17 September 2009
Today Is Constitution Day
"I call not upon a few, but upon all: not on this state or that state, but on every state; up and help us; lay your shoulders to the wheel; better to have too much force than too little, when so great an object is at stake."—Thomas Paine, 1776
Federal law mandates that all high schools, colleges and universities across the country that receive federal funds host educational events about the Constitution on Constitution Day, September 17. Yet as John W. Whitehead points out in his latest commentary, the best way to celebrate the Constitution is by knowing and exercising your rights.
Formally adopted on September 17, 1787, the Constitution has long served as the bulwark of American freedom and as an example for struggling nations worldwide. Unfortunately, the rights enshrined in this vitally important document are under constant attack. And this month's Faith and Freedom newsletter shines a spotlight on three vitally important religious freedom cases being litigated by The Rutherford Institute before the U.S. Supreme Court.
In Busch v. Marple Newtown School District, Institute attorneys are fighting for Donna Busch's right to read a few verses from Psalms as part of an "All About Me" kindergarten classroom program intended to spotlight her son Wesley and his favorite book, the Bible. School officials actually told Mrs. Busch that the Bible is illegal in public schools. Incredibly enough, school officials then suggested that a book on Halloween might be an appropriate substitute!
In McComb v. Crehan, Institute attorneys are fighting for high school valedictorian Brittany McComb's right to give God credit in her graduation speech as the reason for her success in school. School officials actually unplugged Brittany's microphone just as began speaking about her Christian faith.
And in Nurre v. Whitehead, Institute attorneys are fighting for Kathryn Nurre's right, as part of a school woodwind ensemble, to be able to perform an instrumental arrangement of Franz Biebl's "Ave Maria" at graduation. Mind you, no words were to be sung—just an instrumental piece was to be played! School officials actually defended the ban as necessary in order to avoid offending someone in the audience.
We hope you'll take a moment to read about these and other critical cases and issues affecting your rights. Thank you, and God bless you, for continuing to stand with The Rutherford Institute as we strive for liberty and justice for all.
16 September 2009
I Know How To Fix It
1. Allow all medical expenses to be deducted from your income on Schedule A. Eliminate the 7.2% rule. Full deduction.
2. De-regulate the health insurance industry; allow insurance companies to operate wherever they choose; let the free market and capitalism direct the course of commerce.
3. A tax-credit for employers who provide full coverage for employees.
4. Put the Social Security Trust Fund back where it belongs and get it out of the General Fund.
5. Allow employees to opt-out of the SS system with the corresponding employer match eliminated as well.
6. Institute a fair tax or flat tax.
7. Tort reform. Set limits on pay-outs.
14 September 2009
A Message From Dick Armey
Dear Friend,
The 9-12 March on Washington has concluded and by any measure it was nothing short of an historic success for the limited government movement.
The debate over how many people were actually there is now raging from one extreme to another. Some media reports have gone as high as 2 million, while liberal pundits like David Schuster have thrown out insulting low estimates under 50,000. I believe the truth is that our crowd actually approached 1 million, but you can judge for yourself as coverage of the March will air on CSPAN again tonight at 8 pm EST. No matter the actual number, the 9-12 March on Washington was far and away the largest gathering of limited government conservative activists in history and I want to thank you for helping to make it so.
Whether you were there or not, your support was key – your contribution, attendance at a local taxpayer protest in your own community, or your presence in DC is being felt today by the politicians here in the Nation’s Capital. Some may not admit it publicly, but I promise you that even the likes of Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Barrack Obama himself now know the power that our side represents.
We are all exhausted, but it’s imperative that we keep telling the stories, and sharing the images, and connecting the people from all 50 states who spoke with one voice to petition their government. After all, we all worked so hard to send the message to our elected officials: “Silent No More.” To help document this monumental event, over the next few weeks, FreedomWorks will be putting together an online archive of the 9/12 March on Washington. However, if this project is going to be successful, we need your help!Here is how you can help:
Tell us your story. If you were at the March, watched it from home, or participated in one of the hundreds of other local taxpayer rallies that took place all over the country, we want to hear from you! Simply email your story to 912dc.org@gmail.com, and don’t forget to include your name (we’ll only publish your first name), age, and location! We will also be sure to get a hard copy hand-delivered to your Senators and Congressman.
Send us your pictures and video. Did you take photos or video at the DC March or your local event? If so, we’d like to post them on our archive. To do this, all you need to do is upload your photos to Flickr.com, and videos to YouTube.com, then include the tag “912dc” before saving them. If you have too many photos, or your video is too large, you can mail a CD or DVD to: FreedomWorks, 601 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, North Building, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20004.
We need your help to get ready for the coming battles. The health care debate continues to rage and we expect the Left to continue their push for cap and trade and other items on the big government wish-list through the end of this year. We are working to build an infrastructure capable of conducting targeted research and issuing rapid-response calls to action that will make the difference in these fights.
In addition, our political battle plan for 2010 is already starting to come together. To give you a sneak preview, this includes another major event in Washington, D.C. and playing in the most high-profile Congressional mid-term races. All of this of course will take significant resources, but that’s what it is going to take to give limited government activists like you the necessary tools to affect change. Click here to support FreedomWorks with your generous contribution.
I think back to 1994. Then, true limited government conservatives saw the dawn of a new era where fiscal conservatives rose to power on the shoulders of the Contract with America and “threw the bums out.” While conservatives in Congress ultimately lost their way and thus the support of the voters, I believe that thanks to the grassroots uprising we are seeing now that lawmakers are getting the message and that 2010 could look a lot like 1994, if we keep it up.
So while I again congratulate you on the success of 9-12, I remind you that the battle goes on. We can take our government back, but as abolitionist Wendell Phillips famously said, “eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”
FreedomWorks,
Dick Armey
"Look At All These People!!!"
Washington Examiner Political Digest
Byron York - Inside the 9/12 protest
Hours before Saturday's protest began, it was clear that the crowd of people opposing Obama's big-government policies would be larger than many anticipated. There are no official estimates of how many attended, but there's no doubt that the turnout, from the crush on Pennsylvania Avenue to the crowd at the West Front of the Capitol, was big -- perhaps in the 100,000 range.
No one was more surprised at the show of force than some of the marchers themselves. "We did it!" cried one elated woman as she approached Pennsylvania Avenue. "Look at all these people!"
You certainly did.
12 September 2009
A More Realistic Estimate
We all know the VLWM is suffering from a serious numerical dyslexic-disorder. They just can't seem to get their numbers straight, for some reason.
Lets get this out of the way now.
Most media outlets are using the term "10's of thousands" to describe the 9/12 March attendance in Washington DC.
I was there from 0700 until 1500 and I can assure you, (and I have Park Police estimates to back it up), there were 1.3 million Americans at the 9/12 March in Washington DC.
ONE POINT THREE MILLION voting Americans who quite possibly represent another 100 voting Americans who could not attend.
Are you listening now?
Can you hear THEM NOW?!?!
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW??!!!
InstaPundit has a photo taken by MKH, (what a class act and a smokin' hot baby-doll) who actually paid $18 to access the vantage point from the top of the Newseum. This is the end of Pennsylvania Ave from about 3rd Street to the West Lawn. The Newseum is at 555 Pennsylvania Ave, between 5th and 6th. The March extends west to 14th Street. Do the math. It took 3.5 hours to move the crowd from 14th to 3rd Streets, and the marchers filled Pennsylvania Ave from curb to curb for almost 3 hours.
Tankerbabe and I met up with Uncle Jimbo and Lilyea.
Uncle Jimbo was speechless; a condition he rarely, if ever, suffers from, although I did hear several "WOW!!!'s" and at least three "I can't effing believe this!!'s"
He did manage to recover sufficiently to film some folks.
05 September 2009
03 September 2009
Civilian Defense Force Video
Can you say Hitler Youth? MS-13? You think they'll disarm the gangs?
You need to see this pdf.
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