24thState

Penn State and SLU - Really Bad Signs

Like a child throwing a temper tantrum when Momma takes away the toy, the children at Penn State are taking to the streets and behaving incredibly uncivilly in expressing their right to civil disobedience.  Where did they learn that this is how we act in America?  At Penn State?

 

Now, were the school doing something really terrible like banning students' rights to defend themselves with concealed weapons, violent protests still would not be in order.  Violent protests are for Marxists, not over privileged, self-entitled college students.  Losing a coach is no cause for violence.

Closer to home, there were stunning and horrific expressions of outrage at far less.  Two students, err. basketball players; Kwamain Mitchell and Willie Reed were suspended for a mere two months, meaning they would not miss a single regular season game.  They were accused of a gang style sexual assault on a young co-ed and originally tried by the official conduct board of the school and suspended for one year.  The Biondi administration threw out the sentence and saved the season sending a stunning message to all female students and their parents that basketball was just that important.

The SLU fans (or fanatics) took to the blogs, sports talk shows and comment sections of news accounts and viciously assailed the victim.  Someone had taken away their exciting pre-season and they wanted blood.

Sadly, the secular University handled the test better than the Jesuit University.  Both were confronted with horrible allegations involving sexual assault victims.  While Penn State's situation may be seen by some as worse, Penn State did not have the benefit of a full board hearing that SLU had.  The religious institution actually reduced the punishment and allowed the perpetrators to get off virtually scott free. That is sad.

What ought to give us pause however, is not the administrative decisions of the schools, as much as the reaction of the students.  What on earth have we taught them?  It appears that those things for which we fight begin with the right to winning sports franchises.  Justice for young boys and college girls will not cloud our thinking about our version of right and wrong.  This is what the fans are "expressing", whether that is their intent or not. 

We were all celebrating when the Cardinals won their 11th Championship in 2011.  Sports are great, but they are not life.  If that is contrary to what SLU is teaching their students, they should take a lesson from what Penn State just taught theirs.

"Empty the clip": Illegal Immigration Reform Yielding Results in Alabama

There are some very interesting numbers coming out of Alabama since their passing landmark immigration reform in June. How about decreasing unemployment and increasing passport applications? Yes, Mexican nationals are overwhelming passport offices to secure passage for themselves and their "anchor" children BACK to Mexico.

While radical leftist groups have joined with the Obama Administration justice department to assail Alabama for doing locally the job the Feds refuse to do, common sense law and order types now have numbers to show who is right. Teresa Ferguson is a Mama Grizzly who had never been involved in politics until she singularly took on the challenge of ending the devastating effects of illegal immigration in her community. After getting hit and run by an illegal in a town in which kindergartners are now majority Hispanic and brothels and methamphetamine are rampant, she decided to take action. She began by reaching out to candidates for statewide office, insisting they visit her county to see the damage first hand. One candidate for governor actually took an entire day out of his schedule to visit Marshall County. Alabamians now call the responsive candidate Governor Bentley. He signed the legislation in June.

Another lawmaker who visited with Mrs. Ferguson, State Senator Scott Beason called on Alabamians to get serious and "empty the clip" on the issue. He joined State Representative Micky Hammon in passing HB56, the most comprehensive, common sense illegal immigration law in the country. The law, despite being enjoined by the courts, has nevertheless produced amazing results yet to be reported anywhere. One highlight is a provision that empowers any citizen to sue law enforcement for not carrying out the provisions of the act. No sanctuary for any public servant inclined to selectively enforce the law. Genius!

Mrs. Ferguson reports that the local passport office that processed 139 passports in June of 2010, processed a stunning 469 in 2011; an increase of almost 300%. Knowing the laws are tightening, illegal residents are taking steps to assure the successful return of their "anchor" children as they slip back across the border. The other stunning statistic is that Marshall County, home to many chicken processing plants, has experienced a decrease in unemployment while neighboring counties see increases. Marshall County unemployment dropped almost a percentage point from 10% to 9.1% and neighboring DeKalb increased to 13%. Mrs. Ferguson explains, "The chicken plants are starting to hire local people".

So we see that sensible laws yield predictable results. When public servants deliver the message that laws will be enforced, people cease to flaunt them. When chicken plant operators lose illegal workers, they hire Americans again and one county experienced a 10% decline in unemployment. Imagine that.

Net Neutrality - Casting A Wide Regulatory Net To Neuter Us All - Part I

Looking beneath the transparency

Well... good news ladies and gents out there in the free and open skies of internet land.  Public spirited folks from the IT world are looking out for bad deed doers and speaking up for your interests. There are such keen eyes as these from a vigilant tech writer for PC Magazine (never realized how well named it was before) who has expressed his dismay at the regulatory process... not over the interference of government into the free flow of information across the internet... no, no... no. He has seen reports of something 'fishy' in the land of regulatory purity, and is shocked at what he's found.

Here, have a look:

"The end of the FCC negotiations is actually good news. What the FCC should do is execute its duties to oversee the industry without apologizing or asking permission. The FCC negotiations sought to compromise with the industry--the very nature of which implies that the agency would be making consessions in order to appease companies like Verizon and Comcast.

Negotiation and compromise are cornerstones of the political process, but they should be conducted openly and involve all parties. The problem with the FCC efforts was that the closed-door meetings excluded most of the affected parties from the process."

To useful ... uhm... pundits... like our PC tech writer here, they feel that government regulation of industry is a good thing, that 'Net Neutrality' will be a benefit to all Americans, and they are only upset that the process hasn't had more transparency involved in it. I'd like to look at that here, and go a bit beyond that 'transparency' to get a wider perspective than their little government issue world viewer window might otherwise afford us. But first, let's try looking through only that itty bitty viewer they use, and see what we can see.

I know I see one thing here that I particularly enjoy, and that's the line "should be conducted openly and involve all parties."... do you suppose that this tech writer for PC Magazine has ever ventured out and onto the internet? I don't know how many providers there are out there, my quick Googling popped up around a hundred or so big and small, providers, still, I do believe it might be just a few more than can conveniently cozy up around a conference table and hash out some regulations that will be 'fair' to all parties. And while he's not alone in his concern for all us little people... what of the millions of users who will be affected and deprived of their ability to pay more, or less, to receive the service they most value?

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Can't Spot The Difference. Can You?

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is wetting itself over another tax money sink, a trolley running through part of the Delmar loop:

Four decades after they died off like transportation dinosaurs, streetcars took a big step toward returning on Friday as details emerged of a plan for a trolley line from the Delmar Loop to Forest Park.

The $44 million St. Louis Loop Trolley Project, backed by $25 million in federal funding, will feature hybrid-electric trolleys running from the Loop to the Missouri History Museum.

Now I realize that the Loop is called the Loop because it used to be where the streetcars turned around, and I admit I haven't been to the Loop in years (and the last time was for a job interview and not shopping or night life), but I do remember that Delmar was a two lane street with parking. I'm not entirely sure how they're going to run a trolley right down the middle of it without.... oh, wait, they will kill the street parking. Which might kill some visits by people who drive cars to the Loop, i.e., people who have money to spend. Maybe the Loop will get a CID or a TDD to build a new parking garage.

However, in an effort to rah-rah trolleys, the St. Louis paper of declining revenue finds a thriving trolley system to trumpet:

When the call of the grape leads you to Missouri's wine regions, having someone to drive for you is a vintage idea. The recent addition of a trolley service in Hermann makes this idea more convenient.

The Hermann Trolley Co. picks passengers up at the Amtrak station for the trains' four daily stops and at all of the bed-and-breakfasts in the area. Then it makes stops at all of the area wineries. The company has two trolley cars running and plans to add a third by fall.

Can you, gentle reader, spot the difference between the two where the Post-Dispatch could not (or would not)?

One is a millions of dollars of tax money (and by tax money, I of course mean "money borrowed from the Chinese") boondoggle in the making that will ultimately be underutilized and require constant infusions of tax money (hey, you St. Louisians who loved the 2010 Metro Tax ballot issue: how eager are you for one in 2013, too? And 2015? And 2018?).

The other is a private enterprise targeted to a place where customers naturally would not want to drive (wineries).

Because small private enterprises thrive, the government should be able to do it bigger and better with more sunk costs and administrative waste.

Bonus kudos to the hard-hitting investigative reporters at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch who failed to uncover this important and relevant bit of information:

The successful trolley in Hermann is not a trolley at all. It's a bus.

(Cross-posted at Musings from Brian J. Noggle.)

Document Parties Update, Update

I'm struggling under a hefty workload, but will still try to set up the first document party for next Sunday at 3:00.  The first one will be in West County. and the next will be in Sunset Hills. I'll be responding to all of your emails next week, giving you the specific place and what can be expected. We're working on getting volunteers to manage each of these to keep them going. If you want to be invited, send a note to editor @24thstate.com with subject document party, and which party you want to be invited to. If you have documents yourself, or thoughts about what you'd like to research, please send that to.

And for those out of town, I'll get to you in a week or two after we meet with how things went.

To the left, you'll see what we are dealing with.  They want $2000 to prove they broke ethics laws.

They can ignore one of us, but not all of us.

Sunday Night Clean Up

Reboot Congress has photos and video from the 99 Corners Rally in O'Fallon.  The thugs who last week tried to intimidate a 67 year old woman didn't show, which is good for them considering we have their pictures. 

The HCAN rally tonight was a waste of time and resources.  Given enough paid staff, a closed off area not accessible to the general public, a giant bus that costs more than the premiums for all of SEIU 2000 and access to phone banks to call everyone you know in St Louis, you can bring out 6-700 liberals on a Sunday night to hold preprinted signs.  The people who showed were earnest (at least the first 250 that I saw get there between 5:30 and 6:30), but they were, surprisingly white middle aged liberals driving foreign imports.

The impact on the debate?  None.  Politicians know the difference between real and fake, and this is a sad attempt to match the passion and numbers of the Tea Protestors with lights, music, and a bunch of paid organizers.  I just heard on Dana's show that Russ Carnahan sneaked into the event to give a speech.  He didn't announce it, probably afraid it would have backfired.

The nice thing was there wasn't any violence, or intimidation. Tea Party folks didn't take pictures of every person coming in - we didn't threaten, we didn't scream in people's faces (even the few decent folks who came down to the staging point to speak with us).  There's a lesson here, and that lesson is the violence and the national racism was staged.  Without people trying to create problems, normal groups of political foes can rally and counter-rally without incident.  No matter what left wings loon try to say.

Of course, that doesn't stop progressives from fantasizing about gang violence visited on Tea Party members.  You have to wonder just how warped (and racist) a person would have to be think that a healthcare rally in University City would automatically lead to some kind of black-on-white gang warfare.  The Tea Parties got lucky the original McCaskill conference was canceled?  That's a progressive youth embracing his inner violent fantasies, and for good measure, this hulking banner of tolerance was videotaped screaming at Tea Party members during the Carnahan town hall.  

And nationally, we see yet another Green Party member and minister involved in violent intimidation of a Tea Party rally.  It's enough to make you wonder if there are actual marching orders coming from avowed socialists to disrupt Tea Party events.

Speaking of which, has anyone figured out who is paying for the lawyer of the SEIU staff member accused of assaulting Kenneth Gladney?  If SEIU Local 2000 is paying, isn't that admitting that McCowan was not there as a private citizen, as his report maintains, but instead was there on official union business?  I wonder if he's getting disability through work for that dislocated shoulder.  

Conservative Activist Training July 24th

American Majority is bringing their candidate and activist training to St Louis July 24th.  The cost is $20, and I would strongly recommend if you are interested in effecting positive change at the local, state, and federal level, that you consider training.  This is an all-day seminar where you learn the basics of electioneering.  Gina Loudon spoke of the importance of precinct captains at the Washington MO Tea Party.  This is where you learn how.

Topics to be covered during the Training include:

• Building Coalitions and Reaching Your Community (ideas and practical steps to engage your community and organize a coalition of volunteers)
• Organizing Meaningful Events (step-by-step instruction on how to organize an effective event for a cause, issue group or organization)
• Missouri Government 101 (how government operates, how to get involved on various levels)
• Campaigns and Accountability (how to be an effective campaign volunteer, how to hold leaders accountable once they are in office)
• Effectively Communicating Your Views (how to write effective letters to the editor, opinion editorials and blogs, using social networking tools and wiki projects)
• Additionally, a new media breakout session will be offered at the end of the training.

I have a friend in Kansas City who was very happy with the training, and he's been around the block on several campaigns. Here's my suggestion.  Sign up, and bring a friend with you. If you're serious about making changes, now is the time to step up. 

To register online, please go here, and please blog and RT this.

Disclaimer: I'm not involved in this training, but see it as important. In fact, this is a good as time as any to remind you that I don't take any money for this site, and neither do guest contributors. There are some Google ads up, which make about $3 a month, but that's it.  I'm also not a party activist, don't hold office, and am not a political consultant.

Victory Or Death For Iranian Protestors

By all means, let's just let the Iranians finish their vigorous debate. Some people just don't get it. These young protestors have made a life-threatening choice. Once they start down this path, they are either victorious, or the walking dead. If they back down, the Iranian regime will send their thugs into their homes in the black of night to kill them and their families. Death or Victory. That is all that is left for them. I wish we had a government in place that understood that. Some people, or perhaps as Obama likes to read, "THERE ARE THOSE" who say that Mousavi is no different than Ahmadinejad, but to the young and women in the street over there, there is enough of a difference to die for. UPDATE: The President has finally made a strong statement on the killing of Iranian citizens, but just can't get past inserting himself into the equation.

As I said in Cairo, suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away.

A simple statement of support days ago would have been the right thing. Pretending you've been right all along makes the issue out to be about you, not them. We deserve better from the leader of the free world.

You Make Too Much (Unless You're A Congressman)

Right on the heels of Barack Obama and Claire McCaskill whaling on executives for taking bonuses and "excessive" salaries, we hear Barney Frank (the man responsible for the subprime meltdown) telling us that capping salaries for CEO's could extend to all companies,

Congress will consider legislation to extend some of the curbs on executive pay that now apply only to those banks receiving federal assistance, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank said.

“There’s deeply rooted anger on the part of the average American,” the Massachusetts Democrat said at a Washington news conference today.

He said the compensation restrictions would apply to all financial institutions and might be extended to include all U.S. companies

We were told by well-meaning people that capping salaries was the price of taking money. It turns out that wasn't the case.  In Frank's mind, all people benefit from federal money, thus all people are subject to federal control of the paycheck.  You drive on roads, don't you?  You eat spinach?  The government makes that safe, and thus the government gets to tell you how much you make. 

It's time to set aside your delusions. The Democrats in power in Washington aren't interested in philosophical debates about rights, liberty, government power and economic prosperity. They're not interested in fairness, or protecting the unenfranchised.  They are in the middle of the biggest power grab in American History, and we're letting them do it.

Conservatives on Twitter are talking about civil disobedience, and libertarians are asking if the time has come to march on Washington.  There is so much craziness going around, one wonders if the Democrats have plain lost their mind or if this all part of a plan to throw everything on the table and hope enough gets through due to the sheer size of it.  Your freedom and your economic prosperity are under attack during the biggest financial crisis of your life.  You have to get involved.  You have to organize and talk to your neighbors and pay attention.  Failing to do so now, you may wake up and find yourself in a country where 10% unemployment (and 50% for those under 25) is normal, 2% growth is the best we can do, and your federal masters vote themselves bigger and better benefits. 

It's happening.  Government pay is now higher than that of the private sector, and their pensions are guaranteed by state constitutions.  They're trying to shove through a trillion dollar stimulus bill they don't even bother to read.  Unemployment is not at the bottom, and we're in for rough times.  The question is whether you will sit there and let them lie to you over and over.  What are you going to do to stop them?  

Organize. Educate.  Get involved.  Your country needs you.  

Join Twitter #tcot.   Follow me @24thstate, and say hello

Start a blog, free on wordpress.org and blogger.com and, send me your links. 

Go to a conservative meetup and talk about your values. 

Stand up to liberal indoctrination in public and in your lives (schools, work, friends, family). 

There are more like you.  Find your voice, and take control over your lives. You are a free people.  Prove to Washington that you can take care of yourself, and don't need Barney Frank and Nancy Pelosi, and yes, even Barack Obama to take care of you. 

Congratulations, Mr. President

Barack Obama is the new president of the United States.  It was fun watching parts of the inaugural.  There's something contagious about optimism, and it my sincerest hope that Obama voters who worked so hard for his election now turn their attentions to their local and state issues.

That starts with their jobs, their families, their communities, and themselves. While it is true that the American President is the most powerful person on Earth, President Obama's ability to change America is miniscule.  Presidents are figureheads, and get credit and blame for much that goes on while they are in charge, but real change comes from 300 million hearts and minds waking up each day and deciding what path their life will take.

Remember that your influence on your life is greater than anything the President can do.  And if you count on Obama to make things "right," then you're going to be disappointed.  We don't have kings and emperors in this country, at least not yet.  Don't give a politician, no matter how much you like him or her, too much credit.  That credit, and the blame, goes to you, my fellow citizens.

One last thing.  The opitimism of Democrats in the last few months has been enjoyable.  It's nice to have Americans looking to the future with hope, rooting for us, rather than against us.  It is my fervent wish that Democrats, who spent their years in the wilderness behaving like spoiled children, learn something fro, the dignity and decor they see from Republicans in this transfer of power.  There were no riots, no marches, no hurled objects or obscenities.

If you consider yourself a patriot and a proud American, you'll keep your composure, even in January, 2012, when Sarah Palin takes the oath of office.