In the 6th Ohio Congressional District: Dr. Donald Allen

Every election cycle the pundits are quick to say this is the most important in American history. A bit of hyperbole is always good to generate interest and turn out the vote. But this year, while probably not the most important vote in American history, it is certainly among the most important in our lifetime. The country has taken a marked swing to the left by a group of people elected as centrists, but are currently governing by a leftist ideology espoused to by only 20% of the country.

While the current administration pays lip service to center-right American values, look at the results rather than the rhetoric. The government owns General Motors and Chrysler. It owns Citigroup and AIG. It has begun the expressed nationalization of the health care industry. It is expanding the power of the EPA by fiat. It attempted to take over the internet. It is about to embark on a cap and trade bill based on the argument of energy independence, but rooted in a religion of global warming and extremist environmentalism. All of these things will give the government unprecedented control over every aspect of our life. And most importantly, has increased the deficit to third world country proportions and is will attempt to enact a Value Added Tax after the election in the fall.

Is this the America we want?

Granted, the financial collapse in September 2008 was dangerous and scary, and on some levels the government acted appropriately both under Bush and Obama. But Obama also used the collapse to ram through a leftist agenda, following the edict never let a good crisis go to waste.

In the 6th Congressional District, the current Congressman is millionaire and former funeral director, Charlie Wilson, whose name many of you don't know; and whose face is almost completely unknown in the northern most part of the most gerrymandered district in the country.

The Republicans are fielding six candidates in a primary. The Vindicator punted in its endorsement by endorsing Richard Stobbs of Dillonvale, Ohio. He is a great guy with some strength around the middle of the district east of Columbus, where he served as Deputy Recorder in Franklin County and former Belmont County Sheriff. But his campaign has been minimalist, although he has shown some fireworks in dealing with issues surrounding Bill Johnson.

The two front runners are from Mahoning County, Bill Johnson and Dr. Don Allen. Dr. Allen lives in the district, Mr. Johnson does not.

I support Dr. Allen. He is a 20 year veteran of the Air Force Reserves, and a long time veterinarian in the Youngstown area. Perhaps he is best known for his run for the presidency in 2008. I was concerned about that. What kind of nut is he? His response: “I knew the problems that would come with Obama, and nobody would listen. So I ran for President. What did you do?” You can’t argue with that.

For full disclosure, my son is an Allen staffer. Dr. Allen is true conservative, bordering on being a libertarian. He believes that there should be no “professional” politicians, and a strong believer in limited government. He believes everybody should pay some tax, or the system will collapse, and advocates the Fair Tax. This would lower the cost of our goods sold overseas, and provide a fair and adequate source of revenue for the government eliminating the income tax. Cost of goods would go down as the hidden cost of government taxation is eliminated…the exact opposite of the VAT Tax and the Income Tax.

He is honest and dedicated. He has been a declared candidate for the 6th District seat for a year, and has campaigned up and down the 350 mile long district along the Ohio River relentlessly. He has almost completely self funded his campaign, and banged on thousands of doors from Poland to Ironton. He is a good guy.

A word about Mr. Johnson: Mr. Johnson is a dynamic speaker, and can sell a snowball to an Eskimo. Unfortunately, that is exactly what he did. He represented himself as being a candidate in the 17th District against Tim Ryan for most of 2009 and the beginning of 2010, and raised thousands of dollars from people in the 17th district. Not only did he fool his donors, but much of the Republican establishment as to his intentions. I personally heard his pitch to a prominent local attorney, and even recommended him to this fellow member of the bar as a good guy. Federal election laws requires you to declare yourself a candidate and file election forms with the FEC if you say you are running for an office and raise in excess of $5,000.00. Mr. Johnson met the criteria, but failed to file the declaration forms as required by federal law. He continued to fool his donors. Why?

He determined that he couldn’t beat Tim Ryan, and already made up his mind to run in the 6th district. He claimed the Republican National Committee called him this past January to run in the 6th…highly unlikely. He hired himself a hot shot campaign manager from Cleveland, and in February took the money he raised in the 17th and filed in the 6th. In other words, he district shopped; except he fooled and lied to the people who gave him that money…and it was a lot of money…to run in the 17th. They have no recourse, and he has made no effort to give it back.

We don’t need another one of these opportunistic types in Washington. We have enough already. It is sad, because Mr. Johnson has some real talent. But in this election character counts!

Vote for Allen in the Republican primary on May 4th.

New Jersey Schools: The Canary in the Coal Mine

Every now and then I come across some statistics that are staggering, and are completely indicative of the financial problems the country now faces. New Jersey is a financial basket case, and more likely than not may be the first state to default as it struggles with its financial nightmare. Every American should study New Jersey and learn how not to run a state, and extrapolate how not to run a country.

In 2010, New Jersey faces an $11 billion shortfall in revenue. That is staggering. Newly elected Governor Chris Christie (R) announced massive budget cuts to balance the books. Included were a billion dollars in cuts to public school and universities. Education related expenses account for 40% of the New Jersey budget. You are going to have to cut where the spending is…and that is in education.

This, of course, would result in massive layoffs to teachers, who dodged the bullet last year when the Feds picked up 2009's shortfall. That was the stimulus money, and it is no longer there. Hence the argument against the stimulus bill to pay for salaries of public employees rather than promoting projects that actually produced private sector jobs proved to be accurate.

To help resolve some of the issues, Gov. Christie has asked the teachers union to do two things: 1) Give up their raise for one year;

2) pay 1.5% of their health care costs;

3) cooperate in adjusting retirement and pension rules.

Those of us in the private sector who have suffered wage cuts plus paying an increasing amount of health care insurance would jump at that kind of a deal. But the teacher unions have been only minimally cooperative. Hence the increasingly disconnected public and private sector divide.

And here's what is unbelievable. New Jersey has increased spending on public education over the last ten years by 67%, while the enrollment in public schools has only increased by 3%. Many school systems are now spending $22,000.00/year/pupil. That being said, New Jersey schools are considered to the best in the nation, with graduation rate of 83% vs. 70% for the nation as a whole. Even among urban minorities, the graduation rate is 10% higher than the rest of the nation.

Still, how much would the students suffer if the teachers are asked to forgo a raise and pay a portion of their health care just like the rest of us. Individually, it is only a small amount of money, but will keep the school system solvent.

My wife is a teacher, and I sympathize with their plight. The burden put on teachers by the courts and government bureaucrats at all levels is staggering, and I sure wouldn’t want that kind of a job. I would hope that included in the cuts are the top heavy administrative staff from county education officials to sports coaches. It is a sin how school money is spent. The waste isn’t hidden. It’s obvious and right out up front. Yet nobody does anything about it.

Wake up America. Balancing public sector salaries with private sector salaries is a major issue facing every level of government today. And schools systems, and every other level of government need to streamline and spend money smarter. One thing is certain. New Jersey is among the top taxed states in the nation, and is losing jobs and corporate headquarters at an alarming rate. Increasing taxes is not an option. America should take a lesson. New Jersey is the canary in the coal mine…and Tweetie Bird is on his last breath of air.

Obama No-Bomba

Obama must like big events. He went to Copenhagen to a climate change summit, and accomplished nothing. He then had a health care summit with Republicans, and accomplished nothing. Now he is having a nuclear proliferation summit. He sure looks like the King of the World participating in these events…bowing to the Chinese and pointing his finger in the Canadian Prime Minister’s face. But as in all things Obama, all style and no substance.

Everyone can agree that nuclear proliferation is a problem. But Obama thinks that nuclear proliferation is a United States problem. This guy actually believes that if the United States unilaterally disarms, the lion will lay down with the lamb and there will be peace in the world. Is he nuts? It is our strength and nuclear arsenal that has prevented nuclear disputes since the end of World War II. Sure there have been wars, but on an historical scale, they were mere skirmishes.

So now he has decreed that if a country that is in compliance with a nuclear non-proliferation requirements attacks the United States with chemical or biological weapons, we will not retaliate with nuclear weapons. Wow!!! How wonderful…for them!!! From what I have read, this has tacitly been the United States policy for many years, but to state it overtly…do you really think that will help the bad guys like us anymore? Mr. President: YOU DON’T TELL THE BAD GUYS WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO DO OR NOT DO!!!!!!!

Then there is the new START treaty with Russia. What a show with the Russian president. The only problem is that that Russians can back out of they don’t like what the United States is doing… for whatever reason. Now there’s a commitment.

And let’s get back to this latest Summit it Washington, touted to be the largest of this type of gathering since countries met to form the United Nations. And it accomplished…NOTHING. Oh sure, there is a nice communiqué. And Ukraine announced it will divest itself of enriched Uranium left over from the time it was part of the Soviet Union. Obama says much of it will come to the United States. Putin says it is going to Russia. Bet on Putin.

But how can you have a conference about nukes when the most overt offenders are not in attendance? Mr. President, if you are worried about Islamic extremists getting nuclear weapons….WHAT ABOUT NORTH KOREA AND IRAN??? WHERE WERE THEY??? WHAT ARE YOU DOING ABOUT THEM????

I suppose Obama's thinking is to try once again to get China and Russia to go along with sanctions against Iran. This simply isn't going to happen. The only thing that will brink Iran to its knees is blockade to prevent it from receiving badly needed gasoline. And Obama will never do that. That leaves resolution to Israel, which will attempt to delay Iran getting the bomb by destroying some of its capability. That will only partially work and start an outright war in the mideast. Of course, what if North Korea already shipped a nuke to Iran? Mmmmm?

The two most dangerous and threatening countries in the world not attending this major nuclear non-proliferation conference is just a small thing. Why let Iran get in the way of a good photo-op? It is a joke. It would be funny if it weren’t so sad. It would be sad if it weren’t so dangerous. Folks, we are in trouble with this guy.

The Courts v. Obama - Round 1

In what perhaps may be a harbinger of things to come, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia overturned an effort by the Federal Communications Commission to enforce “net neutrality” on internet service providers. Wow!! What……?

This is certainly not the most compelling of issues facing America. Most Americans probably were unaware that this was even going on, or cared. But for the Obama administration, it is the first setback in its effort to rapidly expand the scope and power of the Federal government, and may have significant consequences in any future efforts to regulate other activities in the name of “fairness.”

Obama’s head of the FCC is one of his radical buddies that made it clear that his goal is to expand the use of the Commission to account for “fairness” in all of America’s communication channels. His ultimate goal is muzzle talk radio. But the first salvo was an attempt to regulate the internet.

Americans may put up with government in health care, but techies by nature have consistently opposed any government interference in the operation of the internet. In this case, ISP’s control who and what has access to its pipes. For the most part, access has been equitably distributed among users. However, Obama has contended that ISP providers may limit access of non-paying entities, or entities that use large amounts of bandwidth, in favor of paying or more streamlined entities. The limitation of access could manifest itself in several forms, including delaying, slowing down, or simply denying access to ISP pipes.

Actual problems have been minimal, although some have popped up over the years in peer to peer file sharing services which use large amounts of bandwidth. Most of these problems, however, were eventually resolved between the ISP and its client without government interference.

This is not a broad based court decisions. The court said the FCC, under current law, did not have the authority to unilaterally impose regulations on the internet. It would require authorizing legislation from Congress, which will now try to provide that to the FCC. Given Scott Brown’s election to the Senate, that probably won’t happen.

But what it shows is that the courts are not afraid to stand up to Barack Obama’s attempt to takeover America by uber centralization of everything either directly in the White House or in Washington generally. The news media can fawn and members of Congress and private citizens can be bullied, but this court has landed the first jab showing that the judiciary will not relinquish its role as a separate but equal part of our government, and is not willing to toss out the Constitution.

The Fairness Doctrine, which has been held to be constitutional once, may be opened to review given the massive proliferation of media outlets should the FCC try to reinstate it. Contrary to media wishful thinking, the individual mandate in health care reform may sink the entire reform effort.

Franklin Roosevelt, like Obama, also had an ambitious agenda expanding the role of central government, and had most of his efforts reversed by the Supreme Court. Obama, like Roosevelt, will also learn there are limits.

Of course, from Obama’s perspective, there is no harm in trying. The worst that can happen is the courts will say no. But what happens if the court says yes?

Is It Time to Amend the U.S. Constitution?

This week’s blogger section examined whether or not the health care reform legislation is constitutional. I concluded that it is not because it would require the Supreme Court to, in effect, say there is no check or balance anywhere on the power of the Federal government. That has been a leap it has been reluctant to make.

But let’s just say that it does. America would then be faced with a dictatorial federal government already sinking from the weight of its bureaucracy and drowning in debt. Unlimited, unchecked federal power is against the ethos of our society, and would lead to a constitutional crisis.

This week, the FBI and other agencies raided militia groups based in Ohio and Michigan. If the Supreme Court rules the way that health reform supporters hope, this will just be the beginning. For these folks, the issue isn’t health care per se. The issue is an all powerful federal government wielding its tax power over a helpless population while engaged in ideological pursuits foreign to our political heritage and irrelevant to the economic plight of a sinking middle class. The lunatic fringe of those types of organizations might be based in racism to a degree. But for the most part, it is a “freedom” issue, freedom to be left alone by the Feds not invading every aspect of their lives. Ultimately, these types of movements are based in economics.

Politicians don’t live in a vacuum, at least not at the state level, and as abhorrent as this type of violence is, it garners the attention of the elected officials. If poll numbers stay the same with a solid majority of the country wanting repeal of the bill, and enough of the lunatic fringe acts up, it is more than plausible that the states will move for a Constitutional Convention. Couple that with the massive, continuing fiscal mandates now foisted upon the states, they may say enough is enough, and move to reclaim a degree of states’ rights from the Feds.

The Constitution can be amended one of two ways. The first is through a motion voted on by 2/3 of the members of both houses of Congress: the second is through a request of 2/3 of the states’ legislatures. Any action by either of the above would then have to be ratified by 3/4 of the states either through vote of the state legislatures or through state “ratifying conventions.”

The Constitution has never been amended by request of 2/3 of the states; but Prohibition came close. Although Prohibition was introduced in the Congress then passed onto the states, it was a fait accompli. More than 35 states had already voted themselves dry, and it was the states that asked to Congress to initiate the process. So actions based in state initiatives are not as foreign as some would have you believe.

The call for a Constitutional Convention is the ultimate cap on Federal power. I would be in favor of the states coming together to re-examine the relationship between the states and the Federal government which has been marching steadily towards centralization since the Civil War. Centralization of authority was necessary in order to allow the industrialization of the country.

But times are different now. We have a population of 350 million people. Governing from the center becomes inefficient, and begins to rely increasingly on coercion and elimination of freedoms to achieve whatever goal is at issue. States, on the other hand, provide a smaller framework for the delivery of social services and the like, based on the makeup of each of the states’ population and economy. What works in North Dakota might not work in California.

But I think that the bureaucrats and politicians in Washington would shiver in fear if the movement for a Constitutional Convention ever gained momentum. It would doom their grip on American life, and would make the Progressives freak out as their central mechanism for control would be at risk.

If that ever happens, you would see Washington become more responsive in ways you couldn’t imagine in order to stave off such an historical event. The threat of a Constitutional Convention just might be sufficient to get things under control.

Maybe we should give it a try.