Appeal to Heaven

Start With The Culture

2012-02-10T07:03:00.000-05:00

Change the culture first and then look at bigger reforms. If we are to restore America long term, it will start in our families, schools & churches. It will start with prayer, education and dedication from every single person who understands why God established this nation.

That Demagoguery Dog Won't Hunt

2011-10-13T08:42:00.001-04:00

Perched firmly in his rightful place as the front runner for the Republican nomination, Herman Cain withstood a constant barrage of attacks on his 9-9-9 Plan for reforming the 80,000 page monstrosity we call a tax code.

Sadly, we watched so called Conservative candidates launch the same old tired arguments that people have used against HR 25, the Fair Tax for years. It hurts the poor, you can't give the Congress another pipeline, how do you know they won't raise it, blah, blah, blah.

Here are some facts that I hope Mr. Cain will employ in future rebuttals to their Liberal style demagoguery.

We already have a Federal Consumption tax in the form of a Fuel Tax. The tax is levied not at static percentage, but at a dynamic 18.4 cents per gallon. This means that if we get a real Energy Secretary in place who opens up our wealth of Domestic energy and we get the price of gas back down to a decent level like say $2.00 per gallon, then the Federal Gas tax would essentially be, wait for it... nine percent per gallon.

Now I'm pretty sure that the current gas tax effects every single person that operates a vehicle, except maybe those pesky drive offs. That means we have imposed a consumption tax on the poor and they still seem to enjoy their cell phones, cigarettes and beer, which by the way are also taxed at the Federal Level. You can read more on that here:
Sin Taxes and Obama

The point is that all of the arguments so far cast against the only real tax reform plan put forth, are easily rebutted and are nothing but veiled attempts to hide the fact that they have no plan for real reform and don't intend to develop one. If we ever want to see true outside the box thinking in the Beltway, we must send a leader from outside the Beltway box!

Is John Lewis a Witch?

2011-10-09T17:58:00.013-04:00

As I watched this video of the Atlanta version of Occupy Wall Street there are a few key points that jump out at me.

The first is that I would like to personally thank this group of Leftist misfits for proving beyond the shadow of a doubt why our Founders did not establish a true democracy. Despite the fact that all on the Left and sadly even some on the Right continue to refer to us as such, we are a Constitutional Republic. Thank God that is the case, because as these fine citizens demonstrate here, minorities have zero rights in a democracy. By the way, the word minority has nothing at all to do with race.

Second, I wonder why, even though there was a Fox 5 News crew right there in the thick of this colossal display of ignorance, I have not seen a single news report about the fact that the vaunted civil rights giant, Rep. John Lewis was denied the right to speak by a group that was overwhelmingly white. We still hear, almost daily, about the imaginary John Lewis vs Tea Party spitting incident and still not a peep when he is sent packing at this Atlanta "protest."

Third and finally, this group of people behaving as mindless automatons is the perfect display of the Progressive Collectivist mindset, and I use the word mind loosely. Their zombie like repetition of whomever is speaking is straight out of the movies and stands in stark contrast to Reagan's definition of Conservatism, wherein he states "Our philosophy is based on a belief in the individual." As I watched this video I kept waiting for someone to stand and yell "If he weighs the same as a duck, then he is made of wood and therefore we cannot allow him to speak." If you don't understand the reference to witches, please see the video below.

Even John Lewis and his cohort seemed to have been wondering how fast they could exit this bizarre confirmation of a failed public school system. I think however, the longer these people are allowed to protest, the easier our jobs will be as Conservatives working to restore the nation our Founders intended.

***Addendum: Fox 5 News did in fact run a story highlighting the plight of these poor downtrodden zombies:

READ ARTICLE HERE

Abject Objectivity

2011-09-18T15:38:00.000-04:00

One of the great philosophers of the late 20th Century, Aaron Tippin once said “You’ve got to stand for something, or you’ll fall for anything.”

In today’s highly polarized political atmosphere we are constantly reminded that the only sure path to elected office is to court and win the “independent” vote. That segment of the citizenry who opt to remain unaffiliated where parties are concerned and therefore hang like a proverbial electoral carrot in front of all would be politicians. We’ll come back to these fine folks shortly.

In full disclosure I myself am actively involved with my local Republican Party, the tea party and 9/12 movements and consider myself a highly opinionated Constitutional Conservative, but the focus of this particular observance is not ideological in nature and party affiliation never alters the truth anyway, despite what you may have been told. So here we go.

Journalism in America has been called a sacred trust in that the public relies on the media for guidance and truth. There is a code of ethics (1) in journalism and it has even been updated to accommodate the mediums of the digital age. At the core of that code are the basic principles of neutrality and objectivity.

Neutral: Not aligned with or supporting any side or position in a controversy.

Objective: Not influenced by personal feelings, interpretations, or prejudice; based on facts; unbiased.

In our modern news cycle one must pay close to attention to the source and whether they’re getting a story from a journalist, a pundit, or some modern hybrid who professes to report the facts independent of their own feelings and then share with you their interpretation of the facts as presented. There is a place for all forms of constructive free speech and news reporting, but it is my belief that in today’s political world even the basic reporting of facts seems geared toward the independents.

Now an independent would tell you that this is completely appropriate since they themselves seek to remain neutral and objective. The issue however is this, when a reporter sees principles and ideologies as polarizing factors they seem to be more inclined to omit any further details even though the facts themselves stand on their own. This in turn changes the perception of anyone hearing the report.

For example I recently heard a Washington political reporter for a local radio station responding to a question about the Beltway's reaction to the controversial and inflammatory language of Teamster Jimmy Hoffa, Jr. wherein he referred to tea party Americans as the children of female dogs and notified president Obama that the unions are his army who are ready to march. The response of the reporter was along the lines of well there are plenty of people on the Left who’ll tell you that the tea party is just as inflammatory and hateful, I think this stuff happens on both sides and you just don’t pay much attention to it.

Now to be clear I’m not implying that this reporter is in any way biased. Quite the contrary, I respect him and believe that he is one of a few who genuinely tries to adhere to the aforementioned code of ethics. What I am saying is that his reporting has been negatively influenced by a desire to remain neutral at the expense of true objectivity. The reality is that there is a preponderance of indisputable video, audio and eyewitness evidence of Progressives and Leftists perpetuating hateful, violent rhetoric and in some cases actually committing violent acts against people who disagree with them politically.

Whereas on the other side, one prominent Conservative actually offered ten thousand dollars for evidence of any such rhetoric or violence and at the time of this writing, nearly two years later, no such evidence has come forward.

This example is an illustration of the unintended failure of modern journalism. They group anyone willing to stand on their principles as either right wing or left wing and then dismissing everything as equally offensive without reporting or even noting that the accusations launched from one side are to date, simply accusations with no evidence, while the other is in most cases completely substantiated. So in order to maintain a sense of balance and neutrality, the baseless imaginings of one side are in affect accepted as counterweights to the hard realities of the other.

In a country where the growing block of power brokers are the Independents who look to journalists for facts and truth, these kinds of failures can alter perception and cause disasters like the election of hard core Fabian Socialists to the highest offices in our great nation. First principles are not partisan and truth is not biased; to imply that they are by half reporting would be an abject failure of objectivity.

(1) - http://www.sedonaobserver.com/what.html

The Politics of Sanity - The Non-poltical Case for Herman Cain

2011-06-05T16:24:00.003-04:00

     Blah, blah, blah, blah! Debt, deficits, discretionary, smeshanary! I can't stand five minutes of the mind numbingly boring debate about Federal politics or any politics for that matter. Why can't they just use common sense and fix these problems once and for all? I mean most of the answers are as plain as the nose on your face. All politicians are the same. All politicians lie. They're all in the same club in the end.
     If you've ever uttered any of those lines or something similar join the club. You are a member of common sense America. The vast majority of us simply want to live by the principles our parents taught us and mind our own business. We expect nothing more and nothing less out of our neighbors. That does not seem to be the case in politics. Once someone has spent a majority of their adult life in elected office, they seem to develop a need for new problems to arise in order to justify their own existence. In the end though, they really aren't all bad people, crooks or liars. The reality is that we've allowed a system to evolve which prohibits any real leaders from having any real power. The game itself has become its own leader. It forces politicians to behave nonsensically because the very essence of the system is contrary to what we would consider common sense. Why would we elect and then pay a person to solve a problem that they themselves created? Next time you hear someone declaring that a leader must be an experienced politician in order to be qualified for office, take note of who that person is and how they make their living.
     We've all heard countless politician jokes. Two Congressman and a prostitute walk into a bar... What do you call five politicians in a hot tub... How many Senators does it take to screw up a budget... And yet, time and time again we elect and re-elect "politicians" to clean up the very mess that they themselves created. Einstein said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. As a recovering alcoholic I learned the very same thing. I could not expect to see any real change or improvement in my life as long as I continued to exercise the same bad judgement and make the same bad decisions over and over again. Well, guess what? We're Americans and we have a problem. It's time to wake up, stand up and acknowledge our problem.
     It's time to make a bold, principled stand and just say no to the political machine that is driving our nation off a cliff and running up a huge tab for our children and grandchildren. It's time to send a leader to Washington who has spent his whole life finding solutions instead of creating problems. It's time to send someone who truly appreciates what it is to be a private sector, free market problem solver. It's time to send someone who will answer a question based on their own personal knowledge and conviction, instead of the safest focus group answer that their handlers coached them to provide. It's long passed time to send someone who is not, I repeat not a politician. My dearest fellow Americans, it's time to sober up and raise some Cain!

Please visit www.ARealLeader.com and learn more about the man who can, with firm reliance on Divine Providence, lead our political class out of the wilderness.

Liberal Folly and Modern Evil...

2011-05-20T07:16:00.001-04:00

This line just keeps ringing in my head. All through the affairs of the day.
Let me be clear...
"...the burnt Fool's bandaged finger goes wobbling back to the Fire"

The Gods of the Copybook Headings
By: Rudyard Kipling

AS I PASS through my incarnations in every age and race,
I make my proper prostrations to the Gods of the Market Place.
Peering through reverent fingers I watch them flourish and fall,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings, I notice, outlast them all.

We were living in trees when they met us. They showed us each in turn
That Water would certainly wet us, as Fire would certainly burn:
But we found them lacking in Uplift, Vision and Breadth of Mind,
So we left them to teach the Gorillas while we followed the March of Mankind.

We moved as the Spirit listed. They never altered their pace,
Being neither cloud nor wind-borne like the Gods of the Market Place,
But they always caught up with our progress, and presently word would come
That a tribe had been wiped off its icefield, or the lights had gone out in Rome.

With the Hopes that our World is built on they were utterly out of touch,
They denied that the Moon was Stilton; they denied she was even Dutch;
They denied that Wishes were Horses; they denied that a Pig had Wings;
So we worshipped the Gods of the Market Who promised these beautiful things.

When the Cambrian measures were forming, They promised perpetual peace.
They swore, if we gave them our weapons, that the wars of the tribes would cease.
But when we disarmed They sold us and delivered us bound to our foe,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "Stick to the Devil you know."

On the first Feminian Sandstones we were promised the Fuller Life
(Which started by loving our neighbour and ended by loving his wife)
Till our women had no more children and the men lost reason and faith,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "The Wages of Sin is Death."

In the Carboniferous Epoch we were promised abundance for all,
By robbing selected Peter to pay for collective Paul;
But, though we had plenty of money, there was nothing our money could buy,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "If you don't work you die."

Then the Gods of the Market tumbled, and their smooth-tongued wizards withdrew
And the hearts of the meanest were humbled and began to believe it was true
That All is not Gold that Glitters, and Two and Two make Four
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings limped up to explain it once more.

As it will be in the future, it was at the birth of Man
There are only four things certain since Social Progress began.
That the Dog returns to his Vomit and the Sow returns to her Mire,
And the burnt Fool's bandaged finger goes wabbling back to the Fire;

And that after this is accomplished, and the brave new world begins
When all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins,
As surely as Water will wet us, as surely as Fire will burn,
The Gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter return!

http://www.kipling.org.uk/poems_copybook.htm

The Truth Has No Agenda

2011-01-12T23:52:00.001-05:00

Jesus said " I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6

And then the Apostle John said "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." 1st John 4:8

Finally, Jesus answered when asked which was the greatest commandment, "“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:36-40

    I have spent the last two years attempting to glean a better understanding of my lifelong sense of patriotism and by no accident I'm convinced, have also spent the last two years renewing my relationship with God through his Son Jesus Christ. I have been an active member of my church, the tea party, the 912 movement, and have become engaged in the local GOP. I have spent time and money helping political candidates whom I believe have a solid Constitutional foundation. I have met countless wonderful Americans on both sides of the "aisle". I have taken part in hundreds if not thousands of hours of conversation and debate about how best to restore our political system to the vision of our Founders. In the course of those conversations I have at times been guilty of focusing less on what I stand for than the perceived error in what someone else stands for. I, like most am susceptible to losing focus of the goal and spending valuable time distracted by the obstacles. When Peter took his eyes off Jesus he began to sink into the sea. Similarly, when we take our eyes off the truth, we begin to get swallowed up by the waves of darkness that exist outside of that truth.
    The truth in the political sense is that Divine Providence allowed our Founders to establish a country governed by it's citizens. A country where we are free to live out the great commission. A country where we can demonstrate the love of God at work. I am a proud member of NorthPointe Church. A church which strives to live the words of Jesus by reaching out and loving our neighbors as ourselves, by coming together to worship God through service and praise. This I'm convinced is the reason that God established this nation. That we may be a shining city on a hill for all the people of the earth. That is the liberty I want to pass along to my children and future grandchildren
That is why I am committing myself today to stay focused on the wonderful truths of our mission. Those truths existed long before me and they will never weaken or wither. Instead of pointing out problems, I want to offer up solutions. As hard as it is sometimes, we must ignore the incivility that is so often born of ignorance coupled with emotion. We must strive to stay above the negativity to which our flesh is so prone, and instead hold fast to the truth, for it has no agenda, but to glorify God.

Hateful Rhetoric Run Amuck...

2011-01-09T18:34:00.001-05:00

Based on what I'm hearing today from the mass media, there are quite a few words and phrases in our society that we are just going to have to eliminate because we have unstable citizens among us who just might be provoked to commit heinous acts if they happen to hear any of them.

I've decided to begin a listing of these words, phrases and even businesses that must be eliminated.

hard hitting
brutally frank
cutting remarks
banging it out
hitting it off”
getting smashed or hammered
killing time
killing two birds with one stone
more than one way to skin a cat
shooting the breeze
Target Department Stores
ready for a dogfight (anyone saying that should be executed according to Tucker Carlson)
shooting the gap
here's mud in your eye
I'll have a stab at it
knock'em dead
break a leg
choke artist
that just beats all
time to reload
beat'em to the punch
bring out the big guns
college fight songs
Everything Quentin Tarantino has ever written
All Bruce Willis movies

These are off the top of my head. If you know of other dangerous words or phrases that could lead psychotic nut jobs to perpetrate violence against innocent Americans please email them to the tip lines of CNN or MSNBC immediately.

**UPDATE**
Here are a few quotes from our Commander in Chief that may indicate he is not for the word ban...
SOME HAVE ASKED FOR PROOF (SOURCE) OF THESE QUOTES FROM OBAMA. Here they are:

if... they bring a knife, we will bring a gun http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/14/obama-we-bring-a-gun/

I want you to argue with them and get in their face.
http://www.examiner.com/conservative-politics-in-national/obama-i-want-you-to-argue-with-them-and-get-their-face

"I don’t want to quell anger. I think people are right to be angry. I’m angry." - 03/09/2009 http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_031809/content/01125110.guest.html

"They potentially have the best answers, so I know whose ass to kick." - 06/07/2010 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAdhQoIIhDk

Obama to Latinos: "Punish" Your "Enemies" in the Voting Booth
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/obama-latinos-punish-your-enemies-voting-booth_511932.html

“Hit Back Twice As Hard” http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0809/WH_aide_promises_senators_theyll_hit_back_twice_as_hard.html

"If Republicans will win there will be hand to hand combat"
http://gatewaypundit.rightnetwork.com/2010/10/thug-in-chief-if-republicans-win-therell-be-hand-to-hand-combat/

“I’m itching for a fight.” http://www.examiner.com/government-in-columbus/obama-chamberlain-like-to-some-dems-says-he-s-itching-for-a-fight-with-gop

In all seriousness, please continue to pray for the families of the victims in Arizona and the for the victims still recovering.

What Have We Become?

2011-01-09T00:11:00.000-05:00

Murder is murder.
Wrong is wrong.
    Do we have so little respect for life that we cannot wait a single hour before politicizing a horrendous killing spree perpetrated by a clearly deranged lunatic.
    Are we so absorbed with our pole on the political spectrum that a tragic loss of life fails to warrant a proper sense of loss and mourning?
    As at least six lay dead and others are treated for life threatening wounds, our press, media and politicians scramble to put the right spin or place the blame on whomever they oppose politically. Every news story leads with "A gunmen shoots a Democratic Congresswoman..." I haven't heard a single story lead with "A group of innocent Americans including a child were murdered today by a mad man..."
       I considered writing a similar response during the Gulf oil spill as I listened to days and months of coverage that scarcely ever mentioned the eleven men who lost their lives in the explosion. Those sons, fathers and husbands took a back seat to the politics of left and right. Tonight I have heard all I can stomach of the grossly misplaced priorities and lack of reverence for human life.
     I pray to God that we as a nation can find our way back to His light. I pray that we can regain our moral compass by fixing our gaze on Him. Jesus said that the two greatest commandments were to love the Lord our God with all of our hearts and love each other as ourselves. My heartfelt prayers tonight will be for the innocents who lost their lives today and the families who will mourn for them.

I Don't Think That's How it Happened

2010-12-08T23:43:00.004-05:00

Sometime I feel like I'm in some kind of alternate universe when I'm reading the daily headlines. I hear the twilight zone theme music while listening to the day's soundbites from the world of politics. I understand that there are different theories of economics and varying views on the roll of government, and I am also quite aware of my profound ignorance on both subjects. What I have trouble with however, is hearing seemingly intelligent, educated people say things with absolute seriousness that any sane person immediately recognizes as completely false, statements sometimes equivalent to claiming that water is not wet or that fire doesn't burn. What I have trouble with is the way that we have allowed vital lessons from history to be virtually deleted or re-written and as a result are barreling headlong down the track to repeating mistakes that would turn our ancestors over in their graves. I believe this is the reason why people can make outlandish statements without ever really having to defend for them.

First I'll list some of the types of ridiculous statements I hear almost daily from politicians and talking heads. These statements speak for themselves so I'll trust that your inherent instincts of right and wrong will expound on them much more appropriately than could I...

"It [unemployment insurance] creates jobs faster than almost any other initiative you can name." - Nancy Pelosi

"They [Republicans] are going to pout if we [the government] don't give more money to millionaires" - Claire McCaskill

"We have to pass the bill before we can find out what's in it" - again, Nancy Pelosi

"The FCC has a responsibility to say that the public cannot be offended" - Al Sharpton

"We are ready for an unforeseen event that may or may not occur." - Al Gore

"I do think at a certain point you’ve made enough money" - Barrack Obama

"President Clinton reconnected with Oklahoma [city]. And the President [Obama] right now he seems removed. And it wasn’t until that speech that he [Clinton] really clicked with the American people. Obama needs a similar kind of, yeah." - Democratic Pollster Mark Penn

I could go on and on and you probably have your own list of quotes that made you go hmmm, but the point is that more often than not, these types of statements go largely unchallenged and even sometimes get repeated or reported as accurate.

Then there are those realities of history which seem to been completely re-written by text books, historians with agendas or the media and Hollywood.

The murderous campaign of Communist Chez Guevara is now widely romanticized as the story of a freedom fighter standing up for the poor.

The New York Times had this to say in their obituary for Mao Tse-Tung in '76.
"One of the most remarkable personalities of the 20th century, Mao was an infinitely complex man-- by turns shrewd and realistic, then impatient and a romantic dreamer, an individualist but also a strict disciplinarian. His motives seemed a mixture of the humanitarian and the totalitarian."

There's this quote where President Bush lies about Iraq.
"The community of nations may see more and more of the very kind of threat Iraq poses now: a rogue state with weapons of mass destruction, ready to use them or provide them to terrorists. If we fail to respond today, Saddam and all those who would follow in his footsteps will be emboldened tomorrow." Or in the world of reality we would attribute this statement to the man who actually said it... Bill Clinton in 1998

And some of the classics revisions that continue to have a real impact on our society are gems like...
The New Deal ended the Great Depression.
The Democratic Party looks out for the best interests of black Americans.
The Democrats are for the poor and the GOP is for the rich.
The Founders we're just greedy, Godless, un-remorseful slave owners.
The "Separation of church and state"

A couple of those may fall more into the fallacy category than revisionism but they are all contributing to the decline of our Republic when coupled with an educational system that turns out virtually illiterate, historically ignorant masses. In C.S. Lewis' "The Screwtape Letters" the devil encourages his demonic nephew to forge a separation between the generations so that the lessons and wisdom of elders will not be passed along. Lewis understood clearly that the old adage stands true, those who don't know their history are doomed to repeat it.

I was recently made aware of a poem written by Rudyard Kipling, of Jungle Book and Gunga Din fame. The Poem is called "The gods of the copybook headings". The copybook heading to folks in my generation would be meaningless lines like "see spot run" or "the lazy cat lays silently", but in Kipling's day the copybook headings served two purposes; they helped children learn grammar while reiterating fundamental truths of life. The copybook heading were more like "Hard work pays off" or "All that glitters is not gold". So Kipling coined these basic truths of life "The gods of the copybook headings" and put into poetry what he was witnessing or had witnessed in a world where Marxism and Progressivism were taking hold in many countries including our own.

The gods of the Copy Book Headings
By:Rudyard Kipling

AS I PASS through my incarnations in every age and race,
I make my proper prostrations to the gods of the Market Place.
Peering through reverent fingers I watch them flourish and fall,
And the gods of the Copybook Headings, I notice, outlast them all.

We were living in trees when they met us. They showed us each in turn
That Water would certainly wet us, as Fire would certainly burn:
But we found them lacking in Uplift, Vision and Breadth of Mind,
So we left them to teach the Gorillas while we followed the March of Mankind.

We moved as the Spirit listed. They never altered their pace,
Being neither cloud nor wind-borne like the gods of the Market Place,
But they always caught up with our progress, and presently word would come
That a tribe had been wiped off its icefield, or the lights had gone out in Rome.

With the Hopes that our World is built on they were utterly out of touch,
They denied that the Moon was Stilton; they denied she was even Dutch;
They denied that Wishes were Horses; they denied that a Pig had Wings;
So we worshipped the gods of the Market Who promised these beautiful things.

When the Cambrian measures were forming, They promised perpetual peace.
They swore, if we gave them our weapons, that the wars of the tribes would cease.
But when we disarmed They sold us and delivered us bound to our foe,
And the gods of the Copybook Headings said: "Stick to the Devil you know."

On the first Feminian Sandstones we were promised the Fuller Life
(Which started by loving our neighbour and ended by loving his wife)
Till our women had no more children and the men lost reason and faith,
And the gods of the Copybook Headings said: "The Wages of Sin is Death."

In the Carboniferous Epoch we were promised abundance for all,
By robbing selected Peter to pay for collective Paul;
But, though we had plenty of money, there was nothing our money could buy,
And the gods of the Copybook Headings said: "If you don't work you die."

Then the gods of the Market tumbled, and their smooth-tongued wizards withdrew
And the hearts of the meanest were humbled and began to believe it was true
That All is not Gold that Glitters, and Two and Two make Four
And the gods of the Copybook Headings limped up to explain it once more.

As it will be in the future, it was at the birth of Man
There are only four things certain since Social Progress began.
That the Dog returns to his Vomit and the Sow returns to her Mire,
And the burnt Fool's bandaged finger goes wabbling back to the Fire;

And that after this is accomplished, and the brave new world begins
When all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins,
As surely as Water will wet us, as surely as Fire will burn,
The gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter return!

Like it or not folks, we have a responsibility to our children and grandchildren to step out of our comfort zones and stand up for what's right, preserve liberty and pass on to them the lessons of our past, lest they suffer the consequences of our repeated mistakes. We have to stop the attacks on high achievers, stop the political correctness, honor and learn from our seniors and reconnect with our neighbors. We have to teach our children the values that made us the greatest country on the planet.

Show Us The Money, We'll Show You Reform

2010-11-12T22:31:00.006-05:00

With all the talk of budgets, deficits, cuts and spending, It seems the perfect time to right some wrongs in that regard. Somewhere along the way the scales of monetary justice really have been tipped in the wrong direction, but not in the areas that you hear about in the headlines or on Capitol Hill. Too many talking heads and politicians like to fan the flames of class warfare by declaring that the high earners in our society somehow don't deserve what they've earned or that they have made their "fortunes" on the backs of the less fortunate. I'll save the government versus private sector discussion for another post and focus here on some blatant fiscal injustices that we can and should make right. We now have at least a third of the members of the House who ran on fiscal responsibility and listening to the people (their bosses) and if we let this opportunity to self govern slip away, then we deserve what we get. My prayer though is that we can rally around common sense reforms like this and actually change the culture of modern politics and get down to the serious and difficult business of saving our country from economic disaster.

For Perspective
The average yearly salary of the men and women on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan is between $18k and 22K per year. The heroes who swear to defend our Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic, with the full understanding that it might mean laying down their very lives. Twenty two thousand dollars to live their jobs 24-7, go wherever they're ordered to go and march into whatever hell they must to defend liberty.

The Unchaste Aristocracy
Now let's have a look at the men and women who take an oath to uphold our Constitution and serve as our representatives in our republican form of government. In rolls that were never intended to be year round positions and certainly were never intended to be career choices. The base salary for these "servants" is $174,000 per year. This does not even take into account travel expenses, staff expenses (I'll expand on this), being wined and dined at the best DC has to offer, or elite Washington soirees where the affluent get face time with our modern aristocracy.

Rank and File Congressmen
$174,000 per year
Senate Leadership
Majority Party Leader - $193,400
Minority Party Leader - $193,400
House Leadership
Speaker of the House - $223,500
Majority Leader - $193,400
Minority Leader - $193,400

Then there are the Congressional Staffers. Because our hardworking public servants have such a heavy job to do, they need to hire ridiculous numbers of assistants and staffers to get the job done. Nancy Pelosi has employed just short of 100 different people since 2000, at right around a million dollars per year in salaries. Many of these people fill important jobs like answering the phone and reading legislation so that the Reps don't have to get bogged down in that sort of minutia. Now, in fairness to the honorable Mrs. Pelosi, who nearly tripled her worth over the course of this recession, the issue at hand crosses all party lines and is simply an institutional problem that has advanced like a disease over the decades.

Legistorm is an excellent site to make your blood boil with tons of facts about what and who you are paying for.

We're definitely a long way from the original $6 -$8 per day that Congressmen made up until 1825.

George Washington had this to say in his first inaugural...
"When I was first honored with a call into the service of my country, then on the eve of an arduous struggle for its liberties, the light in which I contemplated my duty required that I should renounce every pecuniary compensation. From this resolution I have in no instance departed; and being still under the impressions which produced it, I must decline as inapplicable to myself any share in the personal emoluments which may be indispensably included in a permanent provision for the executive department, and must accordingly pray that the pecuniary estimates for the station in which I am placed may during my continuance in it be limited to such actual expenditures as the public good may be thought to require."

Now those are the words of a statesman who loved his country and viewed his public service as a privilege.

The Bureaucratic Beast
There are also the millions of Federal workers hired on in droves as the government itself grows at an ever compounding rate under the leadership of the public servants mentioned above. The average government employee makes somewhere between $75k and $100K with benefits, while the average American makes between $50 and $55K, with fewer paid holidays and whole lot less room for ineptitude. One stat from the sources listed below is that the amount of Fed Employees making $150K or more has doubled under the current administration.

http://www.opm.gov/oca/10tables/indexGS.asp
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-11-10-1Afedpay10_ST_N.htm
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/income/2010-08-10-1Afedpay10_ST_N.htm

The Solution - YOU!
A well known TV personality recently suggested that maybe Congress should not be allowed to make more than the young men and women who go into the line of fire to defend us. I think that would be an excellent starting point in returning some sanity to government.

There are many wonderful Americans stepping up to use their God given talents in the service of their country in the form of active participation in the restoration movement. If you're reading this and you suffered this far through, then in my opinion you are probably one of those people. Many of us are not knowledgeable in the logistics of how to bring about changes legislatively or connected in a way that would give us the ability to make a few phone calls and get the ball rolling on a major reform, but make no mistake, there are plenty of ways that we can and must do our part. Spread these facts to your friends and family. Share them in an email. Call your Congressmen and let them know that you know and that you want things to change in a drastic way. Talk about this around the water cooler.

I am firmly convinced that we the people can call the shots if we will simply stand up and be heard.

Timeless Inaugural Addresses...

2010-11-08T21:29:00.006-05:00

If you have never taken the time to read the inaugural addresses of our past Presidents, especially from 1900 back, I encourage you to do so. I'm constantly taken back by their genuinely humble tone and their poetic use of the English language. Periodically I will present some of my favorites for your enjoyment... James Madison Saturday March 4th, 1809 Chief Justice John Marshall administered the oath of office in the Hall of the House of Representatives (now National Statuary Hall). President Jefferson watched the ceremony, but he joined the crowd of assembled visitors since he no longer was an office-holder. The mild March weather drew a crowd of about 10,000 persons. UNWILLING to depart from examples of the most revered authority, I avail myself of the occasion now presented to express the profound impression made on me by the call of my country to the station to the duties of which I am about to pledge myself by the most solemn of sanctions. So distinguished a mark of confidence, proceeding from the deliberate and tranquil suffrage of a free and virtuous nation, would under any circumstances have commanded my gratitude and devotion, as well as filled me with an awful sense of the trust to be assumed. Under the various circumstances which give peculiar solemnity to the existing period, I feel that both the honor and the responsibility allotted to me are inexpressibly enhanced.
The present situation of the world is indeed without a parallel, and that of our own country full of difficulties. The pressure of these, too, is the more severely felt because they have fallen upon us at a moment when the national prosperity being at a height not before attained, the contrast resulting from the change has been rendered the more striking. Under the benign influence of our republican institutions, and the maintenance of peace with all nations whilst so many of them were engaged in bloody and wasteful wars, the fruits of a just policy were enjoyed in an unrivaled growth of our faculties and resources. Proofs of this were seen in the improvements of agriculture, in the successful enterprises of commerce, in the progress of manufacturers and useful arts, in the increase of the public revenue and the use made of it in reducing the public debt, and in the valuable works and establishments everywhere multiplying over the face of our land.
It is a precious reflection that the transition from this prosperous condition of our country to the scene which has for some time been distressing us is not chargeable on any unwarrantable views, nor, as I trust, on any involuntary errors in the public councils. Indulging no passions which trespass on the rights or the repose of other nations, it has been the true glory of the United States to cultivate peace by observing justice, and to entitle themselves to the respect of the nations at war by fulfilling their neutral obligations with the most scrupulous impartiality. If there be candor in the world, the truth of these assertions will not be questioned; posterity at least will do justice to them.
This unexceptionable course could not avail against the injustice and violence of the belligerent powers. In their rage against each other, or impelled by more direct motives, principles of retaliation have been introduced equally contrary to universal reason and acknowledged law. How long their arbitrary edicts will be continued in spite of the demonstrations that not even a pretext for them has been given by the United States, and of the fair and liberal attempt to induce a revocation of them, can not be anticipated. Assuring myself that under every vicissitude the determined spirit and united councils of the nation will be safeguards to its honor and its essential interests, I repair to the post assigned me with no other discouragement than what springs from my own inadequacy to its high duties. If I do not sink under the weight of this deep conviction it is because I find some support in a consciousness of the purposes and a confidence in the principles which I bring with me into this arduous service.
To cherish peace and friendly intercourse with all nations having correspondent dispositions; to maintain sincere neutrality toward belligerent nations; to prefer in all cases amicable discussion and reasonable accommodation of differences to a decision of them by an appeal to arms; to exclude foreign intrigues and foreign partialities, so degrading to all countries and so baneful to free ones; to foster a spirit of independence too just to invade the rights of others, too proud to surrender our own, too liberal to indulge unworthy prejudices ourselves and too elevated not to look down upon them in others; to hold the union of the States as the basis of their peace and happiness; to support the Constitution, which is the cement of the Union, as well in its limitations as in its authorities; to respect the rights and authorities reserved to the States and to the people as equally incorporated with and essential to the success of the general system; to avoid the slightest interference with the right of conscience or the functions of religion, so wisely exempted from civil jurisdiction; to preserve in their full energy the other salutary provisions in behalf of private and personal rights, and of the freedom of the press; to observe economy in public expenditures; to liberate the public resources by an honorable discharge of the public debts; to keep within the requisite limits a standing military force, always remembering that an armed and trained militia is the firmest bulwark of republics—that without standing armies their liberty can never be in danger, nor with large ones safe; to promote by authorized means improvements friendly to agriculture, to manufactures, and to external as well as internal commerce; to favor in like manner the advancement of science and the diffusion of information as the best aliment to true liberty; to carry on the benevolent plans which have been so meritoriously applied to the conversion of our aboriginal neighbors from the degradation and wretchedness of savage life to a participation of the improvements of which the human mind and manners are susceptible in a civilized state—as far as sentiments and intentions such as these can aid the fulfillment of my duty, they will be a resource which can not fail me.
It is my good fortune, moreover, to have the path in which I am to tread lighted by examples of illustrious services successfully rendered in the most trying difficulties by those who have marched before me. Of those of my immediate predecessor it might least become me here to speak. I may, however, be pardoned for not suppressing the sympathy with which my heart is full in the rich reward he enjoys in the benedictions of a beloved country, gratefully bestowed or exalted talents zealously devoted through a long career to the advancement of its highest interest and happiness.
But the source to which I look or the aids which alone can supply my deficiencies is in the well-tried intelligence and virtue of my fellow-citizens, and in the counsels of those representing them in the other departments associated in the care of the national interests. In these my confidence will under every difficulty be best placed, next to that which we have all been encouraged to feel in the guardianship and guidance of that Almighty Being whose power regulates the destiny of nations, whose blessings have been so conspicuously dispensed to this rising Republic, and to whom we are bound to address our devout gratitude for the past, as well as our fervent supplications and best hopes for the future.	7

Feeding a Lie is not Wise...

2010-04-24T20:00:00.007-04:00

In a time when bloggers are quickly gaining ground on newspaper columnists and freelance op-ed writers we have a new challenge emerging. Anyone, including me, can just sign up for a free blog and fire away. Personally I try to limit my rambling to subjects about which I at least have some rudimentary knowledge but there are no prerequisites. I believe that the easy access to this new medium is a great thing because it opens the battlefield of ideas up to millions who might not otherwise have a voice in the debate other than their voice at the ballot box. The flip side however is that someone who has absolutely no real knowledge concerning a particular subject, can sit down to his or her keyboard armed only with an arsenal of inaccurate preconceived notions, misguided assumptions and occasionally some learned prejudices; and embark on a full assault on said subject. Freedom of expression, however distasteful, false or incendiary is still the right of the "expressor". *I don't think expressor is a word but I'm still free to use it. I am also free to combat these specious postulations with the facts as I see them. The following article is from another blog wherein the author embarks on what he calls a game. A game in which he infers a laundry list of distortions that I myself know to be false. I have italicized all of his article here and inserted my reply to each passage in blue standard copy. I'm sure Mr. Wise is a fine citizen and my disagreements with him are based solely on the conclusions drawn in his article.

"Imagine if the Tea Party Was Black" - by Tim Wise on "Cosmic Navel Lint blog"

Let’s play a game, shall we? The name of the game is called “Imagine.” The way it’s played is simple: we’ll envision recent happenings in the news, but then change them up a bit. Instead of envisioning white people as the main actors in the scenes we’ll conjure - the ones who are driving the action - we’ll envision black folks or other people of color instead. The object of the game is to imagine the public reaction to the events or incidents, if the main actors were of color, rather than white. Whoever gains the most insight into the workings of race in America, at the end of the game, wins.

So let’s begin.

Imagine that hundreds of black protesters were to descend upon Washington DC and Northern Virginia, just a few miles from the Capitol and White House, armed with AK-47s, assorted handguns, and ammunition. And imagine that some of these protesters —the black protesters — spoke of the need for political revolution, and possibly even armed conflict in the event that laws they didn’t like were enforced by the government? Would these protester — these black protesters with guns — be seen as brave defenders of the Second Amendment, or would they be viewed by most whites as a danger to the republic? What if they were Arab-Americans? Because, after all, that’s what happened recently when white gun enthusiasts descended upon the nation’s capital, arms in hand, and verbally announced their readiness to make war on the country’s political leaders if the need arose.

My Response...
First of all I'd like to point out an inaccuracy here that has a real impact on anyone forming an opinion of the "tea Parties". The march that's referred to here is not a tea party at all. It was a Second Amendment March, designed to celebrate our right as Americans to keep and bear arms. A right I might I add that is shared by all Americans regardless of race or ethnicity. Secondly, despite wide spread rumor to the contrary, the marchers were unarmed because the laws in Washington D.C. prohibit the public from carrying firearms. There have been other such marches (again, not tea parties) around the country where people were allowed to carry their arms. One such event is pictured here...

Imagine that white members of Congress, while walking to work, were surrounded by thousands of angry black people, one of whom proceeded to spit on one of those congressmen for not voting the way the black demonstrators desired. Would the protesters be seen as merely patriotic Americans voicing their opinions, or as an angry, potentially violent, and even insurrectionary mob? After all, this is what white Tea Party protesters did recently in Washington.

My Response...
This is a widespread misrepresentation of what happened on the day of the HR 3200 vote in Washington. The facts of the incident are these. The House Speaker and a small band of Congressmen chose to needlessly parade themselves through a crowd of people who opposed the legislation that they were going to sign. They even went as far as to carry a large gavel in hand in an effort to provoke the crowd to anger. This was a display of arrogance and distaste unbecoming the distinguished United States House of Representatives and did stir emotion in many of the people present but even then violence did not come into play. The video that supposedly showed one Congressman being spat upon, later proved to be, by the admission of the Congressman in question, an over zealous protester who simply fell into the "Say it, don't spray it" category. Then there were the rumors that people were yelling racial epithets at some of the Congressman. This also appears to be false based on the fact that there were dozens of TV cameras and mics present and not a single instance can be found, nor have any of the actual Congressmen made the statement that this took place. If you'll notice in the picture below, the Speaker and her Congressional cohorts do not appear to feel threatened by any insurrectionary mob...

Imagine that a rap artist were to say, in reference to a white president: “He’s a piece of shit and I told him to suck on my machine gun.” Because that’s what rocker Ted Nugent said recently about President Obama.

My Response...
First I'd like to note that the author seems to infer here that all rap artists are something other than white, but I digress. I do not condone this type of language against any person and certainly not against any U.S. President, but there are in fact countless instances of verbal assaults and death threats on the former President involving prominent black and white artists and protesters. I'll link to one instance here where rappers JayZ and Young Jeezy go into an Anti-Bush rant even as late as President Obama's inauguration.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW VIDEO

OR THIS WEBSITE FULL OF DEATH THREATS AGAINST BUSH BY ALL RACES

Imagine that a prominent mainstream black political commentator had long employed an overt bigot as Executive Director of his organization, and that this bigot regularly participated in black separatist conferences, and once assaulted a white person while calling them by a racial slur. When that prominent black commentator and his sister — who also works for the organization — defended the bigot as a good guy who was misunderstood and “going through a tough time in his life” would anyone accept their excuse-making? Would that commentator still have a place on a mainstream network? Because that’s what happened in the real world, when Pat Buchanan employed as Executive Director of his group, America’s Cause, a blatant racist who did all these things, or at least their white equivalents: attending white separatist conferences and attacking a black woman while calling her the n-word.

My Response...
This particular story to me, invokes an image of a different and equally despicable bigot...Jessie Jackson, who flies all around the country screaming racism in order to benefit financially while at the same time disgracing the memory of his friend Martin Luther King Jr. by profiting off of other people's misery and fabricating racial tension.

CLICK HERE FOR THE WHOLE STORY

Imagine that a black radio host were to suggest that the only way to get promoted in the administration of a white president is by “hating black people,” or that a prominent white person had only endorsed a white presidential candidate as an act of racial bonding, or blamed a white president for a fight on a school bus in which a black kid was jumped by two white kids, or said that he wouldn’t want to kill all conservatives, but rather, would like to leave just enough—“living fossils” as he called them—“so we will never forget what these people stood for.” After all, these are things that Rush Limbaugh has said, about Barack Obama’s administration, Colin Powell’s endorsement of Barack Obama, a fight on a school bus in Belleville, Illinois in which two black kids beat up a white kid, and about liberals, generally.

My Response...

Chris Rock on George Bush...

Originally posted Mar 14th 2007 7:30 PM PDT by TMZ Staff

In the latest issue of Life magazine, featuring Chris on the cover, Rock is asked, "Is this country ready for an African American president?" Rock answered, "It's ready for a retarded president, why wouldn't it be ready for an African American president?" Oh no he didn't! Rock went on to say that he likes Al Gore, and that he doesn't expect to see a black president in his lifetime.

Kanye West on Bush and the government...

"We already realize a lot of people that could help are at war right now, fighting another way, and they have given them permission to go down and shoot us. George Bush doesn’t care about black people."

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice

The first Black Woman to hold this position, the highest position ever held by a black woman.

Here's an article about her written by Grammy Winner Jacky Jasper, the "Street King"

Condoleezza Rice Won't Be Alone at Uncle Tom's Cabin

Imagine that a black pastor, formerly a member of the U.S. military, were to declare, as part of his opposition to a white president’s policies, that he was ready to “suit up, get my gun, go to Washington, and do what they trained me to do.” This is, after all, what Pastor Stan Craig said recently at a Tea Party rally in Greenville, South Carolina.

My Response...

Harry Belafonte on Bush

updated 8:54 p.m. ET, Sun., Jan. 8, 2006

CARACAS, Venezuela - The American singer and activist Harry Belafonte called President Bush “the greatest terrorist in the world” on Sunday and said millions of Americans support the socialist revolution of Hugo Chavez.

In October 2002 Belafonte stirred controversy when, during an interview on a San Diego radio station, he intimated that Secretary of State Colin Powell, by virtue of his service in the Bush admininistration, was a traitor to African Americans. "There's an old saying in the days of slavery," Belafonte later explained on Larry King's CNN program. "There are those slaves who lived on the plantation, and there were those slaves who lived in the house. You got the privilege of living in the house if you served the master. Colin Powell was permitted to come into the house of the master" -- a reference to President George W. Bush. "But when such an individual," Belafonte continued, "is in the service of those who not only perpetuate the oppression, but sometimes design the way in which it is applied, it then becomes very, very, very, very critical that we raise our voices and be heard. And . . . Colin Powell is in that position." Belafonte directed the same sentiments to then-National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice.

Three years later, Belafonte continued on this theme of “race treason” by certain Republican blacks when he said, “Hitler had a lot of Jews high up in the hierarchy of the Third Riech” -- implying that such Jews were, at that time, the equivalent of conservative blacks in the Bush administration today.

Imagine a black radio talk show host gleefully predicting a revolution by people of color if the government continues to be dominated by the rich white men who have been “destroying” the country, or if said radio personality were to call Christians or Jews non-humans, or say that when it came to conservatives, the best solution would be to “hang ‘em high.” And what would happen to any congressional representative who praised that commentator for “speaking common sense” and likened his hate talk to “American values?” After all, those are among the things said by radio host and best-selling author Michael Savage, predicting white revolution in the face of multiculturalism, or said by Savage about Muslims and liberals, respectively. And it was Congressman Culbertson, from Texas, who praised Savage in that way, despite his hateful rhetoric.

Imagine a black political commentator suggesting that the only thing the guy who flew his plane into the Austin, Texas IRS building did wrong was not blowing up Fox News instead. This is, after all, what Anne Coulter said about Tim McVeigh, when she noted that his only mistake was not blowing up the New York Times.

Okay, in these two paragraphs I'm with you Tim. These statements don't represent me, any of my friends or the tea party movement.

Imagine that a popular black liberal website posted comments about the daughter of a white president, calling her “typical redneck trash,” or a “whore” whose mother entertains her by “making monkey sounds.” After all that’s comparable to what conservatives posted about Malia Obama on freerepublic.com last year, when they referred to her as “ghetto trash.”

How about an article entitled "Family Values and those slutty, pot smoking Bush Twins"?

Imagine that black protesters at a large political rally were walking around with signs calling for the lynching of their congressional enemies. Because that’s what white conservatives did last year, in reference to Democratic party leaders in Congress.

In other words, imagine that even one-third of the anger and vitriol currently being hurled at President Obama, by folks who are almost exclusively white, were being aimed, instead, at a white president, by people of color. How many whites viewing the anger, the hatred, the contempt for that white president would then wax eloquent about free speech, and the glories of democracy? And how many would be calling for further crackdowns on thuggish behavior, and investigations into the radical agendas of those same people of color?

Again....

To ask any of these questions is to answer them. Protest is only seen as fundamentally American when those who have long had the luxury of seeing themselves as prototypically American engage in it. When the dangerous and dark “other” does so, however, it isn’t viewed as normal or natural, let alone patriotic. Which is why Rush Limbaugh could say, this past week, that the Tea Parties are the first time since the Civil War that ordinary, common Americans stood up for their rights: a statement that erases the normalcy and “American-ness” of blacks in the civil rights struggle, not to mention women in the fight for suffrage and equality, working people in the fight for better working conditions, and LGBT folks as they struggle to be treated as full and equal human beings.

And this, my friends, is what white privilege is all about. The ability to threaten others, to engage in violent and incendiary rhetoric without consequence, to be viewed as patriotic and normal no matter what you do, and never to be feared and despised as people of color would be, if they tried to get away with half the shit we do, on a daily basis.

Tim,
As a Christian, an American and as a "tea party" person, I am saddened that you have settled on this view. It is very clear that you have not attended any of the events that you are railing against and yet you seem to have so much anger toward the people involved. You're believing a lie that the establishment needs you to believe. We celebrate the liberty of all people. We honor Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King's niece Alveda just sat down to the table with Ted Nugent and Glenn Beck because they all realize that the problems we face aren't about our color, they're about our culture. Morgan Freeman recently told an NBC reporter that he is against Black History month because Black history is American History and that the best way to fight racism is to stop talking about it. It only still really exists in the fringes of all races and it's only still a topic of conversation because misguided people like you are perpetuating the lie.You my friend are a hindrance to the very thing for which you claim to yearn. Might I suggest you check out a very insightful blog by someone who might understand the black plight a little better than a white suburban kid like yourself...Digital Publius - House of Sacrifice
or this one by Author Star Parker...Back on Uncle Sam's Plantation
Game Over.

It's not a game Tim, but if it were it would be far from over. We need you to put down your poison pen, come up out of your mom's basement and join the struggle...

GAME ON!

White NBC Reporter Confronts Man at Tea Party

http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2010/20100416091249.aspx

Morgan Freeman on race...

Black Conservatives ridiculed

http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/black-conservative-tea-party-441024.html

We are the Government? Good to Know....

2010-04-17T21:48:00.002-04:00

The more I learn of our country's history and the more I become involved in the restoration movement that is currently sweeping our nation, the more I understand how we arrived at this point, and that there's no quick fix. People are complex. Emotions, tempers, passions; desires, dreams, motives; angles, manipulations and outright lies are just a few of the words that come to mind as I look back over the last year and a half since I became actively involved in the growing movement that has been tagged, for better or worse, as the "tea party" movement.

I've taken part, either in person, on conference calls or on some of the new social media sites, in literally hundreds of hours of debate and discussion with freedom loving Americans from Washington State to Washington D.C. From Miami, Florida to upstate New York. I have experienced very productive brainstorming sessions with a wonderful sense of unity and agreement as well as heated and passionate arguments in which emotions won the hour and words were spoken that built seemingly insurmountable walls between the people involved. I've had the pleasure of meeting and conversing with some of the best people you'll ever meet and then I've had the distinct displeasure of learning that some people are just not what they pretend to be.

Unfortunately there is no one problem that we can point to and say okay, if we fix this we'll have it all straightened out. There is however one problem that has played a major roll in all of the other problems. Apathy!

At some point in history we decided that politics and self governance would be better left to "politicians". Then we started telling jokes about how slimy politicians are. In the 1960 Presidential Election, voter turn out was at 63% of the voting age public. By 1996, after a steady decline over the decades, it hit a 20th century low at 49%. The last three have improved slightly to reach 56% in 2008 mainly due to a large youth turn out following a rock star - American Idol campaign by the current Administration. It had nothing to do with a sense of civic responsibility.

The most important elections however, when it comes to self governance are the elections that don't involve a Presidential Candidate. Local, State and Congressional elections are the ones that shape our system. In 1970 turnout for these elections was already a lowly 47% and by 2006 when the likes of Nancy Pelosi took control of Congress the turnout was a dismal 37%.

Local elections are even worse. Only a tiny fraction of the citizens in most municipalities even know that elections are happening. County and City Governments shape the growth of our home towns, school boards shape our children's educations and State Governments shape our wallets and in theory exercise control over the Federal Government (the Tenth Amendment and State Sovereignty require their own discussion).

We have abdicated the responsibilities that our Founders built into our system. Of the people, by the people and for the people is just a slogan that some of us have heard, but rarely consider it's true meaning. We have turned the word "politician" into a career choice. We have fireman, policeman, doctors, and now we have politicians. The problem with that fact is that once a person becomes a career politician, they no longer have a vested interest in being a citizen. That is why government has grown into a massive corporation which believes that it must feed and nurture us in order to validate it's own existence. If government is not the answer to all of our ills then where would that leave the career politicians? Now we all know someone who is or was in a public office because they genuinely wanted to make a difference on some issue or in some area. The problem for those people, and if they are intellectually honest they will agree with this, the career politicians have created a system in which it is nearly impossible for anyone to get anything done unless the political establishment wants it to happen. Even then they will re-shape it is such a way as to make sure that it doesn't take any power from them. When's the last time you heard a Congressman running on a Term Limits platform?

In this great awakening that's taking place there are some candidates popping up who promise that if elected all of our ills will be healed. Elect me and I'll do this, vote for me and I'll establish that... Beware of snake oil salesmen friends because there is no easy fix. It took us decades to get in this position and we will not get out in one election cycle. In our slumber we have allowed some people to get into positions of power who have very different ideals than the vast majority of American citizens. The political machine has taken on a life of it's own and even some that we thought we could trust have been swallowed up by the thirst for power. Our public education system has been dumbed down and disconnected from our history and the lessons which are vital to our future. We must reclaim our rolls as self governing citizens of a Constitutional Republic and we must commit to educating ourselves and our children on the principles of liberty that are timeless and vital to our existence. We can turn the ship enough this November to avoid the iceberg, but it is going to take a lifelong commitment to right the ship. We need to learn the system that politics has put in place to keep us out. Many will be discouraged early on because we'll campaign for and support real statesmen and stateswomen and they will lose to establishment politicians who have worked their way in or they'll prove to be something other than they professed. We have to expect this and constantly and relentlessly shine a light on their actions. Don't give them a dark corner to hide and do their underhanded dealings. Meanwhile we'll be training up a steady stream of principled, Constitutionally strong citizens to gradually take their place.

I implore everyone who reads this to make a commitment to pay attention to what's going on in government. Attend a school board meeting, a town council meeting, monthly party meetings and tea party meetings. Learn how our government works. How is a bill introduced and what happens to it once it is. How are our school curriculums decided and what's in them. How is our government funded and what are they spending our money on. I know that much of this sounds mind numbingly boring but is that what you're going to tell your grandchildren when they ask why we let liberty give way to tyranny. Sorry future generations, we just weren't interested....

A Stimulus Package for the Awakened Majority

2010-01-20T23:49:00.007-05:00

As an American I have a responsibility to educate myself on the principles that make up our system of governance and the natural rights which it declares. One such right is the free market (pursuit of happiness). When government is fulfilling its proper roll, we the people are free to buy, sell and trade as we see fit.

If I can build a better mouse trap then I am free to market and sell that mouse trap to whomever I choose and for whatever price I can get. If another American who has built a business much larger than mine, and is therefore able to sell his traps cheaper, comes along and begins to put me out of business then that is likewise his declared right. Conversely, if yet another mouse trap company buys their parts in Malaysia and then has them assembled in China and is therefore able to undercut and outsell both of us, then yet again, that is their declared right, hence the term "free market".

Now, some will say sure that's their right but it's not fair, it's not ethical, they're exporting jobs, they're greedy, we need to pass a law... and the list goes on and on. Here's the catch that we seem to have forgotten or have chosen to ignore out of convenience. Just before the term "pursuit of happiness" comes the word LIBERTY. Webster's defines liberty as such; "the quality or state of being free: the power to do as one pleases: freedom from physical restraint : freedom from arbitrary or despotic control." Therein lies the key to Capitalism, the secret to the American free market. Liberty! In all it's simple, God given splendor. As Americans we don't have to buy the foreign built mouse traps. We must understand that freedom cannot be defended and maintained by always choosing the cheapest or most convenient alternative. The beauty of our system is that the lion's share of power lies in us, the people!

A friend came to me recently with what I believe is a wonderful idea. Why don't we promote a buy American agenda throughout the awakened majority. The Tea Party movement, the 912 Groups, the local patriot groups and all of the red blooded Americans across the country who understand that the solutions to our current economic woes do not lie in Washington or in our State Houses. The problem will not nor should it be resolved by any politician. As the possessors of liberty we hold the key. We can resolve to take a few seconds to look at a tag and make sure that it says Made In America. We can choose to spend a few more cents or maybe even a dollar or two more in order to help a fellow American earn a paycheck. We can choose to drive a mile or two further down the road to do business with our neighbor instead of the conglomerate that imports all of their goods. We can choose to eat dinner at the mom and pop restaurant instead of the foreign owned fast food joint or even better go to a local farmer's market and buy some beef and vegetables raised and grown by hardworking American farmers. We can choose to pull our money out of the foreign owned and "Too Big To Fail" banks and deposit it in our local community banks. The point is that we must take the reigns now and show the power hungry politicians that we understand our system better than they do and we can solve our own problems without any help from them.

As a small business owner and a concerned citizen of Bartow County, Georgia, I have a civic duty and a vested interest in the fiscal stability of my community. As an American I have a responsibility to exercise the God given rights that so many have given their lives to defend.

I will make a conscience effort to spend my money with local businesses whenever possible and I will change my buying habits to make sure that every penny possible stays right here in the United States of America.

I would like to challenge every American who reads this to pass this message along to as many people as possible and mean it! I challenge every group leader, every organization head, every business owner and every citizen to take this message very seriously and help spread it like wildfire across our nation. We can begin to see an impact in very short order. Send it viral and let's send the politicians a message. "We can stimulate our own economy so...GET OUT OF OUR WAY!"

A Tale of Two Endings...

2009-10-04T01:30:00.017-04:00

While we may not all be knowledgeable concerning the "major" periods in history, like the Renaissance, the Great Awakening, the Industrial Revolution, the Age of Enlightenment, etc, we have at the very least, heard of these eras. We're slightly more familiar with the various periods in American history, the Revolution, the Civil War, Reconstruction, World War I and II, the Great Depression, Vietnam, and the Cold War to name a few. No matter how much we may learn about these periods though, if we weren't there we can never really "feel" them. As the old saying goes, you have to walk a mile in someones shoes right? Some of you reading these words probably did live through one or more of the latter periods I listed. Do you find it easy to convey those feelings to someone who did not live through that time? My mother speaks of the air raid sirens and having to get under her desk at school during the drills. There's no way I can imagine the impact that must have had on a young mind. My grandparents could tell you where they were on December 7th, 1941 but they could not truly relate the way they felt as they heard the news that their beloved country had been attacked. We did however come to learn what that felt like on September 11th, 2001; now we can "feel" what that's like.

On a lighter note, my wife and I had the hardest time recently, convincing our eight year old daughter that when we were her age everyone didn't have cell phones. My point here is this, in order to truly comprehend a paradigm or an era, one must exist in that time.

Why am I making this point? Frankly, because lately I find myself wondering how I will explain freedom to my future grandchildren. I wonder whether we whom God has allowed to live in this time will suffer the manifest agony of living through the death of liberty. I don't know which would be worse, the fact that posterity would never comprehend what it was like to be free and enjoy the rights afforded them by their creator, or that they would look to us and ask, if it was so special, why did you let it go.

How will we answer? Will we show them our bumper stickers that read "Don't blame me I voted for a Republican" or "Not my fault, I'm a Democrat". Will we try to explain that even though we elected our representatives, we really had no choice in the out of control spending, or the widespread corruption of the political class and society as a whole. Or will some of us have to tell them that we weren't even involved in politics, we had chosen to ignore the fact that responsibility accompanies liberty. I had too much to do, I had a career, that wasn't really my thing, I was just sick of the whole mess, it wasn't happening in our town; perhaps you'll have a better excuse...

Maybe though, just maybe, we won't have to explain anything of the sort. Maybe we'll have the honor of being the Americans who woke up, stood up and held up liberty high over our heads so that all future generations could live it and "feel" it. Perhaps we'll tell our grandchildren stories of how we educated ourselves on the principles of freedom; joined together as communities, states and one nation under God and instituted real systemic reform in government designed to preserve the Republic that was handed to us at great cost to previous generations.

I'll close with the antic dote about the woman who asked Ben Franklin outside Independence Hall, "What have you given us?" to which Franklin replied "A Republic Madam, if you can keep it."

My fellow Americans, I ask you now, can we keep it?

Heroes and Villains

2009-07-15T21:35:00.003-04:00

TARP, Stimulus, Cap & Trade, Healthcare Reform, and the list of bad legislation continues to grow. These are but a few of our current enemies. We have to get out and protest these bills and Congressional actions. We need to get some petitions signed. If it’s really bad we can actually march in the street or better yet go all the way to DC. The actions are our enemy right? Certainly it’s not our elected officials. Maybe it’s that other Party? Yes, that must be it. Those scoundrels! If we could just win back the majority for the Republicans then everything would be fine because after all, they have our best interest at heart and when they have control everything is fine.

Maybe you’re a Democrat and you’re thinking to yourself, “What an idiot, does he not remember the Iraq War, The Patriot Act, The John Warner Defense Authorization Act, The Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Act or how Earmarks exploded under Bush and the Republican Congress? Don’t forget that Bush started the whole TARP idea. Surely these actions were the real enemy? That’s why we had to protest! The Democrats must stay in power because they have our best interest at heart. They are for the common people.”

All the greatest action movies are the ones that have clear villains and heroes. Who among us didn’t cheer for Rocky and love to hate Ivan Drago? Who wasn’t on the edge of your seat as Luke Skywalker faced off against Darth Vader? If those titles precede your years then maybe you can relate to Batman battling the Joker? The point is we love the battle; we love to see the hero win, take the spoils and ride off into the sunset. It makes us feel good, like all is right with the universe. The problem is, in the movie I speak of, the spoils are our hard earned tax dollars, our liberties, and the future of our children and grandchildren; and the sun sets into all of the political halls and chambers, from every small town to Washington DC.

Weekend after weekend Americans flock to theaters and movie rental shops to see the hottest new thing. The actors change, the plots change and the styles change. Over the life of the movie industry even the taboos have changed due to a constant nudging and testing of the limits by the writers, directors and producers. Little by little we hear words and see scenes in movies that were previously considered distasteful or off limits and we just shake our heads and move on, but I'll save that discussion for another installment.

Election after election 50-60% of Americans flock to the polls to vote for the newest actor cast into the roll of public servant by their party leaders. The politicians change, the issues change and yes, over the last century the taboos have even changed due to constant nudging by progressive politicians, lobbyists, activist judges and pressure wielding community groups. Little by little we see governments granting themselves more and more power and reaching into our lives in ways that were once unimaginable and we just shake our fists and move on.

The Hollywood elite have a virtual monopoly on the movie industry in America in much the same manner that the political class has a monopoly on government. Hollywood wants money and politicians want power. The two party system plays off our affinity for heroes and villains. They keep us distracted by cycling personalities for us to love or hate, all the while working together to confiscate the fruits of our labor and use them to grow their power. Right now in the cycle it’s the Conservative’s turn to waste their time protesting and lobbying against the current “face of evil” in President Obama. While the more liberal population soaks up the fact that their hero has won the battle. Before the wheel spun it was the Liberal’s turn to dwell in anger and rail against the evil Bush while the Conservatives basked in the sweet warmth of victory. What we have all failed to realize is that we’re all being played. We’re all the losers in this movie and they are reaping the spoils. I say it’s time for a new script. This time the plot will be about millions of freedom loving people who woke up and took back their government.

An America worth fighting for...

2009-07-11T21:24:00.004-04:00

As I stood by the side of Highway 41 awaiting the procession, I observed and reflected. A man and his young son holding the flag they pulled from the front of his business, the diversity of the people in the growing crowd, the touching image of my daughter’s Girl Scout troop with flags in hand, the firemen who had arranged two ladder trucks to suspend the flag over the route, the hot Georgia sun and how the heat I was feeling must pale in comparison to the that which our soldiers feel as they carry a hundred pounds of gear across the searing deserts of the Middle East. Frequently though, my heart reminded me why we had assembled here on this day. Although, the scene had all the markings of an Independence Day parade, with people lined up for miles on both sides of the busy road, most holding flags or wearing patriotic clothing, the mood was much more somber. A few miles north of us a jet was landing at a tiny municipal airport. Hundreds more were gathered there to show gratitude and pay respect to one of the finest among us. Gratitude for his sacrifice, gratitude for his defense of liberty, respect for the sense of honor he lived by, respect for the bravery in his heart that makes freedom possible for the rest of us.

As I waited there by the road side I thought about the fact that in some places there are those who would protest the return of fallen soldiers. The sad irony of this is that the very men and women they’re protesting are the ones who defend their right to protest. We often wonder and ask ourselves, what is this country coming to? We hear the perpetual shouting of a few who clearly don’t understand the gift of liberty or the lives and fortunes that have been sacrificed to defend it. We watch and read the news and we question whether the America that’s in our hearts and minds still exists. We wrongfully tolerate a political class which has forgotten its role and is now drunk on the spoils of our labor. We the people are the government of this greatest nation on earth. We choose who should represent us in all levels of government. We choose the men and women who are tasked with deciding between spending our tax dollars on body armor for our troops and saving the spotted owl. You would think there’s really no decision there, but sadly that is not the case. The politicians have so badly mishandled the business of America that we actually doubt her future…

As I stood there though, in my hometown, flag in hand, both sides of the street lined for miles with my family, friends and neighbors, I watched the procession of policemen, firemen, soldiers, and patriots escorting a fallen hero home and my heart swelled with bittersweet pride as I pondered the fact that Lance Cpl. Seth Sharp had not given his life in vain. This is the

America

he fought and died for. From the deepest part of my heart, thank you young man.

God bless your family and the soldiers who will carry your memory on the battlefield.

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