Posted by LydiaScott on 03/29/11
Last updated 03/29/11

I heard on the local news this morning that Indiana Democrats came back to work today after a month of hiding out in another state in protest of doing their job.  I find it interesting that those who participated still got paid and recieved a mere slap on the wrist for their behavior. 

Honestly, if any one of us did the same thing we would have gotten a pink slip and/or kick in the keister out the door on the first or second day.  But that is politics folks.  Our elected officials do not have the same code of conduct that we are expected to have.  This is no news though, many of us already knew about holierthanthou-itis which afflicts a large quantity of elected and appointed officials. 

So the winner is 'Status Quo' and The loser is (bom bom bom) 'the taxpayer'.  Once again we foot the bill for activist politians out to make a name for themselves or what ever it is they think they are doing.  The least they could have done is publicly returned the paycheck and taken non paid days for their stunt.  (Like that would actually happen)

May is around the corner and this is an opportunity to make a different decision.  Use it wisely and do not be fooled by the "stuff" that comes out of the mouths of politians during election season.  Look at their track record and ask the important questions.    Go beyond the exterior and smooth public speaking.  Get to the core and learn if the politician thinks one thing and does another.  If so this is a good indication that we will get more of the same.  If enough of us take a risk and actually vote someone in who will challenge the status quo we can have a fighting chance.  No more career politicans is a good start, vote them out so we can get on to making our community a great place to live and start a business.  We could choose a person who will help create an environment that is business friendly and supports the individual.  Why would a politican want to change a system that help put them where they are today? 

We do not need to rely on the same people running things decade after decade after decade after decade.  Some people have been in office for 40 years.  We need new ideas from new people.  Indiana's population in 2009 was 6,417,276 with the following breakdown of age group of adults. This information is from
http://www.stats.indiana.edu/profiles/profiles.asp?scope_choice=a&county_cha
nger=18000&button1=Get+Profile&id=2&page_path=Area+Profiles&path
_id=11&panel_number=1

It is realistic to think that we have a pool of individuals to run for office and take the pressure off of career politicians.  While Indiana is considered a rural state it is not empty, we do have more choices.  We can make a difference by doing it together in a concerted effort. 

"This is my own opinion and not the opinion of anyone anywhere anytime."

Posted 04/02/11 Paul Hogan Middle Village, NY

The United States Congress has already made huge swings to the left and right over the past two decades and nothing really changes. I'm not confident that the American people have the power to affect change via the ballot box anymore, if we ever did.

Posted by LydiaScott on 03/09/11

Statehouse eUpdate
from State Rep. Pat Bauer
======================================================
March 9, 2011
======================================================
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

On Wednesday night (March 9th), join Indiana House members on a live tele-town hall from Urbana, Illinois, at 6 p.m. where they are fighting back for Indiana jobs, wages and education.

Call in, hear directly from the legislators, and ask them questions about what you can do to join the fight back.

CALL-IN: 6:55 p.m. (Eastern), 5:55 p.m. (Central)
CONVERSATION STARTS: 7 p.m. (Eastern), 6 p.m. (Central)

DIAL-IN PHONE NUMBER: (916) 469-4760                 
CODE TO JOIN THE CALL: 561385

Please politely request that all elected representitives go back to work.  If they no longer want to do the job we elected them to do they should resign. 

Posted by LydiaScott on 02/23/11
Last updated 02/23/11

I will be brief and to the point.  If I refused to go to work in protest of doing my job because I didn't like it I would be let go.  After all I knew what the job entailed when I accepted the position.  If I were to do that then I would deserve getting let go, I didn't do what I agreed to do. 

Same in point-Any elected officials that are refusing to go to work because they do not want to do what they agreed to do when they accepted the position, they should be let go.  Hiding out in some undisclosed location on the Indiana Illinois border is akin to an 1800's gang hiding in their secret fort until the heat blows over. These 'runaway' elected officials are demonstrating "Do as I say, not as I do".  I am so tired of this class system perpetuated by 'holier than thou' elected officials who continue to rub in our faces that they are above us and are exempted from the way the rest of society is expected to behave.  So please tell these runaway elected officials to grab their Binky and baba then high tail to the state house to do their jobs. 

*disclaimer-I attempted to call the office of the elected official who represents the area I live in and the phone has been busy for two days solid.  I then attempted to email him this morning and the email address he has posted on his page at the the Indiana Assembly website is not working properly.  Since his phones and email are busy all the time I am posting my letter here so I can at least feel some ease that someone could read it if they wanted to.  This is my opinion and not the opinion of anyone else anywhere anytime anyplace

Posted 02/27/11 rusty75 mishawaka, IN

The Democrats left because of only one issue, the right to work bill. The right to work would make the union stronger for its people who it represents. I belong to local 1118 and pay over $900 a month to health insurance and only covers 70%. If as a union we could get together and refuse to pay our dues I bet that would change. But here in Indiana you have to suck it up and keep quiet.

Posted 03/16/11 Joan Lewis Arlington, IN

Good rant!

Posted 03/16/11 Willij4lib Monroe, WA

LOL,I guess your company wasn't swallowed up by one of these public Corporations. Man! the same is not the same. Yep I agree we need to add a new clause to the table "If you do not do your job your FIRED!!!" Wouldn't that be fun.

Posted by LydiaScott on 05/05/10
Last updated 05/05/10

Well, it is May 5, 2010 and I feel a strange sadness and of course the sigh of a 'not as busy day' now that the primary is officially over.  I have been reflecting on the course of events and while they did not go as I (and thousands of others) had hoped there were some things I can be grateful for.

I am definitely grateful that Eric Rowe, a local Michiana resident believed so greatly in the abilities of John Hostettler that he waged a full on citizen's draft.  An effort to bring to the attention to Hoosier's that we have a treasure in our midst and we ought to put his experience and high level of integrity to work for us and our benefit.  I am also grateful to the tens of thousands (maybe hundreds) of Hoosiers that assisted in this great achievement.  This would not have been accomplished without the participation of each of us.

Really...... think about it??????  When was the last time you remember citizens drafting a candidate to run for office?  I have to say that I can not remember a time in my short life that has happened.  And that gives me great hope!  Hope that someday hopefully in my lifetime  we will elect an individual into office that actually has no intention of making it a career.  An individual that  has the fortitude to stay the course and the foundation to understand why he/she is doing so.

So many politician's squawk on the way to election that they are going to change Washington when what happens too quickly is that Washington changes them.  They tout tax reduction while voting for a tax increase.  They tout less government while voting for more government intrusion.  My gramma would call that talking out of both sides of the mouth and we had plenty of that this primary season!

So off my soap box and back to being grateful.  I am grateful to the honest and genuine but often silent movement of the citizen's government.  A government for the people, by the people and of the people.  A great idea and one that's time has come.................

Let us see, do and achieve a government that is solid in it's stand in the upholding of the Indiana state constitution, standing up to corporations and anyone else who attempts to put a stranglehold on state's rights and getting to the business of improving the life of every person in this state.

November is just around the corner.  Let's see just what kind of difference a group of determined and persistent citizen's can make?

Posted 05/05/10 Cliff Hutchison Portland, OR

I was following Hostettlers campaign from my home here in Oregon, hoping that a well-tested anti-war, constitutional conservative could make it into the US Senate, to join Rand Paul in defending America against a tyrannical government. May I remind you that Indiana's other Senator, Richard Lugar, is up for re-election in 2 years; enough time for Mr. Hostettler to build a state-wide grassroots movement capable of defeating a compromising, middle-of-the-road career Senator in the GOP primary. Press on toward freedom Lydia!

Posted 05/06/10 LydiaScott Granger, IN

I like the sound of that..... Thanks for your greatful perspective. Yes, Mr. Lugar is up for re-election in two years, I do think he has made quite a career of being a senator. And not as conservative as the people he represents I might add. Election 2012, A grand opportunity to change the sheets and do some cleaning.

Posted 07/05/10 sellin55 Knox, IN

Time for Richard Lugar to go home permentantly

Posted by LydiaScott on 01/07/10
Last updated 01/07/10

These links offer a good view, about an hour of reading and viewing video

http://farmwars.info/?p=594

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2010/01/how-to-fix-s510-a-sustainable-ag-perspecti
ve-1/

http://www.bytestyle.tv/

Read the Bill, well the two versions that are in the Senate.  Click on Text of Legislation and you will see that there are two versions in the Senate.  Hmm......

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:S.510:

I began to read the bill and it didn't take long for me to figure out that this bill is not much different from the several other 'food safety'  bills introduced into Congress this past year.

 The other disturbing trend I noticed is that this bill doesn't even write out the entire bill in sentences and paragraphs.  It does list the legislation to be amended and then states what line is to be striked, add such and such to this line, insert this line to this portion of the legislaton, blah blah blah.  Really, stop what you are doing right now and go check it out. 

 http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:S.510:

 There is no way I could review this legislation in a couple of hours.  I first need to have all of the other other pieces of legislation that are being amended.  Does anyone know how many other pieces of legislation there are??????? Hundreds..............  Has your Senator read this bill?  Doubtfully!!! 

I have a sneaky feeling that our congressional employees are hoping and praying that we are going to be too tired from the busy holidays to read this legislation.  They got their fingers crossed! 

These  bills are written by lobbyist bureaucrats who are heavily subsidized by BIG Agribusiness and CAFO's who are in turn heavily influenced by corporate global governance do gooders.  Or maybe not. 

It could be that our congressional employees and their appointed bureaucrats are completely convinced that we are a bunch of dunces that no longer posses the ability to wipe our hineys after we go potty. That we do not have enough conductive reasoning skills or enough intelligence to determine what we want to put in our body, what we want to eat and drink so they MUST save us from ourselves.  Super Senators to the rescue!

Why are they legislating behavior out the wazoo?  All of this legislation, laws and regulation to either nugde or force us into submission are akin to invisible chains. Are we the chattel and they the plantation owner?  Actions speak louder than words....... 

Honestly, how much are we going to put up with?  WE have many many opportunities each day to make a difference.  We can choose which ones we want to participate in.  I have listed some and they are in the order I thought of them.  They are not listed in order of importance, you have to do that. 

• We can financially support a freedom loving candidate as they run for office.
• We can continue to write, call and visit our local congressional employees regarding legislation and follow up like clockwork.
• We can make a point to read up on current events each week so we can make informed decisions.
• We can attend a city council meeting, county council meeting or visit the state assembly website to find out what is going on, what they are spending money on and what laws they want to serve up to us next.
• Read the Declaration of Independence annually and see if there are any current resemblances linking us now to them then.
• Read the Constitution and take it to heart.
• Read your state's Constitution and learn about those who wrote it.  See if the state assembly is using it as a guidebook or just ignoring it, at best using it when it is convenient for them.
• Acknowledge and thank any elected official that is using the constitution as a guidebook and the well being of every American as their conscience. 
• Seek out organizations that share  ideas you do and volunteer with time, talent and treasure.
• If you are concerned about food safety then seek out local food producers and get to know them, ask them about their farming practices and purchase food from them. 
• What ever issue you are concerned about find an alternative and do it. 
• Vote with your pocketbook, very powerful!
• Read classics like The Law by Fredric Bastiat, Common Sense by Thomas Paine, Discovering Freedom by Rose Wilder Lane.
• Learn about trail blazers making a difference right now and be inspired. Jackie Walorski, John Hostettler, Marlin Stutzman,Rachel Grubb, Greg Walker,Jerry Titus,Chris Riley,Joel Salatin, Gary Johnson, Thomas Woods, Peter Schiff just to name a few.  There are many many individuals out there making a huge difference and blazing a trail back to limited government, reduced spending, constitutional government, reduced legislation, increased personal liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
• Read S 510, both versions and take notes on areas that concern you. Communicate these concerns to your senator.
• Ask your senator if he/she has read both versions of S510.  If they have ask what the differences are and why two bills were submitted.
• If you senator has not read it ask them why not?
• Ask your senator if they support or oppose S 510 and why?
• Let your senator know why you oppose S510.  If you are from an agricultural state like Indiana also let them know this is really BAD for the hundreds of small farms and the local food economies.
• Register to vote and vote in every election.  If you are using the excuse that your vote doesn't count then stop it!  The elite hope and pray every day that we continue to believe this.  In 2008 and people across this country voted out incumbents in record numbers and for once, the establishment took notice.  In 2010 let us do it again!  An educated electorate is a powerful electorate.

*Disclaimer-This is my opinion and not the opinion of anyone else anywhere anytime anyplace.