Letter to the editor re: Tea Party

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

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

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...

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!

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

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!

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!