Caffeinated Thoughts

North Carolina Becomes the 31st State to Pass a Marriage Amendment
Federal Prisoner Nabs 35% of Early Vote Against Obama in West Virginia Primary
The Iowa Department of Public Defense Continues to Stonewall
The Iowa Department of Education Wants to Hear From You
Santorum Endorses Romney

North Carolina Becomes the 31st State to Pass a Marriage Amendment

Posted: 08 May 2012 08:45 PM PDT

When the people have the chance to vote on marriage, they have voted in favor of preserving traditional marriage every time. An overwhelming majority, 61% to 39% voted in favor of amending the North Carolina Constitution to make marriage between a man and a woman as the "only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized." The measure will go into effect on January 1, 2013. Before that North Carolina already had a law that banned same-sex marriages. This amendment will protect the definition of marriage from state court challenges like what Iowa, Massachusetts and Connecticut saw when each state's supreme court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage. California had their constitutional amendment struck down by a federal judge.

Brian Brown of the National Organization for Marriage in a statement said that support for preserving the definition of marriage is growing:

It should not go unnoticed that our position that marriage is between a man and a woman is gaining support, not losing support. Earlier this week the Gallup poll showed that support for same-sex marriage is down. Actual vote percentages in favor of traditional marriage are rising. In 2008 in California, the Prop 8 constitutional amendment on traditional marriage passed with 52% of the vote. Then in 2009 in Maine, 53% of voters stood for traditional marriage and rejected same-sex marriage legislation. In 2010, 56% of Iowa voters rejected three Supreme Court judges who had imposed gay marriage in that state. And now more than 60% of North Carolina voters have passed a constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. There is a clear trend line, and it is moving in our direction.

North Carolina is the first state this year to have a vote on marriage. Maine, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington will also have votes on the definition of marriage.

Federal Prisoner Nabs 35% of Early Vote Against Obama in West Virginia Primary

Posted: 08 May 2012 08:15 PM PDT

You won't see that headline anyway in the mainstream media, but President Barack Obama's primary opponent in West Virginia, Keith Judd, has won 35% of the early vote in that state's Democrat primary. Who is Keith Judd? He's currently sitting in prison in Texas. He's also made the Idaho ballot and has grabbed a larger percentage of the primary vote than any other primary opponent that Obama has faced.

He has a winning resume as well. We just need to over look the little issue that he is a convicted felon. What does this say about President Obama's popularity when 35% of his party's electorate would rather have guy sitting in prison as their nominee?

Oh, and Mitt Romney won the Indiana, West Virginia, and North Carolina primaries. Pretty anticlimactic. I keep hearing that Ron Paul is somehow going to pull off this miraculous upset, but he only beat Santorum by less than 1% in North Carolina by 2% in Indiana and lost to him in West Virginia and he's no longer in the race. Earth to Ron Paul fans, it isn't happening. He may snap up all of the caucus state delegates and it still won't happen. When he barely beats or loses to a candidate who is no longer running it says a lot about your candidate's viability.

The Iowa Department of Public Defense Continues to Stonewall

Posted: 08 May 2012 07:15 PM PDT

I wanted to provide a follow-up on the story I wrote last week about the Iowa Department of Public Defense ignoring Iowa's Open Records Laws. My friend Darwin had applied to be an installation security officer at Camp Dodge. Darwin is a seven year veteran of the United States Army, he is a disabled Iraq War vet, and he has seven years of experience working as a security manager. He was told based on their point system he did not qualify for an interview, even though being a disabled veteran with all of the appropriate paperwork was supposed to qualify for 10 points. He made a formal request – numerous times to get a copy of that paperwork. Iowa law is clear, they have to provide it. As of today they still have not complied.

Darwin today decided to go in person to see if he could meet with Janie Keubler, a Human Resources Associate with the Iowa Department of Public Defense, since he has exchanged several emails and phone calls with her.

In the video below after they instructed him to turn his camera away, he spoke with the receptionist at Camp Dodge and the Provost Marshal.

Apparently Darwin is now being bounced to a Colonel Stabler. I've been unable to ascertain his exact position. It would seem likely that he oversees the human resources department for the Iowa Department of Public Defense. Darwin then followed up with another phone call to Ms. Kuebler, but instead spoke with Georganna Beavers who is an Human Resources Tech Assistant with the Iowa Department of Public Defense. She is the first person that Darwin had contact with in this process. She said, as you can hear in the video below, that Kuebler was unable to release the document until certain "issues" had been resolved which she refused to describe.

Darwin continues to get the run around. The Iowa Department of Public Department continues to stonewall and by doing so they are breaking the law. Darwin currently has a complaint filed with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, and now plans to file a complaint with the Inspector General's Office and the Iowa Ombudsman’s Office. He will also continue to try to meet with Colonel Stabler.

The Iowa Department of Education Wants to Hear From You

Posted: 08 May 2012 03:00 PM PDT

Well sort of… the Iowa Department of Education desires your feedback provided that you are a teacher, administrator or some other school employee. Apparently a parent (or even a student) is not considered a "customer." They do list an "other" option for the first question that asks "please choose the option that best describes your position."

So I think we all can qualify as "other," go ahead and give them a piece of your mind.

Here's the link. I find this instructive. Do we really think the collective attitude over there will change when they are given even more and more control?

Originally posted at Truth in American Education

Santorum Endorses Romney

Posted: 08 May 2012 06:45 AM PDT

In a late night email to supporters Rick Santorum said that he had decided to back Mitt Romney for President. Here is the full text of his email:

Thank you again for all you did as one of my strongest and committed supporters. Your belief in our campaign helped us start a movement of Americans who believe deeply that our best days are ahead as long as we fight to strengthen our families, unshackle our economy and promote freedom here and around the world. Karen and I will be forever grateful for the support, kindness and commitment you showed us, as well as our children, over these last months.
On Friday, Governor Romney came to Pittsburgh for an over-hour long one-on-one meeting. The conversation was candid, collegial and focused on the issues that you helped me give voice to during our campaign; because I believe they are essential ingredients to not only winning this fall, but turning our country around.
While the issue of my endorsement did not come up, I certainly have heard from many of you who have weighed in on whether or not I should issue a formal endorsement. Thank you for your counsel, it has been most helpful. However, I felt that it was completely impossible for me to even consider an endorsement until after a meeting to discuss issues critical to those of us who often feel our voices are not heard by the establishment: social conservatives, tea-party supporters, lower and middle income working families.
Clearly without the overwhelming support from you all, I never would have won 11 states and over 3 million votes, and we would not have won more counties than all the other candidates combined. I can assure you that even though I am no longer a candidate for president, I will still continue to fight every day for our shared values – the values that made America the greatest country in the history of the world.
During our meeting I felt a deep responsibility to assess Governor Romney’s commitment to addressing the issues most important to conservatives, as well his commitment to ensuring our appropriate representation in a Romney administration.
The family and its foundational role in America’s economic success, a central point of our campaign, was discussed at length. I was impressed with the Governor’s deep understanding of this connection and his commitment to economic policies that preserve and strengthen families. He clearly understands that having pro-family initiatives are not only the morally and economically right thing to do, but that the family is the basic building block of our society and must be preserved.
I also shared with Governor Romney my belief that we cannot restore America as the greatest economic engine the world has ever seen until we return America to being a manufacturing superpower. He listened very carefully to my advice on this matter, and while our policy prescriptions differed, he clearly expressed his desire to create more opportunities for those that are feeling left behind in this economy.
As it is often said, "personnel is policy." I strongly encouraged Governor Romney as he builds out his campaign staff and advisors that he add more conservative leaders as an integral part of his team. And you can be sure that I will work with the Governor to help him in this task to ensure he has a strong team that will support him in his conservative policy initiatives.
Of course we talked about what it would take to win this election. As you know I started almost every speech with the phrase that this was the most important election since the election of 1860 and four more years of President Obama is simply not an option. As I contemplated what further steps I will take, that reality weighed heavy on me. The America we know is being fundamentally changed to look more like a European socialist state than the land of opportunity our founding fathers established.
Freedom and personal responsibility are being replaced with big government dependency. The greatest and most productive workers in the world are being hamstrung by excessive regulations making it impossible to compete. Our healthcare system had been socialized, and the worth of each life dictated by some government bureaucrat. Our allies are insulted while our enemies are appeased. And our religious beliefs and freedom have come under attack.
What is even more troubling is what a second term of an Obama administration could bring. President Obama’s admission to the Russians that he will have more flexibility in a second term can only be translated to "if you thought I was liberal in the first four years you haven’t seen anything yet!"
The primary campaign certainly made it clear that Governor Romney and I have some differences. But there are many significant areas in which we agree: the need for lower taxes, smaller government, and a reduction in out-of-control spending. We certainly agree that abortion is wrong and marriage should be between one man and one woman. I am also comfortable with Governor Romney on foreign policy matters, and we share the belief that we can never allow Iran to possess nuclear weapons. And while I had concerns about Governor Romney making a case as a candidate about fighting against Obamacare, I have no doubt if elected he will work with a Republican Congress to repeal it and replace it with a bottom up, patient, not government, driven system.
Above all else, we both agree that President Obama must be defeated. The task will not be easy. It will require all hands on deck if our nominee is to be victorious. Governor Romney will be that nominee and he has my endorsement and support to win this the most critical election of our lifetime.
My conversation with Governor Romney was very productive, but I intend to keep lines of communication open with him and his campaign. I hope to ensure that the values that made America that shining city on the hill are illuminated brightly by our party and our candidates thus ensuring not just a victory, but a mandate for conservative governance.
Karen and I know firsthand how difficult the campaign trail can be particularly as governor Romney faces relentless attacks from the democrats. We have been praying for him and his family and will continue to do so in the weeks and months ahead.
Thank you again for all you have done for us, and I look forward to working together to defeat President Obama this fall and to protect faith, family, freedom and opportunity in America.

It wasn't a ringing endorsement, but an endorsement nonetheless. I find it interesting that he didn't really call on his supporters to throw their support behind Romney so it stopped short of doing that. David brought up the point yesterday that he signed a "vow" that he wouldn't make an endorsement like that so he is sure to receive some flak for doing so now. My position hasn't changed. I don't begrudge anyone who decides to support Romney nor those who say they can't. I'm not endorsing him and the most he could possibly get out of me is a vote.

Horoscop

miercuri, 9 mai 2012

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