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19th Century Oil on Canvas
General Robert E. Lee
#2 The United States once had the highest proportion of young adults with post-secondary degrees in the world. Today, the U.S. has fallen to 12th.
#3 In the 2009 "prosperity index" published by the Legatum Institute, the United States was ranked as just the ninth most prosperous country in the world. That was down five places from 2008.
#4 In 2001, the United States ranked fourth in the world in per capita broadband Internet use. Today it ranks 15th.
#5 The economy of India is projected to become larger than the U.S. economy by the year 2050.
#6 One prominent economist now says that the Chinese economy will be three times larger than the U.S. economy by the year 2040.
#7 According to a new study conducted by Thomson Reuters, China could become the global leader in patent filings by next year.
#8 The United States has lost approximately 42,400 factories since 2001.
#9 The United States has lost a staggering 32 percent of its manufacturing jobs since the year 2000.
#10 Manufacturing employment in the U.S. computer industry is actually lower in 2010 than it was in 1975.
#11 In 1959, manufacturing represented 28 percent of all U.S. economic output. In 2008, it represented only 11.5 percent.
#12 The television manufacturing industry began in the United States. So how many televisions are manufactured in the United States today? According to Princeton University economist Alan S. Blinder, the grand total is zero.
#13 As of the end of 2009, less than 12 million Americans worked in manufacturing. The last time that less than 12 million Americans were employed in manufacturing was in 1941.
#14 Back in 1980, the United States imported approximately 37 percent of the oil that we use. Now we import nearly 60 percent of the oil that we use.
#15 The U.S. trade deficit is running about 40 or 50 billion dollars a month in 2010. That means that by the end of the year approximately half a trillion dollars (or more) will have left the United States for good.
#16 Between 2000 and 2009, America's trade deficit with China increased nearly 300 percent.
#17 Today, the United States spends approximately $3.90 on Chinese goods for every $1 that China spends on goods from the United States.
#18 According to a new study conducted by the Economic Policy Institute, if the U.S. trade deficit with China continues to increase at its current rate, the U.S. economy will lose over half a million jobs this year alone.
#19 American 15-year-olds do not even rank in the top half of all advanced nations when it comes to math or science literacy.
#20 Median household income in the U.S. declined from $51,726 in 2008 to $50,221 in 2009. That was the second yearly decline in a row.
#21 The United States has the third worst poverty rate among the advanced nations tracked by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
#22 Since the Federal Reserve was created in 1913, the U.S. dollar has lost over 95 percent of its purchasing power.
#23 U.S. government spending as a percentage of GDP is now up to approximately 36 percent.
#24 The Congressional Budget Office is projecting that U.S. government public debt will hit 716 percent of GDP by the year 2080.
"Watch 3:30 into this video onward.
If that doesn't wake you up nothing will.
Been saying it for three years, and now here it comes.
The politics aren't the issue - it's mathematics."
But with those majorities taken away in the House and perhaps just weakened in the Senate, what will come forward next is Obama’s narcissistic rage."
October 18, 2010
Thank you for contacting me regarding the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act. I greatly appreciate hearing your thoughts on this important issue.
The DREAM Act (S. 729) was introduced on March 26, 2009 and referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Similar bills have been introduced during previous Congresses, but never garnered enough support to pass.
The DREAM Act would provide illegal immigrants who are students with a path to citizenship. Under the DREAM Act, these students could receive conditional permanent residency if they meet certain criteria, including: entering the United States before age 16; living in the United States for at least five continuous years immediately before the bill becomes effective; graduating from high school or gaining admission into an institute of higher education; having "good moral character;" and being younger than 35 when the bill becomes effective. Students must also demonstrate that they are not inadmissible to the country and are not under final order for deportation or removal. After a six year period of conditional permanent residency, these individuals could then apply for citizenship if they continued to demonstrate "good moral character," continued to live in the United States, and completed at least two years of higher education or served at least two years in the military.
Like you, I oppose the DREAM Act and amnesty. While I am open to considering some of the provisions of the DREAM Act in the context of comprehensive immigration reform, I do not support this bill as a stand-alone measure. I strongly believe that the United States must take the necessary steps to fix the way we handle illegal immigration, and I am committed to achieving practical, bipartisan, comprehensive reform that will protect taxpayers and address the problem of illegal immigration at its core. We must strengthen our borders, crack down on employers who knowingly hire illegal workers, and shut down the underground economy. With our economy in peril, it is more important than ever to ensure that we are protecting the jobs, wages and working conditions of American workers.
Again, thank you for contacting my office. It is truly an honor to represent North Carolina in the United States Senate, and I hope you will not hesitate to contact me in the future should you have any further questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Kay R. Hagan
October, 2010
In the wake of the League’s 17th annual national conference, we believe it is time to restate the obvious for those who still don’t “get it” yet: the US government in DC is an organized criminal enterprise. Despite being founded on the “principle” of limited government, it has its tentacles in virtually every aspect of our lives all over our beloved Southland. It has become Godless and is rapidly approaching bankruptcy. Something must be done quickly to free us from this monster.
Don’t tell us to wait until the November elections—the GOP is not our savior. Rather, it is only the other side of a counterfeit coin. After all, who started this corrupt bailout business in September 2008 in the first place? Obama was merely a candidate at the time, though he has certainly continued to advance the Bush policies of allowing the banksters to continue their crime spree unabated.
The “Tea Party”, while showing some promise in the beginning, is now being predictably absorbed by status quo Republican politicians. These are people who think reducing government spending by a meager 1-3% is acceptable, but they aren’t even serious about accomplishing that much. It is all a ruse to get re-elected, and unfortunately the bulk of “conservative” America will fall for it yet again.
The Republican Party’s “Pledge to America” is another fraud that is carefully written not to set measurable goals or bind the Republicans to any sort of consequences if (or more accurately, when) they fail to fulfill their promises. A major GOP victory in November will be a devastating setback because conservative voters will think they have “won.” Consequently, they will continue to serve the Federal regime while they wait in vain for their anointed Republicans to bring some kind of meaningful reform to Washington, D.C. Even if today’s Republicans were to faithfully deliver on every single principle mentioned in their “pledge," it would only be a fraction of what needs to done. It would take many decades of sweeping electoral victories in both houses of Congress and the presidency to undo the monstrosity that has been created over a period of 150 years in D.C. Oh, and let’s not forget that all of this will also require the blessing of the US Supreme Court. These are events, of course, that will never occur in the current political system.
Finally, the mainstream Republican Party has no interest whatsoever in curbing the insatiable appetite of the United States government to occupy and control other nations. Irrational fear of the Islamic terror threat has prompted far too many Americans to endorse a perpetual military occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, with the prospect of war with Iran and possibly Pakistan on the horizon as well. The magnitude of resources consumed by the war machine that is the US military will continue to drag down our economy; yet among all the outrage within the Tea Party and its supporters about government spending, we hear very little about reducing the US military presence in foreign lands.
We at the League of the South believe all peoples are entitled to the right of self-determination - even those who do not share our Southern cultural values. The people of Iraq and Afghanistan should be free to decide for themselves what government they will have, just as the people in Dixie have the same God-given right. This is why we advocate peaceful separation from the United States government. In a free and independent South, although we would pity other Americans who remained subjects of the United States government, we would not set out to make enemies of them.
If we don’t begin thinking and acting “outside the box,” the establishment elite will continue to loot us with impunity and violate our rights at every turn. Indeed, their greed (with the assistance of our inaction and even complicity) has essentially destroyed our economy. Instead of trying once again to reform that which cannot be reformed (those who most need reforming control all meaningful avenues of reform), we need simply to leave DC behind. There is even less reason to “save the Union” today than there was 150 years ago when our ancestors fought to be free from it.
Yes, we’re talking about Southern independence NOW! The sooner we get off this sinking ship, the better. The policies conducted by the ruling elite in Washington, D.C. can only end in utter collapse, chaos, and extreme hardship on our future generations. Independence achieved now, although sure to be challenging and not without sacrifices, is infinitely preferable to the chaos that will ensue as the US inevitably self-destructs. We are confident that another bid for Southern independence in our own day will be more widely supported by other nations than it was in 1861. This international support will make it much more difficult for the United States to use military force to thwart our independence. The League of the South does not seek to exact revenge on the United States government in any way, and we seek independence that is free of bloodshed. Just like President Jefferson Davis said in 1861, “All we ask is to be let alone”.
If Southern independence sounds like a good idea to you, then help us. You can start by going to our website, www.dixienet.org, and signing the online petition entitled “States Rights, Secession, and Big Government.” Leave your address so we can contact you. Also, we are preparing another petition that will be presented to the people of the Southern States face-to-face. It calls for immediate secession and independence by our various State governments. We will have it available soon, and it will be announced (and probably downloadable) on the website. We will need your help in acquiring signatures.
Moreover, we need you to join the League of the South. If you’re reading this and are not already a member, please join today. If you were once a member but let your membership slide, please re-join. If you are a member in good standing, then recruit your family and friends into our organization. We need numbers along with hardworking hands and minds.
We also need people who are not afraid to hear the truth and to proclaim it; that Southern independence is the only way short of a direct miracle from the Lord that we can save the South for future generations. I want my children and grandchildren to live free and prosperous in a free South. I’ll bet you feel the same way about yours. Let’s make it happen together right now! Don’t let anyone tell you it can’t be done.
The reason I spent the time to explain this, is that this could be one of the factors (along with currency wars and sovereign defaults) driving a massive financial crisis over the next year or so.
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Here it is"
1. A tradition of entrepreneurship
2. Ease of starting a business
3. Geographical mobility
4. Occupational mobility
5. English
6. Educated labor force
7. Dying trade unions
8. Widespread literacy
9. Freedom of the press
10. Internet replacing the press
11. Widespread gun ownership
12. Growing skepticism regarding Congress
13. 50 separate states
14. Independent county governments
15. Facebook
16. Politicians who are on the defensive
17. Political gridlock in Washington
18. Talk radio
19. An escape hatch: bankruptcy laws
20. High charitable giving"
Read the rest HERE.
Stubbornly high unemployment -- nearly 15% for those ages 20-24 -- has made finding a job nearly impossible. And without a job, there's nowhere for these young adults to go but back to their old bedrooms, curfews and chore charts. Meet the boomerangers."