{"id":766,"date":"2021-06-07T13:23:23","date_gmt":"2021-06-07T17:23:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rheagop.org\/?p=766"},"modified":"2021-06-07T13:23:23","modified_gmt":"2021-06-07T17:23:23","slug":"the-rhea-county-republican-june-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rheagop.org\/the-rhea-county-republican-june-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"The Rhea County Republican – June 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

THE\u00a0<\/span>RHEA COUNTY REPUBLICAN<\/span><\/h1>\n

ADVANCING THE CONSERVATIVE CAUSE<\/span><\/h3>\n

Vol. 5 \u2013 No. 4\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 June 2021<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Table of Contents<\/strong><\/p>\n

Editorial <\/strong>——————————————————————— 1<\/strong><\/p>\n

Happy Birthday Donald J. Trump<\/strong> ———————————- 3<\/strong><\/p>\n

A Bill for the Birds <\/strong>——————————————————- 7<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wading in the Swamp by Jim Clarkson<\/strong>————————— 9<\/strong><\/p>\n

Congratulations \u00a0Ted Engle and Joshua Arnold <\/strong>————–10 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Comments From Representatives<\/strong>——————————— 12<\/strong><\/p>\n

Comments From Correspondents <\/strong>——————————– 14 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Legislative Report <\/strong>—————————————————— 17<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rhea County Republican Party News<\/strong>—————————- 26<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lagniappe \u2013 Are Americans Becoming Sovietized<\/strong>———- 29\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Contact Your Representatives <\/strong>————————————- 32<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Wishing you and yours a Happy and Safe Memorial Day!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

EDITORIAL<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kris Bancroft, Editor, and Publisher<\/p>\n

The Rhea County Republican<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

THERE IS<\/em> A DISTURBANCE IN THE FORCE \u2013 AND IT\u2019S A GOOD THING!<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the Lagniappe<\/em> feature in the April 2021 edition of this newsletter, the question was posed as to whether \u201cpurges\u201d within organizations do more harm than good.<\/p>\n

Specifically, the article dealt with what seemed, at the time, to be an overreaction \u2013 the call from some in the Conservative Caucus for a general purge of the \u201cless pure\u201d Republicans \u2013 over what seemed to be a minor flap.<\/p>\n

This flap<\/em> centered on the continuing acerbic exchanges between Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY), the Number Three figure in the House Republican Party who, after what seems to be an extraordinary amount of time, has been unable to let go of her animosity toward former President Trump, and the rejoinders sent \u201cback across the net\u201d from the world\u2019s champion counter puncher.\u00a0 The flap<\/em> has become a bona fide<\/em> disturbance, and the ripples are spreading from the epicenter.<\/p>\n

More on that in a moment.<\/p>\n

Regardless of one\u2019s opinion of our former President, Representative Cheney\u2019s repeated stirring of the pot has led to her censure in the House and removal from her position as Chair of the House Republican Conference.\u00a0 Representative Cheney also serves on the House Committees on Natural Resources and Armed Services Committee; it is unclear as to whether she will be reappointed to those committees, even if she is reelected in 2022.<\/p>\n

Elise Stefanik (R-NY, 21st<\/sup> District), an individual whom most would never describe as a Rock-Ribbed Conservative, seems to be the current choice to assume Liz Cheney\u2019s vacated position.\u00a0 In all fairness, given Ms. Stefanik\u2019s historic moderate-to-conservative positions on immigration and border security, national security and foreign relations and, spending cuts and debt, the House Republican Conference could do a lot worse where selecting leadership is concerned.\u00a0 But, the Party could do a lot better<\/em>, too!\u00a0 Most likely, Ms. Stefanik\u2019s consideration to be Liz Cheney\u2019s replacement is something of an overture to the more \u201cmoderate\u201d faction of the Republican Party.<\/p>\n

As eluded to earlier, here are some details on those \u201cspreading ripples.\u201d<\/p>\n

Senator Mitt Romney, as the entire world knows, has jousted with our former President on more than one occasion.\u00a0 That his ego continues to suffer from not being named as President Trump\u2019s VP pick is generally accepted as fact.\u00a0 His unproductive (if not outright sophomoric) remarks have been countered with some verbal flamethrowers that would wilt all the daisies in a five-acre field.\u00a0 With his tail feathers singed, Senator Romney has tried his best to project a statesmanlike aura, all the while digging in his heels and refusing to just let matters go.\u00a0 It\u2019s almost as if the Senator doesn\u2019t understand that if he stops throwing barbs at Mr. Trump, Mr. Trump will stop returning them.<\/p>\n

Much to the delight of the Left, his ego has cost Senator Romney \u2013 and the Republican Party \u2013 some serious political credibility.<\/p>\n

It came as something of a shock when the Weber County (Utah) Republican Party censured Senator Romney, for his being the only Republican to have voted for<\/em> the Articles of Impeachment in both<\/em> his Senate trials.<\/p>\n

Even more shocking was the news from Senator Romney\u2019s home State when, on 1 May at their yearly convention, the entire Utah Republican Party narrowly voted down censuring their Senator.\u00a0 Nonetheless, when Senator Romney spoke, he tried to offer an excuse for his impeachment votes by cajoling his audience with platitudes:\u00a0 \u201cNow you know me as a person who says what he thinks, and I don\u2019t hide the fact that I wasn\u2019t a fan of our last President\u2019s character issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Senator was literally booed off the stage!<\/p>\n

The ripples were also felt in the Buckeye State, as the Ohio Republican Party voted to censure ten of their Republican representatives, all of whom had voted to impeach Mr. Trump.\u00a0 The state\u2019s GOP Governing Board went so far as to call for the immediate resignation of Anthony Gonzalez (Cleveland).\u00a0 The Ohio Republican Party is backing Max Miller, who formerly served in the Trump White House, to primary Anthony Gonzalez.<\/p>\n

Many of the self-described pundits have tried to convince us this current rash of censures (and other episodes of Republican voters thumbing their noses at their party\u2019s RINO politicians), are mere coincidences \u2013 random acts of frustration held over from a presidential election that was perhaps stolen, or maybe the symptoms of our being confined too long due to the Wuhan virus \u2013 but, just as it is with contradictions, there\u2019s really no such thing as a coincidence.\u00a0 But what we\u2019re seeing isn\u2019t really a purge<\/em> \u2013 at least not in the classical sense \u2013 it is better described as a realignment or, perhaps, a refining or redefining process; a process where the People are standing up to demand their Republican Party return to its fundamental values.<\/p>\n

What there is, in fact, is a definite \u201cDisturbance in the Force\u201d but it\u2019s not of the nature Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi talked about . . . unless you\u2019re a Democrat.\u00a0 The disturbance we are seeing is more of the nature of the \u201cA New Hope\u201d variety, and it\u2019s coming to your state and to your town.<\/p>\n

You will know it when you see it.<\/p>\n

You will know it when you read the letters to the Editors of your newspapers, letters of genuine passion written by just your ordinary, everyday Patriots, letters calling for a return to governance that not only guarantees our Individual Human Rights \u2013 just as they are spelled out in our Constitution \u2013 but governance by just<\/em> laws that fully comport our Constitution.<\/p>\n

You will know it when you hear the voices of law-abiding citizens declaring in no uncertain terms their full and genuine respect for the law enforcement officers who guarantee our safety, countering the irrational calls of the anarchists and dimwitted politicians who want to defund our Police.<\/p>\n

You will know it when you realize you are not the only person in your circle of friends who have expressed their concern for our open borders and the encroachment of millions of illegal aliens into our country.<\/p>\n

You will know it when you hear the demands for the removal of culturally divisive notions such as Critical Race Theory from our schools\u2019 curricula and hear the calls to cancel the Cancel Culture.<\/p>\n

You will know it when you notice more articles in more newspapers and magazines and begin seeing more commentators on TV advocating \u2013 if not outright calling for \u2013 the abandonment of socialism in favor of a once-and-for-all return to free-market capitalism, and a return to fiscal sanity within our government that includes a workable plan to put \u2013 and keep \u2013 America first!<\/p>\n

You will know it when you see American Citizens rise up to demand those who are sworn to uphold and defend our laws make criminal referrals to prosecute those whom we know have, for years, violated those laws \u2013 repeatedly and flagrantly \u2013 without fear of punishment.<\/p>\n

You will know it when you see campaign buttons and bumper stickers and announcements for Town Hall Meetings displaying the name of that candidate you heard about<\/em> who was touted to be a true reformer.<\/p>\n

You will know it when you answer a knock at your door to see the bright smiling face of a young and energetic person asking you to support a candidate you know to be a true conservative.<\/p>\n

You will know it when you see your friends putting their shoulders to the wheel to campaign for the most constitutionally Conservative and fiscally responsible candidates in every primary, for every political office, at every level of government.<\/p>\n

You will know it when you realize all these things you\u2019re seeing are merely parts of one idea, an idea that was right all along:\u00a0 Making America Great Again.<\/p>\n

You will know you are a part of that disturbance and that \u201cthe Force is with you,\u201d when you summon the energy and make the commitment to do your<\/em> part to return our country to the highest values ever envisioned by our Founding Fathers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

RANDOM THOUGHTS<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing \u2013 When you see that money is flowing to those who deal, not in goods but in favors \u2013 When you see that men get richer by graft and pull than by work, and your laws don\u2019t protect you against them but protect them against you \u2013 When you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice \u2013 You may know your society is doomed.\u201d \u2013 Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged<\/em> 1957<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DONALD J. TRUMP \u2013 JUNE 14, 1946<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kris Bancroft, Editor and Publisher<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What made America great?<\/p>\n

There are many answers to that question, but what seems tops on most peoples\u2019 list is the quest for freedom, and rightfully so.\u00a0 When you think of it, the desire for freedom is born in the hearts of all creatures.\u00a0 It is our nature to want to be independent \u2013 to be entities unto ourselves!\u00a0 That independent spirit lives within each human being until it is canceled out by circumstances.<\/p>\n

In the land that came to be known as America, this independent spirit was nurtured in large part by a belief system that bore an undying faith in a Supreme Being who had created humankind and placed humankind in the role of Stewards of the Earth; this Creator had given humans determination, problem-solving skills, inspiration leading to motivation, and motivation leading to innovation \u2013 human traits that can be summed up under the heading of work ethic.<\/p>\n

All creatures have an inborn determination to survive; for the lower order of animals it is referred to as instinctual reaction to events of the moment; only humans are capable of creating a process, or conceiving a plan, to help them formulate plans that are based on: \u00a0their recollection of experiences from the past; observation of conditions of the present, and; calculating the probabilities of the future.\u00a0 While some lower-order creatures have displayed problem-solving skills only humans are capable of solving abstract problems.<\/p>\n

Sometimes life knocks us flat.\u00a0 We\u2019ve all had our low moments and the people who founded and built the America we know today \u2013 the greatest nation to ever exist on planet Earth \u2013 certainly suffered their share of hard times, as well.\u00a0 After centuries of tyrannical rule by innumerable monarchs who dictated terms and conditions based on whims of the moment, a socio-economic (quasi-caste) system that prevented an individual from improving their station in life on the basis of their own merits, and religious persecution, all of which was exacerbated by various diseases and plagues, those people who made the pilgrimage to the New World were inspired by the hope for something better.\u00a0 Their inspiration motivated them to leave behind the only homeland they\u2019d ever known with a determination they could find something better.<\/p>\n

Once these European immigrants arrived on the continent of North America, the inspiration that had fueled their motivation to venture into this New World called forth a level of innovation and technological advancement, unlike anything that had ever been seen in human history.<\/p>\n

Looking back through the history of our country we can see how America rose to become the world\u2019s most prominent industrial superpower.\u00a0 Many people have asked how that happened.\u00a0 Although America has produced some truly brilliant engineers, scientists, architects, and entrepreneurs, other countries have their own brilliant folks.\u00a0 Although America has an abundance of natural resources, our own resources pale by comparison with those found elsewhere.\u00a0 The quick answer to the question is often to make note of our work ethic; surely, there is no other country that can boast of a population so dedicated to accomplishing their goals but, ultimately, even our amazing work ethic is not the<\/em><\/strong> answer.\u00a0 The answer lies in a more in-depth analysis of the association between inspiration and motivation.<\/p>\n

Quite simply, the American worker is inspired to work hard and thus motivates themselves to do so because of one unique factor found only in the United States:\u00a0 Free market capitalism.\u00a0 Only in America is an individual free to rise to the limits as determined by their abilities and their efforts.<\/p>\n

Did America make some grievous errors along the way?\u00a0 Certainly, it did, and our enemies \u2013 both foreign and<\/em><\/strong> domestic \u2013 are always<\/em> so very eager to remind the world of our imperfections.\u00a0 But, as our enemies \u2013 especially our domestic ones \u2013 seem so unwilling to admit, the difference between America and all the other countries is that we corrected our own mistakes, by our own volition, and not<\/em> as a result of being forced by others to make those corrections.\u00a0 Even more important is this wonderful country that came to be known as The United States of America, the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave<\/em> have, in every case, corrected our errors in ways that would prevent those errors from ever being repeated.\u00a0 This is simply one more thing that made America great.<\/p>\n

Until now.\u00a0 Now, we are seeing an intensifying plot against our country that was launched more than a century ago coming to fruition.<\/p>\n

What was originally known as the \u201cProgressive Movement\u201d (which began in the 1890s) was an era of social and political reform whose purveyors described it as an effort to create a \u201cbetter\u201d society.<\/p>\n

The Progressive’s vision of \u201creform\u201d was to eliminate free-market capitalism that had brought about the Industrial Revolution.\u00a0 In short, the Progressives thought they could create a better world if only they could enforce their vision of utopia through a two-step process:\u00a0 First, by controlling industry through the application of regulations, incentives, and punishments.\u00a0 Secondly, by using the power of the federal government to \u201cimprove the individual and transform society\u201d through forced sterilization and selective breeding \u2013 what we know today as eugenics<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Fundamentally, the Progressive Movement, Marxism, and communism are interdependent and through the years these ideologies have melded into one force operating under the banner of Socialism \u2013 or \u201cDemocratic Socialism.\u201d \u00a0Their success is dependent upon their ability to destroy the ideals that Americans have held immutable, or even sacrosanct:\u00a0 That each individual is endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, and among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.<\/p>\n

To destroy the status of the individual, our enemies \u2013 the Democratic Socialists \u2013 have attacked the foundational cornerstones of what may be defined as \u201cAmericanism:\u201d \u00a0\u00a0The unique culture formed by a society that treasures its unified goal of being a working part of the greatest nation ever known to humankind; a culture that derives its strength through the family unit and from its faith in something greater than itself, and; a nation of individuals who understand and accept their responsibilities to one another that must be fulfilled if each individual is to continue enjoying the rights and privileges that go with being an American.<\/p>\n

For many years Americans have witnessed the erosion of the ideals that gave rise to our wonderful country and, at some level, we all understood the peril we found ourselves in as we\u2019ve watched it slip away.\u00a0 All the good things that \u201cAmerica\u201d has meant would have surely continued to slip away had it not been for one man who stood up to remind us of what we were losing \u2013 had it not been for one man who stood against the Liberals, the Progressives, the RINOs, and the Democratic Socialists and challenged us to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN \u2013 DONALD JOHN TRUMP!<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Progressive Movement and the Transformation of American Politics | The Heritage Foundation<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

RANDOM THOUGHTS<\/strong><\/p>\n

The difficulty lies not in the new ideas but in escaping from the old ones. \u2013 John Maynard Keynes<\/p>\n

[Even a broken clock is right twice a day. \u2013 Editor]<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A BILL FOR THE BIRDS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kris Bancroft, Editor, and Publisher<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I like birds (except when they poop on my car), and I\u2019ll bet you do, too.\u00a0 Heck, I even feed birds \u2013 all kinds of birds!\u00a0 I feed big birds (wild turkeys in winter), itty-bitty birds (hummingbirds in the summer), and even crows.\u00a0 Yes!\u00a0 I even feed crows!\u00a0 Crows are about the most intelligent of all birds and<\/em> they keep hawks away.\u00a0 I do wish the crows got along better with the hawks, because hawks, along with automobiles, help keep down the \u201ctree rat\u201d (squirrel) population . . . alas, I digress.<\/p>\n

Although we know birds are, in comparison with other creatures, not too bright (hence the most commonly-used disparaging remark we make at our liberal friends \u201cbirdbrained\u201d), none of us like to see some poor bird get whacked simply because it made a poor choice . . . unless, of course, we saw it poop on our car.\u00a0 Yet, as sad as it might be to see one of our feathered friends assuming room temperature as a result of their flying into a building (or some other formidable object), I\u2019m not about to advocate spending Billions of taxpayer\u2019s dollars to try to prevent a bird from doing something, well, birdbrained!<\/em>\u00a0 That is why, when I saw these companion bills introduced by Mike Quigley (D-IL) and Corey Booker (D-NJ), HR 1986<\/strong> and S 791<\/strong>, respectively, entitled the Federal Bird-Safe Buildings Act of 2021<\/u>, I had to investigate and respond.\u00a0 https:\/\/www.govtrack.us\/congress\/bills\/117\/hr1986 and https:\/\/www.govtrack.us\/congress\/bills\/117\/s791<\/a><\/p>\n

As it turns out, I\u2019m glad I did take a closer look at these bills \u2013 it turns out that Rep. Quigley and Sen. Booker just may<\/em> not be the champions of our feathered friends they\u2019d like the world to believe.\u00a0 To wit:<\/p>\n

Back in 2014, a group of scientists published a \u201cpeer-reviewed\u201d article in the journal of ornithology The Condor<\/em> claiming that between 100 million and 1 Billion birds die each year as a result of flying into buildings.\u00a0 (Keep in mind, they are admitting their estimate could be off by as much as 900 million \u2013 hardly something a rational individual would want to hang their hat on).\u00a0 In other words, the \u201cstudy\u201d (propaganda?) published in The Condor<\/em>, which serves as the basis for this legislation may be off by as much as 90%!<\/p>\n

https:\/\/nas-national-prod.s3.amazonaws.com\/documents\/loss_et_al_bird-building_collisons_condor_2014.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

According to its text, the Federal Bird-Safe Building Act of 2021<\/u> would only<\/em><\/strong> apply to federal buildings, and by crude estimation, fewer than 1 in 100,000 buildings of significant stature in the United States house Federal facilities.\u00a0 Among those Federal buildings, certain \u201clandmark\u201d buildings (which would be about half of all Federal buildings), would be exempt<\/em> from this Act.\u00a0 All other buildings on Earth would be exempt from the Federal Bird-Safe Building Act of 2021<\/u>, as well!\u00a0 So, ultimately, the best results one might hope for, in terms of preventing our feathered friends from sailing off to Valhalla (as a result of their charging head-on into a Federal building), is a reduction of 10,000 bird deaths per year.\u00a0 That, by the way, is about one-tenth of the number of birds reportedly killed in wind farms!\u00a0 (Please don\u2019t share that<\/em> with Rep. Quigley and Sen. Booker, they\u2019ll write a bill proposing we hang nets over every windmill on Earth!)<\/p>\n

At this point of course, we have absolutely no way of knowing how much of our tax dollars would be siphoned off to fund Representative Quigley\u2019s and Senator Booker\u2019s bill, but whatever that number is, one would simply divide the total amount by 10,000 to determine how much money per bird was spent to alter (deface?) half the Federal buildings on the planet with accouterments described by those who would provide consultation to the Federal government.\u00a0 And it is in this<\/em> juicy little detail where we may find the true motive.<\/p>\n

As stated in the Purpose of the bill, \u201c[T]itle 40, United States Code, to direct the Administrator of General Services to incorporate practices and strategies to reduce bird fatality resulting from collisions with certain public buildings, and for other purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n

As we look more closely, we see how \u201ccertain individuals\u201d may benefit from this legislation whereas, that Chapter 33 of Title 40, U.S. Code is amended by adding the following:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Section 3319.\u00a0 Use of bird-safe features, practices, and strategies in public buildings:<\/p>\n

(c) Identifying best practices<\/p>\n

To carry out subsection (b)(3), the Administrator may identify best practices for reducing bird fatality resulting in a collision with public buildings, including best practices recommended by \u2013<\/p>\n