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What is the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale?
Mark Caserta: Huntington, West Virginia: Is it dying a slow death?
23 SepDrug syringe and cooked heroin
Mark Caserta: Free State Patriot editor
September 23, 2018
An opioid drug crisis, a decaying city infrastructure, fomenting liberal policies, a withering level of pride for the city of Huntington, and a “less than prominent” presence on the national stage for its inadequacies – Welcome to Huntington, WV.
Is this a city in which a family would want to raise their children? If not, what are we doing to correct it?
I’ve lived in, or around Huntington, WV. for nearly 60 years. I remember when Huntington was a city admired and envied by others desiring to achieve the wholesome radiance and charming gravitas we once possessed.
Of course, we’ve always had our problems. Every city has them, the larger, the more of them.
But in the past, we’ve always found a way to overcome them. We’ve always risen to the occasion and come together as a community for the common good of our people.
In November, 1970, Huntington showed the world we could rise from the ashes in solidarity. I remember, just like it was yesterday. Every school, every business, every single person was united as we grieved over the loss of 75 innocent lives. I remember gathering in the gymnasium of Davis Creek Elementary, holding hands and honoring players, coaches, boosters and members of the press lost on the hillside of Tri-State Airport, as Southern Airways Flight 932 made its final approach.
The field of tears are forever etched into my memory, but, also, the resilience of the citizens of Huntington and their determination to not fade quietly into the night. This resolve laid a foundation on which our grand city would flourish over the next 40 years.
Yes, some “ups” and “downs”, but always forward. But now, Huntington, WV. is in a crisis. For many who have spent their lives living in this city by the great Ohio River, it feels like Huntington, WV. is dying a slow, painful, agonizing death.
We’ve conceived a generation, void of hope, and dying of drug overdoses. And how do we address it? We provide them needles. And as larger, progressive cities, such as San Francisco, contemplate “safe injection sites” for intravenous drug users, per The San Francisco Chronicle, one must wonder how far behind Huntington city leaders are in proposing similar “enablement” facilities in our area.
We even have a news media, both print and television, that appear to be adopting leftist’s policies and filtering information to our citizens, in other words, “fake news” or news designed to disingenuously influence people.
Who are they trying to protect?
A July 2018 story by Monique Laborde, of WV Public Broadcasting, entitled, “Huntington Mayor Champions LGBT Inclusion”, describes our city’s mayor, Stephen Williams’ endeavors to improve conditions in Huntington for the LGBT community. This year, Huntington recognized the month of LGBT awareness by hosting its second annual Pride Picnic.
Of course, the event was family-friendly, per the report, while kids played in a sprinkler nearby.
How sweet. Our city could sure use some new folks.
Per the most recent information from Data USA, Huntington, WV. has a population of around 48, 735 people with a median age of 34.6 and a median household income of $29, 834. Between 2015 and 2016, the population of Huntington declined nearly half a percent, while the median household income declined .13%.
I’m confident, given the apparent, continued decline, these numbers have gotten worse.
But as people continue to vacate our city for greener, safer pastures, what sort of people are we attracting? Entrepreneurs? Business? Purpose-driven individuals seeking an environment fertile for growth?
Not a chance. Huntington is being avoided like the plague by anyone hopeful for the future!
Consider the foundation on which we are building our city’s future? Our city leadership appear determined to follow the same progressive path that’s brought ruin to larger, more successful cities. These are the exact same liberal, socialist policies embraced by Barack Hussein Obama, which sent our nation on a downhill spiral unparalleled in my lifetime.
Oh, and the exact same liberal policies that helped elect Donald J. Trump, much to the chagrin of liberals like we have at Huntington’s helm.
Just who are these people? Of course, we see the elected officials, those running point for the elite, but who makes up the deep state in Huntington? Who are these progressive “puppeteers” who never seem to make print or video, but are in the shadows, weaving their webs of deceit and tilting our city to the far left?
In this humble columnist’s opinion, our city’s priorities are completely upside down, as are most progressive policies. Our city leaders have no sustainable vision for the advancement of our community or the protection of our people.
Their intent? Just follow the money.
At the current rate of decline, what will the condition of our city be in 5 years, 10 years? It’s not a welcome proposition.
It’s time for the citizens of Huntington to take back their city. It’s time to elect leaders with the ability to attract business and make our city safe for its occupants. It’s time to hire city leaders who have a vision and the aptitude to get us back on the right track, before it’s too late!
It’s time to make Huntington great again!
Mark Caserta: Liberals are stealing the hope of tomorrow
16 SepWhere are the Christians?
Mark Caserta: Free State Patriot editor
September 16, 2018
Would you like to know what liberals have over many Christian conservatives?
I’ll tell you.
Commitment and a willingness to sacrifice for a cause. Get mad if you want, it’s true. And sadly, we continue to retreat against their advance and give ground to progressives, who every day, conjure up a new way to displease God and destroy His perfect creation. The anti-Christian acts they employ continue to become more abominable in God’s eyes, yet where are the so-called “warriors for Christ”?
When will we say, enough is enough? It better be soon, because they’re killing the soul of our nation, our states and our communities, by destroying our hope of tomorrow.
Progressives simply don’t subscribe to the fact that at some point in life, everyone will acknowledge God as the author and finisher of our faith. The Bible says in Philippians 2:10-11, “that at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord”.
Please believe Hell is a very real place – and it will be the home of way too many people, for eternity; not a year, a hundred years or even a thousand years, but forever.
It’s important to remember the enemy has but one purpose here on earth: To steal, kill and destroy. The progressive movement is the quintessential tool by which the enemy deploys many of his weapons. Many liberals don’t recognize an eternity in which they will answer for their iniquities. All they see is today; and today is all they desire. And they accomplish that by removing our tomorrow.
Allow me to explain.
Our tolerance to abortion is killing our tomorrow. When Roe v. Wade was ruled upon by the Supreme Court in 1973, even then it was a highly sensitive, polarizing decision. Yet, at the time it was encumbered with several common-sense limitations that took into consideration the mother’s health and the viability of the fetus. Over the years, liberals have attacked the parameters relentlessly. Now, 45 years later, we now have abortion, for all intents and purposes, on-demand. And frankly, if liberals had their way, partial-birth abortion and even “live birth” abortions would be common-place.
If you aren’t familiar with those terms, shame on you. These are two of the most horrific ways imaginable for a civilized country to murder innocent children, and fall nothing short of Herod’s attack on Jerusalem’s first born or Pharaoh’s decision to do the same during Israel’s deliverance out of Egypt.
Jesus loved children. He knew their importance in the Kingdom of God. He even told his disciples in the New Testament, “Suffer the little children to come unto me”.
Jesus knew children would be our tomorrow.
I personally believe there will be a designated, unimaginably horrible place in Hell for those who have intentionally murdered the most innocent among us. I do not envy those choosing to end the life of one of God’s children simply out of inconvenience resulting from a poor decision.
The opioid crisis is killing our tomorrow by literally taking the lives of a generation without hope.
By removing the addict’s hope for tomorrow, they continue down the path of destruction, narrowly dodging calamity, until one day, it catches up to them. They tighten the tourniquet, insert the needle and in a few moments, take their last breath on earth. Perhaps their next cognizant moment will be in a dark, foreboding forever, where forgiveness and hope have vanquished in the fiery pits.
Too theatrical for you? Too dramatic? I assure you, words could never describe the despair of hell or the evil, contriving hearts of men. It doesn’t matter if you believe, it’s real.
Within our own city of Huntington, WV. we have a “deep state” willing to compromise the soul of our city for power and wealth. In the end, only death will result.
Bishop Desmond Tutu is quoted as saying, “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.”
Darkness is all around us. Occasionally, there are rays of light that peak through the dense clouds, but the darkness is very real and tenacious. It won’t falter, it won’t grow weary, and it won’t grow faint in its mission to destroy each of our tomorrows.
There is only one way to firmly dismiss the darkness and that’s by the entrance of light, a Holy Light.
I know of only one group of people from which that light will shine – Christians. Where are they? Are they afraid? Are we so selfish, we won’t commit to a fight which may ultimately be fought by our children and grandchildren?
We must take a stand now. We must take back our nation and our city. Together, we can be a mighty force for good. But “together” consists of “individuals” engaged and working toward a common goal.
Can we get started? We have some committed people in the trenches already. I’m pleased to join them in the fight: Tom Roten, host of The Tom Roten Morning Show on News Radio 800 WVHU; Norm Miller, founder of Huntington City Watch, with over 17,000 followers; Steven Davis, founder of League of Principled Citizens and Scott Caserta, 2020 Huntington Mayoral candidate.
These are great people to get behind. I fully support their efforts.
Don’t let liberals steal the hope of tomorrow. Let’s be the shining light we were intended to be. God will never place us in a battle in which He won’t fully armor us for victory.
But we must take up the sword.
Together, we can’t lose. But if we choose to sit on the sidelines, we surely will.
Doug Smith: Some Advice to Progressives and the Younger Generations
16 Sep
Doug Smith is an historian and Free State Patriot associate editor
September 9, 2018
As a Conservative, I adhere to the principle that nothing is free: TANSTAAFL (There aint no such thing as a free lunch). But I am aware that everybody loves a bargain, and lots of people want free stuff. Having stated my principle regarding “free stuff” in advance by way of fair warning, here is some “free advice and wisdom. Do with it as you will. May it serve you better than your degree in Pre-Columbian-Art from Columbia and your $ 150,000 student loan debt.
- You are not always right. Neither are you always wrong. No one gets it right every time, nor do they get it wrong every time. Will Rogers perhaps said it best: “There was never a horse that couldn’t be rode, and never a rider that couldn’t be throwed.” A mature, adult human will make peace with these facts and learn a truth from them. Check your assumptions.
- Know why you believe what you believe. Be able to defend your articles of faith. Apologetics, from the Greek Apologia, means to make a defense. Arguing your beliefs based on “Mom said so” stops working when you are about 10. Basing it on, “Well you’re mean and ugly and your Mommy dresses you funny” stops at about 5. Challenge your beliefs. If they are true, if they are valid, when you question them, when you question the reasons that you believe them, you will finally come to rock solid evidence of a few basic things you can unshakable believe. This practice will serve you well. If you can challenge and then defend your own beliefs, you need never fear when they are challenged by others. If you cannot, then you may have built a system of belief with no solid foundation. Truth is not the same as opinion. If someone tells you the truth, be it an author, boss, professor, preacher and you challenge it, dig back to its roots and discover why it is true, it will still be true. This is what we used to call “Education.”
- People will disagree with you. That is ok. Hearing ideas you don’t know or believe will hardly kill you, or even hurt you. It may stretch your mind. But (See 1, and 2, above) people who disagree with you are not always wrong, and they are not always right. Know why you believe what you believe and disagree. Debate your position. You may learn something. They may learn something. The moment you refuse to hear any position or opinion other than your own it the moment when you stop learning. Ignorance is curable. Stupidity is not. Bullheadedness is very resistant to treatment. If you try to be protected from hearing speech with which you disagree, you lose the chance to apply principles 1 and 2 and challenge not only yourself, but the one with whom you disagree, to defend their position. If you disagree, and they are wrong, 2 will prove it. If they are right, or a little bit right, 1 will help you learn.
- There ARE NO safe spaces. That is an absurd concept. As a growing child, you wanted to get away from Mom and Dad, who wanted to keep you in a safe space, so you could live a more dangerous life. We try to keep children safe enough not to die, but they will climb trees, fall out of them, break bones, skin knees, and live a dangerous life. Life IS dangerous. It WILL eventually kill you. But you are going to have to experience things that might hurt you and learn to survive them, ideas you don’t like and learn to deal with them, or debate them, or reject them, relationships that are challenging, all the parts of being a functional adult. I don’t like snakes. So, I could have stayed in a bubble where I was never around one, protected by my parents. Except: my mother is dead. My Father is 82. I am old enough for Social Security. And there are snakes in the world. I learned to deal with snakes. Don’t reach under a wood pile without lifting it from a distance. Watch where you step in the woods. I did not sit in a safe space from the age of 8 till now to avoid snakes. I learned to deal with a danger in the world in which I lived. So, when it comes to snakes, I am a safe Person, not a person who lives in a safe space. I am also a dangerous person. I ll blow that snake in half and not blink an eye. But I won’t kick a dog or a kid. Be an adult. Be safe when safety is called for, dangerous when danger is called for. Safe spaces? No one lives there. You live in the world. Grow up. Deal with it.
- I don’t give a fig about your self-esteem. Neither does anyone else, despite what they told you in schools. I don’t want you to feel good about yourself just for existing. If you are my child, I love you because of who you are, and you are unique and important to me. But to feel good about yourself, DO something. You all have someone who loves you and to whom you are important. I ran track in Jr High School. I sucked. I was not built to be a runner. I got no trophies for participating. My self-esteem was not tied to that. I was a fair musician, and a decent writer, and a great sailor. I feel good about those things. I esteem myself for those accomplishments. You want to feel good about yourself? DO SOMETHING. Get a job. Pay your bills, feel good about doing what you can with your abilities. If you have high self-esteem and do nothing, you are going to portray a self-importance that will irritate people. DO something.
- Let us explore a bit the concept of TANSTAAFL. There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch. Bars used to advertise “Free Lunch.” It was, of course, a lie. Yes, you could come in and drink their beer, and eat a sandwich they had thoughtfully provided. And in doing so, pay more for your beer than you would in a place with no “free” lunch. Guess who bought your lunch? You did. TANSTAAFL. Some hotel chains provide a (bad) “free” breakfast. Can you figure it out? For the feeble breakfast, or in fairness, sometimes a good breakfast, you are paying more for the room than you would otherwise, or than you would in another hotel down the road. Because? There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch. Painted across a broader canvass, when your employer provides you with “free” healthcare and gym memberships, they are doing so by paying you less than they would otherwise. And when government offers free stuff, like healthcare, housing, food, needles, education, the list goes on and on endlessly, the principle still applies. And even more so, because government has no money. That bears repeating. Government has no money. How can that be you say, since they have a trillion-dollar budget? Government, has no money, so the money they spend, or promise to spend, must come from somewhere else. Anyone? Bueller? If you have a job, like I do, look at your pay stub. See how much you grossed? See how much was taken out before you got to touch it? And that, children, is how the government gives free stuff. Not free, because somebody had to work and produce the money to buy that sumptuous lunch. There really is no such thing as a free lunch. Everything has a cost.
- The way to get more is to become worth more. Don’t expect to get more for what you do just by continuing to breathe. If you are worth minimum wage when you are hired, (often a questionable premise) you will become worth more if you learn to do more, if you show you are reliable to show up, if you become better at your job, if you learn to do more and other jobs. Sorry to shake up what you have undoubtedly heard from politicians and other people who don’t have to pay you, but you are not entitled to a certain wage. If you can’t afford what you want to make what you make, buckle down, work harder, learn more, don’t make obligations you can’t afford (spouse, children, car payment, 1000-dollar cell phone), and improve your lot. No one owes you a good living. No one owes you a Living, period. The compact under which we live is life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. So, you get to live, and are free to earn your living as you see fit. You are not entitled to eat my food.
- Most people don’t care that you can quote French poetry or determine which period in Chinese history produced a vase, of if you have read Das Capital, the Little Red Book, or Upton Sinclair. They care if you smell bad. Take a shower. They care if you keep your word. Don’t make promises you cannot or will not keep. They care if you pay your bills. Pay what you owe. Earn what you expect to receive and expect to receive what you earn. Giving, or receiving charity is a choice. Forced generosity, however grand sounding we make it, is simply theft. Be a good neighbor, whether on a tree lined street, in a tall building, or in a barracks. Be kind, speak gently, be ready to help when you can. It is far easier to deal with the results of living this way.
- Despite the social chic that has tried to show otherwise, it is a good thing to love your country and your people, and to defend them. Patriotism is not reflected by despising and finding constant fault with your country. It is in defending and supporting it. If you are an American, you live in a nation that is wealthier, freer, and more desirable than any nation in the history of the world. She has grown and become steadily better, correcting inequities, and learning from failures, in a way few others have done. If you focus on the 10% that needs improvement, you miss the 90% that is laudable. Note that for all the bluster of the wealthy chic every 4 years, few leave this country. None who lack the resources to live in luxury, insulated from the realities of other countries do so. Many, on the contrary, desperately seek to come here. Reflect on those truths. And find a sense of gratitude. You will find that the vast majority of people who have worked to build the country, who have fought and sacrificed to keep it secure, or who have buried those who did, will honor that sense of gratitude far better than the child throwing a tantrum because his cake is not big enough.
- Equality means the game is the same and the rules are the same for everyone. It does not mean we will all get the same. There is no shame in the guy who pushes a broom down the halls of a hospital, but I expect that the Surgeon who says good morning to him will make more money. A lot more. If you expect otherwise, then hand the scalpel to the janitor and have him remove your appendix. There is no equality of outcome, because people are created equal, and there the similarities cease. We could mandate that Thom Edison will make exactly the same as the push broom operator. But the push broom operator will give us clean floors. Thom gave us light bulbs, recording equipment, movie cameras, electricity in our homes, microphones, fluoroscopic X Ray systems, well, I could go on. I’m ok that Edison made more than the guy who swept out his lab. If we are all to have equal outcomes, then they must, necessarily, be those of the least capable among us. Paying the guy on the broom a million bucks won’t make him produce a light bulb, paying Edison 10 bucks pretty much ensures that he won’t, either.
These are a few truths based on life and observation of the human condition. Life exists in places other than student centers on campuses and coffee shops. Those of us who live out here in the world learn these things by trial and error, often more error. But learn them we do. Come, join us in the adult world. It is not the rainbows and unicorns you may be expecting, but it is not such a bad world. We mange. Grow up and join us.
Hurricane Florence moving inland toward Tri-State Area
11 SepWhile it is anticipated to have reduced in strength, expect after effects, such as winds and flooding.
Please pray for the safety of everyone in its path.
Different types of damage may occur depending on each storm category. Read on to see what they signify.
Category 1, sustained winds of 74 – 95 mph
For storms in this category, there’s going to be “some damage” from winds, the NHC advises.
Large tree branches and shallow trees could be knocked down, according to the agency. Gutters, roofs, shingles and vinyl siding for what it calls “well-constructed frame homes” could be affected, too.
Category 2, sustained winds of 96 – 110 mph
“Extremely dangerous winds will cause extensive damage,” the NHC warns for such storms.
There may be power outages “that could last from several days to weeks.”
Category 3, sustained winds of 111 – 129 mph
Category 3, Category 4 and Category 5 storms are all labeled “major” hurricanes.
With Category 3, there will be “devastating” damage, according to the NHC.
“Well-built framed homes may incur major damage or removal of roof decking and gable ends,” the agency warns. There also may be no water or electricity for days to weeks after the storm moves along.
Category 4, sustained winds of 130 – 156 mph
“Well-built framed homes can sustain severe damage with loss of most of the roof structure and/or some exterior walls,” the NHC explains.
For both Category 4 and Category 5 storms, “catastrophic” damage is forecast: they involve residential areas being cut off by trees and power poles that have come down, the agency says, and there may be months-long power outages.
Category 5, sustained winds of 157 mph or higher
This is the highest rating for hurricanes on the scale.
“A high percentage of framed homes will be destroyed, with total roof failure and wall collapse,” according to the NHC.
Fox News
Doug Smith: Progressive Programs Promise Political Zanadu
10 SepThey simply don’t promote personal responsibility!
Doug Smith: Historian and Associate editor at Free State Patriot
September 10, 2018
There are some essential elements to every Progressive idea or program. These are worth bearing in mind as you vote for or against Santa Claus at the ballot box. Senator Marco Rubio s latest proposal on a Paid Family Leave Act, paid for by government, provides an excellent opportunity to review a few of these.
1)They are progressive.
In this context, the word means it will creep ever toward the same direction. There is no End to the idea, just ever-increasing demands for more “free stuff” from government, and not coincidentally, more control by government of those getting the freebies.
(As a sub note to the above,)
2) There are no freebies. TANSTAAFL. There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.
Progressives are divided into 2 categories on this fact: True believers whose magical thinking makes them certain that Government has unlimited resources, but stingily refuses to share it, and cynical opportunists who understand this quite well, but are willing to use the fiction to further their own power. From its founding, all the way to Barack Obama, who spend more money that he did not have than all 43 POTUS before him combined, the Government “Has. No. Money.” They can only spend money in 3 ways:
Borrow it. This ultimately costs every taxpayer, because Barack and Mitch and the powers that be in DC are committing YOU, not them, to pay the payments and the interest on their debts. Imagine if you saw your neighbor driving a $ 60,000 SUV, then got a bill in the mail for the payments on his ride, one you were demanded to pay.
Print it. The Federal Reserve is a whole other article, and a problem in and of itself, but suffice it to say, when the government can print money by fiat, without backing up each bill with gold reserves, “The full faith and credit of the US Government” means, once again, YOU will back them up. So, if you have $ 100, and there are $ 1,000,000,000 dollars in circulation, and the Government (read that FED) decides to print, with no additional wealth to back it, another billion in currency, your 100 overnight becomes a 50. Sound outrageous? Unbelievable?
Steal it. Seem harsh? By steal it, I mean taxes. Of course, no one comes to your house with a gun and demands 25% of your earnings. However, refuse to pay your taxes and see how long it is before someone with a gun comes to your house to cart you off to jail. Taxation is by force. The government takes from us part of what we earn, the deal being we get to choose, through our representatives in the House how much they may take, and for what they may spend it. Which of course, brings us back to progressive politicians, and the ever-growing programs, which will spend ever greater amounts of the money they tax from you. You are still paying, in every paycheck, for programs that were begun under Franklin Roosevelt.
Which leads us to the 3rd thing worth noting about progressive ideas and programs:
3) They never ask, let along answer, the question of how we pay for it.
The closest they come is a few well-worn clichés: Let the Rich pay their fair share, if we cut spending on Defense, we are only talking about (at this point we are meant to insert some figure which they will argue is inconsequential.) As the late Sen Everett Dirksen once said, “A billion dollars here, a billion dollars there, first thing you know you are talking about some real money.” (Progressives, I should note, do not get the joke.) Never mind paying for it. If it sounds good do it. War on Poverty? Yes! Poverty is bad. Let’s spend 20 Trillion and wipe it out. Whereas the common household husband or wife must say “Rib Eye? Rib Eye good! Rib Eye $ 12/lb. Can’t afford Rib Eye. Pork Chops, here we come. Of course, the common Joe in the grocery store is spending their own money and cannot print more if they run out. (Well, they CAN write a bogus check, but, unlike Congressmen, they go to jail for that.) Politicians NEVER spend their own money. They spend yours. Which is why you will eat Pork Chops or Macaroni and Cheese tonight, and not Rib Eye.
On the subject of, “if it sounds good”: this is another aspect of progressive ideas. All they must do is sound good.
They don’t have to work. They must appeal to emotions. Wipe out poverty! Help the poor! Improve the cities! Progressive never hold themselves or their ideas accountable for the (inevitable) failure to work. “I’ve never worked so hard on anything in my life.” “I feel your pain.” (If you are young, you may not recognize those as Bill Clinton’s response to the failure of some of his progressive ideas. Progressives maintain that if they feel good about it, if they feel your pain, then they should not be held to account for “results.” If it failed, and I care about you, then you should still trust me, and let me spend even more, and do more of the same, on a larger scale, to fix the problem created by the failure of my last 3 attempts. But for all their “caring” and “feeling” Progressives and Utopians have yet to discover how to pass a law or spend a dollar that will make water run uphill, or gravity not pull objects to the ground.
Or make socialist ideas and central planning result in anything other than the disaster they always are. (Go to Venezuela and try to buy some toilet paper.) Progressives remain sublimely convinced that progressive/socialist/utopian/statist ideas that have never worked, have always failed, will work out IF ONLY you give THEM the money and the power to make them work as they think they should. Of course, it also involves the power to MAKE people behave the way progressives think they SHOULD behave, and not the way they do.
So, with that background, a few observations about the latest Socialist proposal from Senator Marco Rubio, who seems to want to be the new John McCain. (I knew John McCain, Senator. You are no John McCain.) And yes, I called it Socialist. And so, it is. (Progressive, it should be noted, wishes to progress toward, eventually, Socialism.
It sounds good. (Progressive!) Why, of COURSE, Moms and Dads, and Grandma, should all have time off to bond with the new baby. Family is important. And so, it is. And fathers, breadwinners, have been for Eons, coming to see the new baby, gazing loving, if awkwardly at it, then heading back to the fields to plow and beat the rain. Because that baby has to eat. As does its Mom. And so, we work. Or, as in my own case, we go to sea, and come home to a baby months older than when we left. Because we have a job to do. It sounds great that we should give some time off, BUT: notice a couple of things. I just mimicked a progressive. Because it sounds good. But I did not mention Who gets to pay for it. The employer? No, he won’t. Or rather he will but will pass that along in lower wages for the one who gets the time off, more work for their coworkers while they are off, lower wages for them as well, because if the employer must pay for work not received, the money, Dear Marco, HAS to come from somewhere.
I remember a number of years ago, hearing Herself, Hillary, whining that the FMLA that her hubs had just signed “Only gave 6 weeks, when Mrs. It takes a Village, Idiot, felt sure that everyone would agree that 12 weeks was needed. And, of course, they should be paid for the time off. (See? Progressive: more is never enough, someone else has to pay for it, it sounds good)
Now, Marco s plan (and, by the way, Hillary’s) is that Government (at this point you should bow and genuflect and the mention of the great Deity of the Left) will pay for it. But what did we observe about Government? Think hard, I’ll wait.
…..
Right! Government Has. No. Money.
So, if Government pays for 12 weeks of new baby leave, (Am I the only one who finds it ironic that the same people who want the right to dismember said baby, alive, in the wombs, and sell its body parts to buy a Lamborghini, are the ones pushing hardest for this latest “Gummint” Freebie?) Gummint has to TAKE the money from somewhere.
(as a thought exercise, reach in your purse or wallet. Take out all your money. Count out 10%. Put it back in your wallet and put the 90% in an envelope marked Government. Feel happy? Because that was the top marginal tax rate under Jimmy Carter, before the Reagan revolution lowered it to 39%)
Now, Marco wants to pay for the leave by the mechanism of delaying retirement for an equal number of weeks, and essentially borrowing the money from the individual’s Social Security account. It seems too obvious to state, but
There IS NO Social Security Trust Fund. Congress long since spent that. What is paid out to current retirees must come in from current FICA taxes taken from current workers. Because: (Say it with me)
Government HAS-NO-MONEY!
So, if Dick and Jane, who both have to work, because Progressive taxes make it impossible for families to live on a single income, as they could when Dick and Jane helped us learn to read, have a baby, and both get 12 weeks paid family leave, not only are they NOT borrowing from an account which they will pay into later on, they are NOT paying in now for 12 weeks, and are increasing the amount taken out of Gummint revenues for 12 weeks. So, if we have current commitments now, the Dick and Jane times the number of babies born every month equals that much more that Marco would have us pay out right now. So, Government must reach into its wallet, and take out (Average 76,000 babies born each week in US times average salary of 48,000 time 2 parents comes to $7.6 billion each week time 12 weeks comes to 91 Billion to fund Marco s little program)
BUT! What have we learned? Government has no money.
So, 91 Billion must be borrowed, or taken out of other funds, or taken from payments to current retirees to pay for Marco s largesse. But, he would say, it will be paid back by the recipients working an extra 12 weeks till retirement.
Permit me to point out a few logical fallacies.
Dick and Jane might not live till retirement age.
Dick and Jane might not work till retirement age. (They might start drawing Disability)
Dick and Jane, having no particular incentive to save up and pay for this time, wont.
Human nature being what it is, freebies will encourage everyone to take the maximum available, so they don’t “get ripped off”. And, I’ll bet anyone reading this a 1000-dollar bill, that IF this were to pass, 12 weeks Gummint paid FMLA, taken out of SS, Progressives will figure out why that is not enough and come weeping to the mike and demand more. Any takers?
Now. Here is a proposal. Dick and Jane both work. Jane sees a sparkle in Dicks eyes, and Jane goes to a baby shower and gets the fever. Let’s have a baby, she says. Sure honey. How about next year? Meantime, we will both work an extra 5 hours of Overtime a week for the next year, and that will give us enough to pay our salaries for up to 12 weeks when the baby is born while we take off and change diapers.
There is one way to do it, involving personal responsibility.
Here is another. Insurers can offer a rider to Health policies that will pay supplemental income for a period of time after a birth. Couples of children bearing age can elect to pay for this rider and use it when they have their children.
And here is an even better idea for it, one certain to make Progressive head explode. If you are a Progressive who accidentally began reading this column, please, please stop reading. I’m not responsible for what happens if you continue.
Still here?
Ok, then. What if we had an organization dedicated to family planning, funded by large infusions of government money, and anxious to show that 97% of their function is women’s health issues. Wouldn’t that be an ideal organization to set up and offer family leave insurance and savings policies? Especially if they are large enough to have a multi-billion-dollar reserve, and a billion dollar a year budget? And doesn’t paid family leave sound better than “I want a Lamborghini?”
Yes, Marco, here is a cause for you to champion. Let us have Planned Parenthood set up and run family leave policies for prospective parents. After all, Planned Parenthood is what they are all about, right? Who needs another progressive socialist big government program? The answer was staring us in the face all along.
Mark Caserta: Has “The Swamp” come to Huntington, West Virginia?
9 SepDoes Huntington have its own progressive version of the “Deep State”?
Mark Caserta: Free State Patriot editor
September 8, 2018
During the past two years, I’ve written often about the so-called “Deep State” within our nation’s capital. This suspected syndicate of clandestine individuals wielding ominous power, possibly even elected by the American people, sanction an ideology antithetical to the peace and prosperity of our nation’s citizens.
These shadowy figures are resolute in their mission to destroy the Trump presidency, at all costs, simply to regain the power to negate his wins for Americans and return us to the “Obama era” and the successes of the progressive movement.
This past Friday, as former Huntington City Councilman, Scott Caserta, and I were filling in for Tom Roten on the “Tom Roten Morning Show” on 800 News Radio WVHU, one of our distinguished guests, Steven Davis had some thought-provoking input. Steven is the founder of the League of Principled Citizens and League of Principled Men and has his finger on the pulse of Huntington.
(Steven Davis: Founder of League of Principled Citizens and League of Principled Men)
During our interview, Steven referenced the Deep State within our city. Admittedly, the notion took me by surprise. But the evidence supporting the possibility is mounting. We discussed several key indicators that this may be a reality with which we must deal.
Has Huntington, WV. allowed the fostering of a Deep State within our own city? Have we allowed the spawn of progressive power and influence to prostitute our city for political expediency? Is there a network of individuals, each possessing applicable resources to include your tax dollars, local media and a “stump” from which to orate, determined to cripple our city for political gain?
As I’ve observed through the years, allegations of misappropriation of funds, inability to effectively manage a budget and inappropriate declarations of social injustice have materialized within our city’s leadership hierarchy. Now, in fairness, these are issues hundreds of cities across our nation face with comparable degrees of severity.
But very few cities in our country rise in comparison to Huntington, WV. when it comes to failure in effectively dealing with the opioid crisis and the subsequent collapse of infrastructure and sustainability. And sadly, it’s placed our once great city on the nation’s radar.
A March 7, 2017 Washington Post column by Christopher Ingraham revealed how the drug overdose related deaths in West Virginia helped overwhelm a “state program providing burial assistance for needy families for at least the fifth year in a row.” The column went on to share the program nearly ran out of money four months before the end of the fiscal year, per the WV Department of Health and Human Resources.
In 2015, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, West Virginia’s drug overdose rate stood at 41.5 cases per 100,000 residents, the highest rate in the country and nearly three times the national average.
And as 2020 Mayoral candidate, Scott Caserta observed on our radio show, “Those are just the ones reported!”
(Scott Caserta: 2020 Huntington Mayoral Candidate)
An October 2017, PBS News Hour show with Hari Sreenivasan, entitled, “America Addicted”, shared that opioids are now the biggest drug epidemic in American history.
The PBS team traveled to the Mountain State city of Huntington, WV for a first-hand glimpse of the problem. They discussed the fact that tragically embedded in what was deemed to be the biggest drug epidemic in American history, West Virginia had the highest death rate from drug overdoses in the country and Huntington was at the apex of city’s hardest hit by the epidemic.
A June, 2017 CNN column by Andrew Iden, entitled “An EMTs view from the front lines of America’s heroin crisis,” offered unique perspective from Gordon Merry, director of Cabell-Huntington Emergency Medical Services, which is on the front line of the battle against opioid addition.
“One overdose is too many. It is unacceptable. The people, I don’t know why they do it,” he said. “It’s destroying a whole generation. We’re losin’ em.”
The column shares Merry, while spending over 60 years in Huntington, is at a loss as to why people turn to the drug that is now, by local health estimates, “affecting a quarter of Cabell County’s population. A well-documented statistic revealed, at one point, the city endured 27 heroin overdoses in the “span of four hours,” per the column.
Now, I realize “common-sense” isn’t so common anymore, however, given the magnitude of Huntington’s drug problem and the escalation of associated crime, wouldn’t any intellectually honest person expect city leadership to heighten and empower levels of law enforcement within the city?
Yet, in January 2017, per WSAZ News in Huntington, WV., Huntington Mayor Steve Williams authorized the dismissal of 24 city employees from the Police and Fire Departments, along with announcing a hiring and nonessential spending freeze until further notice.
Mayor Williams explained:
“The fact is when we came down through the end of the fiscal year and knew that some things were tight, we asked for budgets as we were preparing for the coming year,” Mayor Steve Williams said on an edition of “First Look at Four.” “… the next thing, we look at where we are right now, and that’s when the overages in each department became extremely clear. This should’ve been seen sooner. This is nobody’s fault but mine.”
So, how has city leadership decided to address Huntington’s growing drug epidemic?
They haven’t. In fact, they’ve gone as far as enabling them in their addiction.
Cabell-Huntington’s health department, to maintain blood-borne diseases associated with intravenous drug use, began a needle exchange program, which provides drug users syringes free of charge when they return a used needle.
Two problems here: The first is the notion of someone avoiding a blood-borne disease when they’re dead seems like liberal reasoning to me.
Second, reported tracking of the needle exchange program reveals it is far from balanced. Only a percentage of needles are returned, completely negating the program’s purpose and providing a method of injection, at no cost, to an individual who probably doesn’t have the money to purchase it, otherwise.
Reportedly, 3,800 individuals visited the needle exchange from September 2015 through 2017,
“accounting for about 21,000 visits, an average of about six visits per person.”
The Kanawha-Charleston Health Department recently discontinued it “syringe exchange program” under pressure from local police. Charleston Police Chief Steve Cooper implemented a new set of regulations which included using “only retractable needles, serving only Kanawha County residents, requiring patients to present a government-issued ID to receive needles, and confining the program to a one-for-one needle exchange.
I suppose these common-sense requirements were simply too restrictive in nature. Yet, Cabell-Huntington Health Department continues its program fecklessly.
Another tool employed by local emergency medical entities involves the use of “Narcan”, a drug designed to block the effects of opioids in the brain and bring the overdosed individual back to consciousness.
Again, the problem is that while every life is precious and none of us would intentionally withhold the deployment of this drug if we could save a life, it simply does not address the issue. It enables it.
The underlying question from many individuals informed in the matter is, “Why do city leaders continue to execute steps proven to be ineffective in reducing opioid abuse in our city?”
Some believe it’s about money. I’ve heard the charge that “there is money in addiction”. Narcan, needles, counseling, and other associated services tending to the crisis, all put money, your money, into someone’s coffer.
Admittedly, 5 years ago, I would never have subscribed to such an allegation. After all, Huntington, my home town of nearly 60 years, is better than that! Our leaders are better than that! Our citizens would never allow that to happen!
But in 2018, the population of Huntington, WV. is on the decline. Good people are leaving. Our base of Christian conservatives is shrinking in comparison to the spawn of progressive, liberal-minded knuckleheads.
Are we losing the battle? Is there a Deep State of progressives spreading like a debilitating virus throughout the Tri-State? Does Huntington, WV. have their own local version of “the Swamp” filled with liberal vermin.
If so, what can the citizens of Huntington, WV. do to combat it?
I propose we escalate the fight. We must become informed and engaged -NOW!
My friend, Steven Davis, also made another profound declaration during our interview last Friday.
“You don’t drain a swamp, you fill it in!”
My jaw dropped when he eloquently spoke these words! Draining the swamp leaves a marshy, muddy mess which will only be inhabited by a different sort of critter. We must fill the swamp with rich, viable, business-friendly earth that will provide an environment for the return of business and quality residents to our area.
There was a time, Huntington was recognized as a city where one would desire to raise a family and nurture children. We were a town built on principle, ethics and with the peace and prosperity of its citizens in mind.
We can return. We can “Make Huntington Great Again”. But as we’ve seen on a national level, it means removing the ineffectual leadership and replacing it with someone who will put “Huntington first” rather than a liberal ideology.
I believe in you Huntington. There are no better people on earth. Those of us indigenous to the area know we are hard-working, intelligent, principled, God-fearing people.
Let’s take our city back. Let’s remove the cancer that’s growing and crippling the function of all other body parts.
Let’s do it by being informed, engaged, vocal, and avid voters.
May God bless and protect our city and our great people.
Mark Caserta: Help me write my next column! Please respond to this poll!
8 SepDo you read the Herald Dispatch newspaper in Huntington, WV?
- Always
- Sometimes
- Most of the time
- Never
- I’d rather use it for some sort of animal waste!
- I love the Herald Dispatch!
Please take 60 seconds to visit this poll and answer the question. You may select multiple options.
http://www.easypolls.net/poll.html?p=5b9404dee4b0564f7676d7f6
Sarah Thacker: Understanding Christianity and the Constitution
4 Sep
Sarah Thacker is a professional, free-lance writer and staff contributor to Free State Patriot.
September 4, 2018
I’ve read a lot of peoples’ thoughts on the Constitution lately, and the consensus is that because the word “God” isn’t specifically said in the document, the document itself wasn’t written by Christians and shouldn’t be read that way. I like reading various opinions, but this one is very short-sighted, and I’m going to tell you why in this column. By the end of it, you’ll come away with a better understanding of the Constitution and the people who wrote it.
The first thing you need to look at is the very first Amendment. It covers religious freedom. The very first one! It’s no accident that religious freedom came first. That was very intentional. The Founding Fathers thought it was more important to have religious freedom than free speech, the right to bear arms, or anything else. This is because they came from a place where the government told them which religion they had to practice. Plus, during America’s early years, many states had a state religion, and many people were advocates of a national religion, but they all fought about which one should be chosen. So, it’s easy to understand why freedom of religion was important to them.
Did you know that there are three different references to Jesus and Christianity in the Constitution? One was omitted, but the language is still there. It was in the First Amendment, the one guaranteeing religious freedoms. It originally read:
“All men have an equal, natural and unalienable right to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience; and that no particular sect or society of Christians ought to be favored or established by law in preference to others.” (Rowland, 1892)
Why was it important to make sure that no particular sect of Christianity was favored? Well, a lot of people assume that Christian is Christian, and don’t take into account that there are hundreds of different varieties. And, there were plenty of protestant sects, even in the 1700’s. This is part of why people came to America to escape religious persecution from England. At the time, there actually was one preferred religion in England: The Church of England. So, that language wasn’t added in there to include every religion, just to make sure that no one type of Christian was given prominence. And, for a long time, it was considered so important that the President actually went to a different church every Sunday so that it wouldn’t appear that he had any favorites. The reason it was removed was the Founding Fathers found it largely redundant. There really weren’t many other religions, or none that they knew of, so of course they didn’t think they needed to include others in the Constitution. It wasn’t a matter of arrogance, so much as ignorance during that time period.
The next mention of Christianity in the Constitution is in Article 1, Section 7.
“If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted), after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it.”
Now, unless you’re a Christian, it’s easy to miss the important part of that section. “Sundays excepted”. Why would Sundays be excepted? If the Founding Fathers meant to exclude Jewish religious observances, it would have said “Saturdays excepted”, or “Fridays excepted” if they were observing Muslim practices. But, they specifically indicated that the President, the government and its operations would cease work on Sunday in observance of Christian practices.
There’s one more mention, and it’s a big one. The Constitution may not say “God”. But you know what it DOES say? “Our Lord”. It specifically says:
“Done in convention by the unanimous consent of the states present the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven…”
If you’ve read any historical documents, this probably seems commonplace to you. But, there were other ways at the time to record dates and times without using Christian annotations. It gets even better: the term “our Lord” doesn’t refer to any generalized God. It doesn’t even refer to God, the father. It refers to God, the Son. That’s right: there’s a direct reference to Jesus in the United States Constitution!
So, it’s easy to see that Christian concepts were incorporated into our Constitution. It’s important to know that the Declaration of Independence states what the ideals of our country are, and the Constitution provides guidelines and rules about our government. So, if there is Christian language in both, logic dictates that they were intended to form a Christian nation.
And that’s exactly what they did!
“For the kingdom is the LORD’S And He rules over the nations.” Psalms 22:28
Mark Caserta: The War on Christianity is one we can win
2 Sep
Mark Caserta: Free State Patriot editor
September 2, 2018
The liberal media avoids promoting Christianity as the remedy for our nation’s woes, like it was the Bubonic Plague of the 1300’s.
The reason? Well, the precepts of Christianity, based on the teachings of Jesus, are the antithesis of everything the liberal media and progressives pursue in society. Principles and the steadfast standards of morality are way too cumbersome for the loosely principled liberal lifestyle.
Now, this is the point in the column where liberals stop reading, get angry and flagrantly respond in anger. They’re so pitifully predictable.
Recently, in a speech by President Trump to a group of evangelicals during a Monday night dinner, he warned the 2018 mid-term elections are “going to be a referendum on your religion”. Trump’s message, which was mischievously recorded by someone in the room, dealt with the extreme level of hatred and animus of the left toward the Trump presidency and its supporters along with their desire to “violently” negate every positive achievement of this administration.
To heck with the impact on our nation. That doesn’t even factor into their insidious, self-serving equation. They simply hate Trump more than they love America and his failure is more valuable to their movement, than America’s success.
The underlying premise of the president’s fervent plea with his evangelical audience was to implore them to vote and encourage others, who care about our nation’s future, to vote for candidates who will support the Christian ideology and faith in our Creator.
It’s no secret, liberal Democrats are anticipating success of the party, “not in power” during this upcoming election, which seems to be the trend, historically. In this case, the so-called “blue wave” or vast recovery of seats by the Democrats would be disastrous for our nation, our state and our communities. And I’ll tell you why.
From all the sources from whom I’m able to gather information, liberal Democrats are gearing up for the largest presidential rebuke in our nation’s history. Legal teams across the liberal plains are combining forces and preparing to challenge and reverse every action by President Trump. And for those matters they can’t dissolve expeditiously, they plan to tie up in the courts for years.
But, the Holy Grail for liberal Democrats is the impeachment of Donald J. Trump. And if they regain power, rules won’t matter. They’ll find a way to change them. Honor and integrity will never stand in the way of progressivism. In fact, honor and integrity simply aren’t required competencies to be a progressive. It’s much too restrictive.
It’s important to remember the definition of fake news is information designed to disingenuously influence others.
Remember the media during the 2016 presidential election ridiculing Donald Trump’s chances of winning the presidency? I recall most liberal outlets and progressive pundits constantly preparing us for the inevitable election of Hillary Clinton as our next president. This presumptive message continued throughout the evening of November 8th, 2016, as voters traveled to and from the polls.
Thankfully, conservative Christians weren’t deterred by the fake news.
If you remember, the exact same thing happened during exit polling of the presidential elections involving George W. Bush and Senator’s John Kerry and Al Gore. Exit polls were conclusively reporting Bush would lose! Both times they were wrong!
We must not succumb to the influence of the liberal media. They do not like you or care about you in any shape, form or manner. All they care about is power. They operate under the guise of compassion and totally inclusive tolerance, until they own you.
Liberal Democrats are perpetually attempting to purchase the vote of any demographic they deem disenfranchised by the right, such as illegal aliens, African Americans, women, the LGBT crowd, the Ecology crowd, and any religion that’s “not” Christianity.
The only demographic they will never own is Christians. And they can’t stand you because you were instrumental in electing Donald Trump. Trust me when I tell you they are going to do everything in their power to make you pay the ultimate price.
I recall the Monday evening prayer vigil at our church the day before the 2016 presidential election. We joined believers around the country who realized this was the most important election in their lifetime. If Hillary Clinton was elected, it meant, at least, four more years of failed liberal policies that were killing our country. We gathered, we prayed and we placed the outcome in God’s Hands.
The good news is Hillary lost and our nation is rebounding in a miraculous manner!
But the battle isn’t over.
It’s time to come together as Christians, once again and leverage our authority in the name of Jesus. It’s time we begin controlling that which God has called us to maintain here on earth and envelope ourselves in the purpose for which each of us is called.
And I submit we reference the only inerrant manual ever known to mankind – the Bible, for our battle plan.
First, we must recognize the enemy.
Ephesians 6:12 says, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
Please don’t doubt me when I tell you that’s exactly what we’re facing. This is no longer about political parties. It’s about the very soul of our nation. And this is a battle we can win!
Matthew 16:18-19 says,” Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
As Christians, we’ve been given the power and authority to bind attacks of the enemy using the name of Jesus. We can also “loose” his power on our behalf from Heaven, with our faith and spoken word. We won’t be alone in the battle. God has told us many times, He would never leave us or forsake us.
Matthew 18:20-23 says, “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them”. He will be in our midst, strengthening the bond.
And in what liberals will perceive as our weakest moment, God’s Mighty Hand will prevail, delivering us from evil.
So, from whence comes our strength during the fight? Admittedly, the liberal media can wear upon our faith with a constant barrage of negativity!
“Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not yet seen,” according to Hebrews 11:1. We can’t allow what we “see” to override what we “know” to be the truth. Progressives are constantly trying “shock in awe” to desensitize us to sin all around us. Don’t fall prey to this manipulation!
Psalm 16:11 tells us, “…In thy presence is fullness of joy.” This is extremely important! When Paul and Silas were chained and imprisoned, they did the unthinkable. They began praising God and singing hymns! Suddenly, their chains were loosed and the bars flew open! I’m committed to doing exactly the opposite of what liberals want me to do!
Nehemiah 8:10 tells us, “…The joy of the Lord is your strength.”
I take joy every time I’m attacked by a liberal. They attack that which they fear! Don’t forget that! The fiercer the attack, the more they fear you. Why do you think they attack President Trump so vehemently?
So, here’s the plan.
First, don’t all prey to fake news. Realize it’s a trick of the enemy, working through the liberal media.
Second, begin praising God for the victory before it even happens! This will drive the enemy crazy!
Third, take joy in the fact that we’ve read the end of the book and we know Jesus Christ has already paid the price and given us every tool we need to be winners on earth and bring great change to our nation.
Just as we did in 2016.
Finally, register to vote and on November 6th, get to the polls and show the world we are more than Christians, we are “overcomers!”
If we stay lockstep in this battle plan, it’s impossible for us to lose. And losing simply isn’t an option.
Free State Patriot 