I woke up this morning to another mess courtesy of my power company.  To go along with the three televisions, four freezers/refrigerators, and 2 computers, a printer, several ceiling fans, and one monitor, they were so nice to add another fried monitor to this list.  It seems that god hates people in "by god west fucking virginia".  In yet another act of god, which caused 16 brown outs in the course of 3 minutes, I have lost at least the monitor to my desktop.  Thank god I did  not have my laptop plugged in.  So now I am off, to replace the monitor for my desktop, since I need it to turn in college work, and have access to my research for my final paper.  


AEP who cannot keep the lights on in the best of weather just got themselves a 45% increase in their rates.  Of course after my complaint, and such they are going to investigate the claim.  I can already tell you that they will say the monitor was old, and it was an act of god.

I am just going to rant, then I will explain the rant.

It is a shame that of all the car makers, General Motors, and Chrysler, are the two who are heading into or have filed bankruptcy, instead of Ford Motor Company.  I have a 2007 F-150, and it is the second one I have owned in the past two years.  
Update:
Ford was gracious enough to rent me a truck for 10 whole days.  I got a call from Ford today, it seems the mythical radiator for my 07 F-150 has been found, shipped and received by the dealership. Now, lets take a bet to see just how long it takes for the new radiator to be installed.  Will I be driving that new junkie Ford from Enterprise this weekend?  Will it take longer then a week to install the new parts?  Time will tell.

On a side note, if you need to rent a car, rent from Enterprise.  They seem to appreciate your business, and try to meet your needs.  I do not recommend many business, but they are one of the few I will vouch for.

Alright so starting on April Fools day, smokers get to pay an average of a dollar more per pack of smokes. Now I will admit that as someone who partakes in a daily cigar, or kretek cigarette, that is going to increase the cost of my habit. That being said, everyone in my home either smokes, or chews. I am biased. What gets under my skin about this whole tax deal is the following. Alcohol, which is just as dangerous to your person and others, has not seen a tax increase in years. Forgetting my humble opinion, if smokers are going to get taxed people who drink should get the same treatment. Of course with the ABC stores the government will not do that. That would be cutting their own throats. Considering every state has their own Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, which most likely has stores to sell these beverages. Of course many people say, these tax increases will make people think about quitting, or force them to quit. The fact is, they will cut something else out of their budget. Look at alcoholics. They will do without food, or take from their children to get a beer. While I doubt most smokers are that bad, some are.

I do not know, maybe this is the new found libertarian side showing in me. But taxes should be equal for all. Smokers get a tax hike, drinkers should get the same. Now, we have some stats, according to the CSPI alcohol costs us 100,000 lives per year and nearly 200 billion dollars a year vs 100 billion dollars caused by smoking. That comes from the Campaign for Smoke Free Kids. Jordan Jones from thesnapper.com gives the number of deaths from smoking related causes at 400,000.

I figured with all the anti-gun stuff flying fast and heavy I wanted to point out there have been several times in our history where if guns had been banned we would not be where we are. We know about the Revolutionary War, and the Civil War but I wanted to point out a series of battles that are not well known.. I give West Virginia credit; they know when to pick up arms. Sometimes..... The West Virginia Coal War, also called the Mine Wars by some locals, started with the Matewan Massacre and ended with the battle of Blair Mountain. I will only highlight the two major altercations in this war. There were several instances where the Governor of the state imposed martial law to stop miners from protesting and altercations from breaking out. This was the largest insurrection against the government since the Civil War. Some 10,000 to 15,000 miners fought for the right to unionize. They stood against The Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency, Logan County Sheriff's Department, the WV State Police, and the US Army.

Now, On May 19, 1920, the Baldwin-Felts came to Matewan, to evict pro-union miners. Many had already unionized. The agents came to evict all miners who were in the union or were pushing for union rights. When they arrived the agents had a false warrant for the arrest of the police chief Sid Hatfeild. The same was said of Hatfeild who had warrants for the arrest of the Baldwin-Felts agents. He confronted the agents at the train station, and a group of miners accompanied him. At that time, both warrants were presented, and the Mayor was summoned to sort out the mess. The Mayor sided with Hatfield, and shots were fired. Both the Mayor, and Albert Felts were the first wounded. After the gunfight had ended, two miners, the mayor, and seven Baldwin-Felts agents were dead including two Felts brothers. Hatfield for his part claimed that he had killed three of the agents, and was later acquitted of murder charges. He was then brought up on conspiracy charges in McDowell County a pro coal company county. When he appeared at court for his trial he was gunned down by Baldwin-Felts agents. No charges were brought against those involved in the shooting.
Since the Matewan Massacre he had become a folk hero to the miners, as well as his support to the UMWA. The murders of Hatfield and his deputy directly lead to the Battle of Blair Mountain. There were calls by "Mother" Jones, a union supporter not to march into Logan and Mingo counties. However this was ignored. On August 20, 1921, just twenty days after the murder of Hatfeild, armed miners and union supporters began gathering at Lens Creek Mountain. 13,000 men marched towards Logan, from all areas of the state. Many miners and supporters stole trains, stopping to pick up miners and union supporters along the way. On August 25 the first skirmishes of the Battle of Blair Mountain were fought. The next day President Harding threatened the use of the US Military, if hostilities did not end. After a meeting in Madison the miners and union supporters started to return home, only to return after they heard rumors that the Sheriff of Logan County and his forced consisting of Baldwin-Felts agents, West Virginia State Police, and Logan county Deputies, were attacking union supporters in a neighboring town. Just four days after the first skirmishes, the battle ran full tilt. Private aircraft in the employ of the anti-union forces were dropping home made bombs on the miners and union supporters. Even Army bombers based in Maryland dropped bombs to attempt to disperse the miners and their supporters. Around the beginning of September, the US Army had arrived to provide support for the Logan county sheriff. Bill Blizzard, leader of the miners forces, passed word to the miners and their supports to go home.

The battle and war were a decisive loss for the miners and their supporters. Union membership plummeted by nearly 40,000 members. However in the long run, it directly led to a stronger union, not only in the coal industry, but other industries as well. It also brought to light the dangerous conditions miners were forced to work in. It also changed the politics of the unions we see today. The UMWA of the early 20's lead to the Teamers and Steelworkers unions of the New Deal era. So in essence it was a Pyrrhic victory for the coal companies. Imagine how things would be different, if guns were banned to all but military and law enforcement.

Here we go,
Here we go,
Here we go,
Steelers,
Here we go,
Pittsburgh’s goin to the Super Bowl
Here we go

Cheer the steelers,
Black and the gold,
It's time for Pittsburgh’s heart and soul,
Steeler Nations got the best fans
We're for Pittsburgh 5 time Super Bowl champs!

Here we go,
Here we go,
Here we go,
Steelers,
Here we go,
Pittsburgh’s goin to the Super Bowl
Here we go

Roethlisberger,
Will let the ball soar,
Here we go,
Cause he's got Washington, Holmes and Ward,
Here we go,
Moore, Heath, and Willie will make a touchdown
And if you get in their way, they’re gonna knock you around

Here we go,
Here we go,
Here we go,
Steelers,
Here we go,
Pittsburgh’s goin to the Super Bowl
Here we go

Now the offense is ready to score,
Here We Go
And there’s one thing we know for sure,
Here We Go
If we don’t get it in the endzone,
We’ll get 3 points off of Jeff Reed's toe

Here we go,
Here we go,
Here we go,
Steelers,
Here we go,
Pittsburgh’s goin to the Super Bowl
Here we go

We've got Farrior and Harrison,
Here We Go
Polamalu, Woodley, and Townsend,
Here We Go
The other team wont get any ground
'Cause the defense is gonna bring the steel curtain down

Here we go,
(defense defense....)
Here we go,
(defense defense defense...)
Here we go,
steelers,
Here we go,
(defense defense defense...)
Pittsburgh’s goin to the Super Bowl
Here we go

Here we go,
Here we go,
Here we go,
Steelers,
Here we go,
Pittsburgh’s goin to the Super Bowl
Here we go

We have all heard West Virginia jokes. Well, most of us have if we have sick friends. Or as I call them good friends in general. No trip, or outing is complete without a reference to Deliverence, or West Virginia. Yes, I am demented, and so are my few friends.

So I was once told that you never want a virgin from West Virginia, because if she isnt good enough for her kin, she aint good enough for you.

WE have all types of people here. We have the sons of assinated mafia bosses (Brandon), we have drunks (Bobby), drug addicts, and three hundred pound sex goddesses (Babe). But no ones life would be complete without a squatter. Now for those who are unaware, a squatter is a person who is living on your property without permission, but has lived there for so long they cannot be put off. Everyone should have one squatter in their lifetime. Just one, they are a pain in the ass, they seem to get away with everything, and did I mention they are a major pain in the ass?

Only in West Virginia can one get away with squatting for any length of time. Such as the one we had when we moved here. Now she seemed nice enough when we bought the property. Then we found out that she was growing pot, whoring herself out, geting the shit beat out of her by her boyfriend, and dealing shit out the back door. Well for three years we fought to get her off the property, countless dead animals from her unleashing two different pitbulls, her first boyfriend overdosing in the trailer, we finally got rid of her.

Oh well, I think dispite having a job, I think I will quote Charles Winchester from MASH. "Get me the hell out of here!"

It has been just over two months since I last took the time to add an entry. Some of that is pure laziness on my part. Most of it is a lack of time to post. I spent most of the time working the dead shift (6 pm to 6 am), and being called on days off. That was until yesterday. I got called right before I had to make my grand entrance at the site I work, telling me that due to Bluestone Industries current economic state (yeah that got me for West Virginia) that my post had been closed indefinitely. I was impressed that it was the owner of the company I worked for calling me, not the supervisor, who is the second dullest knife in the drawer. So as it stood I started today looking for work.

Now I had commented on a post a few days back that saving money on a small check is hard. Well, when you are laid off, it gets a little harder.

Well after calling Workforce, a nice state run group that helps poor saps like me find work, I got a call from the company I got laid off with yesterday. Well, the good news is, I got called back to work, at the same hourly rate at a different post. Seems that even in Bluestone's current state (which should not be that bad as they deal with coal and oil) they still need us lowly rent-a-cops. Work is work, and off to the trenches I go again, only two live shifts (day) and one dead shift (night) a week now.

I also got told something that lifted my mood a bit. She said that she was attempting to get all her good workers time. It made me happy, that despite what the supervisor thinks, and the coal truck drivers I had to deal with, someone thinks somewhat highly of me. On a side note, I wonder when I started giving a damn what people think of me? Now I am off to get my crap back from the guards that have been outright fired, or the ones who are still working there, and are at different posts.

As I walked in the door from work tonight, I got lucky enough to go vote today before I got called to work. Its been a long day, even if it was not a full 12 hour shift. The relieving guard was about thirty minutes late, but in a sense I do not really care. It is a few dollars extra. I still work and live on the farm, but as the economy sinks deeper into whatever fit may arise, I have had to take another job. In the end, the pay sucks at just over minimal wage (about $220 a week take home), I have no benefits, and spend 4 nights, and 3 days on duty for 12 hours, the remainder of the time, I am on call. Enough on that for the time, it is depressing as hell, to know I could be making much more than that, if I had a lot more "professional" experience in different fields.

My grandfather once told me, and this is one of a few things I recall him ever saying, that there are three things in this world that you should never, discuss with anyone. I would say he felt there where more, but these are the big three that I find aggravate people most. He would say, you never discuss Religion, Politics, and Sex, as someone always leaves the table with a bad taste in their mouths. He also said when arguing with someone, always have proof in hand, among various other things. It might have been a bad joke on his part, but people say that I have the same disposition that he did. Anyway, as the big day is here, I will get off of some of my thoughts. A friendly warning, I have been fairly sick, and with no medical insurance, I cannot afford to go to a doctor, for the required doctors note to miss work. I think the relieving guard wishes I did, as I chucked my dinner next to where he had parked. So this post will be rambling, and maybe incoherent.

In the course of this election we have seen the best and worst in everything. We have heard two separate plans for the direction which this country could go. Now, while this has played out, we have seen the worse of people. We have seen people used, Samuel Wurzelbacher, aka. Joe the Plumber, Rev. Wright (despite your opinion on what he said), and various other things. Obama and McCain not being legally able to run for president because of where they were born, Sarah Palin's trooper-gate issues, as well as the $150,000 for clothing, her daughters pregnancy, and some of the comments she has made.

No matter your thoughts, Joe the plumber became a instant hit in the conservatives view of politics. I do not care who you are, if and when you get drug into the political arena you will have shit thrown at you. And as many farmers say, if you throw enough shit, some will stick somewhere. And as it turned out, our Joe the plumber, the every man, was exactly like so many people. Sadly, it turned out that he misrepresented himself. I will not pick on him, as we all do it, from time to time. People pad resume's everyday, tell someone they are something they are not. It is human nature. In his case, he got used, and is still used as a pawn. To bring my point of why I am speaking of him, I was going to make a point, that in truth he would most likely benefit from Obama's tax plan. On this website Compare Your Taxes you can compare what taxes you would likely pay under each candidate over the next four years. Over course this is based on what they have publicly said.

The whole "spread the wealth" issue is moot for me. I know a lot of people are up in arms. Who decides whose wealth gets spread around. At this point, I think I can safely say, that someone like my current employer who makes a killing providing security to surface mines in West Virginia, would be forced to pay me more for the work I do. Why do I say she is making a killing, well I will coincide that I as a flunky, do not have access to her books, but everyone else involved with coal, is making almost fifty grand a year. In the end, I sit outside running my personal gas to stay warm while I hazard train people, check trucks and log documentation of loads, log anyone who enters the site, stop prohibited persons from entering the sites, and attempt to stop people from stealing a valuable resource. It seems coal from this area is sold for around $400 a ton, if you want to believe what Bluestone Industries claims. In honesty people run business to make money, but at what point does one end making money, and making sure that employees are given a fair wage, and the ability to have some sort of decent life.

The next thing I hear about, Obama wants to take your guns away. I am a strong supporter of the 2nd amendment. I do keep arms, I carry on the job, as at night I am in the middle of nowhere, and many people here are on drugs. A byproduct of poor living conditions. If I am found out that I have a weapon it is my job, but back to the point. No candidate, in their right mind, or any other frame of mind, will ban all firearms. That is not only political suicide, but most likely, suicide in itself. So that is something, that will never happen, in any middle aged persons lifetime. People seem to forget we have the NRA and various other groups that will never allow it to happen.

The socialist comments and train of thought is also moot. Their is a difference between being a socialist, communist, fascist, and a social democracy. Many of the things we take for granted are socially democratic. Public roads, public schools, social security, our law enforcement and military fall under this category. We have just spent 785 billion bailing out banks, and AIG, that would also fall under this. My bank, Wachovia, and my brothers bank Ameribank, will benefit from this. So do I have a right to complain, yes, what little tax money I pay, should not bail out banks or other parties, that screwed up, and put bad money out for worse. I wanted to add, since I thought about it after I had wrote this, we already have a democratic socialist in the Senate. Bernie Sanders, is a democratic socialist, dispite being caucused with the Democratic party.

Now, there is one thing, that I may have taken out of context, that Sarah Palin has said. My understanding is she repeated has made this comment, or comments like it.
"We believe that the best of America is not all in Washington, D.C. We believe" -- here the audience interrupted Palin with applause and cheers -- "We believe that the best of America is in these small towns that we get to visit, and in these wonderful little pockets of what I call the real America, being here with all of you hard working very patriotic, um, very, um, pro-America areas of this great nation. This is where we find the kindness and the goodness and the courage of everyday Americans. Those who are running our factories and teaching our kids and growing our food and are fighting our wars for us. Those who are protecting us in uniform. Those who are protecting the virtues of freedom."
I want to know, since this was said in North Carolina, does this mean that people who live in Northern Virginia, New York city, or other urbanized areas are anti-American? Are we not real America? I have a host of other comments and questions, but I am dragging ass now. So I am finished.

Be well.

Its been awhile, and as such, I have been tied up with personal matters. While I was away I managed to get my Surface mining certification. Now comes that old gag from a movie. I have the ability, theknowledge, but no one wants to hire a tomato head (red hat) that has never been on a mining site. How can I get experience if I cant get a job? Well in celebration, I will post this tried and true. I do hope I have never posted this before, but if I have, or you have seen it, I believe it will do us all good to re-post or re-read it.


We are mourning the loss of a beloved old friend who recently passed away. His name was Common Sense. Common Sense lived a long life but died in the United States from a vicious contagious disease.

He selflessly devoted his life to service in schools, hospitals, homes and factories, helping folks get the jobs done without fanfare and foolishness. For decades, petty rules, frivolous lawsuits, and ludicrous verdicts held no power over Common Sense.

He was credited with cultivating such valued lessons as to know when to come in from the rain, why the early bird gets the worm, and that life isn't always fair. Common Sense lived by a simple and sound financial policy. Don't spend more than you earn. Common Sense also lived by other time-tested strategies like: The adults are in charge and not the kids, and it's okay to come in second or third.

A veteran of the Great Depression and the Technological Revolution, Common Sense survived cultural and educational trends such as body piercing, 'whole language' and 'new math'.

But his health declined when he became infected with the I'm not responsible for my own actions and It's alright if it feels good viruses. He watched in pain as good people became ruled by self-seeking lawyers. His health rapidly deteriorated when schools endlessly implemented zero-tolerance policies. Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student only worsened his condition.

It declined further when schools had to get parental consent to administer aspirin to a student, but could not inform the parents and get their permission when their children were given mind-altering drugs or birth control pills; and when universities turned into cesspools of debauchery and socialist propaganda.

Common Sense lost his will to live when criminals received better treatment than their victims, the Ten Commandments became contraband, and priests molested young boys. When a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee is hot, and was awarded a huge settlement; and when the president sold security related technology to a hostile nation, Common Sense fell into a coma.

As the end neared, Common Sense drifted in and out of consciousness, but was kept informed of new questionable regulations, such as thought control and partial birth abortion. Finally, when another president, claiming to staunchly protect the country from terrorist atrocities, yet allowing the same villains to invade the country through borders that are strangely very penetrable; being fully aware of what the grave consequences of such deliberate and ominous neglect can be, Common Sense died of sudden cardiac arrest.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust, his wife, Love; his daughter, Responsibility; and his sons, Diligence and Reason. He is survived by three stepbrothers, Deception, Greed and Ignorance. Not many attended his funeral, because so few noticed he was gone.


Be well.

Hey here is history repeating itself. Greedy bank president versus poor un-educated suckers.



This case study was written in June 2002. Author Uncredited.

Here is a breif history and color cometary on McDowell county.

McDowell County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of 2000, the population was 27,329. Its county seat is Welch. McDowell county is the southern-most county in the state, geographically.

The county is named in honor of James McDowell, Governor of Virginia from 1843 to 1846. At one time McDowell county was one of the richest counties in the US, due to the coal industry.

For many years McDowell County was nicknamed the "Free state of McDowell" due to the social and political environment that is uncommon in the rest of the state. (The truth is, McDowell county is known for being corrupt. It is still known as the State of McDowell County West Virgninia.)

On the 1 September 1999 the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) closed the First National Bank of Keystone, saying investigators were unable to account for some $515 million of the $1.1 billion assets recorded on the books of the 85-year old mortgage bank.
The bank had long been the economic mainstay of Keystone, a small town in a depressed coal-mining region of West Virginia. But it soon became clear that bank officer fraud, risky bank strategies and poor oversight had turned Keystone's only financial institution into one of the costliest failures for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) since the Great Depression. Losses to the FDIC (which compensates depositors for insured deposits when a bank fails) rose from that early estimate of $515 million to estimates in spring 2002 of $780-$820 million. (Of it is not said that Terry Church owed all of Northfork and Keystone. She also allegedly had judges and prosecutors on the payroll. A more in depth history to follow.)

In 2001 and 2002, horrific floods leveled many of the small towns within this county. Over ten inches (254 mm) of rain had fallen in a period of 12 hours in many of the areas. Many towns were left completely demolished by the violent flow of water which was channeled by the mountains and surrounding hills. Over 40 people died, or were declared dead as a result of being missing for over 1 year as a result of a 4 day period of rain.

McDowell County is considered as one of the core counties in Appalachia on which the national War on Poverty focused, a national effort started during President Lyndon B. Johnson's administration.

The town of Coalwood was the hometown of Homer Hickam, a NASA engineer whose life, starting from his teenage years, was documented in Rocket Boys, which was later made into the film October Sky.

I mentioned once before that I currently reside in West Virginia. So I figured, I might as well tell some tales of the West Virginia folk. Now when I moved here four years ago, I had been living in Northern Virginia, so I will tell you, there is an adjustment time, and well, I am still adjusting to things here.

Now, when we first moved the farm here we had a great deal of work to do. Lets face it, if it was nailed down, it was stolen. Never a good sign when you walk into your new home and well, the stove, fridge, and oven are all gone. Well, the first night I was here, I had the great pleasure of meeting a few neighbors. Warren, Kerry, and Mickey. A few days later while working in the barn, with the radio blaring, I hear a dog near the barn yelping. When I go outside, I see the Emu attacking this dog which is cowering as close to the barn as it could. So I go to the rescue, nothing like having a dog off'd on the first day at the new place. So I kick the dog out of the field, and go back to the barn. A few minutes later, I hear the dog again, so this time, I lock the dog in a stall. Yes at one time I was not a stone cold dog killer. Besides that the dog was more a victim of the Emu and Cows. So after an hour Warren stops by and tells me that I have captured Tonka, the neighbors dog. He takes the dog home for me. Well after a few hours of working, the neighbor comes and is very upset that I locked up her dog. To make matters worse she was very unapproving of the music I was listening to, which if I recall properly was Closer. Now as I am a secular person, I just found out I have moved into a den of Old Regular Baptists, who dress like the Amish, have the temperment of Evangelical christians, and belive that both of those groups are going to hell because they are not religious enough. It just goes to show that secular and frum people do not always mix well. I dont think I need to tell you the stereotype that got put on me, but for shits and giggles I will say most believe me to be a devil worshiper. But hey, I had already been called the anti-christ by another crack pot neighbor from Northern Virginia.

I dont know who has read this, but it was on the AOL.com opening page.

http://www.walletpop.com/mortgages/article/_a/mother-53-kills-self-before-foreclosure/20080723171309990001

For anyone who wants to read it. In any event its pretty sad that any feels that suicide is the only way out. No matter whose fault it is. I wonder, how many suicides are not even reported nationally? Well, according to former McCain aides we are a "Nation of Whiners" and this economic downturn is a mental downturn.

In other news Oil is way down, which is a good thing for all of us. Hopefully we will be able to continue useing less, as the price decreases.

As most people know I live and work the family farm. At times the unthinkable happens, something possibly gets sick, gets mauled by a neighborhood dog, or just gets old and dies. Now, here we have some standards that we follow. We do not just drop the animals on the back 40 as some farmers do. Because of where we are, we do not dig holes and bury the dead. We cremate them. SO imagine my surprise, last Saturday when my brother and I are going to the water hole, to haul water, and he sees some animal remains in the road. Well on the way back I stop, as I thought there was wool. Well, I was right, a neighbor who I do not really like, has been dumping their dead on the side of the road, and in a pond which filters into a coal mine. Now the water in this mine is pumped into a water tank, where everyone gets their water. Today after nearly a week of calling they come up here, and see the dead floating in the pond, on the side of the road, and what appears to be a mass grave somewhere in Iraq, proclaim that they will clean it up, but otherwise cannot do anything about it. What good are DNR officers if they cannot do anything about something that is very harmful to the environment and people?


So, two West Virginians walk into a bar.... Cledus says "dang it to heck dhat hurt my head..." Jeb says, "Cledus, I still got my two front teeths?"

Finally I am moving about enough after my bout of pure lazyness, and recovery from various issues. My brother downloaded a nasty little virus onto the PC. Got to love antivirus 2008, a hell of a virus, whose creator should be publically executed. I got the truck fixed after I got hit by a drunk driver, so now I have my outside mirrors back, a huge plus while hauling and moving things. And as the aformentioned issue, I just finished re-downloading most of the programs I had, Execpt Winamp which is acting stupid. Got to love Vista. Oh yeah, my bad, its not the computer its the user.

I heard earlier on CNBC that Microsoft might buy AOL. God help us all......

 

So, China or Japan called today and informed me that our government was nearing default.  Well, that isnt really true. It was not China or Japan that called.  It was Iran, and we owe them around 10 billion dollars.  Well that is not entirely true.  Iran did not call.  But we do owe them around 10.4 billion dollars.  Just think of it like this.  There are around 304.3 million people who live in the US.  Legally that is.  As of today our national debt is $9,421,665,163,314.62.  ~breaks out the computer calculator~ So that means that as of the moment you read this, your share of this national debt is about 30,961.72.  Adding to this we have a debt limit.  Right now it is set at just over 9.8 trillion dollars.  As our debt grows around 1.5 billion per day.   My last point of this post, then a question.  When Dubya took office the debt was around 5.2 trillion.  What are we going to do, if China calls for their 390 billion, or Japan wants their 520 billion* back?










As of November 2007.
http://www.treas.gov/tic/mfh.txt (Issued June 2008)