Letter to My Senators

It is ridiculous how Congress continues to argue over the debt and the debt plan. Previously the committee of Bohner and others worked together to come up with a plan and everyone was so excited. It was a bi-partisan effort, but only until it came out of committee. Now, it seems, it's a joke because Democrats want to add more spending capitol to it and Bohner refused.

We NEED to put a stop to overspending. An American family is not allowed to overspend. If we do it we lose our home or our cars because we only have so much money going in. American families understand the concept of needing to budget. Budgeting means that we have to sacrifice some things in order to get ourselves back on our feet.

The American people are tired of the bickering and procrastination. We could care less about Democrats or Republicans or Independents for that matter. What we care about is taking care of business and getting back on track. If  you cannot do that, step down from office and let us put someone in that can.

As far as many of us here in Wisconsin are concerned - cut your pensions when you leave office. Save money there. You aren't working for us anymore so you don't need to get paid. We don't get paid when we leave a job. Quit giving yourself pay raises. Quit using the private jet to fly home. Buy a ticket and go coach like the rest of us. You are overspending and then complain about cuts. It's ludicrous.

The American people are not stupid. You cannot stand in front of us and talk about how this affects our elderly and try to run us through a series of equally picturesque and untrue statements like a carnival con-man just to get your way. If we end up broke and broken medicare, social security, and everything else won't matter anyway. So, lets get real.

Quit trying to convince us that further taxing is going to fix our problems. More tax means less jobs. Not to mention that there aren't enough rich in the nation to fix our debt crisis. Taxing them more would not even put a drop in the bucket.

Do we like the idea of cuts? No. However, we are intelligent enough to understand that it has to happen.

My husband and I are not alone on this. Look at Facebook pages and blog spots. Watch Google +. Read Twitter. You will find that the American people want you to take the cuts. We want you to show you are looking out for the people you represent and not the party you represent.

It's time to show us you went there to do a job and did not run to line your pockets.

** Of course my husband, Brian, has written to Senator Kohl before who merely responds that Brian does not know what he is talking about. Interesting, since Brian is one of the most well read and intelligent people I have ever met. I suspect that my being Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa makes me educated, however, if I do not agree with Senator Kohl I too will be considered "uninformed," regardless of the fact that I have been reading, examining, and even researching the issue for several months now. Of course Senator Kohl is not seeking re-election, so I'm sure irritating people is not a major concern of his.

Ron Johnson is a freshman senator, but he has been vocal about the issue. It will be interesting to see his response. However, he sounds like a Republican...and of course most of  the Democrats sound like Democrats. It would be nice to find a Senator that would sound like an American who cares about the people they are supposed to represent and them be able to influence the others.

Who is to blame for the US Economic Problems?

So, is Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, or Barack Obama responsible for the economic difficulties we have in the US today? In my opinion - none of them. The citizens of the United States are responsible for our woes. Why? Because we have a free election and we spend our time arguing, not about what is really important in the nation, but which party has the best plan. We have allowed ourselves to separate into two groups like social groups in high school. But, this isn't high school.

By only aligning ourselves with a party system we are missing the big picture and not making the hard choices we should be making. Politics have become a big money industry. Politicians seem to mostly be interested in power and increasing their power. They are used to living the high life. So how do these people show they are in touch with the average Joe? They go to town hall meetings. They shake hands with citizens. They hire people to make pretty speeches. At the end of the day they go to a high end hotel or back to their high dollar home.

The current, 2011, salary for a rank-and-file member of the House and Senate is $174,000 per year. The Speaker of the House receives $223,500 per year. The Majority Leader gets paid  $193,400 as does the Majority Party Leader. The vice-president is paid $230,700 while the president himself makes $400,00 per year plus another $50,000 for an expense allowance. His family gets free room and board during his tenure as well. When Obama leaves office he will continue being paid almost $200,000 for life.

During earlier years senators and representatives were paid on a daily basis, and only if they were in session. So, perhaps during the late 1700's through the 1800's politicians were passionate and concerned with the well-being of the country. Today we don't see the same passion. We have television and news mediums that promote politicians based on their ratings and charisma. Charisma will not save this country.

Common sense tells us that continually electing politicians because of a party affiliation is fool-hearty. The democrats want to tax the rich. There are not enough rich to tax that will save this economy. They want to tax big business. Big business is already struggling, doing layoffs (part of the reason for our current high unemployment), and filing for bankruptcy. This isn't an answer to our economic woes either. Republicans want to give big business tax breaks claiming it will increase their income and allow them to hire more people. They want to cut union strength to give more power to individuals, but this would also mean that the big companies would have to do the right thing by their employees. But how will this cut the national debt in time even if more people are working and paying taxes?

Everyone complains about the welfare system and how so many people take advantage of our hard earned tax dollars, but no one wants to let anyone take steps to do a much needed revamp. We all complain about the loss of social security and how it needs to be saved, yet no one wants to have it touched in order to fix it. So what is the answer to our woes?

The answer is to quit listening to party politics and start using the free education we were given and making a sound judgement based on taking an honest interest in what people are trying to run for office. Quit financing high dollar campaigns. The man with the money doesn't have to win. The man with a solid plan and a passion for this country should have a fighting chance to honestly represent us. It shouldn't matter if he wears an Armani suit or has a manicure. It's time for us to make a real change in this country. Only the American people can do it. We just need to care enough.

(Side note:  Perhaps Paul Ryan has a good plan. He's been demeaned by Democrats and denounced by his fellow Republicans. At least he puts himself out there and isn't deterred by ridicule. Maybe he should step out of the party and garner independent support.)

Stupidity Not Racism

The news today was regarding an elderly Republican party politician in California, Marilyn Davenport, forwarding an email she received of President Obama as a baby chimp. It was, according to Davenport, sent as a joke as to why Obama doesn't have a birth certificate.

Of course now people are up in arms saying that this is a racist thing, to which Ms. Davenport says that she didn't even consider him as being "half-black."

It's not the first time that politics turn ugly. Several unkind depictions have been made by high ranking Republican black politicians such as Condoleezza Rice  and Colin Powell. When one side doesn't like another it seems that they don't use intelligent boundaries before making unkind depictions.

Bush has been toted as an ape as well by Democrats. However, it doesn't seem to be as much of a problem depicting him as an ape as it does Obama. Personally, I find them all offensive.

"Beware the beast Man, for he is the Devil's pawn. Alone among God's primates, he kills for sport or lust or greed. Yea, he will murder his brother to possess his brother's land. Let him not breed in great numbers, for he will make a desert of his home and yours. Shun him; drive him back into his jungle lair, for he is the harbinger of death."

The entire situation is, well, to be honest, quite stupid. There is no need to determine if Obama has a birth certificate. At this point and time that is a moot point. He is our president. Even if you don't agree with all of his politics he deserves a certain amount of courtesy and respect because the majority of us elected him into office. It was the same with Bush. Besides, all of these reek of party politics. There is no intelligence in either case of the political "monkeydom."

As far as racism goes, the fact that Obama is indeed "half black" doesn't mean a thing. I could care less if he were 100% black or even Chinese-American or Native American. It's not the race that matters, it's how they do their job.

 In 2011 we don't have separate water fountains, different seats on the bus, nor do we have separate bathrooms. We make our own racism by continuing to do stupid crap like photo shopping animal pictures to make unkind remarks about people that we looked up to enough to elect into a public office. 

In my opinion this is a stupidity problem, not a racial problem. Grow up. 

Arizona Gets Tough on Immigration

On the heels of an ICE raid last week Arizona legislatures working to pass legislation that will allow the state to determine the eligibility of a person to be in the State, verify a claim of legal residency, confirm the identity of a person, and determine if the person is in compliance with Federal immigration laws. 


Obama says the legislation "threatens to undermine basic notions of fairness that we treasure as Americans."


Arizona Senator Russell Pearce states that "illegal is not a race it's a crime."


Representative John Kavanagh says "70% of likely voters in Arizona support this law and I suspect that across the country the figures are similar." He also is confident that the governor will sign the bill as she is a strong supporter of the needs of immigration.


Definition of illegal immigrant: (noun) a foreigner who has entered or resides in a country unlawfully or without the country's authorization.


Just in case there is any doubt the definition of unlawful is: (adjective) not lawful; contrary to law; illegal.


In an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper Kavanagh continues to say that "People are fed up with the lack of any enforcement of illegal immigration by the federal government. We have no choice but to fill the void that they've created."


While it is believed by critics of the bill that this will foster racial profiling supporters believe that it gives power back to the legal citizens of the United States and fosters the idea that America is still a land of opportunity but that opportunity is best found by following the proper channels to enter the country.


Although this legislation is making many Latino's fume with ideas of discrimination I have to believe that they must also understand that Arizona is not simply going after Latinos. This law does not profile one race over another nor one culture over another. It provides protection of the citizens and puts power in the hands of the police. 


Arizona is more likely, due to it's geographical location, to have more illegals coming in from Mexico that are of Latin American origin, but the law is for all illegals and not just Hispanics. 


With the federal government clicking their heels on what to do about the US immigration problems it is no wonder that states like Arizona are starting to take a stand with immigration problems. Sure there are a few kinks that will have to be ironed out of the wording, but the legislation is a start for people to see that many American's are fed up with immigration excuses and want some true law enforcement.