Thursday, October 29, 2009
Endoresment of Capitalism
The economic system of early America, known as the American System, provided a system for growth and prosperity. High tariffs on imports protected American Industries from cheap foreign goods and promoted use of it’s own resources and to be self-sufficient. During this period the United States grew to be the worlds largest economy with the worlds highest standard of living. History reveals that no other economic philosophy would have accomplished what our forefathers envisioned, nor would any other system have been compatible with our Constitution. A capitalist system is the only system that will insure continued freedom and liberty to exist in America.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Conversation on Race
Sometimes we get frustrated on how to respond to being called a racist Country. I think a lot of Americans would agree with the way Pat Buchanan’s response in the following article.
Buchanan's column, syndicated by Creators Syndicate, was posted on the WorldNetDaily, Real Clear Politics and VDARE.com websites, as well as on his own website.
From Buchanan's March 21 column:
Barack says we need to have a conversation about race in America.
Fair enough. But this time, it has to be a two-way conversation. White America needs to be heard from, not just lectured to.
This time, the Silent Majority needs to have its convictions, grievances and demands heard. And among them are these:
First, America has been the best country on earth for black folks. It was here that 600,000 black people, brought from Africa in slave ships, grew into a community of 40 million, were introduced to Christian salvation, and reached the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity blacks have ever known.
Wright ought to go down on his knees and thank God he is an American.
Second, no people anywhere has done more to lift up blacks than white Americans. Untold trillions have been spent since the '60s on welfare, food stamps, rent supplements, Section 8 housing, Pell grants, student loans, legal services, Medicaid, Earned Income Tax Credits and poverty programs designed to bring the African-American community into the mainstream.
Governments, businesses and colleges have engaged in discrimination against white folks - with affirmative action, contract set-asides and quotas -- to advance black applicants over white applicants.
Churches, foundations, civic groups, schools and individuals all over America have donated time and money to support soup kitchens, adult education, day care, retirement and nursing homes for blacks.
We hear the grievances. Where is the gratitude?
Barack talks about new “ladders of opportunity” for blacks.
Let him go to Altoona and Johnstown, and ask the white kids in Catholic schools how many were vsited lately by Ivy League recruiters handing out scholarships for “deserving” white kids.
Is white America really responsible for the fact that the crime and incarceration rates for African-Americans are seven times those of white America? Is it really white America’s fault that illegitimacy in the African-American community has hit 70 percent and the black dropout rate from high schools in some cities has reached 50 percent?
Is that the fault of white America or, first and foremost, a failure of the black community itself?
As for racism, its ugliest manifestation is in interracial crime, and especially interracial crimes of violence. Is Barack Obama aware that while white criminals choose black victims 3 percent of the time, black criminals choose white victims 45 percent of the time?
Is Barack aware that black-on-white rapes are 100 times more common than the reverse, that black-on-white robberies were 139 times as common in the first three years of this decade as the reverse?
We have all heard ad nauseam from the Rev. Al about Tawana Brawley, the Duke rape case and Jena. And all turned out to be hoaxes. But about the epidemic of black assaults on whites that are real, we hear nothing.
Sorry, Barack, some of us have heard it all before, about 40 years and 40 trillion tax dollars ago.
Buchanan's column, syndicated by Creators Syndicate, was posted on the WorldNetDaily, Real Clear Politics and VDARE.com websites, as well as on his own website.
From Buchanan's March 21 column:
Barack says we need to have a conversation about race in America.
Fair enough. But this time, it has to be a two-way conversation. White America needs to be heard from, not just lectured to.
This time, the Silent Majority needs to have its convictions, grievances and demands heard. And among them are these:
First, America has been the best country on earth for black folks. It was here that 600,000 black people, brought from Africa in slave ships, grew into a community of 40 million, were introduced to Christian salvation, and reached the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity blacks have ever known.
Wright ought to go down on his knees and thank God he is an American.
Second, no people anywhere has done more to lift up blacks than white Americans. Untold trillions have been spent since the '60s on welfare, food stamps, rent supplements, Section 8 housing, Pell grants, student loans, legal services, Medicaid, Earned Income Tax Credits and poverty programs designed to bring the African-American community into the mainstream.
Governments, businesses and colleges have engaged in discrimination against white folks - with affirmative action, contract set-asides and quotas -- to advance black applicants over white applicants.
Churches, foundations, civic groups, schools and individuals all over America have donated time and money to support soup kitchens, adult education, day care, retirement and nursing homes for blacks.
We hear the grievances. Where is the gratitude?
Barack talks about new “ladders of opportunity” for blacks.
Let him go to Altoona and Johnstown, and ask the white kids in Catholic schools how many were vsited lately by Ivy League recruiters handing out scholarships for “deserving” white kids.
Is white America really responsible for the fact that the crime and incarceration rates for African-Americans are seven times those of white America? Is it really white America’s fault that illegitimacy in the African-American community has hit 70 percent and the black dropout rate from high schools in some cities has reached 50 percent?
Is that the fault of white America or, first and foremost, a failure of the black community itself?
As for racism, its ugliest manifestation is in interracial crime, and especially interracial crimes of violence. Is Barack Obama aware that while white criminals choose black victims 3 percent of the time, black criminals choose white victims 45 percent of the time?
Is Barack aware that black-on-white rapes are 100 times more common than the reverse, that black-on-white robberies were 139 times as common in the first three years of this decade as the reverse?
We have all heard ad nauseam from the Rev. Al about Tawana Brawley, the Duke rape case and Jena. And all turned out to be hoaxes. But about the epidemic of black assaults on whites that are real, we hear nothing.
Sorry, Barack, some of us have heard it all before, about 40 years and 40 trillion tax dollars ago.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Andy Rooney Opinion
Andy Rooney gave his opinion for the need of health care reform on the 60-minute broadcast of October 25th. . He stated that the U.S. ranked 50th on a list of countries by life expectancy. According to the Central Intelligence Agency Factbook estimate of 2009, there are 195 countries on that list. The number one ranked country on that list is Macau (a country in China) with an average life expectancy of 84.36 years. Swaziland is the last ranked country on the list at 195 with an average life expectancy of 39.4 years.
The United Nation Department of Economic and Social Affairs-Population Division provides a list of countries ranked by population. Population with 546,200 or 0.008% of world population ranks Macau at 165 on that list. Population with 1,185,000 or 0.017% of world population ranks Swaziland at 154. The United State with a population of 307,792,000 or 4.53% of world population is ranked 3rd with a life expectancy rank of 50th with a life expectancy average of 78.11 years. China with a population of 1,333,740,000 or 19.63% of world population is ranked number 1, with a life expectancy rank at 105 with a life expectancy average of 73.47 years. India is ranked by population of 1,171,660,000 or 17.25% of world population is ranked at number 2, with a life expectancy rank of 145 with life expectancy average of 69.89 years.
The opinion of Mr. Rooney suggest that the United States needs health care reform to improve its ranking on life expectancy. The United States (3rd in world population), life expectancy is 4.64 years longer than China’s (the most populated country), and 8.22 years longer than India’s (2nd most populated country). The difference between Macau and the United States life expectancy (number 1 ranked and 50th ranked) is 6.25years.
The quality and availability of health care in the United States is the best in the world. The health care industry needs reform to manage cost, fraud and abuse, much of which the government can take responsibility for. Reform is needed to correct legislation that created an environment in the health care industry that allows these issue to exist. To advocate a government-run nationalized health care system by suggesting that we’ll live longer is wrong. It may suggest an agenda quite different than a better health care system for the American People
Mr. Rooney’s opinion was misleading and purposely dishonest.
The United Nation Department of Economic and Social Affairs-Population Division provides a list of countries ranked by population. Population with 546,200 or 0.008% of world population ranks Macau at 165 on that list. Population with 1,185,000 or 0.017% of world population ranks Swaziland at 154. The United State with a population of 307,792,000 or 4.53% of world population is ranked 3rd with a life expectancy rank of 50th with a life expectancy average of 78.11 years. China with a population of 1,333,740,000 or 19.63% of world population is ranked number 1, with a life expectancy rank at 105 with a life expectancy average of 73.47 years. India is ranked by population of 1,171,660,000 or 17.25% of world population is ranked at number 2, with a life expectancy rank of 145 with life expectancy average of 69.89 years.
The opinion of Mr. Rooney suggest that the United States needs health care reform to improve its ranking on life expectancy. The United States (3rd in world population), life expectancy is 4.64 years longer than China’s (the most populated country), and 8.22 years longer than India’s (2nd most populated country). The difference between Macau and the United States life expectancy (number 1 ranked and 50th ranked) is 6.25years.
The quality and availability of health care in the United States is the best in the world. The health care industry needs reform to manage cost, fraud and abuse, much of which the government can take responsibility for. Reform is needed to correct legislation that created an environment in the health care industry that allows these issue to exist. To advocate a government-run nationalized health care system by suggesting that we’ll live longer is wrong. It may suggest an agenda quite different than a better health care system for the American People
Mr. Rooney’s opinion was misleading and purposely dishonest.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Senate Healthcare Vote
We are in danger of our Government taking over our health care system in America. Congress is trying to pass legislation to produce a Bill that would become law without giving the American People the details of what's in the legislation. How will it affect the health care of each individual in this country? Our fear is that it will be a Nationalized health care entitlement system with the Government dictating care and treatment for everyone based on cost, not the individuals need of care or the quality of treatment.
The following is an article written by Amanda Reinecker " who is a writer for MyHeritage.org" on a Senate vote held Wednesday on health care.
The Heritage Foundation is a good resource for information and analytical data on health care legislation. They are a well-known conservative American think tank based in Washington D.C.. Heritage's stated mission is to "formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense."
October 23, 2009 | By Amanda Reinecker
First Senate health care vote flops
President Obama has repeatedly claimed that America is closer to passing health care reform than ever before. But proponents of big-government health care nevertheless suffered a major setback on Wednesday when the first Senate floor vote on health care legislation failed with only 47 votes in favor.
Senators voted not to act on a $247 billion "doctors' fix" that would have blocked scheduled costs savings in Medicare. This legislation is formally separate from the health care "reform" proposal, but it's nonetheless an integral part of the overall package, so its defeat is telling.
The vote, which Heritage Foundation expert Brian Darling dubs "round 1 of the battle over Obamacare," represents a major victory for conservatives who, from the beginning, have argued that real reform should be principled, fiscally responsible and bipartisan.
Detaching this legislation from the broader health care reform bill was part of a White House "strategy to smooth passage of President Barack Obama's $1 trillion-plus health care overhaul by transferring a quarter of its cost into a separate, and completely unpaid for, bill," explains Heritage's Conn Carroll in The Morning Bell.
Every Republican Senator and 13 fiscally-conscious Democrats (including Connecticut's Joe Lieberman) saw through this "transparently dishonest shell game" and voted down the measure.
A long history shows that promised Medicare cuts -- an effort to control runaway spending on the entitlement program -- rarely come to fruition. The cuts are either frozen or, when implemented, are undone after the fact. And, as in this case, lawmakers rarely offset the cost of the restored Medicare spending with cuts elsewhere, which simply adds to the budget deficit.
"The moment this became a fiscal and moral gut check, the people prevailed and the special interests lost," writes Heritage Vice President Michael Franc on National Review Online.
This was the first real demonstration of bipartisanship in the health care debate, and the Left lost. "A bipartisan majority rejected the Democrat leadership's attempt to add another quarter-trillion dollars to the national credit card without any plan to pay for it," McConnell said. "With a record deficit and a ballooning national debt, the American people are saying enough is enough."
The following is an article written by Amanda Reinecker " who is a writer for MyHeritage.org" on a Senate vote held Wednesday on health care.
The Heritage Foundation is a good resource for information and analytical data on health care legislation. They are a well-known conservative American think tank based in Washington D.C.. Heritage's stated mission is to "formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense."
October 23, 2009 | By Amanda Reinecker
First Senate health care vote flops
President Obama has repeatedly claimed that America is closer to passing health care reform than ever before. But proponents of big-government health care nevertheless suffered a major setback on Wednesday when the first Senate floor vote on health care legislation failed with only 47 votes in favor.
Senators voted not to act on a $247 billion "doctors' fix" that would have blocked scheduled costs savings in Medicare. This legislation is formally separate from the health care "reform" proposal, but it's nonetheless an integral part of the overall package, so its defeat is telling.
The vote, which Heritage Foundation expert Brian Darling dubs "round 1 of the battle over Obamacare," represents a major victory for conservatives who, from the beginning, have argued that real reform should be principled, fiscally responsible and bipartisan.
Detaching this legislation from the broader health care reform bill was part of a White House "strategy to smooth passage of President Barack Obama's $1 trillion-plus health care overhaul by transferring a quarter of its cost into a separate, and completely unpaid for, bill," explains Heritage's Conn Carroll in The Morning Bell.
Every Republican Senator and 13 fiscally-conscious Democrats (including Connecticut's Joe Lieberman) saw through this "transparently dishonest shell game" and voted down the measure.
A long history shows that promised Medicare cuts -- an effort to control runaway spending on the entitlement program -- rarely come to fruition. The cuts are either frozen or, when implemented, are undone after the fact. And, as in this case, lawmakers rarely offset the cost of the restored Medicare spending with cuts elsewhere, which simply adds to the budget deficit.
"The moment this became a fiscal and moral gut check, the people prevailed and the special interests lost," writes Heritage Vice President Michael Franc on National Review Online.
This was the first real demonstration of bipartisanship in the health care debate, and the Left lost. "A bipartisan majority rejected the Democrat leadership's attempt to add another quarter-trillion dollars to the national credit card without any plan to pay for it," McConnell said. "With a record deficit and a ballooning national debt, the American people are saying enough is enough."
Monday, October 12, 2009
Energy
Our Government needs an Energy Policy that protects the environment, promotes development of alternative energy sources and, utilize known oil reserves within our country that would ensure Americas Energy Independence. The Federal Government estimates that American controlled waters contain 19 billion barrels of oil and 84 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. New technology in deep-sea exploration and drilling, have found reserves in the Gulf of Mexico once thought not to be recoverable. Today’s technology now promises the development of the Bakken Oil Formation located in North Dakota and in parts of South Dakota and Montana, is believed to contain 200 billion barrels of oil. We have the oil and natural gas resources in our country to give us energy independence if our Government would adopt an energy policy that would truly embrace the goal of energy independence.
Friday, October 9, 2009
In my recent Blog I made the comment about seeds embedded in healthcare legislation. Read the following Press Release from House Rebuplican Leader John Boehner. If you agree with him its time to speak out. I have posted a link to his web page.
Boehner Decries “Phantom Amendments” Added to Senate Health Care Bill After Committee Vote
Will Introduce Resolution to Require 24-Hour Online Posting to Prevent Similar Deception in House, Allow Public to Read Bills Online After Committee Votes
Washington, Oct 8 -
WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) today expressed outrage after learning that Senate Democratic leaders quietly made more than 70 substantive changes to the text of a health care bill after the legislation was voted on and passed by the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee. The changes were made without a vote and without the knowledge of the committee’s minority members. Boehner condemned the practice of adding such “phantom amendments” to bills, and announced that Republicans will introduce a resolution that would change House rules to require committees to post the actual text of adopted bills and amendments online within 24 hours to prevent similar acts of deception.
“The American people are fed up with the way in which Congress does business. Whether it’s passing massive spending bills no one in America has read, or making secret changes to bills after they’ve already been passed by committees, ‘business as usual’ in Congress needs to end,” Boehner said. “The American people deserve a Congress that is transparent and accountable to the people it serves. The practice of secretly adding ‘phantom amendments’ to major bills after they pass committee is outrageous, and it should be banned. Americans should be allowed to read the text of all bills online within 24 hours after they are approved by congressional committees.”
According to a report by IWP News, "Senate Republicans are raising new concerns about being forced to vote on health reform bills prior to the availability of legislative text, complaining that a wellness measure unanimously agreed to during the health committee's July markup is absent from the recently released bill. Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) suggested last week that the committee's majority staff may have deliberately excluded the amendment, which passed after much hoopla over bipartisanship. The final bill was released on Sept. 17, two months after it was approved along party lines and following repeated demands by Republicans to see the final legislative text. 'I think that's an outrage,' said Enzi (R-WY), who is the ranking member on the health committee." (InsideHealthPolicy.com, October 2009)
“While the current Congress is the worst I’ve seen, it is hardly the first Congress to have a transparency problem. Republican-led Congresses fell short in this area, too,” Boehner said. “But when I chaired the Committee on Education and the Workforce [now Education & Labor], we always made it a point to make the text of committee-passed bills publicly available within 24 hours after a vote. It isn’t a difficult thing to accomplish, and it’s the right thing to do for the American people, who want government that is open, transparent, and accountable. I plan to introduce a resolution in the House that will require all House committees to post bills and amendments online within 24 hours after they’re adopted, and I hope members on both sides of the aisle will support it. It’s just common sense.”
Boehner is supporting an effort by Reps. Greg Walden (R-OR) and John Culberson (R-TX) to change House rules to require all bills to be posted online for a minimum of 72 hours before they are brought to a vote on the House floor. More information is available at http://www.gopleader.gov/readthebill/.
Boehner Decries “Phantom Amendments” Added to Senate Health Care Bill After Committee Vote
Will Introduce Resolution to Require 24-Hour Online Posting to Prevent Similar Deception in House, Allow Public to Read Bills Online After Committee Votes
Washington, Oct 8 -
WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) today expressed outrage after learning that Senate Democratic leaders quietly made more than 70 substantive changes to the text of a health care bill after the legislation was voted on and passed by the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee. The changes were made without a vote and without the knowledge of the committee’s minority members. Boehner condemned the practice of adding such “phantom amendments” to bills, and announced that Republicans will introduce a resolution that would change House rules to require committees to post the actual text of adopted bills and amendments online within 24 hours to prevent similar acts of deception.
“The American people are fed up with the way in which Congress does business. Whether it’s passing massive spending bills no one in America has read, or making secret changes to bills after they’ve already been passed by committees, ‘business as usual’ in Congress needs to end,” Boehner said. “The American people deserve a Congress that is transparent and accountable to the people it serves. The practice of secretly adding ‘phantom amendments’ to major bills after they pass committee is outrageous, and it should be banned. Americans should be allowed to read the text of all bills online within 24 hours after they are approved by congressional committees.”
According to a report by IWP News, "Senate Republicans are raising new concerns about being forced to vote on health reform bills prior to the availability of legislative text, complaining that a wellness measure unanimously agreed to during the health committee's July markup is absent from the recently released bill. Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) suggested last week that the committee's majority staff may have deliberately excluded the amendment, which passed after much hoopla over bipartisanship. The final bill was released on Sept. 17, two months after it was approved along party lines and following repeated demands by Republicans to see the final legislative text. 'I think that's an outrage,' said Enzi (R-WY), who is the ranking member on the health committee." (InsideHealthPolicy.com, October 2009)
“While the current Congress is the worst I’ve seen, it is hardly the first Congress to have a transparency problem. Republican-led Congresses fell short in this area, too,” Boehner said. “But when I chaired the Committee on Education and the Workforce [now Education & Labor], we always made it a point to make the text of committee-passed bills publicly available within 24 hours after a vote. It isn’t a difficult thing to accomplish, and it’s the right thing to do for the American people, who want government that is open, transparent, and accountable. I plan to introduce a resolution in the House that will require all House committees to post bills and amendments online within 24 hours after they’re adopted, and I hope members on both sides of the aisle will support it. It’s just common sense.”
Boehner is supporting an effort by Reps. Greg Walden (R-OR) and John Culberson (R-TX) to change House rules to require all bills to be posted online for a minimum of 72 hours before they are brought to a vote on the House floor. More information is available at http://www.gopleader.gov/readthebill/.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Socialized Healthcare
Its time we call it what it is, Socialism.
Our Politicians are manipulating us on the healthcare issue. We are told there is a crisis and they have the solution. Our Government is now telling us they are going to enforce compliance on everyone to participate in their program. The I.R.S. will have the responsibility to enforce compliance. Americans have become so irresponsible that we can’t be trusted to make our own healthcare decisions. Make no mistake; if this legislation becomes law, we will have lost the freedom to decide our own healthcare needs and options. Its time to call this effort what it is, the Socialization of our healthcare system. Our news media and Politicians in Congress purposely mischaracterize this effort. Calling it morally fair and just, based on an ideology that is contrary to the principles and moral values our country was founded on. Congress has passed legislation creating laws and regulation that have significantly contributed to higher cost in healthcare. This is where reform is needed, not legislation that will socialize healthcare.
The advocates for this legislation are not uneducated or naïve individuals, they know exactly what they are doing. Their goal is to socialize our Country. They are blinded by an ideology that believes that freedoms and liberties are not of God, but are rewards of Government to create fairness in a society. The example of healthcare in Europe and Canada are examples of Socialized Medicine. Americans do not want a socialized healthcare system. We must continue to voice our opposition to the legislation being produced in Washington. Healthcare must not go the way of our banking system or our automobile industry. Call it what it is, Socialism. The concerns express at town hall meeting that provisions in the legislation would provide coverage to illegal immigrants, limited care and treatment options decided by bureaucrats, based on lifestyle and behavior patterns, end of life counseling, direct care and treatment options away from an aging population, to the younger more productive population. Those issues of concerns have not been eliminated from this legislation. They are like seeds embedded in the language so that once it is signed into law, they will sprout and come to life as Congress will have the authority to interpret the language to include these issues. Do your research, be informed, and hold our elected officials accountable. Do not be swayed by a new image put on this legislation by the media or by politicians. It is what it is. Socialism.
Call your elected officials to stop this move toward Socialized Healthcare.
The links below will provide contact information for elected officials.
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.shtml
Our Politicians are manipulating us on the healthcare issue. We are told there is a crisis and they have the solution. Our Government is now telling us they are going to enforce compliance on everyone to participate in their program. The I.R.S. will have the responsibility to enforce compliance. Americans have become so irresponsible that we can’t be trusted to make our own healthcare decisions. Make no mistake; if this legislation becomes law, we will have lost the freedom to decide our own healthcare needs and options. Its time to call this effort what it is, the Socialization of our healthcare system. Our news media and Politicians in Congress purposely mischaracterize this effort. Calling it morally fair and just, based on an ideology that is contrary to the principles and moral values our country was founded on. Congress has passed legislation creating laws and regulation that have significantly contributed to higher cost in healthcare. This is where reform is needed, not legislation that will socialize healthcare.
The advocates for this legislation are not uneducated or naïve individuals, they know exactly what they are doing. Their goal is to socialize our Country. They are blinded by an ideology that believes that freedoms and liberties are not of God, but are rewards of Government to create fairness in a society. The example of healthcare in Europe and Canada are examples of Socialized Medicine. Americans do not want a socialized healthcare system. We must continue to voice our opposition to the legislation being produced in Washington. Healthcare must not go the way of our banking system or our automobile industry. Call it what it is, Socialism. The concerns express at town hall meeting that provisions in the legislation would provide coverage to illegal immigrants, limited care and treatment options decided by bureaucrats, based on lifestyle and behavior patterns, end of life counseling, direct care and treatment options away from an aging population, to the younger more productive population. Those issues of concerns have not been eliminated from this legislation. They are like seeds embedded in the language so that once it is signed into law, they will sprout and come to life as Congress will have the authority to interpret the language to include these issues. Do your research, be informed, and hold our elected officials accountable. Do not be swayed by a new image put on this legislation by the media or by politicians. It is what it is. Socialism.
Call your elected officials to stop this move toward Socialized Healthcare.
The links below will provide contact information for elected officials.
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.shtml
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Invitation to be a Patriot
As an organization our hope is to provide a link to all groups and citizens to be heard, regardless of politics. If you believe as we do, that our Government is taking our Country in a direction that puts America at great peril, then it has never been more important for you to act. The threat we face is real. It is as grave as any threat our Country has faced in our past. Just as past generations defended America, we must be determined to defend against and defeat the forces that would take away our freedoms and liberties as Americans. We must be vigilant of a Government that would impose tyranny on its people.
We must unite together to give our voice the volume it needs to be heard. A voice our elected officials and their political parties must hear.
Be a Patriot for this cause. Sign in with your name and e-mail address to be informed and updated on our progress and for future opportunities to be heard.
We must unite together to give our voice the volume it needs to be heard. A voice our elected officials and their political parties must hear.
Be a Patriot for this cause. Sign in with your name and e-mail address to be informed and updated on our progress and for future opportunities to be heard.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Dereliction of Duty
At one of John McCain’s town hall meetings he brought up again, the issue of special interest money in Washington political decisions. That got me to thinking, if a special interest gives money to elected officials, to get representation, just because they donate money, why can’t we the people get that kind of representation, based on the fact that we are the source of the Federal Government’s income. Is that not what they were elected to do; to recognize each one of us as a person with a special interest to be represented on political decisions made in Washington D.C.?
Their choice to benefit special interest groups over their own constituents is a dereliction of duty to the people they were elected to serve.
Their choice to benefit special interest groups over their own constituents is a dereliction of duty to the people they were elected to serve.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Government Role in Education
Public education in America today is another issue that has been taken away from parents and local school boards. Parents and local school boards must deal with government mandated programs, curriculum, and teaching methods. Today the choice of private charter schools, religious schools, and home schooling has become more popular with parents wanting a better quality of education for their children. The issue for the Federal Government is not the quality of education, but a system of Government indoctrination.
The Governments role in the beginning was to promote and establish the availability for education thru out our country.
It has evolved into something quite different today. Like the Government Run Healthcare issue being debated today, that most Americans oppose, we have no representation for less Government dictates in our educational system.
Review the history that follows and see how far we’ve come.
Source Ed.gov U.S. Department of Education
The Federal Role in Education OVERVIEWThe Federal Role in EducationOverview
Education is primarily a State and local responsibility in the United States. It is States and communities, as well as public and private organizations of all kinds, that establish schools and colleges, develop curricula, and determine requirements for enrollment and graduation. The structure of education finance in America reflects this predominant State and local role. Of an estimated $1 trillion being spent nationwide on education at all levels for school year 2008-2009, a substantial majority will come from State, local, and private sources. This is especially true at the elementary and secondary level, where just over 92 percent of the funds will come from non-Federal sources.
That means the Federal contribution to elementary and secondary education is a little under 8 percent, which includes funds not only from the Department of Education (ED) but also from other Federal agencies, such as the Department of Health and Human Services' Head Start program and the Department of Agriculture's School Lunch program.
Although ED's share of total education funding in the U.S. is relatively small, ED works hard to get a big bang for its taxpayer-provided bucks by targeting its funds where they can do the most good. This targeting reflects the historical development of the Federal role in education as a kind of "emergency response system," a means of filling gaps in State and local support for education when critical national needs arise.
History
The original Department of Education was created in 1867 to collect information on schools and teaching that would help the States establish effective school systems. While the agency's name and location within the Executive Branch have changed over the past 130 years, this early emphasis on getting information on what works in education to teachers and education policymakers continues down to the present day.
The passage of the Second Morrill Act in 1890 gave the then-named Office of Education responsibility for administering support for the original system of land-grant colleges and universities. Vocational education became the next major area of Federal aid to schools, with the 1917 Smith-Hughes Act and the 1946 George-Barden Act focusing on agricultural, industrial, and home economics training for high school students.
World War II led to a significant expansion of Federal support for education. The Lanham Act in 1941 and the Impact Aid laws of 1950 eased the burden on communities affected by the presence of military and other Federal installations by making payments to school districts. And in 1944, the "GI Bill" authorized postsecondary education assistance that would ultimately send nearly 8 million World War II veterans to college.
The Cold War stimulated the first example of comprehensive Federal education legislation, when in 1958 Congress passed the National Defense Education Act (NDEA) in response to the Soviet launch of Sputnik. To help ensure that highly trained individuals would be available to help America compete with the Soviet Union in scientific and technical fields, the NDEA included support for loans to college students, the improvement of science, mathematics, and foreign language instruction in elementary and secondary schools, graduate fellowships, foreign language and area studies, and vocational-technical training.
The anti-poverty and civil rights laws of the 1960s and 1970s brought about a dramatic emergence of the Department's equal access mission. The passage of laws such as Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 which prohibited discrimination based on race, sex, and disability, respectively made civil rights enforcement a fundamental and long-lasting focus of the Department of Education. In 1965, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act launched a comprehensive set of programs, including the Title I program of Federal aid to disadvantaged children to address the problems of poor urban and rural areas. And in that same year, the Higher Education Act authorized assistance for postsecondary education, including financial aid programs for needy college students.
In 1980, Congress established the Department of Education as a Cabinet level agency. Today, ED operates programs that touch on every area and level of education. The Department's elementary and secondary programs annually serve nearly 14,000 school districts and some 56 million students attending roughly 99,000 public schools and 34,000 private schools. Department programs also provide grant, loan, and work-study assistance to more than 13 million postsecondary students.
Mission
Despite the growth of the Federal role in education, the Department never strayed far from what would become its official mission: to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.
The Department carries out its mission in two major ways. First, the Secretary and the Department play a leadership role in the ongoing national dialogue over how to improve the results of our education system for all students. This involves such activities as raising national and community awareness of the education challenges confronting the Nation, disseminating the latest discoveries on what works in teaching and learning, and helping communities work out solutions to difficult educational issues.
Second, the Department pursues its twin goals of access and excellence through the administration of programs that cover every area of education and range from preschool education through postdoctoral research. For more information on the Department's programs see the President's FY 2010 Budget Request for Education.
The Governments role in the beginning was to promote and establish the availability for education thru out our country.
It has evolved into something quite different today. Like the Government Run Healthcare issue being debated today, that most Americans oppose, we have no representation for less Government dictates in our educational system.
Review the history that follows and see how far we’ve come.
Source Ed.gov U.S. Department of Education
The Federal Role in Education OVERVIEWThe Federal Role in EducationOverview
Education is primarily a State and local responsibility in the United States. It is States and communities, as well as public and private organizations of all kinds, that establish schools and colleges, develop curricula, and determine requirements for enrollment and graduation. The structure of education finance in America reflects this predominant State and local role. Of an estimated $1 trillion being spent nationwide on education at all levels for school year 2008-2009, a substantial majority will come from State, local, and private sources. This is especially true at the elementary and secondary level, where just over 92 percent of the funds will come from non-Federal sources.
That means the Federal contribution to elementary and secondary education is a little under 8 percent, which includes funds not only from the Department of Education (ED) but also from other Federal agencies, such as the Department of Health and Human Services' Head Start program and the Department of Agriculture's School Lunch program.
Although ED's share of total education funding in the U.S. is relatively small, ED works hard to get a big bang for its taxpayer-provided bucks by targeting its funds where they can do the most good. This targeting reflects the historical development of the Federal role in education as a kind of "emergency response system," a means of filling gaps in State and local support for education when critical national needs arise.
History
The original Department of Education was created in 1867 to collect information on schools and teaching that would help the States establish effective school systems. While the agency's name and location within the Executive Branch have changed over the past 130 years, this early emphasis on getting information on what works in education to teachers and education policymakers continues down to the present day.
The passage of the Second Morrill Act in 1890 gave the then-named Office of Education responsibility for administering support for the original system of land-grant colleges and universities. Vocational education became the next major area of Federal aid to schools, with the 1917 Smith-Hughes Act and the 1946 George-Barden Act focusing on agricultural, industrial, and home economics training for high school students.
World War II led to a significant expansion of Federal support for education. The Lanham Act in 1941 and the Impact Aid laws of 1950 eased the burden on communities affected by the presence of military and other Federal installations by making payments to school districts. And in 1944, the "GI Bill" authorized postsecondary education assistance that would ultimately send nearly 8 million World War II veterans to college.
The Cold War stimulated the first example of comprehensive Federal education legislation, when in 1958 Congress passed the National Defense Education Act (NDEA) in response to the Soviet launch of Sputnik. To help ensure that highly trained individuals would be available to help America compete with the Soviet Union in scientific and technical fields, the NDEA included support for loans to college students, the improvement of science, mathematics, and foreign language instruction in elementary and secondary schools, graduate fellowships, foreign language and area studies, and vocational-technical training.
The anti-poverty and civil rights laws of the 1960s and 1970s brought about a dramatic emergence of the Department's equal access mission. The passage of laws such as Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 which prohibited discrimination based on race, sex, and disability, respectively made civil rights enforcement a fundamental and long-lasting focus of the Department of Education. In 1965, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act launched a comprehensive set of programs, including the Title I program of Federal aid to disadvantaged children to address the problems of poor urban and rural areas. And in that same year, the Higher Education Act authorized assistance for postsecondary education, including financial aid programs for needy college students.
In 1980, Congress established the Department of Education as a Cabinet level agency. Today, ED operates programs that touch on every area and level of education. The Department's elementary and secondary programs annually serve nearly 14,000 school districts and some 56 million students attending roughly 99,000 public schools and 34,000 private schools. Department programs also provide grant, loan, and work-study assistance to more than 13 million postsecondary students.
Mission
Despite the growth of the Federal role in education, the Department never strayed far from what would become its official mission: to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.
The Department carries out its mission in two major ways. First, the Secretary and the Department play a leadership role in the ongoing national dialogue over how to improve the results of our education system for all students. This involves such activities as raising national and community awareness of the education challenges confronting the Nation, disseminating the latest discoveries on what works in teaching and learning, and helping communities work out solutions to difficult educational issues.
Second, the Department pursues its twin goals of access and excellence through the administration of programs that cover every area of education and range from preschool education through postdoctoral research. For more information on the Department's programs see the President's FY 2010 Budget Request for Education.
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