This is the obamacare that tries men’s souls…

The following is a condensed version of the message I shared at our STAR Forum of Phoenix meeting March 26th:

I’ve had a fairly emotional week.  Hearing on Sunday night that Obamacare passed in the house in spite of a complete lack of bipartisan participation and a strong vocal resistance from the people made me lose faith in the legislative process.  It further tarnished my opinion of our president and other federal leaders who seem to have forgotten or just refuse to accept that they are our representatives and our servants.  It sickens me.

As I was looking more into this I found out that the bill actually includes articles providing for the formation of Obama’s “civil army” that will be appointed by him, take their orders from him, report to him, operate on their own ranking and pay scale independent from the one established by congress for our current military.  I wonder just how devious and dark President Obama’s true designs are.

I also know that to get too caught up in the negative points will become destructive to me and my goals.  I have been critical of Glenn Beck at times because I felt that he got too angry and didn’t offer a plan of action to deal with all of the problems he was identifying.  I don’t know how correct this assessment of mine was.  Lately I have appreciated his efforts to educate people.  I also appreciate something I heard him say this week.

He explained that a lot of people were surprised that he wasn’t crying and frothing at the mouth about the Obamacare vote.  He said that the reason why is that he appreciated that those in our government who hate freedom and have a complete disregard for the constitution and for the people they were elected to serve have clearly identified themselves.  Then he reminded us of a powerful lesson from our history.

December of 1776 was a bleak time in the colonies.  General Washington and his armies had lost every battle so far in the war.  They were starving and freezing.  I believe that the states were not sending supplies, reinforcements, or the pay that the army needed.  They were disheartened.  Many soldiers were leaving and choosing to not continue on with the army.  It was a dangerous time during which we could have easily lost our ability to continue fighting for our independence.  It was at this time that Thomas Paine penned his famous words, “These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.”

His words inspired the troops.  They inspired the people.  The colonies continued their fight, and eventually we were victorious over the oppressive English.

This story reminds me to never give up.  We have lost battles.  We have lost freedoms.  We have strayed too far from the government designed by our founding fathers to protect our liberties and freedom to prosper.  But the war is not yet over.

I don’t know what will happen from here.  I have an idea how it ends, but I’m not certain what route will carry us from point a to point b.  All I know is that I do not want to be counted among the summer soldiers.  I am not a sunshine patriot!  I will continue to educate myself and act on opportunities that present themselves to help others learn and act as well.  I will share the message of liberty.  I will support others who will stand with integrity for the constitution and the principles on which it was designed.

“Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered…” but it will be conquered.  Tyrants will fall, and Freedom will ring, and I choose to fight on her side so that I can stand tall and proud when that day comes!

I want to thank Jeffrey, Ed, Jason, Jim, and the wonderfully beautiful Ashlee for your attendance and participation.  I’m especially glad for the example of Ed becoming a GOP Precinct Committeeman and for Jeffrey pointing out that more of us should follow suit.  My email has been sent to our district chair to inform of my intent to become a committeeman myself.

I invite all within my “voice” to educate yourselves.  Read a book about history or government.  Get involved.  Come to a meeting or start your own.

If you live in the Phoenix area you can find our contact information on the tab above or visit www.thestarforumphoenix.wordpress.com.  We have monthly meetings scheduled for the last Friday of each month.

Finally, good job to my fellow liberty lovers in Utah for your participation in the Caucus.  I’ve heard great things about your efforts and results!

Utah Politics – Meet the Candidates (Well….most of them)

 

Independence Caucus on, January 15, 2010, held an event where all candidates officially running for the U.S. Senate Seat, currently held by Bob Bennett, would have an opportunity to speak to the grassroots movement in Utah.  They had to answer 80 questions to become vetted by Independence Caucus.  Unfortunately two of the candidates did not.  One was the Democrat, Sam Granato, and the other was Republican incumbent, Bob Bennett.

 

We had a wonderful time hearing from Bob Basso, who you all know and love from the YouTube videos, as Thomas Paine.  He spoke as expected about common sense.  We are Americans first and foremost.  In addition, although there is a political Left and Right, we must recognize that the people are moving closer to the moral Right, regardless of party. 

He chastened the “non-representing representatives” who would not answer to the people with a simple 80 question vetting process.

He also gave us hope with a wonderful story of 150 senior citizens in Brooklyn, New York called TOBFCS.  That stands for Tough Old Broads for Common Sense.  They are making a difference.  They have recalled two (2) city council members in Brooklyn, just to point out one difference they have made.

There is great hope in our country.  Even if the news ignores the 1.7 million people who marched in Washington DC, and the hundreds of thousands who gathered around the nation on their state capitols, we know who we are.  We were there.  I was there.  Do not wait to have the media take notice.  They report the news (or their supposed to), they do not create it.  WE DO!

I went into the meeting with my favorites and came out with great respect for all four (4) candidates.  In no particular order, I want to share my thoughts on each of them.  Remember, these are my notes, and my take on their words.

Tim Bridgewater:  Well, out of the bunch, he is the capitalist.  You can feel and hear his business experience.  He understands that growth occurs when businesses and people are left alone and entrepreneurs can succeed.  He is definitely a free-market advocate.  He talked about auditing the Federal Reserve.  He believes in a Balanced Budget Amendment.  He wants to see our spending cut over the next 10 years.  He recognizes that Wall Street was never really the problem, but government interference especially through Fannie and Freddie created the current housing mess.  To read more about Tim visit www.timbridgewater.com

James Williams:  Of all the candidates, I felt he is like most Americans.  He is just fed up and he is willing to put himself out there to change things.  I found him to be a humble man with strong opinions.  He discussed changing the way the budget is created.  If a new item needs federal spending 105% of that amount must be cut from some other place.  This will have a two-fold effect.  One, people will not want to create new spending without thinking about the cuts, and each new program actually cuts the budget overall.  He spoke of asking himself three questions when confronted with a decision. “Is it Constitutional?  Is it moral? Will this better the people of Utah and the U.S population?”  James is also for Auditing the Federal Reserve, cutting capital gains tax and corporate taxes.  For more on James visit www.voteforjameswilliams.com

Cherilyn Eager:  You can tell Cherilyn has been in debates before.  She moved quickly to her points and was focused on getting information out there.  She referred often to the founding fathers, and it is obvious she knows the documents.  She believes in the fair tax as proposed by www.fairtax.org and promoted by Joe the Plumber.  She believes in repealing the 16^th and 17^th amendments.  She wants the Dept of Education gone from our Federal system.  She also believes in Auditing the Federal Reserve.  She does not believe in a Balanced Budget Amendment because she believes that it will be misused to create times of war or crisis in our country so the amendment could possibly be ignored.  She agrees with George Wythe University in that they called Glenn Beck the “Cicero” of our time.  For more info on Cherilyn visit www.Eagarforsenate.com

Mike Lee:  Mike was impressive with his legal knowledge on the Constitution and talked about what his job is not.  He reminded us how far the government has moved from its original purpose.  He recognizes that money needs to be spent on a local level rather than on a national level or dictated by a national government.  He believes in Auditing the Federal Reserve, and recognizes that by printing money they are violating our 5th amendment rights because they are making our property (money) worthless.  He would like to repeal the 16^th and 17^th amendment.  He knows that Congress cannot (should not) legislate beyond the ground rules of the Constitution.  The Federal government needs to stop doing what it should not be doing.  We do not need Federal tax collectors either, because that should be the job of the states.  For more info on Mike visit www.mikelee2010.com

The biggest decision for the conservative movement is choosing which candidate to support.  All four of these candidates appear to have Constitutionally based principles.  I recommend you visit their websites, ask them questions, and vote your conscience.  Remember the only way you will get to vote for them is to become a delegate in your precinct.  To get more information on delegate training you can go to www.UtahRising.com find a representative in your county, and coordinate our efforts.  Utah Rising is not associated with the Republican party.

March on Washington DC on 9.12

There are members of The STAR Forum marching on Washington DC on September 12, 2009.  If you cannot make it to our nations capital, we invite you to gather at your state capitals around the country.  A good place to find others doing this is at www.meetup.com.  Sign up and then search for 9.12 groups or teaparty groups.  Also, you can get more information about the march on DC at www.912dc.org.  Please remember to be peaceful and respectful to others.  Enjoy the video.