WAKE THE HECK UP AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Politicians lie. Voters re-elect them time and time again.

The lies are pointed out, usually not very obviously unless of course the politician is supposedly a 'conservative' & then it is blared from every television, every radio, every newspaper, streamed across the internet, etc.

The politicians are re-elected.

Do we enjoy being lied to?
Are we ignoring the lies because "everyone lies"?
Are we worn down thinking that nothing can be done to change this?
Are we busy justifying a vote for the liar because we cannot be bothered to think for ourselves?

As we become more embroiled in the 'election year politics', I find myself more disgusted, more terrified, more stunned EVERY day. The information is pablum, doled out to us in bits & pieces by those surrounding the candidates. Every utterance by the candidates is 'explained' &/or clarified. Sentences are parsed by 'reporters' to find words or phrases that will create sensation/controversy/titillation or, if very lucky for the reporter 'CRISIS'.

We have the word CRISIS thrown at us daily. It seems every report contains the word CRISIS.

The housing market CRISIS.
The energy CRISIS.
The global warming CRISIS.
The Republican convention CRISIS.
The Democrat convention CRISIS.
The Myanmar CRISIS.
The earthquake in China CRISIS.
The tornadoes in the midwest CRISIS.
The flooding along rivers CRISIS.
The Medicare CRISIS.
The Iraq CRISIS.
The pharmaceutical CRISIS.

Get the point? Listening to the news, reading papers or the internet are certain to throw you into the CRISIS pool. Just pick your personal favorite & yes, it too is a CRISIS.

My personal CRISIS is the Senate, Congress, the Supreme Court, the President & of course, the CRISIS in our state of Wisconsin regarding our budget -- well actually, the lack thereof. Dealing with state issues is for another day. Right now, this concerns the federal level.

We the 'little people', the 'silent majority' had damn well better get off our butts and hold our so-called representatives accountable.

When do these idiots in the Senate & Congress begin to vote for us? When, since they have NEVER invested in US, do we DIvest ourselves of THEM?

The final straw for me in lighting this fire tonight is the "Lieberman-Warner Cap bill" that is currently being touted in the Senate & Congress. Do not be fooled into thinking this will actually cap anything other than your ability to afford gas to get to the grocery store or your children to school or to afford food. This is to 'save the environment' -- not save you or me or cut emissions. According to the EPA, this bill will increase gas costs by at least $1.50 per gallon. The GDP will be reduced by at least $3 TRILLION per year. This means far fewer jobs in America. This means far fewer businesses in America. This means more dependence on foreign products.

If this bill passes, you can be assured the costs will be passed on to you and me. The theory is that the government will auction off 'energy credits' that gas, electric, coal & oil companies will have to buy. Where will the money come from? You and me. No one else. Who do the idiots in government think will pay for this?

The people crafting garbage such as this do not actually work for money from us -- the salary & many benefits they are paid (certainly not earned) are miniscule compared to what they are paid elsewhere. Speeches, endorsements, appearances, fundraising, whatever -- they are all millionaires & will only become richer. Does it come as a surprise that most in the Senate & Congress are also lawyers?

Oh, by the way, your lawyer-friendly representative is about to vote to give lawyers an additional tax deduction -- they will be able to write off their expenses when suing someone. When you go to a lawyer who takes your case on contingency fee, he/she will get 30-50% of your award. Plus expenses. The expenses are in addition to the fee! But, now those poor lawyers will be able to write them off to aid in their enormous tax burden. WHY? They will be paid & be able to write the costs off also. How is that fair? Ordinary citizens cannot get this treatment. Not without a powerful lobby. Ordinary people do not HAVE a lobbyist.

If you don't believe me, believe a representative from Texas who was not re-elected & talked about the newly elected reps going to Austin, TX for their districts. He said (and I am paraphrasing) they will spend their first term learning the ropes & how things are done; voters cannot expect them to get much accomplished until they acquire seniority because that is when they get on powerful committees. That is where the real power lies. How sad that he is right. Maybe it is the first truly honest thing he has ever said but the media didn't even see the irony in his comments!

I believe that what he also meant was that that was where the real money lies. Seniority.

How is it that someone can take a job making just over $100,000 a year, keep the job a few years & be a millionaire? How many of these representatives file separately from their spouse so the acquisitions & benefits of their years in 'public service' are in the name of others or put into a trust just waiting until such time as they 'retire' or are (heaven forbid) defeated?

Doesn't it make you sick to think of this? Even with the best financial planner in the world, you can't live on a salary such as theirs, and wind up as a millionaire within a few years.

It is time to drill for oil in our country -- especially as CHINA is slant drilling for oil 50 miles off the shores of Florida! Yes, the state of Florida in America! CHINA! What are we doing? nothing! Why not drill off of our own shores or in Alaska in Anwar? Alaska WANTS to do this & is told NO! Thank Al Gore & his cronies & the environmentalists who care more for a fruit fly than for human life. Europe is running on nuclear energy & coal burning plants. But not us -- oh no -- not allowed. Coal burning plants are not going to be built even though modern technology has shown these plants to be unaffecting to the environment. Same story for refineries. NO. The lobby the environmentalists have is powerful & choking the rest of us. And while environmentalists pat themselves on their collective back, more people in America are finding it damn near impossible to make ends meet; to feed their children, to afford gas to drive to & from work, to pay property taxes, to even think about saving for college or a home or retirement.

The 'silent majority' sits silently.

There is no one watching out for us. NO ONE. You had better contact all of your elected representatives NOW and tell them to change.

We have to speak out NOW. To believe otherwise... you would have to be a chemo-brain, radiated, experimental-cancer-drugs-treated blonde.

Oh, wait...

I am one.

Election frustration

The more things change the more they stay the same.....

Elections are a year away & already the press (all forms of media - including bloggers) are making predictions.

But, nothing changes.

People get elected to the Senate, to Congress, to the Presidency - and all we, the everyday, ordinary people get is more double speak and 'position papers'.

Have you ever tried to call your representative and get an answer on how they plan to vote on an upcoming bill? What happens to me - and I call & write often - is gobblegook in a 'position paper' that is emailed to me.

I don't get it.

Why can't these millionaires just answer the question?

Yes or no. Simple for you and I to say.

Impossible to get that answer to a direct ' yes' or 'no' question.

And more importantly, why do we keep electing the same millionaires?

Remind me again....Why are we in the U.N.?

Today the news is so full of bombings BY Israel - as it has been for the last few weeks.

Why isn't there outrage against Lebanon and Hezbollah for all the bombings of Israel wherein they actually target innocent citizens.

Israel's soldiers are dressed in military uniforms - very easy to pick out in a crowd. Hezbollah's cowards are dressed as civilians AND are firing from positions using homes with men, women & children in them. Then a majority of the world condemns Israel?

WHAT?

Damn the U.N. for being the spineless, worthless, greedy, sleazy, do-nothing-unless-it-lines-my-pockets mental midgets they have shown themselves to be.

Held hostage by mid-east oil, the U.S., Russia & China - of course, France is there in all her infamy - no one speaks the truth to condemn the true villains: Lebanon, Syria, Iran. Why don't UN people have any backbones? Why don't they show any moral fortitude? Oh, that's right.... Because they DON'T HAVE ANY!!!!!!!

More importantly: WHY IS THE UNITED STATES STILL PAYING MONEY TO BELONG TO THIS PATHETIC, USELESS ORGANIZATION?

It is akin to belonging to a country club that will not admit anyone of color; you may sit back & gripe about it, but you still pay your dues & you still support the functions because you - what? - don't want to be left out? So, for all your pretty speeches & your support of functions to promote harmony between people, you are not willing to give up your seat at the table of greed because it would mean you actually have to stand up for what is right & for the words that come out of your mouth. But, your actions speak so much louder than your words ever will.

Tell the U.N. to take a hike. Tell members to pay all their unpaid fines in New York & anywhere else they owe them. Tell members to pay what they owe; arrest those who have broken our laws - no more hiding behind 'diplomatic immunity'.

Then tell them to GO HOME.

Tell them they to come back when they can act & vote as moral, upstanding, truthful members & guardians of freedoms around the world.

My bet would be, were this to actually happen (dream on mad fool, as my Mother used to say) that all any of us would ever see of them is their backside as they leave this country.

Unless - UNTIL - the UN lives up to the charter & precepts under which it was founded, we need to withdraw all support.

I cannot think of one single politician who would support this position because you see, that would take courage. The REAL kind of courage where you say what you mean AND mean what you say.

My Senators & Congressmen from Wisconsin do not have this courage. I know this because I write to them & all I get back is political-speak: putting lots of words on paper that do not mean a damn thing.

Do your representatives have the courage to say what they mean AND mean what they say? If so, I would love to know about them.

Voter I.D. cards!

What is wrong with us? We live in the most wonderful country in the world and yet there is the stench of apathy permeating every aspect of our lives, from who we elect to represent us to what is being taught in our schools.

I listened to a man on c-span this a.m. while channel surfing & he was trying to convince the host - as well as those of us in the tv audience - that Mexicans here in America aren't really voting in the elections in Mexico because we - the bad Americans - might realize they are here illegally. I take umbrage with his statements.

He is from Georgetown University Center for Latin American Studies and was actually whining that ONLY 32,000+ ballots were sent to Mexicans here in America and ONLY 28,000+ were actually returned. WOW! If we could get 87.5% of Americans to vote....it would be a miracle.

As far as I can tell, the number of Mexican ballots returned is quite high. He talked about 300,000 Mexicans legally coming across the border on a daily basis PLUS the 400,000 that are coming across illegally DAILY. Those were his words. He talked about how wonderful the election system is in Mexico - that the government has about 3,000 workers who deal only with elections & the electronic balloting process. He then talked about how EVERY Mexican citizen has a voter card - with picture i.d.

My question is: WHY DON'T WE IN THE UNITED STATES HAVE A VOTER I.D. CARD?

The next thing that struck me was some woman calling in to talk about all the 'stolen elections' that are happening because of electronic ballots. Has she lost it? Does she not read? Does she not know that hackers cannot get into systems that are independent? They can't sit down & tap into balloting machines that only tabulate the results which are then called & sent into, in writing, a central place? What is with all the people & the 'stolen election' garbage? Is this how they keep themselves awake at night, wondering who will steal an election next? Would she have said the same thing is Kerry had won?

More than anything, I want VOTER I.D. CARDS. I want them now. But I live in a state where the Governor thinks that we don't need them. How dense is he?

Well, this same Governor thinks that the 'Castle Doctrine' is a waste of time & not necessary. He vetoes it every time - twice now - to make sure that criminals have the right to sue the heck out of me if they commit a crime on my property & I defend myself & my family.

This all tracks back to problems with voting or rather NOT VOTING.

We need Voter I.D. cards.
We need people to actually show up at the polls.
We all need to PAY ATTENTION!!!!!

And, last but not least, MAKE OUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES ACCOUNTABLE!!!!!!

Please explain it to me.....

Amazingly, I cannot understand why there are so many divisions in this country.

If you are homosexual, I do not need to know that. Just as you do not need to know if I am or am not homosexual. What does it matter? If I am hired to do a job, my sexuality has absolutely nothing to do with how well - or how poorly - I do my job, where I buy my groceries, where I shop, what I buy, where I go out to dinner, the movies I choose to see.

And no one can explain to me why knowing this would be important.

If I am black, again, it does not affect how well - or how poorly - I do my job.

Same goes for Asian, Latino, Italian, Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, tall, short, thin, fat, green, purple, orange or burgundy.

Maybe I am just too literal.

Either you want to be in this country, become a citizen, acknowledge the struggles that have gone into building this nation & assimilate - or you want to be in a different country. Get a job & work to earn your place here. Do not ask for handouts just because you decide you are somehow 'owed' something. It's really very simple.

Giving special priority to anyone just because they exist is wrong. Giving preferential treatment to someone because of the color of their skin, or sexuality, or shoe size, or whether they are right or left handed, needs to stop.

And before anyone says "discrimination" is the reason....I've experienced it. Been there on the receiving end. And moved past it. It was the problem of the person(s) who were ignorant. But no one held a parade for me, no special prosecutor was appointed, no one stepped in to 'make it right'. I did that by doing my job & doing it well. I did that by living my own life which includes helping others.

It seems to me that the only ones creating divisions are those who are claiming to have been 'set apart', yet continually try to set themselves apart as a 'victim'.

So, again, I ask: what do all these divisions have to do with anything?

I am a smart person, but I really do not understand.

Stop the nonsense in the NYT!

The best way - the only way - to make the NYT understand we, the people of the United States, are tired of their singular pursuit of stories, no matter the cost - is....tah dah

CONTACT ALL ADVERTISERS IN THE NYT & TELL THEM YOU WILL NO LONGER BE A CUSTOMER OF THEIRS.

Then do it. Or rather, do NOT do it. DO NOT shop there. DO NOT buy from them. DO NOT use their services.

And tell them why. Exactly. Because they advertise in the NYT and therefore support the rag. Tell the advertisers that you will not be a customer as long as they are clients of the NYT.

It works!!!

Just look at the advertisers who have pulled their support of certain t.v. shows & how quickly those shows were pulled from network schedules. (the Book of Daniel comes to mind)

Now, if the current readers & subscribers of the NYT actually do this, I will be the most surprised woman on the face of this planet. Actually, if the current subscribers & readers just stop subscribing & reading the NYT, they can remove all power from that paper to try to influence.

The people in L.A. should do this also.

I just do not have faith that this will happen in either area. And unless it does, most of the rest of this country will believe that those two areas are completely devoid of any common sense.

I am deeply ashamed that our country has allowed these pathetic, greedy, avaricious reporters and their accomplices (read traitors) to continue unabated in their 'war on America'. I would like to suggest that these reporters, the entire staff and owners of the NYT be sent to live in Iraq for at least 5 years. Let them 'enjoy', through first-hand experience, what it is like to live in the real world of terrorism.

Some day these people will finally go too far and the rest of the nation will awaken from the drunken stupor provided by the MSM. When that day comes, and ONLY when that day comes, will we who are actually living in the REAL WORLD, with real lives, with real concerns - be allowed to say "I TOLD YOU SO! WHY DIDN'T YOU LISTEN?"

My prayer is that those who are not listening, not believing, not understanding, not doing anything to stop these acts of treason - my prayer is that it will NOT be too late.

My fear is that it WILL be too late because there are too many who are hiding their head in the sand, imagining some mysterious 'others' will fix this.

Every American needs to stand up and be counted. Every American needs to take responsibility for their own actions and for the actions of those elected to represent them.

For myself and my family, we will continue to support the war on terrorism. We will continue to be thankful for those who put themselves in harms way to protect us. We will continue to believe ('I believe. I believe. I know it's silly but I believe...') that good will conquer evil.

Thank you for carrying the load. I know it is heavy and may seem others don't care. Please understand that more believe in what you are doing than the MSM will ever have the intestinal fortitude to admit.

We will continue to support you. We will continue to ask God's blessing and safekeeping for you and yours.