tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35157267453965022952024-02-07T18:32:49.491-08:00Revolution and Other Adventuresrobert thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187174691733099915noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515726745396502295.post-3919744030488062242010-11-18T19:20:00.000-08:002010-11-18T19:27:26.020-08:00Black Gold, but no Texas TeaMillions of my readers are probably wondering what happened to me, not having blogged for over a week. The plain and simple truth is that we've just been having too much fun! So, while I apologize for not keeping everyone informed like I had originally intended, I should have known not to embark upon such a demanding task. I've tried to keep journals at various times in my life and have never lasted more than a couple of weeks. Again, sorry; but let me now fill you in on today's adventures in Ouro Preto ("Black Gold"), a beautiful and quaint town in Brazil's state of Minas Gerais. <br />
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We arrived here last evening, having rented a compact car at Belo Horizontes and driven two and a half hours through gorgeous (pardon the pun), verdant mountains to the Hotel Luxor. It was a little late to take pictures, so we went down to the hotel's restaurant and each had delicious meals. Robin had Frango ao Vinho Branco and a dessert of Sorvete Simples (of course), while I had a Salada de Palmito, the Lombinho de Porco a Miniera, and a regional specialty dessert called Doce de Leite com Queijo Minas. All the food was very good, the service was great, and dining room had a pleasing ambience with its stone walls over two feet thick!<br />
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Ouro Preto is a small 300 year-old mining town that is based in a valley but has houses and churches that sprawl up the surrounding mountains. From our window, we can see four ancient churches and hundreds of houses on cobblestone streets. This morning, we went out to explore this beautiful town, but we probably should have explored more about what we were getting ourselves into before we journeyed forth.<br />
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Some of you may be familiar with the hills of San Fransisco. Multiply those hills by ten and you'll have an idea of the steep inclines we have here! I had read that there was a lot of walking to do, and we had been told (the night prior to our trip) that there were a lot of hills. Understatement! You would almost need to have trained for an Iron Man event to tour this city of uneven stone steps and cobblestone walkways. Not surprisingly, the four and five-inch heels we saw women wearing in Santa Catarina are non-existent here. Driving is not something I'd recommend either, unless you have a more powerful car than our 1.0 litre Fiat. In fact, after trying to drive around this afternoon, we decided to take a cab to dinner tonight. The twelve reals was worth less stress. I'd prefer to be beamed out of here tomorrow when we leave, but the technology isn't here yet.<br />
<br />
Having said that, the museums and churches here are exquisite, with elaborate sculptures, carvings, and paintings contained within more rustic exteriors. We were not expecting to find such treasures within. Many of the stone and wood carvings were performed by a crippled man named Antônio Francisco Lisboa, an architect and artist with the nickname "Aleijadinho" (Little Cripple). Awesome stuff here.<br />
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Most of the shops here cater to tourists and sell the same products, much of it imported from China and Indonesia. One business of note, though, is the gem trade. Because Ouro Preto was a mining town several legitimate jewelers sell beautiful jewelry and handicrafts made with indigenous imperial topaz, tourmaline, ruby and emerald, plus many more "gemmas". Robin really enjoyed seeing all of that. I prefered the stickers, coffee mugs, and t-shirts that said stuff like "I (heart) Ouro Preto" and "My Parents Went to Ouro Preto and All I Got Was This Stupid T-shirt". Just kidding about the last part, but I'm sure you could find them if you looked!<br />
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We had some fun here, too. While in the Museu de Ciencia e Tecnica, we were accosted by about twenty twelve year-olds who were on a field trip. One of them heard Robin and I talking and, like bees to the slaughter, we soon were surrounded by wannabe English speakers. After several minutes of exchanging names and nicknames like "Nickito", "Chicken Face" and "Big Head", their teacher (or the museum director, we're not sure) led them out of the room. Each time they saw us they would yell something in English, usually something challenging like "hi" or "goodbye".<br />
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This evening, we ate at what was supposedly the best, yet inexpensive restaurant in Minas Gerais, according to the latest Fodor's guide. I'd have to agree that it was probably the best place around, what with the presentation and quality of the food, great service and genuine cloth napkins (something you don't find too often in Brasil). The only problem is that it was R$200! The glass of wine that Robin and I split (two glasses - as if...) was R$18 alone. Andre, our waiter who spoke fairly logical English, spoke with us from time to time and, after dinner, gave me permission to play the grand piano there in the restaurant. The hotel owner dimmed the lights and sat and listened along with others in the lobby and out on the sidewalk. Andre also gave us a tour of the hotel which was fabulous. If you ever wish to visit this part of the world, I highly recommend staying at the Hotel Solar do Rosario. Just remember to wear hiking boots.robert thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187174691733099915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515726745396502295.post-22672793750212133442010-11-08T03:39:00.000-08:002010-11-08T03:42:53.815-08:00Culture, Society & Politics, but I Ain't no Fala Back GirlOkay, the title is a little odd, right? "Fala" means speak. I had to learn that so I could tell people that "Fala nao Portuguese" (I don't speaka da language). Surprisingly, though, because of the many socio-political similarities between Brasil and the U.S., because God is the same up north as He is down south, and because music unites everybody, language is a minor point. Still, I want to learn Portuguese because it sounds cool (and it would make it easier for the next trip!).<br />
<br />
We've talked politics (go figure) quite a bit in the short time that we've been here, and we've also learned quite a bit about Brasilian society, particularly in the southern region. One thing I've noticed in the few countries that I've learned about, namely the U.S., Italy, Vietnam, and Korea, is that there is basic north-south contentiousness. Brasil is no different, except that they don't have racial prejudice because of their population diversity from the beginning. That's a hard concept to accept, isn't it?<br />
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Mario, a southerner, says that the northerners are uneducated, poor, and lazy; that each generation stays in a pattern of poverty because, in their view, 1) that's the way it has always been and always will be for them, and 2) why change when the government provides enough with which to get by? Does this sound familiar?<br />
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The recent presidential election was an interesting one. The woman who won was promoted heavily by the outgoing president, who promised more of the same government programs and handouts. She had no higher education or valid work experience. She won because of the northern vote. You may say, "The northerners can't be that bad--at least they voted!" Well, here in Brasil, voting is mandatory. If you don't vote, they penalize you with a fine. For the U.S., I'd suggest that we penalize ignorant voters with fines!<br />
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Ironically, the underdog candidate was a woman from the north who pulled herself up by the bootstraps, who pursued an education with much difficulty and who worked hard to eventually become a fairly conservative state senator. She just didn't have the experience or the big push from the outgoing leftist party. Mario actually voted for yet another candidate who had conservative views and much more experience in government. He and Lucianne were disappointed in the election because they know that Socialism is a failed system. Mario pointed out that France is a mess, as is China who seems to want Communism for control and Capitalism for the wealth. It went unsaid that America is a mess for some of the same reasons....The running joke here now is that you don't have to be educated or to have done much to become president. Does THAT sound familiar? <br />
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Brasilians sleep later and stay up later than we do in the States. Our friends go to bed around midnight to 1 a.m. and rise at around 8 or 9 a.m. No meals are skipped here! Fruit and bread, sweet pastries, juice, soda, and coffee are offered in the morning. Lunch (lanch) is a big meal, often what we would normally eat for dinner: chicken, rice, steak, churrasco, salad, etc. Yesterday, Lucianne prepared a wonderful baked salmon with melted cheese along with rice and salad. We ate that at around 3 p.m. At 11 p.m., we stopped in at Blues & Burgers, a hamburger joint owned by a Texan named Gil. The food was good and Gil was quite hospitable. Then we went home to watch a video of our performance with a band at Mario's church--this was accompanied by ice cream and a super sweet strawberry dessert that Lucianne also made. <br />
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Saturday night was pizza night with home-made tuna and cheese, and three- cheese pizzas. The dessert that night is worth a special mention: Chocolate pizza. This she made with regular old mozzarella and milk chocolate. I highly recommend it, probably for any meal!<br />
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I mentioned that we played with a band at church. Mario telephoned his drummer and bassist buddies and Robin, Mario, and I had the opportunity to play two praise and worship songs, <i>Let it Rise <br />
</i> and <i>Shout to the Lord<br />
</i>. We only practiced Let it Rise twice just before the service, but it turned out great and the congregation loved it. Mario's pastor/older brother gave a good sermon and we were welcomed by just about everyone as we stood at the door, shook hands, and wished them "bom noite" (good night). Their church service is much like our contemporary one, but it is held at night. More services are held on Sunday evening than on sunday morning--quite the opposite in the U.S. They have the ubiquitous projection system and screen, sound system with sound man, an offering, sermon, welcome time, and even announcements (something I wish we wouldn't do during services). Paranagua has about fifty churches that are open at night. As we drove home, we saw many churches where the people spilled out onto the streets! Though evident, Baptist is not the largest denomination. Catholicism, Presbyterian and Lutheran are the largest denominations. <br />
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We met Mario's mom, Mariquinha, who is 91 and a cancer survivor. She's a sweet little woman with a big smile. Hard of hearing, people have to get close to her and talk very loudly. She went through chemotherapy, is regaining her hair, and is in pretty good health now. Uncle Jose is going to be 100 in January. He is pastor emeritus at a baptist church and became a pastor because of the Lord working through American missionaries who visited him 70+ years ago. He's alert and in good health. We also met the winner of the fastest talker award: Mario's sister, Sorah. She was fascinated that we caught our own crabs to eat, but that's because crab harvesting here is way different. It involves digging through mud and actually working for them. I'm so glad that our crabs in the U.S. come to us!<br />
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Soon, we'll be on to Foz do Iguacu...robert thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187174691733099915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515726745396502295.post-48260941458630817642010-11-06T09:48:00.000-07:002010-11-06T09:48:27.946-07:00Day 1.5 em BrasilBecause we pretty much had no concrete itinerary, we decided to plan a little more and make some plane reservations for other side trips for later in our stay. After two hours of talking, internet searching and cost-comparing, we went to use our charge card and found out that the airline wouldn't accept international cards. Lucienne spent even more time on the telephone and the computer on our behalf, staying up another hour past everyone else (sometime after midnight!).robert thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187174691733099915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515726745396502295.post-61586183654207988522010-11-05T13:09:00.000-07:002010-11-05T13:15:19.438-07:00Brasil: Our First Day Below the EquatorMy grandmother used to be into "fitness", having owned one of those contraptions that was comprised of a motor and a large cloth belt that you slipped around your waist and, once you turned it on, it shook and shimmied you, presumably, until you lost all of those pounds and inches. In actuality what it did was to re-arrange your organs and while allowing you to keep your fat.<br />
<br />
So, what does that have to do with our trip? Well, our first plane ride from Norfolk to Miami was just like that old fitness machine--jossling us around and seeming to re-arrange our internal organs! While Robin didn't have a problem with reading, my eyes bounced off the page like the infamous bouncing ball that we used to follow while singing with songs on teevee. The good news is that the next two airplane rides were fine. I had told Brian that I would sleep on the overnight flight, but, as he predicted, I didn't. We watched 30Rock and Office re-runs in between tossing and quasi-turning in our narrow seats.<br />
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At the Curitiba airport, our friends, Mario and Lucienne, greeted us with big smiles and bigger hugs. We went on to enjoy lunch at their favorite churrascuria. For those who don't know what that is, it's a sort of buffet where you can fill your plate with all sorts of veggies and prepared dishes. Several waiters come round to your table with various types and cuts of meats and you can take as much or as little as you please. There's a little sign on the table that you can display with a "SIM" (yes) or a "NAO" (no) to tell them whether you're still interested. Today, the sign wasn't working, but boy, that food was delicious!<br />
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We're just resting for the balance of the day, preparing ourselves for tomorrows adventures!robert thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187174691733099915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515726745396502295.post-20078596777583613272010-03-29T18:03:00.000-07:002010-03-29T18:03:19.326-07:00Dear Mr. "President"March 29, 2010<br />
<br />
Dear Mr. President:<br />
<br />
Over the past several years, it has been stated clearly by you and by those with whom you have associated that you have an entirely different idea of what the Unites States is and what it should be. It would be convenient for you yet false, though, to believe that you were elected because of these statements. Truly, your election to power was a combination of both a modern telling of the Emperor’s New Clothes and a hatred developed and encouraged by the media left embraced by the lost. But there is no point in listing facts or figures here, for you believe something so contrary to the ideology of most Americans that it would be like debating God’s grace with an atheist.<br />
<br />
The socialistic ideals that you and the majority of members in Congress espouse are going to be your downfall when you and they are up for re-election. You’ve engaged in open bribery and, at the same time, chicanery when it comes to accomplishing your goals of destroying our country’s very existence. You are responsible for growing the size of an already-intrusive federal government. You have granted more power to the Department of the Treasury and to the non-governmental Federal Reserve Corporation where you have no explicit or implicit right; you have illegally expanded your administration, upsetting the balance of powers by hiring people for positions that are not approved by either the Legislative or Judicial branches; you have promoted Leftist/Socialist people to positions of authority in most government departments, and you have discounted or excluded valid policy options as proposed by the minority party. Perhaps your most egregious violation above all else, however, is that you have ignored the U.S. Constitution and you have ignored us – the electorate.<br />
<br />
If it were up to the people you could be impeached for these offenses, but, despite it being up to us, we no longer have representation as evidenced by the new reich. Congress and you have thrown the Constitution out with the bathwater, so an impeachment can never be without a take-over of the House and Senate by people who will properly act on our behalf.<br />
<br />
I understand, now, what your book title, <i>The Audacity of Hope</i> means. It is the working title of your offensive political agenda and your impudent style as leader of an ever-weakening world power. Despite your agenda and the reckless actions of Congress, our economy is an abysmal failure with steadily high unemployment and a currency value that is at a record low. The people have no faith in investments either on the stock market, in real estate, or in the value of the dollar. We are bracing ourselves for a worsening situation because of your record-breaking debt creation through various obscene government spending plans like health care reform and troubled asset relief. <br />
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Mr. President, this you will be unable to ignore: We, the citizenry, understand your motives and, in the long run, we will shut down the Obama-style totalitarianism that you are racing to create. Even if it is not accomplished this year, it will be so by 2012 through the legitimate election of conservative people who believe in the solidity of our Constitution and in those Godly principles on which it is firmly based.<br />
<br />
Sincerely,<br />
<br />
Publiusrobert thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187174691733099915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515726745396502295.post-4346115154300743372010-03-06T08:12:00.000-08:002010-03-06T08:12:10.476-08:00Email to teachers @MHS regarding budget cuts<b>Excerpts from an email sent to Mathews High School teachers dated March 5, 2010 sent by David Malechek, principal of MHS are as follows:<br />
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</b>Budget News. Here is a recap of the Budget Meeting held at MHS yesterday:<br />
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o Latest projection from the state is a $1.2 million cut in revenue for Mathews County<br />
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o Dr. Holleran did not propose a budget, but rather presented two scenarios to help the School Board realize the impact of cuts on the School Division (I am only including the impact on Mathews High School; all schools and staff will be affected equally):<br />
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1. RIF 2-3 teacher assistant positions; RIF part-time position; RIF 3 full-time teaching positions<br />
(RIF means reduction in force.)<br />
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2. Move to a 150 day calendar. Savings from moving to a shortened work-week would result in considerable savings in fuel and labor costs: RIF 2-3 teacher assistants; RIF one part-time position; explore options of teachers working ½ time (teachers salary and number of work days would not be affected; school day would be extended by 30 minutes; Mathews High School would have to move to a 7-period day in order to get the minimum number of hours required by the state)<br />
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o The School Board voted unanimously to reject any cuts and asked Dr. Holleran to propose a budget funded in full at 2009-2010 levels plus to include a step increase for teachers.<br />
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o What this means: After a budget per the School Board’s request is rendered by Dr. Holleran and approved by the School Board, we will have to see what action the Mathews County Board of Supervisors will take. The Board of Supervisors may accept the budget in full (which would result in a tax increase), fund the budge in part, or reject the budget altogether and instruct the School Board to present a budget with cuts of up to $1.2 million. It will be May until we have any final results on what cuts, if any, will take place.<br />
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<b>So, its business as usual as far as the school board and Dr. Holleran are concerned. NO administrative positions will be cut according to his ‘proposal’. Do you mean to tell me the Superintendant of schools did not even propose a budget at this meeting, only cutting teachers? <br />
And your school board voted to reject cuts and increase pay for teachers. What’s up with that? Keeping your head in the sand does not make the problem go away or make the money magically appear!<br />
<br />
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The solution? Pass the buck to the Board of Supervisors. Make them look like the bad guy. Well, maybe it’s time for the BOS to make the budget cuts for the school board since they seem incapable of recognizing the fact that there is a budget shortfall.<br />
I recommend the BOS eliminate the positions of Assistant Superintendant, Assistant principals in all three schools, and the issue of county vehicles to school administrators. There will be no need to cut vital teacher positions or raise taxes if we cut the fat from the top.<br />
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In another side note, please read the following from Harvey Morgan regarding our localities having more say in how their funds (your tax $) are distributed:<br />
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<i>To minimize the impact on public education of scarce tax dollars, the House plan proposes giving local school division’s significantly greater flexibility in allocating funds provided to them by the state. Under the House plan, portions of direct state aid will be distributed as a block grant and state mandates relaxed, easing the restrictions inherent in the existing Standards of Quality. Recognizing that responding to challenging economic times prohibits a “one-size-fits-all” approach, the House gives local schools the ability to make the most of available funds, allowing them to determine where best to dedicate available resources without state direction. The House also lowers for local governing boards the amount of local required retirement spending.<br />
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<b></b></i><b>So when you hear “our hands are tied” or “the state directs where our funds are to be spent” you will know that this is not true.<br />
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I am appalled by the ‘politics’ involved when it comes to education. It’s not about educating the children, it’s about money. Don’t be fooled, there is a lot of money involved. Why, Dr. Holleran alone makes close to $100,000 per year. (That is public information).<br />
<br />
Everything I touch is taxed. I’m drained. There is no more you can squeeze out of my dollar. I cannot support more taxes. And I know I’m not alone on this.<br />
</b><br />
</b>robert thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187174691733099915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515726745396502295.post-21194364966143248722010-02-02T14:45:00.000-08:002010-02-02T14:47:44.320-08:00Backdoor Taxes to Hit Middle ClassPlease note: This Reuters article was ordered to be pulled by the White House earlier today, I think for obvious reasons. I've provided it here so that the reader can benefit from the info. It is yet another reason why we need the FairTax! -RT<br />
<br />
Backdoor Taxes to Hit Middle Class<br />
By Terri Cullen – Mon Feb 1, 4:09 pm ET<br />
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Millions of middle-class households already may be facing higher taxes in 2010 because Congress has failed to extend tax breaks that expired on January 1, most notably a “patch” that limited the impact of the alternative minimum tax. The AMT, initially designed to prevent the very rich from avoiding income taxes, was never indexed for inflation. Now the tax is affecting millions of middle-income households, but lawmakers have been reluctant to repeal it because it has become a key source of revenue.<br />
<br />
Without annual legislation to renew the patch this year, the AMT could affect an estimated 25 million taxpayers with incomes as low as $33,750 (or $45,000 for joint filers). Even if the patch is extended to last year’s levels, the tax will hit American families that can hardly be considered wealthy—the AMT exemption for 2009 was $46,700 for singles and $70,950 for married couples filing jointly.<br />
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Middle-class families also will find fewer tax breaks available to them in 2010 if other popular tax provisions are allowed to expire. Among them:<br />
<br />
* Taxpayers who itemize will lose the option to deduct state sales-tax payments instead of state and local income taxes;<br />
<br />
* The $250 teacher tax credit for classroom supplies;<br />
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* The tax deduction for up to $4,000 of college tuition and expenses;<br />
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* Individuals who don’t itemize will no longer be able to increase their standard deduction by up to $1,000 for property taxes paid;<br />
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* The first $2,400 of unemployment benefits are taxable, in 2009 that amount was tax-free.robert thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187174691733099915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515726745396502295.post-89950508960679120352010-01-25T22:02:00.000-08:002010-01-28T19:34:01.867-08:00The Patriot's Declaration of SolidarityThe resurgence of the Patriot Movement, otherwise known as the Tea Party Movement, has risen from amongst the citizenry of the United States in protest toward the abuse of federal power through the use of oppressive policy actions. <br />
We, who love the United States of America, believe in the universality of the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as granted to every American by Almighty God and stated as such by the Founders of this country in the Declaration of Independence. We uphold our Constitution, complete with all of its amendments as the sine qua non of our 234-year existence. We, who love our country, are concerned with the regression of the original intent and purpose of our Federal Government that is to establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, <br />
We, as protestors by right of the First Amendment, hereby impeach our national leaders, many of whom claim to represent the Republican Party and who do not, and most national leaders who are Democrats and who fail to represent American economic and social tradition. Recognizing that there are some elected leaders, representative of both political parties, true public servants who are their constituents’ voice in Washington, we acknowledge their service and we exclude them from the grievances contained herein. We do, however, accuse the majority of our elected officials, calling them unfit to serve. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.<br />
The President, with the consent of Congress, has violated our traditional economic system of Capitalism by taking control, via the federally-funded Troubled Asset Relief Programs (TARP), of the private sector. Examples of this include the entire banking and investment industry and two-thirds of American automobile manufacturers.<br />
The President, with the consent of Congress, has promoted policy that is based upon faulty, deceptive, and incomplete scientific information known not to be in the best interest of the Nation such as Cap and Trade legislation.<br />
The President, with the consent of Congress, has neglected to provide for or hindered the common defense by acting indecisively with regard to our military missions in the Middle East in the ongoing War on Terror, he has rescinded the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) policy, and he has weakened intelligence-gathering through the outlawing of important interrogation techniques. <br />
The President, with the consent of Congress, is guilty of several counts of broken oral contracts with the citizenry; generally, by not acting in a transparent manner with regard to legislation, and specifically, by not allowing access by the citizenry to proposed legislation in a timely manner. Further, he blatantly promotes earmarked Congressional spending after promising to eliminate them. <br />
The President, with no subsequent Congressional censure, has misrepresented the United States to other countries as “arrogant”, as not a Judao-Christian nation, and as apologetic for political and military actions performed in the past. <br />
The President and the Congress employ fear tactics to create panic amongst the citizenry, as evidenced by the policy introduced by Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, seeking out “groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration,” and includes those “rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority.”<br />
The President, with the consent of Congress, fails to respect the value of human life as demonstrated by his promotion of abortion and euthanasia.<br />
The President, in collusion with certain Representatives and Senators, has used coercion to achieve political success. Bribery in the form of promised federal funds has been made to some members of Congress who once opposed health care reform legislation.<br />
The President, with the consent of Congress, has engaged in abuse of power by his misinterpretation of Executive Orders, and by expanding centralized powers through appointing Executive Branch employees otherwise known as “czars”. He has, in effect, “erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent them hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance”. <br />
The President, with Congressional approval, has attempted to subvert individual liberty and encroach on personal privacy through Internal Revenue Service fines sanctioned by the recently-introduced health care reform and climate change bills.<br />
Our President, with the consent of Congress and the U.S. Attorney General, has weakened our political and economic stature with regard to the rest of the world by trying terrorist war criminals in civil court rather than by proper military tribunal. Additionally, in the same manner, he has de-valued the meaning behind United States citizenship. <br />
Our current Government has imposed Taxes, tariffs, and fees on us and legitimate global trade partners without our consent. It has nullified, in many cases, States’ rights as authorized by the Tenth Amendment wherein it states that “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people”.<br />
Most members of Congress have turned humble public servanthood into a mockery. They have selfishly put the needs of themselves above the citizens whom they represent through careerism. Therefore, we no longer can rely on the ballot box to ensure term limits and must turn instead to a Constitutional amendment.<br />
We have lost all manner of good faith and trust in our elected leaders because of their rampant insincerity, dishonesty, and disgraceful moral character.<br />
We, the citizens of the United States, are falsely misrepresented by those whom we have elected to represent us. We make our will known to them with regard to legislation and governance, yet they refuse to yield to our preferences. <br />
Be it resolved that<br />
Whereas our President has not yet attained the position of true Tyrant, many policies of the present Administration as well as the manifestations of several Congressional actions and tactics are leading these United States toward that form of dictatorial oppression, and<br />
Whereas the purist form of economic freedom lies within the precepts of free-market capitalism, yet our elected officials seek to restrict free trade with its requisite successes and failures, by promoting Socialism and thereby not following the enumerated powers of the Constitution, and<br />
Whereas the American people are weary of an oversized, overbearing, inefficient, and costly Federal Government,<br />
We, the Patriots of the United States of America, therefore, make this Declaration of Solidarity in an effort to define our position and to avow to work tirelessly in order to realize a return to Constitutional Government under God, of the people, by the people, and for the people. <br />
<br />
Respectfully submitted,<br />
Robert B. Thompsonrobert thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187174691733099915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515726745396502295.post-2240946947866638692010-01-10T11:18:00.000-08:002010-01-10T11:26:01.269-08:00A Great Example to the WorldFormer White House Correspondent for ABC News, Brit Hume, who now is a senior political analyst for Fox News, is catching all manner of flack because of his recent comments regarding golfer Tiger Woods. Woods, you may know, is being accused of numerous extra-marital affairs. <br />
<br />
The flack began flying just after the Sports segment of an airing of Fox News, when Mr. Hume stated that he thought Tiger Woods would "recover as a golfer", but it was uncertain whether he would personally recover his familial relationships. Hume offered some personal spiritual advice to Woods during this same commentary that Woods should "turn to the Christian faith, and [he] can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world"<br />
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First, I applaud Brit Hume for not being ashamed to speak openly about Christianity. Obviously, Hume spoke from his heart, offering sound advice to Woods as if they were close friends. It was done in Christian love. One could argue that Fox News is not the forum for spiritual matters, but then isn't every opportunity a forum for such things? Isn't the idea of evangelism to bloom where you're planted, performing the Lord's work within your own sphere of influence? Sure it is.<br />
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Our Sunday School discussion this morning (<a href="http://www.mathewsbaptistchurch.com">Mathews Baptist Church</a>) revolves around the Bible story of Ruth and Naomi, who, contrary to GLAAD, were not lesbians. Putting that aside, our discussion was about redemption, Jewish law, Levirate marriage, and how Boaz redeemed Ruth. It is one of many allegorical stories of salvation that point to the ultimate redemption of mankind through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The big question put to us today was "How do you explain redemption in the Christian sense to a non-believer?"<br />
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Several people in our class offered various explanations. They each had parts that were useful but no one succinctly stated an easy answer. I withheld my own S & H Greenstamps analogy for two reasons, first being that most people there wouldn't have known what I was talking about; and second, it was hardly succinct. <br />
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Okay, I'll try to be brief: With S & H, many different merchants would give out little stamps (like they do with coupons today) whenever you purchased goods. Usually you'd receive them when you bought gasoline or groceries. You'd then paste them in special S & H stamp books and when you'd amassed a certain number of filled books, you could come in to your local Sperry and Hutchinson (S & H) merchandise store and redeem your books for certain items, depending on how many books S & H required. E.g., if you needed Dining Room furniture, S & H might give you a table and chairs for 175 completed stamp books. A table radio might only require 25 books. I have no idea how many stamps it took to get anything--I just remember helping my mom glue them in and actually going to the merchandise store back when I was about four or five years old.<br />
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Anyway, I thought it out this way: our lives would be represented by the stamp books. All of our faults, failures and sinful nature would be glued into our own compilation of books. All of the features/rewards of Christianity like eternal life in Heaven, communion with God, peace of mind, forgiveness, the fruits of the Spirit, etc. would be the items found in the ultimate S & H store that I would call Christianity. God, the owner of the store, would send His manager, Jesus, to wait on you, giving you everything in the store by redeeming all of your stamp books. <br />
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It was the consensus that, unless there was divine intervention and/or a personal epiphany, it would be difficult to succeed in just one sitting. I'd like to go ahead and concede here that the S & H example would be, in fact, several painful sittings where the listener would convert to something simpler!<br />
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Brit Hume mentioned that he didn't "think that [Tiger Woods' Buddhist] faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith." His statement here could be a lead-in for Woods (who apprently doesn't have his moral life together, based upon "news" reports) to reflect on redemption. This could be the seed that needed to be planted. <br />
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Perhaps Mr. Hume's remarks will lead to Mr. Woods' salvation and he will be as successful on and off of the green. Even in the sad case that it doesn't save Tiger Woods, millions of viewers around the globe heard this story. St. Paul wrote in I Corinthians 9:22, "I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some." It is impossible to quantify the results of Brit Hume's efforts, but, using his own words in this case, he is a great example to the world.robert thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187174691733099915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515726745396502295.post-59074609232240477192009-12-13T09:02:00.000-08:002009-12-13T09:03:15.803-08:00A Friendly LetterRemember back (for some of you that's waaay back) to elementary school when you learned how to write a 'friendly letter'? I do. Each of us was even asked to mail these letters to someone else in our class, presumably to learn the inefficiency of the U.S. Postal Service. <br />
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Well, today I received a letter from Jessica. Jessica, who introduced herself as "an Obama state field coordinator", works for FairTax.org, and her letter was crafted to reflect the notion that Democrats and Republicans could/should unite under the fair tax system. In the interest of space and time I won't re-print her letter here. You'll need to take my word on this (unless you also received a letter from Jessica), but the only time that she sounded like a Democrat was in the closing paragraph where she asked for a donation. I decided to use my second-grade friendly letter writing skills to respond in a friendly manner. Here's what I emailed: <br />
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<i>Dear Jessica,<br />
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You don't seem like a Democrat to me (certainly not an obama field organizer) when you recognize that lower taxes boost job creation and that a system like the fair tax is more fiscally responsible, but it troubles me that you can be a supporter of the Usurpent while supporting a rational, logical, and fair idea such as the fair tax. I'm glad you favor the fair tax, and I encourage you to continue reading about other similarly conservative principled ideas. I also thank you for working for FairTax--you're a good citizen! <br />
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Being a good citizen, however, entails many things, not the least of which is consistency. The fair tax, obviously, is fair to all of us, yet inflicting government control and oppression through the Usurpent's programs such as the propping up of financial institutions, the hostile takeover of two of our auto manufacturers, constant apologies to foreign leaders for unfounded U.S. foreign policy actions, coersion, bribery, and lies in an effort to provide socialized health care, abortion rights, homosexual marriage, and reckless and irresponsible budget proposals are not fair to anyone.<br />
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I preach the gospel of fair tax wherever I go, but the truth of the matter is that, unless our leaders reign in spending, the fair tax will fail. recognizing this, then, two things must happen: 1) anyone who has served longer than six years in office must be voted out, and 2) the constitution must be amended to require term limits as follows: a) senators may serve only one term, and b) representatives' term shall be of six years, and they shall serve only one term. <br />
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Serving the public by elected office was never intended to provide life-long careers replete with retirement pensions, and, aside from turning to God as a nation, the only hope and change for our future is in these things. Here's to the FairTax, Jessica, and to the assurance that it will work--Constitutional term limits!<br />
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Peace,<br />
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Rob Thompson <br />
</i>robert thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187174691733099915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515726745396502295.post-80495186434141846332009-11-10T18:46:00.000-08:002009-11-10T18:46:19.866-08:00HerbYesterday, I was listening to a talk show on AM radio--you may have heard of it--The Rush Limbaugh Show. I don't listen to him or any others regularly for a variety of reasons, namely the inferior quality of reception, the annoying and repetitive advertisements, people calling in, and did I mention the annoying and repetitive advertisements?<br />
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Well, a man called in whose name is Herb. Herb is, I think, either 56 or 66 years old (I couldn't understand every word because of the low sonic quality), and he explained how he was just tired of how things were going in our country. It doesn't matter how old or young he is, though, because I could hear the weariness in his voice.<br />
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Granted, he'd been through some tough times, having to serve in the military during wartime, having to work two jobs, and then later, losing his wife to cancer. But he seemed to have rather rebounded from those things, and now he was being slowly worn down by the horrible efforts of the Usurpent and his Congress.<br />
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Listening to him speak, not being able to express himself because of the overwhelming amount of damage being done by policies that might possibly and permanently erode the American way of life, I felt my eyes well up and I wept. He was saying, or trying to say, what I have been feeling for months, and hanging on every word was his weariness along with my own and that was such a heavy feeling--one that I have never known.<br />
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These are sad times, especially when one adds in the recent terrorist attack at Fort Hood, Texas. But all of the evil acts committed by this administration and all those committed by terrorists should be enough to anger us as well. May this anger as well as the sadness move all of us who love the United States to action, and may God have mercy on us.robert thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187174691733099915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515726745396502295.post-67910622569002128652009-09-16T19:30:00.000-07:002009-09-16T20:12:36.210-07:00Democrats Love Racism, Don't You?Wow. Things must be serious in Amerika now. I mean, Jimmy Carter has been asked to weigh in on Rep. Joe Wilson's fiesty remark during the Usurpent's appeal to Congress the other day. You may recall that Wilson accused the Usurpent of lying ("You lie!"), not, however, calling him a liar.<br /><br />You may also remember Jimmy Carter, the biggest buffoon of a U.S. president ever. Yes, he's the one who committed adultery in his heart, who farmed peanuts prior to growing hostages in Iran and who left us with 18% interest rates. Even Ted Kennedy couldn't stand him, but Teddy's dead now,(still he lies!). Speaking of lying, Wilson caught all of this flack for speaking the truth about the Usurpent, even receiving an honorary censure from his colleagues in da house. But why did his accusation trouble people so? Well, it wasn't so much the remark as it was the motivation behind it.<br /><br />The motivation? Don't you know? It was because of Rep. Wilson's out of control racism. At least that's what Jimmy sez. Jimmy Carter is an expert at so many things, especially racism because he grew up in Georgia (for those still in public school, that's a state in the deep South in Amerika). Rep. Henry "Hank" Johnson (a member of a segregated group, the Congressional Black Caucus) believes that Whitey's gonna start wearing white robes again if people keep disagreeing with the Usurpent! Speaking of hank....<br /><br />Who's the real racist here? The Usurpent campaigned on his blackness, despite being a mulatto. He distanced himself from his white mother while playing up his African descent. He promised a post-racial Utopia, yet he involved himself in a matter between a white cop and the black Professor Gates up in Cambridge, Mass. a few months ago, rushing to judgement without any facts, basically pulling the race card. Then, who did the Usurpent select for a seat on the Most Exalted and Superiorly Important Supreme Court than an Hispanic woman. She was selected because she was not white.<br /><br />Don't let the media fool you into believing that racism is a huge problem. Sure, it's their job to perpetuate falsehoods and create havoc over the air waves (Satan is called the Prince of the power of the air--think about it), but it doesn't mean we have to buy into it. The way to a resurgence of racism is to continually bring it up and point a finger at it. If we would stop talking about it, the associated hatred and occasional violence would dwindle.<br /><br />I would love to see an end to racism, but until we eliminate Democrats, that will never be. Well, it's getting late so I'd better get into my white sheets. Good night.robert thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187174691733099915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515726745396502295.post-37634911884332213222009-09-01T06:45:00.000-07:002009-09-01T06:56:18.540-07:00TOWN HALL MEETINGS IN VIRGINIAConservative Rob Wittman had a good meeting last night at the Ferguson Center.<br /><br />Here are some additional meetings fyi...<br /><br /><strong>Mark Warner</strong><br /><br />Date: Thursday, September 3, 2009<br />Time: 7 p.m. (doors open at 6 p.m.)<br />Location: Fredericksburg Expo Center<br />2371 Carl D. Silver Parkway | Fredericksburg, VA 22401<br /><br /><strong>Ultra Lib Bobby Scott</strong><br /><br />Tuesday, September 1, 2009<br />Newport News Health Care Community Forum<br />7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.<br />Downing-Gross Cultural Arts Center<br />2410 Wickham Avenue, Newport News, VA 23607<br /><br /><br /><strong>Little Jimmy Webb</strong><br /><br />Share your thoughts here (no scheduled town hall meetings): <br /><br />http://webb.senate.gov/contact/healthcarecontact.cfm<br /><br />THIS LEGISLATION MUST BE DEFEATED! IF YOU'RE GOING TO THE DC MARCH ON 9.12, MAKE THIS YOUR SOLE PURPOSE. FOR MORE INFO, GO TO 912DC.ORGrobert thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187174691733099915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515726745396502295.post-40292710853634373702009-08-03T04:44:00.000-07:002009-08-03T05:26:08.907-07:00The Usurpent's Reign is a Do-Over, but WorseI'm a collector of old architecture, history, medicine, and social science books. The reasons are few, mainly to see into a simpler world, to compare our knowledge of today with that of the past, and, of course, that old book smell--you have to wait nearly a half-century to acquire that aroma! I digress.<br /><br />I've been reading James Truslow Adams' series of history books, that were published in the 1930s and 1940s. One in particular, <em>History of the United States. Vol. V</em>, chronicles each year from 1933 to 1941. I've been saying since January how the Usurpent's agenda is a mirror of FDR's socialist reign. This book of Adams is fascinating reading because it describes what we're experiencing today. Below are excerpts from pages 66-67 of <em>The Record of 1935</em>.<br /><br /><strong><em>Fortunately our decision cannot be made hastily. In the great populations of our modern democracies false information and emotion derived from newspapers, the moving pictures and the radio, acting upon all of us simultaneously, may cause us to advocate a course of action which we may later regret. The example of the Hitler regime in Germany shows us how even a sober, orderly, and highly cultured and intelligent nation may embark upon a course which ends in economic, spiritual, and intellectual ruin, and once embarked finds it impossible to turn back...</em></strong><br /><br /><em><strong>Many of the most radical, indeed almost revolutionary, measures passed by the administration in the three years it has been in power has been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1935. This does not mean that the Court is oblivious to the social ills of our time or heedless of a humanitarian program. It does mean, however, that the methods of solution for our problems, proposed in haste and without due consideration, have not been in accord with the fundamentals of our form of government. These include certain defined relations of the citizen to his State and national governments. They also include certain relations between the States and the Federal Government which latter was erected to bind the States together, to perform certain functions for all better than the individual States could do, and also to guarantee certain personal liberties to all citizens...</strong></em><br /><br /><em><strong>Either of two things can be done. More carefully thought-out solutions might be found or less carelessly drawn laws enacted which might better meet the constitutional test; or the Constitution itself, if a real majority of the American people and not a mere minority group wish to do so, could be amended....</strong></em><br /><br />The only difference that I've seen so far is that no one is challenging the constitutionality of the actions taken by the Usurpent and his Congress. That is tragic, but do you see the similarities? Take all of this at face value. Apparently, the media certainly hasn't changed. In fact, the Usurpent, without trying very hard, controls the media just like the corrupt Senator of Louisiana, Huey Long. The Usurpent also takes the dictatorial approach to the presidency much like the assassinated Mr. Long. Acting in haste, pushing through soon to fail or punitive programs like "Cash for Clunkers", the energy bill, the stimulus bill, and, in September, Health Care Reform, is projected only to lead us to "embark upon a course which ends in economic, spiritual, and intellectual ruin, and once embarked finds it impossible to turn back".robert thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187174691733099915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515726745396502295.post-70805189279462766922009-08-02T12:48:00.000-07:002009-08-02T12:50:20.100-07:00There's Nothing Like a Cold Beer to End RacismWe've all read or heard the news about how the Usurpent decided to meddle in matters outside of his job description when he publicly chastised a cop for arresting a liberal professor friend of his based on supposed racial profiling.<br /><br />I think it's odd that the cop has a stellar record on the force, and that he taught classes about the wrongs of racial profiling. Then, just when you thought it was a closed topic, an email appears where the cop used words referencing monkeys and bananas in a derogatory fashion. All of the sudden, the cop issues an apology for using those words. The whole thing is suspect.<br /><br />The Usurpent never apologized for sticking his nose into someone else's business, but he used the situation to call attention to our history of racial problems in Cambridge and in the U.S. Now, I've been to Cambridge. It's probably the most politically correct town in America, next to Washington, D.C. (not a town, but a district set aside for government only--what happened there?)<br /><br />So, the Usurpent decides that both parties, but not himself, had a misunderstanding and, gosh, let's just laugh this off over some cold ones at my house. Really? Beer? Really?<br /><br />Since their happy hour meeting, I'm glad to report that racism has ended in America. It was a remarkably simple solution under our noses at the grocery store all this time. Who knew?robert thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187174691733099915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515726745396502295.post-23810128581285524412009-07-26T12:37:00.000-07:002009-07-26T13:32:17.797-07:00Minimum RageNow <em>this</em> is good timing: The hourly minimum wage in America increased this week to $7.25 from $6.55. That's an increase of seventy cents per hour ($1,456 annually) that employers must now cough up to pay to their hourly employees. This comes at a time of recession and continued job layoffs (over 9% nationally and increasing), not to mention the upcoming increase in taxes that most businesses will be paying to cover the gross spending by out-of-control Washington.<br /><br />The minimum wage was originally implemented to protect workers from sweatshop tactics of overwork and underpay. But the sweatshops have long vanished from the American employment world, and we have those wonderful unions to protect today's worker bees. At least <em>they're</em> not driving up costs!<br /> <br />So many problems have derived from the minimum wage, one being the audacity of government to step into the private sector. Sure, there were abuses in the early days, but the point here is that there still were people willing to work for a lower wage. The government essentially stole away their right to work at an agreed upon price between employer and employee. The fact that they couldn't survive on that price is irrelevant here.<br /><br />Because a minimum wage created a new wage floor in business operations, it necessitated elevating workers' pay in higher positions automatically. This reduced overall profits for business owners and provided workers with a false sense of self-worth. Here's an example: <br /><br />At the Acme Press, an unskilled janitor who was willing to earn fifty cents an hour was paid considerably less than the semi-skilled typesetter who earned an hourly $1.00. But under the minimum wage, the janitor now must be paid $1.00. So, now the typesetter has to have a raise to reflect his worth as a semi-skilled worker to $2.00. This continues up the chain all the way up to the Editor. It's great that everyone has received a raise, but the raises were taken from company profits. When the wage expenses were too high, the company cwas faced with one of three options: 1)reduce production, 2)reduce the number of employees, or 3)close their doors. None of these are good choices, especially if expansion is your goal!<br /><br />The problem is that employers today may not be able to afford the wage increases and, in these recessionary times, may find themselves firing workers or closing their doors, thereby expanding the unemployement rate, reducing the amount of tax dollars collected, and perhaps providing the blight of an empty building to a city or town near you. So the Usurpent will have at least one minimum wage increase in his cap while he remains president.<br /><br />If Congress wanted to be responsible (I know, I know, you're laughing), they would have cancelled this latest increase until we're more stable. Instead, the White House is issuing a projected injection into the eocnomy of "billions" of new dollars spent by workers. Like other White House projections, this, too, is a farce. It seems to me that the workers who get to keep their jobs probably will use their new found wealth to pay off debt incurred during the past year. The others who aren't as fortunate will be applying for unemployment, thereby creating a zero sum situation and no boost to the economy will be realized.<br /><br />It would be refreshing if government would simply stay out of our business.robert thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187174691733099915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515726745396502295.post-60419546255355189572009-07-23T05:00:00.000-07:002009-07-23T05:57:06.003-07:00The Usurpent Finally Said Something TrueDuring last night's sales pitch for ramming a health care bill through, the Usurpent said that "If you don't set deadlines in this town, things don't happen. The default position is inertia...". This is, to my recollection, the only thing this man has ever said that I agree with!<br /><br />I don't, however, agree that the "stars are aligned" and the time is right for health care reform.<br /><br />The Usurpent says that this reform is critical for boosting the economy and controlling the deficit, but that could be nothing further from the truth. Any additional expenditures that this administration would propose will further damage the economy and increase the deficit. It's really only a matter of common sense here, but still he felt the need to mildly threatened us by saying that "If we do not control these costs, we will not be able to control our deficit." <br /> <br />The big lie is that there is a problem with our health care in the United States. That's just not true. We have great health care; otherwise, people wouldn't be flocking to America for health care!<br /><br />If health care is a right, then why isn't there a global revolution? Because it isn't, and most American have quality health care. The poor generally receive care through the emergency rooms at hospitals, and the wealthy have no lack of care, and even purchase luxury health care like cosmetic surgery. It is the middle class who must be cautious about how they recieve health care (which everyone across the board should do), and more importantly, how to pay for it.<br /><br />What problems need to be solved are how to lower/control 1)pharmaeutical costs, 2)hospital charges, and 3)insurance premiums. <br /><br />Hospitals charge outrageous sums because, in part, they must cover the costs of poor users who typically can't contribute toward their bills. Because hospitals have absorbed most private practices, they must also compensate doctors at a higher rate because Medicare/Medicaid have wrongly determined acceptable charges that are too low. I miss my now deceased doctor who used to give me free drug samples in prescription quanitites! Of course, he also made house calls (up until a few years ago). <br /><br />Pharmaceutical companies simply charge too much for their products. This goes beyond letting the market determine the price, as most people pay the price of their cholesterol , blood-pressure, or happy pills without negotiating. House rules prohibit generics from becoming available for so many years, so we mapy the higher price. This is one area where the rules must change and regulations, unfortunately, must be imposed.<br /><br />Insurance companies claim that premiums are high because of generally unhealthy American lifestyles. This is a believable claim, just look around. How many fast food chains are there where you live? How large is the prepared/processed food aisle at your favorite grocer? Still, there is no reason why premiums increase every year upwards of 30%. Sure, one can shop around for better prices, but the costs continue to rise, and that can't be solely blamed on the poor or the unhealthy lifestyle. The health insurance industry is completely without regulation. These companies need to be investigated thoroughly before any policies are enacted, but regulation may be necessary here, too.<br /><br />Health care is good, health care costs are bad. Let's have someone other than Congress and the Usurpent figure out how to lower costs.robert thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187174691733099915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515726745396502295.post-27403442876532448672009-07-12T10:34:00.000-07:002009-07-12T10:35:32.042-07:00My Speech to the Middle Peninsula Tea Party July 11, 2009Good Morning, comrades! Or should I say good patriots of Mathews, Middlesex and Gloucester?!<br /><br />I don’t know about you, but for months now, seven to be exact, I’ve been grumbling, <br />griping, and complaining about the peaceful takeover of our country by the Socialists, <br />some of those people being Obama, Biden, Dodd, Reid, Pelosi, Kennedy, and Frank. <br />Boy, what if that were a law firm? How scary would that be?<br /><br />Well, you’ve heard those names before, so let me throw some new names at you: Mack, Lobiondo, Castle, Kirk, Lance, McHugh, Reichert and Smith. In case you didn’t know, these are the eight Republicans who now have risen to the rank of Junior Socialists, because they voted for Waxman and Markey’s climate change bill H.R. 2454 that we affectionately call “Cap and Tax”.<br /><br />I could go on and talk about that fool’s errand, but I won’t. Well, maybe I will. A Rasmussen poll just reported that 56% of Americans oppose paying more taxes to help generate cleaner energy or to fight global warming. That sounds like a majority to me…are you a part of that 56%?! I thought so!<br /><br />You know, the truth is, there isn’t enough empirical data on either side of this issue to begin writing public policy. Yet truth has become a casualty as we are blasted daily on climate change through the media. Anyway, I’m not here to talk about the weather!<br />I’m here to talk about tea parties. <br /><br />If you haven’t heard about these events before, the tea party movement is a nationwide campaign that is mounting against the blatant anti-American position that the president and his congress have taken as they steamroll over our traditional values of life and liberty, trading our Constitution for a worthless, liberally-dog-eared paperback copy of the Communist Manifesto.<br /><br />They want to eliminate any policy based upon our Judeao-Christian values and their goal is to breakdown society, including our free-market capitalist system, to the point where we are forced to rely solely on Big Brother. Is that what you want? I didn’t think so!<br /><br />I mentioned that this effort on our part is a campaign. Campaign is a French word that has come to mean “a connected series of military operations forming a distinct phase of a war.” Ladies and gentlemen, we are at war with this administration’s tyranny. Let me be perfectly clear that we’re also at war with anyone, Republican or Democrat, who would work to undermine what our forefathers sacrificed so much to secure for us and what the one true God has provided us.<br /><br />I’ve heard some people ask over these past months, “What will these tea parties accomplish? What good are they? How can they change anything—the media ignores them.” The answer is “plenty” if we enlist today.<br /><br />Well, before you can go into battle, you need to have troops. If you don’t, boy--are you in trouble! Consider these rallies as a means for recruiting troops, one of many connected series of military operations.<br /><br />This war will probably be without bloodshed, but in this day and age, it’s hard to say for certain. But because it is a war, there are certain things that require defining. Let’s start with the two sides: The two forces of this war are liberty versus oppression. This sounds vaguely familiar, doesn’t it?<br /><br />So, let’s move on to the war’s true objective. That would be to eliminate the threat of Socialism and Godlessness, and a return to adherence to the constitution of the United States of America. How do we do this? What is the strategy for our part in the war?<br /><br />I believe that the first phase of our strategy is to unify all the tea party groups. There are at least a few dozen in Virginia alone, and we can start here. Unity starts with open communication, something easily done at events like these and, of course, the internet. Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, Meetup.com, and emails all make it very simple to interact with each other. Strength in numbers causes others to take notice. It provides clout and people will support a solid cause. But we need to define this solid cause.<br /><br />The second phase should be to vote out all incumbents who have served in the House for more than three terms, and who have served in the Senate for more than one term. We have people who have done nothing other than hold political office for their entire lives! What does that make them an expert in—red tape? Hey, there’s a term that has new meaning.<br /><br />The American idea of government is summed up in nine words of Lincoln: “of the people, by the people, for the people”. Our current government caters to the political elite only—not to you and me. Make no mistake—this hasn’t just happened since January 20, the chipping away of our freedoms and the burden of debt and heavy taxation has been a process over the last 75 years or so. It just happens that the Usurpent’s administration is moving faster than we care to go. They’re taking America <br />skydiving, if you will, without a parachute.<br /><br />Do we want to show Washington who’s in control? Then we must vote them out first and foremost. We need to send the message to our congressmen and senators that no one is safe in office. Initially, this will not be a question of party affiliation. Both the Republican as well as the Democrat needs to be paranoid about their job security. There are already enough regular folks like you and I who are, with good reason, worried about their job security.<br /><br />To ensure that we weaken our opponents, we must demand term limits. Those of us who believe in this are in good company with the likes of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, George Mason, and Benjamin Franklin, who all favored term limits. I would suggest three terms for the House, one term for the Senate, and a former congressman or senator may run again but only after sitting out for six years. Public office is not meant as a lifetime career. And, if the newly-elected public servants won’t pass a term limits bill, a national referendum should be taken by the people of each state. <br /><br />One operation that needs to take place while we’re recruiting is for each of us to pick a subject and become an expert in it. If you’re interested in the FairTax, learn all about it. If you’re into foreign affairs, study all that you can on that. If you’re pro-life, get all the facts to back up your position. Whatever your interest is, develop it so that you can take a factual stand on it. It would take several lifetimes to learn everything about every subject, so don’t try it. Pick one and run with it. Become an expert. Our side needs<br />to have the intellectual advantage. We need to be armed with the truth!<br /><br />They say that the first casualty of war is truth. Well, haven’t we seen that? <br /><br />There’s a man in the White House who almost daily lies about something. And if he’s not lying, he’s apologizing to some foreign country for American arrogance. Or if he’s saying one thing, then that icon of intellectual firepower, Joe Biden, is saying the opposite. <br /><br />Even the media, whose job it used to be to report on factual events, lies to its viewers about the failures of this administration’s policies! Last week, CNN reported that Americans were feeling better now, spending less, and finding employment, while the <br />latest unemployment figures indicate that joblessness has risen to 9.5%! But, as ABC plainly pointed out to us recently, the networks are just a mouthpiece for Obama, as they broadcast from the White House. Does this seem right to you?<br /><br />It’s all very frustrating, and there’s so much to keep track of it’s almost impossible to follow it all. There are other critical issues to follow, like campaign finance reform and an implementation of the FairTax, but there will be time for these things once we accomplish our initial goals.<br /><br />But this four-fold strategy, fighting as a unified group of patriots, becoming an expert on one issue, voting out incumbents, and demanding term limits are imperatives on which we must act if we are to win the war on a system that has run amok. It’s great that we’re out here protesting, but more action is what will turn the tide.<br /><br />And I can’t stand here today, having said all of this, without reminding you that, while we can act on what we believe to be right, and that is our role as good citizens, we constantly need to seek God’s wisdom and will in all of what we do. Without this action, we will find ourselves wandering in the wilderness, a people without a country.<br /><br />Ladies and gentlemen, hear and remember God’s promise to His people as recorded in 2 Chronicles 7:14: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” Let’s take back our country! Thank you very much. America bless God.robert thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187174691733099915noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515726745396502295.post-52788915608523843972009-07-07T18:31:00.000-07:002009-07-07T18:47:39.515-07:00Come and Show Your Disgust for this AdministrationOn Saturday, July 11, 2009, at 9:00 a.m., there will be a protest rally, a.k.a tea party, at the old Rueger's Ice Plant in Cobbs Creek, Virginia. That's on Route 198 if you're not a local.<br /><br />Del. Brenda Pogge will speak on what the GOP is all about these days. That should be interesting, to say the least. I will say that Virginia politics are fairly straight forward and not too unpleasant, given that Leftists/Socialists are not as abundant in the General Assembly as they obviously are in Congress. Okay, the exception would be our terrible Governor Tim Kaine, who follows the Usurpent so close one could say that he has a brown nose.<br /><br />Ken Cuccinell, candidate for Virginia's Attorney General, will speak on his campaign and related matters.Come on, now, not all lawyers are evil!<br /><br />David Willman, coordinator for the presently-named-but-soon-to-be-changed Virginia Patriots (that name already has been taken by a corporation in Virginia), will speak and lead us in prayer.<br /><br />Rob Thompson will speak on tea party group strategy. <br /><br />If anyone would like to address the public, please leave a comment at Facebook.<br /><br />Media will be there, along with gun-rights activists, and free bottled water. Actually, the water won't be free until you open it up and release it, so let's call it no cost water.<br /><br />Please attend this rally if you're as fed up as we are!robert thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187174691733099915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515726745396502295.post-27025759158832516662009-06-16T20:08:00.000-07:002009-06-16T20:55:20.006-07:00Health Care ABC'sIn a grab for even more control, or at least the appearance thereof, Usurpent has negotiated a deal with ABC to broadcast live from the White House on June 24. This, I foresee, as a permanent venture in the near future. ABC's ratings must be down, or they're going to receive a pile of that newly printed money that the Treasury has authorized.<br /><br />Along with the other dictatorial actions of Usurpent, he now is commandeering a major network. Does this not strike anyone as odd? Incidentally, I called ABC this morning and spoke to a guy named Brice who works in the "Executive Offices". When I questioned him about the White House broadcast, he denied knowing anything about it. This is someone who is "very connected" with executive matters at ABC. My congressman, however, had received a memo from the RNC earlier today regarding the issue. <br /><br />Usurpent has been harping on a health care crisis since 2007. Hillary, of course, had begun the process while her husband was 'in charge' years earlier. There is no health care crisis in America--not yet, anyway. The day socialized medicine is in place is the day we'll have a crisis!<br /><br />The problems with today's health care are many:<br /><br /> 1) Too much government red tape, especially with regard to HIPA, Medicare, and Medicaid<br /> 2) The entire system is abused, e.g. hospital emergency rooms used for colds and other minor conditions, illegal aliens using any part of the system, doctors' offices double billing patients and the government<br /> 3) pharmaceutical companies and hospitals charging exhorbitant prices/fees<br /> 4) insurance companies charging too much in premiums, and increasing premiums by as much as 30% annually<br /> 5) society's expectation that care is to be available for anything at any time<br /><br />I would suggest that health insurance companies need to be regulated, something that they've escaped for all these years. It disgusts me that Anthem raises our premiums a minimum of 22% every year, blaming it on the American couch-potato lifestyle (my paraphrase). No one else in the private sector increases their prices by that amount, mainly because it is unreasonable.<br /><br />Pharmaceuticals need to reduce their costs, lower their profit margins, or be subsidized by the government much like we do with farmers. <br /><br />Hospitals, too, tend toward greed. This must stop. Personally, I spent 4-1/2 hours in the emergency room last year for kidney stones. The bill was $6,000. My wife had pneumonia earlier this year, spending 7 hours in the ER before being admitted. That bill was about the same. There isn't any justification for this kind of business. <br /><br />Aside from the possible subsidies mentioned above, government needs to stay out of the process. HIPA requirements are ridiculous, and Medicare and Medicaid are causing fewer and few new doctors from entering or continuing practice. They're being paid less and less each year as determined by these agencies to the tune of 40%, 25%, and even 15% of billable services.<br /><br />Finally, Americans need to realize that, certainly, maintaining a healthy lifestyle will help cut health care costs, but that not every illness requires medical attention. Colds, the flu, sprained ankles, etc. in most cases can be taken care of at home.<br /><br />If you're looking for a crisis, you've found it in the new Amerika.robert thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187174691733099915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515726745396502295.post-88223487873585668242009-06-06T13:30:00.000-07:002009-06-06T14:33:00.363-07:00Citizens' Fear Caused by What?Well, first let me ask forgiveness for addressing an article nearly a year old that was published in Science Magazine, by Oxley, et al., on September 19, 2008, vol. 321.<br />The title for this article is "Political Attitudes Vary with Physiological Traits"<br /><br />This article was brought to my attention by a leftist author of a letter to the editor in our local newspaper this past week, wherein he responded to the previous week's letters to the editor; some of which protested the Usurpent's actions (it doesn't matter which ones, because they all require protest). I read the study's summary along with several readers' comments thereon.<br /><br />Douglas Oxley and company investigated how politically-opinionated humans react to fear as compared with average humans. The basic premise is that fear-sensitive folks tend to desire public policy that reflects and protects their societal comfort levels, and that less fear-sensitive people tend to think more globally (my summation). It is a lengthy article, and, because it was published by a major periodical, it probably carries some weight in some mad scientist circles. <br /><br />Certainly, I'm no scientist, but I do know something general about polling samples and studies. Whenever you'd like to perform a study or poll, you try to use the largest number of participants practical to the job. For example, if I want to determine how many people hate what the Usurpent and Congress is doing, I don't just ask my friends or call 100 people in Texas--that would be grossly inaccurate. Instead, I would randomly call or interview 1000 to 5000 people evenly distributed across America. The broader the sample, the more accurate the response, usually with an accuracy rate of between 3-5% either way.<br /><br />This great scientific research utilized 46 adults (the scientists get extra credit for using adults). It took eight people to conduct and write about their findings that, to me, are complete nonsense. Even the authors couldn't make any conclusions about their three-month effort, and not only that, they never explored the specificity of the participants' politics**. Was this done at the tax-payers' expense? <br /><br />Let's take an example, my own study using one person (nearly as good as 46)). I have a low threshold for pain (oh, no--BB knows!), but I will not change my lifestyle to avoid the potential of, say, getting out of bed. I'm a carpenter, daily using such power tools as electric mitre boxes, sabre saws and table saws, not to mention driving a large truck. If my physiological sensitivity to pain was any higher, using this study's theory, I would either a) demand that laws be written to prohibit sharp blades from being made for this equipment (unsafe at any speed!), b) hire someone else to do my cutting (<em>legal</em> aliens, of course), or 3) become an accountant.<br /><br />Rather than blame Americans' fear on a higher physiological reaction to fear-inducing stimuli, I believe it is safe to say that we just don't like Socialism, the potential for Islam to deluge our Judeao-Christian rooted nation with religious Round Up, and we don't particularly care for lies, deceit, and abuse of power (abusive power?).<br /><br />**My guess is that the scientists, at least, are Democrats/Socialists because they're always looking for someone or something else to blame rather than taking on individual responsibility. Yet another reason to be moved to fear....robert thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187174691733099915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515726745396502295.post-14366782637641374412009-06-04T06:30:00.000-07:002009-06-06T13:30:12.128-07:00The Usurpent Must Be Taken Out of OfficeThis week Usurpent called us a Muslim Nation only months after declaring to Turkey and the rest of the world that we are not a Christian nation.<br /><br />Last week, Usurpent proclaimed June as Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual and Transgender Pride Month.<br /><br />He and his minions have overstepped their roles, taking over a large portion of the private sector: the banks and auto-makers. What's next th--oh, that's right he already has the media.<br /><br />Usurpent has irresponsibly spent trillions in non-existent money, thus placing the burden on generations of future tax-payers (assuming that the world will still exist).<br /><br />He is promoting the most radical leftist people, queers, socialists, baby-killers, etc. And, because this issue still isn't resolved, where is the Usurpent's freakin' birth certificate?!<br /><br />How much documentation do we need to denounce this president as traitor to our country? He doesn't represent most of us.<br /><br />Treason! I say.<br /><br />Who has the boldness to stand against this man and work to remove him from office by any means necessary? Is there no one out there? Hello?robert thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187174691733099915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515726745396502295.post-50189297574220711862009-04-15T20:20:00.000-07:002009-04-15T20:47:37.998-07:00It'll Cost More than $1,000 to Shut Me UpToday, April 15, otherwise known as Tax Day, was an overwhelming success as hundreds gathered in thousands of places across the country to protest taxes and so much more. I attended two rallies in Virginia, one in Gloucester, where we had about 200 patriots attend despite cold, rainy weather in the middle of the day. The second one was this evening in Richmond, where about 5,000 patriots were present. I heard from Ken Cuccinelli that there were about 1,500 patriots in Newport News.<br /><br />Tim Kaine, a mistake of a governor in my book, spoke from his heart this afternoon, saying that he believes that the vast majority of Americans are in support of the Usurpent's tax and spend schemes. Can you believe it? Yes, you can! He's a brown-nosing Usurpent groupie, for crying out loud! He's tied for twenty-fifth for the position of Chief Minion.<br /><br />The Usurpent also doubts our conservative views as being in the majority; after all, 150,000,000 Americans received a tax cut this year, putting "$150,000,000,000 back into their pockets". Oh, I see, those folks got an extra $1,000 so they should be happy. They couldn't possibly want more of their own income, right?<br /> <br />To Tim Kaine, I say "you're dead wrong." Between an estimated 250,000 to 500,000 people were involved today, taking off from work, driving out of their way, spending valuable time that could have been alloted to something else, to protest you and your philosophy of enormous government. They were there, on fire, opposing you, the Usurpent, and all of your ilk, for adding to the oppression that has been created over the years. <br /><br />Republicans and Democrats alike are guilty of all of this, as are we who vote because we place politicians like you in the power seat. This year will be different. In 2010, anyone who has been in office in Washington for longer than four years will be voted out. Term limits will be demanded by we, the people, and any potential reigns of terror like the Usurpent has today will end.robert thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187174691733099915noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515726745396502295.post-22316576734279085302009-04-10T00:33:00.000-07:002009-04-10T01:24:33.844-07:00Attention World: We ARE a Christian Nation!Strike Two! It's baseball season, so what better metaphor could be used to describe the Usurpent's perfomance to date?<br /><br />Strike one was the uber-Rooseveltian bailout/stimulus/bailout spending spree. As I've mentioned before, we're still paying for FDR's programs. Add to that LBJ's crappy contributions, and--presto--real big debt! The over-the-top welfare bills delivered by the Usurpent have exponentially multiplied our burden beyond calculation. To a lesser extent, Republicans are to blame as well. Suffice it to say that if the world is still spinning three (one, five, ten--you pick) centuries from now, that generation will be paying for all this free stuff.<br /><br />Strike two comes this week, following the Usurpent's claim to Turkey and the rest of the world that the U.S. is not a Christian nation. Combine this statement with his full bow to Saudi Arabian King Abdullah, a Muslim, and it seems to me that the Usurpent is facing a tall left-handed pitcher who has one mean knuckle ball. Timing is everything, too, as the statement was made during Holy Week, a time of religious observation for Jews and Christians. Kosher CocaCola, by the way, has been popular with both groups this week. <br /><br />The Usurpent calls us a "nation of citizens". Brilliant. I wish I had gone to Harvard so I could come up with that one. So who else is a nation of citizens? Every other country, so I surmise his meaning to be that there is nothing that sets America apart from any other country, especially members of the G20. <br /><br />What about the very foundation of our country?! What were the beliefs of our patriot forefathers? On what basis do we have freedom? From Whom does it originate? How many people have died to maintain American values? These are the very things that absolutely separate us from the rest of the world, and our Usurpent is tossing them into the gutter. That's not very green of him. <br /><br />Our nation was founded, by and large, by Christians, who applied Judaeo-Christian values to our system of government. In our representative democracy where the majority rules (present Judiciary in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Iowa, and Vermont excepted), 83% of Americans claim to be Christian. Based on these two facts, let me be clear to the rest of the world that the United States IS a Christian nation.<br /><br />We have tolerance here for other religions and other points of view, just as we have tolerance for Socialism and an incompetent leader. Nonetheless, we have hope that those of other religions will come to believe in our God (in Whom we trust), and may I say that I also hope that one day Conservatism will change the face of government.robert thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187174691733099915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515726745396502295.post-90597087918869696692009-04-09T23:17:00.000-07:002009-04-10T00:22:58.907-07:00Happy EasterIt is 2:17 a.m. Good Friday morning. I had an epiphany on Palm Sunday and it has been keeping me awake tonight, so I thought I'd share it with you.<br /><br />I've only been following politics heavily since 1980 when I was given the privilege to vote for the first time, so my personal experience starts there. I remember when Bill (MFN status to China!) Clinton was elected the first time, and how incredibly stupid 43% of Americans were. I questioned how in the world was it possible that such a man could be elected to the Office of President, particularly when we knew so much about him in advance! His second win really floored me, and I draped our house on Main Street with black cloth. No, really, I did; but it gained no attention except from my sympathetic friends.<br /><br />Years later, vox populi Americani cry out for the Usurpent, a man who probably isn't a U.S. citizen and who associated himself with the worst possible people; folks like Wright and Farakan and groups like ACORN. I had that unanswered question from '96 hovering over me still, until Palm Sunday last week.<br /><br />Not quite two thousand years ago, the people showered praise on the greatest man who ever lived, Jesus Christ. They welcomed Him with hosannahs ('Huzzah' we might say today) and laid palm branches along the dusty road for He and his trusty colt, a donkey no less, to tread upon. They bowed to Him, calling Him their king, believing Him to be the Savior of their people and, perhaps, the world. On that day, the people were smart as well as being correct.<br /><br />Less than a week later, many of those same Jesus fans turned against Him to the point of wanting to kill Him. Governor Pilate asked, "What shall I do with this man, Jesus?" The vox populi responded, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" Because the hand of God was in this bittersweet, no -- horribly beautiful -- event, Jesus prevailed and lives today, indeed, as the Savior of the world.<br /><br />So, in this light, when I have asked, "How can this be?!" grieving about some political race, a mere blip on the radar screen of history, the answer is simple: Generally speaking, people are smart, but they lose their intelligence when they are led astray. People get caught up in the moment and become distracted by faulty logic and poor reasoning. At first, they feel euphoria, followed by strength and security, then somehow that morphs into self-righteousness, selfishness, and greed. In short, love is blind and people have been tripping down the steps of bad judgment as long as they have lived on earth. Question answered.<br /><br />Jesus was a sacrifice as part of God's ultimate plan of salvation for believers in the world, so, as it turns out, the vox populi got it right back then. The Usurpent, however, is asking America to sacrifice herself at the altar of global unity. This may be a part of God's plan as we approach the end of the world as we know it, but, in the name of what is good and right that is the American way, we should be fighting tooth and nail to rid ourselves of this whole administration and Congress.<br /><br />America bless God.robert thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187174691733099915noreply@blogger.com0