We can have “Of the people, By the People, and For the People” again!

Of the people, by the people, and for the people – apparently not!  When you look at the polls and look behind them you see an electorate (democrat, republican, libertarian, etc.) that is in such discontent, even spitting angry, over the politics and governance of this country.  Neither major party is held in high regard as both parties have placed party and special interests above country.

Look inside the Democratic Party, and you will find two very distinct parties.  The party has old line democrats who have not yet realized that their party has been taken over by left wing radicals – well there are so many “radicals” that perhaps we cannot call them radicals any longer.  Radical thinking is no longer radical when the number of proponents reaches a critical mass, and it has.  It is a movement of such strength that it can topple our Republic.

These radicals are the socialist, wealth, and health care re-distribution advocates.  Their climate change philosophy is centered on America literally paying monetary tribute to the less developed nations of the world. They claim we owe these underdeveloped nations our wealth since we have been successful and have destroyed the atmosphere with carbon dioxide –stuff plants and trees love.  This is the core driver of this crisis of climate change or global warming.

If we were to institute all the changes the climate change supporters want, we would see worldwide abject poverty grow and widespread food shortages.  The result will be that we will only affect man made climate change by about 1% in the next 100 years.  (This statement can be supported by many prominent scientists and economists, but this writing is not the place for this debate.  If you must digress into this argument then view John Stossel’s information on the topic or do your own research.) As we have recently seen with the exposed emails of leading climate change scientists, Jones (the UN’s key scientist for the IPCC) and Mann, among others, climate change is certainly not settled science and their manipulation of the data findings, destruction of the raw data, and their overt attempt to squelch professional, educated dissent makes this a political wealth distribution gambit and not science.

Climate change is a well disguised and well planned assault on our Republic and the free market system.  The current populist movement is fermented by those who seek national wealth redistribution and to expunge capitalism, because capitalism is supposedly a detriment to the people of the world.  This is also driven by these former radicals, now just far left believers.  Our President and many in Congress are drivers of this movement.

Capitalism is not the problem. The problem facing our Republic is the marriage of government and big business that enhances the corporate profit motive – largess for the elites at all cost is the result of this unholy alliance.  The relationship between our federal government and Goldman Sachs is almost incestuous.  The number of government officials in and around the White House and Treasury, who were Goldman Sachs executives, is staggering   – true under both the Obama and Bush administrations.  Why has our government become wed to these corporations?

For the government, mostly made up of democrats, this means that small business enterprise can be squeezed out and unions supporting the democrats will prosper.  Unions do not do well when small business creates 70 plus percent of the jobs in this country.  When the government eliminates small business as a major jobs grower, the government will grow, foster more pro democrat union memberships, and the democrats will have a built in support system to simply stay in power.  Take a look at the government payrolls.  The salaries of government workers average nearly double those of the private sector.  Remember this is tax payer money being paid in large grants to those who economically produce nothing for the country.  The nature of government work is to manage government and not to produce goods and services.

For corporations this means government capital availability and big profits.  This also means special interests rule Congress and no longer is “What is good for the nation” the top agenda item.   “What is good for the small echelon of corporate elites” moves to the top of the Congressional legislative calendar.  This means that Congress no longer represents the people – can we say it is official now?– that the goal of Congress is to make more than half the nation beholden to the Democratic Party and to raise money from the corporate elites.  We are seeing a government coup occur center stage as we look on.  The Congress through the last stimulus bill, omnibus bill, and now the health care bills has written enough empowerment to bureaucratic regulators and entitlements for the tax takers of America that what has been done, might never be undone.  Government bureaucrats continue to be given the ability to make law, without Congress’ approval and the requisite signature of the President.  Entitlements are targeted to those who pay little or no taxes, but have a vote.  Current decisions by our government, mostly against the growth of small business, are focused on keeping the number of tax takers at a voting majority level and yes, keeping them beholden to the Democrats.

By now you are thinking this writer is just bashing the Democrats.  Well, it is the Republican’s turn.  Two Congresses ago, the Republicans attempted the same un-American plan that the Democrats are carrying out with perfection, they just did not know how to do it well.  Look through the ranks of the Republican Party leadership and you will find a host of Congressman and Senators who also regularly put party ahead of country.  The problem is that too many Republicans are dependent on democrat voters and special interest money – they may wear different uniforms in the Congress, but they sell their souls to the same devil.  No longer is it “Damn Yankee!” – it’s now “Damn American!”  The powerful moneyed special interests are Lola and “What Lola wants Lola gets.”  Climate change just serves to make them richer.

How did we get here?  Well the Constitution has and had a number of protections against this coup that is taking place, but sadly some powers are lost and new ones need to be enacted.  First, the states, you know, those sovereign powers that created the United States Government in 1787 and actually super cede the Federal Government under the Constitution in Article 1, Section 8 and the Tenth Amendment, need to push for a repeal of the 17^th amendment.

The Founders looking for a way for the states to control a centralized Federal Government created a control rod for the states, called the Senate.  Senators were appointed by the states’ legislatures and not directly elected by the people.  This made the Senators accountable only to the states’ legislatures and governors.  The states, via the Senate, were given the power to provide advice and consent on appointees, including judicial, and to ratify treaties with two thirds of the Senate voting in the affirmative.  Most importantly, the states through the Senate were given the power to keep the House of Representatives in check and continue the rights which their sovereignty brought them.

The 17^th amendment removed the Senate as an arm of the states in 1913.  This was a crucial mistake by the Congress and the states ratifying the amendment.  Senators were now subject to the money and power of specials interests, instead of the one special interest they represented – their state.

What if this “angry electorate” votes out the incumbents?  Will this change the special interests’ impact?  Will the elite corporate echelon disappear? No! They will just have new meat to work with, new people to make rich.  Members of Congress have learned that entry into the club of representative government means that they can retire rich, give us our own money to buy votes, and provide for a cushy retirement and a wonderful lifetime medical plan.

Unless and until we successfully remove the money and largess of riches bestowed on our lawmakers nothing will change.  We are told that term limits already exist – called voting for the other guy.  Well, sitting Representatives have the decked stacked in campaign contributions and in name recognition, so that they are returned to Congress over 90% of the time.  Does this sound like to you what the Founders intended for the “People’s House”?

Our Republic founded in 1787 , with its “People’s House” and its upper house, the Senate, formerly representing the states, is in serious danger of morphing into what it was never intended to be, an inefficient socialist  economy and an oligarchy government with no real representation of the people.  It was intended to be the best form of government possible – not perfect, but better than all the rest.

Ill conceived changes to our Constitution and 21^st century forces from corporate greed and special interest money, never anticipated by the Founders, are seriously threatening this grand and successful form of republican government.

If you want to vote out the incumbents go ahead, but then unceasingly demand of your candidate a constitutional amendment that will:

• prohibit any campaign money received by a congressional candidate from any source other than a source predominantly domiciled in the candidate’s district;
• prohibit all earmarks, limiting all appropriations to openly debated expenditures;
• prohibit a congressional representative from accepting gift funds or in-kind services  from any person or organization, until five years after leaving office;
• repeal the 17^th amendment;
• establish Congressional term limits at three terms;
• prohibit retirement from the House; and
• prohibit Congressional medical benefits one year after leaving office.

If your candidate commits to this amendment, then vote him or her in, otherwise find and support a candidate who will.

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Emails reveal that climate change is NOT settled science.

UPDATE: December 3, 2009

The Wall Street Journal is reporting, what the other media, other than Fox News Channel, will not: “Furor Over Climate Triggers U.K. Probe.”

An exposure of the scientific community’s clandestine approach to driving climate change awareness and warnings broke in some media, not all of the “lame” stream media, this weekend.   It appears that emails were hacked and what was found seems to indicate that a real force within the scientific community to silence climate change dissent among equally qualified scientists has been ongoing for some time. The Washington Post has an article, “In the trenches on climate change, hostility among foes”, which looks at the hacking and what corrupt forces have been occurring to shut out those scientists who simply do not concur with the climate change supposedly proven postulation.

As a non-scientist, I am under the understanding that science is not supposed to be based upon a vote or a consensus. It is supposed to be based upon proven tested fact. When some in the scientific community attempt to silence other scientists who have a different view or postulation, then we no longer have science – we now have politics and politics is not science. It appears that scientific rules have not been followed on this climate change postulation.  Ask any scientist of quality and you will find that postulation or theorem must be proven to be taken as scientific fact.

These arrogant “only their opinion counts” people will have us turn this world upside down to fight what may or may not be man made or occurring at all. (Note that the carbon levels keep climbing, but the temperature has not for 11 years.) The self important arrogance of these people appears to be overwhelming, or maybe their opinions are being driven by my the multiple of millions to be made by touting climate change – ask Al Gore.  These folks need to study the history of the planet to see the multitude of radical climate and atmosphere changes that have occurred since the planet was born.

Man’s time on this planet, supported by a climate and atmosphere suitable for man’s existence, is but a single tick on the clock of earth’s history. Why do these arrogant self-important people believe that the earth would and should remain hospitable to man forever?  It is man who needs to adapt, by moving and migrating as man has done for centuries, to more suitable climates and ocean tides and levels, if climate change is real.   We must adapt to any changes to the planet’s atmosphere and not the planet adapting to man.  Man cannot and never will in the near term be able to change the climate, the ocean currents, nor the atmosphere of planet earth – we simply are not that advanced.

What will be next?  Will be be warned against continental shift and attempt to stop it by forcing everyone to move to the center of the continents?  Keep in mind that if one very large asteroid collided with earth, climate change would be immediate and the longterm effects of climate change would be of no concern.  Mankind on earth would probably disappear in a relatively short time frame.

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How did we get to where we are?

Whatever happened to the national goals of a Strong National Defense, Fiscal Responsibility, Energy Independence, Free Market Solutions, and Individual Liberty? Why have we moved 180 degrees from this goal — a goal that made this country great?

National Defense

Over the past eight years we have worn down and, as of the latest poll of military morale, demoralized our once superb fighting force. We have had two long wars fought with politician oversight, mostly not to win, but to avoid losing. Why are we repeating mistakes of prior wars? We seem to use a calculator and a checkbook to measure our commitment to a fight, rather than providing an all out commitment to win rapidly and decisively.

In an effort to avoid drawing out the Afghan war further, our President, is considering a plan to wind down this conflict and either fight a small scale war or leave entirely. His personally appointed Afghan Commander has provided the President with a plan to win the war, but needs a greater commitment from the White House – a commitment that the White House appears unwilling to make. What the White House, and the many others, who decry that the Afghan war grinds on interminably fail to grasp simple plan. The plan is that similar to the strategy of World War II, where the Pacific Theater was fought as a holding action until the European Theater was won, we have fought a holding action in Afghanistan while we won the Iraqi war.

Our President needs to understand that the reason we went into Afghanistan was that the Taliban were allowing Al Qaeda to move freely, train freely, and constitute a large fighting and terror delivery force. Pulling out of Afghanistan or downsizing the war will embolden the Taliban and re-constitute a powerful al Qaeda. Pulling out now will waste the lives of those who have fallen and the sacrifice of those who suffered injury and permanent handicap fighting that holding action so that we could win in Iraq and then take on Afghanistan to win.

Fiscal Responsibility

Under George Bush and a mostly Republican Congress this nation experienced wild spending. Government intervention via a supposed oversight with a manipulated Community Reinvestment Act, allowed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to light the time fuse for a mortgage meltdown.

Now, Barack Obama and the Democrat Congress have shown the Republicans just what irrational and fiscally unconscionable spending can be. The Democrat spending in the name of stimulus has been off the charts. Unfortunately, the stimulus bill is only stimulating local governments to continue spending, and providing the Congress with the ability to funnel funds to pet, non-stimulating projects—few long term sustainable jobs have been created. Thus the unemployment rate has crossed the 10% threshold, when it was not supposed to go above 8%. We were told that the fiscal situation had reached a crisis of economic collapse and that the stimulus had to be passed quickly and fully to prevent this. Then we were told that no one could foresee just how bad the crisis was. What is worse than a national economic collapse? This failed stimulus and out of control unemployment rate has forced the administration to count “saved” jobs – a measure that simply cannot be realistically counted.

Energy Independence

The Department of Energy was created to find an alternative to gasoline in the Carter Administration—we see how well that went, yet we are still funding a $70+ billion department filled with bureaucracy.

While we sit on an abundance of oil and natural gas, we are pushing a green energy platform that has no hope of meeting the immense power needs of this country in the next ten years. Last year, we produced a little more than 2% of our energy from wind and solar. We have abandoned nuclear power – a source for clean energy, with albeit a disposal problem – yet European nations, and especially France have embraced nuclear. We are seeking to cripple this nation’s resource of cheap energy with Cap and “Tax” — sorry, Cap and Trade. According to CBS News, this effort will raise each family’s home energy bill by $1,761.

This tax will also affect business and everything you consume, by raising prices on just about all good and services originating in this country. This will be a cascading tax. The tax on a tax will have a cascading effect and will hamper small business’ ability to create jobs—these are the folks who generally create about 70% of the jobs in this country. What is absolutely dumbfounding about this effort is that the U.N.’s climate projection models which equated the increase in CO2 with a corresponding increase in earth’s temperature have been proven wrong with actual data. (Jeffrey Ball, Wall Street Journal, Monday, November 2, 2009)

On the matter of this insane backbreaking energy restriction on our economic growth, at a time when we need economic growth to pay down our gargantuan, out of this world debt, I can only assume we have gone mad.

Free Market Solutions

In just about a year, reaching back into the Bush administration, we apparently decided that government knows better that the individual. Government of the people, by the people, and for the people, has become government by and of the elected to the people not for the people — a dangerous change.

We have seen how bond holders suffered a lapse of the rule of law in the way bankruptcies were adjudicated, with unions actually being placed first in line above bond holders. We have seen how executives are being capped on earnings. Yes, there may have been abuses, but the government need not be and should not be the arbiter of how much someone in the private sector can make. Rather the shareholders should have been given more power to control the Boards of these “run a muck” companies, and to control the compensation of the top executives.

We have seen how our government has taken ownership of, and is managing private enterprise companies, like General Motors. Enough! Government can’t manage government, yet win at private enterprise. There is enough corruption in Congress today to greatly overshadow the “greedy” corporate executives, who we have been told are the scourge of the earth and the source of all our problems, by our corrupt government in Washington. For starters, just think about those sweetheart mortgage deals to Chris Dodd and others.

Individual Liberty

The 2,000 page House Bill (H.R. 3962) and the even bigger Senate Bill are supposed to provide health care for those who are uninsured, yet they do not. Too many uninsureds remain uninsured, despite the bills. The final bill will have a front loaded tax revenue stream and a back load delivery date, and it will still costs nearly a Trillion dollars. These bills severely infringe on individual rights and liberty. These bills require individuals to purchase health care insurance or be subject to fines and even jail time.  One taxes small business and both will lead to a single payer universal health care system run by the government.

Why don’t we just buy health insurance for the uninsured – it would be substantially cheaper. These 2,000 page bills are really not intended to provide health insurance for the uninsured. If they did only intend to insure the uninsured, they would only need to be 100 or so pages. Instead the Democrats hide their true agenda behind 2,000 pages wherein they control of our lives and our bodies. Remember how hard the Democrats fought and continmue to fight to allow a woman a choice over her body— “reproductive rights”.  Why then do the Democrats now wish to control every other part of our bodies?

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Why is the Cornerstone of our Republic at Risk?

Why is the decision by the Administration, through its Department of Commerce Census Bureau, to count all residents of the United States without regard to resident status in the 2010 Census a big deal?

Before we can answer this question, we need some background.  The United States Census is the cornerstone of our constitutional republic.   It is the ultimate arbiter of how states are represented in the House of Representatives and how the President of the United States is elected by the Electoral College.   Due to the cornerstone nature of the Census to our nation, it is unconscionable to make the 2010 Census subject to tampering, manipulation, a skewed citizen count, or an ideological interpretation.  Why will it be skewed if the current Census Director, members of Congress, and the Administration proceed as intended?

Article I Section 2 of our Constitution originally provided for the enumeration of “persons” of the several states.  At the time the Constitution was adopted, “persons” consisted of free persons and a three fifths fraction of the slaves inhabiting this land, with the exception of Indians.  Let’s look to a further clarification of the intent of the Founders at the time of ratification of the Constitution by the states.  We find in Article II, Section 1 instructions on the presidency eligibility: “No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution…”   Thus all persons residing in the United States at ratification were considered to be Citizens of the United States and thus the term persons referred to Citizens.  We also find that the Fourteenth Amendment in Section 2, which modified Article 1 Section 2, requires “…counting the whole number of all persons…” eliminating the fraction and the counting only of free persons.

Before you go off on a tangent about the callous use of a “fraction” of slaves, the compromise method was to prevent the people of the Southern States from having a lopsided vote and a lopsided representation in the House of Representatives and the Electoral College and a “super vote”, if you will, using slaves to inflate the population count, while only white men voted.    Now to the big deal!

The 2010 census operation fully plans to count any person legal or illegal, citizen or non-citizen—remember only citizens can vote.  We should be counting only “persons” which in the Constitution is synonymous with citizens.  Failure to do this means that states with an abundance of people who are not citizens made up of both legal and illegal residents, without the right to vote, will be unjustly rewarded with more representatives in Congress for law making and taxation and a greater weight to the Electoral College to elect the president of the United States.  If we grant more representatives and more electoral votes to these states, then we seriously skew the one person (citizen) one vote rule.  We end up giving the citizens of these states the power to cast what amount to those “super votes”.  Essentially, a smaller electorate will have the power of a larger state population.

Senator Vitter of Louisiana, Senator Bennett of Utah, and Representative Chaffets of Utah, want to add a question to the Census Questionnaire, which asks “are you a citizen?”  They are not being received very well, by the Bureau of the Census and members of Congress.  Seems like a logical and appropriate constitutional question to ask during a census, as we are also asking many other questions that are not nearly as important as how many possible legitimate voters exist to apportion House seats and to be represented in the Electoral College—remember only citizens are supposed to vote and be counted in Congress.

We must be cognizant of and stand up to prevent this ideological effort to establish an unbalanced and truly un-constitutional apportionment in the House of Representatives and in Electoral College voting to states with a large illegal population.

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The Story of Propaganda Stuff

Over the last few years our school children have been taught a new subject.  Let’s call it Capitalism Bad; Socialism Good.  You may not be aware but this socialist almost marxist propaganda has left college campuses and is now finding its way to our middle schools.  The theory and goal behind this video, produced by the “Tides Foundation”—a socialist redistribution driven organization, is to indoctrinate young children during their impressionable years, before they have learned to rationally think and question.

Of course, parents are kept in the dark, by the “all knowing” educators, who have embraced this ideology.  The lead instructional lesson is called The Story of Stuff.  This is a twenty minute video complete with a classroom quiz and related teaching and study material.  The Story of Stuff provides questionable information that is contrary to what is the economic model that has made this country great, capitalism. This video is filled with false statements and half-truths.  The clear intent is to mislead impressionable minds; to convince these minds that the ideology presented is common fact.  This video is clearly propaganda indoctrination.   Here is what that bastion of conservative think, The New York Times, has to say about this video in “A Cautionary Video About America’s ‘Stuff’”  

“…The video is a cheerful but brutal assessment of how much Americans waste, and it has its detractors. But it has been embraced by teachers eager to supplement textbooks that lag behind scientific findings on climate change and pollution. And many children who watch it take it to heart…”

 In a blog of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation called “The Real “Story of Stuff” about Capitalism and the Free Market” you will find a reasonable analysis of “The Story of Stuff”.

 “If you want freedom, peace and prosperity for people all over the globe, you want capitalism. Protestors at the G-20 Summit would have us believe otherwise. So would the creators of the Story of Stuff, an anti-free-market film seen by tens of thousands of school children who now believe capitalism means trashing the earth and stealing resources from poor people.

 It would be good if our schools began teaching intellectually honest economics. But most do not. What if all policymakers understood the connections between peace and personal liberty; prosperity and free markets; justice and risk?…”

 You may want to go to the Evergreen Freedom Foundation website and learn who they are and their mission.  This appears to be a solid and balanced organization.

 The New York Times article states that

 “…Which is one reason ‘The Story of Stuff’, a 20-minute video about the effects of human consumption, has become a sleeper hit in classrooms across the nation.” 

A sleeper hit with whom?  Is it a sleeper hit with parents?  Have parents been told that it would be in the lessons?  The piece states that the government exists to take care of us, well James Madison and the other Founders are rolling over on that statement alone.  It is wrong about how much is spent on defense and how must forest remain.  It even uses a military tank to represent the government—how balanced is that?

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Requiem for the Mass Media, the Fourth Estate has Died.

The funeral for the main stream cable broadcast media is occurring today.  At this writing, note this post’s date and time of 2:05 PM EDT, the Mall in Washington, D.C. is filled with Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, and Independents.  TV pictures reveal that the Mall is tightly packed from the Capitol to the Washington Monument, with overflow, as  a CBS affiliate reports, onto Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House.

The Fourth Estate, aptly brought to life by Edmund Burke in the House of Commons on a particular session during the 19th century, is the press.  The clergy, nobles, and commoners being the other three.  These estates were essentially the makeup of the British government at that time.  He referred to the Fourth Estate as the most powerful of the estates present that day in the House of Commons—they were in the gallery.  Closer to home, our Founding Fathers believed the Fourth Estate was similarly powerful and sufficiently independent to keep the three branches of our new government in check.  This is why freedom of the press is clearly written into our Constitution.  They were depending on the press to keep government honest.  In no way did they ever believe that the press would become complicit with the government and withhold key pieces of news, slant the news coverage, and become the house organ of two of the three branches of government.

Incredibly, at this writing CNN is broadcasting a Barack Obama speech on reform before a large  partisan audience.  It is yet another speech by him in three or so days on healthcare reform—are they expecting him to say something new?  The President is stumping in relatively Democratic conclaves trying to repair the breach in his Party over health insurance reform—this breach has gone mostly unreported by CNN.  At this writing, MSNBC had planned a televised mystery / crime documentary which must be quite good and must serve the public interest to allow them to skip reporting about a long time planned event at the Mall in the nation’s capitol, now mostly filled with grass roots demonstrators made up of every day citizen protestors.  It now appears that MSNBC did manage to do some reporting of the event after all.  These protesters are mostly against big government and big spending, regardless of political party.  If this were an anti-war rally, MSNBC would be reporting.  If this was a Obama campaign rally, they would be reporting with flourishes.

The estimate for the attendance by the Park Police is 60,000.  Recently, Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, issued a memo claiming that 2 Million will show.  She was setting ultra high expectations, so she could later minimize any protest significance.  Well if the Mall is filled, depending on how tightly packed it is, it can hold anywhere between 1.7 Million to 2.1 Million people.  TV pictures indicate that the Mall is filled.  Remember CBS reported that crowd overflow filled Pennsylvania Avenue.  Of course, government estimates, the Speaker’s estimates, and the news media’s estimates will be substantially minimized to accommodate their agenda.  The Washington Post had an article written at the inauguration of President Obama about how many people the Mall can hold—Mall information found at the Washington Post click here.

Based on the broadbased main stream media failed reporting on the just broken high impact ACORN story and the failed or minimal reporting on the Tea Party protests around the country today, I can only state, if you are depending on this dead media for information, you are uninformed.  The exceptions are those of you who are getting your news from Fox or by searching the internet for real news, not a blog like mine, otherwise you are seriously in the dark and cannot make informed decisions about our nation’s future.  If you meet this uninformed criteria, then careful, you are being manipulated with all the news these “news” operations deem you should have, with the slant they want you to have.

This ideological conspiracy is an attempt at censorship plain and simple.  MSNBC and now apparently CNN among other complicit news organizations are attempting to feed the populace with what they want us to know and are withholding selected news.   If it weren’t for Fox News Channel and the internet—call it the Fifth Estate, they would be successful in using censorship to manage government propaganda.  Are we living in a free nation or are we in a government and media controlled society, like Venezuela and Iran?   

I for one will not be steered and will not comply.  Want more? Read The Acorn Story Truly Exposes Main Stream Media.

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The ACORN Story Truly Exposes Main Stream Media — RIP

We can officially declare September 10, 2009 the day honest media was laid to rest.  The breaking ACORN story—a viral internet story—broken by a new internet site “BigGovernment.Com”, and specifically James O’Keefe is a first class newsworthy story.  The story is clearly seriously detrimental to ACORN and the multitude of politicians in Congress and in the White House who have allied themselves with ACORN.

The Story, the back story, and extensive video can be seen at BigGovernment.Com: click here and review all the video clips, including the Glen Beck of Fox News clip.

 The story is big since ACORN receives millions in federal money—our tax money—and will receive Billions from the recent stimulus bill.  We know of ACORN activities from reports of rampant national voter registration fraud allegedly perpetrated by ACORN during the 2008 election cycle.  We also know that our President was a community organizer attorney advising ACORN for years.  We know of his intimate relationship and his history with ACORN during his Illinois Senate days, United States Senate Days, his campaign, and now his enthusiastic interaction with ACORN while President of the United States.

ACORN is clearly affiliated with SEIU, the Service Employees International Union—those folks who wear the purple shirts—through common related management and common addresses.  SEIU was instrumental in fostering an Obama victory by providing heaps of union dues money and plentiful union volunteers.  Of late it was utilized to picket the homes of financial executives in Connecticut over bonuses.

This story is huge from so many directions and it, if completely developed, could lead right to the White House and Congress.  Yet, no major news outlet is running with it to any legitimate extent, except Fox News.

Remember these ACORN folks specialize in helping community people to get the most from their government and regularly provide help and advice on how to maximize their members’ opportunities with applications for welfare, other government monetary assistance.  And now we see they have mortgage specialists providing “special” assistance.

Big Questions:

• How many mortgages that ended in foreclosure and helped tank our economy were made possible by the apparent “extreme” advice provide by ACORN to non-qualified applicants?  How many non-qualified applicants qualified due to the “extreme” mortgage application and supporting documents advice provided by ACORN around the country?  I use the word “extreme” to indicate that where there is smoke, etc., …well you get the point. 

• Just how much do our Representatives and Senators, such as Barney Frank and Chris Dodd among others in Congress, know about ACORN’s activities and why haven’t we seen any Congressional investigations operate with a full head of steam?  John Conyers was going to initiate an investigation, but cancelled it saying that “powers-to-be decided not to investigate”.  Who are the powers-to-be?  Who is protecting ACORN in the Congress and possibly the White House?

• Why is the main stream media complicit in playing down or simply not reporting what appears to be massive fraud?  Is there a conspiracy of major media to lead us down the primrose path to socialism with a generous helping of organized community groups and political corruption tossed in for flavor?

The media is more concerned with Fox and now O’Keefe of BigGovernment.Com than with the real story.  The trusting public has been steered by most big media to support the current administration and the current administration was not and is not vetted and challenged.   Either big media is complicit with intentionally steering the populace or it is just terrible incompetent and gullible. Either way Americans who still get their news from the big media, other than Fox and a few other outlets are woefully uninformed.

Recently Robin Roberts of ABC interviewed President Obama about his healthcare proposals and she asked him about the distraction of losing Van Jones.  Bill O’Reilly of Fox News expertly pointed out on his show that Roberts more correctly should have asked him why was Van Jones picked to be in his administration as an unconfirmed Czar.  She should  have asked what is and how deep is Obama’s relationship with this avowed communist and ex-convict.  (Have we ever had an ex-convict be a Presidential advisor?)  It appears that either Roberts is incompetent or she is attempting to help our President achieve his goals regardless of all the issues surrounding those goals. 

We simply cannot trust most main stream media any longer as, with very few exceptions, honest media died some time ago—it was officially laid to rest yesterday.

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Forget Democrat and Republican: Which Functions Better—Public or Private Sector?

Let’s for a moment put party labels aside.  The Republicans, Libertarians, independents, and the Democrats are no more, for the sake of this post.   Let’s look at politicians and advocates only as proponents of public sector or the private sector.

The proponents of public sector support the government’s caretaking of its people, either through public or co-op option medical care, providing money for car purchases, subsidizing power generation, and so on and so on—spending everywhere.

The private sector proponents seek growth of industry and economies, healthier paychecks for all, faith based options for caretaking, and wealth generation for reinvestment into greater wealth generation for all.

The public sector advocates want to spend resources on all sorts of programs but struggle with how to pay for the largess.  Remember the public sector produces nothing.  It is simply a drain on the economy and cannot be sustained.  Taxing the rich and businesses will generate funds for near term projects, but over time the law of diminishing returns kicks in and the cupboard runs bare.  There is a limit to how much money can be pulled out of an economy to pay for public sector programs—the limit is what gets put back into the economy to replace what was spent.  Remember as you grow the public sector you shrink the private sector.  Soon the private sector will disappear and the public sector will have to provide less and less for the populace—rationing.

Remember the empty store shelves in the Soviet Union?  Well this will happen here if the production economy does not grow.  Unless we find a way to grow our economy we will not survive.  This country has been a consumer and not a production economy for nearly 40 years.  All this has done is deplete our reserves, build debt, make the dollar weaker, and make us unable to replenish what we are spending—we simply consume.  As a nation will will run out of whatever wealth we have left.

Just look at how the government has reacted to the current fiscal crisis.  It was brought on by debt.  Now we are fixing the problem by growing the public sector and we are borrowing to get out of debt—does this make sense to anyone. We should have ignited the private sector by placing a moratorium of income taxes for two or three years—it would have cost the same as the unproductive stimulus, but it would have already begun paying big dividends.

 The private sector advocates want smaller government, with the government being a small drain on the results of the private sector economy.  If the private sector is supported by the government through lower taxes, less restrictive rules, use of natural resources that allow the private sector to produce, the economy will produce, export, grow jobs and this will feed on itself, as if it were a perpetual engine—okay I exaggerate a bit.

If this government fosters a strong small business segment and a somewhat controlled big business segment usually through competition, but with legitimate— not choking —government regulation, the private sector over the long term will grow, and provide prosperity.  Since the public sector produces nothing, and is a 100 % drain on resources, it can never produce prosperity, that is unless we can have a replay of the miracle of the loaves and the fishes .

There are those who say that profit is bad, well unless these anti-profit people can offer another way to grow and replenish an economy to continue to deliver these goods and services, private sector profit is the only way to go.  Remember, how long can government deliver these goods and services without replenishing what has been used?  Remember the Soviet Union store shelves. 

Now I make the leap to government medical care.  Forget about the lack of efficiency and effectiveness in anything the government does.  Let us simply look at the non-replenished resources from a stagnant public sector economy.  How much time will pass before medical rationing must occur in a service driven by an economy that does not grow—it only shrinks.

Anyone who has not as yet joined the flat earth society should seriously consider that when you vote for a representative, that representative should be a long term thinker and always vote to build and grow an economy by producing.  If the person is a short term thinker and only believes in picking the fruit from the tree without ever feeding or water it, then you will get the diminishing public sector option and everyone will be equally poor.

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States Rights!

With the Congress out of control, with 14 now 34 Czars and counting not answerable to the Congress reporting to President Obama, with U.S. Government ownership of GM and Chrysler, with first position bond holders tossed aside in favor of a union – forever altering the investment landscape where for hundreds of years bond holders were protected and now are no longer protected – forever dampening the economy and causing future corporate fund raising to be very difficult and expensive,  with the Treasury’s refusal to let some banks pay back their TARP money, with the proposals to establish national health care and a valued added tax to pay for it, with the marching order from the President of the United States to get this done by August, it is clear that the Federal Government looks at states as little fiefdoms subservient to the federal government.

Well, it is the other way around.  Someone in Washington D.C. and particularly in the Obama Administration should read the Constitution.  On more than one occasion President Obama has indicated that the Constitution is too restrictive of the federal (central) government and that the constitution should allow for the central government to make more rules to deliver services to the populace – often services not equally targeted toward all Americans.  His appointment of an activist judge for the Supreme Court is his attempt to make law and make constitutional law from the bench of the highest court in the land.  This must stop and stop now.

I have written the following similar letters to Governors Sanford of South Carolina, Perry of Texas, and Freudenthal of Wyoming.  This is the letter written to Rick Perry.

June 4, 2009

Rick Perry, Governor, State of Texas

Office of the Governor
P.O. Box 12428
Austin, Texas 78711-2428

Re: States Rights

Dear Governor;

I sent this note yesterday to Governor Dave Freudenthal of Wyoming.

Owing to the recent actions and planned actions (it all can’t be interstate commerce) by the Federal Government which are not within the 17 enumerated powers provided the U.S. Government in the Constitution, and the Obama supporting Congress, have you considered a law suit in Federal Court re-asserting the rights and powers of the states found in the Constitution? The goal is to stop this runaway madness and socialization of the private sector.

I suggest Wyoming because you have the greatest Republican majority of any state legislature. I also suggest a state file the suit since there should be no question about legal standing in the courts. This will probably work its way up to the Supreme Court.

Clearly as a state, Wyoming has the right to require the federal government to limit itself to the 17 powers and the few amendments describing the limits of power of the U.S. Government.

I represent no faction or organization. I write as an individual. I am not an attorney. I am an individual who sees the best of this nation disappearing more and more each day. President Obama and his Treasury among other Departments and the Congress are out of control and need to be reined in. Will you do it? Can you do it?

Governor Perry, perhaps you might contact Governor Freudenthal and encourage him to file that suit. Perhaps you may wish the former Republic and the State Texas to join him. Unless the states take action now, states rights will be gone forever and we will not recognize this nation by the next Presidential election. I will also be writing to Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina. I am not writing Governor Jan Brewer of Arizona, as I do not believe she has the fervor for righting this Constitutional wrong.

With the sincerest pleading, I am

Ken Moyes

I suggest that anyone who reads this post and feels that the federal government is out of control and is assuming the rights provided the states under the constitution (see Today’s Federal Government is Unconstitutional)   should write to their Governor or to the Governors listed in this post   Just go to a search engine and enter the state followed by “governor” and it will bring up a link to that state’s governor.

Unless we do something now, we will not recognize this country by the next Presidential election.  Stand up and be counted!

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Sotomayer nominated to the Supreme Court – legislates from the bench?

Do we really want judges making law from the bench based on their own beliefs of how things should be?  Do we really want to obfuscate the legislative process by having unelected jurists – a party of one – make our laws?  President Obama has stated, as recently as yesterday, that he wants jurists who render decisions based solely on the law and to look at the existing law and U.S. Constitution for their decisions.

If he really believes this than why did he nominate Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court?  Once again we have to watch both hands when he speaks.  He appears to be shaking your hand with his right hand and quietly picking your pocket with his left hand.  I say this because Sonia Sotomayer is clearly a jurist who openly brags about making policy from the bench.  She has laughingly talked about legislating from the bench. 

We do not need to look at her prior decisions, when she has openly, and I might add arrogantly, admitted legislating or making policy from the appellate bench.  A recent YouTube clip says it all!  Yet she is nominated for the highest court in the land, and is young enough, that if affirmed, will serve for the next thirty years.  Is this what was intended by checks and balances?  If you don’t believe me and you have not seen the clip click here, remember she is the one speaking to law students.  She is explaining where they might best pursue a law career.  She is suggesting appellate court experience, since that is where policy is made.

If we continue to allow jurists to make decision on how they wish the law to be and not how it stands as written, an enterprising defense attorney will, sooner or later, use the “I disagree with the law as written and I feel it should be different, just as Justice so and so does on a regular basis” defense.

Had enough yet?  If you believe in the rule of law and not law of the judge, you may want to get on the phone with your Senators and tell them to keep looking for a balanced jurist.

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We Deserve Better from Congress!

Recently the Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives sought to move a global warming bill – a 900 page bill – that has not been read or digested by any legislator, out of committee and to the full House for a vote.  Congressman Henry Waxman, Democrat, the committee chairman, acknowledged publicly that he did not fully understand what was in the bill.  He simply wanted to move the bill out of committee and to the House for a vote.  At 900 pages, this an enormous bill covering intricate “cap and trade” and other environmental regulations.

“Cap and trade” potentially represents a radical change in the cost to the people of this country of our industrial infrastructure and power generation.  This bill has the potential to devastate our economy beyond the economy’s current volatility and yet no one person really knows what is in it.  What makes this plan even more flagrant is the cavalier attitude and approach by the Democratic leadership on passage of this bill.

When the committee Republicans were insisting that the bill be read aloud – their right under our Congressional procedures – Chairman Waxman hired a speed reader for the clerk’s staff and threatened to have the entire bill read by the speed reader.  Remember, speed readers are those folks no one can understand and are found in comedy routines.  Are our legislators this arrogant and whimsical about how they represent us in Congress?  Instead of taking bill content knowledge seriously, the Democrats just want to pass an ideologically radical, economically risky 900 page bill without any one legislator knowing what is in it.

Don’t we as citizens deserve more?  When we elect someone to Congress, we expect them to represent us on matters of legislation.  We don’t expect our legislators to abdicate learning about bills before them so they can make a prudent and intelligent vote.  If they are not going to bother learning what is in a bill, then we can either use a dice roll or hire chimps to vote.  Hiring a speed reader is not a funny or laughable matter.   It is an arrogant abuse of power and a mockery of our constitutional republic.   Just how many bills will these legislators vote on without reading?  This flagrant approach to bills started with the unread $770B stimulus package.  We deserve better.

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Today's Federal Government is Unconstitutional!

Just what are the powers granted to the federal government under our Constitution?  It’s simple; the powers are laid out clearly in the Constitution in Article 1, Section 8.  There is no secret here or any ambiguity in this matter.  The Constitution tells the federal government what it can do and anything not covered is reserved for the States, thus the power of the federal government is severely limited and the States are superior to the federal government.  Yet our federal government functions like it has unlimited power – if Congress says it is okay, it must be okay.  Well this current federal / state relationship is clearly wrong and unconstitutional.  Congress and the executive branch are out of control.

The federal government, particularly Congress, in words directly taken from the Constitution, is empowered to:

1. lay and collect taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
2. borrow Money on the credits of the United States (this one has been worked to death);
3. regulate Commerce with foreign nations and among the several states, and with the Indian Tribes (regulate in this case means to make function smoothly and foster trade – not to control everything and anything that is remotely managed through interstate commerce);
4. establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States (the federal government has been remiss on Naturalization and violating its own laws on Bankruptcy);
5. coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures (the federal government certainly has been working the coining – printing – money to its fullest, but its current economic policies have actually worked to unregulate the Value of our Money);
6. provide for Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;
7. establish Post Offices and post Roads;
8. promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;
9. constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
10. define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations (this specific power to punish piracy was not readily utilized by the Obama administration recently, until the Captain of a Navy vessel forced his hand);
11. declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water (military tribunals);
12. raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years.;
13. provide and maintain a Navy;
14. make Rules for the Government and Regulation of land and naval forces;
15. provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrection and repel Invasions;
16. provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress (your National Guard);
17. exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise the Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-yards and other needful Buildings;
18. and make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof (limited to the defined powers of the federal government).

Under the 15th amendment, the United States has the power by legislation to enforce the voting rights of citizens.

In the 16th amendment, the Federal Government was given another power: The Congress shall have the power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.  (This amendment has allowed the Federal Government to use the tax code to manipulate the States and to drive social issues, but it was never intended to allow this action.)

The federal government has absolutely no other authority than what is spelled out above.  Watching your Congress work would let you believe that it can do whatever it wants.

• Can you find the power to institute Cap and Trade – a tax on carbon emissions?
• Can you find in this list of powers the power to loan money to AIG and other TARP recipients?
• Can you find the power to regulate executive compensation?
• Can you find in this list the power to mandate educational requirements to the States?
• Can you find in these powers the right of the federal government to tell me what I should eat or, to make rules for national healthcare or to control healthcare – there is no interstate commerce when I visit my doctor?

Try your own test of these powers to see if other federal government regulations pass the test.

Just what are the powers of the States?  What limitation on these powers does the Constitution offer?  The limitations are those rights afforded the people of the United States in the Bill of Rights.  The Bill of Rights also provides for the powers of the States in the tenth amendment: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution (article 1, section 8 ), nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. The 14th amendment provides additional restraints on the States “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Why have we let the federal government become what is was not supposed to be – all powerful?  Why have the States rolled over when confronted with federal legislation violating the assigned powers of the federal government?  Perhaps it is time to fight back and place the federal government back into an inferior position to the States.  Push, plead, and cajole your state representatives to fight back and regain their rights as states.

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Stop The Obama Economic Bullet Train Now! – Why?

Many people in perceived fairness say that President Obama is in office a little more than two months, so we  should give him a chance.  To these people I ask, how long do you give a new nanny who demonstrates poor child rearing skills, with your children?  For the ladies, how long do you allow a  new beautician who is clearly doing her own thing and not doing what is best for you to continue before you yell stop?  We are seeing so called fixes to our economic problems that are not economic problem fixes.  We are seeing major changes to our civic culture under the guise of fixing our economic problem.  We are seeing a serious threat to our constitution, by a man who openly does not like our constitution the way it was written. 

President Obama is a “big government” – government is intended to take care of people – kind of guy.  Just listen to his own words.  He is asking to spend hundreds of billions on energy, health care, and education – sounds noble, but he has no plan on how to spend this money.  No businessman in the world could borrow money without a business plan, yet he wants multiple billions without a plan – he wants you to buy into his wishes sight unseen – something like buying land (swampland) in Florida.  This massive spending on noble targets may sound great, but you need to lift the hood to see just what happens when the big government engine is turned on.  In the world of gross domestic product, government produces nothing – it is a drain.  It does not foster job growth.  It does not provide the necessesary economic energy to sustain growth and to keep on delivering.  Government simply takes from the producers and the only thing it gives back is a portion of what it has taken – the rest is government overhead.  Over time, the producers stop producing because there is no upside for them to produce.

Sure government can create jobs, government jobs, and this does two things that should make you run from government intrusion in your life.  First, any government job created takes away from the producers the ability to produce, grow, and create jobs with a multiplier effect.  It must continue to take from the producer to support the government created job.  Second, the government created job, as it takes away from private sector job growth, keeps you permanently chained to the government to keep your job.  Some may say – “what is wrong with a good job from the government?” – the answer is that the government job is not sustainable and that over time, the ecomony and quality of life shrink.  As the economy shrinks, the government must take more and more from the remaining producers to sustain those made up government jobs – remember, government jobs produce nothing and add nothing to the economy.  As more and more is taken, the producers produce less due to loss of economic motivation – this becomes a cycle of doom.  Countless countries have tried this and met the same result – failure.

Throughout history in Latin America, South America, Europe, and Asia (most of the globe), power hungry despots and some well meaning socialists have adopted the control afforded by socialism and the “government can do it all” approach, and failed miserably.  Our current President is an academic with a law degree.  He has never produced, never managed anything, and appears to have never studied history on the failure rate of big government socialism.  That is, unless he is not concerned with 100% failure rate or the success of the venture (we cannot call it an experiment since the experiment failed in a plethora of tests around the globe), and he is only seeking the control and power that comes to a few, not the masses, from the big government socialist venture.

The following is Barack Obama, when he was a state senator, in his own words describing why our constitution is flawed and in need of change.  If this does not send chills up your spine, then you have not been paying attention.  He feels that the constitution does not provide government with sufficient powers.  In this video Mr. Obama telegraphs just where he wants to take this country with the big government socialist approach.  The video was found on a blog Bob’s Bites. (Thank you Bob’s Bites).

This bullet train approach to CHANGE toward a big government socialist nation with an understanding that the constitution does not permit the kind of change being attempted, must be stopped.  Unfortunately, President Obama will be in office for four years and the current very left, very socialist Democratic Party controlled Congress will be intact for two years, making the stopping of this train very difficult, but not impossible.

We need to pressure the members of the U.S. Senate’s Democratic Party who hold the more moderate and conservative economic voting records in the Democratic Party Senate caucus and three Republican RINO’s (republicans in name only) to act as a buffer and to take steps to retard the hi-speed approach to socialist economic change.  We must pressure these Senators to slow the massive government spending for big government.  This government spending is not sustainable and simply cannot be repaid.  You see, right now, the government is a sub-prime borrower seeking an unsustainable mortgage – have you heard this before?  This is what got us into this mess and now we are attempting to spend our way to prosperity and borrow our way out of debt – show me one budget text book that portends a happy outcome when you spend more than you can produce for a sustained time.  One book does explain this unique economic plan – it is the bible – the new testament to be exact.  It is commonly known as the “Miracle of the Loaves and the Fishes”.  Unfortunately for us, while Barack Obama may think he can walk on water – he cannot and he cannot perform the “Miracle of the Loaves and the Fishes” or make wine from water!

Do what you can to stop this bullet train, before it is too late! Tell them (cut and paste the statement if you wish):

“Stop the over the top spending and borrowing now – don’t destroy our country!  Socialism does not work!”

The Democratic Senators in the Senate, with the most conservative economic voting records and the three Republicans (RINOs), who should be pressured are:

Baucus, Max – (D – MT)
511 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-2651
Web Form: baucus.senate.gov/contact/emailForm.cfm?subj=issue

 

Bayh, Evan – (D – IN)
131 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-5623
Web Form: bayh.senate.gov/contact/email/

 

Byrd, Robert C. – (D – WV)
311 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-3954
Web Form: byrd.senate.gov/contacts/

 

Carper, Thomas R. – (D – DE)
513 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-2441
Web Form: carper.senate.gov/contact/

 

Conrad, Kent – (D – ND)
530 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-2043
Web Form: conrad.senate.gov/contact/webform.cfm

 

Dorgan, Byron L. – (D – ND)
322 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-2551
E-mail: senator@dorgan.senate.gov

 

Landrieu, Mary L. – (D – LA)
328 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-5824
Web Form: landrieu.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm

 

McCaskill, Claire – (D – MO)
717 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-6154
Web Form: mccaskill.senate.gov/contact/

 

Nelson, Ben – (D – NE)
720 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-6551
Web Form: bennelson.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm

 

Tester, Jon – (D – MT)
724 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-2644
Web Form: tester.senate.gov/Contact/index.cfm

 

Webb, Jim – (D – VA)
248 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-4024
Web Form: webb.senate.gov/contact/

 

Wyden, Ron – (D – OR)
223 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-5244
Web Form: wyden.senate.gov/contact/

 

Collins, Susan M. – (R – ME)
413 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-2523
Web Form: collins.senate.gov/public/continue.cfm?FuseAction=Contact…

 

Snowe, Olympia J. – (R – ME)
154 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-5344
Web Form: snowe.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactSenat…

 

Specter, Arlen – (R – PA)
711 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-4254
Web Form: specter.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Co…

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Broken Congress

Professional Congressmen – Why?  Today there are 251 members of the House of Representatives serving for more than ten years or five terms.  This is nearly 58% of the House of Representatives.  Remember the House is the people’s house and the representatives serving in this house were intended by our founding fathers to be of the people and from the people.  When representatives serve in the House for more than two terms they become insolated from the people.  They begin to work the system for their own benefit and not for the benefit of their constituents.  Mostly this is caused by the treatment they receive from lobbyists and the personal wealth they begin to obtain.  The more time in the House, the more power they can build and the more they can build an organization that will keep them being reelected, by making contribution connections – contributions most often originating out of their district.  This means that they are now representing contributors of other districts and not the people of their district.  The old adage that “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely” is simply how our Congress works.

The numbers about tenure become more frightening as you look at the more senior members of the House.  Today there are 42 Democrats and 20 Republicans serving for more than twenty years.  Nineteen representatives, fifteen Democrats and four Republicans, are now serving for more than thirty years or an unconscionable fifteen terms.  Two Democratic representatives are serving for more than forty years.  The number and dollar amount of earmarks is almost in a direct ratio with the time in Congress and the power achieved. As a Congressman delivers more earmarks, they build a contribution base and name recognition to aid them in reelection.  Remember that many of these earmarks are payback to political contributors and are not in the best interest of the district, the state, or the country.

Still not convinced that this professional Congress needs to change?  Consider that these people represent old thinking, with little recent real world experience or real world business or management skills, and a heavy dose of cronyism.  Most committee chairs are based on longevity and have the power and connections to kill bills or fast track bills on their own.

The Senate, the upper house with longer six years terms, suffers it own brand of professional legislator.  Ten Democrats and zero Republicans are now serving for more than twenty-four years or four terms in the senate (update – 9 with the loss of Senator Kennedy).  Of this group, three members are serving for five terms or thirty years and three are serving for more than thirty-six years or six terms.

Only fifty-four members of the House are freshman representatives (32 Democrats and 22 Republicans).  This group represents little more than 12% of the House.  In reality, there are enough members of the House of Representatives serving longer than most members of the Senate that determining which body is the upper house or the lower house is difficult.  Statistics indicate that voters (that’s us) return their Congressman and Senator to Congress at an alarming repeat rate of over 90%.  Does this absurd unrealistic return rate represent a love affair of the voter with his or her representation or does it reflect a broken system where power makes it nearly impossible for an incumbent to lose and allows little opportunity for new blood?

When did serving in Congress become an occupation? When did it stop being a noble calling of fellow citizens who put real careers on hold to serve their country for a limited time?

If we are to have a country of the people, by the people, and for the people, then we must make changes.  Congress will not change on its own.  We need term limits applied to both the House and the Senate. We need to limit both Congressional Representatives and Senators to no more than two consecutive terms – but how?  We need a constitutional convention called by the states with two goals.  The first is to limit congressional terms and the second is to make changes to reinstate state’s rights over a massive out of control incompetent federal government.  Return this country to the vision of the founding fathers.

Contact your representative to your state’s legislature (not your U.S. representative) and push for your state to call for a constitutional convention to achieve these two goals.

Listed below are the twenty year plus Congressmen and women who have been in power far too long and need to move on to a real job, if they are able.  They are grouped by state with party affiliation and district following the name.  Those with 30 and 40 years in Congress are so indicated.  Click on the name and see a summary of the rereprsentative’s background and congressional status, including committee assignments.

If you wish to breakdown your Congress by other attributes than term go to Contacting the Congress: Power Search.

Twenty Years Plus
Representative Don Young (R – Alaska At Large)	30 Yrs
Representative Wally Herger (R – CA02)
Representative George Miller (D – CA07)	30 Yrs
Representative Nancy Pelosi (D – CA08)
Representative Fortney (Pete) Stark (D – CA13)	30 Yrs
Representative Elton Gallegly (R – CA24)
Representative David Dreier (R – CA26)
Representative Howard L. Berman (D – CA28)
Representative Henry A. Waxman (D – CA30)	30 Yrs
Representative Jerry Lewis (R – CA41)	30 Yrs
Representative Dana Rohrabacher (R – CA46)
Representative Cliff Stearns (R – FL06)
Representative C. W. (Bill) Young (R – FL10)	30 Yrs
Representative John Lewis (D – GA05)
Representative Leonard L. Boswell (D – IA03)	30 Yrs
Representative Jerry F. Costello (D – IL12)
Representative Peter J. Visclosky (D – IN01)
Representative Dan Burton (R – IN05)
Representative Harold Rogers (R – KY05)
Representative Richard E. Neal (D – MA02)
Representative Barney Frank (D – MA04)
Representative Edward J. Markey (D – MA07)	30 Yrs
Representative Steny H. Hoyer (D – MD05)
Representative Dale E. Kildee (D – MI05)	30 Yrs
Representative Fred Upton (R – MI06)
Representative Sander M. Levin (D – MI12)
Representative John Conyers, Jr. (D – MI14)	40 Yrs
Representative John D. Dingell (D – MI15)	40 Yrs
Representative James L. Oberstar (D – MN08)	30 Yrs
Representative Ike Skelton (D – MO04)	30 Yrs
Representative David E. Price (D – NC04)
Representative Howard Coble (R – NC06)
Representative Christopher H. Smith (R – NJ04)
Representative Frank Pallone, Jr. (D – NJ06)
Representative Donald M. Payne (D – NJ10)
Representative Gary L. Ackerman (D – NY05)
Representative Edolphus Towns (D – NY10)
Representative Charles B. Rangel (D – NY15)	30 Yrs
Representative Eliot L. Engel (D – NY17)
Representative Nita M. Lowey (D – NY18)
Representative Louise McIntosh Slaughter (D – NY28)
Representative Marcy Kaptur (D – OH09)
Representative Peter A. DeFazio (D – OR04)
Representative Paul E. Kanjorski (D – PA11)
Representative John P. Murtha (D – PA12) (update – now deceased)	30 Yrs
Representative John M. Spratt, Jr. (D – SC05)
Representative John J. Duncan, Jr. (R – TN02)
Representative Bart Gordon (D – TN06)
Representative John S. Tanner (D – TN08)
Representative Ralph M. Hall (R – TX04)
Representative Joe Barton (R – TX06)
Representative Lamar Smith (R – TX21)
Representative Solomon P. Ortiz (D – TX27)
Representative Rick Boucher (D – VA09)
Representative Frank R. Wolf (R – VA10)
Representative Norman D. Dicks (D – WA06)	30 Yrs
Representative Jim McDermott (D – WA07)
Representative F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R – WI05)	30 Yrs
Representative Thomas E. Petri (R – WI06)
Representative David R. Obey (D – WI07)	30 Yrs
Representative Alan B. Mollohan (D – WV01)
Representative Nick Joe Rahall, II (D – WV03)	30 Yrs

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Change You Can Really Trust

The real no spin definition of most earmarks is a Member of Congress targeting a group with your money taken right from the ever flowing government monetary fountain to either get votes or campaign funds for reelection.  This keeps the “select” few in Congress.  Search high and low and you will not find much integrity in Congress or with those who use the system to keep getting reelected.

Who runs our government?  At any given time, the decision makers in Congress represent the 15% of the population who place party above country.  Most people who are registered Democrats or Republicans follow their party and generally agree with their party, but do not place party above country.  Most elected representatives are of the 15% of the population who are Democrats or the 15% who are Republicans – these are the folks who place party above country.  Under the Bush administration there was a push to expand the Republican Party by expanding government and spending more – sounds like the Democrats doesn’t it?  The theory was, if we give the people “stuff” they will vote for us, since this has worked for the Democrats for some time.

 The problem was that the Democrats had elevated giving stuff to those who don’t have stuff to an art form and thus the Republican plan badly backfired.  In the case of the Republican representatives, they placed party above country.  The problem with the Democratic Party, now that the backlash against the Republicans has given the Democrats essentially a majority in both Houses of Congress and possession of the Whitehouse, is that they are seizing the opportunity to take their art form of expanding government and giving stuff to those who don’t have stuff to a new level.  They are using this opportunity to forever move this country, in a series of well planned steps, to the far left progressive governance of socialism and control by their party.  Again this is party over country.

In a previous posting “Fix Congress, But How?” I suggested changes to our Constitution as a means of regaining control of the country from the parties.  It should always be what is best for the country, not what is best for the party.  That posting did not cover one other method of regaining control of our country and the re-establishment of bi-partisan governing or more importantly multi-partisan governing.  This type of governing is brings back checks and balances.

By allowing a third or even more parties to grow and prosper to major status, we will force compromise, build in check and balances, and blunt extremism from the two major parties of today.  This means changing state laws that have been put in place to make it very hard for other than a Republican or Democrat to run for federal office.    Today’s Democratic Party is not the party to which my father, a union bricklayer, belonged.  The Democratic Party of John F. Kennedy was more like the Republican Party today.  Both Parties have moved very left.  Within each party are those who represent the centrist, left and right camps of party members.  The Blue Dog Democrats are fiscally conservative members of the Democratic Party, and are mostly from the south.   They may be Democrats, but they do not control the party – the Far left does.  This group would bolt to a viable third party if it could achieve major status.  Do you think they were comfortable recently when Speaker Pelosi demanded a yes vote for the 1,000+ page American Recovery Act (stimulus bill of $787 Billion) with no time to read or digest it?  This was a case for these people to place party over country, because if they did not comply, the party would not support them going forward during the reelection primary campaign.

You can initiate change yourself.  Find a party of your liking and change or simply go independent.  However in most states independents lose out during the primary season by being shut out of the vote.  The two major parties are simply too powerful, with the Democrats being in an über power position.  This situation is incredibly dangerous for this nation.  The far left 15% of the population are now in control of our country.  Is this how you want this country managed?  Spinning off those other major parties is change you can trust.  Change you need to push for by contacting your state representatives to insure that getting on the ballot is equally easy for all parties.

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Fix Congress, but how?

Tired and frustrated about Washington, D.C.?  Do you believe that Congress is out of touch with the people?  Do you believe that Congress does not represent us and instead represents special interests with their legions of lobbyists and big campaign donations.  It also seems clear that those in Congress have a sole purpose of continuing to serve and this purpose is to do everything and anything they can to remain in Congress.  Have you noticed that those who retire usually retire very wealthy?

Where else can we be told time and time again how the Congress will clean up its act, yet we suffer powerful committee chairpersons and rules designed to keep and grow the status quo.  The affliction of power brought about by seniority affects both parties.  Our two party system appears to be the problem and not the solution – ideology takes second place to capturing power and remaining in office.  Their real constituent is reelection!  We routinely return the incumbent to Congress at greater than a 90% rate.  Something is radically wrong when the very people who complain about the Congress, us, routinely return their representatives to Congress more than 90% of the time.  Perhaps this 90% return rate is not totally our fault, but can be traced to the design of the election system, campaign funding, and the support of special interests.  Does it seem right that your Congressman or Congresswoman is more influenced by money from outside his or her district?  Why should some agricultural company in Hawaii be allowed to monetarily influence a Congressman from an industrial district in Pennsylvania?  It happens that money flows in to Congressional campaigns from all over the United States and yes, Europe and China, among other places.  Why is it okay for everyone in the world to buy the loyalty of your representation in Washington?

If and when you call your representative in Congress, you will most likely get voice mail that asks you to leave a message about your issue.  They keep raising the funding for the staffing of their offices, yet there is no one to answer the phone?  These people feel so insulated that they have openly and brazenly discussed, and in committee voted to add a voting representative in Congress to the District of Columbia and the State of Utah.  This is highly unconstitutional behavior – the Constitution is crystal clear on how representation is handled and representation is not established by the Congress at their whim.  This vote in committee and soon to be a floor vote represents the ultimate example of people serving in Congress suffering the aphrodesiac of unchecked power.

What can we do about our Congress?  Can we amend the Constitution?  Congress controls the Constitutional amendment process or do they?  Our Constitution provides for an alternate amendment process, one initiated by the states.  A state can call for a constitutional convention and if two thirds of the states agree, i.e. 34 states, it convenes.  The states send representatives to the convention and any amendment coming out of the convention needs ratification by three fourths of the states, i.e. 38 states, to become an amendment of the United States Constitution.   Now you can petition your state legislators, your representatives in your capitol, for a constitutional convention to change Congress and to restore lost rights back to the states.

We can seek a change in how Senators are elected.  When the Constitution was adopted, it provided for election of Senators by the states legislatures and not direct election of the senators by the people.  While this method was subject to politics and political maneuvering, it gave the States a say in the size of the federal government, the judiciary, and foreign affairs through the Senate.  It was the seventeenth amendment that made this change.  We need to repeal the seventeenth and replace it with an amendment that provides for election of senators by their respective legislatures, with a restriction on recall requiring a two thirds vote in all houses of legislature of the state – Nebraska has only one house of legislature, while the others have two.  This would take the pandering and special interests out of the Senate, since Senators would not need multiple millions to run for reelection.  This amendment would add an additional check and balance – the state itself through its Senators.

We can seek an amendment that would limit campaign contributions in cash, property, or services to an individual residing or a corporation headquartered in the district of the congressional candidate – no political party contributions, thus only constituents are important to the member of Congress.

We can seek an amendment that requires all spending bills and any spending appropriation to be of like kind in a bill, be in the body of the bill with no spending amendments, and have gone through committee and been approved by the majority of the committee.  This will eliminate earmarks. 

We can seek a change in ballots across this nation for candidates for a federal office.  No longer can states make special rules that make it hard for third party candidates to get on state ballots for president and vice-president, or congressional representatives.  This would stimulate the candidacy of members of parties other than Democrat or Republican parties.

We can seek term limits on members of the House of Representatives to three terms.  This will eliminate the individual absolute power some members of Congress have achieved.

These few amendments will re-establish this republic and fix the now forever and perpetually corrupt Congress.  Members of Congress are addicted to a drug of Congressional power and will never give it up on their own.  We need to make this change through the states – push your state representatives to make these changes.  Tell them these amendments will provide the states with more rights and make it easier and less costly for the state representatives to run for federal office.

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Mr. Obama, your nose is growing!

President Obama, I have a question.  Very often during your campaign for President, you were adamant about eliminating earmarks.  You stated that you would go line by line in every bill looking for earmarks and have the earmarks eliminated before you sign the bill into law.  The current $410 Billion Omnibus Bill before the Senate and passed by the House, with your encouragement and support, contains nearly 9,000 earmarks.  Some of these earmarks are absolutely insane, especially in a time of fiscal crisis.  One item in the Senate version of the bill was an earmark submitted by you when you were a Senator from Illinois.  This earmark has now had your name removed, but it is yours just the same, because while you name was removed, the earmark remains in the bill – you did not eliminate your own earmark.

Perhaps, after the Stimulus Bill, The American Recovery Act, it is too soon to challenge you on this earmark thing, because we have been told by you and you’re your spokesman, Mr. Gibbs, that the Stimulus bill did not contain any earmarks.  However, we know this was true only in the technical sense, but if pork looks like an earmark, spends like an earmark, is not debated like an earmark, and is slipped in like an earmark, then it is an earmark.  The current Omnibus Bill earmarks explanation from your Mr. Gibbs is even more strange.  It is that these were last years earmarks and thus don’t count toward your pledge.  Please understand that I and many others find this to be a moronic, disingenuous explanation from the Obama Administration.  

For two years you campaigned against earmarks and yet you will not come out against last years, as yet to become law, earmarks?  Mr. Obama, will you veto this bill if it ever gets through the Senate?  This pork laden earmark filled (9,000) bill was written by the Democratic leadership in the House.  Even that ultra small band of fiscally conservative former Democrat colleagues of yours in the Senate are choking on this bill and are joining the Republicans in fighting this bill.  If they have come out against it, why haven’t you?

Mr. Obama, I have noticed a pattern in your positions.  You have verbal positions that are presented to the people and you tell us what we want to hear and you have actionable positions on the same issue that are just the opposite of what you told us.  You did promise transparency, so is this lack of transparency in your actions on purpose?  Can we expect this I will tell you one thing and regularly do the opposite to continue throughout your term of office?  Yes I said one question, but I got carried away.

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California is an example of the socialist experiment.

A surprising number of people today are seeking a socialist government because they have a hope that a nanny state will improve their lives.  Many of these people, group one, are of modest income, brought about by modest education, and some early life mistakes.  Let’s not confuse these folks with those who want socialism because it gives them control of how we should all live, group two.  Group two is the alpha group with generally higher education and income levels.  This posting is targeted to those who are of modest means in group one.  There are three types of people: those who don’t know and know they don’t know; those who know and know they know; and those who don’t know and think they know – these are the dangerous ones and a bulk of these people fall into group two.  You will find a lot of these folks in Hollywood and in the Capitol Building.

Group one was provided an education in our schools run by controlling far left educators – group two.  The educators in their wisdom most likely dismissed the in depth teaching of U.S. and world history.  Group one simply does not realize exactly what they are seeking.  They have been sold a Utopian view by the far left of the Democratic Party, members of group two, with nary an explanation that all previous attempts at beneficial socialism worldwide have been abject failures.   China’s people are benefiting from improved prosperity and some limited advances in personal freedom, but these advances and improved prosperity are only brought about by shifts toward capitalism.  I cannot think of one nation that has adopted socialism and has seen economic prosperity and experienced widespread individual freedoms for its people through socialism.  The populace of these nations have no incentive to become wealthy and are generally regulated to death.  The socialist movement deflates any opportunity for a “rags to riches” rise.

Rather than use one of an unending list of failed socialist foreign nations as an example, I thought I would highlight one of our fifty states that entered into the socialism track years ago.  It is a state that has passed law after law impinging qualified personal freedom to the limit of our U.S. Constitution and has tried to be the most prolific nanny state that it can be.  It is a state where no one is held personally accountable.  I point out that personal freedom is qualified because their definition of freedom is unique to the rest of the country.  Smoking pot is good, but the rules on personal business expansion and prosperity are onerous.  It is a state that is suffering through and sharing the current U.S. and world severe recession, but is also suffering a self imposed economic collapse as a direct result of its attempt to be a nanny state.  It is a state that during a recession, where millions are suffering due to unemployment and rising costs, has decided it is good to increase taxes.  It has chosen to increase a regressive tax, the sales tax, to help solve the budget problem.  This is almost incredulous since they are raising taxes disproportionately on the people who have been weaned to depend on the nanny state.  How brilliant is that?

If you have not guessed as yet, it is the State is California.  This very liberal experiment in creating a nanny state, which included onerous rules on businesses and outrageously high taxes, is tanking faster than a falling meteoroid.  This State is suffering years of debt taken on to achieve the very liberal social programs that are the underpinning of the “nanny state”.  I hope the millions who are seeking the Nanny States of America take a moment to see what will become of the United States of America, if we continue on this path to a national socialistic nanny state.  One look at California and the multi-tentacled sink hole it has become should be enough to demonstrate to those of modest means, that in the long run the nanny state will only bring them abject misery.

This post is not targeted to group two socialism control freaks who truly believe that they know better how we should live and what our culture should look like – these are just misdirected fools and there is nothing you can tell or show them that will change their minds, since it is all about control to them.  They have no problem with constantly repeating history but with an expectation of a different result.  Fortunately for the conservatives and moderates who populate this nation, they cannot accomplish this trek to socialism on their own.  They need the votes of those with modest means.  They try to obtain these votes by promising stuff, lots of stuff.  They get these votes by pounding into these folks just how badly they have it and how dastardly corrupt business types are.

All we need to do is to point out California in detail to these modest means folks over and over again, and maybe we can wakeup some of these folks to the reality that their invitation from group two that says “we would like to have you for dinner” really means that they are the dinner.

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Eric Holder's war on guns

Our new Attorney General, Eric Holder, has recently come out against semi-automatic weapons.  He says that our laws permitting semi-automatic weapons are fostering the shipment of these weapons to Mexico for the drug cartels, exacerbating the drug violence at the border.  Thus we must control the sale of these weapons in the United States and restrict ownership to address this crisis.  Boy does this ever sound reasonable.  I personally have no use for semi-automatic weapons, but I think that we do need to agree that the second amendment gives my solid citizen neighbor a right to own these weapons.

The truth, not told by our Attorney General, is that the Mexican drug cartels use not only these semi-automatic weapons, but fully automatic P90’s, hand grenades, and RPG’s as well.  The truth of the matter, not heard from Mr. Holder, is that the semi-automatic weapons are being purchased in the United States in such bulk as to be a currently illegal sale or they are bartered for drugs, also not legal.  The truth of the matter is that the Mexican authorities have not installed the proper detection equipment at the border to catch these weapons coming in to Mexico.  The truth of the matter is that Mr. Holder is using the Obama Administration playbook to “not let a good crisis go to waste”.   As was done with the stimulus bill and with the omnibus spending bill, we are told that an action is needed to solve a crisis, when in reality the bulk of these actions are designed to install their brand of socialism and government control of how we live.   For a very good and informative read on the Mexican gun and drug violence, read Stratfor’s piece: Mexico: Dynamics of the Gun Trade.

Mr. Holder has told us just enough to justify the Administration’s longstanding desire to eliminate gun ownership to fight crime.  Do you really think drug dealers apply for a gun permit before acquiring a gun?  Just how much illicit gun violence is there from permit carrying gun owners?  Mr. Holder would do better to spend his time marshalling his forces to track down and stop the wholesale market for illicit guns going to the drug cartels.   He need not spend his time trying disingenuously to snuff out the second amendment, simply because he and the rest of the Administration do not like it.

There are many people in this country who really want socialism, just read various blog comments on the internet.  Those who want socialism should study up on the effects of socialism.  It is a disease that slowly deprives a populace of freedom, and prosperity, with the non-workable utopian hope that the government can right all ills by bringing economic balance from those who have more to those who have less.   There are also many who open mindedly want to cut the Obama Administration slack because they feel that the Administration is working to solve our problems.  These people should stop and take a very close look at what the Administration is doing, under the guise of fixing a financial crisis.  If they did look under the hood, so to speak, they would find a host of actions that have nothing to do with fixing a financial crisis, and everything to do with installing heavy government control over the citizens. 

We must start to really listen to the Administration when its members speak, and we must really start to look at the people who are chosen to be in this Administration.  We cannot assume that because they say they are fixing our problems, that they are.  We must prevent them from acting like that distant cousin who shows up to stay, acts like he is mowing our lawn and fixing our shingles to help us out, but is really quietly cleaning us out of our silverware and other valuables.  When Erik Holder and other members of this Administration speak, listen very carefully to the actual words used, and you will hear the real agenda.  You will hear the very slick use of the English language to make you believe one thing, while they are doing something else.

Be sure to vote at: Rate the Obama Administration – Vote Here

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Republican Party Can’t Get Its Message Out

Last night’s nonsense and unprofessional journalistic approach to the speech by Governor Jindal exhibited by the MSNBC team demonstrates the lack of objectivity in the media today.  The Republican Party clearly has another hurdle to return as a prominent party.  The media is necessary to getting your story and image out to the public.  When the outlets selectively make it difficult to get your image and message out, not only the party suffers but America suffers.  While last night’s show was a commentary show, a minimum of respect is necessary to allow a fair presentation.  Listen carefully to the MSNBC personnel coment and laugh as Jindal walks toward the microphone.  The man said nothing and already the MSNBC folks were making fun of and demeaning the man.  Where was the professionalism?  Even in a commentary show, comment should be withheld until after the man has spoken.  Governor Jindal did not purport himself and the Republican party well with his speech – it was a downright awful presentation, but he should have been allowed to fail without the stage being set for failure prior to his speaking.

If the Republican Party does not yet see its biggest challenge, it has no chance of recovery.  The main stream media has all but become totally corrupt in selecting and slanting the news.  It materially controls free speech and a free electoral process.  It is getting harder to find news, nothing but the news, to be informed of national and world events affecting this country and our lives.

The fourth estate as it was once called was given freedom of the press to insure its role as an independent check and balance to government actions.  When the fourth estate uses that freedom of the press to turn public opinion with often doctored reporting and suppresses news that does not support the media’s agenda, then the fourth estate has lost its right to freedom of the press.  Along with that right, comes the responsibility to be the purveyor of truth.

It is clear that the left in this country has co-opted the main stream media.  MSNBC has clearly become the Obama house organ.  What can be done about it?  This twisting of the news for political agenda is not new.  Way back at the formation of this country, Alexander Hamilton had about enough with newspapers in the tank for Thomas Jefferson, that he co-founded a newspaper to get his message and his party’s message  out (The Federalists) – it was the New York Post founded in 1801 as a daily publication.  Yes the same Post of today.  Oddly enough it was founded to combat the media’s one sided adoration of the new Democratic Party and its leader, Thomas Jefferson.

The Republican Party needs to find people who have the wherewithal to buy a major newspaper or a network and bring in real journalists.  These people should be respected balanced journalists who understand that the message is truth and not agenda.  I am not suggesting that this newly acquired media achieve an agenda.  If it did, then nothing would be made right.  The fourth estate would still be unworthy to hold the right of freedom of the press.  If it has to have an agenda, then it must be the agenda of truth without the partisan diatribe.  The agenda should be “All the news that is fit to print” – wait that is taken and it has been seriously abused by the New York Times.  The Times should be sued for false advertising.

Republican Party!  Unless and until you can get your message out you cannot bring balance back to this great land.  Michael Steele, start the process of finding balanced people who will assume control over some of the failing agenda driven papers and networks, so that a message of truth will be delivered.  Only then will the Republican Party be able to get a fair chance to serve the public.

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