Lou Barletta Is Running For Congress

The Republican mayor of  Hazleton Pennsylvania, Lou Barletta recently announced that he will once again run for Congress.

Barletta is seeking to defeat long-time incumbent Paul Kanjorski for a seat representing Pennsylvania’s 11th Congressional District.

This will be Barletta’s third attempt to unseat Kanjorski, he made previous runs for the office in 2002 and 2008.

Some political insiders feel that the reason Barletta lost in 2002 was due primarily to a re-districting which took place shortly before the election, moving a county that was a Democrat stronghold from the 10th Congressional district and making it part of the 11th.

And still others feel that the only reason his 2008 bid failed was due to the fact that in the areas where he did not receive the majority of the votes, those areas voted a straight-party ticket, and Kanjorski won by riding on Barack Obama’s coat tails.

Click Here to learn more about Barletta, how his battle against illegal immigration won him national recognition, as well as some of the background of his opponent, Paul Kanjorski.

DHS: Department Of Hairbrained Slackers

More than once on these pages we have taken Janet Napolitano and her crew at the Department of Homeland Security to task.

This woman, who heads the government agency that is supposed to keep Americans safe here in the U.S. is an absolute disgrace.

From her remarks about returning veterans being “potential domestic terrorists”, to her department’s practically non-existent role in border security, to the continued ignoring of terrorist training camps on American soil, this woman has no idea whatsoever of just what it is her job entails.

The disaster that was averted on Christmas day was not due to the efforts of the DHS, but rather to the actions of an alert passenger, yet in Napolitano’s fantasy world, “the system is working.”

Our friend Michelle Malkin has her own thoughts about Napolitano, as well as a transcript of an interview Janet did with CNN that shows just how inept this woman is, you can read it here.

Update: The Separation Of Church And State

To those of you who are regular visitors to this site I apologize, this isn’t really an update, I first wrote this article not so long ago, but after seeing various news reports of religious displays being challenged by the ACLU I thought it was a message worth repeating.

Once again, it’s that time of year when liberals raise a ruckus over any type of Christmas display in or around a taxpayer-funded building, such as a courthouse or a public school, claiming such a display violates the Constitutional provision regarding the separation of church and state.

It’s ironic how liberals only cite the Constitution when they feel that they can use it to promote their anti-Christian agenda.

And in the spirit of the season of Good Will Towards Men, we feel it is our duty to clear things up for them so that they stop making fools of themselves.

Let’s start at the beginning. The First Amendment to the Constitution reads as follows:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Now to most rational people that seems pretty straightforward.

No law respecting any establishment of religion is a reference to the fact that many of the earliest settlers of this continent came here to escape the religious persecution that was commonplace in most of Europe.
This oppression was the result of the Church of England, the Anglican Church, becoming the official government church, and non-conformists were not looked upon kindly.

…or prohibiting the free exercise therof…

How blinded by ideology does someone have to be to try and twist the fact that the First Amendment clearly states that the government will make no law prohibiting the free exercise of religious beliefs?

Or to totally ignore the fact that the phrase “separation of church and state is nowhere to be found in the Constitution?

The correct wording, wall of separation between church and state, is taken from a letter President Thomas Jefferson wrote in reply to a message form the Danbury Baptist Association, which at the time was a religious minority in Connecticut.

The leaders of the congregation sent the following to Jefferson:

“Among the many millions in America and Europe who rejoice in your election to office, we embrace the first opportunity . . . to express our great satisfaction in your appointment to the Chief Magistracy in the United States. . . . [W]e have reason to believe that America’s God has raised you up to fill the Chair of State out of that goodwill which He bears to the millions which you preside over. May God strengthen you for the arduous task which providence and the voice of the people have called you. . . . And may the Lord preserve you safe from every evil and bring you at last to his Heavenly Kingdom through Jesus Christ our Glorious Mediator.”

However, they ended the letter with the fact that they were apprehensive about the principles behind the First Amendment guarantee for “the free exercise of religion.”

“Our sentiments are uniformly on the side of religious liberty: that religion is at all times and places a matter between God and individuals, that no man ought to suffer in name, person, or effects on account of his religious opinions, [and] that the legitimate power of civil government extends no further than to punish the man who works ill to his neighbor. But sir, our constitution of government is not specific. . . . [T]herefore what religious privileges we enjoy (as a minor part of the State) we enjoy as favors granted, and not as inalienable rights.”

Their concern was that, according to the way that they read the wording of the Constitution, the right of religious expression was government given, rather than God given, and that a time might come when the government might someday attempt to limit religious expression.

Sound familar?

Seeking to address those concerns, here was Jefferson’s reply:

“Gentlemen, – The affectionate sentiments of esteem and approbation which you are so good as to express towards me on behalf of the Danbury Baptist Association give me the highest satisfaction. . . . Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God; that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship; that the legislative powers of government reach actions only and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should “make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” thus building a wall of separation between Church and State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties. I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection and blessing of the common Father and Creator of man, and tender you for yourselves and your religious association assurances of my high respect and esteem.”

Jefferson’s use of the words “natural rights” affirmed his belief that religious rights were inalienable rights.

To sum up, the Constitution clearly states that Congress will not establish a religion, or hinder someone’s religious beliefs.

Why is this so hard for liberals to understand?

A manger scene in the town square is no more a violation of the Constitution, or of the government establishing a religion, than is a Menorah on a courthouse lawn, or a Kinara placed in the halls of Congress.

And if that were the case, didn’t White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel violate the Constitution and step over the wall of separation between church and state when he lit the National Menorah last Sunday?

And why isn’t the ACLU up in arms?

My Christmas Present To The ACLU

Relax, relax, I haven’t lost my mind.

I would never waste my money buying anything for anyone who belongs to the ACLU.

Unless I could get them a brain, or some common human decency.

Maybe even just some simple common sense.

Instead, I came across this video clip which, although it is satarical in nature, pretty much sums up the work that the ACLU is doing to, I mean for, America.

Merry Christmas to all of you at the ACLU.

You liberal scumbags:

The Separation Of Church and State For Dummies

Once again, it’s that time of year when liberals raise a ruckus over any type of Christmas display in or around a taxpayer-funded building, such as a courthouse or a public school, claiming such a display violates the Constitutional provision regarding the separation of church and state.

It’s ironic how liberals only cite the Constitution when they feel that they can use it to promote their anti-Christian agenda.

And in the spirit of the season of Good Will Towards Men, we feel it is our duty to clear things up for them so that they stop making fools of themselves.

Let’s start at the beginning. The First Amendment to the Constitution reads as follows:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Now to most rational people that seems pretty straightforward.

No law respecting any establishment of religion is a reference to the fact that many of the earliest settlers of this continent came here to escape the religious persecution that was commonplace in most of Europe.
This oppression was the result of the Church of England, the Anglican Church, becoming the official government church, and non-conformists were not looked upon kindly.

…or prohibiting the free exercise therof…

How blinded by ideology does someone have to be to try and twist the fact that the First Amendment clearly states that the government will make no law prohibiting the free exercise of religious beliefs?

Or to totally ignore the fact that the phrase “separation of church and state is nowhere to be found in the Constitution?

The correct wording, wall of separation between church and state, is taken from a letter President Thomas Jefferson wrote in reply to a message form the Danbury Baptist Association, which at the time was a religious minority in Connecticut.

The leaders of the congregation sent the following to Jefferson:

“Among the many millions in America and Europe who rejoice in your election to office, we embrace the first opportunity . . . to express our great satisfaction in your appointment to the Chief Magistracy in the United States. . . . [W]e have reason to believe that America’s God has raised you up to fill the Chair of State out of that goodwill which He bears to the millions which you preside over. May God strengthen you for the arduous task which providence and the voice of the people have called you. . . . And may the Lord preserve you safe from every evil and bring you at last to his Heavenly Kingdom through Jesus Christ our Glorious Mediator.”

However, they ended the letter with the fact that they were apprehensive about the principles behind the First Amendment guarantee for “the free exercise of religion.”

“Our sentiments are uniformly on the side of religious liberty: that religion is at all times and places a matter between God and individuals, that no man ought to suffer in name, person, or effects on account of his religious opinions, [and] that the legitimate power of civil government extends no further than to punish the man who works ill to his neighbor. But sir, our constitution of government is not specific. . . . [T]herefore what religious privileges we enjoy (as a minor part of the State) we enjoy as favors granted, and not as inalienable rights.”

Their concern was that, according to the way that they read the wording of the Constitution, the right of religious expression was government given, rather than God given, and that a time might come when the government might someday attempt to limit religious expression.

Sound familar?

Seeking to address those concerns, here was Jefferson’s reply:

“Gentlemen, – The affectionate sentiments of esteem and approbation which you are so good as to express towards me on behalf of the Danbury Baptist Association give me the highest satisfaction. . . . Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God; that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship; that the legislative powers of government reach actions only and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should “make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” thus building a wall of separation between Church and State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties. I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection and blessing of the common Father and Creator of man, and tender you for yourselves and your religious association assurances of my high respect and esteem.”

Jefferson’s use of the words “natural rights” affirmed his belief that religious rights were inalienable rights.

To sum up, the Constitution clearly states that Congress will not establish a religion, or hinder someone’s religious beliefs.

Why is this so hard for liberals to understand?

A manger scene in the town square is no more a violation of the Constitution, or of the government establishing a religion,  than is a Menorah on a courthouse lawn, or a Kinara placed in the halls of Congress.

And if that were the case, didn’t White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel violate the Constitution and step over the wall of separation between church and state when he lit the National Menorah on Sunday?

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Christmas Greeting From A Great President

No, not the guy that’s in the White House now.

In this clip, Ronald Reagan wishes America a Merry Christmas.

This video is from eighteen years ago.

Reagan asked all Americans to look back on everything the country had accomplished during the preceding year.

If he decides to do so, I wonder what President Obama would have to say if he were to address our nation during this time of year?

I know he wouldn’t ask everyone to think back on the year just passed.

His popularity numbers are already sinking fast.

A Year-End Wrap Up Of The Obama Presidency

It’s pretty amazing when you take a look at all that has taken place since Barack Obama has become President.

The man who promised America Hope and Change has really delivered on that promise.

Which may explain why his popularity numbers are dropping like a stone.

Victor Hanson at Pajamas Media sums it up for us:

The China Presidency

I have an heirloom china pitcher on my mantle that has dozens of glued cracks—so much so that it is now purely ornamental and will not hold water. When I was a boy I’d ask my mother when, and under what circumstances, did the china crack apart.

She would provide stories about each fissure and mend, many of the break narratives handed down to her from her own grandparents in the house. There wasn’t one single accident, but instead dozens that rendered a once useful pitcher into an non-functional art object.

Something of the same is happening with our President. He is experiencing the sharpest popularity decline in the history of first-year administrations. The problem is not just that he inherited a bad economy; Reagan did too. Or that the war in Afghanistan heats up, since it is not nearly as bad as the mess Nixon inherited in Vietnam.

Instead, after 11 months there has emerged a series of bothersome incidents that the public has come to associate with Obama, both the man and his philosophies. Some are major policy issues; others trivial acts of no cosmic importance. None in themselves matter all that much. Each gaffe or mistake was contextualized and mended, or attended to by Robert Gibbs. Some are Obama’s fault; others the work of associates. Sometimes mere chance is the culprit.

I know Bush had his own list of catastrophes; other Presidents did as well. Again, my point is not trying to adjudicate relative culpability, but rather just to remind us all how and why Obama dived over 20 points in the polls in just 11 months—and his speeches transformed from inspirational to caricatures.

In short,  taken together, after nearly a year, these fissures have nearly ruined the once pretty texture of the Obama administration, and almost rendered it incapable of effective governance.

Here is a random selection. I provide no chronology or theme. Nor do I judge the relative importance of any one incident. The point, again, is only that each was a fissure, some small, some major—all were glued over. The result is that now the public understands that its china presidency is fragile and held together by mere glue.

Here it goes:

Constant apologies abroad for everything from slavery to Hiroshima

Bows to Saudi royalty, the Japanese emperor, and Chinese autocrats

The on-again/off-again Guantanamo shut-down mess

The fight with the former CIA directors

The public show trial of Khalid Sheik Mohammed

The reach out to Ahmadinejad Castro, Chavez, and assorted thugs

The Honduras fiasco

Czars everywhere

The serial “Bush did it”/reset whine abroad

The Queen of England/I-pod fiasco

Gordon Brown gets snookered in his gift-giving

Unceremoniously shipping back the Churchill bust

The end of the special relationship with the UK

The New York on-the-town presidential splurge

Anita Dunn and her Mao worship

Timothy Geithner/Tom Daschle/Hilda Solis and their taxes

What ever happened to Gov. Richardson?

“No lobbyists” = gads of them

The Podestas’ insider influence-peddling empire

Sotomayor’s “wise Latina” chauvinism

The Special Olympics silly quip

Trashing Nancy Reagan

The Skip Gates/police acting “stupidly” mess

Read the rest of this entry

One Of The Best Tributes To The Military I Have Ever Seen

I came across this in my travels (an FM hat tip to Sherri) and wanted to share it with all of our readers.
Link to it, copy and paste it onto your own website, e-mail it to friends and family, whatever, this is someting we would like to see go viral as a way of thanking the brave men and women who sacrifice so much to defend our freedoms.

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn’t loud, and it wasn’t too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn’t quite know, then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
“What are you doing?” I asked without fear,
“Come in this moment, it’s freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!”

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..
To the window that danced with a warm fire’s light
Then he sighed and he said “Its really all right,
I’m out here by choice. I’m here every night.”
“It’s my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I’m proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ‘Pearl on a day in December,”
Then he sighed, “That’s a Christmas ‘Gram always remembers.”
“My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ‘Nam’,
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I’ve not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he’s sure got her smile.”

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue… an American flag.
“I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.”

“So go back inside,” he said, “harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I’ll be all right.”
“But isn’t there something I can do, at the least,
“Give you money,” I asked, “or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you’ve done,
For being away from your wife and your son.”
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
“Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we’re gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.”

PLEASE, Would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many people as you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our U.S.service men and women for our being able to celebrate these festivities. Let’s try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us.

LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN
30th Naval Construction Regiment
OIC, Logistics Cell One
Al Taqqadum, Iraq.

Write Out Your Christmas List In A Barack Obama Notebook

The indoctrination of America’s youth continues.

First it was schoolchildren being coached on signing praises to Obama.

Then it was Safe Schools Czar Kevin Jennings, a member of GLSEN, who wants our children to study gay porn.

And now the little kiddies can use their Barack Obama pencils to take notes in their Barack Obama notebooks.

A big Freedom Medium Thank You to Lou McBride for alerting us to this.

Pencils and notebooks resembling President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign ads have been sold in at least one Columbia school and other public schools, causing the company that distributes the materials to travel around the state yanking the supplies out of machines.

“Don’t be mad at us,” said Greg Jones, a sales representative with Pencil Wholesale. “It was a total accident.”

Pencil Wholesale distributes supplies to six Columbia schools: Parkade Elementary, Cedar Ridge Elementary, Paxton Keeley Elementary, Mill Creek Elementary, Smithton Middle School and Hickman High School, said Linda Quinley, the district’s chief financial officer.

At Mill Creek, at least one pencil and a notebook with designs similar to Obama campaign advertisements have been sold out of a supply machine. Two families have complained about the politically tinged materials.

Read the rest of this entry

Obama Appointee Wants Schoolchildren To Study Pornography

Forget about Jack and Jill going up the hill to fetch a pail of water, the man that the President has put in charge of overseeing our country’s educational system wants your kids to find out about Jack and Zack going up the hill for an entirely different purpose.

Kevin Jennings, President Obama’s Safe Schools Czar, is now proposing that children as young as preschoolers read books describing perverted sex acts.

I wonder if Barack and Michelle would want this man in charge of the curriculum at the school that their daughters attend.

There are times when I run an excerpt of a story, with a link to the rest of the article, in this instance I am not going to do that as many of you may not care to read about the latest way that Obama’s man Kevin Jennings want’s to furthur the pervisions that American children are being made to study, for those of you who want the information on this outrage the link can be found here.

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