REASONS TO VOTE FOR MCCAIN!

9 of 10 reasons

By Tom Welge

REASON #1 America, especially now, needs a President that will support and grow our economy. The recent weeks have made us all concerned about our personal finances and the financial strength of America in general. We need a President who will grow and repair our economy, not grow and extend our government. Free markets drive our economy, not government. John McCain understands America’s economic engine. It does not appear that his opponent does.

REASON #2 Senator McCain values liberty, not the power of government. Senator McCain has a long record of supporting and upholding personal liberty, all the way back to his military service and 5 and ½ years in a Vietnamese prison camp. He and Governor Palin are committed to reforming government and reducing its negative impact on our lives. When listening to the proposals of his opponent, one thing is clear, most of what he wants in government will come with some loss of our personal resources (taxes), our right to choose (schools, medical, etc.), or other cherished personal liberties.
When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty. - Thomas Jefferson

REASON #3 John McCain will appoint judges that strictly interpret and apply the law, not ones that attempt to make law. We all know that in the Constitution the Founding Fathers established 3 distinct branches of government. Only the legislature, the Senators and Representatives that we elect, are allowed to make laws. Judges (who are appointed, not elected) should not have the power to interpret the laws of our country in ways that allow them to “legislate from the bench”. Our next president will appoint many Federal judges, likely even one or more Supreme Court Justices. Only Senator McCain has committed to appointing judges who will strictly interpret our Constitution and the laws that our elected representatives have established.

REASON #4 The McCain-Palin campaign is the first in history to advocate for the rights of special needs children and their parents. Everyone of us likely knows a family which includes a child with special needs. It might even be your own family. Whatever the condition, it is clear that the earlier a child receives the right therapies and services, the better the outcome for this child throughout his or her life. Concerned parents everywhere search desperately for information and assistance. Unfortunately, many of these opportunities for improvement are missed because sufficient help is not available. Just this week Governor Palin unveiled the McCain-Palin plan for Special Needs Children. Their administration will increase resources for therapies and treatments, allow choice for parents in seeking services, and put a focus on the needs of these children like never before.

"And what's been confirmed in me is every child has something to contribute to the world, if we give them that chance. You know that there are the world's standards of perfection, and then there are God's, and these are the final measure. Every child is beautiful before God, and dear to Him for their own sake. And the truest measure of any society is how it treats those who are most vulnerable." – Governor Sarah Palin

REASON #5 Senator McCain fully understands the critical issues of national defense and foreign policy facing America and is prepared to deal with them from his first day in office. While we all hope for peace for ourselves and our children, the world is still a dangerous place. John McCain will support the men and women in the armed forces and ensure they have the best materials and support available. He understands what will be needed to transform our military as we deal with new threats. Knowing very well the horrors of war, he will only commit our military serivce personnel to action when absolutely necessary and with the support that will guarantee their success. Senator McCain understands how to strengthen relationships with our allies. He also knows how to send a clear message to our enemies.

With so much at stake, we can not afford to put our leadership in the hands of the inexperienced. You may recall, when Russia recently invaded the Republic of Georgia (a strong US ally), our junior Senator from Illinois, suggested action by the UN Security Council. Unfortunately, Russia has veto power over all actions of the UN Security Council................

Reason #6 America Needs John McCain: Only Senator McCain will deliver true energy independence for America. John McCain understands that in order to provide both energy independence and sufficient energy to grow our economy, we must fuel our nation from many sources. Three of the most important options are additional drilling of our own oil reserves, more nuclear energy, and clean coal technology. These are all programs which the Democratic party has either continually opposed, or in the least, sent mixed messages on through the years. We should expect no less from them if they gain control of both the Congress and the White House. We must also pursue wind, solar, tidal, natural gas, electric vehicles, and other technologies, and Senator McCain is committed to investing in these industries. "In recent days I have set before the American people an energy plan, the Lexington Project -- named for the town where Americans asserted their independence once before. And let it begin today with this commitment: In a world of hostile and unstable suppliers of oil, this nation will achieve strategic independence by 2025." John McCain, June 25, 2008

Reason #7 America Needs John McCain: Senator McCain's Tax Plan Redistributes
Opportunity, Not "Wealth". By this time, everyone knows Senator McCain's
opponent has openly called his tax plan a redistribution of wealth. An
increase-taxes-and-grows-government plan will ultimately cause severe damage to
our economy and a further loss of jobs. After a review of both plans, the
Heritage Foundation concluded that Senator McCain's Tax policies will grow our
Gross Domestic Product nearly 3 times more than that of his opponent over a 9
year period. Which plan do you think is right for America today? (I'd
encourage you to read the entire Heritage Foundation Review at
http://www.heritage.org/Research/taxes/cda08-09.cfm.)

Reason #8 America Needs John McCain: Senator McCain will reform and revitalize
our education system, not be held back by bureaucracies and unions. Senator
McCain and Governor Palin believe that we must give families the power of choice
when it comes to education. We must provide our schools all the tools they need
to succeed for the sake of all children. However, parents should be free to
change schools if the students are suffering due to a failed administration,
waste, or poor teachers. Schools should be able to compete for the best
students and the best staff. Schools (both administration and teachers) must be
held accountable for failures as well. All this means major changes, changes
that will not be easy or looked upon kindly by teachers unions (a major
contributory to the campaign of our Jr. Senator from Illinois). Only John
McCain has the independence and determination to do what needs to be done.

Reason #9 America Needs John McCain: We can not afford P.O.R. (Pelosi - Obama -
Reid) government in Washington, DC. At a time when America needs to fuel its
economy, the agenda of a Democratic controlled Congress and White House are
extremely dangerous for both our short-term recovery and our long-term growth as
a nation. Americans need to be very concerned about the liberal polices that
could be advanced and the growth in government spending, taxes, and the defecit
that will certainly occur. John McCain will stand up to Pelosi and Reid to
make sure that our governent acts wisely and responsibly.

Tom Welge is a residence of Chester, Illinois-the home of Popeye. He is a political activist and attorney. He is an executive in a food processing company.

Weekly Opinion/Editorial
REDISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH IS NOT A GOOD IDEA!
by Steve Fair

"Joe the Plumber" has come to define the 2008 Presidential campaign. Unless you have been asleep the past week, you know that Barack Obama’s conversation with Joe Warzelbacher dominated the last presidential debate and much of the political discussion the past week.

At a campaign stop, Joe asked Obama about his tax plan. Joe, who is trying to buy the small company from his employer, said it looked like Obama’s plan would tax his small plumbing business and hurt the company. Obama didn’t deny his plan would tax Joe, but told him he wanted not only Joe to prosper, but also all those standing behind him. "We need to redistribute the wealth," Obama said. When Obama used that phase, bell, whistles and alarms sounded. Was he advocating socialism or worse communism? Karl Marx, the founder of communism said, "The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles." While anyone who has been paying attention knows that most liberals are socialist in varying degrees, what Obama was really advocating was "Statism" which is state intervention in personal, social and economic matters.

Here are the problems with socialism/statism and the whole concept of redistribution of wealth.

First, redistribution of wealth rewards people with no ambition or sense of responsibility. If you plan to re-distribute the wealth to everyone, regardless of their work habits, productivity or ambition, no incentive is provided for a person to work hard or put forth any extra effort. The "American Dream" has always been to work hard, save your money, and get ahead. The chance to "get ahead" draws millions across our southern borders each year. The reason we have an illegal immigration problem in the United States is because our economic system rewards ambition and responsibility. You take that incentive away and you will have less productivity and poor morale.

Second, redistribution of wealth is not a biblical principle. Scripture calls for private ownership and private rewards. It calls for the accumulation of good things tempered with the giving from those things to help other people. Scripture calls for diligent individuals to work and be fruitful. Christians are to exercise love, mercy, and charity according to their faith towards God. We have already delegated a majority of the work of the church to government- i.e. welfare programs. As that continues, government gains more and more control of our lives and groups rights opposed to individual rights, commonly seem in an atheistic government prosper.

Some socialists use the parable of the workers in the vineyard in Matthew 20 as an example the Bible teaches socialism. I must admit this passage always seems unfair to me. Why should folks who have worked different hours be paid the same wages? We live with a very strong sense of what is "owed" to us and that is the spirit that Jesus challenges with this parable. What we should see in this parable is that we should simply serve and leave everything up to Him. He is not teaching socialism- he is teaching faith.

Third, redistribution of wealth places the power in the hands of government, not the individual. That’s what statism is. Government already has more control than it should. Decentralized economic activity at the level of individuals and private organizations in a free market produces superior economic results. If socialism, statism and communism work, then why was it that the USSR had similar class divisions as capitalist countries? Free markets work when they are allowed to function in their purest sense. Granted capitalism- in and of itself- is not a charitable system, but the most generous people in the world live in capitalist countries.

I support a fair tax http://www.fairtax.org/site/PageServerand not just because of the name. The FairTax plan is a comprehensive proposal that replaces all federal income and payroll based taxes with an integrated approach. The components include a progressive national retail sales tax, a provision that would allow the poorest among us to pay not federal tax, and the repeal of the 16th amendment. That’s the one that created the IRS. Sometimes known as a "consumption" tax, this national sales tax would be revenue neutral, meaning it would not disrupt the services government currently provides for the citizens. It’s simpler and has the support of a number of lawmakers in Congress.

Not surprisingly, Obama does not support the Fair Tax plan, but it is surprising Obama does not support the free market system. He has personally benefited from capitalism. Obama is living the American dream- from rags to riches- so why is he trying to keep others from living it? Because he’s a liberal and the liberal’s creed is to tax the rich and give the money to the less deserving. Under Obama’s plan, he will enslave a people that will look to the government for prosperity. They will look to the government for advancement. A fundamental principle that must be understood is that government produces nothing- government consumes.

Voter rolls grow across Oklahoma

BY JULIE BISBEE and PAUL MONIES
Published: October 23, 2008 in The Oklahoman

In Stephens County, the Republican Party’s annual chili cook-off seems to be paying off. Republicans in the southern Oklahoma county increased their rolls by 18 percent, or 1,393, according to preliminary voter registration information analyzed by The Oklahoman. At the same time, the number of independent voters grew, while Democrats saw a loss of about 1,218 local registered voters. Stephens is one of a handful of counties seeing an increase in the number of people who are registered as Republicans or independents.

Republican leaders say good local candidates are helping their cause. Democratic leaders say their new voter efforts have been focused on younger voters in all counties. It’s been a little more than 10 days since voter registration closed for the Nov. 4 election. County election boards are still entering new voter information, but preliminary numbers show that Oklahoma’s voter rolls are growing, said Michael Clingman, state Election Board secretary.

The state has 2,179,603 voters as of Wednesday evening. Of that number, Democrats account for 1,077,984. Republicans add 857,834 voters and there are 243,785 registered independents. Since November 2004, the state has added 35,625 voters to the rolls, figures show.
Democrats still make up about half of all registered voters, but counties that were once Democratic strongholds are seeing small changes in their party affiliation.

"We’ve had a lot of people change,” said Steve Fair, chairman of the Stephens County Republican party. "A lot of people have always been aligned with the Republican Party morally, now they’re finally changing. I haven’t seen this much excitement for a national election in Oklahoma since Ronald Reagan.”

Fair said the Republican Party in Stephens County has spent the last five years educating voters about the differences in the parties, whether it be at chili cook-offs or fish fries.
"It’s finally paying off,” he said. Read the entire story at: http://newsok.com/voter-rolls-grow-across-oklahoma/article/3314508

BATTLEGROUND POLL SHOWS

PREZ RACE A DEAD HEAT!

Oklahoman and fellow Cameron Aggie Ed Goeas(Republican) along with Celinda Lake (Democrat) conduct the Battleground Poll which has been remarkably accurate through the years. The latest results shows Obama at 44% and McCain at 42%- a statistical dead heat. The details can be viewed at http://www.tarrance.com/files/10.23-Presentation-graphics.pdf

ARE THE POLLS ACCURATE!

By Michael Barone- Wall Street Journal

Can we trust the polls this year? That's a question many people have been asking as we approach the end of this long, long presidential campaign. As a recovering pollster and continuing poll consumer, my answer is yes -- with qualifications. Read more at: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122463210033356561.html

Oliver Stone:

‘Are we alone? Are we alone?’

By Betsy Rothstein from THE HILL

Filmmaker Oliver Stone has been on the media circuit promoting “W.,” the new film starring Josh Brolin as President Bush. Stone convened a conference call Monday morning from Paris with American reporters.


Stone seemed shaky on the details of a conference call. He said he didn’t know where to begin and remarked, “I’m here on a European press tour, just started in Paris. It’s 4 in the afternoon.”
Stone declared his film more important than the upcoming presidential election: “It overshadows the election, in my opinion,” he said. “I frankly think [President Bush] is one of the greatest stories of the last 40 years, bigger than Reagan, bigger than Nixon.”

Stone was asked repeatedly about the authenticity of Brolin’s depiction of Bush, since many quotes were taken out of context. “These quotes are strung over years,” he said. “As a dramatist we have to simplify and condense and I don’t think we crossed the line of what happened in that administration. They said these things.”

After insisting that the Bush family has no desire to look inside themselves psychologically, Stone offered the Bushes a private screening of the film, saying, “If they would like to screen the film with me, I’d be most gracious. It’s very hard, I know, to see a film about yourself. Neither Freud nor Darwin meant a lot to them.”

When the interview came to a close, Stone kept asking the call’s organizer, “Are we alone?” No, hang up, he was told. “Are we alone?” he repeated. No, hang up, he was told again. We’ll call back, he was told. “OK, please do,” he said. You can read the entire story at:

http://thehill.com/in-the-know/etheridge-to-host-fundraiser-for-kucinich-2008-10-21.html

THE CORRUPTION GRAPHIC

The Oklahoman has a great graphic that "connects the dots" on the Stipe/Mass/McMahan scandal. The link is: http://static.newsok.biz/flash/stipe/stipe.html

Two articles that are related to this subject are past posts on FAIR & BIASED. They are STATISM by Jeremy Fair, posted on September 10, 2008 and STICK TO PREACHING CHRIST by Steve Fair, posted on September 29, 2008. Thanks to David Weston for his scholarly, well written AN ESSAY ABOUT AMERICA....

Guest Editorial
An essay about America…
By J. David Weston

A historical summary

America--A country where God predominantly pulled people out of England and Europe with the promise to freely exercise their right to worship Jesus Christ based upon their own convictions. Yes some came with a desire to obtain wealth, but most were compelled to leave England and Europe after centuries of oppression and persecution by the Catholic and Anglican Religions.

Upon settling in America, God allowed these Christians to select their own leaders who allowed them to live quiet and peaceable lives and where the Gospel of Christ was promoted without any restraint of the State and as a result, evangelism and righteousness flourished. That is the most important and most wonderful legacy that we have inherited from our forefathers.

Leading up to the point of our Independence and ever since then, American's have struggled with pursuing wealth and licentious behavior over righteousness. Those temptations have been overcome by Great Awakenings and National Revivals. Only Heaven can tell of the exact impact that: the George Whitefield's, the Jonathan Edwards', the Lyman Beecher's, the Dwight L Moody's and the Billy Graham's have had upon our Country.

As a result, our people not only returned to righteousness but sent out missionaries to promote the gospel in other countries. It is one of the reasons that God has blessed us and protected our homeland from the ravages of war that cursed the 20th Century. Our country started along the Atlantic Coast and has spread from "Sea to Shining Sea" and beyond. All in the midst of what would seem to be insurmountable circumstances. Throughout our history, our inventors, our entrepreneurs and our industries have led the world into the unprecedented prosperity that is known on most continents today.

But now we have committed the error of selecting leaders that do not believe the Gospel of Christ and these leaders seek to suppress and curtail the influence of the Gospel upon our society and our government. Our founding fathers were not concerned about the influence of the Church upon the State. They feared the opposite! They never wanted to separate the influence of God from Government because they understood that although they were elected by their constituents, it ultimately was God who had placed them there.

They understood that the State should not be the master of the Christian Church. They understood that the Christian Church should not be servant of the State. But they did understand that the Christian Church should be the conscience of the State.

Our current situation

Unfortunately, a prolonged American prosperity has led to complacency and ambivalence amongst her citizens. Over the last 60 years we have allowed misguided leadership to enact laws that have gradually taken away the conscience that our government needs to make good decisions. The result is that we have selected leaders who drunkenly reel and stagger around the District of Columbia, our State Capitols and our Courthouses making stupid errors and mistakes.

As a result our land has become polluted with the blood of 40,000,000 innocent unborn babies! Our elected officials endorse the perversion of sodomy to our children and call it an alternative lifestyle! They reward slothfulness with welfare! They allow for the proliferation of pornography and profanity under the guise of freedom of speech! They encourage greed amongst speculators and prop up their schemes on the backs of the honest and hardworking! They promote the false-hope of gambling which preys upon the trust of the poor and the uninformed! They allow judges to stay in office that subvert the will of the people! They vomit decadence and call it freedom!

Thus we find ourselves on the verge of government bankruptcy, our enemies plot our demise and our society has decayed to the point of malevolence.

Yet there is hope

If America is going to avoid the wrath of a Just and Holy God then her Christian Citizens must once again stand up, speak up and promote the restoration of the ideals of righteousness. Our government must acknowledge her conscience!

The book of Ecclesiastes says that, "To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:" This is a time to for Christians to fall on our knees and beg our Sovereign and Holy God for mercy. This is a time where Christians must turn away from our sins. Where we must rise up and come together and select new leaders from amongst ourselves that are not drunk with a desire for wealth and power, who will restore a quiet and peaceable atmosphere where the gospel of Christ can once again promote Godliness.

An obstacle to hope

Christians believe that the Bible is Inerrant Truth inspired by the Holy Spirit of God. Pastors are characterized as the shepherds who protect and lead their flock/church of sheep/Christians. But pastors, churches and Christians have become intimidated from fulfilling their role as the conscience of our government.

This intimidation is enforced by the Internal Revenue Service which threatens the assessment of penalties and taxes when pastors and churches attempt to talk about the unrighteous behavior that the leaders of our government promote. Prior to July 2, 1954 Pastors could talk to their congregations about this subject. But Senator Lyndon B. Johnson was afraid that his own unrighteous behavior would be mentioned by the pastors within the churches of Texas and therefore he would lose his pending re-election.

His exact quote before the President of the Senate on this dubious day follows: "Mr. President, this amendment seeks to extend the provisions of section 501 of the House bill, denying tax-exempt status to not only those people who influence legislation but also to those who intervene in any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for any public office."

And thus, the conscience of our government has been muzzled for fifty-four years!

Further need for change
It can be no coincidence that with her conscience muzzled our government fell into making the depraved decisions that have led our country to brink of insolvency, moral decay and the threat of nuclear obliteration.

It is not happenstance that we now teach our children that they are descended from lizards, tadpoles and monkeys instead of being made in the image of God. It used to be that kids got in trouble for chewing gum and passing notes in class but those small problems have since been replaced in our schools with drug abuse, rape and murder. Perhaps this debauchery can also be tied to the facts that since 1954 our leaders have banned teaching from the Bible, prayer and the display of the 10 Commandments in our public schools?

A step towards renewal and restoration

We need Pastors to be the good shepherds that, "convince, rebuke, and exhort with longsuffering and teaching." We need pastors to fear God, not the IRS. We need: more Nathan's, more Jonah's, more Elijah's, more Ezekiel's, more Isaiah's, more Nehemiah's, and more John the Baptist's!

We need Christians to set aside their desire for wealth and power and sacrificially serve their God and Country! The District of Columbia, our State Capitols and our courthouses must be purged. Before it is too late, the conscience of our Government must be restored!

Can another Great Awakening save America from herself? Our history and the Bible tell me, YES!

J David Weston is a political activist. He serves as a deacon at his church. David is a past finance director for the Oklahoma State Republican Party. He currently is a financial planner. He can be contacted at jdavidweston@gmail.com.