Hidden Places

Thank you all so much for coming.. WOW
What a pleasant surprise.. I'm amazed to me how many people are interested in freedom these days.. The Ideals of Freedom must be getting popular again..

This gathering of people tells me one thing, many here are not happy with the representation that they aregetting currently from our elected leaders. and I couldn't agree more. As a fellow American who saw the congress sign through the Bank bailouts against a 85% disproval rating from the American people.. I realized something needed to happen.. I decided it had to start with me and where I lived because complaining about it just wasn't getting the job done.

I read a few days ago that the only way you can agree 100% with a politician is to become one yourself.. .... you know If you had asked me 2 years ago whether I would have ran for office I'm sure you would have gotten a pretty good laugh from me but apparently something has effected that inclination in me.. Maybe it was my family, my mom, or the fact that I wore my friends out talking about constitutional freedoms on a seemingly daily basis that made people say hey Stephen.... you need to be quite.. or you need a bigger platform so you can leave us in peace..

Apparently I decided to choose the latter.. and for good reason.

Once I had found out the true ideas of what Constitutional Freedoms were.. having opened and read the constitution myself, thanks mainly in part to a quite spoken congressman and doctor in TX by the name of Ron Paul, it was something I couldn't just talk about any more. I had to live it.... embody it ....not just merely debate it over a beer with friends or family functions.

Most of my life between having the media talking heads and government educational system drilling the ideas of democracy into my subconscious I was rendered all but a blind man to what true freedom was. I was astounded to learn the word Democracy was not once written in the Bill of rights nor the Constitution. the founders of this Republic had specifically denounced it! Don't believe me, read it yourself and I'll give you 100 dollars if you can find it.

Yet here I had been told most my life we as a country were spreading Democracy for the betterment of other nations and that is what America was about..Well the enlightened rule of law is what it's really about.. Individual freedoms protected from mob rule, or what the majority refer to as democracy is what America was founded upon.

Learning this I felt cheated, Crossed.. I looked around and felt others had been as well.. I felt I needed others to feel the same sense of true meaning of liberty which I had discovered.. My goodness it was like manta claus was made real again and I was a little giddy child wanting to go to bed early. presents again hooray! not barring a occasional lump of coal that is..but the enjoyment had returned.. The apathy.. which I didn't even realize I had, had be lifted from soul at that point.

The gift of Freedom is just that.. A GIFT.. which was insured to us 200 years ago by the blood and strife of the founders of this great nation.. but only if if we as a people could keep it as Benjamin Franklin had so nicely stated after the constitutional convention in 1787.

Having been in Washington DC this weekend at the Conservative Political Action Committee supporting true conservatism that which Ron Paul as well as his son Rand for. I visited the Archives building and took a look at the constitution as I always do when in DC..
Outside a certain phrase is in-scripted... it reads “Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty.

That phrase sums up mainly why I am becoming active in reviving the ideal of a Constitutional Republic and Bill of Rights that our leaders have strayed from. It's only Freedom if you don't take it for granted and I fully understand that now.

Around 450 B.C A influential Statesman general and orator in Rome by the name of — Pericles stated this.
"Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you. "

Well I'm taking an interest in politics and with the acceptance of the people in my district I plan on keeping my promise of striving for less government intervention, and individual rights.

Before I make this a long speech and bore people to sleep. lol.. I'm going to get to what I feel could be a good start to help my part of the world.

In all seriousness, Nelson County let alone America is in tough economic times.
Several businesses have closed and many people are laid off locally. Others are working for less and the citizens of Nelson County are having to tighten their belts considerably.

That's why in my eyes it is not unreasonable then, to suggest that county employees making more than 15,000 yearly take a pay cut of between 2 and 5 percent

This would help with the budget without having to lay off county employees who would in turn draw unemployment further straining the system.
During these difficult times, if someone is having a hard time paying their county property tax, couldn't the county reduce or waive the tax penalty
instead of charging up to 21% interest?

It's my belief that county government is there to serve the people.. not be an added burden. It's no secret we all understand that as a country and as a county are in for hard times. It cannot continue business as usual with the same people in leadership positions making the same mistakes. We can no longer afford it.

Southern Nelson County is my home. I grew up here and parts of my family helped found areas of southern Nelson Co. I intend to stay here, and help make it a place that I can be proud to raise a family in again like it was when I was a small child and my grandfather ran Howards general store in New Haven.

Most of all I truly want to be a part of helping everyone get through these difficult times and making the ideas of freedom via the constitution strong again in this great nation..
Thank you..