USS Enterprise

This is a time warp piece back to the days of old back in World War II. I happen to love the History Channel and today they had a non stop running of Battle 360 and it covered the battles that the carrier U.S.S. Enterprise encountered in the Pacific against the Japanese during WWII. If there was ever a symbol more worthy of the American people it was this ship against the original Axis.

Those guys went through hell more than once. If you are reading this and you are a veteran of the Enterprise then God bless your heart my friend. Holy crap! From battle after battle the Grey Ghost just wouldn’t give up and at one point she was the only surviving carrier the US Navy had during the Pacific Campaign of WWII. If there is anything that comes close to defining the road trip to hell and back, then these guys can explain it all with graphic personal first hand details.

The Enterprise encountered the best the Japanese had to give and beat them back time and time again. That is a tribute to the American spirit of the time and a testimony that many should hear. These men refused to give up and they gave it their all to defend what was right and wrong in the world. Even against overwhelming force they stood and fought and persevered. It was an amazing time and in it we can all take a serious lesson in our lives today. Regardless of all the crap thrown at you at any point in your life, somebody faced a much more dire set of circumstances than we will ever think possible, and they survived to tell the world about it.

Times are tough but times are changing for the better. Things are starting to turn around in the banking industry, stocks and confidence in them shows that. Housing starts are starting to turn the corner and the refinancing of existing homes is turning a page for the better.

Now is the time for people to stop listening to the doom and gloom media and think that it is actually possible that America can survive and get past the current economic crisis. While everyone on the news is spouting more gloom and doom you don’t hear crap about the success stories during this difficult time. Something like General Motors saying that they believe that they will be okay after bankruptcy court. Or the fact that many people able to purchase an existing home from the distressed real-estate market will be launching into home repairs, renovations, upgrades, and out right rebuilds of the existing homes all across America. Then of course it is a must to mention all the folks that still have a job, still pay their bills and pay their mortgages on time as well.

All is not lost, the ship that is the American economy is still able to tread water and make headway. We just can’t barrel ahead at 25 knots and we all need to accept the fact that we have to fix the ship and know that our battle in this economic crisis only acceptable outcome is victory. Just like in WWII, we can fix this and make it seaworthy once more to make her ready for battle on the frontline again. But we can do better. We can make her torpedo proof, make her capable of defending herself, and we can make her survive the long fight ahead of us all. All that we have to do is give her a crew worthy of the sacrifice.

Thank you Enterprise and all that served on her then and now for your courage and your service. Your history and your ship earned a respect unequaled by many and wothy of many more tributes. I just hope that the America of today can live up to your courage in the face of total aniliation and see that survival is possible and you can come back to fight another day.

Papamoka

G-20 Outcome and Winner

Some people will say that President Obama diplomatically moved the world summit of economic leaders in a direction toward progress and others will say it was a disaster. If you look to the facts it was an American success story and a President that handled it with the cleverness of Thomas Jefferson. That summation isn’t entirely correct because he also handled the summit with the humility of Lincoln as well. That to does not work because the ideology of Wilson was present as well. It doesn’t matter, the end result is that President Obama was the focus of the summit but choose not to be and worked the politics of the summit to achieve his end goal. A consensus on where the world needs to go to focus on bringing back the world economy. Not even the best of detractors could argue with that point. Jobs in small town America sometimes depend on jobs thousands of miles away in a distant country. We are all stuck in an economy that is reliant on other nations whether we like it or not.

The real star of this G-20 summit was the love fest with our First Lady, Michelle Obama. Even the Queen of England broke protocol to hug her. Make no mistake about it, Michelle Obama is Barack Obama’s biggest weapon on toning down anyone that wants to argue about what the people around the world really think about America. Michelle could tame a lions den with a smile and just her presence. You have to love her for that and I do. If the Queen of England felt the need to embrace Michelle then that tells you a lot in itself. The Queen does not touch anyone and nobody touches the Queen. It just isn’t done! But it happened?

When I voted for Barack Obama I won and got a two fer. I’ll let him do all the political garbage and enjoy the love fest that America and now the world will have with his wife Michelle. She is just the perfect fit for the perfect politician for our times. Even the Queen of England wanted to hug her and I don’t blame her.

While her husband is making serious decisions that will change the way we look at our world from a business and environmental perspective, Michelle Obama, our First Lady, is winning the hearts and minds of millions of people every single day. Politically, Democrats, could not ask or hope for anyone better than Michelle Obama. God bless her, she is the hope and future that we all seek.

If we could just bottle the exuberance and love for Michelle Obama, then her husband could serve two terms and then she could serve the next two!

Needless to say, the reall winner of the G-20 Summit was Michelle Obama. She moved the people in a land not of her own. She won their hearts and her husband didn't do so bad either.

Papamoka

Ghost Rider Presidency

All of the doom and gloom from all fronts on the news had me thinking that we have one hell of a tough road ahead of us all. President Obama hasn’t been shy in telling us the truth about that very fact. It’s going to be a tough road to ride but it is one we all have to go down. You don't fix a flat tire on your car if the rest of the car was totaled in the wreck.

Some of the folks out there are not appreciative to the facts that tough decisions and realistic choices have to be made. They have some elected officials actually calling for a revolution, armed revolt, and begging that our President fail. Representative Michelle Bachman last week actually sited Thomas Jefferson in her call for a little revolution now and then. She missed the intent of Jefferson but it fit her ideology at the time. In my eyes and ears that is treason by a member of our government but with Gitmo being shut down I fear they might incarcerate her somewhere comfortable and close to her high standards of living.

There is a very large difference on calling for a President’s impeachment as in the case of former President Bush, and the actual call to arms in a revolt of the current President. That got me to thinking that the people screaming the loudest in pain are the ones that have the most to loose. What do they have to loose you may ask? Huge tax cuts to the top of the income earners and corporations of America. And that my friends makes it pretty damn hard for any corporation to justify spending money on right wing political campaigns.

That brings me to the conclusion that we are on track to an economy built on fairness rather than let them all eat cake. Wall Street needs the bulls rounded up and given a fair policy before we let them loose on the china store we have of an economy again. Same goes for many other corporations. We have a ghost rider in the White House and he is not looking back as he moves the nation forward toward prosperity.

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Papamoka