Observations On Our American Government

Allow me to share with you a few important observations about our American government. This is not meant to be in-depth and all-inclusive. It is shared with the hope that it will enlighten the reader and encourage more participation in our American government!

1. All men are endowed by God with unalienable rights such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I must stress that these rights are God-given and are not distributed or granted to us by the government.

• "We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness... " Declaration of Independence
• "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people." Amendment IX
• "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." Amendment X

2. Men cede to government some of their natural rights in order to give government its powers. Government only has the powers given it by the people.

• "...governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed... " Declaration of Independence
• "Nothing is more certain than the indispensable necessity of government, and it is equally undeniable, that whenever and however it is instituted, the people must cede to it some of their natural rights in order to vest it with requisite powers." The Federalist #2

3. Our government's role is to secure our unalienable rights.

• "...all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men..." Declaration of Independence
• "Why has government been instituted at all? Because the passions of men will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice, without constraint." The Federalist #15
• "A wise and frugal government...shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement...This is the sum of good government." Thomas Jefferson (1st Inaugural Address)

4. Our government is accountable to the people and the people are to hold the government in check.

• "In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government..." The Federalist #51

Based on these and other writings from our founding fathers, I am of the firm conviction that our government was designed to be a small and limited government. Our founders did not see a government that dispensed our every need. They saw our government as securing our rights as individuals to pursue life, liberty and happiness.

Cross-posted at www.backtotheconstitution.org

Christian Persecution Continues In Burma (Myanmar)

An article published on-line at Mission Network News shows that persecution of Christians in Burma continues. Villages are attacked with mortars and machine guns, water supplies are poisoned, people are burned alive. These atrocities and more are committed against Christians and others.

Please pray for the Christians in Burma. Contact your Congressman and raise the awareness.

Look For New Posts On My Blog!

Sorry my blog posts have been few and far between this summer. I've had a lot of business travel since May and it has prevented me from writing for my blog. I'm catching up now and hope you enjoy my new posts!

Foxx To Host Telephone Town Hall

The following is from a press release from NC Congresswoman Virginia Foxx.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—On Thursday, August 20 Congresswoman Virginia Foxx will host a district-wide telephone town hall on the topic of healthcare reform for Fifth District constituents. Constituents can call into the town hall meeting by dialing 1-877-850-4133 at 6:30 pm and entering the password FOXX (3699).

"We need sensible healthcare reform that is patient centered, not government-centered or insurance company-centered,” Foxx said. “In the midst of the national debate over healthcare reform many constituents want to know what their government is up to with healthcare.

“North Carolina taxpayers are rightly demanding that Washington slow down the process and listen to their concerns,” Foxx said. “So I am looking forward to hearing constituents’ thoughts about the healthcare reform bills moving through Congress.”

Constituents will be connected to a live conference call with Rep. Foxx and other constituents in the Fifth District when they call 1-877-850-4133 on August 20 at 6:30 pm. All participants will need to enter a password for the call: the password is F-O-X-X (3699). After joining the call, participants will be able to ask Rep. Foxx questions about the healthcare reform or any other issues on their mind.

“Please join me on this telephone town hall,” Foxx said. “This will be a great opportunity for constituents to let their voice be heard in the important healthcare debate in Congress no matter where they live in the Fifth District."

This telephone town hall is open to constituents in North Carolina’s Fifth District.
Individuals can visit Rep. Foxx’s website, www.foxx.house.gov or click here to determine if they are a Fifth District resident.

Foxx Comment On DNC's Misleading NC Voters

The following is from an Aug 14 press release from NC Congresswoman Virginia Foxx.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (NC05) issued the following statement today after North Carolina constituents were misled by the DNC this week into fake “meetings” in Foxx’s District offices:

“The Democratic National Committee is shooting itself in the foot,” Foxx said. “We’re in the middle of an historic economic downturn, we’re working to reform our healthcare system and the best the DNC can do is deceive well-meaning citizens into thinking they’ve set up meetings in my office.

“Everyone should have an opportunity to voice their opinion on healthcare reform. But purposefully confusing constituents into thinking they’ve scheduled a meeting with me when no such arrangements are made with my office is disrespectful of these people’s time and resources.

“The vast majority of people who have stopped by my district offices to express their support for President Obama’s plan have been polite and civil. But some have also been very confused by the DNC’s deceptive tactics. This is very disappointing and I hope the DNC and Organizing for American can find a more constructive way to join in the debate.”

Note: The DNC, through it’s Organizing for America arm, has been allowing people to “schedule” meetings with their Members of Congress at a DNC web site. Individuals who “schedule” a meeting with their representative are given a time and date for the meeting. But their representatives are not given any information regarding these scheduled meetings. During a busy month when Representatives attend dozens of meetings and events around their districts, many constituents who are misled by the DNC web site are finding that their representative is hours away when they arrive for their “scheduled meeting”. Read news coverage of this tactic here.

Foxx Cosponsors Healthcare Reform Legislation

The following is a July 28 press release from NC Congresswomen Virginia Foxx. I am proud to have her represent me in Washington!!

Foxx cosponsors healthcare reform legislation
Bill expands access to health insurance with tax credits, aid to states

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (NC05) today cosponsored the Improving Health Care for All Americans Act (H.R. 3218) a bill that will dramatically expand Americans’ access to health insurance.

“Our healthcare system is in need of reform,” Foxx said. “This legislation addresses the serious gaps in health insurance coverage that exist for many families. By creating tax credits for uninsured families and new Individual Membership Associations Congress will help make healthcare more affordable and portable.

“Congress can reform healthcare and make health insurance more affordable—and we can do it without a government takeover of healthcare. This bill makes that much clear. It focuses on preserving the patient-doctor relationship while removing barriers to affordable health insurance and keeping Washington bureaucrats out of the equation.”

H.R. 3218 helps uninsured families get coverage through three different policy changes:
First, it creates a health insurance tax credit of up to $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 for families.
It also expands insurance options and access to health insurance by creating Individual Membership Associations (IMAs). IMAs would expand insurance coverage by allowing groups like trade associations, churches and other civic groups to offer affordable insurance to their members.
Finally, H.R. 3218 provides federal incentives for states to create high risk insurance pools for Americans who have difficulty securing health insurance.

Note: Foxx is also a cosponsor of H.R. 2607 which expands access to coverage for uninsured families by creating Associated Health Plans; H.R. 1118 which gives seniors more choices and control over Medicare enrollment; H.R. 1039 which promotes health information technology; H.R. 1086 which seeks to reduce healthcare costs through tort reform; and H.R. 2516 which lowers costs through a bevy of healthcare reforms.

Congresswoman Foxx Press Release On Healthcare Bill

The following is from a press release from NC Congresswoman Virginia Foxx.

Foxx pledges not to vote for healthcare bill she hasn’t read
Repeats promise to oppose bill that subsidizes or mandates abortion

Washington, DC—Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) promised today that she would not vote for any healthcare reform bill that she had not read and that had not been publicly available for at least 72 hours.

“Americans’ healthcare is much too important for Congress to pass legislation in a blind rush or under the cloak of secrecy. I promise that I will not support any legislation that the American people have not had an opportunity to review and weigh in on.

“I also promise that under no circumstances will I vote for a bill that does not specifically forbid taxpayer funded abortion or that mandates insurance coverage of abortion. Taxpayer funded abortion is a profound offense to the conscience of millions and millions of Americans and such policies have no place in a healthcare reform bill.”

Yesterday, House Democrats unveiled a healthcare overhaul bill that will cost more than $1 trillion. The bill imposes a 2.5 percent tax on everyone who does not obtain health coverage through their employer or does not purchase government-approved insurance policies.

The bill also levies a tax on small businesses that cannot afford to offer health insurance to their employees. Additionally, more than half of the bill’s $1 trillion price tag will be paid by so-called “high income tax filers.” As a result of this tax hike hundreds of thousands of small businesses will see a significantly higher tax burden.

“This legislation is going to harm the single largest source of job creation in America—small businesses,” Foxx said. “Small businesses are the engine of economic growth and it makes no sense to penalize the sector of our economy that offers the best hope for a swift economic recovery.”

Note: According to a Wall Street Journal story today, “businesses with between five and nine workers, representing about one million employers, had an average payroll of around $375,000 a year. A report from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that only about half of firms with three to nine workers offered health benefits in 2008.” Under the House Democrats’ healthcare bill about half of these small businesses would pay a new tax on their total payrolls if they did not start to offer health insurance.