Earmarks and other issues

Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) is right. Earmarks must stop. But the point of this, like many other issues, still eludes our lawmakers.

It is not simply the earmarks that are the problem. It is the whole process that is involved in earmarks. And if you are uncertain what earmarks are, here is a quick refresher.

Earmarks are the money legislation directed to specific states by specific lawmakers to bring money back to their districts and states, added onto bills that have nothing to do with the earmark in question. For instance, a bill is written to make trucker's hours lower so the roads are safer. A Congressman in Florida wants to have a turtle habitat built in his district. So, after the bill is voted on as for the trucker hours, he adds an addendum to the bill which is NOT debated NOR voted on. The bill then goes its normal route through the House and Senate. If approved, it goes to the President's desk for a signature. If the bill fails, the lawmaker can say he tried to get money for his constituents, but the evil [insert other party here] killed it. Which, he/she says is why you need to re-elect him/her and vote the [insert evil other party here again] needs to be voted out.

If, on the other hand, it makes it through to law, the money gets sent and the turtle habitat is then built and he/she can l;ay claim to bringing money and/or jobs to the district.

The problem, aside from the sleaziness of doing government business on the taxpayer's dime like this, is that it is how billions of $$$ are spent without any oversight.

The reason regular Americans (and by regular I mean NOT politicians) want these earmarks stopped is that many things are snuck past the people of this country without our knowledge, consent or desire.

The stimulus and the healthcare were two of the biggest loads of crap that did this in the recent history of this country. But it is something that happens ALL THE TIME. And this is what Americans object to. Its not just the occasional useless turtle habitat (or in the real case, a turtle crossing in Florida), it is the way government is being run.

Americans want accountability. From our Congress, our President and our Justice system. Americans want to know what those in Washington are doing. Not just with our money, but with our country. Americans want the secret backdoor meetings to stop. Americans want a window open on and a high intensity light to be shone on all the activities by our elected officials.

From the Cornhusker Kickback to the earmarks in legislation. How hard is it to tackle an issue of legislative necessity without all the add-ons and ridiculous debate that has nothing to do with anything. Stop the 'I'll-vote-for-your-casino-bill-in-Utah-if-you-vote-for-my-gay-rights-bill-in-Cleveland-and-only-if-we-can-combine-the-two-with-the-solar-panel-project-in-Des Moines' mentality.

If a bill is about regulating the housing industry, it should not include a path to citizenship for illegals. If is about approving a budget for the military it should not have anything in it about abortion. The latest mutation of the ages old earmark practice has become about social re-engineering of a country.

After the recent election, the people in Washington, and around the world, need to receive the correct message.

It was not about stopping the Democrat's agenda. It was not about putting Republicans back in power. It was not about a referendum on the President, Speaker Pelosi or any other high ranking politician.

Individually, it was about that. But overall it was about the re-assertion of the power of the American public. It was a proof of life that the American people are awake and not sitting idly by while individuals in our government, or governments and entities around the world, dictate what happens in this country. Although we are a representative republic and not a true democracy, the power is, and has always been, in the hands of the American people.

And this midterm election was about reminding everyone that the people can and will shape their own destiny. We don't need government in our lives telling when, why and for how long to go to the bathroom. We don't need government telling us how much we can make and what we should or shouldn't teach our children. We don't need government chose our healthcare provider or doctor or lawyer or lightbulb maker.

Government is there to be a central focus of our needs, not the other way around.

It is easy to see how they came to believe that we work for them. I mean we work for half a year just to pay into the taxes every year. (Some said it was April 9th this year, others say May 30th or June 8th.) And they spend MILLIONS and hundreds of MILLIONS to get a job that only pays thousands. So it is easy to see how they think WE owe THEM. But it is not the case. And America has spoken loud and clear. Whether through the TEA party (and not any organized version thereof) or through the vote on November 2nd, America has said, enough is enough. Stop the nonsense of overspending, taxing, earmarks, social engineering, free passes for illegal immigrants and all the other stuff you have been ramming down our throats for years. If you don't wise up, we'll vote you out, too!

Now, as usual, you can agree or disagree, and I can go on waxing on the topic if need be until I am understood, but it doesn't really matter what I think. What matters is that you wake up, are awake, and are able to see for yourself through the PR spin and fancy mumbo jumbo of people who really do not have OUR interests in heart no matter what they say. Think for yourself and I will have done my job. But hey, this is just me, Thinking Out Loud.

have a great day! God bless America!

Removal of all Amazon.com links

I was saving my return to the blog keyboard after the grueling midterm elections. I even had a title for my next blog, "A Simple Sigh."

But I am not posting that one here today. Today I am letting you, my loyal readers, know that I will no longer entertain links to Amazon.com on my blog site.

I am sure you are all aware of the pedophilia issue Amazon is dealing with right now. If not, let me just say that they have advertised (and pulled after much outrage) a book which is essentially a 'how to molest children' book.

My issue with Amazon is not that they had this one book out there. Nor that they quickly bowed to threat of boycott. It is not even with the fact that they have many more books of similar ilk which they promote and sell.

All of which I feel shows a serious lack of judgment on their part.

Before I explain further, I (reluctantly) defend Amazon's right to sell and promote. I defend the right of publishers to publish what I personally consider sick and a unique danger to children. I even defend the right of people to actually write this demented dreck in the first place.

But I also have rights as well.

I have the right not not associated myself with any entity that would use poor judgment and willing risk the well being of children. I have the right to tell people about this horrible lack of judgment on such an entity's part. I have the right to tell people about a danger to our children and our society. I have a right to completely and utterly disagree with everything these authors, publishers and resellers are doing by putting this demented information out there.

And I am thus exercising this right by no longer associating myself with Amazon or anyone else who would promote such trash. My daughter told me that I may as well distance myself with other booksellers such as Barnes & Noble and Books-a-Million, because they too sell such books. If that is what I must do, then I will do so.

Go to the library. Order direct from authors. Borrow from a friend. But I will not do business with anyone who is so far afield from what I believe is right.

Agree, disagree, it does not matter. But if I have you thinking about what your priorities or beliefs are, then I have done my job. But, as always, this is just me, Thinking Out Loud.

Have a great and blessed day!

About the Midterms and educating a President for real

Barack Obama says in a recent email to constituents, "Washington Republicans have tried to block our progress at every turn. And worse, they're campaigning on taking us back to the exact same agenda that brought us to the brink of disaster: Cut taxes for the wealthy at the expense of the middle class while ballooning the deficit. Give free rein to Wall Street speculators. Lower the minimum wage for millions of hard-working families. Privatize Social Security. And allow insurance companies to deny children health coverage based on pre-existing conditions. The problem is we know what this looks like -- and we know it doesn't work."

The problem is we know that he is lying through his teeth on so many accounts. The first of which is that he has, as recently as early October, where he said he expects to work with the Republicans post Midterm elections. Yet here he is casting animosity among those who would back him. And why should anyone believe him when, like the puppet he has become, he lets Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid pull all the strings behind the scenes. Pelosi began the session of the House with rules that made it all but impossible for Republicans to have ANY input into the legislation process, thus cutting off nearly half of the representation of Americans in the House.

In a CNN report, the probable next Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) says, he "promises his style would be a sharp contrast to the way Democratic leaders have run the House. The GOP leader says Republicans will be more transparent and inclusive. Boehner accuses Democrats of doing business "in the dark of night" without "fair debate," and he points to the way Democrats handled massive health care and energy bills -- both of which fueled Tea Party outrage about Congress' inner workings -- as exactly what Republicans won't do."

And this is exactly what this voter revolt has been all about. The whole reason the TEA party groups have popped up, and why Republicans (and Democrats) need to listen, is that they have been doing business in the dark of night and without any real input from those it would govern. Obama felt his election gave him carte blanc to do whatever he felt was meant in "change you can believe in." Unfortunately, that is NOT how the United States works.

Obama and Democrats (and even some Republicans) will suddenly have to come to the realization that the voters are the ones with the final say. The President may have enjoyed a 51% to 49% victory in the 2008 elections. But this Midterm election will remind them that 51% does not a referendum on his agenda make.

Boehner "has proposed a number of reforms to change the way the House works." Among the reforms, he has promised that his "regular order" of doing this will revert back to committees crafting smaller legislation on specific topics instead of the elite small group of conspirators without allowing any input from the people who represent nearly half of America.

It is about time that ALL politicians understand it is the people they represent who they must ultimately answer to. They have been content with a fairly numb electorate. But no more. Post midterms, post TEA party activism, Americans have woken up to what can happen when they become too apathetic and fall asleep at the wheel.

The mainstream media may or may not get the message. Who knows. Those guys are all so radicalized lap dogs, they may not even know what the media in America as concerns our government are supposed to be about. Thankfully we have people willing to stand up and create a new, alternative media.

Agree, disagree, whatever. It really makes no difference to me. All I care is that I may have opened a few minds to a different way of looking at things and not take ANYONE as the ultimate authority. Because in the end, the ultimate authority on what kind of country you want to live in is up to you. But hey, this is just me, Thinking Out Loud.

Have a great day. And get out there to vote tomorrow, America!