Once in A Lifetime

Recently one of the wonders of science occurred on December 21st.  A lunar eclipse where the full moon passes through the shadow of the earth was to be visible to us here in America.  For the first time in some 372 years.  As seems so typical we here in NH would be able to see this once in a lifetime event at 3:15 AM.  So as I departed for bed with the alarm set the sky was clearing.  However, at that wee hour of the morning, the snow clouds blotted all views of the eclipse.

But this morning, due to the wonders of technology, William Castleman, caught this wonderful observation.  What wonderful Creator made the heavens to declare the glory of our Maker.  And thanks to Doug Philips of Vision Forum, I am able to share it with you.  Enjoy - Goodnight Moon


Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse 2010 from William Castleman on Vimeo.

Regarding the TSA and Airport Security

I understand that the Transportation Security Agency is not the enemy.  I also understand that they are using methods to protect the public and our country.

But here is my question.  Each time I book a flight to travel, I am asked to verify my birth date for validation that I am who I am.  Additionally, over the past several years, I have been cleared by the FBI, the US military, the OSI, etc. to represent my country both in the USA and abroad.  I have also obtained a security clearance to work for the State Department and been cleared numerous times to be in the presence of Presidents of the United States and other dignitaries.  All of which include extensive background checks. My husband and other family members who have and are serving this country as military members, and their families, have been cleared multiple times as representatives for this country. Why are we continually subjected to any of the full body scanners and/or pat downs?  Why are we continually required to be humiliated and harassed?

I have other questions, but time and space do not permit a full discussion.

However, it is time to stop all the politically correct nonsense and follow the advice of the consultants our tax dollars employ.  According to these advisors, body scanners do not reveal the information we need to stop bombings such as the most recently prevented attempt at the tree lighting festivities in Portland, Oregon.  Employing techniques like those tried and proven in Israel that profile and observe behavior work.  

For true security we should profile and observe behavior while asking questions, more questions and still more questions.  We should coordinate the information we have on individuals and focus our effort on those people whose profile is questionable. This will deter and protect the traveling public with the minimum hinderance on their ability to transit through our country.

What do you think?

SECULAR SANCTUARIES

I’m tired of hearing from Christians, pastors and lay people alike, who buy into the fantasy of the separation of church and state.  Sure they all can quote the First Amendment that says the government should stay out of a church’s business and all can rail about attacks on Christian beliefs by our government, but they are missing the point.  No where in the First Amendment does it say that churches should leave the battlefield to non-believers and politicians.

What is today’s secular sanctuary?  Where do the secular worship?  I’ll tell you where, it’s in the halls of government.  It’s in the Statehouse in Concord and in our Congress.  It’s in our schools.  It’s in a multitude of government institutions.  To use a familiar phrase, “What Would Jesus Do?”  We don’t have to speculate.  All we have to do is read the story of Jesus rampaging through the temple and over turning the money changer’s tables.  If he were alive today (and when he returns), I believe that’s what you would see him do.  He’d rampage through all these secular sanctuaries, overturning the tables and chasing the scoundrels out.

So what are our pastors and lay people doing?  We are called upon to be Christ like, but what do we do?  We hide in our homes and behind our pulpits, not engaging and rampaging in the secular sanctuaries.  We rant about the horrible politicians and what they are doing to our freedoms and our families, but for the most part, we do this behind our Christian walls.  We’ve ceded the battlefield to the enemy and the enemy is having a great romp!  Maybe we should think, “What WILL Jesus Do?”  What WILL he do when he returns and sees that all we’ve done is wait for his return behind our walls?

In the recent elections, it was clear that we are playing it safe and staying home while non-believers are rampaging through the secular sanctuaries.  Our voting record, both in quantity and quality is abysmal.  It’s time that we do what Jesus did and rampage through the secular sanctuaries!

Immigration - The Rule of Law

I hear a lot of rhetoric about immigration.  Let’s be clear, the issue is not immigration.  With very few exceptions, all of our ancestors are immigrants, and all of them came to this country under a variety of conditions, whether they were in the cramped quarters of a sailing ship or on an airplane.  We are a nation of immigrants.  We are a state of immigrants.  This is what makes this country great. When we become the melting pot our forefathers envisioned, the whole society is greater than the sum of the individual citizens. 

The real issue is not immigration, it is the rule of law and whether or not we are a nation of laws that respects these laws.  My grandparents came to this country in the early 1900’s under the laws of that time.  These laws were not always easy, but they were the laws of their new country and they abided by them.  During WWII, my grandfather worked with Governor Carr* of Colorado to resettle many displaced Japanese in Colorado.  All during that time, they lived according to the laws of their chosen country.  Whether we like the law or not, the way to change laws is not by mass violations as we see happening today all along our borders.  The way to change our laws is through the legislature and courts that adhere to the constitution.  I want to reframe the argument on illegal immigration and address the rule of law.  It’s quite simple:  If you come to this country (or this state), you follow the law. The New Ipswitch case a few years back was a travesty.  The officer should have been encouraged, rewarded, not reprimanded.  Our Courts and the Attorney General should have backed the law enforcement officers who were enforcing the rule of law.

Like a lot of issues, some people like to frame the issues with terms that fit their argument.  Or, place bogus arguments on the table such as “... how can we deport 20 million illegal immigrants?”  The answer is actually simple... arrest the employers and show them in handcuffs on the seven o’clock news.  The illegals go home and our business ALL compete on a fair basis.  Too many of our small businesses who follow the law are forced to compete with businesses who break the laws and hire illegals.  Too many of our skilled citizens are unemployed because employers who follow the law can't compete with those who do not and are going out of business.

 As your Governor I will enforce the laws, and I will work with the legislature to pass requirements for proof of citizenship before receiving State aid, including health and public education, and I will seek prosecution of business owners who hire illegal aliens.  It is time we remember that we are Americans and we must follow the law.

*P.S. If you want to know my model for a great Governor, read the book "The Principled Politician: The Ralph Carr Story."

Transparency

Many politicians like to talk about transparency but really never understand or define it in a meaningful way to you.  I’m going to change that.  It’s simple.  Transparency means that you, the person paying the bills, know what you are getting for your money.  As an example, take the Financial Resource Mortgage Ponzi scheme.  Friends of mine called all the agencies responsible for overseeing companies like FRM before they invested.  The response from these supposed "watch dogs" of the health of companies like FRM: Don’t worry, we have no issues with FRM ... this, despite the fact that there were nearly ten years of reports about the vermin.  Based on this "clean" report of FRM’s health, my friends proceeded to invest and lose several hundred thousand dollars!  I just looked online at the Manchester Health Department’s inspection record of eating establishments and found that on March 11th, one restaurant had “...openings [that] have not been tightly sealed to prevent the entry of vermin.”  Why couldn’t all the financial regulatory and oversight agencies of FRM put what we now know was years of similar findings about “...the entry of vermin” into FRM?  At a bare minimum, we should know that there are "pending investigations" on these institutions.

As your governor, this practice will change.  We will post all findings from agencies, regardless whether they are inspecting restaurants or financial institutions online immediately so you, the person paying the bills, know what you are getting for your money.  This is true transparency.

While we are on the subject of transparency, let’s talk about checkbooks (or more likely today, credit card statements).  Most of you can go online right now and find all your charges or checks for any given period-of-time, in most cases up to yesterday, if not sooner.  Why can’t you do this for all the expenditures by all the departments in the State?  Sure we can find a copy of the budget on line, but that is just how those in Concord plan to spend of our money.  What you really want to know is who receives that money, why and when.  And, I want you to know this because you are the best auditors we have.  That’s how vigilant Windsor citizens found discrepancies in the town’s property tax system.  As your Governor I will put our state’s checkbook online.  Well run companies know this level of detail, and so will you.  Join me in bringing real transparency to New Hampshire.  

See you at the polls on September 14th!

Scouting... Our Next Generation of Real Men

At a time of celebrating the Centennial of the Boy Scouts of America, President Obama just thumbed his nose at the Boy Scouts and decided an interview on “The View” was a more valuable use of his time.  In 1988 my husband and I had the honor to watch our youngest son, Matt, receive his Eagle Scout award at the World Jamboree in Australia as a "Lone Scout."   A few years before that our oldest son, Pat, earned his Eagle award while we were stationed in Ohio.  Today three of our five grandsons are in Boy Scouts and in a few years all of them will follow in the foot steps of their father, grandfather and great-grandfather.   Without a doubt, the Boy Scouts is a beacon of light in a dark sea of political correctness. 

Scouting helps dads mold their sons into men in a society that tries to feminize and degrade them.  When was the last time you watched a sit-com on TV that didn’t portray the husband or father as a doofus who but for the smart females, or children would be a complete failure?  This is what Hollywood believes.  We can do better.  

We need to change this and make organizations like the Boy Scouts an important part of our son’s lives.  When we do this, we raise them to be responsible men.  When we do this we strengthen our families. When we strengthen families we reduce fractured families and the cost to our citizens and our state.  Help me do this.  Become a Scout leader and enroll your sons in Scouting.  As your Governor I will be honored to pin the Eagle Scout award on your son’s chest.

Guest Blog on the Second Amendment by Robert Jursik

Karen Testerman was a guest this past Saturday at the Tri-Rivers Friends of the NRA dinner in Franklin, which affords us an excellent opportunity to reflect a bit on the US Constitution's 2nd Amendment and her uncompromising support of it.

In New Hampshire, the politician who would publicly disdain the 2nd Amendment is rare to the point of non-existent. The campaign websites for three of New Hampshire's arguably most liberal candidates - Paul Hodes, Carol Shea-Porter and Anne McLane Kuster - are utterly silent on it. Perhaps wisely so, as the orthodox liberal opinion of gun rights is almost universally negative. Conservative candidates such as Karen happily proclaim their defense of gun rights from the rooftops, and are rewarded with significant voter acceptance. It is a perennial conservative issue.

The reason for this is that the 2nd Amendment has greater sophistication than words on a page. The philosophical foundations of it constitute the essence of American liberty, the very soul of the ardent Constitutionalist. The leftist's skepticism of individual liberty is revealed in the sorry catalog of his policies, one government-run purgatory after another: health care, housing, energy, education. It is no different with the self-defense of Americans. To limit or even remove the ability of the citizen to arm and defend himself creates a corresponding dependence on the state to defend you, in the form of law enforcement. Although conservatives are second to no one in respect for our police, we insist on the right to determine for ourselves the circumstances of our defense: its timing, its degree, its target, its duration. No one - least of all the orthodox leftist - can appreciate those circumstances better or more quickly than we can.

If these facts seem obvious to us, they would have certainly been obvious to the Framers as well. Why then include the obvious in the Constitution? In the Bill of Rights? Second only to freedom of speech and religion? It is because the Framers understood that the necessity for bearing arms referred to more than just confronting a mugger on a sidewalk. At the time of the Ratification, the first police force in world history would have still been decades away - and on the other side of the Atlantic. Defending against local crimes would not have been nearly as important to them as defending against the abuses of an overreaching government, something with which they would have been painfully familiar. Keeping and bearing arms of at least comparable power to those employed by the state would be the citizen's last, surest stronghold against tyranny. Such an interpretation of the 2nd Amendment would be in perfect harmony with the letter and spirit of the entire Constitution, the most government-limiting document ever devised.

No one should be surprised that conservatives - with their fondness for rule of law, stability and tradition - embrace the amendment as written and in its larger meaning. The question, rather, is why the left does not. This is, after all, the same crowd which finds constitutional justification for abortion hidden deep in the misty "emanations" and "penumbras" of the Constitutional jungle. Yet they are woefully blind to the high-visibility, reflective surface of the 2nd Amendment billboard standing directly in front of them. There is no escaping the conclusion - they don't see it because they don't want to.