OK, I admit it. I couldn’t summon the enthusiasm. I mean, I hadn’t even finished the House bill and then the Senate bill was passed. Then it went to committee, and wham! It ballooned to over 1000 pages; new pages that I hadn’t even located yet.

Then of course, it passed in a whirlwind of Democrat activity. The House needed no Republican participation and received none. It sailed thru with nary a Republican vote, and with 7 Democrats voting against as well.

As for the Senate, with the help of three RINOs, the bill bypassed any discussion, was passed and closed.

As we have been told time and again, the bill must be passed immediately. There is no time for discussion (aka partisan bickering). Apparently, there wasn’t even time to actually read the bill before it was passed. Certainly there was no time for Democrats to honor the agreement they made the day before, that the bill would be available for 48 hours to be read before the vote.

Why bother to actually read something that you already know you are going to vote for? It’s only $800 billion after all.

Besides, Ms. Pelosi didn’t have time to honor her word; she had to catch a plane at 6 PM for an 8 day trip to Europe. While there, she will go to Rome and see the Pope, and receive an award from an Italian legislative group. Why stick around for all that dreary debate over a topic that is already closed?

Folks, it’s a done deal. The bill is on its way to President Obama where, without further ado, he will sign it and it will become law. We have just gone on an $800 billion dollar spending spree erroneously dubbed a “stimulus” package. It is in reality, simply a spending bill. Any stimulus in there is purely accidental in the course of spending money on the collective pet projects of the Democratic Party. President Obama has taken pride in the fact that there are no earmarks on the bill. There doesn’t need to be any; the bill contains something for everyone already.

Now that the bill is law, we will no doubt spend the next week or so finding out exactly what we bought with that money. And, more importantly, what legislative time bombs are buried there as well.

Didn’t your parents ever tell you that it’s dangerous to sign things before reading them? Well, if you want to read it, Google it on the Internet. I’m sure someone has posted it. Yes, it’s too late to do anything now. You might say “why bother?” Why indeed? What is the point of locking the barn door after the cows have escaped?

What are they thinking? Well, the Democrats are sleeping well, thinking of all that money they just passed on to their buddies and all the organizations they are beholding to. They are thinking of how secure their position no-doubt will be, come the next election cycle. The amount of payola out there is truly of historic dimension. They may even be thinking that they have bought so many votes that the Republicans will never get back in power – or at least not while they are still in office. Couple that with their plan to control the census and ultimately, the redistricting that is based on the census and happy days are here again! Another 40 years or more of Democratic hegemony is on the horizon.

The Republicans on the other hand are discovering just how powerless they truly are. They are a voice crying in the wilderness that no one is listening to. The Dems don’t have the 60 vote majority yet, but apparently they don’t need it, as they can count on a few Republicans jumping ship and siding with them to push themselves over the mark.

They can make a lot of noise, but like a yapping pack of puppies, their complaints are full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Ultimately, when the Dems want something passed, the steamroller engages its engine and the bill passes, regardless of Republican objections. In fact, as demonstrated in the porkulus bill just passed, it isn’t even necessary to have Republicans participate in drafting the legislation; in fact, having them around is just a distraction. The Democrats are, after all, about the People’s business. Let none, particularly Republicans, stand in their way.

You guys had your chance and you blew it. You lost, remember?

When you poop in your food dish, don’t expect to be tasting prime rib of beef when you dine. A good illustration of this is what is currently occurring on the Sean Hannity show. Every time Sean begins a rant on the evils of Socialism and how we are not just sliding but rushing down that path, there sits Bob Bechtel, gently reminding him that it was President Bush who passed the biggest Socialist package ever, the prescription drug benefit to Medicare. And it was President Bush who nationalized so many of the nation’s financial institutions. And it was Mr. Bush who passed the TARP legislation. So who’s calling who a Socialist?

And it won’t be just $800 billion. When this stimulus package doesn’t do what they expect (or what they say they expect), and it won’t, since much of the spending doesn’t kick in immediately; some not for 2-3 years, you just watch – it won’t be long before another stimulus bill will be proposed, yea demanded. You can already see it coming. Mr. Obama has said that it will take years for us to get back on our feet. Other Democrats have said that the reason the Great Depression lasted so long was that Mr. Roosevelt just didn’t throw enough money at the problem. He had the right idea, just not enough oomph.

So don’t think the spending is finished. I predict that we have not yet begun to spend. As long as people are willing to lend us money or our printing presses don’t wear out, we will keep on trying to spend our way out of this downturn. There are an infinite number of things our politicians would like to spend money on. Worthy projects can be found every day. There are always lobbyists with their hands out, palms to be greased for upcoming elections, favors to be granted against future need. Usually, the politicians are constrained somewhat by the amount of money available in the budget (plus whatever bit of overage they think they can get away with). But now, all bets are off. This is an emergency after all! The spending limit has been removed.

What to do if you are an average American? This would probably be a good time to pay off your debt, lay in some emergency food supplies, set aside a bit of a cash reserve, buy some silver and gold (in case our money system goes the way of the Weimar Republic), and do some heavy duty praying. If you are an atheist, this may be a good time to get religion. Many think it a good time to buy guns and ammo – gun dealers are reporting shortages of the most common calibers. And keep communicating with your congresscritters. If they are already fighting this spending, encourage them so they continue. If they support it, try to change their minds.

This is still the greatest country on Earth, the last best hope for freedom and independence. Let’s not go down into the great dark without a fight.