  |
|
|
|
|
|
|
POLITICALSOLUTIONS.INFO
|
|
|
|
|
Get your free removable window sticker, at no cost to
you, by E-mailing me your mailing address to: jmarinoesq@netzero.com
* AT NO COST TO YOU *
Lets get rid of the present members of Congress.
Send a message by displaying this removable
window/bumper sticker.
Welcome to my website and blog: I use
this site as my method to share my political views and solutions to issues that most concern everyone in the U.S. today. You
can expect me to write about a new subject ever few days or so. I invite you to voice your ideas and help me solve our
national problems. Unlike congress, I will listen to your concerns and together, we can act with our votes. About me: I have 85 years of life experience involving
solving problems. I'm a retired attorney, living in Florida. Andy Looney is my pen name because I just might be
"looney" to think the American people can solve these long standing problems in America. We know congress hasn't
been able and continues to not be able to for years. I welcome your comments, so let's start some dialog people!
|
|
|
|
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
WHEN I SEE PRESIDENT OBAMA, I DON'T SEE BLACK
OR WHITE, I SEE RED APRIL 20, 2009 DEAR PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA:
IT SEEMS, WE ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO CRITICIZE YOU, PRESIDENT OBAMA, AT THE RISK OF BEING CALLED RACISTS, BUT, WHERAS YOU
ARE ONLY HALF BLACK, MAYBE THEY SHOULD CALL THOSE OF US THAT DARE SPEAK OUR MINDS ABOUT YOU, AS HALF RACISTS.
THAT, BY DESCRIPTION IS ONLY HALF AS BAD AS A FULL BLOWN RACIST, BY ANY MEASURE. WHY, I DARE ASK, DID YOU VOTE TO BAIL OUT THE BANKS AND FINANCIAL
INSTITUTIONS AS PRESIDENT BUSH REQUESTED AND JOHN MCCAIN AGREED? THE ANSWER IS THAT WASHINGTON POLITICS
IS ALL ABOUT MONEY AND HOW MANY THESE INSTITUTIONS AND THEIR LOBBYISTS ARE THE LIFE BLOOD OF CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENCY.
AIG IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF HOW POLITICIANS REWARD CONTRIBUTORS NO MATTER HOW BAD OR HOW MUCH THEY HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE
FAILING ECONOMY.
NEXT, WHEN YOU TOOK OFFICE, YOU HAD 380 BILLION DOLLARS OF THE BAILOUT MONEY AND INSTEAD OF DOING SOMETHING POSITIVE TO STOP
THE BANKS FROM GRABBING THE FIRST 380 BILLION DOLLARS AND THUMBING THEIR NOSES AT CONGRESS AND THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, YOU HANDED
OVER THE NEXT 380 BILLION DOLLARS, AGAIN WITHOUT THE NECESSARY RESTRICTIONS AND CONTROLS CONGRESS, THE GOVERNMENT AND THE
AMERICAN PEOPLE WERE COMPLAINING ABOUT IN THE FIRST PLACE. WHERE I COME FROM, WHEN SOMEONE DOES WRONG, IT IS CALLED
"SHAME ON THEM," BUT WHEN YOU ALLOW THEM TO DO IT AGAIN, IT IS SHAME ON YOU. THE AMERICAN PEOPLE SAW THE REAL
YOU FOR THE FIRST TIME AND THEY WILL NOT FORGET IT,
WE SHOULD HAVE REALIZED WHAT YOU WERE UP TO WHEN YOU APPOINTED THAT WALL STREET WHIZZ KID, GEITHMAN, AS YOUR TREASURY SECRETARY.
NEVER MIND, THAT HE IS AN INCOME TAX CHEAT, WHICH SHOULD GIVE YOU SOME IDEA ABOUT HIS CHARACTER HE HAS EMBARKED ON A PLAN,
APPROVED BY YOU TO BAIL OUT AIG THE BANKS AND FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS THAT COLLECTIVELY PUT US IN THE ECONOMIC MESS WE FIND
OURSELVES. IT WAS ALL ABOUT GREED, SUBPRIME LOANS WITH THE PLAN THAT IF THINGS WENT SOUR THE GOVERNMENT GUARANTEES BY
FHA, VETERANS' AND FANNIE MAE AND FREDDY MACK LOANS WOULD BE PICKED UP THE USA AND THE BALANCE OF THE BAD OR LOANS WOULD
BE PICKED UP BY THE USA AND THE AMERICAN TAXPAYER ANYWAY, BY WAY OF THE BAILOUTS BY BOTH PARTY'S PRESIDENTS. WHAT
A NEAT ARRANGEMENT. NOW THINGS ARE SO BAD THAT ABOUT THREE TRILLION DOLLARS IN LOANS WILL BE ADDED
TO THE NATIONAL DEBT AND PAYMENT OF THIS BILL WILL, BE LEFT TO OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN YET BORN. IS THIS WHAT
THEY CALL FISCAL RESPOSIBILITY? THIS IS WRONG!
NEXT, YOU ALLOWED CONGRESS TO PASS A STIMULUS PACKAGE THAT DID NOTHING BUT STINULATE COMGRESS'S APPETITE FOR EARMARKS
AND PORK BARREL PROJECTS AT A TIME THAT UNEMPLOYMENT WAS RISING PRECIPITOUSLY WITH LITTLE OR NO HELP FOR THE RE-EMPLOYMENT
OF THESE UNFORTUNATE WORKERS REPRESENTING 10 TO 12 % OF OUR SHRINKING WORKFORCE. FOR YOU TO SAY, THAT THE JOBS AND FACTORIES
ARE GONE OVERSEAS FOREVER, ESPECIALLY TO CHINA OUR SWORN COMMUNIST ENEMY, IS SHOCKING AND DEMONSTATES YOUR LACK OF CONCERN
FOR THE WORKING MAN AND SMALL BUSINESSES IN AMERICA, THE BACKBONE OF OUR COUNTRY. THESE ACTIONS AND STATEMENTS BY YOU,
CLEARLY DEMONSTRATE YOU HAVE JOINED FORCES WITH THE FINANCIIAL ELITE OF THIS COUNTRY AND TURNED YOUR BACK ON THE AMERICAN
PEOPLE. WHEN YOU HAD THE AUDACITY
OF RUIN, TO SUBMIT A 3.3 TRILLION DOLLAR BUDGET WITH A KNOWN DEFICIT OF AT LEAST A TRILLION DOLLARS A YEAR ADDED TO THE NATIONAL
DEBT, WE ARE MORTGAGING OUR FUTURE CHILDREN'S COUNTRY WITH A DEBT SO BIG IT WILL CRIPPLE THE WHOLE COUNTRY
WITHIN FIVE YEARS, OR SOONER. IN
THE MEANTIME, YOU AND CONGRESS HAVE TURNED A DEAF EAR ON THE ONE CAUSE THAT NEEDS CORRECTING IN ORDER TO
STABILIZE REAL ESTATE VALUES, THE MORTGAGE CRISES, AS PRICES CONTINUE TO DROP ALONG WITH UNEMPLOYMENT AND MORTGAGE FORECLOSURES
CONTINUE TO PLAGUE THE MARKET. YOUR REMARK THAT YOU DO NOT WISH TO HELP THOSE PEOPLE, WHO BOUGHT HOMES THEY COULD NOT
AFFORD, DOES NOT MAKE ANY SENSE AND IS NOTHING BUT AN EXCUSE TO SHIELD THE BANKS WHO GRANTED THESE SUBPRIME LOANS ON OVERVALUED
HOMES. CLEARLY, IT WAS THE BANK'S RESPONSIBILITY NOT TO GRANT THESE LOANS IN THE FIRST PLACE.
IF YOU PUNISH THE OWNER FOR BUYING THE HOME, YOU MUST ALSO PUNISH THE BANK, WHO HAD THE LAST CLEAR OPPORTUNITY AND RESPONSIBILITY
TO DENY THAT LOAN. CONGRESS CONINUES
ON ITS WASTEFUL WAYS BY TAKING TWO WEEK VACATIONS, WHILE WORKING THREE DAYS A WEEK AT MOST, VOTING ON THE BANK BAILOUT BILL
WITHOUT EVEN READING IT. THEN DURING THE FEBRUARY BREAK THE SPEAKER PELOSI AND A DOZEN DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSMEN
TAKE A FACT FINDING GOVERNMENT PAID TRIP TO SEE THE POPE IN ROME AND KISS HIS RING. WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE GOINGS ON IN
THE HOUSE AND SENATE CHAMBERS, WITH IT'S MEMBERS SPEAKING TO AND EMPTY CHAMBER, YOU REALIZE YOUR REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS
ARE NOT LISTENING TO EACH OTHER, NEVER MIND THE PEOPLE THEY REPRESENT. IF YOU WONDER WHY NOTHING GETS DONE IN CONGRESS
JUST TURN THEM ON IN YOUR LOCAL TV STATION AND YOU WILL BE AS DISGUSTED WITH THEM AS MUCH AS I AM AND YOU HAVE EVERY RIGHT
TO FEEL THAT WAY. SO, OUR PRESIDENT OBAMA SAT IN THE SENATE FOR FOUR YEARS AND KNOWS WHAT IS GOING ON THERE AND YOU
DO NOT PLAN TO INTERFERE WITH THIS "DO NOTHING CONGRESS" SIMPLY BECAUSE YOUR PARTY, THE DEMOCRATS, ARE IN
THE MAJOIRTY AND THE DEMOCRATS AT PRESENT CAN BOWL OVER THE REPUBLICAN MINORITY EVERY DAY OF THE WORK WEEK. THEREFORE,
IT IS OBVIOUS WASHINGTON AND OUR GOVERNMENT REPREENTATIVES ARE ONLY INTERSTED IN THE POLITICS OF THEIR POLITICAL PARTY AND
MONEY. HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THAT REPRESENTATIVES, WHOSE SALARY IS $150,000, PER YEAR, RAISE TWO MILLION DOLLARS
ON AVERAGE EVERY TWO YEARS, TO BE ELECTED AND RE-ELECTED YEAR AFTER YEAR, MOST OF WHICH COMES FROM THE MONEYED LOBBYISTS AND
BIG CORPORATIONS. THEY VOTE CONSISTENTLY IN FAVOR OF THE DESIRES OF THESE LOBBYISTS WHILE THE PROBLEMS AND NEEDS OF
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE GO UNANSWERED AND INSOLVED.
TO ADD INSULT TO INJURY, YOU AND CONGRESS ARE SET TO GIVE AMNESTY TO ABOUT 12 -15 MILLION ILLEGAL IMMIIGRANTS AND PEOPLE WHO
HAVE OVERSTAYED THEIR VISITOR OR WORK VISAS. WITH OUR COUNTRY IN THE MIDDLE OF A NEAR DEPRESSION WITH MOUNTING UNEMPLOYMENT
THIS IS NO TIME TO ADD THESE PEOPLE TO OUR WOES THESE PEOPLE HAVE
SAPPED OUT MUNICIPAL, PUBLIC, HOSPITAL AND HEALTH SERVICES AND ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE LOWERING OF OUR WAGES AND COMPETITION
FOR JOBS AMERICANS NEED AT THIS CRITICAL TIME. THIS ACTION WAS TRIED BEFORE, IN 1986, AND IT ONLY CAUSED MORE, FENCE
JUMPING, WHICH AGAIN WILL BE ENCOUAGED IF WE GIVE THEM AMNESTY AGAIN. IT IS ALSO VERY OBVIOUS, EVEN TO THE MOSTCASUAL
OBSERVER, THAT THIS IS A PURELY POLITICAL MOVE BY YOU TO CEMENT THE LATINO VOTE, WHEN POLITICS HAS NO PLACE IN THIS QUESTION
OF ECONOMICS FOR OUR COUNTRY. WE BELIEVE
YOU AND CONGRESS MUST STOP TAXING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WHO ARE OVERTAXED ALREADY AT ABOUT 50 % OF THEIR EARNINGS. THE
RECENT TEA TAX REVOLT DEMONSTRATES THIS PROBLEM, LOUD AND CLEAR. THOSE DEMONSTRATORS WERE AMERICANS NOT JUST REPUBLICANS AS
CONGRESS ANDYOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE US THINK. THE RECENT ONE DOLLAR A PACK INCREASE IN THE CIGARETTE TAX IS A GLARING
EXAMPLE OF THE TAX ABUSE ON SMOKING AMERICANS DUE TO AN ADDICTION THE GOVERNMENT WILL NOT STOP BECAUSE THEY ARE DEPENDANT
ON THE TAXES ON TOBACCO. FOR 37 YEARS
THIS COUNTRY HAS BEEN HELD HOSTAGE TO THE OIL CARTELS OF OPEC AND LOCAL OIL COMPANIES, WHO HAVE RAISED GAS AND HEATING OIL
PRICES SHAMELESSLY WHILE CONGRESS AND PRESIDENTS HAVE DONE NOTHNG TO RESOLVE THIS PROBLEM. YOUR RECENT APPROPRIATION
OF A MISERLY AMOUNT OF FUNDS FOR ALTERNATIVE ENERGY, AMPLY DEMONSTRATES CONGRESSES' AND YOUR INTENTIONS TO PROVIDE
ONLY A TOKEN OF RELIEF WHILE YOU AND CONGRESS FEED ON THE SPOILS OF CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS BY THE OIL CARTELS TO LEAVE
THEM AT THEIR WHIM IN THE FUTURE. YOU WENT SO
FAR AS TO BOW TO THE SHIEK OF SAUDI ARABIA IN AN ACT OF SUBMISSION TO THEIR MONEY POWER. THIS IS THE HEIGHT
OF HYPOCRISY PLEASE EXPLAIN THAT AWAY WITH YOUR SMOOTH TALK AND CHARISMA. FUEL OIL AND DIESEL PRICES HAVE BEEN TWICE
WHAT THEY SHOULD BE ON THE SUPPLY AND DEMAND MARKET WHILE GASOLINE PRICES RAISED TO MORE THE $4.00 A GALLON LAST YEAR WITH
NOT A COMPLAINT BY CONGRESS OR YOU, THE CANDIDATE.
NOW LET THE MEDIA, CONGRESS AND YOU, AS PRESIDENT, CONTINUE TO COMPLAIN THAT WE ARE RACISTS BUT THE TRUTH IS THAT THEYAND
YOU DO NOT WANT TO ADDRESS AND FIX THESE PROBLEMS AND MANY OTHERS BECAUSE YOUR HANDS ARE TIED BECAUSE YOU HAVE SOLD
YOUR SOULS TO LOBBYISTS AND BIG BUSINESS INTERESTS, FOR PURE POLITICAL AND SELFISH REASONS, WHILE NOT CARING ONE
BIT FOR THE PLIGHT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. YOU ARE BOUND BY LAW AND DUTY TO REPRESENT, BUT HAVE CONSISTANTLY FALED TO
DO SO. IN
LESS THAN TWO YEARS THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WILL HAVE A CHANCE TO AGAIN GO TO THE POLLS AND VOTE FOR THEIR REPRESENTATIVES IN
CONGRESS. I PREDICT THAT WITH ANY LUCK AT ALL, EVERY ONE OF THEM WILL FEEL THE RATH AND DISGUST OF THEIR CONSTITUANTS,
COME NOVEMBER, 2010. THAT WILL BE THE PAYBACK DAY, ALL MEMBERS OF CONGRESS WILL REAP AS THEIR JUST DESERT. THE SURPRISE WILL COME, AS THESE VOTERS WILL VOTE AS
INDEPENDANT VOTERS FOR INDEPENDENT NON POLITICAL CANDIDATES WHO NOW OUT NUMBER YOU DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS ALIKE.
IN THE MEANTIME, YOU ARE WELCOMED
TO COMPLAIN ABOUT EACH OTHER AS NO GOOD PARTY POLITICIANS WHO PUT THEIR PARTY FIRST BEFORE THE AMERICAM PEOPLE. WE INDEPENANTS
WILL AGREE WITH YOU BOTH, AS THE REASON AND THE TIME HAS COME FOR BOTH OF YOU TO GO ON THE UNEMPLOYED ROLLS. IT HAS BEEN ONLY 90 DAYS SINCE YOU TOOK OFFICE
AND LESS THAN THE 100 DAY HONEYMOON, YOU ARE USUALLY ALLOWED TO SHOW YOUR MERITS AS PRESIDENT,
UNFORTUNAELY, AS OUR PRESIDENT, WE HAVE WISHED YOU WELL, WHETHER OR NOT WE VOTED FOR YOU. BUT NOW, WE DON'T NEED
ANY MORE TIME TO JUDGE YOU, AS OUR PRESIDENT. YOU HAVE BEEN A REAL BIG DISAPPOINTMENT REGARDING HOPE AND CHANGE FOR
US. YOU RILED AGAINST THE POLITICIANS OF WASHINGTON, AND THEN, WHEN ELECTED, YOU EMBRACED THEM ALL, PROVING YOU ARE
JUST ANOTHER AMBITIOUS POLITICIAN LIKE THEM.
PLEASE, SIR, TAKE YOUR SEAT, FOR YOU HAVE FOULED OUT. YOU SEEM TO BE MUCH MORE TALENTED AT BASKET BALL THAN AS PRESIDENT.
10:24 pm
Monday, April 20, 2009
OBAMA, YOUR TAX PLEDGE WAS AS PHONY AS YOUR BAIL OUT PLANS
(Written: April 1, 2009)
Since last November I have tried to wish you well as our new president, even though I did not vote for you. It
is true you inherited a real mess in Washington and the country in a deepening recession, rising unemployment, home foreclosures
and an imbalance of trade. Most open minded Americans have accepted you; they saw you as a new face and
force, anxious to prove yourself as competent to solve the many serious problems facing this country, which you promise to
do.
Traditionally you are given the first 100 days upon taking office to show your metal and competence at problem solving, and
we all hoped and prayed, you would succeed at a time we believe the country should come together and help. To date, nearly seventy days into your term of office there are little signs of progress or relief
to the ordinary American to see or experience. Unemployment is still rising, to a record high
since the great depression, home foreclosures are still, proceeding with real estate values falling below 50 % of prices only
two years ago, the stock market has tumbled to one half its record high while Americans are terrified and disheartened, unsure
of their future and that of their children. You
wonder why the American vehicle companies are in trouble but all you need look into is the price of gasoline and fuel oil
which reached shameful prices while the oil companies reaped ridicules profits you need to stabilize these prices, end our
dependence on foreign now, not ten years from now, and stop this deficit in trade with those Arab countries. Are
those huge campaign contributions blocking this action too?
The balance of trade with china is choking us to the pint we are afraid they may cash in their treasury notes.
You know their trade practices are unfair and the quality of products dangerous to our health and safety, yet nothing
is done to try to correct and balance the trade with China, why?
We need not wait for the first one hundred days because you have broken
your promises of no new taxes and lost the faith of the American people. The 62 cent increase in the tax
on a pack of cigarettes is a low blow to the poor people who smoke you know they are hooked and that cigarettes cause cancer
and should be banned outright. Instead you politicians cannot resist taxing everything in sight to support
your candidacy. You should be tightening the US belt, but didn’t.
It is also
obvious to the American people that you have decided to throw more than a trillion dollars to the Wall Street financial institutions
and the large banks for no more reason than to have them continue to donate to you and congress’s election coffers.
A side effect is the recent rise in the stock market to help the “big boys” recover their money in the
stock market so they will continue to fill the politician’s re-election bags of money. None
of the above puts one unemployed worker back to work permanently while you are burdening us and our children with added deficit
spending and debt we may never be able to shed. If we are obliged to pay the interest on this money for
the next five years or more, it is nothing but another form of tax burden on every American.
We have repeatedly advised you not to bail out the banks that got us into this mess since they can be replaced with new investors
in 24 hours but, you are determined not to listen, because this is all about money contributions for your re-election and
not about helping the American people.
The
majority of the American people want nothing to do with the stock market because they are forced to live from paycheck to
paycheck and have no money to gamble in the stock market. If you keep listening to that
Wall Street whiz, Giethman, your treasury secretary, money alone will not get you or congress elected again. The
American people cannot and will not wait for you for the relief and change you promised, because you have amply demonstrated
you are just another politician that will say and do anything to get elected and then forget or renege on your campaign promises.
You had promised changes from the same
old political game played by the politicians in Washington year after year. You damned those congressmen
who voted for the war in Iraq and as soon as you were elected you embraced them all and put nothing but professional politicians
in your cabinet or White House staff.
You have
failed to end the war in Iraq as you have promised but instead have agreed to keep our troops there indefinitely.
Afghanistan is turning into another Vietnam after eight years of endless fighting and a failure to capture Osama Bin
Laden.
You know the American people had voted to end these wars, since the congressional election
of 2006 when they voted in a democratic majority to end the war. They have failed to do this as have you.
The cost in blood has been disgraceful and the cost in money almost as bad.
If you had really acted to put the unemployed back to work and helped the American people save their homes from predatory
lenders, your popularity would not be sinking. When people work they pay their taxes and the local and
states’ budgets and coffers remain stable, you could have temporarily saved the state and local budgets but you chose
instead to help the money people and not the average American, who were counting on you. Talk
is cheap and that’s all you have given us.
Finally, you and your advisers and congress still have failed to determine the real causes of this recession, which
are failure of bank and trade controls, unfair competition with China and immigration and visa controls, you have failed to
correct any of these problems especially before you gave the money to AIG for their stupid bonuses. You
and Mr. Geithner are responsible for this, as you stated, but what have you done about it?
Soon, you will be inundated with tea bags, a symbol of the people’s revolt against any further taxation while
the country is in this mess. The one exception was the cutoff of the tax break for the rich passed by a
republican congress. When do you plan to follow through on that promise? You have about thirty days left to do the things you promised to do, during
the campaign, and there is no excuse not to do them now. When you try to appoint old Washington politicians
to your cabinet who are known tax dodgers we get a good idea of the company you keep.
The American people will never forget what congress did with the stimulus package you signed into law, containing billions
of dollars in earmarks and pork projects at a time the American people are suffering. They
also will not forget the congressional junkets to Rome, Italy at the expense of the American people when they should be conserving
expenses. Senator Dodds and Representative Barney Frank have exposed themselves to this
brand of corruption in congress, which have been added to the continuing list of dishonest politicians exposed almost daily.
These are all your buddies and you cannot control them but the American public will come 2010.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
AMERICA’S
STANDING POLICY, NOT TO NEGOTIATE WITH PIRATES, WINS THE DAY, THANK GOD FOR OUR COUNTRY, THE FBI, THE MEN and WOMAN OF OUR
ARMED SERVICES,THE SHIP’S CREW AND CAPTAIN PHILIPS.
April
12, 2009
Dear president Barack Obama:
At our Easter dinner today we all held hands, said our Easter prayers and also prayed
for the safe return of Richard Philips, the Captain of that merchant ship, a hero by every measure. Little
did we know that at the same time he was being saved by members of our naval forces, hero’s themselves!
Yesterday at 11: am, I wrote to you about this incident and suggested that you do not negotiate with pirates for the release
of hostages, simply because it would only encourage pirates to continue to take hostages for ransom. Of
course, I was not the first person to have come to that conclusion, because it is not an American’s makeup to succumb
to improper threats or actions. This principle is in bedded in an American’s makeup. This
was how our country was born, out of the tyranny and abuse at the hands of the British many years ago. Those
trademark state sayings: “Don’t Tread on Me,” and “Live Free or Die” slogans, are deeply etched
in our hearts and minds and has become part of our nature. We cherish our freedom so much we are
willing to die to keep it.
When I learned of the armed pirates’ brazen act
of boarding an American ship manned by Americans and flying our symbol of freedom, our American flag, I felt as most American
did, this was an invasion of our country and must be dealt with swiftly and effectively. We learned of the bravery of the crew, co-Captain Murphy and especially Captain Richard Philip, in offering himself
as a hostage to save his crew and ship and realized he was the measure of a real hero to sacrifice himself to save others.
In this time of trouble and turmoil in the United States, the American people have become anxious and impatient and in this
case, expected immediate action to resolve this matter while hopefully saving Captain Philips. We agonized for
five days and became more impatient and frustrated by the hour. Little did we know that our armed forces were on
the job 24 hours a day searching, plotting and tactfully scheming for the best way to end this standoff with the determined,
armed and dangerous pirates. When we heard the FBI negotiating team was put in charge of the problem we
wrongly assumed they may be brokering a swap of money for the captive Captain and we rebelled in anger and dismay.
For the next three days our anger and impatience grew, especially as we were told of the brave Captain’s foiled
attempt to escape and recapture.
When we were told that the standoff had ended with the
freeing of the Captain and the killing of three of the pirates by navy snipers and the capture of the fourth, we were overjoyed
and our faith in our country was restored as an old soldier of WWII, I instinctedly knew our servicemen
had the training and experience to perform such a mission, because, like the Captain they are trained to perform their duty
and even die in the attempt. American servicemen and woman have done just that every day in Afghanistan
and Iraq, against some rather impossible odds. We understand now that the mission of the FBI was
to string the pirates along, hopefully until the opportunity arose to save our Captain. Now, I realize that all
along, there would be no legitimate negotiations and certainly no swap of money for the captive. Unfortunately,
in the past, we have been disappointed more than a few times, when such incidents have occurred.
We shall never forget the taking of 34 American hostages from our embassy in Iran and
the ordeal they endured for more than 400 days. Because, of the bungling of the Carter administration. We
relived that incident since the moment we heard Captain Philips was a hostage. Now, this incident, and its resolution, has restored our
faith in our government and especially in our armed forces who routinely act as heroes in such situations, given the orders
to perform their mission. We shall never forget the training and brave
actions of the entire crew of that merchant ship under fire. It has been a long time since we have recognized and
saluted the US maritime academy in Massachusetts for its dedicated purpose in training the merchant mariners for action in
peace time and wartime. I, for one, remember the dedication and bravery of these merchant marine men during
WWII, sailing in unarmed supply ships to the war zones in Europe and the pacific to deliver the needed war materials to our
fighting men, spread throughout the world. No one really knows and is able to fully recognize and appreciate
their dedicated contribution to the war effort at that time. The records of that war clearly show that
about thirty percent of our merchant marine fleet and men were lost to enemy submarine action or storms in less than a four
year period. This incident, and its victorious conclusion, should be recognized
and celebrated as a confirmation of the courage, heroism and determination of our country, it’s American
sailors, servicemen, and, merchant mariner’s will to fight to preserve the freedom handed to us by
our forefathers, since 1776. We thank you for your efforts
to live by that rule, that if we cherish our freedom we must be willing to fight and die for it at all times even, as in this
case, for only one lone American. Lastly, this mission will not end until
we make the effort to prevent this type of incident from happening again. I think we have a duty to future
Americans and others sailing these waters to make sure they are protected from pirates’ actions forever.
I also believe, it is time for us to have our state department seek out the causes of these incidents from Somalia
and, in that way we may also be able to prevent them in the future. It is time we give this obviously renegade
country the attention it and all its’ people deserve. This matter has been festering since the incident
of “Blackhawk Down” during the administration of former president William Clinton. It is time
we resolve that problem for the good of it’s’ people, our country and the world at large.
Monday, April 13, 2009
THE SOMALIA PIRATES' PLAN TO CONQUER THE UNITED STATES April 11, 2009 11: am Dear president
Barack Obama: I want to compliment
you, as commander in chief and your armed forces for kissing the asses of the pirates of Somalia so far, without the loss
or injury of one serviceman or hostage. After all, with the daily loss of life in Afghanistan and Iraq, you have
obviously decided to do whatever is necessary to avoid another confrontation or loss of life. While our brave men and
woman, are still dying and bleeding there.
Of course, the world has known about the actions of these pirates for years. President Clinton, another draft dodger,
surrendered to them when they shot down our Blackhawk and dragged our lifeless servicemen's' bodies through the streets
of Mozambique for the entire world to see. That episode was soon forgotten as quickly as the bravery of our fighting
men in Vietnam, who were chastised doing their duty there. It does not matter that these pirates attacked
an American ship flying the American flag. They must have been listening to your speeches that you would rather negotiate
than fight. In fact, during the last 90 days you have demonstrated your resolve to do just that. North Korea's
firing of and illegal intercontinental ballistic missiles half way across the pacific toward the USA was really
a signal of their desire to be closer to us. China's harassing our spy ships off the coast of China was just as
an act of practice and defenses a normal reaction to our intrusion into their domain. Iran and its leaders are thumbing
their noses at us while China and Russia are supplying them with the technology to build an atomic bomb and weapons of mass
destruction, but that is their God given right in defense of their country. The recent harassment of a US ship
by marauding Iranians is okay what the world may think of our inaction is of no importance. All this talk about
not recognizing Israel and planning to destroy Israel is just that, only talk. Our neighbor from Venezuela, Hugo Chavez's
speech before the UN condemning our president Bush, as the devil, was okay because it was mere political posturing,
especially since we are dependent on his export of oil to the thirsty motors of the US. I am so happy you decided to
kiss his ass rather than lose the precious oil he ships to us for a huge profit while we allocate a token sum for alternative
fuel development. After all, you're explanation that you had a sore back when you bowed to the king of Saudi Arabia
makes a lot of sense rather than risk the loss of their oil, even though we all know the Saudis are supporting the efforts
of their countryman, Osama Bin Laden, enemy number 1 of the US. It is also all right for OPEC to rape us for 37 years
and counting. It is
okat to let Pakistan harbor Bin Laden and his terrorist planners, since they also have the atomic bomb and the country is
a loose-cannon. I am sure Bin Laden plans to steal one of those bombs and use it against the US that will make
the twin towers and Pentagon bombings look like child's play.
It was okay and proper for all of us to hear your speech to all of Europe that the US has made many mistakes for which we
apologize. I like that part of your speech to the country of Turkey when you said the US was not a Christian nation.
That came as a shock to me since I always thought I was a Catholic and you were a Protestant. When did you change your
religion? I have no right to criticize
your wife for groping the Queen of England against all rules of protocol, so I won't. I can also forgive your vice president for bragging about President
Bush not being a leader when the only lead he has in his pants. Instead of waiting patiently to take your place
why don't you put his big mouth to work solving our economic problems, even you cannot handle single handedly? We were surprised when you put that Wall Street genius
Geithner, in charge of the treasury, since it was like putting the fox in charge of the hen house. It is okay to take
care of the rich, but the poor need help first to stave off their hunger, while the rich can wait to plunder the poor again,
later. Finally, it is not fair to
saddle our children and grandchildren with an enormous debt when most of them are not even born to complain. Or be heard in
their defense. That is cowardly of congress and you.
Where I come from, an attack on an American ship and an American, wherever located, is an attack on America, and cannot go
unrewarded or unanswered. President Carter, the soft spoken and gutless peanut farmer from Georgia, let Americans rot
in prisons in Iran for more than 400 days, without any help except a badly bungled attempt to save them. Only to be
"saved" by president Regan, in the "arms for hostages" deal with Iran, called the "Iran contra deal"
that almost brought down his presidency. Do you wonder why everyone in the world feels? We are a soft touch, it
is because; we have not really fought anything to win since WWII, our last victory. Some may ask,
wait a minute, how about the first gulf war. We won that war in thirty days. Not so, president, George Bush, Sr.,
a man I respect as a hero, but who never had to work for a living, did not finish the job and remove that dictator Saddam
Hussein. He left his misguided son, George W., to finish the job of removing Saddam Hussein and punishing the Sunni's,
a job we will never successfully finish, ever, and we all know it.
There is only one way to handle the Somalia pirates when they attack any American or American property. You stand in
defense of American's and property without hesitation. That privately owned ship should have been required to have
defensive armaments and defenders, in such proven pirate waters. Strike one for them. The hero captain Philips,
did the only thing he could do to save his crew and ship, he offered himself as a hostage. His crew obviously,
had some training in anti pirate defense and acted bravely in the face of obvious danger. They, with the help and advice
of their captain, saved the ship. Now, it is up to the US navy to resolve this matter in a quick and unexpected action,
within a few hours of the incident. These pirates are looking for ransom money they are not the run of the
mill terrorists bent on ideology. However, if you authorize the payment of money, you are giving them the encouragement
to repeat these actions since you have allowed them to succeed. Therefore, the choice is clear the US must act in honor
of its principles not to deal with pirates. First you give them a five minute warning of your intentions if they do
not immediately release the hostage, if they refuse you attack the pirates without delay with firepower. Hopefully they
may surrender before anyone gets hurt, the result may kill or injure the hostage, but the matter is over and the pirates have
lost while others will have second thoughts at piracy. My guess is that they will surrender when they realize you are
serious about your intentions. Second, if they give up the hostage, and surrender, you shoot to kill the pirates as
a lesson to other pirates of their fate and a lesson to the whole world that the US will fight to protect American property
or lives anywhere in the world. I
do not know how this conflict will end, but at this point, I doubt if the US will emerge as the principled nation history
has taught us to be. This is a time to fight not to negotiate at whatever cost. The hero captain knew he was risking
his life for the safety of his men and ship. In the old days, a captain was expected to go down with his ship, this
captain, bravely exchanged his life for his men and ship.
I do not know what you will do, as our commander in chief, to date, I have heard nothing from you which sounds very convenient,
but we want to hear from our commander in chief. You should say, "...turn over the hostage or you will all die..."
The FBI is not the agency to take charge of this military action negotiation is not an honorable option in this case.
1:27 pm
Thursday, April 9, 2009
EASTER
To all our grandchildren: By, Joseph E. Marino, Sr. April, 2005 Dear Grandchildren:
It seems that every year about this time, one of you asks' me or Nonna... "What is Easter?" Well it really is two things,
one thing for young children who love to play, be carefree and have fun all the time, and another thing for us grownups who
must face reality, responsibility and celebrate one of the most serious holidays in the Christian world. When Nonna and Nonno were young,
like you, we remember that Easter always came on a Sunday. Mom and Dad were home, and the family was together, like
every Sunday and it was a Church day. Mom always dressed us up with real fancy and new, Easter Clothes and hats, for
the annual Easter Parade to and from Church, parading around in our special Easter finery, down to our patent leather shoes
and handbags to match.
It was a happy time, every year in April because our parents told us, Easter was a Church day of celebration, because Jesus
arose and went to heaven to be with his heavenly Father. It was a happy time, also, because, it was the end of Lent,
which is forty days of fasting and penitence from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday. I didn't particularly like Ash
Wednesday because, all Catholics were expected to go to church on that day to have palm ashes rubbed on our foreheads by the
priest for some unexplained reason. I felt a little dirty and branded since it looked like I hadn't washed my fact
that morning, but since most of the kids were catholic also, it was only the few non-catholic bullies that made fun of us.
Still, we never wiped off the ashes because we feared being ostracized, if not excommunicated, if we did. Besides, it
was proof that we had attended Mass that day.
We didn't like Lent because, we thought it was just another excuse our parents would make, so we couldn't eat the
foods we liked, like meat, cookies and candy.
When Palm Sunday came a week before Easter, things began to liven up in preparation for the end of the days of fast.
We children, loved Palm Sunday because, the Church gave out a sprig of palms from the palm trees that we thought came from
Jerusalem, where Jesus once lived. They were blessed by the priests and so they were Holy. My mother would teach
us how to weave crosses and rose buds from the palms and it was fun, like weaving baskets. Mother would then hang the
Palm cross next to the calendar over the kitchen table where we were sure to see it every day and bless ourselves by making
the sign of the cross with our right hand, while silently reciting, dutifully, "In the name of the Father, the Son and
the Holy Spirit, Amen!"
Those forty days before Easter were awful, because, all we got to eat back then was pasta bread, soup and crackers, every
day. Nonno's
mother and his Nonna found ways to break the same food monotony every day, by inventing more and more ways to make and serve
the same meal.
On Monday, it was soup day, like chicken soup with small piece of chicken and a lot of broken up pieces of pasta. Once,
I even found a piece of chicken in my soup bowl, which was a mistake because dad usually got all the chicken pieces, because
he worked hard and needed all the strength he could get. Tuesdays, was spaghetti with peas, day. Nonno's parents
came from Tripi, Sicily, the island off Italy that was poor like the South in the old days. My family loved tomatoes
and tomato sauce and put the sauce on most everything they cooked. You could recognize a Sicilian, because he always
had that red tomato sauce around his lips and rubbed onto his shirt sleeves. Wednesday, was pasta and fagoili (beans)
day. My mother would make a big pot full and throw every vegetable she had in the ice box into it along with the traditional
small elbow macaroni. The surprise was it tasted good, especially if you dunked that hard Italian bread in it to soften
it up. Thursdays, was spaghetti and meatballs, with tomato sauce day. The meatballs were more bread crumbs than
hamburger but, the taste of the sauce made you feel like you were in heaven. Fridays was always fish day. Catholic's
can't eat meat on Friday's because, Jesus used to hang out with a bunch of fisherman like, Thomas, and this is was
one way to help support their trade. On Saturday, it was fried or baked chicken day for the ten of us in the family.
Our Nonna, whom lived with us, always asked for the back and tail end because no one else wanted it. My dad and oldest
brother Vincent each got a breast, Mother and brother, Tom, each got a leg thigh, sister Sally and I got the leg, while brother
Tony and sister Gloria got a wing. They were young and didn't eat much then. Until brother, John grew old
enough to eat with us he was content to eat his "pastina" a form of tiny pasta for infants. They would prop
him up at the table in his high chair handed down from the other six kids usually he spilled more food on the high chair and
on everyone around him than he actually ate. From then on, since there is no way to divide a chicken into ten pieces
Saturday became "sacrifice day," the first child to misbehave, was sent to their room without supper, so the rest
of them could share the chicken. After a while you could count on our Nonna to show up in our bedrooms with a piece
of her chicken and other tid-bits to stave off the hunger until breakfast. Sundays were like feast days. My Mother
and Grandmother would get up early in the morning, to prepare the Sunday dinner. They would ship us all off to church,
only a short walk away from our home on Porter Avenue in Somerville, Massachusetts after laying out our clothes, combing our
hair and slicking it down with olive oil and checking our shoes which we were obliged to shine and show on Saturday night
before bedtime. Dad, who only managed to attend Mass on Christmas Eve, for some reason, would sit at the kitchen table
with his box of Helmar cigarettes, a Turkish blend as strong as cigars, puffing away, inhaling and coughing while exhaling,
but persisting all the while. Most of the time instead of a cup of strong coffee to awaken himself, he would add a jigger
of anisette a sweetened old world alcohol mixture popular with habitual drinkers. He would be at the kitchen table when
we left for Church services just before nine a.m. and after we returned about eleven thirty a.m. he would still be there at
the kitchen table smoking and drinking and coughing, in his t-shirt with the bulging stomach and disheveled hair. Good Friday, before Easter was
always a solemn day because, we were told Jesus was crucified and died on Good Friday. I used to wonder why they call
it Good Friday when, it was really a very bad day. My Mother told me one day, that I was born on Good Friday, so from
then on, I thought it was a Good Friday, too.
As young, impressionable children, we faithfully believed in the story of Jesus' death on the cross, on Good Friday and
how after the third day he arose and went to Heaven. This is what we have always been taught by our parents, priests,
churches and teachers at Sunday school.
As we got older, we began to ask questions about the three days while not questioning our faith. I, for one, asked if
Jesus died on a Friday and rose from the dead on Sunday, that's only two days, not three days. It was not until
I asked my older brother, Vincent, who knew everything, that this dilemma was solved. As Vincent explained it, Jesus
arose on the third day, not after three days, someone had misstated the facts. I can
understand that, because the Holy Bible was not written until about three hundred years after Jesus died and for those three
hundred years his teachings were passed along only by the spoken word. Remember,
it took that long for Christianity to be accepted around the world Emperor Constantine, was the first world leader to accept
Christianity and he became a Catholic. Before that, the Romans, who ruled the world, worshiped idols like the Sun God
and Apollo or Venus, if you liked women.
Then, I had another question. How could Jesus be resurrected more than two thousand years ago was he the only person
resurrected since then? We are taught that after our death, our soul leaves our body and we ascend to heaven, if we
are good, or the other place, if we have been bad and our sins are not forgiven. Our body goes from ashes to ashes,
dust to dust. So why did Jesus take his body with him, if nobody else needs it in Heaven? I also would like to
know how we recognize each other. I have never seen anyone else's soul, have you? These and other questions bothered me for
years, and at times, shook my faith, and made me think I was missing something. I really began to worry, that if I was
not a true believer, how would I be accepted into Heaven?
As the years progressed and I was married to your Nonna and had children of our own, I noticed that children are children
and really cannot accept a faith on faith alone, until they are old enough to understand what religion is all about.
It is better to let children be children to enjoy the day with games like Easter egg hunts, coloring eggs, special meals and
desserts, because it warms them up to that day when they are old enough to ask the same questions that I asked as a young
child. At
that time, when we are old enough to understand, we will all come to the realization that our Religion is based on blind faith
in ourselves our fellow people, our family, friends and neighbors, our country, church and our God. It is what gives
us comfort and trust and drives us to be good and helpful to everyone, especially those that may need help along life's
way. And, we learn to do this without the desire to be paid or rewarded or even recognized for our efforts, because,
we know, our reward will be there in Heaven for us, following in the footsteps of those that have already left us for their
final reward, where we will meet them all again. God and Jesus will be waiting for us there to pass the final judgment
on us to hopefully join them all in Heaven with peace and joy everlasting in the Kingdom and protection of God and Jesus who
will accept us with open arms and love forever.
Easter dinner in the past was a feast, usually with invited guests like Aunt and Uncle Tony and Mary Cannavo and their two
children, Vincent and Carmela.
The traditional meal at Easter was lamb, "the lamb of God," my Mother would say. Dessert always included almond
past figures of lamb which was a must, bought at the local Italian Pastry shop on Hanover Street in Boston, Massachusetts
along with the Almond candies and cookies. Of course, in those early days, we didn't have Easter egg hunts, we "Italians"
helped our Mother's and Grandmother's make "goodutties", which were Easter baskets made of cookie dough
with hard boiled eggs on top on top and baked in the oven.
Most immigrants were stuck on their traditional customs and meals until their children grew up amongst Americans and were
"Americanized" then their customs slowly adapted, not changed, we took on the American customs both worlds, the
old and the new.
So, my Grandchildren this is Easter, enjoy it, one way or another, but enjoy it and help us all to enjoy it without asking
those questions that I asked. Just bite your tongue for a while and you will get the answers like we eventually did.
7:36 pm
7:24 pm
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
CELEBRATING MY EIGHTY FIFTH
BIRTHDAY APRIL 4, 2OO9 Dear friends and family, Today, I celebrate my eighty fifth birthday and I wonder at the
fact I have lived that long with God's will. I'm intelligent enough to realize it is not because I have lived
a healthy life, since I have smoked cigarettes ever since I was twelve and only had the will to stop when I was already 50
and it's not even because I have been a good person, because I know I have faults some more serious than others, it is
not because of my genes either, because my father died at 64 and my mother at 70 years. I credit my relatively good
health and longevity, to my wife Rose, who dotes on me like one of our six children. She is a very good cook and loves
her kitchen. She has always prepared balanced healthy meals and demonstrated that a good life is to enjoy everything
in moderation. I eat heartily and usually I'm overweight, but I enjoy my family and friends and am content with
my life as it clicks away each day.
Since I turned sixty five I've wondered if I would collect as much as I paid into the Social Security retirement
system started by, Roosevelt, in 1935 now, I think I have my money back, with interest. My father had died just before
he turned 65. Rose and I watch our health and make frequent visits to our doctors who keep our health in check. I wake
up each morning and discover I am still alive. That alone, makes for a good cheerful day realizing God has given me
a reprieve and hasn't called for me as yet. I am determined to enjoy the day and try very hard not to let any news,
events or persons spoil my day in the sun of life. I try to be grateful, kind and courteous to everyone but sometimes,
I lose my patience because of my Sicilian heritage. I grew up in a family of ten including my grandmother, a living
saint. My mother was an unhappy, stay at home Mom, I thought it was, because it seemed her sole mission in life was
to punish us kids and antagonize my Dad, whom she drove to drink. She would have made a happy executioner if she
sought out the job. My grandmother prepared
all the meals and really raised us kids with love and concern while my Mother plotted against every one, all day.
When my dad arrived home from a hard day's work as a carpenter, she would complain to him about anything and everyone,
until he lost control, took off his belt and beat us all, to shut her up. When World War II started I was sure it was
caused by my mother's complaints. But things were not always that bad because I was too young to remember those
first few years, thank God.
I was born while Calvin Coolidge was president. He was called "silent Cal" and was the first president
who chose not to run for re-election, preferring the peace and quiet of his native state, Vermont. Next, Herbert
Hoover, a republican was elected, a relatively quiet man who headed up the relief mission in Europe after WW I. He had
the misfortune to be hit with and blamed for the 1929 stock market crash and the start of the so-called great depression,
when most everyone lost their jobs and all production stopped, worldwide, like all republicans, his advisors convinced him
to do nothing and let the market correct itself. I was five years old at the time and did not realize the problem my
folks faced. Construction work dried up and soon they did not have the money to pay their mortgage on their recently
purchased home for their expanding family.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a former democratic governor of New York was elected president in 1931 at a time people were suffering
and at their wits end on how to survive with their families. His inaugural speech of "the only thing we have to
fear is fear itself" still resonates in this country today. Roosevelt closed all the banks and reopened them
within a week with new capital investments. He initiated the FDIC program to protect the bank depositor's money
from loss. He started the government sponsored program called the homeowners loan corporation to help all mortgage holders
by setting the mortgage payment based on the ability to pay. Few if anyone lost their homes although values declined
to about a thousand dollars per home. For the unemployed he started the works project administration (WPA) the CCC for
young people to get them off the streets and housing projects to help the arts and the construction of new schools and post
offices all over the country. One worthwhile project was the replacement of all the sidewalks in the city from brick
to concrete while they straightened or replaced most of the granite curbs. Some of that project is continuing to this
day but, all in all, it provided needed jobs for the unemployed at three dollars a day most of the weekly work was limited
to three days to give others a chance to work also.
That is how the nation survived the great depression until Hitler started WWII in 1939, with the invasion of Poland.
The United States factories sprang into action building armaments, tanks, ships and planes for England and France, while America
stayed "neutral" until the dastardly act by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Roosevelt was
a great president and our present president, Obama, would do well by all of us, to follow example, but only time will tell. At the time, I was a senior in high school planning a college education
in engineering to help my family who was then in the construction business headed by my Dad, my eldest brother Vincent
and," no. 2 son," Tom, a carbon copy of my Dad. During the depression the family survived, too proud to ask
for welfare while taking construction jobs just for the day's pay without any consideration of overhead or profit.
The office was in our home on Porter Street Somerville, Massachusetts and I even remember the telephone number to this day,
Prospect 6073. My father was one of the few neighbors that had a vehicle, a 1929 Ford pickup only because it was his
work truck. During the depression, none of us
kids were spared from the work ethic, but were recruited during the summer school vacations and on weekends and holidays to
work at various jobs usually at manual labor, sweeping floors lugging material, water boy and anything else that was needed.
I remember my sister Sally acted as secretary typing letters, etcetera when she was barely fourteen. While other kids
in the neighborhood all played participated in sports or relaxed, we worked since we were twelve years old and without pay
or allowances although we were never deprived of the 25 cents for the occasional movie on Sunday's matinees, to live the
fantasies of the movies for a few hours. Once
Pearl Harbor happened and we were at war with Germany, Italy and Japan, we all wanted to join the affray and fight.
My father, who had praised the Italian dictator Mussolini for helping the poor Italians and making the trains run on time,
now cursed him like a loyal American, grateful for the opportunities given him as a poor immigrant in the USA. As young men, school work ended with the start of the war my father
refused to give me permission to join the air force since I dreamed of being a pilot, at the time I thought he was just being
selfish because, to me, I was a free labor force for him. Once I went into the service under a draft call at the end
of 1942 I began to realize my father's intention was to save my skin as long as possible.
After serving three years in the combat engineer during wartime, I fully expected to die.
As we trudged through France, Belgium and Germany, fixing roads, placing mine fields removing German minefields and booby
traps, blowing up bridges only to rebuild them. I was scared and cautious, but knew it would be a question of time before
my number came up. When the war in Europe ended in May, 1945 I was relieved, but soon we received orders to ship out
to the Pacific. When we arrived in the Philippines in July of that year we were sent to Clark Field to rebuild it.
At night they gave us talks on the proposed invasion of Japan, scheduled for early October. We were to be in the second
wave of the invasion of Kyushu the southernmost island and they expected about 50% casualties. At this point, I resigned
myself to die expecting that my luck cannot last forever. It is a strange feeling that you get when
you make that decision, you stop worrying and go about your duties, like a robot but only, with a brain.
Fortunately, my luck had not run out, because,
to our surprise, the Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima and then on Nagasaki and Japan surrendered. I didn't
get home until the following March, 1946 because, as engineers we had plenty of rebuilding to do in and around Manila. When I was discharged at Fort Devens in Massachusetts I was asked
if I had been hurt while I was in the service. Of course I had been hurt, I injured my back, lost my hearing for a week
when a fast fuse blew up a Bangalore torpedo in France, and I had gotten trench mouth in the Philippines and eventually lost
all my teeth. I was so happy to get home alive I refused to put in any claim, thinking, if I ever needed help I would
ask for it. I never asked for it and managed without any Veterans' benefits all my life. The same day I was
discharged from the Military, I signed up for my delayed college education at Northeastern University, in Boston. I have never been unemployed or on workman's compensation.
I worked on a half dozen bridge building jobs the next five years, fell off a couple of them, but luckily was never seriously
hurt. I finally decided
to become a lawyer only because I would be home all the time and not out of state on a construction job. Rose and I were married on July 27, 1951. She worked until
the third child came along and she happily supported me through my school days. I worked nights after school from 4
to midnight and we met in bed at 1 am. By 1967 she had six children who have enriched our lives. I practiced
law for nearly fifty years and enjoyed every minute of it and Rose helped me entertain my clients and contacts. Later,
I found that she was as good a lawyer as I. We have been true partners all our lives.
In our fifty eight years of marriage Rose and I never argued about money not when we didn't have it
and not when we had it. If we ever had an argument, and we are both Sicilian, we'd talk it out and never went to
sleep mad. If
you were to ask me what our secret of longevity in life and marriage is I would tell you that if you always tend to your mates
needs and she tends to yours, everything will work out. There must be absolute trust and faith in the other, never separate
bank accounts, but everything must be joint and open. Be a good listener, if you expect to be listened to. You
need to ask forgiveness when you are wrong and sometimes even when you think you are right. When the priest said "the
union of two people", he was right, marriage joins two people into one, when you fight the other half you are fighting
with yourself. Above all, never keep score never be selfish and always be generous even if it hurts, if you want to
live to a ripe old age in a happy marriage. I love my wife even more than when we married, but I never take her for
granted. I try to earn her love every day and she does the same for me.
3:58 pm
Sunday, April 5, 2009
THE REAL REASONS BEHIND THE REPEATED BANK AND FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS BAIL OUTS,
MONEY FOR THE POLITICIANSMarch 25, 2009 Dear president Obama, Last September, when president Bush and his secretary of the treasury Paulson , a
former Goldman Sacks CEO, rushed to congress demanding approval of a bank bailout bill to be controlled by Mr. Paulson,
I thought, this is just another "go to war in Iraq" scheme. I thought, our now democratically controlled
congress will laugh it off the table and reject it. But, instead you and your presidential adversary, John McCain, rushed
to Washington to recommend and aid in its passage. Why the government would intervene in a private enterprise situation
caused by the bankers themselves, I could not justify in my small and uncomplicated mind. I was taught that the
United States as a democracy was built on a free enterprise system where anyone may enter or invest in businesses and experience
the thrill of victory in profit or the risk of defeat and possible loss.
Why and how can the US government justify its intrusion into this system for the sole reason of helping the very people that
have caused this disaster, based on the premise that "they are too big to fail" or "their failure will cause
a complete breakdown of this country's financial system?"
In the meantime, president Bush had already assisted an insurance giant, AIG by transferring 80 billion dollars from the Federal
Reserve System to help them pay insurance claims for bad, (toxic) loans. Your very own secretary, at the time, was a
chief proponent of this recommended plan! Why, I stupidly asked myself,
would anyone in their right mind vote for such a bailout when we all know there are millions of investors who would gleefully
step in an invest in new banks to take the place of these bad banks. In addition, as part of any bankruptcy procedure,
those unsecured loans would be wiped off the books while the US would need to make up for lost deposits under the FDIC rules.
Also, all US guaranteed mortgages under Fannie Mae, Freddy Mack, FHA or veterans' mortgages would be paid
by the USA in addition it was reported that the US government had taken back control of Fannie and Freddie, since they had
also overextended themselves and needed more cash infusion, while their CEO's were paid outrageous salaries and bonuses
for their misdeeds and incompetence while paying off congress members with their blatant lobbying efforts and campaign contributions.
Of course, I was proven wrong, because democrat and republican
members of congress rushed in to approve the 785 billion dollar bailout of these banks in early October and every one sat
back waiting for the promised help from banks in lending money to businesses and help the worsening mortgage foreclosure
problem. Unfortunately, by January 20th
and your induction into office as our 44th president, we learned that the banks had accepted the money only to use it to buy
other banks or just sit on the money like hens on eggs hoping no one would notice the inaction. To add insult
to injury these same banks boldly refused to account to anyone as to what they were doing with this money since congress in
their haste to bail them out, failed to impose any controls or restrictions on this money as did secretary Paulson, also in
this regard. The Federal Reserve's 80 billion dollars given AIG prompted them to give lavish parties and "retention"
bonuses to their employees. Next, in your three week rush to have
congress pass a stimulus package full of pork and earmarks and a total of another 85 billion dollar infusion to AIG we learn
that most of this latter money had gone to cover insured mortgages of Goldman Sacks and other financial institutions while
these institutions burned up a lot of this money on salaries and bonuses and new office remodeling expenses with a business
as usual attitude with this public money. Why would the American people agree to bail out financial institutions and
insurance companies? They would not, but instead they were told the money was going to help the economy and they were
assured it was the right thing to do by you and their congressmen. All this baloney was anything but transparency
and more sleight of hand. The American people are not as stupid and gullible as you and those Washington politicians
may think. Remember what Lincoln said about fooling people some of the time.
After your supplemental budget bill passed congress with a 8 billion dollar addition of pork and earmarks, followed by a congressional
fact finding, treasury funded junket to Rome and an audience with the Pope, the American people realized that big business
and congress are having a real party with public money while the workers are suffering with layoffs, mortgage troubles and
a cut back on their credit and needed purchases.
Please, do not tell us again that you didn't know about the retention bonuses since now we learn that it was your treasury
secretary's office that orchestrated that specific change in the bill to include the payment of those bonuses. Congress
is equally guilty since they never read the 1100 page bill anyway because they never do and couldn't anyway, because of
time constraints. The buck does stop with you and your veracity is put into serious question. You can run
around the country trying to use your usual charm to keep up appearances, but people are really taking a second look at all
your actions and con will not do, in the future. This second
bailout bill for banks is nothing but a cruel trick played on the American people to aid big financial institutions who traditionally
are the source of campaign contributions for you and congress and who should be left to take their losses as gambling people.
Why did you exclude from mortgage help, those innocent people who you described as "people who purchased homes
they knew they could not afford", while you rush to help those big investors you know are nothing but well healed greedy
gamblers. The American people will
never buy this claim that banks and financial institutions are too big to fail. No man is too big to fail. When
someone dies, someone always replaces them without the stop of a heartbeat.
I would caution you to hold down the deficit spending in your next budget as well as new taxes so that we and our children
are not saddled with any more debt to pay off, than we already have.
If you had concentrated most of the spending to create more permanent jobs in alternative energy than you have, instead of
bailing out the Wall Street gamblers and stopping the falling real estate prices you would not be faced with additional
defaults and foreclosures of mortgages the government is obligated to pay.
The purchase of toxic loans at near face value bails out only more of the Wall Street gamblers, while this plan is doomed
to leave the American people holding the empty bag. If congress passes this latest bank bailout bill they will be sealing
their fate at the polls in November 2010, I believe you will suffer the same fate in 2012, if you persist on pursuing this
same fatal course. It is ok to be persistent as you say, but it is equality important to fully analyze your course which
is vital to succeed in the course you are persisting. Your present persistance
only demonstates you are only interested in helping Wall Street, while you are leaving Main Street with a few token scraps
of food with which to survive. You are on the wrong course and unfortunately, you and the American people will
pay the price, eventually. Thank you for this opportunity to voice
our opinions.
8:27 am
|
|
|
|
|
