Twenty Four Months And Counting!

I, like most of you, would rather have been going along with life as usual, but have found that to be extremely difficult for the last twenty-four months. I am a 51 year old small business owner, who loves God, my Family, my Country, and my Freedom. I have had to make a commitment, to either fight for our Freedom, or keep going and ignore the truth about what is happening in our country today, wondering can I make a difference.

January 2009, two years ago, I did decide to commit to step up, and dedicate my free time to make a difference. Well, as it has turned out, it took way more than my free time. I will also say, I would have it no other way.

This past two years I have been to Washington, DC on no less than on ten occasions for rallies, delivering petitions, visiting our representatives, the Swearing-In Ceremony on Jan. 5, 2011, and the first Senate Tea Party Caucus. I had not been to Washington D. C. five times in the last thirty years. As a common sense conservative, I consider myself a huge grassroots activist if you want to call me that. I used every chance I could, to be involved and be educated about the issues at hand. I have really felt like I was in a war, with many battles at hand. Winning them one by one, knowing another one was ahead to fight, all along making friends all across this great land.

Well, let me tell you, "WE THE PEOPLE" have made the difference. This war is not won on the back of one American, but on the backs of many. As most of you know, the sign I rallied with on many occasions in DC said “ Take the Hill, America, Take the Hill”. This was proven on Nov. 2, 2010 when all our efforts took back the House of Representatives in Washington, DC. Because I love America, and the Freedom it stands for, and I will not sit back and watch our country be mandated, and force onto the citizens changes that are in direct conflict with the Constitution, The Bill of Rights, and The Declaration of Independence, our forefathers founded this country on.

August 15, 2010 began an endeavor that took me to 48 states in 77 days, rolling 15,600 miles to bring awareness to the destruction of our Constitution. I thank you America, for supporting the Constitution Ride Across America, and all that come out to "Rally Up" when I rode into your state capitol. With the final rally ending in DC on Oct. 30, 2010, I inked on the Constitution Resolution For America, signatures of legislators in 42 of the 48 state capitols I rallied with you in. The success of the ride happened because you to love America. The success of Nov. 2, 2010, was because, you, just like I, never gave up and believed that we could “Take the Hill”.

Daren Gardner
Constitution Ride Across America
http://www.craa2010.com/

The Alternate Reality Files by Julie Ranson

I don’t know about you, but the list of political events in recent weeks completely amazes me by its scope and its absurdity. I have commented to others that it feels like we’re living in a parallel universe. It appears that part of the mystery of all that is Washington DC is starting to clear up: those folks in D.C. live in an alternate reality, no doubt about it now. And the liberal media? Yes, they too reside in that specially scented air of the alternate reality. With all the troubles this country is facing right now, our Congress takes time to celebrate this.

In mid-February, Joe Sestak (D-PA) dropped a bombshell when he revealed that he’d be offered a job by the White House in return for him dropping out of a primary challenge against Arlen Specter (D-PA, formerly R-PA). For the past three months, the WH has dodged explaining this story. We were assured by a variety of WH folks, President Obama included, that “nothing improper happened” as if we’d all just blindly accept any White House’s internal investigation of itself! (See first paragraph about alternate reality.)

This past Friday, it was reported that Rep. Joe Sestak would not have been eligible for a place on the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, the job he was supposedly offered by WH emissary, the former President Bill Clinton. So, they take three months to come up with a “good story” that isn’t very good at all.

Immigration continues to boil on the front burner in the news and in the hearts and minds of the American people. I saw a sign over the weekend at the anti-AZ immigration law rally – “Stop ripping apart families.” Isn’t that what we do when we send fathers or mothers to jail for their crimes? You know that old saw, “If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime.” Proposed by George Will (and this writer), one solution to this sticky problem for those illegal immigrants creating families here in the USA is to end the birthright citizenship of children born to illegals.

This past week we glimpsed the alternate reality called the House of Representatives with a visit from the president of Mexico. Calderon took several opportunities to condemn the new immigration law in Arizona at the White House and in the House. In fact, the Democrats in the House gave him a standing ovation! I ask....Where am I?

For those of us interested in retiring at a decent age, the tanking of the DOW to its worst levels in 70 years caused much consternation. “U.S. stocks slid, capping the worst May for the Dow Jones Industrial Average since 1940, while the euro slumped and Treasuries rose as a downgrade of Spain’s debt rating and escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula triggered a flight from riskier assets. The Dow tumbled 122.36 points, or 1.2 percent, to 10,136.63 at 4 p.m. in New York and lost 7.9 percent this month.” For the last two years, investments have taken one step forward and two steps back far too often. What we need is some evidence of a growing economy, not just promises.

I started this blog post intending discussion of six news topics for which I have some passion. So overwhelming is this political theatre I daily observed, I can illuminate only three for you this weekend. While I would never disparage the World Wide Web, it goes without saying that the availability of information from myriad of sources and perspectives is a significant distraction to us mere mortals. Wait a minute, that’s not me talking; that’s what Obama said at a recent commencement address. I don’t agree with Obama about much and, as an academic, I could not vilify “information” anyway.

One problem with information is what we do with it. With the advent of the Web and the 24/7 cable news cycle, overload is inevitable for those of us who devour it. Here at Citizen’s Roundtable, our purpose is to educate. So, here’s a tip, fellow citizen: Find the area where you have the most interest and become an expert on that topic. Use a variety of sources; and for heaven’s sake, don’t quote a story told by a television or radio personality unless you’ve checked out the information sources for yourself first.

Julie Ranson is a community college business professor in Virginia.

Out with the old, in with the .......old? by Julie Ranson

In January 2009, with New Year’s celebrations still fresh in Americans’ minds, CHANGE arrived in the form of a new president. Barack Obama’s historic election held the promise of so much – a fresh approach and the end of politics as usual. Besides promising to “fundamentally transform America,” our President promised a new climate of bipartisanship and a new way of doing things in Washington. In particular, he promised a change in legislative earmarks, stating on numerous campaign stops how badly this process needed to be “changed.” That Senator Obama (D-IL) displayed beside his Grammy a “trophy in earmarking” for his home state of Illinois to the tune of one-billion-plus-dollars escaped the logical processing of a sycophantic press and electorate. Barely off his Inaugural high, Obama signed the Stimulus Bill containing thousands of earmarks! That’s not change, my friends.

The greater pledge of a transparent government has also been invalidated. No healthcare deliberations have been held on television (just in backrooms and closed-door meetings) nor have Americans been able to view bills for at least five days before legislative voting. Perhaps the only transparency to cite is the fact that even liberals and some media are starting to see right through this administration!

"That's what I will do in bringing all parties together, not negotiating behind closed doors, but bringing all parties together, and broadcasting those negotiations on C-SPAN so that the American people can see what the choices are, because part of what we have to do is enlist the American people in this process," Obama said at a debate in Los Angeles on Jan. 31, 2008.

The special interests and lobbyists, he said, "will resist anything that we try to do ... And the antidote to that is making sure that the American people understand what is at stake."

While those who did not vote for Mr. Obama are not surprised by his lapses in honesty and fair representation, many were greatly astounded and angered by the lack of response from our other so-called representation in Washington. No amount of protests, phone calls, letters, visits, and emails seemed to sway those hell-bent on helping our “historic” president achieve his leftist agenda. This lack of responsiveness from our “representatives” gave rise to numerous groups. One such group formed this blog and we continue to write and post videos to educate, inspire, and motivate American Patriots wherever they are!

As we end this year (and yes, thank heavens, it’s really over!!), we have much to reflect upon and much to look forward to. While it has been exhausting for so many patriots to do the extra work of complaining couch potatoes everywhere, we have accomplished much and the new year holds great promise for the work of average American patriots who are determined to return this country to its foundational principles.

If you don’t know what is going on at the state level, you need to learn about it....NOW. Get on patriot email lists, find the legislative websites for your state and follow them closely, and get involved hands-on with a group that will keep you motivated and informed. (And please keep visiting this blog, too!)

I wish all of our readers a blessed 2010. I wish for America “Real Change” that will take us back to the principles and values of our Founding Fathers. That’s the “old” we want to usher in for 2010. Wishing isn’t enough, of course, so I challenge you to do more as a patriot in 2010.

Tricking the People: Same ol’ Health-scare, but likely worse… by Julie Ranson

As is usually the case with thorny political issues, our government continues to change the terminology used in the healthcare debate. We’re no longer talking of healthcare reform, it’s now health insurance reform. It’s so much easier to demonize those greedy, mean, benefit-denying insurance companies. Since the insurance industry is the entity with which the liberal left so desperately wishes to “compete,” the Washington leadership has quit throwing doctors under the bus by accusing them of wantonly ordering tonsillectomies and foot amputations. It's the insurance company's turn to get beat up by politicians!
We do need to talk about healthcare and health insurance reform, but... with doors wide open, minds open, and fair debate about free market principles within the healthcare industry. Cries of “foul” have emanated in this lengthy fight because of the phrases like, “government takeover” and “government-run,” as the liberals vow they have no desire for a full-fledged government program (e.g., single-payer). But the facts remain that free-market principles are being flouted in favor of solutions prescribed and managed by the government, designed to move this country to a single-payer system in a decade or so.
The evolution of our insurance system from private industry to a government-payer system WILL come to pass should the public option (now called consumer option by N. Pelosi) be included in any reform legislation. Congressional liberals have been throwing the term “competition” around a lot, as though the government can function as a competitor in the health insurance field. You and I know it will not work out well for the insurers, right? Consider a basketball game where the players are insurance firms and the referee is the government. Now, what if the referee decides he also wants to play in the game? He’s calling the game, interpreting the rules, and making plays. If you were a player, you know exactly how angry you’d likely be at any given moment in that game, don’t you? It wouldn’t be fair and it would not be a real contest. David St. Clair describes how “competition” in rate setting will eliminate private insurers:

A government-based health insurer modeled after Medicare would possess Medicare’s distinct advantage over private insurance companies: the ability to use the power of the law to set rates of reimbursement to doctors, hospitals and other care providers. Private plans, in contrast, are forced to negotiate these rates. The significance of this disparity was captured in a study by Milliman, Inc., last December which revealed that private plans shouldered a $90 billion annual cost-shift from Medicare/Medicaid. A public plan’s ability to use the legal authority of the federal government to set whatever rates it chooses, as Medicare does, would effectively eliminate any chance private plans have to be competitive. Contrary to what the Times’ editorial states, this would indeed serve as a death knell for private insurers as we know them.

While we might not come to a conclusion about what is perfect in healthcare reform, clearly we can agree that the liberals in Washington have absolutely no idea how doctors work and how the free market works. It could be they don’t care much about the free market system that has brought us choice, opportunity, and prosperity. Regardless, a lack of understanding and a lack of appreciation for the system that makes America great are still shameful behaviors for elected officials.