Next Monday–June 28–not tomorrow–next Monday, Marty Lamb will be at Briggs Corner Pizzeria in Attleboro, Massachusetts, at 6 pm.   Come meet our next Congressman from the Third District!!!

Today Arutz Sheva (IsraelNationalNews.com) posted a story stating that Egypt has allowed at least one Isreali and eleven American warships to pass through the Suez Canal as an Iranian flotilla approaches the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip.  The Israeli government had asked the Egyptian government not to allow the Iranian flotilla to use the Suez Canal, but that request was denied by the Egyptian government.

The article points out:

“Israel has warned U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that Israel will use force, if necessary, to stop the boats, one of which is carrying approximately 70 women passengers and crew organized by Hizbullah support Samar al-Hajj. Her husband is one of several jailed suspects involved in the assassination for former Lebanese anti-Syrian Prime Rafik Hariri.

“Hizbullah has denied it is connected with the Lebanese flotilla, but it has been reported that Al Hajj met with Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah last month. (IsraelNationalNews.com).”

This will be another attempt at victory by terrorists in the propaganda war in the Middle East.  The Gazans are not starving–I have posted articles listing the amount of food and supplies flowing into Gaza, pictures of thriving street markets, and links to menus of four-star restaurants in Gaza. 

To quote Walid Shoebat, “The Holocaust never ended but the victims have decided to defend themselves…”

Anti-Semitism is growing around the world, and we need to remember that when the Jewish people are persecuted, bad things follow.

Yesterday Hot Air posted an article that had originally been posted at The Optimistic Conservative’s Blog by J. E. Dyer.  The article deals with the $20 billion escrow fund that BP has set up to compensate those people adversely impacted by the Gulf oil spill.

Mr. Dyer points out that the escrow fund is an exercise in executive power outside the rule of law.  An appointee of President Obama will be in charge of dispensing these funds.  The article points out that the six-month shutdown of drilling in the Gulf is not the result of BP’s actions, but of President Obama’s actions.  He points out that a judge in a federal court might not hold BP totally responsible for the loss of employment caused by that shutdown–the shutdown was ordered by President Obama–it was not endorsed or ordered by the experts he consulted.  In fact, the President has had to apologize to the experts he claimed supported the shutdown–the experts have publicly stated that they did not support the shutdown.  When the President appoints someone to administer the relief fund, he will not have to bother with the risk of judges and courts that decide issues the wrong way.

The article points out that up until now, there was a $75 million or so cap on damages a corporation would be required to pay after a drilling accident such as the Gulf oil spill.  That amount was established by Congress (after much lobbying by and partying with oil company lobbyists).  Keeping that amount low lowered insurance payments for the oil companys and kept their business in the United States.

The article concludes:

“Darn good thing Congress spared us all that, huh?  With BP’s liability capped by federal law, we’re left with Obama and his $20 billion slush fund to address the job and property losses.  And hey, the good news is, with BP’s shareholders and investors – many of them Americans – to shake down, Obama doesn’t have to let this crisis go to waste!  He can shut down businesses and jobs for his own political reasons, having nothing to do with the oil rig explosion, and make BP pay off the people he’s hurting!

“On such a thread hang our civil rights in Obama’s America.”

The $20 billion fund was extortion.  I am hoping that more people will be willing to admit that as we move forward.

Yesterday Opinion.com posted an editorial about the comments of Texas Republican Representative Joe Barton.  According to the article, Representative Barton 

“…declared that he was “ashamed” of the White House’s tactics, and called it “a tragedy of the first proportion that a private corporation can be subjected to what I would characterize as a shakedown.””

I really like a politician who tells the truth.  Evidently, the leaders in the Republican Party have no spine and are afraid of telling the truth.  After Representative Barton made that statement, House Republican leader Representative John Boehner of Ohio and GOP Whip Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia demanded that he apologize immediately.

But there is more to the story.  The article reports:

“The real outrage, though, should be reserved for (Vice President) Biden if he, as radio talk show host Neal Boortz reports, “is the one who leaned across the table during the White House meeting with BP and told them that if they didn’t go along with the $20 billion fund to be administered by Obama’s people, then Obama would ‘do it to them.’ “”

Why isn’t the media talking about that?  It sounds like a shakedown to me.  If it walks like a duck…

The article concludes:

“Barton wasn’t thinking politics when he spoke his mind at Thursday’s hearing. He was thinking about how this government has overstepped its bounds and expressed his legitimate concern over what its recent behavior means to our future.

“His GOP associates should have rallied in support rather than threatened him. Their behavior does not inspire confidence.”

That is one reason we have a ‘tea party.’

Fox News reported yesterday that ten of the seventeen Afghanis who deserted military training at a Texas military base are still missing.  KT McFarland wrote the story; she is a Fox News National Security Analyst who appears on the internet show “DefCon3” at FoxNews.com. 

There are a number of questions about the missing Afghanis.  The obvious question is, “Why was this information released in a ‘Friday afternoon news dump’ rather than a national alert?”  The last one of these seventeen people disappeared six month ago.  Why are we hearing about it now?  Has there been a previous alert concerning these missing men?  Are all of these men on the no-fly list?  The notice that was put out Wednesday (a Be-on-the-Lookout (BOLO) notice) included all seventeen men, including the seven already accounted for ?????  It was distributed to local and federal law enforcement officials and joint terrorism task force members across the country

The article points out:

“Going back to Monday night, when a couple was arrested for trying to enter MacDill Air Force Base, we learned that they were picked up in 90 seconds. I’ve been going to military bases for 40 years, believe me, nothing happens in 90 seconds on a military base! The lightening fast action on the base doesn’t make sense. Either the folks at MacDill are lying about it or the base was on a VERY heightened state of alert. Remember these Afghan deserters had full access to bases.”

It seems to me that we have some serious national security problems that need to be addressed.  It is through the grace of God that the Christmas day bomber didn’t properly light his underwear and the Times Square bomber wasn’t all that skilled in the art of bomb making.  We need to put some people in charge of national security who understand the seriousness of the job–who are willing to come home from vacation when a terrorism attack is attempted and who are willing to call Islamist extremists what they are.  We are in a war with people who want to kill us–regardless of what you call them.  The people who want to kill us want to kill all of us–killing military people is fine, but they also aim at civilians.  All the people in charge in our government need to keep this in mind.

Power Line had an interesting post yesterday about the $20 billion BP is setting aside to cover damages in the Gulf oil spill.  One of the Power Line readers did some basic math and drew some interesting conclusions.

This is the reader’s calculation:

“In response to the notion (not necessarily yours, I understand) that Obama’s generated $20B for US taxpayers, I’d like to to offer some admittedly sloppy calculations.

“First, you said yesterday US citizens own 40% of BP. Looking at my Schwab account right now (I own BP stock myself), I see their market capitalization presently stands at $99B.

“If their stock price has fallen by 40%, that means the market cap was (before all this ass-kicking started) around $165B — so the value of the stock has fallen by $66B. 40% of that loss, or around $26 billion of it, was sustained by Americans if we hold 40% of the stock.

“So the net cost of this drama to the taxpayers is $6B and counting. And that is assuming that $20B is distributed fairly. Perhaps they can put ACORN in charge of it.”

There might be a few things to consider in this transaction.  John Hinderaker points out that since much of BP stock is held in mutual funds, the Americans who actually contributed toward the $20 billion are probably not aware of their contribution.  John states, “Modern politics consists largely of promoting the interests of those who are aware they are getting money, in opposition to those who don’t realize they are paying it.”  That is definitely where we are.  The other aspect of this is that yet again the Obama Administration has taken money from the private sector and put it under government control.  He has moved wealth (the dividends and previous value of the stock) from people into government.  That has been the direction of the money flow during his administration.  As the public sector has grown, the private sector has been strangled. 

I wonder how long it will take the voters to realize that all of us are getting fleeced.  I hope it happens before November! 

Real Clear Politics posted this quote yesterday from Representative Bart Stupak, a Democrat from Michigan, “I think we had to have someone say this is where you can go without limiting your criminal liability or civil liability.For instance, the question is brought up, pay for all of the health care for the people in the Gulf. No, but Ithink those who lost their job, then lost their health care would be legitimate.”

There is a video at the link of the representative making this statement.  I feel as if I have entered “The Twilight Zone.”  I keep waiting for Rod Serling to walk out of the oval office.  

While Congress and President Obama were taking their shots at BP in Washington, the government was standing in the way of preventing the oil leaking in the Gulf from doing any more damage.  It occurs to me that since the government won’t be paying for the damage done by the oil spill, their desire to clean it up quickly might not be as strong as it would be if they were footing the bill.

According to ABC News today, the Coast Guard yesterday stopped the crude-oil barges that Governor Jindal had sent to vacuum up the oil spill.  There was sixteen barges sitting idle today after they had sucked up thousands of gallons of crude oil in the very recent past.  The Coast Guard explained that their reason for stopping the barges was that the Coast Guard “needed to confirm that there were fire extinguishers and life vests on board, and then it had trouble contacting the people who built the barges.”

According to the article:

“The governor (Alabama Governor Bob Riley) said the problem is there’s still no single person giving a “yes” or “no.” While the Gulf Coast governors have developed plans with the Coast Guard’s command center in the Gulf, things begin to shift when other agencies start weighing in, like the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

“”It’s like this huge committee down there,” Riley said, “and every decision that we try to implement, any one person on that committee has absolute veto power.””

It is sad that our government is so wrapped up in red tape that they are preventing actions that will lessen the environmental impact of this oil spill. 

Yesterday, Fortune Magazine posted an article entitled, “5 painful health-care lessons from Massachusetts.”  As someone who lives in Massachsuetts, I was already well aware of the problems with our state health-care program, but I will share Fortune Magazine’s list.

1.  It does not control costs–Massachusetts has the most expensive health-care in the nation–in the four years the law has been in effect, the cost of health insurance has not gone down, but climbed rapidly.

2.  Community rating, guaranteed issue and mandated benefits swell costs.  Because the fines for not having health insurance are low, many people choose not to have covereage.  Insurers are getting socked by people who sign up for insurance to get expensive care mandated under state law, including hospitalization for childbirth or hip replacements, and then depart once the procedure is completed.  This has resulted in the insurance companies demanding higher premiums to pay for the additional cost.  So far the Governor of Massachusetts has generally not approved these rate increases.

3.  High subsidies for low-to-medium earners could prove extremely expensive.  This also places more cost on the insurance companies, who then must raise premiums to make a profit.  As the plans become more expensive, employers will stop covering workers and created a bigger pool of people seeking government healthcare coverage, which will in turn drive up the government’s costs.

4.  The exhanges reward people for working less and earning less.  This is not a good way to encourage productivity.

5.  The generous plans and added mandates give employers an incentive to drop health insurance. 

The article concludes:

“Starting in 2017, the states will have the option of allowing companies that drop their plans to shift workers into the subsidized, state-run exchanges. That choice doesn’t exist now in Massachusetts. It’s not that employers are likely to dump their plans en masse. What’s far more probable is a progressive erosion that relentlessly and systematically raises government spending.

“The incentives are there, both in the federal plan, and its prototype in the Bay State. And when the incentives are that big — and when subsidies inevitably get bigger, not smaller — no amount of regulatory tinkering can stop America’s employers and employees from taking the government’s money, and saving their own.”

The bottom line here is simple–the free market works better than the government.  We ignore that fact at our own risk.  If we continue down this road, we will become Greece.

Yesterday Ben Stein posted an article at the American Spectator about the deal worked out between BP and the Obama Administration to pay for damages along the Gulf coast.  Mr. Stein points out that there is no legal justification for this deal.  Admittedly, there is a huge mess growing daily in the Gulf of Mexico and BP is partially responsible, but what is the legal basis for a $20 billion that we are demanding from BP and who is going to oversee this?

The fact that BP will not be paying its stockholders for the next three quarters is very troubling.  This is not playing well overseas.  Our already strained relationship with Great Britain is getting worse.  The headline of todays Mail.online is:

“Obama bullies BP into £13.5bn fund for oil spill victims… but British pensioners will pick up the bill”

Ben Stein also points out in his article:

“Without any new legislation, President Obama has used returned TARP money as a political slush fund to prop up favorite industries. This is the same problem: serious executive action without legislative authority.

“The same goes for Mr. Obama’s demand that BP pay the lost wages of oil and gas workers suspended from work because of the moratorium on Gulf of Mexico underseas drilling. There simply was no legislation allowing this kind of specific demand. Mr. Obama’s demand was in the nature of a threat, more than a Constitutional act.”

The actions taken regarding BP are not constitutional and need to be addressed.  Yes, BP should be required to clean up the mess and pay restorations, but what happened at the White House between President Obama and BP chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg was a shakedown.

As previously stated, I attended the debate on Tuesday night among the Republican primary candidates for the Third Congressional District.  There are five men hoping to run against Jim McGovern.  The debate was friendly–it wasn’t really a forum where you could challenge any claim made by a candidate, but I have learned a few things since then.

One of the candidates, Brian Herr, who has just completed his two-year term as Chief Elected Offical in the Town of Hopkinton, claimed repeatedly to be a fiscal conservative who had not raised taxes in that town.  Well, in the age of google, statements like that can be dangerous.

On November 20, 2008, the Hopkinton Crier posted a story with this headline, “Hopkinton residential property tax rate up $170.”  Maybe I’m missing something here, but that sounds like a tax increase.

The article points out:

“The new rate for fiscal 2009 is $15.03 per $1,000 of assessed value, an increase from the $14.15 used last year. While taxpayers’ first two quarterly bills this fiscal year relied on an estimation, the final two bills will factor in the new rate.

“Although tax bills are going up, the assessed value of the town’s average single-family home fell for the second straight year. From a high of $550,265 in fiscal 2007, it fell to $518,552 in 2008 and to $499,539 this year. Even then, the 2009 value reflects market conditions 10 months ago.

“Still, multiplying the $15.03 rate by $499.54 – derived by taking out the last three digits of the 2009 value – leaves an average bill of $7,508. That’s $170 and 2.3 percent higher than last year’s $7,338 bill.

“The total property tax collection is going up 4.2 percent from last year, reflecting the 2.5 percent increase allowed by Proposition 2 1/2, new growth and Proposition 2 1/2 debt exclusions already approved.”

This is another reason I am supporting Marty Lamb as the Republican candidate for the Third Congressional District.

Ed Morrissey at Hot Air has an article posted today about the Packgen’s boom that Jake Tapper wondered about–the boom that was not being used to help contain the oil spill in the Gufl.  After Jake Tapper brought it to the government’s attention that this boom was available, the government replied that the boom did not meet their quality control standards.  Packgen then hired an independent analyst to analyze the quality of their product.  Ian Durham, the analyst, concluded that the product was superior to other boom and definitely met quality control standards. 

The article points out:

“The excuse prior to this has been that Packgen’s product didn’t meet quality control standards and didn’t come with universal connectors.  Packgen has already agreed to change connectors, even though the boom already being deployed doesn’t have them.  This report demolishes the quality-control argument as well.  These now appear to have been nothing but an excuse to distract people from the fact that the Obama administration’s team knew nothing of Packgen’s inventory despite media coverage of their production in anticipation of the demand in the Gulf.”

If I were speaking for the government, I would be very careful about bragging that the government was in control of the oil spill since it happened.  If that is true, the government’t track record is not very good.

As I explained yesterday, I did not hear the President’s speech.  I was at a political debate among the Republican candidates for the Massachusetts Third Congressional District (see article below).  I have, however, heard the sound bites and the commentary and have a few observations.

Back in the age of dinosaurs (when I finished high school and went on to two years of Katharine Gibbs), one on my rude awakenings was the change from being graded on what you knew (or had memorized) versus what you were able to do.  For example, history grades depended on a knowledge of history–not necessarily applying the lessons of history to events today.  At Katharine Gibbs, shorthand grades depended on how fast you could take dictation (remember those days?)–not what you knew.  I think that is somewhat where we are with President Obama.  He may have a lot of facts at his fingertips and a lot of education, but that doesn’t necessarily translate into an ability to do anything.  I think that in the office of President, the ability to do something is more valuable than all the theories and knowledge in the world.

Heritage.org has a short evaluation of the President’s speech last night.

The article quotes Jay Leno:

“At the beginning of The Tonight Show last night he quipped: “President Obama said today he is going to use the gulf disaster to immediately push a new energy bill through Congress. I got an idea … How about first using the Gulf disaster to fix the Gulf disaster.””

The Washington Post reports:

“The Oval Office address was Obama’s most pointed attempt since the spill began to explain how the crisis should be leveraged on behalf of long-term reform.”

The Los Angeles TImes and the New York Times both reported on the President’s using the oil spill for push his agenda forward.  I guess the question I have is, “Why was international help from countries with experience in deep water oil spills turned away?”  Was this situation allowed to get out of control in order to push ‘green energy’?

I might mention at this point that the Motor City Times pointed out in an article on June 6 that the Spanish government has admitted that their green energy initiative is responsible for Spain’s economic distress.  Are we willing to learn from the mistakes of other countries, or are we doomed to repeat their mistakes?

In 2008, Representative Jim McGovern ran for his Congressional seat unopposed.  In 2010, there are five Republicans who want to run against him for that seat.  The five potential candidates met for a debate at the North Attleboro High School last night.  The Republican primary will be held on September 14th.

The Sun Chronicle (Attleboro, Massachusetts, newspaper) ran a story on the debate this morning.  The candidates were Robert Chipman of Plainville, Brian Herr of Hopkinton, Marty Lamb of Holliston, Michael Stopa, and Robert Delle.  The format for the debate was simple–Kevin Poirier moderated and asked the questions.  Each candidate was give a minute to answer the question.

When discussing the repeal (and replace) of the Obama healthcare plan all of the candidates favored repeal and replace.  Michael Stopa pointed out the the original Massachusetts healthcare plan passed under Governor Dukakis was not funded by the Massachusetts legislature and thus never implemented.  That model could be very easily used to get rid of Obamacare.

When the question of English as a national language came up, Marty Lamb took a strong stand supporting the issue.  He pointed out the encouraging literacy is a good thing for all immigrants. 

When asked about the problem of illegal immigrants and the recently passed Arizona law, Marty Lamb pointed out that his campaign has released a seven-point program for dealing with immigration.

Various ideas on cutting spending were proposed.  Marty Lamb mentioned that his campaign has released a ten-point program for dealing with the deficit.  Up until last night, Marty Lamb was the only one of the candidates that had signed the “No New Taxes” pledge.

I am supporting Marty Lamb in this primary campaign.  His stands on the issues have been carefully thought out, and he expresses them well.  One person commented after the debate last night that she believed Marty Lamb is the candidate most able to challenge Jim McGovern in the coming election.  I agree.

ABC News reported yesterday that Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has ordered the National Guard to begin building barrier walls to protect the Louisiana coastline from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.  The National Guard is using Blackhawk and Chinook helicopters to drop sandbags to fill in the gaps between the barrier islands off the Louisiana coast. 

According to the article:

“The authorities say they’re keeping a tab on the cost of the project and will send a bill to BP, adding to a huge list of claims from the spill zone.”

I have been thoroughly impressed with Bobby Jindal since one of my children bought a house in New Orleans in 2003.  Louisiana is fortunate to have a governor who is honest, smart, and willing to take action to protect his state.  Governor Jindal is the only hope for Louisiana in the Gulf oil crisis.  I truly hope to see him in the White House someday.

Today’s Washington Examiner reports on the Stimulus II that is being discussed by the Obama Administration.  According to the Bureau of Labor statistics, unemployment in the public sector last month was 3.4 percent.  The private sector unemployment rate is above 9 percent.  So why are the Democrats planning a bill to bail out public sector employees (can you say SEIU)?

According to the article:

“President Obama is now pleading with Congress for $23 billion to prevent teacher layoffs, $25 billion for state health care programs and $2 billion for police and firemen. Bear in mind that the original stimulus, which passed in February 2009, already contained a $53.6 billion “State Fiscal Stabilization Fund,” which included $39.5 billion for local school districts to prevent teacher layoffs and program cuts. Public-sector unions, the primary beneficiaries of this largesse, were already calling for a second stimulus in July 2009 — less than five months after the original one passed.”

This adds up to another $50 million dollars in government spending.  The unions that public sector employees belong to support bigger government–that’s where their jobs are!  Last month American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) president Gerald McEntee pledged to spend $50 million to protect Democrat’s “incumbency in the House.  We’ve got to protect the incumbency in the Senate.”  I guess we know where the money will come from.

I will not be watching President Obama’s speech tonight–I will be at a debate between Republican Primary candidates for the Third Congressional District in Massachusetts.  I pray that in November one of the men I hear tonight will be elected to replace Jim McGovern, but that is not what this article is about.

President Obama will no doubt in his speech place the lion’s share of the blame for the mess on the Gulf coast on BP.  He will also say that the current disaster shows the need for bigger government and a Cap and Trade (aka Cap and Tax) bill.  There is some truth in the first statement and very little truth in the second.

On June 9, the Business Insider posted an article about the Obama Administration’s refusal of international help during the early days of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.  There are countries in the world that are much more experienced in deep-water drilling than we are, and some of those countries have successfully and quickly cleaned up the type of disaster we saw in the Gulf. 

The article states:

“According to Foreign Policy, thirteen entities that had offered the U.S. oil spill assistance within about two weeks of the Horizon rig explosion.  They were the governments of Canada, Croatia, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Republic of Korea, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United Nations.

“The U.S. response – Thank you, but no thank you, we’ve got it.

“…While there is no need right now that the U.S. cannot meet, the U.S. Cpast Guard is assessing these offers of assistance to see if there will be something which we will need in the near future.”

The reason for declining help–“The Jones Act.”  The Jones Act requires that goods transported by water between U.S. ports be carried in U.S.-flag ships.  The purpose of the law is to support the U.S. merchant marine industry.  The Jones Act was waived in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina and should be waived again.  The fact that it has not been waived has resulted in much greater damage to the environment that would have otherwise happened.  There are European countries who specialize in deep-water accidents, we need their help in this.

I would love to see the President waive the Jones Act in his speech tonight, instead I think we will be watching the beginning of a government takeover of the energy sector or the economy. 

Today Alert Net, a website of the Thomas Reuters Foundation, which says under its name “alerting humanitarians to emergencies,” is reporting that Iran is sending ships to challenge the Israeli blockade of Gaza.  OK.  I have a few questions.  Based on the amount of food and other goods flowing into Gaza from Israel (this is not a blockade in the true sense of the word, the Israelis are simply asking to inspect the goods going into Gaza), where is the humanitarian emergency?  I have posted links to menus of four-star restaurants in Gaza, olympic size swimming pools for children and recent pictures of markets.  I have posted lists of goods and the amounts shipped to Gaza recently.  These pictures and amounts do not show a lack of goods.  If there is a lack of food and other resources in Gaza, I would tend to ask Hamas how it is distributing the goods shipped into Gaza. 

Why is Iran getting involved–to flex their muscles and to create unrest. 

The article reports:

“A senior Iranian official said earlier Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards were ready to provide a military escort to aid ships heading to Gaza if Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei so commands. [ID:nLDE65509B]

“But the Guards’ deputy head, Hossein Salami, said there were no plans to do so. “Such a thing is not on our agenda,” he was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency on Monday.”

While Iran is making sure the world is focused on the ‘blockade’ of Gaza by Israel, Iran will continue to develop its nuclear porgram.  I don’t know if Israel will attack Iran’s nuclear facilities, I just think it is a shame that the current administration in America has not supported the green revolution that would have made any attack unnecessary.

The New York Times posted an article yesterday on the discovery of nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan.  The minerals involved are iron, copper, cobalt, gold and critical industrial metals like lithium.  This is very good news and very bad news.  It is good news because the development of these mineral deposits will provide an alternative to the current economic structure of Afghanistan which is based on the opium trade.  This could potentially, a few years down the road, put the poppies out of business.  This is bad news because of the rampant corruption in the Afghan government.  This could evolve into a Saudi Arabia type society where the wealth and power are concentrated among a very small number of people and the majority of the people live in poverty.

There are a lot of potential problems with this discovery.  Will the value of Afghanistan’s minerals give the Taliban more incentive to continue fighting?  Will the value of Afghanistan’s minerals bring the country back to its tribal roots–with tribal leaders fighting the federal government over income derived in specific locations?  Will this discovery encourage involvement in Afghanistan by countries other than the United States and NATO, countries that might not have an agenda of a free, well-governed Afghanistan?

Stay tuned.

The North Attleboro Republican Town Committee is sponsoring the first Republican Candidates Debate for the 3rd Congressional District.

The debate will be held on Tuesday, June 15th, from 6:30 to 9:30 at the Cobb Theater, North Attleboro High School, 1 Wilson Whitty Way in North Attleboro. All five Republican candidates running in the primary against Sen. Jim McGovern will be present:

• Robert Chipman of Plainville
• Brian Herr of Hopkington
• Martin Lamb of Holliston
• Michael Stopa of Holliston
• Robert Delle of Westboro

The complete announcement from the North Attleboro Republican Town Committee follows:

On Tuesday June 15th, the 3rd Congressional District of Massachusetts will hold it’s first Republican Candidates Debate In North Attleboro from 6:30pm till 9:30pm.
The Debate will be held at the Cobb Thearter: 1 Wilson Whitty Way in North Attleborough

As a taxpayer, voter and citizen I urge your devoted interest in this Democratic process that so many lives have afforded you in what we call, “Freedom”. Won’t you join our North Attleboro Republican Town Committee as we present you, the voter, an opportunity to directly engage the five Republican candidates running for the Peoples Seat currently held by incummbant Democrat James McGovern.

Our district currently comprises all or most of 28 cities and towns with an economic base alone equal to many 3rd world countries GNP, our population ten years ago included 1/10th of the states residents and an almost exact replica of the now coined phrase “gerrymander district” from 1812, your state comprises one of the largest congressional delegations to Washington of any of our 50 states and if you don’t think your vote counts on primary day Tuesday September 28, 2010 we can only refer you to January 20 headlines of this year.

All five candidates for election as your next Congressional Representative of this 3rd Congressional District will be present: Robert Chipman of Plainville, Brian Herr of Hopkington, Martin Lamb of Holliston, Michael Stopa of Holliston and Robert Delle of Westboro. Each candidate taking questions directly from you the taxpayer, you the voter, you the citizen. Please engage your political interests, be here at the forfront, in the heartland of Scott Brown’s base of support. Without your vote and interest this democracy will loose never think your vote doesn’t count.

I encourage, urge and otherwise respectfully request your presence to this political debate that features a variety of individuals cut from the American fabric who will stand up for your interests, beliefs and concerns. Candidates seeking support through fair, honest, hard working, family oriented citizens like yourselves hoping to save the American Dream.

James Lang
North Attleboro Republican Town Committee

According to the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, some passengers of the Mavi Marmara and other ships from Turkey’s IHH flotilla are planning to apply for visas to enter the United States on a speaking tour. It has been announced that a number of these passengers plan to speak in New York City in the coming weeks.

This link, Urge State Dept to Investigate Flotilla Passengers, is to a petition to ask the State Department to investigate any visa applicants from the flotilla to make sure that they do not have any terrorist connections. 

The link provided above points out:

“In 2006, a report issued by the Danish Institute for International Studies stated that during the 1990s the IHH maintained links with al-Qaida and a number of “global jihad networks.”
“The report also stated that the Turkish government launched an investigation into the IHH starting December 1997 after receiving intelligence that the IHH had bought automatic weapons from Islamist terrorists. According to the report, the Turkish government launched a raid on the organization’s Istanbul offices where they found weapons, explosives, and instructions for bomb-making. The report added that an examination of documents found at the IHH office indicated that the group was planning to take part in terrorist activities in Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Bosnia. In addition, a French intelligence report found that in the mid-1990s IHH leader B’ulent Yildirim recruited soldiers for jihad activities in a number of Muslim countries and that the IHH transferred money, firearms, and explosives to jihadists in a number countries.”

Please follow the link and sign the petition.  We do not need to give visas to terrorists on a speaking tour to raise funds in New York City.

The reference for this story is a May 25 article in the Washington Examiner.  The article deals with the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC).  Senator Bob Casey, (D-Pa.), introduced S. 3157 in late March.  According to Thomas.gov, the bill is currently in committee.  The bill is called “Create Jobs and Save Benefits Act of 2010.”

The bill would back union pension funds with federal tax dollars.  The article in the Washington Examiner points out that in 2006, before the recession, only six percent of these union pension funds were doing well.  In a column in the Washington Examiner in April, Mark Hemingway pointed out that the average union pension plan had only enough money to cover 62 percent of its financial obligations.  Pension plans that are below 80 percent funding are considered “endangered” by the government; below 65 percent is considered “critical.”  Union membership is declining, which means that less people are paying into these funds.

In July 2009, the PBGC bailed out the pension liabilities of auto parts manufacturer Delphi ($6.2 billion).  In 2007, the PBGC had a deficit of almost $1 billion.  They are expected to assume $86 billion in liabilities by 2015.  This is not good business practice.

I am sorry that the unions cannot cover their pension funds, but maybe it’s time for them to consider taking steps to make their pension funds affordable.  I do not think the American taxpayer should be required to save a union pension fund.

Can you cover a lie with an expensive public relations campaign?  We are about to find out.  Today’s Washington Examiner posted an article about the Obama Administration’s efforts to sell the healthcare reform law to senior citizens as a good thing.  President Obama told a group of senior citizens in Maryland last week, “what you need to know is that the guaranteed Medicare benefits that you’ve earned will not change, regardless of whether you receive them through Medicare or Medicare Advantage.”  The Wall Street Journal pointed out that nothing in that statement is true.  Nevertheless, it has become the official position of the Obama Administration.  The problem is that the health care bill cuts Medicare by $500 billion over the next ten years.  The next ten years is the time when the amount of people who will be expecting to join Medicare rapidly increases as the baby boomers turn 65.  There is no way that you can cut the program by $500 billion, add millions of baby boomers, and provide the same coverage and service you are providing now.

According to the article:

“As Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said last week in response to Obama’s Maryland statement, seniors have been told repeatedly by the White House and congressional Democrats “that if they liked their plan they could keep it.  Yet now we hear that millions of seniors will lose the Medicare Advantage benefits they have and like as a result of the Democrats’ health care bill…That’s been the story all along about this bill–a lot of promises that couldn’t be kept.  And that’s why the story now isn’t the bill itself, but the administration’s broken promises.”

The Obama Administration is planning a $125 million public relations campaign to sell Obamacare.  The money is coming from unions and liberal nonprofit organizations, and the co-chairman of the campaign is former South Dakota Senator Tom Daschle. 

I guess we will see if an expensive public relations campaign can successfully sell a lie.

Can you cover a lie with an expensive public relations campaign?  We are about to find out.  Today’s Washington Examiner posted an article about the Obama Administration’s efforts to sell the healthcare reform law to senior citizens as a good thing.  President Obama told a group of senior citizens in Maryland last week, “what you need to know is that the guaranteed Medicare benefits that you’ve earned will not change, regardless of whether you receive them through Medicare or Medicare Advantage.”  The Wall Street Journal pointed out that nothing in that statement is true.  Nevertheless, it has become the official position of the Obama Administration.  The problem is that the health care bill cuts Medicare by $500 billion over the next ten years.  The next ten years is the time when the amount of people who will be expecting to join Medicare rapidly increases as the baby boomers turn 65.  There is no way that you can cut the program by $500 billion, add millions of baby boomers, and provide the same coverage and service you are providing now.

According to the article:

“As Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said last week in response to Obama’s Maryland statement, seniors have been told repeatedly by the White House and congressional Democrats “that if they liked their plan they could keep it.  Yet now we hear that millions of seniors will lose the Medicare Advantage benefits they have and like as a result of the Democrats’ health care bill…That’s been the story all along about this bill–a lot of promises that couldn’t be kept.  And that’s why the story now isn’t the bill itself, but the administration’s broken promises.”

The Obama Administration is planning a $125 million public relations campaign to sell Obamacare.  The money is coming from unions and liberal nonprofit organizations, and the co-chairman of the campaign is former South Dakota Senator Tom Daschle. 

I guess we will see if an expensive public relations campaign can successfully sell a lie.

It’s not working.  Charles Krauthammer posted an article at the Washington Post on Friday regarding the Obama Administration’s declaration that it was moving to isolate Iran.  Let’s look at some facts.

On Tuesday, Russia, Turkey and Iran held a security summit in Istanbul.  The growing relationship between Iran and Turkey, a NATO member, is disconcerting.  Last month there was a meeting in Tehran between Brazil, Turkey, and Iran.  That meeting resulted in the uranium transfer agreement that supposedly would end the need for sanctions against Iran because of its nuclear program.  Six weeks ago, Iran was elected to the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women.  (Another reason we should get out of the U.N. and ask it to leave America.)

Mr. Krauthammer points out:

“Increasing isolation? In the past year alone, Ahmadinejad has been welcomed in Kabul, Istanbul, Copenhagen, Caracas, Brasilia, La Paz, Senegal, Gambia and Uganda. Today, he is in China.

“Three Iran sanctions resolutions passed in the Bush years. They were all passed without a single “no” vote. But after 16 months of laboring to produce a mouse, Obama garnered only 12 votes for his sorry sanctions, with Lebanon abstaining and Turkey and Brazil voting against.”

The headline in Wednesday’s Washington Post was, “U.S. alliance against Iran is showing new signs of vulnerability.”   I think we are seeing the results of electing an American President that the world views as weak.  There are billboards in various places around America with pictures of George W. Bush and the words, “Do you miss me yet?” printed on them.  Yes, President Bush, I do.