Why Don't They Get It?

Here's a great example of the ego-centric "me" projecting my reasons to people around me.

I hear commentators spanning the political spectrum analyzing why people (like me) went to tea parties on 15 April 09. They discuss the outrage expressed by people (like me) over the first stimulus package. Others (like me) were angered with the bailouts given to large companies in America. Pundits banter about people (like me) who rage over the healthcare "reforms" that are proposed.

The consensus seems to be split. One group believes that these groups of people are "astroturf". That we are a fabrication of some corporate/rightwing/naziesque/fringe entity. That is wrong. The other group believes that we are "Republicans" who are finally voicing our support for the Republican Party. That is wrong, too.

I know I cannot speak for others, but I will tell you why I am getting involved.

I grew up believing that the United States of America was a fundamentally good country. I believed that its leaders wanted the best for the people and that they would act in defense of the principles of the Constitution. I thought that if I worked hard I could succeed and that if I did not want to work hard enough I would be allowed, likewise, to fail. I thought that if I met with ruin I would have a chance to rebuild. I thought that if I had an idea, a thought or a belief I could hold it and express it without fear and without reprisal. I thought that we Americans were a free and independent people who shared a vision of opportunity.

I have learned that there is a significant portion of Americans who are content to surrender freedom and independence in exchange for some sense of security. I have learned that there are beliefs, thoughts and ideas that are "politically incorrect". That is not to say that they are bad or antisocial, but expressing them often leads to derrision and social isolation. I have learned that if some Americans meet with financial or other ruin they expect the government to support them in perpetuity. And in many cases the government will do just that. I have learned that there are some in government and others in the population who support them who, regardless of the input or the outcome of my efforts, would not allow me to fail, but would force me to attain some level of mediocrity in housing, in healthcare, in education. I have learned that there are some - and I say now, "many" - in government whose efforts are not expended in the interest of the country. They would compromise the liberty of their constituents and national security in an effort to curry favor with special interests and large financial contributors.

But at the root of it all still stands the Constitution of the United States of America. It is still good. The principles of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are still sound. The ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence are still ideals.

That is why I attended my local tea party. That is why I have been calling my representatives in Congress and in the state legislature to express my views.

I am disgusted by the mealymouthed Republican Party. I am repulsed by the radical leftleaning Democrat Party. I am terrified that both of their policies lead to the same place: An increasingly powerful federal government and further restriction of individual liberties. One claims to lead in the interest of Security. The other claims to lead in the interest of Equality. Both will lead us to Slavery.

But no one gets it.

I, for one, am mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!

This is not a Republican v. Democrat thing. This is not a Right v. Left thing. This is not a Religious v. Atheist thing.

This is nothing but a Libery v. Tyranny thing!

That is the line in the sand. Those who favor individual liberty and believe that man has a natural right to his liberty must gather to oppose those who believe that man has no inherent rights and that the State gives or takes rights as it seems appropriate to the State to do.

Which side are you on?

Then lay aside your petty "politics" and join us in fighting to save all of our liberties. You need to understand that we are fighting to preserve your right to have a homosexual relationship as avidly as we are fighting to preserve our right to have a heterosexual "marriage". We are working as hard to ensure your right to oppose wars as we are to ensure our right to live without fear. We are struggling to provide you relief from poverty as well as to allow us to retain the just fruits of our labors.

It's not about parties or politics, this is about people and preserving possibilities.

Why Did We See Tea Parties in April?

So many people in society and in the media - even rightwing pundits - missed the point of the April 15th Tea Parties that happened virtually spontaneously across the country this year.

The issue was not high taxes.

The issue was a government that is running out of control. It was spending more than taxpayers can possibly pay. It was elected officials who are completely disconnected from reality.

There is no real representation in Congress. Surely we elect these people, but they are as self-interested as the next person. When they have the chance, they use their power and their station to benefit themselves and their families.

This article from today's Wall Street Journal illustrates part of the madness that is running our government.

Congress's Travel Tab Swells
Spending on Taxpayer-Funded Trips Rises
Tenfold; From Italy to the Galápagos
By BRODY
MULLINS and T.W.
FARNAM
WASHINGTON -- Spending by lawmakers on taxpayer-financed trips abroad has risen sharply in recent years, a Wall Street Journal analysis of travel records shows, involving everything from war-zone visits to trips to exotic spots such as the Galápagos Islands.

The spending on overseas travel is up almost tenfold since 1995, and has nearly tripled since 2001, according to the Journal analysis of 60,000 travel records. Hundreds of lawmakers traveled overseas in 2008 at a cost of about $13 million. That's a 50% jump since Democrats took control of Congress two years ago.

The cost of so-called congressional delegations, known among lawmakers as "codels," has risen nearly 70% since 2005, when an influence-peddling scandal led to a ban on travel funded by lobbyists, according to the data.

Lawmakers say that the trips are a good use of government funds because they allow members of Congress and their staff members to learn more about the world, inspect U.S. assets abroad and forge better working relationships with each other. The travel, for example,includes official visits to American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Journal analysis, based on information published in the Congressional Record,
also shows that taxpayer-funded travel is a big and growing perk for lawmakers and their families. Some members of Congress have complained in recent months about chief executives of bailed-out banks, insurance companies and car makers who sponsored corporate trips to resorts or used corporate jets for their own travel.

Although complete travel records aren't yet available for 2009, it appears that such costs continue to rise. The Journal analysis shows that the government has picked up the tab for travel to destinations such as Jamaica, the Virgin Islands and Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

Lawmakers frequently bring along spouses on congressional trips. If they take commercial flights, they have to buy tickets for spouses. If they fly on government planes -- as they usually do -- their spouses can fly free.

Paris Air Show
In mid-June, Sen. Daniel Inouye (D., Hawaii) led a group of a half-dozen senators and their spouses on a four-day trip to France for the biennial Paris Air Show. An itinerary for the event shows that lawmakers flew on the Air Force's version of the Boeing 737, which costs $5,700 an hour to operate. They stayed at the Intercontinental Paris Le Grand Hotel, which advertises rooms from $460 a night.
The lawmakers were invited to a dinner party at the U.S. Embassy and had cocktails at a private party at the Eiffel Tower. Mr. Inouye attended a dinner sponsored by the
Aerospace Industries Association, a U.S. trade group. Another senator on the trip, Alabama Republican Sen. Richard Shelby, took a cruise on the River Seine with defense-industry executives and elected officials from Alabama, Mississippi and Florida.

Mr. Inouye and Mr. Shelby declined to comment.

Often,lawmakers combine trips to war zones with visits to more tranquil spots. In
February, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi led a delegation of Democratic lawmakers to
visit U.S. troops in Afghanistan for a day. Before landing in Kabul, the eight
lawmakers and their entourage of spouses and aides spent eight days in Italy,
spending $57,697 on hotels and meals.

A spokesman for Ms. Pelosi says that she was working in Italy, meeting with U.S. troops at Aviano Air Base, laying a wreath at the Florence American Cemetery, giving a speech to Italian lawmakers and visiting the Pope, among other things.

Homeland Security
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D., Miss.), the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, led a group to Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Panama. "This trip further solidified the message that homeland security does not begin or end at our borders," says Mr. Thompson's spokeswoman.

Many congressional trips have been to Iraq or Afghanistan. In 2008, lawmakers and aides took 113 trips to Iraq, according to the Journal analysis, down slightly from the prior year. Not much money is spent in the war zones. Lawmakers are not allowed to stay overnight in Iraq and receive only minimal spending allowances for their one-day visits.

In mid-February, for example, six House lawmakers traveled to Kuwait, Iraq, Bahrain
and Afghanistan. Each lawmaker reported spending $1,500 on hotels and meals in Kuwait, $400 in Bahrain, and $25 in Afghanistan. They reported no expenses in Iraq.

Scores of lawmakers are spending this week abroad on taxpayer-funded trips.

Congressional offices say they won't release details of the trips for security reasons. Disclosure rules require lawmakers to print some information about their taxpayer-funded travel in the Congressional Record within 30 days of returning home.

Congressional Fleet
The congressional trips are possible thanks in part to an unlimited fund created by a three-decade old law. Nearly two dozen government officials work full-time organizing the trips. Much of the costs are not made public, including the cost of flying on government jets. The Air Force maintains a fleet of 16 passenger planes for use by lawmakers.

Documents obtained by the Journal show that the cost of flying a small group of lawmakers to the Middle East is about $150,000. Larger trips on the Air Force's version of the Boeing 757 cost about $12,000 an hour. Two federal agencies pay for most of the travel -- the Defense Department and the State Department.

Exotic Locales
In October, Rep. Bud Cramer (R.,Ala.) spent two weeks in Europe on government business. Reports show that Mr.Cramer spent $5,700 on hotels, meals and incidentals. Mr. Cramer wasn't running for re-election and left office just two months later.
"Knowing that I was leaving with my 18 years of seniority, I wanted to conclude some issues that I was working on," Mr. Cramer said.

He now works for a lobbying firm in Washington.

Some of the most expensive travel is to exotic locales. Last summer, Rep. Brian Baird (D., Wash.) took a four-day trip to the Galápagos Islands with his wife, four other lawmakers and their family members. The lawmakers spent $22,000 on meals and hotels, records show. Mr. Baird, a member of the House Science Committee, said the trip was to learn about global warming.

On the first day, lawmakers toured a breeding center for giant tortoise and land iguanas before dining with scientists, according to an itinerary for the trip. The next morning, lawmakers headed to the Galápagos National Park while their family members had the option of hiking, swimming or shopping. That afternoon, the group boarded a boat to visit a sea-lion colony and search for white-tip sharks.

Mr. Baird didn't respond to a request for comment.
Write to Brody Mullins at brody.mullins@wsj.com and T.W. Farnam at timothy.farnam@wsj.com