This is Montco Democrats Priority?

Abington ADD Rally
photo courtesy of Abington.Patch.com

Unemployment is at 9.1%, food and gas prices are through the roof, and a double dip in the housing market is looming.  So much for the "Summer of Recovery II".

Never mind that silly stuff, State Representative and Montgomery County Commissioner Candidate, Josh Shapiro (D-Abington), let's everyone know what his priority is: protecting a narrow fringe segment of society and political bedfellows, NOT jobs. **(VIDEO - 2:09 mark)**

They call themselves Abington ADD (Against Discrimination and Defamation) and today's rally was to shame, I suppose, Abington Commissioners into voting for an ordinance the public doesn't want nor need.  This Abington.Patch story provides background on the vote.

Also in attendance was Abington Democrat Chairman, Michael Barbiero, who knows a thing or two about hate and name-calling defamation.  This Tea Party Patriot (not Teabagger) wants an apology; I won't hold my breath.

Mr. Chairman...HATE, swings both ways as well.

Big Lie Number Four

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 4:

Big Lie Number Four

"The intricate financial details of running the entire United States Government are so complicated that the average American just isn't capable of understanding how it works.  It involves thousands upon thousands of byzantine and interwoven variables that are so delicately balanced they can be easily disrupted by one false move, setting off a cataclysmic chain reaction of economic disasters that will cripple the world's monetary system. Handcuffing congress by not allowing us to raise the debt ceiling just shows how simplistic, unsophisticated, ill informed, and child-like you Tea Party Patriots are.  Those of us in congress are far better equipped to make these kinds of decisions.  So just go back to your daily lives and let us run the country."

When you're standing face-to-face with a member of congress and they tell you how great they are at running the economy, it's difficult not to laugh so hard that you temporarily lose consciousness.  But many of them manage to say it with a straight face.  It's almost as if they honestly think they know what they're doing.

To a Congressman, the thought of taking budgetary advice from average Americans who balance checkbooks, run businesses, live within the limits of their financial means, and stop spending before they run out of money is outrageous and insulting.

They are the rulers after all.  Who are we to question them?

But deep within the subconscious mind of every Congressman is the truth.  They are horribly insecure because they are in way over their heads, they have very little idea what they're doing, and they are scared to death that someone (especially their other buddies in congress) will discover that they secretly don't understand the convoluted logic.  So they all pretend.

It's time to snap them out of it.

Ockham's Razor is an old, widely used axiom that says when you have two competing ideas
the simplest idea is usually the best.  This is especially true when there's no evidence to support the more complicated idea.

Let's look at how Ockham's Razor applies to the debt ceiling issue.

IDEA 1 (from congress):

It's so complicated that we can't explain it to you, but trust us we should raise the debt ceiling.

IDEA 2 (from Americans):

It's incredibly simple. There's no more money.  So do not raise the debt ceiling.

Congress has a really, really, really bad track record when it comes to managing money. There are no examples of real life situations in which congress was prudent, frugal, and efficient. There's also no proof that congress learns from past mistakes and doesn't repeat them. Their complicated solutions haven't worked, ever. But they keep trying them.

There simply is no evidence to prove that congress is qualified to make unsupervised decisions about how to handle our money.

On the other hand, there is plenty of evidence that millions of Americans (the ones congressmen think are unsophisticated) successfully operate households and businesses every day and have done so for over 200 years using a very simple financial principle.

When you run out of money,
stop buying stuff.

Ockham's Razor

Idea 1 = complicated + no proof

Idea 2 = simple + lots of proof

Idea 2 Wins!!

Congress, you're out of money.
Stop buying stuff.
And don't raise the debt ceiling.
PERIOD.

Big Lie Number Three

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 3:

Big Lie Number Three

Members of the republican "leadership" will tell you this lie.

"Raising the debt ceiling is inevitable; and the democrats want it so badly they're willing to give us some really great deals in order to get it. We can take advantage of it and get some cool stuff in exchange for our votes. It'll be great!"

Frighteningly, many of the republicans in congress trust the promises made to them by their fellow members. They haven't learned that there always turns out to be a loophole, or an "unforeseen" circumstance, or just an outright betrayal that ends up benefiting socialism and thwarting conservatism.

When is the last time anyone can remember the republicans making a "deal" with the democrats that didn't result in the American people getting shafted?

To some it appears that the democrats repeatedly lure the republicans in with promises of bipartisanship and goodwill. Then when they've gotten everything they want, the democrats whack the republicans over the head with a two by four and break their deal, leaving the republicans bewildered and Americans saying, "we told you so."

To others it appears that both republicans and democrats have neither the desire, the intelligence, nor the will-power to solve the problems with our government. They simply want to stay in office and enjoy life in the ruling class.

In either case, here's the message we want republicans and democrats to hear from the voters in their districts:

You Raising the Debt Ceiling EQUALS...

Me Voting for Your Opponent in the Primary and in the General Election

Raising the debt ceiling is not good for America, no matter what deal you think you're getting in exchange for it.

If you want a balanced budget amendment, pass a balanced budget amendment AND DON'T raise the debt ceiling.

If you want big spending cuts, pass big spending cuts AND DON'T raise the debt ceiling.

If you want the Capitol cafeteria to sell pizza on Friday, just ask the chef AND DON'T raise the debt ceiling.

Do you see the simple beauty of this pattern?

The point is, find another way to get the "deals" that you want without selling your vote on the debt ceiling.

PERIOD.

Big Lie Number Two

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 2:

Big Lie Number Two  

"There's no way to cut enough spending. So we must raise the debt ceiling. If we don't raise it America will not be able to pay back its creditors and the rest of the world will never trust us with money again. It will be a disaster!!!"

Fact:    The problem is not that congress can't cut spending. The problem is that congress doesn't want to cut spending.

There's a big difference.

The United States Government is addicted to spending money.  It is a gluttonous, greedy, vulgar addiction that makes drug addicts look stable by comparison.

If you lock a heroin addict in a nice room, provide him with everything he needs to live, but give him no more heroin, what happens?  He panics.  He will become totally irrational, scream, cry, beg, plead, bargain, lie, steal, and (given the chance) maybe even kill to get more drugs.  It would be difficult to watch him go through the painful process of breaking the addiction.  But if you care about his future, you know that you cannot trust the words that are coming out of his mouth.  It's the addiction talking.  You stand strong and cut off his supply until the addiction is broken.

It's time to lock the government in a nice room.  We will care for it and give it everything it needs to live.  And because we love America, we're going to stand strong and force it to break the addiction.

The truth is that the spending can be cut quickly and in a large enough amount to avoid blowing past the debt ceiling.

At the end of President Clinton's term in office (just 10 years ago) the government was operating with a budget surplus.  Some debate the specifics; but no one can debate that spending was far lower than it is now, and the economy was much better than it is now.

During President Bush's term in office federal spending climbed and climbed.  Government grew faster and bigger than it should ever be allowed to do.

President Obama has had the credit card for only 28 months.  And in that time the government has grown more than it did under all previous Presidents added together!

Common sense dictates that if it can be pumped up that quickly, it can be cut back quickly too.

Many of the things that will have to be reduced are popular government programs that politicians fear cutting.  But we cannot continue to survive as a country if we fail to properly manage massive government programs because they're considered "sacred cows".

The "sacred cows" have run off into the wild and are going to starve to death if we don't bring them back into the barn.

We've also got a few diseased "mad cows" (like Obamacare) that just need to be put down in order to save the herd.

Mr. President, Senate, & Congress;

We are not going to let you raise the debt ceiling.

So stop asking.

Now move on and deal with the spending problems.

PERIOD.

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.