Friday, November 9, 2012

communist party of America endorses obama's reelection

The United States of America is a representative Republic, we are not a democracy. Our Founders established our Nation in that manner intentionally, to insure that the minority was never at the mercy of the majority.

Unfortunately, when the Executive Branch willfully and flagrantly ignores the Constitution, when the Legislative Branch refuses to do its Constitutional duty and serve as a check to the Executive, and when one Supreme Court Justice manufactures a majority decision upon non-existent arguments...

then we, as a Nation, have stepped into the breach.

A United States election has just been endorsed by the communist party of America. The Soviet Union based its planning upon 100 year goals and boasted repeatedly that the United States would be taken down from within. Our demise has arrived, heralded by citizens who joyfully take advantage of the sacrifice and blood of our military, true American Patriots.

You will read in the CPUS press release that, "Diverse forms of struggle must be employed." Occupy Wall Street was just the beginning. Greece is the template. No community will be immune.

Full communist party of America endorsement of obama may be found at this link.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Freedom






















In world history, more often than not the bad guys such as Stalin, Mao, Napolean, King George and Obama have won. That's why our Founders gave up everything, risked their lives, their fortunes, their families to flee oppressive governments such as the one we have now. It was to build for themselves what Ronald Reagan called a "shining beacon" of hope on a hill. We lose battles in the fight for liberty from time to time but ultimately the war is worth winning. Author unknown.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

A Republic, Madam, If you can keep it


The Moochers electing Looters who steal from the Producers.

Who is John Galt?

If you have never read Atlas Shrugged, I'll define. When there are more Americans TAKING than there are MAKING, then the Takers will always vote to make everyone else support them.

We have reached the tipping point.

A Republic, Madam, if you can keep it.

Monday, November 5, 2012

For Love of Country

Expanding upon private emails and conversations...

Landslide: Romney by 7-11% of the popular vote -- I'll go way out and predict 54% to 46% -- and between 313-330 in the electoral college. When I've said that over the last few months, at dinner with friends or at church, I've gotten disbelief, then, "Oh, I hope and pray you're right."

The basis for my belief: 9/12 March on Washington; Restoring Honor Rally; mid-term elections of 2010; Chick-fil-A for Freedom of Speech; TEA Partiers who believe in fiscal conservation, smaller government and free markets; friends, retirees and service members who are watching our Constitution under assault and are ready to respond at the ballot box; testament from people of all faiths who cherish Freedom of Religion; small business owners who truly DID build that and news sites, opinion sites. blogs and comments on stories everywhere that reveal a visceral fear that our Nation has reached its apogee of freedom.

We do not threaten violence upon those who disagree with us nor do we spit vile and vulgar epithets at those who espouse their own beliefs.

We are Americans who do not believe in revenge, we do believe in Love of Country and Constitution.

We are the Silent Majority and we will be silent no more.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Religious Freedom

It's About Religious Freedom. Our First Amendment rights are under attack. I am not Catholic; I do support and greatly appreciate the Catholic church -- and specifically Bishop Jenky's -- defense of every American's God-given freedoms.  

Entire text below or CLICK HERE to visit Bishop Jenky's blog.

-------------


Dear Catholic Believers,


Since the foundation of the American Republic and the adoption of the Bill of Rights, I do not think there has ever been a time more threatening to our religious liberty than the present. Neither the president of the United States nor the current majority of the Federal Senate have been willing to even consider the Catholic community’s grave objections to those HHS mandates that would require all Catholic institutions, exempting only our church buildings, to fund abortion, sterilization, and artificial contraception. This assault upon our religious freedom is simply without precedent in the American political and legal system. Contrary to the guarantees embedded in the First Amendment, the HHS mandates attempt to now narrowly define and thereby drastically limit our traditional religious works. They grossly and intentionally intrude upon the deeply held moral convictions that have always guided our Catholic schools, hospitals, and other apostolic ministries.


Nearly two thousand years ago, after our Savior had been bound, beaten, scourged, mocked, and crowned with thorns, a pagan Roman Procurator displayed Jesus to a hostile crowd by sarcastically declaring: “Behold your King.” The mob roared back: “We have no king but Caesar.” Today, Catholic politicians, bureaucrats, and their electoral supporters who callously enable the destruction of innocent human life in the womb also thereby reject Jesus as their Lord. They are objectively guilty of grave sin. For those who hope for salvation, no political loyalty can ever take precedence over loyalty to the Lord Jesus Christ and to his Gospel of Life. God is not mocked, and as the Bible clearly teaches, after this passing instant of life on earth, God’s great mercy in time will give way to God’s perfect judgment in eternity.


I therefore call upon every practicing Catholic in this Diocese to vote. Be faithful to Christ and to your Catholic Faith. May God guide and protect His Holy Church, and may God bless America.


Most Reverend Daniel R. Jenky, CSC

Catholic Bishop of Peoria


Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Stand Down
















Despicable. Should be so to all Americans. To all who have served our great Nation. Especially horrific to those of us who have supported loved ones who "protect and defend... from all enemies, foreign and domestic." Imagine if it was YOUR husband, son, brother or father who had been left to die. There must be accountability --

Friday, October 26, 2012

Help DENIED Three Times During Benghazi Attack

CIA operatives in Benghazi were denied help THREE times over the seven-hour firefight. Two SEAL heroes disobeyed direct orders to stand down and went to help Americans under fire. SEALs took action while administration officials WATCHED in real time, as Americans died.

Click here for the Fox News exclusive coverage and please share widely to force this into the MSM.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

New TEA Party Patriots movie. "The Determinators. Whoever Pays Holds the Power to Decide"

One hour movie, showing now at the TEA Party Patriots website and on YouTube. A MUST see before the election and please share widely.

Click here to view on YouTube, "The Determinators. Whoever Pays Holds the Power to Decide."

Then consider changing your Facebook and Twitter avatars to The Determinators to share that you are an "H" which means you stand with Hippocrates in your reverence for life.

I am an H.

Because I have a dear friend with a very rare disease and I believe she should continue to receive the $175 pills she needs to be well... in spite of the fact that she's approaching the higher end of the curve and will soon not meet Ezekiel Emmanuel's IPAB definition of a productive citizen of the state. And I am an H because I love a friend's new baby son and believe that he should not be put in limbo and suspended from receiving quality medical care because at only seven months of age, he has not yet proven his worth to society.

I am an H because I choose the dignity of the Individual over the tyranny of the state.


Monday, September 24, 2012

Talking Points on Obamacare



Talking Points on Obamacare


Michael Cannon, the director of health policy studies at the Cato Institute and former domestic policy analyst for the U.S. Senate Republican Policy Committee, has done extensive research on Obamacare and has been watching its implementation. The following talking points are adapted from his various articles, papers, and a Capitol Hill briefing, cited below:


  • The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, is like a stool that stands on four legs: the pre-existing condition provision, the individual mandate, the premium assistance tax credit, and the Medicaid expansion provision.
  • According to section 1311 of Obamacare, states "shall" create exchanges in order to receive the tax credits for low to moderate income people. The law restricts the tax credits to those exchanges created by the states because the credits were meant as an incentive for the states to create the exchanges.
  • According to section 1321 of Obamacare, in a state that refuses to set up an exchange, the federal government creates an exchange for the state; however, the law states 6 times that the tax credits are only for those exchanges created by the states.
  • Several states have been adamant about not creating the health care exchanges, namely Texas, Louisiana, Michigan, South Carolina, and Florida. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie vetoed setting up an exchange in his state in May of this year, and Governor John Lynch of New Hampshire (a Democrat) also vetoed the initiative in his state. Check to see how your state is handling Obamacare's exchange provision here.
  • Employers who fail to provide what the federal government defines as "essential coverage" to employees are liable to a tax as high as $3,000 per employee. However, if a state refuses to set up an exchange and the federal government sets one up for that state instead, according to the letter of the law, the employer does not incur the tax. States that do not set up an exchange are not subjecting their employers to the tax.
  • In order to close this state-exchange loophole in the law, the IRS disregarded Obamacare's statutory language on May 18, 2012, by declaring that the tax credit will apply to the federally created exchanges. This is an illegal action by the IRS that will increase deficit spending tremendously.
  • After the Supreme Court's decision in June upholding Obamacare, the law can be overturned by administrative action or by the Congressional Review Act.  
  • The Supreme Court decision upheld the Individual Mandate under Congress' taxing power.  According to Chief Justice John Roberts, the government can not only tax you on what you do, but it can also tax you for what you don't do. 
  • Contact your Governor today and urge him or her not to create an exchange in your state!


To learn more about the illegal IRS action concerning state exchanges under Obamacare, watch Michael Cannon's presentation on Capitol Hill last week -  (45 min)






Obama's War on Women




1).  800,000 more women are in poverty since Obama took office.


2).  Obama's bleak economy has caused educational opportunities to vanish and strained the family budget.


3).  Four times more men than women are getting jobs.


4).  Hispanic women are the fastest and largest growing poverty group in America.


5).  7.5 million women are in severe poverty.


6).  Sandra Flock does not represent the independent woman. Women who wish to be independent, have achieved success, and who are in the workforce do not need free contraceptives. They can afford it themselves. They don't believe government has to support their sex lives.




Paul Ryan's Plan -  "Path to Prosperity"   (in simple terms)


The Path to Prosperity presents a meaningful alternative to Obama's massive spending and borrowing policy.  It gives voters a choice between futures.  Do we want a future where the United States and Americans are constrained by debt and important programs are increasingly undermined, or do we want a future where we are free from debt and our programs such as Social Security and Medicare are safe. 


        The Pat to Prosperity cuts $6.2 trillion in spending from the president's budget over the next 10 years, reduces the debt as a percentage of the economy, and puts the nation on a path to actually pay off our national debt. Our proposal brings federal spending to below 20% of gross domestic product (GDP), consistent with the postwar average, and reduces deficits by $4.4 trillion.


        A study just released by the Heritage Center for Data Analysis projects that The Path to Prosperity will help create nearly one million new private-sector jobs next year, bring the unemployment rate down to 4% by 2015, and result in 2.5 million additional private-sector jobs in the last year of the decade. It spurs economic growth, with $1.5 trillion in additional real GDP over the decade. According to Heritage's analysis, it would result in $1.1 trillion in higher wages and an average of $1,000 in additional family income each year.




Here are its major components:




 Statement of Revenue and Debt:  The biggest driver of revenue to the federal government isn't higher tax rates....  it's economic growth.  Growth is the key to fiscal sustainability. And low tax rates are the key to growth. 


       Our current level of national debt (US debt held as a share of the economy) poses a fundamental challenge to our American way of life. When Obama took office, the national debt was $10 trillion. It has now surpassed $16 trillion. As a result of the conduct of all prior administrations, the debt grew to $10 trillion.  In just 4 years under Obama alone, he has added $6 trillion. Since Election Day 2008, US debt has increased by 70%.  Our national credit rating has been downgraded not once but twice.  There is talk of another downgrade.  Never before in our nation's history has our credit rating been anything but stellar. If our current path of government spending continues, the debt trajectory (as compared to economy) will increase exponentially and we will face economic collapse.  Our current path is not sustainable.


      Obama's budget proposal calls for spending increases of $1.5 trillion and tax increases totaling $1.9 trillion (over 10 years), with cuts primarily hitting our national defense.




 Lifting the Crushing Burden of Debt:  A nation's indebtedness put simply is the amount it owes relative to the amount it makes (or takes in). Last year, our national debt (the money the government owes to others)  surpassed the entire US economy. If left on the course proposed by Obama's current budget plan, the ever-rising debt will trigger an inevitable crisis that will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to reverse once it takes hold and impacts our economy.  Financial institutions (creditors) and foreign governments, like China, are financing our debt. Foreigners now own roughly half of all US debt. Ten years ago, foreigners owned just 5%. This makes our nation vulnerable to other nations.  If the government fails to prevent the coming crisis (which is preventable at this point), it will rank among history's most infamous instances of political malpractice. Many of the great empire declines have resulted because of crushing government debt.


      Warning signs of financial crisis would include the following: rising inflation, stagnant economy, high interest rates on mortgages, car loans, credit cards, etc, and a world decline in the dollar (the world's reserve currency).  Obama's budget plan increases our national debt to the point where we won't be able to begin paying down our debt in the foreseeable future.


       Under the Ryan plan, and predicated on the restoration of spending discipline in Washington, government spending will fall from its current elevated level of 24% of the economy to below 20% by 2015. Spending will be cut by more than $5 trillion over the next decade. Debt as a share of the economy will be cut by roughly 15% over the next decade. (The CBO estimates that this budget will produce annual surpluses by 2040 and the government can begin paying down its debt after that).




 Restoring Economic Freedom:  The economic crisis of 2008 resulted from bad lending policies from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  The federal take-over of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continues to be the most costly taxpayer bailout to result from that crisis. So far, they have received over $185 billion in bailouts.


         On one hand Obama urges: "No challenge is more urgent. No debate is more important. We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by. Or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules."  But on the other hand, his administration plays crony politics and is in the business of picking winners and losers with bailouts and over-regulation, thereby frustrating economic freedom.  (healthcare, energy, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, TARP, corporate welfare, redistribution of wealth)


        Ryan's plan will repeal Obamacare and will eliminate provisions in financial-reform regulations to make it much harder to allow future Wall Street bailouts.  It will put an end (will privatize) to the practice of corporate welfare and taxpayer bailouts in housing finance and will eliminate Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.  The government will no longer guarantee or subsidize mortgages.  Other elements of Ryan's plan include:


--  The government will no longer provide subsidies for "green" energy companies.


--  The government will open up the US soil for further oil/coal/etc exploration. (Ex. the Keystone XL Pipeline)


--  Scale back the EPA


--  There will be a pay freeze on all federal employees until 2015.  There will also be a 10% cut of the (federal) workforce, as well as a renegotiation of federal benefits (fed employees will have to contribute more to their retirement benefits).


--  There will be an increase in the budget for anti-fraud division.


--  There will be a fire sale of federal assets. This includes millions of acres of federal land, federal buildings, federal cars etc...




 Washington's Culture of Spending:  Washington has refused to adhere to the federal budget process, which has allowed government to spend recklessly and to put us further into a fiscal crisis. The Democrats have not put forth a budget plan. Obama recently proposed a plan, although it received no Congressional support. 




The Ryan plan will effect Washington's culture of spending in the following ways:


-- Replace the discretionary sequester (automatic spending cut) in FY2013 (fiscal year 2013 budget) with a new cap, and maintain enforceable discretionary caps on spending throughout the next decade


-- Establish a binding cap on total spending as a percentage of the economy (GDP)


--  Cap the total size of government, enforced by a sequester


-- Create safeguards that would check Congress' appetite for spending on entitlement programs


-- Reform the budget 'baseline' to remove automatic inflation increases


-- Budget for the long-term by establish binding caps for major categories of spending


-- Require Congress to review long-term budget trends every 5 years in order to keep Congressional spending on a sustainable path


-- Authorize reconciliation of long-term savings up to 75 years for Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid


-- Require CBO long-term estimates


-- Enact reforms to incorporate fair-value accounting principles




 Defense Spending:  Currently, defense constitutes 20% of total federal spending. This is actually lower than under previous administrations (25%).  Obama's budget proposal slashes defense spending by nearly $500 billion (= a 10% cut) over the next 10 years in order to focus on the costs of growing entitlement services. National Defense is being penalized and sacrificed b/c of the unstoppable spending of Congress, even though defense has not added to the debt crisis. A look at the numbers in Obama's budget proposal reveals that American taxpayers and the Defense Department are being asked to bear the ENTIRE burden of deficit reduction. Government risks not being able to provide for the safety and security of the American people and our military forces overseas - the government's first priority.


       Sec. of Defense Leon Panetta has acknowledged that the defense cuts would come at a time when there are ongoing global threats to the US and to Americans as well, including increasing nuclear threats from Iran, Korea, and other unstable totalitarian regimes.


       Ryan's Path to Prosperity will fund our defense at levels to provide for a robust nation defense, in order to keep America safe.  It will provide $554 billion for the next fiscal year and $6.2 trillion over the next decade, which meets military goals and strategies. Will restore most of the cuts made by Obama.




 Repairing the Social Safety Net:  Poverty is growing in this country. Programs that were created to sustain Americans in difficult times (safety net) and help them get out of poverty and out of the inner cities have become generational entitlement programs. Entitlement programs foster dependence (and encourage fraud), and in our current spending-driven debt crisis, they  put lower-income Americans at greatest risk because of the threat to the longevity and integrity of such programs.  From a monetary perspective, these programs are growing at an unsustainable rate. The recent economic downturn has greatly increased the eligibility and the demand for government assistance programs.  Yet even prior to the 2008 financial crisis, there has been a dramatic increase in federal spending on public assistance programs. The two programs most directed to lower-income recipients are Medicaid and Food Stamps (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP). Medicaid spending has grown on the average of 9% each year (far faster than the growth of the overall economy) and federal spending on food stamps has quadrupled over the past ten years. Enrollment practically doubled from 2008 to the present ($26 million to $47 billion). and spending has more than doubled.  The government cannot provide proper oversight of these programs (compare to the massive oversight provision in the Obamacare, where the government wants to make sure individuals pay their premiums; it doesn't seem to care when people improperly benefit from free services). 


       Another safety net is education and job training. The current dilemma is this: college students want federal financial aid and grants but they also want a job when they graduate.  Obama has made financial aid and grants available but has taken away their opportunity to find employment or to be compensated accordingly for a job. Unfortunately, studies show that increased federal financial aid is really just another wealth redistribution scheme.  Increased federal financial aid is simply being absorbed by tuition increases. While financial aid is intended to make college more affordable, there is growing evidence that it has had the opposite effect.  Decisions by colleges and universities to raise their prices would have been constrained if the federal government had not stepped in so often to subsidize rising tuitions. (in other words, why not raise tuition, the government is paying for it anyway?)  In 2010, the government went from primarily guaranteeing student loans to lending 100% of its student-loan money directly thru the Dept. of Education, turning the agency into one of the largest lending banks in the country. These student loans have to be borrowed from global credit markets at an average of at least $100 billion per year, adding to our already dangerous national debt levels.  Even more problematic is the fact that these extremely risky loans are listed as "profit-making investments" tending to encourage the government to want to offer more loans.


      The unsustainable increase in cost of both Medicaid and the Food Stamp program is the result of a flawed federal state funding program that has fueled unsustainable growth. State governments receive federal dollars in proportion to the number of people they enroll in these programs, which gives them an incentive to add more individuals to the rolls. Like Medicaid, the states administer the SNAP program, but unlike Medicaid, the entire cost of benefits under the SNAP program is born by the US taxpayer.  So with SNAP, state governments have little incentive to make sure that recipients are working, looking for work, or enrolled in job training programs, which leads to a high degree of waste, fraud, and abuse.  Actually, both programs are rife fraud, and abuse.


       Obama's budget plan is to provide for increases in entitlement programs (while slashing our national defense).  Because the Medicaid system is broken yet continues to take on millions of more recipients each year (it is expected to more than double over the next 10 years), Americans will have to pay higher taxes to keep it going.  Because Medicaid's reimbursement rates have been decreased to below-market levels, the quality of care that Medicaid recipients receive is declining below standard.  At the same time, Obama wants the States to expand Medicaid to include more recipients.  His plan proposes no change for SNAP and no change for the student loan program.  


      


Ryan's plan will secure Medicaid benefits by:
 --  Converting the federal share of Medicaid spending into a block grant that is indexed for inflation and population growth.  This reform will end the failed one-size-fits-all approach that has tied the hands of many state governments and required them to follow strict program requirements and enrollment criteria. States will have the freedom and flexibility to tailor their own Medicaid programs to fit the needs of their populations and taking into account their unique resources.


--  Giving states the ability to offer their Medicaid beneficiaries more options and better access to care (where recipients can chose their own doctors and be involved in healthcare decisions)


--  Constraining Medicaid's growing costs by $810 billion over 10 years




Ryan's plan will secure the Food Stamps program as follows:


--  Convert the SNAP program into a block grant where states can have the freedom and flexibility to tailor their own programs to fit the needs of their low-income populations


--  Aid will be contingent on work or job training




Ryan's plan will reform the federal college loan program as follows:


--  reform the Credit Reform Act


--  give Pell grants to those low-income students who truly need it




 Welfare Reform:  Obama's budget plan is to provide for increases in entitlement programs (while slashing our national defense).  His plan encourages greater dependency, frustrates upward mobility, perpetuates poverty, encourages envy, and entrenches an entitlement mentality.


Ryan's budget plan will strengthen and improve welfare programs for those who need them and eliminate welfare for those who don't.  It will build upon the historic welfare reforms of the late 1990s by:


--  imposing work requirements and time limits


--  transforming the system into a need-based safety-net program


--  incorporating education programs (with accountability requirements) and job-training programs to get people into the work force as quickly as possible


--  granting the states will be greater flexibility to design their own welfare systems




 Healthcare:  With regard to healthcare, Obama has elevated it almost to a "fundamental right" and made it our newest entitlement.  Obamacare will force an additional 20 million Americans by 2014 into a system that can hardly handle its current enrollment. Without an increase in physicians, the engorged system will be a nightmare, with long wait times, and limited resources.  Ryan's plan requires that the healthcare reform bill (the Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act) be repealed.




 Health and Retirement Security: Absent a budget plan and spending reform, Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid will soon grow to consume every dollar of revenue that the government brings in through taxation.  When Social Security was enacted in 1935, there were about 42 working-age Americans for each retiree. the average life expectancy was 60 years for men and 64 for women. Workers and employees each paid a 1% payroll tax.  Today, the life expectancy for a man is 76 years and 80.6 years for a woman, and both workers and employees pay a 6.2% payroll tax. In 1945, the age of retirement was 69 years and now it is 63 years. Social Security was not designed to make good on its promise under current (expectancy and retirement) conditions.  A Congressional report shows that Social Security's trust funds will be exhausted by 2036. Harry Reid said he is not willing to look at the problem now.  When asked when the Democrats would put forward a plan to fix Social Security, Nancy Pelosi responded: "Never. Is never good enough for you?" Similarly, Medicare is threatened.  Unless government acts, Medicare and Social Security will remain threatened for current seniors and will not be there for younger families when they reach retirement age and need the security.


      Under the new healthcare law, healthcare decisions for the elderly will be made by bureaucrats and not physicians. The law creates an unaccountable board of 15 unelected bureaucrats - the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) - empowered to make decisions that will cut costs.  In other words, it will help cut Medicare costs by rationing care (denying and restricting healthcare access and options) for seniors.  


      Under Obama's proposed plan, funding for Medicare will continue to increase.  Eventually it will reach unsustainable spending levels and the system will be jeopardized for future generations. Obama's solution is to increase marginal tax rates. Furthermore, there is a 3.8% Medicare surtax included in Obamacare. Obama claims to be committed to Medicare yet he took $760 billion from Medicare to help fund Obamacare. He provided no mechanism or plan to pay the money back.  He simply raided Medicare to help fund his new entitlement plan.  Obama's plan for Social Security is to ignore it and deny there is a problem. The Obama policy of "raid, ration, raise taxes, and deny the problem" will mean painful benefits cuts for current seniors and huge tax increases on younger working families, robbing them of the opportunity to save for their own retirements.


      Ryan's budget reforms will protect health and retirement security. It will not increase taxation. Paul Ryan believes that the nation cannot fix its retirement security system by leaving young families with less to save. His plan starts with saving Medicare and getting rid of the IPAB (aka, "death panels"). In fact, it calls for the repeal of the entire healthcare reform bill.


        Starting in 2023, under Ryan's plan, new Medicare beneficiaries will be enrolled in the same kind of health-care program that members of Congress enjoy. Future Medicare recipients will be able to choose a plan that works best for them from a list of guaranteed coverage options, including a traditional fee-for-service option.  It is not a voucher program but rather a premium-support model. A Medicare premium-support payment would be paid, by Medicare, to the plan chosen by the beneficiary, subsidizing its cost.


        In addition, Medicare will provide increased assistance for lower- income beneficiaries and those with greater health risks. Reform that empowers individuals—with more help for the poor and the sick—will guarantee that Medicare can fulfill the promise of health security for America's seniors.


       Under the Ryan plan, Social Security will be reformed to prevent severe cuts to future benefits. This budget forces policy makers to work together to enact common-sense reforms. Leaders in both the US House and Senate will be required to submit a plan to reform Social Security.  Furthermore, it will establish a requirement that in the event Social Security goes bankrupt, the President, in conjunction with the Board of Trustees, must submit a plan for restoring a sufficient balance to the fund. The goal of this proposal is to save Social Security for current retirees and strengthen it for future generations by building upon ideas offered by the president's bipartisan fiscal commission.




 Tax Reform: .When the tax code was established in 1913, it contained about 400 pages of laws and regulations.  Now it includes over 70,000 pages. In the past 10 years alone, more than 4,400 changes were made (more than one change per day). Many of the major changes over the years involved carving out special preferences, exceptions, exclusions, or deductions for various activities or groups. These special tax breaks and preferences add up to more than $1 trillion per year. They also add to the code's unfairness. For example, the top 1% of taxpayers reap about 3x as much benefit from special tax credits and deductions than middle-income earners and 13x as much benefit than the lowest income earners. The special tax breaks and deductions narrow the tax base by roughly 50%.  The special carve-outs and deductions necessitates the high tax rate that concerns taxpayers and which undermines US competitiveness in business. Furthermore, the tax code is so complex that 80% of Americans can't understand it or fear it and therefore don't prepare their tax returns themselves.  The average fee for preparation is $230 an individual/couple and about $600 for small businesses.


       The high corporate tax rate (the US has the highest in the world), in addition to the stifling effects of Obamacare, is severely hampering job creation. Obama's budget plan calls for $1.9 trillion in higher taxes on American families and businesses. He would increase the top two tax brackets from 33% to 36% and from 35% to 39.6%, respectively, starting in 2013. His plan would also phase out personal exemptions and itemized deductions for these income groups and limit the value of deductions against income. Combined with the 3.8% Medicare surtax included in Obamacare, the President's proposed plan would raise the top marginal tax rate to 44.8%.  Obama's plan would also increase the tax rate on capital gains from 15% to 20% for households making over $250,000 ($200,000 individuals) and would tax dividends at ordinary tax rates (as high as 39.6%) - raising taxes on investments at a time when new business investment is critical for sustaining the weak economic recovery.  His plan would add to the complexity of the tax code by adding new credits and deductions and new tax increases (such as the Buffett Rule, in honor of Warren Buffett).


       The biggest driver of revenue to the federal government isn't higher tax rates....  it's economic growth.  Growth is the key to fiscal sustainability. And low tax rates are the key to growth. Empirical studies suggest that a reduction in corporate tax rate, for example, could lead to significant economic benefits, including a boost in GDP growth. The Ryan budget plan acknowledges that Washington doesn't have a revenue problem. It's problem isn't that people aren't paying enough in taxes.  Washington has a spending problem, and the plan primarily addresses the spending problem. First, with respect to tax reform, the Ryan plan would focus on growth by reforming the nation's outdated tax code, consolidating brackets, lowering tax rates, and assuming top individual and corporate rates of 25%.  Specifically, the plan will:


--  Reject any plan to increase taxes


--  Consolidate the current six individual income tax brackets into just two brackets of 10% and 25%.


--  Reduce the corporate tax rate from 35%-40% to 25%


--  Eliminate loopholes for upper-income individuals in order to provide fairness and broaden the tax base


--  Shift from a "worldwide" system of taxation to a "territorial" system which will encourage companies to bring their foreign earnings into the US for investment purposes.






This is America's moment to advance a plan for prosperity. The Ryan budget offers the nation a model of government that is guided by the timeless principles of the American idea: free-market democracy, open competition, a robust private sector bound by rules of honesty and fairness, a secure safety net, and equal opportunity for all under a limited constitutional government of popular consent.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Patriots Day Observance. We Remember



While the focus on this 11th anniversary of the terrorist attacks should be upon those who perished, and their loved ones who go on alone, Americans must never forget the events of 9/11. And never forget the perpetrators target us still.

I was in New York City the week before the attack, for a marketing conference. On Sunday, September 9, I took the opportunity to sight see, making the Circle Line Tour to Ellis Island and visiting Lady Liberty. I chose to walk back to my hotel, traveling through the shadows of the World Trade Center Twin Towers. Two days later I watched in horror as the terrorists found their targets.

I returned to the City early November and walked from Grand Central Station to Ground Zero. There were literally thousands of us, heading south, preferring to walk rather than take a taxi. We were sharing where we were from and where we were the day of the attacks. The mood was respectful and reserved, quiet, but still conversational.

As we moved closer to Ground Zero we could smell the odor of burnt... everything. Our conversations quieted. When we got within a few blocks, we began to see manhole covers blown off, debris, destruction. All conversation stopped. Many wept openly, including me. It was hard to breathe, and not just because of the smell and heaviness of the air.

Somewhere between Grand Central and Ground Zero we changed from Americans visiting the site of our Nation's worst attack since Pearl Harbor...

...to Americans making a pilgrimage to show respect to those who perished.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

"We Make it Possible" DNC Motto for Charlotte Convention

Like many other Breitbart readers, I thought the "We Make it Possible" headline was a joke. But it's not. Obama is building (no pun intended) upon his "You didn't build that" statement and making it the mantra for the convention.

Newsflash to Obama and the DNC:  We the People WORK and PRODUCE. Government TAKES and DISTRIBUTES. 

The only reason Obama -- meaning the administration, government agencies, and so-called non-profit (recipients of government grants), non-profit organizations -- the only reason they "Make it Possible" is because WE pay confiscatory taxes.

WE build the businesses. Government taxes not only profits, but everything from investment to disbursement to death. We employ people and pay wages and salaries. Our employees pay taxes on their earnings, spend their wages and are taxed upon their purchases.

Yes. We built it and we make it possible.

Monday, September 3, 2012

30,000 Dead North Carolinians Registered to Vote – Patriot Update

30,000 Dead North Carolinians Registered to Vote – Patriot Update

Paul Ryan Victory Rally in Greenville


Went to the Paul Ryan Victory Rally in Greenville today. Drove almost two hours, then stood in line for 3 1/2 hours. Main venue held 2,100, room for another 800 in the auditorium to watch a live video feed. I was within about 45 people of getting into the live event when they shut the doors. At capacity. My sister had already opted for the auditorium after we'd been told we probably wouldn't get in. She held a seat for me, but then I couldn't get into there, either, when everyone in line made a beeline to that building.

That was actually a GREAT turn of events because I found myself at the front of a crowd of several thousand who were milling and not wanting to leave... when we were told Congressman Ryan would come out after his presentation and thank us for waiting. I was on the front line against the barricade with thousands behind me and about 12 feet from Ryan. He stood in the back of a truck, secret service everywhere, of course, and shared a condensed version of what he had covered inside. We were all disappointed when he didn't come over to the barricades to shake hands, but went right into the auditorium to thank that group.

I recorded his impromptu remarks to our crowd and will post the video and photos tomorrow.

Our local (early) news are reporting that Ryan spoke to a crowd of about 2,100 today. Yes, that's technically correct. There were 2,100 in the live venue, another 800 in the auditorium, about 2,000 of us who just didn't want to leave and got lucky.

And since the line circled the student center, then trailed over eight blocks... I (and many others) estimate the number of people who WANTED to hear Congressman Ryan to be between 10,000 and 12,000 strong.

The photos will show all ages in attendance:  babies, toddlers, kids, ECU students (lots), young parents, working age (We built it!), retirees, and many elderly. Photos don't lie, much to the chagrin of the lame stream media.

Oh, and there were 11 college democrats who were holding signs near the entry to the main building. There were chants of USA, Romney, and Romney-Ryan and when we got closer, being the activist and (conservative) community organizer that I am...

I went up and down a small section of the line in front of the protesters and got everyone singing "God Bless America." Twice! It was great.

One small group of Americans (11 protesters) wanting free birth control and low or no-interest Pell Grants and everything free, free, free.

The other group of Americans (let's call it 11,000 to make it easy to figure ratios), another MAJORITY of Americans just wanting to preserve our -- freedom.

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Saw the Film, 2016: Obama's America


Saw 2016: Obama's America film yesterday. Theater was 90% full, cars parked on the grass, lot was over-flowing, lines queued up for the next showing. The film was showing in 2/3 LESS theaters nationwide than other movies, and still placed at #4 for Saturday sales. All ages represented at our theater, not just TEA Party Patriots, or as the left would posit, it was all tea baggers in attendance.

Yep, when no rational arguments work, resort to vile Ad Hominem attacks...

I've had the uncomfortable task of explaining the "tea bagger" label much more often than I'd wish on anyone. Can you imagine explaining what a tea bagger behavior entails to a couple in their 60s, 70s, 80s... who have worked hard, paid taxes, employed people, served their country in war-time and in peace and raised a family?

Try it. Try explaining what has happened to our great Nation... that patriotic Americans are attacked in such a manner. For love of country!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Back to the film...

The case for what a 2016 Obama's America might look like was made using sound-bites in Obama's own words, as well as Pelosi (derisive laughter and hisses from the audience at her statement that we, "have to pass it to find out what's in it").

Generations will look back upon us as less than ignorant.

The film is chilling... even if you're an informed citizen, and it's not an anti-Obama film. It's fact, based upon Obama's own words and testimony for what his plan is for our great REPUBLIC.

We are NOT a democracy, thank God.

The film, 2016: Obama's America, postulates that while Obama is an American citizen, his life experiences are not in line with those of most Americans. I wrote a blog post to that effect, June 23, 2010, and I am among millions who have stated the same belief, a conclusion based upon Obama's statements and actions. From 2010:

"But the president spent the most formative years of his childhood in the company of communists, invited into his home as beloved family members. He lived in a communist nation, Indonesia, still home to the largest muslim population in the world. His values do not align with those of most Americans; his cultural identity is not that of an American."

I highly recommend seeing this film... and taking two or three friends with you.

Post from 2010:  Once to Every Man and Nation.

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Romney and Ryan Channel Reagan

Oh. My. Goodness. I paraphrase from the Ryan and Romney (Rescue and Recovery) homecoming rally in Waukesha, Wisconsin:

Paul Ryan: "Courage was on the ballot June 5th. And Courage won. We in Wisconsin saved Wisconsin on that day, and on November 6th, we will help save America.”

“This is the only country founded on an idea — that idea in a nutshell is in the Declaration of Independence. Our rights come from nature and God — not from government.”

Mitt Romney: "We are not going to transform this country into something we don't recognize. We are going to renew the principles America was founded on, Life, Liberty... We are going to once again be the Shining City on a Hill."

And in a powerful follow-up to a heckler and directed at Obama, "Mr President, take your campaign out of the gutter, let's talk about the real issues America faces."

Oh my. It can truly be Morning in America again. All is not lost. I have had the chance to know many Mormons over the almost-three decades I've spent as a Marine spouse and Mormons are some of the most principled, moral, and patriotic people of character I've ever had the privilege to know.

Romney was not my first choice; his selection of Paul Ryan cements my faith in his judgment.

Because Paul Ryan is a true believer. A Constitutionalist, he believes in the evil (/sarc) TEA Party and Founding Principles of Fiscal Responsibility, Constitutionally Limited Government and Free Markets.

Paul Ryan has been elected with an overwhelming majority for seven terms even though his district is hugely democratic. Because he treats citizens as adults, defines and describes the problems and offers solutions that work.

He does NOT push grandma off the cliff. Ryan's medicare/medicaid proposal cuts LESS from those two programs than obamacare. And Ryan's budget offers Americans CHOICE, not a government mandate implemented by backroom deals and enforced through public intimidation of a CO-EQUAL branch of government.

I planned to work unceasingly to insure our Nation returns to its founding principles. Regardless of our nominee.

If you can't already tell, and to co-opt the leftist slogan, much as we've co-opted Rules for Radicals, I am "Fired up. Ready to go!"

Only 85 days, four hours til election day when it will be Morning in America once again.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Georgia lumberyard owner hammers Obama on 'You didn't build that'

Just called to thank this gentleman for making my day with his sign. Thought I'd speak with the operator or leave a message...

But Gaster Lumber & Hardware owner Ray Gaster answers his own phone! Mr. Gaster reports that support is running 99.9% in favor of his sign and sentiments.


Tuesday, July 31, 2012

First Amendment Wednesday


Those of us who support our First Amendment rights might consider eating at our local Chick-fil-A Wednesday, August 1st.

Our local franchise owners have been on talk radio this week and report that sales are up 30% since the manufactured controversy over CEO/Owner Cathy's view of traditional marriage. Chick-fil-A has been in business since 1967 and the Cathy family's views have not changed or "evolved" in 45 years; the family believes in Christian values, personal responsibility, operate with no debt and encourage franchise owners to do the same.

The company does not discriminate in its hiring practices, it has a stellar record of responsible stewardship of its resources to include an appreciation for and commitment to, its employees. Beginning in 1973 Chick-fil-A has provided almost unprecedented support via its Leadership Scholarship program for employees.

While one might be tempted to boycott -- or support -- Chick-fil-A based upon media reports related to traditional marriage... the true test should be each American citizen's support of our First Amendment, GOD-given right to Freedom of Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly and Petition.

I will send a message by quite happily breaking my Weight Watchers Points Plan tomorrow by eating at my local Chick-fil-A restaurant, and I'm dragging three friends along with me, too.

My hope is that every venue experiences so much patronage that it creates gridlock.

A huge turnout will require the Lame Stream Media cover Main Stream Americans' support for Freedom of Speech.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

November 5, 2009, healthcare rally in DC. One of seven trips in five months to our Nation's Capitol, undertaken in the vain belief that our elected representatives would actually listen to the will of We the People.

Seemed like a long time to 2012... but a funny thing happened along the way, for the 2010 mid-terms. A preview for this November --

As a reminder, Army Major Nidal Malik Hassan attacked and killed 13 innocent servicemembers and civilians that day, and wounded 29 others. In spite of reports that Major Hassan screamed allah akbar as he murdered, the president admonished the American people to "not jump to conclusions."

(Hassan is not being prosecuted as a terrorist. He refuses to shave for his appearance in court, claiming the requirement to be against his religion.)

Of course, the president's admonition and acknowledgement of the attack was delivered as an aside, at another official event. The loss of American lives did not even warrant a news conference.

Quoting: "I want to thank my Cabinet members and senior administration officials who participated today. I hear that Dr. Joe Medicine Crow was around, and so I want to give a shout out to that Congressional Medal of Honor winner. It’s good to see you."

(The gentleman was NOT a Medal of Honor RECIPIENT {I detest use of the word "winner"}, he was a Medal of Freedom recipient.)

We had chartered a bus and gone to DC with a diverse group, many veterans. We learned about the attack when we boarded the bus and watched the reports, then obama's remarks with stunned disbelief. Americans had just been slaughtered. On American soil. And this was the president's response.

Should have known then, that all was lost, at least til 2012.

Wonder what Washington and Jefferson would think of our Republic today? Can only continue to pray for our Nation and hope that the rainbow captured in this 2009 photo was truly a promise for tomorrow.

Monday, July 2, 2012

Star Spangled Banner Challenge

Take the Challenge: Help Madison Rising reach 1 million views & downloads by Election Day (November 6th). Watch the video NOW. If you like what you see, download the song from iTunes or Amazon. http://starspangledbannerchallenge.com/ http://starspangledbannerchallenge.com/