Archive for May, 2009

Oil and gas prices are escalating once again at a rapid rate ($2.75 a gallon around here). Yesterday, interest rates rocketed up in reaction to bond prices. In this fragile economy, that has us hanging on the edge, we just can not afford to have the impact of these two occurrences crush any chance we have of getting through this economic mess.

How much time and money are we going to spend in Washington debating whether or not the most qualified individual in decades, Sonia Sotomayor, is going to be confirmed to the Supreme Court?

Folks in Washington - quit wasting our time and money on this. Confirm Ms. Sotomayor and get onto the priorities that We The People are facing every day.

We want our Representation putting their efforts into addressing how we can continue to afford to drive to work (for those of us still with jobs). Please put your efforts into helping us keep our homes and businesses without the financial industry crippling us.

We are hearing an increasing number of people saying they are scared, they can’t sleep at night, they don’t know what is going to happen. They are seeing everything they worked their entire life for in jeopardy.

We understand this is a very complex economic time - unlike anything we’ve seen in our life time. However we ask you to please prioritize your time and efforts to understanding how we got here and what needs to be done to get out of here while not letting this erode any further.

Please, don’t put your time, energy and our money into ideological, political gamesmanship any longer. We The People can not afford to have this type of political driven actions any longer.

Remember, you are in Washington for the people.

Went and paid real estate taxes today. The tax bill went up 5% over 2008. First quarter, 2009 existing home sales were reported and across the  country the value of our homes dropped almost 20%. Help me understand why our real estate tax bills do not reflect the erosion in the values of our homes over the past 18 months.

We know this is an issue the folks in Washington have little jurisdiction upon. However, our Representation needs to hear from all of us that we’re not real happy many of us are paying taxes based upon unrealistic property values while we are, or becoming “upside down”.

They need to hear us, all of US.

What do you all think about what is happening this week in Washington?

We are about to become a 70% owner of General Motors. Do We want to be owners of an automobile manufacturer? If so, how should We go about managing this business? We need to let our Representatives know what we think before all the pieces are put in place and can only watch it unfold.

North Korea seems to be intent on testing our new Administration. How do we want our Representation to handle this one? Do we summon our allies and orchestrate a global diplomatic action? Do we start getting our military prepared? Can we afford another military action with everything else we are currently undertaking?

President Obama has nominated Sonia Sotomayor as the next Supreme Court Justice. This is a lifetime appointment or for as long as the nominee wants it. How do you think Congress should address this nomination? The highest court of the nation needs to have the most qualified, fair minded people protecting our constitutional rights.

If you have not done so, please start contacting your Representation in Washington on these issues. Join us in letting them know what We The People think and how We would like to have things handled. Otherwise, we can only sit back and complain to each other about the way things are going .

We’re coming into a Holiday weekend when each one of us reflect upon the sacrifices Americans have made on behalf of our freedom and our right to have a say in how our country is governed. We thank them and appreciate their contributions, in many cases with the giving of their lives!

As we sit back with our families and friends this weekend, trying to get a break from everything that weighs heavy on every one of us every day, let’s all talk to each other about becoming more engaged. Let ’s make a promise that we will honor those Americans by each of us becoming more involved in letting Washington know that we want future generations of Americans making this statement about us and our Representation on Memorial Day - “They protected our freedoms, they made a difference and made America a better place for us”.

Have a safe, reflective and Happy Memorial Day Holiday.

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Is all the attention being paid to the “torture” issue distracting us and our Representation from the major issues at hand like the economic mess we are in, people losing their jobs at record numbers, an energy policy and health care?

We do not need another thing to handle at this point in time, do we?

One of the fundamental elements of the Presidential campaign last November were the debates regarding Health Care Reform.

We are now coming into the 5th month of the new Administration and there is a lot coming out of Washington this week about the “Health Care Industry” committing to controlling costs over the next 10 years.

Is that what we voted for? We think we voted for the Administration to begin efforts of developing a program for providing health care to every American. It’s not about giving everyone a health insurance program at some negotiated premium - it’s about getting every person and employee of a business access to affordable care.

It is troubling that the Single Payer option was tabled and not a part of the discussions in Washington this week. Who are we protecting by not exploring this option? We think we know the answer to this question. We’re not protecting people who need health care, we’re protecting the folks that increase our health care premium by 20% to 30% every year!

Dear Barack:

I am writing to you about the issue of Don’t ask Don’t Tell. I am hoping that you will make a commitment to get this law repealed. I am so disappointed that I am watching people that have served our country now getting kicked out of the armed forces they unselfishly served. Reason being - they have admitted to being gay. This is a travesty and needs to be changed immediately. This is all about their individual rights.

Thank you and I welcome your response.

This past November over 125 million of us voted in the Presidential Election - that’s about 38% of the population of the United States. It has now been six months since we voiced who and how we wanted our Representation to manage our government.

Our questions to you are: Of the 125 million plus voters, how many of us have told our Representation what we think, how we feel about the way things are going? How many of us have kept abreast of and asked our Representation to tell us what they are doing (Transparency)? How many of us have asked our Representation to tell us what they have done and why (Accountability)?

In these trying and difficult times, we are hearing the above two words used often by the media, the political folks and yes, even some of us. We The People and the members of TransparencyandAccountability.org are serious about backing up those two words with substance. Join us in our mission to let our Representation know we want them to tell us about their efforts on our behalf. Join us in our mission to let our Representation know we want to be kept abreast of their decisions and how their decisions are affecting or will affect us.

All of us need to stay involved. All of us together can and will have an impact - why wait until the next Election Day? IT’S OUR TURN now! We welcome your participation in our mission - let your voice be heard.

On behalf of all of us, thanks for making a difference.