“Lady Gumbo” of Baton Rouge claims Congress sleeps on the job! She claims her “Firecracker Gumbo” will keep Congress and Senate awake! We down here eat roadkill! Them there leaders of ours drink Champaign! Eat the American pie! We pay for it! She’s tired of it! She claims no Congressman or Senator can sleep after eating her gumbo! She says, “Them sissy boys up there! They fall asleep! They’ll shit themselves”! ”Lady Gumbo” claims the quick solution to solving the problems of America is her “Firecracker Gumbo” and locked toilets in Washington!
Dear Lady Gumbo,
“Firecracker Gumbo”! Get her done! “Save America Send a Sheep to Washington” would like to place an order for four thousand gallons of “Firecracker Gumbo” for deliver to Washington. We will be in contact soon. “Lady Gumbo” you are “We the people”!
The colonial war with Britain had recently started, and the delegates from the thirteen colonies assembled in Philadelphia to direct the war effort, raise armies, appoint diplomats and other necessary acts. Each of the delegates took their task very seriously and only acted within the authority given by their individual state.
Standing in stark comparison to the actions of today’s elected delegates to Congress, the Continental Congress delegates could not/would not take action or vote in a manner either inconsistent with or without the express authority of their constituent state.
Notes taken by Thomas Jefferson, given to James Madison, tell of the importance each delegate gave to their respective constituent authority:
“It was also argued by J. Adams, Lee, Wythe, and others:
That the people wait for us to lead the way:
That they are in favor of the measure, though the instructions given by some of their representatives are not:
That the voice of the representatives is not always consonant with the voice of the people, and this is remarkably the case in these middle Colonies:”
Congress voting independence
Eventually, the delegates consented to vote the consent of their constituent states – to declare independence from Britain.
In the event of constituent desire to have their delegates to Congress take action on a measure that is consistent with their desire and wishes…the Second Continental Congress ultimately took their authority from their constituent states and voted accordingly. That was the ONLY action they could take. Today, we see a Congress that takes action NOT in accordance with the wishes and desires of the majority of their constituents – it is for THEIR desire and glory only!
Oh for the dedication, commitment, and individual responsibility to those who send congressional representatives to Washington today as was displayed in the minds and actions of the Second Continental Congress.
It’s amazing to me that we continue to let Congress go down this path of rushed legislation. “We must do this now!” “We have to sign it before Christmas!” They’ve used the same pattern for every piece of rushed legislation this year since the initial TARP programs last year. TARPS I and II. Stimulus. Overextended budget. Cap and trade (though not signed yet). Health care. “We can’t afford to stop and think about this. We must act now!”
It’s the same argument global warming believers use with the planet. “It will only happen gradually for the 50 – 100 years, but if we wait 5 more minutes it will be too late.”
In a former job we had a lot of “fire drills.” The bosses would come with these important pieces of work that had to be done now! They would get us all frothed up so that we were cranking out absolute crud until 2:00 am. I coined a term for those projects: JALJA (Jumping Around Like Jackasses). “Here comes another JALJA,” became common lingo in my group. Most of us eventually wised up and realized the JALJA’s weren’t important and moved onto to work for bosses who could use their resources effectively. The JALJA leaders couldn’t figure out what was important and what wasn’t, so everything was, even when it wasn’t. They didn’t know what they were doing, so they did a lot of it to keep people guessing.
The Congressional pace over the past year reminds me a lot of those good ole JALJA’s. People seem to be wising up, based on Obama’s declining poll numbers. I hope it will translate into results at the 2010 Congressional elections to restore a balance of power in Congress.
At the very minimum, maybe we will get back to the days where Congressman and Senators would at least read, if not come to fully understand the stuff they’re voting on. It seems like such a basic expectation.
As hundreds of people stood to their feet lifting their voices in song and praise, I felt a change in the atmosphere. I had never attended an event so full of life, love, passion, and desire. These young men and women were in love with Jesus Christ. They were the living testimony of His good works and the many blessings He had placed on their lives.
The next artist walked on to the stage and greeted the worshipers in the audience. He shared his testimony and introduced their song. The musicians were on point and we were ushered into another praise song. The beats were crazy. Everyone was into the song, but did anyone really hear the lyrics? I wonder if this is a prime example of what happens when the beats pull us in and we neglect to listen closely to the lyrics?
As I listened closely to the lyrics of the song, I was left puzzled. I later turned to my cousin who had the same puzzled expression on his face. We paused and listened closer to the lyrics of the song, which said, “I am a prisoner of Christ?”
What? I am a prisoner of Christ? Does that even make sense? Is that even possible? No, no, and definitely a big NO! The wonderful thing about Jesus Christ and His love for us is that we are given free will. Since the beginning of time, Jesus gave Adam and Eve the freedom to do His will or fulfill their own desires. They had the ability to choose right from wrong. Even after they sinned and until today, we still have free will. We can choose to come to church or stay home. Sadly, many Christians have chosen the latter. Granted, there are many reasons why one has made their personal decision to stay home instead of attending a church service. However, if you have a problem with your church, there are millions of other churches around the world to choose from.
Am I a prisoner of Christ? Well what does the word, “prisoner” mean? According to dictionary.com, a prisoner is a person or thing that is deprived of liberty or kept in restraint. The second definition is a person who is confined in prison or kept in custody, esp. as the result of legal process. So with those definitions in mind, I couldn’t possibly be a prisoner of Christ.
I have the liberty to worship Christ or not. The beauty of that decision is He will love us regardless. I am not confined. Christ would never confine those who follow Him. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for those of the world. With all decisions, there are consequences. To love Christ means that you must be willing to die for your faith. Christians will have a difficult time trying to stay faithful, because we will be forced to conform our ways to that of the world. We know that as Christians we must stand out, because the ways of the world are against the Bible. Times are easy now for some, but life will become quite uncomfortable over time for true believers. To hate Christ means that you will not gain eternal life. Once you know the end result of either path, it’s still your choice to identify which is the best route.
I sense some of my readers may ask, are we prisoners of Satan if not Christ? I would still have to say no. He doesn’t have the ability to imprison us. It boils down to our decision to follow one versus the other. It’s not too late to switch armies. Keep in mind, time is of the essence. For those of you who are still stuck at the fork in the road, choose Christ. Then proudly proclaim that you are a soldier of Christ, not His prisoner. I have!
As much as this characterizes our government, it is also becoming a universal sentiment of an entitled society.
Last week, President Obama lashed out at the financial institutions on Wall Street.
When the President of the United States flippantly refers to private citizens and their businesses as ‘fat cat bankers on Wall Street’ there is a problem with the president. When the public sees nothing wrong with this, there is a larger problem with the public at large.
The irony of this particular instance of class warfare populism exhibited by Barack Obama, is that as he delivers these remarks, we learn that government employees are much better paid than private workers. This may seem unrelated at first glance, however, the president petulantly proclaimed these so called ‘fat-cats’ the architects of our current recession, seemingly excusing the federal government of any and all responsibility in the matter. I won’t get into all the intricacies and arguments here, but suffice it to say this is a more than generous revision on the president’s part. So the age old question ‘cui bono?’ does not reflect well on those ‘fat cats’ in D.C. if we understand their role in the unraveling of our economy compared to their ever increasing compensation.
The cycle is a vicious yet convenient one: Support and push policies that loudly proclaim help for the helpless while quietly destroying the free market, which action directly creates more ‘helpless’ to promise more for while also creating the circumstances in which people will more likely cede power to ‘the only people’ who can fix things. Oh, and they need to be better compensated for all the extra work of saving us.
In fact, USA Today reported the following:
On average, federal employees earned $71,206 per year, compared to $40,331 in the private sector.
From December 2007 through June 2009, average federal employee salaries increased by 6.6 percent, while average private-sector salaries increased by 3.9 percent. Federal employees at the top of the pay scale received pay increases of 8.6 percent during that period.
Federal employment is getting top-heavy. Federal employees making more than $100,000 increased from 14 percent to 19 percent of total government employment. In fact, the number of federal employees making more than $100,000 has more than doubled in less than two years. There are now more federal employees making more than $100,000 per year than $40,000 per year.
How could anyone say no to this face?
In light of these facts, how can any government employee begrudge any private citizen their salary? The fact is that these ‘fat cats’ on Wall Street are creating something. They are creating jobs and wealth for millions. The ‘fat cats’ on Washington are best known for creating hurdles for those that would create jobs and wealth.
Worse still, Obama warns that the ‘fat cats’ had better stop opposing government control of their pay and strict oversight of their day-to-day operations because, basically, they owe him for the bailout, which coincidentally many of them have paid back and others have been deterred from paying back.
Obama’s ignorance seems only matched and perhaps exceeded by his unmitigated arrogance. These comments were made just before the president was to meet with said ‘fat cats’ to persuade them to comply with his wishes.
I was feeling a bit challenged tonight when a friend appeared on MSN Messenger Chat and we ended up chatting for a while. I was sharing with M how scary it can be moving alone to Australia alone in one and a half months without a job and permanent place to live at this moment. I thought our exchange of words might be useful words of encouragement.
“What do you think your biggest failure to yourself is? Think large picture.” “Not giving myself a chance to try something I really want.”
“I think you need to set some KPIs on goals which you have invested heavily in.”
“But I want to live life knowing that at least I tried. I hate to stop at something just because it’s unfamiliar to me.”
“Where did you pick up that fearless spirit?” “I think from sports. I hate to lose, and if I lose, I wanna go down fighting.”
“No one can win all the time, and that has taught me how to suck it up. I may grumble, but my mind is already focused on another goal.”
“Security = Liberty. I’m very very focused about getting as much security as possible so that I can have the freedom to have choices laid out for me. Emotional security…..need to be self-assured and confident enough so that our eyes can be opened to the options that lie ahead of us.”
Marissa Mayer is just one of those – what’s the beef?
She is described as
vice president for search products and user experience
But that just translates as “Marketing Director”. Sorry!
Nothing to see here then.
As marketing directors go, she is very pretty overall, but a bit blonde for my taste, so I’ll pass. I can say these things and not be sacked, for I am a Masterless Man.
However, that does not detract from the clear success and acumen of the Google people, including her obviously, in doing a very good imitation of taking all the geeks’ precious things, which I love to do, and giving them to everyone, which I also love to do.
And if Google simultaneously translates everything in every language, for everyone, into his own, then one of the main anti-cultural beefs about the Anglosphere, which is that it is “hegemonic”, can be laid to rest in the slime to which it belongs.
