Author Archives: Editor

Hometown Christmas Planning Committee Meeting Wednesday November 19th at 6:15 PM at the Oasis Café

Santa is discussing plans with community organizers committee members about making a special visit to Xenia. All kids young and old are invited in advance to meet and greet Santa. It’s better to get on his good side before the big day (25th) you know. Anyway….

There will be a meeting of the Hometown Christmas Planning Committee at the Oasis Cafe on Wednesday Nov. 19 at 6:15 PM. If you are interested in participating in the planning (and the work) of Hometown Christmas in Xenia this year, we encourage you to attend. The cooperation of citizens and merchants from all over town last year made this local event a resounding success. Hundreds of people told us that they really appreciated that Xenia was alive and well and they were proud of their Hometown pulling together again. Let’s all help make some memories for our children and grandchildren to remember.

For more information about Hometown Christmas or to help with a donation, no matter how small or large, please contact one Santa little (cough) helpers:

Elizabeth Svendsen
Blue Jacket Books
60 South Detroit Street
Xenia, OH 45385
www.bluejacketbooks.com
937-376-3522

Caroline Archer
C J’s Boutique
72 S. Detroit Street
Xenia, Ohio 45385
937-620-5017

Alan King
Express Yourself
Coffeehouse & Art Gallery
78 E. Main St.
Xenia, OH 45385
www.ExpressYourselfCoffeehouse.com
937-372-7446

Don’t Bail Out My State: South Carolina’s Governor Says More Debt Isn’t The Answer

The Wall Street Journal published an article by the above title today. Its author was South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. Gov. Stanford presents an informed argument against the Congress’ bailout of Wall Street and cash strapped states. He asks and answers a number of questions that are worth considering.

One of his questions is: Who bails out the “bail-outor”? What he means is who will bailout the federal government. His answer is what we already know. The federal government does really have any money. All of the money it plans on using to “stabilize” banks, Wall Street firms, automakers, and states will all be borrowed against every Americans future income. The answer, therefore, is either no one because foreigners and their governments are also experiencing the same deepening economic recession.

Gov. Sanford makes a point all taxpayers must seriously consider. He wrote, “Already, our nation’s unfunded liabilities total $52 trillion — about $450,000 per household. There’s something very strange about issuing debt to solve a problem caused by too much debt.” (Emphasis added.)

All of the talk about balancing the federal budget is nothing but hot elite air. Not only will the feds not be able to balance their budget, but their huge bailout borrowing extravaganza will hurt fiscally responsible community banks and fiscally prudent states, according to Gov. Sanford. As he indicates, the bailout will only benefit the bad boys.

Democrats want to increase the national debt even more by expanding health care costs. Gov. Sanford informs us that Medicaid expenses have been increasing 9.5% a year for the past 10 years, which is unsustainable. Add universal health care costs to the bill and what is already unsustainable becomes a catastrophic economic problem. Who will pay for it? The largest group of taxpayers in America is the middle-income group.

President-elect Obama is being billed as the next FDR. That should cause great concern to all because FDR began the big borrowing-big government programs. FDR helped to prolong the economic crisis of the 1930s. FDR jumped into World War II in order to borrow…borrow…borrow America out of the great depression. WWII was legitimated borrowing huge sums of money to put Americans to work. Does did really work? Only temporarily. What I have been hearing from various economists and money market experts is that each economic crisis has been getting worse since FDR’s big borrowing bailout.

Another important question Gov. Sanford asks is: Isn’t government intervention supposed to be the last resort and come only when it can make a difference? As he notes, Congress committed $2.3 trillion as a first resort solution to improving our economy. Adding another $150 billion is like adding a twinkie to truckloads of sugar already dumped to sweeten a lake. It won’t make much difference except to the taxpayers who will have to repay the insane amount of debt.

Maybe that is why millions of Americans have little savings, no retirement, inadequate health care, and little economic future.

Looking at the issue as a head of state, Gov. Sanford counsels against states accepting a federal bailout of states. Instead of is his solution to states effects by the economic crisis:

[T]here is something Congress can do: free states from federal mandates. South Carolina will spend about $425 million next year meeting federal unfunded mandates. The increase in the minimum wage alone will cost the state $2.6 million and meeting Homeland Security’s REAL ID requirements will cost $8.9 million.

Here is the age-old wisdom of Constitutional government: Limited not only as to its powers but also to its spending, borrowing, and taxing.

Gov. Sanford apparently believes it is not too late for Americans to stop Congress from mortgaging our economic future with unsustainable debt to bailout Wall Street and states. Ohioans also may be able to stop Gov. Strickland and the Ohio legislators from the same.

You can contact Gov. Strickland by E-Mail, by fax at (614) 466-9354, by phone at (614) 466-3555, or by us mail at Governor’s Office, Riffe Center, 30th Floor, 77 South High Street, Columbus, OH 43215-6108.

To contact your elected Ohio legislators, go to the House of Representatives directory and to the Senate directory.

To contact your Congressional representatives, go to the House of Representatives directory and to the Senate directory or call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 for Representatives and Senators.

A Christian View of War and America’s Military Policies

By Andy Myers

I have read many of Dr. Vance’s essays on Lew Rockwell. Like his other pieces, this audio interview may make you see another side of how many Christians interpret our military polices and thinking on just war. While some of the points brought up I have issues with, they are definitely interesting to think about.

I hope the interview stirs you to consider why we have the need to have our men and women in over a 130 countries, and the cost in lives and treasure it takes to continue this. Consider many of the governments who we’ve once helped to “overthrow” to put someone else in for “hardly democratic principles.” Just look how most of those have turned out-not good, not good at all. As a Christian, and someone who believes God “IS” in control, I do not believe he would not want me to sit by idle, and do nothing to expose the evil intentions that governments gravitate to at the expense of innocent human beings. Don’t get me wrong, our men and women in the military are doing many good things all over the world, but there are certainly questions as to why we need to continue to be in over 130 countries?? We simply cannot afford this on many different levels.

It’s snowing today, and I kind of don’t mind. I’m looking forward to giving thanks this holiday season as I have much to be thankful for!

A Meeting to Discuss “A Case For Repealing NAFTA” on Dec. 10

Join Andy Myers and field representative for the John Birch Society-Ohio, Tom Rice, in viewing the documentary, ” A Case For Repealing NAFTA.” This documentary is approx. 35 minutes long and will be followed by a question and answer session. The meeting should last approx. 1hr. All are welcome.

The meeting will be held at 4244 Navajo Trail, Jamestown, OH 45335.

Please RSVP by signing up at: jbs.meetup.com, by emailing Andy at: amyers68@yahoo.com, or by contacting Andy at 937-414-6182 (cell).

Greene County Commissioners “spreading the wealth around”

By John Mitchel

Republicans justifiably attack Senator Obama and the Democrats for their plans to redistribute wealth from those earning more than $ _____ (fill in the blank), to those at or below ___ (fill in the blank) times the poverty level. The simple truth is; Greene County Commissioners have been spreading around Greene County taxpayer wealth for years.

Take for example the BRAC Initiative Agreement running from 2003 to 2006 that sent $1.9 million to the Dayton Development Coalition. Those Greene County tax dollars found their way into a no-bid, no-work, no-oversight, no-value-added contract with The Greentree Group, a Beavercreek government support contractor, and also trickled down to Paul Magliochetti and Associates (The PMA Group), a Washington K Street lobbyist.

According to IRS filings, in 2005 Greene County taxpayers also helped pay the $285,854 salary of J P Nauseef, President of Development Projects, Inc., a Dayton Development Coalition 501(c)(3) front organization located at the same address as the Coalition. Total revenues in 2005 for Development Projects, Inc. were $1,390,723. I believe we can safely conclude that more than 20 percent of a non-profit’s revenue going to its President, who by the way contributed big-time to Dave Hobson’s and Steve Austria’s campaign funds, pretty much passes the “spreading the wealth around” litmus test.

Election Results November 4, 2008

Voter Turnout

Greene County registered voters can stand tall and proud this election season. Their patriotism out- shined the rest of the state 70% to 67.5%. That was the level of voter turnout this presidential election. Ohioans exceeded the historic high of 65% of voter turnout by 2.5% and Greene County voters by 5%.

Presidential Race

In Greene County, McCain and Palin were the winners with 58.8% of the vote. That means only 39.7 voted for the Obama/Biden socialist ticket. Other parties voting received only 1.5% of the total number of votes, which means Democrats had no chance of winning in Greene County, Ohio. We can all be thankful that Greene County voters continue to uphold original liberal principles. We can look forward to another season when more Americans across the nation return to honoring those same principles.

Do you remember the battle between Ohio Democrats and Republicans over giving new registered voters the immediate right to early voting and the issue over voter record discrepancies? If I remember correctly, the number of questionable voters was around 250,000. Isn’t it an interesting coincidence that Obama won Ohio by a little over 200,000 votes? If I were McCain Republicans, I would make certain those 204,156 popular votes were legitimate. Who knows maybe McCain actually won a slight majority of Ohioans hearts and votes, but I suspect many of those votes were for Sarah Palin too.

I also suspect conservative feminists are just getting started.

US House of Reps Plus State Legislative, Executive & Judicial Races

Greene County voters were delighted with the campaigns over one Congressional race and many races for legislative, executive, and judicial offices.

Republicans running for seats in Congress and in both Ohio houses won by similar margins. Steve Austria took over Dave Hobson’s seat in the US House of Representatives. Austria beat Democrat and millionaire Sharen Neuhart 65.3% to 34.7%. Rep. Chris Widener is moving into the Ohio Senate because he won 66.3% of the vote to poor Roger Tackett’s 33.7%. Young Jarrod Martin also did well as demonstrated his gaining 59.8% of Green County votes. The more seasoned Bill Conner earned 40.2%. Was it the Republican version of yes we can change or something else? I’m not sure. Whatever it was. Martin now represents the 70th District taxpayers. Running for the 84th District was Republican Robert Hackett and Democrat Connie Crockett. Hackett hacked off Crockett when he won 62.1% of the votes to her 39%.

Woe, tears, and agony on ….

In the race to win the top law enforcement spot, Republican Mike Crites took 53.8% of the votes for Attorney General to Democrat Richard Cordray’s 41.6%. It’s too bad that Crites did win all of Ohio. A bright spot in the race was the fact that independent Robert Owens earned 4.8% of Ohio votes. I for one hope Owens keeps coming back to eventual win a place in Ohio government.

Let’s not forget how political public education actually is. The winner of the race for a seat on Ohio’s Board of Education for our district was Jane Sonenshein. She won 38.6% of the Ohio vote. Runner-ups were Jeff Hardin with 35.8% and John McHenry with 25.6%. If you know any of those candidates who will make many decisions effecting education in Greene County, you are either an educator, a friend of an educator, or a politician. No one does, but all should.

It would be a crime to forget the races for the judiciary. Given their reputation for activism and making law, it might have been a crime you didn’t. Being serious, Ohioans elected two Supreme Court justices. The lucky women were Maureen O’Conner and Evelyn Stratton, both Republicans thank God.

Wait a minute! Am I still allowed to use the G—word in the public domain. Those pesky ACLU and ASCS troublemakers are always stalking and lurking.

Anyway, O’Conner stole Russo’s thunder by winning by a whopping 67.3% of the Ohio vote to Joseph Russo’s 32.7%. Ohioans overruled Democrat Peter Sikora attempt to gain a place on the Court. The Ohio verdict was in favor of Straton 63.1% to Sikora’s 36.9%.

Unfortunately, Judge George Reynolds (R) got benched (sports term) being outperformed by Jeffrey Froelich (D), who won by a small margin of 52.6% to Reynolds’ 47.4%. I have to admit that my disappointment was not only the result of voting for Reynolds but because one of my grandparents last name was Reynolds.

Ohio Constitutional Amendment Issues

Possibly more important than who were elected to office were the six Constitutional amendment issues this election cycle. Amendments one through three and five won by nearly a 3:1 margin or approximately 70% to 30% while amendment six lost by the same margin. Amendment 4 was removed from the ballot.

Amendment 1 requires earlier deadlines for statewide ballot initiatives. Amendment 2 gives the state the ability to create funds for environmental preservation through bond issues and consequently through higher taxes. Amendment 3 redundantly adds to state law protection to private property owns and adjacent water use rights, but with the same exceptions as before. Amendment 5 places long overdue restrictions on payday lenders who have been bilking the poor to make themselves rich for years. This practice was sanctified by bipartisan politics until the terrible reign of GW Bush. Nevertheless, I still image that even the world’s Supreme Judge is pleased. Issue 6, the last Constitution amendment, was soundly defeated by Ohio voters. Casino gambling, its harm to communities and families, was once again rejected by 63.8% of Ohio voters. Only 37.2% favored it. Ohioans thus gave Providence reason to smile a little more.

Races for Greene County Government Offices

Greene County government is still the provenance rock-solid Republicanism. During This election cycle, most of the incumbents retained their titles and paychecks. Rick Perales defeated newcomer and Democrat Eddie Baumann, otherwise known to some young adults as professor. Perales earned 64.3% of Greene County votes to Baumann’s impressive 35.7%. Sorry, Eddie we like your religion but not your party. Like George Patton, I’ll be back Marilyn Reid is indeed back in office. She won a smiling 54.7% to Democrat Jerry Sutton’s respectful 45.3%. It’s good to have someone who cares about the common good back in county government–not that the one she replaces was not. After all of the trouble, Republican Eric Sears still won the County Recorder position by 19.6 points. After the party was over, Sears was showered with 59.8% of the votes and Democrat Mary Taylor received 40.2%. Then there was race for County Treasurer. It’s true. It is all about the money and incumbent James Schmidt gets to keep counting it. Schmidt defeated Democrat Corrina Grooms to the County gold by count of 65.3% to 34.7%. What amazes me is how Republicans can win even without any competition. I won’t name names, but you can read about them by going to the Greene County Board of Election website.

Greene County Levies & Bond Issues

Three out of four countywide issues passed. Greene County Children Services Board Operating (Issue 21) levy increase was passed by 51.6% of voters to 48.5%. Greene Memorial Hospital Operating (Issue 22) renewal was favored by 58.4% of Greene County voters to 41.6%. Greene County MRDD Operating (Issue 23) renewal was approved by 61.3% to 38.7% of voters. The last issue was the Greene County Mental Health and Recovery Board Operating (Issue 24) levy increase that was opposed by 56.4% to 43.6 of Greene County voters.

Local School Levies & Bond Issues

Almost all schools in the county had either a levy or a bond issue on the ballot. Beavercreek’s bond issue was approved by 53% of the voters. Seventy-one percent of Cedarville voters passed their school improvement levy. Jamestown voters once again rejected efforts of their school district to increase funding. About 50.1% of voters said no to an income tax proposal. So did Bellbrook voters. Sugar Creek School District’s proposed income tax was rejected by 58.8% of their voters. Wayne Local Schools current operating levy was opposed by almost 73% of voters. Last but not least was the Xenia Community City Schools Income Tax & Bond Issue (Issue 20). Fifty-eight percent of Xenia voters turned the opportunity to increase taxes on two fronts.

Booze Wins Big In Greene County : A Puritan Perspective

I’m not certain about this but it appears that the boozers won big throughout Greene County. All but one business seeking approval to sell liquor was favored by their local patrons—I mean voters. I almost wrote saints. I refrained, however, for one simple but profound reason. Saint Paul encourage boozing for health purposes—like Tylenol or Nyquil, but not for pagan partying nor for mixing drinks with tears of self-pity. I recently read that Puritans, who were also Paul’s disciples, liked rum. They liked fermented molasses a lot. This sheds some light on the debate about whether the early church disciples consumed real wine like Lutherans and Catholics believe. Just keep in mind though that back in those ancient times people didn’t have cars and trucks. No, they were lucky to have a donkey. Only the rich had real horses or chariots to loose control of and to harm themselves and others.

Remember that the next time you are tempted to mix your blue tears with some modern liquid painkiller after another partisan election.

Barco 3rd Quarter 2008 Highlights

Barco Simulation, a subsidiary of Belgium based Barco International, began operations in Xenia, Ohio in 1999. During the third quarter of 2008, Barco International sales grew to $231.8 million, an increase of 4%, while gross profit declined by 11% to $76 million from 85.3 million the previous year. Net income was $42.1 million, up 385% from $11 million in 3Q07. Net income for 3Q08 includes the proceeds from the sale of BarcoVision to Itema Group and of the Maritime Safety & Surveillance activity to Thales. Net earnings per share were $3.5 (euro 2.73) compared to $.9 (euro 0.7) for the same period the previous year.

To read Barco’s full financial summary report, click here. To learn more about Barco, visit www.barco.com.

Exit poll shows most US Jews, half of Christians voted for Obama

Preliminary exit polling has shown that 78% of American Jews cast their ballots for winning Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama in Tuesday’s national elections, while Republican challenger Sen. John McCain received only 22% of the Jewish vote. The margin was slightly higher than Democrat John Kerry secured over George Bush in the 2004 race for the White House (74% to 26%). This year, the traditional American Jewish voting pattern of supporting Democrats stands in stark contrast to Jews living in Israel, where several recent polls indicated Israelis preferred McCain by a 20-point margin. Meanwhile, the number of voters who identified themselves as Christians in an MSNBC exit poll totaled 81%, with 45% of Protestants and other Christians and 54% of Catholics saying they voted for Obama.

Source: Wikipedia

XAMA Meeting Thursday 8AM Nov. 6 at Express Yourself Coffeehouse

Santa Claus is coming to town. That is after XAMA, Xenia Area Merchant Association, makes plans for his appearance during this year’s Hometown Christmas. Xenia merchants and citizens will be holding another planning meeting 8AM Thursday Nov. 6 at Express Yourself Coffeehouse and Art Gallery 78 E. Main Street. To help sponsor Hometown Christmas events, contact XAMA at xeniamerchants@sbcglobal.net for more information.

Is Obama a naturalized citizen? Not according to his Kenyan Grandmother

African-American organization leader with affiliates in Kenyan interviewed his real grandmother, Sarah Obama. She testified that she was present at his birth in Kenya not in Hawaii. (To read the affidavits click here. To read the taped interview of Sarah Obama, click here).

I have reviewed the public copy of Obama’s supposedly official Hawaiian birth certificate. It is not. No one has proven it is–not FactCheck.org, not Obama, not any officials of Hawaii. It is said that the original exists but without any real evidence. The birth certificate I saw is laser printed. (Click here to see for yourself.) Laser print technology was not invented until 1969. Obama was born in 1961. Laser printers were not commercially available until the late 1970s or early 1980s. Yes, Obama’s birth certificate could have been originally printed by a dot matrix printer. However, the course text of dot matrix printing would likely have been magnified by the finer print detail of laser printers. The certificate displayed by Obama’s campaign and by others is simply not an original birth certificate. If one actually exist (which is doubtful), the original should be scanned and publicly displayed dispelling all doubt about his citizenship. Obama could dispell all public doubts about his qualification for the office of president by doing it himself. The presidency is too important a Constitutional matter for it to left in doubt.

Cliff Kincaid, editor of Accuracy in Media, has reported that Obama has never received a background security check. The FBI has not investigated Obama to ensure that he is a legitimate citizen and not a threat to our nation. Sarah Palin was investigated. This is supposed to be standard procedure for all government office holders. Maybe it’s only for women and conservatives and not for those associated with terrorists, communists, radical Islamists, and Democrats. If Kincaid is right, Obama may not be legit.

As the old saying goes, “when in doubt, don’t…don’t vote for such a questionable candidate to the highest public office of our nation.