I forgot several of our members would be leaving for Disneyland on September 12. That is too bad because that is our iconic day. Maybe next year...
Anyway, I think we'll switch it to September 11 at 7:00 PM. Please read as much of The 5000 Year Leap as you can.
Hope to see you there!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Welcome Back to our Next Meeting: 9/12/09 (When Else?)
Our next meeting for the Carterville 9/12ers will be on September 12th. The time is still to be determined. On September 12th, we will tune into to a special Glenn Beck program where he will be showing what other people around the country have been doing with their 9-12 projects. I don't know very many details of this program so we'll all just have to wait and see.
I hope that by then we all have finished reading The 5000 Year Leap. I would like everybody, if you are willing, to log on to the Carterville 9/12 Project blog and post a comment about your thoughts and impressions of what you have learned from reading TFYL. We will be referencing this book and its ideas in future meetings as well.
Also, we will be trying to add Action Items to our meetings and we hope that everybody will take part in these. Just talking about these principles isn't enough; we all need to get first-hand experience being active participants in our community, state, and national government to whatever extent we can. We learn a great deal by doing as well as through dialogue.
I am looking forward to continuing and growing our little movement here. Let's not be afraid to share this with others. I am certain there are many who will want to join something bigger with like-minded individuals. I'm trying to involve others. Some are interested, others aren't or they are doing something else. It doesn't matter what people are doing for the sake of our freedom or liberty as long as they are doing something.
Thanks!
I hope that by then we all have finished reading The 5000 Year Leap. I would like everybody, if you are willing, to log on to the Carterville 9/12 Project blog and post a comment about your thoughts and impressions of what you have learned from reading TFYL. We will be referencing this book and its ideas in future meetings as well.
Also, we will be trying to add Action Items to our meetings and we hope that everybody will take part in these. Just talking about these principles isn't enough; we all need to get first-hand experience being active participants in our community, state, and national government to whatever extent we can. We learn a great deal by doing as well as through dialogue.
I am looking forward to continuing and growing our little movement here. Let's not be afraid to share this with others. I am certain there are many who will want to join something bigger with like-minded individuals. I'm trying to involve others. Some are interested, others aren't or they are doing something else. It doesn't matter what people are doing for the sake of our freedom or liberty as long as they are doing something.
Thanks!
Monday, July 6, 2009
C(r)ap and T(ax)rade Passed The House... Don't Let it Get Any Further
OK, so C(r)ap and T(ax)rade passed the House. I think that was rather expected. Now it goes to the Senate for their buy-off. Nine-Twelvers, this is our hour! Before the bill comes up for vote, we need to FLOOD our senators' offices with phone calls, faxes, emails, letters, any or all of these telling them that not only will we not vote for anyone who supports this, but we will ACTIVELY CAMPAIGN AGAINST THEM! As Glenn Beck said, even if Beelzebub is running against them we will campaign against them. I know that is hyperbole, but we need to be serious about this. They must be held accountable to us.
Also, we must be the ones who bring this up with our friends and neighbors, so we need to become more educated about what it is proposing to do and our individual rights and freedoms. I will try to get more information for you in the coming weeks. I hope you'll do your own homework as well. I know you're all busy, but this is critical that we get people mobilized.
Also, we must be the ones who bring this up with our friends and neighbors, so we need to become more educated about what it is proposing to do and our individual rights and freedoms. I will try to get more information for you in the coming weeks. I hope you'll do your own homework as well. I know you're all busy, but this is critical that we get people mobilized.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Stop C(r)ap & T(ax)rade Today!
The Waxman-Markey "American" Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 C(r)ap and Trade sham bill is being forced into the House today for a vote (HB 2454). It is 1200 pages long and was submitted for debate and vote this morning at the wee hour of about 2 AM.
I urge the 9-12ers to contact their congressperson as soon as possible by any means possible to express your distaste for this legislation. There is no excuse to pass this on such a rushed schedule. It is being forced through on purpose. Please understand that the energy costs of ordinary Americans who struggle to make a living will be dramatically increased (by 50% or more by some estimates) if this is passed.
Don't misunderstand what I'm saying. We need to be good stewards of our planet and need to work for better air quality and other environmental standards, but make no mistake, this is a tax on us disguised as something else and it must not pass. This is the hour to make our voices heard! Remember our 9th principle: The government works for me, I do not work for them.
Your message can be short and to the point. Below is what I faxed to my congressmen. Please leave comments and questions. I don't profess to know all about it, but maybe somebody else will know answers that I do not.
Dear Senator Hatch (I wrote this to Sen. Bennett and Rep. Chaffetz as well):
I urge you to vote no on any and all so-called "Cap and Trade" legislation which would impose taxes on energy producing companies in the United States and by extension taxes on the consumers of that energy. The proposal to tax this way in the name of environmentalism is immoral and unjust. You can be sure that any elected representative who votes in favor of Cap and Trade will lose my vote at the next election.
Sincerely,
Ethan Jolley
Thankfully, Jason Chaffetz has already expressed in no uncertain terms that he is against this legislation. We need others in other states to make sure their reps know how they feel. Please call them and let them know today!
I urge the 9-12ers to contact their congressperson as soon as possible by any means possible to express your distaste for this legislation. There is no excuse to pass this on such a rushed schedule. It is being forced through on purpose. Please understand that the energy costs of ordinary Americans who struggle to make a living will be dramatically increased (by 50% or more by some estimates) if this is passed.
Don't misunderstand what I'm saying. We need to be good stewards of our planet and need to work for better air quality and other environmental standards, but make no mistake, this is a tax on us disguised as something else and it must not pass. This is the hour to make our voices heard! Remember our 9th principle: The government works for me, I do not work for them.
Your message can be short and to the point. Below is what I faxed to my congressmen. Please leave comments and questions. I don't profess to know all about it, but maybe somebody else will know answers that I do not.
Dear Senator Hatch (I wrote this to Sen. Bennett and Rep. Chaffetz as well):
I urge you to vote no on any and all so-called "Cap and Trade" legislation which would impose taxes on energy producing companies in the United States and by extension taxes on the consumers of that energy. The proposal to tax this way in the name of environmentalism is immoral and unjust. You can be sure that any elected representative who votes in favor of Cap and Trade will lose my vote at the next election.
Sincerely,
Ethan Jolley
Thankfully, Jason Chaffetz has already expressed in no uncertain terms that he is against this legislation. We need others in other states to make sure their reps know how they feel. Please call them and let them know today!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Cancelling Meeting This Saturday
The June 20th Meeting is cancelled. Please RSVP for the meetings using the poll on the right. If we only get one response (my own) we won't be meeting (as much as you might think I like to talk to myself!)
Also, a big Happy Birthday to Melanie (Saturday)! Hope you have a good one.!
Also, a big Happy Birthday to Melanie (Saturday)! Hope you have a good one.!
Open Letter to the Politicians
This letter was read on the air by Glenn. I pretty much agree with everything here, so I am posting it. You can replace her personal information with mine and the message would otherwise remain unchanged. (Except I was never a Democrat and was a Republican in name only.)
I am Janet Contreras, a concerned, home-grown American citizen. I am 53, and I have been a registered Democrat all of my adult life. Before the last Presidential election, I registered Republican because I no longer feel the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. I now no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. There must be someone, please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me you are there and are willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please do it now. You might ask yourselves what my views and issues are that I would feel so horribly disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut job am I? Will you please tell me? These are briefly my views and issues for which I seek representation:
* Illegal Immigration—I want you to stop coddling illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Close the underground tunnels. Stop the violence and trafficking in drugs and people. No amnesty, not again. Been there, done that, no resolution. P.S. I am not a racist. This not to be confused with legal immigration.
* TARP Bill—I want it repealed and no further funding supplied to it. We told you “NO!” but you did it anyway. I want the remaining unfunded 95% repealed. Freeze! Repeal!
* Czars—I want the circumvention of our checks and balances stopped immediately. Fire the Czars. No more Czars. Government officials answer to the process not the President. Stop trampling on our Constitution and honor it.
* Cap & Trade—the debate on global warming is NOT over, there IS more to say.
* Universal Health Care—I will not be rushed into another expensive decision. Don’t you dare pass this in the middle of the night and then go on break. Slow down!
* Growing Government Control—I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored. I want less government in my life, not more. Shrink it down. Please mind your own business; you have enough to do with your REAL obligations. Let’s start there.
* ACORN—I do not want ACORN or its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed to them on every real estate deal that closes. Stop all funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending impartial audit and investigation. I do not trust them with the taking of the census or with taxpayer money. Face up to the allegations against them and get it resolved before the taxpayers get any further involved with them. It walks like a duck and talks like a duck—hello… stop protecting political buddies. You work for the people. Investigate.
* Redistribution of Wealth—No. If I work for it, it is mine. I have always worked for people with more money than I have because they gave me jobs. That is the only redistribution of wealth I support. I never got a job from a poor person. Why do want me to hate my employers? What do your have against shareholders making a profit?
* Charitable Contributions—although I never got a job from a poor person, I have helped many in need. Charity belongs in our local communities where we know our needs best and can use local talent and resources. Butt out, please. We want to do this ourselves.
* Corporate Bail Outs—knock it off! Sink or swim like the rest of us. If there are hard times ahead, we will be better off just getting to it and letting the strong survive. Quick and painful, like ripping off a band aid. We will pull together. Great things happen in America under great hardship. Give us a chance to innovate. We cannot disappoint you more than you have disappointed us.
* Transparency and Accountability—how about it? No really, let’s have it. Let’s say we give the “buzz” words a rest and have some straight, honest talk. Please stop trying to manipulate and appease me with cleaver wording. I am not the idiot you obviously take me for. Stop sneaking around meeting in back rooms making deals with your friends. It will only be a prelude to your criminal investigation. Stop hiding things from me.
* Unprecedented Quick Spending—stop it, now. Take a breath. Listen to “The People.” Let’s just slow down and get some more input from some “non-politicians” on the subject. Stop making everything an emergency. Stop speed reading our bills into law. I am not an activist. I am not a community organizer. Nor am I a terrorist, a militant nor a violent person. I am a mother and grandmother. I am a working woman. I am busy, busy, busy and tired, tired, tired.
I thought we elected competent people to take care of the business of government so that we could work, raise our families, pay our bills, have a little recreation, complain about taxes, endure our hardships, pursue our personal goals, cut our lawns and wash our cars on weekends, and be responsible, contributing members of society and teach our children to be the same, all the while living in the home of the free and land of the brave. I entrusted you with upholding our Constitution and believed in the checks and balances to keep you from getting too far off course. What happened? You are very far off course. Do you really think that I find humor in hiring a speed reader to unintelligibly ramble through a bill you signed into law without knowing what it contained? I do not! It is a mockery of the responsibility I have entrusted to you. It is a slap in the face! I am not laughing—the arrogance! Why is it that I feel as if you would not trust me to make a single decision about my own life and how I would live it, but you expect that I should trust you with the debt that you have laid on all of us and our children? We did not want that TARP bill. We said “NO!” We would repeal it if we could. I am not sure that we still cannot. There is such urgency and recklessness in all the recent spending. From my perspective, it seems that you have all gone insane. I also know that I am far from alone in these feelings. Do you honestly feel that your current pursuits have merit to patriotic Americans? We want it to stop. We want to put the brakes on everything that is being rushed by us and forced upon us. We want our voice back! You have forced us to put our lives on hold to straighten out the mess you are making. We will have to give up our vacations, our time spent with our children, any relaxation time we may have had and money we cannot afford to spend on you to bring our concerns to Washington.
I am Janet Contreras, a concerned, home-grown American citizen. I am 53, and I have been a registered Democrat all of my adult life. Before the last Presidential election, I registered Republican because I no longer feel the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. I now no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. There must be someone, please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me you are there and are willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please do it now. You might ask yourselves what my views and issues are that I would feel so horribly disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut job am I? Will you please tell me? These are briefly my views and issues for which I seek representation:
* Illegal Immigration—I want you to stop coddling illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Close the underground tunnels. Stop the violence and trafficking in drugs and people. No amnesty, not again. Been there, done that, no resolution. P.S. I am not a racist. This not to be confused with legal immigration.
* TARP Bill—I want it repealed and no further funding supplied to it. We told you “NO!” but you did it anyway. I want the remaining unfunded 95% repealed. Freeze! Repeal!
* Czars—I want the circumvention of our checks and balances stopped immediately. Fire the Czars. No more Czars. Government officials answer to the process not the President. Stop trampling on our Constitution and honor it.
* Cap & Trade—the debate on global warming is NOT over, there IS more to say.
* Universal Health Care—I will not be rushed into another expensive decision. Don’t you dare pass this in the middle of the night and then go on break. Slow down!
* Growing Government Control—I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored. I want less government in my life, not more. Shrink it down. Please mind your own business; you have enough to do with your REAL obligations. Let’s start there.
* ACORN—I do not want ACORN or its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed to them on every real estate deal that closes. Stop all funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending impartial audit and investigation. I do not trust them with the taking of the census or with taxpayer money. Face up to the allegations against them and get it resolved before the taxpayers get any further involved with them. It walks like a duck and talks like a duck—hello… stop protecting political buddies. You work for the people. Investigate.
* Redistribution of Wealth—No. If I work for it, it is mine. I have always worked for people with more money than I have because they gave me jobs. That is the only redistribution of wealth I support. I never got a job from a poor person. Why do want me to hate my employers? What do your have against shareholders making a profit?
* Charitable Contributions—although I never got a job from a poor person, I have helped many in need. Charity belongs in our local communities where we know our needs best and can use local talent and resources. Butt out, please. We want to do this ourselves.
* Corporate Bail Outs—knock it off! Sink or swim like the rest of us. If there are hard times ahead, we will be better off just getting to it and letting the strong survive. Quick and painful, like ripping off a band aid. We will pull together. Great things happen in America under great hardship. Give us a chance to innovate. We cannot disappoint you more than you have disappointed us.
* Transparency and Accountability—how about it? No really, let’s have it. Let’s say we give the “buzz” words a rest and have some straight, honest talk. Please stop trying to manipulate and appease me with cleaver wording. I am not the idiot you obviously take me for. Stop sneaking around meeting in back rooms making deals with your friends. It will only be a prelude to your criminal investigation. Stop hiding things from me.
* Unprecedented Quick Spending—stop it, now. Take a breath. Listen to “The People.” Let’s just slow down and get some more input from some “non-politicians” on the subject. Stop making everything an emergency. Stop speed reading our bills into law. I am not an activist. I am not a community organizer. Nor am I a terrorist, a militant nor a violent person. I am a mother and grandmother. I am a working woman. I am busy, busy, busy and tired, tired, tired.
I thought we elected competent people to take care of the business of government so that we could work, raise our families, pay our bills, have a little recreation, complain about taxes, endure our hardships, pursue our personal goals, cut our lawns and wash our cars on weekends, and be responsible, contributing members of society and teach our children to be the same, all the while living in the home of the free and land of the brave. I entrusted you with upholding our Constitution and believed in the checks and balances to keep you from getting too far off course. What happened? You are very far off course. Do you really think that I find humor in hiring a speed reader to unintelligibly ramble through a bill you signed into law without knowing what it contained? I do not! It is a mockery of the responsibility I have entrusted to you. It is a slap in the face! I am not laughing—the arrogance! Why is it that I feel as if you would not trust me to make a single decision about my own life and how I would live it, but you expect that I should trust you with the debt that you have laid on all of us and our children? We did not want that TARP bill. We said “NO!” We would repeal it if we could. I am not sure that we still cannot. There is such urgency and recklessness in all the recent spending. From my perspective, it seems that you have all gone insane. I also know that I am far from alone in these feelings. Do you honestly feel that your current pursuits have merit to patriotic Americans? We want it to stop. We want to put the brakes on everything that is being rushed by us and forced upon us. We want our voice back! You have forced us to put our lives on hold to straighten out the mess you are making. We will have to give up our vacations, our time spent with our children, any relaxation time we may have had and money we cannot afford to spend on you to bring our concerns to Washington.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Glenn Beck's Common Sense Tour
Marilee, Greg, Will and I attended the simulcast of Glenn Beck's 2009 Common Sense tour. Once again, I was boring and failed to get pictures, but you've all seen a movie theater before.
You know, you watch the news headlines and then, if your head hasn't exploded, you read the news stories and you do have to wonder: "Does nobody in our government have common sense anymore?" (The answer is almost nobody). As many who talk to me can attest, I nearly always say something like "So-and-so is an idiot" or "So-and-so is crazy," after reading or hearing some kind of news story. Then, immediately after I say this, I nearly always follow it up with, "No, they know exactly what they are doing and they don't care how destructive it is"... and then I get really upset.
Whether they really do know exactly what they are doing or not, it doesn't matter. They are being reckless. They are gambling with America's future, that means our children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and so on. It is immoral what they are doing. It is treasonous to future generations, and they ought to be removed from office, publicly humiliated, and then sent to prison for life or executed.
Common sense has fled the government, but you know, it has really fled us. Who chooses our government, after all? The government is really just a reflection of the will of the people. If rascals are allowed to stay in office, it is because we didn't fire them when they needed firing.
We all need to wake up, embrace common sense, and do our part to help others awake from their slumber of bondage.
I encourage us all to get a copy of Glenn Beck's new book, Common Sense (inspired by Thomas Paine) which will be out on June 23.
You know, you watch the news headlines and then, if your head hasn't exploded, you read the news stories and you do have to wonder: "Does nobody in our government have common sense anymore?" (The answer is almost nobody). As many who talk to me can attest, I nearly always say something like "So-and-so is an idiot" or "So-and-so is crazy," after reading or hearing some kind of news story. Then, immediately after I say this, I nearly always follow it up with, "No, they know exactly what they are doing and they don't care how destructive it is"... and then I get really upset.
Whether they really do know exactly what they are doing or not, it doesn't matter. They are being reckless. They are gambling with America's future, that means our children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and so on. It is immoral what they are doing. It is treasonous to future generations, and they ought to be removed from office, publicly humiliated, and then sent to prison for life or executed.
Common sense has fled the government, but you know, it has really fled us. Who chooses our government, after all? The government is really just a reflection of the will of the people. If rascals are allowed to stay in office, it is because we didn't fire them when they needed firing.
We all need to wake up, embrace common sense, and do our part to help others awake from their slumber of bondage.
I encourage us all to get a copy of Glenn Beck's new book, Common Sense (inspired by Thomas Paine) which will be out on June 23.
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