When I say criminals I am not just talking in the abstract; I am referring to real criminals.

According to a study from the online publication Capitol Hill Blue, the American people have elected a bunch of politicians that are better at breaking laws than making laws. America’s low information voters have chosen some real class acts to represent them.

Just how bad are some of our members of Congress?

29 members have been accused of spousal abuse, 7 have been arrested for fraud, 19 have been accused of writing bad checks, 117 have bankrupted at least 2 businesses, 3 have been arrested for physical assault, 71 have such bad credit that they can’t even qualify for a credit card, (yet with their special clearance as a member of Congress they get an Amex card without having a credit check.) 14 have been arrested on drug related charges, 8 have been arresting for shoplifting, and at least 84 members of Congress have been stopped for drunk driving but subsequently let go once they showed they were members of Congress.

If all that hasn’t made you lose your lunch this sure will.

According to the 2013 Congressional schedule, Congress will take 239 days off! That means they will only “work” 126 days of the year. If that wasn’t bad enough these hardly working, drunk driving, womanizing, bad credit, criminals get paid a minimum of $175,000 a year. Not bad for 126 days of so called work. They have worked themselves so hard that they don’t even have the strength to create a budget. The last time our dedicated public servants passed a budget was April 29, 2009. That is an unbelievable mind boggling 1,415 days without a budget, and counting.

This article’s intent is not to highlight the ineptness and unprincipled actions of our corrupt Congress; instead its purpose is to illustrate just how incidental and unnecessary Washington, DC has become. Former Republican Presidential nominee Rick Perry may not have been able to talk his way out of a paper bag; however he had the political will and courage to tell the American people that if he were to be elected President he would make Congress a part time job.

I couldn’t agree with him more. In fact, I’d like to take his suggestion a little further and dismantle Washington, DC altogether; and here is how we can do it.

We live in a virtual and digital society in which nothing seems impossible. The constant advancements in technology have created a very mobile society. We live in a world where you can start your car, turn the lights on and off in your house, and check your blood pressure, all by using your I-phone. There is no reason why Congress can’t conduct official government business from their respective state Capitols. Think about how much money they could save in travel expenses and housing alone?

With email, Skype, Twitter, Facebook, video conferencing, and websites such as gotomeeting.com; there is no shortage of technology that could be utilized to perform the everyday functions of Congress from outside of Washington, DC.

According to census.gov, 1 out of 10 workers over the age of 65 works from home. This is a growing trend that is only going to continue as more businesses look for ways to cut operating expenses and increase productivity. With so many older workers still in the workforce due to the Obama economy; many of these workers work from home.

Companies that employ workers who telecommute save on expenses such as office space, equipment, furniture, and supplies. Employees who work from home are able to save money on such expenditures as clothing, childcare, parking, and gasoline. Also, some studies have shown that workers who telecommute are more effective and efficient at their jobs than those who work in the office. Why not extend that same invitation to members of Congress?

According to statistics from the 112th Congress, the average age of a member of the House of Representatives is 57 years and the average age of a member of the Senate is 63 years. These folks should be required to work remotely from their respective states and only come into Washington a few times a month to cast votes.

Washington, DC is 68.3 square miles of influence, corruption, and centralized power. The only way to change Washington is to remove the influence, corruption, and power from it; and that starts with Congress. The only way to do this is by forcing members of Congress to not congregate permanently in Washington, DC.

A suggestion would be to pass a law in which no member of Congress is allowed to have permanent residence within 100 miles of Washington, DC. By doing this you automatically decentralize the influence and power, and make it harder for lobbyists and power brokers to influence fiscal policy. This is how you change Washington, DC.

To some who are reading this I understand it may sound a bit Orwellian. Telling free people where they can and cannot live may seem a little extreme. What is more extreme is having career politicians drunk with power spending future generation’s money on programs they can’t pay for. We are at a time in our nation’s history in which the only real solutions require real drastic measures.

The truth is that absolute power corrupts absolutely. If we take away Congress’s power we can return it to its rightful owners; we the people. Most Democrats who read this will think I’m crazy. Even some Republicans will think this is a bad idea; however most limited government Conservatives will love it. My only hope is that those members of Congress who believe in freedom, liberty, and limited government read my article and introduce legislation based on this idea. A good idea can only become a great idea when it is acted upon.

As a political strategist, commentator, and radio talk show host my job is to give solutions, not talking points. I may not always be right, but I am always thinking outside the box about different ways to make America a better, stronger, and freer country. If we are serious about saving this country and truly believe in a limited government it is time we put our money where our mouth is and dismantle Washington, once and for all.

Suggested by the author:
www.joshbernsteinpoliticalwriter.com
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Many people in this country believe that the Bible says “Money is the root of all evil”.  I generally find that most of those people also believe the Bible tells us Jesus was a socialist and men are supposed to control their wives.  Of course, the Bible says none of those things, and with regard to money it tells us in 1Timothy 6:10 “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”  That is a very tiny but significant distinction.  Money in and of itself is not evil.  We use it for many good things – to feed people, enjoy vacations, heal people, etc.  But when we start to love money above all else it takes on a life of its own.  It becomes like an addiction, and before long the money addict is no better than a crack addict – they will literally do anything to anyone to get that next fix and make sure their supply is safe.  The family on “Damages” fell in love with their money; every conversation and interaction was about money. Their obsession with money and the consequences of that obsession got me thinking about that oft misquoted verse.  The Bible’s warning about the love of money is not just another “God rule”, but quite practicle.  Loving money makes human beings do awful things, and forget about life’s value…ironically.

Our entire political system in this country is tragically sick with a money addiction and it is tearing us all apart.  Like that cable t.v. family our government has come to value money above all other things.  It has been running Ponzi schemes on Americans for decades.  Every conversation with politicians or about government revolves around money.  Talk of taking money away from government and our representatives start freaking out and throwing crazed tantrums like a meth addict who can’t get find their pipe.  Our government’s love of our money is dangerous and has torn this country to pieces… quite literally the Bible’s warning manifest -Washington’s love of money has become an evil.  Our politicians no longer work for us, they work for money.  Its what they love; it has replaced us in their hearts.  That is why every “crisis” that comes up on the Hill – be it the debt ceiling, payroll tax, or whatever – seems to end with a drop in the bucket.  Government doesn’t see the country’s financial health as an important issue.  Those of us on the front lines in the rest of America understand that we are in deep doo-doo (pardon my French).  We don’t need anymore drop-in-the-bucket solutions, we need to throw out the whole damn bucket! The water’s been contaminated and it can never be safe to drink from again.  We understand how desperate the situation really is because we are living paycheck to paycheck, working everyday to figure out how to afford decent lives for our children.  The Beltway politicians have no such worries.  Love of money has taken away their compassion for the average citizen.  Any issue brought to the Hill is immediately confronted with the same question: How can we keep more money in Washington?  If you’ve ever had the uncomfortable opportunity of conversing with a  crackhead (and I hope you never have to) you quickly came to understand that their entire conversation with you was based on one main question that most likely ran through their head the whole time: How can I get this person to give me more of their money so I can buy drugs? It’s the same concept as what is happening in Washington right now.

America is the freest nation on Earth.  No other country has ever enjoyed so much opportunity, cleanliness, prosperity and safety at any other point in history.  We have harnessed the power of freedom and turned it into wealth.  The downside of that freedom-produced wealth is that it can to easily turn from productivity to greed.  We’ve crossed the line and now we have a bunch of full blown addicts running the country.

What’s needed is an intervention.  The tea party began the work a few years ago and some in the mainstream media think the movement has faded because the protests are not as abundant anymore, but I think differently. I think the tea party has shifted focus.  Protests get noticed, but if we keep electing the same addicts over and over again we’ll never be able to treat Washington’s addiction properly.  I hear from tea party groups all over the country who are actively involved in state and local elections, working on seeing strong fiscal conservatives elected.  They have not faded in their tenacity; only their mission has changed.  Americans of all stripes are waking up to the fact that they’ve been supporting the habits of a wayward government for far too long. We still have long way to go, but it’s a good start to recognize how we’ve enabled these addicts for decades.  The love of money is the root of all evil, indeed…and that root has entrenched itself in the swampy underbelly of Washington D.C.  Its going to take a lot of work to get it out.

In his Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1863, the first of a now unbroken string of Presidential Proclamations, Abraham Lincoln said: “And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged.”

Both of these great men understood the importance of a grateful heart.  It is gratefulness that allows us to acknowledge the blessings around us.  It is gratefulness that encourages us to stop for a moment and take account of the grace and blessings that have been bestowed upon us by our Almighty Creator.  It is gratefulness that prevents our hearts from turning to stone and rendering us incapable of compassion and progress.  Our ancestors felt so strongly about this that they saw fit to declare a national day of thanks, when we as citizens would join in one voice and sentiment to express gratefulness. However, these great men did not believe giving thanks as a nation was enough in and of itself. They felt  along with thanksgiving should come repentance.  Both Lincoln and Washington recognized that thanksgiving without self-examination was useless.  They called for national repentance as well. For those of you who don’t quite understand what repentance is, Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines it as “repent” as “to turn from sin and dedicate oneself to the amendment of one’s life; to feel regret or contrition; to change one’s mind”.  Lincoln and Washington had both just led the nation through revolutionary and civil war.  They understood the importance of being grateful for the fine nation that resulted in both wars, but they also knew that much pain had been wrought upon the American people throughout.  They knew that in order to move forward not only did Americans need to thank, they also needed to forgive.

As we approach another Thanksgiving in this great country I wonder if we have forgotten how to be thankful as a nation.  Our cities are currently being overrun by the most ungrateful of citizens.  Unlike the tea party protests, Occupiers across the nation have not publicly declared one second of gratefulness or appreciation for all America has offered and continues to offer by way of comfort and security.  Their ungratefulness has exposed the hardest of hearts among these protesters. We have seen violent deaths, sexual assaults, batteries, cursing, yelling, vandalism, throwing of bodily fluids and a complete disregard for the welfare of average, working Americans and their property.  We have managed to raise an entire generation of ungrateful children and our nation is paying dearly for that.  Our children are throwing a temper tantrum.  Their ungrateful hearts (and many of ours) have turned to stone and the rest of us are witnessing the results, not only in their protests, but in the economy and general welfare of the country.  Perhaps its time to step back on this most uniquely American holiday and reflect on our hearts.  We have our troubles but we sill have so much to be thankful for when we look at the rest of the world.   We are free, and despite our many problems that is a special gift.  But we cannot end there.  Alongside our thankfulness this season let us remember the divisions that have always plagued us, and let us repent.  Let us recognize that we are all sinners; we have all hurt someone at some point.  We have wandered from our founding principles and God-given mandates.  We have come to believe we deserve all of our blessings.  We must turn away from that sense of entitlement, recognize it for the sin that it is, and move forward with grateful hearts.

I am no fool.  I know that there are many (far too many) Americans who see nothing wrong with wanting more while giving nothing.  There are many reading this right now who scoff at the idea that they need to apologize or ask forgiveness for anything.  But for those of us who see value in the idea of thankful repentance, our Founding Fathers saw fit to establish a national day of Thanksgiving.  They saw fit to give us the choice to be heard as a nation, to stand together, if only for one day.  Lets not waste that day and what it represents.  This Thanksgiving lets make the choice, as a nation, to turn  and say thank you; turn to our neighbors and say forgive me; turn to our God and say we repent – we turn away from ungratefulness of the past and toward the bounty of a thankful America.

Kentucky

Steve Beshear (D) wins re-election bid as Governor – has more than 58% of the vote

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear has been re-elected, becoming the second Democrat to win a U.S. gubernatorial race this year amid lingering economic uncertainty that’s already proving worrisome to President Barack Obama’s 2012 effort.

Beshear easily overcame challenges from Republican David Williams and independent Gatewood Galbraith, in a conservative state where voters routinely elect Republicans in national races. With 50 percent of precincts reporting, Beshear had 241,211 votes or 58 percent, to 131,319 votes for Williams or 31 percent. Galbraith had 44,893 votes or 11 percent. [from HuffingtonPost]

Ohio

Issue 2: FAILED: SB5 – the limitation of collective bargaining for public-sector unions – Initiative fails, SB5 defeated, unions can hold Ohio citizens hostage again thanks to Millions of Dollars of Big-labor special interest money.

Issue 3: PASSED: Vote to exempt Ohio from Obamacare insurance mandate – measure passes – Ohio citizens have voted to be exempt from Obama’s health care reform individual mandate. Supreme Court case incoming “10th amendment v. Obama”

Maine

Maine voters decided that it should be ok to vote the same day you register overturning the law that would have required voters to register a whole 2 days before the election.

Mississippi

Initiative 26: FAILED: Definition of a Person (personhood) – does life start at conception? Mississippi says no: 42% yes, 58% no with 921 of 1876 precincts reporting

Gubernatorial race: BRYANT WINS: Phil Bryant (R) vs. Johnny DuPree (D): 802 of 1876 precincts reporting 59% to 41% for Bryant

Washington

The Washington Liquor State Licensing Initiative (1183) was PASSED by a 60-40 margin.  The referendum called for the closing of state liquor stores as a part of budget cutting and the privatization of liquor sales.

Virginia

Preliminary indications are that the Virginia Senate will be split 20-20 giving the tie break to the GOP Lt. Governor and control of committees to the Republicans.  However Senate seat 17 has been decided by less than 100 votes.  A recount is expected.

I know the title says the Occupy D.C. protestors “resorted to nursery rhymes”, but after watching these two videos, it might come off like I’ve given them too much credit.  It’s just that I couldn’t fit “Protestors In D.C. Stand Around In An Unorganized Fashion And Continuously Shout The Same Five Words Over And Over Again” into the headline.  So… “Resort To Nursery Rhymes” is the headline you got.  Here it is.  Check it out, check it outers.

By the way, that cluster (situation) in the videos above was taking place at the “Defending The American Dream Summit” in D.C. this weekend, a summit that just happens to be attended by members from this website.  Hopefully they’ll update us on some of the “occupy” action before the weekend’s over.  Until then, here’s a write up that CDN’s Brian Cook did on his experience there so far.

So what do you guys think?  Did I give the protestors too much credit? (I sorta think I did…)  Or do you think they were just a bunch of fine Americans, exercising their 1st Amendment rights, and I was too hard on them?  Let us know in the comments below, or you can just stand in front of my house and yell the same five words over and over again.  After all, it is a free country…

The spending in Washington that has been going on for decades is at the root of the problem.  However, the lack of clarity on how true job creation actually occurs – which is not by raising taxes or extending unemployment benefits as suggested by democrats.  The self-righteous attitudes of those on the hill, whose own self-interests seem to come first,  are just a few examples of what is at the crux of the problem. The reality is we live in a welfare society where people truly believe government entitlements are their God-given right.  These same people fail to recognize making government bigger than what it already is, is not the answer.

What is happening in Athens, London, and other parts of the world, and is beginning to happen here in the United States is just the beginning of waht happend to economys that cannot sustain government spending. The flash mobs, threats, violence, and so on that occurred in Madison, Wisconsin as well as other parts of the country, are the just beginning of what happens in a welfare society driven by people who have visons whichh are not founded in a realistic way.  The issues with Wisconsin employees are just one example of what is spreading across the nation.  These people are beginning to feel the end result of what happens to people who rely on entitlements simply because they were promised by a government whose spending well exceeds its income. This is what they were promised and this is what they truly believe they are entitled to at any cost, they don’t care.

There is a common theme that exists: even when times are rough, and government clearly cannot fulfill their expectations, and cuts are necessary, these flash mobs are proof that people demand what government has promised. Regardless if it bankrupts the state they are living in, they truly believe they are entitled to things such as pension plans they did not pay into, early retirement at age 53 or earlier, free medical benefits, welfare checks, food stamps, and the never-ending unemployment checks. The violence is just beginning. In addition, union officials are sending people to states to fight against anyone who tries to put an end to the entitlements. People are being threatened; their businesses are risk, if they don’t comply with the threats. One person in Kenosha, WI who was suppose to hold a tea party meeting was threatened and forced to hold the meeting elsewhere; scared by union goons.

What we are seeing in London is just the beginning of the end of years of government entitlements. Generations of people who have spent their entire lives living on government handouts and stimulus – the reality of government outspending always catches up; it is just a matter of time.  The people of London, for example, that time is now. The same thing is happening here and people are reacting the same way – fighting, picketing, rioting because they have a big government mentality. They believe that they have a right to the all the free stuff government has been providing.   Remember: As government keeps getting bigger people and business keep getting smaller – how do you create jobs from that? How do you like the end result? Think about that next time you go to vote or contact your congress man or woman.