Of Course Socialized Medicine is Coming

All you have to do is look at the table below and it is not too big a stretch to lose hope that our Rally's are an exercise in futility if the only reason we are together is to stop Health Care Reform. Depression Government power grab and the Great Society occurred because there was no balance in our federal system. The last time the more progressive party has had total power they created what has become trillions in unfunded mandates that is now on the path to collapse. Is there little doubt with complete control of the federal government, Health Care Reform (Socialized Medicine) is coming?

Now, don't get a head of me and think I am saying Republicans should be in power more than 4 years in the last 75. It is the balance that is important. We simply were out of balance 38 years out of the last 75 which allowed spending programs and social engineering to flourish.

Year	Congress	President	Senate (100)	House (435)
2009	111th	D	D - 55***	D - 256
2007	110th	R	D - 51**	D - 233
2005	109th	R	R - 55	R - 232
2003	108th	R	R - 51	R - 229
2001	107th	R	D*	R - 221
1999	106th	D	R - 55	R - 223
1997	105th	D	R - 55	R - 228
1995	104th	D	R - 52	R - 230
1993	103rd	D	D - 57	D - 258
1991	102nd	R	D - 56	D - 267
1989	101st	R	D - 55	D - 260
1987	100th	R	D - 55	D - 258
1985	99th	R	R - 53	D - 253
1983	98th	R	R - 54	D - 269
1981	97th	R	R - 53	D - 242
1979	96th	D	D - 58	D - 277
1977	95th	D	D - 61	D - 292
1975	94th	R	D - 60	D -291
1973	93rd	R	D - 56	D - 242
1971	92nd	R	D - 54	D - 255
1969	91st	R	D - 57	D - 243
1967	90th	D	D - 64	D - 247
1965	89th	D	D - 68	D - 295
1963	88th	D	D - 66	D - 259
1961	87th	D	D - 64	D - 263
1959	86th	R	D - 65	D -283
1957	85th	R	D - 49	D - 232
1955	84th	R	D - 48	D - 232
1953	83rd	R	R - 48	D - 221
1951	82nd	D	D - 49	D - 235
1949	81st	D	D - 54	D - 263
1947	80th	D	R - 51	R - 246
1945	79th	D	D	D - 242
1943	78th	D	D	D
1941	77th	D	D	D
1939	76th	D	D	D
1937	75th	D	D	D
1935	74th	D	D	D
1933	73rd	D	D	D

We need to make this Tea Party a Revolution in order to break the monopoly of the megalomaniacs and progressives in our government. Our plan needs to focus on 4 goals

1) We need to influence our local schools and universities and make sure a balanced approach on History, Economics, and the Social Sciences is taught.

2) We need to inspire each other to develop the new media and break the strangle hold of the mainstream media that slants the news.

3) We need to find libertarians and conservatives to get involved in government, to choke the stranglehold progressives have (regardless of party).

4) Finally, we need to pass NEW CONSTITUTIONAL LIMITS on our federal government. Spending cap, term limits and banning institutional lobbying will bring about a new era of personal responsiblity and accountability in America.

Regardless what happens on health care or any other bill in the next two years, we need to be laser focused on the change that long term eliminates even the debate on these programs and institutions the government has built.

Solutions Always Start at Home

What personal life decisions do you NOT want to make?
What responsibilities do you NOT want to have?
What services do you NOT place any value on?
Which neighbors do you NOT want to help?
Which neighbors do you WANT to discriminate against?
Which neighbors do you WANT to give preferential treatment over you?
Which neighbors KNOW BETTER than you on how you should lead your life?

These questions must be asked and they must be PERSONAL. How else can we understand to the extent we need government. The problem is, many people do not answer the questions for themselves, but they answer them for other people. For example, "I would never discriminate against my neighbors, but "those people" discriminate." Or, "none of my neighbors should have a controlled advantage over me, but "WE" must help "those people" to get ahead." Or, "I know what is best for me, but "WE" need to help "those people" because they do can not help themselves."

The problem today is those that believe in social collectivism have taken the "I" out of the debate. They have attempted to make "I" a dirty word. "I" is selfish, greedy, unpatriotic. However, "I" is the only way we can help people understand the evil of social collectivism. Once the argument is changed from I to "them" or "we", it defers responsibility away from the individual so it is easier to discriminate, to give away power, to give up liberty.

When the questions become personal and about people you know, it becomes clearer about our personal responsibilities, our desire for liberty, and our need to be involved. Who wants to give up any of their own decision making? Who wants to avoid responsibility? Who truly places no value on services? Who thinks their neighbor is better equipped to run their own life than them self?

Please someone come forward and prove me wrong and say, "I do not want to decide what I eat, where I send my children to school, what car I buy." Or, "I want to discriminate against my neighbor, I know better how to run their life."

Yet, this is exactly what we are saying, by relinquishing power to government to allow others to control our lives and tell us who gets preferential treatment, who gets unfair burdens, what service are more important than others to us, and what we can and can not do with our lives.

The next time someone argues about the need for collective compassion, responsibility, or "improving" a system, turn the argument to a very personal one, by asking the questions above.

On the Health Care Reform bill ask, "should your neighbor decide your cancer treatment, or should you?" Should your younger neighbor have more availability to health care then you because of their social value?" The social collectivist might think they are smart by responding, "what if you neighbor is richer, should they have more health care available to them?" The answer is simple, "so then YOU DO WANT SAY OVER YOUR NEIGHBORS PERSONAL DECISIONS!" Therefore, you then DO WANT to give up YOUR right to personal health care decision because you want to for others.

The Key is once you admit wanting a say in other peoples lives, you are giving up a say in your own. The solution always starts at HOME.

A Response to a Response on Common Good

Someone, please enlighten me as to what exactly is the "common good"? Certainly, we should be able to agree on that. After all, they are "common", right? Health Care? Oops it seems over 1/2 the country disagrees with what the Dems and the 'President' want to do. How about Iraq, nope, better not go there. How about one that is actually in the constitution, the right to own guns, oops, seems some want to re-write that one. How about abortion, social security, cash for clunkers, stimulus package, welfare reform, the patriot act, government funding of Acorn? You see, there is no such thing as "common good". All of our founding fathers with the exception of Hamilton believed that the Federal Government did NOT have the power to promote any "common good" outside those specifically enumerated in the constitution. Our founding fathers knew, as do I, when you have a "common good" that others don't see as COMMON or GOOD, and you use the government to force that "COMMON GOOD" upon others, that is called OPPRESSION. And that is against our right to Liberty AND Property.

When your computer is infiltrated by a virus, you "reboot" to go back to a restore point before the virus. We have had over 100 years of progressive ideology transform our Constitutional Republic and Government. I used the issue of health care as an example about the fundamental philosophical differences between those that want to protect our Natural Laws, and those that impose tyranny on those that don't agree with the mandated "common good". Similar to our founding fathers, we are starting with corner protests, but our ideology of liberty will grow and prevail, because it is human nature to be free. Our movement is to re-connect people with the concept of individual liberty and personal responsibility. We all should strive to make a difference, but you don't petition your government to do so, you get off your computer and volunteer, form a charity, coach, mentor, start a business, mow your neighbors lawn, read to a child, make a difference in others' lives. It is not the Governments responsibility to take care of us (nor is it allowed by the constitution). It is our individual responsibility to take care of ourselves and others. So again, I say, we must REBOOT our Government and return our country to a Constitutional Republic that valued and protected EVERYONES individual liberties.

Recess Rally Aug 22, 2009 at 12pm

Hope to see everyone in front of Bill Fosters office on Saturday. Even if you are not in his district but want to help organize 9.12 to be a huge success, please stop on by.

Response to the Comments Made to My Letter to the Editor

I am choosing not to defend my letter on the Sauk Valley site, because I get tired of getting into a ideological battle with kool aid drinkers. However, because of the pseudo intellectual disinformation, I felt compelled to retort here for those with an open mind and ability to think for themselves.

Socialists attempt to redefine their own views as not being socialist, because they know that term connected to their ideology will be their defeat by the individualism of America. Mussolini did the same thing by calling his brand of socialism, fascism. It is dishonesty or ignorance to define "means of production" as being only goods and not services. Economics 101 here. Means of Production is the means that are used to produce goods and services, including the social relations between workers, technology, and other resources. Miss guided definitions come from two possible reasons. 1) Ignorance or 2) Fraud. My guess it is fraud to justify socialism for only social service. Their attempt at fraud however, does not hold up to logic. If the Federal Government should be in charge of insurance and health care because they are services, then they have every right to control the airlines, investment banking, travel agencies, window washers, marriage councilors, UNIONS and little league baseball.

The federal government was given the power by the people to help organize the infrastructure of the country to insure the free trade of goods between the states and to protect our borders from foreign powers. So even a child would understand the need for a post office and military in colonial America. How that extends to social services is absolutely mind numbing.

Wikipedia pseudo intellectuals are dangerous with their erratic dot connecting. Article 1 section 8, clause 18 is quoted as support for greater government powers along with references to Madison and Hamilton. Key line in Article 1 section 8, clause 18, "vested by this constitution". The race baiters always leave that line out. The Federalists, believed that the government would not grow out of control with this article, because it was limited by the constitution. Alexander Hamilton did argue for more flexibility in federal powers. But he was alone and by historical accounts a fervent nationalist. Unlike what was stated in the response to my letter, his fellow federalist James Madison, the guy who authored the line in the Constitution, disagreed with Hamilton and believed those powers were regulated to those only enumerated in the constitution. Madison was fanatical about checks and balances on the federal government and protection of individual rights from the tyranny of the majority.

The anti-federalists realized the General Welfare clause left enough vagueness and wiggle room to have the potential for corrupt men to create a powerful central government. The comment that the anti-federalists lost the debate again shows the ignorance of history. If it was not for the anti-federalists, we would not have had a Bill of Rights in our Constitution. Despite this victory, the anti-federalists nightmare and what was beyond the imagination of federalists like Jame Madison has happened. The progressives made the leaps from Post Office and Armed Forces, to social security, to the great society, and now socialized medicine. Thomas Jefferson warned against this when he said, "Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny."

It was silly to loosely connect today's tea partiers with the Anti-Federalists of Colonial America. As much respect and admiration I have for the Anti-Federalists, I nor anyone I know wants to reduce the Federal Government to equal or less power than the States as with the Confederation of States. We simply want the federal government to return to the power and size enumerated by the Constitution.

It is also laughable to think socialists try to equate themselves with the Federalists. Madison, if here today, would be viewed as a libertarian. As far as Hamilton, he did not believe in Democracy, yet these Democracy lovers seem to quote him every chance they get.

The fundamental flaw with the Wackos are their lack of understanding of the natural laws and the respect for individual life, liberty and property. To state the government has the right to pass universal health care or any program for that matter that imposes on the natural laws and rights of ANY of its Citizens is not only wrong, its unconstitutional and immoral.

The ultimate form of bigotry is to be prejudice against the individual. Since these progressives appear to not have any value for individual liberty, they are worst form of bigot.

God forgive the ignorant and bless those that fight for their Liberty.

Eureka! A Better Health Care System

The federal government has no power based on our Constitution to redistribute wealth and provide health care for some while taking property from others. Nor do they have the power to take from all and allocate health care out as they deem fit. Both of which are part of the current proposal.

I propose an alternative that is much more in line with what our founding Fathers could support AND smarter relative to the current Health Care plan.

What the federal government can do. 1) insure free interstate commerce and 2) protect against Fraud

What follows is 4 simple steps to improve the system we have today.

1) Health care insurance must be borderless within the US. No restrictions on offering insurance across State Lines. That does not exist today. In fact, government regulations not only forbids it, but create extra costs through a bureaucratic nightmare of paper work for the insurance companies. Any insurance company can offer a plan, in any state to any person.

2) Protect against fraud by making health insurance a 1 page, no foot noted document. Language simplification and definition are key to protecting against fraud. This is similar to what is already done in auto insurance. Universal definition such as the meaning of WHOLE, PREVENTATIVE, CATASTROPHIC, etc are exactly the same in coverage no matter who is covered or where. Along this an alla cart system would be developed with standard definition of coverage whereas people could pick and choose coverage depending upon their specific need without confusion. Finally, payment simplification must be created. Standardization is the key and it protects from Fraud. Most of the complication has not come from insurance companies but rather differing state and federal laws.

3) Eliminate Medicare and Medicaid as we know them today. The overwhelming cost of these programs are crippling our government. Making everyone take some level of individual responsibility for their health puts the power back with the individual and increase its importance relative to sneekers or car payments. This idea will bring out the fear and racist mongers who would say that the poor can not afford insurance. That is bull dung. Flooding the market with another 30 million Americans shopping for health insurance would lower everyones premiums and the most poor could afford an appropriate level of coverage, especially if the number of insurance companies competing for that business explodes. The second fear tactic would be about those with pre-existing conditions. This would be addressed with one semi intrusive government program. Incentivize insurance companies to accept pre-existing conditions with tax breaks for having a certain percentage of those policies accepted each year. Also, you incentivize Hospitals with similar tax breaks with their expenditures on under insured patients. Finally, the last scare tactic is concerning the elderly, where most of the expenses in the system takes place. This would be addressed as above, but would add one extra safety net similar to what we do with unemployment. If a person over the age of 70 has a difficult time finding appropriate coverage for health care/drug insurance AND they can show a need based on fixed income, there could be an option where a supplemental social security payment goes directly to an insurance provider. I could make a hundred arguments how the free market would address all the fear mongering, but we are so far away from a free market, I think compromise is necessary to ease all the fear mongering. Eliminating the medicaid/medicare bureaucracy would hugely reduce the cost of health care.

4) Protecting American citizens from Bureaucracy and Pre-existing conditions with multi-year term medical policies with second opinion appeals on denied care. Opening up insurance policies to be multi-year similar to Term Life Policies protects consumers from changing health conditions. Addomg a second opinion appeal puts medical care in the hands of the patient and doctors. If a patient finds 2 non-related physicians to independently recommend the same course of treatment, insurance denials are reversed. It is the insurance companies responsibility to understand medicine, not the doctors job to understand insurance bureaucracy. The fundamental problem with our current health system is government intrusion and insurance company favoring legislation. Creating more of a free market system, puts the pressure back on the business to adjust to the market, not the other way around as it is today.

These 4 simple steps would improve health care for all. Sound too simple? Why not try this first, before moving towards socialized medicine?

Congratulations the Tea Party is Growing

Wow, I can not believe the numbers. We have had 64 visits yesterday to our little web site and over 230 visits in 1 week. With hits from 16 states, we are stirring interest in the movement and hopefully that turns into big numbers at our rallies. The one oddity is we have only had 1 hit from Rock Falls. Does anyone know someone in Rock Falls that can start spreading the word?

On a serious note, we need someone to help organize the Recess Rally at Fosters office. I have asked a few people and have yet to get a response. I live in Don Manzullos district and am not as connected with those people in Fosters District. Can someone contact me to take on that task. I will help with postings.

We should use the Foster Rally as a meet up spot for everyone in our Party so we can get to know each other afterwards at a restaurant around the corner. I am not sure what is open on a Saturday afternoon, but hopefully one of them with enough seating will and we can share a cup of Jo and some strategy for our Big 9/12 Rally.

Thanks again to everyone that is helping spread the word and contributing to the Forum. God Bless - Steven Yde

Tea Party Reading List

Education is the best way to fight tyranny and help our future generations have a shot at fighting the rhetoric of populist oppression.

I have compiled a must read list that I believe should be part of the required reading in our high schools to give our children a head start on the brain washing that goes on in our Marxist universities and media.

Although there are hundreds of great books, I have boiled it down to just a few as a rudimentary to a solid philosophical foundation.

Henry Hazlitt's Economics in One Lesson - this book is a very easy read and lays the foundation of why capitalism is the best form of economics and any intervention by the government creates disparity and actually hurts the economy in the long run.

Ludwig Von Mises Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis - for a bit more depth, Mises takes a deep view on Socialism and its real impact.

Jonah Goldberg's Liberal Fascism - the only contemporary book is a must read. The left HATE this book and disparage it as loosely coincidental, grasping for straws, and the like. Rather, this book is well researched, heavily footnoted, and through direct quotes and historical actions of the progressive, socialist and fascist, shows their similarities.

W. Cleon Skousen's The 5000 Year Leap - this book documents the Founders basic principals that led to our constitution and republican form of government. It teeters on being boring with the lengthy quotations from dozens our our Founding Fathers. However, because of its extensive quotations, it is the most convincing book every written documenting directly our founders thoughts on an expansive and intrusive government.

Thomas Paine's Common Sense - Go back the beginning. Paines book is what helped turn the public's opinion on theWar for Independence. The first paragraph says it all. Government at best is a necessary evil.

Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America - Having a foreigner come to America when we were still a republic is a wonderful expose on the uniqueness of the American system. Despite the name, the purpose of the book is to show how America at least at that time, had not fallen into a mob rule democracy like so many European countries had, which in turn led to the rise of Socialism and Fascism in the 20th century.

There are many other great books, but this mix of publications is a great start to get the basics of economics and the intent of our Founding Fathers to make a uniquely successful republic.

Letter to the Editor Advertising our Tea Party

This was submitted last night to the local paper in hopes it is published to help build awareness of our tea party.

Do you know what the Natural Laws are? It is what the Founding Fathers articulated in our Declaration of Independence and used as the measuring stick for each Amendment in our Constitution. Our Founding Fathers called them God given and unalienable. These Natural Laws are our individuals right to Life, Liberty and Property. So when our government is spending beyond our means and forcing things upon us that violate our liberty or takes our property, it is acting immorally. We are a patient and trusting people, so when that voice inside us tells us something is seriously wrong with our Government, we need to act. That is why busy working people who have never protested before find themselves joining together to let their voices be heard. We developed the Sauk Valley Tea Party, a grass roots movement to help re-boot our local, state and federal governments to align them with our Founders Principals. If you are tired of the rhetoric of politics, if you oppose Government options to Health Care, if you believe Government is the problem and not the solution, if you agree with Thomas Paine that Government at best, is a necessary evil that must be contained, you are not alone and should join us on Sept 12, 2009 to let your voice be heard. Please visit our website at www.saukvalleyteaparty.com to find out our non-party based platform, join us, or just vent.

Amendment 10 of our constitution states The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. We the People need to exercise our rights and Re-boot this Government to not work for us, but rather stick to those things enumerated in the constitution. This is not about the issues, but the megalomania and avarice in politics and the fundamental philosophical change by a minority that could destroy our America.

Sauk Valley Tea Party Values

On 9-12 we again will meet to show our unity in opposing oppression and an out of control federal government. At this venue, besides demonstrating our displeasure with the current regime in Washington and Springfield, we will start to structure our organization to better address our grievances. Part of this will be to adopt with consensus our core state values and platform. This blog offers a preliminary draft of our core values to be documented and put on our website.

Sauk Valley Tea Party Values
1) RETURN OF OUR RIGHTS. We believe that all Government Actions must adhere to our Constitutions Bill of Rights. Not through some court process, but through the common sense of the people. The Government is to not tell the people their rights, but rather, we the people shall inform the Government of its limitations. We have a right to religious expression, both public and private, to speech, to assemble, of the press including the Internet, to own a gun, to due process, and from the government forcing anything upon us that is not based in the constitution as spelled out in the 10th amendment. The Bill of Rights is not a living breathing document, but an eternal truth that represents the detailing of the 3 God given Natural Laws - the Rights to Life, Liberty and Property. The Governments sole purpose is to protect the rights of the individual even to the detriment of the common good, but not to the detriment of another's individual rights.
* Life - all human life is precious and must be protected from the harm of others
* Liberty - no citizen shall be denied freedom that does not impose upon the life, liberty or property of others.
* Property - the government has no authority over any justly acquired property of its citizens unless that property unduly infringes upon the rights of others.

2) LIMIT THE SIZE OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. The Federal Government has overstepped its constitutional rights by performing duties not outlined in our constitution. We the people will act within our rights to return our Federal Government to its rightful role and size. The federal government only needs to be large enough to protect the borders of our country and insure the ease of interstate commerce. Looking at the $3.5 Trillion 2010 budget, just under $1Trillion is dedicated to our framers original intent. Unfortunately, these unfunded mandates are impossible to reverse in the short term. Therefore, to stave off further encroachments and help reverse the tide we support an amendment to our constitution that limits the size of our federal government to 15% of GDP. Our federal government has averaged around 20% for the past several decades, so 15% is a reasonable and attainable goal (equal to about a $2 Trillion Budget for 2010). This type of spending restriction is better than a balanced budget amendment, because it limits the size of the federal government and its power rather than motivating the government to spend more by taxing more.

3) ELIMINATE PERSONAL INCOME TAX. Taxation - the tax code is fundamentally against our own constitution. We must repeal the 16th amendment and return our federal governments size to enable it to run as our founding fathers intended through minimal tariffs on imported goods. The tariffs should not be done in a punitive manner, but rather recognizing the framers intentions of raising money by penalizing those things that limit domestic production rather penalizing domestic production. With only $2.5 trillion in imports and income tax revenue of $1 trillion it appears difficult to fill the gap. However, if we are mandating a Federal budget to 15% of GDP that reduces the federal budget by $1.5 and the current federal receipts, less income tax is $1.3 trillion, therefore only $200 billion must make up the difference. Our recommendation is to eliminate the income tax and have a 10% tariff on all imports.

4) AUDIT THE FEDERAL RESERVE. The Federal Reserve likewise is fundamentally against the constitution. Our goal is to eliminate the secrecy of our monetary system and re-create a free market system to our monetary system so all may see who coins the money and how it is disseminated into our economy. We support HR1207 which Audits the Federal Reserve.

5) TERM LIMITS. The fastest way to eliminate corruption is to remove life time political offices. We support a constitutional amendment to limit all elected federal officials to just 2 consecutive terms.

6) ELIMINATE INSTITUTIONALIZED LOBBYING. Our constitution allows for individuals to address grievances with the government, not institutions. We recommend an amendment to our constitution that limits all lobbying of elected officials to just 1 local representative and the 2 senators. It would also stipulate that no lobbying may be done outside the elected officials local office. No organization or its affiliates no matter how loosely connected can lobby across state lines. Finally, the amendment would eliminate any and all campaign contributions from anything, but individual citizens. This amendment would also contain a provision that no elected official can be employed as a lobbyist for 4 years after they leave office.

7) ILLEGALIZE EARMARKS AND BACK DOOR RESOLUTIONS. No amendments to any bills passed by congress can have added to them unrelated funding, laws or procedures. Bills must be clean and deal with only the primary topic. They must be read allowed in congress and on C-Span to police this policy and insure simple, uncomplicated bills that have tyranny buried in them.

8) WE SUPPORT CAPITALISM. There is no 3rd way and no middle ground in economics. Intervention leads to oppression and long term economic consequences. The role of governments are to only protect our fundamental liberties against fraud and force. Our federal government has intervened heavily into our economy and giving favoritism to those more politically connected. Capitalism did not cause our economic melt down, but rather government intervention and manipulation of our monetary system by the federal reserve.

To Summarize We the Sauk Valley Tea Party believe in
Limiting the Federal Spending to 15% of GDP
Illegalize Earmarks
Ban Institutional Lobbying
Enact HR1207 to Audit the Federal Reserve
Repeal the 16th Amendment
Term Limits of 2 Consecutive
Yes to Capitalism

In other words we demand LIBERTY.