Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Cadillac Tax?

I would REALLY love to swear right now! When will they learn it's OUR money?
They are grasping for straws now-BIG straws, read this:

Senators Eye Tax on "Cadillac" Health Plans to Pay for Health Care Reforms

I am dumbfounded at the lunacy going on in Washington now. They are rabid beasts, and they want to control every aspect of our lives, and they don't care if they have no Constitutional authority, they are going to do it anyway.

It's time for all of us to get down on our knees and pray to God that this country can be salvaged from the ravages of elitist progressives. There is a feeding frenzy, and we are the main dish.

Who Are You?

I want to ask you a question; who are you? Who are you REALLY? What philosophy comes first in your life?

Are you a human being first then a liberal or conservative, or are you a liberal or conservative first then a human being?
The answer makes a difference.

If you are a human being first, then mankind is your business in the sense that you look out for each other, help each other, and care about what happens to each other. You look to do something about it, not because you are mandated to; because someone else says you should, but because it's the right thing to do.

If you are ideological first, then something else comes first; something besides your family and your fellow man. You do things based on what others think of you, because you are told to think or feel a certain way, because the other guys way is "wrong" or because someone has made you feel guilty if you don't feel the way *they* do.

Our liberties are being lost by degrees; like the flaxen cords the Adversary binds us with, we are giving things up a fraction at a time with hardly the bat of an eye.

The mall kiosk seller who signed away his right to sell what he wants by signing a contract with the mall administration; the gun owners who hand over their guns because the community thinks it's the best way; the smokers who can't even smoke in their own backyards because the infamous "secondhand smoke" carries to the neighborhood; the cord blood collected at birth; the vaccines given against the will of the individual or parent of a child; the list goes on. All liberties lost to ideology.

What happened to personal responsibility? When did it become okay to tell others they had to do what we want because it offends us or bothers us?

I'm not a smoker; never have been, never will be, I detest the smell, the grime, etc.
Do I have a right to tell a smoker not to smoke in their own yard?? Heaven's NO! Nor would I ever imagine I had the right.
Do I have a right to step into a smoke free environment in a restaurant? No! I may have the DESIRE, but not the right. Do I have the right to eat at a restaurant that chooses to be smoke free, or to sequester smokers?? Yes! The restaurant owner then has the right to decide, based on sales how he wants to proceed. If revenue goes down because non-smokers want to go elsewhere, the owner will make decisions based on the bottom line or make no changes because he's happy where things are.

No one is willing to give up their ideology to let others alone. If my favorite restaurant is not a smoke free environment, I'll have to weigh the pros and cons of eating there, and make my decision accordingly. I neither have the right nor the expectation that the owner will or should change his policies based on me, but I am the consumer and will take my dollars where I am most comfortable, and maybe occasionally go to my favorite place and deal with the consequences of having smoky clothing that needs washed, and the need for a shower afterwards.
I do not have the right however, to make the restaurant bow to MY wishes alone. The Government has no place interfering with the free market in the minutiae of life.

No one seems willing to sacrifice anymore. We want what we want, and we darn well better get it, or someone is going to hear about it.

Ideology vilifies activities to limit the liberties of others. Smokers are not the bad guys, those who don't recycle or use those stupid light bulbs are not the bad guys, nor is the reverse true either.

The bad guys are those who kill abortion doctors because "abortion is wrong"; the bad guys are those who use imminent domain to take from a private citizen "A" and give to a private citizen "B" for citizen "B's" financial gain.
The bad guys are those who use ideology on either side of the coin to make you and I do what may or may not be against our wishes, or, to take matters into their own hands, apparently believing themselves to be judge and jury.

So I ask again, who are you? Please be someone who values life and community over ideology; freedom over villainage. Don't let government further encroach on our lives; yours and mine, in an effort to be able to do all the things you would like to do. Be willing to allow others to live their lives free from intrusion, free from mandates. Be responsible for your own life and destiny, and let others do the same.

Ideological viewpoints are not indicative of one view or another. There are nut jobs on either side of the spectrum. Don't be one of them.

It's OK to BE ideological, just don't expect others to agree with you.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Doesn't Anyone Remember the First Amendment??

I don't care what side of the aisle you sit on or whether you sit IN the aisle, it behooves us ALL to care about the First Amendment. Any one of us could be next.


Conservative Kiosk Owner Denied New Lease at North Carolina Mall
Tuesday , July 28, 2009

By Joshua Rhett Miller


ADVERTISEMENT The owner of kiosk that sells conservative merchandise in a North Carolina mall won't get to continue pushing "Impeach Obama" bumper stickers after his lease expires Friday.

The Concord Mills mall decided not to renew its contract with Loren Spivack, who fought to stay in business in the shopping center.

Spivack says his kiosk, Free Market Warrior, is being nudged out for purely political reasons.

After meeting with officials from the Concord, N.C., mall Tuesday afternoon, the two sides could not reach an agreement to keep the 8-foot-long kiosk where it was.

"Mr. Spivack has not agreed to remove the objectionable merchandise and will be moving out of Concord Mills at the end of his lease," a statement from the mall said.

Spivack told FOXNews.com that mall officials specifically asked that three bumper stickers and a T-shirt believed to be linking President Obama with terrorism be removed from the kiosk, including one that read, "Obama Wins and They Celebrate in Iran, Do You Get It?"

Four employees at the kiosk will lose their jobs at the end of business on Friday, Spivack said, but he'll continue selling the merchandise online.

"It was a very difficult decision," Spivack told FOXNews.com. "I really don't want to [leave the mall], but I was even less comfortable having this corporation essentially dictate which criticisms could be made."

The hottest sellers at the kiosk, which has been in the mall for roughly three months, are items that are critical of President Obama, Spivack said.

They include a “Work Harder, Obama Needs the Money” bumper sticker and a T-shirt that lists the top 12 things Obama has been doing as the economy crashes.

Among the other merchandise sold at the kiosk and on its associated Web site are GOP elephant bobblehead dolls, a Republican president jigsaw puzzle and baby bibs that say, “My parents chose life. Thanks Mom and Dad!”

Asked if he felt targeted by mall officials due to those items, Spivack replied, “There’s no question. There’s no issue other than the material we’re selling.”

The brouhaha began, he said before his request was denied, when someone wrote a letter to the editor in the Charlotte Observer criticizing his business for promoting racism and sexism.

“This apparently got the attention of the national management,” Spivack told FOXNews.com. “They came down with a decision that we had to leave and that our lease would not be renewed when it expired.”

Spivack said he met briefly with mall manager Roy Soporowski on Sunday, the same day about 100 people rallied in front of the mall to support him and his right to the sell politically-charged merchandise.

“We didn’t come to any conclusions, but we agreed to speak again [Monday],” Spivack said. “We’d obviously like to stay, that would be very positive.”

Soporowski did not respond to several interview requests on Monday. A spokeswoman for Simon Property Group, which owns the mall, declined to be interviewed for this report.

Spivack wouldn't say how much he pays to rent the kiosk, citing a condition of his contract. And while the future of his business is currently in jeopardy, the controversy has had a noticeable benefit.

“Sales have definitely picked up,” he said. “Simon Malls clearly did me an unintentional favor.”

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Obama: Hope, Change and Failure

I've not had a lot of time to write lately, but I've been reading. I'd like to share this one today from The New Media Journal . I just discovered this news site this morning, and the article is good.


Paul R. Hollrah, O.E.

Obama: Hope, Change & Failure
July 25, 2009

Barack Hussein Obama has now occupied the Oval Office for just 185 days. Under normal circumstances we might expect that a new president, supported by strong majorities of his own party in Congress, might have accomplished at least something of value in that length of time...but he hasn’t. In fact, he has dug such a political and economic hole for himself and his party that whatever prospects they might have envisioned have been frittered away and his entire legislative agenda now appears destined to failure.

As the first African American to have a real shot at winning the presidency, Obama had one major advantage. Although he was, by far, the least qualified, the most inexperienced, and the most intellectually flawed individual ever to seek the presidency, his ability to read a speech from a teleprompter with feigned conviction and sincerity captivated the vast majority of blacks and left-leaning whites. Indoctrinated in our public schools and lacking any real foundation in American history, they were especially in love with the idea that, by electing a black president, the ugliness of racism could be forever put to rest. They willingly put aside common sense and voted him into office.

During his campaign he hammered away at three major themes. He would take bold steps to:

▪ Bring “fairness” to our tax system, stem the outflow of jobs to overseas markets, restructure the mortgage lending industry, and bring stability to financial markets.

▪ Develop clean, renewable sources of energy, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and create millions of new “green” jobs.

▪ Reform our overly expensive healthcare system while making healthcare and healthcare insurance available to every American.

On the subject of taxes, Obama said, over and over again, “I can make a firm pledge. Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes.”

On April 1, 2009, Obama increased the federal tax on a pack of cigarettes by 62 cents, from 39 cents a pack to $1.01 a pack. This tax increase falls heaviest on the poor and middle class, those who earn less than $75,000 per year. A family with two smokers, each of whom smoke just one pack a day, will find themselves paying at least $450 more in cigarette taxes alone each year.

His tax reform plan would raise the top income tax rate by 13%, to almost 40%; raise the top capital gains tax rate by 33%, to 20%; raise the top dividends tax rate by 33%, to 20%, raise the Social Security payroll tax for families earning over $250,000 by 16%, to 32%,; reinstate the death tax, which is now being phased out, with a top tax rate of 45%; impose targeted tax increases on corporations, such as a new windfall profits tax on oil companies; and impose a new payroll tax on employers who fail to provide healthcare insurance for their employees.

Under the oft proven theory that it is possible to fool some Democrats all of the time and all Democrats some of the time, it is clear that, while these tax increases appear to fall heavily on the rich, they are all taxes that ultimately trickle down to the poor and middle class. Obama’s supporters apparently fail to understand what the average fourth grader readily understands, which is that by taxing away the resources of the investor class, Obama will be taxing away the investment capital that fuels our entire economy and provides jobs for all Americans.

Then there is Obama’s $787 billion stimulus boondoggle that not a single member of Congress read before it was passed. Democrats said the funds were intended for “shovel-ready” projects that would quickly create jobs. What the American people are now learning is that only about $8 billion of the total package has been put to work. It seems that Obama and his union thug supporters just haven’t figured out how to steal that much money in such a short period of time.

During the last session of Congress, Democrats were able to force through ruinous increases in the minimum wage. In July 2007, the minimum wage was increased from $5.15 to $5.85 per hour; in July 2008 the hourly rate went from $5.85 to $6.55; and by July 24, 2009 the minimum hourly wage will go to $7.25 per hour. By the end of July 2009, the hourly wage for entry-level jobs will be nearly 41 percent higher than it was just two years ago.

According to economists Joseph Sabia of American University and Richard Burkhauser of Cornell University, the minimum wage hikes of the past two years have wiped out more than 390,000 lower-rung jobs. While economist David Newmark, of the University of California at Irvine, estimates that the new minimum wage scheduled to go into effect this month will wipe out an additional 300,000 jobs. One wonders whether Obama and his Democrat friends are aware that they’re supposed to be creating jobs, not destroying them.

During the 2008 campaign Obama thrilled his audiences with promises of “pie-in-the-sky” developments in renewable energy sources. Precisely what those new energy sources would be he didn’t say. He did say that his environmental policies would bankrupt coal-fired power plants and drive electric power costs through the ceiling. While no conclusive analysis exists, some reports indicate that Obama’s cap-and-trade proposal will cost the average American family more than $3,000 in higher energy costs per year while it drives their jobs overseas.

Along with his radical proposal for reduction of CO2 emissions under the “global warming” hoax, Obama had promised millions of new “green” jobs. In all of recorded history, mankind has created only four green jobs: The Green Hornet, the Jolly Green Giant, Mr. Green Jeans and Kermit the Frog, and those jobs are already taken.

Keith O. Rattie, President and CEO of Questar Corporation, puts Obama’s cap and trade proposal into context. He explains that Obama’s long term goal is an 80% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050. With a population of 2.2 million, the State of Utah currently emits roughly 66 million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere each year. That is Utah’s “carbon footprint.” Dividing the state’s total “carbon footprint” by the total population, we find that the average resident of Utah has a carbon footprint of about 30 tons of CO2 per year... under today’s living standards. However, if Obama forces Utah to reduce carbon emissions by 80% by 2050, the people of Utah will have to reduce their carbon emissions to about 13.2 million tons per year.

With the state’s population growing at an annual rate of 2%, by 2050 the average resident of Utah would be allowed a “carbon footprint” of only 2.7 tons per year. The last time anyone in Utah had a “carbon footprint” of 2.7 tons per year was in the 1840s when the Mormons settled the Great Salt Lake Valley in their covered wagons... and most of their “carbon footprint” came in the form of flatulence from their cattle. (For you city slicker Democrats, that means cattle passing gas.)

This is the brave new world that Obama and congressional Democrats have in store for us all.

And finally, Obama has promised a complete overhaul of our national healthcare system. As matters now stand, we Americans have the most advanced medical technology, the best hospitals, and the best doctors in the world; however, we also have a healthcare system that is unaffordable for most Americans without full medical insurance coverage; we spend more on medical care, per capita, than any other nation on Earth; and we have some 40 million people who, for one reason or another, are without healthcare insurance.

These are all things we can agree on. But what no one appears to be concerned about is an answer to the question: if we are spending roughly 17 percent of our gross domestic product on healthcare... who gets all that money and how much of it goes to wasteful overhead, paper-shuffling, defensive medicine, and ambulance-chasing lawyers? By charging ahead with a healthcare reform proposal... for no better reason than that Obama wants one on his desk by the August congressional recess... Democrats are attempting to solve a problem without knowing its full size and scope. It’s as if they invited us all to join them on a long automobile trip across the hot, barren wastes of Kazakhstan, where gas stations are 500-600 miles apart, without first checking the gas gauge.

As matters now stand, it appears that Obama will fail to achieve any of his primary agenda items. His tax increases fall heaviest on the poor and middle class and convert hundreds of billions of dollars in job-creating investment capital to government waste; his environmental proposals, primarily cap-and-trade, are guaranteed to place a heavy financial burden on the poor and middle class, eliminate millions of jobs, and throw a wet blanket over the entire economy; and his healthcare proposals are going nowhere because, while he insists that healthcare reform must be paid for, neither he nor the Democrat leadership have the courage to actually pay for it.

Every administration has a lasting image affixed to it that lives on in the minds of the American people in perpetuity. For the Bush Administration it is the indelible picture, taken at the exact moment of impact, of giant airliners crashing into the World Trade Center in New York.

For the Obama Administration, it will likely be the image described by a friend who recently found himself driving behind a new Cadillac Escalade on a Houston freeway. The rear window of the Escalade sported a Southern Methodist University Alumni decal; strapped to the top of the Escalade were several ladders and a few sections of scaffolding; attached to the Escalade’s rear bumper was a small trailer containing buckets, brushes, and other tools; and on the tailgate of the trailer was a magnetic sign proclaiming “I Will Paint Anything.”

This is the “change” that Obama holds out for our children and grandchildren.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Greater Inefficencies?

Looks like the teleprompter might be on OUR side:

When You're In a Hole Stop Digging

Seems like it would be a no brainer.

When You're In a Hole¦Stop Digging: Deficit Cartoon The Foundry

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Summer Fun



Some people at Church gave us a trampoline. I have NEVER wanted a trampoline, they seemed like medical nightmares. With our nest emptying out, the nightmare became a smaller matter, and, well, FREE is a nice word :D


There is another one I want to post, but I can't figure out how to get it below this text, so I will wait for another post.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Something to Keep in Mind

I'm re-posting this video; to those who have watched it, I apologize.

I discovered today that Blogger apparently has removed it for "Terms of Use Violations." I thought it might be You Tube, but lo and behold, it's still running there.


Freedom of Speech is guaranteed under our Constitution.

Here is my previous post on The First Amendment.

Make no mistake, they will try to silence those of us who speak out and speak up. It's not politically correct to tell it like it is anymore, but I've made a covenant to be honest in all my dealings, therefore, I can't do anything BUT tell it like it is; myself and others like me will be targeted for our honesty.
I don't say this to sound like a martyr; other's who've gone before me have earned that obeisance. No, I say this because it's going to be all of us who stand up for truth that *they* will want to silence.

Hymn # 243 (and it IS HYMN number, not PAGE number :D ):

"...In the fight for right let us wield a sword, The mighty sword of Truth."
All we can do is tell the truth, but the Adversary can't have us out there exercising out First Amendment Rights; those inspired God given rights.

Now, for clarity, I can't say that this video is 100% accurate; what I want to highlight is the fact that we have the RIGHT to speak, and say what we will. This video represents my personal views, and I have the RIGHT to share that; I honestly believe it to BE true.

My plea is this, Please don't be afraid to speak the truth, no matter what, it's our only hope.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Boo Goes the Crowd

I had to watch this twice, just so I could hear the booing :)



Things seem to almost be looking up there for a minute.


Thanks to The Gateway Pundit for bringing this to my attention.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

A Glorious Standard

My blogging, homeschool friend DoriAnn is offering a book give-away.
Here is the link to her post:
A Glorious Standard Book Give-Away .

This is a book for LDS Constitutional students. It looks to be filled with quotes from Apostles and Prophets about our Constitution and our role in holding the standard high.

I was reading yesterday in Alma 46:12 :
"And it came to pass that he rent his coat; and he took a piece thereof, and wrote upon it--In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives and our children--and he fastened it upon the end of a pole."

These are the things our Constitution does for us as well. It is OUR "Title of Liberty".

I would encourage everyone to enter her book give-away, or buy the book for yourself or a loved one (or both :) ).

For me, I've read the words of President Benson numerous times, and never tire of hearing him remind me of the Glorious Standard that we are heirs to. This country is a great gift, a Divine gift, we should all know what our Prophets have said on the matter.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Nazi's?

No one--except a handful of lunatics I suppose, disagrees with the idea that the Nazi's were wicked and Hitler, as their leader, was a crazy madman; it follows that those who believed in him were likewise crazy, delusional and needed to be stopped.

However, this in from Algore today:

London times

Now, I know he didn't "specifically" say that global warming skeptics(GWS)were Nazi's, I understand that. What he did say, is in my view even scarier.
He's telling young people it's up to them to save civilization from those of us who are skeptics; we are evil for our disagreement; that disagreement with HIM is a bad thing because the debate is over.

Now I'm all for young people learning that it's their role to be the next leaders of our country and of society in general, but to liken GWS to Nazi's and the "fight" for the environment as equal to WWII is the craziest thing I have heard this week--I'm not holding my breath, it is only Tuesday after all; to say, as he and others have done, that the debate is over is complete piffle!

If the science were IN, there would be no growth, and every DAY something new and wondrous comes out of the scientific community: new species are discovered, new cures are found, new genes are isolated. There is always something new, therefore, always room for improvement and growth, for new understanding to take the place of outmoded ideas.

Again, I digress.

Does Algore KNOW what went on in WWII? I know a couple of people who could enlighten him if he needs an education on this matter.

It is my humble opinion that we could turn the tables and say that global warming alarmists (GWA)could be likened to the Nazi's themselves.
They want to shut down our way of life, and force behaviors on us that are not of our own choosing. They want to make us drive insanely tiny, unsafe vehicles, thereby decreasing the "surplus population" (as Scrooge said) through highway deaths; make us use poisonous light bulbs in our homes that cast a horrid light and are a danger to us and our families; they want to grow rich on cap and trade ventures that are nothing more than government mandated scams destined to take money out of our pockets and in doing so, food off of our tables.

Please don't assume the debate is over therefore we must bow down to Algore and his ilk.
Nothing is further from the truth.
A large portion of the scientific community does not buy into "the consensus" that the Earth Muffins want us to buy into; that means THERE IS NO CONSENSUS!

This is a religion to these people, the New Age of earth worship; Algore is their god and their prophet, their objective is to force their opinions on the rest of us.
This is one of the things our Founding Father's fought and died for: the right to choose your own path, your own ideals.

Be prepared; Be watchful; Be informed.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Independence Day

Independence Day. The very words send shivers up my spine, I cry when I hear the National Anthem. I LOVE my country, and my gratitude to the Signers of the Declaration of Independence is profound.
I have pondered lately the squandering of freedom, the squandering of independence.

In 1776, in sweltering heat, 56 men came together to sign a document declaring our independence from England. A treasonous act; still they pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor.

What does "their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor" mean exactly? For me, this is nearly equivalent to the sacrifice of the Savior. He gave EVERYTHING for us; our Founding Father's did close to the same, willing to give their very lives if necessary. We have an amazing legacy.

However, things are going downhill fast; spiraling out of control faster than you can say "bail out".
Where did this idea come from that government grants us liberties?
The Declaration of Independence clearly states what our Founders position was:

"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."

It continues:

"That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed..."

Government is to be at the disposal of the people, not the other way around. We hire them to do only what we already have the power to do for ourselves.

Bastiat reminds us that "Life, liberty and property do not exist because men have made laws. On the contrary, it was the fact that life, liberty and property existed beforehand that caused men to make laws in the first place."

That is what our Founding Fathers sacrificed for; what they pledged for, so that we could be our own masters, so we would not be burdened with a tyrannical government, and make no mistake, we are beginning to feel the tyranny now.
I could make a list, but I think you all know what we've lost; what continues to be discarded like yesterday's trash.

Go and read the Declaration of Independence to your families today. Then read the Constitution, and the first 10 Amendments in the next week.
There is nothing in either document about a "right to work", a "right to own a home", a "right to health care", a "right to retirement funds". All of those things fall under the right to be happy, but you get to make your own happiness; to determine your own path, and the government is supposed to protect us so we can.

Latter-Day Conservative has a great definition of fundamental rights from Joel Skousen:

"Funamental rights are those rights which all people can simultaneously claim, without forcing someone to serve their needs."

Our fundamental rights are being violated every day.

It's not about "Left" and "Right", "Liberal" and "Conservative"; it's about "Right and Wrong". If it's not in the Constitution, then it's wrong, and we are being stripped of our rights on a regular basis.

It's time to wake up; to get motivated to speak up.
We are told as members of the Church that our acceptance of the Gospel may cause friends and loved ones to shun us.
The next great cause that may engender the same outcome is Patriotism; that love of country that causes us to stand up and be counted; to be heard.

Our Founding Father's gave us this legacy, it's our job to make sure it can be passed on.