The Founding Father's Real Reason for the Second Amendment
And remember the words of Thomas Jefferson "The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government." See Video of Suzanna Gratia-Hupp’s Congressional Testimony: What the Second Amendment is REALLY For, below (u-tube HERE).
The Leaders Are Here... Palin, Cruz, Lee, Paul, Chaffetz....
T'S A WONDERFUL LIFE
Can You Really Still Believe That None of These People Would Have Done a Better Job???
Listen up… Palin is one classy yet tough American woman who defeated the left wing media smear machine and gives hope for good men and women everywhere to run for office.
“By the Way… If you want to save this country, don’t even consider Chris Christie or Paul Ryan as a presidential candidate, Republicans; it’s time to get real America, it’s time to focus and create the opportunity for Truth to be heard. How? By speaking it and not shrinking back from the PC liars!” …PBN (And Democrats, Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden are just variations of what we have had for the past 5-years who were involved in all the scandals and screw-ups in Obamaland!)
“It is also time to stop listening to the propaganda that has been fed us, over and over again, by the Progressives on both sides, by the RINOs and Establishment Republicans and by the ruling elite which includes the mainstream media whose job it is to inform the public and report the truth of what is going on without bias… not to work hand-in-hand with one side or the other and spout their opinions instead of facts without noting that they are editorializing!”
Sarah Palin is a contender and she could win in 2016 if we, the American people, wake-up, stand-up and really want to turn things around!! We all need to educate ourselves and share the truth about Palin, the Tea Party and other patriots under attack including Ted Cruz, Mile Lee, Rand Paul, and anyone else who stands up to the entrenched beltway politicians, as well as educate everyone about the Progressive media! We need a million more Sarah Palins to stand-up, to step-up and to stand with her!!
Wielding an economic sword, with a military backdrop and the shield of faith, Romney and Ryan will wipe the progressive floor with action, devotion and truth. Time for the Snoopy Dance! Ryan is the Tea Party pick and with a devout mindset, the line between the light and the dark has been drawn and sides are now chosen. I choose the light.
Can you imagine the gnashing of teeth on the left with a humble Mormon and a devout Catholic saying the kinds of things Reagan used to say and meaning it? Furthermore, can you imagine a debate between the intellectual leader of the conservative movement and the progressive… what would you call him? The progressive jester? Fool? Dunce? Incompetent nitwit? So many choices, so many idiots.
Yes, it’s the clean team versus the dirty duo. Can you imagine what would have happened if Reagan and Kennedy had managed to run on the same ticket? Instead in 2008, we got Sith Lord Palpatine and Jar-Jar Binks pushing debt, doubt and despair.
Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan – America’s Comeback Team. Optimism for a change.
It’s great to be back in Virginia and here in Norfolk. Your city’s beauty is only matched by its proud heritage as a defender of freedom. Today we take another step forward in helping restore the promise of America. As we move forward in this campaign and on to help lead the nation to better days, it is an honor to announce my running mate and the next Vice President of the United States: Paul Ryan.
Paul Ryan is a leader.
His leadership begins with character and values. And Paul is a man of tremendous character, shaped in large part by his early life.
Paul’s father died when he was in high school. That forced him to grow up earlier than any young man should. But Paul did, with the help of his devoted mother, his brothers and sister, and a supportive community. And as he did, he internalized the virtues and hard-working ethic of the Midwest.
Paul Ryan works in Washington – but his beliefs remain firmly rooted in Janesville, Wisconsin. He is a person of great steadiness, whose integrity is unquestioned and whose word is good.
Paul’s upbringing is obvious in how he has conducted himself throughout his life, including his leadership in Washington.
In a city that is far too often characterized by pettiness and personal attacks, Paul Ryan is a shining exception. He does not demonize his opponents. He understands that honorable people can have honest differences. And he appeals to the better angels of our nature. There are a lot of people in the other party who might disagree with Paul Ryan; I don’t know of anyone who doesn’t respect his character and judgment.
Paul is in public life for all the right reasons – not to advance his personal ambitions but to advance the ideals of freedom and justice; and to increase opportunity and prosperity to people of every class and faith, every age and ethnic background. A faithful Catholic, Paul believes in the worth and dignity of every human life.
With energy and vision, Paul Ryan has become an intellectual leader of the Republican Party. He understands the fiscal challenges facing America: our exploding deficits and crushing debt – and the fiscal catastrophe that awaits us if we don’t change course.
Paul Ryan combines a profound sense of responsibility for what we owe the next generation with an unbounded optimism in America’s future and an understanding of all the wonderful things the American people can do.
Paul also combines firm principles with a practical concern for getting things done. He has never been content to simply curse the darkness; he would rather light candles. And throughout his legislative career he’s shown the ability to work with members of both parties to find common ground on some of the hardest issues confronting the American people.
Paul and I are beginning on a journey that will take us to every corner of America. We are offering a positive, governing agenda that will lead to economic growth, to widespread and shared prosperity, and that will improve the lives of our fellow citizens. Our Plan to Strengthen The Middle Class will get America back to work and get our country back on track.
We offer solutions that are bold, specific, and achievable. We offer our commitment to help create 12 million new jobs and to bring better take home pay to middle class families.
To strengthen the middle class, we will provide our workers and our children with the skills to succeed. We’ll cut the deficit, have trade that works for America, and champion small business. And finally, we will unleash our energy resources to achieve North American energy independence.
We will help care for those who cannot care for themselves, and we will return work to welfare. As poverty has risen to historic and tragic levels, with nearly one out of six Americans now having fallen into poverty, we will act to bring these families into the middle class. Unlike the current president who has cut Medicare funding by $700 billion, we will preserve and protect Medicare and Social Security. Under the current president, healthcare has only become more expensive. We will reform healthcare so that more Americans have access to affordable healthcare, and we will get that started by repealing and replacing Obamacare.
And at a time when the President’s campaign is taking American politics to new lows, we are going to do things differently. We are going to talk about aspirations and American ideals; about bringing people together to solve the urgent problems facing our nation. And when that message wins in America, it will be a victory for every American.
Today is a good day for America. And there are better days ahead. Join me in welcoming the next Vice President of the United States – Paul Ryan.
It should be noted that Romney accidentally called Ryan the next President of the United States, but graciously came back up, said he goofed and welcomed his running mate in true Presidential fashion. When was the last time we had a real leader admit he goofed and not just for political grandstanding?
The Tea Party’s favored son, Paul Ryan, will save America from the fiscal cliff looming ahead of us. You know the one Obama wanted to push us over while framing Republicans for his own dastardly deed – it’s called projection. Romney/Ryan will rebuild the middle class, slash the debt and right the American ship. Instead of Obama’s “You didn’t build that!,” Romney and Ryan in one voice tell us that: “If you have a small business, you did build that!” They’ll also restore us to constitutional principles and consent of the governed, not ruling by the elite.
On to Paul Ryan’s remarks (highlighting is my emphasis – I dare you not to smile):
Thank you Governor Romney, Ann. I am deeply honored and excited to join you as your running mate.
Mitt Romney is a leader with the skills, the background and the character that our country needs at a crucial time in its history. Following four years of failed leadership, the hopes of our country, which have inspired the world, are growing dim; and they need someone to revive them. Governor Romney is the man for this moment; and he and I share one commitment: we will restore the dreams and greatness of this country.
I want you to meet my family. My wife Janna, our daughter Liza, and our sons, Charlie and Sam.
I am surrounded by the people I love, and I have been asked by Governor Romney to serve the country I love.
Janesville, Wisconsin is where I was born and raised, and I never really left it. It’s our home now.
For the last 14 years, I have proudly represented Wisconsin in Congress. There, I have focused on solving the problems that confront our country, and turning ideas into action; and action into solutions.
I am committed, in heart and mind, to putting that experience to work in a Romney Administration. This is a crucial moment in the life of our nation; and it is absolutely vital that we select the right man to lead America back to prosperity and greatness.
That man is standing next to me. His name is Mitt Romney. And he will be the next president of the United States.
My dad died when I was young. He was a good and decent man. I still remember a couple of things he would say that have really stuck with me. “Son you are either part of the problem or part of the solution.”
Regrettably, President Obama has become part of the problem,…and Mitt Romney is the solution.
The other thing my dad would say is that every generation of Americans leaves their children better off. That’s the American legacy.
Sadly, for the first time in our history, we are on a path which will undo that legacy. That is why we need new leadership to become part of the solution – new leadership to restore prosperity, economic growth, and jobs.
It is our duty to save the American Dream for our children, and theirs.
And I believe there is no person in America who is better prepared – because of his experience; because of the principles he holds; and because of his achievements and excellence in so many different arenas – to lead America at this point in its history.
Let me say a word about the man Mitt Romney will replace. No one disputes President Obama inherited a difficult situation. And, in his first 2 years, with his party in complete control of Washington, he passed nearly every item on his agenda. But that didn’t make things better.
In fact, we find ourselves in a nation facing debt, doubt and despair.
This is the worst economic recovery in 70 years. Unemployment has been above 8 percent for more than three years, the longest run since the Great Depression. Families are hurting.
We have the largest deficits and the biggest federal government since WWII.
Nearly 1 out of 6 Americans are in poverty–the worst rate in a generation. Moms and dads are struggling to make ends meet.
Household incomes have dropped by more than $4,000 over the past four years.
Whatever the explanations, whatever the excuses, this is a record of failure.
President Obama, and too many like him in Washington, have refused to make difficult decisions because they are more worried about their next election than they are about the next generation. We might have been able to get away with that before, but not now. We’re in a different, and dangerous, moment. We’re running out of time — and we can’t afford 4 more years of this.
Politicians from both parties have made empty promises which will soon become broken promises–with painful consequences–if we fail to act now.
I represent a part of America that includes inner cities, rural areas, suburbs and factory towns. Over the years I have seen and heard from a lot from families, from those running small businesses, and from people who are in need. But what I have heard lately troubles me the most. There is something different in their voice and in their words. What I hear from them are diminished dreams, lowered expectations, uncertain futures.
I hear some people say that this is just “the new normal.” High unemployment, declining incomes and crushing debt is not a new normal. It’s the result of misguided policies. And next January, our economy will begin a comeback with the Romney Plan for a Stronger Middle Class that will lead to more jobs and more take home pay for working Americans.
America is on the wrong track; but Mitt Romney and I will take the right steps, in the right time, to get us back on the right track!
I believe my record of getting things done in Congress will be a very helpful complement to Governor Romney’s executive and private sector success outside Washington. I have worked closely with Republicans as well as Democrats to advance an agenda of economic growth, fiscal discipline, and job creation.
I’m proud to stand with a man who understands what it takes to foster job creation in our economy, someone who knows from experience, that if you have a small business—you did build that.
At Bain Capital, he launched new businesses and he turned around failing ones – companies like Staples, Bright Horizons and Sports Authority, just to name a few. Mitt Romney created jobs and showed he knows how a free economy works.
At the Olympics, he took a failing enterprise and made it the pride of our entire nation.
As governor of Massachusetts, he worked with Democrats and Republicans to balance budgets with no tax increases, lower unemployment, increase income and improve people’s lives.
In all of these things, Mitt Romney has shown himself to be a man of achievement, excellence and integrity.
Janna and I tell Liza, Charlie and Sam that America is a place where, if you work hard and play by the rules, you can get ahead.
We Americans look at one another’s success with pride, not resentment, because we know, as more Americans work hard, take risks, and succeed, more people will prosper, our communities will benefit, and individual lives will be improved and uplifted.
But America is more than just a place…it’s an idea. It’s the only country founded on an ideas. Our rights come from nature and God, not government. We promise equal opportunity, not equal outcomes.
This idea is founded on the principles of liberty, freedom, free enterprise, self-determination and government by consent of the governed.
This idea is under assault. So, we have a critical decision to make as a nation.
We are on an unsustainable path that is robbing America of our freedom and security. It doesn’t have to be this way.
The commitment Mitt Romney and I make to you is this:
We won’t duck the tough issues…we will lead!
We won’t blame others…we will take responsibility!
We won’t replace our founding principles…we will reapply them!
We will honor you, our fellow citizens, by giving you the right and opportunity to make the choice:
What kind of country do we want to have?
What kind of people do we want to be?
We can turn this thing around. Real solutions can be delivered. But, it will take leadership. And the courage to tell you the truth.
Mitt Romney is this kind of leader. I’m excited for what lies ahead and I’m thrilled to be a part of America’s Comeback Team. And together, we will unite America and get this done.
We won’t blame others, we will take responsibility… Wow. Imagine that… The adults have returned to our hallowed halls and somebody is going to get an ass whupping. Good times. And Romney and Ryan have the courage and conviction to tell the truth. We will be that shining city on a hill once more – I know it.
What do you want to bet Obama and Biden have never sat down and prayed together? I don’t know that Romney and Ryan have prayed together, but I have no trouble envisioning that. Obama and Biden? Not so much.
We have the comeback team. We have optimism for a change.
Paul Ryan: “This is our generation’s defining moment”
There are two Republican parties. One is fairly liberal, it is hostile to the left but it also believes in stealing their thunder by adopting moderate versions of their policies.
This Republican Party is strongly pro-business, but it believes that to succeed in a global economy the government must provide subsidies to businesses and individuals. It believes that immigration reform is needed, though its chosen candidates know to avoid using the word amnesty. It believes that national health care is inevitable and that the only way to avoid a government solution is through the individual mandate.
It is loosely conservative, but disinterested in social issues. It thinks that the left has gone too far in upending traditional values, but has no interested in combating it and finds those who do embarrassing . It adapts to changing mores with an uneasy smile and tries to pretend that it was with it all along. It has no strong religious feelings and it believes that all religions, including Islam, are basically the same.
It is strong on national defense spending, but mainly to maintain stability and national influence, not because it believes that we face any real threats. It believes that America has a responsibility to the rest of the world and that we are obligated to give back through the United Nations and other international organizations allowing us to spread our values of free enterprise and democracy to everyone.
It is a big believer in the American Dream of economic opportunity, but is unable to think of any other national virtues beyond that. It maintains a strongly Federalist legacy and while it agrees that the Federal government has overreached itself in interfering with the business of states, it has no real interest in rolling back its powers, only in making certain that they are used “wisely”.
The only area where it actively rolls back the left’s program is its deregulation of businesses, but even this is limited to spheres that are objectionable to specific industries which lobby for deregulation. Small businesses can expect much less help, unless they band together and forcefully make something into an issue.
It has no passion for anything beyond deregulating a few specific industries. It supports the right to bear arms, not because it passionately believes in it, but because the political costs of not doing so are too high. It opposes abortion for the same reason, though its opposition is mainly a formality. It believes that gay marriage is inevitable, but isn’t willing to pick a fight with its base over it.
Its leaders and members consider themselves rationalists and believe in Global Warming because “the science says so.” They sneer at those Republicans who deny what they think is the obvious. While they are skeptical of government solutions to Global Warming, they are prepared to accept an approach that does not cause too much harm to business and is routed through private companies.
It views what the Republican Party has become as an embarrassment and while it doles out red meat to the base when it has to, it despises them and constantly dreams of ways of getting rid of them. In its fondest daydreams, a graduated amnesty program for Mexican immigrants by a Republican president turns them all into legal citizens and Republican voters, allowing them to tell their guns n bibles base to kiss off.
It does not believe that Obama is bad, only inexperienced and misguided, but basically well-meaning and its lack of support for him is not due to a firm belief that his agenda is destructive, but to political calculations and the need to appease their base.
This Party is not particularly worried about the future of the United States except as a place to do business. And even then it will easily move operations offshore to Dubai or Singapore. Overall it is optimistic that things will go on as they have, with a gradual process of reform advanced by the left and moderated by the right in the political process resulting in a workable center.
Then there’s the other Republican Party. This party is deeply worried about the future of the country, and not just as a place to do business. It is socially conservative, strong on national defense because it believes that we do face real threats and enemies, it is opposed to amnesty and very skeptical of Federal power.
This party is more new than it is old, it’s a party that evolved in response to the transformation of the Democratic Party at the hands of the left. It is the base from which the Republican Party draws much of its support, particularly away from the Northeast, and it is struggling to force the party to match its deeds to its words.
It does not believe that most of the national debates are a tempest in a teacup that can be settled amicably behind closed doors. It is uninterested in bipartisan great compromisers, it seeks fighters who will stand up for its agenda. It is not interested in the progressive voyage to the national future that has been taken up by both parties, what it would like is independence from their reign of policy terror. It would like to roll back the progressive policymaking of both parties.
It is concerned for its ability to earn a living, for the values of its children and the basic freedoms that it can see being lost every day. It remembers a time when people had more freedom and less rules hanging over their heads. The tide of paperwork, the omnipresent regulatory state infuriate it and lead it to vote for people who claim to want Washington off their backs. But next year there are even more regulations and paperwork to deal with.
It is deeply worried about the Bill of Rights, its right to bear arms, its right to speak freely and to practice its beliefs without interference from the government. It is worried about them because it has already witnessed the dramatic erosion of its freedoms and it expects the process to continue.
It is unenthusiastic about deploying troops to maintain global hegemony or aid other nations, it is however vigorous about defending the country from enemy attack. Its members often have a tradition of military service and a skeptical view of how the politicians have used and abused the military for their own purposes.
Its skepticism of authority transcends government and extends to elites in science, academia and the entertainment industry. It recognizes the major gap between its values and theirs, and accordingly distrusts them. It is much less subject to being cowed by absolute truths presented by the elites and often seeks out alternative opinions.
What it wants most is independence from outside regulations that impinge on its way of life. It has little interest in positive rights and a defense of its rights by the government, what it would like is the ability to defend its own rights, to maintain a separation from the elites and its own property and family.
These two Republican parties have been on a collision course for some time now. The collision repeats itself in every election as it has throughout the 20th century. The Republican establishment has never really come to terms with its new core constituencies, the people resistant to the New Deal who were then joined by the people resistant to every other liberal big government innovation that came down the pike.
Between an establishment committed to moderate progressivism and a base that is unwilling to accept less freedoms and more regulation for their own good, is a massive divide. It is a cultural, economic, social and regional divide that needs to be talked about.
Too many establishment candidates have cakewalked into office by paying lip service to the concerns of the base without believing a word of it. Each time the process repeats itself, the collision becomes more explosive until something has to give.
Either the Republican establishment needs to step up to the plate and honestly repudiate its base or it needs to step aside and decide which it cares about more, deregulation or its version of the progressive agenda, because it cannot continue as a contradiction in terms without a meltdown. The current ugliness is a manifestation of that yawning gap between the two parties that cannot be bridged without an honest dialogue about the different values of those at the top and those at the bottom.
Mimi Steel, Exclusive to the California Political News and Views, 12/26/11
As the New Year begins, it is traditional to reflect on the past and look forward to the future. It is a time to assess where we have been and where we want to go, a time to determine priorities and resolve to accomplish them. From the perspective of one new to political activism, this is a daunting task. Reflecting on the past brings the realization of what a unique and remarkable country the United States of America truly is. To begin the US Constitution with the words “WE THE PEOPLE” in bold font was absolutely unheard of, revolutionary, in the annals of European history. Think about that. We were colonies that came from countries ruled by kings and queens. The elite owned the land, made the rules, and dictated the course of most people’s lives. You were born in to a class from which there was no escape. You were either one of the very few powerful or one of the serfs. There was little in between.
Then the upstart colonies came up with an idea, the grand experiment, that man could rule himself. They unleashed the genius of the human mind by instituting the rule of law, by laying the groundbreaking philosophy that all men were equal under that law, and by allowing people the right to pursue happiness (invent things, acquire property, and enjoy the fruits of their own labor). They limited government and mankind thrived.
Unfortunately we are now on the verge of squandering this magnificent gift of our Founders. Not only do we not appreciate it, too many of our fellow citizens distain it, too many of us are complacent, willing to let others do the heavy lifting of government. Let someone else deal with it. I’m too busy with my career. I am raising my family. I don’t have time. Great excuses abound.
While most of us have been blissfully ignorant of government, our opposition has become increasingly emboldened in their efforts to control government at all levels. And who can blame them? Those of us who want the government to leave us alone, tend not to get involved in politics. Those who think the government is the answer are the ones who show up at that city council meeting and all other levels of government demanding that the government do one thing or another that promotes their interests and most likely goes against the interests of the individual. The collective is ascendant in America. It’s for the greater good. Then we complain. We look around after all these years of our uninvolvement and wonder why things are the way are. It’s really quite simple. If you “cede” the field of battle, you lose. And right now, most of us have not even been aware that there was a battle being fought. Americans are fair-minded and trusting individuals generally. We elect people to office and assume that they will do the right thing. But if you don’t show up to support those people and policies or if you elect people with a different philosophy from yours because you could not be bothered to learn their positions on issues, you lose.
So here we are with a New Year upon us and many Americans starting to wake up to the realization that America is being fundamentally transformed in to something that is no longer a Representative Republic. We are in imminent danger of answering the question “Can man rule himself?” in the negative and turning over our god given rights to a handful of powerful elites who are happy to tell us how to live, where to live, and to control just about every aspect of our lives from what we eat to our health care.
We let this happen. Our self-absorption in our own lives has brought us to this point. There is no one to save us from this fate. The system was designed for WE THE PEOPLE. If WE THE PEOPLE are absent, the spoils go to the spoilers-those who see government as the solution to all problems. Every government solution chips away at man’s freedom. This is only going to get turned around if enough citizens get involved in their local communities. Very few of us have the money or connections to influence Presidential politics, Senate or Congressional politics, or even State Senate and Assembly positions. But we can influence our local city council. We can take an active role in city government. Many of these elections are won or lost by a few hundred votes. Most people don’t even bother to learn about local candidates and what they stand for. Yet local is where it is at.
As you make your New Year’s resolutions, I hope one of them will be to become a Community Organizer for the Constitution. Get involved in a local taxpayer association, homeowners association, 912 Group or Tea Party Group. Join up with people of like mind who want to preserve freedom, not subvert it. Your country needs you now more than ever before. And the only sacrifice on your part is to spend some of your precious time to insure the future of your children and grandchildren so they can live in freedom as you did. What is that worth?
You can join Mimi in Community Organizing for the Constitution through her website at www.bayarealiberty.org or on twitter @912CalGal.
Today, Feb. 6, is the 99th anniversary of the birth of Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States. Although it has been 21 years since President Reagan completed his second term and left the White House, he still remains a figure of great interest to many Americans, including a large number of young people who were not even born during the time he was president.
New books come out about Reagan every year. The more research that is done about him, the greater the appreciation of what he accomplished and of him as a person. During 2008 Reagan was the president whose name was most mentioned in the debates of both parties, as an example of an effective leader the candidates wished to follow. Since he left office, Ronald Reagan has been the standard to which subsequent presidents have been compared. In numerous polls Reagan has been selected as one of the outstanding presidents in the history of the country.
Why this continuing interest and favorable treatment of a president from the 20th century—in many ways more favorable treatment than he received from the media while he was in office? The answer lies in both the accomplishments he achieved while in office and his leadership style, which inspired and encouraged the American people.
The history of the Reagan presidency shows how he revitalized the United States economy at a time of one of the most serious crises since the Great Depression of the 1930s. His program of lower tax rates across the board, regulatory reform, stable monetary policy, and slowing the growth of federal spending, produced the longest peacetime period of economic growth in the history of the nation. On the international front his strategy and actions rebuilt our national defense capabilities, restored the position of the U.S. in world leadership, and took the courageous actions that ultimately led to the end of the Cold War, with the cause of freedom winning.
Equally important in endearing him to the American people was Reagan’s style of leadership. He had a vision of where America should be going and he was able to communicate that vision to the American people. It depended greatly on his concept of why America was good and why the American people had achieved so much in what has been a relatively new nation on the face of the earth. He admired the Founders and was able to relate their ideas of liberty, civic virtue, and opportunity to the people of the current generation. Even in difficult times, his cheerfulness and optimism gave the people the hope that, as he would put it, “America’s best days are yet ahead.”
As with any president, not everything went well and Reagan faced many challenges, political opposition, and disappointments. Yet his faith in God and his faith in the American people enabled him to maintain his posture of enthusiastic leadership and ultimately to prevail over numerous obstacles.
As we look back a quarter-century to an era of great challenge at home and abroad, and to a time when America needed a great leader, we can be thankful that we had a president who was equal to the task.
This remembrance of President Reagan was originally published in The Daily Caller this morning.
"Life is one grand, sweet song, so start the music." Ronald Reagan
Once, California was known as the “Golden State.” No more. It’s struggling with a fiscal crisis of epic proportions. And voters are so disgusted with the ineptitude and waste of a state legislature dominated by liberal Democrats that they are poised to vote down a $16 billion tax increase and a slew of propositions allegedly intended to beat back fiscal Armageddon.
If residents of the other 49 states haven’t focused on California’s plight yet, they should. In a real sense, California has become liberalism’s “canary in the coal mine.” It is an instructive – and frightening – warning of the toll exacted by the kind of leftism now in vogue in Washington, D.C..
Put simply, California is in desperate fiscal straits because it has become a place where government works for only two constituencies: Those who need public assistance, and unions. Sacramento is so busy responding to the needs of the one and the demands of the other that the legitimate expectations of regular, taxpaying citizens have been completely ignored.
For union members, life is good. California teachers earn 25% more than the national average,yet California’s students test out near the bottom of the national average… partly because California has not been able to get their illegal alien problems under control, even though some of the most incompetent, indifferent or downright dangerous of them cannot be fired because of concessions won by the teachers’ unions. The SEIU is so powerful that some of its members were able to listen in on a phone call between the Obama administration and the state – which resulted in the President’s threat to withhold stimulus money if the cash-strapped state made even modest cuts in the salaries of unionized home health care employees. In fact, state government is routinely held hostage by public employee unions; not surprising when one considers that California is home to 356,000 state workers – 9.3 of them for every 1,000 residents.
Similarly, if one is an illegal alien or in need of public aid, California works well, offering a panoply of health and other welfare services with few questions asked. Just last week, in fact, Democrats in the state legislature opposed requiring welfare recipients who failed to complete a drug treatment program to take random drug tests in order to continue receiving benefits. And California spends in excess of $5 billion per year on illegal immigrants and their families, offering a menu of health care services that includes non-emergency care, long-term nursing home care, and abortions.
To pay for all of this, California has the highest top personal income tax rate and the highest sales tax rate in the country. Corporate taxes are high, too. And yet regular taxpayers have little to show for the exorbitant sums extracted from them by state government.
How times change. Forty years ago, California’s roads and schools were the envy of the country. Now, of course, highways are jammed, and schools languish near the bottom of nationwide rankings. Hospitals are overcrowded, as are prisons. And contrary to the claims of those on the left, the problem isn’t inadequate “investment,” i.e., spending. Forty years ago, the state spent $1240 for every man, woman and child in the state, in today’s inflation-adjusted dollars. Now, it spends more than double that amount – $3200 per person – even as ordinary citizens’ quality of life has plummeted. No wonder voters are poised to reject the politicians’ propositions, which would require another $16 billion in tax increases!
What’s become apparent from the California debacle is that government is perhaps capable of doing a little bit for everyone, or everything for a few. But liberalism’s golden promise of an efficient government that does everything for everyone is nothing but a pipe dream – and an expensive, destructive one at that.
If Americans are smart, they’ll learn from California’s example. There’s something eerily familiar about President Obama’s close embrace of government employees and unions – along with his historically budget-busting “investments” in all manner of services – coupled with his call for higher taxes.
In California, we’ve seen it all before. And believe me, it isn’t pretty.
by Carol Platt Liebau - an attorney, political commentator and guest radio talk show host based near Los Angeles.
CA is the canary! It will go into bankruptcy before the rest of the U.S. - but not long before, if Obama and the DNC-controlled Congress is not stopped. Forget the GOP - it lied, and then died. When do We the People decide to believe liars again? NEVER! And the Democrats are worse! Enough of the choice between worthless and useless! We need a Conservative Party! Period. Go to the Constitution Party - it has an existing political party infrastructure - so We do not have to start from scratch! Take back Our Constitutional government! Better than open rebellion - although all options are on the table!
And warning to D.C. - don't mess with the First Amendment if you don't want to find out what the Second Amendment is for! We the People have not yet conducted military tribunals to accomplish justice, but We do not consider this a significant limitation on doing so, if necessary!
Hendry in Texas~
And then, let us not forget California’s greatest contribution to America’s nightmare… Nancy Pelosi…
Photos (Below) From the John and Ken Tax Revolt over the weekend
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GLENN: I would just like to say California is the neighbor that we just want to move away. You know what I mean? We just want California and not all of you honestly. I mean, don't get me wrong. I love California. It's just that the majority of the people that are running California have wrecked it. But the good news is Californians themselves, I think it's just maybe and I'd like to hear from Californians. Maybe it's just that you get so worn down, you're like, "I can't take it, whatever." And you just let it go because you're just not going to fight it because you know you're not going to win... until moments like this when the tax is out of control, your state is going bankrupt and they come to you and they give you a bunch of proposals that they ask you to vote on and you're going to say no!
thecommunists, I remained silent; I was not a communist.
Then they locked up the social democrats, I remained silent; I was not a social democrat.
Then they came for the trade unionists, I did not protest; I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics, I did not protest; I was a Protestant.
Then they came for the Jews, I did not speak out; I was not a Jew.
When they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.
Election 2014 - What Is Really At Stake
Help Stop Voter Fraud!! Stand for the Constitution and God
Time to remember that: "We Surround Them", not the other way!
Stand Up Against Voter Fraud... Demand Re-Counts and Verification Until It is Right!! A Little Ink Goes a Long Way Toward Honesty... 1 Person 1 Vote... No More Mickey Mouse or Dead People Voting
"The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about IT! --Albert Einstein
Call Congress Today and Tell Them To Vote Against Cap and Trade
The hottest places in Hell are reserved for those who in a period of moral crisis, maintain their neutrality -- Dante Alighieri / Often Quoted by Mark Twain
Thanks for calling the Congressional switchboard. Keep up the pressure: "NO on Cap and Trade"!!! "NO Vote on Obamacare", NO on another Stimulus Bill, NO to the never ending parade of "Power Grab Bills", and ABSOLUTELY NO on the Climate Change Treaty in Copenhagen!!
"No" on Cap and Trade and "No" on Government Controlled Healthcare!!! And Keep up the good fight! Keep up the Pressure on both the House and Senate! These are 2-fights the American People cannot afford to lose!!!
If you choose not to go this route… call and fax your Senator and as many of them on the list yourself, but don’t sit idly by!!
United States Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121
We apologize in advance for any Videos or links that are not functioning in these or other older posts. Internet information... like 'true' history in our student's textbooks are under constant attack by the Progressive Movement and even more so under the present administration. Try to save what you can to your own computer.
"...there comes a time, ladies and gentlemen, when ideology can cause death. I am so tired, so tired, of zealots, primarily on the left, putting their insane personal agendas above the safety of fellow Americans. Do you think the brave soldiers and Marines operating in dangerous areas right now want [unreleased photos of alleged abuse of prisoners] all over al-Jazeera and the terror websites? So let's look out for the military, OK? Nancy Pelosi has an obligation to get the loons in her party under control. If the Speaker can't do that, she doesn't deserve her position." ... Bill O'Reilly
Updated:If you'd like to contact Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, here's the contact information that you'll need.
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