My Citizen Mandate to the 112th Congress

Citizen Mandate

Steve Elliott of Grassfire Nation has developed a tool, which would allow someone to communicate to Congress, and especially the presumed Speaker of the House John Boehner, exactly what the average conservative, Christian and Tea Party participant expects from the new Congress. He calls it a “Citizen Mandate.” You can find this tool here. 

November 2^nd was merely the beginning step to setting our government straight. There needs to be much effort ard work on the part of every citizen patriot between now and the next Presidential election.

Grassfire Nation’s tool allows you to customize your concerns and is the first step in holding the new Congress accountable. I urge you to strongly consider utilizing it. It is free. However, if you want to send a fax to a number of Representatives, then the tool also allows you to do that.

In response to the major G.O.P. gains at the polls, I am issuing my personal "Citizen Mandate" to the newly elected 112th Congress to outline my top priorities for the coming months. Therefore, my particular mandate includes the following:

My CITIZEN MANDATE on government run healthcare:

• I am calling for ObamaCare to be REPEALED and REPLACED with market friendly reforms that do not add any unconstitutional mandates or burdens on the American people or business
  

My CITIZEN MANDATE on illegal immigration:

• Border security must be increased and those in our country illegally should be punished to the full extent of the law and deported.

My CITIZEN MANDATE on the federal debt:

• The federal debt is a serious problem but the answer is not higher taxes. Instead, we must cap spending and grow the economy.

My CITIZEN MANDATE on government spending:

• Government spending is out of control and should be limited by law or Constitutional Amendment to no more than 20% of the prior year's Gross Domestic Product.

My CITIZEN MANDATE on TARP and other government bailouts:

• Federal bailouts of the private sector such as the TARP program must be stopped immediately and any unspent funds returned to the taxpayers.

My CITIZEN MANDATE on taxes:

• I oppose any and all new taxes and want the Bush Tax Cuts made permanent

My CITIZEN MANDATE on government takeover of industry:

• The federal government should cease and desist its socialistic takeover of industry and return companies like General Motors, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac to the private sector.

My CITIZEN MANDATE on welfare and entitlement programs:

• Social welfare and entitlement programs are undermining the long term solvency of our nation and must first be capped and then reduced. 

(Although not requested in using the Citizen Mandate Tool, beyond the most important issue of concern to me, I have placed the following issues in order of importance to me. I would like to see Congress act on these issue, which they have failed to consistently do under either Republican or Democratic leadership.) The issues I believe are important for the new Congress to address:

• (#1)   No taxpayer-funded abortions in any federal legislation or programs. (This means de-funding of the Planned Parenthood Federation of Americ and all similar funding. Currently this obscene organization receives  1/3 of a billion dollars from government! Put a stop to all Pro-Death Embryonic Stem Cell Research Life is the single most important right identified in the Founding documents of this nation. Life is the most basic of rights given by Almighty God and not by any temporal state.)
• (#2)   Repealing ObamaCare. (This is a deficit increasing, big government scheme to control the health of American citizens, it has little to do with improving healthcare quality or costs. It is one of the gravest tragedies perpetrated on America, ever.)
• (#3)   Securing our borders and stopping illegal immigration. (The new conservative members of both houses of Congress will need to contend with both the country club liberal Republicans like John McCain as well as Democratic leaders Reid and Pelosi. One of the first battles will be the DREAM Act. The 111^th lame duck session will attempt to pass this amnesty in disguise bill.)
• (#4)   Strengthening our defense against radical Islam's war against the West.  (The current government policy of ignoring Islamo-terrorism and appeasing that enemy must stop. We must acknowledge the enemy and readjust our Homeland Security and other federal agencies to profile those most likely to be America’s enemies, not grandmothers!)
• (#5)  Reducing the deficit and government spending.  (We must take dramatic, sacrificial across-the-board reductions in all areas of government. We must prepare a balanced budget sooner, not later. We must start by de-funding the unnecessary and wasteful programs such as the Department of Education, the EPA, funding the United Nations, funding Public Broadcasting, the National Endowment of the Arts, etc. We must go to a zero based budget approach, where every program and agency is questioned for the need of its continued existence. Congress should squelch all calls to give any pay increases to federal workers, instead there should be a review of all salaries with possible reductions for those made since the President took office if found to be excessive. Congress should freeze wages their wages and the wages of all government workers. This will be difficult, but necessary if we are ever to get the National Debt and our Deficit under control. Let’s start now!)
• (#6)   Maintaining the tax cuts for all Americans.  (Make the Bush tax cuts permanent.)
• (#7)   Halt the advance of the homosexual agenda.  (This is not included on the Grassfire Nation’s list of key issues, but it should be. It is on my list. “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT)” should not be repeal. The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) should be strengthened, not done away with. Employer Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) should be scrapped once and for all. All pro-homosexual policies throughout government should be rooted out and curtailed.)

The above seven issues are inter-related and they are a balanced mix of social, fiscal, and foreign affairs, which are of concern to many Christians, Conservatives and Tea Party Participants.

The following issues will be taken care of as Congress deals with the seven key issues identified above:

• (#8)    Safeguarding individual liberties of citizens
• (#9)    Restoring limited government under the Constitution
• (#10)  Limiting the size and scope of government
• (#11)  Stopping the war on small business
• (#12)  Stopping the Socialist push to remake our nation

Sen. Jim Bunning makes a pitch for accountability

Here is a annoying fund-raising letter I received from a typical Democratic candidate, who blasts Senator Bunning for wanting to know how a bill will be funded before agreeing to allow it to move forward.

A Republican Senator's act of blocking an emergency extension of unemployment benefits reveals how out of touch the GOP is with the plight of out-of-work families and confirms that we need to hold our Senators and would-be Senators accountable by looking at their campaign reports.

Dear Greg,

Last week retiring U.S. Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY), managed to halt an emergency extension of unemployment benefits and COBRA assistance, even though he knew they'd expire on Sunday night. He punched hundreds of thousands of out-of-work Americans right in the gut.

What's wrong with this guy? By threatening to vote against "cloture" (closure of filibuster debate) he stymied the efforts of the rest of Congress to help hard-hit American families muddle through a little longer on unemployment benefits until the recovery from the worst economic crisis in generations finally reaches them. Sen. Bunning is so out of touch he complained that maintaining his opposition caused him to miss a college basketball game.

Despite his claimed concern for the deficit, I'd say Sen. Bunning's real game has been the money game. Banks get bailed out, CEOs get their bonuses, but when it's time to help American families, federal deficit means no relief for them. Sen. Bunning and the party that has historically taken us in the wrong direction are using the 1994 playbook once again on America. If power and self aggrandizement is your real game, you'll take money from the highest bidder, and it's to your advantage to sack progress even if it means you miss a basketball game.

There are signs the economic recovery is stirring, but the recession has cost our fellow Americans eight million jobs. The unemployment rate remains staggeringly high, and in reality is higher than reported because it doesn't account for Americans who've stopped looking for work.

No matter what a lame duck Kentucky Senator thinks, I know Ohioans are hard working. They are frustrated, because they just want to work. When Senators are as out of touch as Jim Bunning, it's a sign of the times. How long will an unresponsive Congress whittle away at the middle class and push down hard working Americans who just want to work and take care of their families?

We need to hold our Senators and would-be Senators accountable by looking at their campaign reports. If they get money from banks that got TARP money, we can't expect they'll vote for needed banking reforms to protect consumers and hold the line on whopping bank bonuses. If they get their money from the people to whom they dole out money, it's an incestuous relationship that makes government work for the rich and not for those who work hard and play by the rules.

Blame the filibuster if you will, but the real problem is what's fueling this insanity in the first place. Ask yourself why this is happening. And when you answer honestly, remember that it's only people like you and me who can change that. Let your voice be heard, contribute what you wish or can as an everyday American, and keep talking and fighting for courage in the Senate.

I will.


Jennifer Brunner
Ohio Secretary of State & Democratic U. S. Senate candidate


Here is the response that I would send to the current Ohio Secretary of State if I thought that it would do any good . . .

Dear Jen Jen:

Thank you for your lovely letter lambasting lame-duck Kentucky Senator and great baseball player Jim Bunning. What is wrong with Senator Bunting wanting to know where the money will come from to fund this additional generous outlay of money we don’t have for this or for ANY reason?

In your letter you don’t offer any source of funding for this additional government outlay. Isn’ that at all important to you, Miss Moneybag? Senator Bunning rightly drew the line with this bill. Jen, are you another Soetoro/Obama-Pelosi-Reid socialist who cares nothing about indebting future generations? He merely attempted to get peoples attention about a growing deficit that the Democratic led Congress and President have worsened since the Bush years.

If the attitude expressed in your letter is an accurate reflection of your philosophy as a want-to-be United States Senator, Jen, we do not need you there. There are enough tax and spenders in Congress already. We do not need you further mucking it up.

I won’t (vote for you).


gregjaye
average disgusted Tea Party partiotic American

Shining God’s Light on the Koran

Today, Sam returns to his on-going series which contrasts the Judeo-Christian Bible with the Koran on a variety of topics. He aims the beam of the Biblical laser on the Koran to expose, to reveal what it really says. See his previous articles here. - - - gregjaye

Personally Accountable

Both the Koran and the Holy Bible state that the person who committed a crime should be punished for the crime, and no one else. Personal responsibility is an important principle. It is often ignored in our present culture. Everyone seems to want to blame others or some thing, for their misdeeds, omissions or errors. Harry Truman had a saying on his desk, “the buck stops here.” It seems that America as a people and our politicians and representatives have lost this sense of responsibility or accountability.

I remember the night Katrina struck New Orleans. About 2:00 AM I was driving out of Oregon, Ohio in my truck listening to the Coast-to-Coast Radio Show. George Nory, the show’s host, said that a hurricane of Biblical proportions was bearing down on New Orleans. He asked those listeners who believed in God to pray for the city. Myself and others listening to that broadcast prayed for the city. Later I heard that the storm had dropped from a Category 5 to a Category 4 Hurricane and did not directly hit the city.

For five days the storm had been in the Gulf of Mexico and the federal government warned the state of Louisiana and the city of New Orleans to take emergency action. The Governor and the Mayor were slow in taking any actions on behalf of the citizens. Then the Democrat politicians blamed the President and the federal government for not doing anything. Some said the storm was President Bush’s fault for rejecting the Kyoto Agreement. The hurricane did stop a homosexual celebration set to be held in New Orleans, perhaps one of the few good things to come out of the terrible tragedy.

THE KORANIC ACCOUNT

“If they disbelieve you, say: My deeds are mine and your deeds are yours. You are not accountable for my actions, nor am I accountable for what you do (1).”

“Your Lord will surely reward all men according to their deeds. He has knowledge of all their actions. Follow the straight path as you are bidden, together with those who have repented with you, and do not transgress. He is watching all your actions (2)?”

COMMENTARY ON THE KORAN ACCOUNT

When the god of Islam judges people after they are resurrected from the dead, they will be judged on their own actions and not on someone else’s actions. In the same way at the present time on earth, people are to be judged for their own conduct, and not someone else’s conduct.

During the Persian Gulf War, Saudi Arabia received military support in the way of troops and equipment to stop the expansion of Iraq under Sadom Hussein. Having non-Islamic military on Islamic soil angered Osama Bin Laden. He subsequently helped get 19 men to fly jets into buildings in an attack on the United States. America did good to Saudi Arabia and was rewarded with evil from that action.

Under Sharia Law there is a provision called honor-killing. If a couple has a sexual relationship before marriage, then a relative of the woman often kills the woman. I have never heard of anything happening to the man.

THE BIBICAL ACCOUNT

“Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the fathers, so also the soul of the son is mine! The soul that sinneth it shall die (3).”

“The soul that sinneth it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him (4).”

“The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers, Every man shall be put to death for his own sin (5).”

“And it came to pass, as soon as the kingdom was confirmed in his (Anaziah, King of Judah) hand, that he slew his servants which had slain the king his father. But the children of the murders he slew not: according unto that which is written in the book of the law of Moses, wherein the Lord commanded, saying, the father shall not be put to death for the children nor the children be put to death for the fathers; but every man shall be put to death for his own sin (6).”

COMMENTARY ON THE BIBLICAL ACCOUNT

God is saying, in the passages quoted above, that each individual will bear the punishment for their own actions and not someone else’s. This goes for the judgments at the end of time and for judgment at this time.

Those who oppose the right to bear arms in the United States will sue the manufacturer of the weapon used in a crime.

Laws have been enacted in some cities holding the parents responsible for the actions of their children and punishing the parents. Yet, laws are passed which prohibit parents from punishing their children to make them obey.

CONCLUSION

You will bear the punishment or reward for your own conduct. “Be not deceived: God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reep. For he that soweth to his flesh shall reap CORRUPTION; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap LIFE EVERLASTING (7).”

REFERENCES

1. The Koran, Page 151 Paragraph 10:41
2. The Koran, Page 164, 165 Paragraph 11:12
3. The Holy Bible, Ezekiel 18:4
4. The Holy Bible, Deuteronomy 24:16
5. The Holy Bible, 2 Kings 14:5,6, 2 Chronicles 24:3,4
6. The Holy Bible, II Peter 3:10-13
7. The Holy Bible, Galatians 6:7,8

The 545 who ARE accountable

T.D. sent me the article reproduced below. I believe that this article has to be at least 25 years old. It has been circulating in cyberspace for a long time. A former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper, Charley Reese, wrote the article. I took the liberty to update the article for 2008. I capitalized and used red letters where I changed the wording. The bold letters are mine, which I used for emphasis. If you would like to see the original you can find it in numerous places on the Internet.

There is so much truth in Mr. Reese’s words, that they may be even more meaningful today, especially in light of the sorry American political scene, which is a veritable nightmare. In the less than spectacular race for President that will insure less than optimal leadership the next four years, we have two radical leftist-socialists vying for the Democratic nomination against an aged, cantankerous, miserable moderate Republican-in-name-only (RINO). No choice really.

The 545 People Responsible for All of U.S. Woes

by Charley Reese

(and respectfully updated by gregjaye)

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, we have deficits? Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against AN ECONOMIC DOWNTURN and high taxes, we have AN ECONOMIC DOWNTURN and high taxes?

You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does. You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does. You and I don't write the tax code. Congress does. You and I don't set fiscal policy. Congress does. You and I don't control monetary policy. The Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president and nine Supreme Court justices - 545 human beings out of the 330 million - are directly, legally, morally and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered but private central bank.

I excluded all but the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it.

No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislation's responsibility to determine how he votes.

A CONFIDENCE CONSPIRACY

Don't you see how the con game that is played on the people by the politicians? Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of NANCY PELOSI, who stood up and criticized GEORGE W. BUSH for creating deficits AND RAILING AGAINST THE WAR ON TERROR AT EVERY TURN.

The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it. The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating appropriations and taxes.

PELOSI is the speaker of the House. SHE is the leader of the majority party. SHE and HER fellow Democrats, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto.

REPLACE SCOUNDRELS

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 330 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts - of incompetence and irresponsibility.

I can't think of a single domestic problem, from an unfair tax code to defense overruns, that is not traceable directly to those 545 people.

When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair. If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red. If the MILITARY IS in IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN, it's because they want them in IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN.

There are no insoluble government problems. Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take it.

Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exist disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation" or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people and they alone are responsible. They and they alone have the power. They and they alone should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses - provided they have the gumption to manage their own employees.

Let us consider carefully the words of Mr. Reese as we prepare to go into the election booth in November. There are a lot of people who need to be let go from their jobs. Let us get rid of those who only want to blame others for what they have done. The approval ratings for both the current President and the current Congressional members are at all time lows and really do justify a wholesale purge.