August 11, 2012: GOP Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney made the announcement that Wisconsin GOP Rep. Paul Ryan is his Vice Presidential running mate for the 2012 Election.

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Paul Davis Ryan, Jr. was born January 29, 1970, the youngest of  four children of Betty and Paul Murray Ryan.  His father (now deceased) was a lawyer, and his mother is an outdoorsy lady who kept her family busy on hiking and skiing trips.

Congressman Ryan is a fifth-generation Wisconsin and native of Janesville, where he was born and raised. He is the great-grandson of Patrick W. Ryan, who founded the Ryan Incorporated Central Construction Business in  1884.

Family
Congressman Paul Ryan and his wife Janna (Little) Ryan married in December of 2000, and they now have three children- a daughter and two sons.

Education
Joseph A. Craig High School
1992- Graduated Miami University in Oxford, Ohio with a B.A. in economics and political science

Religion
Catholic
A member of St. John Vianney’s Parish.

The Ryan Family Heart
Congressman Ryan was just sixteen-years-old when he found his father in bed, deceased at the age of 55, from a heart attack. Congressman Ryan’s grandfather also died of a heart attack at the age of 57, and his great-grandfather also died of a heart attack at the age of 59.

Organizations
Delta Tau Delta- Social Fraternity (was a member in college)
Ducks Unlimited- Member
Janesville Bowmen, Incorporated- Member
Rock County Junior Achievement- Board Member

Political Affiliations
Republican
Member of the House Republican Young Guns

Private Sector Career
Oscar Mayer- In college, he was a Wienermobile driver
Marketing Consultant for an earth moving company
Economic Policy Analyst
Ryan Incorporated- Former President

Political Career
1999 to Present- Congressman from the 1st Congressional District of Wisconsin- Currently serving his 7th term
Jack Kemp Vice Presidential Campaign- Former Speechwriter
Office of the Director of National Drug Control Policy- Former Speechwriter
Senator Bob Kasten, United States Senate- Former Staff

Bi-Partisan
In 1999, new to the House of Representatives, Paul Ryan sought advise from other members of the House on how to be an effective Congressman. It was none other than the very liberal Democrat Barney Frank of Massachusetts that gave him the advise that has defined him.

Be a specialist, not a generalist. Pick two or three issues and really focus on them rather than being a yard wide.

His Motto
“Inquire, inquire, inquire, read, read, read.”

Committees
Chairman of the House Budget Committee
House Ways and Means Committee- Senior Member
Subcommittee on Health- Ways and Means Committee- Member

Non-Legislative Committees
Community Solutions and Initiatives Coalition- Member
Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus- Co-Chair

The Ryan Plan
“The Path to Prosperity- Restoring America’s Promise”
The Plan- a 2012 budget resolution would:

• End “uncontrolled government spending” and “crushing levels of taxes
• Repeal the Affordable Health Care Act of 2010
• Turn Medicare into a private health insurance system
• Lowering the tax rates for top-earning individuals and corporations from 35 to 25%

Congressman Ryan wrote this plan

“to tackle our looming fiscal crisis, driven by the explosion of entitlement spending. ‘The Path to Prosperity’ helps spur job creation today, stops spending money the government doesn’t have, and lifts the crushing burden of debt. This plan puts the budget on the path to balance and the economy on the path to prosperity.”

Political Accomplishments
An expert on the budget, taxes, and health care.
He “knows more about the federal budget than anyone else on Capitol Hill and talks about it more fluently”

Political Positions
Pro-Life voting record
Pro-Family voting record
Pro-Business voting record
Pro-Free Trade voting record
Pro-Military voting record
Pro-gun rights voting record
Pro-Israel- committed to unbreakable U.S.-Israel bond.
Supports the requiring all laws to cite Constitutional authorization
Supports the elimination of the federal estate tax
Supports The United States military action in Afghanistan
Supports privatizing elements of Social Security
Supports domestic oil drilling
Supports drilling in ANWR
Supports Sealed Border
Supports Immigration Reform, DOES NOT support amnesty
Believes marriage should only be between one man and one woman
Tough On Crime- Believes in Consequences for actions  (Voting record reflect anti-rehabilitation crime votes)
“Hard On Drugs” Stance

Anti-public health voting record
Anti-union voting record
OPPOSES progressive taxation
DOES NOT support using government funds in an effort to stimulate and improve the economy
DOES NOT support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns
DOES NOT support a publicly-administered health insurance option
DOES NOT support a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants
DOES NOT support National Education Association, earning him an “anti-public education” from the NEA

** To see Congressman Paul Ryan’s voting record on the issues, visit Project Vote Smart and On The Issues. Direct links to Congressman Ryan’s voting record are found at the bottom of this page. **

Throwing Grandma Off the Cliff
The infamous “Paul Ryan Throwing Grandma Off the Cliff” commercial, sponsored by the liberal group “The Agenda Project”.

A comment by Todd Aldrich on this video says it perfectly:

“The majority of Americans believe the LIE that Democrats have put out. The fact of the matter is that NO ONE 55 or older will have ANY changes and the rest of us will get a choice from what ever plan WE want – EXACTLY like congress has. This is to be paid for out of block grants INDEXED for inflation so people are guaranteed their benefits.

The Democrats? They have offered NOTHING, and by doing so they are GUARANTEEING that NO ONE will have those benefits before long.”

Obamacare
 Drudge Report ran this video, with the headline: “Paul Ryan took apart Obama and Obamacare — in 6 minutes!”

Paul Ryan In The News
Ryan’s Charge Up Entitlement Hill
Knowledge Is Power
Mr. Ryan Goes To Wisconsin
Obama’s Economic Experiment Has Failed- Time To Get Back To What Works
Stop The Raid; Repeal Rationing Board; Save Medicare
Paul Ryan on Meet The Press: Leadership Needed To Save Medicare, Lift Debt Burden, Grow Economy
Paul Ryan Makes The Case to Save and Strengthen Medicare

_________________________

Sources:
Congresswoman Paul Ryan’s Official Website
Ask.com
OnTheIssues.org
VoteSmart.org
The Weekly Standard 

It is vitally important that we all understand this problem, and what it will take to correct it.

The video is about five minutes long.

To begin with, this “progressive” misinformation’s “headline” is pure, pre-fabricated nonsense that reads:

“Top conservative says read my lips: Don’t sign ‘no new tax’ pledge”.

This “headline” is garbage.

First of all, save for his consistently patriotic support for the United States military and for American troops, Senator Lindsey Graham is about as moderate as Republicans come. Some Conservatives might characterize him as a “progressive” Republican. Even more may openly label him a RINO. The thought of his being a “top conservative” comes from the minds of institutionalized “progressive” leftists, not reality. Secondly, not once in the interview does Graham ever utter the words “read my lips”. Again, readers are witnessing fabricated “progressive” wishful fiction, not fact. Furthermore, never did he say “don’t sign the ‘no new tax’ pledge. Not even once. Not ever.

The entire headline is a total lie. It’s a complete falsehood. The “news” presented in this “headline” is “progressive” fabrication that goes light years beyond the outer limits of “spin”.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/power-players-abc-news/top-conservative-says-read-lips-don-t-sign-101721355.html

Thanks to a “headline” that’s contains not one ounce of truth, the article is automatically discredited in the minds of informed voters, those who are obviously not the target audience of Karl, Coolidge, Lemos and Pham.

What Graham did say is that he is willing to be flexible on applying one fourth of revenue collected by the IRS through elimination of tax loopholes and subsidies towards reducing the nations nearly $16 trillion in debt. The other three fourths would continue to follow the No New Tax Pledge’s formula for applying such revenues solely towards tax cuts. For Graham to accept this compromise, Democrats would be required to respond in kind to work in a bipartisan fashion towards reducing the national debt via “entitlement” program reforms.

That such inaccurate “reporting” could be considered, even for a fleeting moment, as real journalism, that these liars are actually getting paid to propagandize pure fiction as fact shows how low are today’s standards for journalistic integrity. This “headline” is going to give a large number of low-information, “sound bite news voters” a completely incorrect image of reality. It’s not even close to being true. All visible evidence points to clear intent to mislead misinform and indoctrinate masses of online readers.

How about giving this story a more objective headline, a headline that reflects the truth while accurately respects the content of the story? One more like: Graham Willing to Discuss Tax, Entitlement Compromise.

How difficult was that?

Perhaps for self imagined, self-appointed members of the “progressive” intellectual elite, it’s just too simple for their brilliant minds.

http://mjfellright.wordpress.com/2012/06/12/news-flash-lindsey-graham-is-a-top-conservative/

Obedient spokes-fools within the “progressive” Party Pravda remained largely mum, dutifully neglecting or downplaying the story. Conservatives pounced on the statement, speculating aggressively about obama’s lack of perceptive abilities while declaring it to be the biggest gaffe in his presidency. Questions were asked as to why standard operating procedure had been abandoned and a presidential press conference was being held in the White House when no major announcement was being made.

That obama followed up the initial remark by saying the problem with America’s economy is a loss of government jobs at the state and local level suggests various possible explanations. One is that it’s a sign of his commitment to growing government as the sole solution to each and every one of the world’s problems. Another is that he is so out of touch with economic reality that the remark really was a gaffe.

But there is at least one other possibility to consider.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is coming under heavy congressional scrutiny for his role in the failed Fast and Furious gun running scandal. Hard questions are being raised on both sides of the aisle about the risks posed to the country through national security leaks possibly emanating from the White House. obama’s been accused of allowing the leaks to occur for personal political gain. There are ongoing discussions and mounting evidence regarding obama’s membership in Chicago’s extremist “New Party”, coupled with continuing avoidance of or denials about it among obama’s political apparatus. There is major embarrassment about obama’s “entire grassroots machinery” being resoundingly drubbed in the Wisconsin recall election. There is growing “progressive” left wing extremist frustration with obama’s perceived inability to deliver on his pledge to “fundamentally transform the United States of America”.

Go back to the question: Why was a presidential new conference being held when there was no major announcement being made? Even given that there was only the remotest possibility that the “progressive” Party Pravda might actually uncover a hitherto undiscovered ounce of journalistic integrity within itself and ask hard questions on a myriad of topics, why was this press conference being held?

Is it possible that the biggest gaffe in obama’s presidency was committed on purpose? That it was an intentional diversion? A coldly calculated politically driven distraction away from other bad news that had been dominating the weekly news cycle?

Was it an accident that it occurred on a Friday morning, contributing to the likelihood that the weekend political talk show discussions will focus on this rather than the myriad of other, more damaging news about obama’s failed attempt to be the nation’s Chief Executive?

If so, it was an extreme abuse of the power of the presidency.

Given that this “gaffe” originated from a once humming along firing on all cylinders well oiled political machine that has repeatedly engaged in “the art” of misrepresentation, distortion, distraction, diversion and smoke and mirror parlor trickery, is pondering such questions an unreasonable activity?

With obama in the White House, do you now consider such a line of questioning to be unpatriotic?

Do you really?

You may wish to reconsider come November 6^th.

http://mjfellright.wordpress.com/2012/06/09/was-the-private-sector-is-doing-fine-really-a-gaffe/

This does not just occur with health care but also with land-use planning. We always hear about sustainable development, open spaces, the value of mixed-use communities, transportation options like light rail, high-speed rail and even bike and walking paths and most of all, the importance of planning.

In describing these amenities, nice sounding buzzwords like green, regionalism and communities are used…sometimes even throwing in the usual mockery of smart growth over dumb growth or sustainable as opposed to unsustainable development.

…then we normally pursue the same pattern of planning meetings, organizing committees, scheduling more meetings. After that master plans are unveiled, maps drawn and ordinances passed with no true evaluation of the success of these programs except the politics involved; as master plans, ordinances, permits and inspections assume control of our private property, dictate the market and control commerce, the only thing we do is work, taxes, sign the bank note and complain during our monthly three minutes at city council meetings. Meanwhile, all that planning and our community resemble other communities throughout United States.

Instead of allowing the free market where each individual contributes their vote to the needs of the community, the blunt instrument of local government and non-governmental organizations are used to force a centralized plan and police the contents of the federal mandates. For if we think that we can concoct a MASTER PLAN, some ordinances and follow it to utopia, we might want to consider history.

Shown is a photograph taken by NASA of the Korean peninsula at night. If you look closely, you will see the Republic of Korea and the Democratic Republic of Korea.

Yes…the most oppressive regime on earth is known as the “Democratic Republic of Korea” and this photograph shows it completely blacked out. As every aspect of life is centrally planned, property and commerce is controlled by the state. It’s sustainable to Mother Earth because there is NO electricity. At least they have guards who protect their borders with land mines, barbed wire and fences but not to keep immigrants out…but the people in.
If we look to their South Korean neighbors …life is booming as individuals plan their lives and contribute to each other, they rely on each other more than their North Korean counterparts. This is because most people are naturally compassionate and take care of each other…that is, if they aren’t in Maslow’s safety or physiological mode.

If you say that this is an isolated incident, we can look at Mao’s centralized plan known as the Great Leap Forward. He moved resources from the fields to making steel and it was the worst famines known to mankind killing over 30 million people. Hitler’s Germany, Stalin’s Russia and Mussolini’s Italy provide a glimpse of the different directions centralized planning can go. History is quite clear that centralized planning is catastrophic for the masses.

As we embark on our centralized plan to utopia, the question is whether our path is a prosperous nation as we have as a nation where individuals are free to plan their own property and life. Or are we moving toward an oppressive regime like North Korea where federal mandates, high taxes and a disconnected central authority determines our fate.

WXIX Anchor Ben Swann

Ben Swann, a reporter from WXIX in Cincinnati, OH who is surging in national popularity, has put together a 30 minute “Reality Check” on the 4 GOP presidential candidates ahead of Super Tuesday.  The extended feature focuses on three main issues: Budgets, Gas Prices, & Iran.

Follow Ben on Facebook & Twitter

.

—

Romney was scarce with the ever-important “how” he would implement this tax policy, and other proposals that he mentioned.

The Video is below:

.

For the FULL speech, visit the C-SPAN website HERE.

—

Tonight, February 22nd, the candidates take to the stage at the Mesa Performing Arts Center in Mesa, Arizona.  This time, however, they have been away from the debate stage for nearly a month, as the last GOP Debate was on January 26th.

The participants tonight will be the “Final Four” of Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, and Rick Santorum.

The debate will air on CNN at 8pm ET.

Livestream feed here

If you want to see the complete list of debates (including those in the past) and links to the video and overviews, go here.

The Conressional Budget Office (CBO) treated us with some bad, yet expected, news: Another year with a deficit exceeding a Trillion dollars.  In their release, the CBO said:

CBO projects a $1.1 trillion federal budget deficit for fiscal year 2012 if current laws remain unchanged. Measured as a share of the nation’s output (gross domestic product, or GDP), that shortfall of 7.0 percent is nearly 2 percentage points below the deficit recorded in 2011, but still higher than any deficit between 1947 and 2008

The U.S. posted $1.3 trillion deficits in each of the past two years after a record $1.4 trillion deficit in fiscal 2009.

—

Congress is fresh off the ‘Great Debt Debate of 2011′, and wasting no time in kicking off Round 2 of this fight.  Today, the US Senate rejected a bill that would have prevented raising the Debt Ceiling by another $1.2 Trillion.

History of US Debt Ceiling

CNN.com has reported:

A procedural motion to move forward with the bill was rejected in a largely party-line 44-52 vote. The measure, approved by the GOP-controlled House of Representatives last week, had little chance of either passing Congress or surviving a certain presidential veto. It was considered a largely symbolic gesture on the part of Republicans.

So we shall keep our eyes and ears on the Congress, the President, and the GOP Candidates for President to see how this will wind up.

—

This decision has all the markings of his pledge before the 2008 election to “fundamentally transform” the United States of America. Remember when he said that he would bankrupt the coal companies and that energy prices would “necessarily skyrocket”? Here we are, a chance to keep that campaign pledge to his left wing zealots who want to see America become a Third world hell hole dictatorship. Remember when he closed off all drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, ignored a court order to resume permits, and sent $4 billion to a George Soros invested company in Brazil so we could be “their best customer”?

As Obama once again applies his “laser focus on jobs” we see the prospect of 5,000 immediate jobs, 20,000 jobs over the next few years, and the potential 200,000 long term jobs fizzle in an orgy of pandering to his left-wing base. Of course, there is the magnificent prospect of the unemployment payments that will actually rescue our economy. This came from that paragon of economic brain trusts, Nancy Pelosi. Remember when she said that every dollar of unemployment payments generates $1.87 to the economy? That is very good news indeed. There certainly isn’t any sense in losing such an economic boost by providing thousands, tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands of jobs. We once again see our country being taken down the road to financial ruin by those desiring to rule rather than govern. This is not new as we have seen what the radicals who have taken over the Democrat Party have been doing for several years.

Environmental groups opposed the pipeline saying it could harm the Oglala Reservoir under Nebraska. That is a huge concern to all of us I am sure. There is no doubt this pipeline will do as much damage to the environment as the Alaska Pipeline did to the tundra and the herds of deer, moose, elk and whatever. I have read many stories about the Alaska pipeline and the results of that coming “environmental disaster”. If I remember right, and I don’t have the stories before me, the herds are thriving because the heat from the pipeline is keeping the grass growing under it without damaging the permafrost. The food being provided by the vegetation in what was a total wasteland in winter, not to mention the heat off the pipes providing warmth for the herds, is actually increasing the numbers of animals.
The big question is what are the Republicans in Congress going to do about this situation? Yesterday we heard Republicans come out and denounce the decision with tough talk and big words, but will they actually do anything to reverse this decision? I have my doubts. As a matter of fact, I will be bold enough to say “No, they won’t!!!” The leadership in the Republican Party is so weak and so busy being “civil” and “reaching across the aisle to work with our Democrat friends” that I don’t expect them to do any more than they have done with the stimulus, TARP, debt ceiling, etc.

Unless We the People elect true conservatives in November we will continue to lose our freedoms daily. We used to lose a freedom here and there but now we see them disappearing in droves. It seems as if every piece of legislation that comes out, unread of course, takes another freedom away from us.

Obama and members of both political parties in Congress are combining to destroy what was once the most prosperous nation in the history of the world. Our economic security, our physical security, and or liberty are all being taken from us by those who got elected by promising a better life for all Americans. If it isn’t already too late November will be the pivotal point of my lifetime. If we don’t make drastic changes, assuming Obama allows elections in November, we will lose what is left of our liberty.

We can’t just blindly vote for Republicans as they have proven to be unreliable, and as dangerous as Democrats. Only 22 of the 87 freshmen TEA Party members elected to the House of Representatives in 2010 voted against the debt ceiling increase last fall. If we have another freshman class like that in 2012 we are doomed to a lifetime of tyranny. Our future is at stake and the Keystone XL Pipeline permit denial is just one more nail in the coffin of the Republic of the United States of America.

I submit this in the name of the Most Holy Trinity, in faith, with the responsibility given to me by almighty God to honor His work and not let it die from neglect.
Bob Russell
Claremore, Oklahoma
January 18, 2011

In the Bible “12″ represents God’s perfect government and Divine authority. To write “12″ in Hebrew two Hebrew letters are used … “yod” which signifies hand or outworking and “beth” which signifies house. “The outworking of the household in harmony under Divine authority.” I am claiming this for each household and our house of worship that we will see God’s authority extended to our territory from our homes and churches.

OH YEAH! AMEN!

Before I started my writing career 18 months ago, I was inspired by a series of documentaries I watched about the founding of our nation and how our founding fathers placed so much importance on Divine Providence. I saw how their faith in God and their devotion to Biblical principles guided them in their pursuit of liberty and freedom for all, not just the wealthy, elite group in which most of them belonged.

Our nation was founded by men who believed in God very strongly and prayed every step of the way; through the years of protesting to King George of England about their grievances; through the horrible years of the Revolutionary War when death, suffering, fear, and want were the order of the day; then through the 11 years it took to actually form a nation, write the Constitution of the United States of America, and have it ratified by the various states.

Those in charge of government, both political parties, vote into law legislation they don’t read. And frankly, they don’t know or care what it says. And then we have the endless array of bureaucrats who justify their jobs by adding to the endless stream of tyrannical rules we are expected to follow, followed up by judges who rule according to their atheistic agenda rather than according to the Constitution.

We have a president who is not constitutionally eligible to serve, yet both parties ignore the Constitution because it is easier to do that than stand up and do what is right. We have state elected officials who ignore the Constitution of the United States, as well as their state Constitution because these documents get in the way of their personal or political party agendas. We have cronyism more blatant than ever before in my life time, total disregard for the citizens of this nation, total disregard for the laws of this nation, and a situation that seems can only be resolved by armed conflict ala 1776. There is another way.

There is an old saying I have heard since I was a small child:

“it is always darkest just before the dawn”.

I have spent many cold dark mornings sitting in a tree waiting for some of Bambi’s family to come strolling into my line of fire and I can vouch for that old saying. As night begins to turn into day it really does seem to get darker and colder for that last hour or so of night. Starlight seems to dim and the night gets so dark I can’t see my hands in front of my face for what seems like a very long period of time.

Then suddenly, I see a twinkling of light, followed by another, and another, until the eastern sky behind me begins to slowly brighten, just a little at a time. Then shadows begin to appear a few at a time. The tree branches seem to take on different shapes as the shadows begin to form and the woods slowly come alive with the sound of squirrels rousting from their nests to go in search of breakfast. I hear birds begin to rustle in their nests and start to chirp; first one, then two, then more as the light begins to creep in and another morning breaks.

I believe 2011 was the darkest hour before the dawn. So many bad things happened in 2011 that it is easy to get discouraged, to become fearful of the future. The year was so dark with the activities of Barack Obama and the Democrat Party, activities that are totally counter to the Constitution, freedom, and our way of life. The Republican Party was no help either, but rather added to the dismay and the darkness. The 87 TEA Party freshmen members of the House of Representatives seemed to buckle at every turn and become part of the problem instead of part of the solution to the problem.

The National Defense Authorization Act (S. 1867/HR 1540) was passed at the last minute and then the two biggest supporters of it came out and casually announced they had no idea what was included in the legislation. “Sodomy and Bestiality are no longer against the rules for our military? The president can order American citizens missing fingers or stocking up on food held without charge indefinitely? I didn’t know that was in there.” We heard that from those “staunch conservatives”, Lindsey Graham and John McCain. Ron Paul, the darling of the “Libertarians”, says Iran should have nukes and that Israel is the root of all evil and isn’t worth our time and money to defend. The national debt that Obama, and the Republicans in Congress, pledged to diminish was instead raised by $2.4 trillion. Mitt Romney, the darling of the Republican establishment, has more positions than a symphony orchestra on any issue you can name. The rest of the candidates aren’t much better. Need I go on or would that depress you even more?

Today we look at a new year fraught with danger yet full of hope. We have elections in November that, if allowed to occur by our benevolent rulers, will determine the difference between a life of freedom and a life of tyranny for We the people. I wrote an article on this subject a couple of months ago in which I listed many of the things that have been done in the name of freedom but actually were done to take our freedom from us. I urged people to take a good look around them and to see what is happening. I have written many times about the issues facing the future freedom of We the People and what we need to do to remedy the problems. I am not politically partisan in my writing. I write truth, not party spin.

Most of our problems go much deeper than government abuse. The problems with government cannot be solved by man alone. God’s hand was prominent in the creation of this great and mighty nation, God’s hand has been prominent in the preservation of this nation, and God’s hand must be prominent in the future of this nation if it is to prosper once again. We as a nation have turned from God and accepted so many things that go against His Word. I remember a prayer given at the beginning of a State of Kansas legislative session a few years ago. I don’t remember all of it but the minister spoke of accepting sin by calling it all kinds of politically correct names. We must turn our eyes back to what made this nation great and acknowledge what has driven this nation to the brink of destruction.

I am encouraged by what I see, hear, and read on the many conservative social network sites I belong to. I am encouraged by the responses to items like this that I write. Even when I write about the bad things happening, I see people who are as outraged as I am and are willing to stand up and do something about it. I see people acknowledging God and His part in our nation. I see people who will pray, as we all need to do, but also stand and act on the promises of God for our lives and our nation. I am encouraged by God’s inspiration in my writing, in my life, and in my nation despite my failings and my sin. I wake up each day with a fresh start and a new grace to live through the day with. All of us have this grace, all we have to do is accept it and act upon it.

In Scripture, 12 is the number of God’s hand on our houses. This revelation gives me hope for this year, 2012, the year God will reach out to us in a way we have not seen before in our lifetimes. All we have to do is reach our hands back to God, accept that divine authority, and work within it to restore our nation. We can’t solve the problems of our nation from the top down, it must be from the bottom up. We can live on trickle down economics but we prosper on trickle up faith. We start with ourselves, move up to our household, then up to our community, our state, and finally our nation. It is each one of us accepting God’s forgiving grace and using the opportunity to make ourselves better first and expanding that improvement into an ever enlarging sphere of influence until it permeates our entire nation and we can once again be that “shining city on a hill” described by John Winthrop in the 1700’s.

This year, 2012, is a year that can turn our nation around if we will step up and do it. It CAN be done and WE can do it. No movement starts with a crowd, but with an idea one person is willing to act upon. This idea becomes known and accepted by another person, then another, then another, until it becomes a movement. The TEA Party is such a movement. It is a concept, coined in a phrase by one man, that has become a concept embraced by 67% of We the People. It is a concept grounded in Godly principles and the acknowledgement that freedom isn’t free and We the people have to stand up for the values that established this nation and made it great.

We are God’s agents in this world and we must operate accordingly. We must seek guidance through prayer and have the courage to act on that guidance when the enemy, both spiritual and physical, comes against us. For too many years Christians have sat back and let evil take control of our nation because we were too complacent or too fearful to fight that evil. We have left it to others to fight our fight and they have not done so. Those we depended on to fight our battles for us have become part of the evil that we are fighting.

This year is the year we have unprecedented help available to us. We can use 2012, the year of “yod beth”, to restore America to what God and our founding fathers established. It is time for us to take up the full armor of God and restore the United States of America to what is once was and what it can be again. If we do not have faith, and the courage of our faith, to fight this battle then our freedoms will be lost forever. It is up to me. It is up to you. It is up to each American citizen to do their part for freedom. Pray, repent, and act; future generations are depending on us.

I submit this in the name of the Most Holy Trinity, in faith, with the responsibility given to me by Almighty God to honor His work and not let it die from neglect.

Bob Russell
Claremore, Oklahoma
January 4, 2012

‘Tis the season to be jolly, and if you are Congress, it is also the season to stuff as many pet projects into the next omnibus spending bill as you possibly can. Of course they seem to do this 365 days a year. There is one measure, however, lurking in the recessed corners of Capitol Hill that, I believe, is the very embodiment of a philosophy that has damaged or destroyed many of the great countries of the past. It is the “I know what’s best for you” mentality. When it’s your parents talking to you this way, it’s called life. When it’s your government talking to you this way, it’s called socialism.

Meet House Bill 2977. On the surface this only seems to be a benign attempt to introduce a dollar coin into the American currency. After all, the previous three attempts: the Susan B. Anthony coin, the Sacajawea coin and of course the recently terminated presidential coin have been such raging successes, right? Folks that are my age and older can remember how the Susan B Anthony’s were often confused with quarters and, to be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Sacajawea or presidential coin, other than the old Eisenhower. These endeavors were always sold as a deficit reducing measure because, after all, coins last much longer than dollar bills. There’s only one problem – WE DON’T WANT THE DAMN THINGS!!

But of course Congress, in their infinite wisdom, has decided that once again the best thing for all of us is to lug around pounds of dollar coins in lieu of the flimsy bill. What is different this time, is the fact that this will not be a voluntary act. HR 2977 calls for the mandated change from a paper dollar to a coin. In other words, you’re getting them whether you like them are not!

HR 2977 was created as one of the many genius deficit reducing plans given forth by that counsel of legends – the super-committee. You remember the super-committee don’t you? Twelve of the most partisan people in Washington stuffed together in a room trying to agree on what to order for lunch.  Having that fail miserably didn’t exactly instill a lot of confidence in me that this all-star group would be able to come to an agreement on deficit reduction. Of course, we all know that the super committee died an infamous death, it’s body still rotting in the open. Yet HR 2977 managed to stay alive, hiding out in the basement of government stupidity, waiting for its chance to shine in the wee hours of the morning while no one is watching. This is the only way a bill like this will ever pass, because if the American public got hold of the notion that there currency was being changed by mandate, they would have a collective conniption fit!

This is much more than just having the extra burden (pun intended) on the American people. It shows once again that our current group of lawmakers has no actual clue as to how our economy really works. It makes you wonder if any of them (all of which are 1%-ers by the way) have the first clue as to what a regulation like this will do to small businesses. For example, what if you owned a Laundromat? Perhaps your company supplies vending machines or cash recognition machines or video-game machines. Will Congress cover the thousands of dollars it will cost these businesses to comply with this new set of regulations? This is a rhetorical question folks, please don’t fracture your head trying to think about it!

Of course not! People who prefer symbolism over real substance never think this far into the future. They just want to publicity that goes along with them proclaiming to the unwashed masses that they have reduced their deficit! Reducing our freedom to choose, and in this case reject, something as fundamental to a society as the appearance of currency, doesn’t seem to be nearly as important as getting those cameras trained on you so that you can tell everyone that you worked hard into the night to reduce the national debt.

You can’t swing a dead cat in Washington DC without hearing some politician give a sound bite about how important the small business owner is to the engine of our economy. Yet at the same time, they don’t have the first clue how that engine really works. If they did, they wouldn’t even consider a bill like 2977, much less pass it.

The last thing they want is a proposal like this to reach the light of day before it is passed in the dark of night. So in keeping with previous American terrorists like George Washington, Paul Revere, Samuel Adams and Thomas Jefferson, I am proud to scream about this at the top of my lungs!

Let’s think about what this is going to do to small businesses.  If it is indeed passed, we already know from previous experiences that the American public will simply not tolerate a dollar coin, especially when it is being forced upon them. But this won’t stop another unfunded mandate from being dumped on the small business owner. Of course, in order for the small business owner to stay in compliance and continue to be a law-abiding businessperson, they will have to comply with the new regulations regardless of the cost. Then, when it is repealed over the outcry, these same business owners will have to pay again to convert back.

A useless regulation, an uproar, and thousands of dollars out of the pocket of the true engineers of our economic train – this will be the legacy of HR 2977. That and the fact that this is yet another testimony to the arrogance of those on Capitol Hill and in the White House who think they can run our lives better than we can.

When you rob Peter to pay Paul, you can guarantee one thing – that the supporters of Paul will always vote for you. It’s bad enough that we seem to have crossed a line whereby there are more voters, or at least potential voters, that are on Paul’s side. This is usually when, as Alexis De Tocqueville said, a democratic society realizes it can vote itself billions of dollars out of the public till. Unfortunately, this is going to continue as long as we have a majority of people who are perfectly willing to have a top-down, nanny state, “take your medicine like good boys and girls” society.

If you’re frustrated as hell like I am about this, I suggest you sit down and write a letter, pick up the phone or at least shoot an e-mail to your representative and senators. Let them know that not every person in America has been anesthetized and some of them are still ready to fight for the country that was given to them. Let them know that silly measures like HR 2977 are completely and totally unacceptable and that our memories of things like this will last well past November 6, 2012.