Thursday, December 31, 2009

Rush Limbaugh…

The “professor” of the greatest institution of learning (The Institute for Advanced Conservative Studies) deserves the prayers of all Americans. Our country is the bastion of political freedom and no one exemplifies that more than “professor” Limbaugh. He encourages debate and promotes the skill of analytical thinking with humor on his radio show every week.

The left hates him because he exposes their social political schemes with facts, truth, and humor. He shines the light on the issues that they try to push forward in the dead of night. He is an institution in his own right and the country would be worse off without him even if the left believes differently.

We pray you get better fast Rush. This is no time to be giving the left any hope. You get your butt out of bed and back behind the mic.

Godspeed…

Irrelevance is a State of Mind; Change Your Mind in 2010…

No one is irrelevant; everyone is irrelevant, that is the question. I am tired of hearing people say they have no ability to change things, especially the course of our current out of control federal government. If that is what you believe, that is the impact you will have. You will have made yourself irrelevant. By believing you are, you become what you believe. The case holds true the other way as well.


I believe I am relevant even when it seems at times I am all alone in the battle. But I march on writing blogs, talking to my family, friends and neighbors, sending out a newsletter, running for office, starting a new business, writing and calling political representatives. I march on even if at times I feel like I am being ignored.


But here is the secret you must cling to when you think you are irrelevant. The most credible political and business leaders felt the same way at some time. And their efforts are now marked in history because they knew deep down that any action taken towards a cause is a small piece of necessary fuel to achieve the bigger cause. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.


A call to your senator on the healthcare bill is one call. But when you put it next to my call it makes two calls. And when you put it next to the million other callers who feel irrelevant; you achieve relevance. Each relevant action is the accumulation of people that feel irrelevant at times. We can and we will change this government to be more responsive as our founders intended in our constitution. But you must believe you can be relevant in the cause. Any time you feel irrelevant you must take an action. Action is the key to relevance.


Here is an action I have taken to be relevant; I am running for Governor of Colorado. Even though I am being ignored by the people who have an interest in making me irrelevant, I keep taking action. I am writing, reading, calling, and setting up infrastructure to take this government back. And I don’t care if I am alone right now; I know that the only way to be relevant is to get in the “game” through my actions.


Follow me here. If I didn’t have a website and Blog, newsletter, signed up with the Secretary of State’s office, created a committee to elect me, and be willing to be ignored, would I have any chance of being relevant? If I had taken no action would I have chosen to be irrelevant? You bet. Now I ask you to look at you and your actions. Are you acting in a manner to be relevant, or are you not taking action? Therefore choosing to be irrelevant.



It is 2010 starting tomorrow and it is time to become a relevant player in the efforts to return to the founding principles of this great nation. It takes action. Not one big action but many little ones. Here are the things we all can do every day leading up to the 2010 elections:


  • Get informed by reading and doing research on issues and candidates.

  • Find a campaign and offer to get involved.

  • Read the US Constitution, and every week pick it up again when you are listening to the political arguments and find whose responsibility it is according to the constitution. (Hint: the federal government only has 18 enumerated powers (Article I Section 8), the rest fall to the states and we the people. Read the Tenth Amendment closely and often).

  • Give $5.00 to at least one campaign you believe deserves it in 2010.

  • Look at candidates beyond the two parties. The two parties both have track records that must be considered. Both have failed us and don’t be hoodwinked into believing you are wasting a vote on a candidate you believe in that is outside the party.

  • Keep calling and writing your political representatives as often as you can even if it is one sentence. Let them know you are watching and intend to vote.

  • Hug your children every day and explain to them why you are getting involved in the process. Show them how to become relevant.

  • Don’t give up. Read about our history and the founders and the circumstances they faced at the founding of our country. Read the Real George Washington, Samuel Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, and other books, and what you will find is that our founding was often in peril but these men were always relevant even when the cause seemed overwhelming. Be like the founders. They are truly inspirational.

  • And finally, remember you are not alone. Eighty percent of the country in some way believes we need to reduce government in our lives. Imagine if eighty percent of the country made one phone call to your home phone to ask you to be relevant.

Being irrelevant is a choice, but it is not the right choice. Make a commitment to yourself this year to be relevant.


Happy New Year!

Thursday, December 24, 2009

The Two Party System Stands Against Freedom…

I cringe when I hear political pundits suggest that only the Republican Party and its candidates can “save” our country from these out of control democratic socialists. It is a view not only shared by pundits, but sadly, many voting Americans. Voters are mad at the current intrusion of our federal government and want it stopped, but they have been duped to believe republicans are the answer; again. Individuals are the answer, not republicans.

I have to say as someone that considers himself a critical thinker, I find their logic flawed on a number of levels. The first level is the recent history of the Republican Party’s track record on spending, immigration, global warming, and the constitution in general. The Republican Party is as guilty as the Democratic Party when it comes to applying the law of the land our constitution. Both parties conveniently ignore it when it gets in the way of one of their programs, and site it only when they are opposed to a program of the other party. The constitution today as viewed by the two major parties is for all intensive purposes; simply our past history.

The constitution is not past history although it was conceived and created in the past, it is the key to a prosperous future. A future of less burdensome federal laws and regulations, and a return to individual freedom with control of our destiny entrusted more closely to we the people through the tenth amendment. The Tenth Amendment has been completely ignored by our federal representatives as proven most recently in the healthcare debate. Healthcare has no constitutional foundation yet our representatives continue to debate the merits of this unconstitutional federal program. This is just the most recent example of a two party system that completely rejects the Tenth Amendment of our constitution.

Immigration law, which is a constitutional requirement of the federal government, has been turned upside down by both parties and they can’t even agree that people that cross our borders illegally are illegal immigrants. Both parties fight over the need to give amnesty to this group of people that may be nice people, do the jobs that Americans won’t do (which is a scam in itself) but are criminals. The constitution clearly gives the federal government the requirement to secure the border against these illegals but what have either of the parties done? Ignored and fought against doing their constitutional duty.

Both parties are spending us into bankruptcy, perpetuating the false movement of manmade “global warming”, and have kept us on the unconstitutional path of more centralized government. So why would anyone continue to vote for either party’s candidates?

That is the million dollar question but I have a couple of ideas. First, the media ignores every other candidate in almost every race. They often opine about the need for better candidates but they ignore any attempt by good citizens to get involved in the electoral process. They are complete hypocrites and are in total collusion with both parties.

Second, the myth that only the major party candidates have a “real” chance of getting elected is an outright lie. If people had a better opportunity to see other candidates this myth would quickly fall apart.

Third, is the notion that if you elect a non-party candidate to office the two parties will keep them from getting anything done. Again, I believe that is a complete myth. A truly effective leader would go right past the legislature dominated by the two parties and make their case with the people. The truly patriotic individuals would come around and join the bandwagon of true constitutional reform.

And my final point here is one that I believe with my heart and soul; the parties have corrupted good individuals to believe politics is an industry, and we should promote career politicians. Nothing could be more corrosive to our country than a political class that by design will always be the enemy of freedom and our constitution. In order to create a perception they are needed they need chaos and confusion so they can come to the rescue of some problem they perceive or create based on anecdotal evidence. Then play off the good hearts of most Americans to fund their perceived or created crisis.

We have all of the direction we need as a country and it is found in the constitution, and can only be realized if we reaffirm the Tenth Amendment and start managing our own affairs. If this becomes the goal of Americans we no longer need any party. We need people that will be protectors of our individual freedom and constitutional rights to limited government.

The two parties don’t realize what many of their past members like me do; the parties stand against our freedom. They are there to perpetuate their existence under the guise of protecting a constitution they don’t even believe in…

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Stealing the American Soul…

It seems that every effort is being made by the current politicians to appeal to the worst of human character. The efforts seem to focus on creating dependency on government, a movement away from individual responsibility and liberty, communalism over individualism, forced compassion over true compassion, fear over opportunity, and an underlying notion that we are incapable of self rule.

Until the constitution is completely steamrollered, those of us that believe in America must now take a stand. There are two camps; camp one is the belief that we are better off when we stand up for our founding principles and the constitution, even when it is the harder path. And camp two that believes we must abandon our founding principles for the utopian ideals of communism, socialism, globalism, environmentalism, and stateism.

We have not seen such a disregard for our principles of free markets, capitalism, and constitutional government since our founding revolution. We must start talking about the idea of revolting against the current regime, not through violence, but through passionate, engaged, and ongoing efforts to support candidates and organizations that are trying to keep freedom alive. It is time to rebel against a government that thinks they are the boss. They are not the boss, they work for us.

We must stop saying the efforts to stop healthcare or any government program are fruitless. There are millions and millions of Americans that are ready to reject socialism, globalism, extreme environmentalism, and all ongoing efforts to destroy the soul of America. We are the majority even though we have allowed the election of too many radicals into our government. We can change that quickly but we must engage in the debates and we must do our part.

There has never been a greater opportunity to validate the American Dream than now. We have the opportunity to make history by stopping the federal centralization of this nation’s resources by defending our constitutional rights. Our constitution is the foundation and legitimate plan for our future. The constitution has the plan already spelled out if we just reaffirm its role in our running of government.

Freedom is hard, and too many Americans seem to be looking for a “free lunch”. But there is no free lunch. The price of any lunch provided by a government program comes with a withdrawal on a piece of your freedom. We can work together to help provide for the truly needy among us but to make everyone dependent on government is an evil that must be stopped.

We are in the fight of our lives for the very American soul so many patriots gave their lives to protect. Our ancestors pledged their lives and fortunes to give us this greatest nation. All we have to do is get involved at meetings, writing letters, and supporting candidates not for their party affiliation but for their commitment to our founding principles.

That is a small price to pay to protect the soul of America; our Constitution…

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Where is the Constitution?

The one thing missing in the healthcare debate is the most important aspect of the entire argument; the U.S. Constitution. The law of the land every politician in Washington swears to uphold but rarely site as a reason for their support or rejection of a bill. The healthcare takeover by the central government is constitutionally problematic on so many levels.

First is the tenth amendment. All powers not vested in the constitution are the responsibility of the individual and states. There is no mention of healthcare in the constitution on any level. There are politicians that stretch the commerce clause, general welfare, and right to life references but those are all specific to enumerated powers in the constitution. We all want to improve our healthcare access and keep costs affordable but handing it over to government will do neither.

Second, are our right to privacy and our ability to contract with other individuals. I have the right to create a contract between my family and my doctor for medical services. I can contract with insurance companies to provide coverage for my medical services. The government has no power to infringe on that relationship since healthcare is not an illegal activity; yet. The government plan to throw the company or doctor in jail for contracting for services is a direct assault on my individual freedom and rights.

Third, since when can the government punish individual citizens for not taking action or not participating in an activity? How can the federal government or any government force me through punitive actions to purchase healthcare insurance? If they can pass a law to make me purchase insurance then can they pass a law to force me to purchase a particular brand of car, say a General Motors car because it is government made? If this is the case the constitution is a useless piece of paper.

Our central government is about to force “global warming” policy on us by regulating us through the Environmental Protection Agency. The recent designation by the EPA of CO2 as an “endangerment” to our health (even though we exhale it every breath), is being leveraged by the current president to force American citizens to pay outrageous amounts of money to countries on the false premise that we in America are creating this false phenomenon of manmade global warming. All foreign agreements must be ratified by our Senate to be implemented and binding on the American people. That is the constitutional requirement. But because this current administration and political class don’t believe in our constitutional rights, they are doing an end run through unconstitutional regulations.

We must end this through the election of strong Governors that have taken the Tenth Amendment pledge, and believe the government must adhere to all constitutional requirements even if it means the world views us in a negative way. Personally I could care less what any of these two bit dictators and rogue nations think about us. We are the greatest nation in the world with political leaders that are nowhere near world class. If we followed our constitution we would be better off economically, socially, and the world would respect the fact that we are a nation of laws.

Currently we are being led by an unlawful group of people that have lost their moral compass. They believe what they are doing is saving the world and making our lives better but what they don’t realize is they are just as bad as the common criminal. They are criminals that are breaking the law of our land; the U.S. Constitution.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Defund the EPA…

The recent declaration by the EPA regarding CO2 being an “endangerment” to our health was done to bypass normal legislative process. You see, by declaring CO2 dangerous the EPA can now regulate it at will. Senator Jim Webb (D) Virginia has sent a warning to the administration that any commitment at Copenhagen regarding CO2 reduction must go through congress. That is the constitutional requirement.

The administration is balking at that and is arguing that since CO2 is now an “endangerment” to the public, they can commit to reductions without congressional approval. OK, but don’t they know that all appropriations have to be authorized by congress?

Simple solution Senator; defund the EPA and see how long they can hold their breath without any funds…

Thursday, December 10, 2009

The Results of Government Education…

All you need to do is look at the results of the Detroit Public School system to see the future of healthcare; a disaster. It is a sin, it is criminal, but it is typical of government programs. Good intention, pitiful reality. So why do we expect anything different?

Story after story can be found supporting the argument that government controlled services that are the people’s responsibility will end up in failure. That is why the founders designed the U.S. Constitution the way they did. It was a limitation on government to allow a free people to prosper in a free market. Government was only useful in a few key areas. The founders didn’t intend government to be in education, healthcare, or social services.

Sixty nine percent of 4th graders and seventy nine percent of 8th graders scored below basic levels of the math skills expected at that grade level. And the real sadness is that the basic level is so low that we are stealing the hope and dreams of every one of these children. It is outrageous and criminal. This is America and it seems our cities are becoming third world. And the common denominator; government dependence. Here is an excerpt from the article: “The state appointed emergency financial manager Robert Bobb said no school district in the 40 year history of the test has ever registered such low number. “

“Bobb made it a point to say the horrible test scores are not the fault of the students, management was to blame.”

“Management” is the government.

If we allow the government to take over our healthcare you can expect the same results; failure and misery. The government is a heartless bureaucracy that could care less about your health or well being. Their role will be to push papers, stamp denial on your request for service form, and complain they don’t make enough money for doing a task that is unnecessary.

We are Americans and we must re-emphasize the American spirit again. We must celebrate the individual and local churches and communities. We must work with our neighbors and build the greatness back into the American fabric one student and individual at a time. Government has been given a long enough chance to prove themselves.

And like the math tests in Detroit, the scores are all you need as evidence that the government control of education and healthcare needs to be stopped…

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

The Real Threat to Mankind is the Federal Government…

Yesterday the Environmental Protection Agency declared carbon dioxide an “endangerment” to mankind in order to give it the ability to regulate the substance without going through the congressional legislative process. Basically it gives them tyrannical powers to control anything that emits carbon dioxide which includes YOU!

This received little press but it is a significant threat to our way of life. Carbon Dioxide is necessary for life and is a bi-product of the human breathing process and nothing could be more natural to the environment. Plants could not grow and life could not be sustained without it but now we are to believe we are “endangered” by this common element of life? This is nothing but a grab for control of tax dollars, regulating business, and a movement toward world tyranny through the phony environmental movement.

As governor of Colorado I will nullify every environmental regulation of this current administration. I will be a wall of freedom for every Coloradan, and every American that is tired of this crazy bunch of lunatics that want to destroy this great nation. I will stop federal expansion and I will ask every Colorado citizen to be a soldier in this fight. We must take a stand and we need to stand on the constitutional grounds that we were founded on.

I love the environment but I can see a dictator from a mile away, and this administration and current federal bureaucracy is full of dictators that want to dictate your life right down to the last breath you take. They are as dangerous as Nazi Germany was to the Jewish population in the 1930’s. They are building a movement around a false premise and will destroy anyone that questions or challenges the movement. They have not reached the point of extermination camps but if this movement is allowed to continue the ramifications could be the same.

We are under assault and we need to look to the Governors of the states and we the people to stop this war being waged on us. Get involved and get ready to be called to battle. You need to be ready because they are coming for you. You can bet your last breath on it…

Monday, December 7, 2009

Fools, Liars, and Thieves…

The people running our federal government could be categorized into these three categories. The fools are the representatives that believe the only way to stop this boondoggle of a government is to “compromise” and move to the “center” where the people want them to be. I’ve got news for you; most people are conservative in nature and want you out of their lives. These fools believe that reducing the impact of the healthcare bill is a strategy instead of killing the bill with every piece of leverage they can muster. The fools don’t realize this is truly life or death.

Liars are almost the entire congress. Not one of them is making a constitutional argument against any bill especially this healthcare bill that they swore to uphold at their oath of office. They lied that they would protect and uphold the constitution.

They are all thieves of the treasury. Every single one of them has no problem stealing our children’s future by borrowing us into bankruptcy, transferring other people’s hard earned money from one generation to the next, and using extortion tactics to get all kinds of unconstitutional legislation passed.

This is our government at work and we are still not outraged. Oh sure some of us are but this is a sad commentary on our ability to manage self rule. The experiment is dying on our watch as we keep electing, fools, liars, and thieves…

God Bless our troops and veterans, especially those patriots that sacrificed their lives on this day in 1941.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Support the Tenth Amendment Center…

There are people and organizations that need our support, and I believe the Tenth Amendment Center is worthy of our support at this critical time in history. The U.S. Constitution is always important, and seemingly always ignored. It has been ignored for too long, and in my opinion is the reason we are in so much economic and social turmoil.

I urge you to go to their website and give them $5, $10, or whatever you can afford after reviewing the great resources on their site. The founder, Michael Boldin is a true patriot and will appreciate your help. So why am I encouraging you to donate to his site?

The battle for freedom and our founding principles has never been under such assault since our original founding. It takes time, money, people, and resources to win any war. And believe me this current administration is at war with the founding principles that have made this country great. We need to continue educating the citizens of this great nation on the arsenal we have on our side including the constitution and especially the Tenth Amendment. The Tenth Amendment Center is dedicated to doing that but they need our support.

Michael has not asked me to do this. I am doing it because I believe in the cause, and I have built my humble campaign on the foundation of the Constitution and the Tenth Amendment. I have also donated to the cause. The people that are at war with the constitution are well funded and we must be as well. This is a fight we can’t afford to lose.

The U.S. Constitution is a document every politician swears to defend but most don’t even know what they are swearing to. That is obvious because if they were truly defending the constitution the federal government would be 75% smaller than it is today. Politicians have been remiss in their duties as representatives of the people, and the people have been remiss in holding them accountable. All of that has to change.

Reaffirming our commitment to the constitution and the Tenth Amendment in particular is the way we take back our freedom and return to the founding principal of limited government of the people. By supporting the Tenth Amendment Center we can win this war by getting people elected that have taken the Tenth Amendment pledge. These candidates can be found on their website. That’s where you’ll find me; on the front line to make Colorado the new frontier of free markets and freedom…

I need your help…

Can someone tell me how to get people to pay attention to my campaign? I believe I have the message, I am principled, fairly educated, a dedicated family man, and a successful business man.

People seem to want a change from the politics as usual but they continue to vote for the same old same old. I truly don’t get it? I know you have to get your message out but it seems that many people are searching for different candidates but they are not supporting any except for party candidates. How can we expect change if we keep supporting the parties that have made this mess? Even radio personalities that I respect make the argument for supporting the Republican Party that has failed us over and over.

The republicans are arguing they are the party to stop the current assault on the American Dream but when they were in charge, where were they on the issues? They were pushing open borders, they were afraid to stand up to the global warming hoax until recently with the revelation of falsified data, and they kept growing government at every level. What makes anyone believe they have changed? To me it’s like supporting an alcoholic. We keep enabling the behavior by giving them the means to have another drink. Except we keep giving them our votes.

I am planning to petition onto the ballot, and I hope at that point people pay attention. But it seems hypocritical to me that all of these pundits and voters keep talking about how the parties have failed us but they keep supporting them. Maybe this guy or gal will be different. Maybe Palin is the answer, maybe Newt is the answer, maybe Mitt is the answer, maybe Huckabee is the answer, maybe we should just try something and someone new for a real change.

We have a mess and both parties are to blame. It is the quest for power that is causing the problems. It has become about “controlling” the house, senate, governorships, etc…, instead of serving according to our constitutional law.

Please help me understand? Do we want candidates strictly from the parties? Why are we so afraid of individuals that stand for the constitution, principles, and are not part of the party apparatus? I am curious because I believe we are ready for candidates that care for our country first, not a party…

Am I wrong?

Friday, December 4, 2009

All Jobs are Green…

This administrations obsession with creating “green jobs” is a testament to their lack of understanding true human nature. All people care about, is that the job they have at the end of the pay period, pays them in “green” dollars. And the more of them the better!

When people are out of work they could care less about the types of jobs being created. They just want an opportunity to work. And if the job is a “green” job so be it. But if the focus is on just “creating” “green jobs” and that focus is actually killing jobs, then people will tell you to stick your green job policy right where the sun don’t shine.

This is what happens when you get government bureaucrats and leftist supporters together to talk about jobs. They don’t have the first clue about what a real job is or how it is created. And to compound the problem, they have left out two organizations that represent real job creators.

The Chamber of Commerce and the International Association of Independent Businesses, two of the largest organizations that represent business were shunned from the “job creation” summit at the White House yesterday. Why were they shunned? Because they both support free markets and are skeptical about government intrusion in the private sector.

So who was talking about creating jobs with a focus of “green jobs” if the people that actually create most of them were not represented? The attendees included union organizations, government bureaucrats, and liberal CEO’s of large corporations.

It is interesting that jobs keep vanishing but it is not surprising when 92% of this administration comes from the government sector and academia. Two “industries” that wouldn’t know how to create a job unless they were given the taxpayer’s money to “create” one.

As Governor of Colorado, I will, with the legislature and citizen’s help reduce the federal government’s scope and get them out of the way of free markets and freedom. The best idea they could come up with at this summit would be to cut the federal bureaucracy by 50%, reduce taxes to a flat rate of 18%, and stop the healthcare fiasco that will destroy all jobs including those coveted “green Jobs”.

We need to stop allowing the feds to steal our future. Get involved so we can create millions of jobs in every sector including the “green" sector…

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

A 50 State Revolt can Happen…

Here’s how; The Governors of the United States will re-affirm their allegiance to the United States Constitution.

Every Governor needs to submit a constitutional amendment to their respective state constitutions to limit the funds taken from their citizens and businesses by the federal government through direct income taxes.

The Amendment’s will read similar to this:

“In the interest of reaffirming Colorado’s rights as outlined in the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution of which Colorado is a member in good standing, and the recognition that all responsibilities beyond the eighteen enumerated powers of the federal government as defined in the constitution are the state’s and individual citizen responsibilities, we amend our Colorado constitution to state the following; we as citizens of Colorado and the United States in our duty and responsibility to comply with the law of the land make the following a law of the great state of Colorado; that the federal government through its power as stated in the Sixteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, we in Colorado set the maximum rate on Colorado income taxation to 18% of total income from all sources derived, with the Colorado state legislature to determine the graduated rates up to the maximum of 18% of federal taxation, as our full payment for the eighteen enumerated powers and any debts incurred in the management of the federal constitutional powers. Colorado reserves the right to amend the Colorado constitution at any time through the process outlined within the same constitution.”

The only way to stop an out of control federal government is to shackle it with the law of our land; The United States Constitution… Let’s make it happen…

Monday, November 30, 2009

Family Time...

We had a great weekend in Vail! Nothing like spending quality time with the family in the beautiful surroundings of the great state of Colorado!





Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! We have been blessed to be Americans...

Hug and hold your children and enjoy your family on this day of thanks. Thank you God for my family's health and happiness!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

The Constitution’s True “Wall of Separation”…

Thomas Jefferson’s “wall of separation” reference, often cited by atheists to drive the moral foundation of this country right out of the public square, is a phrase that really should be attached to our Tenth Amendment. This country was founded on religious freedom and the ability to worship God as we please. Atheists have tried to argue that we can’t recognize religion in the public square, and that, as most Americans know, is complete garbage.

The Bible was the main book used to educate early Americans because it was often the only book anyone owned or had access to. The lessons in the Bible have stood the test of time because Christians believe it is the word of God. Without the moral foundation of our Christian principles this nation could not have survived. Our founders argued this in many a debate about the divine providence of this great nation. They believed America could only survive as long as our faith in God did.

The true “wall of separation” debated at the constitutional convention and during the ratification process was the Tenth Amendment. It was inserted into the constitution to insure the central government could never become the dominant power over the states and individuals. The citizens of early America would have never thought one day Americans would even consider removing Christianity from the public square. The first amendment forbidding the government from “establishing” a religion or “prohibiting the free exercise thereof” was penned to insure government could not force people to worship a specific Christian denomination. The furthest thing from their minds would have been taking religion out of public life. Religion and Christianity was their life.

The real debate about a “wall of separation” was the concern that a central government would interfere in the internal workings of the state governments and individual liberties. That is something that was a real threat to the Americans of the day (and as we see today; it was a legitimate concern and threat). The constitution would never have been ratified without the Bill of Rights and specifically the Tenth Amendment. The distrust of a large central authority was real, and needed to be checked with a definitive and detailed reference in the constitution; hence the Tenth Amendment.

“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectfully, or to the people”

This is the “wall of separation” that allowed this great nation to be born. What this amendment truly says is “no need to worry because there is little that the federal government is responsible for and if they try to expand we can nullify the laws because all other power lies in the states and people. States and individuals are the true power base, and the central government has very little responsibility beyond national security and foreign and regular trade among the several states.” It was the state’s insurance that they had a way to control central authority.

So to the Americans at our founding the “Ace in the hole” was the Tenth Amendment. And now, to millions of Americans, we have reached the time we need to play the ace in the hole. It was important at our founding, and because of the foresight of our founders, we have it to insure our survival.

The time has come to play the ace our founders gave us in the constitution; the Tenth Amendment…

No Party; Period…

I was listening to one of my favorite talk show hosts Mark Levin last night and he was discussing third parties, and the way they have failed in the past. And his points were correct but he missed the true point; the party system is broken. He was arguing that the people like me who are done with the Republicans want a third party; that couldn’t be further from what I and millions of Americans want.

What average Americans want is political leaders that put country first, and are committed to the founding principles of this nation. We want all parties to start acting like Americans first.

Hugh Hewitt, another talk show host I respect often maligns his audience members that question the Republican Party’s commitment to conservative principles. He is right when he argues that there is a difference between R’s and D’s, but he does not realize how deeply angered we are from the past actions of both parties. There are principles that cannot be ignored by the republicans and expect the support of conservative Americans (which is most of us). George Bush, John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Olympia Snow, and so many others continually ignore the fundamental law of the land; our constitution.

When is the last time you heard a Republican talk about the U.S. Constitution? They don’t because every one of them believes in big federal government. It is only a matter of degrees between D’s and R’s. Both are ignoring our founding principles and have no plan to reduce the scope of federal government.

We need radical and bold changes that return us to the greatest vision of self government that was ever created. That is what most of us mean when we suggest there is no difference in the parties. We know it is better for our troops and taxes to have Republicans in charge. But republicans are the lesser of the two evils.

When we elect representatives to go to Washington, every one of them should have an equal say in directing policy but because of the rules the parties have implemented, that is not how it works. The parties can change the rules to make them better for America but they will not because they believe in power over patriotism. That is a fact; the facts are abundant supporting my argument.

We are done with parties. We don’t want a third party, we want principled leaders that put their self interest aside and do what is right for America. We are in this predicament because the rules have made the power of the democrats greater than it should be. The rules must change and the power returned to the states and individuals where it belongs.

When our representatives gather under the rotunda they should be representing America not their party. And that is what has happened no matter what anyone says…

Sunday, November 22, 2009

A Constitutional Revolution…

We need a constitutional convention not to change the constitution but to learn what it means. I am tired of listening to federal representatives invoking the constitution when convenient and ignoring it when proposing programs. These people are constitutionally ignorant and need an education.

We need a national conference on the meaning of our constitutional government. It is not just free speech and the right to bear arms, it is so much more. We have treated the constitution as sound bites used to make arguments but we fail to understand the comprehensive nature of the documents true value. It needs to be argued in the context it was created and why it was created.

• It was created to insure a common defense against foreign enemies.
• It was created to insure regular trade among the states and foreign nations.
• It was created to insure the debts of our national security and enumerated powers could be paid by the federal government without being beholden to state politics.
• It was created to develop a framework that would allow individuals and states to thrive economically in an environment of freedom.
• It was created to insure against tyranny and abuse of power.

We too often confuse government responsibility and charity. The government was never intended to be a charity. It was never intended to be a welfare state. It was never intended to be a troth of power and money that could be leveraged by the powerful and wealthy.

We need a constitutional revolution. One that will change the way we view our constitution. It is not just sound bites and slogans. It is the law of our land and we need to become law abiding again…

Saturday, November 21, 2009

The Constitution and Healthcare…

The constitution protects the liberties of Americans as individuals by limiting the power of the central government. The constitution is specific in describing the powers delegated to the federal government to insure the protection of our liberty. The current healthcare debate in itself is unconstitutional because the government has no authority to take over healthcare. But specifically we need to look at three major infringements of our rights.

The first is the punitive damages in the healthcare bill that will fine and imprison citizens for not purchasing health insurance. Think about this carefully; the government that works for you are going to put you in jail if you decide to forgo health insurance even if you can pay your doctor directly for his/her services. Which is the second problem; contracts between doctors and patients.

It is our constitutional rights to contract for services between individuals. The healthcare bill is about to infringe on our right to enter into a contract with our doctors and hospitals. The federal government is going to take away your right to contract healthcare directly with insurance companies and doctors. Think again very carefully; if they can steal your right to contract with your doctor or insurance company, can they take away your right to contract for buying your house and property?

The final point here is taking away our right to end of life care and basically deciding whether or not your life is worth spending medical resources on, even if you can pay for them. What happened to our right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness? Think about being looked at not as an individual but an investment of the government. If you have enough years as a taxpayer left, you will be considered a good investment for healthcare services. If you are on Social Security, Medicare, no longer work, you are no longer a “benefit” to society, you are now a “drain” on society. Your ability to acquire the medical services necessary to live will be determined by a panel of federal bureaucrats. Our founders would be appalled as we should be. Stopping this healthcare bill is a matter of life and death; literally.

Is this the constitutional government our ancestors died for? Is this limited government? Or is this insanity?

Remedial Economics and Government …

The government is funded by taking money from productive taxpayers. The more money productive people make the more money the government has to operate. If the people that create tax law knew anything about economics they would use the same model business people use to create revenue for their businesses.

Instead we have politicians that are economically ignorant and continue to target “rich” people and small business owners to fund their largesse. It is a formula that is unsustainable. There comes a point and we are there right now, that people that are productive choose to stop making more money. They reduce productivity because the tax policies make it uninviting to increase revenue.

Here is a simple example. If my taxes are currently 36% of income, and I make $150,000, and if I choose to work harder, and the government decides at $200,000 I am “rich”, and they are going to tax me 60%, why would I work harder for less money? What I do is stop at $199,999 and go on vacation. This is just a simple example to make a point but the reality is the federal government is creating an environment that is encouraging business to stop producing wealth.

If politicians really wanted to increase tax receipts to the government coffers they would only have to follow a few basic principles, and they would achieve not only additional tax revenue but actually mend the economy. By simply reducing tax rates to encourage business to make more money they will improve revenue and the economy. By simply implementing a flat tax as a percentage of income they would improve tax revenue and the economy. Reducing the federal debt by simply putting a freeze on government spending, would increase confidence in the markets and improve the economy.

But this will never happen because it is not about improving anyone’s lives in this government except their own. The people in government today are the greediest, most selfish individuals the world has ever known. They are power hungry and dangerous. They are the greatest enemy to the poor even though they claim to be trying to help them. They are a disgrace to this country and themselves. There isn’t an ounce of good in any of them. Seems harsh but if there was any good in them they would be arguing for adherence to our constitution.

Redistribution of wealth only ends wealth. It does not help anyone, it hurts the most vulnerable. Socialism is immoral because it steals the labor and property from one and gives it to others. More importantly it destroys the reason for people to be productive. Socialism goes against the basic tenants of human nature. And this is what the current administration and politicians are pursuing while breaking the laws of our constitution.

Our economy will only improve when we remember the simple principle our founders penned in our founding documents; limited government, liberty, and a moral foundation. Right now we have a overreaching out of control central government, we are losing our freedom with every bill that is passed by these power hungry politicians, and we have allowed for an assault on our founding faith while we tolerate and celebrate a religion that is trying to dominate the world and take us back to the Stone Age.

Everything is out of control because they have drifted from our guiding principles. They are digging a deeper hole, they are putting good money after bad, and they are destroying this nation while we wonder; what we can do about it? What can you do? Get involved, get worked up, get active and think about what our founders did. Did they sit by and allow their colonies to be destroyed by an out of control central government? The lessons of history are clear. It is time to get back to our roots.

The recipe is simple, get informed and take back your government. We have ignored it for too long. They work for us; we need to fire them…

Friday, November 20, 2009

The Tenth Amendment’s Power…

Our U.S. Constitution would never have come to fruition without the “Bill of Rights” (the first ten amendments) because the founders and other influential individuals would have never supported ratification without these amendments written specifically into the Constitution. The country had just rejected tyranny, and wanted explicit guarantees that this new government would not become the same government they had just shed their blood and treasures to defeat. They knew the propensity for government to steal the freedom of individual citizens, and they wanted to insure tyranny could never happen again.

The tenth and final amendment was seen as their “guarantee.” A way to contain the federal government from over stepping its bounds. If not for the tenth amendment, we may have never become the country we ended up being because it convinced the people of the time that because of the tenth it was safe to ratify.

How times have changed. But the tenth amendment still remains the most important tool today to take back the rights that the federal government has usurped throughout the years. It is simple in concept and clear in its language, and will again play a critical role in our history. I believe and am campaigning on the fact that the only way to stop the federal takeover of our lives is through the state government apparatus utilizing the tenth amendment. It is the law of the land and we must enforce the law.

It doesn’t matter that the amendment has been ignored to get us to where we are today, it is still clear in its purpose; to maintain political power close to the people and with the individual. It is now the responsibility of the states and the Governors to re-establish our fundamental law of the land. It is time for boldness, it is time for courage, and it is time to risk our lives and fortunes.

We are not to the point of armed revolution but we are clearly at the point of decisive and bold action to prevent this current expansion of federal power which is crushing our individual and state rights. It is a revolution but it is a revolution to reaffirm our constitutional government.

Our current crisis has been caused by our drifting from these founding principles. We must return and it is not too late. It is actually the beginning. People are waking up to the fact that we need to return to the constitution and its principles. We have seen the expansion of federal power and it is not a future we support. We have the opportunity to reinvigorate our constitutional form of government because we have the people’s attention.

We must not let this opportunity pass. We must support people committed to the constitution. We must forget about parties and find candidates that have committed their lives to the constitution. Give them your attention and we can re-institute our bill of rights by utilizing the tenth amendment.

We will win this battle if we commit our lives the way the founders did. If that scares you it should. We are at the point of losing our way of life. We are at the point that we must decide. We are in good company and we have the perfect foundation; the tenth amendment of our United States Constitution…

State Pension Video

Energy Policy Video

Thursday, November 19, 2009

The State 401K…

It seems time that those working for the taxpayer should have benefits that are aligned with the people paying for them. Why do the benefits given to state workers seem so much more lucrative? It stems from a time when working for government meant taking a pay cut, and benefits were a way to attract people. Those days are long gone.

When the private sector is not hurting like it is today, these differences are ignored by most, but when times are tough people notice things they should have always noticed. The state pay system must be changed to be in line with the private sector.

As governor I will propose a 401K style program for state workers that will be fair and competitive. By doing that the state will reduce its unfunded pension liabilities, and start paying their workers similar to their bosses; the tax payers. The state will match up to 3 – 6% of the amount of money an employee chooses to save. The state employee will need to participate in their retirement just like we do.

Vacation time will be limited to 4 weeks per year maximum, and MUST be used in that year. No more saving up time to retire early. The retirement age will be at 62 like the rest of us unless they want to start early on their own dime. Medical plans will reflect the average employee contribution of the private business market in Colorado.

It is not about punishing anyone; it is about putting our house back in order. We need to continue the efforts to streamline government through technology advances and reducing the scope of government in our lives.

The state can’t afford the union contracts and more importantly the system has to change so it is self regulating and not dependent on economic times otherwise we will end up with out of balance benefits because of politics.

It will be a challenge to change the mindset of the state employee unions and employees but it is the right and fair thing to do to run a responsible state government…

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

As Governor I Will:

Eliminate the corporate tax on manufacturers. The federal government has been targeting manufacturing in this country as an industry that needs to be eliminated. Whether it is environmental, safety, or employment regulations, they have made doing business in this country unaffordable. That will end in Colorado.

I will eliminate all state taxes on manufacturer's corporate income and through a constitutional challenge of the XVI Amendment Colorado citizens will have the opportunity to vote to cap federal income taxes at 18%. I will encourage all businesses to reside here in Colorado but especially manufacturers and small business. We need to make things again in this country and the only way to do that is to make the business climate friendly to the people that create business.

It is time to turn the tables on over reaching government. It is time for government to sacrifice and give business the support they need to grow. Business growth will not bankrupt us but it is a guarantee that government growth will.

Which growth would you support? Business or Government? I thought so…

Monday, November 16, 2009

The Greed of Government…

Politicians often lecture us about the greed of business and how they can’t be trusted to do the right thing. But if we think about it, how can a “greedy” corporation be greedy? If you think making money and profits is inherently greedy; maybe you can think that, but private business can’t take your money unless you choose to buy their product or service.

Government is the only “organization” that can legally forcefully take your money for what they believe is best for that money. Businesses can’t take your money to give it to the people they think should get it. Business can’t force you to buy their brand. Business can’t just raise their prices and expect you to pay the increase even if you don’t use their service.

You see, government is the greediest entity ever created. They take your money even when you are making less because they need to create more programs. Government takes your money to give to people around the world even when Americans are suffering. Government takes the money you earn from your family to save “greedy” corporations like GM, to give to the unions and management that have run the company into bankruptcy.

Government can never take a pay cut, benefit cut, even at the expense of hurting the people that pay their salaries (we the taxpayers). Government employees continue to receive out of balance pension and health benefits even while we in the private sector have to pay more for ourselves for the same benefits. And to top it off, when we who pay the bills have the gall to question the pay and benefits of the people that work for us; we are branded greedy and heartless.

So I ask you; who is the greedy one?

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Federal Job Summit?

President Obama has just announced a “Job Summit” this December to address the continued bleeding of private sector jobs. Don’t get me wrong, talking about the job losses is fine, but we have been shedding millions of jobs since we passed the federal “stimulus” bill, that promised to “save” or create three million new jobs. Who is buying this garbage? We can talk until we are blue in the face but the answer sits right in front of us.

If the federal government wants to help the private sector to create jobs all they need to do is stop stealing the capital needed to grow business. Every dollar in taxes that is taken from both individuals and businesses is one less dollar to invest in the private sector. Not to get complicated but when a private individual invests a dollar back into the economy, a dollars worth of capital is created in industries that people are freely willing to invest in. When the federal government takes our tax dollars and says it’s going to “invest” in industries they think should be propped up (usually politically connected businesses) they destroy the value of that dollar by paying unneeded bureaucrats and throwing money down the drain of businesses that the private sector has already punished for being inefficient. That is why they are begging for the bailouts.

Small business people need confidence, capital, free market competition, and reasonable rules to get back on track. The healthcare bill, cap and trade, and a number of the bills being discussed will continue to reduce free market capitalism, therefore reducing or limiting job growth. The federal “job summit” should be focused on one theme; reducing government “help”. Because as our great president Ronald Reagan told us; “nine of the scariest words in the English language are: I’m with the government and I’m here to help.” He also added; “The best minds are not in government. If any were, business would hire them away.” The point being, government is not about business, government should be focused on learning the constitution and applying it. That would be nice.

So if you are waiting for a job to result from this summit; please don’t. Support campaigns like mine that will focus on reducing government “help” and focusing on the constitution and applying it in government. Let’s come together and have business do what it does best and the only way they can do that is to apply the government limitations that are found in the U.S. Constitution…

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

God Bless our Veterans…

Words are never enough to express the gratitude our veterans deserve for their part in securing the freedom of America and the world. This world would be unrecognizable if not for their dedication and sacrifice.

Today, I hope you take a moment and say a prayer for all of our active military, and never forget the past patriots who have sacrificed their lives and fortunes to leave us in a country blessed with freedom. Freedom has never been free; these men and women have paid the price on our behalf.

For that, we owe them our heartfelt thanks. God Bless our Military, their families, and our country…

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Josh Penry Drops Out…

Josh Penry dropped out of the Colorado governor’s race, and his letter to his supporters was very revealing. Josh seems like a good guy trying to do what he feels is right for the citizens of Colorado, but because of party politics he has chosen to bow out. I don’t pretend to know his motives but if he really believed he was the right man for the job he should have given the voters a chance to choose.

Party politics continues to weed out candidates before the voters get a chance to decide who is best. A very limited group of party activists control the destiny of this country in too many states. This is not a criticism of the people; it is a criticism about the process. No longer are parties interested about what is best for the people, it is about what is best about the party. Us and them, them and us, and never about we the people.

The parties keep us divided so they have an enemy they can use to raise money. They keep us divided so they can hide the real goal of party politics; power. Power to do what? Power to control you.

I say to Josh Penry; show your kids through example that standing up for your personal principles is bigger than a party winning a seat. Look your kids in the eyes and ask yourself if you are the right guy for the job? Are you the best candidate for their future?

I look my kids in the eye and with complete confidence know I am the right guy for the job. I am sure you feel the same way. Let’s come together not as party candidates but the right candidates, doing what is right for the next generation.

Josh; get back in the race and run this one for the kids. They deserve a better government with better candidates that have their interest in mind; not the party’s best interest…

Monday, November 9, 2009

When Will We Learn?

The information about the Fort Hood murders is now flowing, and the information is disturbing to say the least. I believe with my entire heart we have allowed 13 murders to happen due to political correctness in our handling of Muslims. Even with evidence that Major Hasan was in contact with terrorist sympathizers, and al Qaeda, Army leaders were intimidated, whether self imposed or institutional, which lead to the deaths of these American patriots.

Radical Muslims are telling us they hate us and want to kill us, and we continue to behave as if this is just some kind of irrelevant chatter. When will we learn? This is not about targeting a religious group, it is about protecting ourselves from a group of people that fundamentally hate us. It is about facts and behavior. The fact is that the religion of Islam is the foundation for the terrorism that is happening around the world. The behavior tells us we must be prepared to defend ourselves against people that have engaged in the philosophy of radical Islam.

We need to face the facts. When a Muslim in this country is vocal about their motives, we need to take them seriously. Otherwise; our soldiers and citizens die.

The military has become politicized to the point of disaster. That must change if we are to survive…

Friday, November 6, 2009

God Bless our Troops...

Yesterday's massacre of individuals at Fort Hood is a sad moment, and we pray for the families of the victims.

As days go on we will learn about the shooter and his background. What we are hearing is disturbing and we will follow this carefully even if the media wants to minimize the influence of this man's affiliations...

The Tenth Amendment and the Supreme Court…

As the Tenth Amendment becomes the platform to stop an over reaching federal government, do we trust the Supreme Court to be a fair arbiter?

The Supreme Court, according to many constitutionalists, has been delinquent in its responsibility to protect the intention of the U.S. Constitution. Many past Supreme Court decisions have become bad precedent, and that bad precedent continues to be the bases for big government advocates to site as a justification for a continued trampling of state, and individual rights.

People that believe the constitution is a “living document” historically have utilized the commerce clause to feed their insatiable quest to trample individual and state’s rights. The constitutional clause under section 8 of the powers delegated to Congress simply states; “To regulate commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian tribes.” The intention was not to be a conduit to suppress the rights and freedoms of the fifty states and their citizens. But that is exactly how the federal government gets its tentacles into places it has no right to be. If there was an intention to regulate internal state activity the word “among” would have been “within” the several states. The constitution is a document that protects individual rights by limiting the government’s role in our lives. It is not a document that was intended to grant unlimited rights which is what has happened through these poor precedents set by past Supreme Courts.

The commerce clause was intended to insure the fairness of trade and the ease of trade; period. If the states were left to their own, it would have been thirteen different policies on trade relations with foreign nations and chaos among the thirteen original colonies which could have resulted in many disputes, including civil war.

The commerce clause became the “Holy Grail” to big government advocates and has been twisted and molded into many forms. Much of this bad precedent can be traced to the administration of FDR, another big government advocate. FDR threatened the Supreme Court to successfully get his programs passed but the more important point is; if he could threaten the Supreme Court to change their opinion, can other administrations? That is why I ask; can we ever trust a Supreme Court to side with the people and the constitution? If not; what can be done?

Governors of the fifty states need to start challenging the federal government at every turn, and the way we must do it is through the Constitution’s Tenth Amendment. But can we trust the Supreme Court to interpret the original intent or will they fall back on faulty precedent? Can the Supreme Court be unbiased in the argument to reduce the scope of the federal government they are a part of?

I am afraid that too many people don’t realize how important the Supreme Court is to our future. We could end up with two new justices which could be a blessing or disaster for our constitutional republic. We must continue to support our constitution by electing people that respect and understand how important abiding by the U.S. Constitution’s original intent is to a hopeful future. Governors need to start challenging the federal mandates but will the Supreme Court be able to judge these challenges fairly? The answer will only come as we continue our efforts to apply the constitution…

Thursday, November 5, 2009

The Campaign Begins…

The tenth amendment is about to be thrust in front of the citizens of Colorado as the platform to a renewed prosperity and return to the great frontier spirit that created the great state of Colorado. As part of my campaign Colorado will again become; “The New Frontier for Free Markets and a Free People.”

The Federal Government has been put on notice. We are taking back responsibility for self government. Join my campaign and if you can donate a buck or two to get the word out. Thanks to all and especially my daughter Emily that produced this video!

Rich Hand
Candidate for Governor of Colorado


Tuesday, November 3, 2009

A Wonderful 50th…

I was walking to drop off my ballot at the local election office on a beautiful Colorado day (bright sunshine 65 degrees) and started thinking about the “big” 50th. I can say that when you can count your blessings like family, friends, and health, it doesn’t matter what B-day you are celebrating!

I said a quick prayer of thanks and these were my first thoughts; Thank you for my children’s health, Justine and my health, and the love we have together. That is what really matters in life.

The icing on the cake for me was working on my announcement video with my daughter Emily this morning which I hope to share late today. Having the ability to share my latest book with the world and knowing that it is at the printer and near completion. A planned dinner this evening with my family. And having the opportunity to vote on my birthday (I love democracy!)

I have truly been blessed and I know we sometimes overlook the small things. But the small things like having your health should never be overlooked or undervalued. I wish everyone health and happiness.

Thank you to everyone for the birthday wishes! They mean a lot…

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Conservatives are the “Progressives”…

There seems to be this unchallenged premise in the media and society in general, that conservative people are unwilling to change, or embrace new movements. This couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s strange to me how some perceptions are so wrong and rarely challenged like Hitler was a “right wing conservative” nut job. He was definitely a nut job but he was a socialist big government authoritarian which is completely counter to a conservative philosophy. He utilized a hatred for Jews because the Jewish people were extremely capable capitalists. It was easy for Hitler to demonize Jews because it is easy to demonize capitalism. But why?

Why is capitalism easy to demonize? Because capitalism rewards individual success and is completely devoid of emotional considerations. Emotional arguments take less thought and are easily understood. Capitalism doesn’t care if someone is white, black, red, green, male, female, minority, majority, capitalism is blind. Capitalism decides based on performance that someone wins and someone loses, it rewards excellence, ingenuity, hard work, sound principles and judgment. These incentives are seen as cold and uncaring but it is exactly that principle that makes it so effective. Capitalism doesn’t change the rules to accommodate emotional feelings or personal attributes. So how does this all tie into conservatives being more “progressive”?

If you think of the things that enable a society to be progressive, they are built on conservative principles and capitalism. By enabling individuals to succeed and create great wealth for themselves and others, benevolence increases due to this accumulated wealth, and a society thrives and has the ability to provide for the poor, educate the masses, and support the many “progressive” programs that people of liberal persuasion are always claiming to support. It is conservative not liberal principles that allow for a country to be “progressive”.

If we were to abandon capitalism and conservatism for a liberal socialist agenda, the incentive to create wealth will be destroyed because the rewards are distributed based on emotion and the authority of government. People will labor for themselves but they will only labor for others if forced to by an authoritarian government. So the question now is; is authoritarian government “progressive”? I would argue authoritarian governments destroy the ability to provide for the people and history backs me up here. So people that want all kinds of programs from government are not progressive they are authoritarians.

As a society we must stand on principles and that is what conservatives believe is best for a progressive society. Principles are universal and can be found in the Ten Commandments, the U.S. Constitution, Natural law, etc… Conservatives are principled in nature and understand that prosperity is found through strong principled societies. It is why the Founders believed we would only survive as long as we were a moral nation believing in a divine power. It is conservatives who are trying to maintain these principles, therefore maintaining our ability as a nation to be progressive.

The people trying to undermine our principles are the people that will destroy our abilities as a nation to continue to be the hope of the world. If we allow the people who today call themselves “progressives” to continue down this current path of expanded government and limited capitalism and faith, they will become the authoritarians; just like Hitler…

Friday, October 30, 2009

Fuzzy Math…

1900 pages at $2.2 million a word cost to the taxpayer, for a total cost of $1.005 TRILLION dollars, that is supposed to cover 5, 10, 20, 40??? Million Americans that don’t have health insurance, which covers 10 or 20 million illegal immigrants, paying for 200,000 or 2 million abortions, and will be paid for by $70 or $80 billion in Medicare and Medicaid fraud along with $700 or $750 billion in reduced payments to doctors and hospitals, and forcing “competition” with private health insurance companies that make ?$ billions in “obscene” profits (3% or 300% profit margins), which will stimulate the $700 or $750 billion dollar “stimulus” package, helping to increase our current 3.5% or -3.5% increase in GDP “growth”, creating 30,000 or 650,000 new or saved jobs, with the cash for clunkers program that paid people $3000 in rebates that cost $24,000 per vehicle, along with the $8000 mortgage credit that will reduce unemployment from 9.9% to 10.2% which will all help elect incumbents in the 2010 election.

If any of these numbers make sense; you have a great future in the current political system… Are we done with this crew yet?

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Babies Without Parents

Call me what you will but creating babies with skin cells, without the involvement of a mom and dad, scares me and makes me extremely uncomfortable. It has a Frankenstein component in my mind. I am not a scientist, and I don’t look at this as a scientific “breakthrough”, I see it as man getting involved in areas we have little business being.

I understand the drive of some infertile couples to have a baby of their own. I don’t think this is about that. This is man playing God, and I think we are asking for trouble. I am having a hard time putting my finger on the exact argument so maybe the people reading this blog can help me out…

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Back to the Real Issues…

The president needs to support our troops in Afghanistan now. The president is ignoring the most defined responsibility of the federal government, while troops are dying. He says he is thinking about it and I understand he may be busy but is playing golf and basketball more important than the lives of our troops? I know even if he makes a decision on Afghanistan troops could die, but at least look like you care Mr. President!

I don’t know how he sleeps at night with our soldiers dying while the commanders in Afghanistan are waiting on additional troops or at least an indication of where the commander in chief stands on their request. He says he is waiting for elections in Afghanistan but is he? Could it be he is concerned about the elections here in the US? If he continues to be this indecisive he will not only lose the two governor races in 2009, he will lose his house and senate in 2010. Our troops are too important to put off until any election. This is outrageous!

Our congress needs to escalate this issue to get the attention it deserves. Our troop’s lives are depending on it…

Monday, October 26, 2009

The Economics of Cow Farts…

Eating meat must be stopped or we are all going to burn up and die from global warming according to Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics, I.G. Patel. It is imperative to stop the gassy pigs and cows, and the only way to do it is stop eating meat. I am just not sure how that is going to work? I.G. Patel’s theory is that by creating awareness about cow farts and the link to eating meat, we will stop eating meat to save the planet. I’m not so sure being a hamburger eating ugly American.

The other issue is when PETA finds out about this they will surely put an end to the killing of these farting cows. The result will be more cows due to less need for hamburgers and steaks, and before too long we will be shooing them away from our front lawns, due to the overpopulation bound to happen. Then what will we do? Think of the stink this will cause.

I think we have a true crisis on our hands, and I’m just not sure where I should stand on this issue as a candidate for Governor? Well that’s not exactly true; I am not standing behind the cows for sure…

This stuff is real folks!

Find the Fraud…

We are told by the current administration that there is billions of dollars in fraudulent activity in Medicare and Medicaid that will help fund healthcare “reform”. My question is; if we know the fraud is there why does the government not stop it now? Which then brings me to another question; if there are billions of dollars of fraudulent activity going on in these programs, why would we allow the government to take over the entire healthcare system?

I could expand on this thought but I find these two questions say it all…

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Make my “pay”!

I know when many hear this news; “government reduces pay of corporate executives” they silently say hoorah. If you are one of these people you need to have an intervention with yourself. If you believe someone is overpaid and the government should reduce that pay the next question is; if the government thinks you make too much (even if you are making $50,000 a year) and cuts your pay to 35K, how will you feel? If you believe this can’t happen to you, you’re not only wrong; you’re next.

As the federal government continues to inject itself into the private sector (unconstitutionally I might add), they will set pay grades; guaranteed. They have already set pay grades for Doctors that accept government insurance, car executives, finance executives, and you are next. If it is good for some, why not for all? And while the government is at it, they will also try to apply price controls. If you are too young to remember, it was a disaster under President Nixon. You see the government is in the business of “fairness”, and the lowest common denominator. They don’t raise the bar, they lower it. And in turn we end up with a misery index and if you remember the Carter years, there was exactly that; a Misery Index. Is that where we want to go again?

So as you think about these executives and the pay decreases being mandated by the government, you need to think hard and beyond the emotional feeling of “they make so much anyway, they deserve a pay cut.” Because there will always be someone that makes more than you. The great thing about America is that everyone has the same opportunity to make a million bucks a year (for now). You should be working harder on how you can make a million than supporting government bureaucrats that create only misery. Those people that make millions also have created millions of jobs and opportunities and what is that worth?

We can all be miserable together or we can all strive to be the best with the incentive of a better pay day. I say instead of cutting other people’s pay we should focus on how we make our own pay!

Working for a Living…

There is nothing more satisfying than working for a living. The ability to work enables us to take care of our families, invest in our family’s future, take a vacation, and enjoy the opportunities in life. I suggest that every politician in office today should try it. I think too many in political life have forgotten what it feels like to earn an honest paycheck. They claim they are working for the people but what they are actually doing is making it difficult for people to work.

Government regulations, confiscatory tax policy, and a movement to “re-distribute the wealth” of hard working Americans under the guise of “fairness”, is suppressing America’s ability to work. The politicians creating current policy, including the president, have forgotten what work is. Work is created by a need in the market. For example, people need to eat; therefore we need farmers, truckers to get food to market, and grocery stores. People need transportation so car companies manufacture vehicles for people to buy. These are simple examples but it seems this lesson has been lost in today’s political class that think they can create jobs by borrowing boat loads of money and handing it out to who they believe deserve it.

The argument the politicians used to add $700 billion in debt to our children’s tab was to “stimulate shovel ready projects.” If the shovel ready projects were truly needed they would have already been in progress. The government believes that they can create need better than the free market. That is ignorance. The best example happens to be in the state of Michigan. The government spent billions in a “bailout” of GM and jobs and dealerships continue to vanish. In contrast, the state put a tax cut incentive (they reduced taxes to work in Michigan) in place to attract the Hollywood movie industry. The result was an increase of Hollywood “work” in Michigan that went from $2 million in 2007 to $125 million in “work” in 2008. So instead of government making “work”, they got out of the way and reduced the cost of creating work by lowering taxes and regulation and the result? Lots of jobs and lots of work in the film industry and the car companies that are being targeted by politicians; job losses and dealership closings.
Which policy do you think is working better?

Anyone that works for a living understands this concept. If our politicians actually worked for a living they would know this instinctually. Instead they continue to try to create work by borrowing and printing more money to give to “shovel ready projects” and industries they think will generate jobs. They need to leave that to the people that actually work for a living.

That means reducing government intervention and giving more incentives to me and you…

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Party Embarrassment…

This article on the “Hill” website is exactly why I am running unaffiliated in my upcoming election. This is the type of behavior we expect of our children, not our supposed congressional representatives. Changing locks on committee room doors? Come on who’s running this country? This type of party bickering is the norm in government practice not just the campaign cycle.

What has happened which is clearly outlined in this article are two parties that have lost sight of the true goal; to manage government effectively. Not all ideas democratic are bad, and not all republican ideas are bad, and once elected, are our representatives not Americans anymore? I understand how forming groups to accomplish a goal is effective, I run a very large community myself, but the result of the two party system has poisoned the political process of governing.

We no longer govern, we endlessly campaign. Once elected, representatives should be part of the same team. There are principles that should never be compromised like our constitution, but there are many ways to get to good policy. This is especially true at the state and local level and is exactly why the constitution provides the most power to the state government. You would never know that because our constitution is being trampled by both parties but it doesn’t mean we can’t get back to our core principles.

Do we really want to reward the party candidates by voting them continually back in power? The republicans are arguing that they believe in limited government but what did they do when they were in power? Did they reduce government and apply the constitution? No, they are just going in the big government direction a little bit slower. The democrats have completely trampled the constitution at the same time they campaign on personal accountability? Personal accountability; are they kidding? Just look at what they’re doing.

We need to elect candidates outside of the two parties because with the party candidates we will get the same old same; promises not kept. Is it really that risky to elect some candidates that actually care about this state and country and could care less about the party platform? If you are a political party member I have to ask; are you embarrassed by your party’s performance?

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Punishing Achievement…

We teach our children to work hard, manners, always respect our elders, save for a rainy day, get a good education, don’t use credit cards unless you can pay the bill at the end of the month, be honest and trustworthy, and take care of those less fortunate than ourselves. We try to instill the American values that have been the foundation of our success. But lately it seems that the people that never learned these lessons are the ones getting all the “goodies” of government. It seems that we have a greater interest in taking care of people that are not citizens than those that are.

People that have chosen to accumulate debt, drop out of school, forget to pay their taxes, make really bad decisions in life are the people getting the attention of our politicians. Not in the way they should like a good scolding, but through a transfer of tax dollars from the people living by the rules to the people and companies that don’t, through bailouts and programs designed to save people behaving badly! We are rewarding bad behavior. And if there is one thing we know about human nature is you get more of what you reward people to do. But what does that mean to our future?

It means people that have played by the rules are going to stop playing by the rules. You would be a fool to keep paying for the bad behavior of others through hard work, savings, and investment. The time is coming when we producers are going to take a stand and kick back like all the rest of the entitled masses and wait at home for our check to come from the government. We can play that game too if we have to.

When will government intervention and intrusion get the scrutiny it deserves? The people in charge of our government right now are radical incompetents; know nothing about how our economy works, and what has made this nation great. Incentivizing individual opportunity has been the engine of this nation’s success. No government bureaucrat has ever been more than a drain on the American economy or dream.

We have a choice; run these bums out of town or get on the gravy train of government entitlement. If you are already on the gravy train; how is it going to work when we all get on the train? As a producer, I am getting involved by running for office. I encourage you to get involved before we are forced to pay more for the train of entitlement. Entitlement is such an ugly trait and is a last resort for most producers. It is not in our constitution. As a matter of fact, it isn’t in the U.S. Constitution either…

Our Kid’s Future Will Be Determined in the 2010 Election…

What if the government:

· Took away your ability to parent your children the way you choose?
· Mandated state “volunteerism” for your children?
· Took away 85 - 95% of your income in taxes?
· Decided who you can watch and listen to on TV and Radio?
· Imposed no religious references in any forum, public or private?
· Decided when you would die based on your medical history?
· Confiscated your home, savings, and any material wealth at your death?
· Mandated all of your 401K investments be turned over to the government?

Which one of these would you agree to allow government to do for you?

· Raise your children?
· Guarantee a livable income?
· Provide your healthcare?
· Limit your political opinion?
· Authorize your religious beliefs?
· Provide public housing for your family?

In 2010 most of these questions that may seem a bit extreme to many of you, is the direction the country is being taken. Your kids are about to lose the future guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution. What is it going to take to get you involved? What rights are you willing to give up for all of this government largesse? What is our freedom worth?

I can hardly keep myself from screaming some days as I watch Americans go on with their day ignoring the trampling of our rights and freedom that is taking place right under our nose. There is no excuse to stand on the sidelines anymore. We are at a critical juncture in the 2010 election that will determine if we are willing to accept policies that end the American Dream for us and our kids, or we elect candidates that support the policies that have made this country the envy of the world; our constitutional republic.

It is your choice. You can continue to ignore the world and let it happen or you can fight for your kid’s future. I am fighting for my kid’s future. Will you please join me?

Monday, October 19, 2009

$250 to Social Security Recipients…

The congress is about to approve $250 for 50,000,000 ($1.25 Billion) for seniors because inflation is flat and does not justify any increase in benefits this year. Why the increase then? The honest answer is politics and politicians fishing for votes. Any congressional representative voting against this will have a very angry constituency. The reason benefits were tied to cost of living figures is to keep up with inflation. Makes sense. So when prices are flat and come down some things get cheaper. That is where we are at now, prices are dropping and the cost to live is cheaper. This is the problem with every program that has a politician at the helm; they never control or reduce costs, they always increase them no matter what the circumstances are. They are in the business of buying votes.

In the market buying a house is cheaper, gas prices are down, sales are everywhere in the retail sector, but with out of control federal and state spending the value of the dollar, increases in Medicare and Medicaid, along with the addition of government taking over everyone’s healthcare, taxes are going to have to go up. How do you think seniors are going to feel when social security remains flat and taxes go up?

There are people that will need the $250 but many seniors use social security as a supplement to their retirement. People that are in the workforce have seen wage freezes, reductions in pay, mandatory unpaid furloughs, and layoffs. Why would the people currently under wage freezes be forced to pay for social security increases? Things are flat for them too.

The fundamental problem with all government social programs is the divisive nature that pit one generation or group against each other. Being dependent on government for retirement is a really risky place to be. The next generation needs to find better ways that rely on their own wealth creation.

Healthcare will be the same problem. The risk seniors need to consider is a $250 increase in social security is one thing, life and death situations another. Government will want to provide the care that seniors demand but eventually the money will run out and the younger generations are going to resent having to pay because their families will not have the same standard of living we have grown up with.

We can’t allow for the takeover of healthcare because it is so clear to see that it will be another divisive program pitting generations against each other. We don’t need programs; we need real solutions without government completely taking over…

Governor Ritter; same old politics…

The Denver Post has an article featuring insurance company executives that believe if the current federal healthcare bill passes, the system will collapse. And they are right since insurance companies will be forced to accept patients that have chosen not to pay for insurance but still cover their illnesses. So for example, I can refuse to buy health insurance, pay the penalty which is much cheaper than the insurance premium, and if I happen to get sick, the insurance company will have to sell me a policy to cover my illness. A recipe for disaster. For the record, I believe it is not only dangerous to have a federal mandated healthcare policy; it is unconstitutional and would not recognize it as Governor.

But our current Governor Bill Ritter is chastising the Insurance executives which is like shooting fish in a barrel, issuing this statement in the Post; “It is self-serving, untrue, desperate effort by the insurance industry to protect its excessive profits- and one that cannot be taken seriously.” Let’s unpack this with an eye toward the government’s role in this fiasco. First, my standard question is, do you trust the government to handle your health since their results are abysmal in every attempt they make at any program they create? Is it “self-serving” of big government advocates to take away freedom, choice, and individual opportunity when it comes to healthcare? I have to ask, when is the last time a politician was true to their word? Protecting “excessive” profits needs a definition of the word excessive so I ask, Governor Ritter, how do you define “excessive profits?” And finally, who is taking anything the government is saying seriously about the cost of this program?

It is easy to malign corporate executives but it is just as easy to turn the mirror in the face of politicians like Governor Ritter who believe in big government solutions over people driven solutions. He needs to understand that profits are not evil and are the reason this country can afford to be so benevolent. Insurance companies are not the entire problem but I agree the healthcare insurance business must change. Corporate executives and government bureaucrats both need to get out of the relationships between doctors and patients. This governor should be protecting our state from the out of control federal spending. But that would be a lot to ask for from a governor that finds solutions only in big government programs. After all he must stay lock step with the Democratic Party machine that cares about one thing and it’s not your health; it’s having power over you…

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Who do you trust?

If we ask ourselves this simple question, who do we trust, many things become clear in the political world, and why our founders believed in limited government intervention in individual’s lives. The founder’s trust of government was limited in the best case, and many considered it a necessary evil. They saw it in a context of necessity at a time when the young American experiment was under attack from many foreign enemies. They chose to protect the nation by having a centralized authority to make it easier to defend the nation. They found the separate states were less willing to support the other states unless they were under imminent threat. The founders also knew that in order to keep the union together, a fair trade policy would need to be administered at the federal level to make sure all interests were represented. They did everything they thought they could in the constitution to keep us from the current situation we are in today because they didn’t trust people in government.

If you read the arguments in the founding documents you realize how prophetic and correct their presumptions were. They did not trust centralized government so why would we? Has something changed from their time in history to today? The fact is, the founders were students of history and knew through study the propensity of humans toward tyranny and power. Human nature has not changed no matter how much people want to deny the reality. We still have a propensity toward tyranny.

The evidence is everywhere. Big government supporters want to tell you what you can eat, where you can drive, how warm you keep your house, when you can get healthcare, where you can build a house and what you need to equip that house with, and the list never ends. The tyranny is upon us and we don’t even realize it. We have people that are dictating the simple things in life that should be our decisions to make. Can you see it?

So who do you trust to decide what you eat? Who do you trust to decide what healthcare you can provide to your family? Who decides what car you drive? Who decides how warm you keep your house? Who decides how much money you can make?

Listen to what our government politicians are saying and ask; do I trust them to make that decision for me or should I be making that decision? Ask yourself who do you trust? Ask yourself; what is the price you are willing to pay for your freedom? People telling you what to do may be easier but it comes at the price of your freedom.

If you believe freedom is worth the price, find the candidates that trust you to make the decisions. Those are the politicians that are trying to limit the scope of what government does. Those are the people you can trust…