A Government Out of Touch - A Call to Return to Our Roots

Well, it's now four days out from the nation wide tea parties. Hundreds of thousands of American citizens got together all across the country to let their voice be heard; no more big government; no more out of control spending; and no more disconnect between the people and those that represent them.
Of course, as expected, most media outlets gave very unfavorable coverage to the events. I am not surprised at all about that. I am, however, surprised at the White House response. ABC's Dan Harris on Good Morning America reported on April 15th the following - "The White House says the president is unaware of the tea parties and will hold his own event today." Isn't this a perfect example of what the protests were really about? When the government doesn't represent the people, the government no longer can be called effective.
A majority of Americans did not approve of their tax money being used for the TARP funds, as passed under George Bush, and yet our representatives passed it. A majority of Americans did not approve of their tax money being used in the Stimulus Bill, and yet our representatives passed it. A majority of Americans do not approve of abortion being funded by taxpayers (or abortion at all), yet our government is now doing just that. This is not how our government is supposed to work.
“Some writers have so confounded society with government, as to leave little or no distinction between them; whereas they are not only different, but have different origins. Society is produced by our wants and government by our wickedness; the former promotes our happiness positively by uniting our affections, the latter negatively by restraining our vices. The one encourages intercourse, the other creates distinctions. The first is a patron, the last a punisher.” --Thomas Paine, Common Sense, 1776
This quote shows exactly where we are today. Our government, a necessary function that needs to have limits pressed on it, is running out of control, breaking down constraints at every pass. This big government system cannot stand forever. It will grow to a size so big that it will cripple the economy and tear away our freedoms.
And yet, there is a simple answer. It's called the Constitution of the United States. It's the document that says how the government is supposed to work. It puts limits where they need to be, and spreads power with checks and balances as to create control. Articles 1-7 explain exactly what the government can and can't do, and how to do it. The Amendments afterwards dive further into details. That's where the answer is. If our representatives do not hold to the constitution, vote them out. They all take an oath to do just that. What if the government wants a program that isn't directly under their power as given in the Constitution? Amendment X has the answer: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
So, as always, I ask not for some extreme revolution, but a returning to a time when the Constitution was upheld. We all need to be informed, as an informed citizenry is the only way to ensure the freedoms and liberty's we all take for granted continue. It is fine if we disagree, that's what this country is founded on, and debate is protected in the Constitution. However, if we all understand where the debate has to start, at the beginning, then we can have a firm foundation with which to grow on.

Comments on "The Dirty Dozen" - Heritage Foundation Research

The Heritage Foundation, (a policy research group), has released a list of twelve policies which the Obama administration has put in place that show "disregard for the civil society of American life." I would invite anyone who is interested to view the list here, and I would like to add some of my thoughts on the subject (though not on all twelve topics addresed; I will leave those to you).
The first on the list is the administrations attack on charitable giving by the wealthy of this country. The President's budget would decrease the amount of money that is deductible on taxes from charitable giving, taking away part of the built in incentive to donate to charity. This will undermine the money flow that so many charities count on for their existence. I understand why Obama wants to do this; more tax money flowing into the government which means bigger government. I question, however, why he cannot stop expanding government and instead cut spending. If the growing government trend continues, we will become a nation who cannot afford to make these private donations to charities. This would allow the government to chose which charities exist, as our tax money would be split between whomever they chose. Sounds like a dangerous picture, right? And, of course, we know that faith-based charities are already out of the picture, as Obama has reversed a Bush administration policy to include faith-based charities in the funding lists. You may say that I'm taking this too far, but I am only looking ahead to where the trends inevitably are going.
The Obama administration has also written a new executive order, (no deliberation or vote on these), which could be set to go into place soon, stating that doctors and nurses can no longer morally object to performing certain procedures, such as abortions. This would force all hospitals and clinics across the country to perform abortions, even if there are moral objections by the staff. This is a dangerous command. The Catholic-run charity hospitals have already threatened to shut down if Obama goes through with this order, citing the fact that they would never perform abortions in their buildings. This would have a huge impact, especially in urban areas where many poor depend on these charity hospitals for care. Also, many doctors and nurses, morally objected to the abortion procedure, have talked about quitting their practice. Obama would essentially shut down hospitals across the country. Of course, this would open up the way for government funded hospitals, (our tax dollars), to be set up and 'save the day', another sign of growing government. If a big government is what he wants, he certainly has found a good way to do it.
On the same abortion note, Obama wrote and signed an executive order lifting the ban on so-called "family planning groups" overseas from receiving US taxpayer funding. These groups perform abortions on demand, so much so that many countries in Europe are having their population stagnate due to the number of abortions being performed. And our tax money is now helping to fund it all. First of all, why is our tax money being used overseas to fund these types of groups? That doesn't make sense in and of itself. We have plenty of use for our tax money here at home; and then to use our money to fund abortion, which the majority of Americans object to? Absurd is the only word that comes to mind. How can the land of "life and liberty" be funding the murder of children around the world? Our own President supports not only partial-birth abortion, but what is known as "post-partum abortion", the killing of fully born children if the parents don't want them. It is a sad day in this country when life is snuffed out on a whim; when the self-centered society we have turned into becomes so selfish that would-be parents would rather have no responsibility for there actions and kill a child than take that child and care for it, or put it up for adoption so someone could give that child a chance to live. God help us for condoning these acts. Life is not to be thrown away, but cherished. We are not to play God and decide who shall live or die on a whim. Shame on us.
As for the rest of the list, you can look at it and decide what you think here. I only wanted to give a brief look at a few topics. I thank the Heritage Foundation for the work they are doing to ensure the life, liberties, and freedoms we all hold onto continue in this country; and I thank you the reader for taking the time to see what I have to say and become informed about what is happening in this country. Until next time, thank you all.

An Update, A Revolution Beginning, and A Frightening Revelation

First off today, a quick update on HR1388 (see post below). It has officially passed through both the House and Senate, making it almost impossible to stop now, (Obama has already promised to sign it when it hits his desk). The official financial numbers on it? Increase spending from $418 million a year to around $5.7 billion a year. Once again, I have to ask, where is this money coming from?
I am encouraged, however, by a movement sweeping across the Internet that is starting to take roots in actual events. Ever since the beginning of the Obama administration, one has been able to find many people, like myself, rambling on about the wrongs of government, the overspending liberals, etc. There have been videos, such as this one here, (Thomas Paine video), that have been made to try to spur on some action. That action has finally arrived in the form of modern day 'tea parties'. I encourage each and every person who feels like they are not represented by their government, who is scared of what all this spending and massive deficit means, to go to the Tea Party Website and find a rally near them. April 15th can be a great day for this country if we all get behind it and make the government listen to the people.

One final note on the rather scary direction this country is going in. In Texas, there is a law being proposed that would allow for mothers to kill their babies. This is not abortion, though that is also murderous and terrible, (and supported by the administration, which even wants to lift partial birth abortion bans). The Texas law would punish a mother who killed their baby, (defined as any child up to one year old), with a maximum penalty of two years in prison. Class A felonies for premeditated murder carry a maximum penalty of 99 years, but because this is a baby, this law would cut the time to two years. It's reason? The bill lays out the terms as "postpartum issues". Understand that Texas, along with a few other states, has a lot of sway as to what laws get passed across the country. It is one of the lead states that others look to. These are scary times indeed. Please, I ask each and every person, to get involved, get aware of what's happening to this country, and get out there to make a difference.