GET OFF YOUR HIGH HORSE

This week, Congress and the Administration have come out with their hands raised in exasperation.

Knock it off.

They are complaining about $165 million in bonuses given to AIG executives. Ok, I understand the frustration that AIG were given bailout funds, but they were contractually owed, and in your stimulus bill, Mr. President - that you signed and all members of your party in Congress read (in the 12 hours from writing it to passing), a provision was inserted saying that all bonuses promised before February 11, 2009 could and would be paid.

Stop complaining - you let them do it! Quit trying to act like you had no idea. AIG turned over all its financial records to Geithner for him to review before approving more funds to be given to AIG. He either didn't take the time to read about the bonuses, or didn't care.

What's worse is that now your talking about raising taxes on just the people who got the bonuses from these companies. The House wants to put a 90% tax on individuals who receive a bonus from a company that received $5 billion in bailout funds. Besides being a violation of the Constitution (Bill of Attainder - Article I, Section 9, Clause 3; Ex Post Facto laws - Article I, Section 9, Clause 3), Congress and Obama are setting a precedent that if you make too much money or the federal government thinks that you are doing wrong, then it can take away your income. That does not make sense! Let me say it again:

Even if what your doing is not illegal, if the government deems it to be wrong they will take away your money.

Finally, this issue is minuscule. $165 million in bonuses. While to most Americans it seems like an unbelievable amount, think about this: $3.1 billion, with a 'B', in earmarks were slid through the latest spending bill. Why does no one care about that. How many individuals will be affected by each one of those dollars. At least with these bonuses, the money will be pumped back in to the economy. If $200,000 is granted to build a statute at a high school, where is the long-term financial benefit? The debate over this is utterly hypocritical.

Stop acting as if you, the Democratic Party and President Obama, are offended by this action and result. You let it happen. Senator Dodd has come out and admitted that he inserted the language that allowed the bonuses to be paid at the behest of the Executive Branch. Treasury Secretary Geithner either missed the bonuses or ignored them completely, one or the other. President Obama, you should have vetoed this legislation if you did not want these retaining bonuses to be paid. You are trying to save political face and you are violating the Constitution and the Judicial Branch will shoot your legislation down swiftly and exactly.

I do not care about the bonuses. Not one bit. And secretly, I think, neither do you, Mr. President, Mrs. Speaker, and other Democrats in Congress and throughout D.C. Here is my assumption:

This is a trying time in our nation. A small, undercurrent and counter-culture group is attempting to change the mindset of the citizens of the United States. You are angering the masses towards wealth. Those with wealth and excess wealth are inherently evil. They are the bad guys. It is the wealthy's fault for those who do without. You wish to tax the wealthy and the established in order to be fair to those who are not as well off. And this bonus situation gave you the platform to continue your movement. A mere $165 million and the wealthy are nothing but corrupt and incompetent. They are thieves of our citizen's money. If you can make the masses hate wealth, you can make everyone believe that mediocracy is valuable. If you make people believe that unnecessary sacrifice is patriotic, you can change the world. You can kill capitalism if you can make people believe that no one is smarter, better, or more valuable than anyone else.

The new members of the Democratic Party are trying to shift our nation away from our foundations and everything that the United States has stood for for over two centuries. Playing the blame game in this bonus situation, stirring up imaginary conflicts among members of the Republican Party, and attacking dissenting members of the media are all attempts by this new movement to hide their true actions - nationalizing corporations, over-regulating the economy, constricting wealth, and promoting the educational agenda of socialist/left-wing organizations.

We must not let the wool be pulled over our eyes. Keeping the Constitution at the forefront of every issue is the best way to defeat this attempted governmental conversion. Stay strong, fight for liberty, defend capitalism, and always respect the Constitution and we can never go wrong.