A gripping alternative history by Lee and Vista Boyland
Description
Alternative history is fiction based on the assumption one or more historical events happened differently. For example, what if President Lincoln had not been assassinated, how would Lincoln’s survival have affected America?
Behold, an Ashen Horse is the second novel of a five book (so far) series based upon three alternate historical events: (1) the Soviet Union attempted to copy both of the Atomic Bombs developed by the Manhattan Project; (2) al-Qaeda obtained several atomic devices; and (3) President Bush was not reelected in 2004.
Islamists believe they have to convert the world to Islam ruled by Shariah Law and they will use any weapon available to kill infidels. Now they have used nuclear devices to destroy five U.S. cities. George Alexander, the secretary of Homeland Security is the only surviving senior government official and it is up to him to save the nation. Once again America is blessed by having right man for the job. Alexander forms a working government, pulls the nation together, deals with hostile nations, domestic jihads, unhappy progressive-liberals, and the new Caliphate before seeking retribution from those responsible.
Alexander is statesman president who puts America’s need first. Much of this story is found in today’s news.
After this novel was released in 2007, the authors received several emails in 2008 asking if Donald Trump was President Alexander? We answered maybe. Now readers can answer the question for themselves.
Behold, an Ashen Horse is a frighteningly realistic story of events after a nuclear 9/11.
My thoughts …
This is the second book in a series by this author. I have actually not read the first book, titled Rings of Allah, but I still enjoyed this one immensely. I did read Revolution 2016 by this author and really liked it as well.
In this story, President George Alexander, the Secretary of Homeland Security in the previous installment, must decide how to defend the United States and get the government operational again after a nuclear attack takes out 5 major U.S. cities, the President, his cabinet, and the Congress.
The new president stops apologizing for America and throws political correctness right out the window as he fights to hold the nation together and identify those responsible for the horrific attack. And when he lets loose the dogs of war, the new president puts the entire world on notice.
I was struck by how well the authors blend this narrative into current events and the internal strife currently dividing our nation, making the possibilities this alternative history present hit just a little to close for comfort.
Lee Boyland is a veteran and an accomplished writer with extensive knowledge of military weapons, the armed forces, the structure of the American government. He is quite knowledgeable about Islam. I have read several books on Islam as well as the Koran. While this is clearly an alternative history, you only need to read an honest English language version of the Koran to confirm the plausible reality of Boyland’s narrative.
I highly recommend this book to those who enjoy this kind of fiction.
I try not to get too political on my blog, but sometime I can’t help it. I love my country and do not want to see it destroyed by irresponsible leadership.
Did you know that originally you had to own property to vote in the U.S.? Do you know why that was? It was because taxes were based on your property and it was important that property owners had a say in how much they could be taxed on their property!
Today, voting and the voter registration process has morphed into nothing more than an attempt to grab more power. We don’t let 16-year-old kids fight wars, drink alcohol, buy guns, or get married because their rational brain is not fully functioning yet and they can easily be led. How many really think letting a 16-year-old vote is a great idea? If you do, I’d have to really question your motivation!
Is your vote for sale?
With the 2020 election looming in the future, irresponsible politicians are up to their same old games, promising things that the Federal Government cannot afford to provide in an effort to buy votes. Free healthcare, free college, government funded savings accounts, and guaranteed minimum income payments. Each politician seeking to be elected or re-elected stridently trying to out-promise the others in an effort to buy your vote. Truly … an example of pandering of epic proportions!
Do you really believe we can tax our working citizens enough to pay for all this?
Let’s Fact Check the Fact Checkers!
On February 1, 2019, an economics professor at Duquesne University tweeted a statement that said the following:
Some fact checkers immediately labeled this as a false claim. However, the number of billionaires, their estimated net worth, and the costs of running the government for the time period the professor used for his calculation support this claim.
Davies used figures from 2016, pointing at Forbes estimates of 540 U.S. billionaires worth $2.4 trillion, and he used the CBO’s report of federal outlays for FY 2016 of $3.9 trillion which would give an average of $2.6 trillion for eight months.
The reason this tweet was labeled false is that the number of billionaires and their net worth change constantly.
Many people will become richer or poorer within weeks, or even days of any publication due to changes in stock prices and exchange rates. For example, on July 27, 2017, Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, was indeed the richest man in the world … for a few hours.
Forbes has identified additional billionaires since 2016, and their combined estimated net worth could fund the government longer than eight months. So, the tweet is labeled as FALSE.
Are you kidding me? So, now there are enough billionaires to fund the government for 9 months, 12 months, or 18 months? The point Antony Davies was making is accurate and valid to this day. The claim, by fact-checkers, that his statement is false is misleading at best.
So, say you tax all the billionaires at a rate of 100% and fund the federal government for, let’s be generous and say three years. What then?
Who do we tax next?
As Margaret Thatcher so clearly stated, “The problem with socialism is that, sooner or later, you run out of other people’s money.”
We would need to tax the millionaires, then the middle class, then the poor. At this rate, in 10 years we’d all be broke! Can you say Venezuela?
Some claim paying taxes is our patriotic duty
Perhaps it is. I have no problem with paying fair taxes to support the expenses of the federal government.
However, before they raise taxes even one iota, they need to ensure that they are acting as responsible stewards of taxpayer money!
Do any of you see any signs of that? No? Then why should we let them take more of our money?
Perhaps if the federal government demonstrated and practiced responsible spending habits, some of the federal deficit and current budget issues could be avoided. Perhaps they could start by cutting wasteful spending. Here are a few of my suggestions worth looking into:
Despite trillion-dollar deficits, last year’s 10,160 earmarks included $200,000 for a tattoo removal program in Mission Hills, California; $190,000 for the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming; and $75,000 for the Totally Teen Zone in Albany, Georgia.
The Securities and Exchange Commission spent $3.9 million rearranging desks and offices at its Washington, D.C., headquarters.
Members of Congress have spent hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars supplying their offices with popcorn machines, plasma televisions, DVD equipment, ionic air fresheners, camcorders, and signature machines — plus $24,730 leasing a Lexus, $1,434 on a digital camera, and $84,000 on personalized calendars.
Fraud related to Hurricane Katrina spending is estimated to top $2 billion. In addition, debit cards provided to hurricane victims were used to pay for Caribbean vacations, NFL tickets, Dom Perignon champagne, “Girls Gone Wild” videos, and at least one sex change operation.
The state of Washington sent $1 food stamp checks to 250,000 households in order to raise state caseload figures and trigger $43 million in additional federal funds.
The National Institutes of Health spends $1.3 million per month to rent a lab that it cannot use.
Congressional investigators were able to receive $55,000 in federal student loan funding for a fictional college they created to test the Department of Education.
The Conservation Reserve program pays farmers $2 billion annually not to farm their land.
More than $13 billion in Iraq aid has been classified as wasted or stolen. Another $7.8 billion cannot be accounted for.
The federal government owns more than 50,000 vacant homes.
These are just a few of the many examples of past government financial inefficiencies and waste. Before you try to take more of my money, be sure you are spending the money you already take wisely!
Can we have an intelligent discussion about DACA? The Left now blasting President Trump for his decision to phase out DACA. However, what he did is put the decision back where it RIGHTFULLY, LEGALLY and CONSTITUTIONALLY belongs … in the hands of Congress. Of course, if you hate America, the U.S. Constitution, the Rule of Law, and everything this country stands for, you would be blasting this decision … no matter who made actually made it
.
What did President Trump Say?
The President Trump’s administration announced its decision on DACA Tuesday. They will implement an “orderly wind down” of this Obama-era executive order. The unilateral order gave a deportation reprieve to illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children. In addition, President Trump gave Congress 6 months to come up with a legislative solution to the issue. Congress, not the President, writes the laws. They don’t teach that in school anymore? It is almost as if our schools are preparing our kids for a more “authoritarian” form of government.
I often wonder were all the vocal critics and protestors when, under the Democratic controlled legislature, Obama couldn’t get this done through legislation? Remember, Obama is the one who took the unconstitutional path and imposed it unilaterally by executive order … not President Trump.
What About Being A Society built on Laws?
It has become fairly clear that neither the establishment politicians of both parties nor the media care about the rule of law. 25 States sued the previous administration in Federal Courts with Federal Judges ruling that DACA (and DAPA) were unconstitutional executive actions. Did you hear about this in the left-wing mass media? Nope? I sure didn’t. I think I heard it on Fox news though! That must be why the Left hates Fox News so much. Furthermore, it is simply more evidence of the mass media’s “enemy of the people” status perhaps?
President Trump is Heartless, Evil, Racist, and Cruel!
I don’t think so. First of all, I think this decision weighed heavily on his mind. Look at what he said and think about what it really means. What is the message behind President Trumps words?
I do not favor punishing children, most of whom are now adults, for the actions of their parents. But we must also recognize that we are a nation of opportunity because we are a nation of laws.
And What of Barack Obama?
Yesterday, Obama went on the attack, saying President Trump’s ending of DACA is “cruel”. Yet, he once said he did not have the authority to do what he later did. Either Obama has a very short memory or his is being very disingenuous in his attack on President Trump. Furthermore, I remember when Obama stated this was not amnesty or immunity. Obama said it was not a path to citizenship. He stated himself this was not a permanent fix … calling it a temporary stopgap measure.
Just maybe, what President Trump is doing … is actually fixing the gap!
So … Record spending, record deficit, looming financial problems on all fronts! Obama points his finger at Congress, scolding them for not doing their jobs; and then … what does he do? He quietly signs another executive order and gives them a 1.5 to 2.0 percent pay raise! Unbelievable!
Instead of cutting spending to avoid the fiscal cliff, which is a direct result of out of control government spending; Congress delays cuts, increases spending, and raises taxes.
Meanwhile Obama gives speeches in which he says, don’t you dare prevent me from spending what I have already promised … even though, once a gain, we have exceeded our own debt limit.
What a freaking joke! Any of our grandchildren who can actually do math will never believe that we, their parents and grandparents, were this greedy, this lazy, and that this insanity actually happened. Hmmm! Maybe that is why we are so busy dumbing-down our public schools … so they won’t be able to do the math and tell how badly we screwed them over!
As my brother put it, we are living like some kind of a bloated, immoral monster … thoughtlessly gorging itself at the free “super buffet” while the ship we all share is sinking beneath our very feet! But hey … no problem! Not to worry! The “free buffet” is being run up on a charge card which will be presented to our children and grandchildren for payment. Aren’t we so very clever!?
NO! We are not clever! As a nation … we have become sick!! Unlike Michelle Obama … for the first time … I am very ashamed of our country!
Official 2005 photo of Chief Justice John G. Roberts (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The reaction to this decision is amazing. It has really stirred up the American people and that may be a really good thing!
Progressive-liberals are cheering this “landmark” affirmation of their health care reform. Pelosi even threw a party! This strikes me as really funny because, neither she (by her own words), nor Obama (by his own words), knew what was in this bill before it was passed (and … probably still don’t). Obama (if we can believe it) didn’t even know it was actually a tax. Remember when Obama told us that if we “thought it was a tax … then obviously we didn’t know the law”. So … how did all this confusion (or lying) come about? Could it simply be because they actually did not write this law and they have never actually read it? Does anyone know who wrote this bill? I don’t know who wrote this bill and I actually even tried to find out.
Max Baucus (D-Mont.), lead sponsor and supposed author of the Senate bill, admitted recently that he never even actually read it (never mind wrote it). There are stories about Robert Creamer (husband of far leftist Congress woman Jan Schakowsk) writing it while serving time in jail for 16 counts of bank fraud; and there are stories about it passing through the hands of Andy Stern, the infamous corrupt union boss of SEI. No wonder Pelosi snuck it through Congress … she really did have to pass it to find out what was in it!
One wonders why, if it is such a “great” bill, it does not apply to members of Congress? Or … why 729 companies representing 2.1 million employees, the AARP (who fought so hard to get it passed), and labor unions (hmmm … isn’t the SEIU a labor union) are requesting and receiving exemptions from ObamaCare? Maybe this helps explain Obama’s $1, 000,000,000 political war chest.
But, anyway back to my thoughts:
Many conservatives have been trashing Justice Roberts for his role in this decision. I am a conservative and I think they are wrong in doing that. And, actually, I think progressive-liberals are celebrating a bit too soon. All this trashing and celebration occurred as “knee-jerk” reaction before anyone had actually read and understood the Court’s decision. Let’s look at what has actually done.
Conservatives are pro-constitutionally based government … so lets look at the constitutional aspects of this decision:
If we consider the ideas of “checks and balances” and “co-equal branches of government,” we have to ask … do we really want the Supreme Court signing or vetoing our laws? 435 members of the House, 100 Members of the Senate, and the President passed this law. It is not the Supreme Court’s job to veto laws that Americans decide they do not like! It is the Court’s job to decide the constitutionality of a law … which they did. And, if the “penalty” for not purchasing healthcare is a tax used to help pay the massive debt this bill will incur, then it is constitutional … because Congress has the power to tax.
The solution to this problem is that we, as Americans, have to be careful who we choose to represent us. It seems we all love to hate Congress …. but we love our own individual Congressman or Congresswoman. After all. we keep re-electing them! I still remember the Congressional Bank Rubber Check Scandal! The names of members of Congress who were writing massive bad checks on the Bank of Congress were even published in newspapers. Guess what? In the next election about 95% of them got re-elected. I was appalled! So, people, we reap what we sow. You want better laws? Elect better representatives! Elect statesman … not greedy, corrupt politicians concerned with a political career, transforming the country, and/or “getting theirs!” Don’t expect the Supreme Court to do the job you won’t do because you are too lazy!
Either Obama did lie … or he is not as smart as people think. Either he denied it was a tax because he did not read the bill and did not know it was a tax, … or he knew it was a tax … but also knew Pelosi’s Senate needed to sneak it through Congress behind closed doors using sneaky “rules of reconciliation.” And, he did not want Americans to think he was raising taxes right after his campaign pledge not to.
So exactly what did Justice Robert’s do?
This case held a real danger for the Supreme Court from its beginning. This danger was the likelihood that the SCOTUS would be drawn into a serious confrontation over “policy” with the executive branch in the middle of an election year; and … “policy” does not (and should not) fall under the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction. The Justice Robert’s opinion can be seen as maneuver to avoid just such a pitched battle, while simultaneously blocking the Obama Administration’s attempted power grab.
It is important to remember that Roberts sided with the conservative members of the Supreme Court on most aspects of this decision. Pointing to the Commerce Clause … Obama’s administration, argued that Congress can regulate any behavior (or even non-behavior) that has even a minor effect on commerce. Justice Roberts rejects that contention lock, stock and barrel. In fact, this is the first time in the Supreme Court’s modern history, that the Court made a clear and decisive decision that actually limits what the federal government may do with its commerce authority! This Supreme Court decision means that Congress may regulate only real economic activity, and may do so only if the activity has a substantial effect on interstate commerce. Congress may not regulate a person’s choice to not enter into that stream of commerce. If progressive-liberals actually understood this … they would be screaming rape at very this moment!!
By setting the Commerce Clause aspect of this decision as he does, and by stating unequivocally that the individual mandate cannot survive on commerce grounds, Justice Roberts makes the Commerce Clause holding necessary to the decisions’ s final judgment (which, by the way, Obama and his cronies see as a victory). However, in reality this means that future commerce-clause-based Congressional actions will be controlled and limited by this decision (on which Justice Roberts and the four dissenting justices agree).
Another key part of Justice Roberts’ opinion is his conclusion that the individual mandate is actually a tax and not a penalty. While this decision does then make the mandate constitutional (because of Congress’s accepted power to tax) and allows the mandate to stand, it also effectively makes the mandate an isolated decision based on already accepted congressional power, and denies the Obama administration a new source of regulatory power.
By declaring the mandate a tax rather than a penalty, this decision has another effect. It makes repealing ObamaCare a bit easier. Now that the mandate has been revealed as the taxation it really is, it can be repealed through the use of the very same “reconciliation process” Pelosi, Reid, and company used to sneak it through in the first place. This means that a new, more conservative Senate would need only a bare majority vote for its repeal, and not 60 votes. Add to this the fact that, we know (because they have told so us repeatedly) that many members of Congress would never have voted for ObamaCareif they had known it was a tax. Now we can hold their collective feet to the fire in a “repeal” vote!
I think it is important to point out that at the beginning of his opinion, the Justice Roberts clearly states that the Court does not render an opinion as to whether ObamaCare contains sound policies. He re-visits this very same thought at the end of the opinion, stating that the Court does is not expressing an opinion on “the wisdom of the Affordable Care Act,” adding that, under the U.S. Constitution, that final judgment is actually reserved for “the people.” It sounds to me like Justice Roberts is asking the “people” to render a verdict on the inept leaders who wrote this horrible law in the first place! I strongly believe We the Peopleshould do exactly as he suggests.
As a nation, we absolutely cannot afford this unaffordable Affordable Care Act! Our government is broke! I don’t care if you are liberal, conservative, Democrat, or Republican! We have $16 Trillion in debt and a $1.6 Trillion deficit. Who is going to pay for it? Obama, we have just found out, has passed the largest tax increase on the middle class in the history of modern man disguised as a health care reform bill. The taxes and cost hidden in the bill are only now coming to light.
This bill is not about health care … it is about socialists seizing power! If it was written by Robert Creamer and the SEIU, this would make perfect sense. The poor are already dependent on liberal entitlement programs … so they have no choice but to tote the socialist party line. If the middle class can be forced into dependency on the government for their healthcare (by say … single payer system), then progressive, liberals, socialists (or whatever you want to call them) gain power and control over a huge block of Americans and will effective control their votes. It would be hard for these middle class Americans to “bite the hand that now feeds them.”
This next election is so important. It is time for conservatives, Republicans, and real Americans to come together! Romney was not my first choice but he is who we have. While not perfect … he is so much better than Obama there is no comparison. If we can elect him and at the same time gain a few more conservative seats in the House and Senate, we can restore common sense to our government and turn this ship around before it is too late and we are forced into another American Revolution by an out-of-touch, socialist regime lead by Emperor Obama.
One last note.
I recently signed up for a Twitter account. After the SCOTUS decision, Sarah Palin commented via a Tweet on the lies we all know Obama has told to get ObamaCare and his socialist agenda passed. We all know the lies … they are there and plentiful, … lies like: I will reduce debt by half, I will run a transparent administration, didn’t know Jermiah Wright was a radical, any health care deal will be seen on C-Span, I will not raise taxes, no earmarks in stimulus package, Obamacare will pay for itself, my father fought in World War II, I will lead in a bi-partisan manner, No boots on the ground in Libya, ObamaCare will not raise the deficit, I had an uncle who helped liberate Auschwitz, ObamaCare fee is not a tax, etc. It has gotten so bad even many honest liberals are commentating it.
Sarah Palin simply stated what we all know (but some won’t admit), and she did it without a single foul word The liberal responses I saw on Twitter to Palin’s Tweet would shame the most foul-mouthed, coarsest-speaking scumbag the world has ever known. They attacked her, her daughter, and her special needs son in ways that should not, and in a more civil time … in the America I love, would not have been expressed. If these “liberal” expressions of free speech reflect the kind of world they want to create, and the path these people have in mind for America … I reject it totally. I would fight another revolution to keep my grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great, great grandchildren from having to live in a society such as that!
We all now Rush Limbaugh is no stranger to controversy, but his statements on Monday statements have sent Media Matters readers into a crazed feeding frenzy and inspired all manner of truly enlightened commentary from the liberal media.
Rush commentated on Obama‘s bypassing Congress by “Imperial Fiat” to stop young illegal immigrants from being deported by saying, “So once again we see which side Obama comes down on, in the question of whether [we are] a country with the rule of law, or the rule of man. With Obama, it’s not the rule of law. He is implementing law that the Congress defeated, as in the legalization of the amnesty for 800,000 young illegals– Congress defeated that, the Dream Act.”
And, truthfully, that is exactly what Obama did. Do you remember American Government or Social Studies in elementary school? The Legislature (Congress) passes the laws and the Executive (the President) enforces the laws. I guess they do not teach that anymore! Well … at least not in Obama’s world; nor does his government follow that Constitutional principle. Now … if the Legislature doesn’t pass a law Obama like … he creates it by “Imperial Fiat;” and if the Legislature passes a law he doesn’t like …. he simply decrees it will not be enforced! So much for co-equal branches of government, checks and balances, and democracy! Say hello to dictatorship! Until this point, Rush was simply stating facts ….
But … then Rush uttered the phrase that really drove the Obama lap-dog media into a lather! Rush said, “It‘s a dictator’s wet dream to do what Obama is doing. If he doesn’t agree with the law, voila, it’s no longer enforced. It may as well not even exist. That’s who he is, folks!”
Now, when you compare this phrase to some of Bill Maher’s liberal hate speech utterances about Sarah Palin and her family,
Or those of MSNBC‘s Lawrence O’Donnell (Did anyone tell O’Donnell that his buddy, Harry Reid, is a Mormon):
“Mormonism was created by a guy in upstate New York in 1830 when he got caught having sex with the maid and explained to his wife that God told him to do it. Forty-eight wives later, Joseph Smith’s lifestyle was completely sanctified in the religion he invented to go with it. Which Mitt Romney says he believes.”
Or Al Sharpton’s comments:
“White folks was [sic] in caves while we was building empires…. We taught philosophy and astrology and mathematics before Socrates and them Greek homos ever got around to it,”
Jesse Jackson’s comments on “Hymie Town” or that “conservatives are apartheid nazis,”
Keith Oberman vicious comments about Crystal Palin, Britt Hume, Michelle Malkin,
MSNBC’s Chris Matthews fantasizing about killing Rush Limbaugh (while Obama sends a chill up his leg),
Sandra Bernhard imagining her friends gang raping Sarah Palin and calling Crystal Palin a hooker on the Joy Behar Show,
Joy Behar saying “This B*tch, Sharron Angle, Is Going to Hell,”
and MSNBC’s Ed Shultz wanting to “rip out Cheney’s heart and lick it around;”
Rush’s comment seems to be pretty mild …. in comparison! But, hey, liberals never let the facts interfere with a good story!
And, of course, the immediate response from the liberal left was perfect … and so very typical. No facts, counter-points, or legitimate argument contrary to the point Rush was making (because there really aren’t any … Rush is Right); just typical liberal personal attacks and name calling. It is sad to think the future of America is in the hands of people who thing these are opposing points in an argument:
One Media Matters commentator asked, “If he’s such a dictator, why is he letting a d*ck like you stay on the radio, Rush?”
Another wrote: “See, here’s a subject Fats is an expert on. He often has wet dreams about being a dictator. A dictator on an island filled with nothing but teenaged Dominican boys…”
And, yet another, who likely did not listen to Limbaugh’s explanation commented, nor has ever read the Constitution of the United States quipped, “So, the Constitution of the United States is a ‘dictator’s wet dream’?”
Limbaugh clarified that he didn’t say this in a jocular manner. That fact is that, if Obama can simply decide which laws he will enforce or obey and which he won’t; what does prevent Obama from deciding, for example, that he doesn’t like the 22nd amendment (which limits presidents to only two terms) and simply decides it will no longer be enforced?
Liberals will snort and and gaze down at you over their up-turned noses and say:
Come on Rush, there’s no way Obama would ever dispense with elections…
There’s no way Obama would ever not enforce immigration law…
No way Obama would ignore the Constitution and just write a health care law that basically pees all over it…
Of course He wouldn’t!
Rush then asked, “What if we started obeying laws on that [basis]? If the president of the United States can choose to enforce or not enforce law because he likes them or doesn’t like them, what about us? What if we disagree with the speeding law?…What if we don’t like paying income tax, because frankly, I hate it. What if I just decide, screw it!”
“But of course, we don’t have that ability,” Limbaugh concluded.
I would say we do! That was the whole idea behind the American Revolution!!
Americans should be furious! Have we truly lost our minds? I understand there will always be some Obama-zombies who drank entirely way too much cool-aid and believe Obama is the new Messiah … but what about the rest of us? Are we really going to sit back in voter apathy, or squabble over the perfect candidate to beat Obama and then simply not vote if our “personal choice” does not happen to win the Republican National Convention? That is precisely how Obama could win re-election … in fact, that is what he is counting on!!
Let’s look at a few things:
Congress has a 9% approval rating. 64% of Americans rate congress as the least professional and ethical profession in the U.S. Pin heads keep talking about how we need to elect experienced representatives to Congress. Well, if their experience is in amassing trillions of dollars in debt, not passing budgets, partisan brinksmanship, ignoring the will of the people, and voting themselves endless pay raises … fire the bums! We need Statesman and businessmen … not business-as-usual politicians!
Congress has not passed a budget in three years! They simply rely on “continuing resolutions,” which amounts to living paycheck-to-paycheck as a nation. When we run out of money … they borrow more. When China won’t loan us any more, they simple print more! It does not take an economics degree from Harvard to understand that this is sheer lunacy! How do you cut money from a budget that does not exist? A balanced-budget amendment is not enough. That simply means that the “incoming” must equal the “out going.” There are two ways to do that: 1) Cut spending, or 2) raise taxes. But with spending out of control … Congress simply cannot raise taxes enough to cover their insane spending spree! A $15 trillion current debt, a $2 trillion a year shortfall, and an estimated national debt of $30 trillion by 2030 tells us we have to seriously cut spending.
Entitlements have to be looked at as well. We have created a generation of narcissistic, entitlement-minded sheeple who expect great jobs where the don’t have to actually work, have plenty of leisure time, and make great money … or if not, the government gives them everything. That is not the American way. Americans work hard, sweat, take risks, create, invent, and succeed by the fruits of their own labors … and sometimes they fail! But they can always try again. It is the land of equal opportunity, not equal result! Why do some folks think that they have the right to take from people who work harder than they do? Or that it is the government’s job to provide everyone with a $100,000 per year life-style whether they work or not?
We cannot cut defense spending to the point of national weakness! Obama has weakened us enough with his apologies and inept, bumbling lack of foreign policy. Iran is six months from nuclear weapons. North Korea is selling nuclear technology to Iran. Iran is planning war games to practice shutting down the Strait of Hormuz! They also shot down and captured one of our top-secret drones and all Obama can do is ask for it back “pretty, pretty please!” I don’t think Achmed is very afraid of Obama!! Ohl! Wait … Obama says he got Osama Bin Laden …. so he is a bad-ass President! However, all he did was give the go-ahead. Actually, the CIA and the Navy SEALS got Bin Laden with intel gathered by the intelligence machine created under Bush (which by the way, Obama wanted to shut down and Eric Holder wanted to prosecute).
Speaking of Eric Holder (our esteemed Attorney General)! I think “Fast and Furious” was a plan to help the Anti-gun groups in this country make a case for stronger gun control, but it backfired on them. Total incompetence because Obama hires based on ideology … not qualifications!! And now American border patrol agents are dead, and 2000 weapons are in the hands of Mexican border criminals. An American border agent armed with a freaking “bean-bag” gun is gunned down by a Mexican border criminal with a fully automatic weapon! And … Holder knows nothing? Obama knows nothing? Ahhh! but … they know enough to prosecute governors, states, and Sheriffs who try to do what they can to protect their border-state citizens!
Barney Frank and Chris Dodd should be in prison! Using Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac, Congress forced banks to make crazy mortgage loans to people who could in no way afford them …. simply to buy democratic votes. Then when these people, predictably, could not pay their mortgages, Congress demonized the banks … and useful-idiots like the “occupy Wall street” crowd fall into lock-step and protest the wrong people … taking the scrutiny away from where it should be … on Congress! It should be “occupy Washington!” Do you now why Obama, Pelosi, and Reid embraced the “Occupy Wall street” movement … because as long as they were occupying wall street, they weren’t looking where the should be looking … at an incompetent President and his liberal Congress!
People who pay no income taxes are mad at people who pay 75% of federal income taxes for not paying “their fair share!” An oil pipeline that could create millions of jobs and give America a safe oil supply is shelved so Obama can punish states for rejecting Obama care! Obama, Pelosi,and Reid spew vitriolic nonsense about Conservatives wanting autistic children to die of downs syndrome, little old grannies to be sent to forced-labor camps to die while performing slave labor stamping out Republican bumper stickers, and that conservatives like to drink toxic water while inhaling smog … and the Obama-zombies listen and believe! Class-warfare at its finest. Saul Alinski would be so proud! The question is … are American voters really going to fall for this nonsense?
Obama’s Report Card: F-
And who totes the not for this insane foolishness? … the American tax payer! How much longer are we going to put up with this!
I have known Mark Devol and his wife, Becky, for many years. I taught their two girls karate for several years when they were younger. Mark and Becky DeVol are both solid conservative Americans! Mark is running for Congress in 2010 in the Third District of Tennessee.
Mark is a millwright and runs his own company, Devol Millwork. He has, on occasion, employed some of the young men who passed through my dojo. Becky is the treasurer for the Andersonville Volunteer Fire Department and home schooled their two daughters … who are now both junior volunteer firefighters.
Here are some of the positons Mark DeVol takes on his campaign website:
Government Reform
Mark supports Congressional Term Limits. He supports reducing the size of the federal governmen, and generating federal revenue through a Fair Tax.
Mark supports the creation of a 10th Amendment Commission to review the constitutionality of all federal agencies and programs under Section 8, and … returning the powers and responsibilities left to the states back to the states.
He also supports the bill sponsored by John Shadeeg of Arizona that states that all bills introduced in the U.S. Congress must include a statement setting forth the specific constitutional authority under which the proposed law is being enacted. Such a measure would force a continual re-examination of the role of the federal government and would certainly go along ways toward curtailing the evermore intrusive reach of the federal government.
Under Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, Congress has the power to do 18 specific things. They are:
To lay and collect Taxes
To borrow Money
To regulate Commerce
To establish a uniform Rule of Naturalization
To establish uniform Laws of Bankruptcies
To coin Money
To establish Post Offices
To promote the progress of Science and useful Arts
To establish a Courts system inferior to the Supreme Court
To declare War
To provide and maintain a Military
To make all Laws necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers
Mark believes the federal government should stick to doing just that.
For my part, I find that I strongly agree with his position …
Homeland Security
Mark believes that the primary function of the federal government is to protect its citizens by providing for a strong national defense
…. I absolutely agree!
Immigration
Congress is charged with the responcibility of securing the borders of this country and Mark DeVol thinks they should do just that.
I agree but would also like to see that tied to no amnesty for illegal immigrants … and temporary worker permits for honest migrant workers!
Energy
Mark supports energy independence and achieving this by increasing nuclear energy production, oil production and building modern oil refineries while our scientists work to continue developing alternative energy sources.
Makes sense to me ….
Budget and the Economy
Mark supports a budget balanced by utilizing fiscally conservative principles, lowering taxes, and letting the American people decide where to spend their money …. Can I get an Amen!
Education
According to Mark, our education system must be able to meet the demands of a rapiding growing and prosprous economy. He says that the fundamental concepts of personal finance, basic economics, personal responsibility, and self-governence must be taught … all students must be given the right tools to succeed!
… sounds much better than teaching them to put condoms on a banana or that God is a myth to me!
Mark also supports increased salary and bonus for effective teachers and Tort reform
Health Care
Mark points to Cover TN as a good example of what works in health care. He supports making all medical expenses tax exempt, allowing the purchase of health insurance on the free market, eliminating state mandates and allow purchasing of catastrophic insurance, allowing medicare patients to utilize their health savings accounts and to have optional coverage, and Tort reform
…. again, this just make too much sense! But there is always someone one looking for handouts!
Social Security
Mark wants to protect citizens who have paid into and rely on social security. According to Mark, future generations should be educated to develop the financial skills and discipline to fund their own retirement
… can I please get another Amen!
I like it! No political double talk … just sound American Principles and Values being reintroduced and put back to work!
These are the very same Values and Principles that originally made this Country great … and that the enlightened progressive left-wing liberals (or whatever you want to call them) have tried so hard to stamp out … rugged individuality, personal responsibility, freedom of opportunity, and the true American liberty to succeed … or fail … with the freedom to try again!
For more information about Mark Devol and his campaign, please visit his website atwww.devol2010.com
Why is there no fair up-or-down votes on lifting Congressional bans on domestic oil drilling? The American people are facing real financial hardships from record-high gas prices. And … what is the “action” Americans get from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and her liberal colleagues! They adjourn for an undeserved five-week vacation!
You would think someone would ask why Pelosi and her liberal cohorts are so dead set against taking any action to relieve the pain Americans are feeling at the gas pump that she adjourned Congress and left Washington for a five-week vacation
And … why is it that when a group of conservative legislators tried to speak directly to the American people about the urgent need for Congress stay and to address our nation’s energy crisis before going on vacation, Madam Speaker Pelosi angrily shut off the cameras and the microphones, and quickly closed up house?
During a time when so many Americans simply can’t afford to go on vacation because of the high price of gasoline, Nancy Pelosi and her liberal cohorts have no qualms about taking their five-week summer recess.
And when asked to explain her irresponsible actions, Madam Speaker Pelosi could only repeatedly yell: “I’m trying to save the planet … I’m trying to save the planet. I will not have this debate trivialized by their excuses for their failed policy.”
What I want to know is how Pelosi is trying to save the planet by taking a five-week vacation … especially when she and Congress are needed in Washington right now to do their jobs? How many more American citizens will have to suffer before she declares the world safe?
And even more to the point, exactly what failed policy is Pelosi talking about? President Bush and conservative legislators are calling for the reversal of a 30-year policy of limiting domestic drilling. They are trying to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil by responsibly increasing our domestic supply.
How can a policy that hasn’t been implemented in 30 years be a failed policy? Is Nancy Pelosi that out of touch with the 70% of Americans who support more domestic drilling?
Are we going to let Pelosi get away with her callous irresponsible actions while Americans are suffering, in large part, because Pelosi objects to any and all new domestic drilling?
Whatever Nancy Pelosi may wish, this is not a socialist country yet! And … Nancy Pelosi cannot single-handedly squash free speech and blatantly disregard the will of the American people. This is not the way things work in the United States of America!
We need to demand that Pelosi’s and her comrades be brought back into town … kicking and screaming if necessary … Americans should demand a fair up-or-down vote on lifting Congressional bans on domestic drilling.
Are you kidding me!!
D.C. Gilbert 