Archie Kobain

(This is a test.)
When translated to English, “Fahrvergnügen”  means:

a. Happy New Year
b. Where is Alicia Silverstone these days?
c. Driving Enjoyment
d. I have a BlackBerry and if you’re going to sit like that, I’m going to take your picture.
e. All of The Above 

I hope the correct answer is “d”.

Fahrvergnügen!

Ah, it’s 2012 and I’m all fired up…

I love January.  The P&L starts over at zero.  It’s like having a clean slate.  It’s like being born again.  It’s like having friends in high places and, suddenly, your criminal record has been erased and everyone calls you Dave.

We’re talking about feelings, we’re talking about passion, we’re talking about soul.  We’re talking about physical, emotional, spiritual, psycological, and sexual energy…

Yeah.  That’s what 2012 is going to be all about.

Now everyone stand up and SCREAM OUT LOUD!

Wherever you are, Jane.
Come out tonight!

?

Yeah.  I probably need to ease up on listening to Cowboy Mouth.

But seriously…  Let’s make this our year.  Let’s erase the sins of the past.  Let’s not sit by and merely highlight the problems, while everything around us continues to go to hell, in the proverbial handbasket, of course.  Let’s do what is right.  Let’s think before we act and make sure that each of our actions is the right action.  Let’s return America to being the great country that we all know it can be.  This needs to be a grassroots effort.  It needs to come from the people, not the politicians.

How do we get started?
First – stop rooting for your team.  Politics is not a game and the Presidential election is not the Super Bowl.  It’s not about having your team win.  It’s about electing representatives who will do what is right for America instead of doing what benefits them and the corporations who buy them via the PACs (political action committees).

This will be extremely hard to do.  Imagine being an elected offficial for just a minute.  Imagine being faced with a decision whereby, you know – that doing the right thing for America means going against the wishes of those who gave you tons of campaign support and essentially got you elected in the first place.  And again, you know – that doing the right thing for America means that you will lose their support and, most likely, not be re-elected.

This is the trap.  It’s the reason why we need to get the money of out of politics.  It’s the reason why we need to enforce term limits and not have career politicians.  It’s the reason why we have to reverse the Supreme Court’s decision that corporations have freedom of speech and, therefore, the right to vocalize their support of a candidate by giving them unlimited amounts of money.  Corporations aren’t people.  Only people deserve that kind of freedom of speech.  Let’s make 2012 the year that we demand campaign reform and the removal of money from politics.

Not convinced yet?  Wait until you see how many political ads will be running this year, now that the Supreme Court opened the flood gates on this corporate funneling of cash, turning PACs into Super PACs.

Alicia, by the way, seems to be having a fine time running her website/blog: The Kind Life.
Call me…

Finally, let’s make this the year that we all step up and be Americans.  Let’s make this the year that we see what we are allowing ourselves to become and say, “I don’t want that!”

For example:  I don’t want government handouts.  I want to work for my money.  I want our children to work for their money and learn how capitalism empowers innovation and a better quality of life.  I want government to make money available to entreprnuers via a solid plan and solid banking system so that I can start businesses and employ people and create wealth for myself and my employees, and pay that money back, and pay my fair share of taxes for things that we actually need from government, like the assurance of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Maybe 2012 will be the year when we figure out how to fix Social Security?  And by fix I mean…  1) I’m a big believer in keeping promises, so if we promised things to millions of people, we (first) need to figure out how to make good on those promises.  2) Let’s not fool future generations and make them pay into a program that is broken and won’t be there for them, as promised.  Personally, I don’t want Social Security.  I’d settle for a refund on what I’ve paid in.  In fact, I’d be willing to negotiate a lower amount, in exchange for a one-time payout.  Give me my own money back.  Thanks.

Maybe 2012 will be the year when each and every one of us looks intelligently at the future and understand that it will take short-term personal sacrifices to make the long-term viability of our country feasible…  And we can start taking steps towards a stable America.  Let’s give America the seal of approval that “Made in America” is supposed to represent. 

Let’s listen to today’s musical guest…  Bell X1.
I love these guys.  I find their music fresh.  It’s perfect for a new year.
Here’s their song The Great Defector, recorded live in Dublin.

Let me know if you liked them.

Maybe 2012 will be the year that we can reform our tax code, simplify it, and make it fair for all Americans.  And I’m not talking about putting heavy taxes on the rich and having them pay for things for the poor.  It has been proven, time and time again – when you overly tax the rich, they figure out how to take their money and go elsewhere. Then your tax revenues go down.  It’s stupid.

That’s right, Mr. Buffett. Your plan is stupid.  I don’t want you to pay more than me. I just want you to pay your fair share. Saying, “let’s tax the rich more” is a very popular idea, after all – there are more poor people than rich people. But that’s the problem, there aren’t enough rich people to really make a dent in our fiscal challenges.  Plus, sooner or later, you and your rich friends will hire top notch tax experts and figure out how to legally move your money elsewhere and pay less.  So, just pay your fair share, then shut up.

What I’m taking about is giving the rich (and others) incentives to put their money to work in our country and put everyone around them to work, so people can work their way our of poverty without government handouts.  When Obama says it’s time that we need to spread the wealth a little…  Let’s tell him, “No… thanks!”  Let the wealthy keep their money, just don’t rip-off the rest of us – we’re willing to work for our share.  We’re Americans, we’re capitalist – not socialist.

Let’s make 2012 when we start taking more responsibility for our own actions and for our own destiny and let’s stop pointing fingers at others, or at situations.  I don’t want to hear complaints about the economy.  I want to hear what you are doing to survive and thrive, in spite of the economic climate.

If you get drunk and drive off a cliff, don’t file a lawsuit against the city for failing to put a guard-rail there.  The city should file a lawsuit against you for wrecking their cliffside.  You are in control of your own destination.  Government should need to keep you safe from yourself.  Be smart, be vigillent…  Be an Amercian!  A real American.  One who doesn’t need things from government or from his neighbors.  Be strong.  Be self-sufficient.

Now I know that this next video is going to seem “Republican”.  I don’t know – it probably is.  As you know, I’m not necessarily pro-Republican.  I’m mostly anti-the-two-big-political-parties and hate the us vs. them mentality but, I also call them like I see them.

The bottom line is that, when Democrats are allowed to run things unchallenged, bad things happen.  That doesn’t mean that Republicans should run everything.  As groups, I don’t trust either.   Nevertheless, this video exemplifies what happens when you lean too far to one side.  You should watch it.  Please take 13 minutes out of the 40,996,800 minutes in your life expectancy and watch this video.  It’s shows the reason why we can’t depend on government entitlement programs. And why we need to take control of our country back, before the entire nation turn into Detroit.  I loved this video when it came out a few years ago and it’s more relevant today than ever…

That’s it.  That’s my New Year’s blog update.  I wish everyone the very best for the New Year.  I wish everyone the very best America for the new year.  I wish for each and every one of you to be the very best Americans that you can be in this new year.  Then, let’s make the changes that we need to make for it to all fall into place.

Peace

 – Arch