THE LETTER EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT

This has to be the email forward of the year! Please take a few minutes to read and absorb just what this woman had to say, and then hopefully everyone will pass it to their entire mailing list, and theirs to theirs until it circles the nation! Time is short and arrogance, stupidity and ignorance abound...

"I am a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life. Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me. Instead, we are burdened with Congressional Dukes and Duchesses who think they know better than the citizens they are supposed to represent.

There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you're willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now.

You might ask yourself what my views and issues are that I would feel so horribly disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut-job am I? Well, these briefly are the views and issues for which I seek representation:

One, illegal immigration. I want you to stop coddling illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Close the underground tunnels. Stop the violence and the trafficking in drugs and people. No amnesty, not again. Been there, done that, no resolution. P.S., I'm not a racist.

This is not to be confused with legal immigration.

Two, the STIMULUS bill. I want it repealed and I want no further funding supplied to it. We told you No, but you did it anyway. I want the remaining unfunded 95% repealed. Freeze, repeal.

Three: Czars. I want the circumvention of our constitutional checks and balances stopped immediately. Fire the czars. No more czars. Government officials answer to the process, not to the president. Stop trampling on our Constitution, and honor it.

Four, cap and trade. The debate on global warming is not over. There are many conflicting opinions and it is too soon for this radical legislation. Quit throwing our nation into politically-correct quicksand.

Five, universal healthcare. I will not be rushed into another expensive decision that will burden me, my children, and grandchildren. Don't you dare try to pass this in the middle of the night without even reading it. Slow down! Fix only what is broken -- we have the best health care system in the world -- and test any new program in one or two states first.

Six, growing government control. I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored. I want less government in my life, not more. More is not better! Shrink it down. Mind your own business. You have enough to take care of with your real [Constitutional] obligations. Why don't you start there.

Seven, ACORN. I do not want ACORN and its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed to them every time on every real estate deal that closes -- how did they pull that one off? Stop the funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending impartial audits and investigations. I do not trust them with taking the census with our taxpayer money. I don't trust them with any of our taxpayer money. Face up to the allegations against them and get it resolved before taxpayers get any more involved with them. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, hello. Stop protecting your political buddies. You work for us, the people. Investigate.

Eight, redistribution of wealth. No, no, no. I work for my money. It is mine. I have always worked for people with more money than I have because they gave me jobs -- and that is the only redistribution of wealth that I will support. I never got a job from a poor person! Why do you want me to hate my employers? And what do you have against shareholders making a profit?

Nine, charitable contributions. Although I never got a job from a poor person, I have helped many in need. Charity belongs in our local communities, where we know our needs best and can use our local talent and our local resources. Butt out, please. We want to do it ourselves.

Ten, corporate bailouts. Knock it off. Every company must sink or swim like the rest of us. If there are hard times ahead, we'll be better off just getting into it and letting the strong survive. Quick and painful. (Have you ever ripped off a Band-Aid?) We will pull together. Great things happen in America under great hardship. Give us the chance to innovate. We cannot disappoint you more than you have disappointed us.

Eleven, transparency and accountability. How about it? No, really, how about it? Let's have it. Let's say we give the buzzwords a rest and have some straight honest talk. Please stop trying to manipulate and appease me with clever wording. I am not the idiot you obviously take me for. Stop sneaking around and meeting in back rooms making deals with your friends. It will only be a prelude to your criminal investigation. Stop hiding things from me.

Twelve, unprecedented quick spending. Stop it now.
Take a breath. Listen to the people. Slow down and get some input from nonpoliticians and experts on the subject. Stop making everything an emergency. Stop speed-reading our bills into law. I am not an activist. I am not a community organizer. Nor am I a terrorist, a militant or a violent person. I am a parent and a grandparent. I work. I'm busy. I am busy, and I am tired. I thought we elected competent people to take care of the business of government so that we could work, raise our families, pay our bills, have a little recreation, complain about taxes, endure our hardships, pursue our personal goals, cut our lawn, wash our cars on the weekends and be responsible contributing members of society and teach our children to be the same all while living in the home of the free and land of the brave.

I entrusted you with upholding the Constitution. I believed in the checks and balances to keep from getting far off course. What happened? You are very far off course. Do you really think I find humor in the hiring of a speed reader to unintelligently ramble all through a bill that you signed into law without knowing what it contained? I do not.

It is a mockery of the responsibility I have entrusted to you. It is a slap in the face. I am not laughing at your arrogance. Why is it that I feel as if you would not trust me to make a single decision about my own life and how I would live it but you should expect that I should trust you with the debt that you have laid on all of us and our children. We did not want the TARP bill. We said no. We would repeal it if we could. I am sure that we still cannot. There is needless urgency and recklessness in all of your recent spending of our tax dollars.

From my perspective, it seems that all of you have gone insane. I also know that I am far from alone in these feelings. Do you honestly feel that your current pursuits have merit to patriotic Americans? We want it to stop. We want to put the brakes on everything that is being rushed by us and forced upon us. We want our voice back. You have forced us to put our lives on hold to straighten out the mess that you are making. We will have to give up our vacations, our time spent with our children, any relaxation time we may have had and money we cannot afford to spend on bringing our concerns to Washington. Our president often knows all the right buzzwords like unsustainable. Well, no kidding. How many tens of thousands of dollars did the focus group cost to come up with that word? We don't want your overpriced words. Stop treating us like we're morons!

We want all of you to stop focusing on your reelection and do the job we want done, not the job you want done or the job your party wants done. You work for us and at this rate I guarantee you not for long because we are coming. We will be heard and we will be represented. You think we're so busy with our lives that we will never come for you? We are the formerly silent majority, all of us who quietly work, pay taxes, obey the law, vote, save money, keep our noses to the grindstone... and we are now looking at you.

You have awakened us, the patriotic freedom spirit so strong and so powerful that it had been sleeping too long. You have pushed us too far. Our numbers are great. They may surprise you. For every one of us who will be there, there will be hundreds more that could not come. Unlike you, we have their trust. We will represent them honestly, rest assured. They will be at the polls on voting day to usher you out of office.

We have cancelled vacations. We will use our last few dollars saved. We will find the representation among us and a grassroots campaign will flourish. We didn't ask for this fight. But the gloves are coming off. We do not come in violence, but we are angry. You will represent us or you will be replaced with someone who will. There are candidates among us who will rise like a Phoenix from the ashes that you have made of our constitution.
Democrat, Republican, Independent, Libertarian. Understand this. We don't care. Political parties are meaningless to us! Patriotic Americans are willing to do right by us and our Constitution, and that is all that matters to us now. We are going to fire all of you who abuse power and seek more. It is not your power. It is ours and we want it back. We entrusted you with it and you abused it. You are dishonorable. You are dishonest. As Americans we are ashamed of you. You have brought shame to us. If you are not representing the wants and needs of your constituency loudly and consistently, in spite of the objections of your party, you will be fired. Did you hear? We no longer care about your political parties. You need to be loyal to us, not to them. Because we will get you fired and they will not save you.

If you do or can represent me, my issues, my views, please stand up. Make your identity known. You need to make some noise about it. Speak up. I need to know who you are. If you do not speak up, you will be herded out with the rest of the sheep and we will replace the whole damn congress if need be one by one.

We are coming. Are we coming for you? Who do you represent? What do you represent? Listen. Because we are coming. "We the people are coming."

Related: Grandpa - Priceless

Is This You???

I think I know who you are.

After September 11^th you thought our country had changed for the better. But the months that followed proved otherwise. We began to divide ourselves and the partisan bickering that was absent from blood lines and church service started all over again.

You sometimes argue with friends about politics, not because you are a political activist, but because you think the issues are actually important. You have strong beliefs, but you also have an open mind and a warm heart.

You try to do the right thing every day. You work hard, you always try to do your best and you play by the rules.

You have credit cards, but you can make the payments. You have a home, but with a loan you can afford. Maybe you bought a flat screen television that wasn’t exactly a necessity, but you’ve never been reckless.

You don’t have much in savings and your retirement plans have lost a significant amount of money.

You may go to church, but most weekends, you don’t really want to—you’d rather sleep in or play with your kids. Besides, it bothers you that people cut each other off in the parking lot right after the service.

You have children and, like all families, you also have your share of problems—but you’re making it. You constantly hope that your kids don’t notice you’re bluffing as a parent most of the time.

You don’t feel like there’s enough time in the day anymore to just be a family. Everyone is always going in six different directions. You know material things don’t matter, but you wonder why it makes you feel like a bad parent if your kids don’t have certain shoes, the newest video games, or aren’t signed-up for five different sports teams.

You didn’t have anywhere near the kind of stuff that today’s kids have and yet you look back on your childhood with a sense of nostalgia and pride. If your family was poor, you didn’t know it.

You turn on the television at the end of a long, tiring day and watch as faceless analysts in left/right boxes argue about things done by bankers that, in retrospect, seem implausible. You’re worried about what’s happening to our economy, but you’re more worried about what it means for your family—and you’re not sure what to do.

You don’t hate people who are different than you, but you stopped expressing opinions on sensitive issues a long time ago because you don’t want to be called a racist, bigot or homophobe if you stand by your values and principles. You believe in treating people justly and honestly but there is a difference between right and wrong.

You go to bed exhausted almost every night, knowing you have to get up the next day and do it all over again.

You thought that the politicians you supported and defended cared about the issues you do. Then you began to realize that you were wrong—they only care about themselves and their careers. You feel used and betrayed.

You don’t think it’s right that while you worked hard, lived prudently, and spent wisely, those who did the opposite are now being bailed out at your expense. You realize now that self-serving politicians and bankers built our financial system on a house of cards that, despite the cheery promises and rosy forecasts, is now collapsing.

Now our government, the instigator of our problems, is telling everyone that they have to start sacrificing. Don’t they understand that I already have been, you think. You weren’t the one spending too much or living on money you didn’t have. You made decisions rooted in logic while others made decisions rooted in greed—yet now everyone must pay equally?

Yet, despite all of that, you’re still willing to sacrifice more because you want America to succeed. But you demand a plan that’s based on common sense and that actually has a chance to work. You’ve called your congressman a few times in the past, but they don’t listen. Now you just scream at the television. It’s about as effective as the phone calls.

The light from the television flickers on the darkened room walls - people at tea parties across the nation fill the screen. You don’t know how to feel. You want to do something, but that isn’t you. You’re not an activist. You don’t make signs or chant: USA! USA! USA! So, you turn-off your light and go to sleep.

Every night it seems you are faced with a choice: do you unplug or do you speak out? Both of those options make you uncomfortable so you do neither…and your frustration continues to grow.

The above is the introduction to Glenn Beck's Common Sense, a small taste of what you could be reading as waves crash, seagulls chirp and children scream in the distance, that just might change your life.

If any of this resonates with you, while everyone else is bringing pulse-pounding, page-turning, thrill-a-minute fiction books to the beach this summer, you can stand out from the crowd by bringing a copy of this #1 New York Times bestseller Glenn Beck's Common Sense. Sure, you might get some weird looks from the people in the next lounge chair, but once you explain to them how Progressives likes Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson have set in motion a series of events that is steadily dismantling everything that our Founder’s fought for, they’ll surely come around and might end up asking you more.

Glenn Beck's Common Sense is available just about everywhere books are sold for under $10… I’ve seen it for under $6. It is my suggestion for your #1 summer read!

Posted: Knowledge Creates Power

Some Related Links:

• You are not alone: the Contreras Letter – written by an average American
• Do You Know What Freedom Is? - Written on the 4th
• Glenn Beck's Common Sense is available just about everywhere books are sold

CURL: The cost of a NYC weekend

In another odd twist left unexamined by the media, the White House on Monday said it simply would not release the cost of President Obama's weekend jaunt to New York City, where the First Couple had dinner and caught a Broadway show.

Spokesman Robert Gibbs, keeping the White House press corps in stiches, as he always does, said the Obamas would have preferred using a commercial airline shuttle to New York and back, but the Secret Service would not allow such unprotected travel (ba da bing).

And that was that. No further probing; asked and answered; time to move on.

There was, of course, an ironic element of the trip. In February, Obama scolded corporate executives (while also costing Las Vegas some $130 million) when he said: "You can't get corporate jets. You can't go take a trip to Las Vegas, or go down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayers' dime."

But the Chief Executive (Oval) Officer had made a promise to his good wife that after the campaign, they'd take in a Broadway show, and darn it, he meant to keep that promise.

One early estimate (from the New York Post) put the cost at $24,000. Absurdly low. The Daily Mail in London threw out another number — $75,000. Sure, three times as much as the first estimate, but still probably spectacularly low. Remember, joyriding Air Force One around for a few hours over Manhattan a couple months ago cost $250,000, so the cost of the weekend trip was likely not likely that low.

With the White House simply refusing to say how much taxpayer money it spent, here's a helpful way to calculate the cost of the trip:

First, the First Couple (and entourage) flew from the White House to Andrews Air Force Base — three choppers (two decoys), if the Marines stuck to standard operating procedure (and they are sticklers for SOP). That means dozens of men and women — radar, communications, mechanics, crews, everyone, perhaps 100, who knows? — were involved. (A batch of tagalongs must've taken a taxpayer pool of vehicles out from the White House to AAFB, since it took three jets to get the gang to NYC).

Second, the president moving on a Saturday takes a full operation at and around the White House, dozens and dozens of people. Maybe they're all on salary, so that didn't likely cost much. But all the cops involved — D.C. police, uniformed Secret Service officers, Capitol police — were probably paid overtime, even double time. Probably, again, 100 personnel or so.

Then there were the jets — at least $24,000 for the three aircraft used to ferry the Obamas, aides and reporters to New York. The Obamas' jet, a Gulfstream 500, served as Air Force One.

Third, a C-17 had to fly to NYC to put in place a full motorcade (at least a dozen vehicles, maybe more). The military cargo plane may have taken up at least two, but maybe three, more choppers to fly the whole party from JFK to a Wall Street landing zone, where the motorcade was waiting. If not, the choppers flew there solo (White House veteran reporter Mark Knoller of CBS Radio wrote recently that "The VH-3D that serves as Marine One consumes about 1,200 pounds of fuel per hour." Ouch.

Fourth, driving through Manhattan is an expensive exercise. Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of NYPD have to be stationed all along the way, shutting down roads, holding back pedestrians. There were police cars involved, dozens of motorcycles, and the ever-present NYC ambulance (oh, don't forget that the White House doctor also probably went — with all his gear). The city likely gets reimbursed by the White House for the cost (they usually do). And they were all probably getting time and a half (the NYPD overtime budget is extraordinary).

Fifth, the United States Secret Service (USSS) had to scope out the whole thing, then station agents all over — sharpshooters, undercover agents, etc. — at a huge cost. Who knows if they were on overtime. And if you think they went up Saturday morning, think again. They were likely in NYC upwards of a week before, planning the whole evening, every second of every movement. They had to map out five movements — from JFK to the Wall Street LZ, then a motorcade to the restaurant, then another motorcade to the play, then a final motorcade back to the LZ, then a chopper flight to JFK, before the First Couple and crew jetted back to AAFB for another chopper to the White House.

One thing is known — The Obamas picked up the cost of dinner costs and their orchestra seat tickets, which cost $96.50 a piece. So if the whole thing cost $250,000, the Obamas offset that by at least a few hundred bucks. Phew.

By Joseph Curl POLITICAL THEATER | Monday, June 1, 2009

Source:  Washington Times

Is it nice that the president takes his wife out for a date night...? Absolutely!  But spending $250,000 o ftaxpayer money (your money) when most people can't take their wives out for a hamburger and a movie... Bad choice!!

And the zinger... taking a corporate jet, of sorts, the night before GM files bankruptcy... after Congress reamed the CEO's of the 3 (former) U.S. auto makers (Chrysler is now essentially an Italian auto maker) about flying in to hearings in their own corporate jets.

Smarter idea... take your wife out in Washinton D.C. or Georgetown.  Have a special dinner in the White House... just the two of you.  Or have Michelle go with you the next time you have business in New York and go out for a NYC date night, to dinner and the theatre, while you are there already. 

And what happened to 'everybody' was going to have to make sacrifices??  I guess that is just for us average everybodies!?!

Posted:  Knowledge Creates Power

Conservatism 101

A blog that Scott Edwards and I had created back in September. One of my posts. I am ready to write again..

Posted – 04.18.09 at 12:03pm

Written: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2008 - Conservatism 101

I was talking to one of my dear friends the other night who is attending Columbia for his second Masters. He is an Obama supporter and a life-long Democrat. He understands that I am a Conservative and a McCain/Palin supporter. We are friends and we have had long debates over what is "right" and what is "left."

At the end of our friendly phone call, he made a point to tell me, "You know, liberals are the smartest and most educated in our country." To which I replied, "Well, I consider myself smart and educated, and I am not a liberal." And this is the impetus for my writing this blog.

It is a wonder to me that someone, who believes to know--because they have had the luxury of an Ivy league education--what is best for the average American. It is a wonder to me that one thinks that he has a better understanding of "Joe the Plumber's" needs, because he hires a guy like Joe to fix his plumbing. (Hey, I hire a plumber too. They are what makes things "run"). And, it is a wonder to me that this person thinks that he or his colleagues are "smarter" because of their Ivy league education.

Elitism? At its' finest. Please do not tell me that I am not the "most" smart or educated because I am not a Ivy League Intellectual. Ivy league education is a privilege. Hard knocks are not, but they can be an advantage.

As an American, I hope to have the freedom and the choices to know what is best for me, my family, my community and my country.

Look, most of us, in our own way, contribute to this country--whether it be through time, work, taxes or charity. We all have a common interest in doing what is best for ourselves and for our community. But, we all have a different opinion on how our contributions are allocated and recognized. The difference, the sheer difference, between a liberal and a conservative is this: A liberal will tell you how they will spend your money. A conservative will let you spend it how you see fit. If you don't have any money? Well, FDR put in place the first of many programs that have been abused by the federal government and welfare opportunists. I am not saying that these programs are not needed, but these programs were developed on assistance, NOT on dependence.

Now come the Taxes! Social Security. AMT. Local Taxes. Federal Taxes. State Taxes. Gas Taxes. Food Taxes. Retail Taxes. Property Taxes. Death taxes. Marriage Taxes. Capital Gains Taxes. Property Taxes. Liquor/Tobacco Taxes. User Taxes. And the list goes on and on and on and on.

Now, imagine my surprise when I hear that Obama/Biden want to just tax more. Instead of creating opportunity, they choose to inhibit it by giving handouts. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had forced banks to lend to anyone and everyone. No docs? No problem! The list of government programs and opportunities for the "needy" go on and on and on. WHERE DOES ALL THE MONEY GO? HOW HAVE THESE PROGRAMS, IN THE LAST 30 YEARS, LIFTED THE POOR OUT OF POVERTY? Oh, and by the way, if you ever want to pay more taxes because you feel like you haven't paid enough, there is a form for that. Talk to your accountant.

You see, most of use working, middle class, Americans DO NOT have an Ivy League education. Most of us working Americans do pay taxes. Most of us working American's have never wanted kids to go without education, elderly to go without healthcare, and the environment to go without consideration and conservation. Yet, as a conservative, I am constantly accused of wanting destruction of these very issues. This is simply not the case.

Us conservatives are constantly being accused as a party of the "wealthy." What is most ironic about this statement? Many conservatives do not have an Ivy league education. Many conservatives are not wealthy. We are hard working and educated and eager to lessen government intervention. We are eager to spur entrepreneurship, job creation, smart funding for those who truly, truly need it, with hopes of creating opportunity for those that are able to achieve and want a piece of the American dream.

All of these aforementioned programs have not solved the poverty crisis. Democrats, for the past 30 plus years, have expanded these programs, through excessive taxation, in order to make their constituents reliant on their party. Entrepreneurs and small business take on huge amounts of risk. Liberals do not reward risk--they tax it.

Conservatives have a fundamental belief that government has gotten too large and too complicated. We recognize need and are, therefore, the most charitable of the parties. It is a fact.

So I close in asking this: If liberals are so smart and the most educated, why am I even writing this blog? They have had numerous opportunities and years to right the wrongs. They say they are the champions of the middle class--I guess Joe the Plumber doesn't fit their middle class profile.

The next four years will prove whether entrepreneurship and risk thrive, or if we have created a larger dependency on government. If conservatism has a chance, we will not forget where we came from and what led us to losing our direction in this election.

I am Miss Tory, and I approve of this message.

By Megan Barth – Megan’s Note

Posted:  Knowledge Creates Power

Related Articles:

• American Progressivism – Part One
• American Progressivism – Part Two
• American Progressivism – Part Three
• American Progressivism – Part Four and Five