Tuesday, June 02, 2009

THESE are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.– Thomas Paine, Dec. 23, 1776

A powerful voice for socialism has arisen in our nation. The government is here to provide for your every need.

We cannot effectively oppose this voice with a muted response. We cannot win with an alternative form of “socialism light.”

America must decide whether it wants to pursue the path of freedom or the path of socialism. Let us be clear. These are two separate paths and, in the long run, no nation can be free if it pursues the path of socialism.

But where is the voice for freedom? No political leader has yet clearly rallied the millions of Americans who still believe in liberty.

Then let the voice arise from the people themselves.

The undersigned Citizens of the United States of America hereby declare that we will stand firmly upon the principles of liberty. We will pursue policies and will support candidates not on the basis of party or personality, but on the basis of faithful adherence to these principles of Liberty, Self-Government and Virtue.

A NATION THAT IS FREE AND GOOD MUST EMBRACE LIBERTY, SELF-GOVERNMENT & VIRTUE

The Right to Life

1. “God created man in His own image.”¹ “All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”²
   • We embrace the truth that we are created by God. We believe this literally. This is the reason that we are entitled to unalienable rights.
   • We embrace the right to life, from conception until natural death, as the foremost of our inalienable rights. We reject the claims of a legal right to terminate the life of the unborn, the disabled, the ill, or the aged. We also reject the use of cloning or the use of human beings (which includes human embryos) for medical research that is designed to result in their death.
   • We embrace equal standing before the law for all. We reject racism in any form.

   Freedom of Religion and Conscience

2. “Every man must give an account of himself to God, and therefore every man ought to be at liberty to serve God in that way that he can best reconcile it to his conscience. If Government can answer for individuals at the day of judgment, let men be controlled by it in religious matters; otherwise, let men be free.”³ “God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God?”⁴
   • We embrace freedom of conscience for all.⁵ We reject the coercion that comes from using governmental power to require Americans to teach or believe a single viewpoint on the origins of life or other central matters. We also reject the coercion that comes from politically correct speech codes on governmental campuses or in legislative enactments of so-called “hate speech” laws. We reject the notion that the promotion of homosexual rights is a legitimate justification for infringing upon the liberties of Americans in violation of their consciences. We reject government efforts to coerce conscience by requiring that medical professionals and institutions perform abortions or other reproductive services contrary to the convictions of those persons or institutions.
   • We embrace the view that the First Amendment protects more than belief; it protects the free exercise of religion, no matter how unpopular the religion may be. Except in cases of clear public necessity, government should not interfere with the exercise of religion.
   • We embrace the view that our liberties and rights are a gift from God. So is moral truth that guides our consciences as we exercise those rights. If rights and morality come from men, then men may violate human rights according to the mood of the moment. Only by understanding that human rights come from our Creator God can we secure a sure foundation for the concept that the rights of all men are inalienable.
   • We embrace the historical practice of the public acknowledgement of God by governments at various levels. Like the Declaration of Independence’s proclamation that “we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights” and the national motto which declares that “In God We Trust,” such proclamations are consistent with religious liberty because no individual is coerced thereby. They remind us that rights given by God may not be rightfully trampled by men.

   The Right to Bear Arms

3. “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”⁶
   • We embrace the importance of the fundamental and individual right of owning, possessing and using weapons as central to the preservation of peace and liberty. We reject the notion that the Second Amendment confers only a collective right.

   The Consent of the Governed

4. “To secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”⁷
   • We embrace the principle of the absolute necessity of the consent of the governed for a morally legitimate government. Accordingly, we reject judicial law-making in the guise of constitutional or legislative interpretation. We reject the use of bureaucratic law-making that enacts regulations to bind private people or private property. We also reject any form of world government, whether legislative or judicial, as an egregious violation of the principle of self-government.
   • We embrace retaining the sovereignty of the United States as utterly essential for maintaining our precious right of self-government. We reject the use of international law for any domestic purpose whether by treaty or by judicial imposition.
   • We embrace the system of checks and balances within our national government, and the principle of federalism that divides power between the national and state governments. We reject the misuse of the Commerce Clause, the General Welfare Clause and other theories that have expanded the power of Congress and the national government far beyond the enumerated powers granted by the founders who wrote and ratified the Constitution.

   The Necessity of Public Virtue

5. “The diminution of public virtue is usually attended with that of public happiness, and the public liberty will not long survive the total extinction of morals.”⁸
   • We embrace the principle that the law may promote the common good by encouraging moral virtue and punishing serious breaches of public morality. We reject the view that laws may only be justified by the showing of harm to some individual. Thus, we reject the view that laws against drug use, prostitution, pornography and the like are outside the proper scope of government. Finally, we reject the view that law may not impact or regulate moral choices, since all laws impose some moral choice.
   • We embrace the view that liberty and virtue are inextricably intertwined. We reject the view that moral anarchy (every man doing what is right in his own eyes) is the equivalent of liberty.

   Traditional Marriage

6. “Marriage, while from its very nature a sacred obligation, is nevertheless, in most civilized nations, a civil contract, and usually regulated by law. Upon it society may be said to be built, and out of its fruits spring social relations and social obligations and duties, with which government is necessarily required to deal. In fact, according as … marriages are allowed, do we find the principles on which the government of the people, to a greater or less extent, rests.”⁹
   • We embrace the sacred union of one man and one woman as the sole form of legitimate marriage. We reject any attempt to create other legitimate unions, whether called same-sex marriage, civil unions, or polygamy.
   • We embrace the importance of honoring the sacred bonds of marriage as a true commitment. We reject the perversion of the sexual relationship whether in the form of adultery, homosexuality, prostitution, or through pornography and related industries.
   • We embrace marriage as the best foundation for a healthy family and the well-being and development of children.

   Parental Rights

7. “The law’s concept of the family rests on a presumption that parents possess what a child lacks in maturity, experience, and capacity for judgment required for making life’s difficult decisions. More important, historically it has recognized that natural bonds of affection lead parents to act in the best interests of their children.” “The fundamental theory of liberty upon which all governments in this Union repose excludes any general power of the state to standardize its children by forcing them to accept instruction from public teachers only. The child is not the mere creature of the state; those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations.”¹⁰
   • We embrace the view that the right of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children is a fundamental right. We reject the notion that the government may substitute its view of the best interest of the child for that of the parents’, absent proper proof of harm to the child.
   • We embrace parental choice in all matters concerning education. We reject the notion that parents who choose to have their children educated in the public school should lose any meaningful control over the direction of their child.

   Economic Freedom

8. “The moral foundations of a society do not extend only to its political system; they must extend to its economic system as well. America’s commitment to capitalism is unquestionably the best example of this principle. Capitalism is not … an [intrinsically] amoral system based on selfishness, greed and exploitation. It is a moral system based on a biblical ethic. There is no other comparable system that has raised the standard of living of millions of people, created vast new wealth and resources, or inspired so many beneficial innovations and technologies. The wonderful thing about capitalism is that it does not discriminate against the poor, as so often has been charged; indeed, it is the only economic system that raises the poor out of poverty.”¹¹
   • We embrace the principles of freedom with respect to economic matters. Therefore, we reject any form of socialism or communism. We specifically reject any socialistic intervention in the economy to promote business as well as any form of redistribution of wealth.
   • Just as we reject the idea that other freedoms are absolute, we reject the notion that economic freedom has no limits; but we also reject the notion that economic freedom is anything less than a fundamental right.
   • We embrace the view that property rights should be recognized and protected as fundamental to our liberty. We reject the view that private property may be taken by the government, only to be transferred to other private owners in the name of economic development.

   Limited Government

9. “Man is not free unless government is limited.” “The problem is not that people are taxed too little, the problem is that government spends too much.”¹²
   • We embrace limited government. We reject the idea that low tax rates are the end-goal; rather, low tax rates are the mechanism to ensure that we pursue only those functions of government that are both constitutionally sanctioned and actually necessary.
   • We embrace faithful adherence to the original meaning of the Constitution as the single most important principle to ensure that government stays within its proper bounds.

   National Defense and Foreign Policy

10. “The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil constitution, are worth defending at all hazards; and it is our duty to defend them against all attacks.”¹³“If a nation takes up arms when she has received no injury, nor is threatened with any, she undertakes an unjust war. Those alone, to whom an injury is done or intended, have a right to make war.”¹⁴
    • We affirm the right of the United States to defend itself against all threats without the necessity of consent from any other nation or any group of nations.
    • We affirm the right of the United States to use its power, in a proportionate manner, to counteract the actions or policies of other nations or groups when there is clear and convincing evidence that such intervention is necessary for the defense of our people or our liberties.
    • We reject the use of American tax dollars for the support of nations or institutions hostile to the ideals of free and virtuous government.
    • We reject the use of military force for the purpose of planting a democracy in a nation which poses no direct threat to the United States. Freedom and self-government cannot be exported by the exercise of might.
    • We affirm the duty to fulfill our treaty obligations for mutual defense for those who have been faithful to their obligations to us. We also affirm America’s participation in the defense of innocent nations invaded by aggressors in extraordinary situations such as in World War II in Europe. Our participation in such matters should be as limited as possible given the exigencies of the situation and never undertaken without the request of our treaty partner or the legitimate representatives of an invaded nation.

A Call to All Americans

We hope and believe that all Americans of good faith can embrace these ideals. We invite all to examine the history of this great nation and test these ideas with a long-range view. We believe that the facts reveal that the goals of freedom and justice that we all seek have been best served whenever our nation adheres to these ideals.

At the same time, we note that the Founders’ belief in freedom of speech and the right of political participation for all people has been fundamental to the success of this nation. We remain steadfastly committed to the full protection of the constitutional rights for all who differ with our views in whole or in part.

Sign the petition: “Declaration of the Prinicples of Liberty.”

¹Genesis 1:27
²The Declaration of Independence
³John Leland
⁴Thomas Jefferson
⁵Supreme Court in West Virginia v. Barnette
⁶The Second Amendment
⁷The Declaration of Independence
⁸Samuel Adams
⁹Supreme Court in Reynolds v. United States
¹⁰Supreme Court, Pierce v. Society of Sisters; Parham v. J.R.
¹¹Margaret Thatcher
¹²Ronald Reagan
¹³Samuel Adams (1722-1803), Father of the American Revolution, in an article he wrote to the Boston Gazette, Oct. 14, 1771
¹⁴Vattel, “The Law of Nations,” 1758

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UhIysNuIlc

Constitutional Insurgents, and fellow right wing extremists, it is a blessing, an honor, and a privilege to be with you,  and  I want especially to welcome  any and all Acorn community activists.If there any Acorn people here could you come down front I have a call here from President Obama’s teleprompter….Speaking of our president…. I guess you have all heard about the new first dog. A  Portugese  Water Dog  given to the first family by none other than Ted Kennedy. Let’s see now, A WATER DOG FROM TED KENNEDY, HMMM?          You know I was hoping they would name the  dog  Chappa, but of course they decided on Bo, as in bail out, or B……..O….  Come to think about it things are pretty smelly in Washington right now.Speaking of lap dogs…..if some of you are looking for a summer job…. Sen. John McCain let us know he is looking for someone to housesit little Lindsey Gramnesty.Congressman  Bob Inglis has sent us a request for all present tonight to hold our breath for fifteen minutes to cut down on CO2, to save the planet. Congressman  Inglis  recently said  after it was announced that he now has four challengers that “ the question is whether conservatism is about love for country or dislike of our opponents, whether it’s about solutions that we know will work or wedges devised to drive votes, whether it’s the ideology of a small and angry sect or the governing philosophy  of a majority of Americans”.   Congressman I have a message for you from the increasing large and fed up sect, the ones who know what conservatism means,  we hope you and your buddy Congressman Barrett enjoy your upcoming retirement.  I hear the Galapagos Islands are nice!I have on good authority that Bailout Barrett is going to be teaching down at Tri-county Tech. The course is “  The  New Political  Strategy: How can I fool the voters just one more time”?  I could teach a course  “If you’re really a conservative  you know to never vote for bailouts and bigger government”It’s good to see the Lt. Governor here tonight.  Congratulations!  I understand you drove all the way from Columbia in 20 minutes!And it’s good to see Sen. Jim Demint who told our news dept.   “  I’m  outnumbered in Washington and sometimes I’m a minority in my own party” .  Senator when you get tired of the fraud, deceit, and the abuse I would  encourage you to leave the Republican party and lead this tea party movement and a real conservative political party…. They are many who would follow you. The reasons are clear why Republicans lost in 2006 and in 2008 and you will continue to lose under the entrenched  good old boy system in Washington and Columbia until you listen to the people  and return to common sense , decency and conservatism.I have a few questions for our esteemed politicians:Could you explain the difference between the Somali Pirates and you Potomac Pirates?    Plunder, Steal, Ransom;  Ask for an apology.You know it’s time for a remake of Peter Pan.  Nancy Pelosi as Peter,   Arlen Spector as Captain Hook, And Barney Frank as Tinker Bell!What is a toxic asset? Let’s see now, toxic means  poisonous, asset means a useful and desirable thing or quality…. So how could we have toxic assets?Sounds to me we should  be  talking about toxic liabilities…. And  let’s be clear on this; the biggest toxic liabilities in America today are liberal, rinos,  Koolaide  drinker, and the socialist Marxist cheap suite at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave…..Toxic liabilities like greedy politicians…… greedy for power…. For adulation… for telling us what to do, when to do it, taking our money giving it to someone else, and using to create failed programs that buy the votes of the dependent and the ignorant…Approving bailouts and contractual compensation to executives  and  then  threatening  tax rates of 90%… this undermines Constitutional and contract law and is a perfect illustration of why absolute power corrupts absolutely. At the original Boston tea party it was about taxation without representation…… now it’s about confiscation as taxation. Government not only spends what it doesn’t have, it still wants to take everything we have…According to the Tax Foundation, a majority of Americans think taxes are too high and 85% think the tax code is too complex and 82% think the system needs to be completely overhauled. Obama said that he wants to make it simpler. His  plan  only  has two parts. How  much  did you make? Now send it to me… The best solution I have seen is the Fair tax… It would replace all federal and payroll taxes with a national retail sales tax…. We keep our entire paycheck, retirees keep their pensions, a prebate  for the poor, allows American products to compete fairly, ensures Social Security and Medicare funding, brings fairness to taxation and most importantly abolishes the IRS.. But sadly I must tell you I don’t think it will ever happen as long as we continue for the same old parties and the same old politicians because they love using the code to buy votes and control our lives.Speaking of money did you know that Jesus had more to say about money and possessions than any other topic…. There are more than 2350 verses in the Bible referencing money and possessions…. We don’t use weights and measures anymore but when the creature from Jekyl Island can produce $1.2 trillion dollars out of thin air we obviously have the greatest fraud in the history of mankind.  For any elected official not to support  Ron Paul’s  H.R. 1207, the Federal Transparency Act of 2009 makes them complicit to the crime that is  the  federal reserve… It’s  time  for a complete audit of the Feds Board of governors and the Federal Reserve Banks. As congressman Paul said   “ Throughout  its nearly 100 year history, the Federal Reserve has presided over the near-complete destruction of the United States dollar.  Since 1913 the dollar has lost over 95% of its purchasing power, aided and abetted by the feds loose monetary policy. How long will Congress stand idly by while hard- working Americans see their savings eaten away by inflation? Only big spending politicians and politically favored bankers benefit from inflation.”Talking about big spenders…. A  $ 3.5  trillion dollar budget with a $ 1.2 dollar trillion  deficit….. As of March 17^th the national debt surpassed $11 trillion the largest in U. S. history. The federal government  and  the  federal  reserve have committed $12.8 trillion in spending to bailouts and stimulus programs which nearly equals the value of everything produced in the United States in 2008. Do you know what  your  part of the bill is? That’s $42,105 for every man, woman and child in the country and 14 times the $899.8 billion of currency in circulation. And what will we do when China wants their money back? For those that don’t know, China holds most of our debt therefore we are slaves to communists. China, according to the New York Times, is worried about their exposure. They are starting to reverse their buying of U.S. Treasuries, they are increasing military spending while we reverse ours, they would like to crush us, they hate capitalism, and we are broke. China is a manufacturing giant because we have destroyed our manufacturing base and squandered our resources. We allow them to manipulate their currency, we are hopelessly dependent and all because we the people have not been responsible about who we send to Washington. As commentator Jane Chastain puts it, it’s time to dump these politicians….. It’s not about political parties… It’s about survival. If we don’t, our children are going to go to New York one day to see the Statue of Liberty and there will be a big sign on it that says Property of the Peoples Republic of China.This is yet another reason why I believe that taking this poison called stimulus or bailout for any reason…. Are you listening Gov. Sanford? ….. Are you listening Cong. Barrett?  Taking any of this poison is the equivalent of putting a noose of debt around the necks of our children and grandchildren.. Those who say we have to take this debt are like heroin addicts begging for another fix…America has an addiction problem…. Its big government…. This country needs to go to rehab…. Ronald Reagan where are you…. We need you… we cry out for your wisdom “Government is not the solution to our problems….. government  is the problem”. We need a major political housecleaning… the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. I believe the problems we face will never be solved by the Democrat or Republican Party. As columnist Charley Reese wrote, politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them. If they truly are against inflation and deficits and high taxes then why do we have these problems? 100 senators, 435 congressmen, nine Supreme Court justices- 545 human beings out of the 350 million- are directly, legally, morally and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country. They take an oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, yet as Sen. Demint has told us they routinely violate it every day. They don’t even read the bills they pass so why would they pay attention to the constitution? They are arrogant. They are ignorant of the wisdom of the founding fathers. We no longer have founding fathers we have funding fathers. And folks we make this way more complicated that it should be… the answer IS the U.S Constitution Rep. John Shadegg of Arizona and only 19 others have sponsored H.R. 450, the Enumerated Powers Act, which states that “ Each Act of Congress shall contain a concise and definite statement of the constitutional authority relied upon for enactment”. Shadegg said “ The founding fathers intended our national government to be a limited government. As the final amendment in the 10 of the Bill of rights, it is clear that the Constitution establishes a Federal Government of enumerated and limited powers.” It has been introduced every year that Shadegg has been in Congress but it will never pass because we are being ruled by traitors that want no limits to their powers. They are robber barons, we have a commander in thief, we need a real change, but we will never get it under two party tyranny. Vote based on principle, not pragmatism. The lapdog brags about principled compromise….. Senator Graham I say to you that if you have core principles you can never compromise…. It may get you on the cables news shows and invited to Obama’s cocktail parties but you sir are an embarrassment to real conservatives in S.C.Obama has praised you for being a trusted advisor… he has already announced plans to create this so called pathway for illegals to become legal. According to the New York Times the president will speak publicly about this in May and will press lawmakers from both parties to begin discussing legislation by the fall. Obama pledges to bring people out of the shadows, let them pay a fine, learn English and go to the back of the line in the citizenship process. Sen. Graham what will your advice to the president be? I think I know the answer. We remember your words to La Raza…. Tell the racists and bigots to shut up as I recall. Let me ask you fellow patriots…. Do want Amnesty?Illegals take jobs from Americans. They cost far more than they can ever contribute. We the taxpayers foot the bill through social services, public education, welfare, food stamps. According to a Heritage Foundation study, the cost to taxpayers is about $9000.00 for every illegal. This is an invasion of our country, it is a clear and present danger to our safety and our sovereignty. We have had enough…close our borders, protect our country, you’re a lawmaker… enforce the law.I am tired of the lip service when it comes to the most tragic issue of our time… the legalized murder of the innocent unborn… Politicians tell us that they’re  pro life…. We vote for them… we hope and pray for the end of this slaughter… yet it continues…. How many babies are dying right now… And now under this president we taxpayers are forced to fund foreign abortions…… We know Democrats support this murder and now they are in total control… but it wasn’t  long ago that Republicans had control of Congress and the White House and were there any challenges to Roe v Wade? Oh yeah that’s right… Pres. Bush told us that the time wasn’t right..When is the right time? Republican leaders seem to be more concerned about not offending potential voters under their big tent philosophy than taking the bully pulpit and using every news conference, every soundbite, every speech to stop this massacre of these precious gifts from God.Barack Obama is coming for our guns. Attorney Sean Healy said on CNN “ If he and the people in control of Congress right now could have what they want, they would heavily restrict or eliminate guns from this country”.  A new CNN poll shows Americans do not want gun control. A Gallop poll shows the number of Americans who want to restrict Second Amendment rights is at an all time low. Here are the facts and they are undeniable:    In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control. From 1929 to 1953, about 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated. In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million Armenians, unable to defend themselves were rounded up and exterminated.  Germany established gun control in 1938. From 1939 to 1945 13 million Jews who were unable to defend themselves were rounded up and exterminated. China 1935, gun control, from 1948 to 1952 20 million political dissidents were rounded up and exterminated. Defenseless people rounded up and exterminated in the 20^th century because of gun control: 56 million.  The founding fathers tried to tell us. George Washington said “ A free people ought to be armed”.Thomas Jefferson said “ Laws that forbid the carrying of guns….disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes….Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants: they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man”. Alexander Hamilton in Federalist No. 28:“ If the representatives of the people betray their constituents, there is then no resource left but in the exertion of that original right of self-defense which is paramount to all positive forms of government…”. Patrick Henry: “ Are we at last brought to such a humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted for our own defense? …..having those arms, in whose hands can they be trusted with more propriety, or equal safety to us, as in our own hands”. James Madison: “ There are more instances of the abridgement of the freedom of the people by gradual encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations”.I will not be a fool… I will protect my family and my propertyIf some thug kicks in my door at 2:00 am…. I will not beg for my life or try to hide in the closet… I will shoot to kill. We need to reassert our sovereignty. The 10^th amendment says that the powers not given to the federal government are reserved to the states and the people. Texas governor Rick Perry said this week that if Washington continues to thumb its nose at the American people with this federal budget mess that Texans might at some point get so fed up they would want to secede from the union. Here in S.C. we know a little bit about that….There is going to be a rally  on May 2 at 12:00 at the statehouse in Columbia sponsored by the Patriotic Resistance..According to a Dept. of Homeland Security report this week.. if you are concerned about illegals, increasing federal power, restrictions on firearms, abortion and the loss of U.S. sovereignty, then you might be a “ right wing extremist”. As ridiculous as this is… the most insulting part of this report was that it singles out returning war veterans as particular threats.  To any and all veterans and their families here tonight, let me say that no words can ever express the appreciation we have for your service to our country. We stand here tonight able to speak freely because of your courage and sacrifice. It is a travesty the way this country continues to disrespect you. After seeing Saving Private Ryan I rededicated my life to live in such a way as to somehow be worthy of what you have done for me and my family.  I am going to be a grandfather this November… so I have been thinking about what to say to my grandchild about our country…. What are you telling your children and grandchildren? My generation owes future generations an apology…Why did we allow things to get this way? There is no justification, no excuse..But I will tell my grandchild to put their trust in the Lord Almighty. As a cancer survivor by his amazing  grace, I can tell you that he will never leave you and if you will humble yourself and pray…. He will bless you and keep you….Government is trying to replace God… but the promises to give you everything that you may think you’re entitled to are false and devious.. A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take everything you have….We have been here before…We are standing at a crossroads of history… As Janet Porter of Faith2Action put it…… It was impossible for George Washington and his army to take on the world’s most powerful nation and win. But, by the grace of God, they did.Winston Churchill faced fascism and even when he stood alone, he never gave up. And because he stood, we now stand in freedom.Ronald Reagan faced communism and called it what it was: evil. He told Mr. Gorbachev to tear down that wall and freedom triumphed over communism.  It can againWhile that first tea party was to protest taxation without representation let us all leave here tonight with a renewed understanding of the wisdom and brilliance of those who wrote our Declaration in 1776. “ When in course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them…..  We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal, that they  are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,- That whenever any form of Government becomes Destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it……..”    Pray for God’s mercy, unity, and the strength and grace to take our country back again.  Thank you 

heres the article that should scare you to death……literally With the Obama Stimulus Plan: Betsy McCaughey

Commentary by Betsy McCaughey

Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) — Republican Senators are questioning whether President Barack Obama’s stimulus bill contains the right mix of tax breaks and cash infusions to jump-start the economy.

Tragically, no one from either party is objecting to the health provisions slipped in without discussion. These provisions reflect the handiwork of Tom Daschle, until recently the nominee to head the Health and Human Services Department.

Senators should read these provisions and vote against them because they are dangerous to your health. (Page numbers refer to H.R. 1 EH, pdf version).

The bill’s health rules will affect “every individual in the United States” (445, 454, 479). Your medical treatments will be tracked electronically by a federal system. Having electronic medical records at your fingertips, easily transferred to a hospital, is beneficial. It will help avoid duplicate tests and errors.

But the bill goes further. One new bureaucracy, the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology, will monitor treatments to make sure your doctor is doing what the federal government deems appropriate and cost effective. The goal is to reduce costs and “guide” your doctor’s decisions (442, 446). These provisions in the stimulus bill are virtually identical to what Daschle prescribed in his 2008 book, “Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis.” According to Daschle, doctors have to give up autonomy and “learn to operate less like solo practitioners.”

Keeping doctors informed of the newest medical findings is important, but enforcing uniformity goes too far.

New Penalties

Hospitals and doctors that are not “meaningful users” of the new system will face penalties.  “Meaningful user” isn’t defined in the bill. That will be left to the HHS secretary, who will be empowered to impose “more stringent measures of meaningful use over time” (511, 518, 540-541)

What penalties will deter your doctor from going beyond the electronically delivered protocols when your condition is atypical or you need an experimental treatment? The vagueness is intentional. In his book, Daschle proposed an appointed body with vast powers to make the “tough” decisions elected politicians won’t make.

The stimulus bill does that, and calls it the Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research (190-192). The goal, Daschle’s book explained, is to slow the development and use of new medications and technologies because they are driving up costs. He praises Europeans for being more willing to accept “hopeless diagnoses” and “forgo experimental treatments,” and he chastises Americans for expecting too much from the health-care system.

Elderly Hardest Hit

Daschle says health-care reform “will not be pain free.” Seniors should be more accepting of the conditions that come with age instead of treating them. That means the elderly will bear the brunt.

Medicare now pays for treatments deemed safe and effective. The stimulus bill would change that and apply a cost- effectiveness standard set by the Federal Council (464).

The Federal Council is modeled after a U.K. board discussed in Daschle’s book. This board approves or rejects treatments using a formula that divides the cost of the treatment by the number of years the patient is likely to benefit. Treatments for younger patients are more often approved than treatments for diseases that affect the elderly, such as osteoporosis.

In 2006, a U.K. health board decreed that elderly patients with macular degeneration had to wait until they went blind in one eye before they could get a costly new drug to save the other eye. It took almost three years of public protests before the board reversed its decision.

Hidden Provisions

If the Obama administration’s economic stimulus bill passes the Senate in its current form, seniors in the U.S. will face similar rationing. Defenders of the system say that individuals benefit in younger years and sacrifice later.

The stimulus bill will affect every part of health care, from medical and nursing education, to how patients are treated and how much hospitals get paid. The bill allocates more funding for this bureaucracy than for the Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force combined (90-92, 174-177, 181).

Hiding health legislation in a stimulus bill is intentional. Daschle supported the Clinton administration’s health-care overhaul in 1994, and attributed its failure to debate and delay. A year ago, Daschle wrote that the next president should act quickly before critics mount an opposition. “If that means attaching a health-care plan to the federal budget, so be it,” he said. “The issue is too important to be stalled by Senate protocol.”

More Scrutiny Needed

On Friday, President Obama called it “inexcusable and irresponsible” for senators to delay passing the stimulus bill. In truth, this bill needs more scrutiny.

The health-care industry is the largest employer in the U.S. It produces almost 17 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product. Yet the bill treats health care the way European governments do: as a cost problem instead of a growth industry. Imagine limiting growth and innovation in the electronics or auto industry during this downturn. This stimulus is dangerous to your health and the economy.

(Betsy McCaughey is former lieutenant governor of New York and is an adjunct senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. The opinions expressed are her own.)

To contact the writer of this column: Betsy McCaughey at Betsymross@aol.com

Last Updated: February 9, 2009 00:01 EST

is this what change means?….. is this hope?….. is this what americans really want?……. is this what you want?….. let me know….. russ

February 03, 2009

Congress: The New Power Class

By Larrey Anderson

There is no native criminal class except Congress.

  - Mark Twain

Traditionally Americans have loved to hate their Congress. But in the last several years our country has changed. Most clear thinking Americans no longer hate our Congress – we now fear it.
The reason for this fear is, and should be, deeply disturbing. Those who have carefully followed the bailout bills that Congress has recently passed know just how pervasive the corruption has become. But the whole story goes much deeper than mere trillions of dollars. America is losing (or has already lost) its constitutional republic.
Americans also traditionally love to hate the rich and powerful. Tales of the 19^th century “robber barons” have the cultural status of epic myths in American history. Even if they were greedy and unscrupulous, the Rockefellers, Mellons, and Carnagies helped create wealth in this country. The acquisitions of their personal fortunes may have been ruthlessly pursued; but their fortunes were not solely obtained by stealing money from their fellow citizens using the power of the central government.
The robber barons became powerful because they created wealth. In that sense, these men earned their power and influence. Congress has turned this principle on its head. Our elected representatives become wealthy because they wield their political power in an unconstitutional, and often illegal, manner. The new power class in America is not productive … it is Machiavellian.
Let’s begin with a recent example. A young man is elected to the state legislature. His wife is given a make believe job as director of “community services” for a large hospital that receives state funds. The young man runs successfully for the U.S. Senate. His wife’s salary is tripled because the hospital receives more federal than state funds.
The young man leaves the senate for another position. His wife no longer needs the “job” — and the hospital decides that it no longer needs a director of “community services.”
Instead of facing a criminal investigation for accepting bribes and illegal political contributions, the young man and his wife are lauded for their “service.”  How bad has the venality become? How ingrained is the acceptance of this kind of fraud in our culture? Fifty two percent of America’s voters recently elected this man president … and his wife is now the first lady.
This is but one of thousands of examples. America faces “pay-to-play” extortion in its politics at unprecedented levels — especially at the federal level.
There was a brief window of opportunity for our elected officials to stop the graft. The Republicans took the majority from the Democrats in Congress in 1994 on the heels of multiple revelations of massive fraud by the Democrats.
The Republicans had a plan and a playbook. It was called “Republican Contract with America.” Here are the actual promises that were made:

FIRST, require all laws that apply to the rest of the country also apply equally to the Congress;
SECOND, select a major, independent auditing firm to conduct a comprehensive audit of Congress for waste, fraud or abuse;
THIRD, cut the number of House committees, and cut committee staff by one-third;
FOURTH, limit the terms of all committee chairs;
FIFTH, ban the casting of proxy votes in committee;
SIXTH, require committee meetings to be open to the public;
SEVENTH, require a three-fifths majority vote to pass a tax increase;
EIGHTH, guarantee an honest accounting of our Federal Budget by implementing zero base-line budgeting.

The plan lasted about two years. The Republicans discovered that it was much easier to raise a million dollars by having lunch on K Street, than it was getting 10,000 of their constituents to pop for a hundred bucks each. Republicans reneged on their contract and set about strong arming K Street lobbyists. In short, the Republicans became a more traditional power class, following the historical example set by the Democrats.
The Democrats, finding themselves out of power for the first time in 50 years, had other ideas. Why not figure out a way to make pay-for-play an insiders game? The federal government spends trillions of dollars a year, why not make the organizations on the receiving end of those trillions kick back a few hundred mil?
And so the Democrats (and a few quick thinking Republicans) figured out how to take their bribes from the government itself (and from institutions that heavily rely on government funding). The Democrats already had the teachers unions on their thumb — and there were many other plums in little Jack Horner’s pie.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, government or quasi-government unions like the AFGE, SEIU, AFSCME, and the NEA could all be tapped to give back a chunk of the federal government’s largess.
And so they have. The Congress has created its own source of perpetual political funding. We pay taxes, the government doles out our money, and those receiving the money pay off the people who voted to send these special interests our money in the first place.
The Congress has created the perfect storm for the taxpayer and perfect weather for smooth campaign finance sailing. Republicans keep on lunching down on K Street with the lobbyists. The Democrats have rigged the bailouts (using the paybacks to the special interest groups that receive them) to free up more time for golf. Incumbents, from both parties who support this plunder, are going to remain in office for a long, long time.
All of this funding and fraud is unconstitutional. The Constitution is very specific about the powers granted to the congress. Article I, Section 8 - Powers of Congress is less than 500 words in length. Nowhere in those 500 words is there any mention of bailing out private banks or private companies, setting up government guaranteed financing of private homes, cash for Amtrak, cash for “artists,” cash for education, cash for ACORN and “community services,” cash for global warming research, cash for digital TVs, and on and on and on. Nor is there any verbiage in the Constitution that allows the congress to be funded by the recipients of its spending.
But most kids, who have been educated in our public school system over the last twenty years, have never read Article II, Section 8 of the Constitution. The fact is that the majority of the citizens of this once great nation of ours have no idea that they have been (and will continue to be until our economy collapses) both deceived by their political leaders … and fleeced.
Our Congress is the new power class of America — a robber baron pretending to be a Robin Hood.
This new power class of professional politicians has learned much from the political philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli. Machiavelli is the philosopher who first laid down the principles for ruling purely from a position of power.  He said the following:

¨ I’m not interested in preserving the status quo; I want to overthrow it.
¨ Men are so simple and so much inclined to obey immediate needs that a deceiver will never lack victims for his deceptions.
¨ Benefits should be conferred gradually; and in that way they will taste better.
¨ A wise ruler ought never to keep faith when by doing so it would be against his interests.
¨ No enterprise is more likely to succeed than one concealed from the enemy until it is ripe for execution.
 ¨ The new ruler must determine all the injuries that he will need to inflict. He must inflict them once and for all.

Machiavelli wrote the rulebook for our new “power class” in Congress. Read that list from him one more time. Think, while you are reading the list, this one word: “bailouts.”
Larrey Anderson is a writer, a philosopher, and submissions editor for American Thinker. His latest award-winning novel is The Order of the Beloved. His memoir, Underground: Life and Survival in the Russian Black Market, has just been released.
Page Printed from: http://www.americanthinker

heres the article that we talked about…… where’s the drive by media ?   russ………
February 04, 2009

How the Stimulus Bill Could Kill You

By Douglas O’Brien

When you read through the nearly seven hundred pages of the House stimulus bill it is easy to begin dozing off after a few hundred billion dollars worth of run-of-the-mill wasteful government spending.  One has to keep a keen eye out for the components of the bill that don’t just steal your money, but that may actually do you great physical harm, if not kill you outright.
On page 151 of this legislative pork-fest is one of the clandestine nuggets of social policy manipulation that are peppered throughout the bill.  Section 9201 of the stimulus package establishes the “Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research.”  This body, which would be made up of federal bureaucrats will “coordinate the conduct or support of comparative effectiveness and related health services research.”
Sounds benign enough, but the man behind the Coordinating Council, Health and Human Services Secretary-designate (and tax cheat) Tom Daschle, was kind enough to explain the goal of this organization.  It is to cut health care costs by preventing Americans from getting treatments that the government decides don’t meet their standards for cost effectiveness.  In his 2008 book on health care, he explained that such a council would, “lower overall spending by determining which medicines, treatments and procedures are most effective-and identifying those that do not justify their high price tags.”
Once a panel of government experts decides what is and what is not cost-effective by their definition, the government will stop paying for treatments, medicines, therapies or devices that fall into the latter category.  Initially, this will limit access to very expensive treatments for federal employees, veterans, the elderly, members of the military and their dependents and others who rely on the feds to pay for their health care.  But since this would place nearly half of health care dollars off limits for such treatments, the demand for and further development of such treatments would likely dry up.  And Daschle wants to expand the Coordinating Council’s power even further, allowing the government to deny tax benefits for private insurance that covers treatments deemed too expensive by the Council.  Thus, if a handful of government employees deem a therapy not cost effective, no health insurance will cover it and it will become virtually unobtainable to patients at any cost.
Mind you, they are not simply looking to exclude treatments that don’t work, but to exclude treatments that are effective, but whose cost, in their opinion, does not justify their use.  You, the patient, and your physician don’t get a vote. This would make the federal government the single most important decision-maker regarding health care for every patient in America.
This is also another wonderful example within the stimulus bill of infantile economics.  When something is new it is usually expensive, (think $3,000 VCR’s back in the ‘70s).  As supply increases, two important things happen.  First, innovations take place that improve the product.  Second, the cost comes down.  If the feds step in and say, no, that new treatment is too expensive, it will never have the chance to become better, the supply will not increase and it won’t become more cost-effective.  It will just die on the shelf, and so will the patients who potentially could have benefited.
For example, scientists have found that proton beams can be used to destroy cancerous tumors by pinpointing the beam on a tumor diminishing the collateral damage to surrounding tissue that often accompanies conventional photon radiation treatment.  Five facilities in the United States offer proton therapy at places like Massachusetts General Hospital and the University of Texas.  The five can treat a total of about 8,000 patients a year.  Protons are most beneficial for children who can suffer severe developmental side-effects from radiation treatment.  But the therapy is expensive, often running over $100,000 for a six-week course of treatment.  But as new proton treatment facilities are built, improving the delivery of the therapy and increasing its supply, prices will decrease and quality will improve.  But how will a panel of bureaucrats react to this situation?  Will they allow insurance to cover a treatment that can be many times more expensive than conventional care and let it reach its full potential?  Or will it be blackballed for future patients in the name of cost-containment?
Imagine the conversation:  Parents are told that their daughter has a brain tumor.  Doctors will immediately begin radiation treatment to destroy the tumor.  But they also tell the parents that bombarding the child’s brain with radiation will likely have developmental impacts.  The doctors lament that there once was a better way to deal with this situation with a higher success rate and virtually no side effects, but some people in Washington decided it was too expensive and the centers that offered it closed and no one persisted in further developing the therapy.
Repeat this scenario time and time again and you will glimpse health care in the Age of Hope and Change.  Emphasis will be shifted to prevention and management of chronic illness-an excellent idea and potentially very economically beneficial.  But health care will be frozen in time.  New treatments come on the market at very high costs and most often represent incremental improvements over existing care.  That is how progress works and that is why we live longer lives than our great-grandparents.  But that is exactly the kind of progress that Daschle and his Coordinating Council will be targeting in order to limit health care spending.  It is a perfect example of the way socialized medicine rations care in the name of equality of access and proves the old Canadian axiom that, “national health care is wonderful, unless you get really sick.”
Now, all this time, we have been told that Republicans were the ones who only saw health care in terms of dollars and sense and that the Democrats were champions of the needs of the ordinary people.  The reality is the exact opposite.  A market-based system promoted by many Republicans allows patients to control their care rather than bureaucrats and encourages innovations that save and prolong lives.  Under this new health care order, it will be the express task of government employees to stand between you and your family and potentially life-saving care, all in the name of dollars and cents.
Douglas O’Brien is a public affairs consultant and served in the Department of Health and Human Services in the Bush Administration.

I’m not voting for anyone who voted for the bailout…….. be sure to read the judges explanation about halfway thru this as to why democrats and republicans have violated the oath they took to protect, uphold and defend the constitution……. russ 

Most Presidents Ignore the Constitution

The government we have today is something the Founders could never have imagined.

By ANDREW P. NAPOLITANO

In a radio interview in 2001, then-Illinois State Sen. Barack Obama noted — somewhat ruefully — that the same Supreme Court that ordered political and educational equality in the 1960s and 1970s did not bring about economic equality as well. Although Mr. Obama said he could come up with arguments for the constitutionality of such action, the plain meaning of the Constitution quite obviously prohibits it.

Getty Images

FDR tried to pack the Supreme Court.

Mr. Obama is hardly alone in his expansive view of legitimate government. During the past month, Sen. John McCain (who, like Sen. Obama, voted in favor of the $700 billion bank bailout) has been advocating that $300 billion be spent to pay the monthly mortgage payments of those in danger of foreclosure. The federal government is legally powerless to do that, as well.

When Franklin Delano Roosevelt first proposed legislation that authorized the secretary of agriculture to engage in Soviet-style central planning — a program so rigid that it regulated how much wheat a homeowner could grow for his own family’s consumption — he rejected arguments of unconstitutionality. He proclaimed that the Constitution was “quaint” and written in the “horse and buggy era,” and predicted the public and the courts would agree with him.

Remember that FDR had taken — and either Mr. Obama or Mr. McCain will soon take — the oath to uphold that old-fashioned document, the one from which all presidential powers come.

Unfortunately, these presidential attitudes about the Constitution are par for the course. Beginning with John Adams, and proceeding to Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson and George W. Bush, Congress has enacted and the president has signed laws that criminalized political speech, suspended habeas corpus, compelled support for war, forbade freedom of contract, allowed the government to spy on Americans without a search warrant, and used taxpayer dollars to shore up failing private banks.

All of this legislation — merely tips of an unconstitutional Big Government iceberg — is so obviously in conflict with the plain words of the Constitution that one wonders how Congress gets away with it.

In virtually every generation and during virtually every presidency (Jefferson, Jackson and Cleveland are exceptions that come to mind) the popular branches of government have expanded their power. The air you breathe, the water you drink, the size of your toilet tank, the water pressure in your shower, the words you can speak under oath and in private, how your physician treats your illness, what your children study in grade school, how fast you can drive your car, and what you can drink before you drive it are all regulated by federal law. Congress has enacted over 4,000 federal crimes and written or authorized over one million pages of laws and regulations. Worse, we are expected by law to understand all of it.

The truth is that the Constitution grants Congress 17 specific (or “delegated”) powers. And it commands in the Ninth and 10th Amendments that the powers not articulated and thus not delegated by the Constitution to Congress be reserved to the states and the people.

What’s more, Congress can only use its delegated powers to legislate for the general welfare, meaning it cannot spend tax dollars on individuals or selected entities, but only for all of us. That is, it must spend in such a manner — a post office, a military installation, a courthouse, for example — that directly enhances everyone’s welfare within the 17 delegated areas of congressional authority.

And Congress cannot deny the equal protection of the laws. Thus, it must treat similarly situated persons or entities in a similar manner. It cannot write laws that favor its political friends and burden its political enemies.

There is no power in the Constitution for the federal government to enter the marketplace since, when it does, it will favor itself over its competition. The Contracts Clause (the states cannot interfere with private contracts, like mortgages), the Takings Clause (no government can take away property, like real estate or shares of stock, without paying a fair market value for it and putting it to a public use), and the Due Process Clause (no government can take away a right or obligation, like collecting or paying a debt, or enforcing a contract, without a fair trial) together mandate a free market, regulated only to keep it fair and competitive.

It is clear that the Framers wrote a Constitution as a result of which contracts would be enforced, risk would be real, choices would be free and have consequences, and private property would be sacrosanct.

The $700 billion bailout of large banks that Congress recently enacted runs afoul of virtually all these constitutional principles. It directly benefits a few, not everyone. We already know that the favored banks that received cash from taxpayers have used it to retire their own debt. It is private welfare. It violates the principle of equal protection: Why help Bank of America and not Lehman Brothers? It permits federal ownership of assets or debt that puts the government at odds with others in the free market. It permits the government to tilt the playing field to favor its patrons (like J.P. Morgan Chase, in which it has invested taxpayer dollars) and to disfavor those who compete with its patrons (like the perfectly lawful hedge funds which will not have the taxpayers relieve their debts).

Perhaps the only public agreement that Jefferson and Hamilton had about the Constitution was that the federal Treasury would be raided and the free market would expire if the Treasury became a public trough. If it does, the voters will send to Congress those whom they expect will fleece the Treasury for them. That’s why the Founders wrote such strict legislating and spending limitations into the Constitution.

Everyone in government takes an oath to uphold the Constitution. But few do so. Do the people we send to the federal government recognize any limits today on Congress’s power to legislate? The answer is: Yes, their own perception of whatever they can get away with.

Mr. Napolitano, who served on the bench of the Superior Court of New Jersey between 1987 and 1995, is the senior judicial analyst at the Fox News Channel. His latest book is “A Nation of Sheep” (Nelson, 2007).