The Seventeenth Amendment

Article I
Section 2:
“The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States…”
Section 3:
“The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each state, chosen by the Legislature thereof for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote.”

It seems rather simplistic in its scope, and maybe that’s why it was so easily overcome, but our Founding Fathers were genius in their ability to protect us from tyranny.
They weren’t however able to protect us from evil and designing men who do, and will have intentions to overthrow the Republic.

The way the Constitution is set up we have two houses of Congress, one house, the House of Representatives, was designed to represent the people as individuals; representation is based on population, so a census is taken each decade to establish the number of Representatives from each state; the bigger the state, the more representation.

The second house, the Senate was designed to represent each state as a whole; states were to be equal in the eyes of the Federal government, so two and only two Senators from each state. These Senators were to be chosen by the state legislatures, not by popular vote. They were representing the states as a whole, and the state was to choose who to send; the Founder’s even had the crazy idea that the Senators would be well respected men with varying backgrounds and varying expertise; in other words, people who would represent the State with dignity and knowledge.

James Madison, writing to Thomas Jefferson said “The Senate will represent the States in their political capacity, the other House will represent the people OF the states in their INDIVIDUAL capacity” (emphasis mine).
They didn’t want the rights of individuals and states to be subject to the whims of popular opinion.

Enter the Seventeenth Amendment, ratified February 3, 1913.

The United States Senate was NEVER intended to be a mini House of Representatives; there is good reason to have the state choose the Senators.

Think about all of the unfunded mandates that have been dumped on the States--take no Child Left Behind for example.
NCLB dictates, unconstitutionally I might add, that the state has to meet certain benchmarks and standards, but provides little to no funding to accomplish that goal.
Take Obamacare as another example.
With either of these mandates, if the Senators had been subject to recall, when their state objected to the mandate the Senator would vote how the STATE wanted him or her to vote, not along party lines, and not at the whim of special interests.
The Patriot Act
The Real ID (act)
I think you get the picture.
If our Senators had been subject to the STATE, it’s a VERY good chance none of these unconstitutional bills would have passed.

The Seventeenth Amendment took away the voice of the state; left the state to flounder at the whim of the Federal government.
Representative Louie Gohmert (R-TX) pointed out that “Ever since the safeguard of State legislatures electing U.S. Senators was removed by the 17th Amendment in 1913, there has been no check or balance on the Federal power grab for the last 97 years.”
He’s absolutely right!

In 1913 Woodrow Wilson, leader of what is known as the “Progressive Era” saw the Constitution as old and cumbersome, in need of reform. Using the term “Democracy” which is nothing more than mob rule, something deliberately shunned by our Founding Fathers, the Progressives pushed for “democratically elected Senators”; using the approved method of amending the Constitution, the Seventeenth was passed on April 8th 1913.

Wilson doesn’t get all the credit however; as early as 1826 efforts were afoot to undermine the Constitution, and by the early 1900’s, Oregon had begun electing Senators by direct election, in DIRECT opposition to the Constitution, followed by Nebraska.

William Randolph Hearst, another Progressive, used his magazine “Cosmopolitan”, a general interest magazine at the time, to push for direct elections, reaching around 100,000 readers.

The cry for “democracy” was heard and felt; when the Seventeenth was ratified our Constitutional Republic took a giant step backwards towards Democracy, removing one genius roadblock the Federal government had to go through to step on the rights of the states.
Money is always the root of evil, and the Seventeenth removed a final hurdle to the people being able to vote themselves more money from the treasury--Bastiat calls this “Legalized Plunder”, but that’s another post.

Repeal must be discussed; must become a bigger issue if we are to regain Constitutional integrity.
It won’t be easy, “democratic” is a term that is bandied about, wrong as it may be; we need to help people understand we don’t HAVE a Democracy, we have a Constitutional Republic; we must use the correct terms if we are to gain ground in the battle for the Restoration of the Constitution.
Let it start with us.

Ringing in the New

Here we are, at the end of 2009. Much has happened in the past 12 month period, not much of it worthy of cheer on a National scale

We embark on the New Year however, filled with hope. Hope that we can turn things around; hope that this nightmare will abate and we can have our country back. Hope is an amazing catharsis.

We know from modern revelations that this country is the Land of Promise, that Zion, the New Jerusalem will be built here on the American Continent. With that knowledge, comes the additional knowledge that as the Promised Land, the Adversary won’t win in the end; won’t get away with Socializing our country completely. Because of this knowledge, we have hope.

I know many of you who read this blog are not members of my Faith, don’t share my creed. I make no apologies for my Testimony of the Restored Gospel; it’s real. However, one of my goals this year, regardless of your brand of Christianity, was to help us all understand, to know, that politics and religion are inextricably tied; that the God of Heaven knows this country, has had a hand in its Founding and that He is in charge. I had to work these things out for myself in the past year as well, the "change" we were promised prompted a severe introspection on my part, a real hard look at what I believed, and what it all meant.

We don’t have to agree on all points of Doctrine to know that God lives; that He has a vested interest in the success of the United States of America and will come to her aid in the end.

Here is what I know:

• The American continent was set aside for God’s own great work in the Last Days.
• The Founders knew God, and invoked Divine Providence in their work.
• The Founders were men raised up by God to do the work of framing this country.
• The Constitution is a Divine document.
• The laws of this country were specific to a God fearing people.
• The Constitution is hanging by threads.
• The Constitution is still under assault; that more threads will be severed.
• We the People, the majority, must speak up.
• The Constitution will be saved.

It is my hope that we can continue this journey together; finding a way to save our Beloved Republic.

May you have a Blessed New Year!

Make up Your Mind

I tend to use the labels Fascism, Marxism, Socialism, Totalitarianism and Communism interchangable, and I think I've confused a few people. I thought I'd take a few minutes to actually define them, and then explain myself.
We'll go in alphabetical order, because I love words, and it would drive me batty to see them out of order :D

Communism (N):
1. a theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state.


2. (often initial capital letter) a system of social organization in which all economic and social activity is controlled by a totalitarian state dominated by a single and self-perpetuating political party.

3. (initial capital letter) the principles and practices of the Communist party.

Fascism (N):
1. (sometimes initial capital letter) a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.


2. (sometimes initial capital letter) the philosophy, principles, or methods of fascism.

3. (initial capital letter) a fascist movement, esp. the one established by Mussolini in Italy 1922–43.

Marxism (N):
the system of economic and political thought developed by Karl Marx, along with Friedrich Engels, esp. the doctrine that the state throughout history has been a device for the exploitation of the masses by a dominant class, that class struggle has been the main agency of historical change, and that the capitalist system, containing from the first the seeds of its own decay, will inevitably, after the period of the dictatorship of the proletariat, be superseded by a socialist order and a classless society
 
Socialism (N):
1. a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.


2. procedure or practice in accordance with this theory.

3. (in Marxist theory) the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to communism, characterized by the imperfect implementation of collectivist principles.

Totalitarianism (N):
1. the practices and principles of a totalitarian regime.


2. absolute control by the state or a governing branch of a highly centralized institution.

3. the character or quality of an autocratic or authoritarian individual, group, or government: the totalitarianism of the father.

So, as you can see, there isn't really a whole lot of difference in each of the "ism's", aside from totalitarianism, which would be a dictatorship-think Iran, Venezuela, Cuba...
I've chosen to use them interchangeably, because I don't see much difference between them, and I think our current administration is exhibiting aspects of all of them:
 
(C) Obama and his flunkies have gotten their hands in a variety of industries; bailed out, TARPed and variously regulated things the government has NO Constitutional authority to tinker with.
'...single self perpetuating political party.' Just look to the hypocrisy taking place in MA this week for evidence.
Don't forget the looming health care exravaganza, the take over of 1/6th of our economy.
 
(F) 'forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.'
They may not be forcing the suppression of opposition just yet, but it's coming. The Fairness Doctrine, which is a violation of our freedom of speech, will be attempted through back door dealings; the Internet grab "in an emergency"; calling those who disagree with their policies radicals, and people who need to be silenced, crying racism as a way to distract from the real issues; regimenting industry in the name of the climate hoax; it's all there.
Don't forget campaign finance reform that takes away your First Amendment rights of freedom of speech, this goes back farther than Obama, and is wrong regardless of whose watch it is.
 
(M) Class struggles, and pitting classes against each other. Vilifying those who are successful; when small businesses are taxed ruthlessly; when "wealthy Americans" are taxed at a higher rate, thereby punishing the successful; redistributing income to make things "fair". This is Marxism, and it's rampant in the left-wing.
 
(S) 'system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.'
This one is a little trickier. "We the People" now own GM, and some banks, and pretty soon some newspapers (won't that be nice, when we can more fully trust the news coming from THOSE sources?). However, we'll never get a dime in dividends, or reimbursements, and I'd bet a milkshake, those various companies never get out of the deal they made with the devil. So, we can't say it's true Socialism I suppose, but I don't think the people of the USSR got so much out of their collective ownership either, and it was still Socialism.


(T) As the government continues to take over industry after industry, we may just see a dictator arise. They already revere Obama as a sort of messiah, and this kind of messiah is one step away from a dictator. We don't have "absolute" control by the state yet,  but if we don't make some noise, and make sure our representatives know we are unhappy, it WILL come to that, the groundwork is being laid now.
 
The Constitution is hanging by a thread, it is being trampled on by people of all persuasions, all races, all religions, both parties.  These "ism's" are all parts of Obama's agenda, he's exhibiting traits from each definition, so when I use them interchangeably, you'll know why; each one cuts a little deeper into the fabric of the Constitution, cuts a little deeper into the "American Way." It's no accident that I rarely use the same one twice in any sentence. I encourage you to use these words often and vociferously in your conversations.
If we don't, we'll get all of them, in one neat, tidy, well-spoken man.

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.

"We the People" vs. "I Won"

Here is an excellent article by Sen. Jim DeMint:
"We the People" vs. "I Won" .

Senator DeMint hits the proverbial nail on the head. Obama and Company seem to think that they don't need the Constitution any more; it's been relegated to the dust bin of history.
Obama's rapid, inexperienced ascension reminds me of the "King-men" in the Book of Mormon;

Alma 51:5
"And it came to pass that those who were desirous that Pahoran should be dethroned from the judgment-seat were called king-men, for they were desirous that the law should be altered in a manner to overthrow the free government and to establish a king over the land."

And this about Gadianton from Helaman 2:5
"Therefore he did flatter them, and also Kishkumen, that if they would place him in the judgment-seat he would grant unto those who belonged to his band that they should be placed in power and authority among the people; therefore Kishkumen sought to destroy Helaman."

It's all about power, and I get the eerie feeling that history is being repeated. They may not be out to destroy a single man, but definitely a singular way of life; a singular, beloved country and the rapidity with which they are doing it is alarming. At this rate we'll be The USSof A by years end.

At this point, *they* don't seem to be listening to "we the people", so your best defense is to know your rights. Learn the Constitution, and what the original intent was. Don't be complacent, there isn't room or time anymore. Talk about the Constitution to your friends and family, and if their eyes glaze over, keep talking; teach your children about the Constitution, read it to them; let them know of your love for this country and our Founding Fathers.
It's our only hope; they are our future leaders.

Supremacy Clause

I was having a discussion on Facebook the other day regarding the Second Amendment. The discussion was interesting and I learned a couple of things.

I asked the question "Where does the Constitution say we should look at precedent to decide cases?"

My co-arbiter said that it was the "Supremacy Clause." Huh?

So I looked it up.

Article VI paragraph 2:

"This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made under the Authority of the Untied States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding."

OK, so what about the Tenth Amendment I ask. "Red-headed step-child" says he. Rude.

I went and got in the shower, and meditated for a few minutes. There is nothing like a hot shower to open the brain cells.

Not a red-headed step-child at all, but a clear and concise measurement of our Constitution.

The Supremacy clause states that the Constitution itself is the Law of the Land, that ANY laws to the contrary are notwithstanding, not applicable.

Let's take the Second Amendment, since that was the original subject thread.

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."


I think we all know it by heart.

So, ANY Federal law that changed the Second IN ANY WAY would not be Constitutional. Period. The Tenth affirms that ANY THING not enumerated by the Constitution, (and NO other legality IS enumerated by the Constitution), belongs to the State.

So, if there is any other FEDERAL law that infringes or otherwise changes the Second Amendment,(and we know several) it's a violation of the Constitution.

They can't have it both ways. Either we can make other Federal laws or we can't. The Constitution is clear, the language unambiguous.... by the Supremacy Clause that was pointed out, the ONLY legal law they can look at would be the Second Amendment; anything else, including registration by the FEDERAL government is a violation of the Constitution, by virtue of it's own language in the Supremacy Clause.

Now I'm not a Constitutional lawyer or scholar, but the language is clear to me.

The Supremacy Clause says the Constitution is the Law of the Land; the Tenth Amendment says that anything not enumerated in the Constitution belongs to the State.

Anything that infringes on the Constitution, by virtue of the language in the Supremacy Clause is unconstitutional.

If only it were that simple. I highly recommend "Who Killed the Constitution" by Thomas E. Woods Jr. This has been going on for decades. Also read "The Proper Role of Government" by Ezra Taft Benson, this is available online for free, just do a search.
There is a GREAT article by Pres. Benson called Our Divine Constitution. It's worth reading, printing and reading again.

This was not a Democrat vs. Republican issue. The Constitution has been trampled by both parties, and not just a little; and not just the Second Amendment.

Amendment III

Amendment III reads:

'No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.'

It's pretty straight forward.
The root of this is found in the Quartering Acts; British soldiers stayed in the homes of the Colonists. They ate, drank, and slept without the consent of, and without enumeration to the homeowners. As you can imagine, this didn't go over very well.

This Amendment clarifies under what circumstance you and I may be asked to quarter soldiers.
Will it ever happen? Maybe; rough and ugly times are coming.

If you ever hear of a bill coming forth that specifies this, make sure you are educated as to the EXACT types of quartering, and the EXACT circumstance.
As always, know your rights.

Amendment II

I had been pondering yesterday what to talk about relating to the Second Amendment when I ran across this article at FoxNews.com:

Fusion Centers Expand Criteria to Identify Militia Members

According to this, if you are part of what is known as a "third party" in politics, if you have a Ron Paul sticker on your vehicle, or if you support one of the said third party candidates, you are on the fringe, and are considered a member of a paramilitary group, and possible terrorist.
Not only does this violate your freedom of speech, and privacy, but it is possibly a catalyst for further infringement on your Second Amendment rights.

Here is the entire Amendment II:

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

Thomas Jefferson had some things to say about the issue as well:

"Laws that forbid the carrying of arms . . . disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes . . . Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man."

--Thomas Jefferson, quoting Cesare Beccaria in On Crimes and Punishment (1764).

"The constitutions of most of our States assert that all power is inherent in the people; that... it is their right and duty to be at all times armed."

--Thomas Jefferson to John Cartwright, 1824

George Mason:

"I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people...to disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them."

--During Virginia's ratification convention, (1788.)

Lastly, from Samuel Adams:

"The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms."

--During Massachusetts' U.S. Constitution Ratification Convention, (1788.)

So, where does that leave us?

For starters, the U.S. Supreme court recently struck down the D.C. gun ban. Thankfully the citizens of our Nations capital will again be able to legally own guns. I have no doubt they had them, now they just won't get arrested for having them.

The NRA has begun going after other unconstitutional bans, and hopefully they will be struck down as well.

Make no mistake however, the liberals and wackos still do not trust you and I, and they are still scheming to take this fundamental right away.

Currently we have H.R. 45 The Blair Holt Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act.

Essentially this bill is about taking away your right to buy a gun privately. Blair Holt was a young man in Chicago who valiantly gave his life to shield a girl on the school bus as a shooter came aboard and began shooting. I have no doubt Blair Holt will have a special place in Heaven, and the shooter will not. However, as Thomas Jefferson says in the first quote above, taking guns from the law abiding citizen will do nothing to dissuade the random shooter who wants to board a school bus and wreak havoc.

This bill would give the government access to your guns, to check how you store them, to make sure you know how to operate it, and to make sure you keep it away from children.

I'm not saying that the correct operation and storage is a bad thing, but to have the government think it knows better than you or I, is quite and infringement on my privacy, something we'll talk about in Amendment IV.

The infringements going on are too numerous to post, so you'll need to do some research. Search under Second Amendment Infringements, or any kind of wording you can think of. Also search for bills pertaining to ammunition. There was/is one that would require all ammunition to be marked and cataloged somehow. I guess they figure if they can't take our guns, they'll make getting ammunition for them damn near impossible.

You have the right to own a gun; by definition, "militia" is the ordinary citizen, you and I.

Stalin and Lenin both disarmed the population by way of registration. It is the first step.

I would advise GETTING a gun, but that's really a personal decision, and honestly, we need the government to REMEMBER that it's a personal decision.
Please read the article above, and be informed. Read up on what's happening. Find out what bills are pending in the Federal system as well as your State system. Be informed, and be prepared.

Not My President?

I've been giving a lot of thought since the election to the phrase "He's my President, and I will support him."

I did not vote for this man, nor do I feel his plans and policies are right for America. I don't feel like he even cares what "middle America" needs or wants. This man has an agenda: the overthrow of our good and peaceful country; our way of life. Whether he is doing this of his own volition or whether he is a puppet is for another post. What bothers me is that people are claiming him as "their president."

Why?
Here is a little quiz I gave myself:

• Does he share your philosophy of life; your world view?


• Does he share your philosophy of government?


• Does he share your philosophy of the markets?


• Does he share your philosophy of personal responsibility?


• Does he share your philosophy on taxes?


• Does he share your philosophy on immigration?


• Does he share your philosophy on national security?


• Does he share your philosophy on abortion?


• Does he share your philosophy on America's sovereignty?


• Does he share your philosophy on educating your children?


• Does he share your philosophy on how children should be raised?

The answer is "No." To all of them. Each one, "nope."
He doesn't share my philosophy on any of those points. Morally and philosophically, I can't claim him as "my president."
He is the president of my country however, and I would defend him with my life if I had to--not that I will EVER be near the man, I think I would have to leave town if he came here :P
That's the only thing I can think of in support of this president, is that I would defend his right to BE the president, by virtue of his being elected in a free election.
Other than that, I can't support the agenda of a man who's worldview is so contrary to my own beliefs, right down to the very core of my soul.

I think people, particularly conservative politicians are trying to be magnanimous; trying to allay our fears, and keep the general calm. They need to STOP this behavior. Stop trying to make us all feel better with this socialist/Marxist in the White House. IT'S NOT OK! Things are spiraling downward at an alarming rate, and it's only been about five weeks! I repeat, IT'S NOT OK! Our conservative leaders in Washington need to stop playing nice, and start speaking out. Start giving us a rope to grab.
God bless this man to be safe in the service of our country, but more importantly, God Bless America to be safe despite this man.

Constitutional Restraint?

Here is a great article by Walter Williams today: The Hell With Our Constitution

Now, I'm not saying that I want John Doe to suffer; to lose everything. That's not what I desire for anyone. However, I can't see how making the rest of us PAY for Mr. Doe's mistakes helps anyone.

There is an old maxim that says "If you give a man a fish, he eats for today; if you teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime." Now this is a general truth regarding welfare, but suppose you substitute a different word or phrase for 'fish'. Let's put in money: "If you give a man money, he eats for today; if you teach a man to use his money [properly], he eats for a lifetime." What about "If you [tell] a man [about the Constitution] he understands for today; if you TEACH a man to [understand the Constitution] he [understands] for a lifetime." I imagine you could substitute others with equal veracity.

If we aren't teaching people about the Constitution, can we expect them to understand it? If we are only playing lip service to it, how can we expect others to revere it? Nothing is going to change unless we begin to teach correct principles.

Way back in the 1930's people began to expect that the government would solve their problems. John Doe doesn't seem to know that the government isn't supposed to be involved in the minutiae of his daily life. He hasn't been TAUGHT properly about the Constitution. This is one of many problems with the public educational system we have today.

I would like to encourage you to go to The National Center for Constitutional Studies and see about ordering a hand full of pocket Constitutions. If you order in bulk, you can get a discount; share an order with a friend maybe. Start handing these out to people. We have to start getting these into the hands of friends and strangers. The message that our elected officials are circumventing the Constitution and trampling our standards has got to be spread.

Stimulation?

I'm amazed at the government. I really *shouldn't* be, but I am.
Our elected officials are making a mess of things; bigger than usual that is.
The bill that is pending is one of the worst pieces of legislation to come down the beltway.
Do you realize that the government is taking over? Do you realize that this is one of the things our Founders tried to guard against?
The money in this bill will not stimulate the economy. We've already given the Big 3 Automakers money, and one of them has said they will be "out of money" in mid March. Does that SOUND like it worked for them??? NO!!
The best thing to do is let the market work. If someone goes out of business, that's the market at work. It may be sad, yes. It may be ME, yes. But, if we let the market decide, it will all work out in the end.
The best way to "stimulate" the economy is to lower taxes. Let people use their OWN money to use it as they see fit. It's YOUR money, you should be able to spend it or NOT spend it as you see fit. In many cases, this bill is just redistribution of wealth. Forcing me to be charitable.

Here is a proposal from Newt Gingrich:
American Solutions for Jobs and Prosperity

I'd also like you to take a look at Glenn Beck's ongoing theme:
We Surround them

Both of these are valuable, and necessary.
We have got to make these facists in Washington remember that We the People are in charge, and that we ALLOW them to speak for us.

A week or so back(can it really be "recently"?? This nightmare seems to be much more ongoing than ONLY three weeks!), Obama said that he had won, so the Republicans would have to get over it. For a man that claimed to want to be inclusive, this doesn't sound very inclusive.
In fact, they have NOT been inclusive at all, and when our Republican representatives have tried to fix this massive boondoggle, we hear that we need to hurry this along, people are suffering. That is railroading, and we can't stand for it! They're trying to shut down debate so that this bill gets through.

Now word comes that it's passed the Senate. There are three seditious Republicans who have supported this bill. They are : Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine and Pennsylvania's Arlen Specter. CONTACT them!
Write to them and tell them how disappointed you are in them. Tell them they are traitors to the Constitution and to the people.
It's as if our elected officials aren't even paying attention to us lighting up the switchboard! If you get 1000 calls about a bill, and lets say 750 of them say "No, do not support this bill", those are the people you listen to! I don't know the numbers, but I know the vast majority of the people don't support this. Have they even heard us? No, they need to be fired.

Make some more noise :)

The Preamble to the Constitution

I was helping my son work on his "Citizenship in the Nation" merit badge for scouts today, and we read these words:

"WE THE PEOPLE of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

I was struck by how much they wanted this preliminary paragraph to tells us.
They spell out all the things that they planned for the Constitution to do. They want to secure all these blessings to their posterity--to you and I; then comes the interesting part to me, they "do ordain and establish this Constitution..."
Now ordain means to order, I understand that, but I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and in my faith, ordain has a different meaning, as I believe it does in many ecclesiastical circles; to ordain means to set apart for God, or for God's work.

It struck me that the Founders wanted us to know that THEY believed the Constitution was a Divine document; that they wanted this nation set apart for God.
We have a book of modern revelation called the Doctrine and Covenants. I know this book to be of Divine origin. In section 101 verse 80 the Lord says "And for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood."
The Lord has told us straight forwardly that HE established the Constitution; He raised these men up for this purpose. The Constitution IS of Divine origin; the Founding Fathers KNEW this, and their wording suggests that they wanted US to know this; to remember this.

We have pushed God out of every arena in our so called modern society. We worship things instead of Him. We can allow condoms in school, but not Prayer. We have allowed the secular humanist movement to have a larger voice despite Christianities larger numbers. We Christians tend to take a pacifist attitude, and in so doing have let the minions of the Adversary walk all over us and force God out of the center of society. But that's another post.

My point here is to help us all to remember that God ordained this country by the raising up of wise men to establish the Constitution of the United States of America. We have an obligation as the beneficiaries of these blessings and liberties to learn, teach and uphold the Constitution.
We have to speak up, write letters, and get involved in even the smallest way. We can no longer sit back and be silent.

Sad Day for America

Today our elected officials have robbed us, and our posterity of their future financial security and numerous freedoms as well.
The great French political economist Fredric Bastiat, in his work "The Law," calls taxation "legalized plunder". After today I know fully what he means. The Stimulus Package was passed in all it's bloody glory.
This will not be a good thing for this country. This will not be a good thing for the rest of the world. Socialism marches forward.

Two good things may come from this however: When it fails, no Republicans will be culpable, and therefore able to remind them they asked for a better way, and it will be a lightning rod for the Democarts, their constituents will hopefully complain in droves.
This indeed could bode well for Conservatives everywhere.

NO Republicans voted for this egregious trampling of our Liberties, and eleven of the Democrats also saw reason.

Please write to them. 177 Republicans voted no; it may be too hard to write to EACH of them, but write to YOURS, or better yet, CALL them. The White House Switchboard number is 202-224- 3121. Then, Please, call ALL of the Democrats as well!! We have to let them know they did the right thing. It can be a form letter, a call, whatever, but THANK THEM! They did good, and need to be reminded.

Obama thinks because he won the election that it means everyone is ready to play his game.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
He won the election because: 1.) It was a vote against Bush, and 2.) He's Black.

If you take the very large percentage of blacks and Hispanics who voted FOR Proposition 8 in California, it will give you some idea of the magnitude of the problem. Blacks and Hispanics came out in overwhelming numbers to vote FOR Obama. They also vote in overwhelming numbers to uphold the sanctity of Marriage between a man and a woman. This leads me to the conclusion that just because they wanted a black man in the Oval Office, it doesn't mean they agree with him. So, Obamas supposition that because he won everyone else needs to do it his way is the biggest fallacy on the planet at present--aside of course from Al Gore's scare tactics, but that's another post, for another day :)

So my request to everyone is to please write. Write to every Democrat who voted no. Write to your Republican representative. Thank them for their common sense and ask them to stay the course.
The eleven Democrats are listed below. These should be hot links to their own pages.
Allen Boyd, Bobby Bright, Jim Cooper, Brad Ellsworth, Parker Griffith, Paul Kanjorski, Frank, Kratovil, Walt Minnick, Collin Peterson, Heath Shuler, Gene Taylor

Make the Call

I just got off of the phone with DC! I have never actually CALLED one of my representatives before, but that changed today.

Today the Senate will vote on Tim Geithner’s nomination for Secretary of the Treasury.
Putting partisanship aside, the man should not be confirmed. He has shown a blatant disregard for the law by not paying $34,000 in taxes. That's a LOT of money.

One could argue that the current tax system is not only unfair but also unConstitutional. Let's put that aside; paying taxes is a current law, and we are bound by that law. The man is a cheat, and if confirmed will show people everywhere that:
1.)if you are rich, you can get away with more;
2.) you only have to obey laws you agree with;
3.) that favoritism in Washington has not died
with the current "change."

I urge you to oppose Geithner, and call your senator today, NOW.
To reach the Capitol, call 202-224-3121. Ask the switchboard operator to transfer you to your representative. It really was "so easy."