WE ALL GET COAL IN OUR CHRISTMAS STOCKINGS!

Early this morning the Senate put 10 lumps of coal in the stocking of every American by passing their health care "reform" bill. Here's what the lumps represented -

1. Higher insurance premiums

2. Buying insurance is mandatory, or you get penalized

3. We get a one-size-fits-all health plan

4. We get a 40% tax on our health plans from our employers

5. Government controls our doctors' decisions

6. Medicare payments to hospitals for senior care will be cut even more

7. Bare-bones hospital care for everyone

8. Future cuts to Medicare with automatic spending reduction requirements

9. Giveaways and subsidies to illegal immigrants

10. Loss of confidentiality with your medical providers

If this program eventually is made into law, we can all count on coal in our stockings for many years to come! Merry Christmas!

Christmas lemons or Christmas lemonade?

As soon as the Thanksgiving mess is cleaned up, I turn on the Christmas music! I love the Christmas season! To me, it is a time of giving, a time of caring for others, a time of gathering with loved ones, a time of getting closer to our God, a time of magic! I love to see the anticipation and the magic in the eyes of the children. The wonderful story of the birth of Jesus in a humble stable is retold and seeds of hope are again planted in the hearts of many people.

In this tough economy, many of us are more limited as to what we can buy, or what we can do for Christmas. Maybe we can take these lemons and make lemonade! Perhaps we could make our Christmas giving more personal by giving more of ourselves. We can write a special note to someone telling them what we appreciate about them. We can volunteer to help with a project or perform a service for someone. We can take the children to the park for a picnic instead of buying them a gift that will be broken by the end of the day. There are so many things we can do that cost little or no money and that will mean more to the person receiving them than a gift purchased at Macy's! We can use this opportunity to get closer to the true spirit of Christmas.

I hope that the Christmas season will bring each of you peace and joy!

HEALTH CARE LEGISLATION FIASCO

How bad can the health care legislation get? Let me count the ways!

This legislation is the biggest grab of government control in our nation's history! Why is Congress trying to pass this legislation inspite of the fact that it won't solve the health care problems; inspite of the fact that Americans literally can't afford it; and in spite of the fact that the majority of the American people don't want it? Who in their right mind would pass legislation with more taxes and higher costs, in a time of economic crisis? This legislation will be a "job killer"! They claim it's about health care, but it's about CONTROL over our money and our lives! This health care legislation is the foundation of a governmental structure that will eventually enable the federal government to increase it's control and power over us as individuals and over the individual states.

The bill that passed the House and the bill currently in the Senate do not really address the problems that the Democrats claimed existed in health care. Premium costs will rise, medical care will be controlled and rationed, and millions of people will still not have medical insurance! It will cost us trillions of dollars. Yet, the Dems still claim that this legislation will be deficit neutral and is fully paid for. What they are really saying is that they have included so many taxes and fees and increased costs in the legislation that, along with the cuts they will make in Medicare, the deficit will not be affected. The reports of the Congressional Budget Office do not support their claims. Anyone that has a brain knows that EVERYTHING the federal government has done has cost MORE than they claimed it would! Why should we think that this legislation will be any different?

This legislation is pushing our country down the road to socialism, which is what Obama and his radical left wing friends really want! They want all of US to be "middle class" and they want to be the ELITES who control us. They will have all the power and they can live like kings at our expense! This legislation is so important to them that they are willing to abandon any ethics they may have had and they are making deals with our tax dollars to win the votes they need! This Congress is becoming the opposite of what they are supposed to be as elected representatives of the people. They are promoting their own agenda, not ours!

This health care legislation is UNCONSTITUTIONAL. The federal government does not have the constitutional right to force people to purchase anything in order to be a citizen in good standing. This is only one of several legal challenges to the constitutionality of this legislation. President Obama and the Democratic Congress have no regard for the constitutional limits placed upon them. Their goal is to make the Constitution a passive and ineffective document, with no real power to control them.

This health care legislation is possibly the most DANGEROUS legislation that has ever been considered in our nation's history. The repercussions of passing this health care bill will be disastrous to our republic and to our freedoms. PLEASE CONTACT YOUR SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES AND TELL THEM YOU DON'T WANT THIS LEGISLATION.

Liberals, You're being used!

My liberal friends (I do have liberal friends!), you are being used by the leftist radicals in our government to accomplish their goals.

Liberals are good people. You care very much about your fellow man and you want all people to have a good life. You want to take care of the less fortunate and you support social programs. You believe in the basic fairness and goodness of people. You are optimistic about the intentions of government, trusting that your elected representatives have your best interest as their priority. You believe that we are capable of creating somewhat of a utopian environment in which all people can live together without conflict, and mankind can protect the earth from negative consequences.

Unfortunately, the leftists radicals take advantage of your benevolent views. They loudly espouse goals and ideas that you believe in. Then they twist those goals and ideas into much more radical programs and legislation, whose main goal is to create a very different American society than what you intended.

They want a form of government where the elite group of government has control over the people. Our rights and freedoms are no longer guaranteed, but are at the whim of the government! They want to destroy individual wealth and make us all "middle class". The only wealth is in the hands of government and they decide how to dole it out to us. Our life choices are made by them.

This isn't what liberals want, but this is what you're going to get, if you don't wake up to the socialist Marxist agenda of President Obama and his cohorts. Just look at Obama's associations - Reverend Wright ("God damn America") and Bill Ayers (terrorist leader in the 70's) to understand where Obama developed his philosophy. Look at the radicals he has named as Czars. Look at what his policies are doing to our economy. Look at his failure to support the troops in Afghanistan. Look at his attempts to control various sectors of private industry and the financial market. Once you step back and look at the "forest" and not just a "tree", you will see the agenda clearly.

Don't allow yourself to be used! You might find that you and conservatives have a lot in common. You both love this country and want the best for our country and its people. We may not always agree on the ways to achieve it, but we all have the same goals of freedom and prosperity. Speak out against those who would take us down a radical pathway. You have your entire way of life to lose, if you don't!

WHY I CAN'T SLEEP!

These are the thoughts that keep me awake at night and make me fear for the welfare of my family, my country, and my freedom -

1. President Obama is placing his political agenda ahead of the lives of our troops in Afghanistan. A record breaking 62 American deaths occurred in October while President Obama still contemplates whether he will give his appointed general the troops he has requested! He wants to keep the attention on the push for national health care and not divert America's attention to the loss of life in Afghanistan! He seems to do nothing but travel around the world and give speeches, and not handling the life and death decisions in front of him.

2. The health care bills in Congress are not really about health care! The push for national health care is about the government gaining more control over our lives. The bills that have come out of the House and Senate do not fix the problems that President Obama and the Democrats claimed existed in our health care system. The bottom line is that what they are proposing will cost us more in premiums and taxes and fees, and will ultimately reduce the quality and access to medical care that we now have! Millions of people will remain uninsured, nothing addresses medical tort reform, nothing is being done about opening the health insurance market to interstate commerce to increase competition and choice. Instead the bills put the government in the position of making the decisions concerning our health care. The Democrats want to pass health care so that they can pat themselves on the back and claim that they have accomplished a great thing for the American people while increasing the reach of the government into the everyday lives of our people.

3. The Democrats are using dirty tricks to deceive the American people as to what their health care proposals will cost and how it will affect the American people. They claim the bill is "deficit neutral" and will save money and decrease the deficit. The reason they can claim this is because -

a) the bills are full of increased costs, taxes and fees on individuals and businesses.

b) the bills make $500 billion in cuts to benefits to Medicare recipients

c) the government starts collecting the taxes, etc. in 2011, while the actual health care does not begin until 2014, thus building a huge fund to finance the health care plan during the first 10 years! And....what will happen to that huge fund? Will Congress spend it on other things like they have spent the Social Security Trust Fund?

d) Democrats have chopped up their health care agenda into seperate bills like the "Doctor fix" bill that will cost over $200 billion and is NOT included in what the Dems claim is the cost of the current health care legislation.

4) The "transparency" and "bipartisanship" promised by Obama during his campaign have not materialized and Congress is totally divided along partisan lines. The Dems have created their health care bills behind closed doors and without Republican input. The bills and amendments proposed by Republicans have been voted down, or not allowed to come out of committee for a vote. Then the Dems claim that the Republicans have no solutions!

5) Unemployment continues to rise (now 10.2% nationally), the dollar continues to lose value worldwide, gas prices are going up, the housing market remains depressed (only distressed properties are selling), prices for food and commodities are rising, businesses are closing, bankruptcies are increasing, states are teetering on the verge of bankruptcy, and President Obama is claiming that the economy in in recovery!

6) President Obama is surrounding himself with numerous leftist radicals (Czars) and has given them extensive authority to influence our government policies. The Czars have not been elected and answer only to the President.

7) President Obama has a close relationship with labor unions, whose leaders are frequent visitors to the White House. The labor unions donated millions to Obama's campaign and now it's payback time.

8) President Obama has a long standing association with Acorn, a corrupt organization that is getting billions of our tax dollars.

9) The White House has taken over the responsibility for the 2010 Census that has always been the jurisdiction of the Dept. of Commerce. Why? The census provides statistics used in setting up Congressional districts, school funding. etc. In this way the census can be manipulated to favor President Obama's objectives.

10) Global warming is based on a faulty premise and is not supported by legitimate scientific research. Obama is promoting Cap and Trade which basically taxes our use of our atmosphere and is again based on faulty scientific conclusions. Cap and Trade will dramatically increase energy costs and dramatically increase government's control over energy.

11) Once the government controls our financial institutions, our energy resources, and even our own health care, they CONTROL OUR LIVES!

12) PRESIDENT OBAMA DOES NOT WANT OUR ECONOMY TO RECOVER! Saul Alinsky's "Rules for Radicals" is Obama's playbook. Obama is doing things to destroy our economy, not fix it. Continued spending, tax hikes, bailouts, printing money, etc. are exactly opposite of what economists would recommend to turn around the economy and make it stronger! Obama knows that once the economy collapses then the government is the only resource available to the American people and the government can be in complete control!

13) Iran is building nuclear capabilities, AlQaeda and the Taliban are gaining strength, Israel is in jeopardy of being attacked by Iran, Russia is extending it's influence in the world, and China is not buying our bonds and chastising President Obama about our government's spending.

14) The Obama administration is working its tentacles into our children's education and trying to promote learning socialistic principles and blind admiration of President Obama. The teaching of our American heritage of individual accomplishment and freedom is slowly being replaced with the concept of dependence on the government for all of our needs.

15) The Obama administration's philosophy is to "never waste a good crisis". This was espoused by the President's close associate, Rahm Emanuel, in his book. The administration promotes one crisis after another in order to take the attention of the American public away from what is being done "under the radar" by the White House and Congress! They are promoting the increase in the size and control of the federal government. They want us to be a nation of "middle class" people. Of course, they are the "elite" group that will make our life decisions for us! They think they know better what we need.

16) The Congress and the President do not follow the limits of the Constitution. They are making our Constitution a superfluous and irrelevant document. The Constitution has been the protector of our rights and freedoms and has been the base on which the greatest nation on the earth was built! President Obama, having taught the Constitution to college students, knows exactly what is being done to the Constitution. His goal is not to honor his oath of office, to "protect the Constitution", but instead to DESTROY it. When the Constitution no longer has any power, our republic is gone!

I HAVE TO STOP! There is more! These things are the reason that I fear greatly for our country! We need to make a change in the 2010 elections, and elect people to Congress who have OUR best interests in mind, and not their own!

HOW TO CATCH WILD PIGS!

A chemistry professor in a large college had some exchange students in his class. One day, the professor noticed one young man, an exchange student, who kept rubbing his back, and stretching as if his back hurt. The professor asked the young man about his apparent discomfort. The student told him that he had a bullet lodged in his back. He had been shot while fighting communists in his native country who were trying to overthrow his country's government and install a new communist government.

Then he asked the professor a strange question. He said, "Do you know how to catch wild pigs?" The professor thought it was a joke and asked for the punch line. The young man said this was no joke. "You can catch wild pigs by finding a suitable place in the woods and putting corn on the ground. The pigs find it and begin to come every day to eat the free corn. When they are accustomed to coming every day to eat the corn, you put up a fence on one side of the area. When they get used to the fence, they begin to eat the corn again. Then you put up another side of the fence. They get used to that and start to eat again. You continue until you have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in the last side.

The pigs, who are now used to coming to get the free corn, start to come through the gate. Then, when all the pigs are inside, you close the gate on them and you have caught the whole herd of pigs. They run around inside the fence, but they are caught and can't get out. Soon they just go back to eating the free corn. They are so used to it that they have forgotten how to forage in the woods for themselves, so they accept their captivity".

What is happening to us in America is like what happened to the wild pigs. The government keeps putting the "free corn" out for us in the form of special programs, subsidies, bailouts, welfare, health care, etc., while we gradually lose our freedoms - just a little at a time. Soon we will find ourselves fenced in by socialism or worse, and we won't be able to escape it!

Accepting the "free corn" now being pushed on us by President Obama and Congress is going to come at a great cost. They are building the "fences", bit by bit, around us. Then they will provide or withhold the "free corn" and we will have no choice but to accept it because we have surrendered our freedom to decide for ourselves and direct our own lives.

Wake up, America. before they close the gate!

(Taken from an article by Mike Boyer)

A PERSONAL DEBT TO VETERANS

On this Veterans Day I want to express my gratitude for all those who have given years of their lives to our military service, and those who have perished, in the pursuit of preserving freedom and improving the human condition on our soil and around the world. The fact that the United States has an all volunteer army, the best in the world, shows the extent of patriotism and love for country that our military men and women exhibit.

It is no small thing for individuals to put themselves in danger and risk their lives to protect other people. It is no small thing to have your life altered by injury. It is no small thing for families to sacrifice those they love in the cause of protecting the freedom of others. A life lost can never be replaced.

A few years ago we visited the American Cemetery in Normandie, France. As I looked over the thousands of white crosses on acres of green lawn, I contemplated the fact that each one represented a life that was lost - a person, a brother, a husband, a father. Just like MY brother, my husband, and my father. My heart overflowed with gratitude to those laid to rest there. I thanked them for the legacy of freedom that they gave ME, personally.

Freedom is not free. It has come at the cost of many lives. It continues to demand the service and protection of brave people. I hope that we never take them for granted.

THANK YOU to those now in the military and those who have served in the past. Our country is grateful, and I am personally grateful, for you.

LET'S CALL A SPADE, A SPADE!

The media is expounding about the mental status of Major Hasan after he opened fire in an Army base and killed and wounded many people! Some have talked about Post Traumatic Syndrome, even though Major Hasan was never deployed. Some say he was "picked on" by fellow military personnel. Some have talked about how a mental health professional could take on the stress from his patients! Etc, etc, etc.! Let's call a spade, a spade. What Major Hasan did was an act of TERRORISM! Why does the media shrink from using that word, terrorism? Because acts of domestic terrorism don't reflect well on President Obama and his ability to "keep us safe"!

It is now being reported that the CIA knew months ago that Major was attempting to contact AlQaeda. But, the CIA did not communicate this to the Army! Why not? Major Hasan openly opposed the war, even to the point of arguing with his own patients. He rationalized the motives of suicide bombers as people who were faithful to their beliefs. Yet, nothing was done to limit his access to army facilities and army personnel or to remove him from any opportunity to hurt others.

Major Hasan planned the attack. He gave away his possessions. He said goodbye to friends. He planned and prepared carefully. His motivation was the same as those who commit acts of terrorism in the Middle East. He was a radical muslim who believed that he would be rewarded in the after life for killing infidels. Sounds like a terrorist act to me.

OPPOSE PELOSI'S HEALTH CARE BILL

HR3962 may come up for a vote in the House as soon as this Friday, Nov 6. America cannot afford this proposal. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the legislation will cost $1.05 trillion over the next 10 years! The bill is riddled with taxes that will cost the taxpayer by more expensive health insurance premiums, medical devices, prescription drugs, etc. Small business will be taxed.The federal government will put its fingers in every part of our health care system and will eventually kill private health insurance with the help of the "public option" trojan horse included in this bill.

Everyone will be forced to purchase insurance or face a penalty from $750 to $3800 per year. Seniors will be hit hard with the government reducing funding to Medicare to pay for this legislation.

This is only the tip of the iceberg. This 1990 page bill is is a grab bag of legislation that will be a nightmare for our economy and for us as individuals. This bill will not improve our health care system, which currently is the best in the world, but rather will cause restricted and rationed medical care.

This legislation does not address many of the issues that currently cause problems in our health care system, and it still leaves millions of people uninsured. This bill is not about helping the American people, it's about CONTROLLING the American people.

CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES IN THE HOUSE AND TELL THEM NOT TO VOTE ON HR3962 - that you don't want federally controlled health care with or without a public option!

Diane visited family in Florida

I recently spent a few days in Florida visiting with my mother and sister, Maureen. My mom at age 84 is spry and active and doing great! Mom and I visited with my father's brother, Bob, and his wife Mary. They live on the West coast of Florida in Estero Beach. I stayed at Maureen and Doug's house and one day we visited a Pumpkin Patch with Lori and Cari and families. All in all, the trip was great, the weather was great, and it was great to see everyone doing well!

SOLDIERS DIE WHILE OBAMA CAN'T DECIDE!

More soldiers and civilians died this week and terrorist attacks have greatly increased in number and intensity in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq. We have not seen this intensity of attacks since 2001. Terrorists have become emboldened by the weakness and indecision that they see in President Obama. They are NOT afraid of the USA as long as Obama is the Commander in Chief! He sent a general to Afghanistan to WIN the war for us and now Obama drags out the process of deciding whether to give the general the troops he needs. He is letting the bureaucrats and politics decide what he is going to do! Our soldiers deserve better than this. I'm afraid Obama is going to cause more deaths and we eventually will leave the Middle East in defeat! Is that what we elected him to do?

CONGRESS AND THE HEALTH CARE FIASCO!

Health care proponents in Congress are saying that the new federal health care plans are "deficit neutral" - that means they say it will not add to the deficit. They are making the deficit the financial issue and not the real cost of these government plans. What they are NOT saying is that the reason they claim it will be deficit neutral is that they plan to pay for it with fees, penalties and taxes in the bills and limitations and controls on medical treatments and rationing of care.

The health plan Congress wants would not go into effect for 3 to 5 years, but the taxes would start right away! These government health care bills will cost us dearly, even before any possible benefits would occur.

Those people who have private health insurance plans that Congress calls "Cadillac plans" will be charged a 40% tax on the premiums! Instead of making health insurance premiums easier to pay by making them "tax exempt", Congress wants to tax them! Which plans will be considered "Cadillac plans"? No one knows!

They are still arguing that they are magically going to end Medicare fraud, which apparently has not been accomplished in the 40 years that Medicare has been in existence! Doctors will be financially penalized if they don't follow federal guidelines for how certain illnesses should be treated! Medical supplies and equipment over $100 will be taxed! And much more!

The federal demands being placed on insurance companies are going to mean significantly increased health insurance premiums that will affect 85% of Americans, not to mention the taxation that will be added to the premium cost!

People over 65 will be hit especially hard. Medicare will be cut by $500 billion at a time when 30 million more baby boomers will turn 65! In addition, the Congressional Budget Office report says that, after the federal health care is in effect, there will still be about 29 million people left uninsured.

Many doctors have said that if more federal regulation on their practice of medicine comes into effect, that they will leave the medical profession in America. (They would probably be very welcome in many countries that are leaving national health care programs and moving back toward private care!)

No one knows what final bill will eventually come out of Congress, but you can be sure that it will contain rules and regulations that will eventually cause the destruction of private health care! Private health care will become so expensive that it will be prohibitive to even the wealthiest of Americans. Employers will be forced by higher costs to discontinue offering private health plans and employees will have no choice but to go to federal health care plans. We will end up with single pay government health care, like Canada and England!

Are these government plans going to take the health system regarded as the best in the world and make it better? NO! Will they extend coverage to all uninsured people in this country? NO! Will these plans make health insurance premiums any cheaper? NO! Are these plans going to cost the average person more money? YES!

SO WHY ARE THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS DOING THIS? It's not about our health. It's about government control over our money and our lives. It's about their desire to have us dependent on government for our basic life requirements. It's about the arrogrance of power in Congress and the Presidency. They know that the majority of the citizens are not in favor of federally controlled health care, and yet they are insistent on passing it. What's good for the American people matters little to these power hungry bureaucrats! It's all about them (and they will have their OWN health insurance--not ours)!

TELL YOUR CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVES TO SCRAP THESE RIDICULOUS HEALTH CARE BILLS and pass legislation that will be economically sound and will not COST the American people an arm and a leg (literally!).

AFGHANISTAN WAR 8 YEARS OLD TODAY!

I've just been listening to the Pentagon spokesman doubletalk about the Afghanistan war! He is saying that General McChrystal's request for troops is still going through the "chain of command", which apparently is a very slow process! He couldn't say for sure where that request was! He says it comes down to what strategy the President is going to have for Afghanistan. Why doesn't the President have a strategy?

Then the President spokesman, Robert Gibbs, says that the President asked to see General McChrystals report last Thursday. I remember President Bush having a DAILY meeting with his Secretary of Defense about the workings of the wars. I find it hard to believe that the current Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, wouldn't have taken this request to the President before now! Unless, the President couldn't find time, what with all his other pressing public appearances. This is just a tactic to try to protect the President from the public's dissatisfaction of his handling of the Afghan war.

We've been in Afghanistan for 8 years! This was an issue in the campaign and it's been an issue during the last year since President Obama took office. So why doesn't the President have a strategy now? I seem to remember him saying in several speeches that we were there to win!

We're getting a lot of doubletalk and excuses, but it all comes down to indecision and an adverse attitude toward this war by the President and the liberals. All this just gives the Taliban and Al Qaeda more encouragement. The Taliban watches Fox News too!

"DON'T GIVE ME NO BAD NEWS!"

General McChrystal, the commanding officer in Afghanistan, made a public statement that if the US didn't send more troops to Afghanistan, then we risk losing. Now he is being attacked for saying this publicly. Of course, he had asked the President for the troops months before, and since then had not heard from the President once and no troops were promised. Generals speak publicly all the time. They have freedom of speech too!

President Obama is Commander in Chief of the military. He is also saying that General McChrystal should have gone through "chain of command"! Shouldn't the General in charge of the war be able to talk directly to the Commander in Chief who has ultimate responsibility for the war?

I'm of the opinion that the General probably did have an ulterior motive by making these public comments, and that was to light a fire under a complacent President! Our soldiers are fighting and dying in Afghanistan. This is not a tea party gone awry, its a war!

President Obama has been too busy promoting his own political agenda, that his interest in Afghanistan appears to have been nil! He has remained silent about what he is actually going to do about Afghanistan, except to say that we will not leave Afghanistan. Then, Mr President, are we going to stay until we are defeated? Eight soldiers were killed just this last weekend!

The President is now having a meeting with lawmakers. He is more interested in not losing his political support in Congress than he is with protecting our troops. The Afghanistan war has been undersourced for years and now there is a resurgence of the Taliban who are emboldened by the weakness and indecision of this President.

We have a President who apparently doesn't know what to do and doesn't want to listen to the general he appointed to oversee the war. Is he going to have Congressional bureaucrats tell him how to run the wars and not the military personnel on the ground in Afghanistan? In the meantime our young soldiers are fighting and dying.

The "kill granny" Bill

The Senate's health care bill, called the Baucus Bill, robs the elderly to cover the uninsured--like snatching purses from old ladies! The House bills already cut future spending for Medicare by $500 billion over the next decade. The Baucus bill would slash a similar amount, just when 30 percent more people enter the program as baby boomers turn 65!

Our own Senator Cantwell inserted a devastating amendment into the Baucus bill. It gives the Secretary of Health and Human Services the power to define quality, cost effective care for each medical condition and penalize doctors who spend more on their patients. The law establishing Medicare in 1965 barred the federal government from interfering in doctors' treatment decisions. Slowly, Medicare regulations have begun unraveling that protection. Now the Cantwell amendment finishes the job.

This is the most extreme change to Medicare ever. It will mean that the only doctors left in Medicare will be those willing to ration care and practice cookbook medicine. The Baucus bill completes the framework for tying doctors' hands when treating the elderly.

The health reformers' plan to cut spending on patients 65 and older won't simply reduce end-of-life care, it will also eliminate care for patients who are perfectly capable of surviving their illness and going on with life.

These health care reform bills put forth by Congress will put an end to Medicare that we now have and will be the beginning of health care that will be rationed or denied because of bureaucratic rules and regulations and lack of funding.

Don't let this happen. Tell your Congressional representatives that you DO NOT WANT these health care reforms. Do it now - before it's too late!

WHO OWNS YOUR BODY?

Under Obamacare, not you! We have often heard the liberals say that we are the only advanced nation that fails to have universal health care. This statement is often followed by the rueful remark that this debate has been going on for 60 years without progress.

So why hasn't this nation progressed to universal health care? America is the only advanced country whose founding principles were based on individual freedom and popular sovereignty. The concept that government should subordinate to the people is the core principle stated by our founding fathers in the Constitution. We the people prefer "self rule" and "personal freedom". We believe that ownership of one's body is a matter between the individual and God, with no intermediation by government. This is the reason that debate on universal health care never ends.

So the question of "who owns your body" is simply answered. YOU own your body, not the government. Yet the current assertions being made by the Obama administration and Congress is that they should have authority over the maintenance of our bodies, and in order to do that, they must have the power to approve or withhold care.

If the government owns our bodies then we have opted for "veterinary" medicine, for we will be accepting the moral status of a domestic animal. If you own your body then you must make mortal decisions for yourself, and pay for the care that you want with money that you have reason to see as your own.

The system now congealing in Congress for health care is not guided by the principle of individual freedom and government subservience. Instead they promote government control over our personal health care, access to the most intimate personal information, direct interaction with bank accounts, and various schemes that would be managed by impenetrable, impersonal, and unaccountable bureaucracies.

Do we want to place such profound power in the hands of anyone, much less a government of power hungry, elitist bureaucrats? Our 18th century forefathers saw that liberty was something exceptional about this country. We must keep it that way, and preserve our right to control our own bodies!

(Thoughts taken from an article by William Anderson in The Weekly Standard)

How Life is Valued in National Health Care legislation.

Anyone who is pro-life must know that all the current health care bills in Congress will allow taxpayer funded abortions. That is a fact that can't be denied. There have been amendments submitted to take this provision out of the health care bills, but these amendments were all voted down. There is no right to life for the unborn in national health care.

There are also provisions that will make life a "cost benefit commodity", especially for the very young and the old. While the bills don't say this specifically, the consequences of the implementation of the provisions will guarantee that medical care will be rationed, and, in some cases, denied. President Obama's key health care advisor, Ezekiel Emanuel, is a proponent of the "complete lives" system. This system values stages of life differently and applies these values to decisions that should be made about health care given at different stages of life. The very young have less value because society has less invested in them. People over 65 have less value, because they now have less to contribute to society. These ideas may shock you, but they are in print authored by Dr. Emanuel!

How this legislation is implemented will be decided by the agendas of the people in authority. If those people don't value all life equally we can be sure of medical care being rationed or denied to those they value less.

READ HR3200 to know the Truth!

I don't have enough room in this blog to explain to you how dangerous this Health Care bill is! If you want to know what's in it, go to www.LC.org and look at their section by section review of HR3200. It will give you nightmares, especially if you are a senior citizen or have parents or grandparents that you care about!

Have you noticed how, when Democrats are asked about the health care bills, they all use specific words and phrases. These words and phrases are "talking points" that have been carefully selected to influence people to accept the Democratic arguments, regardless of their truthfulness.

One example is the liberals saying that the bills allow people to "keep" the coverage that they like, that the government coverage is just an "option", and that it doesn't mean that government will "take over" health insurance. Anyone who actually reads the bill realizes that these are not true statements.

Not only are there specifics in the bill but once the public option goes into effect, over time, private insurance will be forced out. Government will be making the regulations that will control the private insurance industry and private insurance will not be able to compete with the government "option". The government will be both the opposing team and the umpire in the private insurance industry! The devil is in the details and the President and congressional democrats hope that most people will NOT read the bill and will just accept what is said because it "sounds good" and it's what they want to hear!

This is NOT health care reform. They have not even addressed the real problems evident in our health care system. This is a blatant grab of government control over our lives. Once they have this control, our lives are in the hands of bureaucrats and politicians.

PLEASE go to LC.org and read the information. I guarantee you will NOT want this bill to pass!

HOW LEGISLATION IS IMPLEMENTED

Federal regulations are the actual enforceable laws authorized by major legislation enacted by Congress. The creation of the real laws and regulations that enforce acts of Congress, like health care reform bills, happen largely unnoticed in the offices of the government agencies rather than the halls of Congress.

There are at least 50 "regulatory" agencies that are empowered to create and enforce rules - regulations - that carry the full force of law. Acts such as the health care bills, literally enable the regulatory agencies to create the regulations required to administer and enforce them. Individuals, businesses, and private and public organizations can be fined, sanctioned, forced to close, and even jailed for violating federal regulations.

The final step requires either publication in the Federal Register for at least 30 days, and some require publication and hearings. Again, these publications and hearings often go unnoticed by the American people and the media.

The people who actually supervise these federal agencies, and their superiors, have great influence on the actual rules and regulations created, and the implementation of these regulations. Examining the resumes and the values of the people that President Obama has put in charge of these areas of government gives us reason to fear how national care could, in reality, be very different from what the American people intended! The provisions of HR 3200 and other national health care bills can easily result in rules and regulations that will make these health care bills an absolute nightmare for the health insurance industry, the medical providers, and the people who are subject to it.

So no matter how benign some of the provisions of HR3200 look, in the end they could be very threatening to the health and welfare of the American people. At least with private coverage you have choices about what health plan you want based on what they offer and what they cost. A government controlled plan takes away those choices, not only about insurance coverage, but about your own medical care!

Do you trust government agency bureaucrats with your medical care and your life?

President Obama named Cass Sunstein as his "Regulatory Czar" and named him head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. Mr. Sunstein in a Radical with a capital "R"! He advocates animal rights (your dog should have the right to sue you!). Really! He says that the internet is "undemocratic" and is a proponent of the "Fairness Doctrine" which promotes the squelching of opposing viewpoints. He promotes the "cost benefit analysis" as a primary tool for assessing regulations. This cost benefit analysis is the theory that undervalues the lives of seniors. He is a nutcase of the highest order and he is in charge of writing regulations for government programs. God help us all!

Kennedy's admonishment

I remember, as a young person, listening to the inauguration of the Democratic President John F. Kennedy. Recently I heard again the words stated by him in his inaugural address. "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country." I thought about how far our nation has strayed from that principle espoused by President Kennedy.

For many people it IS about what their country can do for them! People seem to have the idea that everyone in this country has a "right" to jobs, housing, food, education, health care and even new cars and it is the job of government to provide them. Many think that government should take away from those who have earned wealth and give it to those who haven't!

This idea of government dependency makes us weak as a people. People who can't stand on their own two feet are easily knocked down! Strength comes from taking responsibility for ourselves, facing challenges, overcoming adversity, working hard, sacrificing present wants for future rewards.

The wisdom of our founding fathers is evidenced by our Constitution which calls for limited government. The colonists weren't people who expected government to take care of them. They risked everything to make good lives for themselves and obtain their freedom from tyranny. That is the legacy they gave us and that principle has made our country and our people strong.

We will only stay strong if we follow the admonition of President Kennedy. If we continue to expect government to do for US and allow them to take greater and greater responsibility for our personal lives, we will soon lose the freedom to succeed or fail. Our strength as a nation will erode. We will become a nation of sheep who are easily herded and sheared.

We serve our country when we are good citizens; when we vote; when we serve in the military, when we give of ourselves to help those in need. But most of all, we serve our country when we stand up and take responsibility for our own lives.

It's Bush's Fault!

We are still hearing about all the horrible things that happened to us during the "last 8 years" as an excuse when someone cannot give a reasonable answer to a question about President Obama's agenda! According to them, it's still now (and somehow always will be) Bush's fault!

The liberals love to create villains! President Bush was their first major villain. Wall street, CEO's, banks, insurance companies, republicans, talk radio hosts, doctors, are just a few of the many "villains" the liberals love to have us hate! These days even the American people who disagree with the Health Care agenda are labeled "villians"!

Many Democratics in congress still blame Bush for a war that most of them voted for! They blame him for the housing market downturn that was primarily the effect of Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac's democratic governmental interference in the housing market.

Democratic handlers use the strategy that "if you repeatedly say an untruth long enough, people will start to accept it as truth"! The "8 years" excuse is a prime example. I remember living through at least 7 years of prosperity! When the Democrats took over control of congress in the last 2 years of Bush's term, the economy started to feel the effects of liberal fiscal irresponsibility, such as the fiasco with government regulation over mortgages with Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac.

In the last 7 months, President Obama has spent more taxpayer money than any other President, under the guise of a "stimulus package" that has done very little except bring taxpayer funded pork projects into various states. In 7 months, he has increased our national debt more than any other President. He has grabbed government control over private financial institutions and major industries. He proposed government controlled health care that will not only put our country into further debt, but will reduce the quality of health care and take away our freedom of choice over our own health.

Instead of using the excuse "the last 8 years", I wish people would apply some common sense to what has happened in the last 7 months! This is Obama's economy now, not Bush's! The Obama administration has made wrong economic moves that have slowed our economy even more during the last 6 months, and have caused unemployment to rise even more. They do these things as quickly as they can so that the American people are overwhelmed and can't monitor all that is happening, allowing them to push their legislation through "under the radar" of the American people.

But, for the administration, it's more about control and power than it is about the American people. President Obama has radical ideas of what this country should be, and it's not the principles which our Founding Fathers valued. He is creating of structure of Czars in our government who answer only to the President, and bypass Congressional oversight. Unelected Czars are controlling major aspects of our government and our economy. He is doing everything in his power to bring our nation into submission, while, at the same time, telling us how much he wants prosperity for all the people!

The more economically needy we are, the more control the government has over us! When they control our finances, our energy supply, and even our health care, they control US! When we have lost all of our savings and 401K's and IRA's and we have nothing left, we will have to go to the government for help. When we are so heavily taxed that we can't make ends meet with what's left of our paychecks, then they have us where they want us!

Wake up, people! The Obama administration knows exactly what they are doing! They are trying to create a "middle class society" (Rahm Emanuel's book) where the elite group (government) controls our lives and our money, and thus, our freedom! You can be sure that President Obama and his friends, and Congress and their friends, won't be "middle class". They consider themselves the "elites". That's the reason that they are arrogant and dismissive of the opinions of their constituents, because they think they know better than we do about what we need and what will keep us "in our place".

Wake up, America! Put the blame where it belongs, with President Obama and the Democratic controlled Congress. Demand fiscal responsibility from President Obama and Congress. Tell them we can't afford National Health Care! Take back our nation before we lose our quality of life and our freedom!

OBAMA LIED !

How often did we hear "Bush lied!? Where are those accusations now against President Obama for his glaring lies about the health care legislation currently in Congress? He was on television on Wednesday night and totally misrepresented the health care legislation and quoted false statistics. He again threw out the false premise that "we can't wait any longer" or "we can't afford to do nothing" etc.

I don't know about you, but I'm sick and tired of having these horrendous bills shoved through Congress before anyone can read them, let alone evaluate them. I'm tired of this President and this Congress saying that we MUST spend this money NOW! They still can't tell us how they will pay for it. Well, they could, but they won't admit that it will end up being tax increases on everyone, either directly or indirectly. Their argument that they are going to make their health care system more efficient and less costly is a pipe dream! Just look at the mess they've made of Medicare and Medicaid, and you will get a feeling for what a nightmare this government run national health care will be like! The people the President has appointed to make the policies are two steps away from being "crazies", they are so radical! Us older folks could look at decreased medical care availability, if not total denial of medical treatment if the national medical board does not think us "worthy" of it.

PLEASE call, write, email your Representatives and Senators and tell them that we don't want this national health care and we will hold them responsible if any more money is spent on this and other foolish legislation.

SPEAK OUT AGAINST NATIONAL HEALTH CARE!

The silent majority cannot be silent anymore! We must let our congress representatives and senators know that we DON'T WANT NATIONAL HEALTH CARE!

DON'T BELIEVE WHAT OBAMA IS SAYING ABOUT HIS HEALTH CARE PLAN! Most of it is rhetoric and is not supported by the facts of the bills that are currently being considered in Congress. Again, Obama is telling the people what he thinks we want to hear!

Instead of entirely restructuring our health care, why don't we just reform Medicare and Medicaid? Those federal programs are in trouble. Why don't we do something about tort reform and medical liability so that doctors and hospitals don't have to protect themselves from huge jury awards by having extremely expensive malpractice insurance that drives up the cost of medical treatment! Why doesn't the federal government help states expand their existing health care programs for the people who can't afford insurance?

Yes, there is work that needs to be done on health care, but not total destruction of private health care and institution of expensive, inefficient and substandard medical care.

Why would we want to do this by taxing small business and people who provide jobs and make investments in our economy? Why would we want to add to the deficit with the exorbitant cost of this program? There is NO WAY that the federal government is going to SAVE money on medical costs in order to pay for national health care! Medicare and Medicaid are fine examples of that!

DON'T WAIT OR IT WILL BE TOO LATE. OBAMA IS PUSHING HARD TO GET THIS DONE FAST! TELL CONGRESS TO BACK OFF ON NATIONAL HEALTH CARE!

HEALTH PLAN DEFIES COMMON SENSE!

What are we in for if the current Congress passes national health care? The countries who have had this (Australia, England, France, Canada, and others) have experienced INCREASED medical costs and LESS satisfaction with the health care provided! People are waiting months and years for needed medical treatment and are denied medications that the government feels is too expensive. Those people are coming to the US for the medical treatment they can't get in their own countries. Are we not aware of this? Why do we think that our government will do any better? Why do we believe the rhetoric of the politicians?

Medicare and Medicaid are the closest thing to national health care that we have, and those programs are in financial trouble. In 2017 it is projected that Medicare and Medicade will run out of money! Many doctors won't take Medicare patients because of the problems they have with receiving payment from the government and the low allowances for medical services. Believe me, you don't want to end up in a convalescent home that is paid for by Medicare! Those places are disgusting. That's what we'll get with government health care!

We'll all be paying for millions of abortions. President Obama vetoed a bill to give medical care to babies who suffered botched abortions! When will the government start telling us which babies can live in the womb and which babies will have to be aborted because of physical problems? What will happen when the government tells an old person that they can't have the medicine or medical treatment they need because they are too old, and the government doesn't want to spend the money on them? When will the government encourage euthenasia or encourage people to take their own lives when they face painful disease, because giving them proper medical treatment will cost too much? These things would all be a result of government control of medical treatment and medical cost.

Who are you going to complain to if you don't get the medical attention you need? What recourse do you have if something goes wrong with your medical care? You will have no recourse! The government will be in control and will dictate to you what health care you will get!

Let's think about the COST of this. The argument that we will pay for this with savings in medical costs is a total lie! The country is already in tremendous debt that our own government agencies are telling us is "unsustainable"! That means that WE CANNOT PAY FOR THEM! Our nation is on the brink of financial disaster now because of the excessive spending of Congress. There is no way that our nation can tax people enough to pay for this government medical program! Are you willing to pay 75% of your income in taxes? That's what it would take to pay for this.

The same economic principles that we have to use in our lives to survive are also applicable to government. We can't spend and spend without consequences. We have to live within our means. Why should our government be any different? Why? Because they think they can keep taxing us more and more to pay for all their spending. But at some point, even the American people can't pay any more!

Wake up your Senators and your Representatives. Tell them you don't want government health care. Tell them to STOP SPENDING!

OBAMA SPEAKS THE TRUTH!

President Obama recently stated that the stimulus package was "doing exactly what it was intended to do". Conservatives are amazed that he could make such a statement with a straight face! Unemployment is still rising, banks are still not lending, the stock market is still flat, houses continue to be foreclosed, and companies continue to go out of business or declare bankruptcy! And. . . the value of the US dollar is falling.

Unfortunately, I believe he was telling the truth when he made that statement! He doesn't really want our economy to recover! He wants it to fail! He wants the general population to be in dire straits so that we are at the mercy of government control!

He is quickly pushing through huge spending bills that are building a deficit that will cripple our country. He is overreaching and taking actions in direct violation of the Constitution. He is changing the structure of the Executive Branch with his 30 plus "Czars" that answer only to him. He is grabbing control of financial institutions and private businesses. He is trying to push a national health care program that will completely change how we receive our medical care and who makes decisions concerning our health care. It also will cost trillions of dollars that our country does not have!

He is traveling the world and kissing up to world leaders and tyrants. He is telling people of foreign countries what he thinks they want to hear about the United States in order to gain popularity. He believes in a socialistic "global governance" concept. America would be subject to global law and have global currency, and our citizen's lives would be controlled by government. He wants to be the world leader, not just President of the United States! We will basically lose our liberty and freedom and be subject to global laws.

In order to accomplish this, he has to bring our country to it's knees. He and his cronies and the naive Democratic Congress are swiftly accomplishing this. They continue to push through legislation that spends irresponsibly, increases our national debt, gives government more control, and takes away many of our rights. While Congressmen are playing all their political games to benefit themselves, Obama is using them as a tool to accomplish his long term goal, which is to break the American spirit and destroy our democracy.

Yes, his stimulus package is doing what he intended it to do. His cap and trade and health care legislaltion are just other ways to gain control over our lives and control our economy. He continues to put unrealistic deadlines on all this legislation and is pushing hard to do all of this in the shortest time possible. This keeps everyone running and doesn't give anyone time to evaluate the consequences. The liberal media still have their "slobbering love affair" with Obama, and have abandoned journalistic ethics. They fail to investigate and evaluate what is being done by Obama and they fail to report in a fair and unbiased manner.

If we don't stop this, we won't recognize this country in a few years time! I never thought that I would ever be a person who would believe in a conspiracy to bring down our economy and our democracy, but this is becoming more clear to me on a daily basis. Please America, Wake Up before it's too late!

WATCH OUT!

Watch out for the health care rhetoric of President Obama. He again is misleading the American people. For example, he has said that the American people need portability in their health insurance plans. They should be able to take their health plan with them when they leave a job. Sounds good! The problem is that the health care plan supported by Obama does not include portability! He says what he thinks sounds good to Americans, but what he actually does, is something quite different.

There is no qualification that the person insured by the "national health insurance" needs to be citizen of the United States! So, you and I will have less quality health care and WE will be paying for health care for illegal immigrants.

He said in his campaign that he would like to "reduce abortions". His health care plan would allow abortion "on demand" and we, the taxpayers, would be paying for all of it. Doctors won't be able to refuse to do abortions. It takes away freedom of choice in health care issues. The government will be in control!

The bill creates a "Medical Advisory Council" that will make decisions about which treatments are covered in Americans' health insurance policies. The council will answer to Obama's appointed health czar who answers to Obama!

We can look look forward to rationed health care, especially for senior citizens. Rationing health care is the only way the government can cut costs! If you have a problem with your care, or suffer as a result of malpractice, where are you going to go to get redress - the government? Good luck!

There is so much more! He again is setting an unrealistic time table and trying to push this through Congress as though it were a crisis situation! Something as drastic and costly as national health care should be carefully studied and evaluated. The American people should have a choice whether they want any particular program of national health care to be passed. Instead, we are getting an "unknown" health program shoved down our throats.

We also don't know how this national health insurance can be paid for! Now they want to put a surcharge on top of income tax for people over $350,000 per year. That covers most small businesses in this country. Seven out of 10 jobs are created by small business, but let's go ahead and put more of a tax burden on them. That will surely encourage them to create new jobs!

This is all part of Obama's goal to have government control every aspect of our lives, even our health care decisions. Congress is falling over themselves trying to push this through. We must stop it! We all have a lot to lose!

SARAH'S SMART LIKE A FOX!

The media shouldn't underestimate Sarah Palin. Her resignation as Governor of Alaska makes her a private citizen and not a "public figure" target for attacks on her and her family. The media had better watch out what they say and print, because Sarah can go on the offensive and start suing for libel and slander! What other political person has had their children attacked and humiliated in the way that Sarah's children have been? The media needs to be challenged on some of the ridiculous statements and accusations they have made. Sarah is smart like a fox. She is NOT going away. She knew she was going to be a moving target if she stayed as Governor and her state and her family would suffer because of it. She may want some peace for awhile, but she will not be silent for long. I expect to see Sarah back and going strong in the future.

ENERGY NAZIS IN OUR FUTURE!

On Monday, July 6, the Senate begins debate on the Waxman-Markey cap & trade bill. That's the one that even environmentalists hate because it won't reduce pollution! One of the things it will do is create an army of energy nazis who will perform an "energy audit" on every home in America. If you don't pass the audit you can't sell your home, and you could even be liable for fines and penalties if you don't make the changes the "energy nazis" tell you need to be done.

If this bill passes it will irreversibly concentrate even more power in the Executive branch of government and will cause massive inflation in every part of our economy! Our legislators love to pass unpopular bills while American is busy with holiday doing, and they hope you'll be shooting off firecrackers and not paying attention to what they are doing!

Cap and trade will audit every aspect of your home and life. Light fixtures, socket types, spas, hot tubs, windows, appliances, wall and roofs will all be under review. After the energy screening that we can all look forward to, you will receive a report and a rating. It will tell you what changes you need to make through "authorized contractors". Does that sound good to you?

This is only ONE portion of the bill. This bill is a huge grab of government power and a huge increase in energy costs that will affect every sector of our economy! And it won't do a damn thing for the climate or the environment!

CONTACT YOUR SENATORS. Tell them that a yes vote on this bill will mean a NO vote from you at re-election time!

The Government Ponzi scheme

Bernie Madoff was just sentenced to 150 years for the multi billion dollar ponzi scheme that he put together that finally hit the wall. As a result thousands of people lost their life savings. A terrible crime! Bernie apologized to his investors and said they he didn't mean to hurt anyone and that things just got out of hand!

A successful Ponzi scheme is one where early investors are paid with money from new investors. As long as the scammer can continue to sign up new investors, the cycle never ends.

Social security is a great example of a "legal Ponzi scheme". Every time you're paid for work, the government takes a portion of your money to "invest" in the Social Security Trust Fund, where it is supposed to sit, collect interest, until you retire and are eligible to start receiving Social Security checks. Now, our Social Security Trust fund is full of IOUs. Congress has taken our money, promised us it was safe, and then they have SPENT it on millions of "pork" projects and entitlements that social security was not supposed to fund.

Common sense tells us that there is no difference between what Bernie Madoff did and what our government has done. While Madoff goes to jail, our politicians go to a Hawaiian luau at the White House!

Now the Social Security Trust Fund has a massive future liability funding shortfall of around $13.6 Trillion! In other words, politicians have promised to pay $13.6 Trillion, that the Trust doesn't have, to future retirees. Now, millions of baby boomers are beginning to retire and collect Social Security. New payments made by younger workers are being used to pay older retirees. What will happen when the amount of money paid out to retired people exceeds the amount of money taken in from younger workers? This is beginning to happen with so many baby boomers reaching retirement age and our job market shrinking.

In a few words, this is the mess our government has made of Social Security. What are our politicians doing about it? They are SPENDING MORE MONEY on more pork projects and more entitlements, and making promises that they can't keep. At some point their legal Ponzi scheme will hit the wall also. What will happen to people who depend on Social Security to survive? Our children and grandchildren cannot rely on Social Security and will have to pay the shortfall, created by government, by all kinds of increased taxation.

Why do we entrust our future welfare to our government? Why do we let them continue to spend our money irresponsibly? Why do we think they can manage these huge governmental programs any better than they have handled Social Security? Think about it as you listen to all the promises being made by politicians today.

A BENEFIT OF BEING OLD!

"THOSE WHO CANNOT REMEMBER THE PAST, ARE CONDEMNED TO REPEAT IT"

George Santayna

I saw this familiar quote on a blackboard recently, and it resonated in me as it has never done before. As I am approaching the downside of 60, I realize that the wisdom derived from experience in life is one of the most valuable gifts that I possess. I also realize that the events that I have lived through are lessons that I need to remember and pass on to others. After all, getting a "senior discount" is not the only advantage of getting old!

We often don't remember what happened last week! Politicians count on this flaw to manipulate us. They don't want us to remember past events and subsequent results, not as they actually happened, but in a distorted way that benefits whatever cause they are promoting. When I hear or read their arguments, I often comment to myself, "Well, that's not what happened!". I lived through it, and I remember it! Unfortunately, as I grow older, more and more of the authors of these distorted views have not actually experienced the events that they talk or write about!

History as seen through the eyes of people who have not lived it, often becomes distorted. When past events are evaluated by the current society's standards and environment, and not with an understanding of the environment and conditions existing at the time of the event, wrong interpretations, judgement and evaluations often result. This makes it easy for those who wish to manipulate our perspectives of history.

Hitler, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, the recession of the 1980's, the prosperity of the 1990's, the administrations of John F. Kennedy, Nixon, Jimmy Carter - these are all historical events I have lived through and learned from. My grandparents lived through the Great Depression, my parents lived through World War II, and they often told me of what happened to them during these times and how it affected them. Those who have actually lived through Sept 11, 2001, will always remember that event and how it affected them. Our politicians often want us to forget!

Now, the great danger I am seeing is that our President and many of our national leaders are counting on our ignorance and apathy to convince us that certain actions will give us certain results that are not substantiated by history. I'm sure that in some situations, it is "their" ignorance that is displayed. But, often they count on "our" ignorance so that we accept what they say as fact.

Here are some things this "older" woman has learned from living through them -

There have always been people who cheat, steal, lie and take advantage of others. They are the minority. Most people are honest and good.

The economy has never been stimulated by raising taxes on taxpayers. Lowering of taxes has gotten the economy going after depression and recessions of the past.

Consumers have not spent more money when they anticipate or experience higher taxes and higher costs of living. Consumers have spent money when they feel comfortable about their jobs and the economy.

Jobs have never been created by taxing business, but rather by giving business tax reductions and incentives.

Investors are not the enemy. Their money has kept businesses going and growing and created jobs.

Unions have done some good in the eras when working conditions were bad. But in recent years they have done more harm than good. Unreasonable demands by unions and lack of incentives to do good work have destroyed the companies that employ the union members. I have seen this first hand!

Supply and demand and the free market have worked better than government involvement and strict regulation. Regulations have come and gone, but the free market always leveled the playing field when we let it do so.

Very often the people making these governmental decisions were the least qualified to make decisions that affected our economy because they had no experience in these areas. As a former employer, I never hired someone to to a responsible position in my company who had no experience! Yet that is what government wants us to do! I have seen the result of government regulation and it has often been unfair, unprofitable and even corrupt!

"Might makes right" when it came to our national security. Our enemies only respected our strength and feared us and our power as a nation. There has always been evil in this world and by showing strength our country has protected us. A strong military and strong defenses have kept us safe. Peace is wonderful, but it has only been gained through strength.

Our nation is unique in the world and our Constitution has been the framework for our extraordinary wealth and power. The Constitution has been the safeguard for our freedoms. Many men and women have died to defend the Constitution and our freedoms and the freedoms of others. I have lived through wars and have seen the results.

History shows that socialism, communism, marxism and all the "isms" that take away individual freedom, have never worked in the long run. Capitalism has worked and we are all living in the result of capitalism. No, it's not perfect, but there has never been a "perfect" system in the world. We have the highest standard of living in the world, the result of capitalism.

People who have not travelled outside our borders, often don't appreciate what we have in America! People who are overly critical of our country should live in another country and they would come back here with a different attitude.

I can't compress what I've learned in 60+ years of my life into a few short sentences. I can say that life experience has taught me to look at the true facts of a situation and to look at history for examples of things that happened in the past and what the results were. That helps me to make good decisions that will positively affect my life. I don't listen to what politicians say!

REMEMBER HISTORY! There are great lessons to be learned from it. Let's not have to experience the negative results of not doing so.

We're All Going to Pay More for Everything!

It's up to the Senate now. The House narrowly passed the Waxman Markey bill, the cap and trade/energy bill. This bill is a massive energy tax in disguise! I have observed that if you make an untrue statement enough times, people will start accepting it as truth! That's what is happening with the climate change argument. But, people in the public eye, like Al Gore, national media, big business and politicians who have something to gain by this belief, continue to promote this faulty climate change theory as a true fact.

The theory that mankind can somehow affect climate change is like saying that mankind can stop the tide from coming in. The earth has had natural cycles of climate change for eons. We are actually in a cooling phase at the present time. The change in climate, in the 100 plus years in which it has been recorded, has changed by a small fraction of a percent and scientists say that this is a natural phenomenon. Thousands of climatologists and other scientists have debunked the theory that man is changing the climate. There are already environmental controls in place that keep our air cleaner and that protect our environment.

There is a lot of money in this environmental and climate game, for the government especially. The Waxman Markey bill is an excellent way for government to increase our taxes indirectly. They have a wonderful justification - They are protecting our environment! So, they can collect billions in taxes and fees to offset their excessive spending. They have to get the money somewhere, don't they! China won't loan us any more money! The result of this bill will do little or nothing for our environment, but will do a LOT for the government coffers!

We, the consumers and taxpayers, are the real losers in this game. Our energy bills for our homes and businesses are going to rise dramatically. Whenever energy costs increase, the price of goods and services also increase because energy goes into the cost of producing these goods and services.

Contact your senators and tell them you OPPOSE the WAXMAN MARKEY BILL! If the Senate passes this bill it will do nothing to affect climate change or create cleaner air, but you will feel it in your wallet!

Enough is Enough!

As we approach the anniversary of our country's independence I am hoping that the American people will reflect on the principles on which our country was founded. I am hoping that the American people will begin to see how far our government has strayed from our constitutional principles and the dangers that these actions represent to our freedoms and our quality of life.

America needs to wake up to the fact that the Executive Branch of government is systematically making Congress impotent and in the future, the real power will be in the Executive Branch. We will elect representatives to Congress that will have very little actual authority to control what happens in our country, and the people's interests will be ignored. The President will make decisions for us!

The rights and freedoms of the Constitution are already being trod upon, and if America keeps going down the current path, the Constitution will become a historical document that has insignificant effect on our government.

Consider these actions taken by President Obama:

Government control over private financial institutions and the attempt to have the Federal Reserve be the oversight for them! The Federal Reserve is one of the least "transparent" segments of government. Does anyone know who really owns the Fed? The government doesn't own it or control it. President Obama is exerting the powers of the Executive Branch over the Fed and American financial institutions. There is no constitutional authority for these actions.

The appointment of Czars over various segments of our society, who answer only to the President and not to Congress.

The government has inserted itself into private business in collusion with the unions. Who is really running these giants of industry now? President Obama has inserted his choices of CEOs into these companies and is even telling companies what they can pay their employees! There is no constitutional authority for these actions.

The unions have made huge gains in control of the industries in which they work. The unions financially supported President Obama's campaign, so he has "paid back" with the power and control that the unions wanted.

President Obama is pushing a national health care system that gives government control over our medical care and eliminates any right to privacy in our medical care that we've had in the past. The government's track record for administering medicare, medicaid, and social security is dismal. Why would we want them handling something as critical to our well being as our health care. The President's plan would push out private medical insurance and millions of people would still remain uninsured. Is there any country in the world who has a national health care system that is satisfactory? Canadians and English citizens would not make that claim. They are coming to the United States to get the medical care they can't get in their countries! Who else in the world is an example of how this national health care system would benefit us? Let me know if you find one.

Candidate Obama promised unprecedented "transparency" in government, but he has provided less transparency than in previous administrations.

Candidate Obama promised the American people time to examine prospective bills before he signed or rejected them. This was not done for the largest spending bill in history and continues to not be done.

Beware of his rhetoric! He states statistics that have no basis in reality. He camouflages his actions with his clever phrases and his facade of concern for the American people. We are experiencing "Chicago style" politics on the federal level.

I won't state any more of the "obvious" tactics being employed by our President. President Obama has ignored the restrictions place upon his office by the Constitution. He taught Constitutional law, so he knows EXACTLY what he is doing. He is moving our country toward socialism, where government (namely the President) is in control.

As we watch the fireworks this July 4th, I hope it will be an new inspiration for the American people to speak up and object to the destruction of our Constitution and the grab for power and control by the Executive Branch of our government.

The View from Europe

While visiting with friends in France, we had a conversation about our new President Obama.  They were surprised that we said that we thought he was doing a terrible job, destroying our Constitution, spending too much money, and generally being a con-man of epic scale!  We had to explain to them about our Constitution and the 3 branches of government as described in the Constitution.  We explained how Obama has greatly exceeded the powers given the President by the Consitution and that he continues to expand his power and control in ways not granted to him by the Consitution.  We explained how he, with the help of his Democratic congress, have spent more money than we can ever hope to pay, and how he and Congress continue to do so.  We explained that he loves to travel everywhere and give lots of speeches, but he is not so good at actually DOING something to improve the problems we face in our country and in the world. We explained that his "stimulus package" that we had to rush to pass, has done little or nothing to improve our economy and the job losses are continuing. 

Their response was interesting.  They said that no matter how bad things are in the USA, it's still better than what they have in France!  I guess that's what we have to look forward to if we continue down the road of socialism as France has done.  

We have found mixed responses to Obama in Europe.  We've travelled in France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands  We've had several people ask us what we thought of our new President.  Our negative response did not seem to disturb or surprise people!  The television programs here are much more critical of Obama.  He is not the Prince Charming here in Europe that our media would like us to think.  The television news programs are critical of the Obama administration and we are getting a lot of Republican responses being televised here.  It has surprised us how much negativity there is with Obama and what he's doing.  They all know that what happens in the US affects the world and affects them.

We're anxious to get home and get the real scoop of what's happening in the US.  

TORTURE OR POLITICAL GAMES

The Obama administration wants to prosecute people for doing their jobs and protecting Americans from terror attacks.  After September 11, 2001, we ALL wanted the government to do everything possible to keep us safe and to prevent further attacks.  The Bush administration did their jobs very well and we have had no terrorist attacks on our soil for 8 years!  Now the Obama administration is trying to punish them.

The Bush Administration and many members of Congress, including Nancy Pelosi, were informed and were well aware of the tactics that were being used to extract information from imprisoned terrorist suspects.  Why are only people in the Bush administration being targeted for prosecution?  I have no doubt that this is politically motivated.

Waterboarding, while it is not pleasant, is not "torture" in its true definition.  It does not inflict pain, nor has it caused the death of any prisoner.  These prisoners were treated in a much more humane way than the terrorists treated their victims.  The information gathered from these methods has enabled the government to stop several attacks and to find terrorist cells in this country.

The argument that waterboarding suspected terrorists is in violation of the Geneva Convention is questionable at best.  These are civilians who defy any law and are not involved in an "armed conflict" as described in the Geneva Convention, but instead kill innocent people in "acts of terror".  

I am much more concerned about the people who were killed by these imprisoned terrorists, either directly or indirectly, and the people who lives were saved because of information extracted from them!  The terrorists do not follow the same moral code that most civilized society follows.  They cut off heads and blow up innocent people.  Why are we concerned if these terrorists are physically or mentally uncomfortable?

It's definitely time to get past the "hate Bush and blame Bush" campaign and concentrate on the pressing problems that face our country today!

MY TEA PARTY EXPERIENCE

I attended a Tea Party in Portland, Oregon on April 15, 2009.  There were several thousand people in Pioneer Square.  Nobody paid me to go, nobody twisted my arm, nobody recruited me!  After I heard about it from my son, I decided to attend out of pure frustration.  I am watching as our constitution is being destroyed, our government is taking more control over our lives and our money, and our values are being attacked.   My elected representatives and my President seem to be promoting their own agendas that I don't agree with.  Their agendas are raping our country and pushing us down a hill toward socialism.

The tea party in Portland was a mix of people from all political persuasions and all walks of life.  It was not a political gathering.  There were young people and old people and everyone in between.  The program was about preserving our constitution, restating the values of our founding fathers, encouraging people to vote and to stand up for their beliefs and values.  The name "Obama" was not mentioned once by any of the speakers.  The tea party was very positive and peaceful with a lot of friendly banter taking place.  There was NO violence at our party, nor were there any reports of violence in any tea party anywhere in the country!  

 A conservative estimate of 300,000 people across the country. attended tea parties on April 15, but the media barely gave it a mention.  There was, however, a lot of mocking, derisive and insulting comments made about the people who attended the parties!  Why was it necessary for the media to do that?  I think it's because they have no legitimate defense against the arguments being presented by these citizens, so their only weapon is mockery.   In life, that is often how someone reacts when faced with an argument or a true fact that they can't defend logically.  They revert to name calling and insult to discredit the person.   (i.e. "Oh yeah,  well you're just a jerk!"  Heard that before?)

The media portrayed these tea parties as being organized by "the rich" or "Fox News" or "right wing extremists".  The truth is that these tea parties were a true grass roots movement unlike anything that has been seen in our country in many decades.  Average citizens took it upon themselves to set up these tea parties in the areas they live in.  In Portland, the people who organized the party  paid the rental fee for Pioneer Square by getting sponsors.  A radio talk station, several citizens' groups, several businesses, and some individuals donated.  The speaker system was donated.  People were asked to clean up the area as they left so we would "leave the place better than we found it".  This was no "right wing" organized event!  People came because they wanted and needed validation for their own feelings and frustrations about what our government is doing.

I had never in my life attended any kind of protest or demonstration.  When I left this Tea Party, I was refilled with patriotism and love for the country our forefathers established.  I was re-energized to keep speaking out and fighting for my country's well being.  That is exactly what is feared most by the out of control government and the media!

WE DON'T LIVE IN A UTOPIAN SOCIETY!

North Korea's recent rocket launch was a bold act of defiance against the Obama administration and in violation of United Nations resolutions.  The North Koreans are developing missiles that could reach Alaska and our west coast.  President Obama is relegating the handling of this situation to the United Nations, who will just issue another resolution that President Kim Jong Il will ignore!  The United Nations may have an effective role in global humanitarian efforts, but it has had little success with controlling global security.  The United Nations has not been able to effectively suppress tyrants, genocides, or terrorists.  Leaders like Kim Jong Il will continue to terrorize their citizens and continue trying to develop nuclear weaponry.

President Obama's utopian dream is to rid the world of nuclear weapons.  In the real world, nuclear power is not going away because of its efficiency.  Europe has used it for decades.  As long as there is nuclear power, there will be sources for nuclear weapons.  America's security is based on our ability to defend ourselves against all weapons.  If nuclear weapons are banned, then only the terrorists and tyrants will have them!  The world will always have evil people who don't play by the rules of decent society.  

President Obama continues to weaken our military and reduce our nuclear capabilities.  We had the capability to destroy the North Korean rocket while it was still on the launching pad, but we didn't.  Aggressive action is the only thing that will deter Kim Jong Il from going forward.  When America loses its resources or its desire to defend itself and to stop threats to our country, we are sitting ducks for any crazed tyrant or terrorist group.

Those of us who live on the west coast should be VERY afraid of what's happening in North Korea and Iran in regard to their development of nuclear weapons.  We should demand that our President take more of an active role in defending threats to our country.

TEA PARTIES ARE PROTESTS

Tea parties are being held nationwide as a form of protest.  The Boston Tea Party of 1773 was not about high taxes.  When the colonists threw the tea overboard, it was a direct protest against the British government taxing the colonies without giving them representation in Parliament and bailing out the financially ailing British East India Company.  Parliament had created a tea monopoly that threatened to extend to other goods and threatened to greatly extend Parliament's authority and control over the American colonists.

Americans today, like colonists of old, have worked hard and believe in the right to direct our own lives.  We want to give our children security and a better life.  We still have the colonial spunk that defeated the British and that established a Constitution that has been the framework of our nation.

Today Tea parties are peaceful symbols of protest against growing government control, taxing and spending, and a disregard for our Constitution.  They are an expression of the American public's frustration with the deaf ears of our government leaders in Washington.

Not every colonist carried a gun and went to war.  Many did their small part to help their country.  We can attend Tea parties.  We can phone, email or write our legislators and our President.  We can talk to neighbors and friends.  Most importantly, we can use our VOTE to elect people who will not ignore our wishes and our values.  Like the early Americans, we can work together to make our voices heard.

GOVERNMENT & UNIONS - A BAD PARTNERSHIP

While Americans are planning "tea parties" to show opposition to the uncontrolled spending and taxation by President Obama and Congress, the people in power in Washington are rapidly accomplishing their plan to obtain control over all sectors of our society.  The administration's blatant grab for control over private industry is nothing less than UNCONSTITUTIONAL!

President Obama forcing the resignation of General Motors CEO, Rick Wagoner, is just a precursor of future events.  This company was given billions of taxpayer bailout dollars last fall.  Since then the company's financial position has continued to deteriorate.  President Obama is quick to publicly blame the CEO, but he fails to mention that the United Auto Workers Union has been a significant contributor to the problem.  The union has continued to be unwilling to accept contract terms that would contribute greatly to the financial recovery of GM.

GM's profits have been decimated by labor union demands for high wages and benefits.  The average autoworker costs the company over $70 per hour!  The problem will continue as long as the auto manufacturers are unable to set wages at reasonable market levels that will allow the company to make a profit.  Foreign non-union auto manufacturers in the US, such as Toyota, have continued to make profits without bailout funds and have kept people employed.  They can produce cars for much less than GM and other unionized auto manufacturers.  If GM had simply filed for bankruptcy protection, the labor contracts would have legally come under the jurisdiction of the bankruptcy court, and could have been restructured to preserve jobs at reasonable wage levels.  The taxpayers could have saved billions of dollars!

The labor unions contributed heavily to President Obama's campaign, as well as to the campaigns of many other congressional candidates.  Now it's "PAY BACK" TIME!  The unions want control over major industries, like the auto industry.  When they have control over who can be hired, what they will be paid, when they will work, etc., the unions have control over the company.  Add the federal government's move toward control over private companies like GM, and it makes a very comfortable bed for the unions.

Historically, the unions abused their power and lost popularity and support from the American work force.  The unions were more concerned about the dues paid to them, and the union leaders' quest for power and control, than they were about the well being of their members.  Unions historically protect unproductive workers and wage levels not sustainable by employers.  Unions often perpetuate a lack of worker motivation and individual achievement.  Unions have been struggling for decades to regain their former glory, and now President Obama is helping them to accomplish this.

The Obama administration's support for labor unions coupled with the administration's grab for control over private industry, is evidence of a plan to inject socialistic ideologies into our government and private sector at every turn.  The Constitution gives them NO power to do this.  In many cases, the Constitution specificially prohibits some of these actions.

If we keep going down this road, our economy and our nation's future will be in a downward spiral toward socialism.  Our Constitution will become just a historical document that our children will learn about in American history class, but that doesn't really have any relevance to their way of life.

Attend the tea parties; make your voice heard to your elected representatives in government.  But, most important, use your VOTE to elect people who will act responsibly, protect our individual freedoms, and preserve our Constitution. 

Our Constitution under Attack!

The recent taxing of the AIG bonuses by the Congress is unconstitutional.  In Article 1, Section 9, paragraph 3 of the US Constitution it states that: "No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law will be passed."  A Bill of Attainder is a legislative act that singles out one or more persons and imposes punishment on them, without benefit of trial.  Such actions were regarded as odious by the framers of the Constitution because it was the traditional role of a court, judging an individual case, to impose punishment.  The Bill of Attainder clause was intended, not as a narrow, technical prohibition, but rather as an implementation of the separation of powers, a general safeguard against legislative exercise of the judicial function - or more simply - trial by legislature!

James Madison wrote:  "Bills of attainder, ex post facto laws, and laws impairing the obligations of contracts, are contrary to the first principles of the social compact, and to every principle of sound legislation.  (Federalist Number 44, 1788)

 AIG bonuses were only some of the overall bonuses that were given to employees of companies that accepted federal funds.  While we may not agree with the bonuses, we can't allow this unpleasant situation to be used as a way to 1) gain control over private business, 2) destroy "contract" law, and 3) destroy parts of our Constitution.   The AIG "scandal" is a huge diversionary tactic to take our attention away from the real issues, like excessive government spending and the fast march toward socialism and government control.

Congress and the Obama administration are attacking the validity of our Constitution in numerous ways:  gun control, federal control over the private sector, failure to enforce legal immigration laws. The list could go on and on.  The federal government is now making huge grabs of power away from the states, private industry, and from OUR INDIVIDUAL FREEDOMS.  They are destroying the Constitution in bits and pieces.  Once our Constitution is unenforceable, we have lost the freedom that our founding fathers provided for us and that so many have shed their blood for.

We are in dangerous times and it requires that each one of us stand up for our Constitution. Don't believe the rhetoric.  Search out the truth.  Make your voice heard!