Follow Up: To all interested West Virginia Republican women

On Thursday, June 25, 2009, the Republican National Committee will kick off its Women’s Program with the first annual Women’s Summit. It will be held at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington, DC from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. The mission of the RNC Women’s Program is to recruit, register, train and sustain a strong base of women activists and candidates to build the Republican Party, portray the GOP as the automatic choice for female voters and win elections. In order to do this, we need your help.

The State Party has been asked to select five to eight women from West Virginia to attend the Summit. These women should be strong leaders within our state party, volunteers that continue to shine throughout each election cycle, or new supporters who are interested in expanding their role within the Party. The goal is for the attendees of the Summit to serve as the new leadership of the RNC Women’s Program as Regional Chairwomen, State Chairwomen and Team Leaders. They will be counted on to implement the goals of the Women’s Program within their states and territories and to be the face of the Program across the country.

Although the Summit is free of charge, travel, lodging and incidentals will be the responsibility of the individual attendees; however, lunch and snacks will be provided on June 25. Additionally, rooms will be held at a discounted rate of $209.00/night for single occupancy and $234.00/night for double occupancy at the Capitol Hill Suites, 200 C Street SE, Washington, DC.

Please respond by email ( mriggall@wvgop.org ) if you are interested, along with a few lines about why you would like to be selected to participate in this project. Thank you as always for your hard work on behalf of the Republican Party.

Doug McKinney

Chairman

Darfur: One Big Reason Why the United States Should Stop Shedding Its Leadership Role

One of my favorite movie lines, as I have mentioned before, comes from Zulu, a film from the 1960s about 19th century British soldiers grimly facing down thousands of Zulu warriors. There were a little over a hundred British and the Zulus had a couple thousand rifles.

Before one assault on the small fortification, a frightened soldier asks his sergeant why they are fighting. The Sergent, in classic British Victorian fashion, answers "Because we are here, and no one else."

That describes perfectly the United States' role in the world up until 2009. We stand for freedom, we back democracy, we support capitalism. Why? Because no one else cares. We do it not for popularity but for principle. We know gratitude is fleeting, but we understand that the world is safer when it is free. At least we knew and understood those things until January of this year.

Darfur is an international outrage. Slavery and massacres of Christian blacks by Muslims continues unabated. I am not suggesting that we go into the region by ourselves like an Old West sheriff and clean up the town. Some situations call for the John Wayne treatment, this does not. What we need is to round up our posse. Get some old friends like the Poles, British, etc. and some new ones like Kenya and South Africa. Take on a leadership and organization role, but provide direct support mostly in logistics.

Fact is, though, our credibility gets shakier all the time. Who can trust our commitment to democracy when the president acts like Gordon Brown is the black sheep cousin while Hugo Chavez is the coolest guy on earth?

Darfur needs attention and our diplomatic ship needs righted. Too bad neither outcome looks feasible for at least, say, four years.

Sirius Radio Host Andrew Wilkow in Morgantown

I would say if you missed Andrew Wilkow in Morgantown, then you missed on of the great Republican dinners held this year in West Virginia, but you can watch it below. Andrew reminded us all of what it means to be a conservative. It was a great show and I would like to thank him for coming down. You can hear him weekdays on Sirius 144 between 12 and 3pm.

Ahem, Waiter, This Is Not What I Ordered

Imagine going to a restaurant one day. You eat there often and like the steak. Every time you go there you order steak and today is no exception. However, instead of a robust, tasty, juicy, tender steak, the waiter calls an audible and brings the tofu and vegetarian platter. He explains that the chef decided that he does not care for steak anymore and this has less fat. You have no choice, the dinner is completely unpalatable to you, but you are forced to eat it anyway. How disgusting!

This is precisely what Arlen Spectre did to a very large number of people. He presented himself as a Republican, part of the majority, called upon and received the support of President Bush to get reelected, and has now switched to the Democratic Party.

Had he done this in 2002 or so, Spectre could present this as a matter of conscience. At this point it looks like nothing more than sheer opportunism. Believe me, he will end up in a position of power in the Senate eventually, after the passage of an appropriate amount of time.

In his last go round, he faced a very difficult primary opponent. Perhaps he fears the infamy of losing a primary as an incumbent. In any case, he now faces the strong possibility of losing in the general. The formidible party network that got him elected will now be used against him.

Changing parties in midterm is fundamentally dishonest. Spectre has to live with his newly won reputation as a turncoat. Best of luck with that.

Gingrich to Waxman: Dont Punish Americans with Energy Taxes

To all interested West Virginia Republican women

Jan Larimer, Co-Chairman of the RNC, is building support for the annual Women’s Summit. If anyone is interested in being one of the five to eight women from West Virginia to participate, please let us know by May 29^th.

The RNC has spent the better portion of this week focused on the roll out of its women’s program. Please mark June 25, 2009 on your calendar. This is the date for the first annual Women’s Summit which will kick off the RNC’s women’s program. The goal of the program is to recruit, register, train and sustain a strong base of women activists and candidates to build the Republican Party, portray the GOP as the automatic choice for female voters and WIN elections.

You will receive a detailed letter next week from Co-Chair Larimer outlining the mission and goals of this program but more importantly asking for your help. We are being asked to nominate 5-8 women from our state to attend the women’s summit. The goal is for the attendees at the summit to ultimately serve in a hands-on leadership role for the program.

Again, please let us know by May 29^th if you are interested in participating in this program, and thank you!

Doug McKinney

Chairman

Socialism Made No Sense to Aristotle Either

This excerpt is from Aristotle's work The Politics written about 340 B.C. It describes that a system is much more fair when everyone pursues his self-interest. Aristotle also makes the correct point that a system without private property tends to have a dampening effect on benevolence and charity.

Should the citizens of the perfect state have their possessions in common or not? Three cases are possible: (1) the soil may be appropriated, but the produce may be thrown for consumption into the common stock; this is the practice of some nations. Or (2), the soil may be common, and may be cultivated in common, but the produce divided among individuals for their private use; this is a form of common property which is said to exist among certain barbarians. Or the soil and the produce may be alike common. When the farmers are not the owners, the case will be different and easier to deal with; but when they till the ground for themselves the question of ownership will give a world of trouble. If they do not share equally enjoyments and toils, those who labor much and get little will necessarily complain of those who labor little and receive or consume much. These are only some of the disadvantages which attend the community of property; the present arrangement, if improved as it might be by good customs and laws, would be far better.

Property should be in a certain sense common, but, as a general rule, private; for, when everyone has a distinct interest, men will not complain of one another, and they will make more progress, because every one will be attending to his own business. And yet by reason of goodness, and in respect of use, 'Friends,' as the proverb says, "will have all things common." Even now there are traces. For, although every man has his own property, some things he will place at the disposal of his friends, while of others he shares the use with them. Again, how immeasurably greater is the pleasure, when a man feels a thing to be his own; for surely the love of self is a feeling implanted by nature and not given in vain, although selfishness is rightly censured. No one, when men have all things in common, will any longer set an example of liberality or do any liberal action; for liberality consists in the use which is made of property. Such legislation may have a specious appearance of benevolence; men readily listen to it, and are easily induced to believe that in some wonderful manner everybody will become everybody's friend, especially when some one is heard denouncing the evils now existing in states, suits about contracts, convictions for perjury, flatteries of rich men and the like, which are said to arise out of the possession of private property. These evils, however, are due to a very different cause---the wickedness of human nature.

Thomas Jefferson, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy Are "So Yesterday" According to Hillary Clinton

Thomas Jefferson: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights . . ."

Woodrow Wilson: "I have called the Congress into extraordinary session because there are serious, very serious, choices of policy to be made, and made immediately . . . Our motive will not be revenge or the victorious assertion of the physical might of the nation, but only the vindication of right, of human right, of which we are only a single champion. . . . To such a task we can dedicate our lives and our fortunes, everything that we are and everything that we have, with the pride of those who know that the day has come when America is privileged to spend her blood and her might for the principles that gave her birth and happiness and the peace which she has treasured. God helping her, she can do no other.

Franklin D. Roosevelt: "Our national determination to keep free of foreign wars and foreign entanglements cannot prevent us from feeling deep concern when ideals and principles that we have cherished are challenged."

John F, Kennedy: "Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty. This much we pledge—and more."

Hillary Clinton: "Ideology is so yesterday."

Great. The ideology of Marx, the principles of a vacuum, the foreign policy of Richard Nixon, and the speech patterns of a valley girl. Ladies and gentlemen, this is your secretary of state.

Congratulations.

US annouces it has no plans to invade Canada

US announces it has no plans to invade Canada and we probably haven't even thought about it since the War of 1812. I'm pretty sure will not have any plans to invade Canada anytime soon. That headline makes you think, it makes you wonder what atrocity Canada committed, but if you don't read this story you will wonder that. You may even panic if you live on the border, but that story title is 100% accurate. We have no plans to invade Canada.

The White House Cabinet will be releasing Swine Flu information that basically says everything is normal, but the titles will indicate otherwise. Rahm Emanuel has said you never want to let a crisis go to waste and this will be no exception.

With the administration under heavy attack from the average American about out of control spending, ever increasing taxes, bailing out banks and businesses while many Americans are loosing their jobs and homes the administration is wanting to divert attention from their unpopular policies. The Swine Flu outbreak just gave Rahm Emanuel a crisis to use to the administrations advantage.

Now the flu is not to be taken lightly as it is a leading cause of death in the US every year, but we should not panic. The worst flu pandemic on record is the Spanish Flu break out of 1918-19 where and estimated 28% of the US population caught the flu and of those about 500,000 died. To put that in perspective about 200,000 people each year are hospitalized with the seasonal flu and of those about 36,000 die according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) . Today we have the best health care system in the world and many treatments are available now that would have saved most of those in the 1918-19 outbreak.

In 1976 an outbreak of the Swine Flu created a panic in the US. The government launched a massive immunization campaign in which 24% of the US population was vaccinated. At the time about 25 deaths from Guillain-Barre syndrome were brought on by the vaccination program and the program was stopped. No pandemic ever materialized and the panic subsided.

If you have symptoms of the flu, head to the doctor immediately and get checked out in the best health care system in the world. Don't take any chances, but don't panic either because the odds are stacked very heavily in your favor.

You're going to see lots of flu reports in the news coming up and you can be assured that many of them are going to be politically driven from the White House trying to draw attention away from the economic problems the administration is prolonging. Rahm Emanuel is not going to let this crisis go to waste and they are going to fan the flames to make it grow. Look at the already increasing volume of non-stories. "US says not testing travelers from Mexico for flu," OK, that is just normal. Have you ever received a flu test when you got off a plane? No. You're finding most of the headlines are panicky, but the stories are stories saying we are not doing anything differently. It is business as normal.

Keep in mind, the CDC monitors these outbreaks all the time and has plans already in place. Much of the information I quoted in this blog comes from CDC reports and plans.

West Virginia wake up, Cap and Trade will kill our state

The Return of the 19th Century Media

In the 19th Century the Newspaper was your only source of news. Many towns had more than one, with names like the Barbour County Democrat, The Oakland Republican, etc. These names were not picked haphazardly, they reflected the views of the newspaper. You bought your newspaper based on its political views. That was how the media ran in the 19th Century.

Through the 20th Century that open bias went underground and was thinly veiled claim of journalistic impartiality. Although if you looked close enough you could often find the bias poking its head through. The problem was the vast majority of the press shifted to the left.

Now at the beginning of the 21st Century it has come full circle and the 19th Century media has returned with a vengeance. MSNBC could very easily change its name to DNBC (Democrat National Broadcasting Corp), or CNN changes it to DNN (Democratic News Network) because that reflects the view point they provide. They complain constantly that Fox News is Republican Network. Well, they would be right. They are providing a different point of view and reaping the financial rewards.

Our nations political views are primarily center right. With the majority of the media hard left, they do not reflect the view point most Americans want to hear. If some one wants to challenge Fox News media dominance, then the way to do that is create a second right leaning network.

In the 21st Century if you're Right, the you watch Fox News, read the internet and listen to talk radio. If you're left then you watch Broadcast news, CNN or MSNBC and read major city newspapers. Now if we could only return a 19th Century sized Federal Government.

School Calendar Debate

To me the school calendar debate is somewhat overblown. Many have established an arbitrary number of 180 days as the gold standard. The weather and any other issues be darned, if students do not have the opportunity to endure 180 days of school, they have been somehow undeserved.

While debate has raged over the quantity of days spent in school, little discussion centers around the quality. Over consolidation and overcrowded classrooms affect the educational experience far more adversely than whether or not a school system has operated 180 days.

Let's be honest. Many days on the school calendar see both teachers and students less than motivated by the learning experience. Thirteen years of personal attendance, four years as a substitute, and sixteen combined years spent by my children in school tells me that any days spent during Thanksgiving week, any days during a week shortened by Christmas, and every day in June is nearly pointless. These are opportunities to show The Princess Bride or the movie about the Red Rider BB gun shooting a kid's eye out again.

It's not that I am complaining about these diversions for school kids, but we are fooling ourselves if we think that each one of those 180 days will be chock full of instructional time. And should they be? College students pack the same amount of learning into many fewer days.

It's time to debate the sizes of schools and classrooms, not the number of days. Shrink the size of schools and classes overall and you will achieve better results in 150 days of class time than you are now.

So the Terrorists Won After All

Just after 9/11, it was bandied about that if we allowed substantial changes to our national character as a result of crisis, it meant the terrorists were winning. Who ever would have thought we'd see the following:

The government is no longer our obedient servant. Now General Motors is the government's obedient servant.

Those who interpreted the law so that we could compete on the front lines of terrorism now possibly face worse treatment than all but one of the Confederate States of America military and political officials who actually took arms against the United States. They do not get a thank you for preventing additional attacks, they get threatened with prosecution.

Law abiding gun owners are told that the freedoms they believe in somehow give Mexican drug lords 90% of their guns. I am not sure how they got all those Russian, Chinese, and Czech arms from American dealers.

We'd rather form government labor battalions than reduce taxes so that employers can hire more people.

The British head of government and head of state are treated with crass disrespect while anti-American dictators get the "best buddy" treatment.

We regard captured terrorists as civilians and returning solider-heroes as terrorists.

Republicans are, for the most part, also mostly terrorists for standing behind our Founding ideals.

This is a government that plays hardball with corporations, but swoons with affection towards the brutal Hugo Chavez. The world is turned upside down. A few years ago we were prosperous and strong, now we mollycoddle enemies and trample the free market.

Two years cannot go past soon enough. We need to get our America back.

Interesting Comments on Obama by Alan Keyes

Either Naivete, Stupidity, Or A Serious Lack of Concern

In 1959 a newspaper photo was sent over the wires that reaffirmed in the strongest possible way the support of the United States of America for democracy as well as its opposition to oppression and tyranny. Vice President Richard Nixon responded to a debate challenge by Nikita Kruschev with characteristic aggressiveness. The pugnacious Nixon stands with index finger extended into the chest of a suddenly bemused Soviet premier.

Other presidents, such as Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, were credited for boosting the spirits of those fighting tyranny in their own countries. Reagan's challenges reverberated secretly through the gulags while Tibetan freedom protesters in recent years cited American support as a strong source of motivation. You never forgot our position on dictatorship and democracy during these presidencies.

That is what makes Obama's familiarity with Chavez so chilling and foolish at the same time. He plays the picture of a handshake and the two men obviously enjoying each other's company as meaningless. Remember, this is the same person who (along with his wife) could not help but demonstrate contempt over and over for our real allies.

Obama in foreign affairs conducts himself like the stereotypical witless TV dad who has no real connection with the world around him, simply wants to get along with everyone, and try to look "cool" doing it.

Maybe he should stay home and let the adults handle "big boy" issues like America's daily shrinking credibility. Then again, he would just be tempted to foul up the banks and General Motors some more. Or maybe pass another tax on employers.

Does anyone else remember the days when the President of the United States was called "leader of the free world?"

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Count me as someone unconcerned that one of the 9/11 plotters was waterboarded over 180 times. Seems to me it was about 2,000 times too few. I have zero sympathy for this gentleman. The idea that terrorists will treat American or allied prisoners more harshly as a result is ludicrous. They beheaded Daniel Pearl. At least some of the victims of execution were not given clean cuts either. Does it get much more brutal than that? We need to remember who we are dealing with.

Every report on the number of waterboardings done to these people ought to be prefaced by a shot of the towers being hit and coming down.

Economic Recovery Funds in the Potomac Highlands

Grant County

Emergency Food and Shelter Program

Agency: Other Category: Public Safety Amount: $3,179.00

IDEA Part B Preschool Allocation

Description: Special Education Agency: Department of Education

Category: Education Amount: $25,392.00

Title I Grants

Agency: Department of Education

Category: Education Amount: $306,498.00

IDEA Part B School Age Allocation

Agency: Department of Education

Category: Education Amount: $532,005.00

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Hardy County

Emergency Food and Shelter Program

Agency: Other

Category: Public Safety Amount: $3,680.00

IDEA Part B Preschool Allocation

Description: Special Education Agency: Department of Education

Category: Education Amount: $30,096.00

Title I Grants

Agency: Department of Education

Category: Education Amount: $258,284.00

IDEA Part B School Age Allocation

Agency: Department of Education

Category: Education Amount: $630,587.00

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Hampshire County

Romney Street

Description: RESURFACING Agency: Department of Transportation

Category: Transportation Amount: $4,000,000.00

Emergency Food and Shelter Program

Agency: Other

Category: Public Safety Amount: $4,785.00

IDEA Part B Preschool Allocation

Description: Special Education Agency: Department of Education

Category: Education Amount: $48,628.00

IDEA Part B Preschool Allocation

Description: Special Education Agency: Department of Education

Category: Education Amount: $2,250.00

Title I Grants

Agency: Department of Education

Category: Education Amount: $639,553.00

IDEA Part B School Age Allocation

Agency: Department of Education

Category: Education Amount: $1,018,796.00

IDEA Part B School Age Allocation

Agency: Department of Education

Category: Education Amount: $47,118.00

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Mineral County

Mineral St

Description: RESURFACING Agency: Department of Transportation

Category: Transportation Amount: $1,131,000.00

Emergency Food and Shelter Program

Agency: Other

Category: Public Safety Amount: $6,953.00

IDEA Part B Preschool Allocation

Description: Special Education Agency: Department of Education

Category: Education Amount: $57,561.00

Title I Grants

Agency: Department of Education

Category: Education Amount: $729,237.00

IDEA Part B School Age Allocation

Agency:Department of Education

Category: Education Amount: $1,206,063.00

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Pendleton County

Judy Gap Bridge

Description: BRIDGE LMC Agency: Department of Transportation

Category: Transportation Amount: $462,000.00

4-U Bridge

Description: BRIDGE C&P Agency: Department of Transportation

Category: Transportation Amount: $232,000.00

Deer Run Park

Description: BRIDGE REPLACE Agency: Department of Transportation

Category: Transportation Amount: $575,000.00

Rough Run

Description: BRIDGE REPLACE Agency: Department of Transportation

Category: Transportation Amount: $875,000.00

Smith Creek to Franklin Rd

Description: SLIDES Agency: Department of Transportation

Category: Transportation Amount: $1,000,000.00

IDEA Part B Preschool Allocation

Description: Special Education Agency: Department of Education

Category: Education Amount: $14,206.00

Title I Grants

Agency: Department of Education

Category: Education Amount: $119,618.00

IDEA Part B School Age Allocation

Agency: Department of Education

Category: Education Amount: $297,636.00

State Sponsored Sexual Assault Up For Debate in the Supreme Court

Imagine a teenage girl forced into a small room. There she is ordered to undress by force. Adults leer at her nude body, examining it closely. Then she is told to dress and go on her way.

This was not a kidnapping, this actually happened at a school! In America!

In Safford, Arizona several years ago Savana Redding, described as a "shy and nerdy" eighth grade honor student, was forced to undress by a vice principal. Did they suspect she was armed, about to kill a fellow student? No. Was she about to offer heroin to a classmate? No.

They suspected that she had contraband ibuprofen in her underwear. No, check that. Extra strength ibuprofen. Worse than anything else, the students knew what had happened to her. When her mother April protested, she was told that her daughter was lucky that nothing was found.

She was scarred for years, humiliated by the event. Redding feared going to the school. Who could blame her? An institution of the state basically raped her and neither she nor her parents could ever hope for justice against the perpetrator.

Fortunately, in one of the few good rulings you will ever see from here, the 9th Circuit stood up for Redding's civil liberties. If a strip search is not a violation of the right to be secure in your person, what isn't. Also in this day and time when improper contact between teachers and students is reported from somewhere almost daily, who wants to trust these people with this kind of power?

Were I in Arizona, I would tell my children to refuse any orders to remove clothing unless they could produce a warrant signed by a judge, as is required by the Constitution. If I found out that they had been strip searched, I would be the next one in jail. These are not prisoners, these are children. They do not leave every constitutional right at the door when they enter school. If the Supreme Court rules that they do, it is time to abandon the public school system in states that allow such monstrous practices.

No wonder civics is not taught anymore in many areas. Why would administrators such as the vice principal in Safford want these children to understand the Bill of Rights? It is so much easier to terrify them into submission, over ibuprofen.

Miss California

Miss California was asked a question about Gay Marriage. She gave her honest answer, which is what we should expect from anybody. As a result of her traditional values, many believe it cost her the title of Miss USA.

It turns out that she was set up by a gay activist, Perez Hilton, that asked the question. A handful a cheers could be heard from the crowd when the question was ask, but the real strong response came when she said, she believed marriage is between a man and a woman. Now we are a free people and we are free to believe as we wish. Votes have been taken in several states and the people are speaking.

This question never should have been asked in the venue and her answer should not have had an effect on the outcome of the pageant. Our First Amendment rights are designed to allow us to voice our opinion without retribution, but in our society of political correctness this is almost a thing of the past. We should not be afraid to voice our opinion. Mr. Hilton is wrong in his actions and should not be allowed to judge another Miss USA pageant.

WVGOP Think Tank coming to the Potomac Highlands

All Republicans from Grant, Hampshire, Hardy, Mineral & Pendleton Counties are invited to the Potomac Highlands Regional Meeting of the WVGOP Think Tank

It will be held:

April 22nd, 2009 @ 7:00 PM
Grand Central Business Center
3 Floor Meeting Room
1 E Piedmont St
Keyser, WV 26726

Light refreshments will be served. Please RSVP by calling (304) 788-6554 or (304) 788-2513

Please invite your County Executive Committee's and any active interested Republicans you think might wish to attend.

The WVGOP Think Tank http://www.wvgopthinktank.org is the official think tank of the West Virginia Republican Party, and is visiting the Potomac Highlands to get your input. The WVGOP Think Tank is dedicated to gathering and sharing the ideas and visions of Republicans across the state as we work to develop a plan for victory in 2010 and beyond.

It is dedicated to including the thoughts and ideas of all Republicans who wish to attend the meeting. Our energies will be devoted to working with all Republicans, and increasing Republican influence in government.

Republicans can, and will, legitimately disagree. The goal of finding common ground in battling our opposition and winning the hearts and minds of West Virginians.

Janeane Garofalo needs to make up her mind