APPECIATING OUR HERITAGE

I went to the annual meeting of the Laurel Historical Society recently; the speaker was Susanne Fox who was part of the team that categorized the historic buildings in Laurel several years ago and according to her made Laurel the largest historic district in the United States.

`Now a teacher at Wesley College where she teaches about historic history, she came back last week and revisited what she calls her ‘favorite community’ to see what changes had been made to some of the homes she charted.

I was born and raised in Laurel and I pass by these homes weekly and I realized during her power point presentation as she carefully showed the artistic designs and different styles of homes that I have missed the real beauty and charm of Laurel.

Many times in life we don’t appreciate what we have until we don’ have it anymore. The older homes in Laurel are disappearing and no one seems to care. Many towns grew when the railroad came through; Laurel was already a bustling community before the railroad and exploded into a boom town when the railroad came though.

At the Historical board meeting recently we were trying to come up with a feisty slogan for Laurel; I sarcasticly offered, “Laurel, the town that was.:

Laurel has its’ problems, but it still is a beautiful town, a good place to raise a family. It’s getting costly because of the shrinking tax base, and it is becoming loaded with regulations that are not needed.

But you cannot take away our history. I for one am going to smell the roses as they say, and slow down and look at the beauty of my community; you should too. I find it amusing the large number of members in the Historical Society are not locals, and they appear to have the most interest in protecting the credibility of the buildings in Laurel.

If you’d care to join the Historical Society, email me at fcalio@comcast.net.

OVER MY DEAD BODY

There were three views of the President’s State of the Union speech last night; the Republicans, Democrats, and Independents.

From my seat as a Democrats I really felt sorry for the president. His speech was tough filled with the American dream and appealing to the working class. But…can he garner support for programs, even from his own party that will level the playing field between the wealthy and the working class?

I doubt it, and looking at House Speaker John Boehner’s lips I could read, “Read my lips, no new taxes”, and “if you think I’m going to support your programs and the little guy, I have a bridge to sell you”, and finally, “Over my dead body will I give you anything you want.”

If the president is elected and the House remains in Republican control which it probably will, then we will have more of the same from the House; NO.

GIVE IT UP FOR GOD’S SAKE

I’m sick and tired of those who wave the Constitution in my face and tell me what’s wrong with America then go off and do what they damn well please and the hell with anyone who disagrees with them.

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court’s decision has ruled that it was illegal for the Indian River School Board to open meetings with a prayer.

So someone in the community comes up with the bright idea that during the public comment session he can offer up a prayer and he’s thrilled “the Lord has found a way around what the courts have done to us”.

Really? The devil is in the court system now? When the courts rule in favor of what the conservatives want, is that the devil or the Lord making that  decision? By offering the prayer is this what the conservatives mean when they say, “We need to take back our government”?

We expect our children to obey the law, when we take the law into our own hands and do what we want when we want, is that setting an examples for our youth?

I know the Bible Belt of the south has extended into Sussex County, and if they don’t tell at least 100 people a day they have found God, you’re not a Christian, but this recent effort is like a child not getting his way and putting on a temper tantrum.

The school board challenged the court’s decision, they have lost, get over it and do what is right for the kids, give them a good education, so they won’t graduate as idiots, like some of their parents.

WHICH PRESIDENT INCREASED THE DEBT THE MOST SINCE 1980

Check below to find out.

http://www.thespacedoutgroup.com/2012/which-president-has-increased-the-u-s-debt-the-most-since-1980-check-out-the-facts

WHY DO 3RD WORLD COUNTRIES DISLIKE AMERICANS?

I often asked my dad when I was working by his side in his shoe repair business, Why do countries dislike us after all the foreign aid we give them.

Dad, who left his homeland, Sicily, to escape poor working and living conditions and the dictatorship of Benito Mussolini traveled 3000 miles and took odd jobs in several countries to come to America, finally walking off the ship in San Fransisco and never looked back.

Maybe you can understand my sympathy all illegal aliens are not bad people looking for a hand-out, some are looking for a future.

Dad was a very observant person and intelligent for not having more than a 6th grade education; he was from the school of hard knocks that taught common sense.

He said in most of the poorer nations, usually controlled by a dictatorship when American aid came in either in the form of food, goods, and money the dictators took the bulk for their families and friends, and a trickle went to help the poor, and most of that went to the people helping the poor.

Most of these countries had oil and mineral rights leased by American companies. For the right of these companies to operate in these foreign lands, the American aid was a pay-off for protection of the American companies.

Dad saw oil refineries with people making 25 cents a day, while outside the refineries  people were living in cardboard shacks and tents barely able to get by. “That’s why they hate us.” he would tell me, “because the aid is not going to them and they know it.”

A few years ago disaster struck in Hati, a poor country to begin with and a government about as swift as their people. Americans as individuals and our government pumped billions of dollars into Hati to help restore utilities, homes, schools and their economy.

Recently I found out through news reports only 17% of the aid given to Hati was given to the government; the balance went to other agencies, whoever they may be to work on their own, unsuccessfully apparently because the state of affairs in Hati is just as bad as when disaster hit.

The agencies are not collaborating with each other; for example one agency built a new school, but they don’t have the money to hire teachers, so the school sits empty.

Homes are not being built to handle the homeless, tent cities are everywhere; no water, a terrible health hazard.

You don’t think these homeless people are looking to America and thinking where the F@#K is the aid from America you promised?

I have come to believe a lot of these goody-goody agencies that go down there under the pretense to help are lining their own pockets, not all of them, but only 17% is going directly to the government for help? I wonder how much of that 17% is going to the government, and how much of a kick back does the leadership get from this other organizations to allow them to have contracts in Hati?

Again my argument should we spending so much money abroad, not knowing where the aid goes, or spending that money in this country where at least we have some control over the spending?

NEWT PULLS UPSET IN SC

Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich pulled a stunning upset victory in the conservative Evangelical SC primary over favorite Mitt Romney Saturday.

Romney who learner earlier this week after a recount of the Iowa Primary that he lost to Rick Santorum is now 2-2 in the primaries; Gingrich who was leading in the polls in Iowa only to be knocked off by a hefty negative ad campaign by Romney Super PAC supporters has won his first primary after finishing near the bottom in the first three.

Gingrich pounded Romney saying he was the true conservative, and Romney was a flip-flopping moderate. Exit polls reported over 60 percent of those who voted said they were Evangelica.

So what did the American people learn from this primary how they would solve the woes they say this country is suffering from? Nothing more than we heard about a platform from the other 3 primaries.

We did learn from one of Gingrich’s wives that he likes to sleep around even when he’s married, and Romney thinks he doesn’t earn enough from speaking engagements that earned him over $360,000 last year, and that he, a multimillionaire pays less in income taxes than his butlers.

I can’t wait to see what I learn in the future primaries.

 

GM #1 AGAIN, FORD #2, TOYOTA, VOLKSWAGON 3RD, NO THANKS TO ROMNEY

President Barrack Obama must feel some vindication today after General Motors regained their #1 position world-wide in-car sales after a federal bail out severely criticized by Republicans; Presidential candidate Mitt Romney said the government should not bail out GM but allow them to go bankrupt. His father was president of the former American Motors which no longer exists.

Obama said the federal bail out saved 1 million automotive jobs including many small businesses which served as vendors to the automotive industry.

The story below:

http://money.cnn.com/2012/01/19/autos/gm_global_sales_leader/index.htm?iid=HP_River

I AM APPALLED: REALLY?

The first question asked in last nights SC debate to Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich was a personal question about one of his prior marriages; his former wife claimed Newt wanted a ‘open marriage’, which he denied as a pack of lies.

Then he laid into the moderator saying he was “appalled” he would open the debate with such a question, and using the traditional Republican method of avoiding an answer, he rambled without really addressing the question.

Newt, I have news for you; if you are elected president, when there is a press conference and it is open for questions to the media, you don’t get to choose the subject, the questions are not always softball questions, some are very personal. And Americans want answers not a debate.

When Newt was Speaker of the House, he didn’t haved any problem pushing Clinton for personal information when he was in the scandal with Monica; he wanted all the details. What’s good for he goose is good for the gander Mr. Newt.  Tiring of your politicians telling us to do as you say not as you do.

As Harry Truman once said, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen”.

DELAWARE REPUBLICAN EFFORT FOR ID VOTER BILL DEFEATED

Delaware House Republicans failed to join several southern states in an effort to deter minorities from voting as Democrats defeated HB 199 and 200.

All Republican House members signed onto the bills that would have required photo ID to be eligible to vote. The Help America To Vote bill, (HAVA) passed in the Bush administration gave every voter the right to vote as long as proof of residency was provided, and a photo was not required.

If a voter does not have ID and are on the election district’s voter rolls, they have to sign an affidavit attesting they are who they say they are; those affidavits are reviewed for accuracy.

I am shocked at this action by the Republicans, many who claim to be Christians that they would take away a person’s right to vote. Shame on them!!  Our country was founded on that right and besides ones dignity that is the only right we shouldn’t have taken away from us.

The Republicans used the same identical story they used in the other states, word for word; identification is required , going through airport security, boarding a train, or purchasing cough medicine, and even through in that ID is needed when entering the state’s Capital building.

Democrats countered those examples cannot be compared to people’s constitutional right to vote and that the legislation wold suppress the vote of the elderly and “scare” other voters from going to the polls.

Republicans say they are for the Constitution, but I’m beginning to believe they are for the Constitution when it suits their needs. They seem to want to stoop to the gutter to gain access to the White House and control the state legislatures.

I don’t care about your politics, but aren’t you a little scared just how far the Republicans will go to take away your rights if they are in control of this country. Remember the Patriot Bill where they can go into your home and spy on you? That was a Bush bill!

The choice is yours in November. Be careful what you wish for.

HOW LOW CAN YOU GO

How low can one stoop to gain the presidential nomination? The way the Republican race is going in South Carolina, I would say throwing your mom under the bus is not out of the question.

Newt Gingrich,  trailing front-runner Mitt Romney has hit a nerve in South Carolina using the race card and apparently the voters are buying it as Newt is closing in on Romney in the polls.

In a state where 45% of the population is Evangelical Protestant Newt made a pitch that earned him a standing ovation during a presidential debate on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. So enthused by his reception to his comments he now has a TV ad quoting his remarks.

Newt accused President Obama as a “food stamp president” and that poor people should want pay-checks, not handouts. Really? Where was he when he was the speaker of the House, and the Republicans controlled both Houses. I don’t recall any movement to encourage more jobs.

He says now he is going to ‘continue’ to find ways to help poor people learn how to get a job, learn how to get a better job and learn someday to own the job. Really, continue, when did you start Newt?

Where were you when the president tried to get his jobs bill passed Mr. Newt?

Comments like that from Gingrich and the other Republican candidates stoking the fire of racism giving concerns among some blacks that the political discourse is rewinding to the days of “Southern strategy” campaigning that uses blacks as scapegoats to attract white votes.

South Carolina is also one of the seven states that recently passed legislation requiring photo ID’s, another slap in the face to minorities who usually don’t have a driver’s license, therefore would not be allowed to vote. Denying anyone the right to vote is shameful; I should spit on them. My dad came to this country to escape dictatorship and the freedom to vote.  How awful to deny a person their right to vote.

I had a little faith in Newt, liked some of his ideas, but he has lost my respect. To show he could reach further down  the bottom of the barrel, he stated after she gave him an endorsement, that he would find a position for Sara Palin in his administration if he were elected.

Look out mom Gingrich, you’re the next one to get thrown under the bus. You think serving his former wife divorce papers while she was in the hospital low, we ain’t seen nothing yet from this guy. Hey Newt, the devil is waiting to see you outside your office. Has he got a deal for you!