Senator Bob Corker: Congress Must Act Courageously to Reduce Spending

"I still don't believe the memo has been received" said Bob Corker in response to a question about President Obama's State of the Union address.  "I know we must do things much, much, more serious and severe than were laid out last night."

Corker discussed the need for Washington to act courageously to bring spending under control during CNBC’s “Squawk Fiscal Summit.” He was member of a panel that included Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., Economist Alice Rivlin, and former Service Employees International Union (SEIU) president Andy Stern.

During the fall, Corker spoke to 43 audiences across Tennessee and delivered sobering statistics about America’s fiscal situation.

• In 2009 the federal government spent $1.4 trillion more than it took in, borrowing nearly 40 cents of every dollar.
• The gap between spending and revenue is almost four times the historic average. Even when we reach historic revenue levels, we are still projected to be spending nearly six percent more of our gross domestic product than we take in, and the gap will continue to widen.
• By 2035, on our current trajectory, our debt will reach 185 percent of GDP. If this occurs, interest payments on our debt will reach nearly nine percent of GDP – as much as we currently spend on national defense, education, roads, and all government agencies combined.

Next week Senator Corker and Senator Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., will introduce legislation to dramatically cut spending over the next 10 years. 

I am proud to have Bob Corker as my Senator and think everyone needs to hear his message, especially the people of Iowa.

Top Stories

Governor Ramsey: To reform education, we must organize to match TEA.

Last night, Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey spoke to a group of conservative leaders and laid out a conservative agenda. He was speaking to Conservative Groups of Middle Tennessee which is a loose coalition of conservative, Republican, Libertarian, and Tea Party leaders in middle Tennessee. The group has no officers or agenda, but provides a networking opportunity for right-of-center leaders in the area. . Last night’s meeting was at Logan’s Roadhouse on Elliston place and the meeting room was packed.

Governor Ramsey spoke at length about the Republican agenda, including cutting the size of state government and improving education. Ramsey was enthusiastic and energetic. He spoke for about fourty-five minutes and took questions for about as long. He said with a Republican governor and Republicans controlling both houses of the State Legislature, Republicans had a rare opportunity to put Republican ideas into practice and prove we can govern.

He stressed the need to mobilize citizens to counter the lobbing power of the Tennessee Education Association. He said some recently elected good conservatives were already starting to get weak in the knees at the prospect of standing up to the TEA. He said TEA is formidable and can flood the State legislature with phone calls and emails at a moment’s notice. Conservative need to increase their cooperation and create a network that can match TEA in mobilizing citizens to lobby their legislators, said Ramsey. He was critical of teacher tenure and teacher collective bargaining and said TEA stood in the way of real education reform.

Ramsey also spoke about the situation in Memphis, where Memphis city schools which have some of the worst schools in the state are attempting to disband and Shelby County which has some of the best schools in the state does not want to have to have to absorb the Memphis failing schools. The State Constitution requires each county to maintain a public schools system but there is no such requirement for cities. In the case of Memphis, the Memphis school system is much larger than the Shelby County school system. He said this is a perfect opportunity for the state to take over a failing school system and use innovation and reform to improve public education.

Top Stories

Becoming an American Citizen

By guest blogger Matt Nemeth

Today I was honored to witness something I have never seen. Down at the Federal courthouse here in Nashville, immigrants were sworn in as legal, naturalized citizens.

I was there to watch my friend, Leo, become an American. He was one of 60 people from 29 different nationalities being sworn in. Some of these individuals hailed from countries such as Canada, Guatemala, Cuba and Iran.

My friend was born and raised in Mexico. His wife is an American and they had met while she was vacationing in his home country. After some time, they got married and he moved here to the United States.

As long as I have known Leo, he has wanted to get his American citizenship. Today, after years of work and many fees, he earned it.

Right now we have anywhere between 15 and 20 million illegal immigrants residing here in the United States. None have gone through the process to become naturalized citizens nor do they appear to want to. They have not even begun to make the efforts that Leo has.

In the meantime, our politicians are fighting to grant these law-breakers citizenship without having to go through the same process as everyone else. In other words, our own elected officials are willing to have illegal immigrants jump in front of those working towards their citizenship and receive it first and possibly for free.

It cost my friend roughly $3500 in applications, travel, and other related expenses to get where he is. Would these politicians force those here illegally to pay the same monetary price?

Any politician who preaches amnesty also preaches putting an individual above the law. They feel that someone who breaks our laws is entitled to as little punishment as possible and the cherished gift of citizenship.

Each of those 60 people who became American’s today worked incredibly hard to earn this. They undoubtedly cherish what they now have. How do they feel knowing that politicians are willing to give their gift to someone else who did not sacrifice for it? Would those here illegally cherish their gift of independence?
The judge presiding the ceremony made an excellent observation: each person
Receiving their citizenship today gets to celebrate two days of independence every year. They get to bask in the festivities of the 4th of July to honor our nations independence and they get to celebrate every January 27th their own personal holiday. They celebrate their own independence.

No one in that room would dare take for granted what they have achieved. We should all be honored that they went to these great lengths to become our countrymen. This is something that our politicians should not desecrate through an amnesty bill. The achievements made are something that should never be legislated.

Matt Nemeth is the host of the West Nashville Eggs and Bacon Summit. It meets every 3rd Saturday of the month at the Shoney’s on White Bridge Rd.  Matt works as a salesman and currently lives downtown with his dog, Sam.

Top Stories

GREEN HILLS SUMMIT: TN STATE FAIRGROUNDS

Rise & Shine, Join Your Fellow GOP’ers

GREEN HILLS SUMMI
Saturday, January 29, 2011 **NEW DATE!**Swett’s – Green Hills – 2209 Abbott Martin Rd

 Breakfast begins at 8:15 am ($8.75 cash, no credit cards)

Meeting begins at 9 am (sharp)

                                                      

THE HOTTEST TOPIC IN THE COUNTY: TN STATE FAIRGROUNDS

--What Were The Key Issues In The Debate?

--Why Did Over 1,000 Attend Tuesday Night’s Council Meeting?

--The Larger Issue: What Should Be The Government’s Role In Economic Development?

Come Hear Prominent Council Member Emily Evans (23)

Event Chairmen – Peter and Gail Voysey

Kathleen Starnes, DCRP Chair

Rod Williams, DCRP Summit Coordinator

Top Stories

Egypt's Muslims Attend Coptic Christmas Mass, Serving as 'Human Shields'

To those who think the only good Muslim is a dead Muslim and to those who get all of their news about the Muslim world from Islamophobic groups like ACT for America, you probably missed this good news:


Egypt's Muslims Attend Coptic Christmas Mass, Serving as 'Human Shields'

Egypt's majority Muslim population stuck to its word Thursday night. What had been a promise of solidarity to the weary Coptic community, was honoured, when thousands of Muslims showed up at Coptic Christmas eve mass services in churches around the country and at candle light vigils held outside.

From the well-known to the unknown, Muslims had offered their bodies as "human shields" for last night's mass, making a pledge to collectively fight the threat of Islamic militants and towards an Egypt free from sectarian strife.

"We either live together, or we die together," was the sloganeering genius of Mohamed El-Sawy, a Muslim arts tycoon whose cultural centre distributed flyers at churches in Cairo Thursday night, and who has been credited with first floating the "human shield" idea.

Read more: http://nation.foxnews.com/coptic-christians/2011/01/15/egypts-muslims-attend-coptic-christmas-mass-serving-human-shields#ixzz1Buh8INO6

Top Stories