PREDICTIONS BY 'THE GHOST'…………..2009




NOTE: "The Ghost" has the flu so I am posting this....


National Predictions:

The RNC will not pander to the media’s call for more diversity in the GOP and will vote in another white guy as its Chairman.

The new white Chairman of the RNC will pander to the media while pleading for more minority participation and visibility within the GOP.

The GOP will appear as stupid and racist as ever. Perception may not be reality but it sure says a lot about you. Dare I say it………. “Yes, honey, that dress makes you look fat…….. Yes, GOP members, RNC Chairman hopeful Chip Saltsman’s CD with the song, Barack the Magic Negro, makes you look racist, insensitive, home-schooled, ignorant, Southern, stupid, really old, really angry, elitist, scared and pure white.”

Michael Steele will continue his God-given mission to give the GOP a huge dose of much needed radical honesty. Thank you Jesus.

More Fortune-500 corporations will bully the “free market” into lobbying for additional corporate welfare.

Bush’s White House cabinet members will suddenly find themselves reaping millions of dollars in windfall profits from defense contractors.

Bush will do a little “consulting” for the Carlyle Group.

Blagojevich has a lot more to say about Chi-town politicians now working in Washington D.C.
There will be another Monica Lewinsky but not another blue dress.


Local Predictions:

1. New Arizona Governor, Jan Brewer, will surround herself with young, enthusiastic and common-sense Republicans. You go girl.

2. Jan Brewer will not bow to the demands nor cop the attitude of the Haneyites. You go girl.
3. Current AZ GOP Chairman Randy Pullen is going, going, gone.
4. Rob Haney will spontaneously combust.
5. Sam Crump will set his sights on Washington D.C. and then spontaneously combust when he realizes that he can’t get elected to D.C. via Arizona or California.

6. No one will read Bob Haran’s blog except for those few that he has offered to “take to the desert”……just in case he sets a date for the beat-down.

7. New Desert Ridge Justice of the Peace, Clancy Jayne, becomes a bigger media darling than Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Judge Jayne is offered a multi-year seven-figure deal to star in his own reality show. He bids a fond farewell to his people in DV.

8. Carl Seel does NOT win the Freshman Legislator of the Year award. However, he does win the “Most Lunches Eaten Alone” award.

9. BFFs Sam Crump and Carl Seel appeal to Judge Clancy Jayne for an annulment of their short term relationship. Seel claims that Crump really is a RINO-lover when they had ONLY agreed to be RHINO-lovers.

Published in the New York Post on January 6, 2009

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It now looks like half of President-elect Barack Obama's stimulus package will take the form of "tax cuts" for 95 percent of all Americans. Yet this wouldn't so much boost the economy as trigger a massive, unhealthy shift in American politics.

Under Obama's plan, the majority of American voters would pay no federal income taxes, but would get money from the government instead. That is, these "refundable tax credits" are basically welfare checks - and Obama's plan would leave the most of us collecting, not paying.

A $200 billion giveaway won't do much to get a $14 trillion economy rolling again. But the plan would leave any future taxpayer revolt no hope of majority support.

CLICK HERE TO SEE TYPICAL OBAMA VOTER 'PEGGY THE MOOCHER'
Today, the bottom 50 percent of US taxpayers pays a total of $30.6 billion in federal income taxes on a combined income of about $1 trillion. So about 3 percent of all federal income-tax payments come from the poorest half of the country.(The top 1 percent pays 40 percent; the top 25 percent pay 85 percent of the federal income tax.)Obama's plan - he'd give all couples a $1,000 refundable tax credit and all single people $500 - would funnel more than $50 billion to the lowest half of the country, thereby completely wiping out their total federal tax liability. In most cases, it would trigger a "refund" welfare check.

In one stroke, this would transform the majority of voters from taxpayers into tax eaters - and leave an increasingly small minority to pay the bill. Whether or not this is good economics, it is very dangerous politics.

Essentially, it would put those who actually pay the taxes that fund our government into much the same situation as landlords in New York City - hopelessly outvoted by their tenants, who use their political clout to limit rents and landlords' profits.
Since Ronald Reagan, the anti-tax movement has been based on a blue-collar revolt against high taxes; it would lose that constituency under the Obama plan. Taxpayers would be politically helpless and the tax-eating majority would have free reign to impose any levies it wished.
Almost all of the 68 million tax filers in the country's bottom economic half would get a check from Washington at tax time. Some would be among the 22 million who get money from the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Others would get a $500 check through the (Bush-passed) Child Tax Credit - and all would get funds through the new Obama tax credit.
Welfare would no longer be only for the poor - the majority of the voters would depend on government handouts. This very system is what makes European social democracies so resistant to change.
In 1980, the bottom 50 percent of the nation paid 7 percent of the national tax bill, after refund and credits. It now pays 3 percent; under Obama's plan, it would pay less than nothing (that is, it would net a profit from the IRS). In 1980, the top 1 percent paid 19 percent of the income-tax burden; now it's 40 percent. Taxes have become the province only of the rich.
Of course, the shift in tax burden also mirrors the incredible increase in incomes of the wealthy in the last 30 years - the top 1 percent earned only 8 percent of the total national income in 1980; now it earns 22 percent. And the poorest half has seen its share of national income fall from 17 percent in 1980 to only 12.5 percent today.
So it is both fair and sensible to give the poor a tax break and to draw the bulk of federal revenues from the rich. But to exempt the bottom half - a majority of the voters - from paying any taxes and to award them refund checks instead would dangerously alter the fundamental balance of national politics. For the economically well off, it could effectively become taxation without representation - which, as the founders of our nation warned, leads to tyranny.

Hot Sarah Palin Calendar Released- Click Here Now!

Iodine Kills Cancer Cells as it Protects Heart

Obama Caught Red-Handed! Report Exposes Funny Money

Go to DickMorris.com to read all of Dick's columns!

In this 2001 "lost episode" of Check, Please!, then state senator Obama reviewed Dixie Kitchen and Bait Shop.
By News Video
Monday, January 5, 2009

CLICK HERE TO SEE OBAMA THE RESTAURANT REVIEWER

I hope you enjoy my New Year's video and agree this is the Year of the Comeback.
CLICK HERE TO SEE MICHAEL STEELE'S NEW YEAR MESSAGE!
Read the first 3 Chapters of my Blueprint for Tomorrow.


Paid for by Michael Steele for RNC Chairman

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Dear Friend,

The Democrats are on the verge of seating Al Franken as the next U.S. Senator from Minnesota.

This is simply an outrage!

On election day, Republican Norm Coleman was ahead by hundreds of votes.

Since then, Franken and liberal allies like George Soros have raised millions to wage a legal fight contesting every Coleman ballot.

With the help of the Democratic Sec. of State in Minnesota, the "recount" has gone wildly in Franken's favor.

With claims of outright vote fraud, double voting -- they are even rejecting military ballots cast by our servicemen overseas to help Franken -- Franken now claims a lead.
He must be stopped. He can be stopped.

The Republican National Lawyers Association (RNLA) is the nation's leading Republican group fighting for a fair vote in Minnesota.

This is the same group that exposed ACORN and is led by a distinguished advisory board, including former attorney general Ed Meese and former solicitor general Ted Olson.
They desperately need to raise funds as the Minnesota recount comes down to the wire.

Please help them today by donating now -- Go Here Now.
Also, read their urgent message below.

Yours,
Dick Morris


Stop Al Franken Before It's Too Late!

Dear Dickmorris.com Reader:
The fix is in!

Senate Democrats led by Harry Reid are planning to certify Al Franken the "winner" in the contested Minnesota seat that Republican Norm Coleman is fighting to keep.

New York Sen. Charles Schumer said Sunday that Democrat Al Franken is the clear winner in Minnesota's Senate race and should be seated as soon as possible and last week Democrat Senate Leader Harry Reid said "it appears that Franken will be certified the winner by the state Canvassing Board."

For weeks after the election Norm Coleman led Franken by hundreds of votes and Reid and company were very quiet.

After Franken raised millions and waged a fierce legal battle over a handful of rejected ballots, he claims he is ahead of Coleman by about 225 votes.

The Democrats want to seize on this claim and parachute Al Franken into the U.S. Senate.

The Democrats may use this dubious "certification" to actually seat Franken in the Senate on January 6 -- before the process in Minnesota is even complete!

The Democrats have claimed they were for a fair and honest recount, but the facts show this was simply a lie.

The truth is that billionaire George Soros and ACORN-backed Democrat Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie's Canvassing Board have backed Franken's outrageous subversion of the vote process: some Franken voters have voted twice, Coleman votes have been rejected, and the Franken camp literally makes up the recount rules as they go along.

The irregularities in this Election Contest are absolutely shocking -- and allowing Franken to claim victory now is outrageous.

With the help of Minnesota's liberal Sec. of State Mark Ritchie they have rewritten the rules and Franken now has a "lead."

The Republican National Lawyers Association (RNLA) has been the leader in fighting against vote fraud and for open, fair, and honest elections.

We at the RNLA need your urgent help today to expose the fraudulent efforts of Harry Reid and a Soros-ACORN supported Secretary of State to pick Al Franken the next Senator from Minnesota.

We must expose their brazen attempt to subvert the democratic process -- before the vote is even final!

You can help us stop Harry Reid and George Soros -- Donate Here Now

Let me reveal to you just how Franken and Ritchie are working to steal this election from Republican Norm Coleman.

Ritchie has taken votes that were clearly for Coleman and rejected them, putting them in a pile for the courts to decide at a later date.

Meanwhile, Franken votes have been accepted, giving Franken an artificial lead.
During the recount supposed "errors" were corrected, almost always favoring Franken. Though this is statistically improbable, the votes were counted for Franken.

In one voting precinct that clearly benefitted Coleman, the Ritchie led Canvassing Board ruled that the recount will not include them -- instead that one precinct will have to live with the final vote total as of election night.

The Ritchie led canvassing board has even admitted they are "not going to be entirely consistent" when reviewing challenged ballots and has ruled a number of votes as votes for Franken when his circle is marked and as under votes when the Coleman circle is identically marked.

The effort to subvert a fair vote is so obvious, even a Democratic election official in Minneapolis admitted votes are being counted twice.

"I know it happened in several precincts," she said.

Simply put, the Ritchie led Secretary of State office wants to decide this election in Franken's favor and certify him the "winner."

They want Reid and Senate Democrats to seat him in the Senate.

They don't care if Coleman fights the election in court -- after the fact.

As National Republican Senatorial Chair Texas Senator John Cornyn stated: "Al Franken is falsely declaring victory based on an artificial lead created on the back of the double counting of ballots."

We here at the RNLA are waging a fierce battle to stop Franken, Soros and Ritchie.
We have the truth on our side.

We need to expose these illicit attempts to steal the election and seat Al Franken in the Senate.
You can help up today -- Go Here Now.

Remember this Senate seat is crucial. If Franken joins the Democrats he will give them 59 seats. They will be just one short vote of a filibuster.

They will be able to push through a radical liberal agenda.

But we can still stop them.
We need your help today -- Go Here Now

Thank you.

Michael Thielen
Executive Director

PS. During this holiday and New Year our members have not taken off. We at the RNLA believe strongly that the people in Minnesota deserve a fair vote. We need your help to stop Harry Reid Senate, Al Franken lawyers, and the ACORN backed Secretary of State Mark Ritchie Canvassing Board from picking the next Minnesota Senator and ignoring the will of the voters of Minnesota. Help us today -- Go Here Now

Go to DickMorris.com to read all of Dick's columns!

To Arizona Republican leaders--From 1993 until 1996 now Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour served with distinction as RNC Chair.

I hope you will read this excellent article about the opportunities we have in 2009 and how they compare with the outlook we faced in 1993 when a young , dynamic Democrat President moved into the White House , Democrats dominated both house of congress and GOP prospects looked bleak.

Please read this article from the Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123025031141334305.html

I believe we can all see our way forward over the next couple of years but it's going to take alot of hard work. True , we are looking for new leadership at the top but as the article strongly suggests the true strength of our party rises from the grass roots of our party. Let's unite and get behind the Grand Old Party and transform us into the Greater Opportunity Party.

Bruce Ash
National Committeeman
www.AshForArizona.com

To Arizona GOP leaders...........Please take a few moments to get familiar with South Carolina State GOP Chairman , Katon Dawson , who has announced his intention to run for the RNC Chair position.
Katon and I have worked together at the RNC and we have spoken frequently over the past several months about the need for the RNC to better support our state parties and candidates. He brings his outsider view points to the position he has also been a very successful state party chairman in South Carolina. I have observed him to be a shrewd political operative with good instincts and excellent organizational and fund raising success. Don't be fooled by the accent or the youthful looks. In my experience working with Katon Dawson he is a bull dog. \
He is fiercely committed ( like the others ) to our success and believes we will win future elections only if we stick to our conservative principles.
Katon Dawson is a life long South Carolinian. He operates a successful family business in South Carolina and throughout the southeast . As with all of the others Mr Dawson would move to Washington DC to run the day to day operations of the committee if he is elected to this post. He is neither interested in running for public office nor is he a supporter of any presidential aspirant.
Katon has put together his FOX News interview and I have also included Mr Dawson's action plan in the attached pieces.I am interested in receiving feed back from you on all of the RNC candidates. This is an important decision that will impact us for many years to come.
Bruce AshNational Committeemanwww.AshforArizona.com
http://www.katondawson.com/The_Dawson_Plan.htmlhttp://katondawson.blip.tv/#1509982

About Palestine? Well, the story usually gets long and with a lot of different characters, but in a nutshell, this is about it.
Let us say that you have been promised a whole pie and are looking forward to it. You have been a long time without pie. Let us say that your neighbor heard about the promise and complained that nobody ever promised them a pie. Oh, they have always had a slice of pie any time they wanted one, but they had never done anything to earn a whole pie and had never asked for one. The neighbors maintained a steady cacophony of loud and ill-mannered complaints and law suits, trying to stop the fulfillment of the pie promise and harassed anyone that showed disagreement with their cause. Finally, to avoid more bad feeling, it was decided to share the pie, half for you and half for the neighbors.

Now let us say that on the day that the promise was scheduled to be fulfilled, the pie was put out to cool and
one of the neighbors cut out about ¾ of the pie and ran off with it. No one did anything about the pie-grab, but only a quarter of the pie was left. The other neighbor said that the remainder still had to be split 50-50, even though “the neighbors” already grabbed off 75 per cent of the original pie.

You could have complained that “the neighbors” who were supposed to get 50 percent already took it upon themselves to take 75 percent; however, you know that nobody ever takes your side, so you simply go along with the new split, which incidentally is now 12.5 percent of the pie; a very thin sliver, the other 12.5 percent going to the neighbor who did not get any pie yet (even though he should have shared the 75 percent his relative took).
After the official split, all the neighbors assaulted you to get your thin sliver and you had to fight on and off for years to keep it. To make matters worse, the neighbor who received the other sliver is asking for half of your sliver and everyone in the area, even your dumb friends, thinks that is fair. Now you are being assaulted all over again to surrender 50 percent of the 12.5 percent you realized from the original promise, which would leave you with only 6.25 percent of the original pie, or half of almost nothing. If you are ever stupid enough to give up 50 percent of what little you have now, you know that directly afterwards, your neighbors will be demanding 50 percent more. And after that...
There are many other parts to the story, none of them fair to Israel. As far as the land part of the Palestinian picture is concerned, that is how I see it.
HJS

Sorry for the lack of posts the last couple of weeks. We just celebrated a fantastic Christmas & New Year's with our entire family. I hope you all had a great Holiday season. We will be back to normal next week.....


Today's Wild-Card Playoff Game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Atlanta Falcons should be a shoot-out! The Cards WILL have their 'A' game today; Passing Game with Kurt Warner to Boldin, Fitzgerald, and Breaston will be un-stoppable. Cards "D" has to stop the Falcons running game. Should be a great game!

My Prediction:





CARDINALS 38















FALCONS 31

ALL OF US AT POLITICO MAFIOSO

WISH YOU A SAFE & HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

This is my first post here since "Tony" graciously invited me to be an author here.

Not sure how it will go over but here goes.

I am absolutely outraged that our elected representatives are giving themselves a pay raise. They are not voting themselves a pay raise. No self respecting member of the House or Senate (An oxymoron.) would want to have to go to the floor and vote themselves a pay raise so they made it automatic. There is a provision that those opposed could sponsor a bill blocking a pay raise but House "Leader" Nancy Pelosi has stifled that bill.

Aaron Marks of www.nextgengop.com got me thinking about this.

I have to wonder: where is the outrage from everyday Americans?! As Americans struggle to afford to simply pay their bills, as the economy continues to look bleaker, at least we can rest assured in knowing that our elected officials won’t share our woes – instead, their coffers will continue to grow. After all, it’s not their money they are spending.

You can read the rest of his post here.

Howie Rich of www.getliberty.org also weighed in…

But this $2.5 million is different, not because of how much money it represents, but because of what it represents - failure, greed, hypocrisy and a culture of evading responsibility for one's actions.
Simply put, while the amount of taxpayer debt our politicians are pouring into a failed philosophy of governance soars to an all-time high, America's faith in its failed government institutions is drooping to an all-time low.
And while millions of Americans are bearing the bitter fruit of this cataclysmic institutional failure in the form of lost jobs, vanished savings, depressed income levels and higher tax burdens, the architects of the fiscal Armageddon currently consuming our nation are giving themselves a pay raise?

And of course I wrote about it at Lets Get This Right.

Let’s look at this for a second. The House and Senate are holding hearings excoriating Wall Street investment bankers, mortgage lenders and auto executives over their business practices.
One of the first comments from these so-called “congressional leaders” is that must accept limits on their pay if they hope to get money from the taxpayers.

Do these Representatives or Senators receive ANY compensation that doesn’t come from the taxpayers?

Perhaps we should at least postpone the pay raise until say, March 31st and demand that Congress come up with a “business plan for viability” of the US Government. Let’s remember that if the US Government had to operate under the same accounting rules that they force companies to adhere to it would have been bankrupt long ago.

Please help us tell Congress that taxpayers do not reward incompetence, greed and hypocrisy.

Please sign the petition against Congressional Pay Raises at No Pay Raise!

Please write a letter to the Editor of your local paper at Write A Letter.

You can find your US Congressman at http://www.house.gov/
You can find your US Senator at http://www.senate.gov/

Tell them you don’t think they deserve a raise! They don’t deserve the $174,000 a year they get but don’t earn.

Here are a few more links...

http://www.kansascity.com/news/nation/story/958772.html

http://usgovinfo.about.com/cs/agencies/a/raise4congress.htm

http://www.dequalss.com/wp/2008/12/18/congressional-pay-raises-take-that-tax-payers/

http://councilfor.cagw.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=11784&news_iv_ctrl=0&abbr=CCAGW_

Dear Friend:


I am pleased to share with you the third chapter of my Blueprint For Tomorrow. In my experience as a former County Chairman and State Chairman of the Maryland Republican Party, this section of my plan speaks to the backbone of the Republican Party. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.




CLICK HERE TO SEE MICHAEL STEELE'S LATEST VIDEO


Building A National MovementA New Partnership With State And Local Parties


1. The Urgent Need

In a life spent advancing our conservative principles, I have had the privilege to serve as a county chairman, a state chairman, a candidate and an elected official. But my greatest appreciation for the important work our party came from my time door knocking, stuffing envelopes and talking to voters. These experiences have each consistently illustrated for me a key lesson: the road to victory is paved by discipline, hard work and collaboration. In each instance, I’ve had the opportunity to view the RNC through various lenses and can bring to the chairmanship a local activist’s and candidate’s sensibilities. Yet, that alone will not be enough.


No one person’s experiences will be enough to transform the RNC. To bring as much insight and wisdom into our operations as possible, I will build strong bridges to state party officials and develop a seasoned staff who will support my efforts to create build a party unified in message but also in operation.

My plan for winning the future relies on collaboration as the foundation to the road to victory.

We need to forge a new working relationship between the RNC and state and local parties that will deliver a unified message and assure an amplification of resources. This will require constant dialogue. It will require a free and open exchange of ideas. And, it will require an immediate and collaborative examination with the Republican leaders of every state and the leadership of the RNC on what is and isn’t broken.

Each state Party must examine how the Republican brand, and Republican ideals, can best be advanced in their ongoing efforts to improve. As leaders, our role is to listen to a broad universe of stakeholders, to unify around our common goals and then to create solutions that work. As history has repeatedly shown us, our success depends on winning campaigns at all levels of government: local, state, and federal. This will demand a heuristic approach with its roots in a strong relationship between those local, state, and national activists.

While each state Party is different – with different constituencies and different needs – we must position the RNC to extend itself to each as a trusted and constant teammate as we develop messages, recruit candidates, reach out to new voter groups, organize volunteers, and raise money. And it starts with making you a partner in the process at the inception of our plan for 2009 and beyond.

2. Driving Change That Delivers

I propose that the most effective RNC would be one that views itself and organizes itself as a conduit for action, knowledge, and resources. Designed to support Republican candidates and activists in all 50 states, the RNC I seek to lead would work as a team in order to harvest the very best ideas and the brightest talent from across the nation.

· Build an Intranet between all State Parties to enable constant and ongoing communications. This simple but game-changing technology will transmit in real-time the mood and tempo in each district to all stakeholders and will enable powerful sharing of best practices as collected at both the state and national levels. This intranet will be the vehicle to developing that behavior.

· Create an Ethical Review Committee, comprised of RNC members, that articulates plainly and unambiguously a code of ethics that reflects the value we put on energized but principled contest. This code will apply to all RNC staff, consultants, and vendors regardless of tenure or supposed favor. This code will apply first and foremost to the RNC and will help to ensure that state parties are never again compelled to employ “preferred” vendors.

· Regional field directors will be the synapses of the Republican system. Their ability to rapidly comprehend the situation on the ground and to ensure a smooth flow of information and resources between State Parties and the RNC will be critical. As a result, the RNC will work with State Party leaders to chart ideal qualifications and identify the best candidates. There is too much talent within the RNC membership to leave candidate recruitment solely to the campaign committees. We need to work together to get the best candidates into the race. After all, state and local parties know their local players and dynamics better than Washington DC. This can set the stage for expanding the playing field with more competitive races as the overall environment changes.

· A 50 state plan is necessary to develop a national dialogue but also to tap into the vision and experience embedded in State Parties that have too long been neglected as “too blue”, “too red” or “not strategic.” We must construct a more collaborative relationship between the RNC and state and local parties. The RNC will work with each State Party to ensure Republicans are competitive in every corner of the nation.

· Leveraging fundraising resources requires a close partnership with state parties. The RNC will freely offer resources and know-how to our State Party partners in order to recruit the best fundraising experts in each state or region, experts who will not just advise state leaders but who will work hand-in-hand to build successful strategies and raise actual money. Our fundraising must employ every strategy, every tactic, and every technology; it will only work if we become the party of ideas for the future of America.

· Hold regular regional meetings and conference calls with State Parties to maximize collaboration and communications. Collaboration will be the cornerstone of my plan. The RNC, under my chairmanship, will be committed to facilitating both telephonic and personal meetings to keep us connected today and extending into our shared future. Member-only conference calls and meetings in which we enjoy a candid discussion of the various issues confronting our Party—everything from strategy and messaging to structure and organization—will be a regular and integral part of protocols put in place immediately..

· Refresh our political training program. We will identify, train, and support a new corps of top-notch candidates and committed operatives who will carry our message in every congressional district and legislative district in this nation. We’ll also recruit candidates who can cross the ethnic, gender, and demographic divides that too often separate our country and cause confusion about our Party. We will establish training programs dedicated to utilizing the latest technology innovations and establishing new media outlets. With the right people in place, firm goals and the tools to achieve those goals, we will – from the bottom up – begin to change the way we communicate to voters and elect Republicans.


· Building our grassroots will be paramount to winning elections. We must do a much better job of networking into our communities. We spend too much time talking to ourselves instead of spreading the gospel to potential believers. As a party we need to focus on the people who live and work in our districts. We need to speak to them directly and we need to facilitate their grassroots and turnout. We must build and energize new volunteer networks. Without them, we lack the most important means of communicating our message — word-of mouth and neighbor-to-neighbor.

To that end, I plan to recruit and train 25,000 new activist leaders by 2012. Many of these folks will become campaign managers. Most will help organize, train and lead volunteer organizations in their communities. Activist enthusiasm and energy has to be fed with knowledge and resources.

We will lead the way in cultivating activists through training tailored to their strengths, interests and the needs of our Party on the ground. As their enthusiasm matures into success we will continue to invest in their growth and will recognize and celebrate outstanding accomplishments annually in Washington, DC. We need to ensure our grassroots activists never have cause to doubt the immense value we place on their contributions.


· Organize a speaker’s bureau of national Republican leaders of national prominence who are passionate about state and local activism. Our Party’s high-profile leaders have a remarkable ability to message our common vision and are, in turn, educated and inspired by the meaningful day-to-day efforts of our state and local activists. The creation of a bureau, managed by the RNC and available to State Party partners, will ensure that State Parties and local candidates can quickly identify and connect with these leaders for media, fundraisers, rallies, and Lincoln Day dinner appearances.

· Showcase Republican Governors and Legislators who have consistently served as an idea factory for conservative policy. Innovative policies like welfare reform and tax reform came from Republican governors during Bill Clinton’s Presidency. We need to promote more aggressively the best practices and successful initiatives of state and local legislators and policy organizations to highlight Republican innovation and success.

· Prioritize Resources for Redistricting at the Republican National Committee. Preparation for the reapportionment and redistricting process is essential to Republican political success in the second decade of the twenty-first century. We will utilize the resources necessary to ensure a fair reapportionment process in all 50 states, encompassing the full spectrum of elected offices.

We will develop state-of-the-art technology for assembling, accessing, and mapping relevant demographic and vote history data; while providing the most talented redistricting experts available to consult with and assist each state work group. Ambitious change requires time, it’s true.

But, with the right people in place, firm goals and a spirit of cooperation and collaboration, we will – from the grassroots up – begin to change the way we communicate to voters and elect Republicans. Our Party’s success in 2010 and beyond counts on the bonds we forge with Republicans making a difference outside of Washington, in all 50 states where the American people live and work.

Paid for by Steele for Chairman
PO Box 320114
Alexandria, VA 22320

In this day following another birthday of Christ, I can not help but think of what Christ means to the United States. The people of the United States, of course, as rational and intelligent as any people in the world, perhaps more so, love Christ and if not Christian, the idea of Christ. The Christians subscribe to His ideals just as Jews subscribe to similar ideals of Judaism, and try to emulate them--always with the realization, however, that they can only do their best as imperfect specimens of humanity. It helps to have reminders, and so we place icons in certain places in hopes they remind folks of our fundamental values. Never, in any history of which I am aware, has any of our “reminders” by themselves hurt or offended the pure of heart, or even the not-so-pure of heart. Some very irrational and not very bright people in this country, nevertheless, see these icons not as reminders of values, but dangerous icons to propagate religion and have denounced them and driven them from public places and classrooms. Silly!
The Leftists in this country have seemed always to respect the European law much more than our own, despite the fact that our great Constitution draws many more immigrants to this country than to all the nations in Europe. With respect to religious icons in Europe, the arguments in Germany over the headscarf and the crucifix could be considered classic. In fact, in Bavaria, in 1998, both icons collided in court, including a ban on wearing the headscarf in the classroom and a law requiring the placement of crucifixes in public schools. The argument ensued that “women wearing the headscarf are acting as missionaries for their faith, and proselytize in the classroom for values that are incompatible with fundamental German values.”
The crucifix, on the other hand, was not banned, although attempts were made to do so. The argument against the ban held that the crucifixes were not intended to propagate faith but they in fact represented German ethics and values because “universal human rights and democracy derive from Christian norms. The legislators accepted that the state must be neutral in religious matters, but they deny that this means it should be neutral with respect to fundamental values. On the contrary, public schools are charged with the task of educating children in the values on which the republic is based.”

The argument continued that “Christianity is an essential
part of the value systems of the occident. It is therefore a matter of public ethics to keep Christianity in the classroom. ‘We cannot allow a spiritual vacuum to emerge that would leave our society without guidance.’”

Perhaps our illustrious politicians and law-school-graduates should take another look at the damage they are doing to this great nation, and assess the vacuum in our younger minds who are now not enjoying the benefits of centuries of Judeo-Christian ethics and fundamental values. Not only can’t Johnny read, he cannot think responsibly and has a hard time with such basic concepts as Right and Wrong.

I am not an advocate of assuming the thoughts and arguments of other nations into our Constitution. In fact, I consider that a betrayal of the people and a corruption of Constitutional ideals. It is certainly a violation of the Federally mandated oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United Sates--an oath, by the way, from which I for one have never been relieved.

However, when our fundamental values are attacked almost every day by people who should know better but apparently do not, then we must go to the ends of the earth if need be, to demonstrate that they are wrong, wrong, wrong. And the most secular political system on earth, the fountain of political correctness, will not go beyond certain boundaries while our own smarty-pants trample and display their childish tantrums while snickering that there are no boundaries.
It is great to be a Christian, we have so many nice ideas for living good lives and loving our neighbors. I have no doubts that being a Jew would be just as exciting and meaningful. We all are family-oriented people and inter-marry because of our ethics and values. We want our children to have our values and to have meaningful lives that respect the world and other people. Henry David Thoreau said “Most men live lives of quiet desperation and go to their graves with the song still in them.” It is a shame that the song is suppressed by so many people who would rather find fault that find their niche. Mr. Thoreau also said “A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone.” I would propose that the ACLU, Leftists, and others of that ilk and persuasion start accumulating their riches by leaving us the hell alone!
HJS

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“Recent events have shown that defendant Don Stapley, a powerful politician, has friends in high places who will try to thwart our ongoing investigation and criminal case against him. However, we’re not intimidated, and we intend to fully root out the
corruption we have found.”


Sheriff Joe Arpaio and County
Attorney Andrew Thomas

Here are some related articles on this issue:

Supervisors dump Thomas as civil cases counsel By Mark Flatten - EV Tribune

County Supervisors Vote to Cut Thomas, Violate State Law from Sonoran Alliance

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors is out of control from Liberty's Apothecary

Maricopa County supervisors hire new lawyer from AZCentral.com

For Immediate Release Contact: Kim Sabow
December 23, 2008
602‐542-3438
602-359-7855


Brewer Names Deputy Chiefs of Staff
For Finance and Operations

Secretary of State announces more senior staff appointments
as she prepares for transition to Governor’s Office


PHOENIX – Secretary of State Jan Brewer today announced two more Gubernatorial senior staff appointments, naming Tom Manos as Deputy Chief of Staff for Finance and Brian C. McNeil as Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations.

“I am honored to have such qualified individuals join my team. Mr. Manos and Mr. McNeil have extensive backgrounds in the field of finance and operations that will serve Arizona well during these difficult economic times. I have every confidence that they will guide us in our efforts to restore efficiency and fiscal responsibility,” stated Brewer.

Manos has served as Maricopa County’s Chief Financial Officer for the last ten years, and has been with the County since 1984. During this time, he had responsibility for the County’s Real Estate, Procurement, Risk Management and Parks departments as well as the Maricopa County Stadium District. Mr. Manos also served as Executive Director of the Maricopa County Industrial Development Authority which has provided financing for over 400 projects, including financings for affordable housing, hospitals and other non-profit borrowers.

Mr. Manos is former President of the Local Government Auditors Association and has been a board member of the YMCA. He is a native of Arizona and graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelors of Science degree in Finance.

Brian McNeil has served as Executive Director of the Arizona Corporation Commission since 1999. Prior to joining the Commission, he was the Deputy Director for Budget and Policy Development at the Arizona Department of Health Services.



McNeil has previously served as a gubernatorial policy advisor, as Director of Operations and Economic Advisor at the Arizona State Senate, as a Principal Forecast Planner for Saudi Arabian Parsons, Limited and as a Fiscal Analyst at the Arizona Joint Legislative Budget Committee.

He is an Arizona native and holds a Master of Public Administration as well as a Bachelor of Science in Economics, both from Arizona State University. McNeil serves as the Executive Officer of the 492nd Civil Affairs Battalion of the U.S. Army Reserve. He has deployed twice to serve in Iraq.

Published on DickMorris.com on December 23, 2008

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Caroline Kennedy apparently thinks that she is entitled to be appointed as the next junior Senator from New York.She shouldn't be. Think about it.

Her qualifications? Her name is Kennedy and she can raise a lot of fat-cat money for herself and for New York democrats who support her. Her strategy? Ignore the voters and the press and meet with the political bosses behind closed doors to convince them to pressure Governor David Patterson to appoint her to Hillary Clinton's seat.

Is there a more cynical message in the Age of Obama? Who's supporting her? Among her chief backers is New York City's billionaire Republican Mayor Michael Bloomberg who recently decided to ignore a legitimate and binding citywide referendum that prohibited him from seeking a third term.
In one of the most appalling examples of an arrogant "the public be damned" attitude, Bloomberg convinced the City Council to overrule the will of the people so he could stay in City Hall. He's a big contributor to many of the folks who supported this brazen move. Legendary Tammany Hall boss Carmine De Sapio would love both Bloomberg and Caroline for bringing back the old "power to the bosses" style of politics.

Her position on issues that will face the next Senator? She won't tell you. She's adamantly refused to speak about any issues. In her first foray outside Manhattan, she declined all questions from the press. She wouldn't even say whether she had ever been to Syracuse before.
Does that suggest what the answer would have been? Her handlers finally provided written answers to some of the questions posed by The New York Times. She picked out the questions she wanted to answer and ignored some of the tough issues - like whether she supports increased taxes for rich people. She's not saying.
Now, SHE WON'T DISCLOSE HER PERSONAL FINANCES OR PROVIDE A LIST OF COMPANIES THAT SHE HAS A STAKE IN!
Sound like the good old days? Is this woman kidding?
Her involvement in politics? Not much. She campaigned for Obama and worked on his committee that recommended the Vice-Presidential candidate.
She's never been active in New York politics and she hasn't even voted in about half the contested elections in New York since 1988. Over the past fifteen years, she's contributed to her uncle, Senator Ted Kennedy, her cousin Rep. Patrick Kennedy, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Al Gore, Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd, and Connecticut wanna-be Ned Lamont, and former Pennsylvania Senator Harris Wofford (1991)
Not much interest in New York's candidates or issues! Her experience?
• She is a long time patron of the American Ballet Theatre
• She is active in her father's presidential library
• She was a part-time volunteer fund raiser for the NYC schools for less than two years
• She’s co-authored two books on civil liberties
• She’s written five books.
She is her most derivative in her published works. Of four New York Times bestsellers; three of them were compilations of other peoples' work. One was The Patriot's Handbook: Songs, Poems, Stories, and Speeches Celebrating the Land We Love. The only thing these songs, poems, stories, and speeches had in common was that she didn't write any of them. Then followed, The Best-Loved Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
In this book she not only didn't write the poetry, she didn't even choose it. Her third best seller was A Family of Poems: My Favorite Poetry for Children, again a compilation of works that were not her own. Then there's A Family Christmas, another anthology of her favorite short stories, poems, etc about Christmas (all written by other people).
In another book, Profiles in Courage For Our Time, she swiped only the title from her late father but wrote the copy herself.
• She hasn't had a job since before she went to law school in the 1980's.
So, why should Caroline be appointed Senator?
Does anyone seriously believe that her audacious grab for the New York Senate seat is based on anything more than a misplaced and somewhat grandiose sense of entitlement coupled with a cynical claim of access to big money for the next election?
If her name wasn't Kennedy, would anyone give any consideration at all to someone without any experience to prepare her for the job or to even inform the voters about what she stands for?
ANSWER: NO
Is there a single person in the United States who doesn't wish Caroline Kennedy well and hope that she's spared from further tragedy? Probably not.
But affection, sympathy, and nostalgia shouldn't be the basis for appointing this woefully inexperienced woman to a key Senate seat in these troubles times. Her father's and uncle's names are the only thing that makes her a contender.
Doesn't anyone in New York politics use their own names anymore? Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of the former president, wants to take the Senate seat of Hillary Clinton, the wife of the former president. But some people are pushing for Andrew Cuomo, the son of the former governor. Are we stuck in political dynasties?
And who will make the decision? New York's David Patterson, the son of Basil Patterson, the former New York State Senator, Secretary of State, and Deputy Mayor of New York City.
Don't we have any talented people who don't feel entitled to inherit a seat? Can't we stop the political dynasties?
At least Cuomo has his own accomplishments. He was the Secretary of HUD in the Clinton Administration, and as the elected New York State Attorney General, he's done an outstanding job.
Caroline Kennedy has done absolutely nothing to deserve elevation to the United States Senate.
A review of hundreds of newspaper articles mentioning her name over the past twenty years shows rare substantive issues: her books and book tours, awarding the Profiles in Courage Award to Lowell Weicker for instituting an income tax in Connecticut, very part-time fund raising for the city schools. Even in that regard, her influence is questioned and others are given as much or more credit. The majority of the articles are about her wedding, her mother, her brother, her socialite activities, and her lucrative auction of her mother's old blankets, picnic baskets, and other household effects.
No, Caroline has not been heard from on any of the important issues facing New Yorkers.

Patterson is a talented politician. He will probably appoint Cuomo anyway for one simple reason: To get him out of the way. Acutely
aware that he was not elected governor but only got the job when Eliot Spitzer self-destructed, Governor Patterson would probably face an uphill primary fight against Cuomo in 2010 if he doesn't shunt him off into the Senate.

Other than the Attorney General, there is nobody with the stature to offer Patterson serious opposition in the Democratic Party. Patterson should not succumb to the lobbying of the bosses and the fat cats for Caroline. She's not entitled.

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Baghdad celebrates first public Christmas amid hope, memories
Story Highlights:
Iraq's first public Christmas party decorated with Jesus, Santa, Christmas tree
Celebration put on by Interior Ministry to "strengthen community ties"
Kids' art projects show Baghdad scenes, including one with toy as dead "terrorist"
Christian priest at celebration says Baghdad changes give him hope
By Jill Dougherty
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- From a distance, it looks like an apparition: a huge multi-colored hot-air balloon floating in the Baghdad sky, bearing a large poster of Jesus Christ. Below it, an Iraqi flag.
Welcome to the first-ever public Christmas celebration in Baghdad, held Saturday and sponsored by the Iraqi Interior Ministry. Once thought to be infiltrated by death squads, the Ministry now is trying to root out sectarian violence -- as well as improve its P.R. image.
The event takes place in a public park in eastern Baghdad, ringed with security checkpoints. Interior Ministry forces deployed on surrounding rooftops peer down at the scene: a Christmas tree decorated with ornaments and tinsel; a red-costumed Santa Claus waving to the crowd, an Iraqi flag draped over his shoulders; a red-and-black-uniformed military band playing stirring martial music, not Christmas carols.
On a large stage, children dressed in costumes representing Iraq's many ethnic and religious groups -- Kurds, Turkmen, Yazidis, Christians, Arab Muslims not defined as Sunni or Shiite -- hold their hands aloft and sing "We are building Iraq!" Two young boys, a mini-policeman and a mini-soldier sporting painted-on mustaches, march stiffly and salute.
Even before I can ask Interior Ministry spokesman Major-General Abdul Karim Khalaf a question, he greets me with a big smile. "All Iraqis are Christian today!" he says.
Khalaf says sectarian and ethnic violence killed thousands of Iraqis. "Now that we have crossed that hurdle and destroyed the incubators of terrorism," he says, "and the security situation is good, we have to go back and strengthen community ties."
In spite of his claim, the spokesman is surrounded by heavy security. Yet this celebration shows that the security situation in Baghdad is improving.
Many of the people attending the Christmas celebration appear to be Muslims, with women wearing head scarves. Suad Mahmoud, holding her 16-month-old daughter, Sara, tells me she is indeed Muslim, but she's very happy to be here. "My mother's birthday also is this month, so we celebrate all occasions," she says, "especially in this lovely month of Christmas and New Year."
Father Saad Sirop Hanna, a Chaldean Christian priest, is here too. He was kidnapped by militants in 2006 and held for 28 days. He knows firsthand how difficult the lot of Christians in Iraq is but, he tells me, "We are just attesting that things are changing in Baghdad, slowly, but we hope that this change actually is real. We will wait for the future to tell us the truth about this."
He just returned from Rome. "I came back to Iraq because I believe that we can live here," he says. "I have so many [Muslim] friends and we are so happy they started to think about things from another point of view and we want to help them."
The Christmas celebration has tables loaded with cookies and cakes. Families fill plates and chat in the warm winter sun. Santa balloons hang from trees. An artist uses oil paint to create a portrait of Jesus.In the middle of the park there's an art exhibit, the creation of 11- and 12-year-olds: six displays, each about three feet wide, constructed of cardboard and Styrofoam, filled with tiny dolls dressed like ordinary people, along with model soldiers and police. They look like model movie sets depicting everyday life in Baghdad.
Afnan, 12 years old, shows me her model called "Arresting the Terrorists."

"These are the terrorists," she tells me. "They were trying to blow up the school." In the middle of the street a dead "terrorist" sprawls on the asphalt, his bloody arm torn from his body by an explosion. Afnan tells me she used red nail polish to paint the blood. A little plastic dog stands nearby. "What is he doing?" I ask. "He looks for terrorists and searches for weapons and explosives," Afnan says.

Her mother, the children's art teacher, Raja, shows me another child's display called "Baghdad Today."
"This is a wedding," Raja explains. "Despite the terrorism, our celebrations still go ahead. This is a park, families enjoying time. And this is a market where people go shopping without fear of bombings. This is a mosque where people can pray with no fear."
In the middle is a black mound that looks like a body bag. Policemen and Interior Ministry forces surround it. "This is terrorism," she tells me. "We killed it and destroyed it, and our lives went back to normal."
A Christmas tale perhaps, I think, but one that many Iraqis hope will come true.


Felicia Benamon is a conservative columnist who writes from a political perspective, but occasionally deviates to write about other concerns facing her country. A patriotic American, Felicia hopes to motivate others to be more conscious of the current state of affairs in America, and to hold true to the wonderful traditions that make America great.Felicia comes from a military background and is proud to support the men and women who put their lives on the line daily to protect American citizens and who reach out to help those in need across the globe.
© Copyright 2008 by Felicia Benamon

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Combating Religious Intolerance With a U.N. Resolution?
By Lauren GreenFOX News Religion Contributor
It probably slipped most people’s notice. It wasn’t a “big” story. It was a little routine vote at the United Nations on a resolution called “Combating Defamation of Religion”. It passed — for the ninth year in a row. The resolution, on the surface, seems almost a no-brainer for the General Assembly. Of course, people should be respectful of other religions. But that’s not exactly what this resolution says.

Many member nations, including the United States, as well as several non-profit groups like the Becket Fund and the Washington-based American Center for Law and Justice, see the resolution as the proverbial “wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

The Combating Defamation of Religion resolution was introduced and promoted by the 57-member nations of the Organization of the
Islamic Conference (OIC). The OIC has lobbied since 1999 for the plan. According to the American Center for Law and Justice, the resolution is based on the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam, “which states that all rights are subject to Shariah law, and makes Shariah law the only source of reference for human rights.”

However the resolution was amended to appeal to a more diverse group. Drafts of the resolution in early October would have made it a criminal act and violation of international law to “defame another religion.” Although the drafts were amended to say all religions, only Islam is mentioned by name. And the U.S. lobbied specifically to remove any reference to it being a “criminal” act.
One U.S. Ambassador commented a few weeks ago how divisive this issue is: “The resolution could criminalize free speech,” and that “it’s a cover for criminalizing domestic free speech.”

The point is: if a resolution by the world body criminalizes speech even speech that defames and is in bad taste, then International Law could potentially brow beat and trample on the U.S. Constitution. That’s why the U.S. voted “no.”

The resolution is non-binding. There’s no international body to enforce it. But it does set a tone of what is and is not acceptable. The U.S. official said, it would give countries the ability to pass anti-free speech laws if it criticizes a religion, it would make it difficult to proselytize or share your faith unless you practice a State approved faith, or could make you fear changing your religion.

But you say, “That can’t happen”, or “that would be ludicrous”. The fact is, it’s already happening. Christians and other minority religions in predominantly Islamic areas or countries are being persecuted to barbaric levels. Reports from Nairobi, Kenya say that one aid worker was beheaded in September for converting from Islam to Christianity; the Iranian government has already passed a bill calling for execution on the basis of apostasy (anyone converting from Islam to another religion), and of course we’ve seen the violence that erupted over the Danish cartoon of the prophet Mohammed.

The European Center for Law and Justice did a legal analysis of the resolution and concluded that “the OIC uses the religious defamation concept as both a shield and a sword. In Islamic countries, blasphemy laws are used as a shield to protect the dominant religion, but even more dangerously, they are used to silence minority religious believers and prevent Muslims from converting to other faiths, which is still a capital crime in many Islamic countries.”

As stated in the beginning, the resolution passed. But support may be waning. There were fewer ‘yes’ votes than last year, as more members call attention to what they see are the resolution’s defects. Meanwhile the European Union has introduced its own version focusing on Religious Tolerance.
In the end, the Combating the Defamation of Religion resolution is one more brewing pot that may contribute to the violent eruptions boiling up all over the world. Not paying attention to them will often leave of us in the position of cleaning up the mess afterwards. A good piece of cooking advice applies here… that is, “A watched pot, never boils.”

HJS Comments: Where, pray tell, is the outrage of the American Press, the Mainstream Media, to such an abrogation of the very concept of Freedom of Speech? Freedom of Speech is one of the great ideas we stand for! Where is the outrage of the American Ambassador to the United Nations, making it perfectly clear to all that the United States will continue to fight for Freedom of Speech wherever people of good will congregate? As some of us say in song, “Where is Randolph Scott?” I say, “Where is John Bolton?” The champion of the people of the United States was so hated by liberals (because he is not a whining apologist a la Jimmy Carter) that just seeing him stand straight and tall, telling UN delegates in no uncertain terms that the United States will not bend to the will of dumb nabobs of political correctness, was enough to give the wimps apoplexy. Do we want to keep ourselves free of some of these un-American foreign Maelstroms? Get rid of the sissies, the wimps, and the leftist lunatics and put real people in government. It is not too late; already the Demagogue Party is preparing to purchase the next election. Now is the time for all good people to come to the aid of their country.

HJS