YOUR GOVERNMENT AT WORK

[Shammu]

Okay, y'all are seeing it first here.

Tick Tick.............

I found myself attending the Tuesday night Show Low City Council meeting to see if the board was willing to tell Congressman Kirkpatrick, "Thanks, but no thanks," as it concerned asking for stimulus money from President Obama to pay for the ice rink.

Instead, they looked me squarely in the eye and said, "Thanks, but no thanks," to my suggestion they not make the request.

Some of the council was almost giddy as they raised their hand in support of writing a letter to the president. Rennie had a maniacal grin as big as a Cheshire cat holding an inside straight in a poker game. Even Gene (who opposed the ice rink originally) couldn't wait to oppose me.

If nothing else, my opposition probably had more to do with getting everybody together on the same page than Mayor Fernau could ever have hoped for. Bob's against using the stimulus money........... we're for it.

I could point out the council was wrong, but I'm not going to. No, I've decided to forgive by offering to write the letter to the president for them.

With my tongue planted firmly in cheek, I begin............


Mr. President Barry Obama

I know you are very busy and have a lot on your plate right now. What with the economy tanking and two wars to fight, my request might seem small. So I will be brief.

Tuesday night I witnessed people in our community coming together like I've never seen before. There was talk of hope and change.

The economic catastrophe facing our nation you've been speaking about we have been living in outside of Show Low for months now. We are hurting.

The entire community would be forever in your debt if you could see yourself clear to release $49 million of the stimulus money so we might build a new ice skating rink.

Some might find it ironic that we're asking you for money for an ice rink, even though no one sells ice skates on the mountain. We're not even sure if anyone owns ice skates. Some people might be put off by those facts. Not me, nor the City Council.

Even though the mayor, Rennie, Daryl, Jack, Gery and Gene had nothing good to say about your stimulus bill, they felt they would be shirking their duties if they didn't ask for a handout. Gene even suggested we make a request for a half-billion in funding to kick start (stimulate) the local economy. I couldn't agree more.

We all feel bad about what this will mean to future generations as they work to pay off the costs associated with us using the stimulus money. But then we figure, that's their problem, not ours. Sir, if you can't send us the half-billion Gene suggested, we would definitely understand. Times are tough. However, I should point out, we're very thrifty with our money and would make the most out of the $49 million.

If it would impact your decision, we would name the rink after you...........

Sincerely,
Bob

P.S. It should be noted the council stated that if you okay the money, it does not obligate them in any way, shape or form to build the ice rink. If it's not in the cards, they would simply tell you "Thanks, but no thanks."

[nChrist]

Could you consider adding something to that letter?

JUST TELL HIM THAT WE ALL FEEL MUCH BETTER IN KNOWING THAT ALL OF THE BAILOUTS, PORK, AND STIMULUS IS WITH MONEY LOANED TO US FROM RED CHINA!!

[Soldier4Christ]

Obama Order Allows Unions to Drive Up Cost of Gov’t Contracts


The newest in his series Executive Orders that are little else but sops to unions was uncorked in Washington on Friday, February 6. This one ordered the use of union labor for large-scale federal construction projects, eliminating 84 percent of the American contractors that are not unionized.

Not only would this bill force unions on government projects, but the resulting rise in the costs of those projects would be incredible. This executive order — a re-establishment of a Clinton era order — will force federal projects to accept labor agreements and the resulting higher wages, benefits and collective-bargaining that comes with that.

Naturally, the unions love this order. But the exorbitant costs that will be forced upon federal projects will be a bitter pill to taxpayers.

It is also really an anti-worker policy as opposed to one that encourages American jobs. As president Kirk Pickerel of the Associated Builders and Contractors trade group reveals, “84 percent of U.S. construction workers do not belong to labor unions.”

Looks like Obama has once again created a policy that only benefits a tiny number of America’s work force to the detriment of most of America’s construction workers.

[Soldier4Christ]

Boxer Urges Quick Handover of U.S. Power to UN

Senator Barbara Boxer (D, CA) wants to speed the process of handing power over U.S. sovereignty to the United Nations as soon as possible by urging the State Department to come out in support of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

The UNCRC imposes on all treaty signatories power over laws concerning children and, by extension, families. The largest portion of laws concerning children and families in the U.S. are state statutes so this treaty would, in actual fact, eliminate all family laws in the various states and hand the power over this area of law to the U.N. as per the Supremacy Clause to the U.S. Constitution (Article V1) that states that treaties preempt state laws.

Boxer is eager to destroy the entire lot of family laws throughout the country supposedly to protect “the most vulnerable people of society.”

But even the new left-wing U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Susan Rice, is aware of how difficult this process could be. Calling it a “complicated treaty” and worried over the “challenges of domestic implementation,” Rice would not commit to any time table to proceeding with consideration of the UNCRC. Senator Boxer, however, demanded a 60-day timeframe for the State Department to complete its review so that ratification can move forward.

Naturally, Boxer is in favor of destroying U.S. sovereignty by implementing this unAmerican treaty.

[nChrist]

EVERY DECENT PERSON WITH ANY COMMON SENSE IN THE WORLD SHOULD SAY NO TO ANYTHING INVOLVING THE U.N. THE U.N. IS SYNONYMOUS WITH EVIL, CORRUPTION, INCOMPETENCE, COMMUNISM, AND GLOBALISM! JUST SAY NO!!

[Brother Jerry]

DW
THat was good....I have had some dealings with the folks out in Show Low and the surrounding areas.....I bet they would love a skating rink, even without any skates.  They is jus that kinda people. 

[Soldier4Christ]

GOP leader threatens lawsuit over census
White House accused of trying to circumvent process for political gain

Americans don't even start filling out their census forms for another year, but the political wrangling over the decennial population count is already well under way. Just ask Sen. Judd Gregg.

Even before the New Hampshire Republican on Thursday withdrew his nomination to head the Commerce Department, which oversees the U.S. Census Bureau, Republicans were fuming about Obama administration efforts to bypass Mr. Gregg on matters related to the 2010 census.

"How would you feel if this was [President Bush's senior political adviser] Karl Rove and the Bush White House that was handling this census? It's the same thing," an indignant Rep. Gregg Harper, Mississippi Republican, said just hours before Mr. Gregg withdrew.

The White House, meanwhile, said the director of the Census Bureau always has kept the president abreast of the agency's work and asserted that the same chain of command in existence for decades would remain in place.

"This administration has not proposed removing the census from the Department of Commerce, and the same congressional committees that had oversight during the previous administration will retain that authority," White House spokesman Ben LaBolt said Thursday.

Mr. Gregg divorced himself from the Obama nomination late Thursday, citing "irresolvable conflicts," chief among them the census. He said President Obama and he are "functioning from a different set of views" and that he could not proceed.

The census, set out in the Constitution, has enormous political impact. Its determination of overall state populations determines how many House seats each state gets, thus the makeup of the Electoral College that elects the president.

In addition, Democrats or Republicans - whichever party is in power in the various state legislatures - use the data to redraw congressional districts at both the federal and state levels to their advantage, often through the deliberate rearrangement of boundaries known as gerrymandering.

Also, the census is used to allocate federal funds, which also means a political party could steer money to districts it controls by shaping the data. An estimated $300 billion in federal funds for roads, schools, hospitals and other programs are distributed annually on the basis of the data.

The hubbub started Feb. 3, when the president nominated Mr. Gregg to head the Commerce Department.

The Republican once voted to abolish the agency, which raised concerns among Democrats, the Congressional Black Caucus and a group representing Hispanic elected officials that he would not use their preferred methods, which the groups claim are needed to avoid undercounting ethnic minorities as in past censuses.

The White House, seeking to ease that concern, released a statement late last week reassuring Democrats and others that the new Census Bureau director, still unnamed, would "work closely with White House senior management."

Republicans, wary of having a partisan official, such as White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, oversee the census, have been crying foul ever since.

Mr. Emanuel was, they noted, a former Clinton administration official famous for his partisanship; he more recently ran the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in the 2006 election, credited for Republicans losing control of the House and Senate.

"The chief of staff is the hack at the gate of the White House," Rep. Darrell Issa, California Republican and ranking member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said Thursday. "Rahm Emanuel is in fact a political animal who decides who gets time with the president for political reasons."

The Obama administration is downplaying how closely the White House would oversee the Census Bureau. The White House on Wednesday said Mr. Obama is committed to a "complete and accurate count through a process that is free from politicization." But Thursday, Mr. LaBolt added: "As they have in the past, White House senior management will work closely with the census director given the number of decisions that will need to reach the president's desk."

Rep. Lamar Smith, ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, said not so.

"We checked with the Congressional Research Service, and there is no precedent for this, despite what the administration might say," he asserted.

Minority groups, quietly encouraged by Democrats, led a charge in 2000 to challenge the census, urging that statistical sampling and computer models - not the head-count "actual enumeration" mandated by the Constitution - should be employed. That despite a 1999 Supreme Court ruling that sampling could not be used to apportion congressional seats.

"Adjusting is statistical abstraction or extrapolation that gives a select few the ability to go in after the count is done in the census and adjust the numbers and adjust the numbers in ways they see and deem fit," said Rep. Patrick T. McHenry, North Carolina Republican and ranking member on the census subcommittee.

The Republicans went so far as to threaten to file a lawsuit if the White House steps too far into how the 2010 census is conducted and counted. If the president does not relent, "we would seek the court, because ultimately I don't think there's any question among the federal court, about whether or not this is a personal power of the presidency, or in fact whether or not executive privilege would be waived if he starts doing functions like this," Mr. Issa said.

House Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner of Ohio also announced that he is creating a census task force composed of Republican lawmakers from the Judiciary, House Administration and Government and Oversight committees to oversee the process.

Even with the Gregg withdrawal, Republicans are still fuming.

"We were promised this spirit of bipartisanship, and apparently it doesn't exist in many areas and it's just a pipe dream," Mr. Harper said. "If I were standing here today and there was a Republican president, and a Republican president tried to make this move, I would be opposing that."

[nChrist]

UM? This census stuff is just another example of a long list of things that REALLY SMELL BAD. So many things smell bad in such a short period of time that the STENCH is becoming unbearable. It appears that eyes and certainly noses are beginning to open for the vast majority, and this is in less than a month.

Today is a special day - one where a massive package of CORRUPTION will be voted on by folks who have no idea what it contains. All of the PROMISES about TRANSPARENCY have been broken already, and the people don't have a clue what's being done. JUST GUESS:  if you guess that CORRUPTION AND FRAUD will be served instead of the people needing HELP, you will be RIGHT. AND, THIS IS JUST ROUND ONE OF CORRUPTION AND FRAUD. The Illinois Governor recently impeached is an angel in comparison. The MACHINERY FOR MORE FRAUD AND CORRUPTION has been put in place in Washington, and all can expect to see all they want. Giving the benefit of DOUBT will soon be erased.

[Soldier4Christ]

Obama tells Spanish radio:
Immigration reform coming
Administration plans to begin drawing up
legislation 'over the next several months'

President Obama affirmed in an interview with a Spanish-language radio show that his administration is preparing to push for a new round of "comprehensive immigration reform."

The White House confirmed to WND Obama was a guest on the Univision show "Piolin por la Manana," or "Piolin in the Morning," hosted by Eddie "Piolin" Sotelo. A transcript of the interview, however, was not posted on the White House website.

"And then we've got to have comprehensive immigration reform," Obama told the radio audience, according to a transcript. "It's going to take some time to move that forward, but I'm very committed to making it happen."

Obama further said his administration plans to "convene leadership" on the issue "so that we can start getting that legislation drawn up over the next several months."

"Comprehensive immigration reform" became catchwords in the 109th and 110th Congresses for the legislation co-sponsored by Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy and Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain to create a "path to citizenship" and a "guest worker program" for the more than 12 million illegal immigrants the federal government admits are living in the U.S.

Characterized as a "shamnesty" bill by opponents that viewed the measure as amnesty for illegal immigrants, the U.S. Senate finally defeated repeated Bush administration efforts that trace back to 2005. A June 7, 2007, vote on cloture failed in the Senate by a vote of 34-61.

During the 2007 debate in the Senate over the Kennedy-McCain bill, Sotelo used his radio show to begin a letter-writing campaign urging the bill's passage.

In a cross-country caravan journey making stops in Albuquerque, Dallas and Chicago, Piolin collected a claimed 1 million letters which he delivered June 14, 2007, to members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus as well as Sens. Kennedy; Mel Martinez, R-Fla.; Robert Menendez, D-N.J.; Ken Salazar, D-Colo.; and Arlen Specter, R-Pa.

Piolin, who entered the U.S. illegally two decades ago in a car trunk, became a nationalized U.S. citizen last May.

In 2005, Piolin used his radio show to play a major role promoting May Day rallies across the U.S. in which thousands of illegal immigrants were photographed marching under the banner of the Mexican flag.

[Soldier4Christ]

Motorsports industry blasted by new fed rule
Tens of thousands of jobs at stake, activists worry

Members of the motorsports industry are wondering why the government has adopted a rule virtually eliminating a key constituency – and possibly thousands of jobs – while at the same time developing a nearly trillion-dollar stimulus that supporters say is intended to create and protect employment.

At issue is a new federal regulation of lead that took effect just this month. The policy has virtually shut down the part of the motorsports industry that serves children under 12 who want to ride all-terrain vehicles and motorbikes, because some components of the machines – such as tire valve stems – contain lead.

"You've got a lot of kids involved in this," Don Amador, western representative for the the Blue Ribbon Commission, told WND today. "But ATVs, dirt bikes have batteries in them, components that use lead inside the valve stems on tires, lead in the electronic wiring, lead on battery terminals."

The lead ban prohibits the sale of such items, including repair parts, virtually shutting down the section of the motorsports industry that teaches a younger generation its intricacies and builds lifelong fans.

TheConsumer Product Safety Commission "has created a monster," Amador told WND.

Estimates of the impact vary, he said, but "some are saying it could be a $100 million hit in the offroad industry."

Besides retailers, manufacturers soon will feel the hit, as will other industries such as textiles, which no longer will have a demand for specialized clothing for junior participants, he said.

Right now parents who would like to introduce their children to the sport are "out of luck," Amador said.

"You can't go anywhere to buy these," he said.

So families' back-country trips are being cancelled, competitive events for youth are being dropped and sanctioning bodies are wondering how to build their schedules.

Amador's organization sent a letter yesterday to the CPSC's acting chariman, Nancy Nord, expressing its objection to the rule, which it says "functionally bans the sale of off-highway vehicles (OHV) designed for use by children ages 12 and under."

The letter cites special petitions filed by the Motorcycle Industry Council and the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America and asks for immediate action.

"BRC supports the Consumer Product Safety Commission's (CPSC) effort to minimize the exposure risk of lead in various products used by children," the letter said. "However, BRC does not support the unintended consequences of othe recent ban … which has resulted in small OHVs being pulled off showroom floors and youth OHV events being cancelled."

The organization also provides a Web link for consumers to express their opinions to the federal agency.

BRC warned that without a some sort of provision for the industry, there could be "major disruptions to enthusiasts, to the member companies' businesses, and to the companies' dealer network of thousands of small, independent businesses, which employ tens of thousands of Americans."

Missouri state Rep. Tom Self said he's already written to the federal agency. Through his website he has facilitated 53,000 demands for a change.

He said the safety measure actually could have the additional unintended consequence of creating more dangers for children.

"This issue is far reaching not only financially but also concerning safety. With the suspension of proper sized ATV's and motorcycles ... young riders will be tempted to use improperly sized and built machines which could (but Lord willing won't) lead to severe injuries," he said.

The lawmaker said a "waiver" is pending before the CPSC but needs further action.

"We need every available rider, mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, aunt, uncle and any relative, friend neighbor, business or personal contact or any person who is a legal us citizen to get involved," he said.

The industry explained that under the agency's interpretation, "engines, brakes, wheels, tires, and suspension parts on these vehicles must be tested and meet the lead standard due to remote concerns over lead exposure to children six years or older.

"While the law provides some exclusions for inaccessible components and also authorizes the CPSC to grant exemptions under certain conditions, to date the CPSC has not done so for products in the off-highway vehicle industry. This situation has resulted in HUGE inventories of products – which present no health risk to children – to be rendered retroactively illegal, and prohibits the future sale of these products because all available exemptions have yet to be clarified," the statement said.

Americans for Responsible Recreational Access also is involved in the campaign.

A spokesman for the commission told WND the problem is that members of Congress specifically created a ban on situations that would allow "any" absorption of lead, but the commission was trying to create an exemption needed for the industry.

He said representatives of the industry would be permitted to present their arguments as early as March for allowances that would restore availability of the machines to consumers.

WND previously reported when the lead testing rule threatened to put thousands of thrift and consignment stores out of business.

In that case, the CPSC relented, issuing a statement that, "Sellers of used children’s products, such as thrift stores and consignment stores, are not required to certify that those products meet the new lead limits, phthalates standard or new toy standards."

Thrift and consignment business owners were outraged after Congress passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, or HR 4040, a retroactive rule mandating that all items sold for use by children under 12 must be tested by an independent party for lead and phthalates, which are chemicals used to make plastics more pliable.

[nChrist]

YES - the green weenies are loose and are expected to do tremendous damage to all kinds of things in a time when most people are just struggling to keep their heads above water. Who knows - they might even try to ban people. It's really upsetting that these folks have been let out of their cages.

This reminds me of the wonderful new EPA regulations that closed most of the mom and pop type gas stations all over the country. The only ones left were the big boys, so the EPA was really a big benefit to NOBODY! They added MONSTROUS expenses to many tasks that were once very simple and affordable. We need more of this stuff right now like we need another hole in the head.

By the way, I refuse to hug my trees and sing to them. I'll water them when I can afford the water bill. HUM? - it seems like I remember the water bills going WAY UP after hearing the three letter "EPA". Realistically, you can expect anything they touch to skyrocket in COST.

[Soldier4Christ]

Some more hurry up before the people can do anything about it legislation and of course it is by yet another member of a communist organization.


Sen. Boxer tries to hurry children's 'rights' treaty
Opponents warn U.N. measure would put government in place of parents

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., is urging a hurry-up timetable for adoption of a United Nations treaty she says provides for "basic human rights" for children but opponents argue would destroy parental rights to raise their children as they choose.

"Children deserve basic human rights ... and the convention protects children's rights by setting some standards here so that the most vulnerable people of society will be protected," Boxer said, according to Fox News.

Boxer wants quick action on the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, a proposal on which for 20 years Congress has refused to act because of concerns and questions.

The instrument was signed by President Clinton in 1995, but opposition and critics' concerns that it would override centuries of practice, policy and law regarding children have left it unadopted.

The document would create "the right of the child to freedom of thought, conscience and religion," which critics say would usurp the role of parents in directing their children's religious training.

But Boxer said during a hearing in the Senate recently she feels a "humiliation" that the U.S. has not adopted the plan.

WND reported just a week ago one of the nation's top experts on children's rights, Michael Farris, president of ParentalRights.org and chancellor of Patrick Henry College, said the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child would mean every decision a parent makes can be reviewed by the government to determine whether it is in the child's best interest.

"The left wants to make the Obama-Clinton era permanent. Treaties are a way to make it as permanent as stuff gets. It is very difficult to extract yourself from a treaty once you begin it. If they can put all of their left-wing socialist policies into treaty form, we're stuck with it even if they lose the next election," he warned.

The 1990s-era document was ratified quickly by 193 nations worldwide but not the U.S. or Somalia. In Somalia, there was then no recognized government to formally recognize the measure, and in the U.S. there's been opposition to its power. Countries that ratify the treaty are bound to it by international law.

The international treaty creates specific civil, social, cultural and even economic rights for every child and states that "the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration." While the treaty states parents or legal guardians "have primary responsibility for the upbringing and development of the child," Farris said government will ultimately determine whether parents' decisions are in their children's best interest.

According to the Parental Rights website, the CRC dictates the following:

    * Parents would no longer be able to administer reasonable spankings to their children.

    * A murderer aged 17 years, 11 months and 29 days at the time of his crime could no longer be sentenced to life in prison.

    * Children would have the ability to choose their own religion while parents would only have the authority to give their children advice about religion.

    * The best interest of the child principle would give the government the ability to override every decision made by every parent if a government worker disagreed with the parent's decision.

    * A child's "right to be heard" would allow him (or her) to seek governmental review of every parental decision with which the child disagreed.

    * According to existing interpretation, it would be illegal for a nation to spend more on national defense than it does on children's welfare.

    * Children would acquire a legally enforceable right to leisure.

    * Teaching children about Christianity in schools has been held to be out of compliance with the CRC.

    * Allowing parents to opt their children out of sex education has been held to be out of compliance with the CRC.

    * Children would have the right to reproductive health information and services, including abortions, without parental knowledge or consent.

The government would decide what is in the best interest of a children in every case, and the CRC would be considered superior to state laws, Farris said. Parents could be treated like criminals for making every-day decisions about their children's lives.

"If you think your child shouldn't go to the prom because their grades were low, the U.N. Convention gives that power to the government to review your decision and decide if it thinks that's what's best for your child," he said. "If you think that your children are too young to have a Facebook account, which interferes with the right of communication, the U.N. gets to determine whether or not your decision is in the best interest of the child."

At a Walden University presidential debate last October, Obama indicated he may take action.

"It's embarrassing to find ourselves in the company of Somalia, a lawless land," Obama said. "I will review this and other treaties to ensure the United States resumes its global leadership in human rights."

Fox News reported the standing U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child, an 18-member panel in Geneva, would review the rights of children in all disputes.

[Soldier4Christ]

Obama seeks 'assault weapons' ban
AG: 'I think that will have a positive impact in Mexico, at a minimum'


The Obama administration has announced a sweeping plan to help curb Mexican violence across the border – ban "assault weapons" in the United States. NO LOGIC FOUND HERE!

"As President Obama indicated during the campaign, there are just a few gun-related changes that we would like to make, and among them would be to reinstitute the ban on the sale of assault weapons," Attorney General Eric Holder said in a news conference at the Justice Department yesterday.

While he said the ban would be a good move for the U.S., he also claims it will reduce the number of guns reaching Mexico's brutal drug cartels.  ONLY IN HIS DREAMS! THIS WILL ONLY HAVE GUNS IN THE HANDS OF THE CARTELS AND LAW ABIDING CITIZENS WITH NO WAY TO PROTECT THEMSELVES! AGAIN ... NO LOGIC FOUND HERE!

"I think that will have a positive impact in Mexico, at a minimum," Holder said.

Mexican officials say the desire for sophisticated guns is encouraging drug cartels to clash over access routes into the U.S.

"International drug trafficking organizations pose a sustained, serious threat to the safety and security of our communities," Holder said. "As the world grows smaller and international criminals step up their efforts to operate inside our borders, the Department of Justice will confront them head on to keep our communities safe."

Holder didn't reveal when the Obama administration will seek to reimplement the ban. In 1994, former President Clinton outlawed 19 types of semi-automatic weapons and ammunition clips when he signed the Assault Weapons Ban into law.

(Story continues below)

          

Wayne LaPierre, president of the National Rifle Association, told ABC News, "I think there are a lot of Democrats on Capitol Hill cringing at Eric Holder's comments right now."

The NRA estimates that semi-automatic weapons account for approximately 15 percent of 250 million firearms owned in the U.S.

During his confirmation hearing, Holder told the Senate Judiciary Committee the Obama administration may consider other methods of controlling guns, according to the report.

"I think closing the gun show loophole, the banning of cop-killer bullets and I also think that making the assault weapons ban permanent, would be something that would be permitted under Heller," Holder said, referring to the Supreme Court case Washington, D.C. v. Heller.

Holder, a former Clinton administration official, endorsed the District of Columbia's complete ban on functional guns in residents' homes before it was overturned by the Supreme Court. The court decided in the D.C. vs. Heller case that the Second Amendment provides an individual right to own firearms, not just the right for states to form armed militias.

"A semi-automatic is a quintessential self-defense firearm owned by American citizens in this country," LaPierre said. "I think it is clearly covered under Heller and it's clearly, I think, protected by the Constitution."

[nChrist]

Wow! - Boxer and others want to go COMMUNIST all at once.

I think this is the big AGENDA in ALL AREAS and the reasons why everything has to be SO QUICK. Don't give the people a chance to read or understand a single thing seems to be the general method of operation. (MO) is a law enforcement term that describes methods of CRIMINALS, so MO is quite appropriate in describing what our so-called government is trying to do.

Boxer - NO! - FORGET IT!

Our corrupt government and/or the corrupt governments of the UN are NOT going to RUN OUR HOMES OR BE IN CHARGE OF RAISING OUR FAMILIES! -- BUTT OUT AND STAY OUT! DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT TRYING THIS BECAUSE THE PEOPLE WON'T TOLERATE THIS OR ANYTHING ELSE LIKE IT!

Boxer - just for your information - California won't tolerate this either. If you truly want this type of system, we will buy you a one-way ticket to RED CHINA! BOXER - IN CASE YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN - THE ANSWER IS NO! - THE ANSWER WILL REMAIN NO! - PERIOD! - END OF STORY!

[Soldier4Christ]

Boxer - NO! - FORGET IT!

Our corrupt government and/or the corrupt governments of the UN are NOT going to RUN OUR HOMES OR BE IN CHARGE OF RAISING OUR FAMILIES! -- BUTT OUT AND STAY OUT! DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT TRYING THIS BECAUSE THE PEOPLE WON'T TOLERATE THIS OR ANYTHING ELSE LIKE IT!

"No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the House. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen if, entertaining as I do opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely and without reserve. This is no time for ceremony. The questing before the House is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.

Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it.

I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and the House. Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received? Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with those warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the implements of war and subjugation; the last arguments to which kings resort. I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible motive for it? Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies? No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us: they can be meant for no other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry have been so long forging. And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer upon the subject? Nothing. We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves. Sir, we have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne! In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free-- if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending--if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained--we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of hosts is all that is left us!

They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. The millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable--and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come.

It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace-- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!"

It was a fitting speech when Patrick Henry gave it and it is a fitting speech today. There are still men today who are indeed convicted of the same ideals, the same dedication to that which is morally right as there was at the time of this speech. If they attempt to take away those God given freedoms they will have a good deal to contend with.