P.S. I thinks we need 100 or more Harry Alfords. Please, let's find a way to send some kudos Mr. Alford's way.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
P.S. I thinks we need 100 or more Harry Alfords. Please, let's find a way to send some kudos Mr. Alford's way.
This is the Illinois chapter of national a group that formed when our government failed to enforce one of the most basic rights of any human being: the right to grieve and bury their deceased in peace and sanctuary. At least one group did not seem to recognize that right, and held vile protests when families tried to bury their fallen soldiers. They are not all veterans, but they all recognize the sacrifices our veterans have made to allow all of us the joy of experiencing the freedoms of our society. They are the group that provided what little barrier existed between Albert Snyder(see story below) and the protestors that hurled vile and profane slander during the burial of his son. These ARE true patriots.
The following is taken from their national website (link provided at end):
"It all started back in early August of 2005 with the American Legion Riders chapter 136 from Kansas. They were appalled to hear that a fallen hero’s memory was being tarnished by misguided religious zealots who were protesting at funerals. They decided to do something about it. At the ALR 136 August meeting, Director: Chuck " Pappy " Barshney appointed members, Terry “Darkhorse” Houck, Cregg “Bronco 6” Hansen, Steve “McDaddy” McDonald, and Bill ”Wild Bill” Logan to form a committee to strategize and form a battle plan to combat Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church."
Illinois Patriot Guard Riders Website: http://ilpatriotguard.com/
They are holding a "Gathering of the Guard" event August 13, 14, qnd 15 at the Knox county fairgrounds in Knoxville, Illinois, an event open for free to the general public: http://www.illinoisgotg.webs.com/
From FOCPAC:
We are pleased to announce that our first three billboards are now 'live' in Quincy. They are located on Broadway, and also on I-336 north of Quincy. If you would like to learn more about Friends of the Constitution, please visit our website at www.focpac.com. Donations, which are non-tax deductible, may be mailed to us at Friends of the Constitution, PO Box 92, Bushnell, IL 61422. We have 8 more billboards scheduled to begin appearing in the Quad Cities within the next few weeks. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at mcr@midwestcontrol.com
Here is their Website: http://www.focpac.com//
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
The bill co-sponsored by Senators James Meeks (D) and Dan Cronin (R) is a good start. Finally, some Democrats are considering supporting the concept of school choice. But as the bill stands now, it is flawed and arbitrary. Section 10 of the bill defines low performing school as the schools that rank in the lowest 10th percentile on the Illinois Standard Achievement Test in Chicago elementary School District 299. An article published October 30, 2009 by the Sun Times illustrates that the lowest 10th percentile is not and cannot be static.http://www.suntimes.com/news/education/1855121,chicago-elementary-schools-rank-1009.article In comparison to the previous year, Mitchell elementary school boasted a 21 point increase in test scores, while Clissold elementary school dropped by more than 8 percentage points.
Thus, the schools that compose the "lowest performing" are subject to change every year. The bill does not specify how the program will be administered after the first year of implementation. A strict reading Section 40 of the bill seems to indicate that if a student's assigned public school drops out of the lowest 10th percentile, that student would no longer be eligible to receive the voucher. Such strict implementation is highly unlikely. No politician would allow such a repeal of vouchers from families enjoying the benefits of a private school education. Moreover, stability of the students and the public and private school systems would be non-existent. Therefore, there would be only method then to account for schools falling into the lowest percentile for the first time in subsequent years. The School Choice Program would have to be expanded.
Section 50 of the bill indicates that any given year when the number of qualifyng pupils requesting vouchers exceeds the amount allocated, the Illinois State Board of Education can adjust the qualification standards by using other criteria such as family income. The language of this section suggests that there could be a situation where families who contribute nothing to the state tax system would receive vouchers, while those who do will not.
It is unlikely the bill as drafted will survive scrutiny of the voters, the Illinois House of Representives, and the Governor's veto power. Constituencies will not tolerate a statewide funded benefit awarded only to an arbitrarily hand picked consituency residing soley in the city of Chicago. What about schools in East St. Louis, Peoria, Rockford and other cash strapped cities? In what way does this bill seek to help Chicago Hispanic students that have the highest high school drop out rate of all ethnic or racial groups? Section 5 of the bill cites "many pupils are dropping out of school before completing the ordinary course of a secondary education", yet the bill fails to address the ethnic group most at risk of dropping out of high school.
The only logical manner in which "School Choice" can truly survive is to make it available to all constituencies throughout the state. It cannot be disputed that any voucher awarded at an average of $3,234 would save the state of Illinois $2,695 per pupil. This does not take into account the savings in the state's "Operational Costs" of $10, 417 per pupil. Although it is recognized that not all operational costs will decrease in proportion to each student opting out, as fixed asset maintenance costs will not decrease (i.e. existing public schools will still have to be heated and maintained), other operational costs such as busing and school lunches would necessarily decrease.
Although it is expected that the National Educational Association, the Illinois Federation of Teachers, and other groups will oppose vouchers, legislators in the state will have to justify why reducing the cost of education per pupil does NOT make sense, especially in a climate where the State of Illinois is on the verge of bankruptcy. Nor does this place the value of creating a mechanism whereby the student/teacher ratio could improve by relieving some overcrowded classrooms. The NEA and IFT are not the only groups of expected opposition. Even before the ink on the bill had dried, the Illinois ACLU announced it's intention to oppose the Voucher proposal.http://aclu-il.org/blog/
Ultimately, it's YOUR choice.
Paul Fuentes
Sunday, April 25, 2010
The following is the link to Veterans4Schilling.Org, which will be soon added permanently on a link roll on this website: http://www.veterans4schilling.org/
Saturday, April 24, 2010
This is an example of rule by despot fiat...no debate, no congressional hearings, no news. Yet, almost all of us who own home built in 1978 or prior will now have the feds in our homes. And, trust me, every regulation enacted eventually spawn a whole slew of additional regulations.
What will be next? Contractors would have to comply with prescribed hiring practices dictated by Obama? Will you be able to sell your home if it is not "green" enough.
We are in trouble.
Heres the link: http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovation.htm
April 22, 2010 12:41 PM
The family of a Navy SEAL who grew up in Blue Island rejoiced today after a U.S. military jury cleared him of failing to prevent the beating of an Iraqi prisoner.
The mother of Petty Officer 1st Class Julio Huertas said she was elated by the verdict and always had faith that her son would be proven innocent.
Associated Press
BAGHDAD
BAGHDAD (AP) — A U.S. military judge on Friday cleared a Navy SEAL of any wrongdoing in the alleged beating of an Iraqi prisoner suspected of masterminding the grisly 2004 killings of four American contractors.
The Blackwater contractors' burned bodies were dragged through the streets and two were hanged from a bridge over the Euphrates river in the former insurgent hotbed of Fallujah in an attack that shocked Americans and galvanized U.S. support for the war.
After a daylong trial and fewer than two hours considering the evidence, Navy Judge Cmdr. Tierny Carlos found Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Keefe of Yorktown, Virginia, not guilty of dereliction of duty, a spokesman said.
AP – In this Monday, April 5, 2010 photo, Albert Snyder pauses during an interview in York, Pa.
By BEN NUCKOLS, Associated Press Writer Ben Nuckols, Associated Press Writer – Tue Apr 13, 12:17 am ET
YORK, Pa. – Some nights Albert Snyder wakes up at 3 a.m. Other nights he doesn't sleep at all, tormented by thoughts of the hateful signs carried by a fundamentalist church outside his Marine son's funeral.
"Thank God for Dead Soldiers."
"You're Going to Hell."
"Semper Fi Fags."
Hundreds of grieving families have been targeted by the Westboro Baptist Church, which believes military deaths are the work of a wrathful God who punishes the United States for tolerating homosexuality.
The following articles written by John Biver of ChampionNews.net provide a fuller and better illustration of what I mean.
Posted: April 23, 2010
By John Biver
In a brilliant column last month Walter Williams wrote about a "Constitutional Awakening."
"If there is anything good to say about Democrat control of the White House, Senate and House of Representatives, it's that their extraordinarily brazen, heavy-handed acts have aroused a level of constitutional interest among the American people that has been dormant for far too long."
He's right. The entire column is worth reading. Of course, part of that Constitutional awakening process is the necessary political awakening. We have a President Obama and Speaker Pelosi in large part because when the GOP held power it failed to successfully advance key reforms. Jonah Goldberg recently wrote - and I agree - that the tea parties are "a delayed Bush backlash."
Williams also noted this:
"While the odds on favorite is that the Republicans will do well in the fall elections, Americans who want constitutional government should not see Republican control as a solution to what our founders would have called ‘a long train of abuses and usurpations.'"
So reform supporting Americans don't just need Republican majorities in the General Assembly and Congress, and a Republican in the governor's mansion and in the White House. They need Republicans in leadership that understand how to actually get the reform policies enacted.
Full Article: http://www.championnews.net/article.php?sid=2537
Counterinsurgency: An operations manual for the GOP
Posted: July 10, 2008
By John Biver
As socialist and collectivist thought was on the rise in the middle of the last century there was a need for a defense of free market capitalism and what is known today as conservative political thought. A quote capturing that sentiment was recently featured prominently on the second page of a Washington, D.C. think tank's annual report:
"We must make the building of a free society once more an intellectual adventure, a deed of courage. If we can regain that belief in the power of ideas which was the mark of liberalism at its best, the battle is not lost." - Economist and political philosopher F.A. Hayek
If anyone thinks that Hayek's suggestion has been ignored, they're not paying attention. There has never been such a flood of good research, analysis, and commentary readily available backing up the kind of principles found in the platform of the Republican Party. The intellectual insurgency of socialist and collectivist thinking has been answered by an intellectual counterinsurgency defending free markets and traditional values.
Full Article: http://www.championnews.net/article.php?sid=1076
Counterinsurgency and modern political communications
Posted: July 11, 2008
By John Biver
Generals David Petraeus and James Amos have written one of the most important documents so far this century with their "Counterinsurgency" field manual published in 2006. It serves as a terrific warfare parallel for the domestic political challenge facing conservatives. Here is how the manual's introduction opens:
"This manual is designed to fill a doctrinal gap. It has been 20 years since the Army published a field manual devoted exclusively to counterinsurgency operations. For the Marine Corps it has been 25 years. With our Soldiers and Marines fighting insurgents in Afghanistan and Iraq, it is essential that we give them a manual that provides principles and guidelines for counterinsurgency operations. Such guidance must be grounded in historical studies. However, it also must be informed by contemporary experiences."
The recommendations within it have been applied in Iraq and as a result, the U.S. has won the second in Iraq. The first was the three week campaign to overthrow Saddam Hussein, and the second was the battle with the insurgents.
Now we need a few bright, experienced minds out there to update the political communications manual which today has doctrinal gaps so wide you can drive a bus loaded with wide-eyed twenty-something Barack Obama supporters right through them.
Full Article: http://www.championnews.net/article.php?sid=1077
Counterinsurgency, political troops, energy and action
Posted: July 14, 2008
By John Biver
Our elected officials must be political organizers, recruiters, and educators. If they're not going to be, then their legacy will be one of massive failure and eight years of President Barack Obama, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at the national level. Illinois Republican elected officials have already provided an assist to Democratic Party control by their inaction.
The "Counterinsurgency" field manual co-written by General David Petraeus includes these lines (emphasis added):
"A counterinsurgency campaign is, as described in this manual, a mix of offensive, defensive, and stability operations conducted along multiple lines of operations. It requires Soldiers and Marines to employ a mix of familiar combat tasks and skills more often associated with nonmilitary agencies.
The balance between them depends on the local situation. Achieving this balance is not easy. It requires leaders at all levels to adjust their approach constantly."
The difference between our military leaders and our political leaders is easy to see. Soldiers and Marines deal in life and death and are of course take their jobs seriously. The metric for our political leaders and their hired minions is not how much policy reform can they accomplish but how many times can they get reelected. In other words, not how they can fulfill the purpose of their job but how long can they avoid being fired.
Full Article: http://www.championnews.net/article.php?sid=1080
Counterinsurgency: GOP resurgence possible with new generals and an updated field manual
Posted: July 15, 2008
By John Biver
John Fund had an article in the Wall Street Journal on July 12th titled, "Obama's Liberal Shock Troops," and in it he outlined how big money and big activists are working together on the radical left wing to turn public opinion in their direction.
In addition to Barack Obama's victory over the Clinton Machine, Fund writes, liberals are also --
-- "on the march on the presidential level. This year, liberal activists are spending parts of the fortunes of their wealthy donors to transform politics at the state and local level."
While they do that, the political right fiddles. Despite enormous evidence showing that they're on the wrong track, Republicans cling to their current mentality and leaders and conservatives still assume that think tanks and talk radio can save the day.
Full Article: http://www.championnews.net/article.php?sid=1081
The first will be conducted by the Leadership Institute at the Veterans' Memorial VFW Hall at 2622 S. Des Plaines North Riverside IL. Link: http://www.leadershipinstitute.org/training/school.cfm?schoolID=16223
The second is a joint effort of the American Majority and Americans for Prosperity. It will be held May 16, 2010 at Chauncery Banquets 356 Surryse Road Lake Zurich IL. Link: http://americanmajority.org/events/chicago-regional-candidate-training/
I have heard very good things about the Leadership Institute. And, other folks have told me that although the American Majority/Americans for Prosperity schools are new, they are quite good. I went through a similar field school with the RNC and I can truly say that they provided a wealth of information.
Hope some of you take advantage, as they are few and far between in this Blue state. The last RNC scholl in Illinois was held in 2006.
3rd Annual Veterans' Legislative Day
Senator Christine Radogno and the Senate Republican Caucus invite all Veterans and their guests to a special day focusing on Veterans.
Briefings on Veterans’ issues
Meetings with members of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee
Lunch provided (Must RSVP by April 23)
Here is a link: http://www.vets.senategop.net/
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