State of the Union and Reality
By Ryan Riell
OK, so that was a really long speech, where President Obama tried to appease both parties, while appearing to care for the “middle class.” I had every intention of going line-by-line through the speech and pointing out all of the partial truths, policy reversals and errors, but that would have been well over 5000 words, which could be a book of its own. That being said, we’ll hit the highlights.
But first, let’s take a quick look back at a few President Obama, in his own words.
September 9, 2009, in an address to a joint session of Congress:
“To my progressive friends, I would remind you that for decades, the driving idea behind reform has been to end insurance company abuses and make coverage available for those without it... And to my Republican friends, I say that rather than making wild claims about a government takeover of health care, we should work together to address any legitimate concerns you may have.”
This was the first time, and only time, in a major speech, that President Obama has formally addressed his fellow “Democrats” as “progressives,” which is what, at heart, President Obama is. Over the next few months, there will be an in depth explanation of the progressive roots and their agenda.
In an interview with Diane Sawyers (ABC), President Obama said "I'd rather be a really good one-term president than a mediocre two-term president."
This is a major warning to the Americans! President Obama was talking to the far left, extremist progressives, assuring them he is going to get the job done for them. Look at what he said- if he is a good President, why would he only be elected for one term? If he is a mediocre President, why would he be elected for a second term? It’s because he’s going to be a “good” President for the uber-left lunatics, that’s why. This is a WARNING AMERICA, remember this.
OK, now onto some of the more memorable portions of last nights speech.
Last night, President reprimanded the Supreme Court last night for their latest ruling on campaign financing. “Last week, the Supreme Court reversed a century of law to open the floodgates for special interests – including foreign corporations – to spend without limit in our elections. Well I don’t think American elections should be bankrolled by America’s most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign entities. They should be decided by the American people, and that’s why I’m urging Democrats and Republicans to pass a bill that helps to right this wrong.”
This is a half-truth from President Obama. First off, he’s was incorrect, which the White House admitted earlier today, that foreign company’s are still not allowed to contribute to a campaign and influence an American election. He’s ultimately concerned about country’s with massive quantities of oil throwing the election to the next Republican candidate. What’s humorous about that- if the Republican had their way, we would have started drilling in the Gulf Coast and in Alaska ten years ago and we would no longer be dependent on foreign oil. Or maybe he’s concerned with Poland, who is not the biggest Obama fan since he scrapped the missile shield that was in part, to protect Poland. Ultimately, this new ruling is going to favor the Democratic party since they are so far in bed with the domestic “special interest” groups, also known as the unions. Pop Quiz- who is the most frequent visitor to the White House? You’re right, it’s Andy Stern, the SEIU President, and radical progressive who said “workers of the world unite” and “we’ll use the power of persuasion and if that doesn’t work, we’ll use the persuasion of power.”
Now onto the spending freeze. This is laughable to anyone who has been paying attention to what’s been going on for the last 6-12 months. That portion of the speech was aimed at the American public that has not been paying attention and hasn’t realized the following:
• Under the Obama administration, discretionary domestic spending has increased by 24%
• He has $522 billion dollars of the stimulus package that he hasn’t spent
• He has the $240 billion that the banks have already paid back.
With the 24% increase and the extra $762 BILLION dollars sitting in what amounts to a slush fund… he looks like a hero for “freezing” the spending. This is the equivalent of a 1-pack per day smoker increasing to 2-packs per day and then telling his wife he was cutting his smoking in half while cutting back to the 1-pack per day. Does this make any sense to ANYONE? He is counting on the ignorant Americans to not see what is going on. If you’re reading this, you’re not one of the ignorant Americans he’s aiming at, but I will bet you a couple billion dollars you can find a few to convert from being ignorant to educated.
OK, so I can keep going on and on, but lets stop there for now. Here are my three main thoughts of President Obama’s speech last night:
In general, he is counting on the what is hopefully not the fact that, most Americans either “don’t care that much” or “don’t know” to understand what is going on. It’s almost as if he thinks most Americans are too stupid to get it or he was telling us to sit down and shut up.
1. ECONOMY
President Obama wants his to have his cake and eat it to. He wants to increase government spending to create jobs- think New Deal with FDR… he prolonged the depression. He also wants to cut taxes and provide tax breaks to companies to stimulate spending and job growth.
He should first cut the taxes and provide tax incentives to small businesses, let them stimulate the economy. Then, if that fails, spend the money on government jobs. It was in the early 1900’s that President Roosevelt started consulting academics and applying their theories instead of the producers and manufactures of the country. Let’s get out of small business’s way and let them do their thing. They are the people that have made this country great, not handouts from the government.
2. HEALTH CARE
President Obama said “if anyone from either party has a better approach that will bring down premiums, bring down the deficit, cover the uninsured, strengthen Medicare for seniors, and stop insurance company abuses, let me know.”
Let’s be clear about something- HEALTH CARE IS NOT A RIGHT. Rights are granted by God, no the federal government. There just happens to be that pesky 10th Amendment that says “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” So if that’s not clear, or if you have to explain that to someone- if it’s not in the Constitution, the federal government can’t do it.
That makes it pretty clear that the federal government has NO RIGHT to regulate, demand or force health care on ANYONE. On the other hand, if a state, like Massachusetts, wants to pass a health care bill, that is a STATE RIGHT. While a citizen cannot escape the federal government, as it spans all 50 states, they can escape a state by packing up their possessions and driving down the road to the next State.
So, that being said, here is how to fix health care:
1. Tort reform. Set limits on malpractice lawsuits and punish plaintiffs who file frivolous lawsuits. This will lower the cost of physicians malpractice insurance, thereby lowering the cost of services, then insurance prices.
2. Remove ALL interstate boundaries for insurance company’s. This will truly increase competition, lowering the price of insurance.
3. Fine the s#*! out of insurance companies that drop customers when they get ill, hassle clients about claims and hassle their clients.
Also, lets keep in mind- of the 46 million “uninsured” people in the Country, that number includes illegal aliens, who are NOT eligible for the health care that has bee proposed and still might be rammed down our throats. So of the 36 million left, close to 10 million are already eligible for the current free health care, but have either chosen not to enroll or are simply too lazy to do it. Then take into account that 18 of the 36 million households make over $50,000 per year, with half of that number making over $75,000 per year. Then account for the 18-35 year old demographic that opts not to purchase health insurance because they are young. You tell me, if a household is making $50,000 a year, they can afford health care, if it’s a priority.
3. NATIONAL SECURITY
This President has been nothing but weak on National security. He needs to get out of the CIA’s way and let them do their job without having to worry about being thrown under the bus by his lunatic Attorney General, who is still dead-set on trying 5 of the 9-11 terrorists in NY city, granting them all the rights afforded to American citizens. Get out of the way and let the Military try them.
When it comes to interrogating terrorists, we need to stop giving them Miranda rights and lawyers, they are not US citizens and should not be afforded any rights other than that of a military tribunal.
How about you announce to the world that we will stay in Iraq and Afghanistan until the job is done instead of either telling terrorists when to come back to Iraq and Afghanistan.
So there you go, that is my take on President Obama’s first State of the Union. Next time, I’ll pick a few more items fro the SOTU address and break those down too.
It is your DUTY as an American to know the history of YOUR COUNTRY and to understand the RIGHTS THAT HAVE BEEN GRANTED TO YOU BY GOD. The government entered into a social compact with it’s citizens way, way back on March 4th, 1789… do you know what that social contract is? It’s the US Constitution and it is your DUTY as an AMERICAN to know what is in the document and to defend it, for it has been the only thing standing between us and tyranny for over 220 years!
Get smart.
Unite or Die.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Presidential Parallels
Presidential Parallels
By Ryan Riell
This post is going to be a mixture of topics so lets get started.
As you know, history is important to a Nation and society for multiple reasons, the two main being to remember where we came from and more importantly, to learn from mistakes of the past.
That being said, there are a LOT of parallels between the Obama presidency and the first two terms of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency. When FDR entered office in 1933, he was following the lackluster performance of President Hoover. When he took office, the Democrats controlled both the House and the Senate and the American public that was supportive of immediate action. He ran his presidential campaign (1932-33) on hope, change and blame. He blamed the previous decade of Republican presidents for the high unemployment rate (25%), fostering the growth of greedy and out of control corporations and problems with regulation and oversight. He promised a “new deal” that would be implemented by the federal government and it had to be done quickly. Does any of that sound familiar? Have you heard the term that “history tends to repeat itself”?
In his first 100 days, he created a lot of new federal programs and signed over 15 major pieces of legislation into law. Here’s how that worked out for the unemployment rates, prolonging the depression without any substantial reduction in unemployment.
FDR actually prolonged the Great Depression; it was WW2 that pulled the country out of it. In 1939, Henry Morgenthau Jr., FDR’s secretary of the treasury made the following statement to the democrats in the House Ways and Means Committee: “We have tried spending money. We are spending more that we have ever spent before and it does not work. And I have just one interest, and if I am wrong… somebody else can have my job. I want to see this country prosperous. I want to see people get a job. I want to see people get enough to eat. We have never mad good on our promises… I say after eight years of this Administration we have just as much unemployment as when we started… And an enormous debt to boot.”
It will be interesting to see what President Obama has to say later this evening. Tomorrow, we will contrast that what FDR said in 1936.
The Democratic Party is eating it’s own, which is priceless. As I mentioned yesterday, President Obama is in a very tough spot, being stuck between the radical and progressive left of his party and the more moderate liberals in his party. After the loss of the 60th Senate seat last week, most were left wondering if the Obama administration would move more towards the center and take a populist approach for his second year. There have been mixed reports over the last week as to what the Obama administration is going to do so we will have to wait and see. Unfortunately for President Obama and the economy, his words no longer have any meaning. He has a long track record of saying one thing (Hope and Change, transparency, freezing spending is using a “hatchet where you need a scalpel” to name a few) and then doing the exact opposite. My best guess- President Obama will do his best to “relate” to the middle class in order to regain their support. I think it will take more than words to regain their support, it is very clear that Americans DO NOT want to be governed from the left, let alone the FAR LEFT.
This last weekend, President Obama sent his minions out on the morning talk show circuit, where the message was pretty ridiculous. Here’s part of an excerpt from Meet the Press between host David Gregory and Valerie Jarrett, President Obama’s Senior Advisor and Assistant for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement. After you read this, go back up a few paragraphs and reread what Morgenthau said.
MS. Jarrett: “The president, from the day he was elected, has made job creation and the economy a first priority. Let's, let's just remember where we were a year ago, David. We were losing 700,000 jobs a month. We were in the middle of the worst economic meltdown in our nation's history. Our financial system was on the brink of collapse. We had the largest federal deficit in our nation's history. And what's happened over the last 12 months? We're no longer losing 700,000 jobs a month. We've cut that number by--to less than 10 percent. We've turned the economy around. We are moving forward in the right direction.”
MR. GREGORY: “You can't say you've turned the economy around when there are four million jobs that have been lost on the president's watch. When the debt is higher and the stimulus did not produce the jobs that the administration said it would.”
MS. JARRETT: “Well, I actually disagree with everything you just said.”
The unemployment numbers for 2009, as reported by the United States Department of Labor start at a little under 8% in January of 2009 and ended at 10% in December, with the high at 10.25% in October 2009. Remember, this only accounts for people that are without a job, it is not accounting for people that are under-employed such as part-time workers and college graduates that are working the drive through window at Taco Bell:
OK, now to report something from the Obama administration that I fully support and am very glad to see coming about. As part of the 2011 Obama budget, they are proposing a record $8.8 billion to support military families. The money is to be spent on counseling, support services, childcare, school renovation, tuition assistance and youth programs. For those of you that are unaware, the average military family makes enough money to survive, but that is about it. An increase in services offered to the soldiers and their families is essential for maintaining morale in the military. GOOD JOB PRESIDENT OBAMA!
Last topic- the 1st Amendment to the US Constitution- Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story (served from 1811-1845) pointed out why the founders as well as the states themselves felt the federal government should absolutely be excluded from any authority in regards to settling questions on religion. He said “it was impossible that there should not arise perpetual strife and perpetual jealousy on the subject of ecclesiastical ascendancy, if the national government were left free to create a religious establishment. The only security was in extirpating the power. But this alone would have been an imperfect security, if it had not been followed up by a declaration of the right of the free exercise of religion, and a prohibition of all religious tests. Thus, the whole power over the subject of religion is left exclusively to the state governments, to be acted up on according to their own sense of justice, and the state constitutions.”
This ties directly back into “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” in the first amendment.
If you take the time to examine the writings of the founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in particular, it is quite clear they never intended the federal government to be involved with religion in any way, shape or form… that it is a STATE issue.
Madison said “there is not a shadow of right in the general government to intermeddle with religion. Its least interference with it should be a most flagrant usurpation.”
Jefferson explained his position by saying the Constitution created a “wall of separation between Church and State.”
Both Madison and Jefferson viewed religion as a state issue and that it is the states responsibility to step into religious matters in order to provide equality for all religions in that state.
Jefferson went on to say the following in his second inaugural address: “in matters of religion, I have considered that its fee exercise is placed by the Constitution independent of the powers of the general government. I have therefore undertake on no occasion to prescribe the religious exercises suited to it; but have left them, as the Constitution found them, under the direction and discipline f the state or church authorities acknowledged by the several religious societies.”
In the 20th century, the US Supreme Court has overstepped its Constitutional authority and involved itself in religious matters. The Supreme Court has no authority to rule on anything religion.
So why did I bring this up? There was an interesting story on the news last night about an Egyptian man Maher El-Gowhary and his daughter, whom both converted from Islam to Christianity. They never pray twice in the same Church and never stay longer than one month in any apartment… they are always on the run. Several religious Fatwa’s have been offered to “spill Maher’s blood” after he asked an Egyptian court to legally change his religion to Christianity. The court said a legal conversion to Christianity would threaten public order, while Christians that want to become Muslims are able to do so easily. Egypt has since taken possession of their passports, prohibiting them from leaving Egypt, where their lives are threatened daily.
This is why the 1st Amendment was put in place… so the federal government cannot control the religions that are allowed by the government. The 1st Amendment was not ratified to regulate the Ten Commandments from hanging on the wall, a group of athletes wanting to pray before an event or a Christmas tree being displayed on government grounds. Those are three examples of how the federal government has treaded on your “unalienable rights.” The progressive movement is smart enough to not challenge the Bill of Rights directly, they have to whittle away over time until we wake up one day and ask ourselves “where did our rights go”?
By Ryan Riell
This post is going to be a mixture of topics so lets get started.
As you know, history is important to a Nation and society for multiple reasons, the two main being to remember where we came from and more importantly, to learn from mistakes of the past.
That being said, there are a LOT of parallels between the Obama presidency and the first two terms of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency. When FDR entered office in 1933, he was following the lackluster performance of President Hoover. When he took office, the Democrats controlled both the House and the Senate and the American public that was supportive of immediate action. He ran his presidential campaign (1932-33) on hope, change and blame. He blamed the previous decade of Republican presidents for the high unemployment rate (25%), fostering the growth of greedy and out of control corporations and problems with regulation and oversight. He promised a “new deal” that would be implemented by the federal government and it had to be done quickly. Does any of that sound familiar? Have you heard the term that “history tends to repeat itself”?
In his first 100 days, he created a lot of new federal programs and signed over 15 major pieces of legislation into law. Here’s how that worked out for the unemployment rates, prolonging the depression without any substantial reduction in unemployment.
FDR actually prolonged the Great Depression; it was WW2 that pulled the country out of it. In 1939, Henry Morgenthau Jr., FDR’s secretary of the treasury made the following statement to the democrats in the House Ways and Means Committee: “We have tried spending money. We are spending more that we have ever spent before and it does not work. And I have just one interest, and if I am wrong… somebody else can have my job. I want to see this country prosperous. I want to see people get a job. I want to see people get enough to eat. We have never mad good on our promises… I say after eight years of this Administration we have just as much unemployment as when we started… And an enormous debt to boot.”
It will be interesting to see what President Obama has to say later this evening. Tomorrow, we will contrast that what FDR said in 1936.
The Democratic Party is eating it’s own, which is priceless. As I mentioned yesterday, President Obama is in a very tough spot, being stuck between the radical and progressive left of his party and the more moderate liberals in his party. After the loss of the 60th Senate seat last week, most were left wondering if the Obama administration would move more towards the center and take a populist approach for his second year. There have been mixed reports over the last week as to what the Obama administration is going to do so we will have to wait and see. Unfortunately for President Obama and the economy, his words no longer have any meaning. He has a long track record of saying one thing (Hope and Change, transparency, freezing spending is using a “hatchet where you need a scalpel” to name a few) and then doing the exact opposite. My best guess- President Obama will do his best to “relate” to the middle class in order to regain their support. I think it will take more than words to regain their support, it is very clear that Americans DO NOT want to be governed from the left, let alone the FAR LEFT.
This last weekend, President Obama sent his minions out on the morning talk show circuit, where the message was pretty ridiculous. Here’s part of an excerpt from Meet the Press between host David Gregory and Valerie Jarrett, President Obama’s Senior Advisor and Assistant for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement. After you read this, go back up a few paragraphs and reread what Morgenthau said.
MS. Jarrett: “The president, from the day he was elected, has made job creation and the economy a first priority. Let's, let's just remember where we were a year ago, David. We were losing 700,000 jobs a month. We were in the middle of the worst economic meltdown in our nation's history. Our financial system was on the brink of collapse. We had the largest federal deficit in our nation's history. And what's happened over the last 12 months? We're no longer losing 700,000 jobs a month. We've cut that number by--to less than 10 percent. We've turned the economy around. We are moving forward in the right direction.”
MR. GREGORY: “You can't say you've turned the economy around when there are four million jobs that have been lost on the president's watch. When the debt is higher and the stimulus did not produce the jobs that the administration said it would.”
MS. JARRETT: “Well, I actually disagree with everything you just said.”
The unemployment numbers for 2009, as reported by the United States Department of Labor start at a little under 8% in January of 2009 and ended at 10% in December, with the high at 10.25% in October 2009. Remember, this only accounts for people that are without a job, it is not accounting for people that are under-employed such as part-time workers and college graduates that are working the drive through window at Taco Bell:
OK, now to report something from the Obama administration that I fully support and am very glad to see coming about. As part of the 2011 Obama budget, they are proposing a record $8.8 billion to support military families. The money is to be spent on counseling, support services, childcare, school renovation, tuition assistance and youth programs. For those of you that are unaware, the average military family makes enough money to survive, but that is about it. An increase in services offered to the soldiers and their families is essential for maintaining morale in the military. GOOD JOB PRESIDENT OBAMA!
Last topic- the 1st Amendment to the US Constitution- Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story (served from 1811-1845) pointed out why the founders as well as the states themselves felt the federal government should absolutely be excluded from any authority in regards to settling questions on religion. He said “it was impossible that there should not arise perpetual strife and perpetual jealousy on the subject of ecclesiastical ascendancy, if the national government were left free to create a religious establishment. The only security was in extirpating the power. But this alone would have been an imperfect security, if it had not been followed up by a declaration of the right of the free exercise of religion, and a prohibition of all religious tests. Thus, the whole power over the subject of religion is left exclusively to the state governments, to be acted up on according to their own sense of justice, and the state constitutions.”
This ties directly back into “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” in the first amendment.
If you take the time to examine the writings of the founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in particular, it is quite clear they never intended the federal government to be involved with religion in any way, shape or form… that it is a STATE issue.
Madison said “there is not a shadow of right in the general government to intermeddle with religion. Its least interference with it should be a most flagrant usurpation.”
Jefferson explained his position by saying the Constitution created a “wall of separation between Church and State.”
Both Madison and Jefferson viewed religion as a state issue and that it is the states responsibility to step into religious matters in order to provide equality for all religions in that state.
Jefferson went on to say the following in his second inaugural address: “in matters of religion, I have considered that its fee exercise is placed by the Constitution independent of the powers of the general government. I have therefore undertake on no occasion to prescribe the religious exercises suited to it; but have left them, as the Constitution found them, under the direction and discipline f the state or church authorities acknowledged by the several religious societies.”
In the 20th century, the US Supreme Court has overstepped its Constitutional authority and involved itself in religious matters. The Supreme Court has no authority to rule on anything religion.
So why did I bring this up? There was an interesting story on the news last night about an Egyptian man Maher El-Gowhary and his daughter, whom both converted from Islam to Christianity. They never pray twice in the same Church and never stay longer than one month in any apartment… they are always on the run. Several religious Fatwa’s have been offered to “spill Maher’s blood” after he asked an Egyptian court to legally change his religion to Christianity. The court said a legal conversion to Christianity would threaten public order, while Christians that want to become Muslims are able to do so easily. Egypt has since taken possession of their passports, prohibiting them from leaving Egypt, where their lives are threatened daily.
This is why the 1st Amendment was put in place… so the federal government cannot control the religions that are allowed by the government. The 1st Amendment was not ratified to regulate the Ten Commandments from hanging on the wall, a group of athletes wanting to pray before an event or a Christmas tree being displayed on government grounds. Those are three examples of how the federal government has treaded on your “unalienable rights.” The progressive movement is smart enough to not challenge the Bill of Rights directly, they have to whittle away over time until we wake up one day and ask ourselves “where did our rights go”?
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
2010 State of the Union Address
State of the Union Address
By Ryan Riell
With President Obama’s first State of the Union address coming up tomorrow, it will be interesting to see if he only listened to what the American public has been saying since July or whether he truly heard what they said.
As little as 3 months ago, if you would have asked anyone, to include Senator-Elect Scott Brown, if a Republican candidate had much of a chance of winning the Senate seat that was held by the late Ted Kennedy, they would have chuckled and said no.
Fast forward to January 19, 2010… Scott Brown, the Republican candidate won a decisive victory, in spite of the Democratic machine in Massachusetts and President Obama making a late trip to campaign for the Democratic candidate. For those of you that haven’t followed politics- Brown’s victory is the equivalent of the Jamaican bobsled team winning a gold medal in the Winter Olympics.
President Obama has the lowest approval rating of any president in modern history at the end of his first year. Here is a graphic that I pulled off www.RasmussenReports.com that illustrates that point. If you look at the crossover point, it was approximately July, when health care became the topic. Do you remember the town hall meetings that became so hostile... that correlates nicely to the graph.
There is a long list of reasons the majority of Americans (53%)1 disapprove of the job President Obama is doing.
Some of the main reasons for his high disapproval ratings are:
• Increased spending (TARP and stimulus bill)
• Auto bailouts
• Bank bailouts
• Health Care
• Exempting the unions from the “Cadillac” tax on health care
• The $300 million Louisiana purchase of Senator Landrieu
• The deal with Nebraska and Senator Nelson, sticking the rest of the country with the Medicare bill for Nebraska
• The long and distinguished list of socialists, communists, progressives and admirer’s of Mao Zedung who murdered 50-70 MILLION people.
• The steady increase of the National debt
• Cap and Trade
In 1995, Bill Clinton, who had just lost control of the House, figured out that he better move to the center if he had any dreams of winning the Presidency in 1996, which is exactly what he did.
I actually feel bad for the President, he’s stuck between a rock and a hard place. The “rock” is the far left of his party, which is livid that he hasn’t accomplished anything on their agenda in the first year, especially with a Democratically controlled Congress. They want a purely government run healthcare system and the Cap and Trade bill to be passed in addition to the absolute redistribution of American wealth. Do a simple YouTube search for Andy Stern, Van Jones, Anita Dunn, John Holdren, Valeri Jarret, Cass Sunstein, Ezekiel Emanuel or Mark Lloyd to see the full extent of their agenda. Remember, President Obama said “judge me by the people with whom I surround myself.” If you are not familiar with these high-level advisors and czars, you better get smart fast... it paints a VERY interesting picture of the “hope” and “change” that this country voted for.
The “hard place” is the more moderate members of the Democratic party who don’t want to see Europe-light invade the USA. If he tries to satisfy the far-left of the Democratic party, he is dooming himself and the party to a slaughter in November 2010 and very possibly in 2012, granted the American public tends to have a very short memory. If he tries to govern from the middle, he will enrage the far left, which will attack him and his campaign funding by reducing the amount of money donated by the unions and other special interest groups.
All indications from the Obama White House are that they are going to proceed with their radical progressive agenda. It will be interesting to see if President Obama will read the writing on the wall from last week, or if he’ll plow forward with the destruction of the Democratic party.
References:
1. http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/obama_approval_index_history
By Ryan Riell
With President Obama’s first State of the Union address coming up tomorrow, it will be interesting to see if he only listened to what the American public has been saying since July or whether he truly heard what they said.
As little as 3 months ago, if you would have asked anyone, to include Senator-Elect Scott Brown, if a Republican candidate had much of a chance of winning the Senate seat that was held by the late Ted Kennedy, they would have chuckled and said no.
Fast forward to January 19, 2010… Scott Brown, the Republican candidate won a decisive victory, in spite of the Democratic machine in Massachusetts and President Obama making a late trip to campaign for the Democratic candidate. For those of you that haven’t followed politics- Brown’s victory is the equivalent of the Jamaican bobsled team winning a gold medal in the Winter Olympics.
President Obama has the lowest approval rating of any president in modern history at the end of his first year. Here is a graphic that I pulled off www.RasmussenReports.com that illustrates that point. If you look at the crossover point, it was approximately July, when health care became the topic. Do you remember the town hall meetings that became so hostile... that correlates nicely to the graph.
There is a long list of reasons the majority of Americans (53%)1 disapprove of the job President Obama is doing.
Some of the main reasons for his high disapproval ratings are:
• Increased spending (TARP and stimulus bill)
• Auto bailouts
• Bank bailouts
• Health Care
• Exempting the unions from the “Cadillac” tax on health care
• The $300 million Louisiana purchase of Senator Landrieu
• The deal with Nebraska and Senator Nelson, sticking the rest of the country with the Medicare bill for Nebraska
• The long and distinguished list of socialists, communists, progressives and admirer’s of Mao Zedung who murdered 50-70 MILLION people.
• The steady increase of the National debt
• Cap and Trade
In 1995, Bill Clinton, who had just lost control of the House, figured out that he better move to the center if he had any dreams of winning the Presidency in 1996, which is exactly what he did.
I actually feel bad for the President, he’s stuck between a rock and a hard place. The “rock” is the far left of his party, which is livid that he hasn’t accomplished anything on their agenda in the first year, especially with a Democratically controlled Congress. They want a purely government run healthcare system and the Cap and Trade bill to be passed in addition to the absolute redistribution of American wealth. Do a simple YouTube search for Andy Stern, Van Jones, Anita Dunn, John Holdren, Valeri Jarret, Cass Sunstein, Ezekiel Emanuel or Mark Lloyd to see the full extent of their agenda. Remember, President Obama said “judge me by the people with whom I surround myself.” If you are not familiar with these high-level advisors and czars, you better get smart fast... it paints a VERY interesting picture of the “hope” and “change” that this country voted for.
The “hard place” is the more moderate members of the Democratic party who don’t want to see Europe-light invade the USA. If he tries to satisfy the far-left of the Democratic party, he is dooming himself and the party to a slaughter in November 2010 and very possibly in 2012, granted the American public tends to have a very short memory. If he tries to govern from the middle, he will enrage the far left, which will attack him and his campaign funding by reducing the amount of money donated by the unions and other special interest groups.
All indications from the Obama White House are that they are going to proceed with their radical progressive agenda. It will be interesting to see if President Obama will read the writing on the wall from last week, or if he’ll plow forward with the destruction of the Democratic party.
References:
1. http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/obama_approval_index_history
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Massachusetts Patriots!
Massachusetts Patriots
By Ryan Riell
Massachusetts, and Boston in particular has a storied past when it comes to American patriots such as Sam Adams, John Adams and John Quincy Adams to name a few. Now that the dust has settled on the special election last night, there are even more patriots in Massachusetts!
I cannot be happier than I am right now to announce to you, as if you haven’t heard, Scott Brown (R) defeated the democratic machine last night and took the senate seat that was vacated by the late Ted Kennedy. Considering how progressive Massachusetts is (Obama won by 26% over another progressive, John McCain in 2008), it’s amazing that there was even a race, let alone a republican victory!
So what does this mean to you? It means the progressive machine that was in control has just been put in check. The healthcare bill and cap and trade are now dead in the water, which will go a LONG way to stemming the collapse of the American economy. This is an ABSOLUTE GAME CHANGER! This fight against progressives and the ursupation of power is not over, it is JUST beginning
Senator Feingold (D-WI) said “It’s probably back to the drawing board on health care, which is unfortunate.” Representative Delahunt (D-MA) said he will advise progressive leaders to scrap the big bill and move towards a more popular piece that can attract republicans. President Obama himself said “people are angry, and they’re frustrated. Not just because of what’s happened in the last year or tow years, but what’s happened over the last eight years.” His White House went on to say that the anger from the last eight years that elected him is the same anger that elected Scott Brown. At what point do you think President Obama is going to take ownership for his presidency?
What is really interesting to see is the split that is happening within the democratic party this morning, but apparently, George Soros or Andy Stern got on the phone and put everyone in check and on the same page… they will wait for Senator-Elect Brown to be seated! Earlier today, Obama advisor David Axelrod said they were going forward with their agenda and Pelosi said they will move forward with those considerations in mind.
President Obama himself warned Democrats in Congress not to “jam” a health care reform bill through before Senator-Elect Brown can be sworn in.
Last night, Senator-Elect Brown said “Let me tell you when I first got the feeling something big was happening in this campaign. It was when I was driving along and spotted a handmade, Scott Brown yard sign that I hadn’t actually put there myself. I would argue this was a grass roots movement, generated by people who are sick of DC treading all over their Constitutional rights! Would Rep. Pelosi and company call this “astroturf”?
This little campaign of ours was destined for greater things than any of us knew, and the message went far beyond the name on the sign. It all started with me, my truck “real Americans” don’t look down their Harvard Law and University of Chicago law professor like noses and mock someone who drives a truck… REAL AMERICANS have been driving those trucks while BUILDING this GREAT NATION, and a few dedicated volunteers. It ended with Air Force One making an emergency run to Logan. I didn't mind when President Obama came here and criticized me - that happens in campaigns. But when he criticized my truck, that's where I draw the line.
We had the machine scared and scrambling, and for them it is just the beginning of an election year filled with surprises. Last nights election results were the first actual shots of the new Revolution… the one to take back our Country! They will be challenged again and again across this country. When there’s trouble in Massachusetts, there’s trouble everywhere - and now they know it. Never, never forget what Senator Nelson (NE), Senator Landrieu (LA) and Senator Lincoln (AR) attempted to sell this country down the toilet to garner political and monetary favors for themselves and their respective States, much to the detriment of the Nation.
In every corner of our state, I met with people, looked them in the eye, shook their hand, and asked them for their vote. I didn’t worry about their party affiliation, and they didn’t worry about mine. It was simply shared conviction that brought us all together.” We either UNIT as a Nation and fight off the shackles of economic slavery that are being thrust upon us, OR we will DIE.
This morning, when Senator-Elect Brown addressed the media, he said “the number one thing I’ve heard is people are tired of business as usual. And what does that mean? It means the behind the scenes deals, the Nebraska subsidizing of Medicaid for ever… things like that just drive people crazy!” He went on to say “maybe there’s a new bread of republican coming to Washington. Maybe people will finally look at someone who is not beholden to the special interests of the party and will look to just solve problems.”
Jumping back to last night, there were three paragraphs in the victory speech that progressives should pay attention to:
“I will work in the Senate to defend our nation’s interests and to keep our military second to none. As a lieutenant colonel and 30-year member of the Army National Guard, I will keep faith with all who serve, and get our veterans all the benefits they deserve.
And let me say this, with respect to those who wish to harm us, I believe that our Constitution and laws exist to protect this nation - they do not grant rights and privileges to enemies in wartime. In dealing with terrorists, our tax dollars should pay for weapons to stop them, not lawyers to defend them.
Raising taxes, taking over our health care, and giving new rights to terrorists is the wrong agenda for our country. What I've heard again and again on the campaign trail, is that our political leaders have grown aloof from the people, impatient with dissent, and comfortable in the back room making deals. And we can do better.”
What Brown said was very important, but the part that will be heard around the world in November is the reaction of the audience, IMMEDIATELY after those words:
“YES WE CAN! YES WE CAN! YES WE CAN!” Does that sound familiar?
I firmly believe that candidates like Scott Brown are the wave of the future and will crush the norm this November. Normal Americans are tired of the power usurpation being conducted in DC and will remove the narcissistic garbage that is currently in office. This is the first round of real Americans reclaiming America!
Unite or Die!
By Ryan Riell
Massachusetts, and Boston in particular has a storied past when it comes to American patriots such as Sam Adams, John Adams and John Quincy Adams to name a few. Now that the dust has settled on the special election last night, there are even more patriots in Massachusetts!
I cannot be happier than I am right now to announce to you, as if you haven’t heard, Scott Brown (R) defeated the democratic machine last night and took the senate seat that was vacated by the late Ted Kennedy. Considering how progressive Massachusetts is (Obama won by 26% over another progressive, John McCain in 2008), it’s amazing that there was even a race, let alone a republican victory!
So what does this mean to you? It means the progressive machine that was in control has just been put in check. The healthcare bill and cap and trade are now dead in the water, which will go a LONG way to stemming the collapse of the American economy. This is an ABSOLUTE GAME CHANGER! This fight against progressives and the ursupation of power is not over, it is JUST beginning
Senator Feingold (D-WI) said “It’s probably back to the drawing board on health care, which is unfortunate.” Representative Delahunt (D-MA) said he will advise progressive leaders to scrap the big bill and move towards a more popular piece that can attract republicans. President Obama himself said “people are angry, and they’re frustrated. Not just because of what’s happened in the last year or tow years, but what’s happened over the last eight years.” His White House went on to say that the anger from the last eight years that elected him is the same anger that elected Scott Brown. At what point do you think President Obama is going to take ownership for his presidency?
What is really interesting to see is the split that is happening within the democratic party this morning, but apparently, George Soros or Andy Stern got on the phone and put everyone in check and on the same page… they will wait for Senator-Elect Brown to be seated! Earlier today, Obama advisor David Axelrod said they were going forward with their agenda and Pelosi said they will move forward with those considerations in mind.
President Obama himself warned Democrats in Congress not to “jam” a health care reform bill through before Senator-Elect Brown can be sworn in.
Last night, Senator-Elect Brown said “Let me tell you when I first got the feeling something big was happening in this campaign. It was when I was driving along and spotted a handmade, Scott Brown yard sign that I hadn’t actually put there myself. I would argue this was a grass roots movement, generated by people who are sick of DC treading all over their Constitutional rights! Would Rep. Pelosi and company call this “astroturf”?
This little campaign of ours was destined for greater things than any of us knew, and the message went far beyond the name on the sign. It all started with me, my truck “real Americans” don’t look down their Harvard Law and University of Chicago law professor like noses and mock someone who drives a truck… REAL AMERICANS have been driving those trucks while BUILDING this GREAT NATION, and a few dedicated volunteers. It ended with Air Force One making an emergency run to Logan. I didn't mind when President Obama came here and criticized me - that happens in campaigns. But when he criticized my truck, that's where I draw the line.
We had the machine scared and scrambling, and for them it is just the beginning of an election year filled with surprises. Last nights election results were the first actual shots of the new Revolution… the one to take back our Country! They will be challenged again and again across this country. When there’s trouble in Massachusetts, there’s trouble everywhere - and now they know it. Never, never forget what Senator Nelson (NE), Senator Landrieu (LA) and Senator Lincoln (AR) attempted to sell this country down the toilet to garner political and monetary favors for themselves and their respective States, much to the detriment of the Nation.
In every corner of our state, I met with people, looked them in the eye, shook their hand, and asked them for their vote. I didn’t worry about their party affiliation, and they didn’t worry about mine. It was simply shared conviction that brought us all together.” We either UNIT as a Nation and fight off the shackles of economic slavery that are being thrust upon us, OR we will DIE.
This morning, when Senator-Elect Brown addressed the media, he said “the number one thing I’ve heard is people are tired of business as usual. And what does that mean? It means the behind the scenes deals, the Nebraska subsidizing of Medicaid for ever… things like that just drive people crazy!” He went on to say “maybe there’s a new bread of republican coming to Washington. Maybe people will finally look at someone who is not beholden to the special interests of the party and will look to just solve problems.”
Jumping back to last night, there were three paragraphs in the victory speech that progressives should pay attention to:
“I will work in the Senate to defend our nation’s interests and to keep our military second to none. As a lieutenant colonel and 30-year member of the Army National Guard, I will keep faith with all who serve, and get our veterans all the benefits they deserve.
And let me say this, with respect to those who wish to harm us, I believe that our Constitution and laws exist to protect this nation - they do not grant rights and privileges to enemies in wartime. In dealing with terrorists, our tax dollars should pay for weapons to stop them, not lawyers to defend them.
Raising taxes, taking over our health care, and giving new rights to terrorists is the wrong agenda for our country. What I've heard again and again on the campaign trail, is that our political leaders have grown aloof from the people, impatient with dissent, and comfortable in the back room making deals. And we can do better.”
What Brown said was very important, but the part that will be heard around the world in November is the reaction of the audience, IMMEDIATELY after those words:
“YES WE CAN! YES WE CAN! YES WE CAN!” Does that sound familiar?
I firmly believe that candidates like Scott Brown are the wave of the future and will crush the norm this November. Normal Americans are tired of the power usurpation being conducted in DC and will remove the narcissistic garbage that is currently in office. This is the first round of real Americans reclaiming America!
Unite or Die!
Monday, January 18, 2010
Health Care Revolt and Election Fraud
Health Care Revolution and Election Fraud?
By Ryan Riell
Tomorrow in Massachusetts is a big day for our Nation, with a republican candidate Steve Brown running against progressive Martha Coakley. Let me be clear up front- this is a vote on health care and the progressive Obama administration in addition to the progressive Congress. With a 3.5:1 ratio of registered democrats to registered republicans in Massachusetts and a senate seat that has been a “democrat” seat since 1952, the fact that there is a race going on is enough of a rebuke to the progressive agenda
The average of the five major polls from today shows state senator Brown leading Coakley by 6.8 points, which might or might not be enough to overcome the democratic machine that has generated votes for their candidates in the past. Remember Acorn… I’m guessing you will hear more about them over the next few days due to their voter registration campaign across the country.
Will we see radical left-winger George Soros’s “Secretary of State Project” (see last blog post for more information on the SOS), where the progressives have installed progressives throughout the country in the position of SOS just for a case like this- where the vote might be close. Voter fraud has been a staple of the big cities when a democratic candidate is down by as much as 5%. Look back at the same senate seat election in 1952 with Jack Kennedy… election fraud!
Minnesota SOS Mark Ritchie, who is supported by Acorn and handpicked by Soro’s SOS project, is the guy who cut off the counting of absentee ballots in the Senate race and certified Al Frankin as their newest Senator.
The Massachusetts Secretary of State (SOS) William Galvin will be in charge of counting the votes. Hopefully, someone is there to watch over the counting of the absentee ballots, since he is in control of those too. Hopefully, Galvin is not part of Soro’s SOS Project.
Galvin is already on the record for saying it will take a while to certify Brown if he wins, citing the 10 days that is customary. This all sounds on the up-and-up right? Not so fast, the Boston Harold reported that in October 2007, it only took two (2) days to certify representative Niki Tsongas after a special election.
Why does this matter? If Brown wins this election and is seated quickly, he will break the 60-vote supermajority the progressives hold on the senate, which would allow the republicans to filibuster the health care bill and hopefully prevent it from ever becoming reality.
This can all be tied nicely back into the unions, primarily SEIU, who dumped roughly $680,000 into Coakley’s campaign in the last week. Remember, Andy Stern, the SEIU president whom is the most frequent visitor to the White House. Are you starting to see the level of corruption going on in Washington and in the Obama administration? Are you a union member? Is this what you want your union dues going towards?
The progressively biased media had this to say about the special election tomorrow, over the last few days… you tell me, is there a bias?
“With just four days left to go in the race for Teddy Kennedy’s Senate seat, a new poll is terrible news for democrats. The 60th vote in the senate may be health care hanging in the balance Chuck, I’m interested now. NBC’s deputy political director Mark Murray joins us now- this is bad.” (MSNBC, January 15th)
Chris Matthews, the host of MSNBC’s Hard Ball said, “Maybe I shouldn’t be harkening back to the old days. If the democrats faced this disaster in the works, you’d go back to your ‘ones’, the people you were sure were going to vote democrat and you’d make sure they’d get to the polling place. You’d get them lunch, you’d get them a car, you’d make sure they got there. And in some cases you would be buying people to get them, not officially buying them, but getting them there as block secretaries, block captains, you would be getting them there with street money. Legitimate, but a little old school.”
“Well we wanna talk about a crisis potentially looming at home- Massachusetts. The president is making last minute trip to Boston to campaign for democrat Martha Coakley.” (NBC Today Show January 16th)
“Has democratic leaning Massachusetts lost its mind?” (MSNBC, January 18th)
The progressives in this country are pulling out all the stops to win this election. Coakley herself turned a Martin Luther King remembrance breakfast into her personal campaign rally while asking for people’s votes when she took the stage. You can also listen to what the else Chris Matthews said “well if we reach back to one of our hero’s from the past, from the 60’s, Saul Alinski”, who teaches the progressive movement and that the ends justify the means and that there are NO ethics as long as they win. It would be really interesting if they took that same approach to fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
How about MSNBC host Ed Schultz “I tell you what, if I lived in Massachusetts I’d try to vote 10 times. I don’t know if they’d let me or not, but I’d try to… Yeah that’s right. I’d cheat to keep these bastards out I would. Cause that’s exactly what they are.” on his radio show last Friday. He went on to clarify that statement today by saying “I misspoke on Friday. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I meant to say if I could vote 20 times—that’s what I would do.”
Remember the “we are 5 days away from fundamentally transforming America” speech that came out of President Obama’s mouth? Are you starting to see the bigger picture? It’s time to get smart on what your rights are before the progressive movement turns this country into Europe light.
On Sunday, President Obama made the trip up to Boston to stump for Coakley, which shows exactly how desperate the progressives are… Obama is the proverbial “last round” in the magazine. He is 0 for 2 when stumping for events and politicians (2016 Chicago Olympics and the NJ Governors race).
Do you remember back to the campaign in 2008 when we heard all about the transparency and about the “change” that was coming to DC? Lets take a look at some of the key points of what the President had to say while stumping for Coakley and read between the lines… you tell me if this is the change you voted for. Keep this in mind- you cannot listen to what this man says; you have to look at what he’s doing!
THE PRESIDENT: “And that's what she's done. Look at her record. As a prosecutor, she took on cases most of us don't even want to think about, putting murderers and child abusers away. See the cases of a toddler that was sexually assaulted with a curling iron that took 10 months for her to file charges or the charges she brought against a father for forcefully stopping an illegal alien (who was released) and the father was charged with assault. As attorney general, she took on Wall Street and recovered millions for Massachusett’s taxpayers -- took on predatory lenders that were taking advantage of Massachusett’s families. Redistribution of wealth here? She went after big insurance companies that misled people into buying coverage only to deny it when they got sick. Redistribution of wealth here? She went after big polluters who put the health of your family at risk. More redistribution of wealth via climate change? Time and again, Martha has taken on those who game the system at expense of hardworking, middle-class families.” The health care bill and cap and trade bill are going to financially crush the “hardworking, middle-class families”. How about religious bigotry towards Catholics, but in reality, all Christians- “You can have religious freedom but you probably shouldn’t work in the emergency room”
THE PRESIDENT: “But here's the thing. You know how politics is. At times like this, there are always some who are eager to exploit that pain and anger to score a few political points. See the $700 billion TARP, $787 billion stimulus package, $187 billion to AIG, $83 billion for GM and Chrysler and the proposed $1 trillion health care bill. There are always folks who think that the best way to solve these problems are to demonize others.” See the progressive attacks on anyone who disagrees with their cause, calling them racists, bigots and fear mongers- check out mediamatters.org for some vial examples.
PRESIDENT: “Now, I've heard about some of the ads that Martha's opponent is running. He's driving his truck around the commonwealth -- (laughter) I highly recommend listening to this portion, apparently President Obama was speaking to an elitist crowd since he was demeaning people who drive pick up trucks-- and he says that he gets you, that he fights for you, that he'll be an independent voice. And I don't know him, he may be a perfectly nice guy. I don't know his record, but I don't know whether he's been fighting for you up until now, but –“ AUDIENCE: “Noooo!” THE PRESIDENT: “But here's what I do know. I do want somebody who's independent. I want a senator who's always going to put the interests of working folks all across Massachusetts first -- ahead of party, ahead of special interests... See the most frequent visitor to the White House, Andy Stern, the president of SEIU. See the list of Union heads that met behind closed doors to ensure they were exempt from the $60 billion in Cadillac taxes for the unsustainable health care policies they have promised their workers. (Applause) And here's what I know is that. So I hear her opponent is calling himself an independent. Well, you've got to look under the hood -- (laughter) who is looking under the Obama hood? Shall I list out the radical czars and advisors that he has running around the White House and throughout his administration? -- because what you learn makes you wonder. Now, as a legislator, he voted with the Republicans 96 percent of the time -- 96 percent of the time. It's hard to suggest that he's going to be significantly independent from the Republican agenda. And that he opposes President Obama’s progressive redistribution of wealth agenda. When you listen closely to what he's been saying, it's very clear that he's going to do exactly the same thing in Washington. So, look, forget the ads. Everybody can run slick ads. Forget the truck. (Laughter) Again, demeaning pick up truck owners. Everybody can buy a truck. (Laughter) Apparently he hasn’t looked at the economy, people are having a hard time paying their bills as it is let alone buying a new truck. Here's the question you need to ask yourselves before you go to vote on Tuesday, Massachusetts. When the chips are down, when the tough votes come, on all the fights that matter to middle-class families across this commonwealth, who is going to be on your side?” Do you want someone who will be in lockstep with the Obama administration, ensuring that the $1 trillion healthcare bill passes and that the cap and trade bill passes, which will increase the cost of every form of energy?
THE PRESIDENT: “What Martha’s opponent is trying has already been tried and it didn’t work. President Obama is still in campaign mode, rallying against GW Bush. President Obama still needs to read a good leadership book, he has yet to take responsibility for the mess that he is contributing to. So understand what’s at stake here Massachusetts. Healthcare, Cap and Trade and all the other progressive measures on their agenda. It’s whether we are going forward or going backwards. It’s whether we are going to have a future where everyone gets a shot in this society or just the privileged few. Lets reexamine what the FCC’s diversity czar and former senior fellow at George Soros’s Center for American Progress, Mark Lloyd said “There’s nothing more difficult than this, because we have really, truly good white people in important positions and the fact of the matter is there are a limited number of those positions… unless we are conscious of the need to have more people of color, gays, other people in those positions, we will not change the problem. We are in a position where you have to say who is going to step down so someone else can have power”
If that’s not convincing enough about “a [fair] shot in this society”, how about President Obama’s own words: “If you look at the victories and failures of the civil rights movement and it’s litigation strategy in the courts, I think where it succeeded was to vest formal rights in previously dispossessed people... but the Supreme Court never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth and sort of more basic issues of political and economic justice in the society... it didn’t break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution at least as it been interpreted, and more important interpreted in the same way that generally, the Constitution is a charter of negative liberties, says what the states can’t do to you, says what the federal government can’t do to you, but it doesn’t say what the federal government or state government must do on your behalf and that hasn’t shifted!”
This is the front line of the battle against progressives to believe it or not, protect our rights that are guaranteed to us by the US Constitution.
By Ryan Riell
Tomorrow in Massachusetts is a big day for our Nation, with a republican candidate Steve Brown running against progressive Martha Coakley. Let me be clear up front- this is a vote on health care and the progressive Obama administration in addition to the progressive Congress. With a 3.5:1 ratio of registered democrats to registered republicans in Massachusetts and a senate seat that has been a “democrat” seat since 1952, the fact that there is a race going on is enough of a rebuke to the progressive agenda
The average of the five major polls from today shows state senator Brown leading Coakley by 6.8 points, which might or might not be enough to overcome the democratic machine that has generated votes for their candidates in the past. Remember Acorn… I’m guessing you will hear more about them over the next few days due to their voter registration campaign across the country.
Will we see radical left-winger George Soros’s “Secretary of State Project” (see last blog post for more information on the SOS), where the progressives have installed progressives throughout the country in the position of SOS just for a case like this- where the vote might be close. Voter fraud has been a staple of the big cities when a democratic candidate is down by as much as 5%. Look back at the same senate seat election in 1952 with Jack Kennedy… election fraud!
Minnesota SOS Mark Ritchie, who is supported by Acorn and handpicked by Soro’s SOS project, is the guy who cut off the counting of absentee ballots in the Senate race and certified Al Frankin as their newest Senator.
The Massachusetts Secretary of State (SOS) William Galvin will be in charge of counting the votes. Hopefully, someone is there to watch over the counting of the absentee ballots, since he is in control of those too. Hopefully, Galvin is not part of Soro’s SOS Project.
Galvin is already on the record for saying it will take a while to certify Brown if he wins, citing the 10 days that is customary. This all sounds on the up-and-up right? Not so fast, the Boston Harold reported that in October 2007, it only took two (2) days to certify representative Niki Tsongas after a special election.
Why does this matter? If Brown wins this election and is seated quickly, he will break the 60-vote supermajority the progressives hold on the senate, which would allow the republicans to filibuster the health care bill and hopefully prevent it from ever becoming reality.
This can all be tied nicely back into the unions, primarily SEIU, who dumped roughly $680,000 into Coakley’s campaign in the last week. Remember, Andy Stern, the SEIU president whom is the most frequent visitor to the White House. Are you starting to see the level of corruption going on in Washington and in the Obama administration? Are you a union member? Is this what you want your union dues going towards?
The progressively biased media had this to say about the special election tomorrow, over the last few days… you tell me, is there a bias?
“With just four days left to go in the race for Teddy Kennedy’s Senate seat, a new poll is terrible news for democrats. The 60th vote in the senate may be health care hanging in the balance Chuck, I’m interested now. NBC’s deputy political director Mark Murray joins us now- this is bad.” (MSNBC, January 15th)
Chris Matthews, the host of MSNBC’s Hard Ball said, “Maybe I shouldn’t be harkening back to the old days. If the democrats faced this disaster in the works, you’d go back to your ‘ones’, the people you were sure were going to vote democrat and you’d make sure they’d get to the polling place. You’d get them lunch, you’d get them a car, you’d make sure they got there. And in some cases you would be buying people to get them, not officially buying them, but getting them there as block secretaries, block captains, you would be getting them there with street money. Legitimate, but a little old school.”
“Well we wanna talk about a crisis potentially looming at home- Massachusetts. The president is making last minute trip to Boston to campaign for democrat Martha Coakley.” (NBC Today Show January 16th)
“Has democratic leaning Massachusetts lost its mind?” (MSNBC, January 18th)
The progressives in this country are pulling out all the stops to win this election. Coakley herself turned a Martin Luther King remembrance breakfast into her personal campaign rally while asking for people’s votes when she took the stage. You can also listen to what the else Chris Matthews said “well if we reach back to one of our hero’s from the past, from the 60’s, Saul Alinski”, who teaches the progressive movement and that the ends justify the means and that there are NO ethics as long as they win. It would be really interesting if they took that same approach to fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
How about MSNBC host Ed Schultz “I tell you what, if I lived in Massachusetts I’d try to vote 10 times. I don’t know if they’d let me or not, but I’d try to… Yeah that’s right. I’d cheat to keep these bastards out I would. Cause that’s exactly what they are.” on his radio show last Friday. He went on to clarify that statement today by saying “I misspoke on Friday. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I meant to say if I could vote 20 times—that’s what I would do.”
Remember the “we are 5 days away from fundamentally transforming America” speech that came out of President Obama’s mouth? Are you starting to see the bigger picture? It’s time to get smart on what your rights are before the progressive movement turns this country into Europe light.
On Sunday, President Obama made the trip up to Boston to stump for Coakley, which shows exactly how desperate the progressives are… Obama is the proverbial “last round” in the magazine. He is 0 for 2 when stumping for events and politicians (2016 Chicago Olympics and the NJ Governors race).
Do you remember back to the campaign in 2008 when we heard all about the transparency and about the “change” that was coming to DC? Lets take a look at some of the key points of what the President had to say while stumping for Coakley and read between the lines… you tell me if this is the change you voted for. Keep this in mind- you cannot listen to what this man says; you have to look at what he’s doing!
THE PRESIDENT: “And that's what she's done. Look at her record. As a prosecutor, she took on cases most of us don't even want to think about, putting murderers and child abusers away. See the cases of a toddler that was sexually assaulted with a curling iron that took 10 months for her to file charges or the charges she brought against a father for forcefully stopping an illegal alien (who was released) and the father was charged with assault. As attorney general, she took on Wall Street and recovered millions for Massachusett’s taxpayers -- took on predatory lenders that were taking advantage of Massachusett’s families. Redistribution of wealth here? She went after big insurance companies that misled people into buying coverage only to deny it when they got sick. Redistribution of wealth here? She went after big polluters who put the health of your family at risk. More redistribution of wealth via climate change? Time and again, Martha has taken on those who game the system at expense of hardworking, middle-class families.” The health care bill and cap and trade bill are going to financially crush the “hardworking, middle-class families”. How about religious bigotry towards Catholics, but in reality, all Christians- “You can have religious freedom but you probably shouldn’t work in the emergency room”
THE PRESIDENT: “But here's the thing. You know how politics is. At times like this, there are always some who are eager to exploit that pain and anger to score a few political points. See the $700 billion TARP, $787 billion stimulus package, $187 billion to AIG, $83 billion for GM and Chrysler and the proposed $1 trillion health care bill. There are always folks who think that the best way to solve these problems are to demonize others.” See the progressive attacks on anyone who disagrees with their cause, calling them racists, bigots and fear mongers- check out mediamatters.org for some vial examples.
PRESIDENT: “Now, I've heard about some of the ads that Martha's opponent is running. He's driving his truck around the commonwealth -- (laughter) I highly recommend listening to this portion, apparently President Obama was speaking to an elitist crowd since he was demeaning people who drive pick up trucks-- and he says that he gets you, that he fights for you, that he'll be an independent voice. And I don't know him, he may be a perfectly nice guy. I don't know his record, but I don't know whether he's been fighting for you up until now, but –“ AUDIENCE: “Noooo!” THE PRESIDENT: “But here's what I do know. I do want somebody who's independent. I want a senator who's always going to put the interests of working folks all across Massachusetts first -- ahead of party, ahead of special interests... See the most frequent visitor to the White House, Andy Stern, the president of SEIU. See the list of Union heads that met behind closed doors to ensure they were exempt from the $60 billion in Cadillac taxes for the unsustainable health care policies they have promised their workers. (Applause) And here's what I know is that. So I hear her opponent is calling himself an independent. Well, you've got to look under the hood -- (laughter) who is looking under the Obama hood? Shall I list out the radical czars and advisors that he has running around the White House and throughout his administration? -- because what you learn makes you wonder. Now, as a legislator, he voted with the Republicans 96 percent of the time -- 96 percent of the time. It's hard to suggest that he's going to be significantly independent from the Republican agenda. And that he opposes President Obama’s progressive redistribution of wealth agenda. When you listen closely to what he's been saying, it's very clear that he's going to do exactly the same thing in Washington. So, look, forget the ads. Everybody can run slick ads. Forget the truck. (Laughter) Again, demeaning pick up truck owners. Everybody can buy a truck. (Laughter) Apparently he hasn’t looked at the economy, people are having a hard time paying their bills as it is let alone buying a new truck. Here's the question you need to ask yourselves before you go to vote on Tuesday, Massachusetts. When the chips are down, when the tough votes come, on all the fights that matter to middle-class families across this commonwealth, who is going to be on your side?” Do you want someone who will be in lockstep with the Obama administration, ensuring that the $1 trillion healthcare bill passes and that the cap and trade bill passes, which will increase the cost of every form of energy?
THE PRESIDENT: “What Martha’s opponent is trying has already been tried and it didn’t work. President Obama is still in campaign mode, rallying against GW Bush. President Obama still needs to read a good leadership book, he has yet to take responsibility for the mess that he is contributing to. So understand what’s at stake here Massachusetts. Healthcare, Cap and Trade and all the other progressive measures on their agenda. It’s whether we are going forward or going backwards. It’s whether we are going to have a future where everyone gets a shot in this society or just the privileged few. Lets reexamine what the FCC’s diversity czar and former senior fellow at George Soros’s Center for American Progress, Mark Lloyd said “There’s nothing more difficult than this, because we have really, truly good white people in important positions and the fact of the matter is there are a limited number of those positions… unless we are conscious of the need to have more people of color, gays, other people in those positions, we will not change the problem. We are in a position where you have to say who is going to step down so someone else can have power”
If that’s not convincing enough about “a [fair] shot in this society”, how about President Obama’s own words: “If you look at the victories and failures of the civil rights movement and it’s litigation strategy in the courts, I think where it succeeded was to vest formal rights in previously dispossessed people... but the Supreme Court never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth and sort of more basic issues of political and economic justice in the society... it didn’t break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution at least as it been interpreted, and more important interpreted in the same way that generally, the Constitution is a charter of negative liberties, says what the states can’t do to you, says what the federal government can’t do to you, but it doesn’t say what the federal government or state government must do on your behalf and that hasn’t shifted!”
This is the front line of the battle against progressives to believe it or not, protect our rights that are guaranteed to us by the US Constitution.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
The Correct Candidate!
The Correct Candidate!
By Ryan Riell
If you haven’t figured it out, I don’t like a lot of politicians. They are the largest group of self-serving, power hungry, immoral and unethical people on the face of the earth. Whether they are a “republican” or a “democrat”, they are all, for the most part, cast in the same mold.
We can start with President Bush’s line “I am abandoning free market principles to save the free market” which has to be one of the stupidest things to have ever come out of that mans mouth. We can then transition to Senator McCain, whose political idol was Theodore Roosevelt, the first progressive president to sit in office. He is in favor of granting immunity to illegal aliens, which is ridiculous (why are we going to reward people who have BROKEN THE LAW?) AND supports the cap and trade legislation. If you’ve read any of the blog posting, I don’t really need to rehash the progressive, socialist agenda of the Obama administration.
That being said, Americans are getting fed up with the same old crap coming out of Washington DC. They are tired of politicians putting their careers ahead of what is right for the country. If you look at recent polling, any Tea party candidate (who believes the US Constitution is more than an expensive sheet of toilet paper) is polling at over 60% when put up against ANY republican or democrat.
I am going to do my best to highlight candidates that I feel are on the right track and will help break the self-serving cycle of politics that we have today. If you check out the candidates page, that is where you will be able to find a complete list, with links to their websites, of political contenders that I believe in.
Today, I would like to add Scott Brown to that list! He is running for the Senate Seat the was “Teddy Kennedy’s seat” to which he said “with all due respect, it’s not the Kennedy’s seat, it’s not the democrats seat, it’s the people’s seat… they have a chance to send someone down there who’s going to be an independent voter and independent thinker.” He is running against the current MA Attorney General, Martha Coakley, who is a big government, progressive that supports government run healthcare amongst many other items on the progressive agenda.
There are a few red flags that pop up with a rudimentary internet search:
1) She is NOT supported by the police unions in the state of MA. As the AG of a state, that is incredible.
2) She has a sketchy at best track record for judgment as a DA, which is highlighted by the 2005 “Curling-iron toddler rape case”, in which it took the toddlers mothers filing an application for criminal complaints to get Coakley out of her chair and win a grand jury indictment charging Keith Winfield with rape and assault and battery. Even after the ten (10) month delay, Coakley still recommended that Winfield be released without cash bail.
3) SEIU, the most frequent visitor to the Obama White House, has just dumped $687,000 into the Coakley coffers.
4) A couple of her thugs roughed up a reporter who asked “could you tell us if you stand behind your response that there are no terrorists in Afghanistan.”
5) It has been reported (not verified) that Coakley wanted to press charges against a father who physically assaulted an illegal alien who was either attempting to or was actually assaulting a minor in a public restroom. She apparently said “she discourages self-help.” To top that off, the illegal alien was released on his own recognizance.
So why is this special election so important? This special election is to fill the MA senate seat that was filled by the late Ted Kennedy. If Brown is to win this election, it will break the 60 vote supermajority that is currently held by the progressive regime in Congress.
As another sign of the political corruption, MA’s top election official, Secretary of State William Galvin, said it could take weeks to certify (count the votes) the results. This is they guy who controls the absentee ballots. This same Secretary of State who was accused of not opening or counting military absentee ballots.
I am curious if she is a part of the left-wing lunatic George Soros “Secretary of State Project.” Soros, who is a “hyperpolitical left-wing philanthropist who was quoted as in an interview with Der Spiegel last year, that European-style socialism "is exactly what we need now. I am against market fundamentalism. I think this propaganda that government involvement is always bad has been very successful -- but also very harmful to our society."
Soro’s group has the goal of installing left-wing Secretary’s of State across the country, which the American Spectator equated this policy to Joseph Stalin’s quote “the people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything.”
This is the FRONT LINE of the battle against the progressive agenda, the FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHTS. It’s time to get smart, stand up and BE HEARD. If you are under the impression that your voice doesn’t matter… that apathy IS WHAT LEAD US DOWN THIS ROAD!
Here are some policy statements from State Senator Brown’s website1
Why I'm Running... America is a great country but we also have some challenges that we need to solve if we're going to remain the world's superpower. The most important of our challenges is getting the U.S. economy moving again. People are hurting as they struggle to make ends meet. They're worried about their future, and that of their children and grandchildren. I want to ensure that we leave them an America that is financially stronger and independent: minus a national debt that we can never repay.
Health Care
I believe that all Americans deserve health care coverage, but I am opposed to the health care legislation that is under consideration in Congress and will vote against it. It will raise taxes, increase government spending and lower the quality of care, especially for elders on Medicare. I support strengthening the existing private market system with policies that will drive down costs and make it easier for people to purchase affordable insurance. In Massachusetts, I support the 2006 healthcare law that was successful in expanding coverage, but I also recognize that the state must now turn its attention to controlling costs.
Economy
I am a free enterprise advocate who believes that lower taxes can encourage economic growth. Raising taxes stifles growth, weakens the economy and puts more people out of work. Our economy works best when individuals have more of their income to spend, and businesses have money to invest and add jobs. I have been a fiscal watchdog in the state legislature fighting bigger government, higher taxes and wasteful spending.
Energy and Environment
I support common-sense environment policy that will help to reduce pollution and preserve our precious open spaces. I realize that without action now, future generations will be left to clean up the mess we leave. In order to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, I support reasonable and appropriate development of alternative energy sources such as wind, solar, nuclear, geothermal and improved hydroelectric facilities. I oppose a national cap and trade program because of the higher costs that families and businesses would incur.
Education
I am passionate about improving the quality of our public schools. Accountability and high standards are paramount. I support choice through charter schools, as well as the MCAS exam as a graduation requirement. I have worked to ensure that all children have access to a quality education. I am a strong advocate for the METCO program, which provides lower income students with broader educational opportunities.
Immigration
I recognize that our strength as a nation is built on the immigrant experience in America. I welcome legal immigration to this country. However, we are also a nation of laws and government should not adopt policies that encourage illegal immigration. Providing driver’s licenses and in-state tuition to illegal immigrant families will act as a magnet in drawing more people here in violation of the law and it will impose new costs on taxpayers. I oppose amnesty, and I believe we ought to strengthen our border enforcement and institute an employment verification system with penalties for companies that hire illegal immigrants.
Veterans
As a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army National Guard, I am uniquely aware of the importance and sacrifice of our men and women serving in the military. I have been a vigorous supporter of legislation providing benefits to returning service members, as well as, benefits for the families of those killed in action. I believe we need to recognize the sacrifice of all of our service members by keeping better track of returning military personnel so they get the services they deserve. That includes providing them with first-class medical care and other benefits to which they are entitled. I am known as a leader on veterans' issues through my work on the Veterans and Federal Affairs Committee, the Hidden Wounds of War Commission, and the Governor's Task Force on Returning Veterans.
Gun issues
I support the Second Amendment and believe that citizens have the right to keep and bear arms as a basic constitutional liberty. I support safe and responsible gun ownership.
Death penalty I believe there are some crimes that are so heinous that they deserve capital punishment. Our Government should have the ability to impose the death penalty in cases where it is justified.
Abortion While this decision should ultimately be made by the woman in consultation with her doctor, I believe we need to reduce the number of abortions in America. I believe government has the responsibility to regulate in this area and I support parental consent and notification requirements and I oppose partial birth abortion. I also believe there are people of good will on both sides of the issue and we ought to work together to support and promote adoption as an alternative to abortion.
Marriage I believe marriage is between a man and a woman. States should be free to make their own laws in this area, so long as they reflect the people's will as expressed through them directly, or as expressed through their elected representatives.
Israel
Israel has made enormous sacrifices in an attempt to secure peace – including unilateral withdrawal from Gaza. I support a two-state solution that reaffirms Israel’s right to exist and provides the Palestinians with a place of their own where both sides can live in peace and security. As our closest ally in the Middle East, Israel lives every day under the threat of terror yet shares with America a dedication to democratic ideals, a respect for faith, and a commitment to peace in the region. Until a lasting peace is achieved, I support the security barrier erected by Israel which has proven successful in protecting Israeli civilians from terrorist attacks.
Iran I support the bi-partisan Iran sanctions bill and believe that until Ahmadinejad gives up his nuclear ambitions he should be isolated from the rest of the world. With its reckless pursuit of nuclear weapons, Iran represents the biggest threat to Israel. Ahmadinejad is a Holocaust denier who has threatened to wipe Israel off the map. Meeting with him confers legitimacy when the only correct response is to treat him as an outcast. A personal meeting with Ahmadinejad, as suggested by my opponent, would embolden him and be used as a propaganda tool to strengthen his position.
1. http://www.brownforussenate.com/issues
By Ryan Riell
If you haven’t figured it out, I don’t like a lot of politicians. They are the largest group of self-serving, power hungry, immoral and unethical people on the face of the earth. Whether they are a “republican” or a “democrat”, they are all, for the most part, cast in the same mold.
We can start with President Bush’s line “I am abandoning free market principles to save the free market” which has to be one of the stupidest things to have ever come out of that mans mouth. We can then transition to Senator McCain, whose political idol was Theodore Roosevelt, the first progressive president to sit in office. He is in favor of granting immunity to illegal aliens, which is ridiculous (why are we going to reward people who have BROKEN THE LAW?) AND supports the cap and trade legislation. If you’ve read any of the blog posting, I don’t really need to rehash the progressive, socialist agenda of the Obama administration.
That being said, Americans are getting fed up with the same old crap coming out of Washington DC. They are tired of politicians putting their careers ahead of what is right for the country. If you look at recent polling, any Tea party candidate (who believes the US Constitution is more than an expensive sheet of toilet paper) is polling at over 60% when put up against ANY republican or democrat.
I am going to do my best to highlight candidates that I feel are on the right track and will help break the self-serving cycle of politics that we have today. If you check out the candidates page, that is where you will be able to find a complete list, with links to their websites, of political contenders that I believe in.
Today, I would like to add Scott Brown to that list! He is running for the Senate Seat the was “Teddy Kennedy’s seat” to which he said “with all due respect, it’s not the Kennedy’s seat, it’s not the democrats seat, it’s the people’s seat… they have a chance to send someone down there who’s going to be an independent voter and independent thinker.” He is running against the current MA Attorney General, Martha Coakley, who is a big government, progressive that supports government run healthcare amongst many other items on the progressive agenda.
There are a few red flags that pop up with a rudimentary internet search:
1) She is NOT supported by the police unions in the state of MA. As the AG of a state, that is incredible.
2) She has a sketchy at best track record for judgment as a DA, which is highlighted by the 2005 “Curling-iron toddler rape case”, in which it took the toddlers mothers filing an application for criminal complaints to get Coakley out of her chair and win a grand jury indictment charging Keith Winfield with rape and assault and battery. Even after the ten (10) month delay, Coakley still recommended that Winfield be released without cash bail.
3) SEIU, the most frequent visitor to the Obama White House, has just dumped $687,000 into the Coakley coffers.
4) A couple of her thugs roughed up a reporter who asked “could you tell us if you stand behind your response that there are no terrorists in Afghanistan.”
5) It has been reported (not verified) that Coakley wanted to press charges against a father who physically assaulted an illegal alien who was either attempting to or was actually assaulting a minor in a public restroom. She apparently said “she discourages self-help.” To top that off, the illegal alien was released on his own recognizance.
So why is this special election so important? This special election is to fill the MA senate seat that was filled by the late Ted Kennedy. If Brown is to win this election, it will break the 60 vote supermajority that is currently held by the progressive regime in Congress.
As another sign of the political corruption, MA’s top election official, Secretary of State William Galvin, said it could take weeks to certify (count the votes) the results. This is they guy who controls the absentee ballots. This same Secretary of State who was accused of not opening or counting military absentee ballots.
I am curious if she is a part of the left-wing lunatic George Soros “Secretary of State Project.” Soros, who is a “hyperpolitical left-wing philanthropist who was quoted as in an interview with Der Spiegel last year, that European-style socialism "is exactly what we need now. I am against market fundamentalism. I think this propaganda that government involvement is always bad has been very successful -- but also very harmful to our society."
Soro’s group has the goal of installing left-wing Secretary’s of State across the country, which the American Spectator equated this policy to Joseph Stalin’s quote “the people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything.”
This is the FRONT LINE of the battle against the progressive agenda, the FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHTS. It’s time to get smart, stand up and BE HEARD. If you are under the impression that your voice doesn’t matter… that apathy IS WHAT LEAD US DOWN THIS ROAD!
Here are some policy statements from State Senator Brown’s website1
Why I'm Running... America is a great country but we also have some challenges that we need to solve if we're going to remain the world's superpower. The most important of our challenges is getting the U.S. economy moving again. People are hurting as they struggle to make ends meet. They're worried about their future, and that of their children and grandchildren. I want to ensure that we leave them an America that is financially stronger and independent: minus a national debt that we can never repay.
Health Care
I believe that all Americans deserve health care coverage, but I am opposed to the health care legislation that is under consideration in Congress and will vote against it. It will raise taxes, increase government spending and lower the quality of care, especially for elders on Medicare. I support strengthening the existing private market system with policies that will drive down costs and make it easier for people to purchase affordable insurance. In Massachusetts, I support the 2006 healthcare law that was successful in expanding coverage, but I also recognize that the state must now turn its attention to controlling costs.
Economy
I am a free enterprise advocate who believes that lower taxes can encourage economic growth. Raising taxes stifles growth, weakens the economy and puts more people out of work. Our economy works best when individuals have more of their income to spend, and businesses have money to invest and add jobs. I have been a fiscal watchdog in the state legislature fighting bigger government, higher taxes and wasteful spending.
Energy and Environment
I support common-sense environment policy that will help to reduce pollution and preserve our precious open spaces. I realize that without action now, future generations will be left to clean up the mess we leave. In order to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, I support reasonable and appropriate development of alternative energy sources such as wind, solar, nuclear, geothermal and improved hydroelectric facilities. I oppose a national cap and trade program because of the higher costs that families and businesses would incur.
Education
I am passionate about improving the quality of our public schools. Accountability and high standards are paramount. I support choice through charter schools, as well as the MCAS exam as a graduation requirement. I have worked to ensure that all children have access to a quality education. I am a strong advocate for the METCO program, which provides lower income students with broader educational opportunities.
Immigration
I recognize that our strength as a nation is built on the immigrant experience in America. I welcome legal immigration to this country. However, we are also a nation of laws and government should not adopt policies that encourage illegal immigration. Providing driver’s licenses and in-state tuition to illegal immigrant families will act as a magnet in drawing more people here in violation of the law and it will impose new costs on taxpayers. I oppose amnesty, and I believe we ought to strengthen our border enforcement and institute an employment verification system with penalties for companies that hire illegal immigrants.
Veterans
As a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army National Guard, I am uniquely aware of the importance and sacrifice of our men and women serving in the military. I have been a vigorous supporter of legislation providing benefits to returning service members, as well as, benefits for the families of those killed in action. I believe we need to recognize the sacrifice of all of our service members by keeping better track of returning military personnel so they get the services they deserve. That includes providing them with first-class medical care and other benefits to which they are entitled. I am known as a leader on veterans' issues through my work on the Veterans and Federal Affairs Committee, the Hidden Wounds of War Commission, and the Governor's Task Force on Returning Veterans.
Gun issues
I support the Second Amendment and believe that citizens have the right to keep and bear arms as a basic constitutional liberty. I support safe and responsible gun ownership.
Death penalty I believe there are some crimes that are so heinous that they deserve capital punishment. Our Government should have the ability to impose the death penalty in cases where it is justified.
Abortion While this decision should ultimately be made by the woman in consultation with her doctor, I believe we need to reduce the number of abortions in America. I believe government has the responsibility to regulate in this area and I support parental consent and notification requirements and I oppose partial birth abortion. I also believe there are people of good will on both sides of the issue and we ought to work together to support and promote adoption as an alternative to abortion.
Marriage I believe marriage is between a man and a woman. States should be free to make their own laws in this area, so long as they reflect the people's will as expressed through them directly, or as expressed through their elected representatives.
Israel
Israel has made enormous sacrifices in an attempt to secure peace – including unilateral withdrawal from Gaza. I support a two-state solution that reaffirms Israel’s right to exist and provides the Palestinians with a place of their own where both sides can live in peace and security. As our closest ally in the Middle East, Israel lives every day under the threat of terror yet shares with America a dedication to democratic ideals, a respect for faith, and a commitment to peace in the region. Until a lasting peace is achieved, I support the security barrier erected by Israel which has proven successful in protecting Israeli civilians from terrorist attacks.
Iran I support the bi-partisan Iran sanctions bill and believe that until Ahmadinejad gives up his nuclear ambitions he should be isolated from the rest of the world. With its reckless pursuit of nuclear weapons, Iran represents the biggest threat to Israel. Ahmadinejad is a Holocaust denier who has threatened to wipe Israel off the map. Meeting with him confers legitimacy when the only correct response is to treat him as an outcast. A personal meeting with Ahmadinejad, as suggested by my opponent, would embolden him and be used as a propaganda tool to strengthen his position.
1. http://www.brownforussenate.com/issues
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Racism... A New Double Standard?
Racism… A Double Standard
By Ryan Riell
I’m still waiting for the outrage over comments made earlier by the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). In case you haven’t already heard, Senator Reid called President Obama a “light-skinned” black man “with no Negro dialect unless he wanted to have one.” Senator Reid has since apologized, saying “I could have used a better choice of words” with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders.
Now, a little background on Senator Reid. He has been one of the key actors in the health care bill that is getting rammed down your throat, which, if it passes, will be the crowning achievement of President Obama’s progressive administration.
Why is that important? Because President Obama and the Democratic party instantly forgave him for his bigoted and racist remarks. Can someone explain to me how a “light-skinned” black man is different than a “dark-skinned” black man? Can someone explain to me what a “Negro” dialect is? Is there a qualification difference between a “light-skinned” and “dark-skinned” black man? What about a “medium-skinned” Black man? Does someone who speaks with a “negro dialect” less qualified to be the President of the United States? What “better choice of words” was he going to use to describe the color of President Obama’s skin have to do with anything? What word would he have chosen instead of “Negro” dialect. Do these questions piss you off a little bit?
Here’s some context for you. In 2002, then Senate Majority leader Trent Lott (R-MS) said Strom Thurman (one of the most anti-black members of the Senate in the 60’s) would make a good President and as a society, we would not have as many problems today (2002) if we had followed his lead. After these comments, the liberal media and the Democratic party jumped all over him, forcing his resignation as the senate majority leader.
In December of 2002, Obama said “the Republican party itself has to drive out Trent Lott… they have to stand up and say this is not the person we want representing out party” (Obama, Chicago Defender 2002). In a statement dated January 9, 2010, now President Obama said this “I accepted Harry’s apology without question… I’ve seen the passionate leadership he’s shown on issues of social justice and I know what’s in his heart.”
So why did President Obama almost instantly forgive Harry Reid? I submit two answers for you to examine:
1) There is a HUGE double standard being upheld by the liberal media and the progressive left
2) If President Obama made a fuss about this, it would further jeopardize his health care bill, that less than 35% of Americans already want.
Either a comment is “racist” or it is not. If a Republican or conservative commentator had called President Obama a “light-skinned” black man “with no Negro dialect unless he wanted to have one”, that would still be the lead story on the nightly news, with President Obama, Michelle Obama and every other liberal demanding the resignation of that person.
In today’s world of “political correctness” anything that someone says about race is racist and that is unfortunate. So you make the decision, either Harry Reid is either a racist or an idiot. Either way, he’s our senate majority leader.
Now, onto the education front. It is very unfortunate that most Americans don’t really like to read. I guess that is a function of Atari, all the way up through X-box. So, if you’re not going to read, I have found an outstanding mini-series for you to watch. It brings America’s Founding into your house and on to your TV. The HBO series “John Adams”, which, so far (1 of 3 DVDs so far). If you want to get smarter and gain some insight into the Founding of America, purchase the DVDs or hop on Netflix and order it. If you would like another outstanding resource on the year of 1776, please read the book 1776 by David McCullough, it is a fascinating book!
If you don’t get smart on the rights that have been granted to you by your Creator, you just might wake up one day and realize they no longer exist.
By Ryan Riell
I’m still waiting for the outrage over comments made earlier by the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). In case you haven’t already heard, Senator Reid called President Obama a “light-skinned” black man “with no Negro dialect unless he wanted to have one.” Senator Reid has since apologized, saying “I could have used a better choice of words” with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders.
Now, a little background on Senator Reid. He has been one of the key actors in the health care bill that is getting rammed down your throat, which, if it passes, will be the crowning achievement of President Obama’s progressive administration.
Why is that important? Because President Obama and the Democratic party instantly forgave him for his bigoted and racist remarks. Can someone explain to me how a “light-skinned” black man is different than a “dark-skinned” black man? Can someone explain to me what a “Negro” dialect is? Is there a qualification difference between a “light-skinned” and “dark-skinned” black man? What about a “medium-skinned” Black man? Does someone who speaks with a “negro dialect” less qualified to be the President of the United States? What “better choice of words” was he going to use to describe the color of President Obama’s skin have to do with anything? What word would he have chosen instead of “Negro” dialect. Do these questions piss you off a little bit?
Here’s some context for you. In 2002, then Senate Majority leader Trent Lott (R-MS) said Strom Thurman (one of the most anti-black members of the Senate in the 60’s) would make a good President and as a society, we would not have as many problems today (2002) if we had followed his lead. After these comments, the liberal media and the Democratic party jumped all over him, forcing his resignation as the senate majority leader.
In December of 2002, Obama said “the Republican party itself has to drive out Trent Lott… they have to stand up and say this is not the person we want representing out party” (Obama, Chicago Defender 2002). In a statement dated January 9, 2010, now President Obama said this “I accepted Harry’s apology without question… I’ve seen the passionate leadership he’s shown on issues of social justice and I know what’s in his heart.”
So why did President Obama almost instantly forgive Harry Reid? I submit two answers for you to examine:
1) There is a HUGE double standard being upheld by the liberal media and the progressive left
2) If President Obama made a fuss about this, it would further jeopardize his health care bill, that less than 35% of Americans already want.
Either a comment is “racist” or it is not. If a Republican or conservative commentator had called President Obama a “light-skinned” black man “with no Negro dialect unless he wanted to have one”, that would still be the lead story on the nightly news, with President Obama, Michelle Obama and every other liberal demanding the resignation of that person.
In today’s world of “political correctness” anything that someone says about race is racist and that is unfortunate. So you make the decision, either Harry Reid is either a racist or an idiot. Either way, he’s our senate majority leader.
Now, onto the education front. It is very unfortunate that most Americans don’t really like to read. I guess that is a function of Atari, all the way up through X-box. So, if you’re not going to read, I have found an outstanding mini-series for you to watch. It brings America’s Founding into your house and on to your TV. The HBO series “John Adams”, which, so far (1 of 3 DVDs so far). If you want to get smarter and gain some insight into the Founding of America, purchase the DVDs or hop on Netflix and order it. If you would like another outstanding resource on the year of 1776, please read the book 1776 by David McCullough, it is a fascinating book!
If you don’t get smart on the rights that have been granted to you by your Creator, you just might wake up one day and realize they no longer exist.
Do You Understand the Revolution and Founding of America?
Do You Understand the Revolution and Founding of America?
By Ryan Riell
I have been working on a longer article that is still in progress. I was going to highlight some more of the garbage that has come out of Washington, but this article has changed once I started.
After watching the Glenn Beck show from yesterday and was not that surprised to see that more Americans know songs by Michael Jackson than they do about the founding of America. That being said, I had to look further into the study that was referenced.
I went to the American Revolution Center’s website and downloaded the study the 2009 study that was commissioned to survey the adult knowledge of the American Revolution and the Founding of the United States. There were four (4) main findings presented in the report, which is summarized here.
Major Finding 1: The vast majority of Americans thought that knowledge of the history and principles of the American Revolution is very important. Most also said that it is very important for schools to teach this subject.
Major Finding 2: Most Americans gave themselves high marks on their knowledge of the American Revolution and our Founding documents.
Major Finding 3: On a 27-questions test, a national sample of American adults scored an average of only 44% correct. Nearly 83% received a failing grade, meaning that they could not answer more than 16 of the 27 questions correctly.
Major Finding 4: Based on what they knew about the American Revolution and the Founding, most Americans said that freedom and liberty, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion were the most important values upon which American was founded.
I have also included all 30 questions… take the test and email me for the correct answers- I got 25 of the 27 historical questions correct.
I am of the firm opinion that the current progressive Congress and President Obama simply think too many American citizens are too stupid and/or uneducated about their own rights and the founding documents of America. If we are either or both too stupid or uneducated to know what the US Constitution guarantees us, how on God’s green earth are we going to stand up and say NO when the government whittles away at them?
If you are an American citizen, it is you DUTY to know what rights are granted to you. It is your DUTY to stand up and fight for you rights, fore if you don’t, you might soon not have those rights to fight for.
Here are the questions:
1. Is the Bill of Rights part of:
a. US Constitution
b. Declaration of Independence
c. Gettysburg Address
d. Articles of Confederation
e. None of the above
2. The most important consequence of the Boston Tea Party was:
a. Repeal of the tax on tea
b. Failure of the other colonies to support Boston’s action
c. Opening negotiating between Britain and Massachusetts
d. Enactment by Parliament of the Coercive Acts
e. None of the above
3. Which document outlines the division of powers between the states and the federal government?
a. Declaration of Independence
b. Marshall Plan
c. US Constitution
d. Homestead Act
e. None of the above
4. The last major military action of the American Revolution was at:
a. Bunker Hill
b. Trenton
c. Saratoga
d. Yorktown
e. None of the above
5. Which of the following rights is not protected by the Bill of Rights?
a. Freedom of speech
b. Trial by jury
c. The right to bear arms
d. Right to vote
e. None of the above
6. Which of the following events most directly encouraged the states to send delegates to the Constitutional convention in Philadelphia in 1787?
a. The Whiskey Rebellion
b. The Boston Massacre
c. Bacon’s Rebellion
d. Shay’s Rebellion
e. None of the above
7. Which of the following was responsible for declaring America’s independence from Great Britain?
a. The Albany Congress
b. The Stamp Act Congress
c. The House of Commons
d. The Second Continental Congress
e. None of the above
8. Which of the following conflicts most directly led to the Stamp Act?
a. The War of the Roses
b. The War of 1812
c. The Mexican-American War
d. The French and Indian War
e. None of the above
9. Benjamin Franklin epitomized which movement in colonial America?
a. The Enlightenment
b. The Great Awakening
c. The Loyalist Movement
d. The Glorious Revolution
e. None of the above
10. Who wrote the influential pamphlet called “Common Sense” which advocated independence from Britain?
a. Patrick Henry
b. Edmund Burke
c. Paul Revere
d. Thomas Paine
e. None of the above
11. Who took detailed notes at the Constitutional Convention and is widely regarded as the “Father of the Constitution?”
a. Abraham Lincoln
b. James Madison
c. Winston Churchill
d. George Washington
e. None of the above
12. Who was the first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court?
a. Alexander Hamilton
b. John Marshal
c. Charles Evan Hughes
d. John Jay
e. Don’t know
13. Which of the following are inalienable rights stated in the Declaration of Independence?
a. Life, liberty and property
b. Honor, liberty and peace
c. Life, respect and equal protection
d. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness
e. None of the above
14. The US Constitution established which of the following forms of government in the United States?
a. A Direct Democracy
b. A Republic
c. A Confederacy
d. An Oligarchy
e. None of the above
15. John Locke developed the concept of the “consent of the governed,” an important principle underlying the War for Independence, in a theory known as:
a. Natural Law
b. Law of Relativity
c. Common Law
d. Statutory Law
e. None of the above
16. Which of the following nations played an important role in helping the colonies defeat the British in the
American Revolution?
a. Canada
b. Mexico
c. Denmark
d. France
e. Don’t know
17. Which of the following phrases are the opening words to the US Constitution?
a. When in the course of human events
b. We the People
c. Fourscore and seven years ago
d. I have a dream
e. None of the above
18. Which of the following events came BEFORE the Declaration of Independence?
a. Founding of Jamestown, VA
b. The Civil War
c. The Emancipation Proclamation
d. The War of 1812
e. None of the above
19. How many states were there after the United States one its independence from Britain?
a. 7
b. 13
c. 15
d. 21
e. None of the above
20. Who said the following: “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs”?
a. George Washington
b. Barack Obama
c. Karl Marx
d. Thomas Paine
e. None of the above
21. What river did George Washington cross on Christmas Eve in 1776 in a surprise attack on Hessian troops?
a. Rhine
b. Potomac
c. Delaware
d. Michigan
e. None of the above
22. Who was the first Secretary of the Treasury?
a. James Monroe
b. Alexander Hamilton
c. Larry Summers
d. John Seward
e. None of the above
23. In what state did the Valley Forge winter encampment occur?
a. New York
b. Delaware
c. Ohio
d. Pennsylvania
e. None of the above
24. When did the American Revolution begin? Was it in the…
a. 1770s
b. 1640s
c. 1490s
d. 1800s
e. None of the above
25. Which side of the American War of Independence did the American Indians support?
a. British
b. American
c. Both
d. Neither
e. None of the above
26. The westernmost city where military action of the American Revolution took place at?
a. St. Louis
b. Austin
c. Richmond
d. Atlanta
e. None of the above
27. Who famously implored her husband to “remember the ladies” in drafting laws for the newly independent United States of America?
a. Martha Washington
b. Abigail Adams
c. Molly Pitcher
d. Phyllis Wheatley
e. None of the above
28. How many children do celebrities “John and Kate” have?
a. 4
b. 5
c. 6
d. 8
e. None of the above
29. Who was the first athlete to win a record 8 gold medals in a single Olympics?
a. Scott Hamilton
b. Kobe Bryant
c. Shannon Miller
d. Michael Phelps
e. None of the above
30. Who famously sang the songs “Beat It” and “Billie Jean”?
a. Elvis
b. Bruce Springsteen
c. ‘N SYNC
d. Michael Jackson
e. None of the above
By Ryan Riell
I have been working on a longer article that is still in progress. I was going to highlight some more of the garbage that has come out of Washington, but this article has changed once I started.
After watching the Glenn Beck show from yesterday and was not that surprised to see that more Americans know songs by Michael Jackson than they do about the founding of America. That being said, I had to look further into the study that was referenced.
I went to the American Revolution Center’s website and downloaded the study the 2009 study that was commissioned to survey the adult knowledge of the American Revolution and the Founding of the United States. There were four (4) main findings presented in the report, which is summarized here.
Major Finding 1: The vast majority of Americans thought that knowledge of the history and principles of the American Revolution is very important. Most also said that it is very important for schools to teach this subject.
Major Finding 2: Most Americans gave themselves high marks on their knowledge of the American Revolution and our Founding documents.
Major Finding 3: On a 27-questions test, a national sample of American adults scored an average of only 44% correct. Nearly 83% received a failing grade, meaning that they could not answer more than 16 of the 27 questions correctly.
Major Finding 4: Based on what they knew about the American Revolution and the Founding, most Americans said that freedom and liberty, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion were the most important values upon which American was founded.
I have also included all 30 questions… take the test and email me for the correct answers- I got 25 of the 27 historical questions correct.
I am of the firm opinion that the current progressive Congress and President Obama simply think too many American citizens are too stupid and/or uneducated about their own rights and the founding documents of America. If we are either or both too stupid or uneducated to know what the US Constitution guarantees us, how on God’s green earth are we going to stand up and say NO when the government whittles away at them?
If you are an American citizen, it is you DUTY to know what rights are granted to you. It is your DUTY to stand up and fight for you rights, fore if you don’t, you might soon not have those rights to fight for.
Here are the questions:
1. Is the Bill of Rights part of:
a. US Constitution
b. Declaration of Independence
c. Gettysburg Address
d. Articles of Confederation
e. None of the above
2. The most important consequence of the Boston Tea Party was:
a. Repeal of the tax on tea
b. Failure of the other colonies to support Boston’s action
c. Opening negotiating between Britain and Massachusetts
d. Enactment by Parliament of the Coercive Acts
e. None of the above
3. Which document outlines the division of powers between the states and the federal government?
a. Declaration of Independence
b. Marshall Plan
c. US Constitution
d. Homestead Act
e. None of the above
4. The last major military action of the American Revolution was at:
a. Bunker Hill
b. Trenton
c. Saratoga
d. Yorktown
e. None of the above
5. Which of the following rights is not protected by the Bill of Rights?
a. Freedom of speech
b. Trial by jury
c. The right to bear arms
d. Right to vote
e. None of the above
6. Which of the following events most directly encouraged the states to send delegates to the Constitutional convention in Philadelphia in 1787?
a. The Whiskey Rebellion
b. The Boston Massacre
c. Bacon’s Rebellion
d. Shay’s Rebellion
e. None of the above
7. Which of the following was responsible for declaring America’s independence from Great Britain?
a. The Albany Congress
b. The Stamp Act Congress
c. The House of Commons
d. The Second Continental Congress
e. None of the above
8. Which of the following conflicts most directly led to the Stamp Act?
a. The War of the Roses
b. The War of 1812
c. The Mexican-American War
d. The French and Indian War
e. None of the above
9. Benjamin Franklin epitomized which movement in colonial America?
a. The Enlightenment
b. The Great Awakening
c. The Loyalist Movement
d. The Glorious Revolution
e. None of the above
10. Who wrote the influential pamphlet called “Common Sense” which advocated independence from Britain?
a. Patrick Henry
b. Edmund Burke
c. Paul Revere
d. Thomas Paine
e. None of the above
11. Who took detailed notes at the Constitutional Convention and is widely regarded as the “Father of the Constitution?”
a. Abraham Lincoln
b. James Madison
c. Winston Churchill
d. George Washington
e. None of the above
12. Who was the first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court?
a. Alexander Hamilton
b. John Marshal
c. Charles Evan Hughes
d. John Jay
e. Don’t know
13. Which of the following are inalienable rights stated in the Declaration of Independence?
a. Life, liberty and property
b. Honor, liberty and peace
c. Life, respect and equal protection
d. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness
e. None of the above
14. The US Constitution established which of the following forms of government in the United States?
a. A Direct Democracy
b. A Republic
c. A Confederacy
d. An Oligarchy
e. None of the above
15. John Locke developed the concept of the “consent of the governed,” an important principle underlying the War for Independence, in a theory known as:
a. Natural Law
b. Law of Relativity
c. Common Law
d. Statutory Law
e. None of the above
16. Which of the following nations played an important role in helping the colonies defeat the British in the
American Revolution?
a. Canada
b. Mexico
c. Denmark
d. France
e. Don’t know
17. Which of the following phrases are the opening words to the US Constitution?
a. When in the course of human events
b. We the People
c. Fourscore and seven years ago
d. I have a dream
e. None of the above
18. Which of the following events came BEFORE the Declaration of Independence?
a. Founding of Jamestown, VA
b. The Civil War
c. The Emancipation Proclamation
d. The War of 1812
e. None of the above
19. How many states were there after the United States one its independence from Britain?
a. 7
b. 13
c. 15
d. 21
e. None of the above
20. Who said the following: “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs”?
a. George Washington
b. Barack Obama
c. Karl Marx
d. Thomas Paine
e. None of the above
21. What river did George Washington cross on Christmas Eve in 1776 in a surprise attack on Hessian troops?
a. Rhine
b. Potomac
c. Delaware
d. Michigan
e. None of the above
22. Who was the first Secretary of the Treasury?
a. James Monroe
b. Alexander Hamilton
c. Larry Summers
d. John Seward
e. None of the above
23. In what state did the Valley Forge winter encampment occur?
a. New York
b. Delaware
c. Ohio
d. Pennsylvania
e. None of the above
24. When did the American Revolution begin? Was it in the…
a. 1770s
b. 1640s
c. 1490s
d. 1800s
e. None of the above
25. Which side of the American War of Independence did the American Indians support?
a. British
b. American
c. Both
d. Neither
e. None of the above
26. The westernmost city where military action of the American Revolution took place at?
a. St. Louis
b. Austin
c. Richmond
d. Atlanta
e. None of the above
27. Who famously implored her husband to “remember the ladies” in drafting laws for the newly independent United States of America?
a. Martha Washington
b. Abigail Adams
c. Molly Pitcher
d. Phyllis Wheatley
e. None of the above
28. How many children do celebrities “John and Kate” have?
a. 4
b. 5
c. 6
d. 8
e. None of the above
29. Who was the first athlete to win a record 8 gold medals in a single Olympics?
a. Scott Hamilton
b. Kobe Bryant
c. Shannon Miller
d. Michael Phelps
e. None of the above
30. Who famously sang the songs “Beat It” and “Billie Jean”?
a. Elvis
b. Bruce Springsteen
c. ‘N SYNC
d. Michael Jackson
e. None of the above
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Coming Down the Line in 2010?
Coming Down the Line
By Ryan Riell
Looking into, what I hope is an incorrect magic little ball, here are a few things that are coming down the line in 2010.
1. Stimulus Money
In January and February 2009, we were told that it was essential for the Nation that we pass the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), also known as the stimulus package, in order to bring us back from the brink of disaster. There wasn’t time to read the bill, there wasn’t time to debate the bill, we had to hurry up and pass it.
Eleven (11) months later, the progressive controlled government has only distributed 23.69% ($253.5 billion of $757 billion). I’m not going to be the dead horse that is Congressional districts and zip codes don’t exist... that had money disbursed to them. According to recovery.gov, the ARRA has “created or saved” 640,329 jobs as of 10/30/2009. Considering the aforementioned Congressional districts and the zip codes, the 640,329 jobs cannot be trusted. BUT… lets say that the number correct. 640,329 jobs at the cost of 253.5 billion dollars is $395,890.24 per job that has been created or saved. Does anyone see the problem with this? Heck, if we overestimated the US population at 310 million, that’s roughly $817.74 per person in the US, to include everyone that doesn’t pay Federal Taxes. That’s one months rent or mortgage payment for a LOT of Americans. If you only want to split this $253.5 billion up amongst taxpayers that actually pay Federal Income tax, you will have to cut off 20-30% of the already overinflated 310 million Americans. Does anyone see a problem with this? Why is common sense such a taboo?
That being said, were we being lied to AGAIN (I guess this would actually be one of the first major lies we were told under the Obama administration and the progressive controlled Congress)?
Does anyone have any idea why they have only distributed 23.69% of the funds? I submit to you that President Obama, his henchman Rahm Emanuel and David Axlerod along with progressive Congress and their flunkies are holding onto over 75% of the $787 billion in order to distribute that money this coming summer in order to buy the elections in November 2010.
The progressive movement, that has found a dynamic figurehead (President Obama) has an agenda. The sooner you realize that agenda is to “fundamentally change” America via “redistributive change” the better off you’re going to be. The progressives that are in charge are more than willing to sacrifice themselves in the 2010 and 2012 elections (see the growing list of democratic congressman, senators and governors that have already declared they will not seek reelection) in order to pass their progressive (that’s a nice term for at best- socialism and at worst- communism) agenda. They think you are to STUPID to remember in 2014 and 2016 when they are sure you’ll forget and they’ll win the seats back.
What is really sad: their inability to learn from history. The “New Deal” from Franklin Roosevelt didn’t work. World War II is the event that saved this country and our economy. His Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau Jr. (1939) said “ We tried spending money. We are spending more than we have ever spent before and it does not work. And I have just one interest, and if I am wrong… somebody else can have my job. I want to see this country prosperous. I want to see people get a job. I want to see people get enough to eat. We have never made good on our promises… I say after eight years of the Administration (Franklin Roosevelt from 1931-1939) we have just as much unemployment as when we started… And an enormous debt to boot!”1-3 before the democrats that ran the House Ways and Means Committee on May 9, 1939.
Do the progressive flunkies of our time really thing they are going to magically make it work this time? I hope I’m wrong about this, I hope we aren’t wasting $787 billion dollars to pay back campaign contributors and other political flunkies.
2. Fannie and Freddy
On December 24th, the Federal Reserve said that it would provide an unlimited amount of assistance to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (two government sponsored entities) as needed for the next three years to reduce market concerns that the US Governments lifeline will not lapse or be exhausted. Time Magazines person of the year, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, the genius who didn’t see the bubble and missed all of the signs of impending doom did just that… missed the bubble that was CREATED in large part by Fannie and Freddie, the first time around. Why are we giving Bernanke, Fannie, Freddie or any toxic combination of the three a chance to do it again? The housing market still hasn’t settled… quick, quick… throw some more money at it!?
To top that off, Peter Wallison, a former general counsel at the Treasury and current fellow at the American Enterprise Institute is predicting that the American taxpayers will LOSE $400 billion for supporting Fannie and Freddie, in 20
Is this OK with anyone?
Does everyone know that the Fed, who refuses to let anyone actually look at their books, was created by the progressive movement in the early 1900’s? What has to happen to the economy of this country for someone (my apologies to Ron Paul, but you just don’t have the credibility to make your demands count...yet) to actually demand an audit of the Fed?
3. Collapse of the Democratic Party
If the healthcare bill passes, in any form resembling either the House or Senate version, that will be the beginning of the end of the democratic party in America. The country does NOT want this healthcare bill. They do not want to government getting between them and their doctors. They do NOT want the government to be in control of 1/6th of the economy. They do NOT want to be told they HAVE to purchase something or go to jail. The Tea Party movement is polling at over 60% when run against ANY republican or democratic candidate.
If they have the audacity to ram their heads even further into the sand when it comes to “climate change” and ram Cap and Trade through, that might very well lead to civil disorder in this country. The progressive movement has pushed to far and to hard… they have enraged 60+% of Americans and we’ve had enough. Unlike their European counterparts, when Americans get pushed to far, we push back. We have never had and never will have a caste system in America, we believe in our right to make something out of ourselves and that hard work will pay off for ourselves and our families, NOT 3rd world countries in the form of “carbon credits.”
4. Hyperinflation
Just in case you have been watching CBS, NBC or ABC and haven’t already heard, the Federal Reserve has monetized the National debt, which, if history holds true, WILL LEAD TO HYPERINFLATION.
Let me break this down for you in simpler terms- they are printing money to suit their own needs! The Federal government seems to be having a hard time finding people to buy up the debt it is issuing, therefore, the Federal Reserve is now buying up the debt and issuing a check to the government. When the government starts running its own printing press to generate the money it needs, it makes its own money worthless. Would you ever imagine spending $200 on a gallon of milk? If we ever hit hyperinflation, that might be a conservative estimate of the cost of a gallon of milk.
In 2003, then Federal Reserve Board Member Ben Bernanke made the following observation: Like gold, U.S. dollars have value only to the extent that they are strictly limited in supply. But the United States government has a technology, called a printing press, or today, its electronic equivalent, that allows it to produce as many U.S. dollars as it wishes at essentially no cost. By increasing the number of U.S. dollars in circulation, or even by credibly threatening to do so, the U.S. government can also reduce the value of a dollar in terms of goods and services, which is equivalent to raising the prices in dollars of those goods and services. We conclude that, under a paper-money system, a determined government can always generate higher spending and hence positive inflation.
There are two alarming actions that the Fed has undertaken in 2009 that if left unchecked, has a very high probability of creating hyperinflation:
1. It made a $300 billion commitment to purchase Treasuries.
2. They are playing a very slick shell game with the debt that looks like this:
First- foreign central banks are selling “agency debt” (a security, usually a bond that has been issued by the US Government) directly out of their custody account (the account created by the US Government to “hold” the US bonds that have been sold to foreign central banks)
Second- The Federal Reserve is has then bought up those agency bonds with money they have printed off out of thin air
Third- the same foreign banks then use that very same money to purchase new Treasuries at the next government auction.
What’s not very funny about this… Bernie Madoff is in jail for running the same scheme in the private sector… it’s called a ponzi scheme.
I’ll be honest, I hope that I am wrong, I really hope that I’m wrong. I don’t have $200 to spend on a gallon of milk.
References:
1. Burton Folsom Jr New Deal or Raw Deal? How FDR’s economic legacy has damaged America. New York: Threshold Editions, 2008.
2. Morgenthau Diary, May 9, 1939, Franklin Roosevelt Presidential Library.
3. Richard K. Vedder and Lowell E. Gallaway, Out of Work: Unemployment and Government in Twentieth-Century America. New York: Holmes & Meier, 1993.
By Ryan Riell
Looking into, what I hope is an incorrect magic little ball, here are a few things that are coming down the line in 2010.
1. Stimulus Money
In January and February 2009, we were told that it was essential for the Nation that we pass the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), also known as the stimulus package, in order to bring us back from the brink of disaster. There wasn’t time to read the bill, there wasn’t time to debate the bill, we had to hurry up and pass it.
Eleven (11) months later, the progressive controlled government has only distributed 23.69% ($253.5 billion of $757 billion). I’m not going to be the dead horse that is Congressional districts and zip codes don’t exist... that had money disbursed to them. According to recovery.gov, the ARRA has “created or saved” 640,329 jobs as of 10/30/2009. Considering the aforementioned Congressional districts and the zip codes, the 640,329 jobs cannot be trusted. BUT… lets say that the number correct. 640,329 jobs at the cost of 253.5 billion dollars is $395,890.24 per job that has been created or saved. Does anyone see the problem with this? Heck, if we overestimated the US population at 310 million, that’s roughly $817.74 per person in the US, to include everyone that doesn’t pay Federal Taxes. That’s one months rent or mortgage payment for a LOT of Americans. If you only want to split this $253.5 billion up amongst taxpayers that actually pay Federal Income tax, you will have to cut off 20-30% of the already overinflated 310 million Americans. Does anyone see a problem with this? Why is common sense such a taboo?
That being said, were we being lied to AGAIN (I guess this would actually be one of the first major lies we were told under the Obama administration and the progressive controlled Congress)?
Does anyone have any idea why they have only distributed 23.69% of the funds? I submit to you that President Obama, his henchman Rahm Emanuel and David Axlerod along with progressive Congress and their flunkies are holding onto over 75% of the $787 billion in order to distribute that money this coming summer in order to buy the elections in November 2010.
The progressive movement, that has found a dynamic figurehead (President Obama) has an agenda. The sooner you realize that agenda is to “fundamentally change” America via “redistributive change” the better off you’re going to be. The progressives that are in charge are more than willing to sacrifice themselves in the 2010 and 2012 elections (see the growing list of democratic congressman, senators and governors that have already declared they will not seek reelection) in order to pass their progressive (that’s a nice term for at best- socialism and at worst- communism) agenda. They think you are to STUPID to remember in 2014 and 2016 when they are sure you’ll forget and they’ll win the seats back.
What is really sad: their inability to learn from history. The “New Deal” from Franklin Roosevelt didn’t work. World War II is the event that saved this country and our economy. His Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau Jr. (1939) said “ We tried spending money. We are spending more than we have ever spent before and it does not work. And I have just one interest, and if I am wrong… somebody else can have my job. I want to see this country prosperous. I want to see people get a job. I want to see people get enough to eat. We have never made good on our promises… I say after eight years of the Administration (Franklin Roosevelt from 1931-1939) we have just as much unemployment as when we started… And an enormous debt to boot!”1-3 before the democrats that ran the House Ways and Means Committee on May 9, 1939.
Do the progressive flunkies of our time really thing they are going to magically make it work this time? I hope I’m wrong about this, I hope we aren’t wasting $787 billion dollars to pay back campaign contributors and other political flunkies.
2. Fannie and Freddy
On December 24th, the Federal Reserve said that it would provide an unlimited amount of assistance to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (two government sponsored entities) as needed for the next three years to reduce market concerns that the US Governments lifeline will not lapse or be exhausted. Time Magazines person of the year, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, the genius who didn’t see the bubble and missed all of the signs of impending doom did just that… missed the bubble that was CREATED in large part by Fannie and Freddie, the first time around. Why are we giving Bernanke, Fannie, Freddie or any toxic combination of the three a chance to do it again? The housing market still hasn’t settled… quick, quick… throw some more money at it!?
To top that off, Peter Wallison, a former general counsel at the Treasury and current fellow at the American Enterprise Institute is predicting that the American taxpayers will LOSE $400 billion for supporting Fannie and Freddie, in 20
Is this OK with anyone?
Does everyone know that the Fed, who refuses to let anyone actually look at their books, was created by the progressive movement in the early 1900’s? What has to happen to the economy of this country for someone (my apologies to Ron Paul, but you just don’t have the credibility to make your demands count...yet) to actually demand an audit of the Fed?
3. Collapse of the Democratic Party
If the healthcare bill passes, in any form resembling either the House or Senate version, that will be the beginning of the end of the democratic party in America. The country does NOT want this healthcare bill. They do not want to government getting between them and their doctors. They do NOT want the government to be in control of 1/6th of the economy. They do NOT want to be told they HAVE to purchase something or go to jail. The Tea Party movement is polling at over 60% when run against ANY republican or democratic candidate.
If they have the audacity to ram their heads even further into the sand when it comes to “climate change” and ram Cap and Trade through, that might very well lead to civil disorder in this country. The progressive movement has pushed to far and to hard… they have enraged 60+% of Americans and we’ve had enough. Unlike their European counterparts, when Americans get pushed to far, we push back. We have never had and never will have a caste system in America, we believe in our right to make something out of ourselves and that hard work will pay off for ourselves and our families, NOT 3rd world countries in the form of “carbon credits.”
4. Hyperinflation
Just in case you have been watching CBS, NBC or ABC and haven’t already heard, the Federal Reserve has monetized the National debt, which, if history holds true, WILL LEAD TO HYPERINFLATION.
Let me break this down for you in simpler terms- they are printing money to suit their own needs! The Federal government seems to be having a hard time finding people to buy up the debt it is issuing, therefore, the Federal Reserve is now buying up the debt and issuing a check to the government. When the government starts running its own printing press to generate the money it needs, it makes its own money worthless. Would you ever imagine spending $200 on a gallon of milk? If we ever hit hyperinflation, that might be a conservative estimate of the cost of a gallon of milk.
In 2003, then Federal Reserve Board Member Ben Bernanke made the following observation: Like gold, U.S. dollars have value only to the extent that they are strictly limited in supply. But the United States government has a technology, called a printing press, or today, its electronic equivalent, that allows it to produce as many U.S. dollars as it wishes at essentially no cost. By increasing the number of U.S. dollars in circulation, or even by credibly threatening to do so, the U.S. government can also reduce the value of a dollar in terms of goods and services, which is equivalent to raising the prices in dollars of those goods and services. We conclude that, under a paper-money system, a determined government can always generate higher spending and hence positive inflation.
There are two alarming actions that the Fed has undertaken in 2009 that if left unchecked, has a very high probability of creating hyperinflation:
1. It made a $300 billion commitment to purchase Treasuries.
2. They are playing a very slick shell game with the debt that looks like this:
First- foreign central banks are selling “agency debt” (a security, usually a bond that has been issued by the US Government) directly out of their custody account (the account created by the US Government to “hold” the US bonds that have been sold to foreign central banks)
Second- The Federal Reserve is has then bought up those agency bonds with money they have printed off out of thin air
Third- the same foreign banks then use that very same money to purchase new Treasuries at the next government auction.
What’s not very funny about this… Bernie Madoff is in jail for running the same scheme in the private sector… it’s called a ponzi scheme.
I’ll be honest, I hope that I am wrong, I really hope that I’m wrong. I don’t have $200 to spend on a gallon of milk.
References:
1. Burton Folsom Jr New Deal or Raw Deal? How FDR’s economic legacy has damaged America. New York: Threshold Editions, 2008.
2. Morgenthau Diary, May 9, 1939, Franklin Roosevelt Presidential Library.
3. Richard K. Vedder and Lowell E. Gallaway, Out of Work: Unemployment and Government in Twentieth-Century America. New York: Holmes & Meier, 1993.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Transparency?
Transparency?
By Ryan Riell
There is a major problem with “business as usual” in Washington DC and it has to do with ethics, morals, integrity and honesty. Let me be very clear, this is a problem on both sides of the isle, not just the liberal/progressive side.
When President Obama was candidate Obama, he pledged an open and transparent government. Now that less than 35% of Americans want anything to do with the unconstitutional health care bills that have been passed through the House and the Senate respectively, the Democratic party has decided that there will be no transparency and no conference committee as they attempt to reconcile the two versions of the health care bill. The standard process involves the bills passing through a standard House/Senate conference committee.
So there are two main problems with this as I see it:
1) Either President Obama was so stupid and/or naïve that he didn’t realize he would NOT be able to keep this campaign pledge that he made it anyways or… Congressman Joe Wilson was correct and President Obama is a liar. What do you think?
2) Representative Pelosi and Senator Ried (the respective leaders of the House and Senate) do not want:
a. The public to be witness to the proceeding?
b. They want to pre-empt any procedural steps that the Republican legislators would be able to apply during the reconciliation process?
c. They don’t want to the public to witness the bribery that IS going to take place in a fashion similar to the less than honorable Senators Landrieu and Nelson just to name a few?
d. They don’t want to have to deal with Representative Stupak (D-MI) who has threatened to vote against any legislation that uses federal money to pay for abortions. For that matter, they don’t want to deal with any of their fellow Democrats that might have a spine and have realized that America DOES NOT WANT THIS BILL.
e. According to Representative Waxman (D-CA), the motions to select and instruct conferees in the Senate “would need 60 votes all over again” and they are worried that they won’t get it.
It now appears, as of earlier today, that they Congress will now simply bypass the reconciliation process and “ping pong” the bill back and forth between a select group of Senators and Representatives and most likely, President Obama.
Does this sound like the rules that America was founded upon? Does this sound Constitutional? Does this sound ethical?
To top this off, Speaker of the House Pelosi (D-CA) is on the record of saying “There has never been a more open process for any legislation” but then went on to say “We will do what is necessary to pass the bill.” Quote two is more in line with the behavior of Congress, when they went behind closed doors and would NOT allow any Republican legislators into the room, let alone take part in the discussion.
Now I get it, San Francisco has lost touch with reality quite a while ago. They have gone as far to declare themselves a sanctuary city and are even now refusing to turn over illegal immigrants to face prosecution for their crimes. But the flat out LIES by the SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE are unacceptable. This is the same woman who wanted to know if a reporter was SERIOIUS when he asked about the constitutionality of the pending healthcare legislation. This woman has either had a major mental disconnect or she is a flat out liar… either way, SHE NEEDS TO BE REMOVED from office.
It’s beyond any hope that President Obama will grow a conscious and at least attempt to uphold one of his campaign pledges and quite frankly, it’s not up to him, it’s up to Congress, which goes back to the point that he was either stupid or a liar when it came to “transparency.”
Now, let me go back to the start of this article… if there was a bill that was nearly as unpopular with the ENTIRE country, that the Republican Party was trying to pass, they would resort to the same deceitful hubris that they Democrats are pulling now.
If you refer back to the mission statement of this website, my problem is with the people in DC, regardless of their political affiliation. In general, there are too many politicians that are out for themselves, and are trying to grab as much power for themselves at our expense.
Thankfully, there are quite a few candidates that have declared they are only running for one term, and one term only, primarily because they will DO WHAT IS RIGHT FOR THE COUNTRY. It’s not the least bit surprising that the “Tea” party is polling close to 65% as compared to any Republican or Democratic candidate. I can only hope that you are as insulted as I am by the irreprehensible behavior being displayed by our government… it’s time to flush the toilet.
By Ryan Riell
There is a major problem with “business as usual” in Washington DC and it has to do with ethics, morals, integrity and honesty. Let me be very clear, this is a problem on both sides of the isle, not just the liberal/progressive side.
When President Obama was candidate Obama, he pledged an open and transparent government. Now that less than 35% of Americans want anything to do with the unconstitutional health care bills that have been passed through the House and the Senate respectively, the Democratic party has decided that there will be no transparency and no conference committee as they attempt to reconcile the two versions of the health care bill. The standard process involves the bills passing through a standard House/Senate conference committee.
So there are two main problems with this as I see it:
1) Either President Obama was so stupid and/or naïve that he didn’t realize he would NOT be able to keep this campaign pledge that he made it anyways or… Congressman Joe Wilson was correct and President Obama is a liar. What do you think?
2) Representative Pelosi and Senator Ried (the respective leaders of the House and Senate) do not want:
a. The public to be witness to the proceeding?
b. They want to pre-empt any procedural steps that the Republican legislators would be able to apply during the reconciliation process?
c. They don’t want to the public to witness the bribery that IS going to take place in a fashion similar to the less than honorable Senators Landrieu and Nelson just to name a few?
d. They don’t want to have to deal with Representative Stupak (D-MI) who has threatened to vote against any legislation that uses federal money to pay for abortions. For that matter, they don’t want to deal with any of their fellow Democrats that might have a spine and have realized that America DOES NOT WANT THIS BILL.
e. According to Representative Waxman (D-CA), the motions to select and instruct conferees in the Senate “would need 60 votes all over again” and they are worried that they won’t get it.
It now appears, as of earlier today, that they Congress will now simply bypass the reconciliation process and “ping pong” the bill back and forth between a select group of Senators and Representatives and most likely, President Obama.
Does this sound like the rules that America was founded upon? Does this sound Constitutional? Does this sound ethical?
To top this off, Speaker of the House Pelosi (D-CA) is on the record of saying “There has never been a more open process for any legislation” but then went on to say “We will do what is necessary to pass the bill.” Quote two is more in line with the behavior of Congress, when they went behind closed doors and would NOT allow any Republican legislators into the room, let alone take part in the discussion.
Now I get it, San Francisco has lost touch with reality quite a while ago. They have gone as far to declare themselves a sanctuary city and are even now refusing to turn over illegal immigrants to face prosecution for their crimes. But the flat out LIES by the SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE are unacceptable. This is the same woman who wanted to know if a reporter was SERIOIUS when he asked about the constitutionality of the pending healthcare legislation. This woman has either had a major mental disconnect or she is a flat out liar… either way, SHE NEEDS TO BE REMOVED from office.
It’s beyond any hope that President Obama will grow a conscious and at least attempt to uphold one of his campaign pledges and quite frankly, it’s not up to him, it’s up to Congress, which goes back to the point that he was either stupid or a liar when it came to “transparency.”
Now, let me go back to the start of this article… if there was a bill that was nearly as unpopular with the ENTIRE country, that the Republican Party was trying to pass, they would resort to the same deceitful hubris that they Democrats are pulling now.
If you refer back to the mission statement of this website, my problem is with the people in DC, regardless of their political affiliation. In general, there are too many politicians that are out for themselves, and are trying to grab as much power for themselves at our expense.
Thankfully, there are quite a few candidates that have declared they are only running for one term, and one term only, primarily because they will DO WHAT IS RIGHT FOR THE COUNTRY. It’s not the least bit surprising that the “Tea” party is polling close to 65% as compared to any Republican or Democratic candidate. I can only hope that you are as insulted as I am by the irreprehensible behavior being displayed by our government… it’s time to flush the toilet.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Gods and the Progressive Movement?
Gods and the Progressive Movement?
By Ryan Riell
Ladies and Gentlemen… the US Senate have declared themselves to be Gods! Now that’s a pretty bold statement, so let me elaborate on this for you.
Way back on July 4th, 1776, a bunch of crazy, right-wing nuts such as John Hancock, Samuel Adams Thomas Jefferson came up with some absolutely ridiculous document called the Declaration of Independence.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
These crazies went on to conclude this silly document with “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”
And then, they took this right wing craziness even further with another ridiculous document that was titled the “Constitution of the United States.” And to make things even worse, they added 10 more absolutely ridiculous restrictions on the federal government that are commonly referred to as the Bill of Rights. To make things worse, subsequent lunatics added another 17 amendments!
For the purposes of this article, lets focus our fury on the asinine 10th Amendment – Powers of the States and People, which was ratified way, way back in December of 1791. These right-wing, astro-turf loving tea baggers had the audacity to ratify such an outrageous amendment that said “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
Now, I’ve been told that I have a rather sarcastic and somewhat condescending sense of humor, so that being said- if you’re a progressive (that’s the new buzz word for liberal), this is the actual way you think about our founding fathers, the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights. If you identify yourself as a liberal or progressive and you don’t think this way, you better wake up, the political leaders that you’ve helped elect think this way! For those of you that believe in the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights, then you realize that the above text is laced with some very condescending humor, which most liberals wouldn’t have picked up on due to their absolute lack of common sense.
OK, so how did the US Senate declare themselves God? If you listen to Senator Harkin (D-IA) had to say, your head might explode. Feel free to click the part of the video, you can hear it yourself! Lets go hit the top 3 from this 1:03 video:
1) “We take that step from healthcare as a privilege to health care as
an unalienable right of every single American citizen.
2) When discussing the bill and how is “progressive friends have
been upset that certain things weren’t in it” he went on to say
“What we are building here is not a mansion, it’s a starter home.
It’s a start home. But it’s got a great foundation. We are adding
health care coverage to 31 million Americans. It’s got a great roof,
protective roof protecting in protecting people form abuses by
insurance companies. And it has room for expansions and
additions in the future. But if we don’t start the starter home,
we’ll never get there. So this is not the end of healthcare
reform, this is the beginning of healthcare reform.”
“Like every right that we’ve ever passed, the American people,
we revisit it later to enhance and build on those rights, and we
do that here surely.”
OK, let me repeat that silly part of the Declaration of Independence for future reference:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
OK, so lets go through the points and paint the full picture for you:
Point 1) If the rights that we are talking about are “endowed” by your “creator,” where does the Senate derive the power to endow us with more rights?
Point 2) What other rights has the US Senate or for that matter, Congress ever passed on to us? Are they God?
As it says in the Declaration of Independence, these rights are “endowed by their creator” which means GOD has endowed us with them, not a republican or democratic lawmaker. Do you have a problem with this? If you don’t, you better grab both your ears and pull your head out of your @$$.
If the US Senate has deemed themselves as your “creator”, granting themselves the ability to “pass” rights onto American citizens as if they are God, it’s a logical extension that they will then have the right to take away said rights.
Point 3) As Harkin said, this is simply getting their foot in the door. You might have taken a deep breath and been thankful that the public option is not on the table, but you are wrong. In the progressives own words “this is not the end of healthcare reform, this is the beginning of healthcare reform” and “ it has room for expansions and additions in the future.”
The thing that most people have never heard or fail to understand is that progressive point of view. A 2008 book “American Progressivism” which was edited by R. Prestritto and W. Atto sums it up best with the following statement which I have paraphrased here in italics:
Progressives understand the intention and structure of the Constitution very well; they know it established a framework for limited government, that these limits were to be upheld by a variety of institutional restraints and checks [they have control of 2 of the 3]. They also know that the limits placed on the national government by the Constitution represented a major obstacle to implementing the progressive policy agenda. Progressives have in mind a variety of legislative programs aimed at regulating significant portions of American economy [Cap and Trade, Carbon Credits, TARP, Stimulus 1 and 2] and society and at redistributing private property in the name of social justice [see next paragraph]. The Constitution, if interpreted faithfully, stands in the way of this agenda.
Can anyone tell me, before listening to the audio, who said this:
“If you look at the victories and failures of the civil rights movement
and it’s litigation strategy in the courts, I think where it succeeded was
to vest formal rights in previously dispossessed people... but the
Supreme Court never ventured into the issues of redistribution of
wealth and sort of more basic issues of political and economic
justice in the society... it didn’t break free from the essential
constraints that were placed by the Founding Fathers in the
Constitution at least as it been interpreted, and more important
interpreted in the same way that generally, the Constitution is a
charter of negative liberties, says what the states can’t do to you,
says what the federal government can’t do to you, but it doesn’t say what the federal government or state government must do on your behalf and that hasn’t shifted!”
“One of the tragedies of the civil rights movement was because the
civil right movement became so court focused, I think there was a
tendency to lose track of the political and community organizing activities on the ground that are able to put together the actual coalition of power through which you bring about redistributive change and in some ways, we still suffer from that.”
In general, the progressive movement argues that the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution and Amendments are a living, breathing document that needs to be reexamined in each historical period.
They are doing everything in their power to move beyond the Declaration of Independence and US Constitution since, in their opinion, the founding fathers were short sighted, sexist and bigoted people that were only capable of understanding government as a product of their historical context.
They have been intelligent/subtle enough in the past to not take on any of Amendments to the US Constitution directly. If you look at the gun laws in Chicago, they are nibbling at the second amendment very, very slowly and subtly. If they can pile up enough small wins, they add up to a large win and the removal of the 2nd amendment.
Now, with healthcare, they are taking some of the boldest action seen yet… they are directly challenging the 10th Amendment and have publicly declared healthcare as a right.
Let me be very clear- the ONLY rights that we have are in the US Constitution and the subsequent 27 amendments. If ANYONE in America wants healthcare to be a RIGHT, it needs to be added as the 28th Amendment to the US Constitution… it’s NOT something that Congress has the legal authority to “endow” us with.
This is a very exciting time in America’s history. With a progressive controlled Congress and White House, we cannot rely on either. The only defense we have left is the US Constitution and the court system, once the healthcare bill has actually been passed.
President Obama and the progressive majority in Congress are attacking the US Constitution and YOUR unalienable rights that were endowed upon you by God.
By Ryan Riell
Ladies and Gentlemen… the US Senate have declared themselves to be Gods! Now that’s a pretty bold statement, so let me elaborate on this for you.
Way back on July 4th, 1776, a bunch of crazy, right-wing nuts such as John Hancock, Samuel Adams Thomas Jefferson came up with some absolutely ridiculous document called the Declaration of Independence.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
These crazies went on to conclude this silly document with “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”
And then, they took this right wing craziness even further with another ridiculous document that was titled the “Constitution of the United States.” And to make things even worse, they added 10 more absolutely ridiculous restrictions on the federal government that are commonly referred to as the Bill of Rights. To make things worse, subsequent lunatics added another 17 amendments!
For the purposes of this article, lets focus our fury on the asinine 10th Amendment – Powers of the States and People, which was ratified way, way back in December of 1791. These right-wing, astro-turf loving tea baggers had the audacity to ratify such an outrageous amendment that said “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
Now, I’ve been told that I have a rather sarcastic and somewhat condescending sense of humor, so that being said- if you’re a progressive (that’s the new buzz word for liberal), this is the actual way you think about our founding fathers, the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights. If you identify yourself as a liberal or progressive and you don’t think this way, you better wake up, the political leaders that you’ve helped elect think this way! For those of you that believe in the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights, then you realize that the above text is laced with some very condescending humor, which most liberals wouldn’t have picked up on due to their absolute lack of common sense.
OK, so how did the US Senate declare themselves God? If you listen to Senator Harkin (D-IA) had to say, your head might explode. Feel free to click the part of the video, you can hear it yourself! Lets go hit the top 3 from this 1:03 video:
1) “We take that step from healthcare as a privilege to health care as
an unalienable right of every single American citizen.
2) When discussing the bill and how is “progressive friends have
been upset that certain things weren’t in it” he went on to say
“What we are building here is not a mansion, it’s a starter home.
It’s a start home. But it’s got a great foundation. We are adding
health care coverage to 31 million Americans. It’s got a great roof,
protective roof protecting in protecting people form abuses by
insurance companies. And it has room for expansions and
additions in the future. But if we don’t start the starter home,
we’ll never get there. So this is not the end of healthcare
reform, this is the beginning of healthcare reform.”
“Like every right that we’ve ever passed, the American people,
we revisit it later to enhance and build on those rights, and we
do that here surely.”
OK, let me repeat that silly part of the Declaration of Independence for future reference:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
OK, so lets go through the points and paint the full picture for you:
Point 1) If the rights that we are talking about are “endowed” by your “creator,” where does the Senate derive the power to endow us with more rights?
Point 2) What other rights has the US Senate or for that matter, Congress ever passed on to us? Are they God?
As it says in the Declaration of Independence, these rights are “endowed by their creator” which means GOD has endowed us with them, not a republican or democratic lawmaker. Do you have a problem with this? If you don’t, you better grab both your ears and pull your head out of your @$$.
If the US Senate has deemed themselves as your “creator”, granting themselves the ability to “pass” rights onto American citizens as if they are God, it’s a logical extension that they will then have the right to take away said rights.
Point 3) As Harkin said, this is simply getting their foot in the door. You might have taken a deep breath and been thankful that the public option is not on the table, but you are wrong. In the progressives own words “this is not the end of healthcare reform, this is the beginning of healthcare reform” and “ it has room for expansions and additions in the future.”
The thing that most people have never heard or fail to understand is that progressive point of view. A 2008 book “American Progressivism” which was edited by R. Prestritto and W. Atto sums it up best with the following statement which I have paraphrased here in italics:
Progressives understand the intention and structure of the Constitution very well; they know it established a framework for limited government, that these limits were to be upheld by a variety of institutional restraints and checks [they have control of 2 of the 3]. They also know that the limits placed on the national government by the Constitution represented a major obstacle to implementing the progressive policy agenda. Progressives have in mind a variety of legislative programs aimed at regulating significant portions of American economy [Cap and Trade, Carbon Credits, TARP, Stimulus 1 and 2] and society and at redistributing private property in the name of social justice [see next paragraph]. The Constitution, if interpreted faithfully, stands in the way of this agenda.
Can anyone tell me, before listening to the audio, who said this:
“If you look at the victories and failures of the civil rights movement
and it’s litigation strategy in the courts, I think where it succeeded was
to vest formal rights in previously dispossessed people... but the
Supreme Court never ventured into the issues of redistribution of
wealth and sort of more basic issues of political and economic
justice in the society... it didn’t break free from the essential
constraints that were placed by the Founding Fathers in the
Constitution at least as it been interpreted, and more important
interpreted in the same way that generally, the Constitution is a
charter of negative liberties, says what the states can’t do to you,
says what the federal government can’t do to you, but it doesn’t say what the federal government or state government must do on your behalf and that hasn’t shifted!”
“One of the tragedies of the civil rights movement was because the
civil right movement became so court focused, I think there was a
tendency to lose track of the political and community organizing activities on the ground that are able to put together the actual coalition of power through which you bring about redistributive change and in some ways, we still suffer from that.”
In general, the progressive movement argues that the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution and Amendments are a living, breathing document that needs to be reexamined in each historical period.
They are doing everything in their power to move beyond the Declaration of Independence and US Constitution since, in their opinion, the founding fathers were short sighted, sexist and bigoted people that were only capable of understanding government as a product of their historical context.
They have been intelligent/subtle enough in the past to not take on any of Amendments to the US Constitution directly. If you look at the gun laws in Chicago, they are nibbling at the second amendment very, very slowly and subtly. If they can pile up enough small wins, they add up to a large win and the removal of the 2nd amendment.
Now, with healthcare, they are taking some of the boldest action seen yet… they are directly challenging the 10th Amendment and have publicly declared healthcare as a right.
Let me be very clear- the ONLY rights that we have are in the US Constitution and the subsequent 27 amendments. If ANYONE in America wants healthcare to be a RIGHT, it needs to be added as the 28th Amendment to the US Constitution… it’s NOT something that Congress has the legal authority to “endow” us with.
This is a very exciting time in America’s history. With a progressive controlled Congress and White House, we cannot rely on either. The only defense we have left is the US Constitution and the court system, once the healthcare bill has actually been passed.
President Obama and the progressive majority in Congress are attacking the US Constitution and YOUR unalienable rights that were endowed upon you by God.
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