On Wednesday, January 19, 2011, I awoke to the news of a "wedding" between the leaders of China and the US. I am not sure which one is the bride and which one is the bridegroom, but strong indications are that the US could be the bride, and not the head of this household. As a part of the prenuptial clause the bride promised to turn over the financial future of countless generations of US citizens to the groom. I checked for my invitation, but it must have gotten lost in the mail. It is really irksome to be paying for the ceremony and not get an invite!

This is going to be a long distance marriage, but the groom flew in for the consummation, so to speak. The night before, the bride and groom broke with tradition and had a fancy dinner together, instead of the traditional separate bashes for the bride with her friends and the groom with his friends. Actually, why bother with traditions and formality, when this was a shotgun wedding?  Another break from tradition is that the groom supplied the dowry , and another provision of the prenuptial clause is that the groom can start divorce proceedings if there are signs that the bride's family, also known as US citizens, do not work harder to pay off the dowry.

I just realized something. I got so caught up in the euphoria of the wedding, that I forgot to monitor my words. I think that the new "language police" is probably going to pay me a visit for the use of the "vitriolic" words "bash" and "shotgun." At least I did not mention the "jobs killing Obamacare!" Oops – I misspoke. "Jobs killing" is now "jobs destroying."  We could have a decree sent out across the land, that the use of metaphorical language is being banned. What do I care? I refuse to engage in "doublespeak," even if as happened with Winston of "1984," fame, I am sent to the Ministry of Love, for "reeducation!"

The lavish dinner , of lobster, $399 per dollar wine and all of the other delicacies was apparently requested by the Chinese? Smart move.  Let the groom see how that dowry money is being spent so that it would provide good evidence of the bride's spendthrift ways, when the divorce proceedings begin?  Instead of "Here comes the bride," the ceremonial song was My Motherland , and this motherland is not the US. The report is that this particular song is an anti-American song, that when the words are sung, "jackal" is used to refer to the US.  No – really?  No harm – no foul, though. This bride seems to be prepared to accept any insults and be even grateful for said insults. Bowing has no limits. Seconds, anyone?  Could this be "battered wife" syndrome?  I have no rebuttal for the sentence that appears to sum up this situation:

The US is truly stupid!!" wrote one blogger.

How does one defend a country that is "stupid" enough to send a good majority of its jobs, too much of its technology, a good chunk of "aid," while simultaneously borrowing itself into oblivion from the benefactor of much of this largesse? Maybe "suicidal" is an even more appropriate word.

Of the no shows and the partiers, I found the following the most interesting:

Senate Democratic Majority leader Harry Reid, Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Republican House Speaker John Boehner -- now the third-ranking US elected official -- all chose not to attend.

But former speaker Nancy Pelosi, who now leads the Democratic House minority, was on the guest list, despite her history of fierce denunciations of China's human rights record.

I do not blame the Senate Majority Leader for not showing up, not after he used the "D" word – dictator – to describe the bridegroom!  Although, he seemed to be admiring the ability of the "dictator" to get things done, almost wishing that he could have such a system within which to operate?  Finally there is bi-partisanship – in not attending a function, even if elusive in the actual governing of the land.  The former speaker of the House did show up "despite her history of fierce denunciations of China's human rights records"? Heck, if I were invited and the menu consisted of "poached Maine lobster and dry-aged rib eye with creamed spinach....old fashioned apple pie...a selection of wines from California and Washington state" – I would show up in my finest to partake! Having never partaken of either the "poached Maine lobster" or "dry-aged rib eye," I would be curious to indulge, as long as the rib eye had not been injected with Botox to hide its real "dry-aged" status! I would have to skip the wine selection as I am not a drinker of wine or other adult beverages. Ply me with those wines and I could end up telling the emperors at the bash that they have no clothes!

This is worse than I thought. According to the New York Post , the "Chinese Tiger ate US Dove for lunch." How did the US get to its "dove" status? That is very simple to answer although the road to "tiger meat," was not simple. Maybe this article gives one of the first clues. The 111^th Congress will "live in infamy"?  That 111^th Congress was quite a record breaker, outdoing the first 100 Congresses combined. The US was fortunate to have witnessed the workings of such a history maker. Is there a Nobel Spending Prize to be given? Or, a Guinness Book of Spending Eclipse Records? There should be something to note this "achievement." Here we had the first woman Speaker of the US House and she showed the "good old boys club" how spending is really done. The song "Big Spender" is written about a man. The first woman speaker may have to have that song re-written in homage, something like:

The minute she "walked into the room" (the House), and swung the (oversized) gavel, we could see that she would be "a real big spender... Big Spender!"

She did not disappoint – unfortunately. Nor was she finished. This past December Madame ex-Speaker swung an imaginary gavel with a fundraising letter , hitting up presumed supporters, in order to "protect the progress we have made." I respectfully beg to disagree. Combining to outspend 100 Congresses, including the prior one of which she was also the Speaker , the 110^th Congress, is "progress" that I cannot believe in.

Can any of us believe the unemployment news? We are raising the upper limit on recording unemployment. Instead of a bout with the flu, unemployment is becoming almost a terminal illness. Maybe it is time to check in the homeland of the "groom" of the marriage to see where those jobs are hanging out. Ah, here is one answer. Some companies have decided that the climate for raking in the dough in profits, is more hospitable in "ABC" (Anywhere But America) countries. What is that saying about "you win some, you lose some"? America, your slogan is "you win none, you lose all." Maybe those surging countries can learn something from America – how not to ruin their country. The recipe for destroying a country is to mix one part of "out of control spending," with one part "paucity of jobs, caused by jobs exportation, instead of product exportation" with one part of "excessive borrowing."  It is a "fail proof" recipe for nation destruction.

The news gets "worser."  Even the government's accounting watchdog, the GAO , appears to be throwing up its hands in policing the federal government's management of its finances. There is "widespread material internal control weaknesses, significant uncertainties, and other limitations." Is that "governments-speak "  to let taxpayers know that they are screwed?  What should we expect from a bloated 1600 pound gorilla squatting in the living room or waiting room, hands outstretched to collect a sizable chunk of what Citizen Individual Taxpayers and Business Taxpayers have earned? No wonder so many businesses are extolling the virtues of overseas for exporting jobs and stashing their profits. Who can blame them? 

I mistakenly thought that after the wedding on 1/19/2011, that the "love in" in DC was over. Nope. The president gave his state of the Union speech and the Congress went on "dating with the stars," er sitting with opposite side of the aisles Congress members. After the shootings in Arizona, when the accusations were being hurled like a bride throwing her bouquet to the unmarried females, one of the members of the political parties came up with the idea to have "bi-partisan seating" at the state of the Union speech. I do not remember who it was and I am not that impressed to find out. Many of those members, who do not yet get it that "we the people" want substance and not style, agreed and paired off. They must be nostalgic for the days of the Beatles hit, "I Wanna Hold Your Hands." I am nostalgic for the days when being in a leadership position meant that the person had some smarts, followed the Constitution of the US, and actually cared about America and its citizens, much more than their political party and their personal ambitions.

Prior to the "love is in the air" atmosphere in DC, I came across this article by Victor Davis Hanson , in which he stated:

Lurking somewhere behind all these improbables is a rather small Western elite that is enormously influential in the media, government, the arts, universities, and Hollywood. And what it would like to believe, often simply must be believed — and so it usually is.

Mr. Hanson is much more learned that I am. I bow to his superior knowledge. However, I will attempt to give my conclusions vis-à-vis the fix the US is in, and with less than five letters.  Here goes.

Whether a fabulous speech, with pretty words, overabundance of promises, was delivered at the state of the Union speech, or not –  this country is in a fix. VP Biden famously declared that his president was all about creating a "three letter word," which he then proceeded to spell – J-O-B-S. My fellow Americans, I have a real three letter word to describe what has happened to you. You have been H-A-D! A-n-d – if you do not know by whom you have been had, God help us all. Check your wallets and check your Constitution – both may be missing. This could be your future. You are already here, and could be here soon. Furthermore, according to this article, the president's numbers do not add up. All of that "investing" touted in the speech will butt heads or wallets with the reality of these CBO numbers. Yep, it appears that bridegroom China will be hit up for more of that dowry. China, with all that talk of "moving forward," the "jackal" is coming back with its palms open. Watch your wallet.  Now might be the time to insist that unless the "bride" goes into financial rehab, you will begin divorce proceedings.

I almost forgot. Mr. President – two other items. I will be watching to see if that promise of vetoing bills with earmarks, is kept. Or – if it is going to be a situation where it depends on whose pig that mark is found. Additionally, America does not want to ever have a "Sputnik moment." From what I have read, Sputnik was considered to be a triumph for the Soviets – the successor to whom you just signed that one-sided START Treaty, and an embarrassment for the US – you know, the country where you were born. Moreover, remember what was the fate of the first Sputnik after it toured the universe? In case you are not familiar, it burned and crashed to earth, as it tried to reenter earth.  Also, failure is not usually an acceptable American aspiration, desire or trait. My fellow Americans, it is time that we all remember and practice what America is really about. A really, really good place to start could be in un-scrubbed history books and historical documents – while we still can.