Salt and Light

The only sure bulwark of continuing liberty is a government strong enough to protect the interests of the people, and a people strong enough and well enough informed to maintain its sovereign control over the government. (Franklin Delano Roosevelt)

You may be wondering why I would quote someone with very liberal social views; it’s because FDR is considered by Democrats as one of the greatest presidents. While I agree he was a great war president, his social programs set us on the disastrous entitlement mentality our country now suffers.

Nevertheless, FDR understood the importance of Americans citizens maintaining control over government. I believe FDR would be proud of we the people today after we moved the Senate to kill the amnesty bill. I will admit I was not confident that enough Senators would listen to their constituents, but they did and I’m glad I was wrong.

So what’s next? Well in my state there is already a recall petition floating around to fire Senator Mel Martinez (R-Fl) who was a co-sponsor of this bill. Now I do not know if we can even recall a US Senator in Florida, but the backlash is already starting.

I, for one, am in favor of both of our US Senators here in Florida becoming unemployed, and the sooner the better. We also need to run all of these Republicans who got squishy on immigration and have been squishy to the unemployment office.

Democrats and liberals are hoping that this will split the Republican Party. Many of you were ready to quit the Republican Party if this legislation passed. That is exactly what the Democrats were counting on. Instead, I propose we take this momentum and the activism that arose from the anger and we channel that into reclaiming our party back to the Goldwater/Reagan conservatism that made our party great in the 80’s.

Our work has just begun, and stay tuned for the announcement next week of Fred Thompson’s candidacy. This momentum can be capitalized by the Thompson camp if they play this smart because Thompson has been speaking of how Washington is so out of touch with the rest of America and it was seen by all on this immigration fight.

Yesterday I wrote that cloture was over and that it seems as though we don’t have a chance to stop this immigration bill. Thankfully I was wrong!

Yesterday’s cloture vote was to allow debate and move to a final cloture vote which will come tomorrow. It is not too late to make a difference folks. Please call your senators and let them know that you want them to vote no on cloture.

Brit Hume of FoxNews just reported that the bill is in trouble and cloture could be defeated tomorrow. Please keep up the pressure. We are making a difference! Use the link on my last post to send a free fax to your two senators.

Let’s pray that we can get 41 Senators to do the right thing!

It has been nearly three weeks since my last post; much has been going on in my personal life, all for the good. My oldest daughter Tiffany was married on June 16 and my son Eddie came home on R&R from Iraq the same day. We have had a blessed 11 days and we thank God for His blessing and give Him all the praise.

Now, being as busy as I’ve been doesn’t mean I haven’t been watching what is happening in the political arena; quite the contrary. I’ve also been busy calling, emailing, and faxing my two lawbreaker-supporting senators here in Florida. As I’m sure most of you already know, the Senate voted for cloture on the immigration bill which pretty much means they voted to approve it. Now some of the mealy-mouthed Republican Senators will tell you that they wanted to begin the debate so they can shine the light on these arguments, but now instead of needing 60 votes to move this bill forward, they only need 51 votes to pass this amnesty bill.

Here’s the bottom line on all the political smokescreen these turncoat Republicans are trying to blow up your backside. They will tell you that they wanted to debate but that they will vote against the bill and they will bring up amendment after amendment to “fix” the bill all the while knowing that all their efforts will be for nothing. What they are counting on is that next year or whenever they come up for reelection they’ll be able to hoodwink you by saying, “Hey I voted against the immigration bill!”

The problem is that we have their number and we will be there to remind them. I want you to look at Roll Call on Cloture Vote on Immigration Bill to see how your senators voted on cloture. Those that voted “yea” knew that meant in essence they were voting for passing this bill and a “nay” vote meant they were opposing the bill.

Part of being “salt and light” means we stop the spread of decay and shine the light on darkness so I have come up with a list of Senators up for reelection next year, in 2010, and 2012. We will not let these 64 Senators who voted for this cloture get away with this without having to explain their position. Here is a list titled Senators Vote on Cloture for Immigration Bill and Their Reelection Year, please take a close look and put it up for quick reference. If your Senator voted for cloture and is up for reelection next year, go ahead and call their office and let them know that you will do all you can to make them unemployed come January 2009.

We conservatives should take advantage of the ire that is within the Republican Party and get rid of the RINOs and get behind the candidacy of Fred Thompson for President. He should be announcing sometime next week, as early as Tuesday, and he can ride this wave of anger all the way to the White House. The current occupant doesn’t care 5 cents for your opinion right now and neither do the 64 Senators who voted for cloture. But hey, President Bush, his White House minions, and the Superior Sixty-Four realize that you’re just a bunch of racists and don’t want to do what’s right for the country.

Here’s the problem with all you numbskulls: you think amnesty is when someone comes to our country illegally, breaking the law, is given legal status immediately through the Z Visa after paying $1000 and if you decide to apply for citizenship, pay an additional $4000, for a staggering $5000, admit you were wrong, and pass a background check. A $1000 fine is what you pay for littering in California and that somehow equates to being punished for being in our country illegally. Even though it doesn’t fit the “definition” of amnesty, as a US citizen try breaking into someone’s house and see if you can get off scott-free with just a confession and a $1000 fine. A synonym for amnesty is reprieve and if this bill isn’t a reprieve from our current immigration laws, then I don’t know what is!

Many conservative talk radio hosts think this could fracture the Republican Party. GOOD! It needs a good fracturing, kind of like turning over the topsoil so we can plant some new conservative seeds in the form of real conservative candidates. It is time for “we the people” to rise up (exactly as we have been) and let these charlatans in the Republican Party know that they are no longer welcome. And we don’t need to stop with the candidates; much of the party apparatus, national, state, and local, are embedded with loyal party hacks that will toe the line just to keep their positions. We can fix that too but it means actually getting involved, attending county and state party meetings and conventions, and electing strong conservatives as delegates. If we are smart, aggressive, and relentless, we can turn the pendulum in the Republican Party back to the Goldwater/Reagan principles that is the foundation of conservatism.

That is exactly what a conservative can do!

Here’s a link you can use to fax your senators: Numbers USA

Hey folks - This is a quick post to say howdy and thank Dave for the opportunity to be a contributor to his blog. I will do my level best to be the “lighthouse” he spoke of in an earlier post. Here’s a little bit of info about me so you’ll have an idea about the man behind the keyboard. I’m much younger, handsomer, and almost as intelligent as Dave. Not really. He is probably the best friend I’ve ever had and more like a brother than anything else. I’m sure many of you feel the same way.

I am a born again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe the Bible is accurate, complete, and trustworthy. I have studied God’s Word for nearly thirty years and have yet to find it wanting in anything. I am a little different than Dave in some respects (apart from the age and good looks). He is much better than I am at discerning the political winds blowing through our country. I am up to date with political happenings but not to the level Dave is. I’m more in touch with religious happenings, trends, and apologetics. That’s one reason I’m so excited to be a part of Salt and Light.

Like Dave, I’m a retired Army guy. I’m intensely patriotic and very grateful for the blessing of living in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Most of my career was spent in aviation operations. I met Dave while we were both instructors at Ft. Rucker. He took me under his wing and has been my friend ever since. I taught a Sunday School class there and Dave started attending. It’s where he met his lovely wife Karen and where they were eventually married.

Oh yeah…I’m the world’s biggest UK Wildcat fan. I’ll leave it at that for now.

So…in the beginning was the blog. And the blog was Dave’s and he did some typing and decided to call it Salt and Light. What a perfect name for a blog that encourages all of us to be the salt and light that is so needed in our world! Like many of you, I sometimes end up being a salty light or just lightly salted. Sometimes something strikes a nerve and I’m a bit more “salty” when trying to shed the “light” on someone who’s just not “getting it”. Sadly, at times I’m only lightly salted and of no real use. Sound familiar?

I think Dave would agree that this should be an encouraging place. We should be encouraged to be involved in what’s going on around us both politically and socially. We should be encouraged to actually BE Salt and BE Light because there’s never been a time when both are needed more. Dave can’t do it, I can’t do it, and you can’t do it either without the Lord’s blessing, guidance, and help. Sometimes that help comes from one another. Dave has a lot of irons in the fire right now. I’m blessed to be able to help by working with this blog. There’ll be times when I need his help and the help of those on this blog. I thank God in advance for the peace that comes from knowing that the help is there from those who read these words. You can count on my being there as well.

My prayer is that, together, we’ll be more than just salty light or lightly salted. Again, I’m grateful and look forward to the journey!

Billy Ray

I want to take this opportunity to welcome aboard Bill Malley, a dear friend, brother-in-Christ, best man at my wedding, a Kentucky Wildcat fan, well, anyway. Bill is going to be contributing to Salt and Light with many of his insights, both theological and political. Bill knows how to cut to the chase and since the goal of Salt and Light is to bring political and moral clarity into the fog of political correctness, I decided another lighthouse would be good. Keep in touch and keep watching for the latest posts. God bless!