Endeavoring to be free

 From the moment I took my first breath many years ago, I think my name had been inscribed on every hill and mountain top as a testament that I was not to be held down or held back. I have never been one that went along to get along, although, if given an option, I prefer to shy away from confrontation(s). I often look at the birds of the air, especially the eagle, for she flies high above everything that is on earth and she use the wind to her advantage to propel her in the direction she desire to go, only using her wings to change direction or perhaps when she has set her sight on a prey. Being free is fundamental, without it you are not able to move as I feel every being has  been endowed to do. It is true that though a man is free in body, he may not be free in mind, which is to say, his thoughts may not be his own, but rather the "image" or "imagination" of another. The most basic attribute of freedom is, the freedom to form an opinion of your own and to live your life without encroachment, ahhh, now that is freedom in its grandest form. However, notice that I said to form an opinion of your own; not to form your own facts, for therein lies a monumental difference. Strong drinks may make a man drunk; the absence of freedom is the thing that makes him fall. I'll take my freedom now, on the seat of a "Hog," that's a Harley Davidson SofTail  Heritage Classic, the rumble of the motor coming through  the high chromed pipes and the feel of the wind as I peel down the open road tells me that I am free indeed. I'll see you in my rear view mirrors.

2012 Softail Fat Boy Lo|Fat Boy Special Motorcycle Overview

In the name of common sense: By the numbers

In the name of common sense: By the numbers: "There's much conversation going on throughout the Nation at the present with much rancor and vitriol between the major two political parties..."

Not out of the woods yet

Many weeks have passed since the "raising of the nation's debt ceiling" was raised with much fervor coming mostly from the "Tea Party" members that are made up almost entirely of the newly elected members of the Republican party. A tentative agreement has recently been reached but will need to be voted on by members of Congress of the two Houses. With only a couple of days remaining before the country enter into "default" territory, members of congress are hoping to have something in place that will avert what many say will be an event of catastrophic proportion. Before the end of Bush, 43rd presidential administration, the economy was dismal, and the books of the federal government were overflowing in red ink, partly due to the two unfunded wars, but most certainly, there were other avenues of misadventure that were eating away at the fabric of our  once viable economy, much like a moth eats away on unprotected wool clothing (remember,at the end of the Clinton presidential term, there was a surplus). I remember very distinctly driving home one Friday afternoon in the month of September of 2008 and learned from a reporter on the radio how the senior Chief financial officers (CFO) of the largest banks had been summoned early in the week by then Treasury secretary, Henry (Hank) Paulson jr. to come to Washington for a very important meeting. The reporter stated that the CFO's of these banks were almost demanded by the Secretary that they would need to accept a large sum of money from the Treasury to ensure that they would have liquidity on hand to continue to function in an (paraphrasing) atmosphere that was becoming excessively toxic, the too big to fail mantra. There were more than just a few cracks in the ceiling and there were surely much more to come in the way of upheavals. With  the bundling of housing loans and sub-prime loans along with just plain outright greed and corruption, this country's problems are far from being out of the woods. Recently, unemployment has been reported being around 9.2 percent, which I think is in error, it's more than not  in the range of 9.8 or higher, it's kind of like Mark Twain once said, "get your facts first;then you can distort them as much as you please." From where I sit, I do not see any measurable improvement in this country's economic picture for quite some time to come, you may do all of the touch up you care to, but the wolf is waiting for you, not at grandma's house but in the Houses of Congress and in places that has yet to be identified. No, we are not out of the woods yet.