by Dallas Woodhouse-- Americans for Prosperity
January 31, 2011
Your urgent action is needed to stop Obamacare in its tracks in North Carolina! Recently, a group of legislators introduced a bill to guarantee the freedom of North Carolinians to make our own healthcare decisions.
About 24 hours after the 2011 legislative session began, the House Judiciary Committee voted 23-16 to approve House Bill 2, which would block the unconstitutional provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requiring Americans to buy insurance beginning in 2014 or face a monetary penalty.
The bill, which could go before the full House as early as this week, also would require Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper to defend the law in court if it is enacted. Despite calls from hundreds of thousands of citizens and the urging of Americans for Prosperity, Attorney General Cooper has refused to defend the constititional rights of North Carolina citizens by challenging Obamacare’s constitutionality in court.
Join your other AFP activists in North Carolina by telling the legislature to pass the North Carolina Health Care Protection Act immediately! Click the “Take Action” button to tell them you support House Bill 2 now!
Sincerely,
Dallas Woodhouse
State Director
Americans for Prosperity – North Carolina
Monday, January 31, 2011
Judge Rules Health Care Law Is Unconstitutional
A U.S. district judge on Monday threw out the nation's health care law, declaring it unconstitutional because it violates the Commerce Clause and surely reviving a feud among competing philosophies about the role of government.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/01/31/judges-ruling-health-care-lawsuit-shift-momentum-coverage-debate/
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/01/31/judges-ruling-health-care-lawsuit-shift-momentum-coverage-debate/
American Thinker: Report Card on Obama's First Two Years
American Thinker: Report Card on Obama's First Two Years
Two years ago today, Barack Obama was inaugurated as president of the United States. Are you better off today than you were two years ago?
Numbers don't lie, and here are the data on the impact he has had on the lives of Americans:
Two years ago today, Barack Obama was inaugurated as president of the United States. Are you better off today than you were two years ago?
Numbers don't lie, and here are the data on the impact he has had on the lives of Americans:
Sunday, January 30, 2011
American Thinker: The EPA's Mess with Texas
American Thinker: The EPA's Mess with Texas
IMPORTANT READ!
"The EPA is moving to restrict Texas' ability to continue as the largest production base for natural gas in the nation. As the largest consumer and producer of natural gas, Texas provides an important alternative in energy production to the conventional fossil fuels of coal and oil. Those fuels have fallen into dire regulatory restrictions that Vice President Biden suggested should eventually lead to the end of coal production in the United States. Natural gas has emerged as an important transitional fuel to the green economy. Despite this, the Obama administration is moving to limit this component of Texas' economic boom."
IMPORTANT READ!
"The EPA is moving to restrict Texas' ability to continue as the largest production base for natural gas in the nation. As the largest consumer and producer of natural gas, Texas provides an important alternative in energy production to the conventional fossil fuels of coal and oil. Those fuels have fallen into dire regulatory restrictions that Vice President Biden suggested should eventually lead to the end of coal production in the United States. Natural gas has emerged as an important transitional fuel to the green economy. Despite this, the Obama administration is moving to limit this component of Texas' economic boom."
Citizens' Constitutional Workshop
The Eastern NC Teaparty and Dr. William Kozel and Pastor Gerald Fowler invite and encourage you to attend the following event.
The John Locke Foundation Cordially invites you to
A Citizens' Constitutional Workshop in La Grange, NC
Saturday, February 19, 2011 -- 10:00am-4:00pm
with presenters Dr. Troy Kickler & Dr. Michael Sanera
- Dr. Kickler, founding Director of the NC history Project & Adjunct Professor of United States History, NC State University.
- Dr. Sanera, Director of Research & Local Government Studies & Adjunct Professor in Political Science, NC State University.
What the Founders and the State Ratification Conventions Can Teach Us Today
Trinity Free Will Baptist Church Auditorium: 6260 Washington Rd. La Grange, NC 28551
Price: $7.00- includes lunch
Pre-registration is strongly suggested, purchase tickets at the bottom of this page.
The past 100 years of Progressive ideology have almost destroyed the US Constitution. This generation must restore the Constitution's original intent of limited, federal government based on the rule of law.
This workshop provides today's Patriots with the intellectual tools to restore original intent and repair the damage done. It explains what the framers meant by phrases such as the "general welfare," "necessary and proper" and other so-called "elastic" clauses. In addition we explore the North Carolina ratification debates and reveal how the Tar Heel State ensured that the Bill of Rights was added. By examining the important role of the states in the nation's beginning and providing constitutional commentary based on the founders' words, this workshop is a must for Americans interested in preserving the United States and a federal form of government.
What the experts are saying about "A Citizens' Constitutional Workshop"
"The John Locke Foundation's workshop on the Constitution will provide a solid foundation for anyone interested in understanding the Founders' experiment in republican government. By taking a federal perspective upon the original understanding, students will learn how the Revolution was fulfilled by the Constitution -- and gain insight into the divergence between the world of James Madison, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson and the USA of today." ~ Kevin Gutzman, History Professor, Western Connecticut State University. Author of Politically Incorrect Guide to the Constitution and Who Killed the Constitution?: The Fate of American Liberty from World War I to George W. Bush.
"While we have paid much attention over the years to the Constitution's drafting, we have paid relatively little attention to the intricate process by which it came to be ratified, and the role that the ratification debates played in the shaping of the Constitution's final form. Thanks to Pauline Maier's splendid recent book on the subject, however, attention is finally being paid to these fascinating, and still very germane, topics. This workshop will be an expression of that renewed interest, which is not only an interest in the Constitution itself but also in the true sources of its legitimacy." ~ Wilfred M. McClay, SunTrust Chair of Excellence in Humanities, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Author of The Masterless: Self and Society in Modern America
"A constitution is meaningless if its original intent is not preserved. "A Citizens' Constitutional Workshop" has embarked on a project to retrieve the original intent of the Constitution through the most reliable, yet overlooked, means at our disposal--the states. The innovative method of this project combined with its ambition to retrieve our Constitution, and with it the true meaning of limited government, makes it the most important project of its kind. Troy Kickler and Michael Sanera are following in the Founders' footsteps by bringing this discussion to a public forum which is certainly the best place to start." ~ Kyle Scott, Ph.D., Department of Political Science and Honors College, University of Houston. Author of The Price of Politics:Lessons from Kelo v. City of New London and Dismantling American Common Law: Liberty and Justice in our Transformed Courts.
"The Key to the Constitution, as James Madison said, is the State ratifying conventions, and North Carolina played a pivotal role in defining the nature and scope of federal power. The American people will gain a better understanding of the original intent of the Constitution if they can digest how members of the State ratifying conventions argued for and against the document." ~ Brion McClanahan, Ph.D., History Instructor, Chattahoochee Valley Community College. Author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Founding Fathers.
Please register at: http://www.johnlocke.org/events/event.html?id=874
Saturday, January 29, 2011
FEATURED ORGANIZATION--WORTHY OF YOUR SUPPORT
NCFIRE: North Carolinians For Immigration
Reform and Enforcement
Secure Our Border-Enforce Our Laws!
"In the first place, we should insist that, if the immigrant, who comes here in good faith, becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet, an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."~ President Theodore Roosevelt-1907
Who We Are
We also seek to educate our citizens to the many costly and destructive aspects of illegal immigrant crime. Some of the crimes illegals commit include: child molestation, human smuggling, ID fraud, identity theft, drug trafficking/distribution, gang violence, rape, murder, kidnapping, arson, DWI, driving with out a license, hit and run, assault, social services benefits fraud, illegal employment and tax evasion, among others.
Our Position Statement
We call upon the legislators of North Carolina, to honor their oath of office to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States,” by passing the necessary and appropriate legislation to:
(1) Require all companies (public and private), doing business in NC, to use the E-Verify System
(2) Cut off all funding to sanctuary cities in North Carolina.
(3) Require stricter punishments for businesses that hire illegal aliens in North Carolina.
(4) Revoke all North Carolina drivers’ licenses issued without a valid social security number.
(5) Require proof of citizenship for any social welfare program in North Carolina.
(6) Require voters to present a valid photo ID at the polls in North Carolina.
(7) Require all 100 counties in North Carolina to enact the Secure Communities program.
(8) Require that English be the preeminent language of North Carolina.
(9) Deny enrollment of illegal aliens into any North Carolina college.
(10) Deny North Carolina residency status to any person that is in this Country illegally.
(11) Regulate, control and deport the illegal alien population in North Carolina.
What We Do
The State of North Carolina is divided up into sections. Each section is assigned a team leader. The Team Leader has members assigned to them, according to the members' zip code or area code. Information is sent to each Team Leader, who in turn, relay that information to their Team Members. This way, important information can be distributed statewide and action can be taken very quickly. We periodically send out "Action Alerts." These are items that need immediate attention. It may be calling, e-mailing or faxing your Congressman, signing a petition, attending a rally or to notify you of an upcoming Bill to be voted on in Congress.
Have You Had Enough of This?
If so, then ask yourself, are you:
(1) Fed up with illegal immigration?
(2) Fed up with paying Billions of dollars per year, in tax paid benefits to illegal aliens?
(3) Fed up with being victims of illegal alien crime?
(4) Fed up with the abuse of the 14th Amendment (“Anchor Babies”) to circumvent citizenship laws?
(5) Fed up with the Government rewarding illegal aliens for criminal behavior?
(6) Fed up with politicians who pander to illegal aliens for votes?
(7) Fed up with the selective enforcement of our current immigration laws?
(8) Fed up with politicians who fail to uphold the Constitution of the United States?
If the answer is YES, then you can help!
How To Join: (It's free and we never ask for your money!)
Simply send us an e-mail by clicking here: Sign Me Up. (or send an e-mail to NCFIRE@ncfire.info) Type "Sign me up" in the subject line and enter your zip code or area code, (That will determine which NCFIRE team you will be assigned to), and join fellow North Carolinians in the battle to enforce our immigration laws.
Michelle Malkin
Waivers for Favors: Big Labor’s Obamacare escape hatch
"The Communications Workers of America, which sent its workers to lobby for Obamacare on Capitol Hill as part of the left-wing billionaire George Soros-funded Health Care for America Now front group, snagged a waiver that will spare a hefty 19,000 of its members from the onerous federal mandate."
READ THE COLUMN: http://michellemalkin.com/2011/01/28/waivers-for-favors-big-labors-obamacare-escape-hatch/
"The Communications Workers of America, which sent its workers to lobby for Obamacare on Capitol Hill as part of the left-wing billionaire George Soros-funded Health Care for America Now front group, snagged a waiver that will spare a hefty 19,000 of its members from the onerous federal mandate."
READ THE COLUMN: http://michellemalkin.com/2011/01/28/waivers-for-favors-big-labors-obamacare-escape-hatch/
NY TIMES OPINION
Build a Bigger House
"WITH the Senate preparing to debate filibuster reform, now is a good time to consider a similarly daunting challenge to democratic representation in the House: its size. It’s been far too long since the House expanded to keep up with population growth and, as a result, it has lost touch with the public and been overtaken by special interests."
READ THE COLUMN AND LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK. SHOULD WE INCREASE THE NUMBER OF REPRESENTATIVES IN THE U.S. HOUSE?
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/24/opinion/24conley.html?partner=rss&emc=rss#
"WITH the Senate preparing to debate filibuster reform, now is a good time to consider a similarly daunting challenge to democratic representation in the House: its size. It’s been far too long since the House expanded to keep up with population growth and, as a result, it has lost touch with the public and been overtaken by special interests."
READ THE COLUMN AND LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK. SHOULD WE INCREASE THE NUMBER OF REPRESENTATIVES IN THE U.S. HOUSE?
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/24/opinion/24conley.html?partner=rss&emc=rss#
Friday, January 28, 2011
Randy’s Right Alert…
White House to Push Gun Control
http://randysright.wordpress.com/2011/01/27/randys-right-alert-white-house-to-push-gun-control/
http://randysright.wordpress.com/2011/01/27/randys-right-alert-white-house-to-push-gun-control/
PATRICK GASPARD NEW DNC DIRECTOR
Why He Matters
At a Glance
Current Position: Executive Director, Democratic National Committee (since January 2011)
Career History: White House Political Director (since January 2009); Service Employees International Union Local 1199 Political Director (1999 to 2007); National Field Director for America Coming Together (2004)
Hometown: Democratic Republic of Congo
President Barack Obama was drawn to Gaspard because of their similarities - both are community organizers with family roots in Africa.
At first, Gaspard demurred, but eventually he signed on, serving as Obama's political director in the White House. He was also the President's choice to lead the White House Office of Political Affairs. President Ronald Reagan established the office, and it has since been attacked for politicizing the presidency. Karl Rove was political director during George W. Bush’s first term and used his perch to substantially broaden the office’s portfolio.
But in January 2011, Gaspard moved to the Democratic National Committee as executive director under former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine as the White House political shop closed and the Obama 2012 campaign began to form in Chicago, headed by Jim Messina. Zeleny, Jeff, The New York Times, Obama Will Move Political Operations to Chicago, Jan. 21, 2011 (1)Zeleny, Jeff, The New York Times, Obama Will Move Political Operations to Chicago, Jan. 21, 2011
Gaspard is a community organizer who spent most of his career working with labor unions to organize protests and lobby for health care and education benefits. Until shortly before he joined Obama’s 2008 campaign as political director, Gaspard was a registered lobbyist for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). During the Democratic presidential primary, Gaspard used his labor ties to drive huge get-out-the-vote efforts in states with large union populations like Pennsylvania, Texas and Ohio.Darby, Seyward, “Getting to know Patrick Gaspard,” The New Republic online, Nov. 21, 2008(2)Darby, Seyward, “Getting to know Patrick Gaspard,” The New Republic online, Nov. 21, 2008
“Ex-Lobbyists have key Obama Roles; Some members of team shaping new administration had recent K Street ties,” The Washington Post, Nov. 15, 2008;
At a Glance
Current Position: Executive Director, Democratic National Committee (since January 2011)
Career History: White House Political Director (since January 2009); Service Employees International Union Local 1199 Political Director (1999 to 2007); National Field Director for America Coming Together (2004)
Hometown: Democratic Republic of Congo
President Barack Obama was drawn to Gaspard because of their similarities - both are community organizers with family roots in Africa.
At first, Gaspard demurred, but eventually he signed on, serving as Obama's political director in the White House. He was also the President's choice to lead the White House Office of Political Affairs. President Ronald Reagan established the office, and it has since been attacked for politicizing the presidency. Karl Rove was political director during George W. Bush’s first term and used his perch to substantially broaden the office’s portfolio.
But in January 2011, Gaspard moved to the Democratic National Committee as executive director under former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine as the White House political shop closed and the Obama 2012 campaign began to form in Chicago, headed by Jim Messina. Zeleny, Jeff, The New York Times, Obama Will Move Political Operations to Chicago, Jan. 21, 2011 (1)Zeleny, Jeff, The New York Times, Obama Will Move Political Operations to Chicago, Jan. 21, 2011
Gaspard is a community organizer who spent most of his career working with labor unions to organize protests and lobby for health care and education benefits. Until shortly before he joined Obama’s 2008 campaign as political director, Gaspard was a registered lobbyist for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). During the Democratic presidential primary, Gaspard used his labor ties to drive huge get-out-the-vote efforts in states with large union populations like Pennsylvania, Texas and Ohio.Darby, Seyward, “Getting to know Patrick Gaspard,” The New Republic online, Nov. 21, 2008(2)Darby, Seyward, “Getting to know Patrick Gaspard,” The New Republic online, Nov. 21, 2008
“Ex-Lobbyists have key Obama Roles; Some members of team shaping new administration had recent K Street ties,” The Washington Post, Nov. 15, 2008;
Eminent domain amendment should provide real protection
JLF expert offers model language to help protect fundamental rights
Legislators should provide real property-rights protections as they pursue a constitutional amendment targeting eminent domain abuse. The John Locke Foundation's top legal expert offers that advice in a new Spotlight report..........
An amendment is critically important, Bakst said. "North Carolina has the weakest property rights protection in the country," he said. "This is the only state that does not expressly address eminent domain in its constitution. There is absolutely no state constitutional protection from eminent domain abuse, such as the government seizing private property for economic development."
http://johnlocke.org/press_releases/show/591
Legislators should provide real property-rights protections as they pursue a constitutional amendment targeting eminent domain abuse. The John Locke Foundation's top legal expert offers that advice in a new Spotlight report..........
An amendment is critically important, Bakst said. "North Carolina has the weakest property rights protection in the country," he said. "This is the only state that does not expressly address eminent domain in its constitution. There is absolutely no state constitutional protection from eminent domain abuse, such as the government seizing private property for economic development."
http://johnlocke.org/press_releases/show/591
LEGISLATIVE REPORT
U.S. House of Representatives
On January 25, 2011 the House voted on a bill entitled “To reduce spending through a transition to non-security spending at fiscal year [FY] 2008 levels.” The bill passed 256 to 165 with 13 not voting.
NC Representatives voting for the bill: Renee Ellmers (R-2nd), Walter B. Jones, Jr. (R-3rd), Virginia Foxx (R-5th), Howard Coble (R-6th), Larry Kissell (D-8th), Sue Myrick (R-9th), Patrick T. McHenry (R-10th), and Heath Shuler (D-11th).
NC Representatives voting against it: G.K. Butterfield (D-1st), David E. Price (D-4th),
Mike McIntyre (D-7th), Melvin L. Watt (D-12th), and Brad Miller (D-13th).
On January 26, 2011 the House voted on a bill, “To reduce Federal spending and the deficit by terminating taxpayer financing of presidential election campaigns and party conventions.” The bill passed 239 to 160 with 35 not voting.
NC Representatives voting for the bill: Renee Ellmers (R-2nd), Virginia Foxx (R-5th), Howard Coble (R-6th), Sue Myrick (R-9th), Patrick T. McHenry (R-10th), and Heath Shuler (D-11th).
NC Representatives voting against it: G.K. Butterfield (D-1st), Walter B. Jones, Jr. (R-3rd), David E. Price (D-4th), Mike McIntyre (D-7th), Larry Kissell (D-8th), Melvin L. Watt (D-12th), and Brad Miller (D-13th)
The North Carolina General Assembly
NC House of Representatives
The 120 members of the NC House of Representatives were sworn in on January 26, 2011, when the House convened at 12 Noon. Members include 67 Republicans, 52 Democrats and 1 Unaffiliated. The room and balcony were packed for the historic event.
The Representatives voted for the Speaker of the House. Republicans nominated Thom Tillis (Mecklenburg) and Democrats nominated Joe Hackney (Chatham, Moore, Orange). Tillis won with 74 votes, Hackney had 46.
House Speaker Tillis delivered comments to the attendees. He said that NC has a budget deficit as a result of high spending. He noted that we must lower expectations on what the government does for us and raise expectations on what we can do for ourselves as individuals. His plans for the House include: a sunset of temporary taxes, to pass a term limit bill, and to complete a 180 – day schedule around June 4, 2011.
He added that the House must act swiftly on Education, Health and Human Services, Law Enforcement and Transportation infrastructure. The cost of government needs to be reduced through privatization. Goals of Republicans in the House are based on: limited government, free markets, and federalism. Citizens have been taxed enough as exemplified by the TEA Party movement.
Tillis acknowledged the Republican Women’s caucus who were wearing red and admired their red roses, given as gifts from the NCFRW. He noted that the House men were wearing red ties and that both the women and men symbolized Republican unity by wearing red. He also thanked former Speaker Hackney and his staff for the help they had given him during the transition.
Speaker Tillis has a new gavel, which he has named “Ray” as a tribute to his father. The gavel was made from a long leaf pine tree planted in the Colonial Forest of NC that lived more than 100 years ago. The wood was from the tree first used to build an 1830′s home, later salvaged, and recently used to make the gavel.
The House also elected a Speaker Pro Tempore. Republicans nominated Dale Folwell (Forsyth) and Democrats nominated William Wainwright (Craven, Lenoir). Folwell won with 68 votes and Wainwright had 52.
On the Calendar for Thursday, January 27, 2011 are the following bills: ”Protect Health Care Freedom,” ”Community Colleges/Opt Out of Federal Loan Program,” and “Eminent Domain” among others.
The North Carolina General Assembly
NC House of Representatives
The 120 members of the NC House of Representatives were sworn in on January 26, 2011, when the House convened at 12 Noon. Members include 67 Republicans, 52 Democrats and 1 Unaffiliated. The room and balcony were packed for the historic event.
The Representatives voted for the Speaker of the House. Republicans nominated Thom Tillis (Mecklenburg) and Democrats nominated Joe Hackney (Chatham, Moore, Orange). Tillis won with 74 votes, Hackney had 46.
House Speaker Tillis delivered comments to the attendees. He said that NC has a budget deficit as a result of high spending. He noted that we must lower expectations on what the government does for us and raise expectations on what we can do for ourselves as individuals. His plans for the House include: a sunset of temporary taxes, to pass a term limit bill, and to complete a 180 – day schedule around June 4, 2011.
He added that the House must act swiftly on Education, Health and Human Services, Law Enforcement and Transportation infrastructure. The cost of government needs to be reduced through privatization. Goals of Republicans in the House are based on: limited government, free markets, and federalism. Citizens have been taxed enough as exemplified by the TEA Party movement.
Tillis acknowledged the Republican Women’s caucus who were wearing red and admired their red roses, given as gifts from the NCFRW. He noted that the House men were wearing red ties and that both the women and men symbolized Republican unity by wearing red. He also thanked former Speaker Hackney and his staff for the help they had given him during the transition.
Speaker Tillis has a new gavel, which he has named “Ray” as a tribute to his father. The gavel was made from a long leaf pine tree planted in the Colonial Forest of NC that lived more than 100 years ago. The wood was from the tree first used to build an 1830′s home, later salvaged, and recently used to make the gavel.
The House also elected a Speaker Pro Tempore. Republicans nominated Dale Folwell (Forsyth) and Democrats nominated William Wainwright (Craven, Lenoir). Folwell won with 68 votes and Wainwright had 52.
On the Calendar for Thursday, January 27, 2011 are the following bills: ”Protect Health Care Freedom,” ”Community Colleges/Opt Out of Federal Loan Program,” and “Eminent Domain” among others.
On January 25, 2011 the House voted on a bill entitled “To reduce spending through a transition to non-security spending at fiscal year [FY] 2008 levels.” The bill passed 256 to 165 with 13 not voting.
NC Representatives voting for the bill: Renee Ellmers (R-2nd), Walter B. Jones, Jr. (R-3rd), Virginia Foxx (R-5th), Howard Coble (R-6th), Larry Kissell (D-8th), Sue Myrick (R-9th), Patrick T. McHenry (R-10th), and Heath Shuler (D-11th).
NC Representatives voting against it: G.K. Butterfield (D-1st), David E. Price (D-4th),
Mike McIntyre (D-7th), Melvin L. Watt (D-12th), and Brad Miller (D-13th).
On January 26, 2011 the House voted on a bill, “To reduce Federal spending and the deficit by terminating taxpayer financing of presidential election campaigns and party conventions.” The bill passed 239 to 160 with 35 not voting.
NC Representatives voting for the bill: Renee Ellmers (R-2nd), Virginia Foxx (R-5th), Howard Coble (R-6th), Sue Myrick (R-9th), Patrick T. McHenry (R-10th), and Heath Shuler (D-11th).
NC Representatives voting against it: G.K. Butterfield (D-1st), Walter B. Jones, Jr. (R-3rd), David E. Price (D-4th), Mike McIntyre (D-7th), Larry Kissell (D-8th), Melvin L. Watt (D-12th), and Brad Miller (D-13th)
The North Carolina General Assembly
NC House of Representatives
The 120 members of the NC House of Representatives were sworn in on January 26, 2011, when the House convened at 12 Noon. Members include 67 Republicans, 52 Democrats and 1 Unaffiliated. The room and balcony were packed for the historic event.
The Representatives voted for the Speaker of the House. Republicans nominated Thom Tillis (Mecklenburg) and Democrats nominated Joe Hackney (Chatham, Moore, Orange). Tillis won with 74 votes, Hackney had 46.
House Speaker Tillis delivered comments to the attendees. He said that NC has a budget deficit as a result of high spending. He noted that we must lower expectations on what the government does for us and raise expectations on what we can do for ourselves as individuals. His plans for the House include: a sunset of temporary taxes, to pass a term limit bill, and to complete a 180 – day schedule around June 4, 2011.
He added that the House must act swiftly on Education, Health and Human Services, Law Enforcement and Transportation infrastructure. The cost of government needs to be reduced through privatization. Goals of Republicans in the House are based on: limited government, free markets, and federalism. Citizens have been taxed enough as exemplified by the TEA Party movement.
Tillis acknowledged the Republican Women’s caucus who were wearing red and admired their red roses, given as gifts from the NCFRW. He noted that the House men were wearing red ties and that both the women and men symbolized Republican unity by wearing red. He also thanked former Speaker Hackney and his staff for the help they had given him during the transition.
Speaker Tillis has a new gavel, which he has named “Ray” as a tribute to his father. The gavel was made from a long leaf pine tree planted in the Colonial Forest of NC that lived more than 100 years ago. The wood was from the tree first used to build an 1830′s home, later salvaged, and recently used to make the gavel.
The House also elected a Speaker Pro Tempore. Republicans nominated Dale Folwell (Forsyth) and Democrats nominated William Wainwright (Craven, Lenoir). Folwell won with 68 votes and Wainwright had 52.
On the Calendar for Thursday, January 27, 2011 are the following bills: ”Protect Health Care Freedom,” ”Community Colleges/Opt Out of Federal Loan Program,” and “Eminent Domain” among others.
The North Carolina General Assembly
NC House of Representatives
The 120 members of the NC House of Representatives were sworn in on January 26, 2011, when the House convened at 12 Noon. Members include 67 Republicans, 52 Democrats and 1 Unaffiliated. The room and balcony were packed for the historic event.
The Representatives voted for the Speaker of the House. Republicans nominated Thom Tillis (Mecklenburg) and Democrats nominated Joe Hackney (Chatham, Moore, Orange). Tillis won with 74 votes, Hackney had 46.
House Speaker Tillis delivered comments to the attendees. He said that NC has a budget deficit as a result of high spending. He noted that we must lower expectations on what the government does for us and raise expectations on what we can do for ourselves as individuals. His plans for the House include: a sunset of temporary taxes, to pass a term limit bill, and to complete a 180 – day schedule around June 4, 2011.
He added that the House must act swiftly on Education, Health and Human Services, Law Enforcement and Transportation infrastructure. The cost of government needs to be reduced through privatization. Goals of Republicans in the House are based on: limited government, free markets, and federalism. Citizens have been taxed enough as exemplified by the TEA Party movement.
Tillis acknowledged the Republican Women’s caucus who were wearing red and admired their red roses, given as gifts from the NCFRW. He noted that the House men were wearing red ties and that both the women and men symbolized Republican unity by wearing red. He also thanked former Speaker Hackney and his staff for the help they had given him during the transition.
Speaker Tillis has a new gavel, which he has named “Ray” as a tribute to his father. The gavel was made from a long leaf pine tree planted in the Colonial Forest of NC that lived more than 100 years ago. The wood was from the tree first used to build an 1830′s home, later salvaged, and recently used to make the gavel.
The House also elected a Speaker Pro Tempore. Republicans nominated Dale Folwell (Forsyth) and Democrats nominated William Wainwright (Craven, Lenoir). Folwell won with 68 votes and Wainwright had 52.
On the Calendar for Thursday, January 27, 2011 are the following bills: ”Protect Health Care Freedom,” ”Community Colleges/Opt Out of Federal Loan Program,” and “Eminent Domain” among others.
Anti Illegal Immigration Laws Spreading to all states in 2011!
WILLIAM GHEEN SPEAKING AT THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RALLY, JANUARY 26. 2011
In the House Budget Committee, the Experts Expose the Fiscal Consequences of Obamacare | The Foundry: Conservative Policy News.
"Moreover, says Smith, “46 percent of individuals who will move into public subsidies either through Medicaid or the new tax credit entitlement already have private coverage. When you add in the federal “buy out” of existing state coverage, a substantial amount of the new federal spending will simply replace federal dollars for existing private sector or state dollars without insuring a single new individual.”
In the House Budget Committee, the Experts Expose the Fiscal Consequences of Obamacare The Foundry: Conservative Policy News.
In the House Budget Committee, the Experts Expose the Fiscal Consequences of Obamacare The Foundry: Conservative Policy News.
HHS Triples ObamaCare Waivers; GOP to Investigate
OBAMACARE WAIVERS NOW TOTAL 733
Just one week after Republicans on Capitol Hill announced plans to investigate health care reform waivers granted to certain companies and labor organizations, President Obama’s Department of Health and Human Services announced additional waivers for more than 500 other groups. http://www.theblaze.com/stories/hhs-triples-obamacare-waivers-gop-to-investigate/
Just one week after Republicans on Capitol Hill announced plans to investigate health care reform waivers granted to certain companies and labor organizations, President Obama’s Department of Health and Human Services announced additional waivers for more than 500 other groups. http://www.theblaze.com/stories/hhs-triples-obamacare-waivers-gop-to-investigate/
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Sick and getting sicker, Social Security will run at a deficit this year
Social Security Fund to Be Empty by 2037
Sick and getting sicker, Social Security will run at a deficit this year and keep on running in the red until its trust funds are drained by about 2037, congressional budget experts said Wednesday in bleaker-than-previous estimates.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/01/27/social-security-fund/
Sick and getting sicker, Social Security will run at a deficit this year and keep on running in the red until its trust funds are drained by about 2037, congressional budget experts said Wednesday in bleaker-than-previous estimates.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/01/27/social-security-fund/
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Townhall Columnist:
Tim Carney: Government Electric
Editor’s Note: Considering President Obama’s recent decision to tap GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt to head a new Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, we thought our readers might be interested to read a piece on General Electric’s cozy relationship with the Obama White House from the October 2009 issue of Townhall Magazine. To order Townhall Magazine, click here.
Barack Obama rose to office promising to take on the “special interests.” But there may be no “special interest” quite as special and quite as well connected as General Electric.
The company spends more on lobbying than any other corporation. GE’s CEO has a weekly phone call with a top economic policy official in Obama’s White House. GE, of course, also owns three television stations, including one -- MSNBC -- that has been famously supportive of Barack Obama.
READ THE ARTICLE: http://townhall.com/columnists/TimCarney/2011/01/25/government_electric
Editor’s Note: Considering President Obama’s recent decision to tap GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt to head a new Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, we thought our readers might be interested to read a piece on General Electric’s cozy relationship with the Obama White House from the October 2009 issue of Townhall Magazine. To order Townhall Magazine, click here.
Barack Obama rose to office promising to take on the “special interests.” But there may be no “special interest” quite as special and quite as well connected as General Electric.
The company spends more on lobbying than any other corporation. GE’s CEO has a weekly phone call with a top economic policy official in Obama’s White House. GE, of course, also owns three television stations, including one -- MSNBC -- that has been famously supportive of Barack Obama.
READ THE ARTICLE: http://townhall.com/columnists/TimCarney/2011/01/25/government_electric
The Federalist No. 59
Concerning the Power of Congress to Regulate the Election of Members
New York Packet
Friday, February 22, 1788
To the People of the State of New York:
THE natural order of the subject leads us to consider, in this place, that provision of the Constitution which authorizes the national legislature to regulate, in the last resort, the election of its own members. It is in these words: "The times, places, and manner of holding elections for senators and representatives shall be prescribed in each State by the legislature thereof; but the Congress may, at any time, by law, make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing senators."1 This provision has not only been declaimed against by those who condemn the Constitution in the gross, but it has been censured by those who have objected with less latitude and greater moderation; and, in one instance it has been thought exceptionable by a gentleman who has declared himself the advocate of every other part of the system.
Read the full paper: http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=41357
New York Packet
Friday, February 22, 1788
To the People of the State of New York:
THE natural order of the subject leads us to consider, in this place, that provision of the Constitution which authorizes the national legislature to regulate, in the last resort, the election of its own members. It is in these words: "The times, places, and manner of holding elections for senators and representatives shall be prescribed in each State by the legislature thereof; but the Congress may, at any time, by law, make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing senators."1 This provision has not only been declaimed against by those who condemn the Constitution in the gross, but it has been censured by those who have objected with less latitude and greater moderation; and, in one instance it has been thought exceptionable by a gentleman who has declared himself the advocate of every other part of the system.
Read the full paper: http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=41357
COMMUNISM ON WHEELS!
Young Communists Launch National ‘Red School-Bus Tour’
It‘s communism that’s about 40 feet long and rolls along on four wheels. And it could be coming to a town near you.
The Southern California Young Communist League (YCL), a branch of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA), announced on its website that it’s launching a “National Red School-Bus Tour.” The YCL calls each stop on the tour “weekend long schools” for “young activists.” So what exactly is this tour all about
The group even has a video advertising the event:
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/young-communists-launch-national-red-school-bus-tour/
It‘s communism that’s about 40 feet long and rolls along on four wheels. And it could be coming to a town near you.
The Southern California Young Communist League (YCL), a branch of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA), announced on its website that it’s launching a “National Red School-Bus Tour.” The YCL calls each stop on the tour “weekend long schools” for “young activists.” So what exactly is this tour all about
The group even has a video advertising the event:
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/young-communists-launch-national-red-school-bus-tour/
Sun Journal New Bern--Letter to the Editor:
CRAVEN COUNTY HERO
January 24, 2011
As a result of the 2010 Craven County revaluation the citizens of Craven County have seen a significant increase in their property values that have resulted in increased taxes even though the tax rate is considered revenue neutral for 2010-2011 budget year. At the time of the revaluation I served as a county commissioner and I was under the impression that values would increase significantly only in areas along the waterfront or consolidated areas where properties were being sold at record highs. I did not expect the district in which I represented which is largely rural to see the increase in value that it did. I have admitted that I made a mistake in voting for the 2010-2011 budget due to the burden it has placed on Craven County’s citizens.
In the recent months one of Craven County’s finest citizens, Mrs. Tyker Gonzales, has led an effort to assist Craven County farmers and landowners who have been excluded from Present Use Value. These properties consist of farm equipment buildings, farm livestock buildings and farmland used for production of livestock which are currently valued at market value. It is because of Mrs. Gonzales’ persistence on this issue that the N.C. Department of Revenue has advised the Craven County Tax Department that the above properties do qualify for the Present Use Value Schedule under GS. 105-277.3. As a result of this important opinion from the Department of Revenue, the assistance of the Farm Bureau Federation and most importantly Mrs. Gonzales, many farmers and landowners in Craven County will receive a fair and equitable value on their properties.
On behalf of Craven County Farm Bureau Federation and the farmers of Craven County, I want to thank Mrs. Tyke Gonzales for taking a stand for the agricultural industry which is still North Carolina’s number one industry contributing $75 billion to our state’s economy.
Jason R. Jones, Cove City, NC
Jones is president of Craven County Farm Bureau.
© Copyright 2011 Freedom Communications. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.newbernsj.com/articles/county-94275-craven-increase.html
January 24, 2011
As a result of the 2010 Craven County revaluation the citizens of Craven County have seen a significant increase in their property values that have resulted in increased taxes even though the tax rate is considered revenue neutral for 2010-2011 budget year. At the time of the revaluation I served as a county commissioner and I was under the impression that values would increase significantly only in areas along the waterfront or consolidated areas where properties were being sold at record highs. I did not expect the district in which I represented which is largely rural to see the increase in value that it did. I have admitted that I made a mistake in voting for the 2010-2011 budget due to the burden it has placed on Craven County’s citizens.
In the recent months one of Craven County’s finest citizens, Mrs. Tyker Gonzales, has led an effort to assist Craven County farmers and landowners who have been excluded from Present Use Value. These properties consist of farm equipment buildings, farm livestock buildings and farmland used for production of livestock which are currently valued at market value. It is because of Mrs. Gonzales’ persistence on this issue that the N.C. Department of Revenue has advised the Craven County Tax Department that the above properties do qualify for the Present Use Value Schedule under GS. 105-277.3. As a result of this important opinion from the Department of Revenue, the assistance of the Farm Bureau Federation and most importantly Mrs. Gonzales, many farmers and landowners in Craven County will receive a fair and equitable value on their properties.
On behalf of Craven County Farm Bureau Federation and the farmers of Craven County, I want to thank Mrs. Tyke Gonzales for taking a stand for the agricultural industry which is still North Carolina’s number one industry contributing $75 billion to our state’s economy.
Jason R. Jones, Cove City, NC
Jones is president of Craven County Farm Bureau.
© Copyright 2011 Freedom Communications. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.newbernsj.com/articles/county-94275-craven-increase.html
Monday, January 24, 2011
WALL STREET JOURNAL OPINION: E.J. McMahon
State Bankruptcy Is a Bad Idea
Politicians already have the power to tame public unions without roiling municipal bond markets. They merely have to use it. .
A state bankruptcy provision could create more problems than it solves.
READ THE COLUMN! http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704881304576094091992370356.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop
Politicians already have the power to tame public unions without roiling municipal bond markets. They merely have to use it. .
A state bankruptcy provision could create more problems than it solves.
READ THE COLUMN! http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704881304576094091992370356.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop
Lurita Doan:
Federal Government Unions Looting American Taxpayers
"Perhaps it is time to send a different message. President Obama, like many Americans, is probably unaware that the federal government actually subsidizes federal government employee union operations. In fact, the federal government provides unions with free office space, pays for union member time and picks up travel and per diem costs. These “perks” represent a tax that has never been approved by American taxpayers--perks which operate at a level below the radar of Congress and well below the radar of the IRS. These hidden “perks” provided to government employee unions cost American taxpayers millions of dollars annually. "
Read the column: http://townhall.com/columnists/LuritaDoan/2011/01/24/federal_government_unions_looting_american_taxpayers
CALL TO ACTION--STOP REID FROM CHANGING SENATE RULES!
Fellow Patriots,
Time is short so please send call each senator and remind them that "while I am not a constituent, should you support Reids rule change on voting, I will help fund your Tea Party opponent in 2012".
I will be starting my calls first thing in the morning. Contact information below.
Louis Call
Chairman, Legislative / Research Committee
Coastal Carolina Taxpayers Association
Democratic Senators up for reelection in 2012
Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan)
133 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-4822
Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Washington State)
511 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-3441
Senator Ben Nelson (D-Florida)
716 Senate Hart Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-5274
Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio)
713 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
Phone (202) 224-2315
Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.)
302 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-3244
Senator Jon Tester (D-Montana)
724 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-2604
Phone: (202) 224-2644
Senator Ben Cardin (D-Maryland)
509 Hart Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC 20510,
Phone: 202-224-4524
Time is short so please send call each senator and remind them that "while I am not a constituent, should you support Reids rule change on voting, I will help fund your Tea Party opponent in 2012".
I will be starting my calls first thing in the morning. Contact information below.
Louis Call
Chairman, Legislative / Research Committee
Coastal Carolina Taxpayers Association
Democratic Senators up for reelection in 2012
Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan)
133 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-4822
Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Washington State)
511 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-3441
Senator Ben Nelson (D-Florida)
716 Senate Hart Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-5274
Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio)
713 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
Phone (202) 224-2315
Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.)
302 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-3244
Senator Jon Tester (D-Montana)
724 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-2604
Phone: (202) 224-2644
Senator Ben Cardin (D-Maryland)
509 Hart Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC 20510,
Phone: 202-224-4524
Sunday, January 23, 2011
First Black Tea Party Forms in Houston
Anita MonCrief, infamous ACORN whistleblower, went on Sean Hannity's radio show this Thursday to discuss the founding of America's first black Tea Party.
Named after the first person to die in the Revolutionary War, the Crispus Attucks Tea Party was founded yesterday, January 18th, 2011, at "This Is It" soul food restaurant in the heart of Houston, Texas' 18th district. (Read the interesting original court documents about the "Boston Massacre," including a dramatic description of Attucks' slaying, here.)
The 18th district is represented by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, and was the focal point of rampant ACORN-style vote fraud and widespread voter intimidation this past November. It is thus fitting that this tea party had its inaugural meeting right down the street from Lee's residence.
With the typical politesse and considerate attitude of conservatives -- always left unreported by the press (do ya think?) -- Rep. Lee was extended an invitation to the event. And with typical leftist rudeness, Lee snubbed it. Wonder why? These are her constituents, after all.
Aren’t they?
The local Fox News channel reporting on the event hastened to observe that many attendees at this founding meeting were white. Simply unbelievable. Is it not even possible to attend an event in support of this exciting new group without the information being somehow skewed by the media to suggest that it wasn't "authentic" because white people were there???
One blogger put up a hilarious parody of liberal hypocrisy, observing that if they could get away with it, liberals would report the event as: White Tea Party Racists Attend Black Tea Party.
Well, never mind. The times they are a changin'! Yes they are, and the media is getting the message, whether they want to hear it or not. We are not going away.
http://www.teapartynation.com/profiles/blogs/first-black-tea-party-forms-in
Named after the first person to die in the Revolutionary War, the Crispus Attucks Tea Party was founded yesterday, January 18th, 2011, at "This Is It" soul food restaurant in the heart of Houston, Texas' 18th district. (Read the interesting original court documents about the "Boston Massacre," including a dramatic description of Attucks' slaying, here.)
The 18th district is represented by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, and was the focal point of rampant ACORN-style vote fraud and widespread voter intimidation this past November. It is thus fitting that this tea party had its inaugural meeting right down the street from Lee's residence.
With the typical politesse and considerate attitude of conservatives -- always left unreported by the press (do ya think?) -- Rep. Lee was extended an invitation to the event. And with typical leftist rudeness, Lee snubbed it. Wonder why? These are her constituents, after all.
Aren’t they?
The local Fox News channel reporting on the event hastened to observe that many attendees at this founding meeting were white. Simply unbelievable. Is it not even possible to attend an event in support of this exciting new group without the information being somehow skewed by the media to suggest that it wasn't "authentic" because white people were there???
One blogger put up a hilarious parody of liberal hypocrisy, observing that if they could get away with it, liberals would report the event as: White Tea Party Racists Attend Black Tea Party.
Well, never mind. The times they are a changin'! Yes they are, and the media is getting the message, whether they want to hear it or not. We are not going away.
http://www.teapartynation.com/profiles/blogs/first-black-tea-party-forms-in
Could the party of treason turn any further to the left?
The new executive director of the Democratic National Committee is one Patrick Gaspard. Most people have never heard of Patrick Gaspard.
FROM TEA PARTY NATION:
Some in the Tea Party movement argue there is not a dime’s worth of difference between the Republican and Democrat parties. Those who argue this point need to take a look at what is going on in the party of treason.
The GOP is certainly not perfect. Although, at Tea Party Nation, we generally advocate allying with conservative Republicans, the Democrats have jump whole-heartedly into the lap of socialism. There is not even a pretense anymore.
The new executive director of the Democratic National Committee is one Patrick Gaspard. Most people have never heard of Patrick Gaspard.
Currently Gaspard does for Obama what Karl Rove did for George W. Bush. Becoming executive director of the DNC means that he will run the day-to-day operations of the DNC. He will control the DNC machinery.
And he is a total and committed socialist.
Gaspard joined the White House with a confusing resume that includes stints at ACORN, the SEIU and the Working Families Party. In Acorn, he was the political director for New York. In 2007, Gaspard became a registered lobbyist for SEIU. (Say, didn’t Obama say something about no lobbyists working for him?).
In 2001, Gaspard sent a letter saying that he was working for the Working Families Party in New York. The WFP is a small 3rd party in New York that is a socialist party. The WFP was also the political party for ACORN.
The ACORN tree is kept deliberately vague. Something like a mafia family trying to hide from the Feds. But there is no doubt that Gaspard is up to his ears in it. Gaspard is a student of Alinisky and like Obama grew up idolizing radical communists who hated this country and wanted to see this country turned into a socialist hellhole.
And this man is now running the DNC.
The conservative wing of the Democratic Party can forget about anything now. Oh, wait; the party of treason no longer has a conservative wing. The socialists in the Democratic Party have done a good job of purging conservatives from the party, at least at the national level. Can anyone name a conservative Democrat in the House or Senate? Not a moderate, a conservative. Someone who is branded a conservative by a conservative rating, such as the American Conservative Union’s ratings?
Gaspard’s ties to ACORN should trouble anyone, other than committed socialists, which is why you will hear no complaints from the Democratic Party. Recently in Las Vegas, a former Executive with ACORN, Amy Busefink, was convicted of voter fraud. ACORN itself will go on trial in April for voter fraud. In 2008, ACORN tried to register over 400,000 fake voters in Nevada, a state of only 2.6 million. Busefink also worked with Project Vote. Another distinguished alumni of Project Vote, a subsidiary of ACORN, is Barack Obama.
Socialism is the enemy of freedom and the Democratic Party should probably now be called the Socialist Party. Almost everyone in the leadership of the party of treason at one time or another was a member of a socialist party, from the Democratic Socialists of America, to the New Party to the Working Families Party.
When Ronald Reagan went to the White House thirty years ago this month, he set a goal of destroying Soviet Communism. He succeeded. We must set a goal of destroying socialism in this country before it is too late.
http://www.teapartynation.com/forum/topics/could-the-party-of-treason
FROM TEA PARTY NATION:
Some in the Tea Party movement argue there is not a dime’s worth of difference between the Republican and Democrat parties. Those who argue this point need to take a look at what is going on in the party of treason.
The GOP is certainly not perfect. Although, at Tea Party Nation, we generally advocate allying with conservative Republicans, the Democrats have jump whole-heartedly into the lap of socialism. There is not even a pretense anymore.
The new executive director of the Democratic National Committee is one Patrick Gaspard. Most people have never heard of Patrick Gaspard.
Currently Gaspard does for Obama what Karl Rove did for George W. Bush. Becoming executive director of the DNC means that he will run the day-to-day operations of the DNC. He will control the DNC machinery.
And he is a total and committed socialist.
Gaspard joined the White House with a confusing resume that includes stints at ACORN, the SEIU and the Working Families Party. In Acorn, he was the political director for New York. In 2007, Gaspard became a registered lobbyist for SEIU. (Say, didn’t Obama say something about no lobbyists working for him?).
In 2001, Gaspard sent a letter saying that he was working for the Working Families Party in New York. The WFP is a small 3rd party in New York that is a socialist party. The WFP was also the political party for ACORN.
The ACORN tree is kept deliberately vague. Something like a mafia family trying to hide from the Feds. But there is no doubt that Gaspard is up to his ears in it. Gaspard is a student of Alinisky and like Obama grew up idolizing radical communists who hated this country and wanted to see this country turned into a socialist hellhole.
And this man is now running the DNC.
The conservative wing of the Democratic Party can forget about anything now. Oh, wait; the party of treason no longer has a conservative wing. The socialists in the Democratic Party have done a good job of purging conservatives from the party, at least at the national level. Can anyone name a conservative Democrat in the House or Senate? Not a moderate, a conservative. Someone who is branded a conservative by a conservative rating, such as the American Conservative Union’s ratings?
Gaspard’s ties to ACORN should trouble anyone, other than committed socialists, which is why you will hear no complaints from the Democratic Party. Recently in Las Vegas, a former Executive with ACORN, Amy Busefink, was convicted of voter fraud. ACORN itself will go on trial in April for voter fraud. In 2008, ACORN tried to register over 400,000 fake voters in Nevada, a state of only 2.6 million. Busefink also worked with Project Vote. Another distinguished alumni of Project Vote, a subsidiary of ACORN, is Barack Obama.
Socialism is the enemy of freedom and the Democratic Party should probably now be called the Socialist Party. Almost everyone in the leadership of the party of treason at one time or another was a member of a socialist party, from the Democratic Socialists of America, to the New Party to the Working Families Party.
When Ronald Reagan went to the White House thirty years ago this month, he set a goal of destroying Soviet Communism. He succeeded. We must set a goal of destroying socialism in this country before it is too late.
http://www.teapartynation.com/forum/topics/could-the-party-of-treason
Sun Journal New Bern--Letter to the Editor
January 20, 2011
Freedom beware
The latest attack on our freedoms started only a few hours after the tragic shooting incident in Tucson. Within an hour, CNN put on the local political cartoonist, David Fitzsimmons, who announced that the shooting was “inevitable” considering “The Right in Arizona, and I’m speaking very broadly, has been stoking the fires of a heated anger and rage successfully in this state.”
This was followed by New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, who insisted he wasn’t surprised this happened because he saw it coming, even though the facts in this dimension don’t support his premonitions.
Perhaps the star of the media’s liberal juggernaut was Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, who rushed to the readily available media microphones to proclaim the shooting was the natural outgrowth of hot “anti-government” talkers, that “the vitriolic rhetoric that we hear day in and day out from the people in the radio business and some people in the TV business” was to blame.
The main stream media is an interesting study. Consider this: There has not been a single act of Muslim violence in the last two years that the media was willing to identify as motivated by Islam. Each and every time they had to be dragged kicking and screaming, past their cover stories, through groundless claims that the attackers were motivated by psychological problems, bullying, imaginary medical conditions or financial problems — to some adjunct of the truth.
At the same time over the last two years, each prominent act of violence by non-Muslims was followed by an attempt to identify the attacker or attackers with mainstream Republicans in a cynical attempt to demonize and criminalize the political opposition. If you think this is farfetched consider what just happened in the reporting of the incident in Tucson.
There can be no question that those who died and those who struggle to survive represent a tragedy — a tragedy that should not have occurred. But there is a greater tragedy that Americans need to wake up and acknowledge before Obama’s socialist agenda consumes us. I am speaking of controlling speech and expression. I am speaking of controlling the right to defend ourselves, in our homes and in our society. When we lose the right to dissent, to question authority and yes, to be emotional and even express anger, we have lost our most treasure rights protected by the First and Second amendments.
Those on the liberal left would love to divert you and me from speaking out. Consider the groundswell to repeal Obamacare. Still, I suppose we should have seen it was coming. After all Barack Obama’s former chief of staff, Rahm Emmanuel, once said that you should never let a crisis go to waste. So, why shouldn’t these violent murders not be exploited ... and exploited they were.
I received an e-mail from a friend yesterday that expressed what happened as such. While millions of Americans prayed for those who were brutally assaulted and their families, members of the liberal media smeared themselves in the blood of the dying to score political points.
Can anything be more despicable? If you ever fear speaking out, they’ve won.
Louis Call
CCTA Legislative/Research Committee Chairman
River Bend, NC
© Copyright 2011 Freedom Communications. All Rights Reserved.
Freedom beware
The latest attack on our freedoms started only a few hours after the tragic shooting incident in Tucson. Within an hour, CNN put on the local political cartoonist, David Fitzsimmons, who announced that the shooting was “inevitable” considering “The Right in Arizona, and I’m speaking very broadly, has been stoking the fires of a heated anger and rage successfully in this state.”
This was followed by New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, who insisted he wasn’t surprised this happened because he saw it coming, even though the facts in this dimension don’t support his premonitions.
Perhaps the star of the media’s liberal juggernaut was Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, who rushed to the readily available media microphones to proclaim the shooting was the natural outgrowth of hot “anti-government” talkers, that “the vitriolic rhetoric that we hear day in and day out from the people in the radio business and some people in the TV business” was to blame.
The main stream media is an interesting study. Consider this: There has not been a single act of Muslim violence in the last two years that the media was willing to identify as motivated by Islam. Each and every time they had to be dragged kicking and screaming, past their cover stories, through groundless claims that the attackers were motivated by psychological problems, bullying, imaginary medical conditions or financial problems — to some adjunct of the truth.
At the same time over the last two years, each prominent act of violence by non-Muslims was followed by an attempt to identify the attacker or attackers with mainstream Republicans in a cynical attempt to demonize and criminalize the political opposition. If you think this is farfetched consider what just happened in the reporting of the incident in Tucson.
There can be no question that those who died and those who struggle to survive represent a tragedy — a tragedy that should not have occurred. But there is a greater tragedy that Americans need to wake up and acknowledge before Obama’s socialist agenda consumes us. I am speaking of controlling speech and expression. I am speaking of controlling the right to defend ourselves, in our homes and in our society. When we lose the right to dissent, to question authority and yes, to be emotional and even express anger, we have lost our most treasure rights protected by the First and Second amendments.
Those on the liberal left would love to divert you and me from speaking out. Consider the groundswell to repeal Obamacare. Still, I suppose we should have seen it was coming. After all Barack Obama’s former chief of staff, Rahm Emmanuel, once said that you should never let a crisis go to waste. So, why shouldn’t these violent murders not be exploited ... and exploited they were.
I received an e-mail from a friend yesterday that expressed what happened as such. While millions of Americans prayed for those who were brutally assaulted and their families, members of the liberal media smeared themselves in the blood of the dying to score political points.
Can anything be more despicable? If you ever fear speaking out, they’ve won.
Louis Call
CCTA Legislative/Research Committee Chairman
River Bend, NC
© Copyright 2011 Freedom Communications. All Rights Reserved.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
General Assembly Rally, January 26th in Raleigh!
The 2011-2012 biennium of the North Carolina General Assembly will convene on January 26, 2011 at noon. The Moccasin Creek Minutemen and NCFreedom are organizing a rally in Raleigh at the General Assembly.
We want all of our representatives to understand why they were put in office and not forget why the people placed their faith in them.
January 26th, 2011, 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Legislative Building, 16 West Jones Street & Halifax Mall
(one block north of the Legislative Building) Raleigh, NC 27601 ( 919) 733-7928
Contact Information:
Joe Taylor
(919) 801-0751
joe@moccasincreekminutemen.com
Speakers
Frank Ragsdale, Robin Hayes, Frank Perry, Randy Dye
William Gheen, Laura Long, Joe Taylor and David DeGerolamo
Main Sponsor: Moccasin Creek Minutemen
Co-Sponsors: ALIPAC, Asheville Tea Party, Chatham County KTM, Cherokee County 912, Coastal Carolina Taxpayers Association, Dr. Dan's Freedom Forum, North Durham (NC) Republicans, Fairtax, Feet to the Fire (FTTF) - 4th District, Hendersonville 912, Independence Caucus, Katy's Conservative Corner, NC Fire, NCFreedom, NC Listen, NC Rangers, NC TEA Party, NC Tea Party Revolution, Randy's Right, SilenceDogood2010, Sweet Tea & Livermush, Triangle Conservatives Unite, Triangle Constitutionalist Gathering Place, Wayne County Tea Party, We The People-NC, WhatBubbaKnows, Wilson NC Tea Party, Winston-Salem 912
If your group or publication would like to co-sponsor this event, please email David@NCFreedom.us. There are no costs associated with being a co-sponsor.
We would appreciate your efforts to promote this important event by downloading the flyer and distributing it across your local areas.
Contact Information
Email: David@ncfreedom.us
Drivers Beware!
Sat, January 22, 2011
Many Americans will be on the highways this summer. Some will be simply commuting. Others will be working and others will be traveling. For those of you on the interstates this summer, beware! You will have an unwanted companion on the highways.
Mexican trucks.
That is right. Mexican long haul trucks have been excluded from America, but thanks to the Obama regime, that is going to change this summer. And they are doing it in such a manner that will keep congress out of it unless congress gets creative and busy very quickly.
This is lunacy on so many levels.
First, Mexican trucks and their drivers are not up to American standards. In one of the worst decisions of the Bush administration, a test program was put into place that would allow Mexican trucks to travel in a limited portion of the United States. Fortunately, in 2009, Congress killed that really bad idea.
Mexico has nothing that is equivalent to American standards for a commercial driver’s license (CDL). They do not drug test their drivers nor do they even do serious background checks. Can we say terrorist with a truckload of explosives?
Additionally there are no medical testing requirements for drivers as there are in America and the safety standards for Mexican trucks are a joke. Do you really want to be traveling down a highway, going down a steep grade with a Mexican truck behind you, hoping the uninspected Mexican truck’s brakes do not fail?
The other casualty of this idiocy, besides the Americans who will die at the hands of Mexican truckers, is American truckers. The cost for Mexican truckers is less than American truckers. If you want to ship something on a Mexican truck, the cost will be lower. People being rational economic creatures, generally chose the least expensive option. This will put American companies and American truck drivers out of business. Unemployment in the United States is officially at ten percent and the real figure is much closer to twenty percent.
Does the Obama regime really want to do more damage to the economy and put more Americans out of work? In a word, YES!
When the United States did not approve the Mexican trucks on American roads, Mexico retaliated by placing tariffs on some American goods. Of course, our worthless government, more interested in protecting foreign interests than American interests, did nothing.
The authority for Mexican trucks to come onto American roads is a part of the North American Free Trade Agreement. NAFTA and the other free trade agreements have been nothing short of a disaster for America. We have gotten nothing out of them and seen our businesses go south (literally).
If we ever needed a good reason to repeal NAFTA and the other free trade agreements, this is it.
For the Tea Party movement, we need to stand up to his idiocy by the Obama regime. This is simply another example of his merry band of socialists trying to hurt America. From a political point of view, this presents a good opportunity. Not only is it something we can use to beat the Obama regime, but also it gives us the chance to split a group away from the liberal coalition.
The Teamsters Union is not going to be happy about this and will not take it lying down. There is an old saying, “my enemy’s enemy is my friend.” In this instance, the Obama regime has made the Teamsters Union their enemy with this decision. Perhaps it is time for us to make the Teamsters our friend.
http://www.teapartynation.com/forum/topics/this-is-lunacy-at-so-many
Louis Call
Legislative /Research Committee Chairman
Coastal Carolina Taxpayers Association
Many Americans will be on the highways this summer. Some will be simply commuting. Others will be working and others will be traveling. For those of you on the interstates this summer, beware! You will have an unwanted companion on the highways.
Mexican trucks.
That is right. Mexican long haul trucks have been excluded from America, but thanks to the Obama regime, that is going to change this summer. And they are doing it in such a manner that will keep congress out of it unless congress gets creative and busy very quickly.
This is lunacy on so many levels.
First, Mexican trucks and their drivers are not up to American standards. In one of the worst decisions of the Bush administration, a test program was put into place that would allow Mexican trucks to travel in a limited portion of the United States. Fortunately, in 2009, Congress killed that really bad idea.
Mexico has nothing that is equivalent to American standards for a commercial driver’s license (CDL). They do not drug test their drivers nor do they even do serious background checks. Can we say terrorist with a truckload of explosives?
Additionally there are no medical testing requirements for drivers as there are in America and the safety standards for Mexican trucks are a joke. Do you really want to be traveling down a highway, going down a steep grade with a Mexican truck behind you, hoping the uninspected Mexican truck’s brakes do not fail?
The other casualty of this idiocy, besides the Americans who will die at the hands of Mexican truckers, is American truckers. The cost for Mexican truckers is less than American truckers. If you want to ship something on a Mexican truck, the cost will be lower. People being rational economic creatures, generally chose the least expensive option. This will put American companies and American truck drivers out of business. Unemployment in the United States is officially at ten percent and the real figure is much closer to twenty percent.
Does the Obama regime really want to do more damage to the economy and put more Americans out of work? In a word, YES!
When the United States did not approve the Mexican trucks on American roads, Mexico retaliated by placing tariffs on some American goods. Of course, our worthless government, more interested in protecting foreign interests than American interests, did nothing.
The authority for Mexican trucks to come onto American roads is a part of the North American Free Trade Agreement. NAFTA and the other free trade agreements have been nothing short of a disaster for America. We have gotten nothing out of them and seen our businesses go south (literally).
If we ever needed a good reason to repeal NAFTA and the other free trade agreements, this is it.
For the Tea Party movement, we need to stand up to his idiocy by the Obama regime. This is simply another example of his merry band of socialists trying to hurt America. From a political point of view, this presents a good opportunity. Not only is it something we can use to beat the Obama regime, but also it gives us the chance to split a group away from the liberal coalition.
The Teamsters Union is not going to be happy about this and will not take it lying down. There is an old saying, “my enemy’s enemy is my friend.” In this instance, the Obama regime has made the Teamsters Union their enemy with this decision. Perhaps it is time for us to make the Teamsters our friend.
http://www.teapartynation.com/forum/topics/this-is-lunacy-at-so-many
Louis Call
Legislative /Research Committee Chairman
Coastal Carolina Taxpayers Association
OPINION: Townhall.com--Dr. Mike Adams
January 22, 2011
Kermit the Dog By Mike Adams
1/21/2011 For decades, liberals have been playing upon people’s emotions by exploiting human tragedy for political gain. In recent months, that tendency has become more pronounced. Their attempt to use the suicides of eight confused young men to advance the homosexual agenda was disgraceful. Then there was the more recent attempt to use the Tucson shooting to advance a gun control agenda that will ultimately increase homicide and other crimes of violence. I think the time has come for conservatives to start making better use of tragedy for political gain.
There can be no better starting place for the exploitation of tragedy than the case of Dr. Kermit Gosnell. Just Wednesday, he was charged with murder. He stands accused of delivering seven babies and then using scissors to kill each one of them. He was also charged with murder in the death of a woman who suffered an overdose of painkillers while awaiting an abortion.
The grand jury report in this case contains details that would make Margaret Sanger proud. The evidence indicates that numerous complaints about the conditions at Gosnell's clinic were ignored. His clinic catered to West Philadelphia’s poor minorities – the kind of people Sanger referred to as human weeds that should be removed from the population.
Darwin proclaimed “survival of the fittest.” Sanger promoted survival of the whitest and survival of the richest. She would have been proud to learn that white women from the suburbs were ushered into a separate, slightly cleaner area of his clinic. Prosecutors allege that this was because Gosnell believed they were more likely to file complaints.
Kermit Gosnell was not the only one arrested and charged with numerous counts of murder. His wife was a cosmetologist who was supposed to cut hair. The allegation is that she cut babies instead.
Every crime has a motive and prosecutors have a motive in this case. It was money. Gosnell made millions of dollars performing thousands of dangerous abortions, many of them illegal late-term procedures. He is alleged to have cut costs by refusing to hire nurses and trained medical staff.
The abortions are alleged to have been “unsafe.” Of course abortions are never safe. There is one killed and one wounded in every case of abortion. Now the court must decide whether the abortions were legal. Since it appears that at least two women died from the procedures, while others suffered perforated bowels, cervixes and uteruses, the case seems ripe for a plea bargain. But prosecutors should resist the temptation. They should seek the maximum penalty in a televised trial.
Prosecutors have noted that Gosnell induced labor, then forced the live birth of viable babies in the sixth, seventh, and eighth months of pregnancy. He then killed those babies by cutting into the back of the neck with scissors and severing their spinal cord. According to prosecutors, Gosnell referred to it as "snipping.” One problem for prosecutors is that Gosnell seems to have destroyed many of his medical files. That is not surprising. Abortion doctors do not keep their Hippocratic oaths. Why should they be expected to keep their records?
There appears to be a certain Hannibal Lecter quality to this case. Authorities have found bags and bottles holding aborted fetuses scattered throughout the offices of Kermit Gosnell. There were jars found containing severed feet that were kept for no apparent purpose. They were the kinds of trophies which, had they not been human, would have aroused the ire of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). But these were not people’s pets. They were people’s mistakes. They deserved no ethical treatment in the eyes of some.
Prosecutors in the Gosnell case have also alleged that he falsified ultrasound examinations and taught his staff to hold the probe in such a way that the fetus would look smaller. He is alleged to have joked with his staff saying one (fetus) was so large he could "walk me to the bus stop.”
How did Kermit Gosnell pass the annual inspections of his clinic, which opened in 1979? It was actually pretty easy since there have only been five inspections since 1979 and none since 1993.
Some defenders of abortion will point out that – although he earned his medical degree from Thomas Jefferson University – Gosnell started, but did not finish, a residency in obstetrics-gynecology. Some have already said that he does not know how to perform an abortion without risking killing someone. That trite observation ignores the obvious: No one has ever performed an abortion without actually killing someone.
In the wake of the Tucson shooting some have argued that we should limit semi-automatic handgun magazine capacity to ten. I think we should consider limiting abortion clinic waiting room capacity to ten. Or maybe we should have a seven-day cooling down period for those who have a passion for performing abortions.
However we decide to exploit this tragedy, the conservative slogan is fairly obvious: “Guns don’t kill people. Abortion doctors kill people.” We need to start printing tee shirts now.
Mike Adams
Mike Adams is a criminology professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and author of Feminists Say the Darndest Things: A Politically Incorrect Professor Confronts "Womyn" On Campus.
http://townhall.com/columnists/MikeAdams/2011/01/21/kermit_the_dog
Kermit the Dog By Mike Adams
1/21/2011 For decades, liberals have been playing upon people’s emotions by exploiting human tragedy for political gain. In recent months, that tendency has become more pronounced. Their attempt to use the suicides of eight confused young men to advance the homosexual agenda was disgraceful. Then there was the more recent attempt to use the Tucson shooting to advance a gun control agenda that will ultimately increase homicide and other crimes of violence. I think the time has come for conservatives to start making better use of tragedy for political gain.
There can be no better starting place for the exploitation of tragedy than the case of Dr. Kermit Gosnell. Just Wednesday, he was charged with murder. He stands accused of delivering seven babies and then using scissors to kill each one of them. He was also charged with murder in the death of a woman who suffered an overdose of painkillers while awaiting an abortion.
The grand jury report in this case contains details that would make Margaret Sanger proud. The evidence indicates that numerous complaints about the conditions at Gosnell's clinic were ignored. His clinic catered to West Philadelphia’s poor minorities – the kind of people Sanger referred to as human weeds that should be removed from the population.
Darwin proclaimed “survival of the fittest.” Sanger promoted survival of the whitest and survival of the richest. She would have been proud to learn that white women from the suburbs were ushered into a separate, slightly cleaner area of his clinic. Prosecutors allege that this was because Gosnell believed they were more likely to file complaints.
Kermit Gosnell was not the only one arrested and charged with numerous counts of murder. His wife was a cosmetologist who was supposed to cut hair. The allegation is that she cut babies instead.
Every crime has a motive and prosecutors have a motive in this case. It was money. Gosnell made millions of dollars performing thousands of dangerous abortions, many of them illegal late-term procedures. He is alleged to have cut costs by refusing to hire nurses and trained medical staff.
The abortions are alleged to have been “unsafe.” Of course abortions are never safe. There is one killed and one wounded in every case of abortion. Now the court must decide whether the abortions were legal. Since it appears that at least two women died from the procedures, while others suffered perforated bowels, cervixes and uteruses, the case seems ripe for a plea bargain. But prosecutors should resist the temptation. They should seek the maximum penalty in a televised trial.
Prosecutors have noted that Gosnell induced labor, then forced the live birth of viable babies in the sixth, seventh, and eighth months of pregnancy. He then killed those babies by cutting into the back of the neck with scissors and severing their spinal cord. According to prosecutors, Gosnell referred to it as "snipping.” One problem for prosecutors is that Gosnell seems to have destroyed many of his medical files. That is not surprising. Abortion doctors do not keep their Hippocratic oaths. Why should they be expected to keep their records?
There appears to be a certain Hannibal Lecter quality to this case. Authorities have found bags and bottles holding aborted fetuses scattered throughout the offices of Kermit Gosnell. There were jars found containing severed feet that were kept for no apparent purpose. They were the kinds of trophies which, had they not been human, would have aroused the ire of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). But these were not people’s pets. They were people’s mistakes. They deserved no ethical treatment in the eyes of some.
Prosecutors in the Gosnell case have also alleged that he falsified ultrasound examinations and taught his staff to hold the probe in such a way that the fetus would look smaller. He is alleged to have joked with his staff saying one (fetus) was so large he could "walk me to the bus stop.”
How did Kermit Gosnell pass the annual inspections of his clinic, which opened in 1979? It was actually pretty easy since there have only been five inspections since 1979 and none since 1993.
Some defenders of abortion will point out that – although he earned his medical degree from Thomas Jefferson University – Gosnell started, but did not finish, a residency in obstetrics-gynecology. Some have already said that he does not know how to perform an abortion without risking killing someone. That trite observation ignores the obvious: No one has ever performed an abortion without actually killing someone.
In the wake of the Tucson shooting some have argued that we should limit semi-automatic handgun magazine capacity to ten. I think we should consider limiting abortion clinic waiting room capacity to ten. Or maybe we should have a seven-day cooling down period for those who have a passion for performing abortions.
However we decide to exploit this tragedy, the conservative slogan is fairly obvious: “Guns don’t kill people. Abortion doctors kill people.” We need to start printing tee shirts now.
Mike Adams
Mike Adams is a criminology professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and author of Feminists Say the Darndest Things: A Politically Incorrect Professor Confronts "Womyn" On Campus.
http://townhall.com/columnists/MikeAdams/2011/01/21/kermit_the_dog
Friday, January 21, 2011
Norman Sanderson Speaks at Coastal Carolina Taxpayers Association (CCTA) Open Meeting ...
Norman Sanderson was the featured speaker at a Teaparty Meeting in New Bern. The crowd of roughly 40 paid attention and asked questions of the ...
www.examiner.com/.../norman-sanderson-speaks-at-craven-co...
www.examiner.com/.../norman-sanderson-speaks-at-craven-co...
The House Repealed Obamacare. What Next? HERITAGE FOUNDATION reports
The Heritage Foundation
Thursday, January 20, 2011 5:14 PM
Last night, the House of Representatives, the legislative chamber of Congress closest to American popular opinion, voted to repeal Obamacare—the increasingly unpopular law which led directly to a change in the control of Congress just three months ago.
Many will tell you that yesterday’s bipartisan vote of 245 to 189 was an exercise in futility—an empty, symbolic measure. Liberals in Congress, the White House and their echo chamber in the media all insist, as NPR has duly reported, that “this measure will go no further.”
Don’t believe this for a single minute. The vote last night was an important step in the democratic process of protecting and conserving our constitutional freedoms.
Our country, it is increasingly clear, has arrived at a pivotal moment – perhaps the pivotal moment – in its history. Together, we face a choice between two futures. One is a collectivist future where the federal government claims ever increasing shares of our income and grants itself the authority to make decisions affecting virtually every aspect of our daily lives. The other future is built upon the idea that individual freedom trumps government authority, and that in those rare cases when solving a problem requires government, the government that governs best is the one that is smallest and closest to the people. That is the future that we should seek – reaffirming our individual liberty, strengthening private markets, shrinking the size of governments, and making decisions wherever possible at the local level rather than in Washington.
No issue joins this debate more dramatically than the question of Obamacare, and what to do about it. It’s not just about health care. The law redefines our centuries-old understanding of the reach of federal authority, indeed whether there are any limits at all to the government’s ability to intrude upon individuals, families, business owners, physicians and other health providers, and state and local governments. Little or nothing will be allowed outside the new regulatory scheme – no alternative state programs, no individuals or businesses that choose not to participate, no truly private market alternatives.
The debate boils down to one big question: Shall we govern ourselves, or let unelected bureaucrats rule us?
Behind this question are the many other specific ones about health care:
And these are but the most obvious concerns raised by last year’s law. But what comes next, you ask?
First, it is incumbent on the Majority leader of the Senate, Harry Reid (D-NV) to allow a vote on the floor of that chamber. A bipartisan majority in one half of Congress has just repealed the most ambitious expansion of the federal government in many decades following a major electoral reversal for his party. For Mr. Reid to prevent this vote from coming to the Senate floor would be to thumb his nose at the will of the American people. Senators must be allowed to vote on this question so that repeal legislation might go to the president for his consideration.
In the meantime, Heritage Distinguished Fellow Ernest Istook (who sat on the Appropriations Committee for 14 years) and Government Relations Director Brian Darling say that an incremental strategy is critical. To start the de facto repeal of Obamacare, lawmakers should focus on dismantling the key provisions that form the very foundation of the law’s architecture. This means, for example, going after the pillars of the law through a variety of means like de-funding its critical aspects, engaging in aggressive oversight of the consequences of the law and enacting legislative triggers to delay or block its implementation. All these approaches will contribute to Obamacare’s implosion.
While that important national debate is taking place, the House of Representatives can move to defund provisions of Obamacare through either a rescissions package or funding riders. Congress is not required to fund this law or the myriad of new programs that it spawned. Like every other federal program, the current Congress can adjust – or even zero out – the level of funding for the implementation of Obamacare. Special provisions in the health care law will complicate the process, but the propriety of de-funding is unquestionable. As noted by the Congressional Research Service (CRS), “Congress is not required to provide funds for every agency or purpose authorized by law.”
De-funding is a legitimate use of the power of the purse that the Founding Fathers wisely granted to Congress. It won’t be easy. Obamacare was designed to be the governmental equivalent of kudzu – growing everywhere. However, Obamacare is not a fait accompli, no matter what the Left is telling you.
After a clean repeal we can move on to debate what good ideas on health care can be adopted in the future, as Heritage health care expert Nina Owcharenko does in her report, “Repealing Obamacare and Getting Healthcare Right.”
The House of Representatives acted wisely last night. Now the debate opens again. It’s a national debate we need to have, and we need to have it now. Don’t listen to those who want to stifle this debate, or close this controversy. There’s nothing uncivil about standing up for your freedoms. This is no time for summer soldiers and sunshine patriots.
None of our work on Obamacare would be possible without the dedicated support of our 710,000 members from around the nation. Support us as we keep the momentum going for repeal.
Sincerely,
Edwin J. Feulner, Ph.D.
President
The Heritage Foundation
Thursday, January 20, 2011 5:14 PM
Last night, the House of Representatives, the legislative chamber of Congress closest to American popular opinion, voted to repeal Obamacare—the increasingly unpopular law which led directly to a change in the control of Congress just three months ago.
Many will tell you that yesterday’s bipartisan vote of 245 to 189 was an exercise in futility—an empty, symbolic measure. Liberals in Congress, the White House and their echo chamber in the media all insist, as NPR has duly reported, that “this measure will go no further.”
Don’t believe this for a single minute. The vote last night was an important step in the democratic process of protecting and conserving our constitutional freedoms.
Our country, it is increasingly clear, has arrived at a pivotal moment – perhaps the pivotal moment – in its history. Together, we face a choice between two futures. One is a collectivist future where the federal government claims ever increasing shares of our income and grants itself the authority to make decisions affecting virtually every aspect of our daily lives. The other future is built upon the idea that individual freedom trumps government authority, and that in those rare cases when solving a problem requires government, the government that governs best is the one that is smallest and closest to the people. That is the future that we should seek – reaffirming our individual liberty, strengthening private markets, shrinking the size of governments, and making decisions wherever possible at the local level rather than in Washington.
No issue joins this debate more dramatically than the question of Obamacare, and what to do about it. It’s not just about health care. The law redefines our centuries-old understanding of the reach of federal authority, indeed whether there are any limits at all to the government’s ability to intrude upon individuals, families, business owners, physicians and other health providers, and state and local governments. Little or nothing will be allowed outside the new regulatory scheme – no alternative state programs, no individuals or businesses that choose not to participate, no truly private market alternatives.
The debate boils down to one big question: Shall we govern ourselves, or let unelected bureaucrats rule us?
Behind this question are the many other specific ones about health care:
- Should the federal government control America’s $2.5 trillion health sector, fully one sixth of our economy?
- Should government bureaucrats decide what form of health coverage is “acceptable”?
- Should these bureaucrats be given the legal authority to require all Americans to purchase government-designed health plans and levy penalties on those who don’t comply?
- Should the federal government require the States to devote scarce resources to the creation of federally designed health exchanges that State lawmakers may feel inadequately address the unique needs of state residents?
- Should the federal government expand the Medicaid program so dramatically that States face a Hobson’s choice – either shoulder billions in new fiscal commitments (on top of an already unsustainable budget mess) or withdraw from the program entirely?
And these are but the most obvious concerns raised by last year’s law. But what comes next, you ask?
First, it is incumbent on the Majority leader of the Senate, Harry Reid (D-NV) to allow a vote on the floor of that chamber. A bipartisan majority in one half of Congress has just repealed the most ambitious expansion of the federal government in many decades following a major electoral reversal for his party. For Mr. Reid to prevent this vote from coming to the Senate floor would be to thumb his nose at the will of the American people. Senators must be allowed to vote on this question so that repeal legislation might go to the president for his consideration.
In the meantime, Heritage Distinguished Fellow Ernest Istook (who sat on the Appropriations Committee for 14 years) and Government Relations Director Brian Darling say that an incremental strategy is critical. To start the de facto repeal of Obamacare, lawmakers should focus on dismantling the key provisions that form the very foundation of the law’s architecture. This means, for example, going after the pillars of the law through a variety of means like de-funding its critical aspects, engaging in aggressive oversight of the consequences of the law and enacting legislative triggers to delay or block its implementation. All these approaches will contribute to Obamacare’s implosion.
While that important national debate is taking place, the House of Representatives can move to defund provisions of Obamacare through either a rescissions package or funding riders. Congress is not required to fund this law or the myriad of new programs that it spawned. Like every other federal program, the current Congress can adjust – or even zero out – the level of funding for the implementation of Obamacare. Special provisions in the health care law will complicate the process, but the propriety of de-funding is unquestionable. As noted by the Congressional Research Service (CRS), “Congress is not required to provide funds for every agency or purpose authorized by law.”
De-funding is a legitimate use of the power of the purse that the Founding Fathers wisely granted to Congress. It won’t be easy. Obamacare was designed to be the governmental equivalent of kudzu – growing everywhere. However, Obamacare is not a fait accompli, no matter what the Left is telling you.
After a clean repeal we can move on to debate what good ideas on health care can be adopted in the future, as Heritage health care expert Nina Owcharenko does in her report, “Repealing Obamacare and Getting Healthcare Right.”
The House of Representatives acted wisely last night. Now the debate opens again. It’s a national debate we need to have, and we need to have it now. Don’t listen to those who want to stifle this debate, or close this controversy. There’s nothing uncivil about standing up for your freedoms. This is no time for summer soldiers and sunshine patriots.
None of our work on Obamacare would be possible without the dedicated support of our 710,000 members from around the nation. Support us as we keep the momentum going for repeal.
Sincerely,
Edwin J. Feulner, Ph.D.
President
The Heritage Foundation
Compassion for J. Eric Fuller?
Musing from member Lou Call.....
This question was asked of me by one of our liberal residents (we will call him "JC"), in reference to J. Eric Fuller. Where is your compassion for the man Lou?
At a meeting following the Tucson shooting J. Eric Fuller stood up, took a picture of Trent Humphries and said. "Your Dead!" Humphries, incidentally, is the Founder of the Tucson Tea Party and was in attendance at an ABC meeting anchored by Christine Amanpour honoring the victims and heroes and First responders at the Tucson shooting.
I must use RBfree to answer "JC" because he has me blocked and since he hides behind his BLOCKED SENDER function I have no choice but to answer him in this venue (somehow I suspect he will see this).
My compassion is for the victims of this tragedy; for those that died and for those fighting for survival.
I would like to get an answer to this question should any liberal decide to answer. Where is the condemnation of J. Eric Fullers threats that were probably predicated and instigated by the vicious media attacks on Sarah Palin, Bill O'Reilly, the Tea Party etc...(there haven't been any folks)?
The answer is simple: "JC" represents what can best be described as an extreme liberal double standard. He, like many elitists, consider themselves above the same rules that apply to you and I. They are so smart and intuitive that they know whats in our hearts.
Lou Call, Chairman,
Legislative/Research Committee
CCTA (Coastal Carolina Taxpayers Association)
This question was asked of me by one of our liberal residents (we will call him "JC"), in reference to J. Eric Fuller. Where is your compassion for the man Lou?
At a meeting following the Tucson shooting J. Eric Fuller stood up, took a picture of Trent Humphries and said. "Your Dead!" Humphries, incidentally, is the Founder of the Tucson Tea Party and was in attendance at an ABC meeting anchored by Christine Amanpour honoring the victims and heroes and First responders at the Tucson shooting.
I must use RBfree to answer "JC" because he has me blocked and since he hides behind his BLOCKED SENDER function I have no choice but to answer him in this venue (somehow I suspect he will see this).
My compassion is for the victims of this tragedy; for those that died and for those fighting for survival.
I would like to get an answer to this question should any liberal decide to answer. Where is the condemnation of J. Eric Fullers threats that were probably predicated and instigated by the vicious media attacks on Sarah Palin, Bill O'Reilly, the Tea Party etc...(there haven't been any folks)?
The answer is simple: "JC" represents what can best be described as an extreme liberal double standard. He, like many elitists, consider themselves above the same rules that apply to you and I. They are so smart and intuitive that they know whats in our hearts.
Lou Call, Chairman,
Legislative/Research Committee
CCTA (Coastal Carolina Taxpayers Association)
National Right to Work Act
A Letter from Representative Rand Paul (R), KY
Dear Concerned American,
They snickered when I said I came to the U.S. Senate to change Congress.
But their laughter stopped when I sponsored the National Right to Work Act to free U.S. workers from forced unionization and break Big Labor's multi-billion dollar political machine forever.
President Barack Obama and Big Labor allies in the Senate are now feverishly scheming to bury the National Right to Work Act without a vote.
So I have a question for you. Will you be my sledgehammer?
Your signature on the petition to your Congressman and Senators is what is needed to bust through the opposition and force a vote on the National Right to Work Act. This is an opportunity you and I cannot afford to miss.
As you know, the right to decide freely whether or not to join a union was taken away from American workers by Congress almost 75 years ago.
A result of back-room deals between union bosses and their tax-and-spend Congressional puppets, compulsory unionism provisions in federal law currently empower union officials to:
And here's the thing -- the National Right to Work Act is wildly popular with American voters. In fact, for years polls have shown nearly 80% of Americans think it should be against the law to force workers to pay money to union bosses just to get or keep a job.
All you and I have to do is force an up-or-down roll call vote on the National Right to Work Act ... And the American people will do the rest.
Many Democrats and more than a few Republicans elected with Big Labor's over $1 billion in forced-dues political cash cower in fear of casting a vote against the National Right to Work Act.
What will they do when forced to vote? It's a win-win situation -- either they pass the National Right to Work Act and free American workers or they pay in 2012. It will be a marathon battle.
But I will not flinch in the face of opposition and insider attacks. I believe, with your help, this is a fight we will win. And I know it's a fight worth fighting.
You see, the union bosses fear a vote on the National Right to Work Act more than just about anything else. They know it's a losing proposition for them whether the bill passes or not.
The fact is for decades union officials have schemed to seize billions of dollars from their "members" and then used it to elect their candidates to protect these privileges.
This is how Washington -- from Jimmy Carter to Ted Kennedy to Bill Clinton to Nancy Pelosi to Barack Obama -- got to be what it is today.
The National Right to Work Act will turn this entrenched, corrupt Washington order on its head.
Every year Big Labor siphons over $8 BILLION from workers' paychecks; mostly from workers who, if they refused to pay, would be fired from their jobs.
Union bosses take this eye-popping heap of dough to feed a lifestyle of limousines, penthouses and raw political power.
And, my friend, Big Labor's political corruption costs all of us:
The National Right to Work Committee isn't some Johnny-come-lately organization. They've been on the front lines opposing Big Labor for over fifty years.
The National Right to Work Committee is spearheading the effort to rally the American people, just as I am leading the fight here in the Senate.
Without your support for the National Right to Work Committee, we have little chance against Big Labor's money and power in Congress.
That's why I ask you to submit your signed petition, along with the most generous contribution you can afford to the National Right to Work Committee.
In order to pass the National Right to Work Act, the National Right to Work Committee has drawn up an aggressive plan of action:
Every dollar the National Right to Work Committee receives comes from Americans like you -- working folks, shopkeepers, business owners, retirees, farmers, engineers, delivery drivers, homemakers, grandmothers and grandfathers. Not one penny of their funding comes from government.
ABOVE ALL, SIGN THE PETITION! Please do not delay signing the petition or think someone else will carry the load. I count on your support.
Sincerely,
Rand Paul, M.D., U.S. Senator
PS.Tea Party revolts and the election of real outsiders ready to shake up Congress means you and I have an historic opportunity to break the cycle of tax-and-spend, political corruption and out of control budgets caused by Big Labor's compulsory union power.
http://righttoworkcommittee.org/rprtwa_petition.aspx?pid=th1
Dear Concerned American,
They snickered when I said I came to the U.S. Senate to change Congress.
But their laughter stopped when I sponsored the National Right to Work Act to free U.S. workers from forced unionization and break Big Labor's multi-billion dollar political machine forever.
President Barack Obama and Big Labor allies in the Senate are now feverishly scheming to bury the National Right to Work Act without a vote.
So I have a question for you. Will you be my sledgehammer?
Your signature on the petition to your Congressman and Senators is what is needed to bust through the opposition and force a vote on the National Right to Work Act. This is an opportunity you and I cannot afford to miss.
As you know, the right to decide freely whether or not to join a union was taken away from American workers by Congress almost 75 years ago.
A result of back-room deals between union bosses and their tax-and-spend Congressional puppets, compulsory unionism provisions in federal law currently empower union officials to:
- Force nearly 11 million Americans to pay tribute to a union boss to get or keep a job ...
- Brazenly loot union treasuries to fund the election of their hand-picked political puppet candidates like Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid ...
- Terrorize workers and communities with violent strikes -- where they get away with beatings, arson -- even murder.
And here's the thing -- the National Right to Work Act is wildly popular with American voters. In fact, for years polls have shown nearly 80% of Americans think it should be against the law to force workers to pay money to union bosses just to get or keep a job.
All you and I have to do is force an up-or-down roll call vote on the National Right to Work Act ... And the American people will do the rest.
Many Democrats and more than a few Republicans elected with Big Labor's over $1 billion in forced-dues political cash cower in fear of casting a vote against the National Right to Work Act.
What will they do when forced to vote? It's a win-win situation -- either they pass the National Right to Work Act and free American workers or they pay in 2012. It will be a marathon battle.
But I will not flinch in the face of opposition and insider attacks. I believe, with your help, this is a fight we will win. And I know it's a fight worth fighting.
You see, the union bosses fear a vote on the National Right to Work Act more than just about anything else. They know it's a losing proposition for them whether the bill passes or not.
The fact is for decades union officials have schemed to seize billions of dollars from their "members" and then used it to elect their candidates to protect these privileges.
This is how Washington -- from Jimmy Carter to Ted Kennedy to Bill Clinton to Nancy Pelosi to Barack Obama -- got to be what it is today.
The National Right to Work Act will turn this entrenched, corrupt Washington order on its head.
Every year Big Labor siphons over $8 BILLION from workers' paychecks; mostly from workers who, if they refused to pay, would be fired from their jobs.
Union bosses take this eye-popping heap of dough to feed a lifestyle of limousines, penthouses and raw political power.
And, my friend, Big Labor's political corruption costs all of us:
- Hundreds of billions of dollars in bailouts and bloated government spending suck the life out of our economy, rewarding failed businesses like GM and letting union-boss featherbedding and rigged contracts rocket the cost of schools, hospitals and roads through the roof.
- Millions more good-paying jobs destroyed or driven overseas as union czars cripple America's bedrock industries with wasteful work rules, hate-the-boss propaganda and violent strikes.
- You and all Americans robbed of your wealth as the economy stays in recession and the price of cars, gasoline and groceries climbs upwards.
- Small businesses strangled with red tape and bureaucracy designed by greedy union flunkies to kill companies too small for so-called union “organizing.”
The National Right to Work Committee isn't some Johnny-come-lately organization. They've been on the front lines opposing Big Labor for over fifty years.
The National Right to Work Committee is spearheading the effort to rally the American people, just as I am leading the fight here in the Senate.
Without your support for the National Right to Work Committee, we have little chance against Big Labor's money and power in Congress.
That's why I ask you to submit your signed petition, along with the most generous contribution you can afford to the National Right to Work Committee.
In order to pass the National Right to Work Act, the National Right to Work Committee has drawn up an aggressive plan of action:
- Mobilize up to 14 million Americans to stand up for freedom by signing petitions like the one I link to in this email. Only when politicians feel the heat of the people, will they see the light of truth. That's what I meant when I asked you to be my sledgehammer.
- Place full-page newspaper ads and launch intense internet campaigns coast to coast, reminding the American people what Big Labor's power costs all of us in out-of-control government spending, sky-high taxes, a seemingly endless recession, lost jobs and rising prices.
- Inform favorable columnists, talk show hosts and editorial writers nationwide to help mobilize public opinion.
- Run TV and radio ads targeting, if funding permits, wavering Congressmen and Senators in the days leading up to key committee and floor votes.
Every dollar the National Right to Work Committee receives comes from Americans like you -- working folks, shopkeepers, business owners, retirees, farmers, engineers, delivery drivers, homemakers, grandmothers and grandfathers. Not one penny of their funding comes from government.
ABOVE ALL, SIGN THE PETITION! Please do not delay signing the petition or think someone else will carry the load. I count on your support.
Sincerely,
Rand Paul, M.D., U.S. Senator
PS.Tea Party revolts and the election of real outsiders ready to shake up Congress means you and I have an historic opportunity to break the cycle of tax-and-spend, political corruption and out of control budgets caused by Big Labor's compulsory union power.
http://righttoworkcommittee.org/rprtwa_petition.aspx?pid=th1
CAN YOU SAY POLITICAL PAYBACK?
Obama Taps GE Chief to Head Job Board
President Obama is seeking to put a big business stamp of approval on his efforts to generate American jobs as he picks the head of General Electric to lead a new economic recovery board. While in Schenectady, New York, Friday, Obama will name Jeffrey Immelt, the CEO and Chairman of General Electric, as chair of the new ‘President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness’.
Immelt is a familiar face to an administration seeking to put more branches on its business tree. The White House has been struggling with a reputation among Republicans and business leaders alike of favoring big government at the expense of private enterprise.
The announcement is perhaps an attempt to counter that image and serves up a big name for what will become an effort to “promote growth by investing in American business to encourage hiring, to educate and train our workers to compete globally, and to attract the best jobs and businesses to the United States,” said a White House press release.
The council will be created by executive order and will replace the previous iteration: the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board, or PERAB. Obama is allowing that board’s two-year mandate to expire on February 6, as scheduled. PERAB’s future was uncertain after its public face and leader, former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, announced he would step down in recent days. Volcker’s office tells Fox News that it was time for him to move on and that Volcker would be willing to counsel the president in the future, should he ask.
In a statement issued late Thursday night by the White House, Obama previewed his new, refined focus on jobs. “As we enter a new phase in our recovery, I have asked the new Council to focus its work on finding new ways to encourage the private sector to hire and invest in American competitiveness,” he said.
However, the theme is not new. The White House has long leaned on the private sector to boost hiring, but wary business owners have held back, concerned about still uncertain economic conditions.
As the president warms up his engines for 2012, he’s pinning his hopes on an improved job market. Immelt, says Obama, is just the man for the task; “Jeff Immelt’s experience at GE and his understanding of the vital role the private sector plays in creating jobs and making America competitive makes him up to the challenge of leading this new Council.”
(Obama raised more moneyfrom GE in the 2008 Election than had and previous politician. Look at any major Obama policy initiative—healthcare reform, climat-change regulation, embryoni stem-cell research, infrastructure stimulus, electrical transmission smart-grids—and you’ll find GE has set up shop, angling for a way to pocket government handouts, gain business through mandates, or proftit from government regulation. In addition, GE owns the television networks, NBC, CNBC and MSNBC. It is not a stretch to call GE the for-rpofit arm of the Obama administation! READ “Obamanomics” by Timothy P. Carney. See data compiled from the Center for Responsive Politics and OpenSecrets.org.)
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/01/21/ges-immelt-head-obama-economic-panel/?utm_campaign=feed%253a+foxnews%252fpolitics+%2528internal+-+politics+-+text%2529&utm_content=google+feedfetcher&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=feedburner
President Obama is seeking to put a big business stamp of approval on his efforts to generate American jobs as he picks the head of General Electric to lead a new economic recovery board. While in Schenectady, New York, Friday, Obama will name Jeffrey Immelt, the CEO and Chairman of General Electric, as chair of the new ‘President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness’.
Immelt is a familiar face to an administration seeking to put more branches on its business tree. The White House has been struggling with a reputation among Republicans and business leaders alike of favoring big government at the expense of private enterprise.
The announcement is perhaps an attempt to counter that image and serves up a big name for what will become an effort to “promote growth by investing in American business to encourage hiring, to educate and train our workers to compete globally, and to attract the best jobs and businesses to the United States,” said a White House press release.
The council will be created by executive order and will replace the previous iteration: the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board, or PERAB. Obama is allowing that board’s two-year mandate to expire on February 6, as scheduled. PERAB’s future was uncertain after its public face and leader, former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, announced he would step down in recent days. Volcker’s office tells Fox News that it was time for him to move on and that Volcker would be willing to counsel the president in the future, should he ask.
In a statement issued late Thursday night by the White House, Obama previewed his new, refined focus on jobs. “As we enter a new phase in our recovery, I have asked the new Council to focus its work on finding new ways to encourage the private sector to hire and invest in American competitiveness,” he said.
However, the theme is not new. The White House has long leaned on the private sector to boost hiring, but wary business owners have held back, concerned about still uncertain economic conditions.
As the president warms up his engines for 2012, he’s pinning his hopes on an improved job market. Immelt, says Obama, is just the man for the task; “Jeff Immelt’s experience at GE and his understanding of the vital role the private sector plays in creating jobs and making America competitive makes him up to the challenge of leading this new Council.”
(Obama raised more moneyfrom GE in the 2008 Election than had and previous politician. Look at any major Obama policy initiative—healthcare reform, climat-change regulation, embryoni stem-cell research, infrastructure stimulus, electrical transmission smart-grids—and you’ll find GE has set up shop, angling for a way to pocket government handouts, gain business through mandates, or proftit from government regulation. In addition, GE owns the television networks, NBC, CNBC and MSNBC. It is not a stretch to call GE the for-rpofit arm of the Obama administation! READ “Obamanomics” by Timothy P. Carney. See data compiled from the Center for Responsive Politics and OpenSecrets.org.)
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/01/21/ges-immelt-head-obama-economic-panel/?utm_campaign=feed%253a+foxnews%252fpolitics+%2528internal+-+politics+-+text%2529&utm_content=google+feedfetcher&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=feedburner
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
CCTA CONTINUES TO FIGHT FOR TAXPAYERS!
Coastal Carolina Taxpayers Association (CCTA) guided by Hal James, Chairman, Watchdog Committee along with other hardworking patriots have made great strides in looking into our local Craven County Govenment and particularly, property tax assesments. Much more work is ahead! We appreciat their hard work on our behalf! See Hal's message to members below.
CCTA MEMBERS AND FRIENDSWell, we're off to another year of looking out for the citizens and taxpayers. Thanks to each of you who have given of your time, money and talents on behalf the taxpayers.
Please don't feel you have to wait for a monthly report to the CCTA to let me know what has gone on that you want us all to know about. Let's have running dialog.
Yesterday I attended the Craven County Board of Commissioners meeting. From our point of view it was much improved over the activities of the previous board, but still has a long way to go to really be informative and responsive to the citizens and taxpayers of Craven County.
First, much to his credit, Scott Dacey orchestrated input from "stake holders" on the issue of moving the magistrates to the Jail complex at Clarks. Many representatives of the law enforcement community were heard from. Sheriffs, police chiefs, the State Patrol, deputies, etc. all made their opinions known. All of these people wanted to move the magistrates to Clarks for the safety and convenience of their people. Sheriff Monette made a case for it saving about $1,000,000 per year of taxpayers' money.
The Clerk's office and magistrates were also heard from. The consensus among them seemed to be a concern for the paperwork and inconvience of the magistrates in handling their work if they move out to Clarks. the Bar Association was also heard from. Gary Clemmons, civil lawyer, made the point that Chief District Court Judge Jerry Waddell has the power to put the magistrates where he wants to and not the Board of Commissioners. The County Attorney agreed. But, to me, the most interesting points were made by Kyle Smith, criminal lawyer, that there would be great inconvience and cost to the citizens if the magistrates were moved to Clarks. He pointed out that law enforcement officers will not get a warrant for the arrest of a citizen for a misdemeanor. So in a domestic disturbance, the wife or aggrieved party would have to get to the magistrate out at Clarks and swear out a warrant. The same would be true of a small business person wanting to get a warrant for passing a bad check. Probably just would not go to the trouble. Commissioner Sampson agreed that a lot of people from his District have to walk to the courthouse and would be adversely affected.
Another interesting aspect of all this was the input of the Bondsman, Reginald Beaslely. It had to do with getting prisoners released promptly when they are eligible for parole. He said Craven County is the only county that requires a magistrate to sign the release. The rest of the counties allow the bondsmen to handle releases directly with the jail personnel. He said changing this to handle it as other counies do could solve the problem of releasing these people promptly and cut down on the prison population and save the taxpayers money and treat citizens more fairly and compassionately too.
A piece of good news came from Erin Burridge, director of Elections Department. She stated that more of her records would be placed on the county's website and available that way to the public. Halleluiah!
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE LEGAL OPINION ON ASSESSING LAND USE VALUE FOR FARMERS? In his report at he end of the meeting, Jeff Taylor thanked Tyker Gonzales for all her hard work on behalf of the farmers in his District and the whole county. He read an email from Michael Brown of the NC Dept of Revenue, stating that the statues on present value land use for farmers was very clear and that the county owes McCoy Farms a refund. After the meeting I asked Jeff why he had not told the "rest of the story." He did not know what I was talking about. Mr. Brown, Dept of Revenue, had sent another email telling Dan Jenkins of the assessors office that 28 farmers in Craven county had been overtaxed and were due a refund. I gave a copy of that email to Jeff and he said he would take it up with the other commissioners.
WHY AREN'T THEY DOING ANYTHING ABOUT THIS? I guess time will tell. These assessors are unlawfully taking taxpayer money and now the North Carolina Dept of Revenue agrees. GREAT JOB, TYKER!
Jason Jones, President of the Craven County Farm Bureau and until last month, a member of the Craven County Board of Commissioners, has written a letter to the editor of the Sun Journal that he has titled "A Craven County Hero." In it he outlines what Tyker has achieved in helping farmers and landowners in Craven County receive fair and equitable treatment in the tax values assigned their property. Wow! That is great. I can't wait to see it in print.
The "dog and pony" shows the Commissioners put on to convence us of what a great job directors of the various departments of the county government are doing is a big waste of time and totally uninformative to the citizens and taxpayers. These directors are constantly referring to the "package" the commissioners have that no one else is privy to and the public can't follow the proceedings without them. They often don't seem to know the cost/benefit of their departments and can't answer simple questions when they are asked of them. Yet, they are let off the hook and sent on their way with a pat on the head and a smile and a compliment about what a good job they are doing.
And, oh yes, the commissioners still vote unanimously to spend our federal and state tax money (as long as there are no county contributions) as if money grows on trees or the treasury or Federal Reserve Bank can just print more indefinitely. This meeting saw $122,084 dollars of taxpayer money go to the Department of Social Rip Off for Crisis Intervention. Whatever the heck that is. (sorry, I'm just getting so disgusted). This goes on all over our nation. When will it ever be stopped?
After the meeting I talked to Sue Brook, reporter for the Sun Journal about the assessors rip off of the farmers. She said she would look into it.
One of our newest members, Tony Bonnici, sent me an email showing the result of his research about the Soliel Group. In New Bern they own The Hilton, formerly the Sheraton, the Marina and Sky Sail Condos. Tony's research shows that they owe the taxpayers of the City and County $966.807.89 (almost a million bucks). I have more details on this if anyone wants to see it.
Keep up the good work and please keep me informed.
Hal James
Chairman, CCTA Watchdog Committee
FOR MORE INFORMATION READ THE FOLLOWING:
County may have no authority to move magistrate to Clarks jail
http://www.newbernsj.com/news/county-94107-jail-clarks.html
Aldermen to consider sculpture plan
http://www.newbernsj.com/news/sculpture-90517-commissioners-county.html
Woman's research helps lower neighbors' tax bill.
http://www.newbernsj.com/sections/article/gallery/?pic=1&id=91227
Law vs. rules: http://www.newbernsj.com/articles/reading-93831-rules-article.html
County to seek legal opinion on assessing farmland taxes
http://www.newbernsj.com/news/county-93723-seek-attorney.html
CCTA MEMBERS AND FRIENDSWell, we're off to another year of looking out for the citizens and taxpayers. Thanks to each of you who have given of your time, money and talents on behalf the taxpayers.
Please don't feel you have to wait for a monthly report to the CCTA to let me know what has gone on that you want us all to know about. Let's have running dialog.
Yesterday I attended the Craven County Board of Commissioners meeting. From our point of view it was much improved over the activities of the previous board, but still has a long way to go to really be informative and responsive to the citizens and taxpayers of Craven County.
First, much to his credit, Scott Dacey orchestrated input from "stake holders" on the issue of moving the magistrates to the Jail complex at Clarks. Many representatives of the law enforcement community were heard from. Sheriffs, police chiefs, the State Patrol, deputies, etc. all made their opinions known. All of these people wanted to move the magistrates to Clarks for the safety and convenience of their people. Sheriff Monette made a case for it saving about $1,000,000 per year of taxpayers' money.
The Clerk's office and magistrates were also heard from. The consensus among them seemed to be a concern for the paperwork and inconvience of the magistrates in handling their work if they move out to Clarks. the Bar Association was also heard from. Gary Clemmons, civil lawyer, made the point that Chief District Court Judge Jerry Waddell has the power to put the magistrates where he wants to and not the Board of Commissioners. The County Attorney agreed. But, to me, the most interesting points were made by Kyle Smith, criminal lawyer, that there would be great inconvience and cost to the citizens if the magistrates were moved to Clarks. He pointed out that law enforcement officers will not get a warrant for the arrest of a citizen for a misdemeanor. So in a domestic disturbance, the wife or aggrieved party would have to get to the magistrate out at Clarks and swear out a warrant. The same would be true of a small business person wanting to get a warrant for passing a bad check. Probably just would not go to the trouble. Commissioner Sampson agreed that a lot of people from his District have to walk to the courthouse and would be adversely affected.
Another interesting aspect of all this was the input of the Bondsman, Reginald Beaslely. It had to do with getting prisoners released promptly when they are eligible for parole. He said Craven County is the only county that requires a magistrate to sign the release. The rest of the counties allow the bondsmen to handle releases directly with the jail personnel. He said changing this to handle it as other counies do could solve the problem of releasing these people promptly and cut down on the prison population and save the taxpayers money and treat citizens more fairly and compassionately too.
A piece of good news came from Erin Burridge, director of Elections Department. She stated that more of her records would be placed on the county's website and available that way to the public. Halleluiah!
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE LEGAL OPINION ON ASSESSING LAND USE VALUE FOR FARMERS? In his report at he end of the meeting, Jeff Taylor thanked Tyker Gonzales for all her hard work on behalf of the farmers in his District and the whole county. He read an email from Michael Brown of the NC Dept of Revenue, stating that the statues on present value land use for farmers was very clear and that the county owes McCoy Farms a refund. After the meeting I asked Jeff why he had not told the "rest of the story." He did not know what I was talking about. Mr. Brown, Dept of Revenue, had sent another email telling Dan Jenkins of the assessors office that 28 farmers in Craven county had been overtaxed and were due a refund. I gave a copy of that email to Jeff and he said he would take it up with the other commissioners.
WHY AREN'T THEY DOING ANYTHING ABOUT THIS? I guess time will tell. These assessors are unlawfully taking taxpayer money and now the North Carolina Dept of Revenue agrees. GREAT JOB, TYKER!
Jason Jones, President of the Craven County Farm Bureau and until last month, a member of the Craven County Board of Commissioners, has written a letter to the editor of the Sun Journal that he has titled "A Craven County Hero." In it he outlines what Tyker has achieved in helping farmers and landowners in Craven County receive fair and equitable treatment in the tax values assigned their property. Wow! That is great. I can't wait to see it in print.
The "dog and pony" shows the Commissioners put on to convence us of what a great job directors of the various departments of the county government are doing is a big waste of time and totally uninformative to the citizens and taxpayers. These directors are constantly referring to the "package" the commissioners have that no one else is privy to and the public can't follow the proceedings without them. They often don't seem to know the cost/benefit of their departments and can't answer simple questions when they are asked of them. Yet, they are let off the hook and sent on their way with a pat on the head and a smile and a compliment about what a good job they are doing.
And, oh yes, the commissioners still vote unanimously to spend our federal and state tax money (as long as there are no county contributions) as if money grows on trees or the treasury or Federal Reserve Bank can just print more indefinitely. This meeting saw $122,084 dollars of taxpayer money go to the Department of Social Rip Off for Crisis Intervention. Whatever the heck that is. (sorry, I'm just getting so disgusted). This goes on all over our nation. When will it ever be stopped?
After the meeting I talked to Sue Brook, reporter for the Sun Journal about the assessors rip off of the farmers. She said she would look into it.
One of our newest members, Tony Bonnici, sent me an email showing the result of his research about the Soliel Group. In New Bern they own The Hilton, formerly the Sheraton, the Marina and Sky Sail Condos. Tony's research shows that they owe the taxpayers of the City and County $966.807.89 (almost a million bucks). I have more details on this if anyone wants to see it.
Keep up the good work and please keep me informed.
Hal James
Chairman, CCTA Watchdog Committee
FOR MORE INFORMATION READ THE FOLLOWING:
County may have no authority to move magistrate to Clarks jail
http://www.newbernsj.com/news/county-94107-jail-clarks.html
Aldermen to consider sculpture plan
http://www.newbernsj.com/news/sculpture-90517-commissioners-county.html
Woman's research helps lower neighbors' tax bill.
http://www.newbernsj.com/sections/article/gallery/?pic=1&id=91227
Law vs. rules: http://www.newbernsj.com/articles/reading-93831-rules-article.html
County to seek legal opinion on assessing farmland taxes
http://www.newbernsj.com/news/county-93723-seek-attorney.html
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