After the disappointing primary results back in August I found myself a little disillusioned with politics for a while. I did more research into the candidates and issues than I ever had before and went into the primary very prepared. The disappointment came when almost every single person I voted for lost and the incumbents in almost all the races won. Of course I realize that everyone has a unique opinion when it comes to politics and just because I thought that a certain person would have been the right person for the job, someone else most definitely thought a different person was the right one for the job. One of the most disappointing things for me during both the primary and the general election this last week was the fact that many people believed the lies of so many politicians and unfortunately many people didn't turn out to vote.
I know that a lot of people look at the results and see that the republicans won a lot of races so that is great, or they may be glad that the democrats won what they did but for me it isn't about parties. It can't just be that we go blindly to the polls and vote for the R or the D. I am particularly disappointed that McCain is representing Arizona again and that Jan Brewer is our governor again. These are both republicans and have both had some pretty good press lately but the fact is that I deeply disagree with their stances on many of the issues and the complete lack of honesty and integrity that both have displayed on different occasions over the years. I feel that partisanship is betraying true representation of constituents. When a politician is elected to office under the name of whatever political party they are expected to vote the way the party does on the issues. Their first responsibility should be to vote the way they know their constituents would want and to hold to their principles and those of their constituents even if it means voting against their party. Unfortunately there are few who are willing to do this.
Campaigning is a dirty business and it is very common for politicians to lie straight faced. It is even more common for politicians to attack their opponents character and I completely understand how one can get so sick of hearing this garbage instead of really talking about the issues.
It is only too clear that this dirty campaigning, partisan fighting and mudslinging are destroying our government and that the only thing to do to allow us to reclaim our government is to do our parts as voters. Read and study the issues, look at both sides of an argument, come up with our own conclusions, ignore campaign ads, seek the truth, pray, and then vote our conscience. Arizona had a 25% turn out for the primary elections in August. That is terrible. Too many people don't care. Too many people think that their vote doesn't matter. We have got to do our civic duty and be informed and involved voters.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
Our Power Seeking Politicians
I came across another really interesting article at the American Thinker website again. This article is about the Enumerated Powers act which, to briefly summarize the act, states that every bill must clearly cite where in the constitution it finds the authority to enact that bill. Doesn't this sound like a great idea?
I have always wondered why we need so many congressmen and senators making law after law all year long. That gives us probably thousands of laws. How are we supposed to enforce all those laws? How are we supposed to even keep track? And now that some of the recent bills have been so huge that no one has even read them, how can we even be certain that those who swear to uphold and defend the constitution are staying within the bounds the constitution has set for them?
It only makes sense to enact a bill that will force congress to prove that each and every bill is, without a doubt, constitutional. In fact, it would be a great idea to make this act retroactive and go back and remove any law that is not constitutional.
I also think it is appalling that this act has come up in every congressional session for so long and has been shot down every time. How can we believe that our lawmakers are staying true to the oath they take to uphold and defend the constitution if they are not willing to simply show where they get the authority for each bill and amendment that they pass? I say, anyone who is not willing to religiously live by the constitution should be taken out of office as swiftly as possible. It is up to us to find out who they are and vote the bums out.
I have always wondered why we need so many congressmen and senators making law after law all year long. That gives us probably thousands of laws. How are we supposed to enforce all those laws? How are we supposed to even keep track? And now that some of the recent bills have been so huge that no one has even read them, how can we even be certain that those who swear to uphold and defend the constitution are staying within the bounds the constitution has set for them?
It only makes sense to enact a bill that will force congress to prove that each and every bill is, without a doubt, constitutional. In fact, it would be a great idea to make this act retroactive and go back and remove any law that is not constitutional.
I also think it is appalling that this act has come up in every congressional session for so long and has been shot down every time. How can we believe that our lawmakers are staying true to the oath they take to uphold and defend the constitution if they are not willing to simply show where they get the authority for each bill and amendment that they pass? I say, anyone who is not willing to religiously live by the constitution should be taken out of office as swiftly as possible. It is up to us to find out who they are and vote the bums out.
The True State of the Economy
What really is going on in our economy? It is hard to get a clear picture since we here one thing from the White House, that the worst is over and that we are on our way to recovery (even though none of us buy that). The media who appear to be partial to the President also report that things are looking up and even in some instances excuse the President by re-iterating the point that this is going to take a while to fix since the last administration made such a mess (again, none of us buy that excuse).
To get a clear picture I think we need to look around the word and back through history and compare our situation to other countries who have gone through similar problems. This brings me to an article that I read on the American Thinker website. The article compares the collapse of Argentina to what is happening now in our country and it is really interesting to me since I was in Argentina at the time of the collapse. Read the article here. It is chilling to get a little more perspective on what is going on and see how perilous it could be for our country. It looks like it is time for all of us to get involved and demand integrity and real change that is actually good for the country from our politicians.
To get a clear picture I think we need to look around the word and back through history and compare our situation to other countries who have gone through similar problems. This brings me to an article that I read on the American Thinker website. The article compares the collapse of Argentina to what is happening now in our country and it is really interesting to me since I was in Argentina at the time of the collapse. Read the article here. It is chilling to get a little more perspective on what is going on and see how perilous it could be for our country. It looks like it is time for all of us to get involved and demand integrity and real change that is actually good for the country from our politicians.
Friday, August 6, 2010
A Humbling Conversation With an Argentine Friend
The following is a conversation I had with a friend of mine from Argentina on Facebook. I will post the original comments (in Spanish) and the translation, in case my translation is sloppy.
Me:
"Quieres que lo diga en espanol? Tengo un blog que he empesado hace poco para compartir mi opinion sobre lo que esta pasando en los Estados Unidos ahora porque siento que lo que esta pasando es que estamos perdiendo la libertad que hemos disfrutado y no me puedo quedar en silencio. Tengo que hacer cualquier cosa que pueda para avanzar la causa de libertad y la primera cosa que puedo hacer as tener un blog."
Do you want me to say it in Spanish? I have a blog that I started a while ago to share my opinion about what is going on in the United States right now because I feel that what is happening is we are loosing the freedoms that we have enjoyed and I cannot remain silent. I have to do whatever I can to further the cause of freedom and the first thing that I can do is to start a blog.
Maria (from Argentina):
"Estuve leyendo con el traductor de Windows, no es muy bueno, entonces no podía estar segura de que las opiniones de tu blog fueran tuyas...
Me parece muy bueno que lo hagas, los ciudadanos tenemos que participar, pensé que en los Estados estaba todo bien...
Acá, Joe, está todo mal...es tan triste, creo que siempre seremos pobres, con mi esposo trabajamos y no logramos salir adelante, nuestra casa está más rota que cuando vos estuviste acá, no logramos ganar más que el dinero justo como para la comida y algún gasto fijo, pero NADA MÁS, no logramos crecer económicamente. Ultimamente nos sentimos muy desanimados porque ya no sabemos qué hacer para salir adelante... De todas maneras, CREÉME, que Ustedes están mejor!!! Nosotros no podemos comprar ropa para nuestros hijos, tampoco para nosotros; nosotros tenemos que calentarnos con la misma salamandra q vos conociste, con leña y en los cuartos de los niños hace frío, tenemos frío para bañarnos; nustra heladera está rota, nuestro auto viejo está roto en el taller hace más de un mes y no podemos arreglarlo, Jesús va al trabajo en bici con todas sus herramientas (sólo tenemos una bici para toda la familia)....etc, etc, etc.....
No quiero que llores por nosotros!!!jajajaja....Qui
Contale a Suzanne cómo vivimos aquí en Argentina y DISFRUTEN, DISFRUTEN, DISFRUTEN y, claro, sigan luchando por un país mejor."
I was reading with the translator on Windows, it isn't very good, so I can't be sure that the opinions from your blog were yours...
It seems to me very good what you are doing, we, the citizens, have to participate, I thought that all was well in the Sates... Here, Joe, it's all bad... it is very sad, I believe will always be poor, with my husband we work but we cannot get ahead, our house is more broken than when you were here, we cannot make more than just enough money to cover the food and some fixed expenses, but NOTHING ELSE, we cannot grow economically. Lately we are feeling discourages because we do not know what to do to get ahead.... In every way, BELIEVE ME, you are better off!!! We cannot buy clothes for our kids, or for ourselves; we have to heat ourselves with the same little heater that you saw when you were here, with firewood and in the kids rooms it is still cold, we have cold water to bath ourselves with; Our fridge is broken, our old car is broken and has been in the shop for more than a month and we cannot fix it. Jesus rides his bike to work with all his tools (we only have one bike for the whole family)... etc, etc, etc... I don't want yout to cry for us!!! hahaha... I want you to enjoy what you have, because even in the USA things are happening that you don't like, you still live in a country where it is NORMAL to have a heater, where it is NORMAL to go on vacations, where it is NORMAL to was dishes and clothes with a machine... ENJOY, ENJOY, ENJOY FRIEND. You know I am always joking around, but NOT this time. I have thought about it a lot and that you must have done something food en the pre-existence to have been born in a PRIVILEGED COUNTRY.
Tell Suzanne how we live here an Argentina and ENJOY, ENJOY, ENJOY, and of course, kepp fighting for a better country.
Me:
"Maria, gracias por contarme su situacion y ayudarme a recordar cuan grande es la bendicion vivir en este pais. Se sin duda que tengo una vida muy bendecida y espero que cada persona tuviera la misma vida que yo disfruto. Agradezco mi Padre Celestial cada dia por la bendicion que yo tengo de sostener a mi familia y la bendicion de tener un trabajo. No creo que merezco una vida tan bendecida porque siento que no he hecho ninguna cosa para merecer la bendicion de vivir en este pais y tener la seguridad que tengo. La razon por la que empece mi blog no fue para quijarme de la situacion economica de este pais ni mi sitacion economica pero empece mi blog porque yo creo que estamos perdiendo nuestra libertad. Los que gobiernan este pais estan dandose mas poder sobre nosotros los ciudadanos. Poder para quitarnos la libertad de escoger lo que hacemos con lo que ganamos. Poder para quitarnos la libertad aun de saber la verdad de lo que esta pasando en este pais. Aun estan luchando para quitarnos la libertda de prensa y la libertad de hablar criticamente del gobierno. Estan intentando cambiar la sistema de nuestra gobierno a comunismo. Si perdimos la libertad en los Estados Unidos no se que pasara a la iglesia ni a la causa de libertad en el mundo. Se por cierto que las fuerzas de satanas estan luchando para quitarnos la libertad porque si sucedan no habra nada que les impide seguir destruyendo la familia y la iglesia. Le digo esto porque quiero aclarar que no me estoy quejando de la situacion economica en que me encuentro porque se que es la libertad que disfruto en este pais que hace posible la verdad de que, si me esfuerzo y trabjo todo lo que puedo, es possible salir adelante en la vida y ser exitoso. Pero aun mas importante, es la libertad que disfrutamos en este pais que nos da el poder para establecer el reino de dios y compartir el evangelio y tomar el mensaje de la libertad de nustras almas al mundo. Creo que la guerra que mepezo en los cielos entre el bien y el mal sigue hoy con el mismo furor y yo quiero luchar por el bien y por la libertad en cada campo de batalla que puedo tanto espiritualmente como temporalmente."
Maria, thank you for telling me about your situation and helping me remember how great a blessing it is to live in this country. I know without a doubt that I have a very blessed life and I wish that every person could have the same life that I enjoy. I thank my Father in Heaven every day for the blessing I have of providing for my family and the blessing of having a job. I do not believe that I deserve such a blessed life because I feel like I have done nothing to deserve the blessing of living in this country and having the security that I do. The reason that I started my blog is because I believe we are loosing our freedom. Those that govern this country are giving themselves more power over us, the citizens. Power to take away our freedom to choose what we do with what we earn, power to take away the freedom even to know the truth about what is going on in this country. They are even fighting to take away the freedom of the press and to criticize the government. They are trying to change the system of government in this country to communism. If we loose freedom in the United States I do not know what will happen to the church or to the cause of freedom around the world. I know for certain that the forces of Satan are fighting to take away our freedom because, if they succeed, there will be nothing standing in there way to continue destroying the family and the church. I tell you this because I want to clarify that I am not complaining about the economic situation in which I find myself because I know that it is the freedom that I enjoy in this country that makes possible the fact that, if I put forth the effort and work as hard as I can, it is possible to get ahead in life and be successful. But, even more importantly, it is the freedom that we enjoy en this country that gives us the power to establish the kingdom of God and share the gospel and take the message of the freedom of our souls to the world. I believe that the war that started in heaven between good and evil continues today with the same fury and I want to fight for good and for freedom and every battlefield that I can both spiritually and temporally.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This conversation that I had with Maria is humbling. It hurts me to know that my friends in Argentina are suffering through the difficult trials that they are. I pray that I may never forget the blessing that it is to live in this country, the richest and most blessed country in the whole world. I also pray that to have the courage to do whatever I can to further the cause of freedom and to lift all of Gods children to the standard of living that I know He feels we deserve. That lifting cannot come through government entitlement programs but through the goodness of our hearts, through charity, which is the pure love of Christ, and charity cannot be mandated, that was Satan's plan.
Me:
"Quieres que lo diga en espanol? Tengo un blog que he empesado hace poco para compartir mi opinion sobre lo que esta pasando en los Estados Unidos ahora porque siento que lo que esta pasando es que estamos perdiendo la libertad que hemos disfrutado y no me puedo quedar en silencio. Tengo que hacer cualquier cosa que pueda para avanzar la causa de libertad y la primera cosa que puedo hacer as tener un blog."
Do you want me to say it in Spanish? I have a blog that I started a while ago to share my opinion about what is going on in the United States right now because I feel that what is happening is we are loosing the freedoms that we have enjoyed and I cannot remain silent. I have to do whatever I can to further the cause of freedom and the first thing that I can do is to start a blog.
Maria (from Argentina):
"Estuve leyendo con el traductor de Windows, no es muy bueno, entonces no podía estar segura de que las opiniones de tu blog fueran tuyas...
Me parece muy bueno que lo hagas, los ciudadanos tenemos que participar, pensé que en los Estados estaba todo bien...
Acá, Joe, está todo mal...es tan triste, creo que siempre seremos pobres, con mi esposo trabajamos y no logramos salir adelante, nuestra casa está más rota que cuando vos estuviste acá, no logramos ganar más que el dinero justo como para la comida y algún gasto fijo, pero NADA MÁS, no logramos crecer económicamente. Ultimamente nos sentimos muy desanimados porque ya no sabemos qué hacer para salir adelante... De todas maneras, CREÉME, que Ustedes están mejor!!! Nosotros no podemos comprar ropa para nuestros hijos, tampoco para nosotros; nosotros tenemos que calentarnos con la misma salamandra q vos conociste, con leña y en los cuartos de los niños hace frío, tenemos frío para bañarnos; nustra heladera está rota, nuestro auto viejo está roto en el taller hace más de un mes y no podemos arreglarlo, Jesús va al trabajo en bici con todas sus herramientas (sólo tenemos una bici para toda la familia)....etc, etc, etc.....
No quiero que llores por nosotros!!!jajajaja....Qui
Contale a Suzanne cómo vivimos aquí en Argentina y DISFRUTEN, DISFRUTEN, DISFRUTEN y, claro, sigan luchando por un país mejor."
I was reading with the translator on Windows, it isn't very good, so I can't be sure that the opinions from your blog were yours...
It seems to me very good what you are doing, we, the citizens, have to participate, I thought that all was well in the Sates... Here, Joe, it's all bad... it is very sad, I believe will always be poor, with my husband we work but we cannot get ahead, our house is more broken than when you were here, we cannot make more than just enough money to cover the food and some fixed expenses, but NOTHING ELSE, we cannot grow economically. Lately we are feeling discourages because we do not know what to do to get ahead.... In every way, BELIEVE ME, you are better off!!! We cannot buy clothes for our kids, or for ourselves; we have to heat ourselves with the same little heater that you saw when you were here, with firewood and in the kids rooms it is still cold, we have cold water to bath ourselves with; Our fridge is broken, our old car is broken and has been in the shop for more than a month and we cannot fix it. Jesus rides his bike to work with all his tools (we only have one bike for the whole family)... etc, etc, etc... I don't want yout to cry for us!!! hahaha... I want you to enjoy what you have, because even in the USA things are happening that you don't like, you still live in a country where it is NORMAL to have a heater, where it is NORMAL to go on vacations, where it is NORMAL to was dishes and clothes with a machine... ENJOY, ENJOY, ENJOY FRIEND. You know I am always joking around, but NOT this time. I have thought about it a lot and that you must have done something food en the pre-existence to have been born in a PRIVILEGED COUNTRY.
Tell Suzanne how we live here an Argentina and ENJOY, ENJOY, ENJOY, and of course, kepp fighting for a better country.
Me:
"Maria, gracias por contarme su situacion y ayudarme a recordar cuan grande es la bendicion vivir en este pais. Se sin duda que tengo una vida muy bendecida y espero que cada persona tuviera la misma vida que yo disfruto. Agradezco mi Padre Celestial cada dia por la bendicion que yo tengo de sostener a mi familia y la bendicion de tener un trabajo. No creo que merezco una vida tan bendecida porque siento que no he hecho ninguna cosa para merecer la bendicion de vivir en este pais y tener la seguridad que tengo. La razon por la que empece mi blog no fue para quijarme de la situacion economica de este pais ni mi sitacion economica pero empece mi blog porque yo creo que estamos perdiendo nuestra libertad. Los que gobiernan este pais estan dandose mas poder sobre nosotros los ciudadanos. Poder para quitarnos la libertad de escoger lo que hacemos con lo que ganamos. Poder para quitarnos la libertad aun de saber la verdad de lo que esta pasando en este pais. Aun estan luchando para quitarnos la libertda de prensa y la libertad de hablar criticamente del gobierno. Estan intentando cambiar la sistema de nuestra gobierno a comunismo. Si perdimos la libertad en los Estados Unidos no se que pasara a la iglesia ni a la causa de libertad en el mundo. Se por cierto que las fuerzas de satanas estan luchando para quitarnos la libertad porque si sucedan no habra nada que les impide seguir destruyendo la familia y la iglesia. Le digo esto porque quiero aclarar que no me estoy quejando de la situacion economica en que me encuentro porque se que es la libertad que disfruto en este pais que hace posible la verdad de que, si me esfuerzo y trabjo todo lo que puedo, es possible salir adelante en la vida y ser exitoso. Pero aun mas importante, es la libertad que disfrutamos en este pais que nos da el poder para establecer el reino de dios y compartir el evangelio y tomar el mensaje de la libertad de nustras almas al mundo. Creo que la guerra que mepezo en los cielos entre el bien y el mal sigue hoy con el mismo furor y yo quiero luchar por el bien y por la libertad en cada campo de batalla que puedo tanto espiritualmente como temporalmente."
Maria, thank you for telling me about your situation and helping me remember how great a blessing it is to live in this country. I know without a doubt that I have a very blessed life and I wish that every person could have the same life that I enjoy. I thank my Father in Heaven every day for the blessing I have of providing for my family and the blessing of having a job. I do not believe that I deserve such a blessed life because I feel like I have done nothing to deserve the blessing of living in this country and having the security that I do. The reason that I started my blog is because I believe we are loosing our freedom. Those that govern this country are giving themselves more power over us, the citizens. Power to take away our freedom to choose what we do with what we earn, power to take away the freedom even to know the truth about what is going on in this country. They are even fighting to take away the freedom of the press and to criticize the government. They are trying to change the system of government in this country to communism. If we loose freedom in the United States I do not know what will happen to the church or to the cause of freedom around the world. I know for certain that the forces of Satan are fighting to take away our freedom because, if they succeed, there will be nothing standing in there way to continue destroying the family and the church. I tell you this because I want to clarify that I am not complaining about the economic situation in which I find myself because I know that it is the freedom that I enjoy in this country that makes possible the fact that, if I put forth the effort and work as hard as I can, it is possible to get ahead in life and be successful. But, even more importantly, it is the freedom that we enjoy en this country that gives us the power to establish the kingdom of God and share the gospel and take the message of the freedom of our souls to the world. I believe that the war that started in heaven between good and evil continues today with the same fury and I want to fight for good and for freedom and every battlefield that I can both spiritually and temporally.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This conversation that I had with Maria is humbling. It hurts me to know that my friends in Argentina are suffering through the difficult trials that they are. I pray that I may never forget the blessing that it is to live in this country, the richest and most blessed country in the whole world. I also pray that to have the courage to do whatever I can to further the cause of freedom and to lift all of Gods children to the standard of living that I know He feels we deserve. That lifting cannot come through government entitlement programs but through the goodness of our hearts, through charity, which is the pure love of Christ, and charity cannot be mandated, that was Satan's plan.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
The Audacity of Hope - Part One - The Entitlement Culture
Since I commute an hour one way to work I have plenty of time to listen to audiobooks. The most recent book that I finished was "The Audacity of Hope" by none other than our current President. I want to be open to all sides of an argument so I decided it would be a good way to see what he had to say in his book. I think that the definition of audacity from Webster's dictionary sums it up pretty good, "bold or arrogant disregard of normal restraints."
It is amazing to go through this book and hear President Obama talk about his political career and hear him say that one of hist most humbling moments in running for his senate seat was to realize that he was the best qualified individual in the state of Illinois to fill the senate seat. This realization came to him before he decided to run not after the people of Illinois had elected him. That statement alone disturbed me because his most humbling moment lacked any trace of humility. His disregard of normal restraints continues as he talks about the conservative movement with disdain. He says the conservative movement started with Reagan and came to it's logical conclusion with Bush. He stated that the religious conservative right had helped fuel the movement but that their influence was waning as well and that their beliefs were out of date.Given that he wrote this book a few years ago when there was so much anit-bush sentiment being spewed by the main stream media it is safe to assume that he thought the majority of the people in the country agreed with this view. If he could only see the country now and see how he would stir up so many in this country to re-invigorate the conservative movement to a level that is not even understood right now.
Another one of the scary things that he talks about in this book was that how the free market principles upheld by the conservative movement had failed and that the only hope, as he saw it, was to modernize the new deal policies of F.D.R.. I mentioned this is scary right, let me explain why. Look back at history and see what the new deal put into place, some of the most fiscally destructive policies that this country has ever seen. Major entitlement programs were put into place that the country even then, and especially now, could not afford. Along with the massive budget deficits that came along with all of these entitlements, it started in America what I refer to as the entitlement culture which I'll explain in a minute.
First however, I should admit that in the past I have used these entitlement programs such as Pell grants, medicaid, subsidized housing and food stamps to help me get through college while supporting a family. I even used a government program to help me get in my house without a down payment. I am sorry for this and if I could go back and do it over I would. My only excuse is that I didn't fully understand how detrimental these entitlements were to our country and to those who use them.
Yes, I just said that they are detrimental to those who use them and by that I mean that it teaches us that we do not necessarily have to be self reliant. If the going gets too hard we can rely on others to help us. There is nothing wrong with this view but you have to be careful to point out two things. When the going gets too hard and we have to rely on others to help us we cannot abandon our own efforts to become self reliant. Hard work and thrift are very important to our souls and when things come too easy it does have a negative effect on us. The second important thing that we need to remember is that those "others" that we rely on should be people or sources of help that are doing it out of charity and the goodness of their own hearts and not doing it by government mandate. This means that in times of trouble we should first and foremost make sure that we are doing the best we can and make sacrifices when needed. For example, I could have made it through on my own had I taken time off to save up more money to get through school. After making sure that we are doing everything that we can we then appeal to our families and churches for help. No one should be forced to be charitable. There is one being who thought it was a good idea to force everyone to do what is right and that being is Lucifer. This means to me that forcing someone to be charitable cannot lead to anything good since the founder of that very idea is the devil himself.
Now to the entitlement culture. Having experienced this myself, I think I can explain it. When someone finds out that they can get something for seemingly nothing it is pretty easy to make the decision to take that something. Once they see how easy it was the first time, they look for more ways to get something for nothing and after a while they seem to think that they deserve all of the benefits they are getting without the effort of paying for them. The effect that this has is that it takes something that used to be a luxury, like going to college, and makes it seem more like all of us are entitled to it. In my case it truly was a luxury to have help paying for our degrees and the babies that were coming into our family as both my wife and I sought our degrees.We justified ourselves in taking the help that other people were forced to pay for because we looked at it more like an investment. We knew that our education would help us contribute to society both through the taxes we would pay later in life and through the good children we would raise. In reality however we could have had the same luxury had we just been more patient and worked hard and saved our money and paid for it ourselves.
Unfortunately, in our society there are leeches. Those who take the benefits the entitlement programs offer with no intention of bettering their situation or trying to contribute themselves to these programs later in life are examples of such leeches. Also, those who fraudulently obtain entitlement benefits are leeches as well. These leeches only add to the speed at which these entitlement programs are bankrupting our nation.
The only way to combat the entitlement culture is to change our views and stop trying to get something for nothing. Are we willing in our lives to do two things? First, work hard and sacrifice and be thrifty and do all that we can to be self reliant. Second, of our own free will and out of the charity of our hearts, reach out to help those of us who struggle or who are less fortunate. If all of us can do this then there will be no need for anyone to use the entitlement programs of the government and all that tax payer money can go to do what is our moral obligation, paying our debts.
It is amazing to go through this book and hear President Obama talk about his political career and hear him say that one of hist most humbling moments in running for his senate seat was to realize that he was the best qualified individual in the state of Illinois to fill the senate seat. This realization came to him before he decided to run not after the people of Illinois had elected him. That statement alone disturbed me because his most humbling moment lacked any trace of humility. His disregard of normal restraints continues as he talks about the conservative movement with disdain. He says the conservative movement started with Reagan and came to it's logical conclusion with Bush. He stated that the religious conservative right had helped fuel the movement but that their influence was waning as well and that their beliefs were out of date.Given that he wrote this book a few years ago when there was so much anit-bush sentiment being spewed by the main stream media it is safe to assume that he thought the majority of the people in the country agreed with this view. If he could only see the country now and see how he would stir up so many in this country to re-invigorate the conservative movement to a level that is not even understood right now.
Another one of the scary things that he talks about in this book was that how the free market principles upheld by the conservative movement had failed and that the only hope, as he saw it, was to modernize the new deal policies of F.D.R.. I mentioned this is scary right, let me explain why. Look back at history and see what the new deal put into place, some of the most fiscally destructive policies that this country has ever seen. Major entitlement programs were put into place that the country even then, and especially now, could not afford. Along with the massive budget deficits that came along with all of these entitlements, it started in America what I refer to as the entitlement culture which I'll explain in a minute.
First however, I should admit that in the past I have used these entitlement programs such as Pell grants, medicaid, subsidized housing and food stamps to help me get through college while supporting a family. I even used a government program to help me get in my house without a down payment. I am sorry for this and if I could go back and do it over I would. My only excuse is that I didn't fully understand how detrimental these entitlements were to our country and to those who use them.
Yes, I just said that they are detrimental to those who use them and by that I mean that it teaches us that we do not necessarily have to be self reliant. If the going gets too hard we can rely on others to help us. There is nothing wrong with this view but you have to be careful to point out two things. When the going gets too hard and we have to rely on others to help us we cannot abandon our own efforts to become self reliant. Hard work and thrift are very important to our souls and when things come too easy it does have a negative effect on us. The second important thing that we need to remember is that those "others" that we rely on should be people or sources of help that are doing it out of charity and the goodness of their own hearts and not doing it by government mandate. This means that in times of trouble we should first and foremost make sure that we are doing the best we can and make sacrifices when needed. For example, I could have made it through on my own had I taken time off to save up more money to get through school. After making sure that we are doing everything that we can we then appeal to our families and churches for help. No one should be forced to be charitable. There is one being who thought it was a good idea to force everyone to do what is right and that being is Lucifer. This means to me that forcing someone to be charitable cannot lead to anything good since the founder of that very idea is the devil himself.
Now to the entitlement culture. Having experienced this myself, I think I can explain it. When someone finds out that they can get something for seemingly nothing it is pretty easy to make the decision to take that something. Once they see how easy it was the first time, they look for more ways to get something for nothing and after a while they seem to think that they deserve all of the benefits they are getting without the effort of paying for them. The effect that this has is that it takes something that used to be a luxury, like going to college, and makes it seem more like all of us are entitled to it. In my case it truly was a luxury to have help paying for our degrees and the babies that were coming into our family as both my wife and I sought our degrees.We justified ourselves in taking the help that other people were forced to pay for because we looked at it more like an investment. We knew that our education would help us contribute to society both through the taxes we would pay later in life and through the good children we would raise. In reality however we could have had the same luxury had we just been more patient and worked hard and saved our money and paid for it ourselves.
Unfortunately, in our society there are leeches. Those who take the benefits the entitlement programs offer with no intention of bettering their situation or trying to contribute themselves to these programs later in life are examples of such leeches. Also, those who fraudulently obtain entitlement benefits are leeches as well. These leeches only add to the speed at which these entitlement programs are bankrupting our nation.
The only way to combat the entitlement culture is to change our views and stop trying to get something for nothing. Are we willing in our lives to do two things? First, work hard and sacrifice and be thrifty and do all that we can to be self reliant. Second, of our own free will and out of the charity of our hearts, reach out to help those of us who struggle or who are less fortunate. If all of us can do this then there will be no need for anyone to use the entitlement programs of the government and all that tax payer money can go to do what is our moral obligation, paying our debts.
I am Actually Going to Volunteer
I have never once in my life volunteered or even cared enough to try and get involved more with any politicians campaign. I have never posted a bumper sticker on my car, because I know they are a pain to get off and partially because I didn't want to draw unwanted attention to myself. Well, maybe I am getting older or something but I can't just sit back and do nothing when things really are reaching a critical stage in this country. Part of the reason that I want to stand up and do something (although I doubt anyone reads this blog) is because I am sick of not really having a choice when it comes to voting. Take the race for the available senate seat in Arizona this year. John McCain is a career politician that will say whatever it takes to keep him in office, even if it means reversing his position every year ("I'm a maverick, no I'm not a maverick"). J.D. Hayworth seemed like a good choice until you start to look at the things that he actually voted for in congress, and the things that he did for personal gain like very questionable infomercials and becoming a lobbyist. It soon became apparent that he would just be more of the same, a self serving politician who will say whatever it takes to get elected.
For a long time I only knew about the two republican candidates for the senate race but once I got so disgusted thinking that the only choice I was going to have was to vote for the lesser of two evils I decided to look and see if there was any other possible choice. That is when I found Jim Deakin. I have read quite a bit about him and I think I have actually found a good choice. Jim Deakin holds very high the constitutional principles that are the only thing that will save this country. He is for the repealing of the 17th amendment which, if repealed, would put the appointing of U.S. senators back into the state government's hands where it belongs. We are not a democracy we are a republic and the only way we can truly be a republic is to have strong states and the 17th amendment stole the power from the states to appoint senators and instead made senators appointed by popular vote.
It is for this reason, and the fact that I agree with all of his policy stances, that I am endorsing Jim Deakin for U.S. senate. I have contacted his campaign and told them that, although I cannot really contribute financially, I want to do whatever I can to help spread the word that we do have a real choice in this republican primary to get a constitutional conservative to take this country down the road to restoring our freedom.
See this video on you tube that is another person explaining in her own words why she supports Jim Deakin and then look into him more closely yourself and see what you think. Don't buy the crap that we should vote for one of the two major candidates because they have a better chance of beating the challenger. Vote for who you think will actually do the job the way it was meant to be done.
For a long time I only knew about the two republican candidates for the senate race but once I got so disgusted thinking that the only choice I was going to have was to vote for the lesser of two evils I decided to look and see if there was any other possible choice. That is when I found Jim Deakin. I have read quite a bit about him and I think I have actually found a good choice. Jim Deakin holds very high the constitutional principles that are the only thing that will save this country. He is for the repealing of the 17th amendment which, if repealed, would put the appointing of U.S. senators back into the state government's hands where it belongs. We are not a democracy we are a republic and the only way we can truly be a republic is to have strong states and the 17th amendment stole the power from the states to appoint senators and instead made senators appointed by popular vote.
It is for this reason, and the fact that I agree with all of his policy stances, that I am endorsing Jim Deakin for U.S. senate. I have contacted his campaign and told them that, although I cannot really contribute financially, I want to do whatever I can to help spread the word that we do have a real choice in this republican primary to get a constitutional conservative to take this country down the road to restoring our freedom.
See this video on you tube that is another person explaining in her own words why she supports Jim Deakin and then look into him more closely yourself and see what you think. Don't buy the crap that we should vote for one of the two major candidates because they have a better chance of beating the challenger. Vote for who you think will actually do the job the way it was meant to be done.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
My Pledge to Become Politically Active
Before I post this I should warn those of you who might be easily offended at my conservative tendencies that I do listen to Glenn Beck. I do not blindly follow whatever he says but I listen to him and try to glean from him what I can. While visiting his website today I came across his "40 days and 40 nights pledge." This pledge stuck me as an incredible starting point for becoming politically active, first I must make sure I set things right in my life and only then will I be able to look outside myself. I also loved this pledge because I know that it will do nothing but improve my life even if I don't ever take it beyond myself. The pledge is as follows...
"For the next 40 days and 40 nights, I pledge...I COVENANT to practice faith, hope and charity by doing these things.
First...faith. I will pray on my knees every night for the next 40 nights...starting TONIGHT. Pray for guidance, inspiration, peace...pray for the leaders of our country. Pray for their safety, and that they will receive wisdom. I will re-establish my relationship with God.
Hope...hope comes from truth. You can't have hope based on lies. If you go to the doctor and you're in the early stages of cancer, but the doctor tells you that you just have the sniffles...that's false hope, and it won't help you, in fact, it would kill you. So, we have to have honesty, to have real hope. So, I will stop all lies for the next 40 days. That includes lying to myself. I will establish a pattern of honesty and make it become habitual. I will question with boldness...everything...even the things Glenn Beck tells you every night...I will do my own research...and then pray for my own confirmation on the things I have learned. I will find out what is true in my life.
And third...I will have charity. Charity begins at home. I will do something kind for every member of my family at least once a week. I will write it down, and then do it. Also, I pledge to take notice of how blessed I really am. I live in the greatest country the world has ever known...and even the least prosperous among us, are among the wealthiest people in the world...I will be grateful" [pledge taken from http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/39452/].
"For the next 40 days and 40 nights, I pledge...I COVENANT to practice faith, hope and charity by doing these things.
First...faith. I will pray on my knees every night for the next 40 nights...starting TONIGHT. Pray for guidance, inspiration, peace...pray for the leaders of our country. Pray for their safety, and that they will receive wisdom. I will re-establish my relationship with God.
Hope...hope comes from truth. You can't have hope based on lies. If you go to the doctor and you're in the early stages of cancer, but the doctor tells you that you just have the sniffles...that's false hope, and it won't help you, in fact, it would kill you. So, we have to have honesty, to have real hope. So, I will stop all lies for the next 40 days. That includes lying to myself. I will establish a pattern of honesty and make it become habitual. I will question with boldness...everything...even the things Glenn Beck tells you every night...I will do my own research...and then pray for my own confirmation on the things I have learned. I will find out what is true in my life.
And third...I will have charity. Charity begins at home. I will do something kind for every member of my family at least once a week. I will write it down, and then do it. Also, I pledge to take notice of how blessed I really am. I live in the greatest country the world has ever known...and even the least prosperous among us, are among the wealthiest people in the world...I will be grateful" [pledge taken from http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/39452/].
I should make another comment here, this pledge is supposed to be in preperation for the 8-28 Restoring Honor rally in Washington D.C. that Glenn is putting on. I know there are less than 40 days and 40 nights before 8-28 but no matter when we start this pledge it will improve our lives if we take it seriously.
On questioning with boldness like is mentioned in the pledge, I try to read all the major news networks and a few additional sources to get a broad view of what is going on and what the varying opinions are and then I use the spirit to try and come to my own conclusions. I will admit that after time and time again of finding out that the things I here from Glenn Beck are true and seeing time and time again those who attack him never attacking him with facts but only attacking him personally I tend to put a little more trust in and weight to the things I here from him. I still, however, try and get a broad view every day.
So, I started day number one of the 40 days and 40 nights pledge tonight and will move forward day by day.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Historically Significant?
Throughout my life I have always wondered if anything historically significant was going to happen in my lifespan. Born in the early 80's it seemed as though the major struggles in the world had been solved before I was even old enough to start paying attention. The World Wars had both been fought and the Cold War was over. Other trying times like the great depression had come and gone. Sure this country faced minor wars and minor recessions every once in a while but it seemed like all the truly defining moments in history were over with. It seemed to me that I was destined to live a life of relative peace and that people were more concerned with their own lives than what was really happening with the government of our nation or any other nation. It seemed as if the whole world cared more about the olympics or the world cups. I thought that this was the life that I was going to lead.
I have always been a fan of history. I love learning more about the moments that helped define this country such as the Revolutionary War and other moments in history where this countries greatness has shone through such as in World War II. I adore the key figures who had important roles to play in history and I always find myself wondering if I would have lived during those times in history, would I find myself doing anything similar? Had I been alive in the time of the Revolutionary War would I have been a loyalist or would I have found the courage to risk it all and stand for freedom? Would I have been willing to serve as an infantrymen and give my life along with all those men whose sacred sacrifice built this great nation? If I lived during the time of World War II, would I have stood against evil and enlisted in any branch of the military?
I guess I don't have to wonder any more if anything historically significant will happen during my lifetime because it is becoming painfully obvious that this country has hit a crossroads. Will we as citizens who believe in small limited government and maximum personal freedom stand up to those people and powers who would pervert the ways of freedom and twist this country into one full of citizens who are subservient to a powerful nanny state? Do I have it in me to find whatever I can do to make difference so that years from now down the road I can at least tell my children and grand children that I was there and I did all that I could to fight the loss of freedom.
I pray that freedom will not be lost. I pray that this country will return to its founding principles and that we as a nation will be willing to make the sacrifices necessary to solve the problems the right way. I know that this change starts with me and I know it won't be easy but it has to be done. And so, I am ready to start becoming more self-reliant, getting out of debt and helping those around me who stand in need instead of leaving them to depend on the government. May it not be to late for me or for this country to make a difference.
I now see that there are forces out there that would lull us all into a relative sense of security and have us all believe that the major happenings of the world are over. These forces are trying to distract us all and then, while we are not paying attention, they are very busy planning our destruction.
This sounds a little dooms dayish so let me explain. I always though that, while elections did get a lot of attention, it didn't really matter in the end who won because neither person could possibly want anything that was contrary to the constitution of this country. I naively thought that all politicians had our countries best interest in mind they simply disagreed on how some things should be carried out. Well about the time that the elections started to have major moral issues at the core of all the campaigning is the time that I realized some of these politicians wanted things that just didn't make sense.
Unfortunately it is becoming all too apparent that there are some politicians that are simply in it for personal gain and care nothing for the principles of individual freedom that this nation was founded on. Even worse, some politicians are in it to bring about transformations that would take us from the only successful free system this world has ever seen and turn us into simply another version of a system that has failed time and time again because it is founded on false doctrines of personal dependance on the state instead of self reliance and freedom.
I have always been a fan of history. I love learning more about the moments that helped define this country such as the Revolutionary War and other moments in history where this countries greatness has shone through such as in World War II. I adore the key figures who had important roles to play in history and I always find myself wondering if I would have lived during those times in history, would I find myself doing anything similar? Had I been alive in the time of the Revolutionary War would I have been a loyalist or would I have found the courage to risk it all and stand for freedom? Would I have been willing to serve as an infantrymen and give my life along with all those men whose sacred sacrifice built this great nation? If I lived during the time of World War II, would I have stood against evil and enlisted in any branch of the military?
I guess I don't have to wonder any more if anything historically significant will happen during my lifetime because it is becoming painfully obvious that this country has hit a crossroads. Will we as citizens who believe in small limited government and maximum personal freedom stand up to those people and powers who would pervert the ways of freedom and twist this country into one full of citizens who are subservient to a powerful nanny state? Do I have it in me to find whatever I can do to make difference so that years from now down the road I can at least tell my children and grand children that I was there and I did all that I could to fight the loss of freedom.
I pray that freedom will not be lost. I pray that this country will return to its founding principles and that we as a nation will be willing to make the sacrifices necessary to solve the problems the right way. I know that this change starts with me and I know it won't be easy but it has to be done. And so, I am ready to start becoming more self-reliant, getting out of debt and helping those around me who stand in need instead of leaving them to depend on the government. May it not be to late for me or for this country to make a difference.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Here Goes Nothing
I have never really been the one to stand up and let my voice be heard. I have never really wanted the attention. Of course I haven't always agreed with what has been going on politically in this country, but I always had the hope that someone else would stand up and do something about it for me. This hope of mine was based on the assumption that there were at least a few good politicians left that actually felt that the purpose of their office was to serve their constituents and not themselves. It was based on the assumption that at least a few of the politicians actually shared my viewpoints and held some common values and principles. However, it is becoming more and more obvious that this hope of mine might be ill-founded. So, with growing frustration at what is happening to this country and how I believe it is headed not only down the wrong track but down the complete opposite track that our founders intended it to head down. As recent bills that have passed through our legislative process have bitten their proverbial thumb at personal freedom and instead seek to setup a nanny state in which "all men are paid for existing, and no man must pay for his sins" I have decided that I cannot sit around any longer and hope that the seemingly few remaining politicians that have any integrity left at all will pull of a miracle and restore common sense and seek to uphold the constitution of this great country. I must try and do anything that I can. The only place that I can think of to start right now is to start a blog and pray that by some small miracle I can find people that think like I do and that together we can start something, anything, to try and tell our elected officials that we demand integrity. We demand representatives who actually feel a responsibility to represent their constituents, who try to the best of their ability to live honest lives and seek to honor the history and the future of this great country. This, then, is my first step to try and do my duty to God and my country and exercise my rights as a free citizen and become a little more involved in what is going on. Here goes nothing.
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