Don’t Get Sucked Into The Military Industrial Complex

With Iran huffing and puffing, Obama leading from behind and Israel saying they will do whatever they have to do it’s easy to get caught up and pulled into the war-speak, but we have far more important things to do worldwide than get into another war.

Aloha, Mikie

PS- need a break from politics? Click on the travel category in the right sidebar to see my entries direct from Argentina!

I Don’t Get It!

¡Yo no intiendo amigo!

In this crazy world how is it so bad to want to defend yourself? Forget this Kumbaya bull-crap thinking if we reduce our nuclear devices so will the rest of the world. I grant you it’s a nice thought but if you’ve paid even a little bit of attention lately (N Korea, Iran, Al Qaeda, Al qaeda on the Arabian peninsula -yes they are different, and Islamic radicals) you have to wonder, what’s he thinking?

I’m thinking it’s not SMART thinking. The Start Treaty passed today in the US Senate on a 68-27 vote (60 Senate votes were needed). It goes for a final vote possibly as early as Wednesday and it’s BAD. Bad as in terrible, not bad as in bitchin’, cool or sick in the parlance of the hip. According to DickMorris.com (former adviser to Pres. Clinton) it gives a 10,000 to 200 advantage to Russia and prohibits the US from developing interceptor missiles as part of a shield against incoming warheads — whether Russian or Iranian or North Korean.

The other thing I don’t understand is the rush to vote on this MAJOR treaty in the lame duck session. Why not have committee hearings and give it the light of day? Historically, the Ruskies have not exactly been known to adhere to treaties anyway. But why even go there? Russian tactical weapons (the kind most susceptible to theft or diversion to terrorists or rogue regimes like North Korea, Iran, Al qaeda) would outnumber ours 10-to-1.

Remember, “We the People” were successful in defeating the horrible Omnibus Spending bill last week by bringing pressure on key members of Congress and we can do it.

It’s time to burn those phone lines! Call the following Congressional offices to influence the 10 swing votes needed to defeat this horrible Start Treaty with Russia:

Scott Brown, Massachusetts

Washington:
phone: 202-224-4543
fax: 202-228-2646

Boston:
phone: 617-565-3170
fax: 617-723-7325

Olympia Snowe, Maine

Washington:
fax 202-224-1946
phone 202-224-5344

Maine:
Main: (207) 786-2451 / (207) 786-2451
Fax: (207) 782-1438

John McCain, Arizona

Washington Office:
Main: (202) 224-2235 / (202) 224-2235
Fax: (202) 228-2862

Arizona:
Main: (480) 897-6289 / (480) 897-6289
Fax: (480) 897-8389

Bob Corker, Tennessee

Washington, D.C.
Main: 202-224-3344 / 202-224-3344
Fax: 202-228-0566

Memphis
Main: 901-683-1910 / 901-683-1910
Fax: 901-575-3528

Lamar Alexander, Tennessee
Phone: (202) 224-4944 / (202) 224-4944
Fax: (202) 228-3398

Memphis Office
Phone: (901) 544-4224 / (901) 544-4224
Fax: (901) 544-4227

Johnny Isakson, Georgia
Tel: (202) 224-3643 / (202) 224-3643
Fax: (202) 228-0724

Georgia Office:
Tel: (770) 661-0999 / (770) 661-0999
Fax: (770) 661-0768

Thad Cocheran, Mississippi

Washington Office
202-224-5054 / 202-224-5054

Jackson Office
601-965-4459 / 601-965-4459

Lisa Murkowski, Alaska

Washington D.C.
Main: 202-224-6665 / 202-224-6665
Fax: 202-224-5301

Anchorage
Main: 907-271-3735 / 907-271-3735
Toll Free Fax: 1-877-857-0322
Toll Free: 1-877-829-6030 / 1-877-829-6030

Bob Bennett, Utah
Phone: (202) 224-5444 / (202) 224-5444
Fax: (202) 228-1168

Judd Gregg, New Hampshire
(202) 224-3324 / (202) 224-3324

Aloha, Mikie

Dare2Kerr@gmail.com

Sky High And Here’s Why

Are all federal programs and federal spending bad? Of course not. But federal spending needs to be tied more closely to the Enumerated Powers & Duties of the Constitution.

• Levy taxes and pay the federal debt
  
• Provide for the common defense
  
• Coin money (not print it at their pleasure!) and standardize the value of currency
• Regulate copyrights and patents
• Establish federal courts lower than the Supreme Court
• Establish Bankruptcy laws
• Initiate all bills for raising revenue (House only)

But our taxes are sky-high and here are some reasons why:

1. More and more people are tapping into entitlement programs while the number of households paying NO federal income taxes has grown to around 47%.
2. Cell phones paid for by the federal government?
3. Breakfast, lunch and dinner provided to all students in 13 states? The Nanny state is not only killing American tax dollars, it’s destroying American families.
4. Paying farmers huge amounts to grow or not grow certain crops? Let the market determine what a farmer chooses to grow based on who will pay him a fair price to do so. Look how subsidies to farmers for corn affect childhood obesity.
5. Unfunded mandates have got to go to. It’s unfair and unrealistic to expect the states to pay for every new law or regulation that is handed down by the feds. The tiniest new law generates huge bureaucracies.
6. Giving money to countries who will never repay it or who use it against us. Saudi Arabia comes to mind. They accept our hand-outs (jets and military gear) yet still want us to do their dirty work (take Iran, the neighborhood bully), all the while funding radical Madrassas all over Pakistan and Afghanistan whose students goal is to kill us.

And the deficit proposal recently proposed by the bipartisan commission did not even propose to cut spending, only to reduce the rate of spending increases. It’s like ‘Prezbo’ freezing federal pay. Nice gesture, but don’t stop there. Those things will add up (ever say, wow how’d I spend that much? when looking at your monthly CC bill?), but it’s time for some heavy duty spending cuts too. Kill me now or drag it out.

Aloha, Mikie

Dare2Kerr@gmail.com