Golly! Another Reason to Vote Romney/Ryan
Mitt Romney has already shown that he can bring much-needed leadership to the Oval Office. He can restore the class, dignity and respect, that has been stripped away from the office by the celebrity seeking, rock-star that inhabits it now. This New York times story shows how Mitt, excuse me, Mr. Romney can restore something else to Capitol Hill, civility. What a great role model this man will be for our children. Let’s all “Chick-fil-A” the polls on November 6th and put Mitt Romney in the White House.
Hard or Hardship Government Economics vs the Household Budget
I sat at my desk today, doing what I do every Thursday. Juggling bills. As I pondered how much I would have left for groceries, after paying the phone bill, and gassing up the old “Silver Toilet”( my very thirsty pickup truck), a thought occurred to me. How is it that so many people have no real understanding of our national debt? We hear about it all the time, ” our grandchildren will be faced with the burden of our national debt”. But do we ever really think about what that means to us as individuals? Household economics is really pretty straightforward. If there is no money left after paying the bills, then you don’t eat. Skip out on your power bill, you sit in the dark, decide you’d rather go on vacation than pay your mortgage, bye-bye home. Real life teaches us that if you continue to spend more than you make, eventually it will all come crashing down around you.
It works the same way with the government. It doesn’t matter what kind of fancy economic theory you adhere to, the simple fact is that our country is broke. I know, you’ve heard that before, so what? Well, what that means to me is that I’ll have to depend on myself more, and government less. It means that the Pell grant my daughter depended on for college isn’t going to be there, my Tricare premiums are increasing, and Social Security isn’t even a factor in my retirement planning. It doesn’t matter what the politicians promise, we have two choices, realize that we are going to have to accept cuts to government programs now, or wait until the government defaults and then completely lose that safety net while the economy implodes on itself sucking us in with it. Either way we will have to become less dependent on to government.
Given that cuts are inevitable, what makes more sense, to have a president that aims to control more of the population by increasing their dependency on government programs? Or a president who can make the tough cuts necessary to balance the budget? We have to ask ourselves, do we want to suffer the controlled hardships of a government learning to live within its means? The way the rest of us do. Or do we want to live through the devastation of a complete economic meltdown?
Americans have a noble tradition of pulling on our boots, rolling up our sleeves, and shouldering the work. We don’t run from hardship, we face it head on, grit our teeth and gut it out. It will be interesting to see, if this new voting generation will rise to the challenge, or if they will just curl up in the fetal position, consoling themselves with You Tube and reality TV, while waiting for a savior to come and bail them out.
Lest We Forget
(Parts of this are reposted from an earlier post entitled “No Guts No Glory”.)
This Monday we will see billboards, bumper stickers, and car magnets all proclaiming “Support our Troops“, and “Freedom Isn’t Free”. Are these truly heart-felt words, displayed by proud patriots or are they meaningless platitudes, mindlessly quoted by pandering politicians? On this day there will be countless memorial services and tributes. But will we stop a moment and reflect on what this day really means or is it simply the beginning of summer? Just a day to have a picnic or barbecue.
I remember as a child hearing the stories of my mother, who, as a toddler underwent surgery on her foot. For years afterward she required special orthotic shoes that had to be replaced every time her foot grew. This was during WWII and rationing was in full force. Everyone was allowed only one pair of shoes a year. Including my mother. The government didn’t make a special exception because she was a child with a medical condition. Her parents didn’t demand that she was entitled to more ration coupons because of a unique hardship. Instead they gave up their ration coupons to get her the shoes she needed and when those ran out other family members, friends and neighbors donated theirs. Why was this necessary? Because the materials that were used to make shoes over here were needed to make shoes for the troops over there. Could you imagine giving up coffee, sugar, shoes and tires and sending them to the troops in Vietnam, Afghanistan, or Iraq? Could we ever again unite as a whole country behind an effort to rid our world of an unspeakable evil? Do we even know what evil is anymore?
The invention of photography as allowed us to see the horrors of war up close and personal. The flag draped coffins of our loved ones, the bloody, mangled bodies of our enemies, the atrocities. Faced with the horrifying reality that the price of freedom is blood, many of us have decided that the price is too high. We believe that the act of war, rather than the megalomaniacal ideals of ruthless men is the true evil and that nothing save our own personal survival is worth fighting and dying for.
The men who marched at Lexington and Concord, whose bodies covered the ground at Gettysburg, who raised the flag at Mount Suribachi, all understood the power of the words of our Declaration of Independence, and our Constitution. That such a radical ideal as individual freedom, that men should control their own destinies, requires a collective sacrifice.
By looking to the government for our prosperity rather that demanding that our elected officials recognize the freedom to build that prosperity ourselves, by allowing the government the rights to our personal property, and by allowing the government to usurp and mismanaged our wages though an unnecessarily complicated tax code, we dishonor those who have fought and died to maintain those freedoms.
By allowing our schools to indoctrinate our children with the mantra that it is the government’s job to take care of us, to protect us from our own ignorance and folly, and that “from each according to his ability and to each according to his need” is the highest morality, we dishonor those who fought and died for our right to think for ourselves.
Our Forefathers wrote the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, not to give us certain rights, but to preserve them. The government does not grant us our freedoms, rather we “the people” grant the government its right to exist. It’s time for us to “take back” our government and hold our elected officials accountable, for what they do with the money, property, time and power we “the people” give them.
In every election we have the opportunity to show that we truly understand the cost of our freedom and that it is precious. By taking the time and making the effort to research and vote for people truly worthy to serve us, and by reminding them regularly that they do, is how we prove that those who made the “ultimate sacrifice” did not do so in vain.
Where is the “Wow”
I am the Independent Voter and I am waiting to be wowed. The Democratic Party does not understand me and the Republicans have taken me for granted for far too long. I am not an elite intellectual nor am I a backwoods buffoon. I am the key to victory in the next election. The deciding factor in which direction our country will go.
I am not impressed by the half-truths, out of context quotes and out right lies broadcast in your political ads. I don’t care if you paid your taxes at a 30% rate or a 15% rate. I don’t care if it took you three times to figure out how to make a marriage work. I don’t care if you did or didn’t change your mind about an issue. I don’t care if you stumbled over a question during a debate. I don’t care if you smoked pot in high school, posed nude to pay for college, pick your nose or sleep with a teddy bear.
I do care about keeping my job if I have one, and finding one if I don’t. I care that I might not be able to afford a gallon of gas, or a week’s worth of groceries. I want an honest day’s wage for an honest day’s work. I want to be able to take my child to the doctor when he’s sick and not worry about if I can afford it. I want to see that brand new, mostly empty strip mall in my neighborhood filled with shops. I want clean air, clean water, and food that is safe to eat.
I don’t care if the man down the road is a billionaire because he inherited a thriving business that his father built from scratch. I just want a level playing field where I have the opportunity to do the same.
I worry that our quest to be a “tolerant” society will blind us to the machinations of our enemies, and I fear that our over burdened, over restricted and under manned military will not be able to protect us.
I want the schools to teach my children how to be competitive in an ever-changing world economy. Teach them basic academic skills. Train them in critical thinking, not what to think, but how to think. Don’t waste a school day filling my child’s head with politically correct, social, moral, and spiritual indoctrination. It is not the government’s place to teach my children right from wrong, or to boost their fragile egos. That is my job as their parent.
I want to preserve the wonder and majesty of nature. I want to have pristine parks and sparkling lakes. I want to be a good steward and manage our resources well, but I don’t want the Government telling me how. That oil well eyesore is a beautiful thing when it is the secret to feeding your family. I just don’t get that upset about the last remaining sub species of a toad, when there are thousands of other toads, and that toad’s existence will cost a family their farm, or a town a hundred jobs.
I want to feel safe in my home. I want to have the right to protect it from thieves, vandals and government intrusion. I want to be able to do as I see fit on my property, as long as I don’t pose an actual threat or nuisance to my neighbors.
The current administration has let me down, as have others before it. I want to know what you, if elected President, will do to restore this country back to its place as leader of the free world. To help us grow a vibrant economy, to secure our boarders, to give the power back to the people the way our Founding Fathers intended. Court me, impress me, wow me. The future of our country is at stake.