Free Federal Money

The ability to acquire and dispense federal funds to their home state has become a power-ful advantage to congressional incumbents seeking re-election. We recently witnessed that first-hand right here in Nevada in the tightly contested senate race between Sharron Angle and incumbent Harry Reid.

Members of congress, if they wish to do so, can portray themselves as irreplaceable philanthropists and benefactors, indispensable conduits through which “free” federal money flows to their largely helpless and needy constituents. By playing upon our fears, these crafty politicians can lead us into believing that the world would come to a swift and dreadful end if they were not re-elected.

But let’s take a look at what “free” federal money consists of and what it is doing to us besides making false gods of some of our more wily and unscrupulous politicians.

Simply put, federal money is tax dollars combined with borrowed money. The borrowed portion comes principally from foreign countries, the most prominent being China. The tax portion comes for the most part from ordinary American citizens like you and me.

So what is our growing dependence on federal money doing to us? There actually are a number of things, but here’s one to consider: It is inexorably expanding the power of the federal government while diminishing the power of the state governments.

Think about it. Money is power. So when money generated in Nevada by Nevadans is taken out of Nevada and sent to Washington, only to come back several dollars short and with strings attached, who do you think is winning and who do you think is losing?

Perhaps it’s time Nevadans and Americans in general gave some serious thought to this country’s history. In the beginning there were 13 states. Representatives of those 13 states met together to form a federal government. That’s a key point to remember. I’ll repeat it: The states formed the federal government. It wasn’t the other way around.

So why have the states now become secondary entities, entities that must depend for their survival upon the “generosity” of the federal government and the money brokering skills of their most senior members of congress? Isn’t there something inherently wrong with this arrangement, an arrangement whereby the creature, the federal government, is steadily gaining control over its creators, the states?

If we’re going to get things back to the way they were intended to be in this country, we as individual citizens must clear the fog out of our heads and return to some fundamental principles, and I emphasize the word fundamental.

A few suggestions: If you’re not already one, become a responsible and productive citizen. Don’t expect the federal government to do anything for you that you can do for yourself, even if it will temporarily put a hardship on you. Don’t blame others for your problems. Live within your means, and in your every word and deed demonstrate to your children and grandchildren why that course of action ultimately will yield a greater degree of security for themselves and the nation as a whole than living recklessly will.

And most importantly, begin urging your state and local leaders to start saying no to federal dollars. They’re not worth what we’re exchanging for them: Our precious Constitutional rights and liberties.

Be advised that any and all attempts by the federal government to redistribute wealth in this country carry within them the additional side effect of redistributing power. If we want our system of government to continue having the vital checks and balances provided by the Constitution, we must at some point reverse this dangerous political trend.

The system that has evolved subtly over the past 6 or 7 decades is a degraded and degrading version of what the Founders gave us. Contrary to what some in Washington are telling us, there is nothing beneficial about an arrangement that places the states and their citizens in a position of dependency in relation to the federal government. And if this trend is permitted to continue, the 50 sovereign states soon will become nothing more than regional subdivisions of the federal government.

Then all the eggs, or I should say all the political power, will be in one basket, an idea that once was considered to be a bad one.

If you think it still is, please start speaking up!

The Hero of BB-36

Joseph K. Taussig, Jr. (U.S. Naval Academy, class of '41) received the Navy Cross for heroism on board USS Nevada (BB-36) at Pearl Harbor. He was perhaps best known as the officer of the deck aboard Nevada when Japanese planes attacked “Battleship Row” on 7 December 1941. Fourteen bombs hit Nevada that day; 43 people were killed and 118 wounded.

After sounding the alert on his ship, the 21-year-old ensign manned a starboard anti-aircraft gun and refused to leave his post after taking a hit to his left leg. In his own words, “I was directing fire at the outset of the attack when I don't know what hit me, something went completely through my thigh. They ordered a cot for me, and I just continued to control the gun batteries. Some enlisted men brought a stretcher and I stayed up there until the (ship's) whole structure caught fire. They brought me down through the fire. The Navy said I was decorated because I refused to leave my post.”

“This is a direct order,” the ensign said to BM1 Bob Norman, who was trying to carry him away to safety. “Leave me alone!” “I'm sorry sir,” replied Norman, “but this is one order I'm going to have to disobey.”

Facing a fire that severely damaged the ship, Taussig resisted but was forcefully carried below decks by his shipmates where he was treated for his injuries. Besides receiving the Navy Cross, the Navy's second highest award for valor following the Medal of Honor in precedence, Taussig was also awarded the Purple Heart.

He stayed in several hospitals until April 1946, when his left leg was amputated. He returned to active duty three days later. By the time he finally retired from active naval service in 1954 he was, at age 34, the youngest captain in the Navy.

Reprinted from www.navsource.org

Thanksgiving Proclamation

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor, and Whereas both Houses of Congress have by their Joint Committee requested me “to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanks-giving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.”

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th. day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be. That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks, for his kind care and protection of the People of this country previous to their becoming a Nation, for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war, for the greatest degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed, for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted, for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions, to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually, to render our national government a blessing to all the People, by constantly being a government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executived and obeyed, to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord. To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and Us, and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, A.D. 1789.

(signed George Washington)

Thirteen Trillion And Growing

Sometimes it is useful to compare one thing with other things in order to get a grasp of it’s true size. So let’s compare some numbers.

The circumference of earth is 24,902 miles. The distance between the moon and the earth is 238,857 miles. The distance between the sun and the earth is 92,935,700 miles. The distance between the sun and Pluto, the most distant planet in the solar system, is 3,670,052,070 miles.

But get a load of this. The U.S. national debt is approaching $13,700,000,000,000--and is still growing! That's a huge number, an almost unfathomable number, a number that exceeds even the physical dimensions of our solar system.

So what do we learn from this? We learn that God was nowhere near as expansive and extravagant in creating the earth and the solar system as congress has been in creating a bigger government and national debt.

Furthermore, God knew when to stop. When He was finished, He pronounced His work “good,” and He rested.

When will congress be satisfied with the size of its dreadful and disordered creation? When will it stop and rest?

God only knows.

A Pre-Election Review of Fundamentals

We are a fortunate people. We inherited from our ancestors a free coun-try. But freedom permits us to make choices, and if we make a series of bad ones, or allow our leaders to, we can lose what we inherited.

In a totalitarian regime the government makes all the major decisions regarding human conduct. The people make few or none. In one sense it is an easy life. A citizen hardly has to think. He just has to do as he is told.

In a free country, however, it’s different. In a free country the people have important individual responsibilities to carry out. They must think and plan for themselves. And that can be hard work, work that requires intelligence, courage, discipline and determination.

But if one makes prudent choices and plans well, the work, effort and sacrifice can ultimately yield enormous dividends. And not just in money alone, for men and women need more than money to make their lives satisfying and complete. They need to feel that they are personally accomplishing something. I think that is what the Founders were referring to when they proclaimed that among man’s inherent rights was the right to pursue happiness. Or in other words, the right to seek contentment and fulfillment.

So what are some of the responsibilities free men and women must bear in a free society? First among those responsibilities is the duty to take care of one’s self. Free men and women must be self-reliant. After all, how can anyone expect to be free if he or she is partially or wholly dependent upon someone else?

Furthermore, in America we the people govern ourselves. Ours is a government of the people, by the people and for the people. The people are an integral and indispensable part of our governmental apparatus. When we voluntarily take ourselves out of that apparatus, or permit our political leaders to ignore us or bypass us, the very substance and form of government are significantly altered, which creates a serious imbalance of power, an imbalance that greatly favors government officials and bureaucrats.

If we wish to remain free and preserve our priceless heritage, it is absolutely imperative that we stop neglecting our constitutional role in the government. We must get involved again, deeply and intensely involved, which will mean a substantial reordering of our personal priorities. On occasion we may even have to make some sacrifices--like the Founders and our ancestors did.

Additionally, we must become much better informed. We have to be able to separate the real issues from the imaginary and contrived ones. We have to start providing some meaningful guidance to our public servants, servants who have demonstrated that they cannot be left unsupervised for even short periods of time. This goes for presidents as well as for most members of congress. All have shown us that they require a firm hand to keep them on track, and we must provide it.

Over the past several decades, a long string of highly detrimental federal laws and regulations were conjured up and enacted by our so-called representatives in Washington. These largely unconstitutional orders and edicts now are bearing their noxious fruit, and are creating a suppressive atmosphere wherein it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, for even the most honest and willing among us to earn an adequate livelihood. Or even to hold on to what they’ve already acquired. This has led to a deep sense of frustration among the working middle class, who more and more are seeing themselves being squeezed out of existence.

So what does all this add up to? Simply this: Americans with drive and ambition are being denied a fundamental and inherent human right--the right to pursue happiness. The government has so poisoned the economic environment in this country that working Americans no longer can feel confident that their careful planning and hard work will improve their lot in life.

My friends, while we still can, we must resume our rightful place in the government. Freedom is about choices, and we need to start making better ones as individuals and as citizens. This election is no ordinary election. It is not just about electing candidates. It’s about electing candidates who support the Constitution, and dismissing those who don’t. In a very real sense it’s about choosing between a constitutional government and an oligarchy. It’s about choosing between a government of the people or a government of the few.

I don’t think it’s too strong to say that this November 2nd will either be the beginning of a fresh start in America or the last pitiful sigh of a dying republic.

We are at an important crossroads in America. The course our nation takes over the coming months and years will be determined in large measure by what we the people do on this election day. Let’s start working together to get our country back on track.

Freedom is a tenable objective only for responsible individuals.--Milton and Rose Friedman in Free to Choose: A Personal Statement

Our Constitution: Use it or Lose it.

Contrary to what some are saying, our Consti-tution is still critically important. First and foremost among its virtues is the fact that it provides us with protec-tion against would-be and evolving tyrants.

The U.S. Constitution was written and imple-mented to act as a curb against the worst elements and tendencies of human nature, and there is no evidence to suggest that those elements and tendencies have significantly declined or moderated in mankind since the adoption of the Constitution 223 years ago. Therefore, the protection it affords us is still extremely valuable, even though some insist that the document is outdated.

Our Constitution was designed to distribute political power in such a way that it could not readily fall into the hands of an elite few. That is the whole purpose of the Constitution. The Founders knew that most men, with nothing to counter their personal ambitions and passions, would ultimately and invariably succumb to the weaknesses and vices that afflict, to one degree or another, all human beings.

Americans, be warned! Government is power; thus it is dangerous! Consequently it must be kept scrupulously under control and out of the hands those who exhibit even the slightest predilection for disregarding the rights of others.

If we continue to let our president and members of congress undermine and dismantle our Constitution, we are going to find ourselves living under a Nazi-like regime, a regime with vicious and savage propensities.

This will inevitably occur because power corrupts. We already see it happening. Many of our political leaders are growing arrogant, and no longer feel obligated or compelled to restrain themselves.

Wake up! Begin exercising your powers and rights as free Americans, powers and rights you retain explicitly through the 9th and 10th amendments to the Constitution. Start demanding absolute obedience to the Constitution as a condition of employment for your elected officials. The rules of government are clearly contained in the Constitution. Yet many holding our nation’s highest political offices are blatantly ignoring those rules. Therefore, they are cheating.

Don't be misled, the reason Barack Obama, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi habitually ignore the Constitution is because they resent the limitations it imposes upon them. They don’t want to be impeded in any way as they carry out their tyrannical ambitions. They want to be free to do as they damn well please.

They must be stopped! Please lend a hand!

Liberty vs. Tyranny

I already know every-thing I need to know to make the right choice in Nevada’s Sharron Angle vs. Harry Reid senate race.

He’s for big government; she isn’t.

Everything else is mere election-year rhetoric--the typical bruising and boisterous comments opposing candidates hurl at one another when they’re fighting for votes.

But here’s what sets Sharron Angle apart--miles apart from Harry Reid. Sharron Angle understands that the U.S. Constitution was written to place limits on the federal government. Furthermore, Sharron Angle appreciates why the Founders believed it was necessary to impose those limits.

Harry Reid doesn’t.

Harry Reid has demonstrated, beyond any reasonable doubt, that he is a staunch advocate of big government, meddlesome government, high-handed government. He has revealed himself to be a key member and player in the Washington faction that believes the people are stupid and government is all-knowing and wise.

Make no mistake about it. An ever-enlarging federal government, a government that is daily arrogating unconstitutional powers to itself, is a serious and dangerous threat to our liberty. A government that is recklessly sinking this country deeper and deeper into debt is a serious and dangerous threat to our liberty. A government that is intent upon robbing the industrious and thrifty so it may transfer their earnings to those who are not industrious and thrifty is a serious and dangerous threat to our liberty.

Fellow Nevadans: There is no time to waste. We must, this very moment, get started on the pressing task of down-sizing the federal government and stripping it of all its unconstitutional, and therefore illegal, powers. If we don’t, it will overtake us and consume us like a ravenous wolf. You can bet on it.

We, you and I, can begin that urgent down-sizing process right now by encouraging our relatives, friends and neighbors to get solidly behind Sharron Angle. Harry Reid and his like-minded cronies have brought untold grief and hardship to millions of Americans. And they’re not finished. They’re planning to unleash even more.

Without question, Harry Reid must go. And Sharron Angle is the ideal replacement.

Sharron Angle has courageously and candidly put her views and beliefs before the public. And in doing so she has taken a good deal of flak.

For instance, she believes that social security should be phased out. Well why not? It isn’t working and it’s going broke. Why not replace it with a system that returns control and responsibility back into the hands of the individual?

She also has said it is not the role of a U.S. Senator to create jobs. Well she’s right; it isn’t. In a free-market economy private enterprise creates the jobs and the government maintains a general atmosphere conducive to private enterprise, an atmosphere in which honest entrepreneurs can acquire capital, start a business, hire employees and grow, all without stifling government interference and taxation.

I strongly urge every Nevadan to take a fresh look at Sharron Angle. Harry Reid has served four terms in the U.S. Senate, and what has he accomplished in all those years? I’ll tell you what he has accomplished. His unwise votes in the Senate helped create the ruinous government policies that led this country into the most catastrophic economic disaster since the Great Depression.

Certainly no rational person is naïve enough to believe that this mess can be easily turned around. On the contrary, having a malignant tumor cut out of your body is always a painful experience. But if we truly love America, if we want it returned to its former vigor and glory, if we want it restored to the condition it was in before the big-government crowd got hold of it, we must systematically rid congress of those who are destroying it.

And in Nevada we now have before us a perfect opportunity to do just that. Come November, please take a bold and unequivocal stand against big government: Vote for Sharron Angle! Vote for liberty!

There is no better time than now to start putting our badly weakened and beleaguered country back on solid ground, and back into the hands of the people, where it rightfully belongs.