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My comments at the end...Cliff

Subject: Only a fairy tale? Maybe not ...

This is worth the time to read.

Once upon a time, I was invited to the White House for a private dinner with the President. I am a respected businessman, with a factory that produces memory chips for computers and portable electronics.

There was some talk that my industry was being scrutinized by the administration, but I paid it no mind. I live in a free country. There’s nothing that the government can do to me if I’ve broken no laws. My wealth was earned honestly, and an invitation to dinner with an A merican President is an honor.

I checked my coat, was greeted by the Chief of Staff, and joined the President in a yellow dining room.

We sat across from each other at a table draped in white linen. The Great Seal was embossed on the china. Uniformed staff served our dinner.

The meal was served, and I was startled when my waiter suddenly reached out, plucked a dinner roll off my plate, and began nibbling it as he walked back to the kitchen.

“Sorry about that,” said the President. “ A ndrew is very hungry.”

“I don’t appreciate....” I began, but as I looked into the calm brown eyes across from me, I felt immediately guilty and petty. It was just a dinner roll.

“Of course,” I concluded, and reached for my glass. Before I could, however, another waiter reached forward, took the glass away and swallowed the wine in a single gulp.

” A nd his brother Eric is very thirsty.” said the President.

I didn’t say anything. The President is testing my compassion, I thought. I will play along. I don’t want to seem unkind.

My plate was whisked away before I had tasted a bite.

“Eric’s children are also quite hungry.”

With a lurch, I crashed to the floor. My chair had been pulled out from under me. I stood, brushing myself off angrily, and watched as it was carried from the room.” A nd their grandmother can’t stand for long.”

I excused myself, smiling outwardly, but inside feeling like a fool.

Obviously I had been invited to the White House to be sport for some game. I reached for my coat, only to find it had been taken. I turned back to the President..

“Their grandfather doesn’t like the cold.”

I wanted to shout - that was my coat! But again, I looked at the placid smiling face of my host and decided I was being a poor sport. I spread my hands helplessly and chuckled. Then I felt my hip pocket and realized my wallet was gone.

I excused myself and walked to a phone on an elegant side table. I learned shortly that my credit cards had been maxed out, my bank accounts emptied, my retirement and equity portfolios had vanished, and my wife had been thrown out of our home. A pparently, the waiters and their families were moving in.

The President hadn’t moved or spoken as I learned all this, but finally I lowered the phone into its cradle and turned to face him.

” A ndrew’s whole family has made bad financial decisions. They haven’t planned for retirement, and they need a house. They recently defaulted on their subprime mortgage. I told them they could have your home. They need it more than you do.”

My hands were shaking. I felt faint. I stumbled back to the table and knelt on the floor.

The President cheerfully cut his meat, ate his steak and drank his wine.”By the way,” He added, “I have just signed an Executive Order nationalizing your factories. I’m firing you as head of your business. I’ll be operating the firm now for the benefit of all mankind.. There’s a whole bunch of Erics and A ndrews out there and they can’t come to you for jobs groveling like beggars.”

I looked up. The President dropped his spoon into the empty ramekin which had been his crème brulee. He drained the last drops of his wine.

As the table was cleared, he lit a cigarette and leaned back in his chair. He stared at me.

I clung to the edge of the table as if were a ledge and I a man hanging over an abyss. I thought of the years behind me, of the life I had lived. The life I had earned with a lifetime of work, risk and struggle. Why was I punished? How had I allowed it to be taken? What game had I played and lost? I looked across the table and noticed with some surprise that there was no game board between us.

What had I done wrong?

As if answering the unspoken thought, the President suddenly cocked his head, locked his empty eyes to mine, and bared a million teeth, chuckling wryly as he folded his hands.

“You should have stopped me at the dinner roll,” he said.

Wake up, A merica !!!!.....Do you hear me....Wake Up.....

As I read this, it occurred to me that this is happening today, first enunciated by Joe the Plummer publicly, now auto dealership are being “Taken Away”, not bought out, these are businesses that were told that they simply could no longer exist, not company owned, privately owned, hence the term
“dealership”, we see ACORN giving money to low income homebuyers, to help them qualify for higher priced homes, while people who happen to be industrious, end up living with people who are given something for nothing, and take care of their homes in the same manner, meanwhile the houseing market that these lower income people can actually qualify for, or first time home buyers can start out with...languish. Nobody wants a 50 to 80 K house when the government will subsudize them into a 120K home. Problem is, people take care of what they earn and save for, and let go to ruin what is given them, we see it in every middle income neighborhood. Along with them, come gang violence, drugs, and trouble with the police. When you let economy run real estate. Lower income people move into lower income housing. Those who work and save and struggle yearn for something better, so take care of their homes, and then sell them, and move up into a better neighborhood, and so the cycle goes. Pride in ownership is earned, not given. This is how people are motiviated. In America , it is not the money, its the motovation, its pride, not entitlement.

Once you learn this valuable lesson, then it becomes clear what Obama has done, and is doing, and plans to do in the future. Entitlement is a liberal idea, a socialist idea, one stemming from those who themselves never worked for anything, rather found ways to take from those who did work and earn. Its a concept supported by and voted for those who choose to do nothing to get something. All they have to do is vote, and complain, and attend rallys and get in the newspapers. See the workers, are working, they don’t have time to protest, and the ones protesting??? They have lots of time. Politicans know this and exploit it. They turn it into class warfare, or bigotry, or racism. They are the expert pot stirrers. Push the right button, and anything done for the wrong reason is instantly justified.

Well folks, knowledge is power. If you read this so far, your no longer ignorant of this simple truth. and....the truth will set you free.

· Stop apologizing for success

· Stop allowing people to shut you down with words like racist, bigot, or fatcat

· Stop subsidizing the lazy and indolent

· Stop allowing politicians to run over you and what you believe is right

· Make your senators and congressmen/women aware of what you want, and that they represent you, not the special interest groups

· Make them know that if they do not represent you, they will lose their job

· Repeal the high wages in congress and the senate

· Limit terms in these offices, for a life time to 2 terms max

· Repeal retirement for Senators and congressment

· Make them live under social security like the rest of us.

· Make them live under medicare and new health plans

· Make them discover if President Obama is truly an American Citizen, because we deserve to know, and the constitution needs to be enforced.

· Make new car buyers taking advantage of the Cash for Clunkers program buy American cars, not imports

Those are just a few of the ideas that struck me as obvious. Its not about entitlement, its about betterment thru your own efforts, not on the backs of those who do work hard.

Just my opinion, what is yours....