President Lincoln signed the Homestead Act in 1862. It was “short and beautiful” giving plots of 160 acre land in the west to anyone with the backbone to live and work on it. These plots were given regardless of who they were or who they would vote for in the next election. They were entrusted with freedom to govern themselves as they developed the property and assumed personal responsibility in being productive land owners. This impartial act of legislation built America and the character of the people who spread across it, leading to unprecedented growth.
How different from legislation today. The health care bill recently passed forces us to purchase government mandated insurance and anything different will be considered illegal. This is bullying the American people. We are being seen not as equals to the legislators, capable of caring for ourselves but as something to be shaped and perfected by the experts – by our government who see themselves as knowing better than ourselves. This attitude has been in the schools for about 100 years, based on Woodrow Wilson’s progressivism that the Declaration of Independence is obsolete and we need to be liberated from it. Today we are being governed by a President and Congress that considers the Constitution obsolete, a “living” document requiring constant change depending on our times. They do not believe there is an absolute truth and in the absence of absolute truth, ”good” is subject to the ideas of this President and his party.
(comments based on article in Imprimis, December 2009)
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March 25th, 2010
As the session comes to a close in the next few days, the numbers become clearer about what the States budget will show. Its looks like a pilfered Castle, with nothing left but the structure itself.
2009 spending = $5,959 Billion
2010 spending = $5,300 Billion
2011 spending = $5,296 Billion (Proposed)
When you look at these budgets, you will see no real reductions in spending. This is an actual picture. What’s disappointing is that cuts are made to one program so another program can be created. Don’t be fooled, all these across the board cuts have not actually cut the budget, it simply redistributed the funds.
The problem lies in where the money is coming from this year. No spending reduction, so the money needs to be stolen from somewhere. Below is the pots where the money is coming from for the 2011 budget!
Federal stimulus dollars (one-time money) = $328 million
Emergency State government funds = $258 million
Other one time pots of money = $ 97 million
$683 Million of one time spending
Where do we find the money next year? The Democrats passed a budget that continues to spend without cutting, however, it cuts K-12 education by $167 million, and puts the money in other places in government. This is a clear picture of government priority.
Whoever is in control next session, the one-time money is gone, and the reckless spending will meet reality after the November election.
This is a very sad commentary on government and policy makers!
“One day after Congress approved the Health Care bill, the Senate Banking Committee approved massive regulation bill for the financial world” (”Creating a permanent Tarp” by James Gattuso in the Washington Times 3/25/2010)
The bill is sponsored by Senator Dodd, will:
-create new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau located within the Federal Reserve Board bureaucracy
-establishes Financial Stability Oversight Council
-Treasury and other regulators would have the power to seize and liquidate financial firms they think are in trouble.
-creates $50 billion fund to finance these liquidations.
Bigger government and prefunded bailouts will not fix the system. Yet this 1300 page bill cleared Senate committee in 22 minutes.
The freedoms our forefathers fought for are slowly being taken away. This will continue to happen should the people of our great nation remain silent. Legislation such as hate crimes, gun control, increasing taxes, and euthanasia have been passed.
Where is this all going to take our country?
Kitty Werthmann grew up in Austria under the Nazi regime of Adolf Hitler. She has seen firsthand the devastating effects when people elect and put unchecked power into the hands of a few. Come hear Kitty’s story on the eerie similarities between the rise of the Nazi regime in Germany and America today. She will be speaking at the Northwest Iowa Community College in Sheldon, Iowa on Friday, April 30 at 7:00 pm.
“NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP!” Winston Churchill.
March 22, 2010 12:39 PM EDT by Elizabeth MacDonald
The IRS’s powers are effective immediately, as an estimated $400 billion in new taxes and fees kick in starting in 2013.
The insurance mandate takes effect in 2013, too. New coverage subsidies for small businesses begin immediately; the new long-term care entitlement starts in 2011; and new insurance exchanges start in 2013 as well.
Broader IRS powers also are being enacted despite the news that dozens of states may mount potential court challenges based on the constitutionality of health reform’s insurance mandate, among other things (Click on EMac’s January column: “Is Health Reform Unconstitutional?”). Florida, Alabama, Idaho, Nebraska ,Virginia, Texas, Utah and Washington number among the states planning court challenges.
Some legal experts say this fight may reach the level of the US Supreme Court, as it centers on the US Constitution’s interstate commerce clause. Congressional Democrats say they have the power to mandate that taxpayers must buy health insurance or pay a fine.
Even though legal experts say the US constitution does not force Americans to buy any good or service as a condition of being a citizen, and that the constitution does not let Congress regulate the act of doing nothing, meaning having to pay a fine if you don’t buy insurance.
Also, the insurance exchanges launched in the bill essentially do not let taxpayers buy health insurance across state lines, although the new law says states may merge their exchanges with neighboring states.
The IRS will now have the ability to issue liens, seize tax refunds, assess penalties, and to verify whether taxpayers’ health insurance coverage is “acceptable.”
“One of the most troubling aspects of this new IRS authority is the newly granted power to collect additional taxes from Americans whose health insurance coverage is deemed to be insufficient to meet the definition of minimum coverage, as defined by federal bureaucrats, required to be purchased,” the House Republicans’ analysis says.
The report adds: “Disturbingly, the IRS would be in charge of verifying that every American taxpayer has obtained acceptable health coverage for every month of the year. If the IRS determines that a taxpayer lacks acceptable insurance for even a single month, then the IRS would impose a new tax on that taxpayer, even auditing the taxpayer and could assess interest and penalties on top of the tax.”
The agency might have to hire as many as 16,500 additional staffers, including new auditors and agents, so as to oversee the program, says Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., the ranking Republican on the Ways and Means Committee. That would come at an additional taxpayer cost of $10 billion, estimates show.
“It is a very dangerous expansion of the IRS’ power and reach into the lives of virtually every American,” Rep. Camp said in a statement.
The Ways and Means report says, among other things:
- IRS agents would be tasked with determining whether Americans had obtained the insurance coverage required under the individual mandate.
- Individuals could be fined $2,250 or 2 percent of income, whichever is greater, if you are unable to prove you have “minimum essential coverage.”
- The IRS would be empowered to confiscate tax refunds if necessary.
- Audits probably would increase as a result of the legislation’s new requirements.
- The budget for IRS operations will balloon by $10 billion in the next decade in order to administrate the new program.
- Nearly half of the new individual mandate taxes will be paid “by Americans earning less than 300 percent of poverty, $66150 for a family of four.
http://emac.blogs.foxbusiness.com/2010/03/22/irs-gains-broader-powers-under-health-reform/
James Garfield
Now more than ever the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave, and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to represent them in the national legislature. . . . [I]f the next centennial does not find us a great nation . . . it will be because those who represent the enterprise, the culture, and the morality of the nation do not aid in controlling the political forces.
[James A. Garfield, The Works of James Abram Garfield, Burke Hinsdale, editor (Boston: James R. Osgood and Company, 1883), Vol. II, pp. 486, 489, "A Century of Congress," July, 1877.]
Almost one year ago, one person threw the first local tea party in Spencer on April 15 (tax day) and over 300 people came. Without any planning or organizing, people began filling area town hall meetings last summer. Serious issues were brought to the attention of communities and media, and politicians who didn’t keep their word or trampled on freedom faced angry citizens.
David and Paul used their fantastic 1939 truck all decked out in flags and banners for town parades last summer while Dennis rigged up his sound system for a full-fledged heart swell of patriotism! People spent countless hours listening and talking to area residents about legislation affecting their families and regulations beyond belief impeding the success of their businesses and schools.
It wasn’t long before two people arranged a meeting in Sheldon for like-minded citizens hoping to stop the government freight train of business, bank and health care takeovers. Since then, these two groups have hosted forums with state legislators, gubernatorial candidates, connected with other tea party groups, traveled to Des Moines to talk with state legislators, traveled to Washington, D.C., written countless emails, letters to politicians and to editors, and made countless phone calls.
Is there anything worthwhile of the time and the work involved? Maybe to answer this we need to ask how many times within the past year have Pelosi, Reid or Obama set a deadline that health care would be voted on? Democrats control the House, the Senate and the Presidency so why hasn’t it happened? It appears that the people are doing what “We the people” of America need to be doing to hold government power in check and the answer would be a resounding “Yes! It is worthwhile.”
Did you get how it has been working? It’s Kris who acts on an idea, David who leads a meeting, Paul who constructs a flag stand, Mike who knows what it takes to keep his gun and his flag, Larry who writes a check, Ken who leads in prayer, Tammy who leads a class on the Constitution, Cindy who patiently visits with Senator Harkin’s assistant, Mark who tells us what he learned, Bruce sharing information, Alyda setting up the information table, Sarah who emails, Lonnie who manages a website and people who pick up the phone again and again. That is to name just a few local people. There are many, many more! This is how grassroots works. You contribute in apparently small way and collectively make a huge impact.
America needs you. Your children and your grandchildren need you to take the time, to be brave stepping out of your comfort zone and to do the little things that pool together with millions of other’s that makes a difference in their future.
Let’s celebrate! It’s the tea party’s birthday next month so go find a tea party near you! Don’t expect grandiose things to be happening at the meeting and don’t expect gifted leaders or perfect people. Expect to be vigilant, meeting after meeting, phone call after phone call. And don’t be surprised if your idea is something that mushrooms into a plan of action, or if your help Saturday morning fills a need that would have gone undone. Thank you! We look forward to seeing you!