STARVE THE FEDS

I wish everyone could see that when I said that every day should be Thanksgiving (along with Veterans Day, Memorial Day, Christmas Day, and Independence Day), I meant it. I think some people mistook me for wishing for more days off from work.

A beauty unacknowledged daily is a beauty wasted and unappreciated; and the United States of America is a great example of this.

To know freedom is to be thankful for it, for it is paid with a dear price. We could have chosen to sacrifice what we want for ourselves in favor of what the elites want for themselves. We are damn lucky we had forefathers who would not accept that back in the late 18th century. We all have no idea what it is like to live as citizens who by force and intimidation are giving up our very basic rights in exchange for the elites to let us live under tyranny. This explains why many favored living in “peace” under the rule of Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, the KGB, Saddam Hussein, and many more – because they figured they weren’t the ones resisting and “asking” to be killed.

To abuse freedom is to reject it, for it is have been given to us with the weight of the public trust. To use liberty in order to betray another’s trust not only affects trust in the individual doing the betraying, but in liberty itself. This is why we must be a moral society in order to keep freedom alive and vigilant, because doing the bare minimum in following legislative code as opposed to our personal moral principles will not suffice anymore. In other words, it is possible to betray someone’s trust legally, but it is not possible to betray someone’s trust morally. Trust betrayal was what got America in the darkness we are currently in.

To appreciate true capitalism is to love the freedom of choice. We were not born and bred to be slaves to any master, nor be forced into the same social class as our ancestors. We can voluntarily save and work towards bettering ourselves, as well as have the freedom to foolishly blow our riches on short term tokens of happiness. We practically invented rags-to-riches, as well as riches-to-rags. In a true capitalistic society with the freedom to own private property free of overbearing and overreaching taxes, we are a true reflection of our work ethic and our creativity. Indentured servitude is strictly voluntary. We cannot benefit ourselves without having to benefit others in exchange. We would help people who would only help themselves.

To value a citizens’ government is to treasure daily our lives and our livelihoods. To know that we can put the trust of ourselves into an elected representative accountable to us is precious in that we choose our leaders and weed out pretenders and those who put their self-interest ahead of their citizens’ using taxpayer money to fund it. We have all been guilty in letting this go for too long, and I am grateful that we are finally standing up in order to put our own in to represent us instead of more elitists.

I may never fully grasp how my grandparents singlehandedly lived through the Great Depression and World War II. They are now slowly giving in to old age, as well as the stubborn pride that insists that people are here to help each other, that labor unions truly represented and stood up for the rights of the work force nationwide, and that being a mid-20th century Democrat was honorable. They shelter themselves from our world now, just as I fear of sheltering myself and my family from the world of tomorrow. No more – I choose to fight for the honor my grandparents have. To see my grandfather’s pictures of those directly affected by the Holocaust, and knowing that our nation chose to stand against those who use death as a means to achieve political goals – I pray for those affected by tyranny today.

I am grateful that I enjoy working in my field for a company that helps the elderly. I am lucky to own property in a rural area that borders alongside a state forest so I can see snow at 6:30 this morning covering the hills full of trees and fallen leaves. I am lucky to have a supportive young lady whom I can trust with my life and the lives of our future children. I am lucky to be close to my immediate family who insist on helping each other despite their differences with each other. I am lucky to live the life I have always wanted, and have the ways and means to defend it from intrusion.

We can overcome the Copenhagen Treaty and the public’s unwillingness to confront those who cooked the books to perpetuate the hoax that is global warming. We can overcome any tragedy and adversity just by virtue of us being Americans and having the willpower to do so. We can  defend our way of life from our own government. To know that citizens like us are standing up and railing against the evil tide that was once seen as inevitable, is something I will always carry with me. I am grateful of being fully aware that we are doing this despite the followers who know no experience with a critical thought, and despite those who wish to block out everything so that they can carry on with their daily lives, not knowing that it is their very daily lives that they cling to that is at stake here.

I fear no opposition that consists of followers bereft of heart, soul, mind, and logic.

I fear no threat to myself, my family, my property, or my country.

I fear no evil.

Many realize that they aren’t us, so they are trying to either imitate us or act like they are a part of us.

I have to be careful, because I don’t want this uprising to be a “cliqueish” kind of deal. Being from the underground music world, there are a lot of fans competing with each other to score underground credibility. For example, Mushroomhead, a band widely popular in the Cleveland area that didn’t hit it off so well in the national market, continues to draw major crowds to their shows today. There are thousands of fans who claim that they were at Mushroomhead’s first show back in 1993, although only a handful of people were actually there (I was not one of them). I don’t want to project that attitude onto all the liberty movements that have sprung up in the past year.

I see myself saying to people, “I was there at the first Tea Party in Chicago in February”, as if it is supposed to give me some sort of higher status and credibility. I don’t mean it to be that way; I just want to provide some sort of perspective of where I’m coming from. I will not back down from being proud of attending the Chicago Tea Party back on 2/27/09, but I don’t want people to get the impression that I’m “better” than anyone because of that. Besides, there are many who claim that Ron Paul started the whole thing. Who knows, they may be right.

Truthfully, the movement needs all of you. I don’t care if you voted for Obama and the mammogram controversy is what made you open your eyes. We’re not a clique. Every Tea Party meeting I have been to is open to the public, and we encourage everyone to come, even the Jon Stewart crew. We have nothing to hide from anyone; we’re an inclusive bunch.

However, there is an infiltration going on. We are not inclusive in a “Big Tent”/Colin Powell/Tom Ridge sort of way. Our movement is based on principles and what is right, even if it means lower numbers. Anything less is equivalent of selling our souls to the devil. To a world where it seems that winning is an end that is always justified by any means, regardless of the methodology, we’re going to be seen as “extremists”, I suppose. If winning means more to you than doing what’s right, then we’ll be “extreme” to you. If winning means giving up ideals in pursuit of being perceived a “winner” and not a “loser”, then we’ll be “extreme” to you.

I think we’re beyond that point. Anytime we trade in our moral priniciples for supposedly more “practical” and “realistic” solutions, we’ll get what we have now. Too many people are seduced and swayed by the calm that comes with ignoring politics, and will quietly and knowingly succumb to travesties by our government, so long as it doesn’t bother their day-to-day matters. We tolerate sin and wrongdoing by others so much that we begin to partake in it ourselves due to social acceptance.

“Innocent? Is that supposed to be funny? An obese man, a disgusting man who could barely stand up, a man who if you saw him on the street, you’d point him out to your friends so that they could join you in mocking him. A man, who if you saw him while you were eating, you wouldn’t be able to finish your meal.

“After him, I picked the lawyer, and I know you both must have been secretly thanking me for that one. This is a man who dedicated his life to making money by lying with every breath that he could muster to keeping murderers and rapists on the streets!

“…A woman, so ugly on the inside she couldn’t bear to go on living if she couldn’t be beautiful on the outside. A drug dealer, a drug-dealing pederast, actually! And let’s not forget the disease-spreading whore! Only in a world this shitty could you even try to say these were innocent people and keep a straight face. But that’s the point: we see a deadly sin on every street corner, in every home, and we tolerate it. We tolerate it because it’s common, it’s trivial. We tolerate it morning, noon, and night. Well, not anymore.”

- Source: “Se7en” movie, as spoken by character John Doe (played by Kevin Spacey).

Of course, the movie character used that logic as justification for murder, which I don’t agree with or condone, but I feel like many of us are backed into a similar corner with peaceful rebellion as our only ally. I’m not any better than sinners, mind you; we are all sinners, including myself. That doesn’t mean that wrongdoing should be allowed to be socially acceptable, as illustrated in the quote above.

Which leads me back to the infiltration idea – why let in anyone to any organization who doesn’t agree with the core principles? Why should we vote for any person that doesn’t agree with the 9/12 Project’s nine principles and twelve values? Why should we trust anyone whose ego is greater than the movement itself?

For those of you who don’t know – there is no national Tea Party leader. Anyone who claims to be so is lying to you, and wants the supposed prestige and attention that comes with that title. There are regional Tea Party leaders and organizers, yes. But I have never taken any orders or suggestions from anyone who claims to be the national leader. I think one of the beauties of this particular movement is that it has no leader. We are largely like-minded individuals that are following our gut, our calling, whatever you want to call it.

So when internal fighting starts within this movement, it can only be due to infiltration. For example, Eric Odom, a liberty organizational leader whom I seem to name drop quite a bit, has left the Chicago Tea Party due to egos and infighting, and decided to participate in other cities instead. Another example is local: The Mansfield News Journal doesn’t hesitate in trying to magnify the differences between the two Tea Party organizations based in Mansfield, Ohio; even if there really is no major disharmony among us.

Any large movement that is becoming a political force is bound to have stuff like this happen, so I see this as a sign that what we’re doing is working. If it wasn’t working, why are there counter-forces being set forth to see to it that they divide us and stop us?

I also see this as a sign of our collective inexperience with political organizations. In many ways, this solidifies our credibility as a pure grassroots organization. While I am hesitant about organizations like FreedomWorks getting involved with the Tea Party movement, I also know that if it is true that the Tea Partiers are really “Astroturfers” being paid by lobbyists to promote political agendas, then Dick Armey would have tried to take over if he saw that his supposed “brainchild” was being publicly seen as fractured. He’s not. He’s commenting on the sidelines, but not giving direction.

We’re just going through growing pains. It’s just that our growing pains are publicized in national media.

Be leery of coattail riders. I don’t mind politicians unilaterally embracing our principles and values if that is what those politicians truly are, and not just paying lip service to. I don’t care if they “rip off” our ideas, as long as they stick to their principles and don’t give in to anything less.

However, people like Newt Gingrich, Michael Steele, Mike Huckabee, and (maybe) Tim Pawlenty are not worth my time because their actions spoke louder than their words. No matter how much they like name dropping the Tea Party movement and are willing to ride the coattails, they’re not true to it. Don’t take my word for it, see for yourselves.

There are too many people with too much stake in this to let it fail. While we may differ in religious beliefs, social issues, etc.; we will surely come together as one once the health care bill is up for a vote. Count on it.

Since I’ve started this thing, some truths and patterns continue to float to the top of the salt water muck that is the American political culture. I have to tip my hat once again to Mr. Jim Quinn, who comes up with his “laws” during the Quinn and Rose show. These are ones I have come up with so far. I’m not copyrighting these, because I’m all for public use of these ideas. The sooner everyone faces this, the better.

Government has a financial interest in letting you die.

The only exception to that rule is if you are giving them more tax revenue than they spend on you – and when I say “giving”, I mean “taking away from you by government force via the IRS”.

If our government continues its path towards morphing into a gigantic entity set up to take responsibility for their citizens’ well being, then people will inevitably be judged by how much profit they generate for the government. If you pay no income taxes due to being out of work because of a disability – if the government pays the hospital tab, they won’t want to for very long, financially speaking. But if you’re pretty low maintenance, hard working, and willing enough to surrender 60%+ of your income to the government – well, they just might let you live.

Wouldn’t government take care of their citizens better than those insurance companies that look after the almighty dollar? I don’t know – what are the chances of the federal government taking a personal interest in you? What are the chances of you not being “just another number” when there are 300+ million to take care of? What are your chances of having your appeal heard when turned down for coverage? Well, let’s look at the government’s track record of how well they are listening to their citizens right now. Yeah, good luck with that.

Liberals typically do not understand how the economy works.

I’m not saying that as a rip to my liberal friends who know what they know and know what they don’t know. I am saying that as a rip to those who don’t know what they don’t know, and try to project it on those who do know. Conservatives are not against health care reform and want to cut Social Security because they don’t care about the little guy; we just know what it would cost to undertake such a mission. I’m not talking just financial either, but the cost of giving up individual control in favor of the collective run by a bunch of elitists.

Our country should be awash in surplus money and buying up oil fields like China and Russia are doing now. We used to do stuff like that post WWII. The federal government should have as little money as possible to control what they are constitutionally allowed to govern – so that there is nothing left to bribe state and local governments with pork projects and stimulus grants in exchange for a tacit secession of power. We could pay for our own car and health insurance, our own children’s schooling, and use any type of non-poisonous energy we see fit (CO2 isn’t poisonous).

Instead, we let our government take our money. Then we let them fool us into calling it “taxpayer money”. Once it leaves our hands, it ain’t our money anymore. The government claims it as theirs, and they spend it any way they see fit. Nothing really stops them from raiding funds set aside for other purposes, and nothing stops them from changing their minds. Nothing stops them from wanting more after they plead poverty while dangling the livelihoods of dependable public officials such as firefighters and police officers.

I understand the need to help people, but let’s teach them how to fish rather than just handing them fish.

Any bill longer than 20/50/100 pages isn’t worth reading or passing for any reason.

Have I read the bill yet? No. Why read something twice as long as a Tolstoy novel except it’s ten times as hard to understand? Our individual health plans are in the 10-20 page range. The Lord of the Rings trilogy is only 1,200 pages long with pages much smaller than the normal size, and it’s an exciting read. The bill is longer than the Bible itself! Maybe I’ll read it if they pass it, so I can gauge the BOHICA level. BOHICA = Bend Over Here It Comes Again. Thanks, Neal Boortz!

Page restrictions would make bills smaller, force plain English language usage, prevent pork barrel spending, and discourage last minute amendments to the bill. The bill would be more focused, so we don’t have the dumb “Hate Crime” legislation attached to war spending bills. We could read the damn things, and know what we’re getting into. That’s what we mean by the word transparency, for anyone whose last name is “Obama” or “Pelosi”.

Anyone who takes freedom for granted is dangerous.

And here is a short list of examples who fall in that category:

Those who feel the right to bear arms - ANY arms – is unnecessary. These are people who never fear government enough to want to defend against them; therefore, they trust them by default.

Those who believe the idea of “well, it can’t get any worse than it is now!” Yes, it can. Try the FARC-infested jungles of Colombia, where a popular presidential candidate was kidnapped and used as bait for over 6 years. Try the cardboard box poverty standard of living by Mexicans and Chinese peasants. Try Zimbabwe’s Mugabe-era economy, where they experience inflation in the billions of percents. If that happened here, $10,000,000,000 tomorrow would be worth $1 today. Try ex-Soviet state Georgia, where despite a selfless freedom loving leader, they face the stern old school KGB stare of Russia constantly because of Russian greed for Georgian oil pipelines. Try any culture where it is considered normal to rip women’s clitorises out. Try the Middle East.

We live here in the United States of America – where every single living day should be Thanksgiving, Christmas, Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Veterans Day all rolled into one. Anything less, and you’re throwing away a thing of beauty needlessly.

The entitlement society. I don’t necessarily mean those who feel like they’re owed everything – screw them. I’m talking more so about situations where people face the dilemma of whether or not they should take a job that pays half of what they were getting in unemployment benefits. When that happens, you know your government is trying to bribe you, and cheaply. Some prostitutes get paid more than that, and they at least get something else out of it! So are we prostitutes and half-slaves to our own government? Only you can answer that.

At the Mansfield North Central Ohio Tea Party yesterday, I announced that I will be running for Richland County (Ohio) Commissioner for the 2010 election year.

I will not be using “Starve The Feds” as campaign media, except for possible allusions, anecdotes, and various experiences during the campaign. The official website for my campaign is www.KentForRichland.com. All direct campaign correspondence will take place there.

I will say that the prime motivation for running was being tired of complaining. I want to continue documenting various events about our out-of-control federal government, the Tea Party movement, the national economy, the Federal Reserve, etc; but I can’t see myself doing so solely as an outside bystander. It seems too easy for any given person to criticize, and not be a part of the solution at the same time.

This will also serve as a warning to everyone that wants this movement to succeed – I can not, and I will not do this alone. I put a lot on my shoulders, as my young lady can surely attest. I could not fly to NY-23 and personally campaign for Doug Hoffman. I did not make an effort to attend the 11/5 “Kill The Bill” march on the Capitol. With regret, I did not make the Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Parade in Shelby, Ohio, that ended up making the national news. I have a lot going on, and I’m sure I will put it upon myself to take more than I can probably handle.

That means that many of you that are with us “in spirit” are going to have to make it “in person”, because as you can imagine, the next step for us is running for office ourselves. Michael J. Maxim is running for Dennis Kucinich’s House seat for the Cleveland area district in 2010. Tom Ganley is running for George Voinovich’s old spot in the U.S. Senate in 2010. Those are just the people I know, or have some loose connection to. The 2010 election is going to be chock full of Doug Hoffmans nationwide, and we’ll be busy as hell trying to get into office. That means activists will become campaign committees, and meeting attendees will have to become activists. That means we’ll need more people to become meeting attendees, and that means those of you closely following what’s going on and wanting to advance the cause will have to show up. We need you. Doug Hoffman’s near miracle has proven that.

I think John Boehner overstated the situation when he called the 11/5 march a “rebellion”. However, he is pretty close – I’d call it a “near rebellion”. I can guarantee you that 2010 will be one hell of a historical year for American politics, because this will be the first year that “We The People” will run for office, and the percentage of political elites’ participation on any side of the aisle will be at an all-time low, with the exception of the Founding Fathers’ era.

I think we’re all starting to see where our line in the sand is located. If the current version of the health care bill passes the Senate and is signed by the president, there will be unprecedented and inspiring fire of determination to get the bill repealed before it takes effect in 2013. The 2010 and 2012 elections will be our last stand for freedom. We’re looking ahead, and we won’t make the mistake of falling asleep again. The “pathetic right wingers” that one person spoke of are really the American Silent Majority. You’ve pissed on us long enough. You’ve stomped on our lifestyle choices long enough. You’ve made it difficult for Christians to practice their religion freely. You’ve counted on us to just take your insults and back down. You’ve stayed up late nights making your twisted ideologies your passion while the rest of us have to work and take care of our own. You’ve asked for help, which is fine, but now you want to forcefully take it away from us – money, taxes, government programs, welfare, any incentive for people to stay poor and not look for work. We are well on our way toward mob rule – where the number of those who receive help outnumber those who give it. We know it – and we’ve had enough. You’ll wish you never have stirred us.

If this health care disaster passes, plain and simple – you are allowing government force to compel us to pay the government more taxes in exchange for the illusion that they are going to take care of us via health care. I am saddened and disgusted by the fools that you are – taking our freedom for granted and freely willing to throw away ours in exchange for receiving small bribes on your end. We see through you, and we’ll vigilantly make damn sure we’ll never let mob rule overtake our country. You’ll have to kill us first before we bow down to you. In the meantime, we’re coming for you.

I’ll see to it that I protect myself and my family from tyranny. Hopefully, if I’m elected in 2010, I can do the same for 120,000+ citizens in my home county. Peace.

…not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

 - Theodore Roosevelt

I’m still sticking with my gut feeling that no health care bill will pass; although, that is being severely tested this weekend. I must not forget how much Congresswoman Michele Bachmann doesn’t hold anything back. I also need to quit underestimating the power of the written word on the internet, as news spread fast about the 11/5 Washington march. I wish I could see the Congressmen’s faces when ordinary citizens confronted them about the health care monstrosity, even if the Congressmen knew we were coming. I couldn’t make it this time, so I have no firsthand account to report here.

The past election showed me who wasn’t afraid to be conservative with their endorsement of Hoffman before endorsing Hoffman was considered “cool”. By the process of elimination, I also found out who would defend the Republican Party over their own country, and who was jumping the bandwagon when Scozzafava dropped out.

The good ones: Sarah Palin, Dick Armey, Mark Levin, Fred Thompson, Eric Odom, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity.

The wrong side of Scozzafava history: Newt Gingrich, Michael Steele, Mike Huckabee. I don’t want to hear another word out of any of these guys. I knew something was amiss with them when the Tea Party movement got started and they got pissy when they couldn’t use the Tea Parties to speak their usual drivel to us. Their endorsements of Scozzafava proved their worth. They don’t lead me.

The posers who talk the politicians’ talk: Tim Pawlenty and the rest of the NRCC. Maybe there’s hope for them, but I won’t jump when they say jump just yet.

Even though a conservative took back Virginia and a Republican got New Jersey – New Jersey! – I am still disappointed about Hoffman’s loss. Yes, he got an amazing percentage. Yes, Scozzafava was a typical backstabbing politician. Maybe Hoffman would have won had he not been an unknown a month ago. We can boost our spirits up talking about how this “sends a message” to the federal government; but to me, that message to us should be ”we have to work harder”. The 2010 elections will spread out our ammunition, so to speak. We can’t focus our activism in just three places like we did in this 2009 election. If our level of activism is the same in 2010, with hundreds of seats up for grabs instead of three major ones, we’re going to lose. We have got to do better.

As for myself, I will hope to see you at downtown Mansfield at the gazebo, where I will speak about the Federal Reserve and the devaluation of the dollar this Saturday, November 7th. The Tea Party will be from 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM, to allow time for everyone to go to nearby Shelby, Ohio in order to catch the 2:00 PM “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Parade”. Salute.