Better keep an eye on those 401k assets

Gooooood morning Gilroy! That’s a far-flung salutation compared
to the famous greeting of the 1987 movie
”
Good Morning Vietnam
”
starring Robin Williams, who as an unorthodox and irreverent DJ
named Adrian Cronauer begins to shake up things with the army
brass, GI’s and the government when he’s assigned to the U.S. Armed
Services Radio station in Saigon. After five years of absence
writing columns for The Dispatch, I’m back, and plan to
”
shake things up
”
, not being irreverent but maybe being unorthodox.
By James Fennell

Gooooood morning Gilroy!  That’s a far-flung salutation compared to the famous greeting of the 1987 movie “Good Morning Vietnam” starring Robin Williams, who as an unorthodox and irreverent DJ named Adrian Cronauer begins to shake up things with the army brass, GI’s and the government when he’s assigned to the U.S. Armed Services Radio station in Saigon.  After five years of absence writing columns for The Dispatch, I’m back, and plan to “shake things up”, not being irreverent but maybe being unorthodox.   

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Gilroy of course, is not Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City), at least not yet, especially when it comes to smells. During garlic harvest season in Gilroy the smell of garlic wafts over the early morning air to produce a distinct Gilroy aroma.  With so much emphasis on a green environment, I’m surprised that some of the local wacko-environmentalists have not complained that Gilroy’s garlic odor is contributing to local green house gases, and that local-vocal liberals aren’t beating their drums for Gilroyans to heed reform, applying some celebrity “planet-saving” tips, which for the most part border on the insane.  For example, Prince Charles of the UK has recently called for shorter showers and a ban on baths. Al Gore demands we use less air-conditioning,  singer Sheryl Crow says we must limit our use of toilet paper to one square at a time, (does she?) and Stanford professor Paul Erhlich says patriotic Americans will not have more than two children – all in the name of stopping global warming.  That’s just like a liberal to define patriotism by the number of children you don’t have. 

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And shifting to what you “won’t” have, did you read that the Departments of Labor and Treasury will be hold joint hearings this Sept. 14-15 on what is euphemistically called “lifetime income options for retirement plans.” 

I don’t like speaking in tabloid-style terms, but the unstated agenda of these hearings, is apparently to push for the U.S. government to eventually nationalize (confiscate) all assets in private Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and 401K plans!  The U.S. government is desperate to get its hands on private assets to help cover Obama’s soaring budget deficits and debts, and this is simply the largest and easiest piggy bank that could be seized. Among the steps that could be taken to accomplish total confiscation are to first make the conversion voluntary, then make it mandatory for only a portion of total assets. 

The final step would be making it 100 percent mandatory for 100 percent of all assets.  This does not sound like a plan to build a stronger “capitalistic” economy.  But hey, that’s just another part of the “hope” and “change” package so many voters swallowed like Jim Jones’ KoolAid.

The same bunch of politicians that were trumpeting “hope” and “change” in November 2008 have dumped on America massive new tax burdens only  the “hope” that our great-grandchildren will still be paying off the debt as they grow up – a debt that’s been deliberately incurred by an out of control Congress and a socialist President, creating “change” towards the rapid socialization of what was once the most vibrant economy in the world.  As Thomas Jefferson so aptly said, “To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.”  Of course, this statement does not apply to Democrat politicians.

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On Saturday, Sept. 11, 2010, I encourage all Gilroy citizens to display an American flag on this ninth anniversary of one our country’s worst tragedies. 

Fly the flag to honor those who lost their lives on 9/11, remembering as well their families, friends and loved ones who continue to endure the pain of loss; as well as those men and women who today are fighting at home and abroad to preserve our cherished freedoms. 

And by-the-way in these last nine years, did I miss it, or is it a fact that no Muslim group or organization like CAIR ever apologized for the barbaric acts of their brethren on that infamous day in 2001?  Did I miss any “moderate” Muslims apologizing for 9/11? Maybe when such an apology is publicly made to the American people by a recognized Islamic authority and when Islamic Saudi Arabia changes its adamantly stringent religious position that disallows Jewish synagogues and Christian churches access in its land, then a mosque should be built near the 9/11 site in NYC.  Until then, forget it.  Too narrow minded? “Too bad” … as Adrian Cronauer would say.

James Fennell has lived in Gilroy for 10 years, and spent over 25 years in various management positions for computer technology companies.  He is semi-retired, and volunteers in two Gilroy organizations.  He can be reached at

ji******@gm***.com