Hope Floats

I feel old and crabby on occasion as I rant about the current conditions in our great nation.  I look around to see if all the people who are agreeing with me are old and crabby too.  However, I was pleasantly surprised, during the Tea Parties on April 15, 2009, to see a goodly number of young people participating.  These are not the images we get of young folks from the "Mainstream Media".  Our group was led by a young medical doctor and his wife, and in the clips of the other groups meeting around the country, I saw many young people who were actively participating.  

I have been known to despair when thinking of who will be running our country when we are sitting in the nursing home.  My spirits were bolstered this week when I received an e-mail from a high school senior, Fernando Trevino.  Fernando proposed that the July 4th Tea Party in our area be held at South Padre Island.  He asked for input from those of us who participated in the most recent Tea Parties.  He also left a blog address; http://writefortheright.blogspot.com. This site is a political commentary site and is maintained by three high school seniors from Brownsville, TX, Fernando Trevino, Danielle Chavez, and Maggie Bice.  Fernando and Danielle not only helped to organize the Tea Party in Brownsville, TX, they made speeches there.  The text of their speeches is available on their blog.  These young folks aren't old enough to vote yet, but they show a wisdom far beyond their years.  I wish our legislators, especially those from our area, had the sense these young folks do.  I went to the site and was totally blown away by the quality of the posts.  I sent Fernando an e-mail and asked his permission to share the site with you.  He generously consented.  I hope you will go by for a visit and leave some encouraging comments.  If you like it, spread the word.  I think we got something very good happening here.

I think that one possible definition of our modern culture is that it is one in which nine-tenths of our intellectuals can't read any poetry.
  - Randall Jarrell

I'm Relieved

I don't know about you, but I'm relieved.  April 15th has passed and I'm feeling lighter.  I just hope all you Wall Street CEO's, auto executives, third world dictators, minority hate facilitators, fat cat politicians, welfare slugs, pseudo scientists, single issue money grubbers, assorted weirdos and baby killers are happy.  Our grand children and great grand children will be paying for your excesses and greed.  I was very proud as I watched the heartland of America representatives (the working folks) meet in groups all over this great land to say to a run away government, "We've had it."   I didn't see obscene or malicious signage, or any unruly behavior. I saw concerned Americans showing solidarity in their desire to shrink the size and scope of the Federal Government and return it to its constitutional role as a servant of the people.  I was also happy to see many State governments declaring their sovereignty.  I hope you had a chance to participate in your area.  Most in our group expressed a desire to meet on a regular basis to design strategies to defeat the rubber stamp leeches who are currently occupying seats in our legislative bodies.  Here are some comments from other folks;

"I say let's have Election Day on tax day. Let's get what we're paying for. Sign the check -- for the full amount -- and write in your preferred candidates on the back of the same check. Abracadabra ... smaller government, here we come." --columnist Jonah Goldberg

"Rampant redistribution of wealth by government is now the norm. So is this: It inflames government's natural rapaciousness and subverts the rule of law." --columnist George Will

"Inflation also means that all the talk about how higher taxes will be confined to 'the rich' is nonsense. Inflation is a hidden tax that takes away the value of money held by everyone at every income level." --economist Thomas Sowell

"[W]e need to return to a taxation system similar to the one established by our Founding Fathers. They did not penalize productivity through taxes the way we do today. They had no Internal Revenue Service. They believed in minimal taxation." --columnist Chuck Norris

"Today American taxpayers in more than 300 locations in all 50 states will hold rallies -- dubbed 'tea parties' -- to protest higher taxes and out-of-control government spending. There is no political party behind these rallies, no grand right-wing conspiracy, not even a 501(c) group like MoveOn.org. So who's behind the Tax Day tea parties? Ordinary folks who are using the power of the Internet to organize." --author Glenn Harlan Reynolds

"[I]s there any limit to this administration's intentions to interfere and perhaps control large swaths of our economy? ... That's the real message of the homegrown Tea Party revolt against bailout nation and the higher taxes, deficits, and debt being used to finance it. Folks are trying to tell Washington on Tax Day, April 15, that enough is enough. They can't take it anymore." --economist Larry Kudlow

"The cry at these tea parties should be 'not a penny more' until governments get their houses in order, just as we must do. Most people have been forced to reduce spending during the recession, but not the federal government, and likely not the government in your home state." --columnist Cal Thomas

"President Obama's own budget numbers show that Social Security this year will take in $654 billion in payroll taxes and dole out $662 billion in benefits and expenses -- a negative cash flow of $8 billion. Uh oh." --columnist Stephen Moore