May 31, 2010

Happy Cookout Day

Filed under: 9-11,Constitution,Federal,Headlines,News Roundup,free speech — Patriot KD @ 10:49 am

Happy first official day of summer, happy Monday off . . . Happy Memorial Day.

For most of my life the United States was fortunate to not be engaged in armed conflict. Throughout the 1970’s, 1980’s and most of the 1990’s we were at peace internally and externally. During that time, we became complacent. Memorial Day became the start of summer, a day to cookout, watch baseball and drink beer. We could afford that luxury and we felt we were entitled. No mother had recently experienced the trauma of a son coming home from a foreign land in a casket. No father had to watch his adult daughter learning to walk again with artificial legs. No husband learned of his child’s first steps on a webcam from thousands of miles away.

Many Americans work hard and deserve a relaxing day off with family and friends. That is an important part of Memorial Day. That is the liberty that those who have served in our armed forces, in peace or in combat, have protected. I would like to take a moment to remind you of the other part of Memorial Day.

It is easy to believe that our volunteer soldiers know what they are getting into today. The Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts have been going on for almost ten years now. No Marine, Soldier, Sailor or Airmen has enlisted or re-enlisted not knowing that combat will likely be a part of his or her mission. It is easy to disagree with the political philosophy of the conflicts. Some are morally opposed to any war. Others are opposed to any conflict that does not involve direct self-defense. These opinions should not overshadow the individual stories of great sacrifice that our young men and women make every day.

God has given us the unique ability to empathize-to feel what another is experiencing. In doing so we take our own experiences and apply them to the situation of another. Sometimes, however, what someone else is going through is unimaginable to us because we have no life experience with which to compare. Unless you have served in a hostile zone (I have not), there is no way to imagine the day to day stress of knowing that someone is trying to kill you every second of the day and night. No way of understanding that the next step that you take may set off an improvised explosive device which could kill and maim you and your friends.

The Boston Globe has done a tremendous job of documenting the day-to-day activities of soldiers in Afghanistan http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/05/afghanistan_may_2010.html This Memorial Day I would implore each of you to take a moment to view the pictures, think about what each of these young men and women sacrifice for you and, if you are so inclined, say a prayer that they return safely home soon.

If you have a story of a soldier, sailor, marine or airmen you would like us to post, I welcome you to send it to me at kwd1964@yahoo.com

May 8, 2010

Am I a Racist?

Filed under: Accountable Representation,Big government,Constitution,Federal,Fiscal Irresponsibility,Getting The Message Out,Headlines,Limited Government,Local Government,News Roundup,Obama,Protests,Second Amendment,Take Action,Tea Parties,Town halls,Uncategorized,cnn,democrats — Tags: incendiary, Indiana, patriots, Politics, racism, Tea Party — Patriot KD @ 2:27 pm

I have been called a lot of names lately online and off. The most frequent label applied to me and other conservatives is “racist.”

I don’t consider myself racist, but only the most blatant separatists would consider themselves bigots. Thus, I take this charge seriously and it is worthwhile to do some self-inspection. I wish there was a simple test. Answer these questions and we will tell you whether you suffer from the mental disorder of racial hatred. There is not. Similar to the person who says “some of my best friends are black”, the response of most tea party movements to the charge of racism has been to parade a few minorities to refute the claims. I believe this does little to address the issue either way.

First, let me say that many people simply use the term racist because it has power in our society. This diminishes the struggle that those who have faced true discrimination in our society have had. Some of the more salient issues facing our society that most frequently bring up the race debate are:

Ø School Vouchers
Ø Foreign Debt Relief
Ø Welfare Reform
Ø Housing and Mortgage Reform

Words are extremely important and understanding what a term means is key to determining whether that word applies or not. Most people in our society do not understand what racism is and isn’t. They apply a “I know it when I see it” test. Merriam-Webster provides the following definition for racism:

Main Entry: rac·ism
Pronunciation: \ˈrā-ˌsi-zəm also -ˌshi-\
Function: noun
Date: 1933

1 : a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race

2 : racial prejudice or discrimination

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/racism

The argument that I am racist is two-fold. First, people argue that I have become politically active primarily because a mixed race President was elected. That would be what I will call racism 1, based upon the above definition. I will deal with that argument later because I think it is the easier to deal with.

Racism 2 is a little more elusive. I would invite you to search disparate impact on findlaw.com to read more. A full discussion is well beyond the scope of this article and, in fact, volumes have been written. Suffice it to say that the term racist is now used to describe people who promote policies which may have a perceived negative impact on a particular race or ethnic group.

The difficulty for me arises in determining what impact is negative. Is an impact negative if it proves to be a detriment in the short term but a benefit in the long run? School voucher programs demonstrate this clearly. There is no question that inner-city schools that are under performing will receive less funding if school voucher programs are put in place. Without citing statistics, we can assume for purposes of this discussion that these schools frequently have a higher percentage of minority students, teachers and administrators. The question is whether the negative impact will be short-term or long-term. Whether society will be better served if some schools are forced to admit failure while allowing students to choose other schools. Reasonable people can differ as to the relative merits of such a program. Many invoke the racism label in the fight to maintain the status quo. It is clear to me though that reasonable people can come down on each side of this argument without regard to the race of those affected. Is race an issue for some people in this argument? Of course. Maybe I am overly optimistic in believing that most people would like to see a society that treats all of our children with equal respect and equal protection of the laws. A society that educates all of its children in a safe and productive environment and where each student can achieve to the best of his or her ability.

As for racism 1, there is no way to refute the claim because those who make it do not know me. They do not know what is in my heart and they do not take the time to analyze my words to determine if they evidence a racial bias. They do not want to. They simply want to refute any argument with the simplest possible explanation. This intellectual laziness is very dangerous in our society today and it is my hope that people of all races, faiths and political persuasions will join together to denounce it.

I welcome your thoughts and comments. As always, the opinions expressed here are solely those of the author. No implication of agreement is to be implied by any person or organization publishing these comments.

I thank you for taking the time to read one man’s simple thoughts for the day.

Comments (2)

May 7, 2010

Welcome Losers

Dan “K Street” Coats successfully made a u-turn back to Meridian Street in the Republican Senate Primary. Mark “I AM the tea party” Leyva earned the opportunity to enter the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest losing streak in congressional campaign history. This has pundits across the state questioning the effectiveness of “the tea party.” Was it all for naught? Have we been completely ineffective?

This does cause me to question what we have been doing and where we should go from here. I hope we can address that issue together and it is my sincere hope that each of you (probably three or four will read this) will leave a constructive comment. Nonetheless, I believe that the pundits and prognosticators fail to understand the true nature of the tea party and write us off primarily because they want us to go away.

First, let’s revisit the Northwest Indiana Patriots mission.

To restore limited government, accountable representation, and fiscal responsibility through citizen activism and education, in order to preserve the Constitution of the United States of America. (emphasis supplied)

The mission is not to field candidates, win elections or even influence party platforms. Of course we will ultimately have to do all of the above if we are to have any true effectiveness. However our primary purpose is activism and education. I have been educated by many members of the NWI Patriots over the past several months and I have only attended a few events. Our message boards are full of information that I would not have otherwise known. I want to thank each of you for every post and I hope that you continue to provide useful and pertinent information.

Keep this in mind. The forces that we are going against are strong. The battle is a long one. There are literally billions of dollars at stake for some. No one is going to roll over and die but a few hundred people working hard can turn into a few thousand and then millions. We have to resist the influences of those who would like to co-opt our movement for their own gain. Republicans want to convert us and Democrats want to demonize us.

The question now is “Where do we go from here?” Are we losers because we were not a larger force in the outcome of this primary?
It is my hope that this campaign will strengthen our resolve to focus on our primary mission. No matter who the ultimate representatives are, we can force them to listen to the will of the people if we band together.

Comments (2)

May 2, 2010

The Candidates and Our Misson

The Northwest Indiana Patriots stand for principals that are larger than any candidate. While voting is one important aspect of our civic responsibility, our country was founded on the belief that an informed citizenry is the only defense to tyranny. Today there are many who have realized this and would mislead and misinform us to disarm us-figuratively and literally.

In the coming weeks I hope to write much more about the relationship between limited government and freedom. Those who would oppose us accuse us of having no answers to real problems. Unfortunately, most of those problems are created by those who would offer simple solutions. Like the fireman who lights a fire and then comes to your rescue, the solutions usually involve spending billions of dollars that we do not have with companies that support the incumbents.

We have had a wonderful opportunity to meet many of the candidates this election cycle. For me, NWIP has served as a great source of information regarding candidate events and forums as well as the issues. I thank all of you for that. If you have not made up your mind regarding all the candidates this election, now is the time to get on the web and read up on the issues. Be wary of misinformation and please try to remember our founding principles when voting.

This article was submitted by Ken Davidson. As always, the opinions expressed herein are his and do not reflect the views of the Northwest Indiana Patriots and are not to be taken as an official position of this group or any member.

Comments (1)

$1/2 Billion Dollars; Zero Job Creation

Filed under: Accountable Representation,Big government,Climate change,Federal,Fiscal Irresponsibility,Getting The Message Out,Headlines,Indiana Elections,Limited Government,Local Government,News Roundup,Take Action,Tea Parties,democrats,law — Patriot KD @ 7:47 pm

Regional development is a little like feeding children-how can anyone come out against it? The idea of communities pooling resources to invest in infrastructure in order to promote growth is a great idea. But lets not forget this is Northwest Indiana, so lets look at the history of the Regional Development Authority, the Regional Bus Authority and the proposed Regional Transit Authority.

The RDA 2009 annual report describes Catalyst as “an agent that provokes or speeds significant change. The RDA website boasts:

The RDA has committed over $169.9 million to 16 projects through calendar year 2011. It has leveraged over $267.5 million from other funding sources. (http://www.in.gov/rda)

The RDA may receive funding from sources other than local taxation but it receives little or no funding other than tax money. That means every dime of that $437 Million came from taxpayers. Economic development expenditures should show some return over time. Lets look at the potential economic return from the RDA expenditures: (source RDA FY 2009 Report http://www.in.gov/rda/files/RDA_FY2009_Annual_Report.pdf):

1. Gary/Chicago International Airport: Although exact figures are hard to come by, The Gary Airport is the single largest recipient of RDA money and RDA future commitments (money that has been promised). The RDA has invested well over $20 Million into the Gary Airport. Federal funds totaling over $30 Million have been secured during the same time period. The plan is to invest over $100 Million into the airport in the next 5 years.

2. South Shore Railroad: I think most people in the region are resigned to supporting the South Shore Railroad. The funding for the South Shore would have probably been the same or near the same with or without the RDA. Those in the southern portions of the counties may, in all fairness, object to their local tax money being used to fund a program that probably should be funded primarily by the state.

3. Regional Bus Service: The RDA is not allowed, by statute, to contribute to the operating budget of a bus service. The RDA has contributed over $8.7 Million to regional bus studies and capital expenditures. The people of the region should be informed as to the long term proposed costs and plan for regional bus service. Is there a demand for bus service from East Chicago to Lowell and Michigan City? Do people in Valparaiso want to pay for buses from Gary to Valparaiso? The RDA funding only sets up a program that will cost billions into the future.

4. Lakefront Development: The RDA has invested approximately $80 Million into what it terms “shoreline development.” These expenditures are largely related to Representative Visclosky’s Marquette Plan for the region. Quality of life issues are certainly important to economic development but reasonable people can differ as to the expenditures here. One point to be made, however, is that much of the money for the RDA comes from casino revenue, thus it is logical that the RDA would invest back into the shoreline. Nonetheless, Lake Michigan is an important national asset. The Federal Government has not done enough to clean up and revitalize the blighted areas of Hammond, East Chicago, Gary, Portage and Michigan City. It is noteworthy that the majority of federal funding that RDA boasts securing is for lakefront projects.

In a time when unemployment is hovering at ten percent; school corporations are laying off teachers and towns are raising fees on everything from trash collection to sewer usage, it seems to me that this $437 Million investment has not been well spent. I would invite comment from anyone who can point to jobs that were created by these expenditures and any significant return in the form of taxes on any expenditure by the RDA.

Should we get out of the RDA? I hope that each of you will take a look at your area and the concerns that you have this election day. Make no mistake that this election is about the future of the region and there are two distinct viewpoints. Those who want to continue to push transportation and government funded jobs and those who want to invest in real economic development.

Comments (1)

April 7, 2010

September 2, 2009 Healthcare Counter-March

Comments (0)

March 22, 2010

John Berry is flying in from Atlanta to sing at the NWIP’s April 14th Tea Party!

Mr. John Berry will be playing at Northwest Indiana Patriots Tea Party on April 14, 2010! Thank you John!

John Edward Berry was born on September 14, 1959 in Aiken, South Carolina, to James and Marie Berry, and raised in the Atlanta, Georgiaarea. His father listened to concert pianist Van Cliburn, his mother had a strong taste for gospel, and his brother became an opera singer. Berry gravitated to both soul and country music and began recording his own albums at home in 1979.

Two years later, John started performing solo acoustic shows in northeast Georgia,including performing in the parking lot of Sanford Stadium after Georgia Bulldogs home football games, then expanded around the southeast, building a strong name and following. He eventually made six self-produced albums, with the last one selling over 10,000 copies. He was finally signed to Liberty Records in 1992.

Visit John Berry online at http://johnberry.musiccitynetworks.com/

Comments (1)