Tea party and the rise of the right

Samuel Adams was the original Boston Tea Party ringleader. Mr. Adams (the same who has a brewery named for him) believed he needed only "an irate, tireless minority" to prevail.

Are you irate and a part of the tireless minority? If so then you most likely lean to the right with regards to political thought. Based on political ideology it is almost impossible for a Democrat to be considered a player in the Tea Party. Why?

Democrats dream of bipartisanship and a world in which everyone plays nicely. If this were the case then China, India, Mexico, Brazil, Russia, North Korea, etc. would all be in attendance having afternoon tea. Do you really think they have an interest in having a cup of tea with the United States? Did the King of England invite the colonist to afternoon tea to discuss bipartisanship?

Grassroots are sprouting in the United States and neither Democratic or Republican members of Congress have been invited to the Tea Party gathering. Many are trying their best to gain an invite; however, invitations are like Super Bowl tickets they are hard to come by.

John Stewart's "Rally to Restore Sanity" was an attempt to form a Tea Party for our friends from the left, but it was a failure in its attempt to make the "Magic Middle" theory work. The "Magic Middle" theory belongs to one other than I. Please forgive me, but I have been unable to find the individual to who I should pay credit.

It is true that policy decisions are driven by people who show up and thus Tea Party players have decided to show up for tea. Over the last forty years American politics has seen the rise of the right more so than a rise of the left. More red than blue, and it appears with the latest Census figures even more red is upon the drawing board when election boundaries are redrawn in the near future. Forget Democrats and Republicans perhaps you should be looking for the next available seat at the Tea Party. Better yet, Mr. Adams may offer you a sample of his special blend.

Odds and ends

In a recent poll reported on one of the 24 hour news shows it was reported that 54% of Americans say government programs don't help their families. That leaves 46% receiving assistance in some form.

Reconcile that statement with portion of American families that received federal benefits in the past two years is at 7 out of 10. Unless I mis-figured this is 70%.

$224,712.00 is the amount the state of California spent last year on each minor in its juvenile-detention system. The amount spent on each student in the Oakland public school system was $4,945.00. Wonder if the juvenile in detention learned anything?

Dreaming

It is 3:30 AM and not being able to sleep I decided to contemplate on the Dream Act..............

Perhaps most if not all have read a little about the Dream Act since the lame duck Congress decided to take up the issue before terms ended this month. What thoughts do you have with regards to the Dream Act? Don't want to say I am soft, but I also don't want to admit I fail to see the oppositions point of view. One should always enter life each day with an open mind in order to allow for learning.

Many many years ago our Founding Fathers did their best to establish a country ruled in a God-fearing way by representatives of the people. Newcomers from other countries who were willing to be governed by its Constitution and Bill of Rights were welcomed. Over the years, people risked their lives to enter and they came in droves legally. The issue before us today concerns those who came in droves illegally. Now, the divergence of political thinking is causing much turmoil and confusion for the populace.

Yes it is true that many of the children the Dream Act addresses are here without fault of their own. And it is true our system failed to check their tickets before they boarded the bus along with sticking it's head in the sand once they arrived. Fault in some way seems to rest with many.

Is it reasonable to deport an individual that was acclimated here as a young child and completed his or her education within our system with great success? This is a tough question to answer. I agree with NO AMNESTY, and that we owe nothing for their illegal entry. However, there must be another way for those already here who are not criminals, have something to offer that we need, and willing to be governed by our Constitution and Bill of Rights, etc. to achieve the dream they have been living and to continue living that dream in a legal manner. The Dream Act in its present form is not acceptable; however, I believe common ground can be found that all can happily live with and afford the continued dream for many.

Noah today

Sure many have seen this floating around, but it is worth a thought!

In the year 2008, the Lord came unto Noah, who was now living in England and said:

"Once again, the earth has become wicked and over populated, and I see the end of all flesh before me. Build another ark and save two of every living thing along with a few good humans."

He gave Noah the blueprints, saying: "You have six months to build the ark before I will start the unending rain for 40 days and 40 nights."

Six months pass, the Lord looked down and saw Noah weeping in his yard and there was no ark. "Noah! He roared, I'm about to start the rain! Where is the ark?"

Forgive me, Lord, begged Noah, but things have changed.

I NEED A BUILDING PERMIT.

I've been arguing with the boat inspector about the need for a sprinkler system. My neighbors claim that I've violated the neighbourhood By-Laws by building the ark in my backyard and exceeding the height limitations. We had to go to the local planning committee for a decision. Then the local council and electricity company demanded a shed load of money for the future costs of moving power lines and other overhead obstructions, to clear the passage for the ark move to the sea. I told them that the sea would be coming to us, but they would hear nothing of it. Getting the wood was another problem. There's a ban on cutting local trees in order to save the Greater Spotted Barn Owl. I tried to convince the environmentalists that I needed the wood to save the owls - but it was a no go!.

When I started gathering the animals the RSPCA took me to court. They insisted that I was confining wild animals against their will. They argued the accommodations were too restrictive, and it was cruel and inhumane to put so many animals in a confined space.

Then the Environmental Agency ruled that I couldn't build the ark until they'd conducted an environmental impact study on your proposed flood. I'm still trying to resolve a complaint with the Human Rights Commission on how many minorities I'm supposed to hire for my building crew. Immigration is checking the visa status of most of the people who want to work. The trade unions say I can't use my sons. They insist I have to hire only union workers with ark building experience. To make matters worse, the Inland Revenue seized all my assets, claiming I'm trying to leave the country illegally with endangered species.

Forgive me, Lord, however, it appears it will take at least ten years for me to finish the ark. Suddenly the skies cleared, the sun began to shine, and a rainbow stretched across the sky.

Noah looked up in wonder and asked, "you mean you're not going to destroy the world?"

"No," said the Lord.

"It appears the Government beat me to it."

Fund balance

Based upon stories read in the local rag it appears the PISD is trying to rid the money it saved for a rainy day via the fund balance. The rainy day may take place after the state legislature finalizes the 2011-2014 budgets. It appears that nothing will be spared when the gathering takes place in Austin in January.

If the big metro rags are reporting correctly it appears Texas will have 22,000 less teachers on the payroll in future budget years and school consolidation will be on the table as a cost saving idea. One would be willing to bet school administration personnel will be fighting this idea. Don't really look for school consolidation to happen; however, it could make for some interesting debate.

Numbers and trends

The number of those aged 18 to 34 living with parents increased by 2.2 million from 2005 to 2009, reaching 20.3 million, the highest number in 25-plus years, according to the Census Bureau.

Home ownership fell to 66.9% which is down 1.6% since the beginning of 2006 and it is projected to keep falling. 1.6% translates to 3.4 million households!

Immigrant renters whose population growth has grown excessively since 2006 will help shape the next decade with regards to housing households.

Generation Y - those between the ages of 18 and 34 total approximately 77.4 million and this is larger than the baby boomers, which number about 76.2 million.

Generation Y stays in what demographers call 'emerging adulthood' for longer periods of time than its predecessors.

For the first time in more than a century, more than half of those aged 25 to 34 have never been married, according to the Council on Contemporary Families.

Birth rates continue to trend downward according to the U.S. Census.

Another trend indicates that more families are taking in older relatives into their households.

Vast majority of seniors prefer to age in place.

There are many more multi-generational households today than at any time in the past 60 years, a trend driven by immigration.

Minority households aged 35 to 44 had an average of 3.2 people per household compared to 2.6 for whites. Average number of children per minority household is 1.1, versus just 0.6 per white household. These numbers are from the Harvard Joint Center.

It appears immigration will drive future population growth here in the United States.

Jefferson's philosophy on debt

Jefferson attained his philosophy on debt 'first hand' through life and the experience of daily living. Through Martha (wife) he inherited some 11,000 acres of land and 135 slaves. This added to the 5,000 acres and 50 slaves that he inherited from the death of his mother. The 16,000 acres made Jefferson one the largest landowners in Virginia.

The property he inherited from his wife came with 'baggage' called debt. His father-in-law's was asset rich and cash poor. Due to the debt associated with the estate of his dear wife - by the end of his life, he would be over $100,000 in the hole. The debts enraged Jefferson. Indebtedness threatened him with loss of control, and the fear associated with such debt played heavy on Jefferson. He was humiliated at the thought of bowing the knee to creditors, money lenders, merchants who ran a tab on his behalf, and importers who supplied his needs.

In Jefferson's mind, only a nation of those who owned enough property to support themselves without dependence could really create a republic. Due to life experiences Jefferson despised debt. This belief caused Jefferson conflict with his chosen party the Federalists. Thus the formation of the Democratic-Republicans, led by Jefferson and Madison. Elected president in 1800 the Democratic Jeffersonian ideas about debt were applied to our nation based upon Jefferson's history with his own problems associated with indebtedness.

Wonder what opinions Jefferson would have to day? Most likely he would experience a migraine!

Conservative supporters need your help

More than 5,300 Texans have now signed a letter calling on members of the Texas House to elect a conservative as the state's third-ranking constitutional officer!

The signatories include 132 tea party organizers, Republican leaders and conservative movement activists, and more than 5,200 individual Texans. They come from all regions of the state, and are united in wanting the Texas House led by a conservative.

If you fill the need to participate then access and sign the letter:

http://conservativespeakermandate.com/

Pencils, pens, and crayons

1/3 of all pencils, pens, and crayons sold last year were manufactured in China.

On the positive side that means 2/3 of production was in lesser developed countries for no production is believe to have take place in the United States of such items.