There are many ideas that are being floated around Washington, but the one idea that is being avoided is the one that many Libertarians and Conservatives are calling for for years. It’s the idea of cutting many programs that are not the responsibility of the federal government. It’s gotten to the point that the federal government has funded so many programs that can no longer be funded. The real issue is how many of those programs should not have ever been put in place to begin with (but that’s for another post).

There are many programs that can be dismantled and/or eliminated to lower the cost of running this country. The biggest problem America is facing when talking about the deficit or the debt ceiling is the fact that Washington is spending way too much. Instead they want to play the number game and say they’re going to cut spending over a ten year period. I laymen terms that means they will cut back on future projected spending.

Let’s look at it this way, the federal government spent $3.5 trillion in 2010 and according to the most recent available tax revenue information (2007), only collected $2.4 trillion in taxes (after refunds). Washington is already spending more than it collects. Add on to the fact that there are other programs that politicians want to have funded in the future. Let’s say they “plan” to spend an extra $300 billion each year for the next ten years, in that case they would be spending another three trillion dollars on top of the already $3.5 trillion. So now they say they just “cut” $500 billion dollars. What that really means is that now they expect to spend only an extra $250 billion dollars each year on top of what they are doing already.

The federal government has been doing nothing but growing for the past few decades and on the path they (politicians) are going, it will continue to grow. Don’t be one of the many that fall for the creative accounting practices of our politicians. Wake up and see for yourself that this country is already bankrupt. the only reason we are still operating is because China and other countries are still willing to buy our debt. Once they stop buying our treasury bonds, it will be over for America.

The ONLY way to get the deficit and the debt under control is to reduce current spending. Yes it’s not going to be easy for the American citizen to do it, but the alternative is not a pretty site what-so-ever.

With all the laws and regulations that the federal government has been imposing on American companies, those businesses are looking to cut cost in way that are hurting the American people.

Let’s look at Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, the city that was the capitol of the steel industry. In the last thirty years the government has been making it harder for the steel industry to stay in the United States, let alone Pittsburgh.

Yes I agree that to make steel, there is pollution on several different levels, water air and land pollution is a serious matter, but at what cost is these issues important?

Pittsburgh is no longer the biggest city that produces steel. Most of manufacturers have move to other countries to avoid tough regulations. So now we have thousands of people who are affected by the industry and are unemployed. The government has changed the landscape of the city.

Let’s look at it this way. We have a person who was working to provide for his family, the government steps in and tell the companies that there will be unions and there will be price fixing. Next, strict laws are passed for the pollution situation in Pittsburgh, causing the company to have higher costs related to the product. The company can no longer be profitable at this level, so they decide to have some of their products made in another country. Now the worker is laid off and is needed to be supported by the same government that cost him/her their job. But are they really being supported by the government? I say NO. It’s the rest of the American Taxpayer that is supporting those Americans because of the federal government.

I try very hard to purchase things that are made in the USA, but it getting tougher every day. The steel industry isn’t the only industry that this scenario has happened to. It will also continue until the American people stop voting for the same old type of politician. It wasn’t the Democrats or the Republicans that did this individually, it has been both of them and until we see them for what they are, it will continue.

The Libertarian Party is America’s third largest and fastest growing political party. Libertarians engage in a variety of projects, working for everyone’s liberty on every issue.

The Libertarian Party was created in December of 1971 by people who realized that the politicians had strayed from America’s original libertarian foundation, with disastrous results. Their vision was the same as that of America’s founders — a world where individuals are free to follow their own dreams in their own ways, a world of peace, harmony, opportunity, and abundance.

Libertarians are practical; we know we can’t make the world perfect. But, it can be better. Libertarians will keep working to create a better, freer society for everyone. As William Allen White said: “Liberty is the only thing you cannot have unless you are willing to give it to others.”

“Libertarians believe the answer to America’s political problems is the same commitment to freedom that earned America its greatness: a free-market economy and the abundance and prosperity it brings; a dedication to civil liberties and personal freedom that marks this country above all others; and a foreign policy of non-intervention, peace, and free trade as prescribed by America’s founders.”

Libertarians believe in the American heritage of liberty, enterprise, and personal responsibility. Libertarians recognize the responsibility we all share to preserve this precious heritage for our children and grandchildren.

Libertarians believe that being free and independent is a great way to live. We want a system which encourages all people to choose what they want from life; that lets them live, love, work, play, and dream their own way.

The Libertarian way is a caring, people-centered approach to politics. We believe each individual is unique. We want a system which respects the individual and encourages us to discover the best within ourselves and develop our full potential.

The Libertarian way is a logically consistent approach to politics based on the moral principle of self-ownership. Each individual has the right to control his or her own body, action, speech, and property. Government’s only role is to help individuals defend themselves from force and fraud.

The Libertarian Party is for all who don’t want to push other people around and don’t want to be pushed around themselves. Live and let live is the Libertarian way.

Some comments from various sites around the internet:

‘Doggett complains about the tactics used the protesters, but he should understand that the protesters learned those tactics from the left. It’s a beotch to have the tables turned on a democrat. If Doggett thinks their is a coordinated effort to disrupt his town hall meeting now, just wait until he runs for re-election and sees the efforts to insure he doesn’t win a return trip to Washington.”

“My, my… Doggett and the ACORN/MoveOn.org/DailyKos types are sure touchy when their very same tactics are turned around and used on them.”

“Darned constituents. Who the hell do they think they are, anyway?”

“Attended the Austin Rally, it was a raucous good time and met a lot of people who feel the way I do about Obama policies. Keep the pressure up people!”

“Once again, I challenge any and all who believe that government-run healthcare is a good idea to the following simple test:

1. Make up a question on healthcare (any question will do). It is preferable to ask a serious life-and-death question which could (or has) affected your family and/or yourself personally.

2. Dial 1-800-MEDICARE and do what you must contact a live human to get an answer. Time this process from first dialing to its conclusion (hint: make sure you have access to plenty of food and water and make sure you visit the bathroom before trying this).

3. Report your results back to this forum, and tell us again why you think government-run health care is a good idea.”

“Organized protests—with instructions?? It sounds like Acorn and Code Pink. About time some Dems got to see the shoe on the other foot. Forgive me if my sympathy is attenuated.

Senator Kay Hagan (D_NC) is the presiding officer, in the video clip. In it she’s asked many questions pertaining to other issues that are going on currently. Every one of her answers are the same, which is “yes”. The question that are asked are from Sen. Jim DeMint. Each one of them show a clear sign of the double standard that is going on between the Democrats and the Republicans.

These two parties have reached a point where they are no longer looking out for the American people. Their on;y concern is fro themselves and their lobbyist. Politicians like Ron Paul and Jim DeMint are just a handful of politicians that are truly trying to make a difference in Washington. When It comes time to vote we have to bond together and vote the current Senators out. They’ve grown too comfortable in their positions. Our founding fathers never meant for these positions to be a career.

“Independent voters believed Candidate Obama when he said he would be mainstream. Their trusting votes gave him a narrow victory,” said Donny Ferguson, Libertarian National Committee Communications Director. “But now that the real Barack Obama has revealed himself, they’re not following his bootlegger turn toward the radical left. They still believe the same Big Government that Obama promises as our global salvation will be America’s undoing.”

“Only one party in America agrees with independent voters, and that is the Libertarian Party,” said Ferguson. “Republicans spent 14 years fattening government with their ever-escalating budgets. Even the Republican ‘alternative budget’ called for massive deficits and bigger spending.”

“Once again, Libertarians are the only mainstream party in America. Only Libertarians will reduce the size and cost of government. Obama and the Republicans have us spiraling towards national bankruptcy.”

A Rasmussen Reports poll released Monday asked 1,007 adults “which of the following will be the biggest threat to the country in the future –”big business”, big labor or “big government?” Fifty-nine percent (59%) of politically independent Americans viewed “big government” as the greatest threat, virtually unchanged from the 60 percent measured the last time the question was asked in 2006 – before the financial crisis and election of Barack Obama.

Only 30 percent answered “big business” and 8 percent answered “big labor,” both also virtually unchanged from the 26 percent and 10 percent measured in 2006.

Since the question was asked major financial crises have weakened the economy and the White House has been occupied by a president pushing radical expansions of government size and power — with virtually no effect on independents. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus three percent.

The poll was released on the same day the White House released numbers showing the economy performing worse than Obama promised, and the federal budget deficit growing to a size four times larger than the 2008 Bush record. Under Obama, the federal government will borrow nearly 50 cents for every dollar it spends, an unsustainable and inflationary level of borrowing.

In more bad news for Obama, the only Americans buying into his opposition to capitalism are largely those who already voted for him, leaving little room to expand his support.

Democrats in 2006 feared “big government” more than “big business” by a 55 percent to 32 percent margin. Following in lockstep with Obama, they have flipped their views. Now, Democrats fear job creators more than government by a 52 percent to 32 percent margin.

Opposition to “big government” grew among grassroots Republicans, though their party leadership doesn’t seem to share that view, based on their “alternative budget.” In 2006, Republicans feared “big government” more than “big business” by a 68 percent to 18 percent margin. That grew in 2009 to 80 percent to 10 percent.

“Grassroots Republicans oppose Big Government and want a party that agrees with them. Once again, the Libertarian Party is the only party that proposes cutting spending. We don’t follow the still-vibrant Republican tradition of making government bigger and costlier each year,” said Ferguson.

For more information on this issue, or to arrange an interview with the Libertarian Party, please call Director of Communications Donny Ferguson at 703-200-3669 or 202-333-0008, x. 225, or email Donny.Ferguson@lp.org.

The Libertarian Party is America’s third-largest political party, founded in 1971 as an alternative to the two main political parties. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party by visiting http://www.LP.org. The Libertarian Party proudly stands for smaller government, lower taxes and more freedom.

The “tea party” concept started with the Libertarian Party of Illinois (LPI) who began organizing a 2009 Tax Day ‘Boston Tea Party’ in Chicago back in December of 2008 and created a Facebook group for it on Feb. 10, 2009, according to the LPI. Nine days later, CNBC’s Rick Santelli, broadcasting from the floor of the Chicago stock exchange, popularized the concept.

“Americans agree with the Libertarian Party that taxes and spending are out of control, and that bailouts and nationalizing industries destroys freedom and prosperity. The Libertarian Party is the only party supporting shrinking budgets, lowering tax burdens, eliminating deficits and getting government out of the way of recovery,” said Ferguson.

“With the Republican Party in Washington joining Democrats in proposing their own bloated budget that expands spending and explodes the deficit, and Republicans in other states touting their plans to raise taxes and jack up spending during a recession, Americans must speak out and speak out forcefully,” said Ferguson.

The public rallies, organized locally by concerned citizens of various political affiliations around the country, will express the widespread majority opposition to the government takeovers of private industries led by Obama, and the bailout programs, expanded spending and larger deficits proposed by both Democrats and Republicans.

“Tea Parties are the kind of ‘community organizing’ Obama should have been doing, instead of peddling government dependency,” said Ferguson.

A national listing of Tea Party events can be found at http://www.lp.org. If you know of a Tea Party not listed, contact media@lp.org with the time and location so it may be added.

For more information on this issue, or to arrange an interview with the Libertarian Party, please call Director of Communications Donny Ferguson at 703-200-3669, 202-333-0008, x. 225, or email Donny.Ferguson@lp.org.

The Libertarian Party is America’s third-largest political party, founded in 1971 as an alternative to the two main political parties. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party by visiting www.LP.org. The Libertarian Party proudly stands for smaller government, lower taxes and more freedom.

“Is Change On the Agenda”?

On January 20, George W. Bush’s presidency will end.  President-elect Barack Obama will take office, having been elected on a platform of “change”.  Many Americans are eagerly waiting to see what the new Obama Administration will do; but we already know from his Cabinet picks that “change” is not really on the agenda.

• Hillary Clinton, Obama’s choice for Secretary of State, ran a hawkish campaign and will continue her husband’s aggressive pursuit of “free trade” agreements which have undermined human rights and the American economy.
• Robert Gates, Obama’s pick for Secretary of Defense, is a carryover from the Bush Administration, and has overseen continued human rights abuses at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere.
• Rahm Emanuel, Obama’s new Chief of Staff, is an extreme Zionist and hawk, whose presence on Obama’s staff, combined with Clinton’s, undermines any serious potential for Middle East peace.
• Tim Geithner, Obama’s selection for Secretary of Treasury, has been heavily involved in the ongoing bailout of financial firms, and began his career working for Henry Kissinger’s firm.

These choices for the most critical of Cabinet positions make it clear that the only “change” Americans can expect on the major issues of the day out of the Obama Administration are that different people will be in charge of selling out the poor and middle class.

And get this:  with an administration in place that is pro-war, pro-bailout, pro-nuclear power, anti-equal rights, and anti-universal health care, the so-called “opposition” party in Washington will be the Republicans.  No “opposition” party will have ever had it so good.  But, of course, we know that come January 20 there will be one real opposition party:  The Green Party.

With your support, an invigorated Green Party can reach new heights in the number of candidates we run and elect in 2009 and 2010, candidates who will be fighting the Democrats in control of Washington on issues that matter to people:

• Bringing our troops home. The Green Party opposed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan before they began.  Now Obama wants to move troops from Iraq to Afghanistan, without pulling the plug on either war, while simultaneously rattling the sabres at Iran and Pakistan.
• Demanding single-payer universal health care – now. The Obama plan might well insure more Americans, but most of those benefits will go to the insurance companies, not to the people who have been economically crippled by a corrupt health care system.
• Legalizing marriage for all people. While the Obama Administration opposed same-sex marriage, the Green Party remains in staunch support for extending equal rights to all people
• Bailing out working Americans, not fat cat executives. As unemployment rises, the same corporations who have been responsible for costing so many Americans their jobs whine about needing more money to keep their doors open.  Greens have long opposed corporate welfare and trickle-down economics as practiced for the last 28 years, and want to see an end to free trade agreements and other mechanisms which pad executives’ pockets at the expense of working Americans.
• Insisting on a real green energy policy. There is no place for mountain top removal or nuclear power in a serious 21st Century energy policy based on renewables and efficiency.  Greens have long understood this.  But Democrats waffle because they receive so much cash from electric utilities and other corporations.

Without serious, sustained, principled opposition from the Green Party, the Obama Administration will have a blank check to continue to push the “political center” to the extreme right, just as Bill Clinton did.  The Green Party needs your support to stand up for Americans and keep America from inching even closer to energy and economic catastrophes.

SIGN HERE

After you sign, they’ll give you the option of emailing your senators. Please don’t forget to do that also.

Also, pass it around.

The co-chair of Barack Obama‘s Transition Team, Valerie Jarrett, appeared on Meet the Press this weekend and used, shall we say, an interesting word to described what she thinks Barack Obama will be doing in January when he’s officially sworn into office. She told Tom Brokaw that Obama will be ready to “rule” on day one. It’s a word that reflects the worst fears that people have for Obama the “arrogant,” the “messiah,” that imagines he’s here to “rule” instead of govern.

Jarret told Brokaw that “given the daunting challenges that we face, it’s important that president elect Obama is prepared to really take power and begin to rule day one.”

Someone needs to get to Jarrett and inform her that American politicians are not Kings and do not “rule” from office. But if this is the attitude of Obama’s transition team, what does The One himself imagine he is about to unleash? Could the fears that Obama thinks he is being anointed America’s King be far off with this sort of talk flying about?

And in related news…..

Georgia congressman warns of Obama dictatorship

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Republican congressman from Georgia said Monday he fears that President-elect Obama will establish a Gestapo-like security force to impose a Marxist or fascist dictatorship.

“It may sound a bit crazy and off base, but the thing is, he’s the one who proposed this national security force,” Rep. Paul Broun said of Obama in an interview Monday with The Associated Press. “I’m just trying to bring attention to the fact that we may — may not, I hope not — but we may have a problem with that type of philosophy of radical socialism or Marxism.”

Broun cited a July speech by Obama that has circulated on the Internet in which the then-Democratic presidential candidate called for a civilian force to take some of the national security burden off the military.

“That’s exactly what Hitler did in Nazi Germany and it’s exactly what the Soviet Union did,” Broun said. “When he’s proposing to have a national security force that’s answering to him, that is as strong as the U.S. military, he’s showing me signs of being Marxist.”

Obama’s comments about a national security force came during a speech in Colorado about building a new civil service corps. Among other things, he called for expanding the nation’s foreign service and doubling the size of the Peace Corps “to renew our diplomacy.”

“We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we’ve set,” Obama said in July. “We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded.”

Broun said he also believes Obama likely will move to ban gun ownership if he does build a national police force.

Obama has said he respects the Second Amendment right to bear arms and favors “common sense” gun laws. Gun rights advocates interpret that as meaning he’ll at least enact curbs on ownership of assault weapons and concealed weapons. As an Illinois state lawmaker, Obama supported a ban on semiautomatic weapons and tighter restrictions on firearms generally.

“We can’t be lulled into complacency,” Broun said. “You have to remember that Adolf Hitler was elected in a democratic Germany. I’m not comparing him to Adolf Hitler. What I’m saying is there is the potential.”