Bryan Gruhlke

Don’t forget to leave your comments, opinions, or hate mail. All entries will be published (unless you use bad language, so keep it civil).

The bill currently in front of the House of Representatives must be stopped. It is a massive tax increase – the burden of which will be placed on every American.

The goal of this bill isn’t to improve our country’s ecology, but rather to dramatically increase the income of the Federal Government in a sly, back-door way. Even Greenpeace says this bill is no good – what more proof do you need?!

CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS NOW!

Call the House’s phone switchboard at (202) 224-3121. If the line is busy, keep trying, but also give your Congressional Representative’s local office a call (find the right number here). Tell them you want them to vote NO against this horrendous piece of legislation. Tell them you will actively campaign against them if they vote yes or present.

Reasons to Deny Cap and Trade

• Increases the cost of products manufactured here, in the United States. Are corporations going to accept less profit? No! They’ll move the jobs outside the country (thanks Democrats for pushing more jobs to India!).
• Any additional expenses brought on by this new tax will be passed directly onto you – the American consumer. We’ll all be paying more to our Government (and what do we get back?).
• This bill gives the already powerful EPA even further reaching authority – who will stop these eager government bureaucrats from sticking their noses into everything?
• This bill disproportionately affects lower class Americans – who really stands for this group (hint: not Liberals)?

Don’t forget to leave your comments, opinions, or hate mail. All entries will be published (unless you use bad language, so keep it civil).

Right or Left, we’ve all done it. And it felt good. We have bashed the opposition party’s leader (Bush or Obama) just for the pure joy of putting down someone we don’t agree with. For Conservatives slamming President Obama feels a bit like getting even for the treatment of Mr. Bush by Liberals. We can create excuses and reasoning for this behavior all day.

It’s time to stop.

I am not a fan of Obama’s policies, or even really of him. I don’t agree with many of his beliefs and I probably wouldn’t want to share a meal with him. Regardless, the constant assault on him is not helping anyone.

The Republican party is particularly involved with these attacks; GOP Chairman Michael Steele himself sends out email after email blasting Obama for being ineffective and offering the wrong solutions to today’s problems. I agree, but where are the right solutions?

I believe that most Americans are truly Conservatives – maybe not to the same level as I am, but most of my fellow citizens just want the government to leave them alone (maybe they’re Libertarians…). A Liberal here would be considered a right-leaning Moderate in Europe – America is a Conservative country. (Europe is a scary place)

Many in the American population would support a party defined by smaller government, more personal freedom, and greater individual responsibility. That being said, the constant attacks and negative words flying out the Republican machine are alienating all these citizens who would likely support the party. Republicans aren’t yet offering their own solutions; at least the Democrats are putting forth proposals (as horrible as they are).

To become the party of America, Conservatives must also be the party of hope (stole that word right off an Obama campaign flier). We must stop focusing all our attention on Obama and instead promote our ideas to the country. Stop Blasting the opposition, and Start Solving.aa

If you want to get involved and share your opinion, I would suggest taking a look at The 9/12 Project. Also, visit The Conservative Underground (a great place to talk directly with others regarding your opinions and ideas).

Don’t forget to leave your comments, opinions, or hate mail. All entries will be published (unless you use bad language, so keep it civil).

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed suit against the U.S. Patent Office, Myriad Genetics, and the University of Utah Research Foundation claiming unconstitutional behavior and a violation of the First Amendment’s right to free speech. Story »

Myriad was granted two patents on human genes related to breast and ovarian cancer. These genes are natural forming and were not produced by Myriad. The patents prevent other researchers from testing on these genes and has arguably slowed the rate of progress toward preventing these types of cancer.

The claim that this is a violation of the right to free speech is a bit far-fetched, though. They are not keeping someone from stating their opinion. Is studying a gene “speech”?

While I agree that the patents are wrong, I do not agree with the ACLU’s goals. The suit should have focused on reversing the patents based on existing guidelines and rules. The ACLU will likely not get very far with their approach.

The two patents in question are for publicly available items – which cannot be patented. “It’s like trying to patent the moon,” expressed Arthur Caplan of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania. “You didn’t do anything to create it, just discovered something that already existed.”

Patents are privileges, not rights. They can be taken away if it is found that the patent was issued improperly.

And as much as it pains me to say it, the ACLU is right to try to change this. They are just doing it the wrong way.

Source: CNN.com – ACLU sues over patents on breast cancer genes

Don’t forget to leave your comments, opinions, or hate mail. All entries will be published (unless you use bad language, so keep it civil).

Earlier this week President Obama released a list containing 121 proposed programs he would like to cut which he claims will save taxpayers approximately $17 billion. He continually referred to these program terminations as “cuts”. This couldn’t be much further from the truth.

A “cut” would be a decrease in overall spending. A prime example would be Obama’s $100 million cut several weeks back (even though it was minuscule relative to his proposed budget). With his new $17 billion he is not reducing spending, just transferring it to other programs he wants to fund. This doesn’t save the taxpayers a single penny.

Let’s talk numbers:

$17 billion (that’s a whole lot o’ moola) is about 0.050% of Obama’s Fiscal Year 2010 budget. In other words, it is about the same as cutting (not really, though…just transferring) $250 from the budget of a family earning $50,000 a year. The $100 million he actually cut is a teeny tiny 0.003% of the budget ($1.50 to that same middle class family)…yikes.

The people over at the Heritage Foundation made a great illustration demonstrating Obama’s horrible money management. I highly suggest taking a stroll over to their site.

Now is the time to stand up and voice your concerns. Let them know you want real fiscal responsibility, not illusions. Call your Senators, call your Representatives. It’s quick and painless. Send an email. DO SOMETHING!

Earlier today I heard a radio host here in Des Moines complaining that those against same sex marriage did not have a valid claim that activist judges were to blame for recent developments (particularly here in Iowa). “So we had activist judges…and now activist legislatures?” was his sarcastic question.

Ugh. Activist judges are a problem. Dismissing a group’s opinion based solely on their stance on a different issue (same sex marriage in this case) doesn’t dimish this fact.

As a supporter of same-sex marriage I freely admit I am not a supporter of how the change was brought about here in Iowa. It is completely true that an activist judge set social policy. Public and social policy should be in the realm of our elected officials, not determined by someone none of us originally selected.

This judge should have forwarded the case to the Iowa Legislature. In this way Iowans would have been able to express their desires. Instead, a judicial appointee made the decision for everyone.

The recent steps taken by New Hampshire and Maine are entirely appropriate, and I praise them for it. The people’s representatives made the choice and change was brought about how our founders imagined it should.

We need to reign in these judges, regardless of their political stance. Their only job is to weigh arguments and determine their validity based on our laws (including the Constitution). Never should their personal beliefs or desires weigh in the decision. It would be a hard job, but that is why we need the best people for it.

Visit the radio host’s site: Bradshaw @ 98.3 WOW-FM

Had a good conversation the other day with a good buddy of mine regarding the Iowa Supreme Court’s decision overruling a law denying marriage to homosexual couples. Take a gander, and leave your thoughts and views below.

Bryan: ugh, some of the people i talk to online are pissed about iowa allowing gays to marry
Bryan: who cares? not like regular marriages work out so well all the time
Jason: i would agree to a certain point
Jason: the thing is it doesn’t matter if they’re republican or democrat – it’s their religious point of view.
Bryan: ah, but we allow for many religions
Jason: there’s a verse in the bible about gays i cant remember it off the top of my head but it pretty much says DONT DO THAT
Bryan: who says your religion decides marriage?
Bryan: as i see it, you can do what you want as long as you don’t try to push your beliefs on me
Jason: u have to go back in time where u got married to have kids not like today where everyone does everyone
Jason: i would agree but marriage is a religious thing and gay in any kind of religion is forbidden
Bryan: marriage is a religious thing to you
Bryan: and being gay is not forbidden by all religions
Bryan: there are christian religions/churches that allow it
Jason: it very much is. gay’s should not be allowed to get married. what pastor or father in there right mind would even go do that?
Jason: well not mine
Bryan: father, no, that would be catholic, and they frown upon it a bit
Jason: if they go by what the bible says it’s a messed up church
Jason: i’m catholic, so my mind’s not changing
Bryan: exactly – if they follow the bible verbatim they are screwed up
Bryan: that is fine
Bryan: i personally don’t understand gays, or how it happens, but if two people want to be together that is fine with me
Jason: that’s the thing they CAN be together no one’s watching over them saying no dont put it in. Marriage in my mind is a religious thing not a piece of paper saying u can save money on taxes
Bryan: that is a good opinion

A few other opinions:

• Bob Vander Plaats (Iowa Governor candidate)
• Mike Huckabee
• Matt Coles (The Huffington Post)

According to a report released by the Department of Homeland Security the threat posed by “rightwing extremists” is increasing due to the bad economy, the election of a black president, and the return of disgruntled veterans from Iraq.

What is a rightwing extremist? you might ask. According to the very same report rightwing extremists are defined as not just racist or hate groups, but also people that reject federal authority in favor of state or local authority.

I strongly believe our founding fathers had it right – a limited Federal government with individually powerful states. The more local a government is the more it actually represents its citizens. My state representatives now what Iowa needs much better than people in Washington, DC. I also trust them more (only a bit more, but it’s something).

From that statement, I must now be labeled a RIGHTWING EXTREMIST. So is Governor Rick Perry of Texas (he supports the 10th Amendment to the Constitution restating the limits of the national government).

The report was released on April 7, just days before the huge Tea Party events begin on April 15, or Tax Day here in the United States. Coincidence? DHS itself notes they have no evidence or “specific information that rightwing terrorists are currently planning” anything.