Another Union Fight With Government Looming?

The financially strapped U.S. Postal Service is considering cutting as many as 120,000 jobs.

Facing a second year of losses totaling $8 billion or more, the agency also wants to pull its workers out of the retirement and health benefits plans covering federal workers and set up its own benefit systems.

Congressional approval would be needed for either step, and both could be expected to face severe opposition from postal unions which have contracts that ban layoffs.

The post office has cut 110,000 jobs over the last four years and is currently engaged in eliminating 7,500 administrative staff. In its 2010 annual report, the agency said it had 583,908 career employees.

Postal officials have said they will be unable to make a $5.5 billion payment to cover future employee health care costs due Sept. 30. It is the only federal agency required to make such a payment but, because of the complex way government finances are counted, eliminating it would make the federal budget deficit appear $5.5 billion larger.
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Question:  Is this an example of the future of Obamacare?  Why don't they just raise the cost of mail to raise revenues like Obama wants to raise taxes to raise revenues instead of cutting expenses? If it works for Obama then it should work for the Postal Service, no? At least Keynesian Economics says so.

Need I say Anymore?

A Government by Constitution or by Ideology, Which is Your Choice?

Grandpa took grandma and me to a political gathering at a local park. Grandpa and a few other men were asked to give a little talk at this gathering. Here were the words he had to say.  His voice had the strength of his convictions.  Within his voice was a resolve that betrayed his beliefs.


“Our founding fathers declared this a nation of people. In doing so they eliminated the idea of a nation of classes. But that elimination of classes was not by the use of force but by recognition of the individual. And if you want a government that does not divide us up into different classes then it must be you that acts so as to prevent it. And there is a way to do just that.

People, when this nation was founded we became the United State as a result of a mutual agreement of the States. Right now we no longer are the United States by agreement but by force. This was the primary end result of the war between the States. If you want a nation united by agreement once more rather than by force then it must be you that demands it. And there is a way to do just this.

People, this agreement that I speak of is called the Constitution of the United States. This constitution clearly separated the powers of government between the federal government and State governments. This separation no longer exists because the States lost their rights as guaranteed in that Constitution. If you want a nation that recognizes these guaranteed State's rights then it must be you that sees to it that they be recognized. And there is a way to do this.

People, we now have a huge gigantic all powerful federal government. It no longer is the limited government as the founding fathers intended for it to be. If you want a government that is limited in its powers then it must be you that must protest this unauthorized seizure of powers. And there is a way to do this.

People, as a result of this unauthorized seizure of power the federal government has run up a debt that not even our children or grandchildren will be able to pay. If you would like to see the federal government pay off this debt and allow you to leave your children a nation that does not demand that they pay for the debts of your generation then it must be you that is willing to pay down this debt. And there is a way to do this.

People, as a result of this unauthorized seizure of power the federal government has attempted to force its citizens to give up their individual rights time and time again in the last 75 years beginning with Franklin Roosevelt. The latest attempt is commonly referred to as Obamacare. Truman attempted this while he was in office and Clinton attempted this while he was in office. If you would like to prevent another attempt at a government takeover of your life then it must be you that protects your own individual rights. And there is a way to do this.

People, as a result of this unauthorized seizure of power the federal government is confiscating a greater amount of money from you then is necessary in taxes to pay its bills. This prevents you from using that additional money to take better care of your family. If you believe that the needs of your family takes priority over the bills of the government then it must be you that makes sure that your government understands this. And there is a way to do this.

People, as a result of this unauthorized seizure of power by the federal government, the Supreme court is divided in its interpretation of the very Constitution it must rely on to judge its cases. If you believe that it should be interpreted consistently in all cases so that the laws apply to all then it is up to you to leave no doubt as to how it should be interpreted by every member of that Court. And there is a way to do this.

People, as a result of this unauthorized seizure of power by the federal government, Congress is divided by political ideology instead of being united in purpose and intent and divided only by the authorized means to promote the purpose and intent.

People, I could go on and on about how the federal government is abusing its power and authority and if none of the above arguments does not touch your sense of a unjust government then sooner or later I could. And that includes each of you regardless of political ideology.

The only question that remains is whether or not you, the people, wish to be governed in a constitutional manner or not. If you do then there is a way to be assured of this. If you do then you must be willing to accept the consequences that will result from the application of the solution so that your children will not have to. The choice must be made by you, the people.

Have I tempted you enough to listen for the solution? I hope so for I see no hope for this nation unless you, the people, do. The solution will be change, a very big change. Change that will require that all of government honor its agreement with the people. Change that will require that all of government respect each and every one of its citizens over whom it rules as men of free will as promised instead of treating them as subjects whose lives are determined by the men of government.

This will be change that will require that you, the people, accept the sacrifices of that change so that your children and grandchildren will have hope for their own future as respected individuals. This will be change that you, the people must be willing to pay the price so that your grandchildren will not need to pay. Are you willing to make that sacrifice? Are you willing to pay that price? I know that I am.

Before I tell you the solution I must give this warning. If you accept this solution your opponents will not allow you a moment of peace. You will be accused of being the lowest of life forms, of this I have no doubt. Your reputation will be tarred and feathered. Your opponents probably will challenge your self-esteem and self-respect in ways that you cannot imagine. Even your families will not be immune to the attacks of this stance.  You will be aligned with the greatest of villains of history by your opponents even as I say that you will be aligning yourselves with the greatest of heroes of our nation, the founding fathers”

With these words said grandpa paused to allow the words sink into the minds of the crowd that had gathered to hear him.  The crowd just stood there in silence glancing at each other and at members of their own family.  But none moved as they awaited to hear the rest of grandpa's words though you could feel the apprehension in the air around them.

Christmas is a Myth or so We are Being Told

Grandpa just smiled as he says
"Just thought I'd start the Christmas season out with a  "Big Bang" this year.
 Did you know that there are 50 million "closet" atheists in this nation? 
Atheists have declared war on Christmas.
It won't be long before secularism will be known as atheism."

Liberalism and Its Promise to the People

Liberalism, per the ideology that is followed, is a philosophy of governing that recognizes the ideology of the Right in regards to the structure of power then takes that ideology one step beyond. It first recognizes the State's power to rule over the people. In other words, it recognizes that domestic affairs are the domain of the States and foreign affairs is the domain of the federal government. It adds one more responsibility to the federal government though.


Liberalism adds the responsibility of being the protector of the rights of individuals from the abuses of States. And the liberal ideology has a means to determine the abuses of those rights. With this in mind the ideology also has a mechanism to determine the remedy of these abuses.

Liberalism begins on the concept that individuals already have all of their rights and that those rights are self-evident truths. It further declares that the people themselves will protest when the exercise of these rights are denied or banned. Those truths once revealed to the federal government, being in compliance to the will of the people, is to recognize that the State has abused its power to rule and act so as to protect this rights.

Liberalism does not recognize the Constitution as the Supreme law of the land. Liberalism recognizes the Constitution as a living document that recognizes the rights of the individual and reveals to the world the abuses of the States of this nation. These rights can be found in the following words of the fathers of this nation.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident,

that all men are created equal,

that they are endowed by their Creator

with certain unalienable Rights,

that among these are

Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

It is the liberal viewpoint that the Creator endowed all rights to the individual and that these three rights declared are but a few of the total number of rights endowed by their Creator. Since it was the Creator who bestowed these rights then the individual has always possessed them. Since they are self-evident then it can only be declared that the States have abused their right of rule by the denial of or the banning of the exercise of these rights.

A good example of this was the issue of slavery. To the liberal point of view the fact that this institution was wrong should have been seen as being self-evident. The inequality of such an institution could be clearly seen thus self evident. No one can deny this. Many of the fathers saw the evil of this inequality.

Thus a compromise had to be reached on this issue in order to pass and have this new Constitution ratified. With this as a given, any State that continued to allow this state of inequality to exist as well as those who compromised their principles were abusing their right to rule. Thus, when Lincoln freed the slaves all States lost their right of self-rule with each State subordinating themselves to the rule of the central government of the United States.

It is from this concept that State laws as well as the Constitutions of the States are now subject to the review of the Supreme Court. It is the Supreme Court acting in the name of the federal government that will determine whether or not if the States have recognized the equality of men as endowed by the Creator thus providing the means of the protection of individual rights.

If the Supreme Court finds in the favor of the individual then the legislature of the federal government has the authority to act on this ruling by enacting laws of protection. These laws then give the President the authority to execute those laws thus assuring that the rights of those individuals are protected. In this is the understanding of the U.S. Government as being the protector of the rights of individuals.

With this we can ascertain that the only righteous path that any President takes this nation, per liberalism, can only be the path of equality. Any other path is an unrighteous path for it is the path of inequality.

And this is the divide that defines Conservatism and liberalism. For, in the mind of liberalism, conservatism seek to conserve inequality and in seeking a smaller government any progress already achieved towards equality will be reversed or at the least, hindered. It is from this that some liberals have considered those who call themselves conservatives a greater threat to this nation than terrorism.

In the mindset of liberalism there is no need to allow the States to determine their own path as the Right would say, each experimenting with different solutions. Experimentation is for determining if a belief can be proven for the purpose of ascertaining the truth. Self-evident truths will be apparent when seen thus needing no proof. This would declare that, from this, it is evident that the Right is wrong and do not deserve to lead this nation.

In the mindset of liberalism once equality has been achieved every man will be able to exercise all of the rights that the Creator has endowed him with. It is towards this goal that liberalism seeks to lead this nation. And since this path is the path of the Creator then it is self evident that liberalism was and is destined to be the only moral path of the governance if the people seek to find favor with their Creator.

It must also be self-evident that equality is an achievable goal for men because if it wasn't then men would not have been endowed with all of the rights by our Creator that declare men as being equal. Thus, it cannot be declared as an unachievable idyllic state of being. And, in the liberal mindset, it can't be the path to enslavement and socialism as some will claim and as I have posted.

 So, the sooner that men, namely the conservatives, stop hindering the progress of equality the sooner we will reach the state of equality and enjoy the life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness that is promised in it.

Grandpa's Rules for a Good Arguement

I was on the computer reading some political blogs when grandpa came and sat down beside me. After he had finished reading a post that I had up he had this to say to me.


“Boy, politics is a mighty funny thing. By the very nature of it people will argue over the role that government should play in the solution of the problems of a society. What people generally do not understand is that most of the problems of society are in actuality personal problems and best left up to individuals to solve. For government to solve these problems would require the people of government to have knowledge of each and every person’s problem and that is impossible.

So, boy, when you are listening to people argue over politics take notice of the following tell tale signs of a poor argument and don’t emulate them.  I see them far too often when people argue over political solutions.  They reveal more about the person speaking then they do about the person that they are talking about.

Don’t stereotype a people. It convinces no one except those who need no convincing and usually they consist of persons with a herd mentality. When you hear persons argue using isolated incidences as evidence of their truths, be skeptical of their argument. Be skeptical of their intent and purpose. Stereotyping very seldom gives a accurate view of a people.

Don’t take a person’s words out of context of their intent regardless of how those words may affect your feelings. Your feelings do not justify assuming intent. The person that gets hurt most is yourself because you have lost an opportunity to learn something. This is the biggest problem with the concept of politically correct speech. It focuses on the words used rather than the thought conveyed.

Don’t presume someone else is wrong just because you believe yourself as being right. Remember that the other person thinks they are right also. In disagreements, seek a common ground and work towards an agreement from there. By this I mean, find something the both of you agree on then use that as the foundation to work towards an agreement.

Don’t label people in a demeaning manner. That, in itself, is evidence that you have no argument or rebuttal to counter the other person’s argument. It serves only one purpose and that purpose is to affect a person’s feelings rather than to convince. Demeaning a person or persons only reveals your own superior attitude towards others.

Don’t be afraid of showing your ignorance by asking questions about the other person’s stance. Regardless of how much you know and understand an issue always be open- minded enough to believe that there is more to learn. . The recognition of our own ignorance is the first step towards wisdom and knowledge.

Recognize that everyone has their own faults and that everyone has made mistakes in their life. This is human nature. Be sure of the benefits and consequences before making accusations based upon these faults or mistakes. Your own faulty mistake of judgment may have short-term benefits but long term consequences and you may have to pay the price of the consequences for that judgment.

Be informed but be sure that you are informed on the facts. Don’t rely on others to give you the facts and that includes persons that you agree with politically. When you find a discrepancy in the facts as others see them, keep it to yourself until you can resolve the discrepancy on your own. There are too many assumptions floating around masquerading themselves as facts as it is.

Remember, most of all, do not compromise your principles in coming to an agreement with others. It is better that the both of you remain in disagreement and allow time to determine who has the better solution to a problem if there actually is a problem. A lot of our problems will solve themselves if we allow them to.

.  Follow these rules, boy, and do so not because you will convince others to your way of thinking but out of self-respect and respect for your own viewpoint.”

Grandpa Makes a Fearful Prediction in Hopes He may Be Wrong. Is He Wrong?

tAs we sat there stuffing ourselves with all of the food in the picnic basket that grandma had prepared we could hear how grandpa’s words had stirred the crowd as they gathered in small groups.  It seemed as if the reaction to the words were positive but grandpa just shook his head sadly as he said,

“Words of praise are nice to hear but we have come to a point in our history where I do not believe words of protest will suffice.  It will require action from the people.  It has come to the point where we, as a nation, must be willing to show that our words mean something and that the people need to back up those words with action.

I’m afraid that we, as a people, may have gone past the point where freedom and liberty is important to the people.  Security and dependency has replaced those values in the hearts and minds of the people today.  All one has to do is look at how society reacts to the negative things that occur in their everyday life to see that.

We have become a people that no longer accepts the risks of everyday living as we once had to.  When people are broke where do they run to except to the federal government and beg for welfare money?  When anyone loses their job where do the people run to except to the government unemployment office to apply for unemployment money?

We have become a nation that is used to the idea that if you want something that in order to get it requires that you buy insurance also.  And what is insurance except the placing of responsibility on others to do what is morally and legally your responsibility?  There hardly is a moment in your life that isn’t covered by some type of insurance.

If you are in your home you are covered by home insurance.  If, in your car, you are covered by auto insurance. If, at work, you are covered by your employer’s insurance. If you are in a place of business you are covered by the insurance that business has.  Even when you are just plain walking down  the sidewalk or crossing the street you are covered by the insurance of that city.

The big problem is that in each and every case we, the people are paying for the insurance premiums in some way or another whether it be in higher prices, higher taxes, or even in lower wages. We are gradually insuring ourselves against everything except poverty and bankruptcy and that is where the path of socialism must lead us.  And that is the path of the blind and ignorant.  But, unfortunately it is the path that people, at times, must travel in order to see and understand their foolishness and wake up to the reality of life.

Now, I’ll grant that we haven’t gone down that path far enough yet that we cannot turn around and take the path of liberty once more but we are getting close to that point of no return.  The people will need to make a choice between the illusion of security or the reality of freedom.

I hope that I am wrong but I don’t think that the people have in their hearts to take back what was bequeathed them by those who gave their lives that we may know what liberty truly is. The feeling of security is a mighty strong drug and I believe that the people have become addicted to it.  And  the only leaders I see now days are those leaders that will take this nation down the path of socialism that promises even greater security.  And this is a promise that can never be kept.

Now this belief does not mean I have given up the fight for your liberty, boy.  There is too much at stake in this fight for liberty. I also know that there is much to do before that time comes when we will only have that choice of giving up or actually commit ourselves to be civilly disobedient to the dictates of those who rule over us.  I am also a practical man and the time to start preparing for the possibility of defeat is now. ”

With those words said grandpa got up and said that it was time to go home and start making preparations.  I knew there was going to be much to discuss at the dinner table for the next few days.