Here in Oxford Town everyone is in the process of recovering from yet another busy Christmas. No matter how many promises we made ourselves about 'not doing' such a BIG Christmas ever again seems we never stick to our guns. (Maybe it's just DNA stuff, or maybe it's tradition, or just maybe behind all the hoopla is something more significant.( Rasmussen's current national survey found that 71% of us celebrate Christmas because we see it as a religious holiday…. CHRIST mas... Don't you wonder why he had to do a national poll to discover this and how do many other folks miss the obvious as well... Oh well...)
It really is just too easy to keep doing things like we have done them 'all our lives' regardless of cost or stress. The simplest level of change is hard and in a general way we always try and protect ourselves from it. Like so many politicians who make promises upon promises and then don't follow through and who are forever missing the obvious.
Even with all the hubbub around the holidays our congressional folks have been hard at it. Trying to change our country, change our way of life, and adding to the national debt all in the name of taking care of us'ins their poor dumb constituents.
I propose a new and radically different schedule as to when Congress can meet and what they can or cannot consider. My suggestion is that Congress meets twice each year. First meeting on the third Thursday morning from 9 to 12 in March but only if it is raining. Then again of the last Thursday in August from 1 to 3 but only if it is snowing. The focus of these two meetings will be on redemption (as it applies to elected officials). The debate must be spirited with each member ending the meeting with a pledged list of promises from each as to the things they will do in their home state between now and the next congressional gathering to build trust and hopefully find forgiveness from the voters who elected them. Until these core problems (redemption and trust) are solved I don't know what else is important or how they can ever think the Tea Party will go away.
The large incoming freshman class is filled with Tea Party kinds of representatives. Yet the GOP’s old guard leaders are inhibiting this new freshman class already by appointing the most liberal possible choices to chair key congressional committees such as the Committee on Environment and Public Work, Fred Upton (R-Mich.) In this act GOP leaders signaled to us they are not serious about expanding the nation’s energy-producing capability. Upton, after all, is most recently famous for highly unpopular legislation on incandescent light bulbs. ( I think this is a clue as to his beliefs and values.) He is hardly the choice for a nation desperate for energy through an expansion of domestic oil drilling and the relaxation of regulations on nuclear, coal and other energy sources. Do Republicans really believe that he is the best choice for this important committee chairmanship? Stuck in the politics of the past, Republicans went for seniority over principle — and ignored the clearly expressed will of their supporters. Senator Upton changed his position on the light bulb issue during his run for the chairmanship of this committee. (As a reminder: This is the Senator that wrote and got the bill passed to do away with incandescent light bulbs by 2014.) Which makes him look like a politician who does not plan to act on principles but on what can help him get a chairmanship. (Note: At this time the light bulb legislation is still on the books.)
Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) is a qualified and proven fiscal conservative, supported by Tea Partiers nationwide. Yet instead of Kingston, Republicans decided to put the powerful panel under the control of a liberal Republican — and one with a seemingly insatiable appetite for pork.
Another example of "Turning on a Dime."
Sen. Thad Cochran (R., Miss.), the ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, and his Mississippi colleague, Sen. Roger Wicker, had 517 earmarks worth more than $1 billion in the new spending bill, according to the group report. These earmarks were attached to the omnibus tax package bill that just failed. Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) has said this group belong to their own political party separate from Republicans and Democrats. As many as nine Republicans, led by Mr. Cochran, had initially sided with Democrats to move this tax bill forward. But under pressure, Mr. Cochran reluctantly backed down. Anti-spending Republicans credited the Tea Party and the rising power of the conservative grass roots as the cause of Senator Cochran's about face. (BUT don't think this bill is dead. When it is revived our 'always to be reelected good old boys' will be right there back at the trough. )
One More Whistle Blower (One more big leak)
WaPo (not WiKi) leaked another intelligence bomb titled "We are all being surveyed." Nothing will ever be private again. Facebook is a monster and the U.S. Government is keeping tabs on all of us. To wit: The Washington Post (our home grown whistle blower, known as WAPO) has released another data bomb in its series of leaks on the intelligence industrial complex. According to WaPo, "The FBI is building a database with the names and certain personal information, such as employment history, etc., on thousands of U.S. citizens and residents whom a local police officer OR fellow citizen believe to be acting suspiciously. It is accessible to an increasing number of local law enforcement and military criminal investigators along with increasing concerns that the information could somehow end up in the public domain." Other things WaPo uncovered: "The Department of Homeland Security sends state and local partners intelligence reports with little meaningful guidance. The State reports sent back to them have sometimes inappropriately reported on lawful meetings, etc...." So, basically, what we got is a left hand not even knowing there is a right hand and this is a dangerous systemic issue (Good tracking guys. I feel safer already. My add on. ) and terrifying."
We have WiKi Leaks, WaPo, blowing whistles on our government. Here is a test: When did Congress enact the very first whistle blower law? (Year or Congress will do … extra points if you know why Congress put the law in place….and what they paid the whistle blowers.) Every government relies on whistle blowers for information….Many think if the people could have gotten some leaks about what was being put into the Health Care Bill early enough they would have stopped it from passing.
Some good 'guessers' are saying that we will have only about ninety days to get this new Congress along with the new congressmen to know we are still out here. We are still watching…..We are ready to act… If they lose sight of us, before we know it, the new group may well be 'going along' with the old guard….Wanting to be part of the ruling class.
Most miracles get passed off as coincidence. The rationalizing that has been done around the November election by elected folks and the media cannot hide the obvious. November was a miracle.
Given the two months since the election everyone of them have been trying to rethink what happened… They can't get it…They can't get it because they are trying to figure us out intellectually. The Tea Party cannot be understood through the intellect or through intellectual measurement. The first news we have for them is the Tea Party exists because they don't understand what the Tea Party is about and the second news we have for them is they don't have to get it.
We don't want Dems from the right, left, or center and we don't want GOPs from right, left, or center… We want to govern ourselves and we will govern with or without any one of the current sitting elected officials. We are going to pilot our ship of state and they are on board or they aren't. They are paid employee and we just fired almost ninety of the rascals. This is just the first ninety. The third little news clip for them is we know they don't understand who we are, what we are about, and what we want, and that makes them vulnerable. This is not the time in this nation's life to have weak men in leadership positions. Man up, make tough decisions, don't compromise, don't just go along politically, stand up, be counted, and we will stand up with you. Anything short of this and we're coming after you. November was your assurances that we will keep our promises.
To the shame of our state, our two Senators have sold their votes to proudly bring home tainted bacon.
I don't know one single Tea Party member that ever wanted us to have another Tea Party. Not one. Also, I don't know one who isn't angry that these measures we taking have to be taken. The founding of this nation was a miracle. A silent hand was moving hearts. As we take this country back the same silent hand will be at work. Another miracle is going to happen.
The lesson learned is we are the ones who must be in charge and guard the gates. The founders knew it is we the people who must guide and direct. We are the nation. The nation exists through us and for us.
Before this next election cycle starts to gin up we need to take a hard look at what we have done over these last many decades that has allowed/caused this crises. 1) Through our complacency we have reelected and reelected the always to be reelected good old boys. These good old boys, over time, came to believe it was their country to do with as they liked and come to believed we would shut up and obey. 2) We don't have recall laws that allowed us to make corrections. Particularly with our Senators with their six year tenure. Over time we will make mistakes in the election process therefore we need a way to correct those mistakes.
The Court has ruled that we cannot set by law term limits on federal congressmen or senators. Only the voters can do that. Only voters….We didn't set limits. We didn't hold anyone accountable. We didn't set agendas...We just kept reelecting.
I'll give the liberal press, the national party leaders, and the sitting federal congressional folks a clue…"Love is a verb." A verb is a action word … Love is the act of giving of the self to the others and/or causes. (I love, you love, he loves, you love, she loves, they love) So when they hear our loud talk, when they see us on the street, all they are noticing is we are angry. God, country, individual freedoms are intellectual concepts for them so they simply miss what is being done.
The obvious is we are giving of ourselves, we are investing ourselves, we are encouraging others, we are sharing deeply held beliefs. These acts are the underpinning of miracles. These acts built the shinning city on the hill...Lest we forget.
The other bomb shell discovery Rasmussen reported was that states that didn't impose personal income tax on their people were the states that attracted the most new business, jobs growth, and their population grew. Another breath taking discovery.
Just a parting thought. America has problems. Social problems in minority groups and now spreading out into the larger population groups, public education system, and the loss of the jobs base for our low skilled workers. All of these problems are growing with each passing day. Core problems with food, shelter, and clothing are daily struggles for millions of our citizens. Older people trying to live off their social security is another growing problem and more retirees coming on board by the millions over the next few years. We can elect the most conservative congressional officials. They can cut taxes and shrink the size of government but the social problems still will not go away. We know this... We all know this but we don't usually see these problems because there are so many government programs in place the problems are mostly masked from our view... Christians in Christian nations have real moral dilemmas. Seemingly from day to day or worse from moment to moment.
What we have seen are many of the government's social programs, over generations, create a dependency that ends up destroying the very people they set out to help. That’s what we know but what to do.? Which way to turn?
So the train left the station in November with close to ninety of the always to be reelected watching it pull out scratching their heads assuring each other they were ruling us really good.
Ron
First whistle blower law was during the civil war....Business were shorting orders to the government. Whistle bloweres got from 30 to 50% of the settlement.
docnick37@gmail.com
http://theoxfordteaparty.blogspot.com/
Monday, December 27, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
It Is Our Turn - It Our Moment
History is written from moment to moment and chronicled from each act performed within each moment. What we do is who we are. We act or we don't act. What each of us chooses to do becomes our legacies as individuals. Who we were lives and dies through choices made in those moments. Our history becomes the sum of the individual acts at critical turning points. Within this combining of moments we, as a group and as a nation, are remembered, debated, and judged by children and grandchildren over time. They reject or emulate, what we did, what we believed, the values and principles we held, and the actions we took.
Our Tea Party is yet another example in our short national history of people making hard decisions. Our nation's legacy is a legacy of hard work and hard decisions. In their moment in time our founders were faced with hard choices. With little more than a belief to hold on to and without support of all the people they acted….They created a government for all the people...A government to serve the people... Our road is not as long or as dark because they lighted a candle for us. For over two hundred years this beacon has burned for all the world to see. Still burning, still bright, this beacon will guide our way back home.
We, like our forefathers, must choose. We must chose to act. November was the first shot heard in some parts of the world, heard by many in America, but not by all. Those that didn't seem to hear were our failing school leaders, our failing state leaders, our failing local leaders wanted to believe the November shot was not pointed at them but at officials above their pay grade and power level…How or what must we do to get their attention….?
American Majority
Out of twenty six people the American Majority trained to run a campaign and run for local offices seventeen were elected to school boards. This is how we get their attention….!(As our current President said in one of many speeches, "We are coming after you.") They can't hide, they will be judged by their performance in the education of our children and they will be turned out. Not because we hope so but because we take action.
Mississippi Tea Party is taking bold steps. They are asking that people who have a willingness and interest in running for local offices to contact them. You can find the address and phone number on the Website….
Between now and 2012 each Tea Parties must tend our hearths. When I was in school, at the end of the day, somebody had to clean the backboard. We are that somebody and it's a darned big blackboard that hasn't been cleaned in a long time. Every school board and every education leader who tells you they need more money to be successful, fire them. Do the same with town alderman and county supervisors. Intentions, regardless of how good or well meant they may be, are not the same as results. They have failed in their jobs and there is no redemption.
IF we had the ability to "RECALL" we could pink-slip all who have failed in their jobs this Friday…(Or any other Friday.) We need this law on our books… There isn't any other way to hold elected officials to their promises and their feet to the fire. Two year or so ago people were coming to our County supervisors meeting and complaining. Confronting the Supervisors on their decisions or lack there of. The Board voted and decided to limit tax payers discussions during their meetings. Can you imagine this kind of arrogance? The next election the people of the county turned our three of the five supervisors.
The recent death of the omnibus tax package could signal a real retreat for the power of congressional appropriators, whom Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) described as belonging to their own political party separate from Republicans and Democrats. As many as nine Republicans, led by Mr. Cochran, had initially sided with Democrats to move the bill tax forward. However, with some pressure from the Teasers and others Mr. Cochran reluctantly backed down. (Bless his heart.)
Together, Sen. Thad Cochran the ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, and his Mississippi colleague, Sen. Roger Wicker, had 517 earmarks worth more than $1 billion in the spending bill, according to the group report. Both men are Good old Mississippi politicians.…( Maybe IF they had done a better job none of us in Mississippi would have to pay taxes at all.)
Both of these senators are good men. Our house members are good men. All well intended...But the political game they were trained to play and clearly have mastered needs to end. This kind of political governing is quickly destroying our country economically. This political form of governing has corrupted the core values and beliefs this nation was buit on. This political governing has lost the trust of the people.
I truly resent that on the eve of celebrating our Savior's birth this government and all the elected representatives in it are behaving in ways that are hurting the citizens, our economy, as well as most things they have their hands in.
Our mission is not over... The battle is not won...Come next November the next shot will be fired.
Merry Christmas to all… God is with us and America is a Christian nation.
Ron
Docnick37@gmail.com
http://theoxforteaparty@google.blog
Our Tea Party is yet another example in our short national history of people making hard decisions. Our nation's legacy is a legacy of hard work and hard decisions. In their moment in time our founders were faced with hard choices. With little more than a belief to hold on to and without support of all the people they acted….They created a government for all the people...A government to serve the people... Our road is not as long or as dark because they lighted a candle for us. For over two hundred years this beacon has burned for all the world to see. Still burning, still bright, this beacon will guide our way back home.
We, like our forefathers, must choose. We must chose to act. November was the first shot heard in some parts of the world, heard by many in America, but not by all. Those that didn't seem to hear were our failing school leaders, our failing state leaders, our failing local leaders wanted to believe the November shot was not pointed at them but at officials above their pay grade and power level…How or what must we do to get their attention….?
American Majority
Out of twenty six people the American Majority trained to run a campaign and run for local offices seventeen were elected to school boards. This is how we get their attention….!(As our current President said in one of many speeches, "We are coming after you.") They can't hide, they will be judged by their performance in the education of our children and they will be turned out. Not because we hope so but because we take action.
Mississippi Tea Party is taking bold steps. They are asking that people who have a willingness and interest in running for local offices to contact them. You can find the address and phone number on the Website….
Between now and 2012 each Tea Parties must tend our hearths. When I was in school, at the end of the day, somebody had to clean the backboard. We are that somebody and it's a darned big blackboard that hasn't been cleaned in a long time. Every school board and every education leader who tells you they need more money to be successful, fire them. Do the same with town alderman and county supervisors. Intentions, regardless of how good or well meant they may be, are not the same as results. They have failed in their jobs and there is no redemption.
IF we had the ability to "RECALL" we could pink-slip all who have failed in their jobs this Friday…(Or any other Friday.) We need this law on our books… There isn't any other way to hold elected officials to their promises and their feet to the fire. Two year or so ago people were coming to our County supervisors meeting and complaining. Confronting the Supervisors on their decisions or lack there of. The Board voted and decided to limit tax payers discussions during their meetings. Can you imagine this kind of arrogance? The next election the people of the county turned our three of the five supervisors.
The recent death of the omnibus tax package could signal a real retreat for the power of congressional appropriators, whom Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) described as belonging to their own political party separate from Republicans and Democrats. As many as nine Republicans, led by Mr. Cochran, had initially sided with Democrats to move the bill tax forward. However, with some pressure from the Teasers and others Mr. Cochran reluctantly backed down. (Bless his heart.)
Together, Sen. Thad Cochran the ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, and his Mississippi colleague, Sen. Roger Wicker, had 517 earmarks worth more than $1 billion in the spending bill, according to the group report. Both men are Good old Mississippi politicians.…( Maybe IF they had done a better job none of us in Mississippi would have to pay taxes at all.)
Both of these senators are good men. Our house members are good men. All well intended...But the political game they were trained to play and clearly have mastered needs to end. This kind of political governing is quickly destroying our country economically. This political form of governing has corrupted the core values and beliefs this nation was buit on. This political governing has lost the trust of the people.
I truly resent that on the eve of celebrating our Savior's birth this government and all the elected representatives in it are behaving in ways that are hurting the citizens, our economy, as well as most things they have their hands in.
Our mission is not over... The battle is not won...Come next November the next shot will be fired.
Merry Christmas to all… God is with us and America is a Christian nation.
Ron
Docnick37@gmail.com
http://theoxforteaparty@google.blog
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Say it ain't....SO
Our value and beliefs are assaulted every day from ever nook and cranny of our society, special interest groups, state and federal government. It's gotten to the point where I don't want to turn on the TV or read the news each morning…..Today's assault comes from the YMCA (meaning: Young Men's Christian Association) a 166 year old organization that emmigrated from England to our shores along with the multitudes of young Christian men. So one of these local organization decided to not have open house and Santa Claus this year, which was their tradition, for the young children in their area. Now guess what else they are doing….They are dropping the "MCA" from the "YMCA." Now the organization is called the "Y" so not to infer they are a Christian organization, which the operations committee feels would make it a much warmer and friendlier place. So they believe.
After reading about this "Y" decision I drove to Memphis to pick up my wife at the airport. Not busy as usual…. TSA folks seem to be behaving well… However I noticed there wasn't a Christmas tree. Maybe there never was a Christmas tree in the airport terminal. I don't know but what was in the lobby was a seven foot tall Menorah. Under the Menorah was a plaque giving the history of Passover for the "Children of Israel while in bondage in Egypt.
I don't want to say more about any of this because I doubt our readers would appreciate my ranting and use of certain expletives.
No matter what you hear or see in the media the vote on extending the "Bush" tax cuts does not have a critical time line. The press and the Dems would have us believe that all taxes will rise on January One. Yes, the cuts are supposed to end but Congress can and has on many occasions passed laws and made the new law retroactive back to the first of the year...No big deal...
Is the Senate going to pass this "tax cut" bill….(Don't you just love it when they are about to raise taxes they refer to their actions as a "tax cut?")…and YES they will pass the bill…..Why would we even suggest such a thing?
The Senate has attached mucho new spending to the bill which amounts to hundred of millions of dollars. So the game is this: If the more conservative members of the Senate want the tax cuts to stay in place they will have to vote for more spending also. Come January the liberal senators who lost their seats will not come back and the more conservative new members will show up hopefully committed to their campaign promises. In the House the GOP and new ones, hopefully, conservatives members will control the house . (So it may be a good thing for the bill not to pass in this session of congress but I wouldn't hold my breath.) Certainly our three Musketeers (OHN) would be disappointed.
ONLY in Congress….Our Social Security is going broke so they tell us and the only tax "cut" the President or the Dems in congress could find to cut is the SS withholding by two percent for the next year or so…..AND the two percent would be on the employee's side of the withholding. It a piddling amount of money but this money would have gone into the SS fund. This way some percent of the two percents is going to find its way into the general federal coffers.
Changing gears….Worrying about how this congress votes is just a waste of time because they and their votes are predicable. Consistent, harmful, predicable.. (CHP)
I have been talking to people as well as searching the 'net' for ideas people have come up with that will help fix the economy and the government. (People meaning 'not elected officials'. There are numerous newspapers and blogs around the country that have invited individuals to send ideas they feel will be helpful. Most of the ideas that I read had to do with needing to change things our government has done. Cutting taxes, spending, regulations, social programs, etc. All of the ideas have merit and many of this ideas are kicked around at Tea Party meetings and on the news programs nightly.
What was most interesting was how many people responded. Behind most of the ideas was government was too big, too many taxes, too much control, and the majority felt both House and Senate were untrustworthy culprits. Control them, change them, undo the wrong things they have done and our world would be better. Makes sense. All of the suggestions and ideas make sense and all seem doable.
However, I didn't stumble across one new idea. Maybe we don't need any new ideas. The thinking could be that until we try the suggestions on the front pages or the lead story in the nightly news and see the results why bother to look for something new to try…Good argument…BUT the ideas finding their way into the "lead news stories" no matter who comes up with them aren't being done. Aren't being tried…Du...Well why not?
If we believe our elected officials' actions along with big business actions caused the economic woes, we only have to notice that these are more or less the same elected officials and business leaders we had before the crises. The second thing we need to note is these elected officials are still in office because the voters in November in their districts voted to keep them in office. So to say to them "fix the mistakes you have made," their retort will be, "What mistakes?" The idea that government will fix government or that governments can or will correct their short comings is just a notion that, at best, brings about a wry smile.
American Enterprise Institute
A political polling report published last week by the Washington, D.C.-based American Enterprise Institute (AEI) captured the attitude of the American public towards government.
In short: cynicism and uncertainty across the board is a widespread trend.
Among the report’s findings is the fact that a record number of respondents believe government cannot solve the problems it tackles. Not only that, but most Americans now believe the government runs its programs poorly, and the performance is getting worse instead of better. Moreover, about 45 percent think government is a threat to personal liberty.
One of the polls analyzed in the report, in fact, revealed that 50 percent of Americans would be happier with a smaller government with fewer services. That number has also risen significantly since President Obama took office.
Seems someone came late to the party...This organization is located in Washington and this poll's NEWS would make you think there is a special Black Ops group within the TSA who 'tasking' is to prevent any information, ideas, wishes, dreams from American citizens finding their way into the vast base of elected officials, multitudes of bureaucratic departments as well as the organizations, such as AEI, that cohabit that small parcel of land.
Now that AEI has this new and confusing information what will they do with it?
We note this poll and AEI because there is a belief with many Tea Partiers that everyone knows government cannot solve the problems they create and knows that government runs programs badly. Seems clear to us but just look at the number of citizens who do their voting on the other side of the ballot. Educating, informing, inviting, and encouraging this other larger group is where the Tea mission work needs to focus. We need them or we cannot change the congressional numbers enough to meet the Tea Party goals.
The WikiLeaks is not just going to go away…..Assange is still in jail…More documents are being released…A Grand jury in Virginia is hearing a federal plea to indict him…Big to-do in Italy today over what these documents had to say about their Prime minister. The parliament gave him a vote of confidence today. So he won't lose his job. Some documents had military information in them….Here is what Gates had to say:
Defense Secretary Gates made the following point on this:
“Now, I’ve heard the impact of these releases on our foreign policy described as a meltdown, as a game-changer, and so on. I think those descriptions are fairly significantly overwrought. The fact is, governments deal with the United States because it’s in their interest, not because they like us, not because they trust us, and not because they believe we can keep secrets. Many governments — some governments — deal with us because they fear us, some because they respect us, most because they need us. We are still essentially, as has been said before, the indispensable nation.”
Is this embarrassing? Yes. Is it awkward? Yes. Consequences for U.S. foreign policy? I think fairly modest….
Not the slightest hint of remorse or any form of apology in this statement that I can see...I wonder if we have heard the last on this matter….
Another snippet of news:
Tea Party Patriots
Tea Party Patriots Statement on Ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Henry Hudson
Washington -- Mark Meckler and Jenny Beth Martin, national co-coordinators of Tea Party Patriots released the following statements today on the ruling by U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson on the unconstitutionality of ObamaCare:
"This is a great victory for the American people, the rule of law and the constitutional principles of individual liberty and freedom, " said Mark Meckler, national co-coordinator of Tea Party Patriots. "Although this ruling has a long journey before it reaches the Supreme Court, we are confident that this massive congressional mistake will continue to be found unconstitutional."
"It is difficult to imagine a more massive repudiation of ObamaCare than the recent November election, however, this ruling adds tremendous judicial weight to the votes cast by the American people," said Jenny Beth Martin," national co-coordinator of Tea Party Patriots. "ObamaCare is unconstitutional, and we are confident that the Supreme Court will ultimately protect the American people from a reckless congressional mistake.
We hope so also but the road to the Supreme Court will take a long time. This Judge put nothing in the health bill on hold…..
So ObamaCare can continue on it schedule.
Ron
Docnick37@gmail.com
http://theoxfordteaparty.blogspot.com/
PS: Last year at this time many of us were getting notices from Social Security informing us that there is no inflation therefore we would not be getting any increase in SS payments…. (Medicare deductions went up so I assume that doctors, etc.. were experiencing inflation.) At that same time Congress gave themselves a five thousand dollars raise to cover their "increased cost of living." Many of us are getting the same notice from Social Security this year informing us there is zero inflation therefore no "Cost of living adjustment" again this year. Let us watch and see if Congress creates a pay raise for themselves.
After reading about this "Y" decision I drove to Memphis to pick up my wife at the airport. Not busy as usual…. TSA folks seem to be behaving well… However I noticed there wasn't a Christmas tree. Maybe there never was a Christmas tree in the airport terminal. I don't know but what was in the lobby was a seven foot tall Menorah. Under the Menorah was a plaque giving the history of Passover for the "Children of Israel while in bondage in Egypt.
I don't want to say more about any of this because I doubt our readers would appreciate my ranting and use of certain expletives.
No matter what you hear or see in the media the vote on extending the "Bush" tax cuts does not have a critical time line. The press and the Dems would have us believe that all taxes will rise on January One. Yes, the cuts are supposed to end but Congress can and has on many occasions passed laws and made the new law retroactive back to the first of the year...No big deal...
Is the Senate going to pass this "tax cut" bill….(Don't you just love it when they are about to raise taxes they refer to their actions as a "tax cut?")…and YES they will pass the bill…..Why would we even suggest such a thing?
The Senate has attached mucho new spending to the bill which amounts to hundred of millions of dollars. So the game is this: If the more conservative members of the Senate want the tax cuts to stay in place they will have to vote for more spending also. Come January the liberal senators who lost their seats will not come back and the more conservative new members will show up hopefully committed to their campaign promises. In the House the GOP and new ones, hopefully, conservatives members will control the house . (So it may be a good thing for the bill not to pass in this session of congress but I wouldn't hold my breath.) Certainly our three Musketeers (OHN) would be disappointed.
ONLY in Congress….Our Social Security is going broke so they tell us and the only tax "cut" the President or the Dems in congress could find to cut is the SS withholding by two percent for the next year or so…..AND the two percent would be on the employee's side of the withholding. It a piddling amount of money but this money would have gone into the SS fund. This way some percent of the two percents is going to find its way into the general federal coffers.
Changing gears….Worrying about how this congress votes is just a waste of time because they and their votes are predicable. Consistent, harmful, predicable.. (CHP)
I have been talking to people as well as searching the 'net' for ideas people have come up with that will help fix the economy and the government. (People meaning 'not elected officials'. There are numerous newspapers and blogs around the country that have invited individuals to send ideas they feel will be helpful. Most of the ideas that I read had to do with needing to change things our government has done. Cutting taxes, spending, regulations, social programs, etc. All of the ideas have merit and many of this ideas are kicked around at Tea Party meetings and on the news programs nightly.
What was most interesting was how many people responded. Behind most of the ideas was government was too big, too many taxes, too much control, and the majority felt both House and Senate were untrustworthy culprits. Control them, change them, undo the wrong things they have done and our world would be better. Makes sense. All of the suggestions and ideas make sense and all seem doable.
However, I didn't stumble across one new idea. Maybe we don't need any new ideas. The thinking could be that until we try the suggestions on the front pages or the lead story in the nightly news and see the results why bother to look for something new to try…Good argument…BUT the ideas finding their way into the "lead news stories" no matter who comes up with them aren't being done. Aren't being tried…Du...Well why not?
If we believe our elected officials' actions along with big business actions caused the economic woes, we only have to notice that these are more or less the same elected officials and business leaders we had before the crises. The second thing we need to note is these elected officials are still in office because the voters in November in their districts voted to keep them in office. So to say to them "fix the mistakes you have made," their retort will be, "What mistakes?" The idea that government will fix government or that governments can or will correct their short comings is just a notion that, at best, brings about a wry smile.
American Enterprise Institute
A political polling report published last week by the Washington, D.C.-based American Enterprise Institute (AEI) captured the attitude of the American public towards government.
In short: cynicism and uncertainty across the board is a widespread trend.
Among the report’s findings is the fact that a record number of respondents believe government cannot solve the problems it tackles. Not only that, but most Americans now believe the government runs its programs poorly, and the performance is getting worse instead of better. Moreover, about 45 percent think government is a threat to personal liberty.
One of the polls analyzed in the report, in fact, revealed that 50 percent of Americans would be happier with a smaller government with fewer services. That number has also risen significantly since President Obama took office.
Seems someone came late to the party...This organization is located in Washington and this poll's NEWS would make you think there is a special Black Ops group within the TSA who 'tasking' is to prevent any information, ideas, wishes, dreams from American citizens finding their way into the vast base of elected officials, multitudes of bureaucratic departments as well as the organizations, such as AEI, that cohabit that small parcel of land.
Now that AEI has this new and confusing information what will they do with it?
We note this poll and AEI because there is a belief with many Tea Partiers that everyone knows government cannot solve the problems they create and knows that government runs programs badly. Seems clear to us but just look at the number of citizens who do their voting on the other side of the ballot. Educating, informing, inviting, and encouraging this other larger group is where the Tea mission work needs to focus. We need them or we cannot change the congressional numbers enough to meet the Tea Party goals.
The WikiLeaks is not just going to go away…..Assange is still in jail…More documents are being released…A Grand jury in Virginia is hearing a federal plea to indict him…Big to-do in Italy today over what these documents had to say about their Prime minister. The parliament gave him a vote of confidence today. So he won't lose his job. Some documents had military information in them….Here is what Gates had to say:
Defense Secretary Gates made the following point on this:
“Now, I’ve heard the impact of these releases on our foreign policy described as a meltdown, as a game-changer, and so on. I think those descriptions are fairly significantly overwrought. The fact is, governments deal with the United States because it’s in their interest, not because they like us, not because they trust us, and not because they believe we can keep secrets. Many governments — some governments — deal with us because they fear us, some because they respect us, most because they need us. We are still essentially, as has been said before, the indispensable nation.”
Is this embarrassing? Yes. Is it awkward? Yes. Consequences for U.S. foreign policy? I think fairly modest….
Not the slightest hint of remorse or any form of apology in this statement that I can see...I wonder if we have heard the last on this matter….
Another snippet of news:
Tea Party Patriots
Tea Party Patriots Statement on Ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Henry Hudson
Washington -- Mark Meckler and Jenny Beth Martin, national co-coordinators of Tea Party Patriots released the following statements today on the ruling by U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson on the unconstitutionality of ObamaCare:
"This is a great victory for the American people, the rule of law and the constitutional principles of individual liberty and freedom, " said Mark Meckler, national co-coordinator of Tea Party Patriots. "Although this ruling has a long journey before it reaches the Supreme Court, we are confident that this massive congressional mistake will continue to be found unconstitutional."
"It is difficult to imagine a more massive repudiation of ObamaCare than the recent November election, however, this ruling adds tremendous judicial weight to the votes cast by the American people," said Jenny Beth Martin," national co-coordinator of Tea Party Patriots. "ObamaCare is unconstitutional, and we are confident that the Supreme Court will ultimately protect the American people from a reckless congressional mistake.
We hope so also but the road to the Supreme Court will take a long time. This Judge put nothing in the health bill on hold…..
So ObamaCare can continue on it schedule.
Ron
Docnick37@gmail.com
http://theoxfordteaparty.blogspot.com/
PS: Last year at this time many of us were getting notices from Social Security informing us that there is no inflation therefore we would not be getting any increase in SS payments…. (Medicare deductions went up so I assume that doctors, etc.. were experiencing inflation.) At that same time Congress gave themselves a five thousand dollars raise to cover their "increased cost of living." Many of us are getting the same notice from Social Security this year informing us there is zero inflation therefore no "Cost of living adjustment" again this year. Let us watch and see if Congress creates a pay raise for themselves.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
We said...Hey
On November 2 we said 'hey' to Washington and all its members. Being one of the 'dumb red neck tea partiers' the liberal press refers to, I thought the message was clear enough for them to understand. However, congress continues to see us in similar ways the press see us as people who are not to be listened to and congress has rationalized November as a blip on the computer screen of history. One of the first votes taken in this 'lame duck congress' was on 'pork barreling'. They said 'hey' back to us. Through this vote they said we are going to continue to do what we have done in the past with 'earmarking' because we think it’s the right thing to do and it's good for us in congress. OK…I get it…I wasn't surprised…I didn't expect them to vote down pork barreling...but I was disappointed never the less.
This week our President announced that federal employees salaries would be frozen. Turns out he was talking about the 'COLA' part of their union contract. However, what else is in their contract is a 2% yearly raise that will not be frozen. So they will get their raise but not any extra from the 'COLA' but that shouldn't have happened anyway because inflation is not high enough to justify the 'COLA' kick-in. This group however did get a COLA increase last year even though folks on Social Security did not get a COLA increase. OK…I get it…I can see where this is heading. These dog and pony shows work for him with the liberals, and with the press…(and maybe a whole bunch of others)…
And speaking of dogs and ponies… So long as politicians know that voters don't have the power to recall them at anytime, they will promise anything they think will get them elected and continue to vote anyway they want….This has been the history of elected officials throughout time. Our unique representative form of government was fashioned to try and prevent this very thing from happening in this country. (Congress just voted to unseat a federal judge. They can do it, so why can't we?)
For the most part, the goal of people seeking power is to rule not to serve….but without power concentrated in a centralized place, such as Washington and national political parties, they are not protected. That is from their side of the desk and from our side of the desk we are not protected so long as we don't have the ability to fire the people we elect at anytime they cease to serve us.
It’s a cold winter morning. In lots of ways I was looking forward to this year being over… It's almost seven and the sun isn't up yet but there is enough light to see the ducks swimming in the pond. The oaks are giving up their leave grudgingly. Things seem to be the same from these windows as they have been in yesteryears. "Seems" is the operative word. I know they are not the same and I know laws have been set in place that will prevent this from ever being so. This year and last year have been stressful on everyone….These past few years have truly tested us as a people and our form of government, a form of government that everyone said couldn't work and couldn't last. A government, at its very roots, was to be a government by the people. Certainly there were many around when the nation was founded that were naysayers. Sooner or later, they believed, that government would concentrate power in the hands of the few…..Just like before and before and before. These founders did everything they could think of to prevent this from happening. Going back into the sixties and in many ways earlier we began to fumble the ball. Taking short cuts…sliding on principles…distaining values and beliefs one vote at a time....Ignoring all the while what the good old boys were doing…
Now we find we are knee deep in the great all American game of catch up. Trying to come from behind. We are the leading country in producing technology and the only developed country in the world without a 4G network communication system. We are producing i7 computers and nothing to do with them but play games that demand high levels of graphics. Want to know how this can happen? Ask our FCC. This slippage in our standing in the world is directly related to our government through taxes, mismanagement, and regulations. It is and was our 'good old boys' that did the voting that allowed this to happen. It was us that did the voting that kept them in their positions of power.
If we don't clearly accept where the finger needs to be pointing we cannot find our way out of this hideous mess. Assuming, for the moment, we are not so far down the road and there is a way out.
Years ago, Californians joked about going to restaurants with waiters who were high school dropouts or had master's degrees. Now most have master or doctorate degrees and the high school dropouts have disappeared. Where did they go? What are they doing? Look at our state with its drop outs and poorly educated graduates. What will they do? They can't move to the northern cities any longer and find jobs. The jobs aren't there or here, once again, primarily because of taxes and government regulations. For the readers who have never run a business, know that OSHA and EPA through regulations have destroyed many if not most of the jobs this group of young people could do. According to California, its EPA (not Federal EPA) in the state was responsible for the loss of forty five businesses a week leaving the state and many of these companies simply moved across the border to Mexico. ( I think it was Barbara Boxer who responded to this announcement by saying, "Good riddance. We didn't those business anyway.") No one has to wonder why businesses large and small are fleeing the state and leaving it unable to support itself.
At this point, in this ranting about our government and its abusive business policies, I want to say that the 'law givers' that we vote into office have, on average, no experience running business a or meeting payroll. They take advice from people who have no experience running business or making payroll. They are the blind leading the blind. To go a step further, most elected people in congress have never had a job where they had to balance a budget and that most voters have never had those experiences either. Most voters have a hard time balancing their check books and their family budgets so its hard for them to understand the importance of this experience with the people they vote for. With this being said, we have to find a way to vet our future candidates better with a careful eye on experience. What we are doing cannot continue.
Attached is yet another important article from the Red State web site. (Get on their
e-mail list you will like the reading.)
Friends --
There are few organizations that I give an unqualified endorsement to and wholly support in their efforts to further the conservative revolution in this country. American Majority is one of those organizations.
With campaign season over, it is time to get ready for the next steps in the revolution. Giving to American Majority is one of those steps. It has the added benefit, at the end of the year, of being a 501(c)(3) so your contribution is tax deductible.
You'll make no better investment in our fight for freedom. American Majority's results speak for themselves.
Since January of 2009, American Majority's work was phenomenal. In that period of time, it:
Trained 12, 774 activists on how to hardwire precincts, build coalitions, be effective online, and work for greater transparency and accountability in our government;
Trained 1,099 candidates on how to run for office and win politically so that the new leaders can implement policies that reflect free enterprise, limited government and fiscal responsibility; Conducted 395 trainings in 40 states.
Simply put, American Majority is building a farm team for our movement and so far, the results have been nothing short of remarkable.
In Minnesota, 94 of 100 American Majority alumni won their primaries.
In Arkansas, 74 of the 78 alumni who ran won their primaries.
In Oklahoma, 45 of 79 alumni who ran won in their primaries.
In Kansas, 44 of 59 alumni won their primaries.
38 of the 65 AM Texas alumni running for office won their primaries.
We're talking school board all the way up to federal office. In the general election, the results were much the same, with 56 of the 74 candidates winning in November, 30 of the 44 in Kansas, and dozens winning in Minnesota.
It is because of American Majority's proven results in recruiting and training candidates and activists that I have agreed to lend my support to it and their recently launched New Leaders Project. Working with local tea party, 9.12 and other conservative groups, American Majority plans to have 1,000 local groups identify 10 new leaders to run for anything from school board to Congress in 2011 and 2012; this project will not only impact elections in the immediate future, but for years to come.
American Majority
We can longer look at the Tea Party movement simply as a group of voters with a cause. That will not get us to where we need to go. We must seek out, educate, train, and elect people with similar values, beliefs, and principles at every level of government. Waiting for a white knight to come to the rescue or continuing to vote for the lesser of two evils are failed alternatives. American Majority has laid out a simple and direct plan of action.
In closing let me thank all of you who have sent 'comments' on these last few articles from http://theoxfordteaparty.blog.com You encouragement and support is important…
If you would include your e-mail address with your comments I can put you on the mailing list and you can also see what else we are up to…Frankly, I don't always remember to post to the various Tea sites. I'm sure it age. However, the best way for Tea Party blogs or groups to be effective is for everyone to have a say and voice their ideas. Comments are a one good way of getting this done. Example of this is if I have a dollar and you have a dollar and I give you my dollar and you give me your dollars we each end up with a dollar. However, if I give you an idea and you give me an idea we both end up with two ideas and each of us end up richer.
Only 698 days, 23 hours, and 24 minutes till the 2012 elections. Really, that is not much time…
We must continue to substitute action for hope…..(while never giving up hope)
Ron
Docnick37@gmail.com
http://theoxfordteaparty.blogspot.com/
This week our President announced that federal employees salaries would be frozen. Turns out he was talking about the 'COLA' part of their union contract. However, what else is in their contract is a 2% yearly raise that will not be frozen. So they will get their raise but not any extra from the 'COLA' but that shouldn't have happened anyway because inflation is not high enough to justify the 'COLA' kick-in. This group however did get a COLA increase last year even though folks on Social Security did not get a COLA increase. OK…I get it…I can see where this is heading. These dog and pony shows work for him with the liberals, and with the press…(and maybe a whole bunch of others)…
And speaking of dogs and ponies… So long as politicians know that voters don't have the power to recall them at anytime, they will promise anything they think will get them elected and continue to vote anyway they want….This has been the history of elected officials throughout time. Our unique representative form of government was fashioned to try and prevent this very thing from happening in this country. (Congress just voted to unseat a federal judge. They can do it, so why can't we?)
For the most part, the goal of people seeking power is to rule not to serve….but without power concentrated in a centralized place, such as Washington and national political parties, they are not protected. That is from their side of the desk and from our side of the desk we are not protected so long as we don't have the ability to fire the people we elect at anytime they cease to serve us.
It’s a cold winter morning. In lots of ways I was looking forward to this year being over… It's almost seven and the sun isn't up yet but there is enough light to see the ducks swimming in the pond. The oaks are giving up their leave grudgingly. Things seem to be the same from these windows as they have been in yesteryears. "Seems" is the operative word. I know they are not the same and I know laws have been set in place that will prevent this from ever being so. This year and last year have been stressful on everyone….These past few years have truly tested us as a people and our form of government, a form of government that everyone said couldn't work and couldn't last. A government, at its very roots, was to be a government by the people. Certainly there were many around when the nation was founded that were naysayers. Sooner or later, they believed, that government would concentrate power in the hands of the few…..Just like before and before and before. These founders did everything they could think of to prevent this from happening. Going back into the sixties and in many ways earlier we began to fumble the ball. Taking short cuts…sliding on principles…distaining values and beliefs one vote at a time....Ignoring all the while what the good old boys were doing…
Now we find we are knee deep in the great all American game of catch up. Trying to come from behind. We are the leading country in producing technology and the only developed country in the world without a 4G network communication system. We are producing i7 computers and nothing to do with them but play games that demand high levels of graphics. Want to know how this can happen? Ask our FCC. This slippage in our standing in the world is directly related to our government through taxes, mismanagement, and regulations. It is and was our 'good old boys' that did the voting that allowed this to happen. It was us that did the voting that kept them in their positions of power.
If we don't clearly accept where the finger needs to be pointing we cannot find our way out of this hideous mess. Assuming, for the moment, we are not so far down the road and there is a way out.
Years ago, Californians joked about going to restaurants with waiters who were high school dropouts or had master's degrees. Now most have master or doctorate degrees and the high school dropouts have disappeared. Where did they go? What are they doing? Look at our state with its drop outs and poorly educated graduates. What will they do? They can't move to the northern cities any longer and find jobs. The jobs aren't there or here, once again, primarily because of taxes and government regulations. For the readers who have never run a business, know that OSHA and EPA through regulations have destroyed many if not most of the jobs this group of young people could do. According to California, its EPA (not Federal EPA) in the state was responsible for the loss of forty five businesses a week leaving the state and many of these companies simply moved across the border to Mexico. ( I think it was Barbara Boxer who responded to this announcement by saying, "Good riddance. We didn't those business anyway.") No one has to wonder why businesses large and small are fleeing the state and leaving it unable to support itself.
At this point, in this ranting about our government and its abusive business policies, I want to say that the 'law givers' that we vote into office have, on average, no experience running business a or meeting payroll. They take advice from people who have no experience running business or making payroll. They are the blind leading the blind. To go a step further, most elected people in congress have never had a job where they had to balance a budget and that most voters have never had those experiences either. Most voters have a hard time balancing their check books and their family budgets so its hard for them to understand the importance of this experience with the people they vote for. With this being said, we have to find a way to vet our future candidates better with a careful eye on experience. What we are doing cannot continue.
Attached is yet another important article from the Red State web site. (Get on their
e-mail list you will like the reading.)
Friends --
There are few organizations that I give an unqualified endorsement to and wholly support in their efforts to further the conservative revolution in this country. American Majority is one of those organizations.
With campaign season over, it is time to get ready for the next steps in the revolution. Giving to American Majority is one of those steps. It has the added benefit, at the end of the year, of being a 501(c)(3) so your contribution is tax deductible.
You'll make no better investment in our fight for freedom. American Majority's results speak for themselves.
Since January of 2009, American Majority's work was phenomenal. In that period of time, it:
Trained 12, 774 activists on how to hardwire precincts, build coalitions, be effective online, and work for greater transparency and accountability in our government;
Trained 1,099 candidates on how to run for office and win politically so that the new leaders can implement policies that reflect free enterprise, limited government and fiscal responsibility; Conducted 395 trainings in 40 states.
Simply put, American Majority is building a farm team for our movement and so far, the results have been nothing short of remarkable.
In Minnesota, 94 of 100 American Majority alumni won their primaries.
In Arkansas, 74 of the 78 alumni who ran won their primaries.
In Oklahoma, 45 of 79 alumni who ran won in their primaries.
In Kansas, 44 of 59 alumni won their primaries.
38 of the 65 AM Texas alumni running for office won their primaries.
We're talking school board all the way up to federal office. In the general election, the results were much the same, with 56 of the 74 candidates winning in November, 30 of the 44 in Kansas, and dozens winning in Minnesota.
It is because of American Majority's proven results in recruiting and training candidates and activists that I have agreed to lend my support to it and their recently launched New Leaders Project. Working with local tea party, 9.12 and other conservative groups, American Majority plans to have 1,000 local groups identify 10 new leaders to run for anything from school board to Congress in 2011 and 2012; this project will not only impact elections in the immediate future, but for years to come.
American Majority
We can longer look at the Tea Party movement simply as a group of voters with a cause. That will not get us to where we need to go. We must seek out, educate, train, and elect people with similar values, beliefs, and principles at every level of government. Waiting for a white knight to come to the rescue or continuing to vote for the lesser of two evils are failed alternatives. American Majority has laid out a simple and direct plan of action.
In closing let me thank all of you who have sent 'comments' on these last few articles from http://theoxfordteaparty.blog.com You encouragement and support is important…
If you would include your e-mail address with your comments I can put you on the mailing list and you can also see what else we are up to…Frankly, I don't always remember to post to the various Tea sites. I'm sure it age. However, the best way for Tea Party blogs or groups to be effective is for everyone to have a say and voice their ideas. Comments are a one good way of getting this done. Example of this is if I have a dollar and you have a dollar and I give you my dollar and you give me your dollars we each end up with a dollar. However, if I give you an idea and you give me an idea we both end up with two ideas and each of us end up richer.
Only 698 days, 23 hours, and 24 minutes till the 2012 elections. Really, that is not much time…
We must continue to substitute action for hope…..(while never giving up hope)
Ron
Docnick37@gmail.com
http://theoxfordteaparty.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Eye Ball to Eye Ball
It is time to play hard ball.
Finally we are beginning to see local Tea Parties directing their attention to their local governments.
About as close as you can get to 'the home fire' is city and county government. At this rung of-the-ladder is where many of us grew up, went to school, had kids, etc. During those yesteryears little was expected of local government officials. They were known... Their family were known… Often they went to school with us… Local election victories were often based on how many friend you have…Elections loses often had to do with how many enemies you had…not much more. Few candidates had any experience running anything certainly not a micro government and that was just fine…..Very little was required…Little was wanted.
Shazam …Times changed… Population grew and costs grew... Towns and counties became complex with ever growing needs, demands, and growing right along with these changes came ever growing budgets. With this complexity our elected neighbors' short comings and lack of experience became blatant. All said, their names were still all that was on the ballots.
For years local taxes have gone up without any positive outcome. Our schools seem to be failing in their mission yet continuing to say it is because of lack of money…More money is allocated and they continue to fail… The schools financial demands (which this year accounts for two thirds of our personal property tax bill) along with ever greater expanding city, county, and state workers with their consistent financial demands along with social programs account for the largest budget increases. This has been such an going practice that it has become expected and the voters just roll over. Election cycle after election cycle.
Getting control over the majority of federal elected people will not accomplish our goals as the Tea Party…There is a old political adage, "All politics are local." Look around and see if this adage still holds today? If you local government isn't functioning well our districts won't function well and the state won't function well…Everything needs to start at home. This past election there was such a desperate need we had to look at the federal people first and we did. We have some breathing room the next federal election cycle which won't get in high gear for about a year….
What to do and where to start?
The article below, we send along without comment. The ideas that different Tea groups are coming up with are all good ideas but what we believe is the most important in the article is that Tea group are organizing. Without the underlying organization structure there really will never be real strength as a group or within the groups. We want to suggest, once again, we in Mississippi need to pull all our Tea groups together for some meetings. We think there has been and may well continue to be some who think if the groups get together there will be a pull to act like or be seen as a third party movement. That would not be a good thing… The down side is if we don't, it will be more difficult to work on local, city and state, government issues and the elected officials.
Twenty twelve will be harder than twenty ten. The Dems won't be in denial. The planning has started.(Rumor has it that Axelroad will be leaving the White house staff to head up Obama's run for president in 2012. So don't doubt they are getting their gears in motion.) We to must get our gears in motion and organize on a broader base.
Below are a couple of articles on some things Tea Parties are doing on their home fronts in different parts of the country.
HAMILTON, Ga.—
The Harris County Tea Party near the Alabama border campaigned far and wide in this month's midterm elections. Donations were mailed to tea-party candidates in Nevada and Alaska. There were multiple overnight bus trips to rallies in Washington, D.C.
The next stop, however, is closer to home: the local school board.
"Don't get me wrong, we're still going to engage in Washington, but now we're going after what is here locally. Our focus is turning to our community," said Kathy Ropte, the group's founder, over coffee at a Blimpie sub shop, a popular local tea-party meeting spot off the town square. Aware that education consumes a big chunk of local property taxes, group members are combing through the salaries of every county school employee from the superintendent down.
After fighting for several months on the highest level of American politics, the leaders of many local tea-party activist groups now plan to take their agendas of limited government and penny pinching to their hometown governments.
Most say they'll stay involved in watching Congress, and dozens attended a recent Washington summit organized by national umbrella group Tea Party Patriots for newly elected members of Congress. But the local leaders say that to truly stem spending, they also must stage what Steven Vernon, vice president of the Tea Party Manatee on Florida's Gulf Coast, calls "a ground-level attack."
"We have to start at the lowest level and take our country back," Mr. Vernon said.
It's also more convenient for tea-party activists—typically volunteers with separate full-time jobs–to be local gadflies than national ones. "We can't go to every congressional hearing in D.C. but we can go to every school-board meeting in Manatee County," said Mr. Vernon, a technology-contracts negotiator.
Meanwhile, many recession-weary local officials are gearing up for a potential clash with tea partiers, saying they have already squeezed all they can out of their budgets.
Tea-party groups in Pennsylvania, Delaware and Michigan have recently voiced plans to have members run for local town boards in 2011—a bid to start a farm team of politicians who can move up to higher offices.
912 Patriots
"We hope to field candidates for the congressional race two years from now, but for 2011, our focus has shifted to the school boards," said Lee Ann Burkholder, spokeswoman for the York 912 Patriots, a tea-party-affiliated group in York, Penn.
The 912 Patriots last month drew some 300 people to an area hotel for a meeting by taking out a front-page ad in a local paper, asking: "Why are your property taxes so high? How is your school district spending your hard-earned dollars? You might be surprised."
"A lot of our members are upset that we have to pay for raises and fund pensions for teachers while many people in York County are out of work," Ms. Burkholder said.
Teachers' representatives warn against skimping on pay. "If you don't invest, you're not going to get the best and brightest and that will manifest itself in student performance," said Brian Koppenhaver, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania State Education Association, the union that represents York County school employees.
On Election Day, Don and Diana Reimer, co-founders of the Philadelphia Tea Party Patriots, were in Washington, waving signs for Republican Pat Toomey, a fiscal conservative who won the Pennsylvania Senate race.
Now, the Philadelphia Tea Party Patriots plan to launch the "Watchman Project," in which members will be assigned to attend local government meetings, monitor meeting minutes and then report back to the group, Mr. Reimer said. "If there is a particular vote coming up that we support or oppose, we would all show up to hopefully influence what is going on," he said.
Already, tensions are brewing in some municipalities, with local officials saying they need new revenue to maintain public services, while tea-party activists say new taxes aren't an option.
Earlier this month in Troy, Mich., tea-party activists delivered a petition to city hall, seeking to force officials to keep the Troy Public Library open without a new tax. "We really are embroiled in a big controversy here in Troy," said Janice Daniels, co-founder of the Troy Area Tea Party. Local voters narrowly shot down a proposal for a library tax on the Nov. 2 ballot. Now, the library is scheduled to close in June.
Everything we do, from cooking dinner, to planting a garden, to sending our kids to college has an anticipated outcome. We buy the food, we hoe the garden weeds, and we prepare our kids and save for the cost of their college fees. If we burn the dinner, don't hoe the weeds, we suffer the loss. We learn from those mistakes and don't repeat them because it's our money and their future that’s on the line. This issue of loss and personal money is never the issue with elected officials at any level of government. If they fail they simply want more money to continue to do more of the same thing. They do not learn from their mistakes and there is no economic reason why they should. As well intended as some of them may be they need to be replaced.
How to replace them it is the sixty four dollar question and don't you wish it was only sixty four dollars at stake.
Ron
Docnick37@gmail.com
http://theoxfordteaparty.blogspot.com/
Finally we are beginning to see local Tea Parties directing their attention to their local governments.
About as close as you can get to 'the home fire' is city and county government. At this rung of-the-ladder is where many of us grew up, went to school, had kids, etc. During those yesteryears little was expected of local government officials. They were known... Their family were known… Often they went to school with us… Local election victories were often based on how many friend you have…Elections loses often had to do with how many enemies you had…not much more. Few candidates had any experience running anything certainly not a micro government and that was just fine…..Very little was required…Little was wanted.
Shazam …Times changed… Population grew and costs grew... Towns and counties became complex with ever growing needs, demands, and growing right along with these changes came ever growing budgets. With this complexity our elected neighbors' short comings and lack of experience became blatant. All said, their names were still all that was on the ballots.
For years local taxes have gone up without any positive outcome. Our schools seem to be failing in their mission yet continuing to say it is because of lack of money…More money is allocated and they continue to fail… The schools financial demands (which this year accounts for two thirds of our personal property tax bill) along with ever greater expanding city, county, and state workers with their consistent financial demands along with social programs account for the largest budget increases. This has been such an going practice that it has become expected and the voters just roll over. Election cycle after election cycle.
Getting control over the majority of federal elected people will not accomplish our goals as the Tea Party…There is a old political adage, "All politics are local." Look around and see if this adage still holds today? If you local government isn't functioning well our districts won't function well and the state won't function well…Everything needs to start at home. This past election there was such a desperate need we had to look at the federal people first and we did. We have some breathing room the next federal election cycle which won't get in high gear for about a year….
What to do and where to start?
The article below, we send along without comment. The ideas that different Tea groups are coming up with are all good ideas but what we believe is the most important in the article is that Tea group are organizing. Without the underlying organization structure there really will never be real strength as a group or within the groups. We want to suggest, once again, we in Mississippi need to pull all our Tea groups together for some meetings. We think there has been and may well continue to be some who think if the groups get together there will be a pull to act like or be seen as a third party movement. That would not be a good thing… The down side is if we don't, it will be more difficult to work on local, city and state, government issues and the elected officials.
Twenty twelve will be harder than twenty ten. The Dems won't be in denial. The planning has started.(Rumor has it that Axelroad will be leaving the White house staff to head up Obama's run for president in 2012. So don't doubt they are getting their gears in motion.) We to must get our gears in motion and organize on a broader base.
Below are a couple of articles on some things Tea Parties are doing on their home fronts in different parts of the country.
HAMILTON, Ga.—
The Harris County Tea Party near the Alabama border campaigned far and wide in this month's midterm elections. Donations were mailed to tea-party candidates in Nevada and Alaska. There were multiple overnight bus trips to rallies in Washington, D.C.
The next stop, however, is closer to home: the local school board.
"Don't get me wrong, we're still going to engage in Washington, but now we're going after what is here locally. Our focus is turning to our community," said Kathy Ropte, the group's founder, over coffee at a Blimpie sub shop, a popular local tea-party meeting spot off the town square. Aware that education consumes a big chunk of local property taxes, group members are combing through the salaries of every county school employee from the superintendent down.
After fighting for several months on the highest level of American politics, the leaders of many local tea-party activist groups now plan to take their agendas of limited government and penny pinching to their hometown governments.
Most say they'll stay involved in watching Congress, and dozens attended a recent Washington summit organized by national umbrella group Tea Party Patriots for newly elected members of Congress. But the local leaders say that to truly stem spending, they also must stage what Steven Vernon, vice president of the Tea Party Manatee on Florida's Gulf Coast, calls "a ground-level attack."
"We have to start at the lowest level and take our country back," Mr. Vernon said.
It's also more convenient for tea-party activists—typically volunteers with separate full-time jobs–to be local gadflies than national ones. "We can't go to every congressional hearing in D.C. but we can go to every school-board meeting in Manatee County," said Mr. Vernon, a technology-contracts negotiator.
Meanwhile, many recession-weary local officials are gearing up for a potential clash with tea partiers, saying they have already squeezed all they can out of their budgets.
Tea-party groups in Pennsylvania, Delaware and Michigan have recently voiced plans to have members run for local town boards in 2011—a bid to start a farm team of politicians who can move up to higher offices.
912 Patriots
"We hope to field candidates for the congressional race two years from now, but for 2011, our focus has shifted to the school boards," said Lee Ann Burkholder, spokeswoman for the York 912 Patriots, a tea-party-affiliated group in York, Penn.
The 912 Patriots last month drew some 300 people to an area hotel for a meeting by taking out a front-page ad in a local paper, asking: "Why are your property taxes so high? How is your school district spending your hard-earned dollars? You might be surprised."
"A lot of our members are upset that we have to pay for raises and fund pensions for teachers while many people in York County are out of work," Ms. Burkholder said.
Teachers' representatives warn against skimping on pay. "If you don't invest, you're not going to get the best and brightest and that will manifest itself in student performance," said Brian Koppenhaver, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania State Education Association, the union that represents York County school employees.
On Election Day, Don and Diana Reimer, co-founders of the Philadelphia Tea Party Patriots, were in Washington, waving signs for Republican Pat Toomey, a fiscal conservative who won the Pennsylvania Senate race.
Now, the Philadelphia Tea Party Patriots plan to launch the "Watchman Project," in which members will be assigned to attend local government meetings, monitor meeting minutes and then report back to the group, Mr. Reimer said. "If there is a particular vote coming up that we support or oppose, we would all show up to hopefully influence what is going on," he said.
Already, tensions are brewing in some municipalities, with local officials saying they need new revenue to maintain public services, while tea-party activists say new taxes aren't an option.
Earlier this month in Troy, Mich., tea-party activists delivered a petition to city hall, seeking to force officials to keep the Troy Public Library open without a new tax. "We really are embroiled in a big controversy here in Troy," said Janice Daniels, co-founder of the Troy Area Tea Party. Local voters narrowly shot down a proposal for a library tax on the Nov. 2 ballot. Now, the library is scheduled to close in June.
Everything we do, from cooking dinner, to planting a garden, to sending our kids to college has an anticipated outcome. We buy the food, we hoe the garden weeds, and we prepare our kids and save for the cost of their college fees. If we burn the dinner, don't hoe the weeds, we suffer the loss. We learn from those mistakes and don't repeat them because it's our money and their future that’s on the line. This issue of loss and personal money is never the issue with elected officials at any level of government. If they fail they simply want more money to continue to do more of the same thing. They do not learn from their mistakes and there is no economic reason why they should. As well intended as some of them may be they need to be replaced.
How to replace them it is the sixty four dollar question and don't you wish it was only sixty four dollars at stake.
Ron
Docnick37@gmail.com
http://theoxfordteaparty.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
The Broken Trust
It's late.. I'm not sure just what time it really is but I know when my mind starts wandering back to yesteryear with its green Chevrolet, tractors, cotton, DDT, Sunday school and getting stars on the board for each verse you can recite, home work, early television, falling madly in love every few weeks, few faces recalled, most name forgotten, but no matter whatever else was going on my younger years there was always a drum beat and it had to do with values… The idea of right and wrong… How one behaved, rudeness, impoliteness, respect, behavior that allowed people to live together. No one got killed no one got robbed… Things moved slowly. People moved slowly….I recall little vignettes where doctors were shown respect, along with policeman, and yes, even politicians, and certainly older people. We thought they knew more than younger people. They were guides. They were our mentors. Something happened. Not with one "big bang' but slowly over time.
But…and it’s a big "but"…change began...Slowly and only here and there, groups of young people, in the late sixties began to question our leaders and the decisions they were making. (Don't trust anyone over thirty was the cry.) Trust was the operative word. The society as a whole had not seen this. It was not part of the upbringing to question leaders. Did we, in our silence, break the trust?
More subgroups began to appear who didn't feel or see themselves as part of these historical social norms.
Society's 'good guys', (our leaders) began to get caught crossing social, ethical, legal, and moral boundaries.
Leaping forward fifty years we have become a nation of special interest subgroups. Each vying for special treatment…each feeling entitled. Not simply entitled under the law for equal and fair treatment but entitled to whatever demand of their specific interest group. Whether it's rights to citizenship, being taken care of with shelter, food, education, medical care, or simply money to spend. All the things the average citizens work for every day.
The average politician know these groups. They use these group to sustain their position of power. If President Obama had lost anyone of these major subgroups he would not have become president. Same thing is true with Harry Reid this past election. That is how powerfully political these groups are. They are catered to by all levels of government.
In the Art of War by Sun Tu, he says. "Know who you are fighting and know where the battle is taking place." Know this is a war we are in…Know the enemy look like us…Know that the battle is taking place on our soil but not with guns and bullets. Chapter one ended November 2 and we fought and won with idea, values, and beliefs. Chapter two will take place in the next election cycle and "they" will be better prepared. It was their arrogance that beat them this time out. This mistake will not be repeated. They will organize and they will carefully prepare. Clearly they see us as the enemy.
Leadership in surprise places. England has a new young Prime Minister who was elected by promising to cut the national debt. England is as near to a socialist country as you can come without being a socialist country. This new young prime minister, hold on to your hats, has turned to the public for ideas of cutting the country's debt. He said that the people of the country have to pay the government cost so they should tell him what and where he should cut back on government spending. The web site he created has already had a 100,000 hits and a 100,000 cost cutting ideas.
Unless I missed something, I don't think Governor Barbour has asked any of us for cost cutting ideas. I know our state and federal elected folks haven't asked us for any cost cutting ideas. "Go figure."
I wonder how the leader in England came up with the idea that the people who pay the bill should have some say in how the money is being spent. Certainly such a radical idea would never occur to our President or our leaders in state or federal legislators.
I wonder if there is some way we might take it upon ourselves to explain or maybe even show our leadership that we have suggestions as to the various things we don't want to pay for and the various budget cuts they could consider making. They seem to spend their time looking at the 'Big Picture' without understanding that every voter's complaint has to do with them limiting our freedoms, our rights, and spending our money. Not their money. Not government's money but taxpayers money. That doesn't seem to be a hard concept to get but it must be. Government takes money from us in many different ways and always refers to it as their money. This is a hard concept for me to get. You know, I keep forgetting we gave (give) them the right to do it... and do it…and do it over again…
It is morally, ethically, and constitutionally wrong for our elected officials not to listen to the citizens of this country. To spend voters hard earned money in ways that seem wasteful, unproductive, and all the while growing inept government with each stroke of the pen. They feel it right and that they are entitled to do this…..
OK, lets plagiarize the Prime Minister's idea and setup a national web site where everyone can make a suggestion as to where government costs could be cut. Not a place for ranting but simple ideas that can be understood in a few sentences….(Also, each state could do a state web site.) Who wants to do this?
We would like to suggest some 'good reads' that have a bearing on where we are and what got us here. Seldom do we suggest books but these two are very important and a key to what some of the major underlying problems are...
CREATING A NEW CIVILIZATION by Toffler. This is a older book so you can see the changes over your lifetime. (Easy quick read.)
THE BELL CURVE by Murray. Older book and again you can see the change already in your life time. (Harder read and takes time. Very important to see this trend in motion.)
Ron
Docnick37@gmail.com
http://theoxfordteaparty.blogspot.com/
But…and it’s a big "but"…change began...Slowly and only here and there, groups of young people, in the late sixties began to question our leaders and the decisions they were making. (Don't trust anyone over thirty was the cry.) Trust was the operative word. The society as a whole had not seen this. It was not part of the upbringing to question leaders. Did we, in our silence, break the trust?
More subgroups began to appear who didn't feel or see themselves as part of these historical social norms.
Society's 'good guys', (our leaders) began to get caught crossing social, ethical, legal, and moral boundaries.
Leaping forward fifty years we have become a nation of special interest subgroups. Each vying for special treatment…each feeling entitled. Not simply entitled under the law for equal and fair treatment but entitled to whatever demand of their specific interest group. Whether it's rights to citizenship, being taken care of with shelter, food, education, medical care, or simply money to spend. All the things the average citizens work for every day.
The average politician know these groups. They use these group to sustain their position of power. If President Obama had lost anyone of these major subgroups he would not have become president. Same thing is true with Harry Reid this past election. That is how powerfully political these groups are. They are catered to by all levels of government.
In the Art of War by Sun Tu, he says. "Know who you are fighting and know where the battle is taking place." Know this is a war we are in…Know the enemy look like us…Know that the battle is taking place on our soil but not with guns and bullets. Chapter one ended November 2 and we fought and won with idea, values, and beliefs. Chapter two will take place in the next election cycle and "they" will be better prepared. It was their arrogance that beat them this time out. This mistake will not be repeated. They will organize and they will carefully prepare. Clearly they see us as the enemy.
Leadership in surprise places. England has a new young Prime Minister who was elected by promising to cut the national debt. England is as near to a socialist country as you can come without being a socialist country. This new young prime minister, hold on to your hats, has turned to the public for ideas of cutting the country's debt. He said that the people of the country have to pay the government cost so they should tell him what and where he should cut back on government spending. The web site he created has already had a 100,000 hits and a 100,000 cost cutting ideas.
Unless I missed something, I don't think Governor Barbour has asked any of us for cost cutting ideas. I know our state and federal elected folks haven't asked us for any cost cutting ideas. "Go figure."
I wonder how the leader in England came up with the idea that the people who pay the bill should have some say in how the money is being spent. Certainly such a radical idea would never occur to our President or our leaders in state or federal legislators.
I wonder if there is some way we might take it upon ourselves to explain or maybe even show our leadership that we have suggestions as to the various things we don't want to pay for and the various budget cuts they could consider making. They seem to spend their time looking at the 'Big Picture' without understanding that every voter's complaint has to do with them limiting our freedoms, our rights, and spending our money. Not their money. Not government's money but taxpayers money. That doesn't seem to be a hard concept to get but it must be. Government takes money from us in many different ways and always refers to it as their money. This is a hard concept for me to get. You know, I keep forgetting we gave (give) them the right to do it... and do it…and do it over again…
It is morally, ethically, and constitutionally wrong for our elected officials not to listen to the citizens of this country. To spend voters hard earned money in ways that seem wasteful, unproductive, and all the while growing inept government with each stroke of the pen. They feel it right and that they are entitled to do this…..
OK, lets plagiarize the Prime Minister's idea and setup a national web site where everyone can make a suggestion as to where government costs could be cut. Not a place for ranting but simple ideas that can be understood in a few sentences….(Also, each state could do a state web site.) Who wants to do this?
We would like to suggest some 'good reads' that have a bearing on where we are and what got us here. Seldom do we suggest books but these two are very important and a key to what some of the major underlying problems are...
CREATING A NEW CIVILIZATION by Toffler. This is a older book so you can see the changes over your lifetime. (Easy quick read.)
THE BELL CURVE by Murray. Older book and again you can see the change already in your life time. (Harder read and takes time. Very important to see this trend in motion.)
Ron
Docnick37@gmail.com
http://theoxfordteaparty.blogspot.com/
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Earmarxists
Senator Mitch McConnell, from Kentucky, even though he said he was for earmarks, that earmarks weren't wasteful, and were good for the folks back home, two days ago announced he would vote for a moratorium for two years on earmarks…I guess when the newly elected senate members arrived in Washington for their 'orientation week' they brought him a message he could understand. (Given his speech on TV, about his change of heart about 'pork barreling', you would have thought he was announcing the death of all of his grandchildren. Senator Mitch is a leading voice in the GOP. He supported the candidate who Rand Paul ran against in the primaries. This is a man who would not support Rand Paul during his campaign for the other Kentucky senate seat after he won the primaries. (Truly one of the good old boys to the core.)
The Senator and I are in an age range that is referred to as the 'seniors' group. For many of us in this group change of any shape, size, or form is difficult. For him, though, the power to 'pork' has been an important tool in securing his ongoing position and power in the Senate. For me it simply draws my attention to 'The Clock Ticking', OR I just hate change, or change is just difficult. Who know and who really cares because life and the act of living is change. However, when elected representatives stay ensconced in the big white building on the hill for too many election cycles, change needs to 'happen" for them and we need to make it 'happen'... and we did for many… good for us… and its good for them, and good for the country.
The argument for 'pork barreling' is that money goes to good causes back home and doesn't cost the tax payer anything extra…. To believe this you would have had to come to this conclusion in the middle of a long row picking cotton some hot afternoon..….. Let me give some (and I really mean just a few) examples of our Mississippi senators Cochran and Wicker. Whatever pet project these monies will be spent on you can bet they bargained for them with their votes and for their special supporters back home. (Note: Given the amount of money they have funneled into the State you wonder why any of us have to pay taxes. Oh my, could it be that this would be reason enough to keep them? Which we did.)
10400 176,000.00 Cochran & Wicker
10401 797,000.00 Wicker
10402 496,000.00 Cochran
10403 1,500,000.00 Cochran & Wicker
10404 654,000.00 Cochran & Wicker
10405 332,000.00 Cochran
10406 231,000.00 Cochran & Wicker
10407 98,000.00 Cochran & Wicker
10408 4,000,000.00 Cochran
10410 480,000.00 Cochran & Wicker
10413 376,000.00 Cochran
10414 208,000.00 Cochran
10415 235,000.00 Cochran
10416 2,000,000.00 Cochran
10417 223,000.00 Cochran
10418 939,000.00 Cochran
11381 250,000.00 Cochran 7 Wicker
11383 1,000,000.00 Cochran & Wicker
These few earmarks are just a sampling of our senators' very long list of accomplishments…..
Let's look at one of our congressmen for some real 'porking'.
11385 200,000.00 Childress
11392 6,000,000.00 "
11400 200,000.00 "
11408 2,400,000.00 "
13224 9,340,000.00 "
13227 400,000.00 "
13233 3 120,000.00 "
14423 8,000,000,00 "
For Childress this is also a short list. Childress did better than our two senators I think because Pelosi paid better….Know this is only a partial list for ONE of our congressmen. (Maybe, we made a mistake kicking him out? ( Just joking. -)
There are pages and pages of these earmarks regarding our two senators and just the one of our congressmen in the sample. If you want to know what projects these funds will be spent on ...Google "Pork Barrel"… OR www.cagw.org and check the earmark projects. If you do you may notice a pattern.
Current count for 2010, has found 9129 total earmarks from all the senators/congressmen across the country SO FAR. There are still bills coming before this lame duck Congress which will really be loaded. The bet is this will be a watershed year with over 10,000. Many of these earmarks will be one shot deals but others will require ongoing funding and it’s the 'ongoing' ones that are real financial killers.
You could look at this partial list of Ear Marked Projects and be impressed at how much our two fine senators and congressman accomplished. The other congressmen did well also...They "brung' home the bacon. So, why are we whining and complaining?
Somewhere up there in the white building are a bunch of old papers that says congress' mission is to protect the country and all the rights of the American citizens. Maybe we are complaining because we believe they are not accomplishing their mission. They are not singing on the same page with us. Our rights are being nibbled away, our money is being taken, and our country isn't safer, and government encroaches on every aspect of our lives and they keep on keeping on and we keep on electing them. This is crazy.. This is just crazy what we are doing….
(Just a note: Our federal government get taxes from all the citizens in all the states. Earmarks direct tax money from tax payers in one state and sends their tax dollars to other states for 'ear marks' projects. This slight of hand gets buried in some other bill and hidden from tax payers' view…i.e. they hide it in the pork barrel. Government says that they send more money back to the states than it get from the states. Really? How is this possible… Where does Washington get the extra money to pay for this 'pork barreling'? They print the money and run up national debt! Gee Wiz, how clever….(and let them eat cake.)
Our congressional guys and gals need a clear mission statement from us defining their job description (once again) as to the limits and purpose of the federal government. When we forget they forget what the purpose is and what the limits are. We forget-they forget..We forget- they forget. Happens every time.
The Tea Partiers are the authors of the history written on November 2, 2010. There is still blood on our hands due to our lack of responsible behavior with elected officials over the last few decades. We let them slide, we let them get side tracked in their duties, we let them become arrogant, and worse of all we let them abuse us and the nation… This coming election cycle is the beginning of Chapter 2 in this text book we are authoring titled "How Americans Reclaim Their Government." (Sub-titled: The Not So Quite Revolution.)
The next time you run into one of our august representatives and they begin the story about how much bacon they "brung us", ask them what they did about the illegal immigrants, ask about the unbelievable debt they have burdened you, your children, and grandchildren with, ask about the stifling tax rates on you and the businesses in the country, ask about the government regulations that are eating away at your freedoms as a citizen. Then say, " Mr. Employee, you have been in government for a long enough to figure out what your duties are. You haven't figured them out, you have failed, and your fired."
Same is true for state and local government employees. Example: It was discovered that the Department of Education spent $615,000.00 for lunches last fiscal year. Once discovered it was admitted they spent too much money on employees' lunches. WOW...The excuse was these were federally required training programs and this money was used for lunches during these trainings. Attorney General Jim Hood, in his defense of this spending, said this was not taxpayer dollars but federal grant money…Federal grants! So it appears our attorney general does not know where the federal government gets its money from. How can the state survive such inept people? How can we survive such inept people?
Everyone needs to look through the records and budgets of the various departments in Mississippi and see what is going on…. We have a really good web site in Mississippi for this. What is happening at the state level is the same as what is happening at the federal level. Just as irresponsible and just as crazy making only on a smaller scale.
Our State is our hearth… by it we raise and teach our children, we warm ourselves, cook our meals and live out our lives...We need to tend to our hearth first…Without a 'recall law' the people we elect, once elected, simply do what ever they want. Tell us one thing and do another without regard for us or the notion of right or wrong. Without 'recall' we have to wait years to fire the rascals.
Back last spring the song going around was 'Kick All The Bums Out." Realistically we couldn't pull this off in one election cycle…Keep in mind November 2, 2012, is only 714 days, 6 hours, 28 minutes from now…Lots of things we need to do and top of the list is to work more with our Governor. Good man…He needs our support in many ways. The state budget should be on everyone's desk soon. Get your copy. Get a red pen and you and your friends go through it. DO a little line item vetoing. Things to look for, in our mind, is hiring freezes, wage freezes in all departments and cutting each department's budget by fifteen percent on top of those other cuts. Can that really be done? Would that really be 'change?' No, but it would be a good start. If done, we wouldn't even notice any loss in service. The Governor proposes, and the two houses decide the final details of the budget. These are the elected official who need some 'belly butting' from us. Time for this nose to nose 'conversation' is absolutely running out.
Here is the link to find the details of our States' budget….
Seethespending.org
Ron
Docnick37@gmail.com
http://theoxfordteaparty.blogspot.com/
The Senator and I are in an age range that is referred to as the 'seniors' group. For many of us in this group change of any shape, size, or form is difficult. For him, though, the power to 'pork' has been an important tool in securing his ongoing position and power in the Senate. For me it simply draws my attention to 'The Clock Ticking', OR I just hate change, or change is just difficult. Who know and who really cares because life and the act of living is change. However, when elected representatives stay ensconced in the big white building on the hill for too many election cycles, change needs to 'happen" for them and we need to make it 'happen'... and we did for many… good for us… and its good for them, and good for the country.
The argument for 'pork barreling' is that money goes to good causes back home and doesn't cost the tax payer anything extra…. To believe this you would have had to come to this conclusion in the middle of a long row picking cotton some hot afternoon..….. Let me give some (and I really mean just a few) examples of our Mississippi senators Cochran and Wicker. Whatever pet project these monies will be spent on you can bet they bargained for them with their votes and for their special supporters back home. (Note: Given the amount of money they have funneled into the State you wonder why any of us have to pay taxes. Oh my, could it be that this would be reason enough to keep them? Which we did.)
10400 176,000.00 Cochran & Wicker
10401 797,000.00 Wicker
10402 496,000.00 Cochran
10403 1,500,000.00 Cochran & Wicker
10404 654,000.00 Cochran & Wicker
10405 332,000.00 Cochran
10406 231,000.00 Cochran & Wicker
10407 98,000.00 Cochran & Wicker
10408 4,000,000.00 Cochran
10410 480,000.00 Cochran & Wicker
10413 376,000.00 Cochran
10414 208,000.00 Cochran
10415 235,000.00 Cochran
10416 2,000,000.00 Cochran
10417 223,000.00 Cochran
10418 939,000.00 Cochran
11381 250,000.00 Cochran 7 Wicker
11383 1,000,000.00 Cochran & Wicker
These few earmarks are just a sampling of our senators' very long list of accomplishments…..
Let's look at one of our congressmen for some real 'porking'.
11385 200,000.00 Childress
11392 6,000,000.00 "
11400 200,000.00 "
11408 2,400,000.00 "
13224 9,340,000.00 "
13227 400,000.00 "
13233 3 120,000.00 "
14423 8,000,000,00 "
For Childress this is also a short list. Childress did better than our two senators I think because Pelosi paid better….Know this is only a partial list for ONE of our congressmen. (Maybe, we made a mistake kicking him out? ( Just joking. -)
There are pages and pages of these earmarks regarding our two senators and just the one of our congressmen in the sample. If you want to know what projects these funds will be spent on ...Google "Pork Barrel"… OR www.cagw.org and check the earmark projects. If you do you may notice a pattern.
Current count for 2010, has found 9129 total earmarks from all the senators/congressmen across the country SO FAR. There are still bills coming before this lame duck Congress which will really be loaded. The bet is this will be a watershed year with over 10,000. Many of these earmarks will be one shot deals but others will require ongoing funding and it’s the 'ongoing' ones that are real financial killers.
You could look at this partial list of Ear Marked Projects and be impressed at how much our two fine senators and congressman accomplished. The other congressmen did well also...They "brung' home the bacon. So, why are we whining and complaining?
Somewhere up there in the white building are a bunch of old papers that says congress' mission is to protect the country and all the rights of the American citizens. Maybe we are complaining because we believe they are not accomplishing their mission. They are not singing on the same page with us. Our rights are being nibbled away, our money is being taken, and our country isn't safer, and government encroaches on every aspect of our lives and they keep on keeping on and we keep on electing them. This is crazy.. This is just crazy what we are doing….
(Just a note: Our federal government get taxes from all the citizens in all the states. Earmarks direct tax money from tax payers in one state and sends their tax dollars to other states for 'ear marks' projects. This slight of hand gets buried in some other bill and hidden from tax payers' view…i.e. they hide it in the pork barrel. Government says that they send more money back to the states than it get from the states. Really? How is this possible… Where does Washington get the extra money to pay for this 'pork barreling'? They print the money and run up national debt! Gee Wiz, how clever….(and let them eat cake.)
Our congressional guys and gals need a clear mission statement from us defining their job description (once again) as to the limits and purpose of the federal government. When we forget they forget what the purpose is and what the limits are. We forget-they forget..We forget- they forget. Happens every time.
The Tea Partiers are the authors of the history written on November 2, 2010. There is still blood on our hands due to our lack of responsible behavior with elected officials over the last few decades. We let them slide, we let them get side tracked in their duties, we let them become arrogant, and worse of all we let them abuse us and the nation… This coming election cycle is the beginning of Chapter 2 in this text book we are authoring titled "How Americans Reclaim Their Government." (Sub-titled: The Not So Quite Revolution.)
The next time you run into one of our august representatives and they begin the story about how much bacon they "brung us", ask them what they did about the illegal immigrants, ask about the unbelievable debt they have burdened you, your children, and grandchildren with, ask about the stifling tax rates on you and the businesses in the country, ask about the government regulations that are eating away at your freedoms as a citizen. Then say, " Mr. Employee, you have been in government for a long enough to figure out what your duties are. You haven't figured them out, you have failed, and your fired."
Same is true for state and local government employees. Example: It was discovered that the Department of Education spent $615,000.00 for lunches last fiscal year. Once discovered it was admitted they spent too much money on employees' lunches. WOW...The excuse was these were federally required training programs and this money was used for lunches during these trainings. Attorney General Jim Hood, in his defense of this spending, said this was not taxpayer dollars but federal grant money…Federal grants! So it appears our attorney general does not know where the federal government gets its money from. How can the state survive such inept people? How can we survive such inept people?
Everyone needs to look through the records and budgets of the various departments in Mississippi and see what is going on…. We have a really good web site in Mississippi for this. What is happening at the state level is the same as what is happening at the federal level. Just as irresponsible and just as crazy making only on a smaller scale.
Our State is our hearth… by it we raise and teach our children, we warm ourselves, cook our meals and live out our lives...We need to tend to our hearth first…Without a 'recall law' the people we elect, once elected, simply do what ever they want. Tell us one thing and do another without regard for us or the notion of right or wrong. Without 'recall' we have to wait years to fire the rascals.
Back last spring the song going around was 'Kick All The Bums Out." Realistically we couldn't pull this off in one election cycle…Keep in mind November 2, 2012, is only 714 days, 6 hours, 28 minutes from now…Lots of things we need to do and top of the list is to work more with our Governor. Good man…He needs our support in many ways. The state budget should be on everyone's desk soon. Get your copy. Get a red pen and you and your friends go through it. DO a little line item vetoing. Things to look for, in our mind, is hiring freezes, wage freezes in all departments and cutting each department's budget by fifteen percent on top of those other cuts. Can that really be done? Would that really be 'change?' No, but it would be a good start. If done, we wouldn't even notice any loss in service. The Governor proposes, and the two houses decide the final details of the budget. These are the elected official who need some 'belly butting' from us. Time for this nose to nose 'conversation' is absolutely running out.
Here is the link to find the details of our States' budget….
Seethespending.org
Ron
Docnick37@gmail.com
http://theoxfordteaparty.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Was It Only 235 Years Ago?
Well it was 'only' 235 year ago, with a divided country, wrestling with the issue of personal and national freedoms, on the brink of war, a leader rose to the moment, made a speech. That speech then and now has defined who America is and what Americans are all about….
235 years later these same Americans rose to the moment, this time with their message and their vote, confronted the always present danger from those who want to take away the uniquely American freedoms and government that the citizens bough and paid for with blood.
Throughout Americas short history individuals, groups, and nations have risen up questioning and sometimes threatening America, its people, and the very core of how it governs itself. A government of, for, and by the people is the 'great experiment' with data being collected every day around the world and through each election cycle a form of government that prevents the ruling of citizens by charismatic individuals and tainted politicians in their quest for power. These people have wrangled themselves into our political system with empty promises of easier life in which the government would take care of them. No matter their names, no matter what point in our history, they came to the limelight. Sooner or later their promises disappointed, their schemes failed, their motives questioned, and the citizens turned them out.
Each time the nation went through this catharsis we promised ourselves, "never again." The generation who lived though it didn't let it happen again but lo and behold, a generation or two later it happens again. Seduced by the same promises the citizens turned to the yet another charismatic leader and a different set of tainted politicians with what seems like new 'we will take care of you promises,' followed by disappointment, followed by failed schemes, followed by the citizens turning them out.
The argument could be made that this political cycling makes the nation stronger. This is not the perception of The Oxford Tea Party nor do we believe it is the perception of Tea Party members in general. However, the nation's population is growing. There are fewer jobs, less opportunities for work, fewer with the knowledge and skills for the jobs that are available, and many more empty mouths to feed. Unless this problem is defined in ways that offer solutions that can solve these growing social problems we will continue on this insidious path towards a socialist form of society and government which will open the door to yet another cadre of politicians promising these voters even greater rewards for their votes. Other nations in the world faced with these same issues opted to go down the socialist road. (Socialism, at the its core, is always in the process of transferring wealth from the producers, the creators of goods and services, to the population as a whole and always with good intentions. So they say.) The failure of this system of government is seen nightly on our TV screens with the citizens of those socialist countries striking, burning buildings, and railing against their government because there is less and less wealth for them to transfer.
You have to feel bad for these people in socialist nations who, for generations, have been promised by their politicians they could have more for less effort on their part and/or more for nothing on their part. A growing segment of our society in America is now in the third generation of having goods and services transferred to them that government has taken from producers of those good and services. This is creating a greater and greater schism in our nation. Anger is building.
We have just turned out seventy plus politicians at the federal and near six hundred or so at the state level of government who have contributed to this schism through their social programs as well as all the 'pork barrel' wasteful spending during this election cycle. More politicians must to be turned out. Given the political and economic upheaval in the world today even the slightest tilt in how we run our country, govern ourselves, run our businesses can have unforeseen consequence. The fear of these consequences is sensed by many voters and reflected in this election vote. However, will our politicians read this vote correctly?
Already, the news talk out of Washington baits the issue.
Do you ever wonder from what corner the next attack on the Tea Party will come? Certainly no one in the Republican or Democratic parties wants us around and we are more than certain they don't want us to attain any more power. The liberal press sees us as 'crazy, dumb, dangerous red necks,' that are threats to everything they hold dear and a threat to the future of the country. So the attacks will continue with the GOP taking a low profile. The greatest threat, of course, will come from each of us. Will come from our lack or resolve. Will we spread our Tea Party ideas, will we keep our focus, or will we lose our mojo? History tells us one thing about grass roots movements such as ours and that is goals get blurred and energy dissipates.
Now let us turn our attention to Mississippi. Same problems but we're on our home court.
Its going to feel like a long two years…..
We have decided to permanently post that 235 year old speech by Patrick Henry on The Oxford Tea blog... a speech that is simply ripening with age…. We all know it…But sometime we just forget.
Ron
Docnick37@gmail.com
http://theoxfordteaparty.blogspot.com/
Patrick Henry – March 23, 1775
Our King George III is already in the White House with his version of the English Parliament. There is barely a whiff of “will of the people”.
What’s old is new again.
“No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the House. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope that it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen, if, entertaining as I do opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely and without reserve.
This is no time for ceremony. The question before the House is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty towards the majesty of heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.
Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren, till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation?
For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth — to know the worst and to provide for it. I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided; and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years, to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and the House?
Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received? Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with these warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the implements of war and subjugation — the last arguments to which kings resort. I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible motives for it? Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies?
No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us; they can be meant for no other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry have been so long forging. And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer on the subject? Nothing.
We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves longer.
Sir, we have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament.
Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne. In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope.
If we wish to be free — if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending — if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained, we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of Hosts is all that is left us!
They tell us, sir, that we are weak — unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance, by lying supinely on our backs, and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot?
Sir, we are not weak, if we make a proper use of the means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. Three millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us.
The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable — and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come!
It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, “Peace! Peace!” — but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!
Patrick Henry – March 23, 1775
235 years later these same Americans rose to the moment, this time with their message and their vote, confronted the always present danger from those who want to take away the uniquely American freedoms and government that the citizens bough and paid for with blood.
Throughout Americas short history individuals, groups, and nations have risen up questioning and sometimes threatening America, its people, and the very core of how it governs itself. A government of, for, and by the people is the 'great experiment' with data being collected every day around the world and through each election cycle a form of government that prevents the ruling of citizens by charismatic individuals and tainted politicians in their quest for power. These people have wrangled themselves into our political system with empty promises of easier life in which the government would take care of them. No matter their names, no matter what point in our history, they came to the limelight. Sooner or later their promises disappointed, their schemes failed, their motives questioned, and the citizens turned them out.
Each time the nation went through this catharsis we promised ourselves, "never again." The generation who lived though it didn't let it happen again but lo and behold, a generation or two later it happens again. Seduced by the same promises the citizens turned to the yet another charismatic leader and a different set of tainted politicians with what seems like new 'we will take care of you promises,' followed by disappointment, followed by failed schemes, followed by the citizens turning them out.
The argument could be made that this political cycling makes the nation stronger. This is not the perception of The Oxford Tea Party nor do we believe it is the perception of Tea Party members in general. However, the nation's population is growing. There are fewer jobs, less opportunities for work, fewer with the knowledge and skills for the jobs that are available, and many more empty mouths to feed. Unless this problem is defined in ways that offer solutions that can solve these growing social problems we will continue on this insidious path towards a socialist form of society and government which will open the door to yet another cadre of politicians promising these voters even greater rewards for their votes. Other nations in the world faced with these same issues opted to go down the socialist road. (Socialism, at the its core, is always in the process of transferring wealth from the producers, the creators of goods and services, to the population as a whole and always with good intentions. So they say.) The failure of this system of government is seen nightly on our TV screens with the citizens of those socialist countries striking, burning buildings, and railing against their government because there is less and less wealth for them to transfer.
You have to feel bad for these people in socialist nations who, for generations, have been promised by their politicians they could have more for less effort on their part and/or more for nothing on their part. A growing segment of our society in America is now in the third generation of having goods and services transferred to them that government has taken from producers of those good and services. This is creating a greater and greater schism in our nation. Anger is building.
We have just turned out seventy plus politicians at the federal and near six hundred or so at the state level of government who have contributed to this schism through their social programs as well as all the 'pork barrel' wasteful spending during this election cycle. More politicians must to be turned out. Given the political and economic upheaval in the world today even the slightest tilt in how we run our country, govern ourselves, run our businesses can have unforeseen consequence. The fear of these consequences is sensed by many voters and reflected in this election vote. However, will our politicians read this vote correctly?
Already, the news talk out of Washington baits the issue.
Do you ever wonder from what corner the next attack on the Tea Party will come? Certainly no one in the Republican or Democratic parties wants us around and we are more than certain they don't want us to attain any more power. The liberal press sees us as 'crazy, dumb, dangerous red necks,' that are threats to everything they hold dear and a threat to the future of the country. So the attacks will continue with the GOP taking a low profile. The greatest threat, of course, will come from each of us. Will come from our lack or resolve. Will we spread our Tea Party ideas, will we keep our focus, or will we lose our mojo? History tells us one thing about grass roots movements such as ours and that is goals get blurred and energy dissipates.
Now let us turn our attention to Mississippi. Same problems but we're on our home court.
Its going to feel like a long two years…..
We have decided to permanently post that 235 year old speech by Patrick Henry on The Oxford Tea blog... a speech that is simply ripening with age…. We all know it…But sometime we just forget.
Ron
Docnick37@gmail.com
http://theoxfordteaparty.blogspot.com/
Patrick Henry – March 23, 1775
Our King George III is already in the White House with his version of the English Parliament. There is barely a whiff of “will of the people”.
What’s old is new again.
“No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the House. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope that it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen, if, entertaining as I do opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely and without reserve.
This is no time for ceremony. The question before the House is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty towards the majesty of heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.
Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren, till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation?
For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth — to know the worst and to provide for it. I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided; and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years, to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and the House?
Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received? Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with these warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the implements of war and subjugation — the last arguments to which kings resort. I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible motives for it? Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies?
No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us; they can be meant for no other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry have been so long forging. And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer on the subject? Nothing.
We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves longer.
Sir, we have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament.
Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne. In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope.
If we wish to be free — if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending — if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained, we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of Hosts is all that is left us!
They tell us, sir, that we are weak — unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance, by lying supinely on our backs, and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot?
Sir, we are not weak, if we make a proper use of the means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. Three millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us.
The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable — and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come!
It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, “Peace! Peace!” — but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!
Patrick Henry – March 23, 1775
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Rand Paul
Well, isn't this some good news and a good idea…. (Also, smart politics putting Tea folks in the loop.) We post this article without comment.
This article is a posting I am forwarding from the Dailey Caller. If you are not on their mailing list I really recommend them.
Interview with Rand Paul:
Kentucky Republican Senator-elect Rand Paul is already making waves in Washington, D.C. with plans to organize either a Senate or bicameral Tea Party Caucus.
Paul said he’s been chatting with several people from Kentucky about laying down a communications blueprint to keep the grassroots Tea Partiers nationwide in touch with their newly elected senators and representatives about what’s going on inside the Beltway. Paul told The Daily Caller he plans to start by forming a “nucleus” of conservative senators and then reach out to colleagues in the House.
“My idea is that we would do a bicameral caucus,” Paul told TheDC. “I don’t think there’s been a caucus that has had both Senate and House jointly meeting and I’d also like it to involve the grassroots, in some way, the Tea Party groups so we get some kind of input from folks all around the country, some kind of electronic town hall or something like that.”
Paul said he got the idea from talking with Kentucky Tea Partiers, adding that the activists tell him they want to keep fighting, even though there isn’t another election until 2012.
“They aren’t like, ‘once the election’s over, that’s it,’” Paul said. “So, I’d like to figure out a way that they can have input and we can let them know what we’re trying to do on their behalf as well.”
Paul said he’d expect such a caucus to “make legislators better people and better legislators but, also, it would just give them a guidepost to work from.” He stressed that fiscal responsibility and balanced budgets would be a major focus of his Tea Party Caucus.
Currently, there is already a Tea Party Caucus in the House, founded and led by Minnesota Republican Michele Bachmann. Paul said he hasn’t spoken with Bachmann yet, but plans to get it touch with her when he gets to Washington. He hopes to work with Bachmann and other House Tea Party Republicans on making his idea of a bicameral Tea Party Caucus a reality.
“I think it would help us to shape the national debate over these reforms,” Paul said. “It helps us to have a distinct entity that has not ever existed before. The Tea Party movement is one of if not the biggest political movement in my lifetime and I think it deserves to still have a voice in Washington. That’s why I’m doing it, trying to set up a caucus that sets up lines of communication between the different Tea Party groups, which are very decentralized, and the candidates they elected in Washington.”
Ron
Docnick37@gmail.com
http://theoxfordteaparty.blogspot.com/
This article is a posting I am forwarding from the Dailey Caller. If you are not on their mailing list I really recommend them.
Interview with Rand Paul:
Kentucky Republican Senator-elect Rand Paul is already making waves in Washington, D.C. with plans to organize either a Senate or bicameral Tea Party Caucus.
Paul said he’s been chatting with several people from Kentucky about laying down a communications blueprint to keep the grassroots Tea Partiers nationwide in touch with their newly elected senators and representatives about what’s going on inside the Beltway. Paul told The Daily Caller he plans to start by forming a “nucleus” of conservative senators and then reach out to colleagues in the House.
“My idea is that we would do a bicameral caucus,” Paul told TheDC. “I don’t think there’s been a caucus that has had both Senate and House jointly meeting and I’d also like it to involve the grassroots, in some way, the Tea Party groups so we get some kind of input from folks all around the country, some kind of electronic town hall or something like that.”
Paul said he got the idea from talking with Kentucky Tea Partiers, adding that the activists tell him they want to keep fighting, even though there isn’t another election until 2012.
“They aren’t like, ‘once the election’s over, that’s it,’” Paul said. “So, I’d like to figure out a way that they can have input and we can let them know what we’re trying to do on their behalf as well.”
Paul said he’d expect such a caucus to “make legislators better people and better legislators but, also, it would just give them a guidepost to work from.” He stressed that fiscal responsibility and balanced budgets would be a major focus of his Tea Party Caucus.
Currently, there is already a Tea Party Caucus in the House, founded and led by Minnesota Republican Michele Bachmann. Paul said he hasn’t spoken with Bachmann yet, but plans to get it touch with her when he gets to Washington. He hopes to work with Bachmann and other House Tea Party Republicans on making his idea of a bicameral Tea Party Caucus a reality.
“I think it would help us to shape the national debate over these reforms,” Paul said. “It helps us to have a distinct entity that has not ever existed before. The Tea Party movement is one of if not the biggest political movement in my lifetime and I think it deserves to still have a voice in Washington. That’s why I’m doing it, trying to set up a caucus that sets up lines of communication between the different Tea Party groups, which are very decentralized, and the candidates they elected in Washington.”
Ron
Docnick37@gmail.com
http://theoxfordteaparty.blogspot.com/
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Bold Steps And A Good Giggle
Glen Beck played a major role in the phenomenal win on Tuesday….
Below is a clip from his radio show…. This is funny. The first little section is from an advertiser so be patient. When the video starts open it to full screen so you can see all of the people involved. I laughed more the second time I watched it.
We got the announcement from the MS Tea Party for a call for people who might want to run in the next election cycle. I am glad to see we are getting started because we have only 730 day, 7 hours, 36 minutes, and 5 seconds left before the next election day on 11/2/2012…We are happy to see that the Tea Party is stepping up to the plate and participating directly in the selection of candidates.
If the National Republican Party learned a lesson from the Tuesday election results they 'may' want to have a seat at our table. They 'may' even want to joint with Jim DeMint, Colburn, and many of the newly elected congressmen and begin to move the National Party back to the traditional conservative positions. Who knows? Strange things do happen..In spite of their whimpy participation sixty plus Dems (lots of blue dogs) got sent home.
Hopefully this time around we will be able to focus more on state problems along with the national elections.
Obama was very helpful with the Tuesday event in that he has been drawing the 'line' so deeply in the sand that voters could clearly see it. It seems that he will continue to be helpful, in the same ways, during these next two years given his long rambling press conference yesterday. Clearly he does not see that it was his political agenda that is the issue not his ability explain clearly, to the poor dumb voters, that his agenda will save the nation, preserve its values, not impinge on individual freedoms, or confiscate voters' hard earned dollars.
With that being said, we at The Oxford Tea Party fall into that category of "poor dumb voters". We don't get it. We don't believe in his agenda…. What we do believe is that his agenda is socialist to the core. With his agenda, over time, America would join the league of the other socialist nations of the world along with France, Spain, Greece, etc.... This election was only a momentary 'pause' for him. Nothing more...
He is off today with three thousand people, almost as many planes to India, at a cost of two hundred millions dollars plus of tax payers' dollars, in the middle of a recession, with ten percent unemployment.(That’s' even more money than his wife spent on her vacation to Italy with the children.)
Ron
Docnick37@gmail.com
http://theoxfordteaparty.blogspot.com/
Thank you Mr. Beck for all your effort, hard work, emotional support, guidance and a good 'giggle.'
http://www.glennbeck.com/content/videos/?uri=channels/390088/1064892
Below is a clip from his radio show…. This is funny. The first little section is from an advertiser so be patient. When the video starts open it to full screen so you can see all of the people involved. I laughed more the second time I watched it.
We got the announcement from the MS Tea Party for a call for people who might want to run in the next election cycle. I am glad to see we are getting started because we have only 730 day, 7 hours, 36 minutes, and 5 seconds left before the next election day on 11/2/2012…We are happy to see that the Tea Party is stepping up to the plate and participating directly in the selection of candidates.
If the National Republican Party learned a lesson from the Tuesday election results they 'may' want to have a seat at our table. They 'may' even want to joint with Jim DeMint, Colburn, and many of the newly elected congressmen and begin to move the National Party back to the traditional conservative positions. Who knows? Strange things do happen..In spite of their whimpy participation sixty plus Dems (lots of blue dogs) got sent home.
Hopefully this time around we will be able to focus more on state problems along with the national elections.
Obama was very helpful with the Tuesday event in that he has been drawing the 'line' so deeply in the sand that voters could clearly see it. It seems that he will continue to be helpful, in the same ways, during these next two years given his long rambling press conference yesterday. Clearly he does not see that it was his political agenda that is the issue not his ability explain clearly, to the poor dumb voters, that his agenda will save the nation, preserve its values, not impinge on individual freedoms, or confiscate voters' hard earned dollars.
With that being said, we at The Oxford Tea Party fall into that category of "poor dumb voters". We don't get it. We don't believe in his agenda…. What we do believe is that his agenda is socialist to the core. With his agenda, over time, America would join the league of the other socialist nations of the world along with France, Spain, Greece, etc.... This election was only a momentary 'pause' for him. Nothing more...
He is off today with three thousand people, almost as many planes to India, at a cost of two hundred millions dollars plus of tax payers' dollars, in the middle of a recession, with ten percent unemployment.(That’s' even more money than his wife spent on her vacation to Italy with the children.)
Ron
Docnick37@gmail.com
http://theoxfordteaparty.blogspot.com/
Thank you Mr. Beck for all your effort, hard work, emotional support, guidance and a good 'giggle.'
http://www.glennbeck.com/content/videos/?uri=channels/390088/1064892
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Waive By To Sixty Plus Dems
Hey, hey, what do you say , "How many DEMS are gone today?"
The first thing we did this morning (we use Google as our home page) was to put a "Count down clock" on our home page .(A Google App). So, from the moment of this writing we have only 731 days, 8 hours, 29 minutes, 35 seconds till we can vote in the 2012 elections. That isn't much time for what we have left to do. Like us, I'm sure everyone was up late into last night so rest today, maybe think what we did and did not accomplish in this election cycle, maybe take a little nap, But tomorrow we've got to get back in the traces. 731 days may seem like a long time but it will all be up hill, in mud, with a broke singletree, and one tired mule. BUT
BUT already, we at TheOxfordTeaParty are trying to second guess what, if anything, we could have done in the Reid/Pelosi races. BUT
BUT don't you have to wonder what would have happened IF all the Senate had been up for reelection…. (Smart planning on our founders part.)BUT
REDSTATE
Eric Erickson
(BUT there will be 18 states subject to reapportionment. The Republicans will control a majority of those - at least ten and maybe a dozen or more.
More significantly, a minimum of seventeen state legislative houses have flipped to the Republican Party.
The North Carolina Legislature is Republican for the first time since 1870. Yes, that is Eighteen Seventy.
The Alabama Legislature is Republican for the first time since 1876.
For those saying this is nothing because it is the South, consider these:
The entire Wisconsin and New Hampshire legislatures have flipped to the GOP by wide margins.
The State Houses in Indiana, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, Iowa, Montana, and Colorado flipped to the GOP.
The Maine and Minnesota Senates flipped to the GOP.
The Texas and Tennessee Houses went from virtually tied to massive Republican gains. The gains in Texas were so big that the Republicans no longer need the Democrats to get state constitutional amendments out of the state legislature.
These gains go all the way down to the municipal level across the nation. That did not happen even in 1994.
This was a tsunami.
Washington Post
"the Republicans have taken refuge in an anti-government ideology premised on the lunatic notion that America is the only truly free and successful country in the world. That ideology won last night, and Keynesianism lost. Have a good day!"t….
(The writers at the Washington Post are smart but arrogant people who also happen to be slow learners.)
(Just to see how other writers in other countries are reading the election results.)
Nile Gardiner
Article from the UK's The Daily telegraph:
Under the Obama White House, economic decline, feckless borrowing and towering debts, which will rise dramatically further if hugely expensive health care reforms are implemented, are combined with a flawed foreign policy and national security strategy which is leaving America weaker on the world stage and more vulnerable to attack. From its decision to scrap Third Site missile defenses in eastern and central Europe, to its failed policy of engagement with Iran and its timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Obama presidency is projecting dangerous weakness and compromise in the face of its enemies.
Ultimately, President Obama’s legacy to America will be the decline of a great superpower, weighed down by crushing debts and massive entitlement programs, and facing an emboldened set of adversaries, from Moscow to Tehran to Pyongyang. The damage inflicted by the Obama administration will ultimately be worse than the harm caused by the presidency of Jimmy Carter due to the scale of the long-term economic crisis now facing America. The overwhelming repudiation of the Obama.
Haley Barbour said, "We'all did a good job." We think he did a really good job also. Now I think he has a better idea of what the Tea Parties are capable of doing, he may be willing to help in the efforts we think the state need to get done… The changes that need to be made here on the home front...
BUT consider, as you have the first cup of coffee, this morning the Republican Party, with our help, has picked up more seats in the House of Representatives than at any time since 1948 -
I garden…. I like to garden.. However, a lesson I never seem to learn is the that the longer I wait to start pulling weeds in the spring the more weeds I end up with all summer. After X number of decades gardening you would think I would know this, and correct my attitude about spring weeding. I haven't. Instead I spend the summers disappointed and grumbling.
In closing this little missive know that we now have only 731 days, 6 hours, 19 minutes, and 11 seconds left till the 2012 elections.
Ron
Docnick37@gmail.com
http://theoxfordteaparty.blogspot.com/
The first thing we did this morning (we use Google as our home page) was to put a "Count down clock" on our home page .(A Google App). So, from the moment of this writing we have only 731 days, 8 hours, 29 minutes, 35 seconds till we can vote in the 2012 elections. That isn't much time for what we have left to do. Like us, I'm sure everyone was up late into last night so rest today, maybe think what we did and did not accomplish in this election cycle, maybe take a little nap, But tomorrow we've got to get back in the traces. 731 days may seem like a long time but it will all be up hill, in mud, with a broke singletree, and one tired mule. BUT
BUT already, we at TheOxfordTeaParty are trying to second guess what, if anything, we could have done in the Reid/Pelosi races. BUT
BUT don't you have to wonder what would have happened IF all the Senate had been up for reelection…. (Smart planning on our founders part.)BUT
REDSTATE
Eric Erickson
(BUT there will be 18 states subject to reapportionment. The Republicans will control a majority of those - at least ten and maybe a dozen or more.
More significantly, a minimum of seventeen state legislative houses have flipped to the Republican Party.
The North Carolina Legislature is Republican for the first time since 1870. Yes, that is Eighteen Seventy.
The Alabama Legislature is Republican for the first time since 1876.
For those saying this is nothing because it is the South, consider these:
The entire Wisconsin and New Hampshire legislatures have flipped to the GOP by wide margins.
The State Houses in Indiana, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, Iowa, Montana, and Colorado flipped to the GOP.
The Maine and Minnesota Senates flipped to the GOP.
The Texas and Tennessee Houses went from virtually tied to massive Republican gains. The gains in Texas were so big that the Republicans no longer need the Democrats to get state constitutional amendments out of the state legislature.
These gains go all the way down to the municipal level across the nation. That did not happen even in 1994.
This was a tsunami.
Washington Post
"the Republicans have taken refuge in an anti-government ideology premised on the lunatic notion that America is the only truly free and successful country in the world. That ideology won last night, and Keynesianism lost. Have a good day!"t….
(The writers at the Washington Post are smart but arrogant people who also happen to be slow learners.)
(Just to see how other writers in other countries are reading the election results.)
Nile Gardiner
Article from the UK's The Daily telegraph:
Under the Obama White House, economic decline, feckless borrowing and towering debts, which will rise dramatically further if hugely expensive health care reforms are implemented, are combined with a flawed foreign policy and national security strategy which is leaving America weaker on the world stage and more vulnerable to attack. From its decision to scrap Third Site missile defenses in eastern and central Europe, to its failed policy of engagement with Iran and its timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Obama presidency is projecting dangerous weakness and compromise in the face of its enemies.
Ultimately, President Obama’s legacy to America will be the decline of a great superpower, weighed down by crushing debts and massive entitlement programs, and facing an emboldened set of adversaries, from Moscow to Tehran to Pyongyang. The damage inflicted by the Obama administration will ultimately be worse than the harm caused by the presidency of Jimmy Carter due to the scale of the long-term economic crisis now facing America. The overwhelming repudiation of the Obama.
Haley Barbour said, "We'all did a good job." We think he did a really good job also. Now I think he has a better idea of what the Tea Parties are capable of doing, he may be willing to help in the efforts we think the state need to get done… The changes that need to be made here on the home front...
BUT consider, as you have the first cup of coffee, this morning the Republican Party, with our help, has picked up more seats in the House of Representatives than at any time since 1948 -
I garden…. I like to garden.. However, a lesson I never seem to learn is the that the longer I wait to start pulling weeds in the spring the more weeds I end up with all summer. After X number of decades gardening you would think I would know this, and correct my attitude about spring weeding. I haven't. Instead I spend the summers disappointed and grumbling.
In closing this little missive know that we now have only 731 days, 6 hours, 19 minutes, and 11 seconds left till the 2012 elections.
Ron
Docnick37@gmail.com
http://theoxfordteaparty.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
The Authors Of Today
The BIG day has arrived. Our efforts will be measured and remembered. We will have taken the power from those who abused it and hopefully have given it to those who will serve. Long time coming. Too long waiting for politicians to do the "right thing' is the wrong thing. Power has, is, and will be abused by most who have it. We must remember and learn from the lessons of history. Buried in the minds and hearts of many politicians or would be politicians is a lust for power and control along with arrogances, superiority, and contempt for those who gave them their power. The moment we forget who they serve they will forget also.
Over these next few election cycles we will probably need to replace all of them. This cycle is a good start. We will see IF the politicians left standing now know who 'the people' are and realize who holds the real power. History tells us that their contempt and arrogance will prevent them from seeing and knowing but we will be patient, we will wait, give them time to 'shape-up'but we won't wait for long.
One of the most informative web site for Tea Parties is REDSTATE Briefings by Erick Erickson….I highly recommend that everyone subscribe to his 'Briefing Reports'…This article by Mr. Erickson and the comments left by readers echoes the worry expressed in the last few "The Oxford Tea Party" articles.
We know there are many concerned citizens "out-there", though not active in Tea Parties, who have the same worries we have. The REDSTATE web site and the many Tea Party web sites allow us to stay in touch and stay focused.
I have forwarded his article below without comment because it need none.
Posted by Erick Erickson
Sunday, October 31st at 10:00AM EDT
“Remember, as much as McConnell, Alexander, Boehner, Cantor, etc. did for you,
you are more important to them than they are to you.
But for you, they would still be in the minority.
I am putting this up the Sunday before the election because in the noise and hubbub after the election it will be drowned out and it is very, very important.
If you are working on one of those challenger campaigns and will come into the House of Representatives and Senate after November 2nd, please read this and get your future Congressman or Senator to read it.
In the next 72 hours, you will be elected to the United States Congress. Suddenly you will find that you have friends you never knew you had. Remember that most of them are not actually your friends.
Many members of Congress will begin whispering sweet nothings in your ear wooing you to vote for them and their rules for the House and Senate. Remember that these same men are the exact same people that the voters rejected in 2006 and again in 2008.
Remember that every poll showing a Republican landslide on Tuesday also shows that the public hates these men.
Introduce yourself to Jeb Hensarling, Jeff Flake, and Jim Jordan. Talk with your fellow freshmen like Tim Huelskamp, Justin Amash, and Jeff Duncan. Those are the people who will become your closest friends who you’ll share a foxhole with when leadership fails you but a battle must be waged.
Remember that some of the people who will come to Congress with you, whether it is Charlie Bass or Steve Stivers or Kevin Yoder or Robert Hurt, etc. are unrepentant tax hixers and some will want to transcend partisanship to work across the aisle. You got elected by being the Party of No. Don’t let the sweet nothings of the Beltway suddenly convince you otherwise.
NO is a very powerful word in Washington and it is not used often enough.
Finally, here is the last bit of advice I have for you today. Remember the GOP Pledge? One person — Barry Jackson, who is John Boehner’s Chief of Staff — single handedly had support for traditional marriage stripped from the Pledge and did so after showing a version of the Pledge to conservatives that had it in there to get their support. One person and a staffer from John Boehner’s office no less.
When you get to Washington you will be told you need a professional staff of lobbyists, careerists, etc. to help guide you. You will be told that “you just don’t understand” or “you are naive” or “the School House Rock version of how a bill becomes a law is too simplified for the real world.”
The people telling you this are the people the voters hate and you should not trust. Largely they will be people in leadership, particularly staffers, who will soon depart for K Street where they hope to profit off their relationship with you. They will work with people like Trent Lott to try to co-opt you.
Fight.
Fight them.
Fight the idea that you must yield to their ways instead of them yielding to your ways. You, after all, have not been driven from power like these men have.
You will have friends you did not know you had who really are your friends when you stand up and fight your leadership. Do not let the Rules Committee be a tool of Leadership. Do not men like Jerry Lewis who helped drive us from power in 2006 remain in power. Do not let leadership have control over committee assignments.
Do not trust Mitch McConnell and Lame-R! Alexander and John Boehner and Eric Cantor and Kevin McCarthy even though they did so much for you. Remember, as much as they did for you, you are more important to them than they are to you. But for you, they would still be in the minority.
Do not trust the leadership’s staff. They view many of you as problems and potential disasters despite that you will vote more reliably Republican than their preferred candidates and pets.
You have it within you and with the word “No” to prevent the Republicans from going back to the ways that got them removed from office in 2006.
If you fight them you will be rewarded. If you succumb, the Tea Party will come for you in just a few short years.
Thanks Erick
Here are some readers comments to this article:
Make that, "The Tea Party will come for you next year".
When anyone reminds you they are in congress just say 'yes I am the one of the ones who put there'
I actually used this line with a snotty news anchor who did not like following instructions who told me ‘I’m the one who’s on TV’ to which I replied ‘Yes you are and I am one of the people who puts you there. 'concluding that little discussion. Cop some attitude, remember they work for us.
This is only the first battle; the war is not yet won.
This is the initial fight, but even the best outcome will not be a victory, but only remove a portion of the problem. The few elected this year will have to hold on until reinforcements arrive in 2012 and 2014. Meanwhile join your local tea party and take control of politics at the local level.
Frosh
We didn’t elect you to sit on Boehner’s or McConnell’s bench. We elected you to lead and defend the Constitution. Tell them that. When they put you in a tiny cracker box on the 5th floor of Cannon, tell them you didn’t come to congress for a good view. YOU tell THEM. "The American people have placed the future of the country in YOUR hands." Don’t go wobbly on us. And we will be watching.
And you are now a Congressman.
You are not simply a Tea Partier, a conservative businessman, or a lowly State Representative.
If you’d like to stay a congressman, dance with the gal that "brung ya", to wit, us.
And if you want to advance our mutual cause, drop us a line. We’ll be happy to hear about the wayward ways of the Beltway hangers on who sit on the committees and plot their own advancement.
We’re not through. Not by a long shot.
The Tea Party is not going away.
Clearly you see from the comments and Eric's article we are not alone….Clearly we have to stay in contact with our new congressmen…Clearly they will need emotional support…(These are tough seasoned guys they will be working with.) Clearly they will be pressured, cajoled, seduced with the promise of power…. Clearly there are lots of problems that can't be solved quickly and maybe some not at all. Patience (for awhile) support for a while (but our stick will be kept in hand) and they will need to be reminded it was our voting that got them where they are and we put them there to serve us and our country. (Think of this as a probationary period for two years.) If ,and only IF you do the job we will let you stay for another two years but going through the door KNOW this congressional set will never be yours it will always be ours.
Riddle of the day….Who said, " We are going to punish our enemies and we are going to reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us?" (Setting aside the arrogances and contempt in this statement, for the moment, how is it that an elected official sees any segment of American citizens as enemies? )
Later today we will see the magic and strength in the voice of the people…..We are the authors of tonight… A night that will be long remembered ….Pop some popcorn, get some adult type beverage,and have a wonderful evening watching the results of your efforts unfold….
Ron
Docnick37@gmail.com
http://theoxfordteaparty.blogspot.com/
Over these next few election cycles we will probably need to replace all of them. This cycle is a good start. We will see IF the politicians left standing now know who 'the people' are and realize who holds the real power. History tells us that their contempt and arrogance will prevent them from seeing and knowing but we will be patient, we will wait, give them time to 'shape-up'but we won't wait for long.
One of the most informative web site for Tea Parties is REDSTATE Briefings by Erick Erickson….I highly recommend that everyone subscribe to his 'Briefing Reports'…This article by Mr. Erickson and the comments left by readers echoes the worry expressed in the last few "The Oxford Tea Party" articles.
We know there are many concerned citizens "out-there", though not active in Tea Parties, who have the same worries we have. The REDSTATE web site and the many Tea Party web sites allow us to stay in touch and stay focused.
I have forwarded his article below without comment because it need none.
Posted by Erick Erickson
Sunday, October 31st at 10:00AM EDT
“Remember, as much as McConnell, Alexander, Boehner, Cantor, etc. did for you,
you are more important to them than they are to you.
But for you, they would still be in the minority.
I am putting this up the Sunday before the election because in the noise and hubbub after the election it will be drowned out and it is very, very important.
If you are working on one of those challenger campaigns and will come into the House of Representatives and Senate after November 2nd, please read this and get your future Congressman or Senator to read it.
In the next 72 hours, you will be elected to the United States Congress. Suddenly you will find that you have friends you never knew you had. Remember that most of them are not actually your friends.
Many members of Congress will begin whispering sweet nothings in your ear wooing you to vote for them and their rules for the House and Senate. Remember that these same men are the exact same people that the voters rejected in 2006 and again in 2008.
Remember that every poll showing a Republican landslide on Tuesday also shows that the public hates these men.
Introduce yourself to Jeb Hensarling, Jeff Flake, and Jim Jordan. Talk with your fellow freshmen like Tim Huelskamp, Justin Amash, and Jeff Duncan. Those are the people who will become your closest friends who you’ll share a foxhole with when leadership fails you but a battle must be waged.
Remember that some of the people who will come to Congress with you, whether it is Charlie Bass or Steve Stivers or Kevin Yoder or Robert Hurt, etc. are unrepentant tax hixers and some will want to transcend partisanship to work across the aisle. You got elected by being the Party of No. Don’t let the sweet nothings of the Beltway suddenly convince you otherwise.
NO is a very powerful word in Washington and it is not used often enough.
Finally, here is the last bit of advice I have for you today. Remember the GOP Pledge? One person — Barry Jackson, who is John Boehner’s Chief of Staff — single handedly had support for traditional marriage stripped from the Pledge and did so after showing a version of the Pledge to conservatives that had it in there to get their support. One person and a staffer from John Boehner’s office no less.
When you get to Washington you will be told you need a professional staff of lobbyists, careerists, etc. to help guide you. You will be told that “you just don’t understand” or “you are naive” or “the School House Rock version of how a bill becomes a law is too simplified for the real world.”
The people telling you this are the people the voters hate and you should not trust. Largely they will be people in leadership, particularly staffers, who will soon depart for K Street where they hope to profit off their relationship with you. They will work with people like Trent Lott to try to co-opt you.
Fight.
Fight them.
Fight the idea that you must yield to their ways instead of them yielding to your ways. You, after all, have not been driven from power like these men have.
You will have friends you did not know you had who really are your friends when you stand up and fight your leadership. Do not let the Rules Committee be a tool of Leadership. Do not men like Jerry Lewis who helped drive us from power in 2006 remain in power. Do not let leadership have control over committee assignments.
Do not trust Mitch McConnell and Lame-R! Alexander and John Boehner and Eric Cantor and Kevin McCarthy even though they did so much for you. Remember, as much as they did for you, you are more important to them than they are to you. But for you, they would still be in the minority.
Do not trust the leadership’s staff. They view many of you as problems and potential disasters despite that you will vote more reliably Republican than their preferred candidates and pets.
You have it within you and with the word “No” to prevent the Republicans from going back to the ways that got them removed from office in 2006.
If you fight them you will be rewarded. If you succumb, the Tea Party will come for you in just a few short years.
Thanks Erick
Here are some readers comments to this article:
Make that, "The Tea Party will come for you next year".
When anyone reminds you they are in congress just say 'yes I am the one of the ones who put there'
I actually used this line with a snotty news anchor who did not like following instructions who told me ‘I’m the one who’s on TV’ to which I replied ‘Yes you are and I am one of the people who puts you there. 'concluding that little discussion. Cop some attitude, remember they work for us.
This is only the first battle; the war is not yet won.
This is the initial fight, but even the best outcome will not be a victory, but only remove a portion of the problem. The few elected this year will have to hold on until reinforcements arrive in 2012 and 2014. Meanwhile join your local tea party and take control of politics at the local level.
Frosh
We didn’t elect you to sit on Boehner’s or McConnell’s bench. We elected you to lead and defend the Constitution. Tell them that. When they put you in a tiny cracker box on the 5th floor of Cannon, tell them you didn’t come to congress for a good view. YOU tell THEM. "The American people have placed the future of the country in YOUR hands." Don’t go wobbly on us. And we will be watching.
And you are now a Congressman.
You are not simply a Tea Partier, a conservative businessman, or a lowly State Representative.
If you’d like to stay a congressman, dance with the gal that "brung ya", to wit, us.
And if you want to advance our mutual cause, drop us a line. We’ll be happy to hear about the wayward ways of the Beltway hangers on who sit on the committees and plot their own advancement.
We’re not through. Not by a long shot.
The Tea Party is not going away.
Clearly you see from the comments and Eric's article we are not alone….Clearly we have to stay in contact with our new congressmen…Clearly they will need emotional support…(These are tough seasoned guys they will be working with.) Clearly they will be pressured, cajoled, seduced with the promise of power…. Clearly there are lots of problems that can't be solved quickly and maybe some not at all. Patience (for awhile) support for a while (but our stick will be kept in hand) and they will need to be reminded it was our voting that got them where they are and we put them there to serve us and our country. (Think of this as a probationary period for two years.) If ,and only IF you do the job we will let you stay for another two years but going through the door KNOW this congressional set will never be yours it will always be ours.
Riddle of the day….Who said, " We are going to punish our enemies and we are going to reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us?" (Setting aside the arrogances and contempt in this statement, for the moment, how is it that an elected official sees any segment of American citizens as enemies? )
Later today we will see the magic and strength in the voice of the people…..We are the authors of tonight… A night that will be long remembered ….Pop some popcorn, get some adult type beverage,and have a wonderful evening watching the results of your efforts unfold….
Ron
Docnick37@gmail.com
http://theoxfordteaparty.blogspot.com/
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