Obscure Speach by Justice William C. Goodloe

I ran across an obscure Google video by Justice William C. Goodloe, Washington State Supreme Court (Retired). Justice Goodloe relates his years on the bench and about protecting the Republic as framed by the Founding Fathers. It is a good supplement for those currently studying the US Constitution.

The entire video is about an hour long, but can be viewed in segments. (Justice Goodloe's manner of speaking is reminiscent of Ronald Regan's style.)

Open Letter to Leelanau County GOP and Democrat County Chairs

I wish to express my thanks to the Leelanau Enterprise for a fair and accurate story about America’s Independent Party, published in the October 15th edition.

However, I take exception to statements made by “the chairmen of the local Democratic and Republican parties [who] say there’s plenty of room for a group of this type in politics.”

In the typical “politic-speak” fashion, what these chairmen don’t say, is that there is room for a third party as long as it is opposite of their political persuasion. No less than three members of the local GOP contacted me with this message, but none from the Democrat side.

According to the highest-ranking GOP county official that contacted me, third party candidates (conservatives) siphon votes from the GOP, allowing a Democrat to win. To prove the point, he asked me to recall Ross Perot. After successfully countering his argument, a second tack taken. “Wouldn’t you vote for a candidate that supported, say, four-out-of-five of your principles?”

The counter-argument to the first question asserts that in a plurality race containing a leftist Republican and a leftist Democrat, most races can be won by a conservative independent candidate. Today, many GOP candidates, including the Party’s 2008 Presidential nominee, are left of center, if not true leftists. Need I comment on the Democrats?

Addressing the second question, voters who blindly, compromise their core principles to vote for the “best of the worst,” is a major factor in the GOP’s drift to the left. This slow but inexorable drift is the major cause, in my opinion, for the recent widely-publicized mass defection from the GOP’s base.

Unbelievably at a second meeting, another of the county’s GOP tried unsuccessfully to tie America’s Independent Party to George Wallace’s presidential party of 1968! Great try. Who once said, freeze it, polarize it, ridicule it?

Today, the GOP is no longer the party of the right. It is merely a party more right than the Democrat Party. The GOP’s recent attempts to cast the widest net for votes has resulted in candidates’ campaign strategies to do and say what they think will garner the most votes, while ignoring the party’s (a.k.a. the People’s) platform. The strategy has resulted in a catastrophic disconnect between professed party principles and party candidates, hence driving away truly conservative Republicans.

Polls show that most American voters are right-leaning. So why does the GOP leadership have trouble convincing these right-leaning people to vote for GOP candidates? I answered that question earlier. GOP leaders, you haven’t been paying attention to your base; have you been paying attention to me?

Come on GOP, and Democrats too, if you dare. Develop and encourage candidates who oppose erosion of our rights and liberties; who will work to truly shrink bloated, unresponsive government; who believe in strength thru preparedness; who foster free market capitalism; who embrace Reagan economics; and most importantly, who take seriously their oath to defend and support the Constitution of the United States.

America’s Independent Party will give its endorsement to all such candidates, regardless of party or level in government.

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Note: This letter was printed in the Readers' Forum column of The Leelanau Enterprise on November 5, 2009

After the Tea Parties.... Now What? Here's my Take

Many of you ask me the question about what's next? Yep, we meet weekly to share what's going on and to build a sense of community. Yep, we are now conducting our own training on the Constitution and Internet Activisim. Yep, we are networking with groups all over the state to support and share our time and talent with them.

That's quite a handful. But what it's really about is learning, training, and gaining experience for what faces us in the Fall of 2010.

I've run across quite a bit of buzz about the special Congressional election being held in New York's 23rd district in less than two weeks. It's a three way race between a Dem, a GOP, and an Independent. Because the GOP candidate is a flaming liberal, the Independent, Doug Hoffman, has a great chance to win this election.

Just a bit later in this posting, I will link you to an article on Politico.com that shows what tea party volunteers are doing in this special election. After reading the article, I would like you to do three things.

First, think about what skills you now have and what skills you will need to do exactly what the tea party people are doing in New York.

Second, and just as important, think about the current office holders whom you feel need to get the boot. Don't confine your thinking to Congressional, but also State reps and senators, County commissioners, City councils and mayors, and so forth. After you have picked out one or two, study their records,search for news stories. Learn everything you can about them so you can find the strategy that fits your style that will make the biggest dent to throw them out of office.

Lastly, watch for other potential candidates to run against them. Contact them if you can, and ask about their positions on the issues with the promise that if you really can connect with their platform, you will work FOR them and AGAINST their oppostion, since you have researched the opponent and have ideas how to beat them.

Just remember this. We can rally, petition, call, and write all we want. Those are good efforts now, but they are only a holding tactic. Ultimately, the most effective way to make a real change is at the polls in Novermber 2010 and you MUST be ready to fight that fight.

Now, go read on, link to the complete article and start thinking about the three steps covered above.

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From the Politico.com website:

Tea party activists from across the nation are rallying around the House special election in upstate New York, viewing it as the first electoral test of the nascent conservative movement’s political muscle.

Organizers up and down the East Coast report that activists are making their way into the campaign offices of Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman, with the volunteers focusing their efforts in Oswego, Madison and Jefferson counties. While tea party organizers say the election is a unique opportunity to hold the Democratic and Republican parties to account, much of their energy is being directed against Dede Scozzafava, the GOP establishment-backed nominee whom they view as a squishy moderate who represents all that is wrong with the Republican Party.

“I went here from Washington, D.C., saying, ‘Now what?’” said Jennifer Bernstone, an organizer for Central New York 912, a Syracuse-based tea party group that so far has about 300 members getting out the vote for Hoffman. “Well, here’s the ‘Now what.’”

Read the complete article here

Leelanau County Sheriff Deputies May Have Violated Constitution

One of my tipsters let me know about this article by TV 7&4. I look forward to the official response from Sheriff Oltersdorf, upon his return to town.

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore – Experience The Homestead's Sewage

by Tom Van Zoeren, guest contributor

I hope you got a chance to enjoy some of the Ken Burns series, “Our National Parks: America’s Best Idea” on television this week. It was inspiring seeing the Parks themselves; and also hearing the stories of how Americans have fiercely defended them over the years. You may be interested to know that our own National Park, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, is presently considering how, or whether, to effectively protect National Park lands from sewage spray from The Homestead Resort. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is primarily located in Leelanau County, Michigan, and accounts for a vast amount of the total tourism business in the county.

For those who are interested, a short history, summarizing how we got here, follows below. I expect you’ll find it a rather unbelievable tale.


A SHORT HISTORY OF THE HOMESTEAD RESORT’S SEWAGE

• How it began: At the time of the beginning of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, the vacant acreage next to The Homestead Resort was essentially owned by the same people who owned The Homestead Resort. Like all other undeveloped land within the National Park boundaries, this land was subject to purchase by the National Park Service. However, the owner sold an easement to The Homestead Resort (essentially himself) for $1, allowing for a seepage area on 13 acres of the property. So when the government bought the property, it came encumbered with that easement, thereby skirting the law, and granting The Homestead Resort continued use of the property.

• What the easement said: The Homestead Resort may have a “seepage area” for its sewage system within the 13-acre easement area. At that time, this was, of course, understood to mean an underground system of drain pipes. The above-ground land was to be left as natural as possible.

• What the easement did not say: It did not say that the National Park is obligated to provide for all of The Homestead Resort’s sewage needs—just to provide a place for a seepage area on those 13 acres.

• The early years: For some years, the land was used as intended—Seepage system below ground; trails through the woods and meadows above ground. Because much of the area was not needed for seepage, that area remained covered with forest.

• Problems: Over the years, The Homestead Resort grew, and outgrew its sewage system. Sewage oozed from surrounding ground; there were numerous Michigan Department of Natural Resource permit violations; the groundwater became polluted; citizens complained; lawsuits were filed. Everyone was desperate to resolve the situation.

• Hello, sewage: In 1992 The Homestead Resort announced a plan to clear-cut the remaining forest and utilize the entire area. Anxious to resolve the many problems, but also wanting to preserve the remaining forest, the then-Park-Superintendent unfortunately agreed to a plan to allow for the partially-treated sewage to be irrigated above ground, so the trees could remain.

• More Problems: The National Park Service and the Department of Environmental Quality documented many problems during following years: the system was not maintained properly; sewage was sprayed beyond the boundaries of the easement area; the ground water was again polluted.

• Goodbye, trees: In 2005 The Homestead Resort announced that it had again exceeded its sewage system capacity, and now needed to cut all the trees, replace them with a grass-alfalfa mix, and spray their sewage over the whole area. Park Management now questioned the legality of above-ground irrigation under the easement for a “seepage area”, but was advised by its solicitor (legal advisor) that because “the camel already has its nose in the tent” (meaning the previous superintendent had allowed for above-ground irrigation), it could no longer be prevented.

Anxious to prevent drifting of pathogenic sewage spray into the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, the National Park Service, various environmental organizations, and private citizens requested The Homestead Resort to explore options such as root-zone seepage, drip irrigation, low-profile low-pressure sprinklers, and better pretreatment. The Homestead rejected these options and prepared to install a high-pressure spray system.

• Buffers?: It is universally accepted in the field that, when using high-pressure sprayers, aerosol drift is inevitable. Additionally, winds can blow even the non-aerosolized spray over significant distances. For that reason, a buffer zone of at least 100’ from all property lines is required by state law. The National Park Service requested the Homestead Resort to abide by this safety measure. The Homestead Resort instead made the legal case that easement boundaries are not technically “property lines”. They declined to include the buffers.

• Here it is: In 2006 the remaining forest was clear-cut and a high-pressure spray system was installed to spray sewage up to within a few feet of the easement boundaries. (In the process, the bull-dozers illegally denuded hundreds of feet of National Park land, created wash-outs and silt deposits, etc.)

• But-- Although the solicitor had said that above-ground irrigation could not be prevented per se, he emphasized that any drifting, including aerosol drift, of effluent beyond the easement boundaries would be clearly illegal. This is also stipulated in the DEQ permit for the system.

• Our Sewage: The Homestead Resort’s filtration/disinfection system is considered to be only a “partial” treatment process; the effluent can contain viable pathogens, viral and bacterial, even when the system is working properly. Studies have definitively shown that these pathogens are carried for considerable distances (hundreds of feet in some cases) in aerosol spray. Humans and animals exposed to this aerosol drift are subject to infection (not to mention those who eat the berries and mushrooms in the area). (National Park Service safety guidelines require Park Rangers to wear Tyvek coveralls and full-mask respirators when approaching the area for observation.)

Further, there have been numerous past instances of failure of The Homestead Resort’s disinfection system. One DEQ report stated, “Monitoring reports show that fecal coliform counts have been reported in excess of 6,000 counts per hundred ml (600 times the allowable limit)…bacteria in the spray on land to which the public has access is a public health hazard.”

• To Sum Things Up:
o The easement began as a questionable way to allow for underground disposal on13 acres in the National Park. The land above was to be left as natural as possible—available for trails, etc..
o Above-ground irrigation was later permitted in order to save the remaining forest. (The trails were then abandoned.)
o 12 years later, the forest was razed and replaced with sewage-sprayed rasses and alfalfa. The Homestead Resort effectively assumed all use of the property; the public now cannot enter the property we bought.
o By not providing the buffers needed for sewage spray, The Homestead Resort has also effectively taken control of many additional acres surrounding the easement area (partly in or around the Port Oneida Historic District). The Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore has installed red & white warning signs advising the public against approaching within 25’ of the area. They should include at least 75’ more.

• What Now? Before installing this system, The Homestead Resort was advised by the National Park Service and numerous environmental organizations & individuals that, although we may not be able to say what type of system they can build, we can and will ensure that the law and the public’s rights are upheld: none of their sewage, including aerosolized spray, is allowed in our National Park. Whether they can somehow achieve this with their present spray system, or whether the system needs to be modified, or whether it needs to be replaced—that is up to them. What we and the National Park Service can do is take a stand to ensure that, one way or another, our surrounding Park is not violated.

Thus far, only rough, hit-or-miss monitoring has been done. If you feel that accurate, scientific monitoring is needed as a first step to ensure that Sleeping Bear is again free of The Homestead Resort’s sewage and safe to enjoy, now is the time to let it be known.


The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore needs to know if you feel that it should be a priority to draw a firm line to protect the National Park from The Homestead Resort’s illegal, pathogenic sewage spray. The first step would be to devise a good, scientific system to sensitively monitor for it. That will take some effort and resources, and it may offend certain interests—so it may not happen if the public doesn’t make it a priority. Now is the time when the direction will be determined. You can contact the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore's Park Superintendent at 231/326-5134.

America’s Independent Party Forming Leelanau County Affiliate

To meet the growing challenge of the usurpation of rights by government, a new political party, America’s Independent Party (AIP) was formed during the run-up to the 2008 election. The first informational meeting of the Leelanau County Caucus of the AIP of Michigan will be held on Thursday October 8, 2009 in the Community Room of the Leelanau County Government Center beginning at 7:00 PM. All meetings of the Leelanau County Caucus are open to all.

Formal affiliation with AIP is not necessary to attend caucus meetings. Personal affiliation with AIP is, however, made without regard to existing party voter registration or allegiance. The AIP affiliation agreement and more information about the AIP, may be found at www.aipnews.com. Information about the local caucus can be obtained from me at: chairman@aipleelanau.com

America’s Independent Party is already the third-largest national party as measured by number of registered voters. Unlike the two larger parties, AIP is a new style “meta party” that believes that a new generation of leaders can be raised up, using a precinct caucus system to choose our candidates. A unique organizational structure plus advanced technology are being used for communication among party members, completely redefining the party system in American Politics.

The signers of the Declaration of Independence agreed that all people are all endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. But today, not everyone agrees that Americans do have God-given rights that may never be usurped by government. This is a growing challenge to all who want to preserve the blessings of liberty for today and for future generations. AIP was formed to meet that challenge.

The Futre of Two-Party Politics in America As We Know It.

Today, being a slow news day, I digress a bit from my focus on Leelanau County politics. Please indulge me for a bit.

Lately, I've been seeing this chart show up in a lot of blogs that tend to criticize the GOP for loosing it's base. For anyone who pays any attention to politics, the results should not be surprising. The chart shows the net favorable ratings of both major parties in the period leading up to the four most recent midterm elections.

I've seen the bloggers and pundits that use this data go on and on, bashing the GOP leadership (and very often the party standard-bearers) for letting/causing this happen. I suppose one can find as many theories and opinions as there are bloggers. However, I think their conclusions about what the chart represents take a somewhat myopic view.

What slaps me in the face immediately upon looking at it, is that the American voters are rejecting both major parties. (It's a rainy Friday as I write this and I needed a good slap today).

It further reinforces my strongly-held view that the advent of instant and wide-spread communications on the Internet and the resurgence of grass-roots organizations has and will continue to completely change the face of politics as we know it.

The continuation of one-size-fits-all party platforms may need go the way of the national party nominating process at the week-long party convention.

This most certainly must happen if the smoldering movement toward state sovereignty and a greatly diminished role of the Federal government ever takes off. Come to think of it, perhaps "Internet Political Activism" will be the vehicle that allows that movement to become viable.

This, of course, presumes that the free use of the Internet for political purposes, including dissent against whoever is in power in the government will not be abridged.

The chart, above, came from Brendan Nyhan's site You may wish to read his interpretation on that site.

Re-focusing the Mission of the Born Again Citizen

Today begins a new focus for this blog. The primary purpose has now changed to focus on the political entities of Leelanau County, Michigan -- namely the County Board of Commissioners and, to a lesser degree, the townships and villages of the county.

The first effort was my attendance today at a "budget sub-committee" meeting of the County Board.

I was first surprised that such an important topic had the attention of only four of the seven Commissioners: Watkowski, Schmuckal, Tonneburger, and Marshall. The remaining three absent Commissioners: Lautner, Shifflet, and Schaubwere noted as "excused". Hmmmm. Commissioners are compensated for being Commissioners. On such an important issue, the 2010 budget, I would hope all of the Commissioners would make an effort to be as informed as possible.

Wondering about the definition of "excused", I consulted the "2009 Rules of Order and Procedure of the Leelanau County Board of Commissioners." No where in that document, do we find a definition of what is "excused" and what is unexcused.

I then wondered if those absent Commissioneers were being compensated in some way, even though they did not attend. A quick call to the County Accounting department produced no answer, since the person who could answer "was not available". Stay tuned for an update.

Please note, at this point in time, the County 2010 Budget is still about $250,000 out of balance. So I expected that there would be some significant discussion at this meeting to find a quarter of a million bucks.

The county officials that appeared to testify were Judge Phil Rodgers, Prosecutor Joe Hubbell, Emergency Management Director Tom Skowronski. Later on, County Clerk Michelle Crocker and County Treasurer Chelly Roush shared the microphone to answer some specific questions the Commissioner had.

All in all, the amounts of money at stake in the discussions by Rodgers, Hubbell, and Skowronski were minimal.

Judge Rodgers discussion primarily centered around the budget of the Probate Court. With the recent death of Probate Court Judge Joseph Degan, the County Courts have been waiting the naming of a replacement by Governor Granholm. So far there has been no indication of when Judge Degan's replacement will be named. Judge Rodgers was "hopeful" that a replacement would be on board by January 1, 2010. The consensus of the Judge and Commissioners was that the budget should be discussed with the appointed replacement. Oh well, no money found there to balance the budget.

Prosecutor Hubbell was there only to discuss a $15,000 line item that had been removed from his budget. He explained that this item was there for when the County needed legal services of a "civil" nature from the Prosecutor's Office. These services are "charged for" at the rate of $75/hour, far less than what is charged by the County's Corporate Counsel. This year to date, less than $4000 has been charged to that account. Again lots of discussion about chump change.

Lastly, Emergency Management Director Skowronski appeared to discuss the practice of "buying back" unused sick leave days from non-contractual dispatchers in his department. He made that case that by buying back unused leave days, money is actually saved. The implication was that if employees were not compensated for unused days, they would take all of their sick days, resulting in over twice the expenditure -- once for paying for the employee's absence, and again at time-and-one-half for overtime for another dispatcher to cover for the absence. Although there were no specific numbers discussed, it seems a no-brainer to see that elimination of the buy-back would cost the County additional overtime at time-and-one-half. This, of course, assumes that Skowronski's assertion that all employees will use all of their sick days (whether they are sick or not).

The Commissioners and County Administrator Eric Cline seemed to indicate that the buy back policy should be studied, and Cline remarked he already had some ideas in this area. But for now, it looks like there is no saving there. Do you suppose a new policy could be formulated, discussed and implemented before the budget needs finalization? And, this can only be applied to non-union employees, as union employees are covered by existing, contractual obligations.

The remaining discussion time came from Clerk Crocker and Treasurer Roush. The major take-away from their comments is that "fund balance" could be used to balance the budget. If you are not familiar with the concept of "fund balance", that's a term used by governments and non-profits to refer to what a profit-making group calls "retained earnings". So, if a government spends less in a given year than than they receive in taxes, there is a profit, but let's not be clear with taxpayers, let's call it "fund balance" and not use that excess to reduce next year's taxes.

To be fair, however, a fund balance can be a good thing. It's a way governments can save for a rainy day (something the State of Michigan has tried and failed miserably at). The danger of "fund balance" is that what it really is, is an over-levy of taxes, and if the balance grows too large, shouldn't the County consider a reduction in the tax rate?

So, stay tuned for the next installment. In my view, today, September 28, 2009, the County Board of Commissioners is still far from a balanced budget. The question is, how is the gap to be closed -- cutbacks in services/staff, raising the County Tax Millage, or using fund balance?

As post script, Commissioner Schmuckal devoted about 10 minutes of the Commission's, the audience's, and some of the paid County officials/staff's time to hear of a presumably recent trip to some of the formerly Soviet republics. I kept wondering when and how he was going to tie his story into the County's budget. Perhaps next meeting?

The Argument Over Whose Is Larger

While reading an article in The Weekly Standard a few minutes ago, I had a refreshing thought (for a change). After spending some hours in the woods cutting firewood today, my brain is returning to civil thoughts.

The article reported on an pro-Obamacare rally held on the day after the huge 9-12 DC rally. The reporter, relinquishing a huge benefit of the doubt, gave the organizers credit for a count of about 300 people, based on his own counting effort.

The article continued on saying the rally speaker was having trouble with his "cause" rhetoric in hyping up the crowd. The tactic necessarily shifted to demonizing the marchers from the day before.

What else would you expect from a) a crowd of mostly-uninformed professional demonstrators, and b) the speakers and organizers who have only the party talking points to use in making a cogent argument.

The shift to berating the 9-12 marchers essentially came down to who had the most successful march, based on the "quality" of the marchers.

"A young professional said the Tea Party protesters were misinformed and being used by demagogues because they don't understand "complex" issues like health care, while one protester was more blunt in her signage: 'Gun-slinging racist crazies hurt our country.'"

But my refreshing thought from the report was the 9-13 marchers had no earthly CLUE about what this debate is all about. Their "march" was not about principle, ethics in government, or preserving the institutions that made America great, but merely to show they could turn out people too. But given the better than 4000-to-1 ratio between the results, I can only conclude that the 9-12 marchers "get it" and the 9-13'ers just have no clue.

Oh, buy the way, I was one of those actually there on 9-12. I was one of the extra 475,000 riders of the DC Metro that day. The National Park Service, whose responsibility includes the protection and supervision of the National Mall estimated the crowd at 1.4 million people, using the same estimating technique they did for the Obama inauguration. I have no doubt in my mind over "whose is larger." You know, its a "guy thing."


Read the entire article here

An open letter to Sen. Carl Levin

Senator Levin,

I urge you in the strongest terms to vote against the Health Care Bill. The past 6 months of the Obama administration remind me of an out of control train careening down a mountain.

Apply the brakes. Slow down. Stop the train.

The health care issue including Medicare and Medicaid is too important and complex to "ram through" just because the Administration has the votes. I am approaching the age for Medicare and it's broken, broken badly. The issue needs careful study, debate, reworking, more debate and so forth before the final "fix" is codified into law. Then, perhaps concurrently, a plan for improving the insurance needs of the rest of the nation can be addressed.

If I can be frank with you for a moment. In the last election, I campaigned for Mr. Hoogendyk. I did not do a lot, but now, seeing how you and the rest of your party are acting, I wish I had campaigned my heart out for Mr. Hoogendyk. Rest assured that unless you start putting the brakes on this runaway train, I WILL campaign my heart out against you in 5 years.

I have no illusion, however, that my letter will make any difference in your vote on this issue, as my examination of your voting record indicates you are solidly partisan and quite incapable of voting against your party. I mean no disrespect, Sir, but as they say, "this is politics". Since I don't have the money to donate which would allow your next opponent to outspend you, I do have the ability to influence hundreds of others to vote for your opposition.

Respectfully,
Chuck Schaeffer

Mr. President - What If You're Wrong?

Reading some of the summaries of the Cap and Trade bill that are now coming out, I'm not only sickened by what the bill is supposed to DO, but get even more queasy at the possible unintended consequences if you are wrong, Mr. President.

The premise of the bill is the issue of global warming. There is still enough debate in the scientific community, that someone who is sure that global warming caused by man-made CO2 emissions is not making a rational, informed decision. Looking back a couple of decades, we had a period of cooling. Maybe cooling is the trend and the last couple of decades of warming are just anomolies? So what if the warming crowd is wrong?

Cooler climates will have one big effect on the planet - shorter growing seasons and the complete destruction of food growing areas in the higher lattitude areas of the planet. Hmmmm. Shorter growing seasons lead to less food? Less food leads to poorer nutrition at best and famine at worst? The Law of Unintended Consequences striking again?

In addition to all the provisions of the bill that have been discussed recently, now it comes out that there are provisions for trade tariffs against countries who do not also reduce their emissions, chiefly aimed China and India. The good intentionists are trying to keep a level playing field between American industries that must comply with Cap and Trade and the industries in the countries that don't comply with OUR view how to prevent global warming. Hmmm. Sounds good. Fair play is the American way, right?

Those that know a bit of history, know that virtually all serious economists acknowledge that the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 was the chief cause of the Great Depression. Most economists believe that tariffs are bad in any form. Starting with the Market Crash in 1929, the economic health of America started on a rapid decline, with Smoot-Hawley being the major nail in the coffin.

Tariffs have never been in the best interest of our, or any other country. So why have we used this mechanism now? My belief is it's just another action designed to destroy the economy of this country, so our politicians can save us again, but this time by a complete remaking of the social and political fabric of this country.

An Open Letter to Michael Steele, Chairman RNC

by Chuck Schaeffer

Dear Chairman Steele,
My letter today is in response to your letter concerning the Census of the Republican Party. I have taken my valuable time and have carefully read all four pages. I request in return the courtesy of reading of my entire letter. After all, my letter is only 2 ½ pages.

In looking at the questionnaire, I find it to be, in large part, an ineffective, poorly constructed instrument. However, I have returned it under separate cover. Your letter states the cost of the census is $.42 cents each. However in the donation section, you ask for a donation of $12? I am highly skeptical of the census mailing because of the blatant fund-raising appeal at the end of the questionnaire. Asking for funds in EVERY piece you mail to me destroys the credibility of the survey. However, I have enclosed a check with this letter for $.42 to cover the cost of the questionnaire, according to your assertion.

As for a larger contribution, I will no longer make contributions to the Republican National Committee. (So if you wish to save money, take me off your list for any mailing that requests a contribution.) I base my decision on how the “National Party” handled the candidacy of Jack Hoogendyk in his bid for Sen. Carl Levin’s US Senate seat last Fall. Between the national and state party organizations, I believe Jack received a mere $500 total (perhaps may have been as much as $1000, I have forgotten).

The point is, Jack was only able to raise about $275,000 against Levin’s $2,500,000 or more! Jack was a candidate that can and did re-energize many Republicans in Michigan, but since he was unable to afford ANY TV ADVERTISING in Michigan, he went unknown to the voters as a whole. The Republican Party failed him, and thus failed the State of Michigan.

I would now like to address your intent to “revitalize” the party. I have seen you speak on television and read much about you in the conservative blogs. In your rhetoric I see a glimmer of hope, given that you can turn the rhetoric into genuine action and revitalization of the party.

Revitalization of the party only needs one specific topic of its focus. It does not need another questionnaire like the one just sent. The party needs only to find candidates with fire in their belly who are 110% committed to not just stopping, but reversing our gallop towards socialism. In my view, socialistic leanings are EMBRACED NOT JUST BY DEMOCRATS BUT BY NEARLY EVERY REPUBLICAN now holding national office. The Republican Party is NOT the party of the right. It is the party of the Just-Slightly-More-Right-Than-The-Democrat Party. It is conservative only by comparison to the democrat party.

Our future candidates need to have a full commitment to ending socialism and moving back toward genuine respect for the Constitution, as intended by its authors. (Plus the ability to articulate the message clearly and simply.) Period. If you adopt the primary goal of moving away from socialism and big national government, everything else flows from that. It’s a simple message, understood by everyone.

Now, how to find the candidate? I believe that the movement toward primary elections to select a Presidential candidate has hurt both parties! I do not believe that the primary system selects the most electable candidate. In the past election, I did not want to vote for either candidate. I did not support John McCain because he was not the best candidate the Republican Party had. Early in the primary cycle, I was supported (through signs, talk, and money) Rudy Giulani. My reason was that at the time it looked like the democrat nominee was going to be Hillary Clinton. My support for Rudy was based on my conviction that he was the only candidate capable of beating Hillary. But he ran out of money. McCain had money. Obama had (more) money. We had a choice, then, in the general election of voting for the candidates with the most money, not the candidate who would be the best President.

Many people urged moving away from “smoke-filled back rooms” at conventions where the party big wigs select the Presidential candidates. I believe ever since that happened, the Party has not, in general, fielded the best candidate. I would rather have “professionals” in politics select the candidate who has the best chance of winning, rather than the candidate who has the most money and charisma (of which John McCain had neither).

Another shortcoming of the party is that now it seems that the party platform is the platform of the nominee, not the platform of the party delegates. In fact, in the past 3 elections, I don’t even remember any major news coverage of what came out of the Platform Committee. Come to think of it, WAS THERE a platform or committee? If so, it was not a centerpiece of the convention.

Let’s turn to my US Rep., Dave Camp and how he typifies our incumbent legislators. Dave will not get my vote in 2010. Dave is a moderate- to left-leaning Republican. He will never get my vote, primary or general. Dave represents a lot of what’s wrong with our Representatives and Senators.

The winning strategy for regaining control of the House in 2010 will not be about holding on to Republican seats, and ousting some Democrats. The Party doesn’t need to hold on to Camp and his ilk, but instead needs a slate of candidates that, as I said earlier, “have full commitment to ending socialism and moving back toward genuine respect for the Constitution, as intended by its authors. Period.”

If this means withdrawing support from incumbents, so be it. If it means losing seniority on congressional committees, so be it. The rebuilding of conservatism and the tearing down of socialism will be a long process. Let’s bite the bullet and do it the right way.

Finally, lest you think this is the opinion of one person, I would like you to know that I am the organizer of a group of like-minded individuals in my region. We have people who are officially signed up as members, and more people who are our supporters, but not “joiners” at this time. We’ve only been at it a few weeks, but see new people joining nearly every day and have passed 20.

Parenthetically, we all believe in the principles and values that have been formalized in writing by Glenn Beck. In Michigan, we are the eighth such organization formed since March of this year. I only mention Beck, not because we feel he is our leader, but rather that he articulates our principles and values. I mention him also because if you know what he stands for, you know what we stand for and I don’t have to take time to explain it. WE LEAD OURSELVES.

If the Republican Party has the guts to make MAJOR changes in its philosophy and stops worrying about what blocks of voters it will try to co-opt or pander to, the party will have our support. If it’s the same business-as-usual party with a new logo and fresh talking points, forget about support from grass roots organizations such as ours.

If the person who is reading this is, in fact, Michael Steele, thank you for your time and consideration of my thoughts. If you are someone else, throw this away. My time in crafting and drafting this was for Mr. Steele’s benefit, and if it does not make it to his attention, I will know that it’s just “business as usual” for the Republican Party. I would appreciate at least a personal acknowledgment from Mr. Steele that he has read this letter.

Cordially,
Chuck Schaeffer

With Little Effort You Can Help Fight For Your Country

by Desiree Paquette

I do this because I love my country. I do this because I really feel our country and our liberty, not to mention our hard earned wages, are in terrible jeopardy.

This is not because we have democrats in power, of late the republicans have not been much better. This is because the government no longer cares what we think, regardless of who is in power. It matters not what side of the fence you're on - just that you are proud to be an American.

I know many people no longer watch the news as they feel it depressing, or perhaps they just have no time. Even if the do watch the news, most of the news outlets and the papers selectively issue the news with little regard for true journalism. This includes even FOX, but they are by far the most reliable of available sources.

I have put myself in contact with people like me, who care about the country. Who care about our liberty and freedom, and the future of our children and grandchildren. Of the many alerts I receive in a day, I pass forward those I feel are of dyer importance. These come from watchdog groups national in scope, national institutions, truth in news organizations, etc..

I feel that as a citizen who believes in the country the way our forefathers meant it to be, it is my obligation to help educate our fellow citizens to the overwhelming assault on our country. The new assault is much quieter than 09/11, much sneakier and hard to detect unless you are paying close attention. Worst of all, it's from the people we elected to office to represent us! Most people are not even noticing...and may think the "recession" is just dumb luck. No, really.

Please help. Help by passing these items along to your friends who may be too busy to pay attention.

The only way we can fight this battle to win is to educate the public. Make them aware of what is really going on, not just what the national media wants them to know.

Many people gave their lives for our liberty.. all we have to do to keep it is pay attention and fight back!

Most of us want to be good citizens and good Americans, it's only the information needed that's lacking. I know there are many more on our side than on the side that wants our country to transmuted to socialism and fascism. Join in.

You, too, can link with people. If you have not yet joined twitter, please sign up, it's free. Hook up to me if you want .. my screen name is DesireePaquette ... you can see who I "follow" (which is where most of my alerts come from) and choose to follow them too, if you want. Then you will also be on the forefront of fighting peacefully for our country. Our country really needs you to help.

Let's get the country moving in the right direction

Take a look at my guest contribution to The 912 Project website.

Let's get the country moving in the right direction

On this one you have to pay attention to a deeper meaning. Hint: It helps to know who Emily Litella is.

Are you a Survivor?

Right now I'm reading The Survivors Club by Ben Sherwood. The book has instructions on how to go to The Survivors Club website to take a very well put-together test to determine your survivor profile.

I found my style to be that of a "Thinker" (imagine that) with my top three survivor tools being "ingenuity, intelligence, and adaptability." More on this later.

While reading further in the book today, I came across the story of a survivor, Brian Udell, who asa jet pilot was forced to eject from his F-15, travelling over 800 miles per hour, less than 1000 feet over the sea. To summarize his ordeal, he was severly injured, breaking both legs and one arm along with multiple other internal injuries.

Dr. Ken Kamler, who is vice president for education and scientific research for The Explorers Club of New York, and who studies such survivals, was asked about the factors that lead to Brian Udell's survival.

When asked about Udell's ordeal, Dr. Kamler's explained:

"...five out of six people on earth depend on civilization to stay alive. Without eye doctors and corrective lenses, many of us wouldn’t be able to see, let alone earn a living. Without supermarkets, we wouldn’t be able to feed ourselves. Without sewage systems and water treatment facilities, many of us would succumb to cholera and other diseases. “All of us are descendants of survivors,” he says. “Otherwise, we wouldn’t be here.” But with modern society protecting and sustaining most of us, he continues, “we don’t really know if we have that instinct for survival anymore.” Kamler believes in an interesting duality. On the one hand, we’re “far more fragile than we’d like to admit. If our protection breaks down, we die easily.” On the other hand, he says, he’s witnessed the “the body’s enormous capacity for survival.”

I began to wonder. If modern society has become the major mechanism that contributes to our ability to survive physically, does the evolution of a paternalistic government become our crutch to survive our loss of rights and freedom as well?

In other words, I hypothesize that the creeping growth of big national government, progressivism, political correctnes and a movement toward socialism, weakens us mentally and emotionally in our ability to survive on our own without big government.

Some of my friends and neighbors who are alarmed by this trend also seem to be frustrated by not knowing what to do. I don't know if this is just a coincidence or does it tend to support my hypothesis. This hypothesis, if true, scares me.

I thought back to the test. I'm a "Thinker". I have the tools to figure this out. This blog, the people I read and follow on Twitter and books and blogs that I read are providing me with a lot of new information. I think I've figured out that to reverse the movement toward socialism, the two key activities one can engage in are 1) learning and 2) sharing that learning with others.

Learn what you can about history. Learn what the politicians are doing. Listen to and learn from those you respect when they give you analysis and synthesis of current events. Then act.

Find others with whom you share the same alarm. Band together in informal neighborhood and local groups. Discuss and debate. These efforts will provide you a with a better understanding of what's happening. They will give you "talking points" to share with others and with your elected officials.

If you are good at explaining things in a logical way, become a speaker to groups of people who are in the early stages of this new awareness. Don't merely speak, but provide them at places they can go for self-education.

We cannot with this struggle with ignorant voters. Educate yourself, then share yourself with others.

Judge Andrew Napolitano on FOX News?

Apparently, FOX News has an opening for a new show. Judge Andrew Napolitano is being considered for the slot.

I enjoy listening to the Judge, as he is, of course, knowledgeable not only of the law but of the Constitution. I have listened to his radio talk show from time to time and it's very good. Of course, he appears from time to time on various FOX News shows as a guest. It's time for him to be on TV with a show of his own.

If you wish to make your veiws known to FOX News, email them at yourcomments@foxnews.com.

This should scare the complacency out of you!

For anyone who loves this country, I urge you to view the following document:
http://www.pushhamburger.com/morenews12.htm

This is from www.pushhamburger.com which is an awesome site and will help keep you abreast of what is happening to your country. I knew there was a problem, but NEVER imagined it went this deep already. The problem is our government is aiding and abetting those who want to take our liberty away from us. It sounds crazy, but honestly, the day of global governance will be here before the end of the current administration's term in office. It has nothing to do with party either. Both the republicans and the democrats are working in concert to destroy the country we were raised to believe in. I beg you, please, invest the half hour to read this. It's urgent. It starts out like this:

By Henry Lamb

This report attempts to consolidate four years of research, hundreds of documents, and thousands of pages of material into a brief, concise word picture of how the international community has been able to move society to the brink of global governance. We hope our efforts to achieve brevity have not sacrificed clarity. At the very best, this report is no more than an introduction to a process that has been underway for many years. We have provided extensive endnotes to encourage readers to expand their studies and form their own opinions. We are convinced that the form of government created by the U.S. Constitution is in serious danger of being overwhelmed by the new spirit of Globalisim that is, in fact, a well conceived, well executed agenda to achieve global governance. Global governance, as it is conceived, and as it is being implemented, cannot tolerate individual freedom or private property rights as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.The conflicting philosophies of governance are on a collision course. On the one side is a small handful of people who have recognized the erosion of Constitutional principles in recent years. On the other side is a tidal wave of UN organizations and agencies, reinforced by a multitude of non-government organizations, sweeping across the planet, flooding societies with the notion that problems can be solved only through remedies offered by and imposed through the massive UN system.We hope this report will be a starting point that will serve as a catalyst for a variety of responses that result in a reaffirmation of the values enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. Ultimately, it is the values, beliefs, and attitudes that celebrate, protect, and promote individual freedom that can empower societies to overcome whatever problems that arise. These are the values that offer solutions to the world's problems. These are the values that America can share with the world. These are the values being eroded by the rise of global governance.We wish to acknowledge with deep appreciation the efforts of those who reviewed this report: Dr. Margaret Maxey; Dr. Michael Coffman; Floy Lilley, JD; Tom McDonnell, and Willy Peterson. Their work helped to improve both the accuracy and readability of this information. The content, however, along with any errors that may remain, are the sole responsibility of the author.

We hope this publication will be useful to all who cherish freedom

Thoughts on Citizenship Duties

Today, in a spare moment, I thought I would see how high this blog rates on Google. So I checked "Born Again Citizen" and found I came up number 10! Not bad I guess.

But while scanning down the list, I found the number three entry was titled "Confessions of a Born-Again Citizen" and came from the March 29, 1998 issue of the Los Angeles Times. The title piqued my curiousity, so I opened it to read. The article was written by a man, Jario Marin, who had just finished the naturalization process and was waiting anxiously for a notice of when his swearing-in ceremony was to be.

In Jario's case, "born again citizen" meant becoming a citizen of a new land. Through the naturalization process he became more aware of his lack of participation in his former country, and the possibilities of participation here in the United States.

"I used to take my citizenship for granted. Now I take it very seriously. I wonder why I did not vote in my country of birth or why I was not more involved in the political process."

As he progressed thru the classes Jario became aware that,

"The naturalization process makes us born-again citizens; we look around and see that we can be a mentor or a volunteer in a community organization or be involved in a neighborhood watch program. That is what makes an American a good citizen and it is curious to see myself this patriotic."

He continued,

"The greatest of the privileges we earn as new citizens is the right to vote and the confidence that our opinions can make a difference."

It then occurred to me that many natural-born Americans either never have had, or have forgotten the dutes that their citizenship conveys upon them. Just look at the area of voting. Statistics show that usually less than half of our citizens who are eligible to vote, actually vote. According to the United States Elections Project, since 1972 we have never had a Presidential election where more than 60% of those eligible to vote actually voted.

What causes that? Is it a lack of, in Jario's words, "....the confidence that our opinions can make a difference"?

I could go on with the similar questions concerning volunteerism, political activism, charity, and so forth, but I think you get the point.

I would like to suggest a national day be designated, maybe every two years just before Congressional elections, where American citizens can have their own re-affirmation ceremony. The day might be called "National Citizenship Day".

The ceremony should be community-based and have a speaker or two from the community speak briefly about or duties as citizens. Then, as a community, we would all recite aloud a pledge to affirm our duties and recommit ourselves, as American citizens, to our community, state, and nation. To make the gathering even more meaningful, tables could be set up for all sorts of community organizations. At the tables they would showcase their missions and allow people to learn about opportunities to be better citizens and to "sign up" for participation if they chose to do so.

What do you think? Do you have an idea for a better name for the day? Who can write a good pledge?

Just one last thought. Have you ever read the pledge that new citizens take at their swearing-in ceremony? It might surprise you. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oath_of_citizenship_(United_States).

New Blog Contributors

I'm pleased to announce that I have convinced my friends Bill and Desiree to be guest contributors to the blog. We often share the same ideas and stands on issues. Both of them make their livings by crafting words into meaningful publications. Please welcome them to the blog

There's More to Cap and Trade Than Global Warming

There's been lots of talk lately since "Dr. O" announced his new miracle drug, "Cap and Trade". Much of the criticism surrounds the cost of the drug. But, it's proponents extol its virtues and justify the cost by saying how it will help cure the epidemic that will ultimately lead to our extinction. The disease it treats, of course, is "global warming".

Oh wait, we can't call it that anymore. The media consultants to the envirnmentalists are now urging a re-branding of the movement. In an article in the May 1 New York Times, ecoAmerica, a nonprofit environmental marketing and messaging firm in Washington urges us now to:

"talk about 'our deteriorating atmosphere.' Drop discussions of carbon dioxide and bring up 'moving away from the dirty fuels of the past.' Don’t confuse people with cap and trade; use terms like 'cap and cash back' or 'pollution reduction refund.' "

Read the whole article.

So, now when we speak to our friends and neigbors, we must direct the conversation to "cap and cash back" or "refunds." Cash back? Really? You and I are getting cash back from the drug? Not likely. Like all drug companies, the cash goes back to the drug company, not to the afflicted patient. Likewise, the carbon dioxide cash back goes to Dr. O so that he can finance the development of new drugs! Pretty slick eh? After all, without the cash back scheme, we will just have to pay more for our "governmental premiums" (income taxes).

Even better, Dr. O has an orgainzed legion of drug "detail men" (the eco-Nazis) to sell the new drug for him for free, and keep the results of their sales (the cash back). This is a beautiful scheme for Dr. O because the detail men volunteer their time, rather than ask for a just compensation for their efforts.

But, down deep, Dr. O and the detail men know that his cash back drug is not really going to help the patient at all. The reason is, that 80 of the world's population is not only NOT going to buy the drug, they are busy making the disease worse by incubating more of it and spreading it to others.

Let me explain. Only 20 percent of the world's nations have the resources to control carbon emissions. This same 20 percent are the nations that also are taking the cash back drug (and washing it down with government Kool Aid). The other 80 percent (the "poor," undeveloped nations) cannot afford "clean" technologies. These countries have huge deposits of "dirty" fuels that they will burn because that's all they can afford. These poor, underdeveloped countries will emit more carbon dioxide, collectively, than the other 20% of the world's rich nations combined. By the way, included in the list of poor nations are China and India! Huh???

Having large reserves of cheap, dirty fuel and no mandate to adopt cap and trade taxes, puts them at a competitive advantage in the cost of producing goods. Hence, more jobs from the developed countries move to the poor countries, thereby raising their standard of living. Holy cow!!! The cash back drug has the side effect of wealth redistribution!!!

Think of it, one "drug" gives our politicians more money to further reengineer our society, to save our planet, and to redistribute our weatlth all at once. This is truly a miracle drug.

Copyright 2009, Chuck Schaeffer. All rights reserved.

Hooray for Judge Napalitano

Last Friday on Glen Beck's 9/12 Project TV program, Judge Andrew Napalitano uttered one of the most quotable quotes I have ever heard:

"When the people fear the government, that is tyranny. When the government fears the people, that's liberty."

He attributed this quote to Thomas Jefferson. Well said, Tom.

Today, 5/6/09, Glenn did a very good follow-up interview with Judge Naplitano on Glen's daily radio program. The judge discusses a constitutional convention to repeal the 16th amendment which concerns the income tax, and the concept of nullification. I had never heard of the concept and was fascinated to find out how certain states are using it. He also summarized the Dread Scott Decision, which is also the subject of the Judge's new book.

You can find a text transcript or hear the audio here. The audio runs about 14 minutes, and if you are a fast reader, you could read it somewhat faster.

Day One

Since Inaugruation Day 2009, the actions of Barack Obama's administration have served, in my mind, as a wake-up call to what has happend to our political system over the last hundred years or so.

Prior to Obama, the creep of the Progressive movement remained off my radar screen. But the financial rescues that were perpetrated on the taxpayers in the last days of the Bush administration, followed by the orgy of pork-laden spending in the first days of the Obama administration truly served as a wakeup call to me and many of my close friends.

Over the past one hundred days I have been consumed by reading and information gathering. Besides paying attention to what goes on in the financial industry, I have paid much closer attention to what's going on in the political "industry" in Washington DC.

To illustrate why I think that speaking out to educate my fellow citizens is necessary, let me quote from a recent Rasmussen Poll conducted in late April, 2009. In this poll 27% of Americans polled thought President Obama was either a moderate or a conservative. Four percent had no idea. But, his voting record, his appointments and his vision for the country positions him squarely as a liberal. Nearly 1/3 of Americans have no idea of the kind of leadership that is in power right now.

Hence, the realization of my calling starts here.