Change in Direction Needed by Mark Wohlschlegel
I am by nature an optimist—I have all my life looked at the glass and concluded that it was half full not half empty. I am an engineer and technologist by profession—so I question things and therefore classify myself as a realist as well. Through some research that I have recently done and through my good friend Tom Boyton, who is owner and President of WJTW radio Jupiter, Florida who I thank for many of the statistics that follow, I would like to make a case for the fact that our current direction in our country is wrong, and that we must make some significant re-direction of priorities and fix what is clearly broken. Solving problems requires first understanding the problem. What concerns me most is that our leaders and elected representative don’t seem to get it and we the people, simply are not elevating our voices to put sufficient pressure on these elected officials to change course. Therefore, I feel that we all have a personal obligation to educate and present facts to as many people as we can to engage them in this debate and generate interest and involvement. This is our country—and there are no guarantees for continued prosperity. We can through action and inaction, destroy what our forefathers have handed to us.
I also love history and know that great nations and nation states that once found themselves “on top of the world” and enjoyed great prosperity through conscious decision destroyed wealth and their positions in the world. I am a believer in the fact that basic beliefs lead to decisions, and decision then lead to consequences. If one’s basic beliefs are not sound, then bad decisions follow and in turn bad consequences and outcomes will result. I grew up under the guidance that solid values and hard work will result in prosperity. I was blessed to have been born in the USA—and to have lived under a government for the most part that adhered to basic principals set forth by our founders. Our leaders practiced what our founders had framed for us. Unfortunately, we have significantly drifted from these principals, and unless we can change our current course, we are destined to some pretty bad outcomes. I believe we have already strayed from what has made our country great, and the outcomes are pretty apparent by the stats I present below. So I ask the question, do you think we are headed in the right direction as a country? If the answer to this is no—then get involved—make your voices heard. It is only through the voices of the people that things will be set back on course.
1. Today, a staggering 48 percent of all Americans are either considered to be “low income” or are living in poverty
2. Approximately 57 percent of all children in the US are living in homes that are either considered to be “low income” or impoverished.
3. If the number of Americans that “wanted jobs” was the same today as it was back in 2007, the “official” unemployment rate put out by the US government would be up to 11 percent or higher.
4. The average amount of time that a worker stays unemployed in the US is now over 40 weeks.
5. A recent survey found that 77 percent of all US small businesses do not plan to hire any more workers and we all know that the engine that drives employment in the US is not large corporations it is small businesses.
6. There are fewer payroll jobs in the US today than there were back in 2000 even though we have added 30 million extra people to the population since then.
7. Since December 2007, median household income in the US has declined by a total of 6.8% accounting for inflation.
8. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 16.6 million Americans were self-employed back in December 2006. Today, that number has shrunk to 14.5 million
9. A recent Gallup poll found that approximately one out of every five Americans that do have a job consider themselves to be underemployed
10. According to author Paul Osterman, about 20 percent of all US adults are currently working jobs that pay poverty-level wages.
11. Back in 1980, less than 30 percent of all jobs in the US were low income jobs. Today, more than 40 percent of all jobs in the US are low income jobs.
12. Back in 1969, 95 percent of all men between the ages of 25 and 54 had a job. In July of this year, only 81.2% of men in that age group had a job.
13. One recent survey found that one out of every three Americans would not be able to make a mortgage or rent payment next month if they suddenly lost their current job.
14. The Federal Reserve recently announced that the total net worth of US households declined by 4.1 percent in the 3rd quarter of 2011 alone.
15. According to a recent study conducted by the BlackRock Investment institute, the ratio of household debt to personal income in the US is now 154 percent.
16. As the economy has slowed down, so has the number of marriages. According to a Pew Research Center analysis, only 51 percent of all Americans that are at least 18 years old are currently married. Back in 1960, 72 percent of all US adults were married.
17. The US Postal service has lost more than 5 billion dollars over the past year
18. In Stockton, CA home prices have declined 64 percent from where they were in 2005-2006
19. Nevada has had the highest foreclosure rate in the nation for 59 months in a row
20. The median price of a home in Detroit is now $6,000
21. According to the US Census Bureau, 18 percent of all homes in the state of Florida are sitting vacant. That figure is 63 percent larger than it was 10 years ago.
22. New home construction in the US is on pace to set a brand new all-time record low in 2011
23. 19 percent of all American men between the ages of 25 and 34 are now living with their parents.
24. Electricity bills in the US have risen faster than the overall rate of inflation for five years in a row.
25. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, health care costs accounted for just 9.5 percent of all personal consumption back in 1980. Today, they account for approximately 16.3 percent.
26. A recent study found that approximately 41 percent of all working age Americans either have medical bill problems or are currently paying off medical debt.
27. One out of every seven Americans has at least 10 credit cards.
28. The US spends about 4 dollars on goods and services from China for every one dollar that China spends on goods and services from the US.
29. Projections for the US trade deficit for 2011 will be $558.2 billion.
30. The retirement crisis in the US just continues to get worse. According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, 46 percent of all Americans have less than $10,000 saved for retirement, and 29 percent of all American workers have less than $1,000 saved for retirement.
31. Today, one out of every six elderly Americans lives below federal poverty line.
32. According to an analysis by the Census Bureau data done by the Pew Research Center, the median net worth for households led by someone 65 years of age or older is 47 times greater than the median net worth for households led by someone under the age of 55.
33. 37 percent of all US households that are led by someone under the age of 35 have a net worth of zero or less than zero.
34. A higher percentage of Americans is living in extreme poverty (6.7 percent) than has ever been measured before.
35. Child homelessness in the US is now 33 percent higher than it was back in 2007
36. . Sadly, child poverty is absolutely exploding all over America. According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, 36.4 percent of all children that live in Philadelphia are living in poverty. 40.1 percent of all children that live in Atlanta are living in poverty. 52.6% of all children that live in Cleveland are living in poverty. 53.6 percent of all children that live in Detroit are living in poverty.
37. Today, one out of every seven Americans is on food stamps and one out of every four American children is on food stamps.
38. . In 1980, government transfer payments accounted for just 11.7 percent of all income. Today, government transfer programs account for more than 18 percent of all income.
39. A staggering 48.5%of all Americans live in a household that receives some form of government benefits. Back in 1983, that number was below 30 percent.
40. Right now, spending by the federal government accounts for about 24 percent of GDP. Back in 2001, it accounted for just 18 percent.
41. For fiscal year 2011, the US federal government had a budget deficit of nearly 1.3 trillion dollars; that was the third year in a row that our budget deficit has topped a trillion dollars. Translated, we are spending over a trillion dollars more than we are taking in.
42. . If Bill Gates one of the wealthiest people in the world gave every single penny of his fortune to the US government, it would only cover the US budget deficit for about 15 days.
43. The US government has now accumulated a total debt of 15 trillion dollars. When Barack Obama first took office the national debt was 10.6 trillion dollars.
44. . If the federal government began right at this moment to repay the US national debt at a rate of one dollar per second, it would take over 440,000 years to pay off the national debt.
45. . The US national debt has been increasing by an average of more than 4 billion dollars per day since the beginning of the Obama administration.
46. During the Obama administration, the US government has accumulated more debt than it did from the time that George Washington took office to the time that Bill Clinton took office.
A trend that must be broken—
An article that appeared in the Bangor Daily News stated that in the state of Maine, “445,074 Mainers paid state income tax while 453,194 received some sort of state aid. In Maine, Medicaid, welfare, food stamps and subsidies for education have a combined enrollment of 660,000.”
Nationally, only 53% of all Americans living in households pay income taxes. Translated—47% or nearly half of all Americans don’t pay any federal income taxes.
We are continuing to depend on fewer and fewer wealth producers to pay for those who are on the take. This is re-distribution—this is socialism—which has proven to fail over and over again. This trend must be reversed—socialism works always for a while—until you run out of other people’s money!
We now have 92 million people on public assistance in one form or another. This includes 33 million children or 45% of all the people under the age of 18. Medicaid is the largest of all government programs and covers 74 million people—translated—one in four Americans. Food stamps now cover 34 million Americans or one in nine people! Almost 20 million people live on cash welfare and 11 million people live in public housing. Our federal policies do in fact incentivize people to depend on federal government programs and discourage job creation. Allowed to continue, this truly is a formula for disaster.
Understand our direction, and understand it is unsustainable. Have the guts to get involved and make your voices heard. Engage people, friends, acquaintances, young people, we are entering one of the most significant political elections in the history of our country. If we do not change the direction that our country is headed, it will be destroyed.
Obamacare for the Internet!
One of the three tenets of the Palm Beach County Tea Party is “Constitutionally Driven Limited Government”. Unfortunately, we have a legislation brewing in our country that literally smacks this tenet down! We, the tea party, a group of concerned citizens must work to understand this legislation and let our congress know how we feel about it. Most of the information that I am sharing here comes from research done by the Tea Party Patriots, a national organization with which the Palm Beach County Tea Party is associated. Herein is the situation:
SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and its Senate cousin (PROTECT IP) are government solutions in search of a problem. Created under the false flag of piracy protection, SOPA allows unelected bureaucrat US Attorney General (Eric Holder) to close down without due process, any site listed in a complaint. SOPA grants the federal government the right to restrict search engine results, freeze merchant accounts and force your internet provider to block any site branded in violation of SOPA. An unelected bureaucrat will decide which sites qualify.
What does this mean for you? Under SOPA, if a single complaint is filed against YouTube alleging pirated materiel, the entire website can be shut down while the claim is investigated. If a single complaint is registered against Google claiming they link to pirated materiel in search results, the entire site can be shut down during the investigation. If a single complaint is logged against Amazon.com claiming pirated goods are being sold, the entire site can be shut down and their online payment service frozen!
Who thought this was a good idea? SOPA is sponsored by Representative Lamar Smith, A Republican from Texas who has been in Congress for over 25 years. It has 31 co-sponsors and is currently moving through the House Judiciary Committee (chaired by Lamar Smith).
Outside Washington D.C., bloggers and experts across the political spectrum have warned against this legislation. SOPA is sponsored by a Republican, PROTECT IP is sponsored by a Democrat. It’s becoming clear that this battle is not about partisan politics or liberal vs. conservatives. This is the Washington elite, using overblown piracy fears to control our internet.
What can you do? First, click here to contact your congressman and let them know SOPA (H.R. 3261) has no place in America. This is not a bill that can be amended into something acceptable, it must die completely.
Next, click here to contact members of the Judiciary Committee specifically and urge them to defeat SOPA by any means necessary.
If you or someone you know lives in Wisconsin, North Carolina, California, Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Florida, Arizona, Texas, Nevada, Iowa, Utah, Arkansas, Pennsylvania or South Carolina, please forward this alert to them. These states have congressional members on the Judiciary Committee, see below for the complete list of committee members with their contact information. Simply click on the red link and you will be on their contact webpage.
Thank you for your efforts and remember, we surround them!
GOP Members DC Phone DC Fax E-mail
Lamar Smith (R-TX) [Chairman] 202-225-4236 202-225-8628 http://lamarsmith.house.gov/Contact/
F. James (Jim) Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-WI) 202-225-5101 202-225-3190 http://sensenbrenner.house.gov/email_zip.htm
Howard Coble (R-NC) 202-225-3065 202-225-8611 http://coble.house.gov/Contact/ZipCheck.htm
Elton Gallegly (R-CA) 202-225-5811 202-225-1100 https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) 202-225-5431 202-225-9681 http://goodlatte.house.gov/contacts/new
Dan Lungren (R-CA) 202-225-5716 202-226-1298 http://lungren.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=84§i …
Steve Chabot (R-OH) 202-225-2216 202-225-3012 https://chabotforms.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=58& …
Darrell Issa (R-CA) 202-225-3906 202-225-3303 http://issa.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&vi …
Mike Pence (R-IN) 202-225-3021 202-225-3382 https://forms.house.gov/pence/IMA/webforms/contact_fo …
J. Randy Forbes (R-VA) 202-225-6365 202-226-1170 http://randyforbes.house.gov/Contact/ZipAuth.htm
Steve King (R-IA) 202-225-4426 202-225-3193 https://forms.house.gov/king/webforms/issue_subscribe …
Trent Franks (R-AZ) 202-225-4576 202-225-6328 http://franks.house.gov/contacts/new
Louie Gohmert (R-TX) 202-225-3035 202-226-1230 http://gohmert.house.gov/Contact/
Jim Jordan (R-OH) 202-225-2676 202-226-0577 http://jordan.house.gov/Contact/
Ted Poe (R-TX) 202-225-6565 202-225-5547 https://forms.house.gov/poe/webforms/zipauthen_contac …
Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) 202-225-7751 202-225-5629 https://chaffetz.house.gov/contact/email-me.shtml
Tim Griffin (R-AR) 202-225-2506 202-225-5903 https://griffin.house.gov/contact-me/email-me
Tom Marino (R-PA) 202-225-3731 202-225-9594 https://marino.house.gov/contact-me/email-me
Trey Gowdy (R-SC) 202-225-6030 202-226-1177 http://gowdy.house.gov/Contact/
Dennis Ross (R-FL) 202-225-1252 202-226-0585 https://dennisross.house.gov/Contact/
Sandy Adams (R-FL) 202-225-2706 202-226-6299 http://adams.house.gov/Contact/
Ben Quayle (R-AZ) 202-225-3361 202-225-3462 http://quayle.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=58§io …
Mark Amodei (R-NV) 202-225-6155 202-225-5679 https://amodei.house.gov/contact-me/email-me
Democrat Members DC Phone DC Fax E-mail
John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) [Ranking Member] 202-225-5126 202-225-0072 http://conyers.house.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact …
Howard L. Berman (D-CA) 202-225-4695 202-225-3196 http://www.house.gov/berman/contact/
Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) 202-225-5635 202-225-6923 https://jerroldnadler.house.gov/Forms/WriteYourRep/de …
Bobby Scott (D-VA) 202-225-8351 202-225-8354 chttp://www.house.gov/berman/contact/
Mel Watt (D-NC) 202-225-1510 202-225-1512 https://forms.house.gov/watt/webforms/zipauthen_conta …
Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) 202-225-3072 202-225-3336 http://forms.house.gov/lofgren/webforms/landing.html
Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) 202-225-3816 202-225-3317 http://www.jacksonlee.house.gov/Contact/
Maxine Waters (D-CA) 202-225-2201 202-225-7854 https://watersforms.house.gov/Contact/ContactForm.htm
Steve Cohen (D-TN) 202-225-3265 202-225-5663 https://cohenforms.house.gov/Forms/WriteYourRep/
Hank Johnson (D-GA) 202-225-1605 202-226-0691 https://hankjohnsonforms.house.gov/contact-form.shtml
Pedro Pierluisi (D-PR) 202-225-2615 202-225-2154 http://pierluisi.house.gov/english/contact-us.html
Mike Quigley (D-IL) 202-225-4061 202-225-5603 https://forms.house.gov/quigley/contact-form.shtml
Judy Chu (D-CA) 202-225-5464 202-225-5467 https://forms.house.gov/chu/contact-form.shtml
Ted Deutch (D-FL) 202-225-3001 202-225-5974 https://deutchforms.house.gov/Forms/WriteYourRep/defa …
Linda Sanchez (D-CA) 202-225-6676 202-226-1012 https://forms.house.gov/lindasanchez/webforms/issue_s …
Jared Polis (D-CO) 202-225-2161 202-226-7840 https://polisforms.house.gov/Forms/WriteYourRep/defau …
Palm Beach County Tea Party and South Florida 912 Host PPP Event
Do you know for whom you’re going to vote for in the GOP Primary? Do you know why? How much do you really know about your candidate?
Find out at our Presidential Preference Primary Event – a joint project between Palm Beach County Tea Party and South Florida 912.
When: Tuesday January 10th 6:00 p.m Meet and Greet, 6:30-8:30 Program
Where: First Baptist Church of West Palm Beach, 1101 South Flagler Drive
Moderator Brian Mudd
Our volunteers have researched the candidates’ policies. The campaigns have responded to questions about their candidates’ core values: such as Leadership, Character, Worldview, Quality of Solutions, and Governing Style, so we can get beneath the surface. There will be high-profile candidate surrogates at the forum to explain the answers and to answer your questions
The format will allow ample time to explore both core values and policy positions.
First take our survey – based on your current knowledge of the candidates. Then hear from the campaign surrogates as they present their candidates’ views, moderated by Brian Mudd, Program Director for WJNO and WBZT and co-host of the Palm Beaches Morning Rush, on Tuesday, January 10th at 6pm at the First Baptist Church of West Palm Beach at 1101 S Flagler. Pick up a copy of our short Voters’ Guide at our event and then check out the complete guide on our websites. Survey results will be presented at the end of the meeting.
Still feel the same about your candidate? Have a new one? In either case, help out the candidate of your choice during the final 3 weeks of the campaign leading to the GOP Presidential Primary on 1/31.
The event is free, donations are welcome. Bring your friends.
If you need additional information, please contact info@palmbeachcountyteaparty.org
Click below to RSVP:
Venue Map:
Allen West Speaks at Boca Raton Chapter Meeting
Click for a video of this event.
Now that the New Year fireworks have subsided, it is time for the Palm Beach County Tea Party to start 2012 with a few fireworks of our own!!! And, that we did on January 3rd, at the Boca Greens Country Club, for the Boca Chapter’s first Monthly Dinner/Speaker event of the year. Our guest was none other than Congressman Allen West- a political figure who has done much to galvanize and inspire the Tea Party, and the Congressman knows that the Tea Party has been highly influential in getting him to his chair in Washington, DC.
Colonel Allen West
An early cold front, with temperatures in the high 40’s to low 50’s greeted our diners and other attendees, with a beautiful sunset overlooking the golf course. Despite a huge crowd of over 200 people, the dinner line went quite smoothly. The sumptuous buffet included any number of delicacies, which seemed to be appreciated by all. This month we changed the raffle scenario somewhat, and tickets were sold with the ability to win various prizes that were donated by local businesses. This went over quite well, and we enjoyed record sales of raffle tickets.
Starting promptly at 7:00, Boca Chapter Coordinator Alex Berry began the proceedings with the Pledge of Allegiance. We were blessed to have Lou Galtiero sing the National Anthem for us. Alex Berry then explained who the Tea Party is, and how our organization is set up. After various announcements were made, County Coordinator and Co-Founder Pam Wohlschlegel took the podium to recognize other members of our group, as well as give people an idea of upcoming events.
Alex then introduced Allen West to a cheering crowd- he shook hands on his way to the podium to a standing ovation. It was clear that he is much admired amongst those in our Tea Party, even though we ask him some tough questions, and have kept him accountable throughout his time as an elected official. He must have sensed this, because the first topic he addressed was his vote on the National Defense Authorization Act. There has been much hysteria surrounding loose verbiage in the bill, which has led many to believe that it would allow any military personnel to indefinitely detain American citizens “suspected” of terrorist activity, or of being a “belligerent”. The Congressman read aloud, straight from the bill (HR 1540) from a specific page (I believe he said page 657), under section 1021, which says, “Authorities – Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect existing law or authorities relating to the detention of United States citizens, lawful resident aliens of the United States, or any other persons who are captured or arrested in the United States”. He then challenged the audience to cite for him any other part of the bill that would overrule or subjugate what he had read. He gave the audience a few seconds, and then said, “Thank You!”. It was a dramatic opening salvo to a power-packed speech, which was appreciated by the crowd.
His speech was short, so that he could field answers from the large crowd gathered. The questions were all well received and answered. There appears to be little doubt that the Congressman enjoys direct interaction with his constituency. The questions varied from Term Limits, to Immigration, to the Federal Reserve, and our National Debt. He handled each question with care and aplomb—and certainly gave the answers that the Tea Party wanted to hear regarding each one. West remains an ideological favorite among conservatives, despite some of his somewhat controversial votes in the past.
Before being whisked off to do an interview with Neil Cavuto, West circulated amongst the crowd after he concluded his last answer.
The raffle prizes were then drawn, and the enjoyment of like-minded fellowship carried on well into the evening, spilling out from the dining room, into the foyer, and out into the portico valet area on this chilly and crisp evening. We look forward to more great meetings in 2012 for our Boca Chapter—please INVITE YOUR FRIENDS to our next event, which will be on February 7th, 2012!!! Remember—we always have our Boca Chapter Dinner/Speaker event on the FIRST TUESDAY of every month, so mark your calendars! We now have ELEVEN months to make a difference for the next election, so please get involved if you aren’t yet, and STAY involved if you already are!
Pictures from Alex:
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Jupiter/PBG Chapter Energized and Ready to Tackle 2012!
This was our first meeting at Abacoa Golf Club and we had a great turnout. Several folks were new to the Palm Beach County Tea Party – thanks to all for coming!
Mark Wohlschlegel entertained the attendees while we enjoyed the buffet dinner.
Chapter leader, Gary Summers, kicked off the meeting at 7pm with a welcome, the Pledge of Allegiance and the Star-Spangled Banner. Then Pam Wohlschlegel, Chairman and County Coordinator, took the podium. Since there were new attendees, she stated the groups 3 tenets and talked about our upcoming meeting in Boca on Tuesday (tomorrow) featuring Congressman Allen West, and next week’s Presidential Preference Portfolio event on January 10th as well as the associated member survey and voter’s guide. Pam also talked about the need for volunteers in all aspects of our operations. She also mentioned the new organization that Barry Carson is kicking off – the new Jupiter/Tequesta Republican Organization. The group’s goals will be to be an activist group, not a dinner-club – with each of the members expected to be REC members, or poll-watchers and to join campaigns.
Gary then introduced our guest speaker, Guido (George) Lombardi. An acclaimed author and international expert, Mr. Lombardi is the Executive Director of the North Atlantic League, (www.northatlanticleague.us ) which promotes positive foreign relations between Italy, Israel, and the United States. In addition, he is a leader in the Tea Party Italy, which has brought the values of small government and more personal freedom to Italy.
Mr. Lombardi began by telling us about the new Prime Minister of Italy, Mario Monti – and how the first things he’s done is raise taxes even on the smallest of items. The European Union (EU) is stomping on each of the 3 tea party tenets every day. The speaker said that the Prime Minister of Hungary stated the desire for Hungary to leave the EU, and that there is tremendous resentment through-out the EU for the un-elected leadership of the EU called the European Commission – which is an entirely appointed body. Lombardi stated that the EU was convinced to print money as a way out of their financial difficulties by our Secretary of the Treasury – Timothy Geithner.
He also stated that much of the Italian economy is ‘underground’ and thriving. He spoke positively about Sylvio Berlusconi, who is a personal friend. Mr. Lombardi felt that Berlusconi’s conservative government, and business background, drove a lot of the more conservative government that have won elections throughout the EU.
China’s impact on Italy was also a fascinating piece of Mr. Lombardi’s talk. He described how small farms were being purchased by Chinese groups; then produce/farm products from other countries were delivered on Chinese ships to nearby ports and sold throughout the country in lieu of local production. Struggling farmers were attracted to the large cash buyouts.
Several questions were asked by audience members. Mr. Lombardi concluded his talk by saying that he was optimistic that we would all prevail if we stood up for what we believe!
Some pictures from Fred and Ed:
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Drug Testing To Buy Guns vs. The Reapers
I just got back from the NRA, and I will share the same to you as I did with them. The Following below is a FBI Report of gun crimes in America.
Gun Rights vs. Crime In America
The Reapers / a F.A.S.C.Concepts , byMassingale News release
December 26,2011
I offer legal help, an option to drug test people before they buy a gun. The new testing of the swab to the mouth is painless and on the money for stopping gun crimes by junkies.
You see guns and drugs is an issue our government covers up because of the sale of oxy heroin. I have labled these heroin users as, “The Reapers / byMassingale”, a internet catch. Some of the most terrible crimes are commited by heroin users as this drug molds people into that of which they are not.
My Name is Henry Massingale Founder and Director of the International Boycott Of The Arabic Drug Empire.
As most people do not know, 75% of the gun crimes are commited by drug offenders. So bring this into the fight for the NRA and the world will look at you all different.
Data summary
Gun crime in the US, 2010
| State | Total murders | Total firearms, 2010 | % change, 2009-10 | Handguns murders | Firearms, % of all murders | Firearms murders per 100,000 pop | Firearms robberies per 100,000 pop | Firearms assaults per 100,000 pop |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Florida figures not provided • Total number of murders for which supplemental homicide data were received. • Limited supplemental homicide data were received from Illinois • Rates for robbery and assault are FBI official rates, others are calculated by the Datablog SOURCE: FBI |
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Tags: constitution, crime, drugs, guns, nra, rights
Jupiter/PBG Chapter Meeting on Monday, Jan 2nd
Jupiter/Palm Beach Gardens Chapter Meeting with Keynote Speaker:
Guido George Lombardi
Former Executive Director of the International Council for Economic Development, author of Freedom and Economic Progress and The Value Matrix, Executive Director of the North Atlantic League, and leader of the Tea Party Italy
DATE:
Monday, January 2nd, 2012
TIME:
Doors open 5:30pm
Buffet at 6pm. Meeting starts at 7pm
$15 per person (tax and gratuity included)
PLACE:
Abacoa Golf Club
105 Barbados Drive Drive, Jupiter, FL 33456
Click Here for map.
RSVP:
Register by clicking on the “RSVP” below or call (561) 444-8086 if you have questions.
We look forward to seeing you there!!!
Boca Chapter Meeting Featuring Colonel Allen West
Boca Raton Chapter Meeting with Keynote Speaker:
Col. Allen West
Congressman
Florida’s District 22
DATE:
Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012
TIME:
Doors open 5:30pm
Buffet at 6pm. Meeting starts at 7pm
$15 per person (tax and gratuity included)
PLACE:
Boca Greens Country Club
19642 Trophy Drive, Boca Raton, FL 33498
Click HERE for Map
RSVP:
Email to rsvp.boca@gmail.com, or call 561-302-1479. Or register by clicking on the “RSVP” below
We look forward to seeing you there!!!
Wellington Chapter hosts the Senatorial Candidate Forum
Palm Beach County Tea Party’s (PBCTP) Wellington Chapter hosted our Senatorial Candidate Forum on Monday, December 12th. Most of the attendees partook of the tasty buffet at the Binks Forest Country Club prior to the beginning of the meeting.
Gina Rascati, Wellington Chapter Leader and PBCTP co-founder, kicked off the event with the Pledge of Allegiance. Then Mel Grossman, PBCTP Vice President and co-founder, spoke about December events – encouraging attendees to help work the upcoming Gun Show. In addition, he said that he’d be starting rallies, once again, in the new year. Iris Scheibl, one of the PBCTP co-founders, described the upcoming Presidential Preference Primary Portfolio Event on January 10th to be jointly hosted by PBCTP and South Florida 912. Alex Berry, Boca Chapter Leader took the podium and kicked-off the events – first describing the tenets of the PBCTP, then doing the introductions. The guest moderator for the event was Jim Sackett, former WPTV NewsChannel 5 news anchor; time-keeper was Gina Rascatti; and the participating candidates, in order of opening statements were: Mike McCalister, Deon Long, Ron McNeil and Marielena Stuart.
After opening remarks, each of the candidates rotated going first in responding to the questions with one minute responses. The excellent questions ran the gamut of conservative issues: Repeal Obamacare? Which departments to scale back or get rid of? How to reduce the National Debt? Would you have voted for the Defense Authorization Bill? Would you support removing the US from the UN, NAFTA, and NATO and expel the UN from NYC? Would you refuse to sign any treaty that says the US contributes to global warming or climate change? Would you work to reform the tax code and repeal the 16th amendment? Would you work to repeal current executive orders that put restrictions on States’ rights and if so, which ones? Would you follow current immigration law while striving for a long term solution? Is the U.S. Constitution a living document? Would you abolish or limit the number of Czars? Would you support making the Bush tax cuts permanent? If not, why not? While many of the responses were similar – there were distinctions based on the personal viewpoint of each of the candidates. McCalister brought his military background and other experiences into the mix, Long spoke of his economic outlook and the fair tax as a framework, McNeil cited his paradigm as a successful engineer and businessman, and Stuart her perspective as a Cuban immigrant who lived under Communism and described Agenda 21/Sustainability as socialism.
We had time for two great audience questions as well. Would you support and pass term limits for the House and Senate? – leading to probably the funniest line of the night, given by McNeil – “Yes – two terms – one in office and one in prison!”, and What would you do with the Federal Reserve and what would you replace it with?
The candidates then closed with 5 minute closing statements. Alex closed the meeting with calling the raffle.
It was a very informative event offering us an opportunity to learn more about these principled but lesser known candidates. There is a long time until the August 2012 primary and any one of these fine folks could emerge as a strong Conservative candidate. Thanks to all who attended.
The following pictures were taken by Alex Berry.
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Fighting Mad over Fighting Metals
A law passed on July 21, 2010 by a Democrat-controlled Congress and signed into law by Democrat President Obama outlaws the use of specified metals in the products of American manufacturers.
It seems like another effort to destroy our country and drive manufacturing overseas.
The metals involved are gold, tantalum, tin, and tungsten.
With the exception of gold, which people have been fighting over since the beginning of recorded history, the other metals are not normally associated with human conflict.
Tantalum is used in the production of capacitors which are used in almost all electronic devices.
Tin is used in the manufacture of fungicides, tin cans, paint and solder.
Tungsten is used for fishing weights, golf club heads and the filaments of incandescent light bulbs. The manufacture of incandescent light bulbs (Invented in the United States by Thomas Edison) has already been driven overseas and they are now made in Mexico since their sale in the United States was outlawed beginning next year by the Energy Independence and Security Act Of 2007.
The legislation outlawing these “fighting metals” is Public law 111–203: Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. “Fighting metals” is one reason the Dodd-Frank Act is on the list of laws to be repealed if conservatives ever get into power.
The term used to obfuscate the legislation is not “fighting metals” but “Conflict Minerals”
The Securities and Exchange Commission is busy writing rules to implement the law by changing the annual reporting requirements of companies. I wonder how much that effort is costing the taxpayers.
More information on the metals and the meddling of our government can be found at. Wikipedia.
If anyone can explain what these “Conflict Minerals” have to do with either “Wall Street Reform” or “Consumer Protection”, the purported purposes of the act, we would be interested in hearing from you.
