Doris Beaver’s
SEEING THE ROUND CORNERS . . . 
December 26, 2011 
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ONE AND ALL! 
   Christmas is a glorious time of year and even more incredible for all those military families together on American soil again.  This writer's wish for the future is to bring all the soldiers home from Afghanistan in the coming New Year, and for America to never be drawn into another war.
   The year 2011 has been an exciting one as we see real progress in our great country’s rebounding economy, but nothing deserves more thanks to God Almighty than seeing an end to the hellacious war in Iraq! 
   In this writer’s opinion, the Buy America/Made in the USA movement is next on the list for “grand and glorious” accomplishments to come out of this nightmare recession – a recession that except for the fear of panicking the world would have been classified as America’s second great depression. The Buy America/Made in the USA movement showed Congress and the Washington politicians that Americans can fight detrimental legislation such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, a grass roots movement that politicians have no say in. 
   Neighborhoods across America devastated by foreclosures replaced the soup lines of the first great depression, but human suffering is no less, probably greater because of the long-term harm to the financial stability of families losing homes. Nothing can make up for the loss. 
   The price in dollars of the war in Iraq was tabbed at $800 billion as the troops made their final exit from that country. That figure raises this question, were it not for the war in Iraq, would there have been a second great depression? Ok, recession? 
   The evening news began chronicling the waste over the nine years, showing massive facilities built with American dollars, ironically facilities that already stand empty and abandoned because Iraqis do not have the skills and technology to operate them. No doubt expanding coverage will only bring further dismay as Americans watch helplessly. 
   But what will hopefully bring Americans to their feet in revolt and in the 2012 voting booth, is the news coverage that showed foreclosed homes one after another being destroyed by the banks in America – literally, wrecking balls are demolishing homes where families once lived because banks refuse to have the foreclosed homes in their real-estate-owned inventory. It seems vacant land is by far preferable. Banks prefer this Hitler-type tactic rather than reduce loans to correlate with the value in today’s dollars which would allow many families to stay in their homes. Far too many of those loans were made based on fraudulent appraisals and removal of qualification requirements. 
   No doubt a future news story will hype how banks have sold the land where those foreclosed homes once stood so a developer can build a grand and glorious development – remember there are many ways to perpetuate the class system in America.
	The reader’s comments or questions are always welcome.  E-mail me at doris@dorisbeaver.com.
Doris Beaver