Special Session: A Blessing in Disguise?

Well Glory! I’m trying really hard not to lose my religion these days. Here we go again. Another stupid--and I mean stupid-- Special Session of the Kentucky State legislature on the horizon. Last year’s Special Session cost Kentucky taxpayers roughly $60,000 per day if I recall correctly. Governor Steve Beshear was on the radio blaming Senate President David Williams for holding things up and I suppose Williams will return the favor, both hoping to score political points for the 2011 Governors election. Both with a score of zero in my opinion.
Well, I tell ya, I’ve had enough. I don’t care what the excuses are, these clowns in Frankfort are not funny anymore. Kentucky’s debt was at $42billion last I checked at http://www.usdebtclock.org/ and we were recently ranked by Forbes magazine as the “worst ran state”.
What do you suggest we do about it? Glad you asked. During this Special Session Governor Beshear may as well add one more item onto his “agenda“. We need a law ensuring that future Special Sessions are called only in times of true crisis (such as natural disasters or for military purposes) and not to take care of unfinished legislative business or to implement anybody’s political agenda. I figure the less time they spend up there the less damage they can do. What do you all think? If we can get this one simple law passed, it may be well worth the money. But let me tell you what else is worth the money. If this Special Session finally convinces Kentucky voters that David Williams and Steve Beshear both need to be fired, it may well be a blessing in disguise. The Lord sure does work in mysterious ways. God bless Kentucky!

Michael Maggard -- Concerned Kentuckian

Should Spending Cuts Begin With Lawmakers?

Phil Moffett’s Gubernatorial campaign manager David Adams was on TV a couple of days ago defending the taxpayers of Kentucky against some rallying public union supporters organized by out of towners. Adams told wkyt, “We now have government employees making significantly more than the taxpayers who are paying their salaries”. I find it significant that wkyt would be interested in the perspective of Phil Moffett on this issue. Of course, I have my own view of public unions, but first I have a couple of questions for the reader. How many of you approve of the authority of members of Congress to set their own pay? I would like to see a poll on this sometime. My guess is the results would be as low as whatever the job approval of Congress has been lately. Pretty low I suppose. Okay, here’s my next question. Assuming you don’t approve of Congress voting themselves raises, then why would you ever approve of public unions? It is the same deal, only worse because you cannot vote the public employees out if you dislike their job performance. Now to my opinion. We should find a way to cut both the compensation of our legislators and our public employees. It should be politically wise to do so, if we accept the “shared sacrifice” concept, plus it would do more to get Kentucky out of our $42billion dollar debt hole. Now I could vote for that. Maybe I should contact the Phil Moffett campaign and see what they think.

-Michael Maggard --Concerned Citizen

Freedom From Above

On this Sunday, I am so thankful to God for his love and mercy. Make no mistake about it, without the hand of God, America has no help. I am also thankful for the great Patriots who helped forge this One Nation Under God. The more wonderful people I meet, the more my heart sings "I am proud to be an American". I am so thankful for all of the support and friendly faces I meet on a daily basis, ranging from Pastors to janitors. There is no unimportant work for God uses all for His glory, in His time. -- Michael Maggard -- Concerned American

Questions David Williams Cannot Answer...

Michael Maggard -- "Last I heard, you and the Speaker of the House brought home more goodies from Kentucky's supposively "balanced" budget than anyone?"

Senator Williams -- "Is that your question?"

Michael Maggard --"How much of Kentucky's $42 billion debt are you responsible for"?

Senator Williams --(babbling something about pensions...which is ironic) Note: Refer to Williams' support of HB 299 in 2005 which allowed huge public pension grabs for appointees.

Duty vs. Doodie

I just returned from a very eye-opening Teaparty event in Louisville in which several candidates layed out their election platforms. Well, sort of. Phil Moffett outlined his "four corner" platform, explaining State Sovereignty, eliminating the Kentucky State Income tax, introducing competition and accountability in the educational system, and streamlining Frankfort. Phil's opponent basically talked about all the people he knew in the crowd and how he was buddy's with Rand Paul. I couldn't help but get the sense that one candidate, Phil Moffett, is running for Governor out of a sense of duty. His opponent is a smooth talker and all, but his speece espoused a lot of doodie in my opinion. Being an Independent-minded voter, this is what I witnessed and you all know I call it as I see it. In this case, Kentucky has a clear choice for Governor in 2011. --Michael Maggard -- concerned Kentuckian.

Phil Moffett is Kentucky's Friend

A friend is someone who will tell you the truth. Of course there are nice ways of doing so, but in the end the truth usually hurts for awhile. If we accept the truth and make the proper adjustments, things are always better than before. Kentucky is very fortunate to have a friend in Phil Moffett. He doesn't sugar coat our bugetary problems or want to "kick the can down the road" like the current career politicians do. Phil has a commanding presence and reminds me of my High School Vice-principal, a man nobody dared to cross. Phil Moffett also has a humorous side as I found out today in Frankfort. I hope your enjoy the little video clip below and I hope you will consider supporting this great Patriot. Please go to www.philmoffett.com and help Phil to finance Kentucky's great and necessary campaign for an honest Governor in 2011. I am honored to recommend Phil Moffett to you as Governor of Kentucky and will keep my eye out for others just like him to run for other offices. It will be a difficult task indeed. Thank you Phil Moffett for your friendship to Kentucky. Win or lose, you are a great example and inspiration to many people. -- Michael Maggard -- concerned Kentuckian

Johnny Is a Good Kid

Little Johnny is a good kid, well normally. One day Johnny takes a pack of Big League Chew to school and shares it with his friends in History class. About halfway through a Civil War lesson Johnny becomes a little restless and proceeds to do entertaining, but irresponsible acts with his gum. By the time Lincoln has given the Gettysburg Address, Johnny has his own mess to deal with., gum everywhere. At the end of class the other students, who were so captivated by the war between the States, file out of the room disposing of their gum in the trash in accordance with classroom rules. The next day in class, Johnny’s teacher Mrs. Grant, announces that all gum is banned from her classroom, even though she strongly suspects Johnny as the rebel who perpetrated the gum crime. After all, teachers are not dumb. She considered sending Johnny marching home with a note explaining why he should have to stay after school to clean the classroom, but decided it against the idea. Johnny is a good kid, normally. Of course, the thirty other students are good kids as well and they follow the classroom rules. Twenty years later, Johnny finds himself in jail for vandalism, having not accomplished much in life so far unless you count having gum banned from his sixth grade history class. But Johnny is a good kid. He’ll learn someday.

Rand Paul's Simple Bill

Just want to pass on a few tidbits from Dr. Rand Paul’s bill to eliminate $500billion from the 2011 budget for those of you who have not read all 12 whopping pages. Here we go. “Collect delinquent taxes from Federal Employees, $3billion” - page 11, section 22. “Freeze Federal Govt employee pay, $2billion” - page 11, sec 24. Sound pretty good so far? Here’s two of a different type - “The Department of Veterans Affairs shall NOT be subject to funding cuts in fiscal year 2011” - Page 9, sec 16. And this “The Social Security Administration shall NOT be subject to funding cuts in fiscal year 2011” --page 11, sec 2. With that information before us now, I have two points to make. Point number one is that this is the first Federal Budget Bill I have seen that is simple and concise enough to understand. Point number two is that with this bill Senator Rand Paul has switched the question from “what do we cut?” to “what can we afford to fund?” With high unemployment, and interest payments on a $14trillion debt, the simple and sensible answer is “not much”.

Rand Paul's Response to the State of the Union Address

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0B8--qw1ws&feature=player_embedded

Rand Paul's Bill to cut 500 Billion out of the 2011 Budget:

http://www.wlap.com/cc-common/mlib/1202/01/1202_1295995293.pdf

Special thanks to Leland Conway for this link and all he does on AM 630 WLAP Conservative Talk Radio to further the cause of liberty. Tune him in daily from 3 to 6pm to stay updated on upcoming TEAparty events...

Also go to www.micasims.com for Conservative and TEAparty news.

Things I like and Dislike About the Teaparty...

I love the passion. Most of all I like the comaradarie. It is one thing to sit around and complain and "throw shoes at your TV", but a completely new step to get off of the couch and do something about what you think is wrong. Teaparty events are very colorful and interesting and all walks of life are represented. Of course you would not know this from watching the mainstream media. Consider this: Many of the TEAparty activists are elderly and no doubt entitled to social security benefits. I've also seen quite a few disabled in the crowd. Why would the aforementioned associate with a group of people whose ideas (according to the media) were threatening to their livelihoods? Very simple. With a $14trillion dollar national debt, we must eliminate the programs we don't need in order to keep those programs we DO need. And we certainly need to take care of those who cannot take care of themselves. Most everyone in America would agree to this. That is exactly why everyone in America is welcome at the Teaparties. The DEBT is a threat to our national security and the programs that we DO need.
Now to the part I dislike. Though I am a firm believer in Free Speech, I personally do not like finger-pointing. That is why I have used my excellent engineering skills to design the ultimate Teaparty sign-- "Your Basic Protest" sign, made out of scrap cardboard. People seem to like it. But if I really had my way, I would that everyone wear a shirt with the words "It's my fault". As someone has written "We have found the enemy and he is us". Politicians work for us. They naturally do whatever is necessary to keep their jobs. If bringing home "the pork" is what is popular, can we really blame them for it? Bottom line is that WE are the ones at fault and we get the government we deserve. Just being honest.
All in all, the Teaparty is the only vehicle available to all people to bring about change in our government. Unlike the political parties, we do our business in the open and often wear our feelings on our sleeves or signs. There is nothing politically correct about us and that is very freshing in todays times. Please come out and make sure your interests are represented. Feel free to pass out info on a topic you are concerned about. The Teaparty like anything else is what you make it. It is the spirit of America at work.