There has been a change to the location for tomorrow's Cecil County Tea Party. It will be at the property next to the McDonald’s in Elkton MD on Rt. 40 & Rt. 213.

We’ll be there from 11am - 1pm.

The special guest will be Charles Lollar, as well as a great lineup of speakers and entertainment.

 See you there!

*** If you have a Facebook account, you can join the Cecil County Tea Party Group.

Here is an email sent to me by a Honduran lawyer about the crisis in Honduras. This has been going around Honduran emails and multiple Honduran citizens confirm its accuracy. I haven't had time to transalate, so polish up your high school Spanish...

    Líderes de diferentes sectores instaron a los hondureños a quedarse en casa y no participar en la consulta que el presidente Manuel Zelaya tiene previsto realizar el domingo para impulsar reformas constitucionales en Honduras, por considerarlas ilegales.
     
    "No apoyamos eso porque es ilegal", dijo Elvin Santos, candidato presidencial del oficialista Partido Liberal, de Zelaya, a la cadena local de radio HRN. ¿Quién distribuyó los materiales y quién contará los votos?. Sencillamente lo hará la gente del gobierno".
     
    "Entonces, no hay ninguna credibilidad ni trasparencia. Se dice que debemos votar por miedo al gobierno, pero ¡por Dios Santo!, los liberales no tenemos miedo, solo queremos que no se atente contra nuestros principios democráticos", añadió.
     
    Advirtió que "él (Zelaya) se está quedando huérfano del apoyo popular y del apoyo de los liberales... y eso es peligrosísimo para un presidente".
     
    Santos participará en las elecciones generales de noviembre
     
    El Comisionado Nacional de Derechos Humanos, Ramón Custodio, sostuvo que "aquí hay un circo político en el cual podemos escoger entre ser espectadores, payasos o fieras. Por eso, recomiendo a la gente sensata ser simples espectadores... y el único responsable de cualquier cosa que suceda es Zelaya".
     
    En un comunicado indicó que "con cada actuación, el presidente demuestra su propósito de hacer quedar a todos en ridícul0 y con sus continuadas provocaciones para mantener en inestabilidad, zozobra, duda e incertidumbre a todos, sólo él sabe adónde quiere llegar".
     
    El obispo auxiliar de Tegucigalpa, monseñor Darwin Andino, dijo a Radio América que "la iglesia Católica y todo cristiano no respaldan la ilegítimo consulta del gobierno por ser inaceptable, y en el que está la mano del presidente (venezolano Hugo) Chávez".
     
    Subrayó que "el país no se puede entregar al chavismo ni a nadie porque queremos seguir siendo libres e independientes... el poder es para servir y ofende a Dios el que quiere el poder para servirse".
     
    De acuerdo a Andino "el panorama nacional no se ve claro, pero se compara con lo que se ha presentado en otros países como Venezuela, Bolivia y Ecuador".
     
    Para Zelaya, con la consulta se logrará una "democracia participativa, no sólo representativa" que cambiaría el sistema político imperante en Honduras "que sólo defiende a los poderosos, los ricos y los banqueros y es un obstácul0 para la democracia".
     
    Por negarse a cooperar en su proyecto destituyó el jueves al máximo jefe militar, general Romeo Vásquez, y aceptó la renuncia por igual motivo del ministro de Defensa, Edmundo Orellana. Sin embargo, la Corte Suprema y el Congreso restituyeron al oficial.
     
    El fiscal general, Luis Rubí, informó que "esa encuesta no debe llevarse a cabo, es ilegal. En consecuencia, aplicaremos sanciones a quien participe en ella. Si se consuma la infracción, se encausará a los servidores públicos por abuso de autoridad y desobedecer la ley".
     
    Entretanto, el Congreso postergó para el martes la sesión en la que conocerá el informe de una comisión especial de cinco miembros sobre la capacidad mental y administrativa de Zelaya, que constituye el primer paso para un posible relevo del mandatario.
     
    Pero en una reciente rueda de prensa, el gobernante aseguró que el plan para declararlo incompetente "ya se conjuró... y estaba coordinado por el Congreso y las fuerzas armadas".
     
    La consulta la prohibe la Constitución de 1982 porque no la supervisa el Tribunal Supremo Electoral, el único organismo estatal para hacerlo. También es rechazada por la Corte Suprema, la fiscalía general, el Congreso, la procuraduría general.
     
    La Constitución establece el delito de traición, con penas de 15 a 20 años en prisión, a los que la violen.
     
    Jorge Bueso Arias, ex candidato presidencial del Partido Liberal, afimó que "Zelaya busca reformar la Constitución para seguir en el poder con el apoyo financiero de Venezuela... y la reeleción presidencial está prohibida aquí por el daño causado en el pasado por las dictaduras".
     
    Destacó que "sólo Venezuela y Cuba apoyan a Zelaya, y en esos países no hay libertad ni periodistas independientes, allí sólo está la voz del gobierno". Y se preguntó: ¿Eso queremos aquí?".
     
    Recordó que en 1933 se dio un movimiento similar en Honduras cuando el general Tiburcio Carías, del Partido Nacional, modificó la ley fundamental y se quedó 14 años en el poder.
     
    "Por eso se blindó la Constitución para impedir la reelección presidencial y no tener más dictadores", agregó.

I'm twittering live over at www.twitter.com/josuesierra. Here is what I have so far: josuesierraMilitary presence is to help keep the calm and to protect...they are not engaged in any conflicts. #crisisHN #Hondurasless than 5 seconds ago from web josuesierraZelaya violated the constitution and the Prosecutor presented charges against him to congress. #crisisHN #Hondurasless than 5 seconds ago from web josuesierraCNN is stating again that in now way was the crisis in Honduras a coup. #crisisHN #Hondurasless than 5 seconds ago from web josuesierraHonduran supreme court declared his "referendum" illegal...CNN has confirmed that there was no coup!! #crisisHN #Hondurasless than 20 seconds ago from web josuesierra@diariolaprensa Honduran congress accepted resignation from Mel http://bit.ly/l7WL5 #Honduras2 minutes ago from web diariolaprensaGracias twiteros por seguir a La Prensa, estamos informando en tiempo real. Cualquier información se las daremos #honduras4 minutes ago from TwitterFox josuesierraHonduran congress (legislation) is reading Honduran president's resignation. A document has been shown to the media. #crisisHN #Honduras Follow me here: http://twitter.com/josuesierra

Fox News published an article wherein they substituted the word "white" for every instance of latino[a], hispanic, people of color, etc. in Sotomayor's speech at Berkeley.

I intend tonight to touch upon the themes that this conference will be discussing this weekend and to talk to you about my WHITE identity, where it came from, and the influence I perceive it has on my presence on the bench.

Who am I? I am a “Newyork-Caucasian.” For those of you on the West Coast who do not know what that term means: I am a born and bred New Yorker of WHITE-born parents who came to the states during World War II…

The story of that success is what made me and what makes me the WHITE person that I am. The WHITE side of my identity was forged and closely nurtured by my family through our shared experiences and traditions…

My family showed me by their example how wonderful and vibrant life is and how wonderful and magical it is to have a WHITE soul. They taught me to love being a WHITE person and to love America and value its lesson that great things could be achieved if one works hard for it. But achieving success here is no easy accomplishment for WHITES, and although that struggle did not and does not create a WHITE identity, it does inspire how I live my life…

Interesting.

Cross posted from the Cecil Young Republican Club blog:

Over at the Cecil County Blog, reader C. Jagoe emailed suggestions for how to better manage the county budget and reduce wasteful spending.

Remember, there is a cost we pay for government. This has little to do with the value of services we get. DO NOT let administrators give you a worst case scenario that they hope will get their budget request approved. You can scare the hell out of people by telling them that crime will increase and people will die, and seldom will say that a loved program, a program that has little to do with the agency’s primary mission, can be cut.

He suggests the County administrators should be required to zero the budget each year and justify their expenditures.

Zero the budget each year and make them justify each and every line item. Keep each line at the lowest possible amount. If they need funds later, they have to come back to you, JUSTIFY a request for added funds, and fund the increase with those rainy day funds. Let them know, if they come too often, then their abilities as an administrator will be called into question. It would be obvious that they do not know how to prepare or stay within a budget.

Head over to the Cecil County blog and read through the entire post. He provides detailed examples of how a zero budget solution would work.

Event: Cecil County Tea Party
Location: Knights of Columbus
Day: Saturday July 4th, 2009 at 11am - 1pm.

The Cecil County Tea Party will be at the Knights of Columbus at 302 W. Pulaski Highway, Elkton, MD. If you have questions, you can learn more by calling 443-722-4027 or 410-688-1399.

The thing about Liberals is that they love preaching about just how everyone should live their lives--and are willing to make the government force you to do or not do what they think is best for you. But as this video shows, they usually don't actually really believe what the preach. See, if Gore truly really believed what he says about global warming, he would act accordingly.



"Americans for Prosperity rallied taxpayers outside Al Gore's big global warming speech in Washington, and found that some Gore followers didn't exactly practice what he preached."

During times of war and when our enemies constantly threaten our national security, America needs consistent leadership in the area of national security. Watch this video...not consistent, not coherent, and not America's best interest.

Today I read for the first time Cafe Hayek authored by Don Boudreaux and Russ Roberts. In one post in particular, Boudreaux writes about a letter he submitted to the Aurora (Illinois) Beacon News about Barack Obama's "emergency rebate" proposal to deal with rising gasoline prices. Click on over to Cafe Hayek and read Boudreaux's post and his letter explaining why Obama's plan displays a serious lack of understanding of basic economic principles.

This plan - which increases the demand for gasoline and reduces its supply - makes as much sense as trying to put out a fire by dowsing it with jet fuel.

This is Economics 101 -- the kind of stuff they teach during the first year of business school...or should be teaching. I'm not really sure what sort of economics Harvard is teaching these days.

My graduate school Economics professor, Dr. Paul T. Prentice, links to an interesting Stossel video debunking the scarcity of oil myth.

Author and ABC News Correspondent John Stossel -- who was here in Colorado Springs not long ago to give the keynote speech for Limited Government Week -- has a website I would highly recommend. On it you'll find a video in which he debunks the scarcity of oil myth. Check it out here: View the "Scarcity of Oil" video.

We can argue all we want about what is wrong with McCain and how is not a true "conservative," but I want to make it clear once again -- the alternative -- an Obama administration -- would cost more than I am willing to sacrifice.

Let's look at his economic policies. The decline to our economy, and the resulting poverty, would affect millions in the US and around the world.

From the property rights and rule of (contract) law foundations of a successful market economy to the specifics of tax, spending, energy, regulatory and trade policy, if the proposals espoused by candidate Obama ever became law, the American economy would suffer a serious setback.

Michael Boskin aptly concludes with the truth about what sort of change exactly is Barack Obama proposing.

History teaches us that high taxes and protectionism are not conducive to a thriving economy, the extreme case being the higher taxes and tariffs that deepened the Great Depression. While such a policy mix would be a real change, as philosophers remind us, change is not always progress.

I'm sitting at my local auto service center waiting for my car to get its routine maintance and have watched 3 ads in the last 2 hours -- the campaigning is getting hot and heavy out here in real America.

I was reading my copy of Townhall Magazine last night and read Michelle Malkin's comments on McCain -- she is basicly encouraging involvement and support for conservative organizations, but is on the record that she will not be voting for McCain. Its really a tempting thought considering McCain was not my first choice, but I think every voter has to consider a very pragmatic question: What are the long-term consequences for America if Obama wins?

On the short term, I can agree with Malkin that a huge loss for the GOP would serve as a "lesson learned" (hopefully...we have seen how thick-headed politicians can be) and could bring a revival of true fiscal and social conservatism and improved government accountability. But--and its a HUGE but--we know that once government "grows" it is extreemly dificult to "rein it in." What sort of massive "big-brother" government can we safely expect would be the outcome of an Obama administration? What sorts of liberties are we willing to give should Obama have the leadership role for the next 4 (and possibly 8) years? Each administration certainly can "restore" and un-do the previous administration's decisions, but there are plenty of things that can't just be undone.

From National Security and defense areas, to healthcare and sanctity of live -- an Obama administration would have real human impact to every day Americans. I'm not sure I'm willing to sacrifice real lives at the altar of political posturing (even if its political posturing that I agree with). That's not to say that Malkin is wrong on McCain -- she is right on way to many things (sad to say). I just think that its a matter of the least of two evils, and the alternative will have way to many long-term repercusions to our nation.

So, come November, I will reluctantly vote for John McCain. And with that vote is my commitment to work tirelessly to keep his administration in-check and to work towards a more limited government at both the Federal level and at the local level.

A new study being released by the Center for the Immigration Studies reports "significant decline" in illegal immigration population since last summer. One of the arguments for better enforcement of our current immigration laws was that a natural bi-product would be that it would change the risk and economic equation for many illegal immigrants who would return home (or reconsider coming in the first place). It's the concept of reducing the number of illegal immigration by natural attrition. This seems to affirm that the enforcement so far is working (though perhaps its still not enough).

As the release notes, the study "examines the extent to which stepped-up enforcement and the downturn in the economy account for this trend."

I'm a little out of the loop these days as I have not been following the news as much as I did before, so I'm wondering--is the economy "in fact" slowing, or is it a lot of normal fluctuations (and the increased cost of oil) hyped-up by the doom-and-gloom liberal media? I don't know the numbers, but I would not be surprised to hear some Democrat find some connection between the dropping illegal immigrant population and the slowing economy and lay blame on the Bush administration for its work in securing our borders and curbing illegal immigration (as little as it might be).

WASHINGTON (July 25, 2008) — A new analysis by the Center for Immigration Studies of monthly data collected by the Census Bureau shows that the illegal immigrant population has declined significantly between last summer and May of this year. The study is the first to find quantitative evidence that illegal immigrants are leaving the country. It also examines the extent to which stepped-up enforcement and the downturn in the economy account for this trend.

The report, entitled 'Homeward Bound: Recent Immigration Enforcement and the Decline in the Illegal Alien Population,' is embargoed until Wednesday, July 30th at 2:30 pm. The study will be available online at www.cis.org. Advance copies are available to the media.

The Center will formally release the report at a press conference on Wednesday, July 30th at 2:30 pm in room 1309 of the Longworth House Office Building. The report’s lead author, Dr. Steven Camarota will be joined by Representatives John Barrow (D-GA), Lamar Smith (R-TX), Tom Feeney (R-FL) and Heath Shuler (D-NC) to discuss the implications of the study.

Here are some links to interesting articles I read today.

The Christian Science Monitor
Cuba under Raúl: Creeping toward capitalism?
Venezuela church-state clash grows

Los Angeles Times
Cuba's Fidel Castro is cryptic over report on Russian bombers

Via the AFP:

Russia would cross "a red line for the United States of America" if it were to base nuclear capable bombers in Cuba, a top US air force officer warned on Tuesday.

"If they did I think we should stand strong and indicate that is something that crosses a threshold, crosses a red line for the United States of America," said General Norton Schwartz, nominated to be the air force's chief of staff.

He was referring to a Russian news report that said the military is thinking of flying long-range bombers to Cuba on a regular basis.

HT: http://drudgereport.com