Cycling, it's not just for Liberals anymore!

Socialism and Poker

2012-12-13T22:53:00.001-08:00

A poker game in a casino is like a Socialist form of government.
Each player starts the game with exactly the same amount of money, let’s say $100. There are 9 players at the table, so there is $900 in the game, or “the economy”. So at best, any one player can only hope to win $800, or can he?

You see, on every hand the dealer takes “a 10% cut” of the total pot, which represents “taxes”. On every hand, one player will win money (becoming richer), and one player will lose money (becoming poorer). Nobody complains about the tax because it’s only the guy who wins (the rich guy) who has to pay it.

Nobody has any more money with them than the original $100 they sat down with. So the longer the game goes on, the less money there is “on the table”; as the house (government) continues to take its 10% off the table (out of the economy) on every hand. If this game were to go on as long as possible, eventually, just ONE player would be left with any money at all (super rich by comparison to the losers), and the house would have the vast majority of the original $900!

But this is a Socialist system, so the house, seeing that the game is about to die, “invests” in the game by giving each player, who lost all his money, $25 of free money to play with, just to keep the game going. How long could the game last? Where does the house get the $25 to give the losers? The houses only means of income is the tax on the game.

How does the casino pay the dealer, or for the lights, or heat? Oops! The casino could never afford to give each player back $25 each time they lost all their money. Somehow, they would have to find a different source of cash, but where?

What about that fat cat player who keeps winning, you know the RICH GUY! He’s sitting over there with $400! He started with $100 and he’s made $300 profit! What if the casino charged him a special RICH MANS TAX? So for every $1.00 a player wins, over $100, the casino takes 50%. So the rich guy would now only have $250. Do you suppose the losing players would think this was a great idea? Heck the winning player might even think it’s a good idea, since he’s winning and doesn’t see any reason to think he won’t continue to do so, and if the casino doesn’t kick the money back in, he won’t have any players to beat! But can you see that no “new money” is being added to the game? Eventually it would all leak out through the costs of keeping the game going as in the dealers pay, the lights and heat. It cost money just to run a casino (government).

What if the "rich guy" decides his $250 is enough and goes home, compare this to investors taking their money out of the stock market when investment risk is too high, or taxes on return are too high.

The only way the game can continue is if the casino can attract ‘new money’ to the game. Somebody must produce new money or “wealth”. There are only two ways to produce wealth, earthier you produce new goods and services or you steal it from someone else! Many wars have been fought to bring new wealth back to the winning country!

Government does not produce ANYTHING! Therefore it cannot create wealth; it literally must steal all it makes, either from its own people or from other countries! The problem is, eventually you run out of money as it is spent on perishable goods such as food or energy. Unless an economy can produce excess wealth, that is more wealth than it must consume in perishable goods and services, that economy is doomed.

Socialism is a form of government that expects some people to produce, while others merely consume. Sooner or later, the producers stop producing as they realize all their effort is going to the benefit of the consumers. If a man is not allowed to make excess money, because the government takes all excess as a tax (Communism), then what incentive is there for anyone to produce?

Liberalism VS Conservatism

2011-08-19T14:08:00.000-07:00

Let’s begin by agreeing that the majority of Liberals and Conservatives want to make the world a better place. If you can’t agree with that statement, you’ll simply be wasting your time reading any further.

So, beginning with the premise that both Liberals and Conservatives wish to make the world a better place we must be able to focus our discussion on specifics ; too often these types of debates splinter off into vague generalities that neither further the cause of the debate nor help to keep ones blood pressure down.

What does it mean to make the world a better place? Better than what? Can the world be better, yet imperfect? Or, must we strive for Utopia?

I would like to suggest, first, that Utopia is not an achievable goal and second that we should set as our goal to make the world as best a place to live as we can, given the limitations of humanity.

So if you are unable to agree with my second premise stating that Utopia is unachievable, you may as well click on to your next link right now.

So if you’re still reading, I can assume you want to make the world better than it is currently, but you accept the limitations of economic, religious, geographic and cultural pressures which limit the ability to achieve a perfect solution.

If we agree no solution will ever be perfect, then we can begin to focus our attention on those solutions that provide the most benefit for the largest number of people. Let’s restate that in a political context; we want our governments to provide solutions that result in positive benefits for the largest number of people; realizing that not every program will benefit every person.

Now, let’s take a look at a global problem that has plagued mankind throughout recorded history; poverty. Let’s define poverty as that level at which a person is regularly, but not necessarily always, living without the basic necessities of life, such as: food, water, clothing, and shelter. As a side note, if you believe that cell phones, cable TV, or Internet access are “basic necessities” I can show you to the door right now.

So were looking to find a solution to the global problem of poverty as defined in the above paragraph. Where should we look first; how about those countries where poverty is less of a problem? It doesn’t make sense to look to Northern Africa or Afghanistan for solutions to poverty. It makes sense to look at those societies who have had the best results and model our solutions after them.

America was founded on the basic principal that mankind, given a collectively protected environment and left unburdened by the taxes required by a Monarchy, could flourish and thrive; capable of only the limits of their imaginations! Somewhere along the way America lost sight of its founding principles. The idea of collective security, originally intended as a physical security from foreign armies, mutated into the idea of collective social welfare programs. Let’s take a look at the results of those programs.

Statistically, minorities, who’ve traditional voted Democrat, continue to show the highest level of poverty when compared to Whites.
www.americanprogress.org

In North America the majority of the poor live in urban areas.
www.ucl.ac.uk

Urban areas vote for Democrat while more rural areas tend to vote Republican:
www.washingtonpost.com

So, we have poor folks living in close quarters in our urban centers and the majority of them vote to perpetuate the social programs promised them by Democrats. Yet as we’ve seen, the very programs they continue to vote for over and over have failed to make their lives better; they are still poor and living in crappy housing developments.

On the other hand, you have areas of the country with Republican leadership where job creation is high, unemployment lower and relative quality of life is much higher than seen in Democrat controlled areas.
www.bls.gov

So, if the goal is to provide the largest number of people with the best opportunity to be happy, doesn’t it make sense to follow conservative fiscal and social ideas; ideas that have been historically proven to be superior over socialist ideas?

You can choose to make America great again. In 2012 you’re going to have a distinct, black and white choice between SOCIALISM and CONSERVATISM, doesn’t matter who the ultimate GOP candidate is, the Obama administration’s strict adherence to Keynesian economic policies of TAX and SPEND have failed and they’ve expressed nothing but a deeper commitment to more of the same.

Solo Ride To Nowhere In Particular

2011-08-06T22:28:00.000-07:00

It’s oddly chilly this August morning at 5:00 AM, in California’s Central San Joaquin Valley where the average high temperature for this time of year is in the mid 90’s. The faint glow of sunrise is still an hour away and it’s hard to see-- through my sunglasses--the minefield of debris that clutters the bike lane on the road ahead of me. I struggle to get comfortable in the saddle and settle into today’s ride. It’s an odd combination, sunglasses and headlights, but given today’s route, which will cover five thousand feet of climbing at a maximum elevation of just over 3400 feet, including a 3 mile pitch at 9%, the idea of saving weight, today especially, appeals to me, so my regular glasses would have to stay behind along with my jacket.

The morning air is still and it is cold, what breeze there was created only from the pace I set for myself—and that only by feel. It’s to dark to read my cycling computer and the lack of feedback is strangely annoying, but probably for the best, I don’t need to know how fast (or slow) I’m going, only that I’m pushing a comfortable pace as I warm up along the relatively flat roads towards the climbs to come, but warm is not something I’ll be for a few more hours.

Sheri’s Road House is located at the intersection of two fairly well traveled roads, just a few miles from a local Indian Casino; an ideal location for a tiny mountain bar with a convince store and gas station to boot. Motorcycle and hot-rod clubs used to frequent the place on weekends and parking was often at a premium.

Sheri’s was the epitome of the American Road House; pool tables, live music, beer on tap, and even a small dance floor for those who, perhaps, had taken advantage of the happy hour specials! But Sheri’s, it seems, has fallen victim to the times and the doors were closed a few months ago. I can only hope someone eventually buys the place and revives this local icon; someone always has, it's the American spirit to do so! At least the gas station and mini-mart are still open.

I had hoped to see other cyclists here this morning, trying to beat the August heat, but there was not a soul in sight. My body expects to stop—Sheri’s is one of the area’s common regrouping points—and normally I would, but this morning I’m on a schedule; others will be waiting in North Fork and I don’t want to be late! I had told my wife I’d keep her updated on my progress so I needed to stop, at least long enough to send a text, but the short climb just beyond Sheri’s was one I’d rather knock out first, then I could take a short break.

5:45AM. My first text of the day to my wife read: “Just past Sheri’s and on schedule”.

The silhouette of the Sierras began to take form as the first light of dawn peeked out over the jagged horizon. My headlight now made less difference as the ground around its bright white spot began to come into view. Hazards on the road, not seen over the past hour, became easier to avoid as I could now see a bit farther ahead and in the distance a coyote crossed the road, headed to where ever it is coyote’s go so early in the morning.

It’s quiet out here, all I can hear is the sound of my chain spinning along with the sound of my breathing, and they are in unison. The coyote stopped and turned a curious eye my direction; he must have been wondering where I was going so early in the morning.

In the distance I could see Table Mountain, a plateau range that runs alongside of the San Joaquin River as it meanders its way down to Millerton Lake.

Growing up, Table Mountain was literally my back yard. My parent’s property line borders the fence with the cattle range on the mountain; I’ve hiked nearly every inch of the place. I’m amazed, now that I’m older, what little appreciation I had as a boy for the beauty of the valley this place over looks.

In the distance I could just make out the mountain peak known as Squaw Leap, it seemed so far away, yet it marked the beginning of the hardest part of today’s ride and I realized I had a lot of riding ahead of me and most of it upwards.

“Good morning, how are you doing?”

I was slightly startled, but pleasantly surprised, to see there was at least one other human being on this barren road.

“I’m tired” I replied, as he passed me like I was standing still.

The thought crossed my mind to try and grab his wheel and see if I could catch a tow for a short while. That thought often crosses my mind, normally just after I hear “On your left!”

“On your left” is one of those phrases that can evoke joy or pain and often both depending on who’s uttering it! I’ve noticed, lately, as my fitness level has increased and my body weight has decreased, I’m finding more opportunities to say those words rather than hear them.

But I was quickly reminded of the day's goal, Powerhouse, and I settled into my “comfortable pace as I watched him ride away.

The lone rider slowly grew smaller as the distance between us increased, this was the first real climb of the day—the climb to Marshall Station, 6% at worst and a relatively short two miles—and I knew I’d need every bit of energy for the climbs to come. I never got his name, never exchanged more than two or three words with the man, but I felt we were connected somehow; the road it would seem can do that, and I was glad to know I was not the only one on this road to nowhere in particular.

6:11AM. I texted my wife an update: “Leaving Marshal Station, all trains on time!”

Marshal Station is a mystery to me; it’s been there for ages, attested to by its adobe wall construction and rusting corrugated steel roofing, complete with lead window paned windows and the remaining hitching post outside the front door.

It served as a stage coach stop in the early 1800’s and was the site of a post office in the early 1900’s. I used to pass by here on the 45 minute bus ride to school every week day for 12 years.

Numerous small businesses have called this old building home over the years—currently it is a Mexican food joint, but it’s literally smack dab in the middle of nowhere, a victim of the waning lumber industry that used to bring more traffic along this road so many years ago. Why anyone would try to run a business from here now is beyond me, but if you’re ever in the area, I hear they make a mean Chimichanga!

A quick sip of (insert gratuitous ad for your favorite replenishment beverage here) and a bite of granola bar and it was onward and upward to Prather.

The stretch of road between Marshall Station and the small town of Prather holds bitter memories for me and each time I pass I say a short prayer and remember my brother who died in an automobile crash here years ago. I miss you bro! But no time to stop for ceremony, not today, the climb to Prather awaits and it’s the first one to get me out of my seat; it’s a short pitch but my guess is its 9-10% and that scares me a bit because the 9 percent grade to come goes on for miles and this climb is hurting more than I expected!

6:32AM. I texted my wife once again, “Made Prather right on time!”

I ran inside the gas station for a quick spot of caffeine; my favorite source, the nectar of life, Diet Pepsi!

The grey light of dawn illuminated the parking lot and I deemed the wait for the sunrise a worthy distraction from the pain in my thighs—72 miles and over four thousand feet of climbing the day before were beginning to take their toll. I had a few minutes to kill and the rest was needed, the sun was about to rise and I couldn’t help but pause for the photo opportunity!

The sunrise is amazingly predictable; they say you can even set your clock by it! For eons it has come each and every day even though throughout history rulers and clergy have told the masses there was at least some chance that it may not, unless they conform. As I watched the sun rise over the mountains, I couldn’t help but think to myself what an amazingly spiritual thing it was. I suppose those who never find God in their lives, rarely if ever are up in time to experience it. I’ve felt the same thing next to the ocean, as well as when standing on top of mountains; it is there, it’s real, but is it God? Only you can answer that for yourself.

7:03AM. I send my wife what I assume will be my final text before I reach North Fork: “Auberry. No more txts until I see you.”

“Until I see you” was in reference to the fact that my wife and son would be following behind later in the morning in my truck; an insurance policy; sometimes the spirit is willing but the legs are weak.

I graduated from Auberry Elementary in June of 1980. Jimmy Carter was about to lose the Presidency of the United States to an actor from California. That actor went on to become one of the greatest Presidents in US History!

The buildings are still in good shape, but the grounds are lacking; weeds growing in the tall grass where I used to play soccer and baseball. The school was shut down at the end of the last school year because the area lacks enough children to keep it open. Not long after I graduated, the local mill was closed; primarily due to the tree hugger lobby and the over regulation of the logging industry that eventually killed the number one employer in town. I fear Auberry shares the same fate as Marshall Station, and will soon become an historical landmark, a ghost town, on this road to nowhere in particular.

Three hours thirty one minutes, that was my best estimate of how long it would take me to ride from my house in Fresno to North Fork via the Powerhouse Grade. I had left at 5:00AM in an effort to be at Kirckoff reservoir by no later than 8:00AM; giving me four hours in case I needed the extra rest. The group ride I would join up with in North Fork would be riding past the Pizza Parlor around 9:15AM and I figured I could make the final 8 miles in under an hour. So I was pleased ,

as I rolled over the bridge at Kirckoff , to read from my watch 7:28AM; I was 30 minutes ahead of schedule, 30 minutes I figured I could use, if needed, for rest breaks on Powerhouse. I was equally surprised to find I had cell service here. I texted my wife, “I’m at the bottom of pwr HS now. I have 1.5 hrs to make the climb!” her reply, “K. Leaving now”.

Now it was a race! I knew if my wife caught me in the truck I’d likely give up and just toss the bike into the back. After all, I didn’t want to miss the club ride around Bass Lake at 9:15! A few photo opportunities later and I was back in the saddle ready to take on what I knew would be a tough climb.

JAZZ!?

Come on!

It’s uncanny how, normally, when I need it most, my iPod comes through with some great inspirational tunes. Have to climb Walker Grade now; no problem here’s Eye of the Tiger. Going to hammer to the back of Sky Harbor; how about a little Van Halen to keep you motivated? Not this day, no, today I get the cool sounds of one Mr. George Stone, Jazz composer, and the man responsible for introducing me to my wife (but that’s another story).

So Jazz it was as the road turned noticeably NORTH!

A faint white line painted horizontally across the road, barely an inch thick, likely unnoticeable to anyone not on a bicycle (or walking) clearly marked the start of the Power House Grade. I could only theorize as to who may have painted it there, some cycling club, or a team maybe, but somehow I was certain it had to do with cycling. I recalled a similar marking on the road near my home that marks the final 500 meter sprint of the weekly group ride, affectionately known as The Tues/Thus night Championships! But this line was not for sprinting it was for grinding; and the grind would be a long one.

It’s funny what you notice on the road when you’re blazing along at two and half miles per hour; each pedal turning once and then pausing as the lactic acid drains from one leg only to return moments later in the other. Push, balance, pull … push, balance, pull; that was my cadence as I kept telling myself it doesn’t hurt any worse now than it did ten minutes ago; keep pushing!

I noticed small cracks in the pavement, cracks my wheels would normally roll over without incident, became canyon like,

avoiding them became a game, one I could ill afford to lose; at this pace, if I allowed my tire to fall into one of the cracks I’d come crashing to a halt. So this mind game was a welcome distraction from the dull pain welling up in my legs and lower back; push, balance, pull…push, balance, pull.

A piece of glass caught my eye, a single piece of a discarded beer bottle or broken tail light and it was just waiting to rip a hole in my tire if I dared to even get close. At a normal speed, I’d likely never have seen it. Where did it come from? Where was the rest of what it used to be? The mind wanders, it seems, when the body is in pain. I figured the countless tires, both auto and bicycle, had carried the rest of the pieces away; I made sure this piece of glass was not hitching a ride on this bicycle tire, not today!

Push, balance, pull; another 100 yards down, miles to go!

After what felt like an hour, I looked down at my watch; hoping to find that the time warp I’d been trying to create with the games in my head had worked, but it was not to be! Twelve minutes had passed on this hour long odyssey; what had I gotten myself into? But my breathing now was less labored and the road less steep, my cadence and breathing again in rhythm; I had reached a welcome respite in the grade and noticed my pedaling had once again begun to form circles opposed to squares.

I recalled seeing a sign the day before when I had descended this same grade, warning passersby of the pending 9% downhill grade ahead of them, and as I passed each road sign headed up the hill, I’d turn to see if I had indeed, finally, reached that point in the climb; I knew above that sign the road was much less steep. But no such luck, sign after sign slowly (painfully so) passed and the rode once again tilted much steeper upward.

I wish I could say “the miles passed quickly” but they just don’t when you’re climbing anything above 6% in grade, no, at best I can say that minutes passed slowly and I had ample time to enjoy the view!

An interesting bonus to riding towards and up a mountain so early in the morning is, as the road meanders around the hills, you’re treated to a number of sunrises in one morning. The third and final sunrise I had been privileged to enjoy on this one ride now shown directly into the canyon beside me, illuminating the rocks of the closer hills against the still darkened peeks in the distance. The contrast in light reminded me of the contrast in speed when I compared my two trips along this road; yesterday headed down and to today’s trip headed up. I was tempted to turn and coast back down to Kerckoff, after all, my private SAG vehicle was on its way and coasting down is just so damn much easier! But it seemed every time I began to get discouraged about my chances of making it to the top, the grade would subside and I could once again catch my breath and take a much needed sip from my water bottle.

And so it went, push, balance, pull… push, balance, pull.

The words on the ground below me written in large white block letters read “Stop Ahead” and I thought I’d never seen two more beautiful words; I knew what they meant and that soon I’d see a beautiful yellow sign with a red octagon smack dab in the middle; normally warning fast moving motorists that a stop sign lay ahead. But today that sign meant only one thing to me; I was going to make it!

I don’t know why the engineers who design roads seem to be such sadists, but they build roads from point A to point B, normally taking into consideration the landscape and natural slope of the land. 6% seems to be their favorite pitch and normally you’ll find this to be true, accept when it comes to the final quarter mile of just about every grade in California I’ve ever ridden! It’s like they got to within sight of the top and said “screw it; let’s just go straight up from here!” The last few hundred yards of the North Slope of Powerhouse is no acceptation, my guess is its closer to ten percent than six, but by the time the stop sign finally comes into view, you don’t give a rats ass how steep it is, you can only think “I made it” and that’s just enough to get you up the final few pedal strokes… push, balance, pull!

The small mountain community of North Fork was oddly busy for this time of day, the Chevron was a welcome site and I parked my bike outside and went in for a drink, my last text of the day to my wife read: “At the Chevron in NF” I sent that text a 8:31AM, exactly three hours and thirty one minutes from the time I had left my drive way; nice guess eh!

The power house grade was no Alpe d’ Huez, there were no polka dot jersey’s to be won, nor podium girls to kiss my cheek, just a well-deserved Diet Pepsi from a small town gas station whose future seems, at least for now, brighter than the unfortunate ghost towns I passed along the way, and the satisfaction of knowing I came to the mountain, and I conquered!

It is a beautiful thing when the human spirit asks the body to push the line of its known limits just a bit further up the road, and the body responds with a resounding “YES!”

My spirit whispered “nice job.”

My body said “thanks, I wasn’t sure I could do it.”

The spirit replied “I knew you could; now, when are we going to climb Big Creek?”

This is reposted here from an email I received (Author is listed below)

2011-03-14T14:03:00.000-07:00

Dear American liberals, leftists, social progressives, socialists, Marxists and Obama supporters, et al:

We have stuck together since the late 1950's for the sake of the kids, but the whole of this latest election process has made me realize that I want a divorce. I know we tolerated each other for many years for the sake of future generations, but sadly, this relationship has clearly run its course.

Our two ideological sides of America cannot and will not ever agree on what is right for us all, so let's just end it on friendly terms. We can smile and chalk it up to irreconcilable differences and go our own way.

Here is a model separation agreement:

Our two groups can equitably divide up the country by landmass each taking a similar portion. That will be the difficult part, but I am sure our two sides can come to a friendly agreement. After that, it should be relatively easy! Our respective representatives can effortlessly divide other assets since both sides have such distinct and disparate tastes.

We don't like redistributive taxes so you can keep them. You are welcome to the liberal judges and the ACLU. Since you hate guns and war, we'll take our firearms, the cops, the NRA and the military. We'll take the nasty, smelly oil industry and you can go with wind, solar and biodiesel. You can keep Oprah, Michael Moore and Rosie O'Donnell.

You are, however, responsible for finding a bio-diesel vehicle big enough to move all three of them.

We'll keep capitalism, greedy corporations, pharmaceutical companies, Wal-Mart and Wall Street. You can have your beloved lifelong welfare dwellers, food stamps, homeless, homeboys, hippies, druggies and illegal aliens. We'll keep the hot Alaskan hockey moms, greedy CEO's and rednecks. We'll keep the Bibles and give you NBC and Hollywood .

   You can make nice with Iran and Palestine and we'll retain the right to invade and hammer places that threaten us. You can have the peaceniks and war protesters. When our allies or our way of life are under assault, we'll help provide them security.

   We'll keep our Judeo-Christian values. You are welcome to Islam, Scientology, Humanism, political correctness and Shirley McClain. You can also have the U.N. but we will no longer be paying the bill.

   We'll keep the SUV's, pickup trucks and oversized luxury cars. You can take every Subaru station wagon you can find.

    You can give everyone healthcare if you can find any practicing doctors. We'll continue to believe healthcare is a luxury and not a right. We'll keep "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "The National Anthem."

     I'm sure you'll be happy to substitute "Imagine", "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing", "Kum Ba Ya" or "We Are the World".
We'll practice trickle down economics and you can continue to give trickle up poverty your best shot.

   Since it often so offends you, we'll keep our history, our name and our flag.
Would you agree to this? If so, please pass it along to other like-minded liberal and conservative patriot. In the spirit of friendly parting, I'll bet you answer which one of us will need whose help in 15 years.

                    Sincerely,
                    John J. Wall
                    Law Student and an American

     P. S. Also, please take Ted Turner, Sean Penn, Martin Sheen, Barbara Streisand, and Jane Fonda with you.

     P. S. S. And you won't have to press 1 for English when you call our country.

More Liberal Whining and Lies!

2010-10-17T09:32:00.001-07:00

Axelrod is on CNN right now whining about the money groups, like The Chamber of Commerce, are spending on political adds for Republicans. He claims he wants a law that will reveal the source for ALL politcal donations. But does he? Do the Democrats really want the country to know about the millions of dollars they receive from communist organizations? Of course not! So why the ploy? Because they know there will NEVER be such a law, so they can get up on CNN and whine about campaign finance and paint the Rebulicans as Wall Street Fat Cats when IN FACT the Democrats are the ones living in one of 12 houses, flying around the world in private jets and drinking tons of liquor on the American tax payers dime! The CNN anchor pointed out to Mr. Axelrod that CNN's own research reveals that Democrats have out spent Republicans in this election cycle. YOU ARE BEING LIED TO AMERICA! Vote for conservatives in November!

The Well Dressed Wolves; Makers of Fine Woolen Clothing!

2010-10-13T09:18:00.000-07:00

As the story goes, a group of otherwise self-serving, hedonistic, high school boys made the ultimate sacrifice for their “special needs” teammate by handing him the ball in a 47 to 0 football game while the opposing team ( who was winning 47-0 and had previously agreed to the shtick) stood by and cheered as the electric wheelchair bound youth literally “drove” the ball across the goal line to make the score 47-6; apparently fulfilling his “lifelong dream” of “playing” varsity football.

This story is of course meant to warm the heart and I’m sure most of you will disagree with my take on this one; but I’m used to that by now.

I think it’s great they “tried” to “do the right thing”, unfortunately I think they failed. Sure, this boy felt good for a few fleeting moments and he’ll always have this memory, but if the coaches and players REALLY wanted to make a statement, really make his touchdown “count”, why didn’t they let the boy return the opening kickoff? This was the “top-ranked” team in this league, after all; was there ever any real doubt they were going to win? The question begs to be answered, what did they sacrifice? The answer is ZERO, NADA, NOTHING! All they did was stand around patting themselves on the back for being such great human beings!

Another question is why was this one player singled out to be allowed to score unimpeded? Was it his “life-long dream” to score in a varsity football game, or did he long to be treated as an equal? Did he actually “play” football? I’m sure there were a number of boys on that team who’ve never scored a touchdown, simply because they lack the level of skill, compared to the other boys on the team, to be played, by their coach, in enough games and situations that it would be likely they could score. Every year boys all over the country sit on the side lines of high school football games as second or third string players in positions that can score ( QB,RB,WR etc. opposed to linemen who rarely if ever score points), but are never put in the game long enough and in enough situations to make a score likely; so why this boy; because he’s in a wheelchair? Who decided that the wheelchair was the defining "limiting" factor that allowed this player special treatment? Was it not enough that the third string wide reciever suffers from Asthma and thus could never complete with the first string WR who was also the school's 100 meters track and field champion 3 years in a row? Does anyone really think this disabled child fulfilled his dream of “playing” varsity football? No, this was not the ultimate moment that will forever change this boy’s life; after all, he woke up the next day still in need of his wheelchair. What this was was a group of people taking advantage of a disabled high school student to make themselves feel better about their own lives. By the way, I wonder how many who cheered in that stadium that night had illegally parked in a handicapped spot?

Unfortunately, I must confess, had I been one of the coaches (or players), I’d have likely made the same decision to allow this to occur; and for the same reasons, it would have made me feel like ‘I’ had done or been a part of something special!

What we need today, is less people patting themselves on the back and more people rolling up their sleeves and doing the tough work it will take to return our country to greatness! One of the most devastating impacts socialists have had on our country is the idea that everyone is guaranteed equal outcomes in life; THEY ARE NOT! Ribbons and metals for “participants” serve only to dilute the value of the awards given to those who earned them. The creator, from whom all ‘inalienable’ rights flow, created us each as individuals with special talents, and in some cases limitations, to be used for His purpose and for as many day’s He has granted us. Trying to deny the fact that there are weak and strong among us is the same as trying to deny gravity and then jumping off of a cliff; both end with similar results!

Socialism claims, as a goal, to make the weak strong, but in fact they always take from the strong, handicapping them in some way ( taxes, regulation, asking them to stand idly by while a member of the opposing team “rolls” by them to score a touchdown) and thus make them weaker; giving the illusion that the weak have magically become stronger; it’s all a lie, smoke and mirrors, designed to deceive while those powerful few continue to oppress all those subjected to their pathetic ideals; both weak and strong!

I’m pleased by the joy this event must have brought this young man and I can, in the end, applaud the effort made by the other young men involved in this story. All I ask is that when we read of such happy moments we never forget we are under attack and the enemy is winning the battle SLOWLY, step by step, one heartwarming story after another and he comes as the proverbial wolf in sheep’s clothing!

"Life"-style?

2010-10-11T09:20:00.000-07:00

Here is a typical liberal argument: “That guy over there was caught in the very act of the behavior he claims to denounce; a behavior we, as liberals, enjoy and promote as normal. He’s a hypocrite!” Therefore, the very behavior he denounces should be accepted by society as normal behavior!”

Example—

Conservative Premise: adultery is wrong.

Situation: a pastor (known for denouncing sexual deviance) of some mega church is caught in adultery.

Liberal conclusion: all conservatives are hypocrites so adultery must be acceptable behavior.

We must stand up to liberals backwards thought processes; they simply lack the capacity for reason!

With regards to the issue of gay and lesbian lifestyles, we find that over the past 60 years, the communist party in America has set as a goal to promote “alternative lifestyles” in an effort to undermine the strength of our union by tearing at the base element of our society; the American family.

Why would they do that? Because they know that if they can corner our children in communist schools, alienate them from their parents, that brainwashing them into accepting total subservience to a central government will be much easier; they just had to be willing to wait long enough for such a plan to take hold. It has taken hold America!

“Alternative LIFE styles!?” When was the last time two men created life (or two women for that matter); as I recall from my public school education, life is begun via the process of an egg being fertilized by a sperm; and as we learned in 6th grade, the female of our species carries all the eggs. It’s not hard to draw the conclusion, then, that in order for our species (all species really) to procreate and thus survive, it requires a partnership between the female and male of said species. Promoting unions between same sex partners is not an “acceptable LIFEsytle”, it is an obvious deviance from nature and natures ways!

It’s time to stand up America! Stand up or be trampled over by a minority activist group whose only goal is to force their deviance to be “accepted”! We can reject the homosexual lifestyle and the false messages they preach, while we accept the individual’s right to live free of harassment. I can work side by side with a gay man, play a round of golf with him, invite him over for a beer and to watch the game, but when I do, I expect he will abide by my standards of decency; not the other way around! The first time he shows up to my football party wearing nothing but a boa and a G-string, he’ll no longer be welcome in my home. Someone must stand up and say NO! Not in my home. Not on my streets. Not in my town! Not in my state, not in my country!

The Demise of Personal Responsibility in America

2010-08-25T11:31:00.000-07:00

Last night, my son brought home a stack of paper work for me to fill out; paperwork from his Jr. High School. That’s right, he goes to school and I get to do the homework! OK, it’s not the paperwork, per se, that has me hacked off, it was the content.

First of all, it turns out that five of the “forms” I had to fill out, were all from one teacher for a single class! One form went on about class conduct and behavior while another pointed out that the computer equipment is expensive and that the students, by signing the form (as if before they signed the form no such responsibility existed), agreed to treat it with respect.

Really, I need to sign a form that says I understand that my child is responsible for any physical damage he causes to school property? Has our society degenerated so, that we must sign legal documents stating we have a personal responsibility to take care of expensive equipment entrusted to our care?

When I was in school (oh man did I just write that?) the principal still had a paddle that he, boldly, hung on the wall directly behind his desk; and he used it regularly! We didn’t need our parents to fill out stacks of paperwork describing our “personal responsibilities” for public property; WE KNEW OUR PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITIES and if we forgot the paddle was a great reminder!

I remember when this BS all started, for me it was 6th grade (1978), the program was called “The Positive Reinforcement” plan ( or something like that, come on it’s been a few years). The plan called for each student to be tracked all year with regard to behavior and if you had not received any “cards” ( of varying colors ) you could participate in the “positive reinforcement” which was to be something like a dance, a field trip or some other “whole school” activity. This lasted one year. At the end of my 6th grade year, all the “eligible” students were treated to a movie in the Gym (The Nutty Professor staring Jerry Lewis; it was in black and white!). My 7th grade year, the decision was made to keep the negative aspects of “The Positive Reinforcement” plan -- the colored cards that were handed out when you got in trouble—and do away with the “costly” positive reinforcement ( the cheesy movie ), now that is liberal thinking and policy at its finest, bait and switch!

I recall a 7th grade teacher who used to love to wax nostalgic for the days when the school could leave playground equipment out on the playground overnight and on weekends so that children could use it after school; those days were gone even back in the 70’s. He used to tell a story about how, at the beginning of every year, he would take a .50 cent piece and drop it next to one of the desks and NOBODY would pick it up, and if they did, they’d bring it to him to see if he knew who had lost it; the lesson being that each child knew it did not belong to them and would naturally figure that the owner would, sooner or later, discover it missing and come to claim it. By 1979 those days were LONG GONE. I have to admit, had I found a .50 piece laying on the floor, I’d a picked it up and turned it in too, only I’d a turned it in at the snack bar in exchange for a candy bar!

What have we become? We now live in a society that is so “sue happy” that our own public schools ( schools and equipment we pay for with our taxes) must send home reams of paperwork for students and parents to spell out their exact responsibilities with regard to personal behavior and respect for others and their property. I think it’s time for some parents to get involved well before their children start school! It’s time to return to our Christian heritage and start teaching our children about the founding principles that made this country the greatest the world has ever seen. At the very least, imagine the number of trees we’ll save!

Considering Katie’s Krops

2010-08-03T09:31:00.000-07:00

I came across the story of a young lady named Katie Stagliano. Katie found that she had a talent for growing cabbage; a 40 pounder started her on her journey.

You can read more about this remarkable young lady on her website here: http://www.katieskrops.com/

Please don’t get me wrong, this is a feel good story about a well-intentioned little girl who’s just trying to make a difference; and for that I applaud her. I’m afraid she simply needs to refocus her energy into pursuits that can make a lasting difference.

Katie found that growing vegetables in her backyard could help to feed a lot of people in her community. So Katie founded a non-profit organization and now oversees six gardens in her neighborhood; all of which grow vegetables that are then donated to local soup kitchens.

As you can imagine, Katie has been featured on a number of news shows; including CNN. But as I read her website I realized there is a bit of a problem with her organization’s stated goal:

“My dream is that there are no hungry people.
I may only be 11 but I know I can do it.”

The question is, can she? The answer is of course she cannot!

Katie, like so many before her, has failed to see the flaw in the nobility of her quest. Katie’s “plan”, thus far, has been to plant a number of small gardens around her community and get others to do the same. Consider this from her website:

“If people (I hope lots of kids too) could grow even one vegetable
plant and donate the harvest to a local soup kitchen we could make
a huge difference in the fight against hunger.”

Fast forward to a world where every family, in every town, around the globe, grew their own garden and donated the harvest to their local soup kitchen; what would happen? Sooner or later they would realize that they no longer needed to buy their own vegetables from the local market and could begin saving money by growing for their own consumption. What affect would that have on the local market, its employee’s, and the farmers who make their living growing vegetables to supply the market? Sooner or later, these farmers would find other uses for their land, like condominiums or strip malls. Now, the food that “normal” families used to supplement their home grown garden would no longer be available. They would realize that to survive they would have to begin devoting more time to their garden. Eventually, we would become an agrarian society and join Ma and Pa Ingalls back on the prairie!

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking “what a jerk this guy is! She’s just a little girl trying to help feed a couple of homeless people”, but you are wrong! While she may not know it, she represents one of the most dangerous political theologies known to man; socialism! If her dream was realized and everyone had a garden in their backyard, hunger would survive. You see, the dirty little secret, no one is telling Katie, is our planet has an abundance of food; enough food is thrown away every day to feed entire countries. Plane loads of food are dropped over third world countries on a daily basis; ship loads of food arrive daily in ports all over the third world from “faith based” organizations and where does this food end up; in the hands of the powerful few socialists or communists who claim to know what best to do with it; they claim to know what’s best for the people! And what is always best “for the people” is that the food stays in the hands of the powerful and while they entertain at lavish parties for their comrades, the masses go to sleep hungry!

Socialism has failed “the people” every time it’s been tried.

Now, instead of spending her time in a garden growing free food for people who have no means to buy food, clothing or shelter, what if Katie spent her time focused on building a business that could support 100 employees and started a campaign to get other, like minded, caring, individuals to do the same? What if she lobbied congress for business friendly policies that promoted small businesses that hire people in good paying jobs? What if instead of the socialist ideal of giving free food to people (who then become dependant slaves to those who enable them) she embraced the concept of self-reliance and the power of the individual to take control of their own pursuit of happiness?

Jesus told his disciples that they would always have the poor with them; and I am not saying we shouldn’t help those in need, what I am saying is we should not be helping those in need to stay needy; dependent upon a daily handout. We need to teach them to fish!

The answer to the problem has always been freedom to fail as many times as it takes one to succeed!

The Socialist Myth of a Classless Society

2010-07-29T10:14:00.000-07:00

One of the primary goals of Socialism is a “classless”, one world, society. We will assume, for the moment, that by “classless” they do not mean tacky or lacking couth; though those points could be argued. We will assume by “classless” the socialist means a state in which all members of society are treated equally with regard specifically to socio-economic status.

The socialists desire to set up a single government to rule all peoples of the world. Thus, in the socialist, utopian & “classless” society everyone is the same, accept of course for those who are in power. The socialist claim, by centralizing control over the world’s resources; under the control of a single government, that the living conditions of the peoples of the world will be better than they are now. Ask yourself, are the living conditions, for the people currently living under socialist or communist regimes, actually better than those living under Democratic Republics? If so, why do we have an “illegal immigration” problem? Why would anyone want to come to a place, so unfair, such as America?

The question that must be answered is how can there be a “classless” society when there remains a “ruling class” and a “ruled class”? In every Socialist or Communist society, there have always been at least two classes; those who rule and those who are ruled. It is also quite clear that those in the ruling class live in opulent splendor while those in the ruled class can barely make ends meet. So what the socialists mean by “classless”, to coin a new word, must be “bi-classfull”.

Once Obama and other socialist like him, has realized his dream of making the world a “bi-classfull” society, which class do you think he will be in and which one do you think you will be in? Does he not now live in “opulent splendor”? How are you doing making “ends meet?”

By contrast, a Democratic Republic is a system in which no one rules; it is the law that rules. The people elect representatives to create laws that represent their best interest; and agree to live by those laws. The problem with the US today is, a rouge group of “ruling class” socialist who’ve taken over our system and in direct opposition to the will of the people, are creating laws that consolidate power in the hands of a few “ruling class” individuals who live in opulence and preach social equality to those who can barely make the minimum monthly payments on their credit cards.

In November 2010, you can take back your right to rule your own life; but only if you engage in the conflict and make, painfully, sure you are voting for an individual with conservative values who believes in the principals set for in our Declaration of Independence; that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Tell the socialists you can pursue happiness just fine on your own thank you!

Is It Time To Repeal Federal Income Tax Withholding?

2010-07-28T09:40:00.000-07:00

Charlotte Twight has done an outstanding job of chronicling the history of US Federal Income Tax Withholding here: http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj14n3-1.html .

Read that article, then, you decide; is it time to do away with Federal Income Tax Withholding?

My answer should be painfully obvious to anyone who has read this blog.

The primary purpose of withholding is to mask the amount of taxes individuals must pay. It is one thing to see the gross amount on your paycheck and only be able to deposit the net into your checking account; it’s quite another experience to write a check from your checking account at the end of the year. In the first example, you just got paid and you’re glad the government let you keep some of your earnings. Most Americans don’t even consider their gross as what they earn, if you ask them how much they make, they’ll tell you their net! In the second example, you’ve kept all your earnings for the entire year. Your bank account has money left over at the end of the month; you “owned” that money in your mind; it was there for you to spend if you so choose; but you didn’t. Now you must “spend” that money on the Social Welfare Programs the Federal Government has developed for "you". You now must write a check for, in most middle income families, tens of thousands of dollars.

It’s not hard to see why the Federal Government (State’s as well) would want a withholding system. They sell it on the grounds of convenience; why should you be burdened with writing a huge check each year?. It’s much better for you to give them your money each month, let them keep it all year at zero interest, then, if they determine they took too much, they “might” send it back to you. California, for example, has in the recent past, issued IOU’s to tax payers who “over paid” their taxes due to in accurate withholding by the government! Do you really want to be forced to “invest” your money in a venture that is quite likely to go bankrupt in the next few years?

The Federal Government is, currently, over 13 TRILLION dollars in debt; and adding to that debt at a rate of 1.2 TRILLION per year; they must borrow 41 cents out of every dollar they spend. How long, do you suppose, will it be before the Fed’s must begin issuing IOU’s?

The time has come America for revolution! And the weapon of choice will be your ability to keep what you earn!

How do Taxes work for you?

2010-07-22T12:06:00.000-07:00

Imagine the entire US Gross Domestic Product is a whopping $10.00 (don’t laugh it may happen).

Now imagine a game where every time the $10.00 changed hands the government took away $1.00.

We start with person number one who has the $10.00.
This person buys a shirt for $10.00.
The government takes $1.00 from the transaction.

Now person two has the $9.00 he got for his shirt and wants to buy a new shirt of his own. So he finds person three who agrees to sell him his shirt for $9.00.
The government takes $1.00 from the transaction.

Now person three has $8.00 and is in need of a shirt.
He finds person four who agrees to part with his shirt for $8.00
Of course the government want’s their cut from this transaction too and takes $1.00.

Now person four has $7.00.

This progresses until you get to person number 9 who will have $2.00 to buy a shirt and finds the last person on earth willing to sell a shirt for $2.00. The Feds show up and take their $1.00, as the Feds always do.

Now person number ten has an interesting dilemma on his hands. He has no shirt but needs to find someone who will give him a shirt for $1.00. But who will pay the $1.00 to the feds on this transaction? Person number ten has a dollar, but that dollar is worthless to him and the question is, where is the other $9.00?

Freedom: the sleeping giant

2010-07-21T12:48:00.000-07:00

Television, video games, Internet Social Networks and even, to some extent, hand held communication devices; what do they all have in common? They keep you sleeping!

A veil has been pulled over your eyes and you are asleep; numbed into a dream world designed to distract you from reality. The media, in all its forms: movies, so called “news”, and print publications, all sing an incessant lullaby and you slumber. Your politicians pour a perpetual glass of warm milk; feeding you your daily portion of propaganda and you dream.

It’s time to wake up America!

WAKE UP!

The “sleeping giant” once, not so long ago, arose and conquered the world; only to be put to sleep again under the weight of its own success. But the giant is getting restless and it’s, once again, time to awaken. The giant’s name is not America, it is freedom!

Freedom is the underlying concept that makes America the greatest nation on earth and it is freedom that has fallen asleep and must be awakened.

The “progressives”, a mask or facade for socialism, are at war with the constitution of The United States. They are at war with freedom! They realized decades ago that “activism” against "the man" wouldn’t work; they had to become “the man” if they were to take down “the man”. So they began a concerted effort to infiltrate the system from all angles. They would become teachers, school administrators, school board members, city councilmen, mayors, state senators, governors, federal representatives and yes even President of The United States.

These "progressives" understood that they would need to control information, so they took over the news organizations, magazines and Hollywood and today they seek to control information on the Internet and radio. Their goal was complete saturation of the system with socialist ideals. The name of this new form of “activism” was “organizing”.

Every movement needs its Moses, its Genesis and for the organizer, Saul Alinsky is their Moses; his book “Rules for Radicals”, their bible. In an effort to “know your enemy”, you should read that book! But if you do not want to buy the book, simply Google “Saul Alinsky” and you will find plenty to read about this man and those who followed his teachings all the way to the White House and beyond! Yes beyond the White House, you see their fight is not with America alone, their goal is a one world order; ordered by them!

These new organizers realized they could not win overnight and thus set out to achieve their long term objectives with short term victories each compounded one upon the other; a technique known as “The Dialectic Process.” See a great explanation of this process here: http://www.crossroad.to/Quotes/brainwashing/dialectic.htm, others have called it “The Overton Window”. The basic idea is to create conflict based on some goal you wish to achieve and then strive for compromise with your opponent. You argue for 100% movement in your direction, and then settle for 10% (the percentage is irrelevant as long as it is greater than zero) in the name of compromise. Your opponent believes they too have won as they can claim the 90% as their victory. But this new position, now 10% closer to your real goal, becomes the starting point for the next conflict; you then repeat the process over and over until the other side has compromised their way to 100% of your goal.

This concept is not new; our founders knew this was a problem “I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power, than by violent and sudden usurpations.” -- James Madison

Ask yourself if this does not describe the past 60 years in America? Did Americans stand for the killing of innocent, unborn, babies in the 50’s? Today, your Federal Tax dollars go to pay for state funded abortions (http://americaswatchtower.com/2010/07/18/obamacare-maryland-to-offer-federally-funded-abortions/)! Did parents simply assume promiscuity from their teenagers? Today, your tax dollars are distributing to and teaching kindergarteners how to use condoms (http://www.parentdish.com/2010/06/24/massachusetts-elementary-school-to-distribute-condoms-to-student/ )! Would a family go to see a movie that contained nudity and vulgarity of every kind? Did music contain the types of lyrics that are now “normal”? Were children allowed to pray in our schools? How did these things change? Slowly!

The myriad shapes of government, humans have devised to limit the otherwise limitless bounds of self-interest; can be summarized into five forms: Totalitarianism, Oligarchy, Republic, Democracy, and Anarchy. For a great video that describes these forms of government, a video that should be required viewing by our 6th grade students and above, can be found here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DioQooFIcgE .

Totalitarianism or Monarchy (Dictatorship) is the rule of a single individual over all. This form of governance is rare as more often than not, the “supreme ruler” will have a close group of subordinates who are delegated power over sectors of the society. For example, Kings have Dukes who, in the times of Kings, held power over smaller plots of land but remained subject under the Kings authority. Thus the King did not govern the entire land directly, but rather, through the local officials he appointed. This form of governance more closely resembles our next form Oligarchy and therefore true totalitarian forms of government rarely exist.

In an Oligarchy, power is held by a small group of people who oversee every aspect of society. In this form of government, the group will more often than not put forward a single individual as the “leader”. The titles vary but could include: President, Czar, King or even Supreme Leader. This handful of people dictates to the masses every aspect of their lives, from education to employment and commerce to science and even religion. Oligarchy is the most common form of government found today.

Democracy is a form of government where the people are said to govern themselves. This is a form of mob rule. If 50% + 1 of the people can be convinced of a policy or action then their will is imposed on the remaining 50% -1 of the people. Once the 50% + 1 realize that they can vote themselves programs that take from the minority and give to the majority, they will continue to do so until the minority revolts. This leads to Anarchy which ultimately (as we will see in a moment) leads to Dictatorship and then Oligarchy.

A Republic, the form of government our founders concluded was the best hope for the protection of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, is a representative form of government. The people elect representatives to vote for laws that reflect their own beliefs and desires. The law is the ruler of the land, not any one person or group.

Anarchy is actually the absence of rule or law. In an anarchist state, everyone does as they see fit. This type of system has never lasted long and always ends in the peoples call for order or rules. The power void is usually filled by a dictator, a single individual who ceases the moment and grabs power for himself. Because it is nearly impossible for any one individual to achieve this alone, the dictatorship devolves into an Oligarchy and thus Anarchy is not a viable, sustainable form of government.

So for the socialist “organizer”, anarchy becomes the goal. If the organizer can create sufficient chaos, so as to resemble anarchy, they need only wait for the people to demand order. They can then step into the ensuing power vacuum and restore an order remade in the image of their socialist ideals.

America, you were conned into voting into power one such organizer! If you don’t, or simply won’t believe me have a look at his personal website:http://www.blogger.com/www.barackobama.com . On the front page you will see the premise of this man’s work, he is “organizing for America”.

Barack Hussein Obama is an organizer (euphemism for socialist)! His goal is the absolute destruction of the American way of life or as he put it “ to fundamentally change America”. His plan of action is to nationalize every sector of our economy including education, healthcare and energy and to destroy its ability to sustain the way of life you and I have come to expect. He will increase spending and the size of government so that the government will collapses under its own weight. Once the economy begins to crumble it’s not hard to envision the chaos (anarchy) that would inevitably ensue. Once anarchy rears its ugly head the people will soon demand a “new world order”. The organizer, Barack Hussein Obama , will not allow such well scripted emergencies go to waste!

You must wake up America, before it’s too late!

Could the State of California be artificially inflating the cost of a gallon of gasoline to increase its sales tax revenues?

2010-07-21T12:29:00.001-07:00

What’s one thing nearly every Californian buys on a regular basis? Gasoline! I just paid $3.15 per gallon to fill up my truck. I was running very low and due to the cap placed on my ATM card at the pumps I can’t even buy enough gas to fill my tank; it stops me at $75.00!

Now, if the state needed to raise its tax revenue without “seeming” to raise taxes how could it do that? Well, how about this? Raise the cost of gasoline and thus the percentage that goes to sales tax will increase.

How do you get Californians to pay $3.15 a gallon when the other states are paying as low as $2.44? Simple, charge them $4.25 for a short period of time then drop the price back down to your actual target $3.00 per gallon!

So why do you suppose we pay sales tax in the form of a percentage of the cost of the sale? Now you know!

The Innate Autonomy of the Human Spirit

2010-07-19T16:12:00.000-07:00

Will Roche writes at www.marxist.com that volumes could be written about capitalisms inadequacies and attempts to address a number of them in this (http://socialist.org.nz/content/view/87/1/) article.

I offer the following in response.

Unemployment, Mr. Roche contends is “… a permanent feature of capitalism…” he further states that “…every man women and child would be two grand better off if we eliminated unemployment…” how does Mr. Roche suggest we eliminate unemployment? Simple, “the best alternative is for working people to take control over their workplaces, for major industries to be nationalized, and for the economy to be planned by workers’ and community councils, along with a socialist government”.

The result, says Mr. Roche “…full employment with decent wages…”

What?

First of all, what good is an extra two grand if the goal is 100% equality? If we all have 100 dollars or 1 million what is the difference if the government is providing for all needs. Certainly Mr. Roche does not wish to contend that Socialism leaves room for “wants”? For if anyone “wants” then his needs are not being met; which of course would be an admission of the failure of socialism.

Second, how can working people take control over their workplaces if they have surrendered that control to the socialist government?

Third, how can an economy be “planned by workers” if again, those workers have given up all rights to the socialist government?

And finally, if, by taking this course of government, there existed, even the most minuscule possibility of successfully achieving 100% employment, would it not stand to reason that those societies, who have tried socialism in the past, would have not, so miserably, failed?

There are plenty of homeless who choose to be homeless. So in Mr. Roche’s Utopian (albeit Orwellian) society of ZERO unemployment, not only would those who do not, now, choose to work be forced to do so, but the government would decide who works in what positions and how much they make for that work. In other words, there is ZERO incentive to excel; zero freedom.

If the government places me in my employment, what need have I to go to school? And if I do go to school, what need have I to learn; the government will “give” me a job no matter what I do. If there is no incentive to excel, from where will innovation come? What will propel society forward into new areas of science, medicne, art or exploration?

What Mr. Roche, most notably, forgets to take into account is the innate autonomy of the human spirit! Imagine, for just a brief and frightening moment that the entire world had fallen under the control of a single, one world, government that controlled all employment, resources, distribution and price for all goods or services said government deemed necessary. Does Mr. Roche claim to believe that nowhere in the world would there arise, even a single individual who would ask the question “Why can’t I be more?”

The fact is, socialism has been tried, many times in history, and each time it has ended in the same, failed, state of oligarchy; a system run by a few, wealthy, individuals who control everything! This is the very state of existence Mr. Roche claims to want to avoid.

When this central government finally has full control over the entire world economy, do you believe that those who are “in control” will find it “in the best interest of the State” that their salaries be the same as those who have been “chosen” to clean toilets? Will those, “chosen in the best interest of the state” to be fry cooks at fast food restaurants, be paid the same salary as those who will be our doctors? Of course not! But what will keep the one chosen for mediocrity from aspiring to greatness? The answer to that question, each and every time it has been asked of a socialist dictatorship, has been a bullet to the back of the head.

Of this, then, we can be assured, socialism will not prevail as a system of worldwide governance and we rest our hope in the, God given, blessing of the human spirit of freedom!

Jesus said “you will always have the poor with you and you can help them whenever you want to.” Mark 14:7/Matt. 26:11. What did he know? He knew that unemployment is not the result of capitalism or any other form of manmade government; there would always be those who, for whatever reason, could not take care of themselves and that no system of governance would ever change that fact as long as we remain in this fallen world.

Am I my brothers keeper? And if so, how long must I pay for him to continue to be unemployed?

2010-07-19T14:13:00.000-07:00

President Obama, today, gave a speech (See full text of speech here: http://projects.washingtonpost.com/obama-speeches/speech/336/) in which he claims “…we… have another responsibility: to offer emergency assistance to people who desperately need it, to Americans who've been laid off in this recession. We've got a responsibility to help them make ends meet and support their families…".

The question is do “WE” have such responsibilities? The answer is absolutely NOT!

“We the people” is a euphemism for "your taxes". We the people (your taxes) were never meant for helping someone else support their family; that’s THEIR job. My job is to support MY family, your job is to support your family! The governments “job” (in other words We the people’s taxes) is to provide for a secure atmosphere for commerce, trade and economic stability through sound fiscal policies, fair trade practices, between states and with other countries, and to provide a military capable of defending our interests, here and abroad so that we can support our families!

You may ask “but what of our “moral obligation to our fellow man?” my answer to that is “WE” (collectively) have no moral obligation to “OUR” fellow man; there is only “MY” (individual) obligation to “MY” neighbor!

You see, Mr. Obama’s premise is based on something called “collective salvation”
(http://www.capitalism.org/faq/collectivism.htm). He believes that there can be no “individual salvation” and therefore it is perfectly correct to force all of us (we the people) into his theology of collective salvation!

The Bible, I read, say’s to ME, feed the hungry. It does NOT demand that I give my money to Cesar and let him feed the hungry! You see, it’s not just about the hungry being fed, that can be done financially, which takes no real time commitment on my part, no, it’s ME caring enough to do the feeding, that is the work of actually getting out there and handing my brother a piece of bread! It’s about relationship one with another and relationships take time commitments. As Margaret Thatcher put it “the problem with socialism is that eventually, you run out of other people’s money!” True benevolence is most certainly not about forcing everyone to take care of everyone else through tax an spend social programs.

Ask yourself these questions:

1. How long should a person be able to collect a un-employment check?
Answer: until his benefits run out.

2. How long should his benefits last?
Answer: that depends on how long he has worked, and how much he has contributed to the pool of money (that the currently employed continue to contribute too) that makes up the unemployment benefits pool.

3. How much money is currently in that pool?
Answer: apparently ZERO or congress would not be voting to try and “extend” coverage.

4. Where do they draw the line? What about recent college graduates who’ve been unable to find their first job; do “WE” have an obligation to support them too? Of course NOT!

5. How long does Mr. Obama expect that WE should support the unemployed?
Answer: until his destructive policies have crippled our economy so that more of us are on un-employment than are not; at which point, obviously, the entire system comes crashing down under its own weight and the socialists who are supporting his agenda can step in to the ensuing power vacuum and rule as an oligarchy. It’s been done before; it’s what Hitler did to take power in Germany prior to WWII.

An Open Letter to Mr. Glenn Beck

2010-07-14T11:31:00.000-07:00

Mr. Beck,

My wife and I watch your show, nearly, every night. Your Founders Fridays are a particular favorite for both of us.

Recently, we attended a series of evenings, with a group from our church, where videos were shown covering the topic of the Jewish Feasts and the Jewish Calendar. We thought the information, in those videos, to be important enough that we purchased them ourselves and have begun hosting our own get-togethers.

Last night, as you spoke about Black Liberation Theology/Philosophy, it occurred to me that, while your show is popular, you still have a limited audience that must, somehow, choose to tune in. An article I saw stated that your show averages 2.2 million viewers, and while that may put your show near the top of the Neilson ratings it still only represents less than 1% of the 300 million Americans who need this information!

I cannot tell you how disappointed I am when I go to work and try to explain what you’ve said the previous evening to a co-worker only to find that because of the “venue” ( being at work ) they do not wish to engage in any kind of “political or religious” talk at all. Often, if they do engage me in conversation, their response is something like “this doesn’t affect me” or “what difference could I make?” In my living room, over a cup of coffee or a beer, I could tell them exactly how they could make a difference. They could learn how their country is being slowly but surely stolen from them ( and as you know the pace has recently quickened ).

The socialist have, for decades now, used small groups to disseminate their message to the masses. As you’ve pointed out, they’ve gone so far as to infiltrate our schools and are now teaching their propaganda to our children using our own tax dollars!

You must have seen the myriad of publications available for Christian study groups, so what if you made each of your broadcasts available on DVD ( or streaming from the web ) categorized by topic; much like those publications. Small groups could form in every city in the country and meet once a week. Your show plays like a college lecture course ( a format I love by the way keep it up ). We literally could take your concept of Beck University and use it in a home study group format where we would invite our friends, family, co-workers and acquaintances to join us. I envision hundreds ( or who knows maybe thousands ) of groups in every city getting together once a week to spend one hour watching Beck University “content” and the next hour in discussion over that content. You could have “instructor guides” for a “leader” of such a small group to go over prior to the meeting to help keep the discussion on track etc..

Imagine Glen Beck University publications that take you through Marxist thought, Black Liberation Theology, Communist propaganda techniques, and systematic observations of how these things have been implemented by the left and most importantly, suggestions on how to fight back.

We need city councilmen, county government, school board members, teachers, State representatives and Federal representatives who have been taught what has happened to our towns, cities, states and our country. They need to know that WE THE PEOPLE stand behind them so they can make the tough choices which must ultimately be made.

You must admit, the left’s plan ( however slow to implement ) has been quite successful. It’s time for our side to adapt. We must educate our children so they will become the conservative leaders of tomorrow. This process must start in our homes.

Glenn Beck University, now playing on a 40” LCD, in a living room near you!

Mark Berry
Christian, Conservative, Patriot

Obama's Biggest Miscalcutation

2010-07-13T09:27:00.000-07:00

What President Obama and the rest of his hate mongering clan of socialist dependents have done is to make the single largest miscalculation in the history of politics.
They believed that they could take a left wing, fringe, minority group of government cheese eating racists and somehow convince an ever increasing number of true “American Minorities” (those with the independant spirit of freedom) that somehow all of the progress the GREATEST nation on earth has made over the past 200 years, with regard to race relations, has all been for naught. They believe that by using the, now irrelevant, broadcast media they could convince the Mexican man who works for himself or the American Indian who was the third generation in his family to graduate college, or the Hmong women who now feeds her family from the profits of her own small business, or the African-American who now lives in a country that elected a black man simply because of the color of his skin opposed to the content of his character, that our country is ready to be dependent socialist zombies. The American people have spoken with a resounding NO! WE WILL NOT LIE DOWN AND DIE!

Independence is so ingrained in the American spirit that no enemy formed against it shall ever prevail. In November the counter revolution begins and in 2012 the victory will be complete! Unfortunately, the war will never be over. The forces of evil that propagate their dependency mindset under the mantra of “Social Justice” will not give up and neither can we liberty loving American Patriots.

Zero Tolerance! Remove the demand and the supply will diminish!

2010-07-02T08:39:00.000-07:00

There is a very simple answer to this, quite, simple problem of illegal immigration.

First, let us define the problem.

11 million people ( likely many more ) are living and more importantly working in the US illegally. What does that mean “illegally”? It means they are NOT citizens of this country and have no rights that US citizens hold. Some come here completely legally using some sort of workers, student, or traveling visa; but they let their documentation laps and are now here illegally.

See: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5485917

This group is well known to the US authorities and yet they stay. According to the article linked above, this group could very well represent one half of the total problem! So the next time you here a liberal, communist, democrat lapdog broadcast nightly news anchor say “what do they expect us to do, round them all up and ship them back to where they came from?” SCREAM AT THE TOP OF YOUR VOICE “YES, YES, THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT WE ECXPECT “THEM” TO DO!”

OK so we solved one halph of the illegal immigration problem in one paragraph, that’s American efficiency in action! What about the rest of the illegals, where do they come from? Well some, I’m sure, come in from our northern border but as you may well know, a much larger percentage come from our southern border. Of the 11 million illegal aliens living and working in the US, it’s estimated that 2 million of them live in California. Why do you suppose that is? Because that’s where the jobs “Americans won’t do” are.

See: http://rapidvisa.com/rapidvisa_blog/post/2010/02/09/How-Many-Illegal-Aliens-are-their-in-the-United-States.aspx

Now it just so happens that I live in the, once, great state of California. I’ve driven along the highway and seen entire fields flooded with workers, some of whom may very well be here legally, but I doubt they are a majority. I’ve driven down the back streets, you know the ones that run parallel to the railroad tracks and allow you to avoid all the stop lights on Main Street. There I’ve seen 20 or 30 men standing in groups waiting for the next, non-descript, white four wheel drive super cab to show up and take half of them away for the day. They don’t normally have to wait very long!

The problem is one of supply and demand! If we eliminate the demand, the supply will dry up!

It’s time to round up the illegals working in fields or standing along the railroad tracks! But it’s also time to start punishing those who hire them.

Now it’s not like this “illegal” work is being done in back alleys in dank warehouses with poor light and plenty of places to hide. The work is going on in an open field in broad daylight! A few, well trained, agents ( could be Sherriff, could be local police ) could stop along the side of any highway in my state with a couple of well-equipped greyhound buses, round up all those who have no legal documentation and send them back to where they came from. This alone would put a financial burden on their “employer”, but in addition to some jail time we should fine the employer an amount equal to 2 years of what their land can produce in terms of income; that’s on a first offense. On a second offense we should take their land and sell it on the open market. The “employers” would know full well, that IF they chose to hire “un-documented” workers, they would be in extreme jeopardy of being arrested and heavily fined.

It’s like this, be honest, today when you drove into work did you exceed the speed limit just a bit? Maybe you set your cruise control for 75mph in a 65mph zone? Sure you did! Why, because you could! You’ve likely heard it said that the police won’t stop you as long as you’re not going 10mph over the posted speed limit. Is that what our law says? NO! It says that if you are traveling even 1mph over the posted speed limit an officer can give you a ticket. But you regularly exceed the posted speed limit anyway because you know the “myth” is true! But what about those few weeks per year when you notice, on your way to work, three highway patrol cars, all working in concert to take down the speeders? Do you slow down during that week (and a few subsequent weeks just in case) of course you do! The affect would be the same if just a hand full of worksites were raided; the word would get out!

Zero tolerance! That is the answer to illegal immigration!

What about all those jobs “Americans won’t do”! I have news for you America, you are about to find out what you will and will not do to survive! If we continue on the path of destruction laid out for us by the liberals who’ve taken control of all aspects of the public sector, including the government, schools and even labor unions, you will be glad to have work of any kind, yes, even the kind that finds you bent over a row of vegetables, in the Central Valley sun in July, being paid by the bushel!

Taxes & the Gay Marriage Debate

2010-07-01T09:37:00.000-07:00

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/tech/Google-to-Pay-More-for-Gay-Employees-97581254.html

A bay area website, today, posted an article stating that Google will, soon, begin paying its Gay and Lesbian employees at a higher rate than their straight counterparts. The raise is, apparently, to compensate for taxes that gay and lesbian couples pay on health insurance benefits for their partners. These same benefits are not being offered to straight employees who have been in long term relationships but are not married. Apparently, for Google’s management, it is morally incorrect for a heterosexual couple to live together outside of wedlock but the gay and lesbian lifestyle is perfectly acceptable as The Overton window slides just a bit further to the left.

Believe it or not, I don’t think gay and lesbian couples should have to pay a tax on healthcare benefits they opt for simply because they are gay! I also do not believe straight couples should pay a tax on healthcare benefits just because they are not married; which is exactly the issue at hand here. The tax the gay and lesbian couples are paying is because they are NOT married they are not paying a tax because they are gay.

So what Google, in what is clearly a left wing concept of equality, has done is to alienate those heterosexual couples who choose not to get married. The article states that these couples could get married, if they so choose, to avoid the tax penalty.

If the federal government were to replace the federal income tax ( a law who’s pages exceed 20,000 ) with either a flat income tax or a national sales tax this would eliminate all forms of bias with regard to who pays and does not pay their taxes.

Why won’t they do this? They won’t do it because it takes their power away. If the tax laws became 100% fair for everyone who paid them, how would politicians give favors to big corporations or other large campaign donors? That’s right, they couldn’t. So the tax code becomes more bloated and less comprehensible each year as special loopholes are put in place in payment for large campaign contributions to, lifelong, career, politicians who have only their personal best interests (re-election) in mind.

Solution:
Term limits!
If a politician knows that he’s going to be back in the public sector within a few years, that politician is not going to implement policies that hurt the private sector while growing the government!

A national sales tax ( only if it replaces the income tax; not as an add-on ).
If EVERYONE paid a tax on everything they buy, then EVERYONE would be paying taxes as they consume.

Let’s do a math problem:
A drug dealer goes into the local BMW dealer and wants to buy a car with cash. What is the total amount of Federal Income Tax paid on the amount of money spent on the BMW? The formula looks like this: n X 0 = y solve for Y?

If there were a sales tax, that same drug dealer would be paying taxes just like the rest of us.

Problem #2: Big wig corporate executive has all his “bonuses” paid to an offshore account. How much in US Federal Income Tax does he pay on any “Capital Gains” he receives from his “offshore investment?” That’s right the formula is the same as before n X 0 = y solve for Y.

Now this same big wig corporate exec goes down to the same BMW dealer and wants to buy a car with cash. How much does he pay in US Federal Tax if there is a sales tax in place? Obviously it would depend on the percentage rate of the tax, but the fact is he’d pay the same as the drug dealer or anyone else who bought a car of the same price! It’s FAIR to everyone!

Hey, and under a “sales tax” system, poor people pay less in taxes. Why? Because they buy less so over the course of a year, they will pay less in taxes than everyone else. No loopholes for big corporations or the rich, just a fair simple tax you pay every time you buy something!

Oh, and you say you want your retirement savings to grow, no problem; EVERY PENNY you save is never taxed until you spend it!

There ARE solutions America, elect leaders who will implement them!

The Red Pill!

2010-06-29T11:06:00.000-07:00

I came across a book (a series of articles really) written by members of “The Progressive Ideas Network”. The following paragraph is from the Forward of that book:

“For the past three decades, America has become a more precarious place for most of its citizens. Government has done less, when it should have done more. As corporations have ceased to provide reliable jobs, wages, health care, or retirement security, government has failed to step into the vacuum. As women as well as men have joined the workforce in large numbers, government policy has failed to address the needs of children and families. As carbon-based energy has become less reliable and more of a menace to the planet, government has failed to help develop alternatives. And as government has defaulted on these and other pressing challenges, people have tended to give up on the promise of democracy.”

So what is their answer to these “pressing challenges”? That’s right! MORE GOVERNMENT!

Again a quote from “Thinking Big”:

“The best thing about Thinking Big is the way it connects the dots. Larry Mishel and Nancy Cleeland discuss how government is indispensable to redeeming an economy of shared prosperity. If government can pull America back from the brink of depression, the same public investment so urgently needed for macroeconomic purposes can also make the economy fairer and more secure.”

Their answer to the problem of governments, repeated, failure to improve even a single aspect of American life, is to increase the size and scope of that same, failed, government; they believe that “government is indispensable”!

My fellow Americans, I’m here to tell you, your founding fathers created a governmental structure, in the very heart and soul of the constitution they produced, that, in fact, mandates that same government must be dispensable!

“There is not in the whole science of politicks a more solid or a more important maxim than this--that of all governments, those are the best, which, by the natural effect of their constitutions, are frequently renewed or drawn back to their first principles” – James Wilson one of many of the “forgotten” founding fathers!

http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2009/06/Justice-Law-and-the-Creation-of-the-American-Republic-The-Forgotten-Legacy-of-James-Wilson

We have reached such a point in history. It is time to draw back and renew our country’s direction. We’ve been lulled to sleep by a concerted effort by the left to move public opinion and even morality in the direction of communism and godlessness. A process described by Joseph Overton in 1960 and referred to as "The Overton Window" and it's being used to change the way you think!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overton_window

The left has been in an all-out, full frontal attack on the American way of life ever sense the very conception of communism! They have set as their goal to infiltrate the highest levels of our government and military. They’ve moved to change the very history books our children read so as to paint history in a “progressive light”. They, regularly, seek to undermine our morality through the slow but assured progress of the entertainment industry. What is considered “PG-13” today, could very well have been considered pornographic just a generation ago. They seek to eliminate God from our government, our schools and eventually from our churches ( many have already kicked him out ).

You, your family and your way of life have been under attack since before you were likely even born. It is time, America, to wake up. It’s time to stand up. It’s time to fight!

If you don’t ( or can’t ) believe me that you and your way of life is under attack, you must read this:

http://www.rense.com/general32/americ.htm

It is a list of 45 declared goals for the communist take over of America. It was written in 1963, 3 years before this writer was born.

Many of you likely saw the very popular movie “The Matrix”. In it, the primary character Neo is given a choice, take the red pill and learn the secrets of the matrix, take the blue pill and go back to his existence as he knows it. Thankfully, for the betterment of all mankind the hero, Neo, takes the red pill and finds that he’s been living in what is in essence a dream world made up of a computer generated “Matrix”. He finds that he, and the rest of the human race, is no more than a power supply for a group of futuristic machines that had long ago taken over and now needed a source of energy. Humans were placed, side by side row upon row stacked one on top of the other and all connected directly to the power grid and of course the matrix. Men had become the power source for machines that ruled the world.

Tonight, when you get home from your 9-5 job and you hit that little remote tucked up under the sun visor of your car, before you pull into your garage pause for a moment and consider this article. Take a look at your street? Is it not row upon row of cubicles stacked one upon the other? The majority of Americans live on their 100’x130’ little slice of the American pie! In their 3 Bedroom 2 Bath home with 2.5 kids a dog and a cat. Many, if not most, don’t even know the last name of the person who lives 2 doors down (many not even the guy next door). We’ve become batteries for the political machine. We go to work, pay our taxes and all the while we’re sleeping! Our taxes are the energy they need to keep us under their control! It is a system designed to keep you ( the power source ) in line ( or on line ).

The Matrix is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy. But when you're inside, you look around, what do you see? Businessmen, teachers, lawyers, carpenters. The very minds of the people we are trying to save. But until we do, these people are still a part of that system and that makes them our enemy. You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it. -- Morpheus

I know what you're thinking, 'cause right now I'm thinking the same thing. Actually, I've been thinking it ever since I got here: Why oh why didn't I take the BLUE pill? -- Cypher

It’s time to wake up America! It's time to take your medicine, it's time for THE RED PILL!

Tax & Spend Economics NEVER work!

2010-06-28T10:53:00.000-07:00

You have wants and desires, things you’d love to do, places you’d love to see and things you’d love to own. But, you have a small, nagging problem. Your income does not quite live up to your desires and so, like so many Americans, you’ve run up a huge personal debt. Suddenly, you find that you’ve lost your income and cannot pay the minimum monthly payments on your credit cards; what do you do? The answer is simple right! You get a new credit card! As long as you have plastic there’s not a care in the world you can’t “swipe” away! Really? How long do you think that will last? I can tell you, it lasted about 30 or 40 years and the jig is up, the party is over and the piper want’s his dough!

Now the Tax & Spend Liberal/Socialist/Progressive/Communist in Washington DC want you to believe this same lie they have been feeding the American public for generations! Let’s see if this really makes any sense!

They want you to believe that if you allow them to take a larger portion of YOUR pay check ( you know, the one you no longer have because there are no jobs! ) and allow them to “re-distribute” it as they see fit, then the economy will magically be revived! Does this make any sense at all? Do you think 100% of the money they take from YOUR income goes to help the needy and the poor? Please? It goes to pay for the people working in government jobs!

You have 10% of the US population, who want jobs, who can’t find them. What does this tell you about the other 90%? That’s right! They have jobs! 90% of the people in America, who want or need a job, have one. Granted, it may not be the best job ever but it’s and income and a source of self-worth, accomplishment and self-reliance that no form of hand out, government program or welfare state could ever hope to give its people!

Now, the Tax & Spenders claim the problem is no-one is buying anything, this is what is meant by “the economy is bad”. If you don’t buy another 57” TV for the bathroom, or that new video game console for the RV (I hate camping without my Xbox!) or the new washer and dryer for mom, “manufactures” have nothing to manufacture because no one is buying their wears! So what you need, are people who have an income; more importantly, disposable income. That’ right, you either need people who have a little extra each month ( and are willing to spend it ) or, you sell them on the idea that “it’s not how much it cost, it’s how much are the monthly payments!” But if they have a little left over each month to spend, why would you think that reducing that amount ( by taking it in the form of an income tax ) would help bolster the economy? That's ludicrous!

So the problem is reduced to this, 10% of the people have no income and can therefore not afford to be regular consumers of goods. 90% of the people have jobs, but most of them are in such deep debt that they’ve begun to cut back on their own personal “Deficit Spending”! At least this is what we are being told!

Now the fact of the matter is, if you go down to any mall in America, you’ll still get a decent workout on your walk from the far end of the parking lot! The restaurants still have 20 and 30 minute waits on a Tuesday night! Why? Because 90% of Americans have jobs and some small amount of disposable income!

So the Lib’s answer to the problem is this, let’s take more of the disposable income from the 90% of the Americans who have jobs and give it to the 10% who do not! So now, the 90% have less disposable income and the 10% have more disposable income but still no jobs! Why? Because you haven’t changed the overall supply of real money! It does not matter one bit WHO spends the money only that there is money to spend! Remember we said that not 100% of your tax dollars are going to make it to the 10% who could use it; they are going to go to pay for the bureaucracy that will distribute it! Let’s do some quick math as an example; we will use ridiculously small numbers to make the problem easier to understand.

Let’s reduce the American population to 100 people; 90 of whom have jobs and 10 that do not.
Further, let’s use $50,000 as the median income. Also, let’s use a small 4 level tax structure as the current tax rate ( God only knows the country could use a flat tax!) and say that there are those who pay 0%, 10%, 20% and 30% respectively based on their income. So we have something like this:

Income 0 – 24,999 Tax = 0%
Income 25,000 – 49,999 Tax = 10%
Income 50,000 – 99,999 Tax = 20%
Income 100,000 & Up Tax = 30%

Now the 10 people who are currently un-employed will obviously fall into the 0% tax rate.
Let’s say that 50% of the people are in the 25K – 50K 10% bracket and 35% are in the 50K – 99K 20% bracket leaving the top bracket to the remaining 5% of our 100 people. That breaks down like this:
10 people who pay Zero in Federal Income Tax. Let’s call this group “The Poor”
50 people who pay 10% Lets’ call this group “Low Income”
35 people who pay 20% Let’s call this group “Middle Class”
5 people who pay 30% Let’s call this group “The Rich”
Let’s use some “median” incomes to do some additional math and figure out how the Federal Government will make its income.

10 People pay $0.00 per year
50 People make on average $37,500 per year times 10% = $3,750 per person or $187,500
35 People make on average $75,000 per year times 20% = $15,000 per person or $525,000
5 People make on average $300,000 per year times 30% = $90,000 per person or $450,000
Now, what sorts of things do we notice from this example?

The first thing that jumps out at me is that the Federal Governments highest source of income is coming from the 35% of people in “The Middle Class”! Notice, too, that the Federal Government has an income of $1,162,500!!! WHAT THE $#&!? You are telling me that “The Rich” make $300,000 and the Federal Government makes $1,162,500! Who’s making the REAL MONEY? Come on people WAKE UP!

Further, we can see that 60% of the people fall into either “The Poor” or “Low Income” categories, thus 35% of the people are paying the most for the “social programs” that address the needs of “The Poor” and the “Low Income” groups.

Next, I notice that each person’s “total tax burden” exponentially increases with their increase in income! The Middle Class pay, nearly, five times as much, actual money per person, as the “Low Income” group. The top 5% of the people are paying nearly as much as the 35% of the people in the middle class combined and are paying six times as much, per person, as “The Middle Class”! So the entire, American, population of 100 people has exactly $303,750 in “spendable” income while The Federal Government has $1,162,500! Um, excuse me? Are you telling me that $1,162,500 is given to “The Poor” as spendable income? Of course NOT! Where does that money go? One of the dirty little secrets is, a growing number of Bureaucrats are in that “Middle Class” and an alarming number of them are in “The Rich” group! That’s where the VAST MAJORITY of your tax dollars go, to pay for Federal Jobs ( and the ridiculously lavish pension plans they come with).

But I digress! The point was to show that it does not matter “who” spends the disposable money but rather that the total amount of disposable money gets increased! So let’s have a look at that, shall we?

Our groups were:
The Poor: who have Zero disposable income
Low Income: who have $37,500 - $3,750 = $33,750 in “spendable” income
Middle Class: who have $75,000 - $15,000 = $60,000 in “spendable” income
The Rich: who have $300,000 - $90,000 = $210,000 in “spendable” income
So in our math example we have the Federal Government taking in a total of $1,162,500 per year in income taxes.

Now the Libs want to increase income taxes on “The Rich”, so let’s say they do just that! They increase the tax burden on the top 5% from 30% to 40%. It’s only 10% right? They can afford it! After all they are rich!

So now our numbers work out like this:
10 People pay $0.00 per year
50 People make on average $37,500 per year times 10% = $3,750 per person or $187,500
35 People make on average $75,000 per year times 20% = $15,000 per person or $525,000
5 People make on average $300,000 per year times 40% = $120,000 per person or $600,000

And our list of “spendable” money looks like this:
The Poor: now have divided among them the additional $30,000, taken from “The Rich”.
Low Income: who have $37,500 - $3,750 = $33,750 in “spendable” income
Middle Class: who have $75,000 - $15,000 = $60,000 in “spendable” income
The Rich: who have $300,000 - $120,000 = $180,000 in “spendable” income
So now we have a total “spendable” income of:
The Poor: $30,000
Low Income: $33,750
Middle Class: $60,000
The Rich: $180,000
Total = $303,750

HEY, WAIT ONE DOG GONE MINUTE! That is the EXACT same amount of money that was available to be spent BEFORE we stole from the rich to give to the poor!
What if, instead of increasing taxes, we focused on creating jobs! Even jobs in the Low Income bracket of $37,500. What would happen if we took just ½ of the unemployed and got them all jobs making $37,500 a year?

You do the math, but the short answer is this, 5 people would now have an additional $30,000 a year in spendable income; increasing the “economy” by $150,000 of “spendable” income! The Federal Government would gain and additional $18,750 in revenue ( in the form of income taxes on the newly created jobs) that could then be distributed to the few people who are left without a job, primarily because they are un-employable for one reason or another (mental or physical illness for example).

I hope this, rather long example has proven to you that the answer to our current financial woes is NOT to TAX and SPEND but rather to reduce taxes on those who create jobs, so they have more disposable income to hire new employees! This would have the additional benefit of creating greater demand for goods and services, further fueling the need for workers and so on and so on. If you have more people working, you have more people buying and if more people are buying, you need more people working to produce the stuff to buy! It’s all quite simple when you take a moment to think about it!

Thank you for taking a moment to think about it! Now, go out in November and vote for congressional candidates who understand these simple truths!

God with us.

2010-02-14T22:07:00.000-08:00

During worship today, we were singing a song that spoke
of “the fire of worship.” The song asked that God would “fan the flames”
of that fire, which got me thinking about the Holy Spirit as that ever
present fire burning in us.

In the same song, however, it spoke of God “coming”; implying
He was not already there. I thought to myself “hang on a second”
worship is not a process of God coming to us--implying that it is
God who must move--rather, worship is a process, initiated by us,
by which we become more aware of His constant presence
(a smoldering and eternal flame fanned into a roaring fire) as we
filter out the noise that obscures the still small voice and we once
again “feel” his presence.

God is all; in all!

2010-02-14T09:43:00.000-08:00

To Mary Kay, my Valentine all year long!

In January could I love you less,
then February when love’s confessed?

Or what of March you’re still my bride,
And in April as we walk side by side?

In May shall not my love still show,
and in June will not my love still grow?

What of July the month we wed,
could I love you more in August instead?

Come September my love’s still yours
As the day we met on October Four.

And in November, the penultimate month
You’ll find my love is no less true
than in December
as I look foreword to
365 more days to say
I LOVE YOU!

To the best wife a guy could hope for,

Happy Valentines Day ya Butt Head!

Congressional Reform Act of 2010

2010-01-12T08:15:00.000-08:00

1. Term Limits: 12 years only, options below:
Two Six year Senate terms
Six Two year House terms
One Six year Senate term and three Two Year House terms.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

2. No Tenure / No Pension: A congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

3. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security: All funds in the Congressional retirement fund moves to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, Congress participates with the American people. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

4. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan just as all Americans. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

5. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%. Social Security increases will be the same as the congressional pay raises Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

6. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

7. Congress must equally abide in all laws they impose on the American people. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

8. All contracts with past and present congressmen are void effective 1/1/11. The American people did not make this contract with congressmen, congressmen made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.