April Newsletter

Member Group : Westmoreland Watchman

THE WESTMORELAND WATCHMAN
A PUBLICATION OF THE WESTMORELAND COUNTY CONSERVATIVE COALITION
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
VOLUME 1, NUMBER 4 APRIL, 2009
160 MAUS DRIVE PHONE: 724-863-2520
IRWIN, PA 15642 E-MAIL: [email protected] 724-744-2607
REMEMBER—NO MEETING IN APRIL!
April 21st would be our regular meeting day. However, two important events are happening in Harrisburg that day, and many of our members will be heading there to meet with legislators and rally on the Capitol steps. Perhaps the largest pro-Second Amendment gathering in PA history is planned for 10AM with Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, The National Rifle Association’s Wayne LaPierre and Gun Owners of America’s Larry Pratt as the main speakers. Other pro-gun groups and pro-gun lawmakers will also be on the agenda. After the speeches, participants will go to the various legislative offices to make sure these elected officials understand they had better not tamper with our precious Second Amendment rights! Please contact a local gun club near you and see if they have a bus leaving for this momentous event. Or get a few friends together and carpool, sharing the costs to Harrisburg. My gun club, the McKeesport Sportsman’s Association, has some seats available on their bus and the cost is $30 for the roundtrip fare. You will have to pay for any meals unless you pack your own food. The bus leaves at 5AM from the club, which is located on Route 48, one mile south of the intersection of Route 30 in North Versailles. For reservations, please call Jim Kerr at 724-331-1880.
That same day, People Concerned for the Unborn Child (PCUC) is sponsoring a "Day of Pro-Life Renewal" at the Capitol. They have events starting at 8AM with various presentations and legislative visits until Noon at which time they will have their rally on the Capitol steps. For more information on this pro-life rally, contact Beth Svirbel @ 412-885-4410.
These are two subjects of the utmost importance in our daily lives, and I hope you will be able to join thousands of other Pennsylvanians for a day of fellowship and face to face meetings with your elected officials. If you can’t attend these rallies, be sure you at least call your Representatives and make your views known on these subjects.
REGARDING OUR MAY MEETING—the third Tuesday (May 19th) is Election Day and many of our members will be working at the polls all day. We are checking our schedules for an alternate date and will inform you of when that will be and the program content ASAP.
We also send special thanks to Dr. Donn Chapman, Senior Pastor of Cornerstone Ministries in Export, PA who brought us excellent information at our March meeting on the conditions in Zimbabwe. Requests have been made to obtain a copy of his presentation, and we are in the process of producing DVDS that will be available next month. If you are interested in acquiring one, let me know and we’ll put you on the list.
TEA PARTIES AND TAXES
By the time you read this newsletter, hundreds of Tea Parties will have taken place across the country involving tens of thousands of people outraged and fired up to offer resistance to the socialist plans of the Obama Administration. One in Pittsburgh on April 11th featuring Alan Keyes drew several thousand people and he had the people fired up in getting active to throw the bums out! A similar one was held in Greensburg at the Court House on Tax Day and our Conservative Coalition played a role in this event that drew hundreds of patriots. It is heartening to see so many grassroots organizations working day and night to alert our fellow citizens to the dangers that are festering in Washington and our State Capitals. But the last thing we want to happen is to have these fine patriots all eager to do something at these rallies, and a week later see their zeal disappear with no follow up action. Some rally critics have said that the elected officials aren’t listening to the protests, as scant few of them have attended and the Media in some cases have described the rally participants as radical and fringe elements. I’m hoping and praying that this will only strengthen our resolve to keep hammering away at our representatives until they get the message. Meanwhile, we must keep looking for new candidates who will step up to the plate in 2010 and be willing to carry a fresh message, returning our states and Washington to the Constitution. The smoke hasn’t cleared yet, but it is pretty certain that Obama’s "stimulus", budget and bailout plans will be costing us over $3 trillion this year and many more trillions in the years ahead. Now there is talk that some of the larger insurance companies will be next in line for bailout money, as many life insurance policy holders are cashing in their policies for much needed money. These firms are worried they will run out of assets if too many folks make a run for the cash value of their policies. Naturally, Obama and the left-wing Congress will be most willing to oblige and at the same time write more onerous provisions to control that industry also. Obama and his band of Communists, Socialists and Marxists have fully embraced Keynesian economics, which believes that the free market system does not work and therefore must be kept under restraint by economic planners. In the crazy world of Keynes, spending is deemed better than thrift, debt is better than savings, high prices and inflation are preferable to low prices and deflation, worthless paper is better than silver and gold and government coercion better than freedom.
Since our March newsletter, Obama and friends have more or less taken over General Motors and fired their CEO! Can you imagine how an entity that is trillions in debt is going to solve the problems of a corporation that is only billions in the hole! Now they are "suggesting" that Chrysler sell out to Fiat. Hitler and Mussolini would have been proud of the way Obama is moving ahead and would have been amazed at the speed he is progressing to nationalize major US industries. To show the coercive hand of government, it now appears that some banks who accepted "TARP" money last year are having second thoughts and want to give the money back and remove the strings that were attached. However, Big Brother is stepping in and saying if these banks give the money back, they can expect government auditors to be on their doorsteps for a long period of time. The theme of "nationalization" is in the air along with calls for a New World currency that will replace the dollar. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner was recently asked by the Senate Banking Committee if there was an effort to replace the dollar and he said no. Later that day, he spoke before the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and said the administration was open to ideas about replacing the dollar! The latter comments had virtually no coverage, yet I’m sure Obama’s recent overseas trip contained many closed door sessions with various world leaders that set the stage for a further weakening of our dollar and introducing a New World currency! Obama’s lengthy speech given at Georgetown University on April 14th covered many economic areas, but he said ideas of creating a National Bank was not one of his goals. I will go out on a limb and predict we will have a National Bank within two years along with a New World currency. In 1910, Nelson Aldrich, Paul Warburg, Jacob Schiff and several J.P. Morgan representatives met on Jekyll Island, GA to make plans for a new banking and taxing system. The Federal Reserve System and the 16th Amendment ushering in the Income Tax both became law in 1913. With the 100th anniversary of the Jekyll Island planning session less than two years away, I think something dire is being molded for America and the world by the current bunch of New World advocates.
THE RECENT RASH OF SHOOTINGS
Pittsburgh sadly joined the list of cities that have experienced horrific shootings when three policemen were murdered on April 4th by a punk who was wearing body armor and had an AK 47 rifle. During the last month, four law officers were killed in Oakland, CA by a convicted felon during a traffic stop and subsequent siege at an apartment complex. A crazed gunman killed 13 in Binghampton, NY and a deranged father in Washington shot his 5 children after learning his wife was leaving him for another man. Alabama and North Carolina also saw mass shootings at a nursing home and private residence, and it seems everyday brings forth a new round of violence wreaked on the innocent public or unfortunate family members by misfits, former criminals or drug-crazed killers. As these acts of carnage increase, so do the calls for more gun control, so we must be more vigilant than ever and watch for new proposals coming out of the State and Federal officials that would curtail the rights of law-abiding citizens. My own opinion is that greater use of the Death Penalty would help deter these killings or, at the very least, remove these murderers from being a huge tax burden to the public. The Pittsburgh case is most fresh in my mind and also much closer to home. The Police Chief of Oakland, CA hit the nail on the head when he sent his condolences to Pittsburgh Police Chief Nate Harper and said, "Your situation is worse because the killer is still alive whereas the shooter in Oakland is dead." He is exactly right as the public defender for Richard Poplawski has already crawled out from under a rock and wants a judge to put a gag order on the police department. This lawyer is concerned because the police released some of her clients comments such as "he wishes he would have killed more" and admitting that he shot the wounded officers as they lay on the ground to make sure they were dead! They want to protect his right to a fair trial, but I believe his only right is the right to die for his crimes. Some ultimate good could come out of these tragic slayings IF we can execute "poor Richard" quickly. If a few courageous prosecutors, jurors and a decent judge work within the law, we could eliminate this scourge from our midst very soon. Just think of the tens of millions of dollars spent every year to keep Death Row inmates alive, not only in their housing but for their endless appeals. The bleeding hearts always bring up some instance when an innocent man was convicted or even executed for something he didn’t do. I can understand that there are times when some circumstances and gray areas could surround a murder case, and someone in law enforcement or the judicial system has a vendetta for some suspect. BUT I contend that the vast majority of murderers are guilty without a doubt based on their own confessions, DNA or eye witnesses. These should pay the ultimate price for their foul deeds as all doubt has been removed. Richard Poplawski should certainly be one of them, and I approve this message, gag order or not, and will even pay for the electric bill to carry it out!
ANOTHER EARTH DAY
April 22nd marks another Earth Day with more radical proposals on the table than ever before. Because we have so many new members of the Conservative Coalition, there is a chance they do not know the history behind Earth Day. This observance was created in 1970 to honor the 100th birthday of Nicoli Lenin. An assorted group of leftists, communists and environmentalists used the occasion to whip up support for a new radical movement that would have foolish and misguided people embrace the environment. After nearly 40 years, Earth Day has grown into a worldwide cause that has dangerous consequences for America and our way of life. Al Gore jumped on the band wagon years ago and is now the most visible spokesman, spouting his nonsense about "Global Warming." He has made millions on books and a flawed movie as the last several years have shown cooling effects around the globe. This past winter and our current spring have seen record cold temperatures throughout Europe and the United States. The Arctic ice caps and glaciers that were supposedly melting and drowning polar bears are thicker now than in many years. A massive 24,000 horsepower Soviet icebreaker taking global warming believers out to see the polar ice before it melted was trapped in the thick ice! That story didn’t make the evening news, as you can imagine. In fact, earlier this month, NASA reported that sun spot activity has died down to a level not seen in many years. More and more scientists who haven’t drunk the Gore Kool Aid, have provided true scientific evidence that the earth is cooling, and if there is any "Global Warming," man has very little to do with it. The recent volcanic eruption of Alaska’s Mount Redoubt has thrown out more ash, residue and pollutants than a large portion of North American industries will do all year. But I’m sure the Earth Day crowd will factor those emissions into their calculations, blaming man and capitalism. Millions of school children are being brainwashed everyday with faulty science, and any educators brave enough to refute the "Global Warming" madness are labeled heretics and equated with Holocaust deniers. Obama and the radicals in Congress are coming up with outlandish proposals in the name of protecting the environment. These include even higher standards for auto emissions, curtailment of coal production, making offshore oil drilling harder to accomplish and stopping oil shale and ANWR exploration. The most recent wacky idea is from Interior Secretary Ken Salazar who thinks building windmills along the East Coast could supply enough energy to replace most if not all coal-fired power plants in the U.S.! "Wind Experts" say it would take hundreds of thousands of windmills to duplicate the output from coal plants, and one can only ponder the lawsuits and environmental issues that would develop over such an idea being implemented. This insanity continues as carbon dioxide and capitalism are demonized as the enemies of the earth while the real enemies are the eco-freaks who are laying the groundwork for undermining the American way of life. Celebrate Earth Day by exposing these "Global Warming" myths!!
PIRATES AND TERRORISM
During Holy Week, a most amazing scene played out off the coast of Somalia. Four hijackers boarded a U.S. cargo ship and took the crew hostage, looking for a large ransom. It all had a happy ending on Easter when Navy SEALS killed 3 of the hijackers and rescued the American captain, himself a hero for offering himself as hostage to save his crew. This small victory could become a larger one as we focus on terrorists wherever they are found and wipe them out one by one. This may also encourage all cargo ships to arm themselves or have security forces on board to defeat these Muslim Pirates who have preyed on international shipping for a number of years.

A CALL TO ACTION
Some Conservative Coalition members have expressed frustration over the lack of progress we are making in changing the course of America’s descent into Socialism. Let me say that my wife and I and many others have been involved in this struggle since the days of Barry Goldwater in 1964. We have seen hard times and experienced bouts of despair during the last 45 years. But we and millions of others kept plugging away through educational and political efforts and have achieved some great victories as well. My advice is to stay focused on the enemy and rely on God’s power to carry the day. Write letters to the editor or at least call those who do so and offer support and congratulations for having like-minded views. Get videos exposing the Left’s agenda or those promoting American principles and show them to friends, church groups, civic organizations, neighbors, co-workers—the list of contacts is endless. Support, encourage and promote new people who share our views and who are willing to run for office. Pennsylvania is going to be a hot bed of political action during the next 18 months and many folks just as upset as you will be working for a conservative change to what we have had in the Senate and Governor’s office. Don’t yield to despair and use that energy to cultivate new allies for victory!
A CALL TO PRAYER
With what America has been experiencing since the Obama inauguration, who can say we should not be on our knees asking Almighty God to have mercy of our country? Thursday, May 7th will be the Annual National Day of Prayer and a time to publicly unite with fellow believers to ask God to bless and heal our land. Thousands of cities around the country will be holding one-two hour sessions throughout the day. Please check with your church or Chamber of Commerce to see when they will be held. One excellent gathering will be in Irwin, PA at 6PM in the community park in downtown Irwin. Contact Pastor Paul Baer at 724-863-0278 for more details.