who could afford it could buy a house.”  These people live among us folks…..and they vote….and sometimes they are elected to lead us.  God help us!  The reason for our impending collapse is so clear that Stevie Wonder could see it…..a pervasive entitlement philosophy that perpetuates enslavement to a lack of responsibility.

These issues put you and me in between the catalytic duo of….mortar and pestle. Our global world is the mortar, The American People (I hate to hear politicians use this phrase….it seems so hollow given what they try to do to us) are the collective material contained therein and our liberal government is the pestle…grinding away at our minds, wealth and future.  This precipitates volatility in all segments of economic life WORLDWIDE.  We have to do something to prepare for the  retirement or worse yet, incapacitation, that we inevitably face   The question, therefore, is where do you invest your assets?

Understand that this is not to be considered as personal investment advice for you.  I simply lay these thoughts out for consideration.  The DJIA is currently at roughly 10,000.  I doubt it will be there a year from now.  I bet it is either significantly higher or significantly lower.  Likewise, interest rates are at almost all time lows.   For them to decline would mean severe recession or depression.  Rising interest rates would signal inflation, which if taken to the extreme could be “run away inflation.”   Gold is currently priced at about $1200 an ounce, only slightly below its all time high.  My guess is that it will be above $2000 or below $500 an ounce a year from now but not at its present level.

We have never been in the global peril we are in today regarding sovereign stability of currency worldwide.  The consideration of a hedge using gold or silver has the lustre never before seen.  Gold did reach $800 an ounce in the early 80′s but did so largely on the fear of runaway inflation.  Currency collapse was not a  major fear at that time..  The threat of major sovereign currency problems does exist today.  Thus, gold could have some value as a hedge in many portfolios.

We all should weigh these assets in light of our own time horizon, risk tolerance and return objectives as we allocate assets to the various classes of investments.  Seek good counsel.  Think outside the box.  Consider the track record of those giving you advice.  Also, consider how your advisor is being paid…..by transactions or by value provided.  Move cautiously, but move!

When making investment decisions today, how does it feel to be between the mortar and the pestle?

So, now it’s OK to take advantage of our OWN oil resources (remember “Drill, Baby Drill!” and all of the angst THAT idea brought to the left?), the President decides to ‘secretly’ (can you say “blatant reverse psychology manipulation of the press”?) go visit our brave soldiers in Afghanistan, AND we’re pledging to get tough on terrorism….something STINKS. Have we ever heard him (our Marxist President) say or do ANYTHING even remotely indicating he even likes this place? Likes our independence? Respects our honorable military?…nope…I don’t buy it.

Of course, he’s never faced an upcoming election period that could cost his Socialist agenda dearly, either. I have a feeling he will do everything he can think of to make himself appear to be something he’s not, nor has any intension of being between now and this November. I bet he even becomes (falsely) more of a ‘centrist’ by all appearences…but don’t fall for it! I certainly won’t…

Amidst all this chaos…God loves me…

THAT’S what all the furor was about? A warm fuzzy with a little humor thrown in to spice it up? Were they serious about protesting so loudly to CBS to drop the ad? I’d like for the NOW (National Organization for Women) ladies, as well as the Planned Parenthood folks to point out the evil intentions of the Focus On The Family Super Bowl ad. It just isn’t there in plain sight. None of us were able to fully understand the mean spiritedness of it…We need help from our left leaning organizations to ‘see’ the harmful nature of it since we are lowly, stupid, blind, Bible thumping, gun toting followers of the under-educated right wing…

Perhaps if Joy Behar had been calling the game for us, she could have taken a second to point out the hate speech contained in the Tebow ad…..Oy VEY!

Amidst all this chaos…God loves me…

It’s the time of year again when we reflect on the things we are truly thankful for~family, friends,  living in this great country of ours.  The 9/12_Project  website pretty much sums up how we at JTIU feel about life here in these United States.  Visit the website, join the ‘movement’, we’ll get this country back on track.

In the meantime, as you meditate on the things big and small that you are thankful for, think on these things as well:
 

The 9 Principles

1. America Is Good.

2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life.

God “The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.” from George Washington’s first Inaugural address.

3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.

Honesty “I hope that I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider to be the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.” George Washington

4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.

Marriage/Family “It is in the love of one’s family only that heartfelt happiness is known. By a law of our nature, we cannot be happy without the endearing connections of a family.” Thomas Jefferson

5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.

Justice “I deem one of the essential principles of our government… equal and exact justice to all men of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political.” Thomas Jefferson

6. I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results.

Life, Liberty, & The Pursuit of Happiness “Everyone has a natural right to choose that vocation in life which he thinks most likely to give him comfortable subsistence.” Thomas Jefferson

7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.

Charity “It is not everyone who asketh that deserveth charity; all however, are worth of the inquiry or the deserving may suffer.” George Washington

8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.

On your right to disagree “In a free and republican government, you cannot restrain the voice of the multitude; every man will speak as he thinks, or more properly without thinking.” George Washington

9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.

Who works for whom? “I consider the people who constitute a society or a nation as the source of all authority in that nation.” Thomas Jefferson

The 12 Values

* Honesty

* Reverence

* Hope

* Thrift

* Humility

* Charity

* Sincerity

* Moderation

* Hard Work

* Courage

* Personal Responsibility

* Gratitude

From all of us here at JTIU, Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Amidst all this chaos . . . God loves me . . .

Breathe in. Breathe out. Now, back in, and out. Eat. Take a bath. Get some sleep … grow up, find a mate, or not … move out of your parents house … try NOT to move back in … try to make more than you spend … if you spend too much, stop it …

Come on, have we ‘advanced’ so far in this computer/electronic age that we actually require a LIFE COACH? I understand we sometimes need counseling, or financial planning help, resume’ assistance, job placement help … but HELP WITH YOUR WHOLE LIFE?

Perhaps this is a government sponsored program. So THAT’S where all that TARP money went …

Amidst all this chaos . . . God loves me . . .

Growing up watching Dad fly-fish while I used a ‘cane-pole’ got old pretty quick on those family vacations. It seems every time Dad would take the time to ‘teach’ me to “be patient”,  and to “let the rod do the work”, “remember ten o’clock-two o’clock” etc, I’d tangle it all up, quickly throw something, whine and complain, then BOOM.  There I’d be, back to standing there with a ‘cane-pole’ watching his effortless casting that looked like Tinkerbelle waving that wand. It made absolutely NO sense for this skilled sportsman to say those things to me, “he must be daffy” I’d think, or “he’s telling me the opposite because he doesn’t want me to learn” and then I’d try it my own way. What I would give to go back in time, abandon that ridiculous, youthful notion that I really knew better. He was so wise about EVERYTHING at a time when I believed he was completely clueless. He was the same way in teaching me about horses~that a tiny movement with my little finger was enough to send the right signal to my horses mouth . . .in my stupidity, I ‘knew better’ . . . that jerking the reins hard enough to get his attention was the way to go. I was about as flexible at learning as a brick. I wonder how much of Dads fishing gear I ruined and horses I soured?

At 14 or so, I was scared enough of him to at least look like I was trying it his way, and so finally it clicked. What do you know? That beautiful, soul rhythm portrayed in “A River Runs Through It” really can be had by the average Joe . . .or Jane as in this case. And it’s not about catching fish, though that’s a fun part of the sport. It’s about living in rhythm. We love Fly-fishing even now, and it seems like every time we go, I can hear Dad’s voice in my mind~”Not yet, wait, let the rod do the work. Don’t lose your load.” That was the one thing he’d say over, and over, and over, “Don’t lose your load.” That took me about 6 years to understand what it even meant. Fly line floats. When it’s floating out in front of you, and it’s time to cast it out again, logic says to jerk it with force and sling it hard backward, then with mighty force fling it forward again. That’s what I tried for all those brick-headed years. That’s why every time, the fly line landed in a heap either in front of me or right behind. (I can hear his voice in my head here) When you lift the line up to cast again, the friction of the floating line against the water loads your rod ( that’s why the tip of your rod bends. That energy has to go somewhere.). When you stop your ‘cast’ at the ten o’clock’ mark, that’s when your rod does the work. The energy stored in the rod tip is what forces the line straight back behind you. The hardest part is to STOP at ten o’clock, and let that rod do the work! Then, when you move your arm forward, STOP at two o’clock~again, hard to do~and let the rod move that line straight out in front of you. It defies logic. If you’ve ever tried it and given up, please try again. It can be done, and it’s a lot less work than you think.

What does all that have to do with politics? Not much. Just like fly-fishing has little to do with catching fish. It’s about living, in rhythm. In the last few years, we’ve seen an unprecedented amount of spending . . . of money that doesn’t exist. Obama has just brought it to everyones attention because he wants to spend more of this imaginary money. We’ve got very serious problems in the health care system, and major changes need to happen. So why is the public so against the Pelosi bill? Because we don’t know what it is, and it may bankrupt us, that’s why. Is it because 60%  or more Americans want the uninsured to suffer because they can’t pay 700 dollars for an aspirin? No. Something has to change in our ‘big picture’, the whole climate of this country needs to shift. It’s time to re-cast. So far, this administration has made the same mistakes I made when I was ten. They are trying to force this legislation (among others) down our throats, just like I tried to force that fly line way out behind, then in front of me. Yesterdays election results in New Jersey and Virginia are this administrations fly line piling up in a heap. Stop the shotgun approach, learn from what works, and let’s do this right within the boundaries of The Constitution. Health care is not a ‘right’, but we ought to be able to take care of people in need. Let’s do this with wisdom, compassion and thoughtfulness.

The Republicans are standing by silently with their ‘cane-pole’, and the Democrats are busy trying to untangle. This is OUR opportunity. The American spirit MUST rise and do this thing ourselves. Politicians ain’t gettin nowhere. If we’re going to keep this Republic, and I think we should, we need to teach these guys how to fly-fish. I believe we are finally getting Washington’s attention~they work for US.

The “grass roots” movement we’ve seen in the last couple of months isn’t Republican OR Democrat. It’s American. Let’s not get frustrated or give up. Our best days are ahead of us. . . if we don’t lose our load.

Amidst all this chaos . . . God loves me . . .

A friend of this website sent us the following, and we couldn’t HELP but share it with you! Thanks CD, for sending this to us. Whoever the original author is, summed up a few of the differences between liberals and conservatives better than most . . . enjoy:

If a conservative doesn’t like guns, they don’t buy one. If a liberal doesn’t like guns, then no one should have one.

If a conservative is a vegetarian, they don’t eat meat. If a liberal is vegetarian, they want to ban all meat products for everyone.

If a conservative sees a foreign threat, he thinks about how to defeat his enemy. A liberal wonders how to surrender gracefully and still look good.

If a conservative is homosexual, they quietly enjoy their life. If a liberal is homosexual, they loudly demand legislated respect.

If a black or Hispanic American is conservative, they see themselves as independently successful. Their liberal counterparts see themselves as victims in need of government protection.

If a conservative is down-and-out, they think about how to better their situation. A liberal wonders who is going to take care of them.

If a conservative doesn’t like a talk show host, they switch channels. Liberals demand that host’s they don’t like be shut down.

If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn’t go to church. A liberal wants all churches to be silenced.

If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it. A liberal demands that his neighbor pay for his.

Amidst all this chaos . . . God loves me . . .

Well, Nancy Pelosi says we’re weeks away from having H.R. 3200 Health Care bulldozed down our throats like a goose in preparation to become foie gras.  Just like the genie can’t be put back in the bottle, you can’t ‘un-see’ something or ‘un-ring’ a bell . . . I fear that once this (ravenous, nasty, stinking, clumsy, spitting) camel has his nose under the tent it’s just a matter of time before he’s all the way under wreaking havoc . . . in every aspect of our lives. He won’t just stand there in the corner, ya know . . .

It’s become increasingly apparent that our current president doesn’t only want to  “fundamentally change the United States of America”. After all the apologizing, in addition to throwing Israel under the bus (God HELP us!) . . . he wants the majority of the world to love him so that he can put into motion an eventual ‘One World Order’. Yes, I’ve said it HERE while I still can: Barack Obama is an ambitious, intentional liar, and he wants to rule the world. If I’m still alive, call me crazy twenty years from now.

You know what the socializing of medicine means to us, don’t you? Beyond health care, eventually it means that fat-nanny government knows whats best for us to do for a living, how much we should make, what we can own and use, where/how we travel, what we should eat, what our beliefs should/should not  be, and among other things, how long we should live needing assistance. Of course there are some (very FEW in comparison) good things in this bill, but real wisdom reminds me that “A little leaven, leavens the whole loaf”. It’s NOT a Republican or “Right wing conspiracy”, Mr. former President Lech . . . it’s a right vs. wrong thing . . . just like it was when you were chasing skirts around “The Resolute”. Believe me, I don’t like the Republicans any more than I like the Democrats right now. They’re all grand-standing to keep THEIR jobs.

If it’s true, that we are “weeks away”, what can WE do? For starters, in a recent podcast Crash served up a great reminder: 2 Chronicles 7:14 in the Bible says, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. So. . . firstly get your vertical relationship right, then work on the horizontal ones. Life is just better when you’re living right, even when circumstances around you are horrible!

Secondly, you’d better start getting aggressive with your own health. This week, my husband and I have determined that we are going to start doing just that~watching what we eat, and exercising together regularly. We don’t have much choice. If this health care bill passes in ANY form, we can’t just ‘coast’ into our 60′s, 70′s & 80′s and believe that regular Dr. visits will guide us along with treatments and the occasional joint replacement surgery. That ain’t happening. So, as I said this bill has a few good things in it, and maybe one of the side effects is that we get in a little better shape. My only regret is that it’s motivated by fear of my own government. Wow.

Amidst all this chaos . . . God loves me . . .

This home schooling thing has DEFINITELY been a challenge that I didn’t expect. Somehow though, I’ve been able to plow through with our children STILL under the misconception that their mom can do ANYTHING . . . Some of the best moments are like one that happened today. In trying to get our eight year old son to ‘think for himself” in math, there are several pre-written exercises to prompt  HIM come up with the rest of a math equation. Today’s went like this: “Mary had six apples. Then she gave away three of them. What would be a logical question to ask next?” As back-story for you, all the exercises this week have built UP to this ‘on your own thinking’. I know (being the teacher, I KNOW EVERYTHING), what it wanted him to say was, “How many apples did Mary have left?” . . .But to our son, the logical question was to ask “Why did she give them away?” . . .being a quick thinker, I helped him along with “No son, think of it like the other math problems we’ve had this week”  . . .his second attempt,”Well, did she give them away because they weren’t any good? Because soon the people would find out and they would want to give them back . . .” Again, believing I still had the upper hand I nudged him along with “Honey, think carefully. . . (slowly) Mary had 3 apples, and gave away three . . . what came after the number sentences we did yesterday? Remember? Yesterdays was about the kids at the birthday party. What happened at the end of THAT number sentence?”  . . . Our son with a big grin, jumping up said “We went to the LIBRARY! I’ll get my shoes!”

Amidst all this chaos . . . God loves me . . .

I agree with our friends “Rick_and_Bubba” in reference to Jimmy_Carter’s asinine  assumption that anyone who disagrees with  President Obama is a racist. This morning they addressed a comment directly to Mr. Carter’s family . . .”Yall, somebody please, just put Paw-Paw in a home. . . it’s time”

You have to agree with the above paragraph, or you ARE a radical far-left flaming homosexual liberal. . . just admit it . . .

Amidst all this chaos . . . God loves me . . .