Look at your life through Heavens Eyes

I have always loved this song but I was extra thrilled to hear this rendition.

My Climate Change Plan

You know how we are always talking about how Washington is broken and how they are all just blowing hot air? Well, I think we need to stem the flow of emissions from our federal legislators so here is My Climate Change Plan: I think we should cut government staffs, salaries, funding and government programs to pre 1900 levels. I think we should limit the house and the senate to 12 pieces of single subject legislation, less than 50 pages in length, per year. I think there should be single term limits and only one term per lifetime per legislative body per individual.

Considering advances in technology and efficiency I think it's not only possible I think it would be successful! Think about what would happen if representatives and senators actually read and understood the legislation in front of them and had to debate the constitutionality of each point of each new piece of legislation! What would happen if no one had to worry about being re-elected! What if being constitutionally correct trumped partisan cooperation and compromise in the name of 'getting things done.'

And think of all the jobs and opportunities that would open up for the free market to fill; Think of all the tax revenues we would be leaving in the free market to be reinvested in capital improvement and in new jobs; Think about a financial system without the federal reserve...glorious!

Food Stamps and the welfare state

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/29/us/29foodstamps.html

This is particularly disturbing. The authors focus on the exception in the food stamp program...the married, working, middle class. This may be a new demographic but the vast majority of recipients do not fit this mold and honestly the majority of recipients are the reason for the stigma the food stamp program has carried for many years...Mr. Dawson's comment about the lazy, unworking, unmarried, poor is all too true. Food stamps may have once been an assistance program but it is not now...it is rightly called an entitlement program and is well represented by the tale of the ant and the grasshopper. The problem is that if the ants defect to the grasshopper's way of subsistence there will come a time that resources cannot be shared because of scarcity and people will die. The government (the grasshopper) has for the last eleven decades slowly adopted the same mind set slowly and inexorably consuming more than we (the ants) produce and taking more and more from the people to feed progressively larger expenditures that do not return resources to the producers. There is a point in the future when this trend will either have to be reversed or the system will collapse.

If we look to history for a precedent the great depression is a great example of the model we are now playing out. Unemployment and dept are skyrocketing and the dollar is near collapse, all because of failed regulation and rapidly expanding government programs and primarily because of the defection of an ever increasing minority of ants to the way of the grasshopper; resources are becoming stretched because there is less being produced than is being consumed and values of real goods are decreasing because there is no demand as driven by inflation which ties back to regulation. In the 1990's during the retraction of entitlement programs there was contraction of the national deficit in correlation to this retraction. This was driven by congress, not President Clinton, who later promoted the expansion of the food stamp and welfare programs that reversed the earlier retraction and once again expanded the national deficit. During the 1940's and 50's there was an unprecedented expansion of entrepreneurship, manufacturing and production, and an accompanying expansion of wealth in the middle class that established an enormous reservoir of capital upon which the nation financed tremendous expansions of the national infrastructure and the federal government.

http://mises.org/story/3817

Thoughtful, though somewhat sterile essay about rights and society. It is interesting to think of this authors points in relation to 2 Nephi 2:11 "For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things." There is a balance that must be achieved, to find the good society, between government and rights; the first being evil and the other good. The enumerated powers of government in America were originally limited, but are much less so now because the people ceded their protection of their rights to the government almost completely for a time. There is a reawakening of the people in this regard and protection of rights is beginning to be taken back by the people. There is a touch point of ideology that should be returned to, namely the founding ideology. There we find the balance of government and rights, but finding our way back through the web of precedent and regulation we have made for ourselves will be a careful pursuit indeed.

Meridian Magazine:: Ideas and Society: Easily Offended or Easily Entreated

Meridian Magazine:: Ideas and Society: Easily Offended or Easily Entreated

How true this is. All who are warriors of truth must face the world in the way of the peaceful warrior, our only weapon is the sword of the spirit that will pierce the hearts of those who oppose the truth as we bear pure and simple testimony of the truth. WE will stand for what is right come what may, and as the world rages around us we will live, and teach, and uphold truth and righteousness without fear and without apology. In the light of truth we will grow brighter and brighter until the perfect day when every knee will bend and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ "For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." Hab. 2:14

Meridian Magazine : : Church Update: Elder Dallin H. Oaks: Religious Freedom at Risk

Phenomenal discourse setting forth an issue that we are now facing, namely the confrontation of civil rights and civil liberties. The first being God given and self evident and the second man made and unfounded.

Meridian Magazine : : Church Update: Elder Dallin H. Oaks: Religious Freedom at Risk

1948 Cartoon Reveals Our Clear and Present Danger

Socialism, communism, and every other type of 'ism' government states are counterfeit ideas for the truth, or true forms of government; they are a great lie because they blur the line between church and state. There is, and ought to be, a separation of church and state.

The church provides for both the spiritual and the physical needs of the people under the rule of God's law and according to principles of mercy, charity, and free will. The state on the other hand, in particular the American state, protects the rights and freedom of the people as set forth in the Constitution and Bill of Rights--but that is the sole purpose--any government or state that assumes more than this is part of the great lie and counterfeit ideas of the ‘ism’ government states. Moreover the state can only protect the rights of the people under the rule of law according to principles of justice based on God's law and its inherent moral certitudes. Any departure from this moral foundation is not only a step toward the 'ism's' it is also a move toward the restriction of the God given rights of the people; a step into the realm of the church that must be held inviolate by the state.

I am concerned that the government is no longer protecting the rights of the people, rather they are attempting to prescribe the rights of the people and as part of that prescription they are favoring the rights of some over the rights of others; in most cases the rights desired by a few and eschewed by the majority.

I am concerned that there is no longer any honor in government and that representation in our Republic has disappeared from both major parties. The Constitution is no longer viewed as the foundational document rather it is considered a living document subject to the will of the majority and the whim of presidents.

I am concerned that the separation of church and state has morphed into the separation of morality and government; truth and righteousness have given way to compromise and realism.

I am concerned that The United States of America will soon be sold out to the rest of the world and wrested of all things that have made her great.

We the people have allowed and at times encouraged the transfer of our rights and therefore our power to the state. But even at this late date we have both recourse and the power to set things right. We have the "Petition of Rights", we have the impeachment process, we have the truth and the truth shall make us free in every sense.

Climate Change and US Sovereignty

brief thoughts on life

Is it just me or does life seem to be composed of series of necessity driven, chaotic, and somewhat meaningless activities punctuated by moments of inspired clarity, sublime joy, and peace? I'm grateful for the moments..."these little wonders, these twists and turns of fate...these small hours still remain." I think the whole point is to direct our lives toward these moments more and more until that's all there is. As it says in Doctrine & Covenants 50:24 "That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day." The ensuing verses talk about progression and the paradox of the servant leader--he that is the least is the greatest of all.

I actually do think I have it figured out...Heleman 5:12 we become more 'moment' oriented as we make Christ our foundation and we are able to "heed them not" (Nephi 8:33) them being Satan, the pride of the world etc. We begin to have the longevity of vision that brings eternal perspective to everything we see and experience, the joy that comes from... Read More confidence that nothing can shack us and the peace that comes from knowing and living right. With time we become, not just built on the Rock, we become part of the Rock, immovable, serene, happy.

Words of wisdom on liberal ideas

Whenever I hear people talking about "liberal ideas," I am always astounded that men should love to fool themselves with empty sounds. An idea should never be liberal; it must be vigorous, positive, and without loose ends so that it may fulfill its divine mission and be productive. The proper place for liberality is in the realm of the emotions.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The tumult of life...at present.

Letter from Langdon: Happy with Health Care? | Daily Yonder | Keep It Rural

Letter from Langdon: Happy with Health Care? | Daily Yonder | Keep It Rural

Shared via AddThis

I'm surprised that rural Americans would even think about asking government to solve their health care problems for them, or trust them to do so for that matter. Since when have we bowed our heads and held out our hand for the dole?

It's interesting to note that the majority of the comments quoted in this article (from those not volunteering) do not support government changes to health care, and rightfully so. As the government becomes more involved in health care, costs are guaranteed to go up, and quality and speed of service to go down.

If we take a good hard look at our current health care system we find that the government already pays for about half of the health care provided in the United States through Medicaid, Medicare, and Veteran Services. We also find that the costs are high because of government regulation and restrictions on services, charges and payment.

Another law, another layer of complexity and more taxes are not what we need; they will not solve this dilemma. The real answer is ending all government health care programs and regulation of the health care industry. But who will keep doctors and hospitals honest and safe you ask? We will. Doctors and hospitals can't make money if we don't patronize them. Right now we go where we have to go to get covered and whatever service we get, well it is what it is. Imagine going where the service is best and shopping around to get the best price, if the government isn't part of the equation any more, this could actually be an affordable reality for more than just the few people who can afford it now.

Considering the lack of promised transparency and horrendous bowing to special interest groups (and foreign powers) exhibited by this administration, any health care plan proposed will be a bloated, two thousand page, fly by night bill that will further divide our partisan federal government and will burden the American people far beyond what we complain of today.

Cap and Trade Uncosititutional

Dear Senator:

I have heard both that you do support and that you are considering not supporting HR2454 ‘Cap and Trade’. I write today to encourage you to vote against this bill. I do not do so without consideration of the environment, we have a great responsibility to be wise stewards of the environment and to live sustainably. However, this bill is not written to any great effect for our environment, I have read various estimates but most agree that there would be less than a 1% change in our emissions.

Congressional Budget Office (CBO) May 7, 2009 testimony to the Senate Committee on Finance from Director Douglas W. Elmendorf about the Distribution of Revenues from a Cap-and-Trade Program for CO2 Emissions clearly states that the costs of this program would be borne by the American people and that the primary reason for this is to force people to change. “Such price increases would be essential to the success of a cap-and-trade program because they would be the most important mechanism through which businesses and households were encouraged to make investments and behavioral changes that reduced CO2 emissions.” Since scientists worldwide are far from reaching consensus on the topic of global warming, let alone it’s causes, I do not understand how government coercion of the people is justified. Further, there is no authority explicitly or implicitly granted in any document, law, or precedent to the federal or state governments, granting power to force the people to change in any way. I believe this to be just cause for anyone to reject this bill but there is further cause to vote against it.

The CBO has estimated the annual cost of this bill to be $147 per household. Others have estimated the cost to be between $1500-$3000 annually per household. In either case the cost is obviously not inclusive of all possible costs since the costs cannot be specifically enumerated at this point. Our economies both nationally and in the state of Missouri are weak. Investor and consumer confidence are shaky at best. The added variable cost of this bill is not likely to improve these facts, instead it is likely to further destabilize our already tenuous circumstances. If there is any real hope in government that we can recover from our current economic down turn voting for this bill would show intentions to the contrary.

One other major reason why this bill must be voted down: it is unconstitutional. Article 1 Section 8 paragraph 1 states “The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;” this law does not comply with the requirement that it be ‘uniform throughout the United States.’ it has instead been intentionally written to penalize certain geographic areas, industries, and populations. The duties or consumption tax levied by this law are required by the Constitution to be uniform and if not uniform then unlawful.

Please consider these points. I encourage you to vote against HR2454 ‘Cap and Trade’.

Sincerely,

Mark Galbraith
Maryville, Missouri
660-254-0714

To be an American indeed

January 3rd, 1919

Dear Mr. Hurd:

I cannot be with you and so all I can do is to wish you God speed. There must be no sagging back in the fight for Americanism merely because the war is over. There are plenty of persons who have already made the assertion that they believe the American people have a short memory and that they intend to revive all the foreign associations which most directly interfere with the complete Americanization of our people. Our principle in this matter should be absolutely simple. In the first place we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here does in good faith become an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the man's becoming in very fact an American and nothing but an American. If he tries to keep segregated with men of his own origin and separated from the rest of America, then he isn’t doing his part as an American. There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag, and this excludes the red flag which symbolizes all wars against liberty and civilization just as much as it excludes any foreign flag of a nation to which we are hostile. We have room for but one language here and that is the English language, for we intend to see that the crucible turns our people out as Americans, of American nationality, and not as dwellers in a polyglot boarding house; and we have room for but one soul loyalty, and that is loyalty to the American people.

Faithfully yours,

Theodore Roosevelt

This is the text of a letter from Theodore Roosevelt to the President of the American Defense Society, Richard Hurd. Theodore Roosevelt died three days after it was written on January 6, 1919. The more times I read this letter the more inspired I am by the message, it proclaims without prejudice the sovereignty of the American people and the expectation that immigrants not just respect that sovereignty, but that they embrace it, and become every whit an American. Immigration is and will continue to be a challenging issue, especially illegal immigration, but I want to focus on the idea here presented of “complete Americanization” verses the segregation that so permeates our nation. My message in writing is to send out a call to all Americans to unite and rise in the might of our sovereignty as The People and force our government to bend to our will or be expelled.

We are at a crossroads in American history that has stymied Americans since the time this letter was written; we have so many internal divisions that we cannot exercise the power of our sovereignty to any effective degree. America is failing to some extent because we cannot let go of our divisions and simply be united under our Constitution. We have allowed race, ethnicity, political party, religion, special interests, lobbies, gender, the environment, and a host of other things to become so demanding of our energy and divisive that we have become impotent as Americans: we no longer have a government “of the people, by the people, for the people” and the very idea of this type of government is under attack by our current government and many who call themselves Americans.

In a few days we will celebrate Independence Day. It is a good time to reflect on what it means to be American. I believe that the flame of liberty still burns bright in the hearts of most Americans. I believe we can transcend divisions and be united under our Constitution and the flag that represents our Republic. I believe we can restore our sovereignty as a people and I believe the words of Abraham Lincoln: “It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

There are millions of Americans who have gone before us and have made this nation great; who have kept the flame of liberty bright. The flame is now ours to protect or to extinguish. The choice is clear: do we unite and return to the simplicity of Constitutional law or do we divide and proceed into the quagmire of special legislation and case law that will drown the flame of liberty? Here is the challenge: we must scrub Washington D.C. clean and we must scrub each state capital clean; we must research and study and unite to remove from office every politician who will not hold aloft the flame of liberty, who bends to special interest groups and lobbies, who yields to calls to enact laws that favor this group or that cause, who bows to foreign powers, or who heeds the siren call of compromise without principle to ’get things done’. Let us petition for impeachment with truth and evidence, let us bring to light the closed door meetings and the back room deals, let us reveal and tear down corruption, and let us once again be free and sovereign Americans under the Constitution “that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” “…we have room for but one soul loyalty, and that is loyalty to the American people.”

Happy Independence Day

Create, What learned as a boy

I spent some time today watching "Mormon Moments" on YouTube. I found that I was not only uplifted but inspired. I thought I would share a couple of my favorite videos.

Missouri 10th Amendment Resolution

This is the text of a letter I send to our House Representative and Senator. I was asked to forward this to another Representative and HCR13 was born a few days later. I really hope that the State of Missouri will pass this 10th Amendment resolution this time. It's time for the federal government to be checked by the States.

"Sorry to be so persistent about this but it’s important to me.

HR294 is great and sends the right message to Washington about the ‘Freedom of Choice’ act; it even mentions the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution, but it is not a statement addressing more than just the issue of abortion.

The part of HR 212 that made a clear statement about limited federal government and Missouri State sovereignty was not carried into HR294, and should be addressed separately. The Tenth Amendment is in my opinion a much larger issue than abortion, it states that powers not expressly granted to the federal government by the Constitution are reserved to the States. However, if the States continue to abdicate their powers and allow the federal government to assume those powers, as we have seen on an accelerated scale these last couple of months, there will come a time that the federal government supersedes the States authority in essence voiding that authority altogether.

We have seen this in the distribution of the ‘Stimulus’ funds as the federal government has made stipulations imposing it’s power on the States; we have seen this in the ‘Freedom of Choice’ act and the ‘Card Check’ act and in the recent issuance of (Executive orders) such as Presidential Determination No. 2009-15 of January 27, 2009 facilitating and paying for immigration from Gaza, the appointment of radical activists and lobbyists to executive cabinet positions—people who will do their best to push anti-gun, universal health care, pro-abortion, etc. laws through the House and Senate—that will dramatically reduce the right of the States to self govern and self regulate.

We have a Democrat and somewhat of a Republican (who in the last few months has seemed to have abandoned conservatism all together) in the US senate. They have, for whatever reason, not protected (nor have they promoted) the sovereignty of the State of Missouri at the federal level, they have instead participated in the quid pro quo compromise of principle and power to ‘get things done’, and by so doing have broken their oaths to uphold the Constitution and more especially the tenth amendment as for the last 17 years the executive and legislative branches of the federal government have chipped away at the rights reserved to the States.

I’m angry with federal (and some State) politicians who have been so caught up in getting things done that they don’t stop to hold up laws against the Constitution and ask, not if we should do it, but can we do it; does it stand up? Does it hold water? Does it meet the original intent? It’s time to stop laws from going out that don’t measure up to the principles meted out in the Constitution. The only way to do that is for the States to reassert their sovereignty and for representatives and senators at the federal level to represent that sovereignty and pull in the reigns. I believe that a House Resolution reminding the federal government of State sovereignty based on the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution is needed at this time.

Will you please work with others in the House and Senate to reintroduce a ‘Tenth Amendment’ resolution? I have attached a draft (based on Oklahoma HJR1003 and SJR10) that I hope will be useful to you. I am encouraging others to share their thoughts with you as well, hopefully you will hear from some of them.

Thank you for all you do and for your continuing efforts to make our State a better place."

There is a heavy burden of vigilance that rests on the shoulders of the people to guide their respective representatives by regular communication. If this guidance is not provided then the clamorous voices of special interests groups and lobbyists become their only gauge of the will of the people.

I am not content to let special interest groups and lobbyists, no matter how good their cause, represent me to my elected Representatives. I will make my own voice heard, and I will raise the call to good people everywhere: raise your own voice, make your self heard; e-mail, write, call, visit. When our elected officials listen to their inner voice, ours should be the voice that they hear above all others.

If we do not speak they will not hear. Be your own voice and be heard.

Money and the government...need I say more?

I got a heads up on this video from the John Birch Society...this is serious stuff.




In the mid-nineteenth century America was in similar circumstances. True it was individual banks rather than the government printing the money, but the money was being printed without the backing of real currency-gold or silver.

How did we solve it then? Well we created a common currency and tied it to something with real value-gold. Did the economy of that time get turned on its head? Yes! Did America survive? Yes! Did we learn from history? Apparently not.

We are now mired so deep in debt, and so entrenched in the habit of debt that the government thinks that more dept and the resulting devaluation of our currency is a solution! Are we so in love with the things that our debt provides for us that we cannot see the root of this love smothering our own heart and soul? The lie of prosperity we have perpetuated for the last twenty years has come to light; I say it's time to start digging out the stifling root that got us here, and fall out of love with debt and money, government and people alike.

It's time for a rumble: We The People VS. Washington DC. This has become a defining social issue as much as it is a fiscal issue. The freedom of the average American family to save and to provide for their own needs, to plan for the future with confidence is slowly being squelched; squashed into oblivion. It's time for the 100 million of the Family Research Council, the Focus on the Family, the CATO Institute, the John Birch Society and every other freedom loving organization, but most especially individuals, to become the voice of reason and the fostering force for conscience in the mind of every congressman and senator, and in the mind of our president.

We must drown out the chaos of the lobbyists and the special interest groups with a firm and uninterrupted flow of communication and with united purpose and resolve. We The People have allowed the creation of they the government, and have through inaction, fostered it's growth to a great and festering blight on the body of freedom, the constitution and the founding ideals of America.

We can no longer simply enjoy our freedoms and idly leave the governance of our nation to others. Nor can we tolerate the ignorance, disregard and inaction of our elected officials. If they will not serve honorably, they must be pulled down ignominiously. If they cannot hold aloft the torch of freedom for fear they cannot hide, then we must hold it up and and bring to light every concealed action and closed door conversation.

I know personally people who have not voted because of apathy in three or more presidential election cycles. Awake America, Arise America, Be America!

They the government, their days are numbered. This bloated boil that sits atop a deep abscess must be cut away and the infection scraped out, however deep it may be, so that healing may begin. Borrowing must end, entitlements must decrease and then end, and spending must become balanced. Taxes must decrease to the point of only sustaining actual needs and government budgetary surpluses must be kept at acceptable levels not spent on the whims of the electors as dictated by the voice of the party or the lobby or the special interest. Now is the time! Wherever we stand is the place! We must raise our voices high and be heard.

It's time for a change that we make.