Category: Activism

Bachmann Wins Philly Independence Day Straw Poll

Bachmann Wins Philly Independence Day Straw Poll — The Third Annual July 4th Tea Party on Independence Mall, featuring Herman Cain and Ambassador John Bolton, drew over 1,500 this year and included seven other speakers including the Honorable Anna Little and American Energy alliance spokesman, Dan Simmons.  The program lasted slightly over two hours.

Cain, a businessman and former chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, is seeking the 2012 Republican nomination for US president. This is believed to be his first appearance in Pennsylvania after he announced his candidacy, although it was not necessarily a political one.

“He was here for the right reason, to honor the Declaration of Independence,” said Teri Adams, president of the Independence Hall Tea Party Association, which sponsored the event along with the Cherry Hill Tea Party of New Jersey and the Diamond State Tea Party of Delaware.

Despite Cain’s presence, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-MN6) finished first in the presidential straw poll according to unofficial tallies.  Cain finished second.  Ms. Adams noted that several Ron Paul votes were disqualified after event officials caught some of his supporters stuffing the ballot box.  Paul, Christie, and Perry finished third, fourth, and fifth, respectively.

This year’s event was named the 2011 Energy Independence Day Tea Party and a Declaration of Energy Independence, written by  Association member Lin DeCesare, was read by Association co-founder Don Adams after Ms. DeCesare was unable to attend due to illness.  The audience then voted to adopt the Declaration of Energy Independence by acclamation.

“Ever since Richard Nixon, presidents have declared for energy independence,” Adams said. “Congresses have come and gone and we’re as dependent on foreign energy as we were in 1973.”

Adams noted that last year, because of the excessive heat, only about 1,000 people attended the Proud to be an American July 4th Tea Party which featured commentator Bill Kristol as keynote speaker. Over 2500 attended the 2009 inaugural in which the late Herb Denenberg had the honor.

Adams said 20 groups involved with promoting limited government were involved this year. He also praised for WPHT talk show host Dom Giordano for his support. Giordano was among the speakers.

Among those receiving awards were Joey Vento, owner of the legendary Geno’s Steaks in South Philadelphia, who was given the 2011 Patriot of the Year Award, and Lancaster resident Sharon Cherubin of UNITEPA who won the 2011 George Washington Tea Party Leader of the year Award.

Weekly Standard editor and Fox News contributor, Bill Kristol, received the 2011 Benjamin Franklin Award for Courageous Journalism, in absentia.

Other award winners were:

Betsy Ross Activist of the Year for Delaware, Kristin Sherman;
Betsy Ross Activist of the Year for New Jersey, Bill Miller;
Betsy Ross Activist of the Year for Pennsylvania, Carol Klein and Phil Schieber.

One disappointment was that story, while covered by the Daily News and featured on several TV broadcast stations, it was not picked up by either the Philadelphia Inquirer or KYW News Radio.

Associated Press photos of the event ran in several publications throughout the nation, including the Washington Post.

The Independence Hall Tea Party’s next event on Independence Mall will be Constitution Day, Sept. 17.

Check out the group’s website at independencehallteaparty.com or call 215-690-4043 for more information.

 

Bachmann Wins Philly Independence Day Straw Poll

July 4, 2011 In Springfield Pa

July 4, 2011 In Springfield Pa — Independence Day in Springfield Pa was kicked off in traditional hometown fashion — from the high school, down Saxer Avenue to Memorial Park on Springfield Road — with a parade featuring churches, fire trucks, community groups, antique cars and, of course, lots of kids on bicycles.

Here are some scenes from it:

July 4, 2011 In Springfield Pa

 

The Delaware County Patriots were among the participants

 

July 4, 2011 In Springfield Pa

Among the many red, white and blue bicyclists.

July 4, 2011 In Springfield Pa

A series of homemade floats honoring all four branches of the military.

July 4, 2011 In Springfield Pa

Special transportation for the Republican Party.

 

July 4, 2011 In Springfield Pa

Herman Cain At July 4 Philly Tea Party Event

Herman Cain At July 4 Philly Tea Party Event — A man who is seeking the Republican nomination for president has chosen to spend Independence Day not in Iowa or New Hampshire but in front of Independence Hall where it all began.

Herman Cain is joining Ambassador John Bolton, talk show host Dom Giordano, businessman Joey Vento and former Highlands, N.J. Mayor Anna Little as speakers at the 2011 Energy Independence Day Tea Party to be held 1-3 p.m., July 4 at Independence Mall, 5th and Market streets, Philadelphia.

“By joining us at Independence Mall this year, these statesmen are also recognizing the significance of our Tea Party theme,” said Teri Adams of the Independence Hall Tea Party Association which is sponsoring the event along with the Cherry Hill Tea Party and the Diamond State Tea Party.

Music will be provided by the 286 Band.

The event is free although an after-party featuring soft drinks and hor dourves will cost  $20. Reservations are required. Call 215-690-4043.

A pre-event luncheon is also in the works.

Cain is the former chairman and CEO of Godfather’s Pizza and was chairman of the board of directors to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in 1995-1996.

He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics from Morehouse College and  a Master of Science degree in computer science from Purdue University.

He has written four books.

He made his name on the political scene by being instrumental in the defeat of the Clinton health care proposal in 1993.

Cain has a Philadelphia connection in that he managed the area’s 400 Burger King franchises for Pillsbury in the 1980s taking the region from the least to the most profitable for the parent company within three years.

 

Herman Cain At July 4 Philly Tea Party Event

Richard Dreyfuss WPHT Civics Lesson

Richard Dreyfuss  has his heart in the right place but his mind remains mostly stuck in the left one. Richard Dreyfuss WPHT Civics Lesson

The man  who won the 1978 Best Actor Oscar for The Goodbye Girl and might be best known for his role as Matt Hooper in Jaws described to a crowd of about 700 at The National Constitution Center, June 8, his plan to return the teaching of civics to its proper place in the nation’s schools.

The event was hosted by WPHT 1210, now calling itself “Talk Radio WPHT” instead of “The Big Talker”.

It was moderated by WPHT’s Dom Giordano.

Dreyfuss said the germ for the idea for what became The Dreyfuss Initiative occurred during the 2000 election when “the court stopped the election process”.

This brought one loud, derisive snort of laughter from a member of the audience.

Dreyfuss continued saying “All my friends targeted Bush as the enemy.” He became convinced, however, that it was the ignorance of his friends and of the American public that was what allowed such a thing to happen.

Anyway, Dreyfuss was eventually hired for a stage show in England from which he was quickly fired after it was discovered that he wasn’t being falsely humble when he said he couldn’t sing or dance.  While between jobs he “trolled for work” and found it lecturing on history and current events.

At this point he became aware of a dearth of understanding by citizens as to how their governments work. This was even more true of Europeans than Americans, he said.

So began the Initiative which has pointedly politically diverse board of governance — noted pollster Frank Luntz is a director and Scott Faulkner, who was the Reagan-Bush campaign’s national director of personnel in 1980 and was elected by the Gingrich Congress to be the first Chief Administrative Officer of the U.S. House of Representatives in 1995 is executive director.

Faulkner, in fact, shared the stage with Dreyfuss in Philly.

Dreyfuss lecture rambled  with occasional shots at George W. Bush, Fox News and Rupert Murdoch. After stridently blaming Fox for harming the political discourse, Giordano suggested he add MSNBC to list. Dreyfuss considered for a moment then agreed.

And Dreyfuss did not, this evening, do the civic-minded thing and consider the claims he was spouting as facts. In describing one of the sins of America he said that 90 blacks a month were lynched for 100 years which would mean that there were a 108,000 blacks lynched during the Jim Crow era.

According to the Tuskegee Institute, there were 3,446 blacks and 1,297 whites lynched in this country between 1882 and 1968.

Still, Dreyfuss truly expressed love for this country. He said it was the best in history and warned that if we did not start taking the teaching of this seriously it would not last the 21st century.

Dreyfuss showed respect for the Tea Party giving one questioner who identified himself as a member of a New Jersey group much praise and encouragement. He also singled out Republican congressmen Darrell Issa and Speaker John Boehner as being the only political figures who have given him support.

Of the 20 or so persons who lined up to ask Dreyfuss questions only five got to ask them due to the length of Dreyfuss’s answers.

Also, Giordano said that the meeting was being streamed live although it was not broadcasts over the air on WPHT due to the Phillies-Dodgers game. The Phils won 2-0, by the way, behind Cole Hamels’ pitching, a Ryan Howard home run and a Shane Victorino triple.

Dreyfuss expressed criticism about the entertainment now being provided by Hollywood. He said the only movies being made involved “teenaged angst about vampires” or “self-congratulatory” exercises in technology like Avatar.

The Independence Hall Tea Party Association passed out flyers after the event advertising “The Energy Independence Day Tea Party” which will be held on Independence Mall, 1-3 p.m., July 4. It will feature Giordano, Ambassador John Bolton, The Honorable Anna Little, businessman Joey Vento, the 286 Band and include a debate about energy.

The event is free.

There will be an after-party featuring soft drinks and hor dourves. Cost is $20 and reservations are required. Call 215-690-4043.

Also there will be a pre-event lunch. Stay tuned for details.

Co-sponsors are the Cherry Hill Tea Party and the Diamond State Tea Party.

Richard Dreyfuss WPHT Civics Lesson

Barletta Bans Recordings At Town Halls

Barletta Bans Recordings At Town Halls — Newly minted coal-country congressmen Lou Barletta (R-Pa11) and Tom Marino (R-Pa10) have sparked fears they have gone Potomac by instituting recording bans at recent town hall meetings.

Barletta has denied the claim saying the event at which he banned personal recordings was a  “private” meeting.

To which he had opened to the old media who of course were given permission to record.

The congressmen’s actions were motivated by orchestrated attempts by Democrats to infiltrate the town halls with unruly disrupters whose antics would be recorded and placed on the YouTube in the hope it would indicate widespread grassroots opposition to Republican policy.

It was an effort to mimic action in 2009 and 2010 by Tea Partyers which led to big Republican gains last November.

What should be remembered, however, is that it wasn’t the angry protestors who made the Democrat incumbents look bad but their responses to them. The incumbents, perhaps most famously Arlen Specter,  were recorded being abusive, mocking and dismissive to them, after which they arrogantly ended constituent meetings completely.

If Barletta and Marino follow that path they will be one-termers.

If they, however, let them obscenely and abusively vent and are judicious in their response the strategy will backfire badly on the Democrats.

The Republicans simply have to make sure they have their own recordings to put on YouTube.

It remains to be seen if they are smart enough to do this.

Barletta Bans Recordings At Town Halls

David Mamet Conservative Conversion

David Mamet Conservative Conversion — David Mamet, revered playwright and screenwriter whose works include American Buffalo, The Verdict, Wag The Dog, and Glengarry Glen Ross, and whose work Speed -the-Plow was called a “tone poem” in the old media in the days when it ruled, has declared himself a conservative.

Mamet promotes his just released book, “The Secret Knowledge: On the Dismantling of American Culture,”  by saying “My interest in politics began when I noticed that I acted differently than I spoke, that I had seen ‘the government’ commit sixty years of fairly unrelieved and catastrophic error nationally and internationally, that I not only hated every wasted hard-earned cent I spent in taxes, but the trauma and misery they produced…”

He has shown himself to be a disciple of the brilliant Milton Friedman and Thomas Sowell, and a defender of Sarah Palin.

The hearts of the passionate and courageous 20-somethings do sometimes  evolve to be guided by the wise brains of the 50-somethings and this appears to be what has happened in Mamet’s case.

But is Mamet now a “conservative”? Words are roundly abused for political machinations. Liberals once  advocated a society with minimal government, not speech codes, racial set asides and taxpayer funded abortions. Liberals were once the ones who defended the “little guy” and not pharmaceutical companies or salmon.

And conservatives? Once they were the ones who demanded a king and a state church. Is that what they want now? Because they want to allow Bible readings in schools? It is cruelly ironic to note that it is the “conservatives” who are the ones fighting a book banning.

Further it should be noted that teaching that our rights are God-given i.e. “endowed by our Creator” gives not only permission but obligation to oppose those in authority when they violate those rights.

It is the exact opposite of seeking a king and state church.

Unlike those who want to give government agencies ever more arbitrary and increasing power.

It’s time to scrap the labels “conservative” and “liberal”. The new ones should be “Freedom and Prosperity” and “Regulation and Rationing”.

The Kennedy Democrat is the same as the Reagan Republican who is the same as the Tea Partyer.

One suspects that Mamet’s values haven’t changed merely that he willed
himself to pull back the curtain and look at the man behind it.

Anyway, welcome aboard David Mamet.

David Mamet Conservative Conversion

 

David Mamet Conservative Conversion

Adolph Says Vote Likely On Pa. NoBamaCare Bill

The man accused of bottling up a bill that would make much of Obamacare hard to enforce in Pennsylvania told the Delaware County Patriots, Thursday, May 19, that it will likely come up for a vote this year.

State Rep. Bill Adolph (R-165), who chairs the House Appropriations Committee has been accused of sitting on HB 42 by Tea Party activists. The bill has been tied up in Adolph’s committee since Feb. 8.

HB 42, introduced by Matthew Baker (R-68) on Jan. 19, says A law
or rule shall not compel, through penalties and fines, directly or
indirectly, any individual, employer or health care provider to
participate in any health care system.

It also specifically
says that an individual or employer may pay directly for lawful health
care services and shall not be required to pay penalties or fines for
doing so; and specifically allows  health care providers to accept
direct payments without penalties. It also prohibits state law enforcement and regulatory agencies from
participating “in compliance with any Federal law, regulation or policy”
that would compromise the “freedom of choice in health care” of any
resident of the state.

Adolph told the group, which met at Knights of Columbus hall in Newtown Square, that the biggest budget problem facing the state was the expiration of federal stimulus money. He said  last year’s $28 billion budget contained $3.1 billion of the fed dollars.

The $27.3 billion budget proposed by Gov. Corbett places a heavier burden on the state taxpayers despite it being smaller. House Republicans have tweaked the budget by easing some of the cuts the Governor had made to education while adding cuts to welfare. Adolph said the House budget gives state higher education 75 percent of what it had gotten last year, while Corbett would have cut the outlay in half.

Adolph said that the House budget actually ends up being few hundred thousand dollars less than the Governors.

Concerning the questions fielded by Adolph — and HB 42 was one — he said:

— He supported in principle privatizing the state-owned liquor stores but would not commit to any specific legislation as the “devil was in the details”.

— He supported giving school boards the power to furlough teachers for economic reasons. He, however, ducked the other half regarding his position on ending the requirement that school districts and municipalities pay prevailing wage for renovation and construction projects.

–He is not familiar with the First Suburbs issue which is starting to be discussed in Tea Party groups and appears to be an attempt to use government programs such as Section 8 housing to economically “diversify” Philadelphia’s older suburbs in accordance with the preferences of academics and activists.

–He supported abolishing the inheritance tax.

–He voted for and supports HB 1330, which expands the state’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit, and that he was only aware of the highlights of SB 1, the school choice bill bottled up in the Senate. He said he supports school choice in principle.

–That teachers should not be allowed to strike.

— He supports voter ID.

— He believes in state sovereignty.

— He supports cutting the size of the state legislature.

The only matter on which he incurred the crowd’s wrath concerned state pensions, and his unwillingness to condemn former State Sen. Bob Mellow’s $300,000 pension in significantly vociferous terms. He said Mellow’s pension plan had been grandfathered from before 1974, and that he should get it. He did not seem to get that it may fairer and more just to change the terms of an old poorly conceived contract rather than make a widow who was not party to it lose her home trying to fulfill it.

Adolph To Speak To Patriots

State Rep. Bill Adolph (R-165) of Springfield will be speaking to the Delaware County Patriots, 7 p.m., May 19 at the Knights of Columbus Hall,  327 N. Newtown Street Road, Newtown Square, Pa. 19073.

Adolph chairs the House Appropriations Committee.

The Patriots is the county’s Tea Party group.

Insurgents Fall In GOP State Races; Dem Battle Close

Insurgents Fall In GOP State Races; Dem Battle Close — The Philadelphia Common Pleas Court judges who actively sought Tea Party support fell handily  to the endorsed candidates in the Republican Primary state judicial races.

With 97 percent of the returns tallied, Paula Patrick was trailing Harrisburg attorney Vic Stabile  361,772 votes  to 190,231 in the Superior Court race, while Paul Panepinto had 167,455 votes to Anne Covey’s 386,751 in the Commonwealth Court race.

The 15-member Superior Court is the intermediate appellate court for civil and criminal cases from county Common Pleas Courts. The nine-member Commonwealth Court is the
intermediate appellate court for issues involving taxation, banking,
insurance, utility regulation, eminent domain, election, labor
practices, elections, Department of Transportation matters, and liquor
licenses.

On the Democrat side, party-endorsed Kathryn Boockvar, a private attorney known for her work with activist groups, was leading Barbara Behrend Ernsberger 300,389 votes to 297,635 to be the Commonwealth Court candidate.

On some local notes, incumbent Springfield (Delco) 6th Ward Commissioner Bob Layden appears to have held off a challenge from former commissioner Jim Devenney, who resigned after a minor scandal involving family memberships to the township swim club. The unofficial tally is 437 to 396.

And Tea Party activists Lisa Esler and John Dougherty 3rd will be on both party ballots in this November’s Penn Delco School Board race. Elections are being held for five seats. Cross filing is allowed in Pennsylvania school board races which means that in this fall’s race ticket totals will be combined to determine the winners.

Mrs. Esler had the most votes of six candidates on the Democrat side with 424, and had the third highest tally out of seven candidates on the GOP side with 1,239.

Dougherty had the most votes on the GOP side with 1,534 and the second highest total on the Democrat side with 377.

The candidates who won on both tickets — additionally Kevin Tinsley and Kimberly Robinson — while having a significant advantage do not have a guaranteed victory. Lewis Boughner appears to have failed to win on the Democrat ticket while James S. Porter 2nd appears to have failed to win on the Republican one, so there will be six people seeking five seats. It is in the realm of possibility that a person appearing on just one ballot will be among the top five votegetters.

In Newtown, embattled supervisor Linda Houldin was crushed 1,732 votes to 480 votes  in her GOP primary by former Marple Newtown School Director Edward C. Partridge. Partridge had sought Tea Party support.

Pols Make Pitches For A Plug By Patriots

Pols Make Pitches For A Plug By Patriots — Seven seeking office made pitches at tonight’s, March 24, meeting of the Delaware County Patriots, an indication of the growing influence of this Pennsylvania Tea Party group.

The event was held before a near capacity crowd at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Newtown Township.

Introducing their candidacies were Lisa Esler and John Dougherty who are running for the Penn Delco School Board; Frank DiBernardino who is running for the Garnet Valley School Board; Ed Partridge, a Marple Newtown School Director who is running for a Republican nomination for Newtown Supervisor; Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Paul Panepinto who is running for a Republican nomination for state Commonwealth Court;  Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Paula Patrick who is running for state Superior Court; and Jay Russell who is running for a Republican nomination for Bucks County Commissioner.

School board candidates usually file on both tickets although Mrs. Esler, Dougherty and DiBernardino did not make it clear if they did. DiBernardino made an interesting point in his speech in which he promised a commitment to quality education and fiscal stewardship that the previous Garnet Valley superintendent had a salary of $275,000. He said he would endeavor to make the books of his district transparent.

The two seeking nominations to the state appellate courts noted they were the only ones on the ballot who are actually judges. Neither is supported by the state GOP establishment. Judge Panepinto said he is proudly pro life and does not believe in judicial activism. Judge Patrick described herself as a black woman with an Irish name. She said she is pro life, pro Second Amendment, pro traditional marriage and is a Born Again Christian.

The primary is May 17.

Also speaking was Paul Linkmeyer who won a committee seat in West Goshen Township in 2010. Linkmeyer explained the importance of committee seats and described how it is the committee people who pick the candidates. He encouraged all Tea Party people to either run for a committee seat in their district or get to know their committee person.

The Delco Patriots are having a Chat ‘N Chew Pizza Night, 6:30-9 at the Marple Public Library, 2599 Sproul Road, Broomall Pa. 19008. RSVP is required and can be made by calling 610-572-3442.

The group is also sponsoring U.S. Constitution Classes, starting April 27. Details can be found at DelcoPatriots.Com

Also, the group will have a flea market, May 1 at the Newtown Square Shopping Center, West Chester Pike and Route 252.

Its next general meeting is May 19.

Pols Make Pitches For A Plug By Patriots