Mark Caserta: Christians’ votes can make the difference

26 Feb

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Christians, are you happy with the state of our union? Are you comfortable that our nation’s leaders represent us and govern without Godly values and a servant’s heart?

Well, you must be.

Despite the fact that most Christians I know would agree our nation is severely lacking in terms of its reliance upon the biblical precepts and principles of its founding, millions of potential evangelical voters are content to live their lives on the sidelines and stay out of politics altogether.

According to a December 2015 Gallup Poll, about 75 percent of Americans identify with a Christian religion. The poll described the “Christian” category to include Catholics, Protestants, Mormons and non-denominational Christians.

The U.S. Census Bureau website shows that around the same time

period, our nation had just over 318 million citizens, with 77 percent over the age of 18. Without getting too bogged down in the math, that equates to just over 183 million potential Christian voters.

To put that number in perspective, Barack Hussein Obama won the 2012 presidential election with just under 66 million popular votes! It isn’t difficult to see what sort of impact Christians could have if they would simply get out the vote!

The Providence Forum, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to “preserve, defend and advance the faith and values consistent with those of our nation’s founding,” recently shared an online analysis of the Christian vote in America.

The edition, entitled “Your Vote Matters,” revealed that only 50 percent of Christians in America are even registered to vote. Of those, only 50 percent actually show up at the polls. This means that around 75 percent of all Christians aren’t doing their part to mold the future of our nation. That’s over 137 million voters!

The apparent apathy of Christian voters in executing their spiritual duty to God, their patriotic duty to their country and their kindred duty to their family is simply inexcusable. If Christians would fulfill their responsibility and vote, not only would we attract more candidates that share our belief system, we would win every presidency in a landslide!

In my lifetime, I can’t recall our country ever being as derailed from the temporal tracks of morality as it is now. The progressive movement is effectively spreading its liberal theology into every nook and cranny of our nation, to include our schools, government and even churches! And they’re tenaciously attacking every semblance of God and replacing it with their sliding scale of morality.

But this doesn’t have to happen. With a little studying of the issues, some fervent prayer and a 30-minute trip to the polling booth, you can make all the difference.

There is power in unity and the sideline is no place for a Christian. Remember, Jesus took only 12 men and shook the world. And He told us we will “do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”

Your vote matters. Now, more than ever.

Because without the Christian vote in November, we lose – period.

Mark Caserta is a conservative blogger and a Cabell County resident.

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Mark Caserta: America’s very future depends on court’s balance

19 Feb

 

Over the years, the U.S. Supreme Court has become a prized possession for the reigning political party. It’s balance, whether conservative or liberal leaning, denotes potentially decades of consequences for “We the People.”

 

Understand, a successful confirmation to the Supreme Court is a lifetime appointment. And while the very vital role these justices play in our judicial system involves interpreting, not transforming the law, the progressive evolution of the court’s discretionary character has unfortunately acquiesced to paltry judicial activism for their party.

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In recent history the Supreme Court has given us Roe v. Wade, Obamacare and nationalized gay marriage. These progressive rulings alone have dramatically changed the face of America and left our children facing many unknown challenges.

No doubt, conservatism has seen its share of setbacks. But we may have just incurred one of our biggest.

 

Last Saturday, our nation’s leading conservative voice on the Supreme Court died at the age of 79. Multiple news agencies reported Justice Antonin Scalia died in his sleep during a visit to Texas. Unsurprisingly, his passing sparked a flurry of debate on the terms of filling the vacancy.

 

Should Obama or the next president and Senate be charged with nominating and confirming Scalia’s replacement? With Democrat leadership calling for the seat to be filled right away, President Obama vowed to nominate a replacement.

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“There will be plenty of time for me to do so and for the Senate to fulfill its responsibility to give that person a fair hearing and a timely vote,” Obama said. “These are responsibilities that I take seriously, as should everyone.”

 

Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., quickly called for the vacancy to be filled after the Obama presidency.

 

“The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president,” McConnell said in a statement.

 

Now, over the next few weeks, you’ll hear political pundits argue that Scalia’s absence imperils the 5-4 conservative majority on the court.

 

But I’m afraid the risk is much greater for conservatives.

 

There are really only two conservative justices left in the high court — Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito Jr. Justices Anthony Kennedy and Chief Justice John Roberts are, in my opinion, moderates. That leaves a court laden with the staunch liberal views of Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Steven Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.

Another progressive addition to the court would secure disaster for conservatism as we know it. So for now, the Senate must stand firm on confirming the right nominee.

 

Incredulously, while the Constitution spells out multiple requirements for becoming president or even a member of Congress, it mentions no rules for joining the Supreme Court! A justice doesn’t even have to have judicial experience!

 

Placing such unmitigated power into the hands of potentially unqualified individuals makes no sense.

 

It’s time to alleviate the long-term political impact of an unbalanced court.

 

We must act now to add term limits for Supreme Court justices as well as establish clearly defined qualifications.

 

Mark Caserta is a conservative blogger, a Cabell County resident and a regular contributor to The Herald-Dispatch editorial page.

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Mark Caserta: Be wary of tactics to influence voters

12 Feb

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Mark Caserta: Free State Patriot Editor

2.12.16

It may surprise you that Donald Trump’s massive presence in liberal media outlets such as MSNBC or CNN isn’t meant to educate the voter as to his qualifications to be president.

Understand neither Democrats nor the liberal media want the villainous Hillary Clinton having to face anyone but Republican real-estate mogul Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. In fact, he may be the only chance she’s got.

 

The recent Iowa caucuses were a perfect example.

Nearly every single poll (including the esteemed Des Moines Register and Bloomberg) had Trump up in entrance polling by as many as 5 points over Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. At one point leading up to the voting, some polls had Trump up by as many as 22 points!

But that doesn’t mean he ever was.

You see, there’s something about the human psyche that makes folks want to go with a “winner.” And the major media players count on that. They believe they can influence the outcome of an election with early polling “slanted” toward their candidate feigning a substantial lead – so don’t waste your vote!

It turns out, Cruz won by nearly 4.5 points, nearly a 9 point turnaround. In this case, the incredulous consideration of Donald Trump as the GOP candidate was just too surmounting to be overcome by any media ploy.

Now, don’t get me wrong. This tactic isn’t proprietary for the liberal media. Other major conservative channels like Fox News are just as guilty of tilting the voter’s focus one direction or another.

For example, it’s pretty obvious to me that initially the Fox News tailwinds were in the sails of Jeb Bush. After all, the Bush legacy has been kind to owner Rupert Murdoch. But after seeing the Jeb ship wasn’t seaworthy, the talking heads jumped on Mario Rubio’s speed boat. And clearly the questions and interview angles given Rubio are slow pitches compared to the knuckle balls thrown at Ted Cruz and other candidates.

It’s a pretty sad state of affairs, actually. We have the national liberal media promoting the weakest possible GOP candidate while providing Hillary an endless supply of “get out of jail free” cards. And we have the comparative conservative media attempting to influence their lion share of voters with sometimes fair and “unbalanced” reporting.

So, don’t fall prey to this nuanced reporting and skewed polls. If we’ve learned anything from recent history, it isn’t only the politicians who will lie to you – some media outlets will as well.

Mark Caserta is a conservative blogger, a Cabell County resident and a regular contributor to The Herald-Dispatch editorial page.

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Doug Smith: Thieves, Robbers and politics

12 Feb
DOUG SMITH
Doug Smith: Author, historian and lead contributor to Free State Patriot
2.12.16
I was a sailor. One thing any sailor will tell you is that we do not tolerate thieves.  A thief on a ship is dealt with quickly by his superiors, lest an accident befall him.
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Life falling overboard holding an anchor.
There is good reason for this attitude.  Ships are notoriously crowed. There is little personal space and almost no privacy. The few personal items we carried; books, letter writing material, candy, coffee cups were cherished and very precious to us. Steal from one shipmate and incur the wrath of all.  If you don’t respect his stuff, you won’t respect mine.
Throughout history, people have cherished their “stuff”.  Handmade knife, corn worked for and tended with sweat and labor throughout the growing season, a pot, a bowl, a pig fattened all year to feed the family for the winter. And just as surely, there have always been thieves and robbers.
(Disclaimer: I have heard it said “There is nothing in my house worth taking a life over.  If a thief wants what I’ve got, it’s better to let him have it. “I disagree. Come to my house to take what I’ve got, what I’ve worked and sweated and sacrificed for, and Ill “let you have it, alright.” Center mass. Two shots.)
And that is, after all, the point. My stuff is not “just stuff.” It is the result, for good or ill, of my hard work, my choices, my investments of the limited number of hours and days of my life. If you steal from me that which took me a week’s work to earn, you are stealing a week of my life. And I will defend it.
Thus it has been with thieves from early times.  A thief makes the judgement that the easiest “work” is to let you sweat and save and sacrifice and struggle for that which he wants. Then, while you rest from your labors, to come and take it, and sneak away. That the result of a week, or a month, of your labor goes with him, and hence a week of your life, concerns him not at all. You have it. He wants it. That is his entire reasoning and morality. Why he wants it does not matter, his desire outweighs your rights.
The robber is a bit more industrious, but no more moral. The robber will not sneak, but will take your stuff, and by the same extension, pieces of your life, by force with weapons or threats. He will not sneak to steal it, he will demand that you surrender it to his desires. Again, his desire outweighs your rights.
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The most energetic robbers in history, and the best, manage to wrap themselves in a mantle of respectability. Pharaoh of all Egypt (give me your corn and work on my projects, or I will send my soldiers to kill you.) King of Kings, Agamemnon.  First Ill beat Athens, then I force Athens to help me beat Sparta, then force them both to help me beat Troy. Henry Fitz-Empress, 2nd of that name, First Plantagenet, most able soldier of an able time, a King at 21, and ruled in his time an Empire greater than Charlemagne.
These energetic robber kings use a tried and tested formula. Be good at fighting. Beat someone up, but promise to let them live if they help you. Then the 2 of you can beat up on more, and rob them of gold, food, animals, labor, and daughters, whatever you wish. Eventually, you have enough powerful, but less powerful than you, robbers, who will join with you in robbing the labors of thousands, or millions, in return for a share of the booty, and support for your ambitions.
Henry II, Plantagenet King of England, was a prime example of this principle. He lived in a fine castle, but he was not a builder: he was a soldier. He ate the finest foods, which he neither grew nor killed: he was, again, a soldier. And he spawned the bloodiest royal House in British history, with countless commoners, and not a few “royals” slaughtered in the name of their ambitions. (See the Hundred Years War)
But it all came down to robbery.  What Henry and his heirs wanted, someone would provide, because his Sheriffs would collect his taxes at the point of a sword.  It was their disregard for the possessions of others that led to one major step forward in people asserting and demanding their property rights from Henry’s son, John, the Magna Carta. (See Ivanhoe, and Runnymede)
But it is all about our “stuff”. If I am free, but must give you all I earn or produce, my freedom is meaningless and my incentive to produce what I can is only as much as you can force me to do for you. Conversely, the more I am free to keep what I produce, the more I will strive to do so, for my own benefit. Free societies, thus, are always more productive and wealthy than slave societies.
So, (apologies to those who are not lovers of history, like me) what does this little history lesson on thievery do for us today?
Well, let’s see if we can find the thieves and robbers today.  If Bill Gates decides to spend a billion dollars to fight diseases among poor countries, he has the money to spend, and has a generous impulse, and does it. Bill is a philanthropist.
If Congressman Leghorn Foghorn decides to give a billion dollars to his district to build the Foghorn Leghorn Bridge, when he makes $ 150,000 a year, where, we must ask, will he get that money?  If Foggie gets $ 2,500,000 in speaking fees to talk for half an hour to the Bridge Builders Association, and the Department of Architecture housed in Leghorn Hall at Podunk State, what could make his words that valuable? If 1000 people in his district get 10,000 bucks a piece for building his bridge, (that would be $ 10,000,000)
But Foggie is sure of a few thousand votes in November because of all the palms he has greased. Palms belonging to people who said in their hearts, we need this. Somebody has to pay us.
Foggie doesn’t have to come up with the Billion.   The IRS and Sherriff will do that for him, from people who live a long way from his district, and have no interest in Foggie, or his bridge, or Local 864U of the Bridge builders, but have to pay up or the Sherriff will take their homes for which they have worked.
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So, in this little morality tale, we can find the robbers, and the thieves, and the serfs, robbed again.
Robin Hood, after all, took from the Sheriffs and John’s nobles to give back to those who had it taken from them. The Magna Carta was forced out of John to respect the rights of his Barons, because he was squeezing too much from them.
No one likes a thief. Some will not tolerate a thief. And eventually, the thieves and robbers are cornered at Runnymede and told “Enough.”
With April 15 coming, and Primaries just beyond that, and a General Election in November, perhaps it is time we all read about John at Runnymede, play a little game of “Who’s the Thief?”, and ask ourselves, “Enough?”

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Mark Caserta: Will the rule of law be applied to Hillary?

6 Feb

2013 0613 caserta 01

Mark Caserta: Free State Patriot Editor

  • Updated Feb 5, 2016

 

Have some government officials risen so high in political power that they’ve indeed risen above the law? Do Americans still value the rule of law over the ruler?

Consider retired Gen. David H. Petraeus, arguably one of the finest minds in military history and certainly a man who played a major role in the U.S. success in the Iraq War.

Originally appointed by George W. Bush to head multinational forces in the 2007 surge in Iraq, Petraeus later served as commander-in-chief of Central Command, head of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, and as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

But even Petraeus wasn’t above the law.

In April 2015, he pleaded guilty to providing classified information to his former mistress and biographer and was sentenced, in a plea deal, to two years of probation and ordered to pay a $100,000 fine by a North Carolina court, as reported by Reuters.

So if a decorated general, who no doubt helped save American lives, isn’t above the impropriety of compromising classified information, should an ex-secretary of state?

 

Fast-forward to last Friday, where an Associated Press Newsbreak, written by Bradley Klapper, reported the Obama administration had finally confirmed that Hillary Clinton’s home server contained closely guarded government secrets and at least 22 emails that contained material requiring one of the highest levels of classification, despite telling the American people that she had “never sent or received any material marked classified.”

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The article went on to say the AP had learned of seven email chains containing “top secret” information so highly restricted that it would not be released even with redactions.

“The documents are being upgraded at the request of the intelligence community because they contain a category of top secret information,” State Department spokesman John Kirby told the AP, calling the withholding of documents in full “not unusual.” That means they won’t be published online with others being released, even with blacked-out boxes.

In what I believe was a calculated attempt to “feign” her innocence, Clinton campaign spokesman Brain Fallon issued a classic Clinton bluff.

“We firmly oppose the complete blocking of the release of these emails,” Fallon said. “Since first providing her emails to the State Department more than one year ago, Hillary Clinton has urged that they be made available to the public. We feel no differently today.”

Right! The Clinton camp knows these top secret emails can never be released, further compromising national security, hence the assuming dare to release them.

As a younger man, I viewed hours of the Watergate hearings with great wonder. Soon thereafter, I witnessed President Nixon tender his resignation, fearing impeachment from an espionage operation inside the offices of the Democratic National Committee. While tragic, the system worked and forever changed politics as we know it.

 

Now, over 40 years later, could we be witnessing Hillary’s escape from indictment for far greater crimes against these United States of America?

If so, Americans will never again be able to trust that the rule of law will apply indiscriminately in Washington.

 

Mark Caserta is a conservative blogger, a Cabell County resident and a regular contributor to The Herald-Dispatch editorial page

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Doug Smith: Age and Experience

6 Feb

DOUG SMITH

Doug Smith: Author, Historian and lead contributor to Free State Patriot

 

One of the (many, and legitimate) criticisms of Obama is his lack of experience before taking the Presidency. Many are leveling the same criticism at the top 4 GOP candidates for the replacement. It is worth noting that despite many with a great deal of experience, the folks are choosing people they think would do a better job without the experience of say, a Chris Christie or a Jeb Bush.  The founders did not include a requirement of political experience for the Presidency. Only age (which ostensibly equates to experience and wisdom, but then, they never met Donald Trump) and citizenship (which ostensibly equates to interest and loyalty to the nation, but again, they never met Barack Obama).

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Ought we to add to the requirements a demonstrated time of successful public service? Then a back bencher, who had the Gallipoli disaster on his resume, could never have become the Churchill who saved England. Perhaps it is more the nature of one’s experience that matters. Demonstrably, community organizing, encouraging riots and civil disobedience, orchestrating shakedowns of successful businesses, do not equate to preparation to lead a nation. While a failed shopkeeper may learn from his mistakes enough to lead an Army to victory and a nation to begin rebuilding.
Ought we to raise the minimum age, noting that 35 was well into the last quarter of life in the 1780s? Well, perhaps, but age, as we can well note, does not always denote wisdom or ability. Certain it is that not all our elders are men of vision or wisdom. How do we choose leaders that will make us better off than we were, who will keep us safe, who will increase our freedoms and not become tyrants?
Chances are, we will do none of these things. For we are of an era who chooses our leaders by the mob, as led by the most successful demagogues. And who has the courage to oppose the mob?
Mr. Churchill did, and the mob threw him under the double decker bus as soon as their need for a war time leader was past.

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Do we have leaders of such vision, who, knowing the will lead the people through a crisis, and then be left behind, will lead anyway? How do we as a people choose to delegate our personal power into political power to leaders of wisdom and prudence?  How do we function as a free people, and not as a mob?
Free people stood toe to toe with the British Army and forged a nation. Free people carved out a government that set the stage for the most successful nation in history. The mob?
The mob is Robespierre, the French Terror, and the Guillotine.  The mob is Ferguson. The mob is Baltimore. The mob is Melissa Glick, the Mizzou prof who assaulted a student reporter and called, like some drug addled Marc Antony for the mob to come and complete her work.   The mob is senseless violence, soiling one’s own nest, turning on one’s own, for imagined slights and a sense of entitlement. Barack Obama depends on the mob for his leadership.

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The survivors of Lexington and Concord did not expect anyone to give them anything. They did demand to be left alone to pursue their business and make their lives. They formed a government for mutual defense and common cause, to have life, liberty, and to pursue, each in his own way, and with his own effort, happiness.
If we are to be a free people, we must choose leaders who are committed to leading a free people. If we choose the loudest voice in the mob, we will become the mob. Or its victims.

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Doug Smith: Here’s to flawed candidates

1 Feb

DOUG SMITH

Doug Smith: Author, Historian and lead contributor to Free State Patriot

 

Donald Trump is a flawed candidate. Ted Cruz is a flawed candidate. But I’m not waiting for a perfect candidate. I’m ok with flawed. I am flawed. (Don’t let my wife read this!) I just want him to do a better job than the current POTUS. That is not a very high bar.

Trump and Cruz both bring a lot to the discussion, and address anger of the electorate and the fight against the decline of the country.

So I am not happy at NRO and the GOP throwing darts at Trump, and, to a lesser extent, Cruz, the number 1 and 2 candidates for our party; one in the name of Ideological purity and the other in the interest of status quo. Come on! No Republican candidate should have to run against both the Democrats and the GOP.

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So how about we stop shooting at our wounded and think of reasons to vote for the next flawed POTUS.

Let’s throw the darts at Liberal Democrat policies. Let’s blast radicals and criminals who want to rule over us. (Not govern, Rule!)

NRO and the GOP leadership maintain it risky to believe what Trump says. Yet is it less risky to believe Mitch McConnell? John Boehner? Paul Ryan? Bush 41? Bush 43?

Has Mitch “repealed Obamacare, root and branch “, as he promised, or raced with Boehner to surrender to Obama’s every whim?

George HW Bush said, ” Read my Lips: No new taxes. “ Followed by, I’m in, I can deal with Ted Kennedy, thanks for the votes, but you’re screwed.”

Dubya said “I am a compassionate Conservative.” That translated to only 12 vetoes in 8 years, and huge increases in entitlement spending.

McConnell, Boehner, Bush 41, Bush 43 were all flawed Republicans.

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I first pulled the lever for Republican Ronald Reagan over Jimmy Carter. Reagan was a great, though flawed, President. I have consistently voted since then, for flawed GOP candidates. Sometimes I had to hold my nose, as when voting for John McCain, then wolfing down the Alka-Seltzers.

I have been pretty consistently lied to and betrayed by the GOP who ostensibly shares and will fight for my values for a long time. We had a brief shining moment with the Gingrich insurgency’s Contract with America, followed by increasingly blatant lies from my own party. That’s right, it was mine. I voted, I sent money, I worked to see Republicans elected. I saw a GOP takeover of my home state, WV’s legislature, for the 1st time in 80 years.

And for what? Could Obama have done any better with Democrats in control? The fact that a lifelong Republican can ponder that question speaks volumes to the flaws in the GOP.

Perhaps it is a bit Nihilistic to support Trump, a flawed candidate, hoping that his words will be more true than the GOP has been, that he will act on the ” Plague on both your houses” feeling, and, emulating Jesus with the money changers, tear down some comfortable crooks in the most second most corrupt crime family in history, The US Congress. (The Clinton Foundation, of course, is number one, with the Gambinos just behind.)

I recall William F Buckley’s Dictum to support the most conservative candidate who can viably hope to be elected.

We did not do that with Bob Dole. Or John McCain. Or Mitt Romney. Or even George W Bush. That gave us several losses and liberal Presidents. And one big government Progressive Republican. (That is what compassionate conservative apparently means.)

So, what does that leave us? We have a number of flawed people running for President. One of these flawed candidates is going to be the next POTUS.

We can easily look around and know we don’t need 4 more years of Liberalism.

Here’s to our flawed candidates.

 

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Doug Smith: A Way to end the “Cornfusion” in Iowa

30 Jan

 

 DOUG SMITH

Doug Smith:  Author, Historian and lead contributor to Free State Patriot

It is time to clear up the Cornfusion in Iowa.

 Ethanol from Corn has NOT worked out as a fuel source. Neither has Cold Fusion. (See what I did there?)   After all, what has Iowa given us? The Music Man, Jimmy Carter, Barack Obama, and ethanol.

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 We don’t need ethanol in our cars. We certainly don’t need another Jimmy Obama. We do need that clarity.  So, here are my thoughts: 

 My neighboring state of Kentucky has a successful industry converting corn into ethanol. The Kentucky form of ethanol does not pollute or hurt car engines. It does not required taxpayer subsidies to survive: it sells very well, without coercion, and produces a tidy tax base.

 Whiskey has a long tradition in America. It was once practically currency. (See the Whiskey Rebellion)

 The 2 big centers for American Whiskey are Kentucky and Tennessee. Once, the technology centers were Boston and Silicon Valley. Then Raleigh, NC came up with Research Triangle and the 3rd great center was born.  

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  The time has come for Iowa whiskey. The corn is already there. Distilleries are already there. Add some oak barrels, some transplanted Scots, or Irishmen, or Kentuckians, and we have a whole new industry, ready to explode on the scene.  

 Or…NASCAR.  I can see it now: The Ethanol 500. We’ll promote it at the Newton Motor Speedway in Iowa. All cars for the race will be modified to run on pure Iowa Whiskey. It doesn’t need to be aged in Oak barrels for this. West Virginians will be glad to supply them with Mason Jars.  

  Never mind, we will work out the details.  I’ll get a jacket for the Landon Cassel (NASCAR driver from Iowa, for the uninitiated) team.  Kellogg’s can be a sponsor. 

 We can further start an Off Broadway venue and drum (see what I did there?) it up as the new face of Iowa. We can build the Professor Harold Hill Theater, on River City Drive. And the patrons, who will come from far and wide, can have a few shots of Paroo Whiskey along with their Corn Pudding for dinner before the show. 

 Baseball!  Kevin Costner showed us the way. Baseball diamonds in the midst of corn rows. Iowa needs the next MLB expansion team. Who doesn’t love baseball, and of course, Corn Dogs!

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 Politics is only every 4 years, but whiskey is all the time. Baseball has a nice long season. And they will all turn out for the games. Yes, the Sioux City Hawks will have a large and loyal following. Taking a note from Green Bay, they can wear a corn cob hat. 

 Those Hawkeyes are not very good at politics. The winners of the Hawkeye “Cauceye” are more often the loser than the winner of the big Enchilada. (That would be the Presidency, not the Mexican food made with, yep, you guessed it, corn). Yes, they will be making so much money, and having so much fun, that the next political train wreck “a La Carter” or Obama will have to come from somewhere else.

 Arkansas, perhaps.  

 This will work!

 

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Mark Caserta: Iran nuclear deal could yield disaster

29 Jan

mark

Mark Caserta: Free State Patriot Editor

1.29.16

Americans believe terrorism is our No. 1 problem, according to a recent Gallup Poll.

But could the U.S. actually be helping finance terrorist activity? Well, according to our nation’s top diplomat, it’s very likely.

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As reported by multiple news agencies, Secretary of State John Kerry admitted last week that a portion of the billions of dollars of U.S. sanctions relief from the Obama administration’s controversial nuclear deal with Iran will likely support terrorist groups. During an interview just outside the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Kerry confirmed the stunning information.

 

“I think that some of it will end up in the hands of the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) or other entities, some of which are labeled terrorists,” he acknowledged to CNBC. “You know, to some degree, I’m not going to sit here and tell you that every component of that can be prevented.”

 

These “labeled” terrorists could acquire a portion of roughly $100 billion in sanctions relief, according to the U.S. Treasury Department. The money, derived mainly from Iranian oil sales, has reportedly been tied up in international banks as a result of the sanctions. But now, these funds are being freed into the hands of people who really don’t care much for America.

 

So, let me see if I understand this scenario. Not only is the United States paving the way for a nuclear prolific Iran and a potential arms race in the Middle East, we’re actually going to help finance the terrorists who will eventually seek to use it toward our destruction?

 

Frankly, the elements of this agreement reach new levels of lunacy. Appeasement and compromise have always been deemed acts of weakness by our enemies and come as no surprise from this administration. But any proposition that actually helps fund our nation’s greatest fear seems to me to be nothing short of treason.

 

Iran has been recognized by the U.S. State Department as a state sponsor of terror for years and has never given America any reason to trust it – in fact, quite the opposite.

Iran has perpetually lied about its nuclear aspirations, claiming it was strictly for peaceful purposes.

 

A December 2015 report issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency indicated that Iran “had carried out activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device” and that some activities may still be ongoing.

 

And Iran remains a sworn enemy of the U.S. and Israel. In March 2015, amid negotiations with the United States and its allies, a speech by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was interrupted by the chant “Death to America.” He reportedly smiled and responded, “Of course yes, death to America.”

 

Americans simply cannot feel safe with an administration that consistently proves it’s willing to gamble with lives for no other reason than to adorn this president’s legacy.

 

We need leadership in 2016 that will put an end to this deal and other “fruits” of this failed liberal experiment.

 

Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran just might be pivotal to disaster for the U.S.

 

Mark Caserta is a conservative blogger, a Cabell County resident and a regular contributor to The Herald-Dispatch editorial page.

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Mark Caserta: Republicans must support their nominee

22 Jan

mark

Mark Caserta: Free State Patriot Editor

1.22.16

As I watch members of the GOP cannibalize their own day after day, I can’t help but wonder if we might be witnessing the total collapse of the Republican Party as we’ve come to know it.

Following President Obama’s final State of the Union address last week, the Republican response was given by South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. Now, typically, the response is used to offer the GOP perspective of the state of the union, often in stark contrast with the president’s. But this address was very different.

 

A significant portion of the governor’s speech took aim at Republican leaders and their rightful ownership of the dysfunction of Washington.

“We as Republicans need to own that truth,” she added. “We need to recognize our contributions to the erosion of the public trust in America’s leadership. We need to accept that we’ve played a role in how and why our government is broken.”

 

Well spoken, empress of the obvious. While confession is good for the soul, only substantive solutions will change the ebb and tide of this political storm.

 

But then, and possibly for the first time ever in a state of the union response, Haley and the GOP establishment she represented proceeded to challenge the Republican presidential front-runner, Donald Trump, and his hardcore stance on immigration.

 

“Immigrants have been coming to our shores for generations to live the dream that is America. They wanted better for their children than for themselves,” she said. While the immigration system must be repaired, she said, “During anxious times, it can be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices. We must resist that temptation. No one who is willing to work hard, abide by our laws, and love our traditions should ever feel unwelcome in this country.”

 

While I’m no fan of “the Donald,” how can the GOP be so short-sighted! Heaven forbid that Trump would indeed win the Republican nomination, but stranger things have happened. What if he’s successful at carrying this torch to his final destination? What if Americans really feel they’ve exhausted all other options? Where will Republicans be then?

It’s very telling that not only are half of Americans willing to give a neurotic liar and a professed socialist a shot at the presidency in order to perpetuate their progressive, leftist regime, a significant portion of the right are considering a paradigm shift in their conservative mentality simply to get our nation back on track. Hence, the Trump factor.

 

The one condition most Americans can surely agree upon is the state of our nation is in no way being improved by the listless group of elected officials who have lied and bamboozled their way into office only to sell their constituencies down the river. And the GOP is falling exceedingly short in presenting a unified front with real solutions to our nation’s woes.

 

And if Republicans refuse to support their party’s nominee in 2016, it may indeed be the end of the Grand Ole’ Party in the U.S.

 

Mark Caserta is a conservative blogger, a Cabell County resident and a regular contributor to The Herald-Dispatch editorial page.

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