Caring, like most things, should be optional.

This election could have dramatic and wide ranging consequences. Every citizen will be impacted by the results. And isn't that a shame?
I listened to an interesting exchange several days ago. One person was asked by another about the upcoming national election. The man responded with the opinion that he is a busy man and doesn't have time to worry about politicians. Taken aback the 1st man declared that we all need to be engaged because we will all be greatly effected by the results of this election. It became clear that the man had baited his interviewer when he responded, "Ah yes, and isn't THAT the issue?"
The point the man was trying to make was that, if the federal government was bound by the limitations intended by our founders, those of us that are busy raising families, running businesses, serving others, etc. would have the luxury of being disengaged from politics and following our passions without worrying about what the federal government would be up to. Actually, I shouldn't even need to refer to that as a 'luxury'.
The federal government has consistenty, systematically, grown beyond its intended charter regardless of which political party has been at the helm. Perhaps most of us are guilty of accepting increased intrusions so long as they impose a view with which we agree. The paradigm by which we've been conditioned to view elections is based on whether we will be governed from the right or from the left.
I wonder, from where we stand is it possible to return to the founding principles that we should largely be free to govern ourselves?

Open Letter #1 to President Obama

On September 20th, President Obama issued a challenge to the Grass Roots movement to specifically detail what we would do to deal with economic problems.
On October 1st, iCaucus (a “Grass Roots” National Citizens organization) has answered this challenge with the release of "Creating Jobs in America... Stimulating Solution #1 from the American Grass Roots"

This is just the first of a series of open letters to President Obama (and the rest of our out of touch elected officials) that will be released periodically over the next few weeks. The next open letter from iCaucus will spell out how to fix the broken federal budget process in order to stop the out of control spending spree that Washington has embarked upon.

Bring Home the Politicians

ICaucus Candidate Fund Drive

iCaucus Endorsed Candidate Catalog

Independence Caucus is committed to removing compromised incumbents from office and replacing them with good men and women who commit to Fiscal Responsibility through

Adherence to Constitutional Authority. They have been vetting and endorsing candidates all over the U.S. and have now come out with their Catalog of Candidates . We have two of them right here in AZ: Janet Contreras of CD-4 and David Schweikert of CD-5. If you are or know anyone in these districts please spread the word to support them in the Nov Election.

March on D.C. Sept. 9-12

On Sept. 9,10,11,& 12 there will be a big March on DC! All sorts of activities are planned. Check out this video to find out everything that's going on there. We the People must continue to be active and learn how to save our Constitution! Go to http://www.marchondc.org/ to find out more.

Mexican Drug Lords on American Soil?

When will the feds take this problem seriously?

Mexican Drug Lords on American Soil?

Good News!

Among all the bad news there is a good story out today. This is by no means the end of the battle, but we can put this in the win category for now.

Deepwater Drilling Ban Lifted

Great Articles from the WSJ

Dorothy Rabinowitz: The Alien in the White House


Thomas Frank: Why Obama Can't Get Angry at Big Oil.

Dennis Prager Q & A At University of Denver

So good, try to watch all 8 minutes. It's worth it!

Black American Founders

This was a "must see".

For the follow up after the show click here.

You Can Help Cut Waste in Washington

Go to http://republicanwhip.house.gov/YouCut/ to vote on which program you would like to cut!

Volunteer Patriots Needed, NOW!

I have been working with iCaucus to help elect principled candidates to local, state and federal offices. iCaucus has the same Principles that we as Tea Party Patriots hold dear: LIMITED GOVERNMENT, FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY, and ADHERENCE TO CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY. We research, vet, endorse, and then campaign for those who make it through their 80 question on-line survey and interview. We can use more Members and Delegates to accomplish this important mission. We must bring Government control and accountability back to the People! Please go to the iCaucus website http://www.icaucus.org/ to see what we do and how the process works. This might be something you would be interested in joining. There are different phases of the process and if you have difficulty attending meetings &/or like working on your computer, we have an area that can really use your skills. We are non-partisan and DO NOT endorse third party candidates!

"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it." (Thomas Paine, The American Crisis, No. 4, September 11, 1777)

America Rising

This is a must see...send to all your friends!

A supposed prayer from an Arizona 15 year old (not verified)

Since the Pledge of Allegiance
And
The Lord's Prayer
Are not allowed in most
Public schools anymore
Because the word 'God' is mentioned.....
A kid in Arizona wrote the attached

NEW School prayer:
Now I sit me down in school
Where praying is against the rule
For this great nation under God
Finds mention of Him very odd.

If Scripture now the class recites,
It violates the Bill of Rights.
And anytime my head I bow
Becomes a Federal matter now.

Our hair can be purple, orange or green,
That's no offense; it's a freedom scene..
The law is specific, the law is precise.
Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.

For praying in a public hall
Might offend someone with no faith at all..
In silence alone we must meditate,
God's name is prohibited by the state.

We're allowed to cuss and dress like freaks,
And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks...
They've outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible.
To quo te the Good Book makes me liable.
We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,
And the 'unwed daddy,' our Senior King.
It's 'inappropriate' to teach right from wrong,
We're taught that such 'judgments' do not belong..

We can get our condoms and birth controls,
Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles..
But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,
No word of God must reach this crowd.

It's scary here I must confess,
When chaos reigns the school's a mess.
So, Lord, this silent plea I make:
Should I be shot; My soul please take!
Amen

Obama and Off shore drilling...

Obama to Open Offshore Areas to Oil Drilling...

Boehner: Obama Administration’s Decision Keeps Vast Majority of America’s Offshore Energy Resources Off Limits | Republican Leader John Boehner

Retire Harry Reid!

I-Caucus has endorsed Bill Parson to run for the US Senate from Nevada. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from National University and a Master of Science degree from the University of Phoenix. Throughout his career he has never had a Project over run it’s budget or finish late, unlike those presently representing us now in DC.

Retire Barbara Boxer

Chuck DeVore is running for the US Senate from California, hoping to unseat Barbara Boxer. Wouldn't that be wonderful for us all! He is an iCaucus endorsed candidate and CA's first election fundraising deadline ends at midnight tonight. So donate to his campaign by going here: http://www.chuckdevore.com/

My Visit to Ronald Reagan's Library

I came away from a visit to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library last weekend with renewed peace. I came away inspired. There have been men worthy of our regard and our trust, even in our not so distant past. We walked through the library with our son-in-law Navy seabee and his bride, and I felt proud of an American leader.

Although still skeptical, we spoke to a man outside who had a Marine t-shirt on, and was clutching a framed photo. We helped he and his wife take a picture, and I asked him about the picture he was holding. It was a picture of him, in full dress uniform, standing in front of President Reagan and his helicopter, back when he was in service. I had to ask, "Seriously, what was he like?" The response encouraged me: "He was a real man. A great man. So gracious and honorable." I posted that to my facebook page, and a HS friend chimed in: "I was there, too. I agree!"

So I swallowed my wallet and paid $17 for a reproduction of a plaque that this good man had on his desk. It now stands on my desk as a reminder for my own personal fights, and the fight for our nation. It is strengthening me every time I see it. Borrow it if you wish... Battles will be lost -- we can win the war. Fight - in any way you can. And BELIEVE. Have HOPE. And CHARITY.

"It CAN be done." God bless you, President Reagan. I'll remember.

Joe the Plumber in Phoenix last week

Here's a nice video - Sign the declaration at www.bornagainamerican.org

FOXNews.com - Little-Known Health Care Law Provision Is a Budget Buster, Critics Say

FOXNews.com - Little-Known Health Care Law Provision Is a Budget Buster, Critics Say

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Freedom vs. Freedom

I happened across this report on the "freedoms" granted by Obamacare on the Drudge Report.

After having you're spirits lifted by that inspiring article, check out the video.

Who will be the next William Wallace?

Glenn Beck's: The One Thing

The One Thing: 3/22

Fighting Back...

Check out this Blog Post by Michelle Malkin.

Congressman admits to stealing, "tie our hands..."

Dear Mr. President

These are the times that try mens souls...

Check out these new ads asking President Obama to enforce our immigration laws so that more Americans can get employment. They come from NumbersUSA.

Stop the "Slaughter" of the Constitution!!!

Please check out this link and then make the calls or any action necessary. The "Slaughter Solution" must be stopped, it will cause unprecedented damage to our Republic and the rules governing it. Share with a friend, email to your email list...let's get the word out!

Stop the Slaughter

DEMINT: White House land grab - Washington Times

DEMINT: White House land grab - Washington Times

Picture of the Day

We should all look into getting one of these...

Picture information: The...photo is of a billboard recently established
on I-75 just south of Lake City . A group gathered there to celebrate its
unveiling. The cost of 10 months rental of the billboard and doing the artwork
was $6500. We feel that is a reasonable cost to reach out to 1,000,000 vehicles
per month and perhaps motivate their participation in the electoral process to
get our country on a sound footing.

How do the Democrats REALLY feel about the "Nuclear Option"?

With Harry Reid threatening the use of reconciliation or nuclear option to pass the health care abomoination, I found this video to be facinating how quickly principles change in Washington.

Come on Democrats did your mother ever tell you that "two wrongs don't make a right" or "if everyone was jumping off a cliff, would you jump off too?"

The Constitution and Census

Valuable advice on how to fill out your census questionnaire. CLICK HERE.

A final nail in the coffin for acorn?

It looks as though the organization has taken it's last breath, hopefully. Check it out the full story HERE.

Glenn Beck's speech at CPAC in one piece.

Glenn Beck - Current Events & Politics - Video: Glenn's Speech at CPAC

Healthcare...not going away.

Up Next! On Live TV! A Battle over...Healthcare?

Glenn Beck at CPAC

This is the first clip of six, CLICK HERE, to see the others.

Tea Party in the Times

Check it out HERE.

The Mount Vernon Statement

This is a reaffirmation of conservatism signed at Mount Vernon today by over 80 American conservative leaders,ie. Brent Bozell from Media Research Center, Edwin Feulner from The Heritage Foundation, and Ed Meese. You can read it and sign also, if you agree.
http://www.themountvernonstatement.com/

Picture of the Day

(Photoshop: W.E. Messamore)

Media Shamelessly Attack Glenn

The American Resurgence

Throughout the first half of the last decade the American people gave Republicans power--but the Republicans walked away from the conservative beliefs that the American people voted for.In 2006 the American people ripped the purse strings from the hands of the Republicans and handed them over to the Democrats. The Democrats started a spending spree of biblical proportions. However, it paled in comparison to the spending we saw since electing Obama in '08. Now, the American people have wised up to the tyranny liberals have provided. It is time for an American resurgence.





Copyright: Music created and produced by X-ray Dog

World's Smallest Political Quiz

So, you think you know where you stand, politically. The result from this short test may surprise you and give you some food for thought.
You'll be asked just 10 questions, and then it instantly tells you where you stand politically. It shows your position as a red dot on a "political map" so you'll see exactly where you score. The most interesting thing about the Quiz is that it goes beyond the Democrat, Republican, and Independent. It measures tendencies, not absolutes.
The Quiz has gotten a lot of praise. The Washington Post said it has "gained respect as a valid measure of a person's political leanings." The Fraser Institute said it's "a fast, fun, and accurate assessment of a person's overall political views." Suite University said it is the "most concise and accurate political quiz out there."

Click here: World's Smallest Political Quiz

Update: Using stimulus cash for Ipods, not happening.

Check out the full story here.

An example of what we're fighting against...

John Murtha butchering our legislative process based on Constitutional principles...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywgUCdefSW8

Pelosi is not giving up on Obamacare

Looks like there could be a way for this thing to actually happen by the Easter recess.

Our debt time bomb is ready to go ka-boom Paul B. Farrell - MarketWatch

Our debt time bomb is ready to go ka-boom Paul B. Farrell - MarketWatch

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Giving ipods away: Good use of Stimulus Cash?

Polk school district to give iPods to some parents

FOXNews.com - Anti-Tea Party Web Site Part of Scheme to Funnel Funds

FOXNews.com - Anti-Tea Party Web Site Part of Scheme to Funnel Funds

Posted using ShareThis

Glenn Beck - Current Events & Politics - Soaking the Rich Never Works

Glenn Beck - Current Events & Politics - Soaking the Rich Never Works

Obama's Blue Ribbon Panel

Looking out for the "little guy" or hypocrite?

Meeting 1-28-2010

Items of Discussion:

1. Precinct Committeemen- applications and information available. A wealth of information on the subject can also be found at The Precinct Project Blog.
   
2. Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" 8/28/2010- This is a non-political fundraiser for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. This non-profit provides support and assistance to the families of wounded and fallen special operations personnel.

Time given to Tom Forese- running in AZ District 21.

Don't forget to check out Glenn Beck's new documentary: The Revolutionary Holocaust: Live Free...or Die"

Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Part Six


Call to Action!

• $$: Send your money directly to candidates, not to parties. Also, send money anywhere in the country there is a tight race, you don't have to contribute only to your local candidates. Remember the Massachusetts Miracle!
  
• Education: continue reading founding documents, 5000 Year Leap, books written about the TRUE founding fathers.
• Engage: Share your thoughts with friends and strangers. Pass out books, pass out literature, become a precinct committeeman!
• Blog!
• Call: news organizations, goverment, legislators....we will no longer be the SILENT majority!
  

Compelling "Fact Check" for The SofU Address

I love that politicians will say anything to get the applause and praise they seek.

I also love that people will go back and "check up" on all their half truths, deceptions, and well...flat out lies!

Check out this well written article.

Success for the people in Massachusetts

I pay tribute today to the spirit of freedom with the win in Massachusetts! God bless the United States of America!

A New Year's Kick in the Pants (a Kind, Gentle one)

From an address by Mitt Romney that he gave at the graduation commencement at Suffolk University (not a political commentary so much as a life commentary)

Swim in the Deep Water

I don’t remember when it was exactly that I finally went past the sandbar. My family had a summer cottage on the shores of one of the Great Lakes. For the first 40 or so feet, the lake is shallow, warm, and protected from big waves by the sandbar. That’s where I spent most of the hot summer days as a boy. I liked it there. One day, my brother got me up on water skis. Perhaps fearing that a turn would make me fall, he drove the boat, and me, straight out into the deep. By the way, this lake is over 100 miles wide. I screamed at him the whole terrifying ride. He took me about a half mile. But ever after, the deep water is where I wanted to be: surfing in the breakers, water skiing, diving. I got out of the shallow water, for good.Over the years, I have watched a good number of people live out their lives in the shallows.In the shallows, life is all about yourself. Your job, your money, your house, your rights, your needs, your opinions, your ideas, your comfort.In the deeper waters, life is about others: family, friends, faith, community, country, caring, commitment. In the deeper waters, there are challenging ideas, opposing opinions, and uncomfortable battles.One business colleague, I’ll call Rich, told me that his life ambition was to be listed in Forbes among the 400 wealthiest people in the world. His ambition, his pre-occupation with self, overshadowed his marriage and his loyalties to his friends – so he lost them all. He became wealthy in the way he hoped. But he swims in the shallowest of waters, because he swims alone.Another business colleague, Bob, once told me he hoped he could make enough money to give away great sums of it. Remarkably, the more he gives away, the more he seems to have. He financed a program for troubled kids. They live for thirty days in the Anasazi desert. Young lives that were quite lost, have been found. He just told me that he’s leaving the firm that pays him millions of dollars to take his family for three years of service in Ghana.Don’t you just love people who swim in the deep waters of life!Almost every dimension of your life can be held to the shallows or taken into the deeper water. Your career, your involvement with others, your spouse and your children, your politics – each can be lived with you comfortably at the center. Or, they can draw you out of yourself, into service and sacrifice, into selflessness.That’s particularly true with your family, your children.I spoke with one of my old high school girlfriends a few years back. She said that she and her husband weren’t sure whether or not they wanted children. They could take so very much time. So as a bit of a test, they decided to buy a dog and see how it went.A girl I met when my wife was teaching explained that she didn’t want to wait until high school graduation to start having babies. She wanted a baby right away. She liked babies. And her friends had babies.Children can be about making us happy, as it was for these. Or they can be the object of the greatest sacrifice and the greatest investment we will ever make.My sister Lynn graduated from Stanford University. She put her career on hold to raise remarkable children. She uses all she ever learned to do that job. As mother, she is a psychologist, financier, counselor, therapist, educator. She has almost no time for herself. And she loves it.Your family can be all about you, or it can be all about giving in the most all-encompassing ways to others. When it comes to family, it’s a lot more rewarding in the deep water.You are, by now, thinking a good deal about your career. If you are at all like I was at this point in your lives, you are looking with some anxiety toward the prospects for your career. I believe the economic environment will be more turbulent and competitive than any we have ever seen. Some of you will be tempted to stay near shore, where there are no big breakers.I sat next to a father at parent’s night at high school a few years back. He said he worked as a manager at the MBTA. He had found a way to put in less than five hours a day and still get paid a full salary (kind of like George Costanza’s job at the Yankees).You can take the same approach to your career – put in as little as possible. I’d recommend a different course: give your job as much as you can. Push yourself beyond expectations.An engineer faculty member from MIT sat in the audience at Hanscom Air Force base in Bedford looking at the tapes of the Patriot missiles taking out Scuds that were bound for Saudi Arabia. The success or kill percentage was better than 80%, as I recall. The session was a self-congratulatory event for those who had been part of the project. But there was something about the data that caught his attention.He spent days and days analyzing and reanalyzing the data. He just wouldn’t let well enough alone. And then he announced that the reported success was all wrong. The debris on the tapes was from the Patriot missiles exploding, not the Scuds. The military and the manufacturer protested. But he proved he was right. As a result, designs were changed, programs were revamped, and now the Patriots actually save lives.Look beyond the money and perks and benefits: do you love what you’re doing? Are you making a difference? Is your heart in it? In almost every career I have known, there is a way to serve others, to contribute. Find it, and let that drive your effort.At some point in your life, a few of you may be presented with the opportunity to step off your career path, to give yourself fully to some kind of service. When I was asked to leave my investment company to run the Olympics in Salt Lake City, I dismissed the idea out of hand. I was making too much money, I didn’t know bupkis about running a sports event. The job would pay me nothing. The organization was in the worst condition of any I had ever seen. And, after the Games were over, the position would lead nowhere. It was a dead end.I took it. It was the highlight of my professional life. I gave more of myself than I ever had before. I came to know and respect remarkable people. There are currencies more lasting than money. It can be enormously rewarding to take the unobvious course, to jump into the deep water.That’s true in politics as well. I grew up in a political family. As a teenager, I was out collecting signatures. I visited every one of Michigan’s 83 counties. I love arguing about politics. But I meet a lot of people who don’t care about government or who are more comfortable hanging around people who agree with them than exploring ideas and arguments with people who don’t. Some people like to buy a daily paper that’s just filled with columnists and editorials that agree with their own prejudices and perspectives. It’s easy and safe staying with shallow reasoning that doesn’t test you, challenge you and maybe cause you to change your mind. I chuckle when I read some of our newspapers. There is almost no diversity of opinion on their pages, just ridicule and invective toward those who have different views.I’m afraid that even some educators have become less devoted to exploring and testing different positions and viewpoints than they are to promoting their own bias.Bias is shallow thinking and shallow water. Read widely, particularly from people who disagree with you. Argue to learn rather than to win. If you don’t respect, I mean really respect, the views of people who disagree with you, then you don’t understand them yet. There are smart people on both sides of almost every important issue. Learn from them all. If you have life all figured out in neat little packages, you’re in Neverland, not the real world. And it’s boring there.There’s one more thing I’ve seen in the people who swim in the deep waters of life. They don’t fashion their values and principles to suit their self-interest; they live instead by enduring principles that are fundamental to society and to successful, great lives. I learned important lessons about those principles from some of the Olympians I saw in Salt Lake City, like bobsledder Vonetta Flowers.Vonetta was brakeman on USA sled two. All the attention, however, was on sled one, the sled that had taken the World Cup and was a lock for the Olympic Gold. But just before the Olympics, the pilot of sled one dropped her partner and invited Vonetta Flowers to join her.Vonetta had a tough decision. On sled one, she’d get a gold medal for sure – the first Olympic gold to be won by an African American in the Olympic Winter Games. Those of us rooting for US metals hoped she would jump to sled one. She didn’t. She decided that friendship and loyalty to her longtime teammate on sled two was more important than winning the gold.Of course, sled one did well. But when sled two beat them all, coming in first, the crowd went nuts. And tears dripped off Vonetta’s cheeks. Friendship and loyalty above gold.You live one time only. Don’t spend it in safe, shallow water. Launch out into the deep. Give yourself to your family, to your career, to your community. Open your mind to diverging viewpoints. And live, not by what suits the moment, but by the principles that endure for a lifetime. Jump in, the water’s fine!