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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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!

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

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

Scared To Debt !

Where's the Democrats' budget?

No budget likely prior to election.

Democrat majority for the first time since the enactment of the budget act has abdicated its responsibility to do a budget,”Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0510/37137.html#ixzz0r6sIE6aP

Every "crisis" brings on the expansion of the federal government and debt.

“You don’t ever want a crisis to go to waste; it’s an opportunity to do important things that you would otherwise avoid.”
– Rahm Emanuel

Short Term Solution - Remove as many liberals, progressives, and yes admitted socialist as possible from power in November.

Long Term Solution - Educating the American citizens on The Free Market System, The U.S. Constitution, and Strong Family Values would be a good start.

The Road To Serfdom

The Reader’s Digest condensed version of
The Road to Serfdom - complete download as pdf here

excerpt
To many who have watched the transition from socialism to

fascism at close quarters the connection between the two systems

has become increasingly obvious, but in the democracies the

majority of people still believe that socialism and freedom can be

combined. They do not realize that democratic socialism, the

great utopia of the last few generations, is not only unachievable,

but that to strive for it produces something utterly different – the

very destruction of freedom itself. As has been aptly said: ‘What

has always made the state a hell on earth has been precisely that

man has tried to make it his heaven.’

Who's On First

Library of Liberty

This new link is also posted under Infosites to your right.

http://oll.libertyfund.org/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=149

You will find enough information at this site to edumacate yourself on liberty.

I plan on furthering my higher education on liberty how about you?

If we don't learn our real history our liberty may become history.

T.J.

To

compel a man
to furnish funds
for the propagation
of ideas he disbelieves
and abhors

is sinful

and tyrannical.

Thomas Jefferson

Force Care & The IRS

I guess this information proves the federal government really does care about our health. Full short article here.

Subcommittee on Oversight ranking member Charles Boustany (R-La.) said the IRS provision in the bill "dangerously expands, in an ominous way the tentacles of the IRS and it's reach into every American family," he said today during a press conference.
"This is a vast expanse of power," he said.
Boustany said the bill would allow the IRS to confiscate refunds if there are penalties for not buying health care.

Assuming it becomes law, the Congressional Budget Office expects the IRS will need roughly $10 billion over the next 10 years and nearly 17,000 new employees to meet its new responsibilities under health reform.

"Pay Go"

Jim Bunning (U.S. Senator, Kentucky)

‘If the Senate cannot find $10 billion to pay for a measure we all support, we will never pay for anything.’

America is under a mountain of debt. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said in a hearing last month that the United States' debt is unsustainable. We are on the verge of a tipping point where America's debt will bring down our economy, and more people will join the unemployment lines. That is why I used my right as a United States Senator and objected.

Complete Op Ed by Jim Bunning here. A must read.

My take - The National Debt is the only real crisis. The White House and The Congress will take advantage of it too when the time comes. Higher taxes and a lower standard of living for years to come. Those who can move their wealth out of the country will do so, what's left will be spread around through higher taxes, inflation, more people relying on existing entitlement programs and new entitlement programs like forced health care that if passed will end the representative republic our Founding Fathers gave us. At a time in our history (2009) when we needed a Calvin Coolidge we got a FDR.

H.Reynolds

As bad as the numbers look above, I'm sure they are much worse.

This From The Heritage Foundation
President Obama is responsible for raising the debt to unprecedented levels. Capretta explains, “From 1789 through 2008, the U.S. government borrowed a total of $5.8 trillion. In 2009, the federal budget deficit exceeded $1.4 trillion. The administration now expects the 2010 deficit to break that record, topping $1.6 trillion. And in 2011, it would only fall to about $1.3 trillion. Thus, in just three years, the debt will have jumped an astonishing $4.2 trillion.”

This From whitehouse.gov
The political genius of President Coolidge, Walter Lippmann pointed out in 1926, was his talent for effectively doing nothing: "This active inactivity suits the mood and certain of the needs of the country admirably. It suits all the business interests which want to be let alone.... And it suits all those who have become convinced that government in this country has become dangerously complicated and top-heavy...."

Good Bad news - Newly elected Republican Chris Christie declares fiscal 'state of emergency,' paving way for N.J. spending cuts. Here