This is What I Want

The Hot Air web site allows certain private individuals to post comments and short articles. Occaisionally, one of the articles is promoted out of the discussion area and displayed on the main site. One recent article, I ran across really underlines what needs to happen in Congress.

Recall that one of the main reasons the Democrats were able to make a come back in Congress was because of the failings of the Republicans in office. Instead of focusing on what their constituents wanted, these Republicans kept pushing through bills that lined their own pockets. This pork barrel spending is more akin to what people expect from "Big Government" Democrats than "Small Government" Republicans.

The article lays out, from a rational American's perspective, what Republicans will have to do to take advantage of the weakness in the Democratic-led Legislature. This includes "reductions in government speding" and "address health care." Read the full text of the article for more.

America, the Republic... Thankfully

Contrary to popular belief, America is not a Democracy. Thank God for that. Instead we have a Republic, based on a body of law that keeps everyone in check, including our political leaders and popular individuals. Because we are in a Republic, Senator Ted Stevens was indicted. Because we are in a Republic, some of Obama's origial cabinet choices were rejected for not following the law. The law works to restrict the power of government and gaurantee our individual rights.

This video offers a great definition about the American form of government.

The scary thing about this video is the details about the Fall of the Roman Republic. It happened when some of the rulers started disobeying the law for their own, and their constituents', benefit. This eventually led to Mob Rule (Democracy) and eventual Oligarchy.

As Benjamin Franklin stated, we have "A Republic... if you can keep it." Let's hope we can do the work necessary to keep it. This includes being informed voters and letting our elected Representatives know we want less government interference and the rule of law. Let's hope that's enough.

Understanding the Other Side

This article in the Hot Air Green Room points out some things conservative-thinking people need to keep in mind as they discuss politics with some of their left leaning friends. Of particular note is the descriptive paragraph close to the end of the essay, where the author lists the different types of Liberals and their particular motivation.

Important in all of this is the assumption the conservative "champions both the moral and practical superiority of liberty and individualism." This is opposition to liberals, who support more government "because they need to believe that someone out there knows what they're doing" (emphasis in original) and they want this person to tell them what to do.

Read the whole article.

What We Need to Do

If Obama was smart, he would latch hold of this guy and use his ideas.



Barnett's ideas are incredibly simple when you first look at it, but the devil is in the details. His point is that we have no real transition plan for the work that the Army does. If we had a plan like this during the initial invasion of Iraq, we would have our troops out by now, with a victory in-tact.

What the Tea Parties are all About

Unless you've been living in a cave with no TV or internet access, you've hear about the recent collection of "Tea Parties" happening all across the country. But what are all of these people saying? What are these protests about? 

This video addresses the root issue, although it comes at the topic from a non-tea party way.

The reason we have so much unrest is because we have such a powerful government that is redistributing our money. People are becoming more and more upset about government intrusion in our lives, both through intrusive laws and high taxation. There is a strong movement against more government.

Call your Senators and Congressman. Tell them that Washington's excessive interferance in our lives is what people are upset about. We want LESS intervention and more reliance on local and individual authority. After all, Amendment IX states, "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people." 

This means we, the people hold all of the rights. Our government should work to ensure we can exercise our rights to the utmost.

Definition of Conservatism

As a Libertarian, I have some pretty conservative views. Sometimes these views do not mesh with the behaviors of the Republican party. I am not a party supporter, who blindly votes for one party all the time. Instead, I seek candidates who strive to live by conservative principles.

The best description/definition I've heard of 'conservatism' came from a 13-year-old boy who happened to write a book. He recently gave a speech where he provided a short definition of the principles behind real conservatism.



It's important to note that his definition was simple and easily understood. All real principles are. I agree with his definition. In this video, the principles that he lists as defining conservatism are:

• Respect for the Constitution - This is the founding document of our country. We should acknowledge that it is the basis for our success and seek to understand what the Founding Fathers meant for the various clauses included in the initial document and the Bill of Rights.
  
• Respect for Life -This includes a respect for all other individuals who are fellow citizens with you in this nation.
  
• Less Government - The more government interferes in our daily lives, the less competitive and successful we will be as a Nation. Just review the recent problems with our economic woes, where there was too much interference by government, to see an example.
  
• Personal (and Corporate) Responsibility - This means that ultimately, each entity or corporation is fully responsible for themselves. No corporate bailout for companies that make bad decisions. By the same token, we should not have life-long government welfare for individuals.
  

As he stated, the principles are the key to setting any policy, regardless of the Party of the individual trying to pass a specific policy. If you adhere to these principles, you help protect the people and the people's rights, which is what the Constitution was ultimately about.

Hat Tip - Hot Air

Justice is Served... Common Sense is Saved

Remember this case? Well, it seems that the decision came out in favor of common sense. The illegal aliens (and their lawyers) did not receive near the amount of money they were asking for. Instead, they were told, "You have to prove your case, and you didn't"

I also like the fact the attorney defending Mr. Barnett feels strongly that the amounts awarded can be overturned on appeal. Just looking at the basic facts, I tend to agree.

Read the entire article and review the photographic evidence from the link. Kind of hard to make a case against the legal US citizen.

Who's the Victim Here?

When I read this story, I thought I was reading some sort of fiction. It sounds like a quote from "Animal Farm." I can hear the argument, "Even though this is your private land, my civil rights trump your right to property." Yeah, NOT!!

I can't even believe this made it to court. I mean, why aren't they just deporting these people back to their country? Their illegal aliens for Heaven's sake. And Mr Barnett's lawyer has a valid point, "illegal immigrants [do] not have the same rights as U.S. citizens." If you're for the rule of law, then you should be complaining right now.

How is a man supposed to even own land if he's not allowed to keep people off of it? If we cannot keep people off our land, that makes it public land. This is a dangerous case of the rights of the victim being put after the rights of the attackers.

But of course it's happening in civil court, where the law is a bit different than criminal court. If this was criminal court, the actual criminals (read trespassers and illegal aliens) would be the ones on trial. Weird times.

Read the whole article.

Hat Tip Hot Air for the link.

This is What I've Been Saying!

This video with South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford is what I've been saying all along. His point, private capital is the driver of the economy, is totally correct. Government is not a driver of the economy.

In addition, I appreciate his comments about the debt. As I mentioned in a previous post, our current Congress has no sense of fiscal responsibility or what it will take to pay for their spending. I'd rather my toddler daughter not pay for the economic slump of 2009 when she's old enough to pay taxes.

I love his advice on how to deal with this, "Take a deep breath," and "Tell the truth." As he mentions, there is no painless way out of where we are.

Of course he backs up what I've always said, Cut payroll taxes. This means people who are working will get to keep and spend more of their money.

There are too many good points to cover all of them (including the point where he talks about how this is not a stimulus package, but a spending bill). Watch the whole video.

Hat Tip Hot Air

Do Any of these Democrats Pay Taxes?

Well, apparently another Obama nominee has had to withdraw because of tax issues. This is in addition to other tax cheats I've talked about before. Do any of these Democratic leaders even pay taxes anymore? This would explain why they are okay with raising taxes, since they plan to cheat their way out of paying their fair share.

For Heaven's Sake, if you're going to set the rules, you should at least follow them yourselves. Not something the Obama administration is known for in it's short time in office, though.

And where is the Main Stream Media on this? Even they are giving Obama warnings that all may not be well.

Where is Their Fiscal Responsibility?

While we're all cutting back, Congress is raising their stipends? Are you kidding? Of course, as the commentator mentions, Congress is always for shoveling more "pork" to their states.

See the video.

Are you kidding me?

So apparently the first bail-out wasn't good enough. Now the banks want even more money. Yeah, this makes lots of sense, because the first one worked SO well.

Remember, Albert Einstein's definition of insanity "is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." Maybe it's time to do something different, like stopping the bailout madness and helping the little guys, the individual taxpayers. They could do this by lowering taxes for the middle class (those of us that actually make money and pay taxes) and small businesses, not giving rebate checks to "95% of Americans". In addition, they could refrain from raising the capital gains taxes. After all, tax revenue actually goes UP when you keep the capital gains tax low. Isn't the point of having a tax to actually bring in more revenue? Taxation should have nothing to do with "fairness." If we wanted everything to be fair, we'd have a flat tax.

Now, should we do something that actually brings in more revenue, and push for less government spending, or should we increase taxes and raise government spending? I know which one I'd vote for.

The Federal Government Needs to Tighten Uncle Sam's Belt

This article at the National Review Online clearly highlights the financial problems hanging over the heads of the US. We need to tighten our belts and start reducing the deficit. We should have been doing this during the "good times" of economic abundance. We need it more than ever during these times of financial stress.

One of the big things to do to keep the budget in check is to stop giving bailouts to failing businesses. The American people have to live with a limited budget and manage their money well. Why shouldn't businesses be the same?

Like Walker, I also think Obama is on the right track. Limiting earmarks projects or "pork" in the federal budget will do more to help limit spending than most people know. I, for one, would like to see less government spending and less government intrusion in my life.

I'm From the Government and I'm Here to Help... Part III

It seems like every time there is an economic downturn, some people start clamoring for government support of the economy. Unfortunately, from a logical, historic perspective, more government interference does nothing to actually rebuild the economy.

See this video to learn more about the theory of "More Government Assistance will Help the Economy."



The reason this is important is because Obama is about to take office. The US economy is at it's weakest level in years. We have already had a spate of "bailouts" for private firms, with talk of more to come. Unfortunately, these government interventions do not truly fix the problem. Without some time to 'reset,' the economy will continue to falter and flail.

We need more common sense and less use of tax payer money to try and make politicians look good.

I Agree Mostly, But...

I agree with Geert Wilders on many of the things he talks about in his interview with the Wall Street Journal. I do think that Western culture, which includes Democracy, capitalism, the rule of law and respect for others, is superior to a religiously based government that gives preferential treatment to individuals who are of a particular sect or faith. This is one of the reasons we have so many Europeans in the Americas in the first place.

The evidence for the assertions that Western culture is superior can be seen in where people go when they immigrate from their home countries. If dictatorships, socialism or Islamic rule was so much better, people in the US would be fleeing South of the border, jumping on ships to travel to Russia or China, or hi-jacking planes and demanding to be taken to Tehran, Cairo or Baghdad. However, the opposite of this is true.

However, the sticking point in all of this is how to get people to assimilate to OUR culture. This is hard because one of the main reasons our culture is so successful is we assimilate a lot from other cultures. Our governmental organization is Greek, our Courts are English, our language uses a smattering of many other tongues, including Spanish and French, our scientists are German, Jewish, Indian, Chinese and many other nationalities. All of this has been worked together over 200 years to develop the nation we have now.

I think there is one common thing that all of these contributions to our culture have in common. They all WORK. Every single one of these contributions supports the others.

Now, how would all of this work if we start kow-towing to one particular point of view? The answer is simple; it will break. Geerts tells people, "You have to give up that book." I don't think we should go that far, but I do think you shouldn't push your book in my face in my country. If you don't like it, go home.

The Best We Can Hope For...

Well, the American public has opted for change! They've decided to elect a man who probably couldn't get a top secret clearance because of his past associations.

There are two ways this can go for the American public, based on why Obama associated with the people he did.

1) Obama is a true believer and managed to hide this during the election. - Of course, this is the worst case for the American public. If Obama truly supports Rev. Wright and Bill Ayers, and believes in a similar manner, Obama will steer this country further to the left than we have ever been. He would put in place entitlements to "underprivelaged classes" that would move us closer to socialism.

This would be disastrous. It would lead to increased government and decreased personal choice.

2) In this option, Obama is a political animal and simply made the most of the connections he had to help him in his political career. He stayed in the Church for 20 years becuase it gave him political clout. He launched his career in the home of Bill Ayers becuase Bill happens to have connections to the local politicians. There is ample evidence for this political animal explanation, based on how Obama has shed himself of various people in his campaign in the past.

Let us pray that it is option 2, for the sake of America.

I'm from the government and I'm here to help - again.

Wow!!

After reading this Wall Street Journal article, I'm more afraid than ever for my country. If the polls hold true, the Democrats will have even more control of the Federal Government. And, as history acknowledges, when the Democrats are in the majority, they push vast government expansions. Expansions that actually encroach on the rights of individuals and limit the freedom of businesses.

If you think I'm wrong, just review the side bar of items that passed the House and were blocked by a Republican filibuster in the Senate. The listed items are all examples of government controls on your life, including prescription drug price controls and "windfall profit" taxes on the oil industry. These examples demonstrate how the Liberal Left is attempting to implement more Socialist policies.

And honestly, does anyone think any of these policies are really good for our country? Price controls on the drug industry? How will this help the drug companies that invent most of the worlds drugs? And we all know taxes on the oil industry would simply lead to HIGHER gas prices for you and I. How does this really help anything?

Please, we need more intelligent individuals in the Legislature and as President to help ensure these types of Socialist laws are not passed.