Campaign Blog
Which Poster Was Free?
My congressman sent me a poster! Lots of politicians have done this, Chairman Mao, for instance. But if you’ve ever studied the Chinese “cultural revolution” you know that they paid for their posters, as I’m paying for mine. The Chinese paid with their lives, their intellectual and artistic “supreme-a-tons”, and their freedom.
What I find most disturbing, though, is the content of my gift. Mr. Stupak wants to be congratulated for all the jobs he has “created” in the legislature. This is hard to swallow, because government creates nothing. They redistribute jobs as they redistribute wealth…without our consent. His “Economic Recovery Report” is propaganda. It is false. And I paid for it. (Says so, on the front.)
According to the text on my poster, Mr. Stupak has been responsible for 1,950 jobs in the first district. My family has been in the restaurant business for years, and employs far fewer people. However, selling hamburgers actually fulfills a need. In the free market, if nobody wants to buy shoes, the shoemaker begins making belts, or saddles, or whatever people need. The hamburger business doesn’t need government assistance because people actually want hamburgers. When government “creates” jobs, or even “retains” jobs, they are messing with the natural inclinations of buyers and sellers. They are prolonging obsolete systems and processes. They are encouraging stagnancy in the minds and prospects of employees. They are limiting consumer options. They are the problem.
Many of the jobs Mr. Stupak claims to have created were funded through government grants. Grants are stealing. That used to be my money! Taking somebody’s money is stealing, right? My mom said so. She didn’t think it was better if I gave the stolen property to another person. It’s still stealing.
Mr. Stupak, I don’t want you to take my money to tell me how wonderful you are. I don’t want to pay for industry and jobs that are no longer viable. I want to be free.
We Just Don’t Want National Healthcare
Bart Stupak doesn’t get it. We don’t want national healthcare. We don’t want the government, which has bankrupted Social Security, the Post Office, Medicare, etc, to control another 17 percent of our economy. We don’t want government meddling in our lives in such an intimate fashion. His recent party-line piece in the Wall Street Journal clearly describes his disconnect–as well as his disingenuous expression of concern for his constituents.
Read his commentary here:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703699204575016894261465742.html
First of all, it seems funny that Mr. Stupak is admonishing the legislature to talk to their constituents. He was most reluctant to talk about healthcare for most of last year. Pete Hoekstra, representative from a neighboring district, actually came to town to fill the void. Letters to Mr. Stupak’s office yield perfunctory form responses; phone calls do the same. I’m thinking about the pot and the kettle.
Federal Dollars Come at a Cost
People don’t seem to understand something, as they wait in line at the Federal trough. They can’t seem to remember that there is no free lunch. Money comes from the government only as an exchange: money for power. Every time a company, or a group, or a state legislature takes a bite, more power goes further away.
I just finished reading about HB 4787, passed by the Michigan house a few weeks ago. It describes a ghastly exchange. Michigan needs money. Mr. Obama has an open wallet, and is willing to distribute our money to the Michigan school system. This largesse however, has its drawbacks. Michigan’s Race to the Top legislation binds school districts from evaluating their own situation and making changes necessary for top performance. Our legislators have even
submitted the future of our schools without a definition of what top performance even means! That’s yet to be announced by the feds.
Race to the Top requires many, many reports to the government, development of plans, hours, hours, effort. Frustration with the many requirements of bureaucracy is already one big reason for superintendent burnout. And, if these administrators/teachers/school boards can’t do the job now, how will it help to require them to fulfill even more bureaucratic obligations? The goal, according to the Michigan Association of School Boards, is to create “stronger schools.” I’m not into strong institutions. Don’t we want stronger kids? It doesn’t sound like it when part of the legislation loosens adherence to the curriculum requirements of No Child Left Behind.
Children are all different. One of my homeschooled sons has taught himself everything he knows. The other son required two years of daily drills to learn the ABC’s. They’re both surprisingly bright. They’re different. Don’t teachers and members of the local community recognize differences better than a pencil-pusher in Washington?
Another problem with HB 4787 is its establishment of a database that would forever track each student of every teacher. What for? I can’t think of any use for such information that is not punitive for the child…or the teacher. This dastardly legislation even provides for confiscation of school assets in nonperforming districts!
The 10th amendment to the US Constitution prohibits federal meddling in state issues. The 10th amendment is dead. We’re all so eager for federal dollars to change our circumstances, we’ll abandon our autonomy voluntarily. Forshame. Students are more important than dollars. Everybody is.
PS- US News and World Report named the best high schools in America. 17 of them were in Michigan’s first district. I wonder where they got their criteria, since the federal government hasn’t told us what to think yet.
Popularizing Freedom: Great Interview by Thomas Woods
This is an amazing interview by Thomas Woods, author of Meltdown: A Free-Market Look at Why the Stock Market
In the interview Woods explains why he believes liberty-conservatives are anti-state, anti-bailout, and anti-war– a must read:
Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!
I’d like to wish everyone a Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day, even though the post-office is closed, Martin Luther King Jr. should still be remembered as the great American hero he is.
The “I Have A Dream” speech by Martin Luther King, Jr., on Aug. 28, 1963 in Washington D.C., is his most famous and on this MLK Day 2010, you may be interested in video of this address.
Below is video footage of the historic “I Have A Dream” speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial at the March of Washington.
WATCH NOW:
Gun Rights Victory in Alpena!
Congratulations 1st district patriots! Through our efforts, the city of Alpena has agreed to review the un-constitutional city ordinance which bans guns (and slingshots by the way) from any public place within the city limits. From what we’ve heard from the city officials, this illegal ordinance is as good as gone!
This is the way Government is supposed to operate, with “We the People” in charge. This is the power of localized Government. When a citizen has a problem, or realizes a problem with their local Government, he can not only be heard, but can actually produce change at the local level where it counts the most.
Tom Matos, Linda Goldthorpe, and several other like-minded citizens addressed the city council on Monday, Dec 7th about the un-constitutional law that has been in effect in Alpena since the late 1970s, and through their efforts it was forwarded to the city attorney as requested by Tom Matos.
We are very pleased with how the city council has responded, and we feel empowered, and you should feel empowered, that we the people can change our Government when we take a stand and fight for what’s right.
Check out this Video Interview with Tom Matos, note the Goldthorpe for Congress business card on his shirt (buttons will be available soon!):
Free Alpena Update
I’m so excited about the response to our plea for constitution-lovers to express their opinions of the Alpena city ordinance that prohibits weapons (and razors) on any person in the city. (Section 54-2, a, 6) We expect a tremendous turnout tomorrow night at 123 Chisholm, at 6 pm.
Many of those who have sent supportive emails, seem to think that this weapon prohibition is pending. This is not the case. The unconstitutional provision is already part of the Alpena code. We’re optimistic that the city council will recognize this unusual opportunity to uphold the fundamental rights of the community.
URGENT: Join us in Alpena to Protest the City Ordinance Ban on Guns
Take a stand with your fellow 1st District Patriots
Our right to keep and bear arms is in jeopardy! On Dec 7th, We the People will address the Alpena City Council regarding the horrendous “Disorderly Conduct” ordinance, specifically 54-2, which bars COMPLETELY, the possession of any firearm for any purpose, in ANY public place within the city of Alpena:
Sec. 54-2. Disorderly Conduct
(a) The following acts shall constitute disorderly conduct, and no person shall:(6) Go armed with or have concealed upon his person, a dirk, dagger, sword, pistol, air gun, stiletto, metallic knuckles, pocket billie, sand bag, skull cracker, slingshot, razor or other offensive and dangerous weapon or instrument, unless such person is a police officer or night watchman, and is legitimately employed as such.
(b) As used in subsection (a) of this section, the term “public place” shall mean any street, alley, park, public building, or any place of business or assembly open to or frequented by the public.
This demonstrates blatant disregard for the rights enumerated in our state and federal constitutions, which ensure all citizens the right to “Keep and Bear Arms”. On the 7th of December we invite you to come and voice your opinion on this important issue. We can not let freedoms be taken away from our brothers and sisters in the first district. It is up to all of us to take a stand and fight for liberty and justice in the 1st district as well as the rest of the Country.
Join us December 7th at 6:00pm!
Join Thomas Matos (the man leading the charge on this issue in Alpena), Linda Goldthorpe, and other conservative-minded 1st district citizens on Dec 7th to protest this unconstitutional Gun Ban put in place by the city of Alpena. We will be meeting at 6:00 pm at the Alpena County GOP office (two blocks down from Stupak’s office by the way), and walking together to the City Hall which takes place at 7:00pm. Feel free to bring protest signs and banners, the more the better!
Also make sure to invite your friends/family, we need as many people there as we can, we can’t let an issue like this slide.
For more info go to the Event Page on LindaForCongress.com
Also make sure to forward this on to your friends!
In Liberty,
Isaac Miller
Field Director
Goldthorpe for Congress
The Top 10 Reasons You Need to Be at the Cheboygan County Meet and Greet Are…
Cheboygan county GOP chairman, Jack Zlotow, sent out this humorous list of the top 10 reasons to be at the Cheboygan County GOP Meet and greet on Dec 3rd.
The Top 10 Reasons You Need to Be at the Cheboygan County Meet and Greet Are…
#10. You need a little more practice driving in the snow before the “real” stuff hits.
#9. You can say you beat the snowmobilers to the Black Mountain Lodge this year.
#8. Get your 1st look at special guest Linda Goldthorpe, who’s taking it to Bart Stupak in ‘10 (work in ‘09, win in ‘10).
#7. Feel like a kid again. Slide down the big hill into the lake (rescues not included).
#6. Make a wrong turn, end up at the Dirty Duck Saloon. Ask for the Republican discount.
#5. More special fireworks. 3 candidates for the 105th (Kevin Elsenheimer’s) seat get 5 minutes each to address the
group (Tim Boyko, Ken Glasser, Dennis Lennox). I said fireworks, not fisticuffs. We’re Republicans. We’re
civilized.
#4. You’ll be “wowed” by the new look at the Black Mountain Lodge. Support those who invest in your county!
#3. Snow, what snow? You live in northern Michigan and you’ve never driven in a little snow?
#2. Don’t worry, you’ll be home in time to catch most of the Wings game. It starts at 8:30 – I checked.
and the #1 reason you need to be at the Black Mountain Lodge for Thursday night’s meeting is . . .
Prove Cheboygan County is a “player” in state politics and government. How do we do that? Show up and get involved!
7PM Thursday, December 3, Black Mountain Lodge, 10621 Twin Lakes Rd., Cheboygan. (231)625-9322
Campaign Business Cards Have Arrived!
Check out our fresh shipment of campaign business cards! We’ll be handing these out all across the district! Some more pictures are available below the fold…
