Happy Birthday to The Footprint!
Our first year has been one of quiet, steady growth, a year of firsts:
Our logo is now a registered Trademark, it is in process of copyright and we have spent the year seeking out the best and most American products, manufacturers and services.
Our List is growing. Our process of elimination and discovery is constant, assuring you that the members of our list are the most American and provide you with the best products and services to our knowledge.
We love suggestions and welcome input.
We now have a solid base of suppliers for our own merchandise.
Keep watching as we march forward, and join us in buying American.

we found this:
“The 545 People Responsible For All Of U.S. Woes

BY Charley Reese

(Date of publication unknown)– — – Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, we have deficits? Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don’t propose a federal budget. The president does. You and I don’t have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does. You and I don’t write the tax code. Congress does. You and I don’t set fiscal policy. Congress does. You and I don’t control monetary policy. The Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president and nine Supreme Court justices – 545 human beings out of the 235 million – are directly, legally, morally and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered but private central bank.

I excluded all but the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don’t care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it.

No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislation’s responsibility to determine how he votes.

A CONFIDENCE CONSPIRACY

Don’t you see how the con game that is played on the people by the politicians? Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of Tip O’Neill, who stood up and criticized Ronald Reagan for creating deficits.

The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it. The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating appropriations and taxes.

O’neill is the speaker of the House. He is the leader of the majority party. He and his fellow Democrats, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetos it, they can pass it over his veto.

REPLACE SCOUNDRELS

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 235 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted — by present facts – of incompetence and irresponsibility.

I can’t think of a single domestic problem, from an unfair tax code to defense overruns, that is not traceable directly to those 545 people.

When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it’s because they want it unfair. If the budget is in the red, it’s because they want it in the red. If the Marines are in Lebanon, it’s because they want them in Lebanon.

There are no insoluble government problems. Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take it.

Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exist disembodied mystical forces like “the economy,” “inflation” or “politics” that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people and they alone are responsible. They and they alone have the power. They and they alone should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses – provided they have the gumption to manage their own employees.

This article was first published by the Orlando Sentinel Star newspaper”

Chinese-made drywall imported to meet housing demands for new construction as well as Katrina repair has been implicated in numerous problematic concerns ranging from health risks to overall deterioration of homes in which it was used to destroying quality of life for the homeowners.
From News Inferno.com:
Chinese Drywall Problem Far-Reaching
“During the housing boom, more than 500 million pounds of possibly defective Chinese drywall was imported to the U.S. According to the Associated Press, that was enough material to build around 100,000 homes. The Chinese drywall was likely used throughout the country, and it could be years before the true scale of the problem is known.”

Courtesy of America’s Watchdog:
On May 19 the EPA announced that it found sulfur, a corrosive agent, in the tested Chinese drywall samples but not in the U.S. made ones. In addition, strontium levels were 10 times higher in Chinese specimens. That particular metal is often used in manufacturing television screen glass. The EPA also discovered two elements usually found in acrylic paints in the Chinese drywall but not in the U.S. samples.
From the South Florida Business Journal:

“The bottom line is: If you want to do business in the U.S., you have to hold companies accountable,” said Gonzalez, co-chairman of the trial committee for multidistrict court panel that is coordinating the federal drywall litigation. “If they’re not willing to appear in a court of the U.S., you shouldn’t be able to do business here.”
The summation?
Insist on Made in the USA for accountability, security and longevity.

3.8 million Toyotas and Lexuses are being recalled to correct a problem with sliding floor mats that may be responsible for as many as 102 incidents of jammed floor mats and accelerator pedals which has resulted in at least 13 crashes, 5 deaths and multiple injuries. (Link to article at USA Today)

Some wonder if Toyota waited too long to issue the recall, having been aware of the problem since as early as 2004, FIVE YEARS AGO.
Others say the Toyota brand is so strong that they can indeed pull off correcting this widespread and costly mistake and have it not harm their reputation.
An accident as recently as August 28, 2009 which claimed the lives of 4 people is attributed to the problem and Toyota owners should be receiving their recall notices, but should remove the driver’s side floor mats “immediately.”

it’s ours!

It's the embossed seal on our official letter of registration, that's what!

What's this?

We have the certificate in hand; An American Footprint is registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office!
The process begun February 2, 2009 is completed as of September 1, 2009.
Seven months of -patience- later, and we have a number (as well as this letter!).
 

 It’s official…and this is just one more step forward!

This truck was traded in at a Suzuki dealership, one of three American made vehicles whose former owners took advantage of the CARS rebate program.
As is protocol for the “Cash for Clunkers” program trade-ins, a liquid glass solution, sodium silicate (also called “death juice”) was dumped into the crank case and the vehicles were run until the engines seized, usually taking around 2 or 3 minutes.
The tech who did the deed said, ” This Ford has made it the longest of the three; five minutes and counting. It almost hurts to keep my foot on the pedal.”
“Done. (at) 6 minutes.”
This perfectly good truck went into the scrap heap and a portion of the sale (your tax dollars) dollars are heading to Japan.
Neither Japan nor Korea contributed any of the $3 billion dollars necessary to fund the “CARS” or Cash for Clunkers program, yet they have come out winners directly from our own American pockets.
The CARS program is officially over.
As an aside, one of the most popular cars that were traded in for, the Toyota Corolla, is currently involved in a recall.
More than 95,000 Corollas and Scions are being recalled for a brake malfunction.
According to the CARS Web site, the top 10 new vehicles purchased included makes from Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, and Nissan.
Ford managed to break into the top 10 at number four with the Ford Focus FWD and at number 10 with the Ford Escape FWD.

And in fact, foreign automakers — and foreign auto factories — have gained somewhat more from the program than domestic automakers have.

The differences aren’t enormous, but Cash for Clunker buyers have tended, more than auto buyers ordinarily do, to prefer foreign-made cars.

Domestic automakers usually account for about 47% of all cars and trucks sold in the U.S, according to data from J.D. Power and Assoc. But they sold just 38.5% of vehicles in the Clunkers program.
From an article at CNN’s Money website, Clunkers: Good for Detroit, Better for Japan“Some critics of the program warned that because it let consumers buy domestic or foreign cars, Clunkers could end up spending more American tax dollars to help foreign companies than American ones.”

We would be interested in seeing the final numbers, and wonder how many of our fellow Americans would like to have simply sent the Japanese and Korean auto makers a set amount in the first place?

Links:
Cash for Clunkers gets mixed reviews at the Observer Today.

These tilapia filets have decidedly patriotic packaging

Out at the supermarket looking at seafood and found these.

The Gadsden flag patch was made especially for us by Apparel 2000 and can be purchased at our Tangibles page

Ken is stylin' in his new American Footprint yard coat by Prison Blues of Pendleton, OR

has a proud (not to mention stylin’) owner!

This one’s the prototype, but rest assured every subsequent one will look just as great on you!