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Friday, March 30, 2012

Liberty Or Obama Care

  While the whole nation has been pre-occupied watching Al Sharpton rev up the crowds in Florida over the Trayvon Martin case, the Supreme Court heard arguments on the constitutionality of Obama Care this week.
  Most people would agree that, at the very heart of this law is the individual mandate which requires American citizens to buy health insurance. If, as expected, the Justices vote along ideological lines, a 5-4 vote in favor of striking down not just the individual mandate, but the entire law would happen.
 For a lot of Americans, this entire bill goes to the question of allowing the government more and more access into our personal lives. Not only is there the estimated $1.1 trillion dollars through the year 2021 cost of insuring all Americans, but the expected drop in the quality of care received. Long waits to see a doctor, and the possibility that a panel of bureaucrats will determine whether or not one is eligible for procedures because of age or quality of life.
 The economic impact of the Health Care Law is one that could put an already weak economy over the edge and into Greece territory. It would increase the ballooning federal deficit by $1.08 trillion dollars, and an increase in the cost of hiring employees and paying penalties, or is that taxes, on employees not covered, and more IRS and Federal employees to police those "penalties", whose salaries fall on the backs of the American taxpayer. There is also speculation that if Barack Obama is re-elected, he will be unencumbered by another election and attempt to move to a single payer system.
 Justice Anthony Kennedy is favored to be a deciding vote in the ruling which is expected to come down in late June. The results will surely have an impact on November's Presidential election. Can President Obama survive if his signature piece of legislation goes down to defeat?



And From The Campaign Trail...
   DON'T FORGET!  Join the Martin Baker For Congress Campaign as they hold a Trivia Night on Tuesday, April 3, from 6pm to 9pm at Bobby's Place, 143 N. Main St. in St. Charles
Admission is $15 per person (includes 2 drinks)
  Plenty of door and other prizes to be had! Come and join us for a whole lot of fun!! 
           

Friday, March 23, 2012

Racism- Not Just For White People Anymore

  The entire nation has been following the case of 17-year old Trayvon Martin. Martin was apparently gunned down for no reason by self-proclaimed Neighborhood Watch Volunteer George Zimmerman. By all accounts, Trayvon was a good kid, never had been in trouble, just walking down the street with a bag of candy talking to his girlfriend on his cell phone. Can't get much more normal than that.
 Zimmerman, again by all accounts, was a frequent caller to 911. He had, in the past, accused a girlfriend of domestic violence, and probably should not have been allowed to have a gun.
 This story is a tragedy from beginning to end. The investigation is not completed all of the facts are not in yet, but it may end up being a case of someone simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It is no doubt that, so far, George Zimmerman appeared to be a loose cannon, just waiting for a reason to shoot anybody. We will never know what an amazing life that Trayvon Martin might have lived. Would he have gone on to graduate from college, get married, and have children of his own? Would he have become one of the top people in his chosen field? We would all like to believe that he would have.
  But there is another story. A story that has not gotten nearly the attention that this one has. Granted, the 13-year old white boy is still alive to tell his story, but is it any less horrific? No names were reported, but this boy was followed home, in Kansas City, from school by two black teen-agers, tackled on his own front porch, doused with gasoline, and set on fire. As this was going on the black kids yelled,"you get what you deserve white boy!"
  So my question is, when were the marches, where was the "outrage", and the candlelight vigils? Did I miss them? Surely they happened. No. They did not. Of course Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton were so appalled that they were in Kansas City by noon the next day? No. They were not. Did Eric Holder and his Department Of Justice thugs swoop right in to investigate? No. They did not.
 My other question, which truly is the 800lb gorilla in the room, what if, in this awful case, all the players are different? White kid walking in a predominantly black neighborhood is shot by crazy black neighborhood watch volunteer because "he doesn't look right"? My first guess is, crickets. From the media, from Jessie and Al, and possibly from the neighborhood. The media's excuse, in so many words, just not newsworthy enough, doesn't fan the flames enough. Jessie and Al? I'm going to be polite on that one and assume they just couldn't pencil it into their busy schedules.
  But what about the rest of us? ALL of us? Racism, in all of it's forms, is unfortunately a condition of human nature. We can do our best to slap it back when it rears it's ugly head, but we will never be completely rid of it. Should we all take a good look in the mirror, and dig deep down to make sure we would all be just as outraged if the victim were White, Hispanic, Asian, or fill in the blank with any other ethnicity?
  Our hearts and prayers are with Trayvon's family and friends. No parent should have to lose a child in such a hideous way. But what does it say about us as Americans if we decide that one brand of racism is worse than another? Or that racism against one group is O.K., but not another?
  It's time to talk about the 800lb gorilla.


From The Campaign Trail...

 The Official Campaign Kick-Off for Martin Baker's run for Missouri's 1st Congressional District on Tuesday, March 27, has been postponed. A new date will be announced very soon. Stay tuned!

                                        But... 
Don't forget about the Trivia Night Fundraiser for The Martin Baker Campaign on Tuesday, April 3 at Bobby's Place 143 N. Main St. in St. Charles. Doors open at 6:00pm and the party gets going at 6:30 til 9:00pm! Don't miss a great night of fun and prizes!! Admission is $15 per person (includes 2 drinks)
                        

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

The Era Of The Obama Sponge

When most Conservatives hear the name Pelosi, the reaction is one similar to hearing that pig on the Geico Insurance commercials squeal, "Whhheeeee" at top volume. So when documentary filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi, daughter of Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, traveled to Mississippi prior to last week's Primary to find out why it is such a Conservative state, we pretty much knew what we were in for. Toothless White trash rednecks standing in front of their shacks telling the world that they don't like the President. Not because he is Black, but, "because he is a Muslim!"
  But Pelosi, to her credit, flipped the coin, went to New York, in fact, right downstairs from her own apartment, to a Welfare Office to talk to the folks.
  The video speaks for itself. At one time in America, there was a stigma, a way that the rest of society looked at you if you had no desire to support yourself and contribute to society. You were called names like "bum", "deadbeat", maybe "hobo" or "drifter" if someone wanted to put a polite spin on it.
 But not anymore. The arrogance and in-your-face attitude of these professional spongers is jaw-dropping and infuriating. A couple of the men interviewed state that they are there to "get a check", "just get whatever I can get", and one man states that he is there for "some Obama bucks." From the guy who says that he has not held a job for "about half a decade", to the man who claims that I and the rest of the taxpayers of the United States owe him a living "because of my ancestors, the slaves built this place", the sense of entitlement is on full and gaudy display.
 This is Barack Obama's legacy. The percentage of Americans on some kind of government assistance has skyrocketed in the last three years, and shows no signs of slowing down. But how does this mentality set in? Is it from people who grow up in welfare households and just don't know how to function any other way? Lack of education is a definite factor, but not because there is no opportunity to get one. When the government is engaged in class warfare on a daily basis certainly doesn't help to squelch the gimmes.
 So what happens to America when more people feel they are entitled than there are people to work to fund the entitlement? America was founded by people who came from far away with nothing, and knew that if they wanted to provide a good life for themselves and their families, they had better not be afraid of hard work. We have achieved a standard of living envied around the world because fortunately, the majority of us work longer hours and more days per year than any other country in the world. To continue on this path of the fewer and fewer supporting the lazier and lazier is simply unsustainable.
  To quote a truly great American, Ben Franklin, "When you make poverty easy, you have more of it.."             

Monday, March 19, 2012

LAST BUT NOT LEAST...


And From The Campaign Trail...


Join Martin Baker on Tuesday, March 27 as he officially kicks off his campaign for Missouri's 1st Congressional District at The Crowne Plaza Hotel in Bridgeton!  It all gets under way at 6:00pm!
     Hope to see you there!

                                  And...


Team Baker will hold a Trivia Night Fundraiser on April 3 at Bobby's Place 143 N. Main St. in St. Charles
  Doors open at 6:00pm and the party gets under way at 6:30!
 Plenty of door prizes plus lots more! Come hang out with Team Baker for a great night of fun!  

Chaos At The Caucus

  One of Missouri's reddest counties erupted in a near riot on Saturday morning as police were called in to quell a handful of rowdy caucus-goers.
  Accounts of what actually happened vary, and there appears to be A LOT of finger pointing. But the melee apparently began when a pre-ordained rule against recording devices was issued. That turned into dissatisfaction at the way the rules of the Caucus were being conducted. I will not rehash the whole scene bit by bit here. One of the best pieces for that is by Virginia Kruta and can be found at Breitbart.com. But long story short, the police were called and the entire circus shut down with no delegates awarded.
  So where do we go from here? The Missouri State GOP says it will reschedule the Caucus. But should we really be taking a harder look at the whole process? The state of Missouri spent millions of dollars on a Primary that was meaningless, and then held caucuses that were hopelessly complicated at best.
 Does the Missouri GOP need to scrap it all in 2016 and go back to the drawing board to do what is right for the voters of Missouri by holding a fair Primary election that actually counts and will determine a legitimate Candidate preference?
 In full disclosure, I am no fan of the Caucus process. It is confusing and time-consuming, and similar problems were reported in 2008. One could argue that no one could have anticipated this many viable candidates at this stage of the nominating process. There is also a very valid argument for dividing up a large and growing county like St. Charles into townships as was done in St. Louis County.
 The positive in all of this is that, as a local talk-show host pointed out this morning, people are hungry. They are packing themselves into over-flowing caucus locations, and are willing to be arrested in order to cast a vote to ultimately remove Barack Obama from office. If you are the Obama Re-election Team, Captain Chaos is not your friend.        

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Santorum Takes Dixie

Rick Santorum made a clean sweep of the Alabama and Mississippi Primaries on Tuesday. Both races were close with Santorum taking 35% in Alabama and 33% in Mississippi. Newt Gingrich did not do as well as he needed to coming in second in Alabama with 29%  and 30% in Mississippi. Massachusetts Yankee Mitt Romney came in third in both contests taking 29% in Alabama and 30% in Mississippi. Ron Paul finished a distant fourth in both states.
  Mitt Romney, still the front runner by delegate count will move on to the next races starting on Saturday with the Missouri Caucus worth 52 delegates, and the Illinois Primary on March 20 where 54 delegates are up for grabs. Unlike the Missouri Primary, dubbed a "beauty contest" the caucus and it's delegates does indeed count.
  But what is next? Santorum's wins in the South were primarily bad news for Newt Gingrich. Having only won South Carolina and his home state of Georgia, it may be time for some re-evaluation for the Gingrich Campaign. Newt is insistent that he is in until Convention time in Tampa.
 But is hanging on until the bitter end going to be damaging ultimately to whom ever is the nominee? Rick Santorum's wins make him all that much more a force to be reckoned with, and it is believed this will come down to a two-man race hopefully sooner than later.
 Republicans absolutely do NOT want a brokered convention. If that happens we might as well ask the Obamas if they want the walls of the White House living quarters the same colors for the next four years. A definite nominee no later than June gives the Republicans time and resources to mount a vigorous, aggressive campaign against Barack Obama. They cannot afford to be duking it out on the floor of the Convention if they want to be dancing in the streets in November.   

Monday, March 12, 2012

There But For The Grace Of God(dess)...

As a Wiccan, I am well aware that I do not belong to a "mainstream" religion. I do not automatically get a day off on my most holy and solemn of days, Halloween, actually called Samhain (pronounced sow-en). I am pretty sure that if there were dietary requirements for my faith I would be among the very few that would care, and I am constantly faced with misconceptions that my beliefs are "evil" and that people assume I am roaming the streets in flowing black robes in search of people to "hex" just for the fun of it.
  That's O.K. I correct the misconceptions when I can, and figure that there are plenty more who don't care to know the truth. My husband, who is a Christian, my family, friends, and co-workers know who I am and that is good enough for me.
  The Blaze is reporting today that 2 British women were told by their employers to remove the crosses that they wear as a sign of their faith.  Nadia Eweida, a British Airways employee, was told that her cross did not conform to the British Airways dress code. Shirley Chaplin, a nurse for 31 years, was fired by the NHS for not hiding her cross underneath her uniform.
  My first thought when I heard this story was how easily this could be me. But more than that, in today's environment, where it is O.K. to air a television show called "Good Christian Bitches", it could be any of us. The hostile attitude towards faith, especially Christians in our society pervades everything we do. People, especially those on the left love to make fun of Conservatives talking about a "war on faith", but it truly does exist. How does a nurse wearing a cross cause one to become so irrevocably offended? Did she tie you in bed and preach to you? Did she force you to wear a cross as well? Why is this so frightening to some that they feel perfectly fine demanding that the crosses be removed?
 Perhaps the frightening part is accountability. When one follows a particular faith, one is expected, at least half-heartedly to follow the tenets of that faith. This means very simply, there are do's and don't's, standards of behavior. Some people do not want to be bogged down with such inconveniences. That is their choice. But when employers are able to dictate whether or not their employees can wear a cross, a Star Of David, or perhaps a Pentagram, and it is sanctioned by the government, is there any doubt that the loss of more freedoms is not far behind?
 I am not a Christian. In fact, Christians have done some not-too-Christian things to Witches in the past, and yes I LOVE the word "Witch"! That aside, it is a tenet of my faith to harm none. If I want to wear my Pentagram loud and proud, I want Nadia and Shirley to be just as loud and just as proud.         

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Mainstream Media-Guilty Of Treason

Like a lot of people, I tuned in to watch "Hannity" on the Fox News Channel Wednesday night to see an explosive new video put out by the Breitbart people. It is what Andrew Breitbart was apparently working on at the time of his sudden death.
  The video, from 1991, shows a young Barack Obama, the editor of the Harvard Law Review, at a rally defending a Professor named Derrick Bell. Bell, a close associate of Rev. Jeremiah Wright, held some pretty radical views. He believed that the Civil Rights movement was too moderate because it accepted the status quo, and a story he wrote in 1993 went something like this. White Americans would sell Black Americans into slavery to space aliens to relieve the national debt, and that Jews would be all for it.
  As damning as this new information is, and the word is that there is more to come, the fact is we have known all along that Obama associated with radicals, more than likely right up to his announcement that he was running for the Presidency. He then promptly threw said radicals under the bus so as not to be discovered.
 The most disturbing aspect of all of this is that once again, the mainstream media is covering for Barack Obama. But this time with more sinister implications. It seems that if you are a White Liberal with a heavy dose of White Liberal guilt heaped upon you, or you are a Black Liberal, getting the Black man in the White House was all that mattered. When skin color trumps the fact that you are an American, and as an American only want what is best for the country, we are sliding down into a very bad place.
  As for the media, Webster's Online Dictionary gives 2 definitions for treason. The first being,"the betrayal of a trust." If an entire industry can knowingly cover up these kind of facts, what else can they be covering up? Are they hiding things that are potentially a danger to the United States all in an attempt to make sure that Barack Obama does not look incompetent and completely in over his head as he so obviously is?
 If that is the case, then that is most definitely a betrayal of a trust, and it is a textbook example of treason.        

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Let The Cauldron Bubble...

Super Tuesday...
  Super Tuesday was pretty much without a whole lot of drama and surprise. Mitt Romney took 6 of 10 states voting on Tuesday. Rick Santorum followed up with 3, Newt Gingrich has managed to stay alive by winning in Georgia, with Ron Paul not capturing a single state. Mitt Romney also carried his home state of Massachusetts, along with Vermont, Virginia, Alaska, Idaho, and the big enchilada, Ohio. Rick Santorum carried Tennessee, Oklahoma, and North Dakota. It was expected that Mitt Romney would do well on the east coast and out west, while Santorum did well in the south with Evangelical Christian and hardcore Conservative voters. It seems to be more when rather than if Mitt Romney will get the nomination. Some believe that the process needs to go on as long as it needs to in order for all the questions surrounding the candidates to be answered, while there is also thought that if the nomination is wrapped up in a timely manner, the Republicans can get down to the business of setting their sights on Barack Obama and his record, or the lack thereof. There are still a lot of votes to be cast and caucuses to be held. The process will go on.

Fluke Is No Fluke...
   It seems that Harvard Law student Sandra Fluke is smack dab in the middle of her fifteen minutes of fame. While the Left is trying to paint her as a victim, just a poor Law student trying to get through school, we have learned that Ms. Fluke is no stranger to public speaking, having been an activist for many different Feminist groups.
  One can turn on any cable news channel and hear someone say that the testimony of Sandra Fluke is all about Women's Health, or it is all about the Federal Government trying to gain more and more control over our lives, or it is all about Rush Limbaugh calling her a slut and a prostitute. It is about those things, but more importantly, it is about people being able to practice their religious beliefs in the way they see fit without Government intrusion, and the huge double standard that Conservative women endure at the hands of the mainstream media, Liberal politicians, and anyone who is sympathetic to them. Because the Left cannot argue the point of the debate they must resort to the most heinous of verbal attacks? Are Liberal women such slaves to their ideology that they cannot find it within themselves to defend any woman who they disagree with thereby basically condoning these misogynist tirades? 
Of course, the next time Bill Maher calls Sarah Palin something that cannot be printed here, we can be reasonably sure that she should not waste any time waiting for an apology. 

And From The Campaign Trail...
  Join Republican Congressional Candidate Martin Baker on Tuesday, March 27 as he kicks off his bid for the Republican nomination for Missouri's First Congressional District at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Bridgeton. Time and more details to come...!                   

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Andrew Breitbart 1969-2012 Remembering A Patriot

  The Conservative movement lost one of it's fiercest warriors on Thursday. Andrew Breitbart, commentator, activist, and founder of the "Big" websites passed away unexpectedly early Thursday morning at age 43.
  Breitbart collapsed near his Los Angeles home as he was taking a walk. It was revealed on Thursday that he had been being treated for a heart condition. Anyone who met Andrew, even as briefly as I did could not help but be taken in by his love of country, and his passion for wanting all Conservative voices to be heard. He worked tirelessly to expose the real agenda behind groups like ACORN and fighting for Black Conservatives to express their views without the likes of the mainstream media, the NAACP, and others label them as "Uncle Toms" and "sellouts".
  While we are all reeling from the news of Andrew's passing, we all go forward to carry on the fight for him. The enormous loss of Andrew will make us all stand up taller and speak louder for what we believe in and what we think is right. Andrew taught us to stop being nice, get in their faces, call things what they are, and not be afraid to piss anybody off.
  Andrew's passing has also reminded us to make every minute of every day count. Do not waste a nano-second of the time we are given. Make a difference, for we never know when our time here is done.
  At last year's Smart Girl Summit here in St. Louis, I had the chance to ask Andrew what kind of advice would he give someone like me who was trying to make a career change and get into politics and blogging. His answer to me was,"Get in their faces!" Well Andrew, at your urging, I will most definitely, get in their faces.
  Our thoughts and prayers are with Andrew's wife Susie, and their four children. Rest in peace Andrew. We love you. We miss you, and we will fight that much harder in your honor.