Does the Presidential campaign REALLY matter?

Before you blow your top at me, hear me out.

I do NOT mean

Does the Presidential ELECTION really matter.

What I mean is...

Can either candidate say or do anything between now and the election that will TRULY sway the final decision?

My opinion?

I think NOT.

Conservatives will vote conservatively, whether Romney is outed for something big, or not.

Liberals will vote for Obama, whether his tenure shows true progress, or not.

And those who say they are undecided?

They're big. fat. liars.

IMHO.

What do YOU think?

Congressional Reform Act of 2011

I received this in the form of an email.  I've cleaned it up for this post, and hope you all will want to pass it along!

The Constitution is not an instrument for  the government to restrain the people, it is an  instrument for the people to restrain the  government - lest it come to dominate our lives and interests . 

- Patrick Henry - 

Congressional Reform Act of 2011 

1. No Tenure / No Pension. 

 A Congressman collects a salary while in  office and receives no pay when they are out of office. 

2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security. 

All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose. 

3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do. 

4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%. 

5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people. 

6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people. 

7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/12. 

 The American people did not make this  contract with Congressmen. Congressmen made  all these contracts for themselves. Serving  in Congress is an honor, not a  career. The Founding Fathers envisioned  citizen legislators, so ours should serve their  term(s), then go home and back to work. 

The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds) took only 3 months & 8 days to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people demanded it. That was in 1971...before computers, before e-mail, before cell phones, etc. 

Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took 1 year or less to become the law of the land...all because of public pressure. 

THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS!!!!!

Popping My Head Out of the Sand...

For just a brief moment I popped my head up out of the sand.  

Shook the sand out of my ears.  

Looked around and heard...

The thing going on in Libya is not a war.  We are not at war with Libya.  It is a "kinetic military action".

Hmmm...

Wouldn't it be better to admit you were wrong about the need for war than to look like so idiotic!?!

I'm not one to only think in black and white.

There are definitely many shades of gray.

But Clinton had SEX...

and this is WAR!

Wisconsin and Unions...Oh My!

This will be brief, that's all I have time for.  I'm just a tad bit confused and need your input!

So, what is up with the unions in Wisconsin?  

Why are the teachers going on strike?

And why should we care?

I haven't had time to do my usual research, so I'm depending on all of YOU to fill me in!

Let's hear it!

Dear Mr. President,

Dear Mr. President,
When it was announced that Barack Obama, a black man, would be running for the next President of the United States, I was THRILLED!  What an exciting time to be alive, when we can put aside our differences and elect who is truly the best person to run for leader of the free world.

I had never been very interested in politics, but I made the decision to really dig into the issues for this election and research the candidates.  That's just how I am...when I do something, I try and go big.  I looked into both of your voting records (Really!?! 130 present votes?  Really!?!).  I looked at your backgrounds.  I asked other people lots and lots of questions.

I wanted to vote for you.  I really did!  But you made it absolutely impossible.  I won't go into all of that...the election is behind us and you are now POTUS.  Let's move on.

I would like to challenge you, though, to live the life you are "leading" this country toward.  If you truly believe what you espouse, you will do the following:

I challenge you, President Obama, to change your salary to reflect the median salary of your constituents...the people of the United States.  Put the rest of it toward balancing our budget.

I challenge you, President Obama, to require Congress to make the same change. 

I challenge you, President Obama, to utilize Obamacare.  To wait in the same lines, use the same doctors, try and pay for the same prescriptions with your median salary, and not have any special treatment because you are the POTUS.

I challenge you, President Obama, to require Congress to do the same.  If it's good enough for the rest of Americans, it's good enough for them.

I challenge you, President Obama, to continue to write books and make lots of money....and then give it ALL to the government to put towards our deficit.  Remember you make a salary?  You don't need the rest.

I challenge you, President Obama, to require Congress to do the same.

I challenge you, President Obama, to protect the innocent.  Abortion kills.  Especially late term abortion.  Support adoption reform and help make it more affordable.  A woman's right should not supersede the right of another human.  Especially an unborn, innocent one.

I challenge you, President Obama, to return to the church you were a member of for so many years.  Teach them that the stance they are taking in race relations is hurting, not helping.  If we want to really move forward we need to do so.  Together.

And while I'm at it...let's cut our budget of all of the fluff.  You ever see the movie "Dave"?  I believe it can happen!  We are getting more and more in debt to foreign countries; I don't want to see our Land of the Free and Home of the Brave taken away by debt holders.

I'm praying for you, Mr. President.

An American Citizen,
Swizz

I voted...Did you?

(Provisionally!)

I went to vote today.

Gave the woman my driver's license.

No name in the book.

Hmmm...

Called the judge over.

She called voter registration.

Not listed.

What!?!

Didn't they ask me if I wanted to register when I got my driver's license?

You may vote...provisionally.

Your vote may not count.

But, you will be registered to vote.

However, it would be a good idea for you to fill in this form to register...just in case.

Bureaucracy at its best.

Recession Ends and ????

I heard the news!

The recession has officially ended, according to our fearless leader.

What I want to know is...will my house now sell for what I want it to sell for?

Or are we going to have to lease it again?

Until the recession is REALLY over.

What do you think?

Is it over?

Unique thoughts (on Politics)

Just like there are no new books written (you've heard that before, right?)...


There are no unique thoughts on politics.


We may THINK we have a unique and different idea

but in the end someone will already have thought of it.


So the idea I'm about to share is, of course, not new.  It has been thought of.  It has probably been debated and discarded.  But in my stuck in the sand little mind, it's new to me.  And...I can honestly say I've never seen it written about.  Not even once!


My, oh so not unique thought is this: 

Although I do NOT agree with the idea of government healthcare, I am a realist.  I understand that there are things which are outside of my control.

If we MUST have a government run healthcare system, and if we eventually are to go to a single payer system (GOD FORBID!!!)...I will go along with this, and not have great tantrums, IF:

We adopt the Fair Tax.

AND

We make it a level which will fully support the healthcare initiative.

AND

The healthcare system is governed by NON-POLITICIANS who are physicians...an equal make-up of liberals and conservatives.

AND

An individual's physician, in conjunction with a team of physicians, has FINAL SAY on an individual's care.  The team gets involved if and only if there is a questionable outcome.

Okay.  I think that is it.


My un-original political thought.


Now discuss.

Obama and the New York City Mosque

I haven't written anything politically oriented lately.  I've been so overwhelmed with summer, and the amount of ugly politics, that I've just buried my head and held my breath.

I just HAVE to weigh in on this one, though. 

And my response probably won't be what you think it will...

There is a part of me, the part that loves America and what it was founded on, that believes that Obama was right to say what he did during the Ramadan speech this week.  We ARE a country founded on religious freedom.  We ARE a country that believes in individual liberty.  And if a group of religious Muslims own the piece of property in question, they should be able to build a religious building there.

HOWEVER...I think Obama weenied out when he didn't say DURING THAT SPEECH that he did not believe it was right to build the mosque there.

And I believe that if the individuals who own the property are truly following who they know their god to be, they WOULD NOT build the mosque there.  Out of respect.  Out of a godly love.

Just my two cents...

I don't typically...

I don't typically read or pass on those emails you get.  You know the ones...Forward/forward/forward lines drawn along the side in larger numbers as you scroll down the page.

But I did get a forwarded message that I think is worth sharing. 

AZ Sonoran Desert, outside Tucson, AZ

Hey everyone out there! 

We, in Arizona, know you're boycotting us -- but you really should come out here and see our Beautiful Sonoran Desert. 

It's just gorgeous right now!  We know you'd love it and maybe you can share what you saw with the rest of the country so they can love it too!

This is on an 'illegal super - highway' from Mexico to the USA (Tucson) used by human smugglers. 

This area is located in a wash, approximately 1.5 miles long, just south of Tucson, Arizona. If a flood came, all this would be washed to the river and then onto the sea!
 

It is estimated over 5,000 discarded backpacks are in this wash.  Countless water containers, food wrappers, clothing, feces, including thousands of soiled baby diapers. And as you can see in the picture above, fresh footprints leading right into it.  

As we kept walking down the wash, we thought for sure it was going to end, but around every corner was more and more trash!  

And of course the trail leading out of the wash in our city, heads directly NORTH to Tucson, then leads to your town tomorrow. 

They've already come through here. Isn't Arizona just beautiful, America?

 Why would you boycott us???

Our desert has basically been turned into a landfill.

The trash left behind by people illegally crossing our border is another Environmental Disaster to hit the USA. 
If these actions had been done in one of our Northwest Forests or Seashore National Parks areas, there would be an uprising of the American people.....but this is the Arizona-Mexican border. 
You won't see these pictures on CNN, ABC, NBC or the Arizona Republic Repugnant newspaper.  Nor will they mention the disease that comes from the uncovered human waste left in our desert.
However, with respect to CNN, ABC & NBC, they do offer us "Special Reports" on cheating celebrity spouses....

This information needs to be seen by the rest of the country.  

I agree.

A little tax humor for you...

What happens when my head is buried in the sand...

Never saw this when it originally happened...

And now I wish I had never seen it! A civilian national security force? Really!?!

This is how it happens. One small step and then we slip down that slippery slope...

Thanks to American Daughter for the heads up.

Funnnyyy...

Things I find funny...


...politics..."poli-" comes from the latin for many and tics are blood sucking creatures. Think about it.

..."Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first." ~Ronald Reagan

...'Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it wrongly, and applying unsuitable remedies'. ~Sir Ernest Benn

..."When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators." ~PJ O'Rourke

...Seen on an Obama supporter bumper sticker: "If at first you don't succeed, change the rules."

..."UPS and FedEx are doing just fine, right? It's the Post Office that's always having problems." –Obama attempting to make the case for government-run healthcare, Portsmouth, N.H., August 11, 2009

..."I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody." -- Obama defending his tax plan to Joe the Plumber, Toledo, Ohio, October 12, 2008

..."We've got a philosophical difference, which we've debated repeatedly, and that is that Senator Clinton believes the only way to achieve universal health care is to force everybody to purchase it. And my belief is, the reason that people don't have it is not because they don't want it but because they can't afford it." Barack Obama, speaking at a Democratic presidential debate February 21, 2008

How a bill REALLY becomes a law...

My thoughts...

Obamacare passed. It went into effect at noon yesterday amidst cheering on one side and weeping and gnashing of teeth on the other.

What do I think?

I have to admit it feels a bit surreal. How could this happen? How can our representatives not truly represent their constituencies?

It's not that I'm against people having healthcare. I'm not.

It's not that I'm against healthcare reform. I'm not.

It's that our government is getting too big. Taking on roles it's not supposed to take. Ruling our lives in ways our founding fathers never meant for us to be ruled.

Congress needs to be cleaned out. We need term limits. We need people who value the wishes of the people they represent.

And we need to get back to the limited government our Constitution was written for.

And THEN let's talk about healthcare reform.

And I have plenty of ideas for a better plan than they came up with.

Brown Wins!

A quick congrats to Scott Brown in Massachusetts for his major victory in winning Ted Kennedy's senate seat. This may not stop Obamacare...I think the Dems have proven that they can pull some hi jinks, but in my opinion it sends a severe message to Washington.

I also believe Scott Brown is a player to be watched in 4-8 years for a run at the presidency. Huckabee/Brown ticket? Brown would need some polishing, as he proved by trying to auction off his daughters in his acceptance speech, but he is a people person with strong conservative values.

Healthcare & Massachusetts

We're down to the wire on this healthcare issue. The open seat left by Ted Kennedy is just SCREAMING for a conservative to take over. But will it happen? And if it does, will it happen in time?

If I were a nail biter, they'd be down to the quick right now.

Or maybe not. I don't trust those we have in leadership to do what's right. I don't trust politicians in general.

So, if Brown wins...will they certify the election in time? Would it be constitutional to withhold certification until the healthcare bill has passed?

I have a bad feeling about this one.

SIDE-NOTE: Read this today and lo and behold it sounds a lot like my thoughts. What do YOU think? (Other than "where have you been hiding your head? A kid's sandbox?" I've already admitted to being a political novice...I'm LEARNING people! Cut me some slack!)

Compassionate conservatism has been defined as the belief that conservatism and compassion complement each other. A compassionate conservative might see the social problems of the United States, such as health care or immigration, as issues that are better solved through cooperation with private companies, charities and religious institutions rather than directly through government departments. As former Bush chief speechwriter Michael Gerson put it, "Compassionate conservatism is the theory that the government should encourage the effective provision of social services without providing the service itself." as found on Wikipedia

Political "tests"!

I took another one of those silly political tests. You can, too! Take it and post what it said about you.

I was across the board, but the party that stood out was the Constitution Party.

Huh?!?

I know I've had my head stuck in the sand, but what is it?

So I googled it...and here is what they stand for:

Seven Principles of the Constitution Party are:

1. Life: For all human beings, from conception to natural death;
2. Liberty: Freedom of conscience and actions for the self-governed individual;
3. Family: One husband and one wife with their children as divinely instituted;
4. Property: Each individual's right to own and steward personal property without government burden;
5. Constitution: and Bill of Rights interpreted according to the actual intent of the Founding Fathers;
6. States' Rights: Everything not specifically delegated by the Constitution to the federal government, nor prohibited by the Constitution to the states, is reserved to the states or to the people;
7. American Sovereignty: American government committed to the protection of the borders, trade, and common defense of Americans, and not entangled in foreign alliances.

Not sure what I think. Sounds kinda cool. Sounds a little bit like what I think. Gonna have to do more research.

What does YOUR quiz say about you?

Diplomatic Immunity

I don't get it. Can someone explain it to me? WHY!?! do we give diplomatic immunity? Why do we allow certain people the right to be above the law?

According to the State Department:

International law requires that law enforcement authorities of the United States extend certain privileges and immunities to members of foreign diplomatic missions and consular posts. The purpose of these privileges and immunities is not to benefit individuals but to ensure the efficient and effective performance of their official missions on behalf of their governments. Most of these privileges and immunities are not absolute, and law enforcement officers retain their fundamental responsibility to protect and police the orderly conduct of persons in the United States.

Here are the "legal aspects of diplomatic immunity" as found on the U.S. Department of State's website. (Can't read it? Click on the link above and it'll take you to this chart.)

Most of these privileges and immunities are not absolute, and law enforcement officers retain their fundamental responsibility to protect and police the orderly conduct of persons in the United States.

And yet, if you look at the chart, it seems that law enforcement has their hands tied in that they are unable to detain or arrest many officials. And how does this ensure efficient and effective performance?

I JUST DON'T GET IT.

Rights

I am curious. What do YOU think are our basic rights as humans, and more specifically, as Americans?

Please keep the discussion focused and civil.