Peter Ferrara Says Barack Obama’s Economic Policy, Guided By Liberal Ideology, Is Impeding Recovery – WSJ.com
In his inaugural address, President Barack Obama said, “The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified.” Or as administration spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said in January, the touchstone is, “What will have the biggest and most immediate impact on creating private sector jobs and strengthening the middle class? We’re guided by what works, not by any ideology or special interests.”

As Mr. Ferrara says, in a nice way, bullshit.

This spending plan that just passed is the biggest abomination in the history of the U.S, and a return to the failed liberal ideology that massive spending can boost an economy out of recession or even depression. It didn’t work with FDR, it didn’t work with Jimmy Carter.

Reagan cut government spending as a % of GDP, cut taxes, cut back onerous regulation on business. The country’s economic outlook improved dramatically, in just a couple of years.

Obama and the liberal congress is doing just the opposite. Think it’ll work?

The producers of this country, the backbone – small businesses, entrepeneurs – look at this monstrosity of a spending bill and wonder where all this money is going to come from. Money that is being firehosed toward totally ideological programs – rather than the country’s infrastructure – has to come from somewhere. Unfortunately, we know where it’s going to come from.

Us. You. Me. The people who make America work. The people who drive the country. Not the ones who suck it up without putting back. You think that excites me? You think that makes me want to work hard, to succeed, when I know that anything I produce over a certain amount is going to be handed to some woman in Section 8 housing who hasn’t worked in 40 years? And has a 60″ big screen TV? Hardwood floors?

Yessiree Barry and Nancy and Harry – that sure motivates me to go above and beyond.

I’m worried about the seemingly impossible-to-stop socialist juggernaut that the U.S. government has turned into.

I’m worried that my 16- and 14-year old kids are going to be left holding the bag. Somebody’s going to try and make THEM pay for what the socialist dems are doing today.

I want to see the 100 million people that make America work stand up to the 100 million or more that don’t and say, “No. Enough.” But I don’t think it’s going to happen.

Because the people who are on the dole are going to vote down the people who aren’t, every time.

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I was thumbing through my Google Reader this morning, trying to sort through the stuff I’m terribly behind on reading. I’m behind on everything at the moment, it seems. So I was looking through the entries for TED (“TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader.”)

So I see this entry for “Stroke of Insight: Jill Bolte Taylor “, a neuroanatomist — she studies and maps the brain and its functions. Here’s an excerpt from the TED page:

One morning, a blood vessel in Jill Bolte Taylor’s brain exploded. As a brain scientist, she realized she had a ringside seat to her own stroke. She watched as her brain functions shut down one by one: motion, speech, memory, self-awareness …

Amazed to find herself alive, Taylor spent eight years recovering her ability to think, walk and talk. She has become a spokesperson for stroke recovery and for the possibility of coming back from brain injury stronger than before. In her case, although the stroke damaged the left side of her brain, her recovery unleashed a torrent of creative energy from her right. From her home base in Indiana, she now travels the country on behalf of the Harvard Brain Bank as the “Singin’ Scientist.”

Watch how a scientist describes what happened to herself. If you’re not intrigued by what she has to say and the enormous possibility it implies, then IMHO you ought to check your pulse…

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Following is the contents of Chapter 17 of The Science of Getting Rich, by Wallace D. Wattles. Through the course of the book, Wattles develops and amplifies on these statements and considers them to be the essential points that anyone practicing the art of conscious creation must master. Without further ado:

There is a thinking stuff from which all things are made, and which, in its original state, permeates, penetrates, and fills the interspaces of the universe.

A thought in this substance produces the thing that is imaged by the thought.

Man can form things in his thought, and by impressing his thought upon formless substance can cause the thing he thinks about to be created.

In order to do this, man must pass from the competitive to the creative mind; otherwise he cannot be in harmony with the Formless Intelligence, which is always creative and never competitive in spirit.

Man may come into full harmony with the Formless Substance by entertaining a lively and sincere gratitude for the blessings it bestows upon him. Gratitude unifies the mind of man with the intelligence of Substance, so that man’s thoughts are received by the Formless. Man can remain upon the creative plane only by uniting himself with the Formless Intelligence through a deep and continuous feeling of gratitude.

Man must form a clear and definite mental image of the things he wishes to have, to do, or to become; and he must hold this mental image in his thoughts, while being deeply grateful to the Supreme that all his desires are granted to him. The man who wishes to get rich must spend his leisure hours in contemplating his Vision, and in earnest thanksgiving that the reality is being given to him. Too much stress cannot be laid on the importance of frequent contemplation of the mental image, coupled with unwavering faith and devout gratitude. This is the process by which the impression is given to the Formless, and the creative forces set in motion.

The creative energy works through the established channels of natural growth, and of the industrial and social order. All that is included in his mental image will surely be brought to the man who follows the instructions given above, and whose faith does not waver. What he wants will come to him through the ways of established trade and commerce.

In order to receive his own when it shall come to him, man must be active; and this activity can only consist in more than filling his present place. He must keep in mind the Purpose to get rich through the realization of his mental image. And he must do, every day, all that can be done that day, taking care to do each act in a successful manner. He must give to every man a use value in excess of the cash value he receives, so that each transaction makes for more life; and he must so hold the Advancing Thought that the impression of increase will be communicated to all with whom he comes in contact.

The men and women who practice the foregoing instructions will certainly get rich; and the riches they receive will be in exact proportion to the definiteness of their vision, the fixity of their purpose, the steadiness of their faith, and the depth of their gratitude.

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A question for you: do you grasp the true meaning of ‘infinity’ or ‘infinite’?

“The line stretches to infinity.”

“The world is full of infinite possibility.”

So what does the word mean according to the dictionary?

in·fi·nite /??nf?n?t/ Pronunciation Key – Show Spelled Pronunciation[in-fuh-nit] Pronunciation Key – Show IPA Pronunciation –adjective

–noun

infinite. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/infinite (accessed: October 01, 2007).

But consider this as a mind excercise: you are out in the universe, floating. In each hand you hold a line. At a point a couple of feet in front of you, the lines cross. The one in your right hand points off to the left, the one in your left hand points off to the right.

Begin to bring the lines to parallel. The lines’ point of intersection moves farther and farther away from you as you twist your hands. Will the lines become uncrossed? They will not. The point of intersection will continue to move away from you, but if the lines never end, they can never uncross.

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All this goes to show that we really don’t have the ability to conceptualize the infiniteness of God (or Infinite Intelligence, or the Universal Mind, or whatever term you choose), or the infiniteness of possibility. We cannot comprehend the meaning of “All things are possible to him that believes.” All things. Everything. But everything doesn’t exist because God is infinite. The word everything implies a limit, every thing. But there are not limits.

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Okay, I’m drained. Back to your regularly scheduled programming.

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Ed Mills’ blog post, Perception Becomes Reality struck a chord with me. He says:

The more I explore the Law of Attraction the more I come to see that what I call reality is nothing more than my perception of what is happening around me.

The Wachowski brothers, in their movie The Matrix, have Morpheus answer Neo’s question, “Is this real?” in this way:

What is real? How do you define real? If you’re talking about your senses, what you feel, taste, smell, or see, then all you’re talking about are electrical signals interpreted by your brain.

Your reality is what you say it is, what you believe it to be. People use the phrase “get real” to goad you into accepting their version of reality–of what is possible and what isn’t. But we know that anything is possible.

Don’t we?

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Those of us who know the basics of the Law of Attraction know that “thoughts become things”. So we embark on our life-changing journey, excited about the wonderful way life will be. Some people have more success at it than others. Those people keep building on what they’ve learned, attracting more of what they want, expanding the horizons of their imagination and belief, seemingly growing by leaps and bounds.

Then there are the rest of us.

‘The rest of us’ is, by most accounts, a rather large group. We’re not in the ‘non-believer’ group, but we just haven’t, for whatever reasons, been able to consciously create our lives as well as we would like to.

So the question is, “Why not?” Thankfully, we have kept the faith in the Law–we know it works. We haven’t become members of the group that say, “This stuff doesn’t work.” We haven’t given up. But what to do?

My answer? Study, examine what you’re doing, how you’re thinking, adjust, do it again. The basic Ultimate Success Formula. Realize that just because it’s not working like you think it should, you’re not a failure. You haven’t bombed the course. You get as many do-overs as you need.

For my part, here are the mistakes I’ve made in the wealth-attraction arena. Maybe you can learn from them to make your journey a little less curvy than mine.

So, like I have, do you make these mistakes in attracting wealth?

Mistake #1: Closing the door of your mind to money-making opportunities.

Open your eyes to the fact that wealth is all around you. There is an abundance of money. It’s everywhere you look, if you’ll only see it. When an opportunity to make money comes your way, don’t pooh-pooh it. It came your way for a reason–because you wanted it to. Recognize that and step into it. It may be an opportunity that you don’t think would suit you. “I don’t want to sell soap.” Maybe not, but could you learn from some people who’ve been successful at it? Can you apply their ideas and habits to something else? Keep your eyes–and your mind–open.

Mistake #2: Hanging on to the ‘poor’ mentality.

This, I think, is one of the hardest habits to kick. It shows up when you say to yourself, “I can’t afford that.” And you know what? Your thought becomes the thing. If you just can’t wrap your head around the idea that it’s yours if you want it, then at least practice reducing your resistance to the thought. Do the “wouldn’t it be nice” exercise from Ask and It Is Given. Get your thoughts away from the despair of not having, to the hopefulness and joy of maybe having. You might not think that is much of an improvement, but it is. It’s training your mind to question the permanence of your present situation.

Mistake #3: Practicing despair instead of gratitude.

This is what you are doing when your focus is on lack, when you’re thinking things like, “When is this going to get better?”, or “My life sucks.”

Begin to focus on, and be grateful for, what you do have. “Not much,” you say? I suggest you look around you again. If you’re reading this, you likely have something that only a small percentage of people in the world have: a computer and an internet connection. It follows from there that it’s likely that you have a roof over your head, and that you’re not starving. You probably don’t have to go to sleep listening to the sounds of mortar rounds and rifle fire, and you probably don’t have to worry about being the victim of a kidnapping or suicide bomber.

Do you have the faintest conception of how many people in the world don’t have what you have? Possibly, contemplating that will enable you to whisper a little “thank you”, eh?

There’re more common mistakes, but if you’re like me, rectifying these will keep you busy for a while.

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In talking with people, I’m bombarded by variations of ‘how bad it is’. The economy sucks, the job sucks, the wife sucks ^oops, life sucks. Everything sucks.

I have to admit that it’s easy to get pulled down into that pit. Thankfully, I am beginning to recognize my whereabouts and change my view of the world.

When you change your focus, your attention, opportunities seem to materialize out of thin air where none had been before. But were they really not there? Or were they just hidden from view because of the direction you were looking?

My focus changed recently. I made the decision to become more aware of financial opportunity, because in the past that has been one of my problem areas. I am exposed to an idea or opportunity and immediately go over to the dark side. I dissect. I think of all of the reasons why it, whatever it is, won’t work. About the temporary difficulties it may entail.

One example: in the early 90′s, I was the store manager of one of a growing chain of auto parts stores. The decision was made to take the company public, and members of management that had been with the company a certain period of time had the opportunity to purchase a block of stock prior to the IPO. I had passed the time requirement the week before, so I was eligible. The only kicker was that I would have to borrow the $5,000 from a credit card because I had no cash.

I decided not to. Think of the interest on a credit card for a $5,000 cash advance! Besides, I really didn’t like the company. Yes, they were growing and took care of customers well, but treated management like dirt, at least at the store level. So, no thanks.

Now, 16 years later, the stock that I could have purchased for $5,000 is worth over $250,000.

What has happened in the couple of short weeks that I have changed my attention from lack to opportunity?

• I had, and followed up on, the inspiration to launch another website focused on weight loss, health and wellness, and anti-aging. A crowded arena, to be sure, but I have chosen not to compete, but to create. It is taking shape, and my goal is to launch before the end of May.
• I decided that I wanted my main source of income, Sawtooth Internet Development, to be more productive. I want to take a more active approach to business-building, networking, etc. Within a few days of making that decision, more opportunities for business made their way to me. My specialty is turning to problem-solving for existing sites, and I’m seeing more chances to do that. It is a fit for my analytical mind.
• My wife and a friend of hers had begun a business a few years ago that languished because of a lack of focus. They’ve decided to revive the business and it has started to take off. They’ve participated in trade shows, made new acquaintances and revived old ones that are already beginning to show signs of promise.
• My wife’s activities caused me to reconnect with an old and dear friend. I had, because of my level of thought, let our relationship languish over the past few months. Through her,…
• …I have been offered the opportunity to become part of a research group for the ongoing development of a personal development course to be offered nationwide in the near future. The close association with people of this caliber has already inspired me.
• I was offered the opportunity to partner with a small group of people developing some fantastic concepts in the areas of real estate, mortgage and commercial lending, and financial management. The outlook for this is mind-boggling.

What is especially mind-boggling is that every one of those opportunities, and more, have been right in front of me for a long time. Years, in fact. They’re nothing new. They’ve been right out in front of me, waiting to be seen.

How much is right in front of you if you’d only change your focus a little?

Are you closing the door when opportunity knocks?

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This, from Christine Kane – Take Action in May, bears repeating just in case you missed it:

Get Committed

When I first began in my songwriting career, I never admitted to anyone that I was a songwriter. I didn’t want them to say, “Oh yea? Prove it!” So, I hedged. I used phrases like “kind of,” “sort of,” “well, not that this could ever happen, but…” Then I found this quote from explorer W.H. Murray –

Until one is committed there is the chance to draw back; always ineffectiveness.

Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation) there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans:

That the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would not otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance which no man would have dreamed would come his way.

I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s couplets:

“Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it! Boldness has genius, magic, and power in it.”

I posted this quote on my music room wall. Then, I started to act. I changed my language. I began telling people “I’m a songwriter.” And I started writing everyday no matter what. Slowly, a career grew. And even more important, so did I.

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Risk. The very word implies the possibility of failure, of injury, loss, even disaster. It also implies the possibility of gain, of growth, of advancement, or achievement.

When you see or hear the word ‘risk’, does it excite or intimidate you? Does it cause salivation or dry-mouth? Do you look for ways to run toward it or from it?

Risk is the spice of life, I think. Without it, the day is bland and boring. It may be a beautiful day, with much to be grateful and rejoice for, but how many of those quiet beautiful days can you endure before going stir-crazy?

Faith is the quality we have available to enable ourselves to risk, to cause ourselves to take actions that could result in discomfort, failure or loss. Faith that we can truly control and influence the direction of our lives; faith that ultimately our lives will improve when we stretch and move out of our comfort zones.

We risk when we get married; the alternative is to stay single. We risk when we get into a car to travel somewhere. Life is full of risks. How we respond to them determines our direction and our accomplishments.

Faith moves mountains–lack of faith causes a molehill to be a major obstacle.

Years ago, I wrote down a quote that illustrates this perfectly:

“If, despite our gnawing doubts, we can muster faith enough to take a single step on the road to where we’re going, we are well on the way to creative achievement. Every triumph of the human spirit begins with one step taken in faith. The single step is the small handle to great matters.

“No man or woman ever won a worthy triumph without faith to keep on and on, always able to last at least five minutes longer.”

Unfortunately, I didn’t bother to write down where that came from (if anyone knows, please inform me).

The point of all this is simple: without faith, without belief, nothing happens. Nothing is ventured; we stagnate in our own little pools of doubt and uncertainty. Not a pretty picture, eh?

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“When a resolute young fellow steps up to the great bully, the world, and takes him boldly by the beard, he is often surprised to find it comes off in his hand, and that it was only tied on to scare away the timid adventurers.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

 This is in my notable quotes (see the top of the page). Isn’t this the truth?

Keywords: resolute, boldly, timid.

Resolute–acting with determination, with the faith that the endeavor will be accomplished. Boldly going where you haven’t gone before because timidity is your normal habit (sorry, Star Trek).

Resolve, resolute, resolution. Very powerful words, yes?

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