Christmas Wish List to Congress

A tip of the hat to The Water Cooler for this great post!

A Christmas Wish List from the American Taxpayer
All We Want for Christmas is…

Support and respect for our troops in harm’s way
Military tribunals for war criminals
J-O-B-S
Common sense, practical domestic policy
Respectable, consistent foreign policy
Intellectual honesty about the child in the womb of every pregnant woman
Sound environmental policy that doesn’t use fear to force an agenda
Respect for life at all stages from the developing child to the elderly
Respect for and adherence to the U.S. Constitution
Firing of radical Czars—starting with “unsafe” Kevin Jennings
Economic recovery that doesn’t involve government takeover
Health care reform that doesn’t involve fiscal and moral bankruptcy
Protection of our conscientious rights
Transparency, transparency, transparency
A responsible and humble governing body in the U.S.
An end to corruption, bullying & closed door deals
Our employees to uphold their oath of office
Respect for what “We the People” have to say
NEW FACES in certain congressional seats next year


“Government is not reason, it is not eloquent—it is a force. Like fire it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master; never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action.” - George Washington

More fuzzy health care language from the administration

Harry Reid has the questionable language in his secret health care reform plan with the "public option opt out co-op." No one knows what is in the plan and apparently won't until the CBO scores the bill. The only real bill that exists presently is HR 3200 from the house of representatives and there are moderate democrats who are not happy with this. See this from Bart Stupak (D) Michigan......

It's Happening---We Told You So

Sometimes it is so much fun to say "I told you so!" Like when you are on an auto trip and your husband gets lost and you tell him to go one way and he wants to go the other way and after an hour of driving in circles, you end up where YOU said to go in the first place! There is much glee derived from the phrase!!

Sometimes, however, "I told you so" comes with sadness, regret, tragedy and even ruin. And then there are those times where "I told you so" lies somewhere in the middle.

During the run-up to the election, candidate Obama's ties to William Ayers and Reverend Wright, were poo poo'ed as being inconsequential and yet in the prism of now President Obama's sweeping plans for our government, free enterprise, charities, immigration, taxes and even basic Constitutional freedoms, we can see the fingerprints of these individuals all over them. Sadly, Obama is doing exactly as he promised and we told you so!

When candidate Obama told Joe the Plumber that his plan was to "Spread the Wealth Around", Joe was excoriated for having the unmitigated gall to question "THE ONE". We were told, that this was the way to a healthy economy during an "unprecedented" downturn. The threat of spreading the wealth and setting a boundary of $250,000 for the line dividing the rich from the rest of the unwashed masses was taken very seriously by many small businessmen and the contraction of the economy was well on the way before candidate Obama ever set foot in the Oval Office. Well before the election, small businesses started pulling back on expansion plans, unnecessary spending, and started laying off people. Smart small businesses hunkered down and went into survival mode and vowed to stay small to avoid being penalized for their success....we told you so!

Conservatives railed against wealth redistribution and warned that demonizing the earners who create the jobs, buy the goods and give to charities would take away any incentive for them to be productive. Now in a mere two months we have thrown trillions of dollars down the rat hole of unsupervised bailouts in the name of Stimulus only to see the recipients give us the middle finger salute on so many fronts that our legislators have initiated legislation to tax away the bonuses of bankers and other companies that take bailout funds. Well, yesterday in the St. Louis Business Journal, this story was featured.

Don Davis, president of Centrue Bank in St. Louis, has resigned because his income will be severely restricted by new federal limitations on bank executives. In January, Centrue accepted $32.7 million under the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program, commonly called TARP. Later the federal government imposed restrictions on the bonuses of top executives at banks and other financial institutions that took TARP money. "My salary and bonus isn't going to work — TARP isn't going to allow it," Davis said in an interview Monday. Davis, for example, is paid $350,000 in base salary, but also receives 10 percent of the profits of the St. Louis branch of Centrue. In 2008, that amounted to about $750,000 for Davis. "TARP doesn't like me getting that," Davis said. Don Davis, president of Centrue Bank in St. Louis, has resigned because his income will be severely restricted by new federal limitations on bank executives.

So now we are seeing that this prophecy is coming true. Businessmen are taking their ball and bat and going home--game over. If government can determine who will be punitively taxed, what is standing between you, the ordinary guy, and them???? The answer is..."nothing". And it does NOT give me pleasure to say "I told you so."

Where Does It All End???

Thanks to Ed Barnett, Wichita Falls, Texas for this open letter to the IRS that appeared in the February 6, 2009 Letters to the Editor in the Wichita Falls, Texas Times Record News. His point is one felt by all of us and we should get ready for more, thanks to BHO and his robber band.

Dear IRS,

I am sorry to inform you that I will not be able to pay taxes owed April 15, but all is not lost.

I have paid these taxes: accounts receivable tax, building permit tax, CDL tax, cigarette tax, corporate income tax, dog licence tax, federal income tax, unemployment tax, gasoline tax, hunting licence tax, fishing licence tax, waterfowl stamp tax, inheritance tax, inventory tax, liquor tax, luxury tax, medicare tax, city, school and county property tax (up 33 percent last 4 years), real estate tax, social security tax, road usage tax, toll road tax, state and city sales tax, recreational vehicle tax, state franchise tax, state unemployment tax, telephone federal excise tax, telephone federal state and local surcharge tax, telephone minimum usage
surcharge tax, telephone state and local tax, utility tax, vehicle licence registration tax, capitol gains tax, lease severance tax, oil and gas assessment tax, Colorado property tax, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Oklahoma and New Mexico sales tax, and many more that I can’t recall but I have run out of space and money.

When you do not receive my check April 15, just know that it is an honest mistake. Please treat me the same way you treated Congressmen Charles Rangle, Chris Dodd, Barney Frank and ex-Congressman Tom Dashelle (sic) and, of course, your boss Timothy Geithner. No penalties and no interest.

P.S. I will make at least a partial payment as soon as I get my stimulus check.

Ed Barnett
Wichita Falls

NOMOBAMA? Come to A Tea Party

Thanks to Bill Hennessy, who organized the St. Louis Tea Party held under the Arch on Friday, February 27, 2009. They must have hit a nerve, because the St. Louis Post Disgrace fired back with an editorial aimed at those who were a part of the Tea Party.

Bill Hennessy has promptly responded with this letter to the editor that may or may not ever see the light of day in the Post Disgrace, so I am posting it here so that it may get some press.

March 4, 2009

The Editor
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

FOR PUBLICATION AS LETTER TO THE EDITOR OR GUEST EDITORIAL

Tea Party Was About People and Participation

I am not sure which Tea Party the P-D editorial is writing about in its editorial of March 4. The one I attended – and helped organize – drew people from all over the region and all over the political spectrum to express their concern and yes, sometimes, anger over the recent “stimulus” bill, the proposed housing bailout, the $410 billion earmark extravaganza, President Obama's laughable budget, and the Wall Street bailout of last year. The attendees generally worry that these bills are too large, too unfocused, and, in the case of the stimulus bill, too hurriedly passed by the Congress.

Why We Gathered

We gathered precisely because we fear what our government is doing AND has done. We worry about all of the wasteful spending – by the Obama administration, by the Congress, and yes, by the Bush Administration. Why Mr. Roth would insult us for wanting to voice our concerns is beyond me.

We object, however, to the Congress and President Obama calling a hugely expensive stimulus bill “service to those in need” when the lion's share of the bill is for pet projects in the out years. Have you told your readers that only about 20 percent of the spending will occur during President Obama's schedule for the recession?

Even more insulting about the stimulus was the irresponsible hast and secrecy in which it was passed. Members of Congress like St. Louis Congressman Russ Carnahan admit that they did not allow even 48 hours to pass for Americans to review it. Carnahan told KMOX radio that he had no idea what was in the bill that he voted on. We are objecting to a stimulus – and extended spending spree – that we believe will lead to our children and grandchildren paying for our spending spree.

Adding Insult to Injury

The focus of the editorial is about service to those in need. We honor philanthropic and charitable activity among individuals and companies. We support community organizations and even local government agencies. Many of us volunteer through our churches and community groups. And we donate generously to many, varied causes.

In the comments on-line after the editorial was posted, one Editorial Board member, Ed Roth, goes so far as to insult the attendees of the Tea Party by insinuating that our chants were about “me, me, me, me.” I would be surprised if Mr. Roth was in attendance at the Tea Party because I have no idea what that means … except that it seems pretty insulting.

A large percentage of the protesters were small business owners. According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, small business owners are among the most generous group in America, On average entrepreneurs give almost 7 percent of their income to charity. More than 75 percent of all small businesses give.

The average entrepreneur with revenues of $250,000--the principal target of Mr. Obama's War on Productivity--gives $15,000 a year to charity. Compare that to Mr. Obama's charity which totaled a Scrooge-like $27,500 for 2005 and 2006 combined (New York Times, March 26, 2008). That's only 1.04 percent of Mr. Obama's $2,638,932 income in those two year.

When will the Post-Dispatch and Mr. Roth criticize Obama's stinginess?

No One Left To Give

The markets have spoken on this current and continuing wave of government spending. Since the election last November, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has lost 30 percent of its value. Each time the president, his Secretary of the Treasury, or the Chairman of the Federal Reserve speaks, people leave the market. They are hearing the steady rhythm of big government. Some might say, a government big enough to take everything we have.

We believe that the United States Congress, the President, and misguided people like Mr. Roth are leading this nation into a morass of stagnation, stultifying taxation, and, eventually, rampant inflation. At the same time, Mr. Obama and others are working to destroy the incentive to earn by punishing the most productive people in our economy. Moreover, Mr. Obama proposes discouraging charitable giving by capping the detectability of such donations.

If these trends continue--if the people who gathered at the Arch fail in our mission--there will soon be no one left to give.

The Tea Party Is a Ten-Round Fight

Haste makes waste, and today’s editorial is an insult in which the editorial writers rushed to judgment. I invite Mr. Roth and his fellow writers to attend our next Tea Party on April 15^th when we will protest that our taxes are too high because our elected officials pass so much wasteful “pork” in their legislation.

Sincerely,

Bill Hennessy
Co-Project Servant-Leader
St.Louis Tea Party

Conservatives tend to be a "Silent Majority". Since many conservatives tend to also be libertarian in thought, the tendency is to "live and let live." Unfortunately, the Obama Administration has shown us that the policies of this new administration are a serious threat to the very roots of the freedoms on which our country was founded. An outcome of the February 27 St. Louis Tea Party (and those all over the country) is that conservatives in attendance saw that there are lots of like minded people in their own communities. It gave many people a chance to meet and stay in touch with people that they would, otherwise, never have met. It fomented the formation of small groups who have continued to network in living rooms and chat rooms, reinforced by shared emotions and passions.

And now there is another Tea Party coming. April 15, which should be just another day in your life instead of a day to see your hard earned money being dumped down a socialist rat hole, will be "celebrated" with nationwide Tea Parties to protest the tax burdens that are being planned for small businesses, those who make more than $250K, and all of the rest of us who will see any tax advantage that we might have become nullified by the proposed increased energy costs, gasoline taxes, toll roads, mileage fees, lack of detectability for home mortgage interests and charitable giving, etc., etc., etc..... Those of you who are fed up with the whirlwind spending spree that has escalated by Robama Hood and his merry band of Chicago Thugs, grab your voice and find the Tea Party in your area. At the moment, there is a Tea Party in every one of the 50 states. If there is not one in your area, you can organize your own and there is assistance available if you feel that you need it! Get educated, connected and organized...Silent majority no more!

I Expect You to Obey

For several days, I have come home to find calls on my Caller ID from Wash DC (area code 202). Since I am sure that my Senators and Representatives are not calling me to ask my opinion about the Budget, Stimulus plans or the like, I have made a mental note and refreshed the Caller ID. They do not leave a message, so I am sure that if it was something important like Representative Clay asking me what I think about his Pro-Life voting record or Senator McCaskill wanting to know how she should vote on the next great bailout, that they would leave a message for me to get right back to them. So while I was curious, I was not THAT curious.

This morning, while I was getting ready to run some typical Saturday errands, the phone rang with another call from Wash DC and I decided to take it. It was from the Republican National Congressional Committee. A bright, polite and engaging young man proceeded to ask me what I wanted from them in the next Congressional election......I don't know if he was ready for what came next. OK, if you want my wish list of the perfect legislator, let me count the ways....
1. A REAL conservative---not a squishy RINO.
2. Someone who will restore the tenets of conservative policy.
3. Someone who wants tax cuts for all people and businesses.
4. Someone who favors smaller government.
5. Someone who favors lower government spending.
6. Someone who will fight against nationalized health care and the spread of entitlements.
7. Someone who will follow the precepts of the Constitution and not modify them to suit their needs.
8. Someone who will unflinchingly defend my Second Amendment Rights.
9. Someone who will close our borders and deal definitively with illegal immigration.
.....and as I drew a breath so that I could continue, he jumped right in and agreed with everything that I said and told me that was what the Republicans are going to do this election cycle. They were going to find and support real conservatives who would restore the trust of conservative Americans everywhere!

Since in the past I had given money to this cause, and because the need is dire right now, the young man wondered if I would like to increase my level of giving by a full $50-$100 over what I had done in the past? My response.... "Well, I'd love to do that, but since the Republicans frittered away a golden opportunity and the trust of their base, and started the ball rolling down this debt mountain that is now increasing at a mind numbing rate, I just don't have that kind of money anymore. In fact, I can't even begin to match the amount that I gave you in the past. How about this, I'll give you $25 and if you PROVE that you will do what the conservative base demands, then I'll give you more??? My contributions will be based on performance. I will keep my eye on who you get, what they have in their platforms and how the rest of the guys in Washington act in the coming days and months and you will get money on that basis. What do you think?"

Well, he agreed that we are all in this together, that my $25 contribution was welcome (was better than nothing at all) and that the RNC would have to earn back the trust of their constituents. He thanked me and sent me to the supervisor who would confirm my address and information.

The supervisor was another bright, polished and intelligent young man who politely confirmed my information and then asked if I wanted to make my contribution on a debit or credit card. He also had to bear the brunt of my irritation, because I let him know that I had spent the past three years on a self imposed debt reduction program and, having succeeded in ridding myself of all of my consumer debt except my mortgage and one car loan that is a 0% loan, I would not be using either of these methods. If they would send me a statement, I would be pleased to write a check and if not, they weren't getting my money. I then told him that this was what I expected from the future candidates who would be selected and supported and it was what I expected from the current representatives and senators who are presently in Washington. This is how I am supposed to conduct my personal finances and our government should do no less. My parting salvo was to share with the supervisor that I felt that my contributions to the NRA got me more results than my prior contributions to the RNC and its PAC's.

This weekend there were tea parties all over the country protesting the unbridled spending of the taxpayer's money. In St. Louis, the tea party attracted a large (800-1000 strong) gathering of participants of all ages and colors. Elderly people on fixed incomes mingled with young suburbanites, families of home schoolers and conservatives of color. The undercurrent of resistance is becoming more and more apparent and it is time that those who are representing us know that we expect them to fish or cut bait. They are on probation right now and their job is hanging in the balance.

So when the political fundraising organizations call, answer the phone! Don't dodge them. They want something so give them a piece of your mind and whether or not you give them money is totally up to you!!

How To Wrap Your Head Around Our Government's Spending

Since I have had the Federal Debt widget running at the top of my blog (less than one month!), MY portion of the debt has grown to $198,000! As the Porkulus funds are "Spread Around" these numbers will escalate dramatically. The numbers being bandied about with Porkulus, TARP,TARP II, Automotive Bailout, Banking CRISIS Bailout, and the threat that this is "just the beginning" are numbers that are incomprehensible to most common folk. Of course, this may be the goal...make things so "out there" that people just cave because they can't wrap their heads around the concept.

With that in mind it is no wonder that there is a growing resentment bubbling under the surface and beginning to rise to the top, where common people are saying ENOUGH! Rick Santelli's rant at the Chicago Board of Trade was one salvo in the call for some kind of revolution against the nationalization of OUR tax dollars to give to people and causes that have no right to them. This little video is an attempt at pointing you to the enormity of the financial problem the Obama administraton has just put on the backs of generations of taxpayers.

Now that you have that accomplished, get active, put your mouth in action and spread the word. Go to www.Americanissuesproject.org and see how you can join the groundswell of voices letting our government that ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

On February 27, 2009, there are going to be "Chicago" Tea Parties in cities all over the country sponsored by a coordinated Netroots consortium of conservative activist groups. If you want to add your voice to this effort, visit this site and RSVP to the Party! It is unfortunate that it takes the British press to actually pick up this idea and publicize it...

Arlen, Susan, Olympia--We are taking the #TCOT Challenge

As the Republican turncoats in the Gang of 4, Arlen Specter (R) PA and Susan Collins (R) ME have a lot to answer for in their squishy justification for the minimally modified Compromise Spend-U-Lose bill. Lauded by Harry Reid for their magnanimous gesture of bipartisanship, these two traitors are now being asked "What were you thinking?"

Today on Fox News, Susan Collins was called upon to defend this compromise bill. She said that she was proud that the compromise cut $100 Billion from the original bill----Big freakin' deal, Susie---there is still $700+ Billion of spending in it and that is TOO MUCH. When pressed about why she would support this, she indicated that there was urgency to get this done, and if passed, it would go to conference to rectify the differences between the House and Senate versions. She went on to say that she would still vote against the bill if the reconciliation bill was too "porky." A rather lame response.

So what about Arlen??? He's up for re-election in 2010, but he is also 80 and probably doesn't care that much. That said, I would think that the people of Pennsylvania would care, after all Arlen is playing with their money. In an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Specter said that the compromise bill was "the best they could do." A pretty lame response, if I do say so, made sillier when Specter went on to bad mouth the bill.

Specter said he had already noted "certain grave concerns" with the stimulus legislation and had asked President Obama why he was "wedded" to completing action on it by Feb. 13. Specter said he told Obama this was too fast "for a bill of this magnitude."

But he said that Obama had stressed the urgency of action, so while "I don't like it," Specter said, "we're responding to this timetable."

Parts of the bill "give me heartburn," Specter said.

He outlined some of the $145 billion in spending reductions made to get to the consensus bill - for example, child care was allotted $2 billion initially, but $1.4 billion in the tentative deal. Many people are unhappy with such reductions, "but absent this bill, they get zero," he noted.

And the bad point of that is........?

"There are reasons to argue that it's a bad bill," Specter said, "but I do not believe that there is any doubt that the economy would be enormously worse off without it."

So, Susan says that the compromise bill could get unacceptable during reconciliation and Arlen says that we needed to do something right now and we made this crappy bill to make Obama happy.

So why do we need to bow to this bill? Are there no other alternatives?? #TCOT, a grassroots organization arising from the internet social media and blogosphere has proposed their own alternative bill and it is a thing of beauty. The #TCOT Plan would cut ALL personal and corporate income taxes in half immediately for the 12 months of 2009.

Lost revenue over the 2009 Calendar year would be approximately $800 billion (A full $900 billion less than the current version of PORKULUS floating through the Senate). This is based on 2007 Federal personal income tax receipts of approximately 1.2 trillion, and Corporate income tax receipts of approximately $345 billion.

The plan is simple, easy and puts all of the money in the pockets of Mr. and Mrs. America to do with as they wish. Which would you prefer??? A bunch of tax money borrowed from YOU that goes to STD's and ACORN.... or...... half of your federal tax withholding put back into YOUR pocket to use as you see fit???? If you aren't sure, get out your last pay stub and look at the amount taken out for federal income tax, cut that amount in half and see how much your take home pay would increase.....easy, breezy.

Click this link to Take the #TCOT challenge whether you live in Pennsylvania, Maine or everywhere else. Leave your comments for Arlen, Susan and YOUR Senators and Representatives telling them which plan you prefer and what you would do with this extra money in your pocket. If you like #TCOT's plan, demand that they scrap the whole Stim-U-Lose bill and start over with a plan that really will really work.

Take the #TCOT Challenge now!

Makin' a List and Checkin' it Twice

Conservatives are not letting it go unnoticed when Republicans cave in to Obama and his merry band of thugs.

Yesterday Tim Geithner, the tax evading Treasury secretary, was passed by the Senate by a vote of 60-34. In the 60 votes approving him were 10 Republicans. These Senators should be put on notice that this is an unacceptable vote.

Is your Senator on this list??? If so, call them and let them know in no uncertain terms that their vote was an unacceptable capitulation. Common folks like you and I will NEVER be rewarded for tax evasion.
1. Corker (R-TN)
2. Cornyn (R-TX)
3. Crapo (R-ID)
4. Ensign (R-NV)
5. Graham (R-SC)
6. Gregg (R-NH)
7. Hatch (R-UT)
8. Shelby (R-AL)
9. Snowe (R-ME)
10. Voinovich (R-OH)

Then keep the heat on them as another scoundrel in the person of Eric Holder (pardon the terrorists) will be coming up for vote for Attorney General in the next few days.

Nancy Has a New Deal for You!

Nancy Pelosi is, once again, the Speaker of the House in the New Deal Obama Congress. When she became speaker back in January 2007, she had an agenda for the first 100 hours that included: enacting the 9/11 Commission's recommendations; increasing the minimum wage; allowing embryonic stem cell research; negotiating lower prescriptions prices; cutting interest rates on student loans; and investing in renewable energy. Speaker Pelosi also vowed to govern a fairer and more bipartisan House of Representatives.

By May, 2007 the most notable accomplishment Speaker Pelosi could actually put into her column was increasing the minimum wage. WOW!! In an attempt to minimize their lack of legislative productivity, the Democrat leadership underscored the fact that they had produced transformation of the policy debate and the reassertion of Congressional power, especially on the Iraq war. And what about the kinder, fairer House of Representatives...One of the biggest Republican complaints was that House Democrats, who promised to be fairer and more bipartisan in the conduct of floor debate after a decade of heavy-handed Republican rule, had not delivered. A truth that some top Democrats conceded was true. At the end of 2007, Congressional approval ratings were at a low of 27%.

In January 2008 the Farm bill looked like it might be the only big-ticket bill that Congress would pass to President Bush for signature. Republicans and Democrats alike predicted even less legislative agreement ahead than in 2007. And the song and dance from the Democrats was that operating on a thin majority it was soooo hard to get things done (Sob, sob).

At the end of the 110th Congressional session, the Democratic majority had managed to work out agreements with President Bush and the Republican minority on only a few big items, including a minimum-wage increase, a plan to raise auto fuel-efficiency standards, a free-trade pact with Peru, and student-loan relief. And the congressional approval rating had fallen to a year average of 19%.

So now that the inmates have free run of the asylum, what is on the agenda for 2009? San Fran Nan is now tweaking the rules to be sure that she is Dictator of the House. Rules changes already having been rapidly put into place include eliminating the term limits for Committee Chairmen that were enacted during the Contract with America, restrictions on the motion to recommit and sweeping changes hobbling the ability to propose tax or spending cuts to legislation.

The motion to recommit has been in place for about 100 years. It is a maneuver that the minority party can use to send bills that reach the floor back to committees, where they can be endlessly debated. There are few tools that the House of Representatives has at hand to stifle legislation from moving through the process and the motion to recommit was one of these. This was used 50 times last year by the GOP to stave off tax hikes hidden in other legislation. The Democrat leadership have their knickers in a knot because they didn't use this rule nearly as often as the Republicans, (not our fault that they didn't take advantage of the tools of the trade) so now they have put a hobble on its use. The new rules would give the minority the right to a vote on sending the bill back to committee WITHOUT instructions on policy changes, or to ask for those policy changes while the bill remains on the House floor.

The most problematic change in rules that Madam Nan has produced in her new ruthless House of Representatives is in the introduction of tax and spending cuts. While BHO is willing to throw money hand over fist at our economic woes without thought of the huge deficit this will amass, the House of Representatives is also making sure that spending and tax cuts are difficult to get into legislation. The new rules will ensure that tax increases will be easier to pass, because opponents will not be allowed to offer a simple motion to strike any increase without making up for the "lost revenue." In addition, tax cuts are made more difficult, because they cannot be offset with spending cuts. The new rules will mean that the only way to push for a tax cut will be to propose a tax increase elsewhere.

So hold onto your wallets guys and dolls, the Hope and Change mantra that BHO used to win an election seems to be envisioned by the Belle of San Francisco as "I HOPE that all you have left is loose CHANGE!"