An inspiring "Star Spangled Banner"

Viral Video: 1,000 Choir Students

Sing The National Anthem

Independent Journal Review posted this inspiring video here. Stick with it - the first 30 seconds or so are noisy. (My musical friends tell me that getting this many voices - and in a huge space - to synchronize their sounds is v-e-r-r-r-y hard to do.)

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Monthly Meeting: CTPP special guest Jesse Smith

Cleveland Tea Party Patriots

Monthly meeting

Monday, February 10, 2014 at 7:30pm.

This year looks to be action-packed, and we will be gearing up to deal with issues at all levels of government -- from local councils & school boards to Cuyahoga County Council, State House and Congress.  

While we deal with upcoming issues, we will continue to preach the mantra of "all politics are local" and how what we do this year all leads up to the 2016 Presidential race.

Our guest speaker, Jesse Smith, N/E OH Regional Coordinator for Americans for Prosperity, will talk about the Sin Tax in Cuyahoga County, some of the initiatives they will be doing this upcoming year, and the renewed relationship with TPP and AFP in Ohio.

Date: Monday 2/10/14

Time: 7:30pm - 9:00pm

Location: Crowne Centre Building

Address: 5005 Rockside Rd Suite # 960 / Independence, OH  (Map)

We look forward to seeing you there!

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Candidates running in the Cuyahoga County primary election

Photo credit: clarkcountynv.gov

Cuyahoga County's filing deadline was yesterday for candidates planning to run in the upcoming May 6 primary election. Below are some of the races listed in The Plain Dealer; you can read the complete list here. You can check the County’s validation of each filing here.

Congressional District 09
Cory Hoffman	Dem.
Marcy Kaptur	Dem.
Robert C. Horrocks Jr	Rep.
Richard May	Rep.
Susan Purviance	Socialist
Congressional District 11
Marcia L. Fudge	Dem.
Mark Zetzer	Rep.
Congressional District 16
Pete Crossland	Dem.
James Donenwirth	Dem.
Jim Renacci	Rep.
State Senate District 21
Willie Lewis Britt	Dem.
Gerald Henley	Dem.
Sandra Williams	Dem.
State Senate District 23
Michael J. Skindell	Dem.
Tom Haren	Rep.
Harry E. Ristmae	Rep.
State Senate District 25
Thaddeus J. Jackson	Dem.
Ed Jerse	Dem.
Kenny Yuko	Dem.
Ohio House District 06
Anthony Fossaceca	Dem.
Marlene Anielski	Rep.
Ohio House District 07
Matt Patten	Dem.
Mike Dovilla	Rep.
Ohio House District 08
Sylvia James	Dem.
Kent Smith	Dem.
Mikhail Alterman	Rep.
Ohio House District 09
David J. Biel	Dem.
Janine Boyd	Dem.
Sean P. Malone	Dem.
Isaac Powell	Dem.
Charles T. Hopson	Rep.
Ohio House District 10
Eugene R Miller	Dem.
Bill Patmon	Dem.
Ohio House District 11
Harry F. Banks	Dem.
Michael Dudley Sr	Dem.
Michael J. Houser	Dem.
Stephanie Howse	Dem.
Tony Perry	Dem.
Gigi Traore	Dem.
Roz McAllister	Rep.
Ohio House District 12
John E. Barnes Jr	Dem.
Jill Miller Zimon	Dem.
Ohio House District 13
Nickie J. Antonio	Dem.
Maria Anderson	Rep.
Ohio House District 14
Steve Holecko	Dem.
Mike Piepsny	Dem.
Martin J. Sweeney	Dem.
Anna E. Melendez	Rep.
Ohio House District 15
Nicholas J. Celebrezze	Dem.
Patty Gascoyne-Telischak	Rep.
Ohio House District 16
Todd LeVeck	Dem.
Nan A. Baker	Rep.
County Executive
Armond D. Budish	Dem.
Thomas O'Grady	Dem.
Bob Reid	Dem.
Walter Allen Rogers Jr	Dem.
Timothy J. Russo	Dem.
Shirley Smith	Dem.
Jack Schron	Rep.
County Council District 01
David Greenspan	Rep.
County Council District 03
Dan Brady	Dem.
County Council District 05
Michael J. Gallagher	Rep.
County Council District 07
Yvonne M. Conwell	Dem.
County Council District 09
Lloyd D Anderson	Dem.
Shontel M. Brown	Dem.
Leah Lewis	Dem.
Lynn Ruffner	Dem.
Donald A. Saunders	Dem.
Andre P. White	Dem.
Adam Trumbo	Rep.
County Council District 11
Sunny Simon	Dem.
John J. Currid	Rep.

At present, I don’t see the option to get the BOE website to provide individual voter details, i.e., precincts, districts, and so on. However, the BOE sends all registered voters a postcard prior to the primary, and it will show on the front all of those details, so that you can access the correct sample ballot online. (And if you are not registered, you can print off the form online here, complete it and mail it in.)

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Sowell: GOP Could Blow 2014 Election With Unwise Push For Amnesty

Economist Thomas Sowell offers his usual excellent perspective on the GOP’s makes-no-sense move toward immigration "reform": 

Republicans may once again come to the rescue of the Democrats by discrediting themselves and snatching defeat from the very jaws of victory.

The latest bright idea among Republicans inside the Beltway is a new version of amnesty that is virtually certain to lose votes among the Republican base and is unlikely to gain many votes among the Hispanics that the Republican leadership is courting.

. . .

When it comes to national elections, just what principles do the Republicans stand for?

It is hard to think of any, other than their hoping to win elections by converting themselves into Democrats Lite. But voters who want what the Democrats offer can vote for the real thing, rather than Johnny-come-lately imitations.

The entire article is at Investors Business Daily here.

Immigration and Amnesty: liberal vs conservative values

Here’s more from Eagle Forum president Phyllis Schlafly on immigration, published at National Review Online:

People come to America because it is a remarkable oasis of freedom, prosperity, and opportunity. Conservatives recognize that the principal reason for our unique abundance is our constitutional restraint on the power of government.  . . .

Maintaining this system requires the public to support limited government. In a new report, Eagle Forum details how immigration is fundamentally changing the electorate to one that is much more supportive of big government.

. . .

There is nothing controversial about the report’s conclusion that both Hispanics and Asians, who account for about three-fourth of today’s immigrants, generally agree with the Democrats’ big-government agenda. It is for this reason that they vote two-to-one for Democrats.

The 2008 National Annenberg Election Survey found that 62 percent of immigrants prefer a single, government-run health-care system. . . .

The Pew Research Center has also found that 75 percent of Hispanics prefer a “bigger government providing more services,” and only 19 percent prefer a smaller government. Pew also reported that 55 percent of Asians prefer “bigger government providing more services,” and only 36 percent prefer a smaller government. So it’s no surprise that in 2012, 71 percent of Hispanics and 73 percent of Asians voted for Obama.

. . .

Heather Mac Donald of the Manhattan Institute points out that it “is not immigration policy that creates the strong bond between Hispanics and the Democratic party, but the core Democratic principles of a more generous safety net, strong government intervention in the economy, and progressive taxation.”

Immigration in general — not race — is the issue. . . .The problem for conservatives is not race or ethnicity but immigration as such.

. . .

Those supporting a big increase in legal immigration point to the successful assimilation of Great Wave immigrants (roughly 1880 to 1920). But that wave was followed by a slowdown of immigration from the 1920s to the 1960s, which allowed newcomers to assimilate, learn our language, and adapt to our unique system of government. Also, Great Wave immigrants arrived before the rise of the grievance industry and identity politics. . . .

. . .

Conservatives should appeal to immigrants without sacrificing our principles. One way to do this is to argue that defeating the Gang of Eight bill, with its amnesty and doubling of legal immigration, would benefit the nearly 60 million American citizens (many of them immigrants) who are not working. If employers really are having trouble finding workers, the private-enterprise solution should be to raise the pay! A tight labor market is the best anti-poverty program. A reduction in immigration would also take pressure off our already overloaded health-care system and schools, and it would facilitate the assimilation of immigrants already here.

Our new report makes clear that for conservatives, there is no issue more important than reducing the number of immigrants allowed into the country each year. If legal immigration is not reduced, it will be nearly impossible for conservatives to be successful on the issues we care about.

If the Republican party is to remain a party that is conservative and nationally competitive, it must defeat amnesty and any proposed increases in legal immigration. Further, we must work to significantly reduce the number of legal immigrants allowed into the country from the current level of 1.1 million a year. There is nothing inevitable about immigration. The level and selection criteria can be changed by Congress.

Looking at the political motivation of the groups pushing higher immigration and amnesty, it’s obvious that the Democrats promote large-scale immigration because it produces more Democratic votes. If the Republican party is to remain conservative and nationally competitive, it must defeat amnesty and proposed increases in legal immigration.

Read the whole thing here.