Letters from a Contemporary Patriot

The sad part of government these days, Tom, is that we only have two "major" parties to choose from. Our Constitutional government of, by, and for the people is still functional in spite of a great deal of partisan effort to take total control. We still have a 'balance of power'! The problem is that when we most desperately need action (Any Change To Improve Our Nation) to overcome a crisis such as we now face, all we get is a partisan game of 'one-upmanship' to see who can blame the other for doing exactly the same thing.

There is an expression that "if you do as you've always done, you'll get what you always got!" As long as we rely so heavily on the type of campaign financing currently in use it will produce a government that is dominated by contributor access (corporate profit seeking) and greed!

Our elected officials will only respond to the electorate when they produce a grassroots objection such as the "TEA Parties" all over our country. If we don't strongly object to current "bail-outs" granting the banking industry $300 billion of taxpayer funds which cannot be accounted for, the banking industry will be allowed to shift their losses to the taxpayer and we will be right back where we are now - only worse - in about a year! That's not just my opinion, that's the opinion of Harvard Economists!

Your fellow patriot,

Paul

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Frank,

I'm glad to hear that you haven't given up on the two party system, since that's the only barrier we have standing between us and Oligarchy or Fascism. If my words seem extreme, that's good - they were intended to sound extreme because we are very near losing our Constitutional Republic! I concur that Americans need to avoid total partisanist voting - e.g. a single party ballot. Although advocacy of two parties to unify our nation may seem an oxymoron, it is the only way either the Republican or Democratic parties will ever be capable of offering real 'choice' - and I believe the choices we have are similar to choosing between dumb and dumber.

This is precisely why I'm supporting the efforts of "Rebuild The Party". I have some grave concerns regarding whether or not this effort will be successful, due to the rampant ego-centrist approach I see on all the blogs - Republican and Democratic. The most troubling thing I've observed is the Democratic faction seems to be resonating with the majority of Americans of either party! Which leads me to the question of why, in heavens name are the Republicans so out of touch with reality?

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to recognize the fact that America's consumption of 30% of the world's natural resources by 5% of the world's population is a travesty. Regardless of whether mankind is playing any part in global warming, why is it inconceivable that America should reduce our fossil fuel consumption and dependence on foreign energy resources? Regardless of who bears the greatest blame for our present economic crisis it seems evident that we should revisit the laws which allow the type of abuses perpetrated by Madoff, and I'm certain he is not unique by any means!

Yes, we need more candidates that reflect the fundamental values of Americans! However, if we continue to employ the same methods the results will be the same! Insanity is doing the same things expecting different results!

Your fellow patriot,

Paul

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Tom,

Apathy is not only a "killer", but it is precisely what has created the deplorable conditions we must now try to reverse! It most assuredly will not be easy, but our Lord never promised his followers a soft life of leisure. In fact, he told us "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." (Matthew 7:13-14). He also said "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." (Matthew 10:34). Failure to VOTE for righteous rulers is endorsement of evil rulers!

Let those who have eyes to see and ears to hear recognize that we who are in the body of Christ have been charged to take up our crosses and engage in this righteous battle over evil, to restore His Kingdom and our Constitutional government under God! We must remember that "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven." (Matthew 10:32-33) That does not mean we should undertake violent overthrow of our legitimate rulers, but that we must demand the rulers we select be responsible to God and the people who elected them - and test them accordingly - as the scripture provides. I will close this message by echoing the words of the apostle John, as he instructed us in testing our leaders.

"Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world." (1 John 4:1-3)

Your fellow patriot,

Paul

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Good morning Hans,

At least it is morning here. Perhaps I would like to see a NEW DAWN for the entire world! The video you posted reminded me that a picture is worth a thousand words, and I would love to produce a video of all the people who are making a difference in restoring the government of, by, and for the people of this nation when it was created. The nation our forefathers conceived was a nation led by those who derived their just powers from God and the consent of the governed. They collected their views and ideology into a document that has served as a foundation of our nation - the United States Constitution.

Our Constitution is our greatest weapon against the forces of fascism and other forms of evil since the Bible! It provided a system of checks and balances in the form of the three branches of government - Administrative (the President), Legislative (congress), and Judicial (the Supreme Court) - to prevent any ONE branch from acquiring total control.

In my correspondence with you I have grown to realize there is much more that we have in common than what divides us. In other words, we are all human beings who share hopes and dreams achieving our goals in life by virtue of the freedom to pursue those ambitions. As a leader I have come to realize that the only good leaders are those who facilitate the achievement of hopes and dreams by those they lead, and a leader without followers is not a leader. The best leaders are those who seek to emulate a righteous role model (I think we all have role models we wish to be like). My role model is Jesus Christ - I want to be like him. Does that make me some sort of "religious" leader?

I don't think so. Jesus was a leader who was born under the reign of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. There are Roman records of His trial and crucifixion. Although the Bible is the best historical document of His life, He has become the single most influential character in history! What better leader to endeavor to emulate?

I will soon be publishing a treatise on "Leadership". If you are interested I will let you know when I publish it. My Step-daughter, from Vladivostok, is visiting and we are delighted to have her! I hope your trip to Moscow is safe and that you enjoy it greatly! Were you already married, or did you recently marry?

Your fellow patriot,

Paul

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Frank,

Thank you for your suggestion. I went to the website you recommended and evaluated several of the articles from Our Caucus. They make some very good points and I fully agree with their advocacy of a caucus rather than a new party. I wish there was a text version of the videos to make it easier to reference some of the points they make. Frankly, I don't have the time to restart the videos each time I want to refer to a particular point they made.

Although I fully concur with the excessive influence of money in the political process, I disagree with the belief that the only way to win election is with huge sums of money. If we wish to elect leadership we can support it will be by mobilizing the vote.

I believe the greatest leaders are those who serve simply as spokesmen and facilitators for achieving the hopes and dreams (pursuit of happiness) of those who are led. I profoundly disagree with the concept of our leaders being endowed with transcendent powers which make them superior to those they lead.

Anyone who seeks professional achievement will typically have a role model. A leader who does not seek to emulate a righteous role model will likely fail to provide righteous leadership. I believe that history reveals that our greatest leaders engaged in constant prayer, and that 'prayer' is the difference between good leaders and bad leaders. Good leaders are prayers - bad leaders are preyers. Prayers pray and preyers prey - the difference is one letter - "a" which is the 'beginning' of our alphabet and the beginning of the righteous decision-making based upon discernment of God's will - and "e" which is for the 'evil' they seek to achieve by using those they lead to their advantage.

That is why I have selected Jesus Christ is my role-model. I am not ever going to be as perfect as He, but at least it gives me a high mark to shoot for!

Your fellow patriot,

Paul

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Greetings Mark!

I know there are many blogs, organizations, websites, groups, etc. which are offering good suggestions on what we can do to restore America to it's rightful position as a respected world leader. There simply is not enough time for me explore innumerable locations for the information and opportunities to contribute which meet my schedule and abilities.

I am a member of two Social Networks like this one - "Patriotic Resistance" and "Rebuild the Party". I am also participating in the Facebook and Twitter Networks. I am involved in both elective and partisan politics, primarily at the city level, but also substantial involvement at the county level. I am also involved in a number of community service, 502c(3), volunteer, and faith-based organizations. Advocacy and involvement in civic affairs is a personal choice - not necessarily suitable to everyone.

I have been appalled at the apathy of American voters since I was studying Political Science at Portland State University in the late 60's! I have never been able to understand the value of granting the right to vote to people who misuse, abuse, or simply don't USE their civil rights and responsibilities! I have even considered the possibility of revoking the right to vote for persons who fail to vote in five consecutive national elections! As I've aged and my spiritual beliefs have matured I've become much more tolerant and understanding (I hope). Now I feel much more a part of the American constituency, and simply want to know how I can be an effective component in our great society. I simply want to know the answers to three questions:

What do I want?

Where can I get reliable information?

What can I do?

Answers to these questions are all I would like to obtain from this and/or any other Internet activity I engage in - and the more centralized the answers, the better! Perhaps before I get any older?

Your fellow patriot,

Paul

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Hi Martha!

I concur with the gravity of our current national dilemma and look forward to prompt resolution of the American Grand Jury concerns! I also hope that Americans continue to express their concerns with the TEA Party efforts in September! Persistence in faith is the key to all our issues and concerns:

Luke 18:1-8 (New International Version)

1Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. 3And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.'

4"For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, 5yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!' "

6And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"

Your fellow patriot,

Paul

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Lynn,

We need people to carry the message - to serve in a personal 'calling' engaged in the activities and skills endowed by our Creator to each and every one of His creations. We know our 'calling' because we do it as a labor of love. Whatever we enjoy doing to serve God and others is our 'calling'.

What is the message? The message is that each of us must live the life God wants us to live. God is our Father and we are His children - thus we are all brothers and sisters sharing the same spiritual DNA. We must cease our endorsement of corruption by literally 'buying' into it. God provides for all of our needs and most of our wants. I'm not advocating a life of self-denial, but I know that God will reveal to us what constitutes 'excess'.

My faith tells me that God has called me to serve in government. My role, in whatever capacity God reveals I should serve, will be to remember that I am a public servant deriving my capacity to lead from Providence and consent of the governed. Although I frequently become discouraged by the rampant Godlessness I see around me, and the overwhelming enormity of the task I face in opposing this Godlessness, my faith enables me to persevere and remember the Scriptural Prophets faced even greater adversity and prevailed by the grace of God! Regardless of whether I succeed in my personal undertakings I will always seek to glorify God in all my affairs and pray the decisions I make will bring God's blessings and prosperity to all of those affected by my decisions. Amen

Your fellow patriot,

Paul

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Tom,

There have been 63 new subject areas mandated for teachers to instruct in the past 100 years! Since 1640, hours and times of public education have not fundamentally changed, but classroom topics have been added including, but not limited to, English-as-a-second-language, and bilingual education; teen pregnancy awareness; Hispanic heritage education; alternative education in all its forms; stranger/danger education; anti-smoking education; sexual abuse prevention education; conflict resolution and peer mediation; HIV/AIDS education; CPR training; death education; etc.. Have teachers been paid extra for implementation of a single one of these 63 new areas added to those originally designated in 1640: Teach basic reading, some writing and arithmetic skills, and Cultivate values that serve a democratic society (some history and civics implied)? Not at all - except perhaps to delete cultivation of scriptural and basic "VALUES that serve a democratic society"! Nor has the length of the school day been increased, the length of the school year, or the number of years of education been changed! Is it any wonder that American schools are producing under-educated students who can barely pass our college entrance exams, or compete with foreign students for employment? These are FACTS, and if anyone would like proof, please don't abdicate attention to the curriculum your children are already being taught!

Your fellow patriot

Paul

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Reply to all,

I'm going to tell a short story to describe my views.

Uncle Sam was in his basement experimenting with variations of his "Free Market" game, when he discovered that if he treated corporations like citizens (SANTA CLARA COUNTY v. SOUTHERN PAC. R. CO.,118 U.S. 394 - 1886), he could 'trust' them to always do the right thing even though they had no 'moral compass' (like flesh and blood citizens) other than PROFIT.

Uncle Sam observed that his 'tweek' of the free market produced several years of phenomenal prosperity for the highest levels of the economy, and even began to 'trickle down' to the lowest levels - until the uncontrolled Wall Street institutions began to shift the basis of wealth production from a manufacturing-based economy (which produced 'products' with VALUE) to a credit-based economy (which produced enormous unsecured DEBT)! Oops! The Great Depression became a 'glitch' that was "easily" repaired in half a decade by World War II and regulation of the Federal Reserve Bank.

Wall Street and corporations didn't like the regulations which were imposed after the Great Depression and after years of advocating for repeating the same approach which produced the fabulous wealth of the 1920's, they finally succeeded in persuading the administration to remove these checks and balances in the 1980's. There was a short period of economic prosperity followed by the "Dot Com bubble" bursting. No problem! Shame on those fools who invested billions in UNSECURED assets! Every American dreams of having their own home, so Uncle Sam said let's give them their homes and don't pay any attention to their financial stability - it's SECURED debt which can be foreclosed on.

Fast forward to the present and Wall Street has managed to RETAIN the billions of dollars they bilked from the "secondary market" and double their gain by DEFERRING their "toxic assets" (the UNSECURED paper debt) to the American taxpayer. One unfortunate and unresolved byproduct: Americans are MAD AS HELL!!!

Your fellow patriot,

Paul

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Anne R.,

I have to agree with you regarding the health care reform, Anne R., but we seriously need to cut the size of government instead of expanding it! I would propose that the government only do what it does best, and collect the funds to distribute to communities, nationwide, who know best where healthcare is needed and how to avoid abuses. The communities would then pay social service, volunteer, and faith-based organizations to distribute funds and keep records as required. Why limit the size of government?

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, government wage and salary disbursements were up $4.3 billion dollars in May, 2009 and up an additional $2.8 billion dollars in June, making government the only sector of the economy which is growing! The wages and salaries of government workers have been steadily increasing throughout the economic crisis. Unemployment, in Oregon, has increased again. In June it was at 12.2% - the highest level since records began!

http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/pi/pinewsrelease.htm

Recently, at a County Homeless Council meeting the group endorsed a "Neighborhood Stabilization" effort to provide a portion of the $1.9 million the county is receiving from the Economic Stimulus funds to buy foreclosed property after hard-working middle class workers have been driven out by high interest rates. Where will it end?

I only hope that righteousness and justice will prevail, for we have nothing else in which to place our faith and trust but God. May He bless and protect us all!

Your fellow patriot,

Paul