If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude
greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us
in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down
and lick the hand that feeds you; May your chains set lightly upon
you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.
A Burlington minister has been accused of laundering large campaign contributions in advance of the 2008 Iowa caucuses.
On Tuesday a Republican activist filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission, accusing Morris Hurd, pastor of West Hill United Methodist Church, of funneling money intended for the Iowa Christian Alliance from the Mitt Romney organization.
Further, the complaint filed by Stacey Cargill of West Des Moines alleges the ICA received a $100,000 contribution during the 2008 Iowa Caucuses from "maxed out" Romney donors -- money she claims was made in quarterly payments through the West Hill church.
In addition to Hurd, Cargill named ICA president Steve Scheffler and their respective organizations as respondents.
continued ( A long read for brevity I have only posted the entro)
It would appear that some of the evidence in this case may have been lost because
Burglars may have hit a new low after a local church on Thursday morning reported it was victimized.
Burlington police said officers went to West Hills United Methodist Church, 540 S. Leebrick St., after a pastor found signs the building had been broken into. The pastor raised suspicions the culprit or culprits may have entered the church between 10 p.m. Wednesday and 8:15 Thursday morning.
An initial investigation indicated several items inside the church had been rifled through, and the suspect or suspects had taken a computer and undisclosed amount of money.
Police did not find evidence of forced entry. (emphasis added)
It is written : No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.
This Rubicon was crossed by one of our GOP State Committee persons this summer.
David Chung resigned his position with State Republican Party in order to devote his time to the Gubernatorial Campaign of Christian Chung.
I applaud his decision, but it saddens me in a way to take special note of someone merely doing what is the Right Thing to do.
It is my opinion that Party Officers should be strictly neutral during primaries and fiercely partisan during the ensuing election
One would hope actions such as his would be taken for granted but in recent years we have seen them more in the breach than being followed.
Indeed this very issue was part of the Question and Answer session during the election of Mr Chung's replacement.
Incidents in recent years were mentioned of State Party Officials taking part in Partisan Primary Campaigns and what is far worse going so far as to ACT AGAINST the candidate elected by Republicans during the General Election.
If find the former deplorable and the latter abominable.
We should as members of the Republican Party of Iowa INSIST that those persons elected to represent us on the County, District and State Level,
In Fact represent US, ALL of us and not their own desires.
I feel they have given up that right when they took on the responsibilities with which we have entrusted them .
If they have a compelling reason to support one particular candidate during the primary, or even on a matter of principle to oppose that person elected by Republicans, they should follow the example of Mr Chung and
RESIGN their position in the Party.
Now as to our other recent example? Those who actively work to DEFEAT a Republican Candidate during the General Election?
Three weeks the number one book on the New York Times Best Seller List and they don't seem to be interested in reviewing it?
Sounds like my kind of Book
A Personal Message from Michelle Malkin
Dear Reader,
I'm so proud to announce that my new book, Culture of Corruption, is #1 on the New York Times bestseller list for the second consecutive week!
If you haven't read it yet, let me give you just a little taste:
Phew. Janitors in newsrooms across America worked overtime in the halcyon days after Barack Obama won the presidency. It wasn't easy cleaning the drool off laptops and floors in the offices of journalists everywhere. New York Times columnist David Brooks praised Team Obama's "postpartisan rhetoric" and "practical creativity." AwestruckGood Morning Americaanchor Robin Roberts echoed the conventional wisdom: "Some would say it's a team of rivals, Ã la President Lincoln, or is a better comparison a team of geniuses as FDR did?"
I wrote this book to give you the exhaustive answer that President Obama's gyrating media harem doesn't want you to read.
Obama's team is a dysfunctional and dangerous group of business-as-usual cronies. The corruption stretches from wealthy power brokers Rahm Emanuel and Valerie Jarrett, to pay-to-play-tainted Michelle Obama and Joe Biden, to ethically challenged, bailout-bungling money men Larry Summers and Tim Geithner at Treasury, crime-coddling corporate lawyer Eric Holder at DOJ, to the crooked Service Employees International Union, and the ever-expanding swamp of Washington lobbyists.
This book pulls together the familiar and not-so-familiar pieces to force Obama hagiographers to confront an alternate narrative. A reality-based narrative. A narrative of incompetence, nepotism, influence-peddling, and self-dealing that defies the stubborn myth that Barack Obama is the One True Agent of Hope and Change.
In short: This is a government of the crony, by the lobbyist, and for all the well-heeled, well-connected people Barack Obama spent his entire campaign demonizing.
In the era of "new politics," judge him as you would judge other mere mortals. Judge him not by the company that preceded him. Judge him by the company he keeps.
Thanks for your time. If you've already bought Culture of Corruption—thank you! If not, use one of the links below to buy it online today.
Sincerely,
Michelle Malkin
Click below to save 30% or more off bookstore prices!
For one supposedly dedicated to bringing parties together for health care reform, President Barack Obama shows unremitting hostility toward one of them: the health insurance industry.
In practically every speech he gives or town hall he hosts, there's a slam at insurance profits and methods - and no recognition of the role its lobby, America's Health Insurance Plans, has taken to advance reform.
Call Dave Loebsack today and ask him to answer Dr. Mariannette Miller-Meeks' question: +1 (202) 225-6576
Lee County Republicans held their annual feed/fund raiser Saturday, July 18, 2009, in Ft. Madison.
Office holders and seekers were there; lots of them.
Mariannette Miller-Meeks addressed the nearly 100 assembled on growing the party. The good doctor from Ottumwa was the only speaker to receive a standing ovation.
I attended the local Townhall Meeting this morning.
Some observations are
Unlike the defamations we have been hearing about Citizens exercising their First Amendment Rights to Assemble and Redress the Government of the Grievances.
I saw only handmade signs by the Anti-Administration Health Care Plan, and while I did see ONE handmade Pro Plan sign the rest were Mass Produced,
So who are the Astroturfers?
During the meeting there was a heated conversation between a couple sitting beside me and a woman on the row below us, When the man exclaimed " YOU want People to die in the streets" I jumped in with the statement that NO ONE in America is denied essential medical care due to lack of insurance or ability to pay, He backed down because he knew that was true.
While there I heard my Congressman making light of the idea that Death Panels would be enacted, and claiming that what had folks upset was merely a provision to have health professionals help patients with End of Life Decisions.
My Friends Death Panels are ALREADY in action in this Country and they actually are helping patients with End of Life Decisions.,
Patients who are DENIED treatment are helped to enter Assisted Suicide Programs
In Oregon, One of the States whose program is pointed to us as a Model for the proposed National Plan
The Oregon Health Plan, more or less a real-world model of ObamaCare, is under tremendous pressure to cut costs. They have found a unique way of doing so: They no longer pay for life-saving chemotherapy for cancer patients with less than a 5% chance of survival for five years... but they will pay to help kill them:
Barbara Wagner has one wish - for more time.
"I'm not ready, I'm not ready to die," the Springfield woman said. "I've got things I'd still like to do."
Her doctor offered hope in the new chemotherapy drug Tarceva, but the Oregon Health Plan sent her a letter telling her the cancer treatment was not approved.
Instead, the letter said, the plan would pay for comfort care, including "physician aid in dying," better known as assisted suicide.
"I told them, I said, 'Who do you guys think you are?' You know, to say that you'll pay for my dying, but you won't pay to help me possibly live longer?' " Wagner said. [Hat tip to Sachi]
So... under government medicine, Barack H. Obama's grandmother shouldn't get a hip replacement, because she's going to die soon anyway; Sarah Palin's son Trig, who has Down Syndrome, wouldn't get long-term treatment because Down is incurable; and Barbara Wagner begs for cancer treatment -- and instead gets a not-so-subtle hint that she should contact a physician about how to "reduce the surplus population" by committing suicide.
There is really no nice way to spin this.
Yes there will be NO Death Panels who will deny an individual patient treatment, just Criteria which will do the same thing.
BUT they will offer them a Painless Easy Death.
I wonder will they also have showers for Undesirables?
Yes such a wonderful program we Taxpayers will get to fund
Tim Pugh of local TEA Party notoriety asked me to post this article and comments for the edification of us all here in Flyover Land
Tim Huwaldt: Obama's Idea of healthcare reform? Not such a good idea after all
It’s no secret that we need some form of health care reform in America. Health care costs are rising, health insurance premiums and deductibles are rising… but our congressmen and women are going about the situation all wrong.
I spent some time today reading through a few of the bills that are currently in various committees throughout congress. They all aim to do essentially the same things:
a.) Force every American to have health care coverage. Whether you like it or not. If you are uninsured you are penalized.
b.) The expected cost for one of these bills is going to be around 1 trillion dollars. Who’s going to pay for that? You guessed it. You, the taxpayer.
c.) It will give the Federal Government control over your health. A bunch of bureaucrats deciding my health care needs isn’t my idea of quality health care. I want to decide my health care needs.
d.) Perhaps the most fundamental tragedy that will come about from this legislation is simply the government having control of yet another facet of your life, and you losing another freedom. Are you as tired as I am of big brother sticking it’s nose in all of your business and trying to control you???
It is estimated that 120,000,000 Americans will be forced into this socialized health plan. Despite what Obama says, most of us will not have any choice on this matter, as most of us receive Health care through our employers.
Please contact your senators and representatives and tell them that you are opposed to a government run health care system, proposed by such bills as s.391 (which is in the senate financial committee right now. Our own Senator Grassley is the ranking member of that committee),
H.R. 193, and S. 698 because as an American YOU and YOUR DOCTOR should be in full control of the type of care you receive.
Senators: Charles Grassley D.C.: 202-224-3744 Des Moines: 515-284-4890
Tom Harkin D.C.: 202-224-3744 Des Moines: 515-284-4890
Representatives: Bruce Braley, 1st District 202-225-2911
Dave Loebsack, 2nd district (he represents us in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City) 202-225-2911
Leonard Boswell, 3rd District 202-225-3806 Tom Latham, 4th District 202-225-5476
Steve King 202-225-4426
Please call these guys with me. I can’t do this alone! And this is very important!
Absolutely Tim. Thank you! Feel free to correct any errors I may have made, or add anything to it that you would like to see in there. Which blog so I can see it?
Another error! Geez! I wrote this in about 5 minutes at work! Sorry everyone. And Tim, please correct these before you pass it on! Dave Loebsack, 202-225-6576
False Assumptions: Proponents of cap and trade point to the low cost estimates by the EPA and CBO as a reason to pass Waxman-Markey. The EPA underestimates that the bill would cost households an additional $140 a year.
Based on Consumption: The EPA's numbers are based on consumption changes, which are typically less than income changes, as families respond to income losses by saving less.
Uses Discounting: Discounting is a reasonable approach for comparing costs and benefits that occur at widely different times. However, costs of climate change rarely use a discounted rate this high. Without discounting, the impact per household is $1,288 in 2050. Adjusting household size to reflect a family of four raises this cost to over $1,900.
Assumes Rebates: The EPA assumes all the allowance proceeds will be rebated directly to consumers. This clearly isn't the case, since most of the allowances have been promised to industry.
No New Taxes?The loss that the EPA calculates doesn't include the cost of the energy tax to consumers, since the EPA assumes that all of the money is rebated. The cost of the energy tax is actually $4,600 per family of four in 2035.
The CBO Is Wrong
False Assumptions: CBO underestimates that the bill would cost households $175 in 2020. They assume that the carbon tax isn't a tax if the government spends the money. When have Americans ever seen all of a tax returned to them? It's like suggesting your tax rebate will be as large as the amount taken from your paycheck every year.
Numbers Don't Add Up: The CBO's allowance cost numbers don't add up. They say the allowance price will be $28. Since there are 5.056 billion tons of CO2 equivalent in the cap that year, that implies a $141 billion gross cost. They list $91.4 billion.
Hard to Believe: In the CBO's June 5 analysis, they projected allowance revenues of $119.7 billion, $129.7 billion, $136 billion, $145.6 billion and $152.9 billion for the years 2015-2019. It's hard to believe that the next number in that series would be $91.4 billion.
Ignores Economic Damage: The CBO doesn't include the decrease in GDP as a result of the bill. The GDP hit in 2020 would be $161 billion (in 2009 dollars) according to our analysis. For a family of four, that is $1,870 that they ignore.
Cap and Trade Is Wrong
It's a Massive Energy Tax
It Will Not Make a Substantive Impact on the Environment
It Will Kill Jobs
It Will Cause Electricity Bills and Gas Prices to Sharply Increase
It Will Outsource Manufacturing Jobs and Hurt Free Trade
It Will Make You Choose among Energy, Groceries, Clothing and Haircuts
It Will Be Highly Susceptible to Fraud and Corruption
It Will Hurt Senior Citizens, the Poor, and the Unemployed the Worst
It Will Cost American Families Nearly $3,000 a Year
President Obama Admitted "Electricity Rates Would Necessarily Skyrocket" Under His Cap-and-Trade Program (January 2008)
What is in a name? What do people think when they hear "republican?" To some, it's enemy number one. To others, it's their parents' party. They stick with it and vote for it, but only because they were raised with it.
Then there are some (and I believe this number is growing rapidly) who are disgusted with the name.
It used to stand for solid conservatism. It was the party for people who believed in smaller government interference, people's rights, the Constitution, and The Bill of Rights.
Now we have RINOs and moderates and spineless politicians who don't even know what conservatism is! Our party is in shambles. There is a solid conservative base out there, but they have all but ceased to speak or be involved. It seems hopeless or not worth the effort any longer. Corruption is rampant (okay, so when has it not?), even to the lowest levels of the party.
This name, republican, used to stand for something good. It stood for people who stood together
. For people who knew each other and cared for each other. It stood for a group of people who believed that government should start with the people!
Men and women who were involved, who knew the issues and felt strongly about them.
We have lost our connection with each other. And worse than that, we've lost our passion.
In this modern world, we don't connect with each other on a personal level anymore. We text, email, chat, post, and of course call....We don't know our neighbors the way our parents did. Neighborhoods aren't close-knit families any more. Maybe that's a generalization, but in many cases, it's the truth.
Do you know your neighbors?
I don't.
So, the challenge. We need to take up our name and make it great once more.
Make it a name that people want to be associated with. How do we do that?
We need to connect with our neighbors.
Connect with our co-workers, our communities.
With all this technology has come a loss of personal, face-to-face relationships. Technology is not a bad thing. It has also given us the means to connect with more people than ever before possible. Whether it's your neighbor down the street, or your neighbor across the nation, we need to re-connect with them.
This party should be a haven for people who have become disenchanted, disillusioned, downright disgusted with what's going on in the country today.
Our platform should be solid, not wishy-washy
. We aren't going to attract people by trying to please every one.
This name needs to stand for solid values and beliefs! People will come when they see that we are not reeds blowing in the wind of politics. People will come when they see that we are deeply rooted in what we believe and are willing to stand up and vote for it!
So, what are you going to do about this name?
Are you going to walk away from it?
Are you done with it?
The party as it stands now is pathetic.
Do we have what it takes to fix it?
Or will we continue to watch silently while our party rushes down the drain?
It's up to you. And me. And our neighbors. Do you know your neighbors?
Do you want this published on a well seen blog in the area?