The hearing was underway before the Senate Armed Forces Committee. The room was filled with men and women in uniform. At the table facing the Senators sat General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta. Senator Jeff Sessions had just asked Panetta under what authority he could establish a no-fly zone in Syria.

Leon Panetta looked aloof, if not bored, and said,” Our goal would be to seek international permission and we would come to the Congress and inform you and determine how best to approach this, whether or not we would want to get permission from Congress. I think those are issues we would have to discuss as we decide what to do here.”

Senator Sessions was astounded by the testimony. He had just been told that the US Government is now completely under the international power structure and that the Obama Administration believed the legislative branch was a superfluous relic. Immediately after the hearing, the Pentagon went on damage control, saying Panetta’s words were misinterpreted. “He was re-emphasizing the need for an international mandate. We are not ceding US decision-making authority to some foreign body,” a defense official told CNN.  But Panetta spoke before the Senate hearing in English and Senator Sessions restated what he heard Panetta say, to make sure there was not an error. Panetta had just testified that getting permission from NATO or the UN was more important and necessary than getting approval from Congress. Panetta’s own words indicated that permission from Congress wasn’t even needed by this administration.

In the United States Constitution, which the President swears to uphold and defend, under Article I, Section 8, Congress has the power to declare war. The War Powers Resolution limits the Executive Branch further to A) a declaration of war, B) specific statutory authorization, or C) a national emergency created by attack upon the United States or its Armed Forces. Clearly, Panetta views NATO or the UN as being able to give statutory authorization instead of Congress. In other words, this administration is again trampling on the Constitution, bypassing Congress at every turn.

However, this isn’t the first time the US Congress and the Constitution has taken a secondary position to the authority of international bodies. In June of last year, President Obama arrogantly expressed his hostility to rule of law when he committed the United States to military intervention in Libya. He tried to legitimize his failure to obtain Congressional approval by writing a letter to the Speaker of the House, John Boehner, in which he stated the assault was authorized by the United Nations Security Council.

Panetta’s testimony that the US looks to obtain international permission before it acts, allied with Obama’s citing the UN as the supreme authority while trashing the power of Congress, prove that the United States has ceded control of its own affairs to unelected international bureaucrats.

Over the past several weeks, I’ve watched more and more people screaming that the birth control mandate implemented by the Department of Health and Human Services was a breach of their religious freedom guaranteed by the 1st Amendment of the US Constitution. As my last few blogs indicated, I whole-heartedly agree. However, it goes much further than that. It is just  one more of the many savage assaults on our Constitution by the Obama Administration.

In 2008, Barack Obama, a supposed Constitutional law professor, campaigned for President to fundamentally transform America. After he won election, he began demonstrating the change he wanted. He was determined to dismantle the US Constitution.

Obamacare is one case in point. The Supreme Court is scheduled next month to look at the mandate requiring individuals to buy health insurance. The Obama Administration says they have the power to require this because they can regulate commerce, but never has this been used to require people to purchase a product. Of course, this doesn’t even touch the question of states’ rights. Would this be a policy better handled by the individual states, as the Constitution allows, as opposed to the federal government?

Immigration is another place Obama fails miserably with regards to the Constitution. It falls to the federal government to maintain the country’s borders. Obama, however, has decided that his policy is to allow no enforcement to maintain border security. When the states try to implement their own policies of border control, Obama not only stands in the way, but has his Attorney General file suit against the state. In the case of Arizona, they joined with a foreign government, when Mexico objected to immigration legislation passed because  the Obama Administration was doing nothing on the borders.

A year or so ago, at a La Raza meeting, President Obama referred to the US Constitution as a dusty old rag and told the assembly that he wanted to go around Congress. Well, he has been for the majority of his term in office. With his czars, 44 in all at this point, regulations are formulated and implemented on businesses, communications, the environment and a whole range of other groups. The czars answer to no one but Obama and are not confirmed by the Senate. When you add the massive numbers of Executive Orders put in place by Obama, it is all tantamount to legislating from the Executive Branch. This dream of bypassing Congress has, for the most part, come true.

The US Constitution established three branches of government; the Executive, the Legislative,and the Judicial Branches. Each branch was to be a check and balance on the other branches, so no one branch could be more powerful than the others. Now, however, Congress is sitting idly by as their power is being usurped. More correctly, it’s the House of Representatives that is sitting by. The Senate, under Harry Reid, is controlled by the liberal Democrats and they are gladly supporting Obama in his power grab.

James Madison, in Federalist 47, basically redefined tyranny as the absence in government of the separation of powers, where the checks and balances are missing. By that definition, this administration is guilty. The only way to return this country to greatness is to return to the US Constitution. The only way to do that is to exercise your rights, guaranteed by the Constitution, and vote for the most conservative candidate on the ballot. be it city council, mayor, state or federal official, all the way to the President of the United States. Our country depends on it. Our way of life requires it!

Big Government & The Gas Pump.

Well, I just got back from the gas station and, boy, do I feel depressed. This is not a lead-in to a punchline, but a fact. Here, in North Carolina, the price at the pump is around $3.60. This is after our future former governor, Bev Perdue, decided to raise the state tax on gas at the first of the year. Thanks Bev! We still look forward to the increase in price that comes from the low-emission gas recipe in a couple of months. Many state are far worse than ours in gas prices. What is causing this rise in prices?

If you listen to the lame stream media, aka Media Matters, it’s because of the turmoil in the Middle East. Well, there IS turmoil there, but all the lame stream media, aka Media Matters, is lauding President Obama for his foreign policy achievements there! Okay, lame stream media, which one is it? Surely, you can’t expect to have it both ways.

No, it goes further than this. In 2009, after Pres. Obama’s election, during an interview, he told Americans that with his energy plan, “energy prices would necessarily skyrocket.” He has been at war against energy as well as the oil companies and has done everything he can to stifle them. When the Horizon rig blew up, Obama quickly acted to shut down all off-shore rigs in a moratorium that shut off oil Americans needed, while putting thousands of rig workers out of work. At the same time, he’s telling Brazil that he wants America to be her first customer for the oil not yet being produced from her off-shore oil rigs. On a side note, isn’t Soros fairly well-invested in those oil wells? The moratorium lasted more than six months, but even after it was over, it was next to impossible for oil companies to get permits.

Keystone XL is just Obama’s latest foreign policy “achievement”. He said “no” to the project that would have put more than 20,000 people to work, union and non-union, building a pipeline from oil fields in Canada to refineries in the Houston area, providing us with oil. So, apparently, Obama hates oil and jobs! Now the Canadians are in China in an effort to send the oil there.

The Middle East is a factor in the prices. The Arab Spring, which Obama praised so highly, slowed oil flow in several places. While we didn’t get oil from Libya, the Saudis, our main source, guaranteed the Europe the oil they lost. Of course, the economic woes in Europe have actually helped to keep prices down, since people there can’t afford gas. The Saudis kept the price low to help bolster Europe’s demand.

Obama’s next target will be coal produced electricity. Since coal is so “dirty”, Obama’s EPA will soon be going after some of the electricity plants, thus causing prices to rise. It is a good thing winter has been mild this year. I hope it stays that way until after Obama leaves office.

So, when Obama took office, gas prices averaged $1.76 and it has now doubled. Now, Iran is threatening to close the Straits of Hormuz, so let’s cut our military into ineffectiveness, while allowing Iran to acquire nukes and let’s see how high the prices go with some more of Obama’s foreign policy achievements! Obama told us this was the way it had to be. America, are you listening now?

Since last week’s blog regarding the Department of Health & Human Services assault on the Catholic Church was published, a flurry of activity has taken place. A majority of Catholics, as well as those who view this as an attack on religion itself, have spoken out against this mandate requiring inclusion of birth control and abortion on health care insurance policies offered to employees. Those oppoosed to this mandate outnumber those in favor five to one.

However, throughout this last week, the Obama administration has been steadfast in its support for the mandate, and abortion in general.. Their viewpoint is the Catholic Church needs to enter the 21st Century and change. Nancy Pelosi, a Catholic (?) spoke up and admonished the whole Catholic “conscience thing” and, in typical Pelosi double-speak, says,” I am going to stick with my fellow Catholics in supporting the administration on this . I think it was a very couageous decision that they made and I support it.” Thge White House has said women “deserve” to have the Catholic Church buy them sterilizations, contraceptions and abortifacients. And, of course, the Obama administration commanded the Catholic chaplains in the military not to read the letter from the bishops to the troops (many did anyway). So, it appears the mandate will remain intact.

Or will it? The White House continues to thumb its nose at Catholics. But now, this past weekend, a new group against the mandate arises. It seems that a group of Islamic clerics in Texas has spoken against the measure. I don’t know exactly what their problem with the measure is, but the clerics came out against it.

So, here’s the conundrum. The Obama administration has basically told the Catholic C hurch to …well, you can imagine. Now that some Islamic clerics have balked, will he continue on this path? Will he completely fold? If he folds, after denying the Catholic Church, he shows partiality to Islam. Of course, he could just hand the clerics a much-heralded waiver to the mandate, under the table, of course. Keep an eye on this!

I feel I must start with a disclaimer. I am not a Catholic and don’t agree with policies and procedures of Catholicism. I am Jewish, and the Jewish and Catholics have been at odd many times through history. But, on Sunday, 29 January, the Catholic Church did something with which I whole-heartedly agree.
That Sunday morning, priests, bishops and cardinals across the country read a letter to their congregants speaking out against the US Department of Health and Human Services order that all employers must offer employees health care coverage that includes sterilization, abortion-inducing drugs and contraception. The letter states, “In so ruling, The Obama Administration has cast aside the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, denying the Catholics our Nation’s first and most fundamental freedom, that of religious liberty.” They go on to proclaim they will not comply with this unjust law.
Now, I consider myself to be pro-life and think that life begins at conception. That being said, for that reason, I applaud the Catholic Church in its stand against this law. Any law that places abortion and contraception together is just immoral. What would be next; the mandatory contribution to Planned Parenthood?
However, the phrase that really caught my attention in the letter follows: “People of faith cannot be made second class citizens.” I absolutely agree with this statement! There has been a concentrated assault on those with Judeo-Christian beliefs for years and those on the left have tried to marginalize and ridicule people of faith. The Constitution of the United States guarantees Freedom of Religion, but, more and more often, liberal judges adjudicate freedom from religion. Recently, a local city council was sued by the state branch of the ACLU for opening its meetings with a prayer. Even athletes get ridiculed for showing reverence. What exactly is wrong with Tim Tebow thanking God for his abilities?
A recent survey asked Americans, “Do you believe in God?” The results came back that 86% DO believe in God. If that’s true, why is faith being mocked, ridiculed and persecuted? The left has been dumbing-down America for a while. Haven’t they also been lowering the morality bar as well? The only way they succeed is to remove faith from everyday life. The only way they can win is if the people of faith stay silent!
So, while I support the Catholic Church in their fight against the Obama administration on the question of forcing abortions and birth control, I say the battle goes much further than that. In the battle to save faith in America, I welcome the Catholic Church and ask, “What took you so long?”

On Wednesday, 18 January, the White House announced the rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline, ostensibly due to a lack of time allowed by the House of Representatives for a decision. The House required an up or down decision by 23 February, so this decision was more than a month early. The White House said their answer had to be “No” because the time limit would not allow the State Department (the State Department?) time to study the pipeline.

The pipeline and its pathway has been studied thoroughly for the last three years. The Canadians, our allies on so many issues, has waited patiently for approval of Keystone. Businesses approve of it. The individual states approve of it. Even the unions approve of it. Only the environmentalists stand in the way. Those who want everyone to return the world to life during the Stone Age want to stop the pipeline.

The President enjoys the support of the environmentalists and does much for them. In 2009, he stated that under his energy policy “energy costs would necessarily skyrocket.” Afterward, his onslaught began. Massive amounts of stimulus money was squandered on solar energy companies. Still, those companies couldn’t compete with Chinese products, convenient since we have to borrow 41% of all money spent from the Chinese. Those companies, like Solyndra, went belly up at taxpayer (that’s us) expense. Wind farms have gone up, operated for a while, killing eagles, then were shutdown at taxpayer (us again) expense. Government Motors, GM has invested taxpayer money perfecting its Volt automobile, only to have them catch fire. Duke Energy has even warned its users not to plug them in because of fire risk. So, Chevrolet has sold about 1800 units costing, including subsidies, about $250,000 per unit. So now GM is moving the manufacture of the Volt to China. I’m beginning to see a trend here. So much for alternative energy so far.

After the offshore oil rig blew up, the Obama administration jumped at the opportunity to impose a moratorium on all operations of shore, causing gas prices to go up. Although the moratorium has been lifted, getting permits from the administration has been next to impossible. Today, the price of gas has roughly doubled (it was $1.76 on the day Obama took office). Mishandled foreign policy in the Middle East means that price will only increase. Canada has oil in need of refining. Either we can do it or the Chinese will.

We haven’t even touched on the jobs issue. The number of immediate jobs is estimated at between 10,000 and 20,000. The total number of jobs would be around 80,000 more. With unemployment around 9% (over 11% if you use real numbers) that would provide a lot of relief. However, since the Obama administration places environmental issues above job creation, Canada will soon send those jobs to ( you guessed it) China. President Obama has been talking about jobs the last three years, we had no idea what he was talking about was jobs in China and the job Obama is most concerned about is his own! meanwhile, we’ll be buying gas from the Middle East, Brazil and Venezuela, so expect higherr prices too.

With the start of a new year, one looks back upon the last year to garner ways to improve the coming year. When looking at our government, there’s a lot of room for change. We have the House of Representatives trying to legislate, though much more moderate than conservative. We have a Senate which has gone over 900 days without a budget and, for the most part, has just sat twiddling their thumbs. As of December 27, 73 bills had been passed into law. Thirteen of those were only to name Post Offices or courthouses. Some say that it was a “do nothing” Congress, but the House did pass over 320 bills, so it sounds to me like a liberal Democrat-led “do nothing” Senate just, well, doing something with their thumbs rather than doing their jobs.

Then there is a President who dictates by Executive Order, making “law” on his own instead of going through the legislative branch, as he is supposed to do. His appointed czars aren’t confirmed and answer only to him. So far, this has only brought the country deeper in debt, more in unemployment or underemployment, more business-strangling regulations and lower GDP. With this, the President is much more concerned for HIS job than those of the citizens for whom he “works”.

When adding a judiciary that legislates from the bench to the above goings on, one must conclude that during the year of 2011, the US Constitution was thoroughly under assault. It was a co-ordinated attack and not even covert, but blatant. Our President has stated that he wished he could do his damage, I mean work, without Congress on several occasions. He sidesteps confirmation of his appointments by making them during recesses. He and his goons trample our Bill of Rights at every turn, while simultaneously regulating the life out of every aspect of our existence.

I have stood at attention and raised my right hand on more than a few occasions and sworn to protect our Constitution from enemies both foreign and domestic. I, for one, say we need to return to the intent of the Constitution, as our Founding Fathers framed it. The framers gave us a way to balance the powers of the states and the federal government. It provides us with a description of how the three branches of government is supposed to work while maintaining a method of checks and balances to insure one branch not becoming too powerful. It lays out exactly what the federal government is allowed to do and everything not mentioned is relegated to the states or the individuals, us.

Those who wish to usurp the Constitution call it a dusty bunch of paper and say it is outdated. The President has said this in several campaign appearances. They try to re-interpret it to suit their own agenda, allowing them to do what they want. Too many professors disregard the Constitution for other, more liberal, forms of government and many students come away with little knowledge of the ideals put forth by the US Constitution, for which people have fought and died to defend. They can’t understand why so many want to become a part of this country, The United States of America.

The Constitution of the United States is what has made America great. It is the reason people from the rest of the world want to come here. It gives everybody the opportunity to work toward bettering themselves. It doesn’t guarantee everyone will be successful, but gives everyone that opportunity.

The state of the country today is tumultuous. Government is too big and demands to much control. Thomas Paine once said,” That government is best which governs least.” We need to return to that principle. We need to return to the Constitution of the United States. We must read and refamiliarize ourselves with its framework so we can keep America free and strong. To do otherwise would be a travesty, ultimately a world without America!

Christmas has past and New Years Day is on the way. Christmas mass has been given, the presents are gone from under the tree and the resolutions for the coming year are being formulated. Generally, I love this time of year.

After the ball drops in Time Square at midnight ushering in 2012, eyes will turn to Iowa. The year 2012 is an election year and, on January 3, Iowa is the first test of the Republican Presidential candidates. We’ve had 15 debates and a lot of speeches and in a week we will have the Iowa caucus.

Over the last several months, members of the lame stream media have been telling us who we should support, who has a chance of beating President Obama and offering all manner of polls to back their positions. If you don’t like a poll’s result, there will be another one out shortly with better results. One thing is clear, though. The truly conservative candidates are pointedly down in the polls, followed by Huntsman. Since the straw poll in Iowa propelled Michelle Bachmann to the top, the conservative candidates, we are told by the talking heads of the media, are losing ground.

Then again, why are we allowing them to tell us anything? Most of them were wrong about the effects of the Tea Party in the 2010 elections. I still remember the look of disgust on the face of the local reporter at the campaign staff gathering for Richard Burr. She apparently was looking forward to gloating when the election results came in, but was obviously dismayed on camera when Sen. Burr (R-NC) was re-elected by a wide margin. These are the same people who say the Tea Party is dead and the Occupiers represent the majority of the people. Why do we listen to ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC et al as they tell us who our candidate has to be? Let me remind you, there hasn’t been a vote cast as yet!

Our current resident of the White House, over the last three years, has developed a record of rising unemployment ( even as they use bogus numbers), rising debt ( he wants $1.2 Trillion more), higher energy prices (he did say that energy prices would necessarily skyrocket) and lower GDP. He has put more people on food stamps and has effectively crippled companies with regulations. Currently, over 70% of people say the country is on the wrong path.

The establishment Republicans want a candidate who will take America down the same path, just a bit slower. When they couldn’t buy the conservative Congresspeople elected in 2010, they downplayed their importance or flat-out blamed them for standing in the way of the GOP leadership’s attempts to increase spending.

The only way to see America regain her place in the world is to change her path from distruction to prosperity. Our new leadership, brought to Washington, DC a little over a year from now, needs to cut spending drastically. It’s not that hard to find places to cut spending. The Heritage Foundation has in the past pointed out trillions of dollars that could be cut. The Democrats in office now don’t want any cuts ( just tax increases) and the establishment GOP confuses a decrease in the proposed increase of spending with cuts.

We definitely need a conservative in the White House. It will require hard work and belief in a conservative candidate, but the alternative is to go the way of Greece and Spain economically.

January 3, 2012 starts the election year that will define the country for years. We need to get involved at the grassroots level. We need to work to get conservative candidates elected at the city, state and federal levels. It all starts in our backyards and leads all the way to the White House. As I’ve said before, right now, not a single vote has been cast. It is not too late to start to turn this country around. It is time to regain control of the government. We the People should be in control!

Well, it’s the end of the year and thoughts turn to the holidays. People everywhere look forward to time from work with friends and family. They have worked hard all year long and, now, it is time for the holidays.

Even in Washington, the holidays are in the forefront of interests. I don’t begrudge anyone a vacation, but Congress has “worked” about 153 days this year and it’s not like they have accomplished anything. The House HAS past about 25 bills, but they never see the light of day in the Senate. The Senate has gone way over 900 days without a budget, with no apparent interest in one for the next year either.

Of course, the President has said there is legislation that needs to be past before they leave for the holidays, which is good. Therein lies the rub. Since President Obama’s vacation plans got delayed, the First Lady and their girls have decided that they are too important to stay in DC to wait for The People’s work to be completed. They and their massive entourage are taking an Air Force flight cross-country to Hawaii, so they can start their holiday vacation, a planned 17 days, on time and at government (our) expense. This expense is an estimated $100,000 for the early flight alone, an expense which could have been foregone if Michelle didn’t have delusions of grandour. But, no, we can’t delay Michelle’s fun!

Evidently, her spending spree among the rich and famous in Spain wasn’t bad enough. She listed her daughter as senior staff so We the People picked up her expenses. Next came the trip to Martha’s Vineyard. She had to take a separate plane from Waashington about four hours earlier than her husband (four hours! Has she NO patience?). After hobnobbing in the Vineyard they flew (again separate planes back to DC.

The arrogance of these people, the President and his wife, is so massive as to dredge up Marie Antoinette’s “let them eat cake) image. To believe she deserves her own plane, flight crew and fuel allowances is just ludicrous.

How many of us are spending less on Christmas (yes, I said it!) this year or traveling closer to home to save money? How many of us are cutting corners to make ends meet? How many of us have had to budget so close as to have no room for anything else?

In an atmoshere such as I’ve described, I am hard-pressed to imagine how a Senate that doesn’t believe in a budget, can just spend. I cannot fathom how a President who has spent the last three years campaigning for four more years in his job does what ever he can to avoid doing anything that would actually create jobs in the private sector. I don’t understand how we think they represent We the People. I refuse to approve of us footing the bill for the arrogance of the First Lady!