Senator Jeff Kruse - July 3rd, 2015 - CLOSE TO THE END

 

Senator Jeff Kruse
R-Roseburg, District 1

Phone: 503-986-1701  -  900 Court St. NE, S-315 Salem Oregon 97301
Email: sen.jeffkruse@state.or.us   -   Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/kruse
E-Newsletter                 

 Working Hard For You

 

July 3, 2015

 

CLOSE TO THE END

 

While many of us think it is past time for this Legislative Session to end, it appears there are still a few unresolved issues to be dealt with.  At this point there is not total agreement between the House Democrats, the Senate Democrats and the Governor and, as usual, it comes down to how much money to spend and where.  The Republicans have not been invited to participate in those discussions, so as I write this (at 7 AM) we don’t know what the outcome will be.  What is clear is we will not finish today, so one question will be whether we work through the weekend or come back next week to finish.  Many of us would prefer to go home for the weekend to celebrate the 4th with family and friends, but we will see.

 

A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine noted that there weren’t a lot of positive things in my newsletters.  While this may be true, from my perspective this has been the reality of this Session.  Having said that, there were some positive things accomplished and I intend to talk about some of them once we have actually finished.  But to the thought of doing something positive I did send out the article about Chris Kyle on the 1st.  What actually amazed me was the fact I got some very negative responses to that post calling him everything from a murderer to a racist.  I was honestly shocked by this reaction and thought I would give a little more perspective on this issue.  First, Chris was a soldier and was doing what a soldier should do and that is his job to the best of his ability.  In his case he was very good at his job and saved countless American lives.  I am sure he would have preferred to be home with his family, but he was doing his duty.

 

For me there is a more fundamental issue here and that is supporting our men and women who are serving and helping keep us safe.  I was a teenager and young adult during the Vietnam war.  I personally did not serve, but I had a lot of friends who did.  The way our troops were treated when they returned from that war was, in my opinion, a national disgrace.  Both then and now this should not be about the global geo-political issues, it should be about our troops and the respect we should be giving those who risk their lives to protect us.  I, for one, will continue to do what I can to honor and respect those who serve and protect both domestically and in other countries.

 

Tomorrow is Independence Day, which is our most significant national holiday.  One of the things that bothers me is the fact there are a lot of people in this country who truly don’t know the story and the significance of the action taken in 1776.  As a Senator I take an oath to support the Constitutions of both Oregon and the United States.  But what continues to be overlooked by both our state house and Congress is the Declaration of Independence.  I have a copy of that document hanging in my office.  I would suggest all Americans read this document on a regular basis, as it is truly the foundation of this country.  What you will find is that a lot of the reasons we chose to separate from England are now being done to us by our own government.  In essence we were rebelling against an overreaching government in favor of freedom and personal responsibility.  This was the principle that made our country great.  What is happening now (and has been happening for many years) is government encroachment into all aspects of our lives.  While there are people in both Salem and Washington who actually believe we are better off if the government is running our lives, it is time to stand up and say NO!

 

I hope everyone has an enjoyable 4th.  What I would ask is, while you are spending time with family and friends and watching the fireworks, you take a moment to remember all of those who have given everything to protect our way of life.  I would also suggest that politics is not a spectator event and I would encourage you to let your elected officials at all levels of government know your opinions on issues you care about.  This is supposed to be a government of the people and that can only happen if the people are paying attention and getting involved.

 

Sincerely,

 

Senator Jeff Kruse 

  

 

 

 

 

 

If you are interested in reading my past newsletters please click on my webpage link below:

 

http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/kruse