Hi All,

I am welcoming a new author to the blog… many of you have seen him at different rallies… please welcome Patriot Paul…. JP

I think that is about 3500 people... but math isn't so good

I think that is about 3500 people... but math isn't so good

Tea Party–Mother of All

By: Patriot Paul

 During the Bush and Obama administrations, the frustration exemplified with tea parties, rallies, and protests culminated in a massive display of freedom-loving individuals converging on our nation’s capitol on 9/12 for the purpose of showing displeasure of excessive government at the expense of common sense and the rule of law.  Freedom Works, Resistnet, Teaparty Patriots, Heartland Institute, Americans for Tax Reform and the Ayn Rand Center for Individuals Rights, and others help sponsor and promote the event through networking and emails with Fox News opinion and talk show providing incentive and enthusiasm, along with the Tea Party Express speakers and entertainers.  Largely grassroots moms & pops, many of whom never held a sign nor public engaged in defense of freedoms, arrived by plane, train, car and bus (over 450 buses) which accumulated to a mass that surprised the capitol police and overwhelmed assigned gathering areas.  Most arrived at Freedom Plaza, roughly one mile from the Capitol building down Pennsylvania Ave where the march was to start.  Due to ‘containment’ problems, the march started early and many were detoured into side streets for rerouting to the Capitol, compounding a head count, which partly explains  various numbers from the absurd handful to a sky-high two million. However, one picture is worth 1.2 million words.  “The line of protesters clogged several blocks near the capitol, according to the D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency.”

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/09/12/tea-party-express-arrives-march-washington-protest-government-spending/

 Online websites are prevalent on deciphering the attendance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKciZ5-sSOc

http://www.plainpunditry.com/2009/09/14/how-many-people-attended-the-912-protest/  

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/09/11/tea-party-rally-sparks-dispute-potential-turnout/?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a16:g2:r1:c0.272918:b27678104:z0

 The Administration offered the following:  “I don’t know who the group is,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters with a shrug.” http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/09/12/tea-party-express-arrives-march-washington-protest-government-spending/

And White House senior adviser claimed “I don’t think it’s indicative of the nation’s mood,” Axelrod said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “You know, I don’t think we ought to be distracted by that. My message to them is, they’re wrong.” http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/09/13/axelrod-says-tea-party-protesters-wrong/?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a16:g2:r4:c0.154287:b27678104:z0

 While it is shameful the administration went into denial, then criticism,  perhaps the largest grassroots protest movement made their voices heard, despite those on Capitol Hill who remain tone-deaf.  Axelrod’s contention that this peaceful assembly is ‘wrong’ simply reinforces the demonstrators’ conviction of unrepresented representatives with beltway blindness.  Added to this insult, the populists have been broad-brushed with being right-wing extremists, domestic terrorists, radicals, and racists with former President Carter a self-proclaimed accuser that the majority of the hate stems from Obama’s blackness; a disappointing race card charge the administration denies.

march22

 Regular media offered its token disproportional presence compared with extensive coverage of lesser attended events.  For a scorecard of behavior, check out

http://www.mrc.org:80/realitycheck/realitycheck/2009/20090915110753.aspx

C-Span covered much of the event

http://www.c-span.org/Watch/Media/2009/09/12/HP/A/23055/FreedomWorks+Rally+in+DC.aspx

The NY.Times has it’s own slideshow http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/09/12/us/20090912-PROTEST_index.html  

Lowly rated MSNBC tried to be fair despite chronic inquiries to it’s reporter questioning if anything had gone wrong.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/32812013#32812013

About 15 Colonial dressed individuals and drum & fife led the march.  Police reported no arrests and no violence. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAEyPq_ghRE

Dozens of tea parties took place simultaneously across the nation while others gathered for the live stream in hotels for Glenn Beck coverage on Fox.

While this may be the mother of all Tea Parties, it may pale in comparison to next year. 

 Patriot Paul

Patriot Paul goes to Washington

Patriot Paul goes to Washington

Patriots fighting for our liberties

Patriots fighting for our liberties

This is the best Washington has looked in a long time!

This is the best Washington has looked in a long time!

Read about the double standard in this article by Michelle Malkin.

A quick note on this… It was written at the end of April.. to help put the article in context. 

“A Change We Can Believe In” by Frank

 American citizens came together on April 15th and participated at Tea Parties around the U.S. to tell our representatives to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the foundation on which our country was formed.  Our thoughts about what the Tea Parties represented to us are as follows:

 What began years ago, is continually changing America, and has accelerated during our lifetime are the following;  The Federal State and local governments, step by step, have taken over our lives becoming stronger and larger than anytime in U.S. history creating unsustainable debt and massive government programs catering to special interests.  Our representatives in Washington and at the State level have put the U.S. in a downward spiraling debt to which we may never recover unless we vote and replace those in our legislative body who are growing this debt.  Quoted from the “Principles of Liberty; The highest level of prosperity occurs when there is a free market economy and a minimum of government regulations.” America could easily plunge into a severe depression unless we limit government spending and taxation. Our liberties will be gone and our standard of living, the envy of the world, will be reduced to subsistence   Morality and a religious foundation that America was built on are no longer taught in the public schools. (Private and charter schools are the exception.) We now contend with a new world order and a real threat to American culture, the Constitution and our liberties.

 Why have millions of immigrants come to America?  Because they want to live in a country that was built on the “Principles of Liberty” which are written about in the book “A Miracle that Changed the World, the 5000 Year Leap”. Learn how adherence to these principles during the past 233 years has brought about more progress than was made in the previous 5,000 years.”  Please read the 28 “Principles of Liberty” listed at the end of these comments.  Also, a must read is “Liberty and Tyranny”, by Mark Levin.  Even President Obama’s mother knew to send her young son back to America to get a better education and standard of living than Indonesia could offer him.

 So if the Principles of Liberty, our Constitution and the foundation of America are such a blessing to the human race, why are we allowing our elected representatives to grow the government and subject us to intolerable debt that will put our generation and the next generations into economic slavery?  That is a question all of us must ask ourselves.  Who is to blame?  Probably most of us are to blame.  Is it too late to turn this ship around?  Our Constitution and the wisdom of our Founding Fathers gave us a system of checks and balances adopted to prevent the abuse of power. The Tea Parties were the first step. What we can do is contact our representatives and remind them about the Principles of Liberty and how our Constitution is not being upheld.   We can express our views and remind our representatives that they work for us, not that we work for them.   We can organize and educate each other, the American public (which includes the millions of recent American citizens and those waiting to become citizens) about what is occurring in our legislative process, those liberties that we are losing and the unsustainable debt we are facing. We need to act, to expose the abuses and put the pressure on our legislators to regain what is rightfully ours; life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  We need all Americans to stand up and fight to help preserve this great country.

 95% of the citizens approached in our region of Indiana agreed with the Tea Party principals.  Some could not come to the Tea Parties for various reasons but they were there in spirit.  So Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the Tea Parties are not an “astroturf movement” as you so eloquently stated, they are a grassroots movement.  Newt Gingrich stated on Fox News that he thinks “30% of Americans want the massive growth of the new administrations government programs, 70% do not.”   I would think that the 30% who want this massive growth of government will not want it when they see the results 10 years down the road.   The debt is unsustainable and they and their descendents will suffer from the current administrations’ actions.

 We are the silent majority. Many of us have our ancestral roots with the founding fathers and the patriots that fought during the American Revolution, who framed the Constitution and helped bring this great nation into existence.  We also have in our families those that served and some who have died to preserve American freedom.  We are not cowards as the present administration would want the world to believe. So we say, don’t poke the bear.  

 Both political parties are at fault.  It was under both of their watches that the spending went out of control, government meddled too much in the market place and the laws already on the books were not being enforced.  

 However, the present administration is creating potentially disastrous scenarios.  Many voters admit they made a mistake by voting for an administration that within 90 days: 

  1. Voted in a far left socialist agenda;
  2. Who is apologizing for America and saying we are an arrogant people and a nation of cowards;
  3. Who is growing our debt and creating massive government programs that will spiral out of control;
  4. Cutting defense spending to the bone and severely weakening our military defenses;
  5. The new head of Homeland Security stating in a report “the return of military veterans facing significant challenges reintegrating into their community could lead to the potential emergence of terrorist groups or lone wolf extremists capable of carrying out violent attacks;
  6. An administration that is unwilling to drill for oil here in America or build nuclear facilities to make us energy independent from foreign influences. They want us to depend on expensive solar panels, windmills that can be blown away in a tornado, grow corn for fuel which should be used for food, and to put air in our tires. Even though alternative energy sources can add to our energy needs, developing them exclusively will greatly weaken our economy.
  7. Government taking over businesses, firing CEO’s, controls what someone in the private sector can earn.
  8. Giving up Jefferson’s great American experiment.

Source: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) By Craig Gilbert, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Apr. 1–WASHINGTON — Many of the foreign leaders meeting with President Barack Obama at Thursday’s G-20 summit in London believe the global recession has discredited “U.S.-style” laissez-faire capitalism and want America to take a more activist and “European” approach to regulating financial markets.

But back home, conservatives have been making a different argument about the U.S. and European systems.

Rep. Paul Ryan of Janesville and other Republicans have assailed Obama’s budget as an effort to “Europeanize” America.

“This budget does propose to bring us toward a European-style form of government,” Ryan said Tuesday at a forum organized by the libertarian Cato Institute, as Congress began debate this week on the federal budget.

Ryan put the case more pointedly at a committee meeting last week, saying the Democratic budget plans could alter “the unique character of America and Americans” and trade “much of our freedom in exchange for Washington taking over much of our lives.”

Said Ryan: “If we accept this path and this agenda comes to pass, it will mark this period in our history as the moment where we begin to give up on Jefferson’s great American experiment, and transition to the European model will begin in earnest.”

 An administration whose health care reform is creating the largest government power grab in American History.  From the Heritage Foundation website, an article “Quoting from Learning from Vermont on health care” by Dennis G.  Smith  “President Obama’s health care budget proposal is large but surprisingly unimaginative. It depends on old-fashioned, populist, “soak the rich” tax hikes combined with technocratic tinkering with administrative payment and new software in anticipation of program savings. It does very little to change America’s flawed public and private third-party payment arrangements, where value is secured for “payers,” not individual patients. If the President wants to affect real change—and secure value for individual patients rather than third party payers—he should take concrete steps to transfer direct control over health care dollars and decisions to individuals and families.”  

 Etc, etc.  the list goes on and on.

 Whoever voted for this administration did not do their homework, nor did they understand what or who they were voting for; likewise for past administrations’ policies and leadership mistakes. In a year and half we can vote in economically fiscal conservatives, those that would govern by the constitution and begin to correct these mistakes; or at least slow down some of the damage that has been done.  But it will take much effort and sacrifice.  It may mean activities such as a nationwide march on Washington D.C.  Everyone needs to jump on board, for change is coming and together we can make it happen.

 A book called “A Miracle that Changed the World, the 5000 Year Leap: Principles of Freedom 101” author W. Cleon Skousen.   Ronald Reagan-President of the United States stated  “The National Center for Constitutional Studies.. is doing a fine public service in educating Americans about the principles of the Constitution.”

 In this book are emphasized 28 governing points that we should ponder as we participate in our Tax Tea Parties.

 “Principles of Liberty: Learn how adherence to these principles during the past 200 years has brought about more progress than was made in the previous 5,000 years. 

1.  The only reliable basis for sound government and just human relations is Natural     Law.

2.  Life and liberty are secure only so long as the right of property is secure.

3.  The burden of debt is as destructive to freedom as subjugation by conquest.

4.  The proper role of government is to protect equal rights, not provide equal things.

5.  A free people cannot survive under a republican constitution unless they remain virtuous and morally strong.

6 The most promising method of securing a virtuous and morally stable people is to elect virtuous leaders.

7. The highest level of prosperity occurs when there is a free market economy and a minimum of government regulations.

8. Only limited and carefully defined powers should be delegated to the government, all others being retained in the people.

9.  Without religion the government of a free people cannot be maintained.

10. The majority of the people may alter or abolish a government which has become tyrannical.

11.  All things were created by God, therefore upon Him all mankind are equally dependent, and to Him they are equally responsible.

12.  All men are created equal.

13. Men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.

14.  To protect man’s rights, God has revealed certain principles of divine law.

15. The God-given right to govern is vested in the sovereign authority of the whole people.

16. The United States of America shall be a republic.

17. A constitution should be structured to permanently protect the people from the human fragilities of their rulers.

18. The government should be separated into three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial.

19. A system of checks and balances should be adopted to prevent the abuse of power.

20. The unalienable rights of the people are most likely to be preserved if the principles of government are set forth in a written constitution.

21. Efficiency and dispatch require government to operate according to the will of the majority, but constitutional provisions must be made to protect the rights of the minority.

22. Strong local self-government is the keystone to preserving human freedom.

23. A free people should be governed by law and not by the whims of men.

24. A free society cannot survive as a republic without a broad program of general education.

25. A free people will not survive unless they stay strong.

26. “Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations: entangling alliances with none”.

27. The core unit which determines the strength of any society is the family; therefore, the government should foster and protect its integrity.

28. The United States has a manifest destiny to be an example and a blessing to the entire human race.”

The following was submitted by one of the members tyof the Indy Tea Party.  Please visit their website at http://www.inteaparty.com/ .  They have a place to donate and/or purchase merchandise.  If you have a story of your own you would like published to my blog please submit it to me at jspetersen23@gmail.com …. Enjoy!

Hi Patriots,

 Always the optimist, Saturday morning July 4th, I filled thermoses with ice water and ice tea for the INdependence Day Tea Party. We planned for a day of sun, heat and humidity typical of an Indiana July 4th.  As the volunteer in charge of the Medical Response Team, I had planned for weeks for every possible medical emergency.  I had already packed the first aid kits and other supplies we might need the night before.  My husband had borrowed a tent from his employer for the event and had the first aid tent, the “patient” cot, and chairs in the car as well.  I prayed that we would not have rain despite the forecasts on the news and the increasingly dismal sky.  Mostly I prayed for a huge turn out to the event that many of us on the leadership team had prepared for since the minute after the 4/15 Tea Party was over.  I prayed that a great many would be determined to stand with us against what is happening in our government now and would attend despite the weather forecasts.

 As we drove downtown the drizzle started. By the time we parked and began to unload the supplies from our car it was clearly raining.  We checked in with the rest of the team, already setting up tents and supplies, and then my husband and I set up the first aid tent, cot and chairs.  It was a challenge to keep things dry in the 10’x10′ tent.  The blanket as well as the first aid kits had to be kept in bags to keep from being soaked.  Once the first aid tent was set up it was time for the meeting of all volunteers at 1pm.  Everyone was already soaked to the skin from the rain but we were all excited that all the months of preparation were coming together.  Richard and Laura, the eternal optimists, gave us a pep talk and last minute instructions then we all gathered for a lunch before returning to our tasks made ever more challenging by the constant rain. Umbrellas were useless as most things that needed done, needed done with two hands.

 Back at the first aid tent we were finishing preparations when a man wearing a USMC hat stepped up to me and said “Here, I thought you could use this.” He handed me a sturdy plastic, waterproof, tub the size of a shoebox.  I opened the tub and found it filled with neatly sorted sterile gauze pads and bandages.  I asked him if he wanted it back after the event and he said “No, keep it.”  After I said “Thank you!!!”  The Marine quietly walked off.  I had purchased first aid kits but if we didn’t have to open them they could be returned to the store and the money donated back to the IN Tea Party to help pay off the debt for the event. (I hope that Marine is reading this now because I wanted him to know that his supplies were used for an attendee’s eye injury shortly after the event started.  I used sterile gauze from the Marine’s box and didn’t have to open the kits from the store. Because of that we have $50 that can help pay for the event.)

 I thought I would faint when the State Police officer assigned to our event stepped into the tent and told us that they had arranged for AED’s to be available to us if needed.  I had asked him earlier if he carried one in his State Police car and when he said “no” I thought “well, I expected we wouldn’t have one available so this is not a huge set back”. Clearly the rain was going to discourage about anyone from attending so chances were slim we would need an AED anyway.  Now we would have access to an AED after all!  The team was given the number to call if we needed the AED. We were now as prepared as we possibly could be.  Our Medical Response team was comprised of Dr Blank (the ER doc who spoke) and 4 other R.N.’s Wes, Kesa, Julie, and Dot, all volunteers.

 As the event was nearing its start the Committee volunteers met once more about 4:30pm to discuss the last minute changes brought about by the ceaseless rain.  Silent questions about whether the Wright Bros. would be able to perform at all were met with the obvious answer given by the rain.  We looked about the soggy grounds and saw that there were very few people gathered besides the volunteers and the event was due to start in less than a half an hour.  We all remembered how people arrived for the Tax Day Tea Party hours before the event and now only a handful of people stood in the rain waiting for the show.  We had a prayer lead by one of the event speakers.  It was a great prayer but honestly, my spirits were getting lower by the minute and I personally had trouble mustering the same optimism as the Behney’s and other volunteers.  Once the prayer and meeting ended we all scurried back to our assigned places to greet the people we still hoped would come to the event…

 I returned to the first aid tent.  I felt I needed to remain there even though Kesa another volunteer R.N. was there.  I really wanted to attend the March from Monument Circle but I felt my first responsibility as leader of the Medical Response Team was to remain at the tent as much as possible.  A phone call came in to one of the volunteers nearby and the message was relayed to us…there were a couple hundred people assembled at the Monument for the march!  I thought well at least we’ll have a couple hundred people attend but in reality that news didn’t do much to lift my damp spirits. We’d hoped for thousands of people, a couple hundred didn’t compare. The committee members had been working 3 months, so very hard, to make this day a huge success only to see it washed down the drain with the rain that was coming down harder and harder as the time of the event approached.  About 5pm I began to hear the distant beats of the drum from the march.  It pulled me from my post in the first aid tent toward the part of the park where they would arrive.  Even though I was already soaked from the rain, as I left shelter of the tent, I began to feel even soggier and now cold too.  My mind thought back to all the sacrifices I had made to help with planning this event, time not spent with my husband and granddaughter, time not spent on my business, time not spent just to relax.  I thought of all the things that had not gotten done while I focused every shred of time I could on the Tea Party events.  I thought about how I would rather be at home now, warm and dry, maybe catching up on some sleep on the sofa…   Then, the beats of the drum got louder and I looked up to see the front rows of marchers coming toward me.  I began to cheer them on, I figured it was the least I could do since they had come out in the rain to participate in our event.  Then the first row of marchers turned the corner and behind them…more marchers!  I put my hand to my mouth in amazement, now too stunned to chant or cheer.  People really did care enough about this cause to march in a downpour!  But then the marchers just kept coming and as they turned the corner they revealed more marchers.  I felt like an idiot, here I was the Medical Response Team leader, wearing a Committee Leader security badge and I was crying.  Crying tears of JOY!  All the hours were NOT wasted!  People really did still care about the Tea Party movement!  They cared so much that they were not going to let the rain wash away their determination!  I started shouting “We’ve had enough!”  with the marchers while tears ran down my face. Like the others have written…the emotion was OVERWHELMING!

 To any of you who attended, I want to thank you from the very bottom of my heart for your determination and your PRESENCE at the INdependence Day Tea Party.  Every single one of you made every sacrifice we committee members make worth it!  I think I can safely speak for all the volunteers when I say that.  Your presence among MANY hundreds of others standing, resolute, in pouring rain CAN NOT be ignored by the media or more importantly our elected officials!  It is my hope and prayers that you will continue to make your voices heard and your presence seen as we go forward with future events including the flash rally this Wednesday at the GOP fundraiser.  We cannot relent!  We WILL NOT relent!

  Humbly submitted,

 Lori

 P.S.  We had only one other “patient” in the First Aid Tent and he only required 2 antiseptic wipes and 2 band aids.  A safe event was a big bonus!

Healthcare Take Over.. It’s the Ideology Stupid

By: Jeff Petersen

Today many around the nation are rallying together to make their voices heard in opposition to the idea of Uncle Sam taking over the health care industry. I know that many do not like to call it a take over but that is exactly what it is. The liberal left hates the idea of individual choice unless it deals with women killing their unborn babies. The liberal left loves bureaucracy. The liberal left hates freedom. The voices that are rising up today are not those of the liberal left but of working (well some may be out of a job at the moment) Americans who hold to the idea that our Constitution does not support the government taking over any part of the private sector; not the auto industry, and certainly not health care.

From 1200EST-1:00PM EST, grassroots movements around the country will be protesting at government offices across the nation. The Tea Party Patriots are one of these groups. The truth of the matter is that everyone who reads this article (maybe it will only reach 300 people) should make an effort to keep this “reform” from happening. So if you were unable (like I am) to make it to one of the protests, then call the Senators and the Representative that represent you. You can find their contact information by clicking the link contact your representative right here on my blog.

In doing some research I found that the House version of this bill actually has a provision in it that will allow community organizations (read ACORN) to survey you based on your weight, your lifestyle, and your need for health care! My dear readers, this is yet another power grab by a hungry group of statists and progressives who truly believe that Big Brother can run your life better than you can. The liberal left wants to control your healthcare; this same liberal left is in full support of allowing women to kill their unborn babies on demand and is often found on the side of supporting euthanasia. Do you want this type of person making life and DEATH decisions for you? Remember that the socialist/communist mantra is based on the good of the community not the individual. If these are the people who run healthcare you would do well to never get sick and to stay productive (helping the community).

This legislation is also very expensive. I will not address the idea that healthcare is a right in this particular article. The bill that passed the House does not even satisfy the goal of insuring every American. What will happen is we will spend the money of working men and women to the tune of at least 1.5 trillion dollars. 1,500,000,000,000 dollars.  How is spending 1.5 trillion dollars going to save people money?  If taxes must be raised to pay for this behemoth legislation how is that saving people money?  Then there is the fear that 1.5 trillion is actually what it will cost or if the bureaucracy, that is sure to rise out of this system, doesn’t drive the costs higher. That is what happened with Medicare. I am sure history won’t repeat itself.

Another thing to consider is how invasive this new legislation will be. This bill is more about ideology than it is about practicality. It is about taking away choices away from individuals and giving them to a bureaucrat. It will no longer be a question about what your doctor thinks, or even what you think. Uncle Sam will decide if you really need to have that lump looked at. You are fooling yourself if you don’t think an Excel spreadsheet will be used to figure out if you are worthy of healthcare… put age into cell A1, weight into cell C44, taxes paid in last FY in cell AA22, political affiliation in cell R1. Presto.. coverage denied.

Lastly, it is about closing down the private sector. This bill, in tandem with Cap and Trade, is designed to repress small businesses and entrepreneurs. I know it is hard to believe but the liberal left is for BIG business. Why? Because BIG business can be manipulated. This bill is a scam. It is meant to drive private insurance companies out of the private sector. It is simply a lie that the progressives do not want to take full control. Of course they do. Though most people are unaware, there is a big push by the left to cease 401ks and replace them with an upgraded social security program. The liberal left and our political elite feel that you, the working men and women of our country, need to be managed. Our founding fathers would roll over in their graves.

This is a fundamental right we have as citizens of the United States. I am calling on you to fight for our country. My children are depending on you. Call, call, fax, fax, email, write, call your Senators… your representative… Let them know.. That you, the American taxpayer, have had ENOUGH.

I apologize for the stagnant blog. From time to time things come up in life that simply cannot wait. That being said I have a few articles already to go for the site.

The following was obtained by a fella I call Don of Indy. I think it is a good read for a couple of reasons. 1. It gives you insight into the current apathy in our country; 2. It gives encouragement to those who are attempting to make a difference. Enjoy JP:

Hey Folks,

I attended the Townhall meeting today at the White River Branch of the Greenwood Library. State Rep (R) David Frizzell was also in attendance with Burton. Other than Tea Party events, this was my first attempt at politics since I moved back to Indiana in Sept 06. There were 12 – 15 of us in the audience. I was surprised at the small turnout, in my estimation. But, that bubble was busted immediately, by Burton’s and Frizzell’s opening remarks, “In at least 7 years, this is the largest turn out for a Townhall meeting that they had seen; usually only two or three people show up.” I though to myself, “no wonder this country is in such bad shape with so little public interest and apparent apathy.”

I found the meeting to be interesting, enlightening, and educational. I would recommend all of you to start attending future townhall meetings. They really do listen and inform. The meeting lasted about an hour, but, seemed longer. That is not a negative, a real positive point. So much was discussed in such a short time that it seemed much longer. I came away refreshed and encouraged, because even outside of our Tea Party groups, there is a lot of similar sentimentality.

Now to some specifics of the discussion:

The start off subject was the State Budget. They laid out enough background to help me understand the infighting that went on in the State House and to give me a better feel of how things (generally) operate between the four caucuses (Reps and Dems in House and the Reps and Dems in the Senate). We should congratulate ourselves because we are one of only eight states to pass a balanced budget. [You have probably seen the national discussion of “bailout” for states that cannot budget for themselves.] This led to an explanation of the troubles in coming to a compromised bipartisan agreement on the budget.

I’m sure that all members of our group know that the Indiana House is run by a one man rule, Speaker of the House, State Rep (D) B. Patrick Bauer (South Bend). The Dems (read Bauer) wanted to add lots of unfunded items and to raise taxes. But, and this is an important point, both Burton and Frizzell made a point of congratulating us, the audience, for causing a change to business as usual. And, I want to pass this on to all.

When the Special Session was convened and was stalemated by Bauer, as a result, the House was deluged with emails, phone calls, and faxes to the point that the systems had to be shut down. All of it directed to individual reps and mostly directly at Bauer. So overwhelming was the mail, plus a couple of editorial in the Media, caused Bauer to realize that he was pissing off too many people so he recused himself from the budget discussion.  His stepping aside allowed the Rep and Dem members of the house to come to a compromised budget that was balanced and had a $1 billon reserve, and not new, or raised, taxes.

I make this point, not just because Burton and Frizzell thanked us, but, because I personally hope that all of you understand that enough voices can make a difference. So if you were one of those who spoke out, pat yourself on the back.

This discussion about Bauer, led to my shinning moment, in my opinion. As a follow-up, I asked both of them what they, and the other Republican members of the House, and the State Repub Com are doing to unseat Bauer and to regain control of the House? I must admit their answers were more than a tad disappointing. Both agreed that winning majority control at the next election was a given, and both talked about what “they” will do when they win. They plan to redistrict the state along geographic areas, not along political affiliations, as is the current districting, which was done by the Dems. Even after pressing, I was left wondering at to ‘how’ they plan to win the majority.

$823 million of the new State budget goes for education, but, most of audience discussion concerned the out of control school board in Center Grove and Franklin. Building Taj Mahal’s was the main issue. But, changes which require school boards to get public approval thru referendums are supposed to solve the problem.

Property Tax cap was discussed, and both promised to push for a State Constitution amendment to limit property taxes to 1% of accessed value. Both pointed out that the Dems are trying to make pools, decks, gazebos, etc, separate and taxable separately.

Increased benefits for Vets was discussed, and I, as a Vet, am pleased.

2nd Amendment was endorsed by both.

Most of the remaining discussion centered on individual/local issues. i.e. extra curricular activities at schools should be self funding.

I did make a point to both Burton and Frizzell, that there are 18+ Tea Party related groups in Indiana. We represent an untapped resource and many members are ready and willing to help take back our state and our country.

One last note, this meeting reinforced my opinion that it is the squeaky wheel that gets oiled. Speak out and make your voice heard. They really do listen, even when they do not answer you mail.

Don of Indy

“One of the best ways to get yourself a reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go about repeating the very phrases which our founding fathers used in the great struggle for independence.” Charles A. Beard (1874-1948)

….To answer the question of “how will we get the majority back?” … it will be through good and decent people who have common sense about them… they will show up to the polls and escort some of these folks out of office.  JP

This is something that many people don’t understand. In one way, it should work this way — the higher the tax rate, the more revenue you take in — but it doesn’t. The Laffer Curve is the visual reason why; but the explanation is also quite simple: the more you tax, the more people hide their money; the more you tax, the more they move themselves and/or their money; the more you tax, the less incentive people have to earn money; the more you tax, the less there is to spend; the less there is to spend, the slower the economy goes; the slower the economy goes, the less revenue comes in.

One of the series of books I read through and greatly enjoyed was the Nero Wolfe mystery series, written by Rex Stout (and a few years ago, also made into a series of A&E TV shows). The books were set contemporary to when they were written, with the first one being published in the 30s, I think, and going all the way through the 70s. A recurring motif in several of the earlier ones (probably those written in the 40s and 50s), was the oppressive income tax, and how it squelched the brilliant detective’s desire to take on a case. When the novels were set in late November or early December, it was frequently noted that Wolfe would turn down cases because he was at or near a certain income, and if he earned any more, he would be taxed at a rate of 90% for it, so he figured that 10% of whatever fee simply wasn’t worth it. And that’s true — would you want to do the same amount of work and actually get to keep only 10% of your gross? It’s ridiculous! It’s time to trim the federal budget, so that we can keep more of our money. We are

Taxed

Enough

Already!

Did the Obama Administration overstep its Constitutional bounds, in the dealings with Chrysler? That is the topic of an editorial written by Todd Zywicki, which appears in the Wall Street Journal. Entitled “Chrysler and the Rule of Law,” Mr. Zywicki explores the ramifications of what the current President has done, not just for Chrysler, its shareholders and financiers today, but also for all businesses of all types in the future.

The Obama administration’s behavior in the Chrysler bankruptcy is a profound challenge to the rule of law. Secured creditors — entitled to first priority payment under the “absolute priority rule” — have been browbeaten by an American president into accepting only 30 cents on the dollar of their claims. Meanwhile, the United Auto Workers union, holding junior creditor claims, will get about 50 cents on the dollar.

Later on, he says,

By stepping over the bright line between the rule of law and the arbitrary behavior of men, President Obama may have created a thousand new failing businesses. That is, businesses that might have received financing before but that now will not, since lenders face the potential of future government confiscation. In other words, Mr. Obama may have helped save the jobs of thousands of union workers whose dues, in part, engineered his election. But what about the untold number of job losses in the future caused by trampling the sanctity of contracts today?

The value of the rule of law is not merely a matter of economic efficiency. It also provides a bulwark against arbitrary governmental action taken at the behest of politically influential interests at the expense of the politically unpopular. The government’s threats and bare-knuckle tactics set an ominous precedent for the treatment of those considered insufficiently responsive to its desires. Certainly, holdout Chrysler creditors report that they felt little confidence that the White House would stop at informal strong-arming.

If American businesses are not safe from “arbitrary governmental action,” can the American public be?

Remember, also, that Chrysler was one of many companies that got money from the government — that’s our money, folks — just a few short months ago, which will probably never be repaid. That means that our children will have to repay for the stupidity of our elected officials’ actions.

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Term limits urged for all politicians

I am a great-grandmother who attended the inspiring patriotic Knoxville Tea Party.

I am an angry American who is witnessing our country being destroyed in less than 100 days of the Barack Obama administration.

As a nation, we must return to the God-given right of each person to the pursuit of happiness as provided in the Declaration of Independence.

The grassroots movement by ordinary people must save our freedom in America. We must have limited government–of the people, for the people and by the people.

Term limits for all politicians.

Mary Sanders
Harriman

published in the Knoxville News Sentinel, May 2009

Earlier, Chuck gave his perspective on the TEA Party he helped organize [in seven days] in Ripley, Mississippi. Here is the video of the rally, with speaker Les Riley.

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