HIT

So the State Department has admitted that a No-Bid contract for 424.6 Million awarded on January 4, 2010 to Checchi and Company Consulting, Washington, D.C. owned by Democratic Party donor Vincent Checchi has been terminated because it was questioned as having violated the campaign promises of No-Bid awarding. Good. Glad they realized they shouldn’t be doing things like that. Bad. They should not have ever awarded it in the first place with out bidding.

So the administration is not supposed to hire anyone for an executive branch position in an agency or program for which they have lobbied in the last two years. That is good, except for the fact that they are making exceptions to the rule way too often. Yes, Obama did say in the State of the Union address that it would not happen in his administration. Wrong. They have already violated this executive order in twelve very specific violations of key people. Twelve, a few too many to think that it was an exception or a mistake. The list is at the end of this posting with a link to an article that tells about this problem.

So Nancy Pelosi, our dear Speaker of the House, who seems to have too many issues with her air transportation has continued in making air transportation a more splendid thing than most anyone of us could imagine. Judicial Watch in an article just published on its website http://www.judicialwatch.org , has obtained documentation showing “the Speaker’s military travel cost the Air Force $2,100,744.59 over a two year period - $101,429.14 for in-flight expenses, including food and alcohol. (Lots and lots of alcohol.)” hmmmmm… If my math still works, that is about $1,000.00 per week in food and alcohol on flights! Nice in-flight service! Oh, I just realized, that is $20,000+ per week! Lets see, if they flew commercial, used the air miles for travel for future flights, wow, we could save a lot of money, even if they flew first class!

So our old buddy, Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House and person credited for the “Contract with America” in 1994 has said that it is time for a “New Contract With America”. Sounds good. But… I have read the list of things that he has put in his list and I don’t see HIT! Read them and see if you find HIT.

1. Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

2. Balance the budget

3. An American Energy Plan

4. Congressional Appropriations Reform

5. Litigation Reform

6. Real Health Reform

7. Every Child Gets Ahead

8. Protect Religious Liberty

9. Protect Americans, Not the Rights of Terrorists

10. Defending America is Job One for Government

Not a bad list, I disagree with some of the items as being the top ten. But did you find HIT? Me either. What is HIT? Honesty, Integrity and Truth. Why? Why do we allow politicians to set standards, programs, laws, treaties, etc. without HIT being the key factor?

I listened to Glenn Beck interview Sarah Palin on his TV show a couple of weeks ago and the question that stuck out more than any other question was, “can you go to Washington, D.C. and not lose your soul?” He went on to explain that the vast majority of elected officials go to Washington to take their positions and get corrupted by the POWER of being there and they lose their souls. They forget who they are, what they were sent there to do and become a part of the political machine, that was referred to as what the founding fathers were afraid would happen when representatives were sent to serve and instead of going home when their time of service was up, they would become an “elitist class”.

How many of our politicians have HIT anymore. Are they honest? Do they act honestly in their actions and speak honestly. Do they have integrity? Will they do what is right without being watched over constantly? Do they tell the truth? That means telling us the good and the bad, not what they want to let us know. Do they tell us everything? (National Security issues are an exception.)

If our politicians don’t have HIT, they should resign! Literally and seriously! I believe that if a politician is not honest, does not have integrity and does not tell the truth, they need to be removed from office. No one votes for a candidate if they are not going to have HIT. No one expects their representative to not. When we find that they don’t have HIT, we should ask for their resignation. This includes cheating on their spouse, cheating on taxes, lying about political stands, accepting bribes, selling their constituents out for a power position… you get the picture.

Unfortunately, we have a new standard in politics in our country, I call it Clintonitis. When you get in front of the camera or microphone, say what you want them to hear; the public will believe it, the press won’t check it out to see if it is accurate, no one will know if it conflicts with past statements and if they do, well just ignore it. They will forget about it in a couple of days. No one cares enough to do anything about it anymore. Or worst of all, “who do they think they are questioning me? I am a …!” Funny how a defense becomes an aggressive offensive attack so often anymore. Have you ever been called a racist, bigot, extremist, radical, or something similar when you questioned something? (That will be a posting coming up soon about why we end up on the defense when we question?)

How many times did we hear both Clintons do this? We saw McCain do this in the campaign with his voting record, we see Obama do this almost every time he gets in front of a microphone. We have seen Bob Bennett do this here in Utah. We saw Governor Jon Huntsman do this also. True, no party preference here, just a common bond of politics.

What happened to the days of our grandparents when your word was fact, your handshake was a contract, and your name meant something and was guarded from corruption? My grandfather, Amyot Cherrington, former mayor of Springville, UT, former Bishop in the LDS Church, former leader of statewide agricultural organizations was one of those honest men in the world. I remember first hand going to the egg farm one day and grandpa had forgot his coin purse and couldn’t pay for the eggs. The owner of the egg farm told him to pay him next time. Grandpa didn’t want to take the eggs without paying, but the man insisted he take them and just pay next time. No bill was issued, no contract was signed, no papers exchanged, just a trust of Amyot would pay next time. My brother and I would run to Brookside Market for my grandmother, Hilda Cherrington. She would send me with a list of things and some money to pay for them. Before we would get there, she would remember something else and call Don Watts, the owner at the store to make sure we got it while we were there. Sometimes there was not enough to pay for the new items, but it was never questioned about if they would get paid. He would just say “don’t worry about it, I’ll put it on her account.”

That is HIT!

As this election year starts to move forward, find the candidate with HIT! If you don’t know find out. Their party affiliation is not near as important as whether they have HIT! If they have honesty, they will speak what is their real stand and will not misuse their power. If they have integrity, they will not lose their soul and they will represent us and not take advantage of their position. If they are truthful, we won’t have to call them on previous statements made or votes sold for positioning.

Hit, Washington needs it and so do each of us. The world will be a much better place with HIT!

As I said above, here are the former lobbyists Obama has tapped for top Executive Branch jobs:

Eric Holder, attorney general nominee, was registered to lobby until 2004 on behalf of clients including Global Crossing, a bankrupt telecommunications firm.

Tom Vilsack, secretary of agriculture nominee, was registered to lobby as recently as last year on behalf of the National Education Association.

William Lynn, deputy defense secretary nominee, was registered to lobby as recently as last year for defense contractor Raytheon, where he was a top executive.

William Corr, deputy health and human services secretary nominee, was registered to lobby until last year for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a non-profit that pushes to limit tobacco use.

David Hayes, deputy interior secretary nominee, was registered to lobby until 2006 for clients, including the regional utility San Diego Gas & Electric.

Mark Patterson, chief of staff to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, was registered to lobby as recently as last year for financial giant Goldman Sachs.

Ron Klain, chief of staff to Vice President Joe Biden, was registered to lobby until 2005 for clients, including the Coalition for Asbestos Resolution, U.S. Airways, Airborne Express and drug-maker ImClone.

Mona Sutphen, deputy White House chief of staff, was registered to lobby for clients, including Angliss International in 2003.

Melody Barnes, domestic policy council director, lobbied in 2003 and 2004 for liberal advocacy groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the American Constitution Society and the Center for Reproductive Rights.

Cecilia Munoz, White House director of intergovernmental affairs, was a lobbyist as recently as last year for the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic advocacy group.

Patrick Gaspard, White House political affairs director, was a lobbyist for the Service Employees International Union.

Michael Strautmanis, chief of staff to the president’s assistant for intergovernmental relations, lobbied for the American Association of Justice from 2001 until 2005.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0109/18128.html

Howie's Views on The State of the Union

After watching and listening to the State of The Union address last night and reading the article from the AP which is attached below, is anyone else as underwhelmed by the lies and deceptions as I am? Does anyone wonder how our government thinks they can make things up, tell them and get away with it? Simple, they think we are mindless idiots that aren’t smart enough for these tough decisions!

Let’s take Healthcare Reform: The original Congressional Budget Office cost: "$1.3 Trillion over ten years." New CBO estimate per Obama: "Reduces deficit by $1.0 Trillion over ten years!" One of four things will have to happen: One of Four things will happen:

A: To swing the cost by $2.3 Trillion, you have to drastically increase the taxes, fees, penalties, premiums and fines to make up the $2.3 Trillion difference! Are you ready for that kind of additional cost put on the American people and businesses (who will pass it on to the public!)? Brace yourself, we cannot in anyway, shape or form survive that type of cost! It will destroy our country! If you think the economy is bad now, you haven’t seen anything near what is to come with the passage of Obamacare!

Or

B: To make the $2.3 Trillion swing; the government will cut medical care! If you think your medical care will be the same in five years as it is now, you are delusional! Seniors will suffer and die earlier! White House advisors have already stated, “Only those that are young enough to be an investment in our future will receive costly medical treatment.” Are you ready for the government to say who is young enough or choose who will get the treatment? I’m not; I’m on the short future list! All of you or members of your families are also! Are you really ready to let the government choose who will continue getting all the care that they need?

Or

C: A combination of A and B make up the $2.3 Trillion swing. This is still not a good solution. And this is assuming that the government will control the healthcare industry well enough so that the costs don’t skyrocket. Has the government ever shown that it can control costs, run something efficiently, manage well or not let corruption run free? AMTRAK, Postal Service, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac… Need I go on? We were told last night that a window company in the northeast is doing well and is growing. Do you know why? Part of the stimulus package has an item available for replacing inefficient windows in your home or business. If you do you can get a large portion of the cost back in credit/rebates. Good right? Wrong! Only one window manufacturer’s windows qualify for the program! Nothing special about these windows other than they are made by that one company! Who is this lucky company? The woman in charge of the department that gives the credits just happens to be the wife of the VP of that window company. And yes, the window company and its employees contributed heavily to the Obama campaign for president. Still ready to let the government control the healthcare industry?

Or

D: TORT Reform and allowing Interstate Health Insurance will equal lower costs in healthcare without any added costs, taxes, fees, penalties etc.! The cost of healthcare today is too high because of fear of lawsuits, class-action suits and malpractice insurance. How do you lessen the impact? Stop making the courts a pathway to fortunes! Awards, settlements, and judgments have gone out of control! We are literally making people wealthy from the court system! Recovery of damages and costs of future care is reasonable but multi-million dollar awards for wealth must stop!

Allow insurance companies to market across state lines and allow individuals the ability to seek out affordable health insurance from competitive markets will keep costs of insurance down! It will allow the cost effective, well run insurance that give the customer what they want and need to flourish! The bad will fall by the wayside. Free market and competition is what lowers costs not government control and restrictions!

AND don’t forget to remind your congressmen that you expect them to be a part of the new healthcare program! RIGHT NOW THEY DON’T CARE! They have their own healthcare program that is not affected by the new reform! You got it; they get great care, while we get government care! Does that give you warm fuzzy feelings towards elected officials? ALL ELECTED AND GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES SHOULD GET THE SAME REFORM AS US! No exceptions. Congress should have to live with the same rules and programs that they legislate for the public! Tell them today!

Contact your congressmen today and let them know your feelings. If they don’t agree with your feelings, become active in sending them home at their next re-election! We get what we vote for. And unfortunately, we haven’t voted for very many that are concerned about us the people. Too many of them go to Washington and lose their souls. They forget and join the “Elitist Class” and their actions reflect the influence of the groups that will give them the most power instead of representing us, their constituents. The founding fathers had concerns that the elected officials would not return to their lives as citizens after their time in service to the public and would become an “Elitist Class”. These were very smart men one of the wisest was Thomas Jefferson:

A government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have…The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases.”
Thomas Jefferson

“The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.”
Thomas Jefferson

The Utah Caucus meetings will take place on March 16th. The Republican meetings and the Democrat meetings are on the same day. If you are outside of Utah, find out when yours are and get involved. Become a state or county delegate. The party doesn’t matter, the candidates do. Make sure that the candidates from your party are ready to represent their constituents and not the large and powerful outside influences. Their time in office is not about power, it is about service! They should be ready to proclaim that they are American Patriots and that they adhere to the 9/12 Principles and Values (http://www.the912project.com/):

9 Principles
● America Is Good.

● I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life.

● I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.

● The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.

● If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.

● I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results.

● I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.

● It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.

● The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.
12 Values
Honesty
Reverence
Hope
Thrift
Humility
Charity
Sincerity
Moderation
Hard Work
Courage
Personal Responsibility
Gratitude

The death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination from ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference, and undernourishment. - Robert M Hutchins

All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing. – Edmund Burke

Thanks for letting me express my views and thoughts. This really is important. We need to be in charge of our government again. We are the ones that have to do it!

Howard Norton


- AP - January 27, 2010
Fact Check: How State of Union Compares With Reality
A look at some of Obama's claims in the State of the Union and how they compare with the facts
WASHINGTON -- President Obama, who once considered government spending freezes a hatchet job, told Americans on Wednesday it's now part of his solution to the exploding deficit. He didn't explain what had changed.
His State of the Union speech skipped over a variety of complex realities in laying out a "common-sense" call to action.
A look at some of his claims and how they compare with the facts:
OBAMA: "Starting in 2011, we are prepared to freeze government spending for three years. Spending related to our national security, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security will not be affected. But all other discretionary government programs will. Like any cash-strapped family, we will work within a budget to invest in what we need and sacrifice what we don't."
THE FACTS: The anticipated savings from this proposal would amount to less than one percent of the deficit -- and that's if the president can persuade Congress to go along.
Obama is a convert to the cause of broad spending freezes. In the presidential campaign, he criticized Republican opponent John McCain for suggesting one. "The problem with a spending freeze is you're using a hatchet where you need a scalpel," he said a month before the election. Now, Obama wants domestic spending held steady in most areas where the government can control year to year costs. The proposal is similar to McCain's.
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OBAMA: "I've called for a bipartisan fiscal commission, modeled on a proposal by Republican Judd Gregg and Democrat Kent Conrad. This can't be one of those Washington gimmicks that lets us pretend we solved a problem. The commission will have to provide a specific set of solutions by a certain deadline. Yesterday, the Senate blocked a bill that would have created this commission. So I will issue an executive order that will allow us to go forward, because I refuse to pass this problem on to another generation of Americans."
THE FACTS: Any commission that Obama creates would be a weak substitute for what he really wanted -- a commission created by Congress that could force lawmakers to consider unpopular remedies to reduce the debt, including curbing politically sensitive entitlements like Social Security and Medicare. That idea crashed in the Senate this week, defeated by equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans. Any commission set up by Obama alone would lack authority to force its recommendations before Congress, and would stand almost no chance of success.
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OBAMA: Discussing his health care initiative, he said: "Our approach would preserve the right of Americans who have insurance to keep their doctor and their plan."
THE FACTS: The Democratic legislation now hanging in limbo on Capitol Hill aims to keep people with employer-sponsored coverage -- the majority of Americans under age 65 -- in the plans they already have. But Obama can't guarantee g point of contention for the president. In December, the administration reported that recipients of direct assistance from the government created or saved about 650,000 jobs. The number was based on self-reporting by recipients and some of the calculations were shown to be in error.
The Congressional Budget Office has been much more guarded than Obama in characterizing the success of the stimulus plan. In November, it reported that the stimulus increased the number of people employed by between 600,000 and 1.6 million "compared with what those values would have been otherwise." It said the ranges "reflect the uncertainty of such estimates." And it added: "It is impossible to determine how many of the reported jobs would have existed in the absence of the stimulus package."
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OBAMA: He called for action by the White House and Congress "to do our work openly, and to give our people the government they deserve."
THE FACTS: Obama skipped past a broken promise from his campaign -- to have the negotiations for health care legislation broadcast on C-SPAN "so that people can see who is making arguments on behalf of their constituents, and who are making arguments on behalf of the drug companies or the insurance companies." Instead, Democrats in the White House and Congress have conducted the usual private negotiations, making multibillion-dollar deals with hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and other stakeholders behind closed doors. Nor has Obama lived up consistently to his pledge to ensure that legislation is posted online for five days before it's acted upon.
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OBAMA: "We will continue to go through the budget line by line to eliminate programs that we can't afford and don't work. We've already identified $20 billion in savings for next year."
THE FACTS: Identifying savings is far from achieving them. If the past is any guide, little will result from this exercise because Congress routinely rejects the White House's suggested spending cuts.
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OBAMA: "The United States and Russia are completing negotiations on the farthest-reaching arms control treaty in nearly two decades."
THE FACTS: Despite insisting early last year that they would complete the negotiations in time to avoid expiration of the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty in early December, the U.S. and Russia failed to do so. And while officials say they think a deal on a new treaty is within reach, there has been no breakthrough. A new round of talks is set to start Monday. One important sticking point: disagreement over including missile defense issues in a new accord. If completed, the new deal may arguably be the farthest-reaching arms control treaty since the original 1991 agreement. An interim deal reached in 2002 did not include its own rules on verifying nuclear reductions.
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OBAMA: Drawing on classified information, he claimed more success than his predecessor at killing terrorists: "And in the last year, hundreds of al-Qaida's fighters and affiliates, including many senior leaders, have been captured or killed -- far more than in 2008."
THE FACTS: It is an impossible claim to verify. Neither the Bush nor the Obama administration has published enemy body counts, particularly those targeted by armed drones in the Pakistan-Afghan border region. The pace of drone attacks has increased dramatically in the last 18 months, according to congressional officials briefed on the secret program.
© Associated Press. All rights reserved.Copyright 2009 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved.