A trip to Costco - courtesy of you and me

This morning after church I made a trip to Costco. As usual, it was packed. When I finished my shopping I headed for the check-out area. I ended up in line behind what seemed to be a healthy, able-bodied, attractive woman of about 30. She had two carts full of groceries, with a cute baby riding in one of them. This woman wore fashionable clothes, accented by a fully-loaded Pandora charm bracelet.
When all of her groceries had been rung up she told the cashier "put the first $300 on my EBT card and the rest on my American Express card." (those are words that I confess I never thought I'd hear in the same sentence - "my EBT card" and "my American Express card"). She completed her check-out, and I completed mine. We both got in that Costco line to have our receipts and carts inspected before leaving, and then headed for the parking lot. Her car happened to be parked right in front of the store. It was a brand-new Ford Expedition (minimum MSRP about $40,000).
There is no doubt that there are truly needy people among us, and those in true need should surely be helped by their fellow man. But was EBT (a.k.a. the Food Stamp program) really meant for people with American Express cards, fully charmed-up Pandora bracelets and new Ford Expeditions?
A relevant quote on this topic is attributed to Benjamin Franklin. It states "when people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic." If people can carry American Express cards, wear expensive jewelry and drive new $40,000+ cars and still qualify for EBT - the heralding may already have begun.

My Ongoing Dialogue with My Senators

I'm not sure why I keep doing it, since my Senators are so incompetent and uncommunicative, but for some reason I feel compelled to at least attempt to get through to them. The latest effort is below:

Senators Warner and Webb,

We begin another day with more talk from the democrats, but no leadership and no solutions.

Are Obama and Senate democrats actually capable of anything but ceaseless sniping and demagoguery?

Let's review some facts:

• ·         You both voted for Health Care " reform", after a process during which Republicans were literally locked out of meetings. This was a fine example of how you democrats define "compromise" - and a major contributor to our current economic woes.

o   on a side note, can you tell me where I get my waiver from Obamacare, since you all seem to be passing those out like candy to your pals?

• ·         The Senate has failed to meet its Constitutional  duty and pass a budget for well over 2 years.

o   Obama did submit a "budget" - but it was so reckless and irresponsible it didn't even get a single vote in the Senate. Not even from you two - which is saying something given your records of voting for every statist solution he has put forth.

• ·         The House has passed a budget, which Harry Reid refused to allow a vote on in the Senate

• ·         The House passed Cut, Cap and Balance, which Harry Reid refused to allow a vote on in the Senate.

• ·         The House has passed the Boehner bill, which Harry Reid refused to allow a vote on in the Senate.

There seems to be a distinct pattern here. Democrats propose no specific answers or solutions, refuse to even listen to Republicans, denigrate alternative solutions and palaver about the need for "compromise" (which is apparently defined in Obama-world as doing exactly what he and Senate democrats want) and then take their ball and go home when they don't get exactly what they want.

To quote Obama - it is time to act like adults. Do your jobs. Stop spouting useless nonsense about your pursuit of "economic fairness and social justice" - goals you can't even define in any way you can be held accountable for  but which I'm sure make you appear noble to people not paying attention to what you're actually doing - and get to work. You democrats have created this mess. Since you took over Congress in 2007 the debt and deficits have skyrocketed, accelerating our collision with the debt ceiling and contributing mightily to the debt crisis. You are part of the problem. Asking Virginians to believe you can be part of the solution is patently absurd. So if you can't be part of the solution, at least get out of the way so you don't continue to exacerbate the problem.

I wrote you both a couple of days ago asking if you could provide me with the specific details of the "plans" Obama and Reid have for reducing the debt and deficits. I am of course shocked that neither of you replied. Probably tough for you to answer though, I suppose,  when there is no answer to give.

I'm not holding my breath on getting responses, but if I do I'll post them.

Correspondence with my Senator

This morning I received an email from Senator Mark Warner entitled "A grown-up discussion about deficits". Since any democrat in Washington talking about a "grown-up discussion" about anything strikes me as supremely ironic and absurd, I could not let this pass without replying to the Senator. Here is that reply:

Senator Warner,
I received your email entitled "A grown-up discussion about deficits". I hope you can understand how a voter would see such a message coming from you as completely absurd. You voted for every one of the Obama programs that has accelerated at an unprecedented rate our drive into the fiscal ditch. And now that the political winds have shifted you have the gall to suggest voters should turn to you on matters of fiscal responsibility? What a sad joke.
And can you not see the irony of a democrat calling for a "grown-up discussion" about anything? It was the democrats who locked Republicans out of House chambers during the health care debate, and democrats in Wisconsin and Indiana who have abandoned their posts because things weren't going the way they liked. Obama was caught on video early in his reign telling John McCain "the election's over. I won" - implying that Republicans should shut up and behave and let Obama do as he pleased. And you supported him with your vote on every ridiculous, irresponsible initiative. Now the shoe is on the other foot - and the democrat response is to take their balls and go home pouting.
Senator Warner, you and your fellow democrats are the source of the problem. It is patently absurd for you to come to the voters now and suggest we should look to you for leadership on the solution. Your comment about "the simple fact is, drastic and even painful cuts to these programs alone will not fix our structural budget problems" is the classic democrat dodge and your usual excuse for doing nothing and kicking the can down the road. Nothing that you will suggest will, "alone", fix our fiscal problems, either. Does that mean that unless a single solution can fix it all we shouldn't do it? Or is it just that democrats lack the courage and integrity to actually "cut" anything (as opposed to reducing the rate of growth and claiming you made "cuts")?
It's a sad time for our republic when Congress is populated with people so blinded by ideology, so hypocritical and so grossly incompetent to have created this problem in the first place. And to then suggest those same people should be relied upon to fix it is beyond belief. Obama created more debt in two years than all prior administrations in the entire history of the country - and you voted for every bit of it. Please spare me and the rest of Virginia voters the claim that you can be part of the solution.
Thank you

 

The sad part is there are people out there who will take Warner at his word and believe he's really trying to fix the problem. Unbelievable.

An ObamaCare Thank You to my Senators

I wrote the letter below to my Senators, Warner and Webb, to thank them for their efforts on health care reform. You'll likely enjoy and appreciate it more than they do.

Senators Warner and Webb,

 Thank you very much. I just received the annual enrollment form for my 2011 medical insurance. My premiums will be rising by 31%, which my plan administrator attributes largely to the impact of ObamaCare. You both voted for ObamaCare, without the benefit of having read it, so I believe I have you to thank for this 31% increase in my costs. I’m not sure whose cost curve is getting bent downward, but it sure isn’t mine.

 My 31% increase in medical insurance premiums is not unique, of course. This is happening all over the country to all kinds of people (except you, I’m guessing, since Congress has a tendency to exempt itself from the negative impacts of its own decisions). Besides the dramatic increases in premiums, other reactions to ObamaCare include entire plans being eliminated and insurance companies leaving markets entirely. These actions will of course reduce competition and increase cost, the exact opposite of what Obama and his lapdogs in Congress cynically predicted. Is this the “economic fairness” and “social justice” that Senator Webb ceaselessly palavers about?

 It doesn’t take an actuary to forecast what ObamaCare will actually do. Options will be eliminated; costs will go up as more medical demand chases less supply; insurance companies will collapse as costs are shifted onto private insurance policies since Medicare and Medicaid reimburse below cost; and people will be forced into government-run health care. This is happening now, years before the most onerous and anti-capitalist provisions even kick in.

 So I have to ask you: was Congress (not having read the bill before passing it) really oblivious to the easily predictable consequences of ObamaCare, or was Congress actually on board with what Nancy-Ann DeParle has acknowledged was the White House plan all along – to collapse the private insurance market and force everyone into a single-payer system? Neither answer speaks well of you or your colleagues, but it would be nice to get an honest answer just once.

 Something you might want to consider: Obama and Congress are no wiser, no less greedy, no purer of motive, and no more worthy of trust and respect than the American people you treat with such condescension and disdain. Which is why you deserve no more power than the Constitution specifically grants you. Being Senators, and specifically Democrats, I have no expectation that you’ll actually take that to heart. But it needed to be said.

God Bless America

 

A recent piece from the Heritage Foundation entitled "Constitution Day and the Perilous Future" is worth taking a minute to read. The issue at hand is critically important (especially for the younger folks!)
 

I've also provided a link to the U.S. Constitution. That too is worth taking the time to read.

My kids have often chided me for being too political. I can't say I completely disagree, but I think the bigger risk is in not being political enough. If Americans are not involved (political) enough we risk ending up exactly where Jefferson and later Reagan predicted - with a government big enough to give some people all they want and take from other people all they have.

The bottom line is this: those who run our government, regardless of what party they belong to, are no better or smarter, no more honest or ethical, no more caring or compassionate, no purer of motive and certainly no more worthy of the trust of the American people than the American people themselves. Which is exactly why they should have no more power than they are specifically granted in the Constitution. 

If Americans can trust God and themselves more than they trust their alleged "betters" in government, and act upon that faith in God and country, we can rebuild our country and restore its Constitution before they get transformed into something true patriotic Americans would no longer recognize. 

God bless America