Senate Passes Obama’s AIDS Bill
AIM Column | By Cliff Kincaid | July 17, 2008
The $200 billion already spent by U.S. taxpayers on HIV/AIDS here and around the world has not resulted in any cures or a vaccine.
Only 16 Senators, all conservative Republicans, voted against the massive $50 billion global AIDS spending bill (S. 2731) when it came up for a final vote on Wednesday night. The outcome, which included the addition of water projects for Indian reservations, demonstrated the complicity of both major political parties in out-of-control spending designed to benefit a powerful special interest group.
The final vote was 80-16 with Senators Barack Obama and John McCain, both original sponsors of the bill, on the campaign trail and not available to cast a vote on the Senate floor.
Dr. Paul Zeitz of the Global AIDS Alliance thanked Democratic Senators Joe Biden and Majority Leader Harry Reid and Republican Senator Richard Lugar for their “tremendous achievement” and their “fierce determination to bring the bill forward…” Zeitz insisted that the money would “save millions of lives and foster good will around the world.”
However, the $200 billion already spent by U.S. taxpayers on HIV/AIDS here and around the world has not resulted in any cures or a vaccine, and anti-AIDS drugs are coming under increased scrutiny for their ineffectiveness and side-effects.
On final passage, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky voted with Majority Leader Reid and the Democrats.
In addition to spending $50 billion at a time of growing economic difficulties in the U.S., the bill lifts the ban on entry into the U.S. of AIDS-infected aliens, who could end up adding to the costs of the health care system.
Indeed, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that providing federal disability, health and nutrition benefits to aliens with HIV/AIDS and their children could cost the government $83 million over a 10-year period.
The 16 “nay” votes were cast by Allard (R-CO), Barrasso (R-WY), Bunning (R-KY), Cornyn (R-TX), Craig (R-ID), Crapo (R-ID), DeMint (R-SC), Ensign (R-NV), Graham (R-SC), Gregg (R-NH), Hutchison (R-TX), Inhofe (R-OK), Kyl (R-AZ), Sessions (R-AL), Vitter (R-LA), and Wicker (R-MS).
In an earlier vote, 31 Senators voted to cut the amount of spending in the bill from $50 billion to $35 billion. In this vote, two Democrats―Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Ben Nelson of Nebraska―voted with 29 Republicans.
One “conservative” Republican senator, John Thune of South Dakota, boasted about how he managed to obtain $2 billion in the bill for “tribal needs” such as water projects and “public safety” on Indian reservations.
But the original purpose of the bill was supposed to be about helping victims of HIV/AIDS.
Any notion of this being a partisan matter was completely shattered by the Bush Administration’s active lobbying for the bill. In this legislative showdown, the Republican White House collaborated with liberal Senate Democrats and actively opposed the efforts of conservative Republican senators such as Jim DeMint, David Vitter and Jeff Sessions to reduce the size and scope of the bill. Originally, the White House had only requested $15 billion for the program.
The Senate bill now has to be resolved with the House version.
Among those speaking out against the “reckless” overspending in the bill was Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky, who declared, “When so many Americans are facing economics problems at home, I have a hard time needlessly tripling the funding for this program.”
Bunning also declared, “We need to ensure that these funds reach the neediest countries and not those that can afford their own space and nuclear programs, such as China and Russia. At a time when China is tripling their defense budget and manipulating their currency, I have a hard time sending billions of dollars over there…”
Yet, Senator DeMint’s amendment to limit the countries in which the AIDS money could be spent was defeated 70-24.
Meanwhile, on the House side, Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen issued a release calling the bill a “mission of true mercy.”
Cliff Kincaid is the Editor of the AIM Report and can be reached at
67 Comments | Post a Comment
I just looked down the list, and can’t believe the names of the so-called “conservative” Republicans who voted “yea” for this Bill. I am writing both my Georgia Senators to protest their yea votes, and to let them know that they might as well switch sides back to their beloved spend-thrift Democratic Party. We’re literally dying out here, us average Americans, who own small businesses, abroad in Iraq as military officers on duty to our country, and in our own cities in our own places of business.
It’s just this type of ridiculous, mindless activity that causes the average American to recoil at such parasitic behavior of the “world community” which sets us up for other “Smoot-Hawley” type reactions that are devastating. Let us be generous, for sure. But do so with prudence, oversight, and wisdom to know when is not a good time to tax the American people with a burdon like this.
HOW STUPID!! Grab your pitch forks! It’s indeed time for Revolution! Conservatives UNITE!!! Let’s kick out the whole bunch of libs and neo-cons NOW!!! Line-Item veto Amendment; Term-Limits Amendment: Right to Life for the Unborn Child Amendment.
Allen
This is a perfect example of American politics at work. Pile on to a controversial bill items that will make the people voting against it look bad. This is why we need term limits. One other thing - The headline states “Senate Passes Obama’s AIDS Bill”. The first line of the second paragraph states it is “Senators Barack Obama and John McCain, both original sponsors of the bill”. So much for Accuracy In The Media. Lets be honest about things. Senator McCain is just as guilty here and this is a preview of what we get from him.
This just goes to show how much the politicans in Washington really do not care about America or the people living here. Years ago, there was a ruling about health issues before someone could enter this country and now they want to allow someone to come in even if they have a disease that cannot be cured and that we really do not even want our present citizens to get. Now they are allowing that same disease to just walk in and are spending our tax dollars to bring it in. No, they (the politicians) do not care about the American citizen or for that matter I wonder if they really care about the future of America. Same goes for their refusal to allow more drilling and their seemingly act of helping the environmentalist to block the drilling efforts of companies that want to drill
I agree with the comments above from my fellow Americans.
As I repeatedly state in my blog, we the people need to take a stand and use the power given us by our founding fathers. It is time to enact time limits, impeach the offending parties who refuse to listen to the American people and start diligently working towards a government that is for the people by the people.
Our leaders have forgotten that their work is not a “job” - it is a service to their fellow Americans. They have also forgotten that we put them in power and we can just as quickly remove them.
For me, this bill only reinforces my belief that most of our leaders have lost any ability to discern what is right and what is wrong for America.
This unbelievable and should be another reason to throw these bums out this fall.We do not have the resources to finance this other then going out and borrowing it and putting us closer to the black hole.
Adding pork barrel spending to it is even worse and it is time to change the rules that nothing can be added to a bill that is not part and/or related to it.
What is this nonsense taking all the illegals and now legals with an incurable decease?Have we gone mad?When are we all taking up a cause and march to DC by the millions and tell these idiot that enough is enough?
I have already written to my RINO US Representative demanding that he vote no to this bill as it moves to the House. My confidence in his judgment is not high, however. I imagine he will fall into the group that goes along with the “do-good” farce of a bill such as this. I didn’t write my US Senators yet, as they are both Democrats and are complicit in this kind of government bloat and overspending. I am sure that my protests to them will fall on deaf ears, again due to the arrogance that has become an integral attribute of a seat in Congress. They have become nothing more than prostitutes to the special interests, and it’s shameful and disgraceful.
The word “revolution” has been appearing more and more in comments after such articles, and I believe it should become common parlance among citizens that aware and outraged by the arrogance and non-representation of their elected representatives. The great America that we started with was founded as a result of a revolution by the people.
As the “approval” rating of Congress plummets to all-time lows (I’d say single digits qualifies as being as low as dirt), it’s time to seriously turn up the heat on the elected class so they remember how temporary their “jobs” can be. Flood their phone and fax lines, and jam their e-mails until they begin to listen. Obviously the ordinary citizen is competing with well-paid lobbyists for his/her Congressperson’s attention. That is a problem unto itself that must also be addressed. It’s time we all grabbed the wheel of this country away from special interests and steered it back on the road that was paved for us from the beginning.
This country needs a loud and robust expression of outrage!
I have written Emails and FAX messages to all my representatives, House and Senate. The answers that eventually come back are of the canned sort and have very little to do with the questions raised.I agree, revolution is coming to mind with many people and it has to be the silent majority that needs to grab the initiative.The thousands that go to Sen. Obama gathering and donate millions to his election campaign are not the ones that will help to clean house.You are correct, these guys listen to the lobbyists and we the people do hardly exist.Phoning is not the solution because you can’t even ge through if you tried. As Glen Beck said, pick up a pitch fork and throw the bums out, all of them and start over again.
This is truly outrageous. At a time when we are in the largest national debt in our history, these morons add fifty billion to the debt. I really do suspect that each of the senators who voted yes got at least one million dollars under the table. That is the only logical explanation for their votes. Even that amount is a small figure compared to the amount we will be paying. Possibly they got much more than a million. Also, someone in the congress or close to the congress is also getting paid off in the millions for pushing this outrageous bill.
There is absolutely no benefit to the U.S. that can be derived from this spending.
Yes, it is time for a revolution to return to fiscal sanity.
Our government owns us all. They take our money and use it where ever they think it will make them look good - not caring a thing about our citizens. We’re just the ones who pay pay and pay some more. What can we do? I’ve signed hundreds of petitions over this past year, complained to my Representatives, and actively stumped for a third party candidate. All I see around me is people jumping on the Obama bandwagon as if he is going to make any significant changes......and those he does will not benefit any of us. grrrrrrrrr
Fortunately, Loral, the government does not own us despite the fact that they think they do. The current political parties do not care about us, the people. Many people are resigning from their parties and signing up as Independents, taking their cues from Lou Dobbs who has it right. Since we are being stepped upon by both major parties, it is time to look at the other parties who are more in line with us, the people. They are the Libertarian Party and the Constitution Party. Both can be found on line. If they can’t fill the bill, we can look further for a return to Common Sense as proposed by Tom Paine prior to our independence from tyranny.
Somewhere along the line both the Democrats and the Republicans will be sent to the trash heap of corrupt political parties. Thank God for the sixteen senators who voted against this corrupt AIDs bill. Let us at least support them.
The revolution begins when we stop paying taxes to this corrupt government. Our earnings are the source of their power. It is time to turn off the spigot.
That is Common Sense. Let’s find a way.
It is time for everyone to remember… the only good legislator is one voted out of office this year. That is our revolution in America, vote the bums out, put new ones in…
Unfortunately we only have a choice of tweedle dee and teedle dum for president this year.
LETS MAKE A REAL CHANGE AMERICA, VOTE AGAINST EVERY INCUMBENT, SEND THEM A MESSAGE OF CHANGE!!
Unfortunately my two RINO senators, Snowe and Collins vote for every single liberal spending bill to hit the pike. The also vote against any drilling in the US. We Mainers like that what with cold winters and all. (sarcasm there)
Are these people that freakin’ stupid? Are they trying to drive us down the tubes?
They’ll all probably vote for Obama’s other big spending bill to “end world poverty” that would cost $875 billion. That’s more than the Iraq war has cost so far.
I am very discouraged with the dumba22 voters of this country and mad at the press and the schools for keeping people so uneducated and ignorant.
Hi John
I’m with you on voting Independent/Libertarian. The only thing preventing that is the fear that Obama will win if I don’t try to offset him with McCain. See? We are so indoctrinated to the 2 party system, that to make a change without assurance that many, many others will also change leaves us out on a limb that has only hope as it’s tree. I sure want to leave the status quo boiling in their own oil.
Friggin’ absurd!
And this has NOTHING to do with “liberal”, “conservative”, “Democratic” or “Republican”. Rather, this represents a serious lack of America-focused political leadership in a time of some significant domestic crises in our own country!
I sure agree with someone above who said “we need a revolution”! It’s time to re-ignite the protest passions of the ‘60s and direct them against profligate politicians, predatory corporations, runamok government, and totally unresponsive political parties!
Power To The People!
The problem is that we have two outside parties and that will never be a recipe for success.If at all,we need one third party like we had with Ross and that might work eventually.
Some solid comments. Thank you John for the nod to the Constitutional Party: I had never heard of them, but after visiting their site today, reading their whole platform, I am impressed. It’s easy to see why they are growing so rapidly, and this Senate vote to give away $50 Billion out of taxpayer pockets (to accomplish almost nothing of noteable value in the end) is one of a million examples. It’s dishonest, it’s un-needed, it’s irresponsible theft, and it’s an abandonment of duty by our elected officials. The Senate has become as glaring an example as any of an illegitimate runaway organization controlled by left-wing extremists and avowed enemies of the United States.
We the people have the real power. True for every nation on this planet. Whether democratic, communist, etc.
I think the government, the media, and special interest keep us divided, so we are effortlessly conquered. Neutralized.
I agree we need a revolution. But where do we start realistically? Voting out career politicians?
We have to be more united to systematically terminate unqualified politicians not just in our own districts.
Libertarian has excellent political stance. They are comprised of people who once served as Rep or Dem and felt they were off course...which is true for both. Something to consider if anyone is serious about trying to get ‘change’ in government. Obama doesn’t represent the kind of ‘change’ I want.
JULES - - I voted for Perot in ‘92 - - and hoped his strong showing would support the genesis of a viable and effective third party. Eighteen months ago, I was similarly hoping that Ron Paul might be able to regenerate the concept! All-in-all, though, it seems there are far too many individually-oriented, self-focused, Americans who apparently just don’t give a damn. After all, most presidential elections see only 50% - 55% of eligible voters actually voting.
I do think we need political parties in order to provide organization, focus, political and philosophical platforms, and voter education - - but the two major parties of today have made themselves useless to the majority of middle-of-the-road, working class Americans - - who comprise the at least 40% of voting age Americans who are registered as “Independent” or “Not Affiliated” - - or not registered to vote at all!
Personally, I’ve heard way more than the usual number of people flatly stating ... “The hell with it! I’m not going to vote this time. Neither party and neither candidate are promising to do the things I think need to be done!”
Unfortunately, the big “private money” that could finance a viable third party is currently split between supporting extremist Lefty Loons and extremist Righty Rockheads. And, that minority of extremists who control each party (maybe 15% - 20% of each party’s membership) offer no responsiveness and no relevance to the often clear-cut opinnions of the “Democratic man on the street” OR the “Republican man on the street”!
The abject political and ideological partisanship between the two parties extremist leadership over the last dozen years or so has created nothing more than a 50-50 stalemate - - and, boy, has it gotten stale!
I also voted for Perot in ‘92, as I liked the concepts he was pushing to cut through the ills of the two major parties. Perhaps more momentum could be generated (and combined money) if the Independent, Constitution and Libertarian Parties found enough common ground to combine forces. If so many people are fleeing the other parties and flocking to these others, there must be enough common ground among them.
Of course, if you could just get the Republican Party to sensibly and solidly combine with these others and have a rebirth of sorts, they’d win every election with landslides for the next 40 years.
As much as I agree with the urgent need for a new and serious-contender third party with a new direction and attraction, I will be casting my vote this fall for the candidate most likely to keep BHO out of office. America must awaken and not allow that steeper slide down the hill.
First Rule in Life: “Give to your family first, then you can help the neighbors”. The U.S. is now exactly in the situation that our founding fathers warned about.
“… We need that money back in our own pockets! ...”
Unfortunately, this is money politicians are planning to extort from us later, not money they’ve already stolen from us.
“… Let us be generous, for sure. ...”
Charity is by definition voluntary, not something that is extorted from people under threat of imprisonment by politicians.
The problem is politicians are driven by altruism to do these things for their own aggrandizement. What makes politicians think it their proper role to determine who and how should benefit from Americans’ forced “benevolence?”
Altruism’s flaw is that it worships sacrifice, a fundamental contradiction. Value is by definition something to be sought after and preserved, not something to be thrown or given away.
“ Fortunately, Loral, the government does not own us despite the fact that they think they do. ...”
2 comments:
1.) Amendment 16 gave the Federal government (politicians) the power to tell us how much of our hard-earned property they will allow us to keep. It made us slaves of the politicians.
2.) Americans (or more correctly, American states’ legislatures—i.e., politicians) voted to ratify Amendment 16. Americans voted the politicians into their offices.
To paraphrase Pogo: “We have seen the enemy and he is us.”
We no longer have democrats and republicansin the Senate...just thugs and bigger thugs. The only way to bring this corruption and lunacy to an end is to literally overrun Washington DC and ride 535 politicians out of town on rails. Throw in the 5 Marxist Supreme Court justices and it would be a very, very profitable day. Until a few million patriots actually take this step, we’ll do little more than whine to eachother on the internet and accomplish absolutely nothing.
Doug, you are absolutely correct, unless we take the bull by the horn, we can do absolutely nothing.What we need is a leader that will get get enough voters rilled up that we will do what needs to be done,however,I have not seen any respected person like that yet.
“We no longer have democrats and republicans in the Senate...”
This would be more correct expression of the basic idea:
We no longer have democrats and republicans in the Congress: we have altruists who differ only in the path they want to take toward collectivism and statism.
Conserve means to save, preserve and protect. In our case, it is to conserve our constitution which is the basis for our way of life. The two current presidential candidates certainly miss that mark. Keep your eyes and ears open for the right person or persons who say and do the right things. It took awhile for the right people to come together in the pre-independence days of our country. We are currently under the political tyranny of miscreants and malfeasors who are bleeding us dry. That will end in due time, one way or the other. In the meantime, be vigilant and prudent in finding the best means to survive, adjust and overcome them. There are plenty of good people in this country. They just need to unite. In the meantime, let’s figure out a way to stop the bleeding while we still have the power of the people.
JG - - Maybe you have a REAL idea there?
“The Independent Libertarian Constitutional Republican Party”! Sounds like a start!
And, I genuinely think combining some of the minor parties into an active alliance providing centralized support for those political philosophies and policies commonly embraced and shared by each of the different parties is a great idea on “how to generate and energize a revolution”! I most certainly believe that 40% to 60% of the eligible electorate do not feel they are satisfactorily or effectively represented by either the Democratic or Republican parties.
Personally, while I’m a registered independent, I prefer to call myself a “Traditionalist” - - and I certainly do subscribe to most of the concepts O’Reilly presents in his “Culture Warrior” - - and there are plenty of Libertarian and Constitutional precepts that I support.
HOWEVER - - I’m also among the 71% of the citizenry who are absolutely, unequivocally, and terminally fed-up with the GWB administration and all those who support it (even ever so slightly!) - - so - - my choice now has to come from among - - not voting - - writing-in a vote - - or voting for BHO. I believe the GOPs and McBush have lost their ticket to continue to ride.
In 2000, I would have happily voted for McCain. Today, since he’s chosen to flipflop over to the Bush League, no chance!
What???? “Today, since he’s chosen
to flipflop over to the Bush League..”
Have so soon forgotten this new bill we are upset about was not a Bush-McCain effort, but was an Obama-McCain. My concern is that McCain has gone to the Liberals
I do wonder if McCain has bought at least some of the lie that he has to appeal to so-called “moderates” (media code-word for typical liberals) in order to carry enough votes. But we need to beware the “Bush League” mindset that the media has deliberately fostered. Too many people do not comprehend that the mainstream Media are nothing more than socialist/DNC Operatives, who have been blatantly engaged in a scorched-American-earth war-on-Bush ever since the 10,000 All-Republican double-punched Florida ballots weren’t enough vote-fraud to let Gore steal the White House.
Further, people do not comprehend that too many key positions in the underlying bureacracy of the “Bush Administration” are really criminal elements put in place by the Clintonistas, sometimes after illegally dismissing the principled bureaucrats that filled the posts. “Travelgate” is merely one of the most well-known examples. This is a key reason why, as some have noted, that the “Bush Administration” has seemed sometimes contradictory and/or at war with itself. When you’re a President who’s fed info by institutions that have been arranged and buttressed to hide, manipulate, obfuscate, stall, and etc ad nauseum, it can be difficult to draw correct conclusions and galvanize effective action. And besides flushing Bush’s public approval rating down the toilet, effective “Bush Administration” action is exactly what the liberals have successfully short-circuited too often in the last 7 1/2 years.
The combination of both these factors was apparent in the media’s stories and photos released on the non-story of Guantanamo Bay, after being clearly notified that the long-ago-initiated investigations were ongoing, that the information was classified and illegal to release, and that public releasing of the information would galvanize terrorist activities that would cost countless American lives and hurt foreign relations for decades. In the face of those facts, the Media-warring-against-Bush defiantly released the information, many people died, the USA position in the war on terror suffered tremendous damage around the world, AND the “Bush Administration” did not arrest those responsible and charge them with treason.
The ultra-left controlled Media is an immense problem. Recall how quickly they did a 180 and refused to publish the Juanita Broddrick story once the immense weight of the evidence made it obvious that Bill Clinton should be charged and tried in court for rape? The DNC thinks the only thing wrong with their illegal and/or treasonous activities is losing media control of the spin, while the RNC (or at least most rank and file members) at least understands what’s criminal and immoral and is rightfully ashamed of it, and willing to condemn it (to various degrees). (Historically, guilty Republicans resign while guilty Democrats lie and stonewall.) So Americans also need to demand a Media that reports the facts, instead of their last half-century of manipulating the public and censoring both the facts and the news, partly to create the illusion that the RNC is at least as bad as the DNC.
Bottom line, America’s success or future can’t rest on ANY single candidate, no matter how good. Because if the rest of the corruption isn’t rooted out, the perfect candidate will find themselves doing everything in their power to do it right, and yet still losing public confidence and media and international support.
Analyst has it exactly right. We can not change the tainted liberal media, but we don’t have to buy their outlets either. We can support the Conservative media on the web, the talk radio, newspapers like The Washington Times, and TV hosts like Glenn Beck and Lou Dobbs.
It is true, we need at least one strong leader to clean house from the top, someone like John Bolton.
Cling to our Constitution. It was created for good and moral people. Memorize it and preserve it. The current rash of spending is not Constitutional either.
A Bobby Jindal in the White House would be amazing. Especially of the changes he is making in Louisiana. Many of those who don’t like his changes are leaving. Talk about house cleaning!
I feel like most of the comments above. Let’s all get together and vote out the bunch. I am for that program 100%. We need a new direction for us, and new blood that does what the majority of us want.
LORAL - - Well, my fear is that McCain has gone head-over-heels over into the bushes - - and after eight years with J and eight years with W - - I’m totally and absolutely bushed! ANYBODY but a Bush, a Bush accolyte or a Bush supporter for me!
Personally, though, I have always believed that the real power to do the right thing and effectively carry on the people’s business resides in Congress. Unfortunately, this Congress is completely useless and those of the preceding several years have been completely partisan. So, maybe electing an activist Congress with real responsiveness to the will of the people and effective, open, and bi-partisan leadership is much more important than electing an Obama or a McCain???
I’m not a fan of the Republican leadership in Congress either - - but Pelosi and Reid are as incompetent as the Texas Ranger and El Dicque!
They will let people in with AIDS. Then in a year or so the media and the dems will start telling us that the number of people with AIDS is rising, without telling us why, and that we need to spend more money on AIDS.
Is it because AIDS sufferers are predominantly members of the dems best constituents, and this will increase their ranks?
mr.blogger raises an even more frightening spector: inviting AIDS infected foreigners into the country will only increase our present burden of taxation. Our system is being corrupted beyond belief. TK is right, the real power in government lies within the congress. A moral congress could straighten out our country very quickly. The corrupt one we have now is rapidly destroying the body of America. The faster we get them out of there, the better. We need to set our focus on obtaining moral congress people who will listen to us, the people.
Read and listen to discover who can best serve us there.
JOHN - - Amen to your statement that “a MORAL Congress could straighten out our country very quickly”. If we could only find a “MORAL” Congress!
With 50,000,000 U.S. citizens without health insurance; with healthcare costs going through the roof; with Medicare reducing benefits and raising costs annually (and, like SS, in danger of going broke); with Medicaid costs rising to 25%-30% of some states’ (Florida = 26%) budgets (matched with federal funds); and with hospitals in the southwest and California CLOSING because of so many non-paying (especially high-cost emergency) illegal immigrant patients - - why the hell are we sending billions in healthcare aid to OTHER countries - - and STILL allowing hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants over the border from Mexico.
Damned Republican Party wants the cheap (and taxpayer-subsidized) labor - - and the damned Democratic Party wants every disaffected and oddball minority voter they can get their hands on!
There’s a helluva lot more reason for outrage today than there was back in 1968 - - yet - - today - - nobody seems interested, nobody seems outraged, nobody seems to be willing to publically protest???
Neither party pays even the slightest attention to the needs, preferences, interests, or wishes of the majority of middle-of-the-road, rank-and-file, middle-class, working American citizens - - the very people the politicians claim to be representing!
The politicians and bureaucrats are too damned busy representing the interests of third-world countries, illegal Mexican immigrants, and predatory corporations (foreign and doemstic)!
What the hell ever happened to the idea that “Democracy” was “Rule By The Majority”???
Unfortunately, Rule by the Majority has been transferred into Rule by any minority that pays off the congress people. It will take the likes of Elliott Ness or Wyatt Earp to clean them out of there.
We are not alone in our outrage. Listen to Michael Savage (7-10 PM E.T.,Mon-Fri), or Mark Levin (11-12 PM E.T., Mon-Fri) The also have web sites under their names.
When you listen to the callers, you know you are not alone. It just seems that way because the liberal media blocks anything that refutes their liberal social agendas and social spending.
You can see by the letter writers here, that there are plenty of outraged citizens that no one hears in the liberal media.
Somehow, we need to find a way to turn off the tax
spigot. Enough is more than enough now.
John - - Basically, I am completely against the ideological partisanship that has paralyzed both parties over the last 12-15 years - - and I generally strongly dislike the one-sided, narrow-minded pissiness of commentators like Hannity, Ingraham, Limbaugh, et al. - - and, likewise, almost as often, I hate the rantings of Olberman, Colmes, Moore, and the Hollyweirdos, et. al.
Personally, I find that ideological partisanship is at the heart of EVERY political problem confronting us today - - and I generally reject ideologues and ideologically-based policies out of hand.
HOWEVER, I do admit that I listen to Savage every day on my way home from work (and - - he can often be the nastiest, most self-absorbed ideological M.F. of all).
And, I do tend to go along with O’Reilly’s musings and some rantings about 70% of the time - - especially on the “Culture Warrior” front.
And, I tend to react similarly to Beck. I don’t care much for Levin. But, today, I guess the commentator who comes closest to my own way of thinking on most things is Lou Dobbs (although I really didn’t care much for his business reporting).
I also find that I almost always agree with whatever Pat Buchanan might have to say (and, if he was running in this election - - I’d definitely vote for him - - as I probably would have voted for Mike Huckabee, too, had he been the GOP candidate).
I’m opposed to the extremists and ideologues in both parties - - and their positions and ideologies; I resent anyone using “labels” and turning neutral descriptive terms like “liberal” and “conservative” into pure pejoratives (which, now, have no real political meaning left anyway).
I’m sick of ideological GOPs bitching about Dems and ideological Dems bitching about GOPs; I reject most of the reactionary “conservative talk radioheads” - - as I do the “radical liberal on-liners” (like The Daily Kos) and cable-TV guest yakkers with ideological agendas.
Extreme partisans like these are the real cause of the ineffective government we’ve experienced over the last 12-15 years.
We’ve really got to find a way for those who can come together on the issues to actually get together. Lately, I’ve been impressed with the 50 or so Blue Dog Dems in the House - - and I hope they can bring more Dems into their fold - - while cooperating with those GOPs who are not hopelessly trapped in their own extreme, partisan ideology.
In the end, I’d love to see a strong third party formed among the disaffected, middle-of-the-road GOPs and Dems, plus the Traditionalist independents - - maybe with a touch of Libertarianismm (especially the states’ rights part) thrown in (I also agree with much (but not all) of what Ron Paul has been saying this past year).
It’s hard for me to believe how screwed-up our political system has become - - but it’s probably due mostly to politicians chasing ideologically partisan Big Money (???)
T. K. I don’t think there will be a candidate that I agree with on every issue, but there are certain issues in which we must agree. I think Ron Paul said it all with his insistence that the Constitution be followed as written, and not amended to suit every politicians whim. That’s what Libertarianism stands for. Less government - which equals less taxes and more individual freedom. I believe if he had used all the funds he collected to buy good public recognition, this is the year that party would have won.
I agree with you, Loral, and TK. We definitely need a site where we can get some momentum on getting back to the principals upon which our country was based. They are still relevant today, but have been disregarded or twisted by corrupt politicians and their media lackies.
I see that most of us agree on certain items, like smaller government, minimal government interference in our lives and business, lower taxes (or none) defending our borders, language and culture.
Incidentally, here is a good website which has a focus on illegal immigration: http://www.numbersusa.com.
We also need to support EnglishUSA, Media Research Center and the Minutemen.
I think our voices are also heard through townhall.com and their new Townhall magazine. There are many other resources available to us but mainly we need a truly Traditional Conservative party to overcome the current corrupt ones. Let’s keep an eye out for that party. Thanks for all your very good comments. John
And the Republican Party wonders why contributions are down. How can anyone actually support these people?
Tom: I have not contributed to them for some time. I just send it back and tell them to “SECURE THE BORDER”.
Then I will consider joining again.
I am so heartened by the comments here.
It feels good to know that so many realize this destruction of our country, our families, and our livelihood is a true bi-partisan effort.
You might check out this site - hope it posts as a link. If not, excuse my ineptness and copy and paste.
http://www.blowoutcongress.com/
We can impose terms limits ourselves, without having to beg those congresscritters to pass a law.
This may very well be the most crucial election in our country’s history. If amnesty is given, and all those millions are given the right to vote, our votes will be almost immaterial.
If the juggernaut of globalism is allowed to continue picking up speed, we may not even get to vote in many more elections.
The idea is to vote out anyone now in office. If we did that this time, and unless some real changes got made, do it again and again until we get their attention.
We have to get their attention - right now we are just a joke to them and slaves to work for their own greedy agenda of power and money.
Some very good feedback. I wish there was a way to get our message out to more people. Vote out all congresspeople and senators and start all over again. Maybe that will shake up the establishment. Whatever it takes. As the previous mail said, this might be our last real election. We must restore the country to what is used to be. With all the technology that we have at our disposal, let’s find a way. I am wide open. Enjoy the week-end
Any sites you frequent, spread the word.
If you feel comfortable doing it, post a link to the site, if not simply spread the idea.
I’m hoping this idea gets some traction.
I am also encouraged by the good feedback we have received here. One note of caution. When we vote the bums out, be sure not to vote out the sixteen senators who voted against this bill. We can’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. It is good to expel the corrupt ones, but we also need to support the good ones. We just need to add more good ones to these brave senators.
Keep looking for what is good for America. John
John, you are right.Reward the good ones and reject the rest. It is a slow process, but worth the time. Keep up the good work everybody.Lot’s of rewarding comments.
I looked into the blowoutcongress.com and have requested a subscription to their newsletter. It is a new group, but they seem to be on the right track.
Let’s not confuse “partisan” with “principled”. All too often, the party-line split on votes is between the arrogant ruling socialist elite and the principled responsible representing of the best interests of the nation and our citizens.
The facts are blurred by the wildly adulterated content of the bills, the too-often deceptive names assigned to the bills, and the extreme-left-media’s refusal to reveal the actual content of the bills and bring them into public discussion.
There ARE some good congressmen, and their voting records identify them. Unfortunately they tend to be in their first or 2nd terms. Regardless, I think it’s lazy TTBOWTBW citizenship to toss out good with bad. Granted it’s less work than educating ourselves and our fellow citizens, but I don’t see that’s it’s more beneficial.
There are three litmus tests that seem fairly consistent in identifying responsible congressmen who are true public servants:
1. Are our nation’s babies human and do you work to fully protect them under the law?
2. Does the 2nd Amendment affirm and guarantee a right to self defense and owning/carrying effective weapons to protect against criminal violence, and are you supporting that principle which is far older than the Constitution?
3. Will you help our teens and homosexuals by making clear the inherently medically and socially destructive nature of the “alternate lifestyle” redefining of sexual behavior and marriage?
These three questions cannot be all answered “yes” in a voting record by anyone who is not committed to serving the public and our nation in a responsible manner.
None of these three questions can be answered “no” in the voting record by anyone who has reasonably adequate knowledge of the facts and is abiding by their oaths of office. If they do not know the facts sufficiently to enable them to vote with the strong majority of their constituents, then they are not informed enough to be trusted with making decisions on behalf of the voting public.
Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that America is a Democracy. We are NOT. The founding fathers deplored the failed concept of a democracy and spoke eloquently against it, creating and declaring these United States to be a Republic instead… although incorporating some basic concepts of a democracy, which serve nicely as a tool for the extreme Left to confuse and obscure the facts. The masses are too easily manipulated thru the same mechanisms as we have operating today: censorship of the news, emotional trickery with carefully crafted logic flaws, and authority figures widely repeating false statements so that the ill-informed assume they are true, and those in power acting as if they themselves are above the law. In modern terms, a Democracy’s inadequacy is revealed in the simple problem that it is powerless to limit 51% voting in approval of Hitler’s policies and actions. In a Republic, however, one man can stand up against the 99% and correctly declare that they are wrong, bringing the 99% back under the limitations of the Law.
Those are some of the many reasons why our Republic was established under the rule of Law and The Lawgiver, where absolute laws applied absolutely to everyone without exception. As the most widely read authors in the colonies, Blackstone and Locke drove home those points with firm anchors. Blackstone was still required foundational reading in the lawschools far into the 1900’s, because it is impossible to accurately understand American jurisprudence without it. Throughout the 1800’s the courts, including the Supreme Court, continued to cite Scripture passages as the definitive authority for previously undetermined areas of the nation’s laws. The removal of Blackstones’s Commentaries from the lawschools was the first key downhill step in allowing the Supreme Court justices to break their oaths in the unconstitutional judicial tyranny of legislating from the bench. (The single most widely read book in the colonies was the Geneva Bible, which the founding fathers quoted in their personal and public writings overwhelmingly more than any other book in existence.) The Law was understood to be God’s principles as established in the Bible, and was not only the foundation of all our institutions including the courts, but also formed the walls which bound and constrained the actions and authority of our institutions. More clearly, the Absolute Authority of God’s laws was an assumption that was nearly if not completely universal throughout the colonies and the founding fathers.
Now, many ultra-left liberals have engaged in bold-faced lying about these and thousands of other historical facts, and even orchestrated the publishing of many revisionist history textbooks. However, lies do not alter facts. And the facts can be unequivocally verified with a literal mountain of historical documents, including the remarkable “The Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States” by Benjamin F. Morris. First published in 1864 and out of print for over a century until printed again in 2007, this 1,000 page history book is already in it’s 6th or 7th reprinting as more and more Americans become shocked at how many lies and myths they’ve been told about America’s history, and at the mythical “separation of church and state” that has been used as a club to beat so many unconstitutional American court precedents into existence.
Another remarkable document is the full collection of The Federalist Papers, personally written by Hamilton, Madison and Jay to systematically explain the intent and meaning of the various portions of Constitution, to the everyday citizens of the colonies.
If just these two books were in every library and were required reading in every high school, it might take a mere 10 or 20 years to turn this nation around and put us back on a path of excellence, prosperity and sanity.
Thank you, Analyst. You have it right. The book and the papers should be required study in our schools. Without them, the youth have become non thinking and easily led fodder for the illiberal left. Whatever we do, we need to keep these principals in the public eye. Those of us who cherish them are not a minority, but we are so far, an unheard majority.
Keep on publishing, Analyst. I hear you.
Go to townhall.com and view their review of the book,
Who killed the Constitution? and also 33 Questions about American History.
These books cover much of what we have been discussing. John
I’d love to see American Citizens march in on Congress with pitch forks torches and signs saying “We’re taking our Country back”
My Father and 2 Uncles were WWII veterans and they would be discussed to see how the Government and Liberals have given our Country away!
“...What the hell ever happened to the idea that “Democracy” was “Rule By The Majority”???...”
It went out with the adoption of the US Constitution and the first 10 Amendments. The Constitution was designed PRECISELY to prevent oppression of the individual by EITHER the government or the mob.
True democracy is tyranny of the mob and chaos, as the Greeks found out 2000 years ago.
“… I probably would have voted for Mike Huckabee, too, had he been the GOP candidate). ... I’m opposed to the extremists and ideologues in both parties...”
A contradiction indicating confusion in two simple sentences. Putting a preacher in the White House is equivalent to having the ayatollahs running Iran.
Separation of church and state is exactly the meaning of Amendment 1: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; ... “ Contrary to opinions expressed above, the founding fathers may well have had deep personal religious beliefs, but their priority was to avoid forcing those beliefs on others the way England and other European monarchist authoritarian regimes that were under the thumb of the pope did.
Their morality was based on the recognition of the sanctity of individual rights. Their actions were aimed at preserving individual rights from the tyranny of the mob and the tyranny of government.
John:
You are reading this all wrong.We are a Republic and not a Democracy.The founding fathers knew already what you are stating and the Greeks found out.Besides reading the Constitution you also have to read The Federalist to get a better understanding of what it all means.
I’m in the process of re-reading the Federalist Papers. They were intended by Hamilton and Madison to address fears people had of a strong federal government. (Jay wrote a couple of the essays, but most were Hamilton’s doing.)
Hamilton made the argument that federal government was the best way for the states to ensure foreign powers would not try to either take over the United States or play the various proposed confederations of states off against each other. While I agree with that proposition, the problem is that the current federal government has extended its powers over individuals and their property rights vastly more than any of the founding fathers envisioned.
“Taking back government” should mean reducing the weight of the federal boot on our necks. Too many commenters here seen to think it means strengthening the government to impose their supposedly majority versions of morality.
BTW, Analyst, Jesus was among the first to recommend separation of church and state…
Remember his “Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s and unto God, that which is God’s.” admonition?
Kudos to Jack Simanson Jr, who seems to be the only one on this chain to call-out Cliff for his misleading headline. (Though I acknowledge many commenters are focusing their outrage at the GOP supporters of the legislation.) Does AIM want to set a new standard for accuracy and fairness in media, or just be a conservatively-biased counterweight to the MSM? I thought in was advocating for a higher standard, but this is not it.
Unfortunately, I can’t seem to find what you’ve referred to. Is there something incorrect about the headlines on this posting?
Dan Waldmann’s article doesn’t make much sense. I wonder if he was writing in response to another article. John
Oh well under Obama’s plan we’ll all have health care for our aid/hiv treatment. We can all meet up in the unemployment or food stamp lines. This is income redistribution. Obama thinks he’s f king robin hood.
money spent on aids treatment over seas is a total was of our money.for all the billions spent on aids research it has not produced a cure or a treatment that works, aids is still a death sentence.do not have sex with homosexuals,whores,or i.v.drug users and you will not get this horrible disease.it is not a main stream disease.more money to africa will not end the epidemic, africans must modify there behaviour but i don’t see that happening any time soon.
July 17 at 8:38 am | #1 | Link
Absolutely outrageous! This giveaway of money will be soaked up by corrupt foreign governments and won’t do a thing to fight disease. How much more of the store can we give away? The arrogance of the members of Congress that vote for these spending bills shows just how out of touch - and yes, corrupt - they are! We need that money back in our own pockets! We didn’t earn that money through hard work to see a group of self-important idiots give it away like this. It is simply tragic how perverted and corrupt we have allowed our Congress to become.