"There are many men of principle in both parties in America, but there is no party of principle." - Alexis de Tocqueville -

Good Bye 2010 and Good Riddance 111th Congress

Obama said Congress had its “most productive post-election period” in decades. “And it comes on the heels of the most productive two years that we’ve had in generations.”

It is not good when a large centralized government ruling over 50 sovereign states has a productive year.

Obama also said he was disappointed that Congress did not agree on an annual budget to fund government operations for fiscal year 2011, which began Oct. 1, and instead passed temporary extensions.

Their was plenty of time to pass a budget, instead they punted the ball down the field because of the Nov. elections. The Democrats knew if they tried to pass a budget prior to the elections they would have lost the majority not just in the House of Representatives but the Senate as well.

2011 - The power of the purse strings.

Article 1. Section Seven
All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.

Confidence will not be restored to the U.S. economy until the bail outs and out of control spending ends. With the Republicans now in charge of the purse strings with control of the House of Representatives the test will come early for the 112th congress. Will the federal government continue to expand? If it expands with a Republican label or a bipartisan label it will only damage the Republican party. Is the Republican party too big to fail? My answer is no! They will need to fail if they can not do the job that needs to be done.

Understanding that the Republican party has control of only the House of Representatives will not excuse them for failing at the task at hand. The independent party will grow larger and larger and the Republican party will become a permanent minority party trying to cut deals with all sides until they become irrelevant. The Democrat party will always have a voter base that is stable due to more and more people becoming recipients of those who provide(the tax payer). The Republican party does not have that luxury and they will need to get the job done or be fired and yes replaced.

It may be that no party in Washington DC can fix anything, they can only make things worse. It will take individuals and local communities not relying on all that government promises that will allow us to be free.

Our government was established to protect our God given rights not provide them.

Merry Christmas
hwrjr

The Sweet Sound Of Cash

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig11/rounds6.1.1.html

Va. vs. U.S.A.

The states created the federal government, in the end it will be the states who put the federal government back in their place as a limited government.

Follow up from my post March 2010 Thttp://pafreedomwriter.blogspot.com/2010/03/more-push-back.html

Obama's Health-Care Law Ruled Unconstitutional Over Insurance Requirement

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-13/u-s-health-care-law-requirement-thrown-out-by-judge.html
But the state of Virginia basically said that you cannot enforce the ObamaCare law in Virginia. We will not allow the IRS to penalize any of our citizens. We will not allow the IRS to tax any of our citizens who refuse to participate. And we will not allow anyone to prosecute our citizens because they refuse to participate. And we will not enforce your IRS law, and we will not collect your taxes for you, is what the Virginia law said. Or says.


http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/12/13/cuccinelli-hails-ruling-health-care-law-predicts-supreme-court-fight/
"This case is not about health insurance. It is not about health care. It's about liberty," Cuccinelli said at a press conference Monday afternoon in the state capital, Richmond. "We've won the first round of this particular fight, but we know there are others to come."

AG Cuccinelli reaction to winning suit against federal health care law 12-13-10 from OAG on Vimeo.

Conclusion

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2010/12/virginia_ag_cuccinellis_press.html
Today is a great day for the Constitution. Today the Constitution has been protected from the federal government, and remember, an important reason for the constitution in the first place was to limit the power of the federal government.

Today is also a day of a small degree of vindication. When we first filed suit, the screeching of the liberals was deafening. Everything from accusing us of playing politics instead of practicing law, to filing what they called a 'frivolous' lawsuit.
I want you to know, that our team makes decisions based on the Constitution and the laws. Period. We deal with the consequences of our decisions separately, but first and foremost we have been and will continue to be true to the Constitution and laws of the United States and Virginia, regardless of whether it's easy or hard in any particular case.

Here We Go Again ! ! !

In one of their last acts before Congress adjourns for the year, Senate Democrats are pushing a 1,924-page spending bill that includes massive earmark spending. If passed, the measure would be enacted into law without debate in the full senate.

$1.1 Trillion Spending Bill Nears 2,000 Pages

Full story at THEBLAZE.COM if you can stomach it.

I have an idea, vote up or down on tax rates and then go home.

Here is another clue: If their is less revenue to the federal government due to a slow economy and all the politicians screwing things up, spending should be reduced not increased.

Then when you come back next year don't tell us what you are going TO DO, tell us what you are going to UNdo.

I know this is a lame duck congress and this behavior was expected but the actions this congress is taking is criminal.

$10.76 Pocket Constitution Included With All Shirts

Front

Back

Click on the tabs above to see other shirts and to purchase.

Remembering Pearl Harbor

http://michellemalkin.com/2010/12/07/remembering-pearl-harbor-69-years/

Jim DeMint 2012 (wishful thinking)

Hugh Hewitt, Quote:
Senator Jim DeMint just announced on my program that he will oppose the deal as well as a vote for cloture on the deal. He is reluctant to criticize GOP Senate leadership, but believes the deal at a minimum has to be paid for, and that we need “a permanent economy” not a temporary one as well as permanent tax cuts, not temporary tax cuts.

http://nation.foxnews.com/jim-demint/2010/12/07/breaking-sen-jim-demint-oppose-tax-deal-would-join-filibuster

Senator Jim DeMint, Gentlemen - South Carolina
http://demint.senate.gov/public/

Obama struggles to keep Dems from killing tax cuts
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101207/ap_on_bi_ge/us_tax_cuts

Lame Republicans

SB510 Passes thanks to the RINO Republicans (Republican In Name Only)

More federal employees will be needed, more of future generations money will be spent, and more freedoms have been taken.

We are in deep trouble because of our deep national debt!

This new law will cost billions of dollars. When interest rates start to rise, the cost of just financing our debt will cost more than the entire defense budget.

We are at a crossroads that the politicians do not understand and with todays votes on SB510 and earmarks their is no reason to believe our federal government is headed in the right direction now or for the next two years. Emergency bills that cut spending need to be passed and until that happens confidence in our economy will never return and the decline will continue.


Alexander (R-TN)
Brown (R-MA)
Burr (R-NC)
Collins (R-ME)
Enzi (R-WY)
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Johanns (R-NE)
Kirk (R-IL)
LeMieux (R-FL)
Lugar (R-IN)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Snowe (R-ME)
Vitter (R-LA)
Voinovich (R-OH)

The Senate bill must be reconciled with a version that passed the House of Representatives in 2009 before Congress adjourns for the year.

Welcome To The Future

Pentagon to test 2nd near-space strike craft

The Falcon Hypersonic Test Vehicle is designed to skim the top of the atmosphere just below space, and is a key element of the Pentagon's Conventional Prompt Global Strike (CPGS) capability — a program to build non-nuclear strategic weapons that can strike conventionally anywhere in the world in less than an hour.

The States Created The Federal Government

On Nov. 16, Texas Representative Leo Berman (R-Tyler) filed a bill in the Texas House of Representatives that would nullify federal health care legislation in the the Lone Star State. HB-297 asserts:

The federal Act is not authorized by the United States Constitution and violates the Constitution’s true meaning and intent as expressed by the founders of this country and the ratifiers of the Constitution.

The federal Act:
(1) is invalid in this state;
(2) is not recognized by this state;
(3) is specifically rejected by this state; and
(4) is null and void and of no effect in this state.

The bill takes things a step further, making it a crime for any official, agent, or employee of the United States or an employee of any corporation to enforce any part of the health care act in Texas, and imposes fines up to $5,000 and/or five years in prison for anyone convicted of doing so.

While some might call this legislation radical, it rests squarely within the scope of state power as understood by the framers of the Constitution. James Madison wrote in the Virginia Resolution of 1798 that states not only have a right, but a duty to step in when the federal government oversteps its authority.

click link for more
http://www.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2010/11/20/the-lone-star-states-opportunity/

liberty nor safety

Those

who would give up

essential liberty to purchase

a little temporary safety

deserve neither

liberty nor safety.

Benjamin Franklin

Lame Duck Congress

He looks harmless.

This could be the most dangerous lame duck of all time!

The Lame Duck Congress returns to Washington D.C. 11.15.10

The 111th Congress returns to Washington for its final session later this month with what will likely be a weakened president, shell-shocked Democrats and an emboldened Republican Party seeking to define a new political dynamic.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704865104575588680012478518.html

Confidence

The circulation of confidence is better than the circulation of money. James Madison

Hammer Time

Bye Bye Nancy

Who's smiling now?

This is Nancy Pelosi's victory march On March 20, 2010 among the citizens of the United States as they were protesting government run healthcare, the day before it was signed into law.

I was one of those citizens

Stay tuned, it's going to be a bumpy ride.

http://michellemalkin.com/2010/11/02/pelosi/

Joy Ride

Here we are one week from an election that some of us have been looking forward to since 2006 when the Democratic Party won control of congress. With all the talk about a Republican landslide I don't feel like happy days are hear again and it's time to party.

President Obama uses the analogy of the car in the ditch all the time, so I thought I would join in on some of the fun.

…and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

The republic is in a whole lot of trouble. Two more years of playing party politics may put the brakes on but the steering wheel is still controlled by President Obama and still headed for the cliff only a little slower with possibly a few detours.

Remember drivers ed, the instructor had a brake pedal but no steering wheel.

Big government spread the wealth entitlement type people will put up with tapping the brakes once in a while but try and turn that steering wheel at the same time and they accuse you of trying to cause an extreme accident.

Some in the Republican Party are happy with being that driver education instructor in the passenger seat tapping the brakes once and a while but not caring about what direction they are heading. Two years from now if the Republican Party is only tapping the brakes they will be thrown out of the car while it is moving, by me and millions of others riding in the back seat.

George Washington in his farewell address:
Warns against the party system. "It serves to distract the Public Councils, and enfeeble the Public Administration....agitates the Community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms; kindles the animosity of one....against another....it opens the door to foreign influence and corruption...thus the policy and the will of one country are subjected to the policy and will of another."

We The People need to support our constitution above party politics. If you don’t like our current rule book for running our federal government (the U.S. Constitution) please feel free to add or remove amendments as necessary by playing by the rules (Article V). Ignoring our constitution and hoping it goes away will only create more divisions among We The People.

I have a feeling when Obama gives the keys to the car back to the American people in two years the car will be out of gas, almost damaged beyond repair and a credit card in the glove box over the limit.

The joy ride is fun until you run out of other people’s money.

When the joy ride is over the real work of repaying and repairing can begin.

hwrjr

Black Tea

For the past year, the national media has attempted to paint the Tea Party movement and opposition to the Democratic agenda as based in racism, a reaction to the election of the first African-American President in November 2008. As the New York Times discovers, the reality of the opposition makes that very difficult to believe. Republicans have fielded a record number of African-American candidates for Congress, most or all of which have entered those contests with enthusiastic Tea Party support. More hear at HotAir

One might think the resurgence of black Republicans, coming as it does at a time when a black Democrat is president, would rate more than a feature story or two in the national media. But that would conflict with the liberal meme that Republicans are racist.

I bet you haven't heard of Tim Scott, Allen West or Ryan Frazier. If they were Democrats, I might lose that bet.

But they're not. Mr. Scott, Mr. West and Mr. Frazier are three of the 14 black candidates running for Congress as Republicans this November. Thirty-two black Republicans ran in the primaries.

Most of the 14 are running all-but-hopeless races against black Democratic incumbents in black majority districts. But Mr. Scott, running in South Carolina, is a virtual cinch to win. Mr. West (Florida) and Mr. Frazier (Colorado) are in races that are judged tossups.

If all three win, that would be a post-Reconstruction record. The largest number of black Republicans to serve together in the House in the last century is two, J.C. Watts (Oklahoma) and Gary Franks (Connecticut) between 1995 and 1997. There haven't been any since Mr. Watts retired in 2003. Real Clear Politics

York County Pennsylvania Ballot

EPOH

Squeeze

So did you think that 2010 was bad?
Well, you haven't seen anything yet.
2010 was a Sunday picnic compared to what is coming.
Get ready to get squeezed.
Get ready for higher food prices, higher gas prices, higher health insurance premiums and higher taxes.
Get ready to try to do a lot more with a lot less.


#3 It looks like those receiving Social Security are not going to be seeing cost-of-living increases again. The Associated Press is reporting that the U.S. government is expected to announce some time this week that the tens of millions of Americans that receive Social Security will go through yet another year without an increase in their monthly benefit payments. You see, Social Security cost-of-living adjustments are tied to the official government inflation numbers, and according to the U.S. government there is basically very little inflation right now. Of course we all know that is a lie, but it is what it is.

#4 The cost of health care continues to soar into the stratosphere. Americans already pay more for health care than anyone else in the world, and yet costs continue to spiral out of control. The cost of health care increased a staggering 9.6% for all U.S. households from 2007 to 2009. Now, health insurance companies from coast to coast are announcing that they must raise health insurance premiums substantially due to the new health care law that Barack Obama and the Democrats have pushed through. So in 2011 it looks like the average American family is going to have to carve out an even bigger chunk of the budget for health care.

More here

Backdoor Bailouts & Scrap Metal

These new backdoor bailouts are going to work something like this....

1) The big U.S. banks have massive quantities of junk mortgage-backed securities that are worth little to nothing that they desperately want to get rid of.

2) They convince the Federal Reserve (which the big banks are part-owners of) to buy up these "toxic assets" at way above market price.

3) The Federal Reserve creates massive amounts of money out of thin air to buy up all of these troubled assets. The public is told that all of this "quantitative easing" is necessary to stimulate the U.S. economy.

4) The big banks are re-capitalized and have gotten massive amounts of bad mortgage securities off their hands, the Federal Reserve has found a way to pump hundreds of billions (if not trillions) of dollars into the economy, and most of the American people are none the wiser.

Complete article here


The Number One U.S. Export To China: Waste Paper And Scrap Metal

Historians tell us that by the very end of the Roman Empire, goods were pouring into Rome from all over the known world, but about the only thing being sent out of Rome was human waste and garbage.

more here

What's At Stake (Every Election)

A little over two years ago I wrote my first blog post, I have reposted below my opening remarks.

Solutions to our problems will not come from those responsible in Washington D.C. regardless of what party is in charge. The solutions will come from we the people in our individual lives, our families, and communities. Understanding that a large central government constantly expanding and promising to take care of us with your neighbors money and your neighbors grand children's money filtered through Washington D.C. is not the solution.

10/8/08

What’s at stake not only during this election but at this time in history?

This country is almost 233 years old since it started drafting The Declaration of Independence and 389 years since the May Flower arrived. I explained to my two beautiful daughters recently that we are really a young country in relation to other countries around the world. I then asked them “how did we become the greatest country on earth in just that short amount of time?” Casey responded, “We are special” and Carley answered, “Freedom”. Both are true and I am so proud of them. We are special - because of our freedom. The people of the May Flower were some of the first from England to settle and start a new life in this part of the world. It was their values, challenges, sacrifices and experiences that laid the foundation for what followed.

In 1620, when he was fifty years old, Christopher Jones and the Mayflower were hired to carry the Pilgrims and their cargo to Northern Virginia.

Christopher Jones and the Mayflower stayed with the Pilgrims in America through the winter. Half of the Mayflower's crew died the first winter.

The pilgrims are proof that fighting for freedom has no beginning or end.

What followed was a whole lot of history that I took very little interest in during my youth. My knowledge of American History is limited and I hope to change that in the years to come. The true stories of our past are more interesting, inspirational and at the same time more sobering than any fiction story that has ever been written. There have been many battles, struggles and wars fought since the day the Pilgrims settled almost 400 years ago. The 233 years between 1776 and present 2008, have been the most transitional in the history of mankind. Only 100 years ago things were much different.

* Star #46 was added to U.S. flag for Oklahoma

* Failed assassination attempt on Shah Mohammed Ali in Teheran

* Cincinnati Mayor Mark Breith stood before city council and announces that, "women are not physically fit to operate automobiles

* Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Murdock become 1st to travel across U.S. by car, they leave Los Angeles in a Packard and arrive in New York City in 32d-5h-25m

* Wireless Radio Broadcasting is patented by Nathan B. Stubblefield(I still listen to AM radio)

* 1st passenger flight in an airplane

* New York Giants scores shown on electric diamonds known as "Compton's Baseball Bulletin" at MSG

* Orville Wright makes 1st 1-hr airplane flight, Fort Myer, Va.

* Russia takes part of Poland

* Carriage-maker, William Durant, founded General Motors

* Henry Ford introduces Model T car

Only one generation ago their was no TV, air conditioning, computers, nuclear power, microwave ovens, cell phones with tv’s, fm radio, rock and roll, and Starbucks. The list is actually pretty long. The list of medical advancements in the U.S.A. is very long as well, and has improved life for everyone around the world. What this country has accomplished in the last 100 years alone is extraordinary and possible for one reason, freedom. Freedom is what saved the world in world war II, (when good people do nothing, evil wins) put a man on the moon, and gave us our independence to create a country for “We The People”. Brave free hard working men and women built this country. The prosperity created by this freedom has also been spread around the world. We often take all that has been accomplished for granted including our freedom. Nobody ever died trying to get to Cuba from Florida on a homemade raft. A lot of people have sacrificed their health and lives for the freedom of this country and other countries. I’m sure you have heard the saying “freedom is not free” freedom is also very fragile, and takes a lot of hard work and responsibility to maintain. Every day our freedoms are under assault by evil people that mean us harm inside and outside of this country. Others with good intentions can also threaten our freedoms through legislation in our local and federal government. One of John Kennedy’s famous quotes “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country’’. One of Hugh Reynolds’ famous quotes “Take care of your self and your family, that is what you can do for your country.” A country’s freedom can be lost in one war or one day at a time. When the courts start making decisions that “We The People” should be deciding, freedoms are lost. When congress votes against the will of “We The People” to cover up their own mistakes, freedoms are lost. Don’t take freedom for granted. As a United States citizen, stay informed but not too much, it will make you crazy, like me. Be informed before you vote, as it’s not a popularity contest. When the government takes care of more and more of your needs it’s called socialism. If they give it to you, they can take it away. The government did not give you your freedom, God did, weather you believe in God or not. Your freedom can not come from another man.

One of the biggest challenges “We The People” have is to keep this a country worth fighting for. We have an all volunteer armed services with brave men and women who put their lives on the line every day for freedom. The more the culture in this country moves away from strong family values and the more freedom we loose, the weaker we become. Freedom loving people fight for freedom not for their government. Peace through strength. The citizens of these United States are a very blessed people because of good family values, friends and freedom. God bless all freedom loving people, and the men and women of our armed services.

Thanks for your service Dad.

If your children are not learning enough about history in school, there are more and more children’s books available today that could make a difference. I recommend any of Lynne Cheney’s history books for children. Her newest book "We The People" is available at Amazon.com for a great price. New Also try Founders' Fables

I would like to thank my lovely wife Kelly for asking me to write for her blog. It actually felt pretty good and I enjoyed it. She might end up regretting this, I have a lot on my mind. Keep up the great work on your blog Kelly!

How we became the greatest country in history we should never forget. How we keep this the greatest country may be even more of a challenge and it is up to us, We The People…

hwrjr

Good Economic News

Cuba announces raft of reforms - Cuba is preparing to embrace the free market the hard way by laying off hundreds of thousands of public sector workers in the next six months. Full story here

Maybe in January the headlines will read - U.S.A. is preparing to embrace the free market the hard way by laying off hundreds of thousands of public sector workers in the next six months.

I don't think the home made rafts will be going in the other direction any time soon but at the same time Cuba has no place to go but up.

If you want the headlines to change in our country you need to change Washington D.C. 4 weeks from today.

Straw - Republicans Turn

A new Republican congress with President Obama in the White House.

Sounds like nothing will get done.

That's the good news.

The bad news is that too much has been done already that will not be undone.

It's called the ratchet effect.

The constitution exists to limit the federal government and it has not failed.

The elected politicians, judges and yes we the people have failed to follow it, not just in the past two years but for the past 200 years.


One of economic historian Bob Higgs's outstanding contributions is the "ratchet effect." During a crisis, the size and scope of government grow tremendously. After the crisis subsides, government shrinks, but not to the pre-crisis level. In consequence, leviathan expands over the decades, leaping from one crisis to the next. more hear

Five weeks from now there will be victories and defeats as there are in all elections but victory over the "ratchet effect" may take the largest crisis of all.

When will the straw that breaks the camel's back come?

When will we as a people learn to do with less from our federal government and make the sacrifices necessary to prevent the final crisis?

I have no idea what that final crisis looks like, but if we don't start removing some of those straws from the camel's back this generation not future ones may be the first to find out.
hwrjr

Straw - The game that broke the camel's back

http://theboardgamefamily.com/2010/06/straw-enjoy-breaking-the-camels-back/

It doesn’t take much to break the camel’s back when you’re throwing loads of brick on it. Of course, placing a magic carpet on the camel could help lighten its load. But do you really want to lighten its load? If you’ve got the straw you may just want to break his back with it. Choices, choices, choices.

TGIF

Famous Last Words

Patriot Nathan Hale Was Hanged September 22, 1776

"I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." Have you heard this famous declaration before? American patriot Nathan Hale said it on September 22, 1776, his last words before he was hanged for spying on British troops. How did this come to pass? Hale, born in Coventry, Connecticut, on June 6, 1755, and a teacher by trade, joined his five brothers in the fight for independence against the British.

Five of Nathan Hale's brothers fought the British at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, on April 19, 1775. Nathan joined them on July 1. From there, he quickly rose to the rank of captain in the military. He fought under General George Washington in New York, as British General William Howe began a military build-up on Long Island. Washington took his army onto Manhattan Island. At the battle of Harlem Heights, Washington, facing Howe in battle yet again, asked for a volunteer to go on a spy mission behind enemy lines. Hale stepped forward.

Disguised as a Dutch schoolmaster, Nathan Hale set out on his mission on September 10. For a week he gathered information on the position of British troops, but was captured while returning to the American side. Because of incriminating papers Hale possessed, the British knew he was a spy. It is said that his cousin, a British sympathizer under Howe's command, betrayed him. Howe ordered young Hale to be hanged the following day. That's when Hale, who gave his life for his country, said those famous words.

This history lesson from americaslibrary.gov

Joe Six Pack

A politician even Joe six pack can understand.

Joe Constitution Miller makes Fox News look and sound liberal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?


And Peter Schiff in the video below makes a whole lot of sense now that a couple years have passed.






Peter Schiff August 9, 2010

"We're in the early stages of a depression"

They've created a nation of spenders, speculators, and consumers, and they've destroyed the savers, producers, and the investing class that built this country. We're moving from a market-based economy to essentially a planned economy. We're abandoning capitalism and embracing socialism. That's a recipe for disaster.

Complete question and answer here http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2010/08/09/peter-schiff-were-in-the-early-stages-of-a-depress.aspx

According to Peter Schiff, two years of The Obama administration has only delayed and made a bad situation worse.

ROC:
The days of easy choices with wasteful spending will come to a close as a new congress and senate come into play.

Hard choices and not so easy solutions will be needed from the new Congress not only to start down the long road to limited government but to also restore confidence with we the people.

Confidence in a limited federal government is the best solution.


Spending cuts must come and when they come from the new congress the little pigs are going to cry wee wee wee all the way home.


thanks to mikechurch.com for the video links.

Peter Schiff video blog http://www.europac.net/media/video_blog

Bro For Sis

All this talk about the Constitution is pretty amazing. I knew nothing about it just a couple years ago. During my reading, I was first disappointed that the Constitution SEEMED to treat slaves differently. But that changed as I slowly learned more.The founders had included the most important tool for providing freedom right in the words of the Declaration of Independence.

Dred Scott seemed to see that tool. When he sought to be freed in 1857, he referred to the statement in the Declaration that “all men are created equal”. I believe the founding documents clearly support that he and all slaves should have been freed as a result of his case. Instead the Supreme Court effectively disregarded the wording of the Declaration insisting equality did not apply, seemingly finding that slaves were property and not people.

Could the injustice of slavery have been corrected in 1857 before the start of the Civil War?

The opportunity was there. If only the Supreme Court had actually upheld the founding documents and followed the Founder’s words. A journey of self-education is a key to retaining freedom. I now see that we were not taught what we must know.

Happy Constitution Day!

Sis

September 17, 2010 9:04 PM

Happy Constitution Day - September 17, 2010

Read It

It's not a living breathing document.

When it does need a little adjustment it should be done so through the amendment process not the courts.

I challenge you to find out for yourself what it takes to amend the constitution.

If our Constitution is out dated, why has it been amended 17 times since the first 10 amendments (the bill of rights)?

Amendment XXVII Adopted 1992

Mark your calendars fellow lovers of Liberty and the Constitution, the King Dude is hosting his 1st Annual Constitution Day-Spirit of '76 Viewing Party. In addition, the audio version of Spirit of'76 will stream live from the link below.

It will cost you 0.0 to listen and learn, no reading!

The voices of our founding fathers come to life with the actual text from those days in 1787 at the constitutional convention in Philadelphia.

Thursday 9/16/2010 7:00 PM eastern
http://www.mikechurch.com/index.php/show-prep/todays-lead-story/4957-test-chat-logo

All Over The Place

Report: Castro says Cuban model doesn't work

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100908/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cb_cuba_fidel_castro_5



Obama Added More to National Debt in First 19 Months Than All Presidents from Washington Through Reagan Combined, Says Gov’t Data

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/72404


Note: My health insurance is going up this month and the boss is making me pay. I don't understand?

How will spending one trillion dollars on govt run health care reduce the national debt?

I thought 50billion for infrastructure was in the original stimulus of about 800 billion.

Health care, food and unemployment going up; the standard of living going down.

I hope all this changing stuff stops soon.

I have a feeling it will only get worse. Sorry for the doom and gloom.

I think the books are being cooked and the outlook is being presented as improving just to get those in power now, past the upcoming elections. After the elections all the bad news will hit the fan, be prepared.

Why is government spending more as tax revenues go down due to the struggling economy?

I thought I would never say this, but I miss Bill Clinton, at least he adjusted his policies and worked with the Republican congress in his second term.

This President is not capable of such behavior I do not believe.

This president will use all the various departments and his czars to move his agenda forward at all costs and work around the Republican congress. There has been enough unknown legislation passed to keep President Obama busy for the next two years transforming are country into the opposite of capitalism.

What is the opposite of capitalism and free markets?

If President Obama's goal is to kill capitalism and free markets there will be no reason for him to run for a second term. He will try to put the last nails in the capitalism coffin while the republicans are in control of congress and he has nothing to loose.

He is a young man with a huge ego. I predict he will take control of the UN after his first term and try to run the world, or I could be crazy, wrong or a racist.

hwrjr

A Battle With No End In Sight

Battle of Lepanto

Please visit the links for a great history lesson that is very appropriate for the world events of today.

http://www.ewtn.com/library/mary/olislam.htm
On October 7, 1571, a great victory over the mighty Turkish fleet was won by Catholic naval forces primarily from Spain, Venice, and Genoa under the command of Don Juan of Austria. It was the last battle at sea between "oared" ships, which featured the most powerful navy in the world, a Moslem force with between 12,000 to 15,000 Christian slaves as rowers. The patchwork team of Catholic ships was powered by the Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Knowing that the Christian forces were at a distinct material disadvantage, the holy pontiff, St. Pope Pius V called for all of Europe to pray the Rosary for victory. We know today that the victory was decisive, prevented the Islamic invasion of Europe, and evidenced the Hand of God working through Our Lady. At the hour of victory, St. Pope Pius V, who was hundreds of miles away at the Vatican, is said to have gotten up from a meeting, went over to a window, and exclaimed with supernatural radiance:

"The Christian fleet is victorious!" and shed tears of thanksgiving to God.

What you may not know is that one of three admirals commanding the Catholic forces at Lepanto was Andrea Doria. He carried a small copy of Mexico's Our Lady of Guadalupe into battle. This image is now enshrined in the Church of San Stefano in Aveto, Italy. Not many know that at the Monastery of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Spain, one can view a huge warship lantern that was captured from the Moslems in the Battle of Lepanto. In Rome, look up to the ceiling of S. Maria in Aracoeli and behold decorations in gold taken from the Turkish galleys. In the Doges' Palace in Venice, Italy, one can witness a giant Islamic flag that is now a trophy from a vanquished Turkish ship from the Victory. At Saint Mary Major Basilica in Rome, close to the tomb of the great St. Pope Pius V, one was once able to view yet another Islamic flag from the Battle, until 1965, when it was returned to Istanbul in an intended friendly token of concord.

http://www.traditioninaction.org/History/A_001_Lepanto.html
When news of the victory finally reached Europe, church bells rang out in cities all across the continent. The Battle of Lepanto was a decisive victory, with only 40 of the over 300 Moslem ships surviving the engagement. The Turkish force of some 75,000 men was in ruins. The battle, although a great victory for Catholic Europe, did not end the threat of invasion, or completely break the power of the Ottoman Turks.
More naval and land battles would follow in the years to come, and Vienna itself would come under attack again, and yet again.

Today, the long clash between Christendom and Islam is still evident in the political and ethnic geography of Europe, Africa, Byzantium, and north into Russia. The battle also extends, in varying degrees, throughout the Near and Far East, and the Islands of the Pacific as well.

Many Christian knights, soldiers, and sailors have died defending Christendom against the onslaughts of Islam down through the centuries. Today, the borders of many European countries, Canada, and the United States are practically wide open, and the old enemy is invited to come in and make himself at home. And many 'Christians' in the West are just too busy enjoying their material prosperity to be bothered with unpleasant history. But the enemy has not forgotten history. He remembers it all too well, and he is still deadly serious about his religion. His goal over the years has not changed in the slightest, and he is very patient. The enemy within is now smiling, just biding his time.

R U Kidding Me

As depositors thronged branches of Afghanistan's biggest bank, Mahmoud Karzai, the brother of the Afghan president and a major shareholder in the beleaguered Kabul Bank, called Thursday for intervention by the United States to head off a financial meltdown.

"America should do something," he said in a telephone interview, suggesting that the Treasury Department guarantee the funds of Kabul Bank's clients, who number about 1 million and have more than $1 billion on deposit with the bank.


Complete article :
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/02/AR2010090202266_pf.html

Arlington

http://livinglifeinpa.blogspot.com/2010/08/known-but-to-god.html

Who Is John Galt?

Georgia

Excerpt from John Galt's Speech:

Is it ever proper to help another man? No, if he demands it as his right or as a duty that you owe him. Yes, if it's your own free choice based on your judgment of the value of that person and his struggle. This country wasn't built by men who sought handouts. In its brilliant youth, this country showed the rest of the world what greatness was possible to Man and what happiness is possible on Earth.

John Galt's speech - mini version here

Wikipedia

John Galt is a fictional character in Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged. Although he is absent from much of the text, he is the subject of the novel's often repeated question "Who is John Galt?" and the quest to discover the answer.
As the plot unfolds, Galt is acknowledged to be a creator and inventor who symbolizes the power of the individual capitalist. He serves as an idealistic counterpoint to the social and economic structure depicted in the novel. The depiction portrays a society based on oppressive bureaucratic functionaries and a culture that embraces the stifling mediocrity and egalitarianism of socialistic idealism. In this popular mass ideology, the industrialists of America were a metaphorical Atlas of Greek mythology, holding up the sky, whom Galt convinces to "shrug," by refusing to lend their productive genius to the regime any longer.

As of August 2010 the Who is John Galt? billboard still displayed along I-95 in Georgia.

Restoring Honor

Restoring Honor Rally Supports SOWF

Special Operations Warrior Foundation

Come celebrate America by honoring our heroes, our heritage and our future at the Restoring Honor Rally on August 28, 2010. Join us at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. for this non-political, non-partisan rally that will recognize our First Amendment rights and honor the service members who fight to protect those freedoms. Every day servicemen and women risk their lives to protect our country. It is through the support of non-profit organizations like the Special Operations Warrior Foundation (SOWF)that the families of these soldiers are taken care of in the event of an accident or loss of life. To support the "Restoring Honor" Rally and the Special Operations Warrior Foundation click here.

Motorcycling to Remember
Riding From Leesburg to Gettysburg for SOWF
The 7th Annual Battlefield Motorcycle Run to benefit the Special Operations Warrior Foundation is just around the corner. On Saturday September 18th, riders will fire up their bikes in Leesburg, Virginia and set off on a route that will take them through four states to the sites of some of the Civil War’s most famous battles, before ending at the hallowed ground of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. For more information or to pre-register log on to www.battlefield run.comSOWF: A Four Star Charity


The Twelve Values Defined by My Daughter (nature girl) to help get things started:

My Town, by My Daughter

Sacrifice

For all the men and women of the armed forces and their families who sacrifice so much,

thank you.

I will be spending some time with my family this week.

He aint all bad

This morning at DFW Airport, George and Laura Bush greeted 150 (very surprised) troops as they arrived home from Iraq and Afghanistan. Their expressions were so priceless!

Welcome home to our troops and thanks to George and Laura Bush for greeting them! Michelle Malkin

The Second Amendment

If the right to bear arms is lost all other rights will also be lost.

"When

firearms go,

all goes,

we need them

every hour"

George Washington

G.W. quoted shirt available from ROCapparel

Sam I Am

I do not like this Uncle Sam,
do not like his health care scam.
I do not like these dirty crooks,
or how they lie and cook the books.
I do not like when Congress steals,
I do not like their secret deals.
I do not like this speaker Nan,
I do not like this 'YES WE CAN'.
I do not like this spending spree,
I'm smart, I know that nothing's free,
I do not like your smug replies,
when I complain about your lies.
I do not like this kind of hope.
I do not like it. nope, nope, nope!

The Commonwealth of Virginia vs. U.S.

A U.S. judge ruled on Monday that the state of Virginia could proceed with its challenge to President Barack Obama's landmark healthcare law, a setback that will force the White House to defend its reforms in the middle of a tough congressional election campaign.

In the opening salvo of the legal fight, U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson refused to dismiss the state's lawsuit, which argued the requirement that its residents must have health insurance is unconstitutional and conflicts with state law.
More here http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE67130B20100802

Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" because it is the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents.

Commonwealth - Today, commonwealth also means a political unit having local autonomy but voluntarily united with the U.S.

Understanding why these states chose the commonwealth moniker and continue to stick to it so proudly is a lot easier once you consider the history of those states. The original meaning of the word commonwealth was a nation or body governed by the people, not some king or tyrant. In fact, the time in British history during which Cromwell and Parliament ruled instead of a king is known as the Commonwealth Period. So when it came time for the American colonies to throw off the yokes of oppression and tea taxes and the excessive use of the letter u in words like colour, the three hotbeds of revolution—Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia—were most eager to signal the difference in government. Perhaps remembering the Commonwealth Period, they declared themselves commonwealths. So what about Kentucky? Kentucky had once been merely a giant western county of Virginia (before that, it was called Transylvania). When it started doing its own thing in 1790, Kentucky kept the commonwealth status. Not to mention the whiskey.
From http://www.mentalfloss.com/difference/state-vs-commonwealth/

Today in 1776

The Continental Congress, having decided unanimously to make the Declaration of Independence, affixes the signatures of the other delegates to the document.

Regulation of Immigration Historically a State Function

Besides dealing with a crucial issue of public policy, the controversy over Arizona’s recently adopted law concerning aliens within its borders illustrates a disturbing lack of familiarity with relevant constitutional law and precedent. The controversy offers a striking example of the deterioration of American constitutionalism.

Congress’s naturalization power, the chief justice concluded, “has nothing to do with the admission or rejection of aliens, nor with immigration, but with the rights of citizenship. Its sole object was to prevent one State from forcing upon all the others, and upon the general government, persons as citizens whom they were unwilling to admit as such.”

1. If the wording of the Massachusetts provision upheld by the court seems harsh or politically incorrect, consider that the federal immigration law enacted by Congress decades later in 1882 denied entry to “idiots, lunatics, and persons likely to become a public charge.”

See complete piece http://www.nhinet.org/epistulae10.htm

The Pursuit of Happiness

"The
Constitution
only gives
the people
the right
to pursue
happiness.
You have to
catch it
your self."
Benjamin Franklin

Britain Plans to Decentralize Health Care

More here
Britain Plans to Decentralize Health Care

Principals of Freedom 101

Every generation of Americans struggled to pay off the national debt up until the present one.



The founders also warned that the only way for the nation to prosper was to have equal protection of "rights," and not allow the government to get involved in trying to provide equal distribution of "things." They also warned against the pooling of property as advocated by the proponents of communism. Samuel Adams said they had done everything possible to make the ideas of socialism and communism unconstitutional. Said he:



The utopian schemes of leveling [redistribution of the wealth] and a community of goods [central ownership of the means of production and distribution], are as visionary and impractical as those which vest all property in the Crown.

From a must read book The 5000 year leap. First printing 30 years ago. Now available on audio. Here

Don't Look Now

WASHINGTON – New estimates from the White House on Friday predict the budget deficit will reach a record $1.47 trillion this year. The government is borrowing 41 cents of every dollar it spends.

Full Article

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100723/ap_on_bi_ge/us_budget_deficit_2

The Breakup of the United States

The value of the United States paper currency depends critically on the taxing power of the United States. Anything that undermines U.S. tax collections undermines the U.S. dollar.

There is no external bank or government that can or will extend credit to the U.S. to save the dollar once the perception spreads that its tax-collecting power is permanently impaired.

Read More Here http://www.lewrockwell.com/rozeff/rozeff328.html

The fight for freedom has no beginning or end

Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and The Kentucky Resolutions in 1798 (only ten years after the constitutional convention), proof that fighting for freedom and fighting to keep it are one in the same.

Our founding fathers knew the fight for freedom would require constant maintenance. We have let them down, let's pray it's not too late to repair the damage we have done. Please take a minute to read the information below to better understand why the U.S. Constitution and our country require allot more maintenance then we are providing.

In early 1798 Thomas Jefferson believed that the Alien and Sedition Acts were a Federal measure designed to introduce dictatorship or monarchy to the U.S. and so drafted what became known as the Kentucky Resolutions in order to oppose them. In the 8th Resolution he stated that:

Let him say what the government is, if it be not a tyranny, which the men of our choice have conferred on our President, and the President of our choice has assented to, and accepted over the friendly strangers to whom the mild spirit of our country and its laws have pledged hospitality and protection: that the men of our choice have more respected the bare suspicions of the President, than the solid right of innocence, the claims of justification, the sacred force of truth and the forms and substance of law and justice. In questions of power, then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.


The First Resolution:

Resolved, That the several states composing the United States of America, are not united on the principle of unlimited submission to their general government; but that by compact, under the style and title of a Constitution for the United States, and of amendments thereto, they constituted a general government for special purposes, delegated to that government certain definite powers, reserving, each state to itself, the residuary mass of right to their own self-government; and that whensoever the general government assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no force: That to this compact each state acceded as a state, and is an integral party, its co-states forming as to itself, the other party: That the government created by this compact was not made the exclusive or final judge of the extent of the powers delegated to itself; since that would have made its discretion, and not the Constitution, the measure of its powers; but that, as in all other cases of compact among parties having no common judge, each party has an equal right to judge for itself, as well of infractions, as of the mode and measure of redress.

Click on the link below for the complete Kentucky Resolutions
http://oll.libertyfund.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1083&Itemid=264
Research information for this post available on the Liberty Library link to your right, under infosites.

13 ~ July 1787 (Pre Constitution & Bill of Rights)

Congress, under the Articles of Confederation, enacts the Northwest Ordinance, establishing rules for governing the Northwest Territory, for admitting new states to the Union and limiting the expansion of slavery.



Considered to be one of the most significant achievements of the Congress of the Confederation, the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 put the world on notice not only that the land north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi would be settled but that it would eventually become part of the United States. Until then this area had been temporarily forbidden to development.

Increasing numbers of settlers and land speculators were attracted to what are now the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin. This pressure together with the demand from the Ohio Land Company, soon to obtain vast holdings in the Northwest, prompted the Congress to pass this Ordinance


The area opened up by the Ordinance was based on lines originally laid out in 1784 by Thomas Jefferson in his Report of Government for Western Lands. The Ordinance provided for the creation of not less than three nor more than five states. In addition, it contained provisions for the advancement of education, the maintenance of civil liberties and the exclusion of slavery.


Above all, the Northwest Ordinance accelerated the westward expansion of the United States.



The Constitution was adopted on September 17, 1787, by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and ratified by conventions in each U.S. state in the name of "The People". The Constitution has been amended twenty-seven times; the first ten amendments are known as the Bill of Rights (From Wikipedia)