An Email That was Forwarded to Me

This is an email I received the other day from a mailing list. It made alot of sense to me and motivates me to make another phone call and write another email to our legislatures. We owe it to each other and to future generations of this country to not give up the fight.

"In much the same spirit, the fact that my little brother is now fighting in Afghanistan among his fellow Marines to protect our freedoms against foreign threats, how much more should I fight here to protect those same freedoms against domestic threats. If they secure the foreign front with their very lives, how much labor should I put into securing the domestic front with mere words - I say 25 hours a day! I feel it is owed to them to have, and return to, the country for which they fight; anything less is shameful on We the People, We the Protectors, who are left behind."

Obama Asking us to Turn Each Other In

http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2009/08/gop-senator-white-house-encroaching-on-first-amendment.html

So the White House has created a new email address for people to report "fishy" emails and blog posts related to Obama's Health Care plan to. They claim that they can't monitor everything so they want America's help in keeping an eye on us evil right wing conservatives (you know the ones that DHS said were terrorists) and reporting us if we disagree with what the messiah is saying about health care. I am all for the police force asking for people's help in solving a crime or preventing acts of terrorism, but reporting people who disagree ideologically is a little much. I feel like I woke up in "1984" and am looking out for the thought police. Well let me say this and maybe this will get my blog reported. The new health care plan will lead to a single payer system (Obama said in his own words that is what he wanted), there will be rationed health care, there is talk of the federal government paying for abortions under this plan, and there will end of life counseling for seniors. This administration is getting more dangerous by the day and we need to all be alert about what they are trying to do.

NBC is Actually Criticizing Obama Now

http://www.nbcwashington.com/around-town/food-drink/Stylish-Prez-Hideous-Birthday-Cake-52458537.html

So NBC has finally decided to criticize President Obama, about what you may ask? No not because he has spent more in six months then any other President in history, not because the budget deficit is at record numbers, not because he is naming self-proclaimed Communist and Marxist to be czars in his administration, not because his health plan will spend over a trillion dollars, and not because he acted ignorantly by calling Sgt. Crowley stupid without knowing all the facts. No they are criticizing Obama because he had an ugly birthday cake. Yes that is right our country is going to hell in a (Chinese made) hand basket and the media decides it is important to show how fair and balanced they are by taking shots at the President's hideous birthday cake. So I guess now all of us conservative hate mongers have to shut up about NBC having a liberal bias.

Yeah, About that Whole Transparency Thing

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090804/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_cash_for_clunkers_transparency

So when are the Obama Kool-Aid drinkers going to wake up and realize they were lied to. Once again the man who promised to be the most transparent administration ever is with holding information. The administration is not releasing information about the current sales related to the "Cash for Clunkers" bill even as the Senate is debating another $2 billion for the program. Might this be because this program which touted how it would help jump start the American Automotive Business is actually increasing sales of foreign automakers. Six of the top ten cars sold under this program have been Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai's.

Great Article About Lost of Health Care Freedoms

http://money.cnn.com/2009/07/24/news/economy/health_care_reform_obama.fortune/index.htm

This is a great article from the conservative mouthpiece that is CNN (sarcasm). It goes into 5 key freedoms that Americans will lose under Obama's Health Care Plan. They include the freedom to choose whats in your plan, freedom to be rewarded for healthy living, freedom to choose high-deductible plans, freedom to keep your existing plan, and freedom to choose your own doctor. The facts of this plan are that sooner or later you are going to be on the public plan and once you are on there plan you are not going to have alot of options. You will be treated to whatever health care the government thinks you need. The Democrats are running around talking about the options you will have and the choices you will be able to make when it comes to your health care but that is simply not true. Health care will be rationed, companies will lose incentive to innovate, and their will be no cost savings recognized by the government.

What Obama Really Wants From the Health Care Bill

Nice video showing a collection of clips from some of Obama's speeches where he talks about how what he really wants is a single payer healthcare system and how he feels the public option (the one being pushed for in the Universal Health Care Bill) is a big step on the way there.



Time to wake up people. House and Senate members will be home for recess over the next month. Make sure you let them know how you feel about Obama's Health Care plan.

Cash For Clunkers Suspended

So after being in effect for only 6 days the Government has suspended the cash for clunkers program saying that all the money has already been spent. Many dealers now find themselves with with deals on the table they don't know what is going to happen to. Government incompetence on display once again. There was a great quote from one of the car salesman involved in the program, "If they can't administer a program like this, I'd be a little concerned about my health insurance".

Beer Summit Selections

So evidently last night at the "Beer Summit" between Obama, Professor Gates, and Deputy Crowley, a special appearance was made by Joe Biden. Obama had a Bud Light, Gates had a Red Stripe and Crowley had a Blue Moon, no real surprises there, but good ole' Joe Biden had a non-alcoholic beer. Maybe he had a good reason for it, maybe he was driving that evening, maybe he had a meeting to attend later on, or just maybe the man can't handle his alcohol as evidenced by one of the greatest YouTube videos of all time. He was told that the media was going to be there and no one wanted him making a fool of himself.


To be fair, I am not 100% sure this is Biden but it sure looks like him.

Founding Father's Friday

So today's installment comes from a lesser known Founder, Dr. Benjamin Rush. Dr. Rush, known as the "Father of American Medicine" was a member of the Continental Congress, signed the Declaration of Independence, and served under five different U.S. presidents. People, myself included, often talk about how brilliant our Founding Fathers were and how they could foresee many of the problems are country would face in the future, well Dr. Rush was no different. As I was doing some reading I came across this brilliant quote:

"Unless we put medical freedom into the constitution the time will come when medicine will organize into an undercover dictatorship and force people who wish doctors and treatment of their own choice to submit to only what the dictating outfit offers."

WOW, this really blew me away when I read it. This is exactly what is happening with the Universal Health Care bill. The administration would have you believe that there will be no forced use of the government healthcare system and that you will be able to continue to keep your private insurance if you want it. Well how long do you think private insurance lasts the way we know it today if they have to compete against the government, which doesn't have to make a profit and can just print more money if they run out. The current House bill also gives the federal government more control over private insurance and how it is run. It also includes a provision that if you lose your current healthcare coverage and can not find a similar (as defined by Washington) program you must get on the government's plan. As well as a requirement that all employers must enroll employees in the government run health plan. So to me it sounds like this would lead us to a place where everyone is on the government run plan without any other options. That is funny considering President Obama is on record of saying ""I happen to be a proponent of a single-payer universal health care program... But as all of you know, we may not get there immediately." Yes, he is out there preaching now that if you like your current plan you will be able to keep it, but for how long? Once we are all on the government plan they will have complete control over what services and medicines we receive or in many cases don't receive. Grandpa need a new kidney, well you know that would just cost too much money and he is already 70 years old and has lived a good life. Let's give him a few tylenol to ease the pain and send him home to die. Get ready America if government health care passes this is exactly what is going to happen. Ask a former member of the military or a patient on medicaid how happy they are with government run healthcare. Dr. Rush foresaw all of this over 200 years ago and could see what a tyrannical thing it would be. Don't believe this is exactly what the administration wants watch this video which outlines exactly how we got here and where they want to go from there.

I Thought This Was Pretty Funny

http://carrollspaper.1upsoftware.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=8449

So a woman from Carroll, Iowa has grown so tired of seeing Obama on tv all the time she has decided to sell her tv's. The woman who did admit to voting for McCain in November said she has grown tired of changing the channel every time he is on tv and decided she would just get rid of the tvs. If it weren't for sports I would probably do exactly what this woman is doing.

Gotta Love One Democrat Attacking Another

http://briefingroom.thehill.com/2009/07/28/waters-blames-rahm-for-recalcitrant-dems-on-healthcare/

This Universal Health care Bill calamity now has the left wing of the Democrat party turning on each other. Rep. Maxine Waters is now saying that Rahm Emanuel is to blame for the bill not passing already. This blame is tied to Emanuel's work as head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee which pushed for more middle of the road or "blue dog" Democrats to run in traditionally conservative districts during the last couple of elections. This strategy worked wonders for getting the Democrats a large majority in the house and Senate but it is those same Democrats who are now blocking Obama Care from passing in the House and Senate. The only problem with Rep. Water's complaint is that if it weren't the strategy of running "blue dogs" the Democrats may not have a majority now. Oh yeah and she threw in a little Reverend Wright classic as well saying that Emanuel's "Chickens have come home to roost."

More Proof That Gun Control Doesn't Work

http://cbs2chicago.com/local/chicago.overnight.shootings.2.1105574.html

14 people were shot in a matter of 4 hours in the city of Chicago last night. Chicago which has some of the strictest gun control laws in the country including a ban on handguns, magazines holding over 10 rounds, and what the media loves to call "assault weapons" is home to some of the highest violent crime rates in the country. Side note why when a gun is used to kill someone it is an assault weapon, but when someone is run over with a car or killed by someone with a hammer they are not referred to as an "assault vehicle" or "assault hammer". The gun did not commit assault the person who fired it did. OK so back to Chicago, with the gun control laws they have in place, which are similar to what many Democrats want put into place across the United States, there shouldn't be crimes committed with guns right? The problem with this theory is that criminals have guns and they are not going to be lining up at the community center to turn them in and follow the law. Civilian gun ownership is necessary to allow citizens to protect themselves from these crazy gun wielding criminals. A criminal is much less to shoot someone he is worried may shoot back. When are people going to being able to logically understand that an armed society is a polite society?

Great Quote From Glenn Beck Today

"I don't care what the Frenchy frogs think about it. Why are liberals always so concerned about the French and what the French are going do, France is a rat hole. They are setting cars on fire. They are kidnapping their bosses and threatening to blow up automobile plants if they don't get raises. Why would we care about a country that is out of control, filled with beret wearing, wine swilling surrender monkeys?"
--Glenn Beck

This statement came in response to some audio he played of Obama talking about how we can't live our live styles the way we want and expect other countries to be ok with it.

A Bit of Hypocrisy from the Messiah

So I guess Obama has "changed" his mind in the last couple of years. When it is the opposition party who wants to pass something quickly he thinks that it is major problem, but when his fellow liberals want to rush through agenda items that are going to fundamentally change this country for the worse that is just fine. Everyone in Washington needs to slow down, read the bill, and understand what effect it is going to have on this country before they vote. This goes for both Democrats and Republicans. The government is so busy rushing to vote for something that they often fail to recognize the impact it has on other very important aspects of this country. We saw it with the Patriot Act, Bush's TARP Bill, Obama's Stimulus Bill, the Cap and Trade Bill, and now they are trying to do the same thing to us with the Universal Healthcare Bill. These people make me just want to scream at them to stop and just read the freaking bill and think about it for a day or two. We haven't had Universal Healthcare for the last 200 plus years in this country and we are doing pretty good for the most part. I think it can wait another month or two.

A Few Gems from Sarah Palin's Farewell Speech

So the media wants everyone to believe Sarah Palin is an idiot but listening to her farewell speech from this weekend makes me believe she may understand exactly what is going on and how scary it really is.

"We face challenging times with some hell-bent on tearing down our nation by perpetuating pessimism and apologizing for America."

Amen, can we please stop apologizing President Obama. We are the greatest country in the world. People risk their lives to get here daily. There are many people all over the world who are free today that have us to thank.

"I will address some, just some, in the media because another right that is protected is the freedom of the press. You have such important jobs reporting facts and informing the electorate and exerting power to influence. You represent what could and should be a respected and honest profession that could and should be a cornerstone of our democracy. Democracy depends on you...So how about... you quit making things up. And don’t underestimating the wisdom of the American people."

Many of those in the media in this country are so in love with the current administration that they can't see the truth in what is going on. They are so worried about professing their loyalty to Obama that they have forgotten the founding fathers intended for them to be almost a fourth branch of government keeping the other three branches honest.

"I promised that we would govern with fiscal restraint so as not to immorally burden future generations. And we did...I vetoed hundreds of millions of dollars of excess, and with lawmakers we saved billions for the future."

If only we could get all of our politicians to believe this and act on it we would not be in the financial mess we are today. And she is absolutely right passing huge deficits on to our children and grandchildren is immoral.

"We can resist enslavement to big central government that crushes hope and opportunity. We must be wary of government largesse. It doesn’t come free and often accepting it takes away everything that is free. Melting into Washington’s powerful and caretaking arms will only lead to suck away the incentive to work hard and chart our own course. This will only contribute to an unstable economy and dizzying national debt, and it will make us less free."

Not only can we resist enslavement to the the big central government, we must. This government does not want America to be the freedom loving country that values pulling yourself up by the bootstraps that we have been for over two hundred years. They want us all to rely on the government for what we need in our daily life because then they will have control over us and have complete power. What this current government and the one before it were all about is power. They wanted to have control over the daily activities of our lives and we have been giving in to them for too long. We must stop doing this now. If you are struggling turn to your family, friends, church, and community don't turn to Uncle Sam. The relief from the government is not worth the consequences that come with it. You are stuck giving up some of your freedom every time you look to the government for help, and that government assistance is designed to keep you dependent on the government so that freedom is forever gone. It is time to wake up people!

John Conyers Says "No Reason to Read the Bill"

CNSNews.com Conyers Sees No Point in Members Reading 1,000-Page Health Care Bill--Unless They Have 2 Lawyers to Interpret It for Them
Monday, July 27, 2009By Nicholas Ballasy, Video Reporter
(CNSNews.com) - During his speech at a National Press Club luncheon, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Democratic Congressman John Conyers (D-Mich.), questioned the point of lawmakers reading the health care bill.
“I love these members, they get up and say, ‘Read the bill,’” said Conyers.
“What good is reading the bill if it’s a thousand pages and you don’t have two days and two lawyers to find out what it means after you read the bill?”


Sometimes reading the words of these people we send to Washington makes my head want to explode. I have an idea, if you can't read a thousand page bill without two lawyers and two days to figure it out, maybe you should not be writing thousand page bills or not trying to rush every freaking thing into law. Maybe you should write things that are a 5 or 6 pages long and written in crayon with plenty of pictures so you and the other imbeciles we sent to Washington can read. We need to throw these bums out!

Bravo to you Rick Perry

http://www.star-telegram.com/804/story/1504240.html

So Texas Governor Rick Perry said his state may reject Obama's National Health Care Plan under the 10th Amendment. Bravo to you sir. Last time I checked the Constitution says nothing about health care which therefore according to the 10th Amendment means it is a issue for the states to deal with. According to Perry this bill is not good for Texas as it will cost them too much money. If the citizens of Texas don't like it they can vote Perry out of office or move to another state. I am glad that states are starting to stand up for their individual rights. The federal government has grown way too large and powerful and it is about time that someone has started standing up to them. I just hope it is not too late...

Founding Father's Friday

A little Thomas Jefferson today for Founding Father's Friday.

"When once a republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil."
--Thomas Jefferson

Our Republic has been corrupted for some time and I agree with Jefferson here that we need to remove the corruption and restore the principles to make things right. This starts with identifying what the lost principles are and beginning to restore them. I think that what Glenn Beck has identified at http://www.the912project.com/the-912/ as the nine principles and the twelve values are a good place to start:

9 Principles
1. America Is Good.
2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life.
3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.
4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.
5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.
6. I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results.
7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.
8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.
9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.

12 Values
* Honesty* Reverence* Hope* Thrift* Humility* Charity* Sincerity* Moderation* Hard Work* Courage* Personal Responsibility* Gratitude

The next step is to demand of ourselves that we follow these principles and values. We can not demand of others to live their lives in a way that we are not willing to live our own. Once we accomplish this then it is time to associate with others who are living these principles and encourage our friends and families to live these principles and values. Once we have done this in our communities than the other part of Jefferson's words "removing the corruption" from power becomes much easier. We begin by throwing everyone out of office who doesn't live by these principles (regardless of party) and there are lots of them. We then elect new leaders to replace them who do believe these principles are the way one should live their life. All of these other solutions that we have been trying have not been working. I have been just as guilty as others when it comes to this. I have voted for the lesser of two evils more than once and I will not do it again. I will not sacrifice my beliefs to vote for someone only because he is slightly less evil than the next guy. I am voting for only good, honest politicians from here on out. I am tired of holding my nose while casting my vote because I know that the candidate I am voting for stinks but just slightly less than the other guy. I will vote and campaign for whatever candidate most agrees with me regardless of what party they are in and what chance the experts think they have of winning.

Obama Quote From Last Night's Speech

So during his speech last night Obama stopped talking about families and rising health costs long enough to address the case of Henry Gates, the Harvard professor who was arrested in his own home for disorderly conduct after being less than cooperative with police officers.

"What I think we know separate and apart from this incident is that there's a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately," Obama said. "That's just a fact."

Which I think is funny because there is a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos committing crimes disproportionately. That's just a fact!

Two Different People, Two Different Opinions

The more I hear from John Boehner the more I like him and the more I hear from Rahm Emanuel the more I want to see him hit by a bus. Unemployment at 9.5 percent and a budget deficit of over $1 trillion are not signs of an economy that has recovered if you ask me, but maybe he is looking at the number of people who are googling economic depression to determine the state of the economy as well.
http://www.brafton.com/industry-news/keyword-popularity-may-prove-that-recession-ending-$1312799.htm

Here is Something I Can "Hope" For

"If we're able to stop Obama on this, it will be his Waterloo. It will break him."
Jim DeMint talking to fellow conservatives about Obama's Health Care policy that he is pushing so hard.

I really hope that Senator DeMint is correct with this statement and pray that they are able to stop the health care bill from becoming law. I think that the President has to be very careful how he pushes Congress on passing government run health care. He risks alienating many of the more moderate democrats and those from conservative districts who are already thinking about their re-election bids. I think that many in the House feel that this bill could be like the Federal Assault Weapons Bill that cost the Democrats the majority in Congress in 1994 for the first time in 50 years. The other thing is the more Obama tries to push health care the more his approval numbers have been slipping with the American people. It is going to be much harder for him to get some of his radical agenda passed if Congress feels that a majority of Americans don't support it.

Ronald Reagan on Socialized Medicine

This is a video that was released in 1961 by Operation Coffee Cop which was a campaign of the American Medical Association. It is amazing that what Reagan saw in 1961 is still so relevant today. Programs like Social Security and Medicaid were implemented as a socialistic agenda that they knew would be an easy sell. On the surface everyone thinks that old people shouldn't be destitute or that poor people should have medicine. The truth is we need to see where these programs take us and what the outcome will really be. The government run health care program planned by the Obama administration will be the same way. We all look at it and say you know everyone should be able to see a doctor and nobody should die in this country because they can't afford surgery. The truth is that is the case now without the proposed plan. Emergency rooms in this country treat hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants every year in this country without a dime in payment. People are not turned away for life saving surgeries because they can't afford to pay for them. Believe any of the liberal myths about health care you want to believe but the truth is we have the best health care in the world. Rich people from other countries come here because they want to be seen by the best doctors in the world. I also believe that, much like Reagan believed in 1961, this plan for socialized medicine is another attempt to throw open the flood gates to socialism in this country. Remember the last line in this recording:
"One of these days, you and I are going to spend our sunset years telling our children, and our children's children, what America was like when men were free." Ronald Reagan

That doesn't have to become a reality but we must all stand up and do something about it now!

Some Thoughts About the US Soldier Captured by Taliban

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1200699/Obamas-war-crisis-Taliban-release-video-kidnapped-U-S-soldier-begging-freedom.html

So I am reading this article about the young man who was captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan and a few things caught my attention:

"The Pentagon said the video was a violation of international law."

Pentagon spokesman Colonel Greg Julian said: "We condemn the use of this video and the public humiliation of prisoners. It is against international law. We are doing everything we can to return this soldier to safety."

When are these people going to understand we are not fighting a war against another country that believes in the Geneva Convention or will not do something because the United Nations said it wasn't ok. We are fighting people who want to see the United States culture totally erased from the earth. They want every man, woman, and child in this country dead. You can't fight a clean "fair" war against this kind of enemy. Don't expect them to not torture, use suicide bombers, and kill innocents every chance they get. Until the higher ups in Washington say screw the UN and decide they are going to fight this war like they want to win it, our young men and women are going to continue to be killed.

Founding Father's Friday

I think this will be a regular feature here. Every Friday some words from our founders that really apply to what is going on today. These men were some of the smartest who have ever lived and would be devasted if they were still alive to see what this country has become.

To start us off I have a quote from Samuel Adams that I have come across recently in a book that I am reading. As I was reading these words for the first time the alarm bells were going off in my head.

"He therefore is the truest friend to the liberty of his country who tries most to promote its virtue, and who, so far as his power and influence extend, will not suffer a man to be chosen into any office of power and trust who is not a wise and virtuous man. We must not conclude merely upon a man's haranguing upon liberty, and using the charming sound, that he is fit to be trusted with the liberties of his country. It is not unfrequent to hear men declaim loudly upon liberty, who, if we may judge by the whole tenor of their actions, mean nothing else by it but their own liberty, - to oppress without control or the restraint of laws all who are poorer or weaker than themselves." Loyalty and Sedition, essay in The Advertiser, 1748

Remind you of anybody? We as an electorate have been putting men into office who are not wise and virtous for too long now. Just because a politician has a charming sound does not mean he is fit to be trusted with the liberty of this country. We should look at their entire body of work and determine if what they are saying is how they have acted and voted in the past. Also notice the first sentence "He therefore is the truest friend to the liberty of his country who tries most to promote its virtue...". I want leaders who are out talking about how great this country is not apologizing for it. We should all keep this in mind the next time we step into the voting booth.

Very cool website

Came across the website http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/ today. It is really cool because it allows you to email all of your Representatives and Senators at the same time. It is set up for the national level as well as the state level. Also gives you some tips to improve the chances of your letter being read. I am emailing my Congressmen just about daily it seems so this should save me some time.

Bravo to Israel

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/5842963/Israeli-warships-rehearse-for-Iran-attack-in-Red-Sea.html

While our fearless leader may want to befriend Iran, at least Israel gets it. They are doing some test runs of battleships and submarines in preparation of an attack on Iran. Israel all along has said they would be willing to carry out a first strike attack against an Iranian nuclear facility in order to protect themselves. One interesting thing that I am seeing in all of this is that Israel is improving it's relationship with many other Middle Eastern countries that typically want to see Israel destroyed. I guess this is a case of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend", and all of these others countries view a nuclear Iran as an enemy. The best part of all of this is Iran claiming that the nuclear facility is only about civilian energy policy. They are sitting on some of the largest oil reserves in the world but they want nuclear power. Let me guess it is because it is a cleaner source of energy and Iran wants to do it's part to prevent global warming. Al Gore would be so proud of you Ahmadinejad.

House Republicans Organizational Chart of House Democrats Health Plan

http://docs.house.gov/gopleader/House-Democrats-Health-Plan.pdf

Looks about right.

Looks like Gov't Healthcare is Coming our Way

Looks like the House and Senate are going to try and rush through a National Health Care bill in the next couple of weeks as President Obama hoped. The plan will be paid for by, wait for it... taxes on the wealthy (who saw that one coming). Increased taxes start at one percent for those making $280,000 a year and the percentage will go up to 5.4% for those making $1 million a year. This will only pay for about half of the plan. They plan to come up with the rest of the money with the windfall savings this plan will bring, and if for some reason that doesn't happen (which I mean we all know will never happen because every government plan works perfectly) they will double the tax increases in 2012. I am wondering when exactly it is that we started punishing success in this country but if I had to guess I would say probably sometime around FDR's presidency. One of the hardest hit by this setup will be small business and the people they will not be able to afford to hire. It is kinda of like Obama told Joe the Plumber "It's not that I want to punish your success. I just want to make sure that everybody that is behind you, that they have a chance for success too." The only problem President Obama is that you will eventually run out of rich people to take money from.

A Quote from the Sotomayor Hearing

Sotomayor also sought to rebut Republican charges that she was anti-gun, noting, “One of my godchildren is a member of the NRA and I have friends who hunt. I understand fully the individual right [to bear arms] the Supreme Court recognized . . .” Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0709/24909_Page2.html#ixzz0LFcBuBcE&C

Two things about this my first thought is the statement that everyone always throws out when they are accused of being racist, "Oh I can't be racist, my friend is black." Just because you happen to have a close relationship with a member of the NRA doesn't mean you support gun rights. I know people who are strongly anti-gun but am still a firm believer in the 2nd Amendment. I would be willing to bet Bill Clinton knows several members of the NRA closely but he still signed the Assault Weapons Bill into law. Secondly, when are people going to understand that the 2nd Amendment has absolutely nothing to do with hunting. Our founders were not worried about me having the ability to go dove hunting this weekend. They were worried about people being enslaved under a tyrannical government and felt one of the best ways to avoid this was through citizens being able to bear arms. Sotomayor claims she understands the individual right to bear arms but her past rulings do not support that claim. I think she is just saying what the judicial committee wants to hear in order to get confirmed. I will be emailing my congressmen today and letting them know I do not support this anti 2nd amendment nominee and neither should they.

Update on Sarah Palin Thoughts

So I have been giving much thought to the Sarah Palin resignation over the last 10 days or so since she announced her intentions. I do wish she would have finished her term as Governor but I think I am starting to understand why she left. She loves Alaska and she wants what is best for it. The state is spending millions defending her on ethics charges that have been pretty much coming non stop since she ran for vice president. She has not been found guilty on one of these charges but they continue to be filed. She also knows that all the attacks on her and her family from the media and her opponents are a distraction to getting things done in Alaska. I honestly believe she wants what is best for Alaska and feels that resigning and handing the reigns over to her Lieutenant Governor is the best way to accomplish that. As far as her political future I would not be surprised to see her spearhead a new political party that is more focused on Conservative values and limited government. Her recent announcement that she would be willing to campaign for Conservative Democrats leads to me that conclusion. She knows that by doing this she would more or less kill her future with the establishment that runs the Republican Party. I think this is a sign she is not worried about the Democrats and Republicans anymore. She is worried about Conservative values. As someone who believes that the current 2 party system has created many of the problems that we are dealing with in Washington I would love to see her form a new party and I think there is a large growing number of Americans who feel the same way. Even if she doesn't run for office again but just chairs the new party I think she can have a huge influence on the future of politics in this country. No matter what she decides to do I would be willing to bet that we will continue to see her influence on this country for a long time.

$18 million for a Website

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/A-gold-plated-Recovery-20-50395992.html

So when I saw the headline Is $18 millions dollars too much for a website? I knew it had to be a government website. And I was right, the White House decided it would be a good idea to redesign the Recovery.org site that tracks stimulus spending in great detail, because the old design was not working very well. The new contract includes about $9.5 million to design the site and an additional $8.5 million to maintain through 2014. I find it ironic that we are wasting $18 million on a site that tracks the government wasting our money, which they like to call stimulating the economy (looked at unemployment numbers lately, there is no stimulating going on). Not to mention there are private websites they are doing basically the same thing for around $100 thousand or so. Once again another fine case of government waste, and people actually want them to run health care in this country? No one will be able to afford to die!

Found this on a forum I frequent and thought it was great. I am a firm believer in the 2nd Amendment and believe it is the right that makes all of the others possible. And a quote to go along with it from my favorite founding father:

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government"
-- Thomas Jefferson, 1 Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Maybe America is Waking Up

http://tinyurl.com/pollingdata

So today's Rasmussen polling data shows that only 30% of voters strongly approve of what President Obama is doing while 38% strongly disapprove. This puts his Presidential approval rating at -8% the lowest it has been since he took office. I think this method of determining a president's rating is a very good method because people who either really love you or really hate you are going to be the ones who are really influential in an election. They are going to be the ones campaigning for and against you, they will be the ones to share their beliefs with friends and family, and they will be the ones to donate to election or re-election campaigns. Alot of other key polling data is pointing to the fact that people are not trusting either party which is great in my opinion because they are both corrupt. People are also starting to realize that this economy now belongs Obama and they are starting to blame him for the current economic problems. Let's just hope that people continue to wake up and realize that Washington is the cause of not the solution to most of our problems.

Great Idea I Heard Yesterday

So I was talking to a friend of mine yesterday and he told me about a conversation he had the other day with a friend of his. The man was saying that he had a solution to fix both the problems in the middle east and our problems with illegal immigrants here in America with one move. His idea was to move Israel from the middle east and put them on the border between the U.S. and Mexico. This would remove Israel from the middle east and allow the terrorists to just blow each other up and we don't have to worry about helping out an ally anymore. We could tell Israel that part of the conditions for moving them here and giving them the land on the border is that they are to not allow anyone to cross the border illegally. Israel has a history of having to keep a close eye on their borders and defending them very well. Problem solved for everybody. Quote the Guinness commercials "Brilliant".

A Great Video that Explains Democracy Vs. Republic

This great video explains the differences between a Democracy and a Republic. So many people forget or just don't know that we don't have a Democracy in America and that we are a Republic. The reasons why this distinction is important and why our Founders choose a Republic are explained in the video.

Taxpayers on Hook for Michael Jackson Memorial

So Los Angeles finds itself on the hook for as of now about $4 million and probably going to end up being more for the Michael Jackson Memorial that occurred yesterday. Why are taxpayers footing this bill? Shouldn't these costs fall on the Jackson family or maybe the people who wanted to attend should cover the costs with their ticket purchases? That would make to much sense though, so instead the taxpayers in Los Angeles who may not care whether the man is dead, alive, or on his way to the moon gets to foot the bill for the memorial service. This is the same state that is having to send out IOU's to taxpayers and business's but they some how find the way to continue to blow money on frivolous things almost daily. I just hope the people in Minnesota see what happens when you elect an actor to be a politician.

And Another from the Doesn't Congress Have Anything Better to do File?

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/07/07/jacksons-death-sparks-fierce-debate-congress/

So before it was discussing the college football playoffs and now Congress is being called on to recognize Michael Jackson as a "Humanitarian" for all the work he has done to fight world hunger and to raise money for AIDS/HIV research. Rep. Shelia Jackson-Lee is calling on Congress to bestow this honor. The guy did alot of good and I understand that but we are facing the worst unemployment numbers in 26 years and by just about all accounts it is going to get worse, our budget deficit is soaring to record numbers, and North Korea is testing new missiles about once a week. Come on Congress wake up we have alot more important things to deal with than naming a dead man a humanitarian or not, which will have zero affect on anything other than maybe making his family feel good about their brother, son, father.

Review of Glenn Beck's "Common Sense"

Well I had some free time over the weekend and finished Glenn Beck's "Common Sense: The Case Against an Out of Control Government". My first thoughts are that Beck did a good job of painting both the Republicans and the Democrats as being at fault for the current situation. He is certainly not a homer for the Republican party and this is one of the things I like about him. He asks us to put aside party label battles and be Americans. He points out that politicians want us fighting amongst each other because it keeps us distracted from the shredding of the U.S. Constitution that is going on in Washington today. Glenn also focuses a large portion of this book on the Progressive movement and how that is the true enemy. The book was only about 100 pages long and I didn't go as in depth as I would have liked. He covers alot of things that if you are a regular follower of his radio and TV show you have heard before, but it is nice to have every thing together you can use as a reference manual. I do think the book does a great job of introducing people to what exactly our government is doing and why they are doing it. I think it is great for stimulating discussion amongst friends who are not very politically in tune and I plan on buying a couple of copies to pass on to others to read and pass on. New book I am reading Mark Levin's "Liberty and Tyranny".

Happy Fourth of July

Happy Independence Day America and thank you to all the troops who have served the USA throughout it's history. Let's celebrate the spirit of freedom that makes this country great and hope that it continues for a very long time.

Sarah Palin Announces She is Resigning as Governor

So Sarah Palin announced today that she is stepping down as Governor of Alaska. This is really unfortunate as I really liked Sarah Palin and the values and beliefs that she espoused. I am not really sure what I think about this. If she is stepping down because she is tired of the political machine then I understand, but if she is stepping down to better her chances at a run for the presidency then I don't really understand the strategy. It is certainly unconventional but she is an unconventional politician. I will have to think on this some more over the weekend.

Unemployment Hits 9.5 Percent

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_economy

So US unemployment hit a 26 year high of 9.5 percent for the month of June, according to this article. Which I guess must be a mistake on Yahoo's part. I mean Congress passed the stimulus bill that was supposed to stop this from happening. This can't be possible, I mean Obama said that if we didn't pass the stimulus bill this is what we would see, but it passed so this must be wrong. The wrongly held belief that the stimulus bill was going to do anything but cause inflation and bankrupt the future of this country is just more of that Obama Kool-Aid that all his followers love to drink.

I don't know if anyone has noticed, but...

Michael Jackson has died and as of this minute is still dead. The media has decided that it is more important to remind us that he has died than cover important topics. The House passed "Cap and Trade" what many experts say will lead to the huge tax increases on the middle class of this country, whose budget is already stretched very thin. The Congress is discussing Universal Health Care which would give even more power to the already over-reaching federal government. The Dem's now have an filibuster proof number in the Senate (assuming the unhealthy ones get healthy and show up to vote) which basically gives Obama the ability to pass anything he wants. And in case anyone missed North Korea is testing missiles about daily and has vowed to destroy the US if we make any attempt to stop them from these tests. Don't let all of this really important news, that actually applies to your life and the future of this country bother you, because we need to be focused on who is going to get custody of Michael Jackson's children.

Will Congress Read Bills Before Voting?

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/06/24/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry5110850.shtml



OK this is one of those things that drives me absolutely nuts. How can Congress vote on something that they haven't read? Common sense says you can't make an informed vote unless you know what you are voting on. I won't sign up for a Blockbuster card without reading the terms and conditions. I understand these guys are busy with issues like investigating steroids in baseball and whether or not there should be an NCAA playoff system. But maybe they should quit getting involved in so many issues that they don't have any business being involved in, then they would have plenty of free time to read the bills of things that actually are of importance to the future of this country. And to the Democrat Members of Congress who thought it was cute to hire a speed reader because the Republicans forced you to have a bill read aloud before a vote you better be glad you don't live in my district or I would do everything in my power to make sure you don't get re-elected. It is time to wake up people and kick these bums out of office!

C-Span Observations

So the House is set to vote on "Cap and Tax" today and I decided to watch some of the proceedings on C-SPAN. This is the first time I have watched C-SPAN in several years since I had to watch it back in high school for some reason or another. Maybe it is because I am more politically in tune then I used to be or maybe the issue at hand is just more interesting to me but I actually found it at least watchable and some times even humorous. The Representative who told the House that this bill would "send jobs to China, and send the economy straight to hell" is spot on.

Mark Sanford Admits to Affair

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0609/24146.html

Man I really hate to read this. I had alot of respect for Governor Sanford after the way he tried to do everything in his power to refuse the stimulus money. He was forced to take it by the federal government after multiple rejections by him. He was considered by many to be a potential Republican candidate for the 2012 elections and I really liked his chances. Time for the media to demand his resignation or impeachment and act like there has never been a Democrat who has done this.

I guess Congress has nothing better to do

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/18/AR2009061803877.html?hpid=moreheadlines



So evidently our fearless leaders in DC have nothing better to do with their time and our tax dollars than to apologize for something that happened well over a hundred years ago. I agree slavery was wrong and immoral but it ended in December of 1865. There is not anyone who is alive today that was a slave and I would imagine very few if any still alive whose parent was a slave. This is the same Congress who hired a speed reader to get a bill read before voting on it, and the same Congress who didn't even take the time to read the Omnibus spending bill before signing it into law. They are now trying to rush through health care and don't want to take the time to analyze any of these extremely important bills that cost us taxpayers billions of dollars but they find time to apologize for slavery. We need to vote every single one of these people out of office.

Bravo to you Representative Michelle Bachman

http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/17/exclusive-minn-lawmaker-fears-census-abuse/

Hats off to you Representative Bachman for telling the Federal Government it isn't any of your damn business what goes on in my home. She has said that she will write the number of people in her household on the 2010 census and nothing more. Her claim is that the Constitution doesn't require any more information and she is worried about ACORN's involvement in the census taking. I agree with her one hundred percent. ACORN has been charged with several fraud cases and is being investigated in a couple of states as we speak. If they think I am going to give these people any information they are crazy. Also, the government doesn't need to worry about my income, education level, and what time I leave for work in the morning. I understand the need to know how many people are living in the house because it sets up Congressional districts and how these dividing lines are drawn, but they don't need anything else. According to a spokesperson for the U.S. Census Bureau, Rep. Bachman is misreading the law and that someone can be fined up to $5,000 for refusing to answer any questions on the form. Don't know if I will get a long form or not so this may not be an issue but I have a whole lot of respect for anyone who does exactly as Representative Bachman is talking about doing.

President Bush suddenly remembered his Conservative values

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/06/18/bush-takes-swipes-obama-policies/
So evidently former President Bush didn't forget all of those Conservative values he campaigned upon. He just decided not to act on any of them while he was in office. Giving a speech the other night you would think he was Ronald Reagan. He had some real gems in his speech such as "You can spend your money better than the government can spend your money" and "Government does not create wealth. The major role for the government is to create an environment where people take risks to expand the job rate in the United States" and others that were met with great applause. If only the man whose terms in office gave us the TARP bill, Amnesty for Illegals, the largest federal budget until Obama took over, and other countless non-conservative policies, acted more like the man who gave that speech last night we wouldn't have some of the problems we are dealing with today.

"An Open Letter to our Country" by Janet Contreras

This is a letter that was sent in to Glenn Beck by a concerned patriot. I think this woman has described what many are feeling better than we could describe it ourselves. Thank you for this wonderful letter Ms. Contreras.

I am Janet Contreras, a concerned, home-grown American citizen. I am 53, and I have been a registered Democrat all of my adult life. Before the last Presidential election, I registered Republican because I no longer feel the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. I now no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me.
There must be someone, please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me you are there and are willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please do it now.
You might ask yourselves what my views and issues are that I would feel so horribly disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut job am I? Will you please tell me? These are briefly my views and issues for which I seek representation:
* Illegal Immigration—I want you to stop coddling illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Close the underground tunnels. Stop the violence and trafficking in drugs and people. No amnesty, not again. Been there, done that, no resolution. P.S. I am not a racist. This not to be confused with legal immigration.
* TARP Bill—I want it repealed and no further funding supplied to it. We told you “NO!” but you did it anyway. I want the remaining unfunded 95% repealed. Freeze! Repeal!
* Czars—I want the circumvention of our checks and balances stopped immediately. Fire the Czars. No more Czars. Government officials answer to the process not the President. Stop trampling on our Constitution and honor it.
* Cap & Trade—the debate on global warming is NOT over, there IS more to say.
* Universal Health Care—I will not be rushed into another expensive decision. Don’t you dare pass this in the middle of the night and then go on break. Slow down!
* Growing Government Control—I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored. I want less government in my life, not more. Shrink it down. Please mind your own business; you have enough to do with your REAL obligations. Let’s start there.
* ACORN—I do not want ACORN or its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed to them on every real estate deal that closes. Stop all funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending impartial audit and investigation. I do not trust them with the taking of the census or with taxpayer money. Face up to the allegations against them and get it resolved before the taxpayers get any further involved with them. It walks like a duck and talks like a duck—hello… stop protecting political buddies. You work for the people. Investigate.
* Redistribution of Wealth—No. If I work for it, it is mine. I have always worked for people with more money than I have because they gave me jobs. That is the only redistribution of wealth I support. I never got a job from a poor person. Why do want me to hate my employers? What do your have against shareholders making a profit?
* Charitable Contributions—although I never got a job from a poor person, I have helped many in need. Charity belongs in our local communities where we know our needs best and can use local talent and resources. Butt out, please. We want to do this ourselves.
* Corporate Bail Outs—knock it off! Sink or swim like the rest of us. If there are hard times ahead, we will be better off just getting to it and letting the strong survive. Quick and painful, like ripping off a band aid. We will pull together. Great things happen in America under great hardship. Give us a chance to innovate. We cannot disappoint you more than you have disappointed us.
* Transparency and Accountability—how about it? No really, let’s have it. Let’s say we give the “buzz” words a rest and have some straight, honest talk. Please stop trying to manipulate and appease me with cleaver wording. I am not the idiot you obviously take me for. Stop sneaking around meeting in back rooms making deals with your friends. It will only be a prelude to your criminal investigation. Stop hiding things from me.
* Unprecedented Quick Spending—stop it, now. Take a breath. Listen to “The People.”
Let’s just slow down and get some more input from some “non-politicians” on the subject. Stop making everything an emergency. Stop speed reading our bills into law.
I am not an activist. I am not a community organizer. Nor am I a terrorist, a militant nor a violent person. I am a mother and grandmother. I am a working woman. I am busy, busy, busy and tired, tired, tired. I thought we elected competent people to take care of the business of government so that we could work, raise our families, pay our bills, have a little recreation, complain about taxes, endure our hardships, pursue our personal goals, cut our lawns and wash our cars on weekends, and be responsible, contributing members of society and teach our children to be the same, all the while living in the home of the free and land of the brave.
I entrusted you with upholding our Constitution and believed in the checks and balances to keep you from getting too far off course. What happened? You are very far off course. Do you really think that I find humor in hiring a speed reader to unintelligibly ramble through a bill you signed into law without knowing what it contained? I do not! It is a mockery of the responsibility I have entrusted to you. It is a slap in the face! I am not laughing—the arrogance!
Why is it that I feel as if you would not trust me to make a single decision about my own life and how I would live it, but you expect that I should trust you with the debt that you have laid on all of us and our children? We did not want that TARP bill. We said “NO!” We would repeal it if we could. I am not sure that we still cannot. There is such urgency and recklessness in all the recent spending. From my perspective, it seems that you have all gone insane.
I also know that I am far from alone in these feelings. Do you honestly feel that your current pursuits have merit to patriotic Americans? We want it to stop. We want to put the brakes on everything that is being rushed by us and forced upon us. We want our voice back!
You have forced us to put our lives on hold to straighten out the mess you are making. We will have to give up our vacations, our time spent with our children, any relaxation time we may have had and money we cannot afford to spend on you to bring our concerns to Washington. Our president often knows all the right buzzwords is unsustainable. Well, no kidding. How many tens of thousands of dollars did the focus group cost to come up with that word? We don't want your overpriced words. Stop treating us like we're morons.
We want all of you to stop focusing on your reelection and do the job we want done, not the job you want done or the job your party wants done. You work for us and at this rate I guarantee you not for long because we are coming. We will be heard and we will be represented. You think we're so busy with our lives that we will never come for you? We are the formerly silent majority, all of us who quietly work , pay taxes, obey the law, vote, save money, keep our noses to the grindstone and we are now looking up at you. You have awakened us, the patriotic spirit so strong and so powerful that it had been sleeping too long. You have pushed us too far. Our numbers are great. They may surprise you. For every one of us who will be there, there will be hundreds more that could not come. Unlike you, we have their trust. We will represent them honestly, rest assured. They will be at the polls on voting day to usher you out of office. We have cancelled vacations. We will use our last few dollars saved. We will find the representation among us and a grassroots campaign will flourish. We didn't ask for this fight. But the gloves are coming off. We do not come in violence, but we are angry. You will represent us or you will be replaced with someone who will. There are candidates among us when hewill rise like a Phoenix from the ashes that you have made of our constitution.
Democrat, Republican, independent, libertarian. Understand this. We don't care. Political parties are meaningless to us. Patriotic Americans are willing to do right by us and our Constitution and that is all that matters to us now. We are going to fire all of you who abuse power and seek more. It is not your power. It is ours and we want it back. We entrusted you with it and you abused it. You are dishonorable. You are dishonest. As Americans we are ashamed of you. You have brought shame to us. If you are not representing the wants and needs of your constituency loudly and consistently, in spite of the objections of your party, you will be fired. Did you hear? We no longer care about your political parties. You need to be loyal to us, not to them. Because we will get you fired and they will not save you. If you do or can represent me, my issues, my views, please stand up. Make your identity known. You need to make some noise about it. Speak up. I need to know who you are. If you do not speak up, you will be herded out with the rest of the sheep and we will replace the whole damn congress if need be one by one. We are coming. Are we coming for you? Who do you represent? What do you represent? Listen. Because we are coming. We the people are coming.

Change to a more Transparent White House

So going back to the campaign days President Obama has been talking about hope and change repeatedly. One of the changes was to make government more transparent for the American citizens. So lets see how that change has worked out so far. Obama promised to put all non-emergency bills on the white house website for citizens to view before he signed them. Well so far he has expanded SCHIP, passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, and the Credit Card Bill of Rights bill among others all without meeting the 5 day promise. And now he is blocking access to White House visitor logs. This is a policy stance taken from the Bush administration who said it was no one else's business who was coming to visit him at the White House. The only problem is that a Federal Judge has ruled twice that this information is not private. So much for transparency.

"ABC News to run Obama Infomercial"

Checking out the drudgereport.com I find the following story:
ABC TURNS PROGRAMMING OVER TO OBAMA; NEWS TO BE ANCHORED FROM INSIDE WHITE HOUSE
"On the night of June 24, the media and government become one, when ABC turns its programming over to President Obama and White House officials to push government run health care -- a move that has ignited an ethical firestorm! Highlights on the agenda: ABC NEWS anchor Charlie Gibson will deliver WORLD NEWS from the Blue Room of the White House. The network plans a prime time special -- 'Prescription for America' -- originating from the East Room, exclude opposing voices on the debate. "
______________________________________________________

Really ABC state run media is where we are going now. The mainstream media has been in the tank for the Obama administration since way before he was even elected but this is a little overboard don't you think. I mean at least pretend that you are not salivating at the thought of doing the bidding of the President. So much for the media being objective and presenting people with the facts and letting them make their own decisions. I don't understand how ABC can come back once they go down this road. I mean once you start turning over programming to the White House how can you expect anyone to ever view you as impartial in the future. The Republicans have filed complaints about this but I don't really expect it to do any good. I guess one of the funniest things about all of this is I expected NBC would have been the first to do this. Oh well just another night my TV will be tuned to Fox News.

Glenn Beck's Commen Sense

I will be picking this book up today and will post a review of what I think about it soon. I am a big fan of Glenn and tune into his radio and television show almost every day. I feel that he and I are on the same page when it comes to most issues and even when we don't agree I respect his beliefs. He seems to be really tuned into something that appeals to alot of disenfranchised Americans. I have read some of his others book and enjoyed them very much so hopefully this one is no different.

Intro

Well here goes my first attempt at blogging. I never thought I would be one to blog but I have found myself reading several of them daily and think that the format has some positives. I figured hey if I don't like it I never have to share it with anyone, right?. I will not be blogging everyday and some days I may be blogging multiple times in the same day. This blog will mostly just be my rantings over what is going on with our country today and how we got to this point. I am tired of the bailouts, stimulus bills, progressivism, and non-responsive elected leaders that are far too common these days. We all need to be working every day on changing this and I will have some ideas for that in this blog, but it will mostly just be me getting some things off my chest. Well if anyone starts reading this please let me know what you think.