Once again we would like to remind you that we are now posting at The Curious Citizen, our new blog home.
If you have not visited our new site, please do.
We remind you that if you want email notification of new posts from that site, you will have to submit your email address in the sign up box provided at the new blog.
We are posting at our new blog … The Curious Citizen.
If you are signed up for email notifications here, we suggest you visit the NEW site and sign up for the same there.
Sign up does NOT automatically transfer.
I hope to see you at The Curious Citizen!
I have been out of circulation for a while, the reasons for which I will not trouble you.
I have had time to think … and those who know me certainly realize that this is a dangerous thing!
The ‘Straight Talk’ franchise has existed since the early 1990’s. It started on Q103FM in Lakeville and was revived on CATV 6 & WHDD Radio.
Unfortunately it has been confined to the internet since September 2011 after the pathetic local media teamed up with some equally pathetic local politicians to stifle FREE SPEECH which did NOT meet their sub-standards.
NOTE: Sub-standards in this case means LIE LIKE A RUG!
I have struggled with what to do and concluded that the worst thing would be to ‘go away’. What can I do to inform the citizenry effectively?
The result is a NEW franchise!
It is comprised of a website and a blog. In the future it will expand into broadcasts which will be on the internet and local public television. I would like it to be on local public radio, however the master manipulator of local public radio has ban me from that institution. Is this not typical of NPR affiliates? Take money from the public pot and then deny free speech to others.
Join me at the NEW BLOG!
The American Postal Workers Union is distributing a flyer urging you to contact your United States Senators concerning SB 1789 (228 pages), something which is commonly referred to as the ‘21st Century Postal Service Act’.
The United States Senate will begin debate on this legislation April 23 and plans to vote on April 24. The APWU makes the following statement about SB 1789:
“As it’s currently written, the bill would give the USPS some short-term financial relief, but also would inflict long-term damage to the nation’s mail system.”
The most serious issue, which is apparently NOT addressed in this legislation:
“In 2006, Congress passed the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act. This law requires the Postal Service to do something that no other business or government agency has to do–pre-fund its FUTURE retiree health care benefits. This is a 75 year liability that has to be paid in 10 years. The Postal Service makes a payment of approximately $5.5 billion on September 30 at the end of every fiscal year to meet this obligation. The Post Office has been paying these benefits the past four years into a trust fund for employees who have not even been born yet. This is the burden that is creating the “financial crisis” for the Post Office. The recession that has gripped America the past few years has undoubtedly affected the Postal Service, but even in the worst economic times since the great depression, the USPS has had a net profit of $611 million dollars. Unfortunately, the red ink associated with the post office is the mandated pre-funding since 2006.” (Source page)
While Congress keeps a choke hold on the USPS via massive regulation and oversight, here is what the USPS is:
“Until adoption of the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970, the U.S. Postal Service functioned as a regular, tax-supported, agency of the federal government.
According to the laws under which it now operates, the U.S. Postal Service is a semi-independent federal agency, mandated to be revenue-neutral. That is, it is supposed to break even, not make a profit.” (Source page)
I suggest you explore the links in this post if you care about what may be in process.
On May 15, 2012 a moratorium on closings and consolidations of USPS facilities is set to expire. This could have a significant impact on rural post office facilities.
For those of you with short memories, it was April 2011 when the USPS Executives sent their emissaries to Salisbury Town Hall. They came to tell us lies about their plans in the hope that we would all crawl back into our holes and forget the whole thing. Lakeville will certainly be on the plate again … BET ON IT!
Make no mistake that the financial problems at the USPS are likely the heavy hand of Congress and this odd pre-funding mandate. Unfortunately we are once again leaving business decisions to bureaucrats, a formula which can only spell disaster.
The time to speak is now.
I can’t ignore the most recent email from the Roraback for Congress campaign.
Mr. Roraback’s campaign sent out an email this week entitled “Poll shows Roraback the clear choice for GOP”. For a moment I suspected I was going to be directed to Rasmussen, Gallup, Real Clear Politics … some place which had taken a professional poll concerning the Connecticut 5th Congressional District race.
Instead I am looking at a press release from an organization which seems to be more involved in image manipulation than honest polling.
From the email …
Thank you all for your continued support! It is most appreciated and incredibly heartening. The good news is that your support is well placed. The proof is in the numbers. Our campaign has released the results of a poll recently conducted by National Research, Inc., a nationally-known polling firm. The results affirm your support and confirm the belief of many Republicans throughout the 5th District: I am the candidate best able to win this seat for the GOP in November.
While this may sound wonderful, let us take a look at National Research, Inc. Here are the first paragraphs from their website:
Opinion measurement helps you understand your audience. Opinion management helps you win campaigns, trials and market share. National Research Inc. is in the opinion management business.
You need to ask the right questions. You need to survey the right audience. And you need to make sure you are using the results to your maximum benefit. We’ve got you covered.
We’ve been involved in every type of political campaign, from the municipal level to the presidential. We’ve specialized in winning tough races in swing states. We’ve conducted opinion management research for public affairs campaigns, corporate imaging and branding, competitive market positioning, and crisis management. We’ve worked with top law firms and helped them manage the opinion dynamics of potential jurors during legal pleadings.
Polling? Really? Consultants? Campaign failing? Need help?
Roraback’s email proclaims “Matched against a generic Democrat in a hypothetical ballot matchup, I beat the Democrat 50-33% (the only candidate to exceed 50%)”.
Given the field that has been defined, why are we dealing in a ‘hypothetical’? It is going to be Esty, Donovan, or Roberti on the Democrat side. Clearly this ‘poll’ is nothing short of Mr. Roraback’s campaign spending money to show us that we need to believe he is ‘the man’. Why a generic candidate? Did he do that poorly against the REAL ones?
I believe this is a deception. The Republican cronies who encouraged him to run are so intent that he be the Republican nominee they will stop at nothing to convince (or fool) us into believing that. Say it often enough and it will become true.
To be honest, I would rather give the seat to a Democrat than to elect a RINO.
I believe we Republicans have to stop apologizing for being conservatives! If we allow ourselves to be pressured into running Roraback, then we are apologizing.
Once again … Justin Bernier is the REAL Republican candidate.
Now that I am mending, following some medical ‘stuff’ that caused me to disappear (fortunately not forever), I will resume ‘The Truth’ tomorrow evening.
This evening I share with you a video that could very well be a scene in the not so distant future …
From the Carolina Journal Online …
Is this what we are coming too? As a parent, I am becoming increasingly concerned that our children will soon belong to the state.
As long as my child is healthy, I should think it would be for my wife and I to decide what our child eats, not the government. Worse, in this case the government is forcing parents to buy the food they prescribe. What next … medications the government thinks my child should be on?
Normally I write about very local issues and frankly this one could easily happen here. Anyone who attends local Boards of Education meetings will know that they routinely talk about what the children eat and whether or not it is healthy for them.
In the past year I have witnessed such disturbing debates at the Salisbury Board of Education. One debate occupied a full forty minutes of a meeting in which the merits of Ice Cream was bantered about. Would it not be great if we spent so much time debating the level of education our children are receiving?
Maybe we can install ‘healthy lunch detectors’ at the entrance to our schools to ensure that the ignorant parents are feeding their children properly as per government order. I would even suggest we might consider community service for those parents who don’t understand that Big Brother knows all and we (as well as our children) are here to submit to the will of the system.
During the opening of the debate on CNN last evening, my dilemma concerning which Republican was going to receive my vote in the Connecticut Primary was finally resolved.
I have been debating (within myself) whether Newt Gingrich or Rick Santorum was going to receive my vote on April 24.
I will PROUDLY enter the booth and cast my vote for Newt Gingrich.
Gingrich is an intelligent man who is skilled in the world of Washington Politics.
While I normally object to the Washington ties, in his case I have put that to the side because I know he is capable of working within that framework NOT as an agent of the Washington establishment, but as an agent of the people.
Given that, I was still on the fence between Gingrich and Santorum until last evening.
Newt is the first Republican to ACTUALLY stand up to the liberal media and ‘call them out’.
I applaud and salute him for calling John King on the carpet and NOT backing down when King attempted to play from the hand of Obama and blame others for his own actions.
While the liberal media and its supporters have consistently blamed everyone else for the lame policies they support, Mr. Gingrich has admitted his faults as a human and owned up to the fact that he has made mistakes in his life. He has also made efforts to correct his flaws, which is more than I can say for the folks who criticize him.
King, CNN, ABC, and all of the other tilted media establishments should be ashamed of themselves and are obligated (in my mind) to issue an apology to the American People for their childish actions throughout this Presidential election cycle.
Somehow I have to believe had this been a big contest in the Democrat Party, this media would have handled it quite differently … probably with ‘kid gloves’.
I have grown tired of Democrats trying to monopolize our political system by controlling the media, and via the distorted primary system, trying to manipulate who the Republican Party will chose to run against Obama. Obviously they want someone they can beat, given their candidate is weak at best.
Mr. Gingrich stood up last evening regardless of what the consequences might be.
This is what we need in a leader and a President at this time … someone who speaks the truth and doesn’t stick his finger in the wind (or elsewhere) before he states … get this … the truth.
There is no longer any doubt in my mind …
Newt Gingrich should be the next President of the United States and I urge all of my fellow Republicans to …
VOTE NEWT!
God Bless America!
BTW … Watch the video … Newt Sets John King Straight
Everyone should consider sharing the following with their Congress People …
Congressional Reform Act of 2010
1. Term Limits: 12 years only, one of the possible options below.
A. Two Six year Senate terms
B. Six Two year House terms
C. One Six year Senate term and three Two Year House terms
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.
2. No Tenure / No Pension:
A congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.
3. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security:
All funds in the Congressional retirement fund moves to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, Congress participates with the American people.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, server your term(s), then go home and back to work.
4. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan just as all Americans.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.
5. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.
6. Congress looses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.
7. Congress must equally abide in all laws they impose on the American people.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.
8. All contracts with past and present congressmen are void effective 1/1/11.
The American people did not make this contract with congressmen, congressmen made all these contracts for themselves.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.
Once again … consider sharing this with your members of Congress and all your friends!
Straight Talk 