What Congress Must Do NOW!

What Congress Must Do Now.  Ten immediate steps:
1.  25% across-the-board budget reductions for all Executive Branch department staffing, and 25% reduction all Congressional salaries.
2. 90% reduction in travel budgets, all Executive Branch departments.
3.  Eliminate permanently all forms of “ear mark” (pork barrel) legislation.    
4.  100% reduction (complete cessation) of Congressional retirement plan effected by Congressional participation in Social Security.
5.  Separate “disability” and all other “non-retirement elements” from Social Security (in effect returning to pre-Johnson era plan for Social Security.)
6.  100% reduction (complete cessation) of Farm subsidies followed by re-instituting the program – if needed – for only those agri-businesses with a documented 10-year record of agri-business sales.
7.  Maintain payments at current level to Social Security, Medicare, and military current retirees; plan reductions for future retirees on a gradual scale.
8.  Enact immediately a 25% Federal sales tax across-the-board, no exceptions, no deductions.
9.  Enact immediately a 10% Federal income tax across-the-board, no exceptions, no deductions.  Concurrently, scrap all existing income and capital gains taxation.
10.  Reduce IRS staffing by 90% (following steps 8 and 9 above).
These ten immediate steps are not a “wish list.”  They are the demands of the American people, who, you ought not to forget, are your employers!  Prepare to pack your bags and go home if you ignore these demands.  Term limits begin now!  We will elect no incumbents!
http://www.house.gov/representatives/
http://www.senate.gov/index.htm

Sweep Congress Out!

(From a recent outbound email.)

Here's a surprise!  Washington is a mess!  And I'm not talking about traffic congestion here.
Folks, this is serious stuff.  We cannot sit on our collective fat kiesters.  We simply must sweep Congress out of Washington.
Vote the primaries.  Vote the regulars.  ELECT  NO  INCUMBENTS.
It is time to "Recycle Congress."
For those of you who have looked at my blog, check also this link to Joe Fluet's blog:
Joe Fluet's blog
New Essay:  http://www.joeessays.blogspot.com
He's got a piece on "Fair Tax" which makes a lot of sense, and which, when combined with my "Elect No incumbents" campaign could -- if enough of us get off our collective kiesters and do something -- go a long way to bettering the Washington situation.
 Here is an extract from some of Frank's pieces pieces regarding "Elect No Incumbents"

If you feel frustrated by what Congress does, or fails to do, have you ever heard yourself  ask, “What can we do about it?”  Stop fretting!  There are things we can do!  And they are not complicated … if enough of us agree to do what needs to be done. The “what to do?” is truly not complicated, nor is it difficult.  Vote twice! Once in the primaries!  Then in the general election.  And in both“votes,” simply do this:  Elect no Incumbents.  Presto!  That’s called Term Limits!
You can do it.
I can do it.
We must do it.
...............................................
Congress!
You have forgotten who you work for.
You have failed to trim the size federal government.
You have failed to balance the budget.
You have failed to pass federal funding legislationwithin established deadlines.
You have failed to tax all Americans equally.
You have failed to disengage Congress from “specialinterest” groups.
You have placed “party” priorities over “national”priorities.
You have continued “ear-mark” or “pork barrel”legislation for your constituents.
You have continued to campaign for your own re-electionwhen you should be addressing the needs of this country.              
We can and will replace 100% of the House and allSenators who are running for re-election. Pack your bags, Congress.  We notonly want change, we will change! Starting with Congress!

And if you've come to think this is just Frank's Frantic Frustrations, check these words from "Ski" who is known to some of us in the Hills of Shenandoah as neighbor and friend.
Ski writes --
"I don’t mind sacrifice, I don’t mind working hard, I will tolerate getting my Social Security ripped off and Medicare trounced if only – if only – I was absolutely sure and convinced that these politicians were honest with me – that they were in fact NOT BOUGHT and could prove it and would swear to it under oath or God.  In that we then all gravitate to a shared pain and I am just pissed at examples like the top six hedge-fund owners – who make no jobs and make no attempt at keeping their money in the USA – could generate over a trillion bucks in revenue if the tax rates were set back to the pre-Bush levels.  There is something very wrong here and what I learned and saw in the Congress was that our representatives are BOUGHT."
Yes folks, times are serious.  Only we -- that's you and I -- can fix what is wrong.
And we can fix what is wrong.

Budget July 2011

Dear Senator (You may send this to your own Senator if you wish.)

re:  S.1323, a bill to express the sense of the Senate on shared sacrifice in resolving the budget deficit. 

I am compelled by events, in particular the pending budgetary measures facing you, the 112^th Congress, to emphasize certain very basic points.  Hence this missive. 

But first, I urge you --- via your staff who will first view this entreaty  – not to quickly discard this into the “pile” of messages from “disgruntled constituents.”  I may be a disgruntled constituent, but I am one who fully recognizes that it is within my power to remove you and your fellow legislators from office.  I am cognizant of the fact that I am your employer, that I provide your salary and benefits, and that I can and will terminate your employment should that become necessary.  And I am seething with discontent over the demonstrated inability of the 112^th Congress to adequately address the needs of this Nation!

That said as a preface, I shall simply make the following clearly stated points: 

* I oppose plans to reduce Social Security and Medicare benefits to current retirees. 

(This is not a routine “NIMBY” response.  You need to recognize that I – and others like me – have paid “taxes” – whether or not we opted to do so -- into these programs.  In my case, I paid into both of these programs for more than 45 years, and I paid at the higher end of the then existing scales.) 

* I oppose the lack of distinction between “retiree” benefits and “welfare” support. 

* I vehemently oppose the use of Social Security funding for “disability” programs. 

(What I oppose is not that funds are made available to the disabled, but rather the source of those funds.) 

* I oppose Federal funding (my tax contributions) in support of the following items:

               -- Planned Parenthood

               -- Public Broadcasting (I use and enjoy public broadcasting, and I contribute to it.  But, I do not believe the taxpayers of the United States, especially those who may not have an interest in it, should be taxed just because I like PBS.)

               -- Farm subsidies *see note (below)

               -- Embryonic stem cell research (stem cell, yes.  embryonic, no.) 

* I propose:

1.      Trim 10% across-the-board from the federal budget.

2.     Trim 90% from federal travel budgets.

3.     Reduce ( both staffing and budget)by 80% these Executive Branch Departments:

--Department of Agriculture

--Department of Commerce

--Department of Education

--Department of Energy

--Dept. of Health, Human Services

--Department of Housing and Urban Development

--Department of Labor  

--Department of the Interior

--Department of the Treasury

4.     If legislation for a new program requires funding, reduce existing programs to fund it.

5.     Adopt a flat 5% income tax for all individuals, all business, no deductions.

6.     Adopt a flat 5% federal retail sales tax.  All items.  No exceptions.

7.      Honor commitments to military veterans, senior citizens.

8.     Get the federal government out of the health-care business, the education business, and business (oversight, yes, operating, no).

9.     Let state governments run the states.  If you mandate state action, pay for it.

10.  Use tax credits to help rebuild this nation’s transportation and energy infrastructure.

*Note regarding farm subsidies:  Discontinue the program in its entirety.  Then, reestablish the program only for those farm businesses which have a documented business record of having produced food crops for a period to include the five years prior to the receipt of subsidies.  In brief: farm subsidies are to be payable only to those who actually produce farm products as their chief means of livelihood.
  

These steps, Sir, outlined above, are the basis upon which I will evaluate your performance.  Should your performance fail to achieve these goals, I, and many others of like mind, will terminate your current employment.

Thank you, and  Respectfully yours 

Signed:  Frank W. Tilton, Hills of Shenandoah, Virginia

Congress/Government: Problems

Congress/Government:  Problems  

Ethics & Standards of Conduct:
What I recently told my Grandson.

The concepts here are relatively simple, but they are frequently ignored.  Even when not ignored, the lines differentiating between what is “right” or “wrong” or “legal” or “illegal” will often be blurred. 

Simple concept:  If you are employed by someone, you are obligated to use both time and resources to the benefit of the employer. 

Time: The time for which you are “employed” belongs to the employer.

Resources: The property, building, equipment, supplies, money, utilities (electricity, water, heating, cooling) and sometimes vehicles (cars, trucks, aircraft)belong to the employer.

When you use the employer’s time or resources for personal use, you are stealing.

Facts: All members of the Federal government, whether elected or appointed, are employees (President, Congress, Senate, judges, and military and civilian staff members of all Federal agencies or departments).

       They are employed by the “People of the United States.”

        They receive salary and benefits from the “People of the United States.”

        They are obligated to use both time and resources to the benefit of the employer, the “People of the United States.”

        If they use time and resources for personal gain or personal endeavors, they are violating the law.

        There are literally hundreds of laws, directives, and published policies that specify detailed examples of legal or illegal activities.

(Note:  These same obligations/laws apply to all levels of government whether individual states, counties, cities, townships, or school districts.)

Examples of Misconduct:

·        A U.S. President is charged with personal misconduct while in his office.  He uses his staff (legal advisors, secretaries, administrative assistants) to prepare documents, statements, press releases, and press conferences on his behalf. 

·        A U.S. Senator flies aboard a military aircraft to Europe to attend a conference.  He tasks his staff to get tickets for himself and his wife to attend a Formula One auto race in Italy the weekend after the conference.

·        A Federal judge uses his staff to do research, uses his office computer word processing software, and uses his office hours, all to write a novel he plans to publish.

·        An Air Force commander uses a fighter jet and flies to Nellis Air Force Base near Las Vegas, Nevada, so that he can attend his daughter’s wedding.

·        A U.S. Senator pushes legislation for a fighter jet the military has not requested and does not want.  The aircraft in question is produced in the Senator’s state.

·        A lobbyist pays (or gives gift, i.e. vacation travel) a Congressman in return for the Congressman’s vote or sponsoring a bill favoring the lobbyist’s business! 

Other Examples of Misconduct:

• As State Governor:  (Blagojevich quotes from:  CBS Chicago.com)
• Blagojevich was trying to get (himself) appointed Secretary of Health and Human Services in exchange for appointing Valerie Jarrett to President Obama’s Senate seat.
• Blagojevich was trying to get Obama’s help setting up a non-profit funded with millions of dollars, which Blagojevich could run after leaving office.
• Blagojevich was trying to shake down racetrack owner John Johnston for $100,000 in campaign cash in exchange for Blagojevich quickly signing legislation to benefit the racetracks.
• Blagojevich was trying to get $1.5 million in campaign cash from supporters of Jesse Jackson Jr. in exchange for appointing Jackson to the Senate.
• Blagojevich was trying to shake down Children’s Memorial Hospital CEO Patrick Magoon for a $25,000 campaign fundraiser in exchange for approving a state funding for doctors at the hospital.
• Other Examples
• Another State Governor uses a police helicopter to have himself flown to his child’s soccer game.
• A bus-boy in a restaurant conceals himself for five-minutes (not official break time) and uses his own cell phone to call a friend. 
• An I.T.T. employee uses a company-provided rental car while on business in Colorado; he drives the car to Des Moines, Iowa, to visit his cousin Zeke.
• An  office worker uses the office computer and printer to print a term paper for a college course.

On Solar Energy

Being naught but a concerned citizen, I offer this observation and idea for creating useable energy so as to increase employment in our faltering economy and to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.  It is simply this:  we have 46,837 miles of Interstate Highways.  Most of these have a wide grassy median.  As that property (the median) is already federally owned, why not install wind-energy turbines and solar collector panels within as many of these medians as possible.  The support towers for wind turbines themselves could be designed in an elongated pyramidal shape.  This would allow solar collectors to be attached to the wind turbine support tower.  These devices could produce “solar energy” or “wind energy” or both at once.   Surely our engineers could design a safe means of installation without interfering with traffic or mowing operations.  Any power so produced could be put into the “grid” system.  I’m neither a scientist nor an engineer, so am not able to flesh out the concept with detail.  I offer this idea for your consideration. 

President Obama:  We have 46,837 miles of Interstate Highways within the United States.  Most of these highways have a wide grassy median.  As that property (the median) is already federally owned, why not install solar collector panels and windmill power generators within as many of these medians as possible.  Surely our engineers could design a safe means of installation without interfering with traffic or mowing operations.  Any power so produced could be put into the “grid” system.

On Being a Parent

Becoming a parent and being a parent are decidedly different things; the first (becoming a parent) is an act of biology which may or may not include love.  The second (being a parent) is an all encompassing and unreserved act of love.  Only when the noun (parent) becomes a verb (to parent, or parenting) is the “act of love” fulfilled. 

A Favorite Quote

Within the infant rind of this weak flower
Poison hath residence and medicine power.....
In man as well as herbs, grace and rude will.

--Friar Lawrence, in Shakespeare’s   Romeo & Juliet

21^st Century Translation:

Dude, here’s an awesome fact:  the stuff inside a single flower is either poison or medicine.  Depends how you use it.

And, dude!  People are just like flowers.  Can be cruel or can be kind.  We’ve all got a bit of both.  The rest is choice.

Washington Must Be Recycled!

Washington Must Be Recycled! 

Who among us is not convinced?  Houston, we have problems.  In Washington.  You, I, and our neighbors could without a doubt quickly jot a list of ten such “problems.”  Chances are good that my list, your list, and those of our respective neighbors would share six if not seven items.  Oh, the order might differ.  But the likelihood is great that the words taxes, budget, Congress, political, and maybe even Constitution and election would appear on your list as well as mine. 

Fact is most of us are fed up with what we see happening in Washington.  I know I am!  And near the top of my list would be the word obfuscation!  Okay, so maybe that particular word didn’t show up on your list.  But I’d bet some part of this word’s definition is on your list:  to make something obscure or unclear, especially by making it unnecessarily complicated.  Sure, some things by their very nature are complicated.  But not all things must be so.  Do members of Congress intentionally overcomplicate issues so as to obscure their true intent?  Well, your response is as good as mine.  But let’s return to that list of problems. 

If you feel frustrated by what Congress does, or fails to do, have you ever heard yourself  ask, “What can we do about it?”  Stop fretting!  There are things we can do!  And they are not complicated … if enough of us agree to do what needs to be done.  The “what to do?” is truly not complicated, nor is it difficult.  Vote twice!  Once in the primaries!  Then in the general election.  And in both “votes,” simply do this:  Elect no Incumbents.  Presto!  That’s called Term Limits!  

You can do it.

I can do it.

We must do it. 

And it does not require amending the Constitution!

What Reporters Fail to Report

Why do “intelligent” reporters continually miss (or ignore) the basic facts of a story?  The President “hits the road” to bolster his party’s chances in a forthcoming election.  At the same time, his Cabinet members travel to improvised “events” for the same purpose.  An “intelligent” reporter would note:  that Federal employees who are paid with Federal tax dollars are using their time, their resources, their staffs, and their office equipment, pursuing not the goals of the Executive Department to which they are assigned, but rather, are blatantly campaigning in support of one party’s candidates!  Want evidence?  Check the calendars of the Secretaries of Commerce, Interior, Labor, and every other Cabinet-level department.  An “intelligent” reporter would do that.  And an “intelligent” attorney would know what to do with that information.

What’s a Democrat, a Republican, a Conservative, a Liberal?

What’s a Democrat, a Republican, a Conservative, a Liberal?

Looking back at my youth, I did not know (and still don't) which political party my father favored, if either.  Some of his assertions (rare) left me thinking he was Republican.  Others were more in tune with Democrats.  The first election I took interest in was that of John Kennedy vs. Richard Nixon.   I wasn't old enough to vote, but the year after Kennedy's 1960 election, I entered the Air Force.  Being young, I identified with Kennedy and had a certain distaste for Nixon even though I came from Nixon's hometown of Whittier.  The Nixon family was not universally well-liked within his hometown.   I was in the Air Force only two months when the Berlin Wall went up and solidified the existing Iron Curtain border.  My first post-training assignment was in Italy with what then was called Security Service. I quickly became aware of world events and my own role in them.  I had attained the ripe old age of 18, and voting age was then 21.  The Berlin crisis, the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War followed one after the other and took me quickly from interested observer to active participant in national and international affairs.  The first election I voted in was 1968 -- Nixon vs. Humphrey.  By this time I was a seasoned 25-year-old and had learned to distinguish between Democratic and Republican characteristics.  Moreover, I well knew the importance of foreign policy, and so I voted for Nixon, probably in part because I knew he had served eight years as vice-president under Eisenhower, whom I held in high esteem.  Humphrey had been Vice President under Lyndon Johnson.  As time and elections went by, I became increasingly aware of the differing values of "liberals" vs. "conservatives" though it took me longer to grasp the idea that a conservative Democrat was not so far removed from a liberal Republican.  Because I was born and raised in the West (California), I failed to perceive that "Southern" Democrats (conservative) were, for all practical purposes, Republicans.  They would not "be" Republicans, however, because that was the party of Lincoln and Grant (Civil War, north).  Still, though I at first favored Johnson's efforts in the realm of civil rights (and I remain supportive of that, though I make the distinction between opportunity and achievement), I began to perceive the true costs of his "Great Society" programs.  That was what, over time, led me to better perceive the characteristics of "liberal" vs. "conservative."  Now jumping forward many years, that very question, liberal vs. conservative, remains the “dividing line” regarding politics.  I try to sort it out by setting up a dichotomy similar to this (remember to think "tends to" rather than in "absolutes") However, a list like this serves a limited purpose since many people, myself included,  identify in part with portions of both lists, and both major political parties have conservative and liberal adherents.   In truth, our nation is an amalgamation of both, and both have merit: 

Conservative                                                                          Liberal

 Government is enabler                                                               Government is caretaker

Man is self-sufficient                                                                   Man is dependent on government

Health care is business                                                                Health care is government role

Oppose long-term welfare                                                          Support welfare

Policies favor free-enterprise                                                     Policies favor consumer

Environmental policy favors business                                      Environmental policy favors                                                                                                                                creatures

Foreign policy favors strategic interests                                   Foreign policy responds to                                                                                                                                                  "issues"

Sees U.N. as failed institution                                                     U.S. obliged to support U.N.

Opposes abortion                                                                         Favors abortion as woman's right

Favors tax decrease to stimulate economy                             Favors government spending to                                                                                                                          stimulate economy

Lower tax, smaller government                                                 Higher tax, larger government

Suspicious of government power                                              Sees government as benevolent

Liberty over equality                                                                    Equality over liberty

Focus on individual                                                                       Focus on community

School vouchers: parent choice                                                 Increase public school funding

Death penalty as punishment                                                    Abolish death penalty, rehabilitate                                                                                                                                    criminals

Favors gun ownership                                                                 Favor gun control

Acknowledge God, Creator                                                        Oppose religious expression in                                                                                                                                          government

Oppose same-gender marriage                                                 Favor legalized same-gender marriage

No Funding for Planned Parenthood

Letter re Daniels

Governor Daniels is to be applauded for his decision.  No federal or state funding should be allocated to Planned Parenthood.  But Daniels falls short of the mark.  Federal funding also should be eliminated from all welfare, health, social, housing, and education programs.  Yes, there is need for these programs.  Federal funding, however, is not the answer.  Funding for these programs must always be provided only by the local municipalities and townships working eyeball-to-eyeball with those truly in need.   As it is, with Federal funding, we continue to feed only the greedy and the power brokers.  We have created two “classes” in our society.  Those who are dependent on the Federal government, and those who are dependent on those who are dependent on the Federal government.

Open Letter to Stephen Hawking

An Open Letter to Stephen Hawking (published on publisher’s web page):

Sir, with all due respect to you and to your scholarly and scientific achievements, I am compelled to ask you to re-examine the logic, if not the science, from which you have derived this statement:  “Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing.”  At best, we can state that gravity is a force.  Though we can neither see nor physically examine gravity, we can to a limited extent measure it.  Yet, we can “measure” gravity only with respect to matter.  Without some form of matter, gravity would remain indiscernible.  Matter, then, is the sine qua non of gravity.  It follows that both matter and gravity exist.  It also follows that the two are mutually dependent.   Science, Professor Hawking, has established that we humans can neither create nor destroy matter (law of conservation of mass or matter).  Science has also told us that we humans cannot create or destroy energy – though we are able to change energy from one form to another (first law of thermodynamics).     Logic also tells us that self cannot create self.  Gravity did not create gravity.  Matter did not create matter.  That brings us to “source.”  If gravity is, as you say, a law, then it has an author, that is to say, a source.  And since matter did not create matter, it, too, has a “source.”  And, Professor Hawking, that which has a source is not “spontaneous.”  So, we find ourselves, Sir, seeking that which man from his earliest days has sought.  The source.

Proclamation to 112th Congress

Proclamation to the 112^th Congress

                              Made to both parties, both houses.

1.      Get it right or we’ll send you home.

2.     Recognize that term limits are what elections are for; they do not require Constitutional amendment.

3.     Avoid grandstanding.  We demand hard work, not “hearings.”

4.     Do not spend time, energy, staff, or federal funds running for re-election.

5.     Recognize that your re-election is not why voters (tax payers) sent you to Washington.

6.     Stop “earmarks.”  Now!

7.      Recognize that taxpayers from 49 states do not wish to fund a bridge in West Virginia.

8.     Recognize that item 7 (above) is a metaphor.  No offense to West Virginia

9.     Use one-bill one-vote method.  Vote for a “bill” not for a “rider.”

10.  Balance the budget.  Now.

11.   Trim 10% across-the-board from the federal budget.

12.   Trim 90% from federal travel budgets (beyond the 10% in item 11 above.)

13.   If legislation for a new program requires funding, reduce existing programs to fund it.

14.   Adopt a flat 5% income tax for all individuals, all business, no deductions.

15.   Adopt a flat 5% federal retail sales tax.  All items.  No exceptions.

16.   Honor commitments to military veterans, senior citizens.

17.   Get the federal government out of the health-care business, the education business, and business (oversight, yes, operating, no).

18.  Let state governments run the states.  If you mandate state action, pay for it.

19.   Use tax credits to rebuild this nation’s transportation and energy infrastructure.

20.  Get to work!  Now!