This Week on American Radio Journal: Grover Norquist talks IRS Scandal
Posted by The Lincoln Institute of Public Opinon Research in American Radio Journal, Lincoln Radio Journal on June 6, 2013
Radio Program Schedule for the week of June 8, 2013 – June 14, 2013
This week on American Radio Journal:
- Lowman Henry talks with Grover Norquist about IRS harassment of conservative groups
- Andy Roth of the Club for Growth has a civics lesson on how congress spends your tax dollars
- Eric Boehm has Matt Kittle of WisconsinReporter.com on Watchdog Radio to talk about the IRS’ wasting millions of tax dollars on expenses
- Dr. Paul Kengor from the Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College has an American Radio Journal commentary on the importance of fathers
Grover Norquist talks about IRS harassment of conservative groups this week on American Radio Journal!
This week on Lincoln Radio Journal:
- Eric Boehm and Melissa Daniels have news headlines from www.paindependent.com
- Kevin Shivers from the PA Chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business hosts a Capitol Watch look at the latest developments in the liquor privatization debate with Matthew Brouillette of the Commonwealth Foundation and with Cheryl Umberger owner of Wet Your Whistle Beverage in Lebanon
- Lowman Henry has a Town Hall Commentary on the shredding of the Bill of Rights
Visit the program web sites for more information about air times. There, you can also stream live or listen to past programs!
Shredding The Bill Of Rights
Posted by The Lincoln Institute of Public Opinon Research in Lincoln Institute, Lowman Henry on June 4, 2013
By Lowman S. Henry
It may be the work of a vast left-wing conspiracy, or it could be simply the by-product of a nation slowly inching its way into socialism, but a systematic shredding of America’s Bill of Rights is well underway.
The Bill of Rights is a collection of the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Ratified in 1791, the Bill of Rights addressed the concerns of several states debating ratification of the proposed constitution. Those concerns centered on securing the natural rights of Americans – rights bestowed upon man by God. Thus the Bill of Rights codified and enshrined in the nation’s founding document that which compelled the 13 colonies to separate from England in 1776. Thomas Jefferson set forth the nation’s foundational principles in the Declaration of Independence saying: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”< /p>
The Bill of Rights has stood the test of time as the U.S. Constitution is the oldest and most successful written national constitution operating in the world today. That, however, is not stopping those who would like to recast America more in the image of failing European-style socialism from pecking away at our rights in an effort to fundamentally change our nation. Recent events show this assault on our rights is gaining steam.
Perhaps no amendment is more threatened than the first. It states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
The nation’s highest law enforcement officer, the U.S. Attorney General, has personally approved government surveillance of a Fox News reporter. That same agency tapped the phones of the Associated Press. These are clear violations of the First Amendment. Those responsible for this breech justify it on the grounds of national security. But the amendment is clear – “congress shall make no law” - the freedom of press is a natural right which can never be taken away.
Freedom of religion in America is long a thing of the past. If you don’t think so, try peaceably assembling at a school function and praying and see what happens. Or, try telling the citizens of Flatwood, Pennsylvania where residents of that tiny Fayette County town are fighting to keep the Ten Commandments posted on school property. The First Amendment has been successfully recast from preventing the “establishment” of religion, to effectively prohibiting the “free exercise” of it.
The Second Amendment is currently under the most brutal assault. That’s the one that states: “the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” By the way, Pennsylvania’s state constitution goes even further saying the right of the people to bear arms “shall not be questioned.” The United States Senate recently narrowly defeated a bill which would have dramatically curtailed Second Amendment rights, and a United Nations treaty that would essentially supplant our constitutional protections is favored by the Obama Administration.
Most recently, the Left-wing block on the U.S. Supreme Court significantly stripped away our Fourth Amendment rights preventing unreasonable search and seizure by ruling as constitutional the taking of DNA samples from people accused of – not even convicted – just accused of crimes and placed into a national database. Using pretzel logic, the court claimed this invasive procedure is akin to fingerprinting and allowed the practice to stand.
Over the years we have seen other rights chipped away, such as the Fifth Amendment protection against government taking of private property. In a 2005 five-four split decision the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Suzette Kelo in Kelo v. City of New London that allowed the municipality to take her home and transfer ownership to private developers. Her property was not taken for public use, such as construction of a road or school, but rather taken and transferred into the private hands of others. It remains a landmark ruling that puts the property rights of every American in jeopardy.
And, of course, no amendment has been more trampled than the Tenth, which simply and clearly states: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Today’s federal Leviathan clearly exceeds the scope of anything even remotely imagined by our Founding Fathers who drafted a constitution to limit, not enable government.
History clearly shows the natural course of government is to move from freedom to repression. America today is on that same path. We must reverse the erosion of our God-given rights, and restore the primacy of the Bill of Rights. And it must be done soon, before America reaches the point of no return.
(Lowman S. Henry is Chairman & CEO of the Lincoln Institute and host of the weekly Lincoln Radio Journal. His e-mail address is lhenry@lincolninstitute.org.)
Permission to reprint is granted provided author and affiliation are cited.
This Week on Lincoln Radio Journal: Foster Friess on Helping Tornado Victims
Posted by The Lincoln Institute of Public Opinon Research in American Radio Journal, Lincoln Radio Journal on May 30, 2013
Radio Program Schedule for the week of June 1, 2013 – June 7, 2013
This week on American Radio Journal:
- Lowman Henry talks with philanthropist Foster Friess about his Governors Match project to raise funds for the victims of the Oklahoma tornado
- Andy Roth of the Club for Growth has the Real Story behind prominent Republicans retiring from Congress
- Eric Boehm and Benjamin Yount have a Watchdog Radio look at which states are signing up for expanded Medicare under Obamacare
- Colin Hanna of Let Freedom Ring, USA has an American Radio Journal commentary on whether or not conservatives can win the immigration debate
This week on Lincoln Radio Journal:
- Eric Boehm and Melissa Daniels have news headlines from www.paindependent.com
- Lowman Henry has a Newsmaker interview with Foster Friess on his Governors Match challenge to raise funds for the victims of the Oklahoma tornado
- Eric Montarti and Frank Gamrat look at the Marcellus Shale impact fee on the Allegheny Institute Report
- Jennifer Stefano has a Stefano Speaks! commentary on conservatives and labor unions working together to repeal Obamacare
Visit the program web sites for more information about air times. There, you can also stream live or listen to past programs!
Conservatives Should Join Forces with ‘Big Labor’
Posted by The Lincoln Institute of Public Opinon Research in Jennifer Stefano, Lincoln Institute, Lincoln Radio Journal, Opinion on May 30, 2013
By Jennifer Stefano
Right now, I really want to say “I told you so.” As a woman and a mother, I do feel it is my prerogative to, on occasion, wag my finger in the direction of a wayward soul and repeat that grating phrase with impunity. But today I am going to harness my inner bossy pants and hope you will too. Instead, let us offer a hand of gracious solidarity to the Union Bosses.
Conservatives everywhere should unite and stand shoulder to shoulder with the stalwart champions of Barack Obama and the leftist Democratic machine. Those who not only gave millions to get Obama and the “D’s” elected and re-elected in 2008 and 2012 respectively, but parroted their every talking point when they were shoving Obamacare down the nation’s throat in 2010 – are now gagging on the not-so-affordable healthcare law and calling for a complete reform and full repeal of the disastrous law.
The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, the Teamsters and the United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers, the Hotel Workers Union, UNITE HERE as well as prominent Democrats like House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer and Montana Senator Max Baucus are all joining with us “crazy” Tea Party types to call for an end to Obamacare.
My obnoxious finger wagging aside, let’s take a moment to applaud these folks. The unions never break ranks – never. Not even during the 2012 election, when Barack Obama’s policies were and still are bankrupting the coal industry, would the miners union break from their endorsement of him as President. And yet, the unions are finally seeing what the rest of us saw all along – Obamacare is a bad deal for everyone.
There’s no question that Big Labor is often seen by freedom lovers everywhere as the mortal opposition of working families and taxpayers and often times of their own members. They are a big time special interest group who make backroom deals to benefit themselves and the politicians who bend to their will over the will of the taxpayers. And there is no doubt in my mind if the Big Labor bosses could fix Obamacare to help themselves and no one else, they would. However, that should not stop us liberty lovers from joining with the unions in total solidarity on Obamacare and welcoming them into our fold.
I understand the unions are not likely to be with us 98% of the time. But we must not lose this opportunity to join forces with them to get this law repealed. It is unlikely the unions will get a fix for themselves on Obamacare and leave the rest of us behind.
First, the 2700 page law is so expansive and so intrusive – remember it not only accounts for 1/6 of our economy but actually restructures the very relationship of the American Government and “we the people” there really is almost no way for any American to escape from it.
Second, the Democrats are on the ropes and under fire in a way that far outweighs Obamacare. The IRS, Benghazi, The AP scandals are all being tagged to Barack Obama and everything associated with him is turning toxic. Americans are fed up with special interests and cronies getting a leg up and with the new scandals and more outrageous abuses coming to light in each instance, Democrats can’t be seen helping one group of people, like Union Bosses, over the rest of America. Especially since unions compromise only about 10 percent of the electorate.
We need to come out swinging for the unions. They are absolutely right in their basic assessment: that Barack Obama’s promise that every American can “keep their healthcare” is not going to come true. One of the union bosses said the President’s statement is an “untruth.” In my world, we call that “a lie” but then again, I’m from Philadelphia and we generally believe subtly is for sissies.
So let’s stand in solidarity with the unions. They have an inside track to the Democrats and their leadership that conservative types do not. When conservatives say they want Obamacare repealed or there will be repercussions in 2014, the Democrats shrug. When the Union Bosses start saying it, publicly and loudly like they are now, the Democrats, shudder – and listen.
So tamp down your inner “told you so” and hold your nose if you must and hold your hand out in solidarity. The opposition of my opposition can be a very good friend.
The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) – a 1.3 million-member labor group that twice endorsed Obama for president – is very worried about how the reform law will affect its members’ healthcare plans.
Last month, the president of the United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers released a statement calling “for repeal or complete reform of the Affordable Care Act.”
UNITE HERE, a prominent hotel workers’ union, and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters are also pushing for changes.
In a new op-ed published in The Hill, UFCW President Joe Hansen homed in on the president’s speech at the 2009 AFL-CIO convention. Obama at the time said union members could keep their insurance under the law, but Hansen writes “that the president’s statement to labor in 2009 is simply not true for millions of workers.”
Have you heard or read about the newest opponents to ObamaCare? If not, you might be surprised to learn that the latest folks to begin complaining about this massive, expensive and unnecessary take-over of our health care system is ….. drum roll please…BIG LABOR.
That’s right!
Persistent pals with the President and dutiful Democrat supporters like the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, UNITE HERE, the Teamsters and the United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers are suddenly not big fans of ObamaCare.
Let’s take a moment to applaud these folks for having the thoughtfulness to read the law, realize how they and our entire country will be negatively impacted by it in the form of increased taxes, increased health care costs and increased government and speak out.
Now it appears the Union bosses are hurting and it’s nothing Obamacare can cure. In fact, Obamacare is the cause. In a stunning break in the monolithic solidarity Obama and the Democrats have enjoyed from the unions, the rank and file are breaking from their Dear Leader and calling for the full repeal of Obamacare.
The only unfortunate part of this is their comments come 3 years too late!
You can learn more by following Jennifer on twitter @stefanospeaks or check out my organization at americansforproperity.org. Hear Jennifer’s commentaries on
Lincoln Radio Journal at www.lincolnradiojournal.com.
Permission to reprint is granted provided author and affiliation are cited.
This Week on Lincoln Radio Journal: Rich States/Poor States
Posted by The Lincoln Institute of Public Opinon Research in American Radio Journal, Lincoln Radio Journal on May 23, 2013
Radio Program Schedule for the week of May 25, 2013 – May 31, 2013
This week on American Radio Journal:
- Lowman Henry talks with Mary Eberstadt author of How the West Really Lost God about the decline of religion in America and its impact on the family
- Andy Roth has the Real Story behind how congress should approach providing tornado disaster relief to Oklahoma
- Eric Boehm and Benjamin Yount take a Watchdog Radio look at the IRS harassment of a great-grandmother providing history books to school children
- Col. Frank Ryan, USMC (Ret.) talks about his upcoming walk across America to raise money for developmentally disabled children
This week on Lincoln Radio Journal:
- Eric Boehm and Melissa Daniels have news headlines from www.paindependent.com
- David Taylor of the PA Manufacturers Association hosts a Capitol Watch look at the latest Rich States/Poor States report with Kevin Shivers from the PA Chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business and report co-author Jonathan Williams from the American Legislative Exchange Council
- Lowman Henry has a Town Hall Commentary on state Senator Jay Costa’s big government agenda
Senator Jay Costa will be among the topics featured on this week’s radio program line-up!
Visit the program web sites for more information about air times. There, you can also stream live or listen to past programs!
Jay Costa’s Big Government Agenda
Posted by The Lincoln Institute of Public Opinon Research in Lincoln Institute, Lowman Henry, Opinion on May 21, 2013
Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa
In recent weeks Americans have seen the dark underbelly of big government: the IRS targeting conservative groups; the Department of Justice tapping the phone lines of journalists; stonewalling by the White House on Benghazi. It is not the best of times to be pushing a big government agenda. But here in Pennsylvania that is exactly what state Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa is doing.
Speaking before the Pennsylvania Press Club, Costa boldly proclaimed his caucus’ highest priorities over the coming months are raising taxes and expanding government programs. In essence he wants to double down on the failed policies that have gotten us into serious fiscal difficulty on a number of fronts.
Parroting national left-wing orthodoxy the Democratic leader of the state senate railed against Governor Tom Corbett for rejection of the Medicare health care exchanges being set up as part of the Affordable Health Care Act, commonly referred to as Obamacare. Pennsylvania would initially benefit from an infusion of federal cash, but according to the Heritage Foundation within five to six years massive state tax dollars would be required to sustain the program, quickly erasing the initial benefits. But that is part of the plan: ensnare the state in a massive new entitlement program; hook people on the benefits; run up a substantial deficit thereby creating a political climate that forces the enactment of new taxes.
Already Obamacare is showing signs of unraveling. So much so that veteran Democratic U.S. Senator Max Baucus of Montana several weeks ago termed the program a “train wreck.” And, with the current IRS scandal in full bloom, public confidence in that agency’s ability to fairly and efficiently monitor and enforce the program are, well, non-existent.
Costa also pressed hard for lifting the cap on the state’s oil franchise tax as a way of raising more revenue to fix roads and bridges. This would add over 20-cents per gallon to the cost of gasoline. There is bi-partisan agreement that the state’s aging network of roads and bridges need serious attention. But Costa also proposes diverting even more state dollars into public transportation – in particular the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Agency (SEPTA) and Port Authority Transit (PAT) in Pittsburgh. Both are legendary patronage havens sporting some of the highest labor rates in the nation.
Costa framed both the health care exchanges and spending on highway infrastructure as jobs programs. Yes, they would create jobs. But they would be jobs created by the transfer of private wealth to the government sector, not jobs created as a result of a growing economy. Some might say “jobs are jobs,” but the siphoning of money on the scale proposed by Costa from the private sector will result in further stifling a slow economic recovery. That will hinder the process of creating private sector jobs. In the end the real cost may be in net jobs lost.
At the same time as he trumpeted big government programs, Costa detailed senate Democrats’ opposition to reforms that would unleash the power of free markets to create real economic growth. Specifically, they are opposed to privatization of the state’s Soviet-era state store system. Credible polls show Pennsylvanians widely support the improved convenience and selection of wine and spirits should Penn’s Woods adopt a system currently employed by 48 other states. It would create an opportunity for thousands of small businesses, and add real jobs in the private sector.
Costa also called for a moratorium on the phase out of the Capitol Stock & Franchise Tax. This is an arcane tax, one with which most Pennsylvanians are unfamiliar. It is levied on corporations in addition to Corporate Net Income taxes. Pennsylvania is the only state in the nation with both taxes. As a result, it contributes significantly to a poor overall state business climate giving other states a built-in advantage in competition for business creation and expansion.
Taken as a whole, the senate Democrat agenda is geared more to winning next year’s elections than in seriously addressing the problems and needs of Pennsylvanians. Costa employed populist rhetoric against Governor Corbett saying he is putting the needs of corporations over health care for people. But the opposite is true. The governor opposes putting state taxpayers on the hook for funding an already failing federal health care monstrosity, and pushes elimination of the Capitol Stock & Franchise tax as a way to spur real, private sector job creation.
So far polls indicate the Democrats’ political gambit is working. But that is little solace to Pennsylvanians who, if the Costa agenda is enacted, won’t be able to find work, will be saddled with a massive new state health care bureaucracy, will be paying more at the pump, along with higher taxes and smaller paychecks to fund a massive expansion of state government.
(Lowman S. Henry is Chairman & CEO of the Lincoln Institute and host of the weekly Lincoln Radio Journal. His e-mail address is lhenry@lincolninstitute.org.)
Permission to reprint is granted provided author and affiliation are cited.
This Week on American Radio Journal: Backlog at the VA
Posted by The Lincoln Institute of Public Opinon Research in Lincoln Radio Journal, American Radio Journal on June 13, 2013
Radio Program Schedule for the week of June 15, 2013 – June 21, 2013
This week on American Radio Journal:
This week on Lincoln Radio Journal:
Visit the program web sites for more information about air times. There, you can also stream live or listen to past programs!
http://www.lincolnradiojournal.com
http://www.americanradiojournal.com
life, politics, news, government, business, education, GOP, Radio, Opinion, Discussion, Economy, Commentary, USA, Presidential, Election, program, people, pennsylvania, Events, schedule, republican, democrat, journal, laws
Leave a Comment