Thomas Jefferson said in 1802:  “I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property – until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.”

THOMAS JEFFERSON…

At 5, began studying under his cousin’s tutor.

At 9, studied Latin, Greek and French.

At 14, studied classical literature and additional languages.

At 16, entered the College of William and Mary.

At 19, studied Law for 5 years starting under George Wythe.

At 23, started his own law practice.

At 25, was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses.

At 31, wrote the widely circulated “Summary View of the Rights of British America ” and retired from his law practice.

At 32, was a Delegate to the Second Continental Congress.

At 33, wrote the Declaration of Independence.

At 33, took three years to revise Virginia s legal code and wrote a Public Education bill and a statute for Religious Freedom.

At 36, was elected the second Governor of Virginia succeeding Patrick Henry.

At 40, served in Congress for two years.

At 41, was the American minister to France and negotiated commercial treaties with European nations along with Ben Franklin and John Adams.

At 46, served as the first Secretary of State under George Washington.

At 53, served as Vice President and was elected president of the American Philosophical Society.

At 55, drafted the Kentucky Resolutions and became the active head of Republican Party.

At 57, was elected the third president of the United States.

At 60, obtained the Louisiana Purchase doubling the nation’s size.

At 61, was elected to a second term as President.

At 65, retired to Monticello.

At 80, helped President Monroe shape the Monroe Doctrine.

At 81, almost single-handedly created the University of Virginia and served as its first president.

 At 83, died on the 50th anniversary of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence.
John F. Kennedy held a dinner in the white House for a group of the brightest minds in the nation at that time. He made this statement: “This is perhaps the assembly of the most intelligence ever to gather at one time in the White House with the exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.”

When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe.    Thomas Jefferson

The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.    Thomas Jefferson

It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes.  A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world.    Thomas Jefferson

I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.      Thomas Jefferson

My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.      Thomas Jefferson

No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.      Thomas Jefferson

The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.      Thomas Jefferson

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.      Thomas Jefferson

To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.      Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson said in 1802: I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.  If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property – until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.

Thomas Jefferson – Banks are more dangerous than standing armies. originally appeared on Rights Radio™ with Dr. Joyce Starr - An Independent Voice on October 18, 2011.

However, less widely known is a Pride of lions, a Murder of crows (as well as their cousins the rooks and ravens), an Exaltation of doves and, presumably because they look so wise, a Parliament of owls.

Now consider a group of Baboons. They are the loudest, most dangerous, most obnoxious, most viciously aggressive and least intelligent of all primates. And what is the proper collective noun for a group of baboons?

Believe it or not . . . a Congress!

You just can’t make this stuff up.

“Life’s tough . . . it’s even tougher if you’re stupid.” — John Wayne

Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.  — Mark Twain

In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a congress.   — John Adams

(Courtesy of Dr. David Goldenberg.)

Pride of Lions, Gaggle of Geese, Exaltation of Doves & Congress of… originally appeared on Rights Radio™ with Dr. Joyce Starr - An Independent Voice on October 18, 2011.

[Dr. Goldenberg is the author of Creating Condo & Homeowner Association Documents and The Art of War 3: Canons of Commerce.]

Here’s a mutually exclusive and exhaustive list of the broad families of strategies to deal with the current U.S. economic crisis. Which would you prefer? Tell your Congressmen.

I. Dabble and dither: This is our current strategy. Both political parties persist in offering variations of this inferior choice. Why inferior? Because the specific proposals either address only part of the problem or are economically unsound or ineffective. Each political party takes turns proposing treatment(s) which the other adamantly opposes. Relying primarily on an austerity program, a special case of fiscal policy, is one example. A dabbling and dithering strategy enables politicians to avoid doing anything they might later regret personally while allowing them to continue to hope that the problem eventually will evaporate without changing the status quo.

II. Devalue: Previously known as inflation or printing money wherein worthless dollars are used to pay off our debts. This special case of monetary policy simply would make things much worse. (Monetary policy is the exclusive province of the Federal Reserve Bank. But the Fed recently admitted that it has all but exhausted the power of monetary policy except for devaluation. Presumably the Fed hopes that some other policy set [fiscal, human, …] or combination will do the job. Finding that set is up to some other part(s) of the government. Viewed positively, this is an opportunity to earn lots of curses in Mandarin.)

III. Dump on other countries: Boost our economy by exporting more. Exports are such a tiny part of our economy that even tripling exports wouldn’t help much. Besides, the potential target countries are too weak economically to buy so vast a quantity of exports.

IV. Default: renege on the prior commitment to repay the debt and interest on it. Defaulting not only would cause a long and deep global recession but also would ruin the U.S. dollar’s reputation as having the world’s safest currency.

V. Destroy: World War II brought the world out of the Great Depression. But a replay is unaffordable today in both blood and treasure.

VI. Daring: Several generations of ignorant, desperate and apathetic voters allowed short-sighted, self-serving politicians to unintentionally create this mess. A consensus of experts’ recommendations is more likely to get us out of this mess than any proposals by the politicians who caused it or let it happen.

© 2011 David I. Goldenberg, Ph.D. Boynton Beach, FL USA

US Economic Crisis Options: Dabble, dither, dump, default, destroy or be daring originally appeared on Rights Radio™ with Dr. Joyce Starr - An Independent Voice on September 25, 2011.

Salary of House/Senate ………………….. $174,00​0 FOR LIFE

Salary of Speaker of the House ………… $223,500 FOR LIFE

Salary of Majority/Minority Leaders ……. $193,400 FOR LIFE

Average Salary of a teacher ……………. $40,065 per year

Average Salary of a solder DEPLOYED IN AFGHANISTAN….$38,000 per year

How do we stop the violence and plundering  by our elected officials?  No one wonder they fight so hard to get elected.  One year in Congress is job security for life.

Salaries for Life for President and Congress: The People 0 originally appeared on Rights Radio™ with Dr. Joyce Starr - An Independent Voice on September 19, 2011.

The term “loner” once suggested the self-confident, silent type who said little but knew more than he/she let on. A person of few words who got the job done. An achiever, a person with a rich, goal-oriented inner life – one that you could trust, a “true” friend who wouldn’t blab your secrets.  Today, non-socially networked men/women are readily tagged as socially inept losers – people without a “platform” or “friends.” Non-socially networked loners are viewed as “less than,” when most offer more than social media scores can possibly gauge.

Andrew Lloyd Webber, the most successful songwriter/playwright of our time, declared on Piers Morgan’s CNN show that he doesn’t own a cell phone and only sent one email in his life – which he actually dictated to someone else to send. Andrew Lloyd Webber doesn’t do social media.  

What’s your view? Are you a non-socially-networked (NSN) individual? Are you a productive/creative loner? Do you feel that social networking is giving people like yourself an unwarranted economic disadvantage? We’d love to hear from you.

Life interrupted…

Social Media Messaging - Credit Retrevo

A recent CNET Networks post by by Elizabeth Armstrong Moore caught my eye.

Only a few years ago, I could shock people by divulging that I don’t own a TV. Since Hulu and others let me get my show fix online, I now seem to be part of a growing minority who only have one kind of box at home. But I still shock people. All I have to do is admit I’m not on Facebook. According to most people I talk to, at least, this is truly strange behavior.

So it’s not surprising that so many people rely on social media, for both work and play, every day–a statistic highlighted in the latest Retrevo Gadgetology Report on social-media usage…More than half of social-media users report needing to check Facebook at least once every day, and more than 10 percent say they have to log on every few hours. Of course, iPhone users are even more attached at the hip, with more frequent usage than any other group in the 1,000-person study.

Threat to work/social progress?

Some of my best friends are not socially networked. They’re too busy earning a living and/or being creative/productive. To quote one individual, who – for obvious reasons – wishes to remain anonymous:

My immediate reaction is to repeat the classic line given to Rhett Butler at the end of Gone with the Wind, (“Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a ….”)

Seriously, I’m not in favorably predisposed toward computerized social networking. To me, it’s just an annoyance and a threat. It’s an annoyance because dealing with it forces me to waste precious self-depleting time. It’s a threat to my work and to social progress.

As you know, I consult as a (……). That means confidential data is stored on my computer. But, social networks are rife with hackers, snoops, spammers, à who exploit the system to gain access to other people’s computers and data. So I dare not engage in computerized social networking lest some SOB access my computer and read or meddle with the confidential data therein. Moreover, given my lack of interest in social networking, I’m too cheap to have a second separate computer just for social networking.

Social networking is a threat to the economy because it encourages people to waste time gossiping that otherwise could be spend productively. I am, of course, in favor of social discourse on a limited basis with friends and colleagues, preferably in person or, if need be, electronically via the telephone, fax or even the Internet.

Is it harder/easier for non-socially-networked individuals to find work, stand out in their field, have a great life? We’d love to hear from you.

Dr. Joyce Starr

Does Social Networking Give Productive/Creative Loners a Bad Rap? originally appeared on Rights Radio™ with Dr. Joyce Starr - An Independent Voice on July 3, 2011.

I even open and close  iTunes versions of this show with Irish music. Undertaking a one-person survey, I asked a close colleague what he thought about the Irish. His response might echo your feelings: “I just like them.”

Click to Play:

My Irish roots.

What is it about Ireland that makes us happy? Lush green fields, epic tales and wistful views of the sea for starters.

Starr Irish Crest

Visiting Ireland many years ago, I searched for my Irish roots. Indeed, I found them. It turned out that the Starr family had its very own crest – with a lion at the top and the scales of justice balanced in the center. I was thrilled. The fact that our name was shortened to Starr when my grandfather immigrated from Kiev to America made no difference whatsoever. Clearly, I’m part-Irish.

Let’s not get distracted.

So, like forty million other Irish Americans, I enjoyed President Obama’s trip to Ireland. It was a welcomed break after the minefield drama over Israel’s return to the 1967 borders.

As everyone and their pet should know by now, President Obama gave a major policy address on May 18 stating: “The borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognized borders are established for both states.” The line referred to Israel’s boundaries before it took control of the West Bank and Gaza Strip after the 1967 Six Day War.

President Obama argued that Israel’s 1967 borders had been the starting point for negotiations for over a decade.” Others countered, “But a U.S. president never said it publicly, thereby putting pressure on Israel.” The media went wild over Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s reaction, Obama’s counter-reaction and Bibi’s counter-counter-response.

Of course, the issue is much more complicated, but let’s not get distracted.

Great-great-great…

The president was cool under fire, knowing that in just a few short hours, he’d be embracing his Irish roots in the charming town of Moneygall (reuniting with the spirit of his great-great-great grandfather – gotcha on that one Shawn Hannity). And the best part: imbibing a glass of Guinness beer in a handsome Irish pub surrounded by real folks.

Americans voters were so weary with ancient borders and truly epic tornadoes that everyone was ready for a drink of ale.

Another friend wrote me, “It’s a good thing they didn’t ask him to kiss the Blarney Stone.”

In fact, I did a show in August, 2010 entitled Bill O’Reilly vs Barak O’Blarney. Turns out that I can see at least 10 months into the future. Yes, I just knew that Barak would one day return home looking for the missing apostrophe in his name.

“And I’ve come home,” Obama told a 25,000-person crowd, “to find the apostrophe that we lost somewhere along the way.”

Of course that was a different era -  when the Democrats were threatening Medicare. Who knew that the Republicans secretly wanted to turn Medicare into an IPO?

One night stand.

But then Obama left Ireland and reality set in. Maureen Dowd of the New York Times captured the sunset moment:

“Swaddled in the afterglow, the Irish are trying to figure out: Was it true love or merely a one-day stand? Not even a whole night, after all, since Barry O’Bama ran off after the ecstatic lovefest, muttering some incredible excuse about a volcanic ash cloud from Iceland. The tall, dark stranger who bewitched an island didn’t say when he’d be calling again to help out with Ireland’s $100 billion debt.”

Why we like the Irish – Barry O’Bama and My Irish Crest originally appeared on Rights Radio™ with Dr. Joyce Starr - An Independent Voice on May 25, 2011.

Why? Because that’s what it’s been programmed to do. Anyone who thinks the market is being pumped by new money is having an out-of-mind experience.

The Federal Reserve – Oracle of Delphi – held its first press conference this week since it was established in 1913, (only took 98 years). The markets lapped up Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s indecipherable blather and zoomed higher.

The market couldn’t possibly go down following Bernanke’s insistence that our economy is on the right track. He stated that rising prices are a passing phenomena, that inflation is under control.

Over 200 tornadoes devastated a broad swatch of six southern states hours after Bernanke spoke (a sign?), leveling cities in Alabama and elsewhere. Over 300 dead, 1500 injured, but the market rallied further the next day – and yes, the day after that. Worst tornadoes in 40 years – perhaps in the history of our country. Devastating losses that left people stripped of everything but the clothes on their backs. For many, those were in shreds as well. Who cares? Not Wall Street.

Remember when the market “flash crashed” 500 points in May, 2010, supposedly due to one trader pushing the wrong button, (you really believe that?). Nearly a trillion dollars in wealth instantly disappeared. That single “mistake” allowed the government to institute a limit on how much the market can fall in any given day – no more than 10 percent. No crashes allowed here. Everything is orderly, and the market will never, ever, not in your life-time, go down. Or at least not until Bernanke and his bankster friends decide that it should.

I just loved the part where Bernanke declared that he’s personally committed to transparency. Give me a break. He’s committed to avoiding the Fed audit that Members of Congress have been trying to pass for years. He’s committed to defusing calls for an end to the Fed’s “private” cartel power. Ben Bernanke reminds me of Sara Bernhardt. He’s a fantastic performer.

Or perhaps he has more akin with Mae West, who said: “An ounce of performance is worth a pound of promises.”

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Economic Revival: Economic Revival Wisdom Proven Wrong – Forcasting our Future

Quotes that remind us what economic revival “crash and prosperity” experts didn’t know then and cannot know now re economic recovery. Courtesy of Rights Radio forensic economist and author, Dr. David Goldenberg. “We will not have any more crashes in our time.” – John Maynard Keynes in 1927

Federal Reserve Declares Recession is Dead: Twelve Indicators that Economy is in Trouble

Economists & Fed Declare Recession is Dead. Real folks don’t believe it. Twelve top indicators that the economy is bad.  CEO’s are now playing miniature golf.

Federal Reserve Audit: Why Bernanke held First Fed Press Conference originally appeared on Rights Radio™ with Dr. Joyce Starr - An Independent Voice on April 29, 2011.

The article is completely neutral, neither anti-Republican or Democrat. Reese, a retired reporter for the Orlando Sentinel, has hit the nail directly on the head, defining clearly who it is that in the final analysis must assume responsibility for the judgments made that impact each one of us every day. It’s a short but good read. Worth the time. Worth remembering!

545 vs. 300,000,000 People – By Charlie Reese

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don’t propose a federal budget. The President does.

You and I don’t have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.

You and I don’t write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don’t set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don’t control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one President, and nine Supreme Court justices equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a President to do one cotton-picking thing. I don’t care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator’s responsibility to determine how he votes. Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The President can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? John Boehner. He is the leader of the majority party. He and fellow House members, not the President, can approve any budget they want. If the President vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted — by present facts — of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can’t think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it’s because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it’s because they want it in the red.

If the Army & Marines are in Iraq and Afghanistan it’s because they want them in Iraq and Afghanistan …

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it’s because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like “the economy,” “inflation,” or “politics” that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.

They and they alone, have the power.

They and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.

Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees…

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

How 545 Americans Control 300 Million – And we let them… originally appeared on Rights Radio™ with Dr. Joyce Starr - An Independent Voice on April 9, 2011.

The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds) took only 3 months & 8 days to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people demanded it. That was in 1971…before personal computers, before e-mail, before cell phones, etc.

Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took 1 year or less to become the law of the land…all because of public pressure.

How long might it take to turn the Congressional Reform Act of 2011 into change we can ALL believe in?

Listen to the Show and/or read below:

American senators devote 27 percent of their press releases to “partisan taunts” as compared to substance. “Partisan taunting seems to play a central role in the behavior of many senators,” declares a study by Justin Grimmer of Stanford and Gary King of Harvard.

Congressional Reform Act of 2011

1. Term Limits: 12 years maximum with only one of the possible options below..

A. Two Six-year Senate terms
B. Six Two-year House terms
C. One Six-year Senate term and three Two-Year House terms

2. No Tenure / No Pension: A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.

3. Members of Congress (past, present & future) participate in Social Security.

All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people.

4. Members of Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.

5. Congress will no longer be allowed to vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of the final Consumer Price Index or 3%.

6. Members of Congress lose their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.

7. Members of Congress must abide by all laws they impose on the American people.

8. All contracts with past and present Members of Congress are null and void effective 1/1/12.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work.

If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people then it will only take three days for most people in the U.S. to receive the message. Perhaps OUR time has come.

If you agree with all or most of the above, share this link!

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Reform Congress – No Tenure, No Pension, No VIP Healthcare originally appeared on Rights Radio™ with Dr. Joyce Starr - An Independent Voice on April 9, 2011.

Poor American Eagle. He flew over a US military base and was caught in a hail of friendly fire.

A farmer in Kansas found the Eagle in his barn, struggling with horrific wounds to his left wing. The right wing was in better shape, but growing weaker by the day from internal injuries.

Eagle with Broken Wings - Photo from "An Eagle Named Freedom"

Amazingly, it was the same Kansas farm – foreclosed, bought, then foreclosed again (and again) – where Superman grew up and where Dorothy flew off to the Land of Oz.

How the Eagle arrived in Kansas was a mystery. Most had long forgotten about Kansas, once the heartland of the nation.

Now the nation no longer required a heart. Wall Street Titans had the best hearts that money could buy, while the middle class and poor had lost heart – along with their homes, jobs and economic security.

The farmer was dirt poor, yet tenderly transported the injured bird to the Eagle emergency ward in his 1998 Ford Pick Up Truck – purchased long before cars became trucks and trucks morphed into tanks catering to teenage girls and young moms with cell phone earrings.

Unfortunately, the farmer’s insurance company had recently raised his rates by 38 percent, and he couldn’t afford to pay.

He would gladly have put the Eagle’s medical bill on his small business credit card – the one he never left home without – but American Express had jacked up interest rates on all small business owners across the board. When the farmer couldn’t handle the exorbitant increase, American Express froze his card.

Sadly, if American Express hadn’t clipped his credit wings and/or the government hadn’t turned a blind eye while US health insurance companies increased their rates, the Eagle might have flown again.

But the Eagle was left limping for the rest of his life – certainly no match for a Chinese Dragon.

The farmer returned home with the injured Eagle, built him a box in a corner of the barn and shared the morsels of food he could still afford to grow.

All the while, Russell Crowe, alias The Gladiator, was bent on saving everything he cared about in 3 days. If only the American President had been able to save the American people in 730 days – his first two years in office! (Where where was Russell when we needed him most?)

Crow hitches a ride on a vulture

Truth be told, the President didn’t notice that the Eagle was missing. He was too busy rebuilding the Land of Oz in Washington, D.C., a triumph of human ingenuity if ever there was one, where the other crow – not the Eagle – would prevail. Washington crows were growing stronger and more aggressive every day. They’d taken over the skies, had their own rules and special laws for the neighborhoods they controlled – building their nests deep in the roofs of the nicest homes and condos in the city. Indeed, the crows were settling in, growing comfortable. They didn’t have to go far for food or water.

As for the Eagle, he was a very sad bird indeed. While he deeply appreciated the farmer’s kindness, now he had no job, no reputation to uphold, and would never soar again. Much as he prayed nightly, the Eagle knew that he was no longer who he was. A proud national bird that put the rest of the world in awe. Instead, he would be forever dependent on others for shelter, protection and food in his dark little corner of the barn.

Fleeting moments of joy would come from a rare glimpse of the sky, only to shatter his heart when an arrogant (crowing) crow flew by.

An Eagle that loses its past will never regain its future.

“I want to fly like an eagle til I’m free. Fly like an eagle, let my spirit carry me.” — Steve Miller Band, 1976

“And I will raise you up on eagle’s wings” — Old Hymn

Don’t let them clip your wings!

Dr. Joyce Starr

American Eagle with Injured Left & Right Wings: A Parable w/ Russell Crowe originally appeared on Rights Radio™ with Dr. Joyce Starr - An Independent Voice on October 29, 2010.