Grandma's mantle clock

My sister runs an Etsy shop, selling glassware and other items.  I saw on Facebook that she had posted to the blog she and her Etsy partner write, and found a couple of wonderful entries that brought back memories of our great grandmother.  The blog posts talked about restoring an old hoosier cabinet that had once belonged to “Grandma,” and I immediately felt some of the same feelings my sister Mary (or Janie, to family) described.

As she related memories of this kind and loving woman that are stirred when she looks at the Hoosier, I realized they are some of the same things I think of every time I wind the old mantle clock that once sat in Grandma’s dining room, and now sits in my dining room (coincidentally, on top of a hutch that once belonged to my wife’s grandmother).  When we made our regular visits to Grandma’s house, that clock would mark the time with it’s “tick, tock” and strike every half hour.  To the right, you’ll see a quick snapshot of that old clock.

I sit here now, late at night, listening to that clock ticking away while the rest of the house sleeps.  Maybe one day, my great-grandchildren will listen to the same clock.

From the same announcement is a discussion of “Revenue Increases” that might find support from the GOP.

Followed by a simple explanation of why this all requires an amendment to the Constitution–it’s the only way to bind the deal on future Congresses.

And finally, a response to the ridiculous idea that the 14th amendment allows the president to incur additional debt not authorized by Congress.

Take a couple minutes to watch the videos.  See if you don’t agree.  If you do, then share these videos and call your senators and representative to urge them to support the approach.

Update: Here is the link from Senator Lee’s senate web page.

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From Gary Bauer, on July 7:

Yesterday President Obama held the first Twitter town hall event, answering questions from Twitter users all over the country. Fortunately for the president, he did not have to limit his responses to 140 characters.

Speaker John Boehner asked a very simple question that has been on the minds of many Americans for some time: “After embarking on a record spending binge that’s left us deeper in debt, where are the jobs?”

The Wall Street Journal reports that it took the president 3,044 characters, the equivalent of 22 Tweets, to say job growth has been insufficient.

Why am I not surprised?

Related articles

• Obama holds ‘Twitter town hall’ (guardian.co.uk)
• Commander-in-Tweet: Obama answers voters’ questions in Twitter town hall (windsorstar.com)
• #AskObama: Today’s Twitter Townhall (michellemalkin.com)

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Unfortunately we often refer to day as “The Fourth of July” and forget why today is a holiday.  I am trying, and I suggest everyone also try, to call today “Independence Day.”  After all we don’t say “February 14th”–we say Valentine’s Day.  We don’t even say “The First of January” even though that one IS significant.

Instead, we should remember just what makes today important.  It’s the day we remember and celebrate declaring our independence as a country–July 4, 1776.  To forget our country’s heritage put’s us in danger of losing what makes our country great!

So I wish everyone an happy Independence Day, but more importantly, a day of remembering our great country!

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One of my favorite talk radio shows is Christian Worldview Today, with host Tony Beam.  Frequently, when Tony is leading into a story about someone taking a stand instead of caving, he has a “Real Man Update” and plays a clip of Reba McEntire singing “I Want A Cowboy”.  I’m taking a page from his book and having a Real Man story.

That Real Man is Paul Clement.  He was a member of the law firm King & Spalding until yesterday.  King & Spalding had been retained by the US House of Representatives to defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), but caved to pressure from gay rights groups and withdrew their representation.  Clement left King & Spalding to move to another firm so he can continue to represent the House in this action.  Clement, showing his spine, said in his resignation letter, that

“a representation should not be abandoned because the client’s legal position is extremely unpopular in certain quarters.  Defending unpopular positions is what lawyers do.”

He also quoted a former partner at King & Spalding in saying

“You are not required to take every matter that is presented to you, but having assumed a representation, it becomes your duty to finish the representation.”

(Full PDF courtesy of The blog of LegalTimes.)

That, my friends, is a Real Man!

• Sen. Jim DeMint (SC)
• Sen. Mike Lee (UT)
• Rep. Scott Tipton (CO)
• Rep. Dennis Ross (FL)
• Rep. Justin Amash (MI)
• Rep. Tim Wahlberg (MI)
• Rep. Jeff Duncan (SC)

Good job, gentlemen!

Marco Rubio

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This past week another continuing resolution was passed, providing funds for the (non-essential functions of the) federal government to keep operating for three more weeks.  The Republican leadership is proud of the fact that it included $6 billion in budget cuts.  Granted, if you extend this over a 52 week period, it would be more than the $100 billion they promised to cut in the first year’s budget.  A hundred billion dollars sounds great, but there is reality to consider.

First of all, think about it in perspective.  As Marco Rubio pointed out, our country borrows $4 billion every day.  So this resolution only eliminated 36 hours of debt.  Including our useless “stimulus” programs, our country is on track to spend $3.6 trillion this fiscal year, or approximately $10 billion per day.  A 3 week extension at these rates will spend $210 billion, $84 billion of which is borrowed.  So they think they’re hot stuff because they’re only going to spend $204 billion?  Big deal!  Doesn’t sound so impressive, now, does it?

The Heritage Foundation is always a source of good insight.  A letter from the CEO of their PAC, Michael Needham, pointed out that this will extend things long enough that this year’s budget and next year’s start to be blurred together.  This confusion is just what the Democrats want.  They’ll then have more bargaining power.  We shouldn’t let it get that far.  Rep. Mike Pence said a couple weeks ago, “It’s time to pick a fight.“  He’s absolutely right.  If we keep caving on the small issues, there’s no reason for the Democrats to think we will stand our ground on the big items.

I was happy to see that most of the South Carolina delegation voted against the resolution, House Joint Resolution 48.  In the Senate, Jim DeMint voted no, while Sen. Lindsey Graham was unsurprisingly a yes.  On the House side, DeMint was joined on the “no” side by Representatives Joe Wilson, Jeff Duncan, Trey Gowdy, and Mick Mulvaney.  Somewhat surprisingly, Rep. Tim Scott voted yes.  To those who stood up to the leadership, I tip my hat.  Stick to your guns!

Found this list after hearing a couple of them mentioned.  What does it make you think of?  (Feel free to answer in the comments below.)

1.  You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
2.  You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
3.  You cannot help little men by tearing down big men.
4.  You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
5.  You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
6.  You cannot establish sound security on borrowed money.
7.  You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
8.  You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn.
9.  You cannot build character and courage by destroying men’s initiative and independence.
10.  You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they can and should do for themselves.

Senator Shane Massey, via EdgfieldDaily.com, et al:

“I’ve gotten to know them all over the past year, and I consider them all friends. But I get to vote for just one, and I intend to vote for Rep. Jeff Duncan.”

. . .

“We need Jeff’s brand of leadership and character in Washington.  I’m proud to support him for the 3rd Congressional District nomination, and I encourage others to do so, as well.”

Erick Erickson:

“I’m all in for this campaign. Duncan is a terrific candidate and true-blue through and through conservative.”

Senator Fred Thompson:

“In short, you can’t elect a leader more conservative than Jeff Duncan, and that’s exactly why South Carolina needs to send him to Washington.

“Please join me in supporting Jeff’s campaign for Congress with your vote, your voice, and your financial assistance.  I can assure you that even in these difficult economic times, your investment in Jeff’s campaign will leave a lasting impact on South Carolina and the nation for years to come.”

Conservatives of America:

“Jeff Duncan is no ‘Johnny Come Lately’ to the Conservative Movement,” said Bill Murphy, Founder of Conservatives of America.  Jeff has been on the frontline, fighting for conservative values and conservative causes in the South Carolina House of Representatives since 2003.  He has a strong track record of fighting for small business, for lower taxes, and for gun owner rights.  He will also bring a strong conservative, pro-business, no nonsense approach to energy matters in Washington, DC stemming from his experience as South Carolina’s representative on the Southern States Energy Board.  Based on what he’s already done over the years for the Conservative Movement, conservatives throughout South Carolina can take great pride in knowing that Jeff Duncan will be a strong conservative voice for them in Washington, DC.

Club for Growth:

“Jeff Duncan is the kind of pro-growth, fiscal reformer who would help change Congress the moment he is sworn into office,” said Club for Growth President Chris Chocola.  “He has an outstanding record in the South Carolina General Assembly, consistently voting to lower taxes, limit government, and expand individual liberty.  And even more impressive than Jeff’s record of service is his history of leadership on issues like spending reform and school choice, even when it meant standing up for principle against his own party leaders.”

. . .

“The choice for third-district Republicans is clear,” Chocola said.  “Jeff Duncan believes high taxes and big government are the problem, and Rex Rice thinks they are the solution.”

[Note--Duncan is currently one of only 11 candidates endorsed by Club for Growth, joining such respected conservative candidates as Senator Jim DeMint (SC) , Marco Rubio (FL), Pat Toomey (PA), and Senator T0m Coburn (OK).]

Independence Caucus:

“We here at the Independence Caucus are proud to announce our endorsement of this great and Principled Candidate for Congress in the State of South Carolina, Jeff Duncan.”

[Independence Caucus works to bring control of the government back to the people by removing the influence of special interest groups that have large donations.  It's members  value limited government, fiscal responsibility, and adherence to the Constitution.  A meticulous vetting process, utilizing a lengthy candidate questionnaire and an interview, is used to select candidates that have like values.  More information is available here.]