How many times would you let me smack you in the face?

Once?

Twice?

THREE times?!

How about after the first time, (or maybe even second time) I promised I wouldn’t do it anymore…but did it again anyway.

And then, to add insult to injury, what if I said I never made that promise…and there was the possibility I would smack you again when you least expect it.

That all sounds pretty far-fetched, huh?

Well, guess what, America?

We’re getting smacked around all over the place.

If you have any common-sense or possess even the smallest capacity for logic and reason, you must be furious over the latest news concerning the $700 billion “bail out” plan.”

Oh, but wait…it’s no longer $700 billion.

It’s now estimated at closer to $3.5 TRILLION…and rising.

And what great and wonderful things have we seen from the plan?

Not  much.

Although it seems that with each passing day some new industry sticks their hand out-wanting a piece of the overpriced pie.

Probably the most infuriating news so far is the fact that insurance corporation AIG has had THREE, huge pay-outs from the government.

As of presstime, AIG alone has received $110 BILLION!

If you’re trying to remember where you heard of AIG before (I personally never heard of them until the bail out fiasco), you may recall how their executives enjoyed a near HALF-MILLION DOLLAR “spa retreat” just after receiving their FIRST bail-out payment less than a month ago.

And would you believe just last week AIG held a “luxury sales meeting”-as it was described in the press.

A hefty portion of AIG’s “loans”-$40 billion-came from a “Troubled Asset Relief Program  (TARP)” fund designated to buy “bad debt.”

What’s bad debt got to due with insurance?

There is also speculation some of the $2 trillion in TARP money was used to pay “bonuses” for executives of these “struggling firms.”

Ah, but wait, while we’re on the subject of things not being exactly right, let’s look at yet another disturbing development.

You know how when all this was in the works, and the government was telling us to trust them, and they were trying to convince us how badly it was needed, how there would be accountability, and how this thing needed to be passed right away so people (ie: you, me, taxpapers, homeowners) could get the help they so badly need?

Remember all that?

As “Maxwell Smart” used to say on Get Smart, “Would you believe?...”

Earlier this week, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced “changes” in the bail out plan.

He said the government would “shift” its focus toward “financial markets.”

When “pressed” by the media (pun intended), he admitted it may be some time before a “program” is designed to help people with credit card and other, consumer debts.

What that means is the “common man” gets screwed…again.

So, while all of these multi-million dollar companies are getting hand-outs, we, the people, struggle to make our monthly payments, struggle to make it to the grocery, keep our homes, etc.

Sure, gas is cheaper, but it’s because people are buying as much as they used to because THEY HAVE NO MONEY!

By the way, Democrats, you remember that second “stimulus package” mentioned before the election?

Yeah, well, we didn’t forget it.

We will be waiting by the mailbox…

It doesn’t take a genius, a political science major, or an economist to realize something is horrible, terribly wrong.

We were sold of bill of goods under false pretenses. (OK, we actually had it crammed down our throats.)

And by the time we see the TRUE, costly effects of this “bail out,” current office holders will be gone (most likely voted out of office), and things (like our homes) will be too far gone for us to recover.

Does anyone remember the saying “God Bless America?”

Hope so.

He’s the only one we can trust.