Completely Wreckless, Completely Irresponsible

This is from Senator Mitch McConnell’s website, and it contains a strong statement from Senator Olympia Snow, who has been an “iffy” vote on healthcare.  I see even she has had it now…

‘And here’s the most outrageous part: at the end of this rush, they want us to vote on a bill that no one outside the Majority Leader’s conference room has even seen. That’s right. The final bill we’ll vote on isn’t even the one we’ve had on the floor. It’s the deal Democrat leaders have been trying to work out in private’

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor Thursday regarding the importance of getting it right on health care reform:

“Senators on both sides acknowledge that the health care bill we’re considering is among the most significant pieces of legislation any of us will ever consider.

“So it stands to reason that we’d devote significant time and attention to it.

“Indeed, some would argue that we should spend more time and attention on this bill than most — if not every — previous bill we’ve considered.

“The Majority disagrees.

“Why? Because this bill has become a political nightmare for them.

“They know Americans overwhelmingly oppose it, so they want to get it over with.

“Americans are already outraged at the fact that Democrat leaders took their eyes off the ball. Rushing the process on a partisan line makes the situation even worse.

“Americans were told the purpose of reform was to reduce the cost of health care.

“Instead, Democrat leaders produced a $2.5 trillion, 2,074-page monstrosity that vastly expands government, raises taxes, raises premiums, and wrecks Medicare.

“And they want to rush this bill through by Christmas — one of the most significant, far-reaching pieces of legislation in U.S. history. They want to rush it.

“And here’s the most outrageous part: at the end of this rush, they want us to vote on a bill that no one outside the Majority Leader’s conference room has even seen.

“That’s right. The final bill we’ll vote on isn’t even the one we’ve had on the floor. It’s the deal Democrat leaders have been trying to work out in private.

“That’s what they intend to bring to the floor and force a vote on before Christmas.

“So this entire process is essentially a charade.

“But let’s just compare the process so far with previous legislation for some perspective. Here’s a snapshot of what we’ve done and where we stand:

• The Majority Leader intends to bring this debate to a close as early as this weekend — four days from now, on this $2.5 trillion dollar mistake

• No American who hasn’t been invited into the Majority Leader’s conference room knows what will be in that bill

• This bill has been the pending business of the Senate since the last week of November — less than four weeks ago.

• We started the amendment process two weeks ago.

• We’ve had 21 amendments and motions — less than two a day.

“Now let’s look at how the Senate has dealt with previous legislation.

“No Child Left Behind (2001):

• 21 session days or 7 weeks.

• Roll Call votes: 44

• Number of Amendments offered: 157

“9/11 Commission/Homeland Security Act (2002):

• 19 session days over 7 weeks.

• Roll Call votes: 20

• Number of Amendments offered: 30

“Energy Bill (2002):

• 21 session days over 8 weeks

• Number of Roll Call votes: 36

• Number of Amendments offered: 158

“This isn’t an energy bill. This is an attempt by a majority to take over one sixth of the U.S. economy — to vastly expand the reach and the role of government into the health care decisions of every single American — and they want to be done after one substantive amendment. This is absolutely inexcusable.

“I think Senator Snowe put it best on Tuesday:

‘Given the enormity and complexity,’ she said, ‘I don’t see anything magical about the Christmas deadline if this bill is going to become law in 2014.’

“And I think Senator Snowe’s comments on a lack of bipartisanship at the outset of this debate are also right on point.

“Here’s what she said in late November:

‘I am truly disappointed we are commencing our historic debate on one of the most significant and pressing domestic issues of our time with a process that has forestalled our ability to arrive at broader agreement on some of the most crucial elements of health care reform. The bottom line is, the most consequential health care legislation in the history of our country and the reordering of $33 trillion in health care spending over the coming decade shouldn’t be determined by one vote-margin strategies – surely we can and must do better.’

“The only conceivable justification for rushing this bill is the overwhelming opposition of the American people. Democrats know that the longer Americans see this bill the less they like it. Here’s the latest from Pew. It came out just yesterday.

“A majority (58 percent) of those who have heard a lot about the bills oppose them while only 32 percent favor them.”

“There is no justification for this blind rush — except a political one, and that’s not good enough for the American people.

“And there’s no justification for forcing the Senate to vote on a bill none of us has seen.

“Americans already oppose this bill. The process is just as bad.

“It’s completely reckless, completely irresponsible.”

Tea Party is getting Relevant!

The latest Wall Street Journal/NBC poll:

By Susan Davis

The loosely organized group made of up mostly conservative activists and independent voters that’s come to be known as the Tea Party movement currently boasts higher favorability ratings than either the Democratic or Republican Parties, according to the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll coming out later today.

More than four in 10, 41%, of respondents said they had a very or somewhat favorable view of the Tea Party movement, while 24% said they had a somewhat or very negative view of the group. The Tea Party movement gained notoriety over the summer following a series of protests in Washington, D.C. and other cities over government spending and other U.S. economic policies.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party, which controls both the White House and Congress, has a 35% positive rating compared with a 45% negative rating.

The Republican Party identifies closest to the Tea Party movement’s ideology, but the group has also caused splits within the GOP. Republicans currently hold a 28% favorability rating compared with a 43% negative one.

The full poll will be released at 6:30 p.m. EST at WSJ.com.

“Tea Party” Voters Present Challenge for GOP

Well maybe the tea parties are finally going to move the GOP back to the conservative side by keeping the pressure on.

“Tea Party” Voters Present Challenge for GOP

The Republican party is expected to make gains in the 2010 congressional elections, but the party’s plans may be hampered by the “tea party” movement that gained steam over the summer, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Protesters around the country this year demonstrated against President Obama’s stimulus package and health care plans, giving Republicans a chance to unify and energize its base after four years of dismal election results. Those demonstrators, however, do not necessarily identify with the Republican party simply because they do not identify with Democrats.

The GOP is preparing to make a comeback with 2010 candidates that can appeal to broad constituencies, according to the Journal. For example, Dede Scozzafava is running in a special election next month for an open House seat representing upstate New York. Local Republican representatives chose Scozzafava for her political experience and commitment to family values, even though she supports abortion rights. Tea party activists, however, are getting behind Doug Hoffman, who calls himself the real conservative. The split among conservatives has left their Democratic opponent in the lead.

The Journal points to other examples in which the conservative activism of the summer has worked against the Republican party. Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, a moderate but popular Republican, is running for the Senate, but faces a primary challenge from former Florida House speaker Marco Rubio, who is seeking tea party members’ support.

Liberal Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who gained some notoriety this summer for striking back against extreme protesters, said Wednesday that he thinks Republicans made a mistake by encouraging the “tea party” movement.

“I think the conservatives made a big mistake morally as well as tactically,” he said on HLN’s Joy Behar Show. “I think they thought they were benefiting from all these crazies going out and venting. I think they realized that got in the way of the rational arguments they wanted to try to make … So, I think you’ll still see some of the negativity [remain], but it won’t be as supported by the Republican apparatus.”

The disaffected sentiment of conservatives who joined in the protests this summer has been embraced by personalities like Glenn Beck, who has gained a strong following from both his Fox News TV show and nationally-syndicated radio program. Last month, Beck told CBS News’ Katie Couric that he believes the country would have been worse off with Republican Sen. John McCain as president than it is with Mr. Obama.

During the interview, Beck told Couric his viewers “don’t care about the parties, they care about their life… They say, ‘the Republicans have betrayed me, the Democrats have betrayed me… I don’t see an exit strategy here.’”

CBSNews.com.blogs

Dems block GOP amendment to demand for more time on Obamacare bill

What was that Obama said before being elected?

1. Make Government Open and Transparent
2. Make it “Impossible” for Congressmen to slip in Pork Barrel Projects
3. Meetings where laws are written will be more open to the public (republicans shut out?)
4. No more secrecy
5. Public will have 5 days to look at a Bill
6. You’ll know what’s in it (Republican Senators didnt know)
7. We will put every pork barrel project online

Dems block GOP demand for more time on ObamaCare

Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday turned back a Republican amendment to wait 72 hours and require a full cost estimate before the final committee vote on the health care reform bill.

It was the committee’s first vote out of more than 500 amendments awaiting them, in what has already been a contentious mark-up session.

The amendment would have delayed a vote on the final bill for about two weeks to allow the Congressional Budget Office to complete its final analysis on the cost and implications of the legislation.

Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln was the only Democrat to vote with Republicans for the amendment, further signaling that she may be an attractive swing vote for Republicans.

Instead, the panel passed an alternative amendment that would require the committee to post the full bill, in “conceptual” instead of legal language, as well as as a CBO cost estimate.

Separately, a bipartisan group of House lawmakers on Wednesday announced their own effort to force Democratic leaders to give members of Congress — and the public — 72 hours to review legislation before any bill is brought to the floor for a vote.

The measure, sponsored by Rep. Brian Baird, Washington Democrat, and Republican Reps. John Culberson of Texas and Greg Walden of Oregon, would require House leaders to post all non-emergency legislation online, in its final form, three days before a vote.

The lawmakers have begun circulating a discharge petition that would force House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to hold a vote on their bill, which has been stuck in committee for months.

GOP lawmakers in particular have hammered Mrs. Pelosi and other Democratic leaders for rushing long, complex bills through the House.

“The American people are angry that Speaker Pelosi didn’t allow the public and their elected representatives to read the trillion-dollar ’stimulus’ bill or the national energy tax before they were rammed through the House,” Minority Leader John Boehner, Ohio Republican, said Wednesday. “Congress can, and must, do better.”

In the Senate Finance Committee debate, Democrats argued that the amendment, offered by Sen. Jim Bunning, Kentucky Republican, was merely an attempt to stall President Obama’s top legislative priority.

“This is fundamentally a delay tactic,” said Sen. John F. Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat.

Chairman Max Baucus, Montana Democrat, promised committee members that they’d have a preliminary analysis of the bill before they vote.

Republicans said the full analysis, which details the cost and implications of the bill, is necessary to inform their vote.

“It’s what [the public] expects us to do anyway — read a bill before you vote on it,” said Sen. Charles E. Grassley, ranking Republican on the panel.

Further complicating the process is the fact that the Finance Committee works on “conceptual language” — plain English explanations that are later turned into legislative text.

The committee has always worked with conceptual language with the understanding that if a lawmaker finds a discrepancy later, the chairman can change the text to reflect what was intended.

Democrats argued that the conceptual language made it easier to understand what the committee is voting on, but Republicans said that the legislative details are significant.

Rushed floor votes on the stimulus bill and the cap-and-trade energy bill — both of which totaled more than 1,000 pages — have fueled calls from the public that lawmakers read bills before voting on them. The House resolution is supported by several public-interest groups, including the Sunlight Foundation, which point out that hasty votes can result in unintended consequences, such as the provision tucked into the stimulus bill that had the effect of authorizing executives of bailed-out insurance giant AIG to receive retroactive bonuses.

Earlier this summer, Mrs. Pelosi told a reporter she would allow a 48-hour waiting period prior to bringing health care legislation up for a vote.

The discharge petition requires 218 signatures to force a vote on the bill, which has 98 co-sponsors. There are currently 256 Democrats and 177 Republicans in the House.

WashintonTimes.com

Joe Wilson-Pete Stark Where was the outrage then ?

Rep. Pete Stark Calls Bush A Liar Twice On House Floor

The House voted Tuesday 240 to 179 for a rare disciplinary resolution, accusing Wilson of a “breach of decorum” that brought “discredit to the House.” It was a near party-line vote. All but seven Republicans voted “no” and 17 Democrats declined to support the resolution, voting “no” or “present.”

The House historian’s office said that no “resolution of disapproval” had been passed to upbraid a member of the House in the past 20 years.

abcnews.com

Since democrats are acting particularly sanctimonious about Wilson and pretending they’ve never seen anyone call the president a liar before, let’s take a trip down memory lane…

Here’s  Rep. Pete Stark calling President Bush a liar on the floor of the House not once — but twice back in October 2007 while Congress was in session. Where was their outrage then?

Lamar Alexander to vote for Sonia Sotomayor

Just one more reason to vote this man out of office next time. “Today, it would be equally wrong for me to vote against Judge Sotomayor solely because she is not on my side on some issues,” Alexander said.

Lamar Alexander to vote for Sonia Sotomayor

Lamar Alexander, Tennessee’s embarrassing Senator, announced this morning he will vote FOR Sonia Sotomayor.  Unfortunately he is not up for re-election until 2014. Contact him and others in Congress NOW, tell them how you want them to vote and how you feel about Sotomayor. Other idiots voting for Sotomayor include Snowe & Collins of Maine, Lugar of Indiana, Martinez of Florida, and Graham of South Carolina.

In a speech on the Senate floor this morning, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee said he will vote to confirm Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court — becoming the sixth Republican to do so.

Alexander acknowledged differences he had with Sotomayor over gun rights and the Second Amendment. But he praised her “experience, temperament, character and intellect.”

Alexander, who is not up until 2014, is the third ranking Republican in the Senate.  [snip]

The Senate is expected to vote on the nomination next week, perhaps Thursday.  (NPR)

Tennessee’s Bob Corker will NOT support Sotomayor, good for him.

Alexander’s announcement came hours after his Tennessee colleague, Republican Sen. Bob Corker announced that he won’t be backing Sotomayor. “I believe Judge Sotomayor views the Supreme Court as more of a policy-making body where laws are shaped based on the personal views of the justices,” Corker said in a statement released by his office late Wednesday.  [snip]

Twenty four Republicans are committed to vote no on Sotomayor’s nomination; 11 remain undecided. We listed the fence-sitters in an earlier post .  (USA Today)

Those voting NO and undecided:

Update, 5:30 p.m. ET [July 29, 2009]: Also announcing that they will vote no on Sotomayor are Republican senators Jim DeMint of South Carolina; Richard Burr of North Carolina; Mike Crapo of Idaho and Mike Johanns of Nebraska. Our thanks to hardworking USA TODAY intern Blair Brettschneider for helping us track this down.  [snip]

That leaves a dozen Republicans who have not yet announced how they will vote on the Sotomayor nomination, including Sens. John McCain of Arizona and John Ensign of Nevada.[snip]

Other Republicans who haven’t yet announced their votes: Sens. …   John Barrasso and Mike Enzi of Wyoming; Christopher Bond of Missouri; Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson of Georgia; Judd Gregg of New Hampshire; Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and George Voinovich of Ohio.  (Kathy Keily, USA Today)

I’m on the phone as I type this trying to get through to Lamar the traitor, but the lines are all busy.  Looks like they either have the phones off the hook, or the switchboard is swamped with irate voters like me.

RightTruth.typepad.com

Democrats Block GOP Health Care Mailing

Democrats Block GOP Health Care Mailing

By Jackie Kucinich

---

Democrats are preventing Republican House Members from sending their constituents a mailing that is critical of the majority’s health care reform plan, blocking the mailing by alleging that it is inaccurate.

House Republicans are crying foul and claiming that the Democrats are using their majority to prevent GOP Members from communicating with their constituents.

The dispute centers on a chart (view PDF) created by Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) and Republican staff of the Joint Economic Committee to illustrate the organization of the Democratic health care plan.

At first glance, Brady’s chart resembles a board game: a colorful collection of shapes and images with a web of lines connecting them.

But a closer look at the image reveals a complicated menagerie of government offices and programs that Republicans say will be created if the leading Democratic health care plan becomes law.

In a memo sent Monday to Republicans on the House franking commission, Democrats argue that sending the chart to constituents as official mail would violate House rules because the information is misleading.

In their eight-point memo, which was obtained by Roll Call, Democrats identify a litany of areas where they believe the chart is incorrect.

For example, Democrats argue that the chart depicts a “Health Insurance Exchange Trust Fund” that is “simply a recipient of IRS funds, with no outflow. … This is false.”

The chart’s illustration of low-income subsidies is also “misleading and false,” Democrats argue.

Congressional rules for franked mail bar Members from using taxpayer-funded mail for newsletters that use “partisan, politicized or personalized” comments to criticize legislation or policy.

The dispute over Brady’s chart is being reviewed by the franking commission, which must approve any mail before it can be sent. No decision had been made on the matter by press time.

Brady adamantly denied that the chart was misleading and said Democrats are simply threatened by the content of the graphic.

“I think their review was laughable,” Brady said. “It’s … downright false in most of the cases. The chart depicts their health care plan as their committees developed it.”

“The chart reveals how their health care bureaucracy works, and people are frightened by it,” he added. “So this is their effort to try and discredit” the chart.

Republican Members have made 20 requests to mail a version of the chart to their constituents and have been told that the requests are being delayed while the commission reviews allegations that the chart is misleading.

“Hiding the truth about wildly unpopular policies is a Democrat specialty,” said one GOP aide. “I’d like to see the flow chart on how Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi plans on implementing the open and transparent government she keeps promising everyone.”

“We have initiated discussions with the minority to try and resolve current differences and are operating in good faith to achieve that goal,” said Kyle Anderson, a spokesman for House Administration Chairman Robert Brady (D-Pa.). The committee has oversight of the commission.

Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.), ranking member of the committee and a member of the franking commission, said through a spokeswoman that he is also aware of the situation and is working with the members of the franking commission to resolve the differences, but he added that he believed Democrats on the commission were overreaching.

“He strongly believes that the franking commission does not have the authority to deny Member communications based on partisan differences of pending legislation,” said Salley Collins, a spokeswoman for Lungren.

The franking commission is made up of three Democrats and three Republicans.

Republicans quickly embraced Brady’s chart, and over the past week about 50 Members have posted it on their Congressional Web sites or used it in a floor speech. It has also been posted on the home page of the Republican National Committee.

rollcall.com

Callers against climate bill crash phone system

This was barely voted for 219-212……maybe it can be killed in the Senate. Don’t forget the Spanish Study Shows Green Jobs Could Lead To 11m More Lost US Jobs Just what we need more job losses.

Callers against climate bill crash phone system

A coordinated conservative push to kill a climate change bill took down the House of Representatives’ phone switchboard.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – A coordinated conservative push to kill a climate change bill managed to at least take down the House of Representatives’ phone switchboard.

The volume of calls to House members Friday was so high that a spokesman for the House chief administrative officer told CNN Radio the system could not handle it.

“Phone traffic has increased to a level where some callers are receiving an ‘all circuits are busy now, please try back again later’ message,” communications director Jeff Ventura wrote in an e-mail response.

This came as conservative radio hosts and congressmen made direct pleas for voters to dial the Capitol and oppose a Democratic bill that would set strict limits on carbon emissions. Both sides believed the bill was within a few votes of passing or failing.

“Call your congressman, right now!” urged Rep. Mike Pence, R-Indiana, from the House floor as the chamber seemed to near a vote.

Ventura said the bill was likely behind the phone-line crash. “The suspected cause … is believed to be interest and inquiries regarding the expected vote on the climate bill,” he wrote.

Busy signals blared from congressional offices beginning Friday morning. Traffic was especially jammed at key committees and in offices of potential swing voters, including Democrats from traditionally Republican states, like Texas.

“I can’t begin to tell you how many calls we’ve received,” said Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, D-Texas, “and it’s disproportionately vote ‘no.’” Gonzalez said calls were disproportionately “yes” during the committee process and he planned to support the bill.

Ventura said technical staff was working to try and resolve the issue late Friday.

CNN.com

ABC employees donated heavily to Obama

Well  with all the hype about Obama on ABC tonight, it’s beginning to look like a payback to me for all those donations they made. Eigthty times more than any other network for Obama.

ABC: Obama’s ’state-run television network’?
40 congressmen send letter blasting in-White House coverage of health reform

A newly formed group of U.S. congressmen called the Media Fairness Caucus fired off a letter of protest to ABC News today over the network’s planned coverage of President Obama’s health care reform initiatives, declaring the scheduled programming “gives the appearance of a state-run television network.”

“Without giving time to an opposing viewpoint,” the letter signed by 40 U.S. representatives states, “ABC News’ programming on June 24 will amount to a day-long infomercial for the president and his government-run health care plan.

“We urge you,” the letter concludes, “to give the American people the facts and let them make up their own minds, not tell them what to think.”

WorldnetDaily.com

ABC employees donated heavily to Obama

Jennifer Harper

As indignation turned to outrage Thursday among critics of an ABC News prime-time special on President Obama’s health care policy, The Washington Times has learned that ABC employees gave 80 times as much money to Mr. Obama’s 2008 campaign for president than to his rival’s.

According to an analysis of campaign donations by the Center for Responsive Politics, conducted at The Times’ request, ABC employees in several divisions donated $124,421 to the Obama campaign, compared with $1,550 to the presidential campaign of Sen. John McCain.

The 60-minute ABC program, to air live from the White House on Wednesday, is sparking hardball politics in other ways. Grass-roots boycotts, Republican outcry and a study citing media bias are all part of the mix.

A study released Thursday by the Business & Media Institute (BMI) found that since Inauguration Day, ABC has aired news stories with positive reviews of Mr. Obama’s health care policy 55 times, compared with 18 times when the network highlighted negative reviews.

Citing Census Bureau figures, the BMI analyses also accused ABC of “exaggerating the breadth of the uninsured problem,” saying the network’s claim that up to 50 million Americans are uninsured is false.

“ABC is in bed with their source, so to speak. ABC is supposed to be a news organization, not a producer of infomercials for national health care. And I wonder what they would have done if the Bush administration had asked for positive programming to support the war on terror or Social Security initiatives,” said Dan Gainor, BMI vice president of business and culture.

Longtime Democratic strategist Tad Devine, however, said he detected the vast right-wing conspiracy of the last Democratic administration, and warned Republicans that complaining could backfire.

“It’s the same old, same old from Republicans. People who run political parties have a responsibility to get their side of the story out, and they’re attacking ABC to do that. ABC is the vehicle,” said Mr. Devine, whose Democratic roots go back to the presidential ticket of Jimmy Carter and Walter F. Mondale.

“Republicans think they must undercut news organizations who give President Obama favorable coverage – or they will lose elections. They’re going to go after anyone who gives Obama a showcase,” Mr. Devine said. “But it could backfire. If the GOP keeps this up, everyone will tune into that ABC special on Wednesday.”

An informal online poll at the New York Daily News on Thursday found that 75 percent of the respondents did not “trust” ABC to provide even-handed coverage. And conservative bloggers have been intensely critical of ABC in recent days.

“I’m not watching ABC entertainment, and I’m not watching their news programming either,” said New York-based Karen Dougherty, who writes LonelyConservative.com, one of many blogs issuing a call for boycotts of ABC and its advertisers.

The broadcast, they say, is tantamount to an infomercial for the administration, made worse by the fact that ABC also will broadcast “World News Tonight” from the White House on Wednesday.

“It’s not enough to say that ABC is exercising terrible journalistic judgment. The American public has to let ABC know that these decisions matter. As a believer in the marketplace, I think that an advertiser boycott is the way to deal with this unseemly display of media partisanship. After all, every American has a voice in the marketplace,” said Sunny Berman of Bookwormroom.com, another conservative blog based in California.

An ABC executive responded to criticisms with the following:

“We welcome feedback from an audience in whatever form it might take. The top and bottom line is that we intend to produce a fair, probing and thoughtful discussion about a vitally important issue,” said Jeffrey Schneider, senior vice president of ABC News communications.

The Republican National Committee disagrees.

Denied a chance to question Mr. Obama on his policy or buy advertising time on the program, Republicans said ABC denied them equal time for the town-hall-style event, accusing the network of turning over “its entire programming over to President Obama and his big-government agenda,” RNC Chairman Michael S. Steele said in the organization’s second public letter to the network in 48 hours.

ABC’s Mr. Schneider called the Steele letter “a little sad. But that’s how it all goes down. First you leak a letter from the RNC chief of staff to the press – all based on false premises – then the chairman writes something and riles everybody up. Then you ask for money. That’s politics 101.”

WashingtonTimes.com

OK, I’ve heard enough, gimme my microphone!

Folks,

Just the other day I saw a blog and got an email about how the legislators in Oklahoma had stood up for once and passed several distasteful conservative values. They voted for a monument to the 10 commandments, verified gun carry rights, and banned the marriage of homosexuals. Now, they are under attack by the left, the ACLU, and others saying that Muslims need equality, anti-Christians, perverts and so forth. Let me very simply fix this. If you don’t like it, go somewhere else that your hokey vision of rights is acceptable. See, the founders wrote our laws based on Christianity, and said we should be tolerable of other religions, not acceptable. Rights were unalienable, of God, not of law. We had the right of free speech, the ability to call a spade a spade, and the ability to do it under the protection of American law that no one seems to understand – most of all, our own government.

The Oklahoma legislature must have studied the Constitution and figured out they had the right to make law that trumped federal law. By the way, for all morons that disagree with that, you might read the 10th amendment. The feds have no right to peek at me, gps me, take my guns, keep me from talking about them, invade my privacy, or take my property. None, nada, nil, any. Read the Constitution. The 5th says they may offer just compensation, not take, and even then the right of due process is owed. They forget that part, because they know you can’t afford the fight. So, when will we wake up? When will something knock us out of “our own little world” bubble enough that we finally challenge the authority of the government against the Constitution? Our founders guaranteed it, they fought for it, and they died for it.

Are we willing to do the same, or are we going to watch each other roll over and show the whites of our soft bellies? I keep watching all the Dems defend Obama. Give him a chance they say. Let me set another scenario for you. If Al Franken is appointed the winner in Wisconsin, the state that elected Jessie Ventura governor, so be ready, Obama has the White House, Congress, and with a swift appointment or two, the Supreme Court. That is NOT balance of power, that is an instant ticket to socialism. It is dangerous for either side to wield that kind of power.

Attend the tea parties; speak out about all this unfair spending, high taxes and crooked government. Our children are counting on us for their future, God expects that of you, and remember, WE, AMERICANS, were guaranteed our rights by the Constitution, not by barter, not by attrition, and not by threat. Other religions are welcome, but are not to be forced upon us, nor used against us. Liberalism is good in balance, but not as the rule, it will in its current form, make America a third world country.

I am not ready for that, I don’t wish it on your children or mine, and I will fight for balance and the Constitution as long as I have breath. I hope you will also do the same in every way that you can. You owe it to the founders who gave you the freedom to read and understand that you can. You have the obligation to answer the call.

Steve