Al Hayat TV in Egypt interviewed Justice Ginsburg asking her for the advice she would give Egypt in writing the Constitution for their newly formed government.  Her reply to this question gives insight into this her thoughts and understanding of the very Constitution she has given an oath to support and defend.

“I can’t speak as to what the Egyptian experience should be” she said, “because I am operating under a rather old Constitution, the United States in comparison to Egypt is a very new nation, yet we have the oldest Constitution still in force in the world…”

Immediately, Ginsburg diminishes the value of our Constitution because it is the “oldest Constitution”. She is completely ignoring the fact that it is the oldest Constitution because of the very foundation and principles it espouses.  Our founders, although wise and possibly geniuses, were not making up things as they went along, they built a nation upon 700 years of experience with human nature, tyranny, and Liberty in mind.  Our Constitution is not over 200 years old, but in reality, its principles and practices are over 1,000 years old.  And it IS its age that gives it its credibility.  It IS the tried and tested principles and practices that make America the shining city on a hill and the envy of the world.

But Mrs. Ginsburg’s criticism of our Constitution doesn’t end there.  When asked by the reporter if Egypt should look to the US Constitution as an example to form their own, her response is shocking.

“You should be aided by all the constitutional writings that have gone on since the end of World War II, I would not look to the US Constitution if I were drafting a constitution in the year 2012.”

Yes, you heard right, she is telling Egypt to disregard our Constitution when drafting theirs.  She offers up, rather, the Constitutions of South Africa and Canada.  She even strongly suggests the European Union’s Human Rights statement as a BETTER example of Constitutions.

“I might look at the Constitution of South Africa, that was a deliberate attempt to have a fundamental instrument of government that embraced basic human rights; [they have] an independent judiciary, it really is, I think a great piece of work that was done, much more recently than the United States Constitution. Canada has a charter of rights and freedoms that dates from 1982. You would most certainly look at the European convention on human rights…”

Can we glean from these statements that Mrs. Ginsburg does not believe OUR Constitution was a “deliberate attempt to embrace basic human rights”?  I am really beginning to wonder what Mrs. Ginsburg actually KNOWS about our Constitution.  After all, how is a nation founded upon the principles that “All men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” not deliberately attempting to embrace basic human rights?  Maybe she missed Sam Adams’ explanation of the rights of the colonists when he said they were “First, a right to life; Secondly, to liberty; Thirdly, to property; together with the right to support and defend them in the best manner they can.”  I guess in Mrs. Ginsburg’s books, those are not principles of basic human rights.  In this interview, Mrs. Ginsburg says she is “a very strong believer in learning and listening to others”, unfortunately she never took the time to learn and listen to the men and women who founded this nation.

Mrs. Ginsberg does acknowledge the wisdom of our founders but points out the absence of women at the Constitutional Convention:

“…we were just tremendously fortunate in the US that men who met in Philidelphia were very wise, it is true they were lacking one thing, that is there were no women as part of the Constitutional Conventions, but there were women around, who sparked the idea…”

It is interesting that even if it is just in passing, Mrs. Ginsberg does acknowledge that women were involved in the foundational “ideas” of this nation.  Yet she does a great disservice to the women of that era by completely ignoring the magnitude of their input.  Her perpetration of revisionist history even becomes part of her advice to the country of Egypt.

“John Adams who was one of our first presidents, and instrumental in the Constitutional Congress, his wife Abigail was very well known, intelligent, said “Now John when you write that Constitution, please remember the ladies.” And he wrote back something amusing, he said, “are you suggesting that women should be part of the political community, look if we do that everyone will be claiming the right to vote, 12 year old boys will be claiming the right”, he treated like a joke…”

The internet is an amazing thing.  It was not difficult to find the letters between Abigail and John that she references and John Adams said NOTHING like what Mrs. Ginsburg claims. Most historians not in the business of rewriting history are quick to acknowledge that John Adams held his wife in very high regard and often relied on her wisdom.  Additionally, most of our founders felt the same way about the strong women in their lives.  To suggest as Mrs. Ginsburg does, that the men excluded women from this process because they were tyrants and oppressive husbands, is as ridiculous as her rendition of the letters she quotes.  Liberty, as John Adams describes in this letter is contagious.  Our founders knew that with patience and proper focus on Liberty, in time, all would enjoy as much or as little Liberty as they wished to obtain.  This is a valuable point Mrs. Ginsburg would do well to point out to a newly forming nation.

The truly puzzling thing is that she admits that our founders were “wise” and calls them “genius” and even admits that women had a role in sparking the “idea” of Liberty.  But she then immediately perpetuates the liberal lie that our founders were not interested in women’s rights and wanted slavery to remain a guiding principle in this nation. May I remind Mrs. Ginsberg that the Declaration of Independence states “ALL” men are created equal.  Not all men of a particular race, color or creed, or not even just all AMERICANS, but all men.   In my dictionary “all” means “all”.  In “listening and learning” from our founders they made it clear that slavery was something that must be abolished.  It is precisely why they set a “sunset” for the institution of slavery. Maybe Mrs. Ginsburg doesn’t understand that provision since our current government doesn’t respect “sunset” provisions and simply votes to perpetuate them.

To our founders, who were focused on Liberty, creating a union of states was the most important aspect to ensuring that Liberty would prosper.  They knew they could not plow new fields overnight and if they tried to change the world in one move, the union would never have a chance, and Liberty would not have its way in all the states.  They understood the fundamental aspect of Liberty, that if the focus of a society is on Liberty, that Liberty will be contagious. People who observe others enjoying Liberty will always want to enjoy it for themselves.  Our government was established as a Republic so once that desire for Liberty began to spread, a minority group could have a society-changing voice.  Our founders deliberately did not establish a democracy, because in that form of government, the majority would always choke to death the desire for Liberty of a minority. Yet another point that Mrs. Ginsberg might be wise to share with Egypt instead of encouraging them to strive “to achieve a general democracy…”

The dichotomy of her praise and criticism of our founders and our Constitution shows that she is greatly misinformed of both.  The fact that she would lift up the European Union’s Human Rights statement should greatly concern us.  But the finality of her statement to a newly forming nation, that they should NOT look to the wisdom of our founders and use our Constitution as a guide gives us the greatest insight into what she believes about the founding of our nation and the supreme law of the land.

I have begun to understand that those in our government repeatedly take oaths that they do not understand do not actually believe.  Taking an oath and not understanding what that oath means, is the equivalent of taking no oath at all.  Mrs. Ginsberg is a great example.  Here is the oath every Supreme Court Justice takes:

“I, _________, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”

According to an online dictionary the word “support” means to keep from weakening or failing, to strengthen. Synonyms for this word are uphold, back, advocate, champion.  According to the same online dictionary the word “defend” means to keep safe from danger, attack, or harm, to ward off an attack. It seems to me, that putting down our Constitution and lifting up others above it is a very strange way to keep it from weakening, to advocate for it, and to ward off attacks against it. This justice, whose entire job depends upon the definition of words, seems to have forgotten the meaning of these vital words. Mrs. Ginsburg might do well to pick up a dictionary and put down her distorted Constitutional law books.

Mrs. Ginsburg did make one statement that was right on.  When asked her ideas on how to draft a constitution, her reply should cause every patriot to sit up and take notice.

“A Constitution, as important as it is, will mean nothing unless the people are yearning for liberty and freedom if the people don’t care, then the best Constitution in the world won’t make any difference, so spirit of liberty must be in the population.”

Bravo, Mrs. Ginsburg, you have the fundamental foundation for being a patriot. Now, put down your law books, put down your revisionist history, set aside your agendas and REALLY ”learn and listen” to the men you called genius. Learn WHY they were able to pledge their lives, their fortune, and their sacred honor so ages and millions yet unborn could live in the greatest nation on the planet protected by the greatest human rights statements ever drafted. You may just then begin to understand the pledge you took, and the principles embodied in the document you are supposed to support and defend.  You will then be qualified to maintain that seat on the Supreme Court.  May I be so bold as to suggest a really great book for you to get started?  Not A Living Breathing Document, Reclaiming Our Constitution.

Interesting how the words of our founders still come back to haunt us.  In the Letter from a Federal Farmer 8, the author warns us that: 

Men may always be too cautious to commit alarming and glaring iniquities; but they, as well as systems, are liable to be corrupted by slow degrees.

That is exactly what has happened.  The elimination of Constitutional rights of US Citizens are being eroded by slow degrees. Consider the following: 

Immediately after 9/11, Congress passes the Patriot Act, legislation that in part allows the FBI to conduct warrantless searches and seize people and property without probable cause and without judicial review. 

Next we have Janet Napolitano issuing in an OFFICIAL REPORT of the Department of Homeland Security stating that soldiers returning from Iraq and those who oppose abortion, along with others who hold conservative American values are the real potential terrorists. 

Recently, in April of 2011, the Government Accountability office reported that State Department and DHS officials could not agree on “what degree of ‘association’ with a terrorist is sufficient to render an applicant ineligible for a visa.”  Through this report we know that our US Visa offices are and have been granting legal resident status to citizens who have documented terrorist affiliation.  We also know that these legal residents have been granted full citizenship in spite of their documented terrorist affiliation.  Case in point; consider Faisal Shahzad, the failed Times Square bomber, who was granted a student visa and then full citizenship all the while being on a terrorist watch list.  Because of Faisal Shahzad’s terrorist attack on America, Eric Holder went on a campaign, not to fix our immigration system or to limit the real terrorists, but to declare that OUR Constitutional rights should be “more flexible” so we can combat terrorism. 

Every move that has been taken by this government moves us closer and closer to the death of the Constitution in the name of combating terrorism.  

Next, the National Defense Authorization Act declares an indefinite worldwide war on terrorism and makes provision the indefinite detention of those the government labels terrorists, or belligerents, or hostiles, or…? 

Congressman after Congressman has declared these sections EXCLUDE US Citizens.  They ignore section 4 that authorizes open and unchecked waivers of any established limitations. They claim that the language of this Act, “The requirement to detain a person in military custody under this section does not extend to citizens of the United States” gives that exclusion, even though telling a government agency they are not required to do something is not the same as prohibiting them from doing it.  Not even close.  We have declared open and undefined war on the nebulous enemy – “terrorism”, and we have given the President the ability to detain US Citizens indefinitely. Never fear, the current President has promised he will not use that power. 

Obama will never have to keep that promise if the Enemy Expatriation Act passes, since this act will strip US Citizens of their citizenship for simply being suspected of association with terrorist activity. 

The Immigration and Nationality Act establishes guidelines of how a citizen can “lose his nationality by voluntarily performing any of the following acts with the intention of relinquishing United States nationality”.  The act then proceeds to list seven ways someone can relinquish their citizenship, among those acts is treason.  The Enemy Expatriation Act adds an additional criteria, language straight out of those troublingly worded sections of NDAA that we were told were not aimed at US Citizens.  According to Senator Leibermann and others, citizens both by birth and naturalization do not deserve their citizenship if they are suspected of: 

engaging in, or purposefully and materially supporting, hostilities against the United States.

We should be asking ourselves, why do we need this language in addition to the crime of treason already listed as a way to lose citizenship.  The key may lie in the definition of treason in the Constitution: 

Treason against the United States, shall consist of only levying war against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving Aid and comfort.  No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.

The Constitution and the provisions in the Immigration act both require a conviction of treason in court.  The standard of engaging in or purposefully and materially supporting, as stated in the Enemy Expatriation Act contains no requirement for CONVICTION of these activities.  The Patriot Act allows the government to build their suspicion upon information obtained using warrantless searches. The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice have made it clear who they think the enemy is and that they believe these “enemies” deserve no Constitutional rights.  But I guarantee, those in favor of the Enemy Expatriation Act will claim that they have now defined “hostilities” and this will protect those citizens who have “nothing to hide”.  The act declares “hostilities” for THIS SECTION means, any conflict subject to the laws of war.   This does not define “hostilities” for any other document in effect.  We must remember NDAA has declared open and continual war on terrorism.  This “limitation” is no limitation at all.  

Do not be fooled.  Arm yourself with the truth!

The first TV show segment of the 2012 season was the melodrama that surrounded the payroll tax holiday extension bill. The President re-cast the bill in a new role whereby the “producers” called it a tax break for the “little guy.”  He then pushed Congress to pass a year extension of the bill and asked them to pay the tab from the expenses created by the bill on the backs of the “rich.”  These unwilling “rich” participants became the villains in this made-up Jerry Springer moment.  The President stood in front of countdown clocks while having press events and convincing the viewership that their 2012 was going to be a disaster all because of the members of Congress.

The next melodrama of the 2012 season was last week’s recess appointment of Mr. Cordray to be the head of the consumer financial bureau. This is the new watch dog agency created in the Dodd-Frank financial modernization bill. The President used Article II of the Constitution to recess appoint Mr. Cordray while the Senate was in recess. He then directed a moment whereby one of Mr. Cordray’s first acts as the head of this consumer agency was to listen and counsel two folks who had been harmed by the financial meltdown of the last few years. All the while, the participants (members of Congress) are screaming about the recess appointment process which gave Mr. Cordray his new job. The President, or host of the show, seems in complete control, creating “Jerry Springer” moments and then walking away letting the “participants” look like out of control drama kings and queens.

Why would the President start this reality show in 2012, the same year as his reelection for a second Presidential term? The answer for this writer is simple…because of Congress’ approval rating. Last week it came out that Congress’ approval rating hit an all time low according to the latest Rasmussen reports national phone poll. They polled 1,000 likely voters on Dec. 27 and 28 and found that only 5% of them thought Congress was doing a good or excellent job. If only 5% of the public approve of Congress, that means that 95% of us presumably don’t like Congress. If the President can orchestrate mini-turf battles and tug-of-war games with Congress and win them, at least temporarily, he appears to be on the side of the 95% of us that dislike Congress. These scenarios, if repeated over and over in 2012, will allow us to begin to think of President Obama as being “on our side.”

Members of Congress allowed themselves to be cast in this realty TV series as a result of their legislative accomplishments starting from the beginning of President Obama’s term of office. Remember, the democratically controlled Congress passed almost every initiative this President asked of them in 2009 and 2010. By 2011, the American people had really begun to feel the effects of the President’s legislation agenda and all of the adverse effects. The American people began to lash out at the ones who enacted the harmful legislation…members of Congress. Once Congress’ approval rating hit rock-bottom, the President casted them in his new reality TV series. Almost immediately the President began to look like he is standing up for the “little guy” because his adversary is the extremely unpopular Congress.

If Congress doesn’t begin to recast themselves in different roles, the President might just win the survivor grand prize this coming November.

Stay tuned to see how this new reality TV show works out for our President and Congress over the next several months

Elizabeth B. Letchworth is a retired, elected United States Senate Secretary for the Majority and Minority. Currently she is a senior legislative adviser for Covington & Burling, LLC and is the founder of GradeGov.com.

One of my favorite things at this time of year is to check the mailbox and get the Christmas cards arriving from friends and family!

It is that time of year again…Christmas is right around the corner and it is time for our annual Patriot Christmas card exchange.  This will be the third year that we have done this fun holiday activity.  Patriots across the country love interacting with each other and especially with some holiday spirit and cheer.

The first Christmas card exchange took place in 2009, the first year of this tea party grassroots movement. You can read about what inspired this Christmas activity on SouthernBellePolitics.com.

In 2010, we had another successful Christmas card exchange with even more Patriots across the country. We want to continue the tradition and festivities this year and hope the number of participants continues to grow.

Are you in the Christmas spirit yet?  Join the effort and you will realize why this is a favorite holiday activity by many.

The details and instructions are below.  If you want to participate, please register HERE by Thursday, December 15th.

HOW IT WORKS

Depending on the turnout and in order to keep this manageable, each person will be assigned 25 names to send holiday cards.  If you would like more than 25 names, please indicate in your email.  In return, your name will be given to the same people that you will receive their names.  You should receive the same number of cards in which you send.

All you have to do to participate is register by Thursday, December 15th.  We will compose the list of addresses as we receive them and will email them to you by Saturday, December 17th.  This information will be kept confidential and will not be published anywhere.  The lists will be mailed privately to those participating and will only include the name/alias and mailing address.  We understand the issue of privacy is important and if you prefer, you do not have to use your real name, but can use an alias.

To make the Christmas Card Exchange even more fun, instead of including a picture of your children or animals, include your favorite picture from a tea party or something related to the tea party movement.  The purpose is to get in the holiday spirit and send real holiday greetings to like minded people.

May your holidays be filled with love, laughter, and abundance of cheer.

Merry Christmas from American Grassroots Coalition!

***REGISTER HERE***

Conservative vs. Republican Establishment

This week (Tuesday, December 13th) we have a big battle coming with the Republicans in the United States Senate.  This is a battle that we need to engage in so that we let Senate Republican Leadership know that we are paying attention and are watching everything they are doing.

The Senate leadership race for Vice Chair of the Republican conference is shaping up to be a battle where the leadership is actively trying to prevent a new perspective from having a seat at the table. That new perspective is the conservative / tea party perspective.

Last week, Leadership quietly moved up the race from its originally scheduled date of January 25th to December 13th, in an effort to secure a rushed victory. The vote for this position will now happen on Tuesday.

Last year, we propelled Republicans to victory across the country.  Is Republican Leadership in the Senate going to deny a member representing the conservative / tea party movement a position in leadership? Shouldn’t a member that represents the energized base have a seat at the table too?

We need to step up and have our voices heard in this battle. We cannot sit back and let business as usual continue in the Senate. Our base needs to be represented because we were the ones that elected the new Senators such as Rubio, Lee, Paul, Ayotte and Toomey.

Senator Ron Johnson (WI) wants this position as Senate Conference Vice Chair and the conservative base would like him to have this position. Senator Ron Johnson announced earlier this fall that he wanted this position.

Senator Roy Blunt (MO) announced this past week that he wants the position too. The same day Senator Blunt made this announcement, Republican Leadership moved the election up to next Tuesday. Erick Erikson wrote an article that claims the word coming from the Senate is that Republican Leadership is whipping votes for Senator Blunt to win this election.

Senator Ron Johnson is a businessman of 31 years and a great conservative Senator that we all helped elect. Senator Johnson brings his perspective of a producer and job creator to Washington.  He understands how the private sector works, how jobs are created and how tax and regulatory policies impact small businesses. This experience is an extremely valuable asset for the Republican caucus to have at the leadership table.

Senator Johnson, while he may be a quiet leader, he brings a fresh perspective to the Senate and is willing to respectfully challenge the status quo. He is willing to stand up for the conservative cause instead of just falling in line. He is exactly what we need in Washington.

What is the alternative?

Senator Roy Blunt has been in Washington for 14 years. He is part of the establishment.  It is highly unlikely he would ever challenge Leadership or make a decision that would go against the establishment.

Not to mention, Senator Blunt is the Congressional Liaison for Mitt Romney’s campaign. Why would Republicans in the Senate elect a Senator that is part of a Presidential candidate’s campaign?

Do we really want another Senator that is part of the “good ‘ole boy” network sitting at the table or would we rather have a fresh new perspective from a conservative at the table?

The Bottom Line

Senator Roy Blunt brings the same old ideas and strategies that have become a problem in the Senate.

Senator Ron Johnson is a new voice that represents the conservative energy that sweeping the country.

What Can You Do?

Call Republican Senators:

Please do your part and call your Republican Senators and tell them to support Senator Ron Johnson for Vice Chair of the Republican Conference in the United States Senate.  If you have time, please call other Republican Senators also.  You can find contact information for all Senators HERE.

Social Media:

Also, after you have called the Republican Senators’ offices, please Tweet them and write on their FaceBook walls.

Visit our FaceBook wall and let us know your thoughts on this Leadership election in the US Senate.

Please share with others and get them engaged on this battle too.  We cannot do this without you.  Thank you for all that you do!

Friends, peers, family, acquaintances, strangers, I implore you to open your eyes to the current state of global affairs. For too long the majority of you have allowed yourselves to remain ignorant. For too long you have delighted in your own obliviousness to the precarious circumstances we are on the precipice of. If we as a nation are to remain a relevant entity in global governance we must prepare ourselves to take the reins from the destructive, ineffective and fraudulent leadership of today and seek to restructure the fundamental principals of leadership in America. If we are to prevail through this global economic strife we must be willing to question our entitlement mentalities, we must actively doubt whether perception does in fact equal reality, and we must seek truth and strive for excellence. Presently we have the ability to control our own destiny, yet we remain meek and blissful in our collective ignorance. This must change.

Step one is education, not only in the classroom but also on your own time. I have observed that the collective knowledge of our generation regarding pop culture is vast. Our generation must become relevant on the national stage to effect change. For this to occur we must be willing to sacrifice some of our admiration for Hollywood. I encourage you to occasionally put down Twilight and pick up a Newspaper, Change the channel from MTV to CNN, Turn off your radio station and flip it to the local news. Do these things, for even an hour each week and you will be surprised how quickly the proverbial veil is lifted and your place amongst the enlightened is secured.

Step two is the willingness to look your peers in the eye and tell them that they are the problem. We did not create the issues our generation will face in the coming years, the $140,000 dollars in deficit spending we are each expected to repay, the crumbling infrastructure, the failing healthcare system, the bankrupt entitlement programs, the Military Industrial Complex we unknowingly live under, were all created by the previous generations. Yet we will be tasked with finding the solutions. We are no longer a hegemonic state, we are moving into a state of multi-polarity not seen since the First World War, we cannot continue the practice of passing the buck and kicking the can down the road, we must tackle these issues head on. Our future depends on our ability to craft creative policy, not on our ability to create new reality television. If we are unwilling to bring our peers out of their ill informed state we will fail, as a generation and a nation.

Step three is action. Talk, write, debate, argue, vote, observe. We must begin to participate in the governance of this nation, for it is ours and soon it will be ours to run. Idly standing by and expecting others to carry our weight should no longer be accepted or tolerated.

I believe in this generation, I believe in our ability to successfully lead this nation to security and prosperity. We have the education, we have the talent and we have the resources. The only thing we lack is the passion and the motivation to take a stand. Follow me. Together, united, we can, and we will make a difference. Together we will make our voices heard. Together we can achieve greatness. This nation was founded on the hopes, dreams and ideas of very few men, and this nation can be restored and restructured with the hopes, dreams and ideas of the few as well. It will not take many but it will take dedication, determination, and courage. Rise up and break the bonds of ignorance, cease your acceptance of the status quo. Through a concentrated and a determined effort of political action we will effect change. We will be heard. America is calling, will you answer?

I’m Shane Wright, and I’m changing the world, one outburst at a time.

Click here to view the original article.

* Essentially the entire Ruling Political Elite and the media, including Fox, wrung their hands over “default,” which simply means the inability to pay debt service. It took a former Biden economic adviser on the Rachel Maddow Show to articulate the reality that out of the $180 billion collected from taxpayers each month, the $25 billion in debt service would be paid first. In other words, there was never a real threat of default.[1]

* The Ruling Political Elite ignored the debt limit to arrogantly spend beyond its supposed restriction–from Bush’s vote expanding the prescription drug program to Obama’s government takeover of America’s healthcare system.

* If one removes five zeroes from the government numbers we can see a household with $21,000 of income, spending $38,000 a year and holding a $149,000 credit card balance! And now the D.C. lads and lasses INCREASE the “credit card” authorization![2]

* The naivete of believing the credit rating agencies would be impressed by Congress taking the nation’s “credit card” authorization higher is embarrassing.

* In small towns all across America, people are laid off when expenses exceed revenues, but not a single pink slip gets issued when the same happens on the federal level. The Ruling Political Elite considers themselves above such indignities.

* Washington deceives the American public by “baseline budgeting,” which assumes a 7 percent growth of government each year so that a $2 million “cut” on a $100 million program winds up costing $105 million the following year rather than $98 million. A “cut” is not a reduction in the program but a reduction of its growth rate from 7% to 5%. [3]

* If you expect to gain 15 pounds on your next vacation but only gain 10, you can brag about losing 5 pounds — government style accounting!

* It’s tough to find the truth with headlines like this: “$1 trillion of immediate cuts over the next 10 years.” The truth is, in the first year cuts will maybe amount to $67 billion or $27 billion and future Congresses will ignore the out-year “cuts,” as they always do.

* Exaggeration and demagoguery: We hear of the dire consequences to America’s education system if 10% of the Department of Education, for example, were let go or given unpaid leaves of absence, and yet the Ruling Political Elite has allocated:

A. $55 million to Indonesia to reduce infant mortality of newborn babies[4]

B. $2.9 million to China to study the drinking habits of prostitutes while on the job[5]

C. $1 million to sprinkle lines of poetry through selected zoos in America[6]

D. $500,000 to study shrimp on a treadmill[7]

E. $700,000 to Thailand to research possibility of harnessing pig flatulence as renewable energy[8]

*Obama signing legislation which, among other things, gave an incentive to buy a private jet by giving 100% first year depreciation and then spawning class warfare by criticizing those who responded to his enticement[9]

*A congressman calling those of us who want less government spending “terrorists,” later echoed by Vice President Biden[10]

Forgive me for my anger; I’m turning off my TV; Fortunately there is encouragement to be found. Watch Marco Rubio, the Tea Party U.S. Senator from Florida, in a 14 minute speech, where he deftly confronts John Kerry’s poking on the Senate floor. Log on to Campfire Blog to share your thoughts with others.

God Bless,

Foster

1. Read Dick Morris’s op-ed about President Obama and the so called “debt crisis” here. (about 650 words/little more than a page)

2. Read George Mason University’s analysis of U.S. debt here. (About three PDF pages)

3. Read the Citizens Against Government Waste explanation of “baseline budgeting” here. (less than a page)

4. Read about America’s $55 million gift to Indonesia here. (less than a page)

5. Read about the U.S. government’s multi-million dollar donation to the study of Chinese prostitute drinking habits here. (500 words, about a page)

6. Check out the American taxpayer’s $1 million donation to the crucial cause of poetry in zoos here. (400 words, almost one page)

7. Read about federally funded jello-wrestling and shrimp aerobics here. (500 words, about a page)

8. Read about the government’s stimulation of foreign economies through “green” programs, such as the study of pig gas in Thailand, here. (500 words, about a page)

9. President Obama seems to unknowingly criticize a tax-break in his own stimulus package here. (500 words, about a page)

10. Listen to Congressman Mike Doyle from PA talk about his reference to the tea party patriots as “terrorists” here. (about 5 minutes)

Recently, a historic press conference detailing the Cut, Cap and Balance Pledge brought together more than 60 center-right organizations and 120 Tea Party organizations to support Congressional conservatives’ plans to cut the deficit and enact serious budgetary constraints. However, leaders of the House and Senate are poised to ignore our demands and keep America on a road to a European-style debt crisis and financial ruin.

As you know, a vote on the debt ceiling is looming. And as newly elected members of the congressional Tea Party Caucus brace to hold the ground firmly against President Obama’s radical economic agenda, they need your help more than ever.

Over the last decade, both parties have increased our debt from $5.8 billion to more than $14.4 billion, a 150% increase!

A trillion, which is 1 followed by 12 zeros, is a difficult number to imagine. So imagine it this way: A trillion $1 bills stacked together would reach approximately 68,000 miles into the sky, or about a third of the way from the Earth to the moon.

These numbers are so big that it is easy to be ambivalent about them — which is exactly what the statists and status-quo-defending Washington politicians want!

Therefore, just like the courageous heroes that founded this great nation, the American Grassroots Coalition is teaming up with grassroots activists and implementing strategies to defeat the enemy. We must force Congress to agree to the three demands of the Cut, Cap and Balance Pledge, which are:

1) Cut — The enactment of serious budgetary cuts that will reduce the deficit immediately and into the future.

2) Cap – Just as families have to live within their means and on constrained budgets, so should Congress. Therefore, Congress must pass immediate statutory spending caps that will keep federal spending at or below the pre-Obama historic average of 18% of gross domestic product.

3) Balance — Congress must send to the states for ratification a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would mandate that expenditures equal revenues, while simultaneously requiring super-majority approval of tax increases.

Just to be clear, this isn’t some cheap pledge, where politicians sign pledges instead of doing the hard work. These three points, which were until recently quite impossible to enact, are entirely achievable thanks to your donations and hard work. Now is not the time to give up! We must work harder than ever before.

As Tea Party champion Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky said, “We as a Congress must get serious about the solutions we propose to restore fiscal discipline and prosperity. I am convinced after my time here in Washington that the only way we can get our fiscal house in order is through structural reform such as those proposed in the Cut, Cap and Balance Pledge. With these conditions in place, we can begin the process of defeating this catastrophic national debt, which is why I wholeheartedly pledge my support.”

A bloated federal government is all that stands in the way of an economic recovery. While Obama and his supporters in Congress wish to raise taxes and delay making serious, adult choices about the budget, Tea Party activists must demand their voices be heard at the negotiating table. During this complicated process, in the face of opposition from big-spending politicians and a liberal media, we will not rest until these politicians are restrained by rigid, immovable spending limitations.

Democrats and moderate Republicans keep privately assuring people that Republicans will cave on the debt ceiling vote. This commitment to cut, cap and balance will ensure that before politicians sell us out, we will be on a path to capping expenditures and beginning the process of reducing the debt via passage of a balanced budget amendment. This is a more permanent solution that will once again put America on a path to greater prosperity.

For years, Washington has been charging on the credit card of the American people and the credit limit has been raised time and time again. The American people are saying no more! The time has come to reign in this out of control spending that has become the culture of Washington, DC. Cut Cap and Balance is a strong step in that direction.

American families have to cut back and balance their budgets on a regular basis. Why shouldn’t Washington? It is one thing to just say NO to excessive spending, but it is another thing to actually enact legislation to stop this irresponsible behavior now and in future Congresses.

Cut Cap and Balance pushes to cut significant amounts of spending to decrease our deficit next year, cap our annual spending at a percentage of GDP and sends the states a balanced budget amendment with strong spending and tax limitations. Cut Cap and Balance will ensure that Washington will not continue to spend more than they take in revenues. This will force Washington to live within their means, just like the rest of America.

What we have been doing for the past several decades is certainly not working, so it is time to do something different. The time for lip service is past. Cut Cap and Balance is the right approach. The question is who has the gumption to fight for Cut Cap and Balance?

I was born and raised in Brazil and moved to the United States in 1986 with my family. I came here legally to be part of the American dream; Life, liberty, opportunity and the pursuit of happiness. I did not come here to take “advantage” of or change the system but to be part of this great system. Through tough times, with hard work, and without any government handouts, today I am proud to say that I am living the American Dream and I want to keep the dream alive for my children and grandchildren! Therefore, during the 2008 Presidential campaign, I decided I had had enough and realized that I needed to stop sipping my latte while screaming at my television set. I decided that as a devout American citizen and also a mother of four children, who has had the opportunity, as well as the misfortune, to live outside America’s borders, that it was my duty to get off my couch and fight to preserve the freedoms our Founding Fathers put in place. Freedoms that have been under constant attack for decades, but most recently by the “shellacked” Obama administration and a host of unelected bureaucrats enacting non-legislated policies; all of which are outside the bounds our Constitution places on the Federal Government.

Our economic health and high unemployment rate have, and will continue to be, important issues of concern to the American people. However, what we fail to realize is that the economic crisis we have in our hands is a direct consequence of the moral crisis we are living within our society. This moral crisis is the same one that has gradually been implemented in South America through a strong and well-planned Marxist program that involved the most important sectors of our society: education, media communication, entertainment and religion.

These days, I find myself astonished as I realize that there is a direct correlation between what is happening in the United States and what has happened throughout South America. I make no apologies. What is gradually being imposed on America today, the land of the less and less free, is Marxism through and through. I like to call it 21st Century Marxism since we are not fighting a bloody battle; instead, we are fighting an ideological one.

Not many Americans would know this, since political events in South America barely make it in to the news here, but the political system that we have in place today is exactly the same one implemented by the Marxists in the so-called “Banana Republics” by democratically electing presidents such as Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, “Lula” and Dilma in Brazil, Evo Morales in Bolivia and Cristina Kirchner in Argentina, just to name a few. These leaders have been elected by using the same strategy and tactics that “progressives” in this country have now successfully used: infiltration of the education system and rewriting of our history, implementation of class warfare ideology, voter fraud and intimidation, brainwashing and diversion through mass communication and promises to the lower economic class that will never be implemented due to the real and hidden agenda of these politicians. The Marxist ideology justifies using these kinds of tactics where the “means justifies the end.” So, in essence, by not coming together and speaking up against a system that does not work, we will be creating our own “Banana Republic” out of our beloved country!

How will we combat Marxism without real leaders emerging in times like these? The answer is simple: We can’t and we won’t. Once in power, the first point on the Marxist agenda is to destroy any real conservative leadership they see as a credible threat. All we have to do is take a look at what the Main Stream Media has been trying to do to Sarah Palin since 2008. But do not be mistaken, they will not stop there. Look at what the left is trying to do to discredit the Tea Party movement by claiming it to be racist.

The people in Latin America who believe in freedom and not tyranny are now fighting to remove these corrupt leaders and take back the power they gained through sham democratic processes. In many instances, however, it is simply too late. Marxists have taken over the legislative and judiciary powers of those countries through a combination of corruption and ideological maneuvering. Citizens of those countries, just like you and I, are paying the price for believing in silver-tongued politicians who make promises they know they can never fulfill. They believed in “hope and change” in Latin America and there has been “change” in that region, just not the “change” the people were hoping for.

Although this Marxist ideology has already infiltrated us so deeply over decades and with such rapid acceleration under the current administration, we must remind ourselves as Americans that we are unique in what we have inherited, and what we must protect and restore! We must not accept defeat. Now is the time to reverse the mistake of November 2008 and add to the gains made in 2010 by bringing all conservatives and independents together, while reforming the GOP, to enforce grassroots conservative morals and principles of freedom from tyranny and government excess by electing those who will honor their oath to the Constitution. In addition, and most importantly, we need to realize that elections alone are simply not enough anymore. Now, more than ever, we need to fight special interest groups that are driving up the cost of government. We need to regain control of our state governments and of our country so that we can let “the people” and not the government, once again govern our great nation. It is time for Americans to tell the government that it works for us; we, the taxpayers, do not work for the government! Finally, we need to take a page from other countries’ histories and fully understand that if we don’t have freedom, we do not have life!

I have left my homeland once and I refuse to let America go down without putting up a fight!

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