Four BIG Lies

Tea Party Patriots is releasing a four-part series of statements regarding the U.S. debt ceiling which explain the organization's opinion the topic.  Here is part 1:
 

Big Lie Number One:

 "Bush created all of these problems.  We are trying to solve them but it's much worse than we thought and it will take years for our solutions to have an impact."

There are numerous facts available to disprove this. But two of the biggest and best are:

Fact 1

President Obama increased spending and the size of government more than all previous presidents (from George Washington through George Bush) COMBINED.

President Obama created that problem and he should own it.
  
Fact 2

The number one, most important job of the House of Representatives every year is to create a federal budget. Under Nancy Pelosi (while Obama was in office) the House did not create a federal budget. They didn't even try. They did, however, write endless blank checks for Obama to use on his wild spending spree.
  
The liberal congress created that problem and they should own it.

We are hitting the debt ceiling because they went nuts with the country's credit card for the past 28 months.  It's not someone else's fault.  The problem was created quickly and it can be solved quickly by cutting spending and cutting up the credit card.  Raising the debt ceiling will only make it worse. PURE AND SIMPLE.  Don't buy it when they tell you it's more complicated than that.

Intolerant, by Definition

Tolerance is defined by dictionary.com (#3) as, "a liberal, undogmatic viewpoint". Dogma is, of course, a system of principles or tenets.

Since conservatives, especially religious folks, believe in a dogma as the root of a strong society then yes, they will tend to be intolerant of behavior which in their opinion undermines that foundation.

In a strong society rules are needed; anything goes is not an option. Chaos and anarchy is not a direction we want our society to take.

We all have our own beliefs regarding which rules we should live by and we engage in political debate daily about where the lines are drawn. After all, liberals and progressives have their own dogma (sexual freedom, environmental policy, war), I simply disagree with it, and I'm entitled to that opinion.

However, when disagreement on a social issue is raised, it seems to me the best argument the left can muster is to accuse the right of being intolerant. Well, yeah, we are. It's not an insult, it's a simple definition.

However, where my friends on the left go wrong is to assume I hate those individuals whose behavior I will not tolerate. I will, and have, treat them the same as I would anyone else I encounter. My intolerance does not keep me from befriending or loving anyone, ever.

Where I draw the line is when the left wants to silence anyone who dares to have a set of principles or who, by definition, is intolerant. I also object to tolerance being "taught" in our schools for it is, by definition, subjective; you can't teach it without a personal agenda attached.

Conservatives have often been accused of wanting to censor opposition and, I agree with the left, censorship is not a healthy practice in a free society. Censorship is the type of action a Communist system (i.e. China and the former Soviet Union) utilizes, not the free republic we enjoy.

What humors me however, is the assumed innocence the left wraps itself in by accusing the right of intolerance. They have themselves expressed intolerance and/or dismissive attitudes towards opposing points of views, as if those views shouldn't be allowed or taken seriously; simply put, censored (see Glenn Beck's removal from local radio).

Definition #3 also says, "interest in and concern for ideas, opinions, practices, etc., foreign to one's own".

So let me ask a question to my friends on the left...

Exactly how tolerant are you, of conservative ideals?

Justice Served in Crestmont and Willow Grove

Abington Township Ward 5 Commissioner Wayne Luker overcame a stiff, well-funded opponent and won his battle for re-election in Tuesday's Democrat primary.  Abington Patch has the full story.

Wayne Luker and Greg Holt
photo courtesy Abington Patch

Beyond the eminent domain issue I mentioned in my prior post, Luker had also bucked his own party by voting against a partisan attempt by Abington Democrat Commissioners to enact an anti-discrimination ordinance.  Luker's vote did not sit well with one very emotional fellow commisioner and several party leaders.

Luker's opponent, Donna Brewer, at the forefront of the anti-discrimination ordinance, tried to use Luker's opposition to motivate the electorate in a final-weekend attack video produced and distributed on DVD.  Tuesday, voters showed Brewer what they thought of her attacks; Luker won handily.

This is good news for my fellow patriots.  An independent voice in the Democrat party exists and voters in this very "blue" ward there like that. 

Congratulations Commissioner Luker!

Abington Democrats vs Wayne Luker

Thursday night, the Abington Township Commissioners ended an over two year effort to seize a commercial property located on Easton Road in Roslyn via a hostile government takeover, better known as eminent domain. 

I've written about this saga twice before, here and here.

While it is a clear victory for the Patane family who owns the location, this story is far from over.

Nowhere on the Democratic side of the ticket in Abington for this Tuesday's primary, except for cross-filed contests like school board, is there a single competitive race at any level, with one very clear exception.

Twenty year incumbent Ward 5 (Crestmont/Willow Grove) Democratic Commissioner, Wayne Luker, is facing his first challenge in memory.  Luker is being challenged not because he's doing a bad job.  In fact, while I disagree with some of his votes, Luker is one of the few Democrats in Abington I admire.

Luker's challenge can be summed up in one shining moment, when he was the lone Democrat to vote against the hostile takeover of the Patane (not Abington) property.

The Abington Democrats' website doesn't mention the candidates in the Ward 5 race.  I won't split hairs, it is typical for political parties to stay out of contested races on this level because no party endorsement exists.  But failing to mention either candidate keeps voters in the dark about the contest, in an age where Democrats love to cry out for transparency.

Either Montgomery County Commissioner Candidate and current State Representative Josh Shapiro (D), Montgomery County Party Chair Marcel Groen, and Abington Democrat leadership are actively targeting someone for voting against the machine, or lack the persuasive power and will to call off this fight.  Sad.

But Commissioner Luker can stand proud.  Even if the machine wins, he's the better Patriot for it.

Coward, Dead

Fox News is reporting, Usama Bin Laden is dead and the US has his body.

As one local GOP leader reminded me earlier,

"We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail."

~ George W. Bush

A google image search will give you details.  **graphic image warning**

Free Mumia and the F.O.P.?

I wonder if the New Jersey F.O.P., and the police and firemen who rallied in Trenton Thursday, realize who they are allied with now.

The AFL-CIO sponsored the rally, but what else is the nation's largest labor movement up to?



This is just part of Beck's March 3rd broadcast. For the complete video, see here.

A Bad School Choice

I choose to send my children to Catholic school, yet Pennsylvania Senate Bill 1 does NOT include families like mine in the voucher scheme; apparently, I make too much money to qualify.  So how can it truly be a "School Choice" bill? 

It's not.  Rather, this is simply a way for the State to dictate curriculum to non-public schools and create an all-new, politically connected board, and a shiny new bureaucracy to execute the plan.

Sadly, the Bill may drive a wedge between over 30 grassroots organizations from across the Commonwealth, Governor Corbett, and the PA-GOP.  While the politicians may want to pat themselves on the back for giving us choices, the watchdogs realize it may be another 15 years before we get another opportunity to correct this legislative mistake.

Commonwealth Foundation has provided a good breakdown of the Bill with changes they would like to see included.  They accurately point out that one important item missing from SB1 is any tax credit for families above the threshold currently written into the bill.  Oddly enough, they've also published this convenient little commentary from "Public School Board Members for School Choice" supporting the plan.

Wait a minute!  Public School Board Members support choice now??  Anyone else slightly suspicious?

Any school choice bill which falls short of providing relief for ALL families is nothing but a political oxymoron. 

Sophmoric Political Rhetoric

...one reason why I will NOT be voting for any incumbent Montgomery County Commissioners tonight.

I wonder, does Kitchen Table Patriots know their name is being used by political operatives like a cheap political joke?  Will the authors come out of the shadows? I doubt it.