Saturday, December 1, 2012

The Rich?

I keep hearing about the 'fiscal cliff" and the dire predictions of economic doom in the mainstream media. Even Fox is spouting it to a certain point. Republicans who pledged to not raise taxes are now considering to disavow their pledge. Maybe they should and here's why: I agree with some of the conservative pundits that say the Democrats should get their way and when the economy tanks, it will clearly be their fault not the Republicans. No matter what is done, we are going over the cliff anyway. Obama and his followers don't seem to understand that without a budget and spending what you don't have, you face bankruptcy.

As you and I know, if we did this kind of spending on credit, we would have to file bankruptcy at some point. Either that or have the "repo" man come and get our stuff. Right? So why does government think it is somehow immune to simple economics?  Here is the other thing that is puzzling to me: Obama seems to think the "rich" are those who make an annual income over $250,000.  I personally know a few people who earn over $250,000 a year and, you know what, they are not rich!  Now if we were talking about true millionaires - you know they actually make a million dollars a year, that could be considered "rich".

The thing is that the people I know own and operate small businesses. Although they may make over $250,000 a year, they work like dogs, pay for their own medical insurance, buy all their supplies and in some cases, hire employees.  The dollars they take home go to pay their mortgage, buy groceries for their family, pay utilities, etc. and they don't have a lot left over. They do not live like the truly wealthy at all. You know what I mean....those who have 25,000 square feet (or more) homes, full-time household staff, multi-car garages (I mean more than 3 too), do not drive their expensive vehicles but are driven. Now, to me, that is rich. That is wealthy.

The sad thing is that liberals think by raising their taxes, it is going to do something for the economy. Obama's "plan" predicts that in 10 YEARS it might lower the national debt by 1.6 trillion dollars.  Ten years? What if China calls in their loans? What if some other catastrophic national disaster happens? There are all kinds of "what if" scenarios and the truth is that if you taxed the truly wealthy 100%, they would still be wealthy and our economic troubles would remain.

What the liberals refuse to see is that we MUST reduce spending! None of this "talk" going around (and nothing is promised, mind you) doesn't truly reduce spending. Paul Ryan's budget was a start and Senator Rand Paul has some great ideas too. But those who are the recipients of entitlements from the government don't even want to hear about any reduction of their benefits. Sadly, they are the same folks who re-elected the One as president.  Since the Democrats hit the White House, Congress and Senate (2009) spending has been out of control. Entitlements have mushroomed and these same folks want you to come and get YOUR freebies too!  Yes, I know that George W. Bush and his bunch spent money like drunk sailors too but he is not the cause of where we are today.

Okay, let us tax the truly wealthy - I can go with that.  But, let's hear about realistic spending cuts too. Obama and friends want to raise taxes and don't want to even give one specific about how they will reduce spending.  "We'll get to that later."  Well, I hope to God that the Republicans don't fall for that. Just as in personal relationships, when we've been burned and the olive branch is extended, we should be very wary of accepting it when there is no definition of what that person is going to do differently.  What are the Democrats going to do differently? Nothing, as far as I can tell. At least, they don't want to say and my guess is that they not only are not saying but they don't intend to cut spending at all!

Here is another thing and my fellow Brentwood citizens, pay attention to this: my grandson, on the night of the election, told me what a bad person Mitt Romney is.  "He only helps rich people, Grandma." Now, I know his parents well enough to say that they didn't tell him that.  I would bet he got it from school; either from his friends and/or teachers. I wish I had been quick enough to tell him that if taxes are raised, it will affect his family directly since his dad is a small businessman.  They already pay an enormous amount in state and federal taxes.  It'll only get worse for them.  God help us all!

Monday, November 12, 2012

Voter Fraud

I have seen quite a bit in conservative news, blogs, Twitter, etc. about the possibility of voter fraud last Tuesday.  Quite frankly, I said this election night! How is it that thousands of people showed up for Mitt at rallies in the "swing states" and only hundreds showed up for Obama and Mitt lost? How is it that polls had Mitt several points ahead of Obama yet Mitt lost?
 
I just saw another video from Philadelphia that once again tells the tale that it didn't matter (and still doesn't) what the law says, liberals will do as they want! There are reports where 130% of the voters cast their ballots in one county in Colorado and 108% in Ohio. The voting process itself is an opportunity for fraud.  These voting machines can be stolen, hacked, etc. How is that one machine would say "Obama" when the voter entered "Romney"? No one, well not enough anyway, is asking why.  We should be screaming about this!

It is just not sour grapes with me about the presidential election either.  I noticed this trend in our state election too.  I simply cannot believe that, for the first time in decades, Californians approved Proposition 30 increasing their taxes! And for what? California assemblypersons and senators have shown absolutely no fiscal restraint; have not reduced their spending and, in fact, have increased it.  Now our fine governor (not) wants to build a bullet train that no one will use! Where is this money coming from, pray tell? I simply cannot believe that California voters approved it. I swear that California is the role model for Washington's bad business practices!

What to do? Join Black Box Voting, first of all. Read all the news; download the tool kit.  I intend to update mine. We simply have to stop sitting around complaining about this voter fraud and do what it takes to make sure our votes really count.  Watch the videos on the site too. Remember this: during the American Revolution, it was a small minority of the population that made things happen. Most of the citizens either didn't know what was going on or were horrified that this "radical" group was taking action against the king of England.  Read this again:  a small minority!  If you think about it, a small minority is still making things happen and we need to push back on them with our own!

Notices of massive layoffs have been written about in the last few days.  Many of our military are not happy either.  What is going to happen to those men and women when they are sent home? There will be no jobs for them!  I hate to say this but I can see an unemployment rate of 25% coming in our near future.  The point - sorry I got sidetracked - is that these unemployed and military personnel and those of us who want our republic back need to make ourselves heard.  Those of us who want to see government run according to our U. S. Constitution better be the ones starting any "revolution". No, I don't mean war, please.  The thing that I do fear is that with the anger and disbelief at what is and will be happening, there are those who WILL want a war and worse, those revolutionists may not be interested in a republic. 

Get informed and start doing what needs to be done.  First of all, pray for God's wisdom and direction. 

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Sad Day in America and Brentwood

I haven't posted here as much as I would like but feel the need to do so more often now. Yesterday, America began its transformation into a socialist state completely. Oh, to be sure, we were heading that way for decades but it was clear to me that at least 50% of Americans prefer a "nanny state" government rather than take personal responsibility.
The vitriol during this election cycle was beyond the pale. Rather than set forth a true campaign platform, both sides and their PAC's just threw mud and worse. We had no clear information as to what Mitt and/or Obama planned to do to make America better.  Oh, we know what Obama wants to do since we have seen four years of it already but what did Mitt offer?  Not much in the way of true difference.  The problem with Republicans is that if there is any conservatism in the party, it is truly by accident.
There is little difference between the parties and it has been that way for decades.  True conservatism is not evidenced by the Republican party leaders  There are far too many "neo-cons" running the party and, as long as this continues, true conservatives are going to shy away from supporting wholeheartedly ANY person running with an "R" by his/her name. Mitt is a perfect example of a moderate Republican. When he was governor of Massachusetts, he put together his own state health care program and his "promise" to repeal "Obamacare" didn't ring true for me.  He would have definitely CHANGED it but we would still have some form of it. That is my opinion.
The U.S. is now a laughing stock and I believe all but Israel are thrilled about Obama being re-elected. Iran will grow as a more dangerous force in the Middle East - count on it. Israel's hand may be forced to take military action to protect itself. Europe and Great Britain are also perfect examples of where we will be economically and soon! With our military strength at bare bones, we are so vulnerable not to mention the social engineering taking place within the military. We still don't know the total effect of that.
But we were offered no real solutions except the same old/same old. True conservatives don't want war; we want military strength to protect our borders. There is a big difference between what the neo-cons want and what conservatives want. Ron Paul was accused of being an isolationist and that was just a flat-out lie. He proposed not buying our friendship with foreign aid but rather supporting those nations who are our friends and ACT like they are our friends.  And "support" doesn't mean money! All that foreign aid has done is line the pockets of those in top places of foreign governments. The citizens have seen a rare nickel of it. What makes this "aid" worse is that we have to borrow money in order to send the aid.  The biggest point he made about our foreign policy is that everything about is unconstitutional. We have no business having military bases in other countries. If we do, then why are there not foreign military bases in the U.S.? What gives us the right to be there? None!
We are in real trouble here.  I fear for our nation and especially for my children and grandchildren. My grandchildren will be asking themselves what in the heck happened to the United States that is portrayed in the "old" history books? How come when I work, all but 25% of my income is mine? How come I can't get decent health care? A decent education? I pray to God that He will step in but unless those of us who call Him Lord change our ways, I fear He will not.
We simply cannot thumb our noses at His Word and expect to be blessed any more.  We can't weaken the Gospel and only obey those commandments that we like. By taking God out of the public square, we have certainly let Him know that we, as a nation, want nothing to do with Him. God is a Gentleman and will not force Himself on us. He respects our will. We have chosen to ignore Him and to punish those who still love and worship Him by ridicule, disrespect and downright hatred.
Finally, I believe that our entire system of voting has been compromised and we will probably never know the entire extent of the voter fraud that was perpetrated yesterday all the way from local elections to the Presidential election.  I am laying blame on the Democrats or the Republicans for this. Both parties are to blame and have had a hand in it.  I believe that we will learn of many incidents across the nation where votes were either not counted or over-counted; voting machines were tampered with either manually or via technology; and that some registered voters were not legitimate ones, i.e. illegal citizens, felons or dead.
But hey, we still get our freebies, right? That is what counts! God help us.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Scam in Brentwood

Today, on the sidewalk in front of the post office on Oak Street, hubby saw a small booth set up with a sign that said "Impeach Obama" and another poster with a photo of Obama with a Hitler mustache on him. There was a third poster but he can't recall the exact wording.  As he passed by, he overheard a woman talking to a young man that apparently was "in charge" of the booth. There were 2 women and a guy in the booth. The gist of the conversation was that these people were from San Francisco, they were taking donations to "impeach Obama" but admitted to the woman speaking to them, that they were taking donations FOR Obama's re-election campaign.
I don't know how the woman figured out their scam but I say, "good for her!"  I am not clear how this group set up on a city street but I intend to call the Brentwood Police Department to find out the procedure and to report this fraudulent behavior.
If I was donating to a specific "cause" or person, I'd expect my money to actually go to that cause and/or person. I believe it is fraud.  We'll see what Brentwood PD says. In the meantime, please be aware of these people and, if you see anyone collecting money for a political cause or even a non-profit medical research cause, ask questions like this smart woman did.  Make sure your money is going where you want it to go.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Local Government Counts

With the latest happening in Washington regarding Fast & Furious, it just drives home the importance of starting locally making a stand for issues that come up in city and county government and doing my homework on those that represent my community. 
When I lived for a short while (4 years) in San Luis Obispo County, I worked for the county as a clerk.  During that time, the Superior and Municipal courts merged and became a part of state government. Oh, it was a wonderful time!  California had a surplus and we could get anything we asked for.  Ergonomic chairs were given to every employee in the court to the tune of $800 a piece, for example. 
But here is the deal, both hubby and I worked for the county and we saw the waste of not only buying expensive items (those same chairs were half the price at a well-known office supply chain) but the time wasted by everyone.  See, it does start locally.  I am not saying all county offices were wasting time because some of them like the District Attorney's office and Family Court Services were over-whelmed and could never get caught up.  But certainly, money was wasted. Here is an example, one courtroom had to be completed gutted and re-done for a certain criminal trial due to the defendants being opposing gang members.  Not only did it take months to do, but everything from the electrical, paint, jury box, spectator section had to be re-done to the tune of thousands of dollars. Meanwhile, the defendants were cooling their heels in the county jail, mind you, on the county dime. This is the stunning part: just days prior to the start of the trial, all of the defendants took a plea bargain.  So all of that money spent and resources used was for nothing. 
This kind of thing happens all over the state, in all the counties and I would bet in most of our cities and towns.  I know some of it can't be helped but, as a tax-paying citizen, I need to know what is going on and see how I can educate my neighbors, family and friends.
The truth be told here is that I really didn't pay all that much attention to local government until the last ten years. I am not proud of that. Something woke me up.  Maybe it was 9/11 or maybe it was the presidential election of 2000.  I am not sure but awake I am and I hope that my little piece of the blogging world will open other's eyes too.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Update on Brentwood things

After becoming a member of Twitter last week, I was pleased to see either through it or Facebook, a blog post of a fellow Brentwood citizen, Carrisa Pillow.  Not only does she report on the City Council meetings, she is now running for a position on that Council. I say, good for her! We NEED women on that council!
I have lived in Brentwood since 2004 but have lived in the Bay Area for most of 40 years (with occasional moves here and there).  Back in 1976, when we lived in Concord, my then mother-in-law and sister-in-law went with my children and me to Brentwood to pick apricots. This was my first visit and I fell in love with the town. Then it was a small farming community.  During the 80's, I came out here for fruit and vegetables during summer picking season, and I could see the development starting to take place.  I lived in Antioch then and the growth of Antioch had already doubled much to my alarm!  I commuted to Martinez and Walnut Creek on Highway 4 and kept asking the question of my friends: how are all these people going to get to work?  There was no industry out here except farming.  Some of the manufacturing that was in Antioch were either shutting down or cutting way back.  The blue-collar jobs were disappearing and the white-collar commuters were moving out here.
There was good reason for it - land/property and therefore, homes were reasonable to buy. We bought our first house in 1980 in Antioch for 79K (which was a bit high even then but that is another story).
By 1990, and some personal changes, my new husband and I bought a home in Mira Vista Hills for (I think) $134K.  Of course, it is a bigger and newer home but still, that is a huge jump.  Meanwhile, Lone Tree Way which was a two-lane country road was changing dramatically and homes were being built as rapidly as could be. I was shocked just to see how close together they were then and that's nothing compared to what I see in Brentwood today.
I moved away to San Luis Obispo county in 1997 and returned in 2001.  I could not believe what had happened to Antioch and was appalled at what was happening to Brentwood!  My husband and I moved to a condo in Antioch but the population changes, budget cuts, etc. made us both feel unsafe.  My daughter and her husband bought a home out here and we moved here in 2004.  I still shake my head at what is happening to Antioch.  I don't understand it at all.  However, there was so much building out here, I wondered, is this going to be another Antioch?  Well, we all know what happened to the economy but, frankly, I think that the slow down in developments out here was the only thing that saved Brentwood.
It gave all of us a chance to take a breath and start asking some hard questions. A lot of seniors, like my husband and I, were concerned and we don't even have children in schools here! I don't want the City Council to become like other government agencies that only think of who helped them get elected.  I hope that is not happening here so please don't think I am accusing the Council of it - just hope it isn't.  I wondered, however, when the Council decided that the new Civic Center had to be so huge!  I didn't understand how Oakley was able to build their new Center for a fraction of what Brentwood paid. I still don't and I am not happy at what happened to the city park. I truly feel the City reneged on the commitment made to the woman who donated the land. 
I did get a chance to meet Steve Barr when he was running for City Council and was pleased to discuss my concerns with him as did my husband.  So far, so good but I am still uneasy at the decisions made not just by him but by the entire Council.  For these reasons, I am happy that Carissa is running and I hope to meet her too. I plan on attending a Council meeting soon depending on my health.  Please be sure and read her blog post dated June 12 for her description of events that took place.  I hope to have more input on the Council soon.

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Have you heard?

Have you heard about Obama's Fast and Furious Scandal where the Executive Branch has been found to have used our tax monies and several federal law enforcement agencies to buy and provide assault rifles to the Mexican drug cartels importing all the illegal aliens and drugs into America? I know that conservative bloggers and news sources are reporting it but isn't it strange the mainstream media have barely told their viewers/listeners much at all.  
What is amazing is that people DIED during this fiasco! Two Americans and hundreds of Mexican citizens. Mexico should be outraged at our government.  
What is scandalizing is that our Attorney General has refused to cooperate with Senator Issa and even lied under oath? Where is the news about that? Eric Holder does not uphold the law but only those things that are important to him and his boss. I am so tired of this corrupt government....not just federal but all the way down to municipal!

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Welcome to my new blog!  I live in Brentwood, California....no, no, not the one by L.A. but the one in northern California that used to be a small farming community.  That is what the "Brentwood" is about and the"Right" is that I am a conservative, a true conservative and I wanted to blog about what is happening starting in this little town all the way to national news.  I am just testing the blog so more later!