This week will probably be dominated by the debate over S. 577, the resolution to over ride Governor Sanford and take the money from the mortgage set in your grandchildren’ names (without their permission). I’m sure we’ll review the constitutionality argument by Sen. Lindsey Graham, tax cuts, debt retirement, as well as highlights from the smoke and mirror exhibition we suffered through in Senate Finance Committee last week.
                      
More from Goldwater’s Conscience of a Conservative…As he surveys the various attitudes and institutions and laws that currently prevail in America, many questions will occur to him, but the Conservative’s first concern will always be; Are we maximizing freedom?
                   
The tenth amendment is not “a general assumption,” but a prohibitory rule of law. Then Tenth Amendment recognizes the State’s Jurisdiction in certain areas. States’ Rights mens that the States have a right to act or not to act, as they see fit, in the areas reserved to them. The States may have duties corresponding to these rights, but the duties are owed to the people of the States, not to the Federal Government.           

So our tax dollars are going to pay AIG executives millions in bonuses! Just another day of good news from Washington.
Meanwhile, don’t look now, but Nancy Pelosi and the Obama Administration is busily working to build up a debt larger than our country or any country has ever seen.
But back to the bonuses. It was a mystery all week how this happened. No one could seem to figure it out.
But then…it leaked out that Senator Chris Dodd snuck a provision into the massive spending bill that allowed the bonuses to happen.
Dodd denied it at first, then changed his story and now admits that he did it, but says he did it at the request of “Administration staffers”.
Finally, they have been forced to admit that they allowed the AIG bonuses to happen.

STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR, MARK SANFORD, GOVERNOR

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Joel Sawyer, 803-734-2100

Gov. Sanford Won’t Seek Stimulus Money, GOVERNOR SAYS IF LEGISLATURE SEEKS FUNDS,
OTHER MONEY SHOULD BE USED TO REPAY STATE DEBT

Columbia, S.C. – March 20, 2009 – Governor Mark Sanford today announced that since the White House has denied his request to use stimulus dollars to pay down state debt, he will not be seeking certification of those funds. Instead, if the General Assembly chooses to seek the funds in his place, he is asking the legislature to use other money for debt repayment so that the state does not dig itself further into a budget hole.

“We’re obviously disappointed by the White House’s decision, because it cuts against the notion of federalism and the idea of each state having the flexibility to act in a manner that best suits its needs,” Gov. Sanford said. “As a result, we will not be seeking the use of these federal funds for the way they put our state even further into an unconscionable level of debt. If our General Assembly chooses to make use of this federal money, we’d ask them to use existing state resources to begin paying down our state’s sizable liabilities. Now is the time to do so, because it will give us more flexibility in addressing future needs at a state level if this economic downturn is indeed protracted. We simply cannot afford to base 10 percent of our state budget on money that will disappear in two years’ time.”

Governor Sanford has opposed the federal stimulus package because he doesn’t believe we should spend money we don’t have, because we shouldn’t pass a substantial bill for today’s government services on to future generations, and because the massive run-up in government spending in time will devalue the American dollar. The Congressional Budget Office has forecast a $1.8 trillion federal deficit for this year – the largest ever – and just today said the President’s budget plan would lead to $9.3 trillion in deficit spending over the next 10 years, a level $2.3 trillion higher than the White House predicted just weeks ago.

The governor sought to use just one quarter of the $2.8 billion coming to South Carolina – about $700 million – to pay for past promises made by state government. Doing so with debt related to education would free up over $162 million in debt service in the first two years and save roughly $125 million in interest payments over the next 13 years – just as paying off a family’s mortgage early frees up money for other uses. A recent study by the American Legislative Exchange Council ranked us 4th highest in the nation for the percentage of annual revenue required to pay debts.

“Speaker Harrell, Senator McConnell and others have expressed support for the idea of paying down debt with stimulus dollars. If the legislature decides to take these funds, we stand ready to work with them and the rest of the legislature in finding ways to accelerate our state’s repayment of debt so that we can free up dollars for other purposes,” Gov. Sanford said.

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We can purge our grandchildren’s future to bailout people who irresponsibly get themselves in debit, yet the President wants to “save” money by removing wounded vets benefits?To: POLITICAL EDITORS
Contact: Craig Roberts of The American Legion, +1-202-263-2982 Office, +1-202-406-0887 Cell
WASHINGTON, March 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The leader of the nation’s largest veterans organization says he is “deeply disappointed and concerned” after a meeting with President Obama today to discuss a proposal to force private insurance companies to pay for the treatment of military veterans who have suffered service-connected disabilities and injuries. The Obama administration recently revealed a plan to require private insurance carriers to reimburse the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in such cases.

The American Legion Strongly Opposed to President’s Plan to Charge Wounded Heroes for Treatment

“It became apparent during our discussion today that the President intends to move forward with this unreasonable plan,” said Commander David K. Rehbein of The American Legion. “He says he is looking to generate $540-million by this method, but refused to hear arguments about the moral and government-avowed obligations that would be compromised by it.” Read on

YOUR GOVERNMENT AT WORK
Judge orders homeschoolers into public district classrooms
Decides children need more ‘focus’ despite testing above grade levels
Posted: March 11, 2009
11:25 pm Eastern

By Bob Unruh
© 2009 WorldNetDaily

A North Carolina judge has ordered three children to attend public schools this fall because the homeschooling their mother has provided over the last four years needs to be “challenged.”

The children, however, have tested above their grade levels – by as much as two years.

The decision is raising eyebrows among homeschooling families, and one friend of the mother has launched a website to publicize the issue.

The ruling was made by Judge Ned Mangum of Wake County, who was handling a divorce proceeding for Thomas and Venessa Mills.

A statement released by a publicist working for the mother, whose children now are 10, 11 and 12, said Mangum stripped her of her right to decide what is best for her children’s education.

The judge, when contacted by WND, explained his goal in ordering the children to register and attend a public school was to make sure they have a “more well-rounded education.”

“I thought Ms. Mills had done a good job [in homeschooling],” he said. “It was great for them to have that access, and [I had] no problems with homeschooling. I said public schooling would be a good complement.”

The judge said the husband has not been supportive of his wife’s homeschooling, and “it accomplished its purposes. It now was appropriate to have them back in public school.”

Mangum said he made the determination on his guiding principle, “What’s in the best interest of the minor children,” and conceded it was putting his judgment in place of the mother’s.

And he said that while he expressed his opinion from the bench in the court hearing, the final written order had not yet been signed.

(Story continues)