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Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Hunger Among Senior Citizens Reaches Record Levels
Increase in Hunger Among Seniors Accelerated by Great Recession (via PR Newswire)Unexpected Level of Growth Most Pronounced in Baby Boomers CHICAGO, May 22, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new report, entitled Spotlight on Senior Hunger, examining the growth of senior hunger in the United States finds that the number of food insecure seniors above the age of 60 has more than…
3 women to vie for 2 open seats on Berks County Court
And voters clearly liked the female candidates more, setting up a three-way contest in November among the three female attorneys on the ballot.
Berks County First Assistant District Attorney M. Theresa Johnson, a registered Democrat, rode her reputation as a tough, no-nonsense prosecutor to win nominations in both the Democratic and Republican primaries
Final but unofficial results show Johnson topping the Democratic primary with 6,513 votes. Johnson, 47, of Brecknock, also finished second in the Republican primary with 5,092 votes, virtually assuring her a seat on the Berks County bench after the November general election.
The top vote-getter in the Republican primary was Madelyn Fudeman, 56, of Cumru, who finished with 6,370 votes. This was Fudeman’s second attempt to win a seat on the Berks bench.
The second Democratic nomination went to Eleni Dimitriou-Geishauser, 42, of Exeter, who finished with 5,377 votes in the Democratic primary.
All eight candidates cross-filed in both the Democratic and Republican primaries. By winning the second GOP nod, Johnson prevented James A. Smith, 43, of Richmond, from advancing to the November election. Smith, making his first election run, finished with 4,972 in the GOP primary.
The other Republican candidates were John Muir, 45, of Lower Heidelberg, who finished with 4,840 votes in the GOP primary, Peter Schiaroli, 53, of Reading with 1,721 votes, and Mahlon Boyer, 35, of Exeter, with 1,151 votes.
The third Democrat in the race was Patrick Barrett, 53, of Maidencreek, who finished with 3,233 in the Democratic primary. Fudeman, a registered Republican, made a strong showing in the Democratic primary, receiving 5,129 votes.
There are openings on the Berks County Court because Judge Linda K.M. Ludgate retired in December and Judge Peter W. Schmehl will retire in January.
Judges serve 10-year terms, then face a retention vote to stay on the bench for another 10 years. The current annual salary is $173,271.
Berks County Treasurer
The only other contested countywide primary race on Tuesday was for the Republican nomination for Berks County treasurer. Dennis Adams, 61, of Amity, easily won the race with 9,042 votes, defeating Pat Lupia, 53, of Muhlenberg, who finished with 4,108 votes. There was no Democrats on the ballot so unless a third-party candidate emerges in November, Adams will succeed current Treasurer Nelson H. Long, a Republican who did not seek re-election.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Monday, May 20, 2013
David M. Shribman: Obama Administration crosses sacred lines
Columnist David Shribman is the latest liberal to put down the Kool-Aid and see Barack Obama for what he truly is.
David M. Shribman: Obama Administration crosses sacred lines
Shribman shreds Obama and his minions for violating Americans' Constitutional rights:
But these twin incursions into well-established rights -- violations of the trust and sense of fair-mindedness that government requires, even if politics does not -- underline two principles that should be sacred, whether the president is a Republican or a Democrat, whether the timbre of the times is conservative or liberal: Never mess with the work of an independent press. Never use the taxing authority of the government for political ends.No two institutions of American governance are more precious and deserving of caution from officials who -- and here Republicans and Democrats are equally vulnerable to sin -- believe they have reason to deplore the one and abuse the other.Read the full column at the link below:
David M. Shribman: Obama Administration crosses sacred lines
State-run media shocked by its spawn
Peter Riehm at American Thinker:
While the mainstream media is reaching for smelling salts, Democrats are stunned that anyone actually noticed, establishment Republicans are wondering if this Obama skullduggery could get them some positive media exposure, genuine conservatives are howling for action and justice, and the grassroots Tea Party groups are bewildered why it took so long for everyone to catch up. And finally, average Americans are asking, "what the heck is going on?"
Peter Riehm: Press shocked by their spawn
While the mainstream media is reaching for smelling salts, Democrats are stunned that anyone actually noticed, establishment Republicans are wondering if this Obama skullduggery could get them some positive media exposure, genuine conservatives are howling for action and justice, and the grassroots Tea Party groups are bewildered why it took so long for everyone to catch up. And finally, average Americans are asking, "what the heck is going on?"
Peter Riehm: Press shocked by their spawn
The House Judiciary Committee's Moment to Shine
Daniel Horowitz:
After 4 years of endless scandals sliding off Obama's Teflon back, it appears his luck is finally coming to an end. Why would Republicans want to bail him out by bestowing him with an amnesty bill?The House Judiciary Committee's Moment to Shine | RedState
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Guest column: IRS' Next Target: Your Health Insurance
Guest columnist
The mainstream media is rightly shocked and outraged to find the IRS has admitted to harassing and targeting the political opposition of President Obama just because they had "tea party" or "patriot" in their name, or an even graver sin, put on the IRS applications that they were a group dedicated to liberty, the Constitution or, as one report said, "seeking to make America a better place to live."
I truly appreciate the mainstream media’s coverage and outrage — it is well placed but not quite well timed. Those of us who got our start in the tea party have only been saying it for about four years.
I've been out in the mainstream media quite a bit this past week talking about how I shut down my little tea party group because I was fearful the IRS was going to come after me the way they were going after so many groups.
That's right, for a time, I shut down my political voice because I was fearful and quite frankly, I was intimidated by what the IRS would do to me because I was opposing President Obama's policies.
As much as I like to think I am one tough cookie — the fact is when all this was unfolding I was a pregnant stay-at-home mom — living on one income and I was extremely worried the IRS could come after me and my family and ruin our lives. It wouldn't be the first time in American history the IRS has done that.
Rather than risk that exposure — I shut down my group and I'm just glad bigger organizations dedicated to liberty — like Americans for Prosperity — were there when I wanted to have a platform to exercise my political voice.
But you know — it's not THIS IRS abuse that keeps me up at night with worry. It's something else to do with the IRS — far more dangerous and far more insidious and in just one more year, the IRS is going to have more power and more ability to gather personal information on Americans and use it to punitively punish us more than they ever had before.
Even without this recent scandal, it's pretty safe to say most Americans fear the IRS because they are unelected and unaccountable — yet the have the ability, at any time, to swoop in and take our hard-earned money — in the form of taxes — as they see fit. If we pay late, they fine us. If we fail to pay, it gets much worse than a fine. If we pay too little, we owe them big time on April 15th. If we pay too much during the year, they return our money to us in the form of a refund and act like they are bestowing a gift upon us rather than admitting they screwed up and took too much of our money. Our money. Our families. It's all very personal.
And while we sit here and shudder at what has happened, it's important to know that the IRS — the organization that just spent four years targeting the political opposition of the sitting President has been empowered by the President, through the health care law, to police every, single American's health care choices.
Do you want to know how bad this is going to get? Starting in 2014, all Americans are being forced to pay for health insurance. But under Obamacare — the IRS and not you will determine whether the insurance you have chosen "qualifies." You'll be forced now to send that information via your tax return. And if the government doesn’t like it? The IRS can hit you with a tax penalty.
That's right, the IRS can raise money for itself simply by deciding that you don’t have "qualifying" health insurance. Now, supporters of Obamacare will argue that there are rules and laws to mandate the IRS don't arbitrarily do that. Right ... just like there are rules and laws mandating that the IRS can't go after people because they have "patriot" or "tea party" in their name or happen to oppose the sitting President's policies. Didn't seem to stop the IRS from doing just that for the last four years, did it?
And here's what's worse: under Obamacare, the IRS was already given a billion dollars and hired 700 agents just to police our health care. It is estimated the IRS will need another $13 billion and 15,000 new agents just to police Americans' health care over the next decade and keep up with their tax collection duties.
There are so many reasons to repeal the President's health care law — but the recent admission by the IRS that they intentionally targeted the President's political opposition has to jump to number one. After all, do you want the people who can’t be trusted with our tax laws to be involved in your health care?
Jennifer Stefano is state director of Americans for Prosperity/Pennsylvania, a grassroots organization that promotes limited government and free markets. For more information, visit http://americansforprosperity.org You can also follower her on Twitter at @stefanospeaks!
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Friday, May 17, 2013
IRS 'knocked tea party off its mission'
Nixon was an amateur compared to Obama. People don't realize the extent of the Obama campaigns dirty tricks to steal the 2012 election.
IRS 'knocked tea party off its mission'
IRS 'knocked tea party off its mission'
Guest Column: What Happened to the First Amendment?
Guest columnist
Some of our most cherished freedoms are contained in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In order, the amendment protects our rights to freedom of religion, freedom of speech and of the press, and the freedom of assembly.
Actions by the President’s administration are chipping away at each one of these freedoms in distinct ways. First, the new health care law attacks the freedom of religious conscience. Second, the Department of Justice has issued a questionable subpoena of Associated Press phone records. Finally, the Internal Revenue Service has discriminated against conservative groups trying to voice their objections to an expansive federal government.
The freedom of religion includes the protection to follow one’s conscience. Under the new health care law, the Affordable Care Act, the government is mandating that employers provide insurance that pays for all forms of contraception. This includes coverage of abortion-inducing drugs, contraception, and sterilization.
There is only a very narrow exception for houses of worship and seminaries. Basically, the government is telling employers that they either have to violate their conscientious objections to these services or drop health insurance all together and pay a fine.
Religious charities and schools don’t see their actions as separate from their faith. They are a natural outpouring of their calling to serve God. The federal government is seeking to dictate what is right and wrong and make them choose between their calling and their conscience.
This is a grievous assault on the freedom of religion. We shouldn’t force this choice on any employer.
Freedom of the press means that reporters should have a reasonable expectation to privacy. This week, we discovered that the Department of Justice issued a highly questionable subpoena for the phone records of the Associated Press. Records included reporters’ home phones and even a phone in the House of Representatives press gallery.
Such a blanket subpoena for press records is simply unheard of. Speaking this week on television, George W. Bush’s Attorney General Alberto Gonzales stated that under his watch the department had avoided subpoenaing the press in this manner.
The department has stated that these records were requested as part of an investigation into the leak of information on a CIA operation in Yemen to stop a potential airline bombing. However, the subpoena is extremely broad and may not have been properly approved. The Attorney General denied any knowledge of the subpoena even though the department’s regulations require his approval.
Such a breach of press freedom is chilling. Reporters across the country now have to wonder whether they too could find their sources compromised by government investigations.
Americans have the freedom to assemble for political purposes and unite together to petition the government. The third attack on the First Amendment is the IRS targeting of Tea Party and other conservative groups. For more than a year, the IRS simply refused to approve any group with “Tea Party” in their name for 501(c)(4) non-profit status. The IRS asked these groups for information that they were barred from requesting by law.
At the same time, progressive groups with the same mission but different politics were routinely approved. The acting Commissioner of the IRS has been fired, but the woman who directed the division during the period in question is now running the IRS office in charge of implementing the health care law. If the IRS can’t be trusted to fairly review non-profit applications, why are we going to give them power over health care?
The IRS singled out these groups after several prominent Senate Democrats made public appeals to investigate non-profit applications. The chief Senate tax writer, Max Baucus (D-MT), wrote a letter in September 2010, just months before the IRS issued guidance targeting these groups. Simply put, the IRS appeared to be doing the bidding of liberal politicians.
The President says he respects the First Amendment, but officials under his direction are finding shocking ways to restrict our rights. The Founding Fathers knew that the government would always be tempted to restrict our liberty in the name of the common good or national security. The President is supposed to protect our constitutional freedoms. We need him to clearly stand against these abuses.
Rep. Joe Pitts represents Pennsylvania's 16th Congressional District.
Obama's Scandals Reveal the True Face of Government
Steven Greenhut: Power and force are the name of the game.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Sen. Rand Paul: A staggering abuse of power by Obama Administration
Sen. Rand Paul: Obama acts as though we no longer have a Constitution.
Sen. Rand Paul: A staggering abuse of power - Washington Times
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