http://1mjl.com/leadership/acorn-growth-like-cancer-big-grant

CORN, the supposedly defunct organization defunded by Congress in the aftermath of James O’Keefe’s video exposing ACORN employees’ willingness to help out pimps and prostitutes attain government benefits, is back. As Judicial Watch has uncovered, the Obama administration offered $445 million to a former ACORN official as part of a $7.6 billion government program designed to help “unemployed or substantially underemployed” Americans make their mortgage payments. The ACORN official, Joe McGavin, is director of Hardest Hit, an Illinois program that received that massive Treasury infusion. Prior to his time at Hardest Hit, McGaven was director of counseling for ACORN Housing in Chicago, and the operations manager for Affordable Housing Centers of America (AHCOA), an ACORN affiliate. http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/06/08/ACORN-official-gets-payoff ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is so hard to believe after ACORN has been linked to felony activity, in several areas. It is almost as this is never going to end or at least until Obama is out of office. Again, this a sample of NO LEADERSHIP FROM THE TOP DOWN. I cannot recall in my adult history, where more ridiculous things such as this ACORN NONSENSE has happened. It gets exposed and it comes back to life like cancer. Michael Lebb

Economic Erosion Envelopes The US in 2012

http://1mjl.com/independent-thought/economic-erosion-envelopes-the-us As this article mentions, the US is starting to show the same weakness it witnessed back in the 2007-2008 days before the first depression type financial crisis. No one expected that to happen but now, after loving in the aftermath, this one should be easy to call. Look at the market charts that date back to the depression of the '29-'33. These chart looks similar. Michael Lebb

California Economy - Downward Facing Dog

http://1mjl.com/economics/529 This article on the wrong direction of education in California is very typical of what me might be reading for the next 20 years as California attempts to turn around the socioeconomic patterns that have led to the very parasite/host relationship it has with the residents of California. By population, one of the most favorite states in the nation, California embarked on a trip roughly 65 years ago, taking it into oncoming traffic in terms of laws and entitlements that could crush California from within. Jerry Brown, the Govenor of California has a large job to do, possibly without the proper skillset to achieve what need to be done. Much like Europe, who is being taken down financially, country by country, California is being taken apart as a whole (hole) regarding debt. Meredith Whitney, the wall street advisor talked about this in 2010 (http://www.cnbc.com/id/39404684). Comparing California to Michigan, and the pressure it might ultimately burden the rest of the US with. Michael Lebb

Heroes On A Daily Basis

Michael Lebb It’s part of the job for American medical teams to care for civilians caught up in the bloody mess of Afghanistan fighting, so when a call came over the radio January 12, to help an injured three-year-old girl, an Army medical team rushed to save her. The child had a bullet lodged in her back and had been doused by shrapnel, but when the medical unit arrived they found an even more pressing problem — a 22-year-old Marine Lance Corporal named Winder Perez had been hit as well — and the rocket propelled grenade (RPG) that had taken him down lay unexploded in his leg. Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/when-this-man-removed-a-live-grenade-from-a-wounded-marine-he-wasnt-the-only-hero–but-he-could-have-been-the-last-2012-6#ixzz1weWn96b0 This article represents what our military sees on a daily basis in all parts of the world. Nothing short of heroes, US citizens, that step into situations voluntarily and change the world for the better through sacrifice. People helping people, making a difference in the world. The uniform says US, and it symbolizes what the majority of the US stands for. Freedom, a hand up, and equality. Some call it nation building. But if US civil engineers in the middle east, were not assisting in building sanitation systems, along with the assistance of other nations, how long would it be until better living conditions were brought to thrid world countries. It is alwasy a struggle to bring peace to warring countries that do not see a better way. It is also costly, timely, and never without a loss of lives.