After the Fall: Part Two

Life has now quieted down a lot. The violence that occurred during the early stages of the fall, are non-existent now. Crime is almost unheard of, as people are working together to survive and pick up the pieces of their now very changed environment. Most people made it through with just some moderate problems, neighbors stepped up and helped those who were less prepared. The U.S. dollar is still here, but things sure cost more. Food is finally hitting the grocery stores, but not cheap at all. The cities are almost empty, as government crackdowns of civil disobedience turned deadly. Those who could fled, those who couldn’t were killed in the violence or later rounded up. Where they are is only a guess. Rumors have it that a Communist group is trying to take over and form a new government, time to start pushing a better plan, with a new constitution.

The Taxation Contradiction

I was reading through some different articles over the weekend, hoping to find something interesting to comment on, when I happened to stumble upon a series of several articles in a row dealing with taxation. The articles had nothing to do with one another. They just all happened to have taxation in some form or another as the main topic. Each taken on its own painted a picture in support of this plan or that. And all were, in general, the intentions or sales pitches from the Democrat point of view. But my random order of articles revealed to me a disturbing double standard in from the White House in their message. No, double standard isn’t correct. Contradiction fits better. Two articles that I read back to back in particular drew my attention to the contradiction, which I am ashamed to say that I never put together before. It seems that the White House, specifically the President, believes that we should reward the wealthy who conduct business in the US, while at the same time stating that those who are wealthy in America should be taxed higher than they are…

Let’s Find a Fix 1 – Unemployment (Continued)

I have to admit that I am pleased with the progress that was made in discussing this subject over the first couple of days. The thread was getting pretty long so I figured I would do a bit of a recap here and start with a somewhat clean thread. That way people aren’t scrolling forever to find the stuff they want to further discuss. So I figure I am going to do a somewhat short recap here in what will pass for the “article”. I will then go through the comments and pull out comments that we should continue to flesh out a bit. Obviously, I am going to be picking out the stuff that I think should be brought forward. Please don’t hesitate to bring something else over if you want to discuss it further and I didn’t bring it over. Additionally, I am going to post a few specific thoughts of mine with questions in the beginning comments. My hope is that we can come to some sort of agreement on the answers to them, but I realize that may not be the case.

Let’s Find a Fix 1 – Unemployment

OK, to this is the beginning of the series I was promising that would focus on the realities that we are facing in today’s America. Instead of the usual premise that government is bad, and thus should keep its hands out of everything, for the sake of this series, I would like to start from a different premise. That premise is that the world is what it is. Government is involved in everything. So the focus now has to shift away from the purely philosophical (although that doesn’t negate it, just changes the focus). What I mean is that it is OK to start from a point where we say, “government should not be involved” as where you would like to find a solution. But if we say that, we need to find a way to get there from here. I would like this to be a really open discussion with as many different ideas as possible. And no condescending to those who offer their thoughts. We have very different views all represented here. The idea behind my site was that we would have a place to discuss solutions despite the two party’s attempts to keep us separated by rhetoric. Time to get to doing that. So here are my rules for how we play this out:

Charity and Sacrifice in a Free Society

With no time to write this evening I offer instead an article I read a while ago on the American Thinker website. We often talk of how the poor suffer in this country. And we obviously differ in our approaches as to how to deal with this situation. Those on the left tend to believe that it is government’s duty to prop up the weakest among us. Those on the right tend to believe in Charity. Black Flag believes government shouldn’t exist and that charity would suffice to solve the problem should the government no longer be in the way. While I don’t share BF’s desire to see zero government, I do share his belief that charity can take care of the issues that plague our poor. There is no need to for a government handout program, which is what welfare has become. I share the article and invite discussion around it because I believe that the article succinctly lays out the consequence of the altruism that today’s politicians bring to bear on the American public.

I Don’t Want to Tame Big Government….

So as you awaken to the beginning of yet another week in today’s America, I offer today a bit of a pep talk, a bit of a rallying cry, and a bit of a further explanation for where I want to go, both personally and with Stand Up For America. I can tell you all that the last 14 months has been a tough time for me. Challenged by many of you, those faithful readers that have digested my daily thoughts, and then took off your kid gloves and smacked me around, I have spent the last 14 months challenging myself. I found that the paradigm that I had been living for so very long….. was not entirely flawless (yeah, I know… Shocker). I found that while I still am smarter than the average bear, I still make mistakes, find contradictions in my conclusions, and stumble as I attempt to find the path to personal freedom, individual liberty, and personal responsibility. My most shocking conclusion (at least most shocking to me) came in my conclusion about government in general.

What I found is that I have absolutely zero interest in taming big government…. I want to kill it.

Defining What Government Does… or Doesn’t

I was reading through the comments on last night’s open mic throughout the day today. Some good stuff there. An interesting discussion with Ray about racism that is forcing me to think hard about my definitions and my perceptions, which is a good thing. I look forward to continuing it. But I was really struck reading the back and forth between BF and Chris Devine concerning government, and the ensuing thoughts that were offered by PeterB. A couple of weeks ago we had a discussion about defining what government is, and why it is important to do so. But this conversation I was witnessing today went a little further than that and I felt it warranted some more discussion amongst us all. If you would like to first review the discussion from the other week, you can do so HERE . There were some interesting discussions. But I want to attempt to refine the conversation, specifically with Chris and BF, as I think differently than both of them…

Starting Basic… Defining What We Seek

Some interesting conversations have been swirling around the last couple of days between BF, JAC, and others. This conversation seems to be focused around trying to define what government is and is not. It is an interesting conversation to have. More important, this is more than an interesting conversation, it is an absolute necessity. We discuss on this site daily the ways that we are dissatisfied with our federal government. We talk about things like “getting back to basics” and “returning to the principles of our founding fathers”. In short we are discussing what is right and moral, what is desired and deserved. We are talking about government; its purpose, its scope, its actions and its future. As we do so, we miss an important step in the discussion process…

Third Party Viability…. Scene 3, Take 2

I covered this topic once upon a time. In fact it was the 4th blog post that I wrote way back when I started. I covered the topic OK then, but I think I can do better this time around. More importantly, the last time I covered it I only had about 3 readers, lol. I got 3 responses other than my own, one was Revolution, whom some of you have become acquainted with, and another was my wife. I would say we have grown a bit with a couple thousand page hits a day. It is hard for me to tell how many people actually come to the site, but I am sure that the number is significantly larger than it was the last time I talked about this. When I started writing this blog, I was disgusted with the outcome of the elections and disgusted with the Republican party. Those two factors in the equation have not changed. I was also in the firm belief that moving to a third party, possibly the Libertarians, was the absolute best move for me. So let’s talk about a third party and whether that is a viable move in today’s political climate…

HR 1388 – The Beginning of the Brown Shirt Brigades?

Many of you may remember my initial rant against O’prompter and Emanuel’s proposed Mandatory Civilian National Defense Force. I wrote about it way back in November, here (you can click it if you want, it should open a new window, not leave this one). I kind of left the subject alone for a while because it didn’t seem like there was anything going on with it. But I got a call last week from Revolution who told me to go and check out HR 1388. So I did, and what do I find? It isn’t being left alone at all! On March 18, the House of Representatives passed by a vote of 321-105 (a bi-partisan vote) HR1388– The Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education Act (The GIVE Act). And somehow this isn’t making big news the way it should. 

So What is All This Tea Party Hoo-Ha?

Being the informed readers that you are, you have already heard about the planned tax day tea parties that are being planned across the country. Over the last week or two I have seen several comments about them. Some feel that they are a good idea. Some feel they are a bad idea. Some feel that while a good idea, they will not be all that effective. In reading it all I came to the conclusion that many people simply don’t know enough about what is happening to be able to either support or oppose them. So I figured that maybe it was time to bring in an expert who would be able to answer the questions, both yours and mine. Fortunately for all of us, we have a subject matter expert on the subject right here in our readership….

Because We Cannot Let Maureen Dowd Suffer

I think you all know what I think of the Main Stream Media. All of them are biased. Most, but not all, of them are biased to the left. I chuckle at the sheer stupidity of anyone who attempts to make the claim that this isn’t true. They point to Fox News, but in reality Fox does pretty unbiased news during the day and freely admits that they turn the station over to conservative hosts at night. But it is far too easy to point out MSNBC, CNN, NBC, CBS, The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, LA Times, Keith Olberman, Katie Couric, and the wonderful Mrs. Dowd…. you get the point. The fact is that the news simply is not the news any more.

Further Assaults on the Free Market

I have to make that statement about “further assaults on the free market” with a bit of a grin on my face. Because there is nothing free about the market anymore. Government has gotten its corrupt little hands into just about every facet of the free market and regulated and taxed and controlled it to death. But as we sit here watching the demise of the business world as we know it, I still find myself stunned at some of the moves. I wasn’t surprised when Team O’prompter used every miniscule misstep in the private industries to seize control and get government’s foot in the proverbial door. After all, that is what they do…. lie and get the American people fired up against a business and tell you that you need them to control this out of control company or industry….

More of the Traveling Magic Show

I have listened to the news for the last couple of days swirl on about the bonuses being paid to executives from troubled insurance giant AIG. I understand that many of you are upset with AIG. I do get that we are seeing a company get bailed out with Billions of dollars of US Taxpayer money. And I do get that the contracts of these executives awarded them large bonuses that you don’t think are fair. I don’t think they are fair either. Let’s get that out of the way. But, my friends it is time to put a little perspective into play here. And once we have some perspective we can ask ourselves what is the real game afoot?

Guest Commentator… You Won’t Believe It

I have bumped this post back up a bit so that some of the new readers that join can partake in what BF added to the economic discussion. This article was originally posted on February 8. OK, I am going to take a bit of a risk here. As the hundreds of you who have followed this blog for the last couple of months are well aware, there have been some rather uncomfortable comment exchanges between myself and one of the more frequent commenters on Stand Up For America. We often disagree on well… just about everything. I have generally simply quit debating him. I have tried to be clear that it isn’t personal. I simply won’t debate when it devolves into lack of respect or any type of circular argument that doesn’t give me the courtesy of benefit of the doubt on my morals or principles. However….

The President has Crossed My Line

I have tried really hard over the last 6 months to give Barack Obama the benefit of the doubt on a lot of things. Perhaps he feels his health care thing is a better plan for America. Maybe he really believed that putting our grandchildren into debt was the best way to fight a flagging economy. Maybe they really do think that their delusions of a mandate give them license to make insane proposals. Perhaps he and his liberal posse are even good intentioned (albeit psychotically disillusioned) in their pursuit of Socialism and belief in the Global Warming Hoax. But my dear readers, they have crossed my line this evening. My normally sane and respectful tone just had its “pause” button pressed for the remainder of the night resulting in a phrase I vowed not to make on this blog….

Good… Now Both Parties Have Lied to Us Equally

I was perusing the news again tonight as I often do when I a) don’t know what I want to write about or b) Have some subjects in mind but don’t have the time to fully research those and write them so I have to find something with a little less research. Tonight was B. I have lots to say but not tons of time to research tonight and I wanted to point out this little piece of heaven. I felt it was a lie when John McCain said it back in September. So the Republicans were lying to me then. Now, after mocking Republicans for it on the campaign trail, the Democrats are now telling me the same lie because it fits their current agenda. The point is… I think they are both lying rather than Democrats finally admitting Republicans were correct.

Pot versus Kettle, Part 2

One of the reasons I get annoyed with Democrats today is that they are complete hypocrites. I have to roll my eyes every time I listen to their whining about someone saying something about the President. I mean, Really? You are going to play that game? How dare Rush Limbaugh come out and say that he hopes Obama fails. That is un-American. No, my friends, that is uniquely American. It is what makes us what we are. A country where the opposition is free to voice their opinion without fear of prosecution. And here is the kicker Democrats, you better thank your lucky stars that America is like that. Otherwise, there wouldn’t have been enough of you left walking around free to elect this fraud to the White House.

Has the Time Come for Republicans to Marginalize God?

OK, I know that this is upsetting some of you already. You read that headline and the hackles on your back went up. Let me say first of all that I am not saying that the answer to this question is yes. I am also not saying it is no. I am saying I want to have a discussion with all of you smart folks about this. We have been discussing a way forward for the Republican party. I believe the answer may lie in changing the party’s stance in order to re-create the party as one more for the moderate voters in America. And I believe that this question has to be asked as we discuss this subject. It plays into a bunch of platform issues, and the reality is that the vast majority of Americans do not fall into the extreme right or extreme left.

The Messiah Recants Again… and Again

I am going to continue to call out these things. It isn’t just because I disagree with the direction that Obama and the Democratic leadership (I despise even calling them leaders because it is an insult to real leaders everywhere) are taking the country. And make no bones about it, I completely disagree with the direction they are heading. I will continue to call out these things because I hope that some of the Democrats who read this blog, and who fully support Obama based on what he says, will eventually understand that he is lying through his teeth each time he addresses the nation. If the guy was actually doing any of the things he claimed I might support him a bit. 

Taxes Part 2… How Do We Fix It?

In part one about taxes I took the time to discuss my views on taxes; Which ones were constitutional in my view and which ones were not. And I am writing this one simultaneously. What is right and what needs to be the way forward are two different discussions in my opinion. So I wanted to keep them separate from one another. That thread for discussion of what taxes are constitutional and this one for what might be a better way to incorporate taxes in the government as I would attempt to run it today. So here goes…

My View on Taxes… Part 1

I hate taxes. I think we can all agree with that statement. I don’t go as far as calling all taxes theft. But that doesn’t mean that I am OK with all of the taxes that we pay. Black Flag and I had  this mini discussion a month or two ago and I said then I would write about taxes when I had a chance to clarify where I stand on them. And it is a harder piece to write than I would have figured, only because I had to really think about a lot of them and consider whether they are fair or not, whether they contribute to the greater good or not. But since I write about politics, I do feel this is an important thing to ferret out.

Economic Debate… Without Politicians

I found this article out there and it makes sense to me. The article was by a writer named Marc Rotterman and was called “Let’s Come Together to Save Our Country’s Economy”. It was an interesting idea that he was espousing, that the Republicans in Congress get together with Democrats that think President Obama and Nancy Pelosi are going too far with their liberal agenda spending. I thought “hmm, interesting, a summit to come up with a better economic plan”. In the end I think I have a better idea…

I can whip Chuck Norris, Too

If I drank enough, I might get silly enough to mutter those words. It’s a good thing I don’t drink. One thing that I don’t want anyone to get away from understanding is that the President is just a human being. I mean how many times have we heard people speaking completely out of their ass. “I can whip your ass”, only to never have the guts to try. They never thought they could but they talked a great game. “I am going to tell my boss what an asshole he is”, only to never find the cajones to say a word. Well, President Obama is no different than everyone else. He can talk a great game too. Problem is…. Talk is cheap.

The Tactic of Confusion by a Master Puppeteer

So I was perusing the Fox Forums, as I like to do, much to the dismay of Bob the Builder, who doesn’t like intelligent conversation to happen unless he sets the standards. And I ran across an article by Glenn Beck. If you don’t know who he is, you should. The guy is hilarious. He is also a bit of a fear monger and is prone to going off on tangents. But he is effective and he has the pulse of Americans pretty well measured. HE is angry these days, but his anger manifests as honesty, good or bad. He wrote a piece about Obama being a mad genius. I wanted to echo his thoughts here because they were dead on….

American Revolution Part Deux

You say you want a revolution? Me too. I have used the word early and often on this site because I am good and pissed off. Wait… that sounds a bit too angry. How about this… I am less than pleased with the outcome of recent electoral processes and slightly dissatisfied with the direction of the two primary political parties represented in today’s national political spectrum. Ah, FRACK IT. I am pissed off. Who am I kidding? I am a little bitter, a little fired up, a little less wealthy, a little more kicked around, a little bit country and and little bit Rock n Roll. Those last two would make a great song… nah, it would never work. 

Reducing the Budget… Pelosi Style

So a review of the Chosen One’s stirring speech is coming soon, maybe as a second posting tomorrow night. I already have tomorrow night’s posting written, and it will be a good one titled “American Revolution Part Deux”, but I digress. What I want to pull from last night’s farce is his bold promise amid the economic spendulus bill’s passage that he will “cut the deficit in half over the next 4 years”. That is a pretty bold thing to say just a week after you signed into law the largest spending bill in America’s history, a mere $787 Billion. It is a really bold statement given the White House’s estimate that they will have a budget shortfall of 1.5 Trillion dollars this year alone. That is more than triple last year’s record $484 Billion.

Transparency We Can Believe In

Hope and Change, Hope and Change, HOPE AND CHANGE!!! If we say it enough times perhaps we will actually see some of it. But let’s be honest, we aren’t seeing much hope coming from the new administration are we? I have documented the doom and gloom coming from the President. As far as change, it sure seems like the only change is the party affiliation of those who are screwing us most. We can continue to click our ruby red slippers together and chant “There’s no place like Hope and Change” until our feet bleed, but we have to face up to the fact that the American public got duped again.

Pissed Off Yet America? We Need a Change

As part of my daily rituals, I routinely go out and seek other blogs to find out what people are saying. I have been struggling a bit lately with figuring out exactly where I wanted to go with this blog, whether I was going to push Libertarianism, simply give daily reports on current news, or maybe begin writing daily poems dedicated to the trees. I realized that last one might lose me some of my valuable readers, so I ruled it out quickly. But really, how do I want to proceed. I have found one common thread in what I read out there and I think that it may provide me an answer for where I go next….

A Nation of Cowards… or Realists?

I have to say that I was really disappointed by the statements made recently by the first black US Attorney General, Eric Holder. Allow me to just be up front about this… I don’t like Eric Holder in the first place. He was a horrible selection to be the AG. Perhaps The Messiah’s worst pick of the bunch, which is really bad because The Messiah has made some BAD picks, including several who had to didn’t bother to pay the taxes they want to prosecute us for not paying.