My View of the World

"I Didn't Know" Isn't Good Enough

2013-05-21T23:24:00.000-04:00

If you were the boss and your employees were engaging in illegal activities, do you think it would be acceptable for you to just say “Well, nobody told me about it”? If you were facing the IRS in an audit, do you think you would be given the opportunity to take the 5^th? If people died under your watch, how far would you get by giving the answer “I didn’t read the email?

As we embark on the Summer of Scandal, it seems that the hottest commodity in Washington is pathetic excuses. As more is known, more questions arise. The scandals have become so numerous that they are hard to keep track of, and more seem to be arising by the hour.

Why am I not surprised? The first President in our nation’s history to tell the American people to not fear tyranny seems to be the one most intent on engaging in it. A man who views the Constitution as nothing more than an impediment to his political agenda cannot ever be trusted to respect it

Barack Obama has surrounded himself with those who are of the same mind as he, and he has established a culture within his administration that knows no restraint in the pursuit of its political objectives. When pressed for explanations, members of his administration seem to be stuck on stupid. No one remembers anything, and no one seems to know what was going on.

I’m sorry, but that’s simply not good enough. Barack Obama sought the job of President of the United States, he campaigned for it, and even boasted that “I won”. Guess what Barry? You’re the man in charge now, and with great power comes great responsibility. Despite what you might think, these people worked for you, under your authority, at your direction. You were given the responsibility of overseeing their work, regulating their activities, and correcting their errors. You were paid well to do that job, and given an immense amount of power with which to do your job. Mr. President, you own this. It was your job to know.

You have failed. Your leadership has been non-existent, your example has been less than admirable, and you have not kept your oath of office. Forty-three men have held the office before you, and the worst of them can honestly say they have done a better job than you. Your legacy will be one of failure, and there is nothing you can do to change that.

Mr. Obama, it has become increasingly obvious that you are a man of little or no integrity, but if there is even the slightest amount of integrity in you, I ask you to resign now before our nation is once again tasked with the unseemly and divisive task of the impeachment process. Given the fact that your party is in control of the Senate, I recognize the fact that you stand very little chance of being removed from office, regardless of the extent of your transgressions or the evidence against you, but your resignation is still the right thing to do, and it will be the best thing that you could do for this country.

An Open Letter to AP CEO Gary Pruitt

2013-05-20T20:58:00.000-04:00

Mr. Pruitt, in a recent television interview you expressed your shock and outrage over the government’s seizure of your reporters’ phone records. Mr. Pruitt, please believe me when I say I share your outrage, but I cannot say that I share your shock. Don’t misunderstand sir, I most certainly will not defend the Obama administration in this, nor will I condone anything they did.

I’ve searched my memory, and I don’t recall hearing you express your outrage when the Obama administration violated the 1st Amendment rights of the Catholic Church. I don’t recall hearing you speak out when the Obama campaign committee targeted Mitt Romney’s campaign contributors. I don’t recall your objections when the Obama administration seized control of our medical care. I don’t believe I’ve heard one word of objection from you regarding the targeting of conservative groups by the IRS. I’m quite sure I haven’t heard you express any outrage over Obama’s attempts to infringe on our 2nd Amendment rights.

I am certainly outraged by the actions of our government in this case. I believe it is wrong for the government to put a hand to the throat of the press, much for the same reasons I believe it is just as wrong for the press to hold hands with the government. Without a free press, a press that is free from government influence, abuses of power such as those we see from the current administration are not only possible but entirely probable.

I grew up in the south, an area with a fair number of rattlesnakes. I’m not an expert on rattlesnakes, but I know they have scales, rattles on their tails, a forked tongue, fangs, and deadly venom. What rattlesnakes don’t have though, are friends or any sense of allegiance to those who choose to play with them. They might be inclined to tolerate you for a while, but when it suits them they will strike. The press in this country would do well to keep that in mind.

Mr. Pruitt, I do not intend to diminish what happened to your organization or to your reporters, but some things need to be said.

When A Trickle Becomes A Flood - The Obama Scandalthon

2013-05-19T16:40:00.000-04:00

Little things get little notice, at least until they start to add up. A few raindrops here and there can turn into a downpour, and a downpour eventually becomes a flood. The Obama scandalthon started in the same way, but like a jigsaw puzzle the pieces are beginning to come together to form a very ugly picture.

At the moment it is hard to say how much involvement Obama had in the various failures of integrity and leadership that have scarred the face of his administration, but it is clear that he has surrounded himself with minions who have little regard for the Constitution or for the rule of law. The resulting abuses of power, violations of law, and murders that will be the legacy of his Presidency are testament to the character of the man who holds the office and of those who serve him.

Election laws have been broken, widespread voter fraud has been documented, as has been voter intimidation, but the Holder Justice Department has been too busy supplying guns to Mexican drug cartels to take notice. Of course, Eric Holder is cut from the same cloth as the rest of the Obama administration so there is little hope for integrity from that corner.

Now that we are beginning to learn of the extent of the abuses of power at the IRS, we must also wonder how many other government agencies were weaponized to support the Obama re-election campaign. An administration that is willing to use the power of government to suppress its political opposition would not contain its abuses to just one department. Many of us suspect, and have very good reason to believe that such abuses were taking place in nearly every facet of the federal government.

What is a patriotic American to do?

Corruption this deeply entrenched and this widespread cannot go unchecked. With a willing accomplice in the Justice Department, and very little pushback from the spineless political hacks that inhabit Congress, We The People have a duty to our forefathers, to our children, and to our country to put the pieces together, determine the extent of the problem, and rid our government of the cancer that we have allowed to grow on our watch.

We cannot be timid in this task. We must be willing to dig as deep as necessary, ask the tough questions of those who do not want to be asked, and follow the evidence to its logical conclusions. Was the President involved? Did the corruption reach the extent that his re-election was invalid? We have to know the truth, and we have to make the appropriate response to repair the damage that has been done to our nation.

This effort needs to be approached very carefully, with no agenda other than a relentless pursuit of the truth. We will need to enlist the help of the very best legal minds in the country OUTSIDE of government and political parties to investigate all that has gone on. These investigators should be people of impeccable integrity, with a devotion to the rule of law and to constitutional government. No stone should be left unturned, and the conclusions must be made public. It will then be determined what, if any, corrective action should be taken.

Are you up to it?

Fixing The IRS Mistake

2013-05-18T14:15:00.000-04:00

Wisdom is what you get when you make mistakes and learn from them; punishment is what you get when you make mistakes and don’t learn from them. Over the course of our history, America has made some pretty big mistakes and some of them are now competing for headlines in our news media.

Some of those mistakes are making headlines in the form of our current IRS scandal (a sandal which White House spokesman Beltway Jay Blarney claims doesn’t exist). Among the several mistakes that are embodied in this scandal is that of electing a man to the office of President who views the Constitution as an impediment rather than a document deserving respect. Being very forgiving I could say that electing him once was a mistake, but doing so twice means we get what we deserve. Our punishment has only just started, and I fear it will continue for quite some time. His term in office will eventually end however, and if we have learned from this mistake, perhaps we will then have the wisdom to elect someone who will repair the damage he has done.

The most egregious of these mistakes however, predated the current administration by several decades and will be a bit more difficult to put behind us. The mistake to which I refer is the establishment of the income tax. The first such tax was passed in 1862 to fund the Civil War, but was repealed ten years later. Another income tax was implemented in 1894, but the Supreme Court soon declared it unconstitutional. In 1913 the 16^th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, eliminating the Constitutional barrier to a direct tax on individuals without apportionment and opening the door to the monstrosity that now terrorizes American citizens with impunity.

Aside from the many fiscal reasons to not impose a tax on personal income, there are more important issues of freedom which should have precluded its adoption. In order to levy a tax on personal income, it is necessary for the federal government, unquestionably the most powerful man-made organization on the face of the earth, to collect information from private citizens regarding their personal finances; information which few of us are willing to share with our best friends or our next door neighbors. Who do you trust more, your best friend or the federal government?

Additionally, to make such a tax “fair” to lower income earners, even more personal financial details are required to be reported on an annual basis. Such requirements empower the federal government to collect and store an inordinate amount of very private information on virtually every citizen of this country.

Because the application of tax laws has such a profound effect on business and commerce, Congress found itself (quite innocently, I’m sure) in a position of great power and influence. Naturally, it became necessary for Washington to adjust what started as a relatively simple tax code in order to please businesses and their campaign contributors. As a result, the tax code has now grown so large and unwieldy that not even the IRS can understand it. As a result, it is nearly impossible for a taxpayer to be absolutely certain that they are in compliance with the law, which leaves us in an extremely vulnerable position. This is why most of us live in fear of that Internal Revenue Service letter in our mailboxes informing us that we are to be the subject of an IRS audit.

Enforcement of these tax laws has become so difficult that a massive agency, the Internal Revenue Service, has become necessary. In order to be sufficiently effective at collecting the taxes needed to run the country, its agents have been given wide latitude and an enormous amount of power not even afforded those law enforcement agencies that serve to protect our homes and lives from criminals.

What we are now left with is a massive tax code that no one understands, enforced by a massive collection agency that no one seems to control, financing a massive federal government controlled by politicians bent on advancing their own self-interests rather than those of the nation they are supposed to serve. To make matters worse, this same massive collection agency is now in charge of our medical care, and privy to our most private medical information.

Does anyone see a problem with this situation?

Given the current news coming out of Washington, it is undeniable that such an agency can be weaponized to be used against political opponents by whatever politician happens to be in charge and it is just as undeniable that we have politicians who are quite willing and able to do so.

Will we gain wisdom from these mistakes, or will we continue to be punished for them?

So far two IRS officials have announced their resignations, some obscure, low level employees face scapegoating by their superiors, and there has even been mention of jail time thrown about, but there has been no real discussion of substantive steps to prevent future abuses of power.

Certainly at some point some member of Congress will offer up legislation that will bring about increased oversight of the agency, and a huge cost to taxpayers of course; but that legislation might make abuses of power a bit more difficult, it will almost certainly do nothing to prevent them. As long as we have a massive and rapidly growing federal government, empowered with the ability to monitor and control the minutest details of our lives, granted with virtually unlimited powers of enforcement, and controlled by career politicians with career advancement and their own self-interests at heart, this type of abuse will be not only possible but inevitable.

To stop this abuse of power, the power must be limited. Since it is absolutely true that knowledge is power, we must limit the knowledge that the federal government has regarding our private lives, medical records, and financial information. This will require some pretty big changes in the law, and in the way our nation operates. Obviously Obamacare must be fully repealed, and I would suggest replacing it with the healthcare reform plan I outlined quite some time ago. Additionally, it is time to totally eliminate the IRS by repealing the income tax and replacing it with the FairTax.

These are big steps, but we have big problems and they won’t go away without bold action. We have complained about big government and the IRS long enough, it is time to do something about it.

Look Out Hillary, Here Comes the Benghazi Bus

2013-05-07T13:23:00.000-04:00

The world of politics occasionally takes some surprising turns. One such turn that is taking place this week is the fact that the mainstream media seems to have finally realized that something wrong happened in Benghazi, that it had nothing to do with a spontaneous protest over a video no one ever saw, and that members of the Obama administration lied about their response to the attack. One would get the impression that a sudden outbreak of journalism had infected the Washington press corps, but I suspect that is not the case.

The first thing that makes me suspicious about the new revelations that are coming out is the press conference in which Ed Henry of Fox News asked the President about claims that witnesses were being threatened. Did anyone notice that Obama called on Ed Henry from Fox News for the first question? Okay, that’s not earth shattering, but it gave Ed Henry the opportunity to pose the question regarding the Benghazi witness intimidation, and it gave Obama a perfect opportunity to deny any knowledge of it.

White House spokesman Jay Carney, when asked about the allegations, responded by asserting that the attacks happened “a long time ago” and stumbled over a weak excuse that the Republicans were just playing politics. While I am not a fan of Jay Carney, it did surprise me to hear how poorly he handled the issue.

Now it seems that as the witnesses are coming forward, members of the news media have awakened from their Obama induced trances and are actually reporting their testimony. It is surprising and refreshing to see them actually reporting news that appears to cast a negative light on the Obama administration. Unless you knew otherwise, you might get the impression that the media has finally turned on Obama and is willing to report the news and let the chips fall where they may.

Or maybe not.

We really need to look at the big picture. If you will remember, this attack took place on September 11, 2012 during the presidential election. Had this story been thoroughly investigated and reported on at the time it may well have changed the election’s outcome, so needless to say there was no chance that would happen. The election is over now, and the details are beginning to come out, but the willingness of the media to report on it is still surprising. It is my belief that they know these revelations will not implicate Obama, but others are not going to be so fortunate.

One very important thing to consider in this is that there are currently two Democrats who have indicated they might run for president in 2016, Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden. As it stands, Clinton appears to be in the best position to win the nomination. It is no secret however, that there is little love lost between Clinton and Obama. This brings up the possibility that some old-fashioned Chicago style politics is at hand.

I have my doubts that Barack Obama is very excited at the prospect of Hillary Clinton taking over the reins at the end of his second term. He knows her well enough to know that she has her own agenda and isn’t likely to make it a priority to continue with his. Joe Biden, on the other hand, isn’t bright enough to develop his own agenda and would be more than happy to continue on the current path. After eight years of training under Obama, he would most certainly be Obama’s choice. I could be completely off-base, but it looks to me that Obama is preparing to throw Hillary under the bus to clear the way for Biden in 2016.

The Genie Is Out Of The Bottle

2013-05-04T09:56:00.001-04:00

The Great Sequester of 2013 has been with us for two months now, and surprisingly enough there are no masses of starving people living in the streets, nor has there been a sudden rash of Granny laden wheelchairs falling over the cliff. While it is certainly true that many school children have had their dreams of touring the White House dashed, they are still attending school just as they were before the budget cuts went into effect. The dire warnings of impending doom from President Obama have given him a permanent membership in the Mayan Calendar Makers’ Hall of Fame.

Contrary to the picture painted by many in Washington, the sequestration did no actual cutting of the budget; rather, it simply reduced the growth in spending over each of the next 10 years. The legislation that created these cuts was deliberately written to make the cuts more painful by making the cuts indiscriminately across-the-board, giving little or no leeway on how those cuts were to be administered. The idea was to pressure lawmakers into actually working out a budget deal, but as we know that did not happen. Even with Obama’s covert policy of making sure the cuts were implemented in such a way as to make them hurt as much as possible, the predicted disasters have not happened. When the cuts did begin to make air travel a bit more difficult, Congress immediately went into action passing a bill to fix the problem in a most bi-partisan way, conveniently before they all rushed to the airport to fly home.

This brings us to the point where we can make a few very interesting observations.

For decades, Republicans have been proposing spending cuts, or rather cuts in the rate of growth of federal spending, and each of those proposals was met by Democrat opposition and warnings of the terrible consequences of cutting a single penny from the budget. Predictions of starving school children and old ladies being pushed over the cliff became standard fare for Democrat campaign ads. When the sequestration was looming, the Democrats trotted out the same warnings, but this time they were not enough to prevent the cuts from taking place.

Guess what? School children are still eating and becoming obese, and Granny is still alive and kicking. If indiscriminant across-the-board budget cuts can be made without a great deal of pain, would it not be logical to assume that we could make additional cuts allowing department heads to have discretion on how where those cuts take place without destroying life as we know it?

Ah yes, the genie is out of the bottle. This is exactly why President Obama wanted to avoid the sequester, and why he went out of his way to make sure the effects of the cuts were as visible and as painful as possible. The last thing the Democrats wanted was for the American people to finally realize that common sense budget cuts could easily be made. They knew that such a revelation would expose the lies they have been feeding us, take away their excuses for not controlling spending, and give their constituents reason to question why they have been so unwilling to be fiscally responsible with our money.

The truth is even with the sequester our federal budget is severely bloated with unnecessary and wasteful spending. Despite what most politicians will tell you we can make actual cuts, not just cuts in the rate of growth without causing any great calamity. Naturally, as is usually the case when budgets are cut, there will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth, but we have to inject some fiscal responsibility into Washington. People will have to get used to the idea that not every good idea should become a federal program, and that some things just aren’t worth borrowing money from China to pay for.

Kermit Gosnell and the American Left

2013-04-28T09:43:00.000-04:00

On a recent night I sat eating my dinner in a hotel restaurant, able to see the big screen television above the bar. Although I could not hear any sound, I could see that it was tuned to CNN, and Nancy Grace had a panel of ‘experts’ I didn’t recognize dissecting every moment of that day’s session of the Jodi Arias trial. The trial, which has taken on a similar circus like atmosphere as the Casey Anthony trial, centers on the death of Travis Alexander and the subsequent charges brought against Jodi Arias. Although most of America had never heard of either of these two people prior to the murder, the news media seems to be fixated on every small detail of the case.

Such media hype is not uncommon in this country. We have all suffered through the courtroom action of such notable celebrity trials of those of O.J. Simpson, Robert Blake, Michael Jackson (as well as his physician Conrad Murray), Casey Anthony, and Drew Peterson among others. When a case comes along involving someone with a little celebrity status or enough physical attractiveness to make them interesting to a sufficient number of viewers, it somehow becomes the most important news of the day until the ‘news’ media has exhausted every moment of coverage possible.

I wonder what would have happened if Kermit Gosnell had looked like George Clooney?

Given the lack of media coverage of his trial, some may not be familiar with the name Kermit Gosnell so let me fill you in. Dr. Kermit Gosnell is a Philadelphia abortionist who is accused of running an extremely unsanitary abortion factory staffed by unqualified personnel. According to witnesses, the procedure for performing illegal late term abortions was often to give the women labor inducing drugs and then position them on a toilet to deliver. After delivery, the live baby was fished out of the water (to prevent clogging the plumbing), and then the baby’s spine was snipped with a pair of scissors to end its life. At least one staff member testified that he had done this over a hundred times.

Kermit Gosnell is not a particularly attractive man, nor has he any celebrity status. His patients, otherwise known as victims, were mostly young, poor black women or girls whose names have never been mentioned on Entertainment Tonight. We don’t know if any of his youngest victims would have looked like Barack Obama. Gosnell didn’t use an AR-15 to kill these children, he just used scissors.

Although the trial has finally gotten some media attention, the lack of coverage has gotten perhaps more air time than the trial itself. Perhaps I am wrong about the trial being ignored because of a lack of glamour; I suppose it is entirely possible that the media doesn’t want to cover it because they don’t want to bring negative attention to the abortion industry. To be honest, while both factors are probably involved, the latter is most likely the driving force.

Let’s assume, just for the sake of discussion, that the left held the abortion industry in the same level of contempt as they do the gun industry. By now coverage of the trial would be wall-to-wall, with after action reports coming at the end of each day to recap the day’s events and to speculate on the next moves by both the defense and the prosecution. We would have seen leaked photos of the jars containing the severed feet of the infants murdered at Gosnell’s butcher shop, kept like trophies, and of the cat food containers used to store the remains of the dead babies.

Early on, probably before the trial had even begun, Gosnell would have been given a nickname intended to bestow upon him the necessary amount of celebrity to attract viewers. ‘Kermit Scissorhands’ might be a likely choice. Likewise, the abortion industry would have been renamed “Big Scissors” or something equally appropriate. Wolf Blitzer would be manning The Situation Room around the clock, telling us all, in his most grim sounding voice, every time Gosnell was moved from his cell to the exercise yard. A small inset would be visible at the top right hand corner of the screen of his every move while in the exercise facility. Fitness experts would, of course, be brought in to discuss the nature of the exercises Gosnell engaged in, and how those exercises likely affected his ability to operate a pair of surgical scissors. Hollywood would be up in arms no doubt. Within hours of this story breaking, some actress and her boyfriend of the week would speak out about the greed of a clinic that reportedly took in more than $10-15,000 per night.

Naturally, the politicians would be out in force getting face time on the subject. A bazillion page long bill would be fast tracked through the Congress that had little or nothing to do with the actual crimes committed, and Nancy Pelosi would be there to assure us that we had to pass the bill to know what was in it. Joe Biden would make the rounds of the Sunday news shows to denounce the practice of abortion and to assure us that the President was going to take action as soon as his golf outing was over. The President would immediately go on The View and remark on how stupidly Gosnell acted, and lament that some of the patients at the clinic looked like his daughters. He would angrily demand that the GOP stop obstructing legislation that would save the lives of thousands of children.

We know, of course, that none of this is ever going to happen. The abortion industry is the darling of the left, and therefore of the news media. While the grisly nature of Gosnell’s practice has moved a few of them to speak out, the most dedicated of them are unimpressed. One such dedicated supporter of the baby killing industry is President Obama who, while the trial was still underway, became the first sitting president to address Planned Parenthood. In his speech, Obama denounced those of us who are opposed to the slaughter of innocent children, and promised his unending support for the practice. He then closed his address with the words “God bless you”.

None of this should come as any surprise. As many of us observed during the 2008 election, Barack Obama supports Gosnell’s abortion methods. As an Illinois State Senator, he on several occasions voted against legislation that would have specifically prohibited abortionists from killing babies that had been born alive during an abortion procedure. Others appear to support Gosnell’s tactics as well. Sen. Barbara Boxer of California has stated that she believes life begins when you take your baby home from the hospital, apparently allowing for an ‘abortion’ to be carried out up until that that transition takes place. In a committee hearing of the Florida State Legislature, a lobbyist for Planned Parenthood argued for the right of a mother and her physician to carry-out a ‘post-birth abortion’ if a baby was delivered alive during the abortion procedure.

One can see how a highly publicized debate on this issue could be problematic for the proponents of the abortion industry. As people become more aware of just what a “late-term abortion” really is, they might begin to question why it is legal to deliver a child to the point that the baby’s head is all that remains in the birth canal and then kill it, but it is not legal to allow the child to fully exit the mother’s body and then kill it. Such questions might lead people to think. We can’t have that now, can we?

No, we can’t think about the atrocities that happen in our country every day for the sake of preserving a woman’s right to not, as our president put it, be punished with a baby. That is why Gosnell is referred to in the press as an abortion provider rather than a mass murderer, and why no one is describing him as the most prolific child killer since Adolf Hitler.

Allow me to say what others aren’t so willing to say. Every time there is a mass killing in this country, the leftist media immediately rushes to find some connection with a conservative point of view, a talk radio show, or some right-wing organization in an effort to assign blame. Well, they have been strangely unwilling to do so in this case, most likely because they know this one is undeniably theirs.

Kermit Gosnell is one of them, a product of the abortion industry they helped create, and the wholehearted endorsement of legalized infanticide that has poisoned our society by their hand.

Okay I’ve Had Enough

2013-04-11T00:09:00.000-04:00

There are limits to what a man can stand. For the past 30 or so years, I have been an observer of and commentator on the political scene in this country. I have both panned and endorsed candidates for office, and done my best to explain why I have taken that position. I have written extensively about my View of The World, and have never been afraid to let my opinions be known. After all of this, I had hopes that someone would step up to the plate that had enough common sense and integrity to actually become a good President.

I think it is obvious to all who might be watching that I have been disappointed. The 2016 election appears to be yet another opportunity for totally unqualified and inappropriate candidates to run for and be elected to the office of President of the United States. After careful consideration, I have decided to throw my hat into the ring. After all, if America is going to select an unqualified person to lead the greatest nation on earth, why shouldn’t it be me?

Yes, I know all of the reasons why I shouldn’t do it. All of the most embarrassing details of my private life will become public knowledge, but most of it is already well known to those who mean anything to me, and the rest of it won’t surprise them. Just to give me some cover, I’ll make a promise now to not respond to anything resembling a personal attack, so I can maintain plausible deniability for those things that are the most embarrassing, and the rest is past the statute of limitations anyway. Besides, there’s nothing in my past that is worse than Obama’s present, so none of it should matter anyway.

Of course, running for President also involves having solutions to the problems facing our nation. With that in mind, I can honestly say that I will solve the most serious problems faced by America simply by not being Barack Obama. If I were to get up every day for 8 years and do absolutely nothing, America would be in better shape after my 2 terms in office than after the first year of the Obama administration.

I am however, not content to stop there. Over the past couple of years, I have written extensively about my views on all things political. In fact, I have offered some very good solutions to some of the most serious issues of the day. There are, of course, some issues which I have not addressed, but you can be sure I will address those issues during the course of the campaign. If you are a conservative, especially one with a libertarian bent, I think you’ll like what I have to offer.

There are some problems I will have to overcome. The first is the fact that like most Americans, I have absolutely no idea how to go about launching a run for any public office, most especially that of President of the United States. Additionally, I am about $500,000,000 short of having enough funds to launch a serious campaign for President. Admittedly that is a serious issue, but at least I know that borrowing the money from China is not a viable option. For those of you ready to cut me a check for $2000, please wait until I figure out how to not go to jail for accepting your kind and generous contribution. I’ll let you know when I have that particular issue worked out.

I’m guessing I’ll have at least a dozen or so people ready to support my campaign, most of which will be attending our next family reunion, but I am deeply gratified by their support nonetheless. Given the limited amount of name recognition and qualifications for office I currently have at my disposal, those individuals will have their work cut out for them. Thank you in advance for your assistance.

Although I plan to make it a point to not make campaign promises I can’t keep, I will promise to keep the Constitution in mind as I go about the business of running the country. I will also promise to not borrow a single dime from the Chinese that is not absolutely necessary, nor will I agree to any increases in taxes. Most of all, I will never be a part of reducing the freedoms that citizens of the United States of America are entitled to enjoy.

Regardless of my personal failings, and regardless of any of the embarrassing things people might say about me, I get it. The Constitution matters and freedom trumps everything else. The government has no right to take more from you than is absolutely necessary to carry out those duties enumerated by the document that established it. I cannot ever consider myself better than those people who might elect me to office, nor can I put myself above the laws which they must obey.

Let’s do this.

Alice Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest

2013-03-24T08:19:00.000-04:00

Back in the early 60s, there was a popular TV series called The Outer Limits that opened with a sine-wave from an oscilloscope and a control voice that informed the viewer that their television set had been taken over for the next hour. Each episode featured a bizarre tale that was a blend of science fiction and horror; similar in many ways to another classic show The Twilight Zone, and more recently to current news reports emanating from our nation’s capitol.

It would seem that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Dingbat-NV) has ended four years of dereliction of duty on his part to pass a Senate budget bill. While it is certainly true that this bill has no realistic chance of ever becoming a useful document, you have to at least give the Senate Democrats some credit for showing up for work on the day of the vote.

At this point I’m sure you must be wondering how the passing of a budget bill could ever be as interesting as a 50 year old television show. Although the actual bill does contain some elements of both Alice In Wonderland and One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, the truly strange and bizarre elements of this story are found, not in the bill itself, but amid the cast of characters who somehow saw this as a fulfillment of their obligation to the American people.

Consider, if you will, the facts surrounding this strange and confusing tale of negligence and sleaze. In a world where many nations are on the precipice of collapse brought on by socialist programs that minimize productivity and create staggering levels of public debt, Democrats in Congress are charging full speed ahead with their own socialist agenda, and have produced a budget that fails to balance our budget despite yet another one-TRILLION dollar tax hike that will accomplish nothing other than to further weaken our economy. In a scene that was as surreal as any from The Outer Limits, Senate Democrats were not only unashamed of their lack of fiscal responsibility; they actually seemed to believe they had accomplished something to be proud of. Even Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Wimp-KY) felt the need to praise the Senate for finally doing something, even if it was wrong.

To quote our beloved Alice however, it gets “curiouser and curiouser”; the weirdness didn't stop there. Probably the most bizarre thing about the entire event was the fact that not a single member of the press, that highly esteemed cadre of pseudo-journalists who serve as our watchdogs over the federal government, felt any inclination to stand and pose the simple question, “ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME!!!!!??” That’s right, those intrepid defenders of freedom, armed with their constitutionally protected freedom of the press, failed to even mention in passing the potential seizure of private bank accounts in Cyprus, a nightmare scenario produced by similar policies that our government is pursuing, and ask if a similar treat might one day be in store for us.

Chances are, the fun isn't over yet.

Now that the pretense of governing has been adjourned, our Senators are headed back to their respective states where they will face those who sent them to Washington and pretend they've actually done something useful. Most of them will hold their heads high and act as though they have acted in a responsible manner as they voted to spend your grandchildren into a sea of debt. The bizarre part of this scene however, will be that the voters will applaud their efforts and pat them on the back for a job well done, most of them totally oblivious to the damage that is being done to this country on their behalf.

This scene however, has not yet taken place, nor does it have to. Herein lies our opportunity to inject just a hint of sanity into these events. Even though our elected officials have lost all sense of propriety and integrity, and despite the fact that the press is so firmly invested in the socialist agenda that they have dropped any pretense of journalistic integrity, WE still have the ability to bring to light the insanity of what is being done to this country and to our children. We do not have to accept their twisted version of reality, nor do we have to pretend our elected representatives are in any way representing our wishes or our best interests.

WE THE PEOPLE must take a stand for common sense and basic fiscal responsibility if we ever hope to find it in the halls of Congress again. Unless we demand integrity and restraint from our public servants, we can be sure we will never get it. Go to the places where our Senators and Representatives are making public appearances and speak up for what you know to be right, and don’t remain silent when they answer by telling you up is down and red is blue. We all know what is right, and we know what must be done. You can call yourselves the Tea Party, or just voters and taxpayer, but get out there in force and stand up against the absolute foolishness that they are trying to pass off as good governance.

The Seeds of Change Are Taking Root

2013-03-16T08:41:00.000-04:00

When the Tea Party movement first got off the ground, conventional wisdom said that it would go nowhere. Most certainly, those on the political left did their best to discredit and malign those citizens who dared to take a stand against an ever expanding government and higher taxes. Even some who were supposedly on the right side of the political spectrum felt threatened by a movement that held no regard for their brand of weak-kneed conservatism and joined in on the dismissive attitude that was so prevalent among those in the political establishment.

The movement has not been quite as vocal as it had been in the early days, and there are some who have mistakenly assumed that it has begun to die out. To some extent that might be true, but I would argue that in reality the movement has undergone a maturation process that is both inevitable and necessary. Like most political or social movements brought on by events that illustrate a need for change or reform, the initial attention that need garners eventually begins to fade as other events draw some of that attention away. When the fervor is high many people are attracted to the movement who are excited enough to take part, but soon discover that they are unwilling or unable to devote the time and resources necessary to remain an active participant, and begin to fade away from the scene.

It would be a mistake however, to equate this phenomenon with a lack of interest or a change of heart on the issues. Many of those who were participants in the early days of the movement had undergone a political awakening, and their involvement in the activities of the Tea Party often provided them with a familiarity with the critical issues they may not have previously had. Although the protests, marches, and public meetings have become less frequent, the political beliefs that fueled those events has not diminished.

Although the Tea Party did fail in their effort to block the re-election of Barack Obama, one cannot dismiss the notable successes the movement has enjoyed in congressional races. Some of the more notable examples include Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Sen. Ted Cruz from Texas, Sen. Mike Lee from Utah, and Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas.

In recent weeks we have had the pleasure of watching the newly elected Tea Party candidates take on the Washington establishment in a manner that has left many of the old guard stunned. Sen. Rand Paul’s 13 hour long filibuster took place as Sen. John McCain (RINO-AZ) and Sen. Lindsay Graham (RINO-SC) enjoyed a night out on the town with the President. The stark contrast provided by the fortuitous timing of the two events so infuriated the establishment Republicans that they felt the need to take to the floor of the Senate to denounce Sen. Paul’s efforts.

More recently Sen. Ted Cruz had the temerity to actually mention the existence and relevance of the U.S. Constitution during a discussion of Sen. Diane Feinstein’s proposed assault weapons legislation, even bringing the Bill of Rights into the mix. The resulting dust-up between the Junior Senator from Texas and the Jurassic Democrats would have been amusing were it not so disturbing. Suffice it to say that the Senate is not accustomed to being reminded of the limits to their power provided by the document which granted their authority to exist.

Events such as these are gaining a lot of attention in Washington, both from those who feel empowered by the boldness of these Senators and by those who once again find their hold on power threatened. The American people are also paying attention, and a lot of us are pleased to finally see the seeds of change in Washington beginning to take root. In the coming months we will undoubtedly see more challenges to the ‘way things are done’ in Washington, and with it will come fresh attacks from those who seek to maintain the old order.

One of the most important fights that should take place is the funding for Obamacare. Because of the cowardice of Chief Justice John Roberts, our only hope of stopping this terrible legislation lies in the House of Representatives. All of their efforts to repeal the legislation have been symbolic because there is no chance of any such repeal even getting a vote in the Senate, and even a lesser chance that the President would sign any repeal that did make it to his desk. The only effective means of blocking implementation of Obamacare is to starve it of funding. It remains to be seen however, if House Speaker John Boehner’s newly discovered spine is strong enough to pull this off.

Just as Sen. Harry Reid will never allow a repeal bill to get a vote in the Senate, Speaker Boehner cannot allow any legislation that includes funding for any part of Obamacare to get a vote in the House of Representatives. Naturally, this will result in a political firestorm the likes of which Boehner has never seen. Republican members of the House, especially Speaker Boehner, need to be prepared for the fact that a repeal of Obamacare will require nothing less than a sustained government shutdown, and those who aren't willing to go the distance need to go home. The American people need to be just as committed to this cause, and stand in support of those in Congress who put their political futures on the line for our sake.

Panic In The White House

2013-02-24T05:52:00.003-05:00

President Obama has begun to sweat bullets over the prospect that there will actually be drastic budget cuts that he can do nothing to stop. Worry over the whole thing led him to huddle in Florida last weekend with his top budget strategist, Tiger Woods. Despite all of their best efforts however, they were unable to come up with a plan to avoid these draconian cuts. Of course, these cuts are not drastic, and in fact, they aren’t really cuts, but even the prospect of a cut in the rate of growth in spending is enough to send the man into a tizzy.

The current debate surrounding the pending sequestration, or automatic budget cuts, is clear evidence that our federal government has become dysfunctional and incompetent. This process was called for and signed into law by President Obama, and made necessary by his inability to lead his own party through the normal budgetary process even once during his presidency. Although he is making a lot of noise about the dire consequences of the coming cuts, it is his insistence on more tax increases that has brought us to this point.

The President would have us believe that we are yet again on the brink of financial disaster and that the whole economy will collapse if we allow across the board budget cuts of $85 billion. Current federal spending is at about $3.8 trillion, so the cuts would amount to less than a 3 percent reduction in spending. Of course, these are not real cuts; they are in reality cuts in the rate of increase in spending, so no federal agency will receive less money to operate on than it did last year.

I see this sequestration as a complete failure by our elected leaders, and I believe it is the wrong way to cut the budget. That being said however, bad cuts are better than no cuts at all. If this is the only way they can happen, then bring it on. Naturally there will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth, but a little teeth gnashing in Washington is long overdue anyway.

Will this happen? Probably not; our elected officials are quite adept at kicking the can down the road and are almost sure to do so again. At the last minute I am confident they will yet again find a way to shirk their responsibilities and find some way out of it. The can will be kicked, and off we will go to yet another high speed run at yet another fiscal cliff.

What a Breath of Fresh Air!

2013-02-16T06:26:00.000-05:00

Since the founding of this nation, we have sought the best and brightest among us to serve and represent our interests in halls of government. We began with such notable statesmen as George Washington, James Madison, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, George Mason, Ben Franklin, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton. The fact that such an enlightened and capable political team could ever be assembled is miraculous enough, but when you consider that this group of men was drawn from just thirteen colonies with a combined population of approximately 2.5 million people, the extent of that miracle becomes even more clear.

These men were not all of one mind when it came to political ideology, but they all had the goal of doing what they believed would keep us a nation that offered freedom and opportunity. They did not practice the art of political correctness, but they did exhibit political clarity and boldness. They argued and fought over their various points of view, but they also managed to accomplish that which became the envy of the world.

At the time of our nation’s birth, there were certainly plenty of problems to be solved, but the primary focus of our leaders was on the opportunities to be found. Today our government is consumed with solving the incredible problems that we face. When you realize that nearly all of those problems were caused by the very government that seeks to solve them, the likelihood of those solutions ever being found seems very small. Our government, once an example of how a nation should be run, has been reduced to a mob of ineffective and incapable children whose only concern is holding onto their position.

As we watch the embarrassing spectacle of government employees who cannot pass a budget, who fail to lead on every single important issue we face, and who can look a sixteen trillion dollar national debt in the eye and say “we don’t have a spending problem”, we begin to realize that those who we have chosen to serve and represent us in the halls of government are a far cry from being the best and brightest among us.

On February 7th of this year Dr. Benjamin Carson, Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital, took the podium to speak at the National Prayer Breakfast. What followed was a clear example of the kind of clarity of thought and intellectual honesty that our nation has needed so desperately. Dr. Carson is not a dynamic speaker, but he is a compelling speaker, and he embodies the kind of common sense thinking that once made this nation great, and that will be needed to restore us to what we are capable of being.

Until this speech, I can’t say that I have ever heard of Dr. Carson, and I don’t know that I would agree with every position he might take, but I do know that I can respect his ideas and be assured that his goals are the same as mine.

If you have not already done so watch the video of his speech. Listen to his common sense approach to solving problems and take a deep breath of fresh air. If our country is to recover from the mess we have made of it, men and women of Dr. Carson’s caliber and intellect will be the ones who make it happen.

Big Picture Time

2013-01-27T06:25:00.001-05:00

Inauguration Day is behind us now, and President Obama has begun his second term with a number of goals in mind. Obviously one of those is to enact several new gun control measures, but there are others that should concern us as well. Immigration reform is one of them, as well as more tax increases and a host of new regulations and environmental initiatives. One can’t help but fear that, with all of these new priorities he might lose his “laser like focus” on job creation.

There is a tendency to view his agenda as nothing more than collection of genuinely bad ideas, but you can be sure that is not the case. In order to see how all of these pieces fit into the puzzle, you must first get an understanding of what the big picture will look like.

There was a time when the Left would bristle at the term ‘socialist’ and deny their true agenda, but for the most part they now try to pretend that their brand of socialism is a milder, full flavor version that will go down much easier than those of the past. “A little socialism is necessary” they say, and they point to things like Social Security and Medicare as examples of ‘good’ socialism as reasons why we should want more.

Make no mistake, “a little socialism” isn’t the end goal, it is just the beginning. The major difference between a Socialist and a Communist is the path they choose to take to reach the same place. Communists are radicals, seeking to overthrow capitalism preferably through violent revolution. Socialists however, are content to work the system and reach the same goal through gradual, less violent means, hence the name Progressive.

The problem is that our Constitution is not compatible with the socialist agenda. So far they have just nibbled around the edges of unconstitutional programs and have been fairly successful at sliding them by the Supreme Court, but soon they will be forced to take bigger bites. In order to be successful, it will one day become necessary to either ignore or suspend the Constitution altogether. It is with this in mind that they often claim that the Constitution is a ‘living, breathing document that must be interpreted from a more modern viewpoint’.

One of their first concerns then is the fact that Americans are pretty heavily armed, but they know it would be foolish to attempt an outright gun ban all at once. Their tactic is to progressively nibble away at our 2nd Amendment rights until we grow used to the idea. “I support the 2nd Amendment,” they will say, “but we all agree that we need some common sense restrictions on these military style weapons.” You can be sure that a sentence that begins with “I support the 2nd Amendment but” is a lie being told for the purpose of destroying your freedom.

Please understand, these attacks on our freedom are just the beginning, and they will not end with the 2nd Amendment. Once they succeed in taking our guns (or perhaps even before), the same arguments will be used to justify limits on free speech, freedom of religion, and in the long run most if not all of our other rights. “I support the 1st Amendment,” they will say, “but we all agree that we need some common sense restrictions on this inflammatory type of language.”

To reach their ultimate goals, they know that private ownership of land will have to be abolished, and that individual rights will have to be subordinated to the rights of the collective. History has made it clear that Socialism and individual freedom cannot co-exist for any length of time, thus it becomes necessary to establish a more powerful government that is capable of controlling its citizens. The ever increasing regulations are designed to establish these types of controls without having to obtain the power legislatively. Rather than overtly seizing privately owned land, they simply put into place regulations which deny the owners its free use. High property taxes are another way that individuals are dissuaded from owning large tracts of land, and are herded instead into apartments and other type of high density housing.

There are those for whom all of this sounds perfectly acceptable. As hard as it is to believe, there are among us those naive individuals who believe in the Socialist pipe dream of a Utopia where everyone is equal and we all share our resources. They believe that by redistributing the wealth in this country, we can all achieve a standard of living that will at least be comfortable. What they fail to realize however, is that Obama and his cohorts are approaching this from a global perspective, and that the redistribution of wealth will not stop at our own boarders.

By global standards, even our poor are considered wealthy. The rest of the world sees the U.S. as a pot of gold waiting to be plundered. Those who believe that we achieved our status at the expense of the undeveloped nations, Obama among them, see Socialism as a means to siphon off the wealth of this country into the pockets of those who would never be able to create the wealth by their own efforts.

Something Is Wrong

2013-01-20T06:31:00.002-05:00

Something is wrong in America, and it has permeated the very soul of our nation. We see things happening in our government and we wonder how this can happen; but we go on with our lives and shake our heads about the next thing that happens, again wondering why. “Why doesn't someone do something?” we ask, and then we change the channel and watch something not as depressing as the news.

The “something” that is wrong has a name: Progressivism, and this is the day that Conservatives have warned was coming. You can see the signs of it everywhere you look because they have never tried to hide what they do; instead they use a variety of tactics to distort and distract. Sometimes they even just ignore the facts and go on as if they've done nothing, knowing they will not be challenged.

Yes, there is a Constitution which forbids some of the things they do, and there are laws in place to govern their actions; but laws only apply to those who obey them, and are only enforced by those with the courage to do so. Checks and balances exist in the government which are designed to prevent abuses of power, but those only work if the will exists in one branch to control the other. We have a free press given the responsibility to report what is going in our government objectively and fearlessly, but that only works if the press is interested in reporting the truth and is not acting in collusion with those they are tasked with overseeing. We the people are the ultimate authority over our government, responsible to each other to ensure that we uphold and defend the Constitution, the document that ensures our freedom; but that will only work if we are diligent in our duty, and have the knowledge, wisdom, and courage to stand up to our servants when they seek to become our masters.

It all sounds good on the surface. Any good con artist knows that to be successful, his sales pitch must be convincing. “We must help the poor and the disadvantaged” they say, and since no one wants to be accused of not having compassion we turn a blind eye to the Constitutional violations. In doing so we have to make ourselves forget the reality that charity taken from someone else's pocket is theft, and charity paid on demand is tribute. Our legislators create problems for which we demand a government program to fix, so we allow them to create debts to be paid by our children. In doing so we have to make ourselves forget the reality that borrowing from those who have not given their consent, and doing so with no ability to repay is theft. We are even unwilling to acknowledge that we are stealing from those who depend on us to protect them.

A new crisis arises and our legislators rush to the nearest television camera to explain to us how, at a cost of just a little bit of our freedom they will make sure this never happens again. Those in the press dutifully tell us the stories and show us the pictures designed to enlist our assistance in the theft of our own freedom, and we willingly sell ourselves into slavery on the installment plan. When that crisis arises the second time, they rush back to the cameras to explain that they just didn't go far enough last time, and that for our own safety they will need to have just a little more of our freedom to fix it, and of course we willingly hand it over 'for the children'.

This process has been going on for generations, and none are without blame. We are trillions of dollars in debt, yet our President asserts that we don't have a spending problem. Instead he unashamedly makes the case that all will be better if he picks the pockets of those who produce and lines the pockets of those who do not. They condemn those who achieve in order to curry the favor of those who will not. When anyone objects, they are denounced as being out of the mainstream and only interested in making money by those who are only interested in taking money. When Constitutional issues are raised, they point to past violations that were allowed to stand as evidence of their authority to continue down the same path. “You don't want to end that program, do you?” they ask, and like any addict would do we back down to protect our addiction.

The largest, most powerful government in the world has been illegally operating for more than three years without a budget yet there is no demand from its overseers that the situation be righted because we already know the budgets were only an illusion in the first place. As soon as our legislators agreed to raise taxes on the producers, our President immediately informed us that he was only just getting started. With his re-election behind him, he unleashed a new round of regulations designed to tell those who built successful businesses how to run them, despite the fact that those regulations were written by those who were incapable of building businesses of their own. As those new taxes and regulations destroy the wealth building capacity of our economy, they tell us that the path to prosperity lies in their ability to impose more taxes and even more regulations.

A tragedy occurs and again they rush to take our freedoms in the name of our own safety, telling us law abiding citizens that by taking away our means of defense we will be protected from those who have no respect for their laws. They do so because they know it is impossible to enslave an armed man, and we allow it because we fail to understand how easy it is to enslave an unarmed man. They are afraid that one day we will wake up to the fact that it is they who do not respect our laws, and it is they who are robbing us of our wealth and our freedom.

The question is, will we wake up? Will we come to our senses before we are disarmed and enslaved on the plantation of Progressivism forced to work under the whip of a government master to produce the wealth intended for the pockets of those who will not work? Will we wake up to the fact that our servants seek to become our masters?

Are You Ready?

2013-01-13T06:39:00.001-05:00

The time has come to decide. President Obama has made it clear that he has no intention of allowing the Constitution to get in the way of his radical leftist political agenda. As we learned during his first term in office, Obama has no respect for our First Amendment rights, and it has now become clear that he has even less respect for those protected by the Second Amendment.

Much has been said about what Obama should do regarding the issues of safety for our school children, and gun control, but at this point it is clear that a more important discussion is what we should do in response to what he has already made up his mind to do. Such conversations have taken place countless times over the years, and until now were mainly academic exercises. We have reached that day however, that the time for academic exercises has ended, and the need to genuinely consider our options is upon us. We must decide as a society and as individuals, what our response will be when our government, created and intended for the purpose of protecting our freedom, decides to take that freedom away from us.

Some would say that I am jumping the gun, or perhaps exaggerating the threat that we face. Many would even argue that there is no real threat to our freedom. David Green, owner and CEO of Hobby Lobby, would disagree. His privately owned company is facing a $1.3 million dollar per day fine for refusing to comply with an Obamacare mandate that would force him to pay for abortion causing drugs, which violate his religious beliefs. Several years ago, standing in the pulpit of a rural Georgia church, I delivered a sermon in which I predicted that, in our lifetime, Christians would go to jail for obedience to their faith. I am there were many in that congregation that thought I was wrong, but that day is now upon us.

Virginia Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli recently said on a syndicated radio show that going to jail might be an effective way to protest such mandates in Obamacare. Certainly, these mandates mean that many Catholics in this country are facing a decision to either obey God or obey the government.

Several states are now considering enactment of additional gun control measures, and some politicians have openly discussed the possibility of outright confiscation. In states with gun registration the means to effect confiscation is in place. (Remember when the liberals made fun of us for opposing registration because it could be used by the government to find your guns when it was ready to take them away?) In states without registration the task will be a bit more difficult, but sales records kept by gun dealers and records of concealed carry permit holders and hunting licenses will give the government some clues as to where to look.

The question then, is how do we respond when they come knocking on your door? Are you prepared to do what is necessary to stand up for your rights, or will you acquiesce and hand over your weapons? The answer you would give out loud in front of your friends isn't hard to guess, but the real answer is one that you need to consider privately after giving serious consideration to the consequences of your actions.

I am not in a position to tell anyone what they should do because every situation is different. I will however, discuss my thoughts on the subject.

The knee-jerk response to this question is “They might take my guns, but when they do I won't have any ammo left”, and while that help me to sound and feel defiant, the truth is that such a response would not necessarily be effective and would most likely play into the hands of those we wish to oppose. A more reasoned and level headed response is more likely to achieve a better result.
A better response, I believe, is to simply refuse to comply. No, I will not voluntarily give up my guns, and no, I won't tell you where they are. Obviously by taking this approach there is every likelihood of being arrested and jailed, a prospect which is less frightening than going down in a hail of bullets, but one that we have to be mentally prepared to accept. Are you willing?

Given the number of gun owners in this country, the government would be hard pressed to incarcerate even a small percentage of them. What would happen however, is that as the jail cells began to be filled with otherwise law abiding citizens, husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, and brothers, public perception of a government round-up of good people would create such a fury that the government would be faced with more problems than it counted on.

I have no more desire to be thrown in jail than anyone else, but throughout this nation's history many men and women have sacrificed their very lives to protect our freedom, so what is a little time behind bars? In 1979 I took an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution from all enemies both foreign and domestic; I have not been released from that obligation. I may suffer, but I am willing for the sake of my children. My family might suffer as well, but a life of servitude to the state would be even worse.

Are you ready for what you may have to do?

The Concept of Freedom

2013-01-05T10:01:00.000-05:00

Most Americans have grown up knowing nothing but freedom, and naturally assume that the rest of the world would want to have the same type of freedoms that we all enjoy. It has long been my belief that when people are given an option, they would choose to rid themselves of tyrannical dictatorships and flourish under the same conditions that we now take for granted. Certainly the end of the Soviet Union gave us a chance to see this in action to some degree in Eastern Europe, so it was not totally unreasonable to hope for a similar outcome in the Middle East.

After the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, President Bush put into place a plan to restore the physical infrastructure of the nation and to lay out the political infrastructure to support free democratic elections. The resulting government has been somewhat less than the one for which we had hoped. When the Egyptians overthrew President Mubarak in 2011, many expected that free elections in that country would lead to a better government and freedom for people who had long lived under an oppressive dictatorship, and many of those were surprised when the Egyptian people elected a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, a terrorist organization, to lead the country.

The truth, as we are beginning to learn, is that free elections are not enough to guarantee freedom. It is a fact of human nature that left to our own devices we are quite capable of making bad decisions. It is not enough for someone to simply have choices, they must have the tools necessary to make good choices. Here in America we have a rich history of hard won freedom and people understand the idea of freedom so well that it is almost instinctive for us. We fail to realize however, that people in other countries and other cultures do not share the same history, and that not everyone in the world shares our understanding of the concept.

Nelson Mandela said “For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others". We have now seen that those who find themselves free without the requisite sense of responsibility that comes with being free often use their new-found freedom to exact revenge on their enemies rather than to concentrate on building a better life for their families and their fellow citizens. Instead of seizing the opportunity to better their society, they confuse power with freedom and give into their baser instincts to take upon themselves the role of oppressor.

When I was a child I was taught that I must answer to a higher power, and we learned about our founding fathers, the valiant effort they made to secure our freedom from England, and the provisions they made to protect those freedoms from those who would seek to take them. I learned to see these men as heroes and to have a profound respect for their sacrifices and their wisdom. Patriotism was presented to me as being a virtue, and American exceptionalism was something to take pride in. My parents taught me to be responsible for myself and my own actions, to help those in need, and to respect others. I learned early on that I had a future that was open to endless possibility, and that it would be up to me to make something of it.

Somewhere along the line, our society changed and the things we were taught went out of style. Once considered to be a servant of the people, government has become that higher power to which we must answer. Instead of teaching our children about the heroic actions of our founding fathers, we have begun to highlight instead their human flaws and failures and they are relegated to the status insignificant “old white men”. Rather than teach our children to be patriotic, we are teaching them to be 'good citizens of the global community', and American exceptionalism is treated as a worn out relic from the past. Independence and self-reliance are archaic notions that have been replaced with passive dependence and the 'rugged individualism' we used to find admirable has lost favor to obedient conformity.

We have now raised a couple of generations of Americans who no longer understand the concept of freedom that people of previous generations took for granted. These younger generations do not share the same sense of responsibility that we grew up with, nor do they see as much value in individual freedoms. As the older generations die off and the younger generations come of age, those of us who truly grasp the importance of these concepts are becoming outnumbered by those who would trade their freedom for security and popularity.

The events in Egypt have painted a vivid picture of wasted opportunity and squandered freedom, but we are on a course to squander our freedom on a scale that dwarfs anything the world has ever seen. John Adams said “Our Constitution was made for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other”. Generations of Americans have respected those principles and have done their best to preserve freedom for their progeny, but we have neglected to teach that respect to our kids.

The fault is ours, not theirs. To be fair, my grandparents didn't have to worry so much about the outside influences that come into our homes via television and now the internet. We have accepted these influences as benign entertainment and allowed pop culture to supplant the values we sought to pass on to our children. We were often warned of these influences, but those warnings were mostly ignored, and we now find ourselves living in a time when our politicians openly challenge our religious freedom, seek to limit our freedom of speech, publicly call for banning and confiscating our guns, and continue to serve in Congress after stating “I don't care about the Constitution”.

In recent days an op-ed in the New York Times written by constitutional scholar Michael Seidman advocates abandonment of our Constitution decrying our “obsession” with it, calling many provisions “archaic, idiosyncratic, and downright evil”. Views such as his are not normally espoused in such clear terms, but he is certainly not alone in this way of thinking. A fact that should not be overlooked is that he is a Professor of Law at Georgetown University, working in a position that shapes the minds and views of some of our brightest young people; those who will be among the future leaders of this country.

The Beauty of the Second Amendment...

2013-01-01T14:21:00.000-05:00

The New Year is upon us and with it comes a fresh round of political fights to keep us all busy. Many people are focused on the “fiscal cliff” debacle, but I haven’t spent a lot of time on it because there is little to no chance that anything will improve on that front in the next four years. Government spending will continue to grow uncontrollably, the Democrats (with plenty of help from the GOP) will continue to take the money we earn, and the economy will continue to wallow in cesspool of Socialism.

To me, the more important issue is the Democrat effort to further erode our right to keep and bear arms. As I fully expected, even before the Sandy Hook shooting, the left has begun an all out effort to take away our guns. Emboldened by Obama’s re-election, they have even openly admitted they ultimately want to confiscate guns from law abiding citizens.

Some would assume that the renewed push for a gun ban is a result of the recent school shooting, but that simply isn’t the case. In a press release dated December 17, 2012, Sen. Diane Feinstein said “I have been working with my staff for over a year on this legislation”. Isn’t it funny how conveniently she had it ready to submit just as Obama begins his second term? According to the press release, here is are the key provisions of her bill (my comments are in {} ):

• Stops the sale, transfer, importation and manufacturing of more than 100 specifically-named firearms as well as certain semiautomatic rifles, handguns and shotguns that can accept a detachable magazine and semiautomatic rifles and handguns with a fixed magazine that can accept more than 10 rounds. {This will ban many very common handguns that most of us don’t consider to be “assault weapons”}.

• Stops the sale, transfer, importation and manufacturing of large-capacity ammunition feeding devices (magazines, strips and drums) capable of accepting more than 10 rounds. {This would include every magazine I have for my favorite 9mm handgun, hardly an “assault weapon”.}

• Protects legitimate hunters and the rights of existing gun owners by:

> grandfathering weapons legally possessed on the date of enactment;

> exempting more than 900 specifically-named weapons used for hunting and sporting purposes; and

> exempting antique, manually-operated, and permanently disabled weapons.
{She conveniently ignores the fact that every single provision of this bill tramples on the rights of every American citizen to keep and bear arms for the purposes expressed by the authors of the Constitution (you know, the document that is supposed to define her authority as a member of the Senate?), namely to be able to overthrow the government if it begins to act in the way Sen. Feinstein is suggesting.}

While it is true that any such legislation that made it through the Democrat controlled Senate would then have to be passed by the Republican House, please don’t make the mistake of getting a false sense of security. Already I have heard rumors that some members of the Republican leadership are entertaining the idea of adopting some provisions of the bill so that they can say they are “doing something”.

We must also not forget that we are just one election away from possibly giving Barack Obama a second chance at Democrat control of both Houses of Congress. Given the Republicans’ track record in the past few election cycles, I’d have to say the chances of that happening are much better than I would feel comfortable with. If that happens, our next stop is the Supreme Court, and my memory is long enough to know we can’t count on them. At that point, we are left with the words of ~~Thomas Jefferson~~ ~~a very wise person~~ Matt Carson:

"The beauty of the Second Amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it."

The Gun Control Rabbit

2012-12-28T07:05:00.001-05:00

Not a single person in America, to my knowledge, is in the least bit surprised that the Left is using the tragic deaths of school children to push their efforts to ban guns. Predictably, they have once again taken Rahm Emanuel’s advice to “never let a good crisis go to waste”.

Although it Is certainly despicable for them to use this tragedy for political gain, it is even more reprehensible that they are doing so rather than seeking genuine solutions to the dangers faced by our school children. While they are pontificating on the supposed dangers posed by inanimate objects and strategizing on the best way to infringe on the rights of law abiding Americans, our children continue to be herded into unguarded public buildings with “Gun Free Zone” signs posted as an invitation to every nut case that wants his name in the news.

Predictably President Obama, who prior to the November election, avoided any discussion of gun control, is now ready to push full steam ahead with any and all efforts to disarm the American people. It be great if even one of his sycophants in the media would pose this simple question: “Mr. President, how will gun control laws improve the safety of our schools?”

Remember back in 90’s when the Gun Free Schools Act was passed, and they told us this legislation would make our kids safe from gun violence in school? How’s that plan working out? Since 1990, there have been 13 mass shootings in schools, hardly a track record that indicates success. One has to wonder, if Gun Free Zones are so effective, why do the President, the Vice-President, and their families have armed guards? Would they not be just as safe with a Gun Free Zone established in their vicinity?

To illustrate this point, I created a White House Petition:

Eliminate armed guards for the President, Vice-President, and their families, and establish Gun Free Zones around them

Gun Free Zones are supposed to protect our children, and some politicians wish to strip us of our right to keep and bear arms. Those same politicians and their families are currently under the protection of armed Secret Service agents. If Gun Free Zones are sufficient protection for our children, then Gun Free Zones should be good enough for politicians

As I write, the petition has 5878 signatures, and the number is growing rapidly. (Please, feel free to sign the petition and pass a link along to those you know). If the petition reaches the threshold of25,000 signatures by January 22, 2013 it will have earned a White House response.

Yes, my proposal is absurd, but it serves to illustrate the absurdity of expecting a “Gun Free Zone” to even exist around our schools, let alone offer any protection against those who want to do them harm. IT’S ALREADY ILLEGAL TO SHOOT SCHOOL CHILDREN! Why would a “Gun Free Zone” stop anyone with that intention?

I do have a suggestion that is not absurd. Let’s forget about proposals that are both ineffective and unconstitutional, and work on a solution that will actually help keep our kids safe. One such solution was offered by Wayne LaPierre of the NRA, to post armed guards at all of our schools. Others have suggested allowing teachers who have been properly trained to carry concealed weapons. As many have pointed out, teachers in Israel are openly armed and school shootings are virtually non-existent in that country.

Perhaps none of these ideas are the right answer, but we will never find the answer if we continue to chase the gun control rabbit down the path of leftist political agendas. Politics is fine, but our kids are in harm’s way and need protection.

Mr. President, I want my kids to be just as safe as yours.

Remember When...?

2012-12-22T08:32:00.000-05:00

Remember when conservatives pointed out that historically, gun registration laws have soon been followed by gun confiscation? Naturally, liberals laughed at us and made fun of us (which is something that comes right out of Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals). When we point out that dictators such as Hitler, Stalin, and Castro used that tactic very effectively, they said we were being paranoid and unreasonable. Remember when, just before the November elections we warned that Obama’s second term would bring about renewed efforts to take our guns and his supporters mocked us for even suggesting such a thing?

Well, Obama isn’t even waiting for his second term to begin. Not willing to let a good crisis go to waste, the Obama administration has chosen to seize the opportunity to advance the anti-gun agenda he’s been trying to keep quiet for the past 4 years. Of course, he could spend his time and effort looking for real solutions to mass shootings, but if he had any success it would take away the biggest selling point he has for taking our guns. No, we can’t risk finding a real solution; we must focus on the guns.

This should not come as any surprise to anyone. Not only have we pointed out the fact that Obama, like almost all leftists, want to disarm the American people, he has demonstrated a tendency to ignore real solutions to serious problems for the sake of advancing his real agenda. Take taxes for example. Our economy is suffering, our treasury is being raided, our grandchildren are now in debt up to their eyeballs, and things are probably going to get much worse in the near future. Obama’s main focus is on raising taxes on the rich knowing full well that at best the tiny amount of revenue generated would do nothing to solve anything, and to be sure he gets his way Obama will not even discuss real solutions to the problems we face. His agenda is more important than anything else. He would rather focus on taking guns from law abiding citizens than to find real solutions to the violence inflicted on our children.

We were called paranoid when we warned people that gun confiscation was just around the corner, and the left assured us that nothing of the sort could ever happen in America. Apparently, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo failed to get the memo on that one. In an interview with an Albany radio station, he outlined his plans to confiscate guns from law abiding citizens. Remember when West Virginia Gov. Joe ran for the U.S. Senate and ran those ads showing him shooting a rifle, and stated that he was proud to be a lifetime member of the NRA? Surprise, surprise, this staunch supporter of the 2nd Amendment has suddenly seen the light, and now thinks we need to “have a conversation” about banning and even confiscating guns.

Remember when we conservatives pointed out that Hitler confiscated guns shortly before he began sending Jews off to the gas chambers, and the liberals got so offended that we would invoke the name of the madman that murdered over 11 million people? We were being irrational to even suggest that something like that could happen in America, yet each and every day these same people support the cold blooded murder of over 3000 innocent children in this country.

Remember when you lived in a free country?

My Plan to Avoid the Fiscal Cliff

2012-12-01T06:45:00.003-05:00

President Obama just sent Mrs. Geithner's little boy Timmy out to insult the GOP with his LSD inspired plan to avoid the so-called 'fiscal cliff', so I thought I would offer up my own plan since the Republicans don't seem to feel the need.

My plan consists of two parts, one for raising taxes, and the other for entitlement reform.

1. Taxes

The President is bound and determined to "raise taxes on the rich", despite the fact that doing so will

a. not do anything to address the deficit problem, and

b. hurt the economy thus reducing tax revenue coming into the treasury.

He insists that the American people want these tax increases, and that the rich can afford higher taxes and really do want to pay them. If he genuinely believes this to be true, he should have no problem with my plan.

First, we make the current tax rates permanent to give some sense of stability for the future. Next, we add one line to the current form 1040, just below the line that says “Tax owed” which says “Additional taxes I wish to pay”. On this line, taxpayers of all persuasions would have the opportunity to confirm their support for President Obama’s tax increases. He says the American people voted for them, and we know he would never lie to us, so there is no room for doubt that by doing this we would bring in plenty of new revenue to little Timmy’s piggy bank, right?

2. Entitlements

Despite the fact that nothing in the Constitution gives Congress the authority to use the federal treasury as an instrument of charity, the Democrats are standing firm against any talk what-so-ever about cutting a penny from the current levels of wealth redistribution, and in fact are suggesting actual increases in the misnamed ‘entitlement’ spending. Republicans, being the bold leaders that they are, have not once brought up the unconstitutional nature of said spending, and are dancing around the topic by calling for cuts to the rate of increase in those programs.

My plan would address both the constitutional problem and give the left every opportunity to express their undying support for government run charity.

We would begin by creating a cabinet level Department of Public Charity. All federal entitlement programs would be handed over to this new department which would be in charge of all aspects of federal handouts. No tax revenue would be used to fund the budget of this new department; instead it would be funded by voluntary donations by citizens who firmly believe in the goodness of government handouts. We could facilitate the funding of this department by adding a line on for W-4 to allot an amount to be deducted from a person’s paycheck that would go directly to this department’s budget. Donors could also give by simply writing a check made out to the Department of Public Charity, or they could even go online to make contributions. All contributions of course, would be fully deductable. No doubt, since such a large majority of Americans believe in Government handouts, there will be no shortage of funds with which to operate this new department.

This beauty of this plan is that it gives the American people the ability to have the final say on both issues, raising taxes and government handouts. If, as the Democrats tell us, the American people fully support raising taxes and in using that tax money to fund entitlement programs, there can be little doubt that this will work.

Isn’t compromise great?

A New Direction for Conservatives (pt 2) – The Agenda

2012-11-23T10:25:00.000-05:00

In A New Direction for Conservatives (pt 1) I outlined the reasons why I believe it is time for Conservatives to abandon the Republican Party and establish a new political organization dedicated to advancing conservative policies. In that post I also described the principles I believe should guide this new political party, which I have named the Foundations Party.

In Part 2 I will stop short of describing a full party platform for the sake of brevity, but I will describe what I see as “Top 10” Agenda for the Foundations Party. Once again, I invite comments and discussion on the ideas I am presenting.

Top 10 Agenda:
Budget Reform – The current budget deficit and looming economic cliff are a result of a lack of budget discipline and planning. Clearly, the budget process in Washington is broken and in desperate need of reform. We support immediate reforms that will include:

• End Baseline Budgeting
• Immediate across the board cuts in current spending levels of an average of 10%.
• Temporarily cap federal spending at 30% of GDP until other reforms are put into place.
• Give the President line item veto authority
• Pass a balanced budget amendment

Economic growth – The U.S. Constitution does not give the federal government either the authority or the responsibility of regulating the economy. A free market economy was the driving force of our growth as a nation, and is vitally important to our continued survival. Government management of the economy is antithetical to a free market economy, and is therefore something to be avoided if at all possible. While federal action cannot and should not be used to stimulate economic growth, there are many actions that could be taken to eliminate the negative impact of excessive government influence on our economy which will have an overall positive effect on economic growth. Reduction of burdensome government regulations, changes in tax policy, and repeal of Obamacare are all examples of these types of reforms. We support a coordinated effort to immediately identify and act upon government reforms that will restore the free market to our economy and allow for economic growth.

Energy – Development of clean, sustainable and renewable energy is a goal we must work towards, but we cannot reach those goals by government decree. Our nation is blessed with abundant natural resources and large amounts of energy sources that are necessary to drive a growing economy. We must continue to use these energy resources wisely while at the same time allowing the free market to drive the quest for alternative energy technology. Our government should encourage development of our energy sector rather than stifle its growth.

Reducing the size of government – The Constitution founded a federal government that was limited in size and power, and over the years those limits have been violated and ignored. The result is an enormous, unwieldy, inefficient, and over reaching burden on freedom and prosperity. Many federal programs provide services that are desirable, but are more appropriate for state or local governments. We support government reforms to identify and eliminate government programs and agencies that are either not authorized by the Constitution, unnecessary, or ineffective.

War On Drugs – Illegal drug use is a scourge on our nation and a danger to our society as a whole. It is also true that the federal government’s “War on Drugs” has been a drain on the federal budget, and largely ineffective. Since the manufacture and sale of these drugs is by definition a type of commerce, the federal government’s role is constitutionally limited to stopping importation across the U.S. border, and regulating the sale and transport of drugs across state lines. All other drug legislation should be at the state level, with state enforcement of those laws.

Healthcare Reform – Despite the Supreme Court’s unfortunate interpretation, the Constitution does not give the federal government the responsibility or authority to provide medical insurance to citizens, or to interfere in the doctor/patient relationship. We support immediate and full repeal of the misnamed Affordable Care Act. Reforms to our healthcare system on a federal level should be limited to those which reduce the federal government’s role in what should be a private transaction between a patient and a healthcare provider. Any further reforms should be left to the discretion of individual states.

Tax Reform – The Constitution gives Congress the authority to levy and collect taxes for the purposes of paying our debts, providing for the common defense, and to provide for the general welfare of the nation. No authority or responsibility is given to the federal government to use that power for any other purpose such as social engineering, wealth redistribution, or behavior modification. The tax burden should be evenly distributed across the population in a manner that is fair and equitable, and tax laws should be written in such a way that they are easy to understand and to comply with. Our current tax system fails to meet those standards. We support efforts to fundamentally change the nature and scope of our tax system in such a way that the tax burden is shared by all citizens without placing an undue burden on any, and that simplifies the tax code.

Immigration Reform – A nation cannot exist if it does not have borders which are secure. Efforts to secure the borders are made infinitely more difficult when we adopt policies that encourage and reward illegal immigration. We support the following steps to reduce illegal immigration:

• Elimination of the “anchor baby” path to citizenship, with a Constitutional amendment if necessary.
• Strict enforcement of laws requiring employers to verify their employees’ eligibility to work, and heavy penalties for those who fail to comply.
• Establish sanctions against those localities which adopt a sanctuary city status, including doubling of income tax rates, limits on federal spending and employment.
• Strengthen border security and adopt a zero tolerance policy for illegal border crossing.
• Once the border has been secured, and illegal immigration has been reduced to the fullest extent possible, provide a path to legal residency for those people who can prove they have been law abiding residents of the country for more than 25 years, and for their immediate family members who have been here with them. A fine should be included as a part of the process, and no path to full citizenship should be made available. A one-for –one reduction will be made in the immigration quota for the person’s home country.

Legislative Reform – The legislative process has become simply a tool to grow government rather than a means of ensuring good government. In order to return common sense to the process, we support the following reforms:

• Members of Congress shall not exempt themselves from any legislation they might pass, and all past exemptions will be nullified.
• All legislation shall cite the specific Article of the Constitution granting Congress the authority to pass that law.
• No legislation may be voted upon until sufficient time has been allowed for members to read and understand the bill being considered. Any member in a leadership position in any party may require the bill to be read aloud on the floor of that legislative body before it is voted upon.

Amendments – Pass and ratify the following Constitutional Amendments:

• Require a balanced budget
• Repeal the 17th Amendment
• Establish term limits totaling 12 years for members of both the House and Senate

A New Direction for Conservatives (pt 1)

2012-11-22T09:15:00.001-05:00

On Christmas Eve of last year, I wrote an article expressing my disgust and frustration with the Republican Party. Now, almost a year later, the GOP has once again proven that it has become a completely ineffective vehicle with which to advance the conservative agenda. The election is over, and now is the time to start the process of choosing a suitable replacement.

This is not a step I take lightly. For more than 30 years I have been a loyal Republican, serving in positions within the party as well as being a vocal supporter of GOP candidates and the party itself. For years I excused the failings of the party and did what I could to bring about change from within. During that time it became increasingly clear that the party organization was more interested in playing political games for the sake of winning elections rather than advancing an agenda. It also became increasingly clear that they were not even very good at playing the game. The fact that the GOP was unable to win an election against the undisputed worst President in modern history is testament to need for new direction.

I know all of the arguments about it being easier to change the GOP from the inside because I’ve used them myself. I have reached the conclusion however, that the Progressives within the party are too well entrenched, and that they have so badly tarnished the GOP brand that it is not worth saving. From this point the two options we have are to either adopt an existing minor party and shape it into something more effective, or we can start from scratch and build a completely new organization. Frankly, I believe we’ve spent enough time trying to change an existing party, and that our best bet is to start fresh. Aside from the Libertarian Party, none of the others have enough of an organization to make them attractive. The Libertarian Party does have a fairly well established organization, but there are enough associated negatives to make it an unattractive option.

The task of creating a brand new political party is daunting, and obviously it will take a lot of time and effort to accomplish. I believe that, to be successful, we will need to begin at the local level and establish ourselves as a serious, credible organization. Once we run candidates at the local and state level, we can then set our sights on Washington.

One of the earliest hurdles we must jump will be to decide among us exactly what will be the mission and guiding principles of our new organization. In order to accomplish this, we must begin to have a conversation among ourselves. Having given this idea some thought over the past year, I have a vision for what I would like to see, but I recognize the fact that there are many points of view in the conservative community, and those points of view have great value. I will begin the process by describing my vision for the ideal political party and in the following days I will present its platform. I would invite my readers to comment on what I propose, and to give some thought to what your version of the ideal political party would look like. If there is enough interest, I will invite others to share their vision as guest bloggers.

My Vision
Part 1: Principles
It would be the overall mission of my party to restore the foundational principles upon which our nation was built, and which enabled her to become the great nation that she is, so the name I have chosen to call my organization is the Foundations Party. Those principles include:

• Our rights were bestowed upon us by our creator. In order to protect those rights we, as free men, established a government charged with the responsibility of guaranteeing our freedom to exercise those rights to the greatest extent possible without infringing upon the rights of our fellow citizens.
• Government is the antithesis of freedom, and it is therefore necessary for any legitimate government to be limited in scope and nature to only those functions absolutely necessary to carry out its role as the protector of our freedom.
• All men are created equal, and are therefore entitled to equal protection and treatment by the government that serves them. No official or de facto recognition of any race, gender, or class shall be permitted.
• The authority to levy and collect taxes is one that is only legitimate when those taxes are used in accordance with the letter and intent of the U.S. Constitution in its enumeration of the powers granted to each branch of government. As a result, the federal government should never write a check for which it does not receive goods or services necessary to carry out its legitimate functions.
• James Madison once said, “I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents.” Charity is both necessary and commendable for individuals and private organizations, but it is not a proper function of the federal government.
• The federal government was created by the various states, and those states should be represented in Washington as our founding fathers intended. In order to restore that right to each state, the 17th Amendment to the Constitution should be repealed.
• The power and authority of the federal government is clearly defined in the Constitution, which specifies that all other powers not specifically granted to the federal government are reserved for the states and for the people. All proposed federal legislation should begin by citing the specific article of the Constitution which grants the federal government the power to enact that legislation.
• Citizenship in this nation is a precious privilege which should only be afforded to those who were born in this country to parents who were here legally, and to those who properly complete the legally established naturalization process.
• An open, honest, and secure election process is vital to keeping our nation free. The right to vote should only be afforded to those who have legal standing as citizens of this country, and of the state in which they reside. Each state has the responsibility and right to establish and enforce its own voting laws without interference from the federal government.
• As it is necessary for elected officials to have and maintain the confidence of those whom they serve, it should be the responsibility any candidate who seeks election to public office to provide adequate proof that he or she meets the legal qualifications to hold that office as a part of the filing process. The name of candidates who have not provided such documentation shall not appear on any ballot.
• It was the intent of our founding fathers for our government to be made up of ordinary citizens, not career politicians. The number of terms for members of the House of Representatives should be limited to three, and members of the Senate should serve no more than two terms.

Continue reading A New Direction for Conservatives (pt 2) - The Agenda

The Next Steps

2012-11-11T11:17:00.000-05:00

Well, the voters have spoken. Unfortunately, most of them said something very, very stupid. Despite the best efforts of many freedom loving Americans, Barack Obama will fail to lead this nation for another four years and Joe Biden will provide us all with incentive to pray for the President’s good health. While you’re at it, you might ask the Lord to enlighten him and set him on the right path. Don’t forget it was a talking ass that He used to get Balaam’s attention; perhaps he could do the same for Obama.

Following the election we have been subjected to an amazing number of theories as to why Romney failed to win, but what it boils down to is that a whole lot of people made an exceedingly poor decision while standing in a voting booth. Obviously those of us on the right need to take steps to prevent that from happening again, but there is not going to be a single magic bullet to make things right.

Along with every other political observer and commentator in the country, I can see several things that contributed to Romney’s loss. The first thing is that, once again, the Republican Party opted to go with the moderate because he was “the only one that can beat Obama”. Once again, they were wrong. One thing that seriously hurt Romney’s chances of winning was the fact that he tried to pretend the Tea Party didn’t exist. In 2010, the overwhelming victory enjoyed by the GOP was a result of Tea Party activism that turned out the conservative base in droves. Romney failed to tap into that much necessary energy and it cost him dearly.

Perhaps the biggest contributor to his loss was the failure to convince people that his plan would work. It is not enough to simply state your plan and expect everyone to nod affirmatively and give their approval. Those of us who already buy into conservative principles and economic ideas will more easily do so, but that isn’t enough to win the election. A successful conservative candidate will be one that has the ability to form a plan that will work, and to then present that plan in a clear and convincing manner that will not only secure the base but convince others as well. In order to convince those who are not already believers, we must explain how and why our methods will work. Reagan had that ability, but it turns out that Romney did not.

Despite the anguish and frustration many of us feel, all is not lost. Certainly, we are in a much worse position as a country due to the election results, but there is still a way out of this mess that we cannot afford to ignore or squander.

Following his election in 2008 Barack Obama became seriously over impressed with himself and proceeded to act upon his imagined mandate and rammed his agenda through Congress without regard for the political futures of the members of his own party. The following mid-term elections, with the invaluable help of a sea of Tea Party activists across the country, ended the political careers of many Democrats and even a few Republicans, and handed the reins of the House of Representatives to the GOP. In true form, the GOP leadership in the House did their best to minimize the effect of the Tea Party and continue with their old ways. This, coupled with the GOP’s decision to once again back a moderate candidate for President, led to the most needless Presidential election loss in modern history.

Obviously, the GOP has once again snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. During the campaign process, we cited Obama's failure to lead as reason to not give him another four years. As disappointed as we are that the voters chose to do so, we must ask ourselves the same question about the current GOP leadership. The obvious answer, to me at least, is a resounding NO!

Where then, should we turn? Why not turn back to the source of power our founding fathers intended? The only success we have had recently has come through the efforts of Tea Party, the grassroots of the American conservative movement. Rather than rely upon the establishment political machines that have let us down so many times, it is time for us to take control of the system from them and re-establish our control over the Federal government.

We have two years until the next round of federal elections, when a third of the U.S. Senate is up for re-election and all of the House of Representatives. In the Senate, twenty Democrats are facing re-election, and in the House 186. In addition there are some Republican seats that will need to be considered. Given Obama’s disregard for the political careers of his fellow Democrats, it will be a reasonable assumption that the next two years will be much like his first two years in office, giving the American people ample time to learn just how wrong they were.

If we are going to seize upon this opportunity, we must begin now. With the help of the Tea Party organization that already exists, we must once again tap into the intensity of feelings that conservative, freedom loving Americans feel and use that energy to bring about the kind of changes we saw in 2010. This time however, we must focus our efforts on building veto proof majorities in both the House and the Senate. At the same time, we must impress upon our Republican legislators the need to replace the current GOP leadership with those who understand and support our agenda.

We know what we have to do, let’s get started.

A Time To Choose

2012-11-05T21:15:00.000-05:00

The election is finally upon us. According to the pollsters there are some people who have still not decided for whom they will cast their votes. Since there are not that many people in America in prolonged and irreversible comas, I can only assume they have simply decided to not disclose their choices to complete strangers calling in the middle of dinner.

Just in case I am wrong however, allow me to offer a few thoughts that might help people reach a decision.

First and foremost, I would like to point out that Barack Obama is the man ultimately responsible for allowing four Americans to die at the hands of terrorists on a live video feed without so much as lifting a finger to help. To make matters worse, he appears to be punishing those who wanted to ignore his order to stand down. Just to rub salt into the wound, he then departed Washington to travel to Las Vegas to raise funds for his campaign. In an effort to really compound his sins, our Coward-In-Chief then embarked on a prolonged effort to lie and attempt to cover up his abject failure to lead.

For me, this would be enough to turn any public servant out of office, even if that person happened to be one I had previously supported. I do recognize (but don’t understand) that there are some who need further convincing. Please, allow me to pose a few questions designed to provoke thought.

Do you believe you pay too little in taxes? If you do, could I point out the fact that you always have the freedom to pay more voluntarily without imposing an unwanted burden on others who might not suffer from the same misfortune? If you do not believe you pay too little in taxes, you should know that a second Obama term in office will most certainly result in higher taxes for you, regardless of how much money you might earn.

Do you believe you have an excessive number of job opportunities available to you? If so, I applaud you for obtaining so many marketable skills that you find yourself in high demand. I would caution you however, that you are in the minority, and that many of your fellow citizens are struggling and barely getting by. Some, in fact, are not even doing that well. If you do not find yourself in this situation, it would be worth noting that our current President has implemented not one policy that has improved the job situation in this country, nor has he indicated any inclination to undo any of the policies he has implemented that are demonstrably adverse to job creation. Do you have any reason to believe he intends to do anything in his second term that will help your job prospects?

Do you believe that you have been endowed with an excessive number of constitutionally protected freedoms? If so, might I point out that one of your freedoms is to decide for yourself which of those freedoms you should exercise? If not, you should be aware that President Obama has expressed a desire to deny Americans their freedom to exercise those rights guaranteed under the Second Amendment of the Constitution. Additionally, he has demonstrated willingness and even a desire to infringe upon the religious freedoms of millions of Catholics in the United States. Ask yourself, if President Obama is willing to deny religious freedom to one of the largest religious groups in America, what is stopping him from coming after yours?

Do you believe our nation’s deficit is too small? If so, rest assured that Barack Obama is more than capable of solving this problem. Since he has taken office, our national debt has risen by five trillion dollars. Given the fact that President Obama has expressed a desire for a do-over on his failed stimulus plan, another four years of Obama will certainly provide us with a truly awe inspiring national debt that will resolve your addiction to red ink. If however, you are not having an unnatural desire to spend more money than your grandchildren can repay, you might want to consider other options.

Do you believe the same organization that is providing disaster relief to Coney Island should be in charge of your medical care? Just in case you still have a desire to receive medical care for conditions that have developed this decade, you might want to cast your vote for the candidate who’s political legacy is not vested in the single most unpopular piece of legislation in our lifetime.

Believe me, I could go on, but I think the point has been well made. Nothing Barack Obama has done thus far has been a positive for our country. If you feel led to take part in the destruction of the greatest nation on earth, Barack Obama is your man. If however, you have a desire to provide your children with the same freedom and opportunities that your parents passed on to you, the only sane choice you have is to cast your vote for Mitt Romney.

Some Things To Consider Before You Vote

2012-11-03T21:57:00.000-04:00

Election Day is just around the corner and believe it or not, some people have yet to decide which candidate they will support. Those of us who have long been focused on this election find it hard to believe that anyone could still be on the fence, but we tend to forget that many people go through life doing their best to ignore the political wrangling that goes on every day.

Quite often when I speak to people such as this, they tell me that they “vote for the man, not for the party”. While I can understand the appeal of this, I also recognize the folly. Certainly one candidate might well be more personable than another, but the fact cannot you ignored that when you elect the man, you get the party as well.

This will be one of the most significant elections since the days preceding the Civil War, and it is the responsibility of every American to not only take part In the electoral process, but also to make the necessary effort to make an informed decision. Obviously, at this stage in the game it would be difficult for the American Idol crowd to change channels and suddenly become well informed, but it is not too late to become better informed.

All of us need to be aware that this election isn’t just about a choice between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney; it is about the direction this country will take in the next four years. Neither Obama nor Romney will be able to accomplish anything on his own; it will take the co-operation and teamwork those few in Washington who still believe in doing what is right for America.

Currently we are living with the results of the divisions that have existed in Washington for much too long. It is not enough however, to simply get enough people in Washington to agree, they must agree to do the right things. During Obama’s first two years in office, the Democrat Party had majorities in both the House and the Senate, but during that time they failed to accomplish anything that could be described as good for America. In fact, the one significant accomplishment they had during that time will probably go down in history as the single most unpopular piece of legislation in modern history.

When we go to the polls on Tuesday, we will elect a new President, and we will have the opportunity to vote for our U.S. Representatives and many of our Senators. Although the Presidential election has monopolized the spotlight this election season, these Congressional elections are just as important. Obviously we need to maintain a Republican majority in the House of Representatives, but the Senate races are critical if we are going to be able to repeal Obamacare. If the Democrats are able to retain control of the Senate, we will have four more years of Harry Reid and a Senate that is absolutely unwilling and unable to do anything of value for the American people. If we are going to demand results from our elected officials, we must do our part and put people in place who are committed to doing the things America needs so desperately.

When you go into that voting booth, remember that voting for the man gets you the party. Are you going to “vote for the man” who chooses to align himself with those who have worked so hard to destroy our economy? Will you “vote for the man” who stands in support of our Coward-In-Chief, and who refuse to voice outrage at the disgraceful abandonment of our embassy staff in Benghazi? Will you pull the lever for the man who has remained silent as the Obama administration attacked the religious freedoms of millions of Americans?

Barack Obama does not exist in a vacuum. Everything he does is done with the assistance and approval of every member of the Democrat Party, as well as every citizen who continues to support those who have chosen to associate themselves with these people.