Greg Awtry

The murders in Aurora, Colorado were horrific. The dead and wounded were innocent moviegoers, just like you and me who have done the same thing hundreds of times. The killer, whose name will not be mentioned here, doesn’t deserve any more thought than a mosquito you would swat on your arm. In fact, that mosquito has more right to live among us than this sick excuse for a human being.

Pray for the wounded if you have not yet done so. Pray for their families who will live with this every day for the rest of their lives. And pray that we as a society never have to go through this inexcusable waste of human life again.

And just how can we stop tragedies such as this? The short answer is we can’t. There will be those who want us to believe government can prevent them by passing more laws or tightening security. Honestly, do you actually believe that will stop anybody set on taking a human life? The animals that do things like this don’t obey laws.

About 10,000 people are shot to death in the United States each year. This year, and it’s only July, 300 people have been killed in Chicago alone. The problem isn’t government, isn’t too many guns, isn’t too few laws. The problem is we are losing the values of a country that places each and every human life above all else.

Every time we are forced to live through another senseless massacre, the political activists come out of the woodwork demanding government solve the problem by further limiting liberties and rights given to each of us because we are fortunate enough to live in America.

Reducing those liberties, and yes, I am talking about the Second Amendment, to law-abiding citizens will do nothing to solve the problem. Benjamin Franklin once said “They that give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” And he was right. More laws, more security will have little to no effect on a deranged mind who has lost all sense of morality and faith.

Where we are failing is that we are not able to make everyone understand that every life is sacred. The miracle of life is a blessing, given to us by God, and simply making more laws restricting our rights will never supersede the sixth of God’s Ten Commandments, which says “Thou shall not kill.”

Yet we as a country continue to put distance between government’s role in our lives and the lessons religion teaches us to live by, often citing the excuse, “separation of church and state” which by the way does not appear in our Constitution at all. The First Amendment simply says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”

There are some things we can do that may help. Swift and decisive justice for anyone who takes another’s life. Better education by everyone who has any influence in teaching our youth, beginning with parents, teachers and clergy, but also including every one of us who respect and cherish the miracle of life. And, reestablishing the values that our great nation was founded upon.

But looking to the government to solve our growing lack of morality is not the answer. The answer lies in all of us, not in the government outlawing guns. I am reminded of the bumper sticker slogan, “If we outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns.” The Second Amendment giving us the right to own firearms is there for a reason. It was established to remind an overbearing government there is a force out there, at least as strong as them, and that Americans will never give up their liberties to any government, foreign or domestic.

The great gun debate will surely be front and center again following this tragedy. Restricting rights and liberties for all, because of the act of a single deranged murderer is not the answer. Placing the sanctity of God-given human life above all is the place to start.

Senator Johanns,

I urge you to vote no when and if the payroll tax cut ever makes it to the Senate for a vote. (Seems not many issues get that far these days with Sen. Reid’s leadership.)

I have read your previous statements about the payroll tax cut (below), and at one point I believe you called them “irresponsible.” We all know what needs to be done, and that is comprehensive tax reform. I believe the time has come to stop the band-aid politics and begin to make the hard decisions that we know we must face. And it all begins one vote at a time. I hope we can count on you to make such a vote and not vote to extend these payroll tax cuts for the very reasons you mention below.

Please let us know what your intentions are.

Sincerely,

Greg Awtry, Publisher, York News-Times, York, NE
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The following was taken from Senator Johanns Senatorial website:
http://johanns.senate.gov/public/?p=PressReleases

December 8, 2011

Johanns Opposes Extending Payroll Tax Cut at the Expense of Social Security

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) today voted against two separate pieces of legislation that would have undermined the Social Security Trust Fund by lowering the payments made by employees into the system. Both measures failed in the Senate.

“This was a messaging vote, plain and simple, and everyone in Washington knows it,” Johanns said. “I originally supported the payroll tax cut largely because of what it was originally meant to be: timely, targeted, and temporary. If we keep waiving people paying into the Social Security Trust Fund, it only accelerates the program’s insolvency. An extension should be paid for without harming Social Security or raising taxes. Congress continues to ignore our mounting debt problem, and I refuse to contribute any further to that abandonment of responsibility.”

December 17, 2011

Johanns Votes To Advance Keystone XL Decision

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) today voted for a legislative package that included language he cosponsored requiring the President to make a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline, while fully protecting the Nebraska process. The legislation also extended until the end of February 2012 several expiring provisions and passed the Senate by a vote of 89-10.

“While I don’t agree with every provision included in this package, I think reaching a final decision on the Keystone XL pipeline will be an important boost to our economy by creating jobs and acquiring oil from an ally,” Johanns said. “I have been, and still am, concerned about the implications a long-term payroll tax reduction would have on Social Security – a program already paying out more than it takes in – but a two month extension of the payroll tax holiday is an acceptable resolution if it prevents the continued slow-walking of the Keystone pipeline.

December 12, 2011

Payroll Tax Proposals Endanger Social Security

Many in Washington pay lip service to the idea of protecting Social Security. For decades, Social Security has been critical to ensuring a sound footing for even the most vulnerable of our fellow citizens in the event of injury or disability, and when the golden age is reached. Last week, I voted against proposals which would have jeopardized our already fragile Social Security program by redirecting money away from the program, accelerating its decline toward insolvency.

Social Security benefits are there when we need them not by chance, but because every working American provides the program with funding through a payroll tax. Every time we get a paycheck, 6.2 percent of it is deducted and matched by your employer to fund Social Security. We accept that this money goes to Social Security beneficiaries largely because we know one day we’ll likely look to the program for benefits.

This necessary correlation has been a fundamental aspect of Social Security, as originally conceived by the program’s first advocate, President Franklin Roosevelt. The payroll contributions “give the contributors a legal, moral, and political right to collect their pensions and their unemployment benefits,” he once said. Considered in this light, Social Security can be viewed as a true shared American effort in which contributions pay for future benefits. Our country cannot disconnect the benefits of social programs from the pain that comes with paying for them.

With our economy struggling, a temporary measure to lower the payroll tax was proposed and passed last year. This one-year measure expires at the end of December, and some in Washington are pushing to extend and expand the cut for another year and for a greater amount. Yet we cannot view a payroll tax cut solely as a tax cut: it also significantly slows the money going into Social Security, a program paying out more in benefits every year.

I originally supported the payroll tax cut as a temporary measure to provide a much-needed economic boost. But continually cutting Social Security contributions prompts the question of how to pay for the benefits when the federal government is already borrowing 42 cents for every dollar spent. Social Security now pays more in benefits than it receives in contributions, and the program’s fund reserves will be depleted before my children reach retirement age, in 24 years.

I would love to see the payroll tax reduced, but we also must pay for what we want and need. That includes Social Security, a program many Americans depend on and believe in. Tax cuts remain a top priority of mine, but I will not jeopardize Social Security for our children and future generations.

Can you make a living blaming others for your own shortcomings? Apparently you can, or should I say President O-Blame-a can.

Two years into what is increasingly looking like a failed presidency, President O-Blame-a, the left wing extremist who excited a country by blaming Republicans and George Bush for all that ails America, has pointed the finger at everyone but himself. The “Blame it on Bush” excuse has worn thin, but he still pulls it out of his bag of tricks nearly every week as he darts around the nation still in campaign mode.

But George Bush and the Republicans are not alone when it comes to being the butts of the blame game. President O-Blame-a routinely blames big business, insurance companies, the oil industry and now Fox News. Last week he said of the most popular news network in America, “It’s a point of view that I think is ultimately destructive for the long-term growth of a country that has a vibrant middle class and is competitive in the world.”

O-Blame-a actually said we have a “vibrant middle class!” Since when does the definition of “vibrant middle class” mean 9.6 percent unemployment and five million Americans receiving unemployment checks every month? Since when does it mean millions of Americans slipping out of O-Blame-a’s “vibrant middle class” into poverty, with more Americans living in poverty than ever before in our history?

President O-Blame-a, with a clear majority of Democrats in the Senate and the House, still blames the Republicans for the state of the economy. For once, I agree with him. And the Republicans blame the overspending Democrats. I agree with them too. It’s something we can finally all agree on. It is the Republicans and Democrats fault! There is plenty of blame to go around. The biggest difference this year, Americans are playing the blame game too, and rightfully so we are blaming all of the Washingtonians!

Where else do you lay the blame? This administration and Congress, and the administrations and Congresses over the past 20 years have made this country a debtor nation. High taxes, Congress’s fault, has forced U.S. companies overseas and millions of jobs are gone forever, causing huge trade deficits robbing this nation of its wealth. Our government borrows billions of dollars a day, much of it from other nations, sending even more of our wealth overseas.

The Washingtonians have raided Social Security since its inception leaving nothing but IOUs, yet they continually pass new entitlement programs like the recent health care fiasco that we can’t possibly afford. And they continue to spend with no regard for who will have to repay these astronomical numbers of debt, currently over $13 trillion and growing completely out of control.

The President and the major parties must stop this blame game now. They must collectively stand up and take responsibility for what they have done to our country. They must collectively start working together to reverse these unsustainable trends or our nation will continue to get poorer and poorer. No longer will the American people let them hide between partisan apron strings and do their work in dingy cloakrooms. We are wise to them. We are letting them know through our votes.

We are demanding a responsive and responsible government, one that will listen to the people, one that will live within its means, one which will work together to get this nation back on the path of individual opportunity for all.

We have a history. This land was settled by those who fled from an overpowering government. We went to war with an overpowering government to declare our independence. We wrote our founding documents that limited federal powers and gave the power to the people and the states, fearful of what an over-bloated centralized government could and would do if left unchecked. And now, more than 200 years into this noble experiment, we see the consequences and we don’t like it.

President O-Blame-a, you want to continue the blame game? Democrats and Republicans, do you want to continue the blame game? Then build a wall, a wall of mirrors around the beltway that separates Washington from the real world. From there you can look out and see your reflection, and when you point the finger, it will point it right back at you.

The people will get it right. It may not take place with just one election, it may take several, but make no mistake about it, we’ll get it right. But for now, we go to political rallies with signs. If the blame game continues, may I suggest the next time we all take mirrors!

I have a good friend, and for those who frequent this Monday newspaper column, it may surprise you when I tell you he is a liberal Democrat. Like most good friends, we have something in common; in our case one of those things is our interest in politics.

The other day we were having our own “beer summit,” discussing our usual topic. We spent the first few minutes posturing as we always do and as is most often the case, we agreed the country is a mess, and we actually agreed on most of the problems our country has. Where we disagree is on the solutions.

Sounds just like Washington, doesn’t it? And in a way, it is. But the difference between Washington and our beer summit, and it is a big difference, is that we can sit down at the same table. We can come to a consensus. We can agree the government is broken. We can agree to disagree and find common ground on which we can begin to solve problems.

Another difference — and this is the really big one — unlike our elected officials we are not prisoners of a political party. Regardless if you think the problems in our nation, and there are many, like deficit spending to the tune of $13 trillion, illegal immigration, Social Security and Medicare going broke, federal bailouts, the growing tax burden, or the fact half of us pay no federal income tax at all, the overseas wars, the loss of jobs to foreign countries, corporate greed, the list can go on and on, but regardless of the problems, it is our political parties, and their unwillingness to sit around the same table and have legitimate constructive discussions that is the single most devastating problem we face today.

Now, here is where our conversation took a strange twist. My friend said he reads my “Monday Rantings” each week, and once, just once, why couldn’t I write something positive? I replied because people may not be interested in reading another story about my granddaughter!

He said, ”No, seriously, why don’t you write something positive about this country?”

I said, “Fine, help me find something positive.” An awkward moment of silence, which in itself was not such a bad thing, since our glasses were near empty and it gave us a chance to refresh. Now, finding something positive about our great nation is not a difficult thing to do, but finding something “Politically Positive” obviously is.

So while we pondered for a political positive, we found time to agree the first thing to do is to get rid of the entire current U.S. Congress because they have so spoiled the stew it is probably necessary to throw out the whole batch and begin anew. We also agreed that regardless of how disconnected we feel from the current congress, it is the only process we have at our disposal if we want to change the course of this nation.

So where are the positives? In the people. It is a positive that we are still in charge and we get our power from the United States Constitution and we exercise that power in the voting booths. It is a positive that we have a well educated populace and regardless of which side of the aisle you favor, we know how to solve problems. It is a positive we can change our elected officials every few years if they are not responsive to our demands.

It is a positive we live in an age of extreme communication which alone gives us more transparency than ever before in our history. It’s a positive that there is still a deeply rooted sense of patriotism and that the people will not let this grand experiment in self governing end by the hands of incompetent partisan fools who care much more about keeping their good job than doing a good job.

It is a positive that people on all sides are fed up, mad as hell, and aren’t going to take it anymore. It is a positive that we have Americans capable of righting the wrongs, of repairing the broken, of restoring the strength and of rescuing our children’s future. It is a positive we the people have vision and are re-engaging in our self governance.

And it is a positive that a conservative and a liberal can actually sit down over a cold beverage and do more in an hour than the Washingtonians can do in several terms in office. Finally, it is positive that true patriotism does not belong to a political party, but to the people, and that true friends who love our country can reach the same destination traveling different roads.

Friends, it is still good to be an American!

How many times have you said, “Where’s a policeman when you need one?” Seems like you see them all the time when you are pushing the posted speed limit just a little, but where are they when you have a tailgater right on your rear, close enough you can count their cavities in your rear view mirror? We all say, “Where is the cop now?”

Same with Congress. Seems like we see them all the time, complaining about the state of the country, but where are they when you really need them? The two biggest differences between the cops and the Congress is that the police are on the job every day, actually doing what they were hired to do. The cops are out there solving problems while Congress is back there creating problems.

Take a problem, any problem, trace it back to its roots and many times you will find the trail leads right back to the same U.S. Congress that talks about solving it, and talks about solving it, and talks about solving it.

Where do you want to begin? Illegal immigration is a hot topic right now, let’s start there.

In 1986, the last time major legislation regarding illegals was passed, an amnesty was granted to millions of folks in exchange for the promise by Congress to seal the borders. Oops! Forgot to do that, or should I say Congress was too cowardly to do that. So, 24 years and millions of illegal immigrants later, the cowards are doing what they do best; still talking about it, but afraid to do anything about it. They created the problem and are too cowardly to fix it.

Next, what about our 13 trillion dollar national debt, growing by four billion dollars a day? Congress holds the purse strings in this nation and every single penny of the debt can be traced right back to them. What are they doing about it? Spending even more money of course, taking us further into debt. Why? Because they are cowards, too afraid to look the American people in the eye and say, “We screwed up. We promised you more government than we can afford, so we are borrowing money from communist countries like China just to give you what we promised. Oh, by the way, we don’t have any plans to pay this off, but that’s okay, because we are hoping your grandchildren will.” The United States Congress created the problem and is too cowardly to fix it.

The economy, big problem, right? How is Congress to blame for this mess? They have created an overregulated, overtaxed conglomeration of bureaucratic red tape, making it increasingly difficult to do business here, forcing manufacturers overseas in astounding numbers, taking with them millions of jobs and the opportunity to create true wealth right along with them. Congress passed liberal lending laws causing the mortgage crisis, then in standard cowardly operating procedure, blamed the financial industry. Congress doesn’t create wealth; it consumes it. They know how to create jobs and grow the economy. Cut taxes, it works every time, but once again they are too cowardly to fix the problem.

So why exactly is Congress so afraid? Votes. If they do anything it may cost them votes. Can’t do anything about the immigration problem. It’s an election year. Can’t do anything about balancing the budget. It’s an election year. Can’t do anything about fixing Social Security, Medicare … it’s an election year.

Cowards didn’t build this great nation. It was built on the backs of people who risked everything they had. And they did it in the greatest land of opportunity in the history of the world. The early Congresses understood that. They didn’t create jobs, they created opportunity, and in doing so, they created a people with more courage and strength in practically every single one of us than exists in the 435 cowardly lions now permanently living in a make believe Land of Oz.

What a bunch of cowards. They are too afraid to do their job just so they can keep their job. Where would our country be if We The People did that every day? I think we need to send them all right down the yellow brick road. Then we’ll bring in some folks who aren’t afraid to do the right thing.