Today's Election Day, and in That Spirit...

... I'm going to share the following with everyone

If You Can't (or Can) Say Anything Nice...

I loved this entry, and I would like it if *everyone* took advantage of such feelings today, regardless of what side of the political fence you are on. At the end of the day, we are all Americans, who all have the best interests of America at heart, and every four years, we get to participate in this incredible demonstration of national solidarity, where we the people get to vote for the person we want to represent us as President, and for the myriad other opportunities we can vote for and offer our voices. I don't care who you vote for or what you vote for so long as you get out there and DO IT!!! Vote your conscience, whatever it may be, with the best knowledge and spirit that you have, and keep our two hundred and thirty two year expirement moving forward.

Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You

Note, comments are not enabled on this post. I have no intention of debating what I say in this entry. It’s just a statement of belief and fact as I see them, and I’ll let them stand exactly as is.


While having a discussion with a friend of mine, we talked a little bit about politics. I’m typically one who doesn’t get involved in in-dept political conversation because my views tend to be a little out of "the norm". When you say that you are a Latter-day Saint, people automatically assume things about you, such as that you are a Republican. Which I’m not.

On the flip side, when I say I’m a Democrat, then a lot of people get a totally different view of me, and I typically have to stop them and say “no, that’s not accurate, either”. By the time I explain where I’m really at, and what I really represent, most people tend to just shrug and go on their way. However, this time, I was given a comment to chew on, and it’s one that’s given me a lot to think about. I’ll protect the innocent and not drag them in by name, but here, paraphrased, is the comment that grabbed my attention:

The Democrat party has moved to the extreme left, and is NO LONGER the party of JFK.

BANG!!! In one sentence, I’ve finally had crystallized for me what I’ve tried to explain to others for many years! In addition, I’ve been given exactly the way to phrase why I stay with it, even when I feel that my party has drifted so far away from many of the ideals I personally hold so dear.

I can sum up most of my political views in a few basic sentences. They may seem quaint to some Democrats, but these are the principles of the Democratic Party that I hold dearly to, as well as some areas where I differ from mainstream Democrats today:


I believe there are areas where the government does have a solid need to be involved, where taxes and tax breaks need to be applied, and yes, I believe in a social contract with everyday Americans. I believe in social justice. I believe in giving help to those who are less fortunate or who have otherwise been harmed in the past. That is all classic Democrat party platform material. However, my view of that social contract and who deserves to receive the greatest benefits from it is decidedly out of vogue in today's Democrat circles. I believe strongly in the power and value of religious faith, in industry, in people willing to work hard, play by the rules, be frugal, become prosperous because of their own efforts, and support and give service to the foundational institutions that are the most stabilizing in society, such as traditional marriage and families, schools, churches, communities and the like. To echo the words of John F. Kennedy, “Ask not what your Country can do for you, as what you can do for your Country”.

In my perfect world view, where would I like to see the lion's share of government monies collected in taxes go? Those not earmarked for establishing justice and ensuring domestic tranquility, providing for the common defense and securing the blessings of liberty (yes, I’m talking about the “promote the general welfare” section of the Constitution) should go to those who participate in the greatest manner as the greatest net producers and contributors in society, those that contribute the most to our nation. That goes for people, families, businesses, what have you. That goes for rich and for poor, let all have a chance to reap the benefits of the opportunity that this great country provides. THIS is where taxes and government funds should, in my view, focus the greatest amount of attention.

Now watch out, I’m going to get “politically incorrect” here and I may well be committing “Democrat blasphemy” with what I’m about to say… if one was a net drain on the lives and welfare of people (i.e. "the societal sinners", however you wish to personally define that; I have my own thoughts on what that represents and I’ll not be debating them here), those are the ones that I would look at applying more of a focus on collecting taxes from. You want to smoke, drink, do drugs, be a libertine, cause damage and live dangerously? Hey, it's your life, and you're free to live how you wish, but you're going to pay extra for it. Do you want to live a balanced, focused, productive, upstanding life, as defined by the greater good of society as a whole? Awesome, you deserve the tax breaks for providing the biggest net gain to society. Everyone deserves a chance, but nobody should be entitled to an unlimited free ride. I am 100% AGAINST wealth redistribution, and I am 100% AGAINST corporate welfare!

Thus I am what is often referred to as being fiscally liberal, but I believe the liberal policy should be applied in a socially conservative manner. That describes the Democratic Party that my father was raised in. It was that same philosophy and ideals that he helped pass down to me. The ideals of the party of FDR, JFK and RFK, and it’s the one whose ideals I still believe in. Work hard, live modestly, avoid debt, pay whatever down you can as fast as humanly possible, and then invest so that you can live comfortably and give to others. Willingly. To serve your fellow man and help those to have the same opportunities that you do. Ask not what your Country can do for you, as what you can do for your Country!

My world view, I've discovered, is becoming increasingly rare. Sadly, the men and women I used to be able to identify with seem to be dead or dying. It also feels as though the mantra today is “Ask not what you can do for your country, instead demand what your country will do for you!”… and frankly, that both saddens and terrifies me.

I feel somewhat out of sorts today, as though I’ve been marginalized because I’m not rabidly liberal, super left leaning, or one who wants to embrace the United States and its headlong march towards Socialism. I feel like a lone voice in the wilderness at times, trying to say to people that it is possible to believe in social justice and religious faith at the same time. It is possible to have fiscally liberal leanings, but not want to see it applied to an ‘anything goes’ mentality and morality. It is possible to desire greater opportunity for my fellow man without trying to game the system to somehow guarantee that outcome (usually with disastrous results). It is possible to be a Democrat who stands for things like God, allegiance to country, devotion to moral and religious principles, and even stand for not so favorable positions such as support for the troops that fight our battles in distant countries, the desire to not see the government leap head first into bailing out every single institution who made a bad financial decision, or to tear apart absolutely critical to society cultural mores like traditional marriage and religious freedom.


Some may suggest that I am really a closet Republican, but I’m not… I’m an FDR and JFK Democrat, and I’m proud as all getout to be one. While the hard leaning lefties get all the press, there are still those of us who believe in what the Democrat Party once stood for, and will continue to stand for it. I may be a lone voice in the wilderness, shouting things I know some don’t want to hear, but I will not abandon it. I’ll also not be afraid to say that there is much about the Republican Party that is done right, and there is much about the Democratic Party that is done wrong. Neither side has the corner on the market of virtue or vice. Thus, while I often feel like I don’t belong in the tent any more, I’m going to stay, and I’m going to fight so that the moderate voice of the Democratic Party is still present and accounted for.

Madd Money: You Fix YOU!

Every once in awhile, I'll come across something that just deserves to be repeated, and that I cannot add anything else to (and believe me, that's hard; I have an opinion on just about everything (LOL!)).

Yes, you may all fill in the "Yadda Yadda Ramsey Shill Yadda Yadda", but please read or (preferably) listen to this. And then apply the advice. I'm certainly going to try to give it my best shot.

Casting a "Vengeance" Vote?!

There's a phrase I heard today, and I like it a lot. If you poke a sleeping bear long enough, it's likely to wake up, get mad, and eat you. Well, I think the sleeping bear is the American public, the entity doing the poking is the U.S. Government, and the stick is this latest bill... you know, the one that has now caused the US to add "seven hundred thousand million" dollars to our national debt.

I encouraged people to send a letter to their representatives and senators saying not to support this bill, and if they did, they should be voted out of office. Well, the U.S. Government, against the will of 85% of the American people, have decided to ignore our request and voted the way that they wanted to, and to hang with what the people wanted. Well, that's OK, they chose to not listen to me. I understand. No hard feelings. Just like there will be no hard feelings when I vote against them in November.

See, I think this whole idea of "government of the people, by the people, and for the people" is a crock unless someone actually follows through and holds these people accountable. Thus my votes this coming election will be as follows: if you voted for this debacle of a bill, I am casting a vote *against* you. I do not care what political party you belong to, if you are a Senator or a House Representative. If you voted for this, you're going down. I encourage everyone else to do exactly the same.

I will make it very clear, I have done a lot in my life, sacrificed a lot, and make a lot of tough choices to live my life within my means. I think it is time our Government does the same. And yes, that's coming from a Democrat, just in case that's not been made apparent by my other posts in the past. I'm all for Social Justice, I'm all for helping people get a better footing when they are ready, willing and able to do something to help get there. I'm *not* going to support Government Welfare without end for individuals, companies or institutions. And I'm not going to support politicians who think that selling more pork and making more unfunded mandates on the backs of the American people just to keep their jobs are doing us any good service. That goes for whether or not you are a Democrat, Republican or an Independent, or any other party affiliation.

Thus, while I'm being a little facetious with my post title, I am going to follow through with my decision. I may write in a candidate, I may do something else, but if you are up for election, and you voted yes for this pile of junk, in my eyes, you're gone. I'm hoping enough other people are fed up enough to do the same.

Madd Money: THE COMMON SENSE FIX

I'm usually not one to SPAM people's emails with things that they are not already associated with me regarding (my scouting families know that I am an annoyingly compulsive emailer when it comes to Troop updates and happenings, but then they already know they're in for that). I'm not one who forwards chain letters, political requests, or any other "PASS IT ON" type of messages. If I ever do, I always BCC them so that others don't know who I'm sending the messages to. That doesn't mean that I cannot use my blog to post about something I care about and want to see others do something about. I've already stated my support for Proposition 8 and that I will vote for it on Election day, and I encourage everyone else to also vote their conscience on election day as well. What follows is not something that will wait until election day. We need to deal with it *NOW!!!

Here is the text of a letter that is being circulated called "THE COMMON SENSE FIX" as relates to the proposed bailout, and some suggestions as to alternatives. Please note that I did not write this, but I agree with just about everything that is in it, and frankly, I consider it a far better proposition than the ones that have been discussed in the house to date. Regardless of your political position or affiliation, I urge everyone to look at this and give it serious consideration. If you agree with the suggestions, send this letter (or word it your own way) to your Representatives and Senators. If you do not agree with the suggestions below, please contact them anyway and tell them what you would like to see done. The key is to SPEAK UP!

Finally, pray for them to resist a spirit of FEAR and to embrace WISDOM. Even if you don't like them or agree with them, pray for them and tell them you are praying for them. There is a spirit over this problem that must be broken. Also, most of the media personalities are afraid as well and that is affecting their reporting. Pray for fear to be removed from them; they are making this worse. While I know it's cliche to say that time is of the essence, in this case, it really is.

THE COMMON SENSE FIX

Years of bad decisions and stupid mistakes have created an economic nightmare in this country, but $700 billion in new debt is not the answer. As a tax-paying American citizen, I will not support any congressperson who votes to implement such a policy. Instead, I submit the following three steps:

I. INSURANCE

A. Insure the subprime bonds/mortgages with an underlying FHA-type insurance. Government-insured and backed loans would have an instant market all over the world, creating immediate and needed liquidity.

B. In order for a company to accept the government-backed insurance, they must do two things:

1. Rewrite any mortgage that is more than three months delinquent to a 6% fixed-rate mortgage.

a. Roll all back payments with no late fees or legal costs into the balance. This brings homeowners current and allows them a chance to keep their homes.

b. Cancel all prepayment penalties to encourage refinancing or the sale of the property to pay off the bad loan. In the event of foreclosure or short sale, the borrower will not be held liable for any deficit balance. FHA does this now, and that encourages mortgage companies to go the extra mile whileworking with the borrower—again limiting foreclosures and ruined lives.

2. Cancel ALL golden parachutes of EXISTING and FUTURE CEOs and executive team members as long as the company holds these government-insured bonds/mortgages. This keeps underperforming executives from being paid when they don’t do their jobs.

C. This backstop will cost less than $50 billion—a small fraction of the current proposal.

II. MARK TO MARKET

A. Remove mark to market accounting rules for two years on only subprime Tier III bonds/mortgages. This keeps companies from being forced to artificially mark down bonds/mortgages below the value of the underlying mortgages and real estate.

B. This move creates patience in the market and has an immediate stabilizing effect on failing and ailing banks—and it costs the taxpayer nothing.

III. CAPITAL GAINS TAX

A. Remove the capital gains tax completely. Investors will flood the real estate and stock market in search of tax-free profits, creating tremendous—and immediate—liquidity in the markets. Again, this costs the taxpayer nothing.

B. This move will be seen as a lightning rod politically because many will say it is helping the rich. The truth is the rich will benefit, but it will be their money that stimulates the economy. This will enable all Americans to have more stable jobs and retirement investments that go up instead of down.


This is not a time for envy, and it’s not a time for politics. It’s time for all of us, as Americans, tostand up, speak out, and fix this mess.

Madd Money: DAVE RAMSEY FOR PRESIDENT?!!

No, not really, but his commentary as "not your typical president" was awesome, and I found myself listening and agreeing 100% with everything he said in this rant (which, frankly, should be no surprise to anyone who knows me and knows how much of a Ramseyite I am (LOL!) ).

Hear Dave Go Off!!!

One area I absolutely agree with Dave Ramsey about, regardless of the surrounding rhetoric... if there is a theme that I am hearing over and over again during this election cycle, it is how many people are looking to the government to fix all of their problems. Now, this may seem *really* strange coming from a Democrat, but, and I'm going to put all of the emphasis on this that I can...

I AM SICK OF THE GOVERNMENT TRYING BE EVERYTHING TO EVERYONE, AND TRYING TO GET PEOPLE TO BELIEVE THAT THEY ARE THE ANSWER TO FIX EVERYTHING!!!

I'm sick of the government subsidizing everyone's screw-ups. I'm sick of the government overreaching itself to try to pander for votes, and that goes for both Democrats and Republicans. Please, everybody, be accountable to yourself, your family, your friends and your faith, then start working outwards. The "Nanny State" has gone too far, and I frankly do not want to wake up and find myself living in a Socialist country (though I fear we may already be there). I want to live in the Democratic Republic that I love so very much, where emphasis on freedom, free enterprise, and individual effort and determination actually count for something. Hopefully, all of you who live in the U.S. feel the same way.

My Take on Proposition 8, Courtesy of My Dad

I've been trying to find a way to put into words what I felt about Proposition 8 that didn't come down to "my religion teaches this" or "the first presidency of the church has asked that we do all in our power to support Proposition 8". Don't get me wrong, those are very good reasons, and I also happen to believe in the preservation of marriage as it's been defined for millenia. Still, I wanted something I could explain that didn't require a religious viewpoint to make my case, because, lets face it, many people are not religious in the slightest, and look at reasoning that uses religion as a baseline to be totally unworthy of consideration.

This is something my father sent in to a local newspaper, and thanks to him, I have permission to post it here. Were I to make my case for Proposition 8 and against same-sex marriage, this is effectively what I'd say (though my Dad tends to have a way of saying this stuff better than I do, so I'm just going to post his comments):

I am writing in support of Proposition 8 – the proposed Constitutional Amendment to define marriage as the union between a man and a woman.

Many good people are concluding that denying marriage to same-sex couples is unfair. There is a logical fallacy to this. For thousands of years marriage has been considered not a right but a special privilege and responsibility for certain people. That the concept of marriage should be applied to same-sex couples is a novel and very new idea.

Long ago, it became clear that fathers didn’t always stay around to assist with the nurture of their children. Concluding that starving mothers and children in the community were far from desirable, societies created the institution of “marriage”, primarily for the protection of MOTHERS and CHILDREN.

Measures were devised for strengthening this union, such as tax benefits, increased social approval, pressure to stay together, and divorce arrangements like alimony and child support which protected the weaker parties.

If ANY union now can be called marriage, how can “benefits” for traditional marriages be maintained? Marriage and the nuclear family have been assaulted in many ways over the past few decades. Same-sex marriage could be another nail in the coffin.

Madd Money: Are You Better Off Now Than You Were Eight Years Ago?

On another blog that I read regularly (Frugal Dad) this question was posed under the title of a post called “Who’s Responsible For Your Misery Index? The question is “Are you better off now that you were eight years ago?”

What’s this meant to be? It’s of course aimed as a dig against George W. Bush. Now, anyone who knows me knows that I’m not a Republican...

“GASP! A ‘Mormon Democrat’?! Is there really such a thing?!”

Yes there is, and I happen to be one of them.

Still, party philosophy notwithstanding, I think this line of reasoning is a total crock! Honestly, how is a faceless bureaucracy like the U.S. Government responsible for me being better or worse off?

Just for fun, here’s some comparisons to eight years ago:

In July of 2000, my commute was 100 miles in a car round trip. In July of 2008, it’s 4 miles to a train station and back, and 13 miles along a BART rail.

In June of 2000, I had a mortgage payment that was roughly 25% of my take home pay for a given month. In July of 2008, I have a fully paid for house and no mortgage payment at all!

In July of 2000, I was struggling through the decision to go back to school and complete my Bachelors degree. In July of 2008, I have that degree and use it daily.

In July of 2000, I was a dad of two great kids. In July of 2008, I’m the dad of *three* great kids (our youngest was born in 2001).

In July of 2000, we had a house where most of the fittings and fixtures were fifty years old. In July of 2008, we have updated central A/C and heat, updated windows, improved insulation plus a remodeled kitchen and main bathroom, and we managed to do it all without borrowing a penny.

In short, those were all changes for the better that *I* and my family were able to make happen. The government has little to nothing to do with it. Now, to their credit, I can say thank you for the three months I had to make do with an unemployment check during 2002 while I was between jobs, but hey, that was my money paid into the system that provided it.

The other side to this question: if I was worse off than I was eight years ago, who would I really have to point the finger at? Truthfully, the finger has to get pointed at “me” first!

I could have decided not to go back to school

I could have decided not to change jobs because I felt the distance was just too much

I could have insisted that my wife work a job so that we could be the stereotypical two income family with the kids in day care (that’s not a dig at families that choose to do that, or more often than not, don’t have a choice but to do that, but for us, we decided to make do on just my income and have Christina be a full-time mom to our kids, and I don’t regret that decision one bit).

I could have sat on my butt when I got laid off the first time and moaned about how there was nothing out there, but instead I took a couple of years worth of tough reality and worked jobs that paid lower than I was used to so I could have the flexibility and freedom to go to school full time and finish my degree.

My choices of where I live are mine, where I work are mine, what I do with my time are mine, and where I place my kids in activities, spend my spare time, and worship on Sunday are exactly that, MINE! Thus, am I better off today than I was eight years ago?

HECK, YES!!!

Who do I have to thank for that? Myself, my family, my friends, my church and a few others along the way.

Who had little to nothing to do with that? The Government in Washington, D.C., and I hope and pray that we, as a people, do *NOT* start looking to the government to provide us happiness or well being. When we as a nation lose the sense that our well being and how “well off” we are is are own individual domains, this country will be in *BIG* trouble (IMHO!)!