John Kerry Should Avoid Boats

What is it with Senator John Kerry (D MA) and boats? The Swift Boat controversy almost derailed his presidential campaign. Then there was that ridiculous photo of him on a sailfish wearing flowered Bermuda shots. Almost as bad as the photo of Dukakis riding in a tank. And now he's been caught docking his seven million dollar boat in Newport, Rhode Island to avoid paying Massachusetts sales tax and excise tax.

Now I don't fault Kerry for having a yacht, or for being affluent. That's America. I do, however, have problems with him, of all people, not paying his fair share of taxes. John Kerry has received a federal or state salary, paid by the taxpayers, for most of his adult life. Moreover, as a liberal Democrat, he espouses the cause of the poor and less fortunate, who in the last analysis, rely on government subsidies and entitlements paid for by the taxes of others. Kerry's only contact with the poor and less fortunate seems to be when he gets out of his limousine at Fenway Park and walks to the front of the line (Courtesy of Boston Globe).

Maybe it's the company he keeps in Washington. There's Tim Geitner, the tax cheat, who heads the IRS. Then there's Senator Chris Dodd who got a favorable home loan from Countryside, a company he helped bail out. And on the House side, you've got Charley Rangle, who forgot that he owned property in the Dominiccan Republic when he filed his taxes. Plus former Senator Tom Daschle and any number of others.

It's time to send them a message, folks, and evict them all from their cushy government jobs. November is coming. Vote them out.

We need Senators and Congressman who come from the people, who represent the people, and who retire after a couple of terms. Long-term incumency breeds arrogance and a feeling that they know best what people want and need, forgetting that they have been cloistered in Washington and isolated from America.

Hope and Change

Are you better off today than you were two years ago?

Is your job as secure as you thought? Has your retirement plan maintained its value? Has the market value of your home appreciated? Is college more affordable for your children's education? Is health care less expensive and more available?

Most Americans would have to answer "no" to the above questions, unless, of course, they happen to be a sitting Congressman, employed by the government, or a member of a strong union.

The reality is that unemployment is high, and it's not getting any better. The stock market, which determines the value of your retirement funds is down. Home prices are down in most parts of the country. College costs are increasing. Health insurance costs keep going up. In addition, the US dollar has dropped with respect to most other currencies, so the price of imported goods is up.

Is this the change we were promised? Are we only to hope that things at least get back to where they were? What's happened to the American dream?

Until the government acts to allow job growth to occur in the private sector, things will only continue as they are, unless, of course, they get worse. In the meantime, the government continues to spend more money. Money which it doesn't have. Money which will have to be repaid by you, your children and your grandchildren. It used to be billions, but now it's trillions.

One thing that the government hasn't taken away from you, at least not yet, is the right to vote. There are less than 100 days until Election Day. That is your chance to send Congress a message that you are concerned, worried, and fed up. Make your vote count.

Introduction

I never imagined that I would become a blogger. Yesterday, I didn't know what a blogger was, and now I is one.

Down Under means that I am living in Australia. Patriot means that I am, and always will be, an American, first and foremost.

I believe that America is the defining influence on the planet we inhabit. You can't escape it. Even here, 12,000 miles away, what happens in America affects us, and the way we live.

To most, America represents something to yearn for. If they cannot physically be there, they can still hope to achieve the freedoms and benefits which they attribute to the American way of life. To others, America is a threat to their way of life, and is something to be feared. Some go so far as to want to destroy it.

The American experiment resulted in a successful but fragile system of government. The unheard of idea that all men were equal and free to govern themselves demolished the idea that men were meant to be ruled by dynasties and ruling classes with inherited titles who could tax their labor at will. It worked, and the energy released by giving freedom to its people resulted in the creation of a superpower unlike any seen before. The Founding Fathers were geniouses? No, they were conscientious, hard-working men with vision. They gave us a Republic and a foundation on which to build a country. It's now up to us to keep it.

Looking at America from afar, I feel that we are in danger of losing what our forefathers worked so hard for to achieve. Will we pass on to our children and grandchildren what we were given? Or will we hand over to them the remnants of a once successful enterprise?

I've driven my family and friends nuts with my e-mails criticizing what is going on in the U.S. today. Most are too involved with day-to-day life to even want to think about such matters. I do, however, think such matters are important, so I will blog them and let people choose whether or not they want to read them.

Thought for the day: "If you're not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem."