The Freedom Essay Challenge

Yes, I realize it's been a while since I blogged here- but I'm back with a challenge:

The Challenge:

Write an essay on what freedom and the United States Constitution means to you, in 1500 to 2000 words. You may include such subjects as how we have deviated from the Constitution and where you think America is headed.

The Reward:

The best essay wins a free copy of "Resurrection of America", signed by the author. Eleven runner- up essays will be published along with the winning essay in an anthology on freedom in e-book format (Kindle & Smashwords).

You can grab all the details here:

https://sites.google.com/site/thepatriotsfiresociety/the-freedom-essay-challenge

**** But hurry, the deadline is August 31, 2010 ****.

04 May 2010

Sparks are flying across the nation ….


Will they ignite a conflagration that severely burns the Federal government? The states are taking action to push back an encroaching Federal takeover of rights that are traditionally and constitutionally those of the individual states.

One can not help but notice the flavor of public opinion as more and more citizens are starting to realize we are on a downhill run towards becoming a socialist country. We may be in for one huge backlash come November. Could it be that the people themselves will help stuff an overgrown Federal government run amok back into a Constitutionally defined cage?

Here are just a few of the subjects heating up the headlines:

The Health Care Freedom acts
The Firearms Freedom ac s
Illegal immigration

Arizona, Montana, Idaho, Tennessee, Utah, Wyoming, and South Dakota have some version of the Firearms Freedom Act on the books as law.

Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia all have or are planning to introduce similar legislation.

The Arizona illegal immigration act is gathering all the headlines, look for other states to follow suit.

Then there is the Virginia 10th Amendment Revolution
(http://va10thamendment)

Virginia also passed SB 417, the Virginia Healthcare Freedom Act,

In Arizona, HCR 2014, the Health Care Freedom Act, passed the Arizona Legislature in 2009 and will be on the November 2010 ballot.

The Freedom of Choice in Health Care Act is under consideration in 37 states - Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Lawmakers in an additional four states—Montana, North Carolina, Texas, and Utah—have publicly announced their intentions to file the legislation.

A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found “that 59% of likely voters say states should have the right to opt out of federal government programs they don’t agree with. Just 25% disagree, while another 15% are not sure”.

(http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/february_2010/59_favor_letting_states_opt_out_of_federal_programs).

New Hampshire Becomes Fifth State to Opt Out of Federal Anesthesia Requirement
(http://www.aana.com/news.aspx?id=690)

Texas Decides to Opt Out of Federal Education Dollars
(http://www.top-colleges.com/blog/2010/01/29/texas-decides-to-opt-out-of-federal-education-dollars/)

States are beginning to opt out of Obama's Government Health Care program -
Arizona, Indiana, Minnesota, North Dakota, New Mexico and Wyoming.
(http://opengov.ideascale.com/a/dtd/8680-4049)

Utah wants to opt out of three Federal programs. They want to run education, transportation, and Medicaid in Utah.

And a note in closing – Patrick Henry lives –at least in spirit - http://patrickhenryspatriots.blogspot.com/

I Think It's In The Water.....

Chicago’s mayor Richard Daley governs a city full of violence. Illinois lawmakers are looking to the National Guard to possibly deploy troops to help quell violence on Chicago's streets. You have to admit it’s getting pretty bad when legislators start thinking about calling in the Guard.

From Chicago’s WLS:
“Since the Mayor’s getting very little done in Springfield or Washington or in the courts to expand gun control, now he wants mayors in other countries like Mexico to drag American gun makers into the World Court in The Hague.
Daley says, “We are shipping guns there by the truckload to people to kill each other. They’re not manufactured there. And we want the drugs that come from other countries that is a conduit, like a highway through Mexico, into the United States! And we sit like we have no responsibility. We should not ship any guns to Mexico.”

I think it must be something in Chicago’s water. Chicago has some of the most restrictive gun laws on the books. They also have an abundance of violence. Oh, my, the criminal element has no respect for the onerous gun laws of Chicago. Who would have thought.
Now this “legislator” wants to sue in the World Court? He won’t even get as far as Guliani and Bloomberg did with their “sue the manufacturers” try. Might better expend some of that energy cleaning up Chicago. He could start by getting rid of those useless gun restrictions. And as far as I know the only entity in the US that shipped guns in any quantity to Mexico was the Federal Government.

Big brouhaha in Arizona over the immigration laws just passed. Critics claim that businesses will hire less H1-B workers, new business will avoid Arizona, and yeah, it’s a hassle to have to carry your I-94 card and/or passport. I think it’s a hassle to have to carry my driver’s license when I take the car out too. And yes, I better have proof of insurance with it. Actually the law is discriminatory. It puts illegal aliens in a bad light – causes arrest and deportation, among other things. The bottom line? You need your license to drive, and you need your I-94 if you are not a citizen. What part of you need don’t you understand? It might help your understanding if you go to some of the eastern bloc countries and get caught without your paperwork. Just saying …..

The Federal Government and breach of contract:

The Federal government has passed a plethora of laws concerning how and when you can contribute to a retirement plan, either an employer plan approved by Uncle Sam, or a 401K through a financial institution. Way back when, it also set up a “Social Security” program that supposedly was to supplement income when one retired.

Many pages of legislation are devoted to how you could contribute and when you could draw from such a plan. It specified how pre tax and taxed contributions were to be handled. In essence, this was a contract between the individual and the government. The Social Security plan was another. A contract is just an agreement by two or more parties to abide by the terms of that contract. When you entered the Social Security program (involuntarily) or signed up for a 401K or employer’s retirement plan, you were essentially entering into a contract with the Federal government.

Which brings us to the question: If the Federal government at a later date acts to tax the proceeds of such a contract, is it not a breach of that contract? Social Security payments at one time were not considered taxable income. Congress decided to tax SS payments as income. Now Nancy Pelosi wants a Windfall Tax on Retirement Income. Her reason?’

“We need to work toward the goal of equalizing income.”

So, aside from suing the government for breach of contract, lets take 2/3 of Ms. Pelosi’s income and divide it between two illegal aliens. Her income would then be “equalized”.

It is so sad that every step the Federal government takes that results in inflation essentially robs those individuals on a fixed income of some of their purchasing power. Take for example someone retiring in 1990, receiving perhaps $1000 a month from SS, and another $750 in retirement pensions. That individual would have to come up with an additional $1225 in 2010 to have their purchasing power the same as in 1990.

In other words, on a fixed income, only approximately 60% of the buying power of 1990 remains. Is it any wonder than many elderly are choosing between fuel and food in the wintertime, or between cat food and bread in the supermarket? And now they want another tax?

An Answer to my Prayers!

Finally - an answer to my prayers - VAT - the Value Added Tax!

Most everybody has read about the proposed VAT - it's not the first time it's been proposed, but it's the first time it has a chance of passing. (Actually, being rammed down the consumer's throat). So, how does it answer my prayers? Simple - I pray for higher prices in the marketplace. I pray for another downturn in an already ailing economy. I pray for Washington to gather more taxes so they can bail out some more failing industries. What do you bet my prayers will be answered? Will we add VAT to the list of other "benefits" so recently (or about to be)bestowed on us - health care, START, International Arms Control, National ID card, to name just a few. Oh the plethora of benefits that flow from Washington ........

This is the blog that should not be. Along with thousands of others like it scattered through cyberspace, it should not be here.

It’s here because somewhere along the line between 1787 and the present, a number of Americans lost their way. Each time a member of that august body called Federal government took a wrong turn along the path of destiny, another chip fell from the corner stone of Liberty.

We are now at a point where the non – political, the a-political, and the just plain apathetic citizen is beginning to see something is wrong. That foundation cornerstone of Liberty has been chiseled and chipped to the point of collapse. The vast majority of citizens either didn’t hear the ring of steel against stone, or chose to ignore it. Now the chickens are coming home to roost, so to speak, and finally people are finding their voices.

Since 1776 our country has survived many perils, some being very close calls. Everyone recognized the dangers from without, few sensed the peril from within. For without a doubt our system of government has grown to the point where we are in grave danger of becoming a socialist nation, and time has proven that socialist governments do not last. Anyone remember the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics?

Right after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan's Admiral Yamamoto said: "I fear we have awakened a sleeping tiger and filled it with a great resolve." My only hope is that the tiger again awakens and fills the citizens of this great nation with the resolve to bring to heel a government so sadly off course.