Special Announcement

Well. First off I feel like delaying it. Wait till the end of the blog to make my statement. It's nothing major, so don't get your hopes up.

Well actually I lied. Here's the announcement. I have full 100% plans to do the PF Changs Rock n' Roll Marathon. Now I have wanted to do this for about 4 years, but have gotten sick every time I get ready for it. I'm tentative to announce it because, well. I'm hoping history won't repeat itself.

There it is. That's all.-SS

Lets Make Everybody Sing

"Lets Make Everybody Sing"
It doesn't matter, who you are
The reason's we have all the same
It's about the music, not about the fame
Don't try to be a fucking star

We sing like no one is listening
And dance without fear,
Only we get what we're saying
Coming in loud and clear

It's not about the sale at the door
Or the friends that you call fans
It's about the memories that you make
And the message you try to send

With a sound we raise so loud
That can be heard everywhere
Without a reason, without a cause
There's no need to care

We sing like no one is listening
And dance without fear
Only we get what we're saying
Coming in loud and clear

A Million To One

It's not exactly what we had planned. The route we take may vary, and we wind up somewhere we did not expect. It's weird where we can go. We could travel a million miles to end up back at the starting line and wish we never left. Even though the sights along the way were tempting, but that temptation would have lead into a dead end.

We may meet a thousand people, but all it takes is one to change our lives. Just because they aren't exactly what we wanted, doesn't mean that they are best for you. A life time of searching can come down to all of one second, a glance, an awkward stare that turns into something more than you could have imagined. It is so weird, but when it hits you, you know it.

The life that we want, a fast paced life, living on the run and doing the most sometimes isn't what we really want. Sometimes sitting on front porches is all that we need. Watch the sunset every night, and waste life away. Hopefully not alone, the feeling of being alone is almost worst than the feeling of death.

Just keep that in mind as you walk around in your life. What we picture ourselves sometimes isn't the best. It is what we become that could be the greatest thing of all. Don't waste a single day. Live for now, don't worry about tomorrow. Take a chance for once, and breathel.

That is all.-SS

It Never Ends

I'm good at some things. Well it isn't really good because I'm kind of using it in the wrong way. I am good at pissing people off. Not all the time, just when I want to. Unfortunately I believe my efforts are wasted this time. The target audience this time are really a bunch of nobodies, poseurs an "wanna be's." The thing is I have gotten attention, and didn't even need to do much. Obviously people are giving a shit about me. Why? I have no clue. It is quite comical if you ask me.

Lets see, because I posted the original version of a song, people got their panties in a knot. I have no intentions of using it as a song of my own. It is a cover of my band Ripp Tyde, if anything use it as a cover ala Green Day covering Operation Ivy's "Knowledge." I wrote half the song, I have half the rights. Simple as that. I suffered through a music business, and did pick something up and there. I know artists rights, and all that stuff. You write lyrics for a song, you are a major contributor to the song, it's 50 percent of a song if you look at it. It is a major part of a song, and I had no help writing lyrics, or have I really ever split a song with someone. Even though I have re-organized lyrics into a different song structure that were not my lyrics.

If you want to try and use legal action, go a head, piss money away that YOU DON'T HAVE. You talk is a lot bigger than your bite, so I have absolutely no fear. Not only that, there is no money involved. When it comes to music business, money has to be involved before your legal action will be taken seriously.

The other day I was talking about the fact that I have been playing in a band for three plus years, and I mentioned the genre that I played. The girl I was talking to laugh, and said this, "We're you popular?" I responded with a laughable "No." She then just said, "See.." Then I went on to explain what my current ambitions are musically, and she seemed more interested, and tol me that I am better off to follow that than what I was doing. Then tonight I was talking to some people that were at last years Christmas show, and they said we sounded generic and 80's. That was then, and the music is still the same. So you can imagine. I only wish I listened to my gut in 2004 when I first saw Rise Against on MTV, and things might be a little different now.

Please take this into consideration. I was the face of the band, I was the one who got some notoriety. There is no popularity for me, other wise I would have found a band. I am recognized for what I did, and who I was. When I explain my current position, everyone that I know seems to believe that I am better off. I have been told they can't wait to hear what I will come up with in the near future, and that when I left, the band lost it's heart and soul and was meaningless.

Say what you want. I really don't care. If anyone is actually reading this because they want to see what I am up to secretly, congrats, you have no life, or I am showing you lyrics, it is a whole different story.

I think I'll post some more songs. Just to piss them off...

Once again... "Good night, and good luck."

I Won't Take It, Or Leave It

Each day passes, and impatiences grows. I just hate waiting, especially when something this big is waiting on the other side. My mind cannot rest at ease until I know what the hell is going on. So I just sit here and wait, and wait some more. Even though I may ask, "what took you so long," but better late than never bodes very well with me on this subject matter. Until then, I shall just turn up some Bouncing Souls, and keep waiting.

That is just what is going on with that for now. The waiting game continues, now it is some time for some commentary that I have always been known for. Don't be quick to judge, when something is out of place, I will argue about it. Even if it seems totally non sequitur.

I have recently heard my former band mates "new" songs if you want to call them that. I'll start with the basic gist of what I heard. Garbage. Not only that, I have heard some of my lyrics, and melody in one song they have posted. I have the original recordings of it, and lyrics saved on a server (yes, that stands up in a court of law, they are time stamped.) That's only if they ever make money off it, which I doubt they will. Then I saw a title of a song that I write three years ago. I really find it funny. The fact that they have to pick off of stuff that I did while taking part of the music. To me it shows their lack of creativity, and it is really sad. They think they can pass mutton off as lamb. It doesn't work.

There is something that I have found funny the entire time I was in the band. The fact that Shawn could never get over the joke that Aneurysm was. He really liked to live in the past with that band. I would always hear him screw around with the guitar playing songs from that band. That was three years ago, and that band is long dead. He likes to live in the past, and I really find it funny. 2007 is gone, and never coming back. The fact that he and the band would take a song title from a song I wrote in 2007 and use if for a "new song" of theirs is really sad, and uncreative.

Wait, it doesn't end there. They are using songs that had lyrics already, and not writing new original material. That was a reason I left, the writing process was too drawn out, and we would go months without writing new material. It is an excuse that they are making for writing new songs. When in fact, the songs that they are posting are not new, and not new by a far stretch. I have recordings for all but I think three of the old songs we wrote. Laziness persists with that band. Meanwhile I have been writing new lyrics (see this blog), and writing music too. I have one song posted on this site, and my myspace, and I have a new song I am going to record sometime this week. It is something, but it is better than what you got. If it didn't work the first time, what makes you think it will work a second time rehashed.

The lyrics that they have thrown over the material are straight up shit too. The style that they are trying to do, isn't conducive with the lyrics that they are writing. You want to be 80's but writing crappy half-assed Metallica lyrics. Remember this the kids that liked hair metal back in the day, hated thrash kids, and vice versa. It still stands true today.

My advice to bands that are out there today. If you have a member leave, and decide to branch off into a new project, don't rehash the songs that you did in your former band. That is like saying Rise Against started out by claiming 88 Finger Louie songs were their stuff. It is okay if you cover your old stuff, but putting new lyrics over the song will not work. Be original, obviously these jerks aren't original. At the show on Dec 11, I might cover some of the stuff that I did then, but I won't turd on what has been done.

Originality, learn it, and become it. Meaning, find it, and embrace it, don't forget that what you stand for, and what you portray is more important anything. Lyrics are just as equal as the music, if not greater, because what does the crowd sing back to you when you are on stage?

That's if for now... "Good night, and good luck..."-SS

Impending Strike

Something totally off topic on what I normally talk about. I just felt like stating my peace with this after reading a new article.

If you flashback to 1994, if you remember, or look it up, Major League Baseball went on strike in August of that year. The NFL is facing a lot of the same situations that MLB was facing. There is issues with player salaries, overall labor, and season length. Although season length was not a problem from MLB, it is a very big one for the NFL.

The players are saying that they are underpaid. I think with every sport, they're all over paid. A complaint they have is that they put their life on the line every day, well, so do police and firefighters, and they get pair a fraction of what NFL players get. They have no right to complain, playing a sport like football is a choice, they didn't have to play. They could have paid attention in high school, or college. This is the life they chose.

Baseball wanted a salary cap in 1994, now that the NFL doesn;t have one, the NFLPA doesn't want it back.

Make it simple, my mind is running in other places, and my fingrs don't want to type. There is a strike coming for the NFL, and it will hurt the sport. I will laugh.

Road Less Traveled

It's been a while since I have actually written a song from head to toe, well I have finally done it. I have more coming too which is the best part! Writing acoustic punk is amazing! Anyway, here is the first song that is now in my repertoire, I posted it as "The Torch," but had a change of heart after thinking about it. I switched some lyrics around, and came up with a sweet version. Here it is, "Road Less Traveled," the first one of many from Shane Strychnine.

Don't Bury Me... I'm Not Dead Yet...

I have been really neglecting my blog lately, and well. I finally have some reason to write. I forgot to write about the Bad Religion concert last week, and don't feel like going back to talk about just cause. Or maybe I will, I don't know.

I just have a lot of worry in my heart.

As I sit patiently waiting for a letter from NAU to tell me my fate, whether I got into the university or not. I am honestly scared of that letter. I want it to reach me, but at the same time I feel like it is better that I do not know. I know I am moving to Flagstaff in January no matter what the outcome is, but I feel going up there to go to a community college is a step sideways, and a half step back. Why? My experience at community college has been a horrible one. The nagging pressure of trying to get accepted into a university, while feeling pressure from the community college. I rather feel pressure from the university to survive there, than try to survive on both levels.

When I went up to Flagstaff last week I had a vague idea about what I wanted to do. It was a cross from sitting it out until the start hiring firefighters again and lurk on the college level, or throw darts in the dark at a major. That weekend changed my mind. I know exactly what I want to do, and where I need to go. Another semester at a community college will, I believe, hurt me, and hinder me in getting where I want to go. Like I have said before, it has hurt more than it has helped. PVCC has been crappy with advising and helping me. I went for help about 18 months ago, and they only screwed me up, and got me all spun around. About a year ago I finally spoke to someone and they helped me out. It only took three semesters to figure something out.

If I could speak to the admissions at NAU, and plead a case I would tell them this:

I have been a student toiling around the community college level for the past two plus years, and it has not helped me out at all. I have tried options to get me somewhere, but those paths they gave me only led me no where. Recently I came up to NAU to check out something for a concert me and a friend were planning and got a brief tour around the campus and fell in love with it. Then I decided to try to get to NAU. Now this is the end of 2009, and I had a very rough end of 2009. I was in the hospital for a few days, and was diagnosed with Mutiple Sclerosis, and haven't let it change my life in drastic ways since. Then with the turning of the year, I re-took a placement test that I thought I flunked after high school, but had only missed by three points, I retook and scored very well on. I then went on to figure out what I needed to do to get to NAU.

Not only was I having trouble figuring out what to do, I was in a band that was skewing my mind and detracting me from what I really wanted to do. This past summer I cleaned up my act. I ditched my band full of losers, and righted my life and got on track. This past semester I figured out what I needed to take to achieve my goal, and have been chasing after it since then. I have made poor decisions in my class choice when I first got into college, I wanted to go into music business, but the instructor and I never saw eye to eye on what was going on the curriculum, and there was Macro-Economics which I honestly did not get, and one class that I took in 2009 that I missed too much time to be able to recover from.

These past two semesters I have figured out what I need to do, and I have gotten things on track. I hope that my past mistake will not effect my future in trying get into a university. Everyone is allowed a second chance, and I believe I have been getting that the past 13 months or so.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That's something I would say, even though I don't believe it would help.

Until I get that letter, I will wait in anxiety, and hope.-SS

The Torch

"The Torch"
The silence is shattered with an echoing guitar
Though this message may not reach you
It's just enough to know that you're not alone
The storm on the horizon you fear isn't that far
And the torch that you hold is fading fast
This has become something we've outgrown

There's so much out there that we're over looking
Giving up on chances that we never had
When we say "we're okay living this way."
Do we really mean it?

She stopped and she told me, to keep on going
Even though she got left so far behind
It was something that was worth repeating
A memory will burn in my mind forever
Like a scar that never wants to heal
An example was set and mind was made

I gotta get the fuck outta here
Get me the fuck outta here

There's so much out there that we're over looking
Giving up on chances that we never had
When we say "we're okay living this way."

Do we really mean it?
Do we really fucking mean it?

From Flagstaff With Love

Up in my hotel in Flagstaff, AZ. The second time I have been here this year and the fifth or sixth time I have left Phoenix for a extended amount of time. Let me tell you, it is great, Getting out of a hell hole that is Phoenix. Took a tour of the campus, which I kind of did last October, and saw all the stuff I knew already. I like the campus, very relaxed environment. Also, took a look around at an apartment, and have an idea on how to possibly make it work. So thus far it appears to be all good.

Now the next big hurdle is getting accepted into the school. I heard an adviser say that they normally accept students with 24+ transferable credits and a 2.0 minimum GPA. After this semester I will have 26, two above what they will accept. My GPA is ober 2.0, it is probably closer to 2.3-2.6 by the end of the semester. According to what that guy said, I should be in. Now it's just a waiting game. About two weeks to be exact, then I'll know my outcome. I don't want to be a Townie.

I like it here. It will be a fresh start. New beginnings..-SS

Shipping Off To Bahston

Day 1:

What is that supposed to mean? Here's what it means. I'm sitting about 65 days from moving up to Flagstaff. Here's the gist of what is going on today. I am going up to Flagstaff to check out apartments, and get acquainted with the town and the school. I had to run over to PV to get my transcript, because apparently NAU is notorious for fudging up getting transcripts. So I talked to the lady at PV and her's what we did. I received a transcript to take up to NAU, and she mailed one out. In other words they should get the damn thing. I have been tired of getting letters from them saying they need my transcript. I get it turned into them, and play the waiting game... Stressful...

I have something really interesting I want to talk about, but not for this blog. I was walking home and thought of this. "A tap on the shoulder can change the outcome of ones life." Just think about that for a while. The next blog I will write will be based off of that thought. It ties into to what is going on today. Which is really isn't good, but what it made me realize is good. Trust me...

I have a lot to say right now, but just don't believe it is right for this blog. Until later-SS

Election Day Massacre

Okay, the joke is over. Where the hell is that Ashton Koljack guy. Am I watching an episode of "Punk'd" on MSNBC. I cannot help but sit here and shake my head. This is a awful night, and who is to blame, those who did not go out to vote. That and the political pundits on Fox and conservative networks. This country has been moving forward the last two years, why do you want to go back. Who was it that caused this mess that we are trying to climb out of? Yeah, that's right. The republicans. They have no idea what they want to do to this country. Lawrence O'Donnell said it best, "they want to run this country into the ground." Now that they have power what will do? It is like when the Joker in Dark Knight described him chasing a car, "I wouldn't know what to do it I caught one." The republicans just caught their car, now the party of "NO" will become the party of "HUH?"

There is something sinister brewing with the republicans. There has been a lot of legislature that the democrats have tried to pass. Democrats have said they want to build jobs, and see the economy grow. They have tried to get this passed in congress multiple time. Now that the republican have power they are going to try and make themselves seem like the white knight? This doesn't add up. They want to repeal health care that people are still very misinformed about. Is it a crime for you government to force you to make the best for your self? NO! For the love of god no! What the republicans are after is power!!! They want to turn this country into a authoritarian state. Just look....

-They want to privatize the VA Hospitals
-Get rid of social security
-Get rid of minimum wage in thus making the job market uncompetitive and let companies pay you as little as possible.
-Want to cut taxes for the rich, and continue the "trickle down" effect
-Give breaks to big business, and big oil
-Make America a secular state. (An official religion country)
-Change our text books (ala 1984 to read what they want us to know)
-Allow deregulation to continue on wall street
-Destroy health care
-PRIVATIZE EVERYTHING!

They say they want a smaller government, but the last point is kind of alarming. A small government is one that republican like, where a lot of things go unnoticed and it is a very very free society, it's comparable to a controlled anarchy (talk about a contradiction.) This set of far right conservatives aren't so far right. They want to privatize everything. What does that mean, you have to pay someone to get something like VA care. It goes from the government, and money goes straight into someone else pocket. That person that person that is running a private organization has the right to refuse anyone. That is the exact opposite with what the current health care system.

Can you imagine if you are sick, and there is a cure, and easy cure. This sickness that you have if you don't get it taken care of can kill you though. The cure is expensive, and because you have insurance you will be able to live. What the "Obamacare" has promised that a health care provider can not drop you because you are sick. They could do that. Now they can't. Without this health care initiative the insurance provider could have dropped you, and you die. Those days are over. They want to change that.

I am not a man of religion, if anything I kind of find it stupid. Why? It restricts us from living a full life. Religion has chains that slow us down. Another thing that they have preached is to make this country a uni-religion state. More than likely Christianity. Just take a good hard look at Sarah Palin and something she said, "we all need to get more god in our life." It appears to me that she will be running in 2012 for president. There are dozens of religions in this country. There is no way you can say that your religion trumps all.

The funniest thing I have heard this past year is that the democrats are taking away our freedoms, and we are becoming a socialist state. First off, I can still buy a gun, I can voice my opinion, and so on and so forth. WE HAVE NOT LOST A SINGLE RIGHT SINCE OBAMA CAME INTO OFFICE, AND WON'T. I don't see any signs of socialism coming anywhere, but I am from the republicans. The darker side of socialism though. I can still say FUCK, I can still listen to the bands I want. Please tell me what rights I have lost.

I found this little slice of knowledge hysterical. The republicans want to cut more corporate taxes. I just wrote a paper where I talk about how cutting taxes will only lead to a prolonged recession. It happened in Ireland (read the blog below). To stimulate job growth, you just can't cut taxes more and more. Eventually you will loose revenue, an the government makes no money for basic services. Small business will not hire because of low taxes. They will hire only when there is a demand for the product(s) or service they offer.

Of course theses conservative idiots want to continue the an endless war, and want us to live in fear. It is scary that American have missed this all. Since when was it bad to be able to be an intellectual and be look down upon. This country was founded on smarts and free will. This political party is missing the point. Not only that they are missing a point of something they are preaching. It is really bad.

This country is going down. Just look at the model that is Arizona. Republican house, senate, and leader. What has happened here, massive budget deficit, and things are only getting worse. There is a lot of ad hominem going on here. They want to focus on "protecting the border" and playing the race card and wasting tons of money on this. Meanwhile our schools out here have fallen all the way to the worse in the country. There is no sign of this getting any better out here. Still they waste time not keeping an eye on what is going on. Correction... The republicans playing the immigration care is ad populist, it is preaching to a large crowd. It's actually both, anyway. Nonetheless the are out of touch of what needs to be taken care of. Someone once told me to take care of number one at home first before reaching out to fix other problems. That you could argue is immigration. Lets fix instate problems before we worry about something that is on the fringe.

The next two years in this country will be rough. Nothing will get through in congress, and nothing will get done. In 2012 we will loose our president, and we will see what has happened in Arizona. Just on a much larger scale. What the Americans did today was disgusting. they voted with the media, and not with what they truly believed in. OPEN YOUR FUCKING EYES PEOPLE!!

That is all... "Good night and good luck..."-SS

Recesion: A Blame Game

“You’re approved!”

Something many Americans heard in the 2000’s when looking for large loans to buy a house or a car, even though they could not afford the loan. A storm was growing on the horizon over the past decade, of course the average American did not see this. This brewing storm was the impending “Great Recession,” as coined by many media outlets. There is a long list of why this happened. The average American does have some blame in this, but not much. The policies that former president George W. Bush and his republican constituents set up laid the foundation for the collapse in 2008. Of course, both parties have blood free hands, the democrats are guilty too, but the burden and more weight fall on what Bush and the republicans set up.

Let’s take a trip back in time. The year is 1999. Bill Clinton is president and there is a balanced budget, a republican congress. It is October 22nd in the early hours of the morning. An embattled Clinton, who recently survived an impeachment from congress, comes to an agreement with republicans what is called “Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999.” This act “…(did) away with restrictions on the integration of banking, insurance and stock trading imposed by the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933,” which set into place after the Great Depression, and set up the staging ground for America (McLaughlin WSWS). The legislation that the Glass-Stegall Act enacted was described as a “the center pillar” of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal by Martin McLaughlin in his story “Clinton, Republicans agree to deregulation of US financial system.” Now in congress they are arguing over how to re-regulate everything.

It may appear that Clinton was responsible for this mess that bubbled to the surface recently. Remember this; he had only so much control in legislature. The House of Representatives and Senate at the time were both controlled by republicans, 55-45 in the Senate, and 228-206 in the House. Not only that, Clinton was feeling pressure from the impeachment trial that occurred earlier in the year.

Strangely enough, republicans had a chance to stop this all. A bill was in the works just prior to the housing market crash that started in 2007. The bill was meant to regulate Fannie Mae, and Freddy Mac, both of which are government run programs that take care of home buying, and both of which fell hard in 2008. This regulation bill made it out of senate committee, but never was brought out on the floor. Arizona senator John McCain signed onto it, but was a step too slow. The market had started to fall. During his 2008 run at becoming president, McCain used an excuse that this was blockaded by democrats, when in fact it never actually reached the house floor. The democrats never got the opportunity to take a chance to stop it from passing, or pass it (factcheck.org). Once again this proves that republicans missed a chance to stop, or fix the problem.

Another thing that was at the root of this recession was dredged word, “outsourcing.” A Bush adviser, Dr. Greg Mankiw, had “suggested outsourcing could eventually help the economy” (Cook, Nyhan) Now looking back at what Mankiw said has proven very wrong. In a country that is job hungry, Bush and his staff watched as jobs leave the country and did nothing to stop them. John Kerry, who was running against Bush in 2004 said, “He would tear out every page of the tax code” that promoted outsourcing jobs. He also called CEOs that did send jobs overseas “Benedict Arnolds.” The stance of democrats was obviously to keep jobs inside the country, while the right did nothing to stop them from leaving. Leaving many Americans unemployed, and despite for work. Hence the term that is thrown around a lot these days, “jobless recovery,” do the lack of jobs in the country (Simpkins).

Along with the lack of jobs, there was a lack of tax. It was a belief was had that the lower the taxes in the country the more companies would hire, and keep jobs in America (Mason). This however proved to be a huge fallacy. Just because a business had next to no taxes to pay, and might be able to make a more of a profit, doesn’t mean that they will be hiring droves of employees. The whole game of business is to make the most money as possible, and if you are staffed well enough, and making a huge profit there is no need to hire more and lose money. Even if people say, “you’re making so much money, hire people,” it is all business. They have no right to hire anyone. This tactic has run its course already, in Ireland.

Cutting cooperate taxes seems like it may work, but republicans are wrong, so wrong. There is an eerie shadow that is following the United States, and that shadow being Ireland. Once again McCain is the subject of controversy, he suggested to fix America to “do what Dublin did” (Zarroli). What did Dublin do? In the article by Jim Zarroli titles, “Debt Crisis Casts Spotlight on Ireland's Low Taxes,” Zarroli depicts a tale of how Ireland used a corporate tax reduction to entice business to come to the country. Sounds good right? Then Zarroli tell how that all back fired when the housing market crashed in 2007. With credit markets dried up due to banks collapsing, Ireland had no way to borrow money to help them. The country realized that it needed to raise taxes, even though Zarroli said that many “do-gooders” decried they can’t afford taxes. Similar to what is going on in America today. To simplify it, taxes are needed to keep things moving. Even though it may seem logical to make a move to cut them, jobs aren’t going to come back because of tax breaks.

The article on Factcheck.org also called the recession as “collective delusion,” and basically called Bush ignorant for not watching what was going on, and missing the bus. The delusion was pushed forward after September 11th and really sent the snowball down the hill. In a Bob Burnett article he says how Bush told Americans to “go shopping” after the attacks, “Rather than call on our patriotism…”Bush preached to “consumerism “rather than doing something else productive. With the credit crisis that happened, this appears to be a leaping point for it. Americans go out and spend mindlessly because it is what the president told them. Not only did Bush seem to preach to the wrong crowd, he was rarely there. He was notorious for taking vacations to Camp David. He abandoned the American people as the world around them started to crumble.

There was something despicable about Bush though. Bush was described as someone who was looking for “What can I get out of this,” rather than what I can do to fix any mistake that is presented (Burnett). There was a feeling around him of more of a “self interest” aspect that Burnett would go onto say. Not only that, the poor decisions he made. One could look no further than the war in Iraq, when America needed to be in Afghanistan looking for who actually attacked the States.

In American history there seems to be a wave of job creation, and massive expansion during times of war, see World Wars I and II. With taxes so low this country has not been able to afford what is going on. The two wars make up a very large part of the budget deficit, and big add-on the national debt. As seen with Zarroli said with how Ireland for the most part bankrupted itself, how could America afford this? The original estimates for the war according to Joseph E. Stiglitz of the Washington Post it was supposed to cost “50-60 million dollars” to fight. Unfortunately that was greatly under estimated. The war in Iraq has cost close to three trillion dollars, and continues to get higher. How can anyone blame democrats for such a high deficit when there is a war that has cost three trillion dollars?

This storm that was brewing came together at just the right time. The housing market collapsed, banks lost control of themselves, and the deficit reared its ugly head at just the right time. If one or the other happened at a time this country could have handled it. This was not the case. It all crept up on this country like a lion freight train, but the republicans who had power during it refused to stop, or put a valiant effort out.

The finger has been pointed all over. Currently the democrats are being blamed for what has happened. Why, because they are in power, and it’s easy. They are not as innocent as they say they are. Democrats do have some blame on their shoulder, as seen by Clinton not putting up more of a fight to stop sweeping deregulation in 1999, and seeing work that FDR and Lyndon B. Johnson work get thrown out (Ferrira). Current president Barack Obama has a chance to fix what has been made wrong. Not only that he has his “Herbert Hoover” like FDR had when he took over during the Great Depression. It appears that there has been some slow progress fixing things, but again now there is that storm brewing with the 2010 election. Can this recovery continue, or will a double dip recession be the future this great country faces.

(This is my essay for ENG 102. The ()'s are for citations that I am not including because it is just a blog.)-SS