Author Archives: Editor

Americans Rising for the Constitution–April 19, 2010

The Voice of Freedom will be heard across America on April 19, 2010 (Patriots Day), as people gather at their state capitols to participate in a Re-Dedication Ceremony to Creator, Country and Constitution and to serve the Articles of Freedom on elected officials — a non-political document which seeks to end violations of the Constitution and restore constitutional governance at the state and federal level. The special program will last 45 minutes and will be given at the same moment in time across all time zones. In Ohio, the event begins at 3 PM on the steps of the State Capitol.

The Articles of Freedom are the non-political work of the Continental Congress 2009, a group of 116 citizen-delegates from 48 states, who met for 11 days in St. Charles, Illinois from November 11-21, 2010. The contents address fourteen violations of the Constitution, each of which has injured America’s economy and the Nation. Each of the 14 Articles includes “Remedial Instructions” to federal and state government officials, designed to end the violation. There is no other known document or plan in America at this time that complies with the U.S. Constitution and shows the people, and a rogue government, how to put the nation back on track. The Articles contain a pledge that asks citizens to join with a “goodly number of millions” to hold elected officials accountable to their Oath of Office, through obedience to the Constitution.

The April 19th ceremony will include a Color Guard; a prayer; singing to America; the Pledge of Allegiance and America’s Creed; a talk about the Purpose of the Articles and why they are being served on elected officials; and an opportunity for participants to re-dedicate themselves to the Constitution, Its protection and defense. In every state, the two U.S. Senators, the member of the U.S. House of Representatives whose district includes the state capital city, the Governor and the Head of each Chamber of the State Legislature have been invited to receive the Articles; those who do not attend the ceremony will be served at their offices immediately following the event.

“The First Amendment guarantees the Right of the People to Petition their servant government for a Redress of Grievances,” says Robert Schulz. “We have petitioned for a Remedy for every major violation of the Constitution since 1994, knowing what the violations would do to our people and our way of Life. Our Petitions have been answered with Silence and repeated injury to our economy, our Republic and our Sovereignty,” he continued. “The Articles are a constructive legal document rooted in the Constitution. We will serve it on our elected officials as the appropriate next step and wait for their response. The Constitution cannot defend itself, and it is not a menu. It is now up to the People to peacefully and lawfully procure relief,” said Schulz.

Event planners view the ceremony as an opportunity to show the conscious return of an increasing number of Americans who feel it is their duty to ensure officials follow the Constitution. “We await the day when every elected official in America, regardless of party, will have the sole purpose of upholding the Constitution in the governmental affairs of the People, and our citizens, in turn, will be vigilant – in every state and at the federal level – to hold them accountable,” he concluded.

The non-political event is open to all who want to show support for the Constitution. Planners urge people to visit www.articlesoffreedom.us/ThePlan.aspx to print out and bring along a copy of the program for the ceremony so they can participate fully.

To read the Articles of Freedom (html), go here.
To read the Articles of Freedom (pdf), go here.
To read a summary of the articles, go here.

Josh Mandel Seeking to Make Ohio Business Friendly

By Josh Mandel

Ohio is facing numerous challenges, including a large budget deficit, double-digit unemployment and an exodus of jobs, young people and retirees. Solving these problems requires responsible leadership and fresh thinking — and I am working hard every day to identify business-friendly, limited-government solutions to Ohio’s economic struggle.

Here are some examples:

Making Ohio More Business-Friendly Through Regulatory Reform and Government Consolidation:

Businesses will locate and grow where there exists a stable, certain and friendly economic environment. Unfortunately, too often bureaucrats in our state government view businesses with a “guilty until proven innocent” attitude. Instead, I believe that our state government workers should be waking up every morning asking themselves, “How can I help Ohio businesses succeed, or at least get the heck out of the way?” Therefore, I have been a strong proponent of instituting state government regulatory reform, including:

– Streamlining EPA permitting processes.
– Restructuring the Bureau of Workers Compensation.
– Eliminating the waste, fraud and abuse in Ohio’s Medicaid system.
– Consolidating the size of our state government.

Prioritizing Ohio Businesses Over Out-of State Businesses:

I was disturbed to learn that certain programs in the Ohio Department of Development give preferential treatment to companies located in other states over companies already located in Ohio. Yes, you read that correctly. There are economic incentive programs, funded by our tax dollars, for which companies in Kentucky and West Virginia can qualify but companies in Ohio cannot. This backwards approach to growing Ohio’s economy sends a terrible message to Ohio businesses, and I have been proud to stand up to change it. I have referenced this problem in many speeches and gatherings and am taking leadership to alter the focus of these programs in order to rightly prioritize Ohio businesses.

Eliminating Ohio’s Estate Tax:

Since I stepped foot in the Ohio legislature, I have been proudly advocating for the elimination of Ohio’s estate tax. I wrote about it last year and continue to lead on it today. This form of double-taxation has had the unfortunate and predictable result of making Naples, Palm Beach and Phoenix second capitals of Ohio. By forcing retirees to become citizens of other states, we are losing an incredible amount of financial and intellectual capital that should be invested in our communities. Ohio’s estate tax hits the middle class, homeowners and farmers while driving jobs, capital and families out of Ohio. I am committed to work with Republicans and Democrats at the Statehouse to eliminate this economic burden on Ohio families and Ohio’s economy.

Growing Ohio’s Economy through Independence from Foreign Oil:

I also continue to be a strong co-sponsor of House Bill 107 which is a measure to allow Ohioans to drill for oil and gas on state lands. This legislation would empower Ohioans to maximize the natural resources within our borders in order to create jobs, promote economic activity and foster independence from foreign oil. I believe responsible exploration of oil and gas in Ohio will help drive down energy prices for Ohio families and businesses and contribute to our nation’s fight against terrorism. I am also proud to support efforts underway to build a coal gasification plant in Ohio, which would utilize Ohio coal to create Ohio jobs and foster independence from foreign oil.

These are just a handful of the issues on which I am working to improve the lives of Ohioans and reverse the exodus of jobs, young people and retirees from Ohio. Through countless hours at the Statehouse and by traveling 76,251 miles throughout the state, I have heard from thousands of people and the message is clear – Ohio needs new leadership. I am ready to provide Ohio with the leadership it needs in order to improve our economy through economic freedom, limited government and fiscal responsibility.

State Representative Josh Mandel is the GOP candidate for the office of State Treasurer. His endorsement is seen by many as a win for the Ohio Tea Parties.

GOP swelling as Ohio voters switch parties

GOP swelling as Ohio voters switch parties is the Columbus Dispatch headline reflecting a huge change from the 2008 Ohio primary, when far more Republicans than Democrats changed parties.

Although the Dispatch did report on why many voters were switching to the GOP, several likely reasons include an increasing dissatisfaction with Democrats bludgeoning taxpayers with overwhelming debt, increasing taxes, inept handling of the Great Recession, and trend toward totalitarian socialism.

Source: The Columbus Dispatch, April 8, 2010

UD Professor of History Dr. Larry Schweikart Endorses Virgil Vaduva Candidate for Greene County Commission

Today the Dayton Daily News Editorial Board endorsed my opponent, Mr. Alan Anderson and chose him to be “the better pick” as a Greene County Commissioner, at least in their opinion. They wrote that Mr. Anderson, the incumbent, was the “more go-along-get-along kind of person” as opposed to someone like me, who has “fringe ideas” and is unwilling to toe the line set by the GOP liberal leadership. You can read the entire poorly-written, error-ridden editorial here: http://tinyurl.com/y7maogv

The truth is my friends that the DDN endorsement of my opponent is an illustration of a sad situation, that we as a nation, state and county have come to a place where freedom, liberty, and freedom to homeschool and live apart from government intrusion are all seen as being on the fringe. Those willing to “go along” are nodded-upon and endorsed to be part of the political and electoral process. It is sad, is it not?

In my interview with DDN I spoke frankly about my views of government, taxation, freedom and liberty. I spoke about the Children Services and their harassment of homeschooling families and the super-inflated budget of that organization. I spoke against the high taxes in our county and the responsibility that the Greene County Republicans have to their principles of small government and low taxation, regardless of the level of government. As a result, my ideas were described as “fringe” and my opponent was endorsed. But fortunately, the outcome of an election does not depend on the GOP or the Dayton Daily News; it is up to the voters to make sound choices. Therefore I am asking you, friends and registered voters to let your friends and family members know that right now and on May 4, they have a chance to vote for a real conservative, a real Republican, unwilling to compromise on any principles of freedom, liberty and taxation.

So I am proudly presenting to you an endorsement given to me by Dr. Larry Schweikart, University of Dayton Professor of History, author of A Patriot’s History of the United States, 7 Events that Made America America and 48 Liberal Lies about American History. Dr. Schweikart has been a guest on Glenn Beck’s show on Fox News, and on the Rush Limbaugh show, and he submitted the following endorsement for my campaign:

“I have known Virgil Vaduva to be someone who deeply cares about freedom, liberty and the American way of life. Virgil’s past which involved life in a Communist country and business ownership shaped him into someone who is experienced and can handle the hard hits of life and politics. His desire to serve and participate in the political life here in the Dayton area is genuine and I believe that he can deliver what Greene County needs today, a real conservative candidate willing and able to pursue the real changes needed today by the GOP.

The political atmosphere in the area is in dire need of new faces, and Virgil is one of them, so it is my pleasure to offer my endorsement for his candidacy for Green County Commissioner.”

Ohio Governor Strickland Signs Umbilical Cord Blood Bill

On March 31, 2010, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland signed H.B. 102. The new law, which was sponsored by Rep. Todd Book (D, McDermott), requires the Ohio Department of Health to place printable information on umbilical cord blood banking and donation on its website. The Department of Health also will encourage health care professionals to provide the information to pregnant women.

H.B. 102 passed the Ohio Senate by a vote of 32-0 on March 24, 2010. The Ohio House then voted 97-0 to concur in the Senate amendments to the bill. Umbilical cord blood is an ethical and non-controversial source of stem cells that can be obtained with no risk to the mother or child. Stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood have been used to successfully treat over 70 diseases including sickle cell anemia, leukemia, and lymphoma. Unfortunately, most umbilical cord blood is currently being discarded after birth.

Banking cord blood for personal or family use with a private bank can involve significant expense. However, donations to public cord blood banks involve no expense for the donor.

“We are delighted that Ohio has adopted this important life-saving legislation,” said Mike Gonidakis, Executive Director of Ohio Right to Life. “By Improving public awareness about cord blood donation, this law should increase the number and diversity of cord blood donations and thus increase the number of patients who can obtain the match they need,” Gonidakis said.

The new law takes effect in 90 days.

Source:Ohio Right to Life, 4/1/10

Maryellen O’Shaugnnessy Hosted At Greene County Democratic Party HQ

The Greene County Democratic Party (GCDP) candidates hosted Maryellen O’Shaugnnessy at the GCDP Headquarters at 87 E. Main Street in Xenia on Tuesday 4/6/10. O’Shughnessy is unopposed Democratic candidate for Ohio Secretary of State in the May 4th primary election.

Pictured left to right with O’Shaughnessy are party Executive Committee members Mike Watters, GCDP Chair Don Hollister, Doris Totty, Jean Nixon, Mike Gardner, O’Shaughnessy, Jan Goodwin, Don Brezine, and GCDP Vice Chair Bill Conner. Watters is a candidate for the Ohio Legislature, Hollister for Ohio Democratic Central Committee, and Conner for U.S. Congress.

Scientists discover world’s smallest superconductor

Scientists have discovered the world’s smallest superconductor, a sheet of four pairs of molecules less than one nanometer wide. The Ohio University-led study, published today as an advance online publication in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, provides the first evidence that nanoscale molecular superconducting wires can be fabricated, which could be used for nanoscale electronic devices and energy applications.

“Researchers have said that it’s almost impossible to make nanoscale interconnects using metallic conductors because the resistance increases as the size of wire becomes smaller. The nanowires become so hot that they can melt and destruct. That issue, Joule heating, has been a major barrier for making nanoscale devices a reality,” said lead author Saw-Wai Hla, an associate professor of physics and astronomy with Ohio University’s Nanoscale and Quantum Phenomena Institute.

Superconducting materials have an electrical resistance of zero, and so can carry large electrical currents without power dissipation or heat generation. Superconductivity was first discovered in 1911, and until recently, was considered a macroscopic phenomenon. The current finding suggests, however, that it exists at the molecular scale, which opens up a novel route for studying this phenomenon, Hla said. Superconductors currently are used in applications ranging from supercomputers to brain imaging devices.

In the new study, which was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Hla’s team examined synthesized molecules of a type of organic salt, (BETS)2-GaCl4, placed on a surface of silver. Using scanning tunneling spectroscopy, the scientists observed superconductivity in molecular chains of various lengths. For chains below 50 nanometers in length, superconductivity decreased as the chains became shorter. However, the researchers were still able to observe the phenomenon in chains as small as four pairs of molecules, or 3.5 nanometers in length.

To observe superconductivity at this scale, the scientists needed to cool the molecules to a temperature of 10 Kelvin. Warmer temperatures reduced the activity. In future studies, scientists can test different types of materials that might be able to form nanoscale superconducting wires at higher temperatures, Hla said.

“But we’ve opened up a new way to understand this phenomenon, which could lead to new materials that could be engineered to work at higher temperatures,” he said.

The study also is noteworthy for providing evidence that superconducting organic salts can grow on a substrate material.

“This is also vital if one wants to fabricate nanoscale electronic circuits using organic molecules,” Hla added.

Collaborators on the paper include Kandal Clark, a doctoral student in the Russ College of Engineering and Technology at Ohio University; Sajida Khan, a graduate student in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Ohio University; Abdou Hassanien, a researcher with the Nanotechnology Research Institute, Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and the Japan Science and Technology Agency’s Core Research of Evolutional Science & Technology (JST-CREST) in Japan who conducted the work as a visiting scientist at Ohio University; Hisashi Tanaka, a scientist at AIST and JST-CREST who synthesized the molecules; and Kai-Felix Braun, a scientist with the Physikalisch Technische Bundesanstalt in Braunschweig, Germany, who conducted the calculations at the Ohio Supercomputing Center.

Scientists cannot figure out why type 1 diabetes is rising three percent every year

Back in 1890, about one American child out of every 100,000 died each year from type 1 diabetes. Fast forward to the 21st century and the number is as high as 24. Each year, scientists estimate that the number of deaths among children due to type 1, or juvenile, diabetes increases by three percent with no signs of slowing down.

Type 2 diabetes, the kind most often associated with obesity and excessive sugar consumption, is often referenced in media reports and medical journals as increasing at a dangerously high rate, but type 1 is rarely addressed despite the fact that it is rising at a similar rate.

Dan Hurley, an investigative journalist who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1975, is compiling a report on his findings about the disease, noting that it is much more prevalent than people have been led to believe. Evidence is showing that, despite the widespread belief that type 1 diabetes is rare and develops from a genetic predisposition, juvenile diabetes is probably being triggered by environmental or lifestyle factors in a similar manner as type 2.

In his book, Hurley outlines five potential causes of the disease and its rapid increase. These include a lack of natural sunlight exposure, the destruction of natural skin pathogens that create immunity, exposure to cow’s milk at a young age, persistent exposure to pollutants and carcinogens, and the accelerated production of insulin-producing beta cells due to overall growth in height and weight averages among children.

Someday western medicine will catch up to the truth that the natural health community already knows: That drinking pasteurized, processed cow’s milk can promote autoimmune disorders such as type-1 diabetes.

Conventional medicine, as usual, remains entirely clueless about the real causes of type-1 diabetes (or even cancer or diabetes, for that matter). And because the medical system refuses to acknowledge the fact that environmental influences (chemicals, dietary choices, etc.) can cause these conditions, it is unable to offer any solutions for patients. So patients are simply put on a lifetime regimen of dangerous pharmaceutical chemicals instead of being taught real solutions for avoiding autoimmune disorders altogether, according to Health Ranger Mike Adams.

Another interesting comment by Adams is a reference to an epidemic of vitamin D deficiency in western society. The common cold, flu, and now type 1 diabetes all result from a deficiency of vitamin D, at least in part.

From Natural News, March 26, 2010

Tax Freedom Day 2010 Is April 9

Ohio Tax Freedom Day—the day on which Americans have earned enough money to pay all federal, state, and local taxes for the year—was celebrated yesterday. Today, the official Tax Freedom Day falls on the 99th day of 2010.

Americans will work well over three months of the year before they have earned enough money to pay the nation’s tax bill for the year, and they will pay more taxes in 2010 than they will spend on food, clothing and shelter combined.

This year’s Tax Freedom Day is one day later than in 2009, but more than two weeks earlier than in 2007. The shift toward a lower tax burden since 2007 has been driven by three factors:

(1) The recession has reduced tax collections even faster than it has reduced income.
(2) President Obama and the Congress have enacted large but temporary income tax cuts for 2009 and 2010, just as President Bush did in 2008.
(3) Two significant taxes were repealed for 2010 as part of previous legislation, the estate tax and the so-called PEP and Pease provisions of the income tax.

The shift toward an earlier Tax Freedom Day since 2007 is not necessarily cause for celebration. That’s because Tax Freedom Day does not count the deficit even though deficits must eventually be financed. Since 1948, when Tax Freedom Day was first calculated, the difference between what governments are spending and what they’re collecting has never been as great as during 2009 and 2010. If Americans were required to pay for all government spending this year, including the $1.3 trillion federal budget deficit, they would be working until May 17 before they had earned enough to pay their taxes—an additional 38 days of work.

This May 17 date for a deficit-inclusive measure is the second latest since World War II. Only in 2009 was it later, when an unprecedented budget deficit of close to $1.5 trillion produced a deficit-inclusive date of May 21, fully 43 days later than Tax Freedom Day.

Source: The Tax Foundation, March 30, 2010.

Eugenics in 2010: Obamacare Cost-Cutting Genetic Discrimination

In the March 31st edition of LifeNews, Kristan Hawkins, executive director of Students for Life, wrote how Obamacare further the eugenics the Left introduced in the United States through abortion.

Hawkins interest in the current health care reform stems from her infant son’s battle with Cystic fibrosis, an expensive-to-treat and fatal genetic disease. Obamacare threatens to ration top notch healthcare for children like her son.

The question is does she have any support for her concern?

The following quote is from her LifeNews article:

A week before the doomed healthcare vote, Representative Bart Stupak (D-MI) admitted to the National Review Online that Congressional Democrats argued that passing his pro-life amendment which prohibits taxpayer funding of abortion will result in more children and therefore higher healthcare costs. They’re saying: “If you pass the Stupak amendment, more children will be born, and therefore it will cost us millions more.”

This argument isn’t new but in fact is the same old 1970’s argument that John Holdren (the President’s Science Czar) used when saying that the more people there are, the less food there will be. This 1970’s argument has been regurgitated in 2010 with a healthcare slant: the more people, the less healthcare available for you and me.

Democrats in Congress know that incentivizing abortions by making them cheaper and more accessible will lead to higher abortion rates costing less healthcare dollars and making those limited funds available for some other person.

When the state is involved in the cost of healthcare, it knows that it is dealing with scare resources and that rationing will have to occur. This fact has already been reiterated multiple times by President Obama’s Comparative Effectiveness Research Council appointee and brother to his Chief-of-Staff, Dr. Zeke Emanuel.

Emanuel admitted in The Lancet medical journal last January that cost-cutting measures in healthcare reform are merely “lipstick” and rationing will have to occur in any government healthcare system.

He even went so far as to describe his ideal rationing plan where those at the beginning and end of life would receive 2nd tier healthcare when scarcity develops. In the article, he further talks about his sense of “communitarianism” and how those who are unproductive members of society are a burden and healthcare dollars could be best spent elsewhere. Bottom line Message: We only want the “genetically” superior people and less is better.

To Dr. Emanuel, my son Gunner is an excess burden on society.

Yet, he has been appointed by President Obama to serve on the President’s Comparative Effectiveness Research Council, the body that will make “recommendations” to doctors as to how to treat their patients in the most cost-effective way.

Today, new advances being made with prenatal genetic testing aren’t for the benefit of the family, but for the destruction of the pre-born child within the mother. The ability to diagnose diseases such as Cystic Fibrosis, Down Syndrome, and others while the child is still in the womb means a greater chance a woman will be encouraged and pressured to abort, thus limiting that child’s “burden” on society.

It is shocking what you find if you Google search the phrase “cost benefit analysis of prenatal testing” and read the medical journal articles (especially those coming out of Europe on this issue).

Now that Obamacare has passed, will prenatal genetic tests eventually move from being voluntary to mandatory, in the name of cost-savings? Down the road, will abortions be encouraged by the state or even forced on those children who will have special needs or will need life-long medical care?

Further, what will happen to children to who are born with costly diseases? Will they receive the best medical care or just enough to “make them comfortable?” Today, in America, this rationing is already happening to many babies born with Trisomy 18 and 13, as parents have gone on the record proving medical doctors told them they had to think about “resources” when making the decision as to how to treat their children. Thankfully, the cases today aren’t uniform but the misjudgment of one or two doctors. What will happen if people like Dr. Emanuel are writing the guidelines of care for all doctors?

Let me offer some additional observations.

Obamacare as depicted above is a cost-benefit application of Darwin’s survival of the fittest, but one imposed by the socialist state. This is not much different than Hilter’s Darwinian-based eugenic program to create a superior Aryan race. The difference is not in principle but rather one of goal. Unlike Hitler, the goal of the socialist Left may not be creating the perfect race. Their goal may be more practical: Forcing on America one world socialism–their version of perfect economics and governance.

Now, that the courts and Left have declared abortion is a Constitutional right with many true believers, the Left funded by those like billionaire Soros and led by Pelosi, Reed, and Obama are seeking to further the original agenda of creating the Great Society by bankrupting the nation while promising to decrease the budget at the great expense of more innocent lives. (Remember, the reason for the Great Recession was over-indebtedness.)

The loud proponents of anti-discrimination it turns out are the most hideous of discriminators. They obstruct the right to life because they are fully prejudiced against any who they deem unworthy of it. Just as the CIA has been used to destroy uncooperative regimes, the Left uses courts and deceit to convince the masses that killing the unwanted is a right to the good life. Irresponsibility, immorality and killing is part of the Left’s definition of freedom. Freedom has thus been perverted for the benefit of killing those who may cost the socialist state too much money.

Yet, no one seems to question whether the genetic diseases of those like Hawkin’s son, Gunner, who will be discriminated against are preventable. That is, are they merely the result of genetic accidents or are they induced by a polluted environment, contaminated food, stress resulting from an unjust political economy, or other factors?
If the later, one solution maybe be in public policy that is based on a holistic view of the common good for all citizens rather than imposing ideological party or special interest agendas though piecemeal problem solving policies.