While Congress debates on the McKeon Amendment to authorize the arming of Syrian rebels, FreedomWorks President Matt Kibbe released the following statement in opposition:

Democracy and Power 105: The Politician seeks power To some people, government appears as a vast reservoir of power which inspires them to dream of what use might be made of it. They have favorite projects of various dimensions which they sincerely believe are for the benefit of mankind. They are thus disposed to recognize government—an instrument of passion, the art of politics to inflame and direct desire. - Michael Oakeshott, English political philosopher 1901-1990

This morning I used Lyft to get to work. My driver conveniently picked me up in a nice, clean, air-conditioned car all the way out in Falls Church, VA (30 minutes away from DC), and he drove me to the Capitol for just $25.

 A video produced by the comedy group Second City Network suggests that “Because Obama” may be losing its credibility as an excuse for government action.

Democracy and Power 112: Fidelity to LeadershipTo be elected, a politician must please his constituents. However, to be a powerful legislative force, a politician must be an obedient member of a party – Democrat or Republican. Since most constituents are busy making a living, raising families and focused on immediate community concerns, loyalty to the party most often prevails

House & Senate/Schedule: Both the House and Senate are back in business after five weeks.  The House will be in session through the end of next week, September 20th and will then recess for a week. The Senate, meanwhile, will be in continuous session through October 11th.

In every one of these situations: the push to attack Syria, the NSA spying on citizens, funding and implementation of Obamacare; proponents want to allow the government to do something it should not do, but claim we will be able to stop it if it goes any further. That thinking is backwards. The way to stop the NSA from gathering citizens' data, to keep the attack on Syria from escalating, and to stop Obamacare, is not to allow them to get started (funded) in the first place.  

Democracy and Power 101: Government is PowerThe essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse. —James Madison, Speech in the Virginia State Convention of 1829-1830

Personal Freedom and Prosperity 110: The Rule of LawA government with moral and legal authority promulgates written rules and universally, impartially and uniformly enforces the rules, which provides a predictable and stable legal order on which to base economic and personal decisions. The law prevails, not the proclamation or arbitrary decision of a ruler, government bureaucrat, enforcer (e.g., policeman) or judge

Allen West dropped by the Blogger Hangout at the RNC Convention on August 30, and was very gracious with his time. On his legislative agenda for 2013, he discussed tax reform and regulatory reform as a means to unleash small business success. He took a quick little shot at Harry Reid too, challenging him to pass the job creating legislation that has been blocked from a full vote at the Senate. I asked him about Sen. McCain's Convention remarks about the current state of the Middle East.