Making Ripples: post-corporate adventures in Floyd County Virginia

Skype and Sensibility

Perhaps there is a lesson to be learned from Estonia which wanted a transparent state when it finally escaped from Soviet socialism.  Can we imagine a country that isn't constantly intervening, nationalizing businesses, placing a bureaucracy above everything and imposing rules on people in every respect?

10/21/2011 

Estonia Lives the European Dream

By Ralf Hoppe and Jan Puhl

DPA

The Estonians, with little debt, an enthusiastic attitude toward Europe and a stoic approach to austerity measures, are a model EU nation in the midst of a crisis. They live in a digital republic defined by a business-friendly atmosphere and government transparency, an image that is attracting European expats.

When a Greek leaves a sunny country filled with olive trees, magnificent beaches and warm sea foam, when he leaves a place where summer lasts for seven months and moves to a country where he is held captive by a seemingly endless winter, it's bound to raise a few questions. Some relate to the country he has left, but his new home raises even more questions. And there is one question that affects both countries: Why is the one society driving people away, while the other draws them in?

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Dang! Those Tea Party Terrorists have taken over Waco!

Floyd's answer to Dan Rather was right! Those Tea Party Terrorists are everywhere!

AIM's Benjamin Johnson uncovers the SHOCKING Tea Party terrorist training convention in Waco, Texas!

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From Accuracy in Media’s Ben Johnson:

Have you ever been taken hostage by an 86 year old white haired lady in pink glasses?  I have.  I am lucky to be alive today and writing this after my near death experience with the terrorists of the Tea Party in Waco, TX.  AIM present’s to you, the face of evil in America.

With elected officials scrambling for a cross to hang their economic failure upon, the Obama administration has declared open season on the Tea Party.  This is our generation’s form of McCarthyism.   Witch-hunting at its finest.  Attack, blame and demonize the Tea Party for all of America’s troubles.  Never mind the fact that the TP has never acted violently and is packed with veterans who served our country and sweet old ladies who love America.  The administration is enthusiastically joined by a chorus of vitriol and hate by the likes of Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL) and every on camera personality at MSNBC.

I guess innocent American citizens are an easy a target for Washington when policies fail.

Waco is particularly close to the last time the US Government labeled its own people domestic terrorists.  It ended pretty badly.   However, this time, they are not living on a rural compound in a Texas field.   The patriots of Waco did not seem intimidated by the government’s charges against them.  They were ready to fight, down to the last pair of pink glasse

NRV Livability Initiative consensus process results

We have slides showing the summary results of the NRV Livability Initiative consensus process.

There was useful information collected and many of us made contacts that may open doors to worthwhile discussions. In spite of my earlier concerns, I feel that progress can be made and a plan can be developed that will not ride roughshod over property rights and destroy what we have in Floyd. However, we must participate in every discussion and make sure that our concerns are heard and are duplicated.

The continuing voicing of our concerns about communitarian efforts to collectivise land ownership and institute forced wealth sharing is being heard. The principle speaker, Kevin Byrd, even addressed these concerns in his opening speech. That does not mean that all is well, but it does mean that property rights are recognized as a rallying cry for concerned citizens.

The weak point so far is in the consensus process used to identify goals for the livability Initiative. We all provided inputs but the noise level was so high that the facilitators often did not hear all that was said and some used their own judgment on what to write down.

Another weakness of the consensus method is that our needs did not fall into a neat bell curve distribution. We were from widely disparate environments and some of the regional solutions were ludicrous when applied to Floyd. In fact, my lasting impression is that there are very few REGIONAL solutions that will fit both rural and city needs. I think that planning should incorporate both urban and rural solutions or it will be fought tooth and nail where the solutions degrade an existing and superior environment.

You should take a look at what happens when data collection is not perfect and when average solutions are proposed for vastly different areas. You will need to log in to Facebook to see these photos.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.214715185245158.50987.125693624147315&type=1

I will be posting videos of key portions of this event as soon as possible.

How much government can we afford?

With all of the discussion of public sector pay vs private sector pay and the retirement benefits of government workers vs private citizens, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that government employees are a cost which is supported by taxpayers.

Govenment is supposed to produce services which provide security for an area. It is also supposed to provides services to educate citizens so that they can become more productive and contribute to the economy. Governments provide services which regulate trade and traffic so that a business economy can operate and flourish. Governments have grown to embrace the idea of being a safety net for those citizens who have difficulty fending for themselves.

There are a lot of dedicated and conscientious people serving in governmental positions, but that does not alter the fact that every one of these public employee is paid through the taxes imposed on his neighbors or more distant countrymen.

Therefore, every public employee should be cognizant of the fact that their jobs must enable their neighbors to get on with life and make money. I feel that many public employees see that as their main mission and do their best to operate as economically as possible.

In Floyd County, Sheriff Zeman is an example of someone who communicates a real sense of understanding the need to make every dollar count while maintaining county security in the face of increasing crime. On the other hand, the Floyd County school system has been operating with no real oversight for years and has only recently been persuaded to open their budgets to scrutiny.

We need law enforcement and we need schools and a host of other services, but these have to operate within a budget that can be supported by taxpayers. We do not need a nanny state to look after us. We just need government that we can afford.

In today's economy, we private citizens are making do in many areas. Is it too much to ask that every one of our government entities at the local, state and federal level do the same?

The Floyd Tea Party is working toward more responsive government at all levels. If you believe that government should be more responsive, the next Floyd Tea Party meeting will be on Tuesday May 17th at 7:30 pm at the Jessie Peterman Memorial Library.

The Good Old Days when we counted our tax burden in Billions

For those of you who are concerned that all those categories are now in the trillions, you should know that the next meeting of the Floyd Tea Party will be held on March 15th at the Jesse Peterman Memorial Library in Floyd at 7:30 pm.

Floyd Tea Party Meeting Tuesday January 18th is CANCELED

There will be no meeting at the Jessie Peterman Library tonight because of the inclement weather and there are no plans to reschedule it this month.

For future reference, here is a reminder of the Floyd Tea Party inclement weather procedure:

If the Floyd County schools are disrupted in any way, i.e. closed, delayed opening or closing early, the general meeting will be canceled.

The Floyd Tea Party is already preparing for the 2011 elections

It was 20 degrees last Thursday evening and the town of Floyd had been virtually empty all day, but 24 determined citizens gathered in the Community Room at the Jessie Peterman Library to organize the Floyd Tea Party for the upcoming elections at Federal, State, and local levels.

The agenda for this particular meeting was to discuss and staff a number of committees which will carry out functions previously performed by various executive committee members. These committees are open to anyone desiring to support the mission of the Floyd Tea Party.

In contrast to the view held by some critics, Tea Party Members prize their independent status and make no bones about the fact that we wish to maintain local control of our tea party organization. Requests for support from regional and national conservative organizations are carefully scrutinized to see if thay are supporting the causes and candidates we wish to support.

The Floyd Tea Party is also developing an agenda for action at the local level because fiscal conservatism needs to apply to county government actions as well as in Richmond or Washington, DC.
Here are the committees which are now staffed to the point where they can begin action. The names may change and the functions will certainly expand as time goes on:

1. Committee to follow State and Federal Legislation the will affect Floyd County

2. Publicity Committee to publish articles on meetings and activities

3. Mission Statement Committee to define a mission statement that the Floyd Tea Party membership will approve and support

4. Logo Design Committee to finalize a unique logo for the Floyd Tea Party

5. Committee to educate the membership and the public on the United States Constitution

6. Communications Committee to keep in contact with our representatives at the state and federal level so that the membership is informed on what promises are being made and being kept.

7. Inter-Tea Party committee to maintain working relationships with other Tea Parties at all levels.

 

Additional committees have been set up, but have not been staffed yet. These functions are still being done by members of the Executive Board:

8. Committee to prepare for the 2011 elections

9. Committee to spearhead community outreach by the Floyd Tea Party

10. Historian

11. New candidate committee to seek out and organize support for conservative candidates at all levels.

12. Community to monitor and report on local government activities

 

The intent here is not to persuade people to get involved, but to let concerned people know that these opportunities exist. Those who have talents in these areas will be able to find an outlet for their desire to see a better life for their families and friends.

Anyone can watch the news and grumble about the nonsense being perpetrated by our incumbent representatives. Putting your discontent to work and making changes in local and national government is a much more satisfying game.

We also realize that it is not enough to elect new people, we absolutely must track their performance in office and make out voices heard when they fail to follow up on their promises.

A vital part of the game is putting representatives on notice that they cannot mouth conservative phrases to get elected and then join the "go along, get along" team that slips in earmarks and special deals for certain constituents.

The Floyd Tea Party realizes that there is a lot of work ahead if we are to continue the trend toward a more conservative attitude toward government. If you are concerned about our government's actions in buying votes through government giveaways, you might want to support your local Tea Party.

The next general meeting will be Thursday, January 18th at 7:30pm in the Jessie Peterman Memorial Library Community Room.

 

Are we circling the drain yet?

With unemployment steadily worsening, our elected representatives living a life of luxury on our tax dollars, and favored companies and individuals getting "waivers" to avoid the effects of recently passed laws that will cripple most American businesses, it sure is easy to feel that the end days are here with respect to the 250-year-old Amwerican Dream.


Incidently a recent poll found that 85% of recent college grads are living at home with Mom and Dad. (That's up from 68% just a few years ago.)

If you doubt that power corrupts  and absolute power corrupts absolutely, you only have to look at the behavior of Nancy Pelosi to see how a dedicated polititian became a symbol of legislative arrogance and a lightning rod for allegations of graft and corruption.

It sure made me feel frustrated until I realized that we can take action this November 2nd and every Election Day from here on out to bring Congress back under voter control. Getting rid of all incumbents who fail to respond to voter requests for information would be a grand start. Becoming active in the Tea Party movement and any other voter-centric activity will give you a sense of purpose and will channel your frustrations and your energy where it can do some good.

The images at the top of this article shows the harbour at St Ives in Cornwall when the tide is out. The image below shows what the harbor looks like when the tide is in. The fishermen of St Ives have learned to live with the  extreme differences in water level by preparing for the worst and then taking advantage of the tide when it comes in.
 

We as American voters, should follow a similar course of action while our economic tide is going out. 

We should use these lean times to learn what we can and cannot afford and marshal our collective strength to make changes that will encourage American businesses to expand again. Adding Government jobs does not contribute to our national economy as all government jobs are paid by taxes. Putting more people on the Government payroll as a solution to unemployment is no better than the Roman solution of free corn and games to entertain an increasingly restive population. We need an economic recovery and that comes from motivated businesses, large and small.

We have "barbarians" at the gates right now just as Rome did and they are far more motivated and sometimes better educated than many of our ordinary citizens. Those who sit and watch TV instead of working to revitalize our government and our economy will be the effect of whatever changes take place this Novewmber.

If you are not upset with what is going on in Washington, you are probably not watching what is happening. You will get better coverage, pro and con, of real events on the Internet.

I have chosen to support the Tea Party movement. You should supoort whatever group or activity  that forwards an agenda that you can live with.

The Freedom for Virginians Act website is up

Freedom For Virginians Act (FFVA)

The Freedom For Virginians Act (FFVA) is a proposed piece of state legislation that allows the Commonwealth of Virginia to become a bastion of freedom and protect the citizens of this Commonwealth from unconstitutional Federal mandates.

We heard a presentation on this important piece of legislation during the last Floyd Tea Party meeting.

The Constitution lays out exactly the role of the Federal Government. They are call enumerated powers. If the Constitution doesn’t designate powers to the Federal Government, the states and the people have those rights (under the 9th and 10th Amendments to the Constitution.)

The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia is very clear on two key points: Virginia is a sovereign Republic and that the Commonwealth has a duty to protect its citizens from oppression. This gives the state the right to intercede on behalf of Virginians when the Federal Government oversteps its Constitutional powers and the duty to act to protect the citizens from unconstitutional Federal mandates.

There will be many more discussions on this and you will want to help spread the word once you understand why it is so important to our future.

To learn more about this project visit  http://freedomforvirginiansact.org/

Games Billionaires play and the media outrage that follows

The New York Times has discovered that billionaires are supporting the Tea Party Movement! Whoop-de doo!

According to them that's practically illegal!  Oh! The horror of it all!

They are hyperventilating about the Koch brothers who have donated money to more conservative causes and organizations than I knew existed.

A concerned reader even sent me links describing the "outrageous" actions of the Koch brothers. How dare they contribute to the Tea Party movement!

I told her they are the right wing counterparts to George Soros and the Sandlers who donate money to left wing and socialistic causes.

I feel that it's a good thing that we have billionaires contributing to conservative agendas as well as progressive and socialist agendas. It keeps the game interesting for those of us who are trying to keep score.

The NYT, which is our favorite poster child for dead-tree media has conveniently overlooked the fact that billionaires and ordinary people tend to support causes that they believe in. Duh! Maybe those NYT writers should get out more and talk to people outside their little circle of friends.

People tend to support those who are in agreement with their ideas of how things should be.

 

 

 

David Koch is shown at the top, Charles Koch is shown at right, and Geaoge Soros is shown at the bottom left.

If you would like a quick overview of the organizations supported by the Koch brothers vs those supported by George Soros, just read further.