I started this new blog with the full intent of posting something weekly or bi-weekly, depending on how much time I had.  I have failed, so far, to keep to that schedule.  I am going to try and make time at least every other week to update this blog.  There are so many issues out there to express an opinion about these days, that it's really rather difficult to decide on one.  If I wrote about everything that angers me, interests me, etc...  I'd have to post something every two or three hours!

So for this entry, I think I'm going to focus on something I just recently discovered.  I listen to Glenn Beck almost every day.  It's rare that I miss his radio show, and just tonight, I set the DVR to record his TV show every night.  I don't know why it took me so long to do that.  I guess maybe the same reason I've not kept up with this blog!  Maybe a little thing I like to call...lazy!

Anyway, he started this movement called the 9-12 Project and the We Surround Them initiative.  I heard about these for many days on his radio show and just never went out there to learn more about it.  But today at lunch time, I was reading an article by Chuck Norris on Townhall.com and in there was a link to all the Tea Parties that are going to happen on tax day, April 15.  If I have this correct, I think these are all a part of Beck's initiatives.  I clicked the link and followed the pages until I came to one for Indiana.  I have to say that I was impressed and moved by the number of people that had already singed up.  I also felt an immediate bond with them because they signed up for the same reason that I did.  Namely, that we're sick of the direction this country is heading.  Both in politics and in general.

We all see the erosion, or worse the non-existence, of American, Religeous, and Common Sense values in society and we also see the utter incompetance and corruption of our elected officials.  We also all want to see this trend come to an abrupt end, before Obama and his ilk have a chance to take us so far down the path to Socialism that we may never be able to return from it.

Glenn has stated that he will not attend or endorse a tea party if it is a partisan campaign event.  What I read today on this website, www.meetup.com/The-Indy-Defenders-of-Liberty, was anything but a partisan rah-rah party.  The general feeling is just what I described above.  People are sick and tired of working so that others don't have to.  They're sick and tired of the nanny state, of gov't bailouts, of agenda driven public offcials, etc...  We all want to ensure that our freedoms are not taken away from us.  We want the return of common sense, both in society and in gov't.

It can happen, but we must organize if we are going to be able to change anything.  I read somewhere today, and I can't recall where, that all conservative thinking people need to combine as one.  Republicans, Independents, Libertarians, etc... and form a common bond that is based on a love of this country, its history and traditional values.  But most importantly, we must come together and re-establish the Constitution of the United States as the driving force for the governance of this country.

The current band of thieves, criminals, and general dunderheads that make up our federal and state governments need to realize that we have had enough of this crap and that their elected positions are in jeopardy.  Notice I did not say jobs.  These are not jobs, never should have been treated that way and should not be allowed to continue as such.  If they don't uphold the oath of office, then they get sent home where they belong.  It's as simple as that.

So please, visit the website above.  This specific one is for the Indianapolis area, but there are groups like this all over the country.  I'm sure you can find one close to you.  Get involved and do what you can to make our voices heard, before it's too late.

Well, it’s all over. Our new president is Barack Obama. Congratulations are in order, I suppose. In all candor, it is quite an accomplishment. Many who lived through the civil rights era and since could probably not imagine this day would come in such a short period of time. It shows that this country has come along way in 40 years. So for that alone, this is a historically positive moment in American history.

All that being said, this man’s potential for leading this country’s national politics further left cannot be tolerated. This country was not founded on liberal or socialist principles and it cannot be allowed to progress any further down that path. 

Conservatives in this country need to step up. We need to make our voices heard across this land that we are now the ones who want change. We will no longer tolerate middle of the road Republicans. We will no longer tolerate liberal Republicans. Liberals and centrists already have a place in the political process and that is in the Democrat Party. If the Republican Party will no longer support strong conservative values and candidates, then maybe it’s time show them the door. We have only a short time before the next campaign begins. All of us need to do whatever is in our power and abilities to ensure that we do not continue down this path to full-fledged liberalism, or worse. 

Now that Election Day is here, and we all do our duty and vote, what do we do then?  Is this the end of it all?  It seems, in many elections, that's exactly what it is.  People pay attention to the races and the candidates for the week or weekend before the election, they go and vote, and then that’s it.  They pay no more attention to the political process until the next time around. Folks, this is exactly how the federal government has gotten as bad as it has.

What about those votes that those “fair weather voters” cast?  Do you think they were truly informed votes?  Or were they votes cast based on what the nightly news and the weekend paper told them?  If everyone voted based on that information, there would never be another Republican or conservative voted in anywhere, because that’s how biased the news media is these days.  On second thought, dishonest would be a better term to describe the absolute rejection of objectivity from the media these days.

When I described voting as our duty earlier on, that’s exactly what I meant.  It is more than a right.  It is a solemn duty to cast a vote in any election in this country.  The act itself is quite simple, unless you live in some Democrat counties in Florida.  But the preparation required to make a sound, informed, and accurate vote is a process that should never stop.  Voters should prepare for the next election every day of the week and twice on Sunday.  After church, of course!  That’s how important this process is.

If Obama wins this election, conservatives and others that love this country are going to have to be more diligent than they have ever been in order to make sure he and his party do not begin to take away the freedoms that we now enjoy as Americans.  An Obama administration, in conjunction with Democrat majorities in the House and Senate, will begin by attacking free speech in the form of the so-called Fairness Doctrine.

For those of you who don’t know what that is, I ask that you do some research and find out.  But in basic terms, it will seek to end talk radio, as it exists today.  Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Michael Savage…Gone!  Why?  Talk radio is nearly the last bastion of a free and non-biased media in this country, that’s why!  And the Democrats on the federal level have made it well known that they want it silenced.  They’ve somehow succeeded in ruining the print media and television news, with the exception of Fox News. They will not rest until they’ve ruined talk radio also.

The next step will be to revise (manipulate) the tax code so that it penalizes success and rewards sloth.  They will raise taxes on successful small businesses and large corporations to the point that small businesses will close their doors and large corporations will lay off enough workers to attempt to stay in the black.  Of course, the Democrats are fine with that because it helps to expand their agenda of creating a full-fledged nanny state.  We’ve got too much of that already.

Another little tidbit would be in regards to the Bush tax cuts.  Obama has said he will allow those to expire, which is an automatic tax increase for all of us.  But what’s worse, the Death Tax would return.  So your estate or your inheritance, depending on your viewpoint, would be raped and pillaged by the federal government.

If McCain wins, we still have to be wary of what he proposes, because he is not a conservative on all issues, illegal immigration being one of them.  At least we know McCain is a believer in this country and the Constitution.  The same cannot necessarily be said for Obama.  But what we really need to do if McCain wins, is begin to re-establish what it means to be a conservative.  And once that’s done, we need to put people in office that understand what we expect out of a conservative elected official. 

Today’s Republican Party, in many cases, is not conservative.  George W. Bush, for all his great work, is not a conservative.  He may be a social conservative in some respects, but he is not a fiscal conservative.  Being labeled a conservative ought to mean that you are conservative across the board, not just when it’s convenient for garnering votes at election time.

The government needs to shrink, spending needs to be reduced, legislative controls over our lives need to be controlled and in some cases reversed.  Basically, the government needs to go back to what the Constitution says it is responsible for and get its nose out of everything else.  I know that could take years, if not generations.  But it needs to happen if this country it to succeed.

The hard work all starts today, regardless of the outcome of the election. We cannot wake up tomorrow and forget about it all until 2012.

 My issues with Obama:

 1) Won't wear a flag pin because he doesn't want to be seen as 'choosing sides'. If you want to lead America, shouldn't you be on OUR side? Just a thought . . .

 2) 95% of Americans will get a tax cut. 40% don't pay taxes to begin with, yet they're going to get a check. Socrates said (essentially, not verbatim) Democracy fails when the people realize that they can vote more money for themselves. Hell, if you're not paying taxes and someone offers you a check, why wouldn't you vote for them?

 3) The moving scale 'those under 250,000 get a tax cut', 'those under 200,000', 'those under 150,000', and most recently, 'those under 120,000'. Since when is it the governments responsibility to decide how much you can earn before you're penalized? People stop taking risks when you take away the reward. Without risk-takers, innovation grinds to a halt, job growth ceases, and we all lose. If you penalize people for making more, they'll stop striving for excellence.

Afterall, if I can make 119,000 and bring home 83,000 why should I bust my butt to make the extra 1,000 and bring home 72,000?

 4) Raise the minimum wage to 9.50. If 9.50 is good, 109.50 is even better, right? The notion that people have no choice but to support their families on minimum wage jobs is ludicrous. Most of those jobs are entry level fast-food, wal-mart type jobs. BTW - who do you think buys the goods and services provided by these entry level jobs? We ALL do. Now the cost of everything has to rise to keep up with the additional wage expenses. So, you get paid more (but be careful you don't get paid too much, remember the taxes!) but the cost of everything you buy is now higher! How is that a win?

 5) We'll raise the corporate tax rate. Idiot. Business do NOT pay taxes. The people who buy the goods and services from the business pay the taxes. It ends up included in the price. Businesses MUST make a profit. Anybody who thinks profit is a bad word, pay close attention to my next sentence. Unprofitable businesses go OUT of business that means people lose jobs.

 6) I'm going to bankrupt the coal companies. Clean coal currently provides a significant portion of the energy our country uses. A President who's goal is to 'bankrupt' any industry is unqualified to lead. What will happen to the coal workers in West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and other parts of the country? That's ok, they can use there coal mining expertise to . . . uh, to . . . uh, any help here?

 7) The Employee Free Choice Act. This bill would eliminate the SECRET ballot for Union voting. No big deal if you already are in a union or run a union business. Huge deal if you're a small business owner with any employees. What kind of pressure do you think will be brought to bear on anyone who votes against union membership? What then would happen to the small businesses, struggling to compete, who are faced with the massive restrictions unions place on growth? What about companies like Honda who build cars here in America free from union influence, and do it well? I'll tell you what happens, you go out of business or move your operations to a more friendly country. More job losses.

 8) Supporter of partial birth abortion and infanticide of those who survive abortion. If you haven't read about the practice of partial-birth abortion, I'm not going to sicken you with it here.

Anybody who understands this practice would be appalled that it's legal. Even worse is his support of killing any babies that survive an abortion. If we can agree to the slaughter of the most innocent of us humans, than who's next?

 I'm not even going to get into his questionable associations or his foreign policy, other than to say that the company you keep matters.

It speaks to your character and your ideals. And don't give me the race crap you sometimes hear. It's not the color of his skin, it's the content of his character that most are judging him by.