Why secession no longer equates to leaving

Via a podcast download, I am currently watching Rachel Maddow from 4/12/2011. At this moment in the show, Rachel is covering secession, the Civil War, and state sovereignty. Like many liberal pundits, what Rachel fails to see is the reality behind the words being used by Conservatives. As a rational person, it makes sense to her that when Texans scream for secession, we should see it as a sign that these Texans want to leave the United States of America. What I must do in this post, however, is to introduce the idea that something else is going on that has nothing to do with the old world meaning of secession and more to do with the Confederacy which no longer resides "in the attic."

I won't delay my point until the end. Let's get right into it. When Rick Perry talks about secession, he speaks to a population of people. When Georgia, South Carolina, and Kentucky all propose laws which nullify anything issued by the U.S. Federal Government, they are collectively sending a message to the rest of us. This is not about leaving. This is about retaking the country. This is the South rising again. I have covered this multiple times in previous posts, but I've been ignored, predictably so, because my blog does not represent a much needed wider epiphany on the Left, and to a lesser extent, the Right.

These states are unified. They speak in one voice, not individual voices. The real irony is, they clamor for individualism, but speak as a collective group.

So while Rachel Maddow is spot on when pointing out how serious considerations regarding secession include loss of military protection, loss of Social Security, loss of financial funding from the Fed, and the risk that comes with going it alone, the reality she will not approach is this idea that collectively, these states will align themselves, essentially forming a new nation that likely resembles the old North/South paradigm, if not all out domination of the entire United States.

This is not about leaving. This is one group ready to take control of the entire country. It's the 2004 and 2008 election rhetoric come to life. There are two Americas. It's the flyover state angst. It's the middle America angst. It's the racism that is no longer under wraps.

In 2000, when George W. Bush was appointed President by the Supreme Court, that same morning, a wave of fear, apathy, and shame overwhelmed me. That morning, I predicted hard times, a situation we are currently enduring. In 2004, with his election, a new prediction was made. I said we were on the verge of a second civil war, although the term "civil war" may be inappropriate by definition. In the symbolic sense, it is fitting and serves to highlight what it is I'm afraid awaits America's immediate future.

So while my previous post has concerns over big business and the arrival of a fascist state, the alternative that I am much more afraid of is where the blood does indeed refresh a tree, but it won't be a tree of liberty. Blood could be spilled, our nation left in ruins. The reality is, this future will drive this nation into the ground and we will likely never recover from such a disaster of ideas.

Small Business Owners Could Save The US Economy

It seems to me that if small business owners across this country took the lead and hired at least one person per business, the effects would be far reaching and our economy would improve accordingly. What we have now is a situation where small businesses feel the pinch and refuse to take on any new workers because it constitutes a liability. They don't want to be put in the poor house either. I can sympathize with that, but I also denounce the premise that they are hurting as bad as they claim to be.

I see two ways out in terms of creating jobs. Consumer confidence can improve and people can start buying things, bolstering businesses, thereby producing an incentive for new job creation. The alternative would be to make the jobs happen first, allowing people out of work to then pay into the system, spreading money around a bit, creating more jobs by bolstering other small businesses. Crying about taxes isn't going to move us forward.

Let me explain.

Over the last few months, there is no doubt lavish expenditures have been made, whether it be that brand new boat, big screen television, or even a summer vacation. What I'm saying is, there is evidence SBOs spend money on themselves. I'm not saying they don't have the right to. I am saying that given the current situation, such expenditures are unwise and selfish. This is the way small business owners are these days. I recall having an argument with a friend over this very subject. When confronted with the notion that his family would spend money saved via tax cuts on themselves and not on a new employee or business investment, he remained silent. During World War II, when the proverbial fit hit the shan, we came together. Now we are in a crisis and people only think of themselves.

I am losing my sympathy for small business owners out there who continue to whine. Put off plans for expansion in other areas. Put off your dreams. The country is in a tough spot. The sooner people start hiring, the better. If you aren't planning on hiring at least one new employee during this economic downturn, I really have no need for you, nor does this country. You got into something you were not ready for, plain and simple. If you can't handle your business, stay out of business. It's a hard line to follow where I sit, but that's the way I feel. Before all of this, I did not trust big business because of corruption and greed. This economic recession has revealed to me a level of greed present among our citizens I had hoped would be muffled by screams of compassion and dedication to one another. Show me that you've hired someone. I'll be more than happy to tell my representatives in Congress to give you a tax break. Otherwise, I'll be giving you something for nothing and that isn't going to sit well with me right now.

If you're not hiring, you're in the way, I say. Quit thinking about yourself for a while. We need to dig our way out of a deep hole, but the shovels are in the hands of small business owners, not the government. Dig us out or dig us deeper. The decision is yours. Make some necessary cuts so that you can hire at least one more person. Just one person for every small business out there would send the unemployment rate into a tailspin. It's a hard decision to make, I know, but blaming the government for your woes will not make our economy budge. Words and whines do not equate to action. You'll get no sympathy from me anymore. The words "small business owner" leave me with a foul taste in my mouth now.

Poor Yahoo/AP News Journalism Stirs The Pot

With rising costs of running government programs, certain decisions will be necessary. Some programs will face cuts. Others will be deemed wasteful and cut altogether. The fact remains that in order for Americans to continue to enjoy services offered at the federal level and to remain a major military power in the world, we are going to have to find money somewhere. We also owe a few countries some money. No bones about it. We need to figure this out.

But what has Yahoo News thrown into the mix? Fear over a VAT, a value-added-tax. In simplest terms, that's a value based form of tax where an expense gets tacked on to a product which represents its journey from creation to market. Not many like the idea of a VAT, but that's not the point of my post, at least not directly.

What Yahoo News has done is write an article with a daunting headline striking fear into the minds of taxpayers, specifically wingnuts, and stirring the pot of anti-Obama sentiment a little more.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100422/ap_on_bi_ge/us_obama_tax

What the article mentions, yet fails to responsibly convey, is that President Obama is not actually considering, nor his he proposing, a VAT. As expressed by the Press Secretary, Robert Gibbs, a VAT “is not something the President has proposed nor is it under consideration.”

Can't get much clearer than that. The only people who should predictably fall for such an article already feel Obama is a liar. The truth could hit them in the nose and Obama would still be a liar.

But wait, there's more.

Like another recent debacle over a fishing ban spawned from one editorial piece on ESPN which got the wingnuts all riled up, the dubious VAT proposal is only being purported by Yahoo News. Anyone linking to a story about a VAT coming from the Obama administration leads directly back to the same Yahoo News Article. Read the article for yourself and follow along carefully. The headline asserts that Obama is considering a VAT, yet at every turn in the article, the message being sent in response is that a VAT is not being considered. What Obama did say is that many options are on the table. Perhaps he misspoke slightly, making himself appear as though in fiscal matters, he is remaining open minded. Blame poor question/answer prep.

Take the research one step further. Michele Bachmann tried to spin this VAT notion the other day when she went up against Chris Wallace. He called her on it, plainly stating that a VAT is not being proposed. Paul Volcker might have suggested that we as a country might have to consider it to pay our way out of the hole we've been left in, but that's as far as the idea goes. We all know Bachmann is nuts anyway.
http://factcheck.org/2010/04/sunday-slips/

Come on now people, crack some heads over this. Call me when Congress has moved beyond committee proposing an all out VAT. Otherwise, spare me the tin foil hat diatribes. The Senate just went 85-13 against the idea of having a VAT.