THANKSGIVING MUST BE CANCELLED THIS YEAR

November 20, 2010

Dear president Obama,

     I sent you the letter below, just before Thanksgiving Day; last year     unfortunately, our economy has not improved enough, this year to put any dent in the unemployment figures.  Now you know why the democrats lost sixty seats in the House of Representatives and a few more in the senate.    The American people cannot wait any longer for the relief they need.  Most are desperate and living from hand to mouth.      

     If you think only about putting those 15 million Americans into permanent new jobs, half of which have gone overseas you may have a chance at re-election in 2012.  That was the mandate given you in 2008 and now, the mandate given the republicans on November 3, 2010.  I know the democrats are our only hope to find the necessary jobs because the republican party have had a taste of your blood so they will spend the next two years, exclusively, trying to defeat your bid for re-election.

     We hope you and your family enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday because we cannot.

Joe and Rose Marino

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

November 16, 2009

Dear president Obama,

     It is with great regret and sadness that we advise you to cancel the celebration of Thanksgiving this year, 2009.  Simply put, it is because we have experienced nothing, in this country in the last year to be thankful for.    The following is a small list of some reasons why we have nothing good to celebrate this past year.

1.     We installed you as our new president with all the hope and confidence of the "changes" you promised and the "can do" attitude that you promised us.  Unfortunately, all those promises were empty and unfulfilled to date.  Which have left us disappointed, worrying and suffering.  You marched into Washington while appointing the same gang of politicians you promises to replace.

2.     Unemployment was at 5 % when you took office and has doubled since then, with no hope or plan to improve this huge and vital problem of suffering humanity you have mostly ignored. Except on a temporary manner,

3.     You and your moneyed advisors were quick to throw the balance of our  money at the country's financial institutions ostensibly to free up loans to the public at large, but they all pocketed our money, played the stock market, refused to account for it while granting outlandish pay and bonuses to their high officials and lavish parties for their agents at plush resorts, not one loan has been made to any business or person that would not have been made without the trillion dollar "donation to these  financial institution you said were "too big to fail". But should have been allowed to fail because they were the root cause of this debauchery, 122 banks have failed this year; the very banks you said would be bolstered to give out the needed loans and mortgages.

4.     The mortgage foreclosure problem has gotten worse, resulting in a steady decline in values of real estate and rental values, which has resulted in more mortgages to exceed the value of the property and prompting more mortgage foreclosures, while you do nothing to help keep the homeowner in their home, and off the street with their belongings.  You cannot expect banks to give mortgages when real estate values are dropping indeterminably.

5.     It is for this same reason that your plan to give an $8,000.00 credit to home buyers from my Treasury is not sound because it really helps only those, working with steady jobs to buy the homes of the unemployed who are losing their homes by foreclosure a bargain prices while the government picks up the tab under FHA, Veterans and Fanny Mae guaranteed loans.    Again, our Treasury and our money is being spent and increasing the national debt.  You should be helping the unemployed instead since they and their families are suffering.  Full employment fills your coffers with tax revenue and fuels the needs of towns, cities and states.

• 6. Speaking of national debt you and congress have managed to spend and spend on stupid projects that have doubled the national debt in less than a year, from 6 trillion to ten or twelve trillion dollars and counting, since the budget deficit is more than a trillion a year.

• 7. That phony "national recovery act bill," passed by congress at your behest, amounting to about a trillion dollars in pork barrel projects, has done nothing to create the fifteen million permanent jobs needed to get us out of this recession, .of course, most of this money went to cities and town, and state and the federal government to help them keep their political friends and employees on the job because of the shortfall in income due to the high unemployment. If this money was used to employ the unemployed also, everyone would gain, not just your political friends.

• 8. Helping those two auto companies with huge loans was a waste of our treasury funds since Chrysler will never be able to pay these loans back, and you have violated the principle of the free enterprise our country has flourished on, free and open competition amongst businesses. The better way to have handled this problem was to put import taxes in foreign autos and parts, this would have put money in our Treasury not out of it while helping our auto industry to compete. It is also obvious that labor unions have operated solely for their benefit while destroying the industry the workers are employed at. The net result of your gifts to the auto industry is that they are downsizing and laying-off more workers, to the unemployment line, instead. You may have helped the industry, temporarily but not the worker, labor and the industry must be made to join together to meet the competition and survive, jointly.

• 9. You and congress have spent all this time on a health plan that does not guarantee that the cost of health care will be reduced but is projected to cost a trillion dollars more in the next ten years. All you needed to do was to reduce the costs of health care so everyone could afford it, as that was the reason people do not buy it. Everyone needs reasonable health care, not health care at any cost. Your plan is outrageously high in cost and will not work until the costs are addressed first.

• 10. It was the free trade pacts that have caused the bulk of the unemployment, in this country. American businesses have rushed overseas to find the cheaper labor in China and other third world countries. This has not only caused America a big share of the unemployment problem it has caused a trillion dollar yearly deficit in our trade for durable goods which is also draining our net worth and reducing the value of our dollar. What we need is a fair trade policy, akin to a barter system with these countries; they may sell all they want, as long as they take payment in American made goods that are not strategic to us, such as oil, and other such items.

• 11. Speaking of oil, congress and every administration, for the last forty years, they have allowed our country to be increasingly dependent on foreign and domestic oil and subject to the whim of the foreign OPEC and oil cartels control of prices. Almost 50% of our oil comes from foreign countries while the oil deficit has reached a trillion dollars a year, draining our net worth and reducing the value of our dollar, worldwide. You have planned nothing to halt this practice that brought our country to its knees in July 2008 with $4.00 a gallon gasoline and fuel oil. This was the breaking point for the auto companies because they were manufacturing huge gas guzzling clunkers, since your election to the presidency you have not announced a real and definite plan to quickly rid us of our dependency on oil. We need a crash program, backed by the US government, to produce alternative fuels within the next five years to solve this problem, while in the meantime oil is nearing the $3.00 a gallon range, too high for the hurting American consumer and the transportation industry, who merely passes the high cost of diesel fuel along to the already hurting American public in the form of higher food and other transportation costs.

• 12. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been draining the life blood of our country and the economy and well being our troops and country. Our armies have been stretched to the limit, and the troops are suffering too much with stupid deployment after deployment. It is time to end these conflicts and stop this nation building action of our country in those places we had no right to invade in the first place. Unless and until the problems, with Israel and the Muslim nations are solved, we will be targets of hate and conflict, worldwide. Solve that problem and the fanatical Muslims will settle down to a peaceful existence with us, England and Israel.

• 13. The American people have been living on a deep credit economy with high credit card balances and mortgages maxed to the limit to make ends meet for the last ten years, wages have been stagnant while taxes and costs have increased dramatically. The country and the people are in tough financial condition and it will take the best efforts of a real American president to help the American people and the country out of this mess.

     You sir, have failed to make the changes you promised the people who elected you to the job you sought.  Now it is high time you work for the good of the American people and no one else before all faith and trust in you is irretrievably lost.

     If and when you solve these problems you promised to solve and bring the country the relief we so dearly need, maybe we can celebrate our Thanksgiving Day holiday in the same spirit intended by our pilgrim fathers, nearly four hundred years ago in Plymouth Massachusetts.

Joseph and Rose Marino

A FEW SURE FIRE WAYS TO FIX THE ECONOMY AND

PUT OUR 15 MILLION AMERICANS BACK TO WORK

November 15, 2010

      The only way to fix the economy in the U. S. A. is to understand how it went bad, and then act to undo the forces that caused this continuing problem since 1995.

      At the end of World War II, America was at the height of its production capacity because of the needs of the world war.

     The production capabilities of our allies in Europe had been interrupted by the war raging in Europe and America was required to pick up the production slack in order to defeat the axis powers.   It only took about five years to overcome the production of the axis powers with the incessant four year aerial bombing with planes, combined with the invasion of Italy in 1943 and France in 1944 to defeat both European axis powers by early 1945.     By the following August 1945, Japan fell as a result of the dropping of two devastating atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, Japan after four years of island hopping by allied forces at great cost in men and material.

     When the veterans came back from the war, it was said that with war production stopped, the economy would suffer and unemployment would rise.  However the demand for the civil production of vehicles that had ceased for the four war years and the construction of homes for returning veterans who married and settled down to raise families, postponed because of the war, spurred and fed the economy, for the next twenty years.

     With the ever rising demand for products and services, labor unions restrained by price and wage controls, during the war years, were now free to make unprecedented demands for higher and higher wage and benefit increases, using the threat of strikes to force most industries into submission while the added costs were passed along to the consumer with increased costs for their products.

     Who does not remember the constant rounds of labor negotiations about every two years, starting with the steel workers union's demands on the American steel industries with the resulting price increases for their product to the point that after twenty years foreign steel makers were able to compete with their American counterparts and, one by one, the American steel industry succumbed, just shut down and went out of business.   

     At the same time, the five or six major American motor vehicle manufacturers faced with the same threats of strikes by the auto workers union also succumbed to the union demands, one by one, until only the big three barely survived, while facing increased competition from foreign manufacturers, especially the Japanese auto makers.    

     When unions make demands which include pensions and health insurance coverage that obligate employers to carry retired and working members alike into the future, it is only a matter of time before foreign competition, which is not saddled with union demands or high wages and other benefits, is able to successfully compete and take an ever larger share of the American production for themselves.

      Now you know what has happened to the steel and auto industries over the years, they fell to foreign competition when as a result of the union demands the companies found they could not afford to retool to trim costs and they could not compete and stay in business with the American high labor cost.  In spite of this obvious problem, unions did nothing to try to keep the companies alive and their workers working and, merrily continued with their demands for higher wages and benefits as the companies continued to shut down and lay off the union workers.

     Big businesses, faced with this power of local labor unions, suddenly found a way to combat the unions and high wages by moving their business overseas to the available sources of cheap labor, like China.  President Nixon visited china in the early 1970's, where a limitless amount of labor was available, starting at about a dollar a day.  Soon, many big businesses were attracted to China and other sources of cheap labor oversea, resulting in a steady stream of companies locating or investing in foreign companies overseas.    

      Suddenly, Wal-Mart and other big retail chains were carrying cheap overseas goods and Americans were attracted to the low priced goods, like bees to honey.  This is so, even though there are plenty of examples that the products imported from China were uninspected, defective and dangerous to the health and safety of the American consumer.

      When president Clinton signed the free trade acts of cafta and nafta in the mid 1990's, at the behest of a republican congress, the fate of local manufacturers and union labor were sealed and unemployment started to appear in the all the manufacturing fields.    

      The American construction industries fared no better from the constant union demands for higher and higher wages and benefits over the years, even though, fortunately, they were not faced with foreign competition because of its local nature for labor needs.  Union wages increased from one dollar an hour without benefits for carpenters in 1941 to 30 dollars and hour as recent as 2005 with benefits, like pensions and health plans payable after the worker's retirement.   

      Due to the collapse of the financial markets and the overbuilding of housing and commercial property as real estate prices climbed yearly due to  the actions of greedy lenders of mortgages,  the whole building market collapsed at the end of 2008 and the huge amount of ensuing mortgage foreclosures have depressed values to the point the construction industry cannot recover until real estate values stabilize, they are, also still dropping, due to unemployment so the vicious cycle will continue, until the unemployed are  employed and the foreclosures end, so prices will stabilize, as the supply of cheap real-estate dries up.  

      The lure of high paying jobs in America, as compared to other less industrially developed countries led to the flood of illegal immigrants, both over our borders and from overstaying visitors from Canada and elsewhere     they immediately attracted farm businesses, food processors and manufacturers alike, to this source of local cheap labor and, starting in 1960's the demand expanded to the point that in 1984, president Reagan and congress granted amnesty to millions of these illegal's, making them legal residents.  However, this action alone encouraged other illegals to follow, anxious to share in the American dream of a job and a future in America as citizens.     

      Now, we are faced with about ten million illegals in this country working at jobs needed by the unemployed Americans due to this deepening recession.  Many are working in the construction industry for non union wages adding to the woes of union and non union workers, alike, competing for the limited jobs now available.

       Both president's Bush and Obama promised some relief for these illegals.  President Bush wisely deferred any action in this regard to his successor, president Obama who, because of the deepening economic recession has not dared take action for fear of a ground swell of reprisals against him and his democrats.  Until we have near full employment, it would be unwise for any administration to pass any type amnesty for illegals.

      In the last sixty years we have seen our steel industry practically shut down due to foreign competition.  Our auto manufacturers have lost all but 40% of the automotive business to foreign competition and both GM and Chrysler would have collapsed entirely but for a government bailout.  We have lost all our commercial ship building industries, shoe and clothing manufacturing, our once lucrative computer dominance has moved from the  silicone valley California to China and Japan, all our appliances are made in China as are just about all other manufactured goods.  We have, not only lost most of our manufacturing base to foreign competition causing unemployment, most of the companies have also gone overseas with their tools and equipment in search of cheap labor.  All this has left us with fifteen million skilled unemployed workers who need work desperately and who are also losing their homes, due to bank foreclosures and decreasing real estate values.

      Both the democratic and republican leaders in Washington have stood by with stimulus projects that only help temporarily, when we need permanent jobs to replace those lost.  Tax breaks for employers do not help make jobs, the demand for goods makes jobs, less taxes for the rich or anyone for that matter only puts a few dollars in the pockets of Americans when they need a permanent job, with which they can feed their family, pay their bills and their fare share of taxes.  This is the only way the country can be helped, all around, with good permanent jobs and more jobs.  We also need more than a million new jobs a year just to take care of those young men and women, who come of age and who will enter the work force each year.  You cannot expect our service industries to carry the burden of all these needed jobs, because basically, that is all that is left. Outside of public jobs which are in danger of layoffs now due to budget shortfalls in every state of the union except Texas who is supported by big oil at the American people's expense at the pump and for their heating oil for their homes.

      The American public has had to suffer the indignation of the OPEC nations doubling the price of gasoline and heating fuel since the oil embargo of 1972, while our domestic oil producing companies joined in at the same time to double their prices, claiming the demand for oil justifies the increase.      The US government did nothing to help the situation and, as a result, oil has ruled the day for the last nearly forty years.  Even today, oil prices are at the whim of the producers and importers and our government does nothing to help this rip-off of the American public.

       Of course, that is not any different than what the drug companies have done to the American public.  They have spiked the price of drugs in the USA, at twice what they sell their drugs throughout the rest of the world, while claiming the difference is because of research and development.

      In the early years of the Reagan administration, congress pushed through an amendment to the bank laws, which allowed banks to assign their mortgages to financial institutions, which in turn "bundled" them with others and sold them on the world stock markets.  This law freed the banks from any responsibility for the mortgages they granted to their customers and, as a result, credit considerations were ignored in order to make a quick profit on writing the mortgage and then assigning it out.     

     At the same time, the Federal Reserve System was prompted to continue reducing the rate of interest on these mortgages to encourage buyers and sellers alike in the banking, real estate and construction fields.  As a result, building began to boom for housing and commercial property because everyone had the opportunity to buy a home at low, affordable interest rates.    This building boom, in turn, caused the value of existing homes to increase as the cost of buildings increased with increased values of every homeowners home, many owners rushed in to refinance their homes, many times over as the interest rates continued to fall.  The generous, yet greedy banks encouraged the homeowner in this practice, sometimes giving out mortgages at 10% about the value of the home in anticipation of values continuing to rise.  People continued to borrow money on their homes and property to buy second vacation homes or a second and third automobile or just for investment in the real estate market which flourished without letup for more than twenty years until the crash of 2008.

    In addition, credit card companies, anxious to cash in on the credit business mailed credit cards to everyone in the telephone book, regardless of their credit standing.  This practice started in the mid eighties and continued until most everyone had maxed out their credit limit as they began to lose their jobs or had trouble meeting their mortgage obligations.  Soon the interest rates on credit cards were increased from seven percent to as high as twenty-nine percent per year.  Nearly everyone ended up on a credit economy with people praying for another credit card in the mail to max out and pay their other debts.  When the crash came at the end of 2008, these people had no equity left in their homes and with an average of $25,000 in credit card debt they rushed to the bankruptcy court for protection against debt collection.

    All the while, President Bush and congress were spending money full speed like a running water faucet with deficit spending above their budgets while leaving out the cost of the two unnecessary wars and going into deep deficit debt to the tune of about eight trillion dollars in eight years between: 2001 - 2008.

     When the stock market lost 4000 points in 2006, everyone felt the pinch     those of us with retirement plans in the stock market saw our portfolio reduced by one third or more and now our retirement savings were being depleted.  Of course, everyone knows the stock market is a gambling den but because of the governments programs for easy credit and low interest rates on bank deposits, many people depending on interest on their liquid assets; felt they have no choice but to play the stock market.  Of course they are no match for the control of the market usually exercised by big businesses, financial institutions, the rich and the government who can in most cases influence the up and down swings of the stock market, almost at will, through the Federal Reserve System.  In the end, the stock market is the lazy person's way of making money, almost instantaneously with little of the long term risk associated with a small business company investment.

      Soon, the only industries remaining in the USA were the service industries, utilities, restaurants, shops automobile and aircraft related businesses along with the construction business which are traditionally local in nature.  Even then the auto industries control of its share of sales continued to drop from 90 % to 40 % from 1946 to 1996 due to foreign competition  Even the aircraft industries were now facing stiff competition from a consortium of British and French companies with the USA awarding contracts to them for military aircraft because of the fierce competition.    Even china has made overtures to the American aircraft companies and it is a matter of time before China adds the aircraft industries to its manufacturing power as it has also started with the automobile business which is sure to finally put all the big three American auto mobile companies out of business, in the next ten years.  It will not be long before all our computer, medicines, ship, auto and aircraft industries will be lost to China and if a war with China or anyone begins, we will need to buy all these fighting machines from foreign countries since none are available here in the USA.  If we allow that to happen to us we will certainly be a second rate nation, since all the incentive for research and development in these fields will be lost, also.

      These facts alone should make it clear to all Americans that the best of intentions for cheaper goods from overseas is a serious threat to our economy and defense and has already made us a second rate nation around the world.  

     It is the main cause of the collapse of our economy and the rise in unemployment in this country.  None of our representatives in Washington or one party administration or the other can do anything about it, since they are the culprits who passed and signed the laws that have allowed this tragedy to happen to the American people.    

       The continual acts of the American people, of voting in one party or the other, for the last ten years, seeking the relief and help needed, only falls on the  deaf ears of members of both parties, since neither can bring us the relief we need.  The simple reason is because of the political contributions of big business to continue on this path of profit from overseas labor and a general hate of labor unions who have not served the country or their workforces members well in this regard.  Have you seen unions team up with management, as they should, in order to keep the companies on a competitive mode so they can continue in business and keep their members working?  Therein lays the problem with unions, in the past they have only been interested in the wages and benefits for their workers, without regard, to keeping the employer profitable and in business in this very competitive world.

      Of the fifteen million unemployed, 25 % are in the construction industry.    With falling prices due to the continuing foreclosures and banks, sensibly, unwilling to loan money in a falling market this industry will remain at a standstill until prices of real estate stabilize and the flood of foreclosure ends.  Also, unless the fifteen million unemployed find work soon, they are bound to default on their mortgages and another round of foreclosures will continue.  Therefore, in this industry, which does not compete with foreign labor, except illegal aliens cannot recover in the final analysis until we have full permanent employment and foreclosures nearly end so that real estate prices stabilize.     

     At least 50 % of the present unemployed Americans are as a result of their jobs and businesses shipping overseas in search of cheap labor.  If we continue with this free trade system of agreements these 7.5 million Americans cannot find jobs or be absorbed in any of the other remaining fields, the demand for American goods is continuing to dwindle due to foreign competition.  The last 25 % of lost jobs is in the service industries since spending is down because of the recession.  We either find new industries for these workers or amend our trade laws from a free trade system to a balanced trade system.  In other words, foreign countries should be allowed to sell anything we need to buy in the USA as long as they take payment in the form of American goods made in the USA.  

     In addition, if we were to have a crash program to produce renewable alternative energy with a five year development period tax holiday for these new industries, with materials and labor all made in this country we should be out of this recession in less than five years with discernable results showing every year.  In this way, we will successfully eliminate our dependence and trade deficit in oil and trade goods with China and other foreign countries.

     Unless these proposed  solutions  are  adopted quickly, our unemployment figures will get worse and worse still, we will be reduced to the state of a second rate nation, much like England after it lost its colonies and Rome after it was overrun by the Huns in about 700 AD.

     As a starter or imputes, it has been suggested that the American people help the economy jump start its recovery by adopting a "buy American" policy and thereby make a significant contribution to the recovery, our politicians are so reluctant to adopt.  Have you noticed that not one politician, in and out of Washington, has come up with a defined plan to fix the economy and put those fifteen million Americans back to work.  All they want to do is leave it up to small business to bail us out and hire the unemployed by proposing tax breaks.  What the business fields need is a demand for American goods.  That will cause industries to hire people who will feed the economy, their families and pay their taxes to help the local and federal governments function once again, to pay their bills and balance their budgets, also.

Gas Prices Increase Over Past Week

Email Print

Comments

(14)

OUR PERSONAL HERO, U.S. ARMY CAPT. SCOTT A. QUILTY

NOVEMBER 11, 2010

     EVERYONE CELEBRATES VETERANS DAY IN THEIR OWN WAY, SINCE THE FIRST VETERAN DAY IN 1918, CELEBRATING THE END OF," THE WAR TO END ALL WARS."

     ON THIS VETERANS DAY, AS WE HAVE, SINCE THE YEAR 2006, OUR FAMILY HAS HAD A VERY SPECIAL REASON TO CELEBRATE THIS DAY. BECAUSE ON THE PREVIOUS OCTOBER 2, 2006, OUR BELOVED GRANDSON, 1ST LIEUTENANT SCOTT A. QUILTY, AGE 26, A PROUD MEMBER OF THE TENTH MOUNTAIN DIVISION, WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED BY A ROADSIDE BOMB IN IRAQ, WHILE LEADING A PATROL IN THE SOUTHERN BAGDAD VILLAGE OF RUSHDI MULLA.

     THANKS TO THE QUICK ACTION OF THE U.S. ARMY MEDICS IN STABILIZING HIS SERIOUS WOUNDS TO HIS RIGHT SIDE, INCLUDING HIS RIGHT LEG AND ARM AND QUICKLY EVACUATING HIM TO AN ARMY HOSPITAL IN GERMANY, THEY WERE ABLE TO SAVE HIS LIFE BUT NOT HIS RIGHT LEG AND RIGHT ARM.  

     OF COURSE, THE U.S. ARMY, IMMEDIATELY AND DUTIFULLY NOTIFIED HIS PARENTS, JANET MARINO QUILTY AND R. SCOTT QUILTY AT THEIR HOME IN FRANCESTOWN, NEW HAMPSHIRE AND THEY WERE TOLD OF HIS INJURIES AND THE FACT HE WOULD BE IMMEDIATELY AIRLIFTED TO THE WALTER REED ARMY MEDICAL HOSPITAL COMPLEX IN WASHINGTON, DC., FOR FURTHER EXTENSIVE TREATMENT.

      THE ENTIRE FAMILY, INCLUDING HIS SISTER TIFFANY, RUSHED TO HIS SIDE FOR COMFORT AND SUPPORT.  HIS MOTHER, JANET, REFUSED TO LEAVE HIS SIDE FOR SEVERAL MONTHS AND HELPED NURSE AND EN-COURAGE HIM BACK TO HEALTH FROM HIS HORRIBLE INJURIES, AND    WHILE THERE SHE ALSO FOUND THE TIME AND COURAGE TO COMFORT OTHER PARENTS AND SOLDIERS WHO ARRIVED LATER WITH SIMILAR INJURIES.  

       SCOTT, HOWEVER, TOOK HIS FATE IN STRIDE AND WAS GRATEFUL TO HIS GOD AND THE U.S. GOVERNMENT FOR THE HELP TO SURVIVE HIS WOUNDS.  ALL THIS DEMONSTRATION OF LOVE AND CONCERN AND THE FACT HE HAD A GIRLFRIEND,1ST LT ANN MARIE DORA WILCOX, WHOM HE LOVED, HERSELF AN ARMY OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST SHE SPURRED HIM ON AND ENCOURAGED HIM TO RECOVER, MEND HIS WOUNDS AND RETURN TO A LIFE AS NORMAL AS POSSIBLE UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES.  HIS CONCERN WAS ALWAYS FOR THE MEN HE HAD LEFT BEHIND IN IRAQ AND HIS FAMILY, HE KNEW HE COULD NEVER LET DOWN.

    WITHIN A YEAR, NOW ARMY CAPTAIN SCOTT A. QUILTY WAS ON HIS FEET AND UP AND AROUND FITTED WITH PROSTHESIS FOR HIS ARM AND LEG AND LEARNING TO WALK AND COPE LIKE THE NORMAL PERSON HE FELT HE COULD BE AGAIN.  THE CLIMAX OF HIS TREATMENT WAS HIS MARRIAGE ON VETERAN'S DAY, 2007 TO ANNMARIE, WHO'S LOVE AND RESPECT FOR SCOTT GREW EVEN STRONGER AFTER HIS INJURY.  BEING AN ARMY BRAT, AND DAUGHTER OF A CAREER SERVICEMAN, SHE HAD LEARNED HOW TO COPE WITH EVERY EVENTUALITY IN HER YOUNG LIFE.

     SOON THE COUPLE WERE BLESSED WITH A BABY BOY, IAN BENJAMIN (NAMED IN HONOR OF, BENJAMIN KEATING, A FRIEND OF SCOTT AND HIS WIFE WHOM DIED IN AFGHANISTAN, WEEKS AFTER SCOTT'S INJURIES) QUILTY, BORN ON JUNE 19, 2009 AND NOW ARE DOUBLY BLESSED WITH THE PROSPECT OF THE BIRTH OF A DAUGHTER, WHOSE BIRTH IS ANXIOUSLY EXPECTED ON JANUARY 19, 2011.

     CAPT. SCOTT'S CAREER AND CONCERN FOR HIS MEN DID NOT END WITH HIS INJURIES, SINCE, AS SOON AS HE COULD RECOVER FROM HIS INJURIES, HE JOINED "SURVIVOR CORPS" A NOT FOR PROFIT ORGANIZATION DEDICATED TO LOCATE LAND MINES AND TO AID PERSONS WOUNDED BY THEM, THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.  AS HE PUT IT INA RECENT INTERVIEW, "I WANT TO RETURN SOME OF THE HELP AND COMFORT I RECEIVED WHEN WOUNDED BECAUSE I KNOW, FIRST HAND, HOW HELPLESS THEY MAY FEEL AND HOW MUCH THEY NEED THE SAME ENCOURAGEMENT I RECEIVED IN THE SAME SITUATION.  THE MENDING PROCESS NEVER ENDS, BUT IT IS IMPORTANT TO GET IT STARTED FROM DAY ONE".

    CAPT. SCOTT'S LOVE FOR ARMY SERVICE STARTED WHEN HE WAS AS YOUNG AS 14 YEARS OLD.  HE AND HIS DAD R. SCOTT QUILTY FIRST REBUILT A 1974 CJ7 JEEP, THEN AN ARMY FORD M37 WEAPONS CARRIER.  HIS FATHER HAS PROUDLY DRIVEN IT IN LOCAL VETERAN'S DAY PARADES IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, THEIR HOME, FOR MANY YEARS.  

   DURING HIS JUNIOR YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL, HE VOLUNTEERED FOR MILITARY SERVICE WITH THE U.S. ARMY AND UPON GRADUATING FROM HIGH SCHOOL IN 1998 SCOTT WENT STRAIGHT INTO BASIC TRAINING AS A NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICER.  HE SERVED THREE YEARS AS A RADIO TECHNICIAN AT FORT BRAGG, NC.  WHILE IN THE ARMY, IN 2001 SCOTT APPLIED FOR AND WON A GREEN TO GOLD SCHOLARSHIP.  HE WAS ACCEPTED INTO THE ROTC AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.  ONE MONTH LATER, HE AND HIS CLASSMATES WATCHED IN HORROR AS THE TWO PLANES DESTROYED THE TWIN WORLD TRADE CENTERS IN NEW YORK AND THE PENTAGON IN WASHINGTON.  THESE INCIDENTS CEMENTED HIS DETERMINATION TO MAKE THE U.S. ARMY HIS CAREER AND IT SPURRED HIM ON TO FINISH HIS COLLEGE TRAINING AND OBTAIN HIS BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN POLITICAL SCIENCE AND HE GRADUATED CUM LAUDE, IN JUNE 2004. THEN HE QUICKLY ACCEPTED A COMMISSION AS A SECOND LIEUTENANT IN THE U.S. ARMY.

      HE WENT THROUGH INFANTRY OFFICER TRAINING AND RANGER TRAINING IN FT. BENNING, GEORGIA AND LATER AS A PLATOON LEADER IN "A" COMPANY, 4^TH BATTALION 31^ST INFANTRY REGIMENT 2^ND BRIGADE 10TH MOUNTAIN DIVISION (POLAR BEARS), AT FT. DRUM IN NY.  IT WAS IN THIS ASSIGNMENT THAT HE VOLUNTEERED FOR DEPLOYMENT TO IRAQ, WHERE HE WAS SUBSEQUENTLY WOUNDED.

      SCOTT WAS PERSONALLY AWARDED THE PURPLE HEART BY PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH WHILE AT WALTER REED ARMY MEDICAL HOSPITAL AND HAS SINCE RETIRED FROM HIS SERVICE TO THE U.S. ARMY.

     ON NOVEMBER 5, 2010 RET. CAPT. SCOTT A. QUILTY WAS HONORED BY THE ALUMNI CHAPTER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE ROTC PROGRAM WHO INDUCTED HIM INTO THEIR "HALL OF FAME".  THIS IS BUT THE LATEST OF MANY ACTS OF RECOGNITION FOR HIS AND OTHERS DEEDS, UNSELFISHLY PERFORMED DURING THEIR SERVICE TO THEIR COUNTRY AND HOPEFULLY NOT THE LAST.  SCOTT AND OTHERS WOUNDED OR NOT ARE A VALUABLE PART OF OUR SOCIETY TODAY AND IN THE FUTURE.  WE KNOW WE CAN CALL UPON THEM IN THE FUTURE, JUST AS WE HAVE IN THE PAST, TO GIVE US THEIR ALL FOR THEIR COUNTRY AND ITS PEOPLE, BECAUSE LIKE GOOD SOLDIERS THEY ARE ALWAYS READY TO SERVE.  FOR THEY DO IT EVERY DAY, IN EVERY WAY.

      RET. CAPT. SCOTT A. QUILTY IS THE PERFECT EXAMPLE OF THE DEDICATION OF OUR SERVICE MEN TO THEIR COUNTRY AND THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.    THEY ACCEPT THEIR ASSIGNMENTS WITHOUT QUESTION IN A SENSE OF DUTY AND PERFORM THEIR TASKS WITHOUT REGARD TO THEIR OWN SAFETY AND WELL BEING.  HE IS A REAL HERO AS ARE ALL THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO SERVE AND HAVE SERVED THEIR COUNTRY IN IT'S TIME OF NEED.   

      THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ALWAYS KNOW THAT THEIR SERVICE MEN AND WOMAN WILL PERFORM THEIR DUTY AND ASSIGNMENTS TO THE BEST OF THEIR ABILITY AND BEYOND ALL EXPECTATIONS.  THEY ARE THE FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE OF OUR FREEDOM AND WAY OF LIFE, WE ENJOY SO FREELY TODAY AND ALWAYS, ALMOST AS A MATTER OF FACT AND EXPECTANCY.

     WE SALUTE YOU, CAPT.  SCOTT A. QUILTY, AND THANK YOU AND EVERY SERVICEMAN AND WOMAN, FOR THEIR DEDICATED SERVICE TO THEIR COUNTRY AND ALL IT'S PEOPLE, TODAY AND EVERYDAY OF OUR LIVES IN GRATITUDE.

YOUR PROUD GRANDFATHER AND GRANDMOTHER,

JOSEPH E. AND ROSE A. MARINO

WHY DIDN'T WE THROW ALL THE BUMS OUT?

The theme of the November 2010 election was reduced to the analogy of "the kettle calling the post black."

November 7, 2010

Dear American Voter:

With the economy in shambles and unemployment at an all time high, falling real estate values, because of continued defaults and foreclosures of mortgages, a Treasury 12 trillion dollars in debt and rinsing and budget deficit of a half trillion a year, President Obama and the Democrats were in control of both houses of congress and the White House claiming "they have done as much as they could to help the country for the last couple of year," and claim that "...the republicans put us in this mess."  Obama and many influential Democrats were stumping around the country arguing that the Americans people should keep them in office because they should not want to go back to a Republican controlled congress.

This argument is what we call, "the kettle calling the pot black."  Meaning, "We are failures, but so are the Republicans."  This argument assumed that the American people had only one choice, either keep Democrats in office or return Republicans in control of our country.

That was not true, because there was another choice that the American people might make and that is to elect Independent candidates to office.  It is what we call, "throw all the bums out."

This would have been an unprecedented action for the American people to take, but we did not choose it.  We did not vote for only Independents.  Some say it is because at the last minute, while in the voting booth, we became worried or scared that the Democrats would win, that they'd prevail over the Independents.  So, some of us fell back to voting for Republicans, this time.  These days, there is little difference between the Democratic or Republican parties.  No matter which one the American people would put into office, they both hated one another while they fail to help the country out of this economic mess, our politicians have put us in.

We elect our representatives to represent us and take care of our problems.  Instead, the Democrats and Republicans continue to be beholden and take orders from their own party bosses and the lobbyists who continue to buy their votes.  This problem has been going on for such a long time and in effect, we have been swopping one bad politician and party for another, only to be continually disappointed election after election.  This has never been in the best interest of the American people.

"BUY AMERICAN." MAKE NEW JOBS,

HELP THE ECONOMY, SAVE YOUR

JOB AND MAKE AMERICA STRONG AGAIN,

BECAUSE OUR POLITICIANS

CANNOT HELP US OUT OF THIS MESS, THEY CREATED.

November 1, 2010

Dear struggling discouraged and disillusioned Americans:

       As you go to the polls tomorrow (November 2, 2010), worried and mad about the state of America's economy with high unemployment and the prospect of an even bleaker future. Remember, the longest journey starts with that first step you are about to take by, cleaning house of the Washington politicians who have been working for themselves and not the American people.

     Of course, you have noticed for the last ten years it has been increasingly difficult to hold a job, pay your bills, and make ends meet in this country.    We have endured on a credit economy, on borrowed money until we have maxed our mortgages and credit card limits, only to find out, just two years ago, that our government has been doing the same thing, living on a false economy with borrowed money from an empty treasury.  Suddenly, the bubble burst and the real estate market collapsed, leaving many of us homeless and without jobs, in addition of those that were sent overseas in search of cheap labor.

      The government, made up of Democrats and Republicans alike, ironically came to the aid of the financial markets and banks who deliberately granted subprime loans to continue to feed the false economy. To keep them from going broke, as Obama said because, "they are too big to fail."  In fact, the government should have come to the aid of the duped borrower, and let the banks and lending institutions fail since they certainly would have been replaced with new investors anxious to make money in the Wall Street financial field.  Now the financial institutions and the banks are making huge profits in the stock market, since they are the only ones with money while the abused and forsaken American public is in deep financial trouble with mortgages higher than the home market value with foreclosures putting them out in the street and facing bankruptcy, as values continue to drop.

      Fifty percent of the unemployment problem was caused over the last ten years because of the "free trade agreements" our representatives and past presidential administrations passed and signed into law.  Suddenly, just about every American manufacturer went overseas in search of the cheap labor, in order to stay competitive and remain in business.

      The other fifty percent of the unemployment happened in the last four years, in the construction and service fields, when the real estate financial bubble finally broke in 2006 and the money dry up closed restaurants, theatres, and caused an almost fatal blow to the automotive fields.

       For the last two years, Obama and the Democrats in control, said, only a shot in the arm stimulus package was needed, to bring the economy and jobs back.  In reality, this was a tactical political move to please and pacify the unemployed but because the problem is chronic, temporary solutions do not create permanent jobs, which are needed in this case.  These false moves are what resulted in getting the Democrats in the re-election mess they are in today.  Remember, Obama and the Democrats were put in charge when the country's economy was falling apart and their false promises of "change and can do" swept them into office by default and certainly not by acclaim.

     This failure by the Democrats, in charge, to improve the economy in the last two years, while the economy worsened drastically, has buoyed the spirits of the Republican politicians, shamed by past performances and anxious to regain the eight straight years of power they lost.  Their plan is to regain control of the house of representatives and possibly the senate on November 3, 2010, however, this confidence and victory is again found by default not acclaim, since they are, the only opposition candidates, save for a small number of renegade Republicans and misguided Independents searching for anyone other than the two ever controlling political parties, who, admittedly are responsible for the worsening problems in this country today. 

     Even with a Republican win, do not expect any quick or lasting solution to the nagging and sagging economy and the lessening of the unemployment problems in the USA.  Since the Republicans are controlled by big business expect more proposals of tax cuts, especially for the rich.  They may want to balance the federal budget, but cutting taxes will never accomplish this goal, while only putting the unemployed into permanent jobs will.  They want fewer controls on business when lifting controls by the congress is what put the financial institutions and the USA in trouble.

     Passing the tax relief for the rich by the past Republican administration led to the deficit in the budget, let alone the two needless wars they led us into.  No one seems to even venture a real solution to our economic and unemployment problems and these are the critical problems we face today.

      I am convinced that both political parties are tied down by campaign contribution obligations to help the American people, simply because they are being paid to continue with this insane free trade system, foreign oil and drug prices are twice what they are in any other country.

      The only way we as Americans can help our country out of this mess, is for each of us to adopt a plan to buy only American goods and services.     That means for the next five years, if we buy only American made goods and hire only American workers, the economy will recover in that time, of course the government can help, if we insist they help fund an alternative energy plan to rid us of our dependence on foreign oil whose price is twice what it should be.

      These actions will create the demand for American companies to gear up and add men and material to meet and satisfy this demand, made by the American people themselves.  At the same time we will be eliminating the trade deficit with countries like communist China, our potential enemy and shipper of notorious defective goods to the USA.  We can, within this same period, rid ourselves of this high priced oil, remove the trillion dollars deficit on oil alone and have that weapon removed from it's aim at our heads, since 1972, this crises has been going on for nearly forty years without our congress and past administrations doing one thing to help these high prices and the gouging of the American public.

     Drug companies need to lower drug prices by one half by the January term of office by congress or congress should place price controls on them.

     At the end of five years, I believe there will be full employment again and America can return to the status of a first class world leader of the world.  Every American will prosper and the future will be assured for our children since the debt will be reduced with full employment.

      Finally, if the government and the American people learn to live within their financial income and needs, our credit rating will improve for all Americans and our troubles will be over for every American.

      The choice is yours, it is up to you and the time to start is today.     Please, let me hear your comments on this plan.  Please reply!

      This is the one way the American people themselves can take back control of their destiny and their country from these professional politicians and their power hungry political parties.