Happy Resurrection Day.

It has come to my attention that when traveling on The Monument To Fiscal Mismanagement that money is being lost.  I propose that we find out exactly what the procedure is to cost the state more than they gain on the toll road and bankrupt the turnpike commission.

Drivers have two options to pay for the tolls – one with what’s called an NC QuickPass, in which money is deducted from a prepaid account, and another in which drivers are billed.

In some cases, the charge is less than the cost of the postage used to mail the bill.

“They’re few and far between. It’s the exception, not the rule,” Barry Mickle, director of operations for the Turnpike Authority, said Wednesday. “We decided we would treat everybody fairly and equitably. So, if you travel the toll road, you need to be charged.”

I would like to take this moment to point out that it was the Democrats who raided the Highway fund in order to fund their pet projects that people wouldn’t otherwise pay for.  We, the people of North Carolina, need to be keeping track of the shenanigans that go on in government.  Our obscenely high gas tax was instituted to pay for and maintain the roadways.  It is no longer going to that purpose.  We were baited and switched.  The taxes collected to build and maintain roads are now being funneled elsewhere and we are being expected to now pay for the privilege of driving on a public road for the second time.

A letter to my Congresswoman, Renee Ellmers

Dear Congresswoman Ellmers,

I do not know if you have seen this testimony before the Senate, if not, please view this link to Senator Sessions youtube channel:  http://youtu.be/5zNwOeyuG84 .

In testimony before the United States Senate, the Secretary of Defense testified that the current administration would seek the approval of the UN, NATO, or an “international coalition” but not the approval of the United States Congress.

This position disturbs me greatly, and in my opinion, borders on treason at the very least.

I do not believe that the Congress can stand for this.  I sincerely hope that you feel the same way, and it is my hope that you will work to keep the Executive Branch of our government from a gross overreach of its constitutional authority.

Thank you,

It has come to my attention that Wikileaks has released e-mails from Stratfor discussing fraud in the 2008 elections.

From: Fred Burton [mailto:burton@stratfor.com]
Sent: Friday, November 07, 2008 7:41 AM
To: secure@stratfor.com
Subject: Insight – The Dems & Dirty Tricks ** Internal Use Only – Pls Do
Not Forward **
** Internal Use Only – Pls Do Not Forward **

1) The black Dems were caught stuffing the ballot boxes in Philly and Ohio
as reported the night of the election and Sen. McCain chose not to
fight. The matter is not dead inside the party. It now becomes a matter
of sequence now as to how and when to “out”.

2) It appears the Dems “made a donation” to Rev. Jesse (no, they would
never do that!) to keep his yap shut after his diatribe about the Jews and
Israel. A little bird told me it was a “nice six-figure donation”. This
also becomes a matter of how and when to out.

3) The hunt is on for the sleezy Russian money into O-mans coffers. A
smoking gun has already been found. Will get more on this when the time
is right. My source was too giddy to continue. Can you say Clinton and
ChiCom funny money? This also becomes a matter of how and when to out.

Vote fraud, and illegal campaign contributions (who really cares about the Jesse Jackson thing….).  And there was nobody in power who was honest enough to pursue this.  They wanted to sit on it until it was politically advantageous.   Is there not anybody anywhere who can stand up to this?

This post came as a result of discussion of whether or not Rick Santorum could get the GOP behind him and take the nomination.  I submit that this is where the GOP and Conservatives stand at this moment.  And this is what needs to happen.  :

(The heavy cavalry of the Obama army appear over the hill and every Republican

becomes scared.)

Young soldier: I didn’t come here to fight so they can own more lands;
then I have to work for them.

Veteran soldier: Nor me.  Alright lads.  I’m not dying for these bastards!
Lets go home.

(The two Republicans turn and start to leave the field and several others

join them.)

GOP Establishment: (In desperation)  Stop men.  Do not flee.  Wait until

we’ve negotiated.

(William and his men into the scene. William’s face is painted solid

blue except for a sharp wedge of bare flesh pointing down over his

left eye.)

Young soldier: William Wallace?

Veteran soldier: Can’t be.  Not tall enough.

(William and his men ride up to the nobles.)

Stephen: The Almighty says this must be a fashionable fight.  It’s
drawn the finest people.

GOP Establishment (To William): Where is thy salute?

William: For presenting yourselves on this battlefield, I give you
thanks.

GOP Establishment: This is our army.  To join it you give homage.

William: I give homage to America.  And if this is your army, why does
it go?

Veteran soldier: We didn’t come here to fight for them.

Young soldier: Home.  The Obamites are too many.

William: Sons of America, I am William Wallace.

Young soldier: William Wallace is 7 feet tall.

William: Yes, I’ve heard.  He kills men by the hundreds, and if he were
here he’d consume the Democrats with fireballs from his eyes and bolts
of lightning from his arse.  I am William Wallace, and I see a whole

army of my countrymen here in defiance of tyranny.  You have come

to fight as free men, and free men you are.  What will you do with
that freedom? Will you fight?

Veteran soldier: Fight against that? No, we will run, and we will live.

William: Aye, fight and you may die, run and you’ll live.  At least a while.
And dying in your beds many years from now, would you be willing to
trade all the days from this day to that for one chance, just one
chance to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take
our lives, but they’ll never take our freedom?!  God Bless America!

(The Republicans cheer “God Bless America” repeatedly)

(adapted from:  http://corky.net/scripts/braveheart.html )  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLrrBs8JBQo

And now, my comments…

Young soldier: I didn’t come here to fight so they can own more lands;
then I have to work for them.

Veteran soldier: Nor me.  Alright lads.  I’m not dying for these bastards!
Lets go home.

I view this as analogous to the Conservatives in the GOP.  They didn’t come to have the deficit continue to spiral out of control and for the government to encroach every aspect of their lives.  Republican Tyranny is no better than Democrat Tyranny.

GOP Establishment: (In desperation)  Stop men.  Do not flee.  Wait until

we’ve negotiated.

I don’t know that this needs any comment.  Not even the French run up the white flag as fast as the Republican Establishment.

GOP Establishment: This is our army.  To join it you give homage.

You stupid little Tea Partiers have had your fun.  Now get in line behind our guy!

William: I give homage to America.  And if this is your army, why does
it go?

Veteran soldier: We didn’t come here to fight for them.

Young soldier: Home.  The Obamites are too many.

If the Republican Establishment may control the GOP, but the rank and file are ready to march off.

The Conservatives in this country are desperate for leadership.  Somebody who really believes that our Republic is worth preserving and that the Founding Fathers got it right with the Constitution.  After 4 years of Barack Obama the government has grown, and it encroaches us in more aspects of our life than ever.  When Obamacare really takes affect, we will truly belong to the government.  Our freedom will be over.  Anything can be justified.

Is there anybody willing to stand up and say, “No More!”?

Nobody wants to utter the words because the left will call it violent rhetoric.  But somebody needs to get up on a stage and tell them:

YOU CAN TAKE MY LIFE, BUT YOU CAN NEVER TAKE MY FREEDOM.

(The heavy cavalry of the Obama army appear over the hill and every Republican

becomes scared.)

Young soldier: I didn't come here to fight so they can own more lands;
then I have to work for them.

Veteran soldier: Nor me.  Alright lads.  I'm not dying for these bastards!
Lets go home.

(The two Republicans turn and start to leave the field and several others

join them.)

GOP Establishment: (In desperation)  Stop men.  Do not flee.  Wait until

we've negotiated.

(William and his men into the scene. William's face is painted solid

blue except for a sharp wedge of bare flesh pointing down over his

left eye.)

Young soldier: William Wallace?

Veteran soldier: Can't be.  Not tall enough.

(William and his men ride up to the nobles.)

Stephen: The Almighty says this must be a fashionable fight.  It's
drawn the finest people.

GOP Establishment (To William): Where is thy salute?

William: For presenting yourselves on this battlefield, I give you
thanks.

GOP Establishment: This is our army.  To join it you give homage.

William: I give homage to America.  And if this is your army, why does
it go?

Veteran soldier: We didn't come here to fight for them.

Young soldier: Home.  The Obamites are too many.

William: Sons of America, I am William Wallace.

Young soldier: William Wallace is 7 feet tall.

William: Yes, I've heard.  He kills men by the hundreds, and if he were
here he'd consume the Democrats with fireballs from his eyes and bolts
of lightning from his arse.  I am William Wallace, and I see a whole

army of my countrymen here in defiance of tyranny.  You have come

to fight as free men, and free men you are.  What will you do with
that freedom? Will you fight?

Veteran soldier: Fight against that? No, we will run, and we will live.

William: Aye, fight and you may die, run and you'll live.  At least a while.
And dying in your beds many years from now, would you be willing to
trade all the days from this day to that for one chance, just one
chance to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take
our lives, but they'll never take our freedom?!  God Bless America!

(The Republicans cheer "God Bless America" repeatedly)

(adapted from:  http://corky.net/scripts/braveheart.html )  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLrrBs8JBQo

When I see Mitt Romney, I picture him in a dopey tank helmet or as an oompa loompa (pictures very conveniently located here).  Politicians from Massachusetts never do the same thing twice… but if Romney gets the GOP nomination, in addition to alienating the tea party and/or fiscal or libertarian minded Republicans you can rest assured that just before the election he will grace the Democrats with an incredibly ridiculous photo opportunity.  It’s what politicians from Massachusetts do.

Given the current candidates for the Republican nomination for President, there is nobody else to vote for other than Ron Paul.  A “NotMitt” cannot win the general election.  Neither can a “NotObama”.  And especially not the Diet Coke of Conservatives – Mitt Romney: Conservative Flavor without the Principles!

Merry Christmas!

Luk 2:1 NIV – In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.
Luk 2:2 NIV – (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)
Luk 2:3 NIV – And everyone went to his own town to register.
Luk 2:4 NIV – So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.
Luk 2:5 NIV – He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.
Luk 2:6 NIV – While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,
Luk 2:7 NIV – and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Luk 2:8 NIV – And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
Luk 2:9 NIV – An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
Luk 2:10 NIV – But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
Luk 2:11 NIV – Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.
Luk 2:12 NIV – This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Luk 2:13 NIV – Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
Luk 2:14 NIV – “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”
Luk 2:15 NIV – When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
Luk 2:16 NIV – So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.
Luk 2:17 NIV – When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,
Luk 2:18 NIV – and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
Luk 2:19 NIV – But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
Luk 2:20 NIV – The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Luk 2:21 NIV – On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.
Luk 2:22 NIV – When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord
Luk 2:23 NIV – (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord” ),
Luk 2:24 NIV – and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”
Luk 2:25 NIV – Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
Luk 2:26 NIV – It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
Luk 2:27 NIV – Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required,
Luk 2:28 NIV – Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
Luk 2:29 NIV – “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace.
Luk 2:30 NIV – For my eyes have seen your salvation,
Luk 2:31 NIV – which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
Luk 2:32 NIV – a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”
Luk 2:33 NIV – The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him.
Luk 2:34 NIV – Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against,
Luk 2:35 NIV – so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
Luk 2:36 NIV – There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,
Luk 2:37 NIV – and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.
Luk 2:38 NIV – Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
Luk 2:39 NIV – When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth.

Eric Holder’s performance before Congress has been stomach turning.  And the reaction of the Democrats – to try to use something like this to shove more gun control down our throats is abominable.

Take this gem from Hank Johnson

“There is a hole in our gun control laws that you could drive or fly a space shuttle through it,” Dem Rep. Hank Johnson said, adding that the National Rifle Association and Second Amendment supporters are “radicals.”

Of course, we all know that Hank Johnson is really worried that if you pile all the guns in one corner of America, the country could capsize.  And we further know that there won’t be any space shuttles flying through anything anymore.

If you haven’t read it, be sure to read the whole write up on Townhall.com.  What the Department of Justice has been doing under Obama and Holder is criminal.  And the Congress as a whole needs to hold them accountable.  Although if you look at the Democrats, they apparently care more about providing cover for their guys and pushing their agenda than about right and wrong.

It is my very sincere hope that the American people are paying attention.  The Republic is in very sad shape – there is a good case to be made that the Republic is gone.  If we let this pass we may as well give up any hope of restoring our once great Republic.  (I guess that answers that…  “A Republic, if you can keep it.“)

A portion of the state’s first modern toll road, the Triangle Parkway, will open to traffic after a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday morning.Starting Jan. 3, 2012, tolls will be collected electronically along the Triangle Parkway – a 3.4-mile stretch from Interstate 40 and N.C. Highway 147 in Durham County to Interstate 540 in Wake County – and the existing portion of N.C. Highway 540 between N.C. Highways 54 and 55.

We pay the highest gas taxes in the Southeast (and what is it, something like the 9th highest in the nation?) and we can’t even pave a road.  The story isn’t that we’re getting North Carolina’s first toll road.  The story is the utter fiscal mismanagement that has led to obscene taxes AND WE STILL CAN’T BUILD A ROAD WITHOUT A TOLL.

Why won’t the media ever bother to remind anybody where the money goes?  Jim Hunt squandered a lot of money paving roads for his cronies.  But at least Ol’ Jimbo actually paved some roads with the money the state collects for road construction and maintenance.  It was Mike Easley (found to be corrupt and now facing discipline from the state bar) who ended the gas tax money being reserved for roads and instead used it to make sure his precious pet projects didn’t have to be defunded.

To deal with a state economy reeling from the combination of the dot-com bust and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Easley raided various funds in February 2002, seizing $1 billion to help cover a mounting deficit. Included in those funds was $80 million from the Highway Trust Fund.

Two men who helped create the Highway Trust Fund in the late 1980s, former Transportation Secretary Jim Harrington and former state Sen. W.D. Goldston, an Alamance County Democrat, sued over the move, saying money raised through gas taxes that goes into the trust fund is earmarked for specific highway projects.

And from the same article… less you think that Bev is any better…

Gov. Beverly Perdue twice took money from other funds last spring to help pay state bills amid a deficit, including the lottery reserve fund, the Clean Water Trust Fund and the public school building and textbook funds.

And the General Assembly:

All three appellate judges agreed that a legislative transfer of $125 million from the Highway Trust Fund in 2002 was constitutional.

And so now here we sit with a turnpike commission and toll roads.  All because the politicians that run North Carolina impose heavy taxes on us for a legitimate purpose and then pull a bait and switch to fund their pet projects every time.  Every. Single.  Time.

I know that the NC GOP doesn’t read this blog.  But if I was in charge, abolishment of the Turnpike Commission and toll roads would be at the top of my agenda.  The GOP – if it wants to win (and I haven’t seen any evidence of that…) – needs to educate the people about how they’re being ripped off by these political funding bait and switch scams.

I hope everybody remembers:

• The state lottery was to fund education and wouldn’t just replace school funding in the general fund (which all pretense of that has now been dropped)
• The bonds for higher education would be paid for with projected surpluses (how is that working out?  What?  The UNC system schools keep hiking tuition at an obscene rate??  I sure would hate it if UNC had to cut back on their Women’s Studies and Social Justice programs…)

And while I’m ranting I would like to remind the world that it really isn’t that hard to see this kind of stuff coming from a mile away.

So, to start with, let us simply state up front:  Banks that took bailout money should have been forced into bankruptcy and liquidated.  There have been a lot of banks that committed very serious crimes (Wachovia laundering money for drug lords being one.  Banks forclosing on mortgages they didn’t rightfully own using forged documents being another).   There was plenty of illegal things going on (and still are) that the Bush Administration should have noticed and prosecuted and that the Obama administration has negligently failed to prosecute.

At this point, the “Occupy Wall Street Protestors” have failed to make a unified case for anything.  Nobody knows what exactly they want.  The “Proposed List of Demands” borders on some kind of farce and reads like the Soviet Constitution.  But, given the lack of any sort of agenda (that has been released at least) it leaves the movement open for people to imprint their personal feelings onto the movement.  And this is exactly the same thing that happened with Barack Obama in 2008.  The movement has no identity and people are making it out to be whatever they think the country needs.

Given the cast of characters we’ve seen parade through there, I simply do not trust the Occupy Wall Street movement.  If they ever decide that they stand for something that might change.  But dancing around and chanting and picketing don’t do anything for me except make me believe that  you’re a dirty hippie.