Government Shutdown

Where is all the concern?  There will not be a government shutdown.  This happened several years ago and was a power play which resolved itself in a few weeks. 

It is another dramatic tactic to bring attention to our capitol and the power struggle that is this United States.  It isn't like they don't have an operational budget.  It is because the two political parties are struggling to show strength for their interest. 

Budgets are really very simple but really hard to stick to.  You have a certain amount of money coming in and you have a certain amount of services to provide.  Any shortfall calls for cuts in services and any overage should be dumped in a "savings" account to cover emergencies. 

You can't get blood from a turnip and all those legislators that have made promises they now can't keep will have to face the consequences of their mouth overflow.  You don't make promises you can't keep. 

These knowledgeable people need to get the street smarts of their president and get on with business.  After all aren't the political parties no more than organized people fighting for power and control.  No where is more crimes committed than on capitol hill and the perpetrators are all covered by diplomatic immunity.

Just a though!

Who are the "good ole boys"?

I have heard the term "the good ole boys" throughout my lifetime and I have often pondered who these boys are and how did they get there.

Is this a group of friends that rule the world?

Is it the financially elite that control all official matters?

Is it the family that has earned the respect of his friends and neighbors, co-workers, fellow church members and most of all his family?

From the highest to the lowest positions in government, there is always a group of "the good ole boys" and they are not the same group or following the same rules. 

I will continue looking, but if any one finds "the good ole boys" please let me know so I can see what is so special about these guys.

Happy reading!
Belle

How long will it take?

So many new faces taking office this week or soon thereafter.  Their positions or seats won by promising to represent the will of the people; to do away with all the overspending in progress now; and to return freedom to the people of the United States.  How long will it last?

How long before the first lobbyist reminds a senator or representative of that campaign contribution that helped get him elected?  How long before a lobbyist promises a contribution to ensure re-election?  How long before the "let's make a deal" starts and the campaign promises and the constituents are thrown to the wind?

The one thing I have been told or heard by elected officials consistently is "but you don't understand; you don't know how it is."  It seems so easy to make promises, plans, and set up objectives that one or two months down the road don't mean a hill of beans.  Politicians forget the constituents and grow on the power and the people they are now exposed to and have the ear of.  It all comes down to power and control and no matter who is elected or what they promise, power and control take over and they are no longer interested in the wishes or thoughts that put them in office.  Friend or foe, it doesn't matter - they are the important ones now and they are making the decisions.

One warning - elections come often.  Tread carefully.  Now more than ever before the American people are watching and are no longer apathetic to what is going on in their government whether it be local, state, or federal.

Just some thoughts, so until next time . . .

Happy reading!
Belle

Repost from The Patriot Post

"[A] wise and frugal government ... shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government." --Thomas Jefferson


 
Makes good sense to me - isn't that what we all want?

Now Having Said That . . .

As part of the group of a teen of the sixties, 

I value the freedom offered by our government

I value the election process and think immediate and severe action be taken against those who attempt to bypass the established election process

I value the governmental structure established by the Constitution and our Bill of Rights

The check and balance system of our government should apply to any and all actions taken on the part of our government in its representation of its constituents

I believe that our elected government officials should be held accountable to the people that elected them and if they are not the people should expedite impeachment processes quickly and without reserve

I believe that our country is under great stress and has become very susceptible to the promises of political candidates in their search for relief

I believe that our governments from the White House to the county courthouses has become wasteful and irresponsible in their spending of taxpayer dollars

I believe the people of the United States have seen the catastrophic results of letting someone else think for them and now do not know how to rectify the situation

I believe over the next few years, the American people will experience the loss of many more freedoms and rights

I believe the attack of 9/11 should have been a wake up call for the American people and they hit the snooze button and gently went back to sleep


People, stop and think - the United States has intervened consistently and with harsh militay strength in countries that have tread on the rights of the people of that country.  Why would we not take a harsh stand when the rights of the American people have been tread on?


Belle

The engineers that constructed our government were well aware of the weaknesses of mankind.  The three branches of government - executive. legislative, judicial - were established to guarantee representation in a legal and inpartial manner.  If one branch of our government fails,  there is always another level to support the will of the people.

Have you noticed

• that more people are voicing their opinions on important issues in our government
• that elected officials are speaking out in support of their constituent's wishes
• that personalities have been put aside and focus is on the constitutionality of issues
• that the apathy of the people is changing as our freedoms are being threatened
• that people are becoming more educated about our constitution and our government

A long way to go and not much time to get there, but the journey has begun!

Government Funded

After reading an article on the changes to the Health Care Bill, I am somewhat befuddled over the terminology. Government funded = People funded. Do our legislators not realize that it is the people's money, taxes deducted from each and every paycheck? This is not a monopoly game and these funds do not belong to the legislators to do as they see fit.

If Medicare is not working, then someone lied to the people when it was enacted.

If Social Security is not working, then someone lied to the people when it was enacted.

Yet, both taxes are still being deducted and placed in the coffers. Both programs are still functional. These two taxes were designated taxes - not general income tax to be used for general operations of our country's government.

During the early 60s we studied the Social Security System in a U. S. Government class. As students we were told Social Security would be broke by the time we retired. The same story is told today, over 40 years later.

Something to think about . . .

I received this in an email today -

Profound short paragraph

"You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is the beginning of the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it." *Adrian Rogers, 1931*

Happy 4th of July

Freedom

A big Thank You to the men and women who made this country different some 235 years ago. People flock to our country by the millions to participate in the freedoms the country of America offers as they have done for two hundred years. America offers to one and all the security, protection and freedom not found in any other country.

When this country was founded the fathers saw unlimited space for the millions they anticipated escaping the tyranny of the governing bodies of other lands. Not just England, but all of Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and so many more. The founding fathers had found a land that could accommodate all and developed a governing body to represent all these different people.

Everyone would have a say in how the government would be run and no body would be told what they could or could not do unless it infringed on the rights of others. The government offered each and every person the protection of life and property.

Freedom of speech was guaranteed as was religion. Everyone could worship as they saw fit - Mormon, Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, Muslim, Holiness, Lutheran and all the others - and churches abounded. Following the guidelines of the Ten Commandments, laws were made for the inhabitants of America. Each and every person had input into the making and passing of these laws. The leaders of the country listened to the people and voted, not by what they felt, but what the people expressed to them.

This was a new country, built to escape the power seeking tyranny of old. These people were happy to have a place to escape the threats and control of their old governments. They wanted a place to build new lives and didn't mind working hard. They had worked hard before to line the pockets of previous rulers and governments, while their families did without and suffered greatly.

New businesses were built to trade goods and provide for the new inhabitants of this vast new land. Explorers expanded the boundaries of the new land and people slowly filled the vast spaces of this America while the original inhabitants were pushed into smaller and smaller spaces in an effort to survive.

Where are we today? After only two hundred some years has this America become that which the founding fathers and the first immigrants escaped? Is not the government lining its own pockets at the expense of the working people? How can businesses survive with the taxes required by the government to employ people? What services are needed that require such heavy funding and are those services necessary? Is it necessary for government to take over businesses even if the fail? If a person cannot run a business in a profitable manner, why should the government take them over? Are the people so dependent on working for someone else, they no longer know how to survive by hard work and thinking for themselves? Has government made it so hard for people to start a business, they become frustrated and give up?

This country was founded by people who wanted a chance of making a life without government control. Can we find our way back? Are we looking at a future where a single leader controls our life, our liberty? People, get control of yourself first and then look to having a voice in the running of this country. Don't five up your freedoms on which this vast land of America was founded.

I say yea to the Tea Parties, to the activist who voices their concerns, to anyone who stands up and voices their beliefs. Let's start making the right changes in our own country and quit focusing on the civil uprising on those people who are fighting the tyranny in other countries. There are no new vast lands to which we can escape. There must be a change first in the hearts and minds of each individual and then as a nation.

Thank you to those founding fathers who had a unique concept and had the courage and stamina to go forth and develop the Constitution that establish this great country. Happy fourth of July - the birthday of our nations independence and freedom.

Representation

My email box is loaded week after week with letters of concern over how our government is run and our taxes are spent. I have several questions but the most important of all is 1. Do you vote? and 2. Do you write or call your government representatives - local, state, and national and let them know how you feel?

How in the world can your senator, legislator, or local official know you don't agree with his/her decisions, if you don't let them know? There was a time that you would see your government representatives around town, in church, at public meetings; but now the population has grown and these people have a lot more ground to cover.

Did you know that each are reachable by phone or mail and most have email that is provided for the sole purpose of keeping in touch with their constituents? You may not get to talk to the representative or senator personally each time you call, but you can bet if you leave enough messages and fill up their email boxes you will hear from them. The good thing is, you are in control. If they don't call back, write, or email you in return, you don't have to vote for them the next election. We need representatives/senators/local officials who have time to listen. If they are too busy to hear, they are too busy to hold office.

If they are catering to special interest groups and do not have time for their constituents, let them deal with the special interest groups on their own time. These officials are not important to these special interests groups if they are not holding a political office. Holding a public office makes them important. However, special interest groups do not vote in local elections. You do!

Visit you Chamber of Commerce or local government website to find contact information for your Federal, State and local elected officials. Most of these officials have web site for the purpose of keeping in touch with their constituents, relaying information on the workings of the goverment, and provide contact information making it easier to get your opinion and concerns. The telephone directory also contains contact information for these officials.

Spending taxes is always a hot topic. Do you agree that your elected federal officials not pay into Social Security? What is your opinion on Foreign Economic Policy and Domestic Economic Policy? Do you agree with the purchasing policies of the military? We all laugh because the Army pays $500 for a commode, but do you know why? Who can change the policy? Do you think the government should pay a farmer not to plant a crop? Why are taxes so high? Are the requirements for government contracts so strict that only the largest and most affluent have the ability to meet those requirements? Do you expect the best and get the least? Ask your representative where they stand on these and other issues and most of all let them know where you stand on these issues.


I hope my friends keep sending me information so I can forward to our officials, but if you want to make sure the proper message is received, your opinion reaches the right person, and your wishes are known, contact these people yourself. Besides, the more people they hear from, the more seriously an issue, stand, or law will be taken and these officials/representatives will think long and hard when it comes time to vote. All votes in these assemblies are recorded and if your representative continually votes opposite the wishes of his/her constituents, he/she should not be re-elected.

Find your voice, grab your pen, hit your keyboard and make yourself heard. Then - GO VOTE!