American Ideals vs European Ideals

Why are we entertaining what President Obama wants to do? President Obama and the extreme left are only 20% of the population. It's like Romans 14:7-12 - A weak Christian who tries to make everyone do exactly like they do. You can't eat ANY meat in the marketplace because you don't know which was sacrificed to idols. But Paul tells us that all food is good to eat, because the idols are worthless and not the true God. We are America. We are not Europe. Why are we playing with European ideals at all? They aren't even American ideals. You can't even adapt them to be American ideals.

When America wrote her constitution, there wasn't anyone else in the world trying a form of government like this. No one else had a system of checks and balances like this. They were supposed to work in harmony so that no one branch of government was stronger than the other. And, believe it or not, we were the final check. WE THE PEOPLE had the ultimate power, the power of the vote. If we didn't like things, in 2 or 4 years we could change them. The six year vote for the Senators didn't come until later.

I've been reading a book called The 5,000 Year Leap. It gets it's title because we made a 5,000 year leap in technology in just 400 years of history, in OUR time on this continent. We landed here, in the late 1600's, using farming techniques much like what they used 5,000 years ago, with people who still spun their own thread, hand spun cloth, then made their own clothes. There wasn't a store to run down to. Or, they imported cloth, and started from there to make their own clothes. And now, do many people even know how to MEND their own clothes? They not only run to the store to get something new when the old one wears out, they buy something when they're bored with the old one.

In this book, there is a list of the checks and balances we are SUPPOSED to have. I'm going to list them, and then comment on how they have either eroded, or have been replaced by this administration, if applicable. Some are still in place, but very few.

1. "The House of Representatives serves as a check on the Senate since no statute can become law without the approval of the House." Well, this would work if one party didn't control the House beyond 2/3 vote. Which was the case until Scott Brown got in office, and may be the case anyway as he might have been proven Progressive Light.

2. "At the same time the Senate (representing the legislatures of the states before the 17th amendment) serves as a check on the House of Representatives since no statute can become law without it's approval." See the note on number 1.

3. "A President can restrain both the House and the Senate by using his Veto to send any bill not meeting with his approval." Except that the President and both house and senate are all of the same party, so they are in agreement on most bills.

4. "The Congress has, on the other hand, a check on the President by being able to pass a bill over the President's veto with a 2/3's majority of each house." See the note on number 3.

5. "The legislature also has a further check on the President through it's power of discrimination in approving funds for the operation of the executive branch." Again, the note on number 3.

6. "The President must have the approval of the Senate in filling important offices of the executive Branch." The President and both houses are from the same party.

7. "The President must also have the approval of the Senate before any treaties with foreign nations can go into effect." See note on number 6.

8. "The Congress has the authority to conduct investigations of the executive Branch to determine whether or not funds are being properly expended and the laws enforced." See note on number 6 - like that's gonna happen.

9. "The President has a certain amount of political influence on the legislature by letting it be known that he will not support the reelection of those who oppose his program." See note on number 6 - and this has already happened at the Republican health summit.

10. "The executive branch also has a further check on the Congress by using its discretionary powers in establishing military bases, building dams, improving navigable rivers, and building interstate highways so as to favor those areas from which the President feels he is getting support by their representatives." This sounds like blackmail to me.

11. "The judiciary has a check on the legislature through its authority to review all laws and determine their constitutionality." The President appoints judges. About half of the justices are liberal. Good thing they're appointed for life.

12. "The Congress, on the other hand, has a restraining power over the judiciary by having the constitutional authority to restrict the extent of its jurisdiction." This check is currently in place.

13. "The Congress also has the power to impeach any of the judges who are guilty of treason, high crimes or misdemeanors." This check is currently in place.

14. "The President also has a check on the judiciary by having the power to nominate new judges subject to the approval of the Senate." About half are liberal currently.

15. "The Congress has further restraining power over the judiciary by having control of appropriations for the operation of the federal court system." This is in place.

16. "The Congress is able to initiate amendments to the Constitution which, if approved by 3/4's of the states, could seriously affect the operation of both the executive and judicial branches." This is in place, and the Republicans could currently use it, but would 3/4 of the states overturn anything Obama did?

17. "The Congress, by joint resolution, can terminate certain powers granted to the President (such as war powers) without his consent." Except the President and most of Congress is the same party. There aren't enough Republicans to do this.

18. "The People have a check on their Congressmen every two years; on their President every four years; and on their Senators every 6 years." This is OUR only check, and they apparently either aren't afraid of it, or think we're too stupid to see beyond the R or the D, or too Party tied to go against it. Or they think our memory is too short to remember what they did to us by the time election time rolls around, or that it can't be undone, because they're doing it anyway.

My pastor told a story about when he was young and the state of Arkansas gave out commodity groceries. Commodity Groceries were free groceries, you didn't have to do anything to get them. They were totally free. He contrasted it to accepting Jesus Christ. When you accept Christ, it's not really totally free. There's a condition attached. You have to accept Jesus as your Lord from now on. He says, "You can have this Salvation, but I get you." It's like saying, "You can have this bag of groceries, but I get you."

Well, the government is doing that now. "Here, GM, take this bail out, but we own you." They try to do it with the American people. Except the government is not a Savior, they're batting for the other side. You can't serve two masters. Are you beholden to a government that is handing you money? What is a bail out? Is it my son's SSI? Is it my husband's military retirement check? Is it our Tricare Prime health care? What is your bail out? Will there come a time of hard decisions?

I'm pretty sure I can make decisions not based on the benefits I'm receiving. It would hurt to lose them, but I could cut enough stuff out to live without them. It would require a major overhaul of my budget, and my in-laws would not be happy with me, but it could be done. We are trying to sell a house we own together, and they would have to get a reverse mortgage and buy my half of it from me, to get me out of that mortgage. Then I wouldn't have any government handouts. I hope it doesn't come to that. I worry about people who are addicted to government handouts. It's like any other addiction. It might hurt for a while to cut it off. There will be no fading off of it.

If our government collapses into a Great Depression, all those handouts will STOP cold turkey. What will America look like with no Welfare? No unemployment? Will we be able to help each other? Will there be roaming bands of "takers?" Will the police be able to handle all the violence? This is another reason to fight gun control. They want to take guns away, probably in an effort to stop the violence that they see coming when things collapse. Do you really think the criminals are going to be honest and give up their guns? No. Honest people might be HONEST and give up their guns because they've been taught to do what authority tells them to do, and authority is telling them to hand in their guns. But the bad guys have lied all their lives, what makes you think they'll pick now to be honest? so when things collapse, who will have guns? Only the police and the bad guys. You hear stories NOW of people being put on hold with 911.....what about when the "stuff" hits the fan? I'm not gonna be on hold with 911, with someone breaking into my house to steal my food, hurt my family, holding a knife when they have a gun, because the government asked me to turn in my guns.....

When they pry it from my cold, dead fingers.


Lori Ann Smith, in TEXAS

John Adams, and our Founding Fathers

I'm just reading about our founding fathers. I'm amazed everyday, with the more I read. My grandfather worked in the shipyards during WWII, bucking rivets on ships to go out and fight for our freedom. My dad was just a boy. He was born in 1932, so he was just 10 in 1942. They lived in New Orleans, LA. My grandfather bucked rivets, a very hard job, and my grandmother also worked in the shipyards, so that my dad could study art in high school. It's just like John Adams was quoted as saying in the 5,000 Year Leap.

"The science of government is my duty to study, more than all other sciences; the art of legislation and administration and negotiation ought to take [the] place of, indeed to exclude, in a manner, all other arts. I must study politics and war, that my sons may have the liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history and naval architecture, navigation, commerce and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry and porcelain."

My dad wanted to study art, but instead he went to work in a factory so that I could study art in college. I had that freedom. Did I appreciate it? Not really. I took it for granted. I dropped out of college. I was tired of going to school. My dad had earned a comfortable living for us, and I took it for granted. We weren't rich, but we were comfortable. We didn't have to struggle any more.

But the good thing is that I couldn't find a job, so I joined the military. In the military I found patriotism. But even with patriotism, you may not be totally awake. What good does patriotism do you if your eyes are closed to what is going on around you? I still just voted Republican and sent them off and didn't watch dog them. I am part of the problem in that respect.

It's like being a Christian and not being able to answer why you're a Christian. I want small government. They don't have a right to be in our back pockets. I learned in school that we aren't supposed to be taxed unless we have a say in it. That doesn't mean when we turn our backs, you do it anyway. That's like when we tell our kids to do something, and they say, "Yes, momma, we hear you." And then when we turn our backs they do what they want to do in spite of what we told them to do. I got news for you Congress. We elected you to do what WE want you to do. You ran on a platform of ideas. If you turn around and do something different, that makes you a LIAR. That doesn't make you disingenuous. It makes you a big fat LIAR. Anybody else would be taken to court for breaking a contract. I believe a vote is a contract. If I vote for a REPUBLICAN and they turn coat and start acting like a Democrat, or in today's vernacular, a RINO, they broke my trust, they broke the contract of my vote. I should be able to sue them. I shouldn't have to wait for 4-6 years to kick them out of office.

I'm awake now, but is it too late? My dad would have gone to Korea had it not been for losing his eye in a motorcycle accident at the age of 15. I'm the first in my family to serve in the military. My nephew, my brother's son, is active duty Navy as I write this. His first duty station was aboard a ship that was sent to Haiti to help with clean up. Can you imagine? I don't know if he went ashore or not, I haven't spoken to him yet. I served during the cold war, but serving is serving. Had I let those Russian submarines through our defenses, y'all would be speaking Russian now, and Russia may not have fallen. And believe me, I'd be in Leavenworth, had Russia not gotten through, for treason. Funny, how that's not happening in Washington now, with them trying to throw our country away. In my eyes, it's the same thing.

I'm not anti-government. We need government. We just need small government. And we don't need 50 individual states doing whatever they please. I'm also reading the Federalist Papers. That would make 49 more opportunities for wars. There are 20 states that share a border with our northern and southern neighbor....I just counted. That's 20 chances to have little disagreements that could flare up into wars. With a union, there are 30 other states to cool them down because they aren't involved. That's what he was talking about. We just don't want BIG government regulating the heck out of our every movement. Telling us we can't feed hot dogs to children because we aren't smart enough to cut the rings in half. Or we aren't smart enough to wait until a cup of McDonald's coffee cools a bit before taking a sip, so they have to put WARNING, HOT on the top. DUH! Did you know the milk now has an allergy label, warning, contains milk? Who would go to buy milk, expecting something else?

So, whoever is trying to sow the seeds of "the right tea party movement wants no government" or "we need 50 individual states and not a central government" is probably from the left trying to bring on anarchy so that the socialists can take over and save us from anarchy. Then everything would be peachy and we would just praise them for saving us.

Wouldn't that be grand?

Lori Ann Smith

Who's Walking Who - re Post

With the Health Care Summit, I thought I'd re Post this article of mine. It seems a good one to repost. Seems a lesson the President could take to heart. He made the comment that basically he's going to cram health care down our throats, and let the elections determine what the American people want. So, he's going to be partisan, all the way, with the Republicans under Glenn Beck's grandma's kitchen sink in a grease can, and all the Democrats better vote with him come Hell or high water. And then, if the American people are serious and really are aligned with some silly notion called principles and want to give up the gravy train, they can just vote them out of office. And he threatened all the Democrats and Republicans that if some of the Democrats were afraid of the American people, he didn't need 19 of them anyway, because he would push for the Nuclear option, or they changed the name to reconciliation because Bush called it Nuclear option and he didn't want to be Bush. But he coined the phrase you can put lipstick on a pig..... Well, Mr. President, you can throw as many people under the bus as you want, you're still a socialist and we know it.


Who's Walking Who?

I get inspiration from every day activities sometimes. I am, after all an average American. I'm just a mom. Today I walked my dog. I have a medium sized dog. She's a mixed breed; a beagle-Jack Russel Terrier mix. She's mostly Beagle by her actions. She'll eat anything but salad, and sleeps all day. But she's been cooped up all day in the house, all winter, because it's been too cold for ME to walk her.

That's when it hit me. Congress is so much like our dogs. We bought a small dog that we could control, as it should be, maybe even a medium sized dog. We wanted one strong enough to protect our interests. But we are still the masters. We train it. It's supposed to obey us.

While I was walking Trixie, I realized it's been so long since I walked her, she had forgotten a lot of her training. I had to keep her on a short leash with lots of corrections. She wanted to go where I didn't want her to go. But she's a fast learner. She tries to go just to the line of where I don't want her to go. I wanted her to stay off the neighbor's grass and on the sidewalks. She stopped with all four feet on the sidewalk, hung her butt over the edge of the sidewalk and marked her territory on the grass.

Congress and our illustrious President are doing the same thing. We, as Americans, have been asleep in our winter of inattention. They have forgotten their training. Now we're taking them for their first walk in a long time and they're not used to a leash. We want to keep our identity as Americans. They want another Europe. The grass is not always greener on the other side of the ocean. We know our history. You can rewrite history, but unless you plan on burning all the older history books, we already know what happened. There are too many home schoolers who have those older history books. Socialism doesn't work. We'll jerk your leash and get you back on the sidewalk.

See, the problem is, we sent a Beagle to congress to represent us, but it grew into a Pit Bull. It's out of control and now it's taking us for a walk. We're being pulled from fire hydrant to fire hydrant, dragged along by its every whim, and we don't like it. I think maybe it's time to make a trip to the pet store and trade this vicious dog in for a better trained one. What do you think, America?


Lori Ann Smith
I fight for Freedom, until they knock me down and I can fight no more.

Health Care and the Insurance Companies

I've been saying it for a long time....the Insurance companies are not the bad guys. The White House is painting them as the bad guys, but they aren't. I want to know why no one is pointing this out in the health care bill:

____________

SEC. 1104. ADMINISTRATIVE SIMPLIFICATION.
`(j) Penalties-

`(1) PENALTY FEE-

`(A) IN GENERAL- Not later than April 1, 2014, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall assess a penalty fee (as determined under subparagraph (B)) against a health plan that has failed to meet the requirements under subsection (h) with respect to certification and documentation of compliance with--

`(i) the standards and associated operating rules described under paragraph (1) of such subsection; and

`(ii) a standard (as described under subsection (a)(1)(B)) and associated operating rules (as described under subsection (i)(5)) for any other financial and administrative transactions.

`(B) FEE AMOUNT- Subject to subparagraphs (C), (D), and (E), the Secretary shall assess a penalty fee against a health plan in the amount of $1 per covered life until certification is complete. The penalty shall be assessed per person covered by the plan for which its data systems for major medical policies are not in compliance and shall be imposed against the health plan for each day that the plan is not in compliance with the requirements under subsection (h).

`(C) ADDITIONAL PENALTY FOR MISREPRESENTATION- A health plan that knowingly provides inaccurate or incomplete information in a statement of certification or documentation of compliance under subsection (h) shall be subject to a penalty fee that is double the amount that would otherwise be imposed under this subsection.
__________

Now, in case you didn't catch all of that legalese...that's $1 per day, per life covered. So if an insurance company has 1 million policies out, and they're out of compliance for just one day, that's $1 million a day...until they come into compliance. It doubles if they know they're out of compliance. That would be $2 Million. Straight into the coffers of health care. Now do you understand how President Obama is paying for health care? He is bilking the insurance companies. And when they all fold, we will have his precious single payer option....we will all have government run health care. Then there will be a monopoly on health care, and they can tell the doctors to pump sand, we'll pay you what we want to pay you, you make too much anyway. We think a mammogram is worth $19. We think an MRI is worth $50. Then all the doctors will quit and all the hospitals will go out of business.

You think this is scare tactics? I already told you, I have government insurance by being insured through the military. I shouldn't complain, because it will break me to have to go somewhere else. I'd be cutting off my nose to spite my face. But I have to be honest. My husband put in 20 years with the United States Navy to get this insurance, and we never questioned it before. I started looking at it. We always assumed that they were reimbursing the providers at least 80%....that's what the media was telling us....just like Medicare, right? I dug up a years' worth of bills. It's more like 28% over the past year. No wonder no one will take Tricare Prime in the fine state of Texas.

To continue with the health care bill:

__________________

`(D) ANNUAL FEE INCREASE- The amount of the penalty fee imposed under this subsection shall be increased on an annual basis by the annual percentage increase in total national health care expenditures, as determined by the Secretary.

`(E) PENALTY LIMIT- A penalty fee assessed against a health plan under this subsection shall not exceed, on an annual basis--

`(i) an amount equal to $20 per covered life under such plan; or

`(ii) an amount equal to $40 per covered life under the plan if such plan has knowingly provided inaccurate or incomplete information (as described under subparagraph (C)).

_______________

It will go up every year, that they don't comply, so they can't just say, well I have money to spare, I can hold out for a while. That would be $20 per life PER DAY. DO YOU STILL THINK THEY'RE NOT OUT TO PUT INSURANCE COMPANIES OUT OF BUSINESS?

And do you realize what part of their financial and administration transactions are, don't you? They want to deduct your fees automatically from your bank account. They want it going directly into the HHS account. They want the federal government having all your bank information. I don't want the federal government having my personal information any more than I want the census bureau coming to my door and getting my phone number. Tim Geithner can't do his own taxes, and he wants my bank account number? I don't think so. He wants my permission to do an electronic transfer? PERMISSION DENIED.

Lori Ann Smith
Currently living in a free America, and fighting to keep it that way.

It's Morning in America

Do you find yourself just awakening? Not recognizing the America your awakening to? Can't tell if it's the American Revolution or the fall of Russia? It's time to pick a side. We have Tories in the White House. What are Tories? Do you remember your history? A Tory was someone who wanted America to stay aligned with England. They wanted a King in charge of America. Well, we have a President who wants to go back to being like all of Europe. And he wants to set himself up as King.

You may wonder why that's a bad thing. Have you taken a look at the economy over there? Our founding fathers wanted an economy that was independent of everyone else. They wanted something that had never been done before. They wanted CONGRESS to coin money. They also wanted CONGRESS to determine the value of our money because they wanted no more paper money than we had silver and gold to back it up. That would mean no inflation. If you don't have the money, you can't get it. It will be hard to go back to that, but it's something we need to do as a nation.

Let me ask you this: If you did this as a household, what would they do to you? If you said, "I want this, and I don't have any money. I think I'll go print some more." Or if you said, "I don't have enough money, I'll borrow massive amounts of money from the bank with no intention of paying it back." And when you reached your credit limit, you just TELL the bank to raise your credit limit? You would either go to jail, or the bank would not only say no, they'd say HELL NO! And we, the American People have just rolled over and said, OK, go ahead. Or they, Congress and the President haven't even asked our permission. That's rape.

In order to justify all of their wants do you know what they're doing? They are trying to turn you, America, into a nanny state. They want to get you dependent on the gravy train so that you won't complain. They figure they'll borrow money FROM YOU (because it's your taxes paying for it) to give to you in the form of benefits, to get you addicted to it, so that you will fall for a transformation into a socialist America.

But let me ask you this: If they keep raising taxes to pay for the gravy train....and people start losing their jobs, where is the money going to come from? Let's say Joe Public has a $250,000 job. He's the evil high paying job that Obama is talking about. Let's say he's a small business owner. He doesn't REALLY get all that money because he has to pay not only his own taxes, but taxes on his business. He's taxed twice. Didn't realize that, did you? But we'll ignore that for a minute. He's the evil business owner who deserves to pay. So we only raise HIS taxes. Now he can't afford to hire 4 people, so he lets 2 people go so that he only has to pay 2 people their wages and can keep some of his own money. Now 2 more people are on unemployment that weren't before. His business is making less money, so there's less profit. He's making less, so now, he's making $200,000 a year. His taxes go down. There's less money in the government's coffers. What is the government going to do? Either raise taxes or broaden the tax base to keep him in it. Let's say they broaden the tax base to include everyone making $200,000. Where do they stop? Sooner or later it will drop to include everyone.

And if you don't believe that Obama is setting himself up to be king, take a look sometime at all the executive orders that he's written. Executive orders were set up for emergencies, not to get your agenda pushed through when Congress and the American People didn't agree with you and you wanted to get done any way. And this President stood in his State of the Union Address and called down the Supreme Court. He is a constitutional Lawyer. He taught constitutional law. He knew full well the implications of the law he was talking about. He knew he was lying. And he knew they couldn't respond. Then he had the nerve to call them down again when they responded viscerally to a lie. I think I would have stood up and left, en masse, the whole Supreme court. It was "bad form." But he has most of the Supreme Court in his back pocket.

So, I hope America wakes up before it's too late. We will become Russia. We are on the threshold of transforming from a once great nation into a has been. We are on the precipice. We are teetering on the edge. Only the American People can wake up. We, the few who blog, are screaming from the Ramparts, trying to wake you up to the facts. Open your eyes America. Watch the real news. Watch who the White House ridicules. Do they ridicule CNN? Do they ridicule CBS? Do they ridicule ABC? Are any of those stations breaking news of corruption? No, FoxNews is. Is the White House trying to get you to NOT watch FoxNews? Yes, they are saying that FoxNews is just commentary. Yes, there are commentary shows on Fox. They come out and say they are commentary. Glenn Beck never once said he was a news station. That doesn't give them the right to dis' the news aspect of Fox. There are commentary shows on all the other networks, too, and they don't necessarily come out and say they're commentary shows, do they? They sneak commentary right into their news and try to pull it off as news. I wanted to be a photo-journalist in high school. In college I was taught to never let your personal opinions color your reporting. Like they follow that now.

So, I will continue to scream from my Rampart, America, until I wake everyone up. It's morning in America, and I'm your coffee break. It's expresso time. And don't ever call me a progressive.

Lori Ann Smith

Are We Being Taken over By Modern Day Tories?

I'm at my one month anniversary for setting up my blog. I thought I'd talk a little about my mission. First, how I chose the name for my blog. While I was doing my research, I stumbled across a plan of Barack Obama to start a corps of translators that had as their native language one of 5 or 6 Arab regions of Afghanistan or Iraq. I don't remember off hand what they are, but he didn't mention requiring them to be American citizens or that he cared what their religion was. That scared me. Where would their loyalties lie? He wanted to call this the America's Voice Corps. I guess he would have called it the corpse, but I digress. I later discovered that there is such a "corps," but they're calling it 09 LIMA.

At the time, another patriotic site I was on was considering changing their name. I almost suggested that name for their site, but was unsure if they would risk copy right infringements and taking on the President. I couldn't suggest they do something I wasn't sure I could do. Then, I saw some one's post with their own blogspot address, and I got my own blog. The natural thing to do was name it this. I couldn't find anything named America's Voice Corps on the Internet. I subtitled it Standing on the Ramparts in honor of Glenn Beck. He made a comment on one of his shows that verbalized exactly how I felt, and still feel. I feel that, since I see this coming, I'm responsible, with the penalty being my very soul, to tell as many people as I can. Whether you listen or not is not my responsibility. I'm telling what I discover to be true.

I may make mistakes. There are people posting lies and half truths intentionally to lead others astray. I have to wonder why would someone do that? My parents valued honesty. When I was growing up, if I made a mistake, my punishment was much less if I came clean right away. If I broke something on accident and came and told, I usually didn't get in trouble beyond natural consequences....like having to pay for it. I didn't get a spanking or grounded. If I lied about it or tried to hide it, I got in big trouble. Why tell the truth if the punishment is going to be the same? That's being a tyrant. Does that sound like the liberals? They must have been raised by tyrants.

There are people intentionally trying to make us look like conspiracy theorists so the truth won't be believed. But the truth is out there. This administration didn't study Saul Alynsky to study the enemy. They admire him and have adopted his tactics. They are on the same wave length, to use 70's terminology.

So, my mission is not really to convince any liberals to change their minds. That's never going to happen. They are rabid any way. And the true far left liberals are only 20% of the country. Did you know that fascism is really far left? It's socialism. The far left has been trying to re-define it for years. They're racist so people who are racist pick up on that one fact and ignore all the other socialist policies. The far left consider them useful idiots. They'll get rid of them when they've served their purpose - overthrowing the current form of government. By the way: We have a Republic, not a Democracy. Otherwise, WE THE PEOPLE would have to vote on every single bill that comes up before Congress, and not our elected officials. That's another thing they've been trying to brainwash us with.

I want to wake up those who haven't formed an opinion yet, or don't think we're in danger of falling. You don't hear much about Russia any more, do you? I remember when Russia was a threat to us. I tracked submarines during the cold war. You would be amazed how close they came to our National waters. During the cold war (1984-1988 for me) they played cat and mouse games frequently. We had one time that I remember quite well. The first person to identify a Russian submarine contact ever got a night off. I was stationed in Bermuda, so that meant that this submarine would have to sneak past Keflavik, Iceland, past Brawdy, Wales, past Norfolk, Virginia, down to Bermuda without getting detected by any land units or any of our submarines. (Don't worry about the security of this, I signed a contract that I wouldn't discuss my job for 10 years and it's been 21 years. I guess under the Freedom of Information act, I'm OK as long as I don't divulge actual secret information, which for the sake of my country, I wouldn't do anyway.)

But, one night, my friend picked up a Russian submarine. We not only knew it was a Russian submarine, but WHICH one, because it had a bent prop, giving a very unique signature. For obvious reasons, I won't tell which one. We only picked it up because a U.S. Submarine picked it up and was chasing it out of the area. When we reported it, Washington and Norfolk told us there were NO CONTACTS in our area. That's because the US Submarine was going faster than they tell us it can go. I had a secret clearance, not a top secret. We were so convinced, our supervisors gave her the night off anyway. Remind me some day to tell you the real story of the submarine that sunk off the coast of Bermuda....the one Dan Rather reported on? Yea, right.

That story, to tell you this: Russia used to be a force to be reckoned with 26 years ago, then she fell apart. Are we headed down the same path as Russia? There are those in our government who want to turn us into Europe. We fought 233 years ago to separate from Europe. Do we have to do it again? Have we been taken over from the inside by Tories? (Tory: an American upholding the cause of the British Crown against the supporters of colonial independence during the American Revolution.)

Lori Ann Smith
I will continue to fight to separate us from Europe. We are America, not Europe.

Internet Story

I know it's just an Internet story that gets passed around. I know people will write and say, "I checked Snopes and Snopes says it's not true." And my response in advance is, "I don't care." The details of this story may not be true, but I know service members, and I am a service member, and the spirit of this story is true, if the exact details aren't....so I'm putting it up on my blog....

Just Stay

A nurse took the tired, anxious serviceman to the bedside.

"Your son is here," she said to the old man.

She had to repeat the words several times before the patient's eyes opened.

Heavily sedated because of the pain of his heart attack, he dimly saw the young uniformed Marine standing outside the oxygen tent. He reached out his hand. The Marine wrapped his toughened fingers around the old man's limp ones, squeezing a message of love and encouragement.

The nurse brought a chair so that the Marine could sit beside the bed.All through the night the young Marine sat there in the poorly lightedward, holding the old man's hand and offering him words of love and strength. Occasionally, the nurse suggested that the Marine move away and rest awhile. He refused. Whenever the nurse came into the ward, the Marine was oblivious of her and of the night noises of the hospital - the clanking of the oxygen tank, the laughter of the night staff members exchanging greetings, the cries and moans of the other patients.

Now and then she heard him say a few gentle words. The dying man said nothing, only held tightly to his son all through the night.

Along towards dawn, the old man died. The Marine released the now lifeless hand he had been holding and went to tell the nurse. While she did what she had to do, he waited.

Finally, she returned. She started to offer words of sympathy, but the Marine interrupted her.

"Who was that man?" he asked.
The nurse was startled, "He was your father," she answered.
"No, he wasn't," the Marine replied. "I never saw him before in my life."

"Then why didn't you say something when I took you to him?"

"I knew right away there had been a mistake, but I also knew he needed his son, and his son just wasn't here. When I realized that he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, knowing how much he needed me, I stayed. I came here tonight to find a Mr. William Grey. His Son was Killed in Iraq today, and I was sent to inform him. What was this Gentleman's Name?"

The Nurse with Tears in Her Eyes Answered, "Mr. William Grey........"

The next time someone needs you ... just be there. Stay.

**************

WE ARE NOT HUMAN BEINGS GOING THROUGH A TEMPORARY SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE.

WE ARE SPIRITUAL BEINGS GOING THROUGH A TEMPORARY HUMAN EXPERIENCE.


PLEASE PASS THIS ONE ON AND GOD WILL BLESS YOU!
THIS IS WHAT WE ARE PUT ON THIS EARTH TO DO ANYWAY. RIGHT ?
HAVE A GREAT DAY AND BLESS SOMEONE ELSE IN SOME LITTLE WAY TODAY!
GOD IS SO GOOD.

___________________

As we say in my church....God is good, all the time, and all the time, God is good.

How to Raise a Nation of Conspiracy Theorists - Satire

WARNING - This piece is Satire (That's for any liberals)

How to raise a nation of conspiracy theorists.

1. Create a history of political figures that lie, steal, and instill in the nation a feeling of distrust.
A. See Richard Nixon (I am not a criminal), Bill Clinton (I did not have sex with that woman), George Bush (No new taxes), Barack Obama (You can keep your health care provider)
B.2003-2004 ASUCD Senator James Ackerman attempts to steal $356.76 worth of books from the UCD Bookstore yet remains in office. It doesn't get reported on. Joseph L. Bruno, the former Senate majority leader of New York was charged with corruption. Derrick D.T. Shepherd, former senator from Louisiana,
was sentenced to thirty-seven months in prison in federal court in a money laundering conspiracy.
C. Too many instances to look up.
D. Health care bill that the Democrats won't sign off on unless they get something out of it.
E. The 4-B Congress (Badgered, Bullied, Brainwashed and Bribed)

2. Create a media that is biased and only reports what you want them to report.
A. CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC (did I leave anyone out?)
B. Best moments of the year did not include the tea party movement?

3. Ridicule your opponents from every podium you can.
A. Have your press secretary state that the opposing News media that is trying to actually report the news, unbiased and fair, is not really a news station.
B. Have the President do the same.
C. Have the news media come out and do the same thing.
D. Have the news media that are in lock step with you throw a couple bones to make them look a little legit so that those who do find the truth look like conspiracy theorists.

4. Get control of the Internet
A. Distribute lies and half-truths on the Internet, so that when people search they find what you want them to.
B. Create your own on-line encyclopedia that has "facts" that anyone can search, and don't tell anyone it has a socialist bent.
C. If people start getting wise to you, and digging deeper than you'd like, start opening up the Internet to the enemy so they can cyber attack us, and say, "Why no, China has no reason to attack us...let's not look into cyber attacks from them."
D. If that doesn't work, create an Internet B and don't let average American citizens participate.

5. When the opposing Party in Congress does get wise to your tactics, call them the party of no and say they're not playing fair.
A. Don't say that the public doesn't want it either, just say they're saying they don't want it.
B. Point to all the negatives.
C. Make sure you don't point out that you were against all this when the previous administration did it.

_______________________________

Lori Ann Smith
I fight for freedom and sometimes there really is a conspiracy.

Progressives in History - rePost

I believe educating ourselves is important, so important that I am reposting this article that wrote when I first set up this blog back a month ago. Happy One Month Anniversary to me.

Progressives in History

My husband has an excellent set of History books, college level, that are just astounding in their insight. As a matter of fact, they're the ones I used in my Open Letter To President Obama. (Which I may post at a later date.) I've been tossing around the concept of the 100 year plan that the Progressives had, and, though it doesn't come out and say they had a 100 year plan, these books are where I got that idea. I've been asked a couple times to explain that, so this is my attempt to do just that.

At the turn of the century, the liberals chose to call themselves Progressives because they figured the people would be for progress. We were making huge leaps in progress at that time. There were new inventions all the time: the telephone, electric lighting, the automobile, the streetcar, the airplane, motion pictures, marketing of goods was quickly being developed, farmers were enjoying unprecedented prosperity and gold had been discovered in 1896 in Alaska. Although there had been a banking panic in 1907, there was a framework of prosperity set. We had a mindset of progress, of prosperity in America. All the progressives had to do was link themselves to reform and progress. And they also linked big government to progress. You had to have big government in order to have progress, in their minds.

They had already established Darwinism as fact by this time. The fittest survive. The unfit die out. There is a quote from John D. Rockefeller: " The growth of a large business is merely a survival of the fittest.....This is not an evil tendency of business. It is merely the working out of a law of nature and a law of God." So, by linking these concepts together, they established as fact that those against them were against progress, and would die out because they were weak. They were becoming more elite, a higher form of society, evolving. They were also pushing that the United States was a democracy, or that it ought to be. We are a Republic, not a Democracy. But as you see here, the progressives were the elite, not the conservatives. They were not for the common man.

In 1911, they turned their agenda to the school system. Charles A. Ellwood said, that the schools should be used as "a conscious instrument of social reconstruction." The progressives wanted to throw out religious and humane learning, (I take that as the humanities, or arts) and experiment with what would work. They wanted to "socialize" the young. This is when child-centered education began. This started the schools down the road towards what we have now, with the Department of Education taking the control away from the teacher in the classroom.

The progressives had even crept into the Christian movement, according to these texts, who call them the social gospellers. It calls them the most vicious attackers of the American economic system, calling for reform of our tax system. So, in the early 1900's socialists had infiltrated the churches and were calling on reforms and using God's word to back it up. They are the ones who basically were against the free market and started this whole movement that it was against God to be rich.

This is when muckraking became popular. I guess that's what we're doing. Expose articles became popular because the people were hungry for the truth about what was really going on. They list David Graham Phillips' Treason of the Senate...sound familiar?

Originally, Democratic Parties in the south were deemed private parties and excluded blacks. Even with the 14th amendment, blacks were only allowed to vote in the general elections. I guess they didn't want them voting until they had decided who they could vote for. And the south and become solidly Democratic. The progressives were the ones who pushed for segregation. They turned on the black voters. In the late 1800's there was no segregation, there was natural separation, but no forced segregation. By World War I, widespread segregation had been established in the states of the old Confederacy and the neighboring states. By 1930, Birmingham ordinance prohibited Negroes and whites from playing dominoes or checkers together. Two things need to be noted. Segregation was imposed by whites. White superiority was proclaimed, and black inferiority was assumed. Booker T. Washington, a prominent Black leader of the period, told everyone: "to suffer in silence," and to exercise "patience, forbearance, and self-control in the midst of trying conditions." He wanted them to improve themselves and compete in the market. What a smart man, beyond his years. But I have to admit, I don't think I would be able to under those conditions. I believe it was all orchestrated to chose a scapegoat for their future plans. And it's despicable to choose a whole race for your plans...

Did you know that in 1894 they tried to institute an income tax but found it to be unconstitutional? The constitution says that taxes are to be given out by the states according to population, and by consent...and that's not an income tax, is it? The progressives got around that by amending the tariff bill. This was our first redistribution of wealth, from the rich to the subsidized or unproductive in society. In 1913 is also when we ratified direct election of our Senators. Originally, the Senators were to represent the States, not the people. It was supposed to be one of the checks and balances, so the States had some control over congress.

The progressives were in power nationally from 1901 until 1921, covering the presidencies of Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Woodrow Wilson. Roosevelt referred to his program as the Square Deal, and Wilson had his New Freedom. Neither one professed to be socialists, but they set the country on a path towards socialism. Roosevelt said himself, "The New Nationalism puts the national need before sectional or personal advantage. . . .This New Nationalism regards the executive power as the steward of the public welfare. It demands of the judiciary that it shall be interested primarily in human welfare rather than property..." Wilson said of his New Freedom, "I believe that the time has come when the government of this country, both state and national, have to set the stage...for the doing of justice to men in every relationship of life....Without the watchful interference, the resolute interference, of the government, there can be no fair play between individuals and such powerful institutions as the trusts. Freedom today is something more than being let alone. The program of a government of freedom must in these days be positive, not negative merely." In other words, it's the government's job to be pro-active.

The history book says that in the 1920's, the intellectuals felt alienated from America. They fled to Europe.

The Great Depression began with the stock market crash of 1929. Herbert Hoover was the President, and was considered a cold and calloused president. Actually, he believed that the government should play no roll in picking Americans up out of the low place they were in, that it should be the place of private charities and businesses. He said that once government became the saviour, they would forever be dependant on government aide of some kind. Sound familiar? The Depression was the end of the conservatives in power. So the conservatives only had power from 1922-1932. Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected in 1932, and the progressives were back in office. He accused the present administration of too much spending, but said that he would spend money on American citizens in order to keep them from starving in the depression. Does that sound familiar? Blame the past administration and spend, spend, spend, but I have an excuse to do so.

At no point in history had any administration had so much been done in the first 100 days to "take care" of the American people, or assert so much authority over our economy. Unless you count the current administration. At one point Roosevelt openly threatened congress, saying if they didn't act, he would take the power and act himself. We were in the midst of a Depression, so the American people didn't see it as a usurpation of power.

One of the biggest lies, apparently, was Social Security. It was also the biggest redistribution of wealth programs the socialists ever came up with. It was set up as a 1% tax on wages and a 1% match by employers and was to be put in a trust fund in the Treasury. An accumulation was to occur. It was set up to slowly increase. Later it was described as an insurance program, I suppose for insuring when you retire. There were programs set up within Social Security that were redistribution programs from the beginning: unemployment compensation, aid to dependant children, maternal and child care, to crippled children, to neglected children, for public health programs. Social Security turned out to be a pyramid scheme. The people coming in to Social Security pay the ones who came in a long time ago. Don't people go to jail for setting up pyramid schemes?

Harry S. Truman became President upon FDR's death, but it doesn't claim he was a progressive. Although he didn't run as a progressive, his Fair Deal plan included a national health insurance for Americans, new "civil rights" legislation, Fair Employment Practices enactments, housing legislation, farming legislation with subsidies, and expansion of the welfare programs...sounds progressive to me. He instituted subsidies to reduce the rent for low income families. The minimum wage was increased to 75 cents an hour. They also increased low interest loans to farmers. The national health insurance was voted down because the people realized it was the first step to socialized medicine. One bill called for paying subsidies directly to farmers instead of driving up the cost of farm products when farm income fell below a certain level. They said it sounded too much like socialism.

When Eisenhower got elected in 1956 there was little known about his political views. Would he get rid of the welfare state? He was the first Republican since the beginning of the New Deal. He described himself as "basically conservative," and said that, "in the last twenty years creeping socialism has been striking in the United States." But, by 1954, it was clear that he wasn't going to take on the welfare state. Eisenhower accepted the Welfare state as fact. Eisenhower came in talking about how frugal we should be, but he had the highest deficit in peacetime history to that point: 12.4 billion. He turned out to be a middle of the road Republican. Or is it a DIABLO? Either way, he couldn't turn the tide back from the path to socialism.

In 1960, we elected John F. Kennedy, the youngest man elected to the office of President of the United States of America. He did institute several programs, but this series said he had a hostile Democratic congress. Upon his assassination, Lyndon B. Johnson became President.

Johnson pushed the Great Society, which was real close to being openly socialist. Apparently, Barry Goldwater saw the significance of it, and he pushed for liberty in his campaign and lost the moderates to Johnson. Johnson wasn't bothered by scruples, and used a combination of arm twisting, cajolery and trades to get the bills he wanted passed in a Democrat controlled Congress. the National Republican Congressional Committee classified it as a 3B congress: bullied, badgered and brainwashed. Does that sound familiar? Johnson probably did more for the socialist movement than did any modern president. The only thing that stopped his momentum was the Viet Nam War. It also ended his presidency.

After World War II, America has even pushed Welfare abroad. As quoted from this history book, " ...the United States promoted welfarism and subsidized socialism in Europe." The European Recovery Program allows countries to trade with each other, yet shields them from the world market. They are also dependant on the United States.

This brings our history up to modern times, so I'll quit here. Besides, my mind is boggled. I am now in my generation, and had just no idea of what had gone on before my birth. The victor writes history. And history is being rewritten all the time. Luckily, we have the power to elect our officials, and we have periodically disrupted their plan through out these 100 years. But you can see how the path has wandered and meandered through our history. We are well on the path to a nanny state. I have gotten a much better appreciation for President Hoover. I had always heard that he was the cold and callous man, that he wouldn't even help people during the depression. But that isn't entirely true, is it. It's like the Bible says. Give a man a fish and help him for a day. Teach him to fish and help him for a life time. If we continue to put people on welfare, and leave them there, they will have learned helplessness. I have a handicapped son. When I was teaching him self-care when he was very young, I was told not to give up when he acted as though he didn't know how to do it. Any child will act as though he doesn't know how to get dressed if he thinks you're going to dress him. Why put out the effort if he doesn't have to? If he can stand there and hold up his arms and you'll put on his shirt, why should he struggle to do it himself? It's called learned helplessness. If I show how hard of a time I'm having, you'll come help me, and I won't have to do it. I did the same thing to get out of weeding the cucumber with my mother. I weeded the cucumbers instead of the weeds. It's human nature.

Sooner or later you have to cut off the aide. I'm not against Welfare. Maybe there should be a time limit. That would encourage people to do something to better themselves. Everyone falls on hard times, and needs a hand up. But, there are an awful lot of nanny state programs, and there are people out there to tell you how to play the government and get your "fair" share. And to broaden government aide to include 150% of poverty and include government run health care? I don't think so. We should be shrinking government involvement. We need another Herbert Hoover about now.

Source: A Basic History of the United States, Volumes 1-5, by Clarence B. Carson, copyright American Textbook Committee, 1985, Tenth Printing, July 1994

Lori Ann Smith
I stand for Freedom, though I stand alone, until they knock me down and I can stand no more.

Hijacking a Movement?

Well, I knew I would eventually figure it out. I've been pondering the verbal attack I endured that sent me into the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder event. I told you the nature of the beast is to go over and over and over the "conversation," or in this case the written message that she sent me. Even though I deleted it, and haven't been back to that site, it's been running through my mind on a loop, like a video tape.

I considered the poor etiquette of posting her comment into a blog of it's own .... wasn't what did it. It made me mad at first that she diss'd my military service, but that wasn't what threw me into PTSD. She made the comment the first time she reamed me out that "they" always tell every one to demonstrate with a 50 ft "don't tread on me" flag. Who are they to "tell everyone" anyway? Are they setting themselves up as dictators of the Tea Party movement? Did they self-impose a dictatorship upon every one else? Isn't that what we're fighting?

Isn't that exactly what Glenn Beck warned us about? Someone would try to take the horns of this movement and steer it for their own purposes. Well, I think I got a taste of that. I just got told to sit down and shut up, by someone on my side. Excuse me, I'm an American. I don't take kindly to that.

You see, there stems my Post Traumatic Stress. It's not military related. About now, if she reads this, she'll lay into an attack and say I'm trivializing PTSD. I had a very good friend about 16 years ago during my first attack of PTSD, when all my repressed memories first started coming forward, who taught me about this. He was from Viet Nam. I was the only person besides a fellow friend who was a police officer who could talk him down from his episodes. We were very close, I'd say as close as 2 people could be and not be lovers. If it weren't for him, I'd have thought I was having a bad acid trip. He never once told me I wasn't a real veteran because I didn't serve in Viet Nam. I'm sorry I wasn't born until 1963. I got into the Navy as soon as I could. The cold war was on when I got in, not an armed conflict. What was I supposed to do? Start one? I had the privilege of serving during the presidency of Ronald Reagan.

My PTSD comes from childhood abuse; from a manipulative, user and control freak. My warning to everyone else is to watch for people who would try to take this movement and use it for their own selfish gain. It's like Glenn said, this is not really a "movement." We as the American People are upset with the government and want to be heard. Anyone who wants to really turn it into a movement, and want to lead it, are really turning it into something because they want something. We want to change it BACK into what it used to be. They want fame. Remember what she said...."we always tell people to do it this way...." And who are you to tell people to do anything? I'm a veteran, I know how to treat my flag. I'm an American citizen, I know how to act, I don't need a parent to tell me what to do, even in a "movement," such as the tea party movement. If you think you need to tell me what to do, that makes you no better than big brother Obama and the socialist government who wanted to take our guns for our own good, take our booze, for our own good. If someone has a problem with my free speech, he can move to Europe.


Lori Ann Smith
I fight for Freedom how I dang please and if you don't like it, leave.

I Took My Ball and Went Home

I guess it was bound to happen. I just expected it on this blog, not a safe zone where it was supposed to be all conservatives; like minded women. I won't mention the site, because liberals will claim that the movement is falling apart. But, you see, I think they plant their own people in these movements, cause havoc, then claim that the movement is falling apart.

I posted my blog about the code violations on another site that I'm on. It's supposed to be preaching to the choir. I only posted it because someone else posted about being a sunshine patriot. Are you prepared to be a patriot in fair weather and rough times? Well, yes. I believe I was picked on because of my sign on the front of my house, and because my house made the news for my flag being upside down and the stance I took. I was not disrespecting my flag. Our nation was in distress when the Democrats can lock out a portion of the United States and their views and write bills that don't include them. That's fascism. That's dangerous. I considered or nation in distress. We live in America, it's my right to demonstrate the way I want.

She took offense, and used her freedom of speech to comment on my blog. However, she also used poor blog etiquette, and turned her comment on my blog into a blog in it's own right, so that the whole site would see her reem me out. I wasn't aware of her blog at first. I commented back, stating that I was a Veteran of the United States Navy, and earned the right to fly my flag however I chose. I tracked submarines during the cold war, yada, yada, yada, and my husband served 20 years in the Navy. This household is well aware of flag regulations, and don't lecture me on patriotism. Then, I went to research her, and find that she turned her comments into a blog, so I reposted those exact comments on that blog, too.

So, she comes back, only on my blog, and diss's my service to the Navy, saying tracking boggy submarines isn't serving my country. Tell it to the Viet Nam veterans who bled for their country. Well, Missy, if it weren't for me, you'd be speaking Russian.

So, long story, short, it threw me into a post traumatic stress episode, which threw me into an epileptic seizure. Seems I only have a seizure when I go into a PTSD episode. So I've been inside my own head for the last couple days trying to figure out how she did it. How she managed to do what the flaming liberals haven't been able to do since I've been fighting for my country. You see, I don't know about other PTSD victims, but if I can figure out how an episode relates back to the original trauma, I can come out of it. So, every time it sparks one, not only do I have to relive the words that caused it over and over and over and over and over (that's the nature of PTSD), I have to go back to the original trauma and relive it while I sort out what the similarities are that would remind me of it in the first place. PTSD means you replay the words over and over, like a tape recorder in your head, or in this case a video, and there is no erase button. For my health I had to cut all ties with that site. I took down all my blogs (I have copies) which erased all the comments that she put up. I don't care. So the only copies I have are now running in my head. So what? They'll eventually stop. They always do.

PTSD is a strange beast. It rears it's ugly head in the strangest of places. I had thought that this site was a save zone. That's possibly the connection. It's like getting fragged in your bunk by friendly fire. For civilians, fragged is when someone throws a grenade in your bunk. My husband gets the "you're not a real veteran because you didn't serve in Viet Nam" bull crap all the time from liberal Viet Nam veterans.....mostly only the ones who are LIBERALS. I only have heard it from the ones who got drafted. Guess what? I volunteered to serve my country, no one drafted me. My husband volunteered 5 TIMES! to serve his country. He didn't come out hating his country, or with an axe to grind.

If Obama suddenly had a flash of insight and started supporting the constitution (I know, it would be a miracle, but....) I would become his biggest supporter. Of course, there would be out of necessity, a proving time, because he's lied so long. I don't hate the man, I hate the policies. If he stood up to Congress, and started doing what this country needed to recover, I'd support everything I thought we needed. I just know he's not going to do it. He's a socialist. He has an agenda that HE believes is best for the country, that will bring us to some utopia, but it's a lie. We all see it, why can't he? Socialism doesn't work. When the people can't work for a surplus, they don't work. They won't work for their neighbor's pocket. Jamestown proved it, they almost starved out.

If this woman who attacked me had bothered to look up any of my blogs before she attacked me and called me a progressive (actually told me to go my progressive way), she would have realized that I tried to give a history lesson on progressives. It's up here on my site if you want to look it up. Progressives in History. But she was too worried about stirring the pot to and making the conservative movement look like it's falling apart to worry about facts.

That's the sign of a liberal. They make you mad, and try to make you look bad. She fights like a liberal, argues like a liberal, smells like a liberal, gee, must be a liberal. I took my ball and went home.

______________________________

As an update, it's now February 22 and I've finally put the PTSD behind me because I've finally figured out what sparked it. My PTSD is not military related. I can hear her now if she ever comes here and reads this. She'll think I'm trivializing PTSD. I had a REALLY friend in the mid-90's who helped me through my first flashback episode or I would have thought I was on a really bad acid trip. He was a Viet Nam veteran and explained all this flashback stuff for me. I was dealing with repressed memories coming forward from childhood abuse. This friend was as close as any person could be and not be a lover. As a matter of fact I was the only one besides another friend who was a police officer who could talk him down from his own PTSD episodes.

But, I digress. I figured out what it was. This lady who attacked me had said that "We always tell everyone to display a 50 ft "Don't tread on me flag" instead of turning their flag upside down." Who is she to tell everyone what to do? Is she a self proclaimed leader of the Tea Party movement? Did she just proclaim herself dictator? Glenn Beck warned everyone there would be people who would try to take the horns of the movement for their own purposes. The beauty of our "movement" is that we don't have a leader. We are AMERICANS. We are Independent. We have brains of our own. I was abused by someone just like that, who thought she knew so much better than everyone else what we needed, including my mother. We have a president like that. And this woman thought *I* was the progressive. She wants to be everyone's big sister, or mother and let them know what's best, because they surely don't know themselves....the definition of progressive.

And now a little humor....

OK, this is an email I got, supposedly it's an actual email....I'm posting the email, in it's entirety....


This is an actual letter sent to a man named Ryan DeVries regarding a pond on his property. It was sent by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Quality, State of Pennsylvania . This guy's response is hilarious, but read State's letter before you get to the response letter.





SUBJECT: DEQ File No.97-59-0023; T11N; R10W, Sec. 20; Lycoming County

Dear Mr. DeVries:

It has come to the attention of the Department of Environmental Quality that there has been recent unauthorized activity on the above referenced parcel of property. You have been certified as the legal landowner and/or contractor who did the following unauthorized activity:

Construction and maintenance of two wood debris dams across the outlet stream of Spring Pond.

A permit must be issued prior to the start of this type of activity. A review of the Department's files shows that no permits have been issued. Therefore, the Department has determined that this activity is in violation of Part 301, Inland Lakes and Streams, of the Natural Resource and Environmental Protection Act, Act 451 of the Public Acts of 1994, being sections 324.30101 to 324.30113 of the Pennsylvania Compiled Laws, annotated.

The Department has been informed that one or both of the dams partially failed during a recent rain event, causing debris and flooding at downstream locations. We find that dams of this nature are inherently hazardous and cannot be permitted. The Department therefore orders you to cease and desist all activities at this location, and to restore the stream to a free-flow condition by removing all wood and brush forming the dams from the stream channel. All restoration work shall be completed no later than January 31, 2010.

Please notify this office when the restoration has been completed so that a follow-up site inspection may be scheduled by our staff. Failure to comply with this request or any further unauthorized activity on the site may result in this case being referred for elevated enforcement action. We anticipate and would appreciate your full cooperation in this matter. Please feel free to contact me at this office if you have any questions.

Sincerely,
David L. Price
District Representative and Water Management Division.


Here is the actual response sent back by Mr. DeVries:


Re: DEQ File No. 97-59-0023; T11N; R10W, Sec. 20; Lycoming County

Dear Mr. Price,


Your certified letter dated 08/17/09 has been handed to me to respond to. I am the legal landowner but not the Contractor at 2088 Dagget Lane , Trout Run, Pennsylvania .

A couple of beavers are in the (State unauthorized) process of constructing and maintaining two wood "debris" dams across the outlet stream of my Spring Pond. While I did not pay for, authorize, nor supervise their dam project, I think they would be highly offended that you call their skillful use of nature's building materials "debris."

I would like to challenge your department to attempt to emulate their dam project any time and/or any place you choose. I believe I can safely state there is no way you could ever match their dam skills, their dam resourcefulness, their dam ingenuity, their dam persistence, their dam determination and/or their dam work ethic.





These are the beavers/contractors you are seeking. As to your request, I do not think the beavers are aware that they must first fill out a dam permit prior to the start of this type of dam activity.

My first dam question to you is:

(1) Are you trying to discriminate against my Spring Pond Beavers, or

(2) Do you require all beavers throughout this State to conform to said dam request?

If you are not discriminating against these particular beavers, through the Freedom of Information Act, I request completed copies of all those other applicable beaver dam permits that have been issued.

(Perhaps we will see if there really is a dam violation of Part 301, Inland Lakes and Streams, of the Natural Resource and Environmental Protection Act, Act 451 of the Public Acts of 1994, being sections 324.30101 to 324.30113 of the Pennsylvania Compiled Laws, annotated.)

I have several concerns. My first concern is, aren't the beavers entitled to legal representation? The Spring Pond Beavers are financially destitute and are unable to pay for said representation -- so the State will have to provide them with a dam lawyer. The Department's dam concern that either one or both of the dams failed during a recent rain event, causing flooding, is proof that this is a natural occurrence, which the Department is required to protect. In other words, we should leave the Spring Pond Beavers alone rather than harassing them and calling them dam names.

If you want the stream "restored" to a dam free-flow condition please contact the beavers -- but if you are going to arrest them, they obviously did not pay any attention to your dam letter, they being unable to read English.

In my humble opinion, the Spring Pond Beavers have a right to build their unauthorized dams as long as the sky is blue, the grass is green and water flows downstream. They have more dam rights than I do to live and enjoy Spring Pond. If the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection lives up to its name, it should protect the natural resources (Beavers) and the environment (Beavers' Dams).

So, as far as the beavers and I are concerned, this dam case can be referred for more elevated enforcement action right now. Why wait until 1/31/2010? The Spring Pond Beavers may be under the dam ice then and there will be no way for you or your dam staff to contact/harass them.

In conclusion, I would like to bring to your attention to a real environmental quality, health, problem in the area. It is the bears! Bears are actually defecating in our woods. I definitely believe you should be persecuting the defecating bears and leave the beavers alone. If you are going to investigate the beaver dam, watch your step! The bears are not careful where they dump!

Being unable to comply with your dam request, and being unable to contact you on your dam answering machine, I am sending this response to your dam office.

THANK YOU,

RYAN DEVRIES
& THE DAM BEAVERS

It could be a mistake....

Well, it could be a case of overworked government workers. It could be a case of too many houses to look at. It could be a case of just too much to do. I'm not one to complain. Apparently it's getting fixed right away, so I'll not complain over one incident. We'll see if it happens again.

Let me explain a little background to let you know why I got upset in the first place. Back in November this household was hopping mad. You see, that was about the time that Fort Hood took place, and the health care passed the House of Representatives. That was also the time frame that our United States flag got turned upside down as a signal of distress. We also made the local news. Well, local, for Dallas, Texas; Channel 5 NBC. Apparently a Viet Nam veteran didn't agree with using the symbol of our country as a distress signal, or didn't agree that our country was in distress, I couldn't determine which. He was upset with us. I never saw him before, and haven't since. He's not from my immediate neighborhood. I had no problems with my immediate neighbors. They all waved at me when I went by. I had a few screeching tires from passers-by, but that was it. I got a lovely note from a 16 year old girl in my mail box agreeing with me. I also got a handshake from a man who stopped by. We had put a note on the door explaining that we were protesting Congress, not America, and that we were veterans, and that it wasn't disgracing the flag, and all was according to flag regulations.

Then, when Senator Brown got elected in Massachusetts, we flipped it back right side up. The Republicans were no longer locked out of Congress. I still wondered how the President could say we filibustered, but that's another argument. We put a note on the front of the house saying way to go Mass! And way to go Sen. Elect Scott Brown! It's still there, in a frame now, because we got tired of the duct tape on the front door. And we wanted something permanent in case we needed to flip it upside down again. But, we made the news again, for flipping it right-side up. Same channel, same news man as an update to the original story. He even interviewed the same lady from the first time and she was glad we were able to turn it over.

So, everyone in our neighborhood knows our stand...we're conservative. In a very liberal neighborhood.

Then today, I get a code violation. It reads: On 2/12/2010, an inspection was conducted in the area in which you live, manage or own property. The following violations of the City of Garland Code of Ordinances were noted at the property identified as: redacted

Violation: Address Numbers - Please correct by 2/24/2010
Address numbers are required on the front and rear of the property; and must be at least 3 inches tall, visible and legible from the street and alley. Address numbers must be placed on the rear of property visible from the alley or easement.

Comments: Please place address numbers at back of property. Thank you for your time.

_______________

I thought to myself, "Self, I'm pretty sure I have numbers on the back of my house." So I went out to check. I do. Big 3" letters in black and silver, stacked directly under an American flag on a huge post that's a corner post to my wooden fence. They're plainly visible from the alley. So I called the number on the form. I left an almost civil message on her voice mail. She had mentioned that I would get a better response if I emailed her, so I did.

Here is what I emailed her:

I DO have my address numbers on my back drive. If you locate the AMERICAN FLAG on the left side of the driveway, and look directly below that AMERICAN FLAG you will find my numbers. They have been there since I moved into this house in April, 2009 as they were put there by the previous owners. There are huge, at least 3 inches big.



Have a nice day
_____________

I know, slightly smart-alec, but I was upset. She did answer me, stating that she would recheck. She said she looks at a lot of properties and could have missed them. Really? Well, she was polite, so I'll give her the benefit of the doubt....this time. But more than once and I'll consider it harassment. This is my way of posting it and making it a public record. As an afterthought, this was the day after a 12 inch snow storm. Why would a public official be driving around the day after a 12 inch snow storm, the day the schools were closed, looking for code violations? Things that make you go hmmmm?

Lori Ann Smith

Forced Unionization

Congratulations to John Stossel for his investigative reporting. Who would believe this could happen in the United States of America? Forced Unionization? This is unbelievable and needs to go viral. They have no benefits, and they still have to pay. They don't have the choice of paying or not.

Are we living in 1600 England? What happened to no taxation without representation? And I think Michigan needs to look more closely at Republican Dave Camp....is he a RINO? He seems to be closely aligned with all the Democrats who received pay off money. And I'm just an average American, but it seems like pay off money to me. When a union consists of approximately 40,000 members and only 6,000 voted to actually HAVE the union in the first place? That's taxation without representation. Since when does 15% of a Union get to determine who is represented? And who gets to determine who joins a union? What if someone decides to unionize house wives? Will I be forced to give up part of my husband's pay to pay union dues? I get an "allowance" to do with what I wish - is that in jeopardy? Will I be forced into a union? Is all of America going to be unionized? Will they figure out a way to unionize everyone? They already ask on your tax return what your job is....since when do they have the right to such personal information? And we just roll over and give it to them.

I have a novel idea....let's have a vote across America, and see if we actually NEED unions. If the vote comes up that we DON'T need unions, I say we disband all the unions, whether the unions want it or not. If they can force a union on people having day cares in their own homes, then what's to say we can't force them to shut down the unions? They would be forced to refund all the money back to the people. That would stimulate the economy, giving the people back their money.

And that brings me to another subject. I'm going to stop giving any of my personal information on my tax returns. They don't need to know what my husband's job title is. They just need to know the name of his employer because he signs his checks. He could be toilet fixer or top executive for all they care. And what do they care that I'm a stay home mom? Maybe I should put down blogger this year? That would throw them for a loop. Freelance blogger (non-profit), crafter, taxi-driver for my kids, clean houses (1 client), meal preparer (1 client, also non-profit), Sunday school teacher for bed-babies (not much prep work...a lot of holding and love involved).

Is that civil disobedience?

I've discovered on-line a 10 question form that the Census bureau is supposedly going to ask everyone in April. Frankly, I don't see how these questions are constitutional. You'll see once you read the questions and see the video that I've also posted on my blog. For instance, what business is it of the government whether I rent or own my property? Are they planning on looking up my mortgage and putting pressure on the bank to foreclose if I don't answer these questions? They already have my address, can't they just go look? Or is that unconstitutional? Isn't this voluntary? If I answer, does that imply consent? Are they just assuming that I'm giving consent? What if I don't want to give consent for them to look into my records?

I believe the constitution states that the government has a right to COUNT the people of the United States every 10 years. It doesn't say anything about finding out how many of them have a mortgage and how many of them own their houses free and clear, or rent. And what do they mean by occupied without payment of rent? We still have squatters in America? Can I take the 5th amendment on that one?

And I thought it was for your family? This census wants to know if there is anyone living or staying in your house, apartment, mobile home. Then it asks did you leave anyone out? Are you lying to us? Are you kidding me? Are there any additional people staying there that you didn't tell us about in question 1? What kind of question is that? And you want my phone number? I think not. The person coming to my door is going to be a stranger to me, no matter that they have a census badge. They are going to be some Joe Blow you hired off the street, for a seasonal job. Do I really believe you did a background check on him/her? Not a snowball's chance in Hell are you going to get me to give this person my phone number. And dirt bags can hide behind a suit, too. Look at Ted Bundy.

And now they want everyone in the house to supply their name, age, date of birth. I worked for the Police Department. Did you know with a name, state, address and date of birth, you don't need a social security number? So it's a moot point that they aren't asking for your social security number. They can get all your information with your name and date of birth. They already have your street address, they're at your house. Once again, I'll pleading the 5th. Another question I'm not answering. They'll have to cross reference my tax returns. Ask Tim Geithner. He has all that information.

Plus you have to give the relationships of all person's in the house. Plus you're supposed to divulge their nationality. Now, do I say I'm part Native American? I do have Osage and Blackfoot in my background. Would that get me more funding from the government? I believe I'm about 1/16th, maybe more. That makes my children 1/32nd. Woo hoo, there was a clause in the health care bill about free health care for Indians.

I don't know what the penalties are for not answering, but I'm gonna risk it. I'm gonna mail a copy of the constitution in with it and ask them to find in it where it states I have to answer those questions. As soon as they can point out to me where it says I have to answer those particular questions, I will. Until then, they can get my NAME and age and the relationship of the members of my household. And that's it. No date of birth, no mortgage, no phone number. If they need further information they have my address. They can send the black helicopters to get me.

I say we start a campaign to not answer the questions beyond name, age, relationship of people in the house. Mail them a copy of the constitution, or hand it to the census taker. Tell them when they can point out in the constitution where it's legal to ask those questions, we'll answer them.

________________________________

The instructions require respondents to count all people, including babies, who live and sleep in the household most of the time. Respondents should not count people living away at college, in the armed forces, in jail or prison, or in a nursing home. But respondents should include anyone without another permanent place to stay.

1. How many people were living or staying in this house, apartment or mobile home on April 1, 2010?

2. Were there any additional people staying here April 1, 2010 that you did not include in Question 1?

Children, such as newborn babies or foster children

Relatives, such as adult children, cousins, or in-laws

Nonrelatives, such as roommates or live-in baby sitters

People staying here temporarily

No additional people

3. Is this house, apartment or mobile home -

Owned by you or someone in this household with a mortgage or loan?

Owned by you or someone in this household free and clear (without a mortgage or loan)?

Rented?

Occupied without payment of rent?

4. What is your telephone number?

Please provide information for each person living here. Start with a person living here who owns or rents this house, apartment, or mobile home. If the owner or renter lives somewhere else, start with any adult living here.

5. What is Person 1's name?

6. What is Person 1's sex?

7. What is Person 1's age and what is Person 1's date of birth?

8. Is Person 1 of Hispanic, Latino or Spanish origin?

9. What is Person 1's race?

10. Does Person 1 sometimes live or stay somewhere else?

In college housing

In the military

At a seasonal or second residence

For child custody

In jail or prison

In a nursing home

For another reason

(For each additional person, answer Questions 5 to 10 above, plus this question:)

11. How is this person related to Person 1?

Husband or wife

Biological son or daughter

Adopted son or daughter

Stepson or stepdaughter

Brother or sister

Father or mother

Grandchild

Parent-in-law

Son-in-law or daughter-in-law

Other relative

Roomer or boarder

Housemate or roommate

Unmarried partner

Other non-relative

Where Has Decency and Concern Gone?

Where has decency and concern for our fellow man gone? I went to the grocery store today. When I got done, I had a cart full. It seems everyone wanted to check out at the same time. The man who got in line behind me only had one of those grab it baskets. I asked him if he'd like to go ahead of me. After looking at me like I'd sprouted 2 more heads, he answered yes. Then he said he'd just left isle 9, because he'd waited FOREVER! Isle 9 was supposed to be for 20 or less items but it seems they put the slowest checker there.

We didn't do much small talk during the wait for his turn, because I started to put my items on the belt. He did look for the little divider for me, but I had my little purple bags, and he had all his stuff in his basket, so I wasn't concerned the checker would get our items confused. When he was done, he stopped, said, "God bless you and you have a nice day!" Wow, guess I shocked him.

That's what I told the checker because she looked at me a bit confused. I looked at her and she had that questioning look on her face, like I don't really have a right to ask, but I'm dying to know. We had nothing in common. He was Oriental and I'm very white. He was, I think, about my age, but I'm terrible with ages. I said, "I think I shocked him. I let him go ahead of me."

While I was checking out, after I had scanned my credit card, there was another lady just walking by who tripped. She was a frail little Japanese woman who couldn't have weighed any more than 98 pounds. She was walking past the ice machine, where they have the rubber mats. She apparently tripped over the mat. I watched for a couple seconds and no one came to her. I left my isle, wallet in hand and went to her to help her up. At first I just offered my hand to let her stabblize, but she actually needed me to lift her up. I asked her if she was alright, but she was so shocked that someone came to help her, all she could say was, in broken English, "I say a blessing for you tonight."

These two examples were so shocked that I would be nice to them, when I live in the south where hospitality is supposed to be common, that they were taken a back at first. Where have we gotten America? I know I'm old (being all of 46), but where have our manners gone? In my day, if I hadn't gone to help that lady, my mom would have twisted my ear. If I hadn't held the door for someone who looked like they could be my grandparents, I would have been shamed when I got home. Not in public mind you, and not screamed at, but I would have felt it. It was just something you DID, you know? Now, everyone is worried about getting out first, why should they let someone ELSE go FIRST?

I have been the recipient of random acts of kindness, but I have to admit usually it's from the older generation. Or from someone flirting with me. Maybe we need to get a random acts of kindness movement going. And not from someone who is going to give someone money for doing it. Sometimes one's only reward is received on the other side of heaven.

Lori Ann Smith

One Mom Stands against Al Awda in San Diego County

This was posted on Asamom.org and I have permission from the original poster to post it here. She would love for it to go viral, so I'm also giving her permission to re-post it anywhere and everywhere you desire. Things like this are not supposed to happen in America. This is an explanation she gave in a comments section:

Originally, this Al Awda conference was scheduled at San Diego State University. That is the age group of the "children" Chris was referring to. She speaks this way because she has children in that age group. The Al Awda conference she attended was at the La Mesa Community Center. Before this conference took place, several of us Moms first contacted SDSU, which seemed to have kept it from there. Then we found out they were moving it to the La Mesa Community Center. We then began to email and phone the Mayor of La Mesa. His response was that they had the right to free speech and therefore could not be limited from utilizing the Community Center. When he was asked about police protection if we chose to protest this hate group, he originally declined police presence. I hope this clarifies the situation Chris was in and to whom she was talking. The children she was speaking of that were playing across the way, were younger children as the community center is adjacent to a park, a public pool, and a community golf course.

_______________

Another question put forward in comments was were they American students or foreigners on visa's, but that was said to be a question the Mayor hasn't answered. If they were foreign students, did they have the right to assemble peaceably, and if the assembly was no longer peaceable, didn't the police have an obligation to remove them?

___________________


One Mom -vs- Al Awda
Posted by Dara Dale-Bailey on February 14, 2010 at 2:24pm

This is the experience of one of my group members in San Diego County. This happened yesterday. This action was precipitated by a fight first with SDSU, then with the Mayor of La Mesa, CA. We asked for this hate group to be barred from property funded with Taxppayer dollars. Our request was refused, so was the original request for Police Protection. The Mayor said, you cannot participate in civil unreest, then ask for Police Protection. We felt it was important for this story to get out. Here is her email to me:


Today: February 13, 2010
Re: La Mesa, CA Community Center
Al Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition
Part of the International Solidarity Movement
Funders of Hamas, supporters of Hezbollah

I went to Al Awda today. I saw the devil with my own eyes. I spoke with the members from SDSU, only children, but hating America. I saw the professors who came to speak. I heard them yelling and demeaning my country. One by one, men came and yelled at me as I stood.... alone. One woman... one mother... one wife... one daughter... all 5 foot four of me - and my police stood against me - THEY TOOK MY CHAIR as I stood alone. I saw the depth of our problem, how far we have strayed. I asked my policeman, "Whom shall I trust?" I am ashamed to say, I broke down and cried. I felt afraid and I could not return to my car.

But while all this was happening, I talked to the children.... for hours. These things were but interludes, hindering my work. The students, maybe 6 in number, talked to me. They saw what happened and while they spewed evil about my beloved country, if I listened attentively, they'd listen right back at me. I was able to give one a pocket Constitution. They each admitted that they could not name five founding fathers, yet were attending college. They listened as I told them what makes America great. I told them so many things and.... it was good.
Except for the others. They were getting angry at me but, I had my rights with me and I had the Creator who gave them to me.

These students, they knew every evil taught them, they were predictable. They watched as their heros came and attacked me with lies and they knew they were lying about saying I was doing things I was not. And... it was good. We talked about it between each evil interloper who would come to yell at me hoping to intimidate or scare me into leaving. They watched as men stood inches away from me in stand-offs, demanding that I leave, "You are not welcome" they yelled. "Get out of here!" Truly, they thundered at me.

The students watched as I stood alone and told these men, each one by one, "I am not leaving, I have a right to be here. STOP TALKING TO ME AND GET AWAY FROM ME." But, I did not move. These men were angry. They hated our country. They were planning. They had a box for donations with words I'm not going to type. No cursing but, I just don't want to type them. The students did not like what they saw... no, not at all. And I used it.

Eventually, the students were ordered not to speak to me. Yet, I could still speak to them. This worked out better than I could have dreamed. I told them, "Can't you see these are angry people? Why do they hate me? Is it because my hair is blonde?" They could not answer. I used it some more. I told them, "I am sorry you aren't allowed to talk to me." They would smile. "I've never been around people before who weren't allowed to talk to me." I said, "I've been free every day of my life and I am profoundly thankful. I love my country. I am free to speak to whomever I wish to hear whatever I choose. Never unitl today, have I been with other people who were ordered not to speak to me."

Then I told them of these men's hearts. I told the students that they were so nice to me and how I enjoyed talking with them. Told them they were nice. But the adults inside, most especially two specific men, the meanest, their hearts were hardened, I told the children. We must look at our foundation and what was so good about America that men traveled from all over the world to come here. So many died. They sought freedom. America, the beacon to the world. I even got in some 5000 Year Leap material!

On the drive home my head was spinning. Our very way of life seemed so fragile. And we were doing almost nothing to stop the threats. I felt my country falling away. It seemed as if it were disintegrating while people played with their prosperity toys doing nothing to save their children's freedom. So many parents and grandparents were silent while evil flourished. The torch of liberty was in their hands yet they could not be trusted to stand and speak. They waited for someone else to fix it. That someone else was me today. But, I couldn't fix it. Not alone. Maybe a teeny tiny dent?

My world was upside down.

I remembered a quote I had read last night, "The hottest place in Hell must be reserved for those who remain nuetral in times of great moral conflict." Martin Luther King Jr. said this and we all know the dangers he faced.

Children were playing across the sidewalk only feet away. Their mothers sat unknowing of the hate that lurked across the walk.

I did not get home until 3:00 p.m. because there was no one else to do it and I felt it had to be done. Everyone at the seminars, even our own university professors will not forget me. Neither will the children. Not for some time anyway.

Maybe there was one child that learned something in those hours. Maybe one will be saved. I wanted so much to go to the other meeting today but I guess I have to trust that I was where I was supposed to be on this day because as much as today was a profoundly disturbing & heartbreaking experience for me, God has a plan.

I just wish he'd tell it to the cops. Oh, I should add that by the end, one of the cops told me that they (3) had a discussion about me and were all talking about what big _ _ _ _ I have. So that's good!

IN GOD WE TRUST,
Chris
Psalm 121

_______________

Psalm 121
Theme: We can depend upon God for help. Pilgrims must travel through lonely country to their destination; they are protected, not by anything created, but by the Creator of everything.
Author: Anonymous, some suggest Hezekiah


I lift up my eyes to the hills --
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip --
he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over you --
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm --
he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.