ISRAEL

Thoughts on Israel

One of my greatest fears concerns Israel. It is no secrete that Iran is close to producing an atomic weapon. If they succeed I am concerned that they will use it against Israel.

My fear is two fold. This could start a full scale war in the middle east. I am also fearful that if Iran were to launch an attack against Israel that the United States will not stand with Israel. The present administration has shown that they will not stand with Israel by their actions.

Israel is our friend and to turn our back on them will be to our detriment. The rest of the world will see that we do not come to the aid of our friends. The ramifications of this will weaken us in the future. No one will believe that we can be counted on as a friend.

We need to support Israel and we have the strength to do so. It will take a real show of power to show that we will act when our friends are attacked.

Stan Elrod

Charlotte, NC

BICKERING

BICKERING

With the most recent debate concluded it is clear the front runner is Obama. The bickering and petty insults are playing right into his hands. The in-fighting must stop if we are to unseat Obama. The left wing media will push Obama at every turn. It loves the bickering.

Apparently the insults from all of the Republican Candidates are a boon to Obama. The fighting, both on and off the debate stage, must stop. It seems that the Republican Candidates have not received the “Tea Party” message. That message is to have a new breed of candidate. The Tea Party stuck to their message and did not shoot each other down. The current self-destructive course will only give the election to Obama.

Ronald Reagan adopted the “Eleventh Commandment”. “Thou shall not speak ill of a fellow Republican”. Barry Goldwater lost the election when Nelson Rockfellow, a fellow Republican, labeled him as an extremist and unfit for the presidency.

Had Goldwater won the election the American political landscape would be much different. There would not have been any Johnson’s “Great Society”, government programs which were the model for Obama’s breed of Democratic Socialist.

The candidates should stop attacking each other and start talking about what they will do as president. Talk about restoring constitutional integrity, free enterprise, national defense, and family values. They should remember Reagan’s “11th Commandment” and focus on their own plan and what they will do as leaders.

Americans want to learn about the candidates not how to attack the opponents. The media is loving the in-fighting and will try to stir up more of it.

Don’t believe that any of the candidates are blameless. There is not an “ideal candidate” who has yet to emerge. Even Reagan had his faults, and admitted them. Delivering the United States from collective economic, social, and foreign policies are what is needed to bring the country back to greatness.

The statesmen in the group of candidates should repudiate the effort of the news media to stir up in-fighting. Keep in mind that Republicans are united, whoever the nominee is, to defeat Obama. The moderator of the last debate did a good job of maximizing the bickering. This is not the road to the White House.

There is a growing legion of conservatives in this country. The people will support a candidate with a sound plan to restore the nation.

American’s self-identify as “conservative” rather than “liberal”. It is time for the candidates to wake up and capitalize on this. Bickering and in-fighting is not the way to go.

Stan Elrod,

Charlotte, NC

The Constitution

Take a second look at the Constitution of the United States. It is a wonderful document and has stood the test of time. However, it has come under attack recently. It is the foundation of our Republic and one of the main features is that it does delegate authority. It also limits authority.

Local government was one of the main parts of the plan. The States and local government were to make most of the laws and regulations. We have stood by and let the Federal Government take control that was never given to them in the Constitution.

The Constitution is to be the supreme law of the land. In the debate before Federalist Papers, item 49, Jefferson and Madison were having a discussion. Jefferson wanted the people to be able to decide issues and make changes to the Constitution. Madison did not agree. He said that if the people could easily make changes to the Constitution that they will come to not respect the document. After discussion, Jefferson did agree with Madison. The Constitution has survived for over 200 years. It is time that we get back to the basics of this document.

Today we see that our government is out of control. The administration has members of various departments making rules. Many of these rules are made by bureaucrats who do not take into consideration the ramifications of what they are demanding. It is time to put a stop to the unelected bureaucrats.

We have the ability to become energy independent, but the rule makers have stopped oil, gas, and coal production. Granted some of these products do cause air pollution, but I believe that the technology available in this country can solve these objections.

The leadership of our country, both Republican and Democrat, have caused us to not be competitive in the world market place. It seems that Washington has lost sight of how to stimulate this economy. We need Citizenship Contribution. Think back on What John Kennedy said in his inaugural address. He said “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”

We need a leader who will set achievable goals, not put in rules for us to follow. I believe that we have to consider each and every person running for office this year and make an informed and intelligent vote on election day.

It is time for us to reign in the people in Washington. The government has taken many small steps to control our economy and us. Each of these steps have seemed to not matter, but they do. It is time to draw the line and tell Washington, no more! We do not need a new revolution, but we do need to put a stop to the destruction of our consitution. A ballot box revolution is the way to proceed.

Stan Elrod

Charlotte, NC

The Next Election

When the framers of The Constitution gathered to write The Constitution of the United States it was a group of men never before, or since, that wrote such a document.

They outlined the way our country should operate. They choose to have a representative form of government. The people were to elect citizens to serve the people. They outlined the separation of powers. No one branch was to outweigh another. They laid out rules of limited government. Government was to abide by those limits.

The framers of the Constitution signed it. It was an act of Treason! They intended to end the rule by the British and the King. They pledged to each other their lives and fortunes. In short, they put their lives in jeopardy.

We need a new reverence for this document as it is being trampled under foot. Those who disregard these founding principals, I believe are doing so because they think it is right. I could not disagree with them more. There are those in congress who call this a “living document” to be changed to meet today’s problems. Obama seems to want to lead us toward a European form of socialism and some in congress agree with him.

I would point out that this has not worked in Europe and it will not work here. Look at France as an example. They are on their 5^th. Republic. We are on our First.

Obama, and every member of congress has sworn to up hold the Constitution. This was the Oath that they took, yet many seem to ignore the oath. The present debate is about the over reach of government. Look at what Congress has forced upon us. Obama Care, the stimulus, financial regulation, and energy controls. No where in the Constitution do they have the right to do any of this.

Our form of government is constrained by the Constitution and government has ignored it. Obama Care is at the heart of Constitutional illegitimacy. It forces all people to be covered by insurance. This is wrong! No where in the Constitution does the government have the right to require the purchase of any product, insurance included.

There are only two ways to get rid of this terrible piece of legislation. It can be rebuked by the courts. Progress is being made in this direction. The other way is for it to be rebuked at the polls.

Obama is going to force socialized medicine on us if we don’t take action. He is out to change America.

It seems that there is a good possibility that men, and women, of reason can win the Senate at the next election. The odds are in favor of the Republicans. There are 23 Democratic seats up for election and 10 Republican seats. Do I encourage you to vote only for Republicans? No! We need people on both sides of Congress who will read and study the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. We need people who will take those documents to heart and use them as their basis of each and every vote that comes up.

This election in 2012 is vital. That has been said at almost every election, but it has never been as true as this time. We must put people in office who will follow the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. We need people who will stand up for this country. The “American Experiment” must not falter. We need to take a hard look at every candidate and pick the one that can best serve out country.

Stan Elrod

Charlotte, NC

Advice for Republicans

There does not seem to be a front runner for the Republican nomination at this point. I would advise them to consider this:

When a clear winner seems to be emergining, take some positive steps to unite the ticket. This most likely can not happen until after the early primaries. When a clear leader emerges, that person should reach out to the other candidates. He, or she, should talk to the others in the race and ask them to be a part of their administration.

If Herman Cain is not the front runner, he should be asked to run as Vice President. This would defuse the race issue. I hate to admit it, but I believe a large number of African Americans will vote for Obama because of his race. With Cain on the ballot they may be comfortable voting for the Republican Ticket.

Others in the race are intelligent people. I believe that Michele Backmann and Ron Paul should be part of the administration. If the leader were to recruit some of these people, and announce that they have agreed to be part of a New Administration I think they will win.

With these divergent ideas about government cabinet meetings might bring forth divergent views. This is good! I don’t think a good leader wants people who are “yes men” as his advisors.

Of course none of this can happen yet, but I believe this would be a very smart move. It could unite the Nation to get behind a winning ticket.

Stan Elrod

Charlotte, NC

Why Has Obama been unsuccessful?

The answer is simple. The problem is the fault of the Republicans, Big Oil, The Wealthy and their corporate jets, and let’s not forget George Bush.

Why has he insisted on passing, and signing The Affordable Care Act, and then give over 1,400 waivers to the bill. No one can make a case that this bill will reduce health care cost. It only adds more people, at government expense, and adds 16,000 IRS agents to enforce it. When Thomas Edison repeatly came up short in his quest to create a working light bulb, he contended that he had not failed, but rather found 10,000 ways that did not work. In his quest to fix the economy, Obama has found one way that does not work and seems to be determined to try it 10,000 times.

It will be interesting to see Obama’s plan that he will outline on Thursday night. I do not hold out much hope that he will make any changes that will correct our problems.

I would suggest that he propose some of these to solve the problem:

Get off the back of “Big Oil” and encourage drilling here at home to solve our energy needs, and create jobs.

Take a firm stand with China. Make them stop manipulating their currency to give them an unfair edge in global trade, and create jobs.

Stop most of the Foreign Aid. As an example, we are building schools in Afghanistan and they blow them up as soon as they are built. We can not get schools built here at home! Build at home and create jobs.

Stop illegal immigration. Obama seems determined to give those here illegally the right to stay here and vote. Can anyone fail to see this is a ploy to gain votes for his reelection. He has opposed the Arizona law to deport illegal’s.

He is opposed to the Boeing Plant in Charleston to appease his Union Supporters. He seems to be more interested in Organized Labor than jobs. If he is successful in this endeavor, I would not blame Boeing for moving the operation overseas. Of course that would only decrease our economy and jobs.

Can Obama not see that almost everything he has tried since he took office has failed. Unemployment is at 9.1% and that is only the tip of the iceberg. This does not include those working part time because they cannot get full time employment. I hope he will have some fresh ideas for his address to Congress on Thursday. If he does not, we may be set for a double dip recession.

Stan Elrod,

Charlotte, NC

THERE IS NO AUGUST 2 DEADLINE!

There is no August 2 deadline for economic disaster if the debt ceiling is not raised by that date. That date was taken out of thin air by Treasury Secretary Tim Geitner. There is no accounting data that anyone can point to support his claim.

Obama threatens to not pay the military and senior citizens. This is all a threat and not true. The government still has income. Have you paid your taxes this year? Of course you have and who collects that tax? The federal government. They are only trying to frighten us to go along with them to spend more money. The latest income numbers estimate that the government expects to take in about $173 Billion in August. The interest on the debt is about $29 Billion. We can pay our bills! It is just that the Democrats, and Congress, will not be able to spend everything they want. What does every household in the country do when the money runs out? Cut spending.

‘It is the Republicans fault and we should blame George Bush.’ The truth is that it has been Obama that has forced the government to borrow more money in the past two years than any other president did in the prior eight years.

It is the responsibility of the President to present a budget every year. He has not been able to pass a budget in over a year. There is a law, Section 7 of public law 95-435, that states “Beginning with fiscal year 1981, the total budget outlays of the Federal Government shall not exceed it’s receipts.” It has been the law of the land and has not been repealed. Of course it has not been obeyed either.

Obama keeps harping on needing to tax the rich. He insist that “Congress has run up the credit card”. It is Obama that has insisted on all this spending. The government bean counters say that if the debt ceiling is not raised, we will not be able to pay 44% of our bills next month. That would be great! We would have to cut spending because they do not have the funds. Look at all the expenses of the government and cut a great deal of them. What would happen if we cut the Energy Department, Commerce Department, Interior Department, and others? I would think that we would soon realize that we can get along without them. Get out of the way and let the American people do what they do best, out produce the rest of the world.

If the bloated bureaucracy were to shut down, what would happen? Ask some of our “old-timers” what happened after World War II. We had millions of soldiers returning home. We had been making supplies for the war and we had to change. These people turned their attention to making consumer goods and the nation was prosperous for decades. The same would happen today if the bureaucracy was drastically reduced.

All that Obama, and most of the Democrats, are interested in is to kick this spending issue down the road until after the elections. This is pure politics and not for the good of the country. Next they resist a solution to postpone the decision until December with the argument that it will spoil Christmas.

Obama is not a leader! We need to work to replace him next November. We can not afford to have him in control for another four years. Without the pressure of reelection, he will take this nation down the road to destruction. We should let our leaders know that they need to draw the line on spending. Stand up for what is best for the country and stop the spending binge.

PRAY FOR AMERICA!