They Might Have Been Giants

 

Today the House of Representatives had the opportunity to walk erect with heads held high.  They might have been giants.  They could have listened to the people, heeded the voices they heard and walked in the footsteps of history to claim their place in the sun.

Instead they thought they knew best.  They believed they were smarter and more clever than the people who chose them.  They thought they could defeat the evil trolls and their leader the Deceiver, but they failed to understand that without the will of the people, victory (even if won) would always be hollow.

The people knew they could not win against the trolls and the Deceiver.  Those who have no principles have no enemies except principles.  Those principles must be the bedrock on which decisions are made. To stray from those principles even with the best of intentions always ends in loss.  It is like doing battle with a dragon who says,  “If you lay down your sword, we can talk about this”, but as soon as you lay that sword down the dragon consumes you in fire.

Our forefather’s knew that they had to stand on their principles.  They had little else to stand on.  They rose to the challenge.  They stood against a tyrannical empire and they emerged beaten but free.  Free to be fair and just and honorable.  They went into battle as David's and emerged as Goliaths.  Giants among men who would still be remembered by those who held true to their principles 235 years later.  Last November the People gave the House a directive,  “Stop the spending, represent us as we want to be represented and we will be loyal, support and cover your six”. 

Today the House made it’s choice.  They chose to attempt to out maneuver  the trolls and their leader rather than heed the People.  They were amazed when it didn’t work. 

There were 22 giants and 218 that might have been giants. 

I’m Just Sayin’…

I'm beginning to think that there has been subversion brewing since the 2010 election. We know the Republican Party didn't like the Tea Party candidates, but they wanted to wrest control of Congress from the Democrats because they had been effectively neutered.
Isn't it interesting that everyone's (including the old guard republicans ) demonizing the newly elected.  They are now being called conservatives (as if it were a dirty word) by their own House members.  Could it be because it was the intention all along( if they could not be swayed to join the dark side) to demonize them, paint them as extremist: discredit them so that Republican's and Democrats could get back to business as usual.  You know lining their own pockets, padding their resume's with pork and voting themselves yearly raises and benefit packages.
Since when did having principles, standing strong for those you represent, and having the courage of your convictions become a bad thing?
I believe if this situation (if analyzed) could reveal the republican's were behind Obamacare all along.  I believe they saw it as the only way out of toting the load on Medicare and Medicaid without offending the poor and the elderly.  I believe that parts of that legislation actually went so far past the scorched principles of some in congress at the time that they had to be paid off to make it more palatable (ex: the Nebraska Purchase), some even determined to retire as they could no longer stomach the legislation they were party to passing.
Now we are back in the middle of rhetoric with "A Crisis" situation and we must pass something.  There will be arm twisting, cajoling, name calling and (if what we hear about the Boeing/NLRB situation is true) outright threats.
I am proud of those new voices we sent in November.  I am proud of people like Jim DeMint, Louie Gomer, Michelle Bachman and others who have been in Washington for years and yet still hold onto their convictions and refuse to compromise them.  I thank you all and tell you that while they all are accusing you of being "CONSERVATIVES" I thank you for having backbone and being PATRIOTS who truly love your Republic.

Cheri H Dorbritz

John Boehner is Not Our Friend

 

I think this would need a great deal of tweaking to be considered acceptable.

The Budget Control Act of 2011, S. 627 as amended

FIRST-YEAR CUTS. The bill would provide caps on non-emergency discretionary spending for FY 2012-2021. The cap for FY 2012 would be $1.043 trillion, which is a $7 billion reduction compared to FY 2011. The House's appropriations process has been on course to reduce such spending by $31 billion, a number which many RSC Members felt was insufficient (The RSC budget would have reduced this spending by $71 billion). Per the bill, the discretionary cap for FY 2012 is $24 billion above the current FY 2012 House appropriations plan.

TEN-YEAR DISCRETIONARY CAPS.The bill sets discretionary spending caps that increase gradually over the FY 2012-2021 period. According to the sponsors, the total spending cuts compared to the baseline are $1.2 trillion. However, the spending cap rises from $1.043 trillion in FY 2012 to $1.234 trillion in FY 2021. This is measured as a cut because CBO's baseline assumes growth with inflation, instead of using zero baseline budgeting. Within the cap, there is a firewall protecting defense in FY 2012 and FY 2013, but not from FY 2014-2021.

BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT. The bill would require a vote on (not passage of) a Balanced Budget Amendment (BBA) in each house of Congress during last three months of 2011. If one house did pass a BBA, the other house would have to take up that BBA as-passed within 15 days. Nothing in the bill conditions the debt limit increase on a Balanced Budget Amendment being sent to the states.

EMERGENCY SPENDING OUTSIDE OF CAP. The bill allows emergency-designated spending or funding for the Global War on Terrorism to fall outside the caps. In order for spending to fall outside the cap, the President would have to designate it as an emergency and the Congress would have to so designate it in statute.

DEBT LIMIT INCREASES. The bill would grant the President an automatic $400 billion debt-ceiling increase if he certified before the end of calendar year 2011 that the federal debt is within $100 billion of the debt limit. Presumably such certification would come immediately upon enactment of this bill. The President would get an additional $500 billion debt-ceiling increase if the Congress failed to pass a resolution of disapproval, subject to expedited procedures in the House and Senate (similar procedure to McConnell plan). If the resolution of disapproval passed, the President would presumably veto it, and the Congress could only override it with a two-thirds vote in both houses, pursuant to Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution. If, after the debt ceiling is increased by $900 billion, the President later certifies that the federal debt is again within $100 billion of the debt limit, the President could request up to $1.6 trillion in additional debt, subject to the same disapproval procedures above. This debt limit increase would be contingent on the joint committee described below leading to enactment of a deficit reduction package in excess of $1.6 trillion.

JOINT COMMITTEE. The bill would create a twelve-member Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, which would be required to provide original recommendations (including legislative language) to "significantly" improve both the short- and long-term fiscal imbalance of the federal government, as well as to consider the recommendations from existing standing committees of Congress. The goal of the committee would be to reduce the deficit by $1.8 trillion. A majority of the committee (seven members) would be able to report its legislative recommendations for reducing the deficit before Thanksgiving, and such legislation would be subject to expedited consideration in both houses. The bill does not prevent the joint committee from reporting legislation to increase taxes.

MANDATORY SPENDING.The legislation provides funding to fill a shortfall of $17 billion (over two years) for the federal Pell Grant program. The bill more than offsets this spending by terminating Direct Loan Repayment Incentives, as well as subsidized loans for graduate students. Beyond that, the bill envisions any mandatory spending changes being done via the Joint Committee described above.

I think it is clear that John Boehner is not our friend.

It’s All Too Odd | RedState

I recent years I have learned to apply a test to rumors:

1) The first time you hear it or see it in print.  Ignore it.

2) The second time you hear it or see it in print.  Pay attention.

3) The third time you hear it or see it in print you can take it to the bank because it’s true.

Here is the first mention

http://www.rollcall.com/news/house_could_vote_wednesday_on_boehner_plan-207632-1.html?pos=hfph

Here is the second mention

http://www.redstate.com/erick/2011/07/25/staff-briefing-notes-on-the-boehner-plan/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

This morning I have seen the third mention  of the McConnell option appearing in print.

http://www.redstate.com/erick/2011/07/27/its-all-too-odd/

It’s quacking people and I‘m pretty sure you can take this one to the bank.  If it concerns you that this or any President would have this type of power over our debt then go home and forget about it.  If this sends chills up your spine then fax, call, tweet or in general contact your congressmen and tell them no!

I’d also like to address those of you who are concerned about getting your checks if the debt ceiling isn’t raised.

We currently borrow 40 cents of every dollar.  If our debt increases anymore without drastic cuts that bring our revenues back in line toward paying our bills.  You can forget about being concerned about your checks coming.  They won’t.  We have no money!  Think about it.  A short period of time without a check and FOREVER without a check.  If we do not bring this in line now we will all be eating garbage and no one will be taking anything to the bank.

It’s All Too Odd | RedState

New Soldiers

 

Everyday our elected officials send American men and women into war zones under the pretext that they are protecting our nation from harm.  It is not my intent to diminish the service of these brave Americans.  It is my intent to point out that there have been no wars or non wars that have been fought on foreign soil since WWII that may not have been better served to actually protect America by staying at home and building our defenses here. Still our soldiers fight to the death to protect us.

Today our elected officials were sent into the trenches to protect us from a very real threat to our nation.  Many fought bravely.  So many in fact that the bill that could have saved our nation from harm was passed in the House and narrowly shot down over the Senate floor.

You cannot give up this fight.  We know you’re tired.  We know you are frustrated.  You cannot cave.  You must run this through the House again and fire it back to the Senate.  You do not want to surrender in this battle.  The is the one battle that determines if we live under tyranny or if we emerge into the light of fiscal responsibility to be the nation we are meant to be.

Cheri H Dorbritz

I am a city girl.  Not the big city just “in town”.  I’ve been fortunate enough for many years to live rurally.  I’m never far from civilization, but I’m definitely outside the city limits.  I have been blessed with a couple of friends who are of the farming ilk and they have been gracious enough to school me in water conservation ( a must when living on a well and a conventional septic system), canning, gardening and most all things rural. 

One of these friends gifted me with a jar of worms a few years back for my birthday.  I can honestly tell you that this was hands down the best birthday gift I ever received.  Under his direction I was able to take this small jar of red worms in shredded news paper and parlay it into two functioning worm beds for myself and some for friends.  These little critters have provided me with high grade compost for my garden for literally no cost.  I feed them garbage they give me compost tea for my grapes and berries as well as compost for my garden.  My garden is raised beds (which can be problematic) and this year was our best yet despite record heat and no rain.

For many years I’ve been concerned about the hormones being pumped into our food products.  I believe this is a contributor to early onset puberty in our children and cancer in adults.  I buy hormone free whenever possible, but since I live outside a town and not a large urban center my options are limited.  A suggestion ( from of all people my chiropractor) put me on the path to an urban chicken tractor.  I began to research them and found the idea to be interesting.  Then information from a friend of a friend who actually raises chickens commercially ( it appears the aim is to get a chicken to process ready in three to five weeks time) the total lack of hormone free eggs at my local grocery and rising food prices convinced me to take the leap.

After much wailing and gnashing of teeth I finally convinced my wonderful husband to build me a chicken tractor.  It took us a month of weekends, 2 or three divorces and a lot of use of the words stupid and boob but we produced a chicken tractor. 

Ova Office VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

We shopped around for hormone free food, gathered up pine shavings, waterers, and food dishes and after a couple of weeks thought we were ready for chickens.  We took the grandkids with us to pick out the chickens ( you can’t actually pick a in the heat it’s sort of like catching fish in a tank and you give up long before the chicken does), settled on mature layers ( better able to survive the record heat) and took our purchases home to their home. 

Chickens VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

The whole point to this is that next to my worms this is the greatest thing I’ve ever had.  Foghorn Leghorn ( not actually a leghorn or a male), Chicken Hawk ( not actually a chicken hawk) and Selena Gomez (need I reiterate?) are wheeled around our 3/4 acre fenced area several times a day.  They eat, they lay eggs and someday if I have enough courage they will end up in a stock pot.  I clean the poop out of their coop a couple of times a week to put in the composter and several times a day I herd them into their coop in order for the dogs to go out (our basset hound believes they are squeaky toys made for her) and I put them up at night to protect them from predators.  Other than that they are not much trouble.  

Alright…Honestly there have been a couple of incidents.  First our grandson waited until we brought the chickens home to decide he wanted to “pet a chicken”.  Don’t ask the experienced chicken handler we purchased them from if you can pet a chicken. Wait until you get home and ask Mimi.  Having seen the claws and beaks on these birds up close Mimi had no choice but to inform him that you can’t pet a chicken.  Tears ensued and Mimi felt like a heel, but there was no chicken petting. I chose to live with the guilt of having warped my grandchild because he will be forced to grow up without having petted a chicken.

The other incident was a chicken break.  Due to my own negligence one escaped about a week after setting up house.  Selena found this extremely liberating.  She fluttered pecked and scratched her way around the yard while I built and elaborate contraption of trash cans, boards, garden carts and sheets designed to funnel her back into he home.  With a window screen in one hand and a board in the other I tried unsuccessfully for an hour in the blistering heat to heard her into the tunnel and thus into the coop from which she had escaped.

During this hour ( when I would get her just shy of the tunnel before she squawked and flew off) two thoughts occurred to me as I sweated buckets and set off to round her up again

1) If my shotgun had been handy there would have been chicken for dinner and

2) They don’t charge nearly enough for eggs.

I also wondered what the appropriate course of action should be if she decided to fly over the four foot fence and take off.  Should I put up Chicken wanted posters or act ignorant and allow her to live the life of a vagabond chicken?

Eventually my husband came home and as I herded her around the cage he opened the door and she stepped in.  It took all of 5 minutes.  I was left to dismantle my tunnel in the heat and hate his smugness.  I am much more careful now, but I am also a few steps closer to placing one in the stock pot when her laying days are over (I was initially having visions of elderly chickens hobbling around the yard living out their golden years until they keeled over dead and were buried in the chicken cemetery we’d construct on the back acreage).

I can tell you that whatever trouble they might be is totally eradicated when you open the door and there sits an egg or two.  It’s like Christmas. So if you’ve never heard of an urban chicken tractor look it up and if you live in a city especially check out red worms.  Both are easy to care for, don’t cost much and (for me at least) are a source of personal satisfaction that I can say “I did it!”.

 

 

Cheri H Dorbritz

Caveat Emptor: Boehner Says There’s A Deal | RedState

http://www.redstate.com/erick/2011/07/07/caveat-emptor-boehner-says-theres-a-deal/#postcomment

All any of us ever wanted to do was work our jobs, live our lives and mind our own business'.  Once we have been made aware of this kind of crap we are forced to FOREVER live our lives keeping an eye on the fedgov and our elected representatives.  All those people who believed they could come out in droves against obamacare and that was the end of it must surely understand that this is now a forever thing.  While we harangue the debt ceiling we are misdirected from permanent fixes to permanent problems.  Congressional term limits, flat (not Fair(please if nothing else the last 2 1/2 years should have taught us to be suspicious of anything with FAIR in the title... It would be anything but)) tax, bans on executive orders, bans on Czars, bans on nuclear options and all the many other little tricks politicians have devised over the years to stay in power, side step our Constitution and ruin our children.  No friends, if you are truly serious, if you truly believe we are no longer a free nation and if you ever want your children and grandchildren to live in the America we knew, you can never again let your guard down.

Caveat Emptor: Boehner Says There’s A Deal | RedState

Replace Boehner

I am seeing nothing roll out of the House of Representatives that makes me want to stand up and cheer.  How 'bout you guys?  We give the Republicans the largest victory they've had in years and what do we get for it?  Literally nothing.
I constantly hear Boehner talking about Obama not being a leader.  Well frankly, I don't think Boehner is much of a leader.  He has spent all his time spouting off like a gusher and then rolling over like a lap dog for Obama.
Obama commits our military and our money to a non-war in Lybia without consulting our elected Representatives (who are supposed to control the purse strings) and they do nothing.
Obama insinuates he will skirt our Constitution and borrow without our elected Representatives consent and WE THE TAXPAYER will have to pay it back and we hear not a word from them.
The Federal Reserve is running amok and our elected Representatives do nothing.
We have a Republican judge agreeing that it's okay for Obamacare to FORCE an individual to purchase healthcare and our elected Republican Representatives vote to repeal Obamacare and think that gets them off the hook.
I believe it is time for John Boehner to resign and hand the position of Speaker of the House over to someone that will actually lead as the voters had hoped they would immediately after the election.