This was written by a family friend who is a union member in Wisconsin. It is worth a read and a minute of contemplation.
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It might seem as though citizens are rising up against the government in Wisconsin where unions are fighting for their lives. They say the whole middle class is under siege. The truth is, union membership in this country is just under 12% of the work force. There are 7.6 million union workers in the public sector, including City, State and Federal workers, and 7.1 million in the private sector, so they hardly represent the whole middle class. In fact, we the tax payers pay for public sector workers' salaries and benefits, and the bulk of their union dues go to the DNC to get pro-union democrats elected. The most controversial part of the bill in Wisconsin would be to remove the unions' right to negotiate on those pensions and health care, and while they would be allowed to continue negotiation on wages, the bill would end the automatic deduction of union dues from pay and enforce the annual election of union officials. This would mean a whole lot less tax payer money going to the democrats to pay for political campaigns. Unions contributed nearly half a billion dollars to put democrats in office in 2008. $87 million went to the Obama campaign alone. As a vested union member, that pisses me off.
Democrats outspent republicans in the 2008 presidential race, and yet we’re still being told that the Republican Party is the party of the rich, and that republicans are greedy racists. If we look at liberals and conservatives metaphorically, liberals would be the children and conservatives the adults. The issue in 2011 is fiscal responsibility, and public workers are going to have to grow up and face reality that their exceptional pensions and benefits are out of line with what the rest of America is getting, and they’re financially breaking State and Local governments. Collective bargaining in the private sector has steadily lost power and influence as employers have held out for more reasonable employee contributions to retirement and medical benefits. With unemployment at well over 9%, workers have less leverage and strikes garner little sympathy from the general public. The idea that union contracts guarantee “weekends, 40 hour work weeks and protection against child labor” is inane. Although unions were instrumental in getting laws passed to provide these and other rights to workers, they are State and Federal labor laws separate from collective bargaining contracts. They’ve become “social norms” and pertain to all workers, whether they’re union or not.
Interesting that in Wisconsin teachers walked shoulder to shoulder with socialists and communists. There were communist party members handing out literature at the demonstrations. Teachers ought to feel a bit hijacked by groups that are using them to further their own agenda. Come on people, what the hell are you doing? You’re Americans, remember? You’re free. Why are you allowing yourselves to be used this way? How much of a Gumby have you allowed yourselves to become? Teachers, you’ve allowed your unions to run amok, gradually draining the public coffers. Your passive, and sometimes aggressive acceptance of union demands on your behalf has very likely put at risk your chance for collective bargaining in the future. And it certainly hasn’t helped your public image.
Education is a hot button issue and teachers are taking the heat, to some degree unfairly, for low test scores and a general state of mediocrity in schools. It seems unwise for them to do anything but focus on quality education for our kids, but their unions have one goal and one goal only, and that is to collect revenue from union members and use it to finance politicians who will keep the unions in power. It’s just another left wing minority power grab. The difference this time is that they have a close ally in the White House.
February 28, 2011
October 08, 2010
Being American
I was watching the film "Glory" the other night. It is a film about, in essence, how white America had to learn to love the people they had brought here to abuse. A film about how those who had been wronged every day of their own lives had to step up, forgive and dare to live. The white man had to be humble and brave enough to give the black man a chance to be a man and then the black man had to be resolute enough to take one more step, their own step.
I thought how this nation's people have not been inextricably tied to the land from the dawn of time. We are a nation of pioneers seeking life and liberty. We have, since the first groups of settlers, been joined by other groups of people in this new nation either through their own fruition or through the tragedy of crimes. We all have the necessity of learning to live together and we all have inherited the destiny, right and responsibility to work hard for our future; to take responsibility for our own situation and to make it better and, when occasion permits, show charity to those around us.
In order to facilitate this American destiny and gain our independence many people fought and died and others have fought again and again to maintain our freedoms. The best minds at the dawn of our country took what was true and right and devised a way that through the responsibility and work of the people we might maintain our liberties and work out or problems together. They sacrificed that we might maintain our destinies and not give control of our lives to others.
In this day we see our country in crisis. First, a crisis of information overload. We are so bombarded by information we get lost in it, numb to it or obsessed with it. We want to belong and we want to build but we have no structure around us so we look to media, substance, and material for solace; occasionally to sin and vice. But these leave us unfulfilled and bitter. Meanwhile, through our consumerism, we have lost our community and our feeling of connection to the towns, states and the country we have built.
Another great crisis that we face is that some people, in the name of "progress", are changing our country. They say that the moral base that this country was founded on is out of date, old-fashioned or unfair. They more and more seek special privilege for the few in the name of equal rights while at the same time chipping away at the structure of government that was made to protect us all as well as possible.
They try to lead us to believe that the truths on which we founded our freedoms are arbitrary and no longer apply. How can moral truth change? Do humans change? In small ways perhaps but the human soul has loved, despaired, hungered, hated, hoped and desired the same way since the first man walked. Right has been, is and will always be right. No matter how much we want to justify, bend or color our wrongs and injustices they will always be wrong. We can follow any road we want but they do not all lead to where we want to go. Even if every person votes that wrong is right; right is still right.
So the time has come. We can no longer sit and talk of glory and sings songs of the bravery of days gone by. We need to kick in and anti up. We need stop pretending that the world owes us a living and realize we owe the world our lives. We need to stop living in the thick of thin things. We need to stop wallowing in the fleeting pleasure of petty things and seek the joy of accomplishment. We need to stop stealing a future of plenty and possibility from our children and we need to take responsibility for our tomorrow. We need to vote, work, plant, repair, talk, share, teach and most importantly we need to be the example we want our children and those around us to have. We need to remember those before us who were humble and brave enough to take the first step and now we need to take then next step, our own step. We, the people, must take a moment each day, stare our responsibility in the face and go do our best. We need to gratefully live the gift, the right and the responsibility that is being American.
October 01, 2010
Tea?
So I have read and heard a number of people lately who have attributed the Tea party supporters to different groups; radical and otherwise. I even read in a university newspaper how the president of their Republican club claimed the Tea party as part of or a sub set of the Republican party.
I blame the media mostly. The Tea party is a mercurial group of citizens who are finally fed up with government (INCLUDING the Democratic and Republican political parties) for one or more reasons . The Tea party includes young and old, conservative and liberal. It consists of the people who realize that our country is very quickly moving away from the values and strengths that have sustained it from the beginning. The Tea party wants Federal Government to be smaller, State Government to be more effective, politicians to be more responsible and citizens to be more informed and proactive.
I highly recommend we, the people listen more closely to those who speak out from the Tea party: it is the movement that has the best chance of saving these United States. The only thing you would betray by supporting this movement would be those people and ideas that would destroy this country and all she stands for.
I blame the media mostly. The Tea party is a mercurial group of citizens who are finally fed up with government (INCLUDING the Democratic and Republican political parties) for one or more reasons . The Tea party includes young and old, conservative and liberal. It consists of the people who realize that our country is very quickly moving away from the values and strengths that have sustained it from the beginning. The Tea party wants Federal Government to be smaller, State Government to be more effective, politicians to be more responsible and citizens to be more informed and proactive.
I highly recommend we, the people listen more closely to those who speak out from the Tea party: it is the movement that has the best chance of saving these United States. The only thing you would betray by supporting this movement would be those people and ideas that would destroy this country and all she stands for.
March 27, 2010
Today's Heartburn
Recently, I get the feeling that a MAJORITY of Americans are very displeased with the Democrat Congress, Obama, "Obamacare" and the federal government in general. This feeling is based on radio, friends and neighbors, tv and national polls. So, if the government is so bad, why doesn't it change?
If all those who are conservative, love the constitution, their families, and their responsible freedom voted for the right thing, the thing that is dictated by honor and right, I think the government would change. Part of the reason it does not change is that many of we, the people, are lazy and/or uninformed and don't make the change. I think, however, that a bigger part of the problem is that we fear "public" perception. We fear that if we vote for right that we will seem antiquated or stubborn, or closed minded. So, we try to have an open mind and we consume some of the tripe that the general media dishes out and we vote for "progress" or liberality in a hopes that we will feel the exciting rush of change. Meanwhile we have sold a piece of our freedom, our citizenship; maybe not a large part but an important part and all those small pieces add up to us losing our freedom. We are loosing our freedom to be honorable, our freedom to be self responsible, to have a community, to work towards our goals.
I guess what I am saying is that each and every one of us needs to stand completely for what is right, for what is just and for what is good; even if it is not convenient or popular. We need to stand in what we do, what we say, and how we live; even at the cost of time, popularity or effort. This country was not built by those who sat around and waited for others to build them up. Nor was it built by those who desired to control others; it was built by those searching for freedom and right.
If all those who are conservative, love the constitution, their families, and their responsible freedom voted for the right thing, the thing that is dictated by honor and right, I think the government would change. Part of the reason it does not change is that many of we, the people, are lazy and/or uninformed and don't make the change. I think, however, that a bigger part of the problem is that we fear "public" perception. We fear that if we vote for right that we will seem antiquated or stubborn, or closed minded. So, we try to have an open mind and we consume some of the tripe that the general media dishes out and we vote for "progress" or liberality in a hopes that we will feel the exciting rush of change. Meanwhile we have sold a piece of our freedom, our citizenship; maybe not a large part but an important part and all those small pieces add up to us losing our freedom. We are loosing our freedom to be honorable, our freedom to be self responsible, to have a community, to work towards our goals.
I guess what I am saying is that each and every one of us needs to stand completely for what is right, for what is just and for what is good; even if it is not convenient or popular. We need to stand in what we do, what we say, and how we live; even at the cost of time, popularity or effort. This country was not built by those who sat around and waited for others to build them up. Nor was it built by those who desired to control others; it was built by those searching for freedom and right.
October 12, 2009
Thoughts for the Day
From Wolfshield:
===============================
"As the president's approval ratings fall and rise and fall again, some of his supporters in journalism and politics are returning to days of old when the label 'racist' could end any discussion and force the accused either into stunned silence, or groveling repentance. I suspect the tactic won't work this time because Obama supporters will have difficulty explaining how a mostly white country could elect a black man president last November and ten months later become a racist majority. . . . With Democrats controlling all three branches of government, including significantly wide margins in Congress, isn't there a better explanation than racism for why the president is having difficulty with some of his proposals? . . . There is a better explanation for the growing opposition to President Obama. It has less to do with his ethnicity than it does his credibility. Character, after all, is colorless." --columnist Cal Thomas
"I traveled on the Tea Party Express tour bus as a singer/songwriter, entertainer and spokesperson; 16 states, 34 rallies in two weeks. I experienced vicious racial verbal attacks, not from the tea party protesters. The racial hate expressed against me all came from the left, people who support President Obama's radial socialist agenda. ... These racists are outraged by my opening lines I boldly proclaimed at each rally. 'Hello my fellow patriots! I am NOT an African-American! I am Lloyd Marcus, AMERICAN!' . . . Liberals' response to my YouTube videos, columns and performances on the Tea Party Express have been extremely racist, vicious and hate-filled. In their incredible arrogance, they vilify me for loving my country and not viewing myself as a victim of white America. In the sick minds of liberals, as a black man in America, I must support President Obama regardless of his policies. I must resent white America. I must feel entitled to the earnings of other Americans. My belief that my success or failure is totally in the hands of myself and my God is anathema to them. As to the claim that the tea party protesters are racist, they are not. Quite the opposite. At every rally, with thousands in attendance, I was overwhelmingly showered with affection and thanks for standing up for America. ... These protesters are not racist. They are decent hard working ordinary Americans who love their country and disapprove of the radical changes planned by the Obama administration." --singer, songwriter and columnist Lloyd Marcus
"House Speaker Nancy Pelosi berated town hall and tea party protesters this month, tearfully warning they'd incite violence. Well, there's been violence all right, at Pittsburgh's G-20. But it wasn't the tea partiers. It takes gall to characterize ordinary Americans, freely exercising their rights of speech and assembly in civic forums, as 'mobs' while ignoring a pack of leftist thugs now smashing a U.S. city. But that's what Pelosi did, directing her righteous tocsin to the Norman Rockwell-like gatherings of Americans who opposed her expansion of government this past summer. . . . Scroll ahead one week to the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh: Some 1,000 hooded rioters descend on the city waving signs such as 'Smash the G-20' and 'Eat the Rich.' Many take 'direct action' to 'challenge capitalism' in what organizers brazenly call an 'unpermitted protest.' Unlike the town hall citizens, they didn't 'hurl' statements -- just tire irons, bricks and rocks, in an effort to damage private businesses. . . . This kind of violence is nothing new. . . . The unwillingness of the Democratic establishment to defend free markets emboldens the rioters. In destroying private property and impeding trade, these anarchists prove their aims aren't democratic. . . . The outrage of it all raises questions about Pelosi's real agenda in her one-sided criticism of tea partiers. By criticizing only tea partiers and ignoring rampant thugs, she seeks to repress peaceful dissent. With that setup, it's no surprise that there's a mudslide of violence now rolling down on us from an energized radical left." --/Investors' Business Daily/
"We warned of things to come, of the danger inherent in unwarranted government involvement in things not its proper province. What we warned against has come to pass. And today more than two-thirds of our citizens are telling us, and each other, that social engineering by the federal government has failed. The Great Society is great only in power, in size and in cost. And so are the problems it set out to solve. Freedom has been diminished and we stand on the brink of economic ruin. Our task now is not to sell a philosophy, but to make the majority of Americans, who already share that philosophy, see that modern conservatism offers them a political home. We are not a cult, we are members of a majority. Let's act and talk like it. The job is ours and the job must be done. If not by us, who? If not now, when? Our party must be the party of the individual. It must not sell out the individual to cater to the group. No greater challenge faces our society today than ensuring that each one of us can maintain his dignity and his identity in an increasingly complex, centralized society. Extreme taxation, excessive controls, oppressive government competition with business, galloping inflation, frustrated minorities and forgotten Americans are not the products of free enterprise. They are the residue of centralized bureaucracy, of government by a self-anointed elite. Our party must be based on the kind of leadership that grows and takes its strength from the people." --Ronald Reagan
Obama Seeks to Strike Down the Defense of Marriage Act:
"For the purposes of any Federal law in which marital status is a factor, an individual shall be considered married if that individual's marriage is valid in the State where the marriage was entered into or, in the case of a marriage entered into outside any State, if the marriage is valid in the place where entered into and the marriage could have been entered into in a State." --So-called Respect for Marriage Act, HR 3567
"[T]he Department of Justice has filed a response to a legal challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act, as it traditionally does when acts of Congress are challenged. This brief makes clear, however, that my Administration believes that the Act is discriminatory and should be repealed by Congress. I have long held that DOMA prevents LGBT couples from being granted equal rights and benefits. While we work with Congress to repeal DOMA, my Administration will continue to examine and implement measures that will help extend rights and benefits to LGBT couples under existing law." --Pres. Barack H. Obama
"With a president who is committed to repaling DOMA and a broad, diverse coalition of Americans on our side, we now have a real opportunity to remove from the books this obnoxious and ugly law." --Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-NY, co-sponsor of HR 3567
"Marriage is not just any two people in a committed relationship. There's more to a marriage than that. A decisive majority of Americans believe this, and they are tired of being treated with contempt by politicians. . . . Many of those in favor of this bill argue that the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act is not intended to force same-sex 'marriage' on all the states. If that is not the intent, its supporters wouldn't be seeking to repeal the section of DOMA that makes it clear that states have a right to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman." --ADF (Alliance Defense Fund) Senior Counsel Brian Raum
===============================
"As the president's approval ratings fall and rise and fall again, some of his supporters in journalism and politics are returning to days of old when the label 'racist' could end any discussion and force the accused either into stunned silence, or groveling repentance. I suspect the tactic won't work this time because Obama supporters will have difficulty explaining how a mostly white country could elect a black man president last November and ten months later become a racist majority. . . . With Democrats controlling all three branches of government, including significantly wide margins in Congress, isn't there a better explanation than racism for why the president is having difficulty with some of his proposals? . . . There is a better explanation for the growing opposition to President Obama. It has less to do with his ethnicity than it does his credibility. Character, after all, is colorless." --columnist Cal Thomas
"I traveled on the Tea Party Express tour bus as a singer/songwriter, entertainer and spokesperson; 16 states, 34 rallies in two weeks. I experienced vicious racial verbal attacks, not from the tea party protesters. The racial hate expressed against me all came from the left, people who support President Obama's radial socialist agenda. ... These racists are outraged by my opening lines I boldly proclaimed at each rally. 'Hello my fellow patriots! I am NOT an African-American! I am Lloyd Marcus, AMERICAN!' . . . Liberals' response to my YouTube videos, columns and performances on the Tea Party Express have been extremely racist, vicious and hate-filled. In their incredible arrogance, they vilify me for loving my country and not viewing myself as a victim of white America. In the sick minds of liberals, as a black man in America, I must support President Obama regardless of his policies. I must resent white America. I must feel entitled to the earnings of other Americans. My belief that my success or failure is totally in the hands of myself and my God is anathema to them. As to the claim that the tea party protesters are racist, they are not. Quite the opposite. At every rally, with thousands in attendance, I was overwhelmingly showered with affection and thanks for standing up for America. ... These protesters are not racist. They are decent hard working ordinary Americans who love their country and disapprove of the radical changes planned by the Obama administration." --singer, songwriter and columnist Lloyd Marcus
"House Speaker Nancy Pelosi berated town hall and tea party protesters this month, tearfully warning they'd incite violence. Well, there's been violence all right, at Pittsburgh's G-20. But it wasn't the tea partiers. It takes gall to characterize ordinary Americans, freely exercising their rights of speech and assembly in civic forums, as 'mobs' while ignoring a pack of leftist thugs now smashing a U.S. city. But that's what Pelosi did, directing her righteous tocsin to the Norman Rockwell-like gatherings of Americans who opposed her expansion of government this past summer. . . . Scroll ahead one week to the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh: Some 1,000 hooded rioters descend on the city waving signs such as 'Smash the G-20' and 'Eat the Rich.' Many take 'direct action' to 'challenge capitalism' in what organizers brazenly call an 'unpermitted protest.' Unlike the town hall citizens, they didn't 'hurl' statements -- just tire irons, bricks and rocks, in an effort to damage private businesses. . . . This kind of violence is nothing new. . . . The unwillingness of the Democratic establishment to defend free markets emboldens the rioters. In destroying private property and impeding trade, these anarchists prove their aims aren't democratic. . . . The outrage of it all raises questions about Pelosi's real agenda in her one-sided criticism of tea partiers. By criticizing only tea partiers and ignoring rampant thugs, she seeks to repress peaceful dissent. With that setup, it's no surprise that there's a mudslide of violence now rolling down on us from an energized radical left." --/Investors' Business Daily/
"We warned of things to come, of the danger inherent in unwarranted government involvement in things not its proper province. What we warned against has come to pass. And today more than two-thirds of our citizens are telling us, and each other, that social engineering by the federal government has failed. The Great Society is great only in power, in size and in cost. And so are the problems it set out to solve. Freedom has been diminished and we stand on the brink of economic ruin. Our task now is not to sell a philosophy, but to make the majority of Americans, who already share that philosophy, see that modern conservatism offers them a political home. We are not a cult, we are members of a majority. Let's act and talk like it. The job is ours and the job must be done. If not by us, who? If not now, when? Our party must be the party of the individual. It must not sell out the individual to cater to the group. No greater challenge faces our society today than ensuring that each one of us can maintain his dignity and his identity in an increasingly complex, centralized society. Extreme taxation, excessive controls, oppressive government competition with business, galloping inflation, frustrated minorities and forgotten Americans are not the products of free enterprise. They are the residue of centralized bureaucracy, of government by a self-anointed elite. Our party must be based on the kind of leadership that grows and takes its strength from the people." --Ronald Reagan
Obama Seeks to Strike Down the Defense of Marriage Act:
"For the purposes of any Federal law in which marital status is a factor, an individual shall be considered married if that individual's marriage is valid in the State where the marriage was entered into or, in the case of a marriage entered into outside any State, if the marriage is valid in the place where entered into and the marriage could have been entered into in a State." --So-called Respect for Marriage Act, HR 3567
"[T]he Department of Justice has filed a response to a legal challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act, as it traditionally does when acts of Congress are challenged. This brief makes clear, however, that my Administration believes that the Act is discriminatory and should be repealed by Congress. I have long held that DOMA prevents LGBT couples from being granted equal rights and benefits. While we work with Congress to repeal DOMA, my Administration will continue to examine and implement measures that will help extend rights and benefits to LGBT couples under existing law." --Pres. Barack H. Obama
"With a president who is committed to repaling DOMA and a broad, diverse coalition of Americans on our side, we now have a real opportunity to remove from the books this obnoxious and ugly law." --Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-NY, co-sponsor of HR 3567
"Marriage is not just any two people in a committed relationship. There's more to a marriage than that. A decisive majority of Americans believe this, and they are tired of being treated with contempt by politicians. . . . Many of those in favor of this bill argue that the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act is not intended to force same-sex 'marriage' on all the states. If that is not the intent, its supporters wouldn't be seeking to repeal the section of DOMA that makes it clear that states have a right to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman." --ADF (Alliance Defense Fund) Senior Counsel Brian Raum
June 05, 2009
Thoughts for the Day
Some more good stuff from Wolfshield:
=================
"Recall that our Founders affirmed in the Declaration of Independence '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.' In other words, our Creator bestowed the rights enumerated in our Declaration and, by extension, as codified in its subordinate guidance, our Constitution. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are natural rights; they are not gifts from government." --Mark Alexander
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"Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with his wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep for ever." --Thomas Jefferson
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"The Obama administration is preparing to send General Motors into bankruptcy as early as the end of next week under a plan that would give the automaker tens of billions of dollars more in public financing as the company seeks to shrink." --/The Washington Post/
------------------
_Sonia Sotomayor as nominee for the Supreme Court:_
"I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life." --Judge Sonia Sotomayor in 2001
"Whether born from experience or inherent physiological or cultural differences, our gender and national origins may and will make a difference in our judging." --Sonia Sotomayor in 2001
"[A] court of appeals is where policy is made." --Sonia Sotomayor in 2005
-------------------
"Earlier this year, President Obama's Supreme Court nominee joined an opinion with the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that Second Amendment rights do not apply to the states. A 2004 opinion she joined also cited as precedent that "the right to possess a gun is clearly not a fundamental right." --Fox News, May 28, 2009
---------------
"The opinion which gives to the judges the right to decide what laws are constitutional and what not, not only for themselves in their own sphere of action but for the Legislature and Executive also in their spheres, would make the Judiciary a despotic branch. ... It has long been my opinion ... that the germ of dissolution of our federal government is in the constitution of the federal judiciary; working like gravity by night and by day, gaining a little today and a little tomorrow, and advancing its noiseless step like a thief, over the field of jurisdiction, until all shall be usurped." --Thomas Jefferson
=================
"Recall that our Founders affirmed in the Declaration of Independence '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.' In other words, our Creator bestowed the rights enumerated in our Declaration and, by extension, as codified in its subordinate guidance, our Constitution. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are natural rights; they are not gifts from government." --Mark Alexander
-------------
"Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with his wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep for ever." --Thomas Jefferson
------------
"The Obama administration is preparing to send General Motors into bankruptcy as early as the end of next week under a plan that would give the automaker tens of billions of dollars more in public financing as the company seeks to shrink." --/The Washington Post/
------------------
_Sonia Sotomayor as nominee for the Supreme Court:_
"I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life." --Judge Sonia Sotomayor in 2001
"Whether born from experience or inherent physiological or cultural differences, our gender and national origins may and will make a difference in our judging." --Sonia Sotomayor in 2001
"[A] court of appeals is where policy is made." --Sonia Sotomayor in 2005
-------------------
"Earlier this year, President Obama's Supreme Court nominee joined an opinion with the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that Second Amendment rights do not apply to the states. A 2004 opinion she joined also cited as precedent that "the right to possess a gun is clearly not a fundamental right." --Fox News, May 28, 2009
---------------
"The opinion which gives to the judges the right to decide what laws are constitutional and what not, not only for themselves in their own sphere of action but for the Legislature and Executive also in their spheres, would make the Judiciary a despotic branch. ... It has long been my opinion ... that the germ of dissolution of our federal government is in the constitution of the federal judiciary; working like gravity by night and by day, gaining a little today and a little tomorrow, and advancing its noiseless step like a thief, over the field of jurisdiction, until all shall be usurped." --Thomas Jefferson
I'm Back . . .ish
I know it has been far too long since I have posted. Life as well as a sea of political sludge has gotten in the way. I have been trying to follow the news and here are my thoughts in no particular order.
Why in the world does everyone on the news seem to think the Republican party needs "re-branding?" It makes it sound as if the ideologies of the Republicans has failed flatly and can no more rise. Is it because they lost badly in the last election? If so, where was the democratic "re-branding" 8 years ago? Also, I don't see any Republicans complaining that the party is "broke." Many do see supposed "Republican" politicians betraying the party ideals but that is a separate issue. I see this whole thing as an attempt by liberals to try and trick the uninformed into believing that political conservatism is dead. The Republican party may have issues but political conservatism is alive and well and we the people need to see through the "progressive" agenda and hold fast to the founding principals of this nation.
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I can't understand how Obama continues to spend money. I can't even comprehend the dire state of our worsening financial situation. We are dead in the water.
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I was amazed and delighted at the tea parties that were held recently. It show that we the people still get out there and make our voices known. It does sadden me that it takes so much for us to be activists. We need to live what we believe daily. Also, i am appalled at the way the parties were covered. Some more liberal media outlets made it sound as if there we a few people milling around in some podunk towns. They labeled them as something like "quasi-republican, right-wing nut jobs" who couldn't agree on what they were protesting. In reality, there were multiple tea parties in every state in the union which were made up of Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Libertarians and more. All were out protesting the state of the union which did include things such as Obama spending too much money, congress not doing there job, tax absurdities and more. The main message was that the federal government is out of control and we the people are not being heard. We seem to have lost the "by the people" part of the government and we want it back.
Why in the world does everyone on the news seem to think the Republican party needs "re-branding?" It makes it sound as if the ideologies of the Republicans has failed flatly and can no more rise. Is it because they lost badly in the last election? If so, where was the democratic "re-branding" 8 years ago? Also, I don't see any Republicans complaining that the party is "broke." Many do see supposed "Republican" politicians betraying the party ideals but that is a separate issue. I see this whole thing as an attempt by liberals to try and trick the uninformed into believing that political conservatism is dead. The Republican party may have issues but political conservatism is alive and well and we the people need to see through the "progressive" agenda and hold fast to the founding principals of this nation.
------
I can't understand how Obama continues to spend money. I can't even comprehend the dire state of our worsening financial situation. We are dead in the water.
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I was amazed and delighted at the tea parties that were held recently. It show that we the people still get out there and make our voices known. It does sadden me that it takes so much for us to be activists. We need to live what we believe daily. Also, i am appalled at the way the parties were covered. Some more liberal media outlets made it sound as if there we a few people milling around in some podunk towns. They labeled them as something like "quasi-republican, right-wing nut jobs" who couldn't agree on what they were protesting. In reality, there were multiple tea parties in every state in the union which were made up of Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Libertarians and more. All were out protesting the state of the union which did include things such as Obama spending too much money, congress not doing there job, tax absurdities and more. The main message was that the federal government is out of control and we the people are not being heard. We seem to have lost the "by the people" part of the government and we want it back.
March 01, 2009
Bill of Non Rights
I'm sure some of you have seen this before. It's an explanation of the rights that we the people are guaranteed under the constitution. Actually, it's more of a list of rights we may think we have but in reality do not. Pass it on.
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This is probably the best e-mail I've seen in a long, long time. The following has been attributed to State Representative Mitchell Kaye from GA. This guy should run for President one day...
"We the sensible people of the United States, in an attempt to help everyone get along, restore some semblance of justice, avoid more riots, keep our nation safe, promote positive behavior, and secure the blessings of debt-free liberty to ourselves and our great-great-great-
ARTICLE I:
You do not have the right to a new car, big screen TV, or any other form of wealth. More power to you if you can legally acquire them, but no one is guaranteeing anything.
ARTICLE II: You do not have the right to never be offended. This country is based on freedom, and that means freedom for everyone -- not just you! You may leave the room, turn the channel, express a different opinion, etc.; but the world is full of idiots, and probably always will be.
ARTICLE III:
You do not have the right to be free from harm. If you stick a screwdriver in your eye, learn to be more careful; do not expect the tool manufacturer to make you and all your relatives independently wealthy.
ARTICLE IV:
You do not have the right to free food and housing. Americans are the most charitable people to be found, and will gladly help anyone in need, but we are quickly growing weary of subsidizing generation after generation of professional couch potatoes who achieve nothing more than the creation of another generation of professional
couch potatoes.
ARTICLE V:
You do not have the right to free health care. That would be nice, but from the looks of public housing, we're just not interested in public health care.
ARTICLE VI:
You do not have the right to physically harm other people. If you kidnap, rape, intentionally maim, or kill someone, don't be surprised if the rest of us want to see you fry in the electric chair..
ARTICLE VII:
You do not have the right to the possessions of others. If you rob, cheat, or coerce away the goods or services of other citizens, don't be surprised if the rest of us get together and lock you away in a place where you still won't have the right to a big screen color TV or a life of leisure.
ARTICLE VIII:
You do not have the right to a job. All of us sure want you to have a job, and will gladly help you along in hard times, but we expect you to take advantage of the opportunities of education and vocational training laid before you to make yourself useful. (AMEN!)
ARTICLE IX:
You do not have the right to happiness. Being an American means that you have the right to PURSUE happiness, which by the way, is a lot easier if you are unencumbered by an over abundance of idiotic laws created by those of you who were confused by the Bill of Rights.
ARTICLE X:
This is an English speaking country. We don't care where you are from, English is our language. Learn it or go back to wherever you came from! (Lastly....)
ARTICLE XI:
You do not have the right to change our country's history or heritage. This country was founded on the belief in one true God. And yet, you are given the freedom to believe in any religion, any faith, or no faith at all; with no fear of persecution. The phrase IN GOD WE TRUST is part of our heritage and history, and if you are uncomfortable with it, TOUGH!
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