While Obama Is Obsessed With Jews Building Houses in Israel, Iran Is Ready to Build a Bomb

The CIA, according to the Washington Times, has concluded that Iran is now fully capable of building a nuclear device.

It expanded uranium production last year and had to fight through numerous problems with faulty centrifuges, but is now ready to construct a weapon.

What does this mean for moderate Moslem states now confronted with Islamic revolutionaries armed with even more weapons of mass destruction? What does it mean for Iraq's fledgling democracy? What does it mean for US and other western nations' influence? Only time will tell.

Iran joining the nuclear club is one of the worst setbacks for Western Middle East policy in decades, perhaps since the fall of the Shah. It does prove that apologies and attempts at understanding resonate little with regimes such as Iran.

Israel now has serious problems. Obama is a disaster to them. He is liked by less than 10% of their country and seems prepared to bargain away their control of East Jerusalem to appease terrorists. However, only they have the will to act against Iran at this point.

Iran is not a rationalist state, but it has a will to power and nuclear capability. They also have weapons that can reach Western Europe. NATO should be prepared to act, but may have to wait until a post Obama America is ready to step up to the challenge.

West Virginia Bankers’ Association PAC Endorses Gary G Howell

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Gary Howell
(304) 788-6554 or (301) 707-3069
gghowell1@verizon.net

West Virginia Bankers’ Association PAC
Endorses Gary G Howell

CHARLESTON, WV - The West Virginians Bankers’ Association Political Action Committee (WVBankPAC) has extended their endorsement to Gary G Howell for the 2010 election to the West Virginia House of Delegates.

WVBankPAC is comprised of bankers from throughout West Virginia. The association conveyed, “We pride ourselves on supporting those candidates who take an expansive view of their role as potential legislators in matters of economic development and do our best to examine candidates from a variety of different perspectives.”

“I’m pleased to receive the endorsement of West Virginia’s Bankers,” said Howell, “a strong economy is key to creating jobs in the state and a robust banking system is a cornerstone to economic growth.”

Paid for by Citizens for Gary Howell

Rudyard Kipling's "Dane-geld"

It is always a temptation to an armed and agile nation
To call upon a neighbour and to say: --
"We invaded you last night--we are quite prepared to fight,
Unless you pay us cash to go away."
And that is called asking for Dane-geld,
And the people who ask it explain
That you've only to pay 'em the Dane-geld
And then you'll get rid of the Dane!
It is always a temptation for a rich and lazy nation,
To puff and look important and to say: --
"Though we know we should defeat you, we have not the time to meet you.
We will therefore pay you cash to go away."
And that is called paying the Dane-geld;
But we've proved it again and again,
That if once you have paid him the Dane-geld
You never get rid of the Dane.
It is wrong to put temptation in the path of any nation,
For fear they should succumb and go astray;
So when you are requested to pay up or be molested,
You will find it better policy to say: --
"We never pay any-one Dane-geld,
No matter how trifling the cost;
For the end of that game is oppression and shame,
And the nation that pays it is lost!"

Bully

One thing that makes zero sense in schools is a zero tolerance policy on anything. Zero tolerance drug rules force draconian suspensions and even arrests onto children who share cough drops, make a gun gesture with their hands, and other nonsense.

This week a young girl committed suicide. A male student raped her, then a gang of students harassed and persecuted her over the incident until she ended her own life. School authorities knew on some level that the bullying was taking place but did nothing to punish the children until the victim killed herself. The story is in the link below:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/29/9-charged-bullying-girl-who-killed-self/

Now students face prosecution under anti-bullying legislation.

Here is the problem. School officials have the responsibility to keep order within the school. In this circumstance they definitely failed to do their job. Of course overcrowded schools and classrooms do not help matters such as this. Teachers and administrators can obviously do their jobs better in smaller community based schools. However this was unconscionable. They failed this student miserably and ought to face suspensions and firing.

What of the students? Certainly the rapist needs to be sent to jail for a long time. What of the students who merely harassed her? Honestly, bad as it sounds, how can one be criminally prosecuted for what they say when the words carry no direct threat? Statements are subjective, subject to widely differing interpretations. Few people on this earth are as sensitive as middle schoolers to slights real and imagined. Bullying could also take the form of reporting an innocent for bullying and brining the weight of rules and laws down upon them. Perhaps some cases are clear, but others are not. Yes, suspend them and punish them via school rules. However prosecution for calling someone names, even relentlessly, opens up a free speech issue. Zero tolerance laws regarding non physical bullying require authorities to try and function as thought police.

Our schools around the country started to degenerate after mass consolidations starting a few decades ago. Consolidation did not help education progress, but regress. Large schools need to be divided into manageable student populations so we can restore sanity and education to the process.

Finally, parents need to step in. If they get any inkling of bullying on this level, they need to remove their children and homeschool them. Many schools will not protect them. If they will not do their job, someone else must step in. That someone else ultimately must be the parents.

House candidate Howell signs no-tax pledge

KEYSER — Gary Howell, Republican candidate for the 49th State House District, today announced he has signed the State Taxpayer Protection Pledge, promising to “oppose and vote against any and all efforts to increase taxes.” The pledge is promoted by Americans for Tax Reform, which was founded in 1985 by Grover Norquist at the request of President Reagan.

“Promising to oppose taxes is an easy call for me,” said Howell. “The people of West Virginia are already over-taxed and over-regulated. Burdensome taxation stifles growth and smothers entrepreneurship. By reducing and cutting taxes, our economy will grow and good jobs will come to the 49th District and the rest of the state.”

Howell knows about growing a small business. For more than 19 years, he has been the owner and operator of Howell Automotive in Keyser, a leading supplier of auto parts. In 2003, Gary was named “Exporter of the Year” by the U.S. Small Business Administration. He was honored by the West Virginia Motor Sports Council in 2005 for promoting West Virginia across the country. In 2007, 2008 & 2009, he was honored with the Governors Commendation for International Market Entry, recognizing his in exporting products.

A lifelong West Virginian, Howell received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Management from Frostburg State University's School of

Thanks AARP, No More Jazzies or Rascals

The AARP fought hard to get Obamacare passed. Now we are beginning to see many of the changes that they tried to hide until the bill passed.

One move sure to be unpopular is the elimination of the ability of the elderly to purchase motorized chairs such as Jazzies or Rascals on Medicare. One can still buy the much more expensive and difficult to maneuver rehabilitation chairs.

While Republicans tend to have problems with entitlement programs and spending in general, Medicare purchases of this kind of equipment tend to increase mobility, reduce dependence, and lessen the chance of injuries from those attempting to walk or use walkers.

It may or may not pass the fiscal responsibility test for some Republicans, but AARP is supposed to represent retired and elderly people. These people rely heavily on these devices for mobility. I seriously doubt that most members of that organization support this, or many other parts of Obamacareless.

**********************************************************************

Congratulations to West Virginia for making the Final Four. Bobby Huggins has brought a can do, no excuses attitude to Morgantown and has his team in contention for a national title. His basic mantra demands hard work and results and is a powerful example for anyone to follow. WVU has no sure fire stars, but refuses to be intimidated. The entire state is proud of their accomplishments

WVL PAC Endorses Gary G Howell

Morgantown, WV - The West Virginians for Life Political Action Committee (WVL PAC) is pleased to announce the endorsement of Gary G Howell for the 2010 Republican primary election to the West Virginia House of Delegates.

WVL PAC is the internal PAC for West Virginians for Life (WVFL), the state pro-life organization. WVFL is affiliated with the National Right to Life Committee and through both education and legislation is working to build a society where all human life is respected, from conception until natural death.

“We commend Gary G Howell for expressing commitment to the lives of the weak and vulnerable, especially the unborn, the elderly and those with disabilities,: said Karen Cross, President of West Virginians for life.

Property, the Law, Liberty, and the State

Some people are confused about the relationship between property, the law, liberty, and the role of government.

Most do not understand that first and foremost, liberty belongs to each individual. They own certain basic rights to life and liberty even before they emerge from the womb. Governments cannot take away rights, only infringe upon them.

One of our basic rights as human beings is that of pursuing property. We have no right to property in the socialist sense of having property doled out to us. However, we can pursue it and once obtained, we can keep it. This right is also independent of government. We do not need government's permission to obtain or own it. Laws and legislatures do not exist to create rights or property because these concepts exist whether or not you have a government.

The purpose of government is to defend rights and property, not to interfere in the system to impose its idea of justice. Justice comes when each are free to pursue opportunities. Justice is not created when outcomes end up equal regardless of merit, work, or even luck. Gaps between richer and poorer occur because of different levels of productivity and they are natural. Left alone, those who have less will work to their own personal level of satisfaction. Some are satisfied with a small home, satellite TV, and a pickup truck and will only invest enough labor to achieve that level of material reward. Others have higher ambitions. If their judgment and level of work investment reflect those, they will obtain a higher material reward. That is justice.

Law and government becomes perverted when the state moves outside its necessary guidelines. Actions in the economic sphere by the government only reflect political morality, not recognition of rights. Implementation of a government ideal of justice and morality only causes dissent, disharmony, and disobedience. It is not cooperation, it is not compassion, it is coerced conformity.

These ideas were written almost a hundred and fifty years ago by the French economist Claude Frederic Bastiat. They are more relevant now than ever.

Disgraceful

This week, Barack Obama showed tremendous disrespect to two of our country's most faithful allies in the post World War II era.

First was Great Britain. Argentina once again wants to push a claim for the Falkland Islands. They got their hand slapped last time they tried to seize them. The Iron Lady Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher fought hard to regain them. British military power drove off Argentine forces. Now Argentina is pushing once again for the islands. Despite the fact that only British people live there, Obama sided with the Argentinians. This came a year after a calculated social snub of that country's Prime Minister.

Now Obama's behavior insulted the Prime Minister of Israel. Benjamin Netanyahu came to the White House for high level discussions. It is customary for the world leaders to eat together, then appear as the visiting leader leaves. Obama simply left Netanyahu alone to eat privately and informed him he could find his own way out.

This behavior is outrageous and unprecedented. Even enemies under previous administrations received better treatment than Obama has shown friends.

Obama is no president. He is simply a third world type thug temporarily occupying the presidency.

Devin Ebanks' Dilemma

Here's a nice dilemma. You have worked hard for fifteen years to become one of the best at what you do. You go to West Virginia University to play for one of the greatest college basketball coaches in history. It's not an easy ride, certainly Bobby Huggins expects the best from his players, no demands the best. You come to the end of your second season and you almost have college basketball figured out. Another season at WVU would polish your skills and miximize your chances of going high in the NBA draft.

But there are lots of reasons to try and go this year before you are fully ready. You might get hurt. Rookie salary rules might change. But here's the biggest issue. Taxes are about to go through the roof on every level because of what Obama and Congress have just done.

You think your hundred million dollar contract pays you that much? Think again. With socialism in place, the idea is to soak the rich. That might soon include Mr. Ebanks. All that money these guys spend on expensive cars, homes, custom clothes, for the most part goes to American workers and businessmen who help these guys craft the image they want. It looks like waste and it is not always smart spending, but it does put Americans to work.

Mr. Ebanks, like most folks, probably wants to make as much money as possible from all the hard work he has put in. And it is hard work to be the best basketball player possible. Weight lifting, endless practicing on all facets of the game, this takes more time and effort than most put into their jobs. Basketball at this level is less a kid's game and more of an entertainment job. Ebanks deserves his money just like anyone else.

Will Ebanks jump to the pros this year? He is still a raw talent, maybe too raw to be drafted high. However if he is drafted, he can at least make some big bucks before the big time taxes kick in.

How high can those taxes go? Ronald Reagan in the late 1930s paid 94% of his income in taxes. Professional athletes can probably expect the same unless we remove Obama and Pelosi from power.

On Revolutions . . .

Karl Marx always predicted that a Communist revolution would commence when corporations on their own combined and formed monopolies. This would expel businessmen and professionals from the ranks of the middle class and wealthy into those of the poor. Angry and frustrated, they would join with the poor to supposedly launch a revolution that would establish a Communist dictatorship.

We may soon see wealthy and middle class individuals thrust from comfort into the ranks of the poor, but it could be Obama's Marx and Mussolini inspired reforms that do it.

Obamacare will require a rise in all our taxes. The requirement that health care be purchased is in itself a sort of tax, as Matt Lauer actually pointed out. It was President Ronald Reagan, that evil and uncompassionate Republican, who removed the working poor from the federal tax rolls. Barack Obama just put them right back on them.

State taxes will fly through the roof because Obamacare requires that the states pick up much of the cost. Many states, including West Virginia, have a balanced budget requirement, something Congress cannot even conceive of. West Virginia and many other states will see their economies collapse as a result.

As taxation forces unemployment to rise and reduces the size of incomes, people will try to cope by joining the under the table black market workforce. This will include professionals who have debt and tuitions to pay.

Desperation could set in and create the conditions necessary for a revolution unless relief is granted by the United States Supreme Court, the states, or a Republican Congress elected next November.

It would be different if this came about with popular support. It only happened because of bribes from Obama and arm twisting by Nancy Pelosi. The country is divided as most have not seen since wither the 1960s or the 1860s. States are passing anti-federal legislation not seen since the 1830s. If they have teeth, there could be a constitutional crisis coming soon. If the economy continues to slump, if taxation grows to an unbearable point, the people and state governemnts will push back and push hard.

I'm not saying this will happen. I'm definitely not saying I want it to happen. I'd rather just see a GOP Congress come in next year and end this horrible nightmare. But the anger is real. Once people see the rewards of their labor and investments siphoned away and given to someone else, a political payment will come due. You can only push people so far.

Make Them Accountable!

Time to get out and start a revolution. Keep the pressure on. Encourage state attorneys general and legislators to work to undermine and nullify every part of this illegal legislation. Most important, support candidates for Congress who promise to repeal this violation of our Constitution and our natural rights. Democratic congressmen that switched their votes and suddenly got huge appropriations for their districts after they switched their votes to yes did not even have the decency or intelligence to put off announcing the payoffs made to them.

Yes, your taxpayer dollars now fund baby killing.

And keep your eyes open. Pelosi promised to railroad more changes through in this manner.

Our motto must now be to hold them to account. Every single congressman who voted against liberty and the Founding Fathers.

Capito Expresses Disappointment with End Product of Health Care Debate

WASHINGTON—Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., today expressed deep disappointment over the passage of the government take-over of health care in the House of Representatives, saying:

“Tonight was a missed opportunity for Congress to heed the wishes of the American people and produce a bipartisan solution to the health care challenges faced by this nation. We know that Americans want health care reform, but this bill is not what they’re asking for.

“For the last year, I have promoted common sense reforms like enacting meaningful medical liability reform, allowing Americans to buy insurance across state lines and promoting wellness and prevention. These simple solutions could have brought down skyrocketing costs and expanded access to health care for more Americans.

“Instead, Congress has once again favored backroom deals over transparency, espoused big government over small businesses and chosen tax hikes over spending cuts. These decisions only further cement the American people’s sentiments that Congress is tone deaf and disconnected from the challenges faced by everyday Americans.

“Rather than pushing this legislation through Congress in spite of the American people’s wishes, the Congress should have gone back to the drawing board. A person’s health is not a partisan issue and the solutions for health care reform should include ideas from both sides of the aisle. The people of West Virginia deserve better.”

Congresswoman Capito on the Health Care Bill

Letter From Tennessee Governor to Senator Bob Corker and Representative Bart Gordon

States need to lead a standard of legislative rebellion against a rapacious Congress. Nullify anything that violates the Constitution. As published in Washington Times:

Bob and Bart, the problem we are facing is simple: by 2013,we expect to have returned to our 2008 levels of revenue and will have already cut our programs dramatically – over a billion dollars. At that point, we have to start digging out — we will have not given raises to state employees or teachers for five years, our pension fund will need shoring up, our cash reserves (“rainy day fund”) will have been considerably depleted and in need of restoration, and we will have not made any substantial new investments for years. There will have been major cuts to areas such as Childrens Services that we really need to restore. On top of these, there are all the usual obligations to be met — Medicaid, for example, will continue to grow in excess of the economy and our tax revenues. It’s going to take at least a full decade to dig our way out and back to where we were prior to this recession.
In this environment, for Congress to also send along a mandatory bill for three-quarters of a billion dollars for the health reform they’ve designed is very difficult. These are hard dollars – we can’t borrow them – and make the management of our finances post-recession even more daunting than it already is. …
I very much want to support the President, and Lord knows we have plenty of people in Tennessee who need help with health insurance. But this is an extraordinary time for us (and we are better off than many states) and I will appreciate any way in which you can help us manage through this.

Rally in Washington DC on Saturday With Jon Voigt and Michele Bachman

Conservatives and Libertarians once again have decided to abandon their weekend plans for a trek to Washington DC this Saturday. Several congressmen and women have scheduled a last minute rally to demonstrate to Congress how upset Americans are over their latest insanity. Yesterday the House of Representatives voted to create a rule that allows that institution to pass a bill without actually having to vote upon it. This somehow keeps individual House members from having to claim a vote on the toxic health bill and prevents recourse to the highly unpopular reconciliation technique in the Senate.

Here's the question. If this bill makes you so afraid of your constituents that you create a rule to keep you from having to vote on it, then maybe the bill is bad. Every congressmen and woman should be able to defend every vote they make with pride. If they cannot do that, they need to either vote differently or get out of the way and allow a different face to take their place.

In the past few years I have seen Republicans go from "we don't protest" to organizing carpools. I have seen state governments actively pass legislation to nullify acts of Congress, something that I do not believe has been directly done since the 1830s. I have seen our country return to the days when one group looks at the other and cannot believe that we are countrymen. For all this I blame the Left. They want to impose something upon us that is burdensome and destructive to our economy and our future. They want to create a plan that destroys wealth. Why? They want power. They want to steal the wealth of this country from people who earned it. Look at how their plans have worked so far? Unemployment well beyond their predictions and no end in sight.

Why are Democrats trying to commit political suicide while taking the rest of us with them?

Below is the statement from Jon Voigt:

by Jon Voight
I am calling to all of you freedom-loving Americans to come once again to Washington D.C. to gather at upper Senate Park, across from the Capitol on Saturday, at 12 o’clock noon.
We must come by the thousands.
Speaker Pelosi will stop at nothing to fulfill her corrupt conquests. She will bring all of the corrupt ACORN liars to try to bully all the Democrats that may be having pangs of guilt knowing quite surely what their votes can and will do. If they’re bullied into saying “yes,” it will destroy America.
Join me and Rep. Michele Bachmann in Washington DC at 12 noon EST so we can give all the Democrats who know what the end result will be the courage to say: “No, do not pass this destructive bill.”
I’ll see you there.

Manchin's Mission on Education

Governor Joe Manchin has decided to launch a full scale assault against the status quo in the West Virginia school system. West Virginia ranks 16th in the nation in spending per pupil, $1,000 more than the national average. It also ranks high in other spending indicators as well.

Okay we get it. West Virginia spends a lot of money. We and Governor Manchin ask, where are the results?

We could blame the teachers, but we will not. We could blame the parents, but that makes less sense. The fact is that, and I am speaking as a person who was an education major as an undergraduate, spent a few years as a substitute teacher, and has seen two children grow up in West Virginia schools, the entire system is, as the military men call it, FUBAR. You can ask a vet to translate that for you.

Our biggest mistake lay in moving away from community based schools. You can still see the buildings from that era on roadsides everywhere. Some were one room schools, others a little larger. They are usually square, whitewashed wooden buildings that do not look expensive to build or maintain. I asked someone once why we stopped building those schools, at least for elementary and junior high students. I was told that they represented a fire hazard. This is interesting because I have never heard of a rash of fires buring down schools in the old days. Additionally, the fact that so many of those buildings still exist is a testament to their original design and construction. Some remain standing even when vacant for decades. Certainly such structures required much less investment in resources, resulting in a larger percentage of money actually used for teachers and students.

At some point the state embraced the concept of giant consolidated schools as the wave of the future. We uprooted students from their towns and made them ride buses sometimes for an hour and a half to get to school. Fewer teachers had direct community connections with the students they taught. You have more incentive to put a little more into time with a student if you see the parent in church on Sunday or at little league pratice. We need deconsolidation. Smaller community based shcools with less travel burdens on children will give them more time to study and more time to do the things they want to do, as opposed to communting up to three hours per day. Smaller classrooms in those schools allow for more instructional attention. We don't need schools with all the latest technological bells and whistles. We need smaller schools with less students. If this means less computers, less televisions, and less gizmos, so be it. Too many of them cannot write a paragraph, but they are very Facebook literate. Which is the more important skill?

Get rid of block scheduling and go back to Carnegie units. Block scheduling requires students to spend two hours on each subject at a time. I can tell you as an adult college student, two hours was more than I could stand for subjects that I loved. You force a student to endure two hours of a subject they hate and you will get worse results. I remember the arguments made for it, more time for creative teachers, teachers will just have to work harder to make it more interesting, etc. The fact is that you make policy to incorporate the less optimistic scenarios. You account for the fact that some kids hate math and some kids hate history and they can only force themselves to pay attention for an hour at the most.

Eliminate the Department of Eduation and any federal legislation concerning schools. States and localities ought to make education policy, not the federal government. Obama's administration made federal education policy a scandal by appointing a guy to run safe schools who included anecdotes in his book about encouraging underage boys to go to bus stations to have sex with older men. No Child Left Behind has destroyed the confidence of many teachers because it tries to force communities into a set of standards determined by numbers. Standardized tests have never taught anyone to read and actually discourage teaching that results in thinking.

Eliminate educational psychology courses in favor of more content classes for teaching students. I took three ed psych classes and they essentially all taught me the same thing. Teachers need to know a lot more about the subjects they teach. Twenty years ago the content education required of teachers was not enough to create a full understanding of their subject and they are required to know even less now. Of course this creates more reliance on materials provided by others, which may be the idea.

Most importantly we need competition for the school system. It is a classic example of why socialism does not work. In Belgium school funds follow a student to their choice of accredited school or pays for homseschooling materials. If Catholic, Protestant, and home based schooling had the same chance at education funds, this would create competition and force schools to perform better. Already parents opt out of traditional schools at higher levels than we have seen in a long time even with the added financial burden. They sense that things are not right at some level.

Finally, I would encourage our school system to create the position of "master teacher." This would be a certified teacher who went on to earn a masters and/or a doctoral degree in their subject. They would naturally receive more pay. I would also include in teacher education a mandatory semester of substitute teaching. This is where one learns the classroom management skills that educational psychology classes leave out. How do you deal with the 7th grade shop class where the school dumped all the problem kids and the teacher left ten minutes of busy work? You have to really develop some skills to handle a day like that. You find out really fast whether or not you want to be a public school teacher. You also watch the regular teachers at work and hear their complaints. I changed my major in my junior year of college after a year of substitute teaching on the side. I had little trouble managing classes, but I saw right away that I did not want the headaches of dealing with educational bureaucracy or the increasing numbers of problem children forced into regular classes. Weeding out people who just are not right for the job by tossing them into the deep end of the pool is a good idea.

We must also step back from the idea that education is a right. It is not. It is a privilege to be educated. Calling education a "right" creates a culture of entitlement. Children who create problems on a consistent basis should not be in classrooms with children who are there to better themselves. No one is entitled to sit in a classroom and wreck havoc and remain in regular school. No one is entitled to remain in a regular school and mercilessly bully other children. No one is entitled to assault a teacher who dared to discipline them (as has happened in Mineral and probably nearly every county) and remain in regular school. Calling education a "right" hamstrings teacher and school efforts to maintain an environment conducive to learning. Trying to make seventeen the dropout year is backwards thinking. If they want out of school and are only causing problems while there, by all means let them go and allow students who want to learn to gain the advantage of the absence of troublesome peers.

Fact is that these are deeply based systemic problems that demoralize students, teachers, and parents. They feel trapped in a system that believes in numbers, not individuals. I can definitely understand why a public school teacher would have their confidence crushed by the things they must deal with and would never encourage my children to go into that field.

If Only We Could Get More People to Follow This Example and Stand Up to Government

The Department of Education thinks almost none of us are fit. We need to stand up and remind them that we set the standards for our community schools, not them. When the president hires an encourager of child molestors to be head of safe schools programs, it's time to get rid of federal education policy entirely.

Surely you remember this tune:

I wanna tell you all the story bout the Harper Valley widow wife
Who had a teenage daughter who attended Harper Valley Junior High
Well her daughter came home one afternoon and didn't even stop to play
And she said mom I got a note here from the Harper Valley PTA
Well the note said Mrs Johnson you're wearin' your dresses way too high
It's reported you've been drinkin' and a runnin' round with men and goin' wild
And we don't believe you oughta be a bringin' up your little girl this way
And it was signed by the secretary Harper Valley PTA
Well it happened that the PTA was gonna meet that very afternoon
And they were sure surprised when Mrs Johnson wore her miniskirt into the room
And as she walked up to the blackboard I can still recall the words she had to say
She said I'd like to address this meeting of the Harper Valley PTA
Well there's Bobby Taylor sittin' there and seven times he asked me for a date
And Mrs Taylor sure seems to use a lotta ice whenever he's away
And Mr Baker can you tell us why your secretary had to leave this town
And shouldn't widow Jones be told to keepHer window shades all pulled completely down
Well Mr Harper couldn't be here cause he stayed too long at Kelly's Bar again
And if you smell Shirley Thompson's breath you'll find she's had a little nip of gin
And THEN you have the nerve to tell me you think that as a mother I'm not fit
Well this is just a little Peyton Place and you're all Harper Valley hypocrites
No I wouldn't put you on because it really did it happened just this way
The day my mama socket it to the Harper Valley PTA
The day my mama socket it to the Harper Valley PTA

Remember the Federalists

In the 1790s the Federalist Party had a secure grip on power. People associated them with the Constitution, George Washington, security, and prosperity. As late as 1796 they dominated elections to the presidency and Congress. How did they lose power by 1800?

Much of the reason lies in the passage of the Sedition Act. Sedition is the criminalization of attacks on the government. If the government decides that the origin is either satirical or untrue (in the 1798 version anyway) it can move towards prosecuting the writer, cartoonist, or speaker. Many Federalists enthusiastically backed this act despite its blatant violation of the Constitution. John Marshall, a Virginia Federalist, argued against it and it shocked, scared, and angered the opposition Democratic-Republican Party.

Thomas Jefferson and James Madison from Virginia feared that the anger stirred up by this act could cause a civil war. Perhaps many Federalists, publicly or privately, supported this as a way to finally get a virulent press off their backs. However the people saw it as an attack on liberty and the natural right to speak freely, even in dissent, about government. Jefferson and Madison tried to assuage the people by penning the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions that asserted the right of state courts to declare federal laws unconstitutional.

Voters punished the Federalists by expelling them from power in 1800. They found themselves loathed as aspiring tyrants and their party disintegrated by 1815. Its most promising leaders, such as John Quincy Adams, left to join the Democratic-Republicans to escape the tarnish.

Democrats need to look very hard at history before they vote for unpopular expenditures and expansion of federal power. It might not mean simply their loss of power, but perhaps the destruction of a venerable institution that has contributed much to the national discussion over the centuries. Kowtowing to an authoritarian left wing element just because it currently has authority will not help moderate Democrats in the long run. Tyrants never last. Remember the motto of Madison and Jefferson's home commonwealth: Sic Semper Tyrannis

March Madness