Here I am feeling political again. The reality of politics is that it is pretty much like religion. Everyone has a set of beliefs and you can never change their mind no matter how sound your argument is. Knowing this, I offer the following.

The economic crisis we are in the midst of is not the fault of any one man, certainly not George Bush. There are many people who have their share of the blame in this mess, it's time we left our former President out of the loop.

I am so tired of people who claim to know why we are in this mess forgetting that it all starts in Congress. Time to ask Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Barney Frank, Chris Dodd and Nancy Pelosi why THEY allowed this to happen when there were so many voices calling for a fix.

Take a look at this series of clips and decide for yourself who caused the financial meltdown: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MGT_cSi7Rs

Then research the CRA and try to understand why ALL Americans owning homes is not such a good thing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_Reinvestment_Act

We all need to be ringing the phones off the hook of the people in Washington. They forgot whom they work for and whose money they are spending. Quit complaining and learn some things... Then call your representative and start working for a Constitutional Convention. Then, and only then, will real change come.

My friends, today we are all witnesses to history. The rest of the world watches America as we attempt to erase the stains of slavery and racial hatred and collectively have voted to elect Barack Hussein Obama as the 44th President of these United States.

I salute him and I will, in the end, support him. After all, he said the right things, made the right promises and convinced enough people that he was the answer to all that ails us. I hope that is true. Time will tell.

I hope that his radical past is just that. I hope that his propensity for associating himself with people that hate America was just a passing phase. I hope that he truly wants to make America a place where we all can succeed and not just a place where we tax the successful to give to the lazy. I hope that he will decide that America is the best country on this planet and not the object of his disdain and loathing. I hope that he will not allow the U.N. to determine how we live in this great nation. Time will tell.

I hope all these things. I hope that he may just be ONE politician that can change his ways and beliefs and do the right things for the citizens who have placed their faith in him. I pray that we all will not be sorry in the near future that he occupies the Oval Office. Time will tell.

In January he will lead us down a path that is uncertain and a bit scary. The economy here and around the world is in need of help. Will he inspire Congress to implement the correct solutions or will he simply raise taxes, emasculate our military, curtail our rights and force good jobs to go overseas. Time will tell.

I am not one to applaud intentions. I am sure most politicians honestly think that they are running for office in order to do good for the people. I am a believer in results. If, after four years, my taxes are lower, I still have all of my property rights, I still can legally own my guns, I can still afford to buy food and gas, I still have a well-paying job and our children still have an opportunity to get good education in a public or charter school, then maybe I will say that I was wrong about Barack Obama. Time will tell.

So, what I offer to you is this... Celebrate, all of you that wanted to see his victory. Recover and accept, all of you that did not. Pay attention all of you to what is said and, more importantly, what is done in the coming years. Perhaps the best thing to come out of this is the renewed spotlight on Washington, D.C. and all of the elected officials there who love to waste our tax dollars in their quest to stay in power.

If you continue to vote for politicians who are criminals... If you continue to vote for politicians who lie to you... If you continue to vote for politicians who think nothing is wrong with taking money from questionable sources... If you continue to vote for politicians who do nothing but go to Washington to get rich, then you truly have gotten the government that you deserve.

God Bless America!!!

Plan Uses Taxes to Fight Climate Change

By H. JOSEF HEBERT
The Associated Press
Wednesday, September 26, 2007; 7:34 PM

WASHINGTON -- Dealing with global warming will be painful, says one of the most powerful Democrats in Congress. To back up his claim he is proposing a recipe many people won't like _ a 50-cent gasoline tax, a carbon tax and scaling back tax breaks for some home owners.

"I'm trying to have everybody understand that this is going to cost and that it's going to have a measure of pain that you're not going to like," Rep. John Dingell, who is marking his 52nd year in Congress, said Wednesday in an interview with The Associated Press.

Dingell will offer a "discussion draft" outlining his tax proposals on Thursday, the same day that President Bush holds a two-day conference to discuss voluntary efforts to combat climate change.

But Dingell, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee that will craft climate legislation, is making it clear that he believes tackling global warming will require a lot more if it is to be taken seriously.

"This is going to cause pain," he said, adding that he wants to make certain "the pain is shared in a way that is fair, proper, acceptable and accomplishes the basic purpose" of reducing greenhouse gases, mainly carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels.

Dingell said he's not sure what the final climate package will include when the House takes it up for a vote. The taxes measures he's proposing, in fact, will be taken up by another House committee. And the Senate is considering a market-based system that would set an economy-wide ceiling on the amount of carbon dioxide that would be allowed to be released.

Dingell says he hasn't rule out such a so-called "cap-and-trade" system, either, but that at least for now he wants to float what he believes is a better idea. He will propose for discussion:

_A 50-cent-a-gallon tax on gasoline and jet fuel, phased in over five years, on top of existing taxes.

_A tax on carbon, at $50 a ton, released from burning coal, petroleum or natural gas.

_Phaseout of the interest tax deduction on home mortgages for homes over 3,000 square feet. Owners would keep most of the deduction for homes at the lower end of the scale, but it would be eliminated entirely for homes of 4,200 feet or more.

He estimates that would affect 10 percent of homeowners. He says "it's only fair" to tax those who buy large suburban houses and create urban sprawl. Historic and farm houses would be exempted.

Some of the revenue would be used to reduce payroll taxes, but most would go elsewhere including for highway construction, mass transit, paying for Social Security and health programs and to help the poor pay energy bills.

In the interview Wednesday, Dingell acknowledged he's tackling some of the most sacred of political cows. He's not sure if they will end up in the climate legislation, but he wants to open them for discussion.

"All my friends tell me you can't do this, it's going to be political poison," said Dingell, 81, who has served longer in the House than any of his colleagues and heads one of the chamber's most powerful committees.

Widely known for protecting the automakers who are so prominent in his state, the Michigan Democrat first raised the tax ideas this summer. Some people immediately suggested he was offering proposals he knows won't pass to sidestep other issues such as automobile fuel economy increases.

Dingell rejects such criticism and said he wants to trigger "an intelligent discussion of the whole question."

Many economists have long maintained that a carbon tax is a more-efficient, less-bureaucratic way to reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide than a cap-and-trade system, which could be difficult to administer.

A carbon tax would impact everything from the cost of electricity to winter heating and add to the cost of gasoline and other motor fuels. But economists say a cap on carbon also would raise these costs as burning fossil fuels becomes more expensive.

Such tax proposals have gained little traction.

Rep. Pete Starke, D-Calif., has been trying unsuccessfully to get a carbon tax for 16 years. In the early 1990s the House passed a modest "BTU" tax on the heat content of fuels, only to have it die in the Senate. Dingell acknowledged that there are still people who blame the Democrats' loss of Congress in 1994 on the ill-fated tax.

The federal 18.4-cent gasoline tax also has been a subject of discussion, but not about increasing it. As gasoline prices soared above $3 a gallon last year a chorus of lawmakers called for suspending the tax.

Here we are. It’s 2007. In just over a year the country will make a decision as to what direction it wants to go in for the next 4 years, maybe more, by electing a new President once again.

The political process is a fickle thing. Sometimes it makes you laugh; sometimes it makes you cry. The truth is I haven’t voted in so long I cannot remember the last time. That isn’t so much a judgment on the process but of the people involved.

I jokingly say that all politicians and lawyers should be shot. Some days I believe that more than others. When I look at the amounts of money that our leaders have wasted on the pork they use to keep getting themselves re-elected I just want to scream at the top of my lungs. It’s easy to see why one can become frustrated with the process.

Does anyone still believe in an honest politician? I know…rhetorical question at best. Pessimistic observation at worst. Seriously, though, are there any still out there?

Our republic was founded on some very important principles two-hundred thirty-one years ago. Those principles have been lost in recent years and I don’t know who has the will and the courage to fight to bring us back to those principles.

Every day I watch the news on TV, read more news on the Internet and listen to the news on the radio -- all of it depressing. The people in control of OUR tax dollars seem to think that the money belongs to THEM and they get to do whatever they want to with it.

Let’s be clear. No amount of money will ever be enough for the elected officials to be happy. There are always more palms to grease. More doors to be opened. More expensive promises that can be made. The dollar is but a drug to these people and I feel it is time we cut them off cold turkey.

Have you heard of a proposal that would do away with the IRS called the Fair Tax? If you have not, Google it and spend some time learning how it may just be the pill we need to cure what is wrong in Washington, D.C.

Imagine bringing home every dollar you earned. Imagine having the power to save for a change. Imagine being able to know that your money was going to do the things that it was supposed to instead of lining the pockets of lobbyists?

I am going to vote this fall and I am going to vote for a conservative that understands that the money belongs to you and me, not the people in Congress. I am going to vote for the candidate who understands that political office is a privilege and not a birthright… Hear that Ted Kennedy?

I hope that you find a reason to get out and vote as well. I hope that you understand that this election may have long-lasting consequences for the future. For you, me, our kids and grandkids.

Wake up and let’s get busy taking back America from the politicians!!! Are you with me?