13 Days until Nov. 2: “America, we have a problem but failure is not an option.”

When Apollo 13 launched and then was aborted because of an accident, I was a 16 year old teenager who had more complex problems to worry about. You know – boyfriend/girlfriend stuff. I watched my dad glued to the television set with the rabbit ears on top and the snowy scene on the screen. I could have cared less about what was going on at that moment.

As time progressed and the intensity heightened, I became more interested in it but I did not fully understand “the big deal” that was happening. I figured the adults would take care of it. They did.

Apollo 13 was a successful failure. After an oxygen tank exploded, it took everyone who had ever touched the space craft to help bring it home. It didn’t matter if you were an aerospace engineer or a mechanic, all were important to have on the team.

Just like today, America’s oxygen or better known as – our financial standing - has imploded and everyone has a stake in fixing it. A couple of lines in the movie, Apollo 13, caught my attention and I compared it to where we are in America today:

· Apollo 13: “Power is everything.” – Having the needed power for the big return home meant that the little things had to be turned off.

o America: Some of us had the big home, a new car every 4 years, dinner and movie on Friday nights, vacations, golf on Saturdays and credit card shopping trips at the mall. We believed those “things” brought us power and what we realized is – “it reduced our power.” Americans like you and I may have to turn off the little things to return America and our own personal finances back to the black again.

· Apollo 13: “Overwhelmed with information coming at them.” – As the team tried to find the issues and the solutions, the information was coming full force into mission control.

o America: In the last few years, we have been inundated with information about all facets of our life in America. From bank bailouts, financial reform, Fannie and Freddie, foreclosures, healthcare reform, executive orders, land grabs, immigration, ground zero mosques and the latest new tax hikes coming soon. It has been overwhelming for most of us and exhausting too. There are way too many issues to deal with and it will take leadership at the helm to fix it.

· Apollo 13: “Close off everything else and focus on survival.” The decision was made to stop focusing on those things that did not matter. They also did not need to spend time looking for someone to blame. The only thing that mattered was getting the Apollo 13 crew back home.

o America: We spent time, energy, money, resources and assets to fix healthcare when the economy was the real issue. We said we fixed the financial issues and did not address Freddie and Fannie. We have a leadership team in Washington, DC who did not close off everything else and focus on survival. So we had to and the American people stood up and said “we’ll take it from here.”

It will take new leadership to fix the mess we are in. It will take all of us working together to fix it. The characteristics we will need in our new Congress are:

· Creativity

· Determination

· Inspiration

· Teamwork

· Discipline

· And most important of all - Leadership

On November 2 you will have a chance to vote for the team members (Congress) who will focus on survival and will be the crew to bring America back from the brink of a catastrophe. Don’t miss the chance to be a part of history and voting for your favorite candidate.

“America, we have a problem but failure is not an option.”

Activist Tips of the Day:

· Research: Research the candidates on the ballot. Do they meet the characteristics listed above? If yes, vote for them. If no, help them find another job in the private sector!

· Donate: Can you make a contribution today to our Washington, DC Collaborator - Liberty Central. Liberty Central helps us stay informed and feeds us information so we can in turn send it out to you. This Wednesday night, Liberty Central will host a webinar about the tax hikes coming soon and daily we use their resources and staff to help us. Please do what you can and make a small donation to show your support. Go to: www.libertycentral.org and hit the red DONATE button on the top right hand corner.