Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Saturday afternoon Paul Curtman organized a literature bomb in Missouri's 105th district. Curtman is the GOP candidate who will be facing Democrat incumbent Michael Frame in November's general election. Luckily the rain held-off and Curtman and his 60+ volunteers were able to distribute about 4,000 flyers in and around Pacific, MO.
The 1,000th American serviceman killed in Afghanistan was born on the Fourth of July. He died several days before Americans honor fallen troops on Memorial Day.
Marine Cpl. Jacob C. Leicht was killed Thursday when he stepped on a land mine in Helmand province that ripped off his right arm. It was the 24-year-old Texan's second deployment overseas.
Leicht had begged to return to the battlefield after a bomb took out his Humvee in Iraq. He spent two painful years recovering from face and leg injuries, all the while pining for combat in letters from his hospital bed.
He finally got back to the front lines, but was killed less than a month into the tour of duty he desperately wanted.
"He said he always wanted to die for his country and be remembered," said Jesse Leicht, his younger brother. "He didn't want to die having a heart attack or just being an old man. He wanted to die for something."
I paused there as I was reminded me of another man who wished to die in his boots: Robert Louis Stevenson. A few years ago I bought a copy of Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses. It's an amazing book for young children learning to use their imagination as they also learn to read. Here's a poem to remember Marine Cpl. Jacob Leicht by:
HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS
Dear Uncle Jim, this garden ground,
That now you smoke your pipe around,
Has seen immortal actions done
And valiant battles lost and won.
Here we had best on tip-toe tread,
While I for safety march ahead,
For this is that enchanted ground
Where all who loiter slumber sound.
Here is the sea, here is the sand,
Here is simple Shepherd’s Land,
Here are the fairy hollyhocks,
And there are Ali Baba’s rocks.
But yonder, see! apart and high,
Frozen Siberia lies; where I,
With Robert Bruce and William Tell,
Was bound by an enchanter’s spell.
There, then, a while in chains we lay,
In wintry dungeons, far from day;
But ris’n at length, with might and main,
Our iron fetters burst in twain.
Then all the horns were blown in town;
And, to the ramparts clanging down,
All the giants leaped to horse
And charged behind us through the gorse.
On we rode, the others and I,
Over the mountains blue, and by
The Silver River, the sounding sea,
And the robber woods of Tartary.
A thousand miles we galloped fast,
And down the witches’ lane we passed,
And rode amain, with brandished sword,
Up to the middle, through the ford.
Last we drew rein—a weary three—
Upon the lawn, in time for tea,
And from our steeds alighted down
Before the gates of Babylon.
This amount of debt, approximately $5 trillion for the United States, is an important metric – our public financing needs represent a massive amount of credit that will not be available for use by private investors; it also quantifies our susceptibility to credit market volatility.
And that volatility is going to make for a wild ride. Wikipedia notes that the interest paid on US debt fell from almost 10% of all spending in 2008 to just 5% in 2009:
Budgeted net interest on the public debt was approximately $240 billion in fiscal years 2007 and 2008. This represented approximately 9.5% of government spending. Interest was the fourth largest single budgeted disbursement category, after defense, Social Security, and Medicare.[62] Despite higher debt levels, this declined to $189 billion in 2009 or approximately 5% of spending, due to lower interest rates. Average interest rates declined due to the crisis from 1.6% in 2008 to 0.3% in 2009.[63]
So the interest rate fell to one fifth its previous value (1.6% to 0.3%) and interest payments as a percentage of government spending were only cut in half (9.5% to 5%). While interest payments as a percentage of spending were only halved, the reduction in absolute terms (from $240B to $189B) means that interest payments only fell by 22%—spending rose so much in 2009 that it makes interest payments as a percentage of spending look remarkably better. When interest rates increase from 0.3%, expect huge chunks of federal spending to be devoted to servicing the debt.
Rep Phil "I don't care about the Constitution" Hare (D-IL) didn't like the line of questioning he got from one of his veteran constituents, so he asked a member of his staff to tail that veteran, Ken Moffett, to his car and record Moffett's license plate number. Here are some key quotes from Moffett's letter to the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct:
The purpose of this letter is to inform you of an incident which occurred between myself and Representative Phil Hare, on Monday, May 31, 2010.
Congressman Phil Hare, of the 17th Congressional District of Illinois, is misrepresenting his military service during the Vietnam War to attract the votes of veterans....
...Mr. Hare and I were engaged in a conversation concerning the statements he is making around the district about being a veteran. After I pointed out that according to the law he is not a veteran, he became very upset and demanded to know my name. I refused to tell him...
Mr. Hare then told one of his aids who was with him, to follow me to my car and get my license plate number so he could find out who I was. I have since been told that Mr. Hare's daughter works for the DMV.
I have long felt that citizens should be notified whenever a government employee accesses their information—just a simple email with the name of the employee, the date and time, and a reason for the access. Businesses, especially financial services and healthcare, would also benefit from an accountability system like this, too. Part of the vision of the Tea Party movements across this country is one of a government Accountable to the People.
Dana Loesch is #1 again this year in Right Wing News's 20 Hottest Conservative Women in New Media. The photo set above is in chronological order starting with my very first picture of Dana at the February 27th, 2009, Tea Party under the Arch and continuing through the Jefferson County Tea Party this past April.
Here's complete video coverage of last Saturday's Faces of Freedom Rally in Macon, MO, organized by the Macon County Patriots. Organizers hope to make this an annual event honoring our fallen heroes, veterans, and those currently serving in the United States military. There were speeches from David Doctorian, Cathy Cochran, and Vern Bastian. Doctorian spoke about the sacrifices that the founders made to fight the Revolutionary War. Cochran spoke about the importance of re-reading the Declaration and US Constitution in the context of the sacrifices of the Greatest Generation. And Bastian talked about the motor cyclists that escort our fallen heroes: The Patriot Guard Riders. Live music was provided by the Nelson children, Keota, and Dale Wilson.
I'm still uploading video from Saturday's Faces of Freedom Rally in Macon, MO. Most of the music is posted. The cutest twenty seconds of Saturday's event occurred during the Patriotic Medley sung by the Nelson Children. Watch the whole thing or just skip to 2:26 in the video below if you're in a hurry:
I got the following email Tuesday afternoon [emphasis in original]:
from: senator@mccaskill.senate.gov
to: me
date: Tue, Jun 1, 2010 at 1:39 PM
subject: Veterans town halls that are open to all
mailed-by mccaskill.senate.gov
date: 1:39 PM June 1, 2010
Dear Mr. dsm,
As we honor those who have served our country this Memorial Day, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill wants to hear from Missourians about what Washington can do to ensure our veterans receive the care and treatment they deserve. Next week, Senator McCaskill will travel across the state hosting a series of veterans town hall forums to gather input and listen to the concerns of our veterans and other Missourians.
Given the tremendous sacrifices our veterans made in defending this country, Senator McCaskill is committed to ensuring they receive the support and respect they have earned, including the best level of medical care possible, upon their return. Most recently, Senator McCaskill introduced the TRICARE Mental Health Care Access Act to help meet the growing demand for better access to mental health services for members of our military and their families. Senator McCaskill will be looking for input from Missourians on additional ways the government can continue to honor our veterans through quality care and programs designed to meet their needs.
Please join Senator McCaskill for a veterans town hall forum at:
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
9:15 AM
VFW Post 3944
10815 Midland Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63114
MAP
Visit our website to sign up to attend the St. Louis forum.
For additional information, please contact one of Senator McCaskill's five Missouri offices.
Constituents are highly encouraged to register for the events. Depending on the turn-out, there may be more people wishing to attend the event than there is capacity. Seating may be limited and will be first-come, first-served.
Individuals with disabilities who require auxiliary aids or services to participate in this event should contact Joeana Middleton at 314-367-0255.
I applaud Senator Claire McCaskill for inviting a tea partier like myself, but why send the invitation after the event? Perhaps her strategy to make the trains run on time is to notify all the passengers waiting on the platform that their train left without them four hours ago.
Tea Party Conservative who began blogging at http://RebootCongress.NET when TARP passed. Email me: contact@RebootCongress.net. Help support my work: Donate Bitcoins
. It's an amazing book for young children learning to use their imagination as they also learn to read. Here's a poem to remember Marine Cpl. Jacob Leicht by:
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