In case you haven't heard about this guy before, his name will stick in your mind!
Meet Maine 's New Governor --- California needs a governor like this,...... No we need a President with a mind like this
The new Maine Governor,Paul LePage is making New Jersey 's Chris Christie look like an enabler. He isn't afraid to say what he thinks.Judging by the comments, every time he opens his mouth, his popularity goes up.
He brought down the house at his inauguration when he shook his fist toward the media box and said, "You're on notice! I've inherited a financially troubled State to run. Observe...cover what we do...but don't whine if I don't waste time responding to your every whim just for your amusement."
During his campaign for Governor, he was talking to commercial fishermen who are struggling because of federal fisheries rules. They complained that 0bama brought his family to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park for a long Labor Day holiday and found time to meet with union leaders, but wouldn't talk to the fishermen LePage replied, "I'd tell him to go to hell and get out of my State." The Lame Stream Media crucified LePage, but he jumped 6 points in the pre-election poll.
The Martin Luther King incident was a political sandbag, which brought him National exposure. The 'lame stream' media crucified him, but word on the street is very positive. The NAACP specifically asked LePage to spend MLK Day visiting black inmates at the Maine State Prison. He told them that he would meet with ALL inmates, regardless of race, if he were to visit the prison. The NAACP balked and then put out a news release claiming falsely that he refused to participate in any MLK events. He read it in the paper for the 1st time the next morning while being driven to an event and went ballistic because none of the reporters had called him for comment before running the NAACP release. He arrived at that event & said in front of a TV camera, "If they want to play the race card on me they can kiss my ass", and he reminded them that he has an adopted black son from Jamaica and that he attended the local MLK Breakfast every year that he was mayor of Waterville. (He started his morning there on MLK Day.)
He then stated that there's a right way and a wrong way to meet with the Governor, and he put all special interests on notice that press releases, media leaks, and all demonstrations would prove to be the wrong way. He said any other group, which acted like the NAACP could expect to be at the bottom of the Governor's priority list!
He then did the following, and judging from local radio talk show callers, his popularity increased even more: The State employees union complained because he waited until 3 P.M. Before closing State offices and facilities and sending non-emergency personnel home during the last blizzard. The prior Governor would often close offices for the day with just a forecast before the first flakes. (Each time the State closes for snow, it costs the taxpayers about $1 million in wages for no work in return.)
LePage was CEO of the Marden's chain of discount family bargain retail stores before election as governor. He noted that State employees getting off work early could still find lots of retail stores open to shop. So, he put the State employees on notice by announcing: "If Marden's is open, Maine is open!"
He told State employees: "We live in Maine in the winter, for heaven's sake, and should know how to drive in it. Otherwise, apply for a State job in Florida !"
Governor LePage symbolizes what America needs; Refreshing politicians who aren't self-serving and who exhibit common sense.
THE LAW IS THE LAW!
"THE LAW IS THE LAW So "if" the US government determines that it is against the law for the words "under God" to be on our money, then, so be it.
And "if" that same government decides that the "Ten Commandments" are not to be used in or on a government installation, then, so be it.
I say, "so be it," because I would like to be a law abiding US citizen.
I say, "so be it," because I would like to think that smarter people than I are in positions to make good decisions.
I would like to think that those people have the American public's best interests at heart.
BUT, he said, "YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE I'D LIKE?
Since we can't pray to God, can't Trust in God and cannot post His Commandments in Government buildings, I don't believe Government (Federal, State and Local) and its employees should participate in Easter and Christmas celebrations which honor the God that our government is eliminating from many facets of American life.
I'd like my mail delivered on Christmas, Good Friday, Thanksgiving & Easter. After all, it's just another day.
I'd like the" US Supreme Court to be in session on Christmas, Good Friday, Thanksgiving & Easter as well as Sundays." After all, it's just another day.
I'd like the Senate and the House of Representatives to not have to worry about getting home for the "Christmas Break." After all it's just another day. I'm thinking a lot of my taxpayer dollars could be saved, if all government offices & services would work on Christmas, Good Friday & Easter. It shouldn't cost any overtime since those would be just like any other day of the week to a government that is trying to be "politically correct." In fact....I think our government should work on Sundays (initially set aside for worshipping God....) because, after all, our government says that it should be just another day...."
What do you all think???? If this idea gets to enough people, maybe our elected officials will stop giving in to the "minority opinions" and begin, once again, to represent the "majority" of ALL of the American people.
SO BE IT...........Please Dear Lord, Give us the help needed to keep you in our country! 'Amen' and 'Amen' Touché! These are definitely things I never thought about but from now on, I will be sure to question those in government who support these changes.
The Lehigh County District Attorney is attempting to have the County Controller removed from office. His office claims that, they found a State law that precludes a County Commissioner from becoming the County Controller for two years after leaving office as a County Commissioner. Even if we believe, that they "just found" this law, which I think is a witch hunt. I don't believe that this State law applies to our Home Rule Charter. The County Controller was elected,by the people, by a 22,000 vote margin, which I believe that the District Attorney would like to overturn. I think we should all support The County Controller and our Home Rule Charter in this battle.
Two Bills I opposed last year were Ordinance No. 2011-93 and Ordinance No. 2011-94. Ordinance.
Ordinance 2011-193 was a referendum regarding term limits for the County Commissioners and the County Executive.
Ordinance 2011-194 was a referendum on the appointment of row officers.
Both of theses Ordinances would change our Home Rule Charter.
The present term limit for the County Executive is two terms. The County Commissioners terms are limited by the Voters. The Row Officers terms are also limited by the Voters. This is the way I believe things should remain. The "lame duck" board of Commissioners were pursuing this legislation. I could not find the real reason for these Bills,other then that "like a dog" they can. Hopefully both these Ordinances will be repealed. Before making changes to our Home Rule Charter, we should be sure that what is proposed, is really what we need.
For the last 2 years, I have been an opponent of Grants from the Federal and State in respect to non essential programs. Many of these grants spend taxpayer money on either "feel good" or "corporate welfare projects". Many times the reply to my objections were "If we don't take the money someone else will". This may very well be true. However, our governments are operating on borrowed money and spending like we don't have to pay it back. Their right. Our Children and Grandchildren will pay for our pissing away their futures. It takes courage to stand up for the principles that you believe in. Four of the Commissioners showed that courage at this meeting.
Bill 2012-05 Approving a professional service agreement with Lehigh Valley Health Network for a highway safety program for Lehigh and Northampton Counties. This Grant was for $95,000 so the Lehigh Valley Health Network could either hire or pay two of their staff people to implement this grant. One person was to be full tine and one part time. So sure was Lehigh Valley Health Network that this would be rubber stamped by the Board of Commissioners, they started the program last October. I'm sure it was their dismay that this bill didn't pass.
The business as usual Commissioners who voted (YES)
Thomas Creighton, Percy Dougherty, Danial McCarthy and to my dismay Brad Osborne.
The no votes were cast by: Scott Ott, Lisa Scheller, Vic Mazziotti and Mike Schware.
We need more public officials to stand up and say no to this waste of taxpayers money. Until more courage from our elected officials is shown, the bureaucrats in our governments will continue to waste tax dollars.
The appointment of Michael Schware to the District Five Seat Vacated by Glenn Eckhart who is now County Controller. The Vote Yes- Creighton,Osborn,McCarthy,Mazziotti,Ott,Scheller No-Doughterty,Jones He was appointed. I was supportive of Michael's appointment. I beleive that he will be a good addition to the Board,
Bill 2012-02 Authorizing the implementation of the Reassessment Process
All Commissioners Voted YES.
So far the response from the Administration has not been positive, We will have to see if anyone caves to the pressure from the County Exective.
On January 11th 2012 the First Agenda meeting of the Commissioners took place. Bill 2011-95 was up for Second Reading ,Discussion and Vote. This Bill is Approving a Subgrant Agreement Between the County Of Lehigh and LaFarge North America Inc. for Funds from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania under the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program.
This Grant is to assist the LaFarge plant in Whitehall to convert their Boilers from Oil to Natural Gas. The Amount of this Grant is $300,000.00 of TAXPAYERS money. Now, I am glad the LaFarge has a Plant in Lehigh County. I'm sure that they a good employer and a good company. My problem in not with LaFarge but with Harrisburg. It seems that we have a "Department of STUPID" in Harrisburg. This Department gives our tax money away for anything that suits their fancy. The LaFarge Group reported sales of 16.2 Billion euro (approx. 24 Billion US) in 2010. This is a very large company with 76000 employees in 78 Countries. I had thought that the "Dept of Stupid" would have been closed with the New Administration. I guess this is not the case. Perhaps everyone that would like to convert from Oil to Gas should ask the State for a Grant. Fat Chance!!! Now for the Votes: Yes: Thomas Creighton, Percy Dougherty, David Jones,Danial McCarthy (as expected) and Brad Osborn (not expected) No: Scott Ott and Vic Mazziotti (as expected)
_ January 24th First day to circulate and file nomination petitions 2012 Federal and State Primary
It appears that the Lame Duck Commissioners are trying passing their own agenda before the end of their term.
Bill 2011-83 An Ordinance Proposing a Referendum Amending the Home Rule Charter to Place Term Limits Upon Certain Elected Officials of Lehigh County. This is being Sponsored by Commissioners Browning and Roman. We all know that, Commissioner Browning lost his bid for reelection in the Primary last spring. We also know that Commissioner Roman lost his bid for Sheriff in November. Could this be “SOUR GRAPES”?? This would effect the following Offices.
The County Executive would be able to run for another term for a total of 12 years. Perhaps this is a favor from Commissioner Browning.
The Coroner would be limited and could not run again. Mr Grimm has been doing a really good job in this position it would be a real travesty if he were not able to continue.
The Clerk of Judicial Records would not be able to run again. Andrea E. Naugle has been praised by both the Administration and the Commissioners for the job she has been doing. Why would anyone want to change, what is working ?
The County Sheriff would not be able to run again. Although, I have at times, been critical of the County Sheriff, I believe that, this Elected Office falls in the same category as the other Row Officers positions. If the people of the County decide to reelect someone to office then so be it. I don't know what Commissioner Browning reason is but, I do believe what Commissioner Romans is.
The County Controller position has been filled by newly Elected Glenn Eckhart. If he doses the job, I believe he will, I would not like to see him unable to continue in the future
It appears the District Attorney is Exempt from this Bill. I have not been able to determine the reasoning behind this other then the comments made by Commissioner Roman. He stated that the District Attorney is Paid by the State. Commissioner Dougherty stated that a portion of the District Attorney’s salary is refunded to the County by the State and this has not been forthcoming as it should be. The simple fact is that The District Attorney is Elected by the County Residences like any other County Elected Office. Commissioner Dougherty eluded to the possibility that Commissioner Browning and Roman didn’t want to upset or otherwise take on District Attorney Jim Martin. I believe that Commissioner Dougherty ,may be correct, in his take on this. Commissioner Roman stated that he feels that Commissioners and Row Officers should not be Career Politicians. I submit that being a Commissioner holding a “part time” position on the County Board with a nominal pay does not qualify as a Career. As for the Coroner,Sheriff,Clerk of Judicial Records and Controller these are in essence just administrative positions. The reason for these positions to be Elected and not Appointed, is to try and keep these positions independent from the Administration. As a rule, when a new County Executive is elected the entire Administration is changed. If the Row Officers were included in this change, it could be detrimental to the operation of the County. This also prevents [to some extent] the over reaching power of the County Executive In conclusion it is my opinion that this Bill was not presented for the betterment of County Government but, too fulfill someones personal agenda.
Bill 2011-77 Approving a Second Amendment to the Lease Agreement with LV Baseball LP , Assignees of Gracie Baseball,L.P. (Sponsored by Commissioners Dougherty and Browning.
This bill really makes no sense at all. I suspect that there is some motive behind this that I am on aware of. It seems that this bill enables the refinancing of the Ball Park to enjoy a lower interest rate. This in itself sound OK. However, this could not happen until 2017 if at all. Why this is being proposed now is what prompts my interest. Right now, the Baseball franchise is not committed to the Lease for the term of the Bond . From my understanding, this Bill will not change that. We are talking about interest rates being lower in 2017. But, why now??? I understand that this “Lane Duck” Board may want to complete its agenda before the end of the year. But, What is the agenda if this Bill. Commissioner Browning appeared .to become, slightly upset with me when I questioned this Bill. This all the more reason for apprehension. Something is going on here, that the Public should know. I wonder, if this would have passed the newly Elected Board of Commissioners.
Dean N. Browning What is the Tea Party Brand: Earl Grey or Herbal? Posted on November 3, 2011 at 2:27pm Print &nbps;0 Comments ‹ Back to Blog Post File Photo: Members of Lehigh Valley Project 9-12/Tea Party Group listen to chairman Mat Benol. Credit Christina Georgiou Photos Pdfs Add your photos One of the more important and consequential developments on the political scene has been the emergence of the “Tea Party” as an active voice in the formation of public policy. Locally we have a large and engaged group organized as the Lehigh Valley Project 9-12 Tea Party Group (LVTP). I’ve attended several of LVTP meetings, participated in their candidate’s forum, and I frequently visit their website to follow the topics being discussed by their 500-plus members. Overall, my observation is that the LVTP consists of ordinary citizens who are concerned about the direction of our country. They want to get involved in the political process, many for the first time, in order to have a say in that direction. While much of their focus is on Washington and national issues, the LVTP is also active at the local level. The group has members who are welcome constructive additions to the small number of citizens that regularly attend meetings of local governments such as school boards or county council. In addition, the LVTP took the step early last year of formulating and adopting a Limited Government Resolution (a copy is attached) to be used as a yard stick in measuring elected officials at the national, state and local level. I was (and still am) supportive of the major objectives of the Resolution. However, before it was adopted, I had questions about the apparent conflict among certain provisions or about how others would be implemented. For example, the Resolution has as one of its goals the laudable objective of no increase in taxes. But the Resolution also allows spending to increase at the rate of inflation combined with the growth in population. Unresolved is the question of how these two goals would apply to government entities (such as school districts) where spending is driven by inflation and population growth but the supporting tax revenue (primarily real estate property taxes) is not impacted at all by inflation and may not be directly correlated to population growth. Another example is the goal that existing debt can only be refinanced if it reduces the total debt obligation. Taken at face value that would mean the typical refinancing approach of keeping the debt the same but getting a substantially lower interest rate would not be an option. Nonetheless, the LVTP considered a draft of that Resolution at two separate meetings early in 2010. Minutes from the second meeting record that the presentation of the Resolution was met with several standing ovations and was subsequently approved by a unanimous vote. One of the listed goals of the Resolution is the elimination of operating deficits in government budgets. A detailed handout provided with the Resolution defines an operating deficit as one where spending exceeds money received. That is fairly straight forward and easy to follow. And eliminating deficits is something every government, especially the federal government, should have as a requirement. As a result, I was surprised at the approach the LVTP took in the approval process for Lehigh County’s budget for 2012, given the salience of deficit spending to them and to their Resolution. In early October, the Lehigh County Board of Commissioners considered a series of amendments to the 2012 budget. The amendments were developed by several candidates running for the Board of Commissioners and then presented by a current member of the Board. The purpose of the amendments was to decrease the budgeted millage rate from 11.90 mils to 10.64 mils for 2012. As desirable as lower taxes are, the amendments failed to address any of the corresponding spending cuts needed to sustain the reduction. As a result, the net effect was that budgeted spending would have remained at $109 million for 2012 while budgeted revenue would have dropped to $94 million, thus creating a $15 million deficit for the year. The rationale for this was that it would “inject money” into the Lehigh County’ economy. If President Obama’s trillion dollar deficit stimulus did little to help the U.S. economy, I’m certain a $15 million deficit would have much the same effect on Lehigh County’s $40 billion economy. Oddly enough, a number of Tea Party members were in attendance when the amendments were discussed, and no one voiced any opposition or commented on the proposal to create a sizeable deficit for 2012. On the contrary, there were several who were in favor of the plan. The LVTP has made great strides to become involved and engaged in the political process. One of their underlying themes is that governments are limited to the powers specified and enumerated in documents ranging from the U.S. Constitution to the Home Rule Charter for Lehigh County. Viewed another way, I think the LVTP believes words mean what they say. Too bad the LVTP didn’t take that same position when their Limited Government Resolution had its first local test.
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