Does Poverty Follow Democratic Strongholds?

Does Poverty Follow Democratic Strongholds?
Al Ritter

In the last election in Maryland, Baltimore County for the first time was almost lost to the Democratic incumbent. Baltimore County has always been known as the Republican stronghold, but 2010 told a different story.

Shortly after the election the census results became public, and they showed almost a 2% jump in poverty in Baltimore County. It is no secret that Baltimore City, Prince Georges, and Montgomery County are the democratic areas that sway the whole state blue. It is also no secret that these counties are some of the largest poverty areas of the state.

With poverty creeping into new areas the state becomes eligible for more and more federal funds, which makes Maryland more and more dependent on federal funds to survive. This situation seems a natural for the political environment of this point in time. Change is inevitable the political winds blow differently on the federal level from decade to decade. The sad part is that Maryland’s political wind only blows in one direction, and has since 1959…….it blows from the left.

Rather than seeking a more bipartisan approach Maryland is true blue, seeking continual destructive social programs that will someday fall on deaf ears in a Republican controlled Whitehouse. As we know a democrat has never met a social program or a tax he doesn’t like. History has shown us that programs are seldom cut, and taxes only rarely. The question is, where will the money come from once the sympathetic ears are gone in the Whitehouse, and the democratic states are FORCED to live within their own means?

The answer is simple, they will come for YOU!

What came first? The areas of poverty, or the Democratic leadership?

Obama Sings While the U.S. Burns……..

Obama Sings While the U.S. Burns…….. Al Ritter While Obama enjoys an ice cream cone in Brazil the world is in upheaval. More rioting continues around the world this morning because of out of control spending while politicians continue business as usual. It seems we have no clear direction in the United States. Obama declares a “kinetic military action,” as reported by his National security Advisor, Ben Rhodes. What exactly does this term mean? Who really knows, no past President has ever used those words before. Using only a non-unanimous 10-vote nod from the United Nations Security Council as his rationalization, Obama committed our nation to yet another “police action” that poses NO direct threat against our nation other than the price of oil which is spiraling out of control already. Convinced by the UN and the Arab League to institute a no-fly zone over Libya, Obama’s promise to offer air support only to the coalition action is already falling into the typical Obama lie category, as 2,200 Marine troops now wait off the coast of Libya, prepared to lay down their lives for a civil war in a country we have no personal interest in. At least Press Secretary Jay Carney cleared things up by calling this a "time-limited, scope-limited" military action. It seems funny to me that President Obama seeks more of an approval from the world court (UN and the Arab league), than he does his own congress, to which he has clear cut directives that he must abide by to start an action of such large proportions. We have now been at war for a decade on foreign soil, and to add another Arab country to that list is irresponsible to say the least. Even the Arab League has not only backed out of its support for the action, it has not contributed one dime towards the expenses. Silent as crickets are the anti-war Democrats who thought they were getting a Nobel Peace Prize winning President rather than a record setting war monger who has set a new record of ALL past Presidents as having a war going on in 4 Islamic Countries at once. All this while our country suffers the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression……… Obama sings while the U.S. burns……..

Yet Another Abuse by the DOJ

Yet Another Abuse by the DOJ
Al Ritter

It somehow seems that a wandering snowmobiler get prosecuted by the DOJ after almost losing his life when his snowmobile quit in the wilderness. Bobbie spent days in the hospital recovering from exposure along with his friend after a snowstorm stranded them in the Utah wilderness.

Once out of the hospital he was contacted by someone in the “forestry service” to help him find his snowmobile. After reviewing ariel photographs Bobbie showed these “forestry service” people where he thought the snowmobile was. Upon further investigation the snowmobile was found. Shortly after, Bobbie was charged with violating a federal wilderness area, punishable by up to $5000 and 5 years in jail.

A judge found Bobbie guilty even though the government had not proven that Bobbie had actually crossed into the federal property boundaries. According to the judge it was Bobbie who had to prove he didn’t cross into it. An appellate court upheld the decision of the lower court, so Bobbie appealed to the Supreme Court, which denied a hearing on the case.

So the government spent near $1,000,000 to prosecute Bobbie on an over glorified trespassing warrant, but refuses to prosecute two New Black Panthers, clearly caught with their hand in the “cookie jar” on a voter intimidation case which they had already pleaded guilty to and were just awaiting sentencing……because of some idiotic claim about Eric Holders “people?” We the citizens are not stupid Mr. Holder………and we refuse the fact that you make villains of “my people”…………oh BTW Bobbie’s full name is Bobbie Unser, three time winner of the Indy 500!!

Why

Why
Kevin Bryant

I find myself questioning why people like myself, Al, and most importantly, YOU even bother voicing our political views? The party elite in both the Republican and Democrat parties doesn't care what we think. The majority of Americans want the military out of the middle east, but instead of talking about getting out, they launch missiles in Libya now. The American public has grown tired of military operations being led by a bunch of bureaucrats ensuring that no victory is possible. So, government once again does what they want and the majority of Americans be damnned.

The majority of Americans support a balanced budget amendment to the constitution. The proposal can't get majority support from either party. Why should congress want to balance the budget. Heaven forbid they do what they say they will do. They can't actually do it though because that would severely limit their ability to buy votes, support pet projects and fund other things that government has not business being involved in at all. 535 people in congress, 435 could care less what we think.

John Boehner - I said a couple of months ago that he needs to be voted out of office and they can take out his butt kissing shadow Eric Cantor as well. What I have seen since making that statement is they have exceeded my expectations and have proven themselves to be more spineless than a jellyfish. They refuse to touch entitlements as a means to cut the deficit. They refuse to stand up and demand more drilling in the gulf and in Alaska. They refuse to utter a word about all the unconstitutional things the Obama administration is doing like declaring carbon dioxide as a hazardous gas that they can regulate.

There are some in government that care about "WE THE PEOPLE", but that number is so small that they have no effect on policy. They couldn't stop TARP or anything a majority of Americans were against. God bless them for standing on principal.

We fought a war against England partially because we were tired of serving a tyrannical government. Do the idiots in Washington realize they are driving this country into another revolutionary war, only this time against our own government. This revolution is not going to come from the left, it's not going to be lead by the youth uprising against the establishment. It's going to be led by those my age who continue to see this country that we love and support decline more rapidly that Rome did. The funny thing about this war is there will be no dividing lines. No North verses South or black verses white or upper class verses middle class. The only dividing line will be those who believe in a self governing republic against those who believe in socialistic government rule.

Our government is completely out of control. It is out of control on the federal level in all three branches. It's out of control at most state levels right on down to our local governments. Our court system no longer looks to the constitution for answers. It looks to case law to justify sidestepping the constitution or refuses to hear a case at all. Our own Supreme Court, our last line of defense against an ever instrusive government is no longer the guardians of constitutional rights.

I don't know why Al continues to voice his political opinion and I'm not stupid enough to think I can answer why you do. In my case, I do it for love of God, Country and Family. God gave us the abilty to think for ourselves and the ability to govern ourselves. This country has afforded us the right and ability to exercise those abilities granted to us by God. Our families are our primary source that we look to and look at when we make decisions that will have a direct effect on them. We owe the generations of the future the same rights to exercise these abilities bestowed upon us by God. We owe them a country where self governing is king, not someone. It is my opinion that we dishonor those generations before us, we dishonor our country and our families and future generations if we leave them anything less than a country where our constitution reigns supreme.

Parties Split on Libyan No–Fly Zone

Parties Split on Libyan No–Fly Zone
Al Ritter

There doesn’t seem to be any clear right or left opinion on the institution of a multi force action on a no-fly zone in Libya. Democrats and Republicans seem split on their opinions whether or not we should have gotten involved at all in the police action sanctioned by the UN to institute the no-fly zone to protect the people of Libya from the brutality of their dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

Even the far left and far right appear as though they can’t pick a clear opinion on this matter. Past UN Ambassador John Bolton and General Mc Inerney seldom disagree on operations such as this, but this morning on Fox news, Bolton this involvement was warranted and Gen Mc Inerney said it was foolish to get involved.

The left is already posturing saying that the right pushed for this involvement, and they would like to know how “they” are going to pay for it. Because the congress wasn’t even involved in the decision, there is no right party involved in the decision at all………….the decision was clearly one man’s and one man alone, and that is Barack Obama. This is one decision he can’t lay at ANYBODY else’s doorstep. Let the democrats say what they will but the decision to spend $350 billion dollars a week on the enforcement of a no-fly zone over Libya while fighting undeclared wars in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, and now Libya.

Anniversary of Al’s Political Views

Anniversary of Al’s Political Views
Al Ritter

It hardly seems real that 3 short years ago I started writing political opinions. I was driven to write as Al Gore’s “Inconvenient Truth” hit the movie theatres. I independently did investigative work after it was reported that his movies contained so many falsehoods. This started the website and triggered me to write almost on a daily basis.

Shortly after I began writing for the Examiner.com and in just one short year wrote some 650 articles for them. Shortly after I was censored I cut all interaction with them, and continued to write articles on my own. With help from Kevin Bryant we turned up the heat on the liberals in the next year, and continued to add writers to the blog.

With three years now in the kiddie, the blogsite now has some 600 articles in archival form, ready to be accessed by anyone with the drive and need to find out about a particular subject. The archive can be accessed from the top of the blog page on the right just under our critically acclaimed conservative blog award!

I want to thank my faithful readers along with my contributing writers, Kevin Bryant, Grant Burmer, and Louis Lazarus, we couldn’t succeed without you! Here’s to many more years and another 1200 articles!

Affirmative Action for the Green Industry? Part 3

Affirmative Action for the Green Industry? Part 3
Al Ritter

We have talked about federal subsidies for energy sources for use as fuel, ranging from ethanol to solar, and today we discuss the subsidies for energy sources used for electrical production. A lot of the same energy sources are funded as subsidies at different rates when they are used to produce electricity. Coal, natural gas, nuclear, hydro- electric, wind, and solar are the subjects today.

The environmental push today is for clean coal technologies, but the practical application of this type of cleaner burning is very limited despite the money being put in to this sector. Natural gas is yet another form of fossil fuel that also includes coal and oil. Hydro-electric is probably the most ignored and most economically efficient form of electric generation. Very few hydro-electric plants have been built in the last few decades due to the high price of property to create the reservoirs for the dam, and as a result this type of power generation has been largely ignored. Wind, and solar are the most popular recipient of the subsidies today, as is clean coal technologies.

Let’s get down to the nitty gritty of what our government sees as the future of electrical generation, and what they have chosen to promote. To do an accurate comparison we will compare each source by megawatt production. The highest subsidy on the list would be clean coal, now regular coal was subsidized at only .44 cents when used as fuel, electrical generation clean coal comes in at $29.81 per megawatt hour, second on our list is wind coming in at $24.34 per megawatt hour, third would be solar at $23.37 per megawatt hour, fourth would be nuclear at $1.59 per megawatt hour, fifth would be hydro-electric at .67 cents, and rounding out the subsidies is natural gas at a mere .25 cents per megawatt hour.

The wind and solar lobbies are currently complaining that they don't get their fair share of the subsidies. They also argue that subsidies per unit of energy are always higher at an early stage of development, before innovation makes large-scale production possible. But wind and solar have been on the subsidy take for years, and they still account for less than 1% of total net electricity generation.

Without major advances in technologies wind, solar and clean coal will languish in the realm of “also rans” for many more years, but our government will continue to fund undeveloped technologies with taxpayer money.

Affirmative Action for the Green Industry? Part 2

Affirmative Action for the Green Industry? Part 2
Al Ritter

In Part 1 we discussed the use of ethanol and gasoline in a mixture called E85, and today we will talk about energy sources used as fuels (for non-electrical generation). In this group are natural gas, coal, oil, and biomass fuels. To compare all types of these fuels we use BTU (British Thermal Units) to equally describe the amount of energy each produces. Natural gas, coal, and oil are considered fossil fuels and thusly are not considered renewable resources, while biomass fuels are because they are usually made from plant material.

Coal and oil are the top fuels in the world because of their huge abundance, and as we will find out shortly the least subsidized fuel source. Biomass is a, biological material from living, or recently living organisms, such as wood, waste, (hydrogen) gas, and alcohol fuels is the new kid on the block and would include fuel such as a diesel blend made from plant byproducts such as soybean oil, vegetable oils, animal fats etc. Solar energy figures only slightly into the non-electrical fuel source but gets one of the highest subsidies per BTU, (think solar hot water heater,) as in direct heat gain, not to produce electricity.

Because the latest ecological kick subsidies are given to the biomass fuels in record numbers, and not to the most prevalent energy sources. Ethanol and biofuels receive $5.72per BTU in subsidies, $2.82 per BTU for solar, $1.35 for refined coal, and only $.03 per BTU for refined petroleum and natural gas products. Surprised? These figures come from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), an independent federal agency that tried to quantify government spending on energy production in 2007. As you can see these figures are from the Bush era subsidies, later figures when they become available are sure to be MUCH higher!

President Obama made clear his intentions as a candidate when he declared he would “bankrupt the coal industry.” Coal is the energy source most widely used in the world for electrical production, and that subject will be covered in the next part of “Affirmative Action in the Green Industry Part 3.”

Affirmative Action for the Green Industry? Part 1

Affirmative Action for the Green Industry? Part 1
Al Ritter

As Affirmative Action is used to promote one race over another, the Green Industry has an ally in the fight for your energy dollars. That ally is called government subsidies. Governmental subsidies can come in the form of many different incentives but the result is the same, to give taxpayer dollars to favor one industry over another.

The government tells us that we need to rid ourselves of foreign oil dependence when they really want us to rid ourselves cold turkey from “dirty fossil fuels” entirely. They have this hidden agenda and their actions speak louder than words for those who chose to hear. They claim that foreign oil is the enemy, but yet they refuse to let us drill even in our own country. They defy court orders that tell them they are in contempt of court; they decimate an entire labor industry to promote their agenda. They want to destroy the oil and coal industry and yet promote industries that are only marginally effective.

Subsidies can come in the forms of research and development grants, tax loopholes, bond incentives, bottom line tax benefits or other various advantageous programs. The government wants us to believe they can spot trends and fund them before America can actually seek them out. What becomes a dangerous precedent is when the government actually makes their own trends and proceeds to fund them with no demand from the public.

Follow with me here a minute. In an effort to rid ourselves of foreign oil President Bush started the initiative to use ethanol in our gasoline in the amount of a maximum of 85%. Sounds like a great idea right? Let’s look at the draw backs. The product used to create the ethanol is corn, even though corn yields the least amount of usable ethanol per acre, and corn has to be replanted yearly. I suppose Bush saw this as a way to increase the price of corn for American farmers, but the idea is both a waste of food stocks and an abuse of farm subsidies. Yes, citizens we are paying American farmers to grow corn.

Saw grass produces 10 times the amount of ethanol than corn does and yet doesn’t require annual planting, so why are we using corn? It’s simple economics spawned from government, it favors one group over another. Environmentalists claim that ethanol burns cleaner, and that is true if you compare one gallon of ethanol to one gallon of gasoline, but things aren’t that simple. It takes 2 gallons of ethanol create the same energy of 1 gallon of gasoline, so the government is hiding that little fact from you as you create an opinion of its use. This is simply proven as you do a practical test of E85 ethanol fuel and you notice that your fuel mileage has dropped about 12 to 15%. If ethanol actually grew in liquid form somehow magically its use could be judged on that alone but it doesn’t, ethanol has to be made and the harvesting, fermentation, and transportation required to manufacture it creates 3 times the pollution the actual burning of the ethanol.

Another question the government won’t answer for you is this…….if ethanol is so wonderful why don’t we use 100% ethanol rather than gasoline? The answer is rather complex and encompasses several problems. 100% ethanol is extremely corrosive and destructive to metal and rubber parts. Because of ethanol’s inefficiency a car using
100% ethanol will use exactly twice as much fuel. Ethanol will actually attract moisture (water) in an open container within minutes. A 100% ethanol mixture will have severe drivability problems in cold weather.

Now that you have the full picture of the use of ethanol you can make an INFORMED decision on the supposedly rational use of it in our national energy supply, or better still ………..the subsidies of 45 cents per gallon in federal money needed to make it look as though it’s a viable alternative to gasoline. Especially when 13.2 billion gallons were distilled in 2010 for use in fuel………you do the math.

Part 2 on Friday

Once Again Obama embarrasses the U.S.

Once Again Obama Embarrasses the U.S.
Al Ritter

It appears as though President Obama is involved in yet one more shady deal this time involving the State Department and the Department of Justice. Almost two years ago Secretary of State Clinton proclaimed that most guns used in the drug cartel violence in Mexico had in fact come from America, which was later proved to be a false claim.

I’m not sure if that disproval was viewed by Clinton as a personal embarrassment or not, but what has followed has been not only an embarrassment to our government, and probably illegal, but may serve to be President Obama’s “contra affair.”

When a senior federal ATF agent turned whistle blower this week, he exposed a plan approved by ATF, and the Department of Justice tagged “operation fast and furious.” This plan was supposed to show a gun trafficking highway by introducing smuggled firearms into Mexico to see where they ended up. Except there was one little detail the government plan hadn’t planned for………that one of those firearms were responsible for the deaths of two American Border Agents and critically injuring two others. It seems an AK-47 in the hands of a drug cartel employee was one of the very firearms smuggled into Mexico by our own ATF and DOJ operatives!

If this has been some sort of convoluted plan to attempt to show Americans the evil nature of firearms, it has certainly been and underhanded attempt to circumvent the second amendment of our Constitution.

The irony that surrounds this action is that Mexico is one of the many countries of the world where guns are totally banned, like Canada, and England. All countries that have banned guns are running rampant with crime, and this specific example is the reason our border patrol agents weren’t armed at the time of their attack.

President Obama had to be aware of such a high level operation and has shown his wanton disregard for not only international law, but a disrespect for the citizens in THIS country. I wonder how President Calderon feels about Obama after these new details have come to light after last week’s meeting.

http://www.kens5.com/news/national/Agent-I-was-ordered-to-let-US-guns-into-Mexico-117407838.html

EPA Wants to Regulate Dust?

EPA Wants to Regulate Dust?
Al Ritter

My admiration continues to grow for Congressman Ted Poe from the second district of Texas as he regularly lambasts the Administration for making foolish policies and empowering stupid people. Poe has a rather down home folksy way of making these policies sound even more stupid than the press releases do!

He has used his past as a prosecutor and Judge to point out the obvious systematic flaws of the laws in the United States. He is known throughout the Texas Corrections System as being one of the most creative judges for sentencing in the state. Once during a court case, while in the sentencing phase Judge Poe told a felon that he would throw a handful of pennies in the air and how many dropped to the floor would represent his incarceration time……….after counting twenty pennies he pronounced the sentence…….20 years!

Now he takes an active role in forming the laws of our nation rather than to merely interpret them.

Ted Poe ends almost every speech time in Congress with what is now known as his classic ending………. "And that's just the way it is."

Please feel free to see his other speeches in the house!
http://poe.house.gov/News/DocumentQuery.aspx?DocumentTypeID=719

Dear Patriots

Dear Patriots:
Grant Burmer

The events of the last few weeks have been quite disturbing to most all of us I am sure. Even this past week between the events unfolding in Wisconsin to the horrific murders in Libya the world seems to be awash in a title wave of contrast and chaos.

This certainly does not jive with what most of us feel is the natural order of the universe, however we are instructed by the Lord in scripture that “they that plow iniquity and sow wickedness, reap the same.” Job 4:8.

Even Samuel Adams wrote “Neither the wisest constitution nor the wisest laws will secure the liberty and happiness of a people whose manners are universally corrupt.”

While we have this past fall elected leaders such as Gov Walker in Wisconsin trying to bring sound constitutional fiscal sense to an economy run amuck, we have in contrast a President who clearly aligns himself with the likes of Mumar Khadafy of Libya and the Muslim brotherhood spending the United States into oblivion; which, after all is his agenda.

Why almost half of America cannot see this is largely due to an educational system filled with fluff over substance; having filled the minds of the last 30 years with trash. People who cannot see further than the next welfare check in the mail, a bottle of bear and the sports channel.

Pardon me while I blow off a little steam.

The Answer we all know lie in following and adhering to Constitutional Principle for certain, but more importantly restoring along with it a greater faith in God. As I have made a study of the history of our Nation and the Constitution the past 12 going on 13 years it has been made clear to me that throughout the Constitutional Convention and the debates therein, there were eloquent declarations made that would make the Constitution a success.

Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, George Washington who was president or chairman, Madison and others often referred to those moments of inspiration which seemed to give them advance inspiration of how to make the Constitution function successfully. Jefferson for instance spent months working with others in writing state laws to reflect Biblical Principles, trying without success to create a structured society of Wards or Townships.

Our founder understood with spiritual clarity that only a virtuous people (those who adhere to “love thy neighbor” termed “public virtue” would support Constitutional government be it state or Federal.

Jefferson hoped that Biblical Christianity would be restored and he gave support to those principles established within the Constitution to protect the Peoples liberties. He later wrote: “I hold the precepts of Jesus, as delivered by himself, to be the most pure, benevolent, and sublime which have ever been preached to men…. If the freedom of religion guaranteed to us by law in theory can ever rise in practice… truth will prevail over fanaticism, and the genuine doctrines of Jesus … will again be restored to their original purity. This reformation will advance with the other improvement of the human mind, but too late for me to witness it.” THE WRITING OF THOMAS JEFFERSON, Bergh OP.CIT., 15:288

There were other principles regarding Sound Economics, human equality meaning the freedom to think and act individually, elimination of Slavery, private banking, and states’ rights. We have gotten off track after two hundred years since our Declaration with England and the actual founding of our Constitution.

It was Marcus Tullius Cicero, a Roman who the founders of our republic drew inspiration for the implementation of Natural Law, Gods. He alone discerned that man must pledge obedience to the mandates of a loving and concerned Creator. He Wrote: “As one and the same Nature holds together and supports the universe, all of whose parts are in harmony with one another, so men are united in Nature; but by reason of their depravity, they quarrel, not realizing that they are of one blood and subject to one and the same protecting power. If this fact were understood, surely man would live the life of the Gods!” Ebenstein, Great Political Thinkers, op. cit., p. 135.

Our Founders believed this. They embraced the idea of building a moral and virtuous society. They above all wanted to lay the foundation for a new kind of civilization built upon freedom for the individual and prosperity for the whole commonwealth, the foundation being Common Law or in other words “God Law.”

It will be my continuing hope that we may continue to struggle to achieve this goal, if not for ourselves, for the sake of our children and grandchildren, for all posterity; like Jefferson perhaps “too late for me.” We must not waver in our present resolve.

Grant.

Gov. Chris Christie Needs a Second Look

Gov. Chris Christie Needs a Second Look
Al Ritter

In a time and place in a political landscape where we are right now, voters need to be reassured that the actions of their local politicians reflect the direction they want them to go. We can use the November elections to make a bully pulpit stand for the much needed return to conservative principles, or we can use that pulpit to make a stand for non-political party stand to punish certain groups.

Let there be no mistake that Gov. Chris Christie is making such a stand, but his intentions are based on national polling of issues of fiscal restraint more than the stand of the Republican Party. Blasphemy you say? Follow with me here for a minute, and don’t shoot the messenger. Gov. Christie is merely playing a numbers game right now in his fledgling career as Governor of New Jersey. He is working off the idea of reduced spending rather than increasing taxes, which are very popular republican ideas. The fact that that he is forcefully challenging unions who only represent 12% of working Americans isn’t hurting his cause either.

So far Governor Christie is playing the odds, and doing so quite convincingly. There are many Conservative Americans who see his confrontational actions as being great for a much abused party in the last 5 years. To those Republicans I say this……..DO YOUR HOMEWORK on Chris Christie, the actions you see are but a small part of the man running New Jersey. Our republican resurgence after November of last year is due to the fact that we take nothing for granted anymore and we do our do diligence in researching politicians BEFORE endorsing them into the national spotlight to run for federal offices. There WILL come a time where Christie will have to make an unpopular stand based on his state’s needs rather than the popularity of a poll.

Chris Christie has a background as a lawyer, and serving as both a lobbyist and an Attorney General, his stances on issues are purposely gray. He reveals his stances on public issues only as needed to complete a designated project.

I guess I was taken in by his bully pulpit style too in the beginning, but his overall stances do NOT mirror the republican stance on conservatism. To begin with Christie leans towards amnesty of illegal aliens, he supports cap and trade initiatives, he supports the gun laws already on the books, and wants to actively enforce them. Christie also supports federally funded healthcare reform. Maybe these things aren't trigger point issues for you, maybe they are, but the point remains, you should be aware of them.

Forgive me for bringing this up, with the massive popularity Christie is enjoying right now, nobody in their right mind would question him, but then you already know me as being right to the point. Do your own research on each and every individual you think would do well on the national level, let’s not put a Moderate in the Whitehouse after being so oppressed by a far left wing candidate this last time…………..in the words of the immortal Ronald Regan………Trust, but verify!


http://www.ontheissues.org/Chris_Christie.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Christie

An investment in knowledge pays the best interest................... Benjamin Franklin

Wisconsin House Passes Union Busting Bill!

Wisconsin House Passes Union Busting Bill!
Al Ritter

The absent Democratic State Senators from the state of Wisconsin, say they are doing what their state constitution won’t allow and that is a filibuster. Yet early this morning the Wisconsin State Assembly (congress) completed just that, an action of filibuster by state congressmen that lasted some 59 hours on the assembly floor. The vote was counted at 1 AM and carried from the republican majority to break the public sector union stronghold that threatened to drive the state into bankruptcy due to unfunded pensions and benefits.

Obama has even weighed in twice on his support for the unions, and has even devoted a page on his personal website to the plight of the state senate democrats. The reality is that this wasn’t a move to replace a filibuster absence in state law. If the state congress has the ability to filibuster, then logic says the state senate has that same ability. This was purely a case of “I’m taking my ball and going home” attitude of democrats. What they have done is illegal in their home state, which is the reason they have fled to Illinois. Wisconsin State Police have no jurisdiction in Illinois, and it would be almost impossible judging the political stance from Obama that a federal warrant would be sworn out for the absent lawmakers.

This surprisingly enough hasn’t been the first time this has happened; in 2003 Democratic Texas lawmakers did the same thing fleeing to New Mexico to avoid a critical vote that they didn’t agree with.

Republicans on the federal level have had to deal with Democratic majority rule for 5 years now and not one time have they fled to avoid a vote. This is childish behavior plain and simple, lawmakers are paid to VOTE not to run and hide once the going gets tough. Let’s call this what it really is, and it’s NOT a physical replacement for a filibuster………it is an unlawful action to avoid a quorum vote. I only hope the voting citizens in Wisconsin see this cowardly act for what it truly is in the next election!

How's My Sanity?

How’s My Sanity
Kevin Bryant

I’m having one of those moments when I think I need to check the level of my own sanity. Why do I say this, because I believe the whole world has gone nuts. Like the other day I was thinking that America needs a “Slap Your Child Day”. Why, because most liberal progressive protesters here in the United States are between the ages of 18 & 26. They want everything handed to them and most do not believe in hard work and sweat. Then my mind went to thinking that we can’t just stop with the kids, because their parents are mostly to blame for their children’s beliefs. My daughter is an oddity compared to most kids today. When she was in high school two years ago, she held not one but two part time jobs and still went to class. The best thing about this is that I did not have to push her to get the jobs. She did it because she wanted to. But, in the end, I scratched the “Slap Your Child Day” idea except my daughter still knows that if she becomes a progressive type, I will remind her that it’s not acceptable to me.

I’m not sure how, but a couple of days after that, I was standing out on my deck and it occurred to me that if you remove all the freshmen US Senators and Representatives from this equation, that leave roughly 440 members between both houses that were there before the last election. Out of those 440, I was going to issue a challenge. Who can honestly name 10 members of congress who put the constitution first when fulfilling their duties? I was even going to agree with anyone who put Dennis Kucinich on that list. Though I do not agree with his interpretation of the constitution, I believe that he strongly supports what he believes the constitution says. But then I got to thinking deeper and I couldn’t come up 5 names myself. Out of 440 members of congress, I came up with 4 and that includes Dennis Kucinich. Am I that distrustful of politicians or are my beliefs that less than 1% of congressional members believe and support the constitution and use it to base their judgments on founded in truth? I’ll let you be the judge.

Has my grip on reality slipped a little, who knows. But if you are starting to doubt my sanity, then this one should place the proverbial nail in my coffin. I take a look at the middle east right now and with the exception of Iran, I think every government of every country that are having protest to overthrow that government should retaliate against the protesters with military force. Yes, even Muammar Qaddafi, I believe should stay in power. I think it is a better to keep him than have to deal with what is likely to replace him. It is becoming easier with each passing generation to convince those below the age of 30 that socialism and communism are the best forms of government. It doesn’t matter if that government is based in government control or religious extremism. People who have never experienced real freedoms don’t know what they are and will listen and follow anyone who professes to be able to grant them freedoms, never mind the fact that freedoms are given by our creator and not government. Our own President does not understand this concept.

So, How’s My Sanity?

Is it Surprising That Obama Speaks Out on Wisconsin Matters?

Is it Surprising That Obama Speaks Out on Wisconsin Matters?
Al Ritter

In the light of the role of Federal Government his involvement in the matter should raise eyebrows. We need to look at this situation as a political boondoggle and not as statement on right or wrong. The federal government has no balanced budget amendment, nor will they ever. The feds are a collection of overspending progressives that strangely think that the only way out of a recession is to throw obscene amounts of money at the problem in hopes that it will soon go away.

As a result of that thinking, and a non-understanding that states can only spend what they receive in taxes, the administration has made their opinion known twice now on the Wisconsin protests. Twice Gov. Scott Walker has told the Obama Administration to butt out of their state affairs and pay closer attention to the fiscal health of the federal government.

It is certainly no secret that public sector union bargained benefits far exceed the benefits of that in the private sector. Pensions are the worst in WI when public workers only contribute 4 to 6% of the total pensions they receive after retirement, while the citizens supply the remaining 94 to 96%! Amazingly the benefits they receive in retirement only 4 to 6 cents to every dollar is supplied by the worker!

Healthcare is similarly ridiculous. Each municipal employee only pays 8% of their healthcare insurance premiums, while workers in the private sector pay 20%!

Union workers only represent 12% of the workers in this country and yet they are solely responsible for the majority of unfunded pension problems in most of our states. These kinds of union bullies are also the ones who fund the democratic campaigns, creating a massive conflict of interest. It is certainly no coincidence that Barack Obama has been in their pocket for years, it’s no wonder Scott Walker has told him to butt out of their fiscal business twice now!

Pooling our sovereignty with others only undermines it

Pooling our sovereignty with others only undermines it

January 20, 2011
By John Bolton

For decades, Americans have slept while their national sovereignty has been threatened, chipped away and eroded by a series of innocuous-sounding and nearly imperceptible decisions. We have been locked in a struggle between our sovereignty and the advocates of "global governance" that most of our fellow citizens didn't even know was under way, let alone how disparate were these two worldviews.

This conflict is not about the buzzword "globalization" and its implications for commerce and culture, but a sharp confrontation about power and government: our power and our government.

Although "sovereignty" has many often contradictory meanings, for Americans, the idea is actually quite straightforward: Sovereignty rests in the Constitution's opening phrase "We the People," meaning our control over our own government.

Advocates of "pooling" U.S. sovereignty with others to address "global" problems are really saying we should surrender some of our sovereignty to international organizations that other nations will influence or even control.

That is unquestionably a formula for reducing U.S. autonomy and our authority over government. Most Americans feel we don't adequately control government now, so it is no wonder that, once aware of the scope of the threat, they will refuse to cede even more authority to distant bodies where U.S. influence is reduced or uncertain.

For President Obama, our first post-American president, surrendering sovereignty seems perfectly reasonable, consistent with his essentially European social-democratic worldview. Obama sees his foreign-policy role less as an advocate for America's "parochial" interests and more as a "citizen of the world," in his own phrase.

The description President George H.W. Bush applied to his 1988 election opponent, Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis, also applies to Obama: "He sees America as another pleasant country on the U.N. roll call, somewhere between Albania and Zimbabwe."

Threats to U.S. sovereignty are both imminent and long-term. They have varying characteristics, and they are often not necessarily immediately obvious as threats. One element that runs through many of them, however, is the concept of international "norming," the idea that America should base its policies on the global consensus rather than making our own decisions as a constitutional democracy. "Norming" is a way to constrain U.S. sovereignty by moving our domestic political debate to align with broader international opinion.

Because of the centrality of individual freedom in the United States, norming advocates are invariably on the international Left politically; there are simply no other nations as liberty-oriented as we are.

Thus, much of the threat to our sovereignty comes not in traditional national security areas, but on policies heretofore considered entirely domestic in nature.

Take four issues where our free and open political system allows continuing, robust domestic debates: global warming, abortion, gun control and the death penalty.

Yet the "norming" advocates say that the rest of the world, through treaties, United Nations decisions and "customary international law," has already decided these questions: for massively increased government taxation and regulation to combat global warming, for widely available abortions, for gun control and against the death penalty.

The issue here is not where you stand on any one of these particular issues, but who gets to decide them: us, or the rest of the world "voting" in our decision making. This is the core issue of American sovereignty and the threat to it represented by the Obama worldview.

Clearly, Obama will now have a far less compliant Congress, so there is every prospect he will use the international route to achieve his objectives.

By clearly understanding how threats to our sovereignty arise, by making them politically important, and by holding our elected officials accountable, we can defend our sovereignty vigorously. But there is no time to waste.

John Bolton is the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. This article is excerpted from the Encounter Broadsides series.

http://washingtonexaminer.com/print/opinion/op-eds/2011/01/pooling-our-sovereignty-others-only-undermines-it-0

Worldwide Distrust of Government

Worldwide Distrust of Government
Al Ritter

If you think for just one minute that America is alone in their distrust of government, just quickly skim over the news of the day. It seems that distrust of government is a worldwide epidemic. Egypt was the most recent, but Lebanon was the country before that, and now Bahrain and Yemen are close behind.

Whether for suppression of thought, inhumane practices, violation of human rights, extreme taxation, or frivolous spending, the result is the same, the people have had enough! It doesn’t seem to matter if it’s a country lead by dictators, tyrants, or a country run under the name of democracy, the end result is the same, when pushed hard enough the people push back.

The countries of Lebanon and Egypt want to start over, throw out their constitutions and start over hopefully to give the people more of a voice in the running of their country. Whether the new government will be a democracy or merely handed over to another tyrannical party remains to be seen.

The one thing that remains clear as a bell, people across the world are tired of being lied to, having their money stolen from government in the name of taxation, told how to think, and most of all watching their countries teeter on the brink of bankruptcy from corrupt leadership.

These uprisings should send a strong signal to President Barack Obama that forced policies against the populace’s wishes can have strong repercussions. The United States has never had a political coup in their short history, but with all that’s going on in the world right now, the climate is right!

Doubling Down on Bad Policy

Doubling Down on Bad Policy
Al Ritter

President Obama in his State of the Union speech introduced his desire to supply the country with a $53 billion dollar high speed rail service. He hopes to use China as a pattern for the institution of this multi -billion dollar program. What has being ignored in this whole program are the major differences in our countries.

To begin with, China’s mass transportation system is in its infancy while America’s mass transit system has been in a constant state of evolution since the 1700’s. China needs a high speed mass transit system more than America does. Only 47% of their citizens even own a car, while China has now replaced the United States as the largest energy user in the world. China population is flocking to the urban areas while America’s citizens are moving in record numbers to the rural areas to avoid city sprawl and crime.

China is far more adept at welcoming a mass transit system than America is. China is in the middle of a massive industrial revolution, something we had some 220 years ago.

Obama forgets the massive expanse of Amtrak when the failing railroad giants were taken over by government in 1971 because the passenger transportation business had failed and had gone into bankruptcy. To avoid the failure of a “businesses too big to fail,” the government consolidated the different rail companies into one large grid work to be known as Amtrak.

Problems arose immediately, as the government became painfully aware that even this new entity couldn’t survive without an infusion of government money known as subsidy. This term only means one thing ……..they company can’t survive on fares alone. Our government has a rich history of rescuing companies that can’t survive the test of capitalism. Government always seems to know better than the citizens of what we need and when we need it. They never admit they made a mistake and continue long after the industry becomes a money losing situation. To this day Amtrak requires yearly infusions of tax payer money to supply a service that America as a whole refuses to support.

In the 80’s and 90’s the state of Maryland, under Governor Wm. Donald Schaefer requested funds from the federal government to create a Light Rail System. This system was expanded in the 90’s despite the fact that fares only covered 50% of operating costs. This becomes a social program rather than a mass transit system when the fares don’t support the operation.

To assume that we need a high speed mass transit system similar to China’s when our needs don’t even come close to mirroring China’s is yet another democratic party’s need to hire employees to build a project that nobody will use………there as only so many times we can dig a hole and fill it back in. We need to stop senseless spending on non-essential social programs.

Another Group Now Leans Left

Another Group Now Leans Left
Al Ritter

For those of you who enjoyed reading the news from the AOL website, be forewarned, Arianna Huffington will now control the news content on all AOL subsidiaries. In a deal announced early today, the Huffington Post will be purchased for $315 million by AOL.

Part of the deal allows Arianna Huffington to stay in control of the Huffington Post, but to work in an expanded role in controlling the news content on all AOL sites. This transformation is very worrisome as it puts a person in charge who deals with opinion and not news in a journalistic capacity.

The merger was accomplished with full approval of the board of directors of both companies and they intend to make the transformation as soon as possible.

How can I explain the ramifications of this in terms the normal person can understand? This would be akin to Keith Olbermann taking over NBC and controlling all “news content.”

This purchase will allow Arianna Huffington access to a much larger audience, but in a very subversive way, opinion masquerading as news. The Huffington Post has some 26 million hits per month, and this deal allows her to access an additional 110 million in the US and 250 million in the world.

http://money.cnn.com/2011/02/07/technology/aol_huffington_post.cnnw/