I'm going to write about a couple of things I may get some flack for. Not that I care. I've given this a LOT of thought and I'm sure I'm right in these areas. I'm also sure it affects everyone in my country - and maybe other countries, too.

Before I start, I'd like to caution you not to jump to any conclusions about my motives.

I am not a Republican
I am not a Democrat
I am not a Libertarian
I am not a “Tea Partier”

I am an Independent, and I lean towards being a Liberal - although I prefer to call it Progressive.

I once had a Philosophy professor who said I was a “pragmatic contextualist.” He said I held a worldview that based my decisions on what is practical to get the job done within the context of each individual situation.

He was right. I don't depend upon religious doctrine, political philosophies, media positions or, sometimes, even laws to decide what's the right thing to do.

When I took the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), I was found to be almost perfectly, evenly divided between left-brain and right-brain.

Now, that keeps me from ever being extraordinary. You would need to lean way into left-brain operation to be a real scholar. And, you'd need to lean way into right-brain operation to be extremely creative. I am neither. But, I AM balanced.

That means, I sometimes agree with the Conservatives as well as leaning toward Liberalism. And, I believe every situation warrants its own evaluation.

Now, having said all that - I hope you'll realize, the rest of this is simply for what I see as for the good of our country, our businesses and our lives.

It has nothing to do with politics, so please spare me the bitching.

A project is afoot to take the four largest banks down to where they cannot be considered “too big to fail.” Never mind where it came from - it's a great idea!

In fact, I said it myself before I ever heard it anywhere else. But, nobody was listening to me. ;-)

I've said before, WE are the answer to this economic mess, since we can no longer depend on our governments. And, this is something only we, as the general public, can do.

We need to take to power away from Wall Street and give it to our local businesses!

The idea is to stop doing business with the following banks: Citigroup, Bank of America Corp., J. P. Morgan Chase & Company and Wells Fargo & Company. These are the banks that received the biggest taxpayer bailouts, then used them to pay enormous bonuses to their top executives.

However, the main idea is to move our money and financial business to small community banks. Just 10 banks control 90% of the market and the top three - Citibank, Bank of America, and JP Morgan Chase - control a whooping 63%!

It's easy enough to check your community banks' financial status. You can do that online. Better yet, stop by and pick up their printed financial statements. Grab a brochure, too, so you can compare pricing on fees.

While you're there, talk to someone. See if you can remember what it's like to know the people you do business with!

Have I done it? Yep, I have. I have one account left to yank away from one of them, but I have to make a couple of other changes, first. I am also transferring the balances away from every credit card I have with any of them.

Most community banks and credit unions also issue credit cards. We do NOT have to put up with the thieving tactics of the big banks on our credit cards! If this situation continues as is - and it appears as though it will - we have only ourselves to blame. Because we can do something to take them down!

Here's a great article to help you change banks so it isn't overwhelming if you have automatic deposits, automated payments, recurring debit card transactions, etc.

tinyurl.com/yhjv7or

Next Subject

I don't usually ask people to sign petitions to the government. In fact, when I have something to say, I usually go right to the White House website - www.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/ - not that it does any good. But, I feel better!

But, I want to draw your attention to this important petition:

"Tell President Obama: Due To Economic Crisis, We Demand Rebuilding The Decaying U.S. Infrastructure Now!" (as has been promised!)

www.ipetitions.com/petition/obamarebuildnow/

I really think this is an important cause, and I'd like to encourage you to add your signature, too. It's free and takes just a few seconds of your time.

It's (past) time that guy did what he promised. Maybe this will push him forward - maybe not. But, again, we have no one to blame but ourselves if we continue to just sit here on our thumbs and do nothing.

Jobs will do more to bring us out of this mess than anything else. And, there is NO excuse for our country allowing bridges, levies, etc. to crumble!

Let's see, now, what was that about Nero fiddling while Rome burned? What were the people doing? Dancing?

Of course, these projects to take our power back will take many more than those reading these words. Please pass it around to everyone you know!

As soon as we recognize and act on our power, we'll take it away from the political whores and imbeciles in Washington!