O'Donnell cleared but still smeared by biased media

It's amazing what facts didn't make it into the story huh? http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/report-federal-election-commission-attorneys-urged-finding-that-odonnell-broke-campaign-laws/2011/06/29/AGuJT5qH_story.html

Randall Chase from the AP called today (FYI: The FCC never contacted me by the way) and here is what I told him:

I was not an official “volunteer”, employee or paid consultant with Friends of Christine O’Donnell until late September 2010, after the Primary election and after the TEA Party Express had left town. I was an independent blogger and supporter of Christine and I was anti-Mike Castle. As the Executive Director of Common Sense Communities Society, I endorsed Christine and subsequently I nominated her at the convention. I was not an official member of the campaign in any capacity. As ED of CSCS, I helped to bring in the TEA Party Express to Delaware to advocate independently of the campaign. Christine showed up at public events, there was no private communication there. Additionally, I was a frequently caller to the Rick Jensen show to defend Christine or to advocate against Mike Castle. I offered to hook Rick Jensen up with the TEA Party Express for an interview as an independent agent. I did speak with the TEA Party Express every day at that time, in my capacity of CSCS Exec. Director. Also, I was/am the Communications Director for Founders Values, a 501(c)3 who put on debates and candidate forums which she attended. As a host, I saw it as my role to ensure that our guests were protected and so when she was accosted by the press, I walked her out.

The truth is omitted...wow...shocking...TELL THE TRUTH!

New Castle County/ public employees reach sweet deal with taxpayer dollars

Readers of this blog will remember back in January when we did a story on a report from the Wilmington News Journal confirming an allegation made during the 2010 U.S. Senate campaign that New Castle County was broke.  Dace Blaskowitz, a political independent, found that the "NCCo government is simply unsustainable" and that the answer to their rampant overspending has consistently been higher and higher property taxes and sewer fees.  You may also remember that Mr. Blaskowitz found that 75% of New Castle County government costs are tied up in personnel and that is after a 2.5%paycut in 2009 and anotherin 2010.

Blaskowitz suggested a reduction in staff levels and contraction of benefit obligations yet New Castle County has gone on a hiring spree lately.  He also suggested some minimal concessions from the unions with regard to pay/benefits might be necessary to close the gap between revenue and expenditures.  The Clark Administration has said that it will work with the unions but that it is getting serious about the County finances.  Today however, sources within the County unions confirm that a deal has been reached and will be signed tomorrow.  The deal is reported to be a two year deal with county employees contributing $1200 per year to a healthcare savings fund.  In exchange for this surcharge payment, county employees will get a 5% increase (covering their two 2.5% reductions in the past 2 years) plus 3 new paid fulough days each year.  County employees will not have any holidays or current off time taken away.  Sources say that County Council Executive Paul Clark will sign the deal tomorrow afternoon.

Does this mean that our County finances are back in order?  Just a month ago when County Council passed the FY 2012 budget, Clark was talking about another 2.5% cut and other concessions from the unions.  In fact, his budget passed, despite strong opposition from Council President Kovach with the specific plan to make those cuts.  Kovach cited concerns that the budget did not properly address the current debt and also questions as to how unions would rollback 5% of their pay and then agree to ANOTHER cut of 2.5%.  Also, is it possible that the 3 extra paid furlough days are equal to that 2.5% cut?

House condemns military action in Libya on the anniversary of Congress' repeal of Vietnam resolution

Today marks the 41st anniversary of the repeal of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which ended the unchecked war powers granted by Congress to the Executive Branch with regard to the handling of the conflicts in Asia.  In fact, after the Korean War and Vietnam War were waged without a declaration of war, Congress passed the War Powers Act which was vetoed by Nixon and then overridden by Congress.  The War Powers Act declared that the President must notify Congress within 48 hours of committing armed forces to any military action and forbids the military from remaining in a conflict zone past 90 days without authorization from Congress or a declaration of war. 

Today, 41 years after the repeal of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, Congress voted against a measure that would have given Barack Obama the authority to continue the U.S. military operation in Libya.  The bill was defeated 295-123 with 70 Democrats joining the House Republicans in rejecting the plea from the White House.  However, the House did not vote to cut off funding for the action.  In reviewing statements from tea party supported candidates like Allen West, Michelle Bachmann, Paul Ryan and Ron Paul, it appears that the resolution to defund failed because it did not go far enough.  Here is a list of those who voted against the resolution.  The video below shows Ron Paul's reason for opposing the defund resolution:

As was mentioned above, the lack of support for the President, especially with regard to his actions in Libya is bi-partisan.  In a shocking video, New York Democrat Representative Jerrold Nadler gives an impassioned speech calling on Congress to stand up and reclaim the powers delegated to them by our Constitution and to keep America from becoming an empire as opposed to a Republic.

Votegate

My good friend Charlie Copeland over at Resolute Determination has an excellent piece on DeLucagate and Tiganigate that calls to task Delaware Democrats whose corruption can no longer be hidden.  As usual, Charlie expertly ties together the corruption surrounding State Senator Tony DeLuca's late release of his adjusted time cards after weeks of refusal to do so and even going so far as to have Attorney General Beau Biden cite a Homeland Security statute to keep his time cards secret, with the illegal campaign donations from NKS Distributors owner Chris Tigani.  From Vice President Biden to Lt. Gov. Matt Denn, Gov. Markell and even Senator Tom Carper, Delaware Democrats have been getting these illegal donations for years.  The Delaware Democrats have hidden for years behind a veil of secrecy thanks to a complicit media and reports whose curiosity was not just inconsistent but often nonexistent.  Now, with reporters such as Chad Livengood and Cris Barrish on the case, who are inquisitive and unafraid of following the truth, their exploits are on display. 

Now, the Democrats are pushing their far left agenda by passing marijuana legalization laws and civil union legislation through the state General Assembly and having Jack Markell sign them.  Delaware is hemorrhaging jobs and falling further and further into debt.  The transportation department has been exposed as corrupt and Markell's failure as Governor is apparent.  While some local talk show hosts may disagree, Delaware has not created jobs, there has been no net economic growth, in fact, Delaware has lost jobs month in and month out all while Markell and his cronies in the General Assembly have forced their liberal agenda on us.  Now, after all of this failure, our General Assembly wants to make Delaware, the second smallest state in the U.S. beholden to cities who have more population than our entire state. 

It's called the National Popular Vote Act and it cedes Delaware's sovereignty to the national popular vote.  What does that mean?  It means that Presidential candidates will no longer come to Delaware and that our 3 electoral votes, will no longer be awarded based on the votes of the citizens of the State of Delaware.  They would instead be awarded to the winner of the national popular vote.  This gives our electoral votes to whomever win the votes of America's major cities.  The Electoral College was designed by our founders to ensure that small states (like Delaware) would have a say on par with larger states.  That is not to say that the votes would be equal but rather that the smaller states would have a say as much as any other state would.  Originally, the "Electors" as they are shown in the Constitution, cast votes for candidates who wanted to be President.  The top two vote getters would be President and Vice President respectively.  This is how John Adams ended up with Thomas Jefferson, a political rival as Vice President.  At this time, around 1800, political parties emerged after 12 years without any real "parties".  The founders saw inherent problems with political opposites as #1 and #2 in command, especially for instance, when it came to foreign policy (Thomas Jefferson supported the French Revolution while John Adams was very much against it).  That is why they wrote and proposed the 12th Amendment which retained the Electors (and the Electoral College) but grouped the President and Vice President as a package deal. 

Now, after 223 years of successful elections with just a handful of concerns over the Presidency going to the winner of the Electoral votes who lost the national popular vote, Delaware's Democrat controlled General Assembly is ready to tell you that YOUR vote doesn't matter.  They think that Delaware's electoral votes ought to go to the person who gets the most votes nationally, meaning, the person who wins the cities.  Are you willing to let your vote be decided by people who live in New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Miami or Houston?  The State House has passed the measure.  Your State Democrat State Representatives have decided that your vote doesn't matter.  Please, call your State Senator and tell them NOT to cede our votes to big cities.

Forgotten History

As Wade Malcom reports, the Chronicle of Higher Education found that Delaware General Assembly is tied with New Mexico for the 3rd lowest percentage of legislators that have a bachelor’s degree. As Wade points out, there are endless jokes to come from this (sarcasm) “startling revelation” but another recently released report is more of a problem not just for Delaware but for America as a whole. While it’s no surprise that our Delaware legislators are less educated than most other states, a new report out from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reveals some startling evidence of a belief long held by many Americans, we are forgetting where we came from and how we got here.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has put out “The Nation’s Report Card” on the subject of U.S. History in 2010. The study finds that there has been little improvement or change in the knowledge of America’s history across grade ranges and it also finds that even the top percentiles of students score just over 50% on the scale. The assessment was done of 4th, 8th, and 12th graders across America and across the gender, race and socioeconomic scales. The students were graded on a scale with 3 major categories of success: Basic, Proficient, Advanced


Continue reading on Examiner.com Forgotten History - Wilmington Education | Examiner.com

Citizen Cain

Herman Cain burst onto the stage at the Fox News debate in South Carolina and suprised a lot of people.  I knew about Herman Cain, I was concerned about his ability to raise enough money to beat Obama but from what I knew of his message and his past, I was happy enough.  With that said, he WAS a Federal Reserve Chairman and that was a concern because I know that the Fed is a major problem in our country.  I say was, because Herman Cain was confronted about his work with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City by Glenn Beck and his answer was more than sufficient:

You can watch the full 1 hour interview with Herman Cain here (Watch it, it's worth it). 

People ask, "Why do you support Herman Cain?" and the answer is, "Because Hermain Cain, flat out gets it."  Herman is a self made man.  He's worked for everything he's ever gotten and he's become a successful business owner who has created jobs and grown that business.  Cain understands America and what makes America the greatest country in the world.  He is descended from slaves and was raised by hardworking parents in the age of segregation in Atlanta, Georgia.  His father worked multiple jobs and his mother also worked to ensure that Herman and his brother had a home to grow up in and that they graduated from college.  They had faith the America WAS the nation of greatness that they thought it was.  They had faith that if they kept their faith in God and in eachother and worked hard, their dreams would be realized and they were right.  Herman and his brother graduated from college and now their son Herman is running for President of the United States. 

Herman understands that though America has the scar of slavery on it, the greatness is in the freedom to overcome that mark and to work your way up.  He combined that can do attitude with the values of a good work ethic & attention to detail and he earned everything he's ever recieved.  Some will say that "Herman Cain can't win."  I recall that they said the same thing about Christine O'Donnell in her race versus Mike Castle and look how that turned out.  She beat him despite the destruction by the mainstream media and despite the attacks from her own party.  In fact, had it not been for those attacks from her own party, we might be looking at Senator O'Donnell right now.

Some will say, "Can Herman Cain beat Barack Obama?" and the answer is YES.  Herman Cain is uniquely positioned to confront Barack Obama on all of his policies and to defeat him in the realm of ideas.  Additionally, Herman has a business background and he's been in the trenches of America's fiscal swamp.  What's more, Herman removes the one weapon that the media and the left have consistently thrown at every challenge to Barack Obama's policies, racism.  It almost feels wrong to even think it, but the fact is that no matter how valid the challenge to Barack Obama's Socialist policies, the media wraps it up in the bow of racism and hatred.  The media won't be able to do that with a man like Herman Cain who knows what he believes, understands the facts, speaks his mind and by the way, looks like Obama and more importantly, can really relate to communities that other candidates would spend millions of dollars just to begin to learn about.

Others will say, "Herman doesn't have enough name recognition.".  Sure, Herman has some work to do on his name recognition but most of that starts with us.  It's up to US to get the word out.  We've got to be telling our friends about Herman Cain and we've got be using Facebook, Twitter and email along with our face to face discussions to enlighten our friends and neighbors about Herman Cain and what he stands for. 

Step 1 - Go to www.hermancain.com  and learn what you can about Herman Cain.
Step 2 - Join Team Cain here
Step 3 - Invite your friends and family to check out www.hermancain.com
Step 4 - Invite your Caniac friends to Join Team Cain
Step 5 - Spread the word about Herman Cain to the rest of your community.

My latest blog pal, Mantei has got a GREAT post with tons of other Herman Cain websites where you can get involved.  Check him out here.  And subscribe to his site: http://mantei.wordpress.com

The Real Reason Why Sarah Palin Went to Fort McHenry

Most people would say, "She went there because that's where the Star Spangled Banner was written...duh...boring, move on." and they would shrug their shoulders and move on.  But most people would be wrong.  While the Star Spangled Banner was indeed written in the harbor, most people don't know the true story of the battle or the true story of our national anthem.  Sarah does and now I'm going to tell it to you so that you will as well.  The story of the Battle of Baltimore (Fort McHenry) is really one of the most inspiring of all time and it, when combined with the events surrounding the burning of Washington, D.C., shows America's connection to divine providence. 

The British have routed Washington D.C. and while they celebrate by burning the city, something amazing happens.  Out of the blue, with no warning and in an extremely rare event for the east coast, a tornado touched down in the middle of the city.  It tore apart buildings, uprooted trees and sent them flying across the town.  Likewise, it sent British cannon, wagons and soldiers flying as well.  This allowed the American forces, Congress and the President to escape the capital and the clutches of the British Army.  The American government flees into the Pennsylvania countryside while the battered and disorganized army heads northeast to Baltimore.  There, the Americans can catch their breath and regroup in anticipation of the coming battle against the British.

Washington D.C. had been torched and the Americans were on the run in the War of 1812, America's forgotten war.  The British Armada stood in the waters outside of Baltimore and British troops marched on the city riding high spirits from their rout of the American Capital City.  The people of Baltimore, merchants and ship owners, had already committed all able bodied men to their militia which splits itself between the defense of the city by land and manning the city's coastal defense, Fort McHenry.  As the land and naval forces converged, pincing the American military forces and militia at the city of Baltimore, the people decide to sink their OWN ships in a row at the Harbor entrance to block the approach by the British Armada.  It forces the hand of the Brits.

They cannot enter the harbor but they cannot give up the fight.  This is their chance to finally crush the Americans and bring them back into the British Empire.  On September 13th, the British unleashed the most devastating bombardment in the history of warfare to that time.  Shells flew and burst on the ground like fireworks on the Fourth of July.  As the bombardment commenced, the British ground forces attacked the city from the north east.  The bombardment and the attack lasted the entire day but the British shells and infantry were inaccurate and even desperate decoy attempts failed to dislodge the Americans.

A shell falls  into the main magazine (gunpowder storehouse) at Fort McHenry but fails to ignite which saves the magazine.  WE STAND.

Townspeople in Baltimore and those on a truce ship caught in the harbor can do nothing but watch the scenes from a distance.  The British land forces falter and Baltimore is safe as darkness approaches on the evening of the 13th.

A storm rolls in near nightfall and begins to do more to obscure the view of the Fort (which is the key to maintaining control of Baltimore) than the smoke that billows from the many hundreds of cannon unleashing devastation back and forth across the harbor.  Rockets and cannon shells begin to illuminate the darkening sky and at "the twilight's last gleaming", when the night is upon the fort, the flag stands, waving.

Throughout the night, the bombardment continues and the people watch the flag that is flying over the ramparts with great earnest.  Does it stand?  If it does, they know the fort has survived.

As dawn breaks, the bombardment stops. 25 hours of unrelenting fire from the British Armada ceases as the commander of Fort McHenry replaces the storm flag with a new "garrison flag", the largest ever quilted to that time.

It waves over the ramparts of Fort McHenry and instantly the citizens in the harbor and those on the truce ship in the harbor (among them, Francis Scott Key) know that we have survived the attack.  The armada pulls anchor, sets sails and leaves the front of the harbor.  The attack on Baltimore has failed and the Americans have withstood the most fearsome Navy in the world at that time.  Key pens a poem called "Defence of Fort McHenry" that becomes our National Anthem:

O! say can you see by the dawn's early light,
what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

For those of you who never really knew the story of the Battle of Baltimore, where our National Anthem comes from, I hope that this helps to put it into context.  Context is important.  That's why I think it was such a travesty that the Congress left parts out of the reading of the Constitution in January of this year.  They skipped the 3/5ths clause and the 18th Amendment (Prohibition Amendment) as well.  Their defense is that they read the Constitution as it exists today.  Unfortunately for their point, it's not valid.  The Constitution does not contain parts that we can erase.  It legally and purposefully includes those parts that have been changed as WELL as those changes.  We do not delete ANYTHING or "rewrite" the document.  We ADD to it, we do not subtract.  There is a reason for this and that reason is because our Founders wanted us to see America as she is AND as she was.  We must remember WHY we made changes and see our scars if we are to ensure we never cause them again.

Hillary Clinton Exposes yet another plank in U.S. foreign policy

U.S. foreign policy has consistently changed over the last few years since Obama/Biden/Clinton took over. We saw it in Egypt where not only did President Obama and the U.S. government verbally support the political uprising but they assisted, along with big Tech, in perpetuating the events and called for a U.S. ally in the Middle East to relinquish power while simultaneously ignoring a similar uprising in Iran. In fact, Obama administration fingerprints are all over many of the events in the Middle East and his speech before the visit by Israeli leader Bibi Netanyahu, pronouncing it U.S. policy that the negotiations start at the 1967 Arab-Israeli lines with land swaps, signified a massive shift in U.S. policy in the Middle East.  But yesterday, while watching the dreaded "Fox News Channel" I witnessed a pool video of Hillary Clinton speaking on the topic of the uprising in Yemen (ABC News Story here) where she said the following:

“We cannot expect this conflict to end unless President Saleh and his government move out of the way to permit the opposition and civil society to begin a transition to political and economic reform,”

Now, this struck a cord with me.  I wasn't sure why at the time but the phrase "civil society" sent up red flags in my mind.  Just a few short clicks later and I realized why I was thinking this way.  It turns out that the definition of Civil Society varies slightly but the one most used is the one from the London School of Economics Centre for Civil Society (closed in Septe,ber 2010) which describes it as:

Civil society refers to the arena of uncoerced collective action around shared interests, purposes and values. In theory, its institutional forms are distinct from those of the state, and market, though in practice, the boundaries between state, civil society, and market are often complex, blurred and negotiated. Civil society commonly embraces a diversity of spaces, actors and institutional forms, varying in their degree of formality, autonomy and power. Civil societies are often populated by organizations such as registered charities, development non-governmental organizations, community groups, women's organizations, faith-based organizations, professional associations, trade unions, self-help groups, social movements, business associations, coalitions and advocacy groups.

So basically, Civil Society refers to Community Organizations and unions (ACORN, SEIU, etc.) who operate independent of government and independent of the market systems.  They are groups (non-profits, NGOs, faith based groups, etc.) that the left has used to advance their agenda over the years.  So, Hillary Clinton is calling for Yemeni President Saleh to step down so that the community organizations and unions can begin to take over and reshape the country.  The same unions and community organizations that have instigated revolts all over the Middle East.  They are a mix of Socialist and Islamist groups with differing end goals who are uniting for the short term.  Hmm...that sounds oddly familiar.... but I digress. 

In Yemen, the groups vary from Al-Qaeda and Houthis, rival islamic jihadist groups to The South Yemen Movement and the Yemeni chapter of The Muslim Brotherhood.  There are also influences from Middle Eastern, European and American left wing Socialist groups as there are in almost all of the Middle Eastern movements.  Fundamental transformation indeed. 

O'Donnell vindicated by FEC - Charges "frivolous"

http://wdel.com/story.php?id=35093

Former Delaware U.S. Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell says the Federal Election Commission has dismissed a complaint filed against her during last year's campaign by the Delaware Republican Party.

The state GOP accused O'Donnell and the Tea Party Express of violating FEC rules that restrict coordination between candidates and outside political organizations.

The complaint alleged that the Tea Party Express solicited donors to contribute to O'Donnell and that O'Donnell and the group worked jointly on advertising, breaching federal rules.

In a post on her Twitter account Thursday, O'Donnell says the FEC had dismissed the complaint, which she described as frivolous and politically motivated. O'Donnell's campaign lawyer confirmed that the complaint had been dismissed.

At this point, I would suggest that the Delaware Republican Party apologize and bring Ms. O'Donnell BACK into the fold to help win in 2012.  Since I was personally named in this lawsuit, I am quite happy to hear that this was the FEC's finding.  It should also be a warning to those who judge candidates based on the desperate attacks of other candidates...look for FACTS...not allegations.