Remembering the Fallen

On Memorial Day, we remember those that have fallen.

On Memorial Day, we remember the lives that have been lost. The people who have given everything to their country. Not because they had to. Not because it was “just a job”. But because a handful of our nations brightest and best decided that it was their calling to serve and protect this country. While you all are grilling out, and swimming, and enjoying this beginning of summer with friends and family, take some time, say a prayer, and remember those that have died to help protect this country.

I always think about a conversation I had with a buddy of mine at work.

We were talking about a fellow co-worker, James, and how he continually signs up to go back overseas. My buddy says, “Man, I don’t know how he does it. Every time he comes back to work, he’s only back for maybe a year and he signs back up for another tour and is off again! I don’t get it.”

Myself, also not being a military person, responded back, “Yeah, I don’t get it either. I don’t know how he leaves his family and children behind to go overseas. But you know what? Thank God for people like James, because if it wasn’t for people like James, you and I would be crapping ourselves in a ditch somewhere right now.”

And that’s the truth.

Always remember.

Cross-posted at www.mattersofopinion.net, www.ktracy.com, and www.thepetersonpost.com

Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?

That’s me, meeting my beautiful son Gage for the first time a little over a year ago. It was the first time that my life went from “should do’s”, and “can do’s”…and was replaced by a slew of “have to’s”. It’s a part of becoming an adult. Becoming a man. Not an older child, but a responsible father and husband who HAS to work, pay bills, and support his family. At least, that’s the way it’s supposed to work.

My concern with so many in my age group (Hell, plenty of others that are much older than I am) is that the actual “men” are becoming more and more scarce. So many fathers of schlepping off their responsibilities in lieu of a good time, and so many “adults” aren’t too concerned about holding up their end of the anatomical bargain.

For example, today: I worked day turns, which means I had to be up by 4:30 AM (0430 for my military friends out there) and didn’t get home from work until about 3:15 PM (or 1515). My father needed help bailing hay, and so I went over to his house to bail hay. At about 7:30 PM (1930…I realize after starting the trend of doing this that it is a bit redundant, so from here on out, no more military times) I got home, showered, ate some left overs, and have held/played with Gage until…ohhhh….fifteen minutes ago. Needless to say, I’m exhausted and need to go to bed: but first, I needed to write this post.

Not every person my age would put himself through a day like today. A day full of hard work, helping out family, and sore muscles. I’m not doting on myself or pissing and moaning about my day, don’t get me wrong. I’m simply using my day as an example of what adults do, and do quite often.

That’s also, not to say, that one has to perform physical labor to be a “man”. A banker could just as easily be a man, but his long hours and sacrifice are of a different kind than mind (probably more mental and stressful, to be honest). And I know some college students who don’t even work who I consider “men”, or “adults”, because of their responsibility and leadership role taking abilities!

My point, after almost 400 words of rambling…is that real men are starting to become more and more scarce, and part of the problem is this view that has been fed to my generation from society that we are still “kids”. I’m sorry, but at the age of 18, it’s time for you to step up to the plate and start swinging! That’s not to say that your first job is going to be your dream career choice, or your first girlfriend is going to be the person you end up marrying, but it’s important to take that teet out of one’s mouth and start venturing out on one’s own! Start learning some responsibility!

And now, with the latest health care bill (“children” can stay on Mommy and Daddy’s health insurance until they are 26 now! Awesome! Even MORE 26 year old children!) we are again being told that our children don’t have to grow up and figure this crap out. It’s disturbing.

Let me throw a hypothetical scenario out there. I’m almost 24. I’m married, have one child, and another on the way. I could, theoretically, have FOUR extra people on my fathers health insurance. Not to mention my sister, brother, and mother! How, again, are premiums supposed to go down?

On top of that, it’s disturbing the number of “adults” who:

• don’t have a job, and haven’t been serious about looking for one
• still live with their mom and dad (college students excluded, of course)
• don’t show up to work, if they HAVE a job
• can’t change a tire
• don’t care to learn how to change a tire
• don’t pay their own bills
• [fill in blank here]

Now I’m not saying that I’m “Mr. Manly McManster” here or anything. I’m not suggesting I can chug ten beers and smash all the cans on my forehead while playing football and lifting weights all at the same time. To be an adult, a “man” as compared to a “boy”, requires so much more, and quite frankly, more than I could even type tonight! It’s caring for your wife when she’s having morning sickness and missing your favorite TV show. It’s continually taking the stroller in and out and in and out and in and out of the car while going around to garage sales. It’s helping your 50 something year old father bail hay because he needs the help, it’s showing up to work and making money to support your family, it’s making hard decisions and, when times are tough, eating Ramon so that your wife can have something better. It’s seeing your son being born, and not being able to stop yourself from crying, because you never thought that you could love anything so much, and then making a pledge to always be there to take care of him.

It’s having morals, not cheating on your wife, it’s…so many things. Yet none of the above things may be YOUR things. And I don’t claim to be perfect. My wife tells me I can lose my cool sometimes and get angry (especially at stupid people), and though I can hardly believe it myself (as the sarcasm drips from the computer screen), I’ll take her word for it and address the issue.

To all the men out there, I hope that you take your life roles very seriously. I hope that you are true “men”, not just grown up “boys” who can vote, be drafted, and buy cigarettes.

Cross-posted at www.mattersofopinion.net and www.ktracy.com

What would a successful county RLC look like?

The Lake County Chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus is going through its chartering approval process as we speak. I've read a great deal about how things are less than good in Lake County. I'd like to turn things around and ask, how should a new pro-liberty group like the Lake County RLC behave so that the county takes a turn for the better.

Now's your chance to give useful advice. I will listen.

The coffee creek saga

In what has become the longest running slow motion car crash in Northwest Indiana developments, once again coffee creek in Chesterton is in the news. The Times reports that a bank is Illinois is owed $12 million by the developers and is suing for default.

I have some personal experience with this development, and a whole lot of dismay that a terrific idea has been so thoroughly destroyed by small minded and petty leaders. Some highlights, and feel free to add your own recollections:

• Sand Creek was originally the private course for one of the steel mills, I think US Steel
• Sand Creek was at some point developed for housing, and things went bad back in the 80's
  
• Sand Creek was sold off to NIPSCO under a for profit non regulated unit called Lake Eerie Land Company. The realtors who were marketing the site were essentially pulled in house and Lake Eerie Land began purchasing more land adjacent.
• In the mid-90's a movement which is alternately called neo-urbanism or new urbanism rose up, and Lake Eerie Land designed a substantial project adjacent to Sand Creek Country Club which would feature a downtown, lifestyle mall, hundreds of homes, and live work style community. Coffee Creek would eventually win numerous national awards for planning and design, but the market in NW Indiana wasn't quite ready.
• Local home builders were always thought to be too small and too normal, so they were overlooked and under-utilized, the Coffee Creek marketers kept thinking that it was going to have to be a big builder or group from Chicago. One entire section of Coffee Creek was sold to the Carpenters Union as a fully developed neighborhood investment, for roughly 5 times its actual value and it was actually never fully developed.
  
• Ultimately it became whispered knowledge that the realtors, now in house, for Coffee Creek paid some incentives to get the Carpenters Union to buy this bad investment, and some of these guys ultimately went to jail. Still the project sat with roughly a dozen homes on 1,000 acres. No retail, no lifestyle center, no neo-urbanism.
• Some apartments, more traditional, were developed. Some retail along the main non-urban road was developed, with a big lease from Lake Eerie Land Company to help the financing. The park was finished, and is used by thousands of people for free every week ... I've always been curious who pays the freight on taking care of that park.
• When NIPSCO decided it was time to get rid of Coffee Creek in 2003 they decided to "sell" the whole thing to an Illinois developer who agreed to buy it over 10 years on contract payments, and then that developer went out and tried to re-sell the land in blocks. I was part of these conversations, and was offered 700 lots for roughly 3 times what they were actually worth. Obviously I walked away, sadly because I actually like the project and wish they would have worked with someone, anyone who knew what they were doing.

Fast forward, some townhomes have been developed by an Illinois builder and the far south end features a couple medical facilities and Bob Evans and a hotel. But there is still 1,000 acres undeveloped with some terrific "planning" going back 15 years, and a world class park. Who actually owns the site? Who will own the site when this bank is forced to foreclose?

More later, would love to have some readers add details in comments, I'll update this post as I get more details.

SEIU....in November.

SEIU....in November. 

(sung to "See You In September")

I'll sit and moan each and every night

maybe someday I'll get up and fight

Bye bye so long farewell

Our nation goes to hell

SEIU....in November.  

Yes I'll see you, when the summer's through...

Here we are (bye freedom goodbye) having such fun as a nation (bye freedom goodbye)

forced indoctrination, (bye freedom goodbye) is having it's way. (bye freedom goodbye)

Call out SEIU in November 

Call out SEIU or our country's through

Call out SEIU in November

Or lose it to the lefty loons

(poor kid alone just 14 years old) 

(Obama's lackeys do what they're told)

Will we vote out Obamanation 

or watch as bullies do what bullies do?

Call out SEIU in November 

Call out SEIU or our country's through

Call out SEIU in November

Or lose it to the lefty loons

backing chorus

Bye bye so long farewell

Our nation goes to hell

bye bye so long farewell

our nation goes to hell

Call out SEIU in November Bye bye so long farewell

Oh year call out SEIU in November Our nation goes to hell

Yeah vote out the SEIU in November Bye bye so long farewell

I'm hoping I'll see you in November Our nation goes to hell

Hat tip to The Happenings who made a great summer song in 1966, a cover of

The Tempos original 1959 classic. 

500 SEIU bully-boys vs. 1 14-year-old.

Admittedly, usually decent odds for the 14-year-old.

Posted by Moe Lane (Profile)

Saturday, May 22nd at 12:29PM EDT

Nina Easton* got to meet the faux-populists of SEIU up close and personal:

Last Sunday, on a peaceful, sun-crisp afternoon, our toddler finally napping upstairs, my front yard exploded with 500 screaming, placard-waving strangers on a mission to intimidate my neighbor, Greg Baer. Baer is deputy general counsel for corporate law at Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500), a senior executive based in Washington, D.C. And that — in the minds of the organizers at the politically influential Service Employees International Union and a Chicago outfit called National Political Action — makes his family fair game.
Waving signs denouncing bank “greed,” hordes of invaders poured out of 14 school buses, up Baer’s steps, and onto his front porch. As bullhorns rattled with stories of debtor calls and foreclosed homes, Baer’s teenage son Jack — alone in the house — locked himself in the bathroom. “When are they going to leave?” Jack pleaded when I called to check on him.

Just a couple other things to note: the normally media-loving SEIU didn’t bring the media, the SEIU’s trying to unionize BoA, SEIU owes BoA several million dollars, and the intended victim is himself a Democrat.  AND HOW’S THAT WORKING OUT FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY, GREG?

Anyway, read Big Journalism for more unsavory details - but guess what, taxpayers!  Your tax money was spent on police support for union intimidation of a child!  Doesn’t that make you all warm and fuzzy inside? - and check out Hot Air to see the video of the liberal defending the SEIU while pretending not to. 



You know, I’d ask what DCCC chair Chris Van Hollen (whose district this is) is planning to do about this particular act of union intimidation of a child, except that I’m too afraid that Van Hollen would tell us what he did when he heard about it…

Moe Lane

*Yup, already smeared by the Left.  Incompetently, but that’s par for the course for Media Matters for America.

Crossposted to Moe Lane.

Rand's Fumble

It is without question that Rand Paul fumbled the Maddow interview after delivering a shocking, but expected, defeat to the Rockefeller Republican establishment. No one will debate that. What is of debate is Rand's position taken.

Conservatives have always been horrible at explaining our positions, Rand's fumble is evidence thereof. The socialists media is very well practiced at placing land mines and waiting for us conservatives to walk over and Rand walked right into that one.

From my perspective and for a little advise, it is always best to turn the question back on the individual attempting to set the trap. He should have came at it from a free market point of view saying something to the affect of:

Do you believe in free markets? Do you believe that boycotts can and do work, when the market reacts accordingly? Instead we often rely on the strong hand of government to do our bidding which in turn can and does lead to tyrannical oversight.

However, Judge Andrew Napolitano does perhaps make the best defensive argument (link to full blog):

...It is the latter prohibition that Rand Paul has argued puts the nose of the federal camel under the private property owners’ tent. The logic of his argument informs that if the feds can compel a restaurateur or bar owner to admit and serve those whom he prefers not to admit and serve on the basis of race, then the same feds can force lesbian bars to admit straight frat boys; can force a Jewish youth group on a state college to admit Holocaust deniers; can compel the Catholic Church to hire abortionists; and can force daycare centers to permit parents to carry guns in the presence of babies on the private property of the day care facility. It might even be able to compel the Congressional Black Caucus to admit white Members of Congress. The list of potential interferences with the right to use and enjoy private property and the right to associate is potentially endless once one grants the feds the power to enact any regulation not authorized by the Constitution.

No matter how noble the federal purpose, there will be no limit to the prohibitions the feds might impose--like the size of toilet bowls, the strength of water pressure in showers, the wattage of light bulbs, to name a few. Dr. Paul’s argument is based, as well, on the natural right to use and enjoy private property as one wishes, and the essence of that use and enjoyment is the right to exclude whomever one wishes--even the government--from one’s private property. This right is enshrined in the fabric of American values in the Declaration of Independence.

It is odd that Rand Paul should be singled out for his principled defense of property rights when the person who is currently third in line for the Presidency made vast racial arguments in his filibuster against the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and still sits in the Senate. That is the 90 year old ex-KKK member who is currently Senate President Pro-Temp, Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV).

LaPorte Councilman and DUI

From the NWi Times:

A member of the LaPorte County Council almost collided with a police vehicle then was arrested for drunk driving, police said.

Matthew Bernacchi, 28, of 3885 W. Timber Ridge Road was booked into the LaPorte County Jail early Sunday for Class A misdemeanor operating while intoxicated.

According to LaPorte County Police, at about 12:30 a.m. Sunday, a 2010 Dodge Ram pick-up truck pulled out of an alley on Michigan Avenue in front of LaPorte City Hall.

LaPorte County Police Sgt. Mike Kellems had just arrested a drunk driving suspect and was taking that offender to the county jail.

Kellems said he had to brake hard and steer quickly to his right to avoid a head-on collision with the driver later identified as Bernacchi.

Kellems said he noticed the vehicle start to pull out in front of him soon enough to avoid a collision.

''It wasn't as close as it could have been,'' Kellems said.

After alerting other officers, another patrolman followed the vehicle northbound over the U.S. 35 overpass.

Police said Bernacchi veered across the center line four times in less than a quarter mile before stopping in the parking lot of Taco Bell, 202 Pine Lake Ave.

According to county police, Bernacchi told the arresting officers ''I know I've been drinking.'' He then submitted to a certified Breathalyzer test and failed with an alleged blood alcohol concentration of .18 percent, more than twice the legal limit.

Bernacchi, a Democrat, was elected to his first term on the county council in 2008.

Does Barack Obama hate America? Anyone?

71 per cent of Arizona citizens favor the Arizona Immigration bill, according to the latest Rasmussen poll. Now that makes sense, illegal immigrants are killing people in Arizona, kidnapping them, bringing in drugs, taking jobs and draining the treasury.

Depending upon the poll, probably 65 to 75 per cent of Americans want the laws against illegal immigration upheld. Now even Democrats by a slight margin favor the Arizona law. What does the law do? It upholds the Federal Law!!!

Barack Obama hated the law before he read it and so did Eric Holder the Attorney General. Janet Napolitano is a hypocrite of the highest order because for years and years she begged the Federal government to help her deal with illegal immigration while SHE was GOVERNOR of Arizona and now that she has a Homeland Security job she flip-flops.




Unemployment when Republicans controlled congress in 2008 was 4.4 per cent. It is more than double that now.

Republicans were crying out to stop the AIG/Fannie/Freddie debacle in which bad mortgages were bundled with good and all sold at a profit. The lenders were taking just about anyone who could crawl through the door and even giving 125 per cent loans because they knew they could sell it and walk away. Lenders walked off with profits, poor people got basically free housing for a few months before they were booted out and the economy was crunched by the mortgage banking industry taking a dive. We could see this coming but Chris Dodd and Barney Frank and all the Democrats in control of the banking industry were getting lots of money from bankers to let it go on. I mean, really, who was going to lose? Just the American people. The Federal government probably doesn't give a rip about us, frankly. We are just the hosts that the Big Leeches want to bleed dry.

Cash for clunkers was an epic fail.

Every bailout was an excuse for pork barrel politics and another chunk of national debt.

Obama is spending money that we don't have and our children won't have. He wants to greatly increase our debt and let the Bush tax cuts expire and then use cap and tax to kill the economy for the sake of CCX fat cats who wish to get fatter.

So before I just keep on ranting, I want to know what readers think. Remember that Barack Obama's "pastor" for twenty years said "God **** America?" Is that what Barack Obama wants? Does he want to destroy the country and then take his millions of dollars and move to some little island in the Pacific away from it all?



What in the world is the man doing? Quadrupling the debt, humiliating our allies, sucking up to our enemies, making a farce of being Commander in Chief? Anyone?

Rantmosphere!!!!!!!

What Does a Rand Paul Win Mean?

Probably not very much.

I'm more than willing to be fair here. I know very little about Rand. However if he tows the exact same lines as his dad, I'll tell you right now, I'm probably not going to be a fan. The fact that he won so big over the establishments pick is largely a combination of the fact that he had a large TEA Party support group and ran against the, well, establishment, in a year when anti-establishment sentiments ran high.

Kudos to Rand Paul, for what it's worth, the Republican voters in Kentucky chose you to represent them in the general election, and so it is what it is.

However, there were two separate aspects to this story that burn straight through to the front, for me at least.

First, there can no longer be any argument of the overwhelming libertarian presence in the TEA Parties. Some have argued that this isn't the case at all, and that it is about traditionalism, more than anything, but if you look at two primaries where TEA Party groups either openly endorsed or had a large amount of people endorsing a certain candidate over others, you'll see those candidates are the libertarian picks: Hostettler here in Indiana, and Paul in Kentucky. If that's the case, that's fine. Don't misunderstand this point to come across as condescending. If the TEA Party is going to be an arm for the libertarian party or the Liberty Caucus of the Republican Party, so be it. It will at least establish where the groups stand on candidates and issues instead of claiming to be all things to everyone.

The second aspect of this story is that Paul had a great promotional backer in Sarah Palin.

Now, anybody that has libertarian friends on Facebook will note the numerous links by libertarian groups who despise her because they believe her to be a "neo-con" (which , according to her rhetoric, is probably the case). So, in order for Sarah Palin to support a libertarian candidate, one of a couple of things would have to be true.

1)Sarah Palin doesn't know ANYTHING and vetting people she supports because she's a populist at heart. If Palin were to have properly looked into Paul's background regarding his families foreign policy and the conflicts that arise with her own foriegn policy rhetoric, she would have backed away from supporting him.

2)Sarah Palin has consistently lied, through her rhetoric on foriegn policy, and is actually much more in line with libertarian isolationism. This makes Sarah Palin just another lieing politician, which she claims to despise.

3)Rand Paul is actually more of a hawk than his father. This is a possibility, and would be the most rational explanation of why Palin would throw her name behind Paul in the first place. Perhaps he is a bit more of a realist than his father is, regarding foreign policy? If he were to be a hawkish, social conservative, economic libertarian, then hell, I'd probably start supporting him myself.

4)The last possibility would be that Sarah Palin may have made a political play, weighed the odds, and wanted to have her name behind the winning candidate for future political endeavors. This may be the most realistic of the four possible scenarios, and perhaps the least perplexing as well, since it would be worse than her lying about where Palin stood on issues: it would show that she would be willing to sell herself out to make the appearance that she can make winners.

So which of these four outcomes is the most likely?

Meeting Notice - Come to the Republican Liberty Caucus

Teapartiers, Mike Pence, Ron Paulers, Reagan Rebulicans, Goldwater Folk, Jim DeMint, Rand Paul, Gary Johnson, Ross Perot, John Hostettler, Marlin Stuzman... ACTIVIST.

If any of those groups or names have ever applied to you, then think about adding one more:

The Republican Liberty Caucus.

“Bringing the Activists to the Party and the Party to the Activists since 1991”
“The conscience of the Republican Party”

The Republican Liberty Caucus of Indiana is sponsoring a Call Out Meeting on Saturday May 22, 1:30pm @ Boston's in Schererville on US30.

The RLC is working to build a grassroots network of American citizens who champion our country’s Founding principles. By empowering grassroots activists across the country via our national network and state/local affiliates, the Republican Liberty Caucus works to move Republican Party policies and candidates in the direction of liberty. At the same time, we are able to help transform concerned liberty-loving citizens into party leaders and elected citizen-legislators.

With activists in every state, a prominent Board of Advisors, and many elected members working to enact our vision for a free America, The Republican Liberty Caucus recruits and endorses select candidates who support individual liberty and limited government. In doing so, we are able to change the direction of the Republican Party — and shift American policies and politics to once again value our cherished Founding principles.

Over the past eighteen years, the Republican Liberty Caucus has endorsed and contributed financially to principled pro-liberty candidates and has encouraged its supporters to become active in their campaigns. In 2008, the RLC endorsed over 230 liberty Republican candidates and launched its new blog.

The Republican Liberty Caucus is leading the Republican Party home, but we cannot exist without your generosity. Please review how you can become involved either on the web at our home site or with one of our organization representatives. Also, on the web, please view ways to support our growing caucus or discuss that with an organizational representative. One example of ways to support is:

The Republican Liberty Caucus of Indiana is sponsoring a Call Out Meeting on Saturday May 22, 1:30pm @ Boston's in Schererville on US30 in their patio section. Allow the activists to come out in you.

See you there!!!

In Liberty,
The Republican Liberty Caucus of Indiana
INRLC.org

Indiana Congressman Souder to resign

I've embedded a poll to the right with the names suggested so far for the 3rd Congressional Special Election. Please vote! Also thanks to the TCOT Report for giving us links and traffic last nite.

The dust will barely settle before names will surface to take the seat - who?

Update: First blogger to call for Marlin Stutzman to be replacement.
Fort Wayne Observed with procedure for replacement.

State Rep. Randy Borror has announced he's running the special election, and did so 7 hours after the story broke. Nice!

Marlin Stutzman released a statement last nite that he was carefully considering the option of running. Expecting some additional statement tomorrow or Friday.

Official Statement from Rep. Souder

From Politico:

Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.), a former congressional staffer who was elected to the House in the Republican revolution of 1994, has told colleagues he will resign Tuesday because of an affair with a female aide, a House GOP official told POLITICO.

Souder has scheduled an announcement about his future for 10 a.m. today at his congressional office in Ft. Wayne.

Souder is married and has three children.

He informed Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) of the affair on Sunday. Boehner told the Indiana Republican he should resign, according to GOP sources.

“Boehner has been perfectly clear that he will hold our members to the highest ethical standards,” said Michael Steel, Boehner's spokesman.

The news about Souder comes just two months after former Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) stepped down following revelations that he was under investigation by the House ethics committee over allegations that he sexually harassed male staffers.

And Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) faces criminal and Senate Ethics Committee investigations over his affair with Cindy Hampton, wife of a former top Ensign aide. Ensign announced the affair last June but has refused calls to leave office.

Souder's office did not return calls and e-mails seeking comment.

Souder was an aide to former Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.) before being elected to Congress. Coats is running this year to return to the Senate.

A hard-line conservative, Souder recently survived a tough GOP primary in the Hoosier State, edging two opponents who held him under 50 percent. Souder’s Republican rivals criticized Souder over his support for the TARP and “cash-for-clunkers” programs. Souder was forced to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign funds to beat back the challenge

Souder’s Democratic challenger in November is Dr. Tom Hayhurst, a former Fort Wayne councilman who Souder beat back in 2006.

Details on Replacement Process from Secretary of State Todd Rokita's office:Governor will call special election to fill vacant seat in U.S. House of Representatives; party caucus to select nominee for November election

(Indianapolis) – Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita outlined the following procedures today upon learning of the resignation of Congressman Mark Souder:

1) How long will the seat remain vacant?

Under Indiana Code 3-10-8-1(3), the seat will remain vacant until a special election is held. The winner of the election must then take the oath of office and be seated by the U.S. House of Representatives.

Unlike the U.S. Senate where vacancies are filled by gubernatorial appointment, there is no appointment to fill a vacancy in the U.S. House. Under Article 1, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, vacancies in the U.S. House must be filled by special election.

2) When will the special election be held?

A resignation must be submitted to the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Typically, a resignation will indicate its effective date.

After the Governor is notified of the resignation, the Governor will then issue a writ of election that must specify the date of the special election (IC 3-10-8-3). There is no deadline specified by statute for the Governor's writ to be issued.

However, the combination of deadlines set by state law for nominating candidates and absentee ballot voting makes it mathematically impossible for a special election to occur earlier than 60 days after a vacancy occurs in the office of U.S. Representative (See, for example, IC 3-13-1-7; 3-13-1-9; 3-13-1-20; 3-8-6-13; 3-8-7-15).

3) How will the major parties select candidates for the special election to fill the vacant seat in Congress?

Major political parties, i.e. Republicans and Democrats, will select candidates to be on the special election ballot by caucus. Within 30 days of the vacancy, the state party chairmen must call their caucuses, composed of precinct committeemen within the congressional district, who will nominate and elect their party's candidate (IC 3-13-1-7(a)(2)).

A person who wants to become a candidate must file a declaration of candidacy with the chairman of their party’s caucus, in this case, state party chairs, and the Secretary of State or Indiana Election Division.

4) What about candidates who are not affiliated with a major political party?

These candidates could include a Libertarian Party candidate, who would be entitled to be placed on the special election ballot without petitioning. The Libertarian Party must give 10 days' notice of its intent to nominate a candidate (IC 3-13-1-20), and file the certification of its nominee no later than noon, 50 days before the election (IC 3-8-7-15).

These candidates could also include independent candidates or candidates of other minor party candidates, who gain access to the special election ballot by gathering petition signatures.

The total number of signatures needed by petition candidates would be equal to two percent of the total votes cast for all four secretary of state candidates in the most recent general election (in November 2006). A petition of nomination must be filed with the Indiana Election Division no later than noon 50 days before the date of the election (IC 3-8-6-13).

5) Who is responsible for holding the special election?

Once candidates are nominated and certified to the Indiana Election Division, each county within the district is responsible for holding the special election.

Ballots have to be printed, absentee voting must be available, and poll workers have to be recruited and appointed. Voter registration closes 29 days before the special election is held (IC 3-10-8-9).

6) Who pays for the costs associated with holding a special election?

Any costs involved with the special election are paid for by the county in accordance with normal election procedures (IC 3-5-3-1).

7) How long will the individual who is elected during the special election serve?

The individual elected in the special election would serve the remainder of the term which will end noon, January 3, 2011 (20th Amendment to the US Constitution).

8) What about the November 2010 general election?

This special election for the remainder of the current term (2010-2011) will not affect the election later this year for the 2011-2013 term. A candidate nominated at the May 4, 2010 primary may choose to withdrawal from the General Election ballot by filing a statement to that effect on the prescribed form with the Election Division no later than noon, July 15, 2010.

The resulting candidate vacancy for the General Election ballot will be filled by a caucus of precinct committeemen whose precincts are within the congressional district. The party must fill the vacancy within 30 days after the withdrawal occurs.

Any individual who was defeated in the May 4, 2010 Republican primary would be allowed to file as a candidate at both the special election and to fill the ballot vacancy for the full two year term.

9) When was the last time a special election was held in Indiana?

The last time a special election for Congress was held in Indiana was on March 11, 2008, when U.S. Representative Andre Carson was elected in the 7^th Congressional District for the seat vacated by Julia Carson, who passed away earlier in the year.

10) Where can I obtain additional information about special elections?

Additional information about the special election can be obtained by visiting www.in.gov/sos/elections/ or by calling the Indiana Election Division at 317-232-3939.

Media contact: Jim Gavin 317.233.8655 or jgavin@sos.in.gov

Addendum to the Reagan Post

Please read the post below.  Travis Gearheart with a thoughtful history lesson.  Honestly, Nelson Rockefeller was as viable a candidate as Reagan in 1964.   I was a schoolkid with a certainty that a buffoonish Lyndon Baines Johnson would prolong the war in Vietnam and frankly I didn't have being drafted in my go-to-college-and-kick-world-butt lifeplan.  AUH2O was my bumper sticker (on my bike!)  Me and Arthur Diamond went door-to-door passing out Goldwater literature. America disagreed. 

So LBJ was a buffoon and an idiot who was often led around by the nose by his advisors.   Then Nixon came along and his arrogance killed his presidency.  During this time the lunatics began running the asylum.  Woodstock.  Black Panthers.  Summer of Love.  Days of Rage.  The whole world is watching.  Watergate.  Vietnam abandoned as helicopters flee Saigon. 

My generation?  I hope I die before I get old.  Four dead in Ohio.  Love the one you're with.  Let's get it on.  Hair.   Now things have come full circle.   I mean, I was driving into my subdivision with the homeowner's association and all new or nearly new homes and parked one of my four vehicles in the driveway and the thought hit me.  I am the Man.   THE MAN.  My generation is the majority of the CEO and government crowd.  

But I am not stuck in the 1960's.   I don't think everyone should tune in turn on and drop out.  I don't think the medium is the message.  Speaking truth to power is what we used to call "whining,"   My generation is the Man but have they ever grown up?   I wonder...

You watch animals, you don't see many lazy ones.   Animals work to get food, make their nests, feed their young.   Really I don't usually lazy animals because the ones who are not industrious get dead fast.   Man has to be the stupidest animal on the planet.   When did we ever decide that the ants had to pay to support all the grasshoppers?  How many indigent or crooked people are getting money from the government or are on the payroll of the government?  

Animal Farm comes to mind, but the Obama Administration is looking to far surpass Animal Farm in terms of arrogant elitism.  They intend to kill off capitalism and businesss and frankly they don't care who gets hurt.   If they can just pay off enough lazy and ignorant dupes to vote them into office and leave them in office they can do anything.

Exhibit A is Peter Visclosky.  Visclosky has apparently shuttle 97% of the funding he has voted for to places outside of his district but for the interests of those who give him campaign funds.  If he gets a million bucks in campaign funds, you think maybe he gets money in other ways?   Oh it could very well be.   We hoped he would be indicted and convicted earlier this year but so far no indictments. 

The Federal government is twice the size it should be and probably more.   It is deeply involved in things that should be Constitutionally left to the states.  No matter what FDR did or Eisenhower did or JFK did or Carter or Bush or Clinton, it is not too late for us to wake up and realize this is not just a matter of voting for the right person it is about information.   We have to wake up the comatose average voter who doesn't research and casts votes often for all the wrong reasons.  Just being involved is not enough.

Look, I was just 12 years old and foresaw that an LBJ Presidency could mean I get drafted even though I was on the honors program and would take the college prep honors diploma track in school.  If I was right at 12, I am way more right at 57.   This 2010 election has no room for third party candidates and moderate Democrat DINO types.   This must be a straight ticked Republican vote to get as many of the Obama sycophants as possible and then the Primaries of 2012 must be where we find and vote in the great candidates who were not ready for prime time this time.  

Ronald Reagan was one man but he was a conservative from head to toe, a man of prinicple who saved us from disaster AT THE TIME.    It is disaster time again.  We have a President who wants to cut military pay and apologize to Communist China for our human rights problems (Arizona?  OMG!) while ignoring the millions who have been slaughtered for opposing the communist regime.   Shameful!   I still don't know if Obama is really that stupid or he is so brainwashed that thinking never has to begin?

Taxes?  Cut them.
Money supply?  No more new money.
Fannie and Freddie?  Dump them and send the bill to Barney Frank, Chris Dodds and the rest of the Dem leadership who would not shut down the mortgage craze that killed the econoimy in the first place.
Illegal Immigrants?  Toss them out.
Those who hire and house Illegals? Fine them large amounts.
Birthright citizenship?  End it.
Unions?  Secret ballots and no forced government unions.
Schools?  No Federal involvement anymore, give it to the states.
Federal Agencies?  Cut as many as possible.   Dump the Department of Education and the EPA and every other agency that hinders the economy. 
IRS?  Fair tax instead. 
Obama?  MSM should demand proof of birth and SSN now and get the whole stupid thing over with.
UN?  Ask them politely to find somewhere else to meet and kindly go away.   Resign.
Form a Western UN.  Grab countries like UK and Canada and Australia and NZ and any other capitalist free nation and let the bribe factory known as the United Nations to die on the vine.

That's a start.  We need candidates that are concerned about these things.  Or make me King of the United States for awhile,  Until I get shot I will begin fixing things but that may not be legal, so let us at least make sure that Obama doesn't get a crown.

Reagan's Tax Reform

I wrote a my final paper for my Congress and Presidency class on the Reagan tax cuts, and thought it would make a nice post. Here it is, the instructor gave me an A, I'd like to hear your grade.

“The line has been used "We've never had it so good." But I have an uncomfortable feeling that this prosperity isn't something on which we can base our hopes for the future. No nation in history has ever survived a tax burden that reached a third of its national income. Today, 37 cents of every dollar earned in this country is the tax collector's share, and yet our government continues to spend $17 million a day more than the government takes in. We haven't balanced our budget 28 out of the last 34 years. We have raised our debt limit three times in the last twelve months, and now our national debt is one and a half times bigger than all the combined debts of all the nations in the world. We have $15 billion in gold in our treasury--we don't own an ounce. Foreign dollar claims are $27.3 billion, and we have just had announced that the dollar of 1939 will now purchase 45 cents in its total value.” (Ronald Reagan, “A Time for Choosing Speech”)

The excerpt from the speech above is part of the reason that Ronald Reagan became such a person of interest for those in the Republican party, and was part of the reason that Reagan became Governor of California at all. Ronald Reagan gave the “A Time for Choosing Speech” during Barry Goldwater's Presidential nomination in 1964, and it helped to launch “Ronnie” into the lime light even more than his film career had done.

After giving that speech, Reagan (a former liberal Democrat) ran and won two terms as Governor of California from 1967 to 1975, based primarily on his national momentum gained from the 1964 election. Reagan ran for President several times, each year coming in just short of winning: whether it was Nixon or Rockefeller or Ford, it seemed that Reagan would continue to run but never get anywhere. Some pundits of the day depicted Reagan as “running in place”.

Ronald Reagan ran his campaign in 1980 under a very simple, pragmatic banner. He wanted tax cuts, he wanted to bring back the ailing economy, and he wanted Americans to feel safe again. The 1980 campaign was to be the campaign that broke Reagan out of his “running in place” and allowed for him to win not only the Republican primary but also to best Democratic incumbent Jimmy Carter and make Carter a one term President whose time in office will always be marred with economic disaster, gas shortages, and Iranian hostages.

1980 was a good year for Republicans across the board, but even though the Republican party won over the Senate and gained 34 seats in the House, Congress was still a Democratic majority. This caused potential problems for Reagan, since Democrats were less likely to adhere to Reagan's ideas regarding tax cuts and “supply side economics”. “Supply side economics”, also characterized as “Reaganomics” throughout Reagan's presidency and through today even, was a new idea that many leading economists of the day were lauding, and luckily for Reagan he had those economists on his side.

Reagan met with a group of the nations leading economists during his presidency for weekly lunches, where they explained to him the inner workings of the theory and gave Reagan a crash course in Economics. The group was composed of Arther Laffer (who actually coined the Laffer Curve, which demonstrates how lower taxes will actually generate more governmental revenue), Milton Friedman (who is a legendary economist of the day and is still lauded as one of, if not the, most influential 20th century economist) and Stephen Moore (who writes for the Wall Street Journal and is seen on a weekly, if not nightly, basis on several talk shows and political forums), among several others. ( The End of Prosperity: How Higher Taxes Will Doom the Economy--If We Let It Happen by Arthur B. Laffer, Stephen Moore, and Peter Tanous). This helped Reagan in his battle for substantive tax reform before he was getting the knowledge straight from the horses mouth, so to speak. While politicians will often claim that they know the field of economics or will repeat economic theory (often times while misrepresenting the economists views), Reagan was able to sit down with these men and, detail by detail, have a well laid foundation for a tax reform package that would be not only sell-able to the Democratic controlled House (which holds the country's purse strings) but would have the best chance of actually working.

Reagan approached Congress with his tax reform package shortly after a failed assassination attempt, and during his first State of the Union Address used the catastrophe as a starting block for his plan.

“The last decade has seen a series of recessions. There was a recession in 1970, in 1974, and again in the spring of 1980. Each time, unemployment increased and inflation soon turned up again. We coined the word "stagflation" to describe this. Government's response to these recessions was to pump up the money supply and increase spending. In the last six months of 1980, as an example, the money supply increased at the fastest rate in postwar history 13 percent. Inflation remained in double digits and Government spending increased at an annual rate of 17 percent. Interest rates reached a staggering 21 1/2 percent. There were eight million unemployed. Late in 1981, we sank into the present recession largely because continued high interest rates hurt the auto industry and construction. And there was a drop in productivity and the already high unemployment increased. This time, however, things are different. We have an economic program in place completely different from the artificial quick-fixes of the past. It calls for a reduction of the rate of increase in Government spending, and already that rate has been cut n early in half. But reduced spending alone isn't enough. We've just implemented the first and smallest phase of a three-year tax-rate reduction designed to stimulate the economy and create jobs. Already interest rates are down to 15 3/4 percent, but they must still go lower. Inflation is down from 12.4 percent to 8.9, and for the month of December it was running at an annualized rate of 5.2 percent. If we had not acted as we did, things would be far worse for all Americans than they are today. Inflation inflation, taxes and interest rates would all be higher. A year ago, Americans' faith in their governmental process was steadily declining. Six out of ten Americans were saying they were pessimistic about their future. A new kind of defeatism was heard. Some said our domestic problems were uncontrollable that we had to learn to live with the-seemingly endless cycle of high inflation and high unemployment. There were also pessimistic predictions about the relationship between our Administration and this Congress. It was said we could never work together. Well, those predictions were wrong. The record is clear, and I believe that history will remember this as an era of American renewal, remember this Administration as an Administration of change and remember this Congress as a Congress of destiny. Together, we not only cut the increase in Government spending nearly in half, we brought about the largest tax reductions and the most sweeping changes in our tax structure since the beginning of this century. And because we indexed future taxes to the rate of inflation, we took away Government's built-in profit on inflation and its hidden incentive to grow larger at the expense of American workers. Together, after 50 years of taking power away from the hands of the people in their states and local communities we have started returning power and resources to them.” (Reagan's First State of the Union Address,January 26, 1982)

This was, of course, a shrewd and effective political tool to help push the tax cuts that would become his coup de grace. The only hurdle now? The Democratic House. If Reagan wasn't able to rally them behind his message, he would accomplish nothing. Already, people were become discontent with the President not following through on his campaign promise, and polls from that time period reflect that sentiment.

Tip O' Neil, the House Majority Leader, was actually willing to work with the administration to make the reforms. The debate on the floor was intense during that session, however because of “boll weevils” (Southern “Reagan Democrats” who consistently took conservative positions) a middle ground was made with the reforms.

The Office of Tax Analysis of the United States Department of the Treasury summarized the tax changes as follows:
*phased-in 23% cut in individual tax rates; top rate dropped from 70% to 50%

*accelerated depreciation deductions; replaced depreciation system with ACRS

*indexed individual income tax parameters (beginning in 1985)

*created 10% exclusion on income for two-earner married couples ($3,000 cap)

*phased-in increase in estate tax exemption from $175,625 to $600,000 in 1987

*reduced Windfall Profit taxes

*allowed all working taxpayers to establish IRAs

*expanded provisions for employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs)

*replaced $200 interest exclusion with 15% net interest exclusion ($900 cap) (begin in 1985) (Caputo)

The critics were quick to point out that with out decreased spending, the National Debt would still continue, and especially since we were, at the time, beefing up our military due to the arms race that resulted in the end of the Cold War, spending did in fact continue to go up. Critics also claim that because of the tax cuts, the amount of revenue the Government would have seen coming in did not rise at the rate that it could have. Supporters and economic think tanks across the country, however, to this day, credit the Reagan tax cuts as the reason that the economy was able to recover in the first place. (Young)

What, exactly, did the Reagan tax cuts do, ultimately? They helped to make the general population less burdened by their debts to the government, and they helped to boost the American moral that the government wasn't the “bad boogeyman” coming after their hard earned dollars. The Reagan tax cuts also show what can be done when those in Government take a moment away from politics, reach across the aisle, and work together for the good of the American people.

Cross-posted at www.mattersofopinion.net and www.ktracy.com

Will NW Indiana Patriots Cave To Nuts?

Just because they can make big signs and spam message boards online doesn't mean they should be listened to.

Beth Duensing, an active member in the NWIP organization, a woman who advertises her belief that nobody should ever talk to a cop about anything ever (FB on April 29), and one of the few people foolish and selfish enough to advertise her 9-11 Conspiracy crap on the NWIP forum, is suggesting a new Meetup for the Northwest Indiana Patriots.

No Shots = No School NOT TRUE
Please come out and join the Anti Vaccination League of America to bring awareness of this issue to the Mom's and Dad's of Valparaiso.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

If you want to make a sign up, do so. Some have signs and some don't. Having a sign is not as important as having YOU and everyone you know shows up. Show Valparaiso that it is OK to say NO to vaccines.

Note to Organizer:
Please create a meet-up for this rally. Please make me an event host so that I my upload the Anti Vaccination League of America Logo.

PLEASE DON'T!!! This woman has a track record of humiliating patriots who stumble across the discussion form and is one of the biggest reasons why so many conservatives in the Region don't take this group seriously and don't want anything to do with it or it to do with anything.

Don't officially let her turn the Northwest Indiana Patriots into her private megaphone for her disrespectful, unintelligent blabber-mouth conspiracy theories.

Faith Jones, stop the bleeding and amputate this infected, useless, disease spreading limb before it does any more damage to local and state candidates after killing what little integrity your group has left after letting her and others post their extremist and off the wall ideas about 9-11 and vaccines all over your discussion board.

Do the responsible, intelligent thing for a change and say "no" to Beth's attempt to use Northwest Indiana Patriots for her own personal agenda.

A Conservative In Need

Patrick Leahy...the names enough to make you say, "Go f*ck yourself".

Senator Leahy, who is one of the most progressive and incompetent (I know, I know...redundant) Senators in Congress, has a tough election in front of him. Len Britton, a conservative Republican Vermont businessman is running (so far) unopposed against Leahy in a year when polls are favoring Republicans and predicting big wins. Some people have even went as far to compare Britton to Scott Brown: they are both young, energetic conservatives who are running for a seat that has been held by a liberal Democrat for...decades? centures? let me check that real fast...Holy Cow! Leahy's had that seat since 1975!

To put this in perspective, in 1975:

• Volkswagen introduces the Golf, its new front-wheel-drive economy car, in the United States and Canada as the Volkswagen Rabbit.


• Wheel of Fortune premieres on NBC.


• The Weather Underground bombs the U.S. State Department main office in Washington, D.C..


• Bill Gates founds Microsoft in Albuquerque, New Mexico.


• Two separate attempts are made on President Gerald Ford's life.


• Wrongly convicted murderer Andrew Dufresne escapes from Shawshank State Prison

Perhaps Leahy's time as Senator is just about up, what do you think?

Another fun fact: Leahy is the first Democrat elected to that seat...of course he's been there since the Watergate scandal, but still...

The point of all this is that Britton needs help. While this is a favorable year for R's and a poor year for incumbents, Leahy has his heels dug in the dirt and a war chest that would make Genghis Khan blush.

I implore any conservative with a few extra dollars to contribute to Len Britton's campaign, and let's take down another Democratic regime this November! You can contribute and read more about Len here.

In the mean time, you can see his new campaign video below: it'll make you laugh and cry at the same time.

Ethics in Politics? You in politics? I hope you...dance!

Lyrics: I Hope You Dance - Leann Womack

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat
But always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed
I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give fate a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances
But they're worth taking
Lovin' might be a mistake
But it's worth making
Don't let some hell bent heart
Leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out
Reconsider
Give the heavens above
More than just a passing glance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a wheel in constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on their years and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)

I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
Dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a wheel in constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
(Wants to look back on their years and wonder)
I hope you dance
(Where those years have gone)

(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on their years and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)

First, thank God I did not go off and tell even one-third of what I found out about local politics as a result of being heavily involved in the 2010 Indiana primaries.  Part of this is because of a journalistic instinct not to print anything you cannot either attribute or prove.  Second would be a Christian urge to give someone the benefit of the doubt.  Thirdly, the admonition that begins, "When in Rome..." applies to a small extent.   Discernment is of more value than the satisfaction of whacking someone upside the head with a questionable mallet.

Yes, I loved Literature and hated Grammar and when I wrote professionally I had an editor.  

One of my mentors read a book by John Ortberg who had read an essay by philosopher Mike Novak and then opined on a  subject I would like to bring to the audience here.  Are there ethics in politics?  Yes, of course, and some of them are good.  A better question would be to ask ourselves how ethical we as writers and voters and candidates and people really are?  

God inspired James to write these words:   

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. 

 The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business."

James also wrote these words and from these words stem this post.   

"Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do." 

Yes, I am a Christian.  No, this is not in any way an attempt to convert you if you are not a Christian.  We go on.  

So we begin with three kinds of convictions.   We could apply this to faith and love and honesty and...fill in the blank here.  Dare I say politics?  This section is authored by Charles Wood with some highlighting and bolding and editing and adding and subtracting...okay, this is a collaboration!

Public Convictions:

     Public convictions are convictions that I want other people to think I believe, even though I really may not believe them. 

     Public figures are notorious for stating convictions for the purpose of creating an impression rather than communicating truth   Television comedian Stephen Colbert says the quality to which these statements aspire is truthiness.  They may not be true, but they sound true; they allow the speaker to impress people with his or her sincerity.

     This has been going on for a long time. We give politicians a hard time for replacing truth with truthiness, but I have an inner politician who puts in overtime, and his main job is crafting and communicating public convictions to help me get what I want.  I have to keep an eye on my "publicist" to make sure he doesn't get me in trouble!

     Sometimes being part of a community of faith increases the temptation to pretend to believe what we really don’t.  One of the beliefs espoused by my church is not in accordance with my beliefs, but since I do not consider it to be doctrinal, I just let it go.  But not before my wife and I had a sit-down with the two top pastors (we are part of staff) to let them know that we were willing to avoid the subject in teaching mode but in personal mode would defend that position and they agreed that we could all disagree peacefully.

   One fairly local  Bible colllege demands that all teachers sign a profession of faith in premillennialism and when one of the professors was asked why he subscribed to this, since it has been a minority position throughout the history of the church, he said, “My belief in premillennialism hangs by a slender economic thread.” 

     That would be a public conviction.  One of the dangers of preaching is that it tempts preachers to pretend they have no doubts and to settle for truthiness.   Or that they preach the truthiness their congregation wants to hear rather than the truth they know in their hearts would cost them a few members and maybe a few dollars in the collection plate as well.  

    In politics truthiness is the coin of the realm.  As many of this year's primary candidates discovered, the real truth doesn't always attract the most voters.  We can blog about what is going on night and day but until the voters care about what really is behind that curtain and instead listen to the Great and Powerful Oz pontificate...well, it is going to be a long hard fight.

  

Private Convictions

     Private convictions are convictions that I sincerely think I believe, but it turns out they may be fickle.  They may be illusory.  

Although it sounds odd, I may think I believe something, but it turns out my true convictions run another way. Private convictions seem to be real at the time, but when circumstances shift, they are revealed to be hollow.  A biblical example of this took place the night before Jesus died when he predicted that Peter was going to deny him.  Peter said: “Even if all fall away, I will not....Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you” (Mark 14:9, 31).

     When Peter said these words, was he sincere at that moment?  Yes, I think he was.  Were those convictions true?  No.  Did Peter feel the same way the next day when the heat was on, when he actually was confronted with the fact that he would have to suffer if he aligned himself with Jesus?  No.  Sometimes we think we have convictions, but it turns out they are fickle.  They don’t really run deep, and when our circumstances change, we feel differently.

     Sometimes private convictions may involve self-deception: we want to believe something or are committed to believing something even though at some level we know it is false.  People with symptoms of a dread disease figure out a way to overlook them; spouses ignore the evidence of a cheating partner; doting parents exaggerate their child’s ability.

     Friends and I once read the Bible about the prophet Elijah and his servant.  They were surrounded by enemies, and the servant was feeling very unsafe.  Elijah prayed that God would open his eyes, and suddenly the servant saw that he was surrounded by angels and chariots of fire, that he really was safe in the watchful care of God.  Somebody asked, “How would you respond if this were to happen to you?”  And one of the people in the group, a really bright man with a PhD who had been in the church his whole life, replied, “I would be surprised to find out that what I believed all along turned out to be true.”  That sentence has stuck with me.  What does it mean to believe something if I’d be surprised if it turned out to be true?  How can you believe something you know you do not really believe?  How many people are like a two year old standing with his hands covering his eyes thinking no one can see him...yet knowing that they can?  

    We may not even know what we really believe in an area of our lives until we are challenged.  Will you take that free money?  Will you return that object accidently placed into your shopping bag?   Will you actually fight to the death to defend your family? 

Core Convictions

     This concept leads to a third level of convictions, and these are the ones that really matter.  Core convictions are revealed by our daily actions, by what we actually do.   They are what might be called the “mental map.”  Every one of us has one of these mental maps about the way we think things really are and the way life rally works.

     I believe if I touch fire I will get burned.  I believe coffee helps me wake up.  I believe in gravity.  This is part of my mental map, so I don’t have to work hard to behave in a way that is congruent with gravity.  I don’t have to remind myself not to jump out of a ten-story building.  On the other hand, if I wanted to hurt myself, I would jump off the building.  My actions are always the result of my purposes and my core convictions.  Gravity is a part of my mental map about the way things really are, and therefore my actions are always congruent with my belief in gravity.  This means I will have to become a student of my own behavior to find out what I really believe.

     “Judge not, lest you be judged.”  I’d like to think I believe this, but my mouth is clearly not convinced.  “Let the one who would be great become a servant.”  I’d mark this one true on a test, but my hands often have other ideas. “His eye is on the sparrow.”  Love the concept, but my adrenal system feels the jury is out.  “It is better to give than to receive.”  I have preached messages on this, but the place where my wallet lives is less certain.  "God loves a cheerful giver?"  That one is easier.  A little easier.

     Faith is coming to believe with my whole body what I say I believe with my mind.   How do we measure truth?  How do we measure love?  Well, what do we DO?

So I have three different kinds of convictions.  We might think of them in this way: 

• what I say I believe; 
• what I think I believe; 
• and what I reveal I really do believe by my actions.

     The best indicator of my true beliefs and my true purposes are my actions.  They always flow out of my mental map about the way things really are.  What I say I believe might be bogus.  What I think I believe might be fickle.  But I never violate my idea about the way things are.  I always live in a way that reflects my mental map.  I live at the mercy of my ideas about the way things really are.  Always.  And so do you.

   Therefore as we approach the elections of 2010 I hope that I will better learn these lessons and better reflect my core convictions at the surface where all can see.  More to the point, we as voters and bloggers and commenters and activists and campaigners and candidates need to look at what people DO far more than what they SAY.  Do they say one thing in Evansville and something else in Merrillville?  What is their voting record?  Who do they like to hang out with and who supports them?

   In Washington there is an executive branch dead-set on changing the USA into something else.  Perhaps they think they can be kings and queens and rule over all the serfs.  But since, as the scripture says, the borrower is servant to the lender then we may need to teach our grandchildren to speak Chinese.  We are not rebuilding Camelot, we are about to turn into one big Greece and only by our votes can we send enough believers in traditional America to Indianapolis and Washington and even to the County Courthouse.

    This election is a war fought with votes.  Warfare by ballot!  We cannot afford to sit off to the side and say we do not care who wins because one side is going to guarantee we all lose.  Bring your best weapons to the fore!  Support candidates that can win and identify candidates who will help save our nation and state and county.  Any of you who claim to care about this country who does not help elect the best candidates in some way or another are playing games with truthiness but in truth you might as well be sitting around smoking pot, blowing off going to work and chowing down on taco chips. 

    This election is an opportunity for all of us to sit back and look around at the political scene and think about what is truth, what is lies and what is truthiness?  Are we really willing to settle for candidates dealing in  truthiness for the rest of our lives while we ourselves must live with truth or lies, bills paid or unpaid, house owned or foreclosed, children taught or indoctrinated?  

   As I close, I know that there is no point in closing the barn door after the Primary Horse of 2010.  So while we prepare to vote the bad ones out and vote better ones in come November, I also think now is the time to identify the BEST ONES to support come 2012.  Will your core convictions push you to keep going and doing for that long?  You Tea Party people, will you still come to Washington in 2011?  You erstwhile candidates, will you prepare to run and win next time?  I hope you do.  I hope you dance!

Unions

A discussion topic:

Unions are inferior ways to get worker protection in today's world. They are trapped in the past and the positive services they provide could be done better, cheaper, with less bad effects on our nation's competitiveness through other delivery mechanisms.

Indiana post-primary political posts

Some posts I found that you may find interesting today from all over the state:

How to Lose an Election - written by a Richard Behney supporter who is obviously mad at all the other grass roots groups for not backing her candidate for Senate.

The “N” Word - from here on this site, our most active post since the primary with active debate on the nature of neo-conservative issues.Meet Todd Rokita, via Red State

Re-Checking In - from Abdul in Indy, with his normal litany of Indianapolis gossip in politics

How To Pay For Obamacare - we're in a world of hurt in Indiana, due to the Obamacare healthcare reform bill. Just as we held the line on tax increases and balanced the budget during a recession, the Obama administration with the help of Brad Ellsworth is trying to put us back in financial trouble.

Indiana Chamber of Commerce Election Report - quite easy to read 17 page PDF on who won and who lost, and from the perspective of business the primaries went quite well.

From Northwest Indiana:

Who is funding the garbage-to-ethanol plant? - Buzz says Pete Lindemulder III is an investor, anyone have confirmation on this?

Are Opponents to Puerto Rican Statehood Racist or Just Foolish? - Kevin Tracy once again points out that small grass roots groups are being manipulated, or perhaps even worse they just aren't doing their homework before firing out forwarded emails from 912 groups or Glenn Beck.

Don’t Treat Islam Better Than Any Other Religions - Travis posted this same post here, but you really should check out his original post on his blog.

AmericanVet and Kim Krull Sum up the Post-Primary world for Lake County - Kim Krull, Lake County GOP chair posted her thoughts on the primary and Cedar Lake Republicans blog picked them up and added some thoughts.

Post Party Summit sign-up now

Hoosier Access to Co-Sponsor Indianapolis Post Party Summit

*NOTE* – If you’ve seen this post before, please note that dates for the Indy Post Party Summit have changed. It is now Friday May 14th through Saturday May 15th.

I am thoroughly excited to announce that Hoosier Access will be teaming up with Red State, Smart Girl Politics, American Majority and The John Hancock Committee for the States to co-sponsor the Indianapolis Post Party Summit taking place on May 14-15 at the Wyndham Indianapolis West.

It is an incredible honor to be asked to join these giants of the conservative online and grassroots movement. It’s time to the protests and the marches and put that into action. It’s time to take our government back, from the local offices, the state offices to the congressional offices. And Hoosier Access is proud to be joining forces with these groups to provide a road map for conservative activists on how to take back their communities and effectively engage in state and local politics.

The Indianapolis event will be taking place:

May 14 – 15
Indianapolis, IN
Wyndham Indianapolis West
2544 Executive Drive

Indianapolis, IN 46241

Make sure to register now!

Elitist Death Wish

Bill Whittle is a national treasure. His latest Afterburner is well worth watching and is entitled The Elitist Death Wish: Some Lives Are Worth More Than Others. It's an interesting review of our orwellian present where certain words have been scrubbed from government and media descriptions of the muslim civil war. There's not a lot to do about it except simply live your lives and don't censor yourself. Oh, and pray, pray that the butcher's bill isn't too large before we wake up and stay awake until we fix this problem.

Why Democrats want cap and trade? It ain't for the Polar Bears!!!

It isn't about the Anthropic Global Warming



Since there isn't any.  Really!  Let me give you a hint...what ryhmes with that old song (The Beatles throbbed hearts with their version, then Herb Alpert jazzed it up) A Taste Of Honey?  From a Broadway play of the same name circa 1960 and recorded on the Please Please Me album by the Beatles before Herb and the boys made it into a hit.  Okay, too much information.

What ryhmes with a taste of honey is The Smell Of Money!

Excerpt: "In 2001, a man was apparently working on a device (?) to make carbon trading possible. He filed a patent, then died. His wife onsold this patent application — to Franklin Raines, the CEO of … wait for it, Fannie Mae. The same CEO who has committed massive accounting fraud.



Now the story gets more slippery: In 2000 the Chicago Climate Exchange was helped to get started by the Joyce Foundation. It’s a charity set up years ago, that now manages around a billion in funds. Here’s how Beck tells it:


The Joyce Foundation is like the George Soros’ TIDES Foundation. In fact, it’s actually bigger than TIDES and even funds TIDES. Think of it as a place where uber-rich and powerful liberals like to dump their money into, so the cash can be spread around to their pet projects without a direct link.


There was one influential member on the board of the Joyce Foundation at the time the Chicago Climate Exchange got its seed money; someone instrumental in steering the funds towards the creation of the Chicago Climate Exchange. They were on the board from 1994-2002. The founder of the Chicago Climate Exchange, Richard Sandor, said that he “knew (this person) well,” which is perhaps how the money was awarded to the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, where Sandor was a research professor. I’ll get back to that person in a minute.


Who could it be — that one influential member of the board, who was active in getting the CCX started? Apparently it was a man named Barack Obama.


And that patent application owned by the Fannie Mae CEO? It was finally approved by the patent office on Nov. 7, 2006. Coincidentally the day after the Democrats took control of Congress.


So now, Fannie Mae, who is congressionally mandated to “make housing more affordable,” is poised to reap billions on a system that has nothing to do with housing except for that it would make housing costs go up.


There’s more:"

You will hopefully read the whole thing.  When you consider your votes in the coming elections, think about what is really behind everything the current administration is doing.   It is either about becoming a Socialist Animal Farm or making lots of money or if they play it right?  Both.

VAT tax?  Cap and Trade?  Immigration Reform?  Puerto Rico?  It's all like a newly rewritten version of The Sting.  Guess who is getting the shaft?   Oh, and when the government is hiring those jobs are a drag rather than a boost to the economy?

Just a little reality check.  Work hard for your conservative candidates and do not fall prey to the lure of third party types.  As a colleague recently said, "A vote for a (third party candidate in the Senate race) is half a vote for Ellsworth."