Senator Rubio: "We Must Save Medicare"

Senator Rubio is not afraid to speak the truth while Obama and the Democrats continue with their well known scare tactics to senior citizens.

Sen Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) Gives Republican Weekly Address -- Oil

Gov Rick Scott (R-FL) Email: Promises Made -- Promises Kept

We would like to tell Governor Rick Scott:  "Job Well Done!"   Most politicians make campaign promises during the heat of the campaign and the minute they take office they are put on the back burner.  Not Governor Scott as he hit the ground running and has never stopped.

Floridians can be extremely happy they elected Rick Scott because if they had elected Alex Sink instead of property tax reductions, they would have been looking at higher taxes to balance the budget.  No way would she be cutting state agencies or anything else as her plan was to increase taxes and grow services from the Government.

It shows what can happen when you elect a businessman to be the Governor instead of a career politician.   This gives us hope that Florida is going to return to Red State American in 2012 with no more votes in Central Florida by Mickey, Minnie, and the gang even though we love the characters.

Dear xxxxxx, I promised to get Florida back to work and turn our state around by cutting taxes, holding government accountable, reducing spending and expanding educational opportunities. Today with the help of the Legislature, I am proud to say that we are on our way to creating 700,000 new jobs for Florida. Under my leadership, we closed a more than $3 billion deficit and balanced the budget, while slashing overall spending by over $2 billion. We began reducing government spending by requiring government workers to contribute directly towards their own retirement, saving taxpayers over $1 billion. We will continue to reorganize government functions, reform the regulatory and rule-making processes, and optimize state agencies to focus on job growth and economic development. In addition, we expanded educational opportunities with passage of virtual education legislation and the expansion of charter schools. There will be more school choices for parents than ever before. I also signed the Student Success Act which rewards the best teachers through a merit pay system while eliminating tenure, allowing under-performing teachers to be more easily replaced. Most important, I kept my promise to reduce property taxes. With the Legislature's help, we will reduce the property tax burden on Florida taxpayers by $210 million. And we began phasing out the business income tax. Almost half of Florida's small businesses will no longer be burdened with this tax. It is through these reforms we are holding the government accountable to the most important person in the state, the taxpayer. With your continued support I will fight to make government more efficient and ensure a brighter future for Florida. Be sure to share our accomplishments here in Florida with your friends and family by encouraging them to check out my website or by sharing my page on Facebook. Regards, Governor Rick Scott

Roger Hedgecock: Donald Trump: The new Perot?

Some friends from San Diego first told me I would really enjoy listening to Roger Hedgecock's program and they were correct. Many times I have turned into his program on the net and never am disappointed.  This latest article from Hedgecock says what a lot of us have been thinking and what is driving the elitist, establishment Republicans up a wall.  Former President George HW Bush and his cronies who support Romney most likely are behind the pit bull, Rove who has gone way over the top with his attacks on Trump.  Unlike some others Rove has taken out, The Donald is fighting back!

For any one who doesn't know, Karl Rove got his start thanks to George HW Bush while he was the head of the RNC during the Nixon years and is still loyal. Bush 41 pushed Mitt Romney in 2008 and is once again pushing him for President. Why? Makes no sense unless it is the connection to his Dad. Romney does not go over well with a lot of the activists and grassroots. Most of us went to McCain instead of Romney which speaks volumes.

Donald Trump has tapped into the Republican grassroots community because unlike what so many of the GOP candidates are doing by being differential to Obama and his Administration, Trump is taking them on with their failed policies and Obama's secret records.

If I see one more political official say they know that Obama was born in Hawaii and let's move on, I am going to scream. First of all, how do they know where he was born as the Certificate of Live Birth is useless. At that time any Tom, Dick, or Harry could walk up to their local issuing place and give the details of when a child was born with zero proof and then fill out the birth announcement for the paper to go along so the birth would be announced. Hawaii was looking for citizens which is even more reason for Obama to provide the long form. 

Only the certified copy of the long form can be used to get a passport. Are these politicians afraid to admit that if Barack Obama the elder was the father that Obama doesn't meet the qualifications to be President from the rules in effect at that time he was born since his mother was 17?  Is there something on it Obama doesn't want people to see?  If that is the case, then have the Speaker of the House and his leadership team along with Pelosi (who has never seen it) and her leadership view the document and certify that Obama is qualified to have run for President.  Speaking of passports, did Obama have an American passport before he became a Senator?  Thanks to Bush 41 who sealed passport records, we cannot find that out either.

Can guarantee you that if any Republican wouldn't release their records, the Obama media would never stop demanding access to the records.  Look what happened to Pres GW Bush on his grades which he finally released. They never quit on his guard records actually reporting on phony records that were proved false but it didn't stop Dan Rather from continuing to say the documents were not correct but it didn't make them not true. HUH?

Donald Trump being willing to get out front of all of this has made a lot of us take notice as he is saying what we have been saying. He has a backbone and will say what needs to be said and has tapped into support of the grassroots who are tired of the elites deciding who to run as being witnessed right now as Rove and others try to take out Trump and it is not working.

Trump is as appalled at the waste and corruption riddling the Obama government as more and more Americans are. Trump has put his reputation on the line, betting that his saying what everyday Americans are thinking will help shape the 2012 debate, force politicians to address the fiscal emergency and maybe even propel him into the White House.

I don't know about the latter, but if Trump succeeds in speaking for an increasingly gloomy America and makes the 2012 election a real debate about solutions, he will have performed a patriot's duty and, like Perot, be honored by his countrymen for his sacrifice.

If Trump makes it to the White House, I'm sure critics will have plenty of fodder for columns like this one, but who else would you rather have as president negotiating for America? I'll take the author of "The Art of the Deal."

Roger Hedgecock is correct who he would rather have negotiating for America -- we agree with him the author, Donald Trump, who wrote "The Art of the Deal" because Trump will be a tough negotiator.

Donald Trump: The new Perot?
Roger Hedgecock
Posted: April 25, 2011
1:00 am Eastern

Donald Trump, like Ross Perot 20 years ago, is a rich, successful, supremely confident salesman and patriot intensely dissatisfied with the competence of the present ruling political elite of both parties.

Trump is speaking out and speaking truth to Obama power like no one else. Like Perot before him, he's used to speaking his mind in blunt terms. He's not beholden to anyone. He scares the ruling elite. To the establishment, Trump has gone rogue.

I've seen this movie before.

In 1992, rich outsider Ross Perot loudly voices dissatisfaction that mirrors widespread public concerns not addressed by existing politicians. Insiders panic, fearing the power of a rogue voice unbeholden to the usual agendas and rich enough to be heard.

Critics tear at "gaffes" ("Larry, they doctored the photo"), paranoia ("they tried to kill me"), past business practices (Didn't his business make millions computerizing Medicare?), charge "racism" ("you people") – anything to stop the public from believing and following the outsider.

But Perot seemed right about a lot of things in 1992 and seems more right today than ever.

His prediction about the ultimate insolvency of Medicare was spot on. His opposition to wars not declared by Congress found support then and certainly rings true four ruinous wars and 20 years later. His criticism of NAFTA and "free trade" sounded like evil protectionism in 1992, but sounds like prophesy to many American ears today. Perot's 1992 advocacy of a balanced federal budget brings moans of "if only we had followed that advice" today.

Blocked from the presidential nomination by either party in 1992, Perot sought third-party recognition as the Reform Party in all 50 states, got it, dropped out of the race at the peak of his popularity, dropped back in right before the election and still got nearly 20 percent of the vote – enough to defeat the incumbent and elect Clinton.

Remembering the Perot experience, I doubt the closed-shop mentality of the political class will allow Trump a fair fight for the Republican presidential nomination.

The insider's character assassination of Donald Trump is intensifying.

Can The Donald starring as The Donald in "The Donald" be serious? Isn't this just another stunt to flatter his considerable ego? Critics flacking for the insiders call Trump a "clown," a "birther," "ignorant," "crazy" in print and worse in private.

But the rising hysteria of the insiders is in direct proportion to Trump's exploding out of political nowhere to capture a significant following and the pole position in early presidential opinion surveys.

In 2011, a significant majority of Americans believe the country is on the wrong track, that a government-directed economic recovery funded with borrowed trillions is not working, that the Libya war-that-is-not-a-war is wrong on every level.

With persistent high unemployment, jobs fleeing overseas, constant war, government regulation, taxation and nanny state intrusions turning Americans off, Trump is the loudest voice telling us the Emperor has no clothes, no matter what the New York Times says.

When Trump points out that every country in the world except Obama's America is drilling for oil, gas, coal, gold, copper, etc, etc., to make money, create jobs and improve their citizens' standard of living, Americans are listening. Maybe to the Sierra Club it makes sense that we should not use the riches literally bubbling up under our feet, but to Trump and a majority of Americans, this is just plain nuts.

The Chinese are hacking our computers, threatening our aircraft carriers and undermining our economy. Not one American politician wants to talk about this.

Excerpt: Read more: Donald Trump: The new Perot?

For too long our elected officials at times have been very weak and deferential when talking to foreign leaders especially Obama. We loved it when George Bush stood on the ruins of the World Trade Center and told the terrorists:

“I can hear you! I hear you, the rest of the world hears you, and the people who knocked down these buildings will hear all of us soon!” George Bush at WTC site on September 14, 2001

Then he named the Axis of Evil in his speech following 9/11. What happened to that President who wasn't afraid to take on the world?

We need a President who is as tough as nails and stands up for America from day one to the last day of his term. We want a President who the rest of the world respects but fears. We are seeing daily what it is like to have a wimp for a President who only stands up to our allies like Great Britain and bends over for people who harbor our enemies along with our enemies. Obama has tried his best to get Chavez to really like him but Chavez does not respect a weak President and takes full advantage. Some negotiating team we have -- Obama and Hillary Clinton -- horrible combination.

Right now of all the people who have said they are considering running, only Donald Trump has the proven business and negotiating experience, with a backbone. The chattering class are being driven up a wall as they once again figured they could choose the next Republican nominee -- not going to happen this time. No more Bob Dole's or John McCain's period -- men who were rewarded by the establishment clearing the way for them to run for President.

This time the establishment is not going to move Donald Trump out of the way no matter what. Americans want a real leader who believes we are an Exceptional Country and no one is going to take advantage of us -- Donald Trump is the ONLY person we see that meets that criteria.

Nate Beeler: Sir Barack the Valiant

Scott Brown: 'That Life Made Me the Man I Am Today'

Some people have asked what I don't like about certain elements of the Tea Party such as the Tea Party Express (TPE). Scott Brown is a perfect example along with Olympia Snowe of their short sightedness. They see everything as liberal versus 'true' conservative -- it is not always that way. Massachusetts and Maine are not two Conservative Republican states but this group has the capability of costing us two Senate seats with their tactics if they come into MA like they did Alaska.

Both Scott and Snowe should talk to Lisa Murkowski about the Tea Party Express and their underhanded tactics. Truth means nothing to that group and are a blight on the legitimate Tea Party people. TPE is all about getting people to donate for their choice of who is the best candidate when they don't even live in the State. Our Country Deserves Better PAC is who gets the donations not the Tea Party Express. Don't understand how the Our Country Deserves Better PAC could fund the Tea Party Express because they are nothing like TPE which frankly is out of control and has been almost since it was formed.

They were big time behind Joe Miller who turned out to be a horrible candidate who never could keep a job and broke rules wherever he landed, then Christine O'Donnell of "I am not a witch fame" while wearing a black dress, Sharron Angle who ran one of the worst campaigns ever in NV and refused to listen to long time strategist, and John Raese in WV who keeps running and losing and spends over half his time in Florida. We probably lost the Senate race in Colorado because Ken Buck who should have won could not lose the Tea Party label when trying to say he was a grassroots candidate to bring in the independent votes. He was right he was a Colorado grassroots candidate but the media kept calling him the Tea Party candidate.

Some people from the TPE want to kick out the grassroots of the Republican Party but we are not leaving and will continue to support candidates who can WIN like Scott Brown and Olympia Snowe who vote with us most of the time on the very important issues. Both are very much on board with the military. The Don't Ask Don't Tell was going to be overturned sooner or later and to use that as a wedge issue is stupid.

We support Scott Brown and Olympia Snowe for reelection in 2012 and hope the Tea Party Express finds out that they are not calling the shots in individual states. In fact I hope the American people wake up to their underhanded tactics they used in places like Alaska in 2010 along with their arrogance and quit contributing to their PAC.

We applaud Scott Brown for having the courage to write this book. Don't remember hearing of child abuse cases when I was growing up but over the years more and more has come out as people are no longer afraid to talk about abuse. IMHO, adults who abuse children should be thrown in jail and have the key thrown away. Brown uses nothing for an excuse but talks about how it made him a better person -- how refreshing not to play the victim act.

If I lived in Massachusetts, Scott Brown would definitely have my vote!

Scott Brown: 'That Life Made Me the Man I Am Today'
Feb 21, 2011 – 11:01 AM
Michele McPhee

Sen. Scott Brown gave the first copy of his memoir, "Against All Odds," to his mother, Judith, weeks before news broke that he was sexually abused as a child by a camp counselor, the Massachusetts Republican told AOL News.

It was also the first time his mother would learn about the physical attacks allegedly inflicted on him by her husbands -- childhood traumas he had never shared with anyone.

"I told her, 'I think you need to read this, Mom.' I gave a copy to my sister [Leeann], and she tried to get her to read it too,'' Brown said. "She didn't. She was dealing with some health issues, and I'm not sure she wanted to really know what was in it. It's a difficult process now, but I don't regret writing the book."



                                                                        Josh Reynolds AP
U.S. Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts says he
has no  regrets about revealing that he was
sexually abused by a camp counselor  as a child.

 Brown said his mother still hasn't read the book, but they've spoken and she told him she's proud of him.

He wrote the book, which hit bookstores today, because "I want people to understand where I came from; why I have voted the way I have voted," he said.

Brown stunned the nation last January when he won a special election for the Senate seat that had been held by Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy for decades -- a startling result in a state that had not elected a Republican since 1972. Kennedy had represented Massachusetts in Congress for 47 years before he died of cancer in 2009.

The memoir details Brown's hardscrabble upbringing in the blue-collar suburbs outside of Boston. It starts with a look at his tumultuous childhood, which was marred by violence against him and his mother, and the poverty that forced him at times to steal food.

"By the time I turned 18, I had moved 17 times and lived in 12 different homes," he wrote. The homes belonged to "relatives and whatever man my mother was married to at the time. We were visitors there; they were never our own."

Brown's mother was married four times. ''Constrained by her choices, good and bad, my mother worked hard, often at multiple jobs, to keep a roof over us, put clothes on our backs, and pay baby sitters, and she bought food and a few extras with whatever was left over," he wrote.

His father was an unfamiliar entity in his life, gone before Brown was a year old. He would materialize only on "rare weekends,'' the senator wrote.

The sexual abuse Brown describes allegedly happened the summer after he finished the fourth grade, when the 10-year-old was sent to a Christian camp on Cape Cod. While he will not name his alleged abuser and said he will not seek prosecution against the man, Brown can recall everything about the assault.

"I can remember how he looked, every inch of him: his long, sandy, light brown hair; his long, full mustache; the beads he wore; the tie-dyed T-shirts and the cutoff jeans, which gave him the look of a hippie,'' Brown wrote. "I was standing there with my pants down, and he came right up next to me and asked me if I needed help, and then he reached out his hand."

What happened next was an account of a brutal fondling that ended only when Brown screamed. He didn't tell a soul because his abuser said, "If you tell anybody, I will kill you."

It was a threat Brown took seriously, citing the incident as one of the reasons he was such a strong proponent of victims' rights in the Massachusetts State House.

"When I am attacked for some of my votes, for not voting in lockstep with the Republican Party, there are reasons for it,'' Brown told AOL News. "I hope these revelations will bring a better understanding to some of the fights I have waged as a legislator."

The alleged childhood abuse is a small part of "Against All Odds." The book describes the life experiences that shaped a politician whose unexpected win was described by his voters as "the Scott heard around the world."

It describes a troubled teenager who was arrested for shoplifting and chastised by a judge who told him to write an essay and concentrate on his athleticism -- advice he heeded. It also explains some of the decisions Brown made as he mounted his political career and some of the obstacles that provided unexpected direction.

Brown joined the National Guard because in the Blizzard of 1978 he saw it as the only organization not helpless in the face of that infamous storm. His prowess on the basketball court got him into college.

After graduating from Tufts University, he found a way to pay for law school by modeling, including a nude spread in Cosmopolitan that earned him the title "America's Sexiest Man.'' He's grateful for that job, he said, because it helped him meet his wife, Gail Huff, a former Boston television reporter. The couple raised two daughters -- Ayla, a former "American Idol" contestant who remains a celebrated singer, and Arianna, who is in medical school.

Looking ahead, Massachusetts Democrats have been very careful about picking a candidate to run against Brown in 2012. The senator hopes to raise $25 million for his re-election bid, which he knows will be more problematic because hard-line tea party activists have taken umbrage at a number of his more moderate votes, including his support of repeal for the military's don't ask, don't tell policy for homosexuals.

Sponsored LinksHe said he doesn't regret a single thing.

"I look back on my life now, though, and I can honestly say that there isn't one thing I would change -- not the arrest, not the violence, not the hunger, not the beatings and the brute struggles, not even cleaning up someone else's vomit in the stairwell of my dorm at Tufts for $10 in quick cash from the resident adviser because I had no money for extra food,'' Brown wrote.

"I wouldn't change any of it. ... Those years and that life made me the man I am today."

Norman, OK, Sanitation Rate Information

Unlike many Republicans that reside in Norman who don't believe in any increase ever for anything, I support the rate increase. The Mayor is correct that we have the best sanitation service. We have lived in other parts of the Country and nothing has ever compared to the great service we get in Norman. Too many Republicans who don't even live in Norman jump on the anti-rate increase for not only the city but for the school issues. If you don't live here, stay out of our elections but then they couldn't grandstand.

There are some people here who vote "no" on everything no matter what it is. Is that a thinking person who cannot decipher what is important and what is not? Not in my book!

Mayor Rosenthal I believe has done a very good job as Mayor and why I supported her for both of her elections.  She may be the best Mayor we have experienced.  It is a non-partisan position so I voted my conscience.  In her first race, the Republicans ran a developer who hardly voted -- will never vote for a developer for Mayor any place after having them on the County Commission in San Bernardino County, CA,  because they do not have the best interest of the citizens in mind.

In the last Mayor election a Republican challenged Rosenthal and ran on 'Don't hump my Norman' about all the speed bumps in neighborhoods. Then we find out he was the first Council Member to request the speed bumps in his neighborhood. Guess they figure voters are not going to catch on or do any research. When the truth came out the spin and the misinformation increased on his behalf. It was disgusting but then we have some in this County that love to keep things stirred up and why I have essentially dropped out of County Party politics.

Hope this is one time that the local members of the Republican Party get their head on straight and support this increase of around 8 cents a day to keep our great sanitation service. I wouldn't bet on it.

Dear Friend,

Across the state, Norman sets the standard for top notch services and a high quality of life, and for the two years in the row, our community was recognized for its leadership by Keep Oklahoma Beautiful. On March 1, Norman voters will decide whether to continue that record of quality public services or take a step back.

You are being asked to approve an increase in sanitation rates in the City of Norman to sustain the great garbage services in this community. Since the last rate increase in 2004, the cost of disposing a ton of garbage has gone from $73 to $112, a 53 percent increase. We have achieved significant efficiencies, using less fuel today than in 2008 and serving 14% more customers per employee than in 2004. The rate request is a modest one (about 8 cents more a day).

No one provides the quality of service that our sanitation workers do, and our services are very efficient and cost-effective. Independent experts have described our services as "well-run." Our service costs per customer per square mile are less than half or two-thirds of other cities. Even with the increase, Norman's rates also will remain at or below other cities around the state.

Nothing is more basic than dependable garbage service, and this is no time for Norman to take steps backwards. Our current rates will not support the current services, and we project a $2 million deficit within three years without a rate increase.

The choice is simple - for 8 cents more a day we can continue high quality sanitation services for our homes and businesses. Please vote "Yes" on March 1.

Sincerely,

Mayor Cindy Rosenthal