Second hearing to repeal Common Core "standards" in Ohio

From Ohio Tea Party Co-cordinator Marianne:

The second hearing for HB 237, the bill to repeal Common Core, has been scheduled.

WHEN:    November 20th

                5:00 p.m. (tentatively)

WHERE:  Room 313 (same as last hearing)

                 The Atrium has been requested as the overflow room.

When visiting Richland County, Rep. Thompson stated that he believed one of the reasons he is receiving a second hearing is because of the strong show of support for this bill at the first hearing.

We must show that support again, and more if possible.

Dueling headlines: unemployment ups and downs

From The Plain Dealer online here:

U.S. adds 204,000 jobs, 

jobless rate up to 7.3 percent

From Breitbart Big Government:

720K AMERICANS LEAVE LABOR FORCE IN OCTOBER

And at Gateway Pundit, a very sad chart of the Labor Force Participation Rate:

The US labor force participation rate, plunged from 63.2% to 62.8% in October. Zero Hedge added that the number of people not in the labor force exploded by nearly 1 million, or 932,000 to be exact, in just the month of October. It is the lowest participation rate since 1978 – during the Carter years. 

Congress Passes "The Affordable Boat Act"

From Right Punditry -- (Satire)

“The U.S. government has just passed a new law called: “The affordable boat act”declaring that every citizen MUST purchase a new boat, by April 2014. These “affordable” boats will cost an average of $54,000-$155,000 each. This does not include taxes, trailers, towing fees, licensing and registration fees, fuel, docking and storage fees, maintenance or repair costs.

This law has been passed, because until now, typically only wealthy and financially responsible people have been able to purchase boats. This new laws ensures that every American can now have a “affordable” boat of their own, because everyone is “entitled” to a new boat. If you purchase your boat before the end of the year, you will receive 4 “free” life jackets; not including monthly usage fees.

In order to make sure everyone purchases an affordable boat, the costs of owning a boat will increase on average of 250-400% per year. This way, wealthy people will pay more for something that other people don’t want or can’t afford to maintain. But to be fair, people who cant afford to maintain their boat will be regularly fined and children (under the age of 26) can use their parents boats to party on until they turn 27; then must purchase their own boat.

If you already have a boat, you can keep yours (just kidding; no you can’t). If you don’t want or don’t need a boat, you are required to buy one anyhow. If you refuse to buy one or cant afford one, you will be regularly fined $800 until you purchase one or face imprisonment.

Failure to use the boat will also result in fines. People living in the desert; ghettos; inner cities or areas with no access to lakes are not exempt. Age, motion sickness, experience, knowledge nor lack of desire are acceptable excuses for not using your boat.

A government review board (that doesn’t know the difference between the port, starboard or stern of a boat) will decide everything, including; when, where, how often and for what purposes you can use your boat along with how many people can ride your boat and determine if one is too old or healthy enough to be able to use their boat. They will also decide if your boat has out lived its usefulness or if you must purchase specific accessories, (like a $500 compass) or a newer and more expensive boat.

Those that can afford yachts will be required to do so…its only fair. The government will also decide the name for each boat. Failure to comply with these rules will result in fines and possible imprisonment.

Government officials are exempt from this new law. If they want a boat, they and their families can obtain boats free, at the expense of tax payers. Unions, bankers and mega companies with large political affiliations ($$) are also exempt.

Cuyahoga County Elections results

On Tuesday, Nov. 5, Cuyahoga County voters approved every tax levy and charter amendment. Here are provisional counts from the Cuyahoga County Board of elections website:

          1- Cuyahoga County Tax Levy

            FOR THE TAX LEVY .  .  .  .  .    130,894   54.64

            AGAINST THE TAX LEVY.  .  .  .  108,681   45.36

          2 -Cuyahoga County Chart Amend II.2.03.2

           YES  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   111,921   52.85

           NO.  .  .  .  .  .  .    99,836   47.15

          3 -Cuyahoga County Charter Amend II.2.03.12

          YES  .  .  .  .  .  .   118,424   56.34

           NO.  .  .  .  .  .  .    91,773   43.66

          4 - Cuyahoga County Charter Amend III.3.10.5

           YES  .  .  .  .  .  .   107,986   53.12

           NO.  .  .  .  .  .  .    95,305   46.88

          5 - Cuyahoga County Charter Amend VI.6.02

          YES  .  .  .  .  . .  .   149,212   73.70

           NO.  .  .  .  . . .  .    53,243   26.30

79 - Cleveland Library Dist Tax Levy

           FOR THE TAX LEVY .  .  . .  .  40,204   75.86

           AGAINST THE TAX LEVY.  .     12,794   24.14

82 - Cleveland Cuyahoga County Port Authority Tax Levy

           FOR THE TAX LEVY .  . .  .  .  156,615   64.79

           AGAINST THE TAX LEVY.  .  .    85,113   35.21

Bottom line: more taxes.  

GOP Gives Up Virginia To Democrats

The Independent Journal Review had some sobering comments on the razor-thin election in Virginia yesterday:

GOP Gives Up Virginia To Democrats Instead Of Giving Tea Party and Social Conservatives A Win

When the facts are considered in the slim victory that terribly flawed Democrat Terry McAuliffe had against Ken Cuccinelli, it’s hard to deny the conclusion that the Republican party decided it was better to abandon Virginia to the Democrat party than to allow the Tea Party and social conservatives to win.

Here they are:§  The Republican National Committee spent three times as much in 2009 on the same race as they did this year.
§  The Chamber of Commerce spent one million dollars in the last Governor’s race, and not one dime on Cuccinelli.
§  While it’s often claimed that Tea Party candidates do poorly among independents, Cuccinelli actually won independents by 9 points, 47 percent to 38 percent.
§  “McAuliffe outraised Cuccinelli by almost $15 million,” and in the last weeks of the campaign, this left Cuccinelli with nearly no media exposure.
§  Even Politico wonders if Cuccinelli was beginning to turn the tide against the “War on Women” narrative, as he drove down McAuliffe’s lead among women from 24% in polling to 9%.

In the last month, Cuccinelli’s claim that the election was a referendum on Obamacare started closing the gap for him – the continuing debacle of Obama’s signature legislation was taking its toll on his opponent. But ultimately, he couldn’t close the gap without help.

Help that disappeared in the last weeks of the campaign, and could have pushed him over the top.

Finally, a libertarian third party candidate served as a spoiler, stealing a fair percentage of votes away from Cuccinelli, and diluting the conservative message.

But what this article left out is that the third party “Libertarian” candidate, Robert Sarlvis, was not just a spoiler -- he was supported by an Obama bundler. The Blaze broke the story here - but only just before the election. 

A major Democratic Party benefactor and Obama campaign bundler helped pay for professional petition circulators responsible for getting Virginia Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Robert C. Sarvis on the ballot — a move that could split conservative votes in a tight race.

Campaign finance records show the Libertarian Booster PAC has made the largest independent contribution to Sarvis’ campaign, helping to pay for professional petition circulators who collected signatures necessary to get Sarvis’ name on Tuesday’s statewide ballot. 

Austin, Texas, software billionaire Joe Liemandt is the Libertarian Booster PAC’s major benefactor. He’s also a top bundler for President Barack Obama. This revelation comes as Virginia voters head to the polls Tuesday in an election where some observers say the third-party gubernatorial candidate could be a spoiler for Republican Ken Cuccinelli.

Who said it was going to be fair? The bright side is that despite being wildly outspent, despite votes siphoned off by a stealth candidate, and despite getting no help from the GOP, Cuccinelli came close. 

Did you vote today?

Illegal Immigration: Answer Not Comprehensive

The below letter to the editor that ran in the Seguin Gazette (TX) is by George Rodriguez, one of our State Coordinators in Texas for Tea Party Patriots. 

From The Seguin Gazette --  

The battle over immigration reform has started and at the center of the debate is whether it should be “comprehensive” or “piecemeal.”

Liberals and conservatives both agree about the need to reform the immigration laws and process however the argument is about how to do it.

According to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary the adjective “comprehensive” means “including many, most, or all things.”

Another online dictionary defines it as something “so large in scope or content as to include much.”

When talking about “all things” in immigration, we need to consider the enforcement of the laws at the border and in the interior of the nation.

We need to consider the immigrant’s length of stay and the purpose of visit, whether they are tourists, students, workers, or refugees.

We need to consider their background and whether they are a security risk to our nation. We need to figure out what do with the children of illegal aliens and those brought here as minors. We need to determine what to do with aliens detainees when their country of origin does not take them back. In short, there are many issues and considerations related to immigration.

Having worked at the U.S. Department of Justice on immigration issues, including the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, I can tell you from personal experience that each issue has its own special interest group pushing it. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has been lobbying for a guest worker program, while liberal Hispanic groups have been lobbying for amnesty and pathway to citizenship. Conservative groups want enforcement of the laws first before there is any discussion of other issues.

But the main fact is that we cannot follow the ObamaCare approach to immigration reform.

We cannot have a “comprehensive” immigration reform bill that no one reads, debates, or understands. Any proposed legislation must be properly reviewed and vetted point by point, issue by issue. Immigration is too complex to be rolled into a neat package by liberals and presented as an absolute solution.

We must learn from the Obamacare experience that a “comprehensive” legislative approach to anything is a car-wreck in action. However Hispanic liberals have mounted a campaign to sway the public by using the race card. Liberals and the mainstream media are promoting the idea that immigration is a Hispanic issue, and anyone delaying or opposing comprehensive reform is a “racist.” Even some Republican Hispanics in Texas are scaring their own elected officials over the “Hispanic vote.”

As I have stated before, immigration is NOT a Hispanic issue, and all Hispanics are NOT the same. My family has live in south Texas for five generations and my father opposed the hiring of Mexican illegal aliens because they depressed wages and competed for jobs with Mexican Americans. There are many second and third generations Hispanics who view immigration as only a border security issue.

Will Republican legislators turn tail and run on this issue as many did on ObamaCare? I believe that conservative Hispanics must come to the front on this issue and not let the liberal race-baiters win. Immigration reform is needed, but not comprehensive legislation.

George is also a host on Raging Elephants Radio at
www.ragingelephantsradio.com on the Internet.