THE RHEA COUNTY REPUBLICAN

ADVANCING THE CONSERVATIVE CAUSE

Vol. 6 – No. 7 September 2022

The original content of this publication is copyrighted. Requests for reprinting may be obtained by contacting the Editor and Publisher at: pyrope84045@mypacks.net

Table of Contents

Greetings ———————————————————————1

Editorial ———————————————————————- 2

Jiminy Cricket May Have To Go Into Hiding———————-6

The Relentless Attack on America ———————————-7

Tennesseans to Vote on Constitutional Amendments——–9

The Roots of Our Greatest Challenge—————————–12

The Next Stage of Regulation —————————————15

Who’s Stirring the Pot ————————————————–17

Defeating the Green Fascists————————————–18

Comments From Correspondents———————————-20

Legislative Report——————————————————- 23

Rhea County Republican Party News —————————- 24

Lagniappe —————————————————————– 25

Contact Your Elected Representatives Today! ————— 28

The Mid-Term Elections are only 2 months away. It will be challenging, but we have an opportunity to reverse the anti-American Biden agenda. It can only happen if we all VOTE!

GREETINGS:

In the waning days of summer we find the primary elections are over and the names of our candidates are on the 2022 mid-term ballots. All the polls continue to indicate the Red Tsunami will sweep many Democrats out of office.

It appears as though this Red Tsunami will also impact State and municipal governments – voters in what were formerly “Blue” and “Purple” areas have seen the light – they’re voting Republican! If one should doubt the polls, all doubts can be allayed by observing the actions of the Left!

The Democrats are becoming totally unhinged!

They are dispatching their Deep State operatives in a last ditch effort to try and preserve their hold on America. Nowhere have the Left revealed themselves than in their hate-filled and unjust attacks on President Trump!

Together, we can stop the Democrats by working to elect Republicans, but our work does not end on November 1^st. We must remain vigilant in reminding the Republicans that their job is to restore our rights and uphold our laws!

EDITORIAL

Kris Bancroft, Editor

On 16 August, Mr. Biden signed into law the “Inflation Reduction Act.” The bill was signed without a “score” from the bipartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), an entity that is customarily used to provide the actual cost for implementing a piece of legislation. At this point, we are told the bill will cost US taxpayers $739 Billion – that amounts to approximately one billion dollars per page! To paraphrase Nancy Pelosi’s remarks about the “Affordable” Care Act – 0bamacare – they had to pass it so we could find out what’s in it.

One of the things we do know is that Mr. Biden lied (again) to Americans when he made his solemn vow that he would never raise taxes on any American earning less than $400,000 per year. Mr. J. Pat Rich, a Correspondent from Barnwell, South Carolina, shared but a few of the specific ways in which Mr. Biden’s bill increases taxes on Middle-Income Americans:

$6.5 Billion in taxes on natural gas – the fuel that cooks our food and heats our homes
$12 Billion in taxes on crude oil which heats many homes in the US and is the source for fuel that enables American workers to travel to and from work, and to all the other places we must go.
There is an additional $1.2 Billion in taxes imposed on the coal industry, which can only be interpreted by the voters in West Virginia as adding insult to injury from their Senator Joe Manchin, without whose vote the bill would never have passed. There is absolutely no doubt but what Senator Manchin was richly rewarded for selling out his constituents; the only question is whether the people of West Virginia will remember his betrayal.
The biggest direct hit on the Middle Class is the $124 Billion Stock Tax. Every American in the private sector who has a retirement plan – 401(k), IRA, or private pension plan – will, thanks to Mr. Biden and the Democrats, have a portion of their retirement earnings confiscated.

There are many hidden taxes that will be foisted off onto Working Class Americans. The most egregious of these include:

Corporate income tax hikes on U.S. businesses which will be passed on to the consumer.
Taxes on American-based pharmaceutical manufacturers will be increased by 95%. At a time when 97% of all the antibiotics used by Americans are manufactured in China – the same country who sends us their fentanyl – it would seem prudent to work toward our country’s independence with respect to the life-saving drugs we use instead of against it!
If you’re an entrepreneur, you’re going to take a hit, as well. Biden’s bill contains a $52 Billion tax hike on mid-sized businesses, many of which are family owned. This includes agricultural businesses!

Looking past the aforementioned items, there is one ultimate insult remaining.

There is a provision in Mr. Biden’s “Inflation Reduction Act” to increase the yearly IRS budget from ~$12.8 Billion per year to $80 Billion per year and to hire an, additional 87,000 new IRS agents, raising the total number of personnel on the IRS payroll to more than 158,600.

https://www.irs.gov/statistics/irs-budget-and-workforce

So, who are all these agents coming after?

The White House handlers were quick to tell Americans that these new IRS Agents are going to target the billionaires, but when someone did some quick arithmetic, they discovered there would be far more Agents than there are billionaires.

The meme was immediately changed to claim that the targets would also include millionaires.

It was about that time when someone saw an ad placed by the IRS, recruiting new Agents. The ad contained the requirement that candidates must “carry a firearm and be willing to use deadly force, if necessary.”

https://www.verifythis.com/article/news/verify/government-verify/fact-check-irs-job-description-edited-to-remove-deadly-force-requirement/536-0769804a-dfcc-4443-b43c-7a68074f3e9f

That particular requirement was quickly removed from the ad, but the truth as to the true mission of these new agents was clearly revealed.

In looking at the matter of audits, from the most practical perspective, the very wealthy amongst us hire the best tax lawyers and accountants to navigate the tax code and make absolutely certain every “i” has been dotted and ever “t” has been crossed. The IRS Agents don’t waste their time with the very wealthy (except for those who happen to be political targets), they focus their sights on middle-to-lower income people; those who cannot afford to hire tax attorneys and accounting firms.

https://www.investopedia.com/news/number-millionaires-continues-increase/

And, speaking of political targets:

Remember when, back in 2013, we gained some insight as to how Democrats are prone to using government agencies to target their enemies? It was only nine years ago that we heard (some of) the sordid details as to how the 0bama regime deployed the IRS (and OSHA), to persecute Tea Party organizations.

Lois Lerner took the fall for the 0bama regime and the IRS. In return for her sacrifice, she never served so much as a day in prison, she never paid the first penny in fines or restitutions, and she retired with full benefits!

Keeping the past in mind – learning from history, so to speak – the following is what we may expect in the days to come:

One can cruise around on social media and learn the names of the political activists. With its newly recruited Deep State zealots (all of whom will be jumping at every opportunity to make a name for themselves), you can bet your bootie that these new recruits will be looking out for those conservative “rabble rousers.”

Another source of potential targets are the voter rolls. One can show up at the offices of the Commissioner of Elections, pay a small fee, and walk away with the names, addresses, and other identifying data, of those who are registered as Republicans.

These data can be cross-checked against property tax statements and previous donations listed on tax returns and, eventually, the primary targets would be winnowed out.

It has long been said the IRS knows more about a taxpayer than a taxpayer knows about themselves and, now that the IRS has become populated with fellow travelers of the Deep State, armed with all the necessary tools their intent is to hound and harass Conservatives from here to eternity.

But, there is one and only one way to stop this scenario from playing out; that “way” is to repeal the 16^th Amendment.

And the first response to this proposal is: Without revenues, how will the government operate?

The answer is Free Market Capitalism – more about that in a moment.

By way of prefacing the answer to the question of collecting revenues, some have proposed instituting a “Flat Tax” or a “Fair Tax,” but both schemes would still require the existence of a federally-based auditing and collecting entity like the IRS. America would still be faced with the potential for a government agency that could be weaponized against a certain segment of our population.

The answer is the establishment of a National Sales Tax that would be collected by the Treasuries of the States and territories, and then directly submitted to the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Setting the tax rate would be relatively simple and, as based on the annual budget for operating government, 17.5% would fully fund all entities of Federal government at pre-Biden allocation levels. The Federal sales tax would not be applied to food or medicine. Since wealthier people tend to purchase more expensive items, those who have screamed that the “rich” should be forced to pay their “fair share” would have, at last, found “Nirvana.”

One would need to give careful consideration to how the tax rates might be adjusted, but the best method seems to be a requirement for a 3/5^th majority vote in both the House and Senate, plus a signature by the President in order to increase the established tax rate.

The benefits of a National Sales Tax would be realized by the promotion of commerce in the United States. The more items consumed, the more revenues collected. (The National Sales Tax could also be applied to items exported from the United States. This, along with tariffs on imports would further add to collected revenues.)

Lastly, imagine a country where the tax collectors can no longer persecute their political enemies! It can happen but only if we work together to make it so.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

Guard with jealous attention the Public Liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined.

– Patrick Henry

JIMINY CRICKET MAY HAVE TO GO INTO HIDING

Diane Weber Bederman, Chaplain

News Alert: Jiminy Cricket may have to go into hiding. He has been heard expressing surprise, shock and astonishment that his fellow crickets are now being bred for food in first world countries. Who knew?

Why would we need to turn to crickets for food?

The WEF under the leadership of Klaus Schwab is promoting crickets as a major source of protein as he and his colleagues – leaders of the West; including my hero Justin Trudeau, start to take down farming and demand reductions in livestock – seems they belch dangerous gasses that are destroying our climate.

It all kicked off in June as Dutch farmers protested over their government’s proposals to slash emissions of damaging pollutants, a plan that will likely force cultivators to cut their livestock herds or stop work altogether.

And the attacks on farmers spread across Europe into New Zealand and on to Canada and the USA. Bet you haven’t heard a word from main stream media!

https://dianebederman.com/jiminy-cricket-may-have-to-go-into-hiding/

RANDOM THOUGHTS

If the prices of: fuel oil has increased 75.6%, gasoline 44%, gas utilities 30.5%, electricity 5.2%, groceries13%, and new cars 10.3%, who can possibly believe Mr. Biden, Janet Yellen, and Jay Powell when they tell us our cost of living has increased by only 8.5%?

THE RELENTLESS ATTACK ON AMERICA

John Droz, Jr. Physicist & Patriot

Morehead, NC

To maximize our chances of genuinely solving any major societal problem, we need to have a big picture understanding of what is going on. Let’s try this…

America was founded on the profoundly important principle that the government should be: of the people, by the people, and for the people. But that is currently not even remotely the case!

Instead we have a government run by special interests, for special interests. This radical departure, of course, is not acknowledged. Instead the government (and their beneficiaries) goes to great lengths to pretend that citizens are in control of the government (e.g., via so-called honest elections), and that government policies are still about doing what is in the best interests of citizens. Both are provably false.

As horrific as the COVID-19 matter is (some one million Americans dead — most unnecessary), the silver lining may be that it finally rips the scab off this charade.

Basically, here is our current situation: Various government factions have knowingly lied to the public regarding a wide variety of major technical matters ranging from climate change to COVID. They know they can get away with smoke and mirrors, as the public is technically challenged — so most people will not be aware that they are being misled. The ignorance of the citizenry is no accident, as anti-Americans have worked for years to undermine what had been our reasonably competent education system.

Eroding Science education is the primary target of these special-interest parties, as our modern society is almost entirely based on Science.

To appreciate the extraordinary lengths [to which] these saboteurs have gone, and the extreme precariousness of our current position, we need to grasp what they are doing to Science.

Scientist Dr. Carl Sagan famously (and accurately) said: “We live in a society dependent on Science — in which hardly anyone knows anything about Science!” https://www.azquotes.com/quote/256793

Over thousands of years we have worked out a methodology for discovering the technical truths of our universe — which is what the field of Science is all about. The short, on-point definition of Science is: Science is a Process. https://c19science.info/Education/Science_Is_A_Process.pdf

The understanding that Science is a Process is critically important for our evaluating government policies that are supposedly based on Science. The question always is: Did they follow the Process?

What is the Process? The short answer is: the Scientific Method. The Scientific Method is a step-by-step problem-solving method (process), and is the heart of Science. https://c19science.info/Education/Scientific_Method.pdf

Believe it or not, the roots of the Scientific Method go back some 4000 years. https://psychology.fandom.com/wiki/History_of_scientific_method

https://explorable.com/history-of-the-scientific-method

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_history_of_the_scientific_method

It may not be readily apparent, but anti-Americans literally hate Science. The reason is that Science is a gatekeeper that exposes the nonsense of their self-serving political proposals (COVID, climate, wind energy, etc.).

A superior example of their effort is to look at what is transpiring in our education system. Their long-range strategy is that if they can produce academic graduates who have a distorted understanding of Science, then in short order, the citizenry will also reflect that corruption. In that way, the gatekeeper will have been effectively dealt with.

So how is this happening? The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are marketed to be state-of-the-art, PreK-thru-12 Science Standards. To put their influence into perspective, they have been fully or mostly implemented by some 44 US states!

https://www.nextgenscience.org/

https://ngss.nsta.org/About.aspx

The question is: Do the NGSS promote real Science and Critical Thinking?

Astoundingly, the short answers are: No and Hell No!

Another profound matter snuck into the NGSS is that the powers-that-be have now lumped Engineers in with Scientists. The reality is that Science and Engineering are both worthy — but very different — fields.

The bottom line is that US Pre-K thru 12 students are not being taught genuine Science or to be Critical Thinkers. Instead they are being purposefully propagandized to buy into unscientific agendas. This allows lobbyists to dictate government policies that are contrary to the interest of citizens or the country.

See a more detailed explanation here.

https://c19science.info/Education/Science_Under_Attack.pdf

Here are other materials by this scientist that you might find interesting:

org: discusses the science (or lack thereof) behind our energy options. http://wiseenergy.org/
info: covers the lack of genuine science behind our COVID-19 policies. https://www.c19science.info/
Election-Integrity.info: multiple major reports on the election integrity issue. https://election-integrity.info/

Media Balance Newsletter: a free newsletter once every two weeks that covers what the mainstream media does not, on issues from: COVID to climate, elections to education, renewables to religion, etc. Here are the Newsletter’s 2022 Archives.

https://election-integrity.info/Newsletter/Media_Balance_Newsletters_2022.pdf

Send an email to get your free copy. When emailing me, please make sure to include your full name, and the state where you live. (Of course, you can cancel the Media Balance Newsletter at any time – but why would you?)

aaprjohn@northnet.org

RANDOM THOUGHTS

The next time some academician tells you how important diversity is, ask how many Republican professors there are in the Sociology Department – Thomas Sowell

TENNESSEANS TO VOTE ON CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

In addition to electing Members of the U.S. House of Representatives, a Governor, State Senate and State House representatives in the November mid-term elections, the Citizens of Tennessee will be able to vote on four proposed amendments to their State Constitution.

For the proposed constitutional amendments — people will simply vote “Yes” or “No.” A “yes” vote would choose to amend the State Constitution and adopt the new language. A “no” vote would choose to keep the current language.

Two things must happen for an amendment to pass and become part of the Constitution:

The amendment must get more “Yes” votes than “No” votes, and;
The number of yes votes must be a majority of the total votes in the gubernatorial election, meaning the number of “yes” votes must be more than half the total number of votes cast in the governor’s race for the amendment to pass.

Amendment 1: “Right-to-Work”

The first proposed amendment on the ballot would take an existing Tennessee law over unions and enshrine it in the State Constitution.

Tennessee has had “right-to-work” laws written into State Code since the 1940s, which makes it illegal for workplaces to mandate union membership or dues as a condition of employment. Likewise, the law prevents employers from firing workers if they are part of a union, which is also protected by federal law.

Ultimately, opponents of such “right-to-work” laws say these laws allow non-union members to enjoy union benefits without having to pay union dues, which they said reduces the ability of members to engage in collective bargaining in their workplace.

State Republican lawmakers in 2020 adopted a resolution to place the law into the state constitution as an amendment, saying it was intended to keep business strong in the state.

That law, as written, makes it illegal for any person, corporation, association, or the State of Tennessee or its political subdivisions to deny or attempt to deny employment to any person because of the person’s membership in, affiliation with, resignation from, or refusal to join or affiliate with any labor union or employee organization.

Amendment 2: Assigning an Acting Governor

The second proposed amendment adds more directions for legislators to follow in the State Constitution for the process of addressing situations where the Governor is temporarily unable to exercise their powers or duties.

Currently, the constitution simply states the Speaker of the Senate is the first in line to take over if the Governor is removed, resigns from office or if they die during their tenure. If there is no Speaker of the Senate, then the responsibility of governing the state falls on the Speaker of the House.

The amendment would add new wording to include situations where the Governor is temporarily unable to perform their duties, such as for medical reasons. Similar to the existing constitutional rules, the Speaker of the Senate is first in line to assume the governor’s responsibilities as acting Governor. Once the Governor is able to return to their role, they would have to submit a written, signed declaration that they are able to resume their responsibilities.

Another new rule would give the Commissioners of the administrative departments in the Executive Department the power to temporarily allow the Speaker of the Senate to take over as acting Governor in the event the Governor is unable to perform their duties. The majority of commissioners would need to submit written declarations to the Secretary of State, Speaker of the Senate and Speaker of the House to transfer power.

When the speaker is in the acting governor role, they would not be able to preside as speaker or vote as a member of the general assembly. The acting governor would be paid the same salary they make as speaker.

Amendment 3: “Removing Slavery as a Punishment for Crime”

The third proposed amendment would update language in the state’s constitution that, as currently written, is worded to technically allow slavery and indentured servitude as a punishment for crime.

Tennessee’s constitution outlaws slavery, but one clause retains language from 1870 that states: “That slavery and involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, are forever prohibited in this state.”

In 2019, Senator Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis), proposed changing the language of that clause to formally ban all forms of slavery in the state in writing. The legislation was sponsored by Rep. Joe Towns (D-Memphis), and it passed unanimously on the first round of voting in the legislature.

The Amendment would reword the clause to remove the connection between slavery and prisoners, stating: “Slavery and involuntary servitude are forever prohibited. Nothing in this section shall prohibit an inmate from working when the inmate has been duly convicted of a crime.”

“Some Tennesseans may be prisoners, but, by God, they will not be slaves. We are the first Southern State to embrace universal abolition,” Towns said in 2021.

During the second round of voting in 2021, six Republican lawmakers voted against the Amendment, claiming it was “unnecessary” to update the language and that it would confuse voters into thinking slavery was still allowed under the State Constitution.

Amendment 4: Removing the Religious Minister Disqualification

The fourth proposed amendment would delete a section in the constitution that was written to prevent “ministers of the Gospel” and priests of any denomination from holding office in the state.

The clause that it’s trying to delete from the constitution hasn’t been enforced for decades. Tennessee was the last state to enforce such restrictions on religious ministers holding office and had done so since 1796.

The U.S. Supreme Court in 1978 struck down the clause as unconstitutional in McDaniel v. Paty. In that case, Paul McDaniel, a Baptist minister and civil rights leader from Chattanooga, was sued by his opponent, Selma Cash Paty, challenging his eligibility for office based on the law.

At the time, Tennessee had argued the law existed to uphold the separation of church and state under the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.

“The essence of the rationale underlying the Tennessee restriction on ministers is that if elected to public office they will necessarily exercise their powers and influence to promote the interests of one sect or thwart the interests of another, thus pitting one against the others, contrary to the anti-establishment principle with its command of neutrality,” the justices said in the decision.

After the Supreme Court decision, McDaniel went on to serve as a Hamilton County commissioner for two decades. He died in 2021.

The amendment had bipartisan support in the Tennessee House and Senate.

[Thanks to the staff at WBIR TV, Channel 10, in Nashville, TN for sharing this information. You can read more at the following link.] https://www.wbir.com/article/news/state/tennessee-constitutional-amendments/51-aaabf2a8-de4e-4418-99c4-69acb156b520

THE ROOTS OF OUR GREATEST CHALLENGE

Dr. Rosemary Biggio

Williamstown, NJ

Nothing is more timely in the midst of recent school shootings in Texas and New York than the quote “Men have Forgotten God” by Alexandr Solzhenitsyn. US Senator Ron Johnson Blames CRT, ‘Liberal Indoctrination’ and Lack of Religion for Mass Shooting in New York and Texas.

How did we get here?

A Gallup poll notes decline in church membership is primarily a function of the increasing number of Americans who express no religious preference. Over the past two decades, the percentage of Americans who do not identify with any religion has grown from 8% in 1998-2000 to 13% in 2008-2010 and 21% over the past three years. Church Membership Decline Seen in All Major Subgroups. As would be expected given the 20-point decline in church membership overall, the Gallup data show declines among all major subgroups of the U.S. population beyond age, with some differences in the size of that decline.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments: “The Gallup poll reports the data, but offers no explanation.” There are many reasons for the decline in church attendance. Here are core reasons:

The declining role of religion in elementary and secondary education has been dramatic. Higher education has become increasingly hostile to religion, especially Christianity.

The pop culture, as manifested on TV, the movies, music and drugs are marked by a libertinism that is at odds with Christianity.

The ascendancy of moral relativism—the denial of moral absolutes— has engulfed society. The nation’s cultural elites are responsible for this outcome, including, sadly, some religious leaders.

Add to the list the declining marriage rates, and birthrates among married couples, has made it easier for parents to neglect their religious duties, including obligations to their own children. Those over the age of 60 are the baby boomers, a generation that in their youth experienced the decadence of the 1960s and 1970s. Many of them entered their senior years without a strong religious background.

The Roman Catholic Church was attacked because of its pro-life position. Attacks on the church are intended to destroy its opposition to abortion.

A new factsheet that tallies the number of babies killed in abortions since 1973 presents heartbreaking news for pro-life Americans. The new figures from the National Right to Life Committee show that almost 63.5 million babies have been killed in abortion since the Supreme Court legalized abortion in Roe v. Wade in 1973. Only women decide the abortion. Less than 1% of abortions are performed because of rape or incest.

Men have a historical role to protect women and children but, they have been demonized and stripped of their role. CRT has demonized men by labeling men as having “toxic masculinity.”

Christina Hoff Sommers has written many books about the War against Boys and (I will add Men). Women have become the men by usurping their historical roles of protecting women and children. In 1950’s, a man could support the family with his pay check but no longer. The Federal government has replaced the father.

Medicare demised the role of father by not letting women live with the father of the children. Women and men are not blameless. They chose money over marriage. We have fatherless children.

“Why the Declining Marriage Rate Affects Everyone,” Heritage Foundation.

In synopsis, families are the building blocks of civilization. They are personal relationships, but they greatly shape and serve the public good. Strong families make for strong communities. Conversely, family breakdown harms society as a whole.

That’s why America’s declining marriage rate is a real problem.

While on the surface this might not seem like an issue that you and I need to care about, the decline in marriage has a significant impact on each and every one of us—from the amount of taxes we pay to the level of crime in our neighborhoods.

How do we know?

Decades of statistics have shown that, on average, married couples have better physical health, more financial stability, and greater social mobility than unmarried people.

Other studies show that the children of those couples are more likely to experience higher academic performance, emotional maturity, and financial stability than children who don’t have both parents in the home. The social and economic costs of family breakdown are paid by everyone. Studies show divorce and unwed childbearing cost taxpayers over $110 billion each year. But the real victims are children.

Children raised in single-parent homes are statistically more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, exhibit poor social behaviors, and commit violent crimes. They’re also more likely to drop out of school.

And when it comes to fighting poverty, there is no better weapon than marriage. In fact, marriage reduces the probability of child poverty by 80%.

What can and should be done?

When it comes to public policy, one way government can help is by eliminating the marriage penalty. That’s the part of the tax code where two people are taxed more if they’re married than if they’re single.

Government assistance programs should provide temporary help to families in need, not welfare that spans generations. For too long, these programs have encouraged the formation of single-parent families by taking the place of breadwinning fathers or mothers.

But more family-friendly public policies like these are only part of the solution. Civil society—including community organizations, schools, and places of religious worship—must do its part to make sure the next generation understands the hard facts about the benefits of marriage and the costs of broken families. Armed with that knowledge, people can make better choices. Marriage remains America’s strongest anti-poverty, anti-crime, pro-health institution. It’s an undeniable fact that the best chances for financial success, emotional well-being, and good health for both parents and children happen when parents are married and families are intact.

“No Dad, No Baby Abortion in the Age of Fatherlessness,” by Andrew Beckwith, June 14, 2019.

In recent years, households with married fathers increased their income on average by 4.5 percent, with the median figure up nearly $6,000, to $127,000. This outpaced inflation over the same time period (3.4%) and represents a real increase in wealth. Meanwhile, children in homes with no father saw their mother’s income increase on average by less than 1 percent, which means they were actually getting poorer after factoring in the cost of inflation. Even in today’s economic downfall, kids without dads are getting left behind.

In conclusion, this nasty witches’ brew has been churning for a century but Covid cleared away the smoke. “The Closing of the American Mind,” by Allan Bloom, focused on higher education; however, this poison has trickled down to lower grades and infections the military and jobs. For more insight, read “The Battle for the American Mind: Uprooting a Century of Miseducation,” by Pete Hegseth and David Goodwin.

[Dr. Biggio earned a PhD in English and served many years as a high-school English teacher. She has always been a prolific writer of articles and essays but, since her retirement from teaching, her interests have turned to writing fiction. She is the author of “Crockpot Cooking,” a book that contains vignettes from the lives of everyday people who are effectively dealing with challenging life situations. She has another book coming out in the fall – a Thriller!]

THE NEXT STAGE OF REGULATION

Jim Clarkson, President

Resource Supply Management

Columbia, SC

In the early 1900s there was a significant growth in anti-business political sentiment. It became a period of “reform” for certain segments of the economy. However, early on the regulated industries took over the actual reform process. The electric companies of the day used reform as a smoke screen for their own efforts to handicap competitors and guarantee returns on their investment. Generating technology was improving rapidly and incumbent companies often saw new competitors utilizing technological innovations that made their own older plants obsolete. The actual legislation for state level regulation was written by the utilities themselves. Utility personnel made up the first regulatory staffs, and retired generals were frequent appointments to the regulatory boards. The utilities were successful in their campaign for regulation, and competition in the power business was soon stamped out.

State regulation was also used by the investor-owned utilities as the rationale to counter the drive towards municipal takeover of their systems. Politicians received contributions and indulged in anti-business rhetoric while actually doing the utilities’ bidding. Regulatory capture was complete, and the utility industry was fat and happy for decades. With exclusive franchise territories, tame regulators and no competition, the utilities extracted what economists call monopoly rents. Innovation was stifled, and arrogant customer service became the accepted norm. The power industry with politically oriented management proved to be particularly inept at building nuclear power plants. Under all the regulatory distortions there were still the fundamental market incentives of profit and loss that shaped the industry.

The winds of change in other areas of the economy brought challenges to the utility industry. Airline, trucking and telecommunication deregulation were seen as resounding successes and beneficial to customers. The power industry acted like it was begrudgingly going along with the proposed reforms. Federal regulators partially freed up the wholesale market and created consumer benefits. On the state level the utilities themselves helped write the rules for retail competition. Real markets develop naturally in the absence of government intervention. The politician/utility-designed market for retail utility service failed. Somehow, the market instead of the political system took the blame. The utilities were, of course, delighted with the failure of the misnamed “deregulation” and assumed it was back to business as usual. It was not to be.

Having fended off the forces of market-based reform, the utilities find themselves now under attack by the big government camp. With mandated levels of renewable purchases, regulatory-directed efficiency programs and restricted carbon emissions, regulators are becoming the senior partners in the operation of the monopoly-regulatory system. All of these programs move the utility business further from market conditions and grant more discretion to politicians. There is even talk of “decoupling” profits from sales, which will make profit levels strictly a political decision. Those who have lived by the regulatory sword are destined to die by the regulatory sword. The regulators are now capturing the regulated power industry. Prices will go up, and service quality will go down.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

In 1963, Robert and Elizabeth Murphy were found guilty on two counts of removing documents from the National Archives, and were sentenced to ten year prison terms. In 2003, when Sandy Berger, the former National Security Adviser under the Clinton Administration, removed and destroyed classified documents from the National Archives on more than one occasion. During his visits to the Archives, it was determined that Berger folded the documents in his clothes, walked out of the National Archives building in Washington, D.C., and placed them under a nearby construction trailer for retrieval later on. Two years later Berger was sentenced to 100 hours of community service and probation and fined $50,000. He also had to pay $6,905 for the administrative costs of his two-year probation. Berger also lost his security clearance and license to practice law but he was able to prevent the Clinton’s from being charged with capital crimes. Now, the Democrats are screaming about charging President Trump for declassifying the documents he stored at Mar-A-Lago.

WHO IS STIRRING THE POT?

Kris Bancroft, Editor

The following is an excerpt from an article written by Daniel Greenfield, dated August 10, 2022, entitled “Russian Spies Were Behind Black Nationalist Protest Groups.” Please use the link provided to access the entire article.

After years of Russiagate conspiracy theories about how the Russians had somehow rigged the 2016 presidential election using Facebook ads, the Senate Intelligence report awkwardly revealed that the Russian operation had focused most of its attention on black nationalists.

The Senate report revealed that “most of the videos” put out by the Russian IRA troll factory on YouTube “pertained to police brutality and the activist efforts of the Black Lives Matter organization” and found that “no single group of Americans was targeted. . . more than African-Americans” around “race and related issues”.

But that was an understatement.

The Russians had created their own Black Lives Matter groups, activists and protests. It is still not fully clear where the dividing lines between black nationalists and Russian agents lie. And the media has consistently buried these revelations about the real Russian role in our politics to focus on the discredited smears targeting President Trump and his political allies.

And yet the true Russian agents were the black nationalists championed by the Left.

The recent indictment of Aleksandr Ianov, a Russian figure operating in coordination with Russia’s FSB security agency, accuses him of recruiting and providing financial support for Black Nationalist groups in the United States.

http://www.danielgreenfield.org/2022/08/russian-spies-were-behind-black.html?fbclid=IwAR3Zh3ARp7EMS22YNPsbFdqZCEvNQW-EXoTM_q0GtNghBkXyBcHFHGfBhpg

Identity politics is a political approach wherein people of a particular race, religion, gender, social background, social class, environmental,[1] or other identifying factors develop political agendas that are based upon these identities. Such groups often have support from allies outside the respective identity groups. The term is used in a variety of ways, but the purveyors of identity politics achieve the greatest success when they can convince a set of people that they are, somehow, victimized by those unlike themselves.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Identity_politics

DEFEATING THE GREEN FASCISTS

Kris Bancroft, Editor

The promoters and advocates of the so-called “Green New Deal” continue to harp on shutting down American industries – businesses that are, in fact, the economic engine of our country. The only arrow left in their quiver is their rant against “greenhouse” gases.

The grossly misinformed “Green Fascists” most often call out CO₂as “the enemy” but, as we learned in 8^th grade science class, carbon dioxide is essential to all plant life, and it is plants that release oxygen into our atmosphere – the gas that is essential for all animal life forms – including humans!

The relationship between plants that convert CO₂ to oxygen, and animal lifeforms that absorb O₂ and release carbon dioxide is called symbiosis. Simply stated, this means both animals and plants are dependent upon one another to survive.

The bottom line of all this is, simply: The more carbon dioxide available for plants, the more oxygen we will have to breathe. (Ask any scientist and they’ll tell you that breathing oxygen is a good thing!)

Unfortunately though, many industrial facilities do release some dangerous gases and particulates into our atmosphere – nitrous oxide, carbon monoxide, various metallic oxides – and, as good stewards of our planet, we must diligently work to find ways to negate – or at least minimize – the adverse effects we are having on our home – the Earth, and that is precisely what the United States has been doing for nearly fifty years – since the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was established.

While the EPA has “stumbled” more than a few times, and while they most certainly have established some really NUTTY rules and regulations, they’ve done a fairly good job, and in response, so have American industries!

As it is today, the United States – the leading industrial country on Earth – releases only 15% of the greenhouse gases across the globe, and that number is dropping precipitously!

The Green Fascists – like every anti-American organization within our borders – can be defeated with the TRUTH! It is up to every American to make certain they hear it!

So, if the “Green Fascists” want to impose some of their edicts on greenhouse gas producers, maybe we should put them on a solar-powered airplane and send them to those countries who are causing the most damage to our environment – China, India, Liberia, and the polluters on the Pacific Rim. They are sure to be welcomed there with opened arms (i.e. “guns!”)

https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/global-greenhouse-gas-emissions-data

RANDOM THOUGHTS

In the past 12 months, more than four million aliens have been processed by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), and more than one million illegal aliens are known to have evaded the process. Those who have crossed our border have come from more than 160 different countries. The vast majority of those admitted to the United States have not been vaccinated for COVID, nor have they been vaccinated for many other communicable diseases. 109 of the 4+ million encounters by CBP were found to be on the Terrorist Watch List. Alejandro Mayorkis, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security has reassured us that our southern border is “secure.”

RANDOM THOUGHTS

I must study politics and war so my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, navigation, commerce, and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain. – John Adams

COMMENTS FROM CORRESPONDENTS

You are invited to become a Correspondent and share thoughts, opinions, ideas, and announcements with subscribers to this newsletter. Please state your city, state, or country in your submissions and email them to: pyrope84045@mypacks.net . Your fellow Conservatives want to hear from you! – Editor

Our good friend and long-time Correspondent Diane Bederman, Toronto, Canada, has a new book on the market The Bullies of Woke and Their Assault on Mental Health, published by New English Review out of Nashville Tennessee. It is a ground-breaking work documenting the serious harm the ”Progressive Left” is doing to the mental health of our innocent children, who are subject to the unrelenting pressure to conform to woke ideology as never before. Diane is unsparing in her critique of the absurdity, anti-Americanism and anti-Western cultural ideas emanating from the Woke brigade. Diane writes:

Our children are literally being bullied to death—committing suicide rather than endure the viscous and aggressive bullying to which they are routinely subject these days. Critical Race Theory, Transgenderism and the heavy-handed efforts to silence dissent are deadly foes of what was once broadly considered to be classical liberalism. This book is simultaneously a guidebook to the modern woke movement and a call to action for the common-sense, silent majority to rise-up in opposition and restore our Judeo-Christian bedrock values in our homes, our schools, and our nations.

The 2022 election is the opportunity to take back our culture. This book will provide facts for anyone running for office-from the school boards to the Senate.

You can pre-order, today. The book will be available September 6.

https://www.newenglishreview.org/bullies-of-woke-and-their-assault-on-mental-health-by-diane-weber-bederman/

Harriett Lublin, Atlanta, GA shared these thoughts on Mr. Biden’s student loan forgiveness scheme.

The feds have no business being in the student loan business, let alone the “loan forgiveness” business, period. Obama federalized those loans. How much subversion do you need to see coming from Obama. Biggest mistake this country ever made.

“It has grown beyond a secondary source of funding for students’ post-secondary education into the single largest source of federal funding for such pursuits. It has also become the second-largest consumer debt category nationally after home mortgages, but with an astronomically higher default rate — projected to reach 40% by next year.

[If his scheme goes unchallenged], President Biden’s student loan forgiveness will cost American taxpayers an estimated $300 billion! [Payments on the remainder of those outstanding debts will be given a “pause” until next year.

According to the Penn Wharton Budget Model, a one-time maximum debt forgiveness of $10,000 for borrowers who make less than $125,000 will cost around $300 billion for taxpayers.

According to a recent analysis from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), the $10,000 forgiveness plan would undermine the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act by consuming nearly 10 years of deficit reduction and wipe out disinflationary benefits

“[D]ebt cancellation would boost near-term inflation far more than the IRA will lower it,” CRFB wrote in its analysis. “$10,000 of debt cancellation could add up to 15 basis points up front and create additional inflationary pressure over time.”

David Farmer, Derby, KS shared the following observations:

Gasoline prices have somewhat moderated, but they’re still way higher than they were two years ago. Yesterday, I paid $3.59 per gallon over on Nelson Drive. But that’s not all there is to it.

We’re told that “inflation” is only about 8.5%, and that’s just plain not true!

My wife and I sat down the other day and did a careful examination of our various routine expenses and, without going into detail, we calculated that we are paying 35% more today for those things we have routinely purchased. To me (and to everyone I know), this translates to the actual inflation rate being 35%.

Keith Cormier, Belle Chasse, LA offers his thoughts on the way the Republicans should go after the mid-term elections.

A lot of Republicans I know are anticipating that “Giant Red Tsunami” you’ve been writing about in your newsletter, and to be honest, I’m hoping the Republicans will win huge majorities in both Houses, too. But, we’ve seen this circus before, haven’t we?

Every time we give the Republicans the power to change things all they want to do is “reach across the aisle” and “work with the Democrats.” The Democrats have been playing the Republicans for suckers since I’ve been alive.

To make matters even worse, the people they elect to head things up – Majority Leaders, Speakers, Committee Chairmanships, are a bunch of squids, and in many ways just as crooked as the Democrats. Mainly, I’m talking about Kevin McCarthy, the most liberal Republican in Washington, and Mitch McConnell, a man with way too many connections to China to suit me.

To be real honest, even if the Republicans come out winners this November I doubt that they will do much to reverse the things the Democrats have done over the past two years. Here’s a list of what I think the Republicans must do:

Elect Conservative leaders in the House and Senate (Jim Jordan and John Kennedy would be my choices).
Impeach Biden (and Harris), and replace Biden with Ted Cruz.
Appoint Special Counsels to investigate the business dealings of the entire Biden family, those of Nancy Pelosi, as well as all the questionable activities of Eric Swalwell, Adam Schiff, and Diane Feinstein.
Cancel ALL of Biden’s spending bills and start acting like Conservatives with our money.
Reverse ALL of Biden’s deals with China, Russia, and Iran.
Open up oil and gas exploration in such a way that the Democrats will never be able to shut it down again, and finish all the pipeline systems that President Trump had started.
Round up and deport every last illegal alien in our country and BUILD THE WALL!

RANDOM THOUGHTS

We must be ready to employ trickery, deceit, law-breaking, withholding and concealing truth. We can and must write in the language which sows among the masses hate, revulsion, scorn, and the like toward those who disagree with us. – Vladimir Lenin.

[A lesson well-learned and well-used by the Democrats? – Editor]

LEGISLATIVE REPORT

The Legislative Report provides information on some of the more remarkable bills that have been introduced in Congress. Its purpose is to provide the reader with information about pending legislation that may prompt the reader to contact their representatives to express their views.

In the emailed version of the Legislative Report, you will see markers + and + on certain bills. The red icon is placed to encourage the reader to contact their representatives and ask them to vote against the legislation. On bills marked with the green icon, the reader is encouraged to contact their elected representatives and ask them to support the legislation. The reader is always encouraged to keep informed about all legislation from other sources so they may be aware of bills that affect our lives. Decide today that you will make your voice heard. If you remain silent, your representatives will never know your thoughts! – Editor

Congress is currently recessed so no bills have been introduced since the previous edition of this newsletter, however; the following bills are receiving a lot of attention. Details on these bills will appear in the October issue.

R. 3617: Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act
4681: Supreme Court Review Act of 2022
R. 8731: To amend chapter 110 of title 18, United States Code, to prohibit gender affirming care on minors, and for other purposes.
R. 82: Social Security Fairness Act of 2021

H.R. 5376 The Inflation Reduction Act (John Yarmuth, D-KY, 730 pages), was signed into law.

It all started back in September of 2021, when John Yarmuth (D-KY), introduced a 730-page reconciliation bill that would continue to fund the various government entities. Although the bill’s “purpose” in and of itself sounded innocent enough, there was trouble right from the beginning. Digging into the bill text, analysts discovered the bill was nothing short of an effort on the part of Democrats to expand governmental control by spending more money in a way that would weaponize the government against Republicans, and especially Conservatives.

The most disturbing part of the bill is that it adds 78,661 FTE Agents (does not include administrative (and all other) support staff, or management. Total number of employees is ~130,000, to the IRS roster, and it increases the IRS’s annual budget from ~$13.7 billion to ~$85 billion.

RHEA COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY NEWS

Loren Spivack will be our Guest Speaker at the September meeting –

We are most pleased to announce Loren Spivack, founder of Free Market Warrior, noted author and lecturer, will be our Guest Speaker at our September meeting.

Loren Spivack is a highly sought after speaker to Conservative and Libertarian organizations. His work is dedicated to teaching patriots how to retake control of our destiny as the forces of statism and socialism methodically destroy the last vestiges of freedom in America, in order to protect and defend the principles upon which the USA was founded.

His book titles include:

“The New Democrat” a parody history of the Obama administration, based on a famous children’s book.
“The Gorax” is an anti-environmentalism/pro capitalism parody starring Al Gore and presenting his movement as a threat to American freedom and standard of living.

Spivack is both funny and poignant as he makes the case that capitalism (represented by the “Onepercentler”) is the real victim of environmental extremists who destroy prosperity without achieving even their own goals. Along the way, Spivack takes well aimed shots at everything from “The

Fed” to the teachers unions.

All this and more happens on 1 September 2022, at 7:00 PM, at the Sheriff’s Training Center, 711 Eagle Lane, Evensville, TN 37323.

JOIN US & BRING A FRIEND!

Thank You Candidates –

To all the candidates who have attended our various meetings and gatherings over the past months, THANK YOU for letting us hear your voices. We wish you the best in all your future endeavors and we hope you will become regular attendees to all our future meetings, gatherings, and events.

RCRP Was Well-Represented at the Rhea County Fair –

The Rhea County Republican Party purchased a booth at the Rhea County Fair. During the time when our booth was in operation, the team members greeted hundreds of Rhea County Citizens who were provided with yard signs, bumper stickers, and printed information about our Republican candidates.

Volunteers who donated their time to represent our party included: our newly elected County Executive, Jim Vincent, and his wife Marilyn; Adam Lowe, the Republican candidate for State Senate (District 1); Samuel Douglas, Regional Field Representative for Governor Bill Lee (who worked the booth for four hours); Tom and Donna Taylor, and; Kris and Judy Bancroft. The RCRP is truly grateful for all those who donated their time to represent us to our community, however; one of our RCRP Members deserves special recognition:
Tina Pearce took charge of single-handedly decorating the booth, and she did a fantastic job! If there was something needed to make the booth look better, Tina purchased it from her own funds! But, there’s more: Over a three day period Tina Pearce maintained a presence at the RCRP booth for more than ten hours. Thank You Tina!

NOTE: Those wishing to read the Minutes from previous meetings may visit the Rhea County Republican website and click on the tab “Meeting Minutes.” – Editor

LAGNIAPPE

Kris Bancroft, Editor

An article entitled “Thoughts on Going Cashless” appeared in the June edition of this newsletter. Judging from the responses to the article, it would appear that the majority of readers understand the detrimental effects that a digital monetary system would have on our freedom and are adamantly against the idea.

Unfortunately (a word we seem to be using with increasing frequency these days), the majority of Americans are not aware of the many ways a digital currency system would vaporize what remains of our freedom – they are only concerned about how complicated their lives have become and are looking for anything to reduce the stresses of their “busy-ness.”

Since the article was published, news of a cashless scheme devised by the Central Bank of the UK has emerged. (The Brit’s “Central Bank” is roughly the equivalent of our Federal Reserve Bank in that they issue their own version of fiat currency, only the Central Bank is not quite as powerful.) The complete article is accessible at the following link touts all the “positives” to the Central Bank’s scheme.

https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/research/digital-currencies

Curiosity as to what the Brits’ thoughts were about the proposed switch to “CBDC” (Central Bank Digital Currency – our friends across the pond do love their acronyms), compelled me to reach out to a couple of Correspondents to this newsletter, as well as to some personal friends, across the pond.

Of the four people I contacted, one had heard very little of the Central Bank’s plan; one (who served on Nigel Farage’s campaign for PM), was greatly concerned about it, and; the other two were not strenuously opposed to it since their busy lives – young parents of school-aged children who are both holding down professional careers – would have a few more minutes of free time that would have ordinarily been spent on juggling finances. With the CBDC scheme in place, all they’d have to do is conjure up their bank balances on their phones to know what financial shape they were in at the moment.

To their credit, the Central Bank of the UK has already produced a webinar that will educate people on the workings of their new CBDC system, but what will the seniors in the UK do in order to get up to speed? (I’m thinking of a friend in Essex, who has just celebrated his 94^th birthday and does not own a “pocket phone” or a computer.)

No one I’ve spoken with seems to know.

The one thing some people in the UK are aware of is what’s happening in Sweden – the move toward being “chipped.”

Again, since the article entitled “Thoughts on Going Cashless” was published in the June edition of The Rhea County Republican, news of the trend of people having computer chips implanted under their skin (typically in the area between the thumb and forefinger of their right hand) has spread across Europe, and this was mentioned in three of the four conversations I had with my contacts in UK. They reported that many Brits – especially the younger generation – were well on board with the idea and that their schools are considering chipping students. The articles at the following links illustrate the mindset that is sweeping across Europe.

Today, many people are welcoming the convenience that being chipped will bring to their lives, but there still are some cynical people who are both reluctant to give a person with a chip reader full access to every bit of information about their life, as well as being concerned that an individual with a homemade chip reader passing them on the street could steal their personal data and drain all their credits from their bank account. Finally, add to the list of cynics the people who recall having read about “the Mark of the Beast.” It is those people who will be the holdouts, but they won’t be holding out for long. When the population of the Earth finds itself basking in the safety and security offered by living in a “cashless society,” the hold outs will find it impossible to buy or sell any service or product unless they have been “chipped.”

Yes, there will be those who will insist on holding out – they will resort to bartering for those things they can no longer buy or sell. Rest assured, however; the government already has “the answer” for the hold outs; it’s quite simple, really: Bartering will be outlawed.

The words printed on our paper currency read “This note is legal tender for all debts public and private.” Those who have their eyes open understand that once a digital currency system is established, it will mark the end to all privacy in our business dealings. What’s more, under a digital currency system, the government – through the government-run bank – has immediate control over our business dealings and the power to render our accounts, for whatever purpose they may deem necessary, null and void.

https://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2018/05/24/613983268/a-cheat-sheet-on-europe-s-sweeping-privacy-law

CONTACT YOUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES TODAY!

Regardless of where you live in the United States, you can find your elected representatives at any level of government by visiting the following link. Remember: While they might be fairly bright, none of them can read your mind, so it is your obligation as a citizen to express your thoughts (and to urge all your friends and family and like-minded folks to do the same!)

https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials

https://heritageaction.com/scorecard

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/report-cards/2019/house/ideology

https://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/peter-roff/2010/02/26/the-most-conservative-and-most-liberal-members-of-congress

https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials

Here’s a handy guide for Tennesseans in the 4^th Congressional District:

Joseph Robinette Biden (a.k.a. the “Big Guy”)

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington D.C. 20500

Phone: (202) 456-1414

Fax: (202) 456-2461