Last week, I asked if the President would show true leadership and love for the country by trying to stop the anger over the direction of this great country. Unfortunately, the President chose to prove that he cannot escape his radical activist past as a community organizer. Community organizers seem to group people together to force wedge issues by nearly any means necessary.
The President had an opportunity in his recent speech to the joint session of the Congress. Instead of demonstrating his love for the country and trying to heal the divisions and wounds that are in our country at this time, he decided to pour salt in the wounds. He gave a very partisan speech that told half of the country he was making one of the largest legislative moves in the history of America on a 51-vote partisan basis. So much for being a uniter and a catalyst of change. The only change I see is a President that never shifts out of campaign mode after the election. President Obama's lack of prior leadership experience is manifested by his inability to shift from campaigner to leader.
I could write about the President's lack of leadership skills, and his apparent disdain for America and Americans, but frankly, it is too easy and takes little skill to prove. Just wait until he opens his mouth. It is never hard to get an opportunity as he is in front of the camera more than a Cable News anchorperson.
I would rather talk about one of the most inspiring events I have been a part of. Yesterday, on September 12th, a group of about 300 Americans came together in remembrance of September 11, 2001. There were emotional personal recollections of 911, and a wonderful time honoring first responders. It was very touching. However, one particularly emotional moment for me was when a young woman named Annette Davis, stepped forward and sang the National Anthem. She later told me it was her first time to sing it in public. In spite of our less than perfect public address system, she sang one of the best renditions I have heard in my lifetime. She could have sung that at the Super Bowl or the White House. I've included a link below.
After wonderful days like yesterday, where Americans come together in spite of our disorganization, I become upset when the President or his leaders call us a mob, misinformed, astroturf, racists, militia, evil mongers, Nazis and all those other crazy terms. We are just plain old Americans formed by that greatmelting pot that molded America. Mr. President, please slow down and listen. Forcing through this health care agenda as well as all of this federal spending is jabbing a stake in the hearts of over half of this country. Please review your actions in light of the Declaration of Independence.
I will continue to hope that President Obama finds it in himself to love all Americans and all of America. That will stop the anger.
I’m a 52 year old conservative who happens to be a schoolteacher and a member of the NEA. There are many contradictions in that first sentence. No wonder I stay wired about what is happening in America. At my age though, I realize that everyone on both sides of the debates that confront us are all Americans and good people. I am sure the Founding Fathers felt that everyone at the time were good and the way to protect us from our individual beliefs was via the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. To protect us from using the government to advance our passions, they designed these timeless documents limiting government’s scope and power. Since the 1960’s, these documents have been assaulted by both political parties and my question is whether President Obama will be the one that loves America enough to stop the assaults. That will stop the anger.
This attack on the Founding Documents is from both sides of the aisle. The Republicans have never seen a nation they didn’t want to rebuild in my lifetime. That is far outside the government’s role to protect us. In my view, if a nation attacks, the retaliation should be swift and far above the intensity of the initial attack. In other words, America should not issue measured or equivalent responses. There should be no rebuilding effort with taxpayer dollars to reward a country that attacked us. Leave them in ruins as a message to future attacks. The Democrats on the other hand, have never seen a” moral right” that they could not use the power of the government to implement. The Founding Documents were to limit government’s power, not to implement social engineering.
Why are Americans at each others’ throats? In general terms, the Democrats feel that the Constitution is a living and flexible document that allows the government to be used to advance social engineering programs that are worthy and morally correct. The problem with that theory, is that one man’s obvious moral right may not fit another man’s definition of moral. The Founding Father’s understood that, and did not design the government to be involved in these issues. The Republicans have not been innocent in recent years in overstepping their authority. While we have struck our enemies swiftly after the attacks on 911, we have no business trying to implement democracy and rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan. They should have been left in ruins like the Twin Towers as a message to future attacks. That is harsh, but I don’t see where all this nation rebuilding has benefited America. It has caused a financial drain and the old saying is still valid, “a man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still.” Those countries still do not like the United States. But who cares?
What has happened to society and our financial well being? Well, no good deed goes unpunished, and that affects our government too. To do what was “moral or felt right”, we instituted Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and the War on Poverty. Well, the War on Poverty will be longer than the 100 Years War. The other medical programs and Social Security will be responsible for the financial demise of this great country. Rather than a war from enemies from abroad, we have a financial war with those programs that could defeat the greatest nation ever created.
There is no doubt those programs are unsustainable. I have read estimates that the unfunded liabilities of those programs range from $50-130 trillion. That’s trillion! How can we ever tax the amount of dollars necessary to fund those programs and pay their future benefits? These programs are “feel good” and “morally correct” things to do. However, the Founding Fathers were not about “feel good,” they were about limiting government’s power to make those value judgments.
This could go on forever, but it would no longer be a blog but a thesis. So where does this great country go from here? First, we stop this Health Care Reform debacle to add another gigantic federal program. It is not that the government is not made up of good Americans that are good people with good intentions; the problem is that when the programs go awry, the elected officials don’t have the political courage to fix the problems. Since the 1980’s , I have heard campaigning politicians say they will fix Social Security and Medicare, yet once in office they won’t risk their political futures.
It is clear that we cannot sustain the amount of government spending and federal debt that we are incurring. We will never be able to grow out of this debt or tax our way out of it. This is causing the anger in America today. The Founding Fathers saw the risk of an overreaching government. That is why this country was formed.
President Obama campaigned as the man to bring America back together, yet so far he has continued the divisiveness to new levels. But I will state that President Bush was not a unifying leader either. My question to the President is whether he loves America enough to do the right things for America?
Here is my list of the immediate right things to do:
• Fix Social Security with structural changes, not new taxes. • Make Medicare financially sustainable. • Redesign Medicaid to save state budgets.
It would be great to see any President fix the programs we have already committed ourselves to before creating another massive federal program. I believe if President Obama stopped this ridiculous Health Care Reform takeover, and said he would first fix these major programs to prove government’s effectiveness, he would go down as the greatest President in America’s history. He would end much of the anger, and build trust for future government solutions. Then we could talk about Health Care Reform in a few years.
If he continues on his present course with Health Care Reform that is against the will of so many Americans, the anger may reach levels that threaten this county’s existence. The question is how much President Obama wants to show his love for America and end the anger.
This will be the first in a series of blogs comparing President Obama’s vision for America against the most sacred documents of our grand nation as formed by our Founding Fathers. All the original documents can be found at www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters.
Where does this power come from to change America in ways that were probably as disgusting to our Founding Fathers as to the majority of Americans today? President Obama wants to fundamentally change the character of America due to a thin majority of the votes in the last election. While he maintains strong majorities in The House of Representatives and the Senate, he is still charged with representing the will and desires of all Americans.
Let us look at some President Obama’s actions and desires:
Takeover of the Financial System through new regulation
Takeover of banks
Takeover of the Automakers, General Motors and Chrysler
Green Revolution through Cap and Trade Regulation
Health Care Reform Legislation, Obamacare
Redistribution of wealth via tax policy
Emergency legislation to control the Internet
A quick review of the opening of the Declaration of Independence will be useful:
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, , --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed., pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government.
What are some of the key phrases in that opening?
Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness
deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed
But when a long train of abuses and usurpations
it is their duty, to throw off such Government
In my lifetime, I have never seen what is happening in our country. We have Tea Parties against our President and our government at all levels, yet primarily the Federal government at this time. My belief is that the country has awakened to government officials that are spending unconscionable amounts of money under the guise of “good intentions” and “moral rights.” However, many times it seems like the spending is the use of the public Treasury to purchase votes for the party in power.
Wouldn’t the world be a wonderful place, if a good person, like me, could get all the resources in America, talk to a few friends and confidantes, and redistribute those assets where they would do the most good? Sounds nice, but that is not America!
America is not based on a Federal government that knows best and legislates how we should live. America is about the Individual and his individual rights to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The government is not to define our happiness and what it takes to secure it. The government is to get out of the way, except to protect our rights to secure that happiness.
While national polls have shown that the majority of Americans do not favor many of President Obama’s initiatives, the Democratic Party is insistent on disregarding the will of the majority of the people and trying to force through unwanted legislation. The Declaration says that just government is “deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” That was one of the major complaints that caused us to separate from England. Our representatives are supposed to represent us, even if they feel we are wrong! This is our country, not just the legislators.
When was the Federal government given the right to take over private industry and take private property just because it feels it knows best? How does it increase federal deficits by making bailouts of banks, automakers and financial institutions? That is a form of taxation of the American people. When the government spends money or borrows money through the use of deficit spending, it is taxing the American people and future generations. The Declaration was critical “for imposing Taxes on us without our Consent.” Isn’t that what is happening today with much of the President’s initiatives?
There is nothing wrong with the President proposing his policies. While they may not be policies that our Founding Fathers may have approved of or desired, the President has a right to propose a vision. My concern is that the President’s vision is not shared by the majority of Americans if recent polls are to be believed. With the preponderance of polls showing the President’s numbers falling and his Health Care Reform Proposal very unpopular, it is hard to believe that Americans are for these initiatives.
While President Obama won the election in November 2008 and is our President, he is not to rule as a tyrant. He is to represent us, not shame us into “moral rights and imperatives.” We are Americans and free. If we don’t want his plans and it turns out to be a mistake in the future, then that is the beauty of America and its freedom. We are free to make mistakes. But I would not bet against the intelligence of the American people and our Founding Fathers.
Let us look at the track record of some major Federal Initiatives:
Social Security: loved, yet unsustainable and broke with trillions owed..
Medicare: loved and trillions in unfunded liabilities.
Medicaid: useful yet breaking the budgets of most states.
Cash for Clunkers: interesting, yet unfair and they can’t refund the dealers properly.
Veteran’s Health Plan: every few years it is a mess.
Native American Health: let’s not go there.
Amtrak: works great on the Federal teat.
Post Office: necessary, but is a money pit.
Now the Federal government wants to take away our ultimate freedom, our health care. The American people do not want to relinquish that right to a Federal government that has failed financially on every major initiative of social engineering that it has undertaken.
In fact, many Americans want to Federal Government to step back and focus on a few areas before it takes over a new gigantic program in Health Care Reform. Many Americans want the government to:
Cut spending and reduce the deficits
Fix the current programs of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid
Come up with a reasonable plan to secure our energy future
Start representing us, stop bribing us.
My fear as an American, is that our government is not representing the people. When ordinary Americans come out to protest the actions of their government, they are called mis-informed, astroturf, un-American, militia, racists, and evil mongers. While it is almost funny, those are terms from our leaders in the Democratic Party. This behavior and lack of representation may someday lead to a new Declaration of Independence. President Obama is not acting much different from the King of Great Britain. Look at what the colonists thought, “in every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury.” My hope is that President Obama will slow down and start representing everyone. He needs to stop governing only for his supporters and start representing all Americans. He is the President of the United States not the President of the Democrats.
Source: www.archives.gov The Declaration of Independence: A Transcription, IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.
Many are disappointed with the performance of the recent Stimulus package. Some of the reasons are:
It doesn't seem to be working. The economy has gotten worse.
Those shovel-ready jobs didn't really exist as quickly as promised
Many of the shovel-ready projects are road re-pavings or ridiculous projects that would never be funded in normal times with normal debate.
It is clear that much of the spending is in 2010 to help with mid-term elections for the Democrats. Give the peons that pork right before they vote. It fills their bellies.
One comment that is continually made by President Obama is that a large portion of the Stimulus package is for Tax Relief. He harps on that extra $10 per week everyone receives now. Wow. Didn't he say we could buy some unhealthy food, cupcakes, with that tremendous amount of money?
Here are the problems with his generosity:
It is our money. Taken away from us against our will via taxation.
He spent our taxes on wasteful government projects like $700 million for Mustang contraception.
Since the government is in deficit-spending mode, he borrowed money via the deficit to give us our money back at $10 per week.
The final analysis is that our $10 per week that President Obama gave us because he is so fair and concerned for the middle class actually cost us $20!
What if you were a parent that borrowed $10 from his child(taxpayers) and bought a six pack, then borrowed $10 from his neighbor(China) to to give back to his kid(taxpayers) as $10 in allowance, but then told the kid(taxpayers) he owed the neighbor(China) $10? I think your kid would see straight through that logic.
Now I agree that federal tax receipts grow when tax rates are cut. The problem is that government has never seen a dollar it didn't want to spend. However, giving us a one-time $10 allowance is cruel when it cost us $20.
One August 22, 2009, from noon until one-thirty a group of around sixty manufactured AstroTurf mobsters met at Rep. Vic Snyder's Little Rock Office. Naturally, Rep. Snyder was not there. He has done an excellent job at avoiding his constituents during this August Recess. Oh yeah, he did hold a town hall meeting in an auditorium at the local Children's Hospital. That was after quick moves to change locations to safe places where the mobsters couldn't follow him.
One thing was apparent. This is the most disorganized group of mobsters I could imagine. Everyone heard of the meeting from a different source and no one knew each other. There were old and young, male and female. Yet there were a few common thoughts. No one was for Obamacare Health Reform and everyone felt the Federal government was spending too much and stomping on the rights and freedoms of Americans.
There was no poor behavior and everyone came together to peacefully protest a Federal government that is clearly out of control. During the ninety minutes many cars went by honking, cheering and voicing support for the group. I can only recall three negative comments. A car with three teens drove by and yelled "Obama." Another car drove by and said "health care." I counted that as a negative comment. And one man slowed down and said "we lost the election." The group responded that we would keep working!
This group of peaceful mobsters seemed to have a great time exercising their rights as Americans. Wouldn't it have been great if Rep. Vic Snyder could have been there to represent them? I think he could have had a peaceful discussion that would have done his reputation some good.
Oh, I almost forgot. There was no opposition lined-up against us. I guess since it was Saturday, the Acorn and Union guys were not on-the-clock. I wonder if the job openings on craigslist pay for weekend hours.
Come see us sometime in Arkansas. All opinions are welcome. In spite of what Speaker Pelosi and Leader Reid say, we are not misinformed un-American evil mongers. We are all Americans, and we are all in this together.
You Tube mathgonz for many other videos of the rally. Twitter jfgonzo
In all my years, I have never seen a President of the United States that has less love and respect for the country and its' people.
Let's look at the facts:
The Administration constantly apologizes to foreign countries
Any non-green energy producers such as Oil, Coal and Nuclear are enemies
Tea Party Members are "manufactured"
Astroturfers are misinformed
Fringers don't matter
Insurance Companies are the villains
Business Owners are crooks
It makes one wonder why he would even want to be President of a country with so many people that he doesn't care for. Oh, he does loves "snitches" of "fishy" information.
The only way he will ever like America is if he can transform it into a country that our Founding Fathers would not even recognize.
Mr. President, please love America. We do and we are the majority. Slow down and observe what all the Tea Parties and Astroturfers are doing. We are what make America great.
Remember, not just Community Organizers have the right to voice their dissent.
The current health care debate is full of fireworks. Many Americans have strong views on both sides of the issues. I happen to believe that the current reform would be very bad for the country.
Let's look at some facts:
Medicare is financially unstable
Medicaid is financially unstable and destroying state budgets
Social Security in not sustainable. I believe the federal government has raided it and left IOU's
The Post Office is in shambles
Few people like to receive a letter from the IRS
Few people enjoy calling any government agency looking for a quick accurate answer. Call the Department of Motor Vehicles or the IRS sometime.
In fact, I can't think of one major entitlement program during my lifetime that the government has run effectively. All these plans are not financially viable and end up being a future drain on the country.
I could have a little more confidence in the government, if they would first correct the programs it now has under its' control. If the government can save $100 billion per year on Medicare fraud, then do it. Do it for two years, and then we can talk.
I have no confidence that the government will not take more control of our economy and then it will be an open-ended drain on the taxpayers and our children's futures. I won't even go into rationing now.
My biggest problem with the current health reform plan is that it is being rushed and crammed down our throats. Before I buy insurance, I would like to see:
1. The benefits 2. The costs 3. The exclusions or limitations
How can our government expect us to buy an imaginary product? Why can't we take our time? Why can't the Congress get the final plan ready and all the regulations necessary to implement it, first? Then give the country 90 days to review the program before voting on it.
Remember, they are only rushing us because we won't buy the final product if we get to see it first. If this is rushed through, it cannot be removed if it is a mistake. Ask citizens of England or Canada.
Oh yeah, why do I love being a "Fringer?" I called my representative's office on August 4 th. I asked Toby, scheduler, in Rep. Vic Snyder's(D-AR) office where town hall meetings would be held. I was told that a schedule wasn't really set. Rep. Snyder was going to have some private group meetings. Of course, given the current dissent demonstrated in the meetings, I guess I would be scared of my constituency, as well.
During our conversation, I asked Toby, the scheduler, what kind of responses they were receiving on health care reform. It was then that Toby told me that citizens that did not agree with the current reform package were "fringers." After about 10 minutes and with Toby unable to answer any of my concerns about the program, he hung up on me.
So, I am a "fringer." I thought I was an American. But if recent polls are correct, there is a big fringe in America. As "fringers" seem to be in the majority now.
I'm still trying to figure out if my beard looks like Astroturf.
This is America. Stand up for liberty and freedom and the Constitution.
