Independence Day - When Push Comes To Shove

Thomas Jefferson, John Hancock and their pals in the Continental Congress put forth The Declaration of Independence in 1776 to declare our independence from Great Brittan. These folks were not about to work for The Man anymore. They wanted to control their destiny. They thought that every man, woman and child had certain inalienable rights that were given to them by their creator that no one could rule over or take away.

The second paragraph below needs to be read by all again -

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world."

I believe the facts are that our freedoms are being destroyed and challenged more every day and that current and past administrations (more recently with the Patriot Act following 9/11 - excluding the long standing history of abuses dating back to the late 1,800's) are nearing the point where tyrannical rule is being bestowed upon us. While not there yet, as far as some believe, we're getting closer every day.

The financial crisis is a fantastic example of the near despotic state. We have been forced to pay to bail the banks out, and they decide which banks fail and which survive. The GSE's (Government Sponsored Entities) like AIG or Government Motors are examples of our government being in business where it has no right or authority. More, how about the abuses of Social Security and Medicare (if not the abuses how bout the simple creation of these programs?)? How about the lack of governance in the repeal of Glass-Stegall to free up the financial system to rob the public of their savings? Now you get states imposing their will like Schwarzenegger Orders 200,000 State Workers be Paid Minimum Wage. At what level does all the madness stop? 

The wars in Iran (oops) Iraq and Afghanistan are other examples of our government's agenda being imposed on us. I get the terrorism thing. I understand that we need to be protected from foreign threats, but at what costs to our individual rights are we willing to allow the government to take our liberties? The Constitution has been raped by recent administrations in the name of homeland security and to impose it's control the the populace.

Our government may be facing a war of it's own sooner than later. They caused it, they brought it upon themselves. Their loyalty to the special interest groups and their lobbies to place the interest of big business over that of the people will be their demise. By no means do I support or propose any violence against our government or any individual, but I do support the freedoms given to us by the Constitution (well, at least those that are left and have not been crushed by recent administrations). 
 
The First Amendment is "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." We no longer can speak freely where we want, when we want. There are protest and free speech zones now.Internet censorship is coming as it is in China. I will guess that within two years this blog will be banned (sorry, no TA to back up that statement). Most recent example - BP plc And The Administration Replace First Amendment With $40,000 Fine And Class D Felony.

The Second Amendment is "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." How long you think that one is gonna last. It has been battled over for decades now and appears to be nearing an end. Gun control is a bad thing in my opinion and only serves to protect the state. Clinton gave us the Brady Bill (and the period of deregulation thank you very much) and that was as far as I can personally accept on the degradation of this amendment.

The Fourth Amendment is "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." BAM and you get The Patriot Act which is being used to abuse any acts against the state. The definition of terrorism used today is so broad that half our daily activities make us all potential terrorists. We now have tapped phone lines, cameras on every corner and internet handlers that read the blogs (Hi, Mr. Handler) for those opposing the state. No, we do not live in China, but it appears more like that every day.

Given the depths of the financial crisis, that is far worse than anyone is telling you other than Denninger, Zero Hedge, Mish and a few others, we're going to face some really tough times in the near future. Another possible potential inevitable war and the oil spill have only added fuel to the fire. The debt crisis will bring devastation to our financial system sooner or later. The math is irrefutable as to spending and the amount of debt and debt service do not, nor will they ever, be overcome by income. Borrowing to support the debt as has been done for decades can no longer be sustained. It is time to pay the band so to speak. You WILL face austerity measures and most unions WILL be busted. We will most likely basically have to deflate wages to a point where we can afford to manufacture here again (think about that).

Now is the time to celebrate our independence,  to reflect on what our forefathers intended for this nation and to seriously consider whether we like where we are headed or not. Times will be tougher than ever. Austerity is on it's way in a big way, like it or not. Our first, best and only alternative to fight this oppressive, out of control government is to vote them all out this November. Use your Constitutional right to voice your displeasure. Vote 'em all out. If they are an incumbent, punt them to the street (except Ron Paul of course). We need a fresh batch that are no aligned with special interest groups that will vote the will of the people and not the will of big business.

Now, if you thought times were gonna be tough because of the financial crisis, just wait till we start taking power back from big business. There will be a backlash. There will be threats (like the ones they used to pass TARP). There will be massive unemployment and soup lines. This will be the pain we have to go thru to reinvent and take back our nation. We can not allow this path to socialism to march another step further, so please voice your opinion this fall. Vote, vote like you never have before. Get your friends and family to vote. We must have everyone involved and educated.

I'll also ask that you discuss the financial crisis with as many people that you can. Share links of vids and articles. Wake the public up to the actions of the Fed, big banks and our government. Get them to understand the dire straights we are facing. There are many out there that have no clue, and if we do not wake them up now and get the whole country involved, then the fascist/socialist state we are becoming will become a reality. We will have lost all our forefathers fought for and all the Constitutional Congress gave us.

Could that last sentence in the second paragraph of the Declaration above be rewritten to read like this - The history of the present King of Great Britain and former administrations is  have a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world." and then the laundry list of facts would be evident that we are being usurped. Yet, the control of the MSM (Main Stream Media) does not allow these facts to be effectively presented nor communicated to the public allowing the government to proceed with business as usual. And you wonder why they attack the bloggers and the net. It is the last unabridged (for the most part) bastion of freedom we really have if you think about it.

"If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."
—Thomas Jefferson, letter to Albert Gallatin, 1802

What can you say to that? TJ was on his game, and that is possibly exactly where we are headed. We must regain control of Government and eliminate the Fed. So let's do it this November. 

I wish all of you and your families a great and happy 4th of July and thank each of you for your continued support of this blog.

Take care,

Shanky

NOTE: I'll be updating charts and working on some things this weekend to get caught back up. I'll have a broad market commentary on Monday.