political grunt

barstool ecomonics

2011-08-16T16:17:00.000-07:00

I love this video.

http://www.youtube.com/user/HowTheWorldWorks

Stupid Parrots or Just a Day in the Life of the Media

2011-08-04T14:24:00.000-07:00

Rush Limbaugh has done this so successfully. Sound clips of the media and liberal politicians regurgitating the same word or phrase to label someone or some group. Do you remember "Gravitas"? Did you ever hear that phrase except when the media in mass used it against George W. Bush.

Well, the media is doing it to the Tea Party. Now we are "Terrorists". Not just one person but the whole group. Have you ever heard of anything so ridiculous? Obama makes threats against congressman and citizens but we are the terrorist. The government can do all kinds of things to invade our privacy but we are terrorists.

What a joke. I hope someone of influence calls them on this. They will look like the idiots that they are.

Norwiegan killer not a Christian!

2011-07-28T15:02:00.000-07:00

A survey of Ander Berhing Beivik's manifesto reveals he is not a "Fundamental Christian" after all. He believes that everyone in a Protestant church should go back to the Catholic church to provide a unified front to Islam. Definitely not a Fundamentalist!!!!

Separation of Church and State

2011-07-04T07:25:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine sent out an open letter about the separation of church and state. This is my reply:

Most of the problem with the doctrine of the "separation of church and state" is that so many don't have a clue as to what the doctrine actually is.

After reading this letter I went to my library and opened a book titled, Martyrs Mirror. It was written in 1660 and is account of Christian martyrs from the early church to the middle of the 17th century. The most interesting parts to me deal with the 16th and 17th century Anabaptists who were martyred in countries that were part of the reformation just like they were but they could not join the national churches because the national church's doctrine of infant baptism violated their own belief in believers baptism. As a result they were persecuted and martyred. Similar things happened in this nation before and AFTER the revolution. States like Massachusetts and Virginia required residents to be members of the state church. Those who were not members were persecuted and prosecuted.

The First Amendment and the "separation of church and state" was meant was to protect citizens and visitors from those requirements and their penalties. This doctrine was never envisioned by our founding fathers to keep Christians and our moral beliefs out of the public arena or out of our laws. As a matter of fact, the founding fathers were depending on actively involved Christians to keep the country on the right path.

If the separation of church and state is a problem then it's because some are using it as an excuse for being slothful when it comes to involvement in their communities.

Why? Intro

2011-06-13T06:35:00.000-07:00

I have thought about this for a while and I guess it's time do this. I am going to start a series of blogs about religions. Mostly it will be why I can't be part that religion, such as Islam or Mormonism.

I will start with Islam and work across to other ones as I do research and build my case. I will try not to attack or demean that religion but will try to explain why I cannot practice that religion.

I know that some will say that Biblical Christianity is not a religion. I know and understand that but for practical reasons I will refer to it as a religion, separate from other religions and even other forms of Christianity.

I know that the blog is called "Political Grunt" and that should be the focus of the blog. To be honest with you though a person's politics and a person's faith are really inseparable. If other words, how you views the world's creator effects how you view the world and that includes politics.

Much of what I will write about will have to do with that nature and character of God. Who is He? What is He like? What has He done? I think if I can explain what I believe and why in comparison to those other religions it may open some dialog and some may be converted to the the glorious truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

How Can You Tell the Difference Between Parties?

2011-06-02T05:52:00.000-07:00

How can you tell the difference between parties? Sometimes it is very hard but there is a simple test. Let a Republican Congressman do something stupid like take a picture of himself with his shirt off, send it to someone other than his wife, get caught, and he resigns. Let a Democrat Congressman take a picture of his crotch, send it to someone other than his wife, get caught, and he goes on TV and says he that he can't say "with certitude" whether its his body or not.

Let me say this, if a picture shows up on the Internet and someone says it's my crotch, I can say with absolute certitude that it is not mine!!!!! I would know. I would have to be there!!

This leads to what should be an obvious conclusion, while the Republicans are not perfect, the Democrats are completely lacking in ethics!!! Remember back to the Clinton impeachment. Everyone kept saying it is only about sex. No it wasn't. It was about a sitting Governor having State Police bring a state employee to a hotel room so that the Governor could have sex with her. Doesn't that constitute a criminal offence but the DEM did care. It was all about keeping that office. The only good thing about that was that we didn't get stuck with pin-head Al Gore as president.

The list of DEM offences without any serious consequences could go on, Teddy Kennedy and the threesome under the restaurant table, Barney Frank and his pimp boyfriend, the rape allegation against Clinton. It just goes to show that when it comes to sex the Democrats have no ethics.

(Sometimes this is too easy) Come on Congressman Wiener, at least have the B_ _ _s to says it's yours.

Foundations

2011-06-01T11:57:00.000-07:00

Any building that will last requires a good foundation. Any political thought that will last also requires a good foundation. The political thought of our Founding Fathers had a good foundation. That foundation was Calvinistic, at least in the first of its instructive acrostic, TULIP.

The "T" stands for "Total Depravity". (The rest is: U-unconditional election, L- limited atonement, I- irresistible grace, P- perseverance of the saints.)

What is "Total Depravity"? It is the belief that men, all men (and women) are sinners and without hope in themselves to satisfy the righteous demands of a holy God. No only are we positionally sinners but we are sinners in our conduct. There are many passages of scripture which point this out: Psalm 14:2-4, Jeremiah 17:9,Romans 3:10-18, 23. It means that each of us is capable of the most heinous acts, and can and will act in a selfish way. This is true of criminal behavior and political behavior.

Our Founding Fathers realized this and put into the Constitution a system of checks and balances. This system pits one man's or group of men's depravity against another's, so that the only way to get anything done is to compromise. That is why when there is gridlock in D.C. you know that everything is working as it should. Theoretically, nothing should get done unless most people are getting something of what they want.

This is how things get done in this country. People who don't always agree with each will agree to do a little bit less than both like but something that both can live with. It is Compromise. It is Politics. It is ...... the American Way. You just have to get yourself into a position where your voice will be heard.

Now the counter side of this is to make sure that you don't go in naively, thinking just because you're there that you have arrived. It is a nasty game that you must be ready for. You should develop a power base that can be used and then use it.

Here in New York we are learning the game very slowly. We have worked to get a non-party endorsed candidate as the GOP candidate for governor. Now things didn't work out as we would have liked. Party bosses can be very vengeful. But we have shown that we have the power to get things done. Now it is time to exercise that power a little, to act in a selfish way for our best interests. This all part of learning the "game."

So compromise isn't a bad thing as long as you don't lose your integrity in the process and sell your soul to get what you want.

Thank you to the DNC

2011-06-01T05:36:00.000-07:00

I, on behalf of all right-leaning bloggers, would like the extend a warm thank you to the Democratic National Committee for the selection of Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz as your chairperson. Joe Biden has been unable to pull the gag out of his mouth lately and that has left us a little short of material. However, we now a new gaffe-a-minute gal, Rep. Wasserman-Schultz.

I just saw three in a short clip via CNSnews.com. Ready? O.K. She said Republicans think that illegal immigration should be a crime. (Brief explanation for any liberals reading this. A synonym for "illegal" is "criminal". By definition, it is a crime) Next she said, if it were up to Republicans we would all be driving foreign cars. Guess what she drives? An Infinity (Foreign car) Lastly, she said she supports a president who is pro Israel. Maybe she isn't as big of an Obama fan as we thought.

Anyway, Thanks for the laughs Deb and keep'em comin'. I'm sure you will.

News Flash!!!!!!

2011-05-31T16:20:00.000-07:00

This just in: The press is not impressed with the current crop of GOP candidates for president. What a shock.

I think it's time for us to investigate things for ourselves and not let the press generate our excitement for us. They almost all a bunch of leftist DEM cheerleaders anyway. Don't be manipulated. Research, THINK!

Reality Check Time

2011-05-31T08:46:00.000-07:00

Strange exercise time - I want you to leave this site and go to one that features food. You know the one's with beautiful pictures the most delicious looking food you have ever seen. Then I want you to put your hands on those pictures, grab that food, and eat it. Then come back here after you've clean up your face and hands. Go on. I'll wait.

O.K. You're back now. How was it? What do you mean you couldn't grab it. It was right there in front of you. You could see it. You knew what it looked like.

Alright, enough foolishness. What was the point of that? Reality. The pictures and the recipes are there to show you what you could have, if you go to the store, buy the food, bring it home, prepare it, cook it, serve it. There is a process to get for the picture to the reality.

The concepts and abstracts are good to shoot for but there is a reality that must be dealt with. The Reality is there is a political structure that is in place with its own power structure. It gives the illusion that it is transparent but we all know it is not. The real question is how to make the concepts and abstracts the new reality? Do we marginalize ourselves by acting like complete morons in public meetings. Do we join together to support very marginal "Tea Party" candidates who have NO CHANCE of winning just to "get" the MACHINE.

OR do we take an approach where we present ourselves as reasonable, rational people who haven't forgotten the concepts and abstracts but who understand that to get there it will take time and effort, maybe a lot of both. People who are willing to work with the system but work to not be infected by it.

The second is the only one that will work and the only one that has a real plan, not just a means to advance one person's business.

2 postscripts:
1. What is LIBERTY? ( I know what I think. What about you?)
2. A republic is a government that has representatives. The Roman Republic was a republic but not everyone was able to enjoy the benefits. Most of the population were slaves or conquered people. Two modern examples of republics without liberty are the Peoples Republic of China and the U.S.S.R. Both are (and were) republics in name but neither in practice. So it is possible to have a republic without liberty.

How to Really Honor our Fallen Heroes Every Day

2011-05-30T14:50:00.000-07:00

We have heard the phase, "Freedom doesn't come cheap" and it is true. This is Memorial Day. It is the day that we honor those who gave the last full measure to either win or keep our freedom. We have had parades. We have had speeches. The taps have been played. Tears have been shed on a day to remember the who paid the price.

As I thought about the day, I wondered what can we do to pay our part of the cost? I'm over 50. I can't join the armed forces again. Some may say I already did my part, almost 5 years active duty plus that little more than a year in the reserves. I did my part, right? I don't think so. What can I do? What can you do?

The best thing that we can do is to use the hard won freedoms well. We need to become informed about politics and world events. We need to understand the intellectual foundations for this nation. We need to be diligent in protecting the freedoms that were won. Our cost of freedom is constant vigilance. This includes voting.

Sadly, slothfulness has crept in. There was an election just last week. Twenty-one percent of the registered voters voted in that election. That means that 79% weren't willing to even go to a polling place to protect their freedom. That result is typical of most elections. What an insult to the fallen that we take so lightly the freedom that they paid so dearly to give to us.

If we truly want to honor our fallen heroes we need to get involved in the political process.

A Need for Time of National Repentance?

2011-05-29T04:29:00.000-07:00

In the men's Sunday School class that I teach we have been going through some of the Old Testament prophets. One theme that is seen over and over again is "Repentance".

Looking at the events that have happened to this nation, I wonder if we need a time of national repentance?

WHO ENDED 'MEDICARE AS WE KNOW IT'?

2011-05-24T11:01:00.000-07:00

By BETSY MCCAUGHEY (from The New York Post, May 24, 2011)

In today's special election for the 26th
district US House seat in western New York, Democrats are trying out a tactic
they're sure to use nationwide in 2012 -- the obscenely false claim that they will save "Medicare as we know it" from Republican efforts to reform it.

The truth is, the Obama health law, passed by Democrats last year, already eviscerated Medicare -- though seniors won't feel the effects for some time. And the reform plan Democrats are attacking -- Rep. Paul Ryan's entitlement-reform vision -- would undo much of the damage, while charting a new course to ensure Medicare doesn't run out of money.

"Medicare as we know it" can't survive ObamaCare's cuts of $575 billion from the program's funding over the next decade. Just as outrageous is that the Obama law stole $410 billion of those
"savings" to expand eligibility for Medicaid.

It's like robbing Peter to pay Paul -- but it's robbing Grandma to create a whole new class of government dependants.

The nation needs to spend less on government, and entitlement reform is key. Instead, the ObamaCare law starts new entitlements -- with its vast expansion of Medicaid and a new insurance program for the middle class -- then imposes sacrifices on seniors to (partly) pay for these new obligations.

The administration's own actuaries say Medicare will spend $14,731 per senior in 2019, instead of $16,162 if the health law hadn't passed. That's less care for seniors. Richard Foster, the chief actuary for Medicare, testified to Congress that the Obama law makes such severe cuts that some
hospitals may stop taking Medicare.

Such cuts might be justifiable if the "savings" extended Medicare's financial life, as President Obama and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius often claim. In fact, the Obama law just pays less to those who treat Medicare patients, then uses the cash for something else entirely. Raiding Medicare leaves less money to care for future retirees.

So what can that next generation, retiring a decade from now, count on? The Obama law puts those decision in the hands of an unelected board called the Independent Payment Advisory Board, or IPAB -- a cost-cutting panel.

The board is a radical departure from Medicare as we've known it. On the pretext that budgeting decisions should be shielded from outraged seniors and political pressures, the Democratic Congress handed nearly all control of Medicare spending to IPAB. In April, the president reiterated that the board would decide what care is "unnecessary" for seniors, and added that he wants its unprecedented powers increased.

Last week, Obama indicated that he'd like to reduce the deficit by taking another $200 billion from Medicare over the next decade. That would be IPAB's job, too.

Yet IPAB is drawing fire from many who pushed hard for the ObamaCare law -- including the AARP and Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.).

Ryan's reform, passed by House Republicans early this year, would repeal the ObamaCare law in full, thereby restoring the $575 stolen from Medicare and ending IPAB. But, to keep the program sustainable in the decades ahead, the Ryan plan would (starting in 2022) give each new Medicare enrollee a choice of private health plans and pay a premium to the policy chosen. He argues that seniors would be safer choosing their own health plan rather than putting their care in the hands of the cost-cutting IPAB panel.

Let's hope voters examine the plain facts -- because one thing is clear: Obama and the Democratic Party are not saving Medicare "as we know it."

Betsy McCaughey is the author of "The Obama Health Law: What It Says and How To Overturn It."

Time to Change Some Old Stereotyoes

2011-05-23T04:24:00.000-07:00

You have heard them, those same old stereotyped attacks, "The Republicans only want to give tax breaks to the Rich", "The GOP want to take away Medicaid, Social Security, School Lunches, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah." I don't know about you but I get so sick of hearing that baloney over and over again and no one ever seems to confront it with the truth, that all of that is a flat out lie.

I don't know how the 26th Congressional race will turn out (we'll all find out tomorrow) or the local races this fall but it has to become our focus to change these misconceptions. I'm not rich but don't try to trick me with this class-envy garbage. This all goes back to property rights and the purpose of government. Both are lost concepts in this dumbed-down age.

I've written about property rights before so I won't get into that again. But I have to ask, "Who gave the government the right to redistribute wealth"? I don't think anyone did. They just assumed that they had the right. It goes back to the first 3 decades of the 2oth century, when the elite became enamored with the ideas of Marx and Engle. It actually goes back farther than that when the top European colleges and seminaries moved away from biblical concepts and took the ideas of the rationalists and secular humanists. There those ideas were disseminated to minds full of mush. Unfortunately those mush-minds were very well connected and moved into places of leadership in government and academia. There those ideas became part of new American thought.

As I have written before the Founding Fathers knew and accepted the Bible as the Word of God, even those who some try to make out as only "deists". While many had trouble living by the Bible , they at least understood it and knew that it was the only hope of making this new system work.

Most of the problems we have as a nation go back to the days when Americans set aside the ideas of our Founding Fathers and became enamored with European ideas. Makes you wonder, "Why do some many want to Europeanize us"?

More later on what is the function of government.

OBSESSION

2011-05-20T06:33:00.000-07:00

Webster says:OBSESSION

: a persistent disturbing preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea or feeling; broadly : compelling motivation obsession with profits>

In this case it is an obsession with "THE MACHINE". (dah, dah, dahhhh)

I look at the website: Political Class Dismissed when I need a good laugh. If you have ever looked at it then you understand "Obsession". The blogger there, political hack and skilled fantasy writer, Jim Ostrowski is obsessed. To him the most evil thing in the world is "THE MACHINE". (dah, dah, dahhhh)

Now I understand that those who are political party executives and party leaders are not perfect. Frankly, they often show an incredible amount of ineptitude and arrogance mixed with a Machiavellian corruptness. They control the money. They control the endorsements. They do have a lot of power. They are symbols of the Old Way of doing things, when most people didn't really know or care about the political process. I agree that it is a way that needs to go because it does exclude most people from the process.

BUT to be so fixed on "THE MACHINE" (dah, dah, dahhhh) that nothing else matters then you are "obsessed". It is especially strange when it is only one "MACHINE" (dah, dah, dahhhh) that seems to bother him, the GOP one. So obsessed is he that he doesn't mind if the DEM "MACHINE" (dah, dah, dahhhh) uses him and the rest of the Sour Grapes Coalition to put a liberal democrat into an office that has been a dominated by the GOP. He doesn't care if conservative or libertarian values are trashed as long as "THE MACHINE" (dah,dah, dahhhh) is beaten. Prop up a businessman with strong liberal leanings whose only platform is to use tariffs to suppress trade. A policy that any REAL libertarian rejects because it destroys the "FREE-MARKET" and increases the cost of goods and services. Put the TEA PARTY label on him and do everything you can to deceive the public. It's O.K. because all these are inconsequential because you must beat "THE MACHINE". (dah,dah, dahhhh)

I believe with all my heart the he and the other members of the TPC are doing a great disservice to the people of the 26th district and the Tea Party cause in general. I know that things need to be fixed and I think we can do it without betraying REAL, CORE TEA PARTY VALUES which he is replacing with his obsession.

Letter to "you know who you are."

2011-05-19T10:28:00.000-07:00

Old Proverb - It's better to have people wonder if you are a fool than to open your mouth and to prove that you are.

An Open Letter to Tony

2011-05-17T05:30:00.000-07:00

Tony,

While I agree with the fact that there are problems with the party, just being right isn’t always enough. The idea is to change the way people think and if no one will listen to you, what good will it do? A lesson from history – Franklin and Adams had the same goal on their mission to France (to get French support for the revolution). Who made it happen? The diplomat or the non-diplomat? The Diplomat. Adams was so impatient that he was removed from France. There is a time and a place for impassioned rhetoric and a time and place for diplomacy. The wise man knows what time it is and how to act. If you come across with a condescending attitude, If you disrupt meetings to show your contempt, why would anyone take you seriously? Be wise.

A second point.

If the machine supports the most tea party of all the candidates why support a
non-tea party candidate just to spite them. Jack Davis is not tea party! I saw the Peter Schiff video you put up. If Peter is right (and he is) how can you support Davis?

You and your cohorts seem to think that there is gong to be this ground-swell where people will suddenly rise up and threw off the oppression of "The Machine". Again history is not on your side. Jefferson correctly wrote that people will endure difficult situations as long as it is tolerable because they don't like change very much. There will be no ground-swell. The situation is bad but to most it is not intolerable. The only thing that Davis will do is allow a Liberal Democrat take the office. I do wonder if the DEMs aren't paying Jack to run. It is the only way they could have had a chance of winning. Are you encouraged by the thought that you are being played by "The Other Machine"? At least Jim and Dave made a few bucks on the deal. Were you and Allen able to cash in to?

America's Greatest Need

2011-05-15T19:37:00.000-07:00

I teach an adult men's Sunday School Class. I pray about what to teach before I start a new series. In the last year year and a half I believe the Lord led me to the Old Testament Prophets. We have gone through Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, and Obadiah so far and about to start Jonah. I am becoming more and more convinced that if America is going to stand, Christians first and foremost need to get right with the Lord. Look at the way God deals with nations. He tolerates sin for only so long.

We as Americans have been so proud of ourselves. So many think, "We're the Greatest Nation to ever exist! Look at what we have done! See the great nation that we have built with our own hands!" See Daniel 4:30. We have trusted so much in our military might. Who could defeat us?

The nation of Edom was also very proud. They had an impenetrable city, Petra. They thought on one could get in. They were wrong. They turn on their brother. Edomites were descendants of Esau, the brother of Jacob. They joined in the sacking of Jerusalem, even keeping people from escaping. God judged them. Read Obadiah.

Israel under King Jeroboam II was enjoying great success in every area but one. That area was the spiritual one. They had continued in the sin of Jeroboam I and added Baal and Molech. With those came temple prostitution and child sacrifice. Merchants cheated their customers. The poor were bought and sold to pay off their debt. Israel thought they were untouchable too. They were wrong. See the book of Amos.

America has been blessed. We can be cursed. Are we really any better than those 2 nations?

I have to examine myself. You have to examine yourself. Our only hope is the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

If you are not sure that you have eternal life, you can be. Here is the simple road to heaven - the Romans Road.

1. We are all sinners before God. Romans 3;23, "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:10, "There is none righteous, no not one."

2. Because you are a sinner you are worthy of God's wrath and condemnation. Romans 6:23, "The wages of sin is death..."

What can you do? You can DO nothing. Because the work has already been done.

3. Romans 5:8 says, "But God commended His love to us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

4. Romans 6:23 finish "... but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

5. How does this gift become yours? Romans 10:9-10 say, "That if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and will believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

As Romans 5:1 says, "Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Justified means declaried righteous.

"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be SAVED." (Sorry that's from Acts not Romans)

Put your trust in the finished work of Christ. He paid the price that we could not.

America's Greatest need is to return to our national motto of "In God we trust." To do it in not just word but in deed.

Tea Party Principle part 3

2011-05-11T08:20:00.000-07:00

Can anyone explain:

How are “balanced trade”, tariffs, and tax increases that they
cause part of the tea party movement or free-market thinking?

Aren’t tariffs a source of government revenue i.e., a tax?

How does increasing the cost of all goods and services
benefit the consumer?

How does a “Tea Party” candidate embrace these things and
still get the support of other “tea party” people?

The Tea Principle Part 2

2011-05-10T15:54:00.000-07:00

There have been a lot of accusations thrown in the last year by some tea party people, that others have sold out because they worked with the GOP. Well, they may have violated one of your pet principles but they have not violated the “Tea Party” Principle. I firmly believe that some in the “TEA PARTY” movement need to set aside their own pet principles and remember what the real “TEA PARTY” principle is.

Now some of the most venomous accusers have jumped on to the Davis bandwagon, even selling their services to him. This is especially humorous considering the supposed libertarian leanings of some. Even a quick look at the icon of libertarian economic thought, the Mises Institute and its website will show that the libertarian view point and Jack’s are in completely the opposite direction from one another. You know what they say, “Anything for a dime”, or is it 500,000 dimes? It seems to me that they sold out the true tea party principle.

The question must be asked, “Who is the sell-out?”

The Tea Principle Part 1

2011-05-10T15:46:00.000-07:00

So much has been made by some as to what “Tea Party” principles are. So many have co-opted
the name to make it fit their own ideas that many really do not know what those principles are.

To understand this you have to go to the beginning. Yes, that’s right way back to December 16, 1773. What was that about? Was it about political machines? NO! Was it about monetary policy? NO! Was it about the FED (Federal Reserve Board)? NO! It was about taxes! Our Founding Fathers were upset about taxes. They didn’t want to pay more taxes, so they threw the “taxed” tea into Boston Harbor. Did you get that? Taxes. Now we have a lot of problems that need to be addressed but the one, the only “TEA PARTY” principle is TAXES and being opposed to them!!!!!!!

This leads us to the “Tea Party” candidate for congress in the 26^th district, Jack Davis. Jack is a one-trick pony. He has one issue and only one that he cares about and that is TRADE. Oh, you will see he has other positions but they aren’t his. I think I know who wrote those for him. But Jack is a one-trick pony. His trick is trade. What is his position on his one-trick? To understand this we need to go back, not to 1773 but back to when Jack was running before.

This leads us to a recent Blog. I appreciate when someone points out something that many have overlooked. On the website, The Lonely Conservative, Sam Foster went back and looked at Jack’s one-trick position in the past. It seems that Jack is for “Balanced Trade”. What is “Balanced Trade”? It is the
imposition of balancing tariffs on all imported goods. What is a “tariff”? Webster’s says,

Tariff- 1a: a schedule of duties imposed by a government on imported or in some countries exported goods b: a duty or rate of duty imposed in such a schedule

2: a schedule of rates or charges of a business or a public utility

3: price, charge

What is a “duty”? Webster’s says,

Duty - 4: tax; especially: a tax on imports

It’s a what? A TAX? Remember the one and only, the true and original “TEA PARTY” principle? It was Taxes and being opposed to them. SO IF JACK WANTS TO INCREASE TAXES, HOW IS HE A TEA PARTY GUY? It’s pretty clear that he isn’t.

Wall Street Journal gets it Right!

2011-04-14T04:22:00.000-07:00

The Wall Street Journal Review and Outlook page gets it right. In a review of our president's speech of April 13th they call him "The Presidential Divider".

The link is here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703730104576260911986870054.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop

He is the most unqualified, Un-American person to ever hold the office!!

If God gives us the leadership we deserve, then we need to repent and get right with Him. Right Now!!! God help us with Barry in the White House.

One Year After.

2011-04-11T10:56:00.000-07:00

Last April the Tea Party Coalition of Western New York collapsed. Most of the groups that had been involved got out. Since that time words and accusations have been flying back and forth. The event that led to this collapse has been disputed ever since. I wrote about this in one of my earliest posts and in the Buffalo Pundit. I wrote what I saw. I added a little commentary and opinion but it was mostly what I saw. Over the weekend things seem to have gotten a little worse. I know that some current members of the Tea Party Coalition have an incredible amount of bitterness which spills over it the most outrageous comments in their blogs and google groups. One of the members that I still like has started to come out with some strange things. He points to the Tuesday before the collapse as "Black Tuesday". It was the day that leaders decided to let the man who had been the Erie County Republican Chairman to seek the endorsement of the Tea Party group. Now in all honesty, there wasn't anyway on God's green earth that he would have gotten the endorsement. But some people freaked. One of the people that freaked was a candidate for the office; the other was his paid consultant. (Of course, no one know that relationship until later.) In response to this they tried to lie to the group and deceive it into doing something that would meet their own ends. You know the old "quick get them do this before they know what's happening." To my friend, letting someone try to do something that he will never be able to do is worse that lying and trying to deceive your friends. I don't understand that. To me "Black Tuesday" was a "Beige Tuesday" at best and that a very light shade of beige. But bitterness and anger have continued to the joy of outsiders who don't like us and don't support our views. It makes us look like the lunatics they think we are. Maybe some of us are?

Someone Forgot to Tell Me.

2011-04-09T17:25:00.000-07:00

One of the more laughable things I heard from the "well-respected" Green Party Candidate, Ian Murphy was that at least he wasn't a millionaire. I guess I wasn't paying attention on the day that they taught that being a millionaire was bad. I am a Tea Party guy. I'm a Tea Party guy because I believe in the principles of our founding Fathers. Yes, I know they were not perfect but their principles were well founded. When Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence that we were endowed with certain unalienable rights he made sure that people knew that the one endowing was God. He also put in a phase that most people seem to forget. When we speak of our unalienable rights we tend to think that there are three: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. The forgotten phase is "...that among these are...". This means that "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" are among the unalienable rights. This means that there are more. One of these is one that Jefferson chose to replace in the list. He borrowed the first two items in his list of three from John Locke, the 18th century English philosopher. Locke's list included "estate."

What is "Estate?" Simply, it is the right to use the fruit of your labor. Meaning that there is this thing called property rights. You know, what is yours is yours. It belongs to you. It does not belong to a king, a president, a congress, your country, or even your neighbor!!! The government does not have the right to take what is yours and give it to your neighbor. Whether you are poor or rich. Whether you have a lot or a little. It's yours, not your neighbors. Now, don't get me wrong. I am not saying that you shouldn't give to help others. It is yours. You have that right and a caring person feels an obligation to help those who don't have. That is what "love" is all about. What I am saying is that no government has the right to decide how much you can have. You have the right to keep what you have earned and control it. That is "Estate" and that is an Unalienable Right. Some people either don't remember that or just don't care especially when it's your "estate"

How powerful is your God?

2011-04-07T06:13:00.000-07:00

I believe in the existence of an eternal, all-knowing, unchangeable, all-powerful God. The God that that I believe in is the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, and Jesus. He is so powerful that He doesn't need me to defend Him. If someone says anything bad about Him it's His problem to take care of. Would I like it if they didn't? Of course, I don't want them to . But a living, real, all-powerful God doesn't need me or anyone else to defend Him. He is stronger than I am. He knows better than I do about how to "take care of " that person. Some questions for those Muslims who are killing people because someone burned a Koran , "Are you so insecure in your faith than you can't accept any questioning?" "Is the god that you believe in so impotent that you must defend him?" "Haven't you proved the pastor right when he said that the Koran leads to violence?" If you believe that "Allah" is all powerful then let him take care of those who desecrate his book. I know that the Creator of heaven and earth doesn't need me to stickup for Him.

What a Reminder!

2011-03-14T03:40:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I guess we need a reminder of just how weak, fragile, and impotent we are. You know, like we build an unsinkable ship and what happens? It sinks. This week we got the reminder again. What country in most prepared for serious earthquakes? That's right, Japan.

In spite of all the preparation the Japanese have been hit with an incredible disaster. It's not that I'm laughing or amused by what is happening. I am just reminded of my own weak, fragile, and impotent I am.

In Proverbs 27:1 we are told, "Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." I'm not some "prophet of doom " or something like that. I do know that death is a reality for all of us and that none of us knows when.

We need to start examining ourselves to see if we are walking as the Lord wants us to walk. I am convinced that it is time for believers to get right with the Lord. None of us know how much time we have left. Now is the time. How many more reminders do you need?

I'm back!!! At least today.

2011-02-25T12:43:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I've written. Between school work, shoveling snow, and being sick for what seemed like 2 months I haven't thought about writing anything. Of course, it could also be that it took awhile to get over the disappointment of the November elections, locally. After seeing so many people put so much effort into several campaigns and to see the same results was very discouraging. I think I'm over it now.

I have been thinking a lot about what has been going on locally, across the country, and around the world. Frankly, I would be surprised if the things happening now aren't setting up the end times scenarios of the Bible.

Locally, the stepping down of Chris Lee certainly seems to have brought out the worst in some people. We all know that the GOP county chairmen wouldn't take long to show that they are in charge. Jane Corwin isn't a bad choice but it might have been good to examine a few people before jumping to Jane.

As far as a third party candidate, David Bellavia seems to have attracted some tea party support but I have a question, "Where was Dave last fall?" I don't ever remember seeing his name before last week. Shouldn't the tea parties support someone who has supported them? And besides being a very decorated Vet what has he done? I may not be a "decorated" Vet, but I am a vet. Does that make me a good candidate? hummmm???? Oh, never mind.

In Wisconsin the legislature is trying to end state employee's collective bargaining rights. Here's an idea - allow them to keep the right to collectively bargain but don't allow them as unions to lobby, support candidates, advertise (I'd love this here - no more Danny Donahue), form PACs, have private unions do these things for them, or be able to join national labor unions. I know the unions wouldn't like this but I think it could be workable.

Around the world, what was the spark the set the Muslim world ablaze? I don't remember. Was there one? The conspiracy theorist in me wonders if this could be manufacture by people who would benefit by having say, oil prices skyrocket. Nah, no one would be like that.

I'm still disappointed with the man who has the title of President of the United States. I know he is not natural born. Both parents were not U.S. citizens. This is a problem but I am really tired of Presidents ignoring the law just because they don't like it. The Defence Of Marriage Act is the law. Do you job, Barry.

I guess I have vented enough for now. I close with a prayer. Come quickly, Lord Jesus.

Why Does a British Paper To Get it?

2010-10-10T05:36:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to a British paper. They get it. The ones here are so owned by the DEMs that they won't even consider thinking that this could be true.

U.K. TELEGRAPH

Lazio-Faire Politics 101

2010-08-25T04:50:00.000-07:00

Having a winning political strategy is important to any candidate. Rick Lazio has taken the strategy that I call lazio-faire - If you ignore it (Carl Paladino), it (Paladino) will go away. Carl asks for a debate. Rick ignores it. Carl says something and the press wants a response. Rick ignores it. Rick gets invited to a Tea Party/Reform group convention. Rick ignores it. Have a scheduled event with a Tea Party group. Rick ignores it.

There seems to be a pattern here. I wonder what a Lazio Administration would do. Raising unemployment, ignore it. Raising crime, ignore it. No budget, ignore it. Declining state population, ignore it....etc, etc, etc. You get the idea.

September 14th will tell if the Lazio-faire strategy will work. My guess and my hope is that it won’t.

New Movie Coming

2010-08-25T04:48:00.000-07:00

I can't wait to see this new movie: I Want Your Money

Here is the link to the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wty7974IKg

Freedom of Religion

2010-08-25T04:45:00.000-07:00

Freedom of Religion. One of the most important of our unalienable rights. The right to worship or not to worship according to the dictates of our conscience. A free society must have this freedom if it is to be truly free.

Now the mosque. Do the Muslims have a right put a mosque in the shadow of ground zero? Yes, they do. Like it or not. However, people do also have the right to object to it and try to convince the Muslims to not put it there. Just like someone would have the right to put a barbecue place right next store to it. This would be my dream - a barbecue place on one side, an evangelical, fundamentalist Baptist church on the other side. Uuuhhhmmm, that would smell like freedom me.

I Quess We Can't Handle The Truth

2010-08-23T04:19:00.000-07:00

After all the hoopla last week about the last combat troops leaving Iraq, what I find out is that what they said wasn't exactly true. Here is a copy of an article from The Army Times:

Combat brigades in Iraq under different name

7 Advise and Assist Brigades, made up of troops from BCTs, still in Iraq

By Kate Brannen - Staff writer

Posted : Saturday Aug 21, 2010 16:10:59 EDT

As the final convoy of the Army’s 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, based at Fort Lewis, Wash., entered Kuwait early Thursday, a different Stryker brigade remained in Iraq.

Soldiers from the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team of the 25th Infantry Division are deployed in Iraq as members of an Advise and Assist Brigade, the Army’s designation for brigades selected to conduct security force assistance.

So while the “last full U.S. combat brigade” have left Iraq, just under 50,000 soldiers from specially trained heavy, infantry and Stryker brigades will stay, as well as two combat aviation brigades.

Compared with the 49,000 soldiers in Iraq, there are close to 67,000 in Afghanistan and another 9,700 in Kuwait, according to the latest Army chart on global commitments dated Aug. 17. Under an agreement with the Iraqi government, all U.S. troops must be out of Iraq by Dec. 31, 2011.

There are seven Advise and Assist Brigades in Iraq, as well as two additional National Guard infantry brigades “for security,” said Army spokesman Lt. Col. Craig Ratcliff.

Last year, the Army decided that rather than devote permanent force structure to the growing security force assistance mission, it would modify and augment existing brigades.

The Army has three different standard brigade combat teams: infantry, Stryker and heavy. To build an Advise and Assist Brigade, the Army selects one of these three and puts it through special training before deploying.

The Army selected brigade combat teams as the unit upon which to build advisory brigades partly because they would be able to retain their inherent capability to conduct offensive and defensive operations, according to the Army’s security force assistance field manual, which came out in May 2009. This way, the brigade can shift the bulk of its operational focus from security force assistance to combat operations if necessary.

To prepare for their mission in Iraq, heavy, infantry and Stryker brigades receive specialized training that can include city management courses, civil affairs training and border patrol classes.

As far as equipment goes, the brigades either brought their gear with them or used equipment left behind that is typical to their type of brigade, said Ratcliff.

The first Advise and Assist Brigade — the 4th Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Armored Division from Fort Bliss, Texas — deployed last spring to Iraq, serving as a “proof of principle” for the advisory brigade concept.

Of the seven Advise and Assist Brigades still in Iraq, four are from the 3rd Infantry Division, based at Fort Stewart, Ga. The 1st Heavy Brigade of the 1st Armored Division, based at Fort Bliss, and the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 4th Infantry Division, based at Fort Carson, Colo., are also serving as Advise and Assist Brigades.

The 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team of the 25th Infantry Division is based at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. A combat medic from that unit was killed Aug. 15 when his Stryker combat vehicle was hit with grenades, according to press reports.

Two combat aviation brigades also remain in Iraq, according to Dan O’Boyle, Redstone Arsenal spokesman. Three more are deployed in Afghanistan, where there are currently no Advise and Assist Brigades.

I think I can handle the truth if someone in government or the press would just try me.

Not Hope and Change But A Hopeless Chain

2010-08-12T10:33:00.000-07:00

It's time for us to get over the flash, dazzle, and spin that we get from the media. It's time we demand substance from people running for public office. Here 's a link to an articale from the British Telegragh online. This guy understands. I think that many Americans are getting the idea now.

Here's a link: Nile Gardiner

Equity or Redefinition?

2010-08-11T04:19:00.000-07:00

There has been a lot of talk, fighting, name calling, court cases and rulings about same-sex marriage. Its been looked at from many different angles but I don't think that anyone has looked at it for what it really is - the redefining of what marriage has been historically.

Most of the pro-same-sex marriage arguments will call it a rights issue or will attack the "Christian" slant of most of their opponents. However, marriage didn't start in 30 A.D. It didn't start with Moses. Cultures never having any association with the Judeo-Christian traditions have had marriage and those marriages have had one thing in common - they have been between a man and a woman. The Chinese, the Japanese, Southeast Asia, Northern Europe, the Western Hemisphere - where do you see same-sex marriage? Even in cultures that gave approval to homosexuality, the Greeks among others, "marriage" was between a man and a woman.

I believe that the same-sex marriage crowd fall into 2 camps. One is for tax advantages. The second is just anti-christian. For the tax camp, it just shows more problems with the income based tax system. For the anti-christian camp, they have always been angling to minimize the power of the christian faith and always will. But we have been here for 2000 years and will until the Lord comes to take us out (rapture).

I could go on but must stop for now. So for same-sex marriage to be legitimate we would have to redefine what marriage is.

Another Reform/Primary Challenge Win!

2010-08-10T07:54:00.000-07:00

Today 30,000 signatures on petitions to have a Taxpayer line on the November ballot have been taken to the New York State Board of Elections. This combined with the 28,000 Republican signatures means that 58,000 New Yorkers have taken a real step forward for change.

Some people didn't think that Carl would be able to get the 15,000 necessary to force a Republican primary but he did and so did the many volunteers across New York. They did that and more! Many of these volunteers were Primary Challenge people.

Here 's a word of warning to the liberal elite, do not underestimate us. Don't underestimate the anger and resentment that we have for being ignored for so many years.

On second thought, go ahead and underestimate us. But we will not underestimate you!

State stands up to the Federal Government!!

2010-08-04T05:33:00.000-07:00

Let's hear it for Mo. They voted overwhelmingly to reject the Federal mandate to purchase health insurance.

Link to Missouri vote Right here!

Hot Waters or Just Trying to Brew Up A Storm?

2010-08-02T17:07:00.000-07:00

This fall California Congresswoman Maxine Waters will face an ethics investigation by the House. Are members of the House starting to take ethics seriously or, as I'm guessing, is this a ploy to stir up blacks for the fall elections? How sleazy and manipulative, but I don't expect much better. I guess I don't have high standards anymore when it comes to judging the behavior of politicians.

Constitution Invalid: Congress can do anything it wants?

2010-08-02T04:48:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to very disturbing video. Why do people like this get elected to Congress? I blame the electorate, the people who voted for him.

http://www.breitbart.tv/congressman-at-town-hall-the-federal-government-can-do-most-anything-in-this-country/

Shocking News!!!!

2010-08-01T18:46:00.000-07:00

Two days ago, Liberal Democrat Steve Levy has endorsed Liberal Republican Rick Lazio for New York state governor!!!! I can't believe it!!

What else would he do?

An Award-Winning Performance!

2010-07-31T08:40:00.000-07:00

I would like to nominate NY Congressman Anthony Weiner for an Emmy award for the most over dramatized, insincere public outburst by a public official. If Mr. Weiner and the DEM’s really felt that this bill (the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act) was soooo important they would have done everything to make it easy for the GOP to vote for it. But they didn’t. Where is the trade off? Where is something that you are willing to give up to get this?

Congressman, you are a phony. Your theatrics only fools the simple, like people in the media. The rest of us can see right through it.

“And the winner is......”, not the American people. Again.

Time to fish or cut bait, Mr. Obama

2010-07-28T11:41:00.000-07:00

from The Washington Post

News Alert: Judge blocks the most controversial sections of Arizona's immigration law from taking effect
01:15 PM EDT Wednesday, July 28, 2010
--------------------

PHOENIX -- A judge has blocked the most controversial sections of Arizona's new immigration law from taking effect Thursday, handing a major legal victory to opponents of the crackdown.

The law will still take effect Thursday, but without many of the provisions that angered opponents - including sections that required officers to check a person's immigration status while enforcing other laws. The judge also put on hold a part of the law that required immigrants to carry their papers at all times, and made it illegal for undocumented workers to solicit employment in public places.

With the blocking of this section of Arizona's law the entire responsibility fail to the Federal Government (it was there already, they just weren't doing it.).

In light of Article IV, section 4 of the Constitution of the United States of America, if the federal government a.k.a. the President doesn't protect Arizona from foreign invasion than he is guilty of violating his oath of office and therefore should be impeached and removed from office.

I don't expect this will happen but it should.

Mr. Obama, If you don't want to or are afraid to do the job you swore to do, then quit. We will understand.

(In case the N.S.A. gets this. Just to make sure you know -This is not a threat to any one, just a frustrated American.)

How To Deal With Fools

2010-07-27T13:04:00.000-07:00

Two of the most difficult passages of scripture to figure out are Proverbs 26: 4 and 5. It takes a wise man to know when to apply the one and not the other. This is especially true when it comes to political discourse.

Political Marathoners Wanted!

2010-07-27T12:21:00.000-07:00

Here’s something to think about. Many have called this election the most important election in our life time. The tea parties are going strong. Politicians are afraid. People are getting involved. You may have walked petitions for yourself and others. You feel energized.

What if things don’t go as well as we hope this year? What if the bottom drops out? What if your petition is rejected by the board of elections? What if your candidate doesn’t win? What if we don’t even take back one house in either the state house or Congress?

I don’t expect these all to happen, but you never know. I think we need to look at what we are doing as a process and not an event. Some people might say that if we don’t taken control of a county party or even any town party in this election that we have failed. They will be wrong! I want to refocus everyone’s attention to what the task really is and how it will probably go.

I expect that this year we will gain some positions on our town boards. This will not give us much power. We may not be informed as to when the meetings will take place. We may not be looked at as good soldiers but this is O.K. We will have a foothold. In 2 years we will understand what we have to do better and will get more people on boards. We may even be able to elect a chairman in a few towns. In 2 more years we will have more people on the committees and will be in position to fight for seats on the executive committee and maybe even the Chairmanship itself. If not, we make ourselves stronger for the election in 2016.

This is a struggle for the long haul, a marathon not a sprint. I don’t want to see people become discouraged by what doesn’t go our way. When quitters may say, ”What’s the use?” When the impatient say, “See, we told you it wouldn’t work. You should have done it our way.” Our goal is to reclaim our republic and state. We didn’t lose it over night. We will not reclaim it over night But if we do not lose sight of our goal, if we do not become discouraged and quit, we will come out of this having claimed the prize that we seek - A Republic that looks a lot like the one our founding fathers had hoped for

Google Adsense

2010-07-22T09:42:00.001-07:00

I have a complaint about Google Adsense. This maybe the only way to Contact Google. There is not way to get help from Google. I was unable to remove my account from an old webpage because I pulled the page. Now because I didn't do that( or something?) right, my Adsense account has been deactivated.

If anyone from Google looks at this, maybe you can help me.

Notes to politcians and nitwits who need help!

2010-07-21T05:08:00.000-07:00

Last week I got an e-mail about the Erie County Conservative party acting like the Erie County Conservative party always acts - spineless, deceitful, and cowardly. Why is anyone surprised? A couple of points about this.

1. Calling for the chairman of a party to be removed from that party when you don’t belong to and you have no control over it is useless. If it’s that important join that party.

2. Dealing with them or not dealing with them will not affect the way that they do business.

3. Here is a word of wisdom for those who call others “arrogant” - candidates need these parties, these parties don’t need these candidates. This leads to something that “Tea Party” groups need to understand, until you have something that the parties want and can control it they will do what they want. What is that something? Money or power (control over a strong voting block). With out these we will just be on the outside holding witty signs but always on the outside.

On point 3, groups like Primary Challenge or Tea New York have began to gain that necessary power. That doesn’t mean the we have arrived but the work so many did to organize across the state and to get the 28,000 signatures to get Carl Paladino on the ballot shows that these groups have some power. Lenny, Rus, and sooo many others are to be commended. I‘m proud to be a part of these groups. Now we must use this power. Let people know that we were the ones that got this done, against the odds.

(I’m almost embarrassed to include myself since I didn’t do as much as others, but I did do a lot of the preparation - making videos, putting them on disks, getting walking lists ready, getting some signatures( a few sheets),... Maybe I did more than I thought?)

I only hope that we don’t squander this on infighting and quests for personal glory.

Note to nitwits who may read this - This is how to get things done!

Primary Challenge WIN!!!

2010-07-16T09:07:00.000-07:00

This is to congratulate those who have worked so hard to collect signatures for Carl Paladino. Earlier, I think last week, someone (Alan Bedenko) from WNY media network seemed to think that Carl would not have enough signatures to get on the ballot. He called it a Primary Challenge FAIL. Now having collected 28,000 signatures, almost twice the number necessary to get on, I wonder if he will concede that it is a win for P. C.?

Also to all those who have doubted Primary Challenge, will you concede that it is becoming a formidable organization. I know it is not there yet but it is becoming one.

I am glad to be just a small part, a very small part of it but still a part.

Savings for the cash strapped.

2010-07-07T06:52:00.000-07:00

With so many States, Counties, and Cities across this country having problems with being cash strapped, maybe they should realize that they are spending too much. And when they cut, they should not look at the usual suspects, the services that people need, but they should look at the over-inflated bureaucracy, with its over-compensated patronage jobs! If they start there they might be surprised how much money they could save.

Getting Better

2010-06-30T08:46:00.000-07:00

I’m not sure how much time I am going to have to write over the next 11 months. I am beginning a course of study in Information Technology, specifically in Networks.

One of the things that I was lacking when I tried to start a communications business was a lack of understanding of computer networks. It was a case of not knowing enough to know what I didn’t know. Over the last 2 years I have learned more and now I think I know what I am lacking. These classes should fill that gap and give me the skills I need to become very effective in an area that I believe that reform groups are lacking - media.

Most people still get their news from the corporate-controlled, left-leaning, financially-obsessed media with its ego-driven personalities who are more concerned with ratings and markets than NEWS.

Everyone in the reform movement knows that we need better, fairer, and more honest coverage than what we have gotten. Too often the media slants the public’s perceptions of us by finding our lunatic fringe and trying to present them as the norm for our groups. Certainly we can help this by first being more educated. Check your sources. Verify your e-mailed information. You might be surprised how much of the “urgent - you must pass this to 10 people” stuff that you get is bogus. Get a better understanding of history, economics, and religion. Yes, religion. You would be surprised how much of a part it plays in our current political situation. I’m not telling you what to believe (although I would like to) but you need to understand it better. I got tired of people telling me what the Bible said. One person said this. Another said that. It was very confusing. I went out and got the tools so that I could find out for myself.

Secondly, we need to try to be more articulate. I know that for some of us this is very hard. But, how good is it if you know something but can’t express it? Take some courses in public speaking. There are places to get those skills that are cheap, if not free. Maybe within our own groups we should give members things to study and present to the group. It will be scary at first but you will get better. Believe me. I am a very good example. The first time I tried to speak in public I froze up, couldn’t say a word. I have gotten better.

That maybe the theme of this blog today getting better. I’m going to try to do my part. I have a long way to go. I have learned that I have a few personal shortcomings but I know that I am am a work in progress. The best is yet to come. God isn’t through with me yet. By His grace I will get better. How about you?

Not a "birther", but...

2010-06-23T13:05:00.000-07:00

I am not a "birther". I don't want to see Barak Obama's real birth certificate.

I already know that he is NOT eligible for the office he now holds. A law book from the 18th century gives us a picture of what their view of a citizen was:

"The citizens are the members of the civil society; bound to this society by certain duties, and subject to its authority, they equally participate in its advantages. The natives, or natural-born citizens, are those born in the country, of parents who are citizens. As the

society cannot exist and perpetuate itself otherwise than by the children of the citizens, those children naturally follow the condition of their fathers, and succeed to all their rights. The society is supposed to desire this, in consequence of what it owes to its own preservation; and it is presumed, as matter of course, that each citizen, on entering into society, reserves to his children the right of becoming members of it. The country of the fathers is therefore that of the children; and these become true citizens merely by their

tacit consent. We shall soon see whether, on their coming to the years of discretion, they may renounce their right, and what they owe to the society in which they were born. I say, that, in order to be of the country, it is necessary that a person be born of a father who is a citizen; for, if he is born there of a foreigner, it will be only the place of his birth, and not his country."

That fromThe Law of Nations by Emmerich de Vattel, Chap XIX, 212: Citizens and natives.

"This 1758 work by Swiss legal philosopher Emmerich de Vattel is of special importance to scholars of constitutional history and law, for it was read by many of the Founders of the United States of America, and informed their understanding of the principles of law which became established in the Constitution of 1787."

This was copied from one of the several sources that I read to make sure it wasn't just from someone making it up. My failure was that I didn't record the source. Good thing this isn't a term paper. I will say that people back then were a lot smarter than we are today.

By this standard I don't need a certificate of live birth or anything else. By all admissions Mr. Obama's father was from Kenya. At the time it was a colony of Britain, making Mr. Obama, Sr. a British citizen, making Mr. Obama, Jr. INELIGIBLE. I wish we had judges who had some guts and brains.

Our Failure

2010-06-23T11:28:00.000-07:00

We have let our Founding Fathers down. I was reading The Federalist Papers yesterday while having my car inspected. While reading No. 68, The Mode of Electing the President, by Alexander Hamilton, I came across these words:

"The process of election affords a moral certainty, that the office of President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications. Talents for low intrigue, and the little arts of popularity, may alone suffice to elevate a man to the first honors in a single State; but it will require other talents, and a different kind of merit, to establish him in the esteem and confidence of the whole Union, or of so considerable a portion of it as would be necessary to make him a successful candidate for the distinguished office of President of the United States. It will not be too strong to say, that there will be a constant probability of seeing the station filled by characters pre-eminent for ability and virtue."

They had had extremely high expectations of the process that they had devised for the election of the chief magistrate of the united States of America - the President. They also had high expectations for us.

I confess the we have failed. We have not held those who represent us to the standards our founders expected. We have become easy victims of highly skilled P. R. firms. We get little

useful information from candidates. Even in debates, it doesn't matter what the questions is; they only tell us what they want us to hear, and we and the press let them off.

We have a responsibility to our founders, to ourselves, and to those who will follow us to do a better job. We need to live up to the expectations of those great men. They deserve nothing less.

more to follow...

Bitter apology

2010-06-22T12:45:00.000-07:00

I have always felt that a personal apology for an public insult was a good first step. Then a more formal, public one should follow. I did need a good place to put it. Here it is. This is my public one.

The course of political debate can easily slip away from practices and principles, and deteriorate into the interjection of personal opinions about people. I am guilty of that. I had written a letter that explained how I saw the collapse of the “Tea Party Coalition”. In my explanation I did let my emotions get the better of me.

Jim, I apologize now in public as I did in private. As I stated I had high hopes for the “Coalition” and when things started to fall apart I took it very hard.

Thank you for your totally classless response. I had hoped for better. Silly me.

You intimated in your blog that I didn’t understand what’s important as you tried to clarify it for me.

Now let me try to understand this. The nation that I had known is disappearing before my eyes. Rights that our founding fathers correctly called unalienable are being eroded at an alarming rate. Those who hold to the right to estate (being able to enjoy the fruits of your labor) are now called selfish and greedy. Now there is “social justice”, which is just another way of saying that it is noble to take one person’s money to give to another person. The rights that the Bill of Rights were to insure are being egregiously ignored. I now can not say anything that will offend someone, or else fines and imprisonment will be coming. So much for free speech or the freedom of religion. It won’t be long before personal rights will consist only of being able to have sex with anyone I want. For now I can have a gun if they let me. State governments are so addicted to Federal money that they won’t speak up. I had taken an oath in 1972 to defend the Constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic. I don’t remember there being an expiration date on that. So it is still valid.

But you say these are not important. The only thing that is important is beat the machine, that collection of corrupt local political bosses who control everything. It is the evil above all evils. It’s us verses them. There can be no compromise, no negotiation, no prisoners, no touching the unclean thing. I must ignore the fact that it has sought our endorsement. I must ignore the reality that they need our popularity and people,as much as we need their money and people. I should not concern myself with anything but destroying the machine.

I sorry but I seem to remember that your main concern was winning. How will you win if no one will work with you? Getting a major party endorsement is critical. Without it a candidate will lose 95% of the time. Some of us are willing to work with the machine for now because the cost of not working with them is too high.

This compromise that you despise so much is demonstrated in early American History. Our founding father compromised principles when they sought and got the help of the King of France. Hadn’t they just espoused that they had unalienable rights given to them by their creator and that government rules by the consent of the governed? I don’t think that the French king was too big on those ideas. However, the cost of failure for them was too high to not compromise. I believe this year is also important. We need reform minded people in our Congress and State House. No, no one should sell his soul to the devil or the machine to gain office but to demand the purity that the “Coalition” is demanding will leave you pounding the halls of some middle school looking for candidates that are pure enough to receive your endorsement.

I am sure you are saying,” that’s not much of an apology.” Well, I apologize for anything that was about you personally, not for my opinion of your actions relating to the collapse of the “Coalition” that I described, or my opinion of your failure to understand the implications of national events and the inadequacies of your strategies.

At the end of my life I want to hand over to my children and grandchildren a United States of America that they will enjoy, and be able to prosper in, so that they will be proud to say they are Americans. I have a choice: do I fight against those who are working to take that away from me, working with people who are not perfect but have the same goals, knowing that it is a difficult and dangerous path; or do I follow you down the sanctimonious path of purity that leads to irrelevance and impotence? Hmmm. An easy choice for a thinking man. I choose the first.

By the way, I know that I don’t warrant much thought with you, but next time you might dress up your cliched similes. Use something like,”your apology is a useless as A Tea Party Coalition Endorsement!” That would really hurt.

Blogger Buzz: Blogger integrates with Amazon Associates

2010-06-21T13:27:00.000-07:00

Blogger Buzz: Blogger integrates with Amazon Associates

2010-06-21T05:01:00.000-07:00

Who am I and what is a political grunt. Anyone who has been in the military knows what a grunt is. It is a foot soldier, a ground pounder, a guy who does the dirty work and gets little glory. Now coming from a U.S. Air Force Vietnam-era veteran this term is a little humbling to accept but I guess that is what I am.

I live in Western New York, an area known for political dysfunction. I am not from this area. I'm a transplant but I love this area, even the snow. I think I would rather live here than anywhere else in the world. I do have to confess that even though I love it here I still have a little attachment to the Pittsburgh area. You know what they say, "you can take the boy out of Pittsburgh, you can't take Pittsburgh out of the boy," at least not completely. I still cheer passionately for both the Steelers and the Penguins. (It's too bad the Pirates became a major league farm team.) Now, I like the Bills and the Sabres but they aren't my teams.

O.K. Enough about me. Why am I writing this. I, with about everyone else who lives here, have one major complaint with New York - THE GOVERNMENT. Talk about a bunch of nincompoops. After watching these people since 1988, when I moved to New York, I finally had enough complaining from others and me. Something had to be done! Through "Providence" I met Lenny Roberto of Primary Challenge. After talking for a couple times a week over a few months he invited me to become a part of Primary Challenge. So here I am. I am the guy who does the video for major events. You will see me off on the side recording the history of the reform movement here in the Buffalo area.

And it is a movement. We have some people out in front who get the bulk of the attention but it is filled with people like me, grunts, who don't seek glory but struggle for one goal - RECLAIM OUR GOVERNMENT. We have seen the American ideals that were taught to us, that we came to love quickly eroding under a "European - idolizing" bureaucracy that is increasingly expanding and it scares us. We are not all scholars but we are well read. We are not all geniuses but we are not the dumbiesthat the media makes us out to be. There may be a racist or two there; but, when we know who they are, they are not tolerated. This is not about one man - Obama. This is not about one issue - taxes. It is about a forgetten concept - FREEDOM and the God-given right to govern ourselves. More to follow....