Missouri's 7th District, U.S. House of Representatives
Bringing LIBERTY to Capitol Hill -- 2010 OZARKS VIRTUAL TOWN HALL
Saturday Morning, January 23rd, 2010, 10:30am
A Discussion of The President's Saturday Morning Radio Address
Click here to listen to the January 23rd, 2010 Ozarks Virtual Town Hall
Notes and Summary of the President's Weekly Radio Address:
"President Obama Vows to Continue Standing Up to the Special Interests on Behalf of the American People"
The White House Press Office: – In this week’s address, President Barack Obama vowed to continue fighting for the American people to ensure their voices are heard over the special interests and lobbyists in Washington, despite this week’s Supreme Court decision to further empower corporations to use their financial clout to directly influence elections. (continued below)
The federal government only has the powers granted to it -- "enumerated" -- in the Constitution.
The "General Welfare" clause is no exception to this principle.
"States Rights" -- most government should be carried out on a local level.
The Constitution created a federal government with very limited powers, bound down by the "chains of the constitution." The Bush-Obama Regime believes it has vast, unlimited powers to cure all diseases, fund all causes, and bring salvation.
These are the reasons given by Osama bin Laden for declaring a "fatwah" (holy war) against the U.S.
All of these accusations are true.
All of these government actions are contrary to the Constitution.
The biggest cause of terrorism -- and the most dangerous threat to the personal safety and security of ordinary Americans like you and me -- is the Federal Government of the United States.
America's Founders envisioned the American people, acting as businessmen, humanitarians, and missionaries, engaging in commercial and charitable activities around the world, bringing peace and receiving the admiration of the world.
"The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations is in extending our commercial relations to have with them as little political connection as possible."
— Washington, Farewell Address (1796) [Washington’s emphasis]
"I deem [one of] the essential principles of our government, and consequently [one] which ought to shape its administration,…peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none."
— Jefferson, First Inaugural Address (1801)
Bush's unconstitutional military invasion of Iraq has destroyed Christianity in that country.
Under Saddam Hussein's secular government, Christians in Iraq had greater freedom than in most other Arab nations, and one of the largest Christian populations in the Muslim world was in Iraq.
Iraq is now an Islamic theocracy under Sharia law. The Christian population has been destroyed. Christian Churches are burned and terrorized with impunity.
Obama is following in Bush's unconstitutional, anti-Christian footsteps.
This money-creation system is immoral and unconstitutional. It steals from the poor and elderly.
America's Founding Fathers would conclude that The First Amendment had been repealed
There is no freedom of religion: the U.S. is officially atheistic.
There is no freedom of the press: the media is the lapdog of "the Establishment."
Everyone who signed the Constitution, if they were here today, would urge the repeal of the Constitution and the abolition of the government created by that document.
One of the reasons I ran for President was because I believed so strongly that the voices of everyday Americans, hardworking folks doing everything they can to stay afloat, just weren’t being heard over the powerful voices of the special interests in Washington. And the result was a national agenda too often skewed in favor of those with the power to tilt the tables.
It is clear that the voice of everyday hardworking Americans is not being heard as loud as the voices of insurance companies who are getting large bailouts as well as a healthcare plan which forces millions of Americans to give their money to insurance companies.
In my first year in office, we pushed back on that power by implementing historic reforms to get rid of the influence of those special interests. On my first day in office, we closed the revolving door between lobbying firms and the government so that no one in my administration would make decisions based on the interests of former or future employers. We barred gifts from federal lobbyists to executive branch officials. We imposed tough restrictions to prevent funds for our recovery from lining the pockets of the well-connected, instead of creating jobs for Americans. And for the first time in history, we have publicly disclosed the names of lobbyists and non-lobbyists alike who visit the White House every day,
so that you know what’s going on in the White House – the people’s house.
U.S. President Barack Obama (C) delivers remarks about health care reform with (L-R) Cedars- Sinai Health System President and CEO Tom Priselac, Merck Chairman, President and CEO Richard Clark, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Chairman and CEO George Halverson, American Medical Association President-Elect J. James Rohack, M.D., Service Employees International Union Healthcare Chair Dennis Rivera and Edwards Lifesciences Chairman and CEO Michael Mussallem in the State Dining Room of the White House May 11, 2009 in Washington, DC. Obama make the remarks after meeting with people representing hospitals, insurance companies, drug makers and doctors who will benefit when government forces health insurance on the estimated 50 million
Americans who do not have it, most of whom do not want it.
May 11, 2009 - Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Europe
We’ve been making steady progress. But this week, the United States Supreme Court handed a huge victory to the special interests and their lobbyists – and a powerful blow to our efforts to rein in corporate influence. This ruling strikes at our democracy itself. By a 5-4 vote, the Court overturned more than a century of law – including a bipartisan campaign finance law written by Senators John McCain and Russ Feingold that had barred corporations from using their financial clout to directly interfere with elections by running advertisements for or against candidates in the crucial closing weeks.
This ruling opens the floodgates for an unlimited amount of special interest money into our democracy. It gives the special interest lobbyists new leverage to spend millions on advertising to persuade elected officials to vote their way – or to punish those who don’t. That means that any public servant who has the courage to stand up to the special interests and stand up for the American people can find himself or herself under assault come election time. Even foreign corporations may now get into the act.
Republicans, led by John McCain, passed legislation which made it a crime to mention a candidate's name in the weeks before an election. A business who put together a film on Hillary was prevented from airing the film before the election. The government admitted that books could be banned if they mentioned candidates by name. WalMart could not advertise products like "A John McCain Action Figure." Critics called the law "The Incumbent Protection Act."
I can’t think of anything more devastating to the public interest. The last thing we need to do is hand more influence to the lobbyists in Washington, or more power to the special interests to tip the outcome of elections.
All of us, regardless of party, should be worried that it will be that much harder to get fair, common-sense financial reforms, or close unwarranted tax loopholes that reward corporations from sheltering their income or shipping American jobs off-shore.
It will make it more difficult to pass commonsense laws to promote energy independence because even foreign entities would be allowed to mix in our elections.
It would give the health insurance industry even more leverage to fend off reforms that would protect patients.
We don’t need to give any more voice to the powerful interests that already drown out the voices of everyday Americans.
Everyday Americans were prohibited by this law from buying radio spots to oppose candidates they disliked.
And we don’t intend to. When this ruling came down, I instructed my administration to get to work immediately with Members of Congress willing to fight for the American people to develop a forceful, bipartisan response to this decision. We have begun that work, and it will be a priority for us until we repair the damage that has been done.
A hundred years ago, one of the great Republican Presidents, Teddy Roosevelt, fought to limit special interest spending and influence over American political campaigns and warned of the impact of unbridled, corporate spending. His message rings as true as ever today, in this age of mass communications, when the decks are too often stacked against ordinary Americans. And as long as I’m your President, I’ll never stop fighting to make sure that the most powerful voice in Washington belongs to you.
“Why Americans Should Celebrate Christmasby Overthrowing the Federal Government”
The word "Christ" means "King." The Message of Christmas and the Principles set forth by the Christ (the Messiah) who came that first Christmas are the real solution to America's problems. The Federal Government is at war with Christmas and "The Way of Peace" announced by the Prince of Peace. The Government should be on His shoulders (Isaiah 9:6-7). Abolishing a Messianic State is the only appropriate way to honor the Messiah. Otherwise Christmas becomes
mass hypocrisy.
The Word became flesh. The Creator of the universe becomes a human being. He came to His own, but His own did not receive Him, preferring darkness rather than light.
John the Baptist prepares the way for the Messiah, as prophesied of Elijah.
As you read the Gospel accounts, ask yourself how you would react if you knew these accounts were really true. Not just true in some "religious" sense, but reported in the New York Times, proven in a court of law, or acknowledged by your personal hero. (How do you know something is true? Do you even have any "heroes?") How should you change your life if your Creator became a human being? How should Washington D.C. react if this human being claimed to be the true Ruler?
The Prophet Micah predicted that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Jesus' parents lived in Nazereth. Therefore God predestined Caesar to issue a decree (probably relating to taxes) that would bring Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem before Jesus was born.
Bush claims the same global power of confiscation and migration as Caesar did. Thousands of Christians have been forced to move out of Iraq to make way for Bush's Islamic Theocracy.
An army of angels announces the birth of the Messiah, saying,
“Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace to those with whom He is pleased!”
Man's chief end is to glorify God and live in peace. The Bush Administration's chief end is to erect a "wall of separation" between God and government so that the State gives no glory to God, and to wage war, thereby "stimulating the economy."
“Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.”
When Herod got word of the birth of a rival king, he behaved in a perfectly logical way (for someone who wants to protect his power): he massacred all male babies the age of Jesus. Herod recognized that Jesus was a threat to Herod's power.
Every day in America 4,000 unborn babies are murdered. These babies must threaten something.
Millions of Americans who call themselves Christians, on the other hand, are no threat to tyranny. None of them are being killed. Bush has killed a thousand times more human beings than Herod did, and confiscated a billion times more wealth than Herod did.
Listeners' Questions
Orange, CA: We are still stuck in the Two Kingdoms issue. Could you comment on this. Is it to be understood from this doctrine that the churches under its influence cannot proclaim to the government that God's law should apply to the the government? In other words, taking the subject you are discussing about the Fed creating money out of thin air, can not this practice be related to the commandment that this kind of stealing is breaking God's law? If the church does not call the government to obey God's Law, who will?
Every American could be born with a comfortable inheritance for education, a first home, or medical care; instead, every American is born in great debt.
Washington D.C. central planning increases debt, does not create the "Vine & Fig Tree" life.
I’m House Republican Leader John Boehner. I’m speaking to you from the Capitol, where next week, President Obama will deliver his first State of the Union address.
This is a fitting time to pause and take stock of where we are.
Nearly a year ago, the president signed into law a trillion-dollar ‘stimulus’ with promises that jobs would be created ‘immediately’ and that unemployment would stay below 8%. Since then, roughly 3 million Americans have lost their jobs while red ink and bailouts have piled up as far as the eye can see.
My home state of Ohio has endured nine straight months of double-digit unemployment. And for the better part of those nine months, Democrats in Washington have been focused on this government takeover of healthcare that working families just can’t afford and want nothing to do with.
This is what happens when government overreaches and stops listening to the people.
Washington Democrats believe government knows best how to spend your hard-earned money. Democrats believe we’re just one new tax, one more czar and one giant bureaucracy away from solving all of your problems.
So do Washington Republicans, who spent huge amounts during the 8 year Bush Administration.
That’s not the America that I know growing up with 11 brothers and sisters as the son of a bar owner. And as I travel the country, I meet a lot of people who feel the same way.
For months now, a political rebellion has been brewing – one born from the American people’s opposition to greater government control over our economy and their lives. That rebellion propelled Republican Scott Brown to victory in this week’s Massachusetts special election.
Scott’s win in the bluest of blue states gives us new hope that common sense will prevail. That maybe now, the hard work and entrepreneurship of the American people will no longer be stifled by Washington Democrats’ costly, job-killing agenda, an agenda Republicans have stood on principle and fought tooth and nail against.
The Republicans' costly bailout can't be distinguished in any meaningful way from the Democrats'.
But we know better. We know that Washington Democrats will pull out all the stops to try and shove through this government takeover of healthcare, with its Medicare cuts and tax hikes. If there’s a sweetheart deal that needs to be cut, Democrats will cut it. And if there’s a vote that needs to be bought, they’ll buy it.
Republicans are against cutting a government program?
Haven’t we had enough of government propped up on payoffs and pork-barrel spending? Haven’t we had enough of the same-old, us-versus-them politics that uses yesterday’s battles to distract us from today’s problems? We’re all in this together, and we need positive, forward-looking solutions to bring us together.
So for families asking, ‘Where are the jobs?’ Republicans have offered common-sense solutions to help small businesses invest and hire new workers. We’ve also put forward a responsible budget blueprint that makes the tough spending choices that others just talk about.
And on healthcare, Republicans have proposed the only bill that would lower premiums by up to 10%. And we do this by implementing some smart, common-sense reforms – whether it’s letting families and businesses buy health insurance across state lines or ending the junk lawsuits that contribute to higher healthcare costs.
No federal legislation on health care is constitutional. Republicans do not understand this.
And we get the job done without cutting Medicare or raising your taxes.
These solutions aren’t being devised behind closed doors with special interests having the final say. We’re soliciting feedback on Facebook and Twitter. We’re working with governors and mayors every day to develop the best ideas. All of the details are available at solutions.gop.gov.
President Obama and Democrat leaders in Washington now have a choice: Work with Republicans to get our nation back on its feet, or double down on the job-killing policies that are making matters worse.
So at the State of the Union, we’ll listen to what the president has to say. But make no mistake: If the powers that be in Washington keep turning their backs on the people, Republicans will continue to challenge the status quo and offer better solutions.
Our fight for reform, for freedom and for common sense, is far from over. Thanks for listening. ####
What Would America's Founding Fathers Do?
The men who threw tea into the Boston Harbor over a tax of 3 pence per pound would not be happy with a tax ten times greater on every gallon of gas. Those who took up muskets over a total tax burden of less than 3% would not be happy with the fact that the federal government now takes more than half of everything you earn.
Today it is illegal for public school teachers to teach their students that the Declaration of Independence is really true (and not just an outdated historical document). The federal government is clearly at war with everything the Founding Fathers stood for.
America's greatest Americans would abolish today's federal government.
Muskets are Not an Option
There are two reasons why we should not take up arms to pull off the violent overthrow of the federal government, even if America's Founders would surely do so. First, the feds have nukes. Second, violent revolution is unChristian and unBiblical. We must beat our swords into plowshares and use persuasion to abolish tyranny. This is time for a revolution of ideas.
Revolution Won't Come in a Day
John Adams once wrote that the American Revolution began in 1761, when Massachusetts attorney James Otis began legal challenges to the Writs of Assistance. He lost the case, but "American independence," Adams wrote, "was then and there born." Now do the math. That means it took 15 years to convince the rest of America to declare Independence
(1776). Then another seven years of war was required before a Peace Treaty was signed (1783), and then six years before the Constitution was finally ratified (1789). That's almost 30 years. (And Jefferson said we shouldn't go 20 years without another rebellion!) How can we hope to convince Americans to fight for principles they were never taught in government schools? We need to be in this battle for the long term. "Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty."
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Help End the Mexican Civil War
Black-market profits caused by drug prohibition fund a civil war in Mexico that's threatening to spill over our borders. Drug profits also fuel the terrorists who are killing U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. It's time to dry up the black-market profits. It's time to end drug prohibition.
Make Congress Read Their Bills Before Voting
Make Congress read every word of every bill they create before they vote on it.
Urge your Representative and your Senators to sponsor DownsizeDC.org's “Read the Bills Act” (RTBA).
End the FED
The Federal Reserve System constantly inflates and deflates the supply of money and credit, causing booms and busts. It's time to get off this roller-coaster. It's time to end the Fed.
No Bailouts!
No government money, whether borrowed or taxed, should ever be used to bailout private financial interests. If you agree, please send Congress a message telling them so.
TWIC - A Backdoor Real ID Card
Real ID is dying. But the Department of Homeland Security has a new plan to subject every American to a national ID card anyway. They plan to pick off one occupational field at a time, starting with the maritime industry. One man is fighting back. Meet him, and help stop this backdoor Real ID plan.
Stop the Killer Horse Hormones
The FDA "outlawed" the use of Estriol, an estrogen medication that's bio-identical to human estrogen. Doctors must now prescribe animal-derived estrogen instead. Are bio-identical hormones dangerous, while animal-derived hormones are safe? No. The practice of medicine is moving to chemically identical to human hormones and away from animal hormones. Learn why the FDA decided to endanger women's health in this way, and take action.
End Asset Forfeiture
If the government suspects you used your house or car in a crime, they can take it and sell it at auction. They don't even have to prove your guilt. They call this practice civil asset forfeiture, but it's really theft. It violates the 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th and 14th Amendments. It also encourages law enforcement to put profits before justice. Tell Congress to end civil asset forfeiture.
Support an Iraq Referendum
Americans keep debating when, how, or if to leave Iraq. Maybe we should ask the Iraqi people what they want. After all, it's their country. Tell Congress to request that the Iraqi government hold a public referendum on the U.S. occupation. Learn more »
Make Congress read every word of every bill they create before they vote on it.
Urge your Representative and your Senators to sponsor DownsizeDC.org's “Read the Bills Act” (RTBA).
Unelected bureaucrats create tens-of-thousands of new dictates each year. Making rules is the job of Congress, not bureaucrats.
DownsizeDC.org has drafted the “Write the Laws Act” to end bureaucratic “legislation without representation.” Click here . . .
"Cap and Trade" is not the way
The politicians seem to be unifying around "cap and trade" as a way to cut CO2 emissions. If they take this step it may be the largest increase in the size, scope, and intrusiveness of government since the creation of Medicare. Worse still, it may not even achieve its purpose. Please tell Congress to oppose "cap and trade." Learn more »
Iraq Waste
Big government prospers through failure. Each new failure is used to justify more spending and new powers. Wasteful spending in Iraq is the latest example. One way to change this is to hold government accountable. A new bill in Congress seeks to provide some of the needed accountability. Please support it. Learn more »
Stop the War for Terror U.S. policy has inflamed the Middle East. It has made terrorism more likely rather than less. We seem to be fighting a war for terror, rather than on terror. This policy must stop. The place to start stopping is with Iran. We must not attack Iran. War with Iran would devastate our economy, disrupt world oil supplies, and recruit more terrorists. Click here to stop this war before it starts.
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