The Loss of Liberties and Resources

I've been pondering lately the loss of our Liberties around the country. Have you noticed it too?

By small and seemingly inconsequential methods, the government is encroaching further and further into our lives; taking more and more of our liberties and our resources, without our consent, "for the greater good".

Take today for example. I went to the local hardware big box store--it's called Jerry's; if you get over my way, check out Jerry's, they are fabulous!

Anyway, we bought a gallon of paint for a project we're engaged in. As of July 1, 2010 a seventy-five cent charge has been added to the purchase of a gallon of paint. The fees will be collected at the time of purchase by all companies who sell paint in the State of Oregon. These fees will be used by PaintCare.org to fund the recycling & disposal of architectural paint. There are various fees, for various amounts of paint.

I don't WANT to pay SEVENTY-FIVE cents a GALLON to fund this non-profit company; I don't want to pay for a program I will NOT BE USING! I don't recycle paint. I SAVE paint. I USE my paint. I won't BE PARTICIPATING, so why should I have to pay a SEVENTY-FIVE cents PER GALLON OF PAINT????

Because I live in Leftistville, I am FORCED to participate in a program that I'm not interested in using. This has taken away my liberties and my resources.

Let's say I plan to use 10 gallons of paint. The 1-5 gal fee is $1.60; I certainly HOPE that means $1.60 for the ENTIRE 5 gallons, but this is Leftistville in which I live, so there is really no telling from the way it's worded. So, I use 10 gallons and am forced to pay $3.20 ON TOP OF THE COST OF MY PAINT for some government worker to do WHAT with it? Hand it out??? Sell it??? It's MY MONEY!

This is what Frederic Bastiat called "Legalized Plunder" my friends. It's MY THREE DOLLARS AND TWENTY CENTS! I no longer have the FREEDOM to use that money in the marketplace for my own pursuit of happiness. My resources have been stolen from me against my will to go to a program that I WILL NOT BENEFIT FROM.

Our Founders recognized one of our basic rights was the pursuit of happiness; with additional readings from Leonard E. Read founder of The Foundation for Economic Education, I have come to understand that the pursuit of happiness means essentially, the right to the use of the fruits of my labor. Some legislator, some bureaucrat somewhere, pushed by the enviro-wacko lobbyists has stolen the fruits of my labors to the tune of SEVENTY-FIVE cents a gallon.

Even at the rate of $1.60 for five gallons, if I use two of those for a total of $3.20, that's at least a gallon of milk that my family would not be able to purchase.

This is how they get us folks. Make things so difficult, so cumbersome and expensive that eventually, the population will turn to the government to live. That's what they want.

Think of all the "fees" and "taxes" that seem small, but add up to a whopping number individually and as a family. They are slowly but surely squeezing the middle class.

Watch for other encroachments; watch carefully, you’ll be amazed at how much we’ve given up by those flaxen cords.

I urge you to contact this paint recovery program and complain. I wrote a letter asking how I could opt out and I hope you do too.

Contact Paintcare:

Alison Keane, Executive Director
1500 Rhode Island Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20005
202-719-3703

akeane@paint.org

Independence Day!

Yesterday in church we sang “America the Beautiful” for our opening hymn; I don’t think I’ve sung that fully since grade school. As you may have guessed, I have a few thoughts.

The first verse, we’ve all heard, I’m putting an asterisk at the beginning of the chorus: 

“Oh, beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain, for purple mountain majesties, above the fruited plain! *America! America! God shed his grace on thee, and crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea.” 

The second verse is where it gets interesting:
“Oh beautiful for pilgrim feet, whose stern impassioned stress a thoroughfare of freedom beat across the wilderness!

*America! America! God mend thine every flaw, confirm thy soul in self control, thy liberty in law.” 

Do you see it? It’s almost a prayer! “God mend thine every flaw”

As if to say “We know we’re not perfect, but we implore God to make us better!” 

Ok, let’s go on:

“Oh beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife, who more than self their country loved, and mercy more than life! *America! America! May God thy gold refine, till all success be nobleness, and every gain divine.”

There it is again, this time, a hope that God will refine us and make us the best we can be! 

Now the fourth verse:

“Oh beautiful for patriot dream that sees beyond the years, thine alabaster cities gleam, undimmed by human tears! *America! America! God shed his grace on thee, and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.” 

The expectation of the future; we will grow and prosper in our freedom, and not even the grief we may experience will dim the light of our Republic. 

Now I’m fully aware that you may see these verses differently; that you may not have the same message that I got today; but the spirit bore witness to me today of the greatness of this country, of the Divinity of our Constitution and the exceptionalisim that is the United States of America, and I needed to share that with you. 

As a Latter-day Saint, I know that the Constitution of our Republic was inspired of God; that our Heavenly Father raised up wise men for the very purpose of forming this country.

Brigham Young said “The form of the government of the United States differs but little from that of the Kingdom of God.” (Thank you DoriAnn!)
When Isaiah prophesied about the Savior’s birth, and said the “government will be upon his shoulders”, most people look at that as meaning during the Millennial era; I think it means that, of course, but I believe it also means now, today. We have the document, a sacred document, to rule ourselves in a Godly fashion.  We need to take more time, more care in defending and preserving and restoring that sacred document. 

Let the words to the sacred patriotic hymns buoy you up, fill your soul with love for the Constitution and our Founding Fathers. They’ve left us a legacy that is hanging by a thread; let’s not let it break.

Memorial Day: A History

I found these two excerpts in an old book that I have on my shelf; it’s my “go to” book for wonderful thoughts on Memorial Day.

As I ponder the great and ultimate sacrifice of so many, I feel the only thing I can do is pray for our beloved Republic, and say God Bless the United States of America. May she endure the assault from within, and remain the shining light on the hill.

Memorial Day is a creation growing out of the sentiment of the times in which it originated. It has been the custom in several countries of the Old World to decorate the graves of soldiers, but in no other country is it made a day of national observance as it is no known in the north and south of the United States. Its observance at first grew spontaneously from the tender rememberance of the relatives and others who survived the war for the Union. The practice of fixing a day for visiting the graves of the fallen soldiers and strewing them with flowers commenced in the early years of the Civil War of 1861-1865. But different days for some time were observed in different localities. It is a well ascertained fact that on April 13, 1862, just one year after the fall of Fort Sumter, Mrs. Sarah Nicholas Evans, with the wife and two daughters of Chaplain May of the Second Regiment, Michigan Volunteers, decorated the graves of a number of soldiers buried on Arlington Heights, VA. In May of the next year, these ladies again performed the same loving service. In May of the following year, they also rendered the same sadly pleasant attention to the graves of soldiers buried at Fredericksburg, Va. The custom gradually became more general…and at length President U.S. Grant and several Governors were led to unite in recommending the observance of the same day, and in 1874 by Congressional enactment, a ceremonial so significant of the nation’s obligation to the dead, they decided upon May 30^th as a legal holiday--now known as Decoration Day in nearly every State of the Union.

 

“Thoughts for the Occasion; Patriotic and Secular”

E.B. Treat; Chicago 1894

The Nobility of Patriotism

It is appropriate and just that we should commemorate the services of those who fought during this long struggle. All nations, ancient and modern, Christian and heathen, have religiously cherished the memories of those who have fallen in the military service of their country. The reason is obvious: to peril life in the national defense is the severest test of patriotism, and the spirit which prompts that sacrifice deserves enduring honor; while the homage which it receives educates and develops that noble sentiment which is the only security for the continuous life of nations. So long as its sons are willing to die for their motherland, so long will it endure to shelter and bless them and their children. At the hour when a people shall be unwilling to abide this test, they will find that they have no longer a country worth saving, and those lives they will have deemed more valuable than honor and freedom transmitted undimmed through centuries of glorious national life, may prove to be an intolerable burden of humiliation, misery and disgrace.

 ibid pp. 119-120

February 22, 1732

Nearly 280 years ago, George Washington, the Father of our country was born. He lived to the age of 67, passing away December 14, 1799.

This man was a man of character and responsibility; he was honest, humble and steadfast. He suffered with the Continental army through deprivation and even used some of his personal funds to pay the enlisted men.

It has been said that George Washington was a Deist. Let’s define that:

Deism-noun

1. belief in the existence of a god on the evidence of reason and nature only, with rejection of supernatural revelation ( distinguished from theism).

2. belief in a God who created the world but has since remained indifferent to it.

I want to let President Washington himself tell us what he believes, in his own words.

"It will ever be the first wish of my heart to aid your pious endeavors to inculcate a due sense of the dependence we ought to place in that all-wise and powerful Being on whom alone our success depends."

"We have...abundant reason to thank Providence for its many favorable interpositions in our behalf. It has at times been my only dependence, for all other resources seemed to have failed us."

"The Hand of providence has been so conspicuous in all this, that he must be worse than in infidel that lacks faith, and more than wicked, that has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his obligations."

"When I contemplate the interposition of Providence, as it was manifested in guiding us through the revolution, in preparing us for the reception of a general government, and in conciliating the good will of the people of America toward one another after its adoption, I feel myself...almost overwhelmed with a sense of the divine munificence."

"No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men, more than the people of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency."

"I am sure there never was a people who had more reason to acknowledge a divine interposition in their affairs than those of the United States; and I should be pained to believe that they have forgotten that agency which was so often manifested during our revolution, or that they failed to consider the omnipotence of that God who is alone able to protect them."

“If such talents as I possess have been called into action by great events, and those events have terminated happily for our country, the glory should be ascribed to the manifest interposition of an overruling Providence.”

“I was but the humble agent of favoring Heaven, whose benign interference was so often manifested in our behalf, and to whom the praise of victory alone is due.”

Now, do those sound like the words of someone who believes that God created everything and moved on? It certainly doesn't to me.

George Washington was a man of God and we sorely need another one today.

Happy Birthday Mr. President!

Muslim Brotherhood and Liberty

Egypt has fallen; it’s fallen from a dictator into military rule. On the one hand, we say “hooray, the dictator is out!”; on the other hand, we say “good heavens, the military has taken control!”; the strong arm of a dictator or the strong arm of the military?


For the good people of Egypt, this is jumping from the frying pan, into the fire. Neither one a rosy picture.

Recently, the National Intelligence Director said that the “Muslim Brotherhood”, a group working to oust Mubarak, was a “largely secular group…”

Wait! What did he just say?? “secular”?? Are you kidding me?? Look again at the NAME of the group…MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD.

That’s like saying Al Capone only wanted to help little old ladies cross the street and was completely misunderstood.
This man, James Clapper, should be fired.

The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in 1928 to RESTORE Islamic supremacy and to work toward implementation of sharia law under a Khalifah, or Caliphate.
A Caliphate is rule under a Caliph, an Islamic leader who claims his succession from Muhammad. In other words, government by theocratic rule; under Islam.
Great.

Freedom of Religion? None. Freedom for women? None. Freedom to be gay? None. Freedom to protest your government? None.

Egypt is the only country in the Middle East, with a peace treaty with Israel; if it becomes a Caliphate, the treaty will fail, and Israel will be alone in the region; a very tiny alone, with gigantic powerhouses of hate for neighbors.
Great.

Today the military appointed a fundamentalist Islamic judge to help sort things out.
Great.

Have a read, Pamela Gellar at Atlas Shrugs spells it all out quite well.

Things are going to get ugly.

Great.

A Centennial Celebration

Sunday is Ronald Reagan's 100th birthday. It's because of him that I became interested in politics.
His wit and his warmth, wove the welcome mat to the door of my political awakening.
I had registered to vote in High School; I think everyone did that spring, because we got extra credit for doing so. That was the end of it as far as I was concerned; I didn't pay any attention at all, for the next year or so.

There was a vague knowledge that Iran was holding some Americans hostage, but by then, I was 19; that was literally, a world away.
I don't even remember if I voted that November of 1980.
Something happened though; Ronald Reagan, our 44th president, was being sworn in and at the same time, the hostages were flying home.
It quickly became obvious the terrorists knew President Reagan was not of the same mold; not cut from the same cloth as the previous president, Jimmy Carter. No tip toeing around; no negotiating.
They were acutely aware that this new president was a man who meant what he said, and said what he meant. He would come after them; hunt them down and get our citizens back safe.
Mr. Reagan never backed down. I still get choked up when I hear a clip of him in West Berlin at the Brandenburg Gate: "Mr. Gorbachev, Tear down this wall”; his voice clear and strong.
The people in the East were inspired, and not long after, that wall did come down.

In 1980 Reagan said “If I could be elected president, I wanted to do what I could to bring about a spiritual revival in America."
Is ANYONE saying that today?
In my next post, I’ll explore that quote a little bit; the man was amazing.

Ronald Reagan is one of my hero's. In part, I am who I am today, because of him. His policies, his charm, his humor, his no nonsense political style; these things drew me in, and provided the catalyst for my ongoing interest in politics.
So, Happy Birthday Mr. President; I sure miss you. I wish you were here.

Hip Hip Hooray!...or...What Now?

A Florida judge, today,  ruled that Obamacare is unconstitutional; the cheers here were loud and clear!

Here is a link to the entire ruling:

Florida vs. the US Dept. of Health and Human Services et al

I have not read it all, but a friend highlighted this particular section and I thought it was an excellent analogy:

Pg. 42:

"It would be a radical departure from existing case law to hold that Congress can regulate inactivity under the Commerce Clause. It is difficult to imagine that a nation which began, at least in part, as the result of opposition to a British mandate giving the East India Company a monopoly and imposing a nominal tax on all tea sold in America would have set out to create a government with the power to force people to buy tea in the first place. If Congress can penalize a passive individual for failing to engage in commerce, the enumeration of powers in the Constitution would have been in vain for it would be “difficult to perceive any limitation on federal power”[Lopez, supra, 514 U.S. at 564], and we would have a Constitution in name only. Surely this is not what the Founding Fathers could have intended. See id. at 592(quoting Hamilton at the New York Convention that there would be just cause to reject the Constitution if it would allow the federal government to “penetrate the recesses of domestic life, and control, in all respects, the private conduct of individuals”) (Thomas, J., concurring)."

As it stands now, two for and two against; this will surely go to the Supremes now. If we are to save the Republic, prayer is in order. We are a nation in peril, we must raise our voices to our Heavenly Father; He alone has the power to sway the court for Liberty.

Agenda 21

Please, please take time to watch this video and do some research on "Agenda 21". The U.N. has wrangled it's way into our lives more deeply that we had imagined, and our freedom is at stake.
This video is a compilation of speakers, expounding some of the points of the Agenda 21 manual. This is frightening stuff, and we must work diligently to remove the United States of America from the grasp of the One World Government bent on controlling our existence, indoctrinating our children and swallowing up our autonomy.
Please, get involved; write letters, attend a Town Hall, make calls to your government representatives; you can't afford to let someone else handle your Liberties.

2011 and Beyond

The New Year is upon us once again. Last year I set a goal of reading 30 books.
Well, I didn't make it.

For those who have been around here a while, you know that we lost one of my younger brother's last January. I think I woke up sometime around April; I mean really woke up. I had been here posting, but there was not much thinking going on.
With that lovely bit of a beginning to 2010, I still read 22 books! Not bad if I do say so myself!

I think the one that touched me most--well two actually were "The Hiding Place" by Corrie Ten Boom, and "Night" by Elie Wiesel.
Corrie Ten Boom and her sister will stay with me always, as shining examples of Christlike Love; of what it can mean to truly follow the Savior and trust in Him; Elie Wiesel will also stay with me, but for an entirely different reason; he taught me what it means to my life if I were to ever give up hope; if I were to ever stop trusting God. It matters not that we worship a different God; God has a firm place in my life, my mind and my heart, through Mr. Wiesel's experience, I know I don't want to alter that.

My favorite history this year was "The Real George Washington" by Jay Parry. Wow! I learned so much about my favorite Founding Father, my love for him grew by leaps and bounds.
I also have high praise for "In Praise of Prejudice" by Theodore Dalrymple. This book is about the positive aspects of prejudice, and how we are born to BE prejudice; how there is obviously bad prejudice, but less obviously there is good prejudice, and how to embrace that. If you choose to read it, and I highly recommend that you do, have a dictionary handy!
Two that I had the most fun reading were "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke and "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" by C.S. Lewis.

All in all, I think I did pretty good. Glenn Beck takes top honors as a double contributor, and I found I read more fiction this year than I thought I would, or had intended to for that matter.

I will once again set a goal of 30 books; care to join me?

In the realm of politics, I'm not hopeful; I know we had an excellent election result, and things look good, but pardon me if I don't hold my breath. The Tea Party had amazing success in determining the outcome, and I am grateful, excited even for the possibilities; yet I'm concerned, maybe overly so, that those who we elected to put us back on track, may fall victim to the evil that is Washington D.C.

There are bright lights, in some very strong conservatives, but we have some on the left calling the plan to read the Constitution in Congress a "gimmick"! Of all things! I was flabbergasted. The mentality of the Progressive Left is frightening at the very least.
This brings up a whole First Amendment issue that I'm hoping to talk about in the next little while.

So, I hope your 2010 was better than mine, I'm still healing, but my faith is strong; stronger even than before the accident; I know my Savior lives; I know that whatever happens, the Lord is on my side. I will continue to strive to be on His.

Happy New Year!

The Beginning of Hope

Today is New Year's Eve. The very name implies excitement and merriment, yet as I've expressed before, it is, to me, the darkest day of the year.

The light from the current year is nearly extinguished; the spark of new light on the horizon.

The New Year dawns full of hope; fresh and clean. We have the chance to wipe the slate of procrastination and slothfulness clean; make amends and put our best foot forward…again.

We’ll make resolutions and goals, and we’ll try hard to make them stick. The light from the dawning year will shine brightly, like freshly polished silver.

What a gift! What blessing!

Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can be forgiven and have our earthly slate wiped clean; the New Year is a yearly reminder of this gift; a yearly chance to make ourselves better than we are today; a step closer to accepting the gift of the Atonement, and letting it work in our lives.

As we work on these resolutions and goals, let us be reminded of the Ultimate Sacrifice on our behalf, and strive to draw closer to our Heavenly Father and to our Savior Jesus Christ; let that be one of our resolutions; one of our goals.

Let every day dawn bright; let every morning be the New Year; polish your silver daily and never forget that the Lord wants us to succeed; wants us to draw near unto Him. Let the light in you be a reflection of His light.


May your New Year be bright.



With Love.