Principle over Party

“The only difference between death and taxes is that death doesn't get worse every time Congress meets.” ~ Will Rogers
I can’t begin to tell you how happy I was when I heard that Congress was going to take a couple of “Snow Days” off. I knew we were going to be o.k. for at least those few days. The “Jobs Bill” (Stimulus III) was up for a vote and the pressure from the Obama administration was fierce, even Senator Reid, in an actual show of bi-partisanship, cut the price tag from $85,000,000,000 (over 10years) down to $15,000,000,000 (over 10 years). This came as a huge surprise to many especially the other Senate Democrats, who as of today (2/12/10) scrapped the bill because of the cuts. So what does this tell us? Although I am pleased that the bill was scrapped, I am certain that it will return in one form or another. All this simply tells me is that these fools still don’t get it, STOP THE SPENDING, PERIOD!!!
“This country has come to feel the same when Congress is in session as when the baby gets hold of a hammer.” ~ Will Rogers
The Obama administration is not going to give up on “Health Care”, “Cap and Trade”, or “The Jobs Bill”. At this moment White House officials are trying to find ways for Obama to use “Executive Powers” to pass his agenda. Congress appears to be powerless to stop the President. As Obama stated in his State of Disunion Address, he would use his “Executive Privilege” to overrule the Senate decision blocking the “fiscal commission”. And even if Congress could stop him (which is Constitutional by the way) they are in a spending frenzy also (i.e. Nancy Pelosi and Family using military jets to travel the globe). There are absolutely no signs these people are going to stop spending OUR MONEY! “But Michael, President Obama promised he was going to “Freeze Spending”. Two problems with this, first being, “Obama said”. What has this man ever promised that he has actually done (besides fundamentally changing the U.S.)? Secondly, “Freeze Spending” does not mean the same thing to politicians as it does to real people. Freezing something usually means to stop something from continuing (i.e. Freezing Spending = Stop Spending) but to these politicians “Freezing Spending” means not adding to what is being frozen (i.e. the budget for 2011 will be $3.8 trillion and be “Frozen” for the following three years, meaning $3.8 trillion can be spent for those next three years). However, now here’s the kicker, only 17% of that budget is what he “Promised” to “Freeze”!
“A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government.” ~ Thomas Jefferson
“To compel a man to furnish funds for the propagation of ideas he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.” ~ Thomas Jefferson
How many of you have been on our site ( www.ThePeopleofLiberty.com ) and looked at the U.S. Debt Clock? Our Share of the National Debt is $113,221 per Tax Payer as of 7:22pm 2/12/10. U.S. Total Debt Total per Family is $679,459! The U.S. Unfunded Liabilities it is $347,962 Per Citizen! This is unsustainable; we are actually looking at “Generational Theft”!!! The current generation will not, it cannot pay this debt and yet, the President and Congress continue to spend our money and drive this Nation into bankruptcy! “Freezing” is not what this administration should be doing, CUTTING is what needs to happen. Cut Programs, Cut Taxes, Cut Government Bureaucracies, Cut Politician Salaries, Cut out the Lies, and Cut the Arrogance because the truth is…You Guys STINK!!!
“Power is not alluring to pure minds.” ~ Thomas Jefferson
There is something I’ve wanted to talk to you about that has been on my mind for quite some time now and that is the politicians starting to hitch on to the “Tea-Party” wagon. Rodney and I have decided not to endorse any candidates however; we will inform you about candidates as best we can. I know that if we are harsh with one, it may appear we are endorsing the other but as I have said before, too many times we must vote for the lesser of two evils. We are looking for Principles over Party and as of right now I see no candidates fitting this description. Now please do not send me e-mails about Sarah Palin, Scott Brown, or any others, as far as I am concerned they are still Politicians.
When I talk about Principles over Party I am talking about “Founding Father” Principles over what we have today “Politics of Party”. I have noticed a lot of hypocrisy on both sides of the political aisle. I know so many Republicans who embraced everything G.W. Bush did, spending sprees and the “Patriot Act” for instance. My Democrat friends went nuts over anything G.W. did. Now, the tables have turned and some of my Democrat friends are embracing everything B. H. Obama is doing and my Republican friends are going nuts. I’ve played into this myself at times but, I remember being upset with G.W. when TARP was introduced, so much so I got the idea for another “Tea Party” back then. I was big on the “War on Terror” after 9/11, so much so that I immersed myself in books on Islam and American history but, when G.W. brought out the “Patriot Act” I kept thinking about the 4th amendment:
Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
I wasn’t comfortable with this at all.
I read many books since 9/11 but, one that sticks out is “The 5000 Year Leap”. This book showed me the Principles of the Founding Fathers and I highly recommend that all of you read it. People, the only way we can stop what is happening (short of revolution) is to know what we can do constitutionally to stop it. It will be tough because we let the politicians have the power that was trusted to us by our founders. Basically, we fell asleep on the watch tower of freedom. It is going to take time to reverse over 100 years of giving power to the government that was never intended to be theirs. I believe we can get back to our Constitution; especially if we hold our politicians to their vow to “Protect and Defend the Constitution of the United States”. When you vote this year and every year, make sure you are voting in someone who is willing to at least read what they are suppose to vote on and definitely understand that which they are defending.
As our Founders Wrote in 1776 in 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.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Mike

P.S. ~ Our website (www. ThePeopleofLiberty.com) will be going mobile soon! We will keep you informed as to when. Keep checking the site for new items (i.e. Book Reviews, Progressive Caucus Members List, U.S. Debt Clock [link], Northwest Ordinance, and more).

What a difference a year makes

What a difference a year makes. This past year we’ve dealt with, frankly, some rather disturbing events that threatens our and perhaps our children’s future. President Obama’s administration started out with the Stimulus Bill (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009). This cost us roughly 800 Billion dollars, Poof! Gone. Next up were the Government bailouts of the Auto, Banking, Mortgage and Insurance industries. Poof! Billions and Billions of dollars gone. Next up was the Government takeover of said industries, dictating how these business should be run. Anyone know of a Government run business or program that is working well? Then came Cap & Trade, of course the Global Warming hoax and last but not least, Health Care. Who would have ever thought, all of this in a year! However, something positive also occurred during the past year. The Tea Party movement was reborn. The people started to take back their country.

Can You Hear Me Now?

Today (Friday), began the first National Tea Party Convention in Nashville, TN. Some activists heading there say they’re hoping to transform the raucous, disjointed movement into a political machine that can get out the vote for candidates who favor limited government. Sarah Palin wrote an Op-Ed piece in the USA Today where she said, “Some have tried to portray this movement as a commercial endeavor rather than the grassroots uprising that it is. Those who do so don’t understand the frustration everyday Americans feel when they see their government mortgaging their children’s future with reckless spending”. She is absolutely right about this point. One group tries to claim us, while the other group claims we are just a front for the other. I dismiss both claims. I say we are taxpaying citizens from various backgrounds, supporting a common cause; the preservation of our country. The freedom and liberties we so endure must be maintained. I don’t want a government that runs everything for us. I want less government involvement. I want a government that listens to its people, not one that spends trillions of dollars on empty promises.

Crossroads

Now, we, as part of a grassroots organization have come to a crossroad. As I’ve mentioned before, the start of the Tea Party Convention started today. However before it even started, the controversies began. Those who aren’t subscribed to our cause have created some of it. Others have been caused by fractions within the movement. All of this infighting must stop. We all aren’t going to agree on every issue but we must keep the big picture in focus. Hopefully a lot of this will be addressed at the convention. Within this past year, we have become a force that both Democrat and Republican leaders are aware of. Recent victories in Elections/Primaries are evidence of this. We cannot fall into this trap of being a Republican or Democratic or Libertarian branded group. Hell, you read what Mike posted earlier this week about the $24,000 job offer (bounty) that liberals are putting out. We need to stay out of being funded by one party or another. Grassroots to me, means volunteer! Not whoever has the biggest checkbook. We must not be at the beck and call of any party. All incumbents and possible candidates should be worried. We must not ruin what we’ve accomplished thus far. What a difference a year makes, and the difference is you! Tell me what you think. What direction should we be headed as a grassroots group? Check out our website www.thepeopleofliberty.com lots of new stuff to see.

Until next time, Rodney

TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION

2/01/2010 - This morning President Obama sent the 2011 budget to Congress which was more than $3,830,000,000,000.00 ($3.83t). He came out to speak to the American people on television and stated that the last decade has put him in a hard spot and that they would be “Freezing Spending” on non-essential items as well as starting a pay as you go system that will require them to take from one program to pay for another. These actions are projected to save $250,000,000,000 ($25b) over 10 years, which is less than 10% of the budget for 1 year (but the freeze only lasts for 3 years so…what kind of math are they using anyway?)!
Now, during the speech I heard very little as to where the $3.83 trillion would be spent and I wondered if this would be where the budget would be frozen for the next 3 years, meaning $3.83t for each of those 3 years, as he stated in the State of Disunion address. The Associated Press put it this way:

The result is a budget plan that would give the country trillion-dollar-plus deficits for three consecutive years. Obama's new budget projects a spending increase of 5.7 percent for the current budget year and forecasts that spending would rise another 3 percent in 2011 to $3.83 trillion.

The largest deficits in American History! I am seeing no end to the spending from this Administration and deficits as far as the eye can see. During part of the speech this morning, President Obama seemed to be trying to justify putting this tax burden on future generations by saying that not spending this money now would result in us neglecting their future. With all due respect Mr. President, this is tantamount to “Taxation without Representation”. My grandchildren and their children are going to be taxed excessively to pay for the spending habits of this generation. Now you may say that we are the representatives of our grandchildren and their children in this generation but, how do you know what their values will be or what they may want 10, 20, or 30 years from now? You don’t! Did you turn out how your grandparents and great-grandparents thought you would? If you did, great but most never imagined the world we live in now nor did they imagine today’s value system. The course we are on is completely irresponsible and should be considered theft! What do you think will happen as soon as China and the others, who bought our debt, want to cash in on the bonds? They will want to be paid, right? Where does the money come from? It will come from “We the People” and our progeny.
The ideology of this administration is not that of the democrats I grew up with and remember. They are a far cry from JFK, as a matter of fact; JFK was more conservative than either Bush (41 or 43) or John McCain. People, this administration is clearly part of the Progressive ideology which is not at all amiable to our Constitution. Early last year I put out a Politician Report Card which is now part of a project (the VTBO Project) where I will list the members of the Progressive movement that threaten our Constitution. I do not advocate violence against anyone, my purpose of the list is to identify the individuals so they can be legally “Voted” out of their positions. You may find this info soon on our website: www.ThePeopleofLiberty.com
The only reason people aren’t fuming mad right now is that our tax burden has yet to be realized or they feel like there’s nothing they can do. People, if you do nothing, nothing will be done!!! We are in a most interesting time in our history and you can be a part of that history. Remember that old slogan “United We Stand, Divided We Fall”, it was brought back to life after 9/11 and we should live it now. The politicians are worried about our voices and our numbers. Join your local “Tea Party”, call your Senators and Representatives, and educate your children, friends, and neighbors. You are not alone!!! If you think one voice doesn’t matter, perhaps you should ask Paul Revere.
You can find links to the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, The Federalist Papers, Articles of Confederation, Washington’s speeches, Lincoln’s speeches, Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense”, bills that Congress is voting on, the Hacked Climate-gate e-mails, Global Warming video from the BBC and KUSI, fun videos you can share with your kids, the VTBO (Vote The Bums Out) Project, and a list of Tea Parties near you, all at: www.ThePeopleofLiberty.com