$ One Trillion ... what it looks like ....

I borrowed this from an email .... I did NOT write this .... just keeping it honest!

What does ONE TRILLION dollars look like ?

A billion dollars...
A hundred billion dollars...
Eight hundred billion dollars...
One TRILLION dollars...

What does that look like? I mean, these various numbers are tossed around like so many doggie treats, so I thought I'd take Google Sketchup out for a test drive and try to get a sense of what exactly a trillion dollars looks like.
We'll start with a $100 dollar bill. Currently the largest U.S. denomination in general circulation.. Most everyone has seen them, slighty fewer have owned them. Guaranteed to make friends wherever they go.



A packet of one hundred $100 bills is less than 1/2" thick and contains $10,000. Fits in your pocket easily and is more than enough for week or two of shamefully decadent fun.




Believe it or not, this next little pile is $1 million dollars (100 packets of $10,000). You could stuff that into a grocery bag and walk around with it.




While a measly $1 million looked a little unimpressive, $100 million is a little more respectable. It fits neatly on a standard pallet...





And $1 BILLION dollars... now we're really getting somewhere...






Next we'll look at ONE TRILLION dollars. This is that number we've been hearing about so much. What is a trillion dollars? Well, it's a million million. It's a thousand billion. It's a one followed by 12 zeros.

You ready for this?

It's pretty surprising.

Go ahead...

Scroll down...








Ladies and gentlemen... I give you $1 trillion dollars....


Note the little man in red in the lower left corner.

(And notice those pallets are double stacked. $1000 billions)

So the next time you hear someone toss around the phrase "trillion dollars"... that's what they're talking about.

Thanks Pelosi

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/03/18/pelosi-tells-illegal-immigrants-work-site-raids-american/

Click on the above link!

California .... get rid of her, please!!!

Obama is Creating Class Warfare ....

Many people voted for Barack Obama because they believed that he was the best and brightest chance to forge WORLD PEACE! Yes ... World Peace. Remove George W. Bush .... "the Warmonger" in many people's eyes ... and replace him with Mr. "I want to negotiate with the Taliban, and with Iran, and send $900 Million dollars to Hamas!"

Obama is going to bring us world peace .... let's all hold hands and sing "Imagine" .... oh ... and then "Kumbaya".


Instead Barack Obama has done nothing but bring Class Warfare right into our front yards. Just read this article to see what I mean ... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090321/ap_on_re_us/aig_bonuses

But wait .... YOU are probably one of those people angry over the AIG bonuses, right? PLEASE let me put something into perspective for you ....

Let me list out the #'s here so you can SEEE them. Seems to me that words like million, billion, and trillion are having ZERO effect on people ... maybe the size of the numbers and their relationship will??

$170 Billion is $170,000,000,000
$93 Billion is $93,000,000,000
$165 Million is $165,000,000

Okay .... Count the zeros .... now listen to this.

$170 Billion is how much the US government spent to "bailout" AIG.

$93 Billion is how much AIG has since sent to European Companies who are part of their conglomerate .... here is the link about that ... http://uk.news.yahoo.com/22/20090317/tbs-uk-aig-goldmansachs-analysis-sb-03c9bed.html

$165 Million is how much AIG spent on contractural bonuses to employees.

Now ... let's do the Math ...

93 Billion / 170 Billion = 54.7 % of the Bailout money WENT TO EUROPE!!!

165 Million / 170 Billion = .097 % went to pay contracted bonuses .... yes ... the decimal is in the correct place. Not even 1% .... not even One-Tenth of a percent!! And this money went to US Citizens who worked under contract to AIG. This seems to me to be a HUGE case of Obama and company playing "Bait and Switch" .... "Look over here!! Look at this!!!" while meanwhile far, far worse things are happening with their total knowledge.

Why isn't anyone screaming about the European companies getting all of that US Taxpayer money? HUH???

Oh NO!! Instead we are attacking each other! Over a measley $165 Million!! Which, by the way, was written into the Stimulus Bill which was rushed into passage and signed by Obama.

US Citizens are attacking other US Citizens!! And our great leader?? He is on "The Tonight Show" making fun of Special Olympics! And making speech after speech about how he is going to get back that "tax-payer money" and give it back to it's rightful owners! Excuse me??? Who exactly gave all that money to AIG in the first place?? AND authorized the bonuses in the Stimulus Bill!!

And Obama and company are probably laughing their heads off! "Hey! Look what we got away with! And now we have poor and middle-class people getting really angry at rich people!! This is great! And it was so easy!!"

So ... what is next? Are we all going to start driving through nice neighborhoods and harrassing people who live in big wonderful houses? Are we going to start wondering how our neighbor can afford that new car, or that vacation, or that pool? Are we going to start pointing fingers at each other and saying "I want what you have and I want it now and you have no right to it!"?

Obama and company are literally attacking the wealthy ... but what is so amusing is .... ummmm .... Obama and company ARE wealthy ... and THEY are spending our taxpayer dollars like they can just print as much as they want! Oh wait! They ARE printing as much as they want ....

Everytime you hear someone attacking someone for making money, they are driving yet one more nail into the coffin of America. Everytime you think that the rich owe YOU something, you are buying into Communism.

"From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs." -Karl Marx

If you believe that .... you are headed for Communism .... and Obama is leading the march. And he and Congress need to be stopped.

Maslow .... Friends .... and Politics ....

I have been having a very very hard time dealing with Politics and Friendship since about October 2008. And it is only getting worse and worse.

I have several friends who are Liberal and even one who calls herself a Marxist. These women FELT very strongly that making Barack Obama President of the United States of America was the right thing to do ... because we needed Hope and Change and Yes We Can! No amount of reason nor logic would sway them .... and to be honest, I didn't try very hard. I really didn't think he could win. But win he did.

So now .... 60 days into His Presidency .... I am getting more and more and more disturbed by the moves He is making. And I am not being silent about these feelings. And this is causing my friends to pull away from me and me from them.

This has greatly troubled me. Should I let politics ruin friendships? What kind of person does this? Politics are Politics and I can't do much about them .... my friends, I love and need them. Why am I letting politics win?

The answer came in the form of a totally different question and the answer proposed by my spouse! The question was "Should the individual or society be of primary importance?" Tom's answer involved Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs ....

Wow .... Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs ..... I actually studied that in high school and college! And I was very affected by it. I even own the book! Here is the hierarchy in pictorial form ....

According to Maslow .... this is the order in which our needs must be met and if anything on a lower level is messed with, the higher levels will suffer. I tend to agree with the logic in this. So .... notice the Orange area of this chart .... SAFETY!! Safety has always been a major deal for me. Look at the definition of safety according to Maslow.

• Security of Body
• Security of Employment
• Security of Resources
• Security of Morality
• Security of the Family
• Security of Health
• Security of Property

This SAFETY level is extremely important .... and an important foundation to the Yellow Level which is Love/Belonging .... which includes FRIENDSHIP.

See .... I feel very strongly that Obama and His People and His Decisions are severely affecting my Security Level. I can supply a link to news stories which threaten every one of those Orange Level Security issues. And much of it has to do with Obama's move away from Capitalism and towards Socialism. I feel threatened .... I feel my family is threatened .... and my friends voted in the man who is doing this. And what are they doing now? Well .... Not Watching the News!! It is too disturbing. Not Listening to What Obama is Doing!! It is too confusing. It's just politics and talking heads.

Meanwhile .... all checks and balances are GONE. NO ONE is stopping what is happening. And anyone who questions it is being harassed and threatened! I am quite sure I have myself on a number of lists now ... and that ain't a good thing.

But the Country my SON will be living in is changing quickly and NO ONE CARES!! Their children and grandchildren will be deeply affected .... and I don't think they believe it. Obama "Means Well" .... his "Intent is Good" .... and therefore that is all the matters! WHAT????

First of all ... if he means well he is a total idiot .... something which I actually am beginning to believe. If he thinks Socialism/Communism is the way America needs to go and that is what he "Intends" .... then I an sorry ... I DISAGREE!!! He does not "mean well" and his "intent" is NOT good. He means to destroy America from the very foundations of the Constitution. READ ..... READ and STUDY and LISTEN.

Things are not good ...

Star Parker .....

If you have not read anything Star Parker has written lately .... you should check her out!! Here is her Website .... http://www.urbancure.org/ READ HER STUFF!!!

This is one woman with a good solid head on her shoulders!!! And she can write!! And she is being published !!!

Go STAR PARKER!!!

Obama's Maturity and Integrity ...

Just wanted to remind you of the maturity and integrity which Obama displayed BEFORE he was elected. This video was filmed the night before the elections ... and he did it to Hillary several months prior to that ...

Can't WAIT until he gets upset with one of the foreign leaders !!

Stimulus for Dallas???

Okay .... so the headlines early last week in the Dallas Morning News were about the how some of the Obamanation Stimulus money is going to "help" the North Dallas Area. Seems that $2 billion of the Stimulus money which Texas is getting is going to go to improve the infrastructure around Dallas. Sounds great huh? Literally "around Dallas". $2 Billion to work on LBJ .... aka 635.



One of the highlights from the article I linked to above ....



"The Texas Transportation Commission gave preliminary approval Thursday to a deal that would cost taxpayers $445 million and attract another $1.5 billion from a team of investors led by Cintra, the Spanish-based toll company with a fast-growing presence in Texas. "



So .... let me see if I read that right .... a SPANISH based company is going to be doing the construction .... as an "investment". And Taxpayers are paying $445 Million for the construction of a TOLL ROAD???



Yes .... a TOLL ROAD. To quote the article further ....



"But in a twist that will make it one of the most talked-about projects in the U.S., Cintra will also dig a 25-foot-deep trench between, and partially under, the freeway. In that hole, Cintra will build six toll lanes that will carry rush-hour price tags that will initially be set at about $7.07 each way for the 13-mile trip."



Yes .... you read that correctly .... Charging$7.07 EACH WAY for a 13 mile trip. The article continues on to say that the rates could go as high as $11.00 ONE WAY! Go ahead ... read the article ... it is all there.



Okay Mr. President Obama .... exactly how is this stimulating the AMERICAN Economy? A company based in SPAIN is going to take years and years and millions of US taxpayer $$$'s to build a TOLL-ROAD from which they will collect the Tolls. Meanwhile .... Texans trying to get from the East side of North Dallas to the West side of North Dallas/Irving will have to deal with the years of construction when all they want to do is get to work. Then ... when the roads open, they will have to pay tolls in order to get to work, if they want to get there quickly. And this is helping the American worker, how?


Am I missing something here??

My Political Stance ... Part 2

See previous post before you read this one ... just to get the background ....



I believe we need Stem-cell Research although I am VERY against having a baby solely to get the embryonic Stem-Cells. I believe that scientists have now found several sources of Stem-Cells and that they need to be allowed and encouraged to do research.



I believe we need a VERY STRONG very well trained standing military with all the bells and whistles and new gadgets we can train them on. This means LOTS of government money supporting them and I am all for it! By the way ... this sort of spending does stimulate the economy and creates tons of jobs.



I believe EVIL exists on this Earth and that there are people and groups who would like to see America brought to it's knees. ((Sadly, I also believe some of those people are now in control of our country.)) Most of these people and groups are elsewhere in the world ... but America and all she stands for is their target. There is no reasoning with these people and Tea and Scones and face-to-face talks are NOT going to persuade them to suddenly love us.



I believe George Bush was privy to a lot of classified information which we may never know about in detail. I believe there were Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq and I know for a fact that we found many stockpiles of chemical weapons and weapon supplies ... but I also believe that many were relocated to countries bordering Iraq ((Syria??)) and that we will greatly regret leaving Iraq, if and when we do. A stable Iraqi Democracy would be a wonderful thing. I am still hoping we can pull it off.



I believe George Bush tried very hard to be bi-partisan with all the spending he did over the 8 years he was in office. He gave Unions (a democrat thing) all kinds of stuff and the "Stimulus" checks of 2008 and the "stimulus" spending at the end of his term were totally 100% liberal democrat actions. Most conservative Republicans were left without a leg to stand on when Bush kept throwing government money at people. I'll agree with the war spending. Anything else, he should have vetoed.



I have recently been told I am a fiscal conservative and a social liberal .... I guess I can (kind of) see that. Well ... my President Bush seemed to be socially conservative and appeared to be a fiscally liberal ... and I honestly think THAT is was has led to the collapse of Republican Power. Maybe he was fiscally liberal in an effort to cross the aisle?? If so ... oh boy did that backfire!

By the way ... how many of you know that Congress has been under the control of the Democrats since 2006?? That would be Pelosi. Bush hasn't been able to do anything since 2006 without Congressional approval. Yet somehow he has taken the blame for all the spending since 2006? Blame the military spending on Bush .... everything else? Well that would be Pelosi! And how many of you are really excited that Nancy Pelosi is #3 in line to be President?? Hmmmmm ?????

More ... yes more to come ....

My Political Stance ...

Wow!!! Suddenly I care about politics!!! Well ... it has been coming on over the past year, what with the 2008 presidential election and all surrounding it .... but I have never cared about politics with the scrutiny and attention and passion I seem to have for it now. I mean .... I paid attention before ... read the newspapers, listened to the radio, read the Yahoo Top Stories .... I have always kept myself informed .... but not like I have been since Nov. 6th 2008 .... and especially since January 20th 2009.

I have always thought of myself as a Republican .... but I never really understood what that meant. I am fairly conservative in nature .... but I also didn't really know what that meant politically.

As I watched the potential presidential candidates posturing and trying out their rhetoric and jockeying for position, I soon realized that not a single Republican Candidate stood for what I believed. The one who came the closest was Fred Thompson ... sigh .... but he just didn't want it bad enough at all ... dang it, Fred. So I didn't like the Republican candidates ... but OMG .... the Democrats scared me!! Hillary Clinton?? Osama Obama?? Breck Girl?? No, THANK YOU!!

So .... okay ... maybe McCain was the lesser of the evils of the Republican choice .... but he would not have been my choice. Texas didn't even get to comment on the Primaries. I did get a kick when Palin was chosen as his running mate! A woman??? What??? But she had several stances, fundamental right wing stances .... which I disagreed with.

So who am I? What do I believe? I have been thinking about these things a lot lately. I was recently accused by one of my friends of being an extreme right wing Republican. Hmmmmm .... I really don't think so. SO where do I stand? Well .... in no particular order ....

I believe in limited Government involvement in my life. National defense and basic infrastructure should be the major concerns of my government. I think that is a fairly core value of conservatives.

I am pro-choice .... I believe every woman should have the right to decide what happens with her body. I don't, however, believe that government should PAY for whatever any woman wants to do to her body ... especially when it comes to abortion.

I believe abortion up to 12 weeks should be legal ... anything beyond that .... wait six more months and use adoption.

I absolutely do not care if two women or two men want to get married and live together forever. I do not care if they want to legalize their relationship somehow. I know LOTS of gay people and ... they are just PEOPLE. I do not feel threatened if they want the right to share health care, or to be considered "immediate family" in an intense hospital situation.

I firmly believe in DETAILED Sex Education for our young teens. Abstinence simply does not cut it ... and Palin's pregnant daughter was the Poster Child for that fact!! Teach about STD's. Teach about pregnancy prevention. TEACH Health Class for REAL!!! This should NOT cost billions of dollars. Every high school student is required to take Health. Teach the real life health situations!

I am not overtly religious. I believe in God and I believe this great country was founded on a belief in God and I don't think ANYONE has a right to mess with that. Period. Be you Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Athiest, Buddist, or one of the million other religions in the world ... welcome to America .... but don't you DARE tell me what I can or cannot believe. In God We Trust .... and One Nation Under God is how it is ... and how it should be. Period.

I will sleep better tonight having written this ... I will probably add more tomorrow ...

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

If anyone wants to know why I am so worried about the direction America is going RIGHT NOW ... I would like to recommend a book to you. It is a book published back in 1957 and is considered to be a classic .... although "Fountainhead" is the book more people read. The book is "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand ..... Get it! Read it!!

I read this book back when I was 22 years old .... so ... 1982 .... and I never ever in my life thought such a thing could happen in America. And yet .... here it is ... happening right now .... under MY watch. I am shocked and very disgusted.

Atlas Shrugged has been my #1 favorite book of all time ever since 1982. My second favorite book?? "The Stand" by Stephen King. So I am not an elitist snob .... no self-respecting elitist snob would list a Stephen King book as a Favorite. Yet both books have a very basic, universal theme .... Good vs Evil .... Right vs Wrong. I choose Good and I choose RIGHT.

So ... if you want to discuss Obama with me ... and want to discuss what is happening in America right now ... I ask that you first read or re-read Atlas Shrugged. And unless you can tell me who John Galt is ... what he did ... and what actor would best portray him in a movie of the book .... then I don't consider you worthy of an intelligent conversation on the topic. Now THERE is an elitist attitude!! And if you in turn would like for me to read the Communist Manifesto or Das Kapital so that I can understand YOUR point of view ... well, I would be happy to do so.

I have read Atlas Shrugged probably 3 or 4 times ... but this time I am listening to it on my waterproof iPod while I swim ... and do elliptical .... and I find myself gasping out loud at the amazing parallels to what is happening right now!!! It is almost like Obama and Congress read this book and USED it as a blueprint for how to destroy America!!! It is frightening in the parallels .... yet it was written back in the 50's. Trains and Steel were king ... andd cigarettes were considered to be fine at the time .... it was a very different world ... however, the overall truth and meaning shines through ....

I have forgotten much of the book ... so I am really enjoying listening to it ... but at the same time, it scares me even more when I compare it to the daily news of 2009.

If they do make a movie of Atlas Shrugged, I hear Angelina Jolie will play Dagney .... now I cannot listen to it without imagining her in that role. But don't wait for the movie ... it may never be made ....

Get the book ... READ IT .... then talk to me.

I double dog dare you!