We the Hoosiers

The State of the Union

2012-01-26T13:00:00.001-05:00

Government Bits & Pieces

2011-12-04T16:51:00.003-05:00

Of late we have heard many things talked about in Washington, including the debt, the budget, and the Federal Reserve. These are all very important issues ongoing in Washington especially those relating to the continued solvency of our country.
There are many places on the internet where one can go and see the Debt clock clicking over and over again. The numbers just continue to climb, I just checked and it is $14.9 Trillion as I write this short piece. This is money that we owe, notice the "WE", it is a debt that we on a daily basis not just grow but have to service via borrowing that takes place in many forms. Some is within the United States in the form of bonds and Treasury notes but a larger part is that which is owed to foreign entities. These foreign entities are banks and countries that hold our debt and we are required to to pay interest on that debt.
Now at the same time this debt is growing our spending on a daily basis continues to grow also. This growth is to the tune of some 11.4 Billion dollars daily, if my math is correct. These monies pay for my retirement, your social security, our military and all the other functions of government. But remember that a significant portion of that yearly spending, approx. 40%, is done with borrowed money.
The last segment of the above mentioned threesome is the federal Reserve that handles the monies of the United States. Now remember the United States who at one time was a lending nation is now and has been for some time a borrowing nation. The Federal reserve has up until recently been able to maintain a level of secrecy that is not to be found in other parts of the Federal Government. That recently has changed due to Congressional action and the persistance of Congressman Ron Paul.
These three parts of government interplay in such a way as to allow the United States Government to function on a daily basis, buying, selling and borrowing. However, within the Federal Reserve how much they borrow, lend and sell has been kept secret. Recently however that veil has been torn back and we find that the Fed has been borrowing monies to not just the government or banks in America but has been borrowing money to foreign banks and countries including those in Europe that are on the verge of collapse.
This in itself would not be a significant fact but for the amount of monies the Fed has lent out. We now know the amount comes to the tune of 16 Trillion Dollars. That would seem like just another huge number except for it being just a few Trillion more that our national debt. If as they say in the media that the United States is broke and has to borrow monies from foreign countries why in the world would we have to do that when we have a federal reserve that has that kind of money. Maybe it's time for all of us to start writing our Congressman and asking some questions.

Far Far Away in the Halls of Congress

2011-10-28T17:05:00.002-04:00

Fellow Tea Party members:

Recently the Immigration Question was in the forefront specifically relating to E-Verify and congressional co-sponsorship for this bill. As you know the more co-sponsors a bill has the more likely it will be acted upon due to the level of interest in the particular bill, HR 2885, and number of Congressman supporting it.
Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas presented this bill which would make it mandatory for all to use E-Verify in determining if someone was eligible to accept employment in the United States. Having been an officer within the Department of Homeland Security and worked with these issues I am convinced that E-Verify is the answer to the illegal alien problem.
Simple logic: illegal alien can't get hired:goes home:end of story:problem solved:set up migrant worker visa program:plenty of migrant workers:problem solved.
That being said I contacted my local representative, Mike Pence. Asked him what his position was on E-Verify and why he was not listed as a co-sponsor. Several days later I recieved a response that didn't answer my question. What he said was"Thank you".....told me about the status of the bill. I knew that already..."I will keep your views in mind should this legislation come to the house floor for a vote." ..."thank you for contacting me".
That was not what I wanted to hear so I fired off a response to Mike Pence and am waiting for a real response instead of a boiler plate memo letter. Thanks for nothing Mr. Congressman. You just wasted my time and yours just like the government is doing on a daily basis. Remember "Waste, Fraud, and Abuse"
This will be a continuing story so stay tuned.

The Wall Street Protestors

2011-10-15T14:26:00.001-04:00

I was old enough to remember the protests of the 60’s & 70’s. They tied up my school in New York so that I couldn’t drive onto campus, park and go to my classes. They disrupted my classes to the point that some of us Vets took things into our own hands and physically removed them from both the class and the build. Luckily in those days the times were a bit different and we were not sued or arrested by the police for violating some one’s rights. Additionally I would hope that the statute of limitations has run out .

Today the times are different and as the old Bob Dylan song goes “The times they are a Changin” . But have they really. In one respect they have not. There is one consistency, the rioters of the 60’s & 70’s were directed and funded by someone else so also today. These groups are paid to stage these types of events and although this is known the media and Liberals in Congress have attached themselves to this movement . Now that will end up being a good thing.

These folks have a plan and an agenda but it will not be years after it happens that the truth comes out. Today the new media provides up instant knowledge and awareness of what is happening real time. I’ve imbedded a link to a web story that speaks moré in detail as to the wall street rioters. Beware and be alert America the Times “THEY” are attempting to change.

The change that we have today is that no longer do we rely wholly on the old media, today we have new media. Video and stories abound on the internet where you can go and hear the ravings of the wall street protestors. We can see live via video streaming when someone picks up a trash can and throws it thru a window or sets it afire.

Yes the times they are a changing but the story can’t be skewered by the media any longer. Even retirees are capable to videoing an event and getting it onto the net. No, we might not be as quick or agile to get it done quickly but by gosh by golly we can get the true story out so that reality prevails and the lies and misreporting aren’t our daily fair.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/08/cloward-piven_paradise_now.html

The Tea Party & Who's in the Lead

2011-10-14T10:51:00.005-04:00

Will the Tea Parties have any role to play as we get closer to the primaries. The group of candidates and potential candidates seems to have finally settled down. Three months out from the first primaries and as yet there is not a front runner. The potential candidates have been exchanging positions and no one's elevated to the top spot to become our standard bearer.
Two primary and potential candidates have taken themselves out of the running. Gov. Christie and Gov. Palen have chosen to sit this one out. This in itself causes me no angst but rather relief that now we can concentrate on the final field of candidates. Additionally each of these former considered potential candidates can now focus on the mission at hand. The election of a Conservative President and Congress are essential for the continuation of this Republic as we know it.
With the endorsement of Mitt Romney by Christie one only needs to wonder what back room promises were made. This in reference to Palin I believe is not in play. I believe she retains her Independence wherein the other looses it. Only time and the final results of the election will tell whether some deal was made.
This brings me to my ultimate question of whether or not the Tea Parties will have an impact on the final results. Let me steal a line from the 2008 Obama litany "yes we can". We can if we as voters and Tea Party activists do more than go to the poles in November.

At this juncture in the race the primary difference between candidates is the amount of money they have access too. By this I mean do they have the financial resources to continue in the running and present a viable alternative to those with the biggest pot of political clout called MONEY.
If your preferred candidate does not receive sufficient funds he or she will not be able to put up a good fight to garner the votes necessary in the upcoming primaries. So what do we as Tea Party persons do. Well we get off out back sides and start writing some checks, and send them to our candidate. Be they small or large these funds will allow their continued presence in this most interesting primary race. Without the financial resources they will dwindle and be lost in the
history book of past primary elections
So here you have the solution and the choice as to what we the tea Party need to do. Never, never say never, that it is a lost cause or hopeless. The race is not to the swiftest but to the one that endures. Remember, our opponents, at this time are not just the democrats and media but our very own conservatives that lean to the moderate side of the political plane. It is to us to continue to shift the playing field to the conservative right and defend this great Republic.
So send your check and allow this primary to continue. Let the best, most conservative and innovative candidate win. Let the battle continue with our support and financial help.

Transparency

2011-09-30T14:01:00.002-04:00

So it's comes to pass that the most open and transparent administration is showing dark blotches in its veil of openness. And what is being exposed when this veil is pulled aside. An administration, just as the Bush administration was vilified for Haliburton, that is now seeing its ties to various green businesses and political donors come to light.

At this time there appears to be no evidence of criminal wrongdoing. The republican congress has opened hearing, subpoenas have been issued, and testimony has been heard with some claiming the fifth.

Solyndra has at this time cost the taxpayer 535 million dollars. There are now rumors that other green industries have been provided an additional Billion dollars In support and loan guarantee. It appears that the administration does not think that half a Billion dollars would be a good start in drawing down the debt. There also appears to be no inclination on the part of this administration to even try and approach a stoppage in the bleeding that is occurring in the federal budget.

Time will tell as to what the results and consequences of the drawing back of this administrations vail will reveal. The saddest aspect to this whole scenario is that spending continues, no realistic plans for cutting the budget are being considered and the taxpayer is being forced to foot the bill.

Good luck Mr. Taxpayer, your numbers are dwindling.

MSNBC Republican Debate

2011-09-08T10:23:00.002-04:00

If your a political junkie or just someone who wants to know what the candidates positions are then last nights debate provided more than enough fireworks. Romney and Perry got it on and then Newt settled it all and got the best of MSNBC:http://tinyurl.com/3s753wt This clip is well worth the look-see.
On another point, if per chance you listened to the commentary of the MSNBC crew you are missing the boat. Between Rev. Al Sharpton and Chris Mathews you recei ved such a slanted picture that you would have thought nothing of substance was said but oh how wrong you'd be. If anything I thing Rev. Al and Alter boy Chris Mathews must have got into the wine a bit too much if one was to believe their analysis of last nights event.
Do yourself a favor and look at the debate for yourself and decide. I liked Ron Pauls analogy of how a single silver dime can today buy you a gallon of gas. If you think this could be a look into the future-you just might be right. Think about that!

Irene & da Government

2011-08-27T12:49:00.002-04:00

Today on this Beautiful day in the mid-west, we sit watching the east coast get plummeted with wind, rain and hot air from both the media and the gov. My thoughts go to the huge amounts of money that will be spent in reconstructing after Irene leaves. It reminds me of the construction that took place not to long ago on a housing project out on the west coast. Just click on the link and fume:
http://tinyurl.com/3pxw24y

Next week or sometime in the future our POTUS, BHO will put out his next plan to save these United States of America. And what will this plan entail? Will it be new and innovative plan that has not been seen before or will it be the same old thing, bubbling over with money for everyone but US.

Now I know neither the Pres. nor Mrs. Pres. go shopping , so they have no idea how prices have risen and how all these monthly costs we have keep going up and up. Oh, I forgot. he's on vacation, no, he's out golfing, no, he shooting the hoops with his buds, all of whom probably have net worth's in the seven figure range.

Now I know we need to help but what I'd like to see is some competence in the government instaed of a record that even thier oun GAO says accounts for 30% waste, fraud and abuse. That's what I'd like to see happen---Good Luck!

What's Broken

2011-08-10T14:43:00.003-04:00

Now that the Dow has started to sink and Gold has continued to rise, the people out there are asking "What's Broken"? Some say the government, some the electoral process while others believe it's our economy that is no longer able to provide those things that economies should.

Lets look first at the economy, People still need toothpaste and TP. They still need housing and transportation, They need heat, and oil to make their daily lives comfortable. Now I'm assuming in this economy that companies still want to drill for oil, want to manufacture cars. builders want to build and we have enough trees and manufacturers to keep us in TP for a long long time.

The government is still in the business of protecting this country, we have soldiers and enough weapons to do in the world several times over. They meet in the halls of Congress to discuss issues and pass legislation that should make it easier for builders to build, manufacturers to manufacture and and inventors to invent newer and better items to improve our daily lives. So you say what's the problem?

Now comes the abyss that is making this whole thing fall apart. We elect people to do a job and they do it but then something goes dreadfully wrong. The GOVERNMENT steps up to the plate and what we thought we were getting we aren't. What the Senators and Congressman legislated is not what they thought but they are too egotistical to admit that what they did was being incorrectly applied.

Fellow voters, what we voted for and what we are getting is a whole lot different than what we thought. As you may recall I used to work in government and back in 1986 the people clamored for the government to do something about this alien problem and they did. The Legislators passed and the President signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act and we all sat back and thought all was well. The people thought the aliens would disappear, the workers implementing the law thought they could go out and arrest those aliens and fine those companies employing them.

Let me let you in on what really happened. The government, that is the bureaucracy, let the law be applied, mangled and misread in such a way that we ended up with probably 6 million more illegal-legal aliens than we started with, the companies continued to do what they did before and the problem wasn't solved.

Well what are we to do? Folks it's an easy solution. We need a new batch of elected people to start doing what WE tell them to do and not what they think we want them to do. That in a nutshell is what's wrong and what the fix is. Come next November if your Senator or Congressman or President hasn't been doing what you told him to do, FIRE THEM , and bring in someone that will do what YOU want them to do. WE just did that in the last election in 2010 but there aren't enough of them to get the job dome. They need reinforcements. And that my fellow citizens is what our mission should be for the upcoming election and is the solution to the problem.

One last item, the DEBT. Everyone knows that you can't spend more than you take in and stay solvent. You know it, I know it and for some unfathomable reason our President, Congress and Government don't know it. Tell that to your new elected officials and not only will the problem be solved but this country will continue on into this 21st Century with a renewed spirit and enthusiasm that should be the hallmark of this great nation we call America.

The Big Deal

2011-08-04T14:38:00.002-04:00

The Republicans, Democrats and President Obama are all smiles due to the emergency being averted. Yes, the Debt limit has been raised, "Praise the Money" and we can all go on our own happy ways, Legislators back to their home towns, and Obama back to Chicago to raise money for his campaign and celebrate his Birthday. But we are left with less dollar, more debt and insignificant cuts in the federal budget.

So who got the best of the deal-Did you go shopping today? Did you check on your retirement fund and see that it's dropped. You tell me! Maybe it's time for us to call in out Legislators and ask them some serious questions. Do they have any understanding of what is happening to our country? Better get on the phone, call them and put them on the carpet...don't forget we are called astro-turfer's.

Entitlements

2011-07-16T15:23:00.002-04:00

The term entitlement has been thrown around of late like a wet rag. I hazard to guess that there are more than one definition of entitlement out there. There is the dictionary definition and then there is the street definition. And lastly there is the government definition.

Websters defines entitlement as "the right to guaranteed benefits under a government program". Now I recall from my youth, that to be entitled was to have a claim to something due to some action on your part. If I have paid into social security throughout the history of my working life I'm entitled to at least the money I paid in and maybe a little interest. If I didn't pay into the system then I'm not entitled to any of it. That's about as simple of a point of view as you or the government should have. Today there is a segment of the population and those in government that feel an entitlement is something that is guaranteed no matter whether you paid in or not.

Our country, in its largess, has made determinations that sometimes those that have not paid in could also be recipients to some benefits. Social Security started in 1935, in 1939 we added survivors benefits including benefits for spouses and children, in 1956 disability benefits were added and in 1965 Medicare was passed.

Up to now the Social Security Trust funds are still in the black. What you and the rest of America pay into the Social Security Trust Fund is still more that it pays out.

If you really want to get a handle on what is going on with entitlements I suggest that you spend some time on the Internet, go to www.benefits.gov and just roam around, have some fun and see all the different types of "help" money giveaway programs there are and believe me your just touching the surface of the Federal Governments entitlement program-Good Hunting.

I warn you just don't have your dog close because you might get so mad you'll kick that dog and it isn't the dogs fault. It's our fault for not being better citizens and being more involved in our government. Call your representative, write him or her, or maybe even go visit them in Washington and tell them of your concerns about the way they are spending YOUR money.

Independence Day

2011-07-04T11:17:00.002-04:00

Happy Independence Day 2011 and I hope all have a great celebration. I have always believed in the common sense wisdom of our founding Fathers and their views on America and how America should respond to the world.

On this Fourth of July I'd like to address your attention to two snippets from two speeches delivered first by George Washington at his Farewell Address:

"The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations is in extending our commercial relations to have with them as little political connection as possible.... Europe has a set of primary interests which to us have none, or a very remote relation. Hence she must be engaged in frequent controversies, the causes of which are essentially foreign to our concerns.... Why quit our own to stand upon foreign ground? Why, by interweaving our destiny with that of any part of Europe, entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European ambition, rivalship, interest, humor, or caprice?”

and then U.S.Secretary of State John Quincy Adams delivered to the U.S. House of Representatives on July 4, 1821.
"She has abstained from interference in the concerns of others, even when conflict has been for principles to which she clings, as to the last vital drop that visits the heart.... She goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all. She is the champion and vindicator only of her own.... She well knows that by once enlisting under other banners than her own, were they even the banners of foreign independence ... the fundamental maxims of her policy would insensibly change from liberty to force.... She might become the dictatress of the world."

These great words of wisdom have not only been forgotten but their directives have been put aside in this 21st century we now live in. For reasons I believe insidious this country's foreign policy has taken us out of that safe and secure haven as directed by our forefathers into the realm of entanglements and partnerships that have brought us to this sad state of affairs we find ourselves in.

Our soldiers, as we celebrate this Fourth of July, are stationed in over 1,000 US military bases scattered in 150 different countries around the world. 'Wikipedia'
Our forefathers counseled well that if attacked, we should respond with such force and fierceness that whoever attacks us would think twice before attempting such an enterprise. But what have we regressed to, what are our foreign policy necessities, what threat is there to the homeland?

The threat is Radical Islam and that threat exists because we have stepped away from our founders wisdom and entangled ourselves in foreign enterprises. I am not naive enough to not understand that today we live in a world economy but dealing with countries on an economic plane is much different than dealing with countries clandestinely or militarily.

As our forefathers directed we should not be involving ourselves in nation building or humanitarian acts that place us into countries over extended periods of time. Short forays in order to address a present danger is much different than over ten years in Afghanistan and the invasion of Iraq on March 20th 2003. We are still in both countries and the Al Qaeda/radical Islamist threat still exists.

Would not one presume that something is wrong. Not only the foeign policy but also the action of invading a country without a definitive Declaration of War have brought us to this predicament. Our governemnt using lame resolutions requested by presidents and passed by congress have placed us in this most precarious situtation.

America, on this 4th of July 2011, we truly need to begin a process of taking back our country from the hands of leaders and elected officials who wrongly involve us in international military involvements but instead resume a policy of saneness as counselled by our forefathers.

Happy Fourth of July & GET INVOLVED

Prosecutorial Descretion

2011-06-21T10:44:00.004-04:00

Such big words with lots of syllables but what do they mean.
http://tinyurl.com/6gmeylh
Recently the Government sent a memo out to the field, namely ICE-Immigration Customs Enforcement, advising them that they needed to really look at that illegal alien they caught and decide whether or not they should prosecute that individual for entering the US illegally. Now that's a mouthful but not really. What this memo says: if a certain condition exists relating to this ILLEGAL ALIEN then you as the arresting body can decide not to prosecute this ILLEGAL ALIEN. And what kind of circumstances are we talking about-relative in the military, completed school, and or came her as a young child and have a relative that has status. What this in effect does is place this person in a category of not being arrested but instead given a method to legalize themselves-walla-amnesty.

So folks if your out of a job and think the situation is going to get better and the government really cares about you-think again. Why, in these most troubling of times with employment not improving, would you want to put more people(illegal aliens) into the job market place. This just doesn't make sense or defies reason. Remember best estimates out there say that between 10 & 20 millions persons illegally in the US are either working or looking for work. Do we need to legalize them or make it more difficult for them to find a job-equals-E-Verify. Call your congressman and Senator TODAY. And if you don't know who they are or their telephone number check out that info, we've updated our We The Hoosiers site.

Supporting Candidates

2011-06-15T19:46:00.003-04:00

As you all know it takes lots and lots of money to be a viable candidate for office these days. The average cost for a congressional office is over $1 million and a senatorial race averages $4.3 million.

So you say, we don't have that kind of funding. Well, your right but what we have is the power of the voter and our willingness to go out and support our candidates. I believe in this coming election that will be the difference. How willing you will be to get out and talk to your friends, neighbors and anyone you meet in your daily activities will be the difference. If you can't spare the change don't spare the banter.

Another major factor is WHO you give your money too. If you really want to maximize your financial support then I recommend giving directly to your candidate of choice and not some political action committee or congressional group. By giving to your candidate of choice you provide to them the funding they need at the most basic level of the campaign.

So if you give, give generously and directly to your candidate. And if funds are short, in these difficult times, walk your neighborhood, inspire and influence your friends and neighbors. Keep the faith fellow travelers the race has just begun and it will quite the event.

Border Wars

2011-06-07T12:12:00.002-04:00

Recently I found some new and interesting info relating to the activities of the Mexican gangs just south of the US-Mexico border. First go to this link and read the story:http://tinyurl.com/3mm7q3r

After reading this I want you to know that when I worked the Border we had vehicles called "War Wagons" that were reinforced with metal and iron so that Border Patrol Agents and those inside were protected from other illegals throwing rocks when working close to the Border Fence.

I'll tell you this, these actions by the cartels surely tell us that we do need the presence of the military and their equipment on the Border. These new and enhanced vehicles built by the cartels are being used against rival gangs. They can also be used against the Border Patrol in not only getting people into the US but also drugs and anything else they want to bring in.

As the situation down south continues to worsen the situation on the Border will also get worse. The presence of the military would be the only thing possibly able to stop these cartels.

Our military is stretched to its limits due to all the peace keeping missions now underway. By shifting our military back to the US and placing them on the Border makes the most sense plus providing us the ability to finally protect our borders.

Memorial Day

2011-05-27T22:24:00.003-04:00

As a Substitute Teacher at one of our local schools I as a veteran have had to see and endure what is happening to our students in the public school system. Luckily here in Indiana the Pledge to the Flag is still recited each morning and on some morning there is a moment of silence for our troops or for those suffering the consequences of some tragedy.

Our children, for lack of a better description, are not being taught patriotism, respect for elders and persons of authority and lastly are sorely lacking in an understanding of what this great country has contributed to the world.

But you know what, it's not solely the fault of our children. It is the fault of our institutions that in the past we have counted on to instill these values and feelings. So you say what institutions have failed us.

For a start the institution called FAMILY. Our parents and grandparents have failed us. They no longer stop talking or remove their caps when the Flag passes at parades or events where the pledge is recited or the American Anthem sung. Have you not been to a ball game where no one sings the national anthem, some don't even rise when it's sung.

It's also our churches that are to busy trying to please everyone and are forgetting to teach our kids not just reverence for the Lord but a faith in a country that is responsible for freedom throughout the world in the twentieth century. When was the last time you heard a sermon on the blessing of liberty provided for by our great country and our soldiers that freely give their lives so that we here in America can live they way we do.
It's our schools that have had prayer removed as a daily devotion for a short period of time to contemplate that which is greater than all of us. Some schools have even stopped the recital of the Pledge to the Flag as a daily occurrence. Go to your local school, especially a high school during the Pledge to the Flag in a class room , and see what is going on. The inattentiveness and just plain disrespect for the Flag that stands for the greatest country in the world. Some kids don't even stand anymore. Watch as teachers do nothing, not even in an attempt to explain what that Flag represents and what blood has been spilt in its name to protect and defend the freedom of those in our homes, churches and schools.

This Memorial Day take just a minuet to stop and say a prayer of thanks for those who in the past have given the ultimate sacrifice. Their sacrifice not for country but for you and me so that we can live freely in the greatest free nation in the world.

And after that moment stop and think what you can do to stop this deterioration of Patriotism that is occurring in our country. What can you do at your next family gathering. What can you do at your next Church service. What can you do at your next school board meeting.

I'll tell you what you can do. You can develop a spine and tell your children of the sacrifices of out soldiers. You can tell your pastor or elder that sermons need to be preached not just to save souls but to save the soul of America. You can tell your school board members and administrators that teachers should be more responsible as mentors and educators as to Americas history. That's what you can do but will you do it.

Gos Bless the United States of America and all who have served this great county in Past. Present and Future.

Politics

2011-05-26T08:58:00.002-04:00

As our Commander in Chief miss-steps at a toast for the queen...violence in the middle east continues. But there is a greater violence being perpetrated on the American Public and that is the draining of our American bank account.
We continue to give funds to organizations supporting terrorists. The US has given more than 3.5 Billion to The Gov. of Palestine since 1994. Those funds go to support Palestinian immigration to US and terrorists in jail. Is this really what we want our government doing.\? Do we need more immigrants?
We are guaranteeing loans to Brazil and Columbia to drill for oil while our own oil industry languishes in the morass of permits and studies by the EPA. How many more American jobs do we have to loose in the gulf and in Alaska before Americans say they have had enough? How many more Trillions of Dollars do we send to foreign oil producers?
Now if you thought that was bad enough how about our Congress, specifically the Senate not willing to pass a budget..It looks like this will be year Two with out a budget. They pass legislation to send money everywhere else but home.
Folks this should be a glaring DUH that the problem that needs to be solved in the 2012 election lies in the Senate and person occupying the White House. We were smart enough to realize that the Democratically controlled House needed to be changed. In this coming election the TEA Party needs to make it's voice heard loud and clear that we have to get both the Legislative House(the Senate) and our White House back on the right path.
The path is simple, keep American jobs at home, stop sending money to places that need to help themselves and lastly bring the government under control as to Waste. Fraud and Abuse.

Republican Candidates

2011-05-15T12:33:00.005-04:00

By now just about everyone in the world either has heard or been told that Newt is in and Huck and Trump are out. So you say well that was unexpected, but I don't think so. I don't think Huck thought he had the support that he felt would come from the conservative christian right and Donald just checked the balance sheets and wha-la, DA money. Newt Gingrich has been running for president ever since he was Speaker of the House,and now he believes that enough time has passed for the reformulation of Newt into Presidential material. I believe not.
Recently there was a film clip(PSA-Public Service Announcement) resurrected of Newt and Nancy Pelosi(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaZFfQKWX54). There they are being all nice and cozy on a couch taking about Climate Change Issues, agreeing with the Pelosi that we need to address that problem. I guess that was because in that time period he was in the Congress and there's a lot of hot air there with all the brilliant and heated conversing going on. But what a clip, Nancy and Newt sitting on a settee, climatizing you and me. Couldn't resist that..The reality is: he said it, filmed it and it will always be out there and lastly we all know that the climate issue is a bunk. And that was just one issue, there are many more.
Now I have always liked many of the things Newt has said and felt that he was a tremendous motivational speaker. When he talked about America you can just see Americanism gushing out of him making you want to go out, enlist and fight the next fight. The situation now is quite different. Just as in those days Newt was the compromiser and worked with the other side, today we need a man of a different metal. We need a man of principal who will stand up to those that believe Americas best days are over, that we need a global approach to problems, that the old ways are gone and we need new approaches.
Well I beg to differ. We need a candidate who is rooted in those fundamental truths that got us here. That this is the land of opportunity and that we are guaranteed life, liberty and the PURSUIT of Happiness not a government subsidy or entitlement.
So, no, Newt is not the guy, neither were Trump or Huckabee, but they did serve a purpose and about that I'll write later

Military Action

2011-05-05T13:29:00.005-04:00

So Now he's (OBL) gone. Where do we go from here? The head of the snake has been cut off but I feel that the snake was not just a normal snake but a sea snake called a hydra. That particular snake had nine heads and in order to kill it(Al Qaeda) there must be other heads that roll. This can be done by our Special Operations Units and not our normal brigades and units strung our throughout Iraq, Afghanistan and other remote parts of the middle east. Let them (moslem extreamists)become paranoid of where they tread. The deadly touch of the United States Military will be everpresent on their minds and THAT is the best deterrent of all.
Our military has done an absolutely marvelous job with the current restraints that are placed on it, meaning "rules of engagement".
It now has been reported that :http://tinyurl.com/3lqnph7
additional cuts in military personnel, hardware etc. will be on the chopping block. Do you think Russia or China are cuttings their military spending, I believe not. Therefore what needs to be the primary objective is to find ways to not cut our military but find ways to reduce the spending on our military operations and reserve that spending, (with minor cuts) to procurement of new and advanced methods of protecting the homeland. When Ronald Regan proposed Star Wars it was not for the world but to protect the homeland. I believe we need to come back to that military imperative and devolve our activities and commitments in the middle east. We can save Billions by not having our military stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan and also reduce our presence/involvement in Europe. I believe it is time for Europe to take care of things affecting Europe especially such a Libya.
These small changes to our involvement would save many millions if not Billions of Dollars each year. The affect of this would free-up monies for new hardware and better care of our injured soldiers and still reduce the yearly military budget.

Papers, you got papers

2011-04-28T10:34:00.004-04:00

We're sitting in front of the TV watching the news and pundits and you and I wonder is the story finally over, You say what story, well the birth question. Has it finally been settled and do we now have a President born in the US. Folks I don't have the answer to that but what I do have is a lurking question as to the media and the administration.
Are the talking heads at Fox, MSNBC, CNN and the rest doing their job. As they so politely say when a candidate appears on the horizon, 'he need not wait very long for a probing of his background to begin'. But is that the case? The world has waited two long years for the President of the United States to finally provide "the Document" that would end all question as to his qualification and right, under the Constitution, to be the POTUS.
I don't see that happening. Where are the experts and specialists on documents conducting their walk-ons to all the shows. Where is the administration authentification and subsequent inspection of the document by the respective experts providing us conclusive evidence and explanation as to the bona fides, oops, authenticity of this newly presented document. I just haven't seen that. The media has accepted this copy of an original as being valid and that's that.
This question will continue to linger and smolder along. One asks how does one establish the authenticity of a document? One sends their(the Executive Branch) expert(FBI Forensics) to Hawaii and first hand examine the original document and provide a verification of authenticity. Without this action there can never be a conclusive determination made. And guess what, that is exactly what did not happen. Instead the administration put a copy of the document out there and is letting us and the media deal with it.
This is not a very good example as to a methodology. But folks isn't that exactly what this administration has been providing to us all along, providing us an imperfect product that purports to be solving the most difficult financial, economic, and foreign policy problems of the day. The dollars value continues to fall, gas and food prices continue to rise and the middle east is in turmoil. Welcome to the new reality.

Immigration

2011-04-23T15:37:00.004-04:00

If you've been wondering where I've been, necessity has taken me traveling again, this time to the South, South of the border that is. Today I've returned and have just gotten off the boat so to speak. Now for those of you that don't know me then you are not aware that I am also a boat person having landed in this most beautiful and generous country back in 1950 as an immigrant.
Now this trip, down Mexico way, I observed when we got to our first Port of Call, there WERE armed military standing guard. Luckily the Baja Penninsula is one of the safer places in Mexico especially Cabo & Puerto Vallarta. And Yes, of course, I spoke with the locals gathering in as much local color, news and opinion as possible. Most of the Mexicans I spoke with are not happy with the current Drug War situation between the Government , the Gangs and the local everyday folks caught in the middle.
Mexico might not have as high a level of education as we portend to have in the good old USA but there is this item called common sense. Common sense looks at a situation or problem, breaks it down to common elements and then sees what could possibly be a solution to a problem. Mexico is involved in a massive war between the government and the drug cartels. Each gang vying for control of their destiny and territory.
The gangs are merely free enterprise rascals(killers) that want to transport as much dope into the USA and then sell those very same drugs to those gringo's up north. The government on the otherhand is being coerced by the US to control these fellows and not allow the drugs north while also maintaining some semblance of control of their country and not have the gangs get into an all out war for control of the drug routes.
So sitting there, with unnamed mexicans, enjoying a cold bottle of beer one inspiring thought kept returning to our conversation. Gee, if those Gringo's to the north would just stop demanding all that dope to be moved and sold up north there wouldn't be a drug problem. The gangs would not be fighting over turf, innocent folk in the middle would not be getting caught in the cross fire, the government just might be able to apply it's resources to developing industries for the workers of Mexico. And guess what, maybe these enterprising drug guys would find some other business to get into.
Next blog, how WE help the Third world.....

Presidential Failure

2011-04-14T06:00:00.002-04:00

The president came to us again and again we were sadly disappointed. More rhetoric and no significant substance. It continues to amaze me how both the President and Democrats in Congress continue to believe that the solution is always more taxes. They don't understand that this crisis is one of spending not income. The United States Treasury collects over two, here this Two Trillion Dollars in Taxes. The problem is that it spends over three Trillion in its Spending.
I wont belabor the point but this President doesn't even listen to his own appointed Debt commission. Even they acknowledged that this was a spending issue and proposed various solutions to bring balance back into the Federal Budget. Did the President Listen-NO? I believe that circumstances have gotten beyond this radical President of ours and drastic measures are called for such as not increasing the debt limit. Then and only then will the government be forces to CUT Back and start trimming the waste Fraud and abject abuse of what we call a Federal Beuracracy.
For those that occasionally follow these blogs-I will be gone for about a week and a half. doing research on our friends South of the Border, Hopefully new incites will be developed. Till Then Hasta la Vista.

Financial Mess

2011-04-12T05:01:00.004-04:00

Neighbors, they are arguing over some 30 billion dollars. That's less than 1% of the total budget. While we sat and watched these supposed learned men in Washington argue over mere Billions while spending more than they were saving. It just doesn't make any sense, it's in fact bizarre.
Now comes before our legislators the question of raising the debt limit. As I'm writing this short piece I have the clock(http://www.usdebtclock.org/)rolling along. I can't keep up with the numbers they move too quickly. Lets just stop time and take a look-14.2 Trillion=National Debt, that's $45,923/person-hum, have you, your spouse, and children each got that kind of dough laying around. I don't know your family but I'd have to go into hock to come up with that amount.
Lets take a look at the clock and see where the biggest budget items are- Medicare/Medicaid-$807 Billion, Social Security- $708 Billion, Military-$695 Billion. Add them up and you roughly get $2.2 Trillion. Add some discretionary spending and our Budget sits around 3.5 Trillion of which approx. 1.2 Trillion dollars has to be borrowed. The only way out of this mess is to cut.
Alex you say, We don't want to cut money from the old , the sick, the military. Let me tell you something, there are items within each of those big budgets, SS/Medi-care-Aid, and Military. loaded with lots of Waste, Fraud and Abuse.
I am a big proponent of the military but I have come to the conclusion that the time has come to pull our troops back from all around the world and let the world worry about itself. By the way where is the UN when you need it. Just by pulling our troops out of Afghanistan, Iraq and certain European countries would save Trillions in future spending.
The Obama Regime wanted 17 thousand additional IRS guys to scrutinize the tax system. Well if you have a simplified tax system where you make x number of dollars then take a reasonable percentage, multiply and wallah you have your tax bill. No more itemizing, no more corporate welfare, just a reasonable tax structure where cheating and pseudo itemizing are a thing of the past. No need for 17 thousand new IRS employees and No more adding on to the debt.
Lets stop right here and make a statement to the world. The United States of America is going to clean up its house, stop spending beyond what we take in and put a stop to this financial mess we are in. That's the way to get out of this mess folks and a mess we are truly in.

Financial Crisis

2011-04-10T06:33:00.002-04:00

Now I'm not a financial wizard nor a consulting guru but I do believe I have a bit of common sense. This mess we are in is not difficult to understand and I'm going to try and explain in in very simple terms.
Our government is operating in the red, period. We are spending more than we are taking in and the money printing presses are working overtime. Now if you don't understand what I've just said let me put it in down to earth terms that all can understand. You have a family budget and bills. You ran out of money several years ago and started using your Master Card as a way to tide you over. Your making payments, sometimes all but most times the minimum payment. Now your Master Card has hit the limit and you can't charge anything else on it. You turn around and do the same thing on your Discover card. Finally you go and max out that American Express card and your out of ways to pay.
Well folks, that's were the federal government is now. The Debt Limit has had to be raised three times since President Obama was inaugurated on January 29, 2009.
We are coming up on another debt limit in a very short time. The Congress just came to an agreement to not shut the government down and cut a measly $38 Billion. We are going to be in the same place again in several weeks,
If these guys in Washington don't get their act together and realize that we have a spending problem not an income problem. You just can't keep hitting up on your rich uncle any more. You've finally tapped out your options and are just going to have to start living within your means. Washington Wak -Up.

Government

2011-04-08T08:16:00.002-04:00

Well the ship of state continues on its fall towards the abyss. Even if we get a budget deal today doesn't mean all is well and we have leveled off and can sail into the sunset. WRONG! The issue in front of us is not a revenue issue but a spending issue. All of us have heard those stories about this or that abuse. This morning I was driving to my favorite coffee place and was listening to the radio. A parol officer was talking about how persons released from jail get to go on the public doll by claiming to be disabled due to their being in jail, Now wait a minuet, they have big bulging muscels, they have had opportunities to educate themselves while in prison and finally theu were able enouight to commit crimes and now they are disabled, give me a break. This is just one small piece of the puzzle. Again I say it is a spending problem not a revenue issue. Lets hope the conservatives hold strong and make serious cuts in government spending.
As to this issue enjoy the political cartoon at the bottom of this site.

Your definition not mine

2011-03-28T18:59:00.004-04:00

Harry Reid recently lamented that the Tea Party is affecting how Republicans act in that Republicans are not coming to the negotiating table when it comes to the budget. What an interesting article found in Politico:here's the site-
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0311/52070.html
This article tells an interesting story but as I read it, the things that it didn't tell me when I read the article was what threw me off. The article should have been providing the reader with some facts, so as to put what the article was saying into perspective. Also it's use of specific words would lead one to create a picture of something that is not so.
In the second paragraph the article used the words "significant cuts" when referring to budget cuts proposed by the Democratic senate. When I think of significant cuts I think of at least 10% and maybe even as high as 20% when thinking about the size of our yearly budget($3.45 6 Trillion) and then relating that to our current Debt($14 Trillion). So I did some looking and low and behold what did I find. In an article from the Arizona Tea Party-
"Last week Reid put $7.5 billion in discretionary cuts and $3.5 billion in mandatory savings on the table as a counteroffer to the $51 billion in additional cuts the GOP is seeking."
Folks that's 11 Billion dollars as compared to the $51 Billion the Republican House is proposing. Either way, I still call that a paltry sum. Now I'm not a math wizard by any stretch of the imagination but even I can figure out that the proposed $11 Billion by the Democrats comes out to 3 one-thousands of one percent. Now recall the verbiage in the Politico article I quoted and there is no sane or sensible way I would call 3 one-thousands of one percent a "significant cut" to a budget that is $3.456 Trillion in size.
Further on in the article Harry Reid talks about working closely with the Republicans on “negotiations to keep the country running with a responsible budget for the rest of the fiscal year." Here's another interesting usages of the word reasonable. When I think of reasonable the first thing that comes to mind is Websters Dictionary and somewhere in that definition are the words 'not excessive', 'logical', 'moderate' and 'endowed with reason'. Well here I go again but to present a budget of $3.4 Trillion, when you only have $2.162 Trillion in receipts leaving a $1.294 Trillion shortfall or defici. That IS NOT reasonable, in fact, it is beyond credulity.
In the old days they would have been run out of town after being tared and feathered. I guess these guys in Washington have been working with these huge, no humongous amounts of money for so long that they have lost all reason and logic.
So when you read these articles please be discerning and remember that these same politicians using the terms reasonable ans significant are the same politicians that got us into this fiscal mess.

The Obama Effect

2011-03-26T14:51:00.003-04:00

I recently read an interesting article relating to the oil industry and the effects of the Obama/Democratic/greenMovement Policies:http://tinyurl.com/5u6xd7f
The emerging situation in the Middle East continues to become more involved and complex. I believe we are heading into a no-win situation in the various countries that are aflame with revolt and potential regime change.
As Obama told us on the election stump, Change, well little did we know what kind of change we were getting. The change was less jobs, more taxes, bigger government, more dependance on foreign oil, more involvement in the arab world, increased military involvement and finally an energy policy that discounts our own oil fields both proven and potential. I'll say it again, when visiting Alaska and talking to Alaskans, they all said "why don't you want our oil". Added to this insanity we have our own oil both off the shores of either coast and in the Gulf of Mexico.
So folks what are we going to do? Neither our President nor the Political parties are willing to do the right thing, I guess its up to us. Get involved, join a group, write your legislators and do something/anything but don't sit on your B-hind.

Libya Follow-Up

2011-03-22T12:03:00.003-04:00

As we sit in our easy chairs at home or continue working at our jobs we wonder about the added cost of this Libyan excursion our government has embarked on. While we sat the government spent and will have to replace a whole bunch of Tomahawk missiles and so far, as of this writing, one Strike Eagle F-15E. I've done the numbers for you and the Airplane comes in at 31.1 Million while the going rate for a Tomahawk missle is $756,000 x as of today 132 comes to about 55 Million Dollars. That's just the cost, you know in order to replace it's going to cost more. I sure hope when all this is good & done we assess what we got for our money. Now, the anticipated results appear to be a stable Libya and hopefully the middle east. Don't you think that in a heartbeat. Right as we reading this the middle east is somewhat unraveling. We don't know what we'll end up with in Libya. We still don't know what kind of government will be running Egypt. Hold on there's still Bahrain and Yemen. And lest we forget Saudi Arabia, the place we get our oil from, could given the right set of circumstances go up in revolutionary smoke. Think of it this way. Our POTUS saw fit to involve us in Libya due to a despot sitting in power and a movement attempting to remove him and they(POTUS) tell us install Democracy. Folks Saudi Arabia is run by a shiek, that's another word for despot. and there is a movement in Saudi Arabia to remove him and bring about reform in the name offffff, Democracy. So what will "WE", oh excuse me POTUS say when the revolt starts in Saudi Arabia and revolutionary groups call for our aid to throw down a tyrant, Despot. That's the million dollar question!

Iraq,Afgahanistan & Libya`

2011-03-21T05:42:00.002-04:00

I really get it-the national interest in Libya even is some don't. The affect that Libyan oil has on the European economies is critical for the stability of the Western Nations in Europe. The supposed moderate groups working toward freedom and acting militarily in Libya and other Arabian nations, are they really moderate. These groups that are trying to undo the shackles of tyranny in the form of despotic rulers, what have they to offer in return. Do the Western Nations needing their oil resources have any promissory note providing for the continue supply of oil? Will that promis of a continued supply also include radical islam and continued unrest in the world. These are just some of the questions our congressman need to ask in hearing before involving us in yet another war.
Oh, I forgot, we are already involved, how stupid of me.
I don't recall any hearings or other actions by congress. Here, look back at history after 9/11-http://tinyurl.com/4otozjm Then tell me we are acting correctly!

How the News Was

2011-03-13T14:42:00.003-04:00

As we were being inundated with news from the Middle East, mother nature decided to throw as a curve and here we are all absorbed with the earth quake in Japan and subsequent events taking place. Years and years ago before Internet, TV, radio and almost instantaneous communication these occurances would be items of discussion after the news appeared on the front pages of our local newspapers. We would meet on our front porches, diners, work lunchrooms, trains and other places people meet to talk of the items of the day. News wasn't a right this minute effort that required the immediate and constant attention of a whole new world of reporters and commentators. We would discus and mull over the events and happenings reported and have time and opportunity to digest those events and most usually come up with rational responses to what happened and what should be done. Folks we had more time to think about the events that had just transpired.
Sometimes I think one of the major causes of problems today is news overload. Right about the time your sitting and fretting about your kids lousy grade in Spanish a broadcast occurs letting you know that the middle east is in a riotous state and that your gasoline prices will go up. Well back in September our gas prices were running between $2.50 and $3.00 per gallon, going up coming down, up and down but now prices are at $3.50 and as I check my favorite site(www.cincygasprices.com) it looks like prices for today are holding but who knows what news story will occur and all heck could break loose.
Before this crazy world of instant news this would not have happened. If the state of Wisconsin was having a problem with its budget and the legislature, not the Governor, was planning changes in his budget regarding spending we at the porch would have time to mull things over, comment on it to our friends and if just by chance you knew someone from Wisconsin and you cared enough about it you might sit and write them a letter asking what was going on. I guarantee you that if in that budget there was some clause about teachers and contracts we would not be seeing protests in Madison at the state capital. People would talk to friends, get opinions, maybe even listen to a good sermon from their pulpit, but by gosh by golly they wouldn't be protesting and I know for sure they would not be trashing their state capitol as they did in these past riots.
Now is it the news and its rapid presentation that is causing these occurrences and actions? No, I don't think so but what I do think is that folks are rushing to action rather than letting time cool anxious action and letting outside forces push us to actions to quickly. We had time to write our representatives and they had time to get back to our towns and cities and meet with us and hear what the folks had to say. That's how it used to be and maybe we all just need to slow down a bit, let the pot cool and give us all a chance to think things over. Just maybe the legislators need to be a little less quick to pass legislation and take some time to come back to us and talk things over.

Saying Goodbye

2011-03-05T09:22:00.002-05:00

As all things have to end so ends this journey to Alaska. Yesterday our group went on a boat cruise along the inland waterways around Sitka. There are over 200 islands in this area and it's hard to grasp that this is ocean and not just inland waterways. There were times during our trip that we were just off the land with cliffs rising around us.

Our captain explained that it would be rare to see whales due to it being early in the season but low and behold even our captain was surprised when we saw three different hump-back whales during our trip. Lots of sea otters and seals, not to mention Alaskan deer and eagles. One of my wants, as expressed to the captain, was to see an eagles nest and low and behold an eagles nest. The visual overload that occurred was absolutely amazing with sights and sounds of Alaska to remain in my minds eye.
The land up north teaches us many things but one of the most significant is that we are a land of people from varied backgrounds and heritages. The ability of man to communicate and be able to express feelings separates us from that of the wild.
I am coming away from Alaska with a sense of awe and inspiration of the ability of a state to come together towards common goals. Yes, the environment has to be preserved but it should be by those in that particular environment that should have the Say not Washington. My feelings of local rule and states rights have been rejuvenated by my trip up North to the land of the midnight sun. I will bring these feelings and emotions back with me to Indiana and continue on with the mission of our group We The Hoosiers and the affirmation of local rule and an assertion of the rights of states to progress, grow and develop with out the intrusions of the federal government.

Hello from Alaska

2011-03-03T21:33:00.002-05:00

Believe or not, Alaska is were I'm writing this blog. Wow, what a state. I'm in Sitka and every time you turn around the view just floors you. At sea level, then look up and you see the tops of 3 thousand foot high mountains. You talk about majestic, this is the last frontier, this is the land of Sara, this is America. I've spoken to bunches of folks and it's absolutely amazing the range of comments I've heard from Alaskans. From native American Indians to just plain hard working folks that are trying to make a living, surviving to dream the American dream. Boy when your on an island and everything you need, want or desire has to be either flown in or shipped in the prices are high but the folks here are great.
The consensus on Sara is that she left the governorship due to the fact that she was inundated with challenges and queries as to the things that she was doing and it was going to cost her and the state lots of money to handle all those queries. Folks tell me she did it to save the state funds and efforts that distracted from state business. Now that's not to say that some weren't upset with her for just giving up the governorship but some will always be upset. However the majority understood that she felt that was the best thing for the state and respect her for that.
There is one thing in all the conversations I've had and that was Sara was the real thing, she and her husband were of those hard working families in Alaska. There was no disputing that from native to hard working laborer, they all said to me that she and her family were the real thing. The argument started when she quit the statehouse and went off on her own.
I started this out as a bit of a travelogue and slowly drifted into politics and now want to come back to the STATE. It is truly amazing. These folks are absolutely independent and many conversations started always ended in an agreement that the solutions to our countries problems are there but just aren't being applied. If we could just garner some of the Alaskan faith in independent thinking and common sense thinking we could solve many of our nations problems. If it all goes to heck in a handbag I think I'd like to be in Alaska, the home of the free and the brave. Yes, there is hope and if we apply some of that independent Alaskan thinking just maybe we'll be able to survive this last batch of problem that this country is in. Lets apply some independent common sense approach to fiscal responsibility and not continue on this road to deficit spending.
From Alaska.....Have a great day and I'm going out and get some fresh Alaskan Crab.

Perceptual Differences

2011-02-28T12:18:00.005-05:00

If you haven't been holed up in a cabin up in the Washoe Mountains or been locked in cellar by a mad uncle you all should know that there have been protests and counter protests regarding the issue of collective bargaining. It all started in Wisconsin, the cheese state, when Gov. Scott Walker & the legislature proposed legislation changing how most public employees secure pay and benefits under the collective bargaining system.
As you might recall the past election had brought in a huge surge of republicans and they took control of the governors office, and both houses. That electoral change and extreme budget deficit was the collision of two forces that were needed to be addressed in order to bring the Wisconsin budget into balance, as required by law. On Feb 14, 2011 the legislature took up a bill regarding collective bargaining rights and thousands of protesters converged on the Capital, Madison. We saw daily pictures of protests going on and then there were counter protests by supporters of that legislation.
Now I come to the crux of my story, during this past summer, at the various rallies held, the media coverage centered on the supposedly nasty and vile signage and rhetoric by the Tea Parties while leaving out the issues.
We are now in the throes of the teacher/civil servant/Union protests from New York to California and growing. It is absolutely amazing how the media has seen fit to report on this story. The media has again chosen sides and is reporting the teacher protesters in a more favorable light. With all these cameras clicking and video shot something like the truth finally has had to come out. The irony of the Revelation is that there is video that reveals what really happened and the true face of the teacher protesters was revealed.
I could go on for paragraph after paragraph but I believe seeing and hearing are the best evidence. The below site will take you to the clip and you be the Judge.
http://tinyurl.com/4vqd9yw

NotTheWayTo Legislate

2011-02-23T06:35:00.002-05:00

Hoosiers you better get your pens and fingers working contacting your local representatives in the Indiana legislature. Yesterday the Democrats walked out just because they didn't like legislation relating to "collective bargaining" and "right to work". Doesn't that sound like the group at school that would leave taking the ball just because they didn't like the rules that everyone plays under. Well it's the same thing with the democrats. They lost the November elections, the People spoke and now they are sore losers not wanting to take part in the votes that should be taking place.
For years the Unions had it their way providing lots of money to legislators in the form of PAC monies that got them what they wanted, protections, high wages and retirements that could not be sustained. Well the chickens have come to roost. There is no money and those sweetheart deals have bankrupting our local, state and now federal coffers. You don't have to be a Rhodes scholar to read the news stories of states in the red and that 14 Trillion Dollar deficit that hangs over all of us at the federal level.
So get on your phones, e-mails and for those of us that remember, the power of the pen, write your representatives and state senators. Our representative system must be sustained. The democrats in this case need to understand that that an election will take place in a year and a half and that is the place to respond to this situation not walking out and hiding like those state senators in Wisconsin. That is not the Hoosier way.

Price of Oil

2011-02-22T21:03:00.004-05:00

I'm going out on a limb and forecasting that this is the beginning of the run up so hold on to your hats. Libyan oil has no effect on the US because we don't use it but it sure powers up Europe. Even though we don't need it it will still have the affect of driving up our oil price because it is a world market and when one supplier, even though only a couple of percent, goes under it does mean that disruptions and higher oil prices will occur. The protests in Libya are the beginning of an event that will remove Muammar Gaddafi and his family from control of the oil fields. There is already talk that finally , after long last, the UN will have to become involved if Gaddafi starts to kill off the protesters on the streets of Trippoli. As usual our intelligence system under the most incapable arms of the Clapper is exceedingly quiet. Gee one would have thought a press conference would be in order but I guess teacher protests are more important. Agree or not, we'll see!

This is the Place

2011-02-19T06:16:00.002-05:00

For those that are unfamiliar with blogs, here goes. Look, we meet, we talk, we express our opinions, that is ho we communicate. As members of an organization or just a visitor to a web site there still is a function, an ability, that you are not using. COMMENTING
The Blog is a place to express oneself in an open forum that can be responded to and carried on for the benefit of all. Not everyone is as vocal or wordy as I am but sure as heck am know that there are folks out there that don't agree with me or have a bit of a different view on a particular subject. Well this is the place to express that difference of opinion.
At our monthly meeting I would love to have the time and opportunity to talk to everyone and get to know their side or take on a particular issue. That is impossible in as much we would be standing around and talking till daylight. Well folks that is where the blog comes in handy. I'm initiating a new policy of once or twice a week just opening up a free-for-all blog to go where YOU want it to go and all of use can just add to it as it goes along. You can maintain your anonymity or you can say who you are, just a nick name is fine. We'll get to know each other later. Just comment to one of the Blogs, it's as easy as one -two-three .
One- click on We The Hoosiers Blog.
Two-Look through the different subjects, find one you are interested in, click in the open box & type your comment.
Three-click on Post Comment, you will be asked to pick a profile. Choose Anonymous or type a name, don't worry about the URL right now. Then you will be asked to type in a word verifier then hit Post Comment and Your Done. It's as easy as One-2-3.
So now there should be no excuse for not commenting. Lets see what kind of ideas can be brought to the table. I'm waiting!

And More on The Middle East

2011-02-17T06:32:00.002-05:00

The Middle-East bag was been shaken and it seems that Mubarak is off on permanent vacation with elections to be held in 6 months. If you believe that then I have a bridge to sell. I would prefer to wait and see.
The military was able to stay in the background and maintain some level of control. As the situation sizzled, with incidents boiling over here and there the coolest heads again were in the military. When Mubarak finally capitulated, they stepped right in, calling for elections and Egypt seems to have been saved from a major dishevel.
Time will only tell if the people of Egypt are the winners or if the radicals will have injected themselves into the political cauldron of Egyptian politics sufficiently to become a major player.
I do know relations between Egypt and America will not be the same. I also know that Egypt and Israel will have to come to terms with the new situation.
Finally as always it's the little guy that ends up on the short end of the stick. What was the average wage in Egypt, two dollars a day. I don't see that changing and I do see it taking longer for the tourist trade to return to Egypt. I have always wanted to see the piramids but for the time being I think I'll just google the pictures and put them on my screen saver.

The Weather

2011-02-09T04:03:00.002-05:00

If your like me you are are reveling in this winter as it comes to a close. We've had great storms with lots of snow and just a bit of the hated ice. Yes, I am a skier and I love the white stuff. But I'm not an alarmist who cries the sky is falling and the earths climate is grinding to a holocaustic end due to our military industrial progress.
The real story still continues to be shunned by the media both print and video. Alas, there is hope. A new study by scientists backed with real scientific research has been put forth and it is available out there for anyone. http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2011/02/028316.php
If you follow this link you'll be taken to an article about this story and within that article are links to the actual report. Please take time to read the actual report and get the rest of the story that is not being told to us by our media.
Now go out and enjoy the last of the white stuff like I will be.

Egypt & Maybe The Middle East

2011-01-31T21:53:00.002-05:00

The Obama administration can't seem to get it's act together. Biden says one thing, Clinton says another and then there is Obama the savior of the Middle East. I wont even get into what he promised during his first trip and speaking tour in his first year.
We give, Yes, Give approx. 2 Billion Dollars in aid to Egypt. Egypt has stayed fairly center road as to us and Israel. There exists a treaty between Israel & Egypt and Christians and Foreign travelers have been pretty safe looking at the pyramids.
Now the situation has changed. It has been a week since the protests, riots, assemblies(as Obama has described) have been going on in Egypt. No one, no one knows which way this event will fall out. Will it be the Army that wins, will Mubarak remain in power, will elections be held or will the rioters prevail and all will be overthrown with another Islamic regime installed that is wanting Israel destroyed and the American devil put in its place.
We will all have to wait and see how this comes out. There is another aspect that this situation has brought about. The instability in the Middle East has yet again reminded us as to the complexity of the diplomatic mission and the precarious place the United States has been placed into as to it's dependence on Oil. Maybe now we see that it is truly time for the United States to become energy independent. It is time for us to get our cumulative heads together and mandate that we become non-dependant on foreign oil and especially oil coming out of the Middle East.

The New Rule

2011-01-20T07:13:00.002-05:00

Yes, it is about the Constitution and not some mind boggling idea about how is is really isn't or the general welfare clause doesn't means specific individual help. Now that the Republicans control the House one of their first actions on their agenda was the passing of the RULE. That new rule is a required affirmation in the form of a statement as to what in the Constitution gives the right to do this particular legislation. Now that is a new beginning. Lets all hope and pray that they stick to their GUNS. Oops, not politically correct. Lets hope they keep their sights on the target. Oops again. Well you get the point.

Down On the Border

2011-01-15T19:14:00.004-05:00

If you ever wondered whose guarding the hen house, well it isn't the yard guard with a 12 gauge to keep the fox away, folks its the fox and of late the fox's name is Uncle Obama. The southern border has quieted down a bit as to illegal entrants due to our economy being in the tank. But surprise-surprise the drugs just keeps coming in one way or another. In the desert areas of Arizona and New Mexico Drug Cartels from Mexico are fighting over areas and routes. There are not enough Border Patrol Agents to adequately cover the whole Southern Border with Mexico, so guess what they were doing. The Department of Homeland Security, DHS, has spent 1 Billion dollars just on a surveillance system covering 53 miles verifying entry when everyone knew the smugglers and illegals were crossing
Last week however, Janet Napolitano or as I respectfully refer to her as Big Sis, announced that the 53 mile section of the border that was being manned by a new surveillance system deployed by Boeing was going to be dropped. I mean, come on, I can understand if things aren't working but why not modify it or use parts of it to enhance the activities of human resources such as Border Patrol Agents, or maybe add some military, either National Guard or perchance start pulling our troops out of Iraq AND Afghanistan.
Finally think about this. 1 Billion Dollars for 53 miles. I just did some math and that comes out to $219,840 per foot. Do you think American workers could of put up one hell of a Fence for that amount. And then there's the ARRA and the billions they wasted on roads and shovel ready projects when they could have been working on the FENCE. Doesn't it just seem odd that now they are admitting some things don't work while not providing the resources to the Border Patrol for adequate fencing and manpower.
Folks there are solutions to problems but when this administration continues to waste money, worry more about legalizing the illegals and rely on solutions that have proven unworkable in the past it's time to start planning for a major change in personnel and direction. 2012 just can't get here too soon. http://tinyurl.com/4u3vz37

Tragedy in Arizona

2011-01-09T06:31:00.003-05:00

Listen up America. The shooting of a US Congresswoman, the death of a sitting Federal Judge and the murder of innocent people and children is not the way we operate in these United States.
WE, go to the ballot box on election day and voice our opinion and selection for a candidate that represents our point of view and what we feel is in the best interest of this great country of ours called America.

America lost her virginity in the Revolutionary war. Since that time these aberrations that occur in our History are learning lessons not for what we should or not do but for what it teaches us about our country and what is going on today. There will always be those sick and twisted folk that one way or another end up going off the reservation and commit violent and tragic acts of insanity that cause us all to look at America and say, is this really what we are.

No this is not really what we are. We are a kind and benevolent nation that helps those in need, a nation that is there for the rest of the world when tragedy strikes. Our history proves our past. Sure we have made mistakes but don't let the missteps obscure the never ending march towards freedom and the greater good.

So don't listen to the pundits and talking heads as they come up with all kinds of excuses, and rationals for what happened in Arizona. No, listen to your heart and brain. Say a prayer for those that are gone and those still injured in the hospital. Say a prayer for the loved ones that have lost a friend or family member in this most tragic of occurrences in our lives today.

In the same sense don't forget that around us tragedy strikes all the time. Whether it be on the highway, in our homes or in the back alleys where people die every day from man made causes. Don't let one mans wild and erratic decision to kill affect your life in such a way as to taint your ability to keep going forward with the mission of making this country the greatest and most kind nation in the world. Stay involved, make a difference. don't give up the fight, and say a prayer for America.

2011-01-06T05:43:00.002-05:00

They are now sworn in and ready for action and the first action was setting rules for the House. Now the Democrats decried the changes saying that their Pay As You Go was to important to change, Reality Check Folks-they (Dems) never followed their own rules otherwise we would never of have built up a 5 trillion deficit. Thank you Democratic Congress.
There is yet another interesting aspect of the new Congress that should be followed, committee membership and especially the Appropriations Committee.
Quote-Wikipedia- "The Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is in charge of setting the specific expenditures of money by the government ".
It seems that incomming members are steering away from this committtee not wanting to be accused of BAD spending decisions. This was the place where huge earmarks in phenomenal numbers were authorized, But I beg to differ. This is the place where we do need the new Tea Party House members to keep a reign on spending and be there to Just Say No.
As the 112th session of Congress unfolds it will be interesting to follow their activities and see if they take off on a path of frugality or get way-laid by the aphrodisiac of power which leads to corruption. What Do You Think?

Congressional UpDate

2011-01-04T13:03:00.002-05:00

To All:Office of Congressman Todd Young open and official swearing in will take place this Wed. Our Congressman is at work, getting ready after the swearing in to vote on the Repeal Obama care House resolution. They have not gotten a web site set up, that should be by the end of the month. Passed on our congratulations and advised our support for his vote on repealing the Obama/Democratic Health Care Bill.
Link to Article:http://tinyurl.com/23atbeq

Blogs and the Border

2010-12-31T12:05:00.002-05:00

When I started having responsibility for "WeTheHoosiers" Blog I worried that I would have a difficult time putting new & current materials on the blog. Boy was I wrong, It seems everyday this administration does something that's fit for commenting on. http://tinyurl.com/3xqp6jx
If you go to the above link you will be directed to a site talking about out Director of Homeland Security and her latest excursion to check the border. Alas either the plane made the wrong turn or someone(Big Sis) didn't realize that "homeland" meant the continental United States and not some foreign country.
If your interest is peaked and you'd like a bit of a different slant the next link is quite enlightening.
http://tinyurl.com/29zz8ss
It seems that we have money in this country for vacations and such but no money for added security at the border, our borders. Oh they did spend about $20 million on a virtual fence 28 miles long and that project is now on hold or who knows what status. How much did the Hawaii vacation and Napolitano trip to Afghansitan cost. I think we could have put up a bit more fencing or security cameras.
As I mentioned in a previous post our Borders are the first line of defense against those that would do us harm. This harm both physical and economic costs us billions every year. The physical harm is in the form of bandits killing US Citizens, Border Patrol Agents, Police Officers and yes numerous illegal aliens trying to enter the US. The economic harm, by illegal aliens entering our country illegally, yes it is against the law to enter the US without inspection, takes the form of lost jobs that an American should be doing. The additional harm is in the form of lost taxes, a majority claim 9 dependents, and taking advantage of our services such as hospitals, welfare, and schooling.
I hope that's enough to rile you up this New Years Eve. So go out there and talk to your friends, relatives and strangers about this abysmal job that is called border security run by Big Sis Napolitano.

The Border

2010-12-26T20:24:00.003-05:00

We all know that these are troubled times on the US Border both North and South. http://tinyurl.com/29x47lc Suicide rate acknowledged finally by agency but is moral improving? Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was shot by bandits north of the AZ border with an AK-47 and now all of a sudden information relating to this shooting seems to have dried up. No names on the 4 in custody, no information on fifth suspect who supposedly escaped, whether North or South, direction unknown. Now there are rumors circulating from unnamed sources that BP Agent Terry was only armed with non-lethal rounds in his weapon. The stated mission of the CBP is to prevent or apprehend those attempting to cross and enter the US in this area designated as a high violence area often times the CBP ends up acting like a policeman defending illegal entrants from Border banditos. If rumors are true why in heavens name would you arm a Border Agent in a highly dangerous area with only non-lethal rounds? Also Tucson Citizen reports:http://tinyurl.com/26deabv
Shot in back w/AK-47 piercing his vest. Is this where and how protected we should be sending our Border Agents to protect our Borders.

Take a stand!

2010-12-21T11:06:00.002-05:00

Your sitting in your nice easy chair, Christmas has come and gone, now what? Well get off rear end and come out and stand up for both political and religious freedom. Join We the Hoosiers as we make a statement in front of the Nativity Scene in Brookville, IN. on December 26th at 2 PM.
It is so easy to let someone else do it but isn't it time to finally get up and say no to the anti-religious , atheist Groups that go around the Country looking for small towns to threaten and cajole into taking down symbols of our faith and history. Do you think old George or Thomas would have put up with it, Paul would be out riding his horse shouting the atheists are coming, the atheists are coming!
For those that think all is well with America you'd better wake up. Read your newspapers more closely, get on the internet and see how everyday our freedoms are little by little taken away. Do you like your cable, well soon the FCC will be telling you where you can or cannot go.
So come on out on the 26th at 2pm, join us in front of the Franklin County Courthouse and show America and your community that you really do care about her and the religious freedoms that for over 200 years have been fought for.

Religion & Small Communities

2010-12-16T05:57:00.003-05:00

By now you should all know that an atheist organization called Freedom from Religion Foundation,FFRF,has complained about the Nativity scene put up, as it has for many many years, on the grounds of the Franklin County Court House. How does something like this start? Well, this group, based out of Madison, WI. wrote letters to both the county commissioner and the Brookville Town Council objecting to the Nativity Scene.
This group apparently does not know Brookville and the surrounding area. This organization, FFRF, has about 16,000 members nationwide and 220 in Indiana.
It never stops to amaze me how these very active but very small groups are able to affect our lives and activities from so far away.
Speak up Hoosiers, call your commissioner, call your town council members and don't let some out of the mainstream organization from Wisconsin tell us in Indiana whether we can have a Nativity scene in our downtown area. Speak up.

Dream Act & More

2010-12-14T19:16:00.004-05:00

Hey there Senators Lugar and Bayh, are you both going to provide your own personnal funding to all those illegals that sign up for schools and want tuition assistance? I know your rich but not that rich, OH, I forgot it's not going to be your money, it's going to be my money, the taxpayers money your going to spend.
Wake up Hoosiers and get on the phones to old Richard and Evan. Tell them we don't need this additional spending, these tuition mandates and lastly these illegals who will be granted status. I guess they just keep forgetting that we have 9.7% unemployment and deficits the size of Mt.Rushmore.
Why don't you both sit down and figure out what we can cut, not what we can spend.How about working on that waste , fraud and abuse in government that runs about 40%.
Have you been to a restaurant in Indy lately. Who do you think is serving you and washing the dishes? Have you been to a hotel lately, who do you think made your bed and cleaned up after you left the room? I can tell you it's not a college kid or a mom that needs a job while Dad is working a $10.00 an hour job just keeping up.
Do us all a favor, vote the Dream Act down and help the average guy with some tax relief. Get rid of unnecessary regulation and taxes on business so that they can start hiring. So that they can hire that Dad, give him a decent paying job so he can support his family, so Mom can stay home with the kids and do her own Head Start so they can go to school prepared.
How about cutting the Department of Education for a start and bringing home control of our schools back to the community. But first don't vote for the Dream Act!

Lugar,Earmarks and Amnesty

2010-12-14T06:21:00.004-05:00

While reading the news items on our front page, www.wethehoosiers.com, I thought I'd let the reply from our very own Richard Lugar sit on the site for folks to read and appreciate. But now its time to reply, What Bravo Sierra! Oh, yes he says in his 12/08/2010 response lots of stuff but nothing of import, it's the same old Lugar, one of the good old boys of Congress just rolling along and spending not only Our Money but more importantly invisible non-existant money called DEFICIT SPENDING. Let him ramble but finally in his last sentence I quote " Congress should exercise, rather than abdicate, its Constitutional authority to cut spending and reduce the deficit" Duh, Mr. Sponsor of the Dream act, this legislation will put approx. 2.1 new legal workers into an employment system that sits at over 9.5% unemployment. Further it is estimated that the Dream Acts passage will add billions to the cost of government. You have embraced spending Mr. Deficit Spender, I think it's time to re-evaluate the positions of our senior senator from Indiana. Seniority only matters in the Union in our representative republic we have elections and especially those most importantly called primaries.

Court Ruling

2010-12-13T20:30:00.002-05:00

So now we have at least one ruling that finds the aspect of Obama Care that requires an individual to have health insurance unconstitutional. http://tinyurl.com/2fkfmxh
That may be the case and many are gleeful as to this ruling but I caution you all, to not count your chickens before they hatch. Remember that two courts have ruled Obama care constitutional. What really needs to be done by the Tea party is to keep the pressure on. Just as soon as our new House of Represenatives get swore in, a repeal bill needs to be filed and started on as to the process of getting this law voted on. Among many more issues I would also hope.
Now we know that we will not have a veto proof senate but the point needs to be made and made very quickly and loudly.
If this does not happen, I'm afraid we are lost. What do you think?

2010-12-10T18:57:00.003-05:00

So you've heard all the tv and print news hype that in the military 70% favor Don't Ask, Don't Tell. But is that story & that statistic of DADT really as it seems. If you look more closely at the actual survey you find that, oops, seems like the media has again skewed the data to point in the wrong direction, liberal. secular direction. Most people I believe if provided with the actual survey would see that implemening this policy DADT is not the right thing to do at this time especially when our troops are still involved in both Afghansitan, Iraq and now it seems North Korea is heating up. Read for yourself and lets talk about it.
http://tinyurl.com/259k93r

Security

2010-12-08T07:43:00.002-05:00

http://tinyurl.com/2cu2aro
I started with a link to an article I was directed to by the Department of Homeland Security. I found it ironic that DHS would be linking me to an article on a new al-qaeda destruction technique when all they are doing at our airports is enhanced x-ray and intrusive body pat-downs. While working in government I learned quickly that gov. is a reactionary monster. here was very little pro-activity as to problem solving. Maybe a little more massive military intrusions into the lives of the al-qaeda worldwide would accomplish more than loosing our boys in Afghanistan.
Here we see that al-qaeda is moving on to more complex methodology while we still are having our packages, moms and kids groped at the airport.

What ever happened to America

2010-12-07T11:13:00.003-05:00

The Obama administrations inability to conduct foreign policy is being aptly revealed as each of the wiki leaks is revealed and analyzed. The identity crisis that America finds itself in is portrayed in its continued relationship with countries that not only support our enemies(al-qaeda) but provide their primary financial support.
We have been disinguaging from Europe while at the same time embracing both the middle and far east. One is for goods the other is for oil. In the meantime the manufacturing base of this country has been dissiminated and energy producing elements left un-used under ground in a cauldron of government bureaucracy and regulation.
We seen to have forgotten who our friends and who are enemies were and continue to be. For an interesting read try this link( http://tinyurl.com/2wm86hk )
or comment back yourself.

All Wrong

2010-12-05T07:07:00.003-05:00

As usual in our Congress they seem to always get it wrong. No matter what side of the issue you are on, for the Bush, Against the Bush Tax cuts, the bottom line is that neither the Debt Commission nor our Congress can seem to frame what the issue is correctly. They seem to always put the horse in front of the cart, IT'S the SPENDING & REGULATING that is killing the economy, the financial markets, the average Joe trying to keep up and pay his mortgage.
If you don't understand what is going on , it's that they are doing it to us again. Each side will blame it on the other and in the end we will end up paying more, getting less and being in the same mess.
OK, that's fine and we can make it to January. This American constituency is quite resourceful and flexible but they better start making some drastic changes to both the tax code and the spending come this January when the new guys are sworn in.
Can you imagine what would happen to this economy, to the American psyche if in January the Congress passed a flat Tax that everyone paid. Whether you make $10,000. or $100,000, One Million or a Hundred million you pay a flat percentage. Also in this amazing scenario would be not a freeze as some have advocated but at least a 5% cut, across the board for all programs including salaries and pensions. No more of this bureaucratic mumbo jumbo, baseline, we can fool them again, budgeting, sending our country to debtors prison.
If they though we were mad this past November they ain't seen nothing yet. Especially you incumbents, who weren't up for re-election and have continued to keep voting how they feel and not how their constituents what, you had better watch out. And YOU Know Who YOU Are!

Don't Ask, Don't Tell

2010-12-03T21:23:00.003-05:00

The Survey is out and all the kings men want to repeal except the military generals.
This quote:"strong potential for disruption at the small-unit level." was made by marine commandant Gen. Amos. And others!!
As I've said before we need to contact out senators to try and stop this(Don't Ask, Don't Tell, from being repealed , especially during a period of conflict where some of our troops are on their fourth and fifth deployments. When all settles down, the survey reviewed and analyzed by the experts, the military leadership, and they had their opportunity to comment, then and only then do we proceed with a change as drastic as this, if that's the best move for our soldiers..
Call your Senators!!

Immigration

2010-12-02T15:28:00.003-05:00

I don't know where YOU stand on Immigration but if it hadn't been for immigration I wouldn't be here today. That said it should be noted it was legal immigration that allowed that. What the Senate is trying to do now is put forth 4 separate but similar bills relating to changing the status of illegals to legal and paying them to go to school. I most certainly would have liked my kids education to be paid for but not by the government and especially if it was going to add to the deficit. We all need to call our state senators & tell them NOT to vote for any and all versions of the Dream Act. Our memories are not that short that we can't remember till primary and election time of 2012

Faith

2010-12-01T12:20:00.003-05:00

If you haven't seen this video of a Fox news interview, take a look.
http://tinyurl.com/2wscbtr
For those of us that are believers and have faith that not only will we persevear but also this great country of ours, The United States of America will, giving up is not an option. Several days ago I spoke with a young person, mid twenties or so, and was not shocked but taken aback that he admitted that the money the government was taking out of his paycheck for Social Security would not be there. Also that it would do no good to try and do anything to change it. I as an old guy find that extreemly hard to understand and fathom. I asked so what will you do for retirement? He stated that his company had a 401K plan and that he was putting money away separately into a Roth IRA. I asked, what about the funds in your supposed Social Security account. he just shook his head and said, can't do anything about that.
That statement reaffirmed my belief and my faith that what I and my fellow members of We The Hoosiers and those thousands of small groups throughout the country were doing was the right thing to do. Not only are we fighting to maintain and keep this great nation a representative republic but that fight means that tour children will have a future in spite of their lack of activity or action to save their own hard earned dollars.

Airport Screening

2010-11-30T09:36:00.002-05:00

Have you all noticed how the events that happened at many airports relating to security have just gone away. I watched TV checking the national shows to see if any one was reporting what was happening on one of the most traveled days of the year...I really didn't see anything of significance. Recall in past years that was one of their big events sending crews to airports reporting on long Holiday lines...Duh....where were the stories. Did the Security story fall off the face of the earth? There was an article on Drudge that reported that the enhanced security machines at some aairports had been roped off and that pat downs were back to non-invasive methods. I spoke with several folks traveling and some ssaid it went quickly the old fashioned way and some said they were screened with the new machines. So if you flew, what happened to you? have you heard anything from someone that did fly? We Are The Best Source For Truth!

2010-11-28T17:21:00.003-05:00

If you've been to our web site you know that a truly great video relating to immigration is out there to view. Further you should contact your Senator to vote no onthe Dream Act.
Especially important is writing to Senator Lugar since he introduced this act along with Senator Dick Durbin(Democrat from Illinois. Now you would think a conservative senator from Indiana would be the last person to support this type of legislation. I don't think Richard Lugar understands the potential numbers involved nor the costs which will be expended. Senator Lugar do you not know we are spending more than we take in and do not need additional legislation that will add to our ever increasing yearly deficits and national debt.
Remember Senator Lugar will have to get through the primary in 2012 and his actions relating to the Dream Act should play an important role in his being able to make it past the primary, oh, maybe he'll save us the work and retire.

2010-11-26T09:35:00.002-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving day after:I would assume everyone is still sleeping this morning. While you were sleeping the masses have been inching their way towards the precipice of chaos. A quick look at the paper brings an article up relating to the mad man of North Korea. Pushing, shoving, nudging the world towards what he wants and not what we want. If things progress as in the past, the US and S. Korea will have their war games and we will be back at the negotiating table w/N. Korea giving out more concessions just as N. Korea and the mad man,, Kim Jong Il, wants and will probably get.
Remember the days of old when countries respected and feared the US, when we could affect what was going on to keep tensions down and not let situations get out of hand. If you wonder how it is we are in this diminished capacity think no farther that what shape economically we are in. When a nation has lost its way it is no wonder that the world no longer looks to the US as that shining star that provided refuge and stability to the world. h for the good old days.

2010-11-25T20:47:00.002-05:00

So I hope you've enjoyed your Turkey dinners and have watched the Dallas Cowboys loose. Now go to this site, click on the URL and proceed to get mad. http://tinyurl.com/2d45alm
Pass this on to your friends and relatives. If you've ever wondered why we have a problem in this country just imagine what our unemployment problem would be like if after 1970 we wouldn't have added 1 million legal immigrants to our population . Then think about the illegal population and just wonder what kind of unemployment situation we would have if all of a sudden there were approx. 10 million jobs opened up. What do you think of these apples. Huh.

The New Military

2010-11-23T11:26:00.002-05:00

For those that sit back quietly without doing some research and blast our military saying it is not ready for 21st century warfare, just read the following clip found in Politics Daily. The following relates to a cold war fighter, the B-1 Bomber, who many in congress say is obsolete in this new environment of the war on terror.
"The supersonic B-1 was designed almost a half-century ago to attack deep into the Soviet Union with thermonuclear bombs. Surprisingly, the "Bone'' has emerged as one of the most effective weapons of the counterinsurgency fight in Afghanistan, a turn of events that should humble today's analysts confidently predicting the shape of conflicts and weapons in the year 2060.

Its huge bomb capacity is not the main reason. Instead, it's the jet's ability to loiter overhead for hours and use newly acquired sensors to scan the ground, finding knots of Taliban fighters, watching remote compounds to see who comes and goes, detecting buried roadside bombs and sometimes even catching insurgents planting the improvised explosive devices."

Thank God for our military industrial complex and their ability to develop and create products that are so good as to be able to change & modify their mission. This is just one example and there are many others. For all those nay-sayers, I just wish our Congress was as able when they write new legislation creating new programs that do not have the ability to change with the times.

2010-11-23T08:30:00.002-05:00

Here's a quote from Politico.com "Velma Hart, the chief financial officer for a veterans group who told President Obama she was “exhausted” from defending him at a town hall in September, has been laid off." Now Obama's worrying about getting new start treaty with Russia, the Senate wants to take up Amnesty in the form of Senate Bill 3065, the Dream act and Congress contemplates HR 5566, worrying about animal crash fills on video. "DAH" folks it should be all about JOBS. When we get this country back on its feet and we are no longer a debtor nation then we can worry about all these other issues.. Lets get this country moving again by creating the atmosphere wherein businesses believe they can plan for the future by knowing what their costs will be. Lets get government out of the business of business and have those bureaucrats in Washington take a break and not stick their fingers into the economy for a while.

What a MESS we're in

2010-11-22T19:45:00.003-05:00

This past Sunday Ireland applied to the EU(European Union) & IMF(International Monetary Fund) for an aid package estimated to be between 80-90 Billion Euro's. I st there was Greece, now it's Ireland and rumors abound that Portugal and Spain are waiting in the wings. Folks are we in America that stupid that we are continuing to allow our government to tread down the pathway to bankruptcy. Yes we spoke up three weeks ago and threw a bunch of the rascals out but remember for this past election to take effect we will have to wait till January. Meanwhile the lame duck Congress plans and plots stupidity and continued ineptitude in the form of legislation that is not only unnecessary but primarily harmful to our countries financial and economic well being. You name it, from the FDA Food Safety Act to the Military Readiness Enhancement Act they are all flawed legislative pieces that should not see the light of day let alone be passed and signed into law by the President. Each of these legislative mountains of verbiage contain good things and bad things and show us that our legislators need to simplify their actions and not bloat these pieces of legislation with unnecessary verbiage and totally inappropriate spending items that are pushed us towards that cliff edge .Speak up if you dare!

Obama wants DREAM Act on his desk before year is out

2010-11-22T10:16:00.002-05:00

By Judi McLeod Friday, November 19, 2010
President Barack Obama is counting on “undocumented youth” to cover his back during a rush to deliver the DREAM ACT to his desk before the year is out.

And the call has gone out via a sign-on letter under Organizing for America Director Mitch Stewart’s signature on the Internet tonight. more

The Feds Bad Year

2010-10-09T19:45:00.000-04:00

October 9, 2010
Dear Campaign for Liberty member,

It was bound to happen eventually. After printing trillions of dollars out of thin air, the Fed's printing presses finally “broke.”

In a press release last week, the Federal Reserve announced the delay of the new $100 bill after they discovered an error in the printing process.

While it isn't going to slow them down for long, it's just another item on a list of things that have gone wrong for the Federal Reserve over the past year.

Two years ago, most Americans knew little - to absolutely nothing - about the Federal Reserve, and that's the way the Fed liked it. However, times have changed.

And it's all because of you.

When we embarked on the challenge to Audit the Fed, no one, least of all the folks at the Federal Reserve, could have predicted how far it would go.

For over 30 years, Congressman Paul has attempted to open up the Federal Reserve and shed sunlight on its books. Never before had his bill made it out of committee, let alone received a roll call vote in both houses of Congress.

Even though the final audit included in the Dodd/Frank bill was more of a fig leaf to cover up Fed-loving congressmen than a real gain for liberty or transparency, it shows just how frightened the Fed and its enablers are becoming of a citizen outrage.

Thanks to your efforts, the Federal Reserve is now a household name and most people now recognize its actions as a cause of the recession rather than a solution, and its actions are frequently scrutinized in the media. No longer can the Federal Reserve go about its daily business without people asking questions.

Because of you, 80% of Americans are now in favor of a full audit of the Federal Reserve.

It wasn't easy for the Fed to water down the audit. It took everything they had, including hiring a powerful and well connected ex-Enron lobbyist and circulating letters signed by so-called “renowned economists” who made it sound as if we would bring on the apocalypse itself if the Fed were subjected to an audit.

Even the Obama administration was forced to come out in opposition to the audit to help the Fed save face.

Due to the immense pressure from grassroots activists, Ben Bernanke was reconfirmed with the lowest vote of any Fed Chairman.

Together, we were able to put senators and representatives on the record as being either for or against transparency at our nation's central bank.

With your continued support, Campaign for Liberty will put federal candidates on the record for sound money and auditing the Federal Reserve with our Federal Candidate Survey Program.
You can see how your candidates answered the Federal Candidate Survey by visiting your state page on our website.
If the candidates in your area haven't yet filled out our survey, call their campaign today and ask them to return Campaign for Liberty's Federal Candidate Survey.
The liberty movement looked the Federal Reserve in the eye, and for a change, we made it blink.

We've given the Federal Reserve a rough time over the past year. Let's keep up the pressure!

In Liberty,

John Tate
President

From Baron Hill - Town Hall Meeting

2010-07-23T20:24:00.002-04:00

I would like to invite you to participate in an interactive telephone town hall meeting where I can hear your concerns directly from you this Monday evening, July 26, 2010, at 7:00 PM EDT. Because of Indiana law regarding unsolicited phone calls, in order to join the call Ninth District residents must complete an online form at http://indiana09townhall.com/. If you need assistance completing the form, know someone who doesn’t have access to a computer but would like to participate or have questions, please contact our Washington office at 202.225.5315. The form is also available on the homepage of my web site, http://baronhill.house.gov/.
Once you have completed the form, you will receive a confirmation email indicating that your number has been registered in our system to receive a call inviting you to join the live discussion. You will then receive a phone call from me on Monday, July 26, 2010, at 7:00 PM EDT inviting you to participate in the call.
I would certainly appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to let me know your thoughts and concerns, and how I can best represent you. I hope to have as many constituents as possible participate in this telephone town hall. I appreciate you taking the time to read this and hope you will join the call.

Sincerely,

Baron Hill

The Bottom Line on Natural Born Citizen

2010-04-25T09:55:00.000-04:00

By JB Williams Wednesday, April 21, 2010
I write this follow up in response to reader mail regarding my column DC Knows that Obama is Ineligible for Office.

Health Care and the Constitution

2010-04-07T18:39:00.001-04:00

Article from WallBuilders

An Insightful Article About Obama!

2010-02-20T13:28:00.000-05:00

Article from the Wall Street Journal
by Eddie Sessions:

"I have this theory about Barack Obama. I think he's led a kind of make-believe life in which money was provided and doors were opened because at some point early on somebody or some group took a look at this tall, good looking, half-white, half-black, young man with an exotic African/Muslim name and concluded he could be guided toward a life in politics where his facile speaking skills could even put him in the White House.

In a very real way, he has been a young man in a very big hurry. Who else do you know has written two memoirs before the age of 45? "Dreams of Father" was published in 1995 when he was only 34 years old. The "Audacity of Hope" followed in 2006. If, indeed, he did write them himself. There are some who think that his mentor and friend, Bill Ayers, a man who calls himself a "communist with a small 'c'" was the real author.

His political skills consisted of rarely voting on anything that might be deemed controversial.. He went from a legislator in the Illinois legislature to the Senator from that state because he had the good fortune of having Mayor Daley's formidable political machine at his disposal. He was in the U.S. Senate so briefly that his bid for the presidency was either an act of astonishing self-confidence or part of some greater game plan that had been determined before he first stepped foot in the Capital. How, many must wonder, was he selected to be a 2004 keynote speaker at the Democrat convention that nominated John Kerry when virtually no one had ever even heard of him before?

He outmaneuvered Hillary Clinton in primaries. He took Iowa by storm. A charming young man, an anomaly in the state with a very small black population, he oozed "cool" in a place where agriculture was the antithesis of cool. He dazzled the locals. And he had an army of volunteers drawn to a charisma that hid any real substance.

And then he had the great good fortune of having the Republicans select one of the most inept candidates for the presidency since Bob Dole. And then John McCain did something crazy. He picked Sarah Palin, an unknown female governor from the very distant state of Alaska. It was a ticket that was reminiscent of 1984's Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro and they went down to defeat.

The mainstream political media fell in love with him. It was a schoolgirl crush with febrile commentators like Chris Mathews swooning then and now over the man. The venom directed against McCain and, in particular, Palin, was extraordinary.

Now, nearly a full year into his first term, all of those gilded years leading up to the White House have left him unprepared to be President. Left to his own instincts, he has a talent for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. It swiftly became a joke that he could not deliver even the briefest of statements without the ever-present Tele-Prompters.

Far worse, however, is his capacity to want to "wish away" some terrible realities, not the least of which is the Islamist intention to destroy America and enslave the West. Any student of history knows how swiftly Islam initially spread. It knocked on the doors of Europe, having gained a foothold in Spain .

The great crowds that greeted him at home or on his campaign "world tour" were no substitute for having even the slightest grasp of history and the reality of a world filled with really bad people with really bad intentions.

Oddly and perhaps even inevitably, his political experience, a cakewalk, has positioned him to destroy the Democrat Party's hold on power in Congress because in the end it was never about the Party. It was always about his communist ideology, learned at an early age from family, mentors, college professors, and extreme leftist friends and colleagues.

Obama is a man who could deliver a snap judgment about a Boston police officer who arrested an "obstreperous" Harvard professor-friend, but would warn Americans against "jumping to conclusions" about a mass murderer at Fort Hood who shouted "Allahu Akbar." The absurdity of that was lost on no one. He has since compounded this by calling the Christmas bomber "an isolated extremist" only to have to admit a day or two later that he was part of an al Qaeda plot.

He is a man who could strive to close down our detention facility at Guantanamo even though those released were known to have returned to the battlefield against America. He could even instruct his Attorney General to afford the perpetrator of 9/11 a civil trial when no one else would ever even consider such an obscenity. And he is a man who could wait three days before having anything to say about the perpetrator of yet another terrorist attack on Americans and then have to elaborate on his remarks the following day because his first statement was so lame.

The pattern repeats itself. He either blames any problem on the Bush administration or he naively seeks to wish away the truth.

Knock, knock. Anyone home? Anyone there? Barack Obama exists only as the sock puppet of his handlers, of the people who have maneuvered and manufactured this pathetic individual's life.

When anyone else would quickly and easily produce a birth certificate, this man has spent over a million dollars to deny access to his. Most other documents, the paper trail we all leave in our wake, have been sequestered from review. He has lived a make-believe life whose true facts remain hidden.

We laugh at the ventriloquist's dummy, but what do you do when the dummy is President of the United States of America?”

Who is Rashad Hussain? ,by Cal Thomas

2010-02-20T13:23:00.000-05:00

By Cal Thomas
President Obama's appointment of Rashad Hussain, his deputy associate counsel, as special envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the second largest inter-governmental organization after the United Nations, charged with safeguarding and protecting "the interests of the Muslim world," should be of serious concern to Congress and the American public. Especially since Hussain, a devout Muslim, has a history of participating in events connected with the Muslim Brotherhood, according to the Chicago Tribune, "the world's most influential Islamic fundamentalist group" whose goal is to create Muslim states throughout the world.
In 1991, a memo written by Mohamed Akram for the Shura Council of the Muslim Brotherhood spelled out the objective of the organization. Akram said the Muslim Brotherhood "must understand that their work in America is a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and 'sabotaging' its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God's religion is made victorious over all other religions." I am unable to find any "revelation" that has repealed that objective. Quite the contrary. Terrorists seem on track for implementing it.
The president proudly announced that Hussain is a Hafiz, someone who has completely memorized the Qur'an, but he did not spell out what qualifies Hussain to meet with foreign leaders at a diplomatic level in a role that approximates that of an ambassador. According to Jihad Watch, a blog directed by American author Robert Spencer, which "aims to bring to public attention the role of jihad theology and ideology in the modern world," Hussain's ties to the Muslim Brotherhood date back to his days at Yale Law School.

Ask yourself: If you or your group were interested in damaging or destroying the United States, wouldn't infiltration at every possible level of government and culture be an effective strategy? You would build your schools and mosques, some of which teach and preach Jihad; you would penetrate the government; you would demand special rights because of your religion -- such as no body scanners for Muslim travelers at airports and prayer rooms and foot washing facilities at shopping malls; you would seek to change the foreign policy of the United States because you hate Israel and all Jews (and those "cross-worshipping" Christians) and you would dare the U.S. government to monitor your speeches and associations because you want to keep America's guard lower than it would be for, say, a spy from communist China.
This was roughly the plot of the creepy movie, "The Manchurian Candidate" in which a crazed woman uses her brainwashed son to help her overthrow the U.S. government so that she might impose her ideology on the country. Unlike the film, this plot is real.
As expected, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, described as America's largest Muslim civil liberties organization, is thrilled with Hussain's appointment. In a statement, CAIR said Hussain "will be in a position to strengthen positive outreach to the Islamic world and will be able to provide the president with direct access to the views and concerns of Muslims worldwide." Is there anyone in the dark about those "views and concerns"? Haven't they been pretty obvious for the last, oh, 40 years? Don't they regularly tell us in their newspaper editorials, TV commentaries, sermons and actions?
In an age of terrorism when the president's own chief counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, compares released terrorists who return to Jihad with released American criminals who return to crime, it is unsettling to see someone with Hussain's background representing the United States to nations that may harbor or fund terrorists and want to destroy Israel and America.
It is unfortunate that the U.S. Senate is not required to confirm special envoys. Hussain should be asked about his ideology and associations. If he is to represent America, he should represent what America stands for and not a personal ideological or religious agenda that is not just un-American, but anti-American.

Look what they're erasing from U.S. history!

2010-02-20T13:21:00.000-05:00

American heroes could get swapped for hip-hop culture in textbooks
________________________________________
Posted: February 11, 2010
12:50 am Eastern
By Chelsea Schilling
© 2010 WorldNetDaily
A state board of only 15 people will vote on whether to revise U.S. textbooks to omit references to Daniel Boone, Gen. George Patton, Nathan Hale, Columbus Day and Christmas.
The Texas State Board of Education will also vote on a proposal to substitute the term "American" with "global citizen."
Mathew Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, is warning Americans to speak up before only eight people, with a majority vote, have a chance to literally rewrite American history.
He appeared on the "Huckabee Show" to explain why the board's vote matters to the rest of America. Staver said Texas and California are the two largest textbook purchasers in the nation.
"Whatever textbooks they select affect the rest of the country because publishers publish those kinds of books, and the rest of the country follows," he said.
But because of California's budget crisis, the state hasn't been able to purchase as many new textbooks, he explained. So the default is Texas.
"So when this 15-member board – eight people of that will make a majority – make a decision, it will affect the entire nation," Staver said.
Those eight people could decide what children will learn in various other parts of the country.
(Story continues below)

According to Liberty Counsel, some of the suggestions that have come forward at various times include:
• Removing references to Daniel Boone, General George Patton, Nathan Hale, Columbus Day and Christmas.
• Including the cultural impact of hip-hop music, ACLU lawyer Clarence Darrow and the Hindu holiday of Diwali.
• Replacing the term "American" with "global citizen" – stating that students need to be shaped "for responsible citizenship in a global society" without any mention of citizenship in American society.
• Replacing expansionism and free enterprise with imperialism and capitalism.
Staver said one proposal suggests the name of Nathan Hale, a patriot of the American Revolutionary War, be removed and replaced with the name of a man who invented fireman helmets. He also said one proposal suggests removal of references to Independence Day.
"Those are no good anymore," Staver told Mike Huckabee. "America is looked at, not as some country that gave liberty and freedom to others around the world, but as a global villain."
He warns, one proposal suggests take the Declaration of Independence and literally erasing God from its Preamble.
"A lot of the history – particularly religious history or patriotic history and American exceptionalism – all of that will simply be removed if people around the country don't speak up," he said.
Cynthia Dunbar, an elected member of the board and assistant professor at Liberty University School of Law, said, "James Madison warned us that when error is allowed to become steeped in precedent it leads to tyranny. If an erroneous view of our American heritage is allowed to stand, that view will be even more entrenched when we revisit this issue again in 10 years. Since the board consists of only 15 members, the decision of eight individuals may determine what goes into textbooks on a national level; it is crucial that the voices of patriotic Americans be heard."
The board's next meeting is in March, and the final reading and adoption of the social studies guidelines will be in May.
Note: Concerned individuals may call or fax board members or e-mail the Texas State Board of Education.

FIREARMS REFRESHER COURSE

2010-02-20T13:19:00.001-05:00

1. "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." ~Thomas Jefferson

2. Those who trade liberty for security have neither. ~John Adams
3. Free men do not ask permission to bear arms.

4. An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject.

5. Only a government that is afraid of its citizens tries to control them.

6. Gun control is not about guns; it's about control.

7. You only have the rights you are willing to fight for.

8. Know guns, know peace, know safety. No guns, no peace, no safety.

9. You don't shoot to kill; you shoot to stay alive.

10. Assault is a behavior, not a device.

11. 64,999,987 firearms owners killed no one yesterday.

12. The United States Constitution (c) 1791. All Rights Reserved.

13. The Second Amendment is in place in case the politicians ignore the others.

14. What part of 'shall not be infringed' do you NOT understand?

15. Guns have only two enemies; rust and politicians.

16. When you remove the people's right to bear arms, you create slaves.

17. The American Revolution would never have happened with gun control.

TAXES

2010-02-20T13:17:00.001-05:00

545 vs. 300,000,000
EVERY CITIZEN NEEDS TO READ THIS AND THINK ABOUT WHAT THIS JOURNALIST HAS SCRIPTED IN THIS MESSAGE. READ IT AND THEN REALLY THINK ABOUT OUR CURRENT POLITICAL DEBACLE.

Charley Reese has been a journalist for 49 years.

545 PEOPLE
by Charlie Reese

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do 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 equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 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 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 legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.

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 a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President 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 and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? Nancy Pelosi. She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the 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 Army &Marines are in IRAQ, it's because they want them in IRAQ

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.

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 this power.. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists 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 the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.

We should vote all of em out of office and clean up their mess!

Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.

What you do with this article now that you have it.......... Is up to you.

This might be funny if it weren't so darned true.
Be sure to read all the way to the end:

Tax his land,
Tax his bed,
Tax the table
At which he's fed.

Tax his tractor,
Tax his mule,
Teach him taxes
Are the rule.

Tax his work,
Tax his pay,
He works for peanuts
Anyway!
Tax his cow,
Tax his goat,
Tax his pants,
Tax his coat.
Tax his ties,
Tax his shirt,
Tax his work,
Tax his dirt.

Tax his tobacco,
Tax his drink,
Tax him if he
Tries to think.

Tax his cigars,
Tax his beers,
If he cries
Tax his tears.

Tax his car,
Tax his gas,
Find other ways
To tax his ass.

Tax all he has
Then let him know
That you won't be done
Till he has no dough.

When he screams and hollers;
Then tax him some more,
Tax him till
He's good and sore.
Then tax his coffin,
Tax his grave,
Tax the sod in
Which he's laid.

Put these words
Upon his tomb,
Taxes drove me
to my doom...'

When he's gone,
Do not relax,
Its time to apply
The inheritance tax.

Healthcare tax

Energy tax (Cap & Trade)

War tax (proposed)
Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL license Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Excise Taxes
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon)
Gross Receipts Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Personal Property Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service Charge T ax
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax
Sales Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Ser vice FeeTax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY? Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, and our nation was the most prosperous in the world. We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.
What in the hell happened? Can you spell 'politicians?'
And I still have to 'press 1' for English!?

I hope this goes around THE USA at least 100 times!!! YOU can help it get there!!!
GO AHEAD - - - BE AN AMERICAN!!!

Should Ex-Felons Be Allowed to Vote?

2010-02-16T16:00:00.000-05:00

If you're a U.S. citizen over the age of 18, you have the right to vote.

If you're convicted of a felony, you could have that right taken away — but it all depends on where you live.

In Kentucky, you'll lose the right to vote forever. In Wisconsin, you'll only get it back after you've finished probation and parole. In Vermont, you can mail your ballot from prison.

Civil-rights groups are pushing back against some of the tighter restrictions with lawsuits, most recently with a successful case in Washington state.

Read more about the arguments for and against letting felons vote.

The approaches of different states can be radically different.

Read more about Vermont, Kentucky, Alabama and Washington state.

Stop the Unconstitutional, Jobs-Killing, EPA Regulation of Carbon Dioxide

2010-01-31T11:20:00.003-05:00

Just in time to bolster President Obama's "green" credentials at the UN Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson announced on December 7, 2009: "Today I'm proud to announce that EPA has finalized its endangerment finding on greenhouse gas pollution and is now authorized and obligated to make reasonable efforts to reduce greenhouse pollutants under the Clean Air Act" (view video).

So, even though the cap and trade energy tax bill was stalled in the U.S. Senate, President Obama was able to point to the EPA announcement in Copenhagen to show the commitment of the U.S. government to take measures to reduce greenhouse gases as part of the whole global warming/climate change charade being participated in by our political, academic, and news media elites.

Fortunately, there is a movement in Congress to prohibit the EPA from regulating carbon dioxide and other so-called greenhouse gases. There are two bills in the House and one proposed amendment in the Senate to do just this. The first bill in the House is H.R. 391 which was introduced by Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) on January 9, 2009 and which currently has 151 cosponsors. The second bill in the House is H.R. 4396 which was introduced by Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.) on December 16, 2009. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Ala.) has taken a different approach in the Senate with a resolution, which is supported by 35 Republicans and three Democrats so far, that could be used as an amendment and attached to the bill of her choice or introduced as a standalone bill.

Contact your representative and senators and tell them to "stop the unconstitutional, jobs-killing, EPA regulation of carbon dioxide."

Thanks.

Your friends at The John Birch Society

Dear Fellow Citizens and Taxpayers,

2010-01-31T11:06:00.001-05:00

I contemplated responding to the President's state of the union address, but then I remembered, I actually understand "We the People" - and, responding to someone who does not - is really a waste of my time.

So now the question becomes - What would I say if addressing the nation?...

My fellow Americans - it has been a challenging first year in this new presidency.

- We have seen failed companies bought with our money and propped up in the name of "too big to fail."
- We have seen hundreds of billions of dollars wasted to "stimulate" the economy without taking into account any fundamental principles of free markets, and therefore having no impact.
- We have seen Cap and Trade legislation passed in the House that seeks to wage a war on freedom and prosperity based on fake science.
- We have seen requests for you to turn your friends and family in to the White House.
- We have seen healthcare legislation introduced that was so hated by the American people that Congressmen were offered bribes and loopholes simply to get their vote. But, the bill still wasn't palatable to special interests, so completely unequal treatment was offered to unions in the hope of gaining more support.

These are not the only things. These are the highlights.

I propose a brave new course of action designed with outcomes in mind, not intentions.

Free Markets
1. This government must stop trying to control the economy through the Federal Reserve by manipulating interest rates outside market conditions in the hopes of steering the economy. The market can't be controlled in this way.

Artificial market conditions always lead to long term failure and clearly this lesson has not been learned under any of the recent administrations. They are perpetuating a boom-bust cycle.

2. This government must stop increasing the money supply in the name of liquidity in credit markets. Making money too easy to obtain is a primary reason why individuals and businesses find themselves in a state of dependency upon disproportionate amounts of credit.

We cannot fix behaviors by feeding the very addiction that created the problem. It only serves to perpetuate long term recession and devaluation of the currency.

3. This government must take an appropriate role in contract law. It is not the proper role of government to intervene in private contracts between businesses and consumers in the name of consumer protection by destroying lawful credit or mortgage contracts simply in the name of "fairness."

Subversion of contract law is effectively a subversion of private property rights. Subversion of these rights is a declaration of war on Liberty itself.

4. This government must stop favoring certain industries and businesses over others. Moral legislation in the form of cap and trade, attempting to save the planet from "global warming" without consideration of the consequences or scientific data that says otherwise is either painfully irresponsible or blatantly malicious.

Equally irresponsible are the excessive subsidies, taxes and regulations given to certain sectors but not others in the hopes of playing economic engineer from Washington.

In short - the government's job is not to build business and create wealth. Tempered regulation of the economy is all that is needed from government in the economy.

Fiscal Responsibility
1. The government must stop spending more than it brings in. Every business and individual understands this course of action always results in destruction.

2. If the government can't balance a budget, then it must cut programs and departments. This is not a difficult concept, and is only complicated by the lack of political fortitude shown by both Republicans and Democrats.

The Republicans had their chance and failed miserably - actually expanding government and programs. The Democrats have their chance again and have responded by increasing most government departments in size, scope and influence.

This lack of political fortitude is exacerbated by too many bureaucrats who control departments without accountability, too many lobbyists without transparency and a general elitism from both parties that preservation through their respective political machines is more important than wisdom based in principle.

3. A tax system built on disproportionate numbers of people carrying the highest loads of responsibility while those not contributing receive a disproportionate benefit from the system is in a word - destructive.

Taxation is a matter of morality. It is a forced removal of personal property, only barely acceptable as a means for civil society and commerce to function. Disproportionate taxation is immoral, even laughing in the face of those who espouse the doctrine of equality.

Creating a system whereby the benefactor, without investment, becomes the controller of the contributor is unethical, immoral and an attack on personal liberties.

In simple terms, if those receiving substantial benefit from progressive taxation are in higher numbers than those who are not - we will have a permanent state of dependency on the few (therefore enslavement of those few) with no chance of recourse through a democratic system. We will have created the despotism of administrators or tyranny by rule of law.

4. We can't increase the number of commitments to any program, of any kind, let alone create new ones, without first addressing the crisis at hand. Entitlement programs in the form of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security are the top three line items on the Federal budget. Number four is payment on our National Debt, followed in fifth by the military.

Something is terribly wrong when payment on our debt is such a burden to Americans, and our yearly budget, that it receives more tax revenue than the military, education or anything else except entitlement programs. Where does the money go? We've found it.

Stop increasing the debt, pay it down - reform departments, programs and don't create new ones - at all. This is not that hard.

The question of increasing or decreasing taxation wouldn't be as big of a problem if the obligations weren't so great. Decrease the obligations and you don't need as much money.

You don't need as much money and you don't have to worry about taxes so much. You don't worry about taxes so much - personal wealth grows, businesses flourish, jobs are plentiful, the market is balanced.

Stop sucking money from the private sector to contribute to destroying the economy.

Limited Government
1. To quote a contribution by the leader of our Indian Hill group - "The proper role of government is to protect equal rights, not to provide equal things through the redistribution of wealth. Personal responsibility is an important part of citizenship."

Liberty and equality are not the same. Liberty demands that men begin life equal to every other while character and accomplishment define their stature moving forward. Government should not favor one individual or group over others in an attempt to achieve equality.

Manufacturing equality is not the role of government.

These simple statements speak to the limitations on government's role in our society. Quite simply - it should be very small.

2. The Federal government's power and influence is limited by those things enumerated in the Constitution, and more specifically - the 10th amendment says any powers not explicitly stated in the Constitution come back to the states - CLOSER TO THE PEOPLE.

You see - the founders understood no central body, no matter how well intentioned should have so much power and influence. Because, even Republics (like Rome) built on faith in men's virtue will fail. No man is flawless and immune to temptation; therefore we must not give them opportunity to fail.

We must return to this idea of federalism - the idea of states first. For only by focusing on our states, and our counties and neighbors can we take back the personal responsibility needed to curb this disastrous course of action. We must be local, for without local responsibility- we seek dependence and entitlement. We do not want a nanny state, so lets prevent it.

The only way to do that is cut the strings from the federal government. We must focus on our state first. To fix our state through federalism, we must diminish the power of Washington, defund it and make it once again responsible only for those things the Constitution gives it power to do.

3. Hence the importance of adhering to the law and being mindful to make sure that laws aren't too burdensome or complex. There is a certain absurdity to 2000 page bills and 50,000 page tax codes.

Arbitrary changes to laws and origination of new ones should not be the primary role of government. Government's primary role is to preserve liberty, so laws should be simple and transparent when necessary.

In all of the history of the world, it was not a small or restricted government that oppressed and controlled people, thoughts or actions. The greater the governments' scope of influence, the greater the danger to personal liberty.

Big government makes small people.

These concepts are both conservative and classically liberal, but are not values shared on the left. Its neither Republican nor Democrat - its common sense, something both significantly lack.

In conclusion, you will notice I have not laid out lots of things we should do. I talked about things we shouldn't. A government by definition is a restriction to liberty and only acceptable for the preservation of civil society. We must weaken government's influence across all parts of life.

We must seek to bring back this balance, so legislation must defund and deconstruct the beast we have built in our state and nation. Statesmen are needed, not politicians to do the work of We the People. We'll trust you again when you've earned our trust. Thus far you have not shown this ability.

So, we have taken this task upon ourselves: the great re-engagement of the American Spirit. It wasn't dead - just busy. You have awoken this sleeping giant and you should be aware of the consequences.

The state of union is ALERT and ENGAGED. Elected officials - ignore this new status to your own peril. Last chance.

Yes, in case you were wondering, that's a warning!

God bless our great republic!

Chris Littleton
Cincinnati Tea Party

The Heisman Trophy Winner Who Almost Wasn't

2010-01-27T18:48:00.002-05:00

Posted By Bobby Eberle On January 27, 2010

The career of University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow is one of legend. Not only did he win the Heisman Trophy, college football's highest honor, as a sophomore, he was in the running for it during his junior and senior years as well. He led the Gators to two national championships and has displayed honor and integrity at every turn.

But all of his accomplishments and all of his success could have been wiped out completely had Tim's mother Pam Tebow not chosen life. During a mission trip, an infection led doctors to recommend that Pam Tebow have an abortion to avoid the risk of her own death during childbirth. She chose life, and now her story will be told in the form of a Super Bowl ad. Rather than celebrating the ad as a "success" story, some so-called women's groups are blasting the ad and urging CBS to ban it.

As noted in a story on FOXNews.com college football great Tim Tebow and his mom Pam "will appear in a pro-life commercial that tells the story of his risky birth 22 years ago -- an ad that critics suggest could lead to anti-abortion violence, even though none of them have seen it."
It's a happy story with an inspirational ending, but pro-choice critics say Focus on the Family should not be allowed to air the commercial because it advocates on behalf of a divisive issue and threatens to "throw women under the bus."

"This organization is extremely intolerant and divisive and pushing an un-American agenda," said Jehmu Greene, director of the Women's Media Center, which is coordinating a campaign to force CBS to pull the ad before it airs on Feb. 7.

Extremely intolerant and divisive and pushing an un-American agenda? This is how this person describes Pam's decision to give birth rather than ending a human life? Talk about intolerant! According to groups such as this, it's perfectly fine to advocate for funds, literature, and media for ending human life. But when someone actually chooses to SAVE A LIFE that is intolerant and un-American? I see.

According to the web site NotUnderTheBus.com, which is sponsored by the Women's Media Center, "The Women's Media Center, and organizations dedicated to reproductive rights, tolerance, and social justice, are urging the network to immediately cancel this ad."

First of all, I am pro-life. I think a human life should be protected and afforded basic human rights regardless of age. That's where I stand. As the law is currently written, such protections do not completely exist and the "choice" now exists to give birth to a baby or end it's life in the womb. So be it. What really burns me up is the fact that this organization and others like it claim to represent reproductive "rights," but they scream and go into convulsions whenever a woman CHOOSES life over an abortion. What's pathetic is that groups such as this who claim to support "social justice" aren't shouting at the tops of their lungs in SUPPORT of concepts such as adoption. Wouldn't it be better to give the child to a loving family who wants it rather than simply advocating abortion.

I guess that's what sums up my disdain for these groups. They don't advocate choice as much as they advocate abortion. People choose life all the time, yet these groups treat supporters of life as the anti-Christ. They are pro-abortion... not pro-choice.

As noted in the Fox News story, Tim Tebow responded to the controversy while talking with reporters:

"I know some people won't agree with it, but I think they can at least respect that I stand up for what I believe," he said. "[T]hat's the reason I'm here, because my mom was a very courageous woman. So any way that I could help, I would do it."

Because Pam Tebow chose life, she has a son who is an inspiration to all.

Another Failed Presidency

2010-01-27T10:24:00.001-05:00

The following is an interesting article, and I wonder how long Dr. Hunt can remain at NIH once the powers that be get wind of this article.

Dr. Hunt is a social and cultural anthropologist. He has had nearly 30 years experience in planning, conducting, and managing research in the field of youth studies, and drug and alcohol research. Currently, Dr. Hunt is a Senior Research Scientist at the Institute for Scientific Analysis and the Principal Investigator on three National Institutes of Health projects. He is also a writer for American Thinker.

Subject: Another Failed Presidency

An article from American Thinker by Geoffrey P. Hunt

Barack Obama is on track to have the most spectacularly failed presidency since Woodrow Wilson. In the modern era, we've seen several failed presidencies--led by Jimmy Carter and LBJ. Failed presidents have one strong common trait-- they are repudiated, in the vernacular, spat out. Of course, LBJ wisely took the exit ramp early, avoiding a shove into oncoming traffic by his own party. Richard Nixon indeed resigned in disgrace, yet his reputation as a statesman has been partially restored by his triumphant overture to China 20.

But, Barack Obama is failing. Failing big. Failing fast. And failing everywhere: foreign policy, domestic initiatives, and most importantly, in forging connections with the American people. The incomparable Dorothy Rabinowitz in the Wall Street Journal put her finger on it: He is failing because he has no understanding of the American people, and may indeed loathe them. Fred Barnes of the Weekly Standard says he is failing because he has lost control of his message, and is overexposed. Clarice Feldman of American Thinker produced a dispositive commentary showing that Obama is failing because fundamentally he is neither smart nor articulate; his intellectual dishonesty is conspicuous by its audacity and lack of shame.

But, there is something more seriously wrong: How could a new president riding in on a wave of unprecedented promise and goodwill have forfeited his tenure and become a lame duck in six months? His poll ratings are in free fall. In generic balloting, the Republicans have now seized a five point advantage. This truly is unbelievable. What's going on?

No narrative. Obama doesn't have a narrative. No, not a narrative about himself. He has a self-narrative, much of it fabricated, cleverly disguised or written by someone else. But this self-narrative is isolated and doesn't connect with us. He doesn't have an American narrative that draws upon the rest of us. All successful presidents have a narrative about the American character that intersects with their own where they display a command of history and reveal an authenticity at the core of their personality that resonates in a positive endearing way with the majority of Americans. We admire those presidents whose narratives not only touch our own, but who seem stronger, wiser, and smarter than we are. Presidents we admire are NOT aspirational peers, even those whose politics don't align exactly with our own: Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, Harry Truman, Ike, and Reagan.

But not this president. It's not so much that he's a phony, knows
nothing about economics, and is historically illiterate and woefully small minded for the size of the task--all contributory of course. It's that his agenda is against everything that made this country successful. And whatever he is, his profile is fuzzy and devoid of content, like a cardboard cutout made from elaminated corrugated paper. Moreover, he doesn't command our respect and is unable to appeal to our own common sense. His notions of right and wrong are repugnant and how things work just don't add up. They are not existential. His descriptions of the world we live in don't make sense and don't correspond with our experience.

In the meantime, while we've been struggling to take a measurement of this man, he's disused just about every one of us--financiers, energy producers, banks, insurance executives, police officers, doctors, nurses, hospital administrators, post office workers, and anybody else who has a non-green job. Expect Obama to lament at his last press conference in 2012: "For those of you I offended, I apologize. For those of you who were not offended, you just didn't give me enough time; if only I'd had a second term, I could have offended you too."

Mercifully, the Founders at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 devised a useful remedy for such a desperate state--staggered terms for both houses of the legislature and the executive. An equally abominable Congress can get voted out next year. With a new Congress, there's always hope of legislative gridlock until we vote for president again two short years after that.

Yes, small presidents do fail, Barack Obama among them. The coyotes howl but the wagon train keeps rolling along.

Margaret Thatcher: "The trouble with Socialism is, sooner or later you run out of other people's money."

"When you subsidize poverty and failure, you get more of both." - James Dale Davidson, National Taxpayers Union

"The more corrupt the state, the more it legislates." - Tacitus

"A Liberal is a person who will give away everything he doesn't own." - Unknown Author

What Scott Brown's win means for the Democrats

2010-01-25T14:54:00.000-05:00

What Scott Brown's win means for the Democrats

Independence Caucus

2010-01-17T18:51:00.002-05:00

would like to call your attention to an I-caucus blog post made today by a relatively new member of I-caucus, Anita Moncrief.

Anita was the "whistle blower" who first went public with her first hand knowledge of ACORN and exposed their corrupt accounting practices and rampant voter fraud, and Anita's first blog post here on our NING site is about ACORN in Massachusetts and how the Scott Brown election fits in. Here's the link:

http://icaucus.ning.com/profiles/blogs/will-acorns-leftist-agenda-be

I-caucus believes that the way that Anita stood up for her personal integrity and principles during her time at ACORN speaks volumes about her character, and we are glad to see her here at I-caucus.

I-caucus further believes that doing what Anita tried to do internally while still at ACORN as a member of their team...i.e. calling on the leaders at ACORN to change their corrupt ways...was even more of a testimony to her charachter than the
"whistle-blowing" that came afterward.

Thanks,
Frank
Visit Independence Caucus at: http://icaucus.ning.com

KRAUTHAMMER: A YEAR AGO HE WAS KING OF THE WORLD…WHAT HAPPENED?

2010-01-17T10:44:00.000-05:00

http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=518161
System Takes Its Revenge On 2009’s King
By CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER
What went wrong? A year ago, he was king of the world.
Now President Obama’s approval rating, according to CBS, has dropped to 46% — and his disapproval rating is the highest ever recorded by Gallup at the beginning of an (elected) president’s second year.
A year ago, he was leader of a liberal ascendancy that would last 40 years (James Carville). A year ago, conservatism was dead (Sam Tanenhaus).
Now the race to fill Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat in bluest of blue Massachusetts is surprisingly close, with a virtually unknown state senator bursting on the scene by turning the election into a mini-referendum on Obama and his agenda, most particularly health care reform.
A year ago, Obama was the most charismatic politician on earth. Today the thrill is gone, the doubts growing — even among erstwhile believers.
Liberals try to attribute Obama’s political decline to matters of style. He’s too cool, detached, uninvolved. He’s not tough, angry or aggressive enough with opponents. He’s contracted out too much of his agenda to Congress.
These stylistic and tactical complaints may be true, but they miss the major point: The reason for today’s vast discontent, presaged by spontaneous national Tea Party opposition, is not that Obama is too cool or compliant but that he’s too left.
It’s not about style; it’s about substance. About which Obama has been admirably candid. This out-of-nowhere, least-known of presidents dropped the veil most dramatically in the single most important political event of 2009, his Feb. 24 first address to Congress.
With remarkable political honesty and courage, Obama unveiled the most radical (in American terms) ideological agenda since the New Deal: the fundamental restructuring of three pillars of American society — health care, education and energy.
Then began the descent — when, more amazingly still, Obama devoted himself to turning these statist visions into legislative reality. First energy, with cap-and-trade, an unprecedented federal intrusion into American industry and commerce. It got through the House, with its Democratic majority and Supreme Soviet-style rules. But it will never get out of the Senate.
Then, the keystone: a health care revolution in which the federal government will regulate in crushing detail one-sixth of the U.S. economy.
By essentially abolishing medical underwriting (actuarially based risk assessment) and replacing it with government fiat, ObamaCare turns the health insurance companies into utilities, their every significant move dictated by government regulators.
The public option was a sideshow. As many on the right have long been arguing, and as the more astute on the left (such as the New Yorker’s James Surowiecki) understand, ObamaCare is government health care by proxy, single-payer through a facade of nominally “private” insurers.
At first, health care reform was sustained politically by Obama’s own popularity. But then gravity took hold, and ObamaCare’s profound unpopularity dragged him down with it. After 29 speeches and a fortune in squandered political capital, it still will not sell.
The health care drive is the most important reason Obama has sunk to 46%. But this reflects something larger. In the end, what matters is not the persona but the agenda. In a country where politics is fought between the 40-yard lines, Obama has insisted on pushing hard for the 30.
And the American people — disorganized and unled but nonetheless agitated and mobilized — have put up a stout defense somewhere just left of midfield.
Ideas matter. Legislative proposals matter. Slick campaigns and dazzling speeches can work for a while, but the magic always wears off.
It’s inherently risky for any charismatic politician to legislate. To act is to choose and to choose is to disappoint the expectations of many who had poured their hopes into the empty vessel — of which candidate Obama was the greatest representative in recent American political history.
Obama did not just act, however. He acted ideologically. To his credit, Obama didn’t just come to Washington to be someone. Like Reagan, he came to Washington to do something — to introduce a powerful social democratic stream into America’s deeply and historically individualist polity.
Perhaps Obama thought he’d been sent to the White House to do just that. If so, he vastly over-read his mandate. His own electoral success — twinned with handy victories and large majorities in both houses of Congress — was a referendum on his predecessor’s governance and the post-Lehman financial collapse. It was not an endorsement of European-style social democracy.
Hence the resistance. Hence the fall. The system may not always work, but it does take its revenge.

Secret negotiations underway to finalize ObamaCare

2010-01-07T09:53:00.001-05:00

From the Desk of:
Steve Elliott, Grassfire Nation

They are doing it again... Reid and Pelosi are holding
secret, backroom meetings to put the final touches on
ObamaCare. I'm done with government working in the
shadows, away from public scrutiny. See below. --Steve

Dear Patriots:

We've just received word that congressional leadership will not
hold formal Conference meetings to resolve the difference between
the House and Senate ObamaCare bills.

They hatched the plan yesterday during a meeting with Obama's team
at the White House. As a result, only a select few will work on
the final ObamaCare legislation -- out of public view, free of
traditional governing rules, and without a single Republican!

And efforts to open these meetings up to the public have been rebuffed.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi responded to a C-SPAN
request to televise the reconciliation process by saying,
"There has never been a more open process for any
legislation," and hinted that keeping the public at bay
is the best way to push the legislation through.

"We will do whatever is necessary to pass the bill,"
Pelosi concluded.

With public opposition to ObamaCare continuing to build, Reid and
Pelosi are determined to use whatever political shenanigans
they can to pass this bill as quickly as possible.

This is utterly despicable.

As an American who dearly loves my country, I cannot stand for
this kind of arrogant disregard for our rules and regulations.

These hearings must be brought to light -- in full view of the
public and following the normal House-Senate procedures. And
we have to be the ones to demand as much!

+ + Their Goal: Keep Us In The Dark And Rush Passage!

It's no secret that Reid, Pelosi and their ilk
are determined to pass ObamaCare in time for the President's
State of the Union Address. That's just a few weeks away.

That is why we have to diligently use the time that remains to
put the ENTIRE Congress on notice demanding these secret
meetings be brought to light.

+ + Fax and Phone Blast to Bring ObamaCare to the Light

I believe tens of thousands of faxes demanding transparency will
cause many to reconsider their actions.

After scheduling your faxes, pick up your phone and call your
lawmakers every day demanding the ObamaCare merger meetings be
brought into full public view.

Urge them to champion the people by opposing ObamaCare, and finally
put them on notice that support of these backroom meetings and
the ObamaCare bill may cost them their jobs!

Go here to find your Representative's and Senators' phone numbers --

Again, we have just a few weeks to take our best action opposing
ObamaCare and the sweeping changes that would affect EVERY American.

Thanks in advance for taking action with Grassfire Nation.

Steve Elliott
Grassfire Nation

NRA News: UN Doomsday Treaty With Ginny Simone

2010-01-07T09:19:00.000-05:00

Everyone should see this. Then the agenda about firearms will be understood.

Bond: Trying Terrorists in Civilian Courts Cripples National Security

2010-01-07T09:14:00.002-05:00

The Obama administration is making a dangerous mistake by trying the Detroit airline bomber in a civilian court, says Sen. Kit Bond, the ranking Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Putting Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab will not only pose a threat to the city in which he’s prosecuted, Bond says, but it also hampers the ability of intelligence professionals to get valuable information.

“We’ve learned the hard way that trying terrorists in a federal court comes at a high price,” said Bond, R-Mo.

“First, we lose out on potential lifesaving intelligence, which we need right now. It also in the past has compromised our sources and methods.”

The terrorists aren’t American citizens who committed burglary or arson, Bond said. “They are enemy combatants in war.”

Bond also opposes closing the prison for terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay, as President Obama has pledged to do. “Based on what we now know, Gitmo is the best place to keep these enemy combatants,” Bond said.

“When you release them, and even worse if you bring them to the United States, that is likely to compromise our national security.”

As more attention is focused on the issue, Bond hopes that enough support will grow on both sides of the Senate aisle to prevent the closing of the Guantanamo Bay facility.

As for Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano’s original contention that the system worked during the attempted terrorism episode, Bond said, “She claims she meant the system worked after they captured the terrorist. But I think that’s just a bad case of hoof-in-mouth disease.”

Bond is confident that Republican and Democrats on the intelligence committee will work well together in pinpointing what went wrong with security measures that allowed a terrorist to come close to blowing up a Detroit-bound airplane.

“There were several screw-ups” in letting Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab board a plane on Christmas Day, the Missouri senator told Newsmax.TV’s Ashley Martella.

“We want to find out … what information was available,” Bond said.

“What did we know from the Brits? What did we know from Abdulmutallab’s father? What did we know about what are alleged to have been intercepts? All of these things were bits and pieces that should have been put together.”

The committee will look at how government agencies interacted, Bond said. “Were the results properly communicated to agencies that should have acted? That’s our major concern.”
The process obviously malfunctioned, Bond said. “Is there somebody who is egregiously at fault, or is the system just not adequate to handle all these points?”

Bond said he is confident in the ability of Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., to conduct a fair, nonpartisan investigation. “She has worked on a very bipartisan basis with us,” he said. “I’m pleased with how the Intelligence Committee is working.”

© Newsmax. All rights reserved.

The Time Has Come

2009-12-19T19:51:00.000-05:00

"It is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth -- and listen to the song of that syren, till she transforms us into beasts. ... Are we disposed to be of the number of those, who having eyes, see not, and having ears, hear not?" --Patrick Henry

The 2008 presidential election was much more than a referendum on the two candidates; it was a referendum on the ability of a majority of Americans voters to discern between one candidate who possessed the character and integrity of a statesman, and one who did not.
A year ago, a majority of our countrymen were hoodwinked into electing a charlatan with dubious credentials to the highest constitutional office in the land. Since then, millions of Americans who had become complacent about the Leftist threat to our liberty have begun to realize that our Constitution is now suffering an unprecedented assault.
There were those of us who realized in 2004 -- back when Teddy Kennedy and John Kerry let him take center stage at the Democrat National Convention -- that Barack Hussein Obama was a Marxist. Nonetheless, too many of our countrymen were lulled into believing that no leftist politico with such abhorrent extra-constitutional views on the role of government could rise to be president of the United States.
The awakening that has occurred since November of '08 is like nothing I have witnessed since the first election of President Ronald Reagan in 1980. After the economic and foreign policy disasters created by the Carter administration, Americans were stirred to action. Yes, the election of Bill Clinton in 1992 resulted in a conservative takeover of the House two years later, but Clinton was far more moderate than Obama, and his election didn't inspire millions of Americans to arm themselves for the first time.
That Obama's election inspired a wave of conservative activism is good news.
The great news is that since last November, millions of Americans have joined our ranks.
And the momentum continues unabated.
I knew we were turning a corner a few months back, when an establishment Republican, typical of most such Republicans, told me that Obama's health care proposal "amounts to socialism." This same fellow told me a year earlier that calling Obama a Socialist was just too severe. When I reminded him of his earlier admonishment, he said simply, "My eyes are now open."
If Barack Obama has given us one thing of value, it is the opportunity to clearly discern between Left and Right, between rule of men and Rule of Law. He is the quintessential socialist, and his domestic and foreign policies present a contrast between tyranny and liberty that has rarely been so apparent. Many who have been hitherto reluctant to rise on behalf of liberty or have been too comfortable to be concerned by such conflict, are now making an ever-louder stand.
Benjamin Franklin aptly noted, "They that can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."
Indeed.
Obama is the personification of Leftist philosophy and dogma, and in a turn of irony, for the clarity he has provided to that end we owe him a debt of gratitude.
Despite the fact that the Leftists in media and academia have had a stranglehold on public opinion, seating one of their own as president, which they believe is a great prize, may well be their undoing.
The once noble Democrat Party is now led by those who have turned the wisdom of their iconic leaders upside down.
Then: "My fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country." --John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, 1961
Now: "Ask not what you can do for your country, ask what your country can do for you."
Then: "I have a dream that my children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." --Martin Luther King, Address from the Lincoln Memorial, 1963
Now: "I have a dream that my children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the content of their character but by the color of their skin."
Today, Democrat Party Leftists deride the notion of individual rights. Instead, they advocate the supplanting of individual liberty with statism.
They promote the notion of a living constitution rather than the authentic Constitution our Founders established.
They despise free enterprise and advocate socialist redistribution of wealth, the ultimate goal of which is to render all people equally poor and dependent upon the state.
They loathe our military and our national sovereignty, and they propose to replace it with treaties that establish supranational governmental legal and policing authorities.
They detest traditional American values, and they support all manner of behavior resulting in social entropy.
Being debated right now is whether an additional 17 percent of the U.S. economy is going to be nationalized under ObamaCare, and whether the rest of the economy is going to be shackled by cap-and-trade taxes in addition to a plethora of other job-eliminating taxes on private sector employers.
Would it surprise you to know that, while Democrat impositions on lending practices are largely responsible for the fact that millions of Americans are now out of work, the number of government "workers" making over $100,000 per year has increased 30 percent since the beginning of the current recession? There are more than 10,000 bureaucrats earning more than $150,000 annually, and the average federal salary is $71,206, not including generous government benefits, while the average private sector salary is $40,331.
Obama and his Democrat Congress have endowed future generations, unless soon reversed, not with liberty but with historically unprecedented levels of debt, which will enslave them to hyperinflation.
Conservatives and liberals can argue various policy points ad nauseam, but the question Americans are asking in greater numbers is this: Are we a nation governed by Rule of Law or the contemporaneous opinions of men?
History provides us with repeated evidence that the terminus of nations that are governed by men rather than laws is tyranny. In the last century alone, hundreds of millions have been enslaved under statist dictators such as Lenin, Stalin, Mussolini, Franco, Hitler, Mao, Kruschev, Pol Pot, Ho Chi, Idi Amin, Castro, Hussein, Mugabe, Kim Jong-Il, Chavez, Hu Jintao and others. Who might be next?
Surely not us?
Obama has clearly delineated the difference between individual rights and statism, between free enterprise and socialism.
Alexander Hamilton said, "In disquisitions of every kind there are certain primary truths, or first principles, upon which all subsequent reasoning must depend."
Today, more and more Americans are returning to the core principles upon which our nation was founded, which made it the freest and most productive in history. There is a renewed commitment to support and defend Essential Liberty.
John Adams wrote: "Human nature itself is evermore an advocate for liberty. There is also in human nature a resentment of injury, and indignation against wrong. A love of truth and a veneration of virtue. These amiable passions are the 'latent spark' ... If the people are capable of understanding, seeing and feeling the differences between true and false, right and wrong, virtue and vice, to what better principle can the friends of mankind apply than to the sense of this difference?"
I believe that a supermajority of us are fully capable of understanding the truth, if given the right information and opportunity.
As Thomas Paine noted, "Such is the irresistible nature of truth, that all it asks, and all it wants, is the liberty of appearing."
Of course, Barack Obama and his liberal lawmaking brethren have done us great harm this past year, and it may take several election cycles, or a revolution, to turn that around. But, the fields are being plowed and seeds sown.
Ronald Reagan delivered an enduring challenge to conservatives entitled "A Time for Choosing": "You and I are told we must choose between a left or right," Reagan said, "but I suggest there is no such thing as a left or right. There is only an up or down. Up to man's age-old dream -- the maximum of individual freedom consistent with order -- or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism."

Patriots, the time has come to choose.
Reagan also outlined a plan for "The New Republican Party," stating, "The principles of conservatism are sound because they are based on what men and women have discovered through experience in not just one generation or a dozen, but in all the combined experience of mankind. When we conservatives say that we know something about political affairs, and that we know can be stated as principles, we are saying that the principles we hold dear are those that have been found, through experience, to be ultimately beneficial for individuals, for families, for communities and for nations -- found through the often bitter testing of pain, or sacrifice and sorrow."
If Republicans want to regain majority status, the RNC must purge those who have forsaken the first principles of conservatism for power. In their stead they must lift up those who are devoted to the Rule of Law and Essential Liberty, those who incorporate Reagan's charge, and that of generations of Patriots before him. They must back real conservatives instead of arrogant pretenders (see Toomey v. Specter). Short of bold new leadership, what remains of the Republican Party will end up on the trash heap of political irrelevance.
Patriots take heart: Do not wither during these difficult times. For as George Washington advised, "We should never despair, our Situation before has been unpromising and has changed for the better, so I trust, it will again. If new difficulties arise, we must only put forth new Exertions and proportion our Efforts to the exigency of the times."
Indeed, the next several years will be a vital test for Patriots and our countrymen. Let us choose to persevere, to make our cause that of all men, to make no peace with oppression.
In 1776, Peter Muhlenberg delivered a sermon, concluding, "There is a time for all things, a time to preach and a time to pray, but those times have passed away. There is a time to fight, and that time has now come." He removed his clerical robes and set out to command the 8th Virginia Regiment of the Continental Army.
Patriots, we have great opportunity before us, and once again the time has come to fight for it.
Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus et Fidelis!
Mark Alexander
Publisher, PatriotPost.US

Are We A Republic or A Democracy?

2009-12-14T19:14:00.001-05:00

Walter E. Williams

January 5, 2005

We often hear the claim that our nation is a democracy. That wasn't the vision of the founders. They saw democracy as another form of tyranny. If we've become a democracy, I guarantee you that the founders would be deeply disappointed by our betrayal of their vision. The founders intended, and laid out the ground rules, for our nation to be a republic.

The word democracy appears nowhere in the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution -- two most fundamental documents of our nation. Instead of a democracy, the Constitution's Article IV, Section 4, guarantees "to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government." Moreover, let's ask ourselves: Does our pledge of allegiance to the flag say to "the democracy for which it stands," or does it say to "the republic for which it stands"? Or do we sing "The Battle Hymn of the Democracy" or "The Battle Hymn of the Republic"?

So what's the difference between republican and democratic forms of government? John Adams captured the essence of the difference when he said, "You have rights antecedent to all earthly governments; rights that cannot be repealed or restrained by human laws; rights derived from the Great Legislator of the Universe." Nothing in our Constitution suggests that government is a grantor of rights. Instead, government is a protector of rights.

In recognition that it's Congress that poses the greatest threat to our liberties, the framers used negative phrases against Congress throughout the Constitution such as: shall not abridge, infringe, deny, disparage, and shall not be violated, nor be denied. In a republican form of government, there is rule of law. All citizens, including government officials, are accountable to the same laws. Government power is limited and decentralized through a system of checks and balances. Government intervenes in civil society to protect its citizens against force and fraud but does not intervene in the cases of peaceable, voluntary exchange.

Contrast the framers' vision of a republic with that of a democracy. In a democracy, the majority rules either directly or through its elected representatives. As in a monarchy, the law is whatever the government determines it to be. Laws do not represent reason. They represent power. The restraint is upon the individual instead of government. Unlike that envisioned under a republican form of government, rights are seen as privileges and permissions that are granted by government and can be rescinded by government.

How about a few quotations demonstrating the disdain our founders held for democracy? James Madison, Federalist Paper No. 10: In a pure democracy, "there is nothing to check the inducement to sacrifice the weaker party or the obnoxious individual." At the 1787 Constitutional Convention, Edmund Randolph said, " ... that in tracing these evils to their origin every man had found it in the turbulence and follies of democracy." John Adams said, "Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There was never a democracy yet that did not commit suicide." Chief Justice John Marshall observed, "Between a balanced republic and a democracy, the difference is like that between order and chaos." In a word or two, the founders knew that a democracy would lead to the same kind of tyranny the colonies suffered under King George III.

The framers gave us a Constitution that is replete with undemocratic mechanisms. One that has come in for recent criticism and calls for its elimination is the Electoral College. In their wisdom, the framers gave us the Electoral College so that in presidential elections large, heavily populated states couldn't democratically run roughshod over small, sparsely populated states.
Here's my question. Do Americans share the republican values laid out by our founders, and is it simply a matter of our being unschooled about the differences between a republic and a democracy? Or is it a matter of preference and we now want the kind of tyranny feared by the founders where Congress can do anything it can muster a majority vote to do? I fear it's the latter.

An Item for your Consideration

2009-11-24T16:27:00.003-05:00

Geert Wilders is a Dutch Member of Parliament.

America as the last man standing

'In a generation or two, the US will ask itself: who lost Europe?'

Here is the speech of Geert Wilders, Chairman, Party for Freedom, the Netherlands, at the Four Seasons, New York, introducing an Alliance of Patriots and announcing the Facing Jihad Conference in Jerusalem.

Dear friends,

Thank you very much for inviting me.

I come to America with a mission. All is not well in the old world. There is a tremendous danger looming, and it is very difficult to be optimistic. We might be in the final stages of the Islamization of Europe. This not only is a clear and present danger to the future of Europe itself, it is a threat to America and the sheer survival of the West. The United States as the last bastion of Western civilization, facing an Islamic Europe.

First I will describe the situation on the ground in Europe. Then, I will say a few things about Islam. To close I will tell you about a meeting in Jerusalem.

The Europe you know is changing.

You have probably seen the landmarks. But in all of these cities, sometimes a few blocks away from your tourist destination, there is another world. It is the world of the parallel society created by Muslim mass-migration.

All throughout Europe a new reality is rising: entire Muslim neighbourhoods where very few indigenous people reside or are even seen. And if they are, they might regret it. This goes for the police as well. It's the world of head scarves, where women walk around in figureless tents, with baby strollers and a group of children. Their husbands, or slaveholders if you prefer, walk three steps ahead. With mosques on many street corners. The shops have signs you and I cannot read. You will be hard-pressed to find any economic activity. These are Muslim ghettos controlled by religious fanatics. These are Muslim neighbourhoods, and they are mushrooming in every city across Europe. These are the building-blocks for territorial control of increasingly larger portions of Europe, street by street, neighbourhood by neighbourhood, city by city.

There are now thousands of mosques throughout Europe. With larger congregations than there are in churches. And in every European city there are plans to build super-mosques that will dwarf every church in the region. Clearly, the signal is: we rule.

Many European cities are already one-quarter Muslim: just take Amsterdam, Marseille and Malmo in Sweden. In many cities the majority of the under-18 population is Muslim. Paris is now surrounded by a ring of Muslim neighbourhoods. Mohammed is the most popular name among boys in many cities.

In some elementary schools in Amsterdam the farm can no longer be mentioned, because that would also mean mentioning the pig, and that would be an insult to Muslims. (Hard to believe)

Many state schools in Belgium and Denmark only serve halal food to all pupils. In once-tolerant Amsterdam gays are beaten up almost exclusively by Muslims. Non-Muslim women routinely hear 'whore, whore'. Satellite dishes are not pointed to local TV stations, but to stations in the country of origin.

In France school teachers are advised to avoid authors deemed offensive to Muslims, including Voltaire and Diderot; the same is increasingly true of Darwin. The history of the Holocaust can no longer be taught because of Muslim sensitivity.
(Discrimination on the level of absurdity) (Seen in Saudi Arabia in 1974)

In England Sharia courts are now officially part of the British legal system. Many neighbourhoods in France are no-go areas for women without head scarves. Last week a man almost died after being beaten up by Muslims in Brussels, because he was drinking during the Ramadan.

Jews are fleeing France in record numbers, on the run for the worst wave of anti-Semitism since World War II. French is now commonly spoken on the streets of Tel Aviv and Netanyahu, Israel. I could go on forever with stories like this. Stories about Islamization.

A total of fifty-four million Muslims now live in Europe. San Diego University recently calculated that a staggering 25 percent of the population in Europe will be Muslim just 12 years from now. Bernhard Lewis has predicted a Muslim majority by the end of this century.

Now these are just numbers. And the numbers would not be threatening if the Muslim-immigrants had a strong desire to assimilate. But there are few signs of that. The Pew Research Centre reported that half of French Muslims see their loyalty to Islam as greater than their loyalty to France. One-third of French Muslims do not object to suicide attacks. The British Centre for Social Cohesion reported that one-third of British Muslim students are in favour of a worldwide caliphate. Muslims demand what they call 'respect'. And this is how we give them respect. We have Muslim official state holidays.

The Christian-Democratic attorney general is willing to accept Sharia in the Netherlands if there is a Muslim majority. We have cabinet members with passports from Morocco and Turkey.

Muslim demands are supported by unlawful behaviour, ranging from petty crimes and random violence, for example against ambulance workers and bus drivers, to small-scale riots. Paris has seen its uprising in the low-income suburbs, the banlieus. I call the perpetrators 'settlers'. Because that is what they are. They do not come to integrate into our societies; they come to integrate our society into their Dar-al-Islam. Therefore, they are settlers.

Much of this street violence I mentioned is directed exclusively against non-Muslims, forcing many native people to leave their neighbourhoods, their cities, their countries. Moreover, Muslims are now a swing vote not to be ignored.

The second thing you need to know is the importance of Mohammed the prophet. His behaviour is an example to all Muslims and cannot be criticized. Now, if Mohammed had been a man of peace, let us say like Ghandi and Mother Theresa wrapped in one, there would be no problem. But Mohammed was a warlord, a mass murderer, a pedophile, and had several marriages - at the same time. Islamic tradition tells us how he fought in battles, how he had his enemies murdered and even had prisoners of war executed. Mohammed himself slaughtered the Jewish tribe of Banyu Qurayza. If it is good for Islam, it is good. If it is bad for Islam, it is bad.

Let no one fool you about Islam being a religion. Sure, it has a god, and a here-after, and 72 virgins. But in its essence Islam is a political ideology. It is a system that lays down detailed rules for society and the life of every person. Islam wants to dictate every aspect of life. Islam means 'submission'. Islam is not compatible with freedom and democracy, because what it strives for is Sharia. If you want to compare Islam to anything, compare it to communism or national-socialism, these are all totalitarian ideologies.

Now you know why Winston Churchill called Islam 'the most retrograde force in the world', and why he compared Mein Kampf to the Quran. The public has wholeheartedly accepted the Palestinian narrative, and sees Israel as the aggressor. I have lived in this country and visited it dozens of times. I support Israel. First, because it is the Jewish homeland after two thousand years of exile up to and including Auschwitz, second because it is a democracy, and third because Israel is our first line of defense.

This tiny country is situated on the fault line of jihad, frustrating Islam's territorial advance. Israel is facing the front lines of jihad, like Kashmir, Kosovo, the Philippines, Southern Thailand, Darfur in Sudan, Lebanon, and Aceh in Indonesia. Israel is simply in the way. The same way West-Berlin was during the Cold War.

The war against Israel is not a war against Israel. It is a war against the West. It is jihad. Israel is simply receiving the blows that are meant for all of us. If there would have been no Israel, Islamic imperialism would have found other venues to release its energy and its desire for conquest. Thanks to Israeli parents who send their children to the army and lay awake at night, parents in Europe and America can sleep well and dream, unaware of the dangers looming.

Many in Europe argue in favour of abandoning Israel in order to address the grievances of our Muslim minorities. But if Israel were, God forbid, to go down, it would not bring any solace to the West It would not mean our Muslim minorities would all of a sudden change their behaviour, and accept our values. On the contrary, the end of Israel would give enormous encouragement to the forces of Islam. They would, and rightly so, see the demise of Israel as proof that the West is weak, and doomed. The end of Israel would not mean the end of our problems with Islam, but only the beginning. It would mean the start of the final battle for world domination. If they can get Israel, they can get everything. So-called journalists volunteer to label any and all critics of Islamization as a 'right-wing extremists' or 'racists'. In my country, the Netherlands, 60 percent of the population now sees the mass immigration of Muslims as the number one policy mistake since World War II. And another 60 percent sees Islam as the biggest threat. Yet there is a danger greater danger than terrorist attacks, the scenario of America as the last man standing. The lights may go out in Europe faster than you can imagine. An Islamic Europe means a Europe without freedom and democracy, an economic wasteland, an intellectual nightmare, and a loss of military might for America - as its allies will turn into enemies, enemies with atomic bombs. With an Islamic Europe, it would be up to America alone to preserve the heritage of Rome, Athens and Jerusalem.

Dear friends, liberty is the most precious of gifts. My generation never had to fight for this freedom, it was offered to us on a silver platter, by people who fought for it with their lives. All throughout Europe, American cemeteries remind us of the young boys who never made it home, and whose memory we cherish. My generation does not own this freedom; we are merely its custodians. We can only hand over this hard won liberty to Europe's children in the same state in which it was offered to us. We cannot strike a deal with mullahs and imams. Future generations would never forgive us. We cannot squander our liberties. We simply do not have the right to do so.
We have to take the necessary action now to stop this Islamic stupidity from destroying the free world that we know.
Please take the time to read and understand what is written here, Please send it to every free person that you know, it is so very important.

"We cannot expect the Americans to jump from capitalism to Communism, but we can assist their elected leaders in giving Americans small doses of socialism until they suddenly awake to find they have Communism."

- Norman Thomas, American Socialist Party, 1944

This country, with all its institurions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or their revolutionary right to dismember or overthrow it.

- Abraham Lincoln

"In my many years I have come to a conclusion; that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a congress."
John Adams

We are SO screwed.......

- Me, 2009

Fort Hood Tragedy May Spur New Gun Control Debate

2009-11-16T18:57:00.001-05:00

Fort Hood Tragedy May Spur New Gun Control Debate

Fort Hood's 9/11

2009-11-08T10:01:00.002-05:00

By RALPH PETERS
November 6, 2009

On Thursday afternoon, a radicalized Muslim US Army officer shouting "Allahu Akbar!" committed the worst act of terror on American soil since 9/11. And no one wants to call it an act of terror or associate it with Islam.

What cowards we are. Political correctness killed those patriotic Americans at Ft. Hood as surely as the Islamist gunman did. And the media treat it like a case of non-denominational shoplifting.

This was a terrorist act. When an extremist plans and executes a murderous plot against our unarmed soldiers to protest our efforts to counter Islamist fanatics, it’s an act of terror. Period.

When the terrorist posts anti-American hate-speech on the Web; apparently praises suicide bombers and uses his own name; loudly criticizes US policies; argues (as a psychiatrist, no less) with his military patients over the worth of their sacrifices; refuses, in the name of Islam, to be photographed with female colleagues; lists his nationality as "Palestinian" in a Muslim spouse-matching program, and parades around central Texas in a fundamentalist playsuit — well, it only seems fair to call this terrorist an "Islamist terrorist."

But the president won’t. Despite his promise to get to all the facts. Because there’s no such thing as "Islamist terrorism" in ObamaWorld.

And the Army won’t. Because its senior leaders are so sick with political correctness that pandering to America-haters is safer than calling terrorism "terrorism."

And the media won’t. Because they have more interest in the shooter than in our troops — despite their crocodile tears.

Maj. Nadal Malik Hasan planned this terrorist attack and executed it in cold blood. The resulting massacre was the first tragedy. The second was that he wasn’t killed on the spot.

Hasan survived. Now the rest of us will have to foot his massive medical bills. Activist lawyers will get involved, claiming "harassment" drove him temporarily insane. There’ll be no end of trial delays. At best, taxpayer dollars will fund his prison lifestyle for decades to come, since our politically correct Army leadership wouldn’t dare pursue or carry out the death penalty.

Maj. Hasan will be a hero to Islamist terrorists abroad and their sympathizers here. While US Muslim organizations decry his acts publicly, Hasan will be praised privately. And he’ll have the last laugh.

But Hasan isn’t the sole guilty party. The US Army’s unforgivable political correctness is also to blame for the casualties at Ft. Hood.

Given the myriad warning signs, it’s appalling that no action was taken against a man apparently known to praise suicide bombers and openly damn US policy. But no officer in his chain of command, either at Walter Reed Army Medical Center or at Ft. Hood, had the guts to take meaningful action against a dysfunctional soldier and an incompetent doctor.

Had Hasan been a Lutheran or a Methodist, he would’ve been gone with the simoon. But officers fear charges of discrimination when faced with misconduct among protected minorities.

Now 12 soldiers and a security guard lie dead. 31 soldiers were wounded, 28 of them seriously. If heads don’t roll in this maggot’s chain of command, the Army will have shamed itself beyond moral redemption.

There’s another important issue, too. How could the Army allow an obviously incompetent and dysfunctional psychiatrist to treat our troubled soldiers returning from war? An Islamist whacko is counseled for arguing with veterans who’ve been assigned to his care? And he’s not removed from duty? What planet does the Army live on?

For the first time since I joined the Army in 1976, I’m ashamed of its dereliction of duty. The chain of command protected a budding terrorist who was waving one red flag after another. Because it was safer for careers than doing something about him.

Get ready for the apologias. We’ve already heard from the terrorist’s family that "he’s a good American." In their world, maybe he is.

But when do we, the American public, knock off the PC nonsense?

A disgruntled Muslim soldier murdered his officers way back in 2003, in Kuwait, on the eve of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Recently? An American mullah shoots it out with the feds in Detroit. A Muslim fanatic attacks an Arkansas recruiting station. A Muslim media owner, after playing the peace card, beheads his wife. A Muslim father runs over his daughter because she’s becoming too Westernized.

Muslim terrorist wannabes are busted again and again. And we’re assured that "Islam’s a religion of peace."

I guarantee you that the Obama administration’s non-response to the Ft. Hood attack will mock the memory of our dead.

Ralph Peters’ latest novel is "The War After Armageddon."

The Copenhagen Agreement and a Scary U.N. Power Grab

2009-11-02T10:31:00.001-05:00

Please continue to contact your senators and tell them, especially those that are members of the Energy committee, that you are against the Cap and Trade bill. It will cause our energy costs to skyrocket, hurting the middle class and poor, and cause our industries to relocate overseas. Click below and read the article in the Wall Street Journal. The Copenhagen Treaty, that is rumored Obama plans to sign this coming December--unless he hears an outcry from Americans, could cede to the UN unprecedented powers over our nation. This will affect our children and future generations---if ratified by 67 senators. Call or write your senators now. Let's stave off a national disaster.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703574604574500580285679074.html?mod=googlenews_wsj#printMode

Clinton to Pakistan: Where is al-Qaida?

2009-11-02T10:21:00.001-05:00

Friday, October 30, 2009

ISLAMABAD -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wound up a bridge-building visit to Pakistan on Friday leaving a pointed question ringing in her hosts' ears: Where are the al-Qaida leaders operating in your country?

Although no Pakistani officials were immediately prepared to answer, ordinary citizens told Washington's top diplomat that the country is living on a daily basis with the consequences of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks the militant Islamist group engineered.

At a televised women's forum on Friday, Clinton was pressed on U.S. attitudes toward Pakistan, questioned about the use of robot drones to attack suspected militants, and reminded of the costs the country faces as it battles its own insurgency.

"We are fighting a war that was imposed on us. It is not our war, it is your war," television journalist Asma Shirazi told Clinton on the last day of her three-day visit to Pakistan.
"You had a 9-11. We are having daily 9-11s in Pakistan."

Pakistan's army is in the middle of a massive offensive against Taliban militants strongholds in South Waziristan that has prompted a spate of bloody revenge attacks on urban targets.
On Wednesday, when Clinton arrived, a car bomb in a market in the northwest city of Peshawar killed more than 100 people, mostly women and children, and wounded nearly 200.

The rough and rugged tribal territory separating Pakistan and Afghanistan is a stronghold for Taliban insurgents from both countries as well as a haven for al Qaeda operatives.
Although most Pakistanis are against the extremists, many also believe they are fueled by Islamabad's links with Washington.

On Thursday Clinton expressed disbelief no-one in authority knew where al-Qaida leaders were hiding out — a remark that may fuel much reaction once she leaves the country.
"I find it hard to believe that nobody in your government knows where they are and couldn't get them if they really wanted to," she told a group of newspaper editors during a meeting in Lahore.

Clinton's pointed remark was the first public gripe on a trip aimed at turning around a U.S.-Pakistan relationship under serious strain, but bound in the struggle against religious extremism.

Clinton's main message in Pakistan — that the forces binding Pakistanis and Americans together are far stronger than those dividing them — was constant, and she urged audiences to stand guard against extreme religious doctrine that seeks to impose its will on the population.
Many participating in Clinton's numerous public appearances in Pakistan have expressed appreciation for U.S. backing for the country and for Clinton's personal outreach.

But more frequently Clinton's "people to people" diplomacy — with journalists, students, and common people — has been characterized by sharp disagreements and deep distrust.

That is a potentially worrying sign for officials in Washington hoping to reverse a steep rise in anti-U.S. sentiment in the increasingly fragile nuclear armed country.

Through it all, Clinton has proved unflappable, acknowledging the "trust deficit" created by past U.S. mistakes while firmly responding to charges the United States does not have Pakistan's best interests at heart.

Clinton, who professes deep personal affection for Pakistan and its people, was cautiously optimistic her visit may have changed a few hearts and minds among fearful Pakistanis although she said much more needed to be done to illustrate how the United States is helping the country.
"I'm going to try as hard as I can. But ultimately, we have to have actions between the two of us. Words are not enough," she said at the women's gathering.
As the Pakistan offensive in South Waziristan continued, officials in the port city of Karachi said they had arrested nearly 200 foreign nationals, mostly Afghans, in the past week in a security sweep.

"Most of these people have been arrested on charges of staying illegally in the country, but the main reason for this crackdown is to try and hunt militants hiding among these illegal refugees," said a senior police official, requesting anonymity.

Police also have arrested several members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangavi group in recent days, recovering hundreds of kilograms of explosives, suicide jackets and other weapons.

Security forces have arrested 18 suspected militants, including foreigners, in the northern town of Chitral as well, officials said.

THE GATHERING STORM

2009-11-01T10:18:00.001-05:00

Naval Aviator, Commander Jerry Wilson

We lived in California during the winters of 2007 and 2008. We
became addicted to Fox News and watched O'Reilly and Hannity and Colmes
every night. When we got back home, we upgraded our cable to get Fox. I
watched the Presidential campaign very closely. Initially because I thought
the Democrats would nominate Hillary Clinton and then in astonishment when
they chose an even more hard-left candidate. All of last year I told
everyone I could that Obama was not a Democrat, he was a Marxist. He is far
to the left of any European leader and even our far left party, the NDP.

I read Saul Alinsky when I was in University. I studied him and his
writing carefully. When Bill Ayers and his wife were bombing and killing
people at random in the Weather Underground, Weather Underground and the
Black Panthers were closely allied. I read David Horowitz's account of
changing from a Marxist to a conservative after seeing that the government
was afraid to prosecute members of the Panthers for murdering his personal
assistant. He suddenly understood the evil that Marxism really was.

After the student radicals failed in creating a Marxist revolution
in the United States by violent means, they embraced Alinsky. You would be
wise to read "Rules for Radicals" because it outlines how Hillary and Obama
planned to get into power, and what they intended to do when they got it.

Socialism is not the correct descriptor for what Obama and the
Democrats are doing. They are going to be much more far reaching than
anything Sweden has ever been able to do. Obama is following Alinsky's
plans, those set out in "Rules for Radicals" and his other writing. The
Democrats are attempting to create one party rule in the U.S. and in
achieving that, will create crisis after crisis by their own actions and use
those crises to nationalize the means of production in the U.S. You are in
the middle of a communist revolution and few in the U.S. can actually see it
for what it truly is.

The U.S. is now on the path of financial destruction. The
Constitution has been shredded and individual human rights are being
trampled. In less than 8 months. Obama has used a recession to take over
the two largest industries in the U.S. He will debase the Dollar and is on
the road to creating an incredible energy shortage that will allow him and
Congress to take over the energy industry.

But by and large I think that by the 2010 elections, the Democrats
will have gerrymandered electoral districts to the point that it will be
impossible for them to lose control of both houses of Congress. The
incredible increase in the money supply is going to create Zimbabwe and
Venezuela style inflation, and with it, controls on the currency and the
amount of money that can be taken out of the country.

I love America , I cannot believe how the ignorance of the American
public has created a situation whereby they are going to lose their Republic
and slip into an age of repression and tyranny.

I may be nuts, but so far I have been 100% in my predictions of
what Obama was going to do, because I merely had to look at "Rules for
Radicals" to see what was coming next.

I read Glenn Beck's book, "Common Sense" and in it re-read Thomas
Paines pamphlet with the same name. I recommend the book.

When the storm finally hits (and it will), those of you who
supported the Obama administration will be affected as well. It won't just
be us gun owners or Flat-Taxers, or Pro-Lifers that get hit. You'll be
right there next to us.

You all thought the Conservatives were nut cases. You know, all of
us who believe in God, small government, the Second Amendment, etc. You
thought you could just go back to sleep after the election was over. In
your world, America will continue as before. You'll still have the same
rights, the same nice house, the same big screen television. After all, your
high school football team won and the other team lost - go team! Even if
you have bothered to look up from the daily grind since Nov 4th, you
dismissed everything that has occurred as "politics as usual--the same old
stuff".

In the end, it'll all be OK won't it? Not this time. Your way of
life is going to change.

There are a growing number of citizens in the US that are ready to
fight to shut down the government's grab of personal freedom, it's blatant
abuse of the constitution, and it's an attempt to replace the American way
of life with Socialism. You have to listen carefully to hear them, but they
are there. I won't start that fight, but when it goes down I will join it.

As for you, why, you'll be shocked because you didn't see it coming.
And eventually you'll be saddened when you see that we have truly lost the
way of life with which you grew up. You'll be saddened that your children
and grandchildren live in a socialist, government-controlled gulag where
their every movement from cradle to grave is tracked by the government. But
most of all, you'll be saddened by the death of friends and relatives who
are brave enough to fight and die for something they believe in.

You know, McCain wasn't much of a candidate. I'll give you that. He
was the lesser of two evils for most of us. I don't blame you for not voting
for him since, at the time, you didn't know what we all know now. But at
least John McCain was an American. He was a supporter of the American way of
life and he understood that you can't negotiate with terrorists. He
understood and appreciated the sacrifice made by my father and other members
of the Greatest Generation.

Mark my words friends. All across America groups are forming. They
are forming out of anger and out of desperation at the thought of losing
America . They're not militia groups, terrorists as the Department of
Homeland security would have you believe; they are Americans, loyal to the
constitution. They are mothers and fathers and grand parents. They belong to
groups like the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps, the Peaceful Resistance, the
Constitution Party, the Young Conservatives, the 9/12 Project, and
Grassfire. Right now they are fragmented, each focused on their own cause.
But sometime in the next two years, our government is going to do something
really stupid and these groups will come together. Watch for it, wait for
it-- get ready. It will happen.

When that event happens, whatever "it" is, our great country is
going to plunge into chaos for a while. I pray to God that we make it
through that time and emerge a stronger, smarter country.

'Nobody Questions That'?

2009-10-29T13:01:00.002-04:00

"In questions of power, then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution." --Thomas Jefferson

Never before has there been more evidence of outright contempt for our Constitution than under the current liberal hegemony presiding over the executive and legislative branches of our federal government.

The protagonist of this Leftist regime is, of course, Barack Hussein Obama, who promised his constituents, "This is our moment, this is our time to turn the page on the policies of the past, to offer a new direction. We are fundamentally transforming the United States of America. And generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was our time" [emphasis added].

Obama proclaimed, "Everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act -- to lay a new foundation for growth."

In his inaugural speech, Obama declared, "The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works," signaling his rejection of the old paradigm, which pitted the conservative position, "government is the problem," against the liberal position, "government is the solution."

Thus, by virtue of his election to the presidency nearly one year ago, he believes he has the authority to establish a new paradigm to "fundamentally transform" our nation by creating "a new foundation."

However, if we are a nation of laws with a national government limited by our Constitution, and, indeed, we are, then Obama has no legal authority to "transform" our government.

Those who laid our constitutional foundation were very clear about its limits on government.

Our Constitution's principle author, James Madison, wrote, "The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined [and] will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation and foreign commerce."

Concerning the legislature's authority, Thomas Jefferson asserted: "[G]iving [Congress] a distinct and independent power to do any act they please which may be good for the Union, would render all the preceding and subsequent enumerations of power completely useless. It would reduce the whole [Constitution] to a single phrase, that of instituting a Congress with power to do whatever would be for the good of the United States; and as sole judges of the good or evil, it would be also a power to do whatever evil they please. Certainly, no such universal power was meant to be given them. [The Constitution] was intended to lace them up straightly within the enumerated powers and those without which, as means, these powers could not be carried into effect."

Madison added, "If Congress can do whatever in their discretion can be done by money, and will promote the General Welfare, the Government is no longer a limited one, possessing enumerated powers, but an indefinite one, subject to particular exceptions."

But too many among us have become so fixated on the superficial parameters of today's political debates rather than demand an answer to that most essential question: What is the constitutional authority for Obama's proposals now being debated in Congress?

For example, amid all the acrimony over Obama's transformation of health care, the debate should not be centered on which plan is better, but whether constitutional authority exists for any of the plans under consideration.

Unfortunately, such inquiry is scarce, and hardly noted.

Last week, however, three leading Democrats in Congress were asked during news conferences to cite the constitutional authority for their healthcare proposals. To a one, they responded with answers that betrayed unmitigated arrogance and a disdain for our Constitution second to none in our nation's noble history.

"Are you serious? Are you serious?" replied House Speaker Nancy Pelosi when asked specifically about the constitutional authority for Obama's health care proposal. Pelosi's spokesman later clarified, "You can put this on the record: That is not a serious question. That is not a serious question." (Apparently, there was an echo in the chamber.)

Democrat House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer attempted to answer the question by demonstrating his illimitable ignorance on the subject: "Well, in promoting the general welfare the Constitution obviously gives broad authority to Congress to effect [a mandate that individuals must buy health insurance]. The end that we're trying to effect is to make health care affordable, so I think clearly this is within our constitutional responsibility."

Perhaps Hoyer should take a basic civics course on the "General Welfare" clause in Article 1, Section 8, as written by James Madison. On the limitations of the Constitution, Madison wrote: "I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents..."

Finally, Democrat Patrick Leahy, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee (where Rule of Law once prevailed), responded to the question of constitutional authority by insisting, "We have plenty of authority. ... I mean, there's no question there's authority. Nobody questions that. Where do we have the authority to set speed limits on an interstate highway? The federal government does that on federal highways." (No, actually, the states set speed limits, and only misinterpretation of the Commerce Clause by judicial activists could be construed to give the federal government such authority.)

As for Obama, his publicist, Robert Gibbs, claimed, "I won't be confused as a constitutional scholar, but I don't believe there's a lot of -- I don't believe there's a lot of case law that would demonstrate the veracity of [questions about constitutional authority]."

For sure, nobody will confuse Gibbs with a scholar of any stripe. And, we would remind Gibbs that when the Clintonistas attempted to nationalize healthcare (18 percent of the U.S. economy) back in 1994, the bi-partisan Congressional Budget Office issued this piece of analysis: "The government has never required people to buy any good or service as a condition of lawful residence in the United States. An individual mandate ... would impose a duty on individuals as members of society [and] require people to purchase a specific service that would be heavily regulated by the federal government."

Remarkably, neither Obama's bête noire, Fox News, nor any nationally syndicated conservative column, devoted air time or print to these egregiously errant responses.

To be sure, there are a few Republicans who have questioned Obama's authority. Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch proposed an amendment requiring swift judicial review of the health care folly if it is ultimately passed into law. Not surprisingly, Democrat Sen. Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, refused to take up Hatch's amendment, insisting that it was a matter for the Judiciary Committee -- the very committee chaired by the aforementioned Senator Patrick "We have plenty of authority" Leahy.

In order to divine the real source the Left claims as its authority for "fundamentally transforming the United States of America," consider this congressional inquiry from last March.

Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann dared ask Obama's tax cheat Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, "What provision in the Constitution could you point to gives authority for the actions that have been taken by the Treasury since March of '08?"

Geithner responded, "Oh, well, the -- the Congress legislated in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act a range of very important new authorities."

Bachmann tried again: "Sir, in the Constitution. What in the Constitution could you point to gives authority to the Treasury for the extraordinary actions that have been taken?"

Geithner's response: "Every action that the Treasury and the Fed and the FDIC is -- is -- has been using authority granted by this body -- by this body, the Congress."

The "authority granted by this body, the Congress."

In every successive Congress since 1995, conservative Arizona Republican Rep. John Shadegg has sponsored the Enumerated Powers Act (HR 1359), which requires that "Each Act of Congress shall contain a concise and definite statement of the constitutional authority relied upon for the enactment of each portion of that Act."

The measure continues to fail, however, because of a dirty little secret: There is no legitimate constitutional authority for almost 70 percent of current federal government programs, and, thus, no authority for the collection of taxes to fund such activities.

Though Obama swore to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States," and every member of Congress has pledged "to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic," and "bear true faith and allegiance to the same," Democrats, and too many Republicans, have forsaken their sacred oaths.

In doing so, they have inflicted grievous injury upon our Constitution, thereby placing our Essential Liberty in eminent peril.

In May 1775, at the onset of the hostilities that gave rise to our Declaration of Independence and Constitution, the Second Continental Congress adopted a resolution calling on the states to prepare for rebellion. In its preamble, John Adams advised his countrymen to sever all oaths of allegiance to the Crown.

Since that time, generations of American Patriots have honored their oaths, shed their blood, given their lives -- but not to the crown of any man or a partisan sect. Instead, these sacrifices have been made to support and defend our Constitution and the Rule of Law it established.

Put simply, there is no authority for a "constitutional rewrite" by Barack Hussein Obama, nor Nancy Pelosi, nor Steny Hoyer, nor any like-minded revisionists. Such contempt for our Constitution, such willful violation of their sacred oaths is a disgrace to the selfless dignity of generations of Patriots before them.

At present, we have a gang of outlaws at the helms of the executive and legislative branches. Under such despots, we are being unlawfully taxed without lawful representation. Sound familiar?

Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus et Fidelis!
Mark Alexander
Publisher, PatriotPost.US

'Gigantic, unintelligible, unaffordable, over-regulatory, federal legislation'

2009-10-29T12:03:00.005-04:00

October 28, 2009 By Amanda Reinecker

After 13 days of secret, closed-door negotiations on health care legislation, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced Monday that he had reached an agreement with Senators Chris Dodd (D-MT) and Max Baucus (D-CT), and three top administration officials. Unfortunately, Senator Reid did not tell the American people much else.

Even many lawmakers remain in the dark regarding the outcome of this "secret deal that Senator Reid wants to get passed and signed into law 'this year,'" writes Heritage Senate Relations expert Brian Darling. Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, summed it up: "It will be a thousand-page, trillion-dollar bill that raises premiums, raises taxes and slashes Medicare for our seniors to create new government spending programs. That's not reform."

Even as some of the final details of the bill do go public, it is likely that lawmakers won't know in advance entirely what it is they are voting on. This is because the legislation the Senate Finance Committee "agreed" to -- all 1,502 pages of it -- is the most massive piece of legislation ever introduced by Congress.

But length isn't the only record the "America's Healthy Future Act of 2009" claims, as Heritage health policy analyst Ed Haislmaier notes. "For the first time in fifteen years, [Congress] has set a new all-time division record for gigantic, unintelligible, unaffordable, over-regulatory, federal legislation."

What we do know about Reid's 'secret deal'

Although Senator Reid did not go into great detail about the health care "reform" legislation, he did mention that bill includes a government-run health insurance "option" that would "compete" against private health plans.

In an attempt to gain much-needed support from skeptical moderates in both parties, liberals have added a new twist to the "public option": a provision allowing states to opt out of the program. This would require states to pass legislation by 2014 rejecting participation in the federal government run plan.

But this new wrinkle is really more of the same, warns Heritage health policy analyst Nina Owcharenko. "This latest Senate ploy creates the illusion of an 'option' rather than making any fundamental changes to the controversial proposal."
Owcharenko explains why this "opt-out" model is just another government-run plan that is guaranteed to fail:

1. States can only opt-out of the government-run plan, not the entire bill. But the rest of the bill contains hundreds of provisions, such as the expansion of Medicaid, which will place major financial burdens on the states.

1. It is still a government-run plan because the government will require non-participating states to meet federal conditions. These government-determined conditions could include the creation of state-level public options that mirror the federal plan.

1. States will likely select the public "option" because of the bureaucracy and enormous administrative complexity required for a state opt-out. Federal conditions will limit states' ability to create alternatives.

1. State innovation will suffer under the massive health care proposal's employer and individual mandates, and government micromanagement of an industry that represents one-sixth of our economy.

So even though the states would be able to "opt out" of the government-run health insurance program, the federal government will make it very difficult to do so. And for the few states that do succeed in withdrawing, the government will still dominate their health care systems.

A true state "opt-out" provision would allow states to opt out of the bill in its entirety, argues Owcharenko. "Any other opt-out is just another shell game that is intended to appear as a concession but in reality provides for greater federal control and blocks much needed structural changes."

Examiner.com reporter at Lawrenceburg protest Thursday

2009-10-24T08:18:00.000-04:00

http://www.examiner.com/x-16044-Christianity--Politics-

Health care update

2009-10-21T11:11:00.001-04:00

• Under Congress' health care "reform" proposal, up to 14 million more people will be dependent on the government-run Medicaid and SCHIP programs. "Yet, as Medicaid shows, access to a government program is not access to health care," Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) writes in an article coauthored with Heritage health care expert Dennis Smith.

Why is the government moving so many people to these less-than-effective programs? "It's cheaper -- at least on paper." That's because the costs of this change are shifted from the federal government to the states. Of course, most states can't afford even their current share of Medicaid costs, let alone an expansion.

Sen. Coburn's alternative plan, the Patients' Choice Act, would actually save states about $960 billion over ten years by enrolling most Medicaid recipients in high-quality private plans, regardless of preexisting conditions.

• "It is shocking that this Administration's promise to have the 'most open and transparent in history' is not as important as getting this [health care] bill to the President's desk by the end of the year," writes Heritage Senate relations expert Brian Darling. Senators Harry Reid (D-NV), Max Baucus (D-MT) and Christopher Dodd (D-CT) are working behind closed doors to merge two competing health care "reform" bills before bringing a final bill to the Senate floor for a vote. The three lawmakers are empowered to make any changes they like without engaging in a public debate before the American people.

• The Senate Finance Committee's health care proposal makes a lot of promises, write Heritage legal experts Edwin Meese and Hans von Spakovsky. "But one thing the bill does not do is bring down the high cost of health care, which is driven in large measure by abusive tort litigation." Despite the President's promise to explore tort reform, not one of the proposals in the House or Senate implements any real reform. It may be telling that "the top contributor to President Obama's presidential campaign was the legal industry, whose donations came to more than $43 million."

Debunking the Left on global warming

2009-10-21T10:46:00.002-04:00

October 20, 2009 By Amanda Reinecker

More than 6,000 groups in 27 different countries tuned in Sunday to watch The Heritage Foundation's premiere of Not Evil, Just Wrong, a feature-length documentary countering global warming hysteria and explaining the dangerous consequences of the Left's environmental policies.

» Learn more about the film and watch the two-minute trailer.

Not Evil, Just Wrong illustrates on film what Heritage experts have been telling lawmakers, the media and the American people about global warming legislation: these new regulations will impose a huge burden on the economy. New Heritage research drives the point home. Writing on Heritage's blog, the Foundry, Heritage expert Nick Lorris details important new studies finding that "far more jobs would be destroyed than green jobs created, households will lose income, and the economy as a whole will be operating $9.4 trillion under its potential from 2012-2035 -- all because of cap and trade."

The documentary puts a human face on the widespread job losses resulting from climate change legislation, which would pummel critical American industries that depend on traditional energy sources. And it sheds light on the harmful policies that burden people and industry in exchange for little or no environmental benefit.

Joining the expert panel at the Heritage premiere, director Ann McElhinney explained why she sought to counter the Left with Not Evil, Just Wrong:

They don't allow us to teach religion in the public schools of America . . . but there is a religion being taught and it's not based on anything factual. It's a green religion . . . This is not good. It's a religion that hates America . . . and anyone who ignores it is ignoring it at their own peril.
The panel discussion, moderated by journalist Andrew Breitbart, also included MIT meteorology researcher Richard Lindzen; medical researcher Donald Roberts; and Wall Street Journal columnist John Fund.

» Watch a video of the panel discussion on MyHeritage.org.

While each panelist offered a different perspective, each defended the same, sound conclusion: "There's a right way and a wrong way to protect the environment. Americans are completely capable of being good stewards of the environment without the government telling us how or why."

Instead of undermining American prosperity and free enterprise by enacting radical environmental regulations, Congress should work to diversify our energy sources. These new sources include expanded domestic oil production, nuclear energy, coal and renewable fuels. Heritage experts argue that lawmakers should craft "policies that will lower gas and electricity prices rather than raise them. When government impediments are lifted, America's energy entrepreneurs can develop innovative and market-driven solutions to our energy needs."

West Hamilton County and Indiana/Kentucky Protest Around 275 Loop

2009-10-21T10:43:00.000-04:00

Clearly neither the Senate nor Congress is listening to anything we say in the Healthcare debate, so we are going to focus some effort, media and scrutiny on Cincinnati as a symbol of citizens saying, NO!!

To take the healthcare protest to the next stage, we are starting a 4 day protest beginning on October 21 and ending Oct 24.

The idea is to quite literally use "We Surround Them" as the concept...and in this case (for Driehaus), We Surround Him.

The basic idea is to have demonstrators with signs and educational material at every interestion on I-275 around the whole loop from 4pm-6pm on October 21, 22, and 23 - Surrounding Cincinnati

On the 24th we will all meet at Carew Tower downtown (Driehaus office inside) at 4pm, and en-circle the building with a chain of people. After we have been there for a while, we will walk over to fountain square, have a quick speech and send people on their way.

Driehaus is our one local rep whose mind we hope to sway - I know, he isnt my rep either (except Nita), but we need him to vote against this thing. And Schmidt, Boehner and Turner are not the problem at this point.

REALLY IMPORTANT - we are going to organize this through a sign up system on the CTP website where people will choose intersections and dates they can attend. The goal will be at least 5 people on each side of every intersection along 275.

So, we were hoping your group and members could take everything from 275 and Colerain all the way through Kentucky to the 275 and 471 interchange.

Obviously Cincinnati Tea Party as a whole will be helping to assign people, but we figured the local groups will have the best shot at locations close to you.

We need you to speak with individuals in your group through phone or email, and see who is available to attend these dates and locations (any day is fine). Then we need those people signed up on the master list so we know where people will be.

People on this e-mail are:

Scott - Harrison, OH
Nita Thomas - West Side of Cincinnati
Andrew Lohmiller - Lawrenceburg, We the Hoosiers
Willie Schadler - Northern Kentucky Tea Party

These are definitely the times that try men's souls. People are truly upset and hopefully this gives them outlet to show it.

Chris Littleton
E-mail: chris@cincinnatiteaparty.org
Website: http://www.cincinnatiteaparty.org/