I’ll start here with the Democratic candidates, but before I do I want to add this one disclaimer. I’m a Republican, and will be voting as a Republican in the primary. In the primary election I don’t have a say about which Democrat will earn their party’s nomination to be the single candidate to represent them in the general election for this office. I’m offering my opinion here merely because giving my opinions is what I like to do, so take it or leave it and do with it what you will.

Brandi Seppie is an absolute newcomer to the world of politics and that in and of itself isn’t a bad thing. A political newcomer can bring great new ideas to the table, and a fresh perspective in dealing with old problems. However, for a newcomer to be effective they have to come to the table with new ideas and a fresh perspective. Or at least an idea about what’s going on in the first place. Brandi didn’t do that during this forum. All she was able to do here was show her unpreparedness, and her lack of understanding of the job she has applied for. When asked a question about what she would do to support veterans in Sweetwater County, the only answer she was able to give was that there are a lot of veterans in her family. Admittedly, this question was nothing more than an attempt at grandstanding by an agenda driven, one issue, four year commission candidate, but she should have been a little more prepared to answer it. When she touched on the discussion about the proposed diversion of water from the Flaming Gorge to Colorado, all she was able to do was attempt to mirror the opinion of the candidate that answered before her. When she discussed how she would balance the needs of the incorporated and the rural populations of the county, her great idea was to “bring people together,” and to support the “joint powers board” that is already working on it. The joint powers board? Which one? The Joint Powers Water Board? The Joint Powers Telecommunications Board? The Joint Travel and Tourism Board? The Airport Board? The proposed Juvenile Justice Board? In fact, that seemed to be the resounding message behind her entire platform. Bring people together. Every time she started talking all I could hear was Captain & Tennille singing the old Sedaka & Greenfield song: “Love….love will keep us together…” If everyone got along so well, we wouldn’t need government. Yeah, sounds cynical. Sue me.

Teresa Weyer is another relative newcomer to the political world, but she appeared to have entered the race with a little more knowledge of what a County Commissioner does. Well, maybe. Her professional background is in nursing, and she pointed out that her experience as a nurse gives her a unique ability to bring people together. Oh, God! Please make that song stop playing in my head! Now Captain and Tennille are being joined by Bob Marley! “Let’s get together and we’ll feel alright…” The most memorable moment in Teresa’s forum participation came when an audience member posed a question about whether she would keep the County CEO and the County CFO that were hired by the sitting administration, yes or no? Her answer? “I can’t answer that yes or no because the people will decide the answer by who they vote for.” Really? Really. Her answer to probably the most contentious topic in this election is that she is going to wait and see who else gets elected and then they can tell her what her opinion will be. Way to make a stand there, Teresa.

Randy Walker enters this race with the advantage of being a sitting County Commissioner who knows the issues and has dealt with them on a first hand basis over the last two years. He also draws on the experience of being a former member of the Green River City Council. Of the three Democratic candidates, he was obviously the most knowledgeable and the most prepared for the forum. From the start, Randy was on the defense about his decision as part of the sitting commission to hire a County CEO and CFO to manage the day to day operations of the county, saying that the people of Sweetwater County deserved “professional administration,” and not the micromanagement and cronyism that had come before, and that the current system represented “best practices.” Okay, I can understand the need for “best practices,” but calling something “best practices” doesn’t make it “best practices.” “Best practices” isn’t contracting for a County CEO that has no investment in the community, and no vested interest in seeing our county succeed, other than the pay check that he takes home to Colorado at the end of every week. “Best practices” isn’t ignoring the advice of the “professional administration” – that of the County CEO that they hired, and especially that of the real professional administrators who have been heading their individual departments for years. Randy’s most memorable moment came when he was asked about what sixth cent projects he would support. “I support the application of a rubric to choose the best projects.” A rubric? Yeah. This is what happens when teachers become politicians. They bring the tools that they have used so effectively to turn our children into mindless sheep to the table for the rest of us. How about a Rubik’s cube? Or a magic 8-ball? Or, how about we elect people who can take responsibility for their own decisions, and not pass them off on decision making trees and contract help. Yeah, I stole the line about the Rubik’s cube and the magic 8-ball. Sue me again. At least I didn’t hear any bad songs playing in my head while he spoke.

Obviously, I wasn’t overly impressed with any of the Democratic candidates. If I was a Democrat and had to support one in the primary, well, I couldn’t. I’d write someone in. I know they are Democrats, and I know they are all about bringing people together, but I’m looking for leadership and representation, not a Beatles anthem.

I’ll move on now to the Republican candidates. No disclaimers on this one. I’ll likely be casting a vote for one of these two on August 17, and I want to give you an idea of who I’ll be choosing between.

Don Kauppi is yet another relative newcomer to the political landscape, but unlike the other newcomers, he brings some real world executive experience to the table. Don is self employed and runs his own oilfield company, giving him the perspective in this race of someone who deals with employees, budgets, and hard decisions on a daily basis. He comes across as someone who believes in simple straightforward answers to every issue, which is a refreshing stance, if not a little naive, and a bit unrefined. I almost cringed when he said, “I know how to run people.” Great, I guess, unless you are one of the people. Don will have to learn as he expands his political experience that sometimes how you deliver a message is as important as the message itself. I want commissioners who know where they stand, and who will tell me about it without hiding behind nonsense like bringing people together and rubric’s cubes. I also want commissioners who realize that very few of the issues that they deal with have simple answers. Don probably meets both of those criteria, but he doesn’t convey it very well. Don’s most memorable moment was when he entered the discussion on the water diversion plan. “Why are even talking about this?! No! You can’t have our water!” I agree with his sentiment, but I only wish it were that simple.

Wally Johnson is, without a doubt, the most experienced of the candidates, and brings both real world, practical, and applicable experience to the table. Wally was a Sweetwater County Commissioner for four years, but lost his spot in a previous election. He hit on several points during his time at the mike that were pretty important, and applicable to the current environment. Wally was clear about is stand against the sitting commissioners hiring a County CEO. He was also clear that in order for a commission to do its job effectively, its members need to have a seat at many tables, whether it be the National Forest Service or lobbying the State Legislature. “The current commission isn’t doing that.” He’s right, by not taking our seat at those tables, we’ve effectively lost our say in a lot of matters that directly affect our lives here is Sweetwater County. Wally was also the first to make a clear stand on water diversion. “If they have a right to the water, fine, but they need to take it from somewhere below the Flaming Gorge.” Finally, Wally took a stand against the wholesale creation of wind farms in Sweetwater County. “Wind energy is not a solution to our problems,” and in dealing with the location of the wind farms, “We need to look very carefully at what effect these wind farms have on our view shed.” Wally was the leader of the pack when it came to where he stood on all of these issues, and the other four on the panel were forced to follow or defend. Wally doesn’t, however, come to this election without baggage. He’s been a commissioner in the past, and his performance then didn’t come without controversy. It seems that there are some people in the county that are unhappy with his record, but I have yet to have someone explain to me what happened during his tenure that spurred the current vitriol.

Ultimately, I’m not 100% sure about who I will support in the primary, but I’m confident that either Wally or Don could do a good job. At this point though, I’m leaning toward Wally. His stands are clear and pretty well aligned with my own. If someone tells me some truly valid reason why they don’t like him that I find I agree with, or if Don refines his message a little more and shows me that he really does understands the intricacies of the job he is applying for, I’m open to changing my mind.

So there it is. My biased opinion. Take it, leave it, or tell me to go to hell. Just get your ass to the polls on August 17 and vote. But please, please, please, no more 60′s or 70′s songs.

“Shoot me! Shoot me! Shoot me!

“Here come old flattop. He come grooving up slowly
He got ju-ju eyeballs. He’s one holy roller
He got hair down to his knee
Got to be a joker he just do what he please

“Shoot me! Shoot me! Shoot me!

“He wear no shoeshine he’s got toe-jam football
He got monkey finger he shoot Coca-Cola
He say “I know you, you know me”
One thing I can tell you is you got to be free
Come together right now over me.

“Shoot me! Shoot me! Shoot me!

“He buy production he got walrus scumble
He’s got Ono sideboard he’s got spinal cracker
He’s got feet down below his knee
Hold you in his arms till you can feel his disease
Come together right now over me.

“He’s roller-coaster he’s got early warning
He’s got muddy water he’s got mojo filter
He say “One and one and one is three”
Got to be good looking ’cause he’s so hard to see
Come together right now over me.

“Shoot me! Shoot me! Shoot me!

“Ow!

“Come together! Come together! Come together!”

-The Beatles, 1969

An email dispatch from the NRA

Concealed Carry Reform Becomes Law in Wyoming!

On Thursday, March 4, Governor Dave Freudenthal (D) signed Senate File 26 into law. The bill is effective immediately.

Sponsored by State Senator Cale Case (R-25) and State Senator Eli Bebout (R-26), SF 26 will reform Wyoming’s concealed weapons permit laws regarding eligibility, reciprocity, and issuance of permits. This bill will limit the Attorney General’s ability to determine reciprocity by taking away his/her power to determine if that state has similar laws authorizing permits.

Please join us in thanking the sponsors of this bill, Senator Case and Senator Bebout, for all of their hard work and support. Also please contact Governor Freudenthal to thank him for signing such important legislation into law. Contact information for the Governor can be found here.

Senator Cale Case (R-25)

ccase@wyoming.com

Senator Eli Bebout (R-26)

senbebout@wyoming.com

www.NRAILA.org

Write Your Representative

Write The Media

Get Involved Locally

Register To Vote

Contribute

Follow NRA-ILA

NRA Facebook pageNRA Myspace Page
NRA Youtube page
NRAu
Twitter

Please do not reply to this email as you will not receive a response. This email is a broadcast email generated by an automated system. To contact NRA-ILA call 800-392-8683.
Address: 11250 Waples Mill Road Fairfax, Virginia 22030

If you wish to be removed from this list please click this link and you will be removed immediately:

Please note: In their efforts to curb SPAM, many ISPs, servers and SPAM filters treat legitimate and legal bulk emails as SPAM. In order to ensure you receive NRA-ILA email alerts in a timely manner, please adjust your SPAM settings to accept bulk emails from the “nraila.org” and “ilaalerts.org” domains. Otherwise, there is a possibility that our email alerts will not make it to your inbox.

One of the fundamental issues that I have with today’s Republican Party is that we allow ourselves to be defined by liberals and the liberal press rather than defining ourselves. As a former county party chairman, I had to live with county and state by-laws that forbade party officials from endorsing candidates in the primaries. It never happened in my county, but the fact that I might have one day been forced to officially support a liberal candidate always festered in the back of my mind.

The problem is that the National Republican Party, together with state and local parties, spend more time, money and effort trying to include everyone in the “big tent” than they do standing by the core conservative values that should be guiding them. I can understand how easy it is to fall into the trap of believing the goal is to elect people with R’s at the end of their names. Obviously, without enough R’s the party loses majority control of government, but this ignores the reality that control by Republicans isn’t the real goal. The real goal is holding our nation true to the conservative principles by which it was created.

Talk Radio personality Andrew Wilkow likes to say, “Individual Patriot first. Conservative second. Republican third.” What he means is that it is our first duty to be individuals who support our country, that we can do that best by living and promoting our conservative principles, and that the Republican Party is the currently the best tool that we have to do it with. If the Republican Party ceases to be the best tool for that job, then we are left with a couple choices. We can throw out the tool and get a new one, or we can refurbish our current tool and make it work how it’s supposed to.

Throwing out the tool would mean abandoning the Republican Party altogether and forming or joining a third party. This is a difficult course to follow, but it isn’t unheard of. There have been several ruling political parties throughout our history including Democrat-Republicans (one party, not the same as todays), Federalists, Whigs, Democrats, Republicans and dozens of smaller parties that exist in smaller numbers around the nation. It might be rare in our national history for a new party to come out of obscurity and take power at the federal level, and it is a difficult proposition, but it’s not impossible.

Refurbishing the current tool is the more likely scenario and would mean bringing the Republican Party back into line with its historical conservative principles. In order to forward those principles, we need to elect conservative Republicans. Not liberal Republicans. Not moderate Republicans. Conservative Republicans. Conservatives must retake control of the Party at all levels — from local precincts, to the statewide parties, to the National Republican Party. To succeed, we will have to make a stand against mediocrity, and so called moderates, and refuse to vote for or fund candidates that don’t truly represent us, regardless of whether or not they registered as Republicans. The first battle we face is to get conservative candidates nominated in the primaries, and only then can we carry those candidates through to victory in the general elections. We have to make our voices be heard loud and clear, and not allow the biased liberal press agencies decide which candidates are going to win our support.

I think that conservatives will benefit most by using third parties to force change in the Republican Party. By selectively abandoning the Republican Party, conservatives can bring about enough pressure on party leaders to force them to rethink which candidates they will endorse and support in the future. By supporting independent and third party candidates that more accurately represent our conservative values and principles, as the people of New York’s 23rd Congressional district have done, we can send the GOP a message about what kind of candidates we will accept. Give us a real conservative candidate to support, and we will. Send us a wishy-washy liberal like Dede Scozzafava? We’re gone. If we do it consistently, each and every time, the Republican Party will figure out that they should only send us candidates that share our values. Anything else will be a waste of our time, their money, and an erosion of their power base.

By regaining control of our party, and only supporting candidates that we want to support, we can define the Republican Party ourselves instead of letting the liberals and the liberal press define it for us. If the Republican Party continues to allow the likes of Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe to carry our endorsement, then there is no reason for us to continue to be Republicans. We can throw our support behind a third party like New York’s State Conservative Party, or start a new one. If the Republican Party can retool, however, and show us that they can send us honest-to-goodness, conservative candidates, then we can continue to be part of the Grand Old Party. If we lose a few races in order to cement that position, then so be it. I would rather have a Democrat in office that we can challenge straight up in the next election than a sponge like Arlen Specter who sucks the party coffers dry, while voting with the Democrats anyway, and keeping the party from endorsing a real conservative candidate.

Conservatives are going to regain control of this country’s future and hold our country true to its conservative roots, regardless of the tools we use. The Republican Party just needs to decide whether it’s going to be the best tool for that job, or just a tool.

Primary school in open air. Teacher (priest) with class from the outskirts of Bucharest, around 1842.

Before we do anything, we as parents must step back and take stock of the fact that it is our individual responsibility to provide a quality education to our children, not the responsibility of the government. School districts were formed as tools to allow communities to pool their resources in order to assist parents in meeting that responsibility. The current system, which is governed by federal regulations and union contracts, has perverted that original purpose and replaced it with a behemoth of a machine whose goals have more to do with societization than education. The very school systems that we created to assist us have now usurped us, and dictate to us how our children should be taught instead of the other way around. The education of our children is our own individual responsibility. It easy to ignore that fact, but until we face it again as a people our education system is doomed.

What do we do about it? Simple. We take it back.

First of all, the U.S. Department of Education as it exists today needs to be abandoned. The federal government has no place in our public education system, and the very existence of this bloated, rotting bureaucracy is a slap in the face of every student, parent, teacher, administrator and locally elected school board member in America. Our school boards are elected by us to manage a school system that is owned by us, and they need to act that way. When the federal government decides that they are in charge, the elected members of our school boards have to stand resolute and do what they were elected to do. Represent us. If they won’t, they must be replaced. The U.S. Department of Education won’t go away on its own, but if communities across the nation turn their backs on them, and ignore them, they will become functionally impotent, with no more hold on our schools.

Part of the reason the U.S. Department of Education has gained such a stranglehold on our failing school system is that we became lazy. It’s too easy to sit at home, complaining that the system is a mess, and wondering when the government is going to fix it. As parents we have to hold our schools accountable again, and not to some federal agency, to us. We entrust our children to the school system because we believe that the specially trained teachers employed there are better able to teach our children, but how do we know? What do these people actually teach our kids? Reading? Writing? Math? Arguable considering the trending test results. Volunteerism? Activism? Socialism? Those seem to be common themes, but again, how do we know?

It is time that we demand an accurate accounting of everything that our educators are teaching our children. Every teacher must be required to inform every parent of what they intend to teach our children in their classrooms. Their syllabuses and talking points should be posted publicly, and be subject to parental review. If a teacher plans to spend their hour teaching my child how to solve simple algebraic equations, then the pre-class report will be nice and simple. A copy of the worksheet can be posted online on that class’s web page. If a teacher plans to explain to my child why a single payer health care system is preferable to a free market system, then they can post those talking points to the website as well. If the teacher plans to spend their hour teaching the proper construction of a functional irrigation system and instead the conversation turns to the effects of federal endangered species regulations on the local economy, that can be posted to the online class notes, too. These online class notes can be preserved year to year and be a tool for parents to decide what kind of a person they want teaching their kids. If we read them and find that a particular teacher manages to turn daily discussions of Shakespearean literature into daily discussions about the benefits of strong labor unions, we will be able to make educated decisions as parents as to whether or not this is the kind of person we want educating our children.

I know…you teachers out there are reading this and are up-in-arms right now screaming at me that we have no right to hold your occupation under a microscope. Too bad. You chose a profession where your actions will have a profound effect on the direction of the lives of our children. My children. And I want a say in how that education is provided. If putting your occupation under a microscope is the only way to do that, then so be it.

These are simple but important things that we can do to return our education system to its greater glory. Take back control of our childrens’ education from the federal government. Require adequate representation from the school board members that we elect to steward our schools. Demand accountability and transparency from our teachers. Not so tough, right?

Remember, your child’s education is your responsibility, and the school system is nothing more than a tool to help you provide your child the best education that you can. We can sharpen that tool, we can throw the tool out and get a new one, or we can throw the tool out for good and teach our kids at home. In the end, it’s our call. Either way, arbitrarily lengthening school days and school years on a national basis is just face makeup and yet another ploy to keep the power out of our hands and keep it in the hands of government.  That’s what got us into this educational conundrum in the first place.

National Park Service 9-11 Statue of Liberty and WTC Fire

Today marks the 7th anniversary of a day our country will never forget. I don’t have to explain it to you. If I needed to, you would never understand anyway.

On that morning, I was scheduled to work the morning shift at one of our family businesses, and I was on my way to work at about 5:15am (Mountain Time) listening to the morning news when the newscaster mentioned something about a prominent leader and promoter of democracy in Afghanistan having been assassinated that morning. I didn’t give it much thought until later that morning.

A while later, during a break in customers, I caught the first report that some type of plane had crashed into one of the towers. Wow, I thought, that’s horrible. I wasn’t very good at taking care of my customers for the rest of that morning. Sure, I went through the motions, rang up their stuff, and took their money, but my ears and attention were on the radio that I had turned up to full blast. I listened intently as they reported the second plane had crashed into the second tower. Oh, God! I, along with every commentater, was sure now that this was a terrorist attack. I wondered at the time if it was related to the assassination report that I had heard that morning, but any further news of that was lost in the chaos that was unfolding in New York City.

I listened with horror as they described the collapse of the first tower, and was numb with the realization that possibly thousands of people were dying at that very moment. I had made a few calls home and to other family members throughout the morning, but I felt the need right then to talk to my wife again, so I ignored the customers that were in the store and called home. I don’t remember what we said to each other, but it was enough to comfort one another and keep us moving through the morning.

When the second tower fell, so did my heart. I listened as they described the loss of the firefighters who had entered the towers to save strangers, and the sadness compounded. I was glued to the radio or the television for the rest of the day.

For some reason, I had to be out of town that night, and my whole family spent it in a hotel a couple hundred miles from home. We had all been numb all day. We tried to explain to our three children, who were between 6 and 11 at the time, what had happened. They were too young to truly understand, thankfully, but I know that we were all struggling with what was happening. Later that night, probably after midnight, my wife and children were all asleep in the room, but I was still glued to the television, enthralled by what was happening to those people 2000 miles away, but so close to my heart.

At one point during the coverage, journalists were interviewing people from around the world and recording their reactions to the tragedy that had just befallen the people of New York. Most made the obvious and expected statements — that it was horrible, that their hearts go out, etc. But one person was different. She said something that will stick with me until the day I die. She was a middle aged French woman on the streets of Paris, and when the reporter asked her thoughts on what had happened that day, she said, “Today, we all suffer together. Today, we all cry together. Today, we are all Americans.”

That is when I cried. With my wife and children sleeping quietly all around me, I cried.

DirtyRottenScoundrels » Blog Archive » Rules for Radicalized Conservatives

Rules for Radicalized Conservatives

Join us free at http://logchoice.ning.com – our new Conservative Activism Communication website – Get off the sideline and help us fight!
~~~~~~~~~~~~

In response to Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals, I came up with twelve rules I think we should all adhere to in order to actively fight the liberal-socialist scum who are attempting to take control of every aspect of our lives:

Rules for Cons #1: Be informed and use irrefutable facts. Understand that liberals employ false logic (anti-American arguments are the only good arguments, while pro-American arguments are always bad arguments). Therefore, it is not worth your time or energy to “debate” a liberal. If you decide to engage one, be armed with well-documented facts that will destroy their fallacies. Liberals are hypocrites and liars. They are also poor losers. Expect ridicule and insane viewpoints from them.

Rules for Cons #2: Dismiss Political Correctness for the Marxist cultural doctrine that it is. It was designed by radicals to weaken and then destroy Western Civilization. If someone calls you a racist, recognize they are losing the debate. When they play the race card, toss it away and don’t play their game. All they will do when they are losing is change the rules.

Rules for Cons #3: Recognize and treat liberals for what they are: Anti-American. No matter what a liberal claims, unless he understands and believes in our Constitution, genuinely respects our historical and religious heritage, and actively supports the rights of ALL Americans, and not just of “Progressives,” he is irrefutably anti-American (and therefore, a member of the enemy within). View and treat him as such.

Rules for Cons #4: Expose and refute liberal media bias and disinformation.The Media is not a dispassionate Fourth Estate whose purpose is to counter political excesses and overreaching in our government (if it ever was). It is now solely a propaganda machine for the Fifth Column. A nation cannot be free without a free, unbiased media. We are not free.

Rules for Cons #5: Disobey and legally fight unconstitutional laws. Because Congress has for decades been derelict in its duty to steward our tax monies efficiently and wisely, we must now band together and NOT pay federal taxes. As long as Congress ceases to represent We the People, we must not provide them with OUR money. Imprisonment and fines may be levied. But we must not let our government treat us as cash cows to milk for their own purposes.

Rules for Cons #6: ALWAYS stand up for and uphold the Constitution. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. WE have the true power in this nation, as documented in our Constitution. READ it and study it. Educate yourself on all available documents written by our Founders and Framers. Be proud of who you are and just how remarkable our Constitution really is!

Rules for Cons #7: Respect and remember the sacrifices made by our countrymen and women. NEVER forget the price they paid in blood and limb, and in lost dreams and potential. They chose to fight for this country, and in too many cases, ceased to exist so that our country could continue. They enabled you to enjoy the freedoms you have, and now, you must do the same for our future generations.

Rules for Cons #8: Preserve the spirit and principles of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution at all costs; and never forget our religious roots. Teach your children about American Exceptionalism. Establish educational programs and foundations to drown out the stream of liberal indoctrination that is demoralizing and perverting our youth, and turning them into dependent, weak-willed parasites on society. Instill in our youth a solid sense of self-reliance, self-determination, faith, respect, and courage. And, never allow our nation’s sovereignty to be diminished or to be subject to control by corrupt agencies, such as the United Nations.

Rules for Cons #9: Be willing to fight against governmental tyranny, as our forefathers instructed. Know that GOD, not our government, made us free. If our government attempts to take away our rights, it is no longer legitimate. It’s your choice to live free or to be enslaved.

Rules for Cons #10: Exemplify moral values in your everyday lives. Loyalty is a crucial American character trait. Despite powerful temptations, be ever faithful to your family, your country, and to our Creator. Only Jesus was perfect. If you do fail to uphold your values, do right by the aggrieved and make restitution. Resign immediately from any post of leadership until such time as others believe you are truly contrite and have proven it.

Rules for Cons #11: Organize and support your fellow Conservative; especially when it is inconvenient to do so. Never leave a patriot behind. Be “an American.” Also, encourage, support, and fight for others in need, or anyone who is being oppressed. Liberty is a universal right. Always be courageous in the face of evil arrogance. Act and do what is right. Indecision and ambivalence leads to moral equivalence, and that allows evil to flourish.

Rules for Cons #12: Recognize, name, and then fight the enemies of this land. We are in the midst of a culture war. It is not a genteel discussion that follows Robert’s Rules. It is a gutter fight. Expect to get bruised. Be willing to parry, thrust, and coupe de grace. Investigate, analyze, and expose the enemy. Make no mistake: Progressives have been at war with Americans for decades. Either fight, or they will succeed in turning this country from a representative republic into a despotic oligarchy where the individual has no rights.

A democracy is a system of government in which power is vested in the people, who rule either directly or through freely elected representatives, and as such, it is the common people who are considered as the primary source of political power. A democracy also assumes the existence and practice of the principles of social equality and respect for the individual within a community.

Does that accurately describe the country we live in now? Have you ever looked at the people around you at work — who are complaining about overtime and wondering if the boss will figure out that they weren’t really sick on Friday — and told yourself, “These people, together with myself, rule this country,” without laughing at yourself afterword? Have you ever spent a moment at the local saloon — where the “common people” are hanging out, drinking, laughing, groping each other and spilling beer on their shoes — and thought solemnly, “Right here, in this room, is where the primary source of political power in our nation grows from,” and kept a straight face? Have you ever just looked in the mirror and said, “This is my country. I am a respected individual, and this nation recognizes my social equality,” and didn’t fall over on the floor laughing uncontrollably? I didn’t think so.

So, what happened? If the founding fathers were so careful to set up a government that would always represent “We the people,” how did it all go so wrong? Simple. We sold the farm.

Picture this:

Farmer George Augere has been tilling his fields for 50 years. The Augere Farm usually made enough money to support his immediate family, and he also provided jobs for many of his extended family members. On the day of his retirement, the farm supported George, his wife, three of their five children, six of their eleven grandchildren, two siblings, two cousins, three nephews, an uncle, and Mr. Davis, who had worked for George since he was young.

Sure, there had been rough times. The three years of drought back in the late nineties almost bankrupted them, but they survived. Then, when Aunt Irma got sick a few years back, they couldn’t afford a nursing home, but everyone chipped in and made her as comfortable as possible during her last months. Yes, George had been forced to borrow money sometimes to keep the farm going, but when he did he worked tirelessly to pay off the loans.

The days were long, and the work was hard, but like the generations of farmers before him, George was proud of the fact that he has been able to provide a future for his children and grandchildren, and given them the opportunity to build upon his success. He hoped that they would have the same chances to excel in their lives that his father and grandfather had given him.

When George decided to retire, he left it up to the family to decide who would inherit the reins of the Augere Farm. He left each family member an equal share of the farm with the only caveat being that every year a new election would be held to determine who would run the farm for the next 12 months. George’s nephew Barry was a great guy, and everyone liked him. He always knew just what to say, and he always knew just the right time to flash his pearly smile. He had the ability to make almost everyone in the family follow his lead, no matter where he thought to lead them, and it was no surprise when they voted to make him the new leader of the farm.

Right away he went to work making changes. He convinced them that they needed to trade in that old John Deere — it may have been twenty years old, but it had still run just fine — for a brand new Jinma tractor. Yes, it was $30,000 for a smaller tractor, but the new one was better for the environment, and of course Barry was good friends with the sales representative. He talked them into laying off Mr. Davis, who had worked for them for over thirty years, and replaced him with a couple of illegal immigrants, who worked for less money. Later, he switched to a hybrid seed stock. Sure, it was much more expensive, but Barry explained to the family that these new plants were better for the environment, and used less natural resources to grow.

Barry made all kinds of promises to his family as he led the farm into new directions. “We won’t have to work as hard for what we want,” he said. “Everyone who works on the farm should be equal,” he beamed. “Every family member and employee who works for this farm will make as much as he needs to live, but will only have to work as hard they are able,” he boomed!  Over the next few years, he promised and gave them more and more, and every year they re-elected him. Under Barry’s leadership, most of the family got new cars, and built new houses, and were able to go on vacations that they had only dreamed of before. He even convinced them to let the two illegal immigrants participate in future elections and gave them enough money to build new houses and buy new cars of their own. When Uncle Charlie, who was nearly 90 now, fell ill, Barry convinced the family to fund his stay in the best nursing home money could buy. Nothing was too good for a member of the farm. Barry’s family cheered him and told him that they wanted him to be in charge of the farm forever.

Barry’s cousin John, however, wasn’t as enamored with Barry as the rest of the family. John wasn’t as good as Barry at rallying the family behind him as Barry was, but he understood simple math. He eyed the family’s finances warily, and wondered how the family could afford such extravagance with the modest income of the Augere Farm. He asked, “Where is all this money coming from, Barry?”

“Everyone knows that you have to spend money to make money,” Barry answered.

“But where is it all coming from,” John persisted.

“Well, I took out a mortgage on the farm,” Barry told him, “but don’t worry, we won’t have to pay it off for decades.”

John asked fearfully, “How are we going to make payments on it?”

“Easy,” Barry answered, “Uncle Bill, and Cousin Warren both work extra jobs and have a lot more money than the rest of the family. They are just going to have to chip in a little extra to pay the interest on the loan.”

John was beside himself. He went to the rest of the family and explained to them that Barry’s plan would bankrupt the Augere Farm. His protests fell on deaf ears however, and the rest of the family thought John was just a troublemaker. Even Bill and Warren thought that Barry was doing a great job, and wouldn’t hear of replacing him in the next election. “He’s so smart, and so caring,” they said, “we don’t mind paying a little extra.”

After a while though, as Barry spent more and more money keeping his family happy, and now the families of his immigrant workers, the size of the mortgage against the farm grew. Soon, Bill and Warren were told that they would have to work a little harder at their second jobs and contribute a little bit more to the family’s finances. Cousin Brad and Nephew Mike were also told that they would have to start working a little harder and contributing more. “From each according to their ability, guys,” Barry told them. “You have a responsibility to take care of your family.” Over time, more members of the family were asked to contribute a little bit more the benefit of the others. Brad and Mike were asked to contribute even more, and Bill and Warren were asked to give up almost all of their income from their second jobs to support the farm.

Later that year, hardly anyone noticed when when Uncle Bill stopped showing up for work at the farm. Barry noticed when Bill’s check didn’t get deposited in the bank that month, though, and went looking for him. He found Bill’s house empty and his car gone. After a little investigation he learned that Bill had quit his second job and moved out of the state where he had started his own farm with Mr. Davis as a partner. Then Warren lost his second job due to budget cuts and was no longer able to contribute extra money to the farm every month. Brad broke his leg in an accident and could no longer work at all. Mike was told that he would have to work even harder.

Over time, one by one, several more of the hardest working members of the family resigned and moved away. The Augere Farm began to suffer, and its income began to shrink.

“I told you,” John cried. “You can’t keep spending money like this and expect the farm to survive.”

“Nonsense,” Barry answered, “I’ll just borrow a little more money. We’ll get through this.”

And that’s what he did. He took out another mortgage on the farm, and took out loans against the homes his family had built during the last several years. “Don’t worry,” he told them, “we won’t have to pay these loans off for years to come.”

The next few years were a little tougher. More of the hardest working family members gave up and moved away, and with each one that left the farm produced less and less. The family who remained, though, demanded more and more from Barry. He sold off the harvester to pay the interest on the loans, and then borrowed a little more to buy a new car for his daughter. During the following fall harvest he had to rent a harvester, and sold the tractor in order to pay for it. It became a never ending downward spiral. Realizing that he was in trouble, Barry started looking for a solution.

He found that solution in Mr. Yen, who agreed to take on some of the Augere Farm’s debt in exchange for the land. “You can stay there and work the land,” he told Barry, “nothing will change, other than how the land is titled. Instead of paying all that interest on the loans, you’ll just have to pay rent. Besides, I’ll pay you a little under the table so you’ll have some money in your pocket when all is said and done.”

“But what about my family?” Barry asked.

“I can’t give you enough to pay off all of their debts,” Mr. Yen told him, “and I can’t employ them all. I run a tight ship. But you’ll be taken care of, my friend.”

“Okay,” Barry relented, “let’s do it.”

And just like that, Barry sold the farm.

What happened to George’s farm is exactly what is happening to our country. The votes of our electorate are being bought with promises of extravagant benefits to the “common people.” The problem is of course, that all of these benefits have to be paid for someday, by someone. The crime wasn’t Barry selling the farm to Mr. Yen, the crime was committed when the family sold the farm to Barry for a few material promises and a pretty smile. The crime was selling out the future for a little extra stuff today.

The Obama administration is telling us that only the rich will have to pay more so everyone else can have free health care. Only the rich corporations will have to fund the new environmental revolution. He tells us that all of the common people deserve economic justice and equality. In short, the government is buying the votes of the American people, and it has destroyed our democracy. Our president, our congress, and our supreme court have all thrown their hats into the bidding circle, looking to buy the farm, and then sell it down the river.

These are lies that they tell us for one purpose, and one purpose only. To stay in power. And in order to keep that power, they are willing to buy our votes with our very own souls. In the end, all it will cost us is our freedom.

2010? Maybe we can take back our country, but I’m not optimistic. We still have too much wealth in this country for Obama and his lackeys to buy votes with. They’ll bankrupt us eventually, though. Even Vice President Biden said so. When that happens, maybe real democracy can make a comeback.

Until then, welcome to augereocracy, where control of the government goes to the highest bidder.

augereocracy

au·ger·e·oc·ra·cy [aw-jeer-ee-ok-ruh-see]
-noun, plural -cies.

1. a puppet republic where the members of the supposedly democratically elected government received the majority of the votes by promising the most benefits (ie. kickbacks, bribes) to the voters
2. a government that provides increasingly greater benefits to its electorate in order keep power.
3. a state or society characterized by a formal relinquishing of rights in exchange for perceived financial benefits.
4. political or social inequality resulting from class warfare and wealth redistribution.
5. majority rule, where such majority is purchased through the promise of personal benefit.
6. a system of government in which the power, which used to be vested in the people, who ruled either directly or through free elected representatives, is now solidly controlled by a select few who have purchased that power from the people by promising ever increasing benefits from the treasury.
   

Origin:
2009; [root: augere (Latin, present infinitive) - 1. increase, augment; 2. enlarge, spread; 3. lengthen; 4. exaggerate; 5. honor, enrich; 6. (figuratively) exalt, praise. - rel. auction]

Related words or phrases for : augereocracy
socialism, communism, progressivism, voter auction, bribery, influence peddling

example: “The people in this country have forsaken their democracy and sold their votes and control of our government to the highest bidder in exchange for free healthcare and rent controlled housing. We are now an augereocracy.”

Who is John Galt?: 2timulus?