The Government Can

'Cause I may or may not be feeling a little ornery right now. Is that allowed on Sundays?

Perhaps disillusioned might be better. But then again that would mean that at some point, I was under the illusion and that's not right either.

Frustrated? Alarmed? A bit riled? I guess it really doesn't matter, this still sums it up.

The Government Can by Tim Hawkins

Foul Play - A Call For Action

At risk of being completely ineloquent (versus only slightly), urgency pushes me to rush this post.

America needs to be concerned. Christians need to rise up and find their voice. We are being hoodwinked.

This stimulus package is outrageous. And as outrageous as it is, I do not understand why we are not coming together to fight it. The speed at which they are trying to pass this thing should be a red flag to all of us.

Find a news source you trust (if there is one) and get informed. 'Cause honey, there's a whole lot more to this so called "stimulus" package than what they want us to know. I talked a little bit about it here, but I'm fired up again. After not interceding for our country and its leaders, the worst thing we could do is passively lay aside and watch this happen. So, if you haven't contacted your representative or senators yet, consider the following on just a few topics...

One of the more disturbing items hidden within the ginormously long bill will move our country toward national health care. Okay, you thought waiting 30 minutes in a waiting room was bad, try 3 hours.

You will now also have the privilege of letting the government decide if it is cost effective for you (your parents, your children) to receive medical treatment or if you should pass on medication and treatment and learn to accept your illness and fate. Specifically for our older generation, it will be compared to their anticipated life expectancy. I have also heard that they plan to digitize all medical records into a federal database for governmental access, but I haven't found a good source to double check this one yet.

Also disturbing is the fact that it would have the Census Bureau report directly to the President. Um, hello, can we just say redistrict much? The census is used to determine congressional districts. Why would we give any president that kind of power?

The stimulus package has a lot of ridiculous allotments for renovation in it, but it also includes verbage that bans universities and colleges from using this money to renovate buildings where students engage in "religious worship." This basically would keep groups like Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Campus Crusade for Christ, etc., from being able to use the buildings that have been renovated.

And let's talk about wasteful spending for another minute (which could easily be turned into an hour), because $650 million dollars has been allocated to make the switch from analog to digital TV. Of which, $90 million is set aside to "educate vulnerable persons" about their need to purchase a converter.

If this doesn't concern you, I don't know what will. I'm adding links to make it super easy for you to just take 5 minutes and send an e-mail to ask your representative and senators to vote against this. The phone number to reach all three is 202-224-3121. It is simple, but is one way to make your voice heard. It's your responsibility. It's your right.

Have You Heard About H.R. 1?

Please note, I'm going to get a little "political" here and I'm not making any apologies. (If I've made an error, please feel free to discuss it with me, just be nice. I only look tough and intimidating.)

So there's lots of talk surrounding the CPSIA and its ignorantly broad wording (go here for a decent overview of it). Lead stinks. No I don't want my kids ingesting it, but I also don't want them to choke on food, so perhaps we should pass some new legislation testing every morsel of food for choking hazard potential. Pudding will never be the same. Ridiculous right? That's my point. Come on, Washington...

Anyway, that's not what this post is about.

Have you heard about H.R.1 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 that just passed the House? Unbelievable. If I understand this correctly...

At first I was just outraged that this bill would raise taxes for my grandchildren. No, you read that right...my grandchildren. We are going to fix our economy by dumping more debt onto our grandchildren's shoulders. Nice. Surely I can't be the only one who thinks this is wrong? Shall I even go as far to say morally unacceptable? Aye carumba.

Upon further investigation, you will discover a myriad of noteworthy ways "we" are going to create all these jobs to stimulate our economy. Here are some fine examples I've borrowed from The Family Research Council and American Family Association:

• $3 Billion for Prevention & Wellness Programs, Including $335 million for STD Education and Prevention -- Recent government expenditures in this area include a transgender beauty pageant in San Francisco that advertised available HIV testing and an event called “Got Love? – Flirt/Date/Score” that taught participants how “to flirt with greater finesse.”


• The bill provides billions in reforming the health care system and working towards nationalized health care – with little to no debate.


• $25 million to rehabilitate off-roading (ATV) trails (Pg. 45 of Senate Appropriations Committee report: "$25,000,000 is for recreation maintenance, especially for rehabilitation of off-road vehicle routes, and $20,000,000 is for trail maintenance and restoration")


• $34 million to remodel the Department of Commerce HQ (Pg. 15 of Senate Appropriations Committee report: $34,000,000 for the Department of Commerce renovation and modernization")


• $400 million for NASA scientists to conduct climate change research

Just to name a few.

Please consider contacting your Senators asking them to vote against H.R. 1. It's not just our future that depends on it.