Friday, December 31, 2010

Ron Radosh » The Second Time is Farce: Frances Fox Piven Calls for a new Cloward-Piven Strategy for Today

Ron Radosh » The Second Time is Farce: Frances Fox Piven Calls for a new Cloward-Piven Strategy for Today

Writing in The Nation magazine on May 2, 1966, sociologists Richard Cloward and his wife Frances Fox Piven published what was to become in later years one of the most famous and influential of leftist articles. Titled “The Weight of the Poor: A Strategy to End Poverty,” the two socialist intellectuals developed a new so-called “crisis strategy” — that of trying to use the existing welfare system to create chaos that would weaken the corporate capitalist state and eventually foment revolution. “Discover the Networks” has a good summary of their thesis.

Read the entire article: http://pajamasmedia.com/ronradosh/2010/12/30/cloward-piven-strategy-for-today/?singlepage=true

Member's Corner

Pres. Ronald Reagan Would be 100

by CCTA Member Jan Parys

Judge not, least you be judged, remember you said that. Also Christians aren't perfect just forgiven. Christ was the only perfect man.


On February 6, 2011, America will celebrate the 100th birthday of President Ronald Reagan. I appreciate everything President Reagan did for this country. His outstanding leadership changed the course of history, restoring America's greatness, making us strong and keeping us free.

He said, “Rancho del Cielo can make you feel as if you are on a cloud looking down at the world.”

Some of his many quotes:

The taxpayer: That's someone who works for the federal government but doesn't have to take the civil service examination.

What I’d really like to go down in history as the President who made Americans believe in themselves again.

We set out to change a nation, and ended up changing the world.

In his first Thanksgiving proclamation as president, Ronald Reagan wrote: "America has much for which to be thankful. The unequaled freedom enjoyed by our citizens has provided a harvest of plenty to this Nation throughout its history. In keeping with America's heritage, one day each year is set aside for giving thanks to God for all of His blessings. …

"As we celebrate Thanksgiving … we should reflect on the full meaning of this day as we enjoy the fellowship that is so much a part of the holiday festivities. Searching our hearts, we should ask what we can do as individuals to demonstrate our gratitude to God for all He has done. Such reflection can only add to the significance of this precious day of remembrance.

"Let us recommit ourselves to that devotion to God and family that has played such an important role in making this a great Nation, and which will be needed as a source of strength if we are to remain a great people.

What are you thankful for? A job? A warm home? A loving family? Good health? All of the above, or something completely different? Perhaps it has been a difficult year for you. Loved ones may have passed on or perhaps they are deployed overseas. Perhaps you, like so many others, are struggling in this difficult economy.

In spite of the personal and national challenges we face today, I believe all of us can be thankful to be Americans. We are the descendants of the patriots who declared that "All men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

Those words still inspire us. With all of America's problems, we are still the nation that represents man's last best hope on earth.

On June 25, 1962, the Supreme Court stopped school prayer.

Ronald Reagan said, March 6, 1984:

"From the early days of the American colonies, prayer in schools was practiced and revered as an important tradition.

Indeed, for nearly 2 centuries of our history it was considered a natural expression of our religious freedom.


Then in 1962, the Supreme Court declared school prayer illegal."

Well, I firmly believe the loving God who has blessed our land and made us a good caring people should never have been expelled from America's classrooms."

To paraphrase Edith and Archie Bunker, "We could use a man like Ronald Reagan again."

How Congress Changed Your Life in 2010

Patricia Murphy, Capitol Hill Bureau Chief, The Capitolist
December 31, 2010
http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/12/30/how-congress-changed-your-life-in-2010/

As members of the 111th Congress look back on 2010, they will see anything but a do-nothing session. From banning drop-side cribs, to freezing their own salaries for the second year in a row, to overhauling the food inspection system, to telling airlines not to charge fees for carry-on luggage, the Democratically controlled House and Senate passed bills at a feverish pace in the past year.


But several developments stand out for the breadth of their impact. They may not all be popular, as evidenced by the November "shellacking" that Democrats took in the midterm elections, but the following congressional actions in 2010 -- and in one case inaction -- will affect hundreds millions of Americans in the next year and beyond.

1. Extending the Bush Tax Cuts. The compromise brokered between President Barack Obama and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in December will impact every American with a job and most Americans without one.

The new law will continue the expiring Bush tax rates for all income levels for the next two years; continue current tax rates on capital gains and dividends; set the estate tax at 35 percent for estates valued at more than $5 million, and continue dozens of tax breaks and credits for people from the bottom of the income spectrum to the top.

The most immediate difference will come in your first paycheck next year. Starting Jan. 1, the 6.2 percent payroll tax will drop to 4.2 percent for the next year, putting hundreds of dollars back in most workers' pockets. And for people without a job, the new law extends unemployment benefits until 2012, if they've been out of work for less than 99 weeks.

2. Reforming the Health Insurance System. No single piece of legislation was more controversial in 2010 than the Democratically sponsored overhaul of the health insurance industry.


Although the majority of Americans will continue to have insurance through their employers in the future, and most will still be covered by private insurers, the new law gives the federal government a much larger role in determining what kind of health care Americans get and how much insurance will cost. It also mandates that all Americans carry health insurance by 2014, a requirement that is being challenged in federal court.

Already this year, the law has allowed young adults to remain on their parents' policies until they are 26 years old; given tax credits to small businesses to cover employees' insurance, and will soon end insurance companies' ability to cut off coverage for customers who reach lifetime coverage caps.

Within the next three years, individuals will be able to shop for insurance through new health care exchanges, and will get government subsidies if they need help paying for it. About 15 million low-income Americans will be added to Medicaid, a development that governors have vocally opposed because of the unfunded mandates associated with it.

To pay for the multibillion dollar cost of the reforms, the bill expanded the Medicare payroll tax to investment income; will impose a 40 percent excise tax on expensive insurance policies by 2018; will add fees on pharmaceuticals and medical devices, and will collect penalties from individuals and large business that do not buy the coverage required by the new law.

3. Overhauling Federal Student Loans. Provisions tacked onto the health care reform bill eliminated the role of private lenders in originating federal student loans. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that will save the federal government, which paid lenders to oversee the program, between $6 billion and $7 billion per year.

The people who will notice the biggest difference will be financial aid officers, who used to decide which private lenders they would use to originate federal loans for their students. Those loans will now all be originated by the U.S. Department of Education and will have the same federal terms and conditions that have been in effect for years.

But the changes will eventually impact every student who applies for and receives federal loans to attend college or graduate school. Although students will still seek loans through the financial aid office at their college or university, the loans cannot be resold to other loan servicers and will not be affected by private bank failures, which could disrupt payments.

Because of a spike in demand for Pell grants, that program was on course to run out of money in 2010. The Pell grant program will now remain solvent until at least 2017, with the maximum Pell grant award rising from $5,550 this year to $5,975 five years from now.

4. Failing to pass the $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill. In the last days of the 111th Congress, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid spiked an omnibus spending bill that was made up of all 12 annual spending bills that Congress usually passes individually.

In the short term, that means the federal government will continue operating at current spending levels until March 5. But in the longer-term, it guarantees the first of many showdowns over spending between the Republican-led House and the Democratic Senate. With government spending at the top of most incoming Republicans' target lists, compromise between the two chambers could be almost impossible.

The impasse also puts the future of earmarking in doubt. Although Republicans had sponsored thousands of the 6,600 earmarks in the bill, they backed away from the legislation when tea party activists made it clear they would challenge GOP lawmakers in the future who voted for pork projects now.

5. Overseeing a $1.29 Trillion Increase in the Deficit. New federal programs cost money, and the 111th Congress oversaw the second-highest deficit in history and an increase in the national debt to $14 trillion.

David Walker, the onetime Comptroller General of the United States, says runaway spending in Washington will have a crippling effect on Americans one and two generations from now. "We're mortgaging the future of the country, and their children and grandchildren," Walker told Politics Daily. "At the same time, because of the growth of spending, we're reducing the role of investments in our future because the budget on the discretionary side is getting squeezed at a time when America is facing growing competition in a global economy."

If Congress does not change its spending habits now, Walker said, everyone's tax bills will be higher in the future. "If we don't end up reforming our ways, federal taxes will have to double within the next 20 to 30 years, just to stop the bleeding."

2010 Rewind: Moments that Marked Obama's Second Year in Office

by Kimberly Schwandt, Fox News, December 30, 2010

http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/12/30/2010-rewind-moments-marked-obamas-second-year-office

Here are some of the key moments that marked President Obama's second year in office. By no means an exhaustive list, it still gives perspective on some of the political markers of Obama's year.


Obama's 2010 moments
January 17: Campaigns for Martha Coakley who ended up in a surprisingly close race to fill the late Ted Kennedy's old Senate seat.January 27: Obama delivers his first state of the union address (2009 was an address to the nation since he had just taken office).February 25: Holds bipartisan televised health care summit at the White House [1]March 12: Delays trip to Indonesia because of health care fight.March 23: Signs health care bill.March 28: Obama makes a surprise trip to Afghanistan.April 20: BP Oil Spill crisis begins after explosion at oil well off the gulf of Mexico (gets "capped" in July).May 2: Obama makes first trip to the Gulf Coast region.May 10: Nominates Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court.June 4: Obama scraps his trip abroad because of BP oil spill.August 14: Obama vacations in Florida, after he and the first family had urged everyone else to continue vacationing down there. The first family spent a weekend there before heading to Martha's Vineyard for their regularly scheduled two-week vacation.August 17: Obama engages in backyard listening tours, kicking off with an event in Columbus, Ohio.August 31: Gives major speech on status of operations in Iraq, this was his first Oval office address since taking office.October 15: Begins campaign swing through Democratic friendly states starting off in Wilmington, DE.October 17: Obama holds a campaign event at The Ohio University in Columbus, his 11th stop to the state of the year, and the largest rally of his presidency.November 2: Suffers "shellacking" in the midterm elections with GOP sweeping the House with historic gains.November 4: Goes on 10-day trip to Asia, finally making it abroad.November 26: Obama busts his lip and needs stitches.December 3: Goes to Afghanistan on surprise trip to address the troops, nearly a year after announcing his surge strategy in Afghanistan.December 10:Bill Clinton [2] meets with Obama in the Oval Office, and then two decide to give an impromptu presser in the White House Briefing room.December 17: Signs tax rate legislation extending the Bush-era tax rates for two years.December 21: Signs Don't Ask Don't Tell repeal.December 22: Holds a press conference before leaving Washington for Hawaiian Christmas vacation after delaying it because of Congressional action.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

The Top 10 Violations of the Constitution by Obama and the 111th Congress

by Paul Skousen, DC CALLER
At the close of the 111th Congress, America is deeply in the bog of Thomas Jefferson’s prophetic warning: “The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the Constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first.” Unfortunately, the broken chains of the Constitution have failed to contain the federal government.

By way of review, let’s take a stroll through the junkyard of constitutional violations that have been painted fresh by President Obama and the 111th Congress. Here’s my top-ten list, highly abbreviated for length.

#10. — 9/11 Responders Relief Fund: We love and honor those who put themselves in harm’s way for our security. However, giving the 9/11 first responders money after the fact violates the Constitution. Article 1.8 gives Congress the right to expend funds for all the purposes itemized, provided it is done for the general welfare, NOT for individuals or preferred groups. The states may reward heroes if they so choose.

#9. — Checks and Balances Failure: The Chairmanship of the UN Security Council: Where was Congress when President Obama became the chairman of the powerful UN Security Council in 2009? The normal monthly rotation for that chair goes to the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. because Article 1.9 of the Constitution forbids the president (and all other office-holders) from accepting any present, foreign office or title from a foreign country or a foreign potentate unless it is specifically authorized by Congress. The Founders wanted to prevent deal-making, corruption, and foreign influence from affecting America’s internal affairs.

#8. — Net Neutrality: The government is trying to stop Internet providers from blocking or slowing some web traffic and prevent providers from showing favoritism. The FCC thinks it should be able to regulate the Internet like it regulates utility companies. This violates the property rights of Internet providers and interferes in the market’s free choice of which services receive funding. Article 1.8 makes it clear that the FCC is not constitutionally authorized to pass laws, especially those disguised as regulations.

#7. – Czars: The moniker for appointees who report to no one but the president has taken on a new and eerie resemblance to the dusty Russian tsars of old. Article 2.2 grants the president leeway to appoint managers, but those managers may not have any regulatory, legislative or law-making powers — such powers are reserved to the legislative branch. Today’s “czars” have the power of cabinet members without having to go through a vetting process or the confirmation process prescribed for cabinet members. Czars are unelected and untouchable political decision-makers — in violation of Article 1.1.

#6. — Cap and Trade: The Clean Energy and Security Act mandates greenhouse gas emissions be reduced to 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020, 42 percent below 2005 levels by 2030, and 84 percent below 2005 levels by 2050. By 2020, this tax will extract an estimated $160 billion from the economy, or an average $1,870 per family. Once again, had the chains of Article 1.8 not been broken, America would be spared such tomfoolery. Cap and trade masked in any disguise whatsoever cannot be justified as a general welfare activity.

#5. — Cash for Clunkers: The government offered $4,500 rebates to people turning in their clunkers for more fuel-efficient vehicles. When the first program quickly ran out of the $4 billion allotted to it, another $2 billion was added. Follow-up analysis showed the program did nothing to stimulate the economy and put many people into additional debt by encouraging them to purchase cars that they otherwise would not have bought during these hard economic times. The government has zero authority to selectively give individuals tax money for purchases of vehicles, according to Articles 1.2 and 1.8 — and common sense.

#4. — TARP Funding: The original 2008 act authorized $700 billion to bail out banks and other institutions. The government has no business rescuing private financial institutions from bad judgment and risky ventures. Article 1.8 excludes permission for Congress to grant financial aid or loans to private companies. Any use of Treasury funds must go toward the general welfare, not to specific groups.

#3. — Illegal Immigration: Arizona is being invaded. When that state passed SB 1070 to stem the flow of violent illegals into its sovereign territory, a derelict federal government turned around and sued. At issue was the Feds’ failure to control the border, so Arizona took it upon itself to do just that — to uphold existing federal immigration laws. It didn’t add new laws; it simply gave local authorities the power to enforce federal responsibilities. The federal government claims the right to manage immigration, but when it refuses to carry out that obligation, thereby jeopardizing the security of border states, it is derelict in its duties. Arizona should haul the federal government before the Supreme Court for malfeasance. Article 4.4 clearly states that the U.S. shall protect states from invasion — more than 400,000 illegal aliens (est.) in Arizona is, by definition, an invasion.

#2. — Economic Stimulus Bill: The $814 billion stimulus is the most backward-thinking proposition to come along since human sacrifice. Dumping borrowed money into an over-fed, bloated and out-of-control ogre doesn’t solve anything, it simply temporarily props up with blocks of melting ice cream a failed and failing government of extravagance. Not only does it illegally take money out of the economy that could be used to provide jobs, but it’s using borrowed money — with interest due.

And the worst violation of the Constitution over the past two years is …

#1. — Health Care Reform: Health care reform was the last lever needed to lift the lid off the pot of American gold and empty it out for socialism. It required all Americans to have health insurance whether they wanted it or not. Earlier this month, Federal Judge Henry E. Hudson said that the government has no power “to compel an individual to involuntarily enter the stream of commerce by purchasing a commodity in the private market.”

The string of constitutional violations supporting the judge’s rejection is long and shocking:

For purposes of regulation, Congress invoked Article 1.8 and claimed insurance may be controlled because it falls under Congress’ power to regulate interstate commerce. But insurance is not interstate commerce — you can’t buy insurance across state lines.

Language in the bill says the health care law may NOT be changed or amended by anyone once signed into law. This violates the role of Congress. Article 1.1 makes it clear that only Congress is authorized to make law, meaning it has every right to alter, amend and change the health care law. To restrict Congress is to change its constitutional duty. The 111th Congress must think it can change the Constitution without amending it — a violation of Article 5, which outlines the amendment process.

The health care bill also violates the 10th Amendment because it coerces states into complying with a new national program that reaches far into state jurisdiction.

So, what do you do when you’re navigating through a blizzard of political white-out where visibility is reduced to zero, the road is slick and slippery, and disaster is strewn about in all directions? You come to a complete stop — and put on the chains.

Paul B. Skousen is a former analyst for the CIA, an intelligence officer in the Reagan White House, and staffer for Senator Orrin Hatch. He has interviewed on Fox News and was featured by Paul Harvey’s The Rest of the Story about smuggling Oliver North’s shredded secrets from the White House. He is a journalist and published author, and the son of W. Cleon Skousen, author of The Five Thousand Year Leap. He is a national Constitution Coach and senior editor with PowerThink Publishing, LLC. Website: www.powerthink.com. Email: paul@powerthink.com.






Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2010/12/27/the-top-10-violations-of-the-constitution-by-obama-and-the-111th-congress/#ixzz19dt62HGm

The 100 Worst Cases of Government Waste in 2010

The 100 Worst Cases of Government Waste in 2010


by Ben Johnson

Although the United States is $13 trillion in debt, mandatory spending alone exceeds tax revenues, and the Congressional Budget Office is warning of a coming U.S. “fiscal crisis,” Congress felt no need to trim spending. The just-adjourned 111th Congress headed by Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi added more to the national debt than the first 100 U.S. Congresses combined. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-OK, has published his collection of the 100 most wasteful projects his colleagues deemed worthy of your hard-earned tax dollars this year. Among the most offensive, ridiculous, and startling examples of pork in the Year of our Lord 2010, he found:


■Nearly $5,000 of stimulus money to hire goats to graze the weeds at Idaho’s Heyburn State Park;
■$6 billion for ethanol subsidies, which raise food costs;
■$177,000 for Ohio teachers to travel to China to learn about the Chinese “education” system;
■$137,530 for a Dartmouth professor to develop “Layoff,” a video game that encourages its players to fire as many people as quickly as possible;
■$700,000 for New Hampshire researchers to examine “greenhouse gas emission from organic dairies,” which are cause by “cow burps, among other things”;
■$442,340 to study male prostitutes in Vietnam;
■$823,000 to teach South African men how to wash their genitals after sex. (We reported this one earlier this year);
■$55,000 to celebrate HIV Vaccine Awareness Day. Of course, there is no anti-AIDS vaccine, but the “observance is a day to recognize and thank” the professionals “who are working together to find” a cure;
■$571 million — more than half-a-billion dollars — diverted from building roads and infrastructure to plant flowers on the roadsides;
■$2.9 million to study how players of the online game World of Warcraft collaborate;
■$5,000 for the Murfreesboro, Tennessee public library to host video game nights, featuring Rock Band, Wii Bowling, and Mario Kart;
■$609,160 to develop a video game based on the life of a wolf;
■$615,000 for the University of California-Santa Cruz to digitize Grateful Dead memorabilia;
■$10,000 for the Woodstock Film Festival, attended by such elites as Kevin Bacon, Tim Robbins, and Uma Thurman;
■$150,000 for signs alerting drivers of crossing salamanders in Monkton, Vermont;
■Nearly $1 million to post snippets of poetry at zoos;
■$175 million for unused buildings, including an octagonal monkey house in Dayton, Ohio;
■$239,100 to study how singles use online dating sites while they are lookin’ for love;
■$31,350 for a comic book mouse who teaches children the history of printing;
■$112 million in fraudulent tax refunds for prisoners;
■$1.5 million for a museum in Shelby, North Carolina, to honor bluegrass banjo picker Earl Scruggs;
■$60,000 to renovate a pizzeria in Waterloo, Iowa; and
■$212,735 to study the state of “civility” in U.S. politics in Pullman, Washington. Liberals rediscover the virtues of “civility” every time a conservative criticizes a Democratic president.

These synopses hardly give their projects their proper due. Read about them, and 77 others, in the senator’s report. Download Sen. Coburn’s entire Wastebook 2010: A Guide to Some of the Most Wasteful Government Spending of 2010 here.
http://coburn.senate.gov/public//index.cfm?a=Files.Serve&File_id=774a6cca-18fa-4619-987b-a15eb44e7f18

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

How the Value Added Tax Works

The spending pace of President Barack Obama and the 111th Congress simply cannot be sustained. There will either have to be spending cuts or higher taxes. The left prefers higher taxes, including the imposition of a value-added tax (VAT). How would a VAT work. Heritage scholar Curtis Dubay explains
http://blog.heritage.org/2010/12/28/how-the-value-added-tax-works/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Morning%2BBell

Obama Wishes You a Phony, Racist Holiday

Natural Law Verses Positivism -- Janna Legg

To understand the root of the current debate today, lets take a look at Natural Law verses Positivism.

What is Natural Law?

Freedom comes by virtue of being created human, from our very nature, and holds that laws created by kings or legislatures are always secondary to Natural Law (Strict Constutionalist). Natural Law Theory teaches that because all people desire freedom from human restraint and because all humans yearn to be free, our freedoms must stem from our very humanity--and ultimately from our Creator of humanity, God. To understand natural law, you have to look at the Constitution (http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html) and The Declaration of Independence (http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/) together. The language of the Declaration Of Independence refers specifically to God Given Rights. Also written is Freedom of speech, religion, ideas, fortune, free independent states,and freedom from legislatures unwarrantable jurisdicition over us. (Just to name a few)

Our rights can not be legislated away.  The only way our natural rights can be taken away is by a Jury following due process. Under Natural law, Legislatures have unwritten limitations imposed upon them, and those limitations prevent a legislature, no matter how one sided the vote and no matter how popular the legislation, from enacting a law that interferes from natural rights. When the people created legislatures, and when the states created Congress, they never gave these bodies the authority to interfere with natural rights.

Under Natural Law, the only legitimate goal of the Government is to secure liberty, which is the freedom to obey ones own free will and consciences of others whether you are an individual outside the government or working for Government.

What is Positivism?

Positivism (Loose Constutionalist) is the opposite of Natural Law. Under Positivism, the law is whatever those powers say it is, whether that decision is democratic or dictatorial in nature. Positivism demands that all laws be written down, and requires that there are no theoretical or artificial restraints (such as natural law) on the ability of government to enact whatever laws it wishes.

In this theory the majority always rules and always gets its way, since there are no minority rights to be protected--except whatever rights the majority might condescend to grant.

A Positivist believes, rights come from government, and Government can always repeal what it grants. The positivist would say that since the majority in a free society gives freedom, the majority can take it away. To a positivist, the governments goal is to bring about the greatest benefit to the greatest number of people.

Is there middle ground for the American people? Is there a way to get back to common sense laws? Based on laws and legislative policies passed in the past couple of years, there does not seem to be a middle ground. Hopefully, America will continue to take time to understand what laws can look like for themselves, their businesses, their family, and their communities.

Pray if you want to! Andy Rooney's commentary on prayer

It is about time we Christians stand up and demand our rights too, instead of letting our government, the media and non believers tell us that we don't have a right to pray to God publicly. Please pass on to your friends if you agree.


CBS and Katie Couric et al must be in a panic and rushing to reassure the White House that this is not network policy--re: Andy Rooney's commentary on prayer.


Folks, this is the year that we RE-TAKE AMERICA & CANADA

Andy Rooney says:  I don't believe in Santa Claus, but I'm not going to sue somebody for singing a Ho-Ho-Ho song in December. I don't agree with Darwin , but I didn't go out and hire a lawyer when my high school teacher taught his Theory of Evolution.

Life, liberty or your pursuit of happiness will not be endangered because someone says a 30-second prayer before a football game. So what's the big deal? It's not like somebody is up there reading the entire Book of Acts. They're just talking to a God they believe in and asking him to grant safety to the players on the field and the fans going home from the game.


But it's a Christian prayer, some will argue.

Yes, and this is the United States of America and Canada , countries founded on Christian principles. According to our very own phone book, Christian churches outnumber all others better than 200-to-1. So what would you expect -- somebody chanting Hare Krishna?

If I went to a football game in Jerusalem , I would expect to hear a Jewish prayer.
If I went to a soccer game in Baghdad , I would expect to hear a Muslim prayer.
If I went to a ping pong match in China , I would expect to hear someone pray to Buddha.
And I wouldn't be offended. It wouldn't bother me one bit.

When in Rome ......

But what about the atheists? Is another argument.

What about them? Nobody is asking them to be baptized. We're not going to pass the collection plate. Just humour us for 30 seconds. If that's asking too much, bring a Walkman or a pair of ear plugs. Go to the bathroom. Visit the concession stand. Call your lawyer!

Unfortunately, one or two will make that call. One or two will tell thousands what they can and cannot do I don't think a short prayer at a football game is going to shake the world's foundations.

Christians are just sick and tired of turning the other cheek while our courts strip us of all our rights. Our parents and grandparents taught us to pray before eating, to pray before we go to sleep. Our Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. Now a handful of people and their lawyers are telling us to cease praying.

God, help us. And if that last sentence offends you, well, just sue me.

The silent majority has been silent too long. It's time we tell that one or two who scream loud enough to be heard that the vast majority doesn't care what they want. It is time that the majority rules! It's time we tell them, "You don't have to pray; you don't have to say the Pledge of Allegiance; you don't have to believe in God or attend services that honour Him. That is your right, and we will honour your right; but by golly, you are no longer going to take our rights away. We are fighting back, and we WILL WIN!"

God bless us one and all...Especially those who denounce Him, God bless America and Canada , despite all our faults, We are still the greatest nation of all. God bless our service men who are fighting to protect our right to pray and worship God.

Let's make 2011 the year the silent majority is heard and we put God back as the foundation of our families and institutions. And our military forces come home from all the wars.

Keep looking up.  If you agree with this, please pass it on.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

What Republicans Should Do in January, 2011

OPEN LETTER TO REPUBLICANS: NOW IT'S YOUR TURN. DON'T SCREW IT UP!

By Jared Law (Founder, The 9.12 Project Network), December 28th, 2010

House Republicans have a sacred responsibility to taxpayers, Tea Partiers/Conservative Republicans (who unquestionably handed them their victories in November), and to every American, whether they agree with us or not, to begin fulfilling their Constitutional duty to limit the size of government, to reduce federal taxation and spending to match the original intent of the Constitution of the United States of America, which document I believe to be inspired by God himself.


Republicans and independents, those of us who kicked Nancy Pelosi and her co-conspirators out of their leadership positions (for betraying the trust the American people mistakenly placed in them in 2008)...WE know what's coming, WE know what must be done, and if the House Republicans don't begin moving in this direction, IMMEDIATELY, they'll have nobody to blame but themselves for a third party or total irrelevance, as the Whigs also did to themselves long ago. I am not a fan of the idea of a third party, but Republicans REALLY, REALLY need to do what we've asked them to do if they expect to remain in office, much less earn an expanded majority in the House, and control of the U.S. Senate, and the Presidency in 2012, or any of the above.

America is awake. We know what 'Progressives' are, and that they are a cancer on America, they infest both parties, and they are a cancer which must be removed ASAP. We must undo the damage they've done, or America will be nothing but a tragic footnote in the history of the world. America is literally fighting for our life, and after Nancy Pelosi & co. pumped America full of toxic progressive policies while America was under the knife, we're at the brink, right at the razor's edge.

You must be extremely careful, but you MUST eliminate the destructive 'progressive' policies, legislation, and government spending which has brought America to her knees, and laid her low on the operating table of the surgical center. Her life is in your hands. DO NOT FAIL AMERICA! We're watching you like hawks. Scratch that...Eagles. Millions of Bald Eagles with attitudes.

Like the rest of the Tea Party/9.12 Project/Freedom movement, I love America with every fiber of my being. I am so incredibly grateful to be an American, and thankfully, I woke up years ago, and was educated by myself and others, over the past few years (especially the past 22 months), so that like most Tea Partiers, I know of what I speak. While I am not perfect, nor am I a lawyer, not a Senator or Congressman, and certainly not a politician (in fact, perhaps FOR this reason), I have studied the Constitution and the Principles of Freedom enshrined therein, so I know what my rights are. I know what natural rights and natural law is. I understand the laws of nature and of Nature's God. We all do.

The whole Tea Party /9.12 Project movement has been studying, self-educating, through books, seminars, videos, and discussion. We know what we want. And the first priority of the mandate we handed to House Republicans on November 2nd, 2010, is to END THE GROWTH OF FEDERAL SPENDING IMMEDIATELY, and END DEFICIT SPENDING ASAP. The great decline of the wasteful, unconstitutional spending by the federal government MUST FINALLY BEGIN!

In addition to this reality, we must also begin the final repayment of America's national debt. We know the true number is many times the $13.9 Trillion that is officially being reported. National Debt interest payments in FY2010 were about $164 BILLION DOLLARS. That's a bit absurd, don't you think? Why is the most powerful, successful nation on earth the largest debtor nation? This is absolutely unsustainable, and you know it. Sadly, for Americans, the window of opportunity to pay it off in a RELATIVELY painless fashion has passed. It's going to be painful, but it must be done. The time for easy solutions is long gone, and the 111th Congress made your job indescribably more difficult. And if you fail, they'll blame you, and spend $Billions convincing America it's your fault. Only the Tea Party MOVEMENT (not individual Tea Party leaders, groups, etc.) can and WILL defend you, assuming you do the right thing.

Now we realize you don't have all the power you need to get everything done this first year, but don't think you can let off or compromise. You have a sacred duty, and if you fail to honor your duty, you will not only be thrown out of office, but your name will become a hiss and a byword. Nancy Pelosi has destroyed her name among honest, tax-paying Americans. Now it's your turn to either shine or self-destruct! Show us what you're made of, Republicans! We have granted you the power of the purse; use it to the fullest extent possible so we can praise, defend, and re-elect you in 2012, with an expanded majority in the House, and a Majority in the Senate, not to mention the Presidency!

If you fail to honor the Principles of Freedom which are enshrined in the Constitution of the United States of America, if you ignore us, if you fail to honor your oath of office, in which you will "solemnly swear (or affirm)" that you will "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same..." and that you "will well faithfully discharge the duties of the office" you are about to enter. So help you GOD...then you'd better pray for God's help. Because you'll get none from those who love America if you refuse to honor that oath of office!

For this reason, here are some of my suggestions, as a 9.12 Project/Tea Party organizer and network creator of the largest 9.12 Project-specific social network in the world. We don't number in the millions, only the tens of thousands nationwide, but we are quite representative of the cross section of principled Tea Partiers nationwide. You would do well to heed our message.

So with our purpose crystal clear, and with a solid understanding of what's at stake, let's define Constitutionality:

Any part of the United States Federal Government which fails to be justified, using the Founding Fathers' original intent, by Article I, Section VIII of the Constitution of the United States of..., is inherently UNCONSTITUTIONAL, and must be eliminated from the federal budget. EVERYTHING.

The only question is how fast do we eliminate them; not if. Just when.

And please note, Republicans, that the so-called 'General Welfare Clause' of the Constitution isn't a clause, it's a statement of intent, or in other words, it's a purpose, and the Constitution does that by LIMITING government as Congress would if it stuck with justifying every single bill passed by Congress with Article I, SectionVIII. Here is the preamble, the statement of intent, of the Constitution of the United States of America:

"WE THE PEOPLE of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

Basically, the 'general welfare clause' isn't a clause, it's part of the statement of intent, or the preamble, and the structure they laid out in the Constitution IS SUPPOSED TO PROMOTE THE GENERAL WELFARE, BY LIMITING THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, WHICH GIVES WE THE PEOPLE THE GREATEST AMOUNT OF FREEDOM WHILE MAINTAINING A PROPERLY-POWERFUL FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, that is, when compared to inadequately-powerful governments, such as the previous ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. Those created a federal government which was TOO WEAK to allow America to become what we have become, but our federal government is now so incredibly powerful and large, so UNCONSTITUTIONAL, that is is severely limiting America's potential! We need to abolish every federal agency and department which IS NOT justified under Article I, Section VIII of the Constitution of the United States of...:
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Section 8.

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
To borrow money on the credit of the United States;
To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes;
To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States;
To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures;
To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States;
To establish post offices and post roads;
To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries;
To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court;
To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offenses against the law of nations;
To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water;
To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years;
To provide and maintain a navy;
To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces;
To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions;
To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States, reserving to the states respectively, the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;
To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular states, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United States, and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the state in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful buildings;--And
To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof.
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And remember, the NECESSARY AND PROPER clause (the last paragraph above) does NOT mean you get to make up new powers, gobble up the states' or the peoples' rights, and ignore the ninth and tenth Amendments:
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Amendment IX:  The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X:  The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
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The 'Necessary and Proper' clause simply means Congress can make common-sense laws which enable the carrying out of Article I, Section VIII (and the rest of the Constitution). It is NOT a blank check of unlimited power.

So let's get into some common-sense details.

To avoid riots, I would start it by an across-the-board freeze in the budget of every federal department, without exception, rather than eliminating all of them and starting over. In addition, I would insist upon an across-the-board federal pay cut of all taxpayer-funded salaries over the average salary of the American people (let's say $50,000/year), INCLUDING Senators & Representatives. All federal salaries should decrease by something on the order of 20% each year until we reach private sector parity. For those making UNDER $50K/year, they can accept a $10% pay cut in each of the first two years.

On the other hand, I think that active-duty servicemen (& women) deserve an immediate 20% raise, with another one the following year, to help make up for the fact that they've been vastly under-compensated ever since they signed up. All raises should not be allowed to increase somebody's salary beyond $100,000.00/year. All such individuals would get a 10% raise instead (these are rough figures, and could be adjusted as needed to make for a more smooth transition). And anybody who is killed while active duty should be immediately paid $100,000.00 to their estate (plus $20,000 additional for each child dependent under the age of 18). And everybody who completes a tour of duty in harm's way should get a $5,000 'thank you' from the American taxpayers ($10K if they have children under 18). Every time.

Also, in the first year, I would insist upon a 25% funding cut for all unconstitutional agencies/departments, and a 25% workforce reduction in those departments/agencies, with equal (25% of the original funding/payroll) cuts each of the following three years. In the fourth year, we would celebrate the total elimination of the unconstitutional departments/agencies.

See? A 'Managed Decline' of unconstitutional tax expenditures! I would prefer to do it immediately at 100%, but I would also like to avoid a civil war.

The obvious exception to these cuts would be the following departments: Education, Energy, Environmental Protection. HUD, and Labor, as well as 100% of Medicaid/SCHIP payments (let the states pay for such things if they wish to keep those programs). Since these departments/agencies all contribute directly to the 'fundamental transformation' of America from a Constitutional Republic to a fascist state, they must go immediately, as in de-funded 100%. Welfare would immediately be slashed by 25%/year until it's totally phased out in year four.

The steps listed above, alone, would save an estimated $579 billion in year one, $722 Billion in year two, $866 Billion in year three, and just over a $Trillion dollars in the fourth year, based on FY2010 numbers. This only reflects the elimination of welfare and the unconstitutional departments/programs listed. The cuts in the additional unconstitutional departments/agencies, when combined with federal pay cuts, would add another half $Trillion in savings by the fifth year.

In fact, by the end of the fifth year, we'd be spending about $1.5 Trillion less than before, not counting savings from reduced Social Security and Medicare costs. I would estimate we would realize another half-$Trillion in savings there by the half-decade mark. That means $2 Trillion/year savings from year five going forward, and adding to that as we continue to reduce our interest payments, SS/Medicare expenditures over time, etc. From year five onward, there is A REAL BUDGET SURPLUS, assuming the freeze remains, we don't enter additional wars, and our interest rates remain close to what they are today, since we're paying down the debt, for once!

As for Social Security, I would privatize all accounts for those under the age of 40, extend the age of eligibility to 75, and do a thorough audit of all accounts, eliminating all which are paying fraudulent 'benefits.'

Medicare? That's the trickiest one, but we'd need to rescind Medicare Part 'D' ASAP. Probably phase it out over a 5-year period, by reducing benefits by 20% of the original amounts each year for a half-decade. Perhaps that sort of thing would work for Medicare itself, as well, but stretch it out to 10% annually for a decade.

And 'Federal Employee Unions' would be immediately abolished. There should not be unions capable of extorting additional cash from taxpayers!

This may seem simplistic, but imagine the amount of investment which would begin to flow into America again once we got into surplus territory, started paying down the national debt (once we had cleared a couple $Trillion, people would take us seriously, and borrowing costs would plummet!), and cut corporate and income taxes to reasonable rates, in preparation for an eventual flat tax of no more than 10%!

We'd have the "official' national debt paid off within 15-20 years, depending upon economic growth. As for the 'off the books' national debt, such as the unfunded liabilities from Social Security and Medicare, well, those start to look much, much better once we restructure them and prepare them for eventual phase-out. Two decades down the road, we're where we would have been today had we started ten years ago, rather than waiting until near-total collapse!

Of course, that PRESUMES that we'll continue our efforts to eliminate Progressivism from polite society, and keep it on the run from then on. You leave that to us.

But the best thing is that we don't have to cower and fear the future. It may take us five years to show the world we mean business, but it CAN be done, and without bloody, violent revolution! And seriously, the accomplishments begin to be realized, and especially once we cross that critical line to a real, no-gimmicks BUDGET SURPLUS, our opponents will become politically-toxic to even moderate, ignorant Americans, for an entire generation (assuming we have restored our education system)!

Then it will be up to our children to keep up the good fight, to defend America from progressives, Communists, Fascists, and other evil leftists who wish to destroy America. Yes, there are people like that out there. Many of them meet regularly at (or via secure videoconferencing, in) the White House. They are progressives, fascists, and communists, and they despise what America is, and what she can become, if only we'll rid her of the cancer that is progressivism!

http://www.the912project.us/forum/topic/show?id=2881797%3ATopic%3A1827479&xgs=1&xg_source=msg_share_topic

111th Congress Added More Debt Than First 100 Congresses Combined

111th Congress Added More Debt Than First 100 Congresses Combined: $10,429 Per Person in U.S.

Monday, December 27, 2010

By Terence P. Jeffrey

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi holds one of the pens used by President Barack Obama to sign the health care bill, Tuesday, March 23, 2010, in the East Room of the White House in Washington.
(CNSNews.com) - The federal government has accumulated more new debt--$3.22 trillion ($3,220,103,625,307.29)—during the tenure of the 111th Congress than it did during the first 100 Congresses combined, according to official debt figures published by the U.S. Treasury.

That equals $10,429.64 in new debt for each and every one of the 308,745,538 people counted in the United States by the 2010 Census.

The total national debt of $13,858,529,371,601.09 (or $13.859 trillion), as recorded by the U.S. Treasury at the close of business on Dec. 22, now equals $44,886.57 for every man, woman and child in the United States.

In fact, the 111th Congress not only has set the record as the most debt-accumulating Congress in U.S. history, but also has out-stripped its nearest competitor, the 110th, by an astounding $1.262 trillion in new debt.

During the 110th Congress—which, according to the Clerk of the House, officially convened on Jan. 4, 2007 and adjourned on Jan. 4, 2009--the national debt increased $1.957 trillion. When that Congress adjourned less than two years ago, it claimed the record as the most debt-accumulating Congress in U.S. history. As it turned out, however, its record did not last long.

The $3.22 trillion in new federal debt run up during the 111th Congress exceeds by 64 percent the $1.957 trillion in new debt run up during the 110th.

Although the 111th Congress cast its last vote on Dec. 22, it will not officially adjourn until next week.

Democrats controlled both the House and Senate in the 110th and 111th Congresses.

The 108th Congress ($1.159 trillion in new debt) and 109th ($1.054 trillion in new debt) take third and fourth place among all U.S. Congresses for accumulating debt. In both these Congresses, Republicans controlled both the House and Senate.

Still, the $3.22 trillion in new debt accumulated during the record-setting 111th Congress is more than three times the $1.054 trillion in new debt accumulated by the last Republican-majority Congress (the 109th) which adjourned on Dec. 8, 2006.

Historically, according to the U.S. Treasury, the federal debt did not reach $3.22 trillion until September 1990, during the 101st Congress. Between the first Congress, which adjourned in 1791 leaving behind approximately $75 million in debt, and the convening of the 101st Congress, which occurred on Jan. 3, 1989, the national debt grew to $2.684 trillion.

During the Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) tenure as speaker, which commenced on Jan. 4, 2007, the federal government has run up $5.177 trillion in new debt. That is about equal to the total debt the federal government accumulated in the first 220 years of the nation's existence, with the federal debt rising from $5.173 trillion on July 23, 1996 to $5.181 trillion on July 24, 1996.

In her inaugural address as speaker, Pelosi vowed that Congress would engage in no new deficit spending.

"After years of historic deficits, this 110th Congress will commit itself to a higher standard: Pay as you go, no new deficit spending,” she said in an address from the speaker’s podium. “Our new America will provide unlimited opportunity for future generations, not burden them with mountains of debt."

Editorial: The Price Of Bipartisanship - Galganov.com

Editorial: The Price Of Bipartisanship - Galganov.com

Letter to a Certified Liberal

Dec 24, 2010


The Sun Journal Letter to the Editor:  Letter to a Certified Liberal--By CCTA Member, Lou Call

Thursday’s letter from the ‘certified liberal’ Shelton Jenkins was a masterpiece of liberal speak. There were some interesting observations made by the writer as well as the usual omissions which are all too common when a progressive refers to things conservative in nature.

Allow me to start with his following statement : “I also find it somewhat amusingly hypocritical when I glance over the masses at most tea party gatherings, and realize how many participants are beneficiaries of Social Security, Medicare, the VA health care system, or may own businesses that benefit from those programs.”

For the record Social Security is not voluntary and is required by the government for both employee and employer participation. Since contributions are mandatory does that mean that the recipients shouldn’t exercise their rights to protest against the Obama administration? It’s unfortunate that Congress has moved monies from the Social Security fund into the General Fund putting the fund in jeopardy. Mr. Jenkins needs to be reminded that Congress, for the last four years, has been under the control of liberal democrats.

Let’s turn our attention to the VA health care system. How dare any Tea Party participant question the machinations in Washington when they are the recipient of health care under the VA. Like most liberals he forgets why those benefits exist; call it selective memory. Those of us who have VA benefits received them for our service to our Country.Some shed their blood, others lost limbs and some paid the ultimate price for our freedoms; how dare any Veteran march and protest in Washington.

I must agree with Mr. Jenkins that Obamacare is demeaning by its very nature. Consider this; liberals would like you to believe that the Health Care Reform bill (Obamacare) was overwhelmingly supported by the Congress. In reality it passed by one vote. It is over 2000 pages in length, was never read by the majority of Congress before it was passed, gives greater power to IRS intrusion into our personal savings accounts, requires under penalty of fines and/or imprisonment anyone who does not have health insurance by 2014 and is more about control than health care reform. Then starting in 2012 requiring a business to file a 1099 for every purchase they make; what does this have to do with improving health care?

It will ration care to seniors and eventually reduce payments to health care professionals. Already doctors in the health care industry are considering whether to stay or pursue other forms of income. If you don’t believe this last statement have a sit down with you family physician and ask him/her about the affects Obamacare will have on their practice.

There is very little left that the tentacles of Socialism haven’t touched. From our auto industry to our banking system(s) to the internet we use every day to communicate. The hand of Obama can be seen and eventually felt. And this is done all under the banner of some crisis; real, imagined or created.

If Mr. Jenkins thinks that those of us in the Tea Party movement are going to give the Republican congress a free ride in 2011, he’s in for a rude awakening. This should be a wake up call for all of us but he would prefer we stay asleep.

Louis Call, River Bend, NC

Monday, December 27, 2010

The Tea Party’s Uphill Battle

The Tea Party’s Uphill Battle

by Dr. Mark W. Hendrickson

The Tea Party movement and its millions of supporters have high hopes that the recent elections will rein in runaway government. While I endorse this objective, accomplishing it will be far more difficult than most people realize.

The Tea Partiers will have to contend with more than just a Big-Government president and Senate. They also face well-funded, well-connected, and well-entrenched special interests, plus a public that expects the officials they elect to shrink government and balance the federal budget only if it’s the other guy’s programs that get cut. Would-be reformers will also have to deal with the larger, permanent, unelected powers that aren’t accountable to the people.

The fact is that the United States isn’t as democratic as we’d like to think it is. We cherish the idea that the vox populi (the voice of the people) predominates over the will of privileged elites; that government is subordinate to the people (that it serves the people, rather than ruling them); that those in positions of governmental power should be accountable to the people from whom they derive their authority; that government is, essentially, “of the people, by the people, and for the people.”  Is that the kind of system we have today? Let’s see:

Congress delegated its constitutional prerogative to be the guardians of our money to the Federal Reserve System. As I’ve previously discussed, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke & Co. exercise extraordinary discretionary powers that affect us all, yet Bernanke—arguably the second most powerful person in America—is unelected and unaccountable to the people.

Key rules by which we live—most notably, the right to legal abortion—were created by the Supreme Court, instead of by Congress. Regardless of your opinion about the Roe v. Wade decision, it doesn’t seem very democratic that five unelected, unaccountable justices should have the power to establish the rules by which we live.

Perhaps the greatest damage to democracy has been the tremendous amount of power amassed by “the permanent government,” the unelected federal bureaucrats.

Consider:
Although the Constitution confers the legislative prerogative on Congress, in a typical year federal agencies will adopt more than 10 times as many legally binding rules as Congress passes laws (3,830 final rules compared to 285 laws in 2008, for example).

The Obamacare bill grants the Secretary of Health and Human Services the authority to determine or define what the legislation means no fewer than 1,697 times, according to a tabulation by Devon Herrick of the National Center for Policy Analysis.

This year’s Dodd-Frank financial reform bill gives power to unelected officials to decide which financial institutions live and die. It also adds power to the 115 federal agencies that already shared regulatory supervision over the financial system, and guarantees high-paying federal jobs to all employees of those agencies, despite their failure to protect us from the financial meltdown of recent years.

The EPA has a long tradition of exceeding its statutory authority and seems determined to further cripple the generation of electricity by imposing heavy penalties for carbon dioxide emissions, despite the crack-up of the global-warming myth and the refusal of Congress to restrict CO2 emissions.

Nobody seems to be able to stop the National Labor Relations Board from helping unions to avoid conducting business in a way that is transparent to rank-and-file workers.

These are just a few examples of the power wielded by unelected officials. They are part of what the late economist Milton Friedman termed an ”iron triangle:” Congress appropriates funds for federal agencies, who, in turn, give grants to citizen-activist groups that then actively lobby Congress for expansions of those programs. Thus is maintained what Friedman and his wife, Rose, labeled “the tyranny of the status quo.”

The influx of some new, Tea Party-supported legislators in Congress should make government marginally more democratic. At least we can count on an end to the imperial speakership of Nancy Pelosi, which was characterized by major legislation written behind closed doors (in the middle of the night), ram-rodding bills along partisan lines (before even Pelosi’s allies could read them), and refusing to heed the concerns of millions of Americans (by excluding their elected representatives from even having a perfunctory say in Congress’ proceedings). That is significant, though incremental, progress.

Will the Tea Party movement be able to tame Big Government in all its undemocratic manifestations? That isn’t likely on the strength of just one strong mid-term election. The task ahead is daunting.
http://floydreports.com/the-tea-partys-uphill-battle/?utm_source=Expose+Obama&utm_campaign=8d59ddcf79-EO_12_27_201012_27_2010&utm_medium=email

Mexico is Angry!

Three cheers for Arizona! The shoe is on the other foot and the Mexicans from the State of Sonora, Mexico, don't like it.


Can you believe the nerve of these people? It's almost funny.

The State of Sonora is angry at the influx of Mexicans into Mexico. Nine state legislators from the Mexican State of Sonora traveled to Tucson to complain about Arizona 's new employer crackdown on illegals from Mexico.

It seems that many Mexican illegals are returning to their hometowns and the officials in the Sonora state government are ticked off. A delegation of nine state legislators from Sonora was in Tucson on Tuesday to state that Arizona 's new Employer Sanctions Law will have a devastating effect on the Mexican state.

At a news conference, the legislators said that Sonora, - Arizona's southern neighbor, - made up of mostly small towns, - cannot handle the demand for housing, jobs and schools that it will face as Mexican workers return to their hometowns from the USA without jobs or money. The Arizona law, which took effect Jan. 1, punishes Arizona employers who knowingly hire individuals without valid legal documents to work in the United States.

Penalties include suspension of, or loss of, their business license. The Mexican legislators are angry because their own citizens are returning to their hometowns, placing a burden on THEIR state government.

"How can Arizona pass a law like this?", asked Mexican Rep Leticia Amparano-Gamez, who represents Nogales." There is not one person living in Sonora who does not have a friend or relative working in Arizona," she said, speaking in Spanish.

" Mexico is not prepared for this, for the tremendous problems it will face as more and more Mexicans working in Arizona and who were sending money to their families return to their home-towns in Sonora without jobs," she said. "We are one family, socially and economically," she said of the people of Sonora and Arizona . Wrong!

The United States is a sovereign nation, not a subsidiary of Mexico, and its taxpayers are not responsible for the welfare of Mexico's citizens.

It's time for the Mexican government, and its citizens, to stop feeding parasitically off the United States and to start taking care of its/their own needs.

Too bad that the other states within the USA don't pass a law just like that passed by Arizona . Maybe that's the answer, since our own Congress will do nothing!

One final issue. Polls show that over 80% of our population supports Arizona 's new laws. Certain businesses and states want to Boycott Arizona because of these new laws. I say, let them do so, but let's get that 80% who agree with Arizona to boycott those states and those businesses. Then we will see who wins this debate.

Five Rinos

As we look at 2012, there are five RINO Senators the Tea Party needs to send into retirement.


http://www.teapartynation.com/forum/topics/five-rinos

Obama to give Manhattan back to Native Americans?

President believes nation can spare some sovereignty

Posted: December 26, 2010

By Eugene J. Koprowski---© 2010 WorldNetDaily

President Obama is voicing support for a U.N. resolution that could accomplish something as radical as relinquishing some U.S. sovereignty and opening a path for the return of ancient tribal lands to American Indians, including even parts of Manhattan.


The issue is causing alarm among legal experts.

In recent remarks at the White House during a "tribal nations conference," Obama endorsed the "United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People," which includes a sweeping declaration that "indigenous peoples have a right to lands and resources they traditionally occupied or otherwise used" but that later were acquired by occupying forces.

Read the scoop on the United Nations, in "The Beast on the East River"
http://superstore.wnd.com/books/International-News/The-Beast-on-the-East-River-book

"U.N. resolutions like this claiming amorphous rights can be a stalking horse for future attempts to have international courts enforce broad interpretations of those rights at the expense of American sovereignty," Theodore Frank, a fellow with the Center for Legal Policy at the Manhattan Institute, a leading public policy think tank in New York City, told WND.

Academic legal experts indicate that American Indians during the Carter era first drew up plans for reacquisition of lost tribal lands, setting the stage for the U.N. resolution that Obama is embracing. The feasibility study, eyeing 650 million acres of federally owned land in the U.S., was conducted by the Indian Education Institute at Eastern Oregon State, one expert recalled for WND.


Re-purchase would restore land back to its original owners thus strengthening tribal sovereignty and jurisdiction over its people and land," Julianne Jennings Nottoway, a professor of anthropology at Pima Community College in Tuscon, Ariz., said. "Also, it would allow tribes the opportunity to develop socially, politically and economically as competitors as nation-states within a global context under the act of self-determination."


The Bush White House refused to support the U.N. resolution. But last year, the Democrat-majority House and Senate passed a resolution that, in Obama's words, acknowledges "the sad and painful chapters in our shared history – a history too often marred by broken promises and grave injustices against the First Americans."

The president said, "No statement can undo the damage that was done. But it is only by heeding the lessons of our history that we can move forward."

Obama's interest is personal. He noted during the 2008 presidential campaign he was officially adopted by the Crow Nation, an Indian tribe in Montana, and he was given an Indian name.

"My Crow name is 'One Who Helps People Throughout the Land,'" Obama said.

The U.N. policy that Obama wants the U.S. to embrace would enact the following measures on behalf of his adopted peoples, including repatriation of land and regulations forcing the media to reflect the values of indigenous cultures:

Article 26 states that nations "shall give legal recognition and protection to these lands, territories and resources" which were once owned by indigenous people.

Article 21 indicates that nation "states shall take effective measures and, where appropriate, special measures to ensure continuing improvement of their (indigenous people's) economic and social conditions. Particular attention shall be paid to the rights and special needs of indigenous elders, women, youth, children and persons with disabilities."

Article 16 compels nations to "take effective measures to ensure that state-owned media duly reflect indigenous cultural diversity. States … should encourage privately owned media to adequately reflect indigenous cultural diversity."

There are 47 articles in the U.N. resolution.

The international agreement is very serious business, one legal expert tells WND, and could cause problems for the U.S. long after Obama is gone from the White House, if made part of U.S. law.

"One can anticipate that some tribes will seek to use this resolution to re-litigate centuries-old land disputes that courts have already rejected," said Frank at the Manhattan Institute.

The litigation process, according to the roadmap drawn up during the Carter era, would seek, however, to create a "non-hostile environment" in which tribes could repurchase lands and "extinguish the rights of current occupants," Jennings Nottoway told WND.

The anthropology professor reckons that 30 percent of aboriginal land was not ceded to Americans through the process of treaty, "but assumed – false premise or without proof – ownership and subordination," she added.

"Tribes are not asking New Yorkers to leave Manhattan and leave their homes, memories and the lands on which they are built upon, but to make available open lands/spaces for repurchase that would be used exclusively for tribal affairs."

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been softening the ground for this Obama policy for some months. The U.S. Department of State indicates on its website that it has completed a "policy review" and "tribal consultation" on the indigenous peoples treaty in recent weeks.

During the White House conference, Obama said it is his aim to ensure that American Indians "had a voice in the White House … so long as I held this office, never again would Native Americans be forgotten or ignored."

http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=243153

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Sun Journal Letter to the Editor: Nancy Murdoch, CCTA Member, Havelock, NC

USA no longer capitalist

2010-12-24



Winston Churchill said, “Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy; its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.”

Just when did socialism become cool? Recently some members of Americans for Prosperity were attempting to hand out bumper stickers stating “Socialism Isn’t Cool” at the University of Virginia. There were no takers, and in fact, some people stated emphatically that socialism is cool. Thomas Jefferson, the founder of UVA, must be spinning in his grave.

There have been Marxists, communists and socialists in our country for years, but their numbers seem to have increased and they are vocal in their disdain for capitalism, the free market system and a republican constitutional form of government. Apparently they are either unaware or disdainful of the pitfalls of socialism. It’s become quite fashionable to sport clothing with depictions of Mao or Che. Most would not think of wearing a T-shirt with a picture of Hitler, but Mao killed more people than Hitler, and Che was certainly no choirboy. Historical facts seem irrelevant to some.

History has shown that eventually socialism always fails. As Margaret Thatcher so aptly put it, “Socialism is great until you run our of other people’s money.” We can see in the recent news that other people’s money seems to be in short supply in Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain. Many other countries that have been socialists for decades are beginning to see the error of their ways, including Germany and the United Kingdom. Both are moving away from their old government ideas as they are finding it difficult to pay the bills. At the same time we continue to spend money that doesn’t exist while increasing the size of government and entitlements.

Although socialism can be defined in many ways, one of the most important differences is how the individual is considered. Capitalism values the power of the individual; socialism is all about the collective group. The elite in this country, including the media, some academics, and many in our government, love to bash capitalism, declaring it dehumanizing, crass and self enslaving.


The truth, in my opinion, is that socialism is evil. Bureaucrats and social engineers tell the rest of us what is good for society and through regulation and the tax system manage to redistribute the wealth. By playing on the envy of those who have less, poor and middle class people decide to despise the wealthy and begrudge them the fruit of their labors. We presently have an administration that prescribes to that theory.

Capitalism rewards self sacrifice and hard work and punishes vice. Free enterprise cannot flourish without free trade, private property and the rule of law. Frugality, creativity, and morals are the foundation of capitalism. Greed, envy and sloth are the standards of socialism. Compassion and charity are the products of capitalism; socialists expect the state to care for the unfortunates with someone else’s money.

The United States of America is no longer a capitalist country. It’s a mix of capitalism and socialism, with the state having more power than the people. We have trashed the Constitution and ignored the rule of law. In order for us to restore a constitutional republic we must restore ourselves to a moral and just nation or we will remain serfs to the tyrannical overly powerful government and eventually enslaved.

Nancy Murdoch, CCTA Vice Chairman
Havelock, NC


© Copyright 2010 Freedom Communications. All Rights Reserved.

Friday, December 24, 2010

Pilot Posts Video Exposing Airport Security Flaws

The airline pilot who was reprimanded by the TSA for posting videos showing security flaws at a major airport is speaking out exclusively for the first time, saying that it was the “fallacy of the system” that inspired him to take this action.


Late last month a 50-year-old pilot, who asked that his name and the airline he works for not be made public, took a series of videos with his cell phone to show major flaws he says still exist in airport security systems. The videos show how easily ground crews at San Francisco International Airport were able to access secure areas. “As you can see,airport security is kind of a farce. It’s only smoke and mirrors so you people believe there is actually something going on here,” the pilot says on one video.

The pilot says he has worked for his airline for over a decade, and was also an Army reserve helicopter test pilot. He was deputized by the TSA to carry a gun in the cockpit. But he said he’d had enough, and wanted to do what he could to draw attention to what he says is still a major problem in airport security.
http://patriotupdate.com/629/pilot-posts-video-exposing-airport-security-flaws

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Merry Christmas from NC Freedom!

Merry Christmas


The United States Code, section 5 USC 6103 declares ten national, legal, public holidays:

(a)  The following are legal public holidays:
      New Year's Day, January 1.
      Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., the third Monday in January.
      Washington's Birthday, the third Monday in February.
      Memorial Day, the last Monday in May.
      Independence Day, July 4.
      Labor Day, the first Monday in September.
      Columbus Day, the second Monday in October.
      Veterans Day, November 11.
      Thanksgiving Day, the fourth Thursday in November.
      Christmas Day, December 25.
     
Christmas Day is a Christian religious holiday so how can the federal government justify this holiday under the current political correct definition of the separation of church vs. state? We see retail stores, banks and government offices outline a policy for Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas in order to not offend some ethereal "patron".

Cincinnati attorney Richard Ganulin filed a lawsuit in U.S. district court in August, 1998 by filing a lawsuit asking the federal government to stop declaring December 25th as a holiday.

"Christmas is a religious holiday and the Congress of the United States is not constitutionally permitted to endorse or aid any religion, purposefully or otherwise, or [promote] entanglement between our government and religious beliefs."

The lawsuit was dismissed by Judge Susan Dlott who stated:
"that Christmas can be observed as a federal holiday because non-Christians also mark the holiday by celebrating the arrival of Santa Claus. Since nonreligious people also observe the holiday, giving federal workers a day off for Christmas does not elevate one religion over another."

Judge Dlott preceded her ruling with the following poem:

"The court will address plaintiff's seasonal confusion erroneously believing Christmas merely a religious intrusion.

Whatever the reason constitutional or other Christmas is not an act of big brother!


Christmas is about joy and giving and sharing it is about the child within u.s. it is mostly about caring!

One is never jailed for not having a tree for not going to church for not spreading glee!

The court will uphold seemingly contradictory causes decreeing "the establishment" and "santa" both worthwhile "claus(es)!"


We are all better for santa the easter bunny too and maybe the great pumpkin to name just a few!

An extra day off is hardly high treason it may be spent as you wish regardless of reason.

The court having read the lessons of "lynch" refuses to play the role of the grinch!

There is room in this country and in all our hearts too for different convictions and a day off too!"

I personally do not need a court case to justify the spirit of Christmas. The decision concerning how individuals celebrate the birth of Jesus is just that: an individual decision. With that thought in mind, the staff and directors of NC Freedom wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas.

David DeGerolamo
NC Freedom

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