More Ramblings and Ruminations

2012 CAMPAIGN POSTER going viral

2012-02-16T17:20:00.001-07:00

"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy,
its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.."
-- Winston Churchill

These are possibly the 5 best sentences you'll ever read:

1. You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity, by legislating the
wealth out of prosperity.

2. What one person receives without working for, another person
must work for without receiving.

3. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the
government does not first take from somebody else.

4. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.

5. 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 is the beginning of the end of any nation.

Now do you get it?

2012-01-09T17:17:00.004-07:00

We have a friend who sends us the greatest e-mails! Check this out...

This cuts through all the political doublespeak we get.
It puts it into a much better perspective and is the same for many countries in Europe ...

Why the U.S. was downgraded:
* U.S. Tax revenue: $ 2,170,000,000,000
* Fed budget: $ 3,820,000,000,000
* New debt: $ 1,650,000,000,000
* National debt: $14,271,000,000,000
* Recent budget cuts: $ 38,500,000,000

Let's now remove 8 zeros and pretend it's a household budget:
* Annual family income: $ 21,700
* Money the family spent: $ 38,200
* New debt on the credit card: $ 16,500
* Outstanding balance on the credit card: $142,710
* Total budget cuts: $ 385

Got It ?????

OK now Lesson # 2: Here's another way to look at the Debt Ceiling:

Let's say, You come home from work and find there has been a sewer backup ...and your home has sewage all the way up to your ceilings.

What do you think you should do ......

Raise the ceilings, or pump out the crap?
Your choice is coming Nov. 2012...

OMG!!!

2012-01-03T06:20:00.000-07:00

"This is sheer genius."

In a bid to stem taxpayer losses for bad loans guaranteed by federal housing agencies Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac, Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) proposed that borrowers be required to make a 5% down payment in order to qualify.

His proposal was rejected 57-42 on a party-line vote because, as Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn) explained, "Passage of such a requirement would restrict home ownership to only those who can afford it."

Does this explain liberals to you?

I can't add anything to this.

My sentiments exactly!

2011-11-21T06:19:00.001-07:00

I received this from a friend, and had to pass it on:

Marybeth Hicks
Columnist
The Washington Times

Oct 20, 2011
Call it an occupational hazard, but I can’t look at the Occupy Wall
Street protesters without thinking, who parented these people"?
As a culture columnist, I’ve commented on the social and political
ramifications of the movement - now known as OWS - whose fairyland
agenda can be summarized by one of their placards: Everything for
everybody.

Thanks to their pipe-dream platform, it’s clear there are people with
serious designs on transformational change in America who are using
the protesters like bed springs in a brothel.

Yet it’s not my role as a commentator that prompts my parenting
question, but rather the fact that I’m the mother of four teens and
young adults. There are some crucial life lessons that the protesters’
moms clearly have not passed along.

Here, then, are five things the OWS protesters’ mothers should have
taught their children but obviously didn’t, so I will:

I Life isn’t fair. The concept of justice - that everyone should be
treated fairly - is a worthy and worthwhile moral imperative on which
our nation was founded. But justice and economic equality are not the
same. Or, as Mick Jagger said, ‘You can’t always get what you want.’

II No matter how you try to ‘level the playing field,’ some people have
better luck, skills, talents or connections that land them in better
places. Some seem to have all the advantages in life but squander
them, others play the modest hand they’re dealt and make up the
difference in hard work and perseverance, and some find jobs on Wall
Street and eventually buy houses in the Hamptons. Is it fair Stupid
question.

III Nothing is ‘free.’ Protesting with signs that seek ‘free’ college
degrees and ‘free’ health care make you look like idiots, because
colleges and hospitals don’t operate on rainbows and sunshine. There
is no magic money machine to tap for your meandering educational
careers and ‘slow paths’ to adulthood, and the 53 percent of taxpaying
Americans owe you neither a degree nor an annual physical.

IV While I’m pointing out this obvious fact, here are a few other things
that are not free: overtime for police officers and municipal workers,
trash hauling, repairs to fixtures and property, condoms, Band-Aids
and the food that inexplicably appears on the tables in your makeshift
protest kitchens. Real people with real dollars are underwriting your
civic temper tantrum.

V Your word is your bond. When you demonstrate to eliminate student
loan debt, you are advocating precisely the lack of integrity you
decry in others. Loans are made based on solemn promises to repay
them. No one forces you to borrow money; you are free to choose
educational pursuits that don’t require loans, or to seek technical or
vocational training that allows you to support yourself and your
ongoing educational goals. Also, for the record, being a college
student is not a state of victimization. It’s a privilege that
billions of young people around the globe would die for - literally.

‘ A protest is not a party. On Saturday in New York, while making a
mad dash from my cab to the door of my hotel to avoid you, I saw what
isn’t evident in the newsreel footage of your demonstrations: Most of
you are doing this only for attention and fun. Serious people in a
sober pursuit of social and political change don’t dance jigs down
Sixth Avenue like attendees of a Renaissance festival. You look
foolish, you smell gross, you are clearly high and you don’’t seem to
realize that all around you are people who deem you irrelevant.

‘ There are reasons you haven’t found jobs. The truth Your tattooed
necks, gauged ears, facial piercings and dirty dreadlocks are
off-putting. Nonconformity for the sake of nonconformity isn’t a
virtue. Occupy reality: Only 4 percent of college graduates are out of
work. If you are among that 4 percent, find a mirror and face the
problem. It’s not them. It’s you.

Nothing ever changes!

2011-11-20T05:45:00.005-07:00

Received this from a Conservative friend, and had to share:

Click on the image to enlarge it... note that this is from a 1949 newspaper!

Book review: "America Alone" by Mark Steyn

2011-07-08T06:13:00.002-07:00

Guest reviewer: Rosa Dierks, PhD.

Mark Steyn’s America Alone is a provocative book alerting America about the decline of Europe and the perils of following Europe’s footsteps into the morass of cultural relativism. The author addresses the political, economic, cultural and demographic forces that have transformed Europe. A central argument is that Europe’s decline and the concurrent rise of Islamic power in the continent can be attributed to the West’s demographic decline, the unsustainability of the European social democratic state, and cultural decay. These trends are exacerbated by a collapse of confidence in the greatness of Western civilization. As Muslim populations continue to rise and European birth rates decline, the unsustainable debt levels of its welfare states leave Europe vulnerable to the vagaries of economic cycles.
Steyn’s prescription for avoiding a dire scenario is grounded in less governmental intrusion, thus allowing citizens to exercise free choice and individual responsibility. Yet he is not optimistic as to the probability of a European reversal. Due to Europe’s obsession with multiculturalism, the downfall of Europe is more likely than a return to less government. He presents empirical evidence to prove how the explosive growth of Muslim populations in Europe has given rise to the erosion of Western values from Denmark to Estonia. These trends are no longer confined to Europe. They span the globe and have serious repercussions for the survival of Western civilization.
Islamists are ensconced in European communities. They are intent on changing European societies as a way to erase Western values and replace them with sharia law. Steyn argues that a vast global network of madrassas, fundamentalist Islamic schools financed primarily by Saudi oil is indoctrinating Muslim youth to dismantle Western civilization. He challenges the West to ask: “What would victory look like?” Not an easy question to answer, since the radicalization of Islam is not confined to Afghanistan or Pakistan. Rather, it is a global ideological struggle that has swept Europe and threatens the survival of the entire West.
With the demise of Europe, America stands alone as the only power capable of mounting an offensive strike. This not only implies military engagement, but the political will to win the cultural battle against radical Islam. Steyn concludes that in the struggle for survival, the West has three options, namely submit to, destroy, or reform Islam. He dismisses the first and second options as unrealistic and offers a 10- point strategy to weaken radical Islamist ideology. This strategy relies on America’s ability to lead by taking out the Iranian regime, defunding Saudi madrassas, think tanks, and radical mosques across the globe. In short, America must be willing to take a strong stand against the enemies of Western civilization and engage globally to turn the radical Islamic tide that has already engulfed Europe.
Steyn shines a light on the dangers of ignoring the legacy of Western civilization. With the decline of Europe and the rise of radical Islam, America stands alone in the struggle to preserve freedom. Its very survival depends on its willingness to win an ideological war against an enemy intent on turning America into a mirror image of European decline. In the end, the reader is left to ponder how America could rise to this global challenge given its current lack of leadership in the White House and in the US Senate. A dysfunctional educational system, which perpetuates multiculturalism from coast to coast compounds the challenge and leaves America vulnerable to following Europe’s predicament.

Book review: "Free to Choose"

2011-05-17T10:54:00.002-07:00

My Conservative studies group met last night to discuss "Free to Choose" by Milton Friedman and Rose Friedman. If you are unfamiliar with this book, it was first published in 1980. My first thought after we chose this book to read was "hmm..... how relevant can it be to the world as it is today?". Well, guess what? It showed me how little things have really changed in the decades since the book first hit the shelves! An ever-growing government, the struggling economy, schools that are cranking out students who are ill-equipped to support themselves, and a populace that is clueless!
Here are a couple of quotes to garner your interest:

"Experience shows that once government undertakes an activity, it is seldom terminated. The activity may not live up to the expectation but that is more likely to lead to its expansion, to its being granted a larger budget, thaqn to its curtailment or abolition".

" A very different meaning of equality has emerged in the United States in recent decades - equality of outcome".

"... the Fed has given its heart not to controlling the quantity of money but to controlling interest rates, something that it does not have the power to do. The result... wide swings in both money and interest rates."
" No federal legislator could conceivably even read, let alone analyze and study, all the laws on which he must vote".

That last quote really got to me... since one of our Congressmen said pretty much the same thing at the time Obamacare was being voted on!!

The Friedmans do have a couple of really good suggestions that I think are as valid in 2011 as they were in 1980: A proposed Constitutional Amendment to limit Federal Spending, school vouchers, tax and spending limitations, and many more well thought-out ideas for returning us to a genuine Free-Market society. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is struggling to understand what has happened to our country, and to see the direction we are headed if we don't take action now to halt our downslide into total government control! This book definitely needs to be required reading for all high school students!

A pie chart to make the numbers easier to understand

2011-04-16T07:32:00.000-07:00

Here is an easy to understand pie chart that shows the problem we are facing, if only the liberals on both sides would face up to facts.

2011 Federal Budget

$2,170 billion - Income
$3,820 billion - Federal Budget
$1,650 billion - New Debt

$38 billion – Amount Cut (about 1% of the total budget)

To make it even easier to understand, remove some zeros and pretend it is a monthly household budget.

Total income for family: $2,170
Amount spent this month: $3,820
Increase in credit card debt this month: $1,650

Balance on credit card: $14,271 (the family's debt)

So last night, the family sat down at the kitchen table and agreed to cut $38 from their monthly budget.

God help us all!!! Please!!

Gubmint and How Gubmint Works

2011-03-09T06:16:00.000-07:00

This was sent to me yesterday from a friend, and I just had to share it... amazing!

Once upon a time the government had a vast scrap yard in the middle of a desert. Congress said, "Someone may steal from it at night." So they created a night watchman position and hired a person for the job.

Then Congress said, "How does the watchman do his job without instruction?" So they created a planning department and hired two people, one person to write the instructions and one person to do time studies.

Then Congress said, "How will we know the night watchman is doing the tasks correctly?" So they created a Quality Control department and hired two people, one to do the studies and one to write the reports.

Then Congress said, "How are these people going to get paid?" So they created two positions, a time keeper and a payroll officer, then hired two people.

Then Congress said, "Who will be accountable for all of these people?"

So they created an administrative section and hired three people, an Administrative Officer, an Assistant Administrative Officer, and a Legal Secretary.

Then Congress said, "We have had this command in operation for one year, and we are $918,000 over budget. We must cut back." So they laid off the night watchman.

NOW slowly, let that sink in.

Quietly, we go like sheep to slaughter.

Does anybody remember the reason given for the establishment of the DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY..... during the Carter Administration?
Anybody?
Anything?
No?

Didn't think so!

Bottom line: We've spent several hundred billion dollars in support of an agency...the reason for which not one person who reads this can remember!

Ready?? It was very simple . . . and, at the time, everybody thought it very appropriate.

The Department of Energy was instituted on 8/04/1977 TO LESSEN OUR DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL.

Hey, pretty efficient, huh???

AND, NOW, IT'S 2011 -- 34 YEARS LATER -- AND THE BUDGET FOR THIS "NECESSARY" DEPARTMENT IS AT $24.2 BILLION A YEAR. IT HAS 16,000 FEDERAL EMPLOYEES AND APPROXIMATELY 100,000 CONTRACT EMPLOYEES, AND LOOK AT THE JOB IT HAS DONE! THIS IS WHERE YOU SLAP YOUR FOREHEAD AND SAY, "WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?"

A little over 34 years ago, 30% of our oil consumption was foreign imports. Today 70%+ of our oil consumption is foreign imports.

Ah, yes -- the good old Federal bureaucracy!!

NOW, WE HAVE TURNED THE BANKING SYSTEM, HEALTH CARE, AND THE AUTO INDUSTRY OVER TO THE SAME GOVERNMENT?

Hello!! Anybody Home?............... I didn’t think so......................DANG!

And the EPA under direction of the President has targeted Coal fired power plants that give us 30%+ of our electric power for closure. Too much haze. After 100 years? Now their a problem.

Say what? Stop using a fuel source we have a lot of does not make sense. The last two years of no exploration for oil makes no sense. Another four years without a 180 degree change of direction on energy policy makes no sense to me. You decide.

Video of the Day - Harry Reid (D-Nev) on Cowboy Poetry & NPR

2011-03-08T15:37:00.002-07:00

Here it is folks... the democratic argument against cutting the federal budget!

Harry is not a happy camper! Awwww.....

8th grade education... then and now

2011-03-02T15:45:00.001-07:00

A friend and former boss sent this to me... sure says a lot about the changes in this country's education system!

What it took to get an 8th grade education in 1895...

Remember when grandparents and great-grandparents stated that they only had an 8th grade education? Well, check this out. Could any of us have passed the 8th grade in 1895?

This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina , Kansas , USA . It was taken from the original document on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina , and reprinted by the Salina Journal.

8th Grade Final Exam: Salina , KS - 1895

Grammar (Time, one hour)

1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters.

2. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications.

3. Define verse, stanza and paragraph

4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of 'lie,''play,' and 'run.'

5. Define case; illustrate each case.

6 What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation.

7 - 10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.

Arithmetic (Time,1 hour 15 minutes)

1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.

2. A wagon box is 2 ft. Deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. Wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?

3. If a load of wheat weighs 3,942 lbs., what is it worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1,050 lbs. For tare?

4. District No 33 has a valuation of $35,000.. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?

5. Find the cost of 6,720 lbs. Coal at $6.00 per ton.

6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.

7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft.. Long at $20 per metre?

8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.

9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance of which is 640 rods?

10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt

U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)

1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided

2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus

3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.

4. Show the territorial growth of the United States

5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas

6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.

7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton , Bell , Lincoln , Penn, and Howe?

8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, 1865.

Orthography (Time, one hour)

[Do we even know what this is??]

1. What is meant by the following: alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication

2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?

3. What are the following, and give examples of each: trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals

4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u.' (HUH?)

5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e.' Name two exceptions under each rule.

6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.

7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis-mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup.

8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.

9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane , vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.

10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks
and by syllabication.

Geography (Time, one hour)

1 What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?

2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas ?

3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?

4. Describe the mountains of North America

5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia , Odessa , Denver , Manitoba , Hecla , Yukon , St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco

6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each..

8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?

9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.

10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth.

Notice that the exam took FIVE HOURS to complete.

Gives the saying 'he only had an 8th grade education' a whole new meaning, doesn't it?!

No wonder they dropped out after 8th grade. They already knew more than they needed to know!

Current events

2011-02-20T15:17:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe it's been almost 3 months since my last post! So much has happened in that span of time... The multiple shootings in Tucson by someone who appears to be deranged, the spread of rioting in the middle east by citizens hungry for freedom, the protests in Wisconsin by Unions coupled with the abdication of 14 Democrats who were elected to represent their constituents, but who chose to leave the state to avoid voting on a measure to help reduce the state's deficit... these are indeed tumultous times!
My reaction to the shootings in Tucson ranged from shock to dismay to anger. Shock that someone would take the lives of innocent people, dismay when I realized it was an elected representative who was just trying to do her job: be available to talk with constituents... anger when I heard talk that it was a Tea Party member who was the shooter. There wasn't one shred of evidence to indicate that, but assumptions were made, political opportunists decided to capitalize on the event... shame on them! Shame on anyone who jumps to conclusions and uses a tragedy like this one to try and discredit their enemies or opponents.
Next came the riots and protests in Egypt, Tunisia, and the other middle east nations. I felt concern for the citizens of these nations, as well as visitors who were there at the time. I am always concerned when people rise up against tyranny... knowing that tyrants will not sit by quietly and bow to the will of the people. Sure enough, violence erupted and there were deaths and injuries. What I found very interesting, however, was the fact that Egypt tried to stymie communications via the internet or cell phones, but people were still able to get information, videos and photos out to the rest of the world. In the age of technology, it is difficult to suppress information, especially as it pertains to oppression and tyranny!
As for the incidents in Wisconsin... what I have heard is that teachers are afraid they will lose their jobs if they do not have collective bargaining, and they are sure the Governor is trying to break up the unions that represent public service employees, including the teachers. I worked for many years for a private company that had unions representing non-management employees. In all the years I worked there, there were only a few times where a strike either took place or was threatened by the unions. I found that the negotiators for the company did what they could to stay competitive with the other companys in our industry as far as wages and benefits. But one thing they did not do was allow the unions to force them into contracts they couldn't afford to keep. It's a different story when the government is the employer. There is something missing in the equation: the bottom line! Private companies must show a profit and stay fiscally healthy. The government has simply either raised taxes or borrowed money, increasing the deficit, and now we are on the brink of fiscal disaster nationally because of these ill-conceived practices. The only way we can recover is to rein in government spending, and if it takes legislation to ban unions from public service employees to accomplish a reduction in our deficit, then that must be considered along with a whole host of other changes to the way our government conducts its business.
I don't think the protests in Wisconsin, or the tactics currently being used by the Democratic legislators, are likely to go away any time soon, and I fully expect to see similar episodes of this type elsewhere in the nation. Too bad clearer heads can't prevail so we can come up with some workable solutions to our problems!

Action plan

2010-11-26T17:16:00.003-07:00

Since the election, I have been giving some thought to what I can be doing to further educate myself about our government... how it works, what are it's shortcomings, where we go from here. To that end, I have joined with a friend here who is very well-educated in politics and conservatism, and we are going to be forming a Conservative studies group after the new year, and hopefully will be joined with other like-minded folk who want to become better educated in these areas. I am also looking into sources of information, mainly about our Federal government budget... where our tax dollars are going. I am very interested in what we can do to cut spending, stop waste and corruption, and I keep coming back to the need for vigilance on the part of the voters. This requires better understanding of the government... this means doing our homework. I will be posting links, book titles, and other information here as I find it, in the hopes I can help others to become familiar with our government. I am pretty sure that the government we have today, while it resembles the one originally formed by our founding fathers, is far more complex than the original one, and with complexity comes too much room for inefficiency and corruption. Is there a way to simplify it? Are there better checks, balances, and reporting methods that can be put in place to ensure that our government is doing what it was designed to do? Can we EVER pay down the deficit and get back to living within our means? Fiscally speaking, these are disturbing times... I hope that we can return to a way of life that includes living within our means, both personally and as a nation. Life is so much easier when we are not being crushed under a mountain of debt! I think the coming year(s) will bring much change, and I'm hoping it is positive, not negative change for us all.
One item of conversation lately has been about ear-marks: whether to ban them, call a moritorium on them for a period of time, or leave them as is. The argument against banning them is that they represent a very small percent of our overall federal budget. I agree that banning them won't wipe out our deficit, but principally speaking, we need to return to a fundamental honesty that says we don't go behind each others' backs or sneak things into bills in the middle of the night. If something is worth doing, it's worth doing in the light of day, with full disclosure. Politicians will tell you that things can't get done without deal-making and 'you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours'. I think that way of doing things is what has brought us to the brink of financial ruin, and even though a lot of bills wouldn't get passed without that mind-set, I think we would be better off right now if Congress did less, not more of the same, and maybe did a little soul-searching about how they should conduct the people's business going forward. This may be a little old-fashioned, but I would really like to see this country return to the mind-set that believed that a man's word was his bond, when deals were made with a handshake, and teams of lawyers weren't needed to flood us with hyperbole and double-speak in order to protect everyone's rights! Is that naive? Maybe, but we've tried the other way, and look at the state of the world today! Not the same place our grandparents lived, or our parents! Let's do a little thinking over the next month or so, and see what we want to do about our dilemma... more of the same? Or should we get back to basics, and think about what we really value in life! Then let's remind our elected officials what we put them in office to do... clean house!

Election results

2010-11-10T13:59:00.004-07:00

Wow! Time has just flown, and it's hard to believe that the election was over a week ago! The good news is our candidate, Paul Gosar, won the election for our Congressional district! We had a celebration on the 3rd, and here are a few photos:

Dr. Gosar, who had a dental practice here in Flagstaff for 25 years, is anxious to head to our nation's capitol to join the others in the Freshman class and start working on reducing the deficit, cutting wasteful spending, repealing Obamacare (or at the very least, blocking funding!), and getting this nation back on track! He is a strong advocate of banning earmarks, and I think he will do a great job for us!

Statewide, we succeeded in sweeping the election with conservative candidates, and I'm very encouraged by how most of the nation also voted in conservatives. However, I am convinced that we need to remain vigilant and keep a close watch on our representatives. And our congressman-elect is anxious to tap into his base to help him stay on top of things... what a refreshing change! The coming years should prove to be very interesting, and hopefully we will see a strong turnaround to bring us back on course!

Fire Pelosi Rally

2010-10-03T08:54:00.004-07:00

Yesterday, we had a 'Fire Pelosi' Rally at our new GOP Campaign Headquarters. Over 100 people showed up for hot dogs, hamburgers, great conversation, and the highlight of the event was a visit with RNC Chairman Michael Steele! They are touring the country on a bus, stopping at as many communities as they can, and will cover over 15,000 miles during the tour. Here are a few pictures of the event:

A shot of our Campaign office

This guy's got the right idea!

The 'Fire Pelosi' bus arrives

Chairman Steele addressing the crowd

We had a great time, with more events in store this week! Today is a Meet and Greet with Dr. Paul Gosar, our Congressional candidate for District 1, and on Friday there is a Meet and Greet with Governor Jan Brewer, a very gutsy lady who has taken on some really gnarly issues with the state budget shortfall, the unsecure border, etc. I will post more pictures of these events soon!

More evidence we are on a parallel course...

2010-09-27T12:54:00.004-07:00

with the Great Depression! Read this article from the Wall Street Journal. Another indication that business will not be expanding any time soon, unless Washington backs off and lets the free market do what it does naturally!

Another Letter to the Editor

2010-09-05T17:45:00.004-07:00

My latest rant got published in today's paper... after reading it, you will probably be able to guess what I was ranting about:

To the editor: I continue to be amazed at how few people in our county are willing to do their civic duty and vote in elections. People, look around and ask yourself if you are satisfied with the state of our nation today. Whether your answer is yes or no, the only way to have a representative government is to participate in the election of our representatives!

In this primary, less than one quarter of us decided who would be running in the November election. Considering how easy it is these days to request an early ballot so you don't even have to go to a polling place, I find it very distressing that so few of you took the time to cast your ballots!

Wake up, Coconino County, or keep your mouth shut if you don't like the way things are being run. The only way to make things better is to let your voices be heard and vote. Let's see if we can't have a little better turnout this November, OK?

I was responding to an article that talked about the low voter turnout at our primary election, and it really frustrated me! We have been through two very stressful years with an administration that is trying to steer us in a direction I really don't think we want to go, and yet people can't be bothered with taking a few moments to cast their vote! Then yesterday, I was working at our local GOP booth at the county fair, and kept hearing all these people complain about the encumbent and how they didn't want him to win re-election... wonder if they remembered to vote? So... forgive the rant, but I'm at the stage of my life where it makes no sense to keep my mouth shut, even if it ticks people off!

Catchin' up...

2010-08-12T05:52:00.004-07:00

I've been a real slacker! Can't believe it's been almost two months since my last post here! Well, during that time, we had a severe forest fire in the San Francisco peaks about a mile from us (aka, Shultz Fire), followed by flash flooding, roads washing out... I have to give kudos to a host of agencies who really put themselves out to deal with all of this! Our firefighters, forest service, county agencies, law enforcement, search and rescue, were right on top of things working to help evacuate us and get control of the fire. Then when the floods hit from some severe monsoon storms, the utilities and public works folks were there, as well as neighbors with equipment to dig trenches to divert flood waters, and countless volunteers from the community who filled sand bags, and again the county, particularly our County Supervisors Liz Archuleta, and Mandy Metzger and their staffs, who kept us informed daily on conditions and what services were available; and most recently, the Coconino County Public Works folks who came out and repaired severe erosion on our roads, even though we live on roads not normally maintained by the county. This is local government at its best, responding to the needs of the community, and I want to again thank them all for the incredible jobs they did, working long and hard to help folks whose homes and property were in jeopardy.
I think all of us who live in this area know that we have several more years to get through before the forest growth takes hold and flooding will subside, but I for one am encouraged by the efforts that have been made on our behalf so far, and I have hope that we will get through this a lot better than I originally anticipated. Thanks to all who pitched in for us!

My choice for Congressman of CD1

2010-06-13T07:44:00.003-07:00

Hey, viewers. Even if you don't live in my district, I invite you to watch my candidate, Bradley Beauchamp. He talks in one of his clips about how even if you aren't in his district, he will be looking out for you when he gets elected to office in November. I have a great deal of confidence that he will fight for the Constitution and will do everything he can to rein in our ever-growing deficit, block any legislation that is unconstitutional, and will continue to listen to the people! Check him out here.

Total frustration!

2010-06-05T15:08:00.002-07:00

I don't know why I do this to myself... try to communicate with those of the "Progressive" persuasion! Must be a bit of the masochist in me... or the overwhelming desire to break thru their insane thinking and get them to see things in a clear, logical light. Whatever! It doesn't work, and I need to just let go of the illusion that there is common ground we can work from!
Case in point: I am a member of a google group that consists of several members of my high school graduating class... I didn't know too many fellow students in H.S., and years have passed since we graduated. Last year some time, I was contacted about joining a group, and this one spun off of the main group. It's main function was to give us a forum to 'vent' our feelings about various issues, and avoid bringing too much controversy to the main group. Ordinarily, I would avoid 'venting' forums, because I am a peaceful person by nature. But after hearing from the group moderator that there wasn't much discussion going on there since it began, I was sucked into starting a thread about illegal immigration. I know better, but I thought... gee... maybe we could have an intelligent discussion about the subject... WRONG! Here are some samples of comments that ensued:
"...the fact that we've had a border we don't enforce for decades, is also the reason I favor amnesty for illegal immigrants already here. The truth is, we've been winking and nodding for years, telling Mexican immigrants they're illegal but doing virtually nothing to dissuade them from coming here. So naturally they came and created lives and families and homes -- and now suddenly we're going to get all self-righteous and indignant on them? Because we screwed up, said "come on in, we'll look the other way," and they did? Now we're going to break up families and tell them to kiss their kids goodbye and go spend years at the back of the line? It's our own damn fault, and amnesty is the punishment we deserve, if you want to look at it that way. It's also the right thing to do."
"...I can't help but wonder why the public hates these people? Do they want to take their jobs at McDonals or picking lettuce in Yuma? Are people afraid they are going to marry their daughters? Do you resent paying for public schools to educate them?"
I'm not going to fill this post with quotes... just these samples to demonstrate the mindset I'm dealing with. Oh, and then there was the discussion on whether illegals are getting benefits they aren't paying for... the person who was holding forth the most was saying how they pay income tax, social security tax, etc. And of course, they are doing this (when employers actually deduct for these things) using illegally obtained social security numbers and cards!!1 But that's okay, right? And how can we possibly object to their children attending public schools? And we're really beasts if we object to them seeking medical treatment paid for by the taxpayer when they go to the emergency room. I just don't get it. Am I totally out to lunch? Or just surrounded by people with a totally whacked mindset? Sigh...

Boycotting Arizona

2010-05-18T07:41:00.009-07:00

I got an e-mail this morning with the following:

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 this picture, 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. Please pass it on or link to this site so everyone you know can get a chance to see what illegal immigration is doing to our country.

Check this out!

2010-05-13T06:22:00.003-07:00

Have you seen Eric Cantor's new 'You Cut' webpage? Fantastic! Check it out here or on my sidebar. Next time you hear anyone say the GOP doesn't have a plan, refer them to this page! Shrinking government, one budget item at a time... Yeah!

Time to clear the air!

2010-04-29T11:15:00.000-07:00

I have something I need to get off my chest, and I think this blog is the best place to do it.
With all the upheaval going on in our country these days, most of us are going through some emotional ups and downs… fear, anxiety, anger… these and other emotions are running high among us. Many of us feel that our government – Federal, State and Local, past and present, are way off base with the way they are running things, and we are becoming very outspoken in our reactions. Understandable, but I believe we need to do more than rant and rave about situations… we, as citizens of a free nation, need to speak out on issues, but in an INFORMED way, not an emotional one! I will cite the example of the recent legislation signed into law by Arizona’s Governor Jan Brewer, SB1070. No, I haven’t read the bill yet, nor do I agree that this is the best solution to securing our borders from ILLEGAL aliens who are crossing over the border in huge numbers. The ideal situation would be for the Federal Government to defend our borders, as outlined in the Constitution. But because of political polarization, Washington deems it an inopportune time to create and pass legislation to reform our immigration policy, and would rather leave the borders open to all who would cross them rather than to tackle an issue that might make them politically unpopular in an election year.
As a reaction to the long inactivity on the part of the Federal Government, Governor Brewer signed SB1070, probably knowing full well it would be attacked by the opposition and will no doubt be held up by litigation to repeal it.
What I find to be most disturbing about the reaction of much of the general public is that they cannot see past the rhetoric about racial profiling to understand that we have a totally dysfunctional Federal Government that will only act when it is in their best interests politically. And believe me, dear readers, I do not think this behavior began on January 20, 2009. It has been a way of life for Congress and our other elected officials for probably the entire existence of our country, but it is very noticeable right now, because we as a nation are floundering.
So to get back to what I need to get off my chest: it’s a total copout when we rant and rave and use name-calling and sweeping generalities to strike out at those with whom we disagree. Oh, it feels good for the moment, but unless we are looking to get into shouting matches, it really isn’t very productive. Now, more than ever, I think we need to do our homework, study situations, look for facts and not accusations, and try… really TRY, to form opinions based on truth. And it helps to listen to each other without bias, try to hear where we each are coming from. Don’t worry about trying to win an argument! Let’s focus on what the problems are, and see if we can figure out solutions. For instance, if we can’t get the Federal Government to do more to secure our borders, what are our other viable options? Should we just shrug our shoulders and decide it’s not our problem? Should we write our Congressmen and ask them to communicate their ideas? Or do we try to support our state or the states who share their borders with foreign countries, when the states do what they can to solve the problem absent a solution from the Federal Government? If SB1070 isn’t the answer, what do you think is?
Let’s try to remember that we are the citizens of a free nation, and as such, have the privilege of free speech… use that privilege to communicate with your government and let them know how you feel about our current state of affairs. Learn about the issues. Get to know your representatives, and the candidates that are running for office. Then you will have the information necessary to conduct intelligent conversations about what is going on today in our nation. But try to resist the temptation to just rant and repeat what you have heard without knowing the full story… it really doesn’t speak well of you, and only serves to turn people off to you. There… I’ve said my piece!

Lose-Lose

2010-04-25T07:38:00.002-07:00

An article from Matthew Daly of the Associated Press published today talks about how the Senate will be delaying the unveiling of a Climate bill scheduled for Monday because Harry Reid has decided to push "...Legislation to overhaul immigration laws and grant legal status to millions of long term immigrants unlawfully in the country". So we get to look forward to either Cap and Trade or Amnesty for Illegals next... what a choice! It's like 'would you rather be stabbed to death or hung?'!!!
How much more can they do to run this country into the ground before we oust them in November? Unfortunately, plenty!

New web links

2010-04-15T17:24:00.002-07:00

I just added two new links to important websites on my sidebar: Downsizing the Federal Government, a Cato Institute site, and A Roadmap for America's Future, a very informative site hosted by Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin. He presents plans for dealing with the trainwreck waiting to happen - the downfall of Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and a plan to deal with our Health Care system crisis. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm spending a lot of time these days reading, researching and becoming more informed about the state of our nation. There is a lot that needs to be done, but some hopeful signs that we have at least a few good folk trying to address the problems that seem to be cropping up wherever we look. I think the watchword for me going forward is 'pay attention'! I have spent far too much time thinking that everything was being taken care of, and not enough time looking over shoulders... those days are gone for the forseeable future, but I do not think I am alone in this conclusion. I do believe I have a lot of company, and we just need to roll up our sleeves and start digging in!
Happy Tax Day, America... let's be sure they spend our hard-earned dollars wisely, and that they know we are watching!

Overcoming Dependency

2010-04-12T06:27:00.003-07:00

All the freedoms and rights Americans hold dear can only be preserved by citizens who have the capabilities to be responsible for themselves. There are no "rights" without "responsibilities". Jim DeMint, "Saving Freedom", page 209.

Here we go again...

2010-04-08T09:19:00.003-07:00

The following letter was published in today's "Your View" column of the Arizona Daily Sun:

To the editor: I couldn't have described the Tea Party movement any better than Joe Richards did when he railed against progressives who have taken over the federal government (progressives meaning people moving forward, somebody who believes in the progress of human society -- actually quite a compliment, though unintended, for the Obama administration).

If the Republican Tea Party is anti-progression, then it must be pro-regression (meaning moving backwards, regressing), which would describe them to a T. Nothing portrays the regressive mentality of Republicans better than their constant opposition to any proposals put forth by a president who is trying to move this country forward and improve the living standards of all Americans.
Instead of progressing into the 21st century, they focus their entire energy on turning back the clock on women's rights, medical research, science in schools, gun control and so forth. Could that be the reason why all these hate groups and religious extremists tend to gravitate towards the Republican Party?
Thank God for a progressive administration that will move us forward, not an easy task with the Republicans' gear stuck in reverse.

I could not let the opportunity pass to respond. Here is my reply:

It’s obvious that the author has never been to a Tea Party function or she might understand that we are fighting to retain the values this country was founded on: hard work, faith, honesty, accountability, personal responsibility, charity, freedom. We will not stand by and watch ‘Progressives’ take us down the slippery slope to Socialized government. There are other countries in the world that have tried Socialism and found it wanting. We do not wish to be the next casualty to an ideology that advocates redistribution of wealth, government take-over of private industry, laws banning private ownership of property, exorbitant taxation coupled with runaway spending resulting in deficits that will never be paid off. Our values are the ones that have stood this nation in good stead for over 200 years, and we will continue to fight for them! If that makes us ‘Regressive’ in the eyes of the 'Progressives', so be it.
*************************************************************************************
I'm grateful to this woman and other like her... their words allow others to see exactly what they feel and think, and they give us the opportunity to clarify what we stand for... go "Progressives"!

Freedom

2010-03-30T07:20:00.003-07:00

From "Saving Freedom" by Jim DeMint:
" There can be no freedom unless individuals have the capabilities, including skills and values, to live independently and succeed in a free society. There can also be no freedom unless a society recognizes the rights of individuals to make choices and take actions based on their own values. A third requirement for a free society is that individuals must be constrained from taking actions that violate the freedom of others."

Polls and topics for contemplation

2010-03-21T17:12:00.002-07:00

I just posted 2 polls on the sidebar... I am interested in what my fellow Conservatives think about the future of our country, post Obamacare. Also, I would love comments and feedback about what you, as individuals, are doing to try and change the direction our country is headed under the current regime. For example, I am active in my local county's Republican party, and my husband and I are Precinct Committee members. I maintain our website, he attends events and tapes candidate speeches that we post on the website and blogs. I just wrote to the Congressperson for our district to register my objection to her 'yea' vote on the Health Care bill. I write letters to the editor of our local paper regarding local, state and national issues. I am supporting candidates who are running for office. We try to stay current on issues and pay attention to what is going on in the world. We are also involved in our local Tea Party organization, attending meetings and rallys.
So drop me a line and let me know what you are doing! Maybe we can exchange ideas on what more we can do to make our voices heard both locally and in DC. Let's 'fundamentally change' the way Washington is currently being run before it's run into the ground!

Letter to my Congresswoman

2010-03-18T15:30:00.003-07:00

With the vote coming up very soon on the Health Care bill, I felt compelled to write to my Congresswoman, Anne Kirkpatrick of CD1 in Arizona:

Dear Congresswoman Kirkpatrick, While I am sure that nothing I or anyone else can say or do will discourage you from voting for the Health Insurance bill, I still feel compelled to convey my strong disapproval if you do vote in favor of the bill. I do not feel that our current system works well, and do believe we need to take steps to improve upon it. However, the results that the proposed bill I believe will do far more damage to our nation than it will help improve the health care system. And the damage will be far reaching, severe and will last long after we are gone, in my opinion. My reason for believing this is that it is fiscally disastrous. Let's bring this down to a simple analogy: If I am deeply in debt, I do not arrange to have my home completely remodelled, therefore plunging myself even further into debt, which I will not be able to repay. Instead, I do what is necessary to pay off my debt, save money, and put off the remodelling job until such time as I am in a position, financially, to pay for the job. This doesn't mean that I don't arrange to have repairs done that are needed to keep my home safe to live in, but I also take a hard look at what other ways I can cut back on unneeded expenses in order to make those repairs. My strong suggestion would be for Congress to step away from all these overly ambitious projects and take a long hard look at their fiscal irresponsible behavior. Stop appropriating funds you don't have! Strip away all earmarks and set asides from bills you do vote on! Wean this nation off goverment assistance and help our people to stand on their own as individuals, so they no longer need all these taxpayer funded programs! Close our borders from illegal immigrants, restore the value of our dollar, do all you can to make it possible for businesses to flourish in this country instead of having to locate abroad to survive. Be accountable, and hold your fellow Congressmen accountable to the standards of our founding fathers. Then, maybe then, we as a nation will survive and rebuild. But if bills like the health care bill are allowed to be passed, America as I have known it for my lifetime will become a faded memory, rewritten in the history books to prevent future generations from knowing freedom. Think long and hard before answering 'yea' to the health care bill... the lives of generations are in your hands.

Take the quiz!

2010-02-27T07:26:00.004-07:00

Have you taken the quiz yet? Find out who you really are, politically speaking! You might be surprised... Click here. If you don't get through right away, try back... it's very busy, and you might not get in on your first try.

Economists against the Stimulus

2010-02-17T18:28:00.002-07:00

I am delighted to see that one of my former high school classmates is among those who are against the stimulus in the ad posted below. This ad was published in the New York Times by the Cato Institute... I thought it was worth adding here!

Flagstaff TEA party video blog

2010-02-09T09:45:00.003-07:00

Update 3/3/10 - We are in the process of reorganizing the videos mentioned below... after the dust has settled, I will correct any links that have been broken. Stay tuned!

I just added a link on my sidebar for Flagstaff Tea Party videos... my hubby records the speakers at our local meetings. So far they are doing a good job of booking candidates for state, local and national races, and tonight they will be hosting a debate about whether to authorize the local school district to exceed the Maintenance and Operation Budget limit by 15% of the revenue control limit to be in effect for a period of seven years. If the override is passed, local property taxes will be increased to cover the additional costs. Debaters will be receiving questions from the audience during the town hall- style meeting. Grass-roots politics at its best!

This is how you fix Congress!!!

2009-11-30T05:38:00.004-07:00

A friend sent this along to me. I can't think of a reason to disagree.

The proposal is to promote a "Congressional Reform Act of 2009". It would contain eight provisions, all of which would probably be strongly endorsed by those who drafted the Constitution and bill of Rights.

I know many of you will say, "this is impossible". Let me remind you, Congress has the lowest approval of any entity in Government, now is the time when Americans will join together to reform Congress - the entity that represents us. We need to get a Senator to introduce this bill in the US Senate and a Representative to introduce a similar bill in the US House. These people will become American Heroes. Please add any ideas on how to get this done, and pass it on to all your contacts.

Thanks,
A Fellow American
*************************************************************

Congressional Reform Act of 2009

1. Term Limits: 12 years only, one of the possible options below:
A. Two Six-year Senate terms
B. Six Two-year House terms
C. One Six-year Senate term and three Two-year House terms

2. No Tenure/No Pension:
A congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.

3. 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. Congress participates with the American people.

4. Congress can purchase their own retirement plans just as all Americans.

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

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

7. Congress must equally abide in all laws they impose on the American people.

8. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/10.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators. Serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

This speaks for itself...

2009-11-24T13:50:00.001-07:00

Sen. John McCain on terrorist trials in civilian court

2009-11-17T07:34:00.000-07:00

November 13, 2009
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator John McCain (R AZ) issued the following statement on the Obama Administration’s decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) and four other Al-Qaeda terrorists suspected of planning and executing the September 11th attacks in the United States Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York:

“I am extremely disappointed with the Obama Administration’s decision to try in U.S. civilian courts the Al-Qaeda terrorists who planned, supported, and conducted the September 11th attacks. These terrorists are not common criminals. They are war criminals, who committed acts of war against our citizens and those of dozens of other nations.

“Terrorists who have declared war against our country should be treated as war criminals and tried for their crimes through military tribunals. In a letter sent to Congress just last week, hundreds of families of victims of the September 11th attacks urged the Administration to try these terrorists in military tribunals, and I fully respect and agree with their position. I have worked tirelessly with my colleagues in Congress and with the Obama Administration to make our military tribunals system better able to dispense justice efficiently and fairly while protecting secure information. If military tribunals are suitable for the terrorists who attacked our sailors aboard the U.S.S. Cole, as the Obama Administration has decided, then military tribunals are certainly the right venue to try the Al-Qaeda terrorists, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who murdered thousands of innocent civilians on September 11, 2001.

“Today’s decision sends a mixed message about America’s resolve in the fight against terrorism. We are at war, and we must bring terrorists to justice in a manner consistent with the horrific acts of war they have committed.”

Senator Jon Kyle on upcoming Terrorist Trials in civilian court

2009-11-17T07:29:00.001-07:00

November 13, 2009

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Whip Jon Kyl (Ariz.) today made the following statement in response to the Obama Administration’s decision to transfer 9-11 terrorist Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, among other terrorists, to the United States to stand trial in a civilian court:
“It’s an unnecessary risk to bring the self-proclaimed mastermind of the 9-11 attacks to downtown Manhattan.
“Past trials of terrorists have proven that our civilian courts are not the appropriate venue to handle international terrorism trials. As a result of the trial of Omar Abdel Rahman, also known as the ‘Blind Sheik,’ al Qaeda obtained valuable information about U.S. intelligence sources and methods, thereby making the job of fighting terrorists tougher. Military tribunals – which have been used by Presidents dating back to George Washington – are the most appropriate, and secure, forum to try those who commit acts of war against the United States.
“It is a constant amazement to me that there are some who seem more concerned about extending legal protections to terrorists than security protection to Americans.”

America... home of the FREE

2009-11-10T17:07:00.002-07:00

OK. I THINK I GET IT
Let me see if I understand all this....
IF YOU CROSS THE NORTH KOREAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU GET 12 YEARS HARD LABOR.IF YOU CROSS THE IRANIAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU ARE DETAINED INDEFINITELY.IF YOU CROSS THE AFGHAN BORDER, YOU GET SHOT.IF YOU CROSS THE TURKISH BORDER ILLEGALLY, YOU SPEND THE REST OF YOUR LIFE IN PRISON!BUT, IF YOU CROSS THE U.S. BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU GET:
A DRIVERS LICENSE A SOCIAL SECURITY CARD WELFARE FOOD STAMPS AND, FREE HEALTH CARE? Oh well sure. That makes perfect sense

Wake up America, before it's too late!

Treasurer's Report

2009-10-17T05:47:00.003-07:00

Last Thursday, I heard our State Treasurer, Dean Martin, speak at a luncheon I was attending. Dean is a very bright, articulate gentleman who knows finance like I know the inside of my closet, and he pretty much spelled out the financial dilemma our state is in. Unfortunately, I think the majority of states in our Union are in the same boat, so you might want to take a little time to listen in to Dean's presentation by clicking here.

2009-09-14T14:50:00.001-07:00

The following editorial appeared in our local newspaper on September 2:

Tea Party tour won't fix what ails health care
OUR VIEW: Monday's rally in Flagstaff appeared to be more about TV ratings driven by controversy than mobilizing supporters around a solution. Wednesday, September 02, 2009 At their most basic, rallies are a chance to let off steam.But whether they drive a meaningful public agenda or distract us from it depends on your point of view. Rallies, of course, come in many shades.There are pep rallies to get students excited about an upcoming football game.There are campaign rallies aimed at firing up supporters on behalf of a candidate.And then there are protest rallies designed to tell elected officials that their constituents are upset with their programs and policies.The last takes on symbolic value depending on the turnout. Attract enough people to your protest and the news media take notice, thus amplifying your message far beyond the reach of your bullhorn.A generation ago, mass protests were centered on civil rights, the Vietnam War and the environment. The Baby Boom generation was coming of political age, and when politics-as-usual didn't get the results they wanted, they took to the streets.Since then, grassroots political activism has added many more tools beyond rallies, including neighborhood organizing, mass-mail fundraising and social networking. Getting everyday citizens involved in the political process is as much about marketing as about educating them, making it difficult to determine who is acting on genuine sentiment when making a campaign contribution or planting a candidate's sign on the lawn.But the gold standard in political organizing still remains how many people you can convince to get off the couch, turn off the TV and attend a rally in person. Critics of Obama's reform platform have seized on that truism through their "tea party" metaphor: The colonists took matters into their own hands, even if it was just the dumping of a couple hundred pounds of taxed tea into Boston Harbor.Monday's tea party rally in Flagstaff turned out about 1,000 people, but it appeared to raise as many questions about this protest movement as it answered.-- For starters, the event was part of a national tour, not locally organized.-- Its timing and staging during the evening hours appeared to be calibrated toward receiving prime time coverage on sympathetic cable network talk shows. As anyone who watched the Fox Cable Network Monday night could see, the protests seemed more scripted than spontaneous.-- The message, when it did come through the slogans, lacked the coherence of an "Out, Now" or "End Racial Discrimination" or "Stop Air Pollution." Do the protesters not want the federal government involved in health care at all, or do they just want the feds to run Medicare and Medicaid better? If the latter, how?At base, we are worried that such rallies seem like wasted opportunities to advance the cause of civic literacy among people who are clearly engaged with issues and their political context. There has been no line drawn in the sand yet with health care reform as there was with the Vietnam War or the Civil Rights Act. It remains fluid and subject to negotiation. A rally strategy that takes a dogmatic approach to something as complex as national health care reform ill-serves that process while failing to motivate participants to get involved in the hard work of finding solutions.That hard work is ongoing in Congress, and our representative, Ann Kirkpatrick, is in the thick of it. After a false start in Holbrook several weeks ago that saw constituents frustrated by a one-on-one meeting format in a supermarket, she has agreed to hold a town hall forum Thursday night in the high school auditorium. Rallies and the enthusiasm they generate have their place, but not at deliberative forums designed primarily for information-sharing and constructive dialogue. Protesters who have already made up their minds can take their yelling outside for the TV crews and the passing cars. The rest of us have hard work to do.

Below is my response, which was printed on September 13:

To the editor:
First off, with or without media coverage, folks who are attending the Tea Parties are there because they share grave concerns and beliefs. Folks there on the 31st were from all parties, and the common theme was we are tired of the government trying to run our lives and do our thinking for us; we are appalled at the extremes the government is going to in order to get their way. We have come together in Flagstaff three times this year, and each time our numbers grow. And we will continue to fight against the insanity of putting our nation further and further in debt to enact these bills that are designed to wrest control from the voter and force them into programs that they are against. As for assertions that we have no alternative plan to the plans that are currently being pushed by the libs, we have repeatedly pushed for tort reform to enable doctors to care for patients without having to order tests simply to protect them from liability issues.As to fostering competition in the Insurance industry, why not open up the barriers between states to allow people who are looking for coverage to compare all available coverage?Those changes could go a long way to increase coverage and reduce the cost of health care without risking the chaotic changes that could come about as a result of the current bills being considered.

545 vs 300,000,000

2009-09-13T17:07:00.000-07:00

EVERY CITIZEN NEEDS TO READ THIS AND THINK ABOUT WHAT THIS JOURNALIST HAS SCRIPTED IN THIS MESSAGE. READ IT AND THEN REALLY THINK ABOUT OUR CURRENT POLITICAL DEBACLE.Charley Reese has been a journalist for 49 years.
545 PEOPLE
By Charlie Reese
Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.You and I don't write the tax code. Congress does.You and I don't set fiscal policy. Congress does.You and I don't control monetary policy. The Federal Reserve Bank does.One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board, because that problem was created by Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated is responsibility to a privately held bank.
I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party. What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force Congress to accept it.The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? Nancy Pelosi. She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist. If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.If the Army & Marines are in Iraq, it's because they want them in Iraq.
If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.There are no insoluble government problems.Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do. Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible. They, and they alone, have the power.They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses, provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess! Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper. What you do with this article now that you have read it, is up to you.

Health Care Reform - new links

2009-09-05T08:27:00.002-07:00

In an effort to better educate myself on potential alternatives to government run health care, I am doing research to determine what proposed solutions are already out there. I came across a couple of interesting articles this morning, and I am posting links here and on the right side panel as well:
First is from the Council for Affordable Health Insurance's Issues and Answers, Sept. 2009
http://www.cahi.org/cahi_contents/resources/pdf/n156GuaranteedAccess.pdf
Next is an article from the Wall Street Journal, entitled 'McCain is right on interstate Health Insurance, October 1, 2008
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122282743245193057.html
Both articles go into detail about how interstate health insurance can help make coverage affordable for all who do not currently have coverage, and how 'high risk pools' would be paid for.
I am also doing research on Medical Malpractice Reform to see what facts are currently out there, and to get a better idea of how savings would be realized as a result of implementation of reforms, so stay tuned.

Antidote for Anger

2009-09-04T15:33:00.003-07:00

Much has been said recently about how angry Conservatives have become, disrupting town hall meetings, shouting at Health Care forums, organizing rallies to loudly voice their opposition to Cap and Trade, the ever-growing deficit, out of control spending, ever-growing government, outrage over the ‘Czars’ that surround our President… I could go on and on, but you get it.
A couple of thoughts about anger: I have heard that anger is fear turned outward, so we must identify what we are afraid of. Usually, fear occurs when we are afraid 1) we will lose something we have, or 2) we won’t get something we want. I think we all know what we’re afraid of, so the next step is to determine what we can do to overcome the fear. Here’s my antidote: ACTION!
So… you’re thinking, ‘What can I do?”. And I understand if you think that nothing you do or say will make a difference. I, too, have felt overwhelmed when I see the magnitude of events that have occurred over the past years, especially since last year’s election. But I think the election did more to galvanize many of us than we realize.
So what action have I taken? Well, back in November of last year I started this blog, partially because I needed to take stock of what I believed in, what I stand for, and what I am dead set against. But also, I wanted to reach out to others who share my beliefs to support and encourage others to get into action. We have a lot of work ahead of us, and we need to decide what to do and how to do it.
Another thing I have done is to become a Precinct Committeewoman for our local Precinct. Each precinct has a number of positions open, and this is the most grass-roots thing you can do to become an active citizen of your county. Each precinct committee seat gives your county chair person a vote at the state level for your party. Without the bodies, your chair person has no voice at the state level. Our county had only 8 precinct committeemen at the beginning of this year… now we have over 50, thanks to our county chairman really putting out the effort to recruit new PC’s.
I have also been writing to my elected representatives to let them know how I feel about proposed legislation, and I am also actively writing letters to the editor of our local newspaper to espouse our positions on issues in the news and editorials.
I attend the meetings of our local Republican Women’s group each month where we have elected representatives, candidates for office, and others in to talk to us about issues, pending legislation, etc. I listen carefully, and do what I can to support those who I believe in.If you have watched the videos posted earlier of the August 31 TEA Party Express rally, you may remember the speech given by State Senator Russell Pearce, R-Mesa. Senator Pearce made a very strong case for being engaged in your local community. I know… believe me I know how busy we all are! I am busier now than when I still went to work 4 days a week! But I’m really not going to let the ‘Progressives’ (Progressives? Give me a break!) take over while we sleep and walk around with blinders on. I don’t think it’s too late to correct our course, but we don’t dare wait any longer to ACT! I hope you'll join me...

August 31 Flagstaff TEA party video

2009-09-02T10:13:00.004-07:00

Okay, as promised, we have video of the August 31 TEA party held in Flagstaff, Az. It runs 3+ hours, so we have broken it up into 8 parts:
Video Part 1
Video Part 2
Video Part 3
Video Part 4
Video Part 5
Video Part 6
Video Part 7
Video Part 8

Enjoy!

August 31 Flagstaff Tea Party

2009-09-01T13:05:00.010-07:00

Whew! I finally got the pictures uploaded and edited... over 40 of them! I won't be posting them all here, but this will give you an idea of the event.

We arrived early... before 5pm, and there were already over 100 people there. By the time the event began, the number had grown to over 1000, and they were enthusiastic, smiling even while many carried signs describing their dissatisfaction and disgust with the skull-duggery going on in our Nation's Capitol.

Several current and past office holders were on hand, both Republicans and Democrats, to urge us to keep fighting to have our voices heard by those in Washington DC:

State Treasurer Dean Martin, former Coconino County Sheriff Joe Richards, and State Senator Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, were on hand to encourage us to speak out against big government, skyrocketing deficit spending, and legislation designed to destroy our Republic.

By the way, there was a valiant little band of Health Care supporters waving signs across the road from our rally... you have to look really hard to see them! I think their numbers swelled to about 8 at one time...

I'll leave you with this image... several people in the crowd were waving the flag flown in distress mode, which is an indication that we really are serious about our concerns for the direction our government is taking, and unless we let them know that we will take action, they will continue to take us down as a nation... America, stand up and fight!

Video to follow...

August 31 Tea Party Rally

2009-09-01T12:05:00.002-07:00

Just a quick note to say I have a bunch of pictures to post from last night's Tea Party rally... it was a raging success with over a thousand in attendance! Also, as soon as it's edited, the video my husband took will be available here as well, so stay tuned!

Alternatives to proposed changes to health care

2009-08-19T15:43:00.003-07:00

I belong to an online forum of members of my H.S. graduating class. Recently, we have had several lively discussions going regarding potential changes to our health care system. Today, one of the members posted this, and I think it has a lot of good points which I would like to see considered by our legislators. So I am posting it here, then I plan to send it on to my elected representatives. If you agree, feel free to cut and paste into an e-mail you can forward on to your representatives... let's show them we are doing more than rejecting their proposals!

Let's solve the uninsured problem first, assuming it is as big a problem as some would have us believe?. Why don't we leave private health care and private health insurance alone? Most people have a health plan. Most people who have it like it. For those who do not, they can seek redress in the marketplace or by way of minor changes to health insurance regulation.
Why not require health insurance and require it to be reported on tax returns. For those who have qualifying insurance, great, no problem, life goes on. Qualifying insurance would have to have certain coverage and certain deductibles. For those who do not have a qualifying plan, they would pay for Medicaid through an additional tax via a means tested sliding scale. For those who do not have insurance but can afford it ( e.g. pre-existing condition), they would pay something close to market rates. For those who do not have insurance because they can't afford it, they would pay for Medicaid based upon their reported income. Obviously, some would pay nothing, others would pay something. Their care might not be the same as private insurance, they might have longer waits, but they would have some reasonable coverage. Some uninsured might even decide to buy there own private insurance. For those who oppose healthcare on religious grounds, there may be an exception. However, however, faith only goes so far when you are suffering a bleeding head wound.
There would be penalties for those who show up demanding care who do not have insurance and did not sign up for Medicare, including illegal aliens. All would be treated but would be thereafter dealt with. Illegal aliens would likely be deported. Others might face criminal penalties.
Obviously, the number of people on Medicaid would increase and the costs would increase. Everyone might need to pay an increased tax (maybe .5%) to cover the increased cost. However, this would be way less than the trillions of dollars some are asking for.
This seems to make a lot more sense than changing our entire system. Thereafter, we can look at ways to control health care costs from a market approach rather than government controlled approach. Funny, if people are required to pay for care, they might make lifestyle changes that reduce their exposure to disease.

Charles Krauthammer

2009-08-11T15:11:00.002-07:00

A fellow conservative sent this to me, and I felt it was appropriate to post it here:

Dr. Krauthammer is on Fox News. He is an M.D. and he is paralyzed from the neck down. Be forewarned on what is happening. A friend went to hear Charles Krauthammer. He listened with 25 others in a closed room. What he says here, is NOT 2nd-hand, but 1st. You would do well to read and pass this along to EVERYBODY that loves his country. This is VERY serious for the direction of our country. The ramifications are staggering for us and our children Last Monday was a profound evening, hearing Dr. Charles Krauthammer speak to the Center for the American Experiment. He is brilliant intellectual, seasoned and articulate. He is forthright and careful in his analysis, and never resorts to emotions or personal insults. He is NOT a fear monger nor an extremist in his comments and views. He is a fiscal conservative, and has a Pulitzer Prize for writing. He is a frequent contributor to Fox News and writes weekly for the Washington Post. The entire room was held spellbound during his talk. I have shared this with many of you and several have asked me to summarize his comments, as we are living in uncharted waters economically and internationally. Even 2 Dems at my table agreed with everything he said! If you feel like forwarding this to those who are open minded and have not drunk the Kool-Aid, feel free.
Summary of his comments:
1. Mr. Obama is a very intellectual, charming individual. He is not to be underestimated. He is a cool customer who doesn't show his emotions. It's very hard to know what's behind the mask. Taking down the Clinton dynasty from a political neophyte was an amazing accomplishment. The Clintons still do not understand what hit them. Obama was in the perfect place at the perfect time.
2. Obama has political skills comparable to Reagan and Clinton. He has a way of making you think he's on your side, agreeing with your position, while doing the opposite. Pay no attention to what he SAYS; rather, watch what he DOES!
3. Obama has a ruthless quest for power. He did not come to Washington to make something out of himself, but rather to change everything, including dismantling capitalism. He can't be straightforward on his ambitions, as the public would not go along. He has a heavy hand, and wants to level the playing field with income redistribution and punishment to the achievers of society. He would like to model the USA to Great Britain or Canada .
4. His three main goals are to control ENERGY, PUBLIC EDUCATION, AND NATIONAL HEALTH CARE by the Federal government. He doesn't care about the auto or financial services industries, but got them as an early bonus. The cap and trade will add costs to everything and stifle growth. Paying for FREE college education is his goal. Most scary is his healthcare program, because if you make it FREE and add 46,000,000 people to a Medicare-type single-payer system, the costs will go through the roof. The only way to control costs is with massive RATIONING of services, like in Canada. God forbid.
5. He has surrounded himself with mostly far-left academic types. No one around him has ever even run a candy store. But they are going to try and run the auto, financial, banking and other industries. This obviously can't work in the long run. Obama is not a socialist; rather he's a far-left secular progressive bent on nothing short of revolution. He ran as a moderate, but will govern from the hard left. Again, watch what he does, not what he says.
6. Obama doesn't really see himself as President of the United States , but more as a ruler over the world. He sees himself above it all, trying to orchestrate and coordinate various countries and their agendas. He sees moral equivalency in all cultures. His apology tour in Germany and England was a prime example of how he sees America, as an imperialist nation that has been arrogant, rather than a great noble nation that has at times made errors. This is the first President ever who has chastised our allies and appeased our enemies!
7. He is now handing out goodies. He hopes that the bill (and pain) will not come due until after he is re-elected in 2012. He would like to blame all problems on Bush from the past, and hopefully his successor in the future. He has a huge ego, and Mr. Krauthammer believes he is a narcissist.
8. Republicans are in the wilderness for a while, but will emerge strong. We're pining for another Reagan, but there will never be another like him. Krauthammer believes Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty and Bobby Jindahl (except for his terrible speech in February) are the future of the party. Newt Gingrich is brilliant, but has baggage. Sarah Palin is sincere and intelligent, but needs to really be seriously boning up on facts and info if she is to be a serious candidate in the future. We need to return to the party of lower taxes, smaller government, personal responsibility, strong national defense, and states rights.
9. The current level of spending is irresponsible and outrageous. We are spending trillions that we doen't have. This could lead to hyper-inflation, depression or worse. No country has ever spent themselves into prosperity. The media is giving Obama, Reid and Pelosi a pass because they love their agenda. But eventually the bill will come due and people will realize the huge bail outs didn't work, nor will the stimulus package. These were trillion-dollar payoffs to Obama's allies, unions and the Congress to placate the left, so he can get support for #4 above.
10. The election was over in mid-September when Lehman brothers failed, fear and panic swept in, we had an unpopular President, and the war was grinding on indefinitely without a clear outcome. The people are in pain, and the mantra of change caused people to act emotionally. Any Dem would have won this election; it was surprising it was as close as it was.
11. In 2012, if the unemployment rate is over 10%, Republicans will be swept back into power. If it's under 8%, the Dems continue to roll. If it's between 8-10%, it will be a dogfight. It will all be about the economy. I hope this gets you really thinking about what's happening in Washington and Congress. There is a left-wing revolution going on, according to Krauthammer, and he encourages us to keep the faith and join the loyal resistance. The work will be hard, but we're right on most issues and can reclaim our country, before it's far too late.

Special guest

2009-07-19T07:41:00.002-07:00

Yesterday was our 'Independence Month' BBQ, and our special guest speaker was Senator John McCain. Nice to hear from someone who spends his time at the front, fighting the good fight. They're few and hard to come by!

We were also looking for more folks to become Precinct Committe men or women... hope we got some new recruits!

Good food, good turnout, and we didn't get drenched like we have the past couple of years!

Letter to the editor re: Tea Party

2009-07-10T15:40:00.003-07:00

The following letter was published in today's Arizona Daily Sun:
Friday, July 10, 2009 To the editor:I see that the tax haters are having another "tea party" demonstration. Here's my advice to them this Fourth of July weekend. Stay off all U.S. and interstate highways. They were paid for with tax money. Stay out of all national parks, national monuments, national forests, national wilderness areas and national wildlife refuges.Call your parents or grandparents. Wish them a happy Independence Day and tell them they should give back every dime of Social Security they have received since they retired. But don't send an e-mail. Don't even use the Internet. Your tax dollars created it.Forget about the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, commonly known as the CDC, developing a vaccine or an antidote for the H1N1 flu virus. You're all rugged individualists. Have a nice flu season.And how fitting that you choose to assemble and speak out on the Fourth of July. Federal tax dollars have paid for America's military for 233 years. That's the same military that gave you the right to assemble and to speak your mind. And your tax dollars pay for the Veterans Affairs health, disability and education services for those who served so you can have your little tea party. Enjoy your holiday.

In the interest of maintaing privacy, I am withholding the name of the letter writer. I know him, and do not wish to cause any problems. But I did take exception to his letter, so I have sent the following reply to the editor:

With all due respect to the gentleman who wrote about ‘Tax Haters’, what we gathered together to demonstrate about on July 4th was our grave concern for the generations to come who have been saddled with an enslaving debt by our elected representatives. We want our voice to be heard clearly by those representatives: use Common Sense and quit spending like we are a bottomless pit of wealth! Read the bill before you vote, and if you don’t have time to read it, vote it down! Instead of the taxes you collect having to go to pay the interest on the ever-growing national debt, maybe you will be able to spend some of it on the highways, securing our borders, improving our schools and caring for those who are unable to care for themselves. And above all, remember that you took a vow to protect and defend the Constitution, not shred it through mismanagement, greed and power plays. This message is for all elected representatives, regardless of party affiliation. The American citizens are fed up, and we’re watching very carefully!

We'll see if it gets published...

July 4th Flagstaff Tea Party

2009-07-06T05:48:00.007-07:00

We attended the "Angry Grandparents' Tea Party", as my husband refers to it, on the 4th. We had a great turnout, lots of great signs, and some good speakers. And the weather held until after we were done!

Here's what it looked like:

And here is a picture of Bradley Beauchamp, who has declared his candidacy for the Congressional race in 2010:

I have heard him speak on 3 occasions, and he's got my vote! Check him out at http://www.beauchampforcongress.com/. We need more people like him running to help restore the Constitution and rid Washington of the insanity that has been gripping it for some time.

Oh! And we were told that the National Tea Party will be coming through Flagstaff on Monday, August 31st and will be at City Hall at 6pm. Hope to see you there!

Independence Day thoughts

2009-07-04T06:07:00.002-07:00

To remind us of what we are celebrating today, here are a few thoughts from our Founding Fathers:

"The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the republican model of government, are justly considered deeply, perhaps as finally, staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people." -George Washington

"The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil Constitution, are worth defending at all hazards." -Samuel Adams

"Wherever the standard of freedom and independence has been or shall be unfurled, there will be America's heart, her benedictions and prayers, but she goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all. She is the champion and vindicator of her own." -John Adams

"A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor and bread it has earned -- this is the sum of good government." -Thomas Jefferson

We need to get back to basics, and remember from where we came.

Happy Independence Day!

History...

2009-07-01T17:20:00.002-07:00

Recently, at a Conservative function, the following quotation from Abraham Lincoln was read:

" You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by encouraging class hatred. You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn. You cannot build character and courage by taking away man's initiative and independence. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves. "

I was struck by the timeliness of the statement, and felt it was worth sharing, in case you haven't read or heard it before. There is another one, and I forget who originated it, and this is paraphrasing: "...those who ignore history are destined to repeat it...".
Both sentiments are so pertinent to our current situation in this country, that it makes my hair stand up on end!

4th of July Tea Party!

2009-06-28T17:30:00.002-07:00

Now that Congress is probably making your blood boil, join us on a warm summer day to make your voices heard!
We're having a TEA PARTY!

Right after the Flagstaff 4th of July Parade
Come see the fun that is the Flagstaff 4th of July Parade. This awesome event makes you proud to be an American.Join us after the parade at 12 noon in front of Flagstaff City Hall for our 2nd Tea Party! We'll make our voices heard as we work to defend the Constitution of the United States of America.Joining us again will be Constitutional Scholar Bradley Beauchamp, who will be making an exciting announcement about your future. You won't want to miss this!We'll also be making an announcement about an upcoming national event that will be held in Flagstaff that will blow you away!
WHAT: Flagstaff Tea Party
WHEN: July 4th, 12 Noon
WHERE: Flagstaff City Hall Front Lawn

MORE INFO: 928.814.2187 or 928.635.4541
Sincerely,
Flagstaff Tea Party Coordinators

Cap and Trade bill

2009-06-27T06:39:00.002-07:00

Amazing... this bill passed 219-212, and 8 Republicans voted in favor of it. That means if they had stuck to their guns, it would have failed. Instead, our Congresswoman, Ann Kirkpatrick, was one of the 44 Democrats who voted against it! Kudos to Congresswoman Kirkpatrick! And shame on everyone who voted to pass this legislation. Having worked for a Natural Gas utility for over 34 years, I know how 'well meaning' legislation can have a devastating impact on the ability of companies to survive.
What apalls me is that as a nation, no... this is global, not national... the world is in the midst of a financial crisis for which the end is still not in sight. Our legislators have indebted us for generations, now they are forging ahead to cripple our ability to maintain Capitalism as a way of life. Just as a reminder to myself, and maybe to jog the memory of those who read this: are we for, or against, big government? Do we want Big Brother running our lives? Do we want to become a totalitarian state? Did we not elect the representatives who are now striving to destroy our way of life? Can we now pledge to do everything we can as citizens of this nation to remove those from office who put our way of life in jeopardy? Isn't it time we spoke up and let our voices be heard? I'm taking the pledge... I am going to be doing a lot of communicating with our elected representatives from now on. They will become sick of hearing from me, but I don't care. How else will they know how I want them to vote? And by the way, I am also a Precinct Committee person, and plan to do a lot of communicating with those in my Precinct who will listen. Elections keep coming up, and if we don't get some substantial results from the current crop of representatives, then let's vote 'em out and get some in there who have the sense to know you don't keep writing laws you can't afford to enact; you don't keep raising the national debt to the point of bankrupting the nation! Start screaming, America, before it's too late!

Keep yer f____n' hands OFF!

2009-06-25T10:33:00.004-07:00

That's what I want to tell our legislators... keep your hands OFF my insurance! I have a perfectly wonderful policy, which I EARNED from my company... one of the reasons I stayed with them for 34 1/2 years... and I really, REALLY don't want the Government dickin' around with it! I know... I know, not everyone has insurance, for various reasons. And yes, I think it would be great if the INSURANCE INDUSTRY would work to make affordable insurance a reality for people who do not have coverage through their jobs or other means. What I don't want and will fight to prevent, is the government doing any thing to mess with those of us who don't want and/or need their meddling attempts to take over and force us to go with the government's 'Plan'. So to my legislators, thanks but NO THANKS! And to the Insurance companies, the time to act is now... or you'll be working for a new boss, and buying your insurance from him!

Lubbock Texas Tea Party

2009-06-02T10:20:00.001-07:00

I received this just now, and thought it was well worth posting:

WOW! LUBBOCK TEXAS TEA PARTY.......... HIP HIP HOORAY FOR THIS GUY AT THE TEA PARTY, a black man, Dr. Donald May deliveredthis message from the courthouse steps in Lubbock . He electrified the audience like I haven't seen in a long time. His delivery was masterful. I am sorry you could not see him in action. Anyway, I thought you might enjoy his words. The news media were there, but not one word of this man’s appearance ever appeared on TV or in print, even though he completely dominated the scene.Ralph McLaughlin
Dr. May's Tea Party Speech

"Ladies and gentlemen, This is a time for courage."We are gathered here today on the Plains of West Texas incommon purpose. We are here to remind our government that this is our country, We the People are still in charge, and our government is still our servant and not our master.."Our Nation’s founding document is The Declaration of Independence. It tells us that our rights come from God and not from a small group of elite men and women."Our Constitution starts with the words “We the People.” OurConstitution was written for ordinary Americans like you and me. Our Constitution protects us from our government and from the politicians."Our President has complained that our Constitution gives ordinary people too much protection. He has ridiculed us for the high value we place on our Bibles, our guns, our personal property, and our liberty. He tells us we do not deserve to keep the money we have earned. We are told freedom has not worked. Personal responsibility, free enterprise, and Liberty have not been effective. Our government will now make more of our decisions for us. Other than our military, I can think of not one government agency I have ever found to be helpful."And speaking of our military, how about those Navy Seals blowing the heads off those three terrorist pirates? Don’t you just wish our entire government would function with such efficiency, professionalism, and courage? We watch in disbelief as our beloved United States is weakened economically, militarily, and morally by a radical President and his eager accomplices. What has taken generations to build is systematically destroyed and replaced with the same Socialist evil that brought poverty, destruction, and despair to untold hundreds of millions."The problems we face today have occurred because we have not defended our Nation from Socialism. For too long we have allowed the wrong people to make the worst possible decisions. The Bible warns us of class hatred. The radical leadership of our government daily fans the evil flames of class envy. Our European and Canadian friends beg us to not make the same Socialist mistakes they did. The President of the European Union warned our President that his Socialist economic plans are taking the world down the “road to Hell.”"The path to power for Socialists includes taking God and guns from thecitizens. Without spiritual and physical protection, people cannotdefend themselves and their liberty. They soon become slaves. We are angered that our President apologizes for the exceptionalism and heroism of the United States of America. We are deeply troubled he told others the United States is not a Christian nation. We are angered that we have been called cowards and racists because we oppose Socialism. Socialism is not racial. Socialism is an equal opportunity destroyer.We are angered that a recent Department of Homeland Security report has singled out our military men and women who are returning home as being radical threats. The report also characterizes you and me as right-wing extremists and radicals because we favor smaller government and lower taxes."You and I are average citizens who believe just like most of our fellow Americans. We want our government to leave us alone and to keep its hands off our money, our religion, or guns, our private property, and our lives. We demand that our government stop spending money it does not have."Stop confiscating our money and private property."Stop printing money."Stop subsidizing Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the other failed financial institutions and companies."Mr. President, stop appointing tax cheats to positions of power and influence."Mr. President, secure our borders."Mr. President, do not divert money from our missile defense, F-22Raptors, and other vital military equipment. This gives encouragement, aid, and comfort to our enemies.
Protecting us is your number one job."Mr. President, do not give voting rights to millions of illegal aliens and felons. You have no more right to create new voters for your benefit than you do to use our money to buy the 2010 Elections."We gather peacefully here today because there is a growing concern for what our government is doing to us and to our future. We fear for the very survival of our Republic. Yet there is much to make us hopeful and to fill our hearts with optimism and courage. This is still our Country! The Constitution of the Unites Statesbelongs to We the People. Our Constitution still protects us from our government."Call every possible elected official, including our President, Vice President, and the Speaker of the House. Demand that they stop stealing our money and giving it to ACORN and their other political supporters in order to buy votes. Call Senators Cornyn and Hutchison, and (your) Representative. Thank them. Urge them to do much more. Remind them now is a time for action and not for campaigning. "Volunteer to work on our 2010 Census. Confront ACORN. Keep our Census honest. We must not allow our President to take control of our Census for his political advantage."We must replace as much of our far left Congress as possible in 2010.Get involved. Do not let ACORN control our 2010 Election."Talk with someone every day who does not understand our Nations history and our great heritage. Tell them why the United States is a good and prosperous nation. It still remains that brightly lit city on the hill. It still is the best hope for all mankind."Talk with all of the young people you can find. They are our future. Many do not understand what they have and that their future is beingdestroyed."Encourage your elected State officials to pass legislation that will protect us from our Federal government. Governor Rick Perry and others are doing that right now for Texas. Thank them and pray for them."This is a time for strong peaceful action. Let us pray that ‘We the People’ can quickly return our government to its Constitutional responsibilities. Our President and Congress were elected to be ourservants and not our masters."May God help our President and Congress to quickly realize the error of their way s and stop their reckless and unwarranted spending, cut our taxes, and reduce the size of our Federal Bureaucracy.God grant us the courage and determination to vote them out of power next year. "May God richly bless and protect each of you, and our Constitution, as together we pursue Liberty!" Delivered at the Lubbock, Texas, TEA Party by Dr. Donald MayTax Day, 15 April 2009

Flagstaff TEA party video

2009-04-17T07:58:00.001-07:00

Here is my hubby's video of the Wednesday Flagstaff TEA party:
http://24.121.126.182/april15rally.wmv

Flagstaff TEA party a raging success!

2009-04-16T14:44:00.006-07:00

In spite of frigid temperatures and gusty winds, over 200 people showed up at Flagstaff City Hall yesterday to let their voices be heard. Hoisting hand made signs and American Flags, they stood on Route 66 and waved at cars driving by, receiving honks of support in return.

Speakers inspired the crowd as they stood in the cold.

Samples of the hand made signs viewed at the TEA party

State Sovereignity Under 10th Amendment

2009-04-14T13:52:00.002-07:00

The groundswell is increasing...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LHrIxc-QyE

Come to the TEA Party!

2009-04-14T09:41:00.002-07:00

Are you fed up with a Congress and a president who:

Vote for a $500 billion tax bill without even reading it?
Are spending trillions of borrowed dollars, leaving a debt our great-grandchildren will be paying?
Consistently give special interest groups billions of dollars in earmarks to help get themselves re-elected?
Want to take your wealth and redistribute it to others?
Punish those who practice responsible financial behavior and reward those who do not?
Admit to using the financial hurt of millions as an opportunity to push their political agenda?
Run up trillions of dollars of debt and then sell that debt to countries such as China?
Want government controlled health care?
Want to take away the right to vote with a secret ballot in union elections?
Refuse to stop the flow of millions of illegal immigrants into our country?
Appoint a defender of child pornography to the number two position in the Justice Department?
Want to force doctors and other medical workers to perform abortions against their will?
Want to impose a carbon tax on your electricity, gas and home heating fuels?
Want to reduce your tax deductibility for charitable gifts?
Take money from your family budget to pay for their federal budget?

If so, participate in the TAX Day TEA party rally, the Taxed Enough Already (TEA) party.Bring your cell phone and call Congress and the president while attending the TAX Day TEA party rally (Representative and Senators, 202-224-3121; President, 202-456-1414). Tell Every American about this effort by forwarding this invitation to your friends. Together we can make a difference.

View the Budget process

2009-03-22T06:34:00.003-07:00

I just posted a link on the right side to a video of Arizona's Secretary of State, Ken Bennett, explaining the legislature's budget process. It runs 58 minutes, which is a long time, but it is very revealing and worth the view, I think. It clarified for me what I think is a basic flaw in their process, and I imagine that this mindset is not just limited to Arizona. Check it out...

Interesting website

2009-03-19T17:51:00.002-07:00

I have been getting periodic e-mails from a source that apparently got my name by mistake... the name of the organization is truemajority.org. I was going to reprint some info from their website, but it's available if you want to see it. What struck me is how well they are diseminating their message. One thing I think we conservatives could use more of is well-worded messages.

Today, my hubby and I attended the monthly luncheon meeting of the Flagstaff Republican Women. We always have a speaker, and this time it was our newly appointed Secretary of State, Ken Bennett. Ken was the former leader of the State Senate until he reached his term limits. Ken put on a visual and informative presentation today explaining our state's budget, and how we went from having a 'Rainy Day' fund and ending balance to being heavily in debt and being faced with having to increase taxes and take out loans to meet our financial obligations. Absoloutely amazing how a body of 'legislators' -- and I use the term facetiously -- can project revenue, discover we came in short of projections, then turn around and project revenue increases for the next two budget years, AND increase spending! How did they balance the budget? Robbed several other funds to cover their asses... if this doesn't get the voters out, I don't know what will! But it won't, sadly... we had 30 people at the luncheon... a miniscule fraction of the registered Republicans in our community. And therein, I think, lies the problem. How to get the message out to the people who can do something about it! Well, my hubby videotaped the presentation, and as soon as he has it formatted, I will put it here for anyone who wants to spend an hour listening to a very well-done presentation. Even if you don't live in Flagstaff, you might be interested in the budget process used. I'm sure it's not too different from the process used in other states or at the federal level. And it's atrocious! So stay tuned...

Understanding the Stimulus Bill

2009-03-09T14:13:00.001-07:00

Shortly after class, an economics student approaches his economics professor and says, "I don't understand this stimulus bill. Can you explain it to me?" The professor replied, "I don't have any time to explain it at my office, but if you come over to my house on Saturday and help me with my weekend project, I'll be glad to explain it to you." The student agreed. At the agreed-upon time, the student showed up at the professor's house. The professor stated that the weekend project involved his backyard pool. They both went out back to the pool, and the professor handed the student a bucket. Demonstrating with his own bucket, the professor said, "First, go over to the deep end, and fill your bucket with as much water as you can." The student did as he was instructed. The professor then continued, "Follow me over to the shallow end, and then dump all the water from your bucket into it." The student was naturally confused, but did as he was told. The professor then explained they were going to do this many more times, and began walking back to the deep end of the pool. The confused student asked, "Excuse me, but why are we doing this?" The professor matter-of-factly stated that he was trying to make the shallow end much deeper. The student didn't think the economics professor was serious, but figured that he would find out the real story soon enough. However, after the 6th trip between the shallow end and the deep end, the student began to become worried that his economics professor had gone mad. The student finally replied, "All we're doing is wasting valuable time and effort on unproductive pursuits. Even worse, when this process is all over, everything will be at the same level it was before, so all you'll really have accomplished is the destruction of what could have been truly productive action!" The professor put down his bucket and replied with a smile, "Congratulations. You now understand the stimulus bill."

Amnesty bill

2009-02-28T17:18:00.004-07:00

I haven't been saying a lot on this blog lately... partly because I have been pretty overwhelmed with the goings on in Washington. I just got this video clip in the mail, and felt it was important enough to pass on, in case you didn't see it when it aired on CNN:

On the upside, I watched Rush Limbaugh give his talk at CPAC today... no matter what anyone thinks of him personally, if you believe in conservative values, he is our best spokesperson... just wish more people would actually listen to what he says!

Letter to the editor

2009-02-21T15:29:00.003-07:00

The other day, the following opinion letter appeared in our local paper:

When dust settles, what will you do?
Friday, February 20, 2009
To the editor:Can you see it? The dust is settling around those who "have" and the ones who "don't." The greed that has run rampant through this nation continues trying to shore up crumbling walls holding together a sick room. In the meantime, the children, the aged, the jobless, those in need of vocational rehab, and generally the ones who "don't have" are caught in the settling dust.
Not that they can settle there, because many of the services they need to weather these times are being yanked away. Their voices are mere backdrop noise, as the wealthy scramble over their bodies, trying to hold onto the dream they thought they'd realized.Please don't tell me that you've worked all your life and deserve what you have. I understand. We just made different choices -- and my choices didn't involve accumulation.Instead? My family shared what we had, and my kids understand that a life well-lived isn't measured in tangible items. The sweeping societal changes require all of our immediate attention and focus. It's time to shore up our society. I know you can see it. What will you do about it?

Well, the steam built up in my head enough to go to the computer and fire off this response:

" At the risk of offending the author, you need to understand that I HAVE worked hard all my life! I was told when I was growing up 'the Lord helps those who help themselves', 'there are no free lunches', 'if you want it done, do it yourself', and other pointed but useful homilies. They taught me to stand on my own two feet, to value hard work, to share what I could, but I also grew up with a fierce love of freedom! I don't want the Government with a capital 'G' to do my thinking for me, nor do I want them to strip me of all I have worked hard for, although their incompetence and ineptitude has done a pretty good job of that in recent months. Don't you dare tell me that I don't get to reap at least some of the rewards of my hard labor! I have sacrificed a great deal over the years to keep a roof over our head, food on the table, pay the bills on time, and still try to sock some away for retirement, which I am in right now. What will I do about those who 'don't have? Ask them respectfully to work as hard as they can, scrimp, save, do without non-essentials, just like I have done! "

Apparently, I wasn't the only one who got a little peeved by this letter, as I just looked and there are a number of responses recorded on the website. I don't think the author understands that if those of us who have worked hard, put aside some money for emergencies, and didn't spend ourselves into debt, turn around and give away the money we have saved, then we will be standing in line for assistance along with those who are there already. Either that, or we will be reduced to living hand to mouth on what is left. As it is, my husband and I both drive OLD vehicles, which probably ticks off the environmentalists, but who can afford what it costs to buy a newer car these days? And we both wear old clothes, which I don't mind. We rarely eat out. But we do get the bills paid on time... that's a life-long habit. At any rate, I just couldn't turn a blind eye to the insinuation that if we aren't dirt poor, that we are evil Capitalists, without speaking up for the values I was raised to respect, and still do!

Harrison Schmitt re: global warming

2009-02-16T16:37:00.003-07:00

I just heard a news item about former astronaut Harrison Schmitt, who stated recently that the:
"global warming scare is being used as a political tool to increase government control over American lives, incomes and decision making."
You can read the entire article here:

http://www.demingheadlight.com/ci_11712902

I am glad that more scientists are speaking out on this issue, which I feel is blown out of all proportion.

On another note, I have been trying to get my arms around the way the stimulus package is going to work for those of us who are retired, although we still pay taxes to the state and federal government for our pensions. What I heard today is that we will not be receiving lump-sum check this year like we did in 2007; instead, our taxes will be reduced by a pittance each week, on the theory that receiving smaller regular payments will encourage us to buy more, rather than pay down our debt or save for emergencies, large purchases, etc.
Why am I surprised? The powers that be have been using totally insane 'logic' so far to deal with the economic crisis, so why should I expect them to regain sanity now?
On that note, I would like to wish you all happy early Washington's Birthday, and a belated happy Lincoln's birthday... and for those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, these milestones actually used to be celebrated on the actual dates, not a generic, made-up date to make another 3-day weekend... Oh, well!

Yahoo article on the economy

2009-02-13T10:51:00.002-07:00

I just got this off of Yahoo... would have linked to the story, but they have a way of disappearing after awhile. Also, I wanted to emphasize a few points (see sentences bolded in red... my emphasis). I have added a few thoughts after the article.

Why This Recession Seems Worse Than '70s and '80s
Friday February 13, 2009, 11:37 am EST

If you think this recession is the worst since World War II, chances are you weren't born or working during the downturns of the 1970s and '80s, you're listening to President Obama too much or you're a white-collar worker in financial services.
If all three are true, you may even think we're on the verge of another Great Depression. At this point, the only thing that may be true is your age and employment status.

"The current situation has nothing in common with the Great Depression," says economist Steve Hanke of the Cato Institute and Johns Hopkins University. "The sooner they [in Washington] stop spinning the bad news story and say nothing, the sooner we'll be more confident." Hanke is not alone in dismissing what appears to be a potent cocktail of misinformation and doom and gloom, wherein the current recession-now in its 13th month-is already considered worse than the 16-month ones of 1973-1975 and 1980-1982.
"We were pretty scared in '82; things looked horrible for awhile," says Bob Stovall of Wood Asset management and a 55-year veteran of the securities business. "I don't think you can say it's worse than then; its different. You have changed the landscape but you did that in the Midwest when you forced a lot
of rust-belt companies to the wall." "This time it's financial firms going out of business, instead of manufacturing ones, and the jobs are going with them," explains Stovall. "I do think that's part of it," says Robert Brusca, chief economist at Fact & Opinion Economics, saying that. "They're the ones making the pronouncements. People in the financial sector are getting crushed." They're not the only ones selling doom and gloom, though. "I don't remember a president talking down the economy as much as President
Obama," says economist Chris Rupkey of Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi. "The economy is very psychological. There's a herd instinct." That herd instinct kicked into overdrive after the sudden collapse of Lehman
Brothers, when many say the economy fell off a cliff and a classical cyclical downturn merged with a nasty one-of-kind credit crunch. So yes, economists agree things are bad, but they need to be put into perspective.
Employment
At this point, the current recession is worse than those of the '70s and '80s by
only one statistical yardstick, and that's the unusually quick ascent in the jobless rate-from 4.4 percent in March 2007 to 7.6 percent in January 2008. "People are reacting so adversely to this is because the job market has become so weak," explains Brusca. But even though the sharp decline in payrolls over the past three months has been stunning, it is not as bad on a percentage basis as one period in 1974-1975, according to David Resler, chief economist at Nomura International. Resler says the economy would have to lose some 767,000 jobs a month over a three-month period from the current employment level to match that miserable
performance.
During the 1973-1975 and 1980-1982 periods the unemployment rate almost doubled (4.6-9.0 percent, 5.6-10.8 percent, respectively), which means a peak of about 8.6-8.8 percent this time around. In further contrast, during a ten-month stretch in 1983-1983, the jobless rate was above 10-percent. Nevertheless, that's nothing compared to the Great Depression when the unemployment rate went from 3 percent to almost 25 percent in four years and national income was halved, notes Hanke in a recent column.
Growth
Thought it may be little consolation for the millions of unemployed, GDP is considered by economists to be the best and broadest gauge of a recession. That may seem also peculiar since the economy actually grew in the first two quarters of this recession, but some of that had to do with the Federal Reserve's early and
aggressive interest rate cutting and the federal government's first stimulus plan which quickly put money into people's pockets. Given that backdrop, GDP contraction thus far has been modest. It's down 1.1 percent vs. 3.1 percent in the 1970s period, says Chris Rupkey. And though the economy shrunk at a 3.8 percent annualized rate in the fourth quarter of 2008 and is expected to decline another 4.0-6.0 percent in the first
quarter of 2009, imagine the reaction today to the 7.8 percent plunge in the second quarter of 1980 or consecutive swoons of 4.9 percent and 6.4 percent in 1981-1982.
"Half of the workforce until now hadn't seen more than 16 months of recession-total," quips Resler. The past two short (eight months) and relatively shallow. During the 1990-1991 recession, the deepest quarterly GDP decline was 3.0 percent; in the 2000-2001 one it was 1.4 percent. "GDP hasn't been that weak because the productivity increase is one of the best," says Brusca. "You get a quarter or two that really knocks the level
down," he adds, and it looks like we're at that stage now.
This time other fundamental factors are playing a bigger role than the past. "Consumer spending will be bad," says Resler. "We haven't three consecutive quarterly declines in consumer spending since the 1950s." He's definitely expecting a repeat of that.
It's Still Bad
Comparisons aside, no one is saying the current recession isn't a painful one, and some see very little reason for optimism. "I can't identify anything than looks good," says Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic Policy And Research, adding that business investment-which appeared to be holding up-posted its sharpest decline in 50 years in the final quarter of 2008. "I'd be shocked if we have growth this year," says Baker, even though he expects the Obama administration's stimulus plan to have a sizable economic positive
impact.
So may the words of the President and his advisors, say economists. "It's not surprising that politicians exaggerate this," says Resler, who predicts "The tone of the message is going to start changing immediately; now that we have the stimulus in hand, you enhance it by saying positive things."
Tunnel Thinking
For all the comparisons with other recessions, exaggerated or not, the most meaningful one may be its duration. It is also the toughest.
Economy: Full Coverage
The consensus is this recession will end sometime between the second half of 2009 and the beginning of 2010. The pessimists say wait till next year-period. David Jones, CEO of DMJ Advisors, is among those who see "hints of stability." By that he means, the rate of decline in areas like retail appear to be slowing.
"We'll see the same thing happening on the housing side in the next couple months," says Jones.
"I'm just waiting for the shift in people's expectations," adds Rupkey.

I got some good points out of this write-up, and unfortunately some bad ones too... I think we can all agree that we have some serious economic issues going on right now... the disagreement lies in what needs to be done to resolve the issues. That's where I really disagree with the polititians and the Obama administration. If this situation arose in my home, I don't think I would ever think about GROSSLY AND OBSCENELY INDEBTING myself in order to dig out of a financial dilemma. Instead, my inclination would be to see what I could do to cut unnecessary spending, consolidate debt, and rethink my financial policies going forward in order to PREVENT a recurrance of the situation. If a member of my family came to me because they were in dire economic straits and wanted my assistance, I would not put myself in debt to help them out! Instead, I would offer whatever assistance I thought appropriate, but would also suggest they do what I would do for myself in similar circumstances. So I guess what I would really like to ask our polititians is why they don't use the sense the Good Lord gave a retarded gnat, and stop using a serious situation to further their own pet projects? We did not send them to Washington to act in a totally insane, irresponsible manner, while trying to appear as our Saviors! Fear-mongering, pork-barrel spending, power plays... do nothing to solve our economic crisis or reassure the American taxpayers and voters that a solution is at hand. Instead, it is causing a crisis of confidence among us, which is making the situation worse, not better. Listen up, Washington! Our future, the future of this nation, is in your hands... don't blow it!

Made in the USA?

2009-02-09T06:11:00.004-07:00

I recently forwarded an e-mail I received to our son who is in the Army, stationed stateside. The gist of the e-mail was:
'So my challenge to you is to start reading the labels when you shop for everyday things and see what you can find that is made in the USA - the job you save may be your own or your neighbors!'

Here is the reply I received from him:

I have had a personal boycott on Chinese made products for over a year now. Its not about buy in the USA for me. Its about how I don't want to support a government that uses forced abortion, sterilization, political prisoner slave labor in coal mines, and the general oppresion of their population for the purpose to remain in power and advance their influence around the world. Too many US. companies have outsourced their production overseas to ever know if it is really a "Made in the USA" product. A majority of American cars are built in Canada and Mexico, while Toyota, Honda, Nissan, BMW, Mercedes, and Hyundai build more cars here than Ford, GM, or Chyrsler. VW plans on building a plant here and Fiat is considering doing the same. The difference and why they don't get credit is their labor does not come from the UAW. They also buy from the same suppliers as US companies and many of their models are considered American. The Ford Focus and all of its components are made in Mexico but is considered American due to NAFTA. I could give more examples but I have made my point. Repeal NAFTA and renegotiate labor agreements to create real American Products and services at a competitve price. Forward that message to Washington for me because they won't listen to me.

He said I could post it here... and I can't add anything to improve the message!

Reality strikes...

2009-02-03T17:04:00.002-07:00

I have formed an impression based on the recent news that the new Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, and former Senator Thomas Daschle both failed to pay income taxes owed. I have no factual data to prove that either of these men intentionally failed to pay taxes, and I am not going to point fingers and cast aspersions. But the impression I do have is that too many facts are not coming to light during the 'vetting' process of potential candidates until late in the process, and I'm wondering why. In the case of the cabinet nominees, if indeed they filed in good faith, thinking they were paying what they owed on their taxes, then I have to ask: is it that they are not taking the time to fill out the forms correctly? Don't they have a tax person to advise them? Or is it that our tax system is soooooooo very complex and controverted that no one can get it right? I would like to assume that the latter explanation is correct... even if either of these gentlemen purposely cheated on their income taxes, I still think it is past time for this country to scrap the tax code and come up with a simple, yet fair, method of calculating what we owe to Uncle Sam. If even the legislators get this wrong, not to mention the person who will head up the IRS, then we have a serious problem, and it should beome a top priority for this administration to solve this problem!

Sign this petition!

2009-01-31T07:15:00.001-07:00

Last night, the $819 billion "Stimulus" Package passed a vote in the house, but the Republicans in the House of Representatives took a big step in regaining their fiscally responsible brand as all GOP members of Congress who voted said 'no' to bigger government, more debt, and wasteful giveaway programs. In addition, 11 courageous Democrats took a stand for fiscal sanity in the face of a menacing Democrat leadership.We're gearing up for a spirited fight in the Senate next week, but need your help. Go to www.nostimulus.com and join the growing army of taxpayers saying NO by signing Americans for Prosperity's petition to stop this disastrous trillion-dollar debt scheme, known as the "Stimulus Package."
Please take 2 minutes to go to this website and be heard!

Obituary: Common Sense

2009-01-24T14:59:00.001-07:00

I just received this from a friend who is an educator... thought it was worth passing on!

Obituary: Common Sense

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who
has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old she was
since her birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.
She will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as
knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the
worm, life isn't always fair, and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend
more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not
children are in charge).

Her health began to deteriorate rapidly when well intentioned but
overbearing regulations were set in place.

Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for
kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash
after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student,
only worsened her condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the
job they themselves failed to do in disciplining their unruly
children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental
consent to administer aspirin, sun lotion or a sticky plaster to a
student, but could not inform the parents when a student became
pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became
contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better
treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a
burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live after a woman failed to
realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little
in her lap, and was awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by her parents, Truth and Trust;
her husband, Discretion; her daughter, Responsibility; and her son,
Reason.

She is survived by three stepbrothers; I Know my Rights, Someone Else
is to Blame, and I'm a Victim.

Not many attended her funeral because so few realized she was gone.

If you still remember her, pass this on.

If not, join the majority and do nothing.

Conserve, conservative!

2009-01-09T10:47:00.004-07:00

Over the years, I have learned through reading, listening to others, and a little soul searching, that I qualify to be referred to as a Conservative, politically speaking. Mostly, I am a fiscal conservative, believing in the free-market system and Trickle-down economics. But I also think I qualify to be referred to as a conservationist, and that spreads throughout my life, including things like recycling, reusing, working to be sure I am not wasting where I can be using things wisely. This past couple of years, I had a rain barrel installed to capture some of the summer rains we get and use it to water the garden; bought and began using a compost bin to reuse kitchen scraps, yard trimmings, shredded newspaper, etc. Now we have a separate waste can to deposit recyclable items to keep them from adding to the landfill. I believe in all of these things as prudent ways to be good shephards of our resources.

Economically speaking, I also believe in using something until it is no longer usable. My car is a 1995 model, and recently turned over 150k on the odometer. I plan to continue using it until it is no longer economically feasible to do so. I try to keep my debt load under control, not borrowing more than I need to, not spending more than I need to either. This means wearing clothes that I have had for awhile instead of stocking up on newer ones; not going out to eat a lot, limiting travels, basically trying to live within our means. This is no great sacrifice, from where I stand! I love being able to put my head on the pillow at night and not spend hours worrying and fretting about how I will be able to meet our monthly financial obligations. Somehow, though, I feel like the 'powers that be' are not happy if the American public isn't spending to the max, therefore not supporting the economy! I fail to see how overspending and getting into debt, having our homes foreclosed, our cars reposessed, because we were not economically prudent, is supporting our economy, can you?

So, on the off chance that we do get one of those much-touted economic stimulus package checks in the mail any time in the foreseeable future, the chances are I will use it to reduce my debt, or to save for future expenses. Right now, we are in the midst of a giant mud puddle here in Flagstaff, since we live on a dirt road and don't have a paved driveway. My hope is that I can take some of that mystical money, or more likely, some of my income tax refund, and have a load of cinder rock put down in our driveway and out into the roadway, so future snows and rainstorms will be a little easier on our 'mud' footprint! But I'm not going to hold my breath, either way....

New Year wishes

2008-12-31T17:18:00.003-07:00

It's been awhile since I posted here, what with the holidays and all. But I thought it would be a good time tonite, as we await the arrival of 2009, to post my New Year's wishes. This has been an incredibly upsetting, tumultous year for us all, between the endless campaign season, the calamitous state of the economy, political scandals, murder, mayhem... you name it, we've had it! So what is on the horizon? Well, it doesn't really matter who you listen to, most people are predicting chaos, doom, upheaval, the end of civilization as we know it... all I can say is,
E N O U G H!
My sincere hope for 2009 is that somehow, global sanity is restored at least sufficiently enough that we all start acting responsibly and quit finger-pointing, laying blame and fighting like two-year olds. Let's try to identify problems without hidden agendas, come up with workable solutions, and practice a little teamwork to get back on track, so we can try to restore some normalcy to our lives and our communities.
This is going to require us all to become more active in our communities, pay more attention to what our elected representatives are doing, and speak up when we see things that are not right. We can no longer sit by and passively expect business to be taken care of by others. Hard as it may be to accept, there are those in this world who thrive on taking advantage of the apathy of others... they are all to happy to lie, cheat and steal whenever the opportunity arises, and the only defense we have against them is to be vigilant... expect the worst, but hope for the best. But I also think we need to actively support those who are doing the job we expect of them. And one way to do that is to communicate with our representatives, let them know about those things we think need attention; give them constructive input as to what we think can solve the problems we encounter; at the local level, write letters to your newspaper, attend neighborhood meetings, city council meetings, board supervisors' meetings; take part, pitch in, do what you can to make your community, your state, our country a better place to live in.
Well, I think that's enough soap-boxing for tonight... above all, let's do all we can to make 2009 a better year than all the pundits are predicting! God Bless all, and God Bless America!

Sound advice, indeed!

2008-12-12T10:08:00.002-07:00

I was visiting a blog this morning that I check regularly these days, and read this post: http://imataxpayertoo.wordpress.com/2008/12/11/sound-advice/
I commented about it, asking what has happened to personal initiative? Hard work? Determination?
By that, what I was getting at is that we have become a nation, maybe even a globe, that gives to those who won't do for themselves. I'm not referring to those who need help because THEY ARE UNABLE to do for themselves, but those who WON'T do for themselves. Most of us have to work hard to achieve things like earning a living, getting an education, getting ahead in the world. Very few of us succeed without a great deal of effort.
What I am seeing, and have seen for some time, is that a large segment of our population INSIST that those who have worked hard to succeed need to pay those who haven't worked hard, and to me that is fundamentally wrong! It's like rewarding a child for bad behavior. Oh, I forgot... we are no longer allowed to do that either!
And then there was this statment:
"You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn."

This is such a simple concept, and yet we are looking at a globe where the masses are panicking because our banking industry and our auto industry are collapsing due to massive overspending, and in the case of the auto industry, the unions are adamantly refusing to accept wage reductions in order to help in preventing the demise of the very industry that hires their members. True, just reducing wages of the workers isn't going to save the industry. The powers that be, the auto execs, will need to work very hard to restructure the industry if it is to survive. This is a case where the patient is seriously ill, and we don't need Dr. House to diagnose the ailment! Greed, incompetence, no clear plan for competing with companies based in other countries where the unions don't have a stranglehold on them...
I feel badly for the employees of these behemoths... they are just trying to make a living, feed their families, just like most of us. To have not only the company you work for, but the entire industry jeopardized in this way is a travesty. The dilemma here is whether a 'bailout' from Congress or the White House will serve to cure what ails the industry. Will it change their way of thinking? Will it help them to prevent the same thing from happening again? Or will it just postpone disaster? I have my opinion about the matter.... what's yours?

Gratitude list

2008-11-30T14:54:00.002-07:00

As we trudge through our global financial upheaval, I find myself mentally listing things I can be grateful for:
1) The last time I had a new car to pay for was 1983, and I probably won't own one again
2) I have never found it necessary to own an SUV
3) I don't have a cell phone - just a prepaid phone for emergencies; no one has my number
4) I haven't found it necessary to own an ipod, a big-screen TV, name brand clothing
5) Ever since I was a child, I have been interested in making things out of discarded items
6) I dislike shopping
7) I prefer home cooking to fast foods
8) I prefer to stay home rather than travel
9) I don't like to carry large credit card balances
10) I am an optimist, so I tend to believe that things will improve with time

Does all this make me 'odd'? Well, others may think so, but over the years I came to recognize that 'things' don't make me happy. I also found that I sleep a whole lot better when I'm not tossing and turning, trying to figure out how to get out from under a mountain of debt.
My brother died back in 1987, and left my sister-in-law with over $11k in credit card debt. Funny thing, he really didn't know what all he had purchased to add up to that much. That gave me a wake-up call, and I began to pay more attention to my expenditures. My main reason for having a credit card is to handle emergency expenses, like car repairs or items purchased that are more money than I have available at the time to pay for it. But I also make large payments to pay off the balance as quickly as possible.
My hope is that the parents of today's children will teach them how to manage their money, how to budget, and how to get through life without having to buy everything they see advertised! We are a nation of consumers who have totally lost control, and it's time we all came to our senses and started saying 'no' to endless buying! Washington might not think that's the best idea, but I sure do...

Giving Thanks

2008-11-26T13:15:00.002-07:00

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, a day to reflect on the things we have to be thankful for. I have many, many things I give thanks for today: A loving Creator, who has always given me what I need, who has been patient with me while I went through my wild, crazy days, and responded when I asked for help to get off the roller coaster and get on more stable footing; family, friends and a loving husband, who always seem to be there when I need them; a free nation, filled with fellow citizens who are all trying to make the best of this life we have been given; a form of government, which at times seems to be completely dysfunctional, but still beats any of the alternatives I have seen in our world; health, hope, joy, laughter.... the list goes on. My wish is for a world where we can all thrive and grow, not just those on the side of the aisle that share my political beliefs, but all of us. May we all try to remember to wish for the best in each other, and be thankful for what we have been given. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Words worth considering

2008-11-13T15:46:00.003-07:00

Someone sent me a power point presentation today with words of wisdom, along with some beautiful pictures. One quote really caught my attention: "Open your arms to change but don't give up your values". That is so timely, what with all the rhetoric about 'Change' these days. We live in a world of change... often we need to make changes in our outlook or ideas to adapt to the external changes that swirl about us. But I couldn't agree more that it is vital that we hold on to our values, and find ways to cope with the things we can't change within the framework of our values.
I have written in previous posts about the values I hold dear. I am struggling with conflicting feelings about the government bailing out our financial institutions, the auto industry, etc., in an effort to stablize the global economy. First off, I think the time for government action is way overdue, but should have come in the form of basic legislation to prevent lenders from practices that are fiscally unsound. It makes no sense whatever to approve a loan to a borrower who does not have good credit. It is not only unhealthy for the lending institution, but it is insanity to put borrowers in a position where they will most likely default on the loan. I also think the borrowing public needs to take some responsibility for entering into risky loans. Living within our means is far better than taking out a loan with the hope that we will be able to repay it!
I am also trying to understand how the auto industry and their unions thought they could survive while driving the price of new vehicles so high that the average buyer could not even consider purchasing a new car these days! I'm driving around in a 13 year old vehicle for a good reason... there is no way I can see myself clear to put 20-30k into a vehicle! Not now, or anytime in my future. Therefore, I will continue to drive this vehicle until it dies, then will look for a used car to continue my journey.
Rather than seque into a rant about unions or minimum wage, suffice it to say that in my humble opinion, we as a nation need to divest ourselves of any unnecessary expenditures, tighten our belts, and learn to live with less while the globe reels from this certain resession... my hope is that once we have gotten through this era, that we learn something from it... quit putting ourselves in fiscal danger in order to 'own' things we really don't need... put some of our income aside to cover emergencies, and think real hard about how much we can afford to go in debt. Meanwhile, I can only hope and pray that those in the position of leading our country will rethink their values and act in a responsible and prudent manner as they go about the business of running our country. Mom always used to tell me I should learn from my mistakes so I don't have to keep repeating them... I sincerely hope our leaders follow that suggestion and stop practicing same s__t, different day!

"Waste not, want not...."

2008-11-07T10:59:00.002-07:00

Boy, did I hear that saying a lot when I was growing up! Being a child of parents who grew up during the Great Depression, who had to squeeze every penny until it cried, I was schooled intensely on frugality. As a result, I do have a tendency to do without a lot of 'nice to haves' with very little difficulty. And because of that, even though our recent and current financial roller-coaster has been unsettling to say the least, I am probably not as stressed about it as a lot of folks who have followed "spend like there's no tomorrow" practices. While I was growing up, we had a lot of instances where if I wanted something, often I would have to sacrifice something else in order to get it, or do odd jobs to earn extra spending money. So that taught me that my time was worth something, but that I couldn't always have everything I wanted. Boy, has that been a valuable lesson! I drive a 13 year old car that probably gets better gas mileage than most cars half its age; I don't own an ipod or an i-anything... as a matter of fact, my car only has a radio! I have bypassed getting caught up in the trap of thinking I had to have something because everyone else did, so while I'm not totally debt-free, the debt I owe is manageable and represents purchases or services to cover needs, and very little in the 'wants' category. Do I feel sorry for myself? Not even close! I can sleep at night, not having to toss and turn wondering how I'm going to keep from having this reposessed, or that foreclosed on. I am not bragging here... but I continue to feel a great deal of gratitude for the lessons my parents taught me early on... they have been very beneficial to me, which is probably why I am trying to document them here, in the hopes that others may benefit as well.

What matters to me

2008-11-04T07:14:00.005-07:00

I woke up early this morning and the phrase 'core values' popped into my head. I began to compile a list, and here is what I have so far:

1) Freedom -- this is a gift we take for granted in this country, probably because we have had it for so long... I can't imagine life without it.
2) Honesty -- this attribute is so important, and yet it is something very difficult to practice as well as obtain from others. 'The truth will set you free' is an old adage that reminds me that if I am honest with myself and others, I will not be burdened with guilt, remorse, regret.
3) Independence -- I don't think it is possible, or even desirable to be 100% totally independent. However, I hold my independence very dear... to be able to stand on my own as much as possible, to possess a certain personal autonomy, is one of the greatest rewards I have been given in this life. I continue to depend on my Creator for strength and guidance, but He has blessed me with determination, courage and persistence, which has allowed me to achieve many things in my time.
4) Faith -- this is a gift that I was given well into my adulthood, and only after much struggle and resistance. I had to go through many painful experiences in my life before I accepted that I am not in charge, but I have a Creator who watches over us all. No, I am not going to go off on a tangent here... suffice it to say that this is a quality I embrace and I am grateful to have it.
5) Willingness -- I have found that if I am not willing to make an effort to achieve something, that I do not get very far in my endeavors. However, if I become willing to work hard, then I do get results. This seems like a pretty simple concept, but it took me quite a long time to realize it!
6) Good Health -- this is such a no-brainer, and yet so many of us take it for granted! I spent much of my young adult years totally ignoring what I was doing to myself with alcohol, tobacco, and other reckless pursuits... now I am at an age where I am fighting my weight, although not very diligently... and I remember my step-mom going through the same thing, and I tried to encourage her to exercise... these days, I walk almost every day, but haven't been to the gym in weeks! So I guess every age has it's battle... I hope to do better at maintaining my health as I go forward.
7) Friends -- true friends are few and far between, and I have learned over the years to cherish those I have and keep the ties strong, even though we have scattered in all directions. I am also working on building new friendships, because I have found that to have a friend one must be a friend... that requires effort, but it's like planting a seed... a little attention, and before you know it you have a thriving garden.
8) Respect -- self-respect and respect for others. By this, I mean treating with consideration, a quality we have far too little of today, in my opinion. This is something that is learned, we do not come into this world hard-wired for respect. So I must conclude that the lack of respect shown by people for others these days is due to poor upbringing.
9) Accountability -- willingness to take responsibility for one's actions. If we all practiced accountability a little more, and finger-pointing a little less, I think the world would be a happier place.
10) Civility -- this should be a no-brainer and goes along with respect. I find more and more these days that there is a glaring lack of civility among us... people rarely say 'excuse me' or 'pardon me' when passing in front of you at the store or interrupting you during a conversation. The other day I was at the grocery store and asked one of the employees about the availability of an item on the sale ad. She checked and came back to say they weren't ready yet, so I told her not to mind because I couldn't wait... she got very offensive and made derogatory remarks because I wasn't willing to stand around waiting for something that should have been on the shelf since the ad broke the day before. Amazing... My feeling is that it takes very little effort to act toward others in a civil manner, but fewer and fewer of us are willing to make that effort. That may be a contributing factor to the state of the world today... just a thought.

Well, there is a start on my list of what matters to me. I will be adding more to the list as I have time to ponder more...

'Don't be a sheep'

2008-11-03T15:21:00.003-07:00

One of the things I heard a lot from my parents while growing up was 'don't be a sheep'. As a child, I had a tendency to want to go along with the crowd... pretty typical for a youngster who has not yet learned to think for herself. I didn't have a lot of confidence in myself, and was very much in need of approval from my peers, so i definitely wanted to fit in. However, I was blessed with parents who definitely wanted to make sure I learned to think for myself. They did a lot to shape my values and help me to learn right from wrong, and they made me learn to make my own decisions, and accept the consequences.
Unfortunately, in today's world I think that too many people still go along with the crowd... no questions asked, no thought given to whether they are buying in to a sales pitch, or due to wishful thinking and denial, they are being duped. Maybe I'm being too skeptical, but I see what appears to be a large chunk of the populace taking the easy way out, and it concerns me greatly.
Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong age... should have been here in the 1800's, living out on the prairie, dealing with survival issues. Our era seems to put way too much value on 'talking points' and the massive bombardment of the media... letting them do the thinking for us. I think it's time we turned off the media and started doing a little personal soul-searching to see what we really believe in, and identify the things we think are truly important in life. Then maybe we can come up with some thoughtful, informed ideas about the direction we should be taking in this country. In the meantime, I think we are headed for some serious problems, and we have nothing but sheep to lead us out of the darkness into the light. Baaaa....Baaaa...

"Do Unto others..."

2008-11-02T11:37:00.004-07:00

This was a saying I heard a lot when I was growing up. At first, I didn't understand what it meant... I had a tendency to react without thinking of the consequences, either to myself or to others. Someone did something I didn't like, I would lash out at them. I remember once my brother was teasing me... I was somewhere around 9 or 10 at the time, and he loved to tease me. Anyway, I got mad at him and doused him with a glass of ginger ale, which also went all over my Great Grandmother's wall, her couch... what a mess! I learned the hard way that it doesn't pay to react violently or there will be the piper to pay!
When my husband and I lived in Southern California, I found that the phenomenon of too many people trying to occupy the same space at the same time resulted quite often in road rage. It's almost impossible to drive within the speed limit there, or you are in danger of being run off the road! A valuable lesson I learned was to move to the slow lane and hopefully let all the speeders by without incident. Do Unto Others...
I am concerned about how, in our current age, people seem to have forgotten this simple premise in their daily lives. There is so much anger, lack of consideration, lack of respect for others. I know we can't all agree on everything, but it seems to me that we could do a lot better at trying to work together, to try to open our minds to different ideas. Giving thought to what we really believe in, then giving thought to how those beliefs compare to the beliefs of others. In a future post, I plan to outline my basic beliefs. Most of these beliefs are based on things I was taught as a child, and most of them still hold true for me. Until then, I hope your day and week go well!

What's it all about?

2008-11-02T08:05:00.001-07:00

Hello. I have decided to branch out, and start a blog of writings about my thoughts on life, values, the world, where I came from... you name it! This is something I have wanted to do for quite awhile, but never seemed to have time for. Well, time marches on, and I think there is no better time to do this than now!
We are 2 days from our next Presidential election, and this has been one of the most interesting election seasons, albeit the LONNNNNNNGEST, that I can remember! On the one hand, I am thrilled that so many people have taken an interest. Apathy is something I have feared for a long time... apathy means people just don't care enough about what's going on to be bothered to study the issues, and go stand in line to cast their vote. That's how people get into office that really don't belong there... no one cares enough to stand up and support the other guy. I don't think we can say that is the case this year!
On the other hand, I see a lot of evidence that we are still suffering from massive hostility between the two parties. I have seen large numbers of blog postings that radiate hate and disharmony... Lord, how I miss civil discourse, with facts to back up statements! I really miss William F. Buckley, Jr., who in my opinion was one of the great debaters of my time!
But I digress.... I really don't want this blog to be about politics, which I hate! I want it to be about the things I hold dear, and why. So, for anyone who has stumbled upon this blog, stay tuned... I hope to make this a pleasant, thought-provoking place to visit. More later...