Politicians Come and Go: Preserving The America Spirit

The cause of America is in a great measure the cause of all mankind.”

—Thomas Paine, ‘Common Sense’

Next Wednesday on Independence Day many Americans will hang the stars and stripes to celebrate our freedom and the optimism of our Founding Fathers.

However, over the past few years many Americans feel discouraged by the multitude of challenges we face as a nation in this critical time in history. Some people have given up on the American Dream and no longer believe America is the greatest country on earth and in all human history.  If you’re one of those people, please enlighten the rest of us.  Which country is the greatest on Earth?  Tell us in the comments section of this story.

Of course, it’s all too easy to throw our hands up in a lose of heart, but a new book written by New York Times best-selling authors Ed Feulner, president of The Heritage Foundation and Brian Tracy reminds us that such pessimism is unnecessary.

According to one book review , ‘The American Spirit: Celebrating the Values and Virtues that Make Us Great’ is packed with engaging stories, inspiring profiles and eye-opening statistics.

As you celebrate America’s birthday with your friends and family, never forget that an unconquerable spirit does exist that defines the American People and must be forever preserved for our Republic to prosper.

If you aren’t registered to vote, please register and commit yourself to  vote in every election—they all count and have consequences!

>> Find out why America is an exceptional nation.

Turning Point: It’s Constitutional—Supreme Court Upholds Obamacare Mandate as a Tax

This morning a divided Supreme Court largely upheld the Obama administration's health-care law, saying the law's penalty for those who ignore a mandate to carry health insurance counted as a tax and was therefore justified by Congress's constitutional taxing power. As vice president Biden might say, "This is really Bleeping big..."

From Merriam-Webster:

Turning Point (noun)

A point at which a significant change occurs.

A time when an important change happens.

Wake–Up Call (noun)

Something that serves to alert a person to a problem, danger, or need.

Early political commentary on the Supreme Court’s judgment suggests this ruling will take some time to sort out.  One thing is certain however, struggling American families will now have a new tax to deal with.

In an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC News Barack Obama insisted that the government forcing people to buy Health Care Insurance was not a TAX.

This man could have had a great career as a car salesman or a carnival barker at the "guess your weight" booth. 

This administration reminds me of a freak show without a tent.

Here the court’s 193 page ruling.

Can Health Care in America Be Fixed?

Regardless of the Supreme Court’s ruling today on ObamaCare, what happens next?

Here is an interesting discussion between Dr. Manisha Sharma from Doctors for America Socialist Doctors for America and John Goodman of the National Center for Policy Analysis and author of the new book “Priceless.”   This debate originally aired FBN’s Stossel, June 21.

BOOK REVIEW: The Great Destroyer

David Limbaugh writes the definitive 2012 handbook on what I would describe as the laziest Commander-in-Chief in the history of our Republic.

Click on book cover to read The Washington Times Book Review of “The Great Destroyer.”

RELATED READING

• A Book Review: “THE AMATEUR” Barack Obama in the White House (FIJ) 

Sean Hannity interviews Limbaugh about his new book  “The Great Destroyer.”

Witnesses to History SCOTHUS Decides fate of ObamaCare Tomorrow

 Tomorrow we will all be witnesses to history when the United States Supreme Court delivers its opinion on the Constitutionality of  what has been come to be known as “ObamaCare.”

In a piece this morning entitled The Liberal Naysayers vs. The Federalist Papers J.T. Young at The American Spectator wrote the following:

Tomorrow, the Supreme Court will issue one of the most important decisions in its history. It will decide if the Constitution, as it currently exists and was originally intended, is still superior to the actions of the two other branches of the federal government.

Throughout America's history, there has been no doubt that it is. This week, and especially from our most liberal quarters, this historical foundation will be disregarded -- and in the most extreme outbursts, denied outright. Those protests will only grow louder if the Supreme Court rules, as it should, and overturns the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare).

It is therefore worthwhile to keep in mind the opinions of three who helped write, defend, and finally pass the Constitution. James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton, collectively authoring The Federalist Papers, offer responses to today's liberals that are, if anything, no less important now than when they originally wrote.

Liberals have already attempted to marginalize the Constitution -- thereby diminishing its role relative to the government -- effectively aiming to decide the case in the court of public opinion before it was ever heard in the Supreme Court. They again will claim that the Constitution cannot keep pace with the exigencies of our modern life. They will say that the federal government is more responsive and knows best.

In response, we should call to mind the words of Madison, writing in Federalist Paper #62: "It may be affirmed, on the best grounds, that no small share of the present embarrassments of America is to be charged on the blunders of our governments; and that these have proceeded from the heads rather than the hearts of most of the authors of them. What indeed are all the repealing, explaining, and amending laws, which fill and disgrace our voluminous codes, but so many monuments of deficient wisdom…?"

The Constitution and the Court remain our last fail-safes against the federal government's mistakes.

Liberals have also sought to deny the role of the Supreme Court in this case. They have said, and the Administration has echoed, that the Supreme Court has no role in the PPACA because it is a duly-passed action of the Congress.

Click to read more ...

Dear Mr. President you’ve lost Jon Stewart and That's a BFD!

We would have embedded the Stewart video in this story, however when we tried to get the code we received this response: Embedding disabled by request. 

Gee that’s weird...

So, we'll have to settle for a link to Stewart's rant on Obama.

Here is the full letter sent by House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa to the President of the United States on his use of executive privilege over the Department of Justice’s deadly scandal involving an Alchohol Tabacco and Fire Arms (ATF) operation named “Fast and Furious.”

We are presenting this in hopes of perking our readers’ interest in in this national disgrace perpetrated against the people of the United States by the corrupt Obama Administration especialy its Department of Justice.

George Washington’s Personal Copy of the Constitution Sold At Auction

A book once owned by George Washington containing his personal annotated copy of the U.S. Constitution and a copy of the Bill of Rights sold for nearly $10 million at a New York auction Friday.

According to the Associated Press, the 223-year-old book says “President of the United States” on the cover and is marked up with brackets and notes Washington made about the responsibilities of the president.  Read more…

RERLATED MATERIAL

• Mount Vernon Ladies Association of the Union
• George Washington’s copy of the Constitution sells for record $9.8M at auction

Wounded Veteran Turns Passion for Motorcycles into Business

Visit Wounded Warriors Project and help make a difference in the lives of our wounded veterans.

Mayor Taylor Throws Citizens Group Under the Bus

EDITORIAL--it was only a matter of time. Last Tuesday, Franklin Mayor Tom Taylor apparently has no more use for Greg Kowalski’s non-profit group; Citizens for Community Development which just over one year ago made this proposal to the City.  But that was then and this is now and this is now and the Mayor’s “flavor of the month” is Franklin resident and businessman Mike Zimmerman who presented an idea for a sports complex on county land currently being used by Crystal Ridge Ski Hill.

At the time, by all appearances Mayor Taylor seemed excited about the proposal Citizens for Community Development had put forth for the Milwaukee County Sports Complex located in Franklin just off Ryan road.

FranklinNOW wrote this in its coverage of the June 19 meeting:

"We've got a proposal that needs to get backing, needs to get support and needs to become reality. This will put Franklin on the map," said Mayor Tom Taylor, who asked city officials to consider plans for a multi-sport complex at Crystal Ridge, 7900 W. Crystal Ridge Drive.

Typical POLITICAL GIBBERISH. 

Define: “…put Franklin on the map.”

"We've got a proposal that needs to get backing, needs to get support and needs to become reality.”

What Mayor Tom Taylor is really doing here is setting up Franklin taxpayers for him and the common council to deliver the city’s $1.5 million impact fee fund to this developer, which in reality will become $3 million since the city (taxpayers) must match the $1.5 million impact fee in order for it to be used.

We also have a politician who based on his “resume” on the City’s website has never held a job in the private sector,  but includes that Taylor  served as an Executive Board member of Milwaukee District Council 48, AFSCME that represented approximately 14,000 public employees and served as Vice President and Chief Steward of Local 882, AFSCME.

This is the same government sector union that was recently part of a broad coalition of worker rights organizations that filed a legal challenge to Gov. Walker’s Budget Repair Bill. The organizations included the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 24, AFSCME Council 40, AFSCME Council 48, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC), the Wisconsin State Employees Union, The Wisconsin State AFL-CIO and the Service Employees International Union – Health Care Wisconsin (SEIU).

Together the organizations are filing a federal law suit against Scott Walker’s bill which denies hundreds of thousands of public employees their right to collectively bargain for a better life. The groups challenged the constitutionality of the state’s Budget Repair Bill which would destroy collective bargaining rights for all but a select group of public sector workers.  We all know how that went.

I heard the mayor say he was a Republican!

One thing seems certain though, Mayor Taylor seems to have a very short attention span.  Here are some of his administration’s unfinished “needs:”

South 27^th Street Corridor Project—remember the infamous “BOOMGAARD?

Remember the unfinished mess over the Payne & Dolan quarry  enhancement/expansion and that company’s ignoring air quality monitoring ordinances for more than six years.

Refer to theses stories:  to bring yourself up to speed on the mayor and common council’s lackadaisical approach to ordering Payne & Dolan to comply with city ordinances.  This quarry operation is releasing crystalline silica dust into the atmosphere:

1. Is the Quarry Expanding? Well...yes and no
2. Who's Monitoring the Quarry?
3. “There is absolutely no expansion of the quarry with the approval of this project”
4. City’s Elected Officials and Payne & Dolan’s Dirty Little Secret
5. Quarry Draft Ordinance Too Dense for City Leaders

According to OSHA the disease Silicosis is caused by exposure to respirable crystalline silica dust. Crystalline silica is a basic component of soil, sand, granite, and most other types of rock, and it is used as an abrasive blasting agent. Silicosis is a progressive, disabling, and often fatal lung disease. Cigarette smoking adds to the lung damage caused by silica. Silica has been classified as a human lung carcinogen.  Silicosis makes an individual more susceptible to Tuberculosis (TB), Scleroderma – a disease affecting skin, blood vessels, joints and skeletal muscles, as well as possible kidney disease.

Also, the quarry is surrounded by residential areas and is in close proximity to Pleasant View Elementary, Clare Meadows Senior Apartments, Franklin High School and the City's very popular the walking trail.

U.S. Constitution Ratified 224 Years Ago Today

By 1786, defects in the post-Revolutionary War Articles of Confederation were apparent, such as the lack of central authority over foreign and domestic commerce. Congress endorsed a plan to draft a new constitution, and on May 25, 1787, the Constitutional Convention convened at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. On September 17, 1787, after three months of debate moderated by convention president George Washington, the new U.S. constitution, which created a strong federal government with an intricate system of checks and balances, was signed by 38 of the 41 delegates present at the conclusion of the convention. As dictated by Article VII, the document would not become binding until it was ratified by nine of the 13 states.

Beginning on December 7, five states--Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut--ratified it in quick succession. However, other states, especially Massachusetts, opposed the document, as it failed to reserve delegated powers to the states and lacked constitutional protection of basic political rights, such as freedom of speech, religion, and the press. In February 1788, a compromise was reached under which Massachusetts and other states would agree to ratify the document with the assurance that amendments would be immediately proposed. The Constitution was thus narrowly ratified in Massachusetts, followed by Maryland and South Carolina. On June 21, 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the document, and it was subsequently agreed that government under the U.S. Constitution would begin on March 4, 1789. In June, Virginia ratified the Constitution, followed by New York in July.

On September 25, 1789, the first Congress of the United States adopted 12 amendments to the U.S. Constitution--the Bill of Rights--and sent them to the states for ratification. Ten of these amendments were ratified in 1791. In November 1789, North Carolina became the 12th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. Rhode Island, which opposed federal control of currency and was critical of compromise on the issue of slavery, resisted ratifying the Constitution until the U.S. government threatened to sever commercial relations with the state. On May 29, 1790, Rhode Island voted by two votes to ratify the document, and the last of the original 13 colonies joined the United States. Today the U.S. Constitution is the oldest written constitution in operation in the world.

On the 224^th anniversary of the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, it seems uncanny that as our Republic faces what some are calling a Constitutional crisis as the president and the Congress square-off over subpoenaed documents related to the Justice Department’s failed “Fast and Furious” operation which lead to the deaths of two Americans, U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry and ICE agent Jaime Zapata.

RELATED & RECOMMENDED READING

• EXCLUSIVE: 'Fast and Furious' whistleblower says he's 'disappointed' one year later (FOX News)
• Ratification of the Constitution
• Miracle at Philadelphia: The Story of the Constitutional Convention May to September 1787.

A Fathers Day Salute

Here's to all the prankster Dads we Love...

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

School Reform: “A Tale of Two Missions”

“A Tale of Two Missions” is a short film by Juan Williams and Kyle Olson and tells the story of competing cultures in American education through examples from our neighbor to the south--Chicago.

But the education establishment, led by the radical Chicago Teachers Union, is not willing to give an inch to allow better choices for underserved students. And the union still has enough money, influence and legal standing to make reform efforts difficult to implement.

The film features the Noble Street College Prep charter school and the amazing results its teachers and leaders are delivering for students and parents of Chicago. It also exposes the entrenched educational establishment bent on stifling school choice options and preserving its monopoly on state education dollars.

This thoughtprovoking film runs approximately 30 minutes and was created togenerate discussion about the role of our schools and what obstacles can be overcome when school culture is focused on student success rather than adult demands.

 RELATED STORIES

• Lessons Learned for Educators From the Wisconsin Recall (Huffington Post)
• Chicago Teachers Union Demands 30 Percent Pay Raise (The Heritage Foundation)

Wounded Warrior Progect: "I learned not to be angry anymore.”

Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) provides programs and services to severely injured Military service members during the time between active duty and transition to civilian life.

THE GREATEST TRAGETY IS BEING FORGOTTEN.

Visit WWP to learn more>

Honoring Old Glory

 

HAPPY FLAG DAY!

The “Stars and Stripes”, the official National symbol of the United States of America was authorized by congress on that Saturday of June 14, 1777 in the fifth item of the day’s agenda. The entry in the journal of the Continental Congress 1774-1789 Vol. Vlll 1777 reads “Resolved that the flag of the thirteen United States be Thirteen stripes alternate red and white: that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.”

  In Waubeka (in the town of Fredonia, Ozaukee County), Wisconsin, in 1885 Bernard John Cigrand a nineteen year old school teacher in a one room school placed a 10” 38 star flag in an inkwell and had his students write essays on what the flag meant to them. He called June 14th the flag’s birthday. Stony Hill School is now a historical site. From that day on Cigrand dedicated himself to inspire not only his students but also all Americans in the real meaning and majesty of our flag.

The National Flag Day Foundation, Waubeka, WI, Birth Place of Flag Day

RELATED STORY

• Flag Day: Betsy Ross, her 3 husbands, and other facts about the US flag (The Washington Post)

Obama: Green with Failure After Failure...

When President Obama took office in 2009, he told Americans that he “will be held accountable.” He also told us that, within his first term, he would turn around a struggling American economy and put the country back on the right track.

I’m Fired Up! How ‘bout you?!

RELATED STORIES

• Post reporters, shining a light on the Solyndra scandal (Washington Post)
• First Solar racks up huge losses (CNN Money)
• Stimulus recipient under investigation for insider trading (CBS News Investigates)
• Dept. of Energy's SunPower Loan Guarantee Under Fire(FoxBusiness)

Bring a Lawn Chair or Blanket and Enjoy!

Franklin Park Concerts, Inc., has announced its free annual Summer Concert Series featuring a variety of music genres to please nearly every music lover.

Concerts will take place at the Lions Legend Park Band Shell—Loomis and Legend Drive on Sundays at 1:30PM. Here are this summer’s concert dates and lineups.

Sunday, June 24: Vern & The Originals

A perennial favorite in the Franklin 4th of July parade, Vern & The Originals serve up a tasty helping of polkas and waltzes.

July 8: Above the Town

One of southeastern Wisconsin's premier Bluegrass bands, Above the Town provides a mix of the old with the new, performing music of the masters of bluegrass as well as original material.

 Sunday, July 22: Mood Swings

 This big band has been connecting Milwaukee area music lovers to the sounds of Swing and Jazz for many years.

Sunday, August 5 - The Concord Chamber Orchestra

Since 1975, the Concord Chamber Orchestra has offered talented, volunteer musicians the opportunity to create stimulating musical experiences for the enjoyment and inspiration of Milwaukee area audiences. Concord is an all-volunteer, non-paid group of approximately 50 musicians from a variety of professions and backgrounds.

This schedule can also be found on the City's website>

Act 10's $775,000 Positive Impact on Franklin Public School District Taxpayers

“So far, the impact of the bill that ended collective bargaining for anything other than wages which are still subjected [sic] to cap based on inflation for public school teachers has been insignificant in the classroom.”

—Paul Sojkowski, a teacher at Meadowview Elementary School and chief negotiator for the Oak Creek Education Association.

Franklin School Board President Janet Evans’ latest blog post includes a link to the Franklin School District’s first draft of its 2012-13 budget.

FIJ has reviewed the draft to determine what financial impact, if any, Act 10 had on the district’s 2012-13 budget.  We have found that conservatively, the District and therefore Franklin taxpayers will save approximately $775,000 in 2012-13 compared to the previous year’s budget   Here are the savings that are attributable to Act 10:

The District bid out its health and dental insurance for 2012-13 and consequently replaced WEAC Trust, an insurance company affiliated with WEAC, the Wisconsin teachers union, and contracted with Humana, which reduced the district’s health insurance rates by 10.22% or approximately $775,000 for 2012-13 (Benefits, page 7).  This savings not only benefits Franklin taxpayers, but the District ‘s union employees, as well; here is why.

Prior to Act 10 these employees were required to pay on average approximately 6 percent of annual health insurance premiums.  Act 10 requires that state employees pay at least 12.6 percent of the average cost of annual premiums which is now 10.22 percent less than with WEAC Trust.  This $775,000 reduction in health insurance costs is a win-win for taxpayers and district union employees.

Act 10 requires changes to the plan design necessary to reduce current premiums by 5 percent. Local employers participating in the Public Employers Group Health insurance would be prohibited from paying more than 88 percent of the lowest cost plan.

The draft budget also notes that the general Wisconsin retirement system (WRS) rate will increase for 2012-13.  However the District will enjoy a rate reduction based on paying off its debt service liability.  This is estimated to save the District almost $300,000 even with the rate increase from WRS.

This $300,000 saving is not attributable to Act 10, but to a one-time payment of $1 million the District received from the federal government in 2011-12 to help stabilize the budget (Significant Expense or Revenue Changes, page 8).

The draft budget notes that the District will soon begin negotiations with represented (union) groups regarding wages and that due to the nature of negotiations, the anticipated percentage increase in this category is not listed. The District goes on to state "It should be noted that most employees have taken a 7% to 11% cut in net pay due to the provisions of Act 10 related to retirement payments and the increased health insurance premium contributions." (Salaries, Page 6).

In our eyes, it is is misleading to characterize this "benefits" change as a "cut in net pay."  Pay or wages, whichever word you prefer to use, have not been removed from collective bargaing under Act 10.

The District's statement "that due to the nature of negotiations, the anticipated percentage increase in this category is not listed.."

The fact is that Act 10 has linked employee raises to the CPI-U (Consumer Price Index), most commonly nown as the cost of living rate.  The CPI-U that applies to employee contracts starting in July 2012, is an increase of 3.1 percent (CPI, page 6).  Therefore the District is able to come up with a very good estimate of its 2012-13 wage increase for union employees by simply multiplying 3.1 by the 2011-12 total wages.

Act 10 made various changes to limit collective bargaining for most public employees to wages. Total wage increases could not exceed a cap based on the consumer price index (CPI) unless approved by referendum.

The draft budget also states "It should be noted that the total revenue for the general fund is about $500,000 (1.1%) less than in 2011-12."(Significant Expense or Revenue Changes, page 8).

Without this $1 million bailout from the federal government, the general fund would in all likelihood not have a fund balance of $500,000.

Act 10 requires that employees of WRS employers, and the City and County of Milwaukee contribute 50 percent of the annual pension payment. The payment amount for WRS employees is estimated to be 5.8 percent of salary in 2011—more savings to taxpayers.

In 2011-12 and unrelated to Act 10, the District received a one-time payment at the closing of a City of Franklin Tax Incremental District (TID) of $376,000 which it will not receive in 2012-13.

RELATED STORIES

• A Balanced Look at The Impact of Wisconsin's Act 10 (FIJ)
• Keith Bach: WEAC's surveys show Act 10 working (Wisconsin State Journal)

Get Involved: Wounded Warrior Project

Visit Wounded Warrior Project>

One For The History Books

Wisconsinites are most likely happy to have the recall election behind them.  Gone for now are the obnoxious,  lie-ridden, deceptive political advertisements from both sides.  But for those Wisconsinites that voted last Tuesday, we are now a part of U.S. political history.

First, Wisconsin Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch now has the distinction of being the first lieutenant governor in U.S. history to face a recall election and secondly, Governor Scott Walker has become the first governor in U.S. history to survive a recall election with his decisive victory on Tuesday when Wisconsin voters delivered a heavy body-blow to organized labor.

The only two previous recall efforts against sitting governors were Lynn Frazier in North Dakota in 1921 and Gray Davis in California in 2003. Both of those governors lost.

By now you’ve probably heard more than enough analysis of this election, but we want to leave you with what Real Clear Politics considers the three takeaways from Wisconsin’s recall vote.

At Last: Wisconsin Recall Election Officially Over

THE FAT LADY HAS SUNG!