Bringing LIBERTY to
Capitol Hill -- 2008
OZARKS
VIRTUAL TOWN
HALL
Saturday Morning, August 30, 2008, 10:30am
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A Discussion of The President's Saturday Morning
Radio Address
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Click here
to listen to a replay of the August 30, 2008 Ozarks Virtual
Town Hall |
Notes and Summary of the President's Address -- Labor
Day
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This weekend,
millions of Americans will celebrate Labor Day. This holiday is an
opportunity to reflect on the contributions of hardworking Americans all
across our country - from teachers, farmers, and health care
professionals, to firefighters, police officers, small business owners,
and workers on the assembly line. (continued
below)
How the President Differs from the American vision of
"Liberty Under God":
- America was founded on the philosophy of "Liberty
Under God."
- "Liberty" means freedom from government
suppression of ideas and confiscation of wealth
- "Under God"
means we have a personal responsibility to love
God and neighbor.
- Human beings are endowed with the right to property by
God, not the government.
- America's Founding Fathers created a nation they called "an
experiment in Liberty"
- The Experiment in Liberty made America the most prosperous and
admired nation in human history.
- During the 20th century, numerous nations experimented with
government central planning.
- The experiments in government central planning resulted in
poverty and mass death (USSR, Red China, etc.).
- The Free Market -- "capitalism" -- creates
prosperity; the government inevitably creates recession,
depression, poverty.
- The voluntary transactions entered into by hundreds of millions of
Americans at home and in their businesses, based on the combined
knowledge of millions of investors, business owners, and managers of
households, all of them accountable to the discipline of
profit-and-loss, organizes the nation's economic activity better
than a handful of politicians trying to please special interests and
get re-elected.
President
Bush's
Saturday Morning Radio Address
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Another
Perspective:
"Liberty Under God"
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THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This
weekend, millions of Americans will celebrate Labor Day.
This holiday marks the traditional end of the summer season.
It is also an opportunity to reflect on the contributions of
hardworking Americans all across our country - from teachers,
farmers, and health care professionals, to firefighters, police
officers, small business owners, and workers on the assembly
line. |
Is there any American who does not fit into the
broad category of one who "labors?" What is the real
purpose of "Labor Day?" Answer: advance the power of
unions. It should have been called "Union-Organized Labor
Day." |
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The
American workforce continues to be the marvel of the world.
Yet many working families have been weathering tough economic
times. There are families across our country struggling to
make ends meet. There is an understandable concern about the
high price of gas and food. And many Americans are worried
about the health of our housing and job markets. |
It is capital, not just labor, that makes labor
productive.
The United States is bankrupt. |
| I share these concerns about our
economy. Yet there have been some recent
signs that our economy is beginning to improve. While
the housing market is continuing to experience difficulty, the
decline in home sales has leveled off recently, and sales are
rising in some parts of the country. Orders for some durable
goods, such as business equipment, are rising. And earlier
this week we received a report that America's economy grew in the
second quarter at an annual rate of 3.3 percent - surprising
analysts who were predicting an economic recession. |
Economists are great
with statistics. None of these statistics refute the problem
mentioned above: The United States is bankrupt. |
| These welcome signs indicate that
the economic stimulus
package that I signed earlier this year is having its
intended effect. The growth package will return more than
$150 billion back to American families and businesses this
year. Many Americans who received tax rebates are spending
them. Businesses are taking advantage of tax incentives to
purchase new equipment this year. And there are signs that
the stimulus package will continue to have a beneficial impact on
the economy in the second half of the year. |
Economic
Stimulus Packages
The "Stimulus Package" was discussed on
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| Labor Day is also the traditional
start of the election season. In the coming months, it will
be tempting for some in Congress to try to score political points
instead of getting work done for the American people. Our
citizens deserve better. We still have time to accomplish
important goals for our country. My Administration remains
hopeful that we can work with Democratic leaders in Congress on
bipartisan measures to help Americans cope with this period of
economic uncertainty. |
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| We need to work together on a
comprehensive approach to our energy
problems. I've called on Congress to permit us to tap
vast, unused sources of oil and gas, expand domestic refining
capacity, and encourage the development of alternative energy
sources. Congress continues to stand in the way of this
comprehensive approach. At a minimum, Democratic leaders in
Congress should move forward on common-sense energy proposals that
have bipartisan support - and it is not too late to do this. They
should act responsibly by lifting the ban on offshore drilling,
expanding access to oil shale, and implementing long-term tax
credits to spur the development of alternative sources of energy
like wind, solar, and nuclear power. |
See last week's
Ozarks Virtual Town Hall on Energy.
The "energy crisis" is the creation and fault of the
government.
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| We need to work together to open
up markets for American goods. Exports account for a
greater share of America's gross domestic product than at any time
in our history. It is not too late for Congress to approve
free trade agreements with strong allies like Colombia, Panama,
and South Korea - so that we can create more opportunities for
American farmers, ranchers, and entrepreneurs. |
We should also open
up our market for foreign goods, whether they open their markets
for our goods or not.
Free Trade is good, managed trade is
not. These trade agreements create new unconstitutional
governments.
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| We need to work together to keep
your taxes low.
At a time of economic challenge, the last thing American families
need is a massive tax increase. It's not too late for
Congress to make the tax relief we passed in 2001 and 2003
permanent. |
Don't forget the
inflation tax. |
| Despite our economic
difficulties, there is every reason to be optimistic about
America's future. Our workforce is dynamic and
productive. Our economy is showing that it is
resilient. And our Nation is the most industrious, creative,
and prosperous on earth. |
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| Laura and I wish you a safe and
joyous Labor Day weekend. Thank you for listening. |
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Kevin Craig's Platform:
Additional "Liberty Under God" Resources
Government Resources
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."
The Internet Can Speed up the Revolution
Here are ways you can help.
Communicating with Government and Media
- Contact Congress -- this
is from the JBS website, powered by "CapWiz," from Capitol
Advantage. Lots of organizations use capwiz. If you don't want to go
through the JBS, search for capwiz
on Google and find another organization that uses it.
Notice that you can also contact media through this webpage.
- Action E-List
Sign up for the JBS Action E-List and be notified when you can
make a critical difference on important issues.
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.
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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.
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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 »
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"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 »
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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 »
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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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The Democrat Party Radio Address:
The The
Democratic Radio Address was a Barack Obama commercial delivered
by former Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who
claimed there are big differences between the two parties. She told
the stories of three people who have medical problems but no health
insurance. Hillary joins these three people in wanting to change the
entire economy and the medical care of millions of people in order to
get coverage for these three people.
Click here
for a replay of this edition of the Ozarks Virtual
Town Hall
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