Aiken's Bringing Back the Constitution

NBC Augusta 26 had an interesting report on a new group being formed in Aiken. The group will have a meeting at O'Dell Week's tomorrow between 6:00 and 7:00 PM . Follow the link below to read the article and view the video.

Aiken's bringing back the Constitution NBC Augusta 26 news, weather, sports, community, entertainment, shopping for Augusta, Georgia Local News

Nikki Haley’s Money Bomb | RedState

The following article by Erick Erickson appears on Redstate. It makes excellent points about Nikki Haley and the comments on the article are very much worth your time. We need new conservative leaders and Nikki needs your help.Please contribute to her campaign.


Nikki Haley’s Money Bomb RedState

'Roll Call Voting! No More Anonymous Voting!!!!!!'

As you know Nikki Haley is running for Governor of South Carolina. She has been leading the charge for roll call voting. The following link will take you to a Fairtax Organization message urging your action.

'Roll Call Voting! No More Anonymous Voting!!!!!!'

City Journal Commentary on Britains Healthcare

The Fix Is In


Why Britain’s National Health Service spends so much and does so little

22 March 2010

Americans would do well to ponder a recent admission by a former British minister in the Blair government. On March 2, the Guardian reported that the ex-minister, now Lord Warner, said that while spending on Britain’s National Health Service had increased by 60 percent under the Labour government, its output had decreased by 4 percent. No doubt the spending of a Soviet-style organization like the NHS is more easily measurable than its output, but the former minister’s remark certainly accords with the experiences of many citizens, who see no dramatic improvement in the service as a result of such vastly increased outlays. On the contrary, while the service has taken on 400,000 new staff members—that is to say, one-fifth of all new jobs created in Britain during the period—continuity of medical care has been all but extinguished. Nobody now expects to see the same doctor on successive occasions, in the hospital or anywhere else. more

Health Care and Term Limits

As many readers know I am a believer in term limits and have said so on this blog several times. The blatant disregard of the will of the majority of citizens regarding healthcare now taking place makes a compelling argument for a constitutional amendment to limit the terms of Congressional Representatives and Senators.Far too many of them worry more about their career jobs than they do about doing what's right.. Consequentially they can be bought or blackmailed or otherwise coerced by the party whips to follow the leader or lose support and meaningful committee asignments.

I spent four days this past week in the Aiken Regional Medical Center due to an emergency. With excellent care from Doctors, nurses and staff I am at home today in good health but alas very poor spirits awaiting the final decision on the Obama adminstration's health care "reform." If, as expected, the White House succeeds in ramming through this abomination I am afraid that in the near future I and many millions of patients with emergency conditions will not be so fortunate.

Our elected officials should be role models for the nation rather than "roll models" who go along to get along. The time has come to join together and demand that a referendum on term limits be held to let the people decide whether or not to amend the constitution. Let the people decide!

The following poem expresses the problem we have with the present system. It was inspired by a similar piece written by Michael Schenkler of the Queens Tribune concerning elections in Queens:

Here, there and everywhere

The Incumbents always win,

Their primary focus is to insure,

That the “ins,” are always in.

It’s of little import what they do,

Their record is of little matter,

They raise the bucks, work the PACs,

Anything to make war chests fatter.

Without fail they make the sale

Name recognition can’t be beat,

With all the funds and paid-for-mail,

It’s always another term repeat.

And so we have it for good or not

With hardly any exception

If an incumbent’s name is on the ballot,

He or she will win election.

You ask how to change the game

Just look hard at all in the race

Study accomplishments not the name

Dare to be bold to select a new face.

I know it is difficult to deny your “friend”

Who every few years solicits your vote

But if our uncritical habits we fail to amend

Our nation soon will be of little note!

So there you have it my friends. Since we do not yet have the term limits I advocate let's show very many incumbents the gate . Our country will surely benefit from  new faces in public places.

Election 2010: South Carolina Republican Primary for Governor

I have posted the following link to the latest poll in the South Carolina Governors race. While Nikki Haley places 4th it is interesting to note that a large number of those polled are undecided. Nikki's numbers are improving daily and as people get to know her I expect that many of the undecided will move to her. Please spread the word. If you haven't already done so check out her website: http://www.nikkihaley.com/ and email the link to your friends.


Election 2010: South Carolina Republican Primary for Governor

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Poll: 86 percent say government 'broken' - Andy Barr - POLITICO.com

Interesting Poll taken by CNN. I continue to believe that the only way to fix the system is to establish term limits and get rid of professional pols. The argument against limits is that our elected officials would not have sufficient experience and they would be too dependent upon their staffs most of whom make it a career. The truth is that the pols become dependent on their staffs anyway. In fact too often they become the photogenic ( some exceptions here)megaphone for the staff.

Poll: 86 percent say government 'broken' - Andy Barr - POLITICO.com

Poll - Most Say Founding Fathers Would Disapprove of Washington

FOXNews.com - FOX News Poll:  Most Say Founding Fathers Would Disapprove of Washington

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Osama Bin Laden blames U.S. for Climate Change

The elusive Bin Laden sends the world still another message of hate for the USA and other industrialized nations. Now he trying to tap into the popular but dubious  idea of global warming by blaming us. In addition to sponsoring and applauding cowardly terrorist attacks that indiscriminately kill innocents of any nation or religion  including his own he urges economic war on us even while admitting that the consequences of our collapse would be disastrous for the whole world. He does not yet have the enormous power required to do evil  on the same massive scale as  Stalin, Mao and Hitler but obviously he would if he could.

SC Blog exposes Bauer's "Transparency"

Transparency is sadly lacking at all levels of government and the Obama administration has been relentless in its pursuit of imposing its agenda on a country that rejects much of it and most especially Obamacare.. He promised openess and transparency and what have we been given? More of the same kind of rotten back room deals he so eloquently and and I might add hypocritically condemned while campaigning. Promises need to be kept!

Transparency in government has become the buzzword in politics and the South Carolina Policy Council does an excellent job of fighting for it here in South Carolina. Aiken City Councilman Dick Dewar has done a great deal to increase government transparency here in Aiken, South Carolina and our elected officials have given it their full support. Gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley has been the leader on transparency at the State level and we also applaud her efforts.The following link will take you to the Bauer story.
 
The Nerve






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I Missed This!

Somehow I missed this youtube video that was was also posted on Powerline.Reportedly it was forced off of Youtube but is now back.

SC Policy Council has a Blog

 I have posted this because the SC Policy Council is doing an excellent service for the citizens of South Carolina and their observations also have applicability at the National level.

The Nerve

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Healthcare Message from John McCain

We Have Just Begun to Fight Please show your support for those who oppose the Democrats' health care bill. My Friend, Early this morning at 1am, the Senate voted 60 to 40 in favor of moving the Democrats' health care bill forward. The final vote to pass the bill is scheduled for Christmas Eve, and I pledge to you that I will not only continue to cast my vote against this bill, but will actively fight it every step along the way. Democrats have used Bernie Madoff-style accounting to assess the cost of health care reform. And when this bill becomes law, the reality of higher taxes and Medicare cuts for seniors will settle in on the American public. President Obama made a promise when he campaigned for president to sit down and negotiate health care reform with Republicans and Democrats. He also promised C-SPAN cameras would be in the room. But, that was all campaign rhetoric. This disastrous health care bill was negotiated behind closed doors and Republicans were never brought into the negotiations. The result is a health care bill supported by 60 Democratic Senators, but opposed by 60% of the American public. My friend, we must resolve today to do everything in our power to continue fighting against the government takeover of our health care system. My fellow Republican Senators and I have done everything in our power to stop this legislation, but the reality is that Democrats have 60 seats in the Senate and we have 40 seats. I'm turning to you, as a voter and constituent, to exercise your power today. Every vote in the Senate is critical to stopping legislation like this health care bill and that is why Country First PAC is dedicated to supporting and electing candidates to office who share our values. Your support for Country First is crucial to our efforts on these candidates' behalf, so I ask you follow this link to make a contribution to Country First today. I will always honor every promise I make to you. And today, I promise that I will continue my fight against this health care reform bill until the very end. I thank you for your support along the way and look forward to continuing our work towards real government reform. Sincerely, John McCain Chairman, Country First PAC P.S. We have just begun to fight, my friend. I will continue to stand up for the American people who do not support the Democrats' health care reform bill. And I need your help to support candidates who join me in opposition to these policies. Please follow this link today to make a generous donation that will help Country First PAC financially support candidates across the country who will work towards real government reform. Thank you.

---

Paid for by Country First PAC Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee www.CountryFirstPAC.com

Lou Dobbs Moves On

the following is the lead in to a powerful story concerning Lou Dobbs final telecast from CNN. The full report appears on the American Spectator.

I Was Lou Dobbs's Last Guest: Witness To a Star Reborn

By Jeffrey Lord on 11.16.09 @ 6:08AM

"I got up here and I started to open my mouth and the long and powerful arm of Mr. James Taylor reached into this sacred chamber and grabbed me by the scruff of the neck." --Jimmy Stewart as U.S. Senator Jefferson Smith in the 1939 Frank Capra classic, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
"Vision is the art of seeing things invisible."-- Jonathan Swift
 
"You're speaking as though you believe America is a free country." 



The speaker was longtime CNN journalist and commentator Lou Dobbs. Sitting across the table from him in the CNN studios in New York I was startled at the statement, a statement that was in fact a question. I was even more startled at what had transpired moments before -- when Dobbs, seated at another table a few feet away, an electronic American flag waving behind him -- looked America in the eye and announced he was leaving CNN after almost three decades. Without doubt I knew the reason for Dobbs' question more

Bring all involved in case to justice

The following letter appeared in the Aiken Standard today. Should you want to see the letter and any comments on the Aiken Standard web site go here  The letter was in response to the Aiken Standards excellent editorial regarding the Ginny Allen caper. To read the original story and the many comments about it go here

11/13/2009 11:14 AM
Bring all involved in case to justice

I was astounded to read in the Aiken Standard today that the case of Ginny Allen, who has admitted her involvement in an election scam involving Senator Ryberg, Jason Whinghter, Tom Young and Scott Singer, was being handled in a pretrial intervention process. This matter has been under investigation for more than a year. The idea that Ginny Allen might be let off with an apology letter and some minor community service is unacceptable, unless she has cooperated fully with the investigators and named her co-conspirators. If so, their names must be revealed and they too must be charged.


The letter below from Dick Smith was published in the Aiken Standard on Dec. 18, 2008, and is included herein as it laid out the facts right after this event occurred. It appears to me that the political system might be protecting its own by letting Ginny take a cushioned fall for the more powerful culprits. Citizens are sick and tired of the games that politicians play, and there must be transparency in government. We have made some progress in Aiken but there still is a long way to go. If we are outraged by the duplicity of politicians in Washington, then we must address corruption in our own backyard. If he has not already done so the County Solicitor should demand the names from Ginny and publicly charge all the culprits so that some faith in government can be restored.

“Who was hurt by election calls?

“With reference to the editorial concerning election law violations I agree completely that “it is time that laws dealing with election mischief are dealt with as felonies.” However, I most emphatically disagree with your statement that the “intended result of the election-eve deception was not realized.” Except for Ginny Allen and her-up-till-now undisclosed co-conspirators none of us can know for sure what the intended result was. It should be quite clear to the objective observer that the only person hurt by this reprehensible ploy was Scott Singer. Certainly there was no chance it would in any way affect the outcome of the Whinghter-Ryberg race since the polls showed Ryberg with more than 70 percent of the voters backing him. Ginny Allen, as an astute political operative, certainly knew that a last-minute attempt to hurt Senator Ryberg would be a waste of time and money.

“The facts are that Senator Ryberg, upon learning about the fraudulent calls, immediately issued an angry statement denying any responsibility for them and denied supporting any candidate. Senator Ryberg also requested SLED to investigate. As a consequence of this angry statement many voters may have assumed that Scott Singer had sponsored the calls. To correct this misapprehension Senator Ryberg issued another statement on June 12, wherein he “declared his belief that the other candidate for office mentioned in the illegal call, County Councilman Scott Singer, was not involved in the phone call.” For some reason this statement was never published in the Aiken Standard. Meanwhile critics used this spurious charge to cut into Singer’s well deserved good reputation and high favorability ratings.

“I for one am glad SLED has investigated and is continuing to investigate this matter. Let us wait until all the facts are in before we rush to judgment as to the effectiveness of the calls. – Dick Smith”

It is obvious the only candidate who could have been hurt by this illegal act was Scott Singer, and the only one who could have benefited was Tom Young. Since Tom Young denies any involvement we should take him at his word, but it is entirely possible that without his knowledge one or more of his supporters worked with Ginny. It is interesting to note that Ginny’s letter of apology only explicitly absolves Senator Ryberg. Aiken’s citizens deserve to know the truth.

So now after a year, the citizens and voters of Aiken need to know the facts of this case and be assured that “business as usual” politics will no longer be tolerated in Aiken.

Marianne Pecoraro

Aiken

On the road to destruction?

 

 The following excellent letter appears in the Aiken Standard today. Check out the mostly stupid comments on line here

 

On the road to destruction?

President Obama promised to unite the country and the world and to provide the most transparent administration in history. Americans were deceived because since his election, he has scorned our allies, broken promises to Eastern Europe and negotiations with drug companies and health insurance industry have been behind closed doors.

Obama rushed through the stimulus bill with such speed even congressional Democrats admitted they didn't read it before signing it.

He promised that the stimulus bill would prevent unemployment from surpassing 8 percent and save our economy. Instead, the current unemployment rate is 9.8 percent nationally and rising. Unemployment in the African-American community is even worse and tops 25 percent in many large cities. Obama's economic adviser, Christine Rohmer, said recently that we've seen all the benefit we're going to see from the stimulus package. If that's the case, why don't they return the 80 percent of the stimulus money that hasn't been spent to the American taxpayer?

The economy is still floundering and should commercial real estate foreclosures hit the economy in early 2010, America may slip into a depression. In addition, a recent report by the Associated Press indicates that the Obama administration has deceived Americans by claiming that the stimulus saved or created many more jobs than it actually has. The Associated Press progress report on Obama's economic recovery plan found that jobs were overestimated by thousands and that the number of jobs saved or created were counted two and sometimes four times while other jobs were credited to stimulus spending when none were produced.

The Obama administration governs by deception. They've lied about the stimulus, they've lied about the health care reform bill and cap and trade bill, which will increase taxes for all Americans and further damage what is left of our economy.

They've lied about the profits earned by financial, insurance and drug companies. They've lied about permanently defunding ACORN. Democrats are considering extending the defunding through Dec. 31, but won't permanently defund ACORN. In addition, the Democrat controlled Congress is looking for a "must pass" bill to which they want to attach a deficit increase amendment which will allow them to increase our national debt from the current $11 trillion to $13 trillion.

In short, there is little or nothing about the Obama administration and the Democrat Congress which Americans can believe, except that we, as a nation, are on the road to destruction while being told one lie after another. s

Peter J. Seaha

Aiken

Boing! Boing! or Boeing

The South Carolina Policy Council has taken an interesting and I believe correct view on this "great " coup of bringing Boeing to Charleston. Not only do we suffer from a dysfunctional U.S. Congress we have a hapless collection of politicians in South Carolina. To read the SC Policy Council article go here

Tea Party Express News

The Tea Party Express is coming to Augusta on November 10th. The following update was received today:

With just 19 days until the kickoff of the "Tea Party Express: Countdown to Judgment Day" we need volunteers to help with the organizing and promotion of our tea party rallies across the country.

If you live near one of our rally locations and are able to provide a helping hand, please shoot us an email at: info@TeaPartyExpress.org


If you are unable to volunteer your time, you can still support this effort by making a contribution to our cause. You can contribute online here -


Or, you can mail in a contribution to our headquarters:


Our Country Deserves Better Committee
ATTN: Tea Party Project
770 L Street #1020
Sacramento, CA 95814
More information about the "Tea Party Express: Countdown to Judgment Day" can be found at our website here

If you liked what we did with the first Tea Party Express you're going to love what we have in store for our second effort. It's going to be even bigger and better yet!

So please lend us your support. You can contribute online right now Here

Healthcare letter to Americans: Is there another way?

The following is the preamble to a Healthcare letter to Americans written by Oakleigh Ryan. Please read and follow this link to read her excellent letter on Healthcare.

August 2009

Healthcare letter to Americans: Is there another way?

I read an article recently that compared the healthcare reform in Washington to sausage making. It is messy, and you aren’t quite sure what is inside. The problem is that Americans are going to have to “eat” what ever is the final product.

In talking to friends and family, many share concerns regardless of their political allegiance. Almost everyone says we need reform in healthcare but question if the current process will deliver what we need. A sense of hopelessness appears as if this “healthcare mess” is so complicated and so big, that the normal American couldn’t begin to understand the detail.

I do not believe this needs to be the case and have written this letter to help more people be confident and passionate about participating in the reform process. To do, this I believe it is important to:

• Share how the current reform has failed to address the key components of timing, participation, goals and motivation; and

• Offer what could be a true strategic reframing of an industry through an outcome-oriented approach that is led by industry reformers including consumers and physicians not just politicians.

What motivates me? I have worked within healthcare my entire professional career from hospitals to clinical laboratories to pharmaceuticals. This exposure even included time beyond our shores when I spent four years working with the UK National Health Service to modernize its laboratories. Living in England, we received healthcare both from the National Health Service and the private system. As a family we have had to shop for healthcare insurance and faced the possibility of not being insured. As a mother, I am the healthcare organizer, appointment maker and expense keeper. And I have been a patient at MD Anderson Cancer Center since 2002 and know that my active role and the relationship I was able to have with my physicians in a world-class organization impacted my good health today.

Oakleigh Ryan lives with her family in Janesville, WI with her husband Tobin, and two children. She can be reached at oakleigh@healthcareletter.com or by visiting healthcareletter.com.

Two Million Patriots Rally in Washington

Received the following email today with a link to some of the best photos of the Washington rally that I have seen. I have posted a few of them but go to the link to see them all.

http://www.lookingattheleft.com/2009/09/conservative-woodstock-rocks-the-capital/  

"Mary Beth and I attended the march on Washington, D.C. on 9/12/09

It was positively awsome!  Close to 2 million people making history in America.

Enjoy,

Pete "