tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31862751513102940812024-03-13T07:27:44.682-04:00Toxic Taxation"I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of
expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents." - James Madison, the father of our ConstitutionJason Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936369955945345359noreply@blogger.comBlogger180125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186275151310294081.post-30002590100211707202014-05-22T18:33:00.002-04:002014-05-22T18:33:27.805-04:00Nooo Hollywood Is Straight Up Honest!This speaks for itself.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/KOX5ehfFF7I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Jason Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936369955945345359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186275151310294081.post-12335797674218256562014-04-18T10:38:00.000-04:002014-04-18T10:38:06.770-04:00Trey Gowdy Not Telling The PRess How To Do Their Job<iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/A1jeJmeeMjs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Jason Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936369955945345359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186275151310294081.post-55018648948287924352014-03-14T09:35:00.004-04:002014-03-15T09:46:24.176-04:00Trey Gowdy Makes A Clear PointPay attention.
<iframe width="560" height="320" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/M3WhyD2ZIyY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Jason Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936369955945345359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186275151310294081.post-62172496847147152652013-12-06T08:32:00.001-05:002013-12-06T08:32:03.765-05:00Merry Christmas Indeed<iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/eCBNOFmr4nw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Jason Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936369955945345359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186275151310294081.post-19824420842671999622013-07-16T22:38:00.001-04:002013-07-16T22:38:16.581-04:00Stupidity Definedseriously.. look up Jasmine Rand in the dictionary
<iframe src="http://videos.mediaite.com/embed/player/?content=B3JYK72L6BHBW753&content_type=content_item&layout=&playlist_cid=&widget_type_cid=svp&read_more=1" width="420" height="421" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" allowtransparency="true"></iframe>Jason Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936369955945345359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186275151310294081.post-28813713761552242942013-06-04T22:33:00.001-04:002013-06-04T22:33:15.938-04:00Death PanelThis video needs little commentary.
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ChXWA4UbGJ4" width="560"></iframe>Jason Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936369955945345359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186275151310294081.post-64021306141605056812013-01-08T08:51:00.000-05:002013-01-08T08:51:02.088-05:00Democide - Demand A PlanNot much more needs to be said on the subject.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/LSbp6bxltNg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Jason Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936369955945345359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186275151310294081.post-77767884500346715702012-06-04T08:12:00.002-04:002012-06-04T08:13:41.998-04:00100th Round Of Golf MilestoneA friend sent this along, and I figured I would share.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/YYhrVz51fgM" width="560"></iframe>Jason Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936369955945345359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186275151310294081.post-47405138176525301202012-04-25T08:46:00.003-04:002012-04-25T08:46:56.319-04:00If I wanted America To FailA Must View. <br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/CZ-4gnNz0vc" width="560"></iframe>Jason Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936369955945345359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186275151310294081.post-78508650464327741592012-04-19T22:37:00.002-04:002012-04-19T22:40:32.332-04:00Yellow & Black<a href="http://permatea.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/gadsden.gif"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 242px; height: 161px;" src="http://permatea.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/gadsden.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Keep July 3rd 2012 to yourself.<br /><br />However, consider this:<br /><blockquote>"Permanent Tea. <p style="text-align: left;">What it means, is that we aren’t going away. Those of us who finally broke through the ridicule of media, the left, politicos in BOTH parties and a general apathy towards our government.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">This, when we needed to do so, or see the final vestiges of our republic dissolve with finality. A time when the greatness of “One Nation Under God” would no longer move the dreams and aspirations of would be citizens, nor the patriotic desire for individual freedoms we for so long had taken for granted."</p></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: left;">The rest <a href="http://permatea.com/">HERE</a><br /></p>Jason Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936369955945345359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186275151310294081.post-44304496913015778812012-03-11T11:42:00.002-04:002012-03-11T11:43:52.281-04:00"Dele-GATE" Continues in Michigan<h1>In Case You Have Been Missing This</h1> <div class="meta"><div class="date"><a href="http://www.rightmichigan.com/tag/%26quot%3BDele-Gate%26quot%3B"><img class="alignright" title="Rules" src="http://rightmi.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/rules.png" alt="" height="361" width="333" /></a>March 11, 2012</div>By <a href="http://michigantaxes.com/wordpress/author/JGillman/" title="Posts by JGillman" rel="author">JGillman</a></div><p>There has been an extensive series of articles chronicling the corrupt element in Michigan’s Republican Party Leadership.</p> <p>All of it immediately solvable with the resignation of a couple key players who refuse to acknowledge THEIR OWN RULES as well as those proffered by the Republican National Committee.</p> <p>For a complete list of the stories click on the memo.</p> <p>Hopefully this will be resolved sooner than later.</p>Jason Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936369955945345359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186275151310294081.post-24230731352247253182011-10-06T12:47:00.008-04:002011-10-06T13:27:38.066-04:00Sarah is not Running<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CEBO5jCApKI/To3k31NMLWI/AAAAAAAAAGA/GGMUVIY5viE/s1600/palinfacebw.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 226px; height: 209px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CEBO5jCApKI/To3k31NMLWI/AAAAAAAAAGA/GGMUVIY5viE/s400/palinfacebw.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660431954500922722" border="0" /></a><br />All I have for Sarah Palin is the deepest admiration and respect.<br /><br />Her decision to NOT seek the Republican nomination for President is one I had hoped might not come, but understand both her reasons, and why it might be best at this time for our country.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Her reasons are quite obvious.</span> Though I wish she would have waited a bit longer, driving the media nuts with speculation, it is clear they were waiting to publish re-hashed Sarah-bashing articles and produced hit pieces. She scares the hell out of the left, and the sycophants in the media are merely tools of that faction.<br /><br />Why it is best? Although I would have bolted the Cain camp in support of Palin easily, I believe Herman Cain likely has the best opportunity to heal what has been done to the image of failure being presented in comparison to race. The Barack Obama failure may be seen by some as a failure due to race, whether we like it or not. The FAILURE of Obama as any reasoning person understands, is in fact as the result of his backward ideology. The ideology of redistribution and submission to government.<br /><br />Herman Cain offers both the experience as an executive, and the appropriate ideology that matches our country's heritage and culture. He and many of the other Republicans in the race believe in a strong USA, that is truly better than any other country. Perhaps it is his, or their time.<br /><br />Sarah will serve us well by being a voice to keep our leadership in line. Few can rally folks like this incredible woman.<br /><br />May God bless and keep her as a part of the soul of this great nation.Jason Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936369955945345359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186275151310294081.post-13803596021055450102011-08-02T12:41:00.001-04:002011-08-02T12:43:08.029-04:00Their "precious"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.getliberty.org/content_images/Cartoon%20-%20Tea%20Party%20Hobbits%20-%20ALG%20(600).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 600px; height: 456px;" src="http://www.getliberty.org/content_images/Cartoon%20-%20Tea%20Party%20Hobbits%20-%20ALG%20(600).jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br />Precious, simply precious McCain.Jason Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936369955945345359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186275151310294081.post-19794614302233446002011-05-19T22:42:00.001-04:002011-05-19T22:42:54.807-04:00Congressman Allen West Response to President Barack Obama's Call for a Two State Solution in IsraelCongressman Allen West Response to President Barack Obama's Call for a Two State Solution in Israel<br /><br />(WASHINGTON) --- Congressman Allen West (FL-22) released this statement today:<br /><br />"Today's endorsement by President Barack Obama of the creation of a Hamas-led Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 borders, signals the most egregious foreign policy decision his administration has made to date, and could be the beginning of the end as we know it for the Jewish state.<br /><br />From the moment the modern day state of Israel declared statehood in 1948, to the end of the 1967 Six Day War, Jews were forbidden access to their holiest site, the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City, controlled by Jordan's Arab army.<br /><br />The pre-1967 borders endorsed by President Obama would deny millions of the world's Jews access to their holiest site and force Israel to return the strategically important Golan Heights to Syria, a known state-sponsor of terrorism.<br /><br />Resorting to the pre-1967 borders would mean a full withdrawal by the Israelis from the West Bank and the Jewish neighborhoods of East Jerusalem. Make no mistake, there has always been a Nation of Israel and Jerusalem has been and must always be recognized as its rightful capital.<br /><br />In short, the Hamas-run Palestinian state envisioned by President Obama would be devastating to Israel and the world's 13.3 million Jews. It would be a Pavlovian style reward to a declared Islamic terrorist organization, and an unacceptable policy initiative. <br /><br />America should never negotiate with the Palestinian Authority- which has aligned itself with Hamas. Palestine is a region, not a people or a modern state. Based upon Roman Emperor Hadrian's declaration in 73 AD, the original Palestinian people are the Jewish people.<br /><br />It's time for the American people to stand by our strongest ally, the Jewish State of Israel, and reject this foreign policy blunder of epic proportions.<br /><br />While the winds of democracy may blow strong in the Middle East, history has demonstrated that gaps in leadership can lead to despotic regimes. I have questions for President Obama: 'Who will now lead in Egypt?' and 'Why should American taxpayers provide foreign aid to a nation where the next chapter in their history may be the emergence of another radical Islamic state?'<br /><br />President Obama has not stood for Israel or the Jewish people and has made it clear where the United States will stand when Palestine attempts to gain recognition of statehood by the United Nations. The President should focus on the real obstacle to security- the Palestinian leadership and its ultimate goal to eliminate Israel and the Jewish people."Jason Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936369955945345359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186275151310294081.post-43788467520352520522011-04-01T20:31:00.002-04:002011-04-01T20:32:04.131-04:00Obama's 2012 Presidential Ad<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VIA5aszzA18?rel=0&hd=1" allowfullscreen="" width="853" frameborder="0" height="510"></iframe>Jason Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936369955945345359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186275151310294081.post-48402130906622981942011-02-24T10:01:00.001-05:002011-02-24T10:03:32.206-05:00How the left thinks<p>Cut and pasted over from <a href="http://netrightdaily.com/2011/02/how-the-left-thinks/">NetRight Daily</a><br /></p><p style="font-weight: bold;">By Rick Manning -</p> <p>When faced with actual real cuts in their budgets, managers in either the private or public sector have some basic priority decisions to make.</p> <p>Do you use these cuts as an opportunity to cut the average employees from your staff with the idea that when times are less lean, you can replace them with employees with a higher upside?</p> <p>Do you evaluate programs and eliminate those that are not meeting expectations, contributing to the bottom line, or are simply “vanity” projects that fall into the want rather than need category?</p> <p>Do you cut salaries and benefits across the board in an attempt to keep your staff intact, knowing that you might lose key personnel who leave because they have better offers or prospects for growth?</p> <p>Do you lay off staff for a couple of weeks of unpaid furlough?</p> <p>One option that few would consider would be shutting down your entire operation for almost two months, and then trying to restart from scratch after that length of time.</p> <p>Yet, listening to the professional left react to the House passage of the Continuing Resolution, and the reaction of public employee unions in Wisconsin and elsewhere, you would think that this is the only alternative.</p> <p>Shut down, doomsday, our indispensable jobs not being performed for a long time rather than setting priorities and funding needs over wants.</p> <p>To demonstrate the point, the National Labor Relations Board announced that the $50 million cut they received in the House Continuing Resolution would mean they would have to shut down for 50 days. Of course, <a href="http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2011/roll075.xml">176 House Republicans voted to defund the NLRB entirely</a>, so the 50 days should seem reasonable in that light.</p> <p>It is instructive that the fear mongering management style of the left never considers anything but the “shutdown solution,” in their attempts to rally people to continue the growth of government.</p> <p>If the NLRB was managed like a business, they would use the $50 million in cuts to weed out the 20 percent poorest performers from their ranks, and narrow the focus of their efforts to only the most mission critical agenda items. But instead, they threaten a 50 day shutdown, because every staff member is equally valuable.</p> <p>Of course, the reason the NLRB is facing this level of budget cut is because it is in classic liberal overreach mode, attempting at every turn to rejuvenate the Democratic base through creating a European style workplace. They aren’t pursuing this agenda because that is a model that works, but because it increases the power of Big Labor and the Democratic Party. So, naturally, a cut in their budget would be viewed as a direct assault on this power grab, which can only be met with the most extreme rhetoric.</p> <p>To give an idea on why 176 Republicans voted to put the NLRB out of business entirely, <a href="http://www.nlrb.gov/sites/default/files/documents/236/rite-aid_lamons-gasket_notice_conf.pdf">just look at one case pending before the NLRB that threatens to overturn the Dana Corp. decision</a> that provides for secret ballot union elections, and its ramifications for worker rights.</p> <p>Under current law, if an employer and a union jointly agree to certify the union for the employees, those employees who were never consulted or voted on whether they wanted to be represented by that or any union, have the right to demand a union certification election. Seems like a reasonable approach to the law, since the imposition of a union on employees through some dubious agreement between the employer and a random union clearly violates those workers rights to self-determination in the workplace.</p> <p>However, Big Labor objects and the NLRB is currently considering a case that would effectively take the employee choice out of the process, sticking them with a union that they might neither want nor need.</p> <p>This paternalistic approach that pushes workers out of the union organizing process might be an ideal solution to Big Labor’s problem that they are being uniformly rejected by private sector workers across America, but it is hardly empowering the workers.</p> <p>Upon further review, perhaps the NLRB shutting down for at least 50 days might be the best solution if they are going to continue rampaging against workers right to choose? It certainly makes the vote of the 176 House Republicans to shut them down completely understandable.</p><div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br />Read more at NetRightDaily.com: <a style="color: rgb(0, 51, 153);" href="http://netrightdaily.com/2011/02/how-the-left-thinks/#ixzz1Et9HGyQT">http://netrightdaily.com/2011/02/how-the-left-thinks/#ixzz1Et9HGyQT</a><br /></div>Jason Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936369955945345359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186275151310294081.post-7909375666096762972011-01-25T09:13:00.001-05:002011-01-25T09:15:09.845-05:00Cartoon - Civility for DUMMIES<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.getliberty.org/default.asp?Display=3014"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 310px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vP_4aj2dAe0/TT7apz8sSzI/AAAAAAAAAFI/wEM6xNPQ3-E/s400/Cartoon%2B-%2BCivility%2Bfor%2BDummies%2B-%2BALG%2B%2528600%2529.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566126601330772786" border="0" /></a>Jason Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936369955945345359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186275151310294081.post-37076822410918452372011-01-01T14:08:00.001-05:002011-01-01T14:10:39.482-05:00Joe Miller statement Jan 1, 2011<span style="font-weight: bold;">Joe Miller Remarks: The End of the Beginning</span><br /><br />Anchorage, Alaska. December 31, 2010 -- Joe Miller made the following remarks announcing his decision to end his legal fight regarding the U.S. Senate election in Alaska:<br /><br />As many of you know, I am a father. I have 8 wonderful children and an extraordinary wife. One of the primary reasons I decided to run for the U.S. Senate was because of my sincere belief that the reckless spending by those in office was bankrupting our country. In what can only be described as actions that are selfish, irresponsible and immoral, we continue to pass on trillion dollar deficits to our children. This delusional spending has no regard for the burden placed on them, and no consideration for the difficulties we place on ourselves.<br /><br />It is said that a politician runs for the next election, but a statesman runs for the next generation. I have always viewed my platform as one that would benefit the next generation more than ourselves. It was a message that over 90,000 Alaskans endorsed and millions across the nation supported.<br /><br />But we ultimately fell short this time. While it appeared unlikely that the vote margin would be overcome, we wanted to make sure that the vote count was honest and conducted in compliance with the law. Adhering to the rule of law is the bedrock of our democracy. We raised concerns about the election process under a state law that a federal judge recently ruled was “a poorly drafted state statute” and that the court suggested “the Alaska Legislature act to clarify it.” Recent comments and prefiled bills by Alaskan legislators on both sides of the aisle suggest that they too agree on the need to revise state election laws. Even the lieutenant governor has called for an internal review. All Alaskans should demand that this review is transparent and independent.<br /><br />I have been criticized for seeking to apply the rule of law to this election, and I have paid a price for our approach. I accept that criticism knowing that often doing what is right is not the same thing as doing what is easy—or popular. The easy thing to do would be to ignore the electoral irregularities and move on to other things. While persisting in this fight, I knew my motives, and indeed my judgment, would be called into question. What is true, is that I fought this fight, so that candidates in the future would not have to do so. There can be nothing more serious, and more sacrosanct, than our election process. It’s the tool we use to maintain the will of the people in determining the course of this state and the nation. When the laws governing this sacred process -- laws voted into place by the people and their legislstors -- when these laws are disregarded, for whatever reason, all Alaskans should demand answers. And so, given the facts, and my position at the time, I chose to fight, for this process, and the rule of law. We were not successful in that endeavor, but the fight was a worthy one, and one I will not shy away from, should I be faced with it again.<br /><br />As a Constitutional conservative, I respect the rule of law as much as I sought to have enforced the rule of law. I say today that the courts have spoken. To my many supporters who continue to urge me to appeal to the Ninth Circuit and the US Supreme Court, I say that I hear you, but the time has come to accept the practical realities of our current legal circumstances. We shall abide by the courts’ decisions even if we do not agree with them.<br /><br />I stand before you today to explain where we are in the process and what our future plans are. I started my run for Senate out of a sincere love for my country and my state. There is no place more extraordinary than Alaska, with its wide open spaces, rugged extremes and individuals, and unparalleled challenges. And there is no nation more exceptional than the United States of America, founded on the unshakeable principle that God has given us fundamental rights that no one and no government has the right to take away. I voluntarily pledged my life and all my resources to defend this country and those principles. And I would do so again.<br /><br />Like so many Alaskans, I have grave concerns about the course our country is taking. We are spending money we don't have. I brought a message to this state and I sounded an alarm. The way of the past, with its obsession for growing the federal government, out of control spending, pork barrel politics, corrupting earmarks, and its disregard for individual liberty, is destroying our country. Now is the time for us to engage in a national conversation about the role of the federal government, its relationship with the states and the people, and the need to balance and responsibly manage the federal budget. I also applaud the efforts of the Republican leadership to not only read into the record the Constitution, but to cite the Constitutional authority for each proposed law.<br /><br />Unlike so many people in D.C. right now, I still believe in American exceptionalism.<br /><br />I still believe in the American individual.<br /><br />I still believe in the sovereign State of Alaska and the independent Alaskan.<br /><br />And always, always, I believe in and maintain an unshakeable faith in God and his providence and grace.<br /><br />Our campaign was an underdog from the beginning. Going against the establishment, and a political force with so much money and power standing behind it to defend the status quo was a formidable challenge that few thought we were up to. Many knew the risk of standing against such power, and still they stood with us. Our support network, many of whom we see here, and the will, passion and foresight of a great people were up to the task, and through the grace of God, we prevailed in the primary.<br /><br />However, more than just a testament to the will of our supporters, defeating a sitting Senator in the primary reflected a simple truth--tens of thousands of Alaskans heard my message and knew its truth. And over 90,000 Alaskans said loud and clear on Election Day--enough! And in a state that is dependent on enormous federal funding, the fact that so many Alaskans were able to see beyond today and look to the future was an amazing achievement, and a testament to their character.<br /><br />My message was honest. The truth cannot be hidden from the people any longer. But blunt honesty has a price. The messenger may not always be appreciated. It’s been said that in war you can only die once, but in politics you can die a thousand deaths. I like to kind of focus on the resurrection part of that message.<br /><br />But in speaking the truth we saw how quickly those whose economic model depends on government waste reacted. These powerful vested corporate interests, funded in part by U.S. taxpayer dollars with no bid contracts, successfully organized against our messages of reform and fiscal responsibility.<br /><br />The campaign is over, but the real impact of the outcome is just starting to be felt. We’ve seen in just the past few weeks what direction Senator Murkowski wants to take the country and Alaska, a direction that I campaigned against, and I will continue to oppose.<br /><br />We need to demand that our elected leaders remember that “Freedom” is not unlimited financial support funded by fellow taxpayers. “Liberty” is not recklessly spending us into bankruptcy. The ability to prosper in this nation and reach our full potential is not based on how much the government can give us, but rather how much it will leave us be, to thrive and determine our own destiny.<br /><br />People ask me what my plans for the future are. I know for a fact that standing down is not an option, and I will continue to sound the alarm about the state of our nation. But exactly what form that will take, I don't know quite yet.<br /><br />I do know that I have a loving family and the support of my wonderful wife. We have a great state, and the support of tens of thousands of Alaskans. My supporters were the most loyal, devoted and energetic volunteers any campaign could hope for. I studied American politics, while I was at West Point; I’ve been a student of it since; I taught it when I was at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. I have never seen, of course I am a little bit biased here, I have never seen a campaign so energized, so funded, so supported by the base. Extraordinary. That’s one thing that ought to go down in the history books. We have been blessed beyond words by your contribution and sacrifice. These were people, who gave not just their financial resources, but their time. But beyond these sacrifices, and quite possibly even more significant, they gave us their endorsement. They took the value of their good word, built up with friends and neighbors over a lifetime of honest deeds and actions, and put that behind me and this cause. They placed signs in their yard and said, “This is my candidate. I stand with him.” There can be no greater honor, and no more humbling experience for me personally, than to receive the faith and trust of these good people. I will live my life trying to live up to the magnitude of that trust, so that no one who has ever placed that faith in me will be let down. To all of you, and especially to my incredible wife Kathleen, I say thank you.<br /><br />People from across the country have reached out to us. Great leaders and minds of conservative thought embraced us and our message also. Again, let me say we are, and were, humbled and honored beyond words by this.<br /><br />This is not the beginning of the end. This is the end of the beginning. While Alaska may not, at this point, have embraced the sort of reform that this nation and state needs to survive, hope IS apparent, as evidenced by the overwhelming message sent to Washington DC in this last election cycle. The American people are increasingly rejecting socialism, and conservatives are rejecting career politicians who stand for nothing save self preservation. These are great days, in that regard, and all who value liberty should take heart at these recent events. There is much to do, but the light has shone, and I believe, more and more Americans and Alaskans will wake up to this light, and embrace, and not oppress, those values that for so long in our recent times, we have forsaken.<br /><br />Whatever comes next, I can make only one promise: I will work now, and for the rest of my life, to educate and inspire, and to fight to protect the things that have made this state and this nation great, and will defend with every fiber of my being, the hallowed principles outlined in the divinely inspired document that for over 200 years has not just ensured our freedom, but has been a beacon of hope for the entire world: the Constitution of the United States. Where corruption and complacency threaten to weaken it, I will draw the lines of battle and step into the breach. I would ask those who believe in these principles, and share this love of liberty, to step with me.<br /><br />Thank you, all of you, for the privilege of being your candidate.<br /><br />May God continue to bless our state, our country, and guide Senator Murkowski in her future actions.Jason Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936369955945345359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186275151310294081.post-14350806283365198572010-12-31T10:11:00.000-05:002010-12-31T10:12:20.345-05:00Happy New Year!<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="580" height="500" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="data" value="http://michigantaxes.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/newyear.swf" /><param name="FlashVars" value="playerMode=embedded" /><param name="src" value="http://michigantaxes.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/newyear.swf" /><param name="flashvars" value="playerMode=embedded" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="580" height="500" src="http://michigantaxes.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/newyear.swf" flashvars="playerMode=embedded" data="http://michigantaxes.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/newyear.swf"></embed></object>Jason Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936369955945345359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186275151310294081.post-84092769279642075642010-12-14T12:20:00.001-05:002010-12-14T12:22:13.711-05:00No Labels - More Centrist Failures<p>I found this article by Adam Bitely at <a href="http://blog.getliberty.org/default.asp?Display=2899">getliberty.org</a> to be compelling.<br /></p><p>By <a href="http://www.getliberty.org/content.asp?pl=477&sl=3&contentid=480">Adam Bitely</a></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" src="http://www.getliberty.org/content_images/nolabels%281%29.png" border="0" vspace="3" width="490" height="272" hspace="3" /></p> <p>“No Labels” launched on Monday morning with a conference in New York City featuring a “who’s who” of failed closet-liberal politicians attempting to create a fabricated movement in an attempt to make their agenda relevant. The “No Labels” agenda — which appears to be to campaign that voters are irrational for not electing Big Government politicians — has already failed to gain traction amongst the electorate around the nation. The election results on November 2nd, 2010 indicate just that.</p> <p>The “No Labels” roll out featured politician has-beens such as Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE), Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN), Rep. Bob Inglis (D-SC), former Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA), and exiting Governor Charlie Crist (I-FL). All of these politicians have been tossed out by the electorate or read polling data that indicated they were rather unpopular in their districts or state and decided to save themselves from the embarrassment of losing at the voting booth. Mike Castle specifically, who lost his bid for the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate in Delaware this past September, indicated that the voters in his state were irrational to go against his support of Big Government projects like Obama’s “stimulus” and the bailouts.</p> <p>The politicians at the “No Labels” launch spoke much too frequently about “hyper partisanship” that is spiraling out of control while failing to acknowledge that it is they that have led to the problem that they plan to tackle. The nation is too divided they argue, and “No Labels” will allow the “radical center” to have a voice at the table of government.</p> <p>The folks behind “No Labels” must have missed the fact that a solid majority of independent voters sided with tea party movement influenced candidates in November that promised to put an end to the political establishment that runs the government. Independent voters rejected the politicians that are the very symbol of the Washington political establishment that “No Labels” is comprised of.</p> <p>While the use of the words “hyper partisanship” (it felt like every speaker mentioned this at least three times a minute) and “starting the conversation” ran wild throughout the “No Labels” launch conference, fiction and myth ran even wilder.</p> <p>For instance, one of the speakers in the evening program at the “No Labels” launch referenced a “hyper partisan gridlock” that is allegedly out of control in D.C. This person was obviously asleep for the past two years while Democrats ran Congress with solid majorities while simultaneously controlling the White House. No such gridlock existed. But don’t expect the folks at “No Labels” to correct the record.</p> <p>Further, the politicians that were showcased throughout the event have been running the government in DC that they were critical of throughout the event. These politicians are the problem, and definitely are not the solution.</p> <p>At one point, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg criticized the Founding Fathers for being wealthy landowners while attempting to make a point that there is a severe problem that only the wealthy have access to government power. Mayor Bloomberg must have forgotten the size of his own bank account, being a billionaire and the wealthiest politician in America. He must have also forgotten that he had the law changed that would have prevented him from running for a third term, which would have allowed a new, fresh voice to run the city.</p> <p>While it is nice to think that politicians will come together in Washington to fix America’s problems while setting aside political differences, it is naïve to believe that “No Labels” will achieve any meaningful successes. If the establishment politicians that pranced around the “No Labels” conference were truly serious, they could show us by first removing any party labels they use and then actually focus on getting the nation back in fiscal order.</p> <p>Such organizations like “No Labels” are just another tool in the D.C. political establishment’s shed of political tactics used to deceive voters in to believing the myth that they are doing the work of the people. The politicians behind “No Labels” are the same politicians that have run the nation into the ground.</p> <p>If Americans fall for this front group, the nation will be in serious trouble.</p> <p><em>Adam Bitely is the Editor-in-Chief of <a href="http://netrightdaily.com/">NetRightDaily.com</a>.</em></p>Jason Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936369955945345359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186275151310294081.post-950921772979498402010-11-02T14:28:00.000-04:002010-11-02T14:29:17.265-04:00On The 2nd Amendment<embed id=VideoPlayback src=http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=-4069761537893819675&hl=en&fs=true style=width:400px;height:326px allowFullScreen=true allowScriptAccess=always type=application/x-shockwave-flash> </embed>Jason Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936369955945345359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186275151310294081.post-6152855953897195992010-10-06T10:04:00.002-04:002010-10-06T10:05:08.112-04:00Bumper Crop<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.getliberty.org/content_images/Cartoon%20-%20Fun%20Halloween%20-%20ALG%20%28500%29.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 387px;" src="http://www.getliberty.org/content_images/Cartoon%20-%20Fun%20Halloween%20-%20ALG%20%28500%29.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Jason Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936369955945345359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186275151310294081.post-26414132031184337782010-10-05T10:58:00.001-04:002010-10-05T10:59:52.204-04:00Stealing the American Dream<p>Originally found at <a href="http://blog.getliberty.org/default.asp?Display=2692">Getliberty.org</a> and reproduced here because eminent domain abuses run rampant.<br /></p><p>By <a href="http://www.getliberty.org/content.asp?pl=477&sl=3&contentid=481">Rebekah Rast</a></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://www.getliberty.org/content_images/Stealing%20the%20American%20Dream.jpg" alt="" width="511" height="380" /></p> <p>The Singh/Kaur family came to America from India in hopes of a better life and increased opportunity.</p> <p>The family settled in New York and has since run two gas stations in the West Harlem neighborhood of Manhattanville. For 25 years the family worked around the clock to maintain its stations and even installed a car wash on one of them.</p> <p>The business is all the family has.</p> <p>“This is their official business,” says David L. Smith, attorney for the Singh/Kaur family. “It’s what they do, it’s what they own — this is their livelihood.”</p> <p>If you go to the family’s gas station now, you will notice that the car wash is no longer working. Why? The Singh/Kaur family can’t take out a loan to have it fixed.</p> <p>It’s not because they have bad credit or wouldn’t be able to pay the loan off, it’s because they are being threatened with eminent domain. No bank will finance property that might be taken away.</p> <p>In the same neighborhood, Nick Sprayregen owns his storage facility, Tuck-It-Away Associates, LP. He houses items for about 2,000 local families and small businesses within his four-building operation.</p> <p>Sprayregen’s business has taken a hit. Possibly due to the economy, but mostly because of the same threat of eminent domain that is trying to take the land of the Singh/Kaur family.</p> <p>Neither property owner is giving up their land without a fight.</p> <p>The entity attempting to seize the land from these property owners is Columbia University, a private school. The university wants to build a new 17-acre campus in the neighborhood of Manhattanville.</p> <p>Current New York law considers property in “blight” conditions, a condition of disrepair, to be able to be seized by eminent domain procedures. With a loose definition of what “blight” conditions look like, many corporations and cities have seized on opportunities to takeover properties they justify as “blighted.”</p> <p>Columbia University partnered with Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC), a quasi-government authority, to take over the land.</p> <p><a href="http://blog.getliberty.org/default.asp?Display=2354">As previously reported by Americans for Limited Government (ALG)</a>, Manhattanville business owners’ attorney Smith and former New York Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Norman Siegel were able to prove that <a href="http://reason.org/news/show/blight-stops-here">Columbia and ESDC conspired together to produce the conditions of “blight”</a> that would then allow the ESDC to seize the property wanted by the university. They also found that many of the “blighted” buildings were already owned by Columbia and it was the university’s responsibility to clean them up. Because the university was not keeping the buildings and spaces up to code, many of the businesses in the area were forced to move out. Constant threats of eminent domain also caused them to leave.</p> <p>In December 2009, a state appellate court struck down the ESDC’s actions as illegal. The case was then heard by the Court of Appeals on June 1st, 2010.</p> <p>The decision from the Court of Appeals, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/25/nyregion/25columbia.html?_r=1">as reported by The New York Times</a>, overturned the appellate court’s ruling that barred the state from using its power of eminent domain to take private property.</p> <p>A disappointing loss for the Singh/Kaur family and for Sprayregen.</p> <p>“It is ethically reprehensible that a private entity should partner with a government agency to take private land,” Sprayregen says.</p> <p>The Singh/Kaur family’s attorney went onto say that this battle of Columbia trying to take their private property has been going on for eight years. “Over eight years of pushing and Columbia has only made one financial offer to the family for the land. It was very low and completely inadequate.”</p> <p>The only option left for the property owners is the United States Supreme Court. Papers have already been filed. Now they must wait with their fingers crossed in hopes that the Supreme Court will hear the case.</p> <p>Smith believes they have a chance.</p> <p>About five years ago the Supreme Court made a questionable ruling in another eminent domain case, <em>Kelo vs. City of New London</em>. Susette Kelo was a property owner in New London, Connecticut, when pharmaceutical company Pfizer decided it wanted a new corporate facility in her neighborhood. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the pharmaceutical giant and an entire neighborhood was stripped down for its new facility, shops, restaurants and hotels.</p> <p>The rest of the story is even more devastating. Four years after the Supreme Court ruling, Pfizer moved out. Land that once provided families with a home was now empty and barren.<br />The case received national attention and since then, many states have reformed their eminent domain laws to protect the rights of property owners.</p> <p>New York has not.</p> <p>The eminent domain laws in some states are skewed such that if you have more money, more power, friends in the right places and partner with the right agencies, then whatever land you want can be yours.</p> <p>Eminent domain was never supposed to look like that.</p> <p>The laws established by America’s Founding Fathers were a way for the country to grow and prosper for the benefit of all mankind. Eminent domain was primarily in place to be used for roads and other public services.</p> <p>Part of what makes America great is that its citizens have the right to own their own property. It gives them a place of their own, makes them feel established and gives them a sense of pride.<br />It is the American Dream, after all.</p> <p>“No matter how big a business, private entity, corporation or even the government, the rights of a property owner should stand even bigger and stronger,” says Bill Wilson, president of ALG. “Their voice should be heard the loudest and their property valued the highest.”</p> <p>The Supreme Court has another chance to right a past wrong in the case of eminent domain.<br />“This would be the perfect case for the Supreme Court to do some tweaking,” Smith says, in regards to the outrage over the Kelo case ruling. “We are keeping our fingers and toes crossed.”</p>Jason Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936369955945345359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186275151310294081.post-2791569388818078752010-09-30T10:46:00.002-04:002010-09-30T10:49:52.992-04:00Baucus' Chilling Effect on Speech<span style="font-style: italic;">I wonder if re-posting this constitutes a contribution. I guess that would mean ALL opinion constitutes a contribution to something.. right? - Anyhow.. reposted from </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://blog.getliberty.org/default.asp?Display=2680">GetLiberty.Org</a><br /><br />By <a href="http://getliberty.org/content.asp?pl=477&sl=3&contentid=496">Bill Wilson</a><img src="http://www.getliberty.org/content_images/Baucus%20Chilling%20Effect%20on%20Speech.jpg" alt="" vspace="3" width="192" align="right" border="0" height="296" hspace="3" /> <p>Raw, brute force — that is the preferred campaign tactic of Obama and his allies in the Congress.</p> <p>On September 28th, 2010, Senator Max Baucus, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee sent a letter to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) urging the agency to investigate 501(c)(4), 501(c)(5), and 501(c)(6) organizations for “engaging in political activity”, <a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0910/Baucus_IRS_should_investigate_outside_groups.html?showall">as reported by Politico’s Ben Smith</a>.</p> <p>Senator Baucus cited the 501(c) section of the tax code, writing, “The law requires that political campaign activity by a 501(c)(4), (c)(5) or (c)(6) entity must not be the primary purpose of the organization.” That is technically true. It is unconstitutional, however, and Senator Baucus’ letter demonstrates exactly why.</p> <p>Not only has the tax code under section 501(c) been used to limit the types of speech that certain organizations can engage in — which on its face violates the First Amendment — now Baucus wants to use the IRS to intimidate groups and threaten their tax-exempt statuses “[e]ven if political campaign activity is not the primary purpose” of the group. This is designed purely to have a chilling effect on the speech of any organizations that are otherwise lawfully exercising their rights to freedom of speech.</p> <p>The issue for Baucus boils down to disclosure. These groups are not required to publicly disclose their donors like political parties and candidates, although they must be disclosed to the IRS. For Baucus, that means they are not allowed to fully exercise their free speech rights under the First Amendment, even though the First Amendment provides for no such conditional exercise of the right.<br /><br />Baucus is inviting the IRS to reinterpret the 501(c) section of the law, apparently to even rein in activities previously allowed for under that section. For example, he complains about the activities of Americans for Job Security in Alaska for promoting a referendum campaign, even though these groups are legally allowed to engage in referenda processes without any public disclosure requirements.</p> <p>Under Baucus’ interpretation of the law, the Federalist Papers, which advocated for the adoption of the Federal Constitution via referendum, would be illegal because they were published anonymously under pseudonyms.</p> <p>Justice Clarence Thomas had the same problem with t<a href="http://washingtonalert.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/CitizensUnitedVersusFEC.pdf">he recently decided Citizens United decision</a>, which upheld disclosure requirements of groups engaged in electioneering. In justifying his partial dissent of that decision, he wrote of the “the fallacy in the Court’s conclusion that ‘[d]isclaimer and disclosure requirements . . . impose no ceiling on campaign-related activities, and do not prevent anyone from speaking.’”</p> <p>“Of course they do,” Thomas wrote, citing “real-world, recent examples” of intimidation: citizens receiving death threats for supporting a referendum, losing their jobs for appearing on a donor list, declining to donate to a candidate’s campaign for fear of reciprocity from a sitting attorney general, having their property defaced and damaged, and other clear examples of disclosure rules being used to silence speech.</p> <p>“Disclaimer and disclosure requirements enable private citizens and elected officials to implement political strategies <em>specifically calculated</em> to curtail campaign-related activity and prevent the lawful, peaceful exercise of First Amendment rights,” Thomas explained.</p> <p>“I cannot endorse a view of the First Amendment that subjects citizens of this Nation to death threats, ruined careers, damaged or defaced property, or pre-emptive and threatening warning letters as the price for engaging in ‘core political speech, the ‘primary object of First Amendment protection,’’” Thomas concluded.</p> <p>While Baucus and other members of Congress are concerned about legally-constituted groups openly expressing their views, they apparently have no problem with fraudulent voting. FOX News recently reported on massive voter registration fraud in Texas, where a group called “Houston Votes” registered some 25,000 people to vote — but only 1,793 of them turned out to be valid.</p> <p>This follows widespread efforts by groups like ACORN to submit phony voter registrations in several swing states, including Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Missouri. ACORN had a long history of such fraud in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, Michigan, Wisconsin, and New Mexico.</p> <p>If Baucus had a commitment to fair and open elections, he would be investigating a clear pattern of voter fraud by shady ACORN-like groups; not deputizing the IRS to be his thugs to shut down legitimate debate. In the least, Baucus’ efforts to silence that debate show how little he and his ilk have to say in defense of the disastrous policies of the Obama Administration.</p> <p>Individuals speaking out, whether publicly or anonymously, for or against candidates standing for public office, attempting to influence the outcome of legislation, or promoting ballot initiatives are no threat to “elections that are the constitutional bedrock of our democracy,” in Baucus’ words. Phony voters showing up at the polls are.</p> <p><em>Bill Wilson is the President of Americans for Limited Government, a 501(c)(4) organization.</em></p>Jason Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936369955945345359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186275151310294081.post-59345984637140995992010-09-17T09:56:00.003-04:002010-09-17T10:01:32.827-04:00Tokyo Rove<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.getliberty.org/content_images/Cartoon%20-%20Tokyo%20Rove%20-%20ALG%20%28500%29.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 385px;" src="http://www.getliberty.org/content_images/Cartoon%20-%20Tokyo%20Rove%20-%20ALG%20%28500%29.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />I was amazed at the numbskullery by Karl Rove on the Eve of O'Donnel's win.<br /><br />He could have just shut up.<br /><br />But no, his words will be used against the Republican candidate in November. Probably to no avail, as we intend on winning that seat, but his posture is one that was seemingly meant to demoralize the troops, those tea partiers who are proving the conventional wisdom folks wrong at each turn.<br /><br />The cartoon, stories and others like it are taken from <a href="http://blog.getliberty.org/default.asp?Display=2644">GetLiberty.ORG.</a> EnjoyJason Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936369955945345359noreply@blogger.com0