Friday, January 1, 2010

What did our Founding Fathers Believe

Wow! what a year 2009 was. For the first time in a very long time the sleeping giant called "Grassroots America" woke up.

All of this upheaval of the past year stirred me up, as it did many of you, and it got a string of thought going. Thoughts of who was involved in the beginning and why they even cared enough to start this wonderful mess we call HOME.


During the research to find the answer I found 250 men credited with starting this place we call the "United States of America". Not just the 5 or 6 we hear so much about today. Collectively they are often referred to as our founding fathers. But what is a "founding father" and what did they believe?

The traditional definition of a founding father is 'a person who made a substantial impact on the birth and founding of America as an independent nation'. Men such as Thomas Jefferson, John Witherspoon, Benjamin Rush, and others who had direct influence on one or more of the 4 founding documents of this country. Or men such as Patrick Henry whose life was given in service to the creation of this country.

What drove these men to believe as they did. Some say they were just men wanting to fill their own pockets. Some say they were a bunch of atheists and deists who wanted to break from the established church of the time.

But really who are they and what did they believe?

To really understand something or someone you must look at the totality of information and take it in its context. Especially their own writings. When this is done you will find these men to be of a very strong belief that they were divinely motivated to begin something the world had never seen before.

The amount of both information and disinformation is astounding. There are over 100,000 books, letters, documents, and journals full of words. However, what I wanted was what they said themselves not what others, often with a personal agenda, had to say about them.


One of the 5 or 6 six we here so much of today was Benjamin Franklin. Many will say he was an atheist or at the least a deist. Yet Franklin was adamant about teaching Christ in public schools, started a movement to raise church attendance, and was the one who called for prayer and the establishment of chaplains at the Constitutional Convention. Are these the actions of an atheist or deist?


Another of the 5 or 6 is Thomas Jefferson. But you will find a great deal of his agenda and writings included a demand that the Almighty be included in all aspects of life. Especially the government. In November of 1800, as President of the Senate, he approved the legislation to hold bible studies at the capitol building. He even negotiated treaties with the demand that provisions be made to include Christian missionaries as a part of the agreement. The treaty was ratified by the Senate.


John Witherspoon was an ordained gospel minister, wrote several books on sermons, and two American Bible translations.


Charles Thompson took 25 years to painstakingly translate the Greek Septuagint into English.


John Hancock wrote many state proclamations calling for fasting and prayer.


John Trumble wrote state proclamations calling for the collection of money from state funds to support missionaries to preach the gospel. They were passed.


This could go on and on. But let me leave you with this last one...


Richard Stockton gave his life for this country. He was captured by the British and beaten and starved. When Washington negotiated his release he lived but a very short time due to this foul treatment. 

In his Last Will and Testament he says "I think it proper not only to subscribe to the entire belief on the great and leading doctrines of the Christian religion, such as the being of God; the universal defection and depravity of the human nature; the Divinity of the person and completeness of the redemption purchased by the blessed Savior; ... of divine faith accompanied with an habitual virtuaous life;... but also;... to exhort and charge [my children] that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom."


Who were these men? Men of great passion and strong belief in the Almighty.


I challenge you to check this out for yourself.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

What Got Stimulated by The Stimulus?

It seems our President elect knows what he is doing. So far his stimulus package has created over 75,000 jobs that do not exist. Wow! what a great job Mr. President. (See a very interesting list about specific cases below.)

As we continue to have a record deficit, a proposed healthcare bill that will add trillions in taxes, cap and trade that will raise taxes on energy and other items, and a hates crime bill that will stifle free speech Obama admits he thinks the American public is stupid.

In a Fox News interview on "Special Report With Bret Baier" at 6pm on the 18th of November Obama says "I think it is important, though, to recognize if we keep on adding to the debt, even in the midst of this recovery, that at some point, people could lose confidence in the U.S. economy in a way that could actually lead to a double-dip recession."

The gall of this statement raises many questions. If you are truly concerned about the deficit then how will your healthcare and cap and tax initiatives help prevent a double-dip recession? What recovery? Is it really the US economy or our government elect, that influences the economy too much, that we have lost confidence in?

I have heard a lot of double speak but this one takes the cake, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and the leftovers.

It is imperative that YOU! stand up and do something now. Please for the country and its future do something.

Have a great day!

David Willman
Organizer of the Dominion Patriots

City State Description Jobs not really created or saved Source

Hackensack NJ “The Bergen County Community Action Program in Hackensack, N.J., noted the nearly $213,000 it received went to cover raises for existing staff only, but it also reported saving 85 jobs.” 85 Associated Press

Moultrie GA The Southwest Georgia Community Action Council claimed to have saved 935 jobs with the $1.3 million it received, even though only 508 people work there. In fact, the group used most of its grant to give raises and now says it created 9.35 jobs. 926 Associated Press

Cocoa FL The Child Care Association of Brevard County reported creating 129 jobs with $98,669 in stimulus money. In fact, “the cash was used to give her 129 employees a 3.9 percent cost-of-living raise.” 129 Associated Press

Toledo, Ohio OH Koring Group reported hiring 52 people, but it turns out that they double-counted jobs that “only lasted about two months.” The FCC estimates that “actual job count is closer to five.” 47 Associated Press

Douglas, Ga. GA Officials at East Central Technical College “said they now know they shouldn't have claimed 280 stimulus jobs linked to more than $200,000 to buy trucks and trailers for commercial driving instruction...The 280 were not jobs, but the number of students who would benefit...” 280 Associated Press

San Joaquin, Calif. CA The Regional Rail Commission double-counted 125 jobs it had created with a stimulus grant. 125 Associated Press

Ky. KY A shoe-store owner claimed he created nine jobs on an $889.60 contract. In fact, he supplied nine pairs of shoes to the Army Corps of Engineers. 9 The Wall Street Journal

DeLand, Fla. FL Stetson University claimed to have created or saved 483 jobs with a grant of only $193,469. 465 The Wall Street Journal

Salem, Ore. OR The Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency reported 205 jobs created or saved with $397,761. The money was actually used for pay raises. 205 The Wall Street Journal

Blooming Grove, Tex. TX A month-long roofing project that received less than $30,000 in stimulus funds and involved six workers was erroneously reported as creating 450 jobs. 449 USA Today

Plymouth, Conn. CT The town police department reported saving 108 jobs with a $15,355 grant. The department only has 23 officers. 108 USA Today

Columbus, Ohio OH The city's school district claimed that 138 jobs had been “saved,” in addition to others that had been created. But a spokeswoman admitted that probably few or none of those jobs would have been lost without stimulus money. 138 Columbus Dispatch

New York, N.Y. NY Teach for America reported that a $2 million grant created or saved 1,425 jobs. In fact, all of the jobs created were accounted for by another grant. 142 USA Today

Danville, Va. VA A $35,000 grant was credited for saving 50 jobs at the Community Improvement Council. In fact, the money went to pay raises and training for existing staff. 50 New York Post

Fayettville, Ark. AR A $1,000 grant to purchase a single lawn mower was credited with saving 50 jobs. 50 New York Times

Cincinnati, Ohio OH An $8,000 contract for a “basketball replacement system” was credited with creating three jobs. 3 New York Times

Washington, DC DC The Associated Press found many contracts for whom jobs totals appear to have been double-counted. 1350 Associated Press

Washington, DC DC “[S]ome low-income housing landlords whose decades-old contracts with the federal government were funded by the stimulus this year reported a total of 6,463 employees as having jobs linked to the stimulus package.” The Obama administration has said that such contracts will no longer be counted in stimulus job numbers in the future. (The total here reflects subtraction of false stimulus jobs in this category on other parts of the map.) 5977 The Wall Street Journal

Washington, DC DC A $3,500 purchase of paint was credited with saving or creating a job. 1 Recovery.gov

Sacramento, Calif. CA The California State University system received $268.5 million in stimulus funds and claimed that the money allowed them to save over 26,000 jobs or half its workforce. But when pressed, the California State University system admitted they weren't really going to lay off half their workforce, and that in fact few or none of these jobs would have been lost without the stimulus. "This is not really a real number of people," a CSU spokesman said. "It's like a budget number." 26000 Sacramento Bee

Olympia, Wash. WA Of the 34,500 jobs allegedly saved or created by the stimulus in Washington State, 24,000 belong to state teachers already under contract to finish out the school year, whose jobs were never in jeopardy. Rather, stimulus money was shuffled to them and their money went to offset budget cuts elsewhere. 24000 The Tacoma News-Tribune

Westminster, Colo. CO With a single road project grant worth $150,438 the city claimed to have created 117 jobs. The number was based on the number of people who, whether or not they already had jobs, would work on the project even for one day. 117 Denver Post


Colorado Springs, Colo. CO Two child care centers in central Colorado claimed to have created 292 jobs with $650,000 in grant money. In fact, the money went to pay raises. 292 Denver Post

Englewood, Colo. CO The company Teletech claimed to have created 4,300 jobs from a $28.4 million contract, but in fact 3,000 of the jobs lasted only a month. 2750 Associated Press

Bridgewater, Mass. MA Bridgewater State College claimed to have created 160 jobs with a $77,000 grant. College officials have admitted this was a mistake. 155 Recovery.gov and Boston Globe

Boston., Mass. MA 60 property companies in Massachusetts claimed to have “saved” stimulus jobs when in fact, all of their jobs had been previously covered by federal rent-subsidy contracts. “There were no jobs created,” one such company's spokesman said. “It was just shuffling around of the funds.” 437 Recovery.gov and Boston Globe

Greenfield, Mass. MA The local Head Start program created no new jobs, but used its $245,000 grant to give pay raises. 90 Recovery.gov and Boston Globe

Revere, Mass. MA The city claimed to have created 64 jobs with a $485,000 stimulus grant, with which it put new solar panels on a school roof. 50 Recovery.gov and Boston Globe

North Chicago, Ill. IL The city claimed to have saved the jobs of 473 teachers with its $4.7 million education stimulus grant. The district employs only 290 teachers. 473 Recovery.gov and Chicago Tribune

Wilmette, Ill. IL The district reported saving 166 jobs, but the superintendant of schools says the number should be zero. 166 Recovery.gov and Chicago Tribune

Dolton, Ill. IL [S]timulus funds were said to have saved the equivalent of 382 full-time teaching jobs -- 142 more than the district actually has. 382 Recovery.gov and Chicago Tribune

Kankakee, Ill. IL A school district reported saving 665 jobs, even though it only employs about 600 people. 665 Recovery.gov and Chicago Tribune

Douglas County, Wis. WI The county's report claimed to have created 100 jobs with its $7.3 million grant, but that's only because the true figure of five jobs was mistaken for 50 and then double-counted. 95 Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Milwaukee, Wis. WI United migrant Opportunity Services claimed to have created 113 jobs with just $18,000. 113 Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Wisconsin WI Statewide, 17 different Head Start programs gave raises to their employees and counted them as new or “saved” jobs. 157 Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Milwaukee, Wis. WI C3T Construction Co. in Milwaukee claimed to have created 24 jobs on projects that have not begun and for which it has received no money. 24 Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Madison, Wis. WI Housing complexes, normally covered under Section 8, were instead counted as stimulus recipients this year and claimed to have saved 49 jobs. The Obama administration has said that such contracts will no longer be counted in stimulus job numbers in the future. 49 Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Carson City, Nev. NV At least 4,000 of the supposedly created jobs in Nevada government -- and possibly hundreds more -- have been called into question in the light of reports that local governments were "told to take the amount of stimulus money they received and divide it by $92,000, the theoretical average wage and benefits of a job." The Nevada Department of Education divided by $66,681 and the state's higher education system used a figure of $45,000 when each estimated 2,000 jobs "saved." 4000 Las Vegas Sun

Carson City, Nev. NV The state Department of Forestry reported 34 jobs created from a grant that in fact created only nine jobs. 25 Las Vegas Sun

Augusta, Ga. GA "[T]he Central Savannah River Area Economic Opportunity Authority in Augusta reported saving 317 jobs. But that represents the number of Head Start workers who received 2.3 percent raises from the stimulus funds." 317 Source: Atlanta
Journal-Constitution

Augusta, Ga. GA "An Augusta agency reported creating 68 jobs even though the work has not started yet." 68 Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Oklahoma City, Okla. OK A joint venture that received six military contracts counted the same 10 jobs six times. 50 Source: Atlanta
Journal-Constitution

LaGrange, Ga. GA A Head Start group called Community Action for Improvement "reported 77 jobs based on raises it gave its employees with the money." 77 Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Los Angeles, Calif. CA "Los Angeles-based Syska Hennessy Group Construction reported 93 jobs stemming from an Army contract...The number is closer to two jobs because the construction work has not started yet..." 91 Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Detroit, Mich. MI “The City of Detroit reported 342 jobs it now says were projections -- not jobs already created or retained.” 342 Detroit Free Press

Detroit, Mich. MI “General Motors...reported 105 jobs saved or created for a government purchase of 5,000 vehicles but later said no jobs were saved or created.” 105 Detroit Free Press

Lansing, Mich. MI “More than 3,000 [of the jobs created by the stimulus in Michigan] were summer-only jobs for youths” that take up only one-fourth of the year. 2250 Detroit Free Press

Mason, Mich. MI “The Ingham County Health Department reported 97.49 jobs retained, but an official with the agency said without the funding, six jobs would have been lost.” Also, a county official reported “nine new hires.” 82 Detroit Free Press

Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. MI “The Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan in Sault Ste. Marie...reported 99 jobs created or saved thanks to $46,000 in cost-of-living adjustments for Head Start employees. An official with the tribal council said she believes no jobs would have been lost without the government money.“ 99 Detroit Free Press

Greenville, South Carolina SC "The Greenville Housing Authority “saved or created” 118 jobs by use of federal stimulus money, according to the Obama administration. Not bad for an agency that has 35 employees." 118 The Greenville News

Estimated total jobs not really created or saved 75461

Information was obtained from the Washington Post Examiner.