The Violence Worker!

Who Really Wants To Bring The Country Down

For the last couple of months, the left has accused the Tea Party Republicans as being criminals, bent on bringing our government down and destroying our economy.  We are extortionists! We are terrorists!  If the country couldn't continue to borrow, our whole economic system would grind to a halt.  People would die from various privations if the debt limit wasn't lifted.  Grannie would not get her Social Security check and even Christmas was set to be canceled if we Grinches didn't step up to the plate and give Obama the authority to borrow more money.

Somewhere, someone decided we were working to bring down the government so somewhere, within in their fevered little brains, Tea Partiers became terrorists and extortionists. 

Let's look at what really is going on and what is at stake.  Let's see who really wants to bring the country to it's knees.

When the Democrats were elected en masse in 2008, their battle cry was to drain the swamp and get the profligate spending caused by the Republicans under control.  They were right.  The Republicans had spent too much and we did need to get the spending under control.  So what happened?

The Democrats in Congress never submitted a budget.  The only budget that was ever even submitted was so badly put together, it was laughed out of Congress.  The Republicans have submitted a budget since they took control of the house, but the Senate has refused to look at it and has yet to submit a budget.  All we are running on is a series of continuing resolutions that are not only the last budget of the Bush Administration, they've added a slew of increases in those two years PLUS the so-called stimulus package that was supposed bring down unemployment and jump start our economy.  We all know how that turned out.

And now, we are bleeding red ink like a punctured aorta.  For every dollar we spend, 40 cents of it is borrowed money. 

Fortunately, it was the Tea Party Republicans in Congress that saw this.  They decided they had to act and since the Democrats were not inclined to get the budget under control, something drastic had to be done.  They decided to push for some kind of spending cuts to try and get a handle on the out of control spending by the Democrats since they refused to pass a budget.

One of the complaints I heard was Why now?  Why do we have to hold the debt ceiling hostage?  My answer has been. "If not now, when?"

Throughout this whole process, there was never a serious plan put out by the Democrats.  All Obama wanted to do was raise taxes and essentially threatened to hold his breath until the Republicans caved.  He offered no other solution beyond a demand to tax the evil rich.  The Senate Democrats offered a plan so bad that even Reid wanted to filibuster it.

Essentially, what Obama wanted was just to kick the can down the road until after the election.  The result would be no change in spending and no responsibility.  We would just keep borrowing and spending until the next debt ceiling hit and presumably would just demand another "clean" raise in the ceiling.

At what point would the Democrats start to understand that we can't keep borrowing and borrowing?  Would it be when the whole damned economic system  fell down around us and we are left with nothing but anarchy?  Is that the goal? 

The real challenge to America are those who think we can just keep spending.  The real problem we face is politicians that refuse to pass a budget.  The real criminals are those that want to bankrupt us.

VW

Memo To The New Congress

Dear Congress - especially you newest members,

We elected you to do a job.  We don't want to hear any whining, we want you to get in there and start fixing this mess.  That is your mandate.  That is what we are hiring you to do.

I can only imagine how sweet and seductive is the call to spend money.  I know you want to help people.  We all want to help and we all want people back to work.  You will not fix anything, nor will one person find permmanent work because you spent a bunch of money chasing votes.

When re-election time comes around, understand that promises to do better won't cut it.  We won't be fooled again.

I don't care if Obama vetoes every spending cut bill you send him.  Let him.  If you cut the spending, let the veto be on him.  If the Democrats stall it in the Senate with a filibuster, let them live with it.  Don't let them get away with it.  You know will do everything in their power to make you look bad, don't fall for it.  Get out in front of it.

And for God's sake, keep your nose clean.  Keep it in your pants, don't fill your freezers with cash and don't feel like you have to push pork someone's way.  Be honest and stay honest.  And don't condone corruption either!  If you think it smells wrong, it usuall is wrong.

Bottom line:  Govern, don't rule!

Thanks, and best of luck!

VW

 

 

Advice From Marcus Tullius Cicero

The budget should be balanced, the treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt, the mobs should be forced to work and not depend on government for subsistence.

Marcus Tullius Cicero (January 3, 106 BC – December 7, 43 BC) was an orator, statesman, political theorist, lawyer and philosopher of Ancient Rome. He is considered by many to be amongst the greatest of the Latin orators and prose writers.

Europe Is Crumbling - Are We Next?

Much of Europe is teetering on financial collapse.  The amount of money needed to sustain their socialist welfare systems is exceeding their ability to generate enough taxes to feed the beast.  Simply put, their alligator diet far exceeds their lizard ability to provide.  Free healthcare, extravagant public pensions systems and generous welfare benefits are crushing the productive class.  The gravy train is coming off the tracks.

That's Europe, you say.  Well just how far behind them are we? 

Social Security is broke.  They are paying out more than they are taking in.  There is no lock box with your money safely stashed away.  That money is long gone.  Spent years ago.  There isn't anything left but an IOU in a binder in some office somewhere that says the government will pay it back.  The only money that Social Security now has is what you are contributing today.  LBJ opened up the lock box to fund his great society.  I read a good way of putting it once.  The government gives you an IOU buy printing a piece of paper and telling you they have the funds.  Sort of like you writing yourself an IOU for ten million dollars and then declaring yourself to be a millionaire.

Folks, we are tapped out and Washington and your state's only answer is to demand you pay more and more. 

Conservatives are often accused of being negative.  We are, if you listen to some on the left, against all of this progressive stuff they keep coming up with.  Oddly enough, one of their usual canards extolling the virtues of the socialist way is to bring up Social Security. We've tried to offer up solutions for the Social Security mess.  When we did, the liberals shot it down saying the system was fine. 

The bottom line to all of this is this:  We are approaching (if we haven't already reached it or even surpassed it) the point where our debt is unsustainable.  And by that I mean they can't tax us enough to pay for it.  My grandchildren already have a tax liability in the tens of thousands of dollars and they are seven years old and under.  Greece, Spain, and Ireland are already on the verge of collapse.  I suspect we are closer than we'd like to think.

We need to reduce spending.  Most of our spending is in the way of entitlements and frankly, we need to cut as much  as we can.  That even means me, I guess, since I get a government pension.  If that means it gets reduced, then so be it.  I'll take the pill with everyone else.

Our only real answer is to reduce the size of government and not just in nibbles, but huge bites.  When government employees are making thousands more than their civilian counterparts, we have a problem.  We also need to find a way to rein in this imperial Congress.  When Nancy Pelosi's liquor bill is more than I make in several years, we have a problem.  My company doesn't fund my beer tab, yet we apparently think it's necessary to keep Pelosi and her entourage well oiled with expensive hootch.  The Republicans are just as guilty at times thinking that we owe them all of their perks. 
The job was never meant to be a career.  Congressional pensions should be eliminated in favor of a cash payout equal to one year's pay at the end of two terms to compensate their retirement fund for their service.  If they stay after that, they get a base salary, no more retirement. 

At some point, you become a serf to the government.  You already are to some extent. Do you own your home?  Not really.  I don't care if you have a clear title and deed, you don't own it.  Don't pay your property taxes and see how quick the government takes it away from you.  The lord expects the serfs to pay tribute to live under his protection.

There ain't no free lunch, folks.  The government doesn't have its own money.  It has YOUR money.  It spends YOUR money and it takes YOUR money with the force of the law and a waiting jail cell if you don't give it to them when they ask.

The party is over and we just haven't left yet.  The hangover is coming.  Socialist Europe is crumbling and yet there are a lot of people who seem to want to push us toward that end.  Santayana admonished us that the lessons of history are often repeated if not learned.  Socialism has never worked and it won't work just because Barack Obama is now President.

VW

The Times Square Bomber

Despite my rather malicious sounding nomme de blog, I am not prone to causing mayhem or inflicting damage upon people and/or animals.  The "Violence Worker" appellation is nothing more than a tongue in cheek nod to some idiot liberal who once said that those who work for the American war machine should be shamed by calling them "violence workers" (something I read back in the 90s).  Since I spent 20 years in the USAF and now work for a major defense contractor, it seemed to fit.  Bottom line, I'm not violent.  My sister will attest that my only real claim to domestication is that I live in a house, but other than that, I'm fairly harmless.

However, if you listen to the left wing press, I should probably be on a terrorist watch list because A: I don't like Obama and B: I support the goals of the Tea Party Movement.  When the Times Square News Broke, I should have been at the top of the suspect list.  (I have an airtight alibi, just so you know.)

The press and idiots that inhabit the fever swamp known as the Democratic Underground (Go find it yourself) were all convinced it was a guy like me. Instead, it was a guy named Faisal from Pakistan. 

Never mind that there is not one shred of evidence that anyone in the Tea Party movement is planning some terrorist act, we are at the top of the list.  Young Muslim males, however, seem to be at the bottom of their list of possible suspects whenever something like this happens.

Go figure that.

VW

America Rising

This video is making the rounds.  It needs to be spread as far as possible!

VW

With a tip of the VW fedora to Bloviating Zeppelin

Labels

Scott brought up a great point in the comments to this post that I think is worth discussing.  We all use labels for things, groups, and even individuals.  My definition of a liberal or a conservative may be (and probably is) different than others - including someone who shares my world view.

I'm reminded of a definition of communication I learned at the TAC NCO Academy many years ago that really stuck with me.  It goes like this:

"Communication is achieved when the message sent is similar to the message received."

Nothing you say, write, or convey in some manner will be received by someone exactly how you intended it.  Only you fully understand the depth of your own emotions and intent.  The rest of us must try to understand your meaning given commonly accepted and learned patterns.  We listen for verbal clues such as tone and speed, or we look for visual clues in your body language, but we can never fully understand the depth and meaning of your words.  Sometimes, the clues are hard to come by.  An example might be if I say:

"Let's go to the park." 

Does that mean that I think we should drop what we are doing and go to the park? You don't know.  I might just be throwing out an idea or I might have already thought about it and I've made up my mind.  Unless I give out some other clues, or you ask me to clarify my intent, you aren't really sure what I mean.  If I'm just tossing out a suggestion and you think I have already made up my mind, it could be a problem.

And so it is with the labels we use, often casually, to catalog everything in our sphere including people and ideas.  On a certain level, it's human nature. We seek a certain order in our lives.  My desk at work is usually cluttered with papers and notes.  My desk at home seems to be a catch-all for half the house.  What matters to me is that I have everything  ordered in my head.  My space around me can be in total chaos, but as long my thoughts are organized, my external space is secondary.  Your definition of organization or need to organize might be totally different and probably is.

So when I use the words liberal or conservative, I have my own definitions.  They might be similar to yours, but not necessarily. Long ago in some forgotten English class, probably in high school or even junior high school (now called middle school in most places - see how labels change), I was taught that your writing should  be adjusted for for your intended audience.  The most obvious example of that is the difference between writing for small children and writing for adults.  Beyond that are the nuances of education level, genre, scope and message. 

Since this little dead end off the information superhighway is geared more toward people who more or less share my worldview, the language is slanted toward that group of people.  Along comes Scott whose views are not exactly quantified by the usual pigeon hole we stuff people in it and it becomes a bit more difficult to paint with the broad brush.

When I use the word liberal, I don't mean it in the Jeffersonian model.  I mean it in the Ted Kennedy, Barack Obama, Nacy Pelosi, Harry Reid model.  In other words, it generally means those who favor a larger centralized roll and involvement of the federal government in most aspects of our lives.  It includes those whose worldview says that government is fairer and that society takes precedence over the individual's desires.

Conservatism (in my definition) takes on a different view in that we see government as our servant, not our master.  We think individuals in general are far better off on their own and will achieve more and produce more if left alone. Government has it's roll and we need a certain amount to maintain civilized society, but by and large, people should be allowed to determine their own destiny.

I admit, they are somewhat vague. It seems almost an impossible task to pin them down to an exact definition that everyone will agree with.  That said, when I speak of liberals, that is mostly the idea I have in mind.  I don't think all liberals are bad, nor do I think all conservatives are good.  I do believe that most entrenched politicians in either party are generally not a good thing for either side.

I hope it "kinda sorta" makes some sense.  If not, then ask specific questions.  Otherwise, I might resort to another 700 plus word essay to try and explain a simple label.

VW

There's A Difference

I am not a Republican, Democrat or Independent.  I'm a conservative; there's a difference.

Essentially, America has traditionally been a two party system.  For well over a century, those two parties have been the Democrats and Republicans.  That's not to say that there aren't more political parties out there, but rarely does any of them play much of a role in the national scheme.  Sometimes, a third party will win a local contest, but they are generally not real players. 

For the sake of argument then, the two main players on the American political stage are the Democrats and the Republicans.  None of the other minor parties can match them in money or manpower, or the ability to get out the vote.  Given that, when most people talk about politics,they tend to divide up between the two major parties.

I was a Republican several years back.  I joined the Party and contributed money toward their efforts.  That lasted two years.  I never renewed my membership.  The reason I'm not a Republican is all too often, the party wants to be a light version of the Democratic Party.  This recent election was a good example.  The party supported Dede Scozzafava in the NY 23rd race.  Scozzafava is a left-wing radical.  As a Republican, she endorsed the entire Democrat platform.  In that particular election, she was further left than her Democratic opponent. 

The Republican leadership seems to have this idea that as long as we elect someone with an R after their name, it will be OK.  It doesn't work that way.  That is why I am a conservative.  I am not a Republican and never will be until the party comes back to its conservative roots.

The liberal lie is that the Republican Party must become more moderate.  What they really mean is that we need to be more like them.  They want to blur the line.  No, we don't need to become Democrat light.  Why bother if you are going to do that?

A recent poll suggests that Americans are more conservative than liberal.  It's time the Republicans learned that lesson and until they do, they get none of my money.  I will support individual candidates as I see fit, but I will not support a political party hellbent on becoming more like their opponents.

VW

Happy Independence Day!

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!!!!

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

233 years ago, these words headlined a document that literally changed how the world thought about government and what responsibilities government had to the governed.  This was not a laundry list cooked up over an all night ale session; this was a list of grievances presented by men who were well aware of the importance of their words.  This document was a culmination of oppressive acts committed over a period of time by a petty tyrant king.   Perhaps they did not have the prescience  to know how much their words would change the world, but they had to know how those words would effect their world.

These were not a bunch of uneducated farmers.  Most of them were classically educated men.  They were familiar with the works of Hobbes, Locke, Bacon and others.  They were the liberals of their age.  A liberalism dedicated to making men free from a tyrannical government and its lust for power, tribute and taxation.

Sadly, liberalism today is much different as it seeks to enslave mankind to a government, rather than free them from such oppression.    If we are to remain a free people, unencumbered by oppressive taxation and control of the citizenry through oppressive government meddling, we need to return to the roots of the tree of liberty. 

It will be a difficult chore as long as the news cycle is dominated by a dead, drug addicted, freak show.  It will be difficult as long as we are bombarded with the message that only government can help you or heal you.  It will be impossible as long as we are ridiculed by the intelligentsia for believing in a God and in Natural Law.  It is those two things that the Socialists fear the most.

For now, enjoy today and what freedom we have left.  We are not yet wards of the state, but it's coming.  It might be then that the tree of liberty will have to be watered.

VW

Do Not Move Left!

How often do you see left wingers advise the GOP to "move left".  Schwarzenegger said it, Specter said it and just about every moonbat in the blogosphere has said it.  We have to get rid of the religious people, we have to get rid of the neocons, we have to get rid of Limbaugh, Hannity and every other Conservative talker.  We have to quit worrying about gay marriage, taxes, traditional values, free markets and capitalism.  We need to stop trying to end abortions and keep our guns.  If we do all that, our party will come back from the dead.  If we divest ourselves of everything that makes us different from the Democrats, we will be able to come back as a viable party.

Hogwash.  Why are we buying in to this none sense?  A lot of politically stupid people try to say that there isn't a dime's worth of difference between the two parties anyway.  More hogwash!  I can personally attest to the fact that people have been saying that for decades.  It's never been true.  yes, there are some politicians who call themselves Republican, but they may as well be Democrats. 

Reagan was a conservative and he won at a time when the Democrats were screaming the same old song that the GOP needed to move to the middle.

Why don't we start demanding that the Democrats start moving to the middle? Bipartisanship in Democrat lingo is when the Republicans agree with them.  If they don't we are being divisive and the "Party of No".

America will respond to a true conservative.  Despite what the left would have you believe, most Americans are fairly conservative.  If you took a poll and asked if they supported socialism, you'd find that they really don't.  We are not socialists and most of us do not want to become like the very continent most of our ancestors ran from in the hope of a better life.  It wasn't socialism the came for, it was liberty and opportunity.  The left wing extremists in charge of the country are an anathema to those two concepts.

Do not be bullied!  Stand your ground!

VW