The Wisdom of Thomas Jefferson

From Thomas Jefferson:

I predict future happiness for
Americans if they can prevent the government
from wasting the labors of the people under the
pretense of taking care of them.
Thomas Jefferson

When we get piled
upon one another in large cities, as in Europe,
we shall become as corrupt as Europe .
Thomas Jefferson

The democracy will cease to exist
when you take away from those
who are willing to work and give to those who would not.
Thomas Jefferson


It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes.
A principle which if acted on would save
one-half the wars of the world.
Thomas Jefferson

My reading of history convinces me
that most bad government results from too much
government.
Thomas Jefferson

No free man shall ever be debarred
the use of arms.
Thomas Jefferson

The strongest reason for the
people to retain the right to keep and bear arms
is, as a last resort, to protect themselves
against tyranny in government. Thomas Jefferson

To compel a man to subsidize with
his taxes the propagation of ideas which he
disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.
Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson said in 1802:
'I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to
our liberties than standing armies.
If the American people ever allow
private banks to control the issue of their
currency, first by inflation, then by
deflation, the banks and corporations that will
grow up around the banks will deprive the people
of all property - until their children
wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers
conquered.'

Thomas Jefferson, 1743-1826

(A top of the hat to Scotty Hood)

How much did a ten minute speech cost us?

Ten minutes equals 600 seconds. That is how long President Obama spoke in Columbus Ohio on Friday. And that ten minute event, complete with hard hats and chartreuse safety vests standing behind him for the photo-prop, cost you and me, Dear Reader, between $500,000 and $1,000,000! For what? Where is our return on that investment?

At a time when 9.7% of our adults are out of work, when we have mortgaged our grand children's future, when the people of my home area, Southern Ohio, are facing crippling gasoline prices and further lay-offs -- at a time like that, the President is spending our money like it was his.

How about, Mr. President, cutting all of your political travel to save the taxpayer's money? Use satellites or Skype to deliver your 10 minute message, not Air Force One at $100,000 an hour, Marine One on stand-by, and all the associated planes-full of armored vehicles, secret service, press, and "dignitaries."

How much did your ten minute photo-op cost the city of Columbus in Police time, emergency workers time, and pay-roll time to make way for the motorcade to and fro? We do not have the money for this foolishness. This is not your money, Mr. President. We are in hard economic times. Act like it!

How ironic and sad that on the same day thatPresident Obama was wasting our money, Vice President Biden said this: "That's what we try to instill -- a new ethic in the federal government -- individuals, all of us being personally responsible at every level for making sure we handle the taxpayers' dollars well," Biden said.

How empty their words are. Watch what they do, not what they say and vote them out!

The Voice of One.

Leadership

Blah, Blah Blah -- BP -- Blah, Blah, Blah -- pay -- Blah, Blah Blah -- Chu, Nobel Peace Prize -- Blah, Blah, Blah -- Day One -- Blah, Blah, Blah -- their throats -- Blah, Blah, Blah -- their asses -- Blah, Blah, Blah -- fullest extent -- blah, Blah, Blah -- Chu, Nobel Peace Prize -- Blah, Blah, Blah -- New Czar -- Blah, Blah, Blah -- Not me -- Blah, Blah, Blah -- Talk -- Blah, Blah, Barf.

Leadership -- Governor Jindal proceeds without EPA approval which was taking too long and begins to build sand barriers, protecting his state and uses barges to suck up oil lapping at the wetlands; the City Council of Destin, Florida moves to place its own oil boom around the East Gate to the harbor, without approval from Federal Government; Governor Brewer and the Arizona Legislature act to secure Arizona from invasion because they were being overrun at the US Border and the Federal Government will not act.

Blah, Blah Blah -- BP -- Blah, Blah, Blah -- pay -- Blah, Blah Blah -- Chu, Nobel Peace Prize -- Blah, Blah, Blah -- Day One -- Blah, Blah, Blah -- their throats -- Blah, Blah, Blah -- their asses -- Blah, Blah, Blah -- fullest extent -- blah, Blah, Blah -- Chu, Nobel Peace Prize -- Blah, Blah, Blah -- New Czar -- Blah, Blah, Blah -- Not me -- Blah, Blah, Blah -- Talk -- Blah, Blah, Barf.

BARF!

The Oil Spill Crisis: Where are the Environmentalists?

Have you noticed, Dear Reader, how quiet it is over this Oil Spill crisis? No FEMA (apparently, this is not a national emergency), no charities buying air time soliciting funds, no churches organizing trips to help, no pictures of concerned volunteers scrubbing oil-covered sea birds with Dawn Detergent. Surprisingly, no news conferences or press releases or protests by environmentalists.

Isn't it part of every environmental organization's mission statement to value life and want to protect it? Have you seen anything from the World Wildlife Fund, Greenpeace, America's Wetlands Foundation, the Union of Concerned Scientists, the Audubon Society, the Sierra Club?
(Cue the crickets sound-effect.)

The Sierra Club's website is now promoting "Beyond Oil" (http://www.beyondoil.org/) and urging us to send President Obama an email using their suggested text:

"The BP Oil disaster in the Gulf is a wake up call. I urge you (President Obama) to develop a plan to move our nation beyond oil in the next 20 years. The time for bold, visionary leadership for a clean energy future is now." BeyondOil.org

Oh, wait -- could it be that the environmental groups have muzzled their outrage in order to play ball with the Administration for its new "comprehensive" clean energy bill? Could it be that the noisy protests they led in other environmental issues are simply "of the moment" and not really tied to principals? Is it that the well-meaning contributors to organizations like these are simply tools and volunteers are simply photo-ops in a larger political game?

The Oil Spill Crisis. the Obama Administration, the Jones Act and Unions

The Jones Act, also known as the Merchant Marine Act, was passed in 1920 and was ostensibly meant to promote US shipping interests and to provide medical benefits to merchant sailors.

Among its provisions, still in effect today is that shipping and the passenger trade in US waters must be carried on by US flagged and staffed ships, with staffed being defined as 75% crewed by US citizens. With the growth of Unionism beginning in the 1930's, those 75% staffed jobs on ships became Union jobs with the Jones Act protecting the Unions and the Unions protecting the Jones Act.

President Bush waived the Jones Act during Katrina to allow foreign ships to come into US waters to aid in the Katrina disaster. After the bulk of the Hurricane cleanup was done, the Jones Act was reimposed.

Today, many are asking why the Obama Administration does not waive the Jones Act to allow foreign vessels into our waters to help us with the oil spill cleanup.

Dear Reader: Could it be that the Obama Administration's cozy relationship with Big Unions is allowing the crisis in the Gulf to worsen by not allowing foreign ships and their experienced non-union crews to assist in the clean-up?

Is the destruction of wildlife and the ruination of the ecology of the South's water's edge being permitted by the Administration because of Big Union's contributions to the 2008 Obama Campaign?

The best Oil Skimmer Ships are from Belgium, Holland and Norway. The best cleanup of a major oil spill was by the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, Aramco, in a 1991 wartime oil spill off Kuwait. Shouldn't the Obama Administration ask these knowledgeable companies to come help? What is going on here?

Obama can waive the Jones Act as President Bush did three days after Katrina hit. It is now 53 days since the oil rig explosion occurred, and the oil is beginning to pollute our Southern Shores.

Surely, Mr. President, some issues rise above politics. Waive the Jones Act and get the world's expertise in here as soon as possible. All Hands On Deck!
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“A person may cause evil to others not only by his actions but by his inaction, and in either case he is justly accountable to them for the injury.” ~~ John Stuart Mill, Philosopher, 1806-1873

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Promise Them Anything (but give them Chicago Style Politics)

President Obama, Rahm Emanuel, Valerie Jarrett and David Axelrod -- all from Chicago and schooled in the Chicago style of politics.

The Chicago Style of Politics:

Obama: “They bring a knife…We bring a gun” June 14, 2008
Obama to his followers: “Get in Their Faces!” September 18, 2008
Obama on ACORN Mobs: “I don’t want to quell anger. I think people are right to be angry! I’m angry!” March 20, 2009
Obama to his followers: “Hit back twice as hard” August 6, 2009
Obama to BP: “We talk to these folks… so I know whose a$$ to kick.” June 8, 2010

Rob Blagojevich, former Governor of Illinois, under FBI investigation since 2005, now on trial charged (but not yet convicted of) "pay-to-play" corruption and selling Senator Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat for personal benefit.

Congressman Joe Sestak accuses Obama Administration of offering him a position in the administration (the Secretary of Navy is the most often mentioned) in return for bowing out of the primary race against fellow Pennsylvania Democrat, Arlen Specter.

Colorado Primary Senate candidate, Andrew Romanoff, discussed three positions in the administration, apparently in return for dropping out of the Democrat primary contest with sitting Senator Bob Bennett.

What should one make out of this. Well, the old saw, "actions speak louder than words" comes to mind or "promise them anything" but deliver what you want.

President Obama's rhetoric as a candidate sounded good, but now that he is in office, it is not just business as usual in the White House, as disappointing as that is. The President and his White House faction have added the in-your-face Chicago Political Style to presidential behaviour, as if there were not already enough contentiousness in our government.

Hope and Change? How's it going for you... for us?

"You don't lead by hitting people over the head -- that's assault, not leadership." ~~ Dwight David Eisenhower, 34th President, 1953-1961

Party, Golf, Party, Golf, Photo Op, Golf, Vacation

Fifteen million people, citizens of our country, are unemployed -- 9.7% of our workforce. Have you ever been unemployed through downsizing, or termination of operations, or otherwise? I have, and it is frightening to stare at your children's faces, the mortgage, car payments, orthodontist bills and credit card statements knowing that you have nothing but your ever-dwindling reserve of savings to rely upon until you can find employment.


In the Gulf of Mexico, various estimates of the the number of barrels of oil spilling into the Gulf have surfaced, but 25,000 per day seems to be a consensus among a number of people. The State Bird of Louisiana, the brown pelican, is threatened, the backwaters and wetlands of the Mississippi Delta is receiving oil, the oil slick, now the size of Vermont has stopped fishing and shrimping in that region of the Gulf, and the pristine, silicon-squeaky white beaches of the Florida Panhandle have oil balls washing up. It is day 48 of the Oil Spill Crisis.

During the first 41 days of the Crisis, President Obama played 7 rounds of golf (2 rounds of golf before making a statement on the Oil Spill on Day 14), hosted 7 parties, had two vacations, talked to sportscaster Marv Albert about basketball and also made time to speak with the entertainer Bono, for some reason.

Uhh, Mr. President, we have two very serious issues in this country right now -- the economy and the Oil Spill. How about cancelling all the items on your calendar and concentrating on those things? Wouldn't that show a concern for the American people, instead of showing us that you enjoy the perks of your Office?
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What are your priorities, President Obama -- solving serious problems plaguing this country, or enjoying the High Life?
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Your words say one thing, but your behaviour is much more telling. Be the President of the United States of America, not the President of a College.
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"As if you could kill time without injuring eternity."
~~ Henry David Thoreau, "Economy," Walden, 1854

Dear Senator Casey

I noted in Pittsburgh over Memorial Day, that you (Senator Bob Casey, D-PA) had proposed a Teamsters Union Pension Relief Bill, which of course, me and my Dear Readers would pay for.
You can find details at http://www.teamster.org/content/teamsters-make-progress-pension-relief-jobs

The Teamsters have twice as many retirees as they do active members and their pension fund lost 30% in the stock market thrash last year. Your bill, Senator Casey, would help restore the money that the Teamster retirees lost so that they could have a better retirement. After all, they are the "1.4 million hardworking men and women in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico."

Uhhhh, Senator Casey, excuse me, but I lost 30% also and no one is helping me. I'm having to scale back my lifestyle and I was "hardworking." How about the Teamster Retirees scale back too, rather than me pay for them, further setting me back.

I feel badly that Union Retirees are not going to have the life in retirement that they were promised. Guess what? Neither am I. Neither are millions of other retirees. Say, how about you make up my 30% loss, Bob?
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Fair is fair, Bob.

"Politicians are like diapers. They need to be changed often and for the same reasons." ~~ Mark Twain

Rhetoric and Lawsuits Will Not Solve the Oil Spill Crisis

President Obama apparently believes that he can talk the oil in the Gulf to stop flowing. He must also believe that taking BP to court will plug the hole quicker, otherwise why would you distract BP further from their task?

Both notions are off the mark in an administration populated by people who have never created jobs, answered to shareholders, or solved a crisis. This administration is full of Academics, Civil Servants and Non-Profit administrators who know how to lecture and cajole and seek consensus, but are painfully short on knowing how to take action.

While it is easy to blame BP for the foul-up causing the oil to leak, don't forget to ask yourself...

... Why do oil companies have to go through over a mile of water to drill miles below the surface? US Government environmental regulations prevented off-shore shallow-water drilling where capping a leak is much easier.

... Who, in the early 90's set the penalty for spilling oil at 75 million dollars, making it affordable for companies today to risk an oil spill? Congress.

... Who was to be the Obama Administration's recipient of an award this year for its record of safety and innovation? BP.

None of this is an excuse for the inaction by the Obama Administration. The military should be put in charge of solving this threat to our country, for this spill is a threat. Obama should have an Oil Spill War Room, instead of playing golf, throwing parties or attending a Paul McCartney event, as he will do tonight.

When BP is bankrupt over this and has no more money, who will be paying to clean the oil from the beaches up and down the Atlantic and Gulf coasts? Who will be paying for the unemployment resulting from the oil damaging the fishing and tourist industries?

You, me, our offspring and generations yet to come -- that's who will pay, Dear Reader, for this Administration's inaction. Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar's "boot on the neck" is an apt analogy, but not for the administration choking BP into solving the problem, as he used it; rather it should the US citizenry's "boot on the neck" of the Obama Administration to take action that protects our shores from the oil coming our way! Now.

NOW!!!

States of Varying Need

Each state in our country has unique needs, as well as common or shared needs. Therefore, while all states have seen the value in paved roads, the manner and materials used in paving them is their decision -- as is whether to pave certain roads at all. On the other hand, the Interstate Highway System was created and is maintained by US taxpayer monies, so the Federal Government has established guidelines for the materials and the specifications

When the Federal Government does not step in where it is needed and Constitutionally authorized, what should the states do? What would you do, Dear Reader? Sit by and do nothing or would you get up and take action?

The Obama Administration has chosen to criticize the people of Arizona and their duly elected representatives, who have taken matters into their own hands because the Federal Government has failed to secure the US/Arizona border with Mexico. Arizonans took action. The Administration now is threatening to take Arizona to court over this law -- which is generally their tactic; punish those who disagree with the Administration.

The Governor of Texas has requested Troops to secure the Border of his state with Mexico; the Obama Administration has not responded to the Governor's request despite the fact that the Obama Administration has just alerted states along the border that a Somali terrorist may be trying to cross our Southern Border ... soon. What do you think the Governor of Texas should do? Throw up his hands, powerlessly?

With the Gulf oil slick now threatening all of the states it touches, the Obama Administration has not taken control of the situation, even though the economic impact will be an economic disaster paling any of this nature in history. Because the Obama Administration has not responded, the Governor of Louisiana has come up with his own plan -- but the Administration will not support it, preferring instead to sit by, letting the oil into the marshes and wetlands of this country's southern coast. If you were the Governor of Louisiana, what would you do? Sit back and have another Beignet and let that oil roll in?

How is it that the proponents of "Big-Government-is-the-solution," the Obama Administration -- are not getting involved in these situations that call for Federal action?

Surely, the Administration's inaction is not because Governor Jan Brewer of Arizona is a Republican!

Surely, Obama and his Cabinet wouldn't ignore the Governor of Texas and the threat to the US because he is a Republican, right?

Surely, the President of the United States wouldn't sit idly by allowing a disaster to happen, simply because the Governor of Louisiana is a Republican!

An impression is being made by this Administration that politics is what rules every decision, which is not what being President is all about.

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." ~~ the Presidential Oath of Office, as specified by Article Two, Section One,Clause Eight of the US Constitution